Have Coffee with me!

Hey, how nice to see you again! C'mon in, c'mon in. I just put a fresh pot of coffee on. You take just cream, right? Sit down over there at the kitchen table and make yourself comfortable. Now, please excuse the mess in my kitchen this morning. We had spaghetti squash and meatballs for dinner last night, and I made extra meatballs for the freezer. A pound and a half of ground beef, and I'll get three good meals out of it. That always helps. And look at this! You know, I never see spaghetti squash seeds in the stores in the spring, so every year I save a few seeds and clean them up, dry them, and put them in the freezer until Spring. Then I just take them out, soak them overnight in water, and plant them in the garden! I've had real good luck with them every year. So just think -- from my one squash I bought for .50 at the flea market, I'll get at least 30 more squash! Can't beat that for a deal! So how are things with you? These 30 degree temperatures are hard to take this early in the season, aren't they? It seems like it was in the 70's just a few days ago, and lately I've heard the *S* word mentioned on the weather forecast! I ordered a new winter coat from Kohl's a few days ago (did you see that sale? Fifty percent off!), and I'm hoping it arrives today. My old coat has had it and although I *could* wear it another year, I promised myself at the end of last year I'd get a new one. So I donated the old one! Best way to make yourself get something new that you really need but keep putting off! No, not much new here. How about with you? How's your family? Mine? They're doing just fine. I do need to call my son in Colorado and find out how his job interview is going for his big promotion. He's been through several interviews and it sounds like they all went very well, but then he found out that his company posted the same job to outsiders, after he'd has his interviews. He sounded disappointed. I hope he gets it, though it will mean he'll move even further away from us than he already is. But hey -- it will give us an excuse to fly to California for a vacation! If the company is smart, they'll give him the promotion. Both my kids have fantastic work ethics, which is kind of a rare commodity these days. But, I guess I might be a little partial. You think? I have to tell you about a funny conversation in our house lately. Jeff and I both know that I have always been the "brains" in this outfit. LOL Last night I forgot something (and even now, I forget what I forgot!), and I said, "I swear, my brain is turning to mush." He said, "You know, we're in trouble when it works out that I'm the brains in this outfit!" We had a laugh over it. Then this morning, he comes downstairs looking refreshed and raring to go to work, and I asked him why he was in such a great mood. Well, he'd finished a really huge project he'd been working on at work and at home on nights and weekends, and he said, "I no longer have the Sword of Damocles hanging over me." LOL Now we both know Jeff never talks like that! I laughed and said, "Boy, you really are becoming the brains in this outfit!" and he said, "Nahhh.. I heard it on the Three Stooges." LOL! I swear, that man can make me laugh like no one else. The box over there? Oh, I went down to the basement yesterday and got out some Thanksgiving decorations. Here, let me show you one. Is this the sweetest thing?! I found this at an estate sale maybe ten years ago. I've put it in the dining room every Thanksgiving since. Sure, it's handmade. Somebody put a lot of work into it too! Even the little dolls are handmade. I swear, when I see it now I think of Tipper and her family over at the Blind Pig and The Acorn. Of course I know they don't live in a log cabin! But this little cabin just says Appalachia to me, and that makes me think of the music at Tipper's! I could just listen to that music all day. How wonderful would that be to have going on at your house? I know you read my blog. But I forgot to put up a picture of one more of my finds from the Flea Market the other day. Just look at this sweetie pie musical treadle sewing machine. Is it just adorable?? And watch this -- when I wind it up, it plays "A Few of My Favorite Things"! If I can find a cord to use for the belt, that pulley on the end makes the needle go up and down when the music plays! Every time I hear that song, I think of my step-Mom. She used to sing it to the kids every single night at bedtime. I've sung it to my kids and now Brayden a few times myself! Bring your coffee and let's go on and sit in the family room and get more comfortable. I think I'll turn some music on. I always like to have some kind of background noise going on when I'm here by myself in the daytime, but I don't turn TV on very often. Yes, I'm knitting again. I've been wanting to knit at night when Jeff and I watch TV, and finally got around to finding all my needles and yarn. The last time I cleaned out my quilt room I stored everything down in the basement. I admit, I forgot how much yarn I had! But I found this nice wool and cotton blend down there, and started a pair of socks. Took me four times to remember how to do it because it's been four or five years since I've knit anything. But as soon as I got the "rhythm" going again, it felt good! I do love to knit socks! Doesn't this yarn remind you of sock monkeys? I'm thinking of adding a red stripe at the top and a red heel and toe. But you can see, I don't have much done and that's two hours of work last night! Used to be I could do a sock a night. Of course, I'm using this real light weight yarn and Size 1 needles, so it's taking longer, but hopefully I'll get my speed back and move faster than this. Awwww, you have to go already? How about one more cup of coffee? No, no I understand. I actually need to go run some errands myself. I have to run a package to the post office, and I need to get over to Michael's and see if they have bean bag pellets, and oh! I need to get to the library because Jeff took out two videos and forgot about them and now I have a $10 fine on my card! Since I have a whole lot better things I can do with $10, I asked him to give me the money to pay the fine. And oh, I really really need to get my hair cut, but not sure if I'll do that today or not. I've got a ton of sewing I want to work on, and it seems every time I go out and run errands, I get side-tracked somewhere and don't get things done at home that I want to. Well, thanks so much for stopping by. You take care of yourself and stay warm! Come on back as soon as you feel like it! I always love to have company.

