Sunday Thoughts and a Recipe

As requested, here is the recipe for the Killer Milleritas. I invented them a couple of years ago. We were making drinks at my inlaws and they brought out bottled margarita mix. I don’t consider it good enough so I did some research and combined several recipes and came up with Killer Milleritas. It is a delicious and fun recipe.

As you can see, when I’m mixing it up, it’s a much anticipated event. That’s my father-in-law eagerly awaiting my pushing the blend button and pouring them out. I despise pictures of myself but you really need to see the amazing color of the Milleritas to appreciate them (well, that and tasting them!).

 

We have dinner with my inlaws every week. In the winter, our drink of choice is a Manhattan made by my wonderful father-in-law. In the summer, I take on the barkeep duties with my Killer Milleritas. We sit by the pool in the hot, late afternoon, sipping and talking with the kids swim in the pool. It’s the good life, to be sure! Although, you will note that we are not above making icy cold drinks in November (check the date on the photo!).

 

April 29th — Poem #29

Wings

Fly to food
Fly to water
Fly to escape harm
Fly to find the source of that exquisite singing that fills your heart with joy
Fly to your nest and raise your brood
Fly on wings streaked in black and white
Fly on the wind and feel free.

More thoughts on Wings at Sunday Scribblings.
All content written by Liza Lee Miller unless otherwise noted.
© 2007, Liza Lee Miller.

Saturday Stuff

Yesterday dawned hot and clear. We had to deliver our 5th Wheel trailer that we sold. This meant quite a drive . . .

From our house over the mountains, around the bottom of the bay and up the East Side out to the island of Alameda near Oakland. That’s where we delivered the 5th Wheel and then had lunch with our friend John. Then we headed back planning to go straight to Scotts Valley. We forgot about one little thing . . . beach traffic. Traffic was backed up from Santa Cruz all the way to Los Gatos. We bailed off the freeway and made our way the “back way” which meant we drove back through Boulder Creek again and then on to Scotts Valley. Still, saved us time, patience, wear and tear on the engine (if not the tires!) and kept us cooler!

It was a long, long drive but worth it, I think. I got to meet the people who bought our 5th wheel which was nice. Greg and I bought the 5th Wheel when we were in college (graduate school) before we were married. We had huge plans of travelling all over with dogs and kids — going camping every weekend and having a blast. We took our Honeymoon in the 5th Wheel. It was a fantastic 3 week trip through the Southwest. So, saying good-bye was worth spending sometime on, from my point of view. The people who bought it live on a boat in the Marina. They have been using an itty-bitty 1975 5th Wheel for their camping vacations — to them, our 5th Wheel didn’t look like it was 20 years old and too small by today’s standards — it looks like the Ritz — palatial, feature-filled, fantastic. They are going to love it. Yay!

We drove over and had lunch with our friend John then. John is in both of Greg’s bands (Mind Furniture and Metaphor). John is a rather exceptional person, in my opinion. He is very kind and very thoughtful. We had a delightful lunch with him at a local tacqueria — delish food. Not having spent enough time in the car yet, we did a quick driving tour of Alameda before we headed home. I’ve never been there before but it’s a really cool little city on an island in the Bay. A fantastic location and a very neat feel to it. I’d love to have a chance to poke around in some of the stores. But, we had to get going.

When we finally got to Scotts Valley, we were all hot and tired. The kids were hot, tired, and grumpy. The swimming pool isn’t in commission yet but we gave them permission to play in the sand/mud pit with the hoses. They got their suits on and were soon happily filthy and cool!

We adults cooled off in a more civilized way. I made my famous Margaritas — Killer Milleritas, we call them. They are absolutely delish — and bright blue which is totally fun. My father-in-law, particularly, enjoys having a margirita on a hot day. Even though he’s not supposed to have any alcohol due to the chemo, he’s been having 1 drink when we all come over. He enjoyed the margarita!

While we sat outside watching the kids get filthy, drinking our drinks, and relaxing in the cool evening breeze, I noticed . . . birds. Bunches and bunches of birds — I took a ton of pictures. It was finch central there. There were about 25 Lesser Goldfinches and at least 2 pairs of House Finches. We also saw Acorn Woodpeckers, Western Scrub Jays, Anna’s Hummingbirds, and a crow flying over. The Goldfinches were what really delighted me.

My in-laws live in a very sandy area where redwoods won’t grow — but there is lots of sage brush, Oaks, and Ponderosa Pines. In their yard, they have had a hard time finding stuff to thrive. The hill was already planted with iceplant when they moved in. It doesn’t take freezing well and we usually get a few hard freezes a winter so it often has big dead patches. Trees only thrive when they can tap into a water supply directly and some have done beautifully. Still, it is beautiful. They have the hillside on sprinklers from their well. One of the sprinklers was leaking and the Goldfinches were coming in for drinks. They were eating something on the plants outside the fence — probably flowers like they do on my rosemary. One came in to eat my mother-in-law’s rosemary too. Here are a few images:

A little drink

 

Contemplating the next sip

 

Posing in the ornamental plum tree

 

Don’t you love it when they pose pretty for you?

 

This House Finch was singing his heart out in the Ponderosa Pine.

It was a wonderful day and we ended it up with a delish dinner and a game of Canasta. This card game is a family tradition. Greg’s grandmother (who Ruth was named for) loved to play it and we always think of her when we play it. Ruthie is just about old enough to enjoy it and I can’t wait to see her take on this family tradition. It was particularly sweet last night because Greg and I won — that is a rare thing. I’d guess his parents beat us at it 10 times to our 1 win. Still, it’s a fun game and we’re thrilled because my father-in-law has felt well enough to play the last two weeks. Before that we were playing 3 handed because he wasn’t feeling up to it. He is doing well and the doctors say that the cancer is responding (yay!!!). He had to have a transfusion two weeks ago to combat the weakness and lethargy that he’s been feeling and it made all the difference. It was nice to see him with more energy.

So, a good day. Just what I needed. And today, the whole day is spread before me. I think I’m going to spend the day getting my house cleaned up and looking better — that will no doubt help with my feeling out-of-control. I hope you all had great weekends filled with birds and good times! Perhaps even filled with bird ‘tocks . . .