End of Family, fun, food

I am actually posting two blogs today. I am still new at this and could not include these three pictures in the first one. Maybe each blog allows a limited amount of space for that posting. I wanted to have a picture with me in it to show I was actually there. It looks like I failed to mention that the menu started with a German herb cream soup with tiny dumplings. Yummy.









The end of the day. Grandpa G has had it. But Kyla is still going strong.


















Phi had the best idea of all.

Hope your holiday was great.

Family, food, fun

Shawn wrote a poem for Stacey which ended in asking her to choose her fate, which was choosing dining room furniture or a new mattress. As of this writing she has not made her decision.









Renee Michelle and Andrew are thrilled with the calendar they received from Andrew's mother. It has the birthdays of family members written in. The page that is open is that of "Mothering Sunday" as it is called in England. Andrew now has no excuse for not remembering.










As is our tradition, Renee Michelle was the master chef. Beef Wellington, a medley of several kinds of rice with hazelnuts and dried cranberries, and a roasted beet and green bean salad. My request for dessert was chocolate mousse was honored.











We learned that Crackers are the tradition in England. Renee Michelle and Andrew provided them for us. Aren't we a colorful group!



Kyla arrived in grand style.

Designer tree

The tree is finally finished. I don't know if it meets the standards of a designer tree, but I tried. But no one can say that it looks like the trees I have decorated in the past. Since this project took so much time, I may not put up the second one that I had last year. At least I am not in a rut.

One photo shows the tree with at least 700 lights. This is an artificial tree and as I put up each layer of branches, I wrapped the lights around them, with lights all the way to the center. Then I made decorative sprays with poinsettias, greens, a gold ornament and gold bow, which are shown on the second photo. And then the final result with as many large decorations as I had, staying with the gold, red and white theme.

On to baking, cleaning the house, and wrapping gifts to put under the designer tree.

Today is our 38th wedding anniversary. Gerry took the day off. We are planning to go out for dinner tonight at Pad Thai. We'll see if I take pictures of the entree like fellow bloggers do.

The preparations continue

The holiday letters have all been sent. As I think about the letters, it seems that one of the negative aspects is that there is not a lot of two way communication with most people. However, a friend (fellow motor cross rider of DH's in Oklahoma) emailed and said he would like to come visit sometime. So that is a great outcome of sending the letter. Today I called a nephew to get his mailing address and had a great conversation with him. Again, not something I would have done if not for the letter. That encourages me to continue with the tradition. I am toying with the idea of sending it by email next year. What do my readers think?

So now I am on to decorating the tree. I think that it looks the same each year,which is not a surprise since I have the same tree and same ornaments each year. I have been reading on how to do a "decorator tree" and I am going to try it. Guess it will be accomplished in stages. Today our seven foot tree has about 700 tiny white lights on it. Next I will make 7 to 9 decorative sprays with artificial poinsettia flower, greenery and a gold ball. Instead of describing it, now I will take some pictures and post the when I am finished.

Music (if you can call it that)

To get me energized and moving, I have programed my CD player to randomly play songs from any of the 25 Christmas CDs that I have in it. The first song that was belted out was Jingle Bells played on shop tools, specifically a hand saw. It is called "Tool Box Christmas". I wonder who that CD belongs to? Next came Mannheim Steamroller, followed by a string quartet, a choral group, Irish, and even one of my favorites, Polka Christmas. The person who loves the Tool box music does not like polkas at all. Seems it bring back some childhood memories of polka music.

As an aside, it is a wonder that DH and I have stay married for all these years with such a different taste in music. I also like Cowboy music, thanks to Styling with RM who introduced me to a group called Riders in the Sky. But I can get along without the yodeling.

Julia Child, how I love you (sometimes)

Last night I decided to make seafood crepes from Julia Child's cookbook. Now, I know this is a no brainer for Styling with RM and de-I, but it was a challenge for me. When DH walked in the door, I told him dinner would be at least an hour away and I was already one hour into preparations. So let me describe the process.

Julia's recipe for cheese sauce is backward from Betty Crocker, or maybe BC is backward from Julia. Julia does a lot of "dribbling" instead of just pouring the liquids in all at once. When I made the crepe batter, I discovered it was supposed to set for at least an hour. (Guess I should have read through the recipe first, duh.) Instead of browning the onions, you "sweat" them in liquid. Since I had not made crepes for a long time, I had to reread the instructions on the actual cooking technique a couple of times.

The meal was a success. And I learned several techniques (dribbling, sweating, and making the crepes). Oh, and I will add, I spoke to RM earlier asking what to serve as a side dish. We decided on homemade apple sauce, which I also made. In looking back, two hours was not bad for all that. And there is enough leftovers for another whole meal.

Tonight I am making a tried and true Chicken Marsala.

"Fly Lady" needed

If the police were to walk through our house today, they would file a report that someone had broken in and trashed it. The front door was minus one piece of glass, the kitchen shelving stacked against the wall, everything has been removed from the two pantries and is in piles all over the kitchen and dinning room floors, the office is filled with boxes that have been pulled out of the attic and the back entry is packed with boxes of tools, a ladder, and other materials. All this is evidence of something going on. It is not a burglary, but several projects that we are working on all at once.

