Coming Home

Pioneer Woman asked for Coming Home shots, and I have this one of my dad's older brother returning from WWII, flanked by his bride and his mother (my grandmother sporting a rather spiffy hat.)



My Uncle Stuart was in the RAF. He flew as a navigator with the elite group of Pathfinders No. 7 Squadron, who lit the way for the bombers with flares. The mortality rate was very high, so the fact that he survived 43 operations was nothing short of miraculous.

He was 22 when he enlisted, the same age as my son, and he was 25 when he flew his first mission in 1944.

This is the day he came home after the war. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

"Flight Lieutenant Patchet has always displayed exceptional skill and coolness without consideration for personal safety, whereby he has set himself a high standard of efficiency. His unconquerable sense of duty, courage, endurance and initiative have set a magnificent example to the squadron and are worthy of the highest praise."

A Pioneer Woman's New Photo Contest

Check out The Pioneer Woman's latest photo contest. The theme is green. Here are some of the "green" photos I pulled out of my archives. Not sure which ones to submit.

Which are your favourites, on the theme of green?

1. Gift bag

Number 2. Drops of Water

3. Columbine
4. Lily-of-the-valley
5. Strange Alien Plant (yes, that's the official name for it, from the Latin Plantus Alienus)

6. Hope springs eternal

7. Lady's mantle
8. Kathy Down The Road's hedge (I don't know what this is, but it's pretty. Like KDTR)

9. A Kid'll Eat Ivy too, wouldn't you?

10. Hosta La Vista, baby
11. Tulips are better than wan

12. A handcrafted dishcloth just makes doing the dishes more fun. Not.

Thoughts?

The Pioneer Woman Cooks up a Book!

Bless Ree Drummond's little country heart, her alter ego and mega-blogger extraordinaire The Pioneer Woman is publishing a cookbook.

Now a lot of her recipes contain more butter and cream than my local superstore's dairy case, and that's just....well...that's just...oh for crying out loud, if I'm being honest, that's pretty awesome actually. What's wrong with a bit o' butter and cream?

AB-so-lute-ly noth-ing.

That's where taste comes from, people! Do I make her chocolate sheet cake everyday? No. Do I want to? Never mind. The point is, that chocolate sheet cake is perfect for special occasions, like days that end in 'y'.

Some of The Pioneer Woman's recipes have become family favourites. Take Penne a la Betsy. (If you can - you have to move fast in this house because it disappears quicker than teenagers when it's time to do the dirty dishes.) The only recipe I haven't like so far is the Asian Noodle Salad - far too salty and garlicky for my tastes, but I just made a few adjustments like cutting back on the soya sauce and garlic and voila - crunchy, healthy awesomeness. And you can have chocolate cake for dessert, guilt free.

The Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Thingies is the next recipe I'm going to taste-drive. We have a cottage party coming up, and they look like the perfect appetizer to serve with cold beer on a hot summer's night by the lake. I'll let you know how they turn out.

I Heart the Pioneer Woman