Hanging in there- part 4

Gita there has been talk that mint oil is good for keeping the dreaded stink bug away, too.
Ladyg, Ric is making a pot of soup later today, too. We have a busy weekend My oldest daughter is coming tonight along with her SO and his daughter, and JR is spending the night. Ric is making roast Chicken with au gratin potatoes and a veggie for dinner. They are going to take advantage of the hot tub while Ric and I play games with his daughter and JR. Tomorrow morning Josh is bringing a group of kayakers over so they have a meeting place and I'm going to pick them up where they are leaving their cars at the end of their run and bring them back to the beginning of the run where they unloaded their kayaks. Wouldn't be surprised if they come back here to Hot Tub and so soup would be a nice lunch for them. Then Jamie is coming early Sat evening with a group of friends to have a bonfire in our yard. Sure hope this wind settles down tomorrow. They are all bringing their own food but I thought a big pot of soup would be nice to have on hand for them. Jamie told them we have a Hot Tub so some of them might end up in it, too.
Billy, I love kraut but have never tried making it myself. Sure looks good.

Holly, you need an extra weekend in your week just to rest up. LOL

Yes it is going to be a big one and then Sunday I'm suppose to go to Josh's to mulch leaves. Monday & Tuesday I'm babysitting Lucas. I don't see a break until after Thanksgiving but I'm having a great time.

I think that was a regular maple.

Here's a JM over by the FDR memorial

or maybe I have it backwards....LOL

Holly and Ric--

It is SOOOO wonderful that your grown kids still maintain that connection with you both.
Gee! WANTING to go to Mom and dad's--Hot tubbing--Home mead soup--what's not to like?
Then--you both always going to THEM and helping out----There is the reason for the "connection"....
One hand, lovingly, washes the other........

Speaks of the great job you both have done raising them and parenting them.
Kudos to you both!

I so admire you both! Gita

Thanks Gita, Julie's SO made a comment about that tonight He really likes how close we all are. My children all have their own lives, friends and responsibilities but they are in and out of here all the time. They spend time with each other and visit their Grandparents. They are good kids. Josh came over with his new girl friend so Julie could meet her. They didn't stay long just about an hour. Jul really wanted to meet her this is the first serious girl friend that Josh has had in years. She is very nice and we all really like her.

Hi Chris, that was 5 heads around 15 #. I put it in the fridge and we've been eating on it. It's milder and crunchier than from a can. I'll make this for the rest of my life!

Soup sounds good!!

Holly, you are good busy.

Have a nice afternoon all. I need to get up and make two squash pies, trying the Libbie's pumpkin pie recipe this time.

Billy, I always use the Libbie's recipe for my pies. They always turn out yummy.

I guess you could make any amount of kraut you want, What else goes in there besides cabbage?

Holly it is so nice to hear about your family, you are so blessed. I hear about so many dysfunctional families at the office, working in a small town you hear a lot of stories. It is sad.

Talked to DD last night, today is her birthday, I sent her some Disney Gift cards to spend on their December trip, she sounded really happy with them. I usually send FTD flowers.

The party was fun and everyone had a good time. They stayed late and a few of them were sleeping here when I woke up this morning. Holly
They had horseshoes set up under lights, a bonfire,grilled wurst and burgers, and beer pong. Yes, they had DDs or stayed the night. I tucked the last one in about 3am and went to bed. LOL Ric

Chris, after seeing the sugar content in the Libby pie recipe, I used the squash recipe after all :o)

Basically, just salt, but kraut could have green peppers in it, caraway seed, jalapenos, etc. A lot is personal taste, but it has to handle the amount of salt used. I think the peppers would be tough.

Happy Birthday to DD! There's been a lot of Birthdays on Dave's this month :o) The gift cards were a great gift!

Holly and Ric, what a wonderful party!!

I get to clean house today!

I get to babysit Lucas. He is such a sweet thing.

