Handmade Swag

  I think my sway turned out pretty good if I do say so myself.  What's even more exciting is the fact that I just moved this picture from my facebook page.  Wow!  Anyway, back to the swag.  During that week my hubby was hunting at the cabin and I was here decorating, I put a wreath on the front door that my dil made for me years ago.  I remember being in awe of it and thinking how did she do that.  I had never done wreaths or anything else like that before.  I got to thinking about making something for the sitting room door and asked my hubby to bring back some pine branches during one of his walks.  I was willing to work with whatever he gave me, knowing he'd come through for me.  He brought back 2 different kinds of pine branches, some with small pinecones on them, plus some club moss.  He said people used to cover wreaths with the club moss for decorations.  Anyway, I started with the swag.  I knew what I wanted to do based on something I saw and it seemed so simple.  I grabbed the branches and wired them together end to end, tied a bow in the center, added pinecones to the ribbon and then as an after-thought, glued some holly around the bow.  We were both kind of impressed by it and the great thing is I don't have to store it until next year!  Then on to the club moss, which, out of respect for my hubby, I needed to do something with that.  I had an old grapevine wreath that was never used so I began the process of covering that with the club moss.  It started looking pretty nice  -  very light and airy.  I finished it off also with some holly for color and put that in a basket by the front door.  I might decide later to put it up on the wall, somewhere, but I haven't decided yet.  This will be the extent of my Christmas decorations this year, even though I have so many more that could go up.  I'm totally enjoying what I have now!

Bear Proof

I'm not saying the cabin is bear-proof but here's the proof of a bear.  This was taken when my hubby was at the cabin hunting.  He takes down a bunch of apples for himself and the deer and leaves them on the deck.  When he got up one morning he found all the apples gone and all that was left behind were a couple bear paws in the snow.  That goodness for the snow or there would have been no sign of him.  A couple nights later he was woken up early in the morning by a loud sound coming from the deck.  What had happened was the bear came back up on the deck for more apples, ran into an unexpected gate propped up and got scared by the loud crash it made as it fell.  Sometimes that's all it takes with these bears.  They don't seem to have much of a backbone unless they are with a cub, then watch out.  We've known that there were bears around and have both seen them from time to time, but never were quick enough to get a picture.  We've seen droppings all around and a battered up wooden bird box , too.  We'll keep trying for that elusive picture that I can add to my collection of the "Animals at the Cabin" cd but until then the pawprint will have to do.  By the way, my hubby also found droppings down over the hill.  Apples will get you every time.

New Phone

First a little background.  Last year we made the move to Straighttalk in order to save some money on our wireless bill.  The only downside was that we had to buy our phones outright.  I got a slightly more expensive phone with a camera but realized within a couple months that my reception was very poor and the Internet that we were supposed to have was basically non-existent.  So here I am with this phone that is practically useless but at least there was no contract.  I refused to pay for the pricey data plan in addition to an expensive smartphone.  Then came Cyber Monday or Sunday, since they seemed to start early.  I found a straighttalk smartphone for $79 that seemed perfect for what I wanted.  I would keep my plan which provided unlimited minutes, text and data.  I have been tracking this thing all week, waiting in anticipation and getting sucked into believing this would change my life.  Anyway, it came yesterday and I was waiting in the sitting room for the FedEx guy with a bag of candy to show my appreciation.  Then the fun was supposed to begin  -  not!  Like all technology and me, it's a love - hate relationship.  It can be so frustrating to figure things out like this.  I was under no assumption that this was like the pricier IPhone or Android but what I wanted was a phone I could talk on and get e-mail.  I put in all my contacts which was my tutorial for learning how to use a touchpad.  My voicemail was somehow already on the phone but don't ask me how.  I finally mastered the texting part after a couple mishaps, I could talk from the sitting room with my hubby on the phone and the e-mail finally magically appeared later in the evening.  I was able to sleep peacefully last night knowing that I got what I wanted.  Of course, that was after all day on the phone, setting other work aside that I wanted to do, grabbing what I could to eat to get back to that phone and a nasty headache from looking at the little screen too long.  It wasn't a life changer  -  just one less thing to worry about.
P.S.  I love it when my screen is filled with yellow highlights (spellcheck) and nothing is misspelled.  I feel like I'm speaking a different language.

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

I made this yesterday for dinner and it also turned out good.  I was surprised at how low in calories both of those soups were without using the thickeners.  For this soup, I held the red peppers over the burner of the stove until they were charred.  Then I put them in a bowl and put a plate over top to let them steam.  The only thing about both of these soups was that I would have liked them thicker.  To the garlic soup I added more potatoes and to this soup I probably would add another pepper or less broth.  Anyway, that's what I've been working on here.

30 Clove Garlic Soup

I made this soup for supper tonight and I'm very impressed.  I've seen recipes like this before where you use all this garlic in chicken and it comes out really mild.  I was curious about the soup so I made it.  I have to admit I've been in a cooking slump lately and even though I've tried different things, none have been good enough to post, until now.  It was also the first time I roasted a whole head of garlic.  The house smelled delicious!  No vampires here, that's for sure.  The recipe also said it had a soothing effect and also helped if a cold was coming on.  I don't know about that but it was tasty.  The next soup on the menu is Roasted Red Pepper Soup.  I'll keep you posted.

Flour or Corn Tortillas

Flour or corn  -  that is the question, at least, on the Top Chef show from last week, where someone failed to specify which one she wanted and she got the wrong one.  I didn't realize there was such a controversy over which tortilla to make enchiladas with.  I've made them and probably used flour since I stopped using corn for tacos.  We didn't like how crunchy they got and broke up before we could eat them.  So since then I always buy the flour, until this weekend.  I wanted to make a new dish with my turkey leftovers called Turkey Taquitos.  It called for corn tortillas so I bought white corn tortillas.  I thought they might be different so I felt it was worth a try.  Well, I found them to be very difficult to roll up, they cracked very easily and they seemed to absorb way too much oil when I cooked them.  They were definitely crunchy but not like those old ones I used for tacos.  Then I had an idea to use them in my quesadilla maker with the same ingredients.  Big mistake!  It's been awhile since I used it and forgot that it said not to use corn tortillas.  I still have a little filling so I might make a regular quesadilla with my flour tortillas.  I guess I'm not up on all the Mexican food formalities and what I use where.  I do know what I like and I guess it's back to the drawing board for me.

Local Pharmacies

Ok, here's something I've been obsessed with since last night.  Maybe I'm over sensitive to this stuff but it bothers me.  A little background  -  I called in my refill on Friday am and was told it would be ready Monday after 2pm.  I'm thinking that seemed a little long but I didn't need it immediately so I didn't choose that option.  I figured I'd go down Sat. afternoon and it would be ready anyway.  Wrong assumption!!  The tech informed me that it had been sent away to be filled and they didn't get their shipments on the weekend hence the Monday pick-up date.  Whoa, let's back up here.  I thought this was supposed to be my local pharmacy where they are taking care of me on a personal level.  I guess what startled me most was the fact that there were signs everywhere welcoming the Lakeside Pharmacy patients to Giant Eagle.  I assumed the only local pharmacy in the area went out of business and of course GE was there to pick them up.  I realize that this GE gets a lot, I mean, a lot of prescriptions but I thought they were handling it.  Apparently not!  So who is filling my prescriptions?  Not George or Michelle, evidently as I never ask for them right away knowing they're busy and want to give them a little time.  How nice of me!  In all fairness the tech did offer to cancel the order and fill it there with a half hour wait.  I was stunned anyway so I said no I'd come back Monday.  Now my choices are different in my eyes.  Either I can always say I need my prescriptions right away so I'm sure it will be filled there or go to another pharmacy.  I started taking my mail order stuff to CVS so I don't have to deal with the mail so that is always an option.  Maybe I should have been trying to support that local pharmacy that went out of business so we all would have a choice. I don't think GE would have suffered any.  Things sure have changed since we had our little pharmacy by Shur-Fine.

