LET IT SNOW!!!

Our first, and hopefully ONLY, winter storm hit us this week. Woke up to about 5-6" yesterday morning and then today - whoa!! At least 12" and more in some spots!! Thankfully, the wise managers at the credit union where I work decided to call it a snow day and let us stay home warm and safe. Thank you!!! There's still a lot of frozen snow on the road in our neighborhood, so we'll see whether we stay home or go in late tomorrow. Above is my front arbor at about 8 AM. Notice the white stuff coming down in the background? Uh huh, more snow! Took a few more pictures.

My snowball bush - ha!!

Somewhere in there is my waterfall!!



View from my front window - beautiful!!

So, what do you do when it's 30 degrees and snowing outside? Well, Tom had recorded "Return of the Pink Panther" a few weeks ago, so we watched it - such slapstick!! Had some nice mocha and watched the snow fall. Then, I got bored!! So, did a little laundry, cleaned my bathroom, took some more pictures, watched some "Storage Wars" - more slapstick, but go Brandi!! Then, there it was, laying on the chair in front of my sewing table - the pieces to a pillow I have been meaning to make for years - yes, I said YEARS!! Well, today was the day!

First, let me explain that the top to this pillow was done by my mother about 15 years ago. She passed away in 1999 from cancer and left me her quilt material. I don't really do quilting, but I found several blocks for quilts that she had started before she got sick. I've made quilts for my grandchildren using alot of those blocks, so they have something from their great-grandma. Among the blocks was this piece that she must have been practicing hand quilting on. It reminds me of a candlewicking piece. That was popular back in the 70's and 80's, but you don't see it much anymore. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it and what I would use as a back if I made a pillow out of it. I found some material among the boxes she gave me that I thought would work and so, today, I made a pillow!!

If you look close, you can see Mom's stitching. I cut some of the same material for the back on the bias to make the ruffles and hand-stitched it to the outside edge. I have a box of saved, rescued, unused buttons and found one with a floral motif that worked great. The stitching was in a circular pattern, so I followed the stitching for a fairly-round pillow to sit on my chair. I'm so glad I finally got this done!! Thanks, Mom!!

Well, maybe I need to go through those boxes again and see if there's another treasure waiting to be finished.

Bye for now and Happy crafting!!

Jackie

2012 - BRING IT ON!!

Today was "take down the decorations and get organized" day. Usually a sad day, but not this year for some reason. My living room still looks warm and inviting and a little less cluttered! So, it's a good thing!!



post tree removal

It's raining outside, so it looks alot darker than it should for only 2:00 in the afternoon. Oh well, wasn't planning on going anywhere today anyway! Nice day to organize and get ready for the year!
Had a quiet New Year's Eve. Tom and I went to dinner at the Inn Saturday night and then home to watch the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie. We almost made it to midnight this year - but we decided that it was New Years in Chicago, so that was close enough. LOL!!

We had a pre-Christmas breakfast meeting at work complete with Lite and regular eggnog courtesy of our branch manager. She made some scrumptous food and brought some fruit, too. MMMM good! There was about 1/2 a carton of Lite eggnog left Friday, the 30th, so I brought it home and promised to make some yummy eggnog scones for Tuesday morning. So, after the tree was undecorated and put away and the rest of the inside decorations were packed up, I baked a batch of scones. These are the same scones I made for our bake sale. My experiment that turned out pretty good! 

scones on my favorite baking stone



sprinkled with cinnamon sugar



fresh from the oven



 

cooling on the rack - don't they look yummy?!

Okay, so you would like the recipe? Here you go:

2 1/4 cups of spelt flour

1/4 cup flax meal

1/3 cup sugar

1 tblsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 - 1/14 cups eggnog

cinnamon sugar (optional)

Mix all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl with a fork. Make a well and add the eggnog. Mix until forms a soft dough. Add some spelt flour if too sticky. Dust a cutting board with flour and divide the dough into 2 balls. Knead 5 times on the board and then form a ball. Pat the ball into a 5-6 inch circle with a slightly higher center. Cut into 6 wedges and place on ungreased baking stone or cookie sheet. Repeat with the 2nd half. If you want, sprinkle each wedge with about 1/4 tsp cinnamon sugar. Bake at 425degrees for 18 minutes. Cool on rack. Enjoy!! Good warm with a little butter or jelly.

