A Penny Saved? Or a Moment Wasted?

It's been a while since I felt like writing anything.

The other night, though, my mind drifted back to 5 years ago.


My son Morgan and I had gone to store.  Upon leaving and getting into the car, I noticed a penny on the ground.  I showed Morgan and told him to pick it up.  He declined.  I told him the old adage, a penny saved is a penny earned.  He shot back, a penny picked up is a moment wasted!  Whoa! What a come back!  That statement from that 18 year old really made me stop to think   Was it a moment wasted or was it earned to bend over to pick up a penny off the ground?

Recently, Morgan came to visit.  He asked me if I remembered him telling me that.  I said I did.  Well, he reversed his position!  The penny is worth nearly 3 cents, he told me.  I guess the copper, or what little copper in the penny is more valuable than the penny itself. I Googled the cost to make a penny and came across this site http://news.coinupdate.com/cost-to-make-penny-and-nickel-rises-1139/.  

The days of the penny may be numbered!

Maybe Morgan will now pick up a penny off the ground.  I, on the other hand, will continue to deliberate if it is indeed a penny earned or a moment wasted?

Salmon

A friend gave me about 100 pounds of salmon.  What to do, what to do.

I'm not a big fish eater, mainly because of fish bones.  But occasionally I like a salmon steak.

I have found the easiest way to cook salmon, is to broil it.  My favorite recipe is to salt and pepper the fillet, broil it just until done, and top it with a generous pat of compound butter.  It's easy, delicious and makes for a very nice presentation.  Serve with asparagus spears.

Compound Butter

1/4 pound butter softened (1 cube)
1/2 shredded jalapeno pepper
1 medium clove of garlic shredded

Blend pepper and garlic in softened butter and place on waxed paper and roll into a log or get fancy and use candy molds.
Refrigerate for a couple of hours, for flavors to develop.


But with so much fish, I decided I would smoke most of it.  Since I have never smoked anything (and I mean anything) in my life, I had to do research.  The results were delicious!

I borrowed a home made smoker barrel from a friend that worked well.  Since the first time was a success, I am going to make my own smoker.  Here's how:

You will need a 30 gallon galvanized garbage can with lid.
Drill a hole 2 inches from the bottom, wide enough for a cord to fit through.
An electric hot plate
An iron skillet

Place the hot plate in the bottom of the can and extend the cord through the opening.  Place the iron skillet on top of the hot plate.  Smoke wood chips (any hard wood) in water for 30 minutes to an 1 hour and place in skillet.   You may want to drill additional holes around the bottom of the can for air. Cover can. That's it. A smoker.

For the brine:

1 1/2 cup sea salt
2 cups brown sugar
1 gallon water

Mix all ingredients together and soak fish in brine for 3 to 5 hours.
When done, rinse fish.

Skewer fillets on wires to suspend from top, or cut into chunks and place on a grilling rack, and let air dry for about 2 hours in a cool drafty place.

Place in smoker, cover with lid,  and smoke for 3 to 5 hours. You will probably need to add more soaked wood chips to keep the smoke going  for that length of time. When done the internal temperature of fish should be about 140 degrees.

When done let fish rest and cool.  Place in seal-able bags and freeze until ready to use.

For a nice appetizer flake some salmon, mix with cream cheese and eat on a Ritz cracker.

 A reward for a job well done!

Pacific Migratory Flyway

Twenty years ago my husband moved his wood shop to where we  live now.  He had signed the lease on the shop building, and had brought us up to see his new work space.  It was January 1, 1992.  My youngest was 6 weeks old.  It was a warm beautiful winter's day.  We loaded all into the family's wagon and headed north.  As we were driving the back roads we noticed there was a wildlife refuge.  We decided to tour it.  What an incredibly beautiful place.  Mind you this was 20 years ago. 

This refuge happened to be on the Pacific Flyway for migratory birds. There were thousands upon thousands of them. This refuge has provided a winter haven for ducks, geese, and swans. Waterfowl migrate here by the millions from as far away as the Arctic regions of Alaska, Canada, and Siberia. 

We were awed at God's creative works!

This year, January 1, 2012, was a warm beautiful winter's day.  I awoke thinking this was an anniversary of sorts.  My mind drifted to the wildlife refuge.  So we went.  My oldest daughter and her husband, my youngest daughter, and I drove the 6 mile trail.  My, a lot has changed in 20 years.  There weren't as many water fowl and fewer varieties of birds.  California Department of Fish & Game have found overall duck numbers have declined.  I can attest to that!  But one had to think - what's happened to the birds?   Man's way of doing things has certainly impacted us all - even the birds.

Still it was an incredibly beautiful place to visit.  If you happen to pass by a wildlife refuge, stop in, you won't be disappointed.

Time Will Tell

In a few days a new year will begin.  This past year for me was a life changer!  The past 6 months have been difficult, to say the least.

I don't know about you, but I'm proposing to wipe 2011 off the annals of time.  While we're at it let's eliminate 2010 as well.

Last year at this time, my husband and I went to one of our favorite get-a-way spots to plan our goals for the coming year.

All  horribly backfired on us!

This year I plan to return to that favorite get-a-way, alone, to plan and set goals for 2012.  It will be hard I know, and things will never be the same, but I've got to look and move forward.

I pray that 2012 will be a better year than 2011.  I'm not asking for a great year, but a good one.  Time will tell.

I hope 2012 will be a good year for you too!

The Week That Was

William "Bill" Duncan
April 11, 1929 - November 18, 2011

We, all in the household, were busy preparing for a large craft show when the phone rang.  We just let the answering machine pick it up.

"Karen, this is Margy.  It's important - please call me back!"

I ran to get the phone .

My sister-in-law was the bearer of bad news.

"My Dad was killed today in a car crash!"

"What?"  I asked.

She conveyed the details.

There were so many things I had wanted to tell him.  There were so many things of Barry's I wanted to share with him!

Unfinished business is the worst kind, my husband used to say.  He was right!

After the horrible news, we all retreated to our own private corners, the wind knocked out of our sails once again.

He will be sorely missed!

It Was a Good Week

A couple of weeks ago I wrote that I'd changed Murphy's law to Karita's law.  Well last week I changed it back!  Things have a way of reversing itself - if you let it.  It had not been going well.  I couldn't find the paperwork to a van I was selling,  my car failed smog, my water line broke.  Last week went better.

I went to the DMV,  begged mercy, and walked out with the transfer to the van with the title coming in a weeks time.  The buyer of the van emailed me he had been dreaming about the van and still wanted it.  Transaction consummated!

I told you it cost $300.00 to get the car smogged and tags.  But I decided to keep this car.  I just couldn't part with it.  It was my husband's and my date car.  We called her Black Beauty.  Now that I've decided to keep her I feel good!

My daughter and son-in-law went on an extended vacation via Amtrak to New York.  They then rented a car and went to Toronto and Montreal Canada.  I picked them up at the train depot.  I asked my son-in-law if he knew how to fix a broken water pipe.  He said no.  I told him he was going to learn the next day.  I called a friend and asked him to check on him to make sure it was done correctly.  He obliged, and walked Marty through the process.  Marty did an excellent job, the pipe got fixed and he learned a new skill!

I love it when a plan (or things) comes together!

So this week I'm optimistic, and I plan to stay that way!