Tamale Time...

So my new neighbor Susan invited me to join her and her friends for their 2nd annual "Tamale Night".  I was so excited, as Helen and I have always talked about making them, but neither one of us had ever done it.  I figured this was the opportunity to get some hands on training for people who had been down that ol' proverbial "Tamale Assembly Line"before.  I got my Facebook invite to the event, instructions of how to make your pork filling, where to get the needed ingredients, what to bring.  The Information was great!  I scanned over the internet looking for additional recipes and came across a Rick Bayless recipe for "Green Chile Chicken Tamales".  I got all my fillings together, a snack for the group, my pile of masa, the needed ziplock bags, spoon, and most important...Comfy Shoes!

I conveniently walked next door and picked myself a spot at the table.  First things first Joanna give me a giant scoop of red sauce, and two scoops of lard, and some of my meat juices to kneed into the masa.  About 30-40 minutes later, (and surely several visits to a Chiropractor for shoulder, and finger fatigue..kidding of course!) I was ready to start filling my tamales!  I heated up my meat and added a little more red sauce and the last of my meat juices.  then I went outside to get myself a pile of "ojas" or corn husks, that we had all given to Susan the day before, so she could soak them.  Then it was time for another lesson in tamale making.  Off I was making dozen after dozen of tamales.  I just hope that little "JER" voice in my head that kept saying, "Not too much masa, and lots of meat", didn't make my tamales to masa-less.  Each of the gals put in one or two tamales that Joanna started steaming right at the get go, so we could all do some sampling when we were done.  I was able to make 3 dozen pork, and a little more than 2 dozen chicken tamales.  I have a PILE of masa left, so after the new year, Helen and I are going to make some more.  A few more tamale tidbits.  Susan scattered the ojas out on towels in the backyard to dry out a little and by about mid evening of making the tamales, it was so cold that they were starting to ice up!  We started making the tamales at 6:00 PM, and I got home at about 12:00 Midnight! There were a total of 14 of us!  What a GREAT bunch of ladies!

 

Spanish Consulate

So today was the BIG DAY!  My appointment was at 9:00 AM at the Spanish Consulate in LA to put in my application for the "Nacionalidad Ley de la Memoria Historica, otherwise known as trying to get my Spanish Citizenship.  My Mom already got hers and Tim was working on getting his.  I didn't want to try and fight traffic, so Mom and I stayed in LA at the Hyatt.  We got up bright and early and previously had made sure we had all the proper paperwork...Birth Certificates, Marriage Certificates, Passports, I couldn't tell you how many we had.. for Me, my Parents, my Grandparents...Files and files!  We get there with 30 minutes to spare.  We went up to one of the three windows to let them know we were there.  The lady handed us a paper and said we needed the original and three copies of each of the specified documents.  WHAT COPIES!!!  and our appointment was in now 25 minutes!  I left Mom at the Consulate and ran downstairs to ask the front desk man where the nearest copies could be made.  He said across the street, but he didn't think they opened until 9:00AM!  I felt like I was in the "Amazing Race"! I thought should I get in my car and drive about 10 blocks to an Office Max I had seen, or should I just go to the place near by?  I figured that by the time I got in my truck, and drove, the copy place close by would be open, and it, in fact could be open at this very moment.  So off I walked, and thank goodness it was open!  I made my bazillion copies, and hurried back to the the Consulate.  We met some other people that we also trying to get their citizenship, it was their 6th time there and they hoped, that this time they would have ALL the papers they needed. Ahhh! 6th time I thought!...I'm for sure doomed!  And the last day to apply for the application was in 7 days!  Well, to make a long story short..I had all the proper papers and copies and now all I have to do is wait for notification from the Spanish Consulate that I need to bring in passport photos and some money to get my Spanish Passport!

I thought it was funny that they had a picture of the King of Spain, Juan Carlos, and then a Lakers Jersey from Pau Gasol.

