WHOSYERGURL - Mutterings from a midwest gal.

Artist interview: Journey with Cat Kerr

2012-02-15T08:00:00.115-05:00

First of all, let me say that I am always happy to meet someone who is "famous," only to find that despite said fame, they are kind and down-to-earth and just regular folk. This is artist Cat Kerr.

I can't remember when I first happened upon Cat, but I have always admired her and her art work. I read her blog and commented, we've corresponded and became facebook friends. On January 6, Cat celebrated a lot of things all at once: her blog anniversary, her two hundredth post and five hundred followers! Wow. To celebrate, she had a give-away. All you had to do was comment. Well, if you know me at all, you know that I always have something to say, so I commented.

And I won!

I started a new job on January 23rd and Cat picked the winner on January 31st. I have been playing catch-up a lot with blogs that I read and I totally missed it! She wrote me an email that said "Sweet Cheryl, you won my give-away." I was so excited and couldn't wait for the necklace to arrive. The necklace is a "Journey" necklace featured in the current issue of Sew Somerset. (I told you she was famous.) Not a photo, an entire article. Wow, wow, wow. When the package arrived and I opened it, this is the first thing that I saw:

I was absolutely awe struck at her attention to detail. Stitching everywhere, wire wrapping, sewing. Amazing.
Cat's blog, In the light of the moon, and other photos found here. If you like what you see, her etsy shop is found here. And, that isn't all. I won a class with her at Artful Gathering. If you go to the Artful Gathering link you'll find a video of Cat, sharing her studio and talking about the class she will be teaching.
I asked Cat if she would answer a few questions and tell us a little about herself. My questions are in bold. All of the responses are in Cat's words. I got cold chills as I read her responses. When she talks about how Mary Oliver's poem, The Journey, spoke to her. I love Mary Oliver and had this poem posted in my cube at one of my jobs for three years.

Sit back and relax with artist Cat Kerr:

How long have you been doing art?
I have always loved creating in one way or another. I started with a love for Fashion Design. I still stop in my tracks when I see a beautiful work of art coming down the Runway. Today, I create in other mediums and my Art fills my heart with Joy. I am so thankful that I get to create with wonderful products. That I get to play while I work.That I get to write about techniques that make my mind wild with excitement. I am thankful for each and every moment.

How did you get started?
I hesitated for years. One question kept circling around in my little head..."Will anyone want to buy something I make?"...I was afraid to find out. But then one night,as I sat outside and gazed at the Moon, I started recalling a poem that I read a while back. The poem,"The Journey" by Mary Oliver. When I first read the poem,I thought it was lovely,and that's it. But this night,this poem wanted me to listen, it wanted to me to understand, it wanted me to move and go and jump and play and Begin. The first line reads..."One day you finally knew what you had to do,and began"...and that night I knew, what I had already known deep in my heart...and the time had come for me to get up...and Go. The next day I set up my Ebay account and even though it took months for me to make my first sale, I knew that I was doing EXACTLY what I was supposed to be doing.

Has your art evolved along the way?
When I think of the progression of my art, I think of the Mediums that I have used along the years that have inspired me. These mediums continue to find their way into my art and I am so thankful for journey. My first medium was paper,...then wood, then fabric, and metal, and resin and today I use them all. Today when someone asks me..What is it I do?..Phew ,that could be a long answer so I just say ..I am Mixed Media Artist. Period.

When did you start blogging?
I just celebrated my 2 year blog-aversary. I started blogging with the sole intention of promoting my art. But I had no idea that creating a blog would also give me the opportunity to make friends with people all over the world. I am so thankful to each and every person I meet thru the blog. In 2011 I had the opportunity to meet some of my bloggy friends and I am still giddy thinking about it. A true blessing.
So what do you already know? Yes, You? Whats waiting for you around the bend? What ever it is, its waiting, patiently, but sometimes it is not enough to know...we have to begin.

The Journey

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice--
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,

branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do--
determined to save
the only life you could save.

Mary Oliver

See what I mean? You can just tell how Cat opens her heart and how kind and down-to-earth she is.

Go visit her blog.

Go to her Etsy site and buy something from her.

Go sign up for her class.

And if you are an artist who is waiting, Go.

Have a heart!

2012-02-14T21:15:00.000-05:00

Last night we took advantage of Papa Murphy's heart pizza special- for $6.00- it was yummy.

This morning we woke to a couple of inches of snow. The roads were nasty out our way- to the point that I was a bit fearful and I am not usually fearful on snowy roads. But I got to work just fine and then after work the roads were clear.
Despite making for some scary road conditions, it was beautiful.

Returned from work this afternoon to find candles lit and a man in my house, freshly showered, shaved and dressed nicely. I shared a bottle of champagne with him by the fire and then we made salads, tenderloin and sweet potato fries for dinner.
How was your heart day?

Chili for when it is chilly and a new cornbread recipe

2012-02-12T13:10:00.000-05:00

It has been very cold here in southern Indiana, down to the lowest of the double digits, (TEN degrees) so yesterday I made chili and tried out a new cornbread recipe. If you are a long-time reader, I believe I have posted this chili recipe in the past, but for those of you who haven't seen it before I will post it again.

Do you have one of these chopper tools from Pampered Chef? If not, run out and get one. It is one of my new favorite toys for the kitchen. No more messing with a fork and squishing the meat, just chop and it is broken up in no time.

When I make chili, I make a big pot because it is always better warmed up. We had it for lunch today and it was indeed better after being in the refrigerator over night.

Chuck wagon Chili

1 pound lean ground beef

1 package Jimmy Dean sausage (my modification to this recipe)

1 large onion

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 clove garlic

1 can tomatoes (I use Rotel original diced tomatoes & green chilies) (10 ounces)

1 can Brooks mild Chili bean mix (10 ounces)

1 can Brooks spicy Chili bean mix (10 ounces)

(Brooks brand is a local to Indiana brand that I am partial to.)

1 red, 1 green bell pepper (I didn't have green this time so I used yellow and red)

Brown beef, remove from pan, leave grease- chop onion and cook in grease from the meat.

Drain off excess oil, add meat to pan, spices, garlic, tomatoes and bell peppers.

Simmer for half an hour. Add beans, cook an additional 20 minutes.

(For those of you who know me, I can no longer have the onion and garlic, so I leave those out. And, if you have cornbread or crackers with this, it cuts the hot.)

The spices are what make this chili recipe stand out from others.

I've made this chili when I've gone camping.

I measured out the spices before leaving home and took with us in a baggie.

Yesterday I made a new cornbread magazine that I got out of American Profile that comes with our newspaper. For those of you who are linky lovers the link for this recipe is here.

Browned Butter and Sour Cream Cornbread

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups stone ground corn meal

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup sour cream

Melt butter in small sauce pan over medium heat

swirling often until lightly browned and nutty- about four minutes.

Pour into medium bowl and set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Rub eight inch cast iron skillet with the oil, place in oven to heat.

(I used my Calphalon and forgot to preheat the skillet and it worked out just fine.)

In large bowl combine cornbread, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda.

Add eggs and sour cream to cooked butter. Whisk well.

Pour dry ingredients and stir just to combine. Do not over-mix. Pour batter into skillet. Bake twenty minutes and test with toothpick until it comes out clean.

Cool for five minutes and flip onto cooling rack.

(I left in the skillet with lid to keep warm-

until Doug forgot and left the lid off, and then it cooled off.)

Just for the record, this cornbread is great on the second morning, heated in the microwave and topped with Brommel and Brown yogurt spread and cherry preserves with a nice cup of tea with honey.

Super Sunday

2012-02-05T18:19:00.000-05:00

I bought this stuff to have to bake when it snowed. We haven't had much snow, yet. There is still a chance. But, I thougth I would bake these to take as our offering at a Super Bowl party. The Ghiradelli Turtle brownies are from a box mix. All you add is one egg, water and oil. I bought it at Aldi's, