Who's the Boss?

At this time of year I like to cut back my Hydrangea plants and bring them in to dry. They look particularly nice in this swan basket I've had for years. Well Keehan had other ideas. It seems the minute I pull the basket out he finds it and off he goes to sleep in it, hydrangeas or not. I read Leslie's blog about the article in the paper she read about a cat depriving it's mistress of sleep. Nothing new, us cat owners are quite used to that one. At present Keehan is not adjusting well to Daniel moved out, Sasha having longer classes and me away at my mom's most days. We each get quite a scolding if not a beating. I think Andy probably gets abused first thing in the morning. I've had a bruise or two from him, and Daniel gets a proper 15min. scolding each time he comes home. Who' the Boss?

Mmm... good

I'm up early on Sunday morning and thinking of what to cook, when I look in the fridge I see I still have some cranberries left over from Thanksgiving. Here is a recipe I like to use up my cranberries with.

Cranberry-orange chicken

1 tbsp. butter (oil)*
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 tsp. cornstarch
½ cup water
1 tbsp. orange juice concentrate*
½ tsp curry powder
¼ tsp. each salt and ground blk. Pepper
½ c. cranberry sauce

Melt butter (* I prefer to use a little oil) in large, non stick frying pan over medium –high heat. Add chicken. Cook until lightly golden, 3 min. per side. In a bowl, stir cornstarch with water. Stir in orange juice concentrate, curry powder, salt and pepper. Remove chicken to plate. Pour orange mixture into pan.*I like to add a little Cointreau , here Stir in cranberry sauce until melted and mixture is bubbly. Reduce heat to medium-low. Return chicken to pan. Cover and simmer, turning occasionally, until chicken is springy when pressed, 8- 14 min. If sauce is too thin, remove chicken, then boil, stirring often until as thick as you like. Great with rice, green beans and extra cranberry sauce on the side. Serves 4.

Enjoy!
 

Tuesday's is scrapping day

On the third Tuesday of each month the seniors residence where my mom has recently moved has a scrapping club. Think I'll check it out, they may have a tabletop that doesn't have a bunch of other stuff on it. Maybe I'll get something done. I've gotten so behind in my photos that once a month is not enough but it will have to do for now. I'll be doing some research re: family tree hope it's a success.

Well the weekend ended as well as it began. Jane Wynn's class was indeed worth the drive from Baltimore. While I didn't finish my projects, I almost did and I certainly fired everything up. It was a great weekend workshop, but then of course I would not have expected anything less from Carmi. Check out Martha's blog to see what kind of stuff we did. I lost the use of a digital camera when Daniel moved out, so I couldn't take any pictures(must do something about that). Any way check out Martha's blog and you'll see. My bezel have some dried roses from my mother's garden. I'll need a few more pipes to finish the garden.

It's the end of the day...

Don't you love that song by REM, it's the end of the world as we know it... and I hum after that. Well it's only the end of the day it's the end of the week. It's been one heck of a week. Today however was quite good. I've taken a class with Jane Wynn, I learned to do things I would have been afraid to do with fire. Somehow when everyone else is doing it it's o.k. I may just be ready to do some welding on that car in the garage. Wouldn't that shock the sh... out of my men. And I officially don't have to beg my husband to solder rings on my lightbulbs for my Santa's anymore. (One more thing I don't need him for.) Tomorrow is the second half and an opportunity to complete something I had wanted to do for some time. I hope it all works. It's kind of hard to explain, but we are doing bezels. The title for tomorrows class is pipe dreams, plumbers beware. I'll be checking garages for anvils. And purchasing a drill press. Today also gave me an opportunity to spend some time with my friend Leslie. We haven't been together for a few months now and I really missed her. It's going to be a better week ahead. All the trees are saying it's fall and the stores are definitely into Halloween. I'm looking forward to spending the rest of the evening in my pajamas, watching nonsense on T.V. I get the remote tonight. Have a good one.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all. I try to be thankful for everything, everyday, but somehow some negative little worm crawls into my life to just mess things up. I am so thankful to all my readers that send positive, funny comments or even comments at all. I'm thankful for the powers that be, for guiding me down the path to feeling better. I can't believe that the smallest gesture, or phone call just happens. As you can tell I don't believe in coincidence. On Thursday evening when I arrived home from my mother's home, Sasha said I had a call and that a product I had ordered had arrived and I should pick it up. Of course being of unsound mind, I could not recall ordering anything. I thought o.k. yesterday was a nice day for a road trip I'll just go and see what it is I ordered, and lo and behold a lovely lady made my day. I'm thankful for Katie.(Princess Katie that is). I not only got a my order which I had obviously forgotten about, but found a home for my mothers cat. I love Katie, I would let her have my children, that's how much I trust her so to know that my mother's cat will be well loved and looked after is such a relief. When my boy's were little we use to always do some Thanksgiving craft with our hands, like the one in the photo, I would like to put my hands together now and say thank you indeed. While I'm still having a negative feelings, the good stuff keeps coming to the top, thank you to those of you who care enough to help me feel that way. Enjoy your turkey and pies.

