HAPPY HALLOWEEN

GHOSTIES by Fanci That
Designers Beth Hendzlik and Carol Kindler
Stitched over two threads on 28 count
Muffin hand dyed Cashel linen
using 2 ply Gentle Art Sampler Threads

AS REQUESTED, BURRITOS

Yesterday I mentioned this stack of forty breakfast and dinner burritos I made Saturday afternoon. I have two dozen breakfast burritos and eighteen dinner burritos in my freezer now. I've received about fifteen emails asking for my recipe and instructions on freezing and reheating these burritos.

So I have bad news and good news, Ladies. The bad news is I'm a scratch cook a lot of the time and don't use a recipe. The good news is I think I can tell you how I make these and even give you accurate amounts of the ingredients I use.

I first made these for Rob and I to take to the golf course since clubhouses at golf courses never have anything for breakfast other than rolls and muffins and not-so-good burritos. We wanted a hearty breakfast when we were exercising!


BREAKFAST BURRITOS

(Now remember, I made two dozen big fat burritos, bigger than you might make them. Depending on how big you make yours, you may get more burritos out of the amounts of ingredients I use. So you might want to buy an extra package of flour tortillas.)

3 dozen eggs
2 one-pound packages Jimmy Dean sausage (I use regular flavor but sage or maple would also be good)
2 32-ounce packages Ore Ida frozen hash brown potatoes (shredded or cubed, your choice, I use cubed)
2 7-ounce cans Ortega diced green chiles
1 medium yellow onion
16 to 24 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese (depends on how much cheese you like)
salt and pepper to taste
24 large (burrito size) flour tortillas

Scramble the eggs. I beat the eggs with about half a cup of milk and a couple of tablespoons of water and salt and pepper to taste.

Cook the hash browns according to package directions. I chop one yellow onion up and add it to the hashbrowns as they cook.

Cook the sausage. I chop it pretty well, so it's crumbly, as it cooks.

Using the biggest mixing bowl you can find, place hash browns, scrambled eggs and sausage in the bowl and mix gently but thoroughly. Add the green chiles and gently stir into mixture.

Place the flour tortillas on your kitchen counter, just a couple at a time so they don't dry out (if they dry out, they break when you fold them), and sprinkle Cheddar cheese down the middle. Place a couple of big spoonfuls of the potato-egg-sausage mixture on top of cheese. Fold burrito, folding the short ends in first and wrapping the long ends around.

Wrap each burrito individually in aluminum foil and freeze. These last a couple of months in the freezer - maybe longer, but I don't chance it with the eggs being factored in.

Here's how I prepare them when we're ready to eat them. I take the number I need out of the freezer the night before and let them thaw in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning, since they're already wrapped in aluminum foil, I just pop them in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes until they're heated through. If they're not completely thawed, just heat them a little longer.


Rob and I like them just like this. But you can always top them with green chili or a cheese sauce, pretty much what you'd get on a breakfast burrito in a restaurant.



Here's a photo of my burritos. You can see that I make short, stubby FAT burritos.


LUNCH OR DINNER BURRITOS

For eighteen:

2 pounds very lean ground beef (I use 96/4)
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 yellow onion, diced
4 16-ounce cans refried beans
1 16-ounce package shredded Cheddar cheese
18 large flour tortillas

Brown the ground beef and onion together until the meat is done and the onions are soft. If necessary, drain off any grease. Sprinkle the taco seasoning mix over the meat and mix well. (Do NOT prepare the taco seasoning mix with water like the package says - just sprinkle the seasoning over the meat and mix it in. You don't want the liquid in burritos.)

Heat the refried beans so they're easy to spread on tortillas. I spray a sauce pan with Pam and heat the beans slowly over medium low heat. Be careful - they scorch easily. You might want to start them heating before you start the rest of the process. Also, put a lid on the sauce pan - they heat better all the way through with a lid but you'll want to stir them occasionally. You do NOT want to scorch them.

Spread a thick layer of refried beans down the middle of each flour tortilla. Cover the beans with a layer of Cheddar cheese. Sprinkle meat mixture on top of cheese.

Fold the flour tortilla, short ends first. Wrap each burrito in aluminum foil and freeze. (I let the wrapped burritos sit at room temperature for an hour or so - I don't want to put hot burritos into the freezer - let them cool down before you freeze them.)

The night before you plan to serve them, take them out of the freezer and let them thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Since they're already wrapped in foil, just pop them into a 350 degree oven and heat 20 to 30 minutes until heated through.

Again, these are fine just like this if you're packing them in your lunch or taking them on an outing. They're even better (at home) with green chili or cheese sauce spread over the top of them and your favorite burrito toppings. We like shredded lettuce, chopped tomato, sliced black olives, diced avocado, chopped scallions and sour cream. We take our dinner burritos very seriously!


If you're tempted to nuke them, I wouldn't. Microwaving these burritos really makes the tortillas dried out and tough. They're better just heated in their aluminum foil wrapping in your oven.


How's that? Enjoy! And you know what? If you make these, I'd really love to hear what you think of them, since it's my original "recipe" and all. :-)

GLITTER GOURDS

Two years ago I saw Martha Stewart make glitter pumpkins on her TV show. I really liked how they looked so I decided to try them. I used several different kinds of little gourds instead of pumpkins. They sat on my dining room table all through the fall and winter and I didn't toss them out until early spring. Gourds last months and months. I made the basket of glitter gourds in this photo yesterday morning. It took less than two hours from start to finish.

These are really easy to do. Here's what you need to make a pretty basket of glitter gourds:



You need a basket, raffia or excelsior to line the basket, several colors of powdered glitter, brown acrylic paint, a medium size cheap paint brush, a cheap water color paintbrush, white glue and a selection of gourds (or pumpkins if you prefer).

Use the medium-size paint brush to spread a thin layer of white glue over the surface of your gourd. Sprinkle glitter over the gourd, covering completely. (Hold the gourd over a piece of newspaper so you can catch the excess glitter and pour it back into the container.) Let dry for about an hour and shake off excess glitter. Paint the stem with brown acrylic paint and let dry.

I make these every fall now. They just look pretty sitting on my dining room table.

SUNDAY MEANDERINGS

FOOD FOR THOUGHT - A DEVOTIONAL

ENJOY YOUR WHOLE DAY

I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart;
I will show forth all Your marvelous works and wonderful deeds!
~~Psalm 9:1~~

Some Christians feel guilty when they are doing something that isn't spiritual. Somehow or another, they feel the need to hurry through the grocery store, dash through the house cleaning, and rush through all the daily aspects of life that seem irrelevant to their faith. They want to get back to doing something spiritual so God will be pleased with them again.

God did not intend for you to hate the secular side of life. You can enjoy holiness and time with God even when you are doing daily chores, running errands, or taking the children somewhere they need to go. Don't begrudge the routine things of life; see every activity as an opportunity to serve God with your whole heart.

Joyce Meyer in Starting Your Day Right


THIS WEEK'S NEWS

For a lady who goes to great extremes to be NOT busy, I really blew it this week. I'm busier than a one-armed paper hanger and I'm still not sure how that happened. The fact that I only did four posts this week is proof that I'm busy, busy. I know you're on the edge of your seat wondering what on earth I've been doing, so....

Monday I had Cameron (my sixteen month old grandbaby) here all day. Enough said. :-)

Tuesday I participated in the homemade gift idea exchange, Homemade With Love, being hosted by GiBee at Kisses of Sunshine. If you saw my Tuesday post then you know I offered to send copies of my ornament patterns to anyone who is interested in making them. The Santa stars were a big hit and the first stack of envelopes I took to the post office looked like this:



I've already made fifty-three of these cute Santa stars. Tuesday evening I got the first couple of steps done for eighty-five more of them. Actually, just tracing the pattern onto all my different holiday fabrics, sewing them all together and cutting them out took hours and hours throughout the week. Making this many of them is easier if you do them in an assembly line - one step at a time, eighty-five times. I know it seems nuts, but remember, I make one special ornament each year and one of my holiday gifts to my daughters Krissy and Mandy is that I make enough for them to give them as gifts to their friends and coworkers. I've always done this.

This little stack of fabric stars is going to be eighty-five completely adorable ornaments within the next few weeks. And yes, that's my coffee cup. Again.



Wednesday I took a short break from making Santa stars to make pumpkin cookies. I'll be making a triple batch tomorrow. They're already almost gone! Baking is something I can do when Cameron is here because he "helps" me. The minute word gets out that Mom made pumpkin cookies, everyone shows up with their own ziplock bag.

