Sunday, February 24, 2019

2-24-2019 Clothes, plants, and food of course

Thoughts and Quotes: Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life.     Seneca

Time to Celebrate: Bev and I went to Relics for lunch to celebrate her birthday, and we stayed half the afternoon. The people there are so gracious, and if you watch to make sure there are still empty tables, they don't mind if you stay and visit.


Bev had soup and salad.



And I had soup and quiche.


She had cookies with dip.


And I had apple pie with caramel sauce.


Her suprise birthday party was on Saturday, but I didn't attend. You know how I am with lots of people around. Besides, I wanted plenty of time to hear all about their recent cruise to Hawaii. Bill is such a dear and sent me a piece of her yummy raspberry birthday cake.


He even made sure I got a flower.


Topsy-Turvy Weather: Even the janitor is confused. He came to eat in the middle of the afternoon. I frightened him so badly, he upset the food and then ran under a chair to hide. I just let him be. After a bit, he came back out and ate some more. 


Then he went into one of the kitty houses and took a little nap.


Then he came back out and ate a little more and went on his way.

Tales: Now I've read A is for Alibi to Y is for Yesterday. There won't be a Z book. Sadly, Sue Grafton died before she completed the alphabet. She died in December of 2017 at the age of 77 after fighting cancer for two years. RIP Sue - we miss you.


The Pepper and Pals Report: The outdoor kitties are surviving the weather with no noticeable effects. Sometimes they use the heated houses and sometimes they disappear. They must all have watches, however, because they know when to show up for meals. The last few days they've been really scarce. Maybe the mice in the hay field are starting to stir, so they want to hunt.

Stormy napping with Bunny, her favorite toy from The Girls Up North.



Definitely a contortionist.


Togs: I got a call from Bon Worth that they were having a sale, so Joey and I made our annual trek to Branson for some retail therapy.

Will be nice to have black pants without kitty snags.


And some jewlery on sale - less expensive than the thrift store.



Couldn't resist this navy wrap.



Thrifting: And then a stop at Goodwill on the way home. No will power.

Three kitty plates for $1 each.


Four salad plates for 50 cents each.


Seven tumblers for 50 cents each. Stormy inspects everything to be sure I got a bargain.


A sweet little Spode tea bag rest for 50 cents (yellow tag day).


$1


$1 just right for lemon slices, nuts, or mints.


A bunny egg holder for $1.


Eiffel Tower for $3; yes, I know how I'll use it.


Tasting: By this time, we'd worked up an appetite, so we pigged out at Canton Buffet. 

I ate so many finger foods and soup,



I only wanted a little dinner.




Things: Yes, I know that I said I wouldn't buy things this year, but I had a credit at Amazon, so how could I resist?

Do you have one of these? I'd never heard of it until two weeks ago. Now to learn how to use it.


And I had to add something to get free shipping.


Tasting: Bill and I went to Panera Bread for lunch, and I wasn't truly happy. Bill liked his lunch, but my salad was a disappointment. Bill had Turkey Chili and a half Turkey sandwich.


I also had a Pick 2 which is a half salad and a small soup. I chose Broccoli-Cheddar Soup because I've heard good reviews. I chose the Southwest Salad expecting what I've ordered in the past, but with lime juice and chili powder added. The prior salad was lettuce, chicken, corn, black beans, green onions, and fresh tomatoes with a barbecue salad dressing. 

The new Southwest Salad says with Chile and Lime, and they meant arugala, some Romaine, chicken, tortilla strips, red chiles, a little corn, some avocado slices on top. I guess the lime was in the dressing which was tasteless. Oh, well. You can't win them all. The soup was good.


Bill's chili reminded me that I had some in the freezer and a baked potato in the refrigerator, so for brunch on Sunday I made a chili-cheese omelet with cottage fries. It's not really an omelet, but scrambled eggs, topped with chili then cheese, garnished with green onions and cut up fresh tomatoes (sadly, no tomatoes but good anyway). I know. I thought it sounded yucky the first time I saw it on the menu at a Marie Callendar's restaurant, but I tried it and was hooked.


Things that Grow: We were on our way to the Lawn and Garden Show. There were more booths this year, and it was a joy to see flowers. Amazing that they can start from bare concrete floors and put this together in three days.


Had never seen a plant like this. It seemed confused, not knowing which way to grow.



Loved this color combination.





Things to jazz up your yard.




An eye-catcher made of individual balloons.



Plants for sale.



Free goodies: Gardening gloves, pens, toothpicks in a case, wildflower seeds, and vegetable seeds.



And lots of information.




Thank You to Brother Bill: Who paid for my admission, bought me flowers, and brought me a new thermos.


Time certainly changes things. Growing up, little brothers were a complete nuisance; now they're a total joy.

Teaching and Learning: The library had a presentation by a lady who stages your home to prepare it for sale. Martha had her home staged professionally, and I was curious about the new trends. Or maybe things are done differently by areas. When I sold real estate in California, we wanted things to look like someone lived there. New homes tracts furnished the models right down to the cocktail napkins on the wet bar. Now the trend is to be minimal and non-personalized; rather like being in a furniture store. A few toss pillows, some wall art, and a few decorative items only.

Whether it's the result of time or the area, the trend is toward staging in SW Missouri, because she said that 50-60% of homes for sale have been professionally staged. Hey - inquiring minds want to know.

Tid-bits: Did you know that most libraries have an ongoing book sale right in the library? Best prices around. Though I knew better, I picked up eleven magazines for 10 cents each. And Mim, can you believe? The one Midwest Living is the one with the recipe for stuffed peppers you made and described to me. Now all I want to do is sit and look at them instead of finishing my bullet journal. I want to be ready to start using it on March 1, so that maybe I'll be motivated to accomplish something instead of goofing off.


