Angie: October 2005 Archives

***This post will be updated as needed***


My house on All Hallows Eve

Colby and Gracie's scarey pumpkin.

Steven's geek pumpkin Pi.

The front porch during the day.

The front porch at dusk.

These are the cutest scarecrow planters. I LOVE them.

The Trio on the way out to trick or treat.

Gracie has a great princess costume but it is hidden under the fur cape. She has been so sick this weekend I made her wear it tonight. The night air is really cool and she has a bad cough. Notice the ruby red slippers. She got those for her birthday last year and wears them every chance she gets -which isn't often. She is in heaven dressed as a princess and wearing her ruby red slippers.
Steven is so not impressed with his costume. Too bad. I like it. LOL I have had more kids at my country door tonight than we ever had in No. Va. in a townhouse complex of 150 homes. It is 7:11 and I am almost out of candy!! I bought 8 mega bags of candy and 6 of chocolates and it is almost gone!! 8:31pm - This is the best Halloween we have had since I was a kid. Seriously. The entire village turned out. The police was riding our road back and forth giving out candy, blocking traffic and making sure kids were safe. People were stopping Steven, Colby and Gracie to take their picture. They were told they were the best costumes of the evening over and over again. The preacher at the local village church made them let her take their picture before she would give out candy. Women had a fit over Steven and wanted to know how he was convinced to dress up. Ha! Like he even had a choice. LOL They had such a great time. Next year my cemetery is going out in front! With this kind of community turn out it was just agreat evening of fun with polite kids who actually said "thank you" for the candy. I was impressed. Steven's pumpkin Pi was a big hit. Several moms asked if a Math or science teacher lived here. No, just a computer programer. They laughed. The boys thought the puking pumpkin was cool. Steven says next year he is dressing up as a cowboy. We'll see. Can you guess who Colby is? This is her idea of Mary, Queen of Scots. My kids have some kind of monarchy syndrome/complex. The year before last it wasn't enough to be a princess or a queen. No, not Colby. She was an Empress. Last year a Dowager -like the Queen Mother. What's next? I have no idea! It sure will be fun finding out.

I don't know about the rest of the free world but this time change has really screwed with me and Gracie. We both were ready to go to bed at 7pm last night. I have been up since 3:30am. She followed at 4:45am. I started a fire in firepace and after a glass of juice she pulled up a pillow and a throw and lay in front of the fire and drifted back to sleep. She normally doesn't have to be up until 6:45am but often wakes up at 6 - 6:15. We both were up a couple times in the night as well. It is going to be a long day. Today I have my first appointment with the new doctor. I am a bit nervous because of the bad taste left from the old man doctor of late. Steven and Colby will be dressed in costume to take Gracie trick or treating this evening. I cannot wait to be able to snap those photos for posterity. LOL I have 2 giant bowls of candy to give out and I think my costume is just going to be the pregnant housewife look. I have no idea what to expect in this village as far as the trick or treaters go. I do know there is a partial school bus load of kids around here so maybe my door will be busy. We have carved three pumpkins for the evening events. Colby and Gracie did a scarey face and a puking pumpkin. Steven did a very geek Pumpkin Pi. Yes, Pi. Not pie. It looks pretty cool and is perhaps the scariest of all -ohhh spooky math. LOL I am trying to decide what's for supper. At this moment I have no idea whatsoever. When I was a very little kid, under age 8, my mother, sister and I lived with my grandparents. Halloween was a big deal! We got together with the neighboring kids and went through the neighborhood together. Man the loot we collected! In a 3 block by 3 block quadrant we racked up on the candy. One lady made popcorn balls and another candy apples. We had to remember who gave us the candy apples because if it was someone that might be a shady personality we would have to throw them away. My grandmother always made candy apples. I can still see the bright red candy coated apples on her large baking sheet that she used for cooking biscuits. Those were the days. When my mother remarried we moved to the country and farm life began. There wasn't a house near us for over a mile and a half. There was no trick or treating. No drives to where neighborhoods were either. For the next few years my momma would throw a halloween party for the people we knew with kids our age. It was alot of fun. We had real hayrides in the hay wagon. Back then it seems it was much colder than it is now. I can remember being so cold and the icey wind biting into our cheeks. By the time the ride was over everyone was scrambling to get close to the fire and have something warm to eat and drink. When my own kids came along I couldn't hardly wait for them to be old enough for the Halloween goings on. I made so many costumes. Colby has been several variations of a princess, pocahontas, little mermaid, Thing, a clown, a witch, a hobo, a ballerina, 50's sock hop-ster, a cracked egg and last year she was a Dowager. This year she is planning to be an elizabethian queen. She loves dressing up and taking Gracie out. I suspect as long as there is a child in this house and right through to her own children she will always have a reason to dress up and play on Halloween. Gracie's costume history has not been so widely varied. Gracie has been a princess of some sort every single year. Most often a pink princess. This year isn't much different. She is going to be a snow princess, dressed all in white. She isn't happy unless she is a princess. How can you tell a 7 year old girl she is not really a princess? Last year Steven dressed in his old tuxedo from college days and was Frederick, Colby's son. She played the english dowager role perfectly. She really should be a drama student but crownds and unknown people make her very nervous. Tomorrow I should have lots of photos to share and I'll be around as usual to see all of yours. Thank you so much for the supportive comments from yesterday. I think I was more pregnant-lady-upset by the bogus comments left and discovered at 4am yesterday than anything. I deleted them and blocked the IP's. It is all water under the bridge and I am moving on. I do need to update my list and add several great journals. If you link to me and I don't know, speak up and let me come see your place, please. Happy halloween, y'all!

I have never been one who really worried about or cared what other people think of me. If you don't like me, you don't like me, move on, there is nothing here left to see. However, today I am feeling a bit of tit-for-tat just under the surface of my skin. For whatever reason(s) my (former) reader(s) have chosen to delete me from their blogroll I will be reciprocating the above action post haste. I never go where I am not wanted. And to any of those former readers who just might peek back in on occassion - this little piece of cyber space gets 3000+ hits every day from 30 countries around the world. There may not be much left by way of comments but I bet your journal, my former reader(s), doesn't get stats like that. So there. I hope it stings even just the tiniest bit. ***apologies to my dear sweet readers for the venom in this next item, it is not directed at you, it is for the asshats who leave comments with fake emails and/or send email with nasty things to say*** < que Rant> On a related note to some emails I have gotten in the recent past- I will not and refuse to apologize to others who take offense because maybe they can't cook, or they hate their SAHM status, or they spend money like water and never have cash for anything. I don't feel sorry for you if you won't help yourself. I don't give out sympathy and pats on the back and tell you everything will get better. It won't get better until you pull your head out of your ass and grow up and be an adult and parent. If you don't like your life change your damn life. No one else can do it for you. I also won't apologize because we have a tiny bit of monetary wealth. You can say mean things all you want about what we may or may not have. We have worked hard for what we have. Until I married I have held a fulltime job since I was 16 years old. I have paid my way and never asked for help. We have what we have because we save our money and tuck it away for things we plan for in the future. I don't have fancy jewelry or wear designer clothes -neither do our children. I have spent time in the past where I had no idea how I would feed my kids from day to day much less get from week to week or month to month. I know what it is to be poor and not have anything at extra. It makes me appreciate what I have even more because I know it can all disappear in an instant. BTW, I also love President Bush and my husband is a lifetime member of the NRA. < / end Rant> So, you, my former reader(s) and hate email writer(s), have a great life because I know I will.

Setting: Just before lights out in bed.

Discussion: Sensory perception of specific sexually oriented stimuli from the female to the male.

Me: It feels as good as _________.

Him: I don't know.

Me: You do know. Oral feels as good as ______ compared to penetration that feels as good as ______?

Him: Long Pause .... I don't know. Demonstration of the more orally challenging part

Me: As good as _________? (I prompted)

Him: Your meatloaf (He blurted)

There is no way to not snort with laughter at this point -at least for me. Let this be a lesson, your mother was right. One way to a man's heart IS through his stomach. I am not foolish enough to believe it is the only way to a man's heart. If you are wondering how good that meatloaf is, well, its just a normal meatloaf. Nothing special -at least I don't think. It is a hearty dish that I serve with whipped potatoes and little english peas. So here goes folks ... As

Good As Sex Meatloaf

3 lbs ground beef (I use ground chuck) (sometimes I might mix beef, pork, veal, and chicken)

2 eggs

1 med. finely chopped onion

1/2 c. seasoned bread crumbs garlic powder -

a shake or three dash of worcestershire sauce

squirt of ketchup salt and pepper

Mix together well.

Form into a loaf or press into a loaf pan.

Topping

1/2 c. ketchup

1 tbsp prepared yellow mustard

1 - 2 tbsp brown sugar Mix well.

Spread over the meatloaf. Slide into a hot oven at 375 degrees bake until done, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Serve with mashed potatoes that have been whipped with cream, butter and a bit of sour cream, salt and pepper.

For the little english peas I only use the tiny baby peas, frozen or Lesuer brand only if canned.

You can add chopped green pepper to the meatloaf but I leave it out because since I have gotten pregnant green peppers sometimes give me killer heartburn and I am avoiding them.

