Etcetera, etcetera…

I’m almost finished with my Arelate little guy.

I wish I could find more time for Pumpkins- I really want to finish that and move onto something else. Here’s tonight’s progress:

We’ve suddenly got lots of work at work, so I’m not stitching as much there. For all you worried about the economy, I work for an architect. If we’re busy, then builders and sub-trades and developers will get busy too.

My sump pump is back to pumping every other minute or so- melting snow and heavy rains today, with more due tomorrow and Friday. Anyone have a spare ark I can borrow?

Em’s at my mom’s for a week. I don’t know who’ll come out on top- kind of like WWF (Wild Women Fighting?), Battle of the Amazons- which, if you knew how tall these two are- you’d FOTFLYAO. I’m 5’-3-1/2”. I tower over the 2 of them!

As I suspected, I am worrying far too much over the cowboy’s diet than he is. Which only makes me worry more. He got a job at Smartpak in the warehouse. He said it’s like a candy store of horse stuff! Eventually, after his probationary period, he’ll be eligible for a discount.

I’m enjoying LOST (abc-TV). I wish it wouldn’t end! I keep forgetting about Amazing Race on Sundays. I’ve started to watch that about 3 seasons ago. Can’t say I’ve watched any Olympics….not so much into sports done while freezing one’s ass off. I’ve missed the last 2 episodes of “24”. Other than that, I pretty much cook, then wash dishes. And drive people back & forth, and take the dog out to pee. Fun times!

Axe has been enjoying our walks, especially when I scratch her withers in a certain spot then let her roll to her heart’s content in the indoor.

Wonderful Wednesday Wrecipes

Sorry about the lack of post-age; I am having trouble adjusting to life with roommates. It’s incredible how easy it was to get used to being by myself for a couple of weeks, and how difficult it’s been to accomodate them back into my schedule. Anyway:

Meatloaf

(4 ample servings with leftovers)

• 1 lb. Ground beef – 80%
• ½ cup dry bread crumb
• ½ cup milk
• one egg
• ½ cup finely chopped onion
• 1 envelope or 1 teaspoon beef bouillon (Herb ox or eq.)
• 1-1/2 TBSP ketchup

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs and milk and set aside for about 5 minutes. (This is the key to a moist meatloaf.)
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg lightly; then add the beef, the onion, the bouillon and the ketchup, then the moistened breadcrumbs. (As I get older, I can’t tolerate onions so much, so I’ve found if you sauté them a bit in some oil until golden, they don’t impart such a strong onion flavor-just another dirty dish to wash!)
3. Fold all ingredients together (or use your hands) until thoroughly mixed.
4. Turn mixture into a 5” x 9” loaf pan, or into a small baking pan with sides and shape into a loaf. You may want to spray any pan you use with vegetable spray.
5. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.

You can also up this to 1-1/2 pounds of beef. Just increase crumbs and milk to ¾ cup each. Adjust baking time to maybe an hour? And we didn’t grow up with a saucy topping on our meatloaf. If you have a good one, feel free to use it.

Sorry – no pictures of the last one I made. I imagine my photography skillz would make it look like ………..meatloaf. If that makes any sense.

Thursday Shenanigans…

Pumpkins progress:

And generous Jeanne gave me this (it was a duplicate):

(sorry about the flash)

“Homespun Elegance: “Home is Where You Hang Your Needlework”

I have now reached the point of “IDKWTSN”*

*I Don’t Know What To Start Next

Not WWW

Don’t have time for a recipe- I have to make yet another phone call to my long-winded auntie.

So I stole this from Em’s FB:

Chickie 3D!

Many Thanks…

for all the diabetes advice; I don’t know why I’m so worried about Adam. Sometimes I need a Gibbs-slap up the backside of my head. I’m sure I’m way more worried about him than he is about himself. I’ll be sure to pass on your advice, and feel free to nag him along with me!

They spent last night in Woodbridge, VA with my brother & his family. I hope his two kids aren’t scarred for life! My brother is way too nice: he made them a hearty breakfast, and gave them the latest weather forecast before they set out, and offered them some lunch to take on the road! If they don’t stop, they should be back tonight.

Wyndham Needle works is having their annual Winter Sale. I bought these:

“Medallions” by Rosewood Manor and “Pigalle” by Long Dog Samplers. I’m pretty sure I’m going to swap out the colors for both projects…whenever I get to them! I also bought the 2 ”Mint Frost” Silk ‘N Color flosses for CaHRH. Several bloggers are working on this one, and it’s making me itchy to start. Here’s one. I KNOW I’ve come across more, but do you think i could find them now? Nope.

***Edit***found another link to CaHRH from my "low activity blog folder"

Dishes to wash, “24” to watch, mom to call….