On Thursday I did a guest contributor post for Overwhelmed With Joy who's been on vacation with her husband's family all week. That was kind of fun. It's funny how you put more thought into a post you're doing for someone else's website. Not that I don't put a lot of thought into the posts I do on MY website. I do. Of course I do. Really. I was happy to do this for her because I think it's so sweet, the way she doesn't want her blog to get all lonely while she's gone. :-) She's very trusting, don't you think? I was soooo tempted to do a stinky post but I didn't - I did a nice post. :-)

Thursday morning we got our first official snow! I ran to grab my camera and get a photo but the dinky little flakes didn't show up. I swear, when I saw it was snowing they looked huge. An hour later, it was history. But it was still our first SNOW! Denver got twenty-two inches of snow yesterday. We're so glad we moved to the western slope. That kind of snow isn't funny. It's beautiful, but it's not fun to deal with at all. There were times when we lived on that side of the Rockies that we were actually trapped inside our home. We survived the Blizzard of '81. The snow was over the top of our doors and we couldn't get out of the house for three days but that's another post. Promise.

My mom and I spent all day Thursday together, running around. Here's how the day went. First stop: the post office to mail a stack of patterns to my bloggy friends. I had to take them to the post office instead of just putting them in our outgoing mail because so many were going to Canada and I didn't know how to do the postage. Next stop: lunch at Wrigley Field, a sports bar, a dive really, but the best sandwiches and fries you can find in this city. I've been telling Mom about this place since way before she moved here last May so I thought it was time to take her there. She loved it. She had the Reuben and I had the green chile burger. I know you were wondering.

We went to the fabric store, Walmart, Borders, Michael's and then we went grocery shopping. We went to seven places Thursday and I got home fifteen minutes before Survivor started. I collapsed into my mama bear chair only to discover Survivor was just a recap of the season so far. Sigh....all that hurrying! Even the back-to-back episodes of Grey's Anatomy were repeats. Phooey on that! I treated myself to a nice long hot soak in the tub and read in bed all night.

But it was great because I got everything I need to make gifts-in-a-jar this Christmas. I make things every year. Ornaments. Gifts. Christmas cakes and candy. And I always wait too long to start getting the things I need and then can't find them because the stores don't get it yet. Every year they sell out of the same things and every year they don't order enough, again. (Not smart - think of the lost sales.) So this year I decided to break that bad habit. You can't even find wide mouth Mason jars close to Christmas, so many people make gifts-in-a-jar. Mine are now sitting in my garage and that just tickles the living daylights out of me.

I also got three new books. I've mentioned Come Back by Claire and Mia Fontaine, a mother and daughter team. I saw this book at 5 Minutes for Mom and then Janice interviewed these two women and I knew I had to read this book. And Thursday was my lucky day - I had a 40% off any one book coupon from Borders in my email that morning! I bought the last copy. If you're interested in this book, you'll find it in the parenting department at your bookstore.

I also bought 6 Ranier Drive by Debbie Macomber. I didn't even know the sixth book in her Cedar Cove series was out and here it is in paperback already. This isn't rocket science - it's just light fiction but I fell in love with Debbie Macomber when she wrote Shirley, Goodness and Mercy for Christmas, several years ago. The Disney word book was on the bargain shelf for $3 so I grabbed that for Cameron. He loves it because it has a little book in the big book. That baby loves books and I'm thrilled to encourage that.



Mom is making gift baskets for the nurses aides who work under her for Christmas this year. I crossed my fingers and sure enough, baskets were 50% off at Michael's. She went nuts! She's making a LOT of gift baskets. You never saw anyone pick over the very nicest, the best, baskets as Mom did on Thursday. She got some wonderful bargains. The she discovered the dollar bins...

Friday Cameron was here again. Mandy was here all day, too. She worked on her lesson plans for her third graders next week, I worked on Santa stars and Cameron worked on Curious George.



Saturday I cooked. All afternoon. I made burritos. I made two dozen big fat breakfast burritos (sausage, scrambled eggs, hash browns, green chiles and Cheddar cheese) and a dozen and a half dinner burritos (seasoned ground beef, refried beans, green chiles and Cheddar cheese). I made FORTY big burritos and they're in the freezers. That's so many burritos I can't keep them straight so the dinner burritos are in my freezer inside the house and the breakfast burritos are in the freezer of the refrigerator in the garage. I love to do this. It's a lot of work but they last us forever and make lots of really quick breakfasts and dinners in the coming weeks. I need to find a good recipe for green chili for them. (Anyone? Sandra?) I hate the canned stuff. The only casualty of all this burrito making was my right pinkie finger - a nice deep aluminum foil "paper cut." Hurts, too.



We got new Netflix movies yesterday. So tonight I'm rewarding myself for my hard work this week - we're watching RV with Robin Williams. I can't wait. Rob and the girls and I spent many, many weekends in our RV when they were growing up. I can't wait to see this movie. I've heard Robin's having a few substance problems recently but the man is funny.


NEW IN BLOGGITYVILLE

There are a lot of holiday events going on right now. I've been listing those every Sunday but I'm not doing that today because I'm sure by now everyone knows who's hosting which event and which ones they plan to participate in. I haven't run across anything new since the ones I listed last Sunday. That's not a guarantee, by the way, because this has been a crazy week and just because I didn't run across it doesn't mean it's not there. :-)

But I did see something at Restoring The Years this week that I really want to share with everyone. Grafted Branch and her daughters are doing something they call 1000-Calorie Packs. They're making gift packs to hand out to homeless people they encounter this fall and winter. This is one of the nicest things I've heard of in a long time and I plan to do it, too. Run over and look at what they did and you'll see right away that this is something all of us can easily do. I feel so sorry for homeless people this time of year. And these packs include things some of them probably haven't had access to in a long time. Something as simple as a toothbrush can mean the world.

This is a blatant plug for my Mom. She started her blog before she moved here last May and in all the mishaps of a crashed computer, the wrong Internet service, messed up phone lines, she went months and months without posting. She's back. And she's writing stories about her life again. My mom was born in 1933. Her life story is fascinating to me. She's writing things even Bev and I never knew about how she grew up. It's so interesting, life during the depression seen through the eyes of a small child. If you have a minute, visit Flight Song.

There's a big "meet" happening this weekend in Dallas. My niece Sarah is there. Lots of our friends are there. I think the expected count was around twenty-five or thirty. I don't know about you but I can't wait to see the posts that show up this coming week about this event. How fun for them.

And finally, new in bloggityville, I plan to devote a lot of time tomorrow to catching up with everyone while Rob watches football. I am soooo far behind on your posts.


SUNDAY DINNER

Burritos I have two nice steaks left in the freezer. We had a big steak dinner when Bev and Don were here and somehow, I ended up with a couple of extras. So tomorrow we're having a simple steak, baked potato and green salad dinner. And next Sunday, burritos. :-)


ONE LAST THOUGHT

Instead of a famous quote, I thought I'd say this. Can you believe the nerve of some people, the way they do outrageously long posts and then just assume anyone's going to actually sit here and read them? Honestly. What is WRONG with them! :-)

Seriously, I'm so busy right now, this long Sunday post may have to hold me for a few days. Cameron is here Monday and Tuesday this coming week. When he's here, it's just frustrating as all get-out to try to do anything at all on the computer. I have several posts I want to get ready to go so hopefully Wednesday I can get back in the loop.

I hope you all have a wonderful and blessed day today. And I'll be back soon as I can.

A VERY SIMPLE BUT SEASONAL RECIPE

This is a pumpkin wall hanging I made several years ago. This little guy stays in storage until the week before Halloween. Isn't he sweet?






'Tis the season of the pumpkin. And I have to share this with you. My sister-in-law Carol gave me this recipe so long ago, I can't remember how many years I've been making these cookies. I'm thinking at least fifteen years. They are truly my family's (especially Krissy's) favorite cookie. They're simple. They're pumpkin. They're just perfect for autumn.

PUMPKIN COOKIES

1/2 cup butter
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Microwave butter for thirty seconds to melt.

In a large bowl with a spoon mix together pumpkin, sugar, melted butter, beaten egg, milk and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients. Add to pumpkin mixture and mix by hand until smooth.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheet, about 1 1/2 inches apart.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes, just until bottoms are slightly brown.

Tip #1: do not overbake.

Tip #2: these cookies will seem dry when you first bake them. Here's the secret. After they've completely cooled, store them in an airtight plastic container at room temperature overnight. (I use ziplock plastic storage containers.) You'll be amazed how moist they are the next day. And after that it's fine to put them in your cookie jar. They'll stay moist.