Cirque Du Soleil

Mom and I went to see Cirque du Soleil "IRIS" today.  It was playing at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood.  We had a great time!  I just don't know how they do all the stunts and aerobatics! Part of the time I found myself holding my breath, and covering my eyes!!  We had great seats on the side balcony.  

LA Auto Show

Never again on a weekend!  The place was TOO crowded!  We went to check out the Lincoln Navigator, as we are thinking of getting one in the spring.  Took just a few photos of the super fancy cars. John and I both thought there would be more concept cars, but we only saw a few.

This was a cool "living"wall, as soon as I walked in, it smelt so fresh and clean.  I guess it was a good idea considering tires usually smell so bad.  Ever walk into a tire store?  Makes my eyes water just thinking about it!

We stopped in Burbank at the Market City Cafe for a quick bite to eat.  It brought back memories of when we lived there for a couple of months when we first moved to Southern California back in 1993.

A Very Traeger Thanksgiving

Welcome!

Happy Thanksgiving from the "READY's"

We hope you and your family are spending time together this Thanksgiving Day.  Although it will be just John, Wiggles and myself this year, you will all be with us in our thoughts.  We are so very grateful for all that we have.  It is a great time to take a breath, relax (as much as one can while trying to prepare the traditional dinner) sit back from the bustle of life to focus on being thankful.  

  

John working on his Turkey!

All rubbed and ready for the smoker!

Here he comes with his pride and joy!

Mmmm, doesn't our bird look fabulous!   Too bad there is no smell-o-vision!

Baked an Apple Pie from scratch this year!

It wouldn't be a Holiday without Stuffed Jalapenos!

Mmmm, all the Fixings!  Bon Appetit!

Happy Birthday John !!!

John had a very low key, but wonderful Birthday!  He got to pick his favorite meal and cake, and got some amazing gifts from family and friends.  Here are a few photos of the festivities.

John reading a B-Day card

Wiggles and Shirley

Pot Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Asparagus, Corn, & Carrots

Coconut Cake !!!

Choo Choo... Here comes the steam train!

Drove into Beaumont to see the Union Pacific Steam Train on it's way into Colton this morning.  Shirley and I met up with Denise and her friend...not to mention Bob, who was there making sure all went well.

It was nice having Bob there to get updates on when it was to come by.

Here she comes....

Massive Wheels!!

The train went on by at about 50 MPH... it was really moving!

There she goes...

Our Little Hummer....

Couldn't resist sharing a few photos of the little hummingbird that frequents our feeds.

Now that I am thinking about it I am going to have to add a couple photos from 2009, when a Momma Hummingbird made a nest right outside our front door.

You can see the small white ball in this photo of the nest.

For awhile I couldn't figure out what was going on.  Every time I came out the front door a hummingbird would just about dive bomb my head.  After a couple of times looking to see If there was anything in there I finely saw the nest.

The eggs looked like little Jordan Almonds.

I told my Brother In-Law, Mark, that was living with us at the time, about the nest and showed him where it was.  Well a few days later our gardeners came and I rushed out to tell him to not prune the palms, as there was a hummingbird nest in one of them and I pointed to where it was, in the back.  Awhile later Mark came in the door and said the lawn guys had pruned all the fronds back.  I FREAKED out! to say the least!  I guess he thought I was talking about the palms in the backyard!  We ran out to our HUGE "green waste" recycling can to find it was completely full of fronds.  But by some miracle that frond was right on the top!  One chick had fallen out of the nest a little, so I picked up a small frond leaf and rolled him back in.  I took the frond back to the tree where it was (nest still attached) and shoved it into the tree.  I made sure to prop it up enough that it wouldn't fall out or off.  You can see how the fronds over time were brown and dead.  But the Hummingbirds lived and got big and flew the nest.  I was a NERVOUS WRECK!  keeping an eye on the Momma and babies!!!

You can see how small they are here.

They are a little bigger in this photo.

 

Here you can see the fronds sticking out the left side of the tree, and how it was all pruned back.