Do You Know What Your Kids are Up to?

If you are in Pittsburgh tomorrow come join us at The Art Institute.

Not One More Pittsburgh will be raising awareness of the Heroin Epidemic.

Parents, I am telling you, you need to take action, you need to be proactive.
I had no clue my kids were dabbling with drugs, let alone messing with Heroin.
Just put "Heroin Epidemic" in google and see what you come up with. Here is an example of
a report: http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/americas-heroin-epidemic/managing-sons-heroin-addiction-full-time-job-n77391 It's everywhere. It's not just in the inner city like you might imagine. You need to be
in the know.  Educate yourself. In the future Not One More Pittsburgh will be showcasing The Anonymous
People in several locations in Pittsburgh area. Check out the trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqoEtUn0Agw

My daughter went for help to an emergency room. They sent her home. I called them back and said why...and told a little of her story...the professional said, "I think you want it more than she does..."
If your baby were lying in a gutter, would you step over her/him and say, oh, "She doesn't want it bad enough."  Of course not.

Drug use is a choice initially. Eventually it become a disease. "The rewarding effects of drugs of abuse come from large and rapid upsurges in dopamine, a neurochemical critical to stimulating feelings of pleasure and to motivating behavior. The rapid dopamine “rush” from drugs of abuse mimics but greatly exceeds in intensity and duration the feelings that occur in response to such pleasurable stimuli as the sight or smell of food, for example. Repeated exposure to large, drug-induced dopamine surges has the insidious consequence of ultimately blunting the response of the dopamine system to everyday stimuli. Thus the drug disturbs a person’s normal hierarchy of needs and desires and substitutes new priorities concerned with procuring and using the drug." (http://science.education.nih.gov/supplements/nih2/addiction/guide/essence.htm)

Do not abandon your loved one: My Sister Was an Addict So for Years I Stayed Away  let's you know what the proper response is. I am not saying that you shouldn't set boundaries. 

Come to the Art Institute tomorrow, August 22, 2014 and see if you can become part of the solution.  Arm yourself with knowledge. Be proactive. Join Not One More PIttsburgh: 
https://www.facebook.com/events/1464253763827419/
RX2DC is an event promoting the awareness of the dangers of prescription medication deaths an overdoses. 

An creative display of approximately 15,000 prescription bottles, some with pictures of lives lost caused by prescription medication and addiction/overdose.

Join Not One More, Sage's Army and others in support of the Ohio group, RX Epidemic Memorial Foundation. Help them educate people on the dangers of Prescription drugs, who is affected and how these drugs play a role in our Drug Addiction Epidemic. Come share your story, bring a photo of a loved one lost to overdose and be an interactive participant or just come and support.

The Art Institute of Pittsburgh is cohosting this event and will be doing videos as well. Media will also be attending.

He Who Holds up the Mirror

He Who Holds the Mirror

1. 

Thunder rumbles
Calls me
I look out the corner of my eye

Earthquakes stake a right
of passage into my heart

If it were not for
Addiction
I would pay attention

That’s the thing

conspiracy spins
distraction

keeps me away from
paying attention

sugar, corn syrup.
kardashian
floods news

when I don’t seem to see
who is the one holding the mirror

At the End of Civilization

At the End of Civilization

We may as well go live at the end of civilization
in Corolla where the horses wild roam

The sand will surround us
The sea will creep in

I in my button down parka

He in his button down frown

Is it the year of 65?
Silver savers, gold purveyors

“I will try to fix you”

Yah, that’s right
I still do

I know it doesn't work
I don’t care

it gives me a cause

I don’t have any

so any old one will do

Let us go then
you and I
to the end of civilization
in Corolla
where the sand seeps in
and the sea

Pushes us out to the
sky where our ship awaits.

