It's A Country Bug's Life

One of the biggest differences between my life in Connecticut and my life here in Oregon is the amount of bugs. They are everywhere... seriously everywhere.... in the country. 
I have decided that Pixar should do a sequel to A Bug's Life and cover the variety of bugs I encounter in the country.

There would be "Dusty" the Squash Bug who is in a gang called the Greasers. I think he would be the main character.
Growing up, I called this little brown, flying insect a dust bug. It makes a mildly gross smell when you smash them and they sort of "pop" when you do. I have recently heard it referred to as a grease bug however when I looked it up on google it looks like it may be known as a squash bug.
These bugs are freaking everywhere! On the toilet paper, on the toilet, in the toilet. Okay, maybe they like bathrooms. I remember when I was young they hung out on windowsills, maybe that the old generation.

Next would be "Herbie" the stinkbug. I see him being Dusty's unlikely best friend. They are technically called a darkling beetle but because they emit a nasty smell as a defense mechanism they are known locally as stinkbugs.  I was fascinated by these bugs when I was young because if they feel threatened, they lower their head, stuck their butt up in the air and let out their smell. I still find it interesting, but there have been so many of them that they are just irritating. They like to get into the garage. Then when I go to get into my car and I'm not looking down, I hear the familiar "crunch" followed by the smell, as I step on one. Gross. Before I pull my car into the garage, I open the door to see them waiting for me. I get out, grab the broom and play stinkbug hockey!

The supporting cast would include a fly, a spider and an ant. The comedic scene stealer would be Will "Evil Knievel" the weevil. He would be a little geeky and love finding his way into non-perishable foods. In Eastern Oregon, finding weevils in your stored dry foods like flour, corn bread mix, and cereal is par for the coarse.

And finally there would be the bad guy, Earl the earwig. These insects are the only one that get to me when I think about them. As a young kid I was told they like to crawl into the ear and pinch. Talk about a traumatic idea! If you've ever seen one, you know how creepy they are. They can do this impressive yoga move where they curl their pincher up over their head. The slither along quickly on their tiny little legs and are little buggers to catch.

So there you go Pixar. I will leave the plot line up to you!

The Nose Knows

The smell of chili simmering in the crock-pot is filling the house today. As I lay on the couch watching old episodes of Gilmore Girls and smelling the chili, I was back in Connecticut. Funny how a single smell can trick your mind into thinking you are somewhere else. I close my eyes and I am back in my little condo, the crisp New England air on my skin and the sound of neighborhood kids playing outside filtering through the screen door.

There's a line in a Trisha Yearwood song that goes "and even if the whole world has forgotten, the song remembers when."Well I say the song may remember when but it's the smell that takes me back.

My aunt is visiting this weekend, my dad's sister; I always enjoy when she visits. I like to get her and my dad talking about their youth and what life was like for them on the farm back in the 40s and 50s. Yesterday my aunt was talking about the smells of her childhood. She was remembering a trip to visit her grandparents in Portland; how everything there smelled damp and moldy, so much different from the dry, sweet smell of our farm.

I know whenever something has a musty, earthy smell it reminds me of the farm and our barn. In turn the smell brings back the memories of 4H and horseback riding. The leather saddle, the hay and oats all come back to me. So many smells.

What smells take you to another place?

Old School Blog

Today is the final day of the blog challenge. The topic is:
Link up a post you wrote on this day (September 28th) from a previous year. If you didn’t publish something on the 28th, link up a post from that week.

However, since I just started blogging a few months ago, I do not have any older posts to link up to. What I do have are my journals from my younger days. You know, the old fashioned blog except you didn't put it out there for everyone to read. I have pulled my old journals out and found an entry from my youth that was written in the fall.


 I have left out the names of my classmates.

------
October 28, 1988 
(my freshman year of high school)
Homecoming last night was okay. It could have been much, much better. Such as if boy-one would have asked me instead of girl-one. I can't believe she actually asked him if he was going to pay before she gave her answer. I cried all night practically. I did dance "Shook Me All Night Long" with him but it was nothing major. I watched him dance a slow dance with girl-one. I would have traded her places. He held her sooo close. As I danced I imagined it was with him.

