The tree is up. Thank you, W. I must say, it is about the prettiest Christmas tree I have seen in a long, long time. Especially at my house. Seems these past few years I was devoid of ........ money. I chose to use one of those "beautiful" optic lights trees to put our packages under. Yikes. What was I thinking? I didn't realize it until now what I was missing. The smell. The lights. The ornaments. The memories. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and there is also a reason for a real Christmas tree. The Christmas tree. Encroaching winter, with its growing cold and darkness, provides the seasonal context for Advent, at least in the northern hemisphere. The "dead of winter" as we say, invokes images of fallow fields, barren trees, hard ground, absent birds and lowering skies. From as far back as we have record, people in northern Europe decorated their dwellings at midwinter with evergreens such as holly, ivy, laurel and yew. "The strange survival of summer greens in the snows had always been a sacrament of the hope for new life through the winter," Explains Hill. In fact, Gregory the Great instructed missionaries to tolerate such customs and dedicate them to Christ. So, for example, holly can remind us of Christ with its prickly leaves (crown of thorns) and red berries (blood).
The decorated Christmas tree derives from this ancient tradition. The custom flourished in Germany as far back as the fifteen hundreds (Martin Luther is said to have decorated a tree indoors), although it did not spread widely in Europe until the nineteenth century. Interestingly, Christmas trees may have reached Revolutionary America by way of German settlers even before they appeared in England! But not until the early twentieth century did Christmas trees become more widely popular in the United States.
The Christmas tree, then, with its dark green branches and forest fragrance, its garlands and lights and bright adornments, comes into our homes in the dead of winter as a symbol of life and a sign of hope.
I think i am going to go turn off the lights and watch the sparkle for a while....
geo
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
Beat It.
2009 .....won out. I am at 103 now. two so far over 2008. and no we are not talking about weight...the numbers would have had to have been reversed....but lets not go there.
so what's for dinner???? wait i don't want to talk about food either. the popcorn i am choking on is satisfying for the moment.
okay. where have you been lately? hmmmm. i have been right here. never often outside of my 10-mi radius. boring. whatever happened to those days when we just packed up the kids and took off. oh wait. that what when i was the kid. those were fun road trips. they always started with someone in the back seat yelling, "Are we there yet?????" to which the grown ups always answered, "no, lay down and take a nap, we'll be there when you wake up." Can't say that always worked, but more often than not sleeping did make the trip go faster. I guess it was the company.
how about carpet beating? anyone ever heard of that? back in "those days" when brother D was really young.....ummmm that would be the big brother cause all my brothers were D's....so was my Dad a D...get it...haha....when we lived in germany the first little place we set up house in was built into the side of a hill. the only window it had in it was a sky light. up top...it was just a green grassy hill with a clothesline. the woman that owned the place would take her carpets up there, hang them on the line and whack the crap out of them (literally) with a carpet beater. it looked like a big really stiff wicker fly swatter. she's whack those carpets till there wasn't an ounce of dust left in them. quite an art, actually. since i don't have a "real" vacuum cleaner, you know one that actually SUCKS it own weight, i think i am going to rig a carpet whacking station. i have area rugs..and probably add more as time progresses.....something to think about. if you have one, share you design!
there was a cat that lived in that same house. not ours...it belonged to the carpet-whacking land-lady. she made her cats stay out side. but this ol' cat took a likin' to my mom and every morning he/she/it would deliver a huge dead rat to the doorstep of our house, thanking mom for the food she would put out. yuck. that was rather nasty. but it is the thought that counts.
im thinkin' its time to get a dog. i just haven't made up my mind...or mr. p's. i wonder if there is some kind of rental agency where you can rent the dog durin the day,,,,,maybe provide food, maybe the deal would be that it comes with it's own food, but you can spend the day pretending like its your dog but not have any responsibility for it,,,,just to love it and/or brag about it. you know bragging right is half the fun of dog ownership. just think, you could try out a variety of dogs and find the one that is just for you. and it would give some relationship opportunities to the dogs....maybe a bunch of pound puppies...rotated though various homes. think about that one for a while
dang. it is almost 930. my eyelids are shutting down for the evening. i guess i better call it a night. besides its getting cold in here and i don't want to turn on the heater.
g'nite. sleep tight.
g
so what's for dinner???? wait i don't want to talk about food either. the popcorn i am choking on is satisfying for the moment.