Chronic Pain

Sometime I feel like a motherless soul 

I wander from place to place
i sit beside him

he sits in his chair
hey so do i

corrupted by pain
in a stupor

its a shame
we have no
repartee

just rockets
with seats onto
our own universe

Cut off by chronic pain
Art would say
no pain = no gain

and I guess Art
would be right

I remember when
the muse resided in him
creating fulfilling now
he knocks on his door
anxious to get at the
gem residing in the long
hallway with erected crystalline
guards suffocating his outer
rings

I in my chair
He in his
Chronic pain

Nothing Else Compares

Nothing Else Compares

throw coldplay under the bus just because you are into rap now.
whew ewww ahhh
never understand populus
brains thrown out
jump on the bandwagon

nothing else compares

art
is constant
it doesn’t look and say that tree
is old
it looks and says that tree
is triumphant

My Sis-in-law Enters AARP Boomer Superstar

She has a beautiful voice, especially since she is singing this acapella!  Take a listen:
http://aarpcontest.votigo.com/contests/showentry/1721401 Please share this with ALL your friends!

Hurricane

It hit me again

It hit him

and me

again

Like before

I didn't expect it

at all

It waited until

I was lulling in

the mirror reflection

on the river

Sentries on vacation

I didn’t react at first

Took awhile to hit me

the first wave

the next

the whirlpool

My hand up in the

center

not waving for help

Misunderstanding

Addiction took my son’s love away

He didn't want her hurt

He wrote a poem about her

There would have been my grandchildren

but he knew better

My daughters boyfriend was the opposite

he bit her

He suffused his malicious disease into her life.

Not at all understanding LOVE.

Organic Fertilizers Giveaway!

Do you have a garden?  Are you trying to be as organic as possible?
You can win a set of Organic Fertilizers from http://www.commonsensehome.com  She
is offering Liquid Seaweed Fertilize,r   Liquid Fish Fertilizer, Sea Minerals Fertilizer  , Liquid Fish Fertilizer, Bio Ag and Mycorrhizal Fungi.

One lucky Common Sense Homesteading reader will win one quart each of five different organic fertilizers! Total Value = $116 (including $20 shipping)

Enter Here: http://www.commonsensehome.com/smiling-gardener-organic-fertilizers/#more-7754

Lentils, Mushrooms and Salad for dinner

We had lentils with garlic, sea salt and Mrs. Dash orig.; sautéed mushrooms in olive oil with a little red onion and a large salad (Arugala, Mixed greens and tomato with oil, vinegar and basil.

I used this recipe to make the lentils http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-cook-dried-lentils-116321

Parsley Wild Rice

I made wild rice and parsley yesterday. I sautéed mushrooms (1lb.) for 14 minutes. In another pot I had a cup of wild rice simmering in 6 cups of water for 45 minutes. When the mushrooms were golden I mixed the wild rice with the mushrooms and sprinkled 4 tbsp. of fresh parsley and 2 tbsp. of fresh squeezed lemon on top. You can add salt and pepper if you wish. I found this recipe on Martha Stewart website.  http://www.marthastewart.com/314462/wild-rice-with-mushrooms-and-parsley

Chicken Cacciatore

Yesterday I made chicken cacciatore. I put an 1/2 cup of flour on waxed paper and added salt and pepper. I coated the chicken with the flour and browned the chicken in a skillet. I removed the chicken and browned an onion. I added oregano (2 tsp., salt and pepper) a 1/2 cup of wine and cooked half liquid off. I then added a can of petite cut tomatoes with juice and 2 minced cloves of garlic. I covered and let this cook for 10 minutes. I added the chicken, covered and let cook for 20 minutes more. Serve over pasta.

Chicken and Mushrooms

This afternoon we were driving home and an older lady came on the radio with this recipe: Chicken, Cream of Mushroom Soup plus 1/2 can of milk and onions. I decided to make it for supper. I browned onion and mushrooms, then browned the chicken. Put in 9x12 and added cream of mushroom soup (I was going to make my own cream sauce, but I cheated), covered with tin foil, placed in oven and baked for half an hour. Boiled some Amish noodles and when chicken was done mixed them into chicken. I actually added another can of cream of mushroom because it was a little runny and placed back in over uncovered for ten minutes more.
Was delicious.

New York

It's first time I have been in New York since I was about four.  I love it.
Although it's a sad time for my husband. We are here for his cousin's funeral.
It was so nice having a Whole Foods just a block's walk away!

We bought some Pasta and sauce and some butternut squash and cranberries.
It was wonderful.  What is so wonderful is that it was late...the stores stay open
until 11. 

Can't wait to see the view of Central Park from the balcony tomorrow morning.

