Week 99, 11-12-2017

Thoughts and Quotes: I have several quotes for you today, and then I'll tell you where I got them.

With Congress, every time they make a joke, it's law. Every time they make a law, it's a joke.                                                       Will Rogers

We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails. Unknown

Once the game is over, the King and Pawn go back into the same box. Unknown

To get the full value of a joy, you must have somebody to divide it with. Mark Twain

Friends Richard and Billie put these quotes on the tops of the jams and jellies they make to share with friends. I was lucky enough to be the recipient of four jars of these wonderful gifts of love this past week: Grape jelly, a red jalapeno jelly, a green jalapeno jelly, and a strawberry-jalapeno jelly. Perfect timing - the start of my Snooty Pantry.

Tidbits: I received this from Friends George and Ceil and after watching it, I was smiling all day. So nice to hear good news. Why don't we have more of this?

Time for Others: I'm not proud of my Thanksgiving cards this year. It's been a very busy week with little accomplished. And I still haven't finished making cards. A big thank you to Carrie and Annie for the paper and stickers which came in my last CARE package. Without those, I'd have been even further behind.

The Pepper and Pals Report: And this is one of the reasons I'm behind. My little family.

As you can see, Pepper still has his collar, so I feed him with a spoon four times a day. And each kitty requires special time with Aunt Patsy, for brushing or petting or sleeping in her lap.

And this morning I got up to this. 

And one day this week, it was this. Veronica wanted the plant off the table so she could use it as a viewing stand. Stormy thought she saw a wrinkle in the sweater I had drying on the guest bed, so she was pressing it for me.

The kittens are doing well, but I have to keep watch for the neighbor's cat who steals their food.

Drinking water is Flower, named after the skunk in Bambi. Doesn't he/she remind you of a skunk? And I tried to think of who wears a tuxedo a lot, so the black tuxedo kitty is Fred and the gray tuxedo is Ginger. Thankfully, Midnight was spayed on Friday and I'll pick her up on Monday. She'll have been at the vet for twelve days. I wonder if she and the kittens will pick up where they left off when I trapped her? I'll let you know next week.

I've grown so attached to Veronica, it will be difficult to let her go on December 5, but I know it's best for her. She needs a family who will love her and spend time with her. She's such a happy little girl. When I pick her up, her motor is already running. You can almost hear her from across the room, she purrs so loudly.

Stormy will miss her, too. They play together (and make messes), and chase each other around the house every morning until they're both exhausted. I just love her little paws. I really should let her be adopted too, but Pepper wants to keep her.

Tidbits: Some of our trees are still gorgeous, and I just had to share. How I missed Autumn when I lived in California.

Tasting: We celebrated my aunt's birthday on Friday by going back to The Market House Cafe (Click Here) for lunch.  Here's an easy way to find it. It's across from the court house in the square in Ozark on this side. Just look for the gazebo.

The specials that day were:

I told you about the fried green tomatoes and fried zucchini before. If you don't go for anything else, they're worth the trip. I had the quiche with a salad and raspberry vinaigrette. All salad dressings are made in-house. A house specialty is Lasagna Soup, which Lisa tried and gave it two thumbs up.

The building is original from who knows how long ago. It was there when we used to pass this way to visit my grandparents in the early 1940's, and it didn't look new then. You can see the height of the ceilings, just the way they used to be.

You can also choose some baked goodies from the case to take home.

And The Persimmon Tree is right next door (Click Here). My Chosen Niece Terri bought some handcream for me here, and now I'm addicted. I picked up another tube on Friday. The fragrance reminds me of new-mown grass, somehow calming and invigorating at the same time. It's called Green Bamboo.

Caren also makes a fragrance called Blue Linen which smells like fresh laundry dried in the sun. There are lots of unique decorative items, and also a little boutique in the back of the store. I picked up a little trinket for my Beloved Terri, but she has to wait until Thanksgiving and her mother will bring it.

