Pulled Pork

I almost lost my "so simple it's sinful Pulled Pork" recipe.. so decided I'd better post it here so it won't get losted again.

(I've tried doing this in the crockpot and it just is NOT as good. The oven is the way to go.)

you take the pork roast and place in large pot or baking dish with lid with 1 stick butter (melted) and 1 cup cider vinegar, cover tightly and bake at 250 for 4 hours.. turning every hour.

At the 2nd turning.. if the cider/butter mix is really low and meat is starting to fall apart.. add another stick of butter, another cup of vinegar and turn heat to 225 and continue baking for 2 more hours. If meat is NOT starting to fall apart.. don't turn heat down.

when done, remove meat to large serving dish and pull apart with fork. pour 1/2 of sauce (recipe follows) over meat and serve rest on side ... (we've decided we don't like to pour sauce over the meat.. we just serve all of it on the side.. but this is because there's only 2 of us now and takes us a long time to use up the seasoned meat).

Sauce:

3 drops Green Tabasco sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp Black Pepper
2 tsp to 2Tbsp BBQ spice or rub (adjust amount to taste)
1 Tbsp Liquid Smoke
1 Tbsp Lemon or Lime Juice
2 Tbsp Worchestershire Sauce
1 C Brown Sugar (we use splenda)
1 C Ketchup
1 C French's Style Mustard
1 C Water
1 C Apple Cider Vinegar

Mix all together in sauce pan. May need to use whisk to make it combine well. Heat till it thickens slightly. Enjoy!!

We have the pulled pork with coleslaw and bbq or baked beans. yum yum.

I'm off to start one for supper tonight (it's 6am here.. think it will be done in time?)

Creamy Chicken and Potato Soup

Are you hungry? NO? You will be after you read this.

Homemade, from scratch, Creamy chicken and potato soup. Yum, yum.

Chicken Stock:

2 stalks Celery
2 or 3 boneless Chicken breasts
10 whole peppercorns
Bay leaf or leaves..
1 onion, quartered
6 cups of water


Combine all of the above in large pot or dutch oven. Bring to boil then reduce to simmer. Simmer, COVERED, for a couple of hours.

When done, strain broth and reserve for the soup. Save chicken to dice for soup. Throw out the limp celery & onions. (I suppose you could chop them finely before using in the stock and use them in the soup itself.. I haven't tried that yet).

2 med. all purpose potatoes (about 1 lb.)
1 med. onion
4 tbsp. butter
1/4 c. flour
4 1/2 c. chicken stock. (at least 4 1/2 cups....add water if your stock came out short)
1/4 tsp. black pepper, ground
1 1/2 c. cooked chicken (about 1/2 lb.) (use cooked chicken from stock)
1 c. broccoli florets (I used a small pkg of fresh broccoli, cauliflower & carrots)
1 1/2 c. milk
1 (16 oz.) package frozen corn.

Melt butter, saute onions in butter till almost clear. Add flour and stir until well combined. Add chicken stock a little at a time (1/2 to 1 cup at a time) stirring to combine with each addition.

Add potatoes, frozen corn and ground pepper (if using the carrots & cauliflower like I did.. chop them up and add at this point, save broccoli for later). Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

While potatoes are cooking, dice chicken and cut broccoli into bite sized pieces.

Increase heat to medium and when soup is again boiling, add chicken, broccoli and milk. (I also had some leftover campbells cream of chicken soup that I threw in). Cook until broccoli is tender and chicken is heated thoroughly.

Serve and enjoy. Most of my family felt this needed salt added.. but as one of my family members has high blood pressure, I don't add salt while cooking... you may need to adjust for your families liking.

Of course, you can use canned chicken broth and canned corn.. ..but fresh is best!

Tag, I'm It!

I was tagged by 2Kute, so now I guess it's my turn.

Here be the rulez:


1. When tagged, place the name of the person and URL on your blog. Done


2. Post the rules on your blog. Done Did.


3. Write 7 things about yourself. Keep Reading


4. Name 7 of your favorite weblogs. Only 7? otay.


5. Send an e-mail letting those bloggers know they have been tagged. What.. I have to reveal??



So here are 7 things about me:


1- I have a new schnauzer named Sasha. She is just precious and dh and I have fallen head over heels in love. She's so smart and is learning new tricks.. like how to shred the yarn labels.. LOL


2- I am badly homesick for family and have been for 25 years.


3- I am on the road to being a cancer survivor.


4- I love crochet, chocolate and coffee. Not necessarily in that order.


