Homemade Mac and Cheese

  Time for some old fashioned Mac and cheese. This recipe doesn't duplicate my mothers but it's very good And we just had leftovers for lunch from two days ago and I'd call it even better.

 This recipe was from Allrecipes.com. Click here to see it.

 A couple of notes about changes I made:

1. I had very little cheddar cheese so I used what I had for the topping. For the bulk of the recipe I used mozzarella. Tom had bought an industrial-sized bag for some lasagna he was making but he had enough without ever opening this bag. I think it has outdated in April but it looked good so I used it.

2. I used more than a "pinch" of paprika on  the top.

 I was surprised at how much milk the recipe used (3 cups). That seemed excessive to me but I followed the directions just the same. While it was still warm (the first day we had it for lunch) and the Mac and cheese was quite milky (but still good). Today all of that moisture had been absorbed while in the refrigerator and it was perfect.

 I sprinkled Panko bread crumbs liberally on the top, too.

 I wish I knew exactly how Mom made her Mac and cheese. I know she used sliced American (artificial) cheese and cut it up. I'd think that would not be a poor choice but it was wonderful. She also managed to get the top quite brown and even crunchy. It was less creamy but a wonderful effect.

Anyway I'm keeping this recipe for future use.

Blue Tailed Skink Moves in

   We have so many blue tailed skinks hereabouts that I often wonder what's going on. What do they like so much about this place?

 I suppose pert of it is Pinehaven's age - 130 years at the moment - and the fact that the original builders decided on a small basement of stone walls. The house sits directly on the soil, too. There's one huge rock dead center and the house seems balanced on it.

 Then, too, in more modern times (1970's?), a large concrete patio was placed behind (and connected to) the house. Skinks love rock walls and concrete pads and sidewalks, all giving them perfect places to scamper, to live and to breed.

 And so years ago when I saw my first skink beside the driveway (actually living inside the large wooden railroad ties that once lined the entire path) I had no idea that their numbers would multiply through the years. Now, on hot summer days, we see them sunning on various areas of concrete, usually running away when they see us but  returning to their chosen spot when we leave (I've watched).

 Yesterday Tom and I were sitting on the sofa, both quietly reading on a very hot, humid day. I was probably half asleep when I heard him say "Look!".

 There, across the room on the brown carpet, was a young blue tail slowly slithering across the floor. They've been in the house before, even beside me on the same sofa and on the brick hearth. They run so quickly that I can barely catch them and often, when I do, it is fatal. I've broken more than one tail off,  too (they shed them to avoid capture).

 I've written about this here on the blog.

 Yesterday I acted quickly and grabbed an electric fly swatter that produces a lively voltage (but low current) that kills flies and other insects. The skink, seeing me coming,  ran under the footstool in front of Mom's chair.

 I  quickly lifted the stool and slammed the fly swatter down atop the skink, trapping him between the wire grid and the carpet. I then pushed the button to energize it.

 I saw the skinks tail flail about with the voltage. I took my finger off the button and could see that the skink was only inconvenienced, neither dead nor truly stunned. So I applied more voltage until he quit moving. I then carefully lifted the fly swatter from his still body.

 I figured I had killed him so I ran to find something to put the body in so I could carry him outside.

As I scooped him into the box I saw him move a hand and squirm a bit so I knew he was only knocked unconscious. Soon enough - now in  the bakery box - he revived and began moving about. The jolt of electricity had certainly knocked him out for a few minutes but seems to have done no long-term damage.

 My solution was to take him far away from  the house and release him into the wild. I carried him over to the woodpile where I've seen other skinks. I know it is a spot they can thrive in. And so I poured him out of the box and warned him that there was another jolt awaiting him should he ever come into my house again.

Bear Lake Postcards

  When Tom and I were in Bear Lake in  mid-July, Fred and Joellyn Bashford showed me an album of vintage Bear Lake postcards they collect. Needless to say I was impressed by the old views of that quaint  village, the site of so many of my own warm childhood memories. One of the postcards appears to date to 1907  and at least two others to 1910. So the wonderful views they've preserved date back well over a century.

 Joellyn said when they returned home briefly to Miamisburg in August they'd bring the album along and allow me to scan the postcards and post them on my blog for others to enjoy. Yesterday (08/20/21) they stopped by just about lunchtime with the album.

 I have scanned all the postcards in the order they appear in the album. I have skipped only two which were repeats. They are not therefore in chronological order. I have also scanned them at 200 dpi  and in color (even  though most of the postcards are in black & white) to preserve the actual color of the paper. Clicking on any postcards will present it in high-resolution for closer examination (better even than the original).

 I've also scanned both sides of every card so any accessory information would be preserved along with the view. Most were not mailed but those with notes to friends and family are included.

 A few are not of Bear Lake proper but of neighboring communities.

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