Thrifting: My cardmaker friend Jean belongs to a church that has a bazaar every year. Jean printed up these little cards as reminders. Great idea.

Jean is a master cardmaker, as well as a master of all sorts of other crafts. Here are some examples. The shape is unique because it's made with coffee filters. She puts all kinds of little pockets with pull-outs, etc. Truly works of art.

These are notebooks, covered with wallpaper, for journaling

She also makes smaller little notebooks for carrying in your purse or keeping on your desk to jot down little reminders.

And if you're wondering about the quote, the rest says that an architect can cover his with ivy.

Some are made with 45 rpm records. Yes, the actual records.

Others are made from children's books. The book is all there with pages for writing as well. These certainly bring back memories.

Every piece has been crafted with details only Jean can think of. Take a look at this game journal with a poker chip on the back cover.

I'm not sure exactly how to use these, but they're so perfectly detailed, I had to buy the one with the fashions.

Tooth Fairy boxes, with a heart on the back.

Snowman Kisses

And little yellow bag survival kits

She also makes jewelry

And doll clothes, which I did not photo. Sorry.

Other crafters made snowman ornaments from votive candles.

Other handcrafted items, as well.

The room looked very festive with Thanksgiving Tables and Christmas offerings.

The centerpieces were lovely.

They also offered baked goods, sorphum, honey, and nuts.

And costume jewelry. You knew I'd have to buy some. Two necklaces (with photo-bomber Stormy) and five earrings.

Seven acquistions, so seven discards.

This is a really big, really heavy book. Glad to see it go.

Of course, I had help.

And plus my seven for the one-per-day week.

Tasting: Joey and I left the bazaar before they started serving lunch, so we went to Sams Club and had pizza - the best!  And the least expensive lunch in town. Then we had apple pie, cherry pie, trail mix, granola bars, and grapes for dessert. I also had pepperoni wrapped around string cheese. Weekends are very busy with tasting stations at Sams. And if you haven't been lately, check them out. Go at lunchtime on the weekend and snack your way through the store. The closer we get to the holidays, the more snacks they'll offer.

Ours has a flower designer now.

We spent most of our time in the bakery section. The prices are amazing. This pie is Caramel Apple and weighs 4 lbs 7 oz for $10.

The Pumpkin weighs 3 lbs 10 oz for $7.

And a sampler of Apple-Cherry-Peach-Blueberry weighing 4 lbs 2 oz for $12.

Beautiful HUGE cakes at reasonable prices.

Cheesecakes

Chocolate-covered Cheesecake pieces

Cupcakes for Veterans Day

And Danish blossoms for $4 - Apple, Peach, Cherry, Cheese.

Tasting: To make your mashed potatoes ahead for Thanksgiving, this looks good to me, though I haven't tried it. Click HERE.

Or try this recipe which Joey got from her friend Evelyn.

MAKE AHEAD MASHED POTATOES

5 lbs potatoes (about 9 large), peeled and chunked

1 cup sour cream

1 tsp salt

6 oz cream cheese

2 tsps onion salt

2 Tbs butter

Water and salt for boiling potatoes

Boil potatoes in salted water. Drain and mash until smooth.

Add remaining ingredients and whip until light and fluffy.

Cool, cover, and refrigerate.

To use, place in greased casserole, dot with butter, cover and bake at 350° for about 30 minutes.

You can also heat them in the microwave.

Potatoes will keep in the refrigerator up to two weeks.

That's it for this week.

GET OUT THE OUTDOOR CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS

PUT THEM UP THE FIRST NICE DAY

STAY HYDRATED IN THE WARM, DRY INDOOR AIR

FINISH YOUR THANKSGIVING DAY PLANS

MAKE PLANS FOR A TROPICAL VACATION DURING THE SNOW DAYS

HUG YOUR PEEPS AND YOUR PETS

THANK YOU FOR SHARING MY LIFE