Birthday Soup

My mom always has each one her kids and spouses a birthday dinner. We either go out or she cooks. Everyone prefers her to cook. Depending on how she feels we do one or the other.

My husbands birthday was in October but with delayed beach trips and some sicknesses, the dinners kept being put off. Mom finally fit a dinner in this past weekend. 

She always asks us what type of meal we want and what kind of dessert. My brothers and sisters usually request a southern meal complete with mash potatoes and gravy. Nick decided he wanted to be different and he requested soup and salad. This was a perfect choice since half of everyone is watching their weight. However, the big boys in the family may have pouted up a little while looking for the fried chicken. But it was all good.

 

She made homemade vegetable soup and salad at his request and a cherry tarte for dessert.
I'm glad because cherry tarte is my favorite! He knew that {wink wink}.

However, I did put in another request. Cornbread. Yes! Nothing like dark crusted cornbread in an iron skillet.

Move over veggie soup, I had a taste for cornbread and milk.

Man I love this stuff! The cornbread has to be hot and the milk cant cover it. With each bite I get both warm and cold. 

I ate two bowls and of course I had a bowl of veggie soup and three helpings of cherry tarte. (Yes three).

For the record: I only gained two lbs. that weekend.

Eye Clinic- Rant

My insurance usually allows me one free routine eye exam each year. I have been going to the same Optometrist for a few years now but unfortunately he retired. Last year I met his replacement. Also a nice man.

This year I decided to give another eye clinic a try. I have heard a lot about this particular clinic as being voted best in town. So I made an appointment for a routine eye exam. I have no problems with my eyes except the age of them. Can you believe they have gotten older than me?

I'm sitting in the waiting area with many others. My chair seat is rather nasty. Maybe I should leave them my Stanley Steemer business card. 

Unlike the other eye clinic, this one had many front desk clerks. I'm sure each had a job to do. But as I wait, you can hear them giggling and cutting up. I'm not against having fun on the job but not where customers can hear you.

"Mrs.D.?" That's me.
I walk up the front desk.
"May I see your insurance card please? It will be a $25.00 copay and if we find a medical condition it will cost $50.00. You will pay on your way out".

I could see where this was going.

"Mrs.D?" That's me. "Come on back with me please".
I look into the machine at the tiny balloon as a puff of air shots into my eye. Assistant Betty gives me a spoon patch to hold over each eye as she does the eye chart thing with me.

I got all the answers right.

She then applies the eye drops to dilate my eyes and said "the doctor will be right with you.

"Hi Mrs.D, I'm Doctor L. Do you have any problems with your eyes today?"
"No sir, I'm just here for a routine visit to see if I need to go any stronger on my over the counter reading glasses".
He shined a light into my eyes. "Oh you have allergies I see".
I replied: "Yes, I do. I take Allegra for that and my eyes feel fine".
He suggested that I have dry eyes and gave me a name for a good over the counter eye drop.

I've already misplaced it.

"Your all done. Your eyes look good. I do not suggest a prescription lens. Just continue with the 1.50 reading glasses you can get at a local drug store." Then he shows me the way to check out.

At check out:
"Hi Mrs. D. That will be $50.00 for today".
I replied, "I don't think so! Everything was fine."
"Well you have an eye condition". She said.
"What kind of eye condition?" As I look at her like shes crazy.
"Whatever the doctor told you". She replied.
I spoke with more concern, "All he said was that my eyes were fine and he saw signs of allergies."
The clerk then says, "Well that's a condition!"

Lets just say, I got that dropped by talking to management and walked out only paying the $25.00 copay that I thought was going to be a "free" visit. I got home and looked up my insurance plan and sure enough, This year, they tacked on a $25.00 copay. As if 500.00 a month is not enough!
Oh well. That's fine. It is what it is.

I know an extra $25.00 may not seem like much to argue about but I'm tired of everyone taking my money. I pay a lot for insurance and have never gotten a prize out of it. It pisses me off. They need to do something about these places trying to rip people off to make money for their pockets.

