Steel Magnolias -- #43

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  • Good Afternoon, Flowers! Man, did the wind ever blow last night! We dropped 20+ degrees in a matter of hours and the wind suddenly picked up. We had tornadoes touch down around the state but I haven't heard if there was much damage. Our big trees finally had dropped their leaves this past week; DH was going to mulch 'n bag them yesterday but it misted all day long so he didn't get it done. We had hip high leaves in front of the garage door when we got home last night. Mr. Wind blew alot of them across the street into a yard belonging to an older man who had already raked his yard clean for the season. I felt bad but I can't control Mother Nature! They are both outside mowing leaves this afternoon.

    Today was 'pledge Sunday' at church; the bell choir played while the congration came to the front to drop their pledge cards into a doll house sized wooden church. There weren't alot of people there but I know some of the snow birds have flown south for the winter.

    Speaking of flying . . . Jason's in-laws have invited us to go to Maui with them in February! They have a time-share but rented another unit thinking one or all of their own kids might go again. The kids all seem to be short on funds (and long on toddlers!) so we were offered the space. I need to get more $$ details but it sure sounds good to me!

    Maggie -- Our new jail will be in an existing building that the city already owns and is in a commercial zone with a low income housing development across the street. Needless to say, there has been alot of hoopla because they don't want to live next to a jail. There were other commercial buildings and businesses there when the houses were being built 20+ years ago. DH is on the Board of Adjustments and he had to do the tie breaking vote. There are 2 families we know from when we first moved to town and were in Welcome Wagon card clubs together. Now neither one of them will speak to us because of DH's vote! Anyhow, the new jail will have room for juveniles as well as adult men and women so we won't have to pay neighboring counties to house them. The majority of them are Mexicans. Thanks for the bread info -- my grandma was the bread maker but I only remember her making white bread. I'm so sorry that I didn't take baking, crocheting, and tatting lessons from her! She did teach me to play Rummy though!

    I hope everyone has a relaxing day! I'm off to the landfill with DH and a pickup full of leaves!

    Jean -- from Iowa!
  • Good afternoon gals! It is rainy and stormy today but that is ok as we need the rain.

    Jean: Glad you guys are ok as I heard someone was killed in Iowa with the tornados. Jack, of course has been to Hawaii more than once as when he was stationed on the west coast they left from Coronado CA and made a stop at Pearl Harbor. I, of course, have never been! I seem to have lots of USA experience and none outside of it but Canada and Mexico and that was only once apiece! I actually have family that have lived in Hawaii for several generations. My mother's father's brother married a Polynesian woman and in the 50's and 60's they lived at the base of Diamond Head in Honolulu. The last time I saw Uncle Hank and Aunt Mary was probaby when I was about 8 so it has been awhile and they both have to be deceased.

    Maggie: You may have my AOL address if you sent me those recipes. If so, I never received them so I am going to PM you my address as I don't seem to have yours or you can take the AOL address you have and change it from aol.com to bellsouth.net at the end as I used the same beginning for my address.

    Wow, I played with pies again yesterday (I think I have emotional issues regarding not being able to make mud pies as a child! ) and found that German Baking chocolate makes a really wonderful chocolate pie. I used 6 oz and it was creamy, smooth and wonderful taste. One problem, we are going to have to roll Jack to Indiana because his guinea pig testing is him up!

    I went shopping with dd yesterday and she accidently spilled the beans about my Christmas present. She made a huge photo and art work collage of Thomas for me. It has about 12 photos and 4 pieces of art. I am working for a place to put it after Christmas. I can't wait to get it now.

    Better check on that ole laundry as I got it started a little late this morning. Have a good Sunday afternoon and I will talk with you tomorrow.

    Faye
  • Sunny Sunday
    GOOD AFTERNOON MAGNOLIAS

    It is on the cool side - in the 40's but the sun wouldn't let you know that. AH but the breeze would. I just shut the window that is behind me to take that cold off my neck. The one in front of me is fine for the breeze isn't coming in it. Not much out of the ordinary here. I have got to start doing some putting stuff down so it won't fall down when we move but that will have to wait until we do start the move because we have to walk around in here yet.

