Anyone care for coffee and....? :-)

Glad the kitchen table is still open this late... I need a friendly face and a cup of tea. Nothing bad going on, just need human companionship, and not even any sweets. I did bring by a few more chocolate mint brownies and a few butter cookies for the rest of y'all.

My Kitched Aid was my mother's, 300 watts, and not very old nor abused. Sure wish it had a more powerful motor, although it preforms well for most jobs. No way would I try a bread dough. The motor would be gone in 2-3 minutes. I really want a Bosch like my cousin has but that's so far out of my budget it's rediculous.

Tea sounds good. I can always eat a butter cookie, but I'm not a dipper. Mints, yuck! Not for me.

I'm surprised you think the 300 wouldn't handle bread doughs. I thought it would. Sure makes me glad I got the 325. After burning out many small handle mixers, then a couple of higher priced Kitchenaid hand mixers, I was determined to get the biggest motor I could. I'm extremely pleased with mine. You know what else? my dh's cousin had a smaller one and she thought it was making funny noises. She called the company and told them and they said we'll send you a new one. She told them it was a couple of years out of warranty and they said that was okay. Just pack the old one in the new box when it comes, and return it. They even included a return label. Now that's customer service!!

When I do things like creaming butter and sugar, it does fine... as soon as I add flour, it labours, so I hate to think of kneading dough in it even though it came with dough hooks.

Maybe you should call them and ask what it should be able to do - could be there's something wrong with it.

mmm, hadn't considered that, but sounds like I should. Thanks.

Yep, Brenda...the weather up here is making that hot chocolate and whipped cream sound mighty 'spot on' at the moment. And I think I'll have one of those minty goodies to go with it.

Kooger! You got a heck of deal on your mixer! Congrats!

I've had my Kitchen aid for probably 20 years...it's a 300 (electric blue one) and I've made *heavy* bread doughs (Oh and lots of cookies, too) in it for years. It still sounds just like Emeril's. :-) I think they all sound like they're going to kick the bucket...very different from any mixer I ever before. Now if I could just find a food processor that would stand up to my weekly homemade pizza dough, I'd be a happy 'housewife' (yeah, right! :-D)

~julie~

Never thought I could relate to DH's More Power frame of mind, but I think we are just like the guys only with us it's kitchen tools not cars! My KitchenAid handles bread dough fine, but I kinda like kneading by hand (Take that you dastardly telemarketer!!) just for the tension release!! Sorry, no Rutabagas in my pasties, by the time I track them down here in a local market, the urge to bake would be over. Basic filling is diced (not ground) beef, preferably from a sirloin tip or fairly tender cut, potato and onion. mixed up in a bowl with a generous dose of salt and pepper. I rinse the diced potato well and also toss them in a kitchen towel to remove the excess water. Quantity of the ingredients is up for grabs...I've never had a real recipe, make them according to how many I need to feed. For the outside, it's just your basic pie dough. The pastry impaired could maybe use those supermarket premade circles but personally I'd rther eat dirt!. To make an single pasty, you roll out a circle of dough, place some of the filling on one side, fold the other side over it, and crimp the edges because they tend to leak. Bake at 375* for about an hour, longer if you've made really big ones, until they are nicely browned. We like chili sauce on them, but the standard is ketchup. They freeze well. This is pretty much a by guess and by gosh kind of recipe, like all family recipes, a hand full of this and a sprinkle of that, but you can't go far wrong since it's all pretty basic. I parially freeze the beef before I cut it, makes it easier to cut. Pasties make a mess out of your kitchen and take a while to do, but the results are worth it. I cut up too many spuds for yesterday's batch, so I've boiled the extra and plan to make gnocchi for tonight, while we watch the snow pile up. If you have any questions about this haphazard recipe, feel free to email me.....you might want to try making a small amount before you tackle them for a crowd....! Ugh, I just looked out the front door, gimme that coffee pot, this is gonna be along day!!

Good Morning Meezers , thanks for the info on the pasties.
~yawn~ ~stretch~ ~blink to clear eyes~ ~yawn again for good measure~
Can't see out the window here in my computer corner yet, but DH tells me we got a 'little' snow. The national weather site says we're supposed to get 5-9" here in southwest WI.

