Yep. It doesn't take long in northeast Texas to go from lotsa snow to no snow. There's very little left. The electricity was off from about 10 a.m. Friday until about 10 a.m. Saturday. Sam waited until about mid-afternoon before hooking up the generator hoping that the electricity would be back on. Wishful thinking. But what to do while we had no electricity?
Remember this? I think I showed it a couple of posts back. I needed to clean out my sewing/quilting room and the floor of this stash closet so that we can get the carpet out and lay new wood flooring. So...before: 
And after! 
Of course, I still have lots of stuff in the guest room all over the place and plan on sorting as it goes back into the closet. But just about everything you see on the shelves in the before photo is still on the shelves in the after photo. I threw away very little. Hmmm...just scrolled up...the before photo doesn't show much of the shelves...just what's in the floor. So, trust me. All of the shelves were as jumbled as the partial two bottoms shelves you can see in the before photo. Quilters/sewers/knitters/crafters understand.
I've been extremely, kinda, diligent about not purchasing any more fabric unless it is to complete a project. And I think I've done pretty good. I was surprised at how much my stash has gone down. Before Sam retired, I used 50% off coupons at Joanns in Lake Jackson and purchased fabrics for specific quilts. I folded them together and tied a strip of cloth around each 'quilt kit' and slipped a piece of paper under the tie with the quilt that that specific fabric was supposed to be. I am down to just FOUR uncut quilts. Then I get to start buying all over again!! LOL I do need to make a few scrap quilts to get rid of some of the remnants of fabrics in the top two shelves.
I used my blue scraps to make a sample French Braid before cutting my homespuns. It made a lap-size quilt. I need to do the same with the pinks, then the reds.
Knitters! On the bottom shelf, the whitish/clear container with the green lid...there's one on each side of the red yarn in the zippered linen bag. Those are giant economy size containers for the Cascade gel-packs. The one on the left has green yarn in it and the lid kept popping open, so I turned it upside down. When I get to the yarn in the sacks in the guest room, I'm thinking about putting my leftover sock yarn in the other container.
We went to bed last night without any heat. Got up this morning and the house was about 61 degrees. Not bad considering it was 29 outside and we hadn't had heat on since 9 p.m. last night.
I played in the snow yesterday a little bit. Couldn't get Sam to round me up a piece of cardboard so that I could slide down the hill. We have the neatest hill out front...covered with snow...and no kids to slide down it! I started to call the neighbor kids over so that they would play with me...but when I was outside they weren't.
I had a few comments on some previous posts:
Kar: Wood heater...No thanks! That's how Ron (Jonathan's dad) and I heated our home for several years. I remember in 1983, big and pregnant, loading firewood in the heater. The only gas heater we had was in the bathroom. When we no longer had wood to cut that cost us only our labor and had to start buying firewood, we found that propane was as cheap as...and wasn't as dirty. And you certainly don't bring scorpions, spiders, and snakes in with the gas as we did with the firewood.
Karenfae: Generator...No problem for me! ;o) Sam's the one who had to do the hook-up and keep it fueled. But...I've got to learn how to do it too. Sam said something about showing me how. I told him I wanted a 'procedure manual.' Show me this year, drag it out next year (but in our area more like 5-7 years from now) and expect me to remember. HAH!
FFG: I made a snow angel. You should've seen me floundering around like a beached whale trying to get up outta the snow. Come on and eat my cooking...we'll be twins. ;o)
I agree with the comment Kar left on yesterday's post...concerning the overpaying of football players...and the stupidity of the commercials and the companies who paid so much for 30 seconds of air space.
When did sports players become "heroes"?? When did they lay down their life for someone else...or even for a ideal worth dying for? Whose life did they save? They laugh all the way to the bank. And I wouldn't even address the lack of morals so many seem to embrace except for the fact that way too many children, teens, and young adults emulate them.
Why do they garner such inflated salaries?
And the commercials! One would flash by and Sam would ask, "What are they selling?"
We aren't big football fans, but will be watching the game this weekend. And while we haven't anything against the Colts, we do hope the Saints win. Just 'cause.
I pulled a small piece of cooked pork loin out of the freezer last night and put it in the refrigerator to thaw. While the cabbage was frying, I sliced mushrooms for the second side. One day while in a kitchen gadget store, I noticed a mushroom slicer. I picked it up and looked at it. Put it back on the shelf. What did I need another slicer with a different shape in the plastic? I use my boiled egg slicer. Through trial and error I have found that you need to put the mushroom cap down, then slice. 
Jerry Lancon's Sauteed Mushrooms
(Jerry was the Cajun I worked with a few years back)
1/4 pound butter (I don't generally use this much)
1 medium onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 pounds fresh mushrooms, sliced
4-5 tablespoons wine
2 tablespoons soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste
dash of whatever else you want to put in it...;o)
Saute onion and garlic in butter. Add sliced (or whole if small) mushrooms. Add wine, soy sauce, and seasonings. Saute on low heat up to four hours. (I never saute it that long...generally just until the onions are translucent and the moisture has pretty much cooked out.) 
Plated and served with a homemade biscuit left over from breakfast.
Biscuits
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup lard
3/4 cup buttermilk
Combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Cut in lard. Stir in buttermilk. Pat out on lightly floured board. Fold in half, pat out again to 1/2" thickness. Cut with biscuit cutters. Place in greased baking pan. Bake at 450 degrees F for 12 minutes.
** If you have no buttermilk, change the baking soda to 3 teaspoons baking powder and the buttermilk to plain drinking milk...what was once called 'sweet' milk.
How to fry cabbage...you don't really fry it...it's more like steamed. Cook 2 or more slices of bacon. When it is crispy, remove from pan. Add 1/2 head of chopped cabbage; stir to coat. Salt and pepper to taste. Cover with a lid. Cook over low heat until done to your desired crispness. Crumbled reserved bacon over top.
This is another inherited cookbook. I don't know where it came from, but it is interesting. 
The cover states "suggestions by Mennonites on how to eat better and consume less of the world's limited food resources." I don't know where they got the idea that we have limited food resources here. But I do know that certain areas of the world do have food shortages. I just thank God for the corner of the world where I live.
I was going to make some peanut brittle this afternoon. While pulling ingredients from the pantry I discovered that I had no corn syrup. It's on the grocery list and the ingredients for Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are laid out ready to be used as soon as the butter softens. Sam will be happy...;o)
Enjoy the game!
And after! 
Of course, I still have lots of stuff in the guest room all over the place and plan on sorting as it goes back into the closet. But just about everything you see on the shelves in the before photo is still on the shelves in the after photo. I threw away very little. Hmmm...just scrolled up...the before photo doesn't show much of the shelves...just what's in the floor. So, trust me. All of the shelves were as jumbled as the partial two bottoms shelves you can see in the before photo. Quilters/sewers/knitters/crafters understand.
