Sandy J. Hartwick's Blog, page 6

Quick Organizational Hack

A Quick Organizational Hack

Because we followed my husband’s career(ranch manager), we have lived in some remote places.

Back in 1990 we were living on a ranch an hour’s drive from Winnemucca. Even now, some would not grant the title of civilization to Winnemucca, but we were grateful for its amenities, including restaurants and grocery stores.

Living so far from services made thinking ahead essential and this is how I adopted the habit of meal planning. I still have the habit today, though my kids are on their own and we live under a half an hour from a Costco.

The photo is the planner I use, unfortunately the site where I found it is not working correctly. Here is a link to another site which has a variety of meal planners that you can download: https://onplanners.com/templates/free-printable-meal-planners

Give it a try friends, it is amazingly helpful to glance at and know what you need to defrost for dinner or what ingredients you need for the week ahead.

 

Why Cats Are Better Than Dogs

Why Cats Are Better Than Dogs

I know that some of you already have your hackles up and some are smiling like the Cheshire cat. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone has written a whole book about the subject of feline superiority when compared to the canine.

Tonight I am way behind and thus my blog post will be short. I will list my #1 reason that cats are better than dogs. Drum roll please…I have never seen a cat eat (or roll in) a turd. There you have it. I could list more reasons, but do we have to go much further?

Please no hate mail. I love dogs too, but kitties rule.

 

 

Sandy’s Four Bean Salsa Soup Recipe

A Recipe? Really? Yup.

I know, but we all need to eat. And sometimes, life is hard and a little recipe like this which will result in a warm, full  belly and leftovers is something we all need. I have been asked for this recipe more than once. It is completely adaptable, can be vegan or extra carnivore and the leftovers just get better with time. Double it. Quadruple it. This recipe also freezes well. Don’t like spicy? Tone it down. Want it nuclear? Bump it up. Serve it with extras, cilantro, jalapenos, sour cream or grated cheese. Eat it plain. This recipe as they say in Pirates of the Caribbean “is more what you’d call guidelines.”

You will need:

1 TBSP of oil if sauteing Veggies

1# ground beef or a mix of 1/2 #sausage 1/2# beef

or if you are going veg, 1# of veg to saute (onions, peppers, garlic or veg of your choice) Carnivores can also add these veggies into the recipe if they choose.

1 can pinto beans with liquid

1 can black beans with liquid

1 can white beans with liquid

1 can kidney beans with liquid

1 can tomato sauce

1 jar of salsa

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp paprika

3/4 tsp chipotle

dash of cayenne

1 TBSP oregano

1 tsp cumin (I love cumin and use much more than this)

Saute the meat until cooked through. If you are going veg, saute in the oil, until the veg is slightly softened. Add all of the other ingredients and stir to combine. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer, until heated through, about 10-15 minutes. Enjoy!

 

 

 

Photo courtesy of Steve Tsang instagram.com/steve.ins

“Don’t like spicy? Tone it down. Want it nuclear? Bump it up. Serve it with extras, cilantro, jalapenos, sour cream or grated cheese. Eat it plain. This recipe as they say in Pirates of the Caribbean “is more what you’d call guidelines.”

My Dad, Hater of Horses

   My Dad, Hater of Horses

Photo courtesy of Sheri Hooley@sherihoo

My dad grew up on a farm where they bucked bales and milked cows. They also had some horses. These were not fine riding horses, but horses used for work. When the city cousins would visit, they would always beg to ride the horses. My dad could ride, but invariably the cousins that rode behind him would want to lope and they would pull him off and he would get stepped on. And that is why my dad hated horses. Or at least that is what he told me. It seems too simplistic to me now–there had to be more to this horse-hatred…

In spite of this horse-hatred my dad let my sister and I get horses. My brother was allergic and I guess he inherited the horse-hatred from dad. He got a motorcycle instead.

Although we had horses, my father had never built a hitching rack. We tied our horses to trees or a power pole, but nothing was very close to the shop, where we kept our tack. One hot June day I needed to tie my horse while I went into the house for lunch. I tied her to the sliding shop door like I had many times before.

After lunch I was be-bopping back out to my horse and stopped in my tracks. Duchess was still there and the shop door too, but it was now lying flat on the ground in front of the shop.  Duchess must have jerked on it, the door (scary door) moved a little and she freaked out.  The door was stout enough that once she ripped it down, she didn’t go too far.

I dreaded my father coming home, but he couldn’t argue with the fact that we needed a hitching post. That weekend my father welded a ring on a big metal post and planted it in front of the shop. It was set in concrete. His love of horses was not growing.

A Little Goat Story

A Little Goat Story

I have been horse-crazy my whole life. I tried to drive my parents insane begging for a horse. They tried buying me a goat, hoping this would end the horse begging (it didn’t, but that’s another story).

They bought me the cutest, little, white goat. I named her Heidi. Heidi stayed in our fenced back yard until my parents decided that she needed her own pen.

My father set to work. He poured a concrete slab. Next he set posts in concrete and put up fencing. After a long day’s work he completed Heidi’s palace. He even built her a little house of straw bales. We gave her hay and water and locked her in. Then we headed for the house.