They're wonderful. They're autumn personified.



Here's another photo of my sweet little pumpkin. He really is little. That's my coffee cup he's sitting next to. Yep. This is counted cross stitch done on 32 count Tumbleweed linen with one strand of floss over one linen thread. Anyone interested in having this pattern? :-) My email link is in my profile.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF....ME!

I'm cracking up at all the comments and emails I receive about how I'm Superwoman. Pull-ease! I think not. My life is no different than yours. Really. So I thought I'd show you a typical few days in the life of Superwoman. (Believe me, my tongue is planted quite firmly in my cheek.)




Sunday I made cookies. Yes I did. I told you I love Full Bellies, Happy Kids. This is the best recipe website I've found in ages. Yeah, I've been doing allrecipes.com forever like all of you, but this food blog is Sandra's and she's a special friend. Oh! You may know her. Diary of a Stay At Home Mom. Sound familiar? I swear, I don't even know how many of her recipes I've made but Rob told me, "Barb, you be nice to her!"

These are her grandma's Gingersnap Cookies and I made these Sunday. This is my photo. As always, I'm in the kitchen with the digital, Rob's shaking his head and I'm thinking, what! Is something wrong? I'm just photographing the food. LOL

I love, love gingersnap cookies. But I never buy them or make them because they "snap." Code - they're dry and hard. Sandra's aren't. They're chewy, just like she said they were. I did find, however, that they're chewy the next day, after being stored in an airtight container on the kitchen counter overnight. Also, and you'll love this, I absolutely cannot eat more than one of these "sandwiched" cookies at a time, they're so rich. So see? These are DIET cookies. :-) Seriously, they're wonderful and thank you so much Sandra.




Here's Chelsea. This photo was taken Monday morning. Chelsea is a bright spot in my every day and this blog is named after her. (And you thought it was the song :-) And in case you're wondering, no, I'm not a doddering little old lady whose life revolves around her cutesy little doggie. I'm quite cool, thank you very much. But so is Chelsea.

Chlesea is fifteen months old (exactly 30 days younger than my grandbaby, Cameron, her best bud). Those of you who were here a few weeks ago know that I decided to let Chelsea grow into the "shih tzu" look. Code: topknot. Rob isn't especially pleased but Rob likes to keep me happy so he just sighs a lot.

I just thought you'd all be holding your breath to see the progress we've made on the topknot. Ever tried to grow out bangs? That's what we're doing here and she hates it. I'll bet you can't scratch the top of your head with your hind legs feet. She can. It's a constant battle but I think I just may be winning.




Tuesday morning. Here's my living room. Some interesting things in my living room at ten o'clock in the morning: That's Cameron watching Monsters, Inc. Toys everywhere. All signs of intelligent adult life have been removed from all side tables and relocated to the kitchen counter. Several of my Willow Tree nativity pieces are stacked on surfaces where Cameron can't reach them. The camel is sitting on top of the TV. (The camel is maybe my favorite piece in this nativity - it's a very cool camel.)

That pile of blankets in the foreground is my Land's End throws. He gets them out of the basket where Nana keeps them neatly rolled and piles them up so he can just sort of "sink" into them with the sippie cup of "chockie milk" that you see laying on it's side and dripping into my Berber carpet, just to the left of center in this photo. This is Superwoman's perfect living room at ten o'clock on Tuesday morning.



This is why Superwoman is gasping for breath when either Andy or Krissy shows up anywhere between three and six o'clock (give or take a couple of seconds but who's counting) to take Cameron home. Look at him. OK. He's adorable and he's gorgeous and you know what? I literally adore him. But look at that little face. This is not a quiet little meek child. He's so full of energy, I'm taking vitamins like a junkie.



And this would appear to be his favorite new thing to do. I have a three-basket system (Pier I baskets of course) where I store his toys, stuffed animals and books on the bottom shelf of the sofa table behind my, well, sofa. He knows exactly where his baskets are. Lately he seems to be particularly fond of the one with the stuffed animals in it (probably because it is, after all, the lightest). Cameron has started grabbing that basket by the handle and just walking around dragging it for an hour at a time. The way my house is built, there's a circular path that goes completely around the living-kitchen-dining areas. It cracks me up. He just walks and walks, dragging stuffed animals in a basket, around in circles until he simply drops down face first into my Land's End throws.

So see? I'm not Superwoman. My house isn't "perfect" at all. I bake. My dog is sassy. My grandbaby is just completely full of it and very very busy. And THIS, Ladies, is my life. Not so different from your life, actually. And like you, I wouldn't change a single thing about it.

I am blessed.

HOMEMADE WITH LOVE

When GiBee at Kisses of Sunshine announced a couple of weeks ago that she'd be hosting a homemade gift idea exchange called Homemade With Love, I knew I'd be participating. Homemade gifts have been a big part of our Christmases for almost thirty years. I've always loved making gifts for Christmas. This year it's a good thing I love to do this because our Christmas budget will be smaller than it's been in a long time. Still, I've always believed you can't put a price on gifts made with love. Here are a few things I'm making this year as well as a few I've made every year since Rob and I married each other almost twenty-eight years ago. If you click on the images, you'll be able to see the detail in the ornaments I've made.

CHRISTMAS STOCKINGS

Of all the things I've made over the years, this is the one my family would miss the most. I've made so many of these felt Christmas stockings from kits, I lost count ages ago. Of course we all four had a stocking - Daddy, Mommy, Krissy, Mandy. But I made Andy (Krissy's husband) and Aaron (Mandy's fiance) stockings the first Christmas we shared with them. Of course Cameron got his last year, his first Christmas. I've made them for all my nieces and nephews and even for family friends. This is a photo of two I made this past winter, after Christmas. These are for my next two granchildren, as yet not even conceived. All these stockings need are the names applied and the backs sewn on. That's me. Always prepared!

CHRISTMAS TREE ORNAMENTS

The very first year Rob and I were married, I made my first ornament. It was a wooden clothespin reindeer. I gave them to everyone in both our families. They still have them. It became an annual event. Every year I make a new ornament. This year I chose Santa Stars. I started these at the beginning of the year.

I'll not only make these for our immediate family, I'll also give them as gifts. I always find pretty tins and boxes to give them in.


So far I've made about fifty of them. (Yes, hours and hours of work but I really enjoy it.) I'll be making a lot more. One of my annual gifts to my daughters is that I make enough of that year's ornaments that they can give them to their friends and their coworkers. They always give me the credit for the ornament. Their friends know their mom made the ornament.


Did mention I love to make ornaments? I'm also making these this year. These are cinnamon stick Santas. I'm only making these for myself and my daughters. These cinnamon sticks are hard to find!

I'm also making these sweet snowmen and again, only for the girls and myself.

As you can see, I've only just begun the ornament making frenzy. I'm ready to get started on lots more Santa stars. Throughout the year I kept my eyes open for perfect fabric to fit the many different tastes of my friends. Some are like me - I really like the silver and gold lame stars. Others would like the more traditional Christmas prints. And still others will love having these stars made in country prints. I'll probably make fifty or sixty more of these between now and Christmas.


Another thing I make every year is food gifts. Right after Thanksgiving I start making Chex party mix from the original recipe. I give each of the kids a container full to take home and they know they can bring it back for refills all through the holidays. My family wouldn't know what was going on if I didn't have this sitting out all through the holidays.

You know how people bring goody trays in to work during the Christmas season? About twenty years ago my boss brought in a tray and his wife had put some of her 30-day friendship cake on it. I immediately begged her for the recipe. It involves a "starter" and seriously takes thirty days to make. This is so special, I plan to do a separate post soon about that cake and I'll include the recipe. This friendship cake is a wonderful gift to give.

I also give gifts of southern divinity which is almost a lost art any more. And with every food gift I give, I include the recipe written on a nice recipe card.

I ordered these two little books last winter. I plan to make some of these "gifts in a jar" this year. Everyone loves brownies and special winter drink mixes. So I thought these would be very sweet gifts to give.

Honestly, any gift you make for someone is a very special gift. Gifts that involved the giver's time and thought and of course LOVE are the nicest gifts of all.

And because I really believe in giving credit where it's due, my sister Bev sent me a wonderful little Christmas box last year. In it were two Santa stars, a cinnamon stick Santa and a sweet fat snowman, all for my tree. Within minutes I'd emailed her and asked for the patterns. She went one step beyond that and sent me the craft books that included the patterns for my birthday this year. The stick arms on my snowmen are made from sticks from Bev's back yard. She sent me a package of sticks from her back yard in Pennsylvania! Everyone should be as blessed as I am to have a sister like Bev.