Puckerrrr up!

Well you know that I've been talking about baking a pie. Well today is the day. A million years ago, I joined a cookbook club, you know one of those "buy 5 books for 99cents. Well at 13 or 14 yrs. old that was quite a bargain. One of those books is one that is still on my cookbook shelf. Amy Vanderbilt's Complete Cookbook. Well I've made almost everything in that book. I have my favorites, like éclairs and lemon pie. Lemon Pie it is today. I'm roasting some vegetables to make my polenta dish as well. So the house will smell like a special occasion is about to happen. There might even be some cranberries with Cointreau (if I haven't drank it). Love that drink! After the cookbook club I've joined the Mystery Book Club, and Sasha is now enjoying reading old mysteries in his English class. And then the embroidery book club, and quilting book club, and of late scrappers stuff. I haven't found a painting book club that interests me, I'm still all over the map in my interests in that avenue. Maybe gardening should be next? But for now a SKY HIGH Lemon Meringue Pie sounds good. MMMMMMMMMM!

A Turkey for Thanksgiving

A number of years ago when I read books for the library, I read a book to my young sons about a turkey coming to dinner as a guest. So the phrase, "a turkey for thanksgiving has always stuck" (the title of the book) for you grandmothers out there a good bed time read. I'm out to shop for a turkey. I'd love to make him look as good as my photo, but my boys are grossed out. If anyone does this take a real picture and send it to me so I can include it in my cookbook, you will get honorable mention. I would also love a great stuffing recipe that is not gizzards included and no cranberries, chocolate would be great, but that's highly unlikely. I don't know if anyone watched that British comedy, The Vicar of Brimley, one of the characters there, an elderly lady use to come up with the most unlikely combination for her dinner parties, and on her death bed she asked the vicar what she thought of her creations, I'll be doing the same, and if you lie I will save you a seat by the fire in you know where. Happy Thanksgiving All.

Belated Birthday Wishes

Not really belated, October 2nd is my mother-in-laws birthday. I don't remember why I could not get to blog about it, must of been something depressing in the rest of the day to cause that, however, I did wish her a great day and more importantly a great year. She's the lady you see in the photo with my husband, her eldest son. I won't tell you how old she was this year, suffice it to say that the photo was taken when my husband had a full head of brown hair, which is not the case now. Gaida, is the mother of seven children, six of them boys. That should get her into heaven without any questions asked, and I know St. Peter is at the gates, but I'm sure he has a female assistant since you know things would not be organized otherwise, and she will certainly put in a good word for Gaida. It's been a rough ride for Gaida, and she does it all without a single complaint, and all with a smile, or a joke, or a laugh. She's only too willing to help anyone if she can. She's a great gardener, a loving mother and an all around good person. I'd like to wish her STO LAT, but I don't know that anyone wants to live to be a hundred years old. I do wish her pleasure from each flower she plants, and that's a lot, a kind word from her children, and grandchildren and great grandchildren and a healthy future. Happy Birthday MOM