What do I have planned for tady? Glad you asked. (I think) Ummm, I'm not really sure. I think I'll start off with thinking about it over a second cuppa coffee. Hey Meezers, would pass the pot my direction? Oh goodness, no thanks, I'll pass on the plate of goodies, it's way too early in the morning for me to eat.

~julie~

Me too, my third cup, good thing it's decaf or I'd be bouncing off the walls. I'm not planning much for today, not going out, that's for sure. DD was going to come over and give Hobbes a shave, he's got mats on his back that I can't comb out. Lazy old boy, I'll have to keep an eye (or a comb) on him) from now on. He loves to be brushed or combed but I guess I got sidetracked with all the Christmas hullabaloo. Suspect he won't much like the shaving though!! I did laundry yesterday, and no other chores are screaming at me. Watered the droopy plants, poor things. Might drag out the carpet cleaner and do DH's den, which he tidied up for Christmas, and I can see the floor now.......ewwww.....LOL The rest of the day looks like easy chair/lap cats/new book .....Plows and salters are out but it's pretty gray and ugly out there. Bought myself a new Rowenta iron 'cuz my old one was spitting rust and gunk and nothing would clean it out. Tried vinegar...and CLR and Limeaway... Zip. Won't even put it in the Goodwill box and wish it on someone else. Didn't realize how bad it was until I tried the new one...woohoo, lotsa steam....now you know how dull my life is, getting excited about ironing!! LOL Sure wish I had my own computer back, that free check up isn't looking like such a good deal since it's forced me into the den and that is leading to carpet cleaning.....Dang that free virus scan anyhow!!

M5, you IRON? LOL, I seldom use my iron, maybe twice a year when I have to wear something other than jeans/shorts and tee shirts.

Way too early for me to eat too Julie, but I will have another cup of coffee, Thanks.

Good morning. I see you are all awake, drinking coffee and sampling goodies. I'm still surprised to see no cyber diets! I brought some sour cream coffee cake that my daughter in law made last night, yummy. But I made the mistake of eating a small piece of it with nothing else this morning, and in about half an hour I could tell that my blood sugar was falling fast, had to cook a couple of eggs and toast real fast to get myself back together. I still feel a bit shaky, and dumb, because I know better. I got into trouble yesterday morning too, went out to do my animal feeding before I ate breakfast, came in really shaky and was a little bit out of balance for most of the day. So, I will pass on anything with sugar!

Later this morning I need to go do some grocery shopping. Since I live 20 miles from town I only go when I am running out of too many things. Often I get somebody to stop and pick up one or two items, but sooner or later it just takes going myself. Lunch at the Chinese restaurant is included, just gotta catch my hubby on his lunch hour. Today seems a better day for going than tomorrow, more snow in the forecast but I don't think they are talking about a major storm. Right now the roads are pretty good. My DIL will ride in with me to do errands, go to the library for a couple of hours and then she has a college class at 4, my son will stay in town late and bring her home. Our friend who lives here rode in to work with my son this morning but will ride home with my husband. This keeps things interesting.

My horses are looking longingly toward the house, so it's time for me to emerge and put hay in the feeders. See you later, have a good day and count your blessings.

Ummmm yesd, Darius, I iron. I actually like it....plus in summer I golf with a bunch of very well dressed ladies, so I at least try not to be wrinkled. Since I have an aversion to manmade fibers, I am cursed! I've even been know to iron the top hem of my sheets...when my middle GS emtered the Navy, they were amazed that he knew how to miter hospital corners on his bed and asked him who taught him how to do that. He said my Grandma made me make my bed right every morning.. Don't be impressed, I'm pretty lax about everything else! Dust bunnies think this is heaven! Still snowing, gonna get worse. Time to hibernate....pass me those mint brownies, I need to prepare.. where's my lapwarmer........

Mmmmmm...pasties! Veggie pasties were my regular lunch when I was a little kid in Australia. I can still get one here in the town square where I work at an Aussie bakery if I get the itch. :)

Meezers, I had to echo Darius with "You IRON???" j/k I do it when I need something to do and let me still 'think' while I'm at it. (Can you belive that when I was young I used to iron my pillow cases and DH's hankies? :-0) (I love my Rowenta...but it usually only gets used when I'm sewing...now *where* did put that sewing machine? :-D)

Hey echo-angie! I had no idea that you're an Aussie...If my mom was alive, I'll bet she'd visit that bakery. She really missed all her favorite foods when she came over here.

Mary, another diabetic? I get those horrible shakes when my sugar gets too low or I've taken my insulin without eating. Man! That can get scarey. Oh, I had to tell you when I read about your horses looking "longingly at the house" I thought for a moment they might have wanted to join our 'tea party.' :-D

And meezers, making the bed is something that I've gotten into the habit of doing since I've been in this house. Hard for me to believe that I've only missed making it ONCE in a year and half. hehehe...I used to think that since the bedroom was so far off the beaten path in my other house, it wasn't a necessary chore. :-D (I do the mitered hospital corners too.)

Well, the sun is obviously up somewhere out there...at least I can *see* the snow coming down. But for some reason I'm not in the mood to get all my winter clothes and boots on at the moment. (It looks kinda cold for my camera too. ;-))

~julie~

Yup, Aussie by birth, but here since I was 8 years old. So I was 'raised' there but 'grew up' here. lol

I know how you feel with the sugar shakes too. I'm hypoglycemic. It's a serious bummer when you would rather do other things than eat! And I can't have too much sugar either, luckily it's not sugar that I crave. I guess the body knows what it lacks and what it has too much of.

E-Angie...if it weren't for my DH I wouldn't bother stopping to eat at all. He can't understand when I tell him "I *forget* to eat." My problem is that once I start, I don't want to stop! :-D

~julie~

I'm that way with everything too julie. I think that's why I don't read much. I'm so afraid that I'll get sucked in for 6 hours and forget to do something else (like eat!) that I can't seem to concentrate at all for worrying about what else I'm supposed to be doing! lol

I'm back, need a bit of a rest and some tea (can I have it laced, LOL?).

Just finished one of my more obnoxious semi-annual chores... emptying out the upright freezer and defrosting it, then re-packing everything. I cannot figure out why, despite my best intentions to mark stuff, I still end up with mystery packages in the freezer... and I'm the only one here! So, the freezer now has more space and the garbage can is full.

I easily have enough meats for 2 months, lots of frozen fruit (peaches and blueberries) and the door is full of flours, butter and nuts. If I didn't want salads, fresh green vegetables and milk I wouldn't have to grocery shop anytime soon. My cat shall have frog legs for the next 2 days... she'll love it but not as much as salmon I think.

Julie, I seldom make my bed (it's like ironing) but now in this new place, it's in my one big main room so maybe I should, just for my ownself. I do "spread" the blankets over it somewhat neatly most mornings. I used to do mitered corners (military child) but now cannot stand to have the covers tucked in so I don't bother.

M5, I tried to learn to golf, thought it would be good in my old sales & marketing career. I was actually pretty good for a raw beginner but it just didn't interest me. I'm a non-synthetic clothing person, too, so I do have to iron shirts that are non-tees. I got a marvelous bargain this summer on 100% organic cotton and linen socks online. Irregulars, 5 pair for around $10-12 and in the store the same brand of regulars are $9 a pair.

My lunch with one of our new members (Roseone33) was fun and she's lovely.

Meezer - thanks for that recipe. How thick do you roll out the dough? I'm thinking they must be 1/4" to prevent them from leaking too much. Is the meat to potato ratio 1 to 1 or more meat than potato? Sorry about these elementary questions, but I've never had these before and always thought they sound quite tasty and filling, so I'm not quite sure what I'm looking for in the filling. Could shredded potato work as well? Maybe toss in some carrots too. Mmmmm....now you got me hungry! lol


Kind of glum and not very chatty today, ladies. The weather I suppose and having the kids underfoot for so long now. Back to school tomorrow though.

I've been doing laundry and playing play-doh and coloring today. The little one doesn't seem to be in much of a mood for a nap today.

Sitting here at the computer, surfing and watching the starlings battle it out at the suet feeder. They are a funny bunch. Watched the squirrel for an hour this morning slip-slidin' on the icy branches.

