birthday

Today is Gordon's birthday! He is 45 yrs beyond being 21 yrs old. If I have heard it once, I have heard it a million times that all he wanted to be was 21, as that was the legal drinking age!! So, do the math and you will figure out how old he is, old!!!LOL!!!!!! I made him his favorite cake, devils food with vanilla frosting. He loves chocolate. Ellen and Bob invited us over for his birthday. She made chicken with rice, also his favorite! So, he made out very well in the food area!!! Happy Birthday, sweetheart!!! Love you much!

Christmas

Well, Christmas is almost here and what a lovely time of the year! Everyone seems to be happy and cordial to one another, but I want to go deeper for what I feel this time of year! Can you just imagine how the Christmas story impacts all of us??? Jesus came for all of us, the angels brought good tidings for ALL mankind! Can you just see it the sky lit up with angels singing and shepherds watching over their sheep trying to figure out what it all meant! But Luke tells the story for us, the common people to understand what God could do for us, send us a Saviour for our redemption!! How cool is that!!! So, my wish for you is to read the story in Luke, ponder it your heart, believe in it's power to change your life for the better and share the joy with others! Merry Christmas and God bless us all, everyone!!

coffee maker

Gordon insisted in buying something for me for Christmas. He already paid for most of my trip to California, so I really didn't need anything! But he insisted!!!! So, we went to Walmart and got a one scoop coffee maker from Hamilton Beach. Of course, we had to set it up and make coffee right away!We LOVE it and would highly recommend it to anyone and everyone! WE have made hot chocolate with it, plus tea, just add the water!! So cool!

soup

Well, we finally got to have soup for lunch today! It was good, I would make it again! I even used my little torch (for creme brulee) to melt the cheese instead of the broiler, I would used the broiler next time! Broiler gets the cheese brown, this just semi melted the cheese. I can't seem to get the picture to upload, it's always something! Blessings!!!!

french onion soup

I started this soup last night, so will totally finish the photo taking tonight, but here is the beginning!! Recipe is: 4 small onions sliced, 2 Tablespoons of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of Herbs de Provence, 1 Tablespoon of  beef flavoring mixed with 6 cups of water, and 2 cups of a good drinking red wine. So, I sliced the onions and heated the oil up, placed the onions in the fry for 10- 15 minutes. I wanted them a little darker so I went the 15 minutes. So, the second photo is the finished soup after cooking for about 45 minutes. Tonight all I need to do is reheat the soup, turn the broiler on, ladle the soup into bowls, place a slice of french bread in the soup and top the bread with some grated muenster cheese. Place your bowls in the broiler for just a few minutes until the cheese melts, please please make sure your bowls can take the heat!!! Also be careful placing the bowls in the oven on cookie sheets. Enjoy the soup!! More photos later.

Sample Fest

 Amy was there, but at the time I took the photo she was microwaving potatoes for her demo.

 The cake plate held cake pops, next to that was bacon wrapped club crackers.

 Theresa takes such a great picture. She had monkey bread and coffee for customers.

 Connie had fried rice and shrimp for the day to serve! She did a great job. In the background is Mark setting up his demo of meatballs and bacon.

 Annie had 2 kinds of rice dishes to serve to the public!

 Sorry put this in twice and can't figure out how to remove it, go figure!!!!

 Ilene represented the bakery deptment! Everything there looked good!

Gloria did a great job for the deli deptment!
The pictures are from last Friday at the grocery store's Sample Fest. Lots of people, fun and food thoroughout the store! The store does it every year and this was probably the best!! Enjoy the photos of the girls that served! Blessings!!!!

