Coffee and...Part 32...! :-D

Session #32 (Started Sept 21, 2005)

Don't you guys have anything else to do aside from TALKING when I'm *outside*??? LOL Geez! I can't keep up with y'all!!

Ok...back to the old thread. And this time I'm typing my responses in a word processer and I'm pasting them back here when I'm sure NO ONE has posted while I'm typing. hehehe

~julie~

LOL, Julie, happens to ALL of us!

Darius...This is your 'certificate' to start a NEW COFFE AND...thread *whenever* the download gets too long for you. (Just leave me a link so I can find you...ok? LOL) Maybe between the two of us we can keep the thread to a reasonable length. :-))

~julie!

Thanks, I just hate to usurp what you started...

Well of course if we weren't such a load of gas bags they would stay shorter!! :>))
They found the leak today - under the master bathroom. So I will be bathroomless for a while - its a long trot to the other loo!!!
What with that and Rita Skeeter - the hurricane- messing up my vacation plans and threatening folks homes and lives, my stress levels are climbing - started to get the old gut pains again last night. Same sort of thing as Darius had same hassle and worry and an eventual clean sheet. So I know its stress, but it doesn't stop it hurting!!
Going to have a 'sinful' dinner tonight - loads of carbs its good for the nerves!! Well thats my excuse anyway!
Carol

LOL, Carol, I understand completely!

Evening all,

Molly, is there a person in the town that could go in and get the packet and then send it to you? A contractor you are planning to hire, or a town chamber of commerce type person? A church type person? A realtor might if you tell them you may be considering selling once "a house is built on the property". Do you get the local paper? Most will send you a sample or a sunday paper fairly cheap. If you would Dmail me the name of the town and county, I'll do some digging for you, I have nothing but time right now, lol.


Hey, who ate all my banana bread? Sheesh, buncha hungry people, rofl.

mg

MG,

You are so sweet. Thank you. As a matter of fact, I now know someone in Archer who is going to the building permit office for me tomorrow for the application packet and will mail it to me.

Another company called me tonight and the price on the setic installation is down by 700. So things are looking a little better.

I also have an offer to take care of my plants when I take a van load of them up in 2 weeks.

MG, I have a dmail working and will get those seed lists together and send it in the morning. My best time, between 6-6:30.

Molly
:^)))

Ok, kewl.

If there is anything I can do, ANYTHING, LMK!!!

I have time, and an active imagination. Both of which tend to get me into alot of trouble, lol.

mg

Whew = stay gone a couple of days and you have too much to catch up on!

Darius - HOORRAAAYYY about the ultrasound! One down, one to go - and all will be right with the world!

All - if you read the "Cat Who" books by Lillian Jackson Braun - you'd know about "pasties" .....

All I do is work work...been a crazy week! BUT - I did get a promotion last week (absolute surprise!) that puts me into the "management incentive" program - i.e. I get no raise but I get a yearly bonus now...and it ain't chicken feed. So - very happy. Now - If I can just survive the job!

We still have Penny dog from New Orleans. She's old and I some times wonder if she's alive she's go still....but then she gets in a barkin' at/chasin' cats - and I know she's not! I've not been able to reach her owner - haven't tried their cell numbers - but I assume with trying to find a nursing home for his mother and just trying to survive they're busy. Tomorrow I'll try harder! I told them "no news is good news"! So hopefully they're not worried. She's been absolutely no trouble....just a sweet dog needing love - that we got!

No other news except it's too darn hot for September. We had 98 degrees yesterday.....wow - I'm so ready for some cool weather.

Balvenie - you want to come replace my kitchen window? Just let me know - love what you've done.

Okay - I'm outta here....

Marcia

Happy Anniversary, sarv. Hope its been a good day for you.

I think that I must have taken one of those Graceful pills by mistake again today. I was determined to get something accomplished today and decided to empty out the composter (one of those double barrel things). I was looking down to make sure my thumbs were well out of the way when I released the catches and the whole d#*%^ door sprang up and hit me in the mouth. I'll be lucky if I don't have a fat lip tomorrow. Oh well, got the job done anyway.

