Maggie -- I would love to watch you as you work on your glass buildings. When my mom was at the Mayo Clinic, she always said there were people far worse off than she was. How sad, but true that is.
Susan -- We saw the sun just as it was about to set today; it was huge and bright orange. I will be thinking of you tomorrow and know you will be fine. I hope you can check in while you are at Glory's house.
Good Morning, Flowers! It's a very foggy morning once again. I am clearing off the kitchen counter clutter this morning, or else! I really need to do some serious ironing and get that caught up.
Susan -- I'm hoping you are "on the mend" since your surgery should be over.
Maggie -- It could be just the two of us here for a few days.
I am not dressed so need to get a move on. Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday, count your blessings, and enjoy!
It is fixin' to be a tad warmer this day in the Heartland. They say it is currently 57 and going to get as high as 67. I have rolls to bake and a jellow salad to make this day and get things all organized to cook tomorrow. I get out the cans of stuff and the pot to cook it in and place the cans in the pot so I don't have to go "hunting" tomorrow. I'll chop the veggies for the dressing and get the pickle mix put in a dish. Things like that so tomorrow won't be a chore. We watched a movie we got in the mail last night called "Lincoln Lawyer" which was good. Cecil is so cute since he learned to use the doggie door. He pops in and out no matter where the dogs are in our out. He isn't gone outside for a long time but it is a game with him "in and out" because he can. Little stinker likes to bit our feet through the covers when we are in bed. Will and the dogs are outside and Cecil is in the hallway looking at me and meowing. I told him to "go outside where his dogs are" ~ and he did.
JEAN Yep just the two of us. I would love to have you hear to watch me do my glass works and chat while I am doing it. I could teach you how. Last year an acquaintance of mine wanted to learn how to cut glass and build a project. I told her she was welcome to come over and I would show her and if she wanted to get into doing it I would give her a copy of the catalogue I do my ordering from. When she was looking my tools up in the catalogue her jaw dropped and she would have lost her teeth of they were false. It would be big bucks if she bought one of each of what I have but I didn't buy it all at once. Plus, I only bought what I have when it was marked down on a special. I got the top of the line glass grinder that way. To get set up and buy all the tools would be prohibitive unless of course one is "rich." Through the years I have made enough on what I have sold to pay for all my equipment and then some. I didn't want just a hoby but something to do that would pay for itself. I am thankful for that one day when my friend who was a parole agent came to me and said, "Lets go cut some glass." There was a shop downtown that was offering a class on cutting glass and we went there and enrolled that very evening. The teacher said I was a "natural" and should think about becoming professional. The couple that owned the glass shop would sell anything I could make. A large round window I made is still in a house at the beach facing the ocean. I also sold a lot of boxes during the Christmas season back then.
Have a lovely day all you Magnolias. Type at y'all later.
Maggie -- It sounds like you had a busy day cooking, or getting things ready to cook, for tomorrow. I'm sure everything will be delicious! I'll bet you have a wide array of glass working tools. I was looking for a counted cross stitch pattern and was surprised at how many books I had, as well as floss. I wonder if that rots over time? Enjoy your day tomorrow!
Good Morning! I just finished putting the apples in the Snickers salad so my part of dinner is done. We'll be leaving in a couple hours so guess I will look at all the ads that came in the paper today, NOT that I will go shopping tomorrow. I hope everyone enjoys their Thanksgiving today, or whenever you celebrate the holiday.
It is a 44 degree morning this Thanksgiving Day and expected to climb up to 69. I got the skin pealed back on the turkey breast and sprayed it with butter spray then applied a rub mix liberally that I had mixed up awhile back from a BBQ book I have then replaced the skin. It is now out in the patio in the smoker. I have every thing I want to cook sitting on the stove in thier packages and cans in the proper sized pans to be prepared in. When the time comes today when I have to prepare the meal I have my ducks in a row and don't have to go hunting for the proper pan or if I have one that will work. I love being organized for it works for me. I noticed one small empty pan sitting on the counter this morning and it reminded me to ask Will to go to the basement for a can of string beans. I jazz them up with some "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray and a few bacon bits. The way I fix my cranberry sauce we like it later with eggs and such. I get the whole berry kind and mix in a can of mandarin orange sections and some chopped nuts. Just a tad bit of that sure livens up a breakfast.
JEAN Snicker salad sounds yummy. You have a lovely day now. With all that I am fixing we could feed more folks but couldn't find anyone that wanted to come over for they had plans with relatives which is a good thing for them.
Every one have a wonderful Thanksgiving this day. Type at y'all later.
