Category Archives: home

Jan27

The old meat grinder

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I just got back from my mom’s a little bit ago. It is starting to look a lot different in there. My brother was working in my mom’s room (along with his son), Colleen in the kitchen (God bless her for doing that room) and I took down the Christmas tree (with the help of my sweet niece) and was going through things in the living room. I had to have allergy problems today of all days, but I persevered-look what they all had tackled before I even got there! I went out in the kitchen and saw the old meat grinder that my grandmom used to make those last few pieces of turkey, ham or roast beef stretch into croquettes or ‘deviled’ sandwiches. I asked what was going to happen to it and Colleen said Ken wanted it. Of course he did as he remembers being a little tyke and turning the handle to help our grandmom. He loved her so much.

I told my brother not to throw out books as I would take them to the Goodwill. I have to make a trip there sometime this week. I don’t believe in throwing out literature unless it is musty or soiled.

I’m having some tea and trying to ease my achy back a bit. I had to console my mom a few times, but I think she is now seeing the big picture. It couldn’t stay like that.

Jan25

Computer noises

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Isn’t it always something? I’m a little afraid for our computer as it is making some ‘funny noises’ every once in a while this morning. It kinda sounds like a record turntable (if you younger souls know what they are) that is getting stuck. I told Brian about it, and he said ‘hope it’s not the hard drive!’ Oh wonderful. I think we have a gazillion and one dust bunnies invading the poor tower. So, if I go MIA, that may very well be the case. Drats!

Sean is having an issue with housing for next year and won’t go to the actual housing building! He just emails them. There may be a board there with others looking for roommates or who want to get rid of their places. I told him I can’t really help him long distance. And I’m pretty darn sure he had to put down a 2nd and 3rd choice.  He’s also still looking into internship as the place near here didn’t need anyone. He’s got a lot of turmoil, but nothing compared to his grandmom. She’s in an upheaval with my brother taking control of getting her house in shape. He got a big dumpster and told them they (she has a boarder and friend who lives there too) can only keep so much. I think the goal is to clean it out, fix it up and sell it. Get mom in an assisted living place. She obviously can’t take care of it anymore. It’s definitely a turning point. Mom is feeling overwhelmed. I am too, but I feel a little weight off my shoulders because my brother is helping her.

It’s still really cold here. I’m also trying to throw stuff out, like all the saved boxes that are down our basement. Talk about overwhelming! I think 30%+ off what’s down in our basement is boxes and stuff that can be tossed. I think you try so hard to keep the upstairs part nice, the ‘storage’ area is ignored.

I had one of my pals call me last night. She also had a major life upheaval-left her partner and moved to a place she loved. She is working and has one of her 3 kids, the oldest with her. She sounds good and is hoping to get her other children with her or at least in a school that she went to. I am happy she did this.

Have a great weekend!

Jan24

How many middle-aged people…

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…does it take to unplug and plug the modem box? Two! Seems yesterday our signal went from good to nothing. I tried what I had in the past, but it didn’t work. We have two boxes here, as we have the phone over the internet and got the box so we could have a wireless connection for Sean. The phone was fine. Brian couldn’t get it to work this morning so I got on the phone with Comcast. All I had to do was unplug the power cord in the ‘newer’ box. Holy Toledo-it started to work and a lot faster too. So now I know. The wires and cords are such a jumble, I thought for sure something came unplugged or was hanging on by a thread.

Yesterday I decided to list a few things on eBay that I had found in my closet cleaning efforts. I also listed some stuff for Sean, one of which was a 6-CD set of classical music that corresponded with a text book. I sold the CDs right away. I was sorry I didn’t ask more for them now! I have my own 15 or higher piece set of classical music so I didn’t need these too.

I also made some ATCs for a new challenge. I got the idea from Honey Girl Studios. Take your catalogs and clip them to make the cards. I found it was easier to look for say, all red items or candles. I had fun making them and will post soon.
Not sure what to do today, but I so need to go out someplace, so I hope the weather stays ok. I’m not one to have to run out everyday (believe me, I know women around here that hate to be home-isn’t that crazy?) Here’s hoping the weather holds out!

Sean is looking into internship. He mentioned that one of his profs will have one out in California in the redwood area. That would be expensive for us. He did find something locally and emailed the person in charge. I think he should keep his options open and if he wanted to go out of state, then he’d have to save up money to do so.

Have a great day!

Jan22

Finally

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I was happy to hear that my friend Carole finally received her birthday gift-almost 2 weeks after I mailed it. Her birthday was in October, but my crazy life (LOL) got in the way (and it was more involved than it looked), so I finished it up this month and off it went. She really liked the flat fold (the first one I ever made). It was made to commemorate her special birthday last year. Thanks to Vonna over at The Twisted Stitcher for the tutorial. : )

Carole’s flat fold
Design-The Prairie Schooler-Seasons-Book #50. Changed the top-it was suppose to say ‘autumn’ but I put the year instead.
Side view:
Side view

This is the 100th project listed in my Cyberstitchers gallery!

