Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Jeans

I found some that fit! Since menopause - which I LOVE by the way - my waist is thicker than it was pre-meno. Where I once had a waist...I don't any more. My jeans fit everywhere except in the waist. I would zip the zipper, then turn the button and buttonhole tabs down and tuck them so that they wouldn't flop. I needed to go try on jeans in a really bad way.

I've been sorting through my clothes and took a quick look at Sam's. There was a pair of new looking jeans on the far end of his jeans. Generally the newer jeans are on the other end...not on the end with the faded out jeans. I pulled them out and realized that they were a pair of Wranglers that were hand-me-downs from one of my brothers. They were too small and not Levis...which is all Sam wears. I just dropped them in the floor while I quickly sorted through the rest of his jeans...all Levis. The Wranglers were headed to the giveaway box.

Then...Hmmm...I wondered if they fit me and also wondered how big the waist would be. I tried Wranglers before, pre-meno. They were women's jeans...tight in the thighs and big in the waist...haven't tried them since. But...these are men's jeans. THEY FIT! I was so excited and took the lint brush to brush off the dust line where they've been folded over the hanger (and Sam does not always shut the closet door so I have a dust battle in there constantly)...and wore them this evening after work. Now I know what brand to buy and what size to get! I am EXCITED!! Yep. I know. Sometimes it doesn't take much to excite me. ;-)

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Enlargement? ME???

I am constantly getting spam e-mails to "enlarge" my "member" and "make sexy women crazy for" me. LOL

Ummmm...

NO!

Friday, October 14, 2011

Vacation

Sam and I decided to chase cooler weather...and beautiful scenery. I took a few days off work and we drove to Mt. View Arkansas. We parked the camper in an RV park in town. About 2:30 the first morning, I woke chilled...it was 61 degrees inside the camper. :-) In preparation, I had laid out another blanket before going to bed. I pulled it off the couch and spread it on the bed...snuggled back down. About 5:30, Sam woke and turned the heat strip on in the a/c unit. It got up to the low 80s mid-afternoon...but still wonderful weather!

If you haven't been to Mt. View...and you like Mountain, Country, and Blue Grass music...you really need to go there. The season is winding down now but the area has been preserving and promoting their music for 45 years or so. My family has been going there for that length of time.

We took several day trips driving the winding roads and enjoying the scenery.
The trees are just now starting to turn...so the color is not all that great...but the vistas are! The Friends of the Library is holding a Thanksgiving bake sale. We are doing it different...we are baking to order. Each person listed a couple of specialties with our phone numbers. We will take orders and cut off when we want. We had the flyers ready for a catering job for the Business & Professional Women. Lo and behold, we received orders for five cakes from them for their annual Friday night dinner - tonight. Each of them is supposed to bring a 9 x 13" cake. One asked...then it got up to five. So...we definitely obliged! This... ...turned into this... An oatmeal cake with broiler icing. Recipe below.

On a cooking forum, several mentioned their favorite cookware. Mine is Farberware Millennium. I have been very satisfied with it, but did a search of many of the more popular brands. Farberware is no longer made in America. All-Clads "bonded" products are. Calphalon is. Many others are made overseas. Some brands have different product lines made in different countries.

I'm trying to be more conscientious about the country of origin on the products and food that I buy. I mean...with a country like ours with Washington state (and other locales) apples...and our grocery stores are stocking Chilean apples?! Not in my house!

Anyway...here's the bulk of my pots and pans. I have more - less frequently used - in another cabinet. I love my cast iron which is all Made in America!
Speaking of the cast iron...only two or three pieces were purchased new back in the early 1970s...my chicken fryer with lid, a skillet, and a bean pot with lid. The remaining pieces were purchased from second hand stores and garage sales. I do not like the new Lodge pieces. The inside bottoms are not milled smooth...the bottom is pebble like. Stirring gravy is like squeaking chalk across a chalkboard...runs chills up my spine.

See that wood handled thick aluminum pan? It was my grandmother's. I use it exclusively to make candy!!


OATMEAL CAKE
with BROILER ICING

1½ cup
quick-cooking rolled oats (see note below)
1¼ cup
boiling water
1 cup
sugar
1 cup
firmly packed dark brown sugar
½ cups
butter, softened (NOT margarine!)
1 teaspoon
vanilla
3 whole
eggs
1-½ cup
all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon
baking soda
½ teaspoon
baking powder
½ teaspoon
salt
½ - 1 teaspoon cinnamon

BROILER ICING

⅔ cups
firmly packed dark brown sugar
¼ cups
butter, melted
¼ cups
cream or Half-and-Half
1 cup
coconut
1 cup
chopped pecans

In a small bowl, combine rolled oats and boiling water; let stand 20 minutes. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9x13-inch pan.

In a large bowl, combine the sugars and butter; beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs; blend well. Add oatmeal and all the remaining cake ingredients; mix well. Pour into the 9x13-inch pan.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

For the broiler icing: In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, butter, and cream or half-and-half. Beat at high speed until smooth. Stir in coconut and nuts. Spread over still hot cake to cover.

