[Maggie]

Time for a new thread........

I have finsihed my court house. I used a large watch face for the clock tower and made a removable top to the court house so I can get the watch face out and change the time or reset it when time changes. It turned out better than I thought it would. Now I am going to fashion a couple of patterns for a old fashioned jail house and train station. Then who knows what else I will get done this year. Presents....

FAYE it must be nice to have Jack back home now and you can see a steady progress of his getting better. Take care of yourself and keep a nice smile on your face. Know that I have you and yours in my prayers.

Have a lovely day folks.

[Jean]

Good Evening, Flowers!
It's 18 degrees as I type and is supposed to get down to 11 tonight. BRRRRRR! I thought I would check in here rather than fall asleep in my chair. There was nothing on TV that I wanted to sleep through.

The side light windows for the front door came today and one is broken . . . this is the second time that's happened and we ordered them in September. They are made in Alabama, shipped to Michigan, then Sioux Falls, and down to Sioux City. My patience is wearing pretty thin; I suggested ordering from another company but we would have to start the process all over again. This time they put a RUSH on it so we'll see what happens. I don't know why they can't ship directly to Sioux City -- no wonder it gets broken enroute!

"Gma" -- Is the $105 for a week or month's worth of prescriptions? I always hated to try something new and if it didn't work, then have to switch to something else while still having the first prescription. I hope all of the meds will do the trick. My MIL got a pill organizer, after her heart bypass, and she has the pills counted out for a month. None of mine run out at the same time. They ran out of the flu shots in our small town. The newspaper said they couldn't decide which flu was going to be the worst so didn't know which vaccine to order. I don't get one so hopefully I won't get the flu.

Maggie -- YES! YES! YES! I want to see pictures of your village when you are finished. Do you have any idea how many hours you have invested in it?

I don't know much else so guess I will go read the newspaper. Tomorrow will be the usual Saturday routine of laundry and some cleaning.

I hope you all have a relaxing weekend!

Jean -- in Iowa!

[Maggie]

Good afternoon. YIPEKIO I just finished the cutest little jail house to sit near the Court House. I twisted copper wire to use as the bars on the windows and door. JEAN I don't have a clue how many hours I have put into this village. I don't work nonstop or marithon till I am finished with a project. Usually I cut the class the same day I cut out the pattern. Then comes another step of using the grinder to blunt the corners and smooth the edges to cut down the chance of getting cut when I wrap each piece with copper foil. Sometimes I wrap the pieces the same day I grind them then solder the next day. Sometimes I solder more than one day depending on the number of pieces in the pattern and also because I have other things to do and we go hither and yon having fun outdoors. For instance I cut the pattern for the jail and ground and wrapped it all yesterday and did the soldering today along with the cleaning and waxing. But we did go out for lunch and I did some house work before I even got to work on it. I have my area all cleaned up now and ready to make my next pattern. I won't do that until Monday evening or Tuesday. Life is good. We went to lunch at a wonderful Mexican place and split a meal. I had a taco and some rice and Cowboy had all the rest. Worked for me. Have you heard how is doing?

Everyone have a lovely evening.

[Maggie]

Goodie goodie gum drops it rained this evening lots and lots. I made the pattern earlier this evening for the Train Station and got it all cut out then decided to cut the glass and it is all done now and I can do the grinding tomorrow afternoon and depending I just may go ahead and finish it. I am rather excited to get the village put up and all lighted in time for the holidays. Cowboy has the long shelf all built and I want to get some fake grass to put on it probably Monday when we do some shopping. After I get it set up I will take pictures.

Nighters everyone...... where ever you are. Have a wonderful tomorrow.

[gma22]

Good Sunday morning ladies!

Jean: His meds are all 30 days so they come out even and that is a month's copay. When we tranfer to the military Tricare in January it will drop to $36 for the same amount of meds! The Tricare plan we are taking allows us to convert when we are medicare age and I can keep it if he passes before me. Also instead of $2400 a year it is $460 and the copays for dr visits etc are at least half what it is with Cigna which is the Citie's insurance. There is no exclusion for pre-existing conditions either, thank goodness. We also now have dental and vision so we are pretty set up!