NOTE: The very first comment I received on this post, from Kathleen Marie, made me realize I should have said this in the first place. I'd be more than happy to share my ornament patterns if any of you would like to have them. Just email me with your name and address - my email link is in my profile. And by the way, the new profile photo showing up when I leave comments is none other than the infamous Chelsea herself! I'm working on a little more realistic photo of her. She's not nearly so fancy smancy looking these days. :-)

SUNDAY MEANDERINGS

FOOD FOR THOUGHT - A DEVOTIONAL

ALWAYS WITH US

No good thing will He withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
~~Psalm 84:11~~

Many times we make the mistake of thinking that Christ's help is needed only for sickrooms or in times of overwhelming sorrow and suffering. This is not true. Certainly, God is with us in times of distress, and that is a comforting truth. But listen: Jesus wants to be part of every experience and every moment of our lives.

He went to the wedding at Cana as well as to the home of Mary and Martha when Lazarus died. He wept with those who wept and rejoiced with those who rejoiced. Someone has said, "There are just as many stars in the sky at noon as at midnight, although we cannot see them in the sun's glare."

I seriously doubt if we will ever understand our trials and adversities until we are safely in heaven. Then when we look back we are going to be absolutely amazed at how God took care of us and blessed us even in the storms of life. But God is with us in the good times also, and we should thank Him for them and commit them to Him just as surely as we do the hard times.

The Reverand Billy Graham in Hope for Each Day - Words of Wisdom and Faith


THIS WEEK'S NEWS

This was actually a pretty quiet week around here. I had Cameron with me on Monday and Tuesday. I've had him in my care so much for his first year it's still strange to me that when he goes home on Tuesday I have five free days to look forward to.

I finished three books this week! This is the way I used to read. Until I started blogging, I easily read two books a week and I suddenly realized how much I miss it so I've been making more time for reading. I finished Redeeming Love and The Scarlet Thread by Francine Rivers and Coming Out by Danielle Steel. Last night I started The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. I'm also reading Robin McGraw's book, Inside My Heart. I don't normally read two books at once but I've found I can read a chapter of Robin's book, put it down and come back for another chapter later.

I mentioned before that I spent Wednesday visiting with my Mom. And Friday I spent half the day with my friend Sheri and the other half reading and relaxing. (I'll be starting her living room drapes this week - say a little prayer - I do NOT enjoy sewing with voille - it's slippery!)

It's beautiful here. (Did you notice my new Sunday Meanderings banner?) Our weather is turning colder and colder every day. The days are sunny and beautiful after a week of rain but it's too chilly outside now to leave doors or windows open and the sheets are cold when I crawl into bed at night now. For once I really love having Chelsea snuggle in with me. OK, I always love having Chelsea snuggle with me but I'll bet you knew that.

The coming week should be fairly quiet, too. My big posting goal is to start doing reviews on the books I've read for Katrina's Fall Into Reading Challenge. I'm a little slow on the uptake sometimes but when I started seeing book reviews all over the place this week, it occurred to me that maybe we should be reviewing the books we're finishing. Duh.


NEW IN BLOGGITYVILLE

Nothing. Nothing new. (You watch - there are probably new things I just don't know about and I'll feel like a worm when I realize it.) But....three things start this week. I'm linking to web sites instead of the specific event because all three of these ladies will be setting up a link site.

Homemade With Love - Gibee at Kisses of Sunshine
Do a post about gifts you make at Christmas and then go over to Gibee's to link it.

Gift Idea Exchange - Jennifer at Snapshot
Share your ideas for the kinds of gifts you give in categories like children, men, grandmothers, etc. Then go to Jennifer's to have her include your ideas in her categories.

Blog-O-Lantern Pumpkin Carving Contest - Theresa at Bullfrogs and Butterflies
Carve the most amazing pumpkin of all time, post a photo of it, and go to Theresa's to link it. (And Theresa will be receiving a little surprise from me in her mail this week. :-)


A SAD ANNOUNCEMENT

A lot of you have probably been following a very sad story in the last three weeks. Canon, the little four year old boy who underwent a heart transplant three weeks ago, went home to Jesus this weekend. It's so completely beyond sad to me that all I will say here is this. Please go here to offer his mother, Carla, and his family a comforting word and please join me in praying for his heartbroken family.


A HAPPY ANNOUNCEMENT

Tomorrow is our friend Diane's 43rd birthday. There's no one in the blogging world sweeter (or more down to earth and real) than Diane so go over to Diane's Place to wish her happy birthday. And while you're there wish her and Lamar Happy Anniversary - yes, her birthday is Monday and their 21st wedding anniversary is Wednesday. Happy Everything, Diane!


AN OPINION

I watch Grey's Anatomy. I know, I know, there's a lot of argument about that out here, but I'm an adult, I'm not going to be so influenced by that show that I run out and look for two doctors to get, shall we say, "emotionally" involved with and there are no young adults in my home when I watch the show. However, this week they went too far, in my opinion. If you saw the episode, I'm sure I don't need to go into detail here. But I'm seriously rethinking whether I'll waste my time watching this tacky trash any more. There are some darn good books on my fall reading list.



SUNDAY DINNER

I posted my family recipe for chicken divan last week and it sounded so good I'm making it for Sunday dinner. Later this afternoon, Cameron will come down to play for a little while so his mommy can go to a bridal shower and he's going to help me make Sandra's gingersnap cookies. I keep my cookie jar full of homemade cookies and it's getting low. Time to restock and gingersnaps are my favorite. Sandra said her cookies are "chewy" so I have to try them. If you haven't visited her food blog Full Bellies, Happy Kids, you have no idea what you're missing.


ONE LAST THOUGHT

"Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden." ~~Corrie Ten Boom~~


Have a wonderful and blessed week, everyone. I may be a little scarce on Monday and Tuesday. I decided it's just frustrating to try to spend much time at the computer on the days the baby is here.

This is funny. When I sat down to do my Sunday Meanderings post, I thought, "It's been such a quiet week I'll never come up with more than three lines." I guess I managed. LOL

A NICE DAY

Today was just one of those days we don't get very often, a perfectly peaceful, restful day. As I sit here tonight I realize an amazing thing happened (or didn't happen) today. My phone did not ring today. Not once. Bliss.

I've mentioned before that I don't have a lot of girlfriends. I have two or three friends I'm very close to, on a sister level almost, and we don't have to see each other every day, or even very often, to be truly attached at the heart. I have some casual friends I enjoy seeing from time to time. But when I can be with one of my heart friends, it's very special.

Sheri called me out of the blue yesterday. We haven't seen each other in four months. We've only known each other for two years. She's a veterinarian. I met Sheri because on the very day that the moving van showed up at our new house in Grand Junction, Chloe (our fourteen year old Maltese) tried to die. She was so old and it couldn't have been a more awful time for her to get desperately sick. It never snows badly in Grand Junction. That day, we got two feet of snow. Rob and I were beyond ourselves. We had to be here to instruct the moving company through the process of unloading the huge van with everything we owned but our adored dog was having convulsions. It was a nightmare.

Rob and I made the decision that, based on Chloe's decling health for the past three years and the fact that she seemed to be dying before our very eyes, we needed to just find a vet to put her down. We'd known for a while that she wouldn't be with us much longer and we just couldn't stand to see her suffer. We knew nothing, no one. We didn't know where to start. I remembered a sign I'd seen on our way to our new home for a veterinary clinic so Rob called them while I showed one of the movers where to put the sofa.

I don't know how to put into words how upset we were. We were understandably exhausted and in the very process of moving into a brand new house. I just turned it over to Rob. He made the call. I'd laid Chloe in her sheepskin bed in the smaller bathroom where I could shut the door and not have her even more traumatized by the traffic of the movers. All the exterior doors were open of course for the movers so I cranked the heat up to 85 degrees to try to keep Chloe warm in that bathroom. When the movers were done and gone, I went in to tell her goodbye before we took her to the clinic to be put to sleep forever. She'd not moved all day but I knew she was alive because her chest was going up and down with her breaths. When I went in to tell her goodbye, I touched her and she opened her eyes and looked at me with absolute pleading in her eyes. And her tail wagged.