Angsted-y, angsted-y

The two guacamoles are heading back from California, chasing behind yet another blizzard. I was in the supermarket tonight reading packages of things to assess how many carbohydrates are in common foods: comparing bread to “sandwich flats” and pretzels to potato chips to rice cakes. Salsa only has 2 grams of carbs per serving; hummus has 4. Do any of you guys have a good reference site for diabetic diet info? I’ve been to the American Diabetes Association site and the Josselin Diabetes site and there’s just SO much info to ingest. I’m just wondering how I’m going to fill an over-6-foot-tall, 25 year-old man’s stomach sufficiently. Someone suggested the South Beach Diet i think? Does that sound right? I’m not familiar with it. (If you saw the size of my ass, you’d know I wasn’t lying!)

Anyway, the girls at stitching last night gave me a whiskey sour to calm my nerves. I’d never had one before- I think it’s my new favorite cocktail!

Pumpkin progress:

Not really very much; just that striped pumpkin on the right and the start of that leaf to its right.

Look what I found at BJ’s Wholesale today:

It’s not a real “Micro plane” grater, but it’s Kitchen Aid with “micro serrations”. I’ve had good luck with Kitchen Aid stuff, and it was only $8.99. Try finding a Micro plane for less than $13.

The gargantuan paprika is for Axe. A heaping tablespoon a day helps keep her nice  and black. I go thru one bottle a month. Another of my deep, dark secrets. And by the way, the USEF and other such organizations consider paprika a banned substance, just in case you were going to take your black horse to the Olympics.

Wicked Wednesday Wrecipes

Mostess Cupcakes

Bake a batch of 14 of your favorite chocolate cupcake recipe in paper lined cups. Let cool completely.

Fluffy Filling:

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
• 1-1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 2 cups Marshmallow Fluff (the jar size is perfect)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Beat all ingredients together in a bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. This has a tendency to creep up the beaters at first, so have a knife handy to scrape things back into the bowl.
2. Fill pastry bag fitted with plain ¼” round tip and set aside. That top one- the #12?

Chocolate Ganache:

• ½ cup heavy cream
• 6 oz. or 1 cup semi –sweet chocolate chips

1. In a small sauce pan bring cream to a boil over medium high heat- watch carefully! Remove from heat and whisk in chocolate until melted and smooth.
2. Let cool, stirring occasionally, until thickened, but still pourable. You can speed up the cooling process by refrigerating the ganache while preparing the filling.

Assembly:

1. With the tip of a sharply pointed knife, pierce the top of each cupcake in a cross, going about half way down, wiggling the knife a bit side to side. (This is a different batch of filled cupcakes)
2. Gently insert the tip of the pastry bag and squeeze in filling until you start to see the cupcake bulge and you see cream rise to top of hole. Repeat with remainder of cupcakes. You should have about a third of a cup left in the bag. Change tip to a skinny writing tip. (filled cakes)
3. Then take each filled cupcake individually by its papered bottom, and dip top up to edge of paper in the ganache. Remove the cake with a slow twisting motion to completely cover the top of the cake. Alternatively, if you’re not brave, you can spread the ganache over each cake with an icing knife or spoon. With pastry bag, draw squiggles across tops of each cake.

Refrigerate to set, but let come to room temperature to serve.

Now you know all my deepest secrets!

Aggravation of the Day

Rite Aid pharmacy's yellow sale tags.
I picked out an Almay eye shadow that was supposed to be 75% off (clearance), at least according to the tag attached to the shelf price for their eye shadows. It rang up full price and I called it to the cashier's attention, who went to look, came back & said "that sale price is not for this color".
Huh? It was a neutral color called "Cocoa". Am I wrong that if if almost the entire shelf of products is tagged with "Clearance" signs, including "Eye Shadow", it appears that the store is probably discontinuing, or the manufacturer is discontinuing that style, not just a random color?
So I had him remove that from my total.
They also had Pantene styling products on sale. The products were pretty orderly, not chaotic, on the shelf. The stuff I use was above a yellow tag that said $3.50; it is regulary priced at $7.99. In fact, the whole length of shelf below the Pantene styling products seemed to have yellow sale tags. Since I always have a $1 off coupon for Pantene, I grabbed the last two bottles. I get home, and review my slip (which I should have done at the store). While I was getting out my debit card, i missed the cashier ring in the 2 Pantene products at full price! I ran back out to the store and the cashier & I go to the shelf to check the price. Don't you know, in that row of 8-10 products, the only shelf tag without a sale tag was the stuff I got! Which wasn't immediately apparent because the products appeared organized above the appropriate price tag. WTF!
So I returned that stuff, too. It was difficult, but I avoided spending over $23. The thrill of victory.......the agony of defeat.

