Rather you're a fan of the game or not, Super Bowl Sunday is a great excuse to make special snacks. Eat and enjoy! Happy game day. Darlene, Dave usually does help me put clean sheets on the bed. But he was working outside and I just did them myself this time. Yes, we will watch the Super Bowl even though we don't have a team in the fight. I will pull for the 49ers just b/c the Chiefs have won recently and I like to see someone else have the win. I won't be making any special snack for the game. I made blonde brownies a couple days ago and we can have one of those. I mixed up pizza dough yesterday and will make pizza tonight for supper.
Fantastic Friday to you! I have blonde brownies in the oven, sheets in the dryer, clothes in the washer, tea brewing for iced tea, and all dishes washed and kitchen cleaned. Now if the bed-making fairy would just come and put the sheets back on the bed when they finish drying, I'd be set. Might you have a spare bed-making fairy I could borrow? I'll trade you a brownie for the use of her, Darlene!
I, too, used to eat only cranberry sauce from the can until I discovered how easy it is to make yourself and how much better it tastes. I've always preferred the "lumpy" kind, rather than the jellied, so that's what I make. I like the cinnamon taste I get with tossing in a cinnamon stick (easy-peasy) while the cranberries cook down, but you can adapt the sauce to whatever flavor(s) you like or just leave it plain. The lemon stuffing I make is one that my daughter and I enjoy--the guys prefer "regular" stuffing with sausage in it. I've been collecting recipes since I was a little girl but I find that I tend to make the same ones over and over again. I have two binders that I have my five star" recipes in. One is for savory dishes, the other is for the sweet ones. Each recipe is in a plastic page cover so I can have it on my counter and not worry about spilling stuff on it. Well, not as much, anyway. If I want to make something I know we'll all enjoy, those binders are where I look. If I feel like trying something different, I have plenty of cookbooks plus the internet to browse through. And maybe whatever I find will make it's way into one of my binders. Or not. There always seems to be recipes that sound good to you that just don't live up to what you expected. If they're in a recipe book, I cross them off. And yes, I make notes about recipes in my cookbooks. I rate them, make a note about any substitutions, ideas for any changes I may want to try, etc. I have a decent memory, but I'm sure as heck not going to remember if I tried some recipe ten years ago and thought it was awful, or would be improved with certain changes, or even if we really loved it. I learned that a long time ago about myself, so have been scribbling in my cookbooks over the years. Besided, my Mom did it and that's probably where I really picked up the habit, as I thought it was pretty smart of her.
I love listening to Josh Groban (who sang the song "Believe" at the end of Polar Express". Even if he's not singing in English, his voice is so beautiful that I don't care if I have no idea what he's singing. In fact, one of my favorites of his is called "Oceano". You can listen to it hear, if you'd like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJOle1kiKxI I have it playing right now, since I found it for you. Ooooo, the power in his voice...I sure wish I could sing, but I can't stay on key/tune to save my soul, I'm afraid. Back to Polar Express--I didn't know you could get a copy of the sleigh bell from that movie, but it doesn't surprise me. And it's pretty neat that it even came with a laminated ticket and was so nicely packaged. What a treat to have, right?
Montezuma and his heavy chocolate consumption has come up in other movies; it's super that hearing about it in one inspired you to look the old Aztec up and read all about him and his chocolate/chili pepper drinking habit. And yes, that smart-alec kid in the Polar Express movie is a hoot. Annoying, but in a cute way. I like the scenes of the train out on the icy lake, zigging and zagging to get back onto the train tracks--and all the different ways the conductor gets the engineer to go left or right. Ha, I'm a word girl...of course I'd appreciate that!
Actually, I abhor Nyquil. The pic of it on my page and the blurb on it is a highly sarcastic posting at the end of it. I can't stand the taste of it, nor any of the other cold remedies they think you'll be happy to gag down. Instead, I put a wine cooler into a blender, add enough ice so there's about as much crushed ice as there is liquid by the time I'm done grinding it all up and drink that. The alcohol content is probably about the same but it tastes a whole lot better and the ice numbs your throat. Works for me, and it's the only time I drink alcohol, as I don't care for anything with a bitter taste to it, such as alcohol has. And dark chocolate. I'm a real lightweight when it comes to spicy "hot" things, so I think old Montezuma's daily concoctions would send me into a tailspin...or straight to the throne room to hug the porcelain god. Bleah!
I've put up most of my winter items that were on my china cabinet; it's now filled with any and all red items I could scrounge around the house, pink ones, hearts, etc. Just so you have an idea of what I put out...there's a jug of Drano, a box of staples, a couple cans of Campbell's soups, books, vases, decorative soaps, a can of Raid, a union suit, maraschino cherries, a box of raspberry jello, a spatula, shotgun shells...I go through our house and just round up red items. It doesn't matter to me what they are, just that they're red. I do the same next month, but I hunt up green items for St. Patrick's Day. I have tablecloths covering the shelves of my cabinet that match my "theme". It's a lot of fun going on a scavenger hunt in my own home. I suppose some folks might think I'm looney, but I don't care. I enjoy the heck out of the whole process and it helps keep the house from looking kind of dull and bare after the holiday season ends.