Black Friday, Black Friday

I hear that remade version of It's Friday all through my head this week.  I've never been one to take on the crowds on Black Friday but the last couple years we've been heading out somewhere to do a little shopping.  We've found that since the outlet stores in Grove City open early, the traffic is fine mid-morning to head to Volant.  No one is there!  That used to be the extent of our shopping but as stores close in Volant, there's less to visit.  Then last year we stopped at Grove City on our way back and found most of the shoppers were done by that time.  So this year that was our plan again.  We were on a tight schedule so once we got to GC we had to split up to get everything done.  The only line we saw as we were driving in was at Coach.  They were only letting a few people in at a time.  Otherwise traffic was moderately light, parking was OK, the deals were great and lines in stores were small.  It was really busy there though and people were coming from all over such as NY, Canada and OH.  I personally found all that I was looking for which was a small list anyway.  This has been a tradition we started years ago before the grandkids came along and has included my dil, brother and sil, niece and her son and now my daughter's fiance. We'll see who we can recruit next year!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  By now we're all probably knee deep in preparations for that holiday dinner or at least have a good idea of what direction we're going.  This year it seems Food Network is not helping matters much.  I'm saying this because of what I've seen the last week or so with all their special shows concerning Thanksgiving.  The one person in particular that I think we could do without giving us his so called "expert advice" is Alton Brown.  In fact, I'm afraid he's useless.  We used to love his show "Good Eats" and get a kick out of it but I never really got into the " Iron Chef" shows. Since I'm always looking for new and different ways to do things, I've been tuning into Food Network to see what's shaking.  One of his recent shows on thawing a turkey involved rigging up a fountain through a cooler so you would have fresh water flowing around it at all times.  Are you serious?  Do you really think the average joe would go to these lengths to thaw a turkey?  To me that goes against everything Food Network stands for, which is appealing to the at- home cook.  That's what they emphasize during the Next Food Network Star shows.  It has to be easy enough for a viewer to understand and willing to do.  He also gave a recipe for gravy where he said you needed 2 types of thickening  -  flour/cornstarch and potato starch.  The latter is a commercial grade thickener that most of us don't have access to.  The real clincher was the Thanksgiving Live show they just aired.  He was the moderator, Iron Chef style, that took phone calls and e-mails from people for the chefs such as Bobby Flay, Rachel, Sunny, Melissa, etc.  He was downright rude to some of them and had such an uppity (no racial slur intended) attitude.  I was appalled by him.  He was such a turn-off.  I hope Food Network takes a close look at this and reevaluates their need for someone like Alton Brown.

Christmas Spirit

This has been a great week for getting into the Christmas spirit.  I did some shopping last week and even though I couldn't find all that I wanted, I was given options to have things sent home with no shipping charge and they already arrived!  That was great.  I spent Fri. with my daughter at the Christmas Connection in Cleveland and had a wonderful time.  Things have changed there so no Christmas CD which I always look forward to but we more than made up for it with the shopping and food.  Sat. I took off to the cabin and on the way found a Christmas Festival of sorts called Once Upon a Christmas and the first place I saw was the quilting store in Knox.  That was all that I had time for that day but I did manage to buy some fabric on clearance for a project for the coming year.  It's always fun to talk to other crafters.  Then on the way home we decided to try some of the other stops on this Once Upon a Christmas.  They were close so it didn't take up too much of our time but how nice they were decorated.  The one stop I particularly liked was at the Wolf's Head Campground.  It was a very rustic building with a restaurant inside that I'd like to try some other time.  As you walked in, all you could see were Christmas lights and it was beautiful.  Even on the ceiling beams  and fireplace mantel there were wrapped presents and other decorations.  It all certainly got me into the Christmas spirit. 

Another Batch of Cider

Another batch of cider is done!  This was a two day project, mainly because we didn't feel like going any later in the evening than 8 pm with it.  We were tired, had seen enough apples for one day and that was that.  It went smoothly though so we can't complain about that.  At the end we found ourselves struggling to find more storage containers to put cider.  Now the chore of finding somewhere to put those containers or people to pass it on to.  I think we have a pretty good plan this time so time will tell.  I'm also going to look up some recipes of what to do with cider.  Once I had a recipe for Apple-Cinnamon Syrup to use over pancakes which sounds pretty good.  I'll keep you posted.

Sewing Machine Update

You may recall my previous post about my sewing machine breaking, the rude behavior at the sewing store and the guy who supposedly fixed it.  When I returned with the machine I did try it and it sounded good and seemed to work fine.  I commented on the short amount of time it took to fix my machine but I was glad it didn't cost more than it did.  I've been busy with shopping and other chores but yesterday I decided I better get to work on my project.  At first it was going very smoothly, then it froze up like it did before.  I do remember telling the sewing lady that this issue and the thread tension problem came and went.  As long as it goes in a timely fashion, I guess I can deal with that.  However, more things started to happen with my bobbin so I took it out and found the one side was bent and that was what was making it jam up.  It still seems like the tension is not on track but it's working.  Also the last thing to happen was my needle falling out.  I realize I've been pulling a lot of material through that small space under my machine and theoretically the screw holding the needle could loosen, but I know he replaced the needle and this has never, I repeat, never happened to me before.  So I replaced the bobbin and screwed the needle in, tighter this time.  But now I'm thinking  "Did he really service my machine and fix the problem or did he do a bunch of little things and as long as it seemed to be working, didn't dig any deeper?"  I think he just put the thread tension knob back together despite me telling Kelly that it wasn't working before I took it apart.  Why did that bobbin get so bent anyway and will it do it again?  He was a nice enough guy but if I take my machine to another store next time I need it fixed, will I get the same guy?  All I have to say is thank goodness I didn't have to pay more than I did however another $50-$100 and the assurance my machine was good to go would be priceless!

New Dip Recipe

This was a dip recipe I have had in the back of my mind for quite awhile.  It was a couple years ago when apples and jalapenos were abundant in the garden that I found a recipe in the SureJell box for a freezer jam.  My intention was to make it, freeze it and then serve it as a dip over cream cheese.  I actually did get it out once to use but the cream cheese that I was told would freeze nicely, didn't and it was very grainy.  So it all went back in the freezer.  All along I kind of thought it would be too hot for me anyway as it had a lot of peppers.  Well, I decided to pull it out of the freezer and along with a half package of cream cheese, I tried it.  Delicious!  It was not hot at all but the taste of the jalapenos came through with the sweetness of the apples.  It was almost like a dessert dip.  If I find the recipe again, I think I would use some of the seeds of the jalapenos to add a little heat to it.  Once before I got a recipe for Cranberry Walnut Jam during my stay at preschool and that also could be used over cream cheese.  I never tried it like that, especially knowing my hubby has an aversion to cream cheese.  Now that I've had this, that other recipe sounds very intriguing.  I think it would make a good appetizer for Thanksgiving. 

Popcorn Stitch Afghan

I couldn't wait to write a blog about the afghan I'm just about to finish.  This is one I've been eyeing up for a long time but until lately never thought it was in the cards to make. That's mainly because it's done in all white and it's a popcorn stitch.  I probably could have used another color but it just seemed appropriate to use the white.  I made it for a full size bed which I only have one other one and that's the scrap afghan done in a diagonal stitch that we use on our bed.  So I needed one for the cabin and started this one a couple months ago.  Well, like I said, it's almost done.  The last couple days I've been working on the fringe.  No one around here seems to like fringe on afghans and my first thought was to do a different edging.  But the fringe really completes it and besides, it's a unique way of doing it.  To do this fringe you first sc across the row then coming back you sc in a stitch, chain 30, then slip st in the same stitch.  It really looks nice.  The chains are supposed to twist and at first, I was trying to twist them myself.  I soon realized that I like it even if it isn't twisted.  I will definitely do this version of fringe again.  I will post a picture of it soon.

What a Week!

This has been quite a week for both of us.  It began on Sat. with the end of the driveway being fixed along with the neighbors.  Those guys came on Sun,, worked very hard and finished up on Tues.  Nice job! I jumped right in this week trying to complete these sewing projects/Christmas gifts but got sidelined Mon. night.  I talked about the hospital visit in a previous blog but didn't mention the reaction I got from the owner of the sewing store.  I basically got my wrist slapped for taking apart my tension knob.  She treated me like a child and if it weren't for my machine I'd never go back again.  She also scared me into thinking this could cost more than I want to spend by saying it might be a gear.  Anyway, it only took a day to fix it and it was nothing major, at least that's how I see it.  She was nicer to me when my hubby was there but reverted to her old ways when I was leaving and no hubby around.  So I got my machine back and it seems to work great, however, there's more going on and I still won't have time to finish my projects by this Sat.  On Wed. as I was having lunch I heard a noise in the basement.  I rushed down to find the shelves holding most of my canned goods on the floor or just hanging waiting to fall.  This happened right over the sump pump, which should have been covered but wasn't.  While I was standing there in awe, looking at broken glass, tomatoes, jelly and pears all over the place, another board fell.  I jumped into overdrive at that point to save whatever I could and tried not to think about the work that went into all that.  My hubby was looking in the garage to see if the sound was out there and he came down to help.  What a mess!  We took the rest of the stuff off the shelves, turned off the sump and started cleaning up all the glass.  Unfortunately, my hubby couldn't get the pump out so he called the plumber who came out Thurs. to pull  and clean the pump.  It's running very well now with no damage done.  However, I have jars all over with no place to put them until he rigs up some new shelves.  That'll be a job for next week and it'll give me some time to sort through some stuff.  He's finally having a much needed guys weekend at the cabin with the neighbor .  And of course once he left, it snowed!  The roads are not covered and the temperature is supposed to go up so I'm not all that concerned.  Then yesterday, we were both glued to the tv and computer with what was going on at Penn State.  We both feel really bad about all that has happened all the way around.  So that's been our week and I hope the excitement is over for awhile. 

