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Creamy Poppyseed Dressing
When the garden is bursting with fresh vegetables, and salads ingredients are growing right next to each other, it is the time to host a salad luncheon. Blueberries are at their height right now in Michigan, and blackberries are going deep red… with a few into that beautiful black color. Even the ever bearing strawberries are producing.So, invite your friends, clean up that larger than life bowl, or platter that you have as a great decorative piece (make certain it doesn’t have lead paint: decorative only) and pile on the fresh lettuce, beet greens, and spinach leaves. Top this with grated carrots, chopped broccoli sprigs, chopped sweet banana and green…
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An Evening with Friends
I am very excited about my plans for the evening! What my plans don’t include: Figuring out a dinner that is both healthy and palatable to the world’s pickiest eater and his brother; Pulling my cherubs in from outdoors at 9pm as they scream and cry, “10 MORE MINUTES, MOM!”; Baths, Bedtime Books and Lullabies (although I cherish these moments I also recognize a break is a beautiful thing). What my plans do include: Laughter; Adult Conversation; Wine; Story sharing and Memory Making. Yes, tonight Grandma has the boys! I am headed out with some girlfriends to Joan’s house for the evening. Each of us is bringing something to eat…
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Louisville Benedicitine Cucumber Spread
Keeping to the Theme of Cucumbers… I went digging in the recipe shelves for more earmarked pages. I knew there was another great one to be found. I found a saved newspaper clipping from the Louisville Times years old. Nancy Pappas submitted “Benedictine” and said the recipe originated by Miss Jennie Benedict who ran what was known as a classy place to visit in Louisville – a tea house. She also catered posh parties. Eventually the recipe became so popular it is now available ready-made. One restaurant spreads Benedictine on cracked wheat bread and tops it with sliced avocado, sliced mushrooms and alfalfa sprouts.2 (3 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened1…
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Cucumbers Hold the Cool of Summer
It is summer here at the home front… The plants in the garden are loving it and rewarding our mulching, weeding, rotor tilling, and watering with healthy fruit laden branches and vines.Tomatoes? I can’t get enough of them. Lettuce? Daily basis of sumptuous salads. But Cucumbers? A few of them are great, a few more are okay, and then…. even the neighbors lock the doors when they see you coming with a bag full!However, before you get to the overload stage. Sit down with a large glass of iced water and snack on this Dill Dip for vegetables. 1 cup sour cream1/2 cup mayonnaise1 Tablespoon finely chopped green onion2 teaspoons…
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Cucumber and Onion Salad
Step back in time when you snack on this chilled salad. I remember my Grandmother placing this on the table in a large depression green glass bowl. It was colorful, cool and delicious! Cucumber and Onion Salad 3 cucumbers 6 inches long2 European type 10 inches long1 bunch of green onions Marinade1/2 c white wine vinegar1/2 c sugar1 T dill1 T salt1/2 teaspoon white pepper Slice cumbers very thin.Slice green onions diagonally thinIn small bowl, mix vinegar, sugar, dill, salt and pepper. Whisk with a fork. Pour over vegetables. Turn and marinade at least one hour in refrigerator. Serve with tomato wedges and leaf lettuce.You will feel 5 degrees cooler!byDeborahonMonday,…
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Ah the sweet relief of a bike ride
I just got back from what is becoming my regular bike ride. It’s not a long one. I just ride in our neighborhood, around a couple of cul-de-sacs and am back in 10 minutes, probably about one mile. It probably isn’t even long enough to qualify as true-exercise since my heart isn’t pumping for more than 20 minutes. Oh well! What that 10 minutes is to me? 10 minutes of feeling the wind in my face. 10 minutes without the children. 10 minutes of physical exertion that doesn’t involve cleaning the house or pulling weeds in the garden. It’s 10 minutes FOR ME, no one else. Well except that I…
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Soccer Camp
My five-year old had a good week. He thrives among friends. He thrives when there is activity. Sitting around for him is for the birds and tends to give him the blues. So my standard answer when people ask me, “How are you doing?” is tired. I’m tired because we are trying to stay busy during this deployment. It is easier for me to deal with being tired then it is to deal with my boys being mopey. This week was Soccer Camp, our first ‘extra-curricular’ activity this summer. If Hubby was home I might not have paid the money for *E* to go, but doing something from 6pm to…
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We Have Established Communication
Hubby is finally at his final destination. After months of training and then integration they finally set up ‘camp’ for their remaining months while overseas this week. I am happy for him as I know he hasn’t exactly enjoyed all of the, what he feels as, unnecessary training. I think now they will settle into routine and we can pray the rest of our deployment time will fly. The best part of his settling down for the long-haul for us though is he finally has his own Internet access in his room, albeit it a bit archaic. It is so much better then relying on quick phone calls. Up until…
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Recognition
Recognition is a wonderful thing, especially when it comes from many, many hours of hard work. MilitaryAvenue.com was recently featured in a business newspaper, MiBiz. You can read the article here: http://www.mibiz.com/absolutenm/templates/template.asp?articleid=14111&zoneid=199. We work hard at MilitaryAvenue to provide for our military members & families as well as giving local businesses the opportunity to support their troops. This morning I smile a little brighter that we have been recognized, once again. It also reminds me to recognize others efforts; from the small things, like the neighbors taking my kids so that I can have a couple of hours of peace during my husband’s deployment; to the big things, like all…
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To-Do Lists, who needs them…
I had grandiose plans for today. The boys are at their grandmother’s every Friday so that I can have an uninterrupted day of work. It’s wonderful and those days are 99.9% reserved for my passion, MilitaryAvenue. I had a whole to-do list of things I wanted to take care of. However at 11am, this little bug in my ear kept saying “You need groceries!” (or was it my stomach?) I tried to ignore the bug but thoughts of strolling through the aisles without children running, fighting, grabbing, whining, wanting … the list goes on… were followed with the thought “Wow, that would be great!” So at 11:30 my grocery-list was…
