raindrops (audio)

reflections in the mixed precipitation on the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor

baseball field at the Parmenter School early this morning in the mixed precipitation

Lasagna after shoveling

A quick Google search turned up this lasagna recipe and it sounded good. Of course, I made a few modifications along the way but it did come out delicious.


Slow-Cooker Vegetable Lasagna
Yield: 8 servings

• 4 cups marinara sauce
• 8 to 9 lasagna noodles (preferably whole wheat)
• ¾ cup green peas, thawed if frozen
• 3 cups baby spinach leaves
• 3 cups sliced zucchini (from about 3 to 4 small zucchini)
• 3 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
• ¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• Fresh parsley, for garnish

Original recipe (and preparation instructions can be found here)
https://www.yahoo.com/food/food-slow-cooker-vegetable-lasagna-134934350.html

just turned on to cook

Steve's modifications

• The noodles were regular lasagna as that was what we had on hand and we need to clear the shelf.
• I used one summer squash (yellow) along with two zucchini to add a little color variety.
• I also used a package of the Al Fresco chicken meatballs (tomato and basil). The meatballs I sliced to make the layering easier (less lumpy).

I like this recipe as it was much easier overall. Slicing the zucchini, thawing the peas and meatballs received some forethought so they were ready when I was. Then it was a matter of building the layers in the crock pot turning it on and waiting for it be to be ready.

delicious, some for freezing and some for leftovers this week

Nothing like a one pot meal that tastes great and is healthy!

frozen friday in Franklin

listen to ‘frozen friday in Franklin’ on audioBoom

cold Friday thoughts (again)

listen to ‘cold Friday thoughts’ on audioBoom

cold Friday thoughts

listen to ‘cold Friday thoughts’ on audioBoom

winter moths ballooning

listen to ‘winter moths ballooning’ on Audioboo

Falling gracefully

listen to ‘Falling gracefully’ on Audioboo

The spot of the fall

I took the picture as I came back reversing my original direction of travel. The squiggle line on the top angling down to the right is the slip. The large spot is my butt then back hitting to slide gracefully (I hope)

Winter view

Winter wonderland

Plowed roads

Rolling hills

photo opportunities

and a good workout!

Preparation

Winter is not all bad. If it snows, it slows us down. While we are not getting much snow now, we may rue it later when the lakes and stream dry up this summer.



For now, we'll enjoy the weather we do have. The clear skies.
The fallow fields.

What are you preparing for? Something good this spring or summer?

5 for Friday - farm land

Good morning, time for #the5

Do you want to make a point, or make some change? http://bit.ly/eisO0V "Change is about negotiating and inspiring new behavior" #the5

One aspect of conversation I like to model is remaining calm, focusing on the topic and avoiding antagonistic comments. Hard to do in this media aware environment where whoever gets the last word seems to win. Do they really? Is it the last word that matters or the lasting word? The word that will raise an issue to some conscious level of thoughtful discussion - after the initial conversation.

Five Free Tools for Social Media Listening (And How to Start Responding) http://bit.ly/gCv5HD "It’s all about relationship building" #the5

Free has a good starting point for return on investment (ROI). Don't forget to include your time, time of course is the one currency that once spent can not be retrieved, returned or reused.

A Tale of Two Communities Part II – Salesforce.com http://bit.ly/gMUO10 "Open Community Means Participant Defined Engagement" #the5

As the Food Pantry prepares its new website, Facebook page, perhaps even a wiki for food recipes, we want to enable engagement on the level that you want to commit to. You can contribute time (by volunteering), money via online donation (or US Postal mail), or a recipe or modification to one, or by sharing the word about the good works of the Food Pantry. There are so many ways to help. We want to welcome your help not hinder it.

Thanks to Readers of Your Small Kitchen Garden http://bit.ly/dL7uV8 me: the photos remind me of Central PA farmland #the5

I like the concept of sharing the thanks for the comments in this posting. Of course what also caught my eye was the recognition that the photos could have been ones I took when visiting friends in Central PA. Not all farms are alike but many aspects of them are the same. The rolling hills in particular are I think on of the catch points in this posting. Central PA may not be the only location with this type of geography.

