2018 Wrapup...

2018 Family, Friends and Miscellaneous

January - First temperatures below 0. (- 8°) Nine-ten ice fishermen on lake most of the month. Middle of month deep snow. Huge restaurant fire in town. Burned out completely. Favorite and long-time veterinarian, Doctor Joe C. died. Long time friend and neighbor, Nancy B. lost her battle with cancer and died.

February -  More ice fishers and more snow. Nearby neighbor farmer, Floyd W. died. 

March - Two more snow events. Lots of long icicles. A really good visit with a longtime friend who lives in HI. A very wonderful friend and neighbor farmer, Harold E. died.

April - Dear and wonderful beach friend, Joe B. died.

May - Spring perennial flowers up and yard flowers purchased. Fresh asparagus time. Cabin cleaning of high things and beams done by grandkids.  Daughter’s dog, “Sadie” died. 

June - Daughter got new dog, “Zoey.” Two lake hatchings of goslings, five and three. Airboat spread weed killer on lake twice. Nephew had wonderful trip with friend pilot to Alaska in small airplane. Severe dry eye erosion in my left eye. Healed well. Left hand tenosynovitis, wearing brace. 

July -  Grandson (29) won Lake Community Assn. annual fishing derby AGAIN. Sold Yamaha ATV to neighbor. Long time beach friend, Lloyd B. died. Sweet and long time beach friend, Betty Jo M. died. A lovely distant relative and local woman, Jean L. died after losing her battle with cancer.

August - Leaky dock barrel replaced. Really heavy rain caused washout here and floods throughout the area. Beach friend had knee replacements. Last December she had shoulder replacement.  Nearby friend and neighbor, Sam P. died. Friend and wonderful 4-H leader, George H. died. Several doctor visits for another of my dry eye erosions and an infection.

September - Another washout from heavy rains. Dried and stored tomato seeds for next year. Sweet young beach friend, Janet H. lost her battle with cancer and died. A local nurse and longtime friend, Susie K. died due to glioblastoma.  

October - The Mister cut his hand and had stitches. Brother had small problem after surgery. OK now. Jacki A., a wonderful and sweet beach friend died.  

November - First snow - 10 inches on the 15th. Temperatures +2° Lake completely frozen on 23rd. Didn’t last. Young neighbor friend became engaged. A beach friend, Barbara F. from TN had her right foot amputated. Longtime friend, Willie A. died.

December - Not much snow and too rainy and wet.

ME-Turned 82. Still slowing down while moving forward. Taking pictures mostly from golf car riding around home area. Some of my photos being shown on local TV slide shows. Shoulder and hip receiving injections every 8 weeks. Eye still giving me grief. 

HE-Turned 83. Forgetful but able to complete general tasks and chores except for yard work. Using cane sporadically for stability. Hearing very poor. Good dishwasher and vacuum cleaner operator and very helpful. Does all of the driving.
WE-Are living within our means and don't have a single debt. We are comfortable and still capable of being fully independent and self sufficient. 

New Stuff

• Air frier gift from granddaughters

• Crystal window sun catcher prism gift from granddaughter

• Crocheted blanket gift from friend who made it

• Candy corn beach glass “Prism” necklace by Meg - from me to me

• Crystal Swarovski suncatchers, two on porch - from me to me

• Electric blanket gift from daughter

Repairs (Professionally Accomplished)

• Lawn and Yard cleanup after two damaging washouts.

• Car - complete exhaust system repairs in June

Baked/Cooked/Froze…..Highlights

Jan.

Chewy Brownies

Chili Bean Soup

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cole Slaw

Chicken Noodle Soup with Vegetables

Mac Cheese Big Pan

Mince Pie

Pea Soup

Pickled Red Beets and Eggs

Sunshine Pineapple Pan Cake

Feb.

Bar-B-Que Pan Chicken

Bread Pudding with Raisins

Cherry Bran Muffins

Peanut Butter Cookies

Pumpkin Cranberry Bread Loaves

Mar.

Chocolate Bundt Cake

Lemon Bundt Cake

Mac Cheese Big Pan

Potato Salad

Salted Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Three Loaves White Bread

White pickled eggs

Apr.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Strawberry Shortcake

Sunshine Pineapple Pan Cake

Zucchini Supreme

May

Banana Bread

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Peach Cobbler

Jun.

Pickled Beets and Eggs

Spinach Quiche
Strawberry EVERYTHING!

Jul.

Cheese Broccoli Soup

Meatloaves

Peach Cobbler

Peach Crisp

Zucchini Supreme

Aug.