Heidi bounced up in front of us. I think my dad looked dazed. He probably cussed. We walked her back and put her in and watched. Like a pinball Heidi bounced up the bales and over the fence and joined us looking in at the now empty pen. I can’t remember what happened after that. I think he tried taking the bales out, but Heidi could still get out.

Eventually, my dad fenced the pasture and built a shed and the animals all stayed where they were supposed to (mostly).

This why comedian Jeff Foxworthy talks about alternative Oylmpic sports, saying, “Let’s see you hem in this goat.”

Photo courtesy of Hannah Markley@hrmarkley

 

Race You to Las Vegas!

Photo courtesy of Lucas Davies

@lucas-davies

Race You to Las Vegas!

Back in the day (before the oil embargo), Nevada had a safe and proper speed limit.

Meaning that you could go as fast as you wanted and if a police officer pulled you over and wrote you a ticket it would be for reckless driving.

A character named Matzoh Ball, a Jewish used-car salesman, was at a bar at South Lake Tahoe chewing the fat with a friend of his. They began talking about how easy it was to get to Vegas because of the flights from Reno that were now available. Old Matzoh Ball knew the flight schedules and how long it took to fly. He bet his friend $100 he could drive there faster than he could fly . His friend jumped on that bet and they shook on it. This was 1960 when $100 was the equivalent of $868.16.

Matzoh casually sauntered out of the bar, jumped into his four door sedan and floored it for Vegas. In the time it took him to get to Vegas he averaged 80 m.p.h. and wore out a set of tires.

Matzoh was waiting on the tarmac in Las Vegas when his friend walked off the plane.

 

Billionaires

Billionaires

Today I learned of a lady billionaire that owns her own picturesque valley in Idaho, complete with polo field and polo ponies. I’m told that she is 80 years old and flies her own helicopter. That is all I know about the lady and her residence.

However… the discovery of this person provided a lively conversation. What if you had one billion dollars? What if you had it invested and it was making a 5% return (about average)? That comes to $50,000,000.00 per year. Which is $4,166,666.66 per month or $136,986.30 per day.

Some people live in a different world or perhaps universe.

 

Photo courtesy of Francisco Deane@fdeane

My Guardian Angel

My Guardian Angel

Do you believe in angels? I believe I may have met my guardian angel years ago.

Although, I earned a scholarship that covered my first year of college, I had to work my way through the rest of the time. I would rent an apartment with some of my friends for the school year and then move back home to work the summer elsewhere.

In May of ’88, my then boyfriend and future husband, Rex, was helping me move out of my second story apartment. We dreaded carrying my heavy white couch down the stairs. Brainiac Rex came up with the idea of moving the couch out over the balcony. The person on the bottom would hold the couch until the person on top came down to help and then we would happily load it in the truck. Guess who was on the bottom? Initially, it seemed like a good idea. But soon I realized that my lack of upper body strength was a problem and the loose paint that the couch was kicking off the building and down into my eyes didn’t help either. (I should mention here that this is probably the type of thing that gives apartment managers aneurysms, but I will have to ask my apartment manager sister about that.) I was trembling with the effort when an unusually tall, good-looking, blond man appeared and said, “Let me help you.”

I had so much dried paint flakes in my eyes that it was difficult to see, but he effortlessly helped lower the couch. I barely had time to thank him–by the time Rex came down the stairs, he was gone.

You probably are thinking how could he be an angel, but I have always thought he was… Trust me, I had never seen him before and although I had a boyfriend, I WOULD have remembered him.

We all have experiences that seem uncanny or remarkable. I will always remember this one.

 

Honk if you wear edible underwear!

Honk if you wear edible underwear!

For my slightly delicate readers, I chose an innocuous photo for this post. Trust me, there were other photos with more graphic phrases. My dear friends and family  were having a creative streak the night my husband and I were married.

Evidently the only tools available at the scene of the crime were lipstick and black shoe polish. The next day and many times thereafter we tried scrubbing all of this fun off the truck, but it was never the same. Car manufacturers should look into shoe polish as a substitute for paint. When we finally traded the little truck in years later, the salesman from the raised vantage of the dealership asked, “What does it say on the top of the cab?”

“Bump and grind.”

 

Photo courtesy of New York Public Library100 Billion ...

Photo courtesy of New York Public Library

100 Billion Earths

Earlier this year I heard a news story that said there were about 100 billion earth-like planets out there. This story says 6 billion.   https://www.foxnews.com/science/6-billion-earth-like-planets-milky-way-galaxy    I was staggered by the thought. What is our population these days? Somewhere around 7.8 billion? What would you do if you had your own earth? How many people would live there with you? And where would you live…if it was just like our good, old Mother? Should we have one earth for democrats and one for republicans, of course even independents could have their own?! 

I suppose the definition of “earth-like” could really change the idea. But suppose there were even 100 or 50 or 5 or even one.  Some would say it is not only possible, but likely.

As I look at this photo of our little, blue gem sitting in the black jewelry box of space I worry about her. All of the craziness going on and the planet spinning around the sun at 66,660 miles per hour.  She/we seem terribly fragile hanging out there in endless space. It reminds me of a person watching their own EKG and thinking, “Keep beating, keep going!” ; it brings a raw awareness of our mortality and the big picture.