Dr Seuss, a nerd? Well, he is actually credited with being the first one to write the word "nerd" - http://shar.es/3AQK3 #the5

How about that? Dr Seuss a nerd. Was surprised to find that out as I did the research for the post when inspired by Dr Seuss's works and how they could be used for the job search. The word gymnastics I normally associated with Dr Seuss should have clued me into what he would come up with.

Do you have a first? Have you made good use of it in your profile or resume? Like farm land lying fallow, you need to be prepared to plant good info so it can be found and nurtured in the right atmosphere.

Time to thaw the freezer

What? Thaw the freezer?

Yes, this is a great time. When you thaw the freezer, you either have to have worked down to have almost nothing in there or if you have stuff, you need to put it somewhere cold to keep while the freezer thaws. During the middle of the summer is not a good time with the high heat and humidity. But the current New England weather is a great time.

We have a three-season porch. This is the time of year we don't use it, the temp out there is about 10-15 degrees above what ever the outside temperature is. So most days recently, it was as cold as the freezer!

What we did have in the freezer went into some coolers (more to help with the handling than to keep cold) and then to the porch. Some items in plastic bags actually went outside the door into the snow on the porch.

The freezer door was left open, the light on. Some trays to collect the water and ice chunks as the melt occurred were positioned strategically.

This morning, the freezer shelves are clear and clean. There are chunks in the trays! Nice catch! and the towels are soaked so they ended up in the dryer. (I suppose to be more green, I could have hung them to air dry but that would take some time in this weather.)

Now we can put all the frozen goods back in and take inventory as we go.

Why don't you thaw your freezer one of these nice New England winter weekends?

Mother Nature triptych

The blizzard came, the winds moved the snow around and Mother Nature has been busy doing her sculpting

one of a series of her art creations on our 3-season porch window

part 2 of three

Part 3 of three - Mother Nature's triptych

Snow update

Snowing in Franklin, MA this morning. There was about 2 inches on the driveway when I shoveled. The snow was changing while I shoveled. It went to big flakes, then to the little powder spots and just after I came in, it stopped.

For this storm, the forecast seems to be good thus far. It did call for 2 inches by noon, then more this afternoon. Stay tuned!

Short day, busy week

It is the shortest day of the year today. Still means you can accomplish something worthwhile today!

For me, it is the start of a short work week and busy family time. My brother and family arrived successfully yesterday. They'll spend time with Dad and my sisters in RI today before heading north to ME on Tuesday.

Carolyn comes back from Greece on Tuesday. The weather is looking good for her connections at this point.

The MBTA did a good job clearing the stairs to prepare for the commuters today. The Franklin budget doesn't cover overtime so the schools will be opening two hours late today to enable the personnel to clear the parking lots and sidewalks for the students and facility.

Accomplish something good today!

Before/after shoveling today

The before shoveling scene:



The after shoveling scene (yes, it took awhile):



Now, time to get warm and enjoy the satisfaction of a job well done!

It's official

It's official, originally uploaded by shersteve.

There is more snow coming down now here in Franklin.
Like Boston, Summer and Winter Streets intersect.
As it is the first day of winter, how appropriate!

new lyric?

the slats are snow inviting,
let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Mobile post sent by shersteve using Utterli. Replies.

Snow sculpture

I love how the wind sculpts the snow.

Mobile post sent by shersteve using Utterli. Replies.

Snowing (again)

Snowing, originally uploaded by shersteve.

This is actually from Sunday's storm but it looked very much like this again this morning as we got another dusting of snow.

It is Winter for sure although the solstice is only a couple of days away.

Ice & Snow

Ice & Snow
Originally uploaded by shersteve.

The sun is coming up nicely today. There is a crust of ice on the snow. I was walking on top of this crust this morning while down at the high school track "recording studio" I use for my Passionate Runner podcasts. The outdoor setting I think is appropriate for talking about an outdoor activity like running. The occasional breeze or bird chirping in the background adds to the setting. I am glad the sun was out. It was about 18 F with wind chill reported to be in single digits. I was well bundled for the recording and dressed down further when I ran with the Pacers.

Dolores and I took our walk this morning (after I came back from running). We altered our course due to the lack of sidewalks on most roads. We also did not stop for coffeee but came directly home and brewed our own pot.