Boy-two asked me to dance about five slow dances. I got so sick of it. I began dreading slow songs. When I saw him coming, I wanted to get lost. I don't have anything against him but, well you know.

I was happy to see boy-one follow girl-one everywhere. She ignored him too. She said something like she's only danced with boy-one. I watched her dance with as many boys as she could. Boy-one can dance with me as much as he wants.
------

I had forgotten all of the ups and downs of my teenage years. Luckily I immortalized them in my journals. Perhaps I will draw from them for future blog posts.

My Fave Chili Recipe

Continuing on with my blog challenge, today's topic is:
Share either your favorite fall craft or autumn recipe. Or share what you’re eying on Pinterest.

 I love, love, love cookbooks. Mostly for the amazing pictures of food. The cook books that I look at over and over again are the ones with pictures for every recipe. One of my most used cookbooks is Betty Crock Cooking Basics.

This Chili recipe is one that I make over and over again, nearly year-round. Before I moved back to Oregon, I kept my cabinets stocked with the basics for this recipe because it was easy to make and easy to remember how to make without pulling out my recipe book. It is also the only recipe that I have ever just sort of "winged" and not followed to the letter each time.

Chili
Makes 4 servings • Cook: 1 hour 20 minutes
(I put it in the crock pot on high for 4-6 hours)

INGREDIENTS
Essential Equipment: 3-quart saucepan or 12-inch skillet with high side.

1 large onion
2 cloves garlic
1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons fresh chopped or 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper sauce
1 can (16 ounces) whole tomatoes, undrained
1can (15 to 16 ounces) red kidney beans, undrained

Heidi's modifications:
• I put in extra beans. I usually do 1 can of red kidney, 1 can of black beans and 1 can an additional bean of my choice. I drain the black beans only.
• For the canned tomatoes, I usually go with a diced type with some sort of flavoring like a Basil, Garlic and Oregano to add some different flavors to the Chili.
• I tend to skip the cloves of garlic and just toss in some Garlic Garlic (Tastefully Simple®) or just plain Garlic Salt.
• I usually skip the pepper sauce and put in red pepper flakes.
• If I have left over spaghetti sauce hanging out in the fridge, I toss it in.

DIRECTIONS
1. Peel and chop the onion. Peel and crush the garlic.
2. Cook the beef, onion and garlic in the saucepan over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain.
3. Stir in the chili powder, oregano, cumin, salt, pepper sauce and tomatoes with their liquid, breaking up the tomatoes with a spoon or fork.
4. Heat the mixture to boiling over high heat. Once mixture is boiling, reduce heat just enough so mixture bubbles gently. Cover and cook 1 hour, stirring occasionally. (or toss everything into a crock pot, set to high, cover and cook for 4-6 hours; skip step 5)
5. Stir in the beans with their liquid. Heat to boiling over high heat. Once mixture is boiling, reduce heat just enough so mixture bubbles gently. Cook uncovered about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until desired thickness.

1 SERVING: Calories 350 (Calories from Fat 155); Fat 17g (Saturated 7g); Cholesterol 65mg; Sodium 90mg; Carbohydrate 27g (Dietary Fiber 7g); Protein 29g


What is your favorite fall dish?

Quintessential Autumn

Today's blog topic:
Share one of your favorite fall memories with us, or something you look forward to each fall.

Boothe Park, Stratford, CT ©Heidi Nelson

 If you search Google Images for "autumn in New England" you return dozens of breath-taking photos filled with fiery hues. Picturesque foliage, ablaze with color.

Before I moved to the East Coast those were images of a mythical season. A season found only in books and movies. I had experienced fall, but it was nothing like that. Not where I lived anyway.
 A season couldn't be as glorious as the pictures depict, could it?


Let me tell you, it is all of that and so much more! It is not fall.... it is Autumn. And it does not last long. 

