Steel Magnolias #59

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  • Good Evening, Flowers! The day started out windy and cool/cold at 42 degrees. It was sunny so looked warmer than it was. I worked at the hospital this morning. We had a fund raiser for Rada Cutlery and today was the day to pick up the orders. We had a great turn out last year, but not so good this year. This afternoon I made bars for a salad luncheon at church tomorrow. When in doubt, carefully read ALL instructions several times. I was supposed to combine brown sugar and Karo syrup then bring that to a boil, add salt, vanilla, and peanut butter. I dumped everything together first, then got cold feet and dumped it. The second time it looked like I remembered it. You pour that over Special K cereal and add frosting made from butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and chocolate chips. It makes a jelly roll pan so I never make them unless the kids will be here or I have to take them somewhere. Definitely NOT WW friendly! I just finished cleaning up my supper and bar dishes. The kitchen is closed! I manage to dirty a lot of spoons, knives, measuring cups, etc., when I "cook."

    Maggie -- I've never heard of Hasselback potatoes so have not made them unless they might be called something else. I like your thought at the end of your post. A Maggie original?

    Guess I will do a couple rows on the afghan while it is still light. Hope you all enjoy a nice weekend!
  • Good morning ladies. I have bee wrestling with mopping my floors this morning. I have a steam mop and it gave out right after mopping the bathroom floor. So, I pulled out my expensive Floormate and had just enough cleaning solution to do the rest of the floor. This thing cleans great, but is a real hassle to deal with. You have a floorcleaning, vacuuming, and wet vacuum up. You are supposed to mop a section, then turn the know to the wet vacuum to vacuum up the water. It takes forever, but for now I am going to use it as I don't want to deal with buying anything new before the cruise. I do have to go out tomorrow and get more floor cleaning solution though.

    I am coming along on Jackson's sock and my scarf. I got between the two when I get bored with one I switch to the other. That is what I am going to do the rest of the day since I am done with chores.

    Jean: I had to at your dessert work. I have done that and usually I don't have enough to fix it over again. I don't know why it takes every dish in the house to make something from scratch, but it sure seems too. It does sound like about 10 pts for a serving though. Sometimes you just have to enjoy yourself just a bit.

    Maggie: I have seen hasselback potatoes on the cooking channels, but have never eaten them. Our washer/dryer is across from the downstairs bathroom so if the urge calls while you are loading clothes, you don't have to worry about wetting yourself before you can get there! Do you have a recipe lowfat/calorie or not for german potato salad. My grandmother used to make it and I know it has vinegar, bacon and bacon drippings and german potato salad has no mayo in it, but I haven't found a decent recipe for it.

    Susan: I went up to the upstairs bathroom a couple days ago to shower and when I finished thought what the heck and tried on my blue jeans. I haven't been able to wear them since the last Vegas trip in 2007 and then I had to lay on the bed to zip them up. Well, I pulled them up over my bum no problem and found no "gap" at the zipper. I buttoned and zipped them up standing up and no holding in tummy either. I am pretty jazzed about it. I even noticed they were a bit baggy in the legs, but who cares!!! Hope you had a good time at applique.

    I need to go, but you gals have a great weekend. We are really starting to get busy with things for the cruise now. I told Jack I was anxious now and he said why, you make lists of your lists! I told him I am afraid I will forget something and he said, "NO CHANCE!!!" Have a good one, Faye
  • Good Afternoon, Flowers! It's a cool sunny day in my neighborhood and feels like fall is in the air. I went early to the church salad luncheon and helped finish the set up. There were lots of salads left over and for sale after the program. The speaker talked about a WWII POW camp near here, which I didn't know about, and the origin of the Nativity Scene from a German POW if I got the story straight. It was hard to hear him at times as he paced around.

    "Gma" -- I need to get down on my hands and knees so I can mop the kitchen floor. The grout is beginning to look grungy and it is a chore I really have to be in the mood to do, which isn't very often. I don't think I've ever had German potato salad. on the way your jeans fit now! Way to go! I have a hard time keeping track of my lists if I start too soon before a trip. I need to be more organized . . . in my next life!