Tomatoes, red and green peppers, corn, cantaloupe processed

Tomato Juice

Peach Cobbler

Sept.

Mac Cheese Big Pan

Peach Cobbler

Sunshine Pineapple Cake

Oct.

Apple Pie

Applesauce 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ham Salad

Kielbasa Vegetable Stew

One Bowl Applecake

Processed and packed smoked ham

Nov.

Apple Pie

Brownies

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mac Cheese Big Pan

Processed and packed smoked turkey breast

Spinach Cheese Quiche

Sugar Cookies (2)

Turkey Salad

Dec.

Blueberry Muffins

Chewy Ginger-Molasses Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pea Soup (2)

Pumpkin Pie

Crafts…..

Spider and web mobile

Goose feather headpiece for James

Conks wood burned (2) 

Wind ribbon mobile

Jute and beaded small Christmas tree

Photomanipulations (282)

All of my various directories and calendars are updated for the year 2019 and I start all over.

By the way, death is part of living in my mind. It is just another path. We leave the old and anticipate the new every year, don’t we? It doesn’t mean that we don’t remember but we do move onward.

“Count your blessings instead of your crosses.

Count your gains instead of your losses.

Count your joys instead of your woes.

Count your friends instead of your foes.

Count your smiles instead of your tears.

Count your courage instead of your fears.

Count your full times instead of your lean.

Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.

Count your health instead of your wealth.

Love your neighbor as much as yourself.”

Happy New Year!

Kindness and acceptance for all.

Out with the old....

Sweet Treats

Foodie! Sweet Foodie! Yep! That's right... Holiday gifts for the Foodies.

Assorted Italian dark chocolate pralines filled with liqueur cream Cointreau, Zabaglione, Cherry, and Grappa-Peach are "intoxicating" in flavor and fragrance.

The pure butter shortbread assortment of Walkers, a product of Scotland are almost gone already! Good milk dunkers.

How about a Bon Bon? Would you like a dark or a milk chocolate caramel cream? We have both. They melt in your mouth.

What is the holiday without a box of chocolate covered cordial cherries or marzipan? I cannot imagine it. The marzipan must be in the shape and colors of real fruit! Each remarkable treat is a moist, and perfectly shaped morsel. They scream, "More! More!"

Of course the green glass shaped Christmas tree was already needing a refill and there were exactly more of the same Andes Creme de Menthe Thins to fill the job.

We opened them all and indulged.

Don't judge.

'Twas The Night Before Christmas...Mom Style

'Twas The Night Before Christmas...Mom Style
'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the abode
Only one creature was stirring & she was cleaning the commode.
The children were finally sleeping, all snug in their beds,
while visions of X-Box & Barbie flipped through their heads.
Yes, and dad was snoring in front of the TV,
with a half constructed bicycle propped on his knee.
So only the mom heard the reindeer hooves clatter,
which made her sigh, "Now what is the matter?"
With toilet bowl brush still clutched in her hand,
She descended the stairs, and saw the old man.
He was covered with ashes & soot, which fell with a shrug,
"Oh great," muttered the mom, "Now I have to clean the rug."

"Ho Ho Ho!" cried Santa, I'm glad you're awake."
"your gift was especially difficult to make."
"Thanks, Santa, but all I want is time alone."
"Exactly!" he chuckled, "So, I've made you a clone."
"A clone?" she muttered, "What good is that?"

"Run along, Santa, I've no time for chit chat."
Then out walked the clone - The mother's twin,
Same hair, same eyes, same double chin.

"She'll cook, she'll dust, she'll mop every mess.
You'll relax, take it easy, watch TV and rest.
"Fantastic!" the mom cheered. "My dream has come true!"
"I'll shop, I'll read, I'll sleep a night through!"
From the room above, the youngest did fret.
"Mommy?! Come quickly, I'm scared and I'm wet."
The clone replied, "I'm coming, sweetheart."
"Hey," the mom smiled, "She sure knows her part."
The clone changed the child and hummed her a tune,
as she bundled the small one in a blanket cocoon.
"You're the best mommy ever. I really love you."
The clone smiled and sighed, "And I love you too."

The mom frowned and said, "Sorry, Santa, no deal.
That's my child's LOVE she is going to steal."
Smiling wisely, Santa said: "To me it is clear,
Only one loving mother is needed here."
The mom kissed her child and tucked her in bed.
"Thank You, Santa, for clearing my head.
Sometimes I forget, it won't be very long,
before they'll be too old for my cradle and song."
The clock on the mantle began to chime.
Santa whispered to the clone, "It works every time."