Extra $25.00 because I have allergies? NO!
I will not go back to this place and will continue my next visits at my regular eye clinic. At least there, they don't have an assistant doing all the work. The Optometrist actually sits down and takes his time looking at my eyes.

Rant over.

Towel Bear

Christmas is coming sooner than you think. It will sneak up on us before we are ready.

Do you need a quick gift Idea that is really cheap, useful, easy to make and you can create it in less than 3 minutes? Then keep reading.

I'm going to share with you this really cute Idea I found online. Nope this one is not my own. I just do not have anything else to write about today so I'm gonna share this cute little "Towel Bear" I made.

You will need:
1- Hand towel. (I got mine at Walmart for .98 cent).
3- Hair ties. ( you can use rubber bands but the hair ties can be re-used on hair).
1- Ribbon.

Click HERE for a video showing you how to fold the towel and make this adorable little teddy bear.

 

 

Just add a lotion, soap, hand sanitizer, gift card, candy, etc to the bear and you will have a useful gift in a spur of the moment that they are sure to love.

These would make great gifts for teachers, employees, neighbors, secret pals, friends or even homeless shelters. They would also be great gifts for your college students.

Everything in this craft can be put to use. The best thing about it is, it requires NO sewing or glue.
You do not even have to be crafty. You just need to know how to tie a bow.

Mountain Fires

There have been eighty major wild fires burning across the Southeast. Eighteen of those fires are in the North Carolina Mountains. Those mountains have been burning since October 23rd. 

 

"Lake Lure"

The winds have been up and we have not had rain in about thirty-five days now. According to the weather view, there are no chances of rain at least for another week. 

 

Its dry, its windy.

We now have a "no burn" ban going on all around the area. Though I live aproximatly a hundred miles from these mountains, we are almost smothered by the smell while the smoke is filling the air. Its hazy and smoggy. The air quality in my area is at Orange. 

I pray we get some rain soon, especially in the mountains of North Carolina.

(Photos were found on social media)

I Want a Bar

I have been doing some wishful thinking. Actually it seems like the only thinking I've been doing lately.

Everyone in my house hold, all two of us, love coffee. But when family and friends visit, they also are big coffee drinkers. My daughter is one of the worst. I blame her maw maw and paw paw for that as they would give her coffee when she was a baby. So shes been hooked for a while. Ha!

I want a coffee bar. Yes please.

All I need is an empty wall, or space on a counter. I actually have a single corner counter space that would work perfect. Its where our microwave currently sits.  If I can talk the husband into letting me rearrange the kitchen appliances, I could make a coffee bar work. 

Below is are some examples I fell in love with.  Enjoy.

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OK that's enough for now. Cant ya just smell the Joe brewing?

Move over Starbucks!

source

GO VOTE!

Today is November 8th. Voting day! Get out there and vote! Its your right. Its a privilege. Your vote DOES count!

Polls are open / Comments are closed.
Please come back tomorrow!!!

Granny Square Shrug

It's been a while since Ive posted any of my latest crochet projects. I've made quite a few special orders for pet toboggans from my shop. I can whip one of those up in no time. I use the money I earn from my shop to help purchase Christmas gifts for my family.

I wanted a project to do that I could work on a little each night after I settle down to my heated recliner and watch TV.  Something I didnt have to rush with. 

Ok confession: If I dont do something while I watch TV then the TV works as a lullaby and I fall a sleep.

So. I have been wanting to make something for myself. Every year I create something for me. It might be a scarf, a hat, or slippers. But this time, I wanted to take a shot at a bigger project. I seen this granny square cocoon shrug on Pinterest and I wanted to give it a try. 

Here is the one online that inspired me.

 

Though granny squares are the first thing crocheters will learn, its the last thing I've learned and still not sure if I'm doing it right. 

So I ran up to Hobby Lobby and grabbed three skeens of yarn and started working on this shrug. I didnt use a pattern. I just read a few instructions. Basically its just a process of crocheting a large square then sew the sides together to make arm holes. Simple huh? Been working on it since August. Ha. Yea, I kept putting it down, turning my interest on other things because I get bored doing the same stitch and color for a long period of time. I have a total of about four hours into making this shrug. 

