REMINISCING AND SPAM

So Bob and I always have coffee on our patio in the morning. Bob gets up really early......5:00am......and I am at least an hour later. When I joined him on the patio this morning he had the map of Wyoming out and was reminiscing about all of his travels and experiences in our home state. He got so excited telling me stories, that, incidently I had heard many times before, he got louder and louder. I was looking around at the neighbors homes wondering if they were enjoying the stories as much as we were! It seems, reminiscing goes hand and hand with aging........we love to tell the stories of when we were so happy...........and so young.
Well, it is the 75 year anniversary of SPAM.  Spam has been a staple for 75 years in most everyones homes. As a mother of four, I always had Spam on hand for an emergency dinner or lunch. It was never a favorite of mine but a real big favorite of Bob. I know that it is the  state food of Hawaii and the Hawaiians have a jillion ways to prepare it.  Baked in pineapple like a ham, fried, chopped up in all kinds of dishes...Chinese, Mexican, Italian.......it is an amazing food.
So today, I will celebrate Spam.........I am barbequing it on the barbeque along with fresh corn on the cob.  I will peel back the husks, remove the silk, tie the husks back up around the ear and soak in water then put on the bbq on a low flame. This seems to give the corn a "green corn" flavor. I so enjoy my fresh corn on the cob! AND Spam..........long live SPAM!

AM I SICK?

I remember when I was young and would be visiting with an elderly person and the first and only subject they wanted to talk about was their health. I thought, "When I grow old, I will never talk about my health to anyone."  Well, that little thought went right down the drain.......as we get older it seems to be the primary conversation of all of us. I remember my Grandmother telling me about her bunion........."What the hell is a bunion?" I thought with an absolute straight face, "could it be brain cancer.......that poor soul!"  No, it turned out to be a bump on my Grandmothers toe which she loved to show me at each visit. I can remember walking into her home and she would be sitting there with her false teeth out and that foot with the bunion positioned proudly on the foot stool for all to see.  I shuddered........now, sadly, I can relate.........sigh. Each morning I carefully take my pills, thyroid, blood pressure, hormone, blood thinner and my omeprazole......to keep all of these pills from burning a hole in my stomach........what a joke........how did I get here?! Well, this will be my one and only blog on health. I guess we each have our own plight as far as health and we each would like to relate all our stories.........I just hope I can carry on for a few more years.......I think about Willie Nelson, he has partied hardy all of his life.  Drank whiskey and smoked pot through it all and look at him......still out there performing at 80!  I guess this suggests we can be vegans, we can be on all kinds of health kicks but its in your genes folks.  Long live Willie!

NEW BLOG......ON DREDED "O" WORD

Bob and I lived for 10 years in the Sno Bird capital of the world, Mesa Arizona. This was a haven for old retired folks but for the younger citizens it was hell.  These people thought they were entitled to privledges above and beyond. They crowded in front of you in the bank, grocery store and anywhere there was a line. If you had the bad luck to get behind one in the grocery store........it was a long wait while they pulled out all of their coupons for discounts and made sure they received every penny off of every product they purchased. We thought of them as soooooo cheap.....discounts for everything......the line at the Golden Corral was around the block on discount days. I was young and energetic and absolutely detested these "old" people. I made fun of them at every opportunity. If one of them made the mistake of pulling out in front of me in their car.......I slammed on the horn, flipped them off and then placed my front bumper inches from their back bumper and followed them for blocks hoping to scare them to death!!
I guess somehow........I never dreamed I would be old.........OMG........am I one of these people now?!

PLASTIC KETCHUP LIDS AND GROWING OLDER

My Blog will not let me change the title of my blog from Cooking for Bob to Growing Older with Lynne.......so you will just need to follow this new blog with the old title.....thanks.  I have been thinking about all the little annoying things that are happening to me with "older" age.  I was attempting to open the little plastic flap on the ketchup bottle and it hit me.........does everyone have these problems? A few years ago......just a quick flip with my fingers and it would be open but oh, no, not now.......I almost have to pry it open.......as the fingers, God rest their souls have lost their agility.  They still work but just much slower and much weaker.
Have you ever gone to grab the handle on a drawer and missed the handle in mid air and almost fallen over backward!  That might be eye sight, maybe a little of both. I am lucky enough that I can still reach my toe nails to polish them but somehow can't seem to get the polish on the nails. The other day as I passed a store window and I was walking fast I noticed that my head is way ahead of my feet......which I am smart enough to know will eventually cause a concussion! There is one good thing......that is that I have been loosing the hair under my arms and on my legs......very little shaving.....but the bad part is.......it has all moved to my face!  And lastly.......my hairline.  Bob and I are looking more and more alike.........lots of hair in the back and sides but very little on top! I'll keep you posted as more knots and bumps and purple blots on my arms become more visible.  Happy Aging!

