Catching Up

I caught Del's cold and it knocked me out good. First it visited my sinuses making my head feel like it is going to explode, then it settled in my chest, stayed there for two weeks and some bits and pieces of it are still there, I have a lingering nasty cough.
So instead of doing all the usual things I spent the last two weeks with a lot of reading, a little bit of knitting (Del's birthday present) and very little housework and cooking.
Del is on vacation this week and we plan to get the garden cleaned up and I need to catch up on laundry (provided it won't be raining again).
I got everything ready for the church bazaar on Saturday, we will be setting up on Friday and then go in early on Saturday because Del will be helping with the pancake breakfast. I missed church for 4 weeks in a row (first Del was sick, then me and we are not in the habit of sharing our germs with everybody) and I really miss it.

Here are a few pictures I took recently.

Summer's last hurrah.

Fall colors.

A sleeping cat (Mr. Scarface) in my garden.

A birthday card for my mother.

And Miss Kitty helping me make it.

This and That

It seems like it has been raining forever and the temperature has dropped below what is comfortable. Whenever there happens to be a dry day I am feverishly trying to catch up on laundry, running out of hanging space in the garden and ending up with a house full of damp clothes. Oh well. My next major investment is going to be one of those neat wooden drying racks from Lehman's.

Our Sunday School picnic had to be moved from a shelter at the lake to the church hall, but it was still nice, the food was yummy and the company was pleasant. We are still getting to know the people. In this church they are not trying to overwhelm you with friendliness, pulling you into all sort of things (and then dropping you when you don't play by their rules) but rather letting you ease into whatever you feel comfortable getting involved in.

I am still knitting for the church bazaar and I have just finished the last of the hat and scarf sets for the homeless shelter.

Today we had planned to go to a historic farm for the annual corn shucking but Del has a bad cold and the weather is not really ideal for being outside all day. So instead we are mucking around at home.

It seems like we finally beat the fleas with the help of brewer's yeast, added to Miss Kitty's food, thankfully she eats it. I am also putting it into the dry food for the outside cats and they are not so thrilled about it.

I put up some more Fall/Halloween decorations. I covered the wooden boxes with new scrap booking paper and hung my two Halloween quilts. I tried to focus mainly on my handmade stuff this year and just added a few of my favorite pieces.





In case anyone wants to come to our house for Trick-or-Treat, we are handing out small bags of salty snacks and raisins this year rather than sweets.

We had a major computer crash and had to replace the hard disk, sound card and the part where the modem plugs into the computer. Luckily we had some extra money. Why is it, that whenever you pay off one bill something breaks and there goes your extra cash. Sigh.

Here is my menu for the coming week plus a picture of my Italian Bean Soup, I thought it looked really pretty. ;)


Saturday Breakfast: Wholewheat-Cinnamon Pancakes with Orange Syrup and Bacon, Coffee, Orange Juice
Saturday Lunch: Sausages, Baked Beans, Homemade Bread, Caramel Apples (store bought, I never had them before)
Sunday Breakfast: Homemade Muffins, Scrambled Eggs, Bacon
Sunday Lunch: Pan Fried Flounder with Tomato Sauce and Parmesan Spaghetti
Weekend dinners are usually tortilla chips with salsa or cheese dip or sandwiches.

Weekday Breakfasts: Homemade Granola (with dates and nutmeg) with milk, coffee, orange juice

Weekday Dinners:

Monday: Thai Noodles
Tuesday: Bean Burritos
Wednesday: Ham Pizza
Thursday: Baked Pasta with Tuna and Olives
Friday: Carrot Soup with Garlic Bread

Sweets: Orange-Chocolate Brownies, maybe Pumpkin Bread

Other Baking: Two loaves of bread and a batch of granola

What's Cooking?

