Stella's Many Twisted Stitches and Winding Roads

GHOST RIDER IN THE NIGHT… May 13, 2013

Posted by Stella☆LunaC in Weirdness in Wisconsin.
Tags: Ghost, motorcycle
9 comments

It was a dark, not-stormy night…..

I was driving back from a long night at Aurora St. Luke’s where Hubs was staying for some medical updates. It going on 9:30 as I turned off Hwy ES onto Hwy A in a westbound direction. The 4.5 mile stretch between Hwy A and 12-67 takes about 10 minutes at a good clip. Being mindful of the lateness and possibility of deer wandering about, I kept my eyes wide open both forward and rear,, for any signs of sudden movement ahead.
I had gone about 3/4′s of a mile when I noticed a pair of yellow bike headlamps in my rear-view mirror. Since I hadn’t noticed the bike behind me at any time, I shrugged it off; maybe he came from the opposite end of ES, although I was certain I did not see anyone when I turned earlier.
He kept at a distance, never getting any closer, so I decided to slow down in an effort to offer my Hi-beams when he got closer. The added light would definitely help him see better, or so I thought…

I rounded a turn and crested the first hill, easing on down the other side, still waiting for the bike to narrow the distance. But instead, as I continued along a straightaway, I lost sight of the bike at the crest. I made a silent prayer that he didn’t meet with some ill fate at the curve, and hesitated while thinking I should turn back and check see if emergency help was required.
I soon crested another curve, and cruised down the other side, still looking for the rider. Soon I saw him once again keeping a distant pace with me. Relief that he was ok, soon gave way to an uneasy feeling as I felt a chill go up my spine~ a crow walked over my grave….

As I rode out of the 2nd curve and down the next rolling incline, I soon saw the rider crest the 2nd hilltop, only to again disappear from view! Not seeing any headlights in the total dark, I grew more worried that this time some ill fate had indeed befallen the rider.

Soon after, I approached the intersection of A and 12-67, but I did not see the rider again, as I would have expected. He simply vanished and did not appear behind me…

This time a murder of crows hopscotched over my grave.

Ice Cream Bread May 10, 2013

Posted by Stella☆LunaC in Back of the Fridge Recipes.
Tags: chocolate, ice cream, Quick breads
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Mom has a recipe for sherbet cookies too! YUMS!

Ice Cream Bread
Use any flavor of Ice Cream..just make sure it’s not non-fat or low-fat.

2 cups Ice Cream
1-½ cup Self-Rising Flour

Stir together ice cream and flour, stirring just until flour is moistened. Spoon batter into a greased and floured 8×4 inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean. Remove from the pan, and cool on a wire rack.

Recipe from Troy West

Bill and Dad’s Excellent Adventure May 8, 2013

Posted by Stella☆LunaC in Uncategorized.
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Bill and Dad’s Excellent Adventure, scene 1:

Dad and his buddy Bill came over today to work on the Craftsman Rider. After tinkering with parts, looking for flashlights, tools, oil, grease guns, more trips to Dad’s truck for a tiny screwdriver, a wrench, Bill says, “it would be easier if you brought your tool box over here! Dad, ” yeah, I guess it would be…”

Back and forth they went, until the mower was up and running. Bill hops on and cuts a path around the front yard and announces its working great, just needs a spring to lift the blade deck. They will go look up the part at Sears. Then they look at their watches, noon. Time to cut out.

Dad: “Well Sandra we’re going to get going.”
Me: “…oh, where you off to?”
Dad: “oh, we’re heading back to Lake Geneva…”
Me: “OHHhh, if I’da known, I would’ve made you guys a meatloaf sandwich!”
Dad: ” oh, no, we don’t need to eat. “
Bill: “…no we don’t need to eat.”
Dad: “yeah, we don’t need to eat, I weigh 252!”
Bill: ” well, I weigh 250!”
Dad: “we’ll, mine is mostly change!”
Bill: ” mine is change and keys!”
They both proceed to empty their pockets~ gotta love it!!!

BLACKBERRY PIE BARS May 3, 2013

Posted by Stella☆LunaC in Back of the Fridge Recipes.
Tags: bluebery, recipe
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Be sure to like Babie Rose FB page and the recipe’s creator; you can “follow” her public profile to keep up with new recipes she posts!

Ingredients:
Crust and Topping
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled

Fruit Filling:
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup flour
pinch salt
zest of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp almond extract
2 (16-oz) packages frozen blackberries, thawed and drained

Directions:
To make the crust and topping, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan.

Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times to mix. Cut the butter into 1/2-inch cubes, and add to the flour mixture. Process until the butter is evenly distributed but the mixture is still crumbly, 30-60 seconds.

Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the mixture to use as the topping. Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the pan, and bake 12-15 minutes. Cool for at least 10 minutes.

To make the filling, whisk the eggs in a large bowl, then add the sugar, sour cream, flour, salt, lemon zest, and almond extract. Gently fold in the berries and spoon the mixture over the crust. Sprinkle the remaining flour mixture evenly over the filling, and bake 45 to 55 minutes.

Cool at least 1 hour before cutting into bars, or scoop out of the pan to serve cobbler-style.

FRIED AVOCADO IN TEMPURA BATTER May 3, 2013

Posted by Stella☆LunaC in Back of the Fridge Recipes.
Tags: avocado, recipe, tempura
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FRIED AVOCADO IN TEMPURA BATTER
1 egg
1 cup ice water/cold water
1 cup all purpose flour, sifted
Beat an egg in a bowl. Add ice water in the bowl. Be sure to use very cold water. Add sifted flour in the bowl and mix lightly. Be careful not to overmix the batter.
DIP avocado pieces in batter, salt/pepper to taste. A dash of cayenne pepper to the batter will liven it up.

This recipe along with many more, can be found at Babie Rose Facebook. Check it out!

Springtime in the Woods April 30, 2013

Posted by Stella☆LunaC in Flora and Fauna.
Tags: Bloodroot, Miss Pepper
2 comments

A visit with next-door neighbor Jo is always a pleasure. She is about as down-to-earth as they come. Her back yard is modestly free-style; let the woods do what they will, with little restraint. Having two rambunctious dogs running about trampling the May Apples is not going to throw anything off.
She discovered a small patch of Bloodroot by a nearby fallen tree.

I soon noticed my Bleeding Hearts were also up. It smells so good outside. The Dames Rockets which have also emerged, will soon invade the senses with their heady fragrance. I think the Locust trees with their wicked tire-killing thorns and eye-popping floral display, will also bloom this year, talk about sensory overload~ LOL!

…sometimes you just gotta lay in the dirt and be down to earth…

Springing into action, getting out of the house April 30, 2013

Posted by Stella☆LunaC in Jake and Natalie.
Tags: Mike, Natalie
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The weekend was about as perfect as could be. Baby Girl and her MIL arrived from KY on Friday night.
Nat and her Stepdad got to hang and get some much-missed hugs in.
Chrystal stayed over and then took off Saturday morning to attend a family baby shower in Racine. Nats and I enjoyed some time in the morning before she took off for a visit with her old bakery buds at Franks Grocery in town. She got to visit with her bud Lizz too.
When she got back, we had lunch out on the deck, the sun felt so good!

Later that day her Sis from a different Mother Brittany, came and spent the evening with us. Soon they had a campfire going as a result of burning some old memorabilia of Nat’s from a past relationship. Silly girls!

Sunday came too fast, and it was time to take Baby Girl back to Racine to meet up with her MIL for the long ride back home to KY.

Sunday I got both Stella and LunaC out, dusted off and gassed up. Some friends came up from Chicago to visit with Mike, made his day.

It was a good weekend.

Chrystal’s Secret Slaw April 27, 2013

Posted by Stella☆LunaC in Back of the Fridge Recipes.
Tags: Coleslaw
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Chrystal’s Secret Slaw
One bag of chopped cabbage, one bag of chopped carrots, one whole chopped apple, chopped cashews, and raspberry vinegarette

Bon Apetite!

Lemon Cake Bars recipe April 27, 2013

Posted by Stella☆LunaC in Back of the Fridge Recipes.
Tags: Angel food, cake, Lemon
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Lemon Angel Food Cake

Easy peasy recipe:

1 box angel food cake
2 cans of 21 oz lemon pie filling or 2 can crushed pineapple

Mix together and bake in a greased 9 x 13 cake pan at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool and cut into squares.

Buttered popcorn nightmares April 23, 2013

Posted by Stella☆LunaC in Random Musings.
Tags: Aurora St. Luke's, cake, Igor
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My head hurts, I’m sleepless in Muskego, missing home, my Guys…

I found this picture of Igor at 2 months, with Mike, on the nightstand at SIL’s house, sleep-over; it made me smile despite this killer headache…

I am one day from finishing a very special project I’ve been working on, going on ** months now~ the tulips happened to be a gift card I got in the mail last week, and the colors matched perfectly! Irony