SPARKS on Monday….and a Reminder!

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Monday’s here and it’s time for a SPARK to start this week off……………………What exactly IS this Monday SPARK thing we do?   Well, most of you know that Annie of McGuffy’s Reader – who started SPARKS – was hacked and has been on an extended break from blogging although her idea to spread some inspiration on Monday of every week goes on.   Many of us who participated in her SPARKS Blog Hop and found value in sharing a thought on Monday continue doing that to hopefully give each other a “Monday boost” – perhaps something to think about to inspire us in the week ahead OR help us deal with something that’s on our mind.    Why not join us by sharing something that SPARKS you?   It might just start a spark in us too.

My SPARK for today is ALL ABOUT LAST WEEK………………..the feeling I had before we left, the fun we had while away, and especially what I told myself before we left………..and while it’s sort of funny, it’s VERY true!

We only take a vacation once a year and for the past SEVERAL years it’s been to Maine for four days.     It’s just a little break in the routine – we used to stay in Ogunquit but a couple of years ago switched to an Inn in York, Maine.    Very old Inn – very excellent seafood – very friendly and cozy.     Every time we do this – the days leading up to our departure I feel like my head will explode……yeah – that’s a strange thing to say but sometimes life crowds in around you and you really DO need a change of pace – UNPLUG – you can always plug back in again!     So we do.    We all should do that.   I feel like it should be a longer trip – and we’ve talked about making it a week instead of four days.    Just about the time you really are feeling like yourself again, you have to pack suitcases, check flights and head home.     But after all – HOME is where my heart is (oh and my cat too!).

Here’s a little collage of photos from this trip…………………the things I love the most about my annual “escape”………

Of course there’s so much more………….and I find myself thinking about all of that off and on every day.    Anyway, I hope you have a special place you relax in – away from home OR at home.   We all need to UNPLUG sometimes………………

Hugs, Pam

REMINDER:    Professor Teddy and Professor Angel Sammy ask that I remind all of you students at Ding Dong School that TOMORROW is TEASER TUESDAY!    Be ready to stay awake at your desks and tackle a Teaser photo!    You’ve had a week to “UNPLUG” and it’s time to PLUG BACK IN!!   Remember – surprise post time…………..

 

Sunday Selfie Hop

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Happy Sunday everybody.    Here we are again sharing our selfie photos………….our hosts at The Cat On My Head like us to show ourselves off to the universe on Sundays and if you’d like to join us – just click the badge above and link up.

I am as usual doing another FLASHBACK Selfie…………….I try to find a photo from this same date from either 2017 or 2018 after I came to live here and use it for my Selfie.    I know back then I did not weigh 22 lbs. like I do now.   Kind of fun to see a more slenderized version of me.    HAHA

Here’s a photo of me in the yard with my Dad on October 13, 2017 – my very first October with my Mom and Dad.   Looks like we had a lot more leaves down than we have THIS year on the ground.    I also might add that there’s no way on earth I could get that harness around me NOW!!!!   

Now let me see if I’ve done a puzzle of this photo before………if not I’ll do one!  OK – I didn’t find one at Jigsaw Planet so I’ve done a new one for you!   Ready or not – here I come!

 

Just click this mini-me and you’ll get the puzzle – it’s 100 pieces but remember you can change that to fewer or more if you want to – just click on the tab marked “PLAY AS” and change it!

 

Happy Sunday!

Hugs, Teddy

Bakin’ with Bacon and the King!

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Welcome to the Castle Baconia kitchen!   Yes we are decorated for Halloween already – spicing things up!

I also have a super easy and incredibly delicious breakfast item for you today………….what’s easier than a bacon omelette?    Nothing – that’s what!    You don’t even need a recipe to make one of these but this one – with onions (we use SWEET onions) is extra delicious for some reason.

EASY BACON ONION OMELETTE

 

INGREDIENTS:

4 slices of bacon

3 eggs

1 teaspoon water

cooking spray

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 white onion – diced

 

DIRECTIONS:

  • Step 1

    Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Arrange bacon on a baking sheet.  YES of course you can just fry it in a frying pan if you wish!

  • Step 2

    Bake in the preheated oven until just crisped, 10 to 12 minutes.

  • Step 3

    Beat eggs and water together in a bowl.

  • Step 4

    Let the bacon cool on paper towels, about 5 minutes. Break into small pieces.

  • Step 5

    Spray a 10-inch non-stick skillet with cooking spray. Melt butter over medium heat until foaming, about 2 minutes. Add onion once butter is no longer foaming. Cook and stir until tender but not browned, 4 to 5 minutes.

  • Step 6

    Increase heat to medium-high. Pour eggs into the skillet and cook until mostly set, about 2 minutes. Lift the omelet with a spatula as the center rises; tilt the skillet so that uncooked eggs run to the center of the pan. Cook until set, 2 to 4 minutes. Sprinkle bacon pieces onto the omelet and fold in half using the spatula.

     

See?   Super duper easy…………..omelettes are so easy to make and you can add ANYTHING you like to this or any other omelette recipe.   The trick is at the end to make it look PRETTY on the plate but know what?   That isn’t important – it’s the delicious ingredients that matter…………………..so make an omelette today – this one or another one you might fancy.    As I said, ingredients can be WHATEVER………………it’s fun to be creative and omelettes give you a chance to be!

