Takin’ it Easy-for today…

After yesterday’s ‘fruit bread baking’ and last night’s Christmas gathering for my special needs group, this Pammie was just a little too pooped to jump into cookie baking. We had a great time last night and a great group; we estimated around 80 people to our little dinner (with just 3 of us getting it together).  We had a great veggie tray (I cut up around 12 seedless English cucumbers) with lots of veggies & dip, spiral meat & cheese sandwiches (our local Costco makes really nice rolled sandwiches using flour and wheat tortillas, sliced meats & cheeses & lettuce all wrapped in a roll then cut into little pinwheel sandwiches, and lots of cookies.  The group sang four songs:  “O, Holy Night”, “Joy to the World”, “Silent Night” and our theme: “Amazing Grace” (always brings tears when our kids sing that one…I’m the biggest bawl-baby there and I’m also the one playing piano and trying to see the keys through the wet-stuff dripping out of my eyes!). Our kids sing that one with their whole hearts and it really shows. After 4 hours on my feet in dress shoes, I was ready to come home and just crash…and I did. Got up today and did a quick run to our local store (Gordon Food Service) and was only going to buy their frozen sugar cookies & tub of their white frosting…oh well, let’s just say I was tempted! Came home with the cookie stuff, a nice assorted box of 40 chocolate eclairs/cream puffs/and dipped filled balls; a pumpkin pie; chips (a necessity); a lb. of butter; some nice little paper dessert plates with red & green wreaths; a large tray of their sweet potato souffle (we had it for Thanksgiving and it was just great!)…think that’s all.  Let’s just say we’re going to be eating large on Christmas!

On to the recipes, you say? Sure! Among the very nice gifts I was given last night was a ceramic bowl and this recipe:

Crab Dip

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/3 C. mayonnaise

1 T. creamy horseradish sauce (I buy Kraft)

1  1/2 T. minced onion

1/2 tsp. seasoned salt

1 T. parsley, chopped

dash garlic powder

6 oz. canned premium crab meat

1 bottle cocktail sauce

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Blend all ingredients (except half of the crab and the cocktail sauce) in a bowl and mix well. Place into a  serving bowl and pour cocktail sauce over top. Add r est of crab meat on top and serve with crackers.

(sure sounds yummy to me!)

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I believe I stated earlier this week that I’ll be trying to feature at least one recipe per day up to Christmas.  I’ve found some pretty yummy sounding ones; can’t guarantee that they’ll all be non-fat or healthy/nutritious, but they certainly would brighten up a dinner or holiday party!

It’s 28 degrees outside right now and feels more like 20 or lower. Have to go pick up youngest son a little later from a band concert he’s attending so I’m not looking forward to jumping back in my really cold car…oh well, that’s the price ya pay for being a parent, right?

Enjoy your evening, relax a little, maybe pop a little popcorn? Sounds good to me!

Hugs;

Pammie

Cookin’, Crochet & Chicken!

Last year at this time I remember featuring several recipes and thought I’d do that again this year.  For the most part, these will be recipes which caught my eye but I haven’t tried yet (note the disclaimer…hehehehe). First on the list is one I just saw in the Sunday coupons; I like hot & spicy things and this sounded ‘just right’…

Buffalo Chicken Dip

(like Buffalo Chicken Wings in a dip!)

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1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened

2 (9.75 ea.) cans Swanson chunk chicken breast, drained (or)

2 C. cooked chicken, cut up in chunks

1/2 C. redhot sauce*

(*Franks is the company who is featuring this recipe)

1/2 C. blue cheese salad dressing

1/2 C. crumbled blue cheese

assorted fresh vegetables and/or crackers for dipping

————

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix ingredients in deep baking dish until smooth. Bake 20 minutes or until hot and bubbling.

(http://www.franksredhot.com)

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Tonight I’m in an ‘eating’ mood…but not a ‘cooking’ mood! I should be starting dinner soon and already know that we’re having an old favorite:  “Potatoes O’Brien” (at least that’s what I call it.) It’s a very simple recipe; let’s see if I can write it up in recipe format:

Potatoes O’Brien

1  1/2 lb. ground beef

1-2 (28 oz. ea) pkgs. frozen “Potatoes O’Brien” (or…

check the frozen potatoes section for pkgs.  of diced potatoes with chopped onions & green peppers included-sometimes it comes as shredded potatoes, like hash browns. I have also used hash browns and added my own chopped onions & green peppers)

about 1 stick margarine

2-4 T. garlic powder (we really love garlic)

1-2 tsp. ground black pepper

1 1/2 tsp. salt

dash or 2 Worcestershire sauce

(could also add a dash or 2 Tabasco sauce)

(small can sliced mushrooms, if desired)

1 1/2 – 2 C. shredded sharp Cheddar Cheese

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In LARGE fry pan, brown hamburger & drain grease; leave in pan. Add frozen potatoes along with margarine, cut into cubes. (this is the hard part…I usually keep checking the pan to see if the potatoes are browning and have enough margarine to keep them from burning; you could add more or less, as you determine.)  Cover pan and check about every 5-10 minutes to lift & stir potatoes & hamburger to ensure they don’t burn. (they do tend to stick some).  When the potatoes are almost fully cooked, add the seasonings and canned mushrooms.  Continue stirring/lifting to make sure all potatoes are fully cooked.  When the potatoes are fully cooked, add shredded cheese to top and cover until cheese melts.  You could also put the pan under the broiler until cheese is browned a bit & bubbly.

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For this recipe, remember that I’m feeding 4 adults with large appetites, so you might want to halve the recipe…feel free! We usually eat this in big bowls with lots of catsup (I know…most of you are saying YUCK! but remember I have all GUYS here!) It’s definitely NOT a cholesterol-free recipe, but it’s filling and sticks to the ribs!

Did my Christmas shopping with youngest son today which entailed the two of us going to American Eagle Outfitters and letting him pick out 2 pr. jeans and 2 t-shirts. That might not sound like much, but he got what he liked (and they had a good SALE!); he’s happy and now I don’t have to agonize over what to get him! I do have one more t-shirt squirreled away for him to open on Christmas (not Amer. Eagle, but a nice long sleeved tee with a sort of barbed wire design). I must say: after about 45 minutes in that store my OVERLOAD of all things PREPPY got the best of me. Lots of young people (teens & 20’s) all dressed in the latest fashions, all ‘perfect’ bodies/perfect hair, etc…a little too much for my 61 yr old mind to handle (plus the modern music on the speakers). The ONE thing that really surprised me? They were selling winter hats & scarves for girls…one nice white scarf in a basic crocheted shell pattern: $34.50!!! I could MAKE one for around $8!!! Oh, and the other item: a little hat with (AMAZING TO ME) the very same design that I just learned to knit! Remember me featuring that square with the Hexagon design? Yep, that’s the one! It was done in all-solid colored yarn: $19.00. Gee, if I really wanted a ‘cottage industry’, that would be my forte…knitting scarves & hats for American Eagle!

Anyway, that was my experiences for today; got the Christmas tree all together (finally)…now I just have to decorate it and we’ll be done with that project!  A few more little trips to go, buying a few ’stocking stuffers’ (side note: did you know that one of the best places to grab nice, reasonable stocking stuffer ‘food-stuffs’ is your local drug store? WalGreens/RiteAid/CVS all are having some great sales on candy-type stuff. I was all excited because CVS has Maxwell House instant coffee for $4.99 until I read WalGreen’s add and it’s $3.99 there! Since where I live all the drug stores seem to be competing for putting their stores closest to all the other drug stores, it’s not a big drive for me to visit all three within 2 blocks of my house! Walgreens also has canned salmon for $1.49 a can/limit 4…I love making salmon patties using that (we use 2 cans here…big eaters, remember?).

Guess that’s all I wanted to tell you for now; have more good sounding recipes coming up. Ten more days until Christmas! Still have all my baking to do…but that’s next week (I hope!).

