Stop and visit, talk all you want #3

Hey, everybody! Hi, once more. Welcome to Chatfest, 3rd Edition.

We came from here...


http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/793336/

Chatty group tonight ain't we? Glad to see it though :)

Well, my new printer came today too... finally. My old LexMark all in 1 gave up the ghost, and I couldn't find one I liked but WalMart had this one on sale the Monday after Thanksgiving for $40. Was really glad my old USB cable worked though, cause I didn't think about getting a new one.

WHY did I take the kids to McDonalds?? WHY did I feel the need to stop and ask my 17 DS if he wanted to go? WHY did I end up with 6 ppl in my car that only seats 5? (yea DS's BFF ended up in the cargo hold, thank goodness its a small town) I spent $25 at McDonalds! When did fast food get so expensive? And the service was awful, they got the order wrong the first time... geez LOL I'm done griping now I think..Well, not quite. I have worked at McDonald's, its NOT a hard job. Why must they screw it up so badly? OK now I'm done. There is my pet peeve.... not so "fast" food and wrong orders LOL

Marcy mentioned reading, I was gonna ask if any of you are avid readers... I am, and my 17 YO gave me a book today called The Color of Law by Mark Gimenez. Its on the order of John Grisham lawyer books. I'm really impressed, I can barely put it down! I'm gonna look to see if he has written any more. I read every day. I love Nora Roberts but not her stuff written as JD Robb. I've read everything by Stephen King, Dean Koontz and John Saul. Pretty sure I've read all Nora Roberts and Anne Rice too. I'm looking for new authors LOL Oh and I've read all Maeve Binchey's books too.

I wanna know how the pumpkin cookies turn out too.. I have a friend with a recipe for them she swears by, I'll try to remember to get it and post it.

What are Swedish meatballs? I've obviously never had them, but I'm all for crock pot cooking :) I use ours at least once a week.

Ok, I'm done for now LOL
Hugs!

Janis

Rudolph is on! :)

Hey Janis....I am an avid reader too. I almost always have several books from the library in the wintertime. Now in the summer, I am lucky to get through one or two a month, because of all my gardens. I read all kinds of books. I like Nora Roberts,lately been on an 'out west' kick...can't remember the author...lol. Lots of cowboys and indian stuff though. I also like autobiographies, cookbooks, just all kinds of things. I have never watched much tv...but find myself watching more this winter for some reason. Guess I needed something to do!!
I can't see to sew anymore. I really got to get these glasses changed!!
We just found out yesterday that DH's bonus he always gets at Christmas time...is no more!! How swell that was! We usually spent most of it on the kids . I think Christmas will be kinda slim this year!!

Marcy, that about the Christmas bonus stinks!! My sis and her hubby went through that a couple years back, Brian always got a 2 week pay as his Christmas bonus, and the one year, they told them in November no bonuses.... and Jenn and Brian always did all their shopping when that bonus came. With 5 kids, it was a tight Christmas for them that year. So sorry to hear it.

I don't watch alot of TV, just Food Network and Court TV. Some Discovery channel. I don't like sitcoms very much, and the reality shows bore me stupid, except for Food Networks "The Next Iron Chef" and "The Next Food Network Star" LOL I wish I could cook like that. Culinary school is just too expensive :(( My kids would never eat the stuff anyway LOL.

I have never been into sewing, I used to do French Beaded Flowers, until I hurt my wrist. Now the wire work is just too much for my wrist. So I have a huge collection of beads that are just taking up space. I hope to get back into it soon, along with other bead work. I don't do much jewelry, but I love the safety pin baskets and stuff.

I read year round. In the evenings mostly, but I always have at least one book open someplace. I keep a book in the car to read while I'm waiting on the kids bus in the afternoons.

Well, Mike will be home soon, and I really want to read some more of this book so goodnight all

Hugs
Janis

LOL, all this talk about food made me see "French Bread Flowers", instead of "Beaded" ones. Thanks for the recipe link, misty, I bookmarked it. I never thought about pumpkin cookies, just pumpkin bread. I think I'd like them with raisins instead of choc. chips.
I thought everybody knew about apples and pork--good combo. But cake and gravy?! Eeeeew. "To each, his own".

I have been an avid reader from the time I could read. The very best book I have read in the last few years, except for the Bible, is End of the Spear by Steve Saint. I laughed and cried all the way through it. I highly recommend it. It is a true story, too.

Sorry to hear about the bonus, Marcy. It seems like the economy is taking a downward turn all over the country and affecting all of us adversely. Everything is going up except wages and bonuses!

KyWoods, my pumpkin bread recipe calls for raisins so I don't see why you couldn't put them in pumpkin cookies instead of choco chips.

I have to take DH to the doctor tomorrow. His back is hurting him soooo bad and when he admits he is hurting, you know the pain is really bad because he has a high pain threshold. He went to bed about 7 p.m. tonight because of the pain. :o(((

Anyway, if I don't check in tomorrow, y'all will know where I am.

Good night, all. Have a good day tomorrow!

Marsue, I sure hope they can do something positive for your DH. Back pain is all the worse because so many people think you're faking it, which always made me furious when I had trouble with it.
I love true stories, so I will have to look for that book, "End of the Spear". Thanks for mentioning it.

I know, Ky. We have had a hard time getting the doctors to take DH's pain seriously. I wish they could experience what he is going through. As I said, he has a high pain threshold so I KNOW when he says he is hurting, that he is REALLY hurting. We have simply got to find someone who will listen to him and not just brush him off. DH had back surgery years ago (in the early 70's) and he has said he won't go through that again. That is one reason he has tried to "tough it out" but I think he has finally come to the end of his rope with this pain.

You should be able to find the book, End of the Spear, in almost any bookstore, but it is a Christian book and I know you can find it in any Christian book store. It is written by the son of a missionary who was killed by natives somewhere in South America way back in the late 1950's. Steve Saint's father was one of five missionaries who were killed. Steve Saint and his family went back to South America and lived among the same natives who had killed his father. The story of their time there with the natives is just amazing.

Thanks all about the bonus. I don't really care for ourselves, but we used that for Christmas gifts to the kids. I guess they will get over it though! It was nice while it lasted. It seems when these companies renegotiate their contracts, they tend to leave out the retirees. Oh well.
Marsue, thanks for the name of that book. I too, will look for it. Sounds interesting.
I hope your hubby gets some relief from his back pain. I know about back pain, having had 3 major back operations. My whole spine is fused and I still have pain. It can make life pretty miserable. I wish him good luck tomorrow at the doctor.
Nite all.

night all! I think the third dose of meds might make me sleep! :)

Swedish meatballs...hamburger, onions, paprika, salt, pepper. Cooked in a sauce that like Stroganoff. Serve over noodles. Yum!

Okay, I've caught up now.

Stephen King is my number one fave. Dean Koontz is good but I prefer Clive Barker. Also, Arthur Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Anne Rice, Robert Silverberg, Anne Rule, Roger Zelazny, Anne MacCaffrey (hmm, lots of Annes), Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston, James Rollins and Orson Scott Card. That's all I can think of right now. My brain is tired.

I've discovered a series that I'm liking. Writers are Barb and JC Hendee and their first book is "Dhampir". I just finished the second one and it's called "Thief of Lives". There is a third but I can't remember what the title is. Sleepy. If you liked Buffy TVS or Anne Rice, you'll like these. Vampire stories. Fun, huh?

Okay, good night everybody!

Wow! I cannot keep up with this. I am an avid quilter and as soon as it starts to get colder out, I am in the sewing room. Although it has gotten up to the 60's every day this week. So I am out in the yard still doing some fall cleanup and working on some hardscape for new areas next year. I also like to read and have several books I want to get to if things slow down enough for me to read. My real problem is I can't pick just one thing. I love to read, garden, hike, cook and sew! I belong to a quilt bee that meets once weekly and we go to lunch that day too. They get so much more done than I do because they don't garden and spend all that time outside like I do.

