Getting Ready

Hi!

Now that it’s almost Turkey Day (and, YES, I now know it’s on Thursday, thanks to the reminder from my good friend Momma…grin) I guess I should explain my confusion on the actual ‘day’ of the holiday: in years past my son has been off for Thanksgiving holiday the day before Thanksgiving, but this year he has Weds-Sunday off, which threw my mental schedule off by one day.  I think I’m finally ready with the food purchases. Made an early trip (again) to Kroger for a larger turkey; thought I had the turkey thing all wrapped up but now we’re having extra company and the 15 pounder just won’t cut it to include leftovers. Kroger is having a GREAT sale on Riverside turkeys 29 cents a pound with extra $10 purchase (using their Kroger card). I picked up a 20- something pound turkey for $6.01 … you just can’t beat that!  Got a call last night to make a ‘fruit type dessert’ for a bride/groom shower our Sunday School class is throwing next Sunday evening after church. This is a very ‘interesting’ shower, as it’s for my long-time friend (the groom) who’s wife was my very close friend. You might remember a little over 2 years ago when I wrote about my friend dying of cancer…that was his wife.  Sometimes in life (call it ‘fate’?) events fall into place that just seem ‘right’.  In our Sunday School class is a lady (58) who is a widow with 2 daughters; her husband died of cancer 5 years ago.  As ‘fate’ would have it, she and my good friend’s husband(he’s 63) have started dating and are now going to be married in January! They are both great Christian people, very devoted to their children and each other. For me, it’s been a bit of adjusting to get used to this new ‘couple’, but I’m very happy for the both of them-to see them together makes me think of the words: It’s like ‘coming home’…they belong together.   I say all that to give you another recipe for a yummy dessert (don’t think I’ve posted this one before, but am not totally sure). It’s a light, fluffy, not too sweet dessert – every time I’ve made it there are NO leftovers…just plain great stuff! I usually double the recipe if it’s for a party.

Cherry-Pineapple Dessert

1 can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)

1 large container Cool Whip, defrosted

1 can cherry pie filling

1 can crushed pineapple, drained

—-

In a large bowl, fold Eagle Brand milk into Cool Whip until incorporated. Gently fold in pie filling and pineapple. Refrigerate 1-2 hours before serving.

NOTE: You can substitute blueberry or strawberry pie filling and/or add chopped nuts before refrigerating.

================

Even though I know it’s going to be a lot of work, I’m looking forward to the Thanksgiving meal; lots of good foods you don’t usually eat except at the holidays, friends and family to share with. With work schedules that day, we’ll be eating around 7/7:30 p.m. but that’s OK-part of the ‘downside’ of being in the food service business (oldest son is Executive Chef, his girlfriend is a server, his friend who’s coming is one of his employees…another ‘cook’).  Sometimes I feel a little intimidated cooking for my oldest son because he’s a chef, but then I think again: “Hey, I’m sure he’s just glad that he doesn’t have to cook this meal himself!”  Besides, sometimes he gives me little tips when helping with the last minute details (he’s a GREAT cooked potato masher!). This year I’m attempting to make homemade cranberry-orange relish since I can’t find Ocean Spray Cranberry-Orange relish (a staple EVERY year for our holidays…until THIS year!). His advice to me: freeze the fresh cranberries before grinding them…they come out less shredded that way.  Then he added: “That’s the way I do it at my restaurant and I make that stuff all the time”. I still remember the young kid who was just starting Culinary training who decided to make dinner for us: spaghetti…and the entire kitchen filled with dirty pots & pans, spaghetti sauce EVERYWHERE! Ah yes…they DO grow up!

Hope you’re ‘on track’ with your holiday preparations and food buying. It’s a semi-cloudy 49 degree day out today; still a nice Fall day (I hear we’re supposed to get the first “S word inserted here…Thursday or Friday…sigh. Not the ’sticking’ kind, but s-n-o-w in any form just signals it’s coming in larger quantities very soon…the ‘downside’ of living in Michigan…sigh.

Hugs;

Pammie

Bonus recipe:

Fresh Cranberry-Orange Relish

1 (12-ounce) package Ocean Spray® Fresh or Frozen Cranberries, rinsed and drained
1 unpeeled orange, cut into eighths and seeded
3/4 to 1 cup granulated sugar

1. Place half the cranberries and half the orange slices in food processor container. Process until mixture is evenly chopped. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat with remaining cranberries and orange slices. Stir in sugar. Store in refrigerator or freezer.