Visit to the Hospital

No, it isn't me or my hubby  -  sorry to scare anyone.  The patient is my sewing machine and this couldn't come at a worse time.  I've been struggling to finish up a few things for Christmas and deliver them this weekend but that's not going to happen.  I mentioned before about how I hate to do this stitch in the ditch quilting on big pieces with my sewing machine  -  I'm just not having fun with it.  Besides the fun part, my stitches are off, the upper thread tension knob is out of whack and last night it all froze up.  Time for a professional!  Hope it's not terminal but I don't have sewing machine medical insurance so it better be reasonable.  Who knows how long it's hospital stay will be.  I have another machine at the cabin  -  the Singer my mom had but that won't help much right now.  Anyway, instead of sewing I'll be running around today and then making candy to take down with me.  Just hope everything goes ok with that. 

Yard Work

We kind of seized an opportunity this weekend that's working pretty well for us.  The neighbors had mentioned that at some point they'd like to widen and redo their driveway.  My hubby's ears perked up right away because we needed just the end of our driveway fixed and it was too small of a job to get someone over to do it.  Well, Saturday when we came home from shopping we found a concrete guy over at the neighbors giving him an estimate on their work.  As soon as we pulled in we had the same idea  -  go over and see what you can do.  The guy was willing to fit ours in at the same time and it's already dug up.  It brought to mind work we've had done in the past and how we love to watch it happen.  The little girl next door even got to ride in the backhoe as he was digging up their driveway!  She sat in the garage and just watched as the magic happened.  Building our garage was the same for us back in the 80's.  The neighbor and my son parked some lawn chairs and watched the show.  There's just something about seeing a pile of stuff become a building of some kind that fascinates us  -  young and old.

Update on Pie

Yesterday I mentioned that I was trying a new recipe for pie crust.  First here's a little history of my pie making skills.  I used to play around when my mom made pies and use some of her crust to make a potpie size with strawberry jam.  Needless to say it didn't turn out.  The first pie I made by myself was when my mom and brother went out to CA to visit my sister.  I was to stay home and take care of my dad, not that he needed me to do anything but I was there.  I was in a mood to cook and do all those domesticated chores so I decided to make a pie.  My mom never had a recipe but from watching her all those years I figured I could handle it (I mean I was in college, for goodness sakes).  Well, it did not end well and my dad said even the birds wouldn't eat it when he threw it out.  For a long time after that I let the pie making up to my mom.  After she was gone I looked for a recipe and made my first good pie  -  the rest is history.  Anyway I've always used shortening but wanted to try this recipe of Martha's with butter.  On the pro side, it was much easier and faster using the food processor and it was also much nicer to roll out and handle.  On the con side, it didn't brown as nice as my other recipe and it certainly didn't taste as rich as I thought it should having 2 sticks of butter in it.  It was flaky like my other and otherwise a good pie.  I used the Granny Smith apples which cooked up well, maybe a little too much for my liking.  Those apples are very delicious though!  So my conclusion is to try the food processor method but measure, chill and cut up the shortening like the butter using Martha's recipe.  I'm sure I'll be making more pies so I'll keep you posted.

Apple, Apples and More Apples

Ok, last year I kind of missed the apples but we were so busy with everything else it was merely a passing thought.  I didn't miss all the picking, sorting, resorting, cooking, baking and then ending up realizing we threw many of them away anyway.  This year is a fairly good crop but many of them have some kind of a rust, that while only skin deep, looks really bad.   We've already made one batch of cider and even though I'm still saving jugs, we don't have enough for another batch yet.  We picked a lot yesterday and I can feel it in my arms.  I made pigs-in-the-blanket yesterday and made a side of scalloped apples to go with it.  We only had a small basket of the Northern Spies so I used those up in the dish.  I was surprised at how soft they were, especially for a pie apple like that.  Today I want to make some of Martha's pate brisee which is her fancy way of saying pie crust.  She makes it with butter in the food processor and while I've tried my recipe with shortening like that, it didn't work very well.  I think the key is to keep that butter firm so I'll try her recipe.  I have enough of our Granny Smiths to make a pie so I'll probably do that.  The other day at the luncheon, someone mentioned that Honeycrisps don't cook up that well in a pie.  Of course, I had to tell the microwave version of pie that I make.  Everyone is shocked when I say that but it really is the best I've found.  We also keep the neighbors stocked with apples.  The girls came home from school with a recipe for crockpot applesauce which they made and it was gone that same day.  I think they know by now when they see a bag or basket in front of the garage, it's applesauce time.

Halloween Time

Well, another Halloween is past, maybe the last one.  I know I've talked about things being our last here, I'm never quite sure when it will be.  The hubby's at the cabin and mentioned yesterday, that if by chance he gets a trick-or-treater, at least he has some candy.  When we first moved here we had no idea what to expect.  I vaguely recall Halloween at our apartment.  In fact, we probably weren't even home but at the in-laws.  So the first year, we did our best to buy candy but soon ran out because of all the kids.  They would come in pick-ups from the trailer court to our neighborhood.  We had to resort to Hall's cough drops and some pennies that year.  I'm surprised we didn't get egged for that one.  Times have changed around here though.  We didn't get nearly that many this year so we still have leftover candy.  Some things never change though and that's the costumes.  We always seem to have a Roger Rabbit and I'm wondering if these kids even know who he is!  Maybe it's passsed down or something.  Of course we always get the princesses, fairies, butterflies, zombies, etc. but this year my favorite was the swamp thing.  Man, it was good but a little difficult to wear.  I'm surprised he didn't lose it along the way.  And the rain held off fairly well, at least the kids didn't seem to mind.

It's Cider Time

Yes it's that time of year when my hubby and I get to make cider.  Last year we had no apples due to a late frost so we were looking forward to the cider this year.  We usually pick all the apples at once and then do our marathon cider making project but it's kind of early this year and all the apples aren't ready.  They have not been keeping very well in the garage either.  We thought now that we're retired we don't have to do it all in one day, so yesterday was the first.  I started saving the half-gal milk jugs in the spring but I wasn't drinking a lot of milk then, so we don't have an unlimited supply of jugs.  My hubby has been working for a few days on preparing the chipper/shredder for the the chopping process and getting the press ready.  I made more muslin bags the other day to use in our small press.  The apples were picked the other day with a variety of apples then yesterday they were washed and bad parts cut out.  I had my usual job of holding the bucket coming out of the chipper which makes me be covered in apple mush so I don a rain poncho with the hood up.  This time I even had to put gloves on because it was too cold for my bare hands in all that mush.  Things progressed smoothly to bottle about 9 gallons of cider in whole and half jugs.  I tasted it last night and we made a very sweet cider.  It's very good but I still prefer a little more tang to it.  It was nice to do a smaller batch instead of the marathons we did in the past.  I still recall the Sunday nights out in the garage making cider so we could have it all done that day.  I'm not as sore as I thought I would be but this is still hard on our backs.  At one point I looked at my hubby and asked "What are we doing?  We could take them all to Fuhrman's and have it done for us."  I know that's not going to happen because down deep we love this and we get to spend some quality time together  -  ha, ha.

More Table Runners

I'm on a roll with these table runners.  I've just finished 2 more, have one that needs to be hand-sewn and another for down the road a bit.  I've tried to use what I say in these blogs and come up with a project that I enjoy doing and I think I've succeeded.  The 2 that I finished are for my daughters and I made them to their specifications.  One wanted something a little narrower to fit on her counter and the other one wanted a square one.  Voila, done.  Remember I said I'd use bigger squares, did that and it was a lot quicker to sew together.  For those I used a Halloween material to back it so it was reversible.  I've been trying to use that stuff up forever.   I went back to the single-fold binding and that's been working pretty well except I made it a little too wide on those ones.  It still looks good though. This new one I have to finish created a new problem.  I bought a certain charm pack which is 5" squares of a certain theme so I don't have to cut them.  My problem is whether to wash or not.  I can't imagine washing a bunch of 5" squares and coming out with a size I can use so what I did was sew them together and then wash.  Worked perfectly!  Some people don't wash their material first because they like how it gets shriveled up once it's all done.  Sorry, not me!  Now, because my runner size has been altered, I put another small edging around the runner.  Then I used a slightly smaller binding on the edge.  The next one I have planned is for my Aunt Mary Jane.  I have some stuff in blue that I think she would like.  I'll tell you more about that later.  One thing I can say is that I'm enjoying making these and I'm tickled about that.  I put another presser foot on my machine to do the stitch in the ditch and it's working very well.  In fact, it is hardly visible from the front which is what I want.  It's funny how one little thing can make such a difference.  It seems to work so much better when I stitch to the right of the seam  -  go figure!  Anyway, just wanted to keep you all posted.  I think I'm ready to work on my next season and maybe a star pattern. 

Baby Blanket

Here is the blanket I made for Steve and Kristina's baby.  I used fleece for the center and flannel for the edge and backing.  The things I would do differently are:

1. Use the polka dot material for the backing.  It was very soft and I wish now it would have been on the other side, too.  It was also my favorite fabric.
2. I would have made the outside strips in different sizes.  It was difficult trying to get the fleece and flannels the right size for what I wanted the overall size to be.  The blue could have been a smaller width and maybe even another pattern mixed in. 
3. It wasn't until I was almost done that I wish I would have put a batting inside.  I was worried it might be too heavy with fleece and flannel.  I was also concerned that if I put batting in, it would involve more quilting which I didn't want to do.  Next time I will use fleece as a batting which will give it more weight but not require added quilting. 