Okus, I asked Mike (my husband) about that Bedfordshire Clanger and he replied that it was "cooked all of a piece"--- no added gravy or sauce that he remembered. In any case, I'm not planning on tackling that one; however, if you happen to have a good recipe for Spotted Dick (everybody else stop laughing, it really is called that!) I'd be grateful if you'd share it. Somebody else commented on English food (sorry, lousy memory) and I too found it just fine, EXCEPT for the desserts. They just seemed way too sweet and otherwise tasteless to me. Mike, of course, loves his steamed puddings since he grew up with them.

Molly, glad you found a way around the red tape. We were once told in all seriousness that we were sent an overdue tax notice on taxes we had already paid because there was unopened mail sitting around on desks at City Hall for several months at a time. It also took them three years to catch up with property transfers so the bills were always getting sent to the wrong people anyway. All that was bad enough, but we're not talking about one of those one traffic light towns, this was the second largest city in the state.

Hi to everyone else. I don't mean to leave anyone out or not respond to various subjects --- it's just the evening catatonia setting in. It may be time to go veg out in front of the idiot box. Goodnight all.

Whew, it really is a desert! Can't tell you what I said the first time someone asked me if I liked it.


Title: SPOTTED DICK
Categories: Puddings, British
Yield: 6 servings

8 oz Flour, self-rising
1 pn Salt
4 oz Margarine
2 oz Castor sugar (Superfine)
4 oz Sultanas; to 6 oz
6 T ;Water

Have ready a sheet of foil or a double thickness of grease proof paper
brushed with melted margarine.

Make the pudding crust: Sieve the flour and the salt. Rub in the
margarine. Add the sugar and sultanas. Mix in the water to make a
soft dough. Turn out onto a floured board and form into a roll. Wrap
loosely but securely in the grease proof paper or foil. Tie or seal
the ends. Place in the steamer and cover tightly. Steam for 1-1/2 to
2 hours. Serve with hot custard sauce or sprinkle with castor sugar.

Variation: At stage 3: Put the mixture in a medium-sized (1-1/2 pint)
pudding basin with a round of grease proof paper in the bottom and
brush all round inside with melted margarine. Smooth the top. Cover
with foil, or double grease proof paper brushed underneath with
melted margarine and steam for 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Serve with hot
Custard sauce or sprinkle with castor sugar.

thats about it - for Sultanas the US should read 'Golden Raisins' and pn is a pinch in case someone thinks its a pint of salt :>>)) A variation is to use the sultanas as a 'spread' on the dough instead of in the mix, before you roll it.
Most usually though for spotted Dick you use the pudding basin method. If you do the roll its jam instead of sultanas spread out on the dough and rolled up like a swiss roll, then its called Jam Rolly Polly. I like that one made using suet instead of margarine.
Has to be custard - English Custard though not sprinkled sugar on both The Spotted and the Rolly. English custard is very similar to a sweetened cornflour (white) sauce, made with milk, with added vanilla essence and egg yolk. Not the same as the custard I have had here at all.
Funny you should find UK desserts too sweet McCool. I find things over here far too sweet, not just the desserts either, for example the Ketchup!
Carol

Good Golly, I've been gone all day, and it took me more than an hour to read what you folks had done today. I am not going to try to respond to every post, only to say HAPPY ANNIVERSARY SARV!!

If you remember we were to go to an Amish community for an antique sale today,with neighbors. Well I set the alarm last night to get up at 5:00 a.m., was very tired as I have not slept well all week. We were to meet them at 6:00 a.m. Well we were awakened at 6:15 by the door bell. I had turned off the alarm, and the neighbors were ringing the door bell! What a way to start the day. We rushed and got dressed and left by 6:45. I wasn't the fashion plate, let me tell you!! We went to the auction, stood in the hot sun for 3 hours, bid on several things, and came away empty handed. Everything, even the "junk" was outrageous. They had a lot of garden art stuff, arbors , etc, but it was ridiculous. We ended up
enjoying the day, but it was a hellacious start!!

Well, as I am sun-burned, tired and almost punchy, I am going to bed, hopefully to sleep well, and dream not.

Good night all, I might be more coherent tomorrow.

Thanks for all the anny wishes-it was a good day!! The only fly in the ointment was the three cheese lasagna wasn't very good, but everyone made polite comments about it..Toss that receipe out for sure! DH showed up with a mushy card and a huge candle (he' s into the candle giving mode - got one for Mother's day too) - I got him a 24 pk of beer and a huge bag of peanuts to shell -he'll be in hog heaven!! My folks showed up with a dozen meat pies for each of us. My dad was syrian and every year they (their church) sells them and man are they delish - even better than pasties!!