Enjoy yourselves!

Hugs;

Pammie

Been Shopping…

The past two days have been spent going to several stores trying to find a nice, yet affordable gift for my 3 1/2 yr. old grandson. I had seen (what I thought) was a really neat toy advertised on TV: “Bounce Back Racer”, which is a toddler version of a remote control car which flips over ( if it runs into any object) and keeps going. It’s a great toy but my Scots heritage came screaming out and I just couldn’t justify paying $30+ for one toy. After searching several stores for his other favorite thing, cardboard puzzles, I came away frustrated. Yes, KMart and Meijers had puzzles: $8 + wooden ones with about 9 pieces which would bore him in no time. I finally ended up at our local Family Dollar store today and found 3 good, cardboard ones which will make him happy. He’s so cute; the other day when he was here the first thing he said when he came in the door was: “Gramma Pam has lots of puzzles for me, Dad! She bought me lots of puzzles; we need puzzles at OUR house!” (guess I know what he likes). Also found him a car carrier that has about 15 small metal cars in it; he loves playing with the little cars.

Amid the searching for the ‘right toy’ I also ended up snagging several pairs of winter gloves for the boys (not gifts) because KMart is digging deep in the discounting department and all gloves were 40% off! Middle son requested a few video games which I was able to find, and some floor mats for his car. Now floor mats are in most stores, but I was searching for something PLAIN which I could afford! Yes, there are the Tinkerbelle ones, or big dolphins or flowers (not GUY-type stuff). He has a Pontiac Grand Am which has small floor spaces; I was finally able to find a good set (all black) for around $24. (the fancy ones above listed run $30 and up!).  His 21 st birthday is coming up the beginning of January, so I have to remember to budget the gifts a bit so as not to go overboard with the Christmas presents then have to turn around and do it again in 2 weeks for his birthday. I know that probably sounds a bit cheap…but this year money is tight (as I’m sure it is in your households, also) and I have to take that into account.

Today is also scheduled as the ‘put up the big tree’ day; we’ll see if that gets done. The rest of the house is decorated and the little fiber optic tree is in the dining room (have to have at least ONE tree up!). If you’ve read my blog for any amount of time, you know that decorating is NOT my favorite thing. Don’t get me wrong-I like the ‘end result’, it’s just taking the time to get all the stuff down from upstairs, dragging out all the various parts to the tree, assembling the branches on the middle part, putting the lights on, etc. Not my ‘fun thing’.

Coming up this week is the BAKING! I’ve purchased the ingredients for getting that done, but it’s going to be another ‘waiting for inspiration’ moments for me. In lieu of that thought, I offer you a great-sounding recipe from my friend Peg in Florida (below is featured where she got the recipe, also):

Orange Cream Cheese Bread

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons grated orange peel
1/2 teaspoon orange extract
2/3 cup orange juice
——————–
Preheat oven to 350º F.
—————
Combine cream cheese and shortening, creaming well. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, beating well after each addition.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix well after each addition.
Stir in nuts, orange peel and extract. Pour batter into two 8- or 9-inch loaf pans which have been coated with vegetable cooking spray.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 50 to 55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes; orange pour juice over loaves. Remove to wire rack to cool.
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Recipe source: Corner Sweet Shoppe yahoo group, submitted by berude2u

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Tonight is the last choir practice before tomorrow’s adult choir Christmas Contata. Just glad my health is holding out and my throat seems to be doing just fine (there have been years where that wasn’t the case!). Hope that this post finds you (a) in good health (b) enjoying the season (c) getting your shopping, wrapping, decorating, baking, etc. done in time to please you and (d) remember to RELAX a little and enjoy yourself!  ‘Tis the season to be jolly’, remember!

Hugs;

Pammie

PS: Quick weather report for our area:  Thursday found us going through some snow flurries, Friday found us in the ‘deep freeze’, with temperatures no exceeding 16 (bitter cold) and today the sun’s out, it’s clear with temps around 25 degrees. I’m glad it’s warmed up a bit; my husband works outside quite a bit and the past few days have really been hard on him; I’ve been trying to make comfort food dinners to help in that area. Tonight is Turkey Noodle Soup (from the turkey leftovers of Thanksgiving.)

