Grooving, Baking, Sewing

Yep. I did it all this week! Three of us drove all the way to Omaha to hear Lady Chazz and the Tramps. Drove maybe 15 miles. ;o) http://www.myspace.com/ladychazzandthetramps Hmmm...didn't get a photo of the bass player. The whole band is GOOD! Richard (lead singer and keyboard) graduated high school with me. It's not easy taking photos in a dark nightclub.

Here's the sewing...isn't it just too cute?!

Saturday morning, I picked up Mama and a friend of mine, Earlene the librarian aka one of the cruise companions. We went to Longview for a Wahoo tournament to visit with some of Mama's cousins. (It's a yearly event.) The three of us got beat right off the bat, but Earlene's sister, Beckle aka another cruise companion, went to round two...but no further. Beckle did win the trophy three years ago! Her first time to attend and play!!

I made a quiche to take to that gathering and another on Sunday. While I was busy with my family, Sam rode his Harley to Bay City to attend his sister's birthday/retirement party. He came back reddish brown from the sun. I can not believe he wore short sleeves as hot as that sun is out there! He walked into the house just as I was taking the cake out of the oven. Then I popped in a loaf of artisan bread. THEN the second quiche of the weekend went into the oven for our supper.

Elton called to let us know that they were going to Don Juans in Hughes Springs to eat, but since I already had the quiche in the oven (and personally preferred the quiche), Sam invited them for dessert. LOL, it was so fresh that it cut jagged. How does this look? YES! Yummy!!

Deane's Quiche

2 eggs
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup milk
4 ounces shredded cheese (sharp cheddar is best)
1/2 pound diced ham (or chicken or whatever meat you like)
1/3 cup finely diced onion
1 tablespoon cornstarch
salt (Be careful if you use ham!)
pepper
Anything else you might like to throw in (small green peas, mushrooms, etc.). I chose mushrooms

Whisk eggs, mayonnaise, and milk until smooth. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into prepared pie shell and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until center is set.

I've posted about my pie pastry many times. Click here: My Recipe Here

Banana Honey Cake

1 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup rolled oats

3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup bananas, mashed
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 8 ounce package cream cheese
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour the honey into a saucepan and bring to a boil Add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda and pour over oats in a bowl. Stir and cover. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Cream the butter in a large bowl. Add sugar gradually and beat until fluffy. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla. Blend in eggs. Add the oat mixture and bananas and beat until well blended.

Sift flour with remaining 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Add to creamed mixture and mix well.

Pour into 2 greased and waxed paper-line 8-inch round cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Remove from pans and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Icing:
Beat cream cheese in a bowl until fluffy. Add remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add powdered sugar gradually and beat until frosting is of spreading consistency. Spread between layers and over top of cake. Refrigerate. You may garnish with sliced bananas just before serving.

Happy Birthday to ME! What a Day!

...And what a night! Can't believe I got up this morning before 8 a.m. Especially since it was after 1 before I crawled in bed.


I thought Sam was going to be out of town so planned to go bar hopping...LOL! Those of you who really KNOW me are going riiiiight. Neither of us are smokers so don't tolerate smoky places very well, and he generally prefers not to go. We are big drinkers...I've got a one drink limit when we are out. And before any of you say riiiight...sometimes when Sam is there, I'll have a second drink. I just don't. Drink much that is. Sam has one or two beers. Maybe a gin and tonic. That's it.


Anyway...he changed plans so that he could be here for my birthday. So, I cancelled the bar hopping...;o)...with Earlene. Yesterday Sam asked for THE plans. He knew that I wanted to eat Chinese - which we did at noon...but what about after he asked. I didn't have any further plans. He asked about going to 'the bar.' Told me to call Earlene and go. So I did! I also notified my high school classmates via our Yahoo group. Got a call from another friend...so it was three of us.


