Cleaning Silver

I'm helping Carly with a bridal shower for Savannah tomorrow.  I got out several silver serving pieces last night, and they were tarnished to nearly black.  I quickly filled the sink with warm water.  I placed a large piece of aluminum foil at the bottom of the sink, then poured in 2-3 tablespoons of table salt.  I put a large silver platter in the sink, with another piece of aluminum foil on top.  Within a few minutes, I rinsed the platter and most of the tarnish was gone!  Voila!  Ready for the party!

The reason this works... when salt, aluminum foil, and water are combined, they create an ion exchange, so the tarnish on the silver is transferred to the aluminum foil.  Try it with silver flatware.  The results are amazing and there's no silver polishing!

Cowboys

Papa joined, Larry Sr., Larrie Jr., and Tom this morning, to ride part way across the ranch, to move cows from one pasture to another.  We love it that the cowboys (they are actually ranchers) we see so often are always smiling and happy.

Giant Green Caterpillar

I saw this giant green caterpillar on the patio yesterday.  It was 3+" long with a pointed tail.  

It will become a large moth.  

Neighbor Horses

Our nearest ranch neighbor, Warbonnet Ranch, has fifty or more horses.  They breed, ride, and train horses.  As we drive in and out of our ranch, we see Warbonnet's horses.  Many of them graze in the pasture we drive through to get to our gate.  I took photos of them this morning, as they grazed on new grass.  They are clearly enjoying the results of the wet summer. 

Banana Splits for Dinner

Papa and I try to eat healthy meals every day.  Occasionally, after we've had a big lunch, and we aren't too hungry for dinner, we opt to make banana splits for dinner.  Tonight was one of those nights!  We are in Tucson and we have two flavors of Blue Bell Ice Cream, homemade vanilla and strawberry.  We layered fresh blueberries and bananas, then two scoops of ice cream, topped with drizzled chocolate and caramel sauces.  YUM!  We like to think we're getting calcium from the ice cream, antioxidants from the blueberries, and potassium from the bananas.  Mostly we really enjoyed having banana splits for dinner!

Peach and Blueberry Crumble

I've made this Ina Garten recipe several times over the past month, most recently with plums.  All stone fruits work well, with or without the blueberries.

For the fruit:

2 pounds firm ripe peaches or nectarines (6-8) or plums (12-14)

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 cup fresh blueberries (1/2 pint)

For the crumble:

1 cup all purpose flour

1/3/ cup sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 stick cold unsalted butter, diced

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Immerse peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds to 1 minutes, until their skins peel off easily.  Place them immediately in cold water.  Peel the peaches, slice them into thick wedges, and place them in a large bowl.  Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, and flour.  Toss well.  Gently mix in the blueberries.  Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes.  Spoon the mixture into a prepared baking dish or into ramekins. 

For the topping, combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Mix on low speed until the butter is the size of peas.  Rub the mixture with your fingertips until its in big crumbles, then sprinkle evenly over the fruit.  Place baking dish or ramekins on a sheet pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the tops are browned and crisp and the juices are bubbly. 

You may make ahead, and store unbaked in the refrigerator to bake before dinner. 

Checking New Fence

We have a fence crew staying in the bunkhouse, as they are installing about 7.5 miles of new fence.  Papa and I hiked this morning to check on their progress.   We saw deep blue wild morning glories. We came within a few feet of a herd of deer, resting under a tree.  We enjoyed walking through thigh high grass and across burbling creeks. 

Rain Clouds at Sunrise

Rain clouds at sunrise are a good omen for the day, on a desert mountain ranch.

Family Photos

Carly, Colter, Madilyn, Colter Lee, and Traven came over this afternoon about 5.  We rode 

up the hill and I snapped lots of family photos in the grass.  A few favorites...

The Importance of Touch and Time

One day this past week, I visited with Savannah.  She is getting married in November and I'm helping with a couple of bridal shower events for her.  We were talking about making marriage and family work over the years.  Two important factors for me are touch and time.  Touch, as in giving a hug or holding a hand to show you care.  Time, as in "being in the moment" and enjoying others company.

Our children and grandchildren live 2000+ miles away from us.  We don't see them often enough, but our touch and our time is worth more than any other gifts we can give them.  When our children and grandchildren are old and we are long gone, I am sure they will have forgotten all (or most of) the material gifts they got along the way, but they will remember the time we spent together, the trips we took, the laughs we shared, exploring the ranch, lighting luminarias, and more.