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Ferocious Feline

August 30, 2010 by Shanna Hatfield


The Heinous Cat - with both ears intact before his recent turn to the dark side as the Ferocious Feline.

Word of the Week: Ferocious

fe·ro·cious

[fuh-roh-shuhs]

–adjective 1. savagely fierce, as a wild beast, person, action, or aspect;

The  Heinous Cat has been at it again. Although he is afraid of everything, and I mean everything, he has suddenly decided he is a ferocious feline to be reckoned with.

He came home not once but twice last week with battle wounds. I think they may have been inflicted during a frenzied retreat on his part, but Hubby is convinced Drooley has unleashed his wild inner-lion on some unsuspecting animal. I find it a bit hard to believe. Especially when this wild animal is the very same one that spent five minutes Saturday trying to decide if a coat hanger was friend or foe.

The worst part of his ferocious wild streak is trying to doctor him. His left ear, or what is left of the tip of it, as well as a wound by his right ear have required some medication. It takes both Hubby and I working together just to get a quick application on him. Drooley has threatened to unleash his inner lion on us both when we turn our backs. I have to remind him repeatedly where his breakfast and dinner comes from, so he sends me cold glares and growls at me and then plays nice with Hubby – the bringer of his food.

Why do you make me growl at you? I could bite you. You better watch your back, medicine woman.

I think both Drooley and I will be glad when his ear is healed and he no longer requires my attention. I’m hoping by then the Ferocious Feline will have gone back to just being the Heinous Cat.

The Reluctant Medicine Woman

Posted in Entertaining at Home, Musings | Tagged , | 2 Comments »

Summer Fruit Skewers

August 27, 2010 by Shanna Hatfield

Today’s recipe is going to be super fast and easy, because that is just the kind of day it is!

I made these fruit skewers a few weeks ago for a party and not only were they a hit, they came together quickly and looked beautiful on the serving table. A winner all the way around!

You’ll need a watermelon, cantaloupe, skewer sticks, a melon baller and some grapes for garnish.

Slice open the melons, scoop out the cantaloupe seeds and whip out your handy-dandy melon baller.  I love mine. You can use it for making mini cookie scoops, for digging out pumpkin guts, for scooping slushy fruit drinks into glasses. Today, though, use it to make perfect little balls of sweet, juicy melon. As you make the balls, scoop them into a bowl. If your melons are less-than-perfection ripe, do this the night before you need them, sprinkle with sugar, stir and let rest overnight in the fridge.  That sprinkling of sugar will give them a great flavor of they need a bit of help.

Once you’ve got the melon balls all scooped, start threading them on skewers, alternating a watermelon ball with a cantaloupe ball. Layer the skewers on a tray and fill in the center with red and green grapes.  The skewers make the fruit easy to handle, especially if you are serving all finger-foods.

This is a great way of presenting summer fruit and it makes it look like you went to a lot of fuss, when really you didn’t!

Happy Entertaining!

Shanna

Posted in Easy Recipes, Quick and Easy, Recipes | Tagged , , | Leave a Comment »

The Dish Chronicles, Part I

August 26, 2010 by Shanna Hatfield

Anyone who has been to our home knows I like dishes. Well, maybe more than like. Love doesn’t seem like quite the right description either. Compulsive dish collector, obsessive, crazy about are terms I think Hubby has used to describe my passion for serving pieces.

He has no room to talk, though, because he is an enabler of my habit. Just this past weekend we were wandering around a department store when this bowl caught my eye.

And then I saw the rest of the matching bowls and all bets were off. I had to have them. I had to! The balance of my little world hung on bringing these beauties home with me. So Hubby packed them around the store while I fawned over approximately 257 other things that I liked. But none that I loved like these bowls.

These mixing bowls are, fasten your seat belts …. oven, microwave and dishwasher safe. I can mix, bake and reheat in these bowls til the cows come home. They have these great little measures inside.

Check out the big mixing bowl. How handy is that?

Best of all, they are pretty and match my kitchen perfectly. Just like the 362 other dishes taking up space in my cupboards.

When you are purchasing mixing or serving pieces, look for items that give you value and versatility. Are they microwave, dishwasher and oven safe? Are they good quality? Will they stand up to your family using them? Can you picture at least three ways they will enhance your collection?

Here is a link to a collection of top-notch pieces that provide a lot of versatility for the value.

Happy Entertaining!

From the Dish Collector

Posted in Dishes and Serving Pieces, Entertaining at Home, Home and Garden | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment »

Happy Birthday, Grandma Nell!

August 25, 2010 by Shanna Hatfield

My Wednesday Shout-Out this week goes to Hubby’s Grandma Nell. She will be 92 years young in a few days.

We had the opportunity to spend some time with her this past weekend. I hope I do as well as she does if I live to be 92. Although she no longer runs circles around us, she still is amazing.

Grandma Nell has many talents. She can crochet and cross-stitch like nobody’s business. We have a beautiful cross-stitched quilt she made us for Christmas one year that I absolutely love. Her flowers and garden are abundant and lovely. If the weather is nice, you can find her outside, weeding, watering and enjoying the sunshine.

She absolutely loves to cook and share recipes. In fact, my favorite chocolate cake recipe was one she shared with me years ago. Her past experiences have included running her own restaurant as well as being the summer cook on a dude ranch in Wyoming. She was still doing that up until just a few years ago.

A great hostess who loves to entertain, you can always count on Grandma Nell to make you feel welcome. And if you leave her house hungry, it is your own fault, not hers. She has been talking about having her own website and publishing a cookbook. I tell you, she is a go-getter.

So Happy, Happy Birthday to you, Grandma! Have a fantastic day!

Love and Hugs,

Shanna

Posted in Family, Musings | Tagged | Leave a Comment »

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