Last night I finally decided to finish it up. 

Here is the one I made:

 

I think it turned out pretty good. It hangs below my pant pockets and is snuggly and warm. Its just not quite my style really, but I may end up using it. Im thinking maybe it will go with my boots and jeans.

I even made a hat to match.

Next project: I plan to make a baby blanket for a niece due in March.



I've shared this post at these great parties:
Cooking & Crafting with J&J/
Inspire me monday
amaze me monday
yarn fanatic party

EyeLoveKnots

Growing Old Together

I sit here in my recliner watching tv while I crochet. I look over at my sweet husband. His once long dark hair and thick dark beard has now turned the colors of salt and pepper. He catches me staring at him and we both smile at each other, blow little kisses and wink. Then continue watching TV.  He is still as handsome as he ever was.

I have a gray hair in my eye brow and a wild hair on my chin. "I need to fix that", I whispered in the mirror. He peers into the bathroom where im standing, we give each other a wink and a smile. He continues down the hall. He doesnt even notice the new wrinkle I just found around my nose.

I squat down to get a pan from under the lower cabinate. My knees don't cooperate as I struggle to get up. Before I reach for the counter, his hand is there to help me up. We look at each other and giggle, a stroke on the check, a wink and we carry on with cooking. 

His shoulder aches from years of working, I go to get him a tylenol. They were pushed somewhere between the daily vitamines and blood pressure pills. "Wheres the aspercream? He asks. "I dont remember where I put it", I said as I slipped on my glasses. He rolls his eyes, I shrug my shoulders and we go on a search. Found it.

Its time for bed, our bones sound like popcorn as we make our way to the bedroom. Hes goes ahead of me as I stop to brush my teeth. He's hiding somewhere down the hall. He will jump out and try to scare me, then we will race to the bed laughing and giggling. We will lay there and joke about our day, fight over the covers and pick on each other before finally settleing down to go to sleep. We forget we are not 21 anymore as we tire out easily at the end of the day. As I scoot in close to him, I say, "awwwe we are growing old together", he replys with, "yep, just like we wanted to do" . 

Good night.

Election Is Near

In a few more days we will have a new President elected. 

This has to be the craziest, most corrupt election I have ever seen. I'm sure dishonesty and unfairness have been around in the debates for ages. Maybe its just that I'm paying more attention to this one.

I can not believe the way these two candidates are tearing the world in half. Most people have no clue why they are voting one over the other rather than what the media feeds into their heads. It's like they are watching a boxing match and getting a thrill off the punches! 

I wish people would really stop and think about what these candidates believe in, what they plan to do for Amercia. 

The biggest change I hope for will be with insurance. I currently pay 500.00 a month for health insurance and still cant afford to get sick because my deductable is so high. Its going up 100.00 more dollars next year. I could get a break on the price if I worked less and brought home less. Something just aint right with this set up. I feel like they want to force people to live off the Government and thats a disaster in the making. 

I also dont want American run in the ground, the flags burned, guns taken away and fear of speaking Gods name. I want our boarders protected and start getting things cleaned up around here. 

The world right now is so morally messed up where sin is awarded and glamorized and your a hater if you dont like it.

Sadly I fear neither candidate will make it to a term. Call it a conspiracy theory but I think this. I think BO has a something sneaky up his sleeve no matter who gets elected. It's going to be interesting thats for sure.

Now, get out there and vote. Pray about the future. Give it some deep thought. There is no wrong or right person to vote for. Dont let the media persuade you who to vote for. Listen to their plans. Make smart choices thats best for you and America. 

Good luck on your choice and may the best Man win.

Happy Halloween

Ive had a pretty fun Halloween this year even though the most fun was when my girl was little. Now that shes grown, it just takes the fun out of it.