A comment from the last thread-I love my cordless mouse, DD has the GH game and just loves it. She has always been into music and she is 36! Hope you all will let me just pop in when time allows ; ) Oh yeah, here is a great recipe site www.allrecipes.com

I like Anne Rule too. Any true crime really. I could never really get into Clive Barker's stuff. I'll definitely have to look for the Hendee books, they sound good.

I finished that one my DS gave me, The Color of Law. If you like John Grisham at all, I highly recommend it. Its about a black prostitute accused of murder in Dallas TX, and the white corporate lawyer that gets chosen to defend her. He has to choose between doing the right thing (defending her to the best of his ability) or risk losing everything, his career, his wife, his home... its really good.

Well, here are a couple quick pictures of what I woke up to this AM. No school for the kiddo's :)

That is out my front door.. waiting for who sees what is "wrong" with the picture.. something isn't right, who is gonna notice it? LOL

This is alot of snow for our first accumulation of the season :)

This picture is taken out my sliding glass doors, overlooking the back yard. The doggy is Reb, who is part American Husky and part wolf, so he LOVES this weather :)

Ok one last thing for now. I have a friend who makes what she considers the best pumpkin cookies ever... they are soft and moist. The recipe is here http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/detail.aspx?ID=32364 She substitutes pumpkin pie spice for the nutmeg and cinnamon though, equal amounts. She said you can add choc. chips or nuts but she doesn't :)

Enjoy

ok, i'll bite......where does the walkway go?

LOL I wondered if anyone would see it :) The stairs go exactly where you see them go.. no place. The county was supposed to come cut the guard rail so the kids could wait at the top of the steps for the bus, but they never did, and now I drive the kids to the bus stop so we don't even use them They were built in October :( But when Tori starts junior high, in not quite 2 years she will use them for the bus, and the UPS man comes up and down them alot :)

well, if all else fails...you could cover them in plants and have an elevated garden!! beautiful pictures!!

Thats an excellent idea :) I'll have to run that one by Mike Thanks!

And thanks for the compliments on the pics too

Janis

your welcome. if the elevated garden thing works out, post pics....would love to see them. makes me think back to when i was a kid. my dad would grow cucumber across clothes line to keep them off the ground. we had cucumbers dangling in the air all summer long!

Good morning! Got an e-mail from my boss. Seems I have another interview with HER boss on Thursday, so I've made to step two.

34 degrees and the sun is shining. Snow and rain expected tonight, however. Dishes sitting in the sink staring at me. Cats wanting to go outside but the patio is covered in a sheet of ice so they just sit and meow at me and don't go out.

I have a cordless mouse but it's hooked up to the computer downstairs. Maybe I'll get DH to get it for me.

Love the snow pics, Janis. Also like the idea of elevated garden.

And good idea on the raisins in the cookies. I'm going to do that instead. Saturday I'm free so I'll make them then.

Keeping my fingers crossed for you Kwajin! Sounds good so far!!
I know what you mean about the cats not going out. Mine does the same thing. You open the door for her, she looks out..sniffs the air, and does a double back..real quick! We have about 4 inches of snow on the ground...and still snowing!

Kwan that is great news :)

We have 4-5 inches here too Marcy, supposed to snow til like 6 tonight

I was going through some photos this morning and I found this pic of my neice and her kiity. I don't remember what they were looking at but it was too cute an opportunity to pass up.

And here's one of my mom in before she was married.

Hey all! Sleeping til Noon puts you WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY behind on here! LOL

Hey Misty! Feeling better?

Hey Kwan! A little bit, thanks! After the 3 doses of meds and sleeping over 12 hours! LOL

A little better is better than a little worse! LOL

Dern! I gotta go to work now. Talk to everyone tonight!