okay. where have you been lately? hmmmm. i have been right here. never often outside of my 10-mi radius. boring. whatever happened to those days when we just packed up the kids and took off. oh wait. that what when i was the kid. those were fun road trips. they always started with someone in the back seat yelling, "Are we there yet?????" to which the grown ups always answered, "no, lay down and take a nap, we'll be there when you wake up." Can't say that always worked, but more often than not sleeping did make the trip go faster. I guess it was the company.
how about carpet beating? anyone ever heard of that? back in "those days" when brother D was really young.....ummmm that would be the big brother cause all my brothers were D's....so was my Dad a D...get it...haha....when we lived in germany the first little place we set up house in was built into the side of a hill. the only window it had in it was a sky light. up top...it was just a green grassy hill with a clothesline. the woman that owned the place would take her carpets up there, hang them on the line and whack the crap out of them (literally) with a carpet beater. it looked like a big really stiff wicker fly swatter. she's whack those carpets till there wasn't an ounce of dust left in them. quite an art, actually. since i don't have a "real" vacuum cleaner, you know one that actually SUCKS it own weight, i think i am going to rig a carpet whacking station. i have area rugs..and probably add more as time progresses.....something to think about. if you have one, share you design!
there was a cat that lived in that same house. not ours...it belonged to the carpet-whacking land-lady. she made her cats stay out side. but this ol' cat took a likin' to my mom and every morning he/she/it would deliver a huge dead rat to the doorstep of our house, thanking mom for the food she would put out. yuck. that was rather nasty. but it is the thought that counts.
im thinkin' its time to get a dog. i just haven't made up my mind...or mr. p's. i wonder if there is some kind of rental agency where you can rent the dog durin the day,,,,,maybe provide food, maybe the deal would be that it comes with it's own food, but you can spend the day pretending like its your dog but not have any responsibility for it,,,,just to love it and/or brag about it. you know bragging right is half the fun of dog ownership. just think, you could try out a variety of dogs and find the one that is just for you. and it would give some relationship opportunities to the dogs....maybe a bunch of pound puppies...rotated though various homes. think about that one for a while
dang. it is almost 930. my eyelids are shutting down for the evening. i guess i better call it a night. besides its getting cold in here and i don't want to turn on the heater.
g'nite. sleep tight.
g
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Advent
The Christ-child approaches. Pretty cool concept, especially when you know the rest of the story. It's actually something to be thankful for. A good way to end the Thanksgiving Day weekend.
What a doozie it was. Good food. Great friends. Entertaining family. We are a good lot of funny people. And our blessings do abound.
How was your turkey? Oh man. Mine was so good [I am sure I can attribute that to A the Baster]. It was even better than,,,,,um,,,,,mom's. YES it was!!! And the stuffing. I have to tell you about this new food product you need to check into. YOu can find them at Costco. They are chicken meatballs that have cranberry and jalapeno pepper in them. They are really, really good. They taste like sausage! [That's kind of funny when you think about it.] Chop them up and add them to your stuffing mix, add onion, celery, chicken broth, and orange juice. And you don't even have to stuff it...just bake it in a dish and man-o-man that is some good eatin'. I don't even like stuffing!
Of course you can not get through this weekend without shopping. Our store of choice.....Lowe's. Yes and we got some mighty good buys. But I can not share them with you because they are Christmas presents. Well some of them were.
And now a run to grocery store for milk. Then to finish off the weekend with free movies from AT&T. What more can you ask for?????
What a doozie it was. Good food. Great friends. Entertaining family. We are a good lot of funny people. And our blessings do abound.
How was your turkey? Oh man. Mine was so good [I am sure I can attribute that to A the Baster]. It was even better than,,,,,um,,,,,mom's. YES it was!!! And the stuffing. I have to tell you about this new food product you need to check into. YOu can find them at Costco. They are chicken meatballs that have cranberry and jalapeno pepper in them. They are really, really good. They taste like sausage! [That's kind of funny when you think about it.] Chop them up and add them to your stuffing mix, add onion, celery, chicken broth, and orange juice. And you don't even have to stuff it...just bake it in a dish and man-o-man that is some good eatin'. I don't even like stuffing!
Of course you can not get through this weekend without shopping. Our store of choice.....Lowe's. Yes and we got some mighty good buys. But I can not share them with you because they are Christmas presents. Well some of them were.