With the clone by his side, Santa said: "Goodnight.
Merry Christmas, dear Mom, you'll be all right."

Sometimes we need reminding of what life is all about.
Especially at times when the Holiday season shouts,
and all we do is clean, bake, and procure.
You get the picture -- I'm sure.
So stop for a moment and hug that little one so dear,
whether he/she is 2 or 35, or even older this year.
For they are the gift that God gave us from Heaven above,
and what a special gift to be treasured, with endless LOVE!

May The Real Meaning Of Christmas Be With You All Year!

MMMMMMuffins!

A few months back, our daughter brought us a 2.5 lb. bag of frozen blueberries. It sat in the freezer until this morning when the mood to bake struck.  I found a recipe I had saved but never used and was in a daring frame of mind, as I'm not crazy about blueberries.  These particular berries are cultivated at Peterson Farms in Shelby MI. Michigan is the nation's leading producer of cultivated blueberries. Fresh frozen cultivated blueberries can be enjoyed all year long. 

I must say that they are REALLY tasty and moist. 

Please click on image to be inspired to bake 

As I write there are only 3 left! I must save one for my brother who brings me venison. We each had a morning snack and one is packaged for the trash collector/driver who comes today. 

RECIPE

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Very Blueberry and Lemon Muffins

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons lemon zest

1 cup blueberries (if using frozen blueberries, thaw and drain first)

extra sugar and lemon zest for the tops

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the egg, milk, butter, lemon juice, and zest.

Stir to combine–the batter should be lumpy. Don’t mix it too hard. Muffin batter doesn’t like that. Gently fold in blueberries. Lightly grease muffin cups or use paper liners. Fill each cup about 2/3 to 3/4 full. *This should make 12 muffins. Sprinkle extra sugar and lemon zest on the tops.

Bake at 400°F for about 20 minutes or until golden. 

*If making only 6 large ones, bake for about 30 minutes (no longer) and remove from pan before completely cool. 

Oh! Santa Came Early!

I truly would rather give than receive... as we REALLY don't need or want anything at this time of our lives. Gifts are nice, though and we DO appreciate the thoughtful gestures of our friends and family.

The first thing to arrive from HI friends was a variety of frozen chowders and bisques. We both really love seafood and soups.

 Image from source internet site

Our two adult granddaughters who live in upper NY state sent a 5.8 quart digital touchscreen air frier appliance.  It came with a 50-recipe book. That should be fun to try. The world is going to be totally electronic in a couple of years! Scary for me.

 Image from source internet site

The last night when our grandson and his significant partner stopped in to pick up some photo work that I completed for them, they brought along a beautiful glass Christmas tree jar filled with candy!  (I had given them my hand made jute tree when they gave me the photo project earlier.)

Yes, we've been into the candy jar!

I've finished my second batch of split pea soup and am anticipating sharing jars with my brother and daughter who live nearby. Cookies are almost gone and I'll bake more next week. I still haven't dressed James for the season - bad me. It's been too wet and is raining again! I'll pretend he's in the mood with last year's shot for now.......

A Great Granddaughter waits for Santa too!

please click on image to view larger

Craft Conglomerate

Created the cone with a cardboard half circle. Used up my jute, used up my green and red pony beads, used up my green & red pom poms, used up my tinsel and my little red and green beads. Best of all used up my wire and hot glue!!! Stands 7" tall & is 7" wide at bottom. It is a composite of left-over craft supplies. Now I'll have to find someone to give it to!

please click on image to view larger

Yeow! Sooo Good!

I wanted to try a new recipe and found one that sounded good... I had no idea that, at my age, it would call for so much standing, rolling, waiting, BUT!.....

Gingerbread cookies - you know the hard kind that you cut into men and women and decorate with icing and hang on the tree - well that is NOT what I had in mind. Been there, made them in the past years; too hard to bite that variety now so I wanted something very tasty and CHEWY. Chewy was the goal and these are - besides that, they are kinda soft, and delightfully spicy and sweet. A very distinctive fragrance fills this old cabin as they baked.

click on image to view larger

Now go make yours! Here is the Recipe:

CHEWY GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Ingredients

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar (I use dark)

1 egg

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons molasses

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher (coarse) salt

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

2/3 cup granulated or coarse sugar (I used Demerara coarse sugar as I didn’t have white coarse sugar)

Steps

1. In large bowl, beat butter and brown sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in egg and molasses. Stir in the remaining ingredients except the sugar. Cover; refrigerate for at least 2 hours!