Yesterday I made some pumpkin custard using some of the same eggnog. Used my recipe for the experimental pumpkin pie only poured the filling into a 2 qt buttered round baking dish. We tried some with a little whipped cream this afternoon - yummy!!

 Have a very Happy, Healthy, Yummy and

Crafty New Year!!!

JACKIE

LEFTOVERS AND OTHER POST HOLIDAY STUFF!!

It's the evening after Christmas and all through the house is the smell of turkey soup! Hope your Christmas was memorable and special and filled with love. I had my Auntie Kay and Uncle Alan here along with a second cousin, Carl. Sometimes we have others join us, but it was a small gathering this year.
This is a picture I took with my camera on timer and mounted on my tripod.

We did alot of the meal prep on Saturday with Tom taking care of the traditional smoked turkey. I fixed a couple types of dressing, one for stuffing and one for baking. I had purchased 2 loaves of french bread a couple weeks ago to make some pumpkin bread pudding for gifting and had a loaf left over. It was pretty dried out so I cubed it up and added chicken broth, onion, fresh oregano and sage from my garden and rosemary from my friend Jennifer. This one went in the turkey once it cooled down and then the turkey went into a cooking bag and into the frig for roasting on Sunday. The second stuffing batch was made from a pre-seasoned bag of cubed bread along with some chopped mushrooms, onion, extra sage, butter, broth from the giblets. This batch I went ahead and baked Saturday. I was already baking scones for gifting and 2 pumpkin pies, so it seemed like the thing to do! Both were a hit with everyone! Yeah!

Oh, I had to improvise with the pies! The recipe called for 2 cans of evaporated milk and 4 beaten eggs. Welllll, I only had 1and 1/4 cans of the milk and 1 whole egg. But, I had some plain Egg Beaters, enough for the recipe, so I was covered there. Now, what to do about the evaporated milk? I checked my trusty Betty Crocker cookbook from 1969 for a substitute. No help. Then, I noticed that I had that carton of eggnog in the frig and it is made with half and half. Sooooo, in it went! The next question was how much pumpkin pie spice equals the amount of individual spices called for in the recipe. I made an educated guess and tossed in 2 1/2 tsps. Mixed it all up, rolled my Pillsbury Ready crust into the two pie plates (yes, I use those and LOVE them!), filled them up and baked them till set. Well, let me tell you! Everyone who tried a piece thought it was delicious!!! I LOVE IT when my improvisations turn out!!! Don't you?!

In the past, after Christmas dinner, we have packaged up some left overs and Tom took them to these two fellows who lived across the lake from us. They're not exactly homeless, but alcohol controls their lives and so they're lifestyle doesn't lead to a nice meal on this Holy day. They would get some of everything along with a whole pie and sometimes pre-dinner snacks. They were always grateful. But, this year they have moved and we're not sure where they are. I've seen one of them walking along the road a couple miles from here, though, so Tom will keep an eye out and if he finds them, we'll get something to them. In the meantime, Tom will have turkey for lunch this week! Lots of turkey!!

Delivered the last of my Christmas goodies today. A bread loaf pan of pumpkin bread pudding and a couple kinds of scones - craisin and eggnog (made with the aforementioned eggnog). No cookies this year. Everyone is watching their weight and we have very few neighbors here to give goodies to. Does make for a more relaxing holiday season!

Got a phone call on Saturday from my oldest grandson, Derric! He graduates from Air Force Boot Camp on the 30th and is looking forward to Tech School. His training group (called a flight) has been doing really well, so they got extra time for calling this weekend. Yeah!! Visited his Mom, my youngest daughter Kellie, later and then Sunday morning I called my oldest daughter, Carman, and her husband Matt to wish them a Merry Christmas. Their kids were watching a movie, so they called us later in the afternoon. Only grans I didn't hear from were Kellie's two youngest who live with their dad. Oh well! Tom's grandsons called and I got to talk with them both. They are all growing up so fast and I'm not getting older at all!!!! How does that happen????!!!!HA!!!