Dry Goods King Author Unbleached Flour Martha White Self Rising Flour White Cornmeal Yellow Cornmeal Jiffy Cornbread Mix Fish Fry Hushpuppy Mix Baking Soda Baking Powder Cream of Tartar Yeast Cornstarch Cocoa Powder Granulated Sugar Confectioners Sugar Brown Sugar Equal Sweet and Low Splenda Grits Oatmeal (instant) Oatmeal (quick cooking oats) Cereal (breakfast cereals of two or more varieties) White Rice Brown Rice Risotto Japanese Rice (for sushi) Basmati Rice Jasmine Rice Pasta (thin spaghetti, fettaccini, elbows, lasagne, rotini, abc's, etc) Couscous Potato buds Macaroni and Cheese Seasoned Rice Mixes Ramein Soup Gelatine (unflavored) Jello Pudding Marshmallows (large and mini and the new strawberry flavor) Raisens Golden Raisens Craisens Pecans Walnuts Chocolate Chips Dried Cherries Graham crackers Saltines Oyster Crackers Cheese crackers Popcorn Hot chocolate mix Koolaide type mixes Lemonaide Chrystal Light drink mixes Bottled Water Canned Goods Green beans Turnips Carrots Tomatoes Tomato Paste Tomato Sauce Kidney Beans (light and dark) Corn (whole and creamed) Black Beans Pintos Canned fruit Pineapple Peaches Fruit Cocktail Cranberry Tuna Chicken Dried Beef Hotdog Chili Bushes Chili Bushes Beans Jam, Jelly and Preserves I made Pickles (Kosher Dill, sweet, bread and butter) Olives (green and black) Peppers Spaghetti Sauce Salsa Cream of Mushroom Soup Cream of Chicken Soup Golden Cream of Mushroom Chicken Bouillon Peanut butter Nutella Light Corn Syrup Dark Corn Syrup Cane Syrup (I do not like maple syrup) Various Salad Dressing Catalina Blue Cheese Italian Ranch Vidalia Onion Poppyseed Balsamic Vinegar White Vinegar Cider Vinegar Olive oil Sesame oil Canola Oil Peanut Oil Lard Crisco Shortening Nonstick Spray Baking Spray Worcestershire Soy Sauce Ketchup Yellow Mustard Brown Mustard Other Mustards Mayonnaise Hot sauce Honey Vanilla Sweetened Condensed Milk Evaporated Milk Herbs and Spices Iodized Salt Kosher Salt Sea Salt Pepper Peppercorns Garlic Powder Onion Powder Capers Allspice Pumpkin Pie Spice Ground cloves Whole Cloves Apple Pie Spice Whole Nutmeg Cinnamon Cinnamon Sticks Cumin Dill Marjoram Bay leaves Thyme Basil Oregano Parsley Poppyseed Cayenne pepper Chili powder Paprika (from Hungary, my in-laws brought it back for me) Ginger Dry Mustard Mace Saffron Meat Tenderizer Old Bay Mrs Dash Italian Seasoning Curry Powder Cajun Seasoning Lemon Juice Coffee Tea (many varieties, herbal, black, orange pekote, earl grey, irish breakfast, lady grey, green, etc) Fresh Produce Potatoes Onions Garlic Carrots Celery Tomatoes Cucumber Lettuces Spinach Refrigerator Eggs Milk Cheese Yogurt Sour Cream Butter Margerine Freezer Wide variety of frozen vegetables (broccoli, squash, pumpkin, butterbeans, etc) Breads (rolls, sandwish, specialty, etc) Meats Poultry Fish Hotdogs Sausage Bacon Fish Sticks Hamburger Roasts Loins Ham Ice cream Popcycles I am sure there are tons of things I have left off this list.

I woke up in a fair mood this morning. Over the following hour my mood shifted and not for the better. I am in a hateful grouchy mood. Looking at me gets you a death ray stare. Speaking to me pegs my you-pissed-me-off meter. How easy it would be to unlatch my jaw and swallow people whole when they get near me. I am laying the blame on pregnancy hormones. I fear you think I am a Susie Homemaker and everything is to the standards of June Clever at my house. It is so not the case. My house gets messy. My hardwood floors show dust. I can see dust bunnies under the big TV armoire. Laudry piles up. I have a basket waiting to be folded. If I spend a day cooking alot nothing else will get done. And you know what? I doesn't bother me at all. Things out of order and out of place would send my mother and grandmother into a full fling tizzy. I mean they would need a valium if they didn't clean everything to perfection. Me? I am not so spastic. It will get done when I get to it. If not it will still be there in a day or three. I learned along time ago not to sweat the small stuff. Life is just to short to worry about everything. Does it nag me my house is not always spotless? Yes, it does, but I don't let it cause me stress. Which is why I am perfectly comfortable to show photos of my freezers and mudroom pantry. Several of you have requested these. Click on the thumbnails to see the larger image. I haven't had time or the energy to paint the inside closet and you will see the garish green and stained paint. When we first moved in this was a coat closet. I don't need the coat closet. I needed a place to store items that I keep on hand as extras. There isn't much I can't prepare with this pantry as my backup. Both freezers are full and ready for winter. We have two because when we lived at the townhouse there was only room for the small freezer. When we bought this house I wanted a giant freezer but I had trouble getting rid of the small freezer -no one wanted it. The cost of the giant freezer was $800. OUCH! I got the medium size freezer for $350 and the two of them have as large a capacity as the giant freezer, maybe larger. Things in the freezers include, fresh summer corn on the cob and creamed corn, fruits, lots of chicken stock, all sorts of meats, (including lamb, pork, beef, chicken, fish and shrimp), soups and stew I have made and put up, tomatoe sauces and whole tomatoes, any number of assorted vegetables, breads and muffins I keep to send with Steven to work daily for breakfast, cookie dough, cheeses, sandwich meats, ready to go meals, timtams :), ice cream, ready to heat and serve taco/fajita meats, premade BBQ, roasts and meat pies, -you name it, it is most likely in there. Inside my refrigerator where I have spent the week cooking, it is nearly empty save for fresh veggies and fruits, milk and other dairy products, luncheon items, butter, apple sauce, whipped cream for the kids hot chocolate, jasmine tea, eggs, made a couple leftovers and all of the condiments we love. Gracie loves egg nog. she always has. As soon as itbegins to appear in the grocery store I buy it for her. She looks forward to this time and year and is greatly disappointed when it leaves. I do keep an emergency can of bordens egg nog in the pantry for those emergency attacks that might occur in March. I told you before we are condiment people. all of us seem to have out favorites when it comes to condiments. Steven is a tobasco and hot pepper sauce guy. The kids love all varieties of jellies. I cook with alot of different things and I love mustards, expecially for really nice super sandwiches. The Sara Lee deli mustards are very good and very affordable. There is always at least 1 (or 3) of some kind in the frig and a brand new spare in the pantry. The spice cabinet is more than just spice. I have a lot of different herbs and things here but I also keep opened boxes of brown sugar, cornstarch, canisters of dried beans and fruits as well as things for baking. I have started collecting my nuts and food coloring and those tiny one shot bottles of liquer for baking during the holidays. I find it is much more economically friendly to my budget to buy a few things along starting in summer than to have to buy everything in November and December for special dishes. There are local wines in the rack that we have tried and like. As well as wines my mother likes that I keep on hand in preparation for her visits. She is able to come up only once or twice a year and I like her to have things she likes and to be very comfortable while with us. I strive very hard to be a prepared and gracious hostess, especially to my family. There are wines that I like and can't drink right now. The Australian marriage wines in red are yummy. I have a center island that I keep all of my day to day items in. open flour and sugar in canisters which when finished I use the flour and sugar in the pantry and buy fresh flour and sugar to replace it. I rotate stock so everything is fresh. Can goods and all sorts of pasta and things are kept in there as well. You might find quick baking mixes, instant oatmeal and cereal in there too. I love home cooked meals but I am not against taking a short or two when needed in a pinch or I don't feel like doing it the long way. In another cabinet by the stove I keep canisters of more dried beans and peas, as well as mixed beans for soups, grits, coffees, dried creamers and milk, canisters of pasta and various tall things that won't fit in other cabinets. The best revenge is living well. It takes a little effort but you can live very well on a budget. Just remember to use it up and wear it out. Try not to waste anything. And don't be so picky about what you eat. You don't need the best cuts of meat all the time. Cheaper cuts of meat are where the flavors are and you can really stretch your dollar if you learn to use everything and waste as little as possible. I always save meat scraps and vegetable scraps to make stocks with. Left over vegetables are used for delicious soups and stews that do not taste like a mish mash of left overs. The kids probably have no idea that much of the things served are leftovers in another form. I am so thankful I am not married to someone who refuses leftovers or is extremely picky about eating. I have only cooked onr thing he has stated he would rather not have to eat again, stewed tomatoes and rice. I have no idea what the big deal is with it. :-/ I'll tell you something though, as hard as I try, we do waste things, but not intentionally. I make mistakes and forget things are in the frig drawers and end having to through it out. I also have been known to cook things no one likes or wants to eat again -and it gets thrown out. Being prepared and ahead of the game where meals are concerned just takes practice and time. It is work but it's not that hard. Cooking for 8 is just as easy as cooking for four. If you plan to cook on a large scale get help. Round up kids or your husband and as you prepare let them wash the dishes or load the dishwasher. < segway into a rant>

I have always had my girls in the kitchen from an early age. By the age of 15 Colby could put a meal on the table as well I can. She loves to cook, to experiement and loves a wide range of foods she may not have been willing to eat if she had not helped to prepare them. Whoever said it is not your children's responsibility to help out with kitchen work and other smaller siblings have their head up their butt and more time on their hands than they know what to do with. My girls are expected to help cook as needed, for example when we are running late or have a big dinner for guests or just when we want to bake cookies or make something special. They are in charge of cleaning the kitchen after supper. Everyone helps for the betterment of the entire family. They are also responsible for cleaning their rooms and bringing down all of their laundry. They are also responsisble for the condition of their bathroom. They live here, too. We all have a job to perform. Chores have never hurt a child. I find it makes a better adult. Girls cannot become great mothers and wives without being taught how. I do not want to see my girls struggle with trying to figure out how to cope with a home and family to raise when they get older. Things learned now will come naturally and they too will have children to teach how to care for themselves and a family. I was raised to be a damn good wife and mother. I think I live up to that expectation and want no less for my own daughters. When this baby boy is born I have the exact same high expectations for him as well. Boys can cook, help with laundry, take out garbage and help clean the yards. I am an equal opportunity mother.

