TILTing to the max!

~Things I Love Thursday~ The day late/Anniversary edition =)

This is my seventh TILT but my first TILT I posted outside of Facebook. I wanted it to look better and be easier to read and since I suck at teh html, I'll be posting them here instead from now on :-) 
For those new to me and my TILTing, I shamelessly stole it from Gala Darling (who I adore).

Why do I do this? Because we can all use a little more love.

~I'm loving this pic
6 billion people in the world and some times all you need is one.
So true.

~I am  loving my friend Laura. I admire her bravery and I love that she is making the world a little smaller and hopefully a little more understanding. Best of luck in DC!!

~Shel Silverstein
 
~The Quiet Man -my fave movie of all time

~Advil, lots of it. I've been sick off and on all week so yeah...

~Song I'm loving this week:
Adele's version of Make You Feel My Love



I am loving this set of vintage wedding photographs. If you look close you can see the future in their eyes, if you look closer you can see the past ;)

This Thursday just like every other Thursday and every other day, I am loving my husband. He and I have been married 14 years as of Wednesday.
Its been one hell of a ride and I wouldn't change a second. He helped make and allowed me to become the woman I am today. Which has been one hell of a thing to live through, to be sure.

If you have a minute, spread the love.
xo

In Loving Memory... repost from Memorial Day 2007

Day 10 of our trip found us waking up in Paris. It was Monday, April 30^th. Mondays are everything is closed days in France. Most of the big museums are closed as well as many tourist attractions just because it's Monday. The next day was Labor Day which meant even fewer things were available for us.

One of the main reasons for us leaving the UK for Paris was a strong desire of Jim and Will and my dad to go to Normandie (no I'm not spelling it wrong that is how they spell it in France and seeing how its IN France I will spell it the way they do) and visit the American Cemetery there.

Arriving at the train station my sifa used her French to try to get us train tickets to Normandie. We learned that you cannot take a train to Normandie. You take a train to a town outside of Normandie called Bayeux. So we purchased 6 tickets to Bayeux and boarded the train. I honestly cannot remember how long it took us to get there but we arrived in Bayeux after midday I believe and I will always remember Normandie day as the day we didn't get to eat. We scored our free continental breakie from the hotel and that was it. More on that later.

There were several things about his excursion that struck me as odd. First of all, something as important as the American Cemetery is not as touristy as you might think. I appreciate the quiet respect the area has and the fact that you cannot purchase distasteful souvenirs but the cemetery is not what you would call an easy access tourist site. Its not a "Hello American, let us hold your hand all the way to the entrance" type of thing, at least not from the Bayeax train station anyway. They do offer some taxi tours or bus tours from there but it would do you well to learn a little French or bring an English to French dictionary.

It is about a 30 minute 'bus adventure' from the train station to the cemetery itself. The people offering transportation tours to the site speak very limited English and accept cash only. Interesting that this important piece of history seems to be so untouched by capitalism for lack of a better phrase.

Between my sister and me, we were able to awkwardly purchase 6 tickets for the next bus leaving for the cemetery. For 6 of us we were given 3 tickets. One had to be punched 4 times and the other had to be punched 2 times and the 3rd one not at all. Then on the return trip, one of the tickets was punched 5 times while the other had to be punched once. WTF?? I still can't get my head around that one. I honestly think the bus driver was screwing with us, but the tickets were cheap, we were 6 of 12 people on the entire bus and we set off right away.

The town that surrounds the cemetery is called ST.-LAURENT-SUR-MER. It is a very quaint little place that is separated from Bayeux by a few miles of windy narrow roads that you would expect in any small European city. This made the bus trip out there very exciting. There are lots of bends in the road that have large mirrors attached to the corner of the nearest building so you can see if a car is coming around or not- there simply isn't room for a car and a bus at the same time! The areas two big draws (aside from the cemetery) are the Omaha Beach Golf Course (oy) and camping. We saw 2 or 3 camp sites on the way to the cemetery. It is very pretty area and it isn't hard to imagine what it looked like back in the 1940's- it honestly looks like it hasn't been touched.

The second odd thing we noticed upon our arrival at the cemetery itself was that up until recently there seem to have been no public bathrooms at the site and it was simply a dirt and gravel free-for-all type of parking lot. They had recently completed the restrooms and paved and landscaped a new parking lot literally days before we arrived. I know that after Saving Private Ryan was completed, Tom Hanks went on a crusade to help preserve World War II history and some of the funds he raised were allocated to the American Cemetery so I am assuming that is why all of this is so recent. But doesn't it just boggle your mind that something as important as this seems to have been left alone for so long?

