cousin nancy: Blue! or Fritt-ins!

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Blue! or Fritt-ins!

Today has been great even though the sunshine never showed up. This evening's post is going to be primarily pictures to catch y'all up, so even though it may look long—it should be an easy read.

Yesterday morning I woke up all excited about my package arriving and I ended up planning my day around its late afternoon arrival. Here's how yesterday went.

Around 11:00, after Tony had done his chores outside and I had done mine inside, we talked about having to go to the H-E-B, in Kerrville, to buy more dog food. "Hey," Tony said, "Let's call Fourth to see if he wants to meet us for lunch, at Billy Gene's? He and I talked about it the other day...."

We arrived at Gibson's so I could get what I needed for my package.

Twenty minutes later, we took off for Billy Gene's restaurant.

We had a great time with Fourth and our lunch was delicious, too. And as we were leaving Billy Gene's I heard a man say, "Hey, Cousin Nancy!" We turned around to find our dear friend Eileen and her sweet husband Wayne eating lunch, in a nearby booth.

After a short, but fun visit with them, we adios-ed Fourth and then we went to the big H-E-B for Tony to buy dog food and for me to pick up a few groceries. Then we came home, so I could impatiently pace back and forth, in the big room, until my package arrived, around 4:40.

As soon as I put my package on the kitchen table, Tony helped me remove the plastic from my package. And I was thrilled and in-love with what I saw!

Please Note: MADE IN U.S.A.

Even though my Danner hiking boots looked a little big, I immediately put on my new thermal socks and laced up my "very expensive for me" hiking boots. Then I took a couple of steps in them and then I sat back down in the kitchen chair to check the sizing. They were way too big and then I got depressed.

I got depressed, because for over two months I have been wanting a pair of these light weight hiking boots, because they look so much like my old pair of Vasque hiking boots, that I wore when I lived in Crested Butte, Colorado, in the early 70's.

Those Vasques and these Danner boots reminded me of the good ol' days when I was in my early twenties. Back then life was so simple and all I owned or needed I could easily fit inside Blue, my navy blue '67 VW bug. And what I put inside that awesome VW were my 0018 Martin Guitar, that my parents had bought me for my 18th birthday, an Academy Surplus army duffel bag filled with my clothes and Boomer, my very first Great Pyrenees.

I stored the Martin and my duffel bag behind the backseat, because Boomer, my sweet, female best friend and bodyguard, took up the whole backseat. I always left the front seat empty for a boyfriend or for a hitcher I picked up.

Okay, for 2 months I kept talking myself out of buying these Danner boots, even though I wanted them more than anything. And then I thought it was a sign for me when I told my sister about wanting these boots so badly and she tells me that she had just seen these boots in the new movie Wild starring Reese Witherspoon and she loved the movie. Then when I told Chet and Drew about wanting these expensive pair of hiking boots, they tell me that I should buy them, because they had just seen them in the movie Wild. "Nancy, there's a scene in the movie where REI delivers a pair to Reese Witherspoon...."

So a week ago Monday, I decided to buy them using a credit card. I then called REI, in San Antone to discover that they had sold out and there were only 3 pair left in my size and they were in Berkeley, California. And that is why I got depressed yesterday. If you want to check out these boots please click this link, to view Reese Witherspoon wearing them in the movie. And one last thing, the reviews on these light weight hiking boots say, "These boots are designed like the classic hiking boots, in the early 70's."

And the great news is that last night I called REI about returning my boots and I now have the right size being delivered to me this coming Monday. And once again—I can't wait!

Today Is Mainly Pictures, So You're Almost Done!

Late this morning I took a break from my paperwork to cook us lunch. Because it was a dark and dreary day I decided to be creative in the kitchen, in hopes to improve my mood. After I cranked up my Bose I decided to make us a zucchini frittata and while I was making it, I decided to try making Cousin Nancy's Zucchini Frittata CUPCAKES.

While I was sauteing zucchini, garlic, onion, red and green bell peppers I mixed a drained can of corn with six eggs and stirred.

Then I added a three cheese blend to the corn mixture.

Then I added the vegetables to the mixture and stirred. Then I greased a muffin tin and filled the cups with the mixture and topped it off with more cheese.

I baked the veggie-egg frittata/muffins at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes, until an inserted toothpick came out clean.

Then I topped off the fritt-ins with homemade salsa and served it with avocado and homemade beans. And it was totally delicious and we loved the texture.

Then I made us delicious Bear Paw juice for our dessert. The ingredients for it are one apple, one pear, a little lemon and a lot of red cabbage. (See I told you this would go fast.)

After I cleaned up the kitchen, I removed the four leftover "fritt-ins" from the pan, to let them cool, before putting them in the fridge.

And while they were cooling, on the drain board, I typed out a short note of instruction, to the REI Returns Center, because Tony and I had decided to go to town to run a few errands. And while I was typing away, Tony's dog, Belle, about six feet behind me—stole two of the fritt-ins! And I know it was her, because I caught her pulling the second one off of the plate, before gobbling it down. So now we are down to only two.

After I put the two leftover fritt-ins, in the fridge for safe-keeping, I took a picture of my package and then we took off for FedEx, our first stop.