Reading: I finished the management book I was reading and passed my test this morning (91%). 6 down and 4 to go on the road to that designation (more letters behind my name). Living History is interesting enough. I have read about Hillary's childhood, high school years and she is now in college (just got an internship in DC).
Eating: New recipe last night: Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole. I found it on the Lutherans On-line site. Very easy to prepare, though you have to think ahead because it bakes for a long time (1 hour and 45 minutes). In a casserole pan (I used a 9x13), place 4 large chicken breasts. Cover with 4 slices of ham (deli sliced) and then 4 slices of Swiss cheese. Stir together 1 can cream of chicken soup and 1/2 C. water and pour over chicken. Melt 1/2 C. (1 stick) butter or margerine (the recipe said "oleo"!). Mix melted butter with 2 C. (1 package) Stove Top Stuffing. Spread stuffing over chicken. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the package of seasoning mix from the stuffing (though I discovered Stove Top is now "1 step" so the seasoning is already in the stuffing part). Cover and bake at 325 for 1 hour. Remove cover and bake for 45 minutes more. Eric rated it, "I would request it again, maybe even on a Sunday," though he thought the cheese should be added later because it was hard to tell it was even there. I thought it was good and would make it again.

Gardening: Not much new here. My flowers in pots in the front are looking a little dry (yes, I have been watering them, thank you very much) so I may trim them back and see what they do. Everything is blooming very nicely though, even the thistle back behind the fence (gotta chop that baby down one of these days).

Reading: I am only happy if I have a big pile of books to slog through (is slog a word?). Wish I had thought that in college. Anyway... in my pile I have: Galileo's Daughter, The Cliff Walk, Living History (Hillary Rodham Clinton's latest--got it from the library), History of France, Grammaire Francais (yes, on a recent French kick), What Color is Your Parachute? and Discover the Best Job for You (also need a job). Diverse and different, wild and weird, eclectic and eccentric. Maybe that is just me, in a nutshell (why are we always packing things in nutshells anyway?) No comments on any of them except History of France--seems the French and British have NEVER agreed on much of anything (if you ever want to piss off a French person, refer to The Channel as "the English Channel"). Once, when I was in France, Molly the travel companion and I wandered into a bookstore to browse. They had wine and cheese there and were apparently having a party of some sort (grand opening, perhaps). One of the employees had been sampling a great deal of wine and stumbled over to us. He offered us wine and when we replied (in French of course) he noticed our non-native accents and asked if we were British. We said, no, we are americaine. He said, "C'est pire, mais ce n'est pas grave."--That's worse, but that's not serious (which here means something like when we say "but that's okay").

Eating: The other night we made Party Pasta Bowl from the Pampered Chef Celebrate cookbook. It was good but what the heck was I thinking making a whole batch? It serves 12 so I would advise halving it unless you actually are making it for a party. Here is the recipe, proceed with caution.
1 lb. uncooked pasta (ziti or manicotti)--cook according to directions and drain. Brown 1 lb ground beef, 1 medium chopped onion and 3 pressed garlic cloves. Stir 1 48 oz jar (2 standard size jars, in other words) spaghetti sauce, 2 T. Italian seasoning and 1 14.5oz can of diced tomatoes (with the juice). In a large casserole (I used my 9x13 stoneware baker), pour in cooked, drained pasta. Add 6 cups of the meat/sauce mixture and stir until well mixed. In a bowl, lightly beat 1 egg. Add 15oz ricotta cheese, 1/4 C. freshly grated parmesan and 1 C. shredded mozzarella to the egg and stir until mixed. Spread egg/cheese mixture over pasta/sauce. Top with remaining meat sauce. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Sprinkle with 1 C. shredded mozzarella and 1/4 C. grated parmesan. Bake an additional 10 minutes, until cheese is melted. We had ours with garlic toast. It is a nice easy lasagna-like dinner without the work. Although I have a very very easy lasagna recipe... stay tuned for that.

Gardening: The strawberries are weeded. Everything is weed-free for the moment. I wish I had a digital camera so I could post some pictures of all the planting and growing we have done this year. Maybe I will get one of those someday...