    JEAN that is a good place for the jail. The folks in that low rent part of town won't have far to go to visit their realitives in jail. They should be thankful. Maui sounds lovely ~ hope you do decide to go and make that a good experience. The group rates are always lower. Your leaves gave that old man across the way something to do so he should thank you.

    FAYE I had sent some recent e-mails to your old aol address and the bums didn't even tell me you had moved. They could have at least bounced them back. Anyway after reading your message here I went to my program and changed the address and re-sent those recipes. I think you will really like both of them. Really. On my coconut cream pies I toast coconut and sprinkle it on the top of the stabalized cream which makes a wonderful yummy looking presentation. Use the wide shaved type.

    Hope everyone has a lovely day. This is the day that Gloria leaves for her trip. Disney World.
  • Happy Monday magnolias! Dunkin Donuts has some slammin' good Toasted Almond coffee! Yum-o! I do believe that Dunkin Donuts coffee has more caffeine in it than I'm used to--I always feel "wired" while drinking it.

    I had a great weekend!

    First of all...and Faye, you'll appreciate this...I FINISHED THE NEVER-ENDING HARRY POTTER SCARF! I will NEVER (yes, I know--never say never but I mean this) knit another scarf in the round again. Never. I thought DD2 was going to cry when I told her it was finished...just in time for her to wear to the HP movie on Saturday (which is also her birthday). My baby is going to be 30 years old!

    Second bit of news: My youngest grandaughter who is not even 2 years old yet (end of January) went potty for the first time yesterday! I always knew she was an exceptionally bright child! Y'all know what this calls for don't y'all? Oh yeah...a special treat!!

    Even though DH had to work Saturday night, my oldest daughter and her hubby came over...in their new Jeep Grand Cherokee. My SIL is a tall man--6'4" and he really needed the extra leg room. Their Jeep Liberty just wasn't doin' it for him.

    On Sunday afternoon inbetween seeing all the kids (again) we went to a classic car show. Gosh those cars bring back (good) memories. Yesterday was a very good on-target on program day. I did not drink soda--drank water!

    Do y'all ever get the feeling that things get in the way of you losing weight? For me, it's getting to meetings. It seems like every Monday, Tuesday, and some Wednesdays are taken up from now until the first of the year. I love being busy but I've got to stay with the program--I need my meetings. Especially this time of the year. I'm going to try for Thursdays now. There is just so much going on in my life right now. And THAT is a good thing.

    Oh! DH is home tonight--holiday. He wants to go out to dinner...I think. He suggested that on the phone this morning. I'm thinking Outback--I would love to have some of their salmon. Just love that! 12 points. Which I have more than that to spend on food tonight.

    Jean, MAUI! Go! Go! Go! Sounds delightful. Tornadoes--first Evansville, Indiana and now I hear...I can't remember which state...but this morning I heard that 70+ homes were destroyed! Between the California fires, the hurricans, and now tornadoes! You stay safe!

    Faye, what a lovely Christmas present. Thoughtful. I know you can't wait to see it. I, too, am thinking about putting together a collage of photos in a nice frame for DH for Christmas.

    Maggie, when is the move? After Thanksgiving?

    Later...
  • Sunny Monday
    GOOD MORNING MAGNOLIAS

    It is fixin' to ge a beautiful day. Not much doing around here. I made another loaf of bread in my new machine and it is of the whole wheat variety and it turned out grand. Made some great toast this morning.

    GAIL don't you just love that Toasted Almond! We get ours from the roaster that is in these mountains. Even as I type a pot is brewing. Do you have a bean grinder? How nice for the little grandbaby! How bout as a ger-prize a ruffley pair of undies. Those are a good incentive for future successes. I have my coffee now...ummmmm. Sounds like Thursday will work out for you. I do Thursday. We move on the 19th ~ at least that is the plan of the moment. It kinds depends on if our new water heater arrives and is installed by then.

