Tis A Puzzlement

Why does the weekend go faster than the week?  Why can't we reverse it and make the weekend 5 days long, and the work week only 2 days.  All those in favor, say aye!   Friday night we watched the opening ceremony from London, and I was really impressed.

Saturday Rod and I spent much of the day sitting on the deck and dreaming new dreams while watching it rain.  We love to see the raindrops splash into the pond - my Granny used to say it was soldiers marching.  Rod started cleaning up the limbs that had blown off our willow trees during the multiple storms we had this past week. When it finally stopped raining, he got a fire started in the fire pit to begin burning up the leafy parts. But soon the clouds parted again and this time it rained buckets-full.  That put out the fire and Rod returned to sit on the deck.  But when we say a flash of lightening heading toward the grape arbor, we made a hasty retreat to the house.  Shortly after that, Mary texted to say that Jimmy's softball game had been rained out.  It was a good day to have dinner together.  We planned on ham, but Mary requested fried potatoes and eggs.  We make parslied potatoes and mix the eggs in to make scrambled eggs with potatoes in them.  We diced the ham, added it to the mix, and dinner was done.

Yesterday, Rod got a fire started to burn the leafy branches, and then brought out my sewing machine and the parts for Krissy's quilt top.  I got the top put together, and had plenty of time to sandwich it for quilting.  But, it appears that someone has snuck into my sewing room and stolen my pins.  They've been gone now for over two weeks.  Krissy and I have both looked, but no pins were found.  So, please, if you see my jar of quilting pins with the pretty colored tops, send them home.

Today's Doctor Visit

Today I finally saw my doctor - first time since October.  He's very busy and if you cancel an appointment, you wait 3 months for another.  I was honest about my numbers, and told him of my frustrations and confusion.  I have read so much, and much of it conflicts what I was told in the beginning.  We decided to start over - make like I was just diagnosed today.  I probably have more diet books than the local library - cookbooks and all.  But the book that seemed to help me the most in the beginning was a book that my girls got from the diabetic nurse at the health care company they work for.  So as of today, I am chucking all the books except that one and one that lists all the exchanges for brand-name foods.  And it's back to the beginning.

"Get Out of the Rut" Tuesday

This morning while I was mentally planning a "Get Out of the Rut" post, I jumped on Facebook and found this post by Mark Lipinski:

I just figured I couldn't say it any better.  I particularly like the line "there are only blessings and blessings in disguise."  Thank you, Mark, for giving me something to ponder today.

My Quiet Weekend

So far, it has been a quiet weekend, but a busy one.  Yesterday one of our local stores had a special sale with unbelievable prices.  The twins were going shopping there, so they took my list and my card and bought my order.  Rod went shopping this morning and picked up a few things that we still needed.  When he got home, he mowed the grass and I watched.  (I've always loved watching him ride the tractor.)  About 3 o'clock, we went to the kitchen.  We had bought pork tenderloins for $9/bag, and there were two in each bag.  We cut 1/3 off each one, and were able to get 3 meals from each bag.  With the family pack of gr. steak ($2.79/lb), we made 8 mini BBQ meatloaves and put them in the freezer, 4/meal.  We then made lasagna rolls with some of the gr. meat.  We got 16 in all.  We did 2 pans of 6 each for the freezer, and ate the other 4 for dinner.  And with the gr. meat that was left, we did 2 pans of stuffed peppers for the freezer. The Italian bread was two loaves for $1.00, and we bought two.  We will slice one and prepare it as garlic bread for the freezer.   It just seems that on the nights that the twins don't come to help with dinner and I have the kids later, Rod and I ending up eating "quickie" meals - not healthy, just quick.  These freezer meals will help a lot.  We will even have garlic bread to put in the oven with the lasagna rolls.  And the Italian bread and lasagna rolls that we had with our dinner tonight was delicious.  And we accomplished it all in about two hours.  I love cooking with my hubby.

The freezer that we have now is the one that we bought shortly after we got married.  And it is definitely not energy efficient.  So I've decided to save for a new freezer.  Maybe not so big as the present one - the family is smaller and so is the garden.  But since I can't climb the stairs anymore, I want to find a place to put it in the upstairs.  The one I'm looking at is frost-free, something that didn't exist when we bought the current one, and it's energy efficient.  I always think it's easier to justify a new purchase if it's going to save money -- just look at the new car, 39.9 miles/gallon as we speak!!  We've always had good luck with Maytag appliances, and the one I'm looking at is a Maytag.  (I don't think mine has ever looked this neat!)  So, now I'm pocketing any loose change I find!  Have a good weekend.