Well, next weekend I'll take the decorations down and maybe work out in the yard a bit if it's not too cold. Will you be making any New Year resolutions? I'll make the same one I make every year - NO, not to lose weight - even though I am trying to do that! I resolve to be the best Christian, person, friend, partner, Mom, Grandma I can be!! That just about covers it!

Wishing you all a Healthy, Happy, Fulfilling and Successful New Year!!!

Till then!

Jackie

TIME TO CATCH UP!

I know, I know!! It's been over a month since my last post. Just trying to get into the Christmas spirit. And then, nothing was really going on here at the Lake. Snowbirds have flown away south and it's pretty quiet.

I DID start going to the ZUMBA class regularly!! Yeah!! Actually joined for 6 months yesterday. They have a special - $12.00 for the first month and then only $30.00/month for unlimited classes after that! I try to go at least 2 times a week and sometimes even 3! It's so much fun! ZUMBA, ZUMBA, ZUMBA!! RUMBA, RUMBA, RUMBA!! Anyway, we'll see what I look like at the end of the 6 months.

I've also been spending alot of time on a great Face Book site - AF Wingmoms. It's for family and friends or those young men and women going through Air Force basic training at Lackland AFB, San Antonio, TX. My oldest grandchild, Derric, is in his 6th week there. He'll be graduating December 30th. We're all very proud of him. I'm sending his Mom, my youngest daughter, there for his graduation. Couldn't afford to pay for both of us, and it's really important for his Mom to be there. Air fare is ridiculous!! It went up $100.00 over night the weekend I bought her ticket and now it's another $200 on top of that! I realize it's over the New Year holiday, but, goodness! Families want to go see their loved ones become Airmen! You'd think the airlines would have a special just for that! Well, that's my rant. Hopefully we can make it down for his graduation from technical school. I think he's staying there at Lackland for that.

Well, Christmas IS nearly here. My friend, Mimi, has her faux mantle up and decorated. She tells all about it on her blog - http://www.blueroofcabin.blogspot.com/ Check out her mantle below.

Got me inspired to get my home finished. So, here's my tree -

 I know, the star's a little crooked, but it's a fake tree and the top just doesn't support the star very good. It's okay, though! It's a country tree. I put only special ornaments on this year. One's that were either made for us or given us or that I bought for us or to celebrate a special occassion. Can you see the teddy bears on either side with the Santa hats? Tom's sister, Celia, made those out of reclaimed furs! We have 4 of of her bears and they're very precious to us! And, recognize the tiered, red table on the right side? That's right! It's the one from my front deck that I refurbished this summer! Brought it in for the winter and it works out great in front of the window.

Here's Mimi's mantle. Isn't it pretty?

I also made my annual ornaments for the grandkids last month. I found some bevelled glass blanks on-line and foiled, soldered and decorated them for each grand. Here's a few:

I needed to wait until they got theirs before putting them in my blog - didn't want to spoil the surprise just in case they checked me out!! I also did a Star of David for my oldes daughter's mother-in-law and her husband. This isn't the best display, but you can see it's the clear bevels. I left it plain. They can decorate it if they want or just leave it the way it is. They are great people! I always stay with them when I go visit my daughter and son-in-law and they are so gracious! I wanted to do something special for them, so I hope they like it! What do you think?

This weekend I finished my Christmas shopping, packaged up gifts for mailing and did some baking for the annual bake sale at work next Friday. We have one every year to collect donations for the local food banks. Whatever we take in, the credit union matches! Our members look forward to it and have already been asking "When's the bake sale?" and "I hope there are more of those cinnamon candies this year!".

So far I've made those 4 green tomato pies (better remember to take them out of the freezer Wednesday!), some cinnamon shortbread, and some eggnog scones. The scones were an experiment, if they taste good, I'll make some more. I'll let you know. And will take some pictures of everything.

Okay, so I think I've caught up. Oh, if you're in the Shelton, WA area and want to see a terrific Christmas program, my church - Gateway Christian Fellowship - is presenting one next weekend on Saturday and Sunday! If it's anything like the Easter program, you will be amazed and inspired! It's oopen to the public, so come check it out! After all, Christ is the Reason for the Season - right?!