Christmas time

Christmas is almost here and a few last minute things to do, but all and all I am ready for the day!! Gordon and I will be alone on Christmas day, but I have plans for the day. We have a board game that we have never played called "The settlers of Catan." So that is going to get opened and started.  So, let's celebrate the birth of our Saviour and joyous news that was brought that day that Jesus is the Word, the Word dwelt among us and made salvation possible for us! Blessings and hugs!!!

purchases from sale

I wanted to show you the purchases I made at Jenny's craft show that I went to a few weeks back. So here they are. I just love them and I can totally add and switch out the shutter with spring or fall decorations.!! Blessings!

weekend

I have this weekend off, so it's usually taken up with things I have to do and entertaining the "hub". So, washing clothes this morning and going shopping with him to Menards, maybe a show after lunch!! Detox diet is going okay. Christmas is coming and I am more relaxed than ever, not stressing this year! Trying to focus on the Advent season! Been doing a Bible study on Advent which is so good!This photo is of my friend Diane's nativity set! Love it! Blessings!

detox diet

Well, it's Tuesday and the week has started off bad. Last week ended bad and so the detox diet is not going so great!! I did really good for 3 days and then hit a wall, bored with what I ate and hungry! So, today is the restart of the diet and moving forward! I made spinach salad for supper with venison burgers and mushrooms! Breakfast was scrambled eggs with bacon, lunch was salad with grilled chicken. Snack was a persimmons and banana. So, hopefully I am back on track at least for today! Blessings!

spinach salad

On my page you will see smittenkitchen.com blogsite! Please always check out what Deb is making! Most of the recipes I have made are terrific!!! I made that spinach salad 2 times this week and it was fabulous! I have her new cookbook on hold for Christmas, but I went to California as a gift from Gordon, so I will request her book for my birthday!

update

Well, we finally got to Rice Lake and didn't go to the movie. We went our separate way at Walmart and Menards. It was a busy day for me as I got a lttle bit of decorating done, but still can't decide whether to put up a tree or not. I have told Gordon I want a silver tree, he just laughed! So, that was my day off. Tonight I'm going out to Jenny's with my friend Gloria! This pic is from last year's find at Jenny's house!  Jenny's house is so sweet and decorated so simply, but once a year she has a craft sale and tonight is the deal! Last year I got a snowman made with leftover wood! He's so cute! Blessings!!

turkey soup

Are you still eating turkey leftovers?? We have just a little bit left, so I made turkey orzo soup

with celery diced, carrots, 2 cloves of garlic and kale! It was so good. I ate 2 bowls for lunch!!! I'm really in love with kale. This past summer, I bought so much kale at the farmer's market, the Hmong farmers always had kale for me!! I chop it up and added it my scrambled eggs, my salads, and stew or soups we had over the summer! I probably should have added to hamburgers, but didn't think of it till now!! Well, enjoy the day wherever you are and I will continue cleaning, cooking, laundry and finally to Rice Lake with Gordon. We have a date today! We are going to see the new James Bond movie! Blessings

it's quiet here

Well, Kurt and the 3 girls are gone. Left around 12p.m. today. It's so quiet here when they leave, that it's pretty sad!!! We love having them, the noise, the giggling, the polite manners, the giggling(oh I said that, but there is alot of giggling), the meals, the crafts, the drawing, the games and the visit to Auntie and Uncle Trevor's house overnight!! We had a full weekend and enjoyed every minute. They are very well behaved girls and so it's a joy to take them out. Thank you Kate and Kurt for raising our grandgirls, you are great parents!!! I have no new pictures to share, too bad. I was having trouble anyway sending pictures to Erika of our trip. Have a great week. I'm going to start on a 21 day detox diet tomorrow!! Wish me luck, join me if you want. Keep me accountable, please! Blessings!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

In all things, give thanks! That's a great Bible verse!! Have a wonderful day whether alone or with family! Blessings!

Remember to thank the Lord for all He has given, good and hard! Sometimes I forget to thank Him when it's easy! Because it's easy!! Always looking for help during the hard things! Enjoy the day and be blessed!

photos from trip

Well, I tried to post this yesterday and nothing!! Bummer!! So, I will try tonight!

This is the back of my niece and nephew-in-law's house. Directly behind me and to my right is a lovely swimming pool.

This a great pic of Dorothy and Erika! We were at a craft show. Had so much fun walking and talking!!