I just noticed that when I was adding these photos that WordPress has now given us 3 GBs of photo space! Yeah. : )

Have a pleasant Tuesday. I’ve been dusting and tidying up. Seems the old drywall dust has settled all over the house. I felt like I was getting my cold back last night and it occurred to me I didn’t use any form of nasal spray yesterday. Bad girl! Brian is still coughing a lot, mainly in the morning. I’m calling out ‘Chloreseptic’ (sp) which helped me. Oy!

Jan18

Dust and snow

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A couple of things you can live without, but they both seem to pop up when you least expect them! We had some snow yesterday which is quickly melting today. I enjoy seeing the first snowflakes start to fly but then start worrying about Brian driving in it. Luckily, he is just up in the next town. Unfortunately, the roads back home are a bit curvy and two have one lane bridges. He made it home fine though. He’s still not well, even went to the doctor, but for another problem he has and got meds for it. He mostly coughs in the morning. I had a lingering tiny tickle that comes and goes.

The dust part explained, I was cleaning and sorting in the family room closet here on Thursday. I never saw so much stuff just tossed in a place! Please leave your comments about the following-VHS tapes, many home recorded, many over 20 years old-keep or get rid of these? I’m having second thoughts as I wanted to get my vacuum back in the closet again which I didn’t. I found some art supplies and was using one for my ATC cards last night (I’ve made about 5 of these lately). It’s a spray art tool-you attach a felt tip marker to it, pump the bulb and you get something that looks like spray paint. Fun!

My corner here next to the computer looks worst then it did a few weeks ago (remember my Photo Hunt entry?) I’m going to be pulling the stuff out of there and going through it.

So that’s what I’ve been up to. Off to see some shots of Penn State on Sean’s MySpace (see below, edited by me. Glad he is using his new camera! This is outside The Commons near where he lives which reminds me of Williamsburg). Have a great weekend!

psu.jpg

Jan11

3 weeks already!

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Tomorrow Sean heads back to PSU-up the mountains, over the river, 166 miles from here. Time just flew by this vacation. He’s been helping me with the Christmas boxes which is a job for me. The tree is down and the last of the ornaments are being packed away. I keep up snowbabyland in the front window as it’s a ‘wintery’ display. It will come down in February, but it brightens up the gloomy days of this time of year. The sun did come out though! We had fog, then pouring rain and finally sun! It’s still mild for January-in the 50s. It should be nice for Sean’s journey tomorrow.

I’m about to pop a roast in the oven and toss together (ok, they are fast things to make!) the 7 layer bars-these for Sean. I’m trying to cut back on bread and sugar myself (I hope Brian follows suit). We are only buying ginger ale for tummy problems. Eating the oatmeal bars is filling and I’m not starving for lunch. I got a good deal on Lean Cuisine meals yesterday(6 for $10) and had one for dinner last night and one for lunch today. The butternut squash ravioli is yummy. Speaking of butternut squash, Martha made the soup on her show today and that looks good too. It’s a good veggie.

: )

Have a great, relaxing weekend.

BTW, Jen, left a comment on my blog and she lives close by! We’ve been talking about places to eat and offered each other good suggestions. We’ll have to get together sometime soon!

Dec21

Making this the quiet day

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Now 6 kinds of cookies is a lot and I can’t believe I want to make 2 more kinds! I must have lemon bars. And then there is the one with those expensive macadamia nuts. I need a breather though. I just can’t do anymore standing on my feet for a day or so. I can’t forget I had that dang procedure only 3.2 weeks ago!

The cookies with the caramel sauce were really sticky and I had to let them set up in the frig. And then I used cheap-o aluminum foil-don’t use that. I have to sit down and make sure the cut bars don’t have tiny pieces stuck to them. I had some in my mouth-I was lucky I don’t have many metal fillings left in there! : )

<—Go check out Alexis Stewart’s cookies and candies on either her mom’s blog or her ‘Whatever’ blog! She really goes to town with some extraordinary treats and packaging! She obviously only makes them and doesn’t eat them-skinny! I sample mine to make sure they are good. That’s usually enough for me until I want a cup of cocoa or tea…and a cookie!

Sean is coming home in the afternoon. His big present came today. I can’t say what it is as I’m getting mom the same thing and hers didn’t come, though hers has an accessory. If you want to guess in my comments what these are, go ahead. Think Longwood Gardens…..or any neat place…..

I have a list here:

Christmas stuff in the bedroom-need to go through stuff I purchased last year at then JoAnn’s sale.

Tidy up near sofa, eBay box and bookcase area (yes, books are on the floor too). The sofa area is doable-not sure of the other places. See all these books? They are the ones I had to move back in September. I think I could have hurt myself doing this.

Full bookcase!

What’s sad is that one full shelf is all Christmas books-crafts, decorations, those lovely Southern Living ones, and I didn’t open one of them this year. Not to say I won’t during the next year when I want to do more crafting!

Next on the list:

Finish cookies (not today!)