TGIF

I'm so glad that today is Friday.  I've had the kids a lot of hours this week, and  three days started pretty early.  I'm really looking forward a quiet weekend.  I started the new little bags, but the hooks I used last year for water bottle holders were for dog chains (ssshhh, don't tell anyone)  and they were really heavy.  I have also used up most of my stash of fusible interfacing; and since the new bags are bigger, the 7" zippers I bought last year aren't really long enough.  I had gotten an email about a sale at Hancock Fabrics, and place an order yesterday for what I needed.  Now I just have to wait on that order to arrive.

In the meantime, this weekend I can finish putting Kristina's quilt top together, and finish the blocks for Jake's quilt.  I'm not planning on any "big" meals this weekend, but rather some simple ideas.  (Rod makes a killer club sandwich).  Thinking that would be a great meal for Sunday.

And for Saturday night, if we don't go out to eat, I may make these pepperoni rolls.  I may try to pinch my ends closed, though.  I wouldn't want any of the cheese to leak out.

Hope you have a great weekend.

How About a Tuesday Tally?

What have I been up to???  Let's see.  Friday night we made our semi-yearly trip to the mall and I got a new hairdo.  First time it's been cut in nearly a year, and boy did it need it.  My hair hasn't been this long since I got married.  I've decided to stop with the hair color, and there isn't nearly as much gray as I thought there would be.  Saturday, I rode to the car dealer to look at a new car with Rod, and we ended up buying a "hamster" car.  We're already getting 8 mpg more than we were getting in the other car, and when you consider that Rod drives 100 miles a day, it's a big plus.

I've been working on the Bubble Guppies quilt for Jake.  I bought the background fabric to use for a zoo quilt, but that hasn't happened.  I thought it was perfect for an "underwater" feel. All 12 blocks have been traced.  I have 7 fused, but only these three are finished.  Three more have been zigzag-ed, but I haven't done the features yet.

I have a free day today, and I think I may put the quilt aside and work on new bags for Disney.  For Christmas, I had made little bags with a key ring attached.  I sat down, measured, cyphered and finally came up with a pattern for a bag that is a little larger.  On one side will be a vinyl pocket (to hold driver's license and Disney Key to the World card.  On the other side will be a pocket closed with Velcro for change.  And then the zipper bag will be large enough to hold our cell phones.  It will have a clip rather than a key ring.  If they look good, I will post photos.

As a postscript to yesterday's post, the raspberry vanilla refrigerator oatmeal was pretty good.

Yummy, Healthy Breakfasts

I've recently been introduced to a new website: http://www.theyummylife.com.  Some of the recipes had been pinned to Pinterest, and I found them there.  These refrigerator oatmeals looked so good to me, and I've decided to give them a try. These oatmeal recipes use oatmeal, greek yogurt, chai seeds and assorted other flavors and fruits.  I have recently rejoined Weight Watchers, and the recipes include the Weight Watcher points as well as the other nutrition facts.  So far, I've looked at 14 different flavors, and choosing which to make will be a hard decision.  
Today, I have decided to make 3 per week.  For this week, I have decided on the Raspberry Vanilla, the Blueberry Maple, and the Apple Cinnamon flavors

Daughter Mary brought me the Cherry Chocolate Chunk last Sunday night.  I ate it for my breakfast on Monday, and it was amazing.  The Chia seeds swell up and get soft.  I would never have dreamed that cold oatmeal could be so satisfying.  It was almost like a dessert, and I almost felt guilty eating it - almost.  I am really impressed with the website.  Monica has some delicious sounding items on here, and they are all pretty healthy.  If you have some free time, check out the Yummy Life website.  You won't be sorry.

Guess What Day It Is. . .

Yep, you got it!!!  Does Friday the 13th frighten you?  Lots of people fear the number 13.  What is your worst experience with Friday the 13th?  My worst was decades ago.  My sister and I shared a room on the attic floor of our home.  It was a huge room, with a long hallway leading to the stairs which led to the first floor.  One week, my sister decided to dust the floor with Endust and a dust mop.  Always looking for a quick way to finish a job.  The morning of that particular 13th, I got dressed for school and finished with my socks.  My shoes were on the first floor, so I started down the hall.  My socks were the perfect vehicle to make the hallway a "slip and slide".  My feet slipped out from under me, and I fell onto my bottom right at the top of the steps.  But it didn't stop there.  I toppled down the steps, landing on my head.  But it gets worse . . . the cat had barfed at the bottom of the steps and guess where my hair ended up.  Yep!!  Right in the cat-yack.  Needless to say, I didn't make it to school that day.