This a photo of our hosts, Wendy and Pat. They were so gracious! What a beautiful home they have! Thank you!!! Blessings!

back home

Erika and I got back from sunny California on Monday, late afternoon. We had a wonderful time with family!! My sister looks good and my niece has taken good care of her! Pat(my niece's husband) has provided a wonderful home for them and was a wonderful host!! Thank you Pat and Wendy for allowing us to visit and enjoy everything! Like I said before we ate, talked, ate, talked and talked some more!! We shopped and went to Old Town(old San Diego). It rained a little bit, but the sun always came out!. Temps were 60ish most of the days we were there. I will share pictures later. Craft weekend ahead on Saturday. Blessings!!

trip

Well tomorrow morning I'm leaving on a jet plane for sunny California!!! I am so excited and already sad!!! Go figure!! I'm so exited to go and see my sis, but then I'm sad at leaving so quickly! I know there wil be lots of talking, drinking coffee, talking, more coffee, more talking and maybe some sleep!! Thirteen years is a long time not to see family!!

Well, so long for now, or as Tigger would say "Tah tah for now". See you all in a week! Blessings and hugs!!

weekend

Thinking about the weekend, I have alot to do before I leave for sunny California!!! The yearly craft show is the Saturday after I get back, so it's cookies and fudge making time!! I think I will do the Russian tea cookies and add a new recipe that is peanut butter with marshmallows in bar form. Sounds like a good one for the holidays. Plus making a ton of fudge to sell. Also I have a few items to sell from when I sold At Home America. There's a mixing bowl set, great wedding gift and some lanterns that hold candles. I figured to decorate them and they will go to a happy home. YOu need to remember that I'm still cleaning and purging!!! I did find 4 plates to put the cookies and bars on

. Well, what are you doing this weekend??? Blessings!

fall

As most of you know this isn't my favorite season because winter is close behind!!! It is a pretty time of the year and the cooler weather is always a great relief from the heat of summer. Anyway, I have a girlfriend that has stomach issues and has gone gluten free. She shared a recipe with me on Saturday(while I was working and she was not dashing around the store on break). It is called African peanut stew. I didn't like the photo so you can't see it, but let me tell you it's an easy and beautiful stew. Recipe is the following: 1 diced white onion, 1 1/2 pounds of sweet potatoes- cubed, 1 green pepper diced, 1 clove of garlic minced, 1 teapsoon of grated fresh ginger, I used a 1 teaspoon of taco seasoning as I didn't have cumin or red pepper,1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 1/2 cups of vegetable broth, 1-14.5oz can of diced tomatoes, 1 can of drained garbanzo beans. I sauted the onion, garlic, and green pepper in coconut oil for about 4 minutes

(1 teaspoon), then add the spices and sweet potatoes. Cook this for about 5 minutes. Then start adding the rest and cook this on a simmer heat for 30 minutes. I then added 2 tablespoons of peanut butter to the stew and stirred that around for about 5 more minutes. I did add some peanuts at the very end for a crunch. The house smelled so amazing and the stew is so refreshing.

secret

I have a secret to tell you all!!!! Aren't you excited???? I am to tell you!!! I'm going on a trip with my daughter, we are traveling to California to see my sister and her tribe!!!! I haven't seen her in 13 years and I'm pretty excited!!!! I had all these plans that if I was going I was going to lose some weight( i did 10 lbs, big whop) and get better at walking long distances(never happened), lofty ideas, but didn't get my butt in gear!!! Anyway, Erika and I leave on NOv. 8th and return the 12th! Short, but sweet! We plan to go to Old Town and the zoo(lots of walking)! I will probably take a cane with me just for support! Now you share my secret and isn't it fun!!! God is so great to give me this chance to see Dorothy!! Blessings!

dinner for friends

A good friend from church is having a really hard time and I thought I would make a meal for her. Her husband had 2 strokes and is not well. Sherry is the sole person giving him care and it's wearing on her!! So, I made a new recipe to me of beef kielbasa, onions and apples stir fry. YUM!!!! is all I can say! A big bowl of green onion and kale risotto, yummy also!!! Pray for both of them as he is preparing to leave this world to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus! Christ has always been a part of their marriage and He will see them through this! Blessings!!!