Good Morning, Flowers! It's a "warm" morning at 45 degrees, but cloudy and foggy as I look across the lake. I can't help but wonder when winter is going to really hit us; it's predicted to be colder and wetter. I keep telling myself we are one day closer to spring! I'm doing some laundry and plan to iron some shirts for Bob so I'm ahead of that game instead of behind.
Maggie -- We have leftovers to eat today, so guess that will be my cooking effort. I can do turkey about one time; we're not big on turkey to begin with so whenever we fix one I just get a breast. I really like the cranberry relish like my grandma used to make with the celery, orange, and nuts in it. The grocery deli makes a pretty good one and since I'm the only one who likes it, I buy it. What are you up to today?
Susan -- I keep hoping that you are doing well after your surgery and back with us soon.
Gail -- Where are you?
"Gma" -- I know you are enjoying your time with Jackson, Thomas, and your family. The time will fly by too fast.
If any of you are brave enough to go shopping today, have fun and I hope you find the bargains. I'm going to unload the dw and enjoy another cup of coffee.
It is a still day here in the heartland of 35 degrees fixin' to get to 62. Nothing much on my agenda except glass work on my latest building and dealing with left-overs. I put all the left-overs in the fridge promptly after we finished eating yesterday and today I will deal with them. I plan on making up a few plates of turkey, gravy & dressing. The rest will be left plain for sandwiches, pot pies, noodle soup and such that I do with left-over turkey. We certainly don't mind left overs because the first go round was good.
JEAN No shopping for us. Don't like the crowds and the shoving and such that goes on. Not a fun time for us. Did you read about the woman that used pepper spray on the folks that wanted the same thing she did? It is getting vicious "out there." Nope lets just stay home and be sane. Your grandmothers relish sounds a lot like mine except for the celery and I will have to try adding that. In fact I will add a bit of sliced thin celery to the left over bit I have. Isure like using those little canned mandarin orange sections for that recipe.
Good Morning, Flowers! It's very windy, cloudy, gloomy, and a "feels like" 20 degrees outside this morning. We will be leaving for Sioux Falls in an hour or so. We got an interesting piece of mail yesterday; the stamp had been cancelled, and it was from someone in FL to someone else in FL. The zip code was no where near our's, nor was there a Jean, Robert, or Bob in either name. I wrote "Rec'd, 11/25, SL, IA" on the envelope and Bob took it to the po this morning. Some po idiot along the way had to have handled it, if no one else but the goofus who delivered our mail last night sometime after 5:30. No wonder the po is in trouble.
Maggie -- After hearing about the shopping fiasco on tv, last night, I'm glad I was smart enough to stay home! Of course, since we only really have WM, that was a no brainer on my part. Enjoy your leftovers!
My dryer is buzzing so need to fold a load of undies. Have a super Saturday and enjoy!
Good Afternoon, Flowers! The sun just came out but it's not all that warm at 31 degrees . . . "feels like" 20 because of the wind. We went to early church, and I've read the front page of the paper. I actually cooked dinner for a change; it was an easy casserole, fresh veggies, and leftover cranberry salad. I could do some more laundry and ironing but am going to sit here and rest for a bit.
Maggie -- You were MIA yesterday. I hope all is ok and you were just busy.
Guess I will go finish reading the paper. It's full of ads again which surprised me after all the Black Friday ads in the Thursday paper. Enjoy the rest of your day!
It is a bright sunny chilly day here in the heartland this Sunday. We went out to eat at a nice Italian restaurant and I broght two thirds of my dinner home. Will ate about the same and since we had the same thing we had them put it all in the same "go box." Fettuccini Alfredo w/ slice Italian Sausage. Not at all program friendly the way they make it I am certain but so yummy and worth it once in awhile to savor that taste. When we got home we had two dogs and one kitten greeting us at the back gate. That kitten sure likes hanging out with his dogs. I sure hope my hair dresser lady is in tomorrow because I am getting a bit shaggy and need a cut. I am going to have her cut it real short ~ short this go round since it is winter and the wind re-arranges my do's so I will have one that can't be re-arranged.
JEAN I was sure I had posted yesterday. Guess I had a "senior" moment. I got busy doing glass work and finished up the building I was working on and then cut out a little flower shop buiding. I'll put a tree on each end of the little building out of foil. I will build up solder on the cut out tree of copper to resemble tree bark. It has a little trellis with bead flowers out front of the little building. It takes a bit of time to do this building so I will do it now while I wait to make my order for more light fixtures the first of next month. I ended up with more holders than light fixtures so do have one last holder to solder inside the back so it will be ready to insert the light fixture. This will be the third house without a light but ready to have one put in.
Good morning ladies. Back home all safe and sound. We got in about 7 pm last night. My house looks like an explosion at the moment, but we will get it put back together this morning.
We had a grand time and Jack and I took the boys out to the movies and then for pizza on Saturday. It was fun and Jackson is a total hoot. When we were opening presents, his mom or dad would say, "who is that one from?" and he would look on the tag and say," Nonny and Granddad!" no matter who it was from, lol. Maybe I over indulge????NAH!! Their hats and gloves fit perfectly and even Thomas liked his and put it on and wore it all evening, which thrilled me no end. We had too much food, my cookies were a huge, huge hit and nothing was left but crumbs. Even Jack, who refused to try one, finally ate a piece off one because everyone was raving about them and I think he ate more of them than anyone. As for the chocolate and marshmallow ones he said the boys would not eat, everyone including the kids loved them and I saw Thomas eating the last three out of the bag and even tipped the ziploc up to drop the last crumbs into his mouth, so there Jack! No kid is gonna turn down chocolate, sugar and marshmallow. The restaurant idea was wonderful and we had a load of fun. Alicia ordered a bottle of Korbel champagne for mimosas after Kelly looked at the wine list and said it was only $7. Out it came, and it was this tiny one glass bottle. Everyone hooted about that including the server who knew that they thought it was a regular bottle. Jack and I sat down at the end with the boys and had fun with them. Jackson came back to the table with a huge plate of food and ate almost every bite and a couple slices of pie besides. Thomas kept going back for chocolate and pumpkin pie and even I had a slice and it was delicious. I now have to desugar myself again, but no biggy as I have all that under control now and no more coming home from vacation and continuing to eat poorly. We are back on program this morning as soon as jack goes the the store later and gets fresh milk and bread. I did gain about 3 lbs according to the scale, but not to worry, it will come right back off.
I got my Scentsy order from my dd's friend up there and ooooh, it smells wonderful. I got the cinnamon and cloves and bought some car hangers and the car smells all cinnamonny though jack says, "that stinks!" Of course, I knew he would as he hates fragrances in the house and car.
The adult toys for tots exchange was a totally laugh fest. Here is what Jay and Alicia bought that reminds them of Jack. They bought me this adorable orange spikey haired doll that came with a pet monkey. Of course they said the monkey was their dad! Since we have pretty much exhausted the personality thing, next year we are going to draw adjectives out of a hat and each person has to buy a gift that fits the adjective of the person who drew it. So, if I drew one that said, funny, everyone would have to buy me a funny gift. Jay insisted his sister include insulting ones, but I told him it could get tough to buy a gift that the adjective was "stupid" or something like that. All in all great fun doing this every year. The boys loved their stuff and T's mom even told him since he got gift cards from both us and his aunt and uncle he could buy whatever he wanted without her saying no so I may get a call to take him shopping, who knows??? We would love to do it.
He played his trumpet for us and did a great job and has his first band concert in a couple weeks.
No replies this morning gals, though I think I caught up on everyone. I do hope Susan is doing ok. Have a great start to the week. We are supposed to get 1-3 inches of SNOW tonight, ugh! Faye
It is a lovely sunny day here in the Heartland. Currently it is 55 and only expected to get up to 60 before this day is done. It is just Cecil and me home alone together at the moment. Will is getting his hair cut and the dogs are at the groomer. I don't currently have a hair cut appointment. I am a happy camper for the iron monster has me down another 2 pounds to thin. Yep that does make me happy. I just got a catalogue in the mail that the cover made my mouth water before I even opend the pages. It is dried fruit and the cover is sliced peaches that look ripe and ready to eat. And all the dried fruit looks beautiful like it is fresh cut. I know where I will be spending some of my "treat" money this season. On "good for us" things. I am going to do some more work on my little flower shop this day. Not much else on the agenda. We got a card from a local business that is offering free pictures with Santa on Dec 3. Plus they are giving gifts and treats to the children. I would like to go there and see all the cute little kids getting their picture taken. What a nice thing for a local establesment to be doing this season. The dogs came in and greeted me. They are so clean and smell so good. Cecil is happy to see them. Will just handed me a bag with small doggie bones wrapped with chicken jerky that the animals just love. Beanie drops crumbs and Cecil gets them. And - o-goodie we get to give them their flea, tick and lice treatment this evening. Gotta keep em safe. I keep seeing that dried fruit catalogue out of the corner of my eye and it is calling my name. Dried veggies are good also but not to eat raw. I like them for soups and stews. Tis the season. For lunch this day I think we will have a re-run of yesterdays lunch out. I plan on making a stir fry for dinner this evening. I have some veggies that need to be used and that is a good way to use them. I am so glad that the men liked those rolls I made for there aren't any calling my name. I love fresh rolls and those by Rhodes are good to have in the freezer to make only the ones you want to bake at the time. I can bake one or more easily that way so I keep a bag of the small ones in the freezer. For a big crowd I mix up a batch of my good recipe but Rhodes frozen bread products are great. I have several small pamphlets they sent me years ago that have some neat ideas of what to make with thier frozen dough. We bought a tub of frozen cookie dough from a kid that was selling for his school. It is already made up into cookies so we can bake only "one" or "ones" we want when we feel we "need" a cookie. I am not much for eating cookies but Will devours them and wants to lose weight so I don't bake them. This way he can have one when he gets the inkling and it will be much better for him then eating a whole bunch. Losing weight is all a process of learning how to deal with food isn't it. I will e-mail you Magnolias a report I received on 9 foods we are fooled into thinking they are healthy and what they are really about so you can decide if you want to continue consuming them. Those things that the "food indursty" has made it easier for us to lose weight if we just use these products.
