I haven’t been cooking much lately.

Connor is at school. Dave has been working until all hours of the night.

Tax season ended Monday but now I’m working these first few nights of this week.

On Thursday, we’ll be taking my dad to Durant’s, a Phoenix institution, for his 82nd birthday dinner.

Maybe I’ll cook again on Friday.

Until then, I want to share something with you. Something I think is very profound for us women. Something to make you rethink the way you think about yourself.

Please take 3 minutes to watch THIS VIDEO. Then, please share how it made you feel.

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Happy Belated 100th Birthday to Tax Day! Woot!

Yes, today is April 15th – Tax Day, but the actual birthday was about 10 weeks ago, on February 3rd. That day marked the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 16th Amendment, which allowed for an income tax.

Since my husband is a CPA, it is both the bane and the livelihood of his existence. Congratulations, Dave, you made it through yet another tax season! What is this – your 33rd or 34th? Either way, you are my Man of Steel! My Superman!

I know I don’t tell you often enough, but it is true. I appreciate all you have done and all you continue to do for me and our family! xoxo

Yesterday, I woke up super early, before the sun, because a big ugly black bird, a grackle I believe, was sitting on the fireplace chimney of our master sitting room and he was yapping it up. The chimney creates a mega-horn effect that travels directly into our bedroom.

I went out front and threw rocks in his direction. I’m not very good at throwing rocks. I have no distance or aim, but he finally got tired of watching me try and flew off. If he returns tomorrow, I’m hauling out my Pellet Gun!

I normally reserve my prized pellet gun, given to me as a Mother’s Day gift many years ago, for pigeons. But if that bird starts up with me again…

I may not be good with rocks, but I am an excellent aim with that gun, just ask the loved ones of the pigeons who are no longer around. Enough said!

Anyhow, since I was wide awake and all riled up, I went out into my backyard and started checking out what was happening. It was a beautiful morning, so I took a bunch of photos and ended up posting them on Instagram.

Peaches, pomegranates, Cherokee Purple tomatoes, and the herb garden…

… which is being taken over by the oregano and mint at the moment! I need to get out there and do some serious cutting back!

Are you on Instagram? If so, I’d love to follow you. You can find me HERE.

I also made a big jar of sun tea. It is SO good, it’s already nearly gone… in only one day, with only one person drinking it… me!

Here’s the recipe – plus there are still a couple more garden shots at the end of the post.

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continued from yesterday….

When we arrived in Chicago, I went to the gate and found that our connecting flight to Detroit was delayed from 2:15 to 3:40 pm.

I noticed that there was another flight to Detroit that had been delayed for several hours and it was about to begin boarding. I got in the long line at the counter and was able to get us both on the stand-by list. We hung around the gate, waiting and wishing that our names would be called.

After they had called several other stand-by passengers, I was about to give up, but then they called Bill’s name! I went up to the counter and said that there were two of us. The agent said that this was the last seat available.

So I had to say, “Thanks anyway, but give it to the next person.”
She said, “That’s you.” I smiled and said, “Well, I guess I meant the next person after me.”

She called out another name and it belonged to a young man, maybe 30 years old, standing right next to me.

He said, “I’m sorry you couldn’t take it, but I’m grateful to get the last seat. My best friend is dying of cancer and I really need to get there before it’s too late.”

I touched his arm and said, “I’ll pray that you make it in time.” And off he ran to the gate.

See, things work out exactly as they are supposed to.

I wheeled Bill off to get lunch. He wanted a hamburger and vanilla shake from McDonald’s. He barely eats a thing and may have a total of 2 bites. But as he nibbled at his lunch, a Southwest pilot walked by and commented on his tasty-looking lunch. I told Bill that the gentleman was a pilot. Bill is a WWII vet. He was a Navy fighter pilot and loves to talk to other pilots or veterans. They had a nice little conversation.

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I learned a lot about myself and about humanity on Wednesday when I escorted/transported, Bill, my mother’s 90-year-old husband, to Detroit via Southwest Airlines.

If you didn’t know I did this or why, please read THIS before proceeding.

Since I taught children to cook for the last 18 years, many people incorrectly assume that I have an abundance of patience.

I Do Not.

As a matter of fact, I am a most impatient person. All who truly know me will confirm this. What I do have is fierce determination. I am very strong-willed – in the typical Irish Redhead sort of way! I also know that I am blessed with deep empathy.

Sometimes all this serves me well, other times… not so much.

On Wednesday, strong will, determination, and empathy are just a part of what got me through a long, exhausting, and difficult day.

It also took true patience, empathy, understanding, and the kindness of strangers to get me through it.

Here is the story…

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Thank you again for your kindness on Thursday! I will tell you some of the really wonderful things that I learned and experienced on the difficult trip… but I’m going to save that for tomorrow. I promised to get back to you with a recipe today and a recipe is what you shall have!

When I go to Costco, which you already know is quite often, I always go down the fresh fish aisle. Every now and then I spot whole fish, and although I’ve been tempted before, I’ve always passed them by for the fillets or shellfish. Not this time! I spotted packages of lovely pink snapper and decided to stop being lazy and just go for it.

Whole fish is not as convenient as fillets but I enjoyed the experience of grilling them. Not only did laziness hold me back before, but also Dave really dislikes finding bones in his fish. I’ve never really minded that because I remember my childhood camping days when we’d eat the fish the rest of the family caught.

I say “the rest of the family” because I have never caught a fish in my Life, even though I always threw out the hook and line with the rest of the family… Go Figure!  AND, how about that awesome photo of us camping! Doesn’t everyone look so happy?!

Left to right; Andy, Dad, Sloane, Mom, and me. My old brother, Dennis, must have been taking the picture.  Andy looks sad. My dad has a bit of a smirk. Sloane looks confused. And my mom looks seriously ticked off. Then there is smiling Linda, looking like she has a secret! I can’t imagine why else I would be smiling. I HATED camping. Did then, still do! Yeah, I must have had the goods on one of my siblings or been up to something, otherwise, I would have had a major pout on my face.

In this photo, my chic five year-old-self poses instead of fishing. My brother, Dennis, is to the right of me on the rocks in the stream. I have no idea who the two older boys in the photo are. But my tied-up shirt and shorts are super styling, I’d bet anything that the entire ensemble was pink.

The attitude and body language I am throwing off here are more in line with my feelings about camping. I can tell you exactly how I felt about being there – dread and despair! I’m guessing that I was 12 or 13 years old. This photo was taken at Hawley Lake, near the town of Pinetop in Arizona’s White Mountains. At least Andy looks super excited and happy to be there! Dennis looks desperate to be anywhere else in the world. Sloane’s rocking a fabulous shag haircut. Although, I really can’t make fun of Sloane’s hair when you look at the mop on my head. Oh, those were the days.

Anyhow, I remember that our parents would give us a penny for every fish bone we found while we carefully chewed our fish. We loved it and made a game and contest out of eating fish.

I, of course, would cheat, as I’m prone to do, and bite the bones I found in half when no one was looking, and usually, I would win! If you know how competitive I am, you’d think nothing of this. Not at all surprising!

We thought our parents were being fun, but it was actually to keep us from choking on fish bones. Smart parenting!

Back to Dave – I went through his serving with a fine-tooth comb, so he didn’t have to worry about any bones. Plus, I didn’t want to owe him any pennies. Although, you’ll notice that his plate doesn’t look as pretty as my nearly perfect fillet, pictured below.

You may cook the fish directly on the grill grates or use a grilling basket, as I did.

The grilling basket I have has a wooden handle, which is nice since it doesn’t get hot, but you have to be sure the wood portion is sticking out from the grill, to prevent it from burning.

When I shut the lid, it lifts the basket off the grates, so I stick a metal basket there to hold the lid up a little bit.

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First of all, THANK YOU for all your kind, thoughtful, generous, and loving emails, direct Facebook messages, voice-mails, text messages, and especially comments left here. I feel the love and I could not appreciate each and every one of you more! Thank you for your Kindness.

All I can say about the day is that I let God know, and I believe he confirmed back to me, that those hours yesterday have been counted and tallied as double time and a half against my penance for past and future sins!

Love these words of wisdom too!!!

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Since we moved our Mom and her 90-year-old husband, Bill, into assisted living, things have been swiftly going downhill for Bill. I’ve had him in the ER and Sloane receives dozens of phone calls a day from him, as he repeats the same concerns, problems, and fears over and over again. I should also preface all of this by letting you know that Bill and I do not get along. He doesn’t like me and I don’t like him. Honestly, from day one.

Sloane stops by to check on them every single day after work (and sometimes before). Every Day! On her way home from a full day’s work! She’s been doing this for months! I know… she is amazing and I try to tell her so!

Anyhow, Bill is extremely unhappy, completely confused, and very anxious, and his health is rapidly declining before our very eyes. It was decided last week (when I had him in the ER) that he would go back to Michigan to be with his family, at least for the time being.

Sloane has a demanding full-time job, I volunteered to be the one to get him there.

As a result, I shall do my best to repeat the Dalai Lama’s wise words to myself for the next 20 hours! You will understand why when you see my itinerary for today:

Arrive at my sister’s home at 5:30 AM. Leave my car there. Sloane and I pick up Bill and she’ll drive us to Sky Harbor International Airport.

Bill and I depart Phoenix on Southwest Airlines at 7:40 AM
Arrive in Chicago Midway at 1:00 PM

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Traditional Puttanesca sauce is made with chopped garlic and anchovies that are sautéed in olive oil. Chopped chili peppers, olives, capers, canned tomatoes, tomato paste and oregano are added along with salt and black pepper to taste. It is simmered for at least 30 to 40 minutes.

My lighter fresher version is anchovy and olive oil-free and uses fresh chopped tomatoes that are cooked briefly and tofu Shirataki noodles with zero calories and only 3 carbs per serving. The dish comes together in 15 to 20 minutes, depending on your chopping skills and speed.

I began making it at 5:45 and had it on the dinner plates by 6:00… taking the photos took another couple of minutes… as always!

One last note, I forgot to add the olives. And, darn it, they were missed! I’ve added them to the recipe, so don’t forget them.

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For years there was a terrible Chinese all-you-can-eat restaurant not far from our home on Cactus Road. I scoffed at it each time I drove by, wondering how such an awful place could stay in business for such a long time.

Then one day, last month, I drove by, and if by glorious magic, it was gone! In its place stood a new intriguing-looking eatery called Salty Sow, with the subtitle Swine+Wine+Beer.

Sounds like a kingdom of bacon, count me in!

Before I got around to making a reservation, our neighborhood Birthday Girls Group scheduled lunch there for Amy’s birthday. Yay!

Yay, because birthday lunches are fun…

…and yay, excited to go to a new place…

… with good friends!

I didn’t take photos of all the food, that would be tacky… just of mine, Amy’s, and Robyne’s, who were sitting next to and across from me. Very discrete!

The Birthday Girl had the Pig Panini, which she thoroughly enjoyed.

Robyne had Open-Faced BLT with Egg.

I had the Brussels Sprout Caesar Salad – delicious!

Connor and I ordered take-out from the Salty Sow on Saturday night.

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