Hope you all have a Very Merry Christmas!!



Just had to include a picture from last year with my handsome grandson - AB Derric Ross - who had the tree all decorated for me when I got home from work!!

Bye!!

DID SOMEONE SAY "ROAD TRIP"?!!

Had a fantastic vacation with my sweetie, Tom!! We had 2 weeks, so decided on a road trip to Sedona, AZ, a week there, and then a quick trip back home. Started out on a Tuesday night after work. Got as far as Salem, OR before the rain, glare and road oil did us in. The next day found us driving down the Southern Oregon coast and then on to N. CA and the Giant Redwoods.                           

                                                                                                   

Had to stop by The Trees of Mystery and get a picture of Tom with Paul Bunyan and Babe, the Blue Ox!! 

                                                                                                                                                

Then it was off to see the drive-thru tree! Before we took a side road and got up close and personal with these wonders of nature!

This is looking straight up

a "big tree"!!!

We stayed in Arcata, CA our second night at a very nice Howard J's and headed over to Redding, CA Thursday morning. Stopped at Weaverville, CA to stretch our legs and grab a bite. While checking out a local pottery store, the very nice sales lady suggested we see the Joss House down the street and then maybe the the local museum to get some history of the region during the gold rush of the 1850's. We're so glad we took her up on it!

The Joss House, built in 1873, it the oldest operating Chinese Taoist Temple in California and maybe the United States!! If you ever get to that area, you really need to check it out. Our guide, CA Parks Dept. Ranger, Lori, was a wonderful fount of information and we could tell she really enjoyed the subject matter. The museum wasn't open, so we went to a nice little cafe for lunch and then headed to Redding. Our ultimate goal for that day was Chico, CA and my Uncle Jack/Aunt Jean's home. We hadn't seen them in a couple years and Tom had never been to their home. The trip over the coastal mountains was glorious and we made it to Chico around 3 in the afternoon. Their 2 sons, Tom and Bob came by to see us and we had a wonderful visit with them all.

Bob, me, Tom and daughter, Maya

My Tom had been 9 or 10 the last time he had been trhough the Redwoods, so he was very impressed. He read in a flyer where the Giant Sequoias were even bigger and really wanted to see them, so we altered our plans and headed to Fresno and on to Sequoia National Park Friday around 7:30 am. The 5 hour trip was well worth it!! OMG!! Those trees are gigantic!!! And OLD!            

                                                                                                                                     

One of these is 103' around the base and over 2,000,000 tons!! Amazing!! They're alot like humans, they only grow so tall and then they just get bigger around!! HA!! Another must see!

Saturday, we travelled across the bottom of the Mojave desert and over to Kingman, AZ, a Route 66 town, for the night. Did some sight-seeing/shopping downtown and had a great dinner at Calico's Restaurant before calling it an early night. Sunday morning would find us on our way to Sedona and a week of R&R!!

If you've never been to Sedona, you need to go at least for the day.





                                   This is some of the scenery from the area - breathtaking!!!

After spending a fantastic week at Los Abrigado's Resort and Spa in Sedona,                                                  

we headed home. Went north through Flagstaff and spent the night in Provo, UT. The next day was an 11 hour drive day that landed us in the friendly town of Pendleton, OR.  We stayed at The Rugged Country Lodge, a very reasonably priced combo hotel/b&b. Rustic, but comfortable and they had some killer cinnamon rolls with the rest of the complimentary breakfast. It looked kinda iffy when we drove up, but the clerk was so friendly and the place was just so cute, we had to give it a try.

For dinner, we drove through town and checked out the available restaurants. We settled on Stetsons House of Prime and we were glad we did! Two winners in the same night - wow!! What a way to end our vacation! It was a little spendy, but you got plenty for your money and excellent service. Check it out if you're ever in Pendleton.

The next morning, after biscuit and gravy, cinnamon roll and mocha (hey, I was on vacation!), we continued West on I-84 to Troutdale, OR and lunch with my daughter, Kellie and grandson, Derric. Derric was enjoying his last days of freedom before being sworn in as an Airman and heading to San Antonio, TX for basic training. Of course, you can't go up I-84 without a side trip on the Historic State Rte 30 and a stop at Multnomah Falls!