    Everyone have a wonderful day.
  • Since it is getting darker by the minute, I will say "Good Evening, Flowers!" It was a typical Monday at school -- no one could remember what we did on Friday! *sigh* DH is at a 5:00 meeting and then has practice at church, so he will be home whenever he gets here. Supper will most likely be a sandwich or frozen pizza for him.

    "Gma" -- From the pictures on TV, there was quite a bit of tornado damage to homes and buildings with one death so far. They were nowhere near us although we did have strong winds all night long. We went to Honolulu for R & R in 1969. I would like to go back there for a day just to revisit where we stayed and see the sights again. The Christmas collage sounds like a great gift! Your pie making leads me to think I can almost taste them! Pie from you and bread from Maggie . . . what more could I ask for!

    Maggie -- For some reason I thought Gloria was leaving on the 17th. . . not sure where I got that idea. Like I said, pies from Faye and bread from you . . . hmmmmm, hmmmmmm good! Did you get your new phone line internet hookup figured out? We don't want you MIA!

    Gail -- It sounds like you had a fun weekend. You are lucky you have a choice of WW meetings to attend. We only have one unless we want to travel to another town and they are all evening meetings. Ian was bribed with jelly beans and stickers when they started potty training. He caught on quickly and hasn't had any accidents once he got the idea. Maddy, on the other hand, will take her Pamper pants (or whatever they are called) off and hand them to Beth saying "potty." Of course she has already gone potty in them! I just told Beth I don't think anyone has taken Pampers to kindergarten! I'm going to put in my request for Maui time tomorrow so we'll see . . . there is a "no school" day on Monday unless we have 4 snow days to make up by then, I have one and a half days of personal time off, so I'd only lose two and a half days of pay. If they say 'no', I may just call in from Maui!

    Not much else is newsy! Hope you all have a terrific Tuesday tomorrow!


    Jean -- from Iowa!
  • Good morning girls! Believe it or not it is in the 70's here this morning. The bedroom was warm all night last night and I had to run the fan. I didn't open windows because I THOUGHT we were having a cold front move in.

    Gail: Yeah for you getting your scarf done. I have started another one and boy I can tell when I knit with smaller needles. Takes less time for me hands to start hurting. Problem is, I changed the pattern so I now have too much of one color and not enough of another so I have to go and get some more of the main color! Thomas learned potty training really quick. He was done by the time he was two. Each kid is different. My son was fast, my dd was slower. I know that a lot of parents for boys do the "sink the cheerio" thing with the toilet. The one thing with Thomas was sitting on the toilet. They had a potty insert for it but he WOULD NOT sit on a toilet without it. They went on a weekend trip and the poor thing held a bowel movement for the whole weekend because they forgot to take it along.

    Jean: I am revving up to start pies this weekend. I made a list of everything I need so I can go to the commissary and get it. It will me much cheaper that way. I also have to get snacks and such for the trip. We leave a week from today in fact. I fixed fajitas for dinner for Jack last night and he really liked them. I just bought one of those Banquet chicken fajita mixes, bought a box of seasoned beef strips to add to them, some cheese and tortillas then fixed some spanish rice. It is fast and easy! Jack doesn't eat sour cream, guacamole, salsa, tomatoes, etc on it so it is really easy clean up too!

    Maggie: I plan on doing toasted coconut for the top. I have a lemon zester and I did chocolate "dust" for the chocolate pie and it looked great. I guess I have been kind of amazed at how creamy this recipe turns out and how good. You sure do save yourself a lot of heartache by doing it double boiler method and a lot of stirring besides. I also have a pecan and cherry pie to make and pretzel salad. I am making the pretzel salad at my son's because it has jello in it and I want it to turn out right and not get runny or old and rubbery.