5- I have two children in out of state colleges. Yikes!!.


6- I am descended from two different branches of religious dissidents, Huguenots and Salzburgers. Is it any wonder I'm a contrarian?


7-I am more in love with my husband than the day we married (April 17, 1981).


I am tagging the following 7 people:

Sue

Nancy

Cris (Surprise.. a non-crochet blog.. and Cris.. get a REAL blog would ya?)

Theresa (she hasn't posted in forever, maybe this will encourage her to start again)

Kathy

Tracy

Jimbo (again, not a crochet blog, but a hooking on the porch blog. I don't know how Jimbo will respond.. but it's worth it to draw more attention to his blog and to his charities.)

Ok.. now go forth and multiply.. I mean, tag some other folks. :)

Chikezie

So sad that Chikezie left AI tonight.

Day of Silence

I just received an email from AFA (American Family Association) with the headlines:

Homosexual "Day of Silence" coming to Texas High Schools
Your child's classroom may be disrupted by gay activism..

Well, that piqued my curiosity, even though I no longer have kids in HS.. so I did some investigation.

I eventually found this:

What is the Day of Silence®?

The Day of Silence (www.dayofsilence.org), a project of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), is a student-led day of action where those who in which concerned students, from middle school to college, take some form of a vow of silence to bring attention to the name-calling, bullying and harassment -- in effect, the silencing -- experienced by LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) students and their allies. This year’s Day of Silence will be held in memory of Lawrence King.


Now, I don't think Gay is the way to live a life.. but I really don't know how it is to be Gay,so I try not to be judgemental. I definitely reject bullying, name calling and harrassment for ANY reason at all.It seems to me that a Day of Silence is a quiet way to protest and drawing attention to the need for tolerance. A student who chooses this method of participating should be allowed (provided they don't have an assignment due that day that requires oral participation).

I expect this to be a controversial post. Like I said, I don't personally approve of gayness, but I abhor anyone being mistreated for ANY reason, whether they be gay, fat, have skin of a different color, etc.

Some links to check out.

http://www.dayofsilence.org/content/getinformation.html

http://www.rememberinglawrence.org/

http://www.rememberlarry.com/

DaVinci Hysterectomy

I just found that there is a video of the type of surgery I had on Youtube.

Embedding is disabled, so I'll just post the link to it. It's a looooong Youtube.. 63 minutes, but very cool. And it's not hard to watch. I was afraid, thinking it would bring back memories of all I went through, but it wasn't hard at all. And it's not gross or disgusting with bloodiness either.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJ5snlmUuxc


Alleluia! Christ is Risen.

Christ is Risen indeed. Alleluia!

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Someone read the above post about DaVinci hysterectomy and never bothered to read the other parts of my blog......

Dear reader,

I am very aware of female anatomy. I do not need to be referred to where you wanted to send me and I won't refer others there. I do not chose to approve your comment because I don't want others misled.

When I was foundering about with my CANCER diagnosis I did contact them. They recommended a couple of procedures that IF I had followed ... I could have worsened my condition.

PLEASE read why someone has gone through a procedure rather than just having a knee-jerk reaction.

My hysterectomy was not performed lightly or for frivolous reasons, nor was it performed by a gynecologist as your comment inferred. It was to SAVE MY LIFE from CANCER!!! And it was performed by an ONCOLOGIST/Gynecologist.

sincerely,

The blogger whose cancer was caught very early and now has a 97% survival rate.

That's where I sail

Is this true? If the article is.. for SHAME. If it's not.. Shame on the reporter.

Crybabies

I was watching Greta tonight, well, actually last night and she had Joe Francis of "Girls Gone Wild" on there again, crying about his treatment in the Panama City, FL jail.

He said they treated him worse than the prisoners in Abu Ghraib. Oh come on now.

While I reluctantly support Mr. Francis's rights to fair treatment under the law... because if I don't support his rights, who will support mine if I should find myself in trouble?.... he really needs to acknowledge that while his business might be legal.. it is HORRIBLY distasteful to many of us, and if asked not to film in a certain town..he should move on down the road.

It's not like there aren't plenty of other towns near the beach that would welcome him.

They should've kept him in jail a little longer. I don't think he's learned his lessons yet.

Snow in East Texas!

Click any picture to see it larger.












The blurs in this picture are the snowflakes falling.

Felted Waves Of Color Tote

Waves of Color Tote

Literally, this is just off my hook. Finished and woven in the ends, but not yet lined.