    I need to change clothes again. We have a 90th birthday party/open house/buffet supper for a good church friend who is also a 30+ year customer of Bob's. Hope you all enjoy the rest of your day!
  • Sunny Saturday
    GOOD AFTERNOON MAGNOLIAS☺♫

    We just got back from the shooting range to do some plinking around and making a check on the buffalo then our ride about the country. Not much going on here this day for I have the house all fine and a roast in the crock-pot for dinner. It smells so good with that dry onion soup on top and a bit of wine for moisture. The roast is a very lean one and will be so yummy.

    Not much else happening here in the ♥-Land. The grass is green and the birds are tweeter-pated loving the seed and suit we put out for them. They are such a treat for Cecil to watch for he is a stalker for sure. He and Beanie make quite a pair.

    DONNA FAYE I do have a yummy Hot German Potato Salad recipe which is low fat and I e-mailed you that recipe so please let me know if you got the e-mail. You don’t have to eat it hot for it is good cold also.

    JEAN I also e-mailed you that recipe in case you want to try it for it is a good one and points friendly. There were some captured Germans working here at the university during the war and they gave them the option of staying here or going back to Germany. Some stayed and some went back. Have fun at that party you are going to.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    This is really helpful if you practice it:
    Ignore negativity and live above the fray and your day will be a lot better.
    Determine to put a smile on your face when you wake up to meet a new day.
    Walk softly, speak tenderly, pray fervently and keep calm enjoying life.

    Have a great day my Magnolia friends.
  • Good morning ladies. It is very cool this morning around 54 degrees so we had the ac off all last night. We are only supposed to get into the mid to upper 70's today, which will be nice.

    We were fooling around with what furniture and fabric we are going to eventually buy for the condo and that lead me to looking for throw pillows for the loveseat. I got to thinking, why spend $60 apiece for pillows when I can knit the darn things and a matching afghan besides. Here is the pattern (not the colors) for the afghan and pillows and the three colors I picked for them. We are buying a turquoise loveseat and pear green recliners. It has been fun and I am anxious to get the yarn to make these. I have to get yarn and make Thomas's socks for Christmas first, though.

    Maggie: Thanks for the recipe. It looks dead on except my grandmother didn't put celery seed in hers. I have to decide about dinner tonight.

    Jean: Hope you enjoyed your luncheon. I actually have 2 bottles of grout cleaner for my machine. Won't need those until we put in the tile.

    Well girls, we are going to Walmart this morning to pick up some "stuff." Hope you all have a lovely Sunday. Faye


  • Good Evening, Flowers! Bob went back to the office and the boys have gone to bed. I'm NOT watching football so here I am! There is nothing worth watching on my tv tonight! It was a sunny windy day in my neighborhood. We went to church, read the papers, did some laundry, and made the same bars I took to church to take to the kids tomorrow and Tuesday. Bob always says I make the "good stuff" to give away. He has some to take to work tomorrow.

    "Gma" -- We are supposed to be in the 80s all next week. It does cool down at night which is nice. The trees along the park, driving into town, have started to turn colors overnight. They aren't very pretty so I wonder if that is because it has been so dry. I really like your afghan colors! Will you have lots of loose ends to hide from changing colors? Bob found my bar pan at church this morning. They usually stack pans and bowls on a cart but mine was still on the counter in the kitchen itself. I walked right by it heading to the dishwasher area, and didn't see it. People have been known to "accidentally" take home the wrong bowl or pan, and I wanted my own back!

    I need to figure out what I'm wearing tomorrow and get my day in order. The game is at 6 so will leave here mid-afternoon. It's supposed to be windy but it always seems windy in Sioux Falls. Last year I wore my winter coat to the last game, but don't think I will have to do that tomorrow.
    Hope you all enjoy a marvelous Monday and a great week ahead!
  • Good morning to you all. It is sunny and lovelythis morning though a bit cool yet. I have my hubby hanging out this morning as he has some kind of advanced PLC (programmable logic control whatever that it!) training. He doesn't have to go to the training site until noon today then it will be 8-4 the rest of the week. I know he loves not having to get up at5 AM, that's for sure.

    Weighed myself this morning and was down another 5 lbs!!!