Makes about 3 cups.

Tryin’ Somethin’ New

When does a ’slightly older’ (hehehe) lady like myself actually try something new? Why today, of course! I have received several offers of friendship on the ever-popular Facebook, to which I have declined. For whatever reason known only to me (and even I’m not sure why) I decided to ‘give it a try’.  After logging on and finding that there were at least 10 people I knew on there asking for my ‘friendship’, I checked out the  site. It was nice to see faces of people I haven’t seen in at least 10 years, however…I have no idea how to do what they do on that site (ie: do a short ‘write-up’ and other ’stuff’ I’m not sure about). I guess that’s OK – if, for no other reason, this keeps some of my friends from bugging me about “Why aren’t you on Facebook?”, then I’ve done my deed for the day!

Pammie

Playing Catch-Up

(sorry, I’m in a rather crazy mood today)

It’s mid-week already and I still don’t feel totally ‘together’; ever have one of those weeks? Sunday blew by with church, lunch, a quick nap, choir practice, then church again and home to fix a quick dinner, then bed. Monday ‘was’ going to be my ‘getting things done’ day, but just as I got in my car at the grocery store parking lot after getting the shopping done, oldest son called to ask if I’d babysit for ‘just a short time, Mom, maybe 1-2 hours’.  Well, just barely got home and got the groceries in the house before I had my 2 1/2 yr old grandson. “A few hours” turned into something like almost 5. I didn’t know that oldest son was also ‘coming down’ with something and was really getting sick when he picked up the baby (another “sure hope I don’t get sick! moment).

Tuesday was another ‘get things done that I didn’t get done Monday’ day. Almost got caught up on the laundry; thought I was doing great on that when I went upstairs to youngest son’s bedroom and found a whole laundry basket of dirty clothes. At least I thought they were dirty clothes; that’s what that particular laundry basket was supposed to be for: put your dirty clothes in the basket and bring them downstairs to the laundry room to be washed instead of amassing tons of dirty clothes THEN dragging them downstairs!  Loaded the washer almost full of this basket, only to find the bottom of the basket contained nicely folded underwear and rolled socks! That was my ’sign’ that these might NOT have all been dirty! Oh great…well, NOW they’re all clean (the ones that I’d already managed to fill the washer with). Sigh. I still have one washer full of towels to finish today, no big deal.  Last night was my Knit Group’s MOVIE night and we had another great time. Ten of the ladies joined me at a friend’s house for potluck dinner and we watched: “Marie Antoinette” with Kirsten Dunst.  My view of that movie? Lots of ‘eye-candy’…the scenes were all filmed in France at the Versailles palace. The movie? It was ok…really slow-moving, not something I’d pay money to go see; plot line was really thin, also. Can’t complain, though-great food, good company and a fun night out. We had homemade turkey chili, corn muffins, veggie tray, great spreadable cheese tray with crackers, my chili dip & corn chips, and then there was the desserts! Cheese cake in about 4 different flavors, tiny choc. chip brownies, and a homemade pineapple upside down cake. To say I went home stuffed would be putting it mildly! (pigged out on the cheese spread & crackers, mostly…there was a wonderful cranberry cream cheese spread with Tricuits! (sp?) YUM!)

Today is Wednesday and we’re already mid-week! Tonight is my special needs group which I love going to. Today, however, is the (hopefully) end of my ‘catching up’ days: last of the laundry, some vacuuming, (did house bills yesterday), finish up afghan #150, begin laying out  more afghan squares for more afghans, (write a blog-this one!), go to the drug store for another camera battery. I was going to write a blog on last Saturday’s special needs gym night but my dear camera battery died yesterday before I could download the photos to a disc…great, sigh.  (the photos were rather dark because it was difficult trying to photo the kids from a distance while they were doing their activities in a big gym).

ANYWAY…that’s what’s going on around here lately. I didn’t forget you, honest! It’s been dry and kind of chilly here but today it looks like it will rain any minute. Normally we would have rain at this time of year but so far we haven’t. I know that the rains help the flowers & trees and growing things, but having gloomy days doesn’t help my ’sunny’ disposition (hehehe). I will attempt to “RISE ABOVE” my rather cranky demeaner, “put my big girl panties on” and “Just GET ON WITH IT!” (oh…did I say that out loud? Sorry….my ‘inner Pammie’ was asserting herself again.) hehehehe

Have a great day and attempt to smile a little! Why? BECAUSE I SAID SO! (ooops…sorry…blush!)

Hugs;

Pammie

Something to Keep You Warm

Not sure about the rest of you, but here in the upper mid-West, it’s really getting cold outside. Last night’s temperature (just on the thermometer) was -8 degrees F. Getting up at 8 a.m. found it to have warmed to a balmy -4; now it’s 12:50 p.m., the sun’s shining brightly and the thermometer is reading 14 degrees!  I’ve been keeping myself busy doing (what else?) sewing afghans together. Just finished 1 out of 2 and will crochet the border on #2 a little later today. The neat thing about working on them during this cold front is that they keep my legs warm as I’m stitching/crocheting!

A few nights ago I was able to enjoy the company of some of my fellow knit group friends; during this time (our Knit-Movie night) we all bring a dish to pass, eat, knit/crochet, and watch a good movie. (this time it was “Mama Mia!”…I’m definitely NOT a ‘musicals’ person, but it was amusing watching Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, and Pierce Brosnan act together. Love seeing “James Bond” attempt to sing…gack! but he’s very ‘easy on the eyes’ as the knit ladies kept saying, so that kept my attention for the most part.  My reason for mentioning this? I found a recipe on one of my recipe groups that sounded good, so I made it up and brought it…turns out it was really good! Tasty with a little zip-I give you:

Chili Dip

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 (15 oz.) can chili without beans

1 (14.5 oz.) can Di Frateli Mexican tomatoes (like stewed tomatoes with jalapeno peppers)

Mix above ingredients together, microwave on HIGH for 1 minute, stir and continue until mixture is smooth and hot. Serve with corn chips.

———————–

NOTE:  I also sprinkled the top of the mixture with shredded Extra Sharp Cheddar cheese and then popped it under the broiler until it was melted and brown on top. Also added a few dashes of Tabasco sauce, as I like it a little zippier.  The batch I made, I doubled-but only doubled the chili & cream cheese, so it really did need a little more Tabasco sauce. I would say that if you’re going to make a single ‘batch’ of this, it shouldn’t need the Tabasco sauce, as the Mexican tomatoes are plenty spicy.  I served it with Tostitos “Scoops” for chips.

Yummy stuff!

———————————–

Hoping you are all warm and cosy wherever you are! Stay healthy, warm and treat yourself to something hot, like cocoa (don’t forget the mini marshmallows!)

Hugs;

Pammie

Amid the toils of winter blooms my new Amarylis! Last year I bought one (bulb) just before Christmas and it didn’t bloom until a good 3 weeks later (same with this one). As you can see, it has 4 huge blooms and another stalk promising even more gorgeous flowers! That, my friends, is something to brighten the spirits on a cold winter’s day. We were supposed to get 5-7 inches of snow last night but, hooray, we didn’t! I would say a dusting of, perhaps, close to 1 inch now covers my car. Hey, I don’t mind that little bit! You can drive, walk and even shovel an inch…but 5-7? That’s another story.

Today is another ‘ketchup/ catch-up’ day here; getting laundry straightened away, dishes, and even the photographing of yet another batch of knit afghan squares (66) from a friend in Maryland.  It IS nice, on a cold winter’s day, to sit all wrapped up snug in an afghan (crocheted by my dear friend “Momma”) and sew afghan squares together while listening to favorite CD’s (Dr John, Bread, Mark Knoffler, Dire Straits, Chicago…can you tell I’m a child of the 60’s?).

Our weather is also supposed to dip very close to (or past) zero in the next few days. I have the lovely anticipation of my Knit group’s “Knit/Movie” night tonight and I’m really hoping the weather holds for travel. We’re going to be watching “Mama Mia!” and dining on chili, chili dip & chips, shrimp & dip, fresh veggies, homemade bread and cookies! Sound tasty? You bet! Once a month my ‘ladies’ decided it would be fun to have a Movie/Knit night – no exactly a ‘official’ knit group, but just a fun night of enjoying each others company as well as good food, a movie, and maybe some knitting or crochet; all together, a really fun night out.

