Week 140, 8-26-2018

Thoughts and Quotes: Each day, I'm thankful for nights that turned into mornings, friends that turned into family, dreams that turned into reality, and likes that turned into love. 
     I don't know who said it. I saw it on a poster in a photo of a bedroom on Facebook. 

The dog days of summer: They're upon me. Spent most of my week gommin' and piddlin'. But guess what?! The dog days of summer have nothing to do with heat and humidity. Who knew? Read HERE.

Theme Dining: The new pumpkin dishes I bought for the Pumpkin Patch theme dinner (photo on last week's post) came with a flawed mug and plate, so I spent a lot of time on the computer "talking" to Walmart. End result - they sent me a replacement set and told me to just keep the others. 

Does this make you wonder about the markup on merchdise? Or the rise in shipping costs? In the past few years, I've been told to keep a new kitchen sink with a minor flaw, a microwave because I wouldn't accept it due to a damaged box which I wouldn't open (the microwave turned out to be unharmed), and now a set of dishes because two out of sixteen pieces had minor flaws, all because they didn't want to pay return shipping.

Tasting: Remember the simmering sauces I bought at Aldi? I stored them in alphabetical order and tried the first one.

The instructions said to marinate skinless, boneless chicken thighs and then grill them. I wanted to use some legs, so I opened the jar and decided to taste the sauce in case I didn't like it. Well I loved it. I wanted to just eat it with a spoon. I saved a little, used the balance to marinate my chicken legs, and cooked them in a skillet. I wish I had baked them in the marinade. They were really good anyway.

I went to two Aldis looking for more of this heavenly green sauce, but it's a special buy and alas, all gone. So I went online and Googled "chermoula cilantro and parsley herb sauce". I left off the brand name, thinking that other companies might make it. Up popped recipes to make Moroccan chermoula sauce. Wow! I can make my own. So can you. Click HERE. Or just Google "chermoula sauce recipe" and you'll find lots of recipes to make your own.

I mixed the part I saved with ranch dressing and used it on a salad made from the leftover chicken. Yum!

Thrifting: I was running errands on senior discount day at the thrift store, so I thought I'd just pop in and see if they had anything outstanding. Of course. There's always something I just must have.

Just last week I was wishing I had some pretty cream soup sets. The quality of my white ones leaves a lot to be desired. The pattern is not one I would have chosen, but for 80 cents per set, I'll make do. They're Villeboy and Boch - excellent quality and big bucks.

I needed these to go with either the Farmer's Market or the Cabbage Patch Tablescape. They're rather small, so a little glass cup for the middle can hold a votive candle or condiments. 20 cents each.

I have no idea where I'll use these. I have limited peach-colored dishes, but I do have blue. They could sit on a meal salad plate for dressing on the side. 20 cents each.

My plastic corn holders have seen better days, so I grabbed these for 8 cents each.

Perfect for my Lunch with Herb theme lunch (if I ever get it off the ground). 20 cents each.

I told you I'd find some more of these. Now I have three. 20 cents.

This is a small trinket box, but perfect to go on my Literary Lunch table. Still just an idea. I had a heck of a time coming up with a menu for the Lyrical Lunch, and this one will be even more difficult. 20 cents.

Four of these for 80 cents total

The Apple Orchard Soup and Salad table needs a makeover. One of my earliest efforts - I can do better. The napkins might work.

Five of these for 80 cents total. I have no idea what I'll do with these, but I was remembering they might go with some maroon dishes I have. 

I think a maroon and ivory table would be pretty. Maybe use my ivory lace tablecloth with burgundy roses for a centerpiece. Might not match. We'll see.

I also found a roll basket for 20 cents and a crochet book for 20 cents. I know what you're thinking, but not to worry. I'm planning to live to be 105. Maybe longer, now that I heard someone lived to be 117 recently. Wow! What I could do with an extra 12 years.

The Pepper and Pals Report: Stormy continues her goal to take the world apart, one little piece at a time.

I had these papers set aside to punch holes and put them in a binder. Stormy is working her way to the middle.

I bought a couple of cheap chair pads for the screened patio, because Stormy likes to nap there sometimes. She learned to untie one of them so she could turn it over to work on her goal.

When it rains, I leave the screen open for the outside kitties to eat inside out of the wet. I just got this mess cleaned up, and Flower decided to help Stormy.

But how do you scold a kitty this cute?

Teas: Those of you who skim my blog posts have missed a real treat, so I'm including the link again. It's only 7.22 minutes long and absolutely beautiful. Sometimes I start it just so I can hear the music while I check my emails. Click HERE. 

Tea Cups and Cupcakes Group: Bev told me about this group on Facebook and I joined. No requirements - just sign up on their Facebook page. I've loved the photos, the recipes, the anecdotes, the discussion. As a matter of fact, the link above came from this group. 

Anyway, someone mentioned how much they enjoy Great British Baking Show on PBS, and I think it's entering a new season. I'd not seen it, but in checking with the library, I discovered they have all the past seasons on DVD. I picked up Season 1, and I love it. 

I have hundreds of cookbooks, a four-drawer file full of clipped recipes, and 1,000's of recipes pinned on my Pinterest boards, and I'm seeing things I've never run across anywhere in all my years of reading recipes. Have you ever made boiling water pie crust?

They also mentioned Call the Midwife, so I decided to do some checking. Did you know that for $5 a month you can stream tons of PBS shows, including the Great British Baking Show? Just go to www.pbs.org and sign up. Call the Midwife has been licensed to Netflix, so you can't stream past shows, but I found that my library has all the past seasons on DVD.

See? You can teach an old dog new tricks.

That's all I have for this week. Must finish that DVD. 

PLAN SOMETHING FUN FOR LABOR DAY WEEKEND

MAYBE A TRIP TO THE BEACH OR LAKE

HOW ABOUT A PICNIC?

THEN WE'LL GET READY FOR FALL

MAYBE A NEW WREATH FOR THE DOOR

OR A STRAWBALE FOR THE PORCH

OR MAKE A PORK PIE WITH BOILING WATER PIE CRUST

EAT YOUR APPLES

THANK YOU FOR SHARING MY LIFE