Come Play In May - Inside My Purse

It's hard to believe that it's just about the end of the month. I've blogged just about every day of May. Pretty much a record, for me. So, today's prompt is what's in my purse. Apparently, I am a hoarder of eye drops.

The contents: one wallet, one checkbook, 31 Gifts wristlet with a lanyard from Home Depot so I can wear it around my neck, garage door opener, glasses case with cleaning cloth, keys, nail clippers, lip gloss, one tube of lip balm, one EOS lip sphere, loose change, pocket knife with black canvas cover (pink camo. My husband *gets* me), two lottery tickets, my shopper card to Quilt Country, a packet of Taco Bell fire sauce, receipts, Bear's new rabies tag still in envelope, one cortaid dabber, hand cream, a bottle of Zyrtec, two pens, a Larabar, mini flashlight from Walgreens that I got at the last 5k I did, a puffy mint and an empty puffy mint wrapper, and last but not least, FIVE bottles of eye drops.

Come Play In May - A Day/Week/Month In Pictures

Come Play In May - Book Report

It's no surprise to anyone that I read. A lot. I have books in my sewing room/library. I have books in the living room. I have books on bookshelves in my office. I have books on the window sill next to my night table. Lots and lots of books. It's heredity. What I don't have, is sophisticated taste in books. I read sci-fi/fantasy books, I read YA supernatural books, I read gardening and homesteading books, I read the kind of trash you can download for free on your kindle, and one of my favorite genres, I read romance novels.

I was a latecomer to the world of regency romances. Sure, I knew friends that read them, but they didn't appeal to me. And then I read my first Barbara Cartland book. The next thing I knew, I was prowling through the paperback book exchange in Guilford, looking for inexpensive copies of her books. And let me tell you, she wrote plenty of books for me to prowl for. Then I moved on to the harder stuff: Kathleen Woodiwiss, Jude Devereaux, Johanna Lindsey, Shirley Busbee. I was hooked. And this was all before anyone actually knew Fabio had a name.  But, alas, I had to move on again. That's the sad part about reading everything someone's written. You have to find new things to read. Eventually, I stumbled upon Stephanie Laurens. The book above is the latest of hers that I've read. While I did enjoy it, I didn't enjoy it as much as her earlier books. If you are a fan of Regency romances, I highly recommend the Cynster novels.

In Devil's Bride, the first of the Cynster novels, we meet Honoria Anstruther-Wetherby, a finishing governess of aristocratic birth who wants to live a life of adventure, and Sylvester "Devil" Cynster, the Duke of St. Ives. Honoria, in an attempt to help a dying young man, finds herself trapped in a compromising position with the young man's dark and mysterious cousin, the Duke. Forced by a terrible storm to spend the night in a woodcutter's cottage, Devil decides that he wants to make the headstrong young woman his Duchess. Together, they embark on an adventure of solving Devil's young cousin's murder, all the while the Duke attempts to ensnare his Duchess.

Come Play In May - Feel A Thing

The Aussie and I playing with BearPup aka Wookie Boy. I feel fur, and love, and puppy sneezes.

Come Play In May - Tell Me A Story

"Oh, come off it," She said. "You didn't seriously think I was going leave it alone, did you?"

The kitchen was silent except for the rhythmic sound of her chopping vegetables. One of the dogs hovered nearby, hoping for something to fall on the floor.

"I mean, when, have you ever known me to leave well enough alone? It's against my nature not to mess with things. I'm not saying that you weren't good, but you just weren't right for me, so I had to do something."

She continued to chop the vegetables, pausing only to scoop them in to the bowl. They looked pretty, she thought, jumbled together, with bits of the red pepper peeking through the various shades of green.

"I hope you aren't offended. I didn't mean to insult you."

She opened the jar of mayonnaise and spooned it in to the vegetables. Tasting it, she decided that it needed something else, something to brighten it up. Turning around, she reached into the cabinet and pulled out a bottle of rice wine vinegar. Spying the Togarashi spice and wasabi powder she pulled them out, too. She splashed a liberal amount of the rice wine vinegar to the mixture and a spoonful of each the Togarashi and wasabi, and stirred.

"Can you at least try to see where I'm coming from just this once?"

That works, she thought, and spooned some in to a bowl. She garnished it with a sprinkling of chopped peanuts, and stuck a fork in it.

"Well, if you aren't going to say anything, then that's it. I'm done explaining myself to you."

She picked up the bowl and walked towards her office, raising the fork to her mouth as she went.

Crunchy Pea Salad (adapted from Shrinking Kitchen's recipe)

1 bag of frozen green peas

1 can of sliced water chestnuts, chopped

2 scallions, thinly sliced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

2 ribs of celery, diced 

1 small bag of snow peas, thinly sliced

1/2 cup light mayonnaise 

2 T rice wine vinegar

1 t Togarashi spice

1 t wasabi powder (or to taste)

1/2 cup chopped dry roasted peanuts

Mix the vegetables together with the spices, mayo and vinegar. Chill for at least a couple of hours. Serve with chopped peanuts on top.

Come Play In May - Wordless Wednesday - My Effing Uterus (and Hormones aka this is kinda what a hot flash looks like)

My Favorite Summer Salad

Mmmmm. Crunch, crunch, crunch. You'll have to excuse me, I'm crunching away on this salad as I am typing. I have been making an effort to include more vegetable dishes in my meal plans. At the risk of making the baked eggs in swiss chard for the third time in a week, I decided to switch things up and make my cauliflower and broccoli salad. It's a salad that eats like a meal, and I can eat bowlfuls of this salad. The addition of the cauliflower gives it a wonderful crunch.

Cauliflower and Broccoli Summer Salad

1 head of broccoli
1 head cauliflower
1 c coleslaw dressing
1/4 red onion, diced
3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 T apple cider vinegar or herb vinegar
1 T lemon or lime juice (or sprinkle in about 1 t of True Lemon)
1/2 c bacon bits
1/2 c Craisins
1/2 c toasted pumpkin seeds

Trim and cut the broccoli and cauliflower into bite sized pieces. Wash and drain the broccoli and cauliflower and place in a large bowl. Mix in the coleslaw dressing, making sure to coat the vegetables well. Cover and chill for at least two hours so that the flavors mix.

Stir the broccoli and cauliflower mixture. Add in the diced red onion, vinegar, lemon juice, shredded cheese, chopped eggs, bacon bits, Craisins, and pumpkin seeds. Mix well and enjoy!