It's great that you have a collection of cats/kittens that you've acquired over the years. I had no idea what the Lennox figurines would look like, so I Googled. There is quite the variety from that one company--shoot, they even have a collection of spice jars with cats on them! Do you have those? I think the only cat item I have is an old salt shaker (or maybe it's the pepper shaker) that I'd given to my Mom for Mother's Day when I was a little girl. I gave her the set, but somewhere along the way one of them got broken (or lost in a move), so Mom offered it to me. And since I still love it...I'm happy to have it. Here she is: (Google pic, but this is the one that I have.) Mine has a chip at the bottom and the closure that would hold the spice inside is missing so it isn't much use as either a salt or a pepper shaker, but I just love her sweet face and the daisy-flowered mob cap she wears.
It's nice you finally got some snow; ours is finally gone. I was worried about making the appt. with the cardiologist for my hubby at the end of January, but I could have saved myself the mental hoo-haw. We got a call on our way to it that it had been cancelled--the doc got a call-out. Well, SHOOT!! As we were almost to town anyway, we stopped at a Safeway store and grocery shopped, then went home. Got home before dark, which I was thrilled about, since my eyes don't adjust quickly enough to changes in light to make driving in the dark anything I should really be doing. They have us scheduled for March--which is a long way off and we were both mightily peeved about that, but there isn't anything to be done about it. We're on a waiting list in case there's a cancellation, but I'm not holding my breath that they'll call us. So, we take it one day at a time and deal with whatever comes up.
Summer is my least-favorite season as I don't care for the heat. I'm fair skinned and used to have more freckles than I do now, so intense sunshine isn't my friend. And I wilt mighty quickly when it gets too dang hot. I do enjoy having the longer days with all the extra light, but the heat that comes with it...I could do without. Keep it around 70 degrees during the summers and I'd do a whole lot better. I don't care for how high the fire danger gets in the summer, either. We had a bad fire catch hold on the Oregon side of the Columbia River and let me tell you...I don't care to have another one like that. Looked spectacular, but it was scary as heck. We had twigs fall in our yard from that fire, as did others. And yes, it jumped the river to the west of us, but firefighters got right on it and kept it from sweeping either up or down the Gorge as it did on the Oregon side of the river. It was called the Eagle Creek fire, if you want to look it up. Or you can check out this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagle_Creek_Fire This tells about it, but you can see photos of it here: https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=9ef6fbfb68d43af6&rlz=1C1SQJL_enUS830US830&q=eagl e+creek+fire&tbm=isch&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwipvpmw2Zy EAxXcMjQIHe9EDWEQ0pQJegQICBAB&biw=1280&bih=559&dpr=1.25#imgrc=93k-rQkrdvq3BM All in all, I could happily skip summer and not be bothered at all. But I know my gardening friends would not be at all happy if that happened, so I'll just grin and bear it every darned year.
We did get down as low as 8 degrees and lost power a couple of times, but our house (and ourselves) stayed warm with a pellet stove in the basement and a wood stove on the main floor. Dennis had a generator on standby in case we needed it, but I'm thankful it didn't come to that. They're very nice to have, but also very noisy.
You were curious about what kind of car we have; it's a Chrysler 300 and it's a dark red color. We're paying too dang much for it and that's the last time we'll ever go to a car dealership to buy a car. No, this one isn't new, but with what we're paying for it, it darned well should be. Live and learn, even at our age! It sounds like you have/have had some nice car(s). I hope they last a long, long time and are safe as possible to drive.
I know it's been an age since I last stopped by, but I hope my page-hogging letter has made up for my sparse communication. The only thing I have to report is that one of our barred rock hens died the other day. I was checking the coop for stray eggs and found her. They're really my hubby's birds and are kind of his pets, so he wasn't happy to have lost one of his 'babies', but it's gonna happen whether we want it to or not. No idea what happened to her, but hope she enjoyed her life here with us.
Keep warm, safe, and dry over there, Darlene and I'll try to do the same over here. Until the next time...
Have a delightful day, Darlene:) It's so warm outside I just wanna scream, but this and next month usually have surprises along the way... HOPE SO! lol *hugs*
An' dat's da truth! :) I hope we do have some winter still left for us, Darlene. Too, too early to be this warm. I usually am on way to bed around 10:00p. Sometimes maybe 11:00 if something interesting is on TV. Think I'll sit here awhile and watch your snow fall:) *hugs* !!
