Summer Tradition

Some of you may remember this as an electric skillet.  And in your house it might be.  But in mine, it is and always has been the Chex Mix Pan!  I moved in here over 20 years ago and an old relative gave me this to help me get established.  Nice but it has NEVER been used for anything but Chex Mix.  Every summer I buy a collection of chex cereal, pretzels and nuts and make my own treat.

Mmm!  I know I'm supposed to wait for it to cool before munching but once again I'm certain that won't happen.  Want some?

Happy weekend, all!

C'mon Over

Chex mix is ready. Drinks are mixed. Music provided by the neighbors both out front, across the parking lot and out back, down the alley.

That brings up a complaint about summer. Musical choices of others. Now don't misunderstand. I like music. Pretty much all music. Except when there's more than one thing playing at a time that is. I really wish they'd coordinate better. It's a beautiful day and I have all the windows open. It's very distracting, having overlapping rhythms like there've been all day.

I have a question. Why does pineapple juice only come in wee tiny non-reclosable cans? Why is it the only juice that doesn't come in full-sized bottles? It means I have to mix pitchers of Malibu bay breezes instead of individual glasses. You better all be on your way over here. I going to need some help with these.

My Penguins play tonight, game one of the Stanley Cup finals. Send out good vibes please. I should be working on revising my new story but I know I'll be too involved watching the game to get much accomplished. At least with the holiday I should be back on track before heading in to work Tuesday. Um, unless none of you show up for drinks or I spend too much time at the picnic Monday.

Well that's my weekend. Hope you're doing something you want to be doing. Whatever it is, be safe.

Memorial Day

Tomorrow starts the beginning of the Memorial Day weekend. As you're out and about enjoying your day off at your picnics and gatherings please take a moment to remember the meaning of the day. Because of those who gave their lives in our armed forces, we have the freedom to celebrate as we choose.

To many, Memorial Day signifies the beginning of summer. True, but to me, there is an additional meaning. What is that, you ask? Chex mix. No, not the prepackaged stuff on the shelf in the grocery store. I'm talking about the homemade variety that I make myself. I have a recipe, sort of. It came to me by way of my mom but I'm not sure where it originated. Not that I follow it exactly as written anyway.

My chex mix is sooo much better. Not that I'm biased or anything. Nope, not me. It truly is better. My secret? More. More nuts, more spices, more margarine. More. I don't know about you but I find chex to be somewhat bland as it comes out of the box. Fine when you're consuming it for breakfast but as a snack it needs more flavor. I even customize different batches by levels of spiciness. Not everyone likes the same amount of cayenne pepper.

The thing about this is the quantity of chex mix I end up with. To me, it's kind of the same principle as soup. I have to keep making it until all the cereal is gone. Great for my friends because they all get some but where does one store 30 cups of chex mix while waiting to see them? Want some?

By the way, I did a guest blog over on Night Owl Romance today about my books. Stop by and see it if you have a minute.