So true! LOL

Glad to hear you're feeling at least a little better, Misty. You musta needed all that sleep. Love the pic of the little girl and her kitty looking out the window! And the one of your Mom when she was young. Is that a dog sitting in the background?
Woofens, y'all got a little more snow up there than we northern KY folks. Heck, the grass here wasn't fully covered, and what fell on all the streets just melted right away. Love the stairway to nowhere, and yep, it would make a great set of plant shelves! 'Course the UPS man would have to be careful...

Janis, no snow, here, thank goodness. But I like looking at it in photos. Today we had a beautiful sunshiney day with a temp in the low 60's. (am I gloating?)
I wondered why your stairs went up to a guard rail. LOL
Kwan, glad to hear about you making it to step #2 for the job. Keep us posted on further developments. The photo of your niece and the cat was great! Also, the photo of your mom.
Cactus, you pop in anytime you like. We miss you when you are not here.
Misty, glad you are feeling better!

Took DH to the doctor and she prescribed a mild painkiller for him to take at night before he goes to sleep. Since he takes a bloodthinner he can't take muscle relaxers and they have to be careful about prescribing anything that will react badly with the blood thinner. Sigh. But hopefully this will help him to relax and get some sleep at night and ease the pain somewhat. Short of that, the only remedy seems to be back surgery and he's not having any talk of that! He's been there, done that once and won't do it again.
Gotta go make supper. Be Back later.

Thanks all! Thinking I might need a nap! :) DH made supper-Nachos, so I didn't have to worry about it! :)

Well, that was MUCH earlier today, we have more now, here is a pic... and the kiddo's are already on a 2 hr delay tomorrow. Belmont County, which is where Mike works, is on a Level 3 Snow Emergency, which means anyone on the roads (even to or from work) can be arrested. Emergency vehicles only. He will get home, as he knows all the cops and they will let him through, but I'm worried :(

Glad your feeling better, Misty.

I had hoped we would have heard something from Marsue by now about her DH at the doctors :(( Hopefully she will post soon.

Oh goody, Marsue you're back.. I was getting worried about you. I wish there was another alternative for your hubby. I live on pain killers and muscle relaxers when my back is bad, and take an anti-inflammatory just about daily. Nothing have have ever given me for pain touches my shoulder when it flares up though. I told the doctor it feels like someone has stuck a burning torch in between my shoulder blade and the muscles. Tell him I said I hope it helps at least enough for him to sleep

Thanks, Janis. I'll tell him what you said. He can't take anti-inflammatory meds because of the blood thinner but at least he can take this pain med. Sounds as if you really get a bad pain in your shoulder! I can't even imagine having to live with that kind of pain daily but I am sure DH can relate to what you feel!

another pretty snow photo--glad it's you and not me, though, that is living in "snow country". We southerners just couldn't make it up north, I fear! LOL

PS do your kids ever try sledding down those stairs on a garbage can lid or something (when you are not looking)?

DH is cooking hamburgers the old-fashioned way--frying them in an iron skillet! LOL It makes a greasy mess on the range top but it will be worth the effort to clean it up once I get a bite of that juicy burger! Yum! We rarely fry anything so this is a treat, indeed!
Those nachos sound good, Misty.

OMG Marsue.... I really hope they don't think about that I would have a heart attack on the spot! We just put the stairs in in October so this s the first time we have had snow on them.

I am looking for old iron skillets. I found new ones someplace, oh it was Tractor Supply Company, but I would really like old seasoned ones. My mom had a huge 14 or so inch one when I was a kid, but she has no idea what happened to it. Wish I still had that one. My grandfather made a handle over the iron handle with Bondo (the stuff they use to repair cars) that didn't get hot. It was nice. I do have a 12 inch cast iron griddle.

There is a way you can season new iron skillets but I can't remember what it is. I have had my iron skillet a long time and I think the instructions on how to season it came with it. There was a round paper label stuck to the bottom of the skillet (on the inside of the skillet) and if I remember correctly the instructions were on the underneath side of the label.

and yeah, I certainly hope your kids don't get any crazy ideas about sledding down that staircase, Janis! Sorry I mentioned it but since I still kinda think like a kid it "dawned" on me that they might think of something like that.