REMEMBER THE FALLEN

 It's just another holiday for most ... a three day holiday ... but to many of us, it's more than that ... much more.  We celebrate our fallen soldiers who gave their lives that we could live in Freedom.  The list is long ... and today we honor their sacrifice.

Thanks to those men and women, yesterday was just another wonderful day, even if it was little boring.  Mr. Cooper started his day out right with a nap.  Did I mention he had a bath?  Well he sure doesn't look like it!!

Off we went into the wild blue yonder with me running along behind.  There is one little stretch of walking in order to scan his territory, but from then on, it's hang on Mom ... and I'm running just to keep up with him.  We are going further and further since like his Mom, he has gained TWO pounds.  That's a lot for a little kid.  Hey, if I'M on a diet, HE'S on a diet.

The difference is, back at the house, he crashes on the couch and I pursue other less interesting things like sewing yet another binding.  I also did a little phone checking.  I have three whole days coming up and I really wanted to take the van out.  Where to go ... where to go.  

Then it dawned on me.  If I can't find room in an RV park, I can always check into a hotel.  And so the search was on.  This was what I found.  A nice little room with a view, nothing fancy, or so I thought, until I tried to book it.  Oh the words that came out of my mouth!!  Look at the price per night!!!  Who in the world stays THERE?  My plan was short lived.

So on to the Indianapolis 500.  I've been trying to watch the Cowboy Channel for rodeos, but they have only been showing National Final reruns.  What's up with that?  I happen to have their email address, so I sent the question to them.  

Wasn't I surprised when they responded immediately.  They said there's new programming in the works, but I don't know ... sounded fishy to me.  Since the Owner passed away, things have changed.  Maybe it's a ruse to see how many people will sign up for PAY per view.  Cowboys are broke ... and mostly cheap like me ... so good luck with that.  Maybe it's how much THEY have to pay the rodeos to air them!

SO ..... On to the race!  These are the fast boys.  They go upwards of 240 mph hour around that track.  Honestly, I can't imagine.  I freaked out going 125 in my Corvette.  Compare that to the stock car guys who only run around 190.  They had several wrecks before they even started the race.

It's all about fuel usage and tires.  How long do you draft to keep fuel in your tank and how fast do your tires heat up to keep you on the track, not to mention being lucky enough to stay out of the wrecks that always happen.  This year's winner ... the first Spaniard to ever win the 500 ... Alex Palou.  His dad cried.  And of course he drank MILK on the brickyard.

Really, I'm not a race car fan, though I did love PLAYING race car driver many times in my younger days of owning a GTO, but watching it passes the time when I'm sewing.

I spent MORE time outside, and look what I found.  A close inspection of the tomato pots revealed a haul of red.  The little green one just fell off.  Yup they taste like cherry tomatoes!  I'm already making a list of neighbors who are rarely home since I counted seven ... yes SEVEN little zucchinis.

If you're going to grow them, you better eat them.  This recipe calls for big slices of tomato, but since I had a bunch of little ones from the store, I just threw them in instead.  This chicken has a soy sauce marinade with lots of garlic, on top of thick onion slices.  Bake in the oven, top with mozzarella, easy peasy.  I know, this rather resembles parmesan since that's all I had.

I definitely need to hone up on my serving skills.  Do NOT use a spoon to get the chicken out of the pan.  It fell off in 1/2 inch deep sauce, causing it to fly EVERYWHERE.  What a mess to clean up ... and that grease will probably NEVER leave my shirt!!  The good news ... it tasted pretty darn good!!

And so ended the day with me making a long list of things to do.  I need a horse trough for a raised garden, new drip line so I don't have to water the tomatoes every day, more tomato cages, and a laundry list of other items.  

Instead of doing that today however, I will be honoring our local Honor Guard who honors our fallen with amazing ceremonies at the National Cemetery several times a week.  My good friend Kathy and I are pulling out all the stops with a big barbecue, including appetizers, in her back yard.  

I'll be remembering all the kids I went to high school with that never came back from the wars. 

REMEMBER THE FALLEN .....