HAPPY CATURDAY in the kitchen!

Enjoy……………………..King Teddy

Friendly Fill-Ins

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Happy Friday!    Time to fill in the blanks.   I’m happy to say that my Mom and Dad are back home from their little break in Maine where they ate lobster and walked the beach and saw beautiful leaves while I was suffering  lounging in luxury at the spa/kennel.   Anyway, we’re all home again and that’s great – puts me in the mood for filling in with our two co-hosts at 15andmeowing and Four-Legged Furballs.   I thought I’d let my Mom do the filling in this week as a treat for her since she’s not been on the computer this week……this will be an easy way for her to break back into the habit.  HAHA.   Her words are in BLUE!

 

1. Lobster is tasty.

2. If I was going to a Halloween party, I would go as a ghost – when I was a young girl that was the EASIEST costume to make – all you needed was a sheet!.

3. If everything goes according to plan, I’ll get caught up on things around here today after being gone for four days – housecleaning, laundry, etc..

4. Being in a “haunted house” is the spookiest thing I have ever experienced.

 

Well, that’s it for this week………….Mom will be talking about her trip with my Dad for the next few days.   I’m just glad they’re home and that they had a good time.   They deserve a little break……….and let’s face it – so did I !!!

Happy Friday!

Hugs, Teddy

Thankful and Poetic Thursday

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Hello!   Happy Thursday!    We are officially back from a small “take a breath” break – I had fun at the SPA (kennel) and my Mom and Dad got “refreshed” being away for a few days to York, Maine.    Every year they desert me for that place – what’s the big deal????

OK – I get it – it’s beautiful and relaxing right?   OK.    

Now on with the show.   I’m THANKFUL that Mom and Dad are home and THANKFUL that we can get back into our usual routine.    I’m a creature of habit after all AND I missed them!

I was happy to see that Angel Sammy transmitted his regular Wednesday night email to me which contained his poem for this week’s Poetic Thursday.    Are you ready to read it?   I am.

♥♥♥

Greetings Poetry Fans!   Ready to share?

I had a busy week keeping watch over not only Teddy at his kennel but my Mom and Dad as they enjoyed their usual getaway spot for a few nights in Maine.    I remember being the one who had to stay at the kennel when they went so I kept Teddy company (secretly of course) while he was there.     

Did you write a poem this week for the photo I gave you last week?    Indian culture has always fascinated my Mom – that’s why I chose this photo for this week.    

“Proud”

Poem by Angel Sammy Kimmell      ©October 10,2019

Tribal customs of every type

Colorful beads and peace pipes

Guidance from spirits great and small

Prideful poses – standing tall.

Deep rooted beliefs, honorable and just

Protective of the land, a “careful” trust

Then came the visitors who decided to stay

The Indians’ lives re-fashioned in a very big way

Over time things changed for the tribes of old

One thing has remained – their spirits are still bold.

 

Here is a little updated information about Indians in my home state of Virginia…….

For the last 18,000 years, Native Americans have lived in Virginia. The European colonists dramatically disrupted the societies they encountered, but Native Americans have lived in Virginia ever since the Ice Age.

In 2016, the Bureau of Census estimated there were 29,225 Virginia residents who identified as “American Indian and Alaska Native.”

There was a massive demographic impact to Native American populations after permanent English settlement began in 1607. The exact numbers are less clear than the impact, but there may have been 50,000 or so Native Americans in Virginia in 1607. About 15,000 Algonquians lived under Powhatan’s control in Tsenacommacah, and perhaps 10,000 others on the Coastal Plain.

As a result of the demographic changes since the Europeans arrived and legalized discrimination, including the Racial Integrity Law of 1924, the Totero, Gingaskin, and many other tribal groups have disappeared as organized communities. All Native American societies were disrupted and populations dramatically decreased. Despite the assaults, as one member of the Chickahominy tribe has noted, “Well, we’re here. We never left.”

Many died from disease and starvation, after being forced from traditional homelands by colonists seizing land for farms. Others died in direct conflicts with the English. Constant small-scale murder and skirmishes were interrupted by occasional large-scale wars, including major uprisings in 1622 and 1644 and brutal suppression during Bacon’s Rebellion in 1676.

Many original Virginians migrated as individuals or family groups to the north, west, or south, away from the encroaching English. They joined the Iroquois, Shawnee, and Cherokee, losing their distinct identity as members in traditional Virginia tribes.

Currently there are 11 state-recognized tribes. All but one are located east of the Blue Ridge. The Monacan use Natural Bridge State Park to display their culture, but most members live in the Blue Ridge rather than in the Valley and Ridge province.

 

Interesting huh?    Anyway, this was fun research and a FUN poem to write……………………..we hope you have written a poem today?  Please share with us that you did by putting your link in our comments.    I have another photo for you for NEXT week………..here it is:

Let your imaginations take a trip into poetry land and see what you come up with to go with this photo for next week!!    Hope to see you here then.

I am the Angel Poet in the green beret…..and I hope you join me for POETIC FUN each week!

See you  next week from the Rainbow Bridge – Love, Angel Sammy

♥♥♥

Thank you Angel Sammy……I love “hearing” you every week……Hugs, Teddy