Chris, We have had our dysfunctional periods, too. LOL But I do have a wonderful family, my Parents and Grandparents did a good job raising me with lots of love and my Children and Grandchildren have benefited.

Hey, Sally twin--Libby's is the ONLY pumpkin pie for me!! Wanna fight?? LOL

Chris, here's hoping the s++w holds off for you up there--and that you get a mild winter. (What are the odds of that, where you are LOL)

I could do with a little less snow this year than we had last. LOL
Chris What are your plans for Thanksgiving? I just finished cutting up my bread for the stuffing. 3 loafs.

I'll be stuffing a turkey breast and having sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce some sort of veggie probably home made rolls, and pumpkin pie. It's just Paul and I. He is working today and Friday so we are staying home.
I baked some Biscott today, never made them before. A co-worker makes the best biscott so I just had to try. They turned out pretty good.

Sounds like a nice quiet day and a good meal.
I'll have 9 for diner. Jen's family goes to Va. to visit her husbands extended family. All the cousins, aunts uncles, parents and siblings go. It is a big party and so very nice for them all. Now the second generation of cousins are getting to know each other. Josh's girl and Julies SO will be with their families but will come after dinner.

Blessing on you and your family.

Hi Chris and everyone,

It sounds from your posts like you all ate very well on Thanksgiving. DH and I went to a friends and took a giant bowl of cole slaw (that's what I drew from the bring and share) and some wine. There was so much food, there wasn't enough room. Dishes were practically piled atop one another, and many obviously ignored the 'just bring one dish' mandate, as there were three styles of cranberries alone. There were quite a few Latinos in attendance, but no real identifiable Mexican or Central American dishes, bummer. I was hoping there were some of those tamales, chicken and pork, that were sold at church to raise money for the kids to go on some field trip. The hostess must have told them to come experience a US-style feast. Anyway, all I can think about today is kimchi, miso, and noodles.

Billy, I was looking for the post where you first mentioned making kraut. It looks like yours turned out great. I have this huge kimchi crock in the garage. It could probably take a dozen big cabbages. It has a 'wire cage' so it doesn't break when buried undergroud (something it will not have to worry about here) since I can't even dig enough holes to get my bulbs planted.

Keep those ideas coming. Chris, I'm off to the bread machine thread. Mine is this huge old Dax Turbo II (Dax no longer in business) that looks like R2D2. I can't believe my DH found the invoice and the recipe book that came with it.

Hi everyone! Glad you all had a nice turkey day. We got a dusting of snow last night and the roads in spots were icy. Paul is working today on wheel chair transports, he managed to get home for lunch (Turkey Sandwich), the transport was near home so he could stop between his next pick-up.

I got a call from my oncology nurse yesterday, she wanted to know how I was feeling as they received the results of Tuesday's blood test. Tumor markers are still going up, this is just one part of the total picture, nothing to get excited about. If I start feeling poorly I need to call them. So far so good, just keep doing what I'm doing, report any problems/changes and get another blood test in 4 weeks.

I have been searching on and off for a software program that I could be creative with all my pictures stored in my PC. I have 2 operating systems, Vista and W7 so needed one that could work on both. Yesterday I found My Memories Suite a digital scrapbooking program and so far I am having a lot of fun with it. I have not figured out how to up-load picutres of pages into my posts but I'm working on that.

This message was edited Nov 27, 2010 2:06 PM

I think I have it figured out......how to transport one picture out of a program so I can post it here.

This is a page out of My Memory Suite that I created.

Hi LadyG! I luv your memory suite layout! I'd like to try that one....what is memory suite? Glad you are hanging in there and had a nice Thanksgiving. Were you able to garden at all this past summer? I see you have been a busy bee baking and cooking. Our cookie jars have been empty here for tooooooo long!

Hi Diana, I downloaded (for a fee) the My Memory Suite, it was not hard to do. You can buy and download extra embellishments and packages to add. I have been thinking about scrap booking for a long time but did not want to get into a lot of "crafting" and boxes of "stuff" sitting around. So digital scrap booking seem to be right up my alley.