Actually before we moved in, someone did try to break in, but only managed to break half of the glass in the door, before our neighbor called the sheriff. I ordered a new oval glass and we installed it today. DH and I are putting two inch polystyrene on the walls in the attic and basement. We are adding shelves to the pantries.

What does this have to do with "Fly Lady"? I had subscribed to her yahoo group for a few months and learned some techniques for getting a handle on clutter and household tasks. (I had trouble dis-enrolling so had hundreds of emails from her, but that is another story. It was ironic that I had a very cluttered inbox.) Anyway, one technique I learned was to set a timer for 15 minutes and work in one room. When 15 minutes are up you set it again and go to another room. After three 15 minutes periods of work, you are to give yourself 15 minutes to do something you enjoy. So I am going to use that routine today.

The annual holiday letter

Since we (I would be more accurate) did not write a Christmas letter in 2006, and some friends may not have our new address and since it is over a year since we moved, so the Post Office not longer forwards mail, we decided we should get ours out early. So I have been working on it all week. Now you would think an hour typing on the computer and it would be completed. No way. DH and I look over the calendar from the last two years and pick the most significant or interesting events. I then had to find appropriate pictures and learn how to insert them where I wanted them in the letter. Drafts were forwarded to RM who does the proof reading. They come back with many comments: "Why are you telling me this?", "This looks like a list, expand on it or don't even tell about it", or "Why is this fact important or interesting?" I always enter this process by making sure my ego is strong. Actually I really appreciate her help. The finished product is worth it.

I have completed the letter. Next comes the printing. Since it costs 49 cents a page to make color copies, I am printing out all three (yes three) pages on my photo printer. Half way through I am low on ink and it is very bad (per DH) to run it dry. So we order ink on line. He bought this printer for me specifically because you can refill the ink yourself. But it has to be purchased on line. The ink should arrive in 4-7 days.

Next comes getting all the names and addresses on the label file in Word. I won't go into details, other than to say it took several hours.

I took the finished letter to my beautician today and she said is was a "good read", so I hope you all think so too. It will be sent by snail mail, by the way.

I have not allowed myself to do any decorating or shopping until this letter was finished. Even though the process sounds laborious, it was fun. And I always learn more about what the computer can do with each project.

Work Day

Yesterday was "work day" at Shawn and Stacey's house. Gerry and Shawn schedule these at alternating homes about once a month. So, yesterday, as we had our first freezing rain turning to snow storm, they worked in S's garage replacing the innards of his snow blower and repairing his lawn mower. Guess he is ready for all contingencies now. They also installed four cabinets in the laundry room (which Stacey's father found for her, but did not install). We always make jokes about our friends who help us start a project (i.e buy the cabinets) but then have to go home. We have a group of friends in Illinois who are notorious for this. Of course we reciprocate when we visit. I worked hard interacting with K.

I might add that we took a trailer with a drill press for Shawn. Gerry thought he could get along with 3 or 4 for himself. We then picked up used motor oil (for furnace in shop - see previous blog), and a riding lawn mower another friend no longer wanted (and was thankful Gerry would be his method of disposal). Oh, S and S gave me four boxes of rocks (again a convenient disposal method). I plan to use them as edging around flower beds. They still have a garbage can full of sand. Let's see, how can I use that?

Zen Garden

It is always interesting how a goal or project has so many components. Someday we would like to finish a room in our basement. There already is a chimney there, where the previous owner had a wood burning stove. I dream of putting another one down there with a glass front, so it would have the feel of a fire place, but use the existing chimney.

However, there was a water leak on the floor when we had a really hard rain. We surmised that it was running in from the Zen Garden. In looking at it closer, the Zen Garden was lower than the landscaping in front, so that is entirely possible. So over Thanksgiving weekend, Gerry and I (mostly I) moved out all the big stones and then shoveled out all the small rocks, put them in barrels, and then with Gerry's help shoved in about a foot of top soil. Top soil "in the sticks" is heavy clay, especially when wet. We are now going to wait for it to settle and make sure it does not still leak before putting the rocks back on.

These pictures are the before and after of just the first step. Note: we had to dig out the flag pole also. It was concrete about three feet deep. The final report on this will probably be posted in the Spring.

Thanksgiving tradition

The setting: Shawn, Stacey, and Kyla's house.
The menu: By Bruce: The turkey brined and roasted, dressing with sausage
By Stacey: Potatoes mashed with the skins on, steamed broccoli, chocolate bunt cake
By Bernice: Cranberry relish, candied sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie
By Bonnie: corn soufflé, jell0 salad
This is the menu to the best of my recollection. For me it was very relaxing, since I could cook ahead and just bring three things. Shawn always has the privilege of carving the turkey. It was a bit of a challenge this year.

Stacey's sister Stef and fiancée, Jeff also joined us. (Their wedding will be in January in Phoenix. Stay tuned for the report on that) The picture shows Stef and Jeff with Shawn, Stacey and Kyla. Note what is on the TV.

