This is what I had for dinner last night. It’s so good. Guess you could alter it a bit, but try it this way first! Found the recipe here.

Sauce
2 oz. Pancetta (or bacon), diced
3 oz. Butter, cubed
1 tsp. Garlic, chopped
2 oz. Sun-dried tomatoes, diced
12 oz. Heavy cream
12 oz. Milk
1 oz. Cornstarch
2 oz. Grated Parmesan
3 oz. Smoked Gouda, chopped
3 oz. Mushrooms, sliced
8 1/2 oz. Can sliced artichokes, drained
1 Tbsp. Fresh rosemary, chopped
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Pepper

Chicken
1 1/2 lbs. Skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut in 1 to 1-1/2-inch pieces
6 oz. Flour
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Pepper
1 1/2 oz. Olive oil
2 oz. White wine
1 1/2 lbs. Cooked pasta
Fresh parsley, chopped

Sauce Preparation
In a 3-qt sauce pan or large pot, sauté pancetta (or bacon) over medium/high heat until crisp and golden (not dark).
Lower heat, add butter and melt.
Add garlic and sun-dried tomatoes.
Sauté for approximately one minute stirring frequently (do not brown).
Whisk in cream, milk and cornstarch. Raise heat to medium/high.
Whisk in Parmesan and Gouda.
Once cheese melts, add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil stirring continuously.
Remove from heat and let stand uncovered.
Chicken Preparation
Mix flour with salt and pepper. Coat chicken in seasoned flour, shake off excess flour.
Heat olive oil in large sauté pan.
Add chicken in a single layer and cook until golden brown on both sides (it should take approximately seven minutes). Using a meat thermometer, make sure the internal temperature of the thickest piece of chicken reaches 165° F.
Begin pasta in a separate pot according to package directions.
Add wine to chicken in pan (caution: there will be a low flame in pan). Toss gently until wine is evaporated.
Once reduced, add sauce and bring to a boil on medium/high heat
Place 6 oz of cooked pasta on each plate.
Evenly distribute chicken and sauce over pasta.
Garnish with chopped parsley.
Serves 4.

Ever feel like you stepped into a movie and all the main characters were stereotypes of what they looked like? Brian’s dad told us a restuarant (and bar) up the road from him sold huge cheesesteaks. I just couldn’t hack another KFC fix or Domino cardboard pizza. Since Brian worked so hard, Sean and I went up to the place since we didn’t have their takeout menu. We walked in and a bleach blonde woman about my age was standing there in what looked like a modified underwear top. Her white top must have came right out of the Frederick of Hollywood’s catalog. It was basically a bra with a little lacy piece hanging a bit over her stomach. The back was a criss cross of gold. And I swore she was wearing a g-string. I believe she was the waitress as I saw her carrying a tray of dirty dishes. My 18 yr old got an eye full! The guy making the food was a typical cute, right off the boat Italian. He reminded me of the John Belushi cheeseburger maker. ‘Fries, you whata two-ok.’ A little, old black man with a big grin and probably nice buzz and who was probably a regular, came in and said ‘hello, I’m Mr. Byrd’. What’s that? He pointed to his shirt-his name was embroidered on his shirt! Seeing Sean sitting there, he reintroduced himself and invited my boy to the bar. I said, ‘he’s only 18’. I guess Sean looked like a nice kid to chat to.
And the cheesesteaks were huge! Next time-delivery.

We filled up our days pretty good this year.
Saturday-Brian trimmed the forsythia bushes for the second (and probably last time) this year. I’d love for him to get a chainsaw and really cut them in half, but he won’t. I weed whacked around the front yard. I didn’t realize how weedy my little flagstone path leading to the side yard was! It looks so nice now.
Sunday-Brian’s dad gets a belated birthday gift (from June though he had the paint and accessories stored at his house). The guys put the first coat of white paint on the wood part of his dad’s porch. It was a long time coming. I cleaned the big bay window and most of the siding on the porch and even started painting a rickety bench there. The prep took the most time. I helped with a wire brush and then I wiped down the three posts holding up the porch. I even cleaned the porch light and today bought Dad C a new door mat. Needless to say, we were tired today.
Monday-I was so achy I didn’t get to sleep until after three this morning. I didn’t hurt until I laid down on the bed. I wanted to go mattress shopping, but we just weren’t up to it. I hope to do that in a few days time. Brian took me to Big Lots and I got another bookcase for my cookbooks and then Sean drove us to Olive Garden (down in Delaware) and we had a nice dinner. The guys got the ‘endless bowl of pasta’ which they have on a separate menu on the table. If you don’t pick that up, you don’t see it. They could only manage one bowl each as they had two huge pieces of sausage to eat. I had Chicken Cattelina (I think) with sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes and mushrooms. After dinner we hit Marshalls and I bought a cute pair of celery green leather slide-ons with bows on top. I have lots of clothes this color. When we got home I cut Brian’s mop.

