Having a Little Fun!

Today was one I’ve been waiting for, now, for about a month; took our cat to the vet’s for another check up and he’s doing good! The vet’s report: “Looks like the food is doing him good!” They checked him out and reported that there was no obstruction and very few crystals, so I was just thrilled!  So thrilled, in fact, that I went on a mini-shopping spree! (Actually, it was more of a “treat Pammie” spree). Came home with three nice pairs of earrings (Big Lots: they were a set and very reasonable: $3.00), a new container for my knitting supplies in my ‘carry everywhere’ knitting bag (for scissors, tiny ruler, crochet hook) from the St. Vincent de Paul thrift shop (for $1) and my last little find: Almond Chocolate Biscotti on sale for $3 at our local drug store! Yep, I’m a ‘cheap treats’ person, but it made me happy, so all’s good!

Finished another afghan yesterday, #209, and am ‘on to bigger and better things’…(actually, just #210….grin).

Tonight’s dinner is homemade chicken noodle soup which I have to get making very soon, as I like to let the chicken get to the ‘fall off the bone’ stage before using it in the soup.  Was able to obtain a really (in my humble opinion) fantastic, yummy treat recipe and thought I’d share it with you. WARNING: It’s very rich, but VERY yummy!

Reese’s No-Bake Squares

2 1/2 C. powdered sugar

2 1/2 C. graham cracker crumbs

1  1/3 C. peanut butter

1 C. melted butter

12 oz. chocolate chips, melted

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Mix together powdered sugar and graham cracker crumbs. Add peanut butter and melted butter; mix well.  Press into a 9 X 13 baking pan. Pour melted chocolate chips over top and spread around to cover top. Refrigate 15 minutes or so (NOT until hard), then cut into small squares.

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My youngest came home from a youth outing, brought one of these home and shared it with me. Of course I IMMEDIATELY wanted the recipe … it was gooey (could have been because it was in his hot hands?), peanut buttery, and nicely chocolatey! I have another recipe similar to this one, but that one comes out about 1/4 inch thick; the above recipe comes out about 3/4 inches thick!  Believe me…it’s worth making them (forget the calories…they all fall off when you cut the squares! …. wink).

Going into this weekend I have a bridal shower tomorrow at church for two of our choir members who are also friends of ours (well…the groom has been like another one of my ‘kids’), so it ought to be a fun adventure! They’re planning a January wedding (Brrrrrrr!). Before I go to the shower I have to help youngest bake a pan of brownies, as he’s attending a Chili CookOff and the teens are required to make (or at least ‘help’ make a dessert…he chose brownies, as that’s HIS favorite dessert!).

It’s shaping up like a fun weekend; our weather’s been a bit ‘goofy’ but I’m happy…it’s been chilly (in the 30’s & 40’s) with some rain, some gloomy days, BUT….NO SNOW so far! (It was predicted that we were supposed to get ’scattered flurries’ Weds & part of Thurs, but they didn’t appear…YAY!!!).

Enjoy your weekend; stay warm, eat something YOU like (brownies/biscotti/bagel?) along with a nice, hot steaming cup of your favorite beverage….gotta stay cosy, remember?

Hugs;

Pammie

Decisions & Answers

"Rikki"

It’s been a week today that we discovered our cat’s urinary problems. This morning he ate & drank well and I was happy for a good night with him until I discovered that he hadn’t used the litter box or made the bath towel in the crate all wet, so I turned him over.  His underside was totally dry but there was a bit of blood, also.  This time I burst into tears, prayed and then stealed myself for the inevitable: euthenasia. I called my husband, talked to middle son and then called the vet to make the arrangements.  This would make the third time he’d totally blocked up in a week and the costs of the urethrectomy are way beyond our means right now.  Brought him in to the vets and asked if the vet could just confirm my suspicions before hand. Low and behold, the vet announced that his bladder was tiny! I was amazed and asked about the blood. The vet said that he’s been straining; apparently he’d emptied his bladder into the carrying crate! A quick shot to help reduce the inflamation on his bladder, a question about ’should I start the medication to shrink the bladder now?’ (wait a day) and I was home with my cat again! Will wonders never cease?! The vet was very happy and said: “Looks like he hasn’t used up his 9 lives just yet!”  We have a great vets office; they’re very understanding about costs-he only charged me ‘cost’ for the shot today ($10) so we’re good-to-go for another day. It’s been Wed/Thur/Sat/Mon/Tues/ and now Weds. at the vets and I didn’t realize just how ‘ready’ I was to hear some GOOD news for a change! (He did warn me that we’re ‘not out of the woods yet’, but it’s a start.)

Enjoy your day; I know my family will, with our cat!

Hugs;

Pammie

Can you imagine?

631 afghan squares collected in two days? Totally awesome and amazing! A few days ago I was contacted by a lady who lives nearby; she had seen the article about The Ghana Project that appeared July 4th and began knitting squares. Tuesday of this week she delived 268 squares to my house. The following day I met a friend who is in another knit group I used to belong to; her Mother, Aunt and friends had knit a total of 363 squares and I picked them up.  I realize that the Lord knows when I’m in need . . . I should KNOW that by now! Sunday I arranged 60 squares for another two afghans and realized that it was getting a bit ‘thin’ in the variagated squares department; usually I just get to knitting squares myself to ‘beef up’ the variagated squares, never knowing THIS time I would be blessed with all these beautiful squares! 631 squares equals 21 afghans with some left over! As you can imagine, I’m going to be mighty busy in the near future!

It’s a beautiful Fall day today: the sun’s shining, it’s in the low 60’s, leaves on the ground and still some on the trees. I’ve already been out spray painting a wicker basket which will hold the Baby Shower contents for the Friends Group fund raiser. Great day for a walk – I ’should’ go do that…maybe I will, but still have a bunch of other projects to wrap up, first.

Hugs;

Pammie

Clothes, Cooking & Cars!

While ‘out and about’ yesterday I happened upon the most glorious thing – a wondrous garage sale! Wondrous because the ladies running it were just having it to ‘get rid’ of ’stuff’, which was very much to my benefit. They had a sign which read: “Fill a bag for $1.00″…this was on their clothing items and, Momma, did I make a haul! Let’s see if I can recall the total number of items: 2 very nice Spring/Fall jackets, a winter hat, 2 boxes of very nice stationary (something people don’t use much these days), 3 ‘every day’ tops, 2 sweaters, 5 embroidered sweatshirts, and 7 (all white) fancy church blouses with varied embelishments like lace, pearls and/or embroidery. I made my ‘pile’ then asked “How much for all this?”  They responded: “How about $3.00?” After trying to convince them it should be much more, I gave them $4.00 and went home a very happy woman! There was a story behind all the very nice white blouses: it seems their mother worked as a Supervisor at KMart and all supervisors were required to wear white tops; all I can say is, their  Mom had some very nice taste in tops! This garage saling adventure was also spurred on by a comment last Wednesday from a friend who, after observing my casual clothing, said: “Pam, you’re going to have to invest in some new clothes here…the ones you’re wearing are way too big!” (and she was right). I had been in a bit of a hurry and grabbed a top and matching cotton slacks and threw them on; I thought they went together well, albeit they WERE too large. Even my husband commented that I needed to find smaller clothes. Yes, I’ve lost another 5 lb. but am not ‘working at it’ like I was 3 years ago when diagnosed as Type 2 diabetic (at that time I lost 50 lb.). I’ve still got quite a ways to go, now weighing 180 and could probably get down another 25 lb. to a healthier weight and size, but it’s kinda nice to know that you need to wear smaller clothes. I’ve always been ‘large’…and at times, XLarge (size 22; am now between 16-18). As I used to joke: I was born at 175 lb.!  Anyway, I digress…me thinks I’ll be looking for more garage sales in the near future-hey, it’s almost the end of the ‘garage sale season’! It’s not often you find a place like the one above mentioned, though…or find nice clothes at really reasonable prices; it was definitely a blessing!

Just so you don’t think I’m just rambling on about anything that comes to mind, I thought of you and found another easy recipe which works nicely when you need something quick to ‘make and take’ to a breakfast/luncheon, etc.

