Roxie At Peace
Some people are always searching, always asking for more. Never content. Never grateful for what they do have — for them peace is not option. I am, I admit, a bit of drama queen myself. Roxie, of course, is a drama queen. But we have our moments of rest and relaxation.
A storm knocked down my neighbor’s tree a few weeks ago. It took several days for contractors to clear the mess only to reveal a view of the car repair shop. It is an eyesore to me. Yet Roxie and Jean Claude don’t mind. They like sitting at the door on the back porch taking in the action.
Ok. so I went on a road trip to Atlantic City for business with two of my colleagues, wonderful people. We stayed at the Trump Taj Mahal. No, I don’t recommend it. The check-in is the worse I’ve in 30 years of travelling. Rooms are ok though and I had a view of the beach. The best view is watching folks….the Atlantic City boardwalk has the best people watching in the world. The Trump Tower is connected to a nightclub …the Casbah, ala the 1938 film “Algiers’ with actors Charles Boyer and Hedy Lamar. You can access the club off the boardwalk. One of my colleague told me about a group of cats that hang out underneath the boardwalk. She said they seem domesticated – got me thinking maybe Roxie and Jean Claude (who enjoy people watching from my back porch) might like a road trip.
Roxie and Jean Claude are with me this weekend. CCL seems tired and needs a break. I leave tomorrow on a business trip. Roxie has taken to hopping just ahead of me on the stairs and nipping my toes as I step down – don’t know why but there is a lot of love there. I need it. Lots going on at work but that’s not what this space is for- I wouldn’t want Roxie to scold me if I started bellyaching on “her” blog about issues.. Still, I have coworkers who a simply wonderful. My office pal Pat’s husband gave me some apples and this morning I sliced and cooked them up with cranberry juice, cinammon, brown sugar and a little butter. Made some biscuits too . Follows is Tyler Florence recipe from the Food Network web site. (note you can break this down if you need to to two cups flour or even one cup flour just make sure to adjust quantities of other ingredients):
powder shortening, cold, cut into 1/2-inch piecesPreheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Cut in the shortening using a pastry blender or your hands or a stand mixer fixed with a dough hook until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center and add 1 cup buttermilk. Using your hands, quickly fold the dry ingredients into the buttermilk until a sticky dough forms. You may need to add more buttermilk.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Gently fold the dough over itself 3 or 4 times to create layers. Press the dough out to 1 1/2-inches thick and cut with a floured 3-inch biscuit cutter. Lay the biscuits on an ungreased cookie sheet and brush the tops with buttermilk. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until risen and golden brown.
My neighbor Bonnie usually lets her dog out back around the time Jean Claude and Roxie help me tend my garden. The dog, variety unknown but a “her”, is pretty friendly but Roxie always runs in the house when she starts barking. Jean Claude, cool cat, he is, just sits munchng on grass.
Cats in Pose
Cats & All That ™ 