Almost 3 1/2 years old!

Today worked out to be one of those ‘not planned, but totally fun’ days. I got most of the housework/chores out of the way yesterday which left me ‘free’. Around 10 a.m. I got a frantic call from our oldest who wanted to know what I was doing right then; “Not much” I replied. “Can you watch the little guy?” “Yes, of course!” Due to some sort of  mix-up in scheduling, his Mother had to work, the great-grandmother wasn’t home which left my son frantically trying to find someone to watch my grandson (apparently he’d already driven to the Mom’s house AND the great grandmas…no one home either place!). We had a good time putting puzzles together, playing cars & trucks, rocking (and a nap), then time to go to great grandma’s house.  The whole mix-up got straightened out, and I got to spend some ‘fun’ time with my sweet grandson who’s growing so quickly. Due to lots of unplanned events (car troubles/sick cat/his Mom’s changed work schedule) I haven’t babysat him in almost 2 months, other than seeing him for a few hours when his Dad stops by, so this was truly a treat for me. What a nice way to spend a Fall day!

Working on afghan #210; managed to ‘put together for sewing’ six more afghans (I usually only get 4 done before getting too tired), so now I’m getting my ’second wind’ in the afghan department.

Last night was my Knit/Crochet group night and we had another new lady join us: total of 17 people gathered to knit/crochet/chat/eat & drink great stuff from Panera Bread/chat lots more/share ideas & patterns…all-in-all, a totally fun evening!  (Usually we average around 11-12 on an evening, so it felt like we were bursting at the seams! So glad that the management there like having us…of course we spend money, but they’re very tollerant of us re-arranging all their tables, too…we put them back when we’re done!).

It seems we’re still getting a bit of Indian Summer: nice breezes, beautiful colors, sun shining and the temperatures are really nice for this time of year (50-60’s!). I know it will very quickly change, but for now I’m just enjoying the blessings!

Have to get off here and go make dinner; my husband’s all-time favorite: “Souper Meat & Potato Pie” (I’m pretty sure it’s somewhere in my postings…it was an old Campbell’s Soup label recipe from the 70’s). It’s basically a big meatloaf which is baked half-way, then frosted with mashed potatoes and topped with shredded cheddar cheese…Yum!

Hope you’re enjoying your day!

Hugs;

Pammie

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

–

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

The leaves around here are now mostly on the ground; the weather has taken a decidedly chilly turn, with grey days filled with light winds and rain. That’s OK, it’s what’s supposed to happen right around now. Halloween, for us, was un-eventful; we live on a main road (45 mph speeds) so we don’t get trick-or-treaters, haven’t for many, many years.

The Harvest Party last week for my special needs group went very well; we had a roomfull of people (students/caregivers/parents) who seemed to really enjoy themselves. We went through a ton of chips & hot cheese, cider/pop and cookies. We had so much donated candy that each student went home with two small bags full! It was a busy, fun evening, for sure!

Tonight is our church’s “Ladies Fellowship” which consists of a light supper and devotional speaker. This time my alphabetical grouping (L-Z) is to bring a salad (the others, A-K)  are bringing dessert). I’m not a great ’salad’ maker for parties, so I relied on a recipe found on-line:

Apple Cole Slaw

3 C. chopped cabbage

1 unpeeled red apple, cored & chopped

1 unpeeled Granny Smith apple, cored & chopped

1 carrot, grated

1/2 C. finely chopped red bell pepper

2 green onions, chopped

1/3 C. mayonnaise

1/3 C. brown sugar

1 T. lemon juice, or to taste

–

In large bowl, combine cabbage, apple, carrot, bell pepper and onions. In small bowl mix together mayonnaise, brown sugar and lemon juice. Pour dressing over salad and toss. Refrigerate for 1 hour and serve chilled.

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Note: You could also add chopped pecans, raisins, poppy seeds or mandarine orange segments.

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It’s been kind of ‘touch & go’ lately with our cat; another trip to the vets Friday for a re-check found that his urinary tract was blocked again (for the third time). I called my husband to ask just how to proceed. He said go ahead with another catheterization, but this is the last time. I fully understand; it’s been almost a month of vet checks and he isn’t really getting ‘over the hump’.  As I’ve said before, we can’t afford the major surgery for him if he blocks up again.  It’s a hard call to make, but sometimes you just have to do the ‘hard things’. We’re just watching and waiting at this point, hoping that somehow his system will finally clear itself.