Bubble Nut Ring

1 loaf frozen bread dough (or 36 count frozen dinner rolls)

1 small pkg. butterscotch pudding mix

1/2 C. brown sugar

1/2 C. chopped nuts

1 tsp. cinnamon (or more)

8 T. melted margarine

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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place melted margarine in a small bowl or pie tin.  Pull off pieces of bread dough and roll into 2-inch balls, making approximately 32.  Mix all ingredients together (except melted margarine) and place in a separate bowl or pie tin.  Spray Bundt pan (or Angel food cake-type tube pan) with non-stick cooking spray.  Place melted margarine in a bowl or pie tin. Dip dough balls into melted margarine, then into dry mixture. Place balls into bundt pan, evenly layering as you go. Sprinkle any remaining dry mixture over top and pour extra melted margarine over top.  Let rise until doubled in size, then bake 20  minutes. Let cool before turning out onto a plate and serving.

(This was another of the simple recipes I taught the homeschool cooking class a few years ago; they loved the ‘end result’ of this one.)

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It’s Saturday, a ‘day of rest’ around here, so I’m going to ‘take it easy’ and probably finish a book I started yesterday, one in a series by Debbie McComber. This one is her latest “Knitting Group” book; the series catalogues the adventures and lives of members of a knitting group; to say that my knitting group loved the series is putting it mildly – we ALL love her books. Also planning on arranging more squares into future afghans; got a lovely email yesterday from a friend in my old knit group. She detailed that some of her friends are still knitting squares for me and ‘would I be so kind as to meet her at their church to pick up 3 paper bags and a garbage bag full of squares?” You bet! How neat! I wrote her that their ‘gift’ comes at just the right time, as my collection of squares is growing rather thin. (It usually does around the end of summer, as most people don’t knit in hot weather; the packages should pick up soon.) She made me feel like some sort of celebrity by saying that there is an 80 yr old lady in her church who knit most of the paper bag squares and she would like a picture of me with her squares; how nice, eh? Still working on #203; this one is taking a little longer as it is “a little longer”. This particular afghan (and one other I’ve already completed) consists of 7″ X 9” squares (my required size is 7 inches by 7 inches). Because these are rectangles instead of squares, I laid them on their long sides, 4 squares to a row and am sewing them together that way. The end product is a nice afghan, just not the same as the others but I’m sure the child receiving it will not complain that theirs is different; they all accomplish the same results . . . keeping someone warm and cosy.

It’s a grey, cloudy (and a bit chilly) beginning of the day – around 60 degrees; am hoping it warms up sufficiently later.

OH! Almost forgot to share our GOOD news! Middle son (he of the “multiple car troubles” episodes) has purchased a “new” (to him) vehicle: a 2003 Pontiac Grand Am…red with really ‘cool’ racing tire rims, black interior. Later today he’ll be selling his ‘free/gift’ Neon for $300, to a local dealership (it’s beginning to show signs of major problems – needs some sort of a seal, as it’s leaking oil big time). We’re thrilled for him (as a Mom, I’d have preferred a less ‘racy’ car, but he’s a guy and you know their attitudes on cars…Vrooom, Vroom!). It’s been an almost 2-week ordeal with him going to various dealerships; he’s checked out 2 foreign car places and the insurance was just too much for his age and budget, several (what I would call ’shady’) older car dealerships and I thank heavens the one deal fell through…I really didn’t trust the place OR the car! We kept telling him: “Go to a respectable dealership and ask for a used car with a warrantee”; he FINALLY listened and is very happy. That dealership even was able to locate an insurance company with much lower rates (but still in his requirements for the car), so he’ll be able to afford the loan, the insurance and still be able to afford paying for college classes; now THAT’S a blessing! He is now the proud owner of the NEWEST car in our entire family, older son included!

That’s the latest news around here; hope you have a great weekend! Remember to take a little time for yourself!

