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Thoughts and Quotes: It is never too late to be what you might have been.

                                                                         George Eliot

Things to make us happy: Following my own advice, I brought in a rose for my nightstand, and the last of my zinnias for the kitchen. It really does feed your soul - try it.

Tasting: I tried a recipe for Lemon Cheesecake Mousse from Pinterest, and liked it, so I tried it with lime and liked that as well. So why not make it with any flavor Jello you desire?

JELLO CHEESECAKE MOUSSE

1 4-serving size package Jello

1/2 cup boiling water

1 8-oz package cream cheese

1/2 cup cold water

1 cup Cool Whip + more for garnish

Berries or other for garnish

Put the Jello in a small bowl and pour in the boiling water. Stir until completely dissolved.

Add Jello to blender with cream cheese and cold water.

Blend until smooth.

Pour into a larger bowl and whisk in the 1 cup Cool Whip.

Pour into serving dishes (4 to 6) and chill for at least two hours.

Garnish with additional Cool Whip and a few berries.

Try lemon Jello with blueberries, lime Jello with raspberries, cherry Jello with chocolate curls, orange Jello with banana slices, etc.

Quick, easy, and so festive.

Those Who Inspire Us: I've told you about my sister-in-law (Lil' Sis'), who is a current day Wonder Woman. She just finished her second book, and did a podcast I think you'll enjoy. You, too, will be inspired by my Lil' Sis'. Click HERE.

Those Who Scam: I've had two new kinds of scam calls lately. One claims to be from the Social Security Administration. My ID has been stolen, so they have cancelled my social security number and now I'm no longer a citizen. They used my credit card as well in El Paso, Texas, blah, blah, blah. Two men will come to my house the next day; they will be dressed in business suits, and what time will I be home? Oh, all day? What time do you go for your walk? So that's it! What time will I be gone, so I can be burgled? I told him that if he wants to be a scammer, he needs to clean up his accent and hung up. End of that guy.

Then I got a call from Daniel at Amazon telling me that someone charged an iPhone for $1,499 to my account on order AMZ987 and that I should press two and report it. 1. That's not even close to what Amazon order numbers look like. 2. The guy who answered at press two had a heavy accent - the definite red flag. Of course, he wanted me to go to my computer and open it and he'd give me a form to fill out. Sure, Buddy, and would you like all my passwords while we're there?

What will they think of next? Be wary - there are lots of people who want your money.

Tasting: Soup 20, Raspberry Soup by Committee

RASPBERRY SOUP BY COMMITTEE

I used a recipe from the internet and served this soup at dinner.  After we all made our suggestions for improvement, this is the result.

Serve as a first course on a hot evening, from a cup at a ladies’ luncheon, as a dessert soup, or instead of pastry for your quick afternoon tea on a hot summer day. Serve it in a cream soup bowl, so you can pick it up and drink it down if you’re in a really big hurry.

24-oz fresh or (thawed) frozen unsweetened raspberries

1-1/4 cups water

1-1/4 cups cran-raspberry juice

2/3 cup sugar

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1 Tbs lemon juice

2 cartons (6 oz) raspberry yogurt

Sour cream, crème fraiche, or whipped cream (optional)

Puree raspberries and water in a blender.  Don’t overdo it or you’ll be eating bits of seeds. Put raspberries in a large saucepan and add the cran-raspberry juice, sugar and cinnamon.

Stir over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and strain.

 Allow to cool. Whisk in lemon juice and yogurt.  Refrigerate.

 Do a dollop just before serving. Serves 4 to 6. 

And now these cream soup sets (6) are leaving. Such nice quality - Villeroy and Boch - and I got them really cheap at a thrift store. Boo-hoo. (Daughter is doing a fist pump)

Thirty-two more to go by the end of the year? Might not make it unless I really focus. I've been making my big plans for next year. It's all Boys Town's fault. They already sent my 2021 planner, so I just had to start filling it in. And I spent an entire day working on my plans for next year's blog format. I even have the first post almost finished. We have to have twice as much fun in 2021 to make up for 2020.

Thrifting: No, I haven't gone yet, but when I made my coffee one morning this week, I grabbed a turquoise mug, and it just felt "off." As a bookkeeper, I love everything balanced, so maybe this has precipated my love of having seasons. I like things to fit into the four cubbyholes of Spring: March, April, May; Summer: June, July, August; Autumn: September, October, November; Winter: December, January, Febrary. Yes, I know the calendar marks the beginning of each season, but my seasons sart on March 1, June 1, September 1, and December 1, so that's when I change my front door wreath. Well, most of the time. But I have a special pumpkin wreath which goes up on Oct 15-November 30. And, if course, the Christmas wreath is exchanged for a winter wreath on Jan 1.

So about that turquoise coffee mug - it is now in the garage, awaiting its turn come June 1, because turquoise is a summer color. And my cabinet is so much less cluttered, because I have sent all the off season mugs to the garage.

Five Autumn Coffee Mugs

My Thanksgiving Mug

I think I have a Halloween mug in the garage.

Now I can start looking for Autumn afternoon tea mugs and cups. I think I sent all my Christmas mugs away, so that will be on the list, with winter coffee mugs, winter afternoon tea mugs and cups, etc.

I also organize my clothes by season, so now I'm into browns, tans, golds, orange, olive green for Autumn. (Think autumn leaves).

Winter is red, forest green, white, gray, and black. (Think snow, bare black trees, gray skies, evergreens, Christmas red). 

Spring is yellow, pink, lavender or purple, peach, and baby blue. (Think Easter eggs, bulb flowers, blue skies).

Summer is white, navy, khaki, red, turquoise, black slacks with any blouses which match, and my summer uniform - white slacks with any color tee shirt. (Think oceans -  navy or turquoise, khaki sand, red and white beach balls and awnings, dress-up black slacks, and casual white slacks.

When I win the lottery, I'm going to redo my entire house (or build according to my dream house plans) in all neutral colors - just like now with Navajo white walls, ivory woodwork, and real estate beige carpeting and tile. But all the upholstered furniture and drapes will be neutral. Then I can change the season by changing the bedspreads,  toss pillows, throws, wall decor, throw rugs, towels, knick-knacks. Of course, it has to be a big win, because I'd also have to hire a storage locker to store everything and a van to move it each season. 

Have you ever noticed that dreams are almost as much fun as the real thing? And guess what's playing on the TV right now - I Can Dream, Can't I? I love having ATT U-verse because the music is ad free, all instrumental, and there are lots of choices. I usually listen to "Easy Listening," but when they start playing jazz, I change to "New Age."

Tidying: I've been cleaning my office for a day and a half. I'm in that "clearing out and organizing" mood, and I need to get moving. I think I can finally finish if I don't open the closet door and start going through the file cabinets. That reminds me that I never did finish the 14 Ways to Overcome Procrastination, so let's start over, and I promise to do better.

Lesson 1: Resolve any potential emergency. Taking care of emergencies immediataely will prevent scarier issues down the road.

Lesson 2: Do a 5-10 minute daily review. Spend a few minutes going over the day's priorities. Of course, bookkeeper Patsy has to have a list to check off.

Lesson 3: Focus on your MIT's. Identify the tasks that have the biggest impact on your life and do them first.

Lesson 4: Eat the frog. If you can complete the hardest task first, all other tasks will seem less daunting.

Okay, that's enough to practice for now. More next week.

I'm going to go finish off the raspberry soup and FINALLY finish dusting the office.

EAT THE FROG EACH DAY

PAIRED WITH AN APPLE

AND A BIG GLASS OF WATER

GET YOUR FALL WARDROBE ORGANIZED

KEEP WEARING SUNSCREEN

PRAY FOR AN END TO THE CHINA VIRUS

THANK YOU FOR SHARING MY LIFE