Made from some of the scraps from the Diagonal Hues Afghan shown in an earlier post (G hook and "I Love this Yarn" from Hobby Lobby).

I plan to try it again soon, but in cotton.

Here's the pattern link, if someone else wants to try it.

Scars

Last Sunday, Feb 24, 2008, there was an essay in the Dallas Morning News called Cancer's Scars by Karen Blessen. It was talking about the emotional and physical scars that women with breast cancer bear. I urge you to read the essay if you have time.. it's quite good.

(March 13, 2012: It's no longer available at DMN, so I've tried to change the link to a different site that has the essay, but I can't seem to get it to work. So sorry. You can find a pdf for it if you'll google "Cancer's Scars by Karen Blessen")

(I'm going to stop right here and say I have a real ambivalence about breast cancer and all the attention it gets. Yes, it is horrid and I'm very glad that there is so much attention and focus on breast cancer so that it will be funded and maybe a cure found.. but what about those of us with gynecological cancer? Are we lesser sisters because our cancer is in a more "taboo" part of the body? Or because our cancer is hidden? You can remove ovaries, uterus, tubes, cervix.. even the vagina or vulva..[and yes, there is such a thing as vulvular cancer] and the results won't be immediately noticeable. Remove breasts and you can tell there's something different right away. Ok..off my soapbox for the moment, because I really want to talk about scars.)

The essay was very touching. Brought tears to my eyes. This is the part that got to me:

For centuries, many indigenous cultures in Africa, such as the Nuba, have been connoisseurs of scarification. These "beauty operations" are both ornamental and functional. Scars are proof of courage and evidence that one can endure pain without complaint. They represent stages of maturity, how many children a woman has borne or family lineage. They are regarded as appealing and erotic to touch. In some tribes, a scarified woman is seen as sexually demanding and therefore sought after.

In ancient India, warriors proudly showed their scars – if they were on the front of their body. Frontal scars were the mark of a fierce survival of battle. ....

I want my scars to be beautiful.

I know the chances I will ever again wear a two piece bathing suit or hiphugger jeans and a midriff top are very slim.. but if I were to.. it would soothe my soul to know that my scars would be looked upon as a sign of courage.

No one will ever know the courage it took for me to go into surgery. I came so close to turning around at the hospital. If I had not had my husband with me, I would've left.

I would like to feel whole again.

I was tagged!!

My friend Nancy gave me the above award last Monday.

Here's what she said about me on her blog.. Life's A Stitch 4 Nancy:

Compulsive Hooker ~ Lisa, bless her heart, has been through some really rough times this past year. I love hearing her adventures as well. She's a say-it-as-it-is person and I totally respect her for that.


Hmmmmm...well, I have been through alot last year, with the nest becoming completely empty and finding out I had cancer.. and dealing with the realization that I am mortal after all. But I've never thought of myself as a "say it as it is" person. In real life, I'm very shy.

But.. I think having cancer has made me outspoken at least here on my blog. I don't want anyone else to go through what I went through because of lack of knowledge. I might not be able to be a public speaker in front of a crowd.. but I sure as heck can type my opinions. :)

Thank you so much Nancy for the award. It was unexpected and greatly appreciated.

Next week, after I get DSL setup, and after I get back from seeing my oncologist, I'll see about spreading the joy.

Diagonal Hues in Blues

Made with "I Love This Yarn" from Hobby Lobby. Reds are Aubergine, Cranberry & Hot Rose. Blues are Royal, Medium & Light.

Pattern is here.

Madchen

1/2 Chihuahua, 1/2 mini-schnauzer and ALL HEART. Loved Fried catfish and raw baby carrots. Was not afraid of anyone or anything, except thunderstorms.

We love you, Madchen.

Eleanor of Aquitaine

Found a bit more trivia (true or not?? can't seem to find any corroboration) that explains why Kate Hepburn was so excellent in portraying Eleanor of Aquitaine in the movie "The Lion in Winter"

Supposedly, Miss Hepburn was descended from Eleanor via at least two lines, from Eleanors marriages to both King Louis VII and from her marriage to King Henry II.

Maybe I can find something to back this up.. the website only states it, gives no references.

Old Movies and CT Scans

Been watching classic movies all yesterday on TMC. Katherine Hepburn is greatly missed. I got to see African Queen, Rainmaker, Pat and Mike, Woman of the Year and The Lion in Winter.

I love the movie "The Lion in Winter". Not only am I somewhat of an Anglophile (lover of things british), but I also enjoy history and the interplay of people. I had always wondered what the "Aquitaine" mentioned in the movie referred to, this morning I finally took the time to look it up. Turns out the "Aquitaine" is a large bit of land in France, about 1/3 of current France.

