Ode to a Pickled Egg!

My dad introduced this "not for the faint of heart" delicacy to our family YEARS ago.  When he was in the navy, he worked at the base bar.  They would pickle eggs, and place them in a big glass jar.  He said that they wouldn't move AT ALL until the evening had progressed, and the patrons had "had a few", then...they disappeared!  For good reason...they are AWESOME!!!!!

Perhaps it's an acquired taste, but, I can tell you that, even though the BEST way to eat them is straight out of the pickle juice with a little salt and pepper, they are also AMAZING as the eggs in whatever egg salad recipe you like!

If I've piqued your interest, they are easy to make.  Hard boil 8 eggs.  Shell, then place the eggs in a jar of pickle juice (I actually TAKE the pickles out of the juice as soon as I buy them, and place them in another container in the refrigerator, JUST to get the juice).  Let sit in the refrigerator for three or four days, and...VOILA!!!

Here's hoping YOU have a "family classic" that tickles your tastebuds too!!!!

Almond Joy Cookies

I LOVE Almond Joy candy bars...the chocolate...the coconut...the almonds...!!  I recently found a cookie version of this candy bar on Pinterest.  It's REALLY REALLY REALLY good!!!!

You can find the recipe HERE.

I DID make a few changes to the recipe:

1.  I added ONE HALF CUP of slivered almonds, roughly chopped

2.  I used ONE CUP of Nestle's semi-sweet chocolate chunks, instead of ONE HALF cup semisweet chocolate chips

A suggestion...the dough was REALLY stiff after being in the refrigerator for 12 hours...scoop the dough, as soon as it's mixed, into another bowl, and THEN chill the "dough balls".   When you are ready to bake them, they can be separated, and placed on the baking sheet.

Here's hoping YOU like a good "candy bar cookie" too!!!

GREAT PR for the Show!!!

The publicity crew at Woodbury Community Theater has been in OVERDRIVE the last few weeks promoting the show (which opens this Friday!).  Here are some of the Facebook promos they've put together:

If you're in the cities this weekend or next, come see the show...it's going to be a hoot!!!!!!

Summer is FLYING By!!!!!

Wow!  It seems like the school year just ended, but it's already the week AFTER the 4th of July, which is the point where I start saying "wow...the summer is flying by"!!  I can't say that it's been particularly packed with stuff...it's taken this long to get to the point of wanting to go out and do things again. 

The amount of time it takes to "recover" from the school year varies each year.  Due to the fact that I started a new job...was introduced/met about 900 new people...learned Mac (instead of PC)...Alexandria (instead of Destiny)...Promethean (instead of Smart Board)...Google EVERYTHING (instead of Microsoft EVERYTHING)...directed the 6th grade musical...and designed an entire year of "media lessons" for grades K-6, it took longer this year than it usually does.  WAAAAY more excited at the prospect of going back to school this fall, now that my job doesn't COMPLETELY SUCK, but...I'm not going to think about that QUITE yet.

I'm in a show, which is always fun.  "Bye Bye Birdie!" goes up at the end of the month in Woodbury, and I'm enjoying playing Albert Peterson again...for the THIRD time!  I have to admit though, that, after this past year, I haven't been very motivated to get to know people in the cast.  I'm kind of TIRED of introductions and "getting to know" you questions and activities.  It's a GREAT cast, and I AM meeting some fun people, but it's definitely not a driving priority...

If you're in the area, it's going to be a fun show...the teens are awesome, and the adult cast is very talented as well.  Here's my "promo strip" for the show...

This past weekend, I drove down to Iowa...again (3rd time since Memorial Day), and spent time at mom and dad's in Tingley.  There's not much to do in Tingley, but we always manage to have a GREAT time, and it's never long enough as we head back to the cities.

Aunt Doris gave mom and dad a bunch of grandma's old photo albums, so I spent the first day there looking through them, and pulling a bunch to make copies of...like this one...

...and this one of my cousins and me...about a million years ago...

Darvin, Robin, Kim, me, Shellie, Doug, and John Todd

 

We also cooked, and walked, and talked, and took several rides down the dirt roads of Ringgold county, which is one of my FAVORITE things to do while there...

 

We also had lots of time to sit on the front porch and in the back yard, which I also LOVE to do...

After an ALL TOO BRIEF visit, we headed back to the cities, with a stop in Des Moines for the annual "Reynolds Christmas in July" picnic.  This is the only time that the extended family sees each other anymore, and it's always a fun, brief, quick, crazy gathering.  Here are the cousins now...we look a little different than in the previous photo, and Darvin wasn't able to make it this year, and Doug passed a few years ago...

Kim, me, Robin, John Todd, Shellie

Now...summer continues to speed on...I need to finish memorizing the script for the show, I need to practice the choreography for my numbers (it's not pretty...I have two left feet), and the next big thing...working on my dear friend Tena's bridal shower.  The theme is "giraffes", and I have all sorts of visuals, and recipes, and activities to plan/create/test...(no the theme is not REALLY giraffes, but she reads my blog, and I'm SWORN to secrecy)...

 photo from pixabay.com

Here's hoping YOUR summer is going well, and that it's flying by for ALL THE RIGHT REASONS too!!!!!