words

Words are those things that can make or break a person, situation, change a life, bring hope or beat down a person. Today I want to talk about words we say and how to guard our words more carefully!! We are a people of texting, blogs and emails lately and words matter! Let's look at how we welcome people into our homes.Do you say welcome or come on in or thanks for coming over or how nice to see you or what??? Do you feel welcomed into my home?? I would hope so!! What do you think?? Words important?? I know this may seem prety serious subject, but I think sometimes I need to ask some questions instead of being so nice about everything! Stop by and see how I am doing with my welcome! My prayer for this subject is that God gave me 2 ears to hear and 1 mouth, so guard my words and have me speak slowly!!! That is scriptural! Blessings!!!

friends

Tonight we are having some good friends over for supper!!! YIPPEEEE I'm cooking!!! I think that is what Gordon is saying today!! Anyway, Bob and Sheila are church friends that live on Shell Lake. 2 summers ago we crashed their 4th of July party with our grandgirls which they didn't care, that's good friends! They are so easy to have and have been trying to teach us how to play cards "Hand and foot" game. I have had a great day off and well rested. Got a 30 minute nap! On the menu tonight is Parmesan chicken, risotto with kale and green onions, squash, biscuits and apple squares! The wind is blowing today and the leaves are falling! It can't make up it's mind if it will rain or sunshine! Cool or warm! That's fall in the north land! Blessings!

apple breakfast dessert

I love apples and thought this was a great idea for my breakfast. I have been trying to do gluten free as I think I have wheat allergy after all these years. So, here's is what I did: 5 Haralson apples diced(I left on the skin), 1/4 cup of sweetner(which is new to me and I like it), 2 tablespoons of butter on top and 1/2 cup of oatmeal breakfast cereal(make it hot when eating it as breakfast food). I added about 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts to it and it was so good!!!! So, here are a few pictures and enjoy! Blessings!!!

This is not an artifical sweetner, it is 100% natural sugar and very good.

This doesn't look real pretty, but it was really great tasting!!!

fall colors

Gordon and I went for a ride this afternoon for about an hour or more! It was a beautiful day in Wisconsin!! Trees have peaked here and colors are fading, but it sure was fun to try out our phones. They take incredible pictures! WE are slowly learning how to operate them! I have installed Instagram, but have no clue on what it can do!!! Help please! WE ended up at Dairy Queen as it closes in a week!! I re-canned the hot sauce I made. I made it more tomatoey(is that a word???). I bought 2 cans of diced tomatoes and cooked it with the hot sauce. Took my trusty stick blender out and mashed up the tomatoes. It tasted hot!! Gordon will like and will replace Tobasco sauce in my cabinet! Blessings!

table settings

About 2 weeks ago we went for a ride on a Sunday afternoon to get some local pumpkins to decorate with The family who is selling the pumpkins, squash and little gourds are a great family! The kids are sponsoring a child in Nicargua with this money and saving for a fun trip, so we were excited to help and get some beautiful pumpkins!!! Thanks and blesings!!

cookbook magazine

I went to the twin cities a few weeks back and had the privilege of going to Barnes and Noble for about 1 hour!!! It was so great to spent that time wondering and reading a few books that I had wanted to read, but didn't like the review on Amazon. So, I am a junkie for magazines and found this one called "Where Woman Cook". It is a good magazine and some really creative women partake of the writing! I would encourage you all to get a copy or borrow mine!! Blessings!

bits and pieces

Hey, isn't that an oldies song??? From Paul Revere and the Raiders???? NO, that's not who sang that, but goll darnit I can't remember who did!!! I do digress, sorry!!! We went to the twins birthday party back in July and I didn't post all the pics from the party and thought it would fun to see 2 pics of my men! 1. is of Gordon

Now, really look at the photo, the girls had so much fun putting all of this on Grandpa. His hair is in a ponytail holder on the top of his head(I don't think you can see that), plus the feather mask, necklace beads and bracelet. He put his foot down when Kora wanted to do makeup!!!LOL!!! We were laughing so hard, I was crying!!! Poor Grandpa, he was a good sport. Then there's photo 2 of Daddy!!