Not much gardening this year I was suffering from fatigue due to the chemo and the summer heat did not help any. But there is always next year. I have already been drooling over 2011 seed Catalogs. LOL

I go in spurts with the baking, but I love having the smell in the house from fresh baked goods.

Still playing LOL

nice job on the collages... love buffalo made me giggle

They are great like a scrapbook page with different backgrounds and embellishments. Love those Buffalo.
Phewy on the bad test results, glad you are feeling well.
Pam, LOL Yesterday I was so hungry for Sushi. Ric was out doing some errands and he brought me some home. I also know just what you mean about the great homemade Mexican food. We had the best Pork Tamales and wonderful fresh made tortillas for breakfast when I was in Utila just off the coast of Honduras. So much better than what we get here.

Sallyg, guess what? My middle name is Anne :o)

ROTFL is exactly how you would take me in a fight! I am a firm Libby woman myself, but that was a lot of sugar for squash! I did make two Libby pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving, two rhubarb custard, an apple and a sour cherry!

Chris, we are in the middle of that forcast, so we will alternate between warm and cold. Just about like last year.

Holly, I went from almost 30 relatives at my house as a kid, to 7 today :o( I miss the big doings, but my house is tiny.

Pam, the Mexican food made me so hungry for tamales!! I have Kimche in the fridge and Miso dry soup in the pantry. Homemade noodles are on my mind :o)

Wow, a Kimche crock! Till I met MaVieRose, I never knew about making it underground. DH got me to try it because he remembered it being mentioned on M.A.S.H. I loved it! I used Mom's old pickle crock. It's a #4 and 5 cleaned cabbages filled it just right. They were about 15# worth. I am loving my homemade kraut!

R2D2, Rolling on the floor over that image!!

Chris, how nice Paul could stop for dinner. I'm glad you said nothing to worry about. Worry started creeping in that second.

Memory Suite is neat! I've never seen cooler buffalo! I'm lucky to find time right now to name and file what I have, LOL! Now I have Christmas tree pictures to download and it isn't even decorated yet :o) Aww, love the Santas too :o)

Wind, I love a good excuse to bake :o)

Holly, I doubt I ever try sushi :o)

I let the Grandkids help decorate the house yesterday. They even got to hold my snowglobes. It was a great time to teach gentle and that they would be their's somday but not if they were broken. Next week they get to decorate the tree.

Sending Prayers your way Chris, even if it isn't anything to worry about. I'm so glad you're back and up and about!

Popping in and hoping the Genie's will be popping out.

I was dusting these and realized everyone could have a wish :o)

The female Jeanne :o)

LOL Billy, pretty cute !

dusting (n) : an archaic term for a duty rarely performed in the Miller house.
I'll wish people don't notice my dust. LOL
Thanks!

But it's so fun with the Swiffer Duster....and I found a fun way to get WAY up in the corner in our high ceiling foyer to get the spider webs....I wrapped a ball in a swiffer duster and keep throwing it up there till I get them all...even give my son a few tries

Love those Billy, I put in my wish. LOL

Thanks Chris, Aladdin's lamp is a planter and was my Mom's. It's the oldest. The bottle came from a Country Club a neighbor worked at, when I was a kid.

Sally, I found that when DH scrubs the carpet and carries everything out of the room, it's a good day to also wash the walls I've been promising myself to do, and dust! I didn't wash all of them, but the Red room is the worst to do.

FlowAjen, I'll bet your Son had a great time dusting! It does sound fun!

I use a red car duster on the days I don't want to get out the Pledge and rags. Yep, tip it, or a Swiffer on it's side and you don't have to move a thing!

I hope it come's true Holly :o)

I went thru my seeds the other day, updating my list of what I already had. I bought most of my garden seeds last year and didn't have much of a garden because we were supposed to get a concrete driveway poured. Now I have to go thru the waiting process again this spring.