Traditions

Traditionally, Thursdays were my creative outlet. Why should today be any different? When I was newly wed, my husband always started his shift on Thursdays, and then they had these gettogethers, which didn't include wives. Always hated those gettogethers. So, my friend Karen, who did the work schedule, and I worked Thursday evenings. In the morning she and I would take some artsy course, have lunch at her apartment, which I thought was so cool, since only cool people lived in high rise apartments, and head off to work. It was usually a wicked salmon sandwich. Imagine remembering it, I can almost taste it. She made the best salmon sandwich. Then she got married. Life changed. Then we had babies together. Funny, I can't remember when I've seen her last. Well then I joined the painting ladies at Leslie's. Love those babes. Leslie makes a mean egg salad sandwich, and great tea. Leslie and I have expanded our horizons and not restricted ourselves to creative Thursdays, we do it anytime and pretty much anywhere. Well today is is Thursday, and the most creative thing I've done is make a wicked kapusta soup, and parsnip and sweet potatoe, and leek and mushroom. I do have a craving for celeric and pear, it being pear season and all. I can't believe Leslie has not made it. It was a recipe in our LCBO magazine. Well tomorrow is another day, and I'll have to do something creative to make up for my not producing something today.

Please don't shut your pie hole.

Most of you know that I've been compiling a favorite's cookbook and hand binding it. Not sure why? I've had to put my romance novel on hold for a short time, just not feeling very romantic these days. On Wednesday evenings I watch a show called Pushing up Daisies. It is centralized in a Pie Shop. Well that is a good thing. I've been toying with the idea of baking a pie, someday soon. I was telling Sasha, my viewing partner, that I haven't baked a pie since he was born, actually since I went into labour while taking out a peach and apricot pie out of the oven. My goofy husband startled me and I dropped that delicious pie and went to the hospital. I can tell you that all I thought about was having a slice of it when I got home. Alas, there was none left. And since I decided I was no longer eating for two I stopped baking pies. Well, as I come to that part in my cookbook, I think of what pies would I like to include in this chapter. Lemon, peach & apricot are a for sure. My sister Donna makes pumpkin and apple at this time of year, but I'm not a pumpkin kind of cook. So I'll have to do some serious contemplating on this since I limit myself to just 3 favorites. (My book is getting too thick to stitch together).
What are your favorites? Don't count the calories or the cholesterol contribution in these recipes. I feel a song coming on... photo of ghost over pie, a painting I did for my cookbook.

Antiques Road Show

Often when I'm in control of the T.V. remote, I get to watch the Antiques Road Show. Usually I have Sasha's laptop with me and am eager to look up things. One of the things I looked up was an artist that I could swear my mother had hidden in her moldy basement. The excitement mounted as I took my bus to her house to pull it down from the wall and out of the frame anxiously looking for the # I had researched to see if it was a treasure. Alas it was a five and dime copy. I am so amazed that people don't know what valuables they have in their basements. I'm sure there are couple of other goodies down there. Not sure if I'll benefit from the hunt, but it can be exciting. And what would I do with such treasures. I like treasures with history, I don't think that's what the experts call it. Like the clock that my mother use to have in her living room, it belonged to a lady named Zofia Jendreczyk, she wanted my mother to make her more than one dress and this was the payment. I don't think it ever chimed, (my father being on night shift too often). One day when Zofia's husband got wind that she was trading off his antiquities for designer garments(my mother's designs)he dropped in and paid the bill and asked for his clock back. What a shame, I wonder where it is now, since they have both died, no kids. Probably at some Goodwill. I'm always looking there too. I have a couple of vases that Pani Kowalski talked me into buying when I was a starving student, she was working at Mills ( the china store) and I kept looking at them when I waited for the bus to go back to my dorm room, she convinced me that they would be worth something someday. It was a consignment. I loved them, and she let me put them on layaway. Imagine that, the bill totaled $30 and I put them on layaway. I still have them, Daniel plans on buying himself a Lamborghini when "I no longer need them" not a bad investment. Anyway I hope everyone looks at their treasures a little closer before you get ready for the garage sale. Like my crochet/embroidery treasures, I can picture Pani Dubiel crocheting, my sister Donna sleeping by the heat knitting, such memories you can't buy those. You could however, scrap them.