Darius...lacing you tea depends...on what you'd like. I think there's some honey in the cabinet. Other than, I might be able to find some rum or brandy...not much else. Of course, if you'd rather, there's that bountiful wine rack on the end of the counter here. The bottles are dusty and the wine is at least 20 years older than when they were given to us. :-D DH gets heartburn just *thinking* about popping the top on them.

Freezers! Ha! I have two small chest type, and the one on the side of the fridge. DH does the grocery shopping so I have no idea what's in any of them! Oh, I forgot...there is a lot of frozen tomatoes and bags upon bags of green peppers. Yummmm...sounds like stew tomorrow. (Thanks for bringing up the freezer! :-))

Brenda, hope tomorrow is a better day for you. Maybe it's time to break out a couple of packets of seeds and get them sown. It won't hurt to get your coleus started early...after all, there's a bunch of us waiting for more cuttings when the weather breaks. :-D

Angie, nearly missed you there. hehehe I used to do a lot of oil painting. Problem was *nothing* else got done...AND I was a complete #itch if someone interrupted me while I was being creative. :-D Come to think of it...I still AM!

~julie~

I was going to ask how yuor lunch went, glad it was enjoyable. I cleaned carpets in the den, and daughter braved the weather and got all Hobbes' snarls out without shaving him, , He still yodeled like he was being murdered though. Ingrate. Wish I'd seen those socks! Nothing i like better than a bargain, unless it's free. Except for that #%@$ fre virus check up grrrrrrrrrrr. I've been golfing for about ten years and haven't seen any improvement in the last 5 so I'm just a hacker. Probably wouldn't do it at all, except there's lunch involved and some of the older ladies are just a hoot! And it is outdoors..and not where I can see my neglected household chores! And Julie, I used to have to iron my dad's BOXERS, and we used to starch and iron the sheets! I got over that kind of insanity right after I got married. Now, if I didnt iron, when would I watch all those movies I tape?

back for another cup... I need one right now. Too much DG reading and getting dopey. Really need to do some housework.

Ironing? usually only when I'm sewing and the dining room linen table cloth. I remember when we were first married and I was ironing DH's hankies (just like at home), but I was experiementing with spray starch, mom never had any, and used it on the hankies. First and last time for that, I can assure you!

Still snowing here, but not so heavy. The critters are NOT impressed! Good thing I finally filled the litter box last week, Oscar decided it's time to use it again. He hasn't been outside for 2 days. Silly kitty!

M5, here's the link for the socks. I got 10 pair (grab bag), and a couple were cotton/linen, and I love them. The price has gone up, but what hasn't? http://www.organicclothes.com/drilldown.asp

You should read her site's information about growing organic cotton, and what she's doing to hewlp some native villages.

Here's another pair I got: (Actually got 2 tye-dyed pair and they are just fun!)

Darius' famous footwear...LOL jo

Jo, I always get a good laugh when I look at that photo! Helps me remember I haven't totally lost my sense of humor or even adventure.

I love those socks!! Will check the site. Since I wear sandals a lot (easy on the fibro feet) like to fancy up the footies when the weather is a bit cool.
We are getting our snow, have to put sweaters on the dogs to cut down on the "armpit snowballs". Think I will wait until the snow is done before clearing out the driveway-hate to do work that just gets filled up again.
Thanks for the pasties info. We had a local baker (years ago) that made great ones-I lost touch because our office moved. Had one in Mineral Point (where the Welsh miners lived) this summer -it was OK, but that fellow made better ones.

The Cubans in Miami make meat pies calles "pastilles" which are virtually the same, and like all recipes, ingredients vary with what's available.

Marcia, what are "armpit snowballs"??

let me guess - the dog's 'pits' get full of snowballs when they go out so you put their coats on?