I woke up with a nasty headache and an arm that is throbbing...weather change?? (raining here) Popped a couple of aspirin- hope it goes away soon.

Man, you gals were a gabby bunch yesterday - I spent the day running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. Grocery store (238 bucks) I bought a couple of treats for me!! Good thing DH doesn't give a toot about the checkbook! Small weather station, fleece coat, two lampshades ....smile...

Scottish eggs - yum love them, but yuck spotted dick....bought that for a gag xmas gift for my cousin Dick - it was a hit!

Molly - I just don't understand why they can't mail you the pkg. What's up with that! I'm afraid I wouldn't have been too polite about it.

Defo - doesn't being woken up make you in a foul mood??? I need morning time just to get my head on straight. Who's in charge of hitting the snooze button????

BB - I think I've read every Cat's Who book there is - just love them - easy reading...and entertaining too (note to self to visit library today!!)

Who got smacked in the face!! Get the ice out!!

Well, gonna sign off and curl up in a chair for awhile - oh first gotta go wet down the head - I toss and turn so much in bed that I wake up with my hair going every which way - it looks scarey...

Guess what - tomorrow is my BIRTHDAY!!!! Now was that poor planning or what?? (always get combined gifts) Take care everyone....

Good morning everyone,

Thanks, Julie for the new thread. Twice yesterday it didn't load properly for me. I also wrote a resonse yesterday wishing sarv a happy anniversary (among other things). Don't know what happened to it - whether the thread hadn't fully downloaded and I didn't notice and the response didn't work right or whether I got my fingers twisted up and clicked on the wrong thing. Anyway, I'll get in early birthday wishes to sarv ;-). Hope you have a happy one.

gotta go. Have 7 yards of dirt being delivered shortly for all those new gardens. That should keep me off DG for awhile. lol

Ann

Mornin' GOBs. Sprinkle of rain last night but more coming today. Think I'll get those poor lilies in? Between the drops?

Sorry about your rushed start, Dcat, but you got a good night's sleep out of it! I just got a mailing from a local seller who has a big sale 3 or 4 times a year, they have crafts, antiques, lots of interesting handmade yard art, Christmas ornaments, produce, and odds and ends, all spread out in and around their farm and outbuildings, fun to go to with a bunch of gals. Looking forward to it.

Okus, would the suet in the recipe be what we call lard? I use it for pie crust, and pasties because it makes the best crust. Lard has less cholesterol than butter which is what my Cuisinart pastry recipe calls for. Suet, here, is what we put out for the birds in winter, and would not blend in well as it is not rendered.

Betsybug, I think the author of those cat books has spent a considerable amount of time in the UP of Michigan. The descriptions of the countryside almost let me identify locales that I'm familiar with. And I love those two siamese sleuths, clever little felines that they are.

Speaking of felines, DH got a large box delivered yesterday, and of course, the empty box and crunched up paper are still sitting in the living room...delighting all the cats who are jumping in and out, or napping, thinking we've provided them with a new hideaway. Sorry, but it's going out today. To where, you might ask? the garage...!

Thinking I might try that Bedfordshire Clanger for Christmas this year just so I can say what it is when asked!! I wouldn't dare do the S. D. because my tribe is somewhat rowdy,and I'd never live it down. I wouldn't put it past them to put it in my obit.

Molly I think your new adventure is shaping up nicely!! Opportunity has knocked, whether you were ready to answer or not. I'll keep an eye on the events in your other thread!

Oh, that Rita is looking scary! Weather channel is tracking and reporting and it looks like it's going to smack the coast pretty hard again. Those poor people. At least this time, they are allowing the evacuees to take their pets with them on the buses.

It's raining pretty good now, guess I will have to wait for a break to grab my shovel. See y'all later.

Edited to add an early Happy Birthday to Sarv....my daughter got married right after her birthday and she gets those combo gifts too....very bad timing in my opinion! What am I saying ...I did it too! DH's BD and mine are 5 days apart and we got married in between. So, 10/17, 10/18 and 10/22 are just one long party.........not.

This message was edited Sep 22, 2005 7:38 AM

M5 - you have the simease sleuths! So glad to see you and Sarv are fellow Cat Who lovers.....I think I have 2 at home that I haven't read yet....must look for them.

I'm at work so can't stay - just dropping in to say hi! and to not have to spend hours catching up tonight (tee hee!)