Menu Planning Monday w/Budget Beef

The weather is getting colder, and meals seem to be getting warmer. My menues are limited this week to what I have on hand and in the freezer (unless I stop quilting long enough to go to the grocery store this week). So here's what's planned so far. Monday Ham and Cheese Omelettes (See "Budget Buster Ham" at the end of this post) Fried Potatoes Fruit Cocktail Toasted English Muffins Tuesday Spaghetti Squash with canned spaghetti sauce (I prefer Hunt's) and meatballs (Make extra meatballs for Sunday and for freezer) Green salad Wednesday Crockpot Beef Barley Soup (See Budget Beef tip below) Biscuits Thursday Pork Roast w/garlic and Rosemary Oven fried sweet potatoes Spinach Friday Leftover Beef Barley Soup Crackers Saturday Cook's Choice (in other words - I have no idea!) Sunday Meatball Subs Green salad Budget Beef for Soups and Stews My grocery store (Krogers) frequently has "Chuck Roast" on sale for less than $2.00 per pound. I purchase the largest one I can find (and sometimes more than one if the price is under $1.79 lb.), usually about five or six pounds. I freeze the roast for about 3 or 4 hours so it is just starting to harden, but can be cut with a knife. I find it's easier to cut this way. I remove the obvious fat, if necessary. Then I cut the roast into 1 1/2 inch cubes, and fill ziploc sandwich bags with about one pound of meat each, then toss all of these bags into a large ziploc freezer bag and label. Stew meat currently goes for about $3.99 a pound here, so I save about 50% by buying the roast and cutting it myself!

My Flea Market Finds

Jeff finished his work project late last night, and wanted to reward himself with a trip to the local Flea Market today, so off we went. I had some great finds! Locally grown fresh veggies -- three spaghetti squash (that will keep very well for several months in my basement), green onions, gorgeous large sweet potatoes, and beautiful green peppers -- all for $5.00. Of course, I found fabric. Actually, Jeff found it and told me about it. These are not quilting fabrics, but home dec fabrics. About six yards total for $5.00. This photo doesn't do the fabric justice. Some will be used for purses and some will be used for pillows for my family room. This sweet Nutcracker Christmas plate. It has some problems (a bit of paint chipped on his hat and feet) but I still love it. I collect nutcrackers, so this will be a nice addition at Christmas time. $1.00 for the plate. A bag of a LOT of polyester ribbons in a rainbow of colors. Most are 10 yard spools, half full or better. $1.00. I like to add these to the edge of a plain white pillowcase just to goose up the pillowcase a bit. A box of trinkets! I've been looking at these on Ebay after I saw this "I Spy Bag" on Etsy. I don't think I'll include the pipes or beer cans, but other than that, there's good stuff in here! Another $1.00. And, my favorite find, a toy sewing machine for Brayden! Made in 1976, it can be hand cranked or battery operated with a foot petal. It's a bit dirty, but will clean up nicely (I'll take the Holly Hobby stickers off so it's a little less girlie. Jeff suggested I paint it in camoflage! LOL). And, most importantly, it works beautifully and the foot stays at just the right height so your fingers can't get near the tip of the needle. I will set up a little table and chairs in my quilting room for him, and he can sit and sew as much as he wants, and I can sew on my machine at the same time. The man wanted $8.00 for it, and I got it for $6.00. It was a beautiful, crisp, cool morning here in southwestern Ohio and perfect weather for cruising the flea market (Turtle Creek). I'm happy with every thing I bought!