    I am coming right along with Jackson's socks. I have about 2 inches then will put the toe in. It sure seems like a quick knit this time even though I have done color changes. I am also trying to finish up my scarf and it is pretty easy to knit too even with a pattern. I actually like pattern as you don't get bored with it, but for me it's a matter of paying attention or I will have it all goofed up. Socks are a nice easy round and round unless you put pattern on a sock. I would like to find an argyle pattern and make Jack a pair of argyle socks for the cruise next year. Gray, blue and black I think.

    Jean: I used to take chicken and noodles all the time to potlucks in my old crockpot. I got really made when one of the women in the kitchen dropped the lid and broke it. She never offfered to pay or replace it and I ended up using a glass pie plate for a cover from then on. You would think you could trust church ladies, but I guess we all have a bit of larceny in us. Yes, and no regarding the loose ends. I imagine it is probably done the same way you do fair isle. I need to look at the pattern. The afghan is knit in long strips then sewn together. The pillow only has pattern on one side. Jack ask me how much it would cost to make them. I told him around $150 for the 3 pieces. I told him the pillows I had looked at were between $50and $60 apiece so I would be saving him money on the the thing! I will probably start it the first of the year. I will make the pillows first to make sure I like it, but I really like the pattern. I belong to a knitting group called Ravelry and you can find wonderful stuff there and the ladies post their work so you can see what the pattern looks like finished. Just a nosy question. What color do you usually go with when you get your toenails painted?? I bought three colors and painted my toenails and ended up not liking any of them so I bought a true red from Loreal called "he red my mind." I decided to go for the fallen woman look!

    Well I better go. I just mopped the entranceway and Jack went upstairs and says it is dry so I need to put my quilt rack and my little clothing old lady doll and through rugs back. Have a great start to the week!!! Faye

  • Good Afternoon! It would be a beautiful fall day if it weren't so windy in my corner of the world today. We had extra money to count at church because of the salad luncheon on Saturday. We balanced on the first try though -- we are good . . . sometimes. I also had a nice deposit for the gift shop. I am so dingy sometimes. There was a little china Halloween pumpkin I've had my eye on and I needed a couple cards. I made my purchases, got home, and forgot the money to count so had to go back again. It's only a few blocks but how dumb! Guess I was too excited about the pumpkin! Now I'm waiting for Bob to get home and head out for the football game.

    "Gma" -- I'll bet Jack does enjoy a later start to his work day. on losing another 5#s! You are doing great! I've had different colors on my toe nails but mostly a color called Iced Mauve by Revlon. I've done bright red also. My fingernails are a pale pink because I think my hands look "old."

    I need to find my football t-shirt and be ready to go. I'm glad the weather is cooler. Enjoy the rest of your day!
  • Marvelous Moody Monday
    GOOD AFTERNOON MAGNOLIAS☺♫

    It is a day in the high 80° here in the beautiful ♥-Land with the wind blowing very hard. I am sure we will have some trash to pick up in our back yard tomorrow if the wind dies down by then. I sneeze and my eyes itch but otherwise I feel fine. It is spooky to see those long arms that stretch across the road with the lights attached to them swaying in the wind. Hopefully they were built with enough bounce in them to withstand the wind. Guess they would have to be for the builders surely knew that the wind blows here. But is still crazy how much bounce in the wind they exhibit.

    The buffalo have their pond to get cool in and keep the flys away from bothering their legs and underbelly. The babies are sure growing fast still and becoming more and more independent. We took the dogs out with us today for they love the ride about. Cecil isn’t crazy about riding about like our last cat was but he can just stay back in the yard or in the house if he chooses. It is so cute to see the dogs sitting at the back gate waiting to be loaded in the Jeep when they are wanting to go with us.

    I am cooking a beef pot pie with a mashed potato top crust for dinner. One of the new versions from Schwans® that has bigger veggies in it and steak instead of ground beef as the meat. I didn’t get anything out to thaw before we went out and about today so that is a good choice with a nice green salad and some fruit. I have the feeling that Schwans® is going to faze out the older version that had ground beef in them. These pies serve 4 so there is a nice serving for a ”leftover” meal later for the two of us.

    I am not going to WW this evening for I just don’t feel like going. My back hurts a bit today on the lower left side and gives me a hitch in my get-along and I just want to stay home this evening. I’ll weigh on my scale in the am and have that as my weekly weight.

    I received my Peace Keeper magazine today and it has some interesting articles in it from the latest convention. I used to attend the conventions when I was working and find it interesting just how things have changed through the years and am so thankful that I am now retired.

    DONNA FAYE I am so glad that is the recipe you were wanting. You are certainly allowed to tweek it to your tastes and leave out the celery seed. Any other recipes you want just ask and I may have them. for that great weight loss. You go girlfriend. Onward and downward.

    JEAN Isn't that a great feeling to get the count correct the first go-round. Is your wind blowing as hard as ours is? It is certainly sweeping the plain as it goes. It is fun to paint your toe nails bright colors and your finger nails a muted color. I am going to get some Christmas type decals to put on my finger nail this year. I have some snowflakes left over from years past to do some nails.

    Have a great day my Magnolia friends.

  • Good morning gals. Another lovely cool morning. Jack just left for his class and he will get home between 5 and 5:30. It feels a bit strange, but it would be nice if he could work the 8-5 hours. He has to run by the store for me as I need more of my Coke Zero.

    Finished Jackson's first sock. It sure seemed to go fast. It is probably because his feet are a lot smaller than Thomas's. I am not getting his yarn until we get back as it is expensive. I had some of the yarn I used for Jackson's socks so I just bought enough more to finish them off. They are less than $4 a skein and I find this company puts out some of the best inexpensive yarn there is. I have made socks for the boys so many years that they aren't making new colors so I have run out of colors to use for Thomas. Well not entirely, but I don't think he wants circus colored socks or pink girly ones. His yarn is $25 a hank and I have to buy an extra color to do the heels and toes or buy an extra hank at another $25! I did Jack's socks out of this yarn and bought lesser expensive yarn and put solid colors on the heels and toes. I am doing pretty well on the scarf too.

    Upstairs bathrooms today so I am going to have to get started on them early. I have the downstairs cleaned completely except countertops and stove and sink. I will get to those tomorrow. While I am upstairs I am going to have to hunt for the "wills" folder. It has all the information on where to go to get all of Jack's life insurance, my life insurance, the wills, where to bury us, etc. If something would happen, I don't want the kids to have to try and hunt and figure out how to get the money and such. Kelly thinks I am nuts, but nothing is worse than grieving and not knowing what the deceased person has or doesn't, burial information and all that. It is not morbid, but practical.

    Jean: I always get french manicure when I get my nails done. Jack thinks it sexy so why should I complain? I do just a polish change because it hurts too much to sit in those chairs and my bad knee hanging in midair when they are doing all their stuff. Even if I could sit completely back in the chair and they could still work, the seat hits me right behind the knee and causes it to lock up. So, I do my own thing pedicure wise and get them to do a nice polish before we go. When I wear color on my fingernails, I like earthy colors, rusts, browns, that sort of thing. I have lost a lot of weight in my hands and my fingers are all shriveled now, lots of wrinkles. Hope you had a great time at the football game.

    Maggie: Do you think you will enjoy the meatiers type pot pie??? Sort of sounds like Dinty Moore beef stew with the larger pieces of veggies and beef cubes. I have those once in a while for lunch. They are about 7 pts for one of the little containers I think. I wish I had gotten my grandmother's notebook full of recipes, but my sister snatched those. I have a couple things but not much. I remember when I was a kid grandma making sauerkraut. She would put the slaw and bring in these big earthen things and then put a cloth over it. Once a week or so she would go down and take off the moldy part and taste it to see if it was ready. I was the only one of the kids that liked sauerkraut. When I was a toddler, I remember my mom putting just a bit of sugar on it and I would scarf it down. She made the best Saurbraten I have ever had too.

    Well girls, time to get to work. Have a great Tuesday!!! Faye
  • Good Afternoon! We are on our way to soccer games, last ones for the season. Ian's team won last night and play-offs are next week. I spent most of my day working on my financial statement for the hospital auxiliary meeting on Thursday.