Hugs;

Pammie

Look for the Blessings

Look for the blessings – that’s the phrase that ran through my mind while sitting in my car awaiting a tow truck … again. Today it was pouring down buckets of rain while I was driving to the local post office. Upon beginning to turn into the post office driveway my car stalled; I was able to start it up again immediately but had no power steering. I manuevered it into the first spot I could (which put me partly in a no-parking zone and also partly on the sidewalk).  After getting my wits about me I called my husband who said: “Was it raining?” (yes) and “Open your hood and see if your Serpentine Belt is still connected”. (Wise man…he’s been through this before with HIS van!). Since I made the call to him inside the post office, I had to walk outside to my van to check…before I even arrived at my car I could see the belt hanging on the ground under my car.  (Look for the blessings)  I called AAA for a tow, called the local Midas (who had my car not even a month ago with the gas tank/brakes problem…remember?), then “Looked for the blessings.”  (1) I didn’t get into an accident because of the belt failing (2) my car WAS off of the road where it wouldn’t be hit (3) I was safe (4) this didn’t happen last night going to or from my special needs group while I had 4 special needs adult men in my car with me on the expressway; the only real problems were that my car needed fixing again/I’d be inconvenienced without a car for about a day/I missed my chiropractors appointment…all of which could be ‘handled’.  Praise the Lord this didn’t happen when I was in so much pain with my back! As of yesterday I’m finally able to stand up straight . . . that came in handy today when I had to climb up into the cab of the tow truck (very high, but they had 2 steps) then the same when the repair place owner drove me home in his (very high up) pick up truck.

Just got a phone call that they can probably get my car fixed and back to me this evening . . . in time for me to drive me son to his school registration (before 7:30). That’s a blessing! Problems? It seems they found a lot of oil leaks on my engine and can’t really assess where it’s coming from until I get the engine cleaned! Good thing? He told me there’s a $20 car wash almost across the street that can steam clean my engine so that they can locate the oil leak problem.

Life just keeps ‘coming at ya’…the secret is not letting it get the best of you.  There’s a verse that’s stayed with me ever since I was flat on my back in the hospital many years ago recovering from a hysterectomy; it spoke to me then and has stayed with me all these years:

“I have learned , in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”  Philippians 4:11

It’s not always easy and it doesn’t always come quickly, but if you look past the problems and try to find even one blessing, it’s a start.  Life isn’t going to get any easier… it only makes sense to (in the words of that old song) “Look for the silver lining.”

Hoping your day is going well;

Hugs;

Pammie

PS: The other blessing? Today is my husband and my 33rd wedding anniversary! (the ‘extra blessing’?…he’s bringing home our favorite pizza and a huge Greek salad!!! YAY…I don’t have to cook!)

PPS: One more thing…took youngest to register for the school year; got to the “Fines” table and learned that they had on record my son hadn’t returned TWO of his books last year to the tune of $122.00! The ladies at the table were really great, searching lists of books that had been turned in since the end of school. BOTH books were on the lists…what a blessing! The $105 that I had to pay for the car was ’something’, but at least it wasn’t compounded by another bill for $122! Now that’s what I call a blessing!

Crazy, but sorta ‘on hold’

a Neon (not ours)

As I promised I would report on our latest crazy/wild adventures. Let’s see…where to begin? As you know, middle son’s car (the one he purchased in January) finally died (think it’s the transmission-won’t shift into ANY gear, and now that battery’s died, too…it’s taking up space in our front yard at the moment).  I’ve been “Mama Taxi” for a few weeks now while he constantly complained about not having a vehicle. Last week his friend told him her sister was going to GIVE him her car! Sounds like a great idea, right? Well, if you know my middle son’s ‘luck’? with cars, this sort of fits right in. It’s a crazy story (what else, right?); son and 2 friends drove 45 min. to the ‘car owner’s’ house to pick up the vehicle. As far as they knew, all paperwork was in order.  The two friends drove their car and middle son drove the ‘donated’ car home. When youngest son announced that the 2 friends were in the driveway but NOT my middle son, I began to panic.  About 20 min. later he arrived, driving ‘new/donated’ car. To say that the Lord was definitely on his side watching over him is to put it mildly! Let me list the reasons:  son drove car home (45 min.) with (a) no license plate, (b) the left rear tail light not working (c) a ‘mini tire/donut’ on the right front, and (d) the paperwork was all wrong! Seems the owner gave him a proof of no fault insurance FOR HER MOTHER’S CAR! IF a policeman had pulled him over, I can’t even imagine the fines/charges! No insurance, faulty tail light, no license plate, no proof that he even had anything to do with buying this car, NO TITLE!!! Now we have a 1995 dark purple Neon (with peeling paint in several large spots)  in our yard. This all occurred last Friday…and no knowledge of just WHEN we’re getting this title in the mail!  Yep, we’re ‘on hold’ awaiting the title; now you see why I titled this one CRAZY! Guess it sorta fits my lifestyle lately.