    Well, I have to go and get my stuff done

    Faye ***Have fun with the mouse Gloria**
  • Happy Tuesday. I'm drinking an extra amount of caffeine this morning. Wayne had off work last night so we went out to dinner--The Outback--stayed on program, yada, yada, yada. On our way home, we hit a deer. Luckily for us we were not hurt and only cosmetic damage done to my jeep. The deer was not lucky. Awful feeling. So much traffic on the highway. Next thing we knew the deer was there in front of us. What a night--we had to report it. Actually, we didn't know we had to but Wayne phoned the county police and sure enough we did. In fact, we had to drive the jeep to the state trooper's office so they could see it and fill out a report. What a night!

    What a great idea Maggie! Ruffly panties for Robbie! She will love it!!! No...I don't have a coffee grinder...but that's a thought towards another shopping trip!

    Jean, I can't remember what I did on Friday either! Really. Whad DID I do on Friday?! My memory is terrible these days. I hope you get to go to Maui. What a fantastic trip to look forward to!

    Faye, I'm baking a very very rich coconut custard pie for Thanksgiving. DH is already dreaming about it.
  • Tuesday
    GOOD AFTERNOON MAGNOLIAS

    Ragg Mopp had his delightful time with his groomer this day and smells of elusive oranges. He is napping right now and so sweet and clean looking. I was able to put to bed an 18 point day last night without too much fuss. I ate a good roasted chicken dinner by LQ and a fresh orange and I was as happy with that as if I had good sense.

    JEAN no we haven't talked with the phone company out yonder at the lake as of yet. They don't want to deal until you are physically there we are told. Guess it is getting darker all over here earlier and earler and then in December when we have the longest day it will start getting lighter again.

    FAYE sounds to me you have it all organized. Would you mind sending me your pretzel salad recipe? Sounds like something I would like to try that is a crowd pleaser. Did you ever find something suitable to cart those pies in?

    GAIL When my daughter trained herself I bought her several pairs of pretty ones and she never wanted them wet. She was one of those early kids to e trained though and born a teenager for she loved her clothes looking nice. I would tell her to not get her clothes wet ~ meaning stay out of the sprinkler ~ when we were getting ready to go somewhere. I found her clothes folded on the steps and her with a shower cap on and naked playing in the sprinkler. When she was one year old she was walking everywere and miss independant. She was through with that bottle, never had one of those suckies, and didn't like having a wet behind. For one thing she had such fair skin ~ a red head ~ that it burned her and she didn't like that at all so she trained herself quite early. When she was 18 months I needed to put her in day care for a bit and the lady looked me in the eye and said "We only take trained children here." I said, "Good, because I wanted my daughter to be in with a group that had been trained for she has been trained for 6 months now." They got along wonderful for the few months I had her there and it all worked out fine. And when she was two my aunt taught her how to type. That is another story ~ my aunt was the doctor that was head of special education in Santa Barbara county and was doing an experiment on her. Or I should say study. Kids at that age can learn so many things that we never dreamed possible. Anyway try asking your two year old if you could borrow her typewriter so you could type a letter.

    Later folks......
  • Good Evening, Flowers! The wind has been blowing all day long with rain, sleet, and a little snow. It is 'howling' tonight and all activities around town were either cancelled or postponed. It is NOT a nice night to be out and about! Old Man Winter has suddenly put in an appearance! It was a laid back day at school today which was good.

    'Gma' -- Could you take all of your pie ingredients along and make the pies at your son's house? That would save wear and tear on the finished product not to mention being easier to transport. I like that pretzel salad too, but I don't make it unless we are having company because it makes so much.

    Gail -- I filled out my leave of absence paper today and decided if they don't ok it, I'm going anyway and will call in sick from Maui each day! There are teachers who take off extra days all of the time so I don't think there will be a problem. I've never taken any days off and rarely use sick days so my 14 year record should look pretty good!

    Maggie -- It seems like it gets darker quicker in the fall than it stays lighter later in January and February. Having it dark at 5:00 is so gloomy. I had to laugh at your daughter running through the sprinkler naked so she wouldn't get her clothes wet.

    I need to fold some towels and round up something to wear tomorrow. I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday tomorrow!

    Jean -- from Iowa!
  • Back At Ya
    HOWDY ONCE AGAIN

    It got warmer today which was a surprise. Up in the 70's which suits me just fine. I had a yummy LQ dinner and lil ole Ragg Mopp just waited patently for me to finish so he could lick that container. I think I eat every thing to be had in on of those but he just has to have the last lick. When I put the entree out on a plate I still make him wait until I have finished eating before he gets the container. That helps keep him from "begging" while I am eating. He doesn't sit and beg while I eat but doesn't get very far away from me. I don't feed him from the table while I am eating so he hasn't really gotten annoying in that department.

    JEAN the leaves are quickly leaving the trees around here. Everything was gorgeous last week but I think that was the piek and we are on the downside now. AH but remember that Dec 29 is the longest day and then it all changes to getting lighter longer. I do hope you do go to Maui. That would be such a fun trip I imagine. After all if you do call in sick from there you are allowed to get sick any where. Who says you have to be home to be sick anyway. At least when my daughter did her naked dance in the sprinkler we were living in the country and no one but Mom saw her. She at least folded her clothes up nicely before she took the plunge. What was neat about living out there was the place was owned by a school principal and he had a lovely wife and 6 children. They lived in a huge house and we rented the old farm house which wasn't so small but not big enough for all of them. It was all in the middle of a walnut orchard. Anyway he was an avid surfer and had an olympic sized swimming pool which had a nice high chain link fenc around it to keep out wild animals. In the summer time he taught swimming there. My daughter would watch through the fence. He let us use the pool when ever they weren't using it so one day he came home and saw her doing the exact things he had been teaching the older kids. From then on he took her with him as an example of how things were supposed to look. She watched him and learned it that way and he was a good teacher.
    She learned how to dive properly and swam like a fish. We got to use the pool a lot because as a surfer he and the family went to the beach a lot and he and his boys surfed on the days when "surf was up." I surfed some and had a board called the Blue Machine made by a guy of the name of Morey Pope. Quite the board and I got it for a song because it was one that Morey had used and then sold it as a used board. I am sure talking history here.
  • Good morning girls! We went from a balmy 78 to 50 in about half an hour last night. Big storm moved through so we are back to fall temps again. I wish it would make up its mind!

    Jean: I could take everything to dil's but I don't have the time. I promised my sister I would spend all day Wed with her and I am NOT cooking over there. She is THE worst cook and if I started stuff she would interfere. I have 5 pies to bake so I am making them here and making the pretzel salad up there on Wed evening after I get back from her house.

    Maggie: I will send you the recipe for the pretzel salad. Makes a nice luncheon item. Such a cute story about your dd. I can just see her clothes all nice and folded and the little nudist having a high ole time in the sprinkler!

    Gail: Glad you are alright and the Jeep didn't fair too badly. I whomped a deer a couple years ago taking Jack to work going 55 and tore the whole front end up on our grand marquis. I just sat and cried when I pulled over. It looked like one of those old geezers who had all his teeth pulled and didn't have his false ones in! You could see right through to the radiator. I was driving and came around the corner and he just ran right in front of me and I couldn't stop. Luckily, the guys from Jack's plant went back looking for it but didn't find it so assumed it was ok.

    Well, girls, I need to get things done this morning. We are taking dd out to dinner for her birthday this evening and Thomas will be there so I need to get things organized here at home.

    Thought you might like a beautiful picture of the golden dome at Notre Dame. My son and dil live about 3 blocks from the school and shot some pics left over on a roll when they took their doggie for a walk.


    Faye
  • Humpday
    GOOD MORNING MAGNOLIAS

    My goodness the sun is shining here. The temp is in the high 40's at 9:30 am but nice. I hear the wind chimes singing their beautiful tunes so the breeze is nice. Not much to report from this corner of the uni.

    FAYE I ran that recipe through my recipe program and used lightened ingredients. I made it have 12 servings and it came out to 8 POINTS per serving that way. Thanks for the picture ~ nice building.

    Here is a pretty salad that serves 8 and is 2 points per serving.

