Rachel Greenliefs Online Journal

Baking Up a Storm in the Kitchen

Raechel — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 22:55:38 +0000

When the weather turns cold and rainy, it drives me into the kitchen and I start baking up a storm. I love to cook, and I especially love to bake. I think that cookies are my specialty, but I make a fantastic cake – from scratch! – and a pretty tasty fruit pie, too!

I am going to try some recipes today that call for buttermilk. I have not used buttermilk before, but you see it featured on a lot of boxes at the store as something special: buttermilk pancakes, buttermilk waffles, etc. So I am going to make some pancakes and then a recipe that I found calling for buttermilk and fresh berries.

If it is still cold and rainy tomorrow, I will be back in the kitchen working on some cookies. I have a few things in mind that I have not tried yet and if they turn out well then I can take a couple dozen to my vet’s office and share them. I love my vet and doing something nice like baking cookies is a great way to show your appreciation to the staff there!

Learning About Flowers

Raechel — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 15:22:26 +0000

One of my girlfriends took a temporary job last month as a delivery driver for a flower shop on Valentine’s Day. The job was just supposed to be for two days, and she just wanted to make some fast cash.

As it turns out, the owner of the shop got mad at his regular delivery driver and fired him after Valentine’s Day. So called up my girlfriend and asked her if she wanted to take the job full time, in his place. She said that the delivery part was fun and she could use the money, so she took the job. I think that is cool how things worked out for her.

Part of her job is not just delivering the flowers but also helping around the shop in the mornings when they get their daily deliveries of fresh flowers. she has to help unpack the boxes and haul buckets of fresh water into the flower cooler case. And she helps prepare the flowers by cleaning off dead leaves and thorns from the stems.

Now she is all excited to be learning about flowers and how to arrange them. I wonder if she has an undiscovered talent for floral design? I talk with her every night and she tells me everything she has learned about flowers that day. It sounds like a very cool job.

Really Funny Commercials Lately!

Raechel — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 01:18:41 +0000

There have been a lot of good commercials on TV lately. Have you noticed? Maybe the Super Bowl inspired a lot of companies to get busy and come up with cute commercials. One of my favorites is about a little kid riding in the backseat asks his parents where do babies come from. They tell this ridiculous story about astronauts and babies parachuting to earth. When the kids says, but my friend says that babies come from… and the dad freaks out and turns up the car radio real loud and starts singing. That one just cracks me up!

Wow! Lincoln is a MUST SEE movie!

Raechel — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 15:28:24 +0000

Just saw the movie, Lincoln, last night. All I can say is, “Wow!” What a great movie! It is nothing like I expected. Everyone knows about Abraham Lincoln and how he got assassinated and all that part of our American history. This movie was NOT about that! This movie was about politics in the old days and how the end of the Civil War affected the end of slavery – and it almost did not happen!

Daniel Day Lewis is SPECTACULAR as Abraham Lincoln. You totally believe that you are watching the real man – not an actor who has won the Academy Award for other movie roles like Last of the Mohicans and his other great movies. There were several excellent actors in this movie. I loved Tommy Lee Jones and Sally Field, too.

This movie was nominated for all kinds of Academy Awards and should have won them all. It’s a GREAT MOVIE! Don’t wait for the DVD – go see it!!!

Building Bridges

Raechel — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 08:58:43 +0000

This morning I had a hard time falling asleep – I should not have had that Starbucks latte after work. The caffeine has messed me up but it is my own fault. So, I got online and started surfing some photography sites. I call the photoblogs my eye candy. I love to see what photographers can do with an artistic eye and a good camera.

One of the photoblogs that I really like is made by a man in Pennsylvania, John Maslowski. He takes the most beautiful photographs of waterfalls. The water always looks soft and pristine, like humans have never been there to spoil it.

The most recent photo that he posted on his photoblog is of a bridge located in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The photo is stunning in the composition and artistic perspective, but even more was the way it brought to mind the dozens of men who had to work so hard to bring the iron ore from the ground, forge it into massive beams, transport it to the site and actually construct the bridge. All this work and expense so that people would have the convenience of crossing a body of water.