All in all I like the blanket, it was soft and cuddly and easy and quick to finish.  Kristina got a ton of stuff at the shower so she should be all set.  I forgot the rosamarina salad I made so we're trying to eat that up.  It was a miserable day for traveling but nice to see everyone. 

Smokey Sweet Potato Soup

I recently found a couple recipes for Sweet Potato Soup and wanted to try it sometime.  One was a creamy soup and the other chunky with broth so I combined the best of each and made it this afternoon.  I decided to make the creamy version which used no milk or thickeners, just the potatoes.  I used leeks, celery, garlic, an apple, ginger and a chipotle pepper from one recipe and from the other I added spices (smoked paprika, cumin and cinnamon).  After using my immersion blender to puree it, I added a little salt and pepper but it didn't need much since the smokiness made it taste good.  I liked it but I might be the only one eating it.  That's ok with me now that I'm getting into having soup almost every day for lunch.  I'm also feeling more like cooking now that the weather is cooling off a little.  Of course, we're still having leftovers from the party on Sat. but we'll finish those up soon. 

Fall Table Runner

I've been accumulating a lot of fall material for quite awhile and thought it was time to make something seasonal for the cabin.  Here it is  -  my fall table runner.  It's nothing all that complicated, just squares of material sewn together and then backed with a non-seasonal fabric that I can use at some other time.  My questions after I complete a project are:

1. What did I learn from this project?
2. How would I make it different?

3. Did I have fun doing it?

Well, I learned that the walking foot I bought and put on my machine to help with the quilting isn't working like it should.  It wasn't until the next project that I figured out exactly what the problem is.  The next runner I do will have bigger squares  -  no, that isn't a joke!  I used up some of my fall stash (a good thing) and I can get the same effect with fewer squares and save me a lot of hassle.  I'm still not having fun but this was such a small project that it didn't matter that I wasn't jumping for joy at every step.  Don't get me wrong  -  I still love piecing things together, it's just the quilting that snags me up.  I still have to learn what I can do and what my machine will let me do, before I reach that point. 

Leaves

So, what can I say about leaves?  At this time of year  -  a lot!  The last couple of weekends going to the cabin I've noticed the change in the leaves.  This past weekend was spectacular!  What struck me as odd was that one side of the road was more colorful than the other.  Coincidence or fact of nature and the weather?  With the changing of the leaves comes the falling of the leaves.  This year I will not be able to use the leaf blower/vacuum which I am disappointed about.  It was relaxing for me to go outside and just suck up the leaves  -  a good time to think.  I've decided I will rake instead and the hubby can suck up the leaves.  At the cabin he is putting the chopped up leaves by the new concrete steps to fill in a little.  At home he puts them in the garden for mulch, however, in the past he's gotten quite a few and they haven't been decomposing like he had wanted.  You see, he's even got the neighbor to put her leaves in the garden too.  In fact, later yesterday evening (it was getting dark) I heard the sound of the rake outside as she was gathering her leaves.  They have two big trees in their front yard and they get a ton of leaves.  Of course, I heard the girls over there in the yard, too, and I hope they were getting a good pile made to jump in first.  It wouldn't be fall without that rustle in the leaves.

First Snowfall of the Season

We had our first snow of the season at the cabin this past weekend.  We knew it was going to be cold and rainy with a chance of some snow but it came down pretty good there.  It was a wet snow but stuck to the ground and deck.  It was a beautiful site  -  too nice for a mere still picture so I got the camcorder out and took a movie of that snow falling.  I was hoping for a deer in the picture too but no such luck.   I was planning on staying until today but had nothing to keep me busy (hubby was sanding steps) so I headed home yesterday.  On my way out I saw the road between the ponds on Crystal Springs Road was becoming flooded with all the rain and snow.  That's what winter is like in that neck of the woods.  When the news says "in the higher elevations", it doesn't get much higher than us.  But with the leaves changing colors and the cool crisp air, it is certainly a lovely site.  I'm not sure if this snow constitutes a frost or not.  By the time I got up it was about 37 and possibly a tad lower.  I realize it can still snow in the 40's.  I'm wondering only because of having an Indian summer when the temperatures go up after we've had a frost.  It's kind of funny how this snow looked so pretty and in another month or so when we really get hit, we'll be cursing the stuff.  I guess it's all relative.

Potato Leek Soup

Now that it's getting a little colder out I'm thinking soup so last night I decided to use the leeks I bought over the weekend and make soup.  At first I was thinking of using chicken because the lady that sold me the leeks said her husband was going to make Chicken with leek soup.  I've never had that but looked up some recipes for it.  Nothing sounded all that interesting to me so I went with my standard creamy potato soup recipe but substituted the leeks for the onions.  A hurdle in the recipe came when I discovered I was out of carrots  -  no problem, I substituted a half sweet potato.  Really what I wanted to do was make it look like I put them in because my hubby, number 1 would want them in there and number 2 he really only likes candied sweet potatoes.  Problem solved  -  you'd never know the difference!  My recipe also has the option to add cheese so I threw in a couple handfuls of cheddar cheese.  It was better for lunch today than dinner last night and when I freeze some, I'll have it for another time.

My Road Trip

Well, I finally did the Goodwill road trip with a friend and we had a great time.  It started off a little rocky when, the night before, my hubby noticed an outside light on in my car.  He tried everything to turn it off but it stayed on until he pulled the cable on the battery.  He said I could still take it but would have to pull the battery cable whenever it was idle for any length of time.  There were too many ifs in that option so I decided to take his car.  That worked out ok with just a few minor adjustments like attaching the gps to the windshield instead of my dashboard and moving some other stuff around.  He also volunteered to clean it before I left.  I had a ton of places we could stop, both Goodwills and Quilt Shops, but the first snag came when the quilt shop in Hermitage wasn't open on Monday.  We made up for it with a nice size Goodwill and a Salvation Army Thrift Store where I found a quilt rack.  The car was filling up quick at that point. We stopped at a Goodwill in Grove City and then back on 80 to the next stop in Knox.  Unfortunately, we were about a half hour too late for the quilt store but manged to go to the Sharp Shopper for dinner and dessert.  My friend came very well prepared for our trip with some material squares to show me a neat trick in making a bowtie pattern.   Tuesday proved to be our best day all around.  First we hit DuBois Goodwills and took advantage of the yellow half off  and .29 sales.  I think we really hit the jackpot at those stores!  From there we went to Brookville where we went to our first quilt shop of the trip and another Goodwill.  The weather was perfect both days, Mandy was very helpful, we both found great bargains, ate some tasty food, and enjoyed wonderful company along the way.  We both feel the same way about saving money  -  what a rush!

Morning Fix

I have been feeling a little off for awhile now and haven't been able to pin down the reason.  I'm more stressed than I have been, tightly wound, might be more how to describe it.  I was going over it in my mind today and came up with a few reasons for this.  A couple weeks ago when my daughter was home she asked how much coffee I had that morning  -  dah!!  For so long I've only had one cup in the morning and drank more water throughout the day.  Then about a month ago when I drove out to help with my grandson, I stopped and had that second cup to get me through the drive.  Once I started having that second cup there was no stopping me.  I'm sure it's not all that but combined with more sweets, less sleep with the new tv shows starting and being stuck inside canning, I'm feeling sluggish to say the least.  I haven't been exercising as regular as usual also, especially when I want to get started on the canning or travelling somewhere, but just having that second cup of coffee sets my whole game off.  I'm not even sure I need that extra caffeine when I'm driving somewhere, just sipping on the coffee might give me the right boost, so I decided I'll start having decaf and see what happens.  Maybe it'll be just the adjustment I need.

One Winner - One Redo

I made the canned pears with the white grape juice yesterday and it was awesome.  It's a lot of work peeling those pears, then coring and taking out any bad spots but it was worth it.  That juice smelled like grapes right off the vine.  I only got 6 pints but they look beautiful and taste great.  We're slowly taking care of those Bartlett pears which in my opinion are the hardest because when they start to ripen, you gotta move fast.  The other pears have a much longer standing time where they don't get too ripe too fast.  That canning was the winner, my redo wasn't something that turned out bad but rather not what I expected.  I made a batch of hot salsa or what was supposed to be hot based on the peppers I used, and it ended up being mild.  I had been asking my hubby to try it and make sure it was what he wanted and he finally did that yesterday.  Mind you not much is hot enough for this guy so when he said it wasn't hot I simply disregarded it.  Then it bothered me so much I thought I better bite the bullet and get a taste myself.  I tasted, then waited and waited for the heat to arrive and it didn't.  By golly he was right!  I used what he thought were the hottest peppers he had out there  -  hot Portugals  - but the jalapenos I used in my medium salsa were hotter.  I had to change the label to mild and I'm making a hot batch with the jalapenos today.  Even he was amazed that they weren't hotter.  So today will be that batch of hot salsa and whatever peppers are left I'll do the hot pepper rings.  That'll pretty much take care of the tomatoes for now and with some nice weather, maybe I'll have more ripe ones to do another batch of juice.  Wish me happy canning!