    Maggie -- Our wind has died down finally. It was cold at the game last night; I wore a turtleneck, the team t-shirt, a nylon jacket, and an insulated sweatshirt. Then I wished I would have taken a blanket to wrap around my legs. We stopped at the DQ for the victory treat and I passed. I would have ordered coffee or hot chocolate if they would have had it. Bob stopped at a convenience store for coffee.

    "Gma" -- There was an article on the Sunday paper about all the necessary papers to locate, and things that need to be done, when a person dies. My dad had all his stuff organized so it was easy for me. We need to get that done for our kids. We still haven't decided on a burial site -- I told Beth I could go on the shelf with "Bob" their Great Dane and "Mom" my cat. She didn't think that was funny. When Bob was little he told his mom they had fried lettuce for lunch at school. She found out later it was sauerkraut.

    Hope you all enjoy a nice evening!
  • Terrific Tuesday
    GOOD AFTERNOON MAGNOLIAS☺♫

    It is a beautiful day in the high 70° and all is well while we were out and about on our daily visit to the town and buffalo.

    I don’t have a clue why I am so sleepy today for I had a great nights sleep. My eyes just want to close and go to sleep and I am fighting it. I am currently eating some crushed ice to help keep me awake. Weird for sure.

    I got a slew of new catalogues to go through and toss today. I also received my glass pumpkin delivered made by Thomas Kinkade. It is so cute for the season setting out as a centerpiece on the dining room table. It has a nice fall season inside and it lights up. The green glass stem at the top curls down gracefully with some beautiful leaves on it that curl down one side of the pumpkin.

    The time has come for me to decide on what to fix for dinner so I need to go take a look inside the freezers and get some idea what it will be that I will be making.

    DONNA FAYE Yes the pot pie was delicious with the beef junks in it instead of the finely ground beef. It is good with the mashed potatoes on the top instead of a crust. Yummy enough to feed to company. Looks like you will have that pair of sox finished in no time at all since that first one went so quickly. Have you asked your sister to make a copy of those recipes for you? It would certainly be nice if she would or send them to you to make copies. I let my sis in law copy all the ones she wanted out of my mothers recipes before I even got the box. When I found out my mother had left that box to me I let her take it and copy what she wanted and to let anyone else that wanted copies to get them while she had the box.

    JEAN That is funny about the "cooked lettuce." Nights are getting much cooler now so maybe it is fall after all. Our days are a bit cooler also and windy. Sauerkraut is good with cut up hot dogs in it.

    SUSAN I hope things are going well with you this day.

    Have a great day my Magnolia friends.
  • Good morning ladies! I have daily chores done, but never did get upstairs yesterday so today is the clean the bathrooms upstairs day.

    I have the cuff done on his second sock and will start the stripes when I get done here. When I get bored I put it down and work on my scarf, which is about 3/4 done.

    Kelly called me this morning and is taking me to lunch and we are getting pedicures for my birthday on Saturday. That's cool because now I won't have to do it later, just get my nails done on the day before we leave. My nails grow really fast so I want to have them done at the last moment because we get done with the cruise I will have to have them filled in and such when we get home. Her "boys" are involved in something over the weekend so she is going to be alone. She has a new promotion/position at St Jude's and it requires a lot of work. She is having to work long hours and she said she was grumpy this morning (she was on her way to work and she was yelling at drivers )

    This weekend is the finally commissary buying trip until we get back from vacation. Looks like Jack is going to have to make a run to Krogers and get more ice cream. He loves the kroger brand of lowfat stuff called vividly vanilla. I have to admit it is really a great vanilla taste and very creamy. I am not a big ice cream eater so he usually goes through the two half gallons we buy by himself. He has a serving pretty much every night with fresh fruit on it or puts a serving in a tall cup and pours IBC diet rootbeef over it and makes himself a rootbeer float. I don't like soda over ice cream so I don't join him. I will have just the root beer if I do anything.

    Tonight is spaghetti night. Jack's end of day kind of slides around with these classes so I have been trying to have stuff that can be made at the last minute.

