Hats! The Bad Behavior of Belle Cantrell

Yesterday was a knitless day. Instead of knitting, I was Red Hatting! Our chapter went out to eat at a fab-fab Mexican Restaurant, El Noa Noa, where I savored a carnita sopapilla with a side of guacamole. There are no words! You just have to taste it! Then, we went to the play "Hats!", a musical about----can you guess?---the Red Hat Society and the joys of being 50 and over. It's going to be at Harrah's in New Orleans in January, so if you're in that part of the country you might want to see it there. A charter bus from Nebraska brought 118 Red Hatters to see the play in Denver yesterday. Fun-fun day!

Meanwhile, my poor sweet Max was recuperating after being stung by a swarm of wasps. He didn't whimper, moan, or make a peep---er--- sound, but he was miserable. He had been stung near his right eye, which was swollen shut, his front paws, and back. He's doing much better today, but I felt just awful for him. I had moved the wooden steps to our hot tub, not knowing there was a hive in there. So while I was standing on the top step to hang wind chimes at the end of the pergola, sweet Max was being attacked by the tunnel wasps. Poor baby.

Wondering what the glue-like substance is? (It'll stick to your ribs---har-har!) It is simmering on the cook top as I type. It's a quickie recipe that I will share with you below. Just how brave are you, hmmm?

Quickie Italian Chicken and Rice Soup(ready in approximately 10 minutes)

• 1 quart plus 2 cups chicken stock (I use Swanson's)
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 thinly sliced zucchini--or not
• 1# can Great Northern beans, undrained
• 1-1/2 cups quick cooking rice
• 2 cans of Hormel chicken chunks
• basil and parsley to taste
• grated Parmesan or Romano cheese to be put on top when serving

Bring stock and carrots to boil over high heat.
Stir in the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the grated cheese.
Cook about 5-7 minutes until rice is done and veggies are tender.
Serve with cheese sprinkled (liberally in our house) on top.
Serve with a fresh salad and enjoy! :)

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I finally finished reading The Bad Behavior of Belle Cantrell by Loraine Despres. I don't really know why I slogged through it, but I did. No disrespect to the author, but this book struck me as one in the category of Harlequin romance with history thrown in to give it some respectability. Not my cup-o-tea. The story line is essentially a bodice-ripper with standard characters including the lovely, sexually starved widow, the too handsome but evil and highly sexual man, the married guy who truly loves her, the ambivalent mother-in-law...well, you get the idea. This may be a book you would truly enjoy. It just wasn't for me!
Read on!Knit on!
Eat on!And, stay away from wasps!!

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Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson and Albert Einstien. ---H. Jackson Brown