Currently the site has a single one room building at the entrance to the cemetery. Inside it you can pick up a single sheet, copy machine printed pamphlet in one of 5 languages that tells about the site. Or you can ask questions from a lady that sits at the desk. That's pretty much it. Soon there will be a visitor center and café that will be located next to the newly completed restrooms.

As of right now, there is no place to eat or even purchase water. I am torn about this because A-we couldn't find anything to eat for about 11 hours, when we did it was vending machine snacks at the train station and water bottles we had carried with us and B-it would break my heart to go back there in 2 years and see some jack-hole selling white cross magnets along with $23 disposable cameras. Is it possible to have a non touristy tourist site? I honestly just wanted a sandwich for my diabetic hubby. The all stainless steel potty was a nice bonus but we were really hungry. There are no places to eat near the site itself either. And when I say near I mean like within 4-5 miles. Oh, well when we go back there will be a beautiful cafe there, I'm sure.

The site itself is very beautifully maintained. As much as it is represented that the French hate us- they are extremely grateful for our efforts during the war and the cemetery is pristine. I guess there are many local schools who take regular field trips just to place flowers on the grave sites. After leaving the lady in the small building you exit to your left toward the main entrance to the cemetery. You enter past a simple sign on the right.

Yes, that's the least we can do.

You enter down a row of trees

that open onto the reflecting pool and you are drawn to the right where huge maps spell out the campaign year by year by year in surreal details. All of the maps are on huge beautiful marble pieces with bright enamel details. You can stare for hours and the enormity of it all simply stunts you.

You keep walking down toward the left and through the trees you see the ocean.

You could be standing at Newport or Seal Beach 60 years ago- very few people, some riding horses on the beach and you can see for miles and miles. Stunning? Yes. Strategic? Not for our side. You could have seen us coming 20 miles away on that stormy day. It was a poor choice and we dearly paid the price.

After standing there as long as I could, I took some deep breaths and moved toward the endless sea of white crosses and Stars of David. And they were endless. Simply endless. You just kept walking and they just kept going. I tried not to look but you just have to. Each of them had names and regiments, death dates and states. New York, New Jersey, Virginia, California, Oregon on and on and on. Then you see this and the tears simply won't stop.

It's overwhelming to think just how many people died there in that very short period. Some towns don't have as many people as lost their lives on that beach. Most of the death dates were those few days in early June 1944 but some weren't until the fall of that year and some even later. I wondered about the exact circumstances of their deaths, where and how. As I walked passed each I couldn't help but think about those they left behind.

The life experiences they never got to have. They were so very young. Did they have wives and children? Did some of these men have children they never met? How many days until the parents found out their sons weren't coming home? The details of dying in war overwhelmed me and I am grateful to not have first hand knowledge.

I also thought about how no battle in Iraq could ever or would ever compare to the bloodiness of that time back in 1944, but how the human element is so similar- The families who cannot be together for birthdays and holidays and the families who will never be whole again.

I think of what incredible sacrifices were made and continue to be made daily. I wish I could make it all go away for those whose lives have been devastated by war. But life's not like that. There are those who rise up and see something beyond themselves, who make significant sacrifices everyday and those who make that one ultimate sacrifice for their country.

So today with powerful memories of Normandie fresh in my mind, to them and all of those who made their sacrifices more recently, in a time where it seems less and less popular to do so and our society seems more and more self centered than country centered, I just wanted to say that you are remembered, today and always. And even though it hardly seems enough, thank you.

The Audacity of Hope

For some reason I have been fantasizing about planting strawberries all winter long.

























Today being a perfectly beautiful day I was inspired to go to OSH hoping to find some idiot proof strawberry planting kit that attracts gnomes or garden sprites who magically drop perfect plump red berries into my backyard just after twilight. Meh, no such luck.

I wandered around a bit more and found this mosaic planter that I just fell in LOVE with!! Look!!!!
































I grabbed it and a bag of potting mix (I'm pretty sure its the wrong one) and a 6 pack of strawberry plants. Woot!
The tag said they like drainage so I threw some rocks in the bottom of the planter. I really have NO CLUE what I'm doing it just seemed like a good idea.
So I pinched and ruffled the roots like Ive seen people do and stuck them in my new pretty planter with my potting mix and a few random rocks. Again, this seemed like a good idea.
The planter fit three plants and I had three left. Hmmm Do I even own another pot?
I went on a hunt and found three clay pots under my kitchen sink. Isn't that where you keep them?
I brought them outside and hosed off any potential under sink crud they had on them and one of them started foaming like it was full of soap.



Evan after quite a bit of rinsing it was still foaming.
I'm sure this could be potentially harmful to my little berry plant but knowing what I have done to plants in the past this could be seen as a kind of mercy killing really.



I pushed forth and planted the rest of them in one pot each.





If you look close you can see more damn bubbles!
I bought the wrong soil, huh Nancy?