Time Saving Technology

I thought I better get this down now while I'm thinking about it.  I got my Whole Living magazine in the mail today and as I was leafing through it while we went out shopping, I found something quite interesting.  It was a survey asking which technology you thought was the most time saving.  The gps got 12%. online calendar got 9%, dishwasher/washing machine got 9% and smartphones got 70%.  Come on, people!!!  Maybe we've had dishwashers and washing machines so long now we've forgotten what it would be like without them.  I realize phones can be helpful but I'd rather find stuff the old-fashioned way than go back to washing dishes and doing laundry by hand any day.  I might be one of the few people who actually remembers using a wringer washer to do my clothes.  Before my mom got her new Maytag, we did our clothes in one and then hung them on the line to dry.   As I recall in the past when I bought a new washer, they even had models where you put your own water in (not automatically).  When we moved into our house we had a washer and dryer but the washer broke down soon after as it was a used one.  I borrowed my mother-in-law's wringer to do our clothes.  I had to fill the tub with water, let it agitate for awhile, put each piece of laundry through the wringer, drain the tub, fill with rinse water, let the clothes agitate for awhile to rinse, then put them through the wringer again.  As you can imagine it took a good part of the day to get a load of clothes done.  Do we really think that dishwashers and washing machines don't save us time?  Try it for a day and then let me know.

Back on the Canning Train

I've been supplied with more canning jars so I'm back on the train, despite not wanting to be.  Yesterday it was another day of salsa and preparations for pickled jalapenos and canned pears.  I have to admit the weather has been beautiful for canning.  There was a slight chance of a frost at the cabin but here, we're in for another great week.  So the last batch of salsa was a hot one but not the hubby's usual hot.  This time I made it by my recipe with sweet peppers and just an extra dose of hots.  My pears will also be a different recipe, one I found somewhere using white grape juice.  Normally I would make a thin syrup and can them with that but, for the past couple of years it's been difficult finding sugar at a reasonable price.  I realize that everything is going up but really!  The cheapest we found was Aldi's for $2.39 a 5# bag and we got 3.  Mind you I go through a lot of this when I make my candy, which I will be starting soon.  So I found the juice at Sharp Shopper for a little over a dollar for a good size bottle.  Anyway, that's the plan for this week.  One other thing that I found kind of humorous this week.  You can always tell who has extra produce to get rid of when you offer them some pears and they respond with "Do you want some apples?"  That's what I got from a friend I talked to yesterday.  It seems she is in the same place we are with the pears.  We've picked our Honeycrisp apples but that's it so far, and they are absolutely delicious!  There aren't many and because of the water going in last year, we don't have our second tree producing this year.  I have a feeling it will be an exceptionally good year for cider!!

McKean's 150th Anniversary

Well, we made it home just in time to see the parade right outside our house.  This brought back many memories for me and I'm sure for the kids, too.  They used to have this parade every year and the kids would park their chairs on the lawn and wait for the candy to be thrown.  Then we would head up to the Parish Center for rides, food, and bingo.  They also had a big tent set up for gambling games.  That was how the fire dept made most of their money but we contributed more with the food, bingo and rides.  Allison and I, and maybe Les, were in the parade for Girl Scouts, as I recall.  I mentioned to my hubby that I didn't recognize anyone in the parade this time, probably because our kids are all graduated.  How things have changed over the years.  It was nice to have something for the new people in town so they could make their own memories just like we have.

Fall Gardens and Produce

I've already informed my hubby that things will change next year with our garden as I don't want to can anymore.  I can safely say that now that I've put up 3 batches of crabapple jelly, 7 qts. of tomato juice, 7 qts. of tomato soup and 8 pts. of salsa,but what happens next summer.  It's not that I don't like canning, it's that we aren't using what I put up, therefore a shortage of jars.  Right now I'm faced with pears out the wazoo, and hating to let them go to waste, struggling with who to give them to but wanting some for myself, too.  I have been trying to cook more with the fresh produce such as a triple batch of chili, tomato basil soup and spaghetti sauce with basil.  I'm sure a big batch of Unstuffed Pepper Soup will be in the works soon and will use some.  It wasn't long ago that I made that batch of Stuffed Peppers which were oh so good.  I think what is so different with  the garden issue is that my time is dependent on when everything ripens.  I'm excited to work on stuff at first, then comes the deluge and a time frame is issued and that upsets me.  If I could do it at my leisure it would be fine.  These pears are tricky as they are hard now on the trees but as soon as 1 drops, they are ready to be picked.  They will ripen on their own but it's not good to let them do that on the tree.  So I've decided to can a few qts. of pears but use the white grape juice method this time.  It won't be long before all those apples are ripe, too.  I remember last year without any and how at first I was lost and longing for them but we were so busy last fall, I don't know how we would have managed with them all.  This year I'd like to do the cider, which may be our last time to make it (probably not).  Some of you are asking  "Why doesn't she donate them (tomatoes, pears, etc) and help others".  It's not that I don't want to but home-grown items are far from perfect and I hesitate to give others, that I don't know, stuff like that.  We work around the imperfections and are aware that it's best to cut into the fruit instead of taking a big bite.  Don't get me wrong though. My hubby takes very good care of our trees and garden and I still think we have some of the best home-grown stuff around.

Last Day of Challenge

This is the last blog challenge post and I'm so ready for it.  There will be no picture though only some good things that happened.  It certainly wasn't the most exciting of days for me but a collection of little things that, in the end, made for a nice day.

1. One of the first things that happened this morning was getting on the internet and finding a series of quilting shows that Eleanor Burns made.  I just love to watch her and see her little tricks for quilting.  She really is a remarkable person and she made me feel excited about quilting again.  I'm going to look for a beginner's book to buy sometime.  I also bookmarked the site so I could watch more.
2. Sometimes finishing things, whatever they might be, gives me such a good feeling.  I've been canning tomatoes all week and putting those tomatoes to good use was satisfying to me.  I even made a big batch of chili to use some of the old tomatoes I had and some peppers from the garden. 
3. Today, both of our orders from Amazon came in  -  a new winter cover for the pool and an inflatable for it.  I was getting a little worried about when it would come and hoped we would be here.  The neighbors are usually pretty good about keeping an eye out for stuff like that.
4. I was very excited to hear that my daughter-in-law is going to be in an exercise group with Denise Austin.  Wow, I couldn't believe it.  My first thought was to tell someone else who could appreciate the scope of this news so I texted Juanita the girl I used to exercise with.  She was just as excited as I was.  My hubby even knew who she was from TV.  That was the most fantastic news of the day!
5. The last thing I felt good about today was what I made for supper, not that it turned out all that well or that I'll ever make it again, but that it was new, different and I used up a lot of stuff.  It was called Lazy Lasagna and instead of noodles, you layer ravioli and sauce.  I had pulled what I thought was chili for my hubby out of the freezer, only to find it was meatballs and sauce.  So this was my attempt to use it anyway and as an added bonus, I used the ravioli. 

Well there you have it  -  my final blog challenge post.  I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders and I'm ready to move on.  I have learned things along the way such as putting pictures on my posts that don't come from the camera.  That was really major for me.  At times the memories were a bit much for me and it almost made me sad but I recovered quickly.  Some were good memories and I even got some pictures sorted through for scrapbooking.  In the end I'm glad I did it and glad it's over. 

3 Wishes

Now my idea of wishes is what kids do with their birthday cake.  I feel like I've had to come up with so much stuff for this challenge that has to do with what I want such as dream house, dream wedding.  It's made me realize that I'm happy with what I have.  So for this I'm acting like Miss America and my three wishes are

1. World Peace
2. A cure for cancer
3. a big lottery win

Anything else I could ask for are things I can probably get myself.  Of course the lottery would be mostly for my family and charities.  Do you think that would get me a win?  Sorry for the attitude and I should have seen what the challenge was going to expect of me.  At first it was kind of fun looking at old pictures and reminiscing about my parents and places I've been, but now I want it to be over.  Maybe that was the point of it  -  to focus so much on yourself that you want to see others now.  Tomorrow is the last challenge and I will be relieved and ready to start anew.

Something That Stresses Me Out

This challenge really tries to make you dig deep, even if you don't want to.  I wrote before about how I don't like to merge in traffic and that also causes me some stress but I feel I need to come up with another one for the sake of the challenge.  I find since I retired that I don't have much stress and I even notice it in my hubby.  One thing I do get is a little anxious about  being around other people in conflict or a person that has said stuff to me that makes me uncomfortable.  I'm not going into details but sometimes I anticipate what a certain situation can bring and I feel that dirty sneaker effect.  More often than not I'm wrong and it's all good.  Too many times I've been in a situation where I never say what I feel because usually I'm too surprised to think of something.  So I spend time rehearsing what I would say if it happens so I don't feel like I've been walked on.  Age brings a lot of this stuff on and as I get older I don't want to have things over my head like that. 