We called the clinic and cancelled Chloes death appointment. We made an appointment to take her in the next morning to see what on earth was wrong. Chloe had diabetes. And we had a not-so-good vet in the city we were moving from. He'd just casually run a couple of ridiculously expensive tests, told us she needed insulin and told us how much to give her. In hotels on the moving trip, Rob and I shot Chloe up with what turned out to be an almost fatal dose of insulin - ten times more than she needed. So on moving day she was in insulin overdose shock.

When we went to the clinic the morning after we moved into our new house, we met Sheri. Chloe was in bad shape but Sheri took one look at ME and just walked over and hugged me. She told me, "Chloe's not going to die, Barb. I can fix this." She has been a heart friend since that very moment. We connected. She's a wonderful vet but she's a more wonderful friend. Because of her, Chloe lived nine months longer. When she died at 4:30 on a Tuesday morning ( exactly 15 minutes before Krissy's husband's mother had a heart attack and I had to run down the street to grab my four week old grandchild so they could rush to the hospital - my life can get crazy), Sheri came to my house in her pajamas and helped me. It was the middle of the summer in dessert country. Rob was at work. I had a four week old baby in my arms. And my little dog was laying in her beloved sheepskin bed in the middle of my dining room floor, dead. I don't know what I would have done had Sheri not come to me before the sun even rose and taken Chloe away to be cremated.

Somehow Sheri and I just connected on a different level. We instantly became friends. She's 15 years younger than me and still searching for Mr. Wonderful but she's a true Christian and on that basis alone, we relate.

She called me yesterday after not seeing each other for four months. Busy, busy. She's just bought her first home, a "garden" home, and wanted me to come have some hazelnut coffee and help her with decorating ideas. I can't remember the last time I had a nicer morning. We got together at about 9 this morning, spent three hours in her new place, which is adorable, and just had a nice, nice time together.

AND....she handed me a stack of beautiful floral voille fabric she bought for drapes in her living room and said she'd trade me my seamstress magic for Chelsea's annual physical and shots. How cool is that? (She knows our budget is a little tight right now and I'm a pretty darn good seamstress.)

I came home this afternoon, put a pot of chili on the stove for dinner, checked in with my bloggy friends for an hour and proceeded to read more than half The Scarlet Thread by Francine Rivers, the book my sister Bev ordered and had sent to me.

I'm telling you, days like this restore me. And that photo at the beginning of this post? That's exactly what it looks like where I live right now.

Could I ask for anything more? I think not.

ODDLY ENOUGH, A SPIDER FROM MANDY

If by any chance you happened to read this post back when I first started blogging, then you know that my younger daughter Mandy is not fond of spiders. At. All. She's the pure definition of arachnophobic. However, she does have one spider that she's actually quite fond of. It's name is Chlorophytum comosum. It's the spider plant she has growing in the corner of her bedroom.

Just this past spring, early in April, Mandy gave me a little spider baby from her plant, which, by the way, I now call Mama Plant, that looked exactly like this. I think it's actually called a plantlet. Cute, huh? Doesn't it look like a plantlet? OK, it sort of looks like a praying manthis but really, it's a plantlet.


When I put my little spider plantlet on this piece of purple paper I realized I should put something next to it so you could see how little it really is. Lucky me, there's a big bowl of candy corn sitting right there on my kitchen counter!

I wrapped the little baby in a wet paper towel and brought it home and immediately planted it in a little pot. I sat it on my dining room table because my dining room gets a lot of bright light all day long and spider plants need lots of light.

In less than two months, this little plant grew so much it's roots were coming out of the bottom of the pot. So I transplanted it to a much bigger pot and hung it in the corner of the dining room. It's the only hanging plant in our house. It's pretty obvious a plant like this has to hang from something.




I took this photo last night. This plant went from that tiny little plantlet to this in seven months. Can you believe that? I could make a lot of new spider plants from the little plantlets growing on this one. But I don't have enough room for a lot of big plants like this and I'm afraid if I hung them all from the ceiling it might come crashing down.

OK, OK, I know. First she talks about the wonders of the salad spinner. Then she does ANOTHER plant post. But you know? She's just not feeling real profound lately.

Besides, I really like this spider plant and I'm shocked that it got this big so fast. Something like this could make even me a little arachnophobic.

ALL HAIL THE MIGHTY SALAD SPINNER

I'm aghast! There are actually human beings roaming this planet who do not know why a salad spinner is absolutely the most important invention since the potato. I feel so completely honor-bound to enlighten you I won't be able to sleep again until I do. So I give you: THE SALAD SPINNER

This is my salad spinner. As you can see, it's 100% plastic. I'll have you know, I paid a whopping $4.95 ten years ago for this spinner. When we lived on the other side of the Rockies, the eastern slope, we went to the Loveland Outlet Mall at least a couple of times a year and one of my favorite stores was the Dankst store. I suppose salad spinners could be pricey but one day that we were there, this salad spinner was a "come in and shop here" promotion. So mine cost less than five dollars. It's plastic so even if I buried it in the local landfill, it would live for another century.





This is what it looks like with the lid removed and set to the side. As you can plainly see, it's not very complicated. At.All.





The secret to a good salad is the greens. I rarely buy iceburg lettuce. I believe iceburg lettuce works best on burnt baloney sandwiches and not so well in salads. I like more leafy lettuces. Romaine. Endive. Red leaf. Green leaf. Fresh spinach. I avoid buying them in bags if I can because bagged salad is a rip-off. Sorry, but they're charging you extra because they "washed" it but maybe they did and maybe they didn't and I don't take the chance. I always fill a sink with very cold water and soak salad greens. Not only does it really clean the leaves but it also crisps them up.

So when you take them out of the water bath, you have a bunch of very wet salad greens. You can shake them, you can blow on them, you can blot them with paper towels, you can do the hokey pokey but they're going to be wet when you put them in your salad bowl. No good. I do not like an inch of green water under the salad in my salad bowl. Do you? It's uncivilized.

Hence, the salad spinner. It's pretty simple actually. You just plop those greens in the spinner, put the lid on and spin the living daylights out of them. You get crispy dry salad greens. So simple. So nice. As you can see from the following photo, I've soaked my salad greens and placed them in my spinner.



I have the beginnings of a wonderful salad here. Nice and clean leaves, all spun out. (Use your imagination - I did.) All I have to add to this is a few sprouts, some homemade croutons (email me), a little chopped avocado and some sunflower seeds. Toss it all with ranch dressing and presto! A salad to be loved. I promise you, everyone who ever tastes it will beg you for your secret. And you can tell them it's all in the spinning. Because it is.

Honestly, unless you live in a cave, you need a salad spinner.

SUNDAY MEANDERINGS

FOOD FOR THOUGHT (A DEVOTIONAL)

PEACE

Grace to you and peace from God,
our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
~Philippians 1:2~

In its earliest form the word peace meant "to bind together" and came to include the whole idea of being bound so closely together with something or someone that a harmony resulted. The right woman who is joined in harmony with the right man in marriage begins a peaceful companionship. One friend who is joined in heart and soul to another friend sustains a peaceful relationship where harmony exists. When there is such grace-and-peace harmony, choosing joy flows naturally.

Charles Swindoll in Bedside Blessings


THIS WEEK'S NEWS

Rob is enjoying his new job and so far there hasn't been a lot of overtime although he's been told as the holidays draw nearer, there will be long days and some weekends. That's OK. The job is not physically difficult for him and overtime pay always comes in handy around Christmas. :-)

Our son-in-law Andy left Friday morning to go deer hunting with his dad and brother. He'll be gone about a week so Krissy and Cameron are spending more time here with us which I love. I hate the thought of her having a bowl of cereal for dinner and being alone all evening so she's sharing lots of meals with us. I laugh at her a little because I know she's afraid this will be the year Andy actually brings a deer home. I know she doesn't have a clue what she'll do with it. She's my daughter. She prefers her meat all nicely cut and trimmed and in white styrofoam packaging.

Mandy and Aaron started the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace course at Fellowship Church yesterday. They're excited about it and I think it's so smart for them to realize, before they even get married next spring, how important it is for a young couple to start their new marriage with a financial plan in place.

My mom spent the day with me Monday. She's learning a new computer program at work and even though we know computer technology is the new way to ensure her patients are getting the very best and safest care possible, it's still a challenge for her. I think one of her biggest frustrations with it all is that having to spend so much time working with the new program cuts into the time she needs to do her job. Nurses are so overworked to begin with, it just makes for longer days for her. I keep reassuring her that her job will actually become easier once she masters the new program. And I say a prayer every night that she will be more comfortable with it soon.