We have yet another classmate, Richard...who has a band. Lady Chazzz and the Tramps. (I think I've mentioned them before.) http://www.myspace.com/ladychazzandthetramps Richard did a career in the US Navy...THANK YOU RICHARD! After retiring, he and his wife moved to northeast Texas and started a band. (That's Richard doing his Ray Charles imitation last night.) I like to go hear them as often as possible, but the smoky atmosphere in most of the bars really gets to me. They were playing at a restaurant in a nearby town last night. I was pleasantly surprised that the smoking was at a minimum! I didn't have to shower before crawling in bed. (Usually...you're going to get a big kick out of THIS!...I strip down to the nothings in the garage and leave my clothes out there...then tra-la-la through the house and step into the shower, washing my hair before throwing a towel over my pillow and crawling in bed. Visual image you can forget...or if you do think about it...think about Sophia Loren please.)


We had a great time! Chazz WORKS the crowd. She is the ultimate entertainer. While she is harassing...I mean entertaining the crowd, she sometimes gets so tickled she has to stop. Last night was one of those times. The poor guy she was picking on, patted her back. She said he had the most expressionless face...

Richard sings a lot of oldies...

On occasion, someone in the audience has performed with them. I didn't get a photo of Chazz's daughter...but that young woman is GOOD on vocals. While Chazz was out doing her thing...that woman can dance! The daughter would break out in a smile from ear to ear.


Last night, a young man (teenager) in the audience requested a Gun n Roses song...Knocking on Heaven's Door. Richard said he didn't know GnR rendition...he knew Bob Dylan's and Bob Marley's...but Richard sang it his way...and would only do it if this young man would sing along. He did his part GnR's style...knock, knock, knocking on heaven's doe-ah. The boy had a blast! Can't you just hear him at school?! What did you do this summer? "I sang with a band!"

Here we are...Richard and Earlene standing. Me and Melanie seated.

I moved here and started the 3rd grade. Melanie was my first best friend. The school district did some shuffling and sent me to a different elementary school, and I started 5th grade at the other elementary school in town...where I met Earlene. Richard I met in 1967/68 in high school. Thanks to my BFF for helping me celebrate my birthday!


Note: Going into Junior High, 6th and 7th grades, we had kids come in from three elementary schoolsGoing into High School kids came in from three junior highs.

So Tired!

Had a ladies' weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it. Two friends did not get to make it: one because of a death in her extended family; the other because of her mother's illness. I can only imagine how much more fun it would've been had they been able to make it. Oh. Not really a "ladies' weekend." More of a high school graduating class weekend. 10 attended, but that's okay.


One of our classmates retired out of the Navy. He and his wife have a band and now perform in nightclubs in and around the extended area. Here's their blog:

http://www.myspace.com/ladychazzandthetramps


Richard has always had a great voice. The addition of his wife, Chazz, jazzes things up! She can really work a room!


Anyway, some drove to Shreveport and back last night (er...early this morning). Some of us got motel rooms. That's what I did. Had my one drink (I can't hold my liquor and didn't want to have to go to the car to take a nap) and danced like nobody was looking! I love the line dances that are done now and as you know, am trying to learn some of them. Even though we didn't do country, just learning the steps helps with other line dances. There were more women in the lounge than men, we just all gathered on the dance floor and danced. You don't really need a partner, unless it's a slow dance. We had a couple of male classmates with us and they just danced in the middle. Sorta. We did a line dance sort of thing a time or two. I really enjoyed myself. Even though it doesn't appear that our dancing ability has improved much since high school...ALL those years ago!


I did make the statement this morning walking down the hall of the motel that if I did that on a weekly basis, I'd probably have to have a hip replacement! LOL


Before leaving, I made beef stew for supper Friday night. I loved the way it looked in the white bowls and grabbed my camera. Sam asked, "What are you doing?" Actually, I thought it was obvious. Camera in hand...evidently I was going to shoot a photo. ;o) When I explained that it was for my blog, he started to make a comment. "Just go sit down. Leave me alone. I'm taking the photo."
A bowl of beef stew with a slice of crusty French bread...delish!