Broccoli coming out of our Ears

Well... this year we thought we'd plant some broccoli, just to see how it did. Six seedlings grew into monster plants! We picked the big main heads and then they put out sideshoots...

And we cut those... and then the sideshoots put out sideshoots...

We couldn't keep on top of them all and some ended up going to flower. Which is not bad because the bees LOVE broccoli/cabbage flowers.

But still... we've got broccoli coming out of our ears.

Turns out Mama is the only one who eats broccoli... soooo... we needed a new solution.

First... we chop up the heads into florets and small pieces...

Can you guess what we're making?

It's Cream of Broccoli Soup! Mmmm... stick to your ribs soup... Let's see... we are making it without a tonne of cream, so first we need to make a roo. Umm... I know about Winnie the Pooh and Roo? So not sure about this.

Butter... onions... ohhhhh... we're making a roux!!

Then we added flour and stirred vigorously... and then added some turkey broth that was in the freezer.

Then we added the broccoli and let it burble away for a while.

That's not too hard, is it? Mama was a little skittish with the roux but it all turned out.

Hey... it's starting to look good.

Then we ran it through the blender in batches (with a tea towel on the top opening)...

And voila... Put it back in the pot, heat it up, add a little bit of cream (we used half and half) and...

We are done! That was pretty darn easy and now our freezer has several containers of soup. Which is always a good thing. Chef Sandy signing off.

A Chair Fit for a Bear

Hullo... have you ever noticed that humans really don't attend to stuffie comfort all that much? The humans here have these nice Adirondack chairs... two of them.

 But is there a chair for me? No...

And if I do manage to steal some chair time... it's not really the right size. Or the right shape. Sort of the reverse of Goldilocks and her bed issue. This is Sandy and his chair issue.

But... the other day we went garage sale-ing and...

I found the Perfect Bear Chair!!! It is seriously perfect.

It's right size...

It's the right shape.

It's the right colour.

I love it!! I just had to be patient (not my strong suit)... but now I can sit in the yard, soak up some sun and sip my honey mead!

Mail... and... a Surprise

nnnn... ***yawn***... uhhhh... Good morning. Ugh... still recovering from camping with the young 'uns. Mama said today was a special day so... here I am... let me just rub the sleep out of my eyes... Maybe I'll finally get a Starbucks Hot Chocolate Maker??

errrfff... let me just... ooof... get settled...

Right... I am ready. What's up?

Oh!!! Mail!!! From Little Fox! Cool! I was wondering where he got to.  I know Drunk Fox has been foxing the blog for several weeks while Little Fox "finds himself". I guess he found himself in SF! Cool...

Thanks LF! Soooo... that's it? That's my surprise? Hmmmph... where is that sekrebeary evaluation form??
Now... time to write this up as a blog. My sekrebeary and I have been beary busy the last month with visitors and stuff so we've been kind of slacking off on the blog thing but... today is a new day!

So let's get this pre-posted...

First... upload the pictures... then get them into Picasa and export them as smaller versions... then crop them... sigh... there's a lot involved in doing a blog post!

Oh this... this is Spooky and Rascal when they were kittens! Aren't they cute?

And there they are on coasters... hehheh...

OK... upload photos into Blogger... add some words... Label is "mail"...

Oh this?? That's my desktop background - it's Rascal!

... alright... getting distracted here... Schedule post for a few days down the road... and... Publish. We are good to go.

Whoops... someone's at the door... have to run...

Alright, alright... I'm coming! These little bear legs aren't as quick as long human legs... I wonder who it could be? Maybe there's a parcel?

Yes... errr... Hello...

It's Sylvester, cub reporter for Bear's Lair news! Hi Sylvester!! "Hi Sandy!"

And... err... "Hello. My name is Brumm, Official Officer of the MMBE. Are you Alexander MacKenzie Bear." Errr... well... yes, yes I am. Am I in trouble?

"This is my assistant, Zotti. May we come in?" Ummm... sure, I guess so. I just got up and haven't had my hot chocolate yet or honey or..."

Ummm... wow... you're pretty big Brumm! "Yes, perhaps we could go somewhere more comfortable?"

Sure... sure... (at least they haven't arrested me yet! And they're not with P.O.U.N.D. it seems! What the heck is the MMBE?)

So... heh-heh... here we are. Would you like tea? Coffee? Hot Chocolate? Can I get you anything?

"No thank you... but perhaps you could get dressed."
(Oh geez... this doesn't bode well...)

Should I try to impress them? This gives me some added height but... no...

I'll go with tried and true. If I'm in trouble then I want to go down in my official uniform!

"Right. Alexander Mackenzie Bear, you posted a blog this morning, did you not?"
Well... yes... it was just a postcard from Little Fox... just a short post you know... and I pre-scheduled it so I can always take it down if I need to... or edit it or...."
"Yes... well, it turns out, that post was your 1000th blog post, and Zotti and I are here in our official capacity of Officers of the MMBE..."

"ah-hem... Sandy... The Most Excellent Order of Blogger Entities hereby recognizes Alexander Mackenzie Bear as being henceforth a Millennial Member of the Most Excellent Order of Blogger Entities (MMBE) for having achieved 1000 blog posts.

Uh... wow... the Most Excellent... Blogger Entities...

"Well... MMBE for short... we just call it the 1000 Club!"

"Sandy, Sandy... can we have a quote?? How does it feel?"

Errr... well... I am speechless really. I never thought I'd ever make 1000 posts. I mean this all started as a dare to see if I could post one adventure a day for a whole year. And now, here I am, 1000 posts. I... well... I'm truly honoured. I never even knew this order existed and... well... it's just amazing!

"Alright everyone... stand tall, let's get a photo for Bear's Lairs. That's it... serious looks everyone!"

 "Excellent... Sandy... maybe we could get one of you on your own?"

 Uh sure... wow... that's a bright light you've got there... Does this mean I can now put MMBE behind my name?
"Yes it does!"
Oh wow...

Cool...

 "And... a photo with me... just so I can say I have met an MMBE!! There aren't that many of you, you know!"
Uh no... really??
"Well, let's see... my notes say Sullivan McPig hit 1000 posts in 2013... Hammie Hamster hit 1000 posts in 2015. Your pal Beanie Mouse is actually... let's see... it's close. He's set to hit 1000 any moment now. Of course, Beanie's other blog hit 1000 posts ages go. Anyhow... It's quite an accomplishment you guys! Very elite club..."
"Anyhow... we're off! Enjoy your day Sandy!"
Thanks guys!!

 ***Sound of door closing***
Well... wow... this is unexpected!

Unexpectedly heavy... actually...

I'll just tuck that away...

Right then... Alexander Mackenzie Bear MMBE signing off for now. I think I am going to be served paw and foot today by some humans!