Monday: Pasta with Tomatoes and Bacon, Green Salad
Tuesday: Baked Potato with Broccoli-Cheese Sauce
Wednesday: Tuna Pizza
Thursday and Friday: Italian Bean Soup with Garlic Bread

Sweets: Chocolate-Spice Brownies and Apple Crisp

Other Baking: Two loaves of Walnut Bread

Fall Decorating

The Last Roses

Monday

The rain has stopped, the sun is shining, laundry is fluttering in the breeze and the Big Fall Cleaning is underway. There is also a lot of knitting being done for the upcoming church bazaar and various birthdays. And in between I am re-downloading and re-installing all kinds of things on the computer which decided to quit a week ago and needed to be set up all over again.
My days are filled right now and there are even some outings in the planning for next month. Lots of festivals happening all around, in honor of apples, pumpkins, corn and other fruits of the field.
Miss Kitty is happy that the sun is shining again and so are all the outside kitties which are getting more territorial as the weather gets cooler, each one of them making sure they'll have a warm sleeping place for Winter. I picked up a huge fleece blanket at the thrift store and cut it into smaller pieces to line the boxes for the cats with. They seem to be quite happy about that.
The garden is ready to be prepared for Winter, we decided not to grow any Fall and Winter vegetables this year, maybe next. It just needs a good cleanup then we will cover all the beds with straw and wait for Spring. ;)
I will be back soon with new fabrics and new projects, till then stay safe and enjoy my favorite season.

Another Shawl

I finished the Wool Peddler's Shawl from the book "Folk Shawls" by Cheryl Oberle.

Finished

I finished my second Sunday Morning Shawl yesterday. I love the ruffles but they take a while to knit and bind off (more than 1000 stitches). I frogged the purple shrug that looked so awful on me and reused the yarn. Love the shawl.

Quilt Finder

Have you ever noticed how cats seem to be able to find any quilt in the house to sleep on? Miss Kitty sure does and she looks so pretty among the old stuffed animals (her look says "put the camera down or ...")

Weekend

I had a pretty good weekend.

We have been going to a new church for 5 weeks now and like it a lot. Looks like we finally found one that we really can be a part of and where we can bring ourselves and our talents in to serve the community.

On Saturday we participated in a community pancake breakfast where school supplies were handed out as well. We served over 400 people many of which were there mainly for the school supplies. Times are tough and a lot of families in this area are struggling. It was a great experience, more than 70 church members working together to make this happen. We got invited to the same Sunday School class by at least three different people and we will check it out in September because next Sunday we are invited to a newcomers meeting with the pastor before the morning service.

On Sunday after church we drove to Winston-Salem to see a B-17 bomber at the local airport. I have wanted to see one of these since I watched "Memphis Belle" - which I did mainly because of Billy Zane, but that is a completely different story ;). The one landing in WS was the "Liberty Belle" out of Oklahoma.

They also offered flights on the old lady but even if I had the money I am afraid I would not have enjoyed it much, I get seasick in a rocking chair. I got a bit of sunburn on my nose but it was worth it.

My Birthday

Breakfast: Whole wheat waffles with blueberries and orange syrup, bacon, coffee, orange juice.

Gifts: Books from Del, my friend Sabine in Germany and my parents, British knitting magazines from my friend Liz in England.

Cake: Coffee Cream, store bought, yummy.

Spent some quality time with the lawnmower on Saturday, baked bread, had sausages, fresh homemade bread, corn and watermelon for lunch.

Sunday lunch with friends after church at a Chinese restaurant.

Another year older and wiser. ;)

Long Ago and Far Away

Blame it on Little Jenny Wren (her upcoming birthday - this Friday, why don't you pop over and leave her a note - inspired her to post some childhood photos, which in turn inspired Tina in Scotland to do the same) or on my upcoming birthday (this Saturday, not quite as round as hers - yet), but here is a blast from the past. :-)

Cherry Cake

Same as the peach cake, just different fruit.

From the Garden

In the Garden

Tomato Soup

Honestly, it is. :)

Peach Cake

Recipe:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup margarine or butter, softened
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 fresh peach, thinly sliced

In a bowl combine flour, sugar and baking powder. Add milk, margarine and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed till combined. Beat on high speed for 2 minutes. Add egg and beat 2 minutes more. Pour into greased and floured 9" round or square baking pan, top with peach slices and bake in a 375 F oven for 25 to 30 minutes or till a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes, remove from pan, cool thoroughly on wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar if desired, enjoy.
(This is half the recipe for Yellow Cake from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook)

Well, I think I just have to go and bake another one. :)