Making Deliveries

11 afghans for Durban, S. Africa

22 afghans for Ghana

Another busy week ‘attempting’ to get lots of things done. Today found me delivering 22 afghans to Crittenton Hospital for eventual delivery to Ghana; tomorrow is delivery of 11 afghans for Durban, S. Africa – then I can take a (small) break before starting all over again. Total afghans completed since this ministry started: 218.

Last night was youngest son’s Christmas concert at his school. He joined the concert choir and the program was a compilation of all choirs and orchestral groups. It was jam-packed with almost 2 hours of music and nicely done.

I’m sitting here enjoying a lovely warm mug of cocoa to ‘warm my innards’ after the long afghan drive. The weather’s been pretty steady for the last few days: in the low 30’s but clear (no s-n-0-w), however I hear that’s about to change. Just got a weather report for this evening that we’re due for: “ snow and sleet, which is in effect from 7 pm this evening to 4 am est Wednesday.”  Oh Joy…(not). Well, it’s bound to happen, this being Michigan and December…just not looking forward to the whole winter routine…sigh. Dug out my heavy winter jacket yesterday and found my heavy winter gloves and hat tucked in the pockets. I promptly put them aside, saying: “I don’t need THESE yet!” (little did I know, eh?). I don’t think I’d mind much if it weren’t for the fact that I’ll be doing my usual Tuesday  (knit night) and Wednesday  (special needs group) driving. Oh well…gotta take it with a (slightly frozen) grain of salt, so the expression goes.

Hope you are all staying healthy, warm and getting those needed jobs/gifts/etc. taken care of. Managed to pick up oldest son’s present yesterday and have ordered 2 very small gifts on line, but other than that…I’m completely stumped this year for gift ideas! Ran into our mail lady today and promised her some cookies ’soon’ (just not sure WHEN I’ll get them baked); thank heavens she’s very patient. She warned me of those days when she’ll be off for the next 2 weeks, also informing me that if I put a package in our mailbox for her and she’s off, her ’sub’ driver WILL eat them! (glad she warned me!).

Enjoy your day, stay warm & cosy and remember “Jesus is the REASON for the season!” Merry Christmas!

Hugs;

Pammie

A Wonderful Day to All!

A Very Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Just put the turkey in to begin roasting, made the fresh cran-orange relish (that was a bit of a chore…) and now am taking a few ‘me’ minutes before ‘going at it’ again with the preparations. Wanted to take a few minutes to wish all of you a wonderful holiday, full of love, friendship, family and, of course, good food. Remember to give thanks for all you’re grateful for.

Hugs;

Pammie   

(us, watching the Thanksgiving day parade!)

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.

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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.

The High Cost of “Living” and Other Fun Things

Today has been a day of realization that LIVING is expensive! (Yes, I heard you laughing!) For starters, let’s look at my insurance policy. We signed up for it many years ago and have been paying quarterly payments right along. About 5 months ago I noticed that we weren’t receiving my bill, only my husband’s, so I called the company. They explained that since my bill was much smaller than my husband’s (he being the major bread-winner and all) and more blah-blah-blah; I didn’t understand, but said: “OK” and let it go. NEVER DO THAT! NEVER say OK when you don’t understand something! Today I got a bill for my insurance premium, for $974.00!!! They had changed my policy to ANNUAL instead of quarterly; talk about freaking out! I called the company and they changed it back…WHEW! When the lovely young girl who was assisting me on the phone asked: “Is there anything else we can do for you today, Pamela?” I said: “Help me pay this $974?”…she just chuckled….sigh.

