Week 49, 11-27-2016

Thoughts and Quotes: The reason we aren’t living our dreams is inside ourselves.  For the most part, however, we pretend it’s people, things and situations outside ourselves that are to blame.  (Not enough money, education, contacts, intelligence, looks, etc.)  When we know that the cause of something is in ourselves, and that we (ourselves). . .have the right and the ability to change, we begin to get a sense of the choices we really do have, an inkling of the power we have, a feeling of being in charge – of our lives, of our future, of our dreams.

Your goal-fulfillment system is working all the time – pulling experiences, information, and people to you to help you fulfill your Dream.

                                                                           From DO IT!  Let’s Get Off Our Buts

                                                                           By John Roger and Peter McWilliams

I truly believe this. So how about we all make 2017 the year that we make our dreams come true? Are you in? Start thinking about what's really important for you to achieve in this lifetime and make those things the focus of your new year. Let's get off our buts.

Tablescapes: Monday was the day I was making the Quack, Quack lunch for friends Kathy, Joey, and Katie, but fate intervened. Joey's son-in-law was deer hunting and the stand collapsed. He fell 16' and broke both legs. He was still hospitalized on Monday and Joey's daughter Terri was off work, so she joined us. 

Terri usually does the family Thanksgiving dinner, but that was canceled. Kathy and her husband go to daughter Lori's with a gazillion other people, Katie and John were going to be alone, and Brother Bill and I didn't want to do anything which would make us sad without our brother Sonny. So, I decided to do a Thanksgiving lunch table instead.

Everything came from thrift stores or yard sales, even the cornucopia.

Remember the ceramic basket? Perfect for rolls. $3

And the little brown 50-cent dish? Perfect for a stick of butter.

The dining room looks like autumn all the time.

So the extent of my decorating is the pumpkin on the porch

The wreath on the door

And this in the entryway. I made it at a class at the library. The letters are decals. Wish I could be more like Neighbor Martha (Week 44, if you missed it).

I had a ham in the refrigerator, so I did my standard ham dinner of:

Ham with Grilled Pineapple Slices

Cheesy Potato Casserole (Week 13)

Steamed Baby Green Beans

Sister Shubert Rolls

Peach Quick Cobbler with Vanilla Ice Cream

I think everyone has made this cobbler, but in case you don't know about it, here goes:

QUICK COBBLER

3/4 stick butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup flour

2 tsps baking powder

1 cup milk

1 large can or 2 regular cans fruit (your choice)

Sugar for fruit, if needed

Heat oven to 375.

Melt butter in a 13 X 9 baking dish in the oven while it heats.

Put fruit in a saucepan, with sugar if needed, and heat while butter is melting.

Whisk together remaining ingredients and pour over melted butter.

Add heated fruit.

Bake 35-45 minutes.

Teaching and Learning: Katie went to a card class at Scrapbook Generation on Saturday, and she brought her cards for show and tell. So cute.

Tasting:  Tuesday I made a recipe I'd almost forgotten called Pork Chops and Dirty Rice. I had some pork steak I needed to use, so I substituted. The rice turns out like a risotto.

PORK CHOPS AND DIRTY RICE

4 pork chops

1 cup uncooked rice

1 envelope onion soup mix

1 small can mushroom pieces, drained

1/2 cup chopped onion

3 cups water

Heat oven to 375°.

Brown pork chops in a large skillet.

Pour rice evenly over the bottom of a 13 X 9 baking dish.

Place chops on top of rice.

Pour soup mix into pork drippings.  Add onion, mushrooms, and water.  Heat slightly.

Pour water mixture over chops. Cover.

Bake 45 minutes – remove cover and bake an additional 15 minutes.

Tales: I finished a book I recently picked up at a thrift store for 50 cents. Not much plot, but lots of fun to read. The author has other books, but this is a new heroine. She's 34th in line for the British Throne and penniless. She works (incognito) as a house maid and solves murders and acts as the queen's spy.

Tasting: I had a couple of bananas which were ripe and ice cream left over from Monday, so I made ice cream with sliced bananas, caramel sauce, and chopped pecans. I couldn't let the bananas spoil. Well, I couldn't, could I? And it was sooooo good.

Time for Others: Some time ago I attended a class at the library and learned how to make ten cards from three 12" x 12" sheets of paper (or cardstock). You also need ten base cards and embellishments. I had my three papers matched, so went ahead and made the cards. I think they're a little bright, but will probably use them anyway.

Thanksgiving: Brother Bill, his son Will, and Sonny's son, Ron, and I went casino hopping on Thanksgiving Day. We had a buffet lunch at Indigo Sky about 1:30.

 

If the menu is still up, find it here. Too crowded for good photos.

Will won a $600 jackpot, so for sure, he had something for which to be grateful. We went to four different casinos and then we had another dinner at High Winds at 8:30. This one was plated, and I forgot photos. Ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, dressing, sweet potatoes, corn casserole, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, roll and butter, pecan pie with whipped cream. Since it was plated, I coUld take half home; so though we ate out, I still had Thanksgiving leftovers for lunch the next day. Pepper was a happy to join me.

Joey ended up making dinner for her husband, son, and daughter-in-law. She made enough for an army, however. She's an expert at pies. This one is cherry.

Pumpkin

Her table

Friend Mim also made two beautiful pies, pecan and pumpkin, but sometimes I just can't download photos taken by phones. Sorry. They were gorgeous.

Thrifting: I bought a Rubbermaid tub of linens from Craigslist for $20. I'll be ironing for days.

Two tablecloths, a runner, 14 placemats, 19 matching napkins, 16 other napkins, 12 tea napkins

Two tablecloths, 12 matching napkins, 9 other napkins

One lace tablecloth, two plain tablecloths

One tablecloth, nine napkins

Six napkins of one kind, four of another

And eight napkins

Napkin rings, might be able to save the brass ones with some polish and some elbow grease; metal ones are iffy. I can't even tell the type of metal; brown ones are wooden, red ones are rattan.

Some egg cozies and paper goods for Katie's annual garage sale. Pepper is claiming the candlewick clipper

I bought all this from a guy who said that he inherited it. I'm thinking someone in the family might have taught etiquette to children, because there were paper placemats, showing how to set a table.

Togs: More to go - maybe next week.

WORK ON YOUR GOAL LIST

STAY HYDRATED

SHOP FOR CHRISTMAS

STOCK UP ON NON-PERISHABLES SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO SHOP IN THE COLD

THANK YOU FOR SHARING MY LIFE