THINK SPRING

AND FLOWERS

AND ROBINS

AND BUTTERFLIES

AND SPRING CLEANING - YUCK!

READ A GOOD BOOK

START SOME SEEDS INDOORS

MAKE SOME COOKIES

TO HAVE WITH TEA

OR LEMONADE

THANK YOU FOR SHARING MY LIFE













Sunday, February 17, 2019

2-17-2019 Valentines Day

Thoughts and Quotes: With God, all things are possible. 
                                                   Matthew 19:26

                                     Without God, all things are permissible. 
                                                   Fyodor Dostoevsky

Thank You: To Martha, for my goodbye present. Martha and I have been neighbors for fourteen years, and every time I was in her kitchen, I was admiring her beautiful cake stand. The tenth commandment says that I shouldn't covet my neighbor's cake stand, but I couldn't help myself. And now it's mine. See - the Bible says to ask and ye shall receive. I didn't ask directly, (it was obvious I loved it), but sent the desire into the Universe for one of my own and now here it is. A perfect parting gift. It won't be the same without Clark and Martha next door to me after all these years. 




Isn't it the most beautiful cake stand in the world?

Thank You: To My Girls Up North, for my gorgeous Valentine basket of goodies. I'll savor a little bit of love each day and make it last a long time.


Kettle Corn - yum!


Cookies


This looks interesting


Assorted candies


And my favorite: Mint-filled chocolates in a cute little Eiffel Tower tin


Stormy immediately claimed the stuffed toy which I believe is a sloth


And the fight is on!



And the icing on the cake - it came in a tub which I can use next year.



Pepper says he's not interested. He just wants to snuggle with his throw they sent at Christmas. So soft and cozy!




Thank You: For my valentines. This one made by Jean.


And one made by Joey.



And this cute one from my Lil Bro and Sis




Time to Celebrate: While we're on the subject of Valentines Day, I had some friends for lunch. Guess I should have said "over for lunch"; sounds as if they were the main course.





The Menu
Cranberry Jello Salad

Crunchy Chicken Casserole

Mixed Veggies

Pickled Cucumbers and Onions

Mixed Grain Muffins


Cherry-Pecan Ice Cream and Butter Cookies


The candy-filled ceramic purses were Take Homes.

All the recipes are on the drop downs (Cucumbers and Onions is under Salad) except the cookies, so here it is.

BUTTER COOKIES

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp almond extract
2-1/4 cups flour
15-18 small maraschino cherries, cut in half and drained

Heat oven to 350°.

Combine all and shape into balls.

Indent top and put cherry, cut side down in dent.

Bake 8-10 minutes on ungreased or parchment-lined baking sheets.

Note: I’ve also made these cookies using orange extract in place of almond and a piece of candied orange peel instead of a cherry half.


Of course, I had help from my assistants.


But one went to take a nap, and the other had to rest.


Time for Others: I'm still on hiatus with cardmaking (sending ecards), but I did make a few valentines for family.






Tasting: Steg and I went to Leong's this week. I liked the decor. The food, not so much.





Steg had Sweet and Sour Pork and Pork Fried Rice



My tummy wasn't feeling tip top, so I had Eggdrop Soup and Pork Fried Rice. Soup was good.


Tales: Joey's Book Club read a book by Lee Child, and she really liked it. They read The Affair.  We usually like the same things, but she's more into romance than I am (Nora Roberts), and I can handle more blood and guts (Patricia Cornwell). This sounded like an author we would both enjoy (like Nelson DeMille) in the thriller genre.

Child's protaganist is Jack Reacher and he has a smart mouth and is a maverick like Spenser, so I knew I'd like him. I wanted to read them in order, so I started with The Enemy. Eager to read the next book.


Teaching and Learning: Last week I told you I'd tell you about the information I ran across about tea. It's called Tea 101 and it's free and comes in the form of an email.

Chapter 1: An Introduction to Tea
Chapter 2: The Art of Steeping
Chapter 3: Herbal Teas
Chapter 4: Caffeine and Tea
Chapter 5: Tea and Health
Chapter 6: Matcha

It comes from The Republic of Tea (I'm sure you've seen their teas somewhere), and you can sign up HERE. There's no obligation to buy anything, but they will send you emails to try to sell you some tea.

Teaching and Learning: I also promised you some things to know before you go last week. Friend George got this from a newsletter he subscribes to because he and Ceil go to Puerto Vallarta every winter. Good info for travel when you leave the country, no matter where you're headed. The info is HERE. You can cut and paste to print it, but I can't import it directly into my blog post.
Things We Can Learn from the Movies: A detective can only solve a case once he has been suspended from duty.

Things People Actually Said During Job Interviews: "What is your company's policy on Monday absences?"

Tidbits: I'm so sorry I didn't wish everyone a Happy Chinese New Year earlier. It started on February 5 and ends on February 19. This is the Year of the Pig. You can read all about it HERE, including what to eat, what to wear, what not to do, what is lucky, and some of the myths. You can also find out which animal is your Chinese New Year according to the year in which you were born. Then you can explore your Chinese horoscope according to your animal. Lots of fun.


HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR

GET READY FOR SPRING

BUY SOME GARDEN SEEDS

MAYBE PLAN A SPRING CRUISE

BUY A NEW BATHING SUIT

GO TO A GARDEN SHOW

THANK YOU FOR SHARING MY LIFE