Town That I Live In

McKean is the town I live in, at least for now.  I've been thinking about this one for quite awhile and how a decision decades ago influences the lives of your children and grandchildren.  I will miss living here, I know that.  I remember as our house was being built, coming here and climbing in the basement window to get a look at things.  It was the first time I had ever been in this area and thought how far away it was.  I came to realize, especially with the mall so close to the north and Edinboro so close to the south, that it was positioned just perfectly.  Our neighborhood was small and not as elite as Georgetown Hts. was, and that's how we liked it.  Our kids would fill a whole bus going to school, at least when Andy started school.  After that the numbers dwindled.  I think it was so great for the kids growing up because when they were old enough they could walk to so many things, such as the school, rec park (the back way), Country Fair, Post Office and the ice cream store.  When the kids would have friends over, they would be so tickled to have that opportunity as they lived out in the country.  Halloween was great here because the kids could walk all around the neighborhood and even a little up on 99 for candy.  Of course the down side was that we would get so many trick or treaters come here.  But it was always nice to see the preschoolers that would come and say Hi to Mrs. Markievich.

My Dream Wedding

If I had the chance, how would I have done my wedding differently, I guess that's how to think of it.  I've always loved the idea of a pig roast at a wedding.  The guy I used to work with on weekends had one at one of his weddings and I was impressed.  Not that I would want anything real casual like everyone in denim but an outdoor setting would be wonderful.  I'm a hands on, make your own, kind of girl and that's what it was like for my wedding.  I made my own dress and all the bridesmaid's dresses were handmade (I made one of those, too).  I wish now that I had made something a little fancier for my wedding but at the time, money and time were issues and I guess I didn't think I had the ability to do more.  I was probably wrong about that, looking back at all the clothes I used to make for myself and others.  I'm also a realist about this and although I would have loved to have some nicer pictures taken at the wedding, I wouldn't have wanted to pay for them.  Nowadays, there's so much more to do for weddings and I would be in my glory to make centerpieces, cookies, etc.for a wedding.  I'll have that chance with my daughter's wedding coming up and hope she gets her dream wedding.

No iPod

Ok, I don't have an iPod and don't really know what it is except I might have bought one for my daughter for Christmas one year.  So I assume this is about songs I'm listening to right now if I had one.  For a technology-impaired person such as me, I'll tell you what cd I am listening to in the car right now  -  Rod Stewart and his best.  I looked around a long time to find a cd with just the right songs on it.  So many were remakes but I wanted ones he recorded ,especially Forever Young.  This is one we used to listen to at the beginning of every dance show my daughter was in until Patty changed it and things weren't the same.  Now as I listen to this cd, I find myself enjoying all the songs, some more mushy than others.  I sing and move with the Some guys have all the luck and also enjoy When I was younger.  Of course, my hubby likes Maggie May as I do but that might be the only one for him.  That raspy voice of his makes it easy to sing along with  -  I even sound pretty good!  On our trips to the cabin when I start driving, we'll listen to this, maybe zip through a couple of them and then put the radio on.  At least it gives me a little fix.

Something I've Learned

I've learned many things over the course of these 60 years but I think the most important is that I am responsible and solely responsible for my happiness.  No one else can do that for me or make me feel any way I don't want to.  I've seen too much of how other people blame others, be it parents, spouse or children, for their own choices in life and I realize that no one else can force me to do what I don't want to do.  This kind of philosophy is liberating in a way, and you don't have those bad feelings toward anyone else.  I reminds me when the kids were little and would talk of being bored or they had nothing to do.  I told them they had to make their own fun.  We did that as kids down by the creek that ran behind our house.  We would spend all day creating rooms across the water.  I know everyone isn't lucky enough to have that sort of childhood memory but even my kids could make their forts and go treasure hunting at the creek near us.  I might be simplifying things a bit but my point is to start each day with a clean slate and if you need to set someone straight about something, go ahead and do it, then let it go. 

Board Games I Love

Once again I'm unable to just name one board game that I like  -  I have several.  One of my first favorites was the Barbie Prom game.  I know it's a kid's game but I like it so much that I bought one at a thrift store as an adult to play with my granddaughter someday.  I remember playing this at some one's house for a sleepover and then requesting they bring it to my house at a later time.  The first one had cards for Ken, Pointdexter and a couple other guys and also the dresses you could choose.  Another game I first played at a friend's house was Mille Borne (1000 miles in French) and I later asked for one for myself.  I remember my mom and I playing it and saying the french words for everything including essence for gas.  We had a ball.  Then with my own kids I recall us all playing Mall Madness.  It was kind of a hassle setting up but we each had a credit card to put through a slot and it went "ch-ching".  There were sales and clearances all over and the object was to buy a certain amount and then leave the mall.  I wish now we hadn't gotten rid of that one  -  I think even my grandson would have enjoyed that one.  Ch-ching!!

What's in my Purse

I've had to think creatively since I made my new purse.  The Travelon purses had a place for everything especially cards.  I've managed to fit it all in my new grab bag thankfully.  I have just about what everyone else has as far as the basics and then a few other things we seem to need from time to time.  I carry some Shout wipes for drips, Tide-to-go for extra protection, a small pair of fold-up scissors for coupons, a page of return address labels for any raffle tickets we might buy, a few packaged towelletes for a quick clean-up, a small bundle of my calling cards, in addition to the usual wallet, cards, cellphone, comb, mirror, chapstick, pens, and gum that most others stuff into their purses. That pretty much handles it for me and there's still a little room if my hubby wants me to hold his cigs or camera.
P.S.  Hope nothing is misspelled in here.  I let one thing go that I knew was wrong thinking the spellcheck would get it and it didn't.  What's up with that?  So much for the new format.

Crocheting

OK, this one will put me back on track  -  thank goodness!  What would I never get tired of?  For this one I'd have to say crocheting.  I sometimes like to knit but I grow tired of that and need to put it away for awhile, but with crocheting that doesn't happen.  I've been very busy lately with sewing but at times I need a break from that, too.  I guess I considered my tv addiction as something I don't get tired of but sitting in front of the tv gets boring too.  This past week I broke down and bought some more yarn for an afghan at Ollies.  I swore I wouldn't buy any more after I finished a couple baby blankets but I was itching to crochet.  I had a calendar full of afghans to crochet that my sister had given me and there were a couple that I really wanted to make, so I started one over the weekend.  It felt good to be crocheting again!  I'll keep you posted on my progress and possibly a picture when it's done.

Nicknames

I've never really had any nicknames that I would care to share.  My dad had one for me but I choose to forget that one.  The others, such as Mary Mouse, were not used around me in a nice way.  People close to me frequently call me Mare but that's about it.  Of course, I've been called many things such as rule follower and dork but those were dependent on the moment.  Sorry this wasn't a very interesting blog.  I'm playing catch-up again and to tell you the truth, this challenge is kind of dragging on a little more than I thought it would.  I'm anxiously awaiting the day when I can get back to my regular stuff.

Someone I Miss

I've been thinking about this challenge very thoughtfully and trying to come up with something I miss.  Being retired lets me do whatever I want so I shouldn't miss anything.  I do miss playing cards and board games with someone else.  The hubby has never been a game player so it's solitaire for me.  What I came up with is someone that likes to do the things I like, to play with and bounce ideas off of. I realized it was my mom that I miss.  I mentioned before that we were  a lot alike that way.  She was always ready to try something new, also.  As I have been sorting through pictures, I've noticed her wearing dresses that she made.  She could really help around here with the sewing.  She'd also be making a lot of goodies, especially pies which might not be as good for us.  She'd probably make them and donate them as I remember her and my dad volunteering for Meals on Wheels.  One thing I used to hate is when I went shopping with my mom how she would always find someone she knew and have to stop and talk.  That should sound familiar to my kids because they've accused me of the same thing.

Food I Like

This is another challenge that depends on many factors.  There's not one single favorite place I like to eat.  I pride myself on being able to find something I like anywhere we go.  The one thing I don't like much is seafood however I do like a good deep-fried fish every now and then.  So as far as Chinese, any place will do, as far as pizza, Pizza Hut takes top honors, as far as Italian, I'm partial to Serafini's, as far as wings, I still love Buffalo Wild Wings (Copper Coin is under new management and therefore the decision is still out on that one), as far as Mexican, none are really my choice (either too spicy or too bland) and as far as the rest, I just go with the flow. Usually what happens is we go somewhere fairly often and then for one reason or another, we get tired of it and find another.  My philosophy is that if someone else is cooking, I'm in!

Turning 60

This will probably sounds pretty strange but I'm looking forward to turning 60 this week.  I know  -  who wants to get older  -  but think of the discounts I can get.  Up to now the only ones I got were those handed out to 55 yr. olds and those were few and far between.  Of course some people hesitate to ask your age so they automatically give it to you if you look old.  Who cares as long as you get it!  Some places still wait until you're 65 and I'll have to rely on my hubby to provide that one in a couple years.  Until then I'll look forward to the day when I can get my own and feel proud of it.  I've written before about the benefits of getting older and how we can get away with murder, almost.  When I cut someone off, I'm old and can't be held responsible, if I can't read signs, my eyesight is failing, it gets harder and harder standing for a long time, offer me your seat (believe it or not, women offer more), and I don't move as fast so stop and let me cross in peace. 