Other than that, it’s been rather calm around here; finished afghan #208 Saturday and now working on 209. Visited the chiropractor today and my back is staying stable, which is a great thing-I’m not in pain. I’ve learned that, whether I like it or not, these visits are in my future regularly for me to maintain mobility and flexibility. Yep, I’m gettin’ older…sigh.

Enjoy your day;

Hugs;

Pam

Hello, all!

Not much exciting going on around here (guess that’s a good thing!). After the ‘car troubles/cat sick’ week, it’s nice to just do some catching up on all the things that got shoved to the back burner. Yesterday and today have been lots of running; little trips here and there to make me feel like I have ’some’ control in my life. Went to the Post Office today to check the Ghana Project box and found a lovely crocheted afghan from a lady who had written me asking if she could send it; this past Sunday a friend from church brought me the results of a bag of yarn I gave her. She handed me the bag with the comment: “I think there’s something like 102 squares; you can re-count them if you like.” I’m now doing good as far as squares to use; now it’s my job to get going on sewing more together for the finished products. A little later today I’m going upstairs and re-counting what’s there, as I think I might have either one more or one less than I think the actual count is. Finished another one this morning while listening to the cd of our choir’s Christmas songs (borrowed the cd to ‘get the hang’ of the music).

After I’m finished with this blog entry, it’s time to finish up the special needs group’s bi-monthly newsletter and get it printed, folded and stuffed into around 50 envelopes, then take them to the Post Office to mail. Tonight is my knit group and I’m looking forward to a little ‘girl’ time; I really enjoy the ladies in the group-we’re all so diversified and yet all united via yarn! It’s a fun, fast and fascinating few hours in my week.

Visited the chiropractor yesterday after a break of 5 weeks (rough count). I was amazed that my back is doing as well as it is, with all the stress from my father-in-law’s illness and death (no, I didn’t write about that here; it was about 4 weeks ago…all’s ‘good’), the car troubles (didn’t write about all that, either, but NOW the car is FINALLY fixed!) & the sick cat. Visiting the chiropractor is one of those ‘love/hate’ things for me – I know it does my back ‘good’, but it’s still painful to endure. From all I’ve learned from these visits, looks like I’ll be doing this ad infinitum…into the future…indefinitely. Oh well, one of those “Get used to it, honey…you’re not getting any younger!” moments.

The special needs Great Potato Bake and Silent Auction was postponed due to lack of ticket sales; that was a bit disappointing, but what can you do?  We’re hoping to come up with another fund raiser idea in January.  It was a good idea, but actually…if we HAD done it last Friday, the weather was really awful: rainy, windy, cold, so I guess it was a good thing after all.  (and, it’s less stress on me for now…)

Tomorrow night is our special needs Harvest Party and I just got back from buying the food stuffs for it. We’re going to be having corn chips & hot cheese sauce, cider and cider donuts. Along with that we’ll be playing various games around the room like “Knock over the Bowling Pins”, “Shoot out the Candle with a Squirt Gun”, “Go Duck Hunting” (using a kid’s wading pool with about 20 plastic ducks floating in it; some have a ‘PRIZE!” written on their bottoms). Our students love this; we have each of them bring a bag of individually wrapped candy and we dump it all in a big punch bowl. When they come in, we give them each a paper lunch bag to decorate (if they wish) then when we play the games they each get a small handful of candy for playing the game (whether they win or not). It’s sort of like “Christian Trick or Treat”, I guess you’d say. No costumes, just games/devotions/and great snacks. I’m guess we’ll have around 50 attending tomorrow; it’s one of their favorite nights.

That’s about ‘it’ around here; made a really good chicken pot pie for dinner last night. I’ve never been a fan of any ‘pot pie’ as my Mom used to rely on those little frozen ones quite often when I was growing up, but every once in awhile I make one from scratch and they’re tasty, warm and somewhat a ‘comfort food’.

Hope you’re having a good day; stay warm and maybe treat yourself to a nice hot cup of cocoa!

Hugs;

Pammie

"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

Hello, all!

Well, here at ’sick cat Central’ things are (I hope) looking ‘up’. It’s been several trips to the vets since Saturday and we now have the exact opposite of ‘blocked urinary tract’… an incontinent cat! Today’s visit found the vet writing us a prescription for a medication that will help reduce the size of the bladder so he will (hopefully) be able to ‘feel’ when he has to ‘go’; for now we’re borrowing our neighbor’s huge dog crate and confining him to that with a small litter pan and old bath towels. Without making you ‘ill’, this is the best solution so that the whole house doesn’t reek. Ah, the joys of pet ownership, eh? The good thing in all this? The vet isn’t charging me for the daily re-checks!