My dh is getting to eat pretty much what he likes except I make it lowfat, salt and sugar. His favorite breakfast is hash browns, sausage biscuits and gravy which is LOADED with fat. I made hash browns with just one tbl of oil, and lowfat buttermilk biscuits with no salt and lowfat margarine instead of shortening also I used SPlenda instead of sugar and the gravy was 1% milk and turkey sausage with a tbl of oil to allow for the gravy part. I now have a whole month's worth of lowfat, salt and sugar recipes including desserts for him every night.

Have you ever bought Pudgie brand brownie mix? It is really good and I even used FF yogurt instead of regular and cut fat even more. It is a ff brownie product and Krogers had mint choc and cappucino too. Instead of squares I made it in a pie plate and cut triangles and gave him a scoop of lowfat Breyers french vanilla with it. I then made portions for both of us and froze them so we now have two more desserts. I am doing that with all the desserts I am making so that we don't sit around and eat them. I made apple crisp the other night and I have recipes for cheesecake, key lime pie, upside down cake, another pineapple cake, blueberry crisp, angel food cake, low fat pound cake and chocolate chip cookies. I am getting him to eat some type of fish or seafood at least once a week and red meat about 2 -3 times max. Lots of chicken recipes etc.

Maggie: You have to let us see your village when it is finished. It sounds exquisite!

I am certainly more energetic the last couple days. I took Jack out to the mall yesterday and walked all over with him in a wheelchair to get exercise for me and to get him out. Bought me some Bath and Body products as a treat for myself. I also cleaned my whole house including waxing the downstairs floors.

Well, better skedaddle as I have sheets in the wash.

Faye

[Jean]

Good Afternoon, Flowers!
It's a beautiful sunny day here and 41 degrees . . . "almost" feels like a heat wave! We played at the very end of the service today and I didn't mess up so I was a happy camper. One of the other gals, who stands in the front row, did lose her place and it's pretty hard to fake it when you don't know where you are. I'm glad I stand in the back row!

Dinner is in the oven and we are waiting for Beth and Madaline to come. Beth just called and said M. had to have her lunch before they left so she was running late. We get to babysit while Beth does some shopping in her favorite shops.

Maggie -- I so wish I could watch how you make your village! I've never done anything with glass and it sounds so interesting. I don't have Bubbles email address so can't write to her. I hope that everything is ok and she is just super busy.

"Gma" -- I've not seen the brownie mix here; maybe I will check when we go to visit the kids as they have more grocery stores with larger varieties. Wal Mart has really hit the other two stores in town hard; one is in a residential neighborhood where alot of the people walk to the store so I'm pretty sure they will be ok. The other one is on a highway; the immigrants still walk there but WM is only a few blocks beyond so in nice weather they keep on walking. Your dessert recipes sound good; I don't usually do desserts because I'm so tempted to eat the leftovers on the same day! The highway store has started doing their promos in Spanish and there won't be a Mexican in the place. The rest of us just roll our eyes and keep going. Congrats on the mall walk -- I'm sure you both enjoyed getting out and about.

I need to check on dinner so better get going. Have a nice "rest of the day."

Jean -- in Iowa!

[Maggie]

Good afternoon friends. It is raining here and a bit of thunder. I got absolutely soaked walking to the car which was parked as close to the restaurant as could be after lunch. We were both laughing which I am sure slowed us down. I have always loved the .

FAYE I don't have your e-mail address and I would love to send you pictures of my village when it is done if you can give it to me ~ personal message me with it if you wish. That is great that you could get in your walking and having Jack get some fresh air at the same time. You go girl.

JEAN l you will just have to come over here if you want to watch me do some stained glass work because I am NOT going to bring it out there in the spring when we come. Have fun baby sitting.

Have a lovely afternoon flowers.

[gma22]

Jean: I have found if I cut 2 servings of whatever and then divide the rest up into 2 servings each and put them in the freezer we don't snack on the stuff. I am including a couple of recipes that are really good!