    STRAWBERRY STRIPE
    Mix all together:
    1 pkg strawberry Jell-O, sugar free
    1 pkg lemon Jell-O, sugar free
    2 cups boiling water
    13-oz can crushed pineapple, drained
    1 pkg frozen strawberries, thawed
    Pour 1/2 of the mixture into a glass bowl
    Chill till firm
    Spread 1 cup low fat sour cream over top
    Pour remaining mix over cream and chill

    If you layer this in a clear bowl it is pretty.
    SERVES 8 ~ 2 POINTS

    Have a good day everyone.
  • Good Evening, Flowers! It was BRRRRRY cold here today (now it's down to 12 degrees with a wind chill of 0) but the sun was shining brightly all day! DH is convinced we will have a melting kind of day before winter is serious about staying. We'll see . . . . . .

    Maggie -- I think everyone should learn how to swim whether they like the water or not. Both of our kids grew up around lakes and took lessons when they were old enough. Will doesn't know how to swim but doesn't seem at all afraid of being in the water or going out in the boat. That does make me a bit nervous. None of us wear life jackets (except the grandbabies) which isn't too smart either . . . there seems to be as many drunk boat drivers as car drivers these days. There was a bad boat accident, on Okoboji, resulting in the death of an all around nice guy -- family man, church goer, dentist, etc. The guy who hit him has a police record 7+ pages long of OWIs. Anyhow, we enjoyed watching the surfers in Hawaii but I never had any desire to try it. Do you still have your surf board stored away somewhere? Thanks for posting the salad recipe!

    'Gma' -- I hope your pies travel well! You are braver than I would be for sure! Thanks for sharing the picture; it looks like an interesting building. I hope you enjoyed your evening with T.

    Gail -- Where are you? I hope your day was a good one?

    Does anyone have a suggestion/recipe for a vegetable salad? I've been asked to make one for Thanksgiving dinner. Last year I made the 7 layer lettuce salad.

    I had bell choir practice tonight and we went out for supper first, so I need to go through the mail and get myself ready for tomorrow.

    Have a nice evening and a terrific Thursday!

    Jean -- from Iowa!
  • Good morning girls! It is officially COLD here this morning! I had a nightmare so decided to get up.

    Maggie: thanks for the recipe and the ones you e-mailed to me. I had a friend in Indiana that made the most amazing dessert I have ever seen. I think it was called stained glass dessert. It had I think 4 flavors of jello and you would cut it into squares and it had all these different colored layers. She would bring it to every church dinner. She said it takes like 3 days to make or something because you have to pour a jello layer, it has to set up then you pour the next layer, which is jello mixed with whip cream or something so it is opaque. So you have like clear red, opaque red, clear green, opaque green, clear orange, opaque orange etc etc. She is the only person I have ever seen make it. Sounds like way too much work to me! Probably something Jean would make..... (sorry Jean, just had to have that giggle at your expense because you are always talking about not cooking)

    Jean: Ok, you beat me in the "who's coldest" contest. Twelve degrees? BRRRRRRRRRRR. Now I know why I live in the midsouth. I knew there had to be a reason. Oh no... that is because my sweet baby boy lives here! Shame on all of you for not wearing life vests I was watching a program on the travel channel last weekend on cruising and saw the part where they make everyone do the lifesaving drill and I kept thinking, "Boy, those puppies don't look none too big. Sure hope they have those babies in plus size!" (please excuse the murdering of the English language above ) As for surfing, I have enough trouble just walking on my two feet, you know?

    I got my Kitchenaid last night and it is sooooo pretty. I know it is a Christmas present and I probably should have wrapped it up and left it alone, but A: You KNOW I HATE TO WRAP GIFTS and B: I want to use it! It is cobalt blue and looks pretty cool in the kitchen.

    Gail: What project are you doing now???? I will probably be working on my last hat and scarf up until Christmas as it takes awhile to do.

    I guess I will sack out in the recliner until Jack gets up in a hour. Have a great day girls and stay warm!

    Faye