The other ‘good news’? I think we’ve finally figured out my ‘car problem’! (trying to make this short) I believe the problem lies in the fact that my car thinks the ‘alarm system’ is being tampered with, hence the start right up then die/no gauges thing. I remembered that the last time it did that, I had pressed the little automatic lock button on my key chain (I usually just push the button inside the door when locking my car). Very rarely do I use the keychain button and, now that I think of it, I’m wondering if ‘that’s IT‘! We’re going to do an experiment and both my husband & I will not be using the keychain button any longer and see if that does the trick. A person I was chatting with at church said his friend has the same problem; they just wait 10 minutes and it re-sets and they’re good to go! Crazy, but I think we’ve finally ‘got it’!

That’s what’s shakin’ around here; need to get off here and go iron my youngest son’s clothes for his choir concert this evening.

Enjoy your day!

Hugs;

Pammie

Here we are at Saturday again; it’s been another kind of unusual week:  our cat was overnight at the vet’s, he’s doing better (obstructed tract), my car stopped running on me (AGAIN!) and had to have it towed. Like before, let it sit awhile and it runs just fine so that the mechanics can’t find a thing wrong with it! UGH! Rented another PT Cruiser and upon returning it got a tip from the rental guy for a new car repair place nearby that only does electrical work…just what I need! Have to arrange to get my car there soon (before I’m stranded again). The general consensus is that the problem lies somewhere between the starter and the gauges, as when it ‘does it’s thing (starting then immediately dying) I finally noticed that none of the gauges works, except the digital clock works…go figure! This is, what…the third time this has happened in the past 2-3 months now? Sure isn’t cheap when you factor in all the car rentals! (fortunately the car repair place isn’t charging me for keeping my car overnight and trying to figure out the problem. You KNOW you’ve been there waaay too many times when they greet you by name as you come in the door! Enough of all that…

Tonight is the Homecoming dance for my youngest son; he’s going ’stag’ and hanging out with his friends for the evening. We’re to drop him off at “On The Border” restaurant around 4:45 and one of the kid’s Dads is driving all of them to the dance after dinner. Meanwhile, my husband & I will be attending an annual fund-raiser dinner and auction; we’ve attended something like three years now.  The food’s great and we get to visit with people we both worked with years ago (or, in my husband’s case, is still working with…I’m retired). The great part of this night is that I will be able to closely observe all the workings of their auction! Our special needs Potato Dinner & Auction is this Friday, so I’ll be on the look-out for any tips to make our event more dynamic. So far we have 11 baskets donated and 3 ‘other items’ (like a laser level, a Madame Alexander Coca-Cola collector’s doll and one more thing). I’m getting excited and a bit nervous at the same time; we have several volunteer ladies from the church to help set up and serve. We’re hoping for close to 100 people, but of course, we’ll be happy for even 50!  One of our volunteers is coming in early Friday to scrub, dry, poke holes and wrap in aluminum foil all 100 potatoes! That’s some job; I guess she’s bringing her mom to help out (Thanks, Mom!).

That’s what’s happening here this week; the weather is chilly but (so far) no white stuff. The newspaper was saying we were supposed to get snow flurries and some accumulation yesterday; fortunately for me, I didn’t even SEE that prediction until late last night when reading the paper! As you know if you’ve read my blog before, I’m NO fan of the nasty white stuff, but know that it’s necessary for the continuation of our lake’s health around here in the “Great Lakes State”. (Michigan, in case you wondered).

Enjoy your day!

Hugs;

Pammie

ps: UPDATE: Just got back from an emergency trip to the vets; cat had another obstruction and THANK HEAVENS the vet was willing to do a quick anesthesizing, catherization and flushing instead of sending us to the weekend emergency vets which runs tons of $$$. He’s home now, doing ok but a little groggy from the visit; recheck on Monday.