Fat-Free Pineapple Upside Down Cake Recipe By : Serving Size : 12 Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : Cakes Low-Fat/Low-Cal Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- No-Stick cooking spray 1/3 cup Brown sugar -- packed 2 tablespoons Light corn syrup (Karo) 1 tablespoon Lemon juice 7 Canned pineapple rings (I use a can of crushed instead) -- well-drained 1 cup Flour 1/4 cup Cornstarch 1 1/2 teaspoons Baking powder 1/2 teaspoon Salt 1 cup Splenda 2/3 cup Skim milk 1 carton egg beaters 1/3 cup Light corn syrup (Karo) 1 teaspoon Vanilla Spray 9-inch cake pan with cooking spray. Add brown sugar, corn syrup and lemon juice; stir to combine. Place in 350 F oven 3 minutes. Arrange pineapple rings and cherries in pan; set aside. In large bowl, combine flour, corn starch, baking powder. In medium bowl, stir Splenda and milk until sugar is almost dissolved. Add egg beaters, corn syrup and vanilla; stir until blended. Gradually add to flour mixture, stirring until smooth. Pour into pan. Bake in 350 F oven 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately loosen edge of cake with spatula and invert onto serving plate. Remove pan. Each serving provides: 200 Calories, 2 g protein, 47 g carbohydrate, 0 mg cholesterol, 160 mg sodium

APPLE CRISP
Serves 8

Vegetable oil spray

1 1/2 pounds (5 medium) apples, cored and sliced, unpeeled

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup uncooked oatmeal

1/3 cup acceptable margarine
Preheat oven to 375º F.

Lightly spray a 2-quart casserole dish with

vegetable oil spray. Arrange apples in prepared dish. Sprinkle with lemon juice and cinnamon.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar and oatmeal. Cut in margarine with a fork or pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Spread over fruit. Bake 40 minutes or until apples are tender.


Variation 1: Peach Crisp -- Use 1½ pounds (6 medium), peeled and sliced,fresh peaches in place of apples.

Variation 2: Blueberry Crisp -- Use 3 cups fresh or frozen unsweetened blueberries in place of apples.


Calories: 219 kcal
Protein: 2 gm
Carbohydrates: 36 gm
Total Fat: 8 gm
Saturated Fat: 2 gm
Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 gm
Monounsaturated Fat: 4 gm
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 55 mg
Potassium: 172 mg
Calcium: 26 mg

I fixed a lowfat Chicken Cordon Bleu for Jack tonight and it was fabulous. I am losing weight like crazy and eating better than I ever have! I get dessert every night!

I better get going. I have clothes to put away. Hope you all have a nice evening!

GLORIA AND BUBBLES WE MISS YOU!

Faye

[Jean]

Good Afternoon, Flowers!
It is so dark and gloomy today -- it looks like it could snow any minute but it is a "warm" 46 degrees outside. Monday is over and done with for another week. I don't know that the first day back in school would be better on any other day; after being gone for 2 days some of the kids act they've never heard of whatever we studied on Friday!

Maggie -- I would love to come to CA but don't anticipate a visit any time soon. We enjoyed our time with Madaline; she's 3 months, actually 13 weeks, and is just so cute.

"Gma" -- Thanks for sharing your recipes! They sound delicious! Anything I don't have to fix sounds wonderful! Maybe in my next life I will like to cook. I hope Jack's recuperation continues to go well.

I need to get busy and unload some shelves and cupboards in the livingroom. The new ones are here and should be installed later in the week. I have a set of encyclopedias that were mine when I was little. I hate to pitch them but no one wants them. I'm hoping to find some treasures that I have forgotten about.

Jean -- from Iowa!

[Maggie]

Good evening fowers ~
I just finished my last glass house for my village for now. It as the train station with a little shop on each end. So I named the train station Union Pacific and one shop Cafe and the other one Gifts. Now when my new book comes I will make some tissue box covers. I like the square kind because they hold that box down when the tissues are getting low. I hate it when I go to get a tissue out and the whole box comes up. I think those will make good gifts for some of my friends for Christmas. Come the new year I may make more houses and shops for my village.

FAYE got your e-mail address . Don't be surprised if you get messages from me now and then. Question...what size egg breater carton is used in that first recipe? They come in 3 different sizes and maybe more......... Both recipes look very good and I will try them soon.