Since I married Rod, however, Friday the 13th is a good thing.  Thirteen is our lucky number.  His birthday is 13 days after mine, and our anniversary is 13 days after his birthday.  Have you any Friday the 13th horror stories to share??  Have a good and safe day.

"What a Crock" Wednesday

As you know, I'm in love with my crock pots.  I have four, one that is really old - before the crocks were removable.  Two are single crockpots - two different sizes, and then the triple one. I've been using them quite a bit, it makes dinner easier when it's been so hot.

I've made this bread pudding twice - once with apples and raisins, once with fresh peaches.  I don't make the sauce, I did use the sugar since it was only 1/4 cup and I substitute the mulling spice from Tastefully Simple for the cinnamon.  It is really good, and the family prefers the peach variation.  May try pears the next time.

On today's menu is this pot roast recipe.  It uses the three mixes pictured along with 1/2 cup water.  I haven't decided what to serve with it; I love these potatoes. Covering the crock with foil steams the potatoes, they are perfectly done without being mushy.  And I also found this recipe for crock pot mac and cheese.  I'm not sure if I have the evaporated milk, but if I do, this is the one.  I'm off to load the crock pot, have a great day.

A Wonderful Day

Saturday was the day for the annual picnic at my Mom's assisted living home.  It has always been outside, complete with great food and wonderful entertainment.  I, along with several others, had called on Thursday to voice my concern about the picnic being held in temperatures of 101.  Not only was it not good for the residents, but how do you keep the food safe?  The Activity Director got busy and had the event changed to the gymnasium of a local church.  It was a large room, handicapped accessible, with bathrooms close, and best of all, it was air conditioned.  The entertainer is an elderly man, who plays guitar and sings, almost like karaoke.  He does a lot of rock, country, and the songs for Hokey Pokey, the Chicken Dance, and YMCA.  Jake loves music, and was the hit of the party when he decided to dance.  He danced by himself for a while, but soon found a partner.  The seniors at the picnic got quite a laugh from his dancing. I think that sometimes children are so lucky because they haven't yet lost their innocence.  Mom was so proud because all of us except George were in attendance.  Kristin had to work Saturday morning, but arrived while the food was still out and got to enjoy the entertainment.  So when Kristin arrived, Mom had the largest number of family members in attendance.  It was so wonderful to see her laughing at all the kids dancing.  But, it's very possible that we got the biggest laugh from Jimmy.  He loves playing the "clown", and is always one of the first to participate in karaoke and dancing.  He did all the silly dances with Bubby on his shoulders.  With some of the other dances, he sneaked over behind some of the residents and danced with them.  It was certainly a great day for all.

Happy Birthday America

Happy Birthday, USA.  And I have to say, you look pretty good for your age.  Are you doing something special to celebrate the 4th?  We have no special plans.  July 4 is one of the holidays that we don't usually celebrate with the family.  Mary and her family usually go to Kennywood, a local amusement park.  Jimmy gets free tickets from the Carpenter's Union, but they don't use them the day of the Carpenter's picnic.  Jimmy usually works the union booth during the picnic, and so they use the tickets on July 4.  It's become a family tradition for them.  Pam and Pat are going to the park this evening for some rides and the fireworks.  So, Rod and I are just relaxing and enjoying a day off.  One of our neighbors has a 4th party every year, and we sit on our front porch and enjoy their fireworks.  I made potato salad for dinner last night, and we have enough left over for today.  Hope you have a "bang up" day.

Farmer's Market Quilt

It's a good thing that I finished my Farmer's Market quilt because it may be all the veggies we  get from the garden this year.  It has been so hot (in the 90's) and although they have called for rain, most of it has gone south of us.  We planted both green and wax beans - something has chewed them off at the ground.  We planted Brussel sprouts - also chopped off.  Strawberries have produced not one single berry, a big change from last year when Rod and Izzy picked a cereal bowl full nearly every day. The tomatoes, for some strange reason, look great.  And, we did manage to get a couple of meals from the peas.  This year we seem to be overrun with bunnies.  We used to have a neighbor with a jack russell terrier, a really fat terrier that daughter Pat called "Sausage Dog".  Seemed that dog was always in our yard.  But the neighbor moved away over the winter and so we see no more fat dog.  Maybe the dog was keeping the bunnies in check or at least away from the garden boxes.  My Granny used to tell us to sprinkle moth balls around the vegetable garden.  I don't know if it works, but I'm about to give it a try.  With how dry it's been, Rod has been watering the garden nearly every night.  That means increased water and sewage bills; and, since there's little hope for anything to grow at this point, I'm not sure it's worth it.  But at least I have my Farmer's Market Quilt.  And I finally have posted the photo that I promised you.  Stay cool.