Image from www.ThisIsCT.net Photo Gallery

Autumn in Connecticut is this brief period between the humidity of summer and the cold Nor'easter of winter. The sky is a bright, cloudless, clear blue. Everything feels scrubbed clean; fresh and new. The leaves of the trees turn to brilliant shades of red, orange and yellow; their last hurrah before winter.
Outside, the air is seasoned with the smell of wood burning stoves and the aroma of pumpkin, cinnamon and apples drift out of the local shops. Driving through town you spot porches neatly dressed with hearty mums, corn stalks and pumpkins and hear the crunch of fallen leaves beneath pedestrian's feet.

Autumn is what I love most about Connecticut. As I drove to work each morning I would smile to myself, spotting the first batch of leaves that were starting to turn. The full force and color of fall lasts 2-3 weeks at best. But for that short time, you feel as if you are living inside a folk art picture.

Be sure to read all of the great blog posts that others wrote on this topic.

Fall in Eastern Oregon

Today's topic for the blog challenge is: Show us a picture of what fall looks like in your neck of the woods. Or show us a picture that means “fall” to you.

Here in Eastern Oregon, the colors don't really change. There are few trees and a lot of farm ground that is either yellow with stubble from harvest or brown from being plowed and seeded for the next growing season.

The first thing that comes to mind for me is the tractors in the field, pulling the seed drills. However I did not get out to grab a photo of that.

The other topic that means fall to me is hunting season. Deer come past our house a few times a month for a drink of water and a snack in the milk weed. I snapped this photo of a couple bucks just outside the house a few weeks ago.

The picture gives you some idea of how little color there is other than brown, yellow and a little bit of green.

I miss the brilliant, rich colors of a New England fall.



The other images that come to mind for fall in my small town are the fall sports- volleyball and football. Sports are the social center around here. And the school is so small, you don't have to try out for the team; you show up, you're in.

So that is fall in Eastern Oregon, as I see. How about you, fellow Eastern Oregonians? What images come to mind?

Standing On the Corner of Success and Failure

My blog challenge topic for today is to write about my best school memory. When I first saw this topic I knew exactly what I was going to write about- my favorite teacher. Then as I sat down to write the post, I paused and started thinking about so many other school memories. I pulled out my photo album, took a walk down memory lane and made a list of new topic ideas. I put them aside and decided to sleep on it, hoping that I would wake up with the perfect blog post.

However what came to me as I started to write was actually my worst school memory, but it is the one that changed my life forever.

It was the end of the spring quarter of my junior year of college. I was feeling burned out on school and was struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel. My drive and motivation were gone and my grades reflected that fact. And I received the dreaded letter from the school notifying me that I was on academic probation.

I, of course, had to inform my parents. I told them I was burned out; that I needed a break. They disagreed. It was “spring fever,” I would have the summer and then go back and be motivated, they were certain.

The summer of 1995 was memorable; one of my favorites actually. I fell in love for the first time that summer. Unfortunately, it ended with my heart broken.

Starting the first quarter of my senior year with a broken heart and still feeling burned out was a real challenge. I pushed myself to go to classes, worked at staying focused and struggled to complete my projects. I thought I had made it through but it wasn’t enough. At the end of fall quarter I received a letter that I had flunked out. I was devastated; I had truly done all I could.

I still remember having to make that phone call to my parents. I called my mom at work and asked her not to call dad yet; I couldn’t face telling him I had flunked out. After I talked to mom I went for a walk to figure out what I was supposed to do next. The world was spinning around me, closing in fast.

When I returned, my roommate told me that my dad called. Mom had called him with the news. I felt sick. What would he say? He must be so mad. I really let them down.

Imagine my surprise when they apologized to me.

They told me I had tried to tell them that I needed a break and they didn’t agree. To this day that conversation still surprises me. My mom reminded me of my interest in being a nanny back East; a dream that I put on hold because my parents wanted me to go right off to college. From that moment forward, my life changed.

I took at job with a wonderful family in Connecticut as a nanny for a year. My parents were worried I wouldn’t finish college but I knew I would. I completed my amazing year on the East Coast and went right back to school and finished my degree in Communications/Journalism. However I had fallen in love with Connecticut in that year. Three days after I graduated from college, I was driving back East to find a job. Within three months I got a job with a small publishing company and I still work for them today.