What did I do on my summer vacation? A bit of traveling, spending time with family and friends, a few movies, more than a few TV shows and lots of books. It was the perfect staycation!

My goal for my vacation was strictly rest and relaxation. I did drive a bit – first to the home place to visit with Mom, my sister, nephews and niece, and then two day trips to Kansas City to visit friends and see movies – so I probably missed out on the R&R by a little since driving wears me out these days. But when I was home, most of what I did was read. A perfect vacation in my opinion.

I finished White Night, the latest paperback in The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher (more on that in a future blog). Then it was onto a new series for me, as I finished the first two titles in Jonathon King’s Max Freeman series (The Blue Edge of Midnight and A Visible Darkness) – oh, and it’s time to track down the other four in the series! I quickly found myself enthralled with Max’s new life in the Florida Everglades, and his move from burned-out cop to private investigator. The series features a more-than-interesting cast of characters, intriguing plots and believable action and resolutions. 

Next, I picked up Sandra Brown’s Play Dirty, which I finished Wednesday morning at 4! The thriller has more than a bit of romance thrown in for good measure, and it kept me on the edge of my seat - who's the good guy and who's the villain?

After a few hours of sleep, I moved to Janet Evanovich’s Twelve Sharp, as I wanted to re-read it before moving to her Lean Mean Thirteen, the latest paperback in the Stephanie Plum series. Even after 13+ novels in this series, Evanovich can still make me laugh. I can clearly remember opening One for the Money and laughing loud and long within five pages.    

Another re-read was next – Kathy Reichs’ Break No Bones – before I opened her latest paperback, Bones to Ashes. Dr. Tempe Brennan is not only the hero of the authentic, spine-tingling mystery novels, she’s the star of Fox’s TV series, Bones, where she’s portrayed by actress Emily Deschanel. Reichs’ novels are fascinating, sometimes a bit gruesome and always engrossing. I can’t put one down once I start it.  

Since I’m back at work, my reading’s slowed down a bit, although I have breezed through six or seven books in the last couple of weeks, including Caleb Carr's The Alienist (which has been on my to-read shelf for quite some time!). And if I don’t stop listing the books I’ve read, we’ll never move on to the next topic! What are you reading at the moment? What’s on your to-read shelf?

Happy Reading!

When asked about her potato salad recipe, Mom said, “As many eggs as potatoes,” and she went on to explain the rest of her recipe: celery, onion, perhaps celery seed (something Nanie, my grandmother, used most of the time), mustard, real mayonnaise, salt and pepper.

“I prefer chunks of potatoes,” Mom says, “kind of on the large side, and not overcooked.” She doesn’t like too much mayo, adds everything to taste, and uses mustard for its flavor.

When I asked Aunt Jean for her potato salad recipe, she said, “An egg for every potato,” and Mom and I laughed, then explained. Sisters!

Aunt Jean uses mayonnaise, mustard, a little onion, sometimes onion powder or celery seed, and she sometimes adds a little pickle juice in the mayo, and salt and pepper to taste. She says she always chills it a while before serving.

Next to be on the receiving end of my potato salad recipe questions was Aunt Mary Ethel. She prefers using new potatoes, peeled and chopped, a couple of boiled eggs, a tablespoon or so of dill relish, a half-and-half combination of real mayonnaise and sour cream, a good squirt of mustard, a half tablespoon of celery seed, and salt and pepper to taste. She says when she has fresh onion, cucumbers, celery or tomato, a bit of that will find its way into the salad, but not often. She likes a full bite of potato, so she doesn’t chop them much.

“There’s a different flavor with new potatoes,” Mary Ethel says. “They’re firmer and don’t need as much dressing.”

She doesn’t mind sweet relish in someone else’s potato salad, but she doesn’t use it.

Off to talk with Aunt Mary Kaye. One note before I go on, Mary Kaye makes the best pickles, particularly hot pickles. They’re terrific on a turkey sandwich!

 Mary Kaye’s recipe for potato salad goes like this: leftover potatoes, cool, and mushed with a potato masher. Add hardboiled eggs, onion, sweet pickles, dill pickles, hot pickles (I love this recipe!), some pickle juice added to the Miracle Whip (light), mustard, a “strinkle” of sugar to cut the tangy mustard, and salt and pepper.