< /end rant> What's in your pantry? *****Updated to add this photo for Judy***** This past weekend at the pumpkin patch Judy, I would have to guess he has gained at least 30 lbs. When we met he was skin and bones, yellow tinted skin, ulcers, literally almost a skeleton. His eye were dark and slightly sucken. He did not eat well at all and did not try to take care of himself. He was on the tail end of years of negelect in a bad marriage and even worse nasty divorce, followed by a realaitonship with a woman who lied to him and he found out was married. He had really given up and thought he would be lucky to live another year. Seriously, he will tell you he expected maybe to live one more year or be in the hospital in severe care for system failure. He intended to never have anything to do with women again. He was finished and would be a bachelor till the end. I guess someone had other plans for him. :-) I put him on vitamins, all sorts of heavy herbal treatments and whole natural foods to heal his body and those damn stomach ulcers. It has taken a year and a half to get him to this point now. He weighs 155lbs @ 6'2". He is still quite thin. His skin is tanned from working in the sun. His eyes are sparkling and full of mischief. He laughs often and loudly. His waist is now 32 inches. And OMG is he handsome!! Photos always come out badly because he doesn't like photos taken. :-/

MommaK, my neighbor over in Petroville, had a Q and A last week. I asked, "What is your favorite dish for Thanksgiving dinner? Please share the recipe." She replied,

"Pineapple Mush (sounds gross but I have loved this since I was a little girl)." Pineapple Mush 1/2 cup butter 4 eggs 1 can crushed pineapple (with juice) 1 cup sugar 6 slices of bread, cubed Cream butter & sugar. Add eggs and rest of ingredients. Put in 9×9 square pan or souffle dish, bake 1 hr @ 350 degrees. Pineapple mush was always served on holidays in our house. It was probably most fitting at Easter with ham, but I always requested it and usually took the greatest helping. As a picky eater, it was the one thing besides the ham or turkey that I enjoyed without complaint. As I got older and ate more (and more, and more) it was, to me, like having my dessert with my dinner. Who can turn that down?

Yesterday I baked MommaK's Thanksgiving favorite. I couldn't wait for dessert after supper. The baby was just beside himself wanting to taste the dish that looked so pretty and smelled so good. As usual I indulge my children so of course I had a nice big serving to please baby. OMG was it ever good. I thought it would be extremely sweet with a whole cup of sugar but was surprised to find that it wasn't. It was perfect. I used 8 slices of bread because two end pieces would be left and I hate to waste food and no one likes 2 bread heels for a sandwich. If you like pineapple and quick desserts this one is a keeper. I know I will be making this one again very soon. I just love pineapple. My momma cooked pineapple upside down cake when we were kids. I loved it then and I love it now. As a small child I was allergic to pineapple and never got to eat the beautifully scented dessert. I eventually grew out of it and indulged as often as possible in pineapple in any form. Thanks MommaK! Coming tomorrow - photos of my freezer and pantry.

A little boy asks his father, "Daddy, how was I born?" Dad responds, "Ah, my son, I guess one day you will need to find out anyway! Well, you see, your Mom and I first got together in a chat room on MSN. Then I set up a date via e-mail with your Mom and we met at a cyber-cafe. We sneaked into a secluded room, where your mother agreed to a download from my hard drive. As soon as I was ready to upload, we discovered that neither one of us had used a firewall, and since it was too late to hit the delete button, nine months later a blessed little Popup appeared and said: YOU'VE GOT MALE!!!!"

What makes this so funny to me - We met in a MSN chatroom and I am having a male. :-) Thanks to Hope for sending me that one. Yesterday I post some photos of the pumpkin soup I started making with my roasted pumpkin on my recipe journal. While you are reading this I am busily trying to type up the chicken and dumpling recipe I promised yesterday and didn't get to. We had pork roast and roasted pumpkin and other fall veggies last night for supper and it was excellent. I will try to get that recipe posted today as well. Do not waste another minute. Go out and buy that smallish pumkpin and get your oven fired up. You know, you can toast the seeds and have them for snacks for your kids too. I am doing that today. Tomorrow we will have a secret chef and a special recipe. Stay tuned.

We took the kids out to a small local farm to choose pumpkins yesterday afternoon. There were three fields of pumpkins, fresh apples, ornamental squash, and potted mums to purchase. They had hayrides, face painting, a scarecrow that tied ballons into animal shapes, hay mazes, corn, horse rides and a small petting zoo. The term petting zoo was pushing it. They had some farm animals in corals close to the pumpkin happenings. Not too keen on horses (I don't think), Steven seemed to be interested in the 2 asses in one of the stalls. He came home and started researching mules. I swear I hope he doesn't decide he wants a mule. We are planning for chickens next spring and 2 dairy goats. After I got pregnant this year I wasn't able to handle a lot of farm stock so we waited. He is convinced he wants to fatten up a heffer and a pig for next winter. What would he do with a mule? The two youngest wanted to have a ride on the horses. The horses were old and I doubt they could have run away if they tried. They really looked tired and I felt bad about it. Steven and I chose three large pumpkins to have on the porch for fall decorations. I plan to only carve one for Halloween and only because of trick or treating. The girls each chose a smallish pumpkin from the fields and we chose yet another small pumpkin. The small pumpkins I will be roasting over the next couple of weeks. We will have fresh pumpkin as a vegetable for supper and I will be roasting and putting away enough pumpkin for fresh pies for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Roasting pumpkins is very easy. These are every day regular pumpkins not fancy sugar pumpkins. I like sugar pumpkins but you can't always find them. A plain pumpkin will work fine for pie. Don't be afraid to experiment a little. Choose nice smallish pumpkins (5 - 8 pounds). Wash them well. They are filthy even if they look clean. Carefully with a large knife split the pumpkin in half. Use a big spoon and scrape away the fiber and the seeds. Pour a little olive oil (or vegetable oil) into your hands and rub the pumpkin halves until all are coated with a nice thin layer. This protects the meat from drying out and burning. Place the 2 halves skin side up (cut side down) on an oiled baking sheet or lined with foil or a silpat. Bake at 375 degrees until the meats are fork tender. The scent is amazing! To serve as a vegetable for supper you can sprinkle with salt and pepper, maybe add a little curry. Pumpkin is excellent with a little pat of butter and eaten like a potato. For pumpkin pie you will need to mash or puree the baked pumpkin meat. A 5- 8lb pumpkin will yeild 2 - 3 cups of puree. To this add: 2/3 cup sugar 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp ground ginger 1/4 tsp nutmeg Pinch ground cloves 1 1/2 c evaporated milk 2 eggs, lightly beaten 1/2 tsp salt Before you add the eggs you can taste the pumpkin filling and adjust the spices to your liking. You can buy pumpkin pie spice and eliminate the need of adding all of the measured spices as well. The pumpkin pie spice is on the spice aisle at the grocer. You can also buy apple pie spice. Pour mixture into a 9 inch pie shell. Bake at 350 until the a toothpick inserted into the center pulls away clean. If the edges of your pie shell are browning too quickly fold a couple of strips of foil around the edges of the pie leaving the center uncovered to finish baking. Any leftover filling can be frozen. We picked up a basket of apples which I will be cooking today as well. We finished up our apples from our trees last month. We had only a small crop thanks to the damn birds. I will be cooking a pork roast today with pumpkin, squash, apples and prunes. Very polish meal. On one side of Steven's family his grandfather was a finnish immigrant. On the other side both of his great grandparents were polish. He has never really eaten alot traditional polish foods -I have no idea why. The pork roast and fall veggies is one of my favorites. I know he is going to love it too. The hearty vegetables with the sweet apples and prunes - mmmmmmmm mmmmm, good stuff. I also make a pumkpin potato soup with bacon that is amazing! I'll try to get that recipe up too while pumpkins are plentiful. I know you all do not cook in big batches and freeze like I do. Since so many of you seem interested in trying the cicken and dumpling I will post later today a recipe on my recipe journal for just a normal size pot of chicken and dumplings -using 1 chicken. Updated to add: What is up with Haloscan? I can't post a comment on most journals this morning.