Not much else on the scene today; youngest has mid-terms the next three days (he just got his bottom braces yesterday and is in a little pain from that). Middle son just started a new semester at college; he opted to take more classes this semester and is now a little worried that he bit off more than he can digest…we’ll see (it’s only Day 2, for crying out loud!)….that last statement from a Mom who’s ‘been there/done that’…several times over.

Hope you’re staying warm, enjoying something that brings you joy and looking forward to Spring! (Hey, a girl can hope, can’t she?)

Hugs;

Pammie

Blessings and Thanksgiving

From our house to yours: may you have a blessed and Thankful Thanksgiving.

Hugs;

Pammie

I find great peace and joy in the following verses:

Psalm 73:23-26, 28

“Nevertheless, I am continually with Thee; Thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shall guide me with Thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but Thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee. My flesh and my heart faileth; but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever. It is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all Thy works.” (KJV)

Good Friends, Good Food – Good Afternoon!

This afternoon found myself, my husband and youngest son visiting my good friends “Momma” and her husband; the ultimate intention was to deliver the shrug I had knit for her.  Included in the delivery were 4 more afghans which needed edging and also picking up 6 she had already crocheted the edgings for. To say that her ‘gift’ of crocheting afghan edgings is wonderful is putting it mildly…I greatly appreciate her willingness to do this task: Thanks, “Momma!”

Oh! I did mention good friends, good FOOD… her husband loves to cook and “Momma” had ask him to make a “Special” for us (after I told them NOT to feed us!). The Special was homemade scones with dried cherries! He used Ina Garten’s recipe (Food Network) which made them very flaky, light, buttery and TASTY! (Did I say Fattening? NO! Of course not! We DON’T discuss fattening when chowing down on deliciousness! Out of the question! I won’t tell you about all the butter and cream he said were in the recipe). These said scones were also topped with their homemade jams: peach or cherry, both of which were yummy. Along with these lovely scones was a trip to Mexico via hand-shaved Mexican cocoa which was lovingly placed into warmed milk and stirred. The result was a very unusual flavor of cocoa; I had thought it would taste almost dark chocolate in flavor and was surprised to find out it had an almost nutmeg flavor-very mild and different. (I told you my friend loves to cook…did I also add he loves to explore the ‘unusual’?  He does!)

The visit was short and sweet as I had to get home for an evening choir practice for the Christmas contata. I must say-we certainly packed a lot into that short time period! “Momma” gave me her ideas on the sewing of “The Jacket” and also attempted to revive my memory on how to crochet a building blocks/basketweave type pattern which we both learned many, MANY years ago while working at the phone company. She has continued to use this pattern and crochet afghans, squares, etc. while I have only a small crocheted ’starter’ piece I had saved in a drawer, hopefully being able to look at it and remember the tricky turns of said pattern. I even tried to duplicate it in the car on the way up, but alas, I could not. (Honestly…I’m not really certain I CAN remember the pattern, but will give it a good try!) Cooking tips, food tastings, sewing advice, crochet instructions, shrug modeling and photographing…it was a very FULL afternoon visit and we all enjoyed every single  minute!

Here is “Momma” modeling her shrug:Have a great weekend!

Hugs;

Pammie

Visitors from ‘afar’…

Yesterday brought a surprise (only surprise because I got the wrong day but…) visit from my dear friend “Momma” and her daughter, Cindy (or…Cynthia Catherine, if you chose). “Momma” is my friend who lovingly crochets the borders on the Ghana afghans and she had returned two more, only to pick up 6 more to ‘edge’! She lives about 2 hours away from me and her daughter brought her for a doctor visit and a “Pammie” visit (Thanks, Cindy!). “Momma” and I have been good friends since sometime in the fall of 1969; we’ve seen each other through many a trial and blessing, children, grandchildren, etc. This time when she came she brought gifts (I shouldn’t say ‘this time’ because she always brings gifts when she visits! What a friend!). The gifts were total surprises-(she’s very good at keeping secrets! First, in a bag were two jars of Smucker’s Low-sugar Raspberry jelly (my all-time favorite!) the information from which she happened to wheedle out of me during a phone conversation when I mentioned that I was having trouble locating that particular flavor in our local stores. Second was a very colorful, diagonally crocheted afghan which she had knit for me! The funny part of it all was that she & I had talked of the various colors she was using and that it was going to be a gift (she named it her “Happy Afghan”); she said I asked her: “Are you sure that the person receiving it will like it being very colorful?” (little did I know!) I totally LOVE it! The colors are hard to describe, but I’ll try: she began with a medium solid purple, followed by a varigated purples, then solid claret (burgundy), then a rather electric solid blue, followed by varigated blue/tangerine/yellow/green, then a solid avocado, solid bright yellow (another favorite color), then a bright varigated red/orange/bright yellow/, finishing up with a solid tangerine! It is bordered in the same solid bright yellow, which just finishes it off perfectly! I couldn’t have put together an afghan that I liked more, if I did it myself! Oh! Another ‘extra’…she crocheted it in a pattern that I learned many…MANY years ago and then promptly forgot! It’s a sort of twisted blocks design in which you crochet a small square, then turn it and crochet on the side, then turn it again…believe me, it’s very interesting to look at (easy, if you remember how to do it!) and comes out looking very complicated….WELL DONE, “MOMMA”; I LOVE IT!!! (she also included 11 afghan squares for the Ghana Project, all done in the yarns from my afghan…what a friend, eh?!)

