What is it about a keyboard that some cats find irresistible? I have four cats, three of whom don't care a bit about my desk. Then there's Frannie, who didn't care at all about it either until about a month ago and now she's making up for lost days. As soon as I sit down, she comes from wherever she is and leaps on the desk. She'll even wake up from a NAP (she's a champion sleeper). She's very determined and no matter how many timess I toss her off, she jumps right back up and will inisist on head butting my hand if I continue trying to decide who gets the keyboard.
Cut the orange, rind and all, into 8 segments. You don't have to be fanatical about it, but try to get them pretty evenly sized. And yes, I really mean the rind... I promise it will not kill you. Really. 
Place 4 orange segments and about half of the raw cranberries into a food processor. If you don't have a super spiffy food processor, you can do with with an old fashioned food grater, but if I were you and I wanted to make this, I'd go splurge on a food processor....even the tiny little ones will do this job. You'll just have to work in smaller batches. Alternatively, you might as well sit down with the old food box grater and watch the parade while you shred your fingertips.Ready to move on? I thought so. Pluse the blade several time until you have a medium textured gind going on. Actually, grind it as fine as you like it. I just prefer this size. And yes, you will have bits of visible orange peel that you can actually eat. Be brave. It's wonderfully fresh.
When the first half is processed, repeat with the remaining orange sections and cranberries. Move all the goodies into a bowl. As you can see, I am quite partial to this gigantic measuring cup.
Now we've got to add some sweetness to all this tarty goodness. The standard recipe calls for 3/4 to 1 cup of sugar. I really only use 2/3 cup sugar, but I like it tart. I was toying around with the idea of a little maple syrup at this point, but decided against it. Lemme know if you try it.
It's at this point that I go a little crazy and deviate from the traditional method of cranberry relish prep. Not only do I like it slightly more tart than sweet, I love a hint of spice. It really heightens the cranberry orange taste for me. So, if you're a wild woman too, now's the time to add from 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of spice. I prefer cardamom but I think cinnamon or corriander would be nice too.
Now, just mix together, cover and refrigerate for several hours. If you plan better than I do and get this made the night before, not only do you get a gold star and the turkey leg, you'll get a mush more magical flavored cranberry orange relish. I didn't plan well this year, so we get the immature vintage. I still love it.
I love words. I love word games, crossword puzzles, hangman, Jeopardy, criss-cross puzzles, anagrams, scrabble ; you name it and I'm up for it.
Unfortunately, she's still quite timid and is physically a very small, almost kitten size cat.
pirit photography of the era, Do You Believe?, The preeminent spirit photographer of the day was William Mumler.
If you get as captured by them as I have, you'll be pleased to know there are many, many examples of old spirit photography on the web. There is a nice private collection of photos at Flickr. Also at Flickr is a Vintage Spirit Photography group with a nice collection. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has an interesting small exhibit. Beyond the Grave, is an exhaustive exhibit on Mumler, spirit photography and an introduction to Spiritualism of the era. An excellent bibliography of Spirit Photography has been put together at this collector's site, Brightbytes.com.
Today we went to a lovely wedding. I work with the bride and both she and her husband are warm, giving people. I was happy to be invited! Look at that gorgeous dress! My camera was acting weird and running low on power, so I didn't get any really crisp pictures to do this justice. Everything you see as white scrolls, was really heavily encrusted beading. The hem and bodice were beaded the same. They were a perfect fairy tale couple. His tie was a pretty sky blue. 
commitment, the groom beaming at his bride, the bride seeing all things good - love, hope, joy when she looks at the groom. Warm memories of other weddings in the pews, as you watch older couples touching hands, shoulders. Nope, nothing's changed about that.
Here's St. Joseph standing at the precipice, looking into the pit he's about to get buried in. With so many opinions on how to do the ritual, I just decided to wing it. I dug 6-8" down, buried him upside down, facing away from the house. We said the prayer and covered him up.
There's something about this photo I love. I think it's the best one she's ever taken. There's history here to be absorbed as well as just the simple elegance of this image. The roses are Aloha, my grandfather Russell's favorite. He shared her passion for gardening. It must have been a relief for her to find something in common with her always gruff father in-law.
So, over the 4th my sister writes that she's going to make Pink Lemonade cupcakes and doesn't share the recipe. I was so intrigued that I hunted up the recipe and made my own. There are much prettier photos on several blogs, including this one where I found the recipe. I'm a sucker for pink foods. Next time, I think I'll color the cake batter and make the frosting a little pinker. I also made them on the "less tart" side of things but I think I'll go full throtle on them when I make them again. And if I'm feeling really ambitious, I'll try and ice them a little fancier. The visual appeal is so much better when you use a piping bag. Pink Lemonade cupcakes are quick, simple and really summery.
Here's a little something to tantalize my sister. This is from 1960. I don't know if she'll remember it, but I do. We're posing at the farm in our "bubble suits", classic sunsuits of the era. I remember loving the bright multicolor dots and my red cowgirl hat. I always wanted to be Annie Oakley. I'm 5 and she's 3. Don't I look like I'm pretending to be Marilyn Monroe!
Fourth of July celebrations have started in the heartland. We went to a display in a tiny little town, Hanover, Kansas tonight and saw the show of a lifetime. It was indescribably amazing. There was so much firepower, you could feel it through the ground. It was a full half hour of nonstop booming and sizzling, bright lights and smoke covering every inch from the ground up.
very good rock band and and incredible pyro event.
Lying here, in the shadows of the hills of Steele City, Nebraska (pop.81) are my ancestors. Strong, resilient people who for better or worse, were committed to the unforgiving land of the plains. Original homestead pioneers, their sons and daughters, grand parents, aunts, uncles, cousins and more in generations too far removed for me to remember are here. Veterans, farmers, teachers, mothers, even a circus performer inhabit my family tree.
