Not too much exciting happening lately. I am trying to get in the mood to tidy up before my brother Don comes up from Florida. I’m running out of time-he arrives Friday. I’m not sure if he will make it out here though. I have a feeling he’ll pick seeing our Uncle Don over seeing the new kitchen. That’s okay. I am probably going to my mom’s to do a little cleaning today if my head clears up some. My sinuses are so stuffed they are making my ears ring! Blah.
Birthdays don’t usually bother me, but I’m not crazying about getting that much closer to 50. Brian is only 4 months from 50, so I feel a bit better for me. ; )
I was down in my finished basement room(aka as storage room) looking for something the other day and decided to clear it out as my winter project. I happen to look down and found one of those fake wood shelves propped up against a plastic box. This is the room where the water comes in and the floor gets wet when we get too much rain. Well didn’t that shelf have mold growing on it! I was totally grossed out. Makes me wonder what is under the paneling in there. Brian had given his childhood desk to Sean and when Sean gave it up, it ended up taking up space in that room. I would really like to put up our old rectangular dining room table so I have somewhere to craft and make a mess. Sean gave me the okay to get rid of his old toys (he is 20 for goodness sake) but to keep the Hot Wheels and Micromachines. I only have a handful of my old toys. Brian kinda pulled a face (and he calls me a pack rat!). That’s what I plan to do-after the holidays. I want to get some super duper dust mask first too!

You have to join to see who you look like. If you don’t want to join, send me a photo and I’ll generate a collage for you. I hope Brian and Sean don’t mind that they match a lot of women. ; ) Jodie Foster and I share the same birthday!

Yesterday was a glorious fall day in the 70s. We had Mr. S’ funeral to attend and headed down to my mom’s to get her and her pal and boarder Jim around 8:30. Google was kind to us and we got there in good time. We drove down a road where my grandmom ran a laundermat when I was a little kid. There were a lot of people there and the flowers and photo board (I bet Colleen, my s-in-law made it) were wonderful. Inside the coffin were pictures drawn by my niece and nephew. Tori’s said ‘I miss you Pop-pop’ with a little girl’s face drawn in that special 7 yr old style. Her brother’s said something like ‘rest in peace’ and he drew a picture of a guitar-perfectly. There was also a bar coaster with autographs (not sure what that was all about) and a black cowboy hat. I had no idea he liked country music and could play guitar.
A Mormon guy officiated the service (this was new to me too). No music either. The part that made everyone dab their eyes was when Colleen said ‘I see my dad in my Kenny’ and that ‘her mom was an angel to him as she took care of him so well’. Mrs. S. has lost weight and had an ashen complexion. I hope she takes care of herself better now.
We were in the funeral procession and we drove by their house first. I didn’t know they did that, but it’s an old tradition. We then went to the Media cemetery, close to where Colleen, Ken, the kids and mom live (where I grew up). We knew others resting there. That was hard on Colleen. She’s been a strong, brave lady and I salute her for that.
I forgot to tell you that we drove by the church where Brian and I got married over 22 years ago (while in the funeral procession).
We went to our church last night and there was a baptism! So we almost touched all the sacraments yesterday.

A few famous Pennsylvanians passed away last week- newsman Ed Bradley and actor Jack Palance. Ed went to nearby Cheyney University. Jack, from Hazelton, won an Oscar for ‘City Slickers’. When he accepted the Oscar, he did his infamous one armed push-ups. : )

Here are a few weird connections-I was crafting some bookmarks for my friends and needed a big eraser to wipe away some gluestick residue. Sean had one in his room and handed it to me-it had the same last name as Colleen’s dad printed on it! Of all the names-it’s not Smith either.
I was looking in my wallet and pulled out a folded piece of paper-it was Sean’s eyeglass prescription dated 11-11-05, exactly a year from when it was written!

I told Brian we should try the video part of the camera (after 4 yrs!) This is what we came up with-lol. I had just taken a clip out of my hair so it was wonky. Enjoy me ‘singing’ Love Story to Cosmo the kitty! This is totally not synchronized!

I caught Paula last night and thought I’d make this and the little cranberry thingies with cream cheese. Not sure if Cornish game hens would go over-I get a free turkey soon anyway!
Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen
See this recipe on air Wednesday Nov. 22 at 1:00 PM ET/PT.
Show:
Paula’s Home Cooking
Episode:
Thanksgiving

2 (14-ounce) packages gingerbread mix 1 (5.1-ounce) package cook-and-serve vanilla pudding mix 1 (30-ounce) can pumpkin pie filling 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1/3 teaspoon ground cardamom or cinnamon 1 (12-ounce) container frozen whipped topping 1/2 cup gingersnaps, optional
Bake the gingerbread according to the package directions; cool completely. Meanwhile, prepare the pudding and set aside to cool. Stir the pumpkin pie filling, sugar, and cardamom into the pudding. Crumble 1 batch of gingerbread into the bottom of a large, pretty bowl. Pour 1/2 of the pudding mixture over the gingerbread, then add a layer of whipped topping. Repeat with the remaining gingerbread, pudding, and whipped topping. Sprinkle of the top with crushed gingersnaps, if desired. Refrigerate overnight. Trifle can be layered in a punch bowl.

…I’d like to show you my progress on ‘Giggles in the Snow’ a Mirabilia design. I got him out again to stitch along with the gang in the sidebar there. I think I’m the only one doing a child, the others are doing lovely ladies. I love the colors so much, I’ll probably do the little girl companion piece. This is on a silver specked fabric. I cut it too small, so I’ll have to leave off the words ‘snow angel’. I’ll have to make sure the girl will be able to include those words so they can be framed together.

I was at my mom’s yesterday in an attempt to help her tidy up…something, anything. I arrived to find piles of Rubbermaid containers piled up in her living room. It looked like she was moving. She said she knew what was in all of them and they all had a place to go. I told her she has too may ‘things’ for one person. She always says ‘I know’, but she adds to the booty daily. She’s hopeless- the ‘things’ are taking over making her feel bad about her house.
What’s with the chicken? Well, I went outside to toss empty cardboard boxes on mom’s patio and low and behold there were 5 of her neighbor’s hens out there scratching around in the leaves. They are so funny to watch. Mom gives them stale bread and they love it!
I helped her clean the inside of her car. I also dragged about 10 bags of stuff (mine included) to the Goodwill Store. While I was disposing of them, she went in the store and picked out about 6 articles of clothing and tried to buy them without me seeing them! I made her put back half of them and later she picked up a top she had put back. I did find a few things-a cute ceramic jar with a cat stenciled on it for Cosmo’s goodies-blue and white. I found an old ceramic Santa, a Disney Belle doll, a teddy and Toll House’s favorite recipes cookbook. Some to keep, some for eBay. I have a few plastic boxes sitting around here-with the Halloween stuff. I can’t find things I took off the windowsills in the dining room area that I had replaced with Halloween things. Gee, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!
And Mom and I had a nice dinner at Outback Steakhouse-she had the kiddie steak (really) and I had shrimp, prawns and mushrooms in fetticini-yum! We shared their new apple cobbler that is served with vanilla ice cream and a maple sauce (I think).

My uncle took his driver’s test yesterday and failed it miserably. So he won’t be driving anymore. He saw his regular physician today and the doc said he could go home from rehab! Well, he needs a walker, can’t use a cane. He had a terrible nosebleed last week. We are wondering how he will fend for himself as my aunt is in another nursing home. Sad stuff.

My tribe.net group friends and I were talking about things we secretly liked and my one pal mentioned she liked dollhouses. I made the little one below back in about 1992 or 93. I was assembling it when I heard that a former secretary of Brian’s had passed away-her name was Sue. So I named it for her. She was only 28 and fought ovarian cancer until the very end-even having her bone marrow transplant as a story on the local news. The last time I saw her alive was at a picnic and she looked at Sean in a longing way knowing she’d probably never had children. I never forgot that.

Ok, I voted…there were only 4 people on our ballot way out here in the sticks. ; )
We waited in a long line as they had one ancient lady with the register books to look up your name. It was easy when we got up there as our names are all in a row. Filling out the ballot was like taking a standardized test. I only had to color in two ovals. Then we ran the ballot in a scanner machine. No hanging chads! I saw a few people I knew in line and we chatted a bit. One way to socialize. The machine’s counter said I was about 860! Wow, that’s a lot. : )
Ed Rendell won with no problem. It was a landslide for Bob Casey!
We decided to go to Baskin Robbins for a treat as my pork tenderloin didn’t exactly fill any of us up! Heck, I tried. I had coconut nut in a sugar cone. Too bad many of my teeth ache from the cold food.

Now for the flurry of Christmas ads….oh, they make me feel like I’m not buying the right gifts. Plus the ones with the Lexus tied up with a gigantic bow make me a little envious. Darn them!

The service for Colleen’s dad is at 9 am on Saturday. We live an hour+ away. I am not a morning person. Ok, that sounds so ‘self-centered’ as my mom said tonight. The guys were moaning and groaning in the background. I think it’s going to be a short and sweet service. We had a memorial service for my grandmom, no funeral. It was very touching. My brother Ken and I had a hard time holding it together just for that. So, God willing, I’ll get to the place (not sure where it is) and I’ll do it for my sister-in-law.

Some critter had gotten into the bag of sunflower seeds I left on my low plant stand yesterday (smart). I had to pick up the stand and everything that was on it. Then I had to sweep off the seeds. I was using the broom to brush off leaves and then I just went and got the rake and garden cart. I was out there a while spiffing up the place. I got completely grossed up by seeing a little foot peeking out from leaves under behind the hedge. Not sure if it was a squirrel or a rat, I’m thinking squirrel, though I saw no signs of a bushy tail. I had to scoop it up with the rake (not easy) and he’s under a pile of leaves in the back. I didn’t feel like attending a rodent burial today.
I want the front yard to at least look nice for my brother’s visit next week. I hope he’ll be able to get out here. Four days is rather a short visit. And I’m actually helping myself by doing a little of the clean up in the fall rather than waiting for the spring. My sinuses and moldy leaves do not mix well.

Thursday is the funeral for my sister-in-law’s dad. Not sure if either Brian or Sean can attend as it’s a bad day for them. I’m sure Carl would say not to worry to them. He was laid back. He was interested in my eBay endeavors and wanted to sell an old Singer sewing machine he had. I looked up sewing machines to give him prices, but I doubt he ever sold it. My estranged father is also named Carl and he looks like Colleen’s dad. We all thought that the first time we saw Mr. S.