To say I was thrilled is putting it mildly; I treasure our friendship and I’m very glad to call her my close friend. I hope that in your lifetime you can experience at least one close friend who knows all your secrets, all your faults, and still loves you just the same. They are very precious and rare; to be treasured and kept close to your heart.

Hugs;

Pammie

ps: I tried my best to photograph the afghan because I wanted to share all the wonderful color changes “Momma” incorporated into it, but my photography skills didn’t quite match up to my expectations. Oh well…you get a kind of idea of it’s spendor, anyway!

Here’s the afghan (and me)-”Momma” decided to capture the moment!

It’s Done

Lousy picture (I blinked…as usual), Ok photo of the shrug. (My middle son was standing on his tip-toes for this shot…it was shot #5 or 6…we gave up). I’m about 4 or 5 inches into the shrug for “Momma”, the colors are coming out a lot nicer than on the skein; they remind me of fall leaves, all shades of tans and a dark brown-looks really pretty.

It’s in the 50’s today, a slight breeze and nice sunshine; the ground is beginning to be covered in fallen leaves (especially my car, which stays parked in the driveway).

It’s looking like a rather quiet weekend, so far; there’s a funeral tomorrow morning for my husband’s friend, then in the evening a fun fund raiser for a friend’s son’s former college-I know that sounds confusing but the fund raiser is for a scholarship program in her deceased son’s name. He was an Olympic-level archer who died before going to the Olympics and his family started a scholarship for other archers at his college: James Madison University. Each year his family chooses a different theme for decorating and for the clothing style. Last year was a beach theme, this year it’s the 60’s! Drag out your old tie-dye shirts, the bell bottoms and beads…it’s HIPPIE time! (actually I don’t have anything like that hidden in my closet, so I’m going to wear the current ‘boring’ fashion I usually wear…or, in my case: non-fashion). They have a great chicken dinner, lots of silent auction items to bid on, and several door prizes throughout the night. It’s a fun evening for a good cause and my husband and I get to see other people we used to work with at the telephone company (I’m retired, he’s still working there); ought to be a great time.

That’s what’s happening around here at present-Have a great weekend!

Hugs;

Pammie

Two More Inches to Go!

Only two more inches and the shrug will be very close to finished (just have to sew it together). It’s very soft and warm (tried it on to make sure the length was correct). My next knitting project is another shrug-this time it’s for my very dear friend, “Momma”. It was going to be a surprise, but then it occurred to me that I should probably make sure I was knitting it in a color she liked, so I called her. “Yes, she said-tans & browns will work out just fine”; good thing I called-I was kinda guessing shades of greens!

Last night was another Knit Night with the group I started; it’s coming along just fine, we average between 9-12 people per meeting. Another new person joined us and fit in just fine. We’re a very diverse group of people, but we all seem to blend together wonderfully; sharing projects, patterns, ideas, books and enjoying each other’s company as well as lending support, prayer, and fellowship-what more could one want in a group? I’m thrilled it’s turned out this well after a year.

That’s about all I have time to write about now; my 2-yr old grandson’s due here any minute and that doesn’t lend itself to time on the computer!

Enjoy your day; Fall’s definitely here with the dropping temperatures and changing/falling leaves. Happy Fall!

Hugs;

Pammie