I’ll be away for a few days. Dear Husband is going to take a day off, and we’re going to take Mother to Indiana to see my youngest sis and her family. They’ve just lived through the home renovation from HELL and I’m eager to see the changes that have been made.
My mind is still on gardens, cleaning, and preparations for Thanksgiving. Each year I try to stave off Christmas until AFTER Thanksgiving…..but I had to send a request for a wish list, and an invitation to Cookie Day already. Mother has her Christmas cards all addressed!
A good friend sent an e-mail, asking if we were booked up for December, and could we set a date to meet for dinner. I discovered, that if you didn’t count the last weekend in November, we have a grand total of FOUR weekend nights left before Christmas to book that dinner. WOW! Where is the time going??? I think we should have a communal post where everyone gives their absolute best time saving tip for Christmas.
Well…I’ll check back on Sunday, when we return. I hope you all have a great weekend!
Pictures
One of my sisters forwarded an e-mail with these pictures. Given the horrors we have seen, I wanted to share a kinder view of our soldiers.
This is the message from the originator of the e-mail, Amy Dunavant:
Sometimes in our everyday life we tend to forget what’s going on elsewhere in the world and that the brave men and women of the service are just like you and I. They have family and friends back home who love them very much and are praying for their safe return.
Hope you pass these on
Patriotism
Yesterday I wanted to write about Veterans’s Day. I knew that many of you would have messages on the subject, and that you would say what I feel, most likely better than I could say for myself. So, I chose to visit other blogs and read your tributes rather than writing one of my own.
Last night, one of my nieces brought her two boys to dinner at our house. The oldest boy is 14 and his younger brother is 9. I couldn’t resist the chance to talk to them about why they had had a day off from school. We talked about what Veteran’s Day stands for. I tried to help them tie the people in their family to the wars they may have read about.
And Another
This seemed like just too much to pass up. I was visiting Site Meter, and checking out a referral from google when I came across this:
Steal this HTML:
You are
Dawn Summers
"I’m making peanut-butter-and-banana quesadillas. You want?"
What "Buffy" Character Are You?
Yup…..I have SUCH depth of character! Screaming Orgasms and Dawn…..what a match up. Do you think I might have erred a little on the test????
Tests
I’m a little behind on my testing…..so here’s two for one. The MASH test was lifted at Sgt. Hook’s blog on November 4, and I found “Which Drink Are You” over at the Parkway Rest Stop. Thanks, guys!
Congratulations! You’re a screaming orgasm!!
What Drink Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
(I can’t wait to see the comments on THIS one! lol)
Beignets
Have you ever been to New Orleans?
One of the famous places to visit is Cafe du Monde. There are several of them scattered around the city, but I managed to get to the one in the Market in the French Quarter. Cafe Du Monde is famous for coffee with chicory, and beignets, which are made as you watch.
Hot, puffy little pillows of dough dusted with confectioner’s sugar. They are best eaten when they have cooled enough so that you don’t burn your fingers or your tongue. Yum!
You can order a gift package of the coffee, a box of beignet mix and a cup for $11.50 plus shipping. While I’d MUCH rather take a trip to N’awlins and have the real thing, this might tide me over. And it seems like a great gift for a snowbound friend.
To order, call 800/772-2927.
Blue Cheese
Not just any blue cheese, but MAYTAG blue cheese. For sixty two years, this cheese has been made by hand on the same dairy farm in Newton, Iowa.
My mother raves about this cheese, and she recalls my grandfather (who lived in Iowa) serving it.
I think I’ve found an unusual Christmas gift for my mother. A two pound wheel of this cheese is available for $23 plus $5.00 in shipping and handling. That doesn’t seem like too much to pay for what is considered the “definitive” American blue cheese. Besides, each bite will bring back memories for her.
If you’re interested in trying this cheese, you can call 800/247-2458 to order.
Lasagna Gardening
The herb list I belong to has chatted about “Lasagna Gardening” in the past, and I’ve always thought it sounded like a great concept. The idea is to layer four to six inches of compost or layers of material over a spot where you want to make a new garden bed. If the area is in your lawn, the layers will kill off the grass and the bed will be ready for planting without having to use harsh chemicals.
Oddly, I found a note about this method in the “Real Simple” magazine, November, 2003. They suggest mowing an area you wish to dedicate as a bed next spring, and then putting down four sheets of newspaper, and a four inch layer of shredded fall leaves or bark mulch. Hose it down and let it sit for the winter.
I think I may try this on a section of my formal garden that has been infested with grass. I plan to put down layers of newspaper, chopped leaves, shredded paper from the office, compost and grass clippings. What better time to renovate a bed than in the winter, when nothing is going on?
If you’re interested in this technique, you can read more about it in ” Lasagna Gardening: A New Layering System for Bountiful Gardens: No Digging, No Tilling, No Weeding, No Kidding!” by Patricia Lanza, et al You can buy the paperback new for $11.17 at Amazon.com. What have you got to loose?
Birthday Reminders
And, while we are speaking of memory…
Did you know that you can sign up to be reminded of important dates, such as birthdays and anniversaries?
www.birthdayalarm.com has a service that allows you to store names and dates and then e-mails you seven and three days before each birthday. Go check it out.
Can you hear your family beginning to talk about the fact that each and every one of them have gotten a card or a call from you, and ON TIME!!!???
Postcards
Have you noticed an increase in the number of postcards you’ve been receiving from businesses? The other day I received a postcard that had our last name printed across it in nine fonts, four directions and three colors. It certainly got my attention, and I set it aside, rather than throwing it out. It was from the woman who had helped us to refinance, reminding us that her bank has other services to offer.