2. Heat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. (I have parchment paper, it only takes one sheet for entire batch.) Put the sugar in a small bowl. Shape the dough into 1 inch balls (about the size of a walnut) and roll in the sugar. Place the balls about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet.

3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or just until set and soft in the center. (10 minutes worked for me and I used a timer.)  Cool 2 minutes and then transfer from cookie sheet to cooling racks. Store tightly covered up to one week. (I stacked them on a covered cake container and they will not last one week, I know it!)

Makes 60 cookies! 

Work Work Work!

Not really, it is relaxing for me to work on images to get the results just as I like them. A fun pastime.

I have already sent out my "snail mail" Christmas and Holiday cards and still have to create something for the e-mail ones. The only difference between them is effort! I simply cannot cut, paste and glue any more! These old hands just ain't what they used to be. The Shutterfly ones are nice, but too expensive for the number I would like to send. So.........Heigh Ho! Heigh Ho!

Now I DO like to create something for the e-mail messages so have been working on it. First I used picture of snow-covered pine trees. "Conway Resident Harriett Rogers is in West Jefferson, NC (15 miles northeast of Boone) and has over 20 inches of snow." Her photo was posted yesterday by my favorite SC Weatherman and news personality Ed Piotrowski, WPDE. (I flipped it horizontally.)

I then proceeded to use a simple application that is on my computer to make a holiday tree. Yes, I know, the plain one is exceedingly beautiful, BUT - 

Well? At least it is "hand decorated" and bright! "Tis the Season!"

My final result is the one below - no action but pretty!

Wade 2018 Harvest Hunter

Today is my nephew's 45th birthday. It is also a day to remember Pearl Harbor. 

I was only 5 but remember this horrible day of 1941

I just put together this slide show from screen shots of his actual video on the day he harvested his second deer.

Productive

After baking a batch of chocolate chip cookies (rolled in raw sugar to make even tastier) I went to work creating a baby shower card. Short notice demanded prompt action as the shower is on December 10. It's for a granddaughter who is expecting twins in a couple of months. There is another shower planned for January and I'll have time to create one for that event as well.
============================================
To start off, I had recently purchased some "pearlized" card stock just to see if my plain old inkjet printer would give me good results. WOW it sure did! Then I went to work on a card.

Made 2 and flipped one and removed one butterfly.

Copied and pasted both on blue background graphic.

 Made the boys not identical by skewering image.

They are already determined to be fraternal.

 Embellished with leaves.

 Found graphic of two blue pairs of baby feet.

 Copied, flipped and pasted on blue background graphic with message.

 Found free stock photo for card front.

 Printed all at 5"x7" and cut and pasted on 5"x10” sheet of 

silver pastel pearl paper with double sided sticky tape.

Front & Back

The scan doesn’t really show the pearlized effect.

It is unusual and nice. 

Inside Top and Bottom

 please click on image to view larger

Back to Basics...er... I mean Baking

Just gotta have something homemade and sweet around here. Tomorrow I'll bake some CC cookies too. Maybe I'll put some dried sweet cherries in them...feeling a bit creative. Maybe it's because Christmas is on the way and I have cards to send. Received our first one today. Worked on my list this morning. Gonna dig out my old ceramic tree and feel the spirit of the season, even though the lake is melting and the mud is back. Well this is short because I have places to go and things to do. Yeah, right.

please click on image to view larger

Oh, by the way...

Care to give a guess as to what this is?

Pete and Repeat

I do this every year! Making split pea soup is quite simple and we sure do enjoy the end results. The first ham bone has been simmered for an entire day and then strained out with the broth set aside to have the fat come up to the top for skimming off the next day. (We will have another ham bone soon as our daughter is saving hers for me.)

This year I put the kettle of broth outdoors with a milk crate covering it and the heavy 5 gallon gas can setting on top of that! Critters abide in our woods, don'tcha know! In fact, I saw four large deer browsing behind the cabin this very morning. There also was a "funny" noise in the woods during the night. I think it might have been an owl.

The end results after simmering and stirring often was a yield of about 2 1/2 qts. of very tasty soup for freezer storage. Of course that doesn't count the lunch bowls and it was GREAT!

On another note, I was pleasantly surprised to see a photo that I had submitted to our regional news station be shown in the usual Friday night video clip. Good thing I had the camera ready and got a shot of it right from the dining room table! The 2nd picture here is a screen shot I took of my photo while watching a rerun on the computer.

To see the actual presentation click on the link below. There is a wonderful picture of an eagle taken by a local lady who gets incredible nature shots.

Video Link