Easy breezy weekend and Christmas planning

It feels like it's been a long time since I had an entire weekend I could call my own -- but here it is! Jeff has a project for work that is keeping him chained to his desk busy in his office upstairs, so I have decided to spend the entire weekend sewing! Yippy Skippy! Although the economic "crisis" hasn't directly affected our day to day expenses at this point (having gas drop $2 per gallon has helped cover other increases), our retirement money has been hit and hit hard. So we have begun allocating more money into savings to make up for the hits we've been taking in the stock market, which, of course, means less cash for Christmas spending this year. This morning Jeff and I took a few minutes and discussed our holiday budget, and came to an agreement on what we can afford this year without having to use credit cards or dive into savings. I'm glad that we came to an agreement on dollar amounts and I'm glad we talked about this early enough that I can get going on Christmas present plans. (Ahhh... I remember the days when my kids were very young that I would have all my Christmas shopping done by October 1st!) It also helps me figure out where I have to pick up the slack with homemade gifts. I will say this. I think it's critical for partners to discuss budgets early and often. It's a terrible thing when an unexpected expense comes up and one spouse has to explain to the other why there isn't money in XYZ account that was supposed to be there. When we sit down and discuss and agree on our budget, there's a degree of trust there. He trusts me to spend only what we agree on, and I trust him to do the same. (This also alleviates that Christmas morning "Ohmygawd, he spent XXX dollars on ME but I only spent XXX dollars on him!" I know - it's the thought that counts... blah blah blah blah. But you don't want to come off LESS thoughtful than the other person!) I am finishing up my laundry this morning, and putting Christmas present ideas on paper so I can make a list of sewing gifts to make, and make a list of what I can buy online. I hope to start online purchases this week. Then I'm heading to my quilt room and hi ho hi ho, it's a-sewing I will go! Happy, happy birthday to my sister Gail and my friend Lynn!!!!

My Grandmother's Recipes

When I was little, I used to go to my grandmother's house for at least two weeks every summer. Gramma always asked me what I wanted her to cook for me. I had three things that were my favorites -- her Cranberry Bread, her "Mystery Cake" and her braised short ribs cooked in a pressure cooker. Every grandchild thinks their grandmother is the World's Best Cook. I was no exception. Today while cleaning out a cookbook cupboard, I found Gramma's handwritten cookbook. Two of the three recipes I loved are there, in her beautiful, formal handwriting, but minimal instructions. Unfortunately, the Braised Short Ribs isn't there. But here are Gramma's recipes for Cranberry Bread and "Mystery Cake". Cranberry Bread 1/4 cup shortening 2 cups flour - (she has a handwritten note that you can use 1/4 cup wheat germ and 1 3/4 cup flour - who knew Gramma was trying to cook more healthy?!) 1 cup sugar 1 egg, beaten 1 tsp salt 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 3/4 cup orange juice 1 tsp grated orange peel 1/2 cup chopped walnuts 1 cup cranberries (chopped) Sift dry ingredients. Cut in shortening. Combine peel, OJ and egg. Add to dry ingredients, mix. Add cranberries and nuts. Bake at 350 for 60 minutes, 9 x 5 x 3 loaf pan. Mystery Cake - Called this because if you told people what it really was - Tomato Soup Cake - they wouldn't eat it! Gramma made it, served it and THEN told people what was in it. Don't turn your nose up on this one - it is a truly flavorful, moist, dense cake! I actually prefer it without any kind of frosting, and treat it more like a Pumpkin Bread than a cake. Most people make Cream Cheese frosting to go with it. Some recipes call for chopped nuts, but we always preferred it without. 1 cup sugar 2 tbsp butter 1 can tomato soup 1 tsp baking soda 1 1/2 cups flour 1 cup raisins 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp nutmeg 1 tsp cloves Bake in (well-greased) loaf pan. 350 degrees. 40-50 minutes.