Thursday, 02 July 09

Posted on Thursday, July 2, 2009 at 03:43

Good morning!  I hope anyone stopping by is doing well.

The strawberry farm is just opening this week. I've heard the berries are on the small side and not very sweet yet so I'm going to wait to pick until late next week. I've got 4-5 flats to pick - 2-3 for me and 2 for my mother. I'm told they are going for $1.30/lb this year which is still cheaper than getting a quart for $1.50 at the store. Anyway, I've still a bit of jam left but will make 1 batch to restock then dehydrate the rest. Gosh but I LOVE the dehydrated ones in my oatmeal or cream of wheat! Yummy! They are good in muffins too. I usually keep a gallon jar of dehydrated Strawberries which lasts close to 5 months if I'm careful. I'm considering on upping it to two gallons of them this year. Something is telling me to up my storage items this year.

Blueberries are begining to look better - It was so dry here I feared they wouldn't amount to anything. I've a couple bags in the freezer yet so am begining to feel the need for those too. It's too soon for the blackberries but hopefully will have a good crop of them too. They are good for jam and syrup - mmmmm.  For a special treat I enjoy taking a bit of syrup and mixing a bit of soda water. Very refreshing.

Now the strawberries are about the only one of the above mentioned I have to pay for. The wild ones aren't plentiful here unless you have a ton of acrage to roam around on.  The rest I have spots along back roads that I can go pick to my hearts content. One gentleman lets me pick blackberries down his mile long driveway in return for a couple jars of jelly.  His berries are always huge and very sweet and he doesn't do a thing to them.  Sometimes a friend of mine has a bunch of extra plums that I cook down into jam or sauce. mmmmmmm to that too.  The best ones are the ones that get a tad bigger than my thumb (trust me, I have chunky fingers so that's pretty good size lol). Nice and sweet. The bummer is the pits but can't have everything.

Well, I'd better go do some chores here at work. There's some cabinets that really need to be cleaned unless we get a patient then it'll have to wait.

Have a great day all!

Michele

Two postings in a month.......

Posted on Friday, June 26, 2009 at 02:07

Hey, can you believe it?? LOL. Things have been busy here at work so haven't had much time to stop in. I was on vacation last week and just came back last night (Wednesday). There is always so much to catch up on when you go back to work after a vacation plus it was an order night which is never an easy task.

I had originally planned to go camping while on vacation but that didn't quite happen.  I spent the first 3 days doing some much needed deep cleaning and organizing. I still don't have everything unpacked and organized from my move in May but it's getting there. I did pace myself and took a couple hours each day to reflect and relax - mostly at the lake - Taffy and I have a favorite boat landing that we go to and are able to swim and relax - the water there is so much cleaner than at the park. You can see bottom quite a way out and Taffy loves chasing the schools of fish that come close to shore to feed on the minnows LOL. She's such a hoot.

Last Friday found me at the MREA energy fair in Custer, WI. I enjoy going and learning about alternative energy sources (solar, wind, geothermal, ect), browsing the booths of folks with bees wax products, other soy candles, homemade soaps, ect..... The food is awsome - I had a totally organic breakfast of apples and oranges, whole grain pancakes, eggs, organic coffee and fresh orange juice. It was awsome and very filling. Plenty of fuel to get me thru the morning. I had wonderful chats with folks from all over the country, picked up some books I'd been saving for (at a discount price even!!), my splurge was some fresh roasted coffee (roasted the day before). You know how sometimes coffee smells better than it tastes, well, this tasted better than it smelled and the smell was WONDERFUL!! I wish I'd have gotten another package but at $13.00/lb that was all I dare get. Since I don't buy starbucks or other coffe shop things, I treated myself to that bag of coffee and don't regret it. I did attend some workshops while I was there. Two on composting - one that was VERY informative with general info and another that focused on vermaculture (worms).  Another interesting one was on "survival living" - making the most with what you have.  It was extreemly humid that day so between the drive, walking around for 4 hours and everything else, I was more than ready to hit the rack that night. I did stop at Sam's Club on my way home to pick up a couple things for myself and my folks.

Father's day was uneventful. My dad is a truck driver and had to leave around 1pm but I did call him and we chatted a while. I had been over the day before with the groceries I picked up and the canvas bag of info he asked me to get at the energy fair.  He's looking to install solar for his work shop and possibly convert to geothermal cooling/heating.

This week has been so hot and humid I haven't felt like doing much at all. I did do another couple loads of laundry Tuesday. I am so fortunate that my landlord has cloths lines and lets me use them. He's on vacation until I think the 29th so I've been taking care of things while he's been gone.

Well, I'd better go. Wishing you all a good day, praying for rain for those of us that need it, cooler weather, and health for all.

Michele

Oh my Goodness!

Posted on Wednesday, June 3, 2009 at 04:02

It's June and almost 6 months since I last posted!! Where has the time gone?