Friday the weather here was rainy. The temperature hovered around 50. The air was damp and cool with fall creeping in to fill every nook and craney. It was a perfect day for cooking. I started a small fire in the stove for warm as well as mood and set to cook away the day. At the end of the day I ended up with: 2 gallons chicken and dumplings (4 freezer containers) 2 9-inch deep dish chicken pies 7 quarts of chicken stock (in jars) 1 quart chicken pieces and slivers for dressing 3lbs meatballs 4 stuffed bell peppers 6 burgers for grilling We also had chicken and dumplings for supper. It was yummmmyyy! I have the GE 18 quart roaster oven. I don't use it all the time because of its size but when I do use it I make efficient use of it. This roaster will hold 4 whole chickens. During three and a half hours of my day I accomplished a lot of cooking for my freezer thanks to this roaster and its large capacity. Once I nestled four chickens into the roaster I added 2 rough chopped large onions, 8 stalks of celery cut into 3 inch lengths, 4 large carrots cut into 2 inch pieces, 10 cloves of garlic, salt and pepper and covered with water. Turning the heat up to 450 degrees I cover the pan and let it cook for two and a half hours. At this point the chickens are falling apart when you try to lift them from the pan. I transfered the chickens to baking sheets and allow them to begin to cool so that the meat can be pulled from the bone. I strained out 3 - 4 quarts of stock and poured it into my stock pot and brought it back up to a boil. After deboning, all that is left of the carcass goes back into the roaster. I add more water to cover and set on a lower heat, 350 degrees, leaving this to cook until there is a rich stock -about 2 or 3 hours or so. I divide the meat into 2 portions; one for pies and one for chicken and dumplings. Making dumplings is the same as making biscuits except the dough is rolled out very thin -about 1/8th inch. This is extrememly time comsuming. There is a frosen product at the grocer that is as good as homemade and far less messy and time consuming. Take the shortcut and buy 2 boxes of Anne's Dumplings. These are exactly the same dumplings my grandmother stood for hours rolling out in her kitchen. To the pot of boiling stock set aside from above turn the heat down to a high simmer. Add the strips 3 or 4 at a time gently moving them around in the pot with a long handled spoon. Let the dumplings begin to cook a few minutes before you add the next dumplings. Once all of the dumplings have been added stir occassionally to keep them from sticking and scorching on the bottom of your pot, turn it down if you need too. Add 1 portion of the chicken that was deboned. You can finish here if you like a thin chicken stock and dumpling that is similar to a soup. We like ours thick and hearty. To the gently simmering chicken and dumplings I add 1 package frozen peas and carrots or 1 large can of Veg-All mixed vegetables. For extra creaminess I also might add 1 large can of cream of chicken soup. Once mixed well and heated through I ladle out several freezer containers and set them aside to cool to room temp before placing in the refrigerator to chill completely then moving them to the freezer. With 1 meal remaining for our supper, I pour this into a deep casserole dish and top with a flacky crust and bake like a pie. The crust being brushed with butter just before siding it into a hot oven. For chicken pies: 1 bag of frozen mixed vegetables 1 can sliced waterchestnuts 1 family size can cream of chicken soup 1 family size can cream of mushroom soup 1 portion of the above deboned chicken 4 deep dish pie shells Mix all the ingredients together and spoon into 2 of the pie shells. Mound the ingredients up to make a 'mile high' pie. Allow the other 2 shells to thaw just a bit until the dough is just soft. Invert the pie shell over the mounded chicken. Lift the pie tin away and using your fingers pinch the shell edges together sealing the mixture into the pie. Place on a cookie sheet, brush with melted butter and bake at 375 until golden brown. To freeze, leave the pie tin in place on top and on bottom. Lable the pie "this side up". Wrap well with plastic wrap. Slide each pie into a gallon size ziplock freezer bag. Lable and freeze. When ready to cook, remove from freezer and bake as you might a frozen Mrs. Smith's apple pie (that's the best analogy I can think of). Once everything is in the freezer and my kitchen is cleaned up I then strain out everything from my roaster. I do not let the stock sit and separate the fat from it. This stock I will used to make my dressing at Thanksgiving and I want a super rich stock. Into hot jars I ladle my hot stock, usually 6 - 8 quarts. Seal the jars and either freeze or pressure can. You cannot buy this quality of stock in a can or box. Bringing a jar of stock to a boil and adding some seasoning and egg noodles you have the BEST homemade chicken noodle soup you ever dreamed of. I spread the pieces and parts of vegetables and the chicken carcasses out on baking sheets and allow to cool completely. Carefully pick through the pieces and you will gather over a quart of slivers of meat. Don't waste anything! Pick the meat from the bones as best as you can. Place in a labled freezer bag and freeze. You can separate this into very small portions and add a little to the above noodle soup. I save my slivers and pieces and use them in my dressing at Thanksgiving. I know alot of people turn their nose up at picking slivers of meat from bones and saving stock but to each their own. I like saving money and this stretches my grocery staples and stock alot. I guess it is the mentality of farm life, waste not want not. I use it up and wear it out wherever possible. It is a sunny but cool day so far. We are taking the kids to a pumpkin patch this afternoon. I'll try to remember to take the camera.

I have spent the last five months dreaming and planning for my beautiful baby. Not yet knowing the gender I would stop to browse or window shop while flicking through racks of sweet and cute clothing. My girls also would ohh and ahh over the baby clothes and discuss the level of cuteness and how fun it will be to buy clothes for the new baby. As of this week our joy has come to an abrupt and screeching halt. As the soon to be mother of a fine baby boy I think I am well qualified to tell you after two days of trying to shop for a newborn baby boy that YOU SUCK! Your suckage can only be compared with the suckage ability of a giant black hole in the far reaches of outer space. Your suckage is so total and complete it is a wonder to me that you have not imploded and taken members of your industry out with you. I have braved the infant departments of Target, Walmart, Burlington, JC Penney, Sears, Baby Osh Kosh, and coutless other establishments and reward has been 1 bunting bag, 1 hat and mittens, and one fleece jumper. I am not completely happy with those purchases and may return them. At the moment I am still yet undecided. I may have to keep those items just to insure that when my baby is born in the raging depths of winter during the first week of February he won't freeze to death. When sitting down to discuss the line of newborn boy clothing that would grace the 2 racks in the sea of 4700 racks of baby girl clothes in each fine shopping establishment who suggested that you make all clothes in the color baby blue? Furthermore who was the nitwit who thought it would be fun and fashionable to slap decals on the front of every single garment that is manufactured? Now I know little boys love trains, cars, tractors, animals and big machinery but does every stitch of clothing have to have them plastered on every available space on the most prominent places in front? If I wanted to advertise I would sell ad space on my new baby. Also another thing that is chapping my ass is who's bright idea was it to cut a deal with Disney so that anything that might remotely be suitable for my baby boy to wear has a giant Disney character pasted on the front AND the back? Which leads me to the problem of shawls and blankets that are beautiful on first glance but fail miserably when you realize every single one of them is embroidered with the word 'baby' or some funky teddy bear. Who approved these designs and decided that every mother in the free world who could afford to even dress their baby in new clothes would want to swaddle their blessed child in a billboard emblazoned blanket. Of course it is a baby, what else would it be in tiny clothes and swaddling? Don't answer that because obviously you don't know the answer. You are surely dressing a baby doll or someone's ridiculous pet and not a breathing human infant. With my current diagnosis of "advanced maternal age" which one might interpret as "to damn old to be having a baby" but we interpret as "mature, uniquely qualified, as well as graced with some sense and symblance of taste" let me give you an idea of things I want to see when I go shopping. I want to see just as many racks and color choices in clothing for boys as there are for girls without decals and charactors plastered all over. If you insist on making everything for newborn boys in baby blue I want you to refrain from taking that same outfit and adding ruffles and bows and embroidery to it and selling it on the next rack over for newborn girls. There are well and plenty clothing options for little girls and you need to learn the sanctity of clothing for little boys. So stop jacking with mothers of boys and give us the same quality and quantity as you do the mothers of the opposite sex. Is that so hard to understand? Can it be offered as a choice to the infant clothing consumer? Think how much faster the industry can crank out clothing items without having to spend hours embroidering the front and back of every single item. I am sure you could double your output and thereby increase your profit margin by 100%. I am going to leave you with these thoughts while I continue about my business of gestating. Sincerely, Angie, mother-to-be of a baby boy

For who missed the news yesterday and for those who did not click the image: It's A Boy! It's a boy - three little words that say as much as those other three little words - I love you. I have had an order from my doctor since I was 13 weeks to have a sonogram. Knowing they could tell me nothing of the sex until about 22 weeks or later I carefully made sure I forgot about it so as to not drive myself completely insane. When I finally broke down and made the appointment for Wednesday, it was still several weeks away and I tried not to get excited again. I managed very well up until Wednesday morning and then I got so excited that I was boardline nervous. Would the baby be in a position that it could be easily viewed to determine the sex? Would everything be in the right places and not a third eye on its chin or something worse? I was really working myself up into a bit of frenzy which was more of a quiet storm hidden from those around me. Steven was working from home so as to be able to go with me. He spent his morning frustrated over other things and his snippy mood made me want to scream but I didn't. By the time we were ready to go his mood had changed and we were having a lovely time. I had spent the morning making sure I drank plenty so my bladder was full. By the time we registered and were called back I had to go so badly I was afraid everytime the technician pressed low with the sonogram handheld radar thingy I was going to wet the table. But I didn't. She spent over an hour doing all the things she needed to do for her report: two eyes? check; bladder? check; kidneys? check; four chamber heart? check; brain? check. The baby has all of its parts and all are located in the right places. She then checked the umbilical cord. Where was it attached: to me (in the front behind my bellybutton -cool huh? lol); to the baby (in front on its belly right where a bellybutton should be); did it have 3 vessels (yes); the rate of my heart pumping blood through the cord (can't remember). Then it was measuring the skull and long bones and the spine until she had checked everything you could possibly think of to check on a baby. Just as I had told Steven weeks ago, the baby is laying head down, on its side, facing my left side. Its little hands are balled up tight and it's arms are raised up near its face. We could only see its features briefly before it moved and shyly hid its face from the camera. As she attempted to determine the sex it moved and pulled its tiny legs up and crossed its feet over the very area we wanted to see. Shy little thing (just like its Daddy LOL). Eventually she did get a look and said all the mumbo jumbo about sonograms not being 100% and things being wrong in the end but her educated guess was that the baby was a boy -because "this area is the scrotum and this is a tiny little penis." The she went out and had another technician come in to try and get another image of the brain and double check her version of the sex. The other tech concurred she saw 2 areas that indeed were a scrotum and tiny little penis. The whole thing was so surreal and I was nearly in tears the entire time. Secretly I kept telling myself that it was a boy, she knew what the sex was already, and she was holding out to the very end. Just before we were told it was a boy I told myself to stop dreaming. It was going to be a girl. Steven's brother's wife is 6 weeks ahead of me with their fourth (and last) boy so how fitting we should be the ones with four girls. We would have been just as happy either way but deep down I had this nagging feelng it was a boy. During each of my pregnancies I have dreamed about my babies later to have that dream take place in reality and my baby be the exact baby as in my dream. I think some would call this experience a premonition. Last week I dreamed we were having a family photo made. I was holding a chubby baby for the sitting but I could not see the baby. When the photo came back I was holding a chubby baby boy dressed in a little vest and trousers wearing a red bow tie. From then on I suspected I was indeed having a boy. Afterward we went shopping. We chose a nursery bedding set with barns and apples trees, a tiny blue jean jacket (just like Steven's) and the lavender and camomile baby wash and powder by Johnson and Johnson. I love the scent of a baby who has been washed and powdered with products by Johnson and Johnson. We also chose the most soft and cuddly blanket in blue -this may be the blanket we bring him home from the hospital in. When I went to bed Wednesday night I drifted off with a smile on my lips thinking about what an exciting day we had. How Steven had teased the girls and drawn it out until they were exasperated and frustrated waiting to know what the baby would be. I thought about the phone calls to our parents, his brother and my sister. A baby brings joy to everyone it touches. Or so it seems to me. I woke many times in the night. Each time the baby moved I stirred and thought "my son". Steven, too, is still grappling with the news. A son. A completely new experience to have a son after raising daughters. I remember this one thought before I drifted back into sleep - One thing I could give Steven that he did not already have, one thing Steven could give me that I did not already have- A son.