I was up late looking at all the goodies on BHG.com which is abbrievated for Better Homes & Gardens online. There’s something for everyone! I was there looking at the different themed garden lay-outs; in particular- a front shady bed my mom has in her yard. I’d thought I’d give her an IOU to replant this next spring for her 75th birthday that’s coming up. I already did the side of her house as mentioned earlier. You do have to register to check out the garden themes that can be downloaded from a PDF file.
I hopped over briefly to the craft section to get ideas for Christmas gifts. There are some cute ones! Think you can make a snowman candle holder out of a little fishbowl? Yes you can!
And the recipes are probably great, but I saved them for another time.
I just got the pricey latest issue of BHG Garden Ideas and outdoor living. It’s really a beauty and a keeper. And they have container plantings Zoey! There is one in a big basket that I love. Check out the container section.

What do you use to hold your fabric while you stitch? A hoop, a Q-Snap, a scroll frame, something else, or do you stitch in hand? Have you always used just the one thing, or have you tried one or more of the others? Which do you like best, and why?
When I first started I used one of those round, metal embroidery hoops. I’ve had wooden ones too. I don’t like the mark it leaves on the fabric. I found q-snaps about the time I started doing the charity quilts because I knew there had to be a better way. I love them! (but not the big cumbersome ones). I like my fabric tight and my ‘x’s uniform. Sorry those of you who hold in hand, I can tell when a stitcher does this as the ‘x’s aren’t as straight-my opinion. They may have more of a homemade look which is perfectly fine-whatever floats your boat. I DO hold smaller pieces in my hand and find that my hand gets tired faster. I have a scroll frame that I haven’t really grown use to.

I was totally disgusted at the gas pump today. For one thing, I never, ever spent $30 on gas in one shot. But when I got in the driver’s seat and saw it was a little above half, I wanted to cry. Me, with a son who is a commuter student. My mom said since she can’t drive that much, if I come down to take her out somewhere (46 mile round trip), she will help me with gas. I was talking with a man at the pump and he said he called the oil company to lock in the cheaper price. I didn’t even think about heating oil. I think we’ll be wearing lots of sweaters and utilizing the fireplace more this winter.
I went down to my mom’s for the first time since our trip. I had to stop and get her pain pill prescription and then Sean came over after school (his college is about 5 miles away) and we took her to CVS. I did get to put down the 3 bags of autumn red mulch where I planted the 14 daylilies next to the house. They all survived and are coming up nicely. The mulch sets off the bricks on the house nicely. I also used her weed whacker that keeps coming apart where it needs a big bolt between the top and bottom piece.
Sean and I went to the local brick oven place and he got a big dish of spaghetti and I got a white pizza. The owner has some gorgeous coleus in big containers in the front of the restaurant. On one side of the parking lot, he has a long strip garden with tomatoes and cucumbers (saves money on buying them for his salads!). He also has tons of zinnias along the road. Anyway, after we ate, I batted my eyes at the owner and told him his coleus were beautiful and asked if he trimmed them often. He said they were only good for 3 more weeks (no kidding), but I suggested about growing them inside. He gave me a pair of scissors and said ‘don’t go crazy’. I got a nice sampling of about 5 different varieties. If they make it (root in water), then I will have some for next year. I need to cut some of my colorful ones too. Doesn’t hurt to ask, does it?

I found this on another blog called ‘The Happy Homemaker’. : )
1) I must have a cup of hot tea with lemon and artificial sweetener first thing in the morning.
2)I need to wash my face every night-some people don’t and that’s nasty.
3) I usually apply anti-bacterial lotion on my hands after church (I’ve seen the priest really sick and you know why).
4)I have a bedtime routine-must stem from not having a real one as a kid, but mine entails the use of beauty products and it gets more complex the older I get.
5)If something I read or see on tv really bothers or interests me, even an image or song, I can’t get it out of my head for several hours.
6)And if I hear a song I like, sometimes I’ll just hum or sing it for several days. Guess that’s why Sean bought me the latest Mariah Carey CD and I only liked the title track.
7)I like dogs, but I think most of them smell even when the owner says they bath them regularly.
8)I dream about pulling out weeds. That’s a gardener for you.
9) I think I have ESP.
10) I smell everything!

The first photo is a little garden next to the driveway with mostly marigolds and geraniums that mom’s neighbor was nice enough to plant for her. I planted a pink butterfly bush to the left. The yucca was from our yard and blooms nicely.
Next-what’s left of the hydrangeas.
The daylily bed in progress. I left the hosta there as it seemed to do well. In the far corner are 3 mums-two yellow and a burgundy that are out of range. I bought some Autumn Red mulch-phase 3 in a few weeks once the daylilies get established.