And now a run to grocery store for milk. Then to finish off the weekend with free movies from AT&T. What more can you ask for?????
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Social Hours
The event of the season. It happened last night. I felt like I was in an old-time movie, you know, family, friends, the holidays. I am surprised ol' George himself, wasn't there, to tell you the truth. And it all came down to being at.......WALMART. Yes, yes. The new super-walmart in town seems to have become the social gathering for all of the who's who in the town. First off, just going into the parking lot is quite an endeavor. The parking lot is about twice the size of the store and as you enter you survey every scrapping turn out for the closest spot. FInally when you give in to going out to the north forty you spot that one bea-u-ti-ful spot. You hammer the gas to beat the chick coming down the parking aisle from the other direction and smile as you slip in. The rewards of owning an Yaris. You can park it just about anywhere. Walmart only has two doors. Its built to look like and in only and out only situation, but you can actually use both for in and out. Nice touch. The store really is huge. And with huge, comes people. Last night I ran into four people I have not seen in a year. It was extra nice to see them and to catch up with old times. Seems as if the last dept. really is running without me. The new system they implemented a month ago has certainly played into business operations and of course individual personalities, wants and needs. Truly I have to just shake my head hearing it all....I don't miss it. I don't. And then the mother of A's friends...well you know she is a new granma. That's exciting.
The reason I was in Walmart was to invest in a stock pot for my turkey. I am going to brine my turkey this year. I vaguely remember my mom doing this years ago, when I was small. Of course I will have to make a trip to the Thought Dock to verify this, but I do believe it to be so. This recipe comes from Emeril Lagasse. I grew up with him. In the Bronx. NOT. lol sorry, i could not help but go there.... The stinking stock pots are 40 bucks. 40. Okay some were 29, but they were too small. I needed a big one for my mammer jammer of a turkey that is weighing in at 23 lbs. After two hours of looking (mind you this was only the 2nd time I have been in this store, and it IS a SUPER Walmart) I finally settled on a dish pan and turkey roasting bags. I hope this works.
Going to do my bird after work....brine him/her through night....and be ready to pop it in the oven in the am. (Heck, I washed and dried bed sheets this ams, cleaned my celery, peeled carrots, and diced onions already this morning. I am on a roll today!) W and I have to be to church this evening for Thanksgiving Day services. Members married 25 years or more are being celebrated and me and he,,,,we are gonna get celebrated. woohoo.
Last weekend I got a hankering for Tuscan soup like they have at the Olive Garden. So I made some. Well I made my own recipe after reviewing theirs online. OOOOOlala. It is pretty good. I didn't have spinach or kale so I subbed in brussel sprouts???? Yes I did. And they were good. I cut the butt ends off them so the leaves would break out on their own and dance through the potato stock. Not bad for making it up.
And,,,,,and....two weekends ago I made chocolate chip cookies. FINALLY. I made them with a sugar substitute IDEAL. If you have reason not to use the real stuff, you should try this. It works better than Splenda, I think. Except for the fact that my chips were about 3 years old (kept in the freezer...don't go there) the cookies were pretty good. I bought fresh chips for the next time around, hopefully in less than 3 years. I LOVE love love my new cookie sheets.
I am tellin ya, I got the kitchen bug and it is scaring me.
Tonight pumpkin pies and pumpkin cheesecake, clean and prep the veggies, and of course, clean the bathrooms. This year they are coming to my house! Well, not really, we are all going over to A's place. Somehow I am still doing the dinner. Now that I think about it, there is something wrong with this picture.
over and out..
The reason I was in Walmart was to invest in a stock pot for my turkey. I am going to brine my turkey this year. I vaguely remember my mom doing this years ago, when I was small. Of course I will have to make a trip to the Thought Dock to verify this, but I do believe it to be so. This recipe comes from Emeril Lagasse. I grew up with him. In the Bronx. NOT. lol sorry, i could not help but go there.... The stinking stock pots are 40 bucks. 40. Okay some were 29, but they were too small. I needed a big one for my mammer jammer of a turkey that is weighing in at 23 lbs. After two hours of looking (mind you this was only the 2nd time I have been in this store, and it IS a SUPER Walmart) I finally settled on a dish pan and turkey roasting bags. I hope this works.
Going to do my bird after work....brine him/her through night....and be ready to pop it in the oven in the am. (Heck, I washed and dried bed sheets this ams, cleaned my celery, peeled carrots, and diced onions already this morning. I am on a roll today!) W and I have to be to church this evening for Thanksgiving Day services. Members married 25 years or more are being celebrated and me and he,,,,we are gonna get celebrated. woohoo.