 Me and my Husband usually dont celebrate Halloween. Until this year, the last Halloween party we attened was a church fall festival, probably fifteen years ago. This year we were invited by our neighbors to their "Hallowedding". It was definately a different kind of wedding.

But first, my costume reveal. If you follow me on facebook or Twitter, you've probably already seen it.

You guys had some good guesses at my costume. BJ was the closest. She was just one TV channel away from guessing. Go check out her blog. You will fall in love with her.

Are you ready to see who I am?

"Im creepy and Im kooky, 

mysterious and spooky,

Im all together ooky.........

I'm Wednesday Addams!!

 

Pretty funny huh?

Back to the wedding. Everyone came dressed up. There were clowns, super heros, draculas and witches to name a few. There was dancing and lots of food. The wedding was held in my old Middleschool gym. Cramerton Jr. High is also where the bride and groom attended. They chose this place because its where they met many years ago and fell in love. Though both went their seperate ways, married and had went on with life. They reunited a couple years ago and realized they still loved each other. Some love story huh?.

Here is the photo of the Mr. and Mrs.

And the cake

We had good time. Nick dressed tacky for the wedding and fit right in. I was excited that he went all out for this halloween shin dig. Like I said before, this is out of our comfort zone. 

While standing in the food line, they played the Addams Family song and everyone turned and looked at me. With a serious face, I did the finger snaps on cue....hahaha, its all I had. 

Here we are together. The black lipstick was gone after I ate and forgot to bring the tube in with me. Shucks! It made up thirty percent of my costume. 

 

Me with the bride and groom.

 

I saw a few people I went to the Jr. high school with. The old gym brought back a lot of memories. From the smell of the polyurethane on the floors to the old cold brick walls. The school was closed down a few years ago and turned into apartments. A new Cramerton middle school has been built in new location. 

I have to go to work today but no costume. Ha. Later on, me and Nick will probably go out to dinner. We do not plan to hand out candy. Not many on our street open their doors for trick or treaters. We stopped handing out candy when the kids started comming in car loads from other neighborhoods, without costumes and holding pillowcases. Even the parents would ask for candy. 

However, I did make these treats for the neighbor kids. Chocolate covered pretzel sticks. I still have to add the finishing touches to the wrapping and they will be ready. 

.

What are your halloween plans?

Hope everyone has a spooktacular day!

Love,

Wednesday

 

Dress: GoodWill

Sock & Shoes: Gabes

Yarn Pigtails: My own yarn basket

MakeUp: Revlon

My Costume Is Ready

I do not usually dress up for Halloween other than throwing on a witch hat while handing out candy.
However, I have always come up with good creative, homemade costumes for my daughter. I never bought one from a store. Now that shes all grown up, I don't get to have that fun anymore. She will buy her costumes each Halloween and they include a lot less fabric than I would recommend.

Last year I played around and found something in my closet. I put it on long enough to get photo to share on Facebook just for the Halloween fun of it. I had put on a yellow raincoat, white socks and black shoes while holding a container of salt and umbrella. I was the Morton Salt girl. Pretty swell huh?

This year is different. I actually have somewhere to go this Halloween weekend which is mandatory to dress in a costume. Its a Halloween wedding. Yes A Halloween Wedding. Creepy huh? Way out of my comfort zone but me and the hubby have decided to attend. We have never in over 20 years went out wearing a costume! This could be fun.

I made a trip to the GoodWill thrift store. I love that place by the way.
I had intentions on dressing up like "Beetle Juice" but I could not find any black and white stripe pants or coat. So then my idea switched to dressing up like Peter Pan. I had brown leggings, and brown boots. All I had to find was a green tunic or short dress to cut up into this fantasy Disney Character. I even bought some felt to make a hat.

Then something else caught my eye that gave me a better idea. I will keep this one a secret until the reveal. I got all of the outfit I need at this GoodWill and It costed me all of  $7.00. I'm going to have fun dressing like this character. Using my creativity, I will add the finishing touches. Though I am not going to tell you who ill be just yet, I will give you a hint.

Its a prop I made using an old "Juice" bottle, printed label and some paint. I will be carrying this around with me at the wedding and actually drink out of it while I'm there too.