A busy Monday it was. We are warming up yet again. At least for now, no rain in forecast. Cooked a ham today in oven. Lots of leftovers..put most of it in freezer. Made another trip to the grocery store. But they had a good sale. Have a wonderful new week ahead -:)
It is a gorgeous day in my area and I have enjoyed being outside a bit. What are you up to today? I hope whatever you are doing (or not), you are enjoying every minute of your Saturday. Darlene, so often the baked potatoes in restaurants are ginormous and Dave and I will share one. We will share one for supper and then share the one we bring home the next day. Restaurant portions are usually generous enough that we can eat leftover the next day. We went out to youngest daughter's this morning and then into Lowe's. This afternoon we've been piddling here at home. The weather is
Be safe, too, Darlene, whether you have w/e plans or not. Yeppers, we still have our wee snowmen decor out and about in the house. It's not March yet, so they're still around. Y'know... those critters wouldn't know a shadow if they saw one, right? haha Hope you and DH are doing well, my friend. *hugs*
A very happy almost-Friday to you! How has your day been? We did our grocery pick up this morning and I have laundry hanging out to dry. It is a sunny 60* F day and just beautiful. Enjoy your afternoon and evening. Darlene, being a cool weather person like you, I do dread summer. I love the garden, flowers, sunshine, etc., but the humidity and heat are unbearable. Summer is my least favorite season except for the fact that we grow our garden and flowers. I do love those.
I think many of us will be glad to see the back side of January; it's such a long and dreary month. Dave and I will begin our seed starting for the garden this afternoon. We have grow lights and heat mats and usually do quite well starting plants indoors. Generally we don't plant the garden until mid April but it takes time for seedlings to grow and be ready for the garden. I also have cockscomb seeds to start today. Time to get my hands dirty, Darlene!
Wow, Darlene... a new month arrives and I'm not done w/this one. Maybe February will appease us snow-lovers w/some white magic on our lawns. Hope so! Yes, how I the coming months of sweltering, oppressive, stifling, humid, torrid heat. I have more descriptive words, but that'll do. lol Hope your midweek day is pleasant, dear friend. *hugs*
Hello Darlene. A very pleasant 80f this afternoon. Here we are at the end of January and already heading into our last month of Summer. Does not seem all that long ago when it was the first month of summer.
Had to fast overnight as I had to have a Blood Test so no brekkie until late morning. That's OK as I usually only have a slice of toast and a cup of tea. Also had my hair trimmed while in town then back home again. The town was busy and it took me sometime to find a good convenient Park.
Our morning and afternoon gatherings have started again for the New Year. Scrabble on Monday and the Fortnightly Friday Social Group commences this week. Also went to a friends 90th Birthday gathering last Saturday and met up with some people that I had not seen for awhile.
No, I’ve not played Dominoes. I’ve heard of it but never seen it played. I used to work with Jigsaws but since down grading to a unit I’m limited in the space of setting one up so that I don’t have to move it until it's finished.
Spent much of last week working in the garden, cleaning and trimming shrubs, re potting plants and I also planted Petunias in pots and a Tomatoe bush. At this stage they are all looking good.
It's Friday! So happy to see sunshine today. Yesterday was dreary and tomorrow is supposed to be a washout so I'm beyond grateful for the sunshine and 70* today. Enjoy what is left of today and let's get our weekend off on the right foot. YES, I understand what you're saying about being chilly in the house when it's warm and rainy outdoors. We commented the very same yesterday, Dave and I. There was a chill in the house but it was humid and upper 60s outside. Weird.
Nope, got nary a flake of snow so far. Glad you and Augie have enjoyed it this winter. Most ppl that get it complain about it, but you two rejoice:) Rain here for rest of the week. But we still need it. What I like about Valentines is its CHRISTMAS RED! Have a special day, dear friend! Sent w/smiles... -di
Very chilly here today. Sunny though. We will warm up next week ...rain will follow. Missed Donald's speech yesterday, so will catch up later today. Have a wonderful weekend Darlene -:)
'Tis Friday! Yayyyy! Lots of us will be in the deep freeze for a few days, some w/snow, some w/o. Stay warm & safe! Yes, I remember "fish on fridays" from grade school lunchroom days. Fish is one of our favs, any day of the week:) The South is famous for our fried catfish fillets. Absolute tastiness... w/hushbuppies, slaw, pickled onion, fried pickles and fries. Have a good one, dear Darlene!
The sun is quickly warming the air from 14º to 28º this morning. Doc appmt day for DH, then takey-outey BBQ for our meal. Make this a really good day, Darlene:) *hugs*
I hope that whatever you are doing today, you have a terrific Tuesday. Chilly in my area and I plan to do some crafting and puttering around. What are you up to? Make it a great one! Darlene, you mentioned the sparkles on the snow and it brought back fond memories. I, too, loved that. At night it was like tiny stars on the ground and, in daylight, it could blind you with it's shine and glitter. Enjoy the snow enough for me, too, please.
No snow here, but it got close..just 90 minutes North, it is a winter wonderland. Not even any rain..which we don't need. Looking at the extended forecast, end of next week we wioo see mid 60'x. Spring arrives March 19 this time..it's going to be a bumpy ride no doubt -:)