My sister Katherine was next on my list. She leaves the skins on her boiled potatoes, adds hardboiled eggs, onion, dill pickles (yes!), as much mayonnaise as needed, a squirt of yellow mustard, maybe a little pickle juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Katherine likes her potatoes in larger pieces, and her salad with lots of eggs, dill pickles and onion.

Two e-mails later, and I am now the proud possessor of recipes from my sisters Tricia and Mary.

“Be happy to share my recipe except I don’t use one,” Tricia writes. “My typical potato salad is made with cooked red potatoes (sometimes new), hardboiled eggs and green onion. Use half mayonnaise and half plain low-fat yogurt with mustard, Mrs. Dash, salt and pepper. I try to cut the potatoes into bite-size piece before cooking them, and I try not to overcook the potatoes, but usually that’s just a dream. Nothing fancy, but it usually tastes pretty good. A little different because of the yogurt.”

Mary says she’s the only one in her family to eat potato salad. “I like it simple – boiled potatoes, mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper. Then I dress up the leftovers with diced ham, and maybe a bit of grated cheese.”

She, like others in my family, doesn’t buy potato salad in stores. Mary says it’s always way too sweet. Mom says another of her sisters, Anna Mae, used to bring store-bought potato salad home, only to doctor it to suit her taste.

My try (in photograph) this weekend came out pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. Red-skinned potatoes, hardboiled eggs, a few dill pickles (it really needs more), mayonnaise, a dash of pickle juice, and a large squirt of spicy mustard. I cooked the potatoes in the microwave, for about 15 minutes (in increments of 5 minutes), and they’re not too mushy this time around. I used four fairly good sized potatoes, and five hardboiled eggs – didn’t want to end the family tradition! I also didn’t go overboard on the mayo, something I struggle with when making these types of salads.

Until I asked about family recipes, I’d never thought to cut the mayo with pickle juice, sour cream or yogurt. Since I tried the pickle juice this time, with good results, I’ll try sour cream or yogurt the next time around. It’s time to expand my horizons!

My major concession to higher gas prices has been to set the cruise control to 70. Yes, I know, but it’s slower for me – just ask anyone.

Anyway, I’ve managed to squeeze out a few extra mpg for my Geo Prizm – nothing major, but every little bit helps, right? The slowdown, however, has had another positive effect – I’m paying more attention to the scenery. It seems a bit easier to glance to the left or the right, to really see the countryside I’m traveling through, when my car is moving a bit slower than the rest of the traffic.

This was very noticeable on my last two trips west. The homeplace is about 3 1/2 hours from where I currently live, and it’s a relatively easy drive on the interstate. So I head west in the late afternoon, and before the sun becomes too much of a problem, I keep one eye on the road and the other on the view.

The Kansas terrain changes significantly around Salina along I-70. The trees, shrubs and rolling Flint Hills give way to my Kansas. I prefer wide open spaces and the ability to see to a horizon where the landscape tinges blue. I can finally breathe.

For other views of the Great Plains, visit the other GRIT blogs, include K.C.’s Waking Up in Kansas and Kate’s Osage County Almanac.

About 25 miles west of Salina, a new sight has appeared in recent months. Rising from the prairie is a forest of wind turbines, gleaming white and silver above the green and gold land. Fifty-six of the turbines have gone on-line, producing enough power for 37,000 Kansas homes each year. From what I read, there will be 120 to 170 on-line when the project – the Smoky Hills Wind Farm – is completed. The project spans 26,000 acres and involves 120 landowners.

The turbines spread along several miles, spanning the Ellsworth and Lincoln county line – it’s difficult to count as you drive past, so I’m not sure if all of them are finished. A few are close enough that I think I can reach out to touch them.

It’s an awesome sight.

And it’s even better when the blades gently swoosh through the Kansas wind, allowing the bright sunshine to cast graceful shadows on pasture and wheat fields. The farmers and ranchers are still utilizing the land, right up to the base of the giants, and one can see wheat stalks and cattle grazing even from the highway.

For me, the only sad part of the sight is the number of blades that are still – though I understand that will change by the end of the year, when the entire project is scheduled to be in operation.

When that happens, I will happily drive slowly past these behemoths, the new monarchs of the plains, watching the huge blades whipping in the prairie breeze. It’s guaranteed to bring a smile to my face – the gorgeous, awe-inspiring giants adding to the delight of my favorite Kansas scenery and offering a wonderful, renewable energy source for our struggling Earth.

If you’d like to learn more about wind energy, visit the American Wind Energy Association, the U.S. Department of Energy’s site on renewable energy, or the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s site.