M.

M5, I never saw a cat that didn't like boxes!

Hey, add me to the list of Cat Who lovers... I've read them all, except any new in the last 18 months. Have a funny story about them... I was actively selling books online 3 or 4 years ago and I found one of them in French at a yard sale and listed it as such. The woman who bought it gave me a nasty rating because she overlooked that it wasn't in English. She and I had some correspondence about that, and she ended up giving it to her daughter who was studying French, and ended up thanking me for the opportunity to encourage her daughter. Oh, and she corrected her rating.

I have most of the "Cat Who"s too. Partly how Yum yum got her name.

Meezers, will you stay out of that garage? sheesh woman!

Look at me talking, I took a fall yesterday myself. In my dad's kitchen as I was mopping it. I am way to old to try to learn how to do the splits now, lol. My hip and back will forgive me eventually, I hope.

My daughter's school has the Family Fun Night today. I have to help with set up 1:30-3:30. Dh has the food booth 4:30-5:30. I think I signed up for the wrong thing, lol. Last year I ran one of the games for 3 hours. Cake walk. All the money raised goes to new playground equiptment.

'nuff for now

mg

M5 no suet and lard are different - lard is rendered pork fat, suet is from beef. Its a much drier product and doesn't have to be rendered before its usable - just shredded. In the UK you used to be able to buy it direct from the butcher, but most folk now buy it ready shredded and boxed from the supermarket. http://www.rhmfoodservice.co.uk/brands/atora
Off shopping now - might see if the British Store has any!
Carol

Just peeking in , couldn't post yesterday.
Catlovers--yeah.. Just finished a book-Peach Cobbler Murder-has a great cat in it, along with recipes. Am behind on the Cat Who, but up to date on Mrs Murphy (Rita Mae Brown)-wish they would do another TV movie on her and Tucker Tee-the Corgi.
Also keeping an eye on Rita, My nephew and his -very pregnant wife evacuated from Houston.
Will try to download a photo of Casey-not her best shots by any means-but I cannot find the best photo :( :(
Had a major light/music show last night and some needed rain-hope we get the more that is predicted.

Funny story Darius - glad she fixed your rating too!!

After the work out place, cruised to our local library. It's in an old church and they try for millages to get another one and they always fail. However, the last one they tried for was absolutely huge with a starbucks in it!! Too much for this little community! This morning there was a group of preschoolers there listening to story hour - man don't miss that at all!! It was comical watching the librarian trying to keep the little ones in toe...One kid kept walking up and grabbing the book when she was trying to read - librarian had to speak to her several several times. Mom was sitting there too - librarian probably should have spoken to mom!! I had to clutch my books so that I didnt walk over and grab the little one and sit down with her so the poor story reader could finish.

Had a wonderful salad for lunch (trying to be a better eater) but fell off the wagon and have devoured 9 scones (mini ones tho!) Might as well finish the 4 that are left and be done with them...

Man are the bees ever terrible here this year. We must have a nest in our attic- I see a ton of them going in and out by the overhang. I hung out the door and shot at them with ant spray - got more in my face then on them I fear.

Been raining here all day and I won't complain because we need it badly. Had to unplug the computer twice because of the lightning and once while I was on the phone, something hit nearby and I was cut off. Power has gone off three times already - nuisance resetting all those clocks!!

Gotta a problem here- my kitchen drains smell awful!!! I tried the vinegar/baking soda route, then ground up ice cubes and today filled the sink with bleach water and ran that thru - but it still smells. I have a very poor smeller and if I can smell it, it must really reek. Anybody got any other solutions???

Gas is down to 2.48 here - lowest I've seen it in ages. Wonder if it will skyrocket up to over 3 bucks after Rita hits.

mg- better doing set up than clean up!! I remember working on many of those- I think it would be much easier if each family would just donate 20 bucks!! Where I worked, had people donate the materials to build new playground equipment and had volunteers all set to construct a huge set - the whole thing was nixed as they were afraid of liability things - school system was hung up - worrying about getting sued all the time. Poor kids had nothing to play on (they even came and took down all the swings and slides and jungle aparatus- liability reasons again)

Well, since no one ate the scones, I better finish them myself...