Rob and I did a smart thing budget-wise last week. We had the most expensive cable TV package you can buy around here. When we moved here two years ago we could afford it. But it seemed so wasteful to me. Like most people we have our favorite TV shows and hardly ever used the other 300 channels we had. So we took our cable down to basic, cut the monthly bill to less than half what we were paying and now make sure we watch our Netflix movies when they arrive. I get so busy I end up sending them back unwatched half the time because I don't want Netflix to think I'm buying their "previously viewed a thousand times" movies.

This week we watched two movies I'd highly recommend. Akeelah and the Bee is wonderful - a hugely encouraging movie. And The Lake House with Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves was good too, although I admit I stayed completely confused until the end.

And finally, I finished The Mark of the Lion trilogy (Francine Rivers) this week and started Redeeming Love. I think one of the reasons I'm a little behind in the blogging world is because I can't put this book down. I'm already halfway through it. Thank goodness I know The Scarlet Thread is on its way to me. Thank you again, Bev.


A VERY QUICK RECIPE

Krissy made this dish when Bev and Don were here and it was such a hit I made it this morning. It doesn't even have a name so we call it "that really good breakfast dish."

18 eggs
1 one-pound package Jimmy Dean regular flavor sausage
1/2 white onion, minced
1 seven-ounce can diced green chiles
2 cups shredded Cheddar
salt and pepper to taste

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs with electric mixer. In a skillet, thoroughly cook sausage, chopping as you go. Mix sausage, minced onion, green chiles and shredded Cheddar into the eggs.

Spray a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish with Pam and pour mixture into the pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes until set. Five minutes before the dish is done, sprinkle the top with additional Cheddar cheese.

Delicious! And it definitely would serve more than the three and a half of us!


NEW IN BLOGGITYVILLE

First, I want to call your attention to something I read at 5 Minutes for Mom this week. Janice interviewed Claire and Mia Fontaine, co-authors of the book Come Back (a mother and daughter's journey through hell and back). I was so moved I have added this book to my fall reading lineup.

I almost hate to do this because I had a hectic week and didn't make notes throughout the week as I'd normally do so I'm afraid I'm leaving someone out. If I am, please forgive me and if I realize I did it, why I'll just do another post!

There are five holiday happenings that come to mind immediately:

Magi at Kaffee Klatsch is hosting "Sharing Gifts From The Heart" November 6th.

Gibee at Kisses of Sunshine is hosting "Homemade With Love" on October 23rd.

Sandra at Diary of a Stay At Home Mom is hosting "Holiday Traditions" on November 1st.

Jennifer at Snapshot is hosting "Exchange of Gift Giving Ideas" (and by the way, her birthday is October 21st.

And Kathleen Marie at Stranded in the Mountains is hosting an ornament exchange.

OH! Don't forget Theresa's (Bullfrogs and Butterflies) "Blog-O-Lantern" online pumpkin carving contest!

I just have the most awful nagging feeling I'm forgetting some. So I'll be on the lookout all week long and I promise I'll keep better notes. Have I mentioned I now have 96 feeds in my bloglines? :-)


SUNDAY DINNER

Jules over at Everyday Mommy is going to start thinking I can't make Sunday dinner unless she publishes a recipe for me every week. Last week I made her amazing barbecue ribs. Today I'm making Jules' Sweet Sausage Grinders.


ONE LAST THOUGHT

"The most indispensable ingredient of all good home cooking: love for those you are cooking for." ~Sophia Loren~

ONE WORD MEME

Have you ever had one of those weeks where every time you turn around, you're being tagged? Me either. LOL. But this week I'm having one. :-)

Grafted Branch over at Restoring The Years actually tagged me on Sunday and it took me until today to catch up with everyone and even realize I'd been tagged. (I made a decision to just not even try to find computer time when Cameron's here - it's not fair to him and only frustrates me AND I end up with legs broken off Willow Tree lambs.) Anyway, this meme really intrigues me because it's so simple but it could have some very interesting results.

I'm supposed to invite you to leave me a comment with the one word you think best describes me. You may explain your choice if you want to. Or, as Grafted Branch said, you may just throw your bomb and run away!

Actually, when I think about this, I might be a little scared. Hmmmmm. Oh well. Let's see what happens. :-) I'm not sure I can describe myself in ONE word. Well, not one "printable" word.

Now for the part that's hard for me. I tag, um, um, um. OK, everyone is tagged! If you'd like to see how people describe you in one word, just do this quick little post. Really, it might be fun. Or not. :-)


And can I just get off the subject for a moment and tell you that Brenda called me back tonight and we talked for two and a half hours and it seemed like maybe fifteen minutes? Honestly, she's wonderful. I'm an EXCELLENT judge of character. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed talking for that long. I'm really not a talker, especially when my throat is sore, which I fully intend to whine about for all it's worth since I never, ever get sick. OK, I'm done. Promise.

RANDOMNESS - A NEW CONCEPT FOR ME

It took me a while to realize I'm not one of those people who posts about several subjects in one post. Some of you (hi Sandra) talk about so many things in one post it makes my head spin but I always enjoy reading those kinds of posts. Then I thought, hey! I can do that. So....

First, I'm getting sick. Yep. I haven't caught a cold in over two years but I woke up this morning with that burny feeling in my nose and I'm cold enough today to be wearing socks around the house, a sure sign of a little fever. Shoot! I have zero patience with being sick. The last time I caught a cold it lasted more than six weeks. Sigh....

Guess who I got to talk to for ten minutes today before her cell phone died? So she's calling me back tonight. Brenda. One of my favorite people. You know. Brenda, from Rocking Chairs and Rainbows. We talked just long enough for me to find out that she has a very southern voice. Surprise, surprise since she's from Arkansas and now lives in Georgia. I can't wait for her to call back tonight. It's so nice to hear her voice when we've been "talking" to each other through our blogs since about last April. Next, I want to meet her. I plan to grab her on my way to the Outer Banks.


I thought I'd show you what happens if I turn my back on Cameron and Chelsea for one single minute. That's one of the little lambs from my Willow Tree Nativity. You know. The Nativity I leave out year round? The lamb can't be replaced unless I buy a whole 'nother shepherd set. So I'll be super gluing those two legs back on. The scary thing is that I had to catch Chelsea and pry one of the legs out of her mouth. I don't even want to think what the vet bill would have been if she'd swallowed it. I swear, Cameron and Chelsea are such a busy, mischievous little combo, I run after one or the other or both of them all day long. I have no idea how many times I've said, "No!" to Cameron as he reaches up to grab a piece of my Nativity.



I also thought I'd show you why he gets away with stuff like this. He's standing there watching his new Curious George movie. The ottoman is in front of the entertainment center because it's the only way to keep him out of the lower cabinet and our stereo equipment. Sigh.....he's just so stinkin' cute, isn't he?


Have I ever mentioned I'm one of those rare women who really doesn't like to shop? I know I'm weird but really, we established that fact when I announced to all of bloggityville that I don't like chocolate. The mall is about my least favorite place to ever go. I'm not a window shopper. I'm a list driven person. I prefer to know exactly what I want, go get it and get it over with. The only exception I ever make is when I'm in book stores. I can walk into Borders with nothing at all in mind, spend two hours there wandering around and walk out with a bag of six new books. Obviously, I don't make a habit of doing that.

But Rob and I were in Walmart Saturday. I should also mention I'm not that big a fan of Walmart. I'm more a Target kind of person. But I went specifically to find magnetic alphabet letters for the fridge. That's another clue that Cameron has a pretty special place in my heart. I don't like "stuff" on my fridge. Anyway, Rob decided a dry erase board and MARKERS would be just the thing to have around here for Cameron. Guess what? Those markers say, "may permanently stain porous surfaces and fabric." Knowing how much Krissy would appreciate me letting Cameron ruin all his cute Old Navy clothes, I managed to convince Rob it might not be the best idea he'd come up with lately. We bought Cameron some cute little rubber cars with big grins on them instead.

My sister is the best. She really is. She read my previous post, saw that I want to read The Scarlet Thread, ran right over to Amazon.com and the book is on it's way to me. She does things like this all the time. Isn't she just the sweetest sister?

My Schwan's man quit. I really liked my Schwan's man but he decided going to work in the oilfields around here at three times the pay was a good move. So my new Schwan's LADY showed up yesterday. She's very, very enthusiastic. I haven't seen a grin that big or felt a handshake that firm in years. I tell you, years. She managed to sell me two boxes of pot pies even though I'd planned to not buy anything. She must have heard somewhere that I have a peculiar fondness for pot pies. :-)

I'd like to let you all know that today is the first day in six weeks that I'm home absolutely alone. I love days like this. I can be a slug, sit here and catch up with everyone, work a jigsaw puzzle. I can eat Campbell's chicken noodle soup right out of the pot. I can do anything or nothing I feel like doing. I'm smart enough to smear a little flour on my face and look exhausted when Rob gets home, though. It's just a wonderful feeling to get up in the morning and watch him head out to work. He really likes this temporary job he's working. It turns out they interviewed for two weeks to hire just one person. He needed that little ego boost.

OK. Thus ends my experimental trek into randomness. Did I cover enough subjects? This was kind of fun. I might do this again someday. :-)

JULES' EASY-PEASY BBQ RIBS

I mentioned in my Sunday Meanderings post yesterday that I'd found the most wonderful recipe for barbecued ribs at Everyday Mommy's place. I've always just bought Kraft barbecue sauce and made ribs in my oven. But this recipe sounded better that any I've ever seen so I thought I'd try it her way.

Guess what? These are the best barbecued ribs I've ever made. If you'd like to make these, go here for her recipe.





This is Jules' Own BBQ Sauce and her recipe for meat rub. I will never buy bottled barbecue sauce or meat rub again. Her recipe for meat rub made enough that I have a stash in my cubbord now.







These are the baby back pork ribs I bought at Safeway. Each package is about three pounds. Jules tells me her recipe works really well with spare ribs, too.







This is the size I cut the rib sections into.
I've rubbed both sides with her rub recipe and
they're resting for a couple of hours.








Jules suggested "tenting" the foil so it doesn't touch the meat. She also mentioned to me in an email that she sometimes adds a half cup of apple juice with a splash of liquid smoke to the bottom of the pan and I did this.






The finished product. Her recipe calls for grilling these ribs but it was raining cats and dogs here tonight. Rob was tired when he GOT HOME FROM WORK :-) this evening so after I removed the foil tent and covered the ribs with the barbecue sauce, I baked them in my oven. And they were wonderful. Trust me, it's her sauce.








Dinner. Barbecue ribs, oven fries, cole slaw and French rolls.





I originally planned to make these Sunday. But Rob and I were here alone and I knew Mandy and my Mom would be here today. So I made the sauce and the rub yesterday and made the ribs for dinner tonight. Absolutely delicious and easy.

Thank you Jules!

SUNDAY MEANDERINGS

FOOD FOR THOUGHT (A DEVOTIONAL)

BLESS SOMEBODY

And let us not lose heart and grow weary and
faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time
and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do
not loosen and relax our courage and faint.
~Galatians 6:9~

The Word says, "Let each one of us make it a practice to please (make happy) his neighbor for his good and for his true welfare, to edify him (to strengthen him and build him up spiritually)." ~Romans 15:2~

This tells me that we need to have our mind full of ways to bless people. Early in the day, think of something you want to do to bless someone. Think of something you can do to surprise somebody or to make somebody happy. You will be amazed at how quickly the Lord leads you to something good you can do for someone. Joy comes from giving on His behalf.

Joyce Meyer in Starting Your Day Right


THIS WEEK'S NEWS

Ready? I have some. First of all, most of you probably know that my sister Bev and her husband Don were here this week. After not seeing each other since our brother Jerry's funeral in May 2004, we had thirty-six hours together. That sounds like such a short time and of course it was, but believe me, we enjoyed every single hour together. I feel completely refreshed and ready to face another year before we see each other again. I hope we never, ever go over two years without finding a way to be together again. It's hard. And it's expensive. They live in Pennsylvania. We live in Colorado. But Bev and I decided the perfect solution, now that both our families are all over the place, is to get very serious about family reunions. I haven't seen my niece Sarah (In the Midst of It) since she was 14 years old. Shameful.

Krissy told me she and Andy have decided to start trying to get pregnant again as soon as he comes home from deer hunting at the end of this month. Oh my sweet goodness, the very thought of a second grandbaby makes me so happy I just can't stand it.

So that's two wonderful things that happened this week. But.....

Fifteen minutes after Don and Bev drove away, just when I was starting to get a little sad, the phone rang and Rob was offered a job. It's only a seasonal job. It will end on December 23rd. He'll be working from now through the holidays. The pay isn't spectacular but you know what? It's a lot better than the pay he's been making for the last month and a half. He'll continue to look for a permanent job that pays better and includes benefits, but we are NOT complaining. It's scary to not have an income. Now I know I can have my family here for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. I can buy my sweet grandbaby gifts at Christmas and maybe even, with some care and thought, get or make gifts for everyone else. The holidays no longer look bleak. So we are blessed. So very blessed. I can't begin to thank all of you enough for the prayers I know you've offered up for us.


A MEME

Dianne at Unfinished Work tagged me for this word association meme. I'd been tagged once before and done it, but I think it's nice when someone tags me so I'm happy to do it again. These are the three words Dianne chose:

1. CROCHET
   
   Laugh out loud! Seriously. I'm a crochet fanatic and I have been for as long as I can remember. I'm as tempted by a new yarn as all of you are by chocolate.
   
   If you are related to me, even remotely, and have a baby, you're going to get a beautiful blanket. I crochet blankets for Chelsea (my shih tzu and this blog's namesake)!
   
   And last winter I fell so in love with all the beautiful new fun yarns, like Fun Fur, I made almost one hundred scarves. Luckily, my son-in-law's Aunt LuAnn owns a very posh hair salon here in Grand Junction and set up a display to sell my scarves. And my scrunchies. Every female in my family has received beautiful scarves for every gift-giving occasion that's occurred since last Christmas. If I recall correctly, I sent Bev six of them for no reason at all.
   
   Bev left here Friday morning with half a dozen cute scrunchies to send to her daughter, Leslie. Mandy gives them to all her third grade students as rewards, including the boys who take them home to their moms and sisters. Chelsea has some of my scrunchies in her toy basket. Cameron wears them on his ankles and wrists and we play Ooogah ooogah wump wump wump. Yeah. I'm a little addicted to crochet!



2. PHOTOGRAPHIC
   
   This one will be shorter, I promise. I immediately think how blessed I am to have a digital camera and I especially appreciate that downloading photos from it to the computer came easily to me (I'm not a computer guru by any means). The other thought this word brings to mind instantly is how much I hate having my photo taken. I am not photogenic.



3. LIBRARY
   
   Nancy Drew. Absolutely, Nancy Drew. When I was really, really young, maybe in the third or fourth grade, Mom took me to the library to get my first library card. I checked out one Nancy Drew book. Next week, I went back and checked out as many as they would allow. A library is, to this day, one of my very favorite places to be. And what I love most of all about the library system in our country is that anyone, no matter what their circumstances, has access to books which means they have access to the whole world.

SUNDAY DINNER

Until just an hour or so ago, I didn't have a clue. I just could not get away with pot pies again. But Jules at Everyday Mommy posted a recipe this evening and it sounds so good I've printed it out, I'm taking it to the grocery store tomorrow and we're having her Easy Peasy BBQ Ribs tomorrow with cole slaw and French fries and rolls. I make ribs. But it's raining like crazy here and I don't think Rob wants to get soaked standing in front of the grill. If you like barbecue and you like ribs, trust me, you need to run over there and grab her recipe. She's even included her own recipe for bbq sauce AND a recipe for the rub that works on other meats as well. Thank you, Jules!


ONE LAST THOUGHT

"To give without any reward, or any notice, has a special quality of its own.
~Anne Morrow Lindberg~


I hope you all have a truly blessed new week. If I tried my best, I couldn't possibly have a more blessed week. My husband gets to get up Monday morning and do what he so wants to do, work. And support us. And be proud of himself again. I am so blessed I can't begin to thank God enough.



UPDATE: I just realized tonight this is my 200th post. Amazing.

I ALREADY MISS HER

My sister Bev and her husband Don have come and gone. To give you an idea what a whirlwind visit this was, they arrived at 5 p.m. Wednesday afternoon and left at 10 a.m. this morning. I spent more time cleaning the house, getting their room and bathroom ready and preparing food ahead of time than they actually spent here. But we enjoyed every single moment of the thirty-six hours we had together.



Their drive through the Rocky Mountains Wednesday was beautiful. We'd heard it might be snowing in the mountains so the nice weather was a blessing. Shortly after they arrived it started raining here. It's still raining.