Dream House

This one is relevant -  relevant to what period in my life we're talking about.  If I were being asked this 30 years ago I would have wanted lots of bedrooms and space for everyone in the family besides a fully loaded kitchen.  Now that the kids are gone and life is being simplified, my dream house has also changed.  In fact, I probably already have my dream house in our cabin.  When we were planning the cabin the items of concern for me were an outside space (aka front porch and deck)  main floor laundry room and eating area/bar in the kitchen.  All of those were met when we built it and since then, with the renovation of the basement giving us a half bath, family room and bedroom, my dream of a craft room has also been accomplished.  I didn't even realize how much I wanted a craft room until I had one here and then I knew I would miss not having it.  Having a huge house with all the bells and whistles is not what appeals to me now.  I'd rather have it ample but easy to clean.   

Satisfaction

This one is about the moment I felt satisfied with my life.  Wow, where do you start with this one.  Should it be something momentous, an achievement award or such, a major accomplishment, or tiny moment in time that affected me, a sunset that was breathtaking, a peacefulness that came over me, a moment of complete serenity  -  what path do I take.  I think I'm putting way too much time into this one!  I came up with 2 moments that tell me I did something right in my life.  The first was when everyone in my family came to see me at the hospital for my surgery.  I try not to send them on a guilt trip but I'm sure they could have sensed my disappointment if they weren't there so maybe that shouldn't count.  I made it through fairly well I'd say with not a lot of anguish or fear.  As I was waiting to go into the operating room, I noticed it was number 73 which made me feel like everything would be fine since that's my lucky number (year I got married and graduated).  But the moment that I can honestly say was even better was when the grandkids visited in July.  We spent the week doing a bunch of things and my main goal was to get them back home safe and sound.  When the week was over and we were going home I asked Braden if he wanted to come back next year and do it again and there was an emphatic "Sure".  Those are the kind of moments I will look forward to having every year.

Picture in 2010

This a picture of me from last year (in the middle)during my last summer at work.  The past year hasn't changed my appearance all that much except for a couple more scars from my surgeries and a few more gray hairs.  I do have a new heart valve and a pacemaker though.  I think the main way I've changed since last year is in my stress level.  I'm amazed at how easy life can be without the stress of getting up and going to work and dealing with a lot of other people.  Having all your activities on your own terms does wonders for your emotional health.  I guess that's what retirement is all about.  At this point I'm surprised the life expectancy doesn't skyrocket!

My Goals

When I was still working, I thought about all the crafts I wanted to finish or do but knew I'd have to wait for more time.  After retiring and starting this blog, procrastinating was off the table.  One of the themes of the blog was  "No more excuses".  I'd have to say my goals have been working on all those crafts and finishing projects.  Something I want as far as decorating the cabin has been an afghan and quilt on every bed.  I initially wanted to use up material that I had but with every new purchase there is more and more to use up.  I have a place at the cabin to sew so that will be an ongoing goal for quite awhile.  Since I'm not sure when we'll be moving to the cabin on a permanent basis, I want to make the most of the resources we have here such as the garden and fruit trees.  I just made 3 batches of Cinnamon-Crabapple jelly from our tree, thinking that will probably be the last I will do.  I'm pretty sure it will last awhile even using some for Christmas gifts.  I know these goals are ones that can be measured, etc. like those Smart Goals I've mentioned before but I'd also like to have some not-so Smart Goals that are even more important.  Oprah wrote in her magazine this past year that when making New Year's resolutions we should use adjectives instead of verbs or nouns.  So in the spirit of simplifying my life I'd like to make a goal to be happy, busy and satisfied with what I've accomplished, no timeline and the only judge will be me.

My Cell Phone

This is something I try hard not to leave home without  -  my cell phone, charged and ready to go.  That's the whole point of it anyway  -  to use when you're out and about without access to a land line phone.  That's why my hubby and I got them in the first place. I also take it when I walk in case of emergency and to know the time.   Of course, it's become much more than that over the years.  Now it's our long distance phone service, so without a charged phone at home, my calls are limited.  That's exactly what happened last week, to my surprise.  I heard a beeping at home and realized it was my phone and it needed charged.  As I reached for my charger, I became aware that it was not in its usual spot and I had a pretty good idea where it was.  Fortunately, I had enough juice to make a quick call to my hubby who confirmed my suspicions  -  he had taken my charger, along with his when he went out of town.  To make matters worse, the car charger we bought wasn't working either!  Well, after I calmed down, I made a run to Kmart to buy another car charger that I could take with me on my trip. Another thing I realized was that it doesn't feel too good to be tied to anything that much, be it phone or computer.

TV Addiction

TV addiction  -  what an awful thing.  It drags us in and keeps us hanging for a whole week with no end in sight.  I'm guilty of ODing on it.  I first started watching reality tv with the Apprentice and not even when it first started.  Then it was Biggest Loser after the first few seasons, then reruns on cable from Australia and UK.  When that didn't satisfy me, I rented old dvds and watched them late at night.  Now I have Bravo and the Housewives to keep up with my fixes.  Bravo is like that bag of candy I talked about before but with every new Housewives show it's more like a bottomless bag that they keep full of tv goodies.  I have to say though, I'm a functioning addict thanks to Bravo.  I can still live my life because they constantly replay all my shows.  My hubby is also very sympathetic to my addiction and made sure the tv we have at the cabin has Bravo  -  what a guy!  Do I need help with my addiction  -  no, I get that from Watch what happens live with Andy Cohen (on Bravo) where he brings us all together to talk about our addiction.  So for the record, my name is Mary and yes, I'm a reality show addict.

My Fear

I don't feel that I have an extreme fear of anything to speak of, not like some people who can't look at a picture of a snake for example. Sure, there's things I get shook up about just like everyone else. I've even overcome my fear of driving in the snow and ice. I suppose if I had to pinpoint a specific thing I really hate to do and that gets my heart athumpin is merging. My kids will laugh at this because they know how I am and how far I can go to avoid this. I'm getting better with it, especially with all the driving I've done but when a merge situation is approaching, I tense up. I think it stems from being in situations where there's been a lot of traffic and I've had to stop and wait. I've never been real confident driving anyway and some of it comes from both my parents not getting their license until a little later in life. Once I got mine they were hesitant to let me drive much, especially when it was raining or at night. Of course, they didn't have any restrictions on my brother (double standard, maybe). I'm very open about my driving habits - I take the road less traveled, there's never a road trip where I haven't taken the wrong turn at least once and I like having Mandy (my gps or another shoulder at the wheel, so to speak) with me. I seem to manage to get where I'm going, maybe not as fast as others, but I manage.

Bad Habit

This challenge is a habit I wish I didn't have. It's got to be my binge eating. I was so good right after my surgery - didn't want or need any sweets or in between meal snacks. Of course, I wasn't feeling all that good either. Now that I'm feeling better, I crave the sweets and snacks. What's up with that? I realize I got those cravings out of my system then but now the weight is starting to inch up. My problem is I can't stop once I get started eating. Give me a bag of candy and I'm not happy until I finish it and after I'm still not happy, physically and emotionally. As you can see from the pictures I posted on the last challenge, I wasn't always heavy. And what's surprising is that I drank regular, not diet, pop and whatever else I wanted back then, including that pizza I was holding. I guess that's what having 3 kids will do to your metabolism when you aren't watching. It probably only would have taken a little exercise to keep the weight under control but who knows if I would have done it. Maybe not. At least my bad habit isn't worse than that like drugs, alcohol or smoking, that's what I tell myself anyway. My strategy for licking it (no pun intended) is not having it in the house and keeping busy - hope it works!

A Place I've Traveled To

This is a picture of me when I was in Valladolid, Spain. I lived with a woman named Carmina, la viuda de Sanz, which means she was the widow of a man named Sanz. Living with her was a niece named Gloria who was going to school in the city. My roommate was Beth who was from Pittsburgh and going to Carlow College. This picture was taken in Las Moreras, a park in Valladolid.

This is a picture of Carmina and me after Beth and I made a pizza at her apartment. It was more difficult than you might think because only the bakeries had access to yeast so all we could use was baking powder. Otherwise, it turned out pretty good.

I went to Spain to study there with a group organized out of Indiana U. of PA. This was during my junior year of college from Jan. to June of 1972. It was a very interesting experience and one I'll never forget. I told you all this talk of pictures was making me want to scrapbook.
Sorry this picture is so small, I'm still trying to figure this out.

