I am really sorry you both had to go through that. I bet his doctor was shocked. I hope everything is okay now and that his cardiac event is behind him.

There is something to be said for slowing down and relaxing.  When I go back to NY to see my family, I really feel the difference. 

My friends and family in NY feel they could never live in such a rural area but when you step back and compare the two locations, I feel I am very lucky to be where I am.  No stress..no trying to live up to expectations..it’s nice

Thanks, Missy! It was quite awful at the time, but it’s amazing how many fabulous things have come as a result!!!!

I love rural living (although I don’t live in a rural area, I grew up in one).  If only they put the good NYC and DC museums in the middle of nowhere, I’d be in heaven!!!!

I agree. I so wish there was an ice skating rink less than 90 minutes away; and, boy do I miss the malls in New Jersey.  Wal-Mart and Pay Less are our only shoe stores

When I visit my family in NY, we often go to the Museum Of Natural History. The kids love the it. They also love the Liberty Science Museum. They offer a hands-on experience for kids.

Oh wow this topic just keeps on giving! No coffee cake, but interesting chats!

The pugs are super cute!

We’re lucky enough to have two houses, one in a rural area immediately between the Bay Area and Santa Cruz, and one in a small, close knit community near Lake Tahoe. I grew up in a city, and while I get pangs of “I want to be a city girl again, and not a country bumpkin” I love it when I get home and there are trees around me rather than the neighbor’s houses… Of course down here I have the convenience of the Bay Area close by, and I have to say that even though there is Reno close by when we’re in Tahoe I start missing the big city after a while!

My happy meat all comes from farms in the vicinity, as do the eggs. After trying to eat next to no meat for a few years I watched a BBC documentary on oceans and overfishing, and since then rarely eat seafood, unless I know it’s a “good” fish and I’m not eating the last of them. I started looking at where to get better meat, and found a few farmers that offer it for very reasonable prices. I usually have the freezer full of it, and it’s super yummy.

My hubby lives very healthy, but has inherited high blood pressure and now also high sugar, so there is next to no refined flour in the house, and he’s really trying to cut back on carbs, mostly when we go out. He still has some of my bread, but it’s all whole wheat whole rye and whole spelt, so it’s ok. We’re trying as hard as we can to not go through what Anne and her husband went through - 5 way bypass sounds super scary! Therefore it’s hard to also cut back on meat, but I figure since I personally met the lambs and the chickens and the cows and they had great lives it’s ok to eat them…

Silke, it sounds as though you have the best of both worlds! I am 90 minutes to 2 hours out of Seattle. Even local stores take a half hour to get to if you go at 60 miles an hour. 

My neighborhood is way different than my NY neighborhood.  We were literally inches from the house next door in NY. I could have walked to the mall if I wasn’t so spoiled. Getting the mail meant putting your hand out of the front door. Now my mailbox is 1/3 mile away, one way, which means a 45 minute hike with the dogs stopping to smell everything   If I want pizza…forget about it! We have to go to MURPHY’s and bring one home and bake it ourselves..no delivery for us

But, when I go back to NY I am glad it is only for a week.  My husband thinks I become one of ‘them’ when in NY..It’s true, I do get very stressed hurrying and waiting on lines in the store, at the traffic light, everywhere. But, IMO, I think New Yorker’s get a bad rep because I actually think they are nicer to strangers than people in the Pacific Northwest.  In NY, people will joke with and greet just about anybody. In the PNW, people aren’t really friendly until they get to know you

Here, too, people raise their own livestock.  I have had to try my father-in-law’s fried rabbit and steaks from a pet steer. I personally could never raise livestock to eat..they would all become my pets.

I never heard of happy meat until I read it on this forum.  I’m really glad to see people taking action against animal abuse.

I hope your husband does well..it sounds as though you are doing the right things.

Silke - 15 June 2010 11:29 AM

Oh wow this topic just keeps on giving! No coffee cake, but interesting chats!

The pugs are super cute!

Thank you!!

Oh yeah with those short legs I can imagine it takes them 45 minutes to get to the mailbox

Your story almost sounds like the Pioneer Woman! Big city girl follows big love to the country side… Yes, I’m glad that it’s somebody else’s animals I’m eating, I’m not sure I could do it. However, I’m glad that I can go check out the chickens, and then just miss the bloody bit. And while I’m a soft hearted liberal I love it when somebody that I know goes hunting and I get some of the loot!

I don’t think happy meat is an official word, I think most people refer to it as real food.

Hubby will be fine, we’re just doing what we can to keep it that way! And Anne sounds like it all came out good….

Yeah, that looks gooooood! All I need is a piece of that and a hot cuppa tea!

missyjean - 15 June 2010 04:27 PM

I have had to try my father-in-law’s fried rabbit

There was a guy who worked for my family, and he would shoot squirrels (the beast), but here is the clincher—his girlfriend would make him

are you sitting down?

SQUIRREL POT PIE!!!!!

Shocking!

Oooh, and thanks, Bernadette!

This is an awesome cake—if you ever have an occasion for this type of thing, do not hesitate to make it!  And make an extra—you can slice it and then freeze the slices to have a treat now and then.  Seriously delicious cold from the fridge!!!

Also, I made it 3 days before I needed it and kept it in the fridge.  It was absolutely scrumptious on the day—even better than the day it was made.

It even sounds good cold! I bet my father would love this. . .hmm!

I am going to make that cake this weekend, except I am going with the blueberry version in RHC.  Sounds like it can’t miss (as long as I follow the directions LOL).

You will LOVE it !!!!

Maybe it’ll be YOUR first pics, too!!!

eliz553 - 14 January 2011 08:55 AM

I am going to make that cake this weekend, except I am going with the blueberry version in RHC.  Sounds like it can’t miss (as long as I follow the directions LOL).

I LOVE the blueberry variation! I’ve made it several times and it is great

missyjean - 14 January 2011 11:12 AM

eliz553 - 14 January 2011 08:55 AM

I am going to make that cake this weekend, except I am going with the blueberry version in RHC.  Sounds like it can’t miss (as long as I follow the directions LOL).

I LOVE the blueberry variation! I’ve made it several times and it is great

OK, I made it, the blueberry version, using frozen blueberries.  Followed every detail in the book exactly.  Weighed carefully.  Correct pan size.  Correct oven temp.  The center sunk.  The blueberries seemed to add too much weight and too much moisture to the center.

If I make this again, I will reduce the amount of blueberries, mix them in the cake batter rather than sprinkling on top after 30 minutes of baking (per instruction in the book), and will probably make this cake with a tube insert in the pan.

Disappointing.  I thought these recipes were all extensively tested.  :-(