Youngest son turned 15 yesterday and we had a small family celebration with Dairy Queen frozen ice cream Oreo Cake! YUMMY! Same son is getting packed today for his one-week trip to Georgia with the church Youth Group on a work/missions trip. They will be staying in a youth hostel and helping teach Vacation Bible School to needy kids in the area; my son is really excited about this trip.

Have to wrap this one up; driving middle son to work then coming home to babysit grandson for a few hours before continuing help with the duffle bag packing.

Hope you’re having a nice, calm week!

Hugs;

Pammie

Like My Friend “Nemo”…

I “Just Keep Swimming”!

As I’ve said before, this has truly been a really crazy/busy/goofy week … especially when it comes to cars! I told you the tale of how my brakes failed on Tuesday; the repair place didn’t get my car back to me until yesterday morning which totally wiped out my going to Knit Night on Tuesday evening AND my special needs group on Wednesday night. That was a bit frustrating but, if I could have chose any week to miss both groups, I guess this one was the best-BOTH groups were really down on numbers which made the two lovely people who are my assistants in both groups have a better evening of it while managing both groups alone.

Thursday found me “with car” again and I happily completed several errands to the Library, Post Office (where I picked up a box of 168 more squares!) and a quick trip to the grocery store.  A little later I jumped in my car to drive middle son to work, turned the key only to find that the car would start then immediately quit again! This drove me nuts! Middle son ended up getting a ride to work from his boss and I waited until my husband got home to drop this latest ‘bombshell’ on him.  After a bit of tinkering with my car he came in the house and said: “You have NO GAS!”  “WHAT?” I sort of yelled; I just got a full tank on Monday and I haven’t driven very far at all!  We called the repair place and, of course, they didn’t have a clue WHY I would have lost an entire tankful of gas after they had to disconnect and remove the tank in order to put in new brake lines. Frustrating, for sure. Husband drove to the nearest gas station and got a gas can full of gas, poured some in my tank and then asked me to ’start it up’.  Low and behold, his guess was right! He surmised that my car had either: “vapor lock” OR  the on-board computer, after having the gas tank removed and re-attached, didn’t read that the car actually had gas…it read “empty”. Once we ‘boosted’ the tank with a little gas, all was fine again, the gas gauge read “Full”. We took a little drive around the neighborhood with my husband following in his car, just to test it out.  This has certainly been ‘THE week” for car troubles!

Today is babysitting my grandson again (as well as tomorrow, 3-8 p.m.) so I know that I’ll be needing a nap come dinnertime, for sure! (Last night we were all feeling a little tired and husband, myself and grandson all took about a 1- 1 /2 hour nap (mine was shorter as I had to get up and prepare dinner) but it was a well-earned rest, for sure.

Hoping that your day is bright & sunny; it’s now a wonderfully sunny day outside after yesterday’s rain. Had to get up early to go drain the accumulated water out of the sandbox; my grandson will SURELY be expecting to go play outside today (even IF the sand is actually more like sand/mud!)

Hugs;

Pammie

185 and Going Strong!

Dan Smither, “Key of Hope” director, Durban, S. Africa and me, “grammiepammie”   6/24/09

Last night I was able to ‘connect’ with Dan, who’s home from S. Africa on a 10 day ‘fund raising’ trip, working on two “golf outings” in one week. He’s a very busy person!  Was able to deliver another 22 afghans for his ministry, bringing the total for S. Africa to 73. Grand total of all afghans, Ghana & S. Africa:  185. After more phone calls & emails, looks like the newspaper article will be published some time next week. The reporter was interested  in speaking to Dan to get his view on the connection between my afghan  ministry and his in S. Africa with the parentless children.  I will attempt to try to copy the article here on the blog, when it comes out.

