Debra LaValley's Blog

Mothra (aka Giant Cecropia)

I was reminiscing the other day about miller moths. As far back as I can remember, my mother has disliked (read afraid of) millers (those pesky moths that tend to get into the house and are often seen on the inside of lights). I like moths and would capture any that happened into the house and release them outside. Often, my mother would comment that “Glen Miller and his orchestra” were in the light. Cue Moonlight Serenade. This was the signal for my dad to take off the glass light covers and dispose of the millers.

Yesterday, I gazed up into the large kitchen light at my parents’ house – hoping to see remnants of millers so I could take a photo for this blog – but alas – there were only a couple silverfish corpses in the fixture. Now – they are some freaky bugs. Why they are called silverfish – I don’t understand since they bear no resemblance to fish and do not live in water. The silver part, I get. They are very strange indeed and seem to be sculpted out of silver dust. According to Wikipedia they are also known as fishmoths or carpet sharks (I like this one and see a horror movie in the making. Was that a dorsal fin that I just saw in my living room rug?). It seems they get the “fish” part of their name due to their fish-like movements. I can’t say that I have ever thought they moved like fish. The article stated that they like carbs! I can relate to that – I have never met a carb that I didn’t like. In fact, right now, I am craving something chocolate! Is that a knock on my door? “Candy-Gram!” (Land Shark) . . . I digress (one of Saturday Night Live’s best skits back in the day when SNL was REALLY funny).

Silverfish/Wikipedia

I can’t really think of much else to say – hope you all have a great day!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Yes, I am having a green beer. I dropped some green food coloring into my Twisted Thistle Belhaven Ale (Scottish Ale). I am of the Ross and Grant Scottish clans. I also have some ancestors from Wales – so there really must be some Irish in there somewhere too. Believe it or not, I think this is only the second green beer that I have ever had. It looks pretty vile – but it still tastes like a great Scottish ale! I am wearing my Ross clan t-shirt today too. It is green. The Ross motto is Success Nourishes Hope.

Spring has sprung here in NH! Tomorrow is supposed to be around 70 degrees and it may hit 80 this week! We certainly have had a very weird winter.

Enjoy your day, everyone! Slainte Mhath! To your good health!

Debbie 🙂

Spring Forward!

Of course, I won’t be springing anywhere for the next few days! Turning the clocks ahead an hour is a love-hate relationship for me. I LOVE that the sun now will set later, and I will see the light of day longer after I get out of work. However, I hate losing the hour of sleep. It really messes up my internal clock and schedule.

I have already gone around and changed all my clocks. They now are showing 12:28 a.m. Would it have been better for me to go to bed an hour ago? Yes! Will I stay up way too late tonight? Yes! At 9:00 pm tonight, I could hardly keep my eyes open – but I now have a second wind and am wide awake and will not be going to bed for at least an hour.

I am bad – almost as bad as Molly who will most likely waking me up at the crack of dawn – not many hours after I have gone to bed. She is a cute “little” thing though – so what can I say!

Enjoy your day!

Debbie 🙂

March – the time the sap flows and maple trees are adorned with sap buckets or tubes to collect the golden liquid. It will be interesting to see if there is a shortage of maple syrup this year. This winter’s weather was so weird. We had a huge snow storm in October and then almost no snow until last week when we got a foot of snow. The temperatures have been fairly mild as well for most of the winter. I hope that the sap flows in volumes and the local sugar shacks are able to process gallons and gallons of real maple syrup. There is nothing better than real maple syrup.

Tree tapping time – is a sure sign of spring! My brother and his family are trying their luck again making their own maple syrup. I can’t wait to taste a sample.

Many New Hampshire Sugar Houses hold Open Houses on March 24 and March 25. It is great fun to watch and enjoy samples. Click here for a listing.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I can’t think of too much to say tonight – but I thought I would share a photo of my only Valentine’s Day Annalee Doll. It is a dragon. Don’t you wish there really were dragons – real flying dragons? Komodo dragons don’t count. Wouldn’t it be amazing to see dragons flying through the air? I think so. Instead of bird watching – I would be dragon watching! Given their size they would be hard to miss and even I should be able to get a decent photo!

I didn’t have too many great photo ops this weekend. I saw 3 eagles at one today (2 adults and 1 immature eagle) – almost as thrilling as seeing a dragon! However, they were too far away to get decent shots. If only eagles were as large as dragons my shots would have been better! 🙂

Molly is doing better than I am dieting. Of course – she doesn’t have thumbs to open her cans of food, drive a car, or have money/credit cards to stop off at the store and pick up snacks. Molly has to wait for me to feed her. Lately, I have been placing most of her dry food in a snack ball and a snack egg-shape toy. Molly rolls, rocks, pushes these until a kibble or two fall out of the tiny holes. This extra exercise is helping her lose weight. She is 14.65 down from a little over 15 pounds. That is a nice little weight loss for her. I haven’t been doing so well on my diet.

Maybe, I need a snack ball? I wonder how I can get the ice cream and pie into that little hole?