New Years Dinner

New Years Day

Sauerkraut and Pork
Buttered Potatoes
Leftovers from New Years Eve

Dessert

Pumpkin Pie
Cherry Pie
Apple Pie
Champagne Cake

Beverages

Harveys Bristol Cream Sherry
Coffee
Tea

New Years EVE Menu

New Years EVE Menu

Appetizers

Small Salmon Patties

Triscuits and Humus


First Course

Butternut Squash Soup with Half 'n Half and Thyme

Greens, Apples, Pecans with House Dressing

Second Course

Sweet 'n Sour Meatballs and Pineapple

Thyme Rice

Mushrooms and Onions

Cauliflower

Dessert

Pumpkin Pie

Cherry Pie

Apple Pie

Beverages

Sherry

Easy Supper with Cabbage and Kielbasa

Today, I couldn't figure out what to have.  I have not made a menu
for this week, so I saw an ad for kielbasa and I thought I have a head
of cabbage from the co-op and some carrots. So, I found this recipe:

http://www.food.com/recipe/cabbage-and-kielbasa-422164

We have been so busy with Christmas preparations that I needed something
quick and I think this will do the trick. I think I am going to change the recipe up.
I will brown the onions and sliced cabbage and place the sliced kielbasa over the onions in a 9x12 pan.
I'll slice the carrots thinly and mix them in.  I might add some garlic, not sure. I'm thinking of making mashed potatoes, but if I don't have a lot of time, I might just slice them and add them to the cabbage mixture.
I'll then cover with tin foil and bake for a half an hour and see how it looks.  Maybe ten more minutes
uncovered.

Let you know how it turns out...will take pics.

Thanksgiving 2013

Well everything is quiet here...the kids went to a movie and it's just
my husband and I home.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. My one daughter's family could not make
because they all had the flu :(

I made a very simple stuffing with a couple bags of stuffing, salt, pepper, a couple of eggs, 8 stalks of celery chopped, onion chopped, some milk to moisten bread cubes. I first put a stick of butter into a large frying pan and sautéed the onions and celery for about 10 minutes. I mixed the bread with milk and the eggs and then poured the butter mixture over the bread cubes. I stuffed the turkey and put the other half of the stuffing in a 9x12 pan. I roasted the turkey for about four hours. (19 lb. bird)

I also had succotash, mashed potatoes, candied yams, organic green bean casserole, gravy and cranberry sauce.

Beef Tips Over Rice

Today I made Beef Tips over Rice



I sliced an onion and a green/red pepper
Sauted in oil in a large skillet, sprinkled salt and pepper over the onion mix.
When the onions and peppers were slightly brown, I took
them out and added the pound of beef tips, salted and peppered
them and added a little bit of soy sauce.  Browned the meat...did
not overdo it.  Added 1-1/2 cups of rice to 3 cups of boiling water and
covered and let simmer for 20 minutes.  When the rice was done I added it
to the large skillet and mixed well.

While onion and green pepper were sauteing, I made a green spring salad with tomato.
I sprinkled salt and pepper and  2 capfuls of oil over greens along with a couple of capfuls
of cider vinegar. I chopped a clove of garlic and added to the salad. Tossed well and served
as a first course.

I also had some banana squash in the freezer, put it in the oven and then when I served added
brown sugar and cinammon with a little butter.  Yum!

Yesterday I Switched it Up

Yesterday I switched it up. Instead of using the Womans Day November Menu

We had kale, broccoli and Black bean chili.
I cut up celery, onion, pepper, browned it, browned 1 lb. of grass fed beef, added 1 28 oz. of tomato sauce, salt, pepper and 3-4 tbsp. of chili powder and cooked for 45 minutes. Served over rice.
oops, I forgot while I was preparing the above, I had a banana squash in the oven....I drizzled molasses and sugar on it (I am out of honey) when it came out of the oven.  You can add some butter it you like.

By the way, banana squash should be the number one prep food to grow in your garden....It is huge, although a little difficult to peal and cut up.  I really needed a hack saw :)  My friend gave me some out of her garden and she said she did not give me the larger ones!  She also told me they make great pumpkin pie...most cans of pumpkin are just some kind of squash.  

How to make a pumpkin pie from squash