I love those cat books. Good old Koko, he was so interesting of a cat and his ways!
My cats love boxes and paper just thrown on the floor to run up and tackle. Pretend there is something inside, lol. So funny to watch.
Sarv, what kind of scones? I should have been here earlier to grab one. Love them with raspberry jam on them.
Weather is changing here in Oregon. Was quite cool for here. It was 35 degrees this morning and that is so cool for now. Never gets that cool until at least sometime in October. So must decide what to do with the brugs. I have real soon.
Well, just wanted to respond to some good chat here. Need to look up the newer cat books at the library, I think.
Later,
Carol (DR)

Sarv, you stop that! You are eating good food then spoiling it with bad lol, you are a naughty big girl!

I wonder if you have a problem with your sceptic ?

My neighbor had problems with bees, a professional bee keeper came and took these good bees away.
My neighbor always invites me for dinner, I could eat there every night, she said there is enough food for more, she cooks for 6.
I want her to have her here for dinner but there is not enough room so I decided to make dinner for her and take it over, its stuffed pasta shells, real Italian food it will feed an arme

Does anyone watch the food network? I love to watch some of them.
Happy first Autumn day everyone!!!
Maria

All right gang, watch your feet, it looks like we're in for another series of slips and falls! I'm wearing long pants because it looks stupid for someone my age to be running around with a skinned knee. It was chronic when I was a kid, and a good thing they didn't decide to call me Grace.

Word for the week: CAUTION

Maria, the stuffed shells sound wonderful. And you know there's no stopping Sarv's sweet tooth! Which reminds me I have some frozen eclairs waiting for me....lol.

Thanks for the enlightenment, Okus. I don't think there's anywhere we can get shredded beef fat...and if they did sell it, there would probably be a line of Cholesterol Police marching outside the shop.

I suspect we have a nest of yellow jackets under the deck, when I went to water the pots last evening a bunch flew up around me, and I haven't had that happen before. They'll get frozen out soon, I'm not chasing them down. Might put a jug of sugar water out there and let the nasty little devils drown themselves in it.. I talk to my good bees, and they never bother me, even when they are gorging on nectar while I'm weeding or picking flowers.

How about a big kettle of boiling water with a cup of bleach added just before putting it down that drain? If it's not your septic, it might just be a grease/bacteria buildup, and a couple of gallons will fill those pipes pretty far down. Let DH carry the hot kettle....in view of recent gravity induced events.....

I hear Rita's scaled down to a 4, let's hope she loses more of her power as the day progresses.

I'm going to unplug too, horizon is very dark, and I'm thinking we've got another boomer on the way.

I did plant the lilies, and one of them wasn't, it was a white iris. Got the two J. maples in too but don't have high hopes that they will survive a Wisconsin winter. But I won't have to haul water for them all winter, either, to save the $2 they cost me.

I always wanted to be the "story lady" at a library, but after seeing how poorly children behave and how the parents don't bother to correct them, I've changed my mind. We don't have a good library system here, they buy very few new books and have a mile long waiting list for them, from old patrons who have the advantage. Plus it's miles and miles away.

Unplugging now. Gonna flop on the sofa and watch mindless entertainment on the DVR. I never have enough time to watch everything I record. First episode of this season's "Lost" was on last night..... I love watching shows where you can zip past the commercials!!

M5 - DS said Lost was the best program he had ever seen, so DH and I tried to watch it - couldn't make heads nor tails outta it! Do we need to watch all of last years to understand it???

daisy - scones were cranberry/orange - the best I''ve ever had - however they are history now. They were moist and mini - three bites and they are gone

Aria, how sweet of you to make dinner for your neighbors - yum stuffed shells - I love anything with pasta in it!! DIL makes spinach/cheese mixture and stuffed shells - heavenly!! Can you tell that I just love food!! I can never understand picky eaters - I can count on one hand the number of foods I don't care for. It is a wonder that I am not blimp size.

I've had CNN on all day watching the news of the hurricane. This is certainly a nightmare...

DH just got a call from DS. DS wants him to go up bow hunting with him next weekend - DH doesn't even hunt!! Of course he is going. I fear he will get into the brew too much - he never knows when to stop. Hope he gets good and sick...where's the 2x4.....

I'm gonna try the boiling water/bleach for the drains. If it was the septic, wouldn't I smell it in the bathroom or other sinks? Kitchen is the only bothersome one.

We watch Emeril Live and something called Dirty Jobs - anyone see this weeks? It was about artificially inseminating horses....what they don't do shows about....