I've moved into a nice 2 bedroom apartment across the street from the park. The only downside is that it's a busy street and the building is very close to the street and there's a lot of street noise. We're getting use to it tho. Taffy LOVES to go walking in the park. I try very hard to go when there's very few or nobody around then I can let her be free for a bit. She loves to take her swim then spend the next hour or so sniffing EVERY critter hole in the park and believe me, there are a LOT of critter holes LOL. Afterward, she takes her nap and snores very loudly. That's my goofy girl LOL. My apartment is in a converted old train depot that was built of brick in the late 1800's. It even has an old walk in safe!! My landlord has disabled the locking mechanism but it's still quite the conversation piece. A bit of car wax and I had that baby all shined up. It houses my canned goods nicely. It stays nice and cool.

I don't know what the night time weather is doing by all of you but tonite it once again dropped to 31-32 degrees. Not good for the gardens around here - making for some slow growing as the day time temps have been in the low 60's. We've been getting batches of rain tho. My dad still hasn't tilled up the garden except for his spuds.  Those he's got in and they are up. Go figure LOL. I don't dare plant anything as he'll till it all up and we'd have to start over. Uff da. Should have plenty for canning tho. We did talk him out of planting sweet corn as in the 35 years he's planted corn only one year did it come up and boy did the racoon have a feast LOL. We had silk up 45 feet in the pine trees!! There's a gentleman at the farmer's market that has some very primo corn every year for a very reasonable price.

I pray all are surviving the economy fluxes. Gas here has jumped 30 cents in a week. We are at $2.79 - well, when I came into work last night that's what it was. The groceries are jumping up as are other day to day items. I've been studying my Backwoods Home Anthologies that I do have and am anxiously waiting for my next 2 ( I suscribed for a year and got 2 Anthologies or was it 2 Anthologies and got a year subscription?? Anyway.......). There is soooooo much to learn about being self relient and a ton of things to do to stay afloat. I'm struggling even with my 2 jobs and no kids at home. God bless all of you making it on much less than I AND raising kids. My hat's off to all of you!

Well, gotta go do my morning chores and put one last pot of fresh coffee on. Have a wonderful day all and I'll try to get back before another 6 months passes LOL.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Posted on Sunday, January 25, 2009 at 05:20

Good morning friends. It's very cold outside - -15 and down to -25 with the wind chill. Brrrrr! It's been a very cold January - not much above zero all month thus far.

I'm just coming back from a two week vacation and am ready for another one LOL. I didn't do a whole lot at home as I had a lot of catch up work to do at the church - for those of you who don't know me (which would be the majority LOL I not only work my 11p-7am job but also am the custodian of our church. Busy days for me. Anyway, we finially got a "go getter" on the counsel which means for me a lot. I met with him and our associate pastor this past Tuesday to toss out my ideas for going green and organizing ideas. I couldn't believe the open response. It was basically whatever makes my job healthier and easier! I've compiled a list of products I prefer to use - such as baking soda and vinegar, how they are mixed and used, MSDS sheets for everything in my "office", an approximate need for supplies for a year, what I need for recycle recepticles, ect and put them into a Custodial Binder - much like the Household Binders so many of you have. By Friday I had both storage rooms cleaned and organized.  A dear friend of mine is going to work with me on the finial organizing steps as she is much better at it than I. Then I'll pull out my trusty lable maker and lable everything.

Taffy and I had a lot of snuggle time as it was bitter cold most of the two weeks and what better than to spend a cold afternoon or evening snuggled up with a furbaby, cup of hot cocoa and a good read? My but we got spoiled LOL.  I did accomplish a couple things at home but as mentioned, focused mostly on things at the church.

Also during my vacation I returned to my local YMCA as I was accepted into their version of The Biggest Loser. It's a very intense 12 week program full of health education and lots of exersize. It must be working because I posted a 12lb weight loss last week. If any of you watch the program, our group trainer is the northwoods version of Jillian! Uff da is she tough. I've discovered muscles that I didn't realize I had LOL.

Well, I've gotta go. Have a wonderful day all.

Michele

Needing a little help here

Posted on Monday, December 1, 2008 at 06:42

Hi again. I'm asking for a little help. As I mentioned I'm in the process of going gluten free and am looking for some good recipes that have been tried and true so to speak. I did type in gluten free on the home page and did come up with a couple but if anyone out there has any ideas, good recipes, or web site suggestions I'd really, really appreciate it. I've tried google but come up with sooooooo many sites and don't know which are good sites or not.

Thank you in advance for any help!!

Michele

Ok, I did find one website I like. Here it is:  http://www.gingerlemongirl.blogspot.com/

It's December.......

Posted on Monday, December 1, 2008 at 01:00

Good morning everyone and Happy December 1st. Yesterday marked the first Sunday in Advent - what a joyous occasion. Our church is doing something new this year - our Christmas tree is being transformed to be a "family" tree. Each family will be bringing in an ornament representing the "true" meaning of Christmas - boughten, home made, ect... They will replace the Chrismons that have been placed on the tree for forever. I suggested using some of the prettier and smaller Chrismons too. It's in consideration. I'm thinking if they just stop using them there will be a division and that wouldn't be good.

I will be going to the storage unit on my way home this morning to pick up my holiday decorations. I'll get my tree this coming weekend - I'm off so will be perfect. I may suprise my niece and ask her to come along and help pick it out. I always go to a tree farm 15miles out - they have a nice variety, are fresh cut and if you don't find something you like that is already cut you can wander out to the field and he'll cut it for you on the spot. I've never paid more than $15 for any size tree. I'm going to go smaller this year as it's just me, the dog and the cat at home now.

I go for my diabetes check on Wednesday. I've a few things to talk over with my doctor. One of the things I've been researching is a low-no gluten diet. I'm thinking that may help my blood sugars since no matter what I eat seems to make them spike. I've totally banned white foods (breads, rice, ect) from my diet and it worked well for a while but the last 8 months it hasn't seemed to make much of a difference. I do have access to most all of the different things used in baking and cooking gluten free so won't have to order it from a company - that is fortunate and would make trying it much easier. To be honest, I'm also hoping it would help me feel better - I've been having stomach issues for about a year or more now and after reading up on this diet, I've been able to associate several issues to the gluten.  We'll see. The only down side if it were to be a permanant change is I've a LOT of whole wheat flours and such in my storage. Nobody in my family will use it so would have to find someone to give it to.

Well, it's order night so better get going. Wishing you all a blessed Advent season!

It's almost Thanksgiving!!

Posted on Tuesday, November 25, 2008 at 05:24

Good Morning all. Man has it been nuts here. I was off the weekend and just now had a chance to pop in.  We've been so much more busy here in the last few years. We really noticed the higher volume once we moved into our new facility almost 8 years ago. We have many of the same Docs, same everything but people seem to be getting sicker - both young and  old. Yes, a LOT of problems could wait until clinic hours but those who really need to be seen in the ER are sicker and sicker than they use to be. We've had an increase of transfers to other hospitals by over 60% in the last 7-8 years. That's huge. I'm wondering if a lot has to do with diets and the enviroment. More fatty and refined foods are finding their way into homes - mostly for convience. Processed foods have a LOT more sodium which doesn't help, smokers, chemicals ............. Uff da, it's toxic soup!

I'm feeling MUCH better although still have some faint lingering after effects - I've been eating a lot of soup and crackers and "bland" type foods still as my tummy is still sometimes not happy. My BG's have more or less stabilized although am having trouble with them spiking a LOT with pretty much any simple carb I try no matter what color. The whole grains just don't seem to  be cutting it anymore so I'm looking into trying a gluten free diet for a couple weeks and see how that fairs. Can't hurt. In any case I'm to see my MD for my 6 month diabetes check next Wednesday anyway. I've a huge list of things to talk to him about - sick days, the diet, my neurontin.......

I'm scheduled to work tonite and then tomorrow (after getting off at 7am) coming back at 3pm for that "wonderful" 3-11 shift!! UGGGGGGG I swear someone up there has a grudge! Anyway, I'm off on Thanksgiving so will be going to the folks. I can do my laundry during the day as we don't eat until the guys come back from hunting.  I'm in charge of the rolls, squash, and mixing up the fruit salad. After dinner we usually play cards so it'll be nice to be able to do that this year. It's been a while since I've been off on the actual night.

Then begins the preps for Christmas!! I've already broken down and brought out my movies and watched a couple. Goodness but I absolutely LOVE a good Christmas movie - My all time favorite has to be the Muppet Christmas Carol. I'd like to hear what others enjoy.......  I think I'm in the mood from the snow we've been getting. Got a couple inches of the beautiful fluffy stuff last week and dustings on and off the remainder of the week.

Well, better go get the garbage out. Sending much love and many toasted warm Fuzzies to everyone!!

 God bless!!

Yuck, the flu is here!

Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2008 at 03:17

Good Sunday morning all. I wish I could say all is well but...... That stomach ailement was just a warm up for what lay ahead!! I've been very sick since Wednesday - yup, the flu. Uff da but am I miserable. I'm still not feeling very well but if I missed tonite that would have been three and I'd need a MD note to come back. Where do you go for a MD release on a Sunday??? Sure not paying for a ER visit for that!!!! My sugars are all over the place - anywhere from 50 to 260 and I've been spilling traces of ketones. I did keep down some chicken soup and crackers yesterday but I'm feeling pretty icky right now. I've been in bed for 3 days straight. I've pulled out masks to wear if any patients come in.

Well, things are looking fuzzy so I'll go for now. I'm not sure if I'll be in tonite or not so I'll wish everyone a good Monday too. I'm back Tuesday night so will hopefully see ya all then.

Love and Fuzzies!!!

Michele

Welcome to my kitchen!

Posted on Tuesday, November 11, 2008 at 02:31

Welcome to My Kitchen

1.  Do you have magnets on your fridge?  A couple - mostly to hold reminder notes.

2. Do you have a calendar in the kitchen and if so, what is it's theme?  My calendar is one from work - it's composed of pictures that employees submit yearly for a contest and the winners are published. There is also scripture subtitles added.

3.  What is your favorite kitchen gadget or tool?   My kitchen aide mixer

4.  Are you lucky enough to have a pantry of some kind?  Yes!  I turned the small spare bedroom into a pantry.

5.  What is your favorite appliance?  The crock pot and my toaster oven

6.  Do you have an eat in kitchen?  No - I have a small seperate dinning room

7.  Do you have a bread box?  no

8.  Do you have a picture of your kids on the fridge?  no

9.  Do you ever cooked breakfast in your pjs?   All the time LOL

10.  Do you have a favorite cookbook?  My 1990 Taste of Home

11.  Are you lucky enough to have recipes that were passed down from your mom and grandma?  Yes

12.  What's your favorite food?  Pizza - homemade of course

13.  What's your favortie thing to cook?  Soup

14.  Is your coffee pot electric or stove top?  I have both

15.  Do you make your own bread?  Yes - I enjoy making bread although now that I don't have a oven I have to use the breadmaker more as I can't fit a normal loaf into the toaster oven.

16.  Name one thing you have hanging on the wall in your kitchen. Paint chips (there's nothing on the walls right now)

17.  Is there a clock in your kitchen?  Come to think of it, no.

18.  Do you have a bowl of fruit on your table or counter?  I keep seasonal fruit in a bowl on the table. Right now it's apples and pears.

19.  What type of canisters do you have?  Blue Tupperware

20.  Does your kitchen have a theme?  Yes, "a work in progress" LOL.

21.  What's for supper tonight?  Chicken soup

22.  Do you have enough cabinet space?  No, it's a rather small kitchen

23.  Does your family use paper plates?   Very rarely. I have those metal camping plates and bowls for daily use.

24.  Do you have a good set of china packed up?  No we don't.

25.  Do you wear an apron to work in the kitchen?  LOL, LOL, LOL

26.  Name one thing you would change about your kitchen if you could.  Get a stove/oven!!! Right now I'm using a toaster oven and a hot plate for cooking.

Good Frosty Morning!

Posted on Tuesday, November 11, 2008 at 01:25

Good morning all. Brrrrrr, it's around 17 above out there tonite. We had a dusting of snow Saturday night and it's been cold enough to keep it around. Suppose to get up to 35-40 today however. Sigh..... "tis the season" LOL.

I can't believe how the stores quickly change from one holiday to another. The Christmas stuff was out well before Halloween and now it's in full force and we haven't had Thanksgiving yet. I simply detest how comercial Christmas has become. I'm ok with gift exchanging and such as long as there is meaning and purpose behind the gift. I think things thru and each gift I give either has a purpose or a special meaning. My nephew expects a "gag" gift each year - it's become tradition with us LOL. I remember one year he squealed on a gift I had gotten for my daughter and I told him that naughty little boys recieved sticks and stones from their aunts. Well, I boxed up some sticks I picked up in the yard and a handful of rocks, wrapped them and put them under the tree. I hid the sleeping bag (which he badly needed as we do a LOT of camping) and the look on his face was priceless. LOL. We still laugh about that. There have been other jokes but he knows I love him and there is always a gift which has been chosen with much thought and love for him. I am slowly teaching my neices that  I don't give a gift without such thought and each gift has a meaning.  It isn't about "getting a good present" with me. They can make as big of a list of "things" as they want for me to choose from but it doesn't mean they will get something from it.

I've been looking at my holiday recipes and deciding what I'll be making. I'm looking for ideas for packaging the "leftovers" for my Brothers and families. I keep a few of my favorites but everything else goes to the folks either on a platter or boxed up for everyone to take home and enjoy their favorites. Usually I make the same things but every once in a while one of my nieces or my nephew asks for a treat I haven't made in a few years. Works for me - everyone gets a favorite and nothing is wasted.

I can't wait to pull out the holiday movies and decorations. I LOVE christmas movies. I put them away every year and pull them back out the day after Thanksgiving in order to appreciate them more. I gradually begin decorating then too. My favorite movies???? Well, of course It's a Wonderful Life (such a powerful message), The Christmas Shoes and The Christmas Blessing (what tear jerkers!!!), The Muppet Christmas Carol and The Waltons Christmas. I've many more but those tend to be my most watched. Of course there's also the Miracle on 34th St classic.

Well, I guess I'd better go do something productive. Glad to see everyone and hope you all have a wonderful day!!

Love and Toasted Fuzzies - Michele

Happy Halloween!!!

Posted on Friday, October 31, 2008 at 04:47

Good morning everyone. I hope all are ready for however you celebrate this day. I bagged up treats for the neighborhood kids last night so all is ready for the doorbell tonite.

I was under the weather last weekend. I started with a wicked headache Thursday night - my nurse let me go home at 0500 - and it kept up until Monday morning. I ached all weekend. Tuesday night around midnight Taffy got sick - vomited thru the whole house. Poor baby but then she had gotten into the cat food too. I didn't give her anything but water Wednesday and Thursday gave her a small bit of bland dog food twice. She was doing very well until about 2230 last night - just as I was walking out the door to come in and splat..... What do ya do??

We've had some interesting weather this week. Monday morning I awoke to 1 1/2 inches of snow on the ground. It didn't get much above 25 all day. The rest of the week up till yesterday was cloudy and very cool. Yesterday was sunny and 61. Today is suppose to be breazy and 45. Tis that time of year I guess. Brrrrrr.

I made baked chicken that I had marinated in italian dressing for 24 hours. Delish! I also baked some diced spuds and warmed up some green beans. For desert I took some near wilted apples, quartered them, sprinkled them with orange juice, a bit of cane juice crystals, cinnamon and oatmeal and topped with some phyllo dough. Baked at 350 for 45 minutes. Turned out wonderful!!! The grocery has organic apples for .99/lb this week so this afternoon I'll go get some to dry this weekend. I've only a gallon of dried apples left and will go thru that in no time. I love them in my oatmeal or chopped in pancakes or muffins. They are so good to snack on too. I also put them in my stollen at Christmas.

Speaking of Christmas, has anyone else started to think of how it's leaping out at us this year?? I need to start now cleaning church in order to have everything for Christmas Eve services. It's amazing how so many focus on having the church shiney for those folks who only come once or twice a year when the rest of the year it's just fine. makes me angry. I try to keep God's house clean as can be year round but instead of focusing on the real reason we congregate on that special night, they worry about what a few might say because the floor isn't freshly waxed or the windows sparkling clean. I worry about what God thinks, not everyone else. Ok, enough venting.

I wish all a wonderful day. Sending out those warm fuzzies!

Michele

It's not time for winter!!!

Posted on Monday, October 20, 2008 at 17:09

Ok, it's weird weather here today. First the "ice pellet shower" a couple hours ago, then sunshine and now when looking out the window, yes, you guessed it, a brief snow pellet shower!!!! Unbelievable. I'm thinking a nice hot bowl of soup and hot cocoa for supper! Warms my tummy thinking of it.

Michele

I am sooooo Blessed!!!

Posted on Monday, October 20, 2008 at 15:56

Hello all. Sorry I missed you this weekend. It was sooo busy at work I barely had time to think. I never got a chance to pop in and post. While a lot of folks are dreading Monday, I'm rejoycing it's Monday. I'm off tonite so plan on getting a good night's rest. I'm at my parent's house doing laundry since my washer died last week. I'm sure it decided it was moved once too many times and gave up LOL. My father has a old wringer washer that I'm trying to get the nerve to ask if it works and if he's using it and if I may borrow it until I get enough saved for a small energy efficient washer. They are gone for the week so I'm also coming to check on the place for them.

God is soooo good!!!! I recieved a huge blessing Saturday when my Pastor called and woke me up. "What you doing?" he asked. "Sleeping" says I. "Not anymore - I'm on my way home from Luck (a town way east of here I believe) and have a deer for you. I'll stop by on my way home and drop it off." So, needless to say I've been cutting up venison. What a wonderful gift as my meat supply was getting very low and I was praying for guidance to get thru the winter months on such little meat. Once again God provided for my needs. Pastor thanked me for accepting - he loves to hunt and it's his "away time" and private time with God. If he didn't have someone to give the extra meat to he wouldn't be able to go - so he says. Guess we're both a blessing to each other. His wife doesn't think they need that much being it's just the two of them so gives him the "sigh" whenever he goes out. He says it's a gift to be able to tell her that he's going to share with me and she just smiles and says "Have fun." I've been singing God's praises more than usual the last couple days. When the grocery has chicken on sale I'll pick up enough to suppliment the larder, have plenty of a variety of beans and such for other forms of protein so I will have enough to see me thru next year. Pastor asked if I'd be interested in more - knowing his need to go I said yes. My Brother and SIL are struggeling and could use some meat so I'll share with them to help. Pastor doesn't mind and he feels good knowing he's helping someone along with getting his "alone time".

It's been chilly here and tonite it'll be down right cold with temps down to 25. Brrrrr. When I got up this afternoon and went to let Taffy out it was raining. When I got a closer look and took a listen, I realized it was a rain/ice pellet mix. Uggggg. It's still October and I'm not quite ready for that. A half hour later the sun was out. Go figure LOL.