Click photo for larger image. Our scanner SUCKS!!! I can't get it to read anything. So I taped my sonogram picture from yesterday to the refrigerator and spent 2 hours trying to get a photo with the camera that was halfway descent.I am severely frustrated with digital media, hardware and software at this very moment.

Monday - Electrician came to do electrical work for the pool - Drop donations at Good Will - Leave Steven's boots (2 pair) at the cobbler to have them resoled. - To Lowe's to arrange for the mulch delivery - Grocery shopping - Cook supper (chicken, shoepeg corn, sweet potato fries, mixed green veggies) Tuesday - Try to arrange appt for dog and cat with vet closest to home. People acted like royal bitches. I walked out after giving them a piece of my mind. - Made appointment with another vet for both cat and dog, to include grooming, teeth cleaning, shots, frontline, etc. - Ordered 2 loads of firewood. The first to be delivered this weekend. - Electrician is working on pool again today. - cook supper (meatloaf, whipped potatoes, turnips, spaghetti squash, and biscuits). Wednesday - Steve working from home - Picture day at school for Gracie - Last piece for Gracie's room to be delivered - Appointment for sonogram - pick up J. @ 5pm - Cook supper (no idea what) Thursday - J. to school - Cat to vet at 10:30am - Mulch to be delivered - Cook supper (thinking about chicken and dumplings) Friday - Pick up Steve's boot - Exchange a pair of shoes (wrong size) - Drop off dry cleaning - Pick up J. @ 5pm - Cook supper (no idea what) Saturday - Take kids to pumpkin patch - its supposed to rain! - Start spreading mulch - its supposed to rain! - 1/2 ton of firewood to be delivered and will need to be stacked (1 of 2 loads coming) - its supposed to rain! - I have no idea what else the day or week will bring In the middle of all this is laundry, kids to school, breakfasts, lunches to pack, entries to write, my full time job of gestating, planning for Thanksgiving and working on my Christmas stuff. By the time I have this baby I will need a vacation. Oh, did I mention the sonogram is today?

I was looking for the kitten. It took me awhile to find it. Can you? The kitten seems to think my wreath is its own personal cat lounger. It doesn't move and rarely wakes up when the door swings open and closed. This is exactly the thing that inspires artists to draw scarey cat pictures for Halloween. I don't think she cares for the camera flash at all. It was cool enough last night to build the first fire of the season. It was just a little one -more for mood than for warmth. Steven has a lot of trouble as a firestarter. I would really worry about him if he ever decided to go camping or suddenly there was no such thing as a heater and we had to live by fire alone. It usually takes an hour for him to coax a flame. When he gives up in defeat (and severe frustration) I start the fire. ******* Yesterday I went in search of mulch -by the truckload. I called the local 'green recycler' and got a quote for a truckload which included the delivery. 1 truckload = 40 cubic yards = $880 (Holy Hell that's a lot of money and made me cringe and get a very weak sensation in my stomach.)This is loose mulch. They back the dump truck up and dump a giant pile in your yard. Then I called Lowe's. Mulch at Lowe's comes in a bag stacked on a pallet and is priced at $2.97 for 2 cubic feet. Follow me here in a little math. 3 cubic feet (cf) = 1 cubic yard (cy) 1 cy from Lowes = $8.91 1 cy from the green recycler = $22 $880 for 40cy truck load or $297(100 bags) + $20.79(tax) + $85(delivery)= $402.79 for 67cy Less than half the price and 1/3 more mulch! Shouldn't it be cheaper to buy the mulch when it has just been processed and delivered rather than buying mulch that has been processed, bagged, shipped, stored, purchased by the consumer then delivered? I called another company who wanted $26/cy, could only deliver in 20cy truck and would charge $130 to deliver. I just don't get it. Sometimes I wonder how people think they can stay in business when they out price themselves. I don't know about you but I have to cost compare otherwise we would do without alot of things and my house and yard would look like vagrants lived in it. Owning a house is so expensive these days I completely understand why many people choose to rent. Do you shop around and make sure you are getting the absolute best buy for your money? The mulch is being delivered Thursday morning. I guess you can figure how we will spend Friday and the weekend.

Mowing: - the yard - the orchard - 2 fields around the chicken barn - clearings around the livestock barn - trim around the house, the boxwoods, the fences, the roadside ditches Clear everything from the side porch and store it properly in the barn. Continue filling the sink hole where the pool heater gas tank is buried and the rain settled the earth. Take everything I have been throwing out of the house and attic to the landfill. Fill the back of the Excursion with all the things I need to take to the Good Will. Lay with me in the dark and dream about our baby. ******* The last time I posted a photo of my house several people commented they had never seen my house before then. Here are a couple photos. The front of the house and the back. The back view was taken before they destroyed my yard constructing the pool -which is still no where near being finished because of 8 straight days of rain. It is now 2 feet deep in rain water. Front of house Back of HouseThe huge bush at the back of the house, nearly reaching the second story roof, is a boxwood. The boxwoods here are the same age as the house. We have at least 25 that size or bigger. They look like trees not shrubs. Koi Pond Path to the Koi Pond Water Garden Damson Orchard I am off to order a truck load of mulch in preparation for the coming winter. We need about 200 cubic feet. Anyone care to volunteer to come help spread it? We do have a front end loader and cart but it will still require lots of shoveling and raking.

I have created a journal just for my recipes. I have only imported the recipes that were in posts here. I plan to add many more. Home Grown Recipes ******* On the advice of MommaK I ordered this BBQ sauce for my Christmas baskets. All I can say is if you like good BBQ then order this sauce before I buy it all and there is none left for you. I cooked a pork tenderloin this week. We have eaten about 1/4 of it. The rest I was going to chop for BBQ and put in the freezer. Tonight for supper I chopped all the meat up. It was alot. We used 2 bottles of the sauce to make wet BBQ. My husband is a lover of BBQ and he said to me 3 different times before dinner just from licking the spoon, "That is really good BBQ sauce." He NEVER repeats himself or makes a big deal out of food or flavors. Steven's stamp of approval means something! Order it now and enjoy some good BBQ this fall. (I bought a case *blush*) I also made coleslaw. ******* Him: Go to google and seacrh groundhog in images. Me: ok (going to google) Him: page 14 Me: (clicking over to page 14) Him: Shaking his head Me: Does it shock you to see yourself on google? Him (still shaking his head) See the google here. See the actual photo here. Why am I telling yout his. We are infested with groundhogs again. Everything he had repaired in the barn has been un-repaired by groundhogs. Frustrating is a mild word for this problem. ******* For the second time in a week Steven has gotten the tractor stuck in our muck of mud from over a week of rain. Dummy me forgot to get the camera on both occassions so I have no photos. The mud was so thick and caked on the tractor he had to wash it with the pressure washer. ******* What's on TV tonight?

The past week the weather in this part of Virginia has been rainy and cool. It felt like fall was here finally and I was thrilled. My internal thermostat is on high and finally I could walk around in my shorts and not sweat. Meanwhile Steven and girls where swaddled in sweatsuits and socks. Honestly, it wasn't that cool. If they had done some physical work they would have warmed up and been just fine. The weather begged for a big pot of soup or stew to be simmered on the stove. Eventually I decided on making a huge pot of chilli Thursday. There are two schools of chilli makers. One with only meat and one with beans. I use meat and several kinds of beans. I like my dish to look pretty and appetizing. A big bowl of just meat doesn't do it for me. I'll pause here while all the Texans are outraged. Finished? When I make chilli I make a huge batch. One because it is easier to make a large pot of chilli and two chilli tastes better when it sits and the flavors marry. I make enough that I have plenty to put in the freezer. My recipe is not exact measures. Much of it is by taste. The heat of chilli is by mood. But the ingredients are pretty basic. Angie's Chilli Bowl 4 cans light red kidney beans (I use Hanover beans for all) 4 cans dark red kidney beans (Hanover) 4 cans black beans (Hanover) 2 large cans diced tomatoes 1 large can tomatoe paste Open all cans and pour into a very large stock pot. Bring to a slow boil and turn down to simmer while preparing the other ingredients. 1 jumbo onion chopped 6 - 8 cloves garlic, minced 1 tablespon olive oil In a skillet, add oil and sweat onions and garlic. Add to stock pot that is simmering. You can add chopped bell pepper but I leave it out. It gives me heartburn. 8 pounds of ground beef In skillet brown the ground beef. I use an 80/20 beef. Not too lean. It is the fat that gives beef the flavor. You will have to brown the meat a few pounds at a time unless you have a very large deep skillet like mine. Once browned add to the ingredients in the stock pot. Mix well but not roughly. You don't want to break or mush the beans. We like our chilli with a bite. Not hot, because the kids won't eat it but with a good bite. I like the flavor in layers. To the pot I add: 1 tbsp red pepper flakes 1/2 tbsp cayenne pepper 1/2 of a 5oz bottle of tobasco sauce I would suggest adding a bit of the hot ingredients, tasting, then deciding to add more or not. Your chilli pot should be pretty full and pretty thick. Liquid added should be in the form of beer. 1/2 to 1 bottle of good dark beer. The next layer is the chilli powder seasoning. You can use the store bought chilli spice or make your own. Sometimes I make my own and sometimes I don't. Whichever you prefer add to the pot until you like the taste. I add around 1/2 cup of chilli powder seasoning made with lots of ancho chilis. I LOVE the scent of ancho chilis. It is one of those scents that is extremely high on the sensuous smell scale for me. Bring the chilli pot up to a slow simmer. Cook for at least 2 hours stirring occassionally so it doesn't stick on the bottom. This is a lot of chilli. The liquids will rise to the top leaving the heavy beans and meat to sit on the bottom. Turn off the heat. Cover the pot. Leave to rest and the flabors to marry for several hours. (That why I make mine early in the morning.) This pot will hold a high heat for a long time. Reheat if needed before serving. Serve with various garnishes of cheeses, sour cream, chives, crackers, bagel chips, biscuits or cornbread. The sun is out today and suddenly it doesn't seem like fall. I am glad I made the chilli yesterday. From this pot we have had 2 family meals, 1 late snack and put five 48 ounce containers in the freezer. The chilli in the freezer will taste even better when we get around to eating it later in the fall or winter. The flavors will marry and the layers of taste will be delicious. All the pretty colored beans will add to a festive look, too. What is your secret to good chilli?