Thnks for the socks lilnk Darius. DH is out blowing snow, and mumbling about it being all my fault....LOL It doesn't look that deep but then I grew up on the south shore of Lake Superior so it takes more than a measly 6" to rank as a substantial snowfall.
Pasties are verrrry flexible..........I usually do double the amount of potato to meat, and onions according to how strong they are....If you are stretching food dollars, you can cut back pretty far on the beef and still get good results. We love onions so, I'm generous with those. No matter how thick you make your crust, some pasties are destined to sprig a leak...I usually line my baking sheets with foil to help with clean up. If your dough is nice and tender, you can roll it thick, but if you have a heavy hand with pie crust, you can make it thinner. Like I said, this is pretty flexible, and you can hardly mess it up. And even if they come out looking like they lost the war, they will stilll be tasty.
Did a freezer cleanout lst week too, Must be this cabin fever that's got me going....Found lots of UFOs in spite of my good intentions, and those are gone. When I see what I've got stashed in there, I wonder why I even bother to shop. Of course, the whole bottom bin is filled with yellow and white sweet corn cut off the cob and two big ziplocks full of diced Vidalias....There are some things you have to have to get through the winter! When I get my computer back I'll send a photo of the funny socks my sister sent me..................... if I EVER get my computer back........pass the coffee pot, and never mind the decaf, I need the real stuff!

GOOD Morning, everyone! It's positively beeeeyoutefulllll outside my window this morning. Snow clinging to the pine trees just like a Christmas card! The tops of the bird feeders have at least 8" on their roofs. And I think I hear my perennials finally snuggling in and pulling the covers over their heads. I hope the snow cover lasts a while...but I hear we're in for rain and freezing rain here early next week. (What ever happened to the 'reliable' winters we used to have?)

I didn't get much accomplished yesterday. spent most of the day trying to get my average back up on the solitare game. :-O :-D When things get hairy, too much stuff to make a decision about where to start, I'll sit down for hours and play my solitare game. Obviously, when things are THAT bad, I don't win very much. hehehe

Maybe it's time for me to get outside and see if my Sony digital will stay warm enough to take a few pictures. ;-) As she pours another cup of strong black coffee...maybe I'll wait another hour or so before heading outside. (Besides, it would be warmer if I wasn't wearing a night gown. hehehe)

Darius...I *love* those socks! They make me smile...

~julie~

Good morning, I brought a box of orange spice tea for variety for us tea drinkers. So many flavors, so little time. No goodies this morning, thanks, have to eat breakfast first. Julie, I'm not diabetic, just hypoglycemic. As long as I have protein and carbs I'm ok with the sugar, just have to remember to keep it balanced. I eat a lot but I have high metabloism so I burn it off without storing much of it, but that high metabolism causes some problems when I have to have dental work done, it takes 3 shots to get my face numb and then about every 15 min I have to have another one, bad when having a long proceedure. Shudder, not nice to think about this early, or any other time.

Freezer cleaning, boy does mine need it. It's a large chest, and I know there are dangerous things lurking in those lower corners. I seem to just get so far down and then it is hard to reach below that point. I need to take everything out! Everything! There's a nice layer of frost in there too, you can see why I'm not anxious to get into it. Of course, everything would look so neat and there would be room in it if I got all the ancient things out.

My grandmother used to make something like your pasties, but she put jam in them. They always leaked a little through the marks the fork made when she sealed them up. I need to try to make them.

Two more catalogs came in yesterday's mail, one from High Country Gardens, and one from Thompson and Morgan. Lots of beautiful stuff to drool over. Oh my, come on spring!

Ok, time to get moving. See you later.

I hear ya Mary! I eat two eggo waffles at 5:45am and have to have a granola bar at 10am and lunch by noon and a snack at 4 and then again at 6pm and then dinner by 8pm! LOL

Angie...that's the way the doctor told me to eat, too....oh man...WAY too many times a day! I'd spend most of my time *thinking* about what to eat next! LOL

Mary...that tea sounds WONDERFUL! I'll take a cup, please and thank you.

~julie~

Oh, yum, I love orange spice tea! Thanks for bringing it, Mary. I'm borderline hypoglycemic too, and if I don't eat what & when I should, I can really mess up a day.

It's a gray, rainy day here and the temps have dropped 4 degrees since I finally got my lazy self up. I seldom set an alarm (unless I have an appointment) and just get up when it gets light... only it didn't get very light today. It's still much too warm for January here.

Thanks, y'all have a great day...

Darius, armpit snowballs are what I called the packed snow clumps that form when the little poodles get out in the snow. It cakes in their hair and you have to wash it out in the sink, it won't brush out. Sigh.
Lovely snow this AM-and the snowblower won't start. The neighbors' didn't either-maybe it is a strike by the snowblowers!!