Today is my daughter's 19th birthday. Wonder how she's doing. Haven't heard from her since she was angry at me last week. I was going to take her to take her driver's test but she didn't have anything ready. She needed her birth certificate which my Mother has locked up here and she's not home. She wanted  me to give her $20.00 to get another copy but I didn't have the money. She then asked if my Grandparents would have it. I got a bit upset with her and said on NO uncertain terms was she to go ask them for money. She knew about this 3 weeks ago and waited until that day to worry about things. She's done this over and over again and we've all tried to explain to her she needs to plan better. Well, she was upset saying that nobody sent her Birthday cards and money in them. I pointed out that she's an adult now and most people don't send Birthday money anymore. Uff da, not pretty - she called me the "B" word and so I told her to pray on it and hung up. I also told her I had a card for her but she hadn't given me her new address since she moved from my parents house last month. She didn't like the rules and broke them along with sneaking men for overnite, drinking and doing drugs so my Mother, who has doted on this child since birth, asked her to find somewhere else to live. My parents gave her everything and never asked for anything in return. My daughter never once offered them rent money, payed for groceries or anything. She didn't help clean or with other chores. Sigh........ I'm praying very hard God guides her back to him. She hasn't been to church in 3 years and refused to be Confirmed - the week before confirmation. Pastor gave her until that Friday to turn in her final assignment but she told him off instead. He called me Saturday and asked if I wanted him to confirm her anyway (he's never been put in that position in the 30some years as a Pastor) and I told him no. It would have been a big lie. To God, herself, us and the congregation and I wouldn't have any part in a lie. He thanked me and we had a very long talk. It was hard for him, seeing her go that way and hearing her talk to him that way.

Well, enough depressing talk. Sorry about that. I'd better go change out laundry. God Bless you all!

Michele

Happy Wednesday

Posted on Wednesday, October 15, 2008 at 15:01

Good afternoon all. Hope all are well.

Yesterday I made a small loaf of bread and decided that the bread maker may do better if I made the bigger loaf so today I tried again. MUCH better. The other wasn't "pretty" - don't get me wrong, it tasted very good just the crust was to crispy even after buttering the top and it was all uneven. Now as an afterthought, maybe if I pulled the dough out and smoothed it out after the kneading it may have worked. Guess that's another experiment.

After spending a very chilly day in the house I pulled out the plastic for the windows and started that project. I have some rope caulk and am going around the gaps in the storm windows then putting the plastic on. I didn't finish by the time I had to leave for work but  the house was already starting to feel warmer by the time I left at 2:15. I still have to do the living room and basement.

Had venison stew for lunch. I had started it in the slow cooker last night for supper but it wasn't done so finished it up today. Brought some for supper which I need to eat pretty soon or my blood sugar will crash. Any time now we'll get swamped with patients and then I won't get a chance to eat. That's the usual for 3-11 shift.

The leaves are 85-90% gone here so these grey rainy days seem much colder than they really are. The lawn is covered again but am thinking of leaving them until spring now. It'll add to the soil. The back yard is a huge disaster but I'm not going to tackle that one.

Well, I'm going to go have my dinner. Have a great night everyone.

Michele

It's a new week!

Posted on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 at 01:37

Good early morning all. I pray everyone had a wonderful weekend. We had beautiful Indian Summer weather here. I didn't get as much accomplished as I'd have liked but was still feeling bad with that sinus infection. I was able to get a script for antibiotics from the MD on call Friday morning before I left work. It helped but I still feel drained.

Sunday my Father decided it was the day to cut down the huge old ( at least 35yrs) Birch tree that sat in front of the house. It was past it's prime and needed to come down. We all got together to help. We got 3 cords of split wood plus my SIL was able to salvage a lot of branches that were 2-3 inches for starters. That tree had been there since my folks built that house so it was a big thing. It didn't take us long to clean it out as we had 2 splitters and a lot of help. We piled it into my Dad's big trailer and the John Deer hauled the wood and all of us down to my Brother's house where the wood went. My Dad won't burn Birch but my Brother has no issue burning it in his outdoor burner so we stacked it all there. Boy, that was some wet and heavy stuff! Then we all went back to the folks where my Mother had made BBQ ribs, scalloped spuds w/ham, beans and apple squares. Yummy! With all that work my blood sugar was at the low side so I was able to have an apple square. I also brought a small piece home - along with some spuds and ham.

I was doing laundry yesterday and my washer went out - AGAIN! I fear it's been moved one too many times and has lost it's will to wash LOL. Seriously, it died. My Dad is going to come over and check the belts but we all fear it's something more. Sigh..... just when I though I could get that new bed I need so badly. We'll see.

I was able to haul out the lawn mower and mulch under the leaves in the front yard but when I got up this morning, it didn't look like I'd done anything LOL.  I'll go over it once more on the next nice day (which could be a while).

Didn't get to the garage nor do the baking. I just didn't feel up to it. I've the stuff ready to make bread when I get home. I'll just toss it all into the bread maker, take a nap and should be up about the time it's done. Mmmmm, fresh warm bread. There is nothing like it.

I've a weird schedule this week. I'm working now, off tonite, the icky 3-11 Wednesday, off Thurs then my night shift Fri, Sat, and Sunday. What do you do??? Somewhere in all that I have to clean church too. Probably Friday.

Well, I need to go move around or I'm going to start getting sleepy. I shouldn't as I slept most of the day - I didn't sleep well last night so I suppose my body was making up for it.

Have a wonderful blessed day everyone. Maybe I'll get to see you Wednesday but since it's a 3-11 don't count on it LOL.

Michele

TGIF!!!

Posted on Friday, October 10, 2008 at 01:09

Whew, another week over and I'm off this weekend!!! I fear I have a sinus infection which with the drainage is making my tummy quite touchy. Uff da, not how I want to spend my weekend. Yesteday I spent in bed. Warmed up chili for supper along with the last slice of garlic sourdough bread.  I also did a load of laundry but decided to save the rest for either today or tomorrow.

I'm thinking of putting my clothsline up as it's suppose to be warm and breezy  today and tomorrow. I can hang clothes out for what will probably be the last time this year. I've some line to put up in the basement for the lighter items. I've found that by turning on a small fan those items dry fairly quickly. The heavier items end up taking on a musty smell so I use the dryer for those.  Anyone else have that problem and what do you do?

I'm planning to also clean up and organize the garage so I can put my truck in it. Since the move I haven't taken the time to do that.  It's quite a mess right now and with the snow right around the corner I'd better get a jump on that. I'll also do some yard work - lots of leaves laying around out there and bird feeders to put back up. The birds have been looking. I'll take the mower out for the last time and mulch the leaves then leave it all until spring. The mower will then go to the storage unit and snow blower will come out to prep.

Sigh, I'll need to pull out the bread maker at some point too. I can't make a full size loaf in the toaster oven so may as well use the maker.  The last loaf I made in it was heavy so will have to play with the gluten amt.  I love the recipe from Jackie Clay at Backwoods Home Magazine ( http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/clay78.html ) but haven't been lucky at making it with the bread maker.

I'm about out of granola so will probably make some of that as well. I've got to finish cleaning church this afternoon so I'm thinking I'll mix the batch up at home and bake it there (remember, I have no oven, just the toaster oven) since I have to be there anyway. I'm hungry for oatmeal cookies so will mix them up, bake up about a half dozen and freeze the rest. I've found it works out nicely. Just scoop the dough and place on lightly sprayed cookie sheet, place in freezer until frozen and put in freezer bag. This way it's easy to only bake up a few at a time. I like how soft and chewy they turn out too. I use Crystal Miller's recipe for these.

Well, I'd better go do some chores. I wish you all a wonderful, blessed weekend. I hope you are blessed with good weather and good health to enjoy it. See you all Monday night!

Michele

Not Feeling very well

Posted on Thursday, October 9, 2008 at 06:47

good morning all. It's been a VERY long night around here. Steady busy and I woke up last night not feeling well. Just feeling "punky" and very tired even tho I slept all day yesterday and most of the evening. Uff da, not the way I want to go into the weekend.

Wednesday, 08 October 08

Posted on Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 05:21

Good morning everyone. Busy couple of nights here but have finially found time to post.  It's been quite rainy but temps in the 50's so it's not miserable. Sounds like nicer weather for the weekend which will be nice as I'm off. I'm planning to do the outside work Saturday.

Yesterday I caught up on laundry and cleaned my kitchen. I splurged and bought of one of those H2O steam mops. Boy do I love it. It sure made short work on my floors, they are the cleanest they've ever been and no chemicals. The pads cleaned up nicely too. Another plus.

I made chili last night for supper. It's my first attempt at a "small" batch. It didn't turn out too bad. I forgot the onions so will have to add them today. Actually, I think I've done that once before and simply chopped some up and sprinkled them on top after dishing the hot chili up. Yup, now that I think about it it was pretty tasty. Guess I'll wiz some thru the chopper and do that. Simple fix LOL. Next week is a pot of veggie. I've enough in my bucket in the freezer to make a "small" pot and have some organic broth - which flavor is the question. Veggie broth, chicken or beef? Or maybe use tomato juice that didn't make it into the chili. Hmmmmmmm. That's what I love about soup. You really can't go wrong. Dump in whatever foods you like, add broth or other liquid and simmer. Spices help with the flavor, just use your favorites. And, no pot of fresh homemade soup is the same.

I'll have to bake bread this weekend. Possibly sooner. Thank goodness for my bread machine. I picked up the best sour dough garlic french bread yesterday. Toasted with butter was delish. I melted a dab of cheese on the slices which made for a nice compliment to the chili. I know, corn bread is better but this was sooooooo good.

I've been working on my household binder a little. I should be ready to roll with it by the first of the year. I'm so greatful so many have shared theirs. I've gotten so many ideas and for that I thank all of you. I'm also putting one together for cleaning church. We'll see.

Well, gotta go straighten the laundry cabinets - partly to stay awake and it's clean laundry order day around here. The day person has to go count laundry (yes, count each piece) and compare it to the list then place an order for clean to make the par levels.

Have a wonderful day everyone. God Bless!

Michele

Sunday, October 5th, 2008

Posted on Sunday, October 5, 2008 at 04:42

Good morning Friends. I hope all are well. It's been busy in the ER the last couple nights so haven't had time to come check in.

Finially had 2 days of cold but sunny weather. It was so nice to see the sun shining again after a bit over a week with little to none. It's suppose to rain again today. We need rain so I'm not complaining. There has been heavy frost in the morning as it's been in the low 30's. The leaves have quickly turned and are now falling just as quickly. It won't be long.....