OH, WHAT A DISASTER

I have given this a lot of thought. I loved writing my food blog but was thinking that maybe I need to write a blog about this metamorphosis that I am going through.......growing old.......sigh.  What a change in my life.  First of all I never dreamed I would ever be "old" I thought of myself as "forever young" until I looked in the mirror!  In my stage of life there is change everyday, some good but most of all, different.  My emotions range from profound, exciting, heartbreaking, ridiculous, hysterical and, well, complacent.
The incident that transpired this morning.......sealed it......I feel its important to relate  these experiences that I am going through for my own well being. I hope you can laugh at my life as I do.
I looked at the clock, 6:18 am, when I was awaken to a horrible commotion on our patio. A few weeks ago we hired a contractor to add a metal roof over our little patio. He brought his buddy with him to give us an estimate of the cost.  They were both retired contractors in their 70's but seemed very nice and capable so we hired them. They worked for about 10 days and finished our roof.  Their work looked just great and we were really enjoying our shady patio until it rained!  The rain poured in between the roof and where it connected to the house. Now they were willing to come back and reseal it but now that it had gotten so hot here in Oklahoma, felt like they needed cooler weather before they crawled up on the roof to do the work. Only fair.
In the meantime Bob felt compelled to buy a foam sealer and have it on hand for them. What a joke......he actually stared at the can of sealer for days and just couldn't stand it so this morning decided to try to seal the roof from the underside.  I opened the door to the patio to this little man standing there covered in foam, his clothes, his hair, his glasses.......foam was everywhere! On the cement, the chairs, the side of the house, the table, the door......everywhere!!  It took my breath away, I was speechless.......finally, "What the hell are you doing?"  He sheepishly said, "Well, I was trying to seal the roof and it sort of got away from me."  "SORT of got AWAY from you!"  I had to laugh........and quietly spent the next hour hosing down the patio.......
So this is one of the changes I am writing about........my meticulous husband, that always is so careful and precise about every undertaking.....has changed...........sigh.
I am hoping you will enjoy my "old age" experiences.......as there will be a new one everyday.......I am certain.

BERRIES, BERRIES, BERRIES!

I am excited to travel to my dear friend, Rebeccas, on Tues. We're having a reunion with old friends from Cabo in Birch Bay Washington. I remember being in that area a couple of times years and years ago and my memories are always of fresh salmon and fresh blueberries!!  We would go to Washington Salmon fishing in the fall and it was great fun to bring fresh salmon and tubs of fresh blueberries back to Wyoming. We would grill the salmon outside......the only thing you do to fresh salmon on the grill is rub the flesh with mayo....Some people seal the salmon in foil but I like it whole on the grill.....you get a little bit of browning on the edges..Then I would make fresh blueberry pie......still can taste that meal........was so special. 
So this time of the year we are so blessed with wonderful fresh berries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and of course strawberries (I grow my own)  Poor Bob gets berry pie, fresh berry syrup for pancakes, berry muffins, berry cheesecake and of course my favorite just plain ole handfuls of any kind of berry!  And they are soooooo good for you. Misty made a wonderful berry combo for Tosh's graduation party.......Eric picked all the raspberries out.....but I forgive him.......they were so good!
Berry syrup.......Take a couple cups.......set aside half of them......put the other half in a pan with a TINY drop of water.......dump a handful of sugar on top and cook down on low heat. When all is hot......mash a bit with your masher and then throw in the whole berries.........cool......and use on homemade waffles or pancakes smothered in butter.......Oh, my, my mouth just started to water!!!

HELLO AGAIN!! BRISKET AND MY GARDEN

Sorry haven't been on here for awhile but kind of going through a difficult time.......then I realized that I really enjoy doing this........probably more than you all enjoy reading it.......its sort of a diary.....I guess.  So here I go again........

I have been enjoying my garden and my flowers so much this year. Our weather here in Oklahoma is just perfect right now.  Have had just enough rain to get by and wonderful cool mornings with really warm afternoons. We recently added a roof to our little patio out back and I can't tell you how much I enjoy sitting out there.  Have lots of potted flowers everywhere.   I can't seem to get enough flowers and just today planted a few more that Walmart was almost giving away as they were on their last days and just hadn't been cared for. I noticed something today that seems to be a reoccurring event with gardening......have you noticed that as soon as your hands are really muddy.......that either your nose starts itching or starts running?!  Yeh, always happens! I planted two tomato plants.......one died instantly......but the other!!........wow.......I just counted 36 tomato's on it!!!  I had forgotten how wonderfully delicious tomato's are.......right off the vine.........no comparison.

I found this recipe in an old "Cowboy Cookbook".......and it is the best.  Haven't cooked alot of briskets in my day, just because I was never happy with how they turned out........after this recipe.......I'll never use anything else.......I think its the beer that breaks down the brisket......whatever it is........it really works. Give it a try.

3 or 4 lb brisket
1 onion sliced
1 cup of chili sauce
1 minced clove of garlic
1 12oz can of beer
Dump it all in a baking pan.  Since brisket is usually real long........I use a cast iron 10 x 13. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 350 for 3 to 4 hours......Remove foil...Brown for about 20 to 30 min.......in same pan, same temp........Slice to serve. I promise it will be the best you will ever eat!