Channah asked about my mentioning red velvet cake in my post on biscuits. I have alot to say about red velvet cake so you should go refill your coffee cup and settle the babies in front of the TV for a few minutes.

Back yet?

Ok let's get started.

Any google search will pull up a million red velvet cake recipes which to my belief are NOT red velvet cake recipes! Many foodie scholars tribute the cake creation to the red cake served at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in the 1920's. Some even dispute the date as the 1950's.

It is my belief that somewhere along the way someone confused a traditional southern red cake served only at the Christmas holidays with a red devil's food cake that later circulated through American kitchens. A southern red velvet cake does NOT have cocoa in it.

No one I know raised in the part of the country I come from that have a deep traditional southern heritage makes this cake with cocoa. The red devil's food cake has cocoa -not the red velvet cake!

Chocolate cake icing is made with cocoa. Hot chocolate is made with cocoa!Chocolate run balls are made with cocoa. Red velvet cake is NOT made with cocoa! Can we all say that together because it needs to be shouted and repeated many times until it sinks into the depth of some peoples consciousness.

If you make a 'red velvet cake' with cocoa I am sorry but that is not a traditional southern red velvet cake. It is a faux southern red velvet cake but a real red devil's food cake.

I am sure your cake is very tastey but it is not the cake I and many generations before me grew up eating only at Christmas and at no other time of the year. I still to this day do not cook this cake for any other occassion but Christmas. It is one of a few cakes my children get to eat for breakfast on Christmas eve and morning. It is a cake they dream of having during the holidays. I only serve red velvet cake, orange cake, ambrosia and rum balls at Christmas. My coconut cake is served at Christmas and Easter, sometimes Thanksgiving. It all depends on my mood when it is time to bake.

I am thinking this year I will make the coconut cake for Thanksgiving. Colby, Gracie and I will be the only one who eats it but that's cool my mom is supposed to come up for the holiday and she loves coconut cake. Steven and J. do not eat coconut cake. Want to know why? His mother does not like coconut. She never cooked with it in any way in his childhood and he grew up thinking he did not like it. But you know, so many foods he and J. have done this way only to be surprised (and pleasantly so) to find I have been cooking them and they have been eating them without knowing it and liking them!

He claims to hate sweet potatoes. After eating what he had been served as a child I see why. It made me gag. :-/ However the carrot casserole was the best ever.

My grandmother was not one who shared her recipes outside of the family. Some things she learned to cook on her own. Some things she remembered being taught to her by her mother. Some things she remembered being taught to her by her grandmother -who died after my grandmother had bore three children in the late 1940's. It is a cake her grandmother baked only at Christmas time. It was a special treat and very expensive to make pre-1920. Grandmother's Red Velvet Cake Recipe -do not substitute ingredients or take short cuts because you will get a yucky cake.

 2 2/3 c. self-rising flour

1 1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. vegetable oil

1 stick butter (real butter)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp distilled white vinegar

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 eggs

1 c. buttermilk (no substitutees -only real buttermilk)

4 bottles red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour three 9 inch round pans or line them with waxed or parchment paper. (I often will divide the batter and make 5 - 8 very thin layers. It makes the cake more decadent to me.)

Cream butter and sugar. Add oil and eggs one at a time mixing well after each egg.

Mix together vinegar, buttermilk and then all 4 bottles of the food coloring. Yes, you do need all 4. You want this to be a rich deep Christmas red cake not pinkish or weak red.

Sift together the flour and baking soda. Alternately add the three mixtures a little at the time until all three are combined.

Stir in the vanilla and mix well. Pour into the cake pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean - 20 - 25 minutes maybe more depending on your oven.

Let the layers completely cool before you try to frost them.

Cream Cheese Icing

1 package of cream cheese (philiadelphia brand is best) softened at room temp.

1 stick of butter softened at room temp.

1 box confectioners sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 - 1 c. finely chopped pecans

Mix the cream cheese and butter together until it is well combined. Add the confectioners sugar a little at a time to combine it well. Add the vanilla and mix well. Add the chopped nuts and mix until it is creamy as if whipped. Frost each layer.

If you make the several thinner layers you will most likely need to make 2 batches of icing -which I do anyway because I like thick coats of icing.

This cake is fine on the countertop for a day or two. After that time refrigerate. It never lasts long enough around our house to need refrigerating.

Let me remind you to not substitute ingredients. When you see red food coloring in your grocery store go ahead and start collecting it. It will begin to disappear fast at the holidays and the day you decide to make the cake is the day you won't find the first bottle left on the store shelf.

What do you only cook at Christmas?

In honor of Susie Sunshine and Dr. B I thought I would give you a run down of the Christmas trees that will be decorated and on display in my house during the holiday season. Christmas is my most favorite time of year because it is the celebration of the birth of my savior. I do not hide my christain beliefs tidily behind pretty lights.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16 KJV

In the midst of all of the decorating and planning and gift buying the meaning of Christmas is not lost. On Christmas Eve I have always read the scripture to my girls and gone to church. Now that I have married again Steven has taken over the reading. We also read other children's books at bedtime leading up to the holidays. My house is filled with traditonal carols. The children sing them loudly. It has been a blessing to be able to introduce J. to Christmas hymns and carols and proclaim good tidings to the world. Decorating and planning have given me a chance to witness without overwelming. Christmas is also about traditions. I want my children to carry traditions with them into their lives when they have children of their own. I want them to decorate and celebrate. I want them to gather their children at their feet to read the Christmas scripture. I want them to see the awe of it all in the eyes of their children and feel their heart bursting with joy. I love the secrets and the whispering. I love when they are vibrating with excitement and their hands are itching to see and touch everything on and under a brightly lit tree. Is there a sight that tightens your heart more than the smile and hope and happiness of your child? I love fresh cut trees for Christmas. Back in Georgia we could get a monster size tree for about $40. Up here in the almost DC part of Virginia even a tree of quality is $100 or more. So I did what I said I wouldn't do. Last year I gave in and bought an artificial tree. But not just any fake tree. We had people who could not even tell the tree was fake last year. Now if I could just figure out how to get the scent of a real tree -and not that obnoxious fake tree smelling spray that gives me a headache. OK. Here goes. A tree for every room: Giant Livingroom Christmas Tree - Decorated with the nicest ornaments I have collected over the years, lots of cranberry beads and pinecones, my White House collectable ornaments and one ornament purchased special for each person each year. We also choose a family ornament from vacation to add to our tree. Upstairs Hall Tree - New addition this year. Why? Because we have room for it and I love everything decorated nicely for Christmas. The kids wanted a tree decorated in pinks but I don't. It will be traditional and carry on with my theme. Kitchen Tree - Smallish tree decorated with things for a kitchen, glass ornaments that look like candy, sticks of cinnamon, and small kitchen utensils. One of my favorite ornaments on this tree is the S'mores ornament. He is the cutest little thing! Three Bedroom Trees - Each girl has her own little tree. They decorate them with miniature ornaments they have collected or made themselves. I use the 20 light string and they leave them on at night like night lights. Two Bathroomn trees - Small countertop trees with little berries and white lights. Two Topiary Trees - On the front porch on either side of the front door decorated with white lights and poinsetta flowers. I only use white lights on all of my trees. I do not like colored lights. There is a wonderful elegance when using tiny white lights. Oh and no twinkle lights. I hate those, too. Along with the trees the children have christmas bedding, as do I. The bathrooms are bedecked with christmas towels and soap dishes and rugs. The mantle is decorated as are the stairs with lights and garland. Each door has a wreath. All of the windows that display to the public have wreaths with red ribbons. I have tablecloths, placemats, napkins and dishes that we use during the season. The kids have cups and saucers they use at breakfast and for snacks that keep them jolly and happy. I can't wait to buy small poinsettas to line our staircase with. I love coming in a front door and seeing a beautiful staircase dressed for the hoidays. I have one tacky display item that is usually on the back porch and the kids love it. It is one of those lighted outline thingies and in the dark it looks like Rudolph -complete with red nose. How many trees do you decorate? What color lights do you prefer?