When I look back on the past two years and actually think about the number of afghans delivered it totally amazes me. If it weren’t for the help of so many wonderful people, this ministry would never have lasted as long as it has. For all of you who have had a part in it, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Hugs;

Pammie

Poppies & Pigging Out

It’s been a relatively quiet weekend here; the poppies (as you can see) are going crazy nodding their bright faces in the breezes and smiling at the sun. Husband mowed the lawns a little earlier this evening and I just saw a big red-headed woodpecker really enjoying the bugs that were stirred up by the mower; he was really pecking and pecking at the ground in search of tasty morsels.

Speaking of tasty morsels, last night middle son brought home some leftovers from his work: most of the fixin’s for fajitas. We pigged out on fajitas for lunch, then tonight’s dinner was “Clean the Fridge” (ever have that at your house?) so it was a virtual plethora of delights.  Husband chose beef stir fry over rice (we had a large batch of that), middle son had last night’s dinner: fish, corn and hash browns. Youngest son chose leftover homemade pizza and I, once again, pigged out on more fajitas! We are all pleasantly stuffed, the fridge is much lighter in leftovers and now we’ve all settled down to our favorite ‘light enjoyment’: Husband is playing “World of Warcraft” on his computer, middle & youngest sons are playing/watching a boxing video game and I’m doing a little ‘catch-up’ with you.  All in all, it’s been a nice, quiet weekend. I finished another afghan (#178) and got several more squares knit so I feel like I’ve accomplished something (that is, besides the laundry and dishes which are a given…sigh).

It’s been a rather cool/chilly/cold weekend, dipping to the 50’s and warming up to not much higher than around 65 during the day (might even have been colder at night; I didn’t check outside thermometer). Knowing that, it will just make the coming hot weather in June that much more welcome, right?

Enjoy your days & nights; stay warm and hopefully pleasantly filled with good foods.

Hugs;

Pammie

Almost the weekend!

Remember our Heroes!

Yes, I know it’s only Wednesday but with the lovely, warm weather I’m thinking “Four-Day Holiday Weekend Coming Up Soon!”  Do I have anything planned for this fun-fest? Nope…just like having the extra days off (I hear you: “Off from WHAT? You’re a Stay-at-Home Mom & Grandma!”)  True, but even those of us who share the above title enjoy ‘pretending’ we’re having it ‘off’…whatever that means (wink).

Spent the earlier part of the day much like last week: playing in the sandbox and swinging my grandson, and a rousing game of  what I call: “Baby Baseball” (read that: he hits the ball on the floor to me, I kick it back to him and he hits it back…this can go on for a very long time, tiring both players out perfectly just before naptime!  I’m no dummy!)

In the same area as the coming up weekend, my thoughts turned to great Summer recipes and this one is a really good one (No, I didn’t make it up but love to eat it!).

Tuna Macaroni Salad

2 boxes medium-sized shell macaroni cooked & drained

2 bunches green onions, cleaned & chopped

5-6 celery stalks, cleaned & chopped

4 (12 oz.) cans tuna in water, drained

5-6 hardboiled eggs, chopped

8 oz. shredded Cheddar cheese

48 oz. Miracle Whip

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Mix all above ingredients together well and refrigerate overnight before serving. Serves 12 (at least!)

(Note: you can see that this recipe makes a large amount-just perfect for a summer picnic or party, but it can also be halved for a smaller number of people

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I found myself thinking of this recipe yesterday and wishing I already had some made in the fridge so I could go ’snack on it’  (read that: kinda pig out). I’m definitely NOT a fan of tuna, but this recipe is really tasty!

Hope you have a great day today and do something you ENJOY! (Even if it’s only 5 minutes of resting your eyes, or staring at the clouds drifting in the sky…take a little time to pamper YOU! You’re WORTH IT!

Hugs;

Pammie