I got my little babies set up on two tables where they will get loads of sun. That tag told me to do this and I will follow where ever tag leads me.

I love this sticker on the table too.






.57 cents with of plastic? Yeah there's a pretty safe bet I won't be trusting my ass on this, but thank's for the warning anyway.










So yay! All done!! Look how sweet they look!!


Maybe I should have pulled my broom out of the shot. Its not very pretty but it gets me where I wanna go... bad dum bum I'll be here all week folks, try the veal.

If you look really close in that clump of weeds on the right you can see Buddha peeking through. I believe our yard art can best be described as 'disturbing.'




This was our kitty that Jim accidentally shot in the eye with a paintball. He has promised to make him an eye patch.



What's that? It looks like he's sitting next to a microwave?
Nonsense. Who would leave a microwave in their back yard like that? Pfft







So yeah Fingers crossed I don't kill these ones and hopefully there will be berries soon!!! I will post updates on their progress.



















Happy Spring everyone!!!

Killarney Irish Oatmeal Bread (rolls)

1.5 cups water
2 cups rolled oats
2 TBSP molasses
Cook this in saucepan over med heat 8-10 minutes- stirring occasionally

Transfer cooked oats to regular mixing bowl or bowl of electric mixer and let cool.
Add 1/2 cup room temp milk and
2 tsp active dry yeast
Combine and let sit for 2 minutes.



















Add
2 cups bread flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2.5 tsp salt


You will also need an additional 1/4 cup oats and some flour for sprinkling on the baking sheets.
Mix by hand or with dough hook on electric mixer for 8-10 minutes or til dough is silky and resilient.

Transfer to lightly oiled bowl and cover with cling film. Let rise in warm place for 1.5 hrs or til doubled in size.
Punch down and let rise another 30 min.
Here it is after I punched it














At this point you will form them into 2 loaves or a dozen plus rolls and place them on baking sheets that have been sprayed with cooking spray and sprinkled generously with flour either AP or whole wheat or rye whatever you have.

I made mine into 15- 2 oz rolls. You will then need to cover them with lightly oiled plastic and allow them another 30 minutes to rise before baking.



















After the last rise you will spritz the tops of the rolls or loaves with water and sprinkle then press the oats into the the bread.




















Just as you are putting the bread into the over spritz the walls with water and shut the over door as quickly as possible. This will help make a nice chewy crust on your bread. mmmm

My rolls took about 20 minutes to cook. They will be lightly brown and they will sound hollow when you tap the bottoms.

Recent Goodies

Tee's Treats is picking up!

I made a white cake with caramel butter cream for a co-workers dad's birthday. Cakes aren't really my thing but I can do them. Look! I did one:

Check out my tiny edge piping. Woot woot!

Also I had an order for my (and Smitten Kitchen's) now infamous Irish Car Bomb cupcakes for a friends 40th b-day:


They were a big hit and I LOVE these shamrock sprinkles my sister found for me on the King Arthur Flour website. These were super tasty and I made half of these with whiskey ganache at the request of the birthday girl.

So I made...

these.

I didn't do the whiskey ganache cause I'm a lazy ass, plain and simple.
I'll hopefully post pics soon but, again, I'm a lazy ass so there ya go.
Thanks for checkin in!

UPDATE:
A picture!

What would you have done?

Our phone rang at 4:30 this morning. The caller ID said "Pay Phone" and seeing as how not all of Jim's extra special relatives have kicked off, he answered.

A mans voice said "I want to report a girl is being sexually molested at such and such address El Camino Real... in Tustin." I could hear him, he sounded serious but not urgent. Jim replied after a pause, "OK... uh..." and then the guy hung up.
We sat there in silence for a few second. our fuzzy brains still trying to wake up and process what we had just heard. Was that real?

Part of me didn't believe him at all, sad that I'm such a cynic. I wondered if he was just making a simple prank call. But then my brain started to crank. He gave a very specific address, he obviously wanted to draw attention to something that was happening there at that moment. But was it really what he said? Was someone being victimized right at that moment?

My brain next thought, ok if I call my local police dept and tell them what I just heard, are they going to doubt me like I doubt the guy who called me? Where they going to do anything about something that may or may not be happening in a city 15 miles away?

If I had made a call like that I would have been panicked and talking very fast, the man was very calm almost emotionless from what I could hear.
After Jim's disbelieving and seemingly disinterested response he hung up, so I'm wondering if he realized he didn't reach the police department or whoever else he was trying to reach.

Did he try to call another police dept after that?
Why the hell didn't he just call 911?

All of these things rolled through my head over and over after he called and through the day today.

In the end ur cynic/tired sides won out and we did nothing.

So what do you think?

What would you have done?