DONNA FAYE Sounds like you had a lovely time doing "Christmas" early. What fun to have with your family all gathered around with cheer and good will. Thank you for that nice report. I love the cinnamon and clove sents. OH so nice to permeate the air. I have a scent in my bathroom that smells like fresh washed laundry. That so clean smell. We have different nice ones around the house that we light but not all at once. They would clash. I am thinking you must have let out a sigh of relief when the knitted hat fit just right and he loved it and sported it all day.
Good Afternoon, Flowers! The sun is shining brightly but it's a cold 40 degrees in my corner of the world. I'm thankful my little space heater keeps humming away beside me. I made it to "early" counting this morning, balanced because there wasn't much to post, stopped by the court house to pick up a radon testing kit (our county has a very high level in various places), then picked up the gift shop money on my way home. That's where my headache began! Some of the volunteers have terrible handwriting so it's hard to read their numbers from the copy I get. Then the employee signature sheet didn't match the daily sales sheet so had to figure out who bought what; 3 purchases weren't signed for so the employees won't be charged. GRRRR! There isn't always someone at the gift shop register so the employees are on their honor so to speak. The coffee shop gal will help there if she isn't busy, but that isn't always the case either.
"Gma" -- Welcome home! I'm so glad you are home safe and sound! I knew you would have a wonderful time with your family! The gift exchange sounds like such fun! What is Jack holding in the picture? It looks like a Star Wars critter but you mentioned a monkey. You will have the small gain under control and gone asap. It's no fair if you get snow before I do!
Maggie -- on losing 2#s this week! Hope you get your hair cut appt. sooner rather than later. I'm getting a perm tomorrow afternoon; all of a sudden I have no body and look like a droopy loopy! I hate to think of 3 hours sitting there but the alternative isn't pretty either. My stepsister always makes bread in her bread machine when we are there. This time she had dinner rolls and I asked her if she made the dough in her machine. They were frozen Rhodes rolls, and very tasty!
I need to do a couple loads of laundry so better get moving. Enjoy the rest of your day!
Steel Magnolias #53
in case I don't get in here until I get back home. 
When my mom was at the Mayo Clinic, she always said there were people far worse off than she was. How sad, but true that is.
Wonderful Cool Wednesday
GOOD MORNING MAGNOLIAS 
I'll bet you have a wide array of glass working tools. I was looking for a counted cross stitch pattern and was surprised at how many books I had, as well as floss. I wonder if that rots over time? 
GOOD MORNING MAGNOLIAS 
I'm doing some laundry and plan to iron some shirts for Bob so I'm ahead of that game instead of behind.
No wonder the po is in trouble.
Of course, since we only really have WM, that was a no brainer on my part. Enjoy your leftovers! 
I like them for soups and stews. Tis the season. For lunch this day I think we will have a re-run of yesterdays lunch out. I plan on making a stir fry for dinner this evening. I have some veggies that need to be used and that is a good way to use them. I am so glad that the men liked those rolls I made for there aren't any calling my name.
It's no fair if you get snow before I do! 
on losing 2#s this week! 
Hope you get your hair cut appt. sooner rather than later. I'm getting a perm tomorrow afternoon; all of a sudden I have no body and look like a droopy loopy! I hate to think of 3 hours sitting there but the alternative isn't pretty either. My stepsister always makes bread in her bread machine when we are there. This time she had dinner rolls and I asked her if she made the dough in her machine. They were frozen Rhodes rolls, and very tasty! 