Now that explanation makes sense, thanks.

Back for a guick hello, another cup of tea and a goodie this time. This morning I've been working in the greenhouse repotting things, and planting some little cacti and succulents I bought last spring and didn't get planted, they had to live in those tiny pots all summer, but some of them were happy enough to bloom, one of them just last week. I guess it didn't hurt them too bad. I bought one small cactus inside to spray for mealy bugs, hope they hadn't gone any farther. The next plant over has fuzzy leaves so I will look carefully on that one. There are 2 African violets that have lots of mealies, so they are going out into the freezing world. First I will try to get a good leaf or two from each one, spray the leaves and root them in water. I still have an active frog or two in the gh and this morning I found a mantis crawling in super slow motion, I don't spray out there, I carry any plant that needs spraying into the basement. There is also a small stock tank, about 150 gallons out there with 12 goldfish in it. They were outside this summer but got brought in to live in this tank that helps with heat storage and humidity and makes me feel better. The fish were very slow when I brought them in but now are more active with water at about 55 degrees. I want a pond, but that's another story. Later.

Coffee, ahhhh, that smells so good. It's only 5 deg. here but the sun is shining and the snow is fresh and white so it's beautiful out! I smell smoky, sorry, shoulda changed a minute. A friend's truck shed burned down this morning with 2 semis in it. DH used to haul sheep for him and keep our truck there. His farm tractor, seven 3 and 4 wheelers, an old antique tractor, a 2002 snowmobile, all burned up. Plus tools and tool boxes, air compressors, tires and more tires, y'know, all the regular truck equipment stuff. Someone driving by woke them up at 4:30 am and said it seemed like there was a lot of smoke coming out of the shed. 'Red' thought it was just the oil burner smoking, it burns waste oil and he just filled 3 barrels full yesterday. When he realized it was worse, he called the fire dept. One of the guys went in with an O2 tank and looked around. The whole attic ceiling was on fire above one of the trucks. He peeked into the truck - wasn't burning but the whole inside was burned out so they're quite sure it was started by an electric fire in the truck. He'd been having some trouble with blowing fuses lately so something wasn't right in the wiring. What a mess! He wanted to try get his farm tractor out but the F.D. wouldn't let him - figured the roof could come down anytime. Glad of that! Well, I need to go bake something for them. (traditions, right? we hurt, we bake!)

Kooger, in the South it has to be Fried Chicken, plus peach pie or peach cobbler, LOL.

Sure hope your friends had insurance. What a disaster. So your truck wasn't there?

This message was edited Jan 6, 2005 4:37 PM

Oh Kooger! What a story...AND what a mess, is right! Im so glad no one was hurt. But what a way to get woke up.

Mary, you have a gh...I'm SO jealous! Well...maybe not really...if I had one, I'd want to keep it heated, and that would cost money, and that would tick off my DH, and that ....well...you get the idea. :-D

I had to come up from the basement, those blasted shakes again. (Yes, Julie was a bad girl...didn't stop for lunch. Geez, you'd think I'd learn, especially since we've been talking about that very thing.!)

Today, I rearranged the plants on my plant stand so I could put my heat mats in place and get ready to plant some seeds. I think I'll do a few coleus, just cuz I can't wait to see something sprout. :-)

I also started prepping my containers for winter sowing. There's a mountain of milk jugs waiting to be cut in half and washed (BOY! my kids didn't do me any favors...didn't bother to rinse the jugs. YUCK! I think I smell worse than Kooger. ;-))

The Thompson and Morgan catalog came in the mail today it's over there in that big stack. LOL This is the first time I've ever gotten one. They have some really nice (and unique) seeds. Does anyone here use T&M? Park's catalog used to be my dream (wish) book, but this year I have SO many more to choose from.

Glad my rottie has short hair...about the only thing I have to worry about with her is making sure she doesn't eat grass before she comes inside. (She's a *good* rottie! Not the *bad* kind you hear about on T.V.)

Guess it's time to go feed her (Jasmine) and the cat (Sadie). Be back later for some more tea...that was delicious!

~julie~