Can you guess who I am? (comment below).
I will reveal it in my next post.

Almost Halloween

Halloween is just around the corner. Every year the question arises, "What day will the kids be trick or treating"? Saw an article in the paper just today. Supposedly its better or worst to observe Halloween on certain days of the week with parents working, schools in session and church activities going on.

Really?

I don't know about yall, but when I was a kid, Halloween was Halloween. One Day! October 31st. It did not matter what day of the week it fell on. If it fell on a Sunday then us heathens would go after church.
Our church does a "trunk or treat" each Halloween. The grown ups decorate their car trunks with a theme and hand out candy and church tracks. Its a safe place for kids around here to grab candy and a blessing all at the same time.

Go after dark.

That's another thing. Kids come out too early. Wait til its dark! Its more goolish that way and the parents have time to get home from work and get the candy bowls ready.

Those that do not like Halloween will not hand out candy or go out dressed up no matter what day of the week it is so just let those little devilish, candy hungry goblins enjoy Halloween on Halloween.

Meanwhile, I'm going to enjoy a little boo peep in my cocoa.

 

October Beach Weekend

Well as im typing this, I'm on the road heading home. We had a great time at the beach this weekend. It was a nice get away. The campground was recuperating from Hurricane Matthew but it did not effect us.

We did a lot of walking as usual. While I was waiting for my duck friends to gather around for breakfast, I  caught a shot of a spider web with the morning dew glistening off the silk. 

The weather was nice. It was in the high 70's most of the days dipping into the 50's at night. We didnt use our camper heat, but we did plug in the electic heater for the last night as it got a little too cool for my comfort. 

While walking down the beach, I caught a glimps of a fountain on the beach where the tide was washing in. 

I never seen this before. 

 

It also made a loud bubbly sound. Pretty cool huh?

We sat in our chairs a while and watched these fishermen getting drunk and having a good time. It was the only entertainment we had at the hour.

 

One of them was shooting his rod off with a homemade cannon thing.

 

The only mishaps we had was a soft spot in the corner of the roof. We got a crew coming to pick it up next week and repair it before its starts causeing problems. While they have it, they will seal our roof, and windows and get her cleaned up. That put an ouch in the wallet. 

The other problem we incountered was while pulling the slide in, a breaker tripped and caused it to stall before getting all the way in. Since the fuse box was in the back bedroom and the slide was blocking that door way, I had to climb through the underneath storage and up through the back bed enough to get a window open. Then climbed in. Good thing I'm small huh? While these things aggravate my husband, I get laugh out of it and make it a fun experience. Ya know, that rebal feeling you had when you were a teenager?

Now its back to work counting the days until our next trip which will not be until March. We will have a new president by then!!! Hopefully a Mr. President.

Beach Finally

After our plans were flooded last week from hurricane Matthew, we finally got down here around noon.

Everything was well with our camper. Its 87 degrees and sunny. There were men working on getting the dunes back that were washed away.

 

Nick prepared for damages and bought new vent covers for the top before we left. He was thinking IF we needed them, the supplys would be hard to find down here with all the damage. He thinks like that. Always expects the unexpected. Not me, I keep an optimistic view on things. But there have been times that im glad he was thinking ahead. 

Since he had to climb on top of the camper to assess any damages, he went ahead and replaced one of the vents that was old. He also did some caulking around the seams as he seen a corner that was needing some attention. Again, thinking ahead.

While he was working on the roof, I got the car unloaded, food put away, sheets on the bed and made a few tomato sandwiches for lunch.

When I was finished, I sat back in the chair and looked across the park. It was rather empty as I gazed across to some newly built houses beside the campground. I thought about how nice it would be to own one of those. Then I noticed just a couple spots over, between me and my view, sat a vintage camper that I would also love to have. Then I thought, what if I was given the choice? That would be a tough one.

 

Now we are trying to stay awake to see the Orionid meteor shower that suppose to happen tonight. How cool that would be to see over the ocean. 

Cream Cheese Pumpkin Squares

I have to admit..."I'm not a big fan of pumpkin flavored foods". But I found this simple recipe that is out of this world....Well, I want go that far, but it is really good. 

I was in one of those moods to make something and I just happen to have all the ingredients to make this.

• 1 box angel food cake mix
• 1 15oz can Pumpkin
• 3/4 Cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 8oz pkg.cream cheese

I sat my cream cheese out for a couple hours while I went on a nice little walk with my husband. It was such a great evening to and I admired the beautiful leaves along the way.

Once the cream cheese was soft, I put it in a bowl and mixed it until creamy. I added a little water to help in this process.

In a separate bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Just look at that Angel food cake mix fizz!!!

Add half of the pumpkin mixture In a 9x13 (cooking sprayed) Pyrex and dabble some of the cream cheese on top. Repeat this process in layer with the other half of mixture and top again with cream cheese.

Use a butter knife and cut through and swirl around until you have a nice marble look. Then pop it in the oven for 35 minutes at 375 degree.

Finished! 

Just look at that yummy chunk of cream cheese in the center!

I'm one of those that can't wait to dig into a fresh cooked batch of anything. So I immediately cut into this and ate a piece. I was a little surprised that it was not as sweet as I expected and seemed a little gummy. So I let it set for a while to cool down and later, It was perfect. I cant wait to get another piece later. Its full of flavor and heavenly goodness!

Livermush

Livermush is a Southern United States food product composed of pig liver, head parts, and cornmeal. It is commonly spiced with pepper and sage. (Source).

If your not from the south, you probably have not eaten livermush. I love it fried thin and crispy. My daughter and husband prefer it thick and a little mushy in the middle. Either way you eat it, its good on bread. It sits beside the tomato or grilled cheese sandwich on a southern home table. Its good with eggs for breakfast too.

Today we left the house and headed to Shelby North Carolina for the annual livermush festival. I was going to get a good ole liver mush sandwich for lunch.

 

Not the case. When we got there, the streets were full of vendors, crafts, beer, dog shows and of course, yes, livermush stands. 

 

However, the lines were so long it would have been time for meal three before I would have gotten one. Im one of those that will not stand in a long line for something, though a livermush sandwich seemed worth it. 

 

We walked around a little bit then headed back into town. A little disappointed that I didnt get a livermush sandwich but its ok. I know places around town that can fry one up in a jiffy. Our high school used to sell it at the ballgames and it was a big hit.

One cool thing my husband bought at the festival was this t-shirt.

 

It has actually been dyed with North Carolina Red dirt. Hmmm. I knew that stuff would be good for something. I wonder how many Moms it took to figure this fad out?

Pretty cool huh.

Haha, my husband just said "are you really blogging about the livermush sandwich we didnt get?"

Change Of Plans

A week ago I figured I'd be snuggled up in my camper at the beach celebrating my Husbands birthday today. 

Thanks to hurricane Matthew, our plans had to change. The campground where our camper is stored will not let anyone in until Friday afternoon. That would cut our time in half. We are still unclear if there is any damage to the camper or not. They called those with sugnificant damage first and are still in the proccess of calling those with minor damage, we have not gotten a call so we assume no news is good news.

I went on into work. Now the plan is to go next week instead. I think that is a better choice any way. It could be crazy down there this week with everyone assessing the damages. 

After dinner, we went for our afternoon walk. I came across this bush. It was unusual but really pretty. Can anyone tell me what kind it is? I have no idea.

 

On down the road I spotted these Spider Lillies. We used to have these all over the yard at our previous house. I used to call them October flowers. Never found them to be pretty and would usually mow them down.

 

Seeing these made me think of how I miss that little house. 

After our walk, we celebrated his birthday with a plate of cake my sweet daughter brought him yesterday. We plan to make next weekend part of his birthday too. I plan to take him out to a restaurant of his choice and whatever else he wants to do. I can hardly wait to get my feet in the sand and keeping my fingers crossed we will not be patching up anything from the storm.