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Archive for the ‘Family’ Category

I Salute Pit Bulls and Parolees

Monday, January 30th, 2012

Annice

For the last month, my Saturday night entertainment has been Animal Planet’s Pit bulls and Parolees. I am a devotee of this show that brings together an amazing cast of tattooed characters and critters. For starters, there is Tia Torres, a tough red-headed super hero mom over 50, who founded Villalobos Rescue Center(VRC) to save abused and abandoned pit bulls. With her on this journey are her family and a crew of ex-cons who work tirelessly caring for almost 200 pit bulls at their 10-acre facility. It’s a story of wounded souls to the rescue, and I love it. No job is too difficult for this dedicated and tattooed team. I’ve seen them spend days out in the scorching desert waiting to capture and rescue one scared dog.

Tia and friend

This past week, I witnessed Tia and her crew trek out to Alabama (from CA) to help rebuild a dog rescue center that was destroyed by the tornado there. They conducted a memorial service for the twenty some dogs that were killed and at the very moment during the service when the name of each dog that perished during the tornado was being called out, the other dogs on the premise were howling as if they, too, heard the names and were saying good-bye. And don’t forget to keep a box of Kleenex close by…

The drama is gripping. Not only does this amazing super hero, Tia, run the rescue for these four-legged friends but a rehabilitation program called Underdawgz for the parolees. Tia believes both pit bull and parolee have been maligned and feared and both are in need of training and rehab, and Tia is committed to that — no matter how long it takes! I love her.

Showing the Love

But if you’re thinking about adopting one of these doggies, Tia doesn’t make it easy. She is is very strict about who adopts these animals because they are not for the bleeding hearts, and she wants everyone to know what they’re getting into. It takes commitment and hard work to own one of these rescues, but from what I’ve seen on the show, the reward is great.

Tags: midlife journey, pets, womenover50, womenwritersover50
Posted in Entertainment, Family, Journey, Main, Pets | 2 Comments »

Looking Back on Botswana

Wednesday, January 25th, 2012

JANE

So, I’m back from Africa and settled back into my life (after considerable jet lag). It’s hard now even to believe that just a week ago, I was driving around the wilds of Botswana in a safari vehicle, looking at rhinos and giraffes and elephants. It all seems like a movie that I went to see, and now I’m out of the theater, dazed by the bright outside light and realizing that I ate a little too much popcorn (or, in this case, one too many ‘fat cakes,’ a Botswana staple consisting of a big ball of friend dough dripping with grease).

This trip to Africa made me feel both younger than usual and older. I felt younger to realize that I still had the nerve to go exploring and camping in remote places, with my 2 girls and some camping equipment. It also made me feel younger to try new foods, meet new people, and to see new things. However, the trip also made me feel older, in that I had more anxiety about things than I had ever had in the past. Part of this is probably due to the fact that it was Africa I was visiting and not Wales (where I ventured when I was 19 and traveling by myself for the first time).

Part of my anxiety was also due, I’m sure, to the fact that I didn’t have my husband with me—for the first time in about 28 years! After all, Tom is always so on guard against every possible hazard to our kids that it makes it easy for me to relax and be laid back.

But the biggest part was probably just due to the fact that I’m 58 years old and a little too aware of the bad things that can happen to good people. While Becky was excited to see the very interesting lizard on the roof of our camping tent, I couldn’t help but imagine that lizard dropping down on us in the night to give us a fatal, poisonous bite. While Becky and Josie both enjoyed steering the rental car through the sandy roads into Khama Rhino Sanctuary, I kept imagining us stuck in the sand on a backwoods trail, with no one to come and rescue us or bring us water. It made me feel old to be conscious of every mosquito bite, fearing dengue fever or malaria.

JANE ON SAFARI

I have to admit it: when our plane touched down in Philadelphia, and I knew, for the first time, that I had gotten at least one of my girls safely back on this side of the ocean, part of me breathed a huge sigh of relief.

But then, I have to remember that there was also another part of me that was ready to pack up and go again.

I guess there’s still some life in the old girl.

Tags: africa, Botswana, camping, dengue fever, elder women, malaria, oops50, travel, women over 50, womenbabyboomerwriters
Posted in Aging, Beautiful Women >50, Family, Journey, Main, Travel, World | 4 Comments »

Dad’s Hungarian Goulash

Monday, January 16th, 2012

Annice

I was inspired to cook a hardy meal for a friend who spent six weeks in the hospital after suffering from a perforated colon. She left the hospital weighing 90 lbs having lost 20, and when I asked her what she’d like to eat, she said, “meat – red meat.”

I immediately thought of one of my Dad’s favorite dishes, Hungarian Goulash. Being Hungarian, it was a dish he often made in the winter and one that that I love but rarely make. Of course goulash doesn’t have the same mystique of Proust’s madelaines, but it still conjures up childhood memories. And while I wasn’t able to deliver my goulash with fresh crusty rye bread, it was every bit as delicious and authentic as my Dad’s.

As you might have guessed, my Dad never used a recipe, so neither do I. I’ve tried my best to construct one for you. The key, I might add, is to use good quality paprika. After all, you want to be sure to get the vitamin C found in paprika. And, did you know, it was Hungarian Nobel Laureate Albert Szent-Györgyi who is credited with discovering vitamin C in paprika?

