I took this photo a few days ago. This is part of Pajaro Valley, east of Watsonville, in Santa Cruz County. Do the mountains look far away? Because they really are.  The Husband and I drive through this valley on our way to and from Freedom where we buy Molly the Cat's food. It's about an hour round drive, but so worth the peace of mind we get as we drive the back roads of the valley and along the windy low mountain pass highway to San Benito County where we live. Once through the pass, we drive through San Juan Valley to our town of Hollister, which is in the tail end of the Santa Clara valley. As a kid, I heard people say we live in Hollister Valley or San Benito Valley. These days I read about our town nestled in a small valley, so I wonder if our valley has a formal name, now forgotten. That's something to look up one day. I'm linking up with All Seasons , a weekly meme hosted by Jesh at Artworks from Jesh St.G. Click here to check out Jesh and her meme.

Finally! I am done cleaning the stove. This was not a chore I planned. The idea was to wipe the top of the electric stove and the back splash with a very hot soapy rag. La la la I go and before I know it I have disassembled the stove top and scoured gunk off the drip bowls and then took off the range fan filter to scrub the grease off with baking soda (better than cleanser). Yeah, I know, I can purchase the drip bowls and fan filter at the hardware store. No need to exert extra muscle power. Here's the thing: I'm in the middle of cleaning the stove and there's no guarantee that our local hardware shop will have the precise things. And, if it doesn't, then that would mean a trip to one of the big box hardware stores in the next town, less than 20 miles away. Wait for it. Here it comes. . . But, if traffic is stop-and-go on the two-lane highway out of our town, which can happen any time of the day, any day of the week. (Nobody wanted to think ahead about the incr

While Molly was chewing on grass this morning, someone coasted to a stop in front of our house. Molly quickly came to attention.  She watched the woman park, get out of her car, and walk across the street. Midway, the woman turned back to her car. Molly, who probably thought the stranger was heading into our yard, zooooooooomed past me and into the house. So much for Molly the Guard Cat. I'm participating in a new linky part today. It's called Friday Photo Journal , hosted by Melissa at Serendipity is Sweet . Check it out here .  Thanks, Melissa!

Molly the Cat plays as hard as she sleeps.  And, when she's done playing, she's done.  Over and out!

On the 88th floor of the Earhart edifice, Edwina the Ecru Egret pressed the down button to the elevator. She was exhausted. She had spent the last hour consulting with a career expert. "You have enormous empathy for your fellow egrets," the counselor evoked enthusiastically. "You would excel exceedingly well in educational counseling." Edwina sighed. How could she help others when editing her own life was sometimes an elegiac effort? Perhaps she ought to be an eyelet punch operator. The elevator doors opened. "Edwina, my darling girl!" "Agathe!" the ecru egret exulted. "How was Europe?" The two old friends hugged and kissed. "Europe was enchanting," Agathe the Aaardvark exclaimed. "I must go pay this electrical bill. Could you wait for me? Maybe have lunch?" Edwina had no other engagement so Agathe expressed herself down the hall and was back at the elevator in no time at all. "I love your

On Saturday, I saw a few California poppies waving "Hey ya! Hi ya! How ya?" from some slopes along the road. Whooo-hooo! I also saw irises nestled in with some yellow ice plants along a sidewalk in the town next over. Yippieee! On the home front, our ornamental pear tree is full of snow-white blossoms.  Wheeeeeeee!   I'm hooking up with Our World Tuesday . Here's the link for you to check out participants from around the world, and maybe to join up yourself. Thanks, Our World Tuesday hosts!

How many dishes can you make out of leftovers? Not separate dishes. More like turning leftovers into something left over for more leftovers. It was either Monday or Tuesday last week that I made pork ribs by first simmering them with fresh garlic and Cajun spices, then broiling them in a toaster oven. For the BBQ sauce, I mixed leftover homemade pizza sauce, made a few days earlier, with horseradish. Sounds horrible, but it tasted mighty good, so the Husband said. Even though it was a small slab of ribs, we had leftovers. Not enough for two people though. A couple days later, I added the meat to a concoction of garbanzo beans, peas, linguisa, and leftover sauteed onions and mushrooms. I also threw in a couple of frozen tomatoes. That delectable dish was served with Jasmine rice. There were leftovers. On Saturday, we happened to be standing in front of a Mexican restaurant. Its doors were wide open so we could enjoy yummy smells. Although mouthwatering, we weren't hungry enough t