Daddy gets an A for going along with this!!!! WE laughed and had so much fun that day! Just what families should do!!! Blessings!! I did google who sang the song "Bits and pieces", it was the Dave Clark Five. Just a little trivia!!

pepper jelly

Last years hit from the garden was hot pepper jelly! So, I decided I would make some more, but do red! Last years was green! The hot hungarian peppers turned a beautiful red and I added a few cayenne into the mix. Please note when working with hot peppers, either put on gloves or remember not to touch any place on your body that is sensitive, such as eyes, nose, or your bottoms! So, with all that said, I cut up peppers bare handed and removed the stems, seeds and threw them into the food processor to take a twirl around the container. Please watch this so it doesn't become slurry!! Also, please be careful as the fumes from the peppers can sting your eyes, when you take the lid off the food processor!! Also, this is from experience! The hot peppers in the jars were so beautiful. I think I will serve some tomorrow night for Bible study with cream cheese and crackers! Blessings!

Is it soup or chowder??

I bought some leeks at the farmers market and needed to make something with them, so Gordon dug up some potatoes for me. I started out with the taters and diced them up. Then I got going on the leeks, as you need to soak them in water to get the dirt out from the rings of the leeks. So, I sliced them up and threw them in some warm water, separated them, took them out of the water and threw them in the soup pot!! I used evaporated milk and flour as a thickner for the soup. Seems there is alot of throwing of things around!!:) The I got some spicy meatballs I made a few months ago and threw them in the pot. It got nice and thick, so it became more chowder than soup for our supper! We got new smartphones, I hope eventually we will figure them out!! Technology is passing us by I'm afraid! Anyway, please don't get mad at us if we don't answer the phone right away, we are trying to figure out how too!!!! Blessings!

cleaning

Awhile back I wrote about having too much and cleaning! Well, dear friends I now have a plan for more cleaning! I have clear direction and need to start a monthly calendar to keep me on task! In 2 yrs. I would like to have sized down the "crap" or more ladylike the "stuff" that seems at times to overtake the house! There are so many more things I would like to do besides this task, but I want to move in 2 yrs to a smaller house! That's the endgame for me. Gordon and I don't need to move further into old age with all of this! It would drive our children crazy if we died and left this mess to them to clean up. I would be ashamed to leave it! So, with that said where to start??? Well, I read a blog the other day and she said that every spring she goes from room to room, looks over the room with notebook in hand, writes down everything that room needs done. The clutter cleaned up and hauled away, painting, carpets cleaned, wallpaper stripped off, closets looking like you can find soemthing! I thought this was a great idea! So, I did it and it wasn't as painful as I expected, but now the work begins! Pray that I can do this without getting too sentimental about stuff, pray that it doesn't overwhelm me to the point I give up, pray that Gordon and I don't argue about stuff, pray that I don't lose sleep over this, pray that I can be brutal about tossing items that don't mean a hill of beans in the realm of eternity! So, this year we need "according to my notebook" to paint 2 rooms only, so that's not too bad! 3 carpets need to be cleaned and 4 closets need to be decluttered! Then there's the basement, oh boy what a chore that will be!!!!!! Don't go buy anything until you check with me and see if I have it!! I'm not kidding, I would love to bless you if I have it, whatever it is!!!LOL!!!!!Blesings!

Relish

So, I'm finally back with the relish recipe! Recipe: 10 cups of finely chopped zucchini, 4 cups of finely chopped onion(sweet), 1 green bell pepper finely chopped, 1 red pepper finely chopped, 1 hot pepper finely chopped, put in an non-reactive bowl(not metal), and cover with 5 tablespoons of pickling salt. Let this set overnight or in my case for 13 hours. Drain the vegetables and rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse them! Put the veggies in a large pot. Meanwhile, dissolve 1 tablespoon of corn starch in 2 1/2 cups of vinegar, pour that over veggies, add 4 1/2 cups of sugar, 1 tablespoon of nutmeg, 2 teaspoons of celery salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. Let all this come to a boil, then turn down heat to a simmer and simmer for 30 minutes-45 minutes. This will be thick and pack into clean, sterile jars. I put this into pint jars for easy handling. Water bath this for 10 minutes and let it cool on the counter for 12 hours before moving to a cool, dry place. It's really good on hot dogs!!! Also, you can use your food processor to chop the veggies, but I didn't! This will make great gifts!! Blessings!!