I’m Late, I’m Late….

Pumpkins:

Arelate Studios freebie “Wyvern”:

JBW Designs “Joy Love Peace Tree”:

Gotta go, “24” is on…..Adam is a diabetic…..

I’m Back!

From my Mom’s. She’s doing much better, up and mobile to a certain extent. I also saved a bookmark to my blog on her computer; I figured she could keep up with me and my antics better that way. (So now I have to keep things clean!)

It’s been a crazy 2 weeks: the 2 guacamoles drove off to California (!!!!!??????) so between getting them off with a least a screwdriver for “in-case” purposes, and getting all my last minutes done, complicated by Bob going to the local ER (yet again), then ambulanced to a “real” hospital in Boston with internal bleeding and having to make emergency arrangements to leave Chickie at the nearby kennel Friday night so I could leave very early Saturday, and being at my mom’s, my blogging has been sporadic at best- sorry!

Bob was released (more like broke out) Thursday night, so he was able to pick Chickie up Saturday. He said she was so excited to see him, she jumped almost up to his waist- she of the 12” high and he of the over 6 feet! He let her have the run of his wrap-around porch and she had a blast chasing squirrels and figuring out what sea gulls were.

Em & Adam made it to California thru 3 blizzards in a 2 wheel drive Nissan pick-up- not so much fun, I’m sure. And after a week there, Adam has become seriously sick, and Em had to take him to the ER because he was vomiting blood. So far they’re running tests- his blood sugar was all over the place and they told Em if she had waited another hour he would have gone into a diabetic shock and died. More fun times. (Sorry- I haven’t forked over the $3.95 for the “Sark mark”)

It’s so hard because she’s so far away. This morning she texted that he was in a lot less pain when she left last night. I haven’t heard any more yet…

I DO have stitching photos, but my house is in a state of blechh, with the cats having taken over for a week, leaving their hair all over everything. I’ve decided to stitch an ornament a month again this year. I started and finished my January’s on the 31st, and am almost done with February’s, plus I have more progress on Pumpkins. Pictures will have to wait until tomorrow.

Axe is well- she got new shoes while I was away. She wasn't sure if she was happy to see me, and with Em gone, I’ll have to take up riding again. In all my free time.

“You have to spend time with ME, mommy!”

Wonderful Wednesday Wrecipes

Before I begin, I just want to thank you all for your nice comments and good thoughts about my friends' daughter, Lisa. They are greatly appreciated, and comforting as well. Having been in the cancer research field, Lisa donated her body to Harvard Medical School, and Tom & Diane & their family are planning a remembrance party in a few months- a grand Irish wake, if you will.

And segueing into parties, then into food, here is something simple for your Superbowl (am I allowed to write that?) party:

Quick Chicken Quesadillas Roll-ups

(Makes 4 servings or appetizers for 8)

• 1 pkg of 8 flour tortillas- 8" size (the in-between size)
• 1 large tub of sour cream
• 1 - 8 oz. package shredded "Taco" cheese
• 2 cups or so cooked chicken in 1/2" or smaller dice
• 4 Roma tomatoes, seeded, and chopped 1/2" or smaller dice
• 4 green onions, upper green ends and roots removed, chopped 1/4" slices

Prepare a 9" x 13" casserole by spraying thoroughly with vegetable spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
On a large, clean counter, lay out all 8 tortillas, side by side. Spread a heaping soupspoon-size dollop of sour cream over each tortilla, spread out to the edge. Next, sprinkle a handful, maybe 3 TBSP or a 1/4 cup, of the cheese over each tortilla; you want to use the entire package and divide evenly between each tortilla. Then evenly divide your other ingredients, sprinkling over each tortilla. Then you want to roll each one up; you don't have to tuck in the ends, but try to push any escapees back in the ends as necessary. Place seam-side down in casserole dish. You can spray tops lightly with more spray, but I kind of like the crispy finish without the spray.
Cover tightly with foil, and bake maybe 18-25 minutes, until cheese is melted and everything is a bit oozy.
Here's where we go interactive:
Typically, I slice these rolls into 1-1/2 inch slices, and serve hot with salsa and/or guacamole and/or additional sour cream as appetizers. Use the heat you prefer, as the basic roll-up is quite mild. Also, I suppose you could pour some enchilada sauce (again, as spicy as you like it), under & over the rolls before baking, topping with additional cheese, and treat them like enchiladas.
These freeze pretty well, but I like them best fresh out of the oven.
Enjoy!

****PHOTO UPDATE****

I made some for SuperBowl night:

Get LOST!

Don't forget- it starts again tonight at 8:00 pm EST. The first hour is a re-cap episode, then the fianl season begins! Yay!