Fudge-takes 5 minutes. I just read that someone makes it the way I do, on the stove, and they whip it before pouring it in the pan! I’ll have to find their post about that again.

Christmas card for a family from our church who was concerned about me and the procedure. I was really touched that they sent me a card.

Bows on gifts-I told you why.

And I forgot to put my mini Belsnickle Santas out! I have to see if their display case can be hung up. I don’t have a ton of table space.

Thanks to all who commented on my decorations. I looked at 100 blogs-no wonder my eyes are tired-and I didn’t see any other snowbabies-yet.

Check out my ‘board of fame’-family, friends, Make A Child Smile kids and their thank you notes, pictures I like, postcards, my 30th reunion name tag! Can you spot the first photo of Bri and me taken in one of those photo booths (on the boardwalk in Wildwood, NJ)?

Ribbon board

Try to take it easy!

Dec17

Christmas Tour of Homes 2007

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Merry Christmas and welcome to my little corner of Pennsylvania! All the photos are ‘labeled’ so enjoy a peek around my home. My husband and I both took the photos here. I may add more! Thanks Boo Mama for hosting this again! Check out the post under this one for some free stuff!

Christmas Tour of Homes

A late add, but here’s a yummy bar cookie!
Rum Raisin Cheesecake squares
(I can’t find the book I used, so copied it from a group I’m in-from a post from last year!)
1/3 cup butter or margarine softened
1/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
3 Tablespoons rum (or extract)
1/2 cup raisins (I used golden raisins)
To make th crust-cream together the butter and brown sugar, stir in the flour, and add the nuts. Press into an 8-or 9-inch square pan., reserving some of the crumbs to use as a topping. Bake in 350 deg oven for 10-12 minutes. Cool.
With a mixer beat the cream cheese until fluffy. Add the sugar, egg and rum, beat well. Then stir in the raisins. Spread the mixture over the cooked crust, then sprinkle with the remaining crumbs. Bake in a 350 oven for 20-25 minutes.
Makes 9-12 servings.

Dec16

Lights at night

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After doing some carpet deep cleaning (not finished) the family room yet), I almost fell asleep watching a paranormal show on A&E that Sean told us about. It’s called ‘Paranormal State‘ and the main guy and his team are from PSU where Sean attends. I’ll have to read up more about it. Then the repeat of the Longwood Gardens special came on and I had to see that. The local news people have a yearly show there now and I wanted to see the new children’s garden which looks so cute-jumping water, steam, etc. I have until the 27th to go for free and I wonder who will want to go this year?

I added both multi-colored lights and white lights to the hedges that run along the front of out house. The colors are like the icing on a white cake. Bri thinks my window box needs lights too-since he cut the greens for me he wants it fixed up better.

We hit the grocery store and I bought the rest of my cookie baking supplies. I also bought some pot roasts for Christmas dinner. Everyone loves my pot roast and it’s easy to make. I like spiral cut ham, but Sean doesn’t.

We ran in Big Lots to look around and I found a nice size gold wicker sleigh! My pal Zoey (Perennial Passion) has a green one with a Christmas tree in it and I liked the idea. I’ll get that together tomorrow. I can’t believe I’m still decorating (and cleaning). I hope the weather isn’t too bad tomorrow as we still have tons to do. I hope my doctor wouldn’t be mad that I am doing all this extra curricular activity as I’m still healing and I am of course, a left sided person (not just left handed).

Carole, I’ll try and do that meme soon, hope I can think of 12 things. : )

Have a great Sunday!

Dec15

Photo Hunt-Small

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I just bought this adorable teenie tiny gingerbread boy at World Market on Tuesday. I think he’s about 2″ tall if that.

PSHunt
Grab the Scavenger Hunt code.Photo Theme. Join the blogroll. Visit participants.

Very small ornament

Long shot of the little guy

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I got down to my mom’s on Friday after over 3 weeks of not seeing her. She cringed at my boo-boo, but was anxious for me to assemble her Christmas tree-the kind with a million branches where you have to match up the letters on the tree pole to the one on the branches. We ended up with two that had different letters then the spaces left, so we shuffled a few around and that worked. Mom bought amber lights with white cording-opps-but we worked them in the middle well and they look okay. She has this pretty angel with fiber optics and really long ribbons that hang nicely down the tree. I was accordion pleating them and I think it’s going to be a gorgeous tree. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her dishwasher, but she may have dislodged or kinked a hose while forcing the dishwasher door shut when the bracket on the top that holds it to the underside of the counter was bent funny. I hear water gurgling though.

We went out for Chinese and then went to a few stores. I got a few more things for the guys, almost finished! Then we went to Home Goods and I saw a ‘must have’ peacock ornament-silver with Swarovski crystals on it’s body and a real peacock feather! I also bought a carved cookie press decoration modeled on an old one of an angel with laurel around it.

Needless to say, I am exhausted! I just wanted to get my photos up to share and rest and maybe trim my front hedges in the afternoon before the snow hits.