Pic Today 10/20/11

HOW JOURNALS HEAL

Journals help us feel good.

They help us express ourselves,

through words or sketches,

no matter how fine or finished.

Pen or pencil, we ramble on.

It's our quiet time,

how we speak out.

How we get in touch,

deal with issues, resolve problems.

When words fail,

a picture says it all.

Grab your journal.

Let it flow.

Express yourself!

Pic Today 10/19/11

TIME TO CURE FRESH OLIVES

California new crop olives have arrived.

Time to cure a batch.

1. Clean the curing jars.

2. Rinse and check olives.

3. Prepare curing ingredients:

o Sliced lemons

o Fresh oregano

o Fresh garlic

o Jalapeno peppers

o 1-cup vinegar

o 1/4-cup olive oil

o juice of 1 lemon

4. Dissolve salt to make brine

(Add salt until egg floats!)

5. Layer ingredients with olives

6. Cover with vinegar/brine mixture

Loosely cover and let cure for 4-6 months

in cool, dark place.

My Sicilian friend, John, cures his own

family recipe of olives each fall.

Yes, they taste better than "store bought."

Pic Today 10/18/11

MY RED BIKE, BLUE HELMET,

AND WORLD SERIES COOKIE

Important views

inside my apartment today.

Especially the cookie.

(Congratulations St. Louis Cardinals,

and your trip to the 2011 World Series.)

Pic Today 10/17/11

THEY DID IT

Congratulations St. Louis Baseball Cardinals.

You earned your spot

at the 2011 World Series Championship Series.

You came from behind late in the season,

and proved that teamwork and

believing in winning

make all the difference.

Your home town is proud of you.

Cardinals soar high ! ! !

Pic Today 10/16/11

MISSOURI PECANS:

A HARD NUT TO CRACK

Pecans are species of the American hickory nut,

and a major crop in Missouri.

As pecan nuts split open (in October),

they fall to the ground.

If the squirrels and deer don't beat you to it,

pecans are easily collected beneath the tree.

The outer husk is easily removed

revealing the hard inner pecan shell.

(Local indians used rocks to smash these nuts open.)

Delicious pecan "meats" are a good source

of protein, and rich in omega-6 fatty acids.

And fresh baked pecan pies are a delicious treat.

(And yes, I ate that first slice of pie.)

YUM!