Serves 6-8 people

DAD's GOULASH

Ingredients

Oil
3 ½ – 4 lbs beef chuck cut into cubes (my Dad liked beef shank or shoulder)
3 large yellow onions, chopped (my dad always picked the largest onions)
4 large potatoes, cubed
4-6 carrots, cut in circles
Garlic, crushed (not too much)
2 tablespoons Hungarian paprika
Salt and pepper
Water

1. Sauté the chopped onions in oil until they are a nice golden brown.

2. Sprinkle the onions with the paprika, stirring to prevent the paprika from burning.

3. Add the beef and sauté until they are a bit brownish in color

4. Let the beef simmer in its juice and add the crushed garlic, some salt and pepper, pour water enough to cover the content of the pan and let it simmer on low heat for a while, stirring occasionally.

5. When the meat is half-cooked (approx. 1.5 hrs) add the carrots and potatoes, and more salt if necessary. You might have to add some more (2-3 cups) water too. ENJOY.

Tags: easyrecipes, hungarian goulash recipe, Oops50recipes, Women Cooks, women over 50, womenwriters
Posted in Family, Home, Main, Recipes/Food | 2 Comments »

Jane: Things on my list before my trip to Botswana

Thursday, January 5th, 2012

Oops, I was supposed to post this for Jane as she was flying off to Botswana with Josie to visit her daughter, but I had too many things on my list this past week. So, here is Jane’s post - just a little late! Annice

Tell me again, whose idea was it to schedule a surprise birthday party for her husband’s 60^thbirthday one week before Christmas? It was worth it—I’ll say that. The party was a blast. Tom was surprised beyond my wildest hopes. Our friends and relatives came from far away places. My wonderful niece and her husband came from Virginia with their two baby girls to complete our workforce made up of Lizzie and Janson (her fiance), Josie, and my wonderful friends Heather, and Nora, her daughter. Together they decorated, cooked food, took pictures, arranged the room, welcomed guests–and generally made it all possible. And Sadhvi gets an Oscar for her acting job that led Tom into the room “to borrow chairs for the weekend.” Josie made an incredible 4-tier cake with the theme of “A Man For All Seasons” (with a season on each tier). I got so wound up from seeing so many people I love in one place that I’m still having trouble unwinding! It made turning 60 seem like a great thing, and I’ll let you know about that in a few years.

Tom, Josie, and the Birthday Cake!

But whose idea was it to schedule a trip to Africa 3 days after Christmas? This trip promises to be an adventure, and, most importantly, I’ll get to see my baby girl instead of missing her for another six months! But, needless to say, I’m not ready for Christmas, and I’m not ready for Africa. I’m guessing it will all come together, “one way or t’other,” as my mother used to say.

Here is what remains to be done today:

1) Shop for about five things that are still missing for Christmas

2) Find a plug that can convert to African power, so that I can plug in my C-PAP machine and sleep at night while I’m traveling around Botswana

3) Buy wrapping paper and wrap presents

4) Get international texting put on my daughter’s phone so that we can let my husband know that we arrived safely in Botswana

5) Call my credit card company to let them know I will, in fact, be in Botswana, so that they don’t kick out every transaction I try to do

6) Find the passports that I stored in a safe place for the trip

7) Get one of those passport holders you can wear around your neck

Go to the evening service at our church for Christmas Eve

Jane and Josie

9) Breathe deeply

10) Pack for Africa

11) Clean the house

12) Bake Christmas cookies.

I have a feeling that numbers 11 and 12 are probably going to go down the tubes!

Happy Belated New Year to all of our readers! Off to Botswana!

Tags: feeling overwhelmed, midlife journey, oops50humor, women's journeys, womenwritersover50
Posted in Family, Friends, Journey, Love, Main, Parenting, Travel | 1 Comment »

Second Attempt: Tequila Holiday Cake Recipe

Wednesday, December 28th, 2011

Annice

This is one of my favorite recipe’s from my dear friend Va at Sheville.org. I tried to make this Tequila Christmas Cake recipe for Chanukah again this year, but it didn’t work out so well. So, I’m trying again for New Year’s Day. Here goes:

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. baking powder
1 cup water

1 tsp. salt
1 cup brown sugar Lemon juice
4 large eggs

Nuts
1 bottle Jose Cuervo tequila

2 cups dried fruit

Sample the tequila to check quality. Take a large bowl; check the tequila again to be sure it is of the highest quality. Repeat. Turn on the electric mixer.

Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of sugar. Beat again. At this point, it is best to make sure the tequila is still OK. Try another cup just in case.

Turn off the mixerer thingy. Break 2 eegs and add to the bowl and chuck iin the cup of dried fruit. Pick the fruit up off the floor. Mix on the turner. If the fried druit getas stuck in the beaterers, just pry it loose with a drewscriver.

Sample the tequila to test for tonsisticity. Next, sift 2 cups of salt, or something. Check the tequila. Now shift the lemon ice strain your nuts. Add one table. Add a spoon of sugar, or somefink. Whatever you can find.

Greash the oven. Turn the cake tin 360s and try not to fall over. Don’t forget to beat off the turner. Finally, throw the bowl through the window. Finish the tequila and wipe the counter with the cat.

Too Much Tequila

Pahhpy New Gears!

Tags: easyrecipes, Humor, oops50humor, pets, women's humor, womenwritersover50
Posted in Family, Friends, Humor, Main, Pets, Recipes/Food | No Comments »