    Jean: Since Jack has military death benefits, he will be buried at a national cemetary and as long as he dies first, I can be buried on top of him. My crazy husband says that's kind of kinky! He wants bagpipes so I found a group here that will play at funerals and put that information in the folder and typed up all the numbers and information for the life insurance policies, how to get ahold of the veteran's group that help with veteran's burial and such, blah, blah, blah. I would let them row me out and dump me overboard in the Mississippi My feeling is when I am dead, I am dead, why spend thousands of dollars with coffins and memorials and burials and all the stuff. Jack thinks cremation is a sin so I guess he is just going to have to put up with me squishing him in the plot! It is cooler here, but not cold. It gets into the low 60's at night, but gets up into the 80's during the day.

    Maggie: If I want a recipe, I just ask her and she will send it to me. My grandmother made one of the absolute best custard pie. She also made pie crusts you actually want to eat! I love Shephard's Pie but Jack won't eat it so..... Sometimes having a pickier husband can be difficult. Then he says things like, "I am going to miss not having escargot this year." The escargot industry is low this year and so they are really expensive so the ship is having bay scallops instead, which Jack likes too. He is a weird guy!

    Well, time to get to work! Have a great day. Faye
  • Wonderful Wendsday AKA:Humpday of the week.
    GOOD AFTERNOON MAGNOLIAS☺♫

    Hump day ~ AKA:Wednesday has gotten here quickly in my mind ~ a sign of getting older. The day is to be in the high 80°s here in the ♥-Land and the wind has died down and it is a lovely day. The pain in my get-along has subsided and I feel better than I have in a while. I just have two items on my “to do” list today and one of them is to take my walk around and around inside this for it is too hot yet for me to do the sidewalk trek.

    There are two boxes of brownie mix and a package of chopped walnuts sitting on my kitchen counter and I think it is a hint for me to make them for Will. Would you think? Subtle but effective. I will do that this afternoon and then package most of them for the freezer and he can have them whenever he feels the “need.” I’ll bake both boxes in a large pan so there will be lots of them.

    DONNA FAYE When Jack eats snails does he chew them or swallow them whole like people do with oysters? It is interesting what a restaurant does with those snails before they die for they let them play in a tray of corn meal to clean themselves out. Here is a recipe for them and you can make them at home for him and he won’t have to wait until you go on a cruise to get them since he likes them so well.

    SNAILS A LA PROVENCAL
    Serves:4

    12 s
    3 cloves garlic, finely minced
    ½ stick butter
    ¼ cup fresh Italian parsley, minced
    2 Tbsp chives, minced
    ⅛ cup diced tomatoes
    ½ cup cream
    Salt & pepper, to taste
    1. Sauté garlic in the butter for 2 minutes. Add the snails, parsley and chive mixture and tomato. Cook for 2 more minutes. Add the cream.
    2. Simmer over lowest heat stirring often, until volume is reduced by one-third and has a thicker consistency
    3. Serve with a green salad of mixed baby greens and a Vinaigrette.

    If he just likes his s fried then that would be easy to do also. Gotta keep your man happy and he won't have to wait a year to get something he loves to eat.

    Have a great day my Magnolia friends.
  • Good Afternoon, Flowers! It's a beautiful fall day in my corner of the world. It was my morning to work in the gift shop; I didn't sell anything but had lots of busywork projects to do for different departments so kept busy. Bob had to take a class in another town today so won't see him until after bell practice. I just finished my financial report for the annual meeting tomorrow. I'm not an accountant so even though the figures are what they are, I have no clue what things sold for "on clearance" so that figure is missing nor all of the 15% volunteer discounts given out. "Oh well!"

    Maggie -- You describing what restaurants do with snails gives me the heebie jeebies! I envision them as being slimey, like mushrooms. Enjoy your new glass pumpkin!

    "Gma" -- How nice of Kelly to treat you to a pedicure! I think they are relaxing but my feet are ticklish so sometimes I just have to laugh out loud. The little Asian gal doesn't speak a lot of English and thinks she is hurting me until I try to explain. Spaghetti sounds good; we haven't had that in forever. I think tonight Bob is cooking since I have bell practice.

    I need to pick up the debris scattered around and head for bell practice in a few minutes. Hope you all enjoy a relaxing evening!