I had never driven West on 30 past Multnomah Falls, so we decided to continue on this picturesque route for a while longer, are we were rewarded with beautiful Fall colors and a surprise stop at Vista House.



We met up with Kellie and Derric at Elmer's in Gresham. Had a great visit and a very nice gentleman offered to take our picture when we were leaving so Tom could be in it. Thanks!!

After one more stop at my Aunt Kay and Uncle Alan's in Longview, WA, we headed for home and, curiously, we arrived almost exactly 2 weeks to the MINUTE from when we left! Try to do that on purpose!!

All in all, it was a great adventure and we are already planning our next one. I suggested we could fly to the E. Coast and rent a car, visit with my daughter and son-in-law - Carman and Matt - and family a few days and drive back across the US. There's so much to see in this country and I want to see as much as I can before I say that final "Good Bye" - I guess that's my bucket list item  #1!

Well, that's it for my travelogue.
Till next time!

Jackie



GREEN TOMATO PIE - YUM!!!

It's that time of year again - when the tomatoes are on the vine but the sun isn't warm enough or out long enough to turn them red. So, what do you do with a bunch of green tomatoes? Well, you could go for that Southern Comfort Food - fried green tomatoes. Or, you could be brave and try something different - green tomato pie! I in know, doesn't exactly sound appetizing. But it's delicious! Had never heard about this dessert until about 5 years ago when I was faced with 3 tomato plants filled with green tomatoes. I was talking to my neighbor Joan and she told me about making these pies. She had gotten the recipe from another neighbor - Shirley and swore it was a great way to use up these green fruits. So, I got the recipe and made several, freezing most of them for our yearly bake sale at the credit union. They really are delicious!  That year I had only cherry-style tomatoes, so it took a looonnnnggg time to cut up all those babies! This year, I have been given a half box of big green tomatoes from one of my credit union members. So, it shouldn't be such a time consuming task! (I'll save the reddish ones and put them on my kitchen window sill to ripen for eating! )

I misplaced the original recipe, so I just go on-line and Google - "Green tomato pie". There are several selections to choose from so if you are tempted to try it, just look through them and pick one that matches your items in your pantry. I went for the simple southern recipe and I cheat by buying pre-made pie crusts. But, it works and tastes great! So, go ahead, be adventurous and make one! You'll agree, it's a much better way to use up all those green tomatoes hanging on your plants! Of course, you can still fry up a couple.


Talking about FRIED GREEN TOMATOS - that is one of my all-time favorite movies!!  I may have to go on my Netflix or Amazon Prime and see if I can find it and give it a viewing this afternoon. Want to join me? I'll pop up some popcorn! 


HAPPY BAKING AND GOD BLESS!!
JACKIE

RAINDROPS KEEP FALLIN' ON MY HEAD...

Fall has fallen on our little corner of the world. Leaves are turning. Flower baskets are dying. Clouds are dripping water all over us. Neighbors are getting ready to head South for the Winter. Soon it will be time to carve pumpkins and plan my costume for the Halloween party at work and for the kids at the Inn. The ladies club here at the Lake always put together a fun party for the local kids with games, prizes, hot dogs and lots and lots of candy. The kids love it!


We're thinking of dressing in 80's rock stars for work. We always have so much fun decorating the branch. Our members love it and look forward to how we're going to decorate each year.  I'm thinking of either Madonna or one of the Bangles or Go Gos. The gals at work were thinking more along the line of Tina Turner due to my "great legs"!  But I just don't think I have the hair for it. 


I'll let you know soon.  I already have leg warmers - I know, but they keep my legs warm when walking in the winter!! What can I say?!


In the meantime, I have weeds to pull, shrubs to trim, grass to feed and I really need to get back to my projects! Christmas will be here before long and I need to make ornaments for the grandkids.  


This Saturday, though, is dedicated to walking in a Strides Against Breast Cancer event in Tacoma. This is my third year and I look forward to seeing all the participants. Everyone is always so excited to be there -rain or shine. This is such a worthy cause. 


Well, time to go for now,


Be well and God Bless,


Jackie