Along with more health-related issues is my experience at the drug store when purchasing Sudafed  tablets. The pharmacist asked for my driver’s license; I assured her I’m 61, old enough to not be ‘carded’…she chuckled (are you seeing a similarity here yet?…chuckling young ladies…sigh). Turns out that the reason I had to not only hand over my driver’s license but also sign on the dotted line saying I was only purchasing this one packet of 24 tablets was because our government tracks all purchases to make sure I’m not stock-piling it to make crystal meth! I told the pharmacist: “Sure, it’s what I do in my spare time!”…(not). I guess it’s necessary; they wouldn’t have those precautions unless it became necessary in the past…sigh.

Third ‘health-related’ situation: went to get my eyes tested for new glasses the other day, as my current ones are really bothering me: headaches, slight dizziness, trouble seeing clearly at far distances. Upon examining my eyes my doctor told me that I’m one of the few who are blessed with what’s called: “Second Sight”. I’d never heard of that before (and, NO, I’m not suddenly becoming psychic!). It’s a phenomenon where, as you age your eye ‘lens’ becomes harder; in some people it also can flatten out (my case) thereby causing your distance vision to become better! The reason I was having trouble with my glasses is because I now need less prescription,  my glasses were too strong! Amazing! I guess, sometimes, getting older can be a good thing, eh? (at least in this situation) … grin.

Ah, the strange changes we experience while getting older…stiffer joints, lessening endurance, etc. but still I’m ‘plugging along’ and looking forward to each new day (call me an ‘optimist’…or just a little crazy, whichever works for you!).  Today it’s chilly (41)  but sunny so seeing the bright sunlight makes it another lovely Fall day. I’m enjoying all the sunshine I can (trying to store it up in my memory), knowing that soon we’ll have the grey days of winter upon us.  I guess there’s a ‘good side’ to that, too: went to JoAnn Fabrics the other evening and playing on their in-store radio was “Here Comes Santa Claus”, “Frosty the Snowman”, and other Christmasy tunes (one of our local radio stations starts the day after Halloween and goes through New Year playing all the seasonal songs). Yes, I’m one of those “wait until December for Christmas songs” people, but also found myself bopping along to the upbeat music while looking at the button racks.

Enjoy your day; I know I’m going to try to!

Hugs;

Pammie

Of Cabbages and Kings…

Hello, all! It’s been awhile since I’ve posted – not that I haven’t thought about ya, just been too busy/pooped/stressed (fill in the blank here) to compose my thoughts enough to make up a blog post. What’s been happening, you ask? Where to start . . . I guess, for starters my BACK is doing MUCH better (I’m still dreading going for the adjustments but it’s worth it). I actually went from Monday to Friday before having a return visit/adjustment . . . that’s a three-day reprieve! YAY! Next visit is an evaluation and adjustment, but I’m actually much more agile which makes me happy.

Second: Middle son’s “CCC” (Constant Car Curse): without going into tons of details, we got the title for the ‘gift’ car, got all the paperwork transferred, had it towed to Midas to find out why it wouldn’t run; turns out it was the alternator. They replaced it, called us and we went to pick it up (5-10 min. after phone call). Got there and were met by the mechanic who was just shaking his head – it seems that when they were pulling it out of the bay, the ‘Service Engine Soon’ light came on! When they checked it, the alternator was charging TOO MUCH (which would cause the battery to blow if let continue). They assured us that they would order another alternator/no charge to us. That took another 2 days.  Yesterday we FINALLY were able to pick up the car, take it to the local tire place, get a new tire for the front ($60) so he’s not driving on a donut anymore, and now he’s ‘on his way’….for how long, we don’t know.  Amidst all the other car ’stuff’, the first time they thought they had the car fixed for us it stopped running while the mechanic was taking it for a test drive and had to have it towed back to the shop! Oh! Forgot to mention the ‘fun’ adventures of Wednesday! I spent most of that day either sitting and knitting in my car or listening to car dealers talk. Middle son had decided that since his ‘luck’ (or lack of) with cars was so dismal, he would look into buying a NEW CAR! He’d decided to go with (don’t shoot me here, it wasn’t MY idea!) either a KIA or a Honda. (the rest of the family are dyed-in-the-wool Chrysler people). He test drove a Kia something (not sure what model) that would run him something like $14,000, then we went to the Honda dealer and they were all ready to give him a car for something like $17,000 out the door (with his dad’s co-signing). He put $200 down and we were all ready for him to (finally) have a reliable vehicle until… his older brother called yesterday and we chatted about the ‘new car’ idea. He mentioned to me: “Mom, are you aware that he’ll have to have FULL coverage for insurance? That would run him AT LEAST $250!  Add that to the monthly payments of $335-350 and he won’t have any money left per month to even buy gas OR go to college classes!” (Well, folks I’ve never in my life had a new car, so I had NO idea on all this.) Back we went to the Honda dealer to get his $200 down payment back. He was very disappointed, to say the least.  AT LEAST he now has a ‘car’, even though it’s this beater Neon that leaks oil big time. Our neighbor said he would look at it to see if he can figure out why it’s leaking oil so bad. (a quart a week).   That’s my big CAR WOES story for this week (let’s hope this doesn’t continue to other weeks…at least not any time soon!).