Last weekend I got a hankering for Tuscan soup like they have at the Olive Garden. So I made some. Well I made my own recipe after reviewing theirs online. OOOOOlala. It is pretty good. I didn't have spinach or kale so I subbed in brussel sprouts???? Yes I did. And they were good. I cut the butt ends off them so the leaves would break out on their own and dance through the potato stock. Not bad for making it up.
And,,,,,and....two weekends ago I made chocolate chip cookies. FINALLY. I made them with a sugar substitute IDEAL. If you have reason not to use the real stuff, you should try this. It works better than Splenda, I think. Except for the fact that my chips were about 3 years old (kept in the freezer...don't go there) the cookies were pretty good. I bought fresh chips for the next time around, hopefully in less than 3 years. I LOVE love love my new cookie sheets.
I am tellin ya, I got the kitchen bug and it is scaring me.
Tonight pumpkin pies and pumpkin cheesecake, clean and prep the veggies, and of course, clean the bathrooms. This year they are coming to my house! Well, not really, we are all going over to A's place. Somehow I am still doing the dinner. Now that I think about it, there is something wrong with this picture.
over and out..
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Bamboozled
Seems as if it has been forever since I have been here. I am not sure exactly where I have been over the last month or what I have been doing…wandering mostly. Sometimes even wondering. Wondering what would serve as notes of interest on this blog. Nothing pops into my mind. Not then. Not really even now. Let’s see what I can get out of these fingertips. Guess, actually, I need to go deeper in to the recess of my mind to remember…….
We have new flooring in the dining and living rooms! We bought this bamboo quite a while back and finally it is installed. A warm carmel color. Thank God for brother in laws with skills, know-how, and a willingness to help. After a few days of backbreaking hard work we have quite the specimen of fine flooring. It goes very well with our “pumpkin” walls. I do believe we have gone well beyond “Tuscan” and have landed in the land of pumpkin. Several observers have noted, “wow! It is like rooms in the magazines!” Not that it is that way by design, but apparently our colors are good. We like them. Next some moulding to finish and on to the kitchen with tile. This is what happens when you “retire”. Suddenly there is time to do all those things you have put off for so very long.
Thanksgiving is two days away. We have much to be thankful for. Once again provisions have been made for us. More often than not, we have far more than what we have ever anticipated. A year has passed since starting this job. This year is far different. As we approach our Thanksgiving services and this coming weekend BOTH sets of bulletins are DONE! No crush. No rush. Makes it nice. Really nice. The push to Christmas, believe it or not is well underway. Even the Advent wreath with all the correct candles is in their places, is sitting on the front desk reminding those we serve of the soon-to-be here celebration of the birth of our Lord. My resolve ~ no T will be left out of Christmas! As a matter of fact, the cover of the midnite service bulletin says, “unTo us a chid is born” The “t” is a cross. Fancy, eh?
And my buddy L is back in the office. She’s been vacationing after surgery for the last couple of weeks. I know she doesn’t really want to be back to work, but I am glad she is. Without her my social life is very limited around here. And who in their right mind can work a straight-eight without a friendly face?
Speaking of work...i gotta get back to it.
Happy Thanksgiving ~ count your blessings!
Psalm 100
1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
g
We have new flooring in the dining and living rooms! We bought this bamboo quite a while back and finally it is installed. A warm carmel color. Thank God for brother in laws with skills, know-how, and a willingness to help. After a few days of backbreaking hard work we have quite the specimen of fine flooring. It goes very well with our “pumpkin” walls. I do believe we have gone well beyond “Tuscan” and have landed in the land of pumpkin. Several observers have noted, “wow! It is like rooms in the magazines!” Not that it is that way by design, but apparently our colors are good. We like them. Next some moulding to finish and on to the kitchen with tile. This is what happens when you “retire”. Suddenly there is time to do all those things you have put off for so very long.