Things like these bridges are what makes our country so great. We have the men who are willing and able to work hard, the men who are educated and smart enough to design massive structures, and a way to finance these massive projects to make them happen.

And, after all these deep thoughts, I guess I will turn off my laptop and try once again to get some sleep. Six o’clock will be coming early for me.

Have You Heard of the Mummers Parade?

Raechel — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 23:25:46 +0000

Since I do not live on the East Coast, I do not get all the news that others might get. I have never heard of anything called a Mummer’s Parade, but it is a really big deal in Philadelphia every year. It has been going on since the 1800′s. So why have I never heard of it? This is like Philadelphia’s Mardi Gras – big floats, fabulous costumes, music, dancing – a huge all day street party. They even judge the entries and give out trophies to five different Divisions of parades entries:

Comic Division
Wench Brigades
Fancy Division
String Bands
Fancy Brigades

I’ve never even heard of the word mummer, so I looked it up. “A masked or costumed merrymaker.” So I guess all the Mardi Gras and Carnival parade people are technically mummers, too.

I don’t know that I will ever have a chance to be in Philadelphia on New Year’s Day, but if I do have the chance, I will go with the plan to see the Mummers, too. The Mardi Gras parade I saw was so much fun! I wish I had a fancy costume and could party with people at one of the carnival balls. That would be something to look forward to all year long!

Christmas Blessing to all My Friends

Raechel — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 14:53:32 +0000

This morning has been lovely so far. It’s not a white Christmas, but it is a nice and peaceful Christmas.

Have You Been to a Dog Park?

Raechel — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 03:21:50 +0000

Most days I take my dog for a short walk in my own yard every morning. Then, in the afternoon we walk up and down the street in my neighborhood. That’s the only safe place I know and that all the exercise we get. I’ve never taken him to a dog park. In fact, I don’t think there are any dog parks anywhere around this area. I think there is one about an hour from here, but that is awfully far to go for a walk in the park with my dog.

Oddly enough, there was a movie on cable last night called, “Dog Park.” It’s about several people in California who have dogs and develop romantic relationships because they meet at the dog park or dog obedience classes or they work together. I admit that I did not watch the entire movie, but watch I did watch was awful. It is a really lame story line, the sound track sucks, and the actors are pathetic. I have no idea how this movie even got made. Do not waste your time watching this awful movie, even if you are sick in bed with the flu and can’t find the remote control to change the channel. The dogs in the movie are the only interesting characters, especially the two Boxers.

Great TV Commercials This Month

Raechel — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 21:53:49 +0000

All the advertisers have really stepped up the TV commercials so they can get as much of our Christmas shopping money as possible. I have really noticed an increase in car commercials – every brand, but especially the luxury cars like Lexus.

Here is what I don’t understand. How many people really think that buying a car for their loved one is a good Christmas gift? How many people really can do that anyway? Wouldn’t that be a once in a lifetime kind of thing for anyone but the most wealthy, privileged family?

I can tell you that even though my parents were financially successful, buying a car as a gift was never ever something anyone in my family would ever consider. It’s just not done. My parents will spend a lot of money on great Christmas gifts, but a car is a practical item that is handled separately from gifts. It really does not matter how many nice car commercials they show in December, I will not be buying a new car for anyone as a Christmas gift. It will never happen.

Finally Got to Watch the Movie Version of The Help

Raechel — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 04:55:23 +0000

Having rad the book over two years ago, I have been wanting to see the movie version of The Help. I missed the chance to see it when it was first in theaters, and for some reason I did not notice when it became available at Redbox.

Thank goodness for cable TV and On Demand movies. Some of my friends love Netflix, but I get along fine with Comcast movie channels, On Demand, and Redbox. That is plenty of resources for watching most movies.

So I stumbled on the movie guide and found The Help was running on Cinemax. I flipped right to the channel and caught the end of the movie – just the credits part. Then in just a couple of minutes the movie started from the beginning because Cinemax was running the movie back to back for the whole day. I don’t know if they normally do a single movie marathon like that, but i lucked out and got to watch it. It was really just as good as the book, and the actors were cast perfectly!