The holiday weekend is upon us; my husband’s on vacation for a week which takes some of the stresses off me (YAY!) I’ve still been knitting/crocheting squares and am hopeful that today I’ll be able to lay out another 4-5 afghans to begin putting more together. No particular plans for the weekend – no outside barbecues, no picnics…nothing special other than relaxing (I HOPE!!!).  The laundry is almost caught up, the dishwasher needs running soon, but other than that…Pammie’s taking a break from life  and it’s stresses (I HOPE!).

Hope you have a great holiday weekend and that it’s filled with nice, relaxing things that you enjoy.

Hugs;

Pammie

ps:   Our weather is supposed to be just gorgeous all weekend – in the 70’s and sunny…who could ask for a nicer ‘end of summer’?

pss:  Perhaps you’re wondering why I chose that title for this post – the line came to me, while listing all the ‘car troubles’ stuff and searching for a suitable title.  The quote is from Lewis Carroll:

“”The time has come,” the walrus said, “to talk of many things: Of shoes and ships – and sealing wax – of cabbages and kings”

this is a quote: (from Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, 1872); the poem is called: “The Walrus and the Carpenter”.

The “Fourth” Revisited

Hope your holiday weekend was enjoyable; it was a slow, quiet one around here with each of us kind of moving at our own pace/doing our own ‘things’ like TV, computer games, video games or knitting (guess which one was me!?)  The weather was really nice (if you had any picnic plans) staying in the low 70’s, sunny with a nice breeze.  I took a walk around the back yard just looking at what’s blooming.  Enjoyed eating some wild blackberries which come up every year and looking at our hanging basket flowers (Everblooming begonias…and they’ve really held up to their name…so far there’s never been a time since I purchased it  without lots of gorgeous salmon-colored flowers ; will try to remember that next year when searching for the ‘perfect hanging basket’.  The day seemed just right for bird watching as well: Common Flicker (the one that looks like a Red-Headed Woodpecker), 2 large bluejays, big fat robins sunning themselves on the picnic table and even a few Nuthatches.

On the knitting/crochet scene I got to experiment with some yarn that was donated from a friend who works at a church; the donor specifically stated that they wanted the yarn to go to a charity-type work and she thought of me.  The yarn is called Red Heart “Grande” and it definitely lives up to it’s name; I’ve never worked with yarn of this size before and it took several days of contemplating before I came up with a plan. First I tried knitting it, using the largest needles I have (11.5) and it really didn’t do the yarn colors justice; the work was too thick and closely woven.  This brought  back thoughts of crochet and so I purchased the biggest crochet hook I could find: a size “P” (11.5mm)! This  really worked fine for my project and was able to zip up one afghan in a few hours, using just double crochet.  There were 8 skeins in all and 4 make a good size for a child’s size afghan.

Over the entire weekend we had a steady stream of ‘teens/young adults’ visit our two younger sons, but for the most part it was another quiet weekend.

Hoping you had a great weekend.

Hugs;

Pammie

Memorial Day, 2009