I do need to can tomato juice and beets. I might have a lot of green beans left. I counted jars and will count what we use in a winter, to keep me from doing what I don't need to do.

Hey, I have grape juice I haven't tried yet. Maybe because I haven't found it yet, LOL!

Hope you're feeling good Chris! Still praying that you are!

We have snow again today, covering the grass and slush on the secondary roads in spots. I am off work till Monday so I'll be snug as a bug, unless I have to shoot off to the grocery store to pick up something. Living in town I have a small grocery store within walking distance if I get in a pinch, I use to envy the homes out in the country, with long driveways and lots of land around, but when the weather gets bad with the snows we get the reality sets in and I'm glad we are town folk.
Billy, catch me up, did you get your driveway? Will you be able to plant it this spring? I love my driveway, use to have a dirt and stone,by the end of winter it was a mess. When our neighborhood was built most people had only one car, if any, so driveways were not a issue. We have several homes that are build so close together that a garage and wide driverway are out of the question. It's always an issue with parking, snow removal and moving cars around.
Well, I guess I'll bring down some Christmas decorations today and put away the Thanksgiving ones. This activity also get's my Swiffer activated. LOL

Hello Chris, I haven't stopped in for awhile, been a bit under the weather myself. You may keep all that white stuff out your way, if you please. After last year, I would be fine with a little cover snow from Christmas through the end of February. Just enough to insulate the ground from the bitter of the winds and give us a white Christmas..
Holly can do more of the cleaning since we got our rainbow vacuum, it traps virtually all the dust and helps her asthma, but I still use it to vacuum the walls and ceilings. Since many of our walls are textured or papered I don't wash them, but vacuuming them makes such an improvement and by the time they need a true cleaning Holly wants to change them. LOL. We have a couple areas that have never been truly complete and other that have been done 3 times. I guess with the kids having what they liked, nice personal spaces, ponies, a barn, pool, activities, and travels we had different priorities to say the least. I don't think either of us would trade it for Home Beautiful. Ric.

Phase 1 of my Christmas decor is done...

Here's most of my snowmen

I also have snowman towels, paintings, dishes and soap dispensers.....am I nuts or what????

NAH, I love it.....

Jen, love your snowmen! I have a few small ones but I hate to invite trouble. I just cringe when I pick up a decoration that I like a it says "Let it Snow" LOL

I started a new thread where we can share our front door decorations. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1143554/

This message was edited Dec 1, 2010 3:43 PM

Chris, I too look longingly at the lovely long lanes and private farm houses, till it snows a couple feet :o) I am a town girl!

I'm glad you get to be in, looking out the windows. I'm feeling that way too. It's cold and windy, but we just had dry flurries yesterday. What blew in also blew out.

Almost all the country roads "boiled'' this spring. They turned to powder and looked like they erupted or something. The guys we hired from the next town has their machinery stored in the country and couldn't get it out. Since the driveway is next to a walnut tree, it got too late to have them do anything. The walnut also dropped leaves earlier than usual, and then there are the thin sticks that come down, and a stray walnut or few the squirrels knock out of the tree. We're hoping this April to get it in. Since they will have to put dirt somewhere, my garden is elected. I have no idea how long it will take to get anything put back. I'll have to be careful on what I plant. At least the radish and such will be gone by the time tomatoes need to go out.

I myself am looking forward to the driveway, so it's a small time out.

Ric, we all have snow dreams :o) Bit by bit, I've seen that you do live in house beautiful! At least yard beautiful! One thing I learned on Dave's, was housework isn't important :o) Get the worst out of the way and you don't see the rest.

FlowAjen, I love your snowmen! Especially the Frosty dolls!

Nuts, nope! I collect snowglobes, but don't have a roomfull.... yet. I just got 4 new ones. Three are small, one medium sized.

Here's a couple.

Shoot, my globes got on the link!