And I love rainy days. This past long weekend has been a real treat for me. It was cool and overcast, the heavens opening off and on to shower us with liquid sunshine. It was the best! Steven took the holiday off. J. was out of school and with us. The only bad thing was Gracie having to go to school yesterday and having to get up at 6:30am. Once we got Gracie off to school, the rest of us had breakfast. Colby reminded me she needed graph paper. The only place in this rural county to buy it is at Walmart. We all piled into the Excursion and went to Walmart with a stop at Lowe's to get supplies for me to paint J.'s room. While at Walmart, Steven was looking at whatever it is that men look at, I took a few minutes to browse the Christmas decorations being put out. Hate me if you want for Christmas shopping but Christmas is my most favorite time of the year and I spend months beforehand planning and getting ready for it. The staircase railings in this house are much larger than at the townhouse so I needed more garland and lights for the upstairs banisters as well as the railings. I needed a large wreath form for over the fireplace as well as a different centerpiece since this mantle is very thin. I also picked up premade outdoor red ribbons for the 14 wreaths I bought a couple months ago for the outside windows that face the public view of the house. Steven wanted to get a stocking for the new baby but I was totally against it. The baby won't be born at Christmas and I feel it is wrong and tempting fate to hang a full stocking. We made a compromise. I agreed for him buy to a teeny tiny red stocking just as a momento. I needed several hundred lights for the Christmas tree for the upstairs hallway and new lights for the small trees each of the girls have in the bedrooms at Christmas. I have collected Christmas tree ornaments for over 20 years. Every room in my house has a decorated tree. I tend to stick to the same theme of rustic country. I love pinecones and cranberry beads. Handmade victorian ornaments and souvenirs from places we visit. So anyway, back to yesterday ... When we got back home Steven and I watched a movie (I, Robot) and then he took a nap. I was determined to find my fall wreath for the front door and headed up to the attic. Once there I realized that I should NEVER send Steven up there for anything. Things had been pulled from boxes and left laying in stacking. Things I had organized into like items had been knocked over and moved. It was a total wreck up there. I did not intend to spend the entire afternoon cleaning out the attic but that is exactly what I did. I started sorting and stacking like things together, putting in nails for some items to hang on and repacking a few boxes that should have never been opened. Within an hour Colby came up and started helping. Soon after up came Steven. One thing you don't want is for Steven to help. Not only does he make a bigger mess he gets all crazy and acts hog wild and starts shoving and throwing things around and not being careful. I asked him several time to leave and he wouldn't. Well in his flamming around he managed to drop a heavy thing on his foot and you can imagine how he was then. Actually it is quite funny watcing him be a caveman and laughing just makes it worse but sometimes you just have to laugh. It took about 3 hours to get things done up there but it was time well spent. Before there was a tiny path to one side of the attic. Now, I have cleared all the empty boxes and mess that should have been thrown away when we moved and nearly half the attic is open space and not full of junk. I dare anyone to go up and pull out things. I did bring down my maternity clothes for winter. I washed them too. They are in the dryer. I had forgotten what beautiful clothes they are. My friend, the retired clothing designer for whom I was a surrogate, made every piece. Custom made and designed for my pregnant body out of material she had collected from all over the world. I had forgotten about all of the beautiful silk scarves and ties. Not any of that frou frou bows and junk that make pregnant women look like little girls or hippies. Elegant peices that can be worn in day and dressed up to wear in the evening. Not too formal not too casual, just right. I found my fall wreath and it is hanging on the front door. I'll take a photo and post it this week. Christmas Preparations: (I try to be finished in October with all gift purchases) I have finished my Christmas baskets. My mother and my sister and her family have recieved their Christmas gifts. They recieved all of their boxes last month. MommaK the BBQ sauce is excellent. I know everyone will enjoy it as part of their baskets. I have purchased any new decorations I think I will need. I do not plan to buy anything else -except maybe lights. I hate when you are in the middle of decorating and you find a set of light have bit the dust. I have a list of what Santa will be bringing and have my eye on several items I plan to pick up this week. I also will be ordering our Christmas cards this week. I still have so much to do! Christmas decorations go up the weekend following Thanksgiving. That is a little over a month away. After that I have to focus on my baking and cooking. I think I need some elves to help pull this off this year. I wonder how much energy I will have at month 8 of this pregnancy. Gracie was born the week before Christmas on the 17th. She was due on the 24th but my doctor let me choose to induce so we would all be home for Christmas. I was the only patient he had due to deliver for the entire month. So among the Christmas preparations, I have also an 8 year old birthday party to plan for. I have gotten several gifts already and those are tucked away, too. And yourself? Do you prepare far in advance for a perfect Christmas season? Man, this is a rambling and scattered post. I am having trouble focusing with everything I have planned swirling in my mind this morning.

I woke up this morning with a desire for biscuits and milk gravy. For good measure I also cooked up some sausage, eggs and grits. A southern breakfast perfect for sunday morning. I only ate the biscuit and gravy part and a glass of weak orange juice. (I hate thick juice and always cut it by half with cold water.) I don't think I will ever achieve the level of biscuit making that my grandmother and mother reached long before they were my age. Biscuits was a supper time staple and were cooked every single day in my years of growing up. Now they are a treat. This is how I make the most Perfect Buttermilk Biscuits: 2 cups all purpose flour (I only use King Arthur unbleached) 1 tsp salt 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 cup crisco shortening (butter won't make a perfect biscuit) 3/4 cup buttermilk Sift the dry ingredients together. With your fingers or a fork or a pastry cutter, cut in the shortening until it looks like crumbles. Make a well in the center and pour in the buttermilk. Mix well with your hands until a sticky dough forms. Turn out on a floured surface and sprinkle a little flour over top to keep everything from sticking. Fold the dough over 3 or 4 times then roll or pat out too a 3/4 to 1 inch thickness. Using a 3 inch biscuit cutter or even the floured rim a glass, cut out your biscuits. With the scrap dough fold it back together as few times as possible and roll it out again and cut more biscuits. Brush tops with melted butter. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven until golden brown (15 - 22 mins). Note: Some people add 1 tbsp sugar to their biscuits but I do not. This is not traditional. Biscuits should only be sweet if they are being made for a shortcake or sweetroll type dessert. Take this same dough recipe and add a hand full of raisins and pecans and brown sugar and cinnamon. Bake as above. While piping hot drizzle over top a thick slurry of confectioners sugar mixed with a little milk. Excellent treat for a sweet roll breakfast or evening snack. I know many people do not keep buttermilk in their refrigerator as staple any more. There is a product in the baking aisle where you find the baking powder and soda. It is a powdered form of buttermilk with a long shelf life. This is a substitute I would suggest to keep on hand for the rare moments when you need buttermilk in a small quantity. (However, I wouldn't go so far as to try make a real red velvet cake with it. You must have the real thing.) Milk Gravy Milk gravy is easy enough to make but it takes practice to time the flour and the milk just right so it doesn't look brownish or grey or lumpy and too thick. Look around your grocery store for Southeastern Mills Peppered Milk Gravy Mix. This is the next best thing to homemade. It is also the same gravy you can use for country fried steak with milk gravy. This far north (hahaha Upper and Middle Virginia) it is hard to find certain brands. When I find them I usually buy 6 or 12 of each and store them for later. Things I store include: Southeastern Mills gravy products, Duke's Mayonnaise, Castleberry's Hotdog chili, Deep South pickles, B&M baked beans ... oh the list could go on so long. I should show you my storage closet in the mudroom. It is crammed full of things not found easily up here where we live. Anyone know where I can pick up Trappey's peas with hot peppers?

I was tagged by Kate for this meme. Ten years ago ... my body was still recovering from being a surrogate mother. 9 months after the birth by hips were still sore and tender from all the shots from the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. I was given 2cc's of progesterone packed in oil every day. It was like shoving syrup into your muscle tissue. Five years ago ... I was getting a divorce after 14 years of marriage. One year ago ... I was still a newly wed and had just ordered our new bedroom suite. Yesterday ... I watched the rain alot and read. It was one of those quiet rainy days where you just laze around and enjoy the moments. 5 songs I know all the words to: 1. I Want To Dance With You - George Strait 2. Easy Come Easy Go - George Strait 3. Write this down - George Strait 4. Margaritaville - Jimmy Buffett 5. Chattahoochee - Alan Jackson 5 Snacks: 1. Belgian Chocolates 2. Chocolate Cake 3. Celery, brocolli and grape tomatoes with ranch dip 4. Cheese nips 5. Coke with lime (I am not drinking diet coke now and rarely regular coke. I read a report that the artificial sweetner in many products causes infant injury AND can produce symptoms of lukemia. It frightened me!) 5 things I would do with 100 million dollars: 1. Set up a trust for each of the girls so that there would be money for even their grandchildren to be able to live well and be well educated. 2. Pay off my mortgage, my mother's mortgage and my sister's mortgage. 3. Set up a trust so my mother and sister would never have to worry about money and bills. 4. Buy Steven a helicopter because he would not quit his job. He would probably work for free. The helicopter would let him commute without all the traffic and hassel. 5. Tithe at least 10%. 5 places I would runaway to: 1. Italy 2. Fiji 3. Home 4. The Georgia Coast 5. The Netherlands 5 things I would never wear 1. blue eyeshadow 2. african diamonds 3. bikini 4. coral lipstick 5. charlie perfume 5 favorite books/TV shows 1. To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee 2. Sonnets From the Portuguese - Elizabeth Barret Browning 3. The Taming of the Shrew - Shakespear 4. Gone With The wind book and movie - Margaret Mitchell 5. Star Gate SG-1 5 greatest joys 1. Colby 2. Gracie 3. Steven 4. J. 5. This new baby inside me 5 favorite toys 1. My laptop 2. Digital camera 3. I am a PSP junky 4. My windows machine 5. My linux machine Current Reads The Widow of the South Return to Peyton Place The Rules: 1. Go into your archive. 2. Find your 23rd post. 3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to). 4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions. 5. Tag five other people to do the same. 23rd post "She passed away last September and nobody calls me by those names, no one is allowed to, except for my Steven and that's only because he provides me with things like money and food and internet service that is NOT dial-up." 5 people to do this meme I think everyone except CountryMom has done these memes. So I am tagging her and anyone else who wants to do it.

13 Super Sweet Morsels about Angie 1. I think I want/am ready for a seasonal change for the look of this journal. Updated - I did it. I changed my theme just for Halloween. This is a pinup girl by Gil Elvgren. I prefer Vargas but he doesn't have a halloween pinup that I have seen or have in my book. Vargas will be next month and the month after. 1a. I always wanted to be a Vargas girl. 2. Steven is working from home today and we are sitting together working quietly on our laptops. 3. I am waiting for one item to be delivered and Gracie's room will be finished. Due to this holding pattern I am having trouble starting the next room because the nagging "not finished" keeps at me and I just can't start that room until Gracie's is totally complete. 4. I am proud of Colby. She has a solid A average in all of her classes. 5. Warmth and humidity has returned to Virginia and I am not real happy about it. 6. I had planned to go up to the attic and pull out my maternity clothes of long pant and long sleeved shirts but it is so warm now I am not at all motivated to go up there and drag them out and wash them all. That sounds very lazy. 7. Nearly everything I have eaten in the past 3 days has given me heartburn -even a glass of water. 8. I am having a sonogram on the afternoon of the 19th. I hope they can tell what the sex is. 9. The handyman did not come last week. He called and will come this week. 10. Our little Koi pond seems to be a very healthy and thriving ecosystem. We have many tiny little fishes swimming around in there now. I think next spring we will have to get rid of many fish. 11. I am trying to decide wether or not to cut my hair. It is very long, past mid-back. Or should I wait until after the baby comes and go for that new mom needs a new look phase? 12. Have I ever told you I love old cemeteries? I used to do headstone rubbings and have one (somewhere) of my 9th great-grandmother. 13. Wow, I made it to thirteen and it was harder than ever to come up with 13 things. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. Leanne 2. MommaK 3. Kate 4. Interstellar Lass Leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

Thirteen things is all I ask for, and what do you get in return? Linkage! If you do it, leave a comment here and link me to your Thursday Thirteen. I will be sure to update my entry with links to yours, and then you can continue the chain if you like! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
I followed the link from MommaK and her addition to Thursday 13.