In looking at some of the websites about Eleanor of Aquitaine, I found this quote: "No one ever mistook Eleanor of Aquitaine for a saint." I LOVE it. And no wonder Katherine Hepburn played the role so well. The part in the movie where Eleanor talks about going on crusade with her first husband (King Louis VII of France) dressed as an Amazon is true!! That sounds very like something that Kate Hepburn would do.

While I am too much of a homebody to want to have such adventures myself.. I do enjoy reading and watching others exploits.. even ones from many hundreds of years ago.

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Tomorrow I go in for a CT Scan to follow up on my cancer. First time I will have to have IV contrast. Hope it doesn't nauseate me.

Dogs and Friendship

Madchen (the sick doggie from the previous two posts) is still at the vet. When I called yesterday about 4pm, they said she was still having seizures, but at the moment was resting comfortably. They're trying to get the seizures under control.

I'm so afraid that she's dying.

Yesterday before I took her to the vet, she was doing strange things. She tried to walk into the pantry.. never did that before. I took her into the bathroom with me while I was getting ready because I was worried about her. While in the bathroom she tried to walk into the shower.. and she HATES the shower. She was walking into walls and into things. She also peed on me as I was carrying her to the car, which is not normal for her.

Last night I dreamed of her, healthy, happy, ready to play. I don't know if I will get that happy dog back from the vet. I'm so scared. I think I'm experiencing anticipatory grief.

Well, on to happier subjects.

Two of my sisters had birthdays this month, I finally got their gifts in the mail, so now I can finally post pictures.

The first one is for my oldest sister. It's called a Celtic Knot Shawl and the pattern is at www.friendshipshawl.org

I know the picture is dark, sorry. There's a better picture on the website. I'm hoping I can get my sister to model it after receipt.






I made it out of Caron Simply Soft in Dark Sage. The picture on the friendshipshawl site shows it in soft sage, which is ok, but I liked the dark better. I didn't measure the shawl, but it seemed to come out very large. I think if I ever remake it, I will try it with dc's rather than the trc's that the pattern calls for.

The next one I call a Seashell Shawl (quite a tongue twister, no?) and it went to my youngest sister. Very apropros I think as she lives not too far from the coast.

It's called Seashell, because that is the color name of the Caron Simply Soft I used. Which I believe Caron has discontinued. Me and my luck with Caron.. sheesh. Seashell doesn't look impressive in the skein, but when it's made up, it just glows!!






The pattern is also available at www.friendshipshawl.org

Update on sick dog

The Vet thinks her heart failure just got dramatically worse for unknown reasons. He's keeping her today to start her on some injectable Lasix to help her pee off the fluid. She's put on almost 2 lbs of fluid in 2 weeks. He might keep her over the weekend.

He thinks the heart not being able to pump well enough because of too much fluid has caused the increase in seizures.

While this isn't great news, it's better than what I thought would happen. I thought they would tell me it was time to put her to sleep. Prayers are working.

Sick Doggie

I was just about to go to bed at 2am this morning.. when my little dog walked into the kitchen.. lost her balance on her back legs, regained, walked a little further then fell down and had a seizure. Not a bad one, but was incontinent of bowel and bladder. Poor thing. So I stayed up with her a little, gave her the antiseizure and her heart meds a little early.. and was about to go to bed at 3, when she had a grand mal seizure. 3 limbs thrashing and a 4th drawn up tight against her belly. She was also showing her teeth, making chewing motions and eyes wild looking. when the seizure was over, she had foam on her lips.

This was her 3rd seizure in less than 24 hours (she had a mild one at noon yesterday). She's also got some abdominal distention and has not had a good appetite since Tuesday. Right now she's walking around and walking into things that are below her line of sight... like walking right into her dish and the cats dish. that's not normal for her at all. I'm going to call the vet when they open and see if they can pretty please see her today. Heck, if they can't give me an appointment, I'll just go up there and sit and let them work us in. I think she's too sick to make it through the weekend without some help.

I'm so afraid that the vet is going to want to put her down. I'm not ready for that. She's been with us since about '91 or '92, I'm not sure if dd was in kindergarten or first grade.. but it's been quite a while.

I guess in a little while I'll take a shower and give the dog a bath at the same time, so at least she'll smell pretty for the vet. If so inclined, pray that they will have other remedies than putting her down. I don't know if I can do that without the kids here to tell her goodbye.