Broil 4–6 inches from heat for 1 to 2 minutes or until bubbly and light golden brown. (Watch carefully...do not burn. Cool completely.

The recipe calls for quick cooking oats...NOT INSTANT. I don't keep quick cooking oats so always use regular old-fashioned oatmeal. Thinking back on my mother's cake, in my memory it was gummier than my cake...perhaps the difference is the type of oatmeal I use.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Reunion and Stuff

Another reunion behind us. Last year's attendance was dismal. This year was much better!

Sam visiting with one of his cousins.
Carol handling the buffet. I was across the room at the door making sure everyone signed in and took money for raffle tickets. I happened to look across the room and noticed that she popped something in her mouth. We made eye contact and she grinned. She was already hitting my deviled eggs. :-)

Last year I took squares of white fabric and some fabric marking pens. I asked every family to sign a square. There's not but 20 blocks in this quilt...and three have no signatures...as I stated above...small turnout.
The quilt was on the raffle table...chances go for $1 each or 6 for $5. Money goes for a donation to the church for the use of their fellowship hall (a church where none of us are members, but they let us use their facilities and we give a donation for the use - the turnout was so low last year that the preacher told me he did not want to take the donation...I told him how much we took in...how much I was told was needed for the cemetery fund...and that I was told to give him that...this year we were back on target). The balance of the money goes as I just mentioned...to the cemetery fund for mowing.

Red is one of my favorite colors. I finished the crocheted vest earlier this week and the hat last night.


Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Cooking Cajun Style!

#1 Take one authentic Cajun cookbook from Baton Rouge.
#2 Pick your recipe.#3 Chop the vegetables. (Notice how I slice my mushrooms? That is an egg slicer...works!)

3. Dredge the chicken in flour and quickly brown in bacon grease. Remove and toss in the vegetables, cooking until onion is translucent.
4. Stir in tomato paste, wine, a few other ingredients, return chicken to skillet. Cover and cook until done.6. Serve over rice. I know you will ENJOY!! I know...I can't believe I forgot to snap a photo of this delicious food plated.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Driver's Ed 101 Revisited and Edited

1. If you drive up behind a truck...NO not a pickup...a real, full-grown truck...one of those that hauls freight (as in everything you own!!), can you see the driver's mirrors? The mirrors that stick out to the right and left on their doors? No? Then guess what? THEY CAN'T SEE YOU EITHER!! Back off!

2. If you have a handicapped placard hanging from your rear-view mirror in the center of your windshield - especially if you are in Texas - take it down and read it. There will be mention not to drive with the placard dangling from your rear-view mirror! Depending on several different factors, you could pretty much hide a Mack truck behind that sucker.

3. Slower traffic keep right. Doesn't matter if there are signs posted to do so or not. It's common courtesy. If you are slower than the flow of traffic, ESPECIALLY if you are driving 10-20 mph below the posted speed...or lower...arrggghhhh...please get in the right hand lane.

Ducky aka my son commented: In your response to #3: In the state of Texas, if driving on a State Highway or Farm to Market (FM for those who don't know), it is against the law to impede the flow of traffic in the inside lane. Furthermore, if the road/hwy is only one lane each direction and you are moving slower than the flow of traffic, irregardless (sp) of speed limit, it is your legal obligation to move over to the shoulder/side of the rode to allow faster moving traffic to pass. Thought I'd share a tidbit I learned while working at DCSO.

4. If you come to a crossroad and do not have a Stop sign but they do...YOU DO NOT STOP! Coming up to a Yield sign? Start looking before you get there. They are generally located a Y's where the visibility is good. If nothing is coming, you do not have to stop.

5. If driving scares you, then by all means puleeze park your vehicle in the driveway/carport/garage and ask someone else to drive you. I remember driving my elderly neighbors around whenever they needed to go to town...two different households! I especially enjoyed driving "Aunt" Lena to run her errands...because I got to drive her 1951 Chevrolet 2-door coupe with the factory visor! The 1951 Chevrolet 2-door coupe I learned to drive on did not have the visor...so I felt like I was "uptown" driving hers. :-D

For those of you fully capable of driving, if you have a neighbor who has no business driving any more and their family is to chicken to do anything about it, offer your services as their chauffeur for free. Believe me...you will be blessed from their knowledge and wisdom.

6. Also from Ducky: My previous comment is classified as part of the "Texas Highway Courtesy" laws. Another part of that law is when ANY emergency vehicle is approaching behind you running full code (lights and sirens) you HAVE to pull over, stop, and let them pass before continuing down the corridor. This law applies to ALL roads, streets, highways, etc in the state of Texas.

7. More from me!! If you are passing one of those big trucks, aka 18-wheelers, NOT pickup - get around it! Don't dawdle along beside it. You see those big wheels and tires? When...not IF because eventually every truck out there is going to shed a tire!...GET AROUND IT! Did the driver speed up? You either speed up or drop back behind the truck. (Refer back to #1 please.) Listen to me! Daddy's occupation on my birth certificate is listed as "Truckdriver."