I didn't want to be in the kitchen the whole time they were here so I had a big pot of beef stew simmering on the stove for dinner Wednesday night. Thursday night we had the whole family over for steaks. I didn't even worry about lunch. I just put out trays of cold cuts and cheeses and my mother brought six pounds of delicious cocktail shrimp. Krissy surprised us Thursday morning by making a big breakfast casserole. It was a new recipe she was trying and was so good I'll have to post that recipe for all of you soon. Very easy and very wonderful.

Both my daughters took a vacation day Thursday and spent the day here. So all day Thursday we were a houseful. Bev and Don finally met Krissy's husband Andy and their baby Cameron and Mandy's fiance Aaron. We played lots of Scrabble, did lots of laughing and snacking and just had an absolutely wonderful day.

As you'd expect with two sisters who see each other maybe every two years, Bev and I stayed up until 2:30 in the morning talking Wednesday night. We did a little better last night. We were all asleep by midnight.

So everyone is tired but it was so worth it. It was hard to hug them goodbye because I know we won't see each other again for at least a year.

I have no idea how we always manage to take such not-so-good photos, but of course I'll share a few of the ones that are halfway decent with you.

Then I'm getting busy here. It's going to take me all weekend to catch up with everyone after being gone for just a few days!

Just sitting around chatting this morning.

Bev, Cameron and Krissy
Bev takes Scrabble very seriously. She stomped us. So I still have never beaten her.
I'm pretty sure I never will.

Don and Bev

Krissy, Mandy, Bev, Mom, Me and Chelsea
(Missing Marbles, In A Moment, Blessed Beyond Measure, Flight Song and A Chelsea Morning/Namesake)

(Feel free to laugh at this photo. We only got two photos of all five of us together and in the other one, Mandy looked like she was about to kill Bev. So it was a choice between a murderous photo or one where half of us had our eyes closed. Awful, huh? Iprefer to tell myself Mandy is fascinated with Bev's hands, Bev is winking and my mother is taking a short nap. :-)

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY KRISSY & ANDY

October 4, 2003

October 6, 2006 - Just before boarding a flight to Hawaii

Three years later, you two have bought your first home. Your son is fifteen months old. And lately there's been a little talk about your next baby. You've come a long way in three years!

HOLIDAY COOKING BLOGGER STYLE

I've been really looking forward to the holiday recipe exchange that begins today at Overwhelmed With Joy's place, Holiday Cooking Blogger Style. If you'd like to try some new recipes, or share some of your favorites, run over and visit the links she's hosting.

I'm sharing three of my family's favorites with you today. It was a little difficult to choose just three because like most of you, I have a lot of tried and true recipes that go back several generations. Starting right about this time each year, there's a whole lot of baking going on around my house. All throughout the holidays, starting with popcorn balls for Halloween, my kids know there will be trays of goodies and big bowl of snacks on every flat surface until after New Years Day. Here's a sample.


SANTA'S WHISKERS

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon each vanilla and coconut extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup red and/or green candied cherries, coursely chopped

Preheat over to 350*. Have baking sheets ready

Beat butter, sugar, egg, milk, extracts and salt in a large bowl with mixer on medium speed until blended. (Mixture may look curdled.) On low speed, beat in flour until combined. Stir in one cup coconut and the cherries.

Put remaining coconut into a bowl. Drop rounded measuring teaspoons of the dough into coconut; turn gently to coat.

Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 15 minutes or until coconut is toasted and cookies are set.

Cool slightly on baking sheet on a wire rack before removing to rack to cool completely.

Makes about 60 cookies.

Storage tip: Store in an air tight container with wax paper between layers at cool room temperature for up to 1 week, in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 3 months.


DIVINITY

2 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla
chopped pecans (optional)

In a heavy, 2-quart saucepan stir together the sugar, corn syrup, water and salt. Clip a candy thermometer to inside of pan. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves.

Continue cooking without stirring to 260* (hard-ball stage). While mixture is cooking, beat egg whites to stiff peaks. Remove candy thermometer from pan.

Gradually pour syrup over egg whites while beating at high speed of electric mixer.

Add vanilla and continue beating for 4 or 5 minutes or till candy holds its shape. Quickly fold in pecans.

Working very quickly, drop candy from a teaspoon onto waxed paper.

Makes about 40 pieces of candy.

Store candy in an air tight container with wax paper between layers at room temperature.

Hint: Divinity will not work on a rainy or very humid day.


HOMEMADE CRACKER JACKS

10 cups popped corn
1 1/2 cups cocktail peanuts
1/2 cup margarine
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 dark corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix together the popped corn and the peanuts in a large roasting pan. Keep warm in a 250* oven.

Melt butter in a heavy 2-quart saucepan (do not use a smaller saucepan - syrup is going to bubble up pretty high). Stir in the brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in baking soda and vanilla.

Quickly pour over warm popcorn and peanut mixture, tossing until all pieces are well coated.

Bake at 250* for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread on aluminum foil to cool.

Makes 2 quarts

Store at room temperature in a tightly covered container.


For my family, the holiday season officially starts with Halloween. My girls and I are carrying on a tradition started by their grandmother, my mother-in-law. We get together and make a huge batch of popcorn balls to give out to trick-or-treaters (I always attach an address label to each one so parents know they're safe for their children to eat). Halloween night there's a big pot of chili simmering on the stove.

For Thanksgiving we always have turkey and all the trimmings. And for Christmas I always serve the very best honey baked spiral cut ham I can find.

The three recipes I've shared today are some of the treats you'd find in my home during the holidays.

SUNDAY MEANDERINGS

FOOD FOR THOUGHT (A DEVOTIONAL)

THE HAND OF GOD

In the midst of sorrow and trouble, this life has many blessings and enjoyments that have come from the hand of God.

Think of the blessings we so easily take for granted: Life itself; preservation from danger; every bit of health we enjoy; every hour of liberty; the ability to see, to hear, to speak, to think, and to imagine -- all this comes from the hand of God. Even our capacity to love is a gift from God. Most of all, God has given us the gift of Christ.

What should our response be? We can put it in one word: gratitude. But how do we show our gratitude? By giving back to Him a part of what He has given us.

What have you done lately to show your gratitude to God for all that He has done, and is doing, for you?

The Reverend Billy Graham in Hope For Each Day


THIS WEEK'S NEWS

You'll all be very happy to know I survived Cameron's first week of two-days-a-week in day care. He made me feel a little sheepish. He loves it. He said his first word today, or at least one we could understand. "Ball." Yeah, "ball." He found a crabapple lying in the grass in my back yard, held it up to me and said, "ball." I know his first word was supposed to be "dada" or "mama" or (sigh) "nana" but it would appear it was "ball." Whatever. I hugged Kris and reassured her he'll say "MAMA!" any day now.

Still no job for Rob. He's been going on lots interviews and has a good shot at a seasonal job. I'm thinking several things. If Rob can get this, it's income for the rest of this year while he continues to work on finding something permanent. It's a great opportunity to show them that they might want to consider keeping him after the holidays are over.


NEW IN BLOGGITYVILLE

Lauren at Created For HIS Glory is hosting the Bloggy Tour of Testimonials beginning today. If you'd like to share the story of how you gave your heart to Christ, post it and then go here to share it with the rest of us.

And let's not forget Overwhelmed With Joy's Holiday Cooking Blogger Style starts tomorrow. I don't know about you but I have several holiday recipes that I'd love to share. I'm posting recipes for the things I've made for my family for years and years. We have our family favorites but I love finding new recipes to try during the holidays.


SUNDAY DINNER

Pot pies. Yeah. My Schwan's guy quit (a job opening for Rob?) and no one showed up Tuesday with the wonderful steaks (and special pumpkin-cinnamon-pecan praline ice cream) I'd ordered on-line for our big family dinner with Bev and Don Thursday night. I sent Schwan's an email explaining that if I never saw them again, I needed this order! So the next day a supervisor showed up in his personal car with my order.

I ordered pot pies, too. I know, but Rob and I actually like pot pies. And Schwan's are better than any we can buy in the grocery store. And I plan to clean my oven today. I know you're shocked. Oh, the very thought of all the energy it takes to push that self-cleaning button. :-) I have the baby Monday and Tuesday so today's the day I have to get ready for my sister and her husband's arrival Wednesday. With so much to do and the oven down for cleaning, it's pot pies for us tonight.


ONE LAST THOUGHT

I normally put a short thought-provoking quote here. This week? I'm making up my own quote. I love my sister so much it makes my heart hurt to even think about her when I can't be with her. I am beyond blessed that in exactly three days I will see her walking up to my front door. If you have a sister you adore but don't appreciate as much as you should because you see her all the time, hug her. Hug her tight. For me and Bev.