DAKTARI! I may have only been 9 years old when DAKTARI first appeared on TV in 1966 – but I have always remembered that show fondly and wished they would replay it again on tv. It appealed to me because it was filled with adventure and animals. To this day, I love wildlife! I often watch nature shows, and I spend a great deal of time outside in search of wildlife to photograph (insects to mammals – it doesn’t matter).

Over the years, I searched eBay for DAKTARI on DVD, but I did not have any luck. I found a few DAKTARI items like the Corgi DAKTARI Land Rover and figures pictured below. Yes, I bought them. I found a couple DAKTARI books on-line too.

You can imagine how thrilled I was when I noticed on Amazon.com the other day that DAKTARI’s first season was now available! I ordered it immediately! I have been enjoying mini-marathons of DAKTARI all week! The real thrill is seeing the episodes in “living color” on my 42 inch television! (We only had a B&W television at home when this show first aired!) I only have one more episode to watch, so I am hoping the other seasons will be released soon! It is like seeing an old friend. 🙂

Trivia: When answering the radio in this vehicle their “handle” was “Blue Zebra.” I didn’t remember that – but noticed it in the last episode that I watched. (BTW – I do remember WD9598 was the radio designation used by Porter Ricks in FLIPPER – another favorite!) I admit that I have always been a TV addict. My mother said as a child, I used to sit mesmorized for long periods of time in front of the TV. 🙂

January 23, 2011

What a difference a year makes. The above photo is how much snow we had a year ago. We had snow today – but only about 2 inches. This winter has been mild compared to the past two winters. At least, I haven’t had to worry about my father taking snow of their roof! Currently, the ground cover is only about as much snow that is on the roof in the photo!

Have a great day!

In the 1980s, my mother and I were really into Annalee Mobilitee Dolls. These cute felt dolls were made in Meredith, NH. We would often go to the “workshop in the woods” in Meredith and purchase the whimsical dolls. The dolls were a bit pricey because they were handmade.

We found out that the first Saturday in January, there was a huge 50% sale. We heard that folks got there during the night and would stay in their cars and wait for the doors to open. We decided to go and stay the night in the car for this special sale. I remember sitting in the car – eating snacks and waiting. There were many,many people there from all over. We had brought out credit cards/checkbooks, and were ready to buy!

Just before the doors opened, we were chatting with a fellow Annalee Doll collector – also from Penacook – Joan LeBrun. During out conversation my mother or I had mentioned we had our credit cards/checks ready to purchase a bunch of dolls at 50% off. Joan broke the news to us that it was CASH ONLY! We were devastated! We had been out in the cold all night waiting, and the doors were just about to open! We had no cash with us! Joan was great friends with my Uncle Bobbie and Aunt Marilyn. She graciously loaned us some money. I think it was $20 a piece. We had enough to purchase one doll each. I purchased a winged dragon (much like the plain dragon in the photo above). I no longer have the winged dragon. About 10 years later, I saw that one of these winged dragons sold at an Annalee Auction for hundreds of dollars and decided to place mine in the next auction. It was during my “Ramen” noodle meal days, and I was hoping to get a few hundred dollars or so for my dragon. I only got about $80 – maybe less. I was very disappointed.

Looking back, I wish I still had the dragon. The memories it held of that nights’ adventures were worth much more than $80 – but I was young, and the prospect of getting hundreds of dollars for it – enticed me.

I know better now. Even without the dragon – I will always remember the kindness of Joan LeBrun. She died many years ago – but I still can picture her smiling and how grateful my mom and I were for her generosity that night. She didn’t have to lend us any money. It goes to show you – that you don’t have to do much to change someone’s bad day into a good day.

Have a great day everyone and remember To Pay if Forward – whenever you can.

“Just a lot of folk sittin’ round the fire warming . . . Blow the marshmallow out and dream a dream gone by.”

We just had a couple very cold days, but so far this winter has been mild. That is ok with me. The past two winters we have been buried in snow by now. Tomorrow, the forecast is the mid 40s. I am glad for it is the Mid-Winter Eagle Count. I am a volunteer again this year. The past couple years – the day of the count has been snowing or bitterly cold. I am looking forward to a more mild day. I hope to see at least one eagle. I saw one adult bald eagle on 12/31/11 and the same (I am assuming) one 1/1/12. I never tire of seeing eagles. They are such awesome birds.

A woman in my department shared a breakfast casserole recipe with me. I thought some of you would enjoy it. She made it once in our department, and it was well received. I am sure that I could make it with vegetarian sausage.

Holiday Brunch Casserole

1 pkg. Jimmy Dean Sausage
(cooked, drained, and crumbled)
4 cups cubed day old bread
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
10 eggs, slightly beaten
4 cups milk
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. onion powder
Fresh ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (optional)
1/2 cup peeled, chopped tomatoes (optional)

Place bread in well-buttered 9×13 baking dish.
Sprinkle with cheese. Combine the next six
ingredients. Pour evenly over the bread and cheese.
Sprinkle sausage and optional ingredients over the top.
Cover and chill overnight. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Bake uncovered for about one hour. Tent with foil if top begins to
brown too quickly. Serves 6.

Stay warm! 🙂