8. If you're on a 4-lane yard and there's a vehicle on the shoulder of the road...if you in the outside lane...if you can, move to the center lane. If you can't move over or are on a 2-lane road, slow down a bit.

9. I forgot about motorcycles!!!
Riders...Wear a helmet and proper riding gear!
Don't get stoopid
Remember - if you collide with anything bigger, YOU are most likely going to be the loser!!

Everybody else...DO NOT RUN OVER A MOTORCYCLE!!!
Do not pull out in front of a motorcycle.
Do not stop quickly in front of a motorcycle.
Don't get stoopid!
Remember - if you collide with a motorcycle, you may kill someone!

10. Funeral processions in Texas - Generally the hearse has its headlights on as does every vehicle in the procession on their way from the services to the cemetery. In rural areas especially, if you see them coming toward you...pull over out of respect for their loss. Two-lane...head to the shoulder and stop. Four-lane...same thing. Probably the only time you do not do this is on an interstate...and of course in cities.

Cranky
Old
Woman
signing off!

Friday, September 23, 2011

Fog and Family

The first day of autumn brought seasonal temperatures! This morning we had a wonderful cool and crisp 58...let me type that in all caps...FIFTY-EIGHT BLESSED DEGREES this morning! AND...I got photographs of the first fog of the season!


This evening, I drove Mama to her youngest grandchild's wedding rehearsal. I went back out to her mini-van for my camera when these four sat down beside each other. Mama, my sweet sister-in-law Marilyn holding my baby brother's grand daughter Addi, and baby brother Joey - remember "the Brat" who put rocks in my gas tank all those years ago? ;-) Isn't this shot just too precious?! My nephew Cody and his daughter Addi.

All I can think...is...my assumption is that Cody's other grandmother is footing the bill for the wedding...the bride has five attendants...I know beforehand that the dress "ain't no slouch"...that money could go so much farther LIVING...instead of photos in a photo album.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Texas on Fire

I drove to San Marcos a couple of weeks ago to a meeting pertaining to my job. This was during the Cass and Marion County fires...believe the news called it the Bear Creek Fire. Approximately 50,000 acres were burned and over 100 homes.

About 4:30 September 7, I woke to the smell of smoke in my house. I unplugged my cell phone and slipped on my slippers then stepped outside. After walking around my home I saw no fire, so called the dispatcher at the sheriff's office. The wind had shifted and we were smelling smoke from the Bear Creek Fire. There was no danger of it heading our way, so I went back to bed. I left the house at 8 headed south.
I drove through smoke from home to just north of Tyler... about an hour.
Thank God for the firefighters, forest service, and volunteers...and the God sent rain!

So...I'm in San Marcos...you know...the town with the outlet malls?! And I take a photo of FOOD!


Wind came up here Sunday evening. We lost a tree.
But no big deal. It's a small redbud that was too close to the house to start with and we knew that some day we would have to take it out. This spring I noticed that the bark was peeling. Sam was going to remove it this winter. It fell perfect...away from the house (wouldn't've done any damage if it had fallen toward the house) and missed my birdbath! It had few if any roots.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

One Thing After Another

What is the use of having this fancy HD television when if the signal is bad...you don't have a freaking picture of ANY sort except this lovely notice??? At least with the analog signal we could see ghosts or snow or something!!!

Another beautiful sunset!
Which reminds me...I have had some photos published! Elected county officials receive a monthly magazine called County Progress...you can find it online...but you cannot find my photographs of the county that were published in the August edition! I'll scan the two pages TWO pages...okay...two half pages...when I get a chance. I haven't even thought about it.

I made English muffins over Labor Day weekend.
They tasted as good as they look! But the recipe made eight large muffins. Next time I'll divide the dough into ten muffins. Unless, of course, I intend to make hamburgers.

Big man in a big chair. LOL
A few years back, Mama gave me an antique youth chair that she acquired during her antiquing days. When I mentioned "tying" Colt in the chair Erin looked at me. Sam brought the ribs in from the grill, and we were getting the rest of the food on the table, she asked what I meant about "tying" Colt in the chair. See the white around his middle? It's a cup towel slipped through the upright posts on the back of the chair and tied in the back. I just told Erin to watch that he didn't slip under it.

I'll be back later with the recipe for the English muffins. Oh...wait! As I was typing in the labels for this post...English muffins popped in. Perhaps the recipe is already here. Yes! The recipe has already been posted: http://keepyouinstitches.blogspot.com/2010/01/english-muffins.html

Monday, September 5, 2011

How Did Your Weekend Go?

WOW! Isabel! This is neat-o. Where can I get a set of wheels like these?Colt, just talk to my Mommy and Daddy. Here...just look at all the bells and whistles...
Oh! Isabel! It comes with a pretty pink doggie too?!Here, let me get around here so that I can...
...take the little pink doggie off your hands!'Scuse me while I have a looksee at this little charm...HEY! Colt! No fair!!! Give that back! That's MINE!!!

This was so funny! I was just snapping pictures and didn't notice the "story" that was going on at the same time until we were looking at the photos today.

Needless to say...I had a wonderful weekend! Just perfect for a Granny and Grandpa!!