Sunday & How you can help

Posted on June 22, 2008 by Donalyn

As always on Sundays, I put up a photo from home that I think Lauren will enjoy. This was taken between storms a couple evenings ago. I don’t think she is getting to enjoy any summer showers in Iraq, so I think she will enjoy seeing ours.
A lot of people have asked if they can send anything to help out Lauren and her unit over there so I am putting that info up for you today. Please read all of this information carefully so that anything you send will actually get to people who need it. Including items that are not allowed or not having the address exactly correct could result in your package never getting there at all.
First the address:
Operation SOAP
345 Combat Support Hospital, ICW
Unit #73325
APO, AE 09333-3325

Operation SOAP is a way for you to be able to help the patients in their hospital and will also help supply needs for the soldiers caring for them. Please include a note addressed to “Lauren” and referring to this post, so that they all know that you are a reader of this blog or hers.

First some very specific things they can use right away – these are needed in limited amounts, so please leave a comment if you are supplying one of these items and also check the comments to make sure that they are still needed.
3 shower mats
3 shower curtains
5 bicycle bells – those metal kind that attach to the handle bar – nothing that needs batteries. These are for patients to use as call buttons.

All kinds of toiletries for both men and women. They do have some of this available in the PX, but quantities and variety are very limited. They would all enjoy some nice name brand items from back home.
Shampoo
Conditioner
Soap, Body Wash
Deodorant
Lotion
Shaving supplies
Toothpaste and Toothbrushes
Lip Balm
Candy [not stuff that will melt in the heat]
Snacks [long shelf life is better]
shelf stable microwavable foods

What you cannot send:
anything with pork in it
explosives, including fireworks
large amounts of religious material [i.e. 1 bible is ok, 10 is not]
alcoholic beverages
porn

Boxes should be free of extraneous markings and if reused all info not pertaining to this shipment should be blacked out or covered with opaque tape. You can get flat rate boxes for free from the postal service – they will even send them to you – there is a special APO box that is $10.95 to ship regardless of weight. There are also other Priority Mail boxes available for free.

Thanks in advance. I will add to this list if she lets me know of other needs. Their hospital serves not just the military but civilians as well, so your generosity will have a very long reach. Please let me know in the comments if I have left out any important info.

have a great Sunday!

***Late addition: Lauren asks that you make sure to include your email address on your note, so that she and others in her unit can write to thank you! Also, she notes that Tootsie rolls, M&Ms and Little Debbie snacks all seem to make it there in good condition. Not that she is jonesing for chocolate or anything :) ***

Posted in Sunday | 14 Comments

Good Samaritans

Posted on June 20, 2008 by Donalyn

See this guy? This is a snapping turtle.Do you think he looks grateful that we took him out of the road before he got hit by a car?Not so much.

Posted in photos | 15 Comments

Sisters on a fast road trip

Posted on June 19, 2008 by Donalyn

We drove down through the beautiful mountains of PennsylvaniaWe don’t have this in NY – these yellow signs that castigate you as you drive along. My favorite one said “Use Caution – Watch for D.U.I”. It didn’t say what to do if we found any though.I do really like these – there are more and more windmills all the time. Larry and I are going to drive down there just so we can get a closer look at them sometime – they are enormous.This I am not so crazy about though.This was after about 2 miles of going 15 miles an hour – they don’t want you to start speeding up now!This went on for quite a while, but not as long as the last time we went through here.And here is the reason we went!Weezee got a new agility puppy- another Australian Cattle dog! She doesn’t have a name yet, but you can keep track of her progress on Weezee’s blog after she gets back home.

Posted in me | 13 Comments

Wednesday – with one hand tied behind my back

Posted on June 18, 2008 by Donalyn

Cause I am not even home, but taking advantage of Blogger’s auto post feature. I hope you enjoy this week’s offerings. Road trip pics tomorrow!

The first daylily of the summer – just an ordinary dark eyed stella, but pretty nontheless.This Sedum “Acre”, is slowly filling every crack in the sidewalk and patio – not to mention any other unoccupied spot in the entire yard.This coleus lives in a pot out in the shade garden.Another shot of Ninebark “Summer Wine”, this time in bloom and with a happy bee hovering about.Wow – what have we here? Could this be Mr Wren? Bringing a stick to the new birdhouse?It is indeed and now we just have to wait and see if he can convince some nice lady wren to share the new digs.

Posted in photos, Wordless Wednesday | 7 Comments

Chicken Fajitas

Posted on June 17, 2008 by Donalyn

Last week we made this rub. Today, we are going to use it to make fajitas. You can make fajitas with a marinade and sometimes I do it that way, but a rub is faster and most of the time, fast is what we need around here. The rub has a lot of good flavor, but not quite enough heat for fajitas, so we will use a bit more chipotle to bring it up where we want it. I can’t remember where I got this particular bottle of ground chipotle, but I guess it was made by Amish people. We live pretty close to Amish country and I have even had reason to stop and do business with them a time or two and I can’t say they strike me as the kind of people who would eat a lot of chili powder, but what do I know? Anyway – trim the skinless, boneless chicken breasts of fat and other undesirable bits and pound them out to an even thickness. Lay them on a plate and anoint them with some good olive oil and sprinkle them generously with the rub mixture. Then go over them with a good sprinkle of the ground chipotle pepper. You can use cayenne or any other sort of hotter type ground peppers, but I think chipotle is best because of the smokiness it imparts and also because I love the heat of jalapenos. A nice bright heat that fades quickly so the next bite can hurt ya just as bad! Pat all the dry ingredients on with your fingers, so that it kind of melds with the oil. Just like the pork chops, this can be grilled right away, or as I prefer, it can sit around a couple hours and the flavor will deepen and soak into the meat a little more.
About 20 minutes before you grill the chicken, slice up a bunch of onions and sweet peppers and saute them in olive oil until a little browned but still nicely crisp. Finish them with a couple teaspoons of the rub and saute briefly. Meanwhile, grill the chicken until it is as done as you like – grills vary too much for me to be able to give you an exact time, but on a hot grill, about 6 or 7 minutes per side will do it. On a cutting board, slice the chicken against the grain and layer on serving platter with the onions and peppers.Heat flour tortillas until soft enough to work with and serve with the chicken mixture, grated sharp cheese, additional hot sauce, salsa, pico de gallo, sour cream or what ever you like.Repeat as needed.

Posted in recipes | 7 Comments