My Movies

I warned you I'd be catching up on all this so here goes. This challenge is to name my favorite movie but picking one is next to impossible. A few years back this scenario was put out there - if you were stranded on a desert island with only a tv and dvd player, what 5 movies would you pick to watch for the rest of your life? Well, my response to this challenge is similar to this question but I'm organizing them in categories because a lot depends on your mood and the season. The first category is musicals which I would include Dirty Dancing, Mama Mia and Grease (can't whittle that down at all, sorry). The second category would be comedies which would be Up in Smoke and Saving Grace. Both of these involve marijuana - what can I say but I think it's hilarious and it gets me laughing every time. As far as the drama/thriller movie I'd have to pick The Game with Michael Douglas. You either love it or hate it but it's one of those movies I could watch over and over. The final category is seasonal movies and I'd have to pick Santa Claus, The Movie. There's just something about this movie that pulls you in and makes you believe - I love it!

My Baby Picture

The next challenge was to post a baby picture of me and it certainly was a challenge! Things just don't come as easy to me as others. I found a picture but the problem was getting it in the right format. Anyway, here it is. I sure looked like a happy baby! Back then there weren't a lot of pictures taken, at least not like there are now. All this looking at pictures made me want to scrapbook. I know there are more challenges where I have to post other pictures. It might be a good time to start organizing them.

Song of the Day

I'm playing catch-up today so bear with me. This was supposed to be written on Sat. but I was on the road, with no internet access, so I'm writing it now. It was probably a good thing because I don't listen to many of my cd's when I'm home. It just so happened that I was listening to one of my JoDee Messina cds. I have 4 of them that are great on road trips. Sat. was a day that I knew was not going to go as planned. I had to travel from Mechanicsburg to some point north of Snow Shoe to attend a Field Day for Forest Landowners that my hubby and I registered for a while ago. Normally we would have both been at our cabin but I was at my son's helping out with my grandson, so we were coming from different directions. I got up early, grabbed a cup of coffee, said a couple quick good-byes and I was out the door, knowing that I would be late. It was the best I could do. Along the way, my hubby called to say even he was caught up in some unexpected circumstances. I talked to him a little later in the trip and he informed me of the road I was to encounter. I was prepared for the worst and it turned out to be pretty bad. Anyway, getting back to the song - "That's the way it is" - was pretty much the way it was that day. Some of the lyrics are - you gotta roll with the punches ...you gotta bend when the wind blows ...you live, you learn, you crash, you burn, and that's the way it is. Listening to the song kind of gave me permission to be late and it would be alright, and it was. By the way, I got to hear a lot of my songs during that trip, which I loved.

My Family

My parents have been gone for quite awhile but I still think about them and write in this blog about them, especially my mother. My mom and I are very similar in what we enjoy doing such as crafts, cooking, playing cards and our volunteer work. She was a Girl Scout leader for many years just like me. One thing I could say about my mom is that she would try just about anything, craft wise. As far as cooking, she especially liked to make desserts - her pies were the absolute best! Whenever I would take the kids down to visit, she would always have the cards dealt out and ready to go the minute I got there. My dad enjoyed his garden and took great pride in it. When he wasn't in his garden, he enjoyed sports and TV, especially westerns. I don't think he ever missed a Bonanza show! Both of my parents had a hard life growing up. My mom's mom died when she was only 12 and she quit school in the 8th grade so she could stay home with her younger sister to help take care of their brothers as they worked. My dad went to the 6th grade and then started working. I remember him telling us how he and a bunch of other guys would sometimes come to Erie to pick fruit. Other times when he had a job at home, he wouldn't get paid with money but a bottle of milk. When he brought it home they would have to use it in their coffee so it would go further. Despite their struggles in their youth, both my parents have been very generous with us. When my husband was laid off from work, my dad was right there helping us. I'm sure the hard times they went through have helped my sisters, brother and I become the people we are today. With not much education to speak of, we couldn't ask them for help with our studies. They still supported us in our goals, whatever they might be. Now that my siblings and I all have our own families, we still look to each other for love and support, which is what family is all about.

My First Love

I'm interpreting this in a different way which I guess is my prerogative. Besides crafts which probably came a little later, my first love would have to be music. I remember Christmas when I was about 12, I got my chord organ. My sister was helping to put it together Christmas Eve and she must not have been able to keep it to herself because she came upstairs and got me to come down and play with it. Her only request was that I didn't tell my brother. For years after that, even into high school, I would come home from school, go to my bedroom and play that chord organ. It didn't matter what I played, be it Christmas carols, church music, or old time favorites, I played and sang along. It seems like this love of music ran in our family, especially the females. Both my sisters played musical instruments in school and one of my sisters continued taking piano lessons to fulfill this dream of hers. Both my daughters played instruments also and my older daughter inherited that chord organ from me. I remember many Christmases when she performed for us. My one disappointment was that I never learned how to read music and be able to play the piano but I still have that same love of music. I'm fully aware that I have no musical talent to speak of but that doesn't keep me from enjoying it.

My Blog Name

This second blog challenge is to explain where I got my name for the blog. I knew I wanted it to be about my journey through retirement and doing all the things I put off because I was too busy. Thinking of a name was a bit harder. At the time I was listening to Taylor Swift and there was one song (A Place in this World) that had a phrase half way through it that she belted out. Of course, I was right there with her, belting it out. As soon as I heard it again, I knew that Girl on a Mission was my title. As anyone knows, picking a username, or in this case a website for my blog can be trial and error. I decided on tswiftgirl as no one else had that one. One thing I did once I had it was Google the name to see if it would come up. I found many interesting sites, some of which I didn't want to be associated with. It was then that my hubby helped me make up my calling cards that I passed out the last week of work to keep in touch with coworkers. At first I would check to see who was reading my blog and then I came to realize that I was doing this for myself, not others, and I wasn't as concerned with the followers. This has definitely been a personal journey that I do for myself - alone, on my own.

My Blog Challenge

I've taken an idea from my daughter-in-law who also has a blog and started this challenge. It's a list of 30 things to write about in my blog for 30 days. It will be a modified version because I don't want to give away too many secrets ha-ha. The first one is to introduce myself with a picture and tell 15 interesting facts about me. Well, the way I look at it, the fewer pictures of myself on here, the better, so you'll have to look at the posting I just made this morning and see me in my floppy hat. As far as the 15 interesting facts, after this month you'll know enough about me to last a lifetime. I will say, and I'm sure you've already guessed it, is that I like to do crafts. My name is Mary, or Mary Mouse as some called me in college because I was so quiet. I've been retired for a year and I've been fascinated with blogs since I saw the movie Julie and Julia. I better stop there or I'll give too much away and not have anything left to write tomorrow.

My Floppy Hat

And it is very floppy! In fact my hubby says it reminds him of an old Petula Clark video where the background singers have on similar floppy hats. It will definitely do a good job of keeping the sun off my face and back of my neck. As I said before in my other blog, the pattern was a bugger. The brim alone was 9 pages that I had to piece together like a puzzle and tape. But I did it. The rest of the pattern was not too difficult. I realized early on that I would need more interfacing in both brims to have it hold up like I wanted. Everything fit pretty well but there was alot of easing necessary to connect the crown and side panel. I also added some topstitching to the brim and side panel, just to finish it off a bit. The last part that was my idea was to add eyelets to the crown and side panel to help let some air in. They went in very well, I thought.

Since it is a little floppier, I can fold the front up so I can see. Of course, you know by now I'm off on my next project. Keep you posted.

Martha Bashing

I guess I'm on a roll, nothing can stop me now! Decided yesterday to make a hat for our upcoming Field Days in Centre Co. Whenever I need a hat for the sun, I usually have to wear a baseball cap and don't particularly like them. I'm not even much of a hat wearer but some things demand it. So anyway, I ran across a pretty easy pattern in my Martha magazine and printed out the pattern last night. Wow, was Martha getting bashed on that site for a pattern that people said was too difficult and a waste of time. Then a little 9 yr. old said her Grammy said she could make it and it was easy. I went ahead and tried putting the pattern together as it was in pieces like a puzzle. Oh, I forgot to mention that after all these complaints, someone from Martha's got on and provided another site to go to for some help (didn't really help much though). I finally went back to the olden days when a good size window was the best tool you could have, especially if you didn't have a light box. Crafters will know what I mean by a light box. That would have been too small for this project anyway. What I had to do was make the hash marks darker with a marker, put them up on the glass in order to see through, line them all up and tape them together. It still got a little tricky with the last row of the brim when I had 2 rows already up there and had to tape a 3rd. Anyway I managed to get it together so it wasn't as impossible as all those people were saying. I've decide on a beige print with some pink flowers and a solid beige inside. We'll see how it works out. I realized that doing these small projects in between the quilts keeps my sanity intact!! I'll post a picture on when I'm done.

My Two Mile Walk

This a visual tour of my 2 mile walk at our cabin. Here's our cabin nestled in the woods of Moshannon State Forest. There's a sharp incline right at the end of our driveway so things get hoppin right out of the gate.

As I walk along there's alot of interesting things to see and if I'm lucky I may see a deer running away from me.

This is the CCC Camp that was built in the 1930's. The following sign is located across from it and there are other personal camps down that road.

Across from the camp is a very unique outhouse with stained glass windows. It's even a two-seater!

This is a picture of me at the intersection of Fourmile Rd. I travel a bit further to make up my 2 mile walk and then I head back home.

P.S. That was my 200th blog posting!