Thanksgiving is two days away. We have much to be thankful for. Once again provisions have been made for us. More often than not, we have far more than what we have ever anticipated. A year has passed since starting this job. This year is far different. As we approach our Thanksgiving services and this coming weekend BOTH sets of bulletins are DONE! No crush. No rush. Makes it nice. Really nice. The push to Christmas, believe it or not is well underway. Even the Advent wreath with all the correct candles is in their places, is sitting on the front desk reminding those we serve of the soon-to-be here celebration of the birth of our Lord. My resolve ~ no T will be left out of Christmas! As a matter of fact, the cover of the midnite service bulletin says, “unTo us a chid is born” The “t” is a cross. Fancy, eh?
And my buddy L is back in the office. She’s been vacationing after surgery for the last couple of weeks. I know she doesn’t really want to be back to work, but I am glad she is. Without her my social life is very limited around here. And who in their right mind can work a straight-eight without a friendly face?
Speaking of work...i gotta get back to it.
Happy Thanksgiving ~ count your blessings!
Psalm 100
1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
g
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
NOW It's GREEN ~ ARMY green!
the pumpkin pie was BODACIOUS. it was so good,,,,very good. yum. can't say steaming your pumpkins is the most efficient way to make pumpkin pies, can't even say they were so much better than the canned. but it was fun to do. i have enough left over to do two more. and Pie ala' Christy made her day.....a slice of heaven.
tonight...it's PEA SOUP. mmmmm mmmmm mmmmmmm it is already good and it isn't even finished! but it will be for lunch tomorrow. yeah. just perfect for a autumn day to celebrate veteran's day.
tonight...it's PEA SOUP. mmmmm mmmmm mmmmmmm it is already good and it isn't even finished! but it will be for lunch tomorrow. yeah. just perfect for a autumn day to celebrate veteran's day.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Whatever Possesses You....
So a couple of weeks ago we had this potluck at church. I think I may have told you this already, but if I did, I am sure you have been waiting with baited breath to hear the final out come.
Here is the made up dish..... add to 1lb of rigatoni (cooked of course) broiled tequila-lime marinated turkey breast (cut into bite size pieces) asparagus (make it fresh) baby portabella mushroom (sliced) onion garlic butter parmesean cheese. (saute' all the veggies together before adding) bake in oven if you "need" to and cover it while hot with mozarella if you really need to. i did have to bake it...but i extended it to 1 hour. that was WRONG and my rigatoni looked so screwed up and turned brown and i really needed to cover it with something.
so a buddy of mine at church politely asked me, 'what do you call your dish, geo?' i answered back, 'A mess!' he kind of chuckled. i know he ate it. i didn't eat it, i didn't have to.
then the following monday, another lady at church offered up all the left over pumpkins from our halloween night. i took 4...she needed to get rid of them...saying, i don't know what i'll do with them....she told me how her mom (who recently passed away) used to make pumpkin pie from fresh pumpkin. so what do i do???? i promised her pie. geez luis....so i got them done tonight. the house smells good. i hope that is a good indication of the resulting pies. they are kind of funny looking, but from what i understand they are supposed to look different than pies made from canned pumpkin. and dont tell anyone but i used "stevia" the new sugar substitute. so i can eat it too, of course!
please pray that these pies pass the taste test. i have ruined more food in the last three months than i have in 30 years. and the cookies are yet to be made.
Here is the made up dish..... add to 1lb of rigatoni (cooked of course) broiled tequila-lime marinated turkey breast (cut into bite size pieces) asparagus (make it fresh) baby portabella mushroom (sliced) onion garlic butter parmesean cheese. (saute' all the veggies together before adding) bake in oven if you "need" to and cover it while hot with mozarella if you really need to. i did have to bake it...but i extended it to 1 hour. that was WRONG and my rigatoni looked so screwed up and turned brown and i really needed to cover it with something.
so a buddy of mine at church politely asked me, 'what do you call your dish, geo?' i answered back, 'A mess!' he kind of chuckled. i know he ate it. i didn't eat it, i didn't have to.
then the following monday, another lady at church offered up all the left over pumpkins from our halloween night. i took 4...she needed to get rid of them...saying, i don't know what i'll do with them....she told me how her mom (who recently passed away) used to make pumpkin pie from fresh pumpkin. so what do i do???? i promised her pie. geez luis....so i got them done tonight. the house smells good. i hope that is a good indication of the resulting pies. they are kind of funny looking, but from what i understand they are supposed to look different than pies made from canned pumpkin. and dont tell anyone but i used "stevia" the new sugar substitute. so i can eat it too, of course!
please pray that these pies pass the taste test. i have ruined more food in the last three months than i have in 30 years. and the cookies are yet to be made.
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