Homeless guys make me think of Chicken Burritos.

It's true. And I'll tell you why...

We don't see a lot of homeless people around here, at least not many who advertise being residentially challenged.  A while back (sometime in the past 2 years), there was a man standing on a corner with a sign saying he was homeless, cold, and hungry.  The truck a few cars ahead of me pulled over, the farmer got out, and gave the homeless guy the coat off his back.  Feeling inspired, I decided to offer my chicken burrito, that I had just gotten from the Taco Bell drive thru, to the homeless guy.

I pull over, roll down my window and tell the guy that I have a fresh chicken burrito, if he wants it.  It's not much, but it's hot (it was late fall/early winter).  Dude says to me, "No, thanks."  WHAT?!  You're homeless, cold, and hungry, but are passing up a hot meal-ish.  Apparently, this guy used to work at a chicken farm, and no longer eats chicken.  My thought?  Dude can't be too hungry, and probably isn't even homeless.

Today, I saw an older homeless guy.  His sign said he was a senior citizen, had no home, no food.  Anything would be appreciated, even a kind word.  Ignoring him was not an option.  The Taco Bell was just a few hundred feet away, and I was going to stop there to grab some lunch, anyway.  I ordered my chicken burrito, hot sauce, and Mt. Dew, then added on an ice water.  I was given my food, then asked to speak to the manager.  I gave the manager a $5 bill, described the homeless guy, and told the manager that I wanted to buy the guy a meal if he wanted one.  When I went back by the homeless guy, I gave him the ice water, and told him that Taco Bell had a meal for him, if he wanted one.  When I saw him in my rear-view mirror, he was headed into the fast food joint with his knapsack slung over his shoulder, and his sign tucked under his arm.

There was one time that I really wish I had had some extra cash on me.  There was a larger guy, sitting on a cooler or something, holding his sign.  It said something about him being a Vietnam Vet, being fat and lazy, and while food was appreciated, he could really use some cash to buy a drink!  I thought his honesty should be worth a couple of bucks, at least!

My name is Heather, and I am a Beef Snob

It's true.  With the exception of 4 very long years one state south, I have spent my entire life in Nebraska.  Born here, raised here, and will probably die here.  I am not a fan of this so-called best in the business corn-fed beef.  I actually had a lady chew me out at me at the grocery store once because I was explaining to my kids why I really don't care for this supposed Nebraska staple.

I like grass-fed beef, and I will not apologize for it.  If you want good Nebraska beef, go to the Sandhills area.  There, you'll find more wheat and cattle than corn.  Try the beef.  It's DELICIOUS.  It is what I was raised on.  My super awesome great-uncle gave us a full beef every year for Christmas, and it would feed our 5 person family for almost a whole year.

My husband thought I was crazy, till I brought my point home the only way I could - a cook-off.  I bought 1 pound of 93% lean grain-fed beef from the store, and 1 pound of 90% lean grass-fed beef from the farmer's market.  I divided each pound into thirds, and convinced him to help me tacos, spaghetti, and grilled burgers.  The result?  He no longer thinks I'm crazy.

Even though the grass was slightly less lean than the grain, it cooked cleaner and tasted much better.

When I think of free-range meat, I don't think about better treatment for the animals.  I'm selfish enough that I think of better tasting meat!

This and That

We went to Lincoln Saturday where I spent the afternoon holding, cuddling, and loving Baby E. She's so tiny! Probably not any smaller than other almost 8 pound babies that are 21" long, but she just seems super small.  She has a g-button for her feedings, and she's on a monitor that screeches if she stops breathing.  While we were there, a copy of Baby E's medical records arrived in the mail.  My SILs and I were looking up all the medical terminology.  Between what I remembered from my college days and the confusion we found on the internet, we think we have a pretty good idea of all that she has going on.

I downloaded 2 books to my Kindle for the trip there and back, but I ended up driving, so I didn't get to start either one.  I did get to start on Home to Woefield yesterday.  I'm not too far into it, yet, but it has already made me laugh!  I'm looking forward to reading The Dry Grass of August, but that'll have to wait till I read the copy of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks that I checked out from the library.

I have a new project on my list this week.  I had made a cape for my brother's little guy, but the snap didn't go on well.  It finally came off, so I'll just have to put a new one on.  I'm kind of glad it came off, though.  I had forgotten to take a picture of it before I sent it home with him!

The boys are on week 2 of swim lessons.  Lessons were canceled Thursday and Friday because it was chiiiiilllly, so today was there first day since last Wednesday!  It was still pretty chilly today (only 63 out!).  For the 25 minutes it took us to get home, I listened while Bug and Awesome discussed their possible shrinkage.  Awesome rarely remembers to filter his thoughts before speaking, so I was just glad we were in the car and not in public!

Lonely

Hi all! I didn't mean to disappear on you! Baby E was FINALLY able to go home last Saturday, and I have been working feverishly trying to finish her blanket. Procrastination is my middle name!

Also, I'm having some issues with Blogger. I can't see my followers, and I can very rarely post comments. Yesterday I could, but this morning is a no-go. I'll try again after I get back from losing my sanity grocery shopping.

See you soon!

Yellow and Gray

I've noticed that the yellow & gray combination has become pretty popular in home decor and fabrics. While browsing through my favorite bead shop, I came across these beauties and thought they would look pretty with some of my dark gray irish linen.

I can't tell you how much linen I used, because I really don't know!  I just threaded 20 beads onto my spool and started knotting.  The first knot is about 4" from the end.  From there, I just started spreading the beads apart and tied a knot after each bead.  The beaded area is just over 4.5" long, and there's another 4" of linen after that.  So, I probably used about 16-18" of the linen, I'm guessing.

 

 I have enough beads to make one more of these babies, so I'm thinking I might have to put one up in my shop!

June 1

May is over, and I managed to write one post every day. It feels a little weird not posting, now, so here I am.

We were lucky once again, and missed the nasty weather that came through our area a couple of nights ago. Places that are north and south of us got hit by some pretty nasty winds that caused some damage. We had some pretty crazy winds, but our only loss was one mid-size tree branch.

I started on another bracelet last night, and finished it today. I'll post it tomorrow.

We got some pretty great news, today. Baby E will finally be coming home this weekend! She had surgery last Friday to get a feeding tube put in, and they ended up having to do a little extra surgery on her little tummy, but she seems to be doing well. I can't wait to get my hands on her! But, I still have at least another week to wait. I refuse to go see a baby during their first week or so at home. I feel that time is family time. Given all that E and family have been through these last 6 weeks, I'm thinking that some time alone is just what they need.