It’s Columbus Day…one of those strange holidays that, these days, seem to be only used for large companies to hold “Columbus Day” Blow Out Sales. (just my opinion). I remember as a child studying about Christopher Columbus and his travels on the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria, then drawing little posters of the ships.  Today, to me, it’s : no bank, Post office, or library visits like I’d planned (before remembering this lovely holiday).  I have five library books to return (due tomorrow) and nothing to read (that I haven’t already read, that is). Not complaining…it’s time to find something ‘else’ to do today. Looks like laundry is first on the list, then sewing the last row on afghan #204 and crocheting the border.  Recently I’ve found two ‘new to me’ recipes which sounded good…see what you think:

Sour Cream Bundt Cake

2 C. flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 3/4 C. sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 C. sour cream

3 T. jam, optional

—–

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease and flour a 9 inch Bundt pan. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Cream butter and sugar until creamy. Beat in eggs, one at a time; add vanilla and sour cream and mix. Gently mix in flour. Spoon 1/3 of batter into pan, dot with jam if desired and top with remaining batter. Bake 60-70 minutes. Cool 5  minutes before unmolding onto a rack or plate; cool completely before cutting.

(recipe courtesy newspaper flyer, 10/11/09)

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Pumpkin Pie Cake

1 (29 ounce) can pumpkin
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. pumpkin spice
1 tsp. salt
1 (18.5 ounce) package yellow cake mix
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup chopped walnuts

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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking pan. In a medium bowl, mix the pumpkin, evaporated milk, sugar, eggs, cinnamon, pumpkin spice and salt.

Pour the mixture into the baking dish. Sprinkle cake mix over the pumpkin mixture. Drizzle with butter. Top with the chopped walnuts. Bake in the preheated oven 50 to 60 minutes. Cool before serving.

(recipe from one of my recipe lists on the ‘net…

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Holiday_Express/

from  recipes and gift mixes to crafts….all holidays and parties

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Both of these recipes sounded yummy to me; it’s chilly and gloomy out today (no rain, thank heavens!) so I guess I’m in one of those ’snuggle up warmly at home and hibernate’ moods. Am putting a pork roast in the crockpot a little later today along with a can of  cranberry jelly; that always imparts a nice sweet/sour taste to the meat. Will probably have potatoes and carrots along with that for dinner…nice, warm ‘comfort’ food for a chilly day.

Hope you’re having a WARM, cosy day today…enjoy yourself a little, maybe treat yourself to a cup of cocoa or coffee? Just a thought…

Hugs;

Pammie

]]> http://grammiepammie.wordpress.com/2009/10/12/snuggle-down-and-get-warm/feed/ 2 grammiepammie 1244826491Ip8y19 http://grammiepammie.wordpress.com/2009/10/09/got-a-few-minutes/ http://grammiepammie.wordpress.com/2009/10/09/got-a-few-minutes/#comments Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:49:18 +0000 grammiepammie http://grammiepammie.wordpress.com/?p=1194 ]]>

It’s been a bit hectic here, me on my trusty computer ‘comping up’ the tickets for the upcoming special needs group’s fund raiser Potato Dinner. I ‘thought’ I had things under control, but you know how that goes…the minute you think you’ve got a handle on things, they go haywire! Got a call last night that the tickets had to be printed and delivered to the church where our group meets BEFORE 1 p.m. today, as the church was going to have an ann0uncement in their bulletin that the tickets would go on sale right after church. That wouldn’t be a bad thing except…I don’t attend that church which made for some real ‘hussling around’ on my part early this morning. Got to Office Max at around 8:40 a.m. and purchased the brown/tan antiqued post cards then home to get the tickets printed. Simple, yes? NO! For some really weird reason the cute little potato clip art (see a few posts before this one for an example) didn’t want to ‘print’ right side up the way I wanted him to…we had backwards, upside down and a few other alternatives but not the way I wanted. (guess I should insert here that I was attempting to print these in “Landscape” mode…that’s ’sideways’, sort of). After about 12 attempts and many sheets of wasted printer paper I finally got to the ‘tears’ and frustration level. A quick prayer for HELP! and one last ditch effort did the trick. To explain: I have NO idea why it works, but it does. If you look at the screen, the images are goofy, but it printed up just fine so I DON’T CARE!  One hundred cute little tickets later, each hand numbered and torn apart (they come 4 to a sheet) and a half hour trip to that church and we’re ‘good to go’! Whew! Now my next ‘great computer/printer project’ is some how comping up a sign-in sheet for each auction item…again in ‘landscape’ form. Since I’m using ‘Microsoft Publisher’ and they don’t offer anything like what I’m looking for, looks like another long day of ‘attempts’…sigh.  At least you know where I’ll be…sitting here going nuts!

Hope you’re having a good day; it’s cold, raining and 55 degrees out (sure feels colder!). Just put my knit shrug on and some slipper socks…I’m chilly! (house temp says it’s 73…my foot!)

Hope you stay warm and toasty! Enjoy your day;

Hugs;

Pammie

ps: Working on afghan #204 now…

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