JEAN it must be nice to get your remodeling done soon . It isn't much warmer here than there for as I type it is 52 degrees. We didn't get any rain today but they say we will get more tomorrow. That will be fine for we are doing inside stuff like putting up some peg board in my crafts room so I can get some of my tools out of the box in the closet. They will be so much handier hanging on the wall.

Well I am off to beddy bye now.

[gma22]

Maggie: The little cartons that come in a three pack and are equal to 2 eggs are the ones that are used. The recipes are very very good and you surely don't feel deprived with them that is for sure. Send me anything you like at any time!

Jean: Any "remodeling/redecorating" I want to do is on hold for awhile that is for sure. We want to start on the flooring since we already have the tiles, but I think we will just wait until after the first of the year to do anything. I told Jack that before I spend any money on any of the stuff for the condo that a new fridge is the first thing. We have the one that came with the condo and first off it is that nasty harvest gold, secondly, the handle on the freezer has its screws stripped and you can't tighten it, but we can't get it off either so the two handles whack into each other everytime you try to close the door to one or the other and you have to play with the doors to get them just right and thirdly, the temp zooms around all over the place and though it is fixable, I am not spending money even house warranty money to fix it. I am just hanging on til next year and then we are replacing it.

I bought my very first pair of pant style pj's yesterday, got home and tried them on and...THEY WERE TOO BIG! Woohoo! I kept them though because they are comfortable and the pants have a drawstring so they aren't going to fall off or anything. I just couldn't believe I could have bought the next lower size. You know, when you are my size you always seem to set you mind at "look for the largest size and buy it" mentality and I don't have to do that anymore.

Well, need to post on my other thread!

Faye

[Maggie]

Good morning Flowers!

It is a beautiful day in the neighborhood! 52 degrees and sunny as I type. Cowboy is in here right now screwing up my peg board and when I get off here I will hang some of my tools. I have a neat stand that keeps my small tools and solder iron right on my work surface but the bigger tools need to be in a handy place and not on my work surface. Life is good.

FAYE thanks for getting back to me with the beaters 411. I ran both of the recipes through my Master Cook program and the Cake is 4 points per piece and the Crisp 7 points per piece. That is just in case anyone reading here wants that information. We are having a dinner at the church this coming Saturday and I am taking two turkey breasts, stuffing, gravy, corn casserole, 2 coconut cream pies. Then for Thanksgiving Day we will be down south with some friends and family. Hope you are seeing daily improvement in your dear Jack.

Have a wonderful day all.

[Jean]

Good Afternoon, Flowers!
It has been such a beautiful day in my corner of the world; it's 58 degrees and the sun has been shining all day . . . it is beginning to slide down the western sky however. I could have spring fever if I tried real hard! The kids were just nuts at school today and it must mean a change in the weather. There is a wind warning out for tomorrow with snow possible on Thursday. I'M NOT READY FOR SNOW!

Maggie -- Thanks for the points and the egg beater question. If I use "real" eggs, then I'd use 2 per carton, right? I didn't read closely enough the first time. We are "warner" today than you are!

"Gma" -- We can't agree on flooring so guess we will have painted plywood under the Christmas tree this year. DH wants to do part carpet and part tile or wood while I want to do the whole area the same (because it all runs together). We'll see -- I kind of like the bare floor as the fur balls show up better and wipe up easier!

I have WW in a half hour; I don't anticipate a loss because I have not been very faithful OP this week. It seems like weigh day rolls around just too fast!

Have a nice evening and a wonderful Wednesday!

Jean -- in Iowa!

[Maggie]

JEAN it is now 66 degrees so it warmed up more than your state.

[Jean]

Good Afternoon, Flowers!
It's so windy today . . . guess the weatherman called that one right. It's 39 degrees and a bit chilly outside! I'm glad it is just blowing leaves and it's not snowing or we'd really have a mess.

I have bell practice tonight so need to dream up something fast for supper . . . eggs and bacon or maybe pancakes sound good.

I showed a loss of 1.8# last night. I'm not sure how but I'll take it and not complain. When I don't think I've done well, I lose, when I try hard (or think I do) I gain or stay the same.

Maggie -- I'll bet you're REALLY warmer than we are today!

Have a terrific Thursday, Flowers!

Jean -- from Iowa!