Our Own Trojan Horse

I just had to post about DH and another project. This last week I was suffering with the dreaded flu/cold. After seven days, I think I will make it. Meanwhile DH worked on this project. The waste oil furnace was given to us by a dear friend. Thank you, Carl. DH has spent countless hours getting it running, which it now is doing quite well. He then had to secure several 50 gallon barrels of waste oil (the end product of changing the oil in your car). A friend has converted his furnace to propane and has about 200 gallons of fuel oil in his basement. Actually it is in a fuel tank in his basement. DH is making a pump specifically to pump it out. See, another gift brings about a project. Since the shop is quite full, it was decided to put the furnace on very tall legs, so the area under it could be utilized for other activities. He used the lift for support and welded on leg extensions. It so much reminded me of pictures of the Trojan Horse. It has now been moved to its resting spot, but a ladder is needed to service it. And we will be warm when working out in the shop this winter.

Oh wait! I think the agreement was that we (DH and myself) would work one year on the Shop, getting it organized, and then spend time on the house. I'll keep you posted on that. We do have projects scheduled for the house.

Living in the sticks without Internet

After a week without internet connection, I am back on line. How did we live without it in the "good old days"? I am guessing the reason for this difficulty to get on line had something to do with - see photo. That is DH with a machine he made just for that purpose. OK, maybe he wanted to lay a phone line from the shop to the house but it did a number on the underground cable. And why, you may ask, would he be putting in an underground phone line when we only have a cell phone?

Well, DW here had been complaining that it was not much fun to have to run out to the shop in the rain, and soon to be snow, to give him a message. Like "You have a phone call", "Dinner is ready", or "Are you still alive, since it is 2AM and I just awoke and you are not it bed?" I could not call on the cell phone because there is really poor reception in the shop. He is planning to put in some sort of communication method using the phone line.

Yesterday we spend the day helping a friend do some renovation on his 100 year old house. He needs to put in on the market but cannot until it is updated. In this case that means completely rewiring it. One hundred year old electrical wiring does not meet code. Surprise. DH helped by fishing new wires in the walls. I did some painting.

We came away so grateful for a new house. Ten years old is new compared to our friend's. But since we did not build our house there still are upgrades we want to do. Today we will purchase $1000 worth of insulation for the basement. And guess who will put it up. The progress, with photos, will be on upcoming blogs.

Dirt Bike Riding

DH gets recharged by spending a few days with fellow dirt bike riders. In September they went to a favorite site, the Hatfield McCoy trails in West Virginia. This a a trail system of several hundred miles, set up by the state to encourage tourism. They have "ATV friendly towns" where you can legally drive into the towns from the trails for gas or food. Each trail has a designation that describes the level of difficulty. As you may guess, DH goes for the most difficult. Some day I may go along to hike, but need accommodations other that sleeping in a cabin with 6 snoring men.

A visit from K

Fall is my very favorite time of the year. I love the colors of the trees, the crisp smells and cool weather. My DH would strongly disagree and he REALLY dislikes the cold. But is seems that being a woman past a certain stage of her life, I love cool weather.

For three days and two nights, I had dear K visiting. This girl of 16 months has a very interesting bed time. She is not slowing down until about midnight. Needless to say, Grandmother here is wishing she would tire earlier. But she had a great time visiting in the sticks, where she could run around outside, moo back at the neighborhood cattle, and chase the cat.

October

The corn fields are a monotone tan and soy beans have lost their leaves, leaving just the pods to be harvested. The farmer in me is saying, "why is our renter not out there harvesting?" We have not had a killing frost yet, but it is close. Tomorrow I will paint the trim on the back door of DH's shop. It probably is the last warm day to paint. The hoses need draining and the lawn mowed once more this season. Then I should have lots of time for indoor projects.

Granddaughter, K is coming to visit, without parents, tomorrow. She will stay two nights.

Sharing the bounty

DH and I have invited 37 of our relatives to share "living in the sticks" next July. It is called a family reunion. So with this in mind, I am doing research on how may people can use the septic, shower schedules and such. Today I picked up a children's picnic table for use by K and other small people. It has always been my opinion that one reason to invite guests over is that it makes me clean my house and cook a great meal. Hopefully guests reading this will not be hurt by being used. In my case this will cause me to do some serious interior decorating and landscaping. This blog will show the before and after of a lot of projects I am sure. My blog teacher is watching to make sure I am posting regularly so here is the second one.

My university class in entertaining

On Saturday I threw a party for Dear Husband (DH ) to celebrate his 60th birthday. The last six weeks were spent in serious planning. After studying several library books on how to successfully give a party for a large group, I decided on a Mexican theme. Extensive lists were made covering the menu, the ingredients needed, serving pieces required, decorations, and a time line to accomplish it all. I did look at it as a class to learn how to successfully give a party. The day after the party we critiqued our work. All in all it went well. Almost everything on the menu was made from scratch, so the food did not taste like I got it from Taco Bell. The primary lesson I learned was that the things I did not write on the planning schedule were overlooked and were a bit problematic. But, I am very encouraged and plan to do this over many times - maybe not with 40 guests each time, but plan to use the process. The picture is DH trying to break the pinata.