Gotta go slip a sweat shirt on - getting chilly here

Heck, I meant to watch Lost last night ... dunno where my mind went, LOL. Sigh. One of the few shows I like.

Count me in, I'm Lost. (and a Lost fan) A great website for Lost is www.thefuselage.com Some of the cast posts there too, like Jorge who plays Hurley, and Terry who plays Lock.

I'm just home to get kidlets and then back over to school. I live across the street from Jenna's school and Nathan walks to HS. He should have been home 30 mins ago, so I'm gonna have to go looking pretty soon, lol. There is a girl involved, sigh.

All that rain you guys in WI got last night skipped us again. Rain, Rain went away, hasn't come back on any day!

mg

I stuffed the shells with spinach, onions and ground beef topped it with mozzarella and parmisan baked them in tomatoe sauce.
Never made them like that before, hope they are good lol
I am not a picky eater but eat very small portions, when eating out I always take half of it home in a doggy bag., fortuately for me do not like sweet stuff but could eat good bread dunked in olive oil till I am full and don't want anything else, oh those carbohydrates!! Very bad!
Maria

good afternoon, busy bees & happy first day of fall, indeed!

where have i been? never heard of these "cat who" books.
i've been looking for some good reads for the fall, when it
starts getting dark (too) early. my beloved amazing black &
white cat, otis, was the center of this household for many years.
the most personality in 19 pounds i've ever known :) sarv,
this cat LOVED scones! this was discovered one day when
i left fresh-baked scones on the counter to cool :) i never left
scones unattended again, but he always got a piece of everyone's after that :)

well, the daughter is making progress in her war on bedbugs.
she bought a new twin bed with legs & a new mattress with
a zippered plastic cover. she sprayed the entire room with
some high-powered stuff especially for bedbugs. she
polyurethaned shut all the cracks in her wood floors, and
silicone caulked all the gaps between moldings and walls.
she threw in two different kind of bug bombs, for good measure.
M5: i sent her your paragraph about your 1943 experience. it
seems the bed legs in kerosene cans is still a recommended
measure :) bed, bath & beyond had what she describes as
white plastic bed leg cones; they raise the bed higher off the floor.
instead of kerosene, a friend told her he used vaseline to coat
the cones with - seems bedbugs can't maneuver in it. she's had
two restful nights with no bites. still keeping her clothes in the
freezer (!) but her life is returning to some normalcy. no sleeping
in the library lately. when she's happy, i'm happy :)

the dh moved to virginia monday, as scheduled. his full-size
pick-up was loaded to the gills - he had to make room for
his toiletries bag, literally. it was a major concession on dh's part
when the truck was all loaded up, he turned to me and said "we
have too much stuff!" the dh is the "collector" who can't part
with a thing. i can't believe how much better
the place looks & feels with all that superfluous stuff gone. i've spent
this afternoon re-arranging rooms that now have space to do so.
our 11 yr old chocolate lab, roxie, is having a time adjusting to not only her #1 human's absence, but also the disappearance of most of her
furniture-based sleeping spots. she walks around whining & wagging her tail - not sure how to read that mixed signal :)

all this new-found open space will make my interior renovations
a breeze. this morning, i couldn't help myself - i spotted a peeled-up
corner of wallpaper in the master bedroom and gave it a tug. lo and
behold the three layers of paper on there came right off with little
trouble. i ended up removing all of it! yay! i'd thought it would be much
more difficult to do and had been dreading it & putting it off for years.
my son's going to help me pull up the family room & hall stairs carpet this weekend. with the family pick-up truck gone, we're going to have to cut it into manageable pieces and haul it to the dump in my little outback wagon, making many trips - the FR is huge. sounds like a fun weekend, eh? i'm sure my son thinks so :)

my son and i went to the beach for two days after the dh left for virginia. he wanted to check out the Marine bases there, and ophelia all but destroyed the pier at our favorite beach place, so we went to check it out. the place took a beating, but they're back in business for tourists. the shelling was fantastic - always is after a hurricane. it was a nice few days of one-on-one time with my boy :)

since i got carried away with wallpaper stripping today, i've got to spend tomorrow potting-up plants for a local swap saturday morning. it'll be the first swap ever for me - no idea how they work, but i'm looking forward to maybe getting some things on my wish list. i didn't think i had much to offer until i started noticing the plants i never notice because they're so prolific here - like, hardy begonias, ajugas, sedum autumn joy, liriope, and a buddleia that multiplies out of control. the swap flyer said liriope's always a big hit - hard to believe. so, when the swap's over, and i've disposed of the carpet, i'll be trying to find places for all my new botanical goodies - and then, trying to keep them watered & alive till this drought breaks. october is supposed to be our wettest month - my fingers, toes, arms & legs are crossed.