When first I went searching for an OB-GYN it was because of need of prenatal care. Having moved to Virginia the year previous looking for a GYN wasn't real high on my list of priorities and I guess I was still hanging on to my doctor in Georgia -whom I love! Best. Doctor. Ever. So I went through the list of prefered prividers on our insurance company's website and chose a doctor realitively close to home. Many of my options were more than 40 miles away and didn't make sense to have to drive that far every month or to have to use the hospital they were affiliated with which was even farther from my home. In the very beginning I was very happy with the doctor I chose and it appeared we would get the best of both worlds -an M.D. and a midwife. With each visit the doctor did very little to endear himself to me. At first I wrote it off as me being fussy and not wanting to be there in the first place. Perhaps his attitude was somehow a reflection of my inner feelings. I am of the pioneer way of thinking, pregnancy isn't an illness and if everything is ok there is no need of constant doctor appointments when there is no indication of need that often. When I had Colby it was common to see the doctor only every other month unless problems occurred. Which was fine with me. I have never had any problems with a pregnancy. My doctor in Georgia once laughed at how boring a patient I was because my pregnancies were so completely uneventful. On my first visit he did a vaginal exam to diagnose the pregnancy, not a blood test. Just a physical exam. At this visit I met the mid-wife and she was present during the exam. He was very rough physically. She seemed not to notice. She even tried to convince me she was the expert and I knew nothing about pregnancy. In which I cut her off short and told her I had far more experience in this department than she realized and to not speak to me as if I was a teenage mother. On my second visit he insisted on another vaginal exam and he hurt me physically by seeming to shove the speculum in and when I told him he was hurting me greatly he took it out and put it in the second time with more force. Afterwards I called Steven in tears. I think he was pissed off because when asked if I wanted a nurse in the room during the exam I said of course I do. No doctor in his right mind would do internal exams without a nurse present but this doctor seemed to think it was optional and I even heard a sarcastic remark outside the door before he came in. He found it ridiculous that a patient would want a nurse present. Also the nurse-midwife was no where to be seen. If she was one who possibly would be delivering why wasn't she present? I brushed this off albeit with hesitation when Steven suggested another doctor by the third visit but from past experience I know doctors don't like to take a new patient on mid-pregnancy. I decided to tough it out with this doctor hell or high water. The next visit he made a comment in a very rude back handed insult way about my weight. The next visit when I was having trouble with my hands he said, "What do you want me to do about it? I am not an orthopedist." I said no you aren't but most other specialist won't see a woman who is pregnant without a consult or a referral from the OB. He told me in short order to handle it myself, it wasn't his specialty and walked out. This was during the time when my hands were such painful agony it was impossible to sleep. The next visit I had an ear infection. He took the scope off the wall and shoved it into my ear and it was so painful I thought I was going to cry. He did not use one of those disposable covers either. He told me he was not an ENT and there was nothing he could do for me. He seemed to think as long as he listened to the babies heart beat he had done his job. He is a rude old man lacking compassion of any sort. Yesterday Colby went with me to the doctor appointment because she wanted to hear the baby's heartbeat. The doctor came in and promptly told her to get out of his way. She was sitting in the chair at the head of the exam table clearly out of the way. Both sides of the table was open for him to stand yet he insisted he needed to be in the exact spot she was. This pissed me off but I held my tongue. As he searched around to find the baby's heartbeat the baby kept moving away. You could see the physical exasperation on his face and the more the baby moved the tighter his jaw got and the more impatient he became. He got very rude and short spoken with me. He managed to hear the heartbeat for about 3 beats and considered himself finished. During this entire pregnancy I have been very careful about my weight. My blood pressure is perfect. I have nothing whatsoever to be concerned with. Everything is normal and the baby is growing and thriving. Yesterday the scale said I had gained two (2) pounds since the beginning of the pregnancy (I am almost 5 months now). He was nasty and rude and acted like I had gained 202 pounds. He talk to me in such a way it was humilating and in front of Colby. I was so completely shocked and taken aback I couldn't even speak. He signed my chart said I'll see you in 4 weeks and walked out. WTF?!?!?! I am a firm believer that the best revenge is hitting a smartass straight in the pocketbook when possible. I came home contacted my insurance company. I went through the list of other providers and found one a little farther away but not too far and secured myself an appointment as a new patient. It took me several doctors and explaining the situation but I will be going to another physician and one whom I hope will be much better. Maybe it is because I have seen the same OB-GYN for the past 15 years. Maybe it is because I come from a region of Georgia with one of the best medical colleges and teaching hospitals to be found and the doctors know their stuff and competition in the private practice world is stiff. Maybe people in this area of Virginia are so accustomed to being treated like shit they don't know they are not getting good health care. Whatever the reason I have NEVER experienced such backhanded health care. Another thing that baffles me and pisses me off is if he expects his patients to willingly place themselves in the hands of a midwife why isn't she present during the patient exams? I am still in such emotional turmoil I don't really know what to say here. I am just going to end it now and take a deep cleansing breath knowing I will be seeing another doctor in a couple of weeks. ******* Lucinda, the wreath was simple to make. I chose the ornamental fall leaves, apples and pumpkins from the fall discount bin. Some of them were on stems pre-wired. I bought a $2 straw wreath form and bent the stems to curve and wrapped them tightly with floral wire to secure them in place. After I had gone completely around the wreath shape I then went back and added things to fill in the gaps. It took me about an hour and $12 of floral supplies from Walmart. Hot glue would work but if it hangs where sun will shine on it for most of the day the glue might melt. I would suggest a really high melt temp glue as opposed to the low temp hot glue.

My name is listed over at Vicki's. I take that to mean she wants me to do this meme. So here goes: 7 things I plan to do before I die: 1. See my children grown 2. and financially stable 3. and educated 4. and married 5. with grandchildren 6. Visit Italy 7. finish this house 7 things I can do: 1. cook 2. crochet 3. grow stuff 4. read 5. listen 6. reason 7. forgive 7 things I cannot do: 1. sing 2. keep my house spotless :-( 3. build things myself 4. tear out and replace my bathroom 5. pretend certain things never happened 6. see without my glasses 7. forget 7 things that attract me to the opposite sex: 1. Intelligence (the mind is the sexiest part of the body!) 2. sense of humor 3. proper respect 4. manners 5. know when and when not to behave 6. hands 7. great smile with nice teeth 7 things that I say most often: 1. I love you, Steven 2. I love you, Colby 3. I love you, Gracie 4. I love you, J. 5. Don't let the kitten in 6. What did I just say? (to the kids when they ignore being told to do a chore) 7. good morning / good night 7 celebrity crushes: 1. George Strait 2. George Strait 3. George Strait 4. George Strait 5. George Strait 6. George Strait 7. George Strait 7 people I want to see do this meme: 1. Mommak 2. Raehan 3. Lucinda 4. Judy (kenju) 5. Hoss 6. Country Mom 7. Laura

Today and tomorrow is my dear friend Hoss' 75th Birthday. Yes, he gets to have 2 birthdays. I was thinking about how long 75 years is: 3/4th of a century 7 1/2 decades 900 months 3,913 weeks 27,394 days 657,462 hours 39,447,728 minutes 2,366,863,682 seconds With all the candles on his birthday cake we could boil a cup of water! 8.69 ounces to be exact. His birthday tree is the Hazelnut Tree which says this about him:

Extraordinarily Charming, undemanding, very understanding, knows how to make an impression, active fighter for social cause, popular, moody and capricious lover, honest and tolerant partner, precise sense of judgement

I don't know about you but I think this description suits him to a T. Please go over and give him great big birthday wishes. He is a busy man so put his birthday presents on the table, the cake in the kitchen and the beer in the refrigerator -no cheap beer people, only the best for my buddy, Hoss. Text version of the audiolog I would post if I could sing:

Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday, dear Gene! Happy Birthday to you! -And many moooooore!

Go here to see my buddy dancing on his birthday. Happy Birthday, Gene!!! ******* Here are a few of my projects I am very slowly starting and trying to finish for fall. This wreath hangs on the side door. We use this entrance to the house from the driveway. Everyone comes in through this door and into the kitchen to enter the house. I made this wreath out of really cheap findings at Walmart. Maybe $12 total to make. I like that much better than some of the $50 wreaths I have seen. I have another wreath I made last fall for the front door. It is in the attic. In a box. We haven't found it yet. I wonder if we will ever unpack all the boxes we moved in with. I am thinking the box it is in got mixed in with all of my Christmas decorations. Oh, No! There are at least 40 of those boxes! I planted these mums. I love orange and red mums and hate those bright yellow ones. I need some pumpkins and hay and turkies to finish out my decor. This is my house in October. If not for the mums it looks the same as August. Cool weather has finally come to Virginia this week. Our morning lows are creeping into the 40's and the daily highs are in the 60's and 70's. It was down right chilly yesterday afternoon! I had opened the upstairs windows and the downstairs doors to let the breeze blow through and freshen the house -I hate a closed in smell from running a/c all summer. By 5:30 we all had chill bumps and Miss HotNature herself (Gracie) went looking for her slippers and sweat pants. If the temperature drops a little more we'll be able to start a fire in the new fireplace insert! I find that so exciting! P.S. I am updating my reading log today! I have found some great new reads! Or they found me first and I went to check them out and stayed.