I'm hoping to make it to church this morning as our Pastor is getting his head shaved by the Youth Group during Pot Luck. See, every summer for the last 20 odd years he has taken interested members of the High School Youth have taken a 250 mile bike trip and for the last..... oh..... say 10-15 years have done it to raise money for World Hunger. The last few years we've had a very small group but they still raise quite a bit. Last year they managed to raise $5,000. Along the way of their trip they met a very nice couple who were very impressed that these young people and 4 adults would give up a week of their summer vacation to do this. They were so impressed that they offered to match whatever was raised by our riders. Well, they matched the full $5,000!!! Pastor, being confident, announced at the planning meeting of this years ride that if the group could match the total $10,000 from last year they could shave his head. Well, a couple weeks ago that same couple called and asked how the kids did. Pastor told them and amazingly enough this couple matched this year's total bringing the end total to $10,300!!! Imagine Pastor's suprise LOL. (His wife is real impressed - not!)

After church I'll go home and go to bed for the day as I work tonite. Tomorrow I'm meeting with Jill at church to go over a cleaning schedule. I'm looking forward to the meeting for two reasons. First, the most obvious, is that I'll have a nice organized schedule for cleaning and open communication with Pastor and the Counsel.  Second, I really like Jill. She's a great person to be around, I just feel better talking with her. She's so supportive of everything.

Tuesday I'm going to my folks to make a huge pot of veggie soup and can it right away.  I don't have a stove, just a small 2 burner electric table top so for heavy duty things I go either to the church or the folks. I'm hoping to get around a dozen pints and 4 quarts. That'll last a while. I've still 6 quarts and 6 pints of chicken / turkey soup, 1 quart of chili and 2 quarts and 2 pints of stew. Guess the next batch better be chili. My mother doesn't like my chili because it has a bit of a kick to it and I put in black beans. She prefers to just dump in plain Bush's baked beans, tomato juice, lots of onions and a pinch of chili seasoning - oh, and lots of kidney beans. Then she adds a bunch of elbow noodles. Me, I like to use the spicy baked beans, 1 large can of the maple flavor or a quart of my homemade, a pkg of organic chili seasoning, lots of onions, a large can diced tomatoes, fresh tomato juice and a quart or two of black beans - pinto's too if I have enough room. MMMMMMMM good stuff.

Well, I'd better go and take care of morning chores. Have a wonderful day friends. See you soon!

Michele   

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Posted on Wednesday, October 1, 2008 at 03:55

Good October 1st Morning Everyone. Boy, where has the time flown? We had another wet, cool day yesterday but when I got up yesterday afternoon the sun did make small attempts at peeking out. Taffy made short work of her outdoor time and was in a "I'll hog the bed while you scratch my belly" mood. Darla Kitty was even in a cuddle mood and she's not one for that. I was going to make soup for dinner but instead tossed some spuds, ham, milk, butter, a bit of shredded cheddar and seasoned with garlic all in the crock pot. When I got up I had a nice steaming bowl of spuds and ham - ok, it was suppose to be scalloped spuds and ham but I put too much milk in and ended up with a delicious soupy mixture LOL.

I got a phone call from a good friend from church. She said someone asked her if I could vacuum and dust the Nursery at Church. We got to talking and neither of us think that folks realize the volume of activities and people that come and go thru the week. I don't think there is a day or evening that something is going on. Makes it hard to keep up sometimes. Anyway, I told her my idea about keeping a planner with weekly calanders and posting my full time job hours along with what plans I have for cleaning church that week. We're meeting Monday afternoon and doing a walk thru of the church and making a "plan" and then planning the schedule. This way I can communicate with Pastor and Jill and anyone else who "needs to know" the how, when and why's to the cleaning schedule. Also, they in turn can write in activities and events not posted on the church calander that is sent with the News Letter. It's worth a try. I'm really excited to see how this all pans out. I really think it's a grand idea and Jill is such an organized person that she'll have a lot of great ideas.

Let's see, a couple more boxes were unpacked as well. Slowly but surely things are getting put away and organized. There is still a lot to go to the storage unit - things that are seasonal or can't be used at this time (such as oven size pots/pans). Using the toaster oven, grill, small electric burner and crock pot for cooking and baking is working so far. When I need to do large scale baking I can either go to my folks and use one of their ovens or use the church ovens (there's two there as well  )  It'll be so nice when it's all done and one can come in and relax instead of looking at boxes and messes.

Laundry was tackled as well. It's amazing how quick it can be done when there's only one person to clean for - although, on the other side of the coin, it's amazing how much laundry one person can create!! LOL!!  I don't have the clothes line put up outside - the weather hasn't been good for hanging clothes outside anyway - but I do have some rope and hooks so will put up a set of lines in the basement. That should help keep costs down. Making my own laundry soap is a huge plus too. I have to sheepishly admit that the last batch I made I added a bit too much water and it turned out quite thin but it still works just as good so this batch will go even further as I had more of it. Hmmmmmmm.

Well, I'd better go get my morning chores done. I'm off tonite so will have to plan to come back on Thursday evening if there's time. (I work my dreaded 3pm-11pm shift). God Bless and have a great day everyone!

Michele