take care, everyone.
marsha

Sorry to bore you GOB's with 'guy stuff', but here it is! Finished all the shingles on the outside of the new windows and just did the interior trim around two of them on the inside, only six more to go. Great news is that at midnight last night I had my new table saw assembled, put the portable base together this morning, and cut the first pieces of window trim. What a delight after fighting the old saw for years. Nights and mornings are getting cooler now and frost isn't far away. DW just confirmed her two week trip to Hawaii in Feb, then there's a convention in Wash. DC in March. Wonder what she can find in-between. Certainly am happy there are places she can go with her friends without me having to go too. The 50 mile journey to Bellingham yesterday for the new saw was enough of an ordeal.
I just got another J A Jance mystery. I like her style and characters, and they take place locally or in Arizona.Now I have to allot time to read it. You know, the more I think about those pasties the more interesting they sound. Make some entree kind and some dessert kind. Maybe spinach, goat cheese, potato, carrot and shredded turkey leg.
Have to finish lunch and hit it again. Everything in and around the sunroom window area is spread all over the back yard and I can't mow the grass.(can't call it a lawn with all the weeds and moss) Sort of a "but first" situation. It will all work out in time. Walk softly, and be aware of gravity.

bal -
that pastie combo sounds fabulous.
anything with spinach and goat cheese gets my attention. the
dh came home from the uk talking about these pasties. i
should jump on the bandwagon and give them a try, too.
but what's really got me going this evening are the stuffed
shells. am going to have to make some, soon! de-lish!

i'd rather be beaten with a large stick than have to drive
beyond my everything-i-need-is-within-5-mile-radius zone.
(although, hawaii *does* sound nice!) glad the good saw
made the trip worth it. what a great
skill, carpentry. my mind overheats when i think of what i
could do with just a modest bit of talent in that realm. i'd
rather work around my house more than most
anything else.
dig

Oh, to be a carpenter...

We bought an old ('bout 100 years) farm house four years ago, and it's still lookin' old!
I'm nearly finished ripping what remains of plastic tiles on the downstairs bathroom walls. Wait til DH sees it - that will teach him to take a nap! I'm so sick of the old partially tiled and peeling walls in there I'm going to give it a coat of paint just so it "looks" clean until we can actually move the bathroom.

Marsha, you are just like I am about driving any distance lol, have to go 10 miles just to do the marketing or get a decent loaf of bread. will not go any further, hate driving and having to watch all these cowboys and girls being in such a hurry most likely going no where but hanging unto that cell phone as if it grew out of their ear,
what ever did they do before its invention?
The stuffed shells very yummy, so every one said
Maria

Jas,I'd love to have another 100+ year old house. I fantasize /daydream/yearn about restoring an old home. Step by step.Footings, foundation, how are the rafters? new roofing, strip the walls to the studs, wire and plumb, sheet rock or lath and plaster, new windows with old style glass, ad infinitum. The reality of it is that I'm too old to start anything like that now, and finding something really old 'out west' would be hard too.

Dig. I'm spoiled living here in what USED to be a quiet little rural town with everything now just a mile away on the Tulalip Reservation. They put in a huge new casino which brought in so much money they built a shopping center with Home Depot, Wal Mart and a dozen small businesses, then a month ago they opened a 100 store Outlet Mall. Most of the new stuff is meaningless to me, but 6 major grocery markets,Co-op, lumber yard, bakery,library, bookstore and two Starbuck's within a 3 mile radius, what more could I want? (someplace in the sticks)

MG, Lost has taken a new turn hasn't it. They did say there would be some surprises. That underground creation is getting a little too far out for my imagination, but that's Hollywood. It is still one of my favorite TV entertainments, along with 'Disparate' Housewives.
The outside looks a little better.

The inside has 4 windows trimmed out, 4 to go.

And my pretty little new toy.

I think I would have liked this project much more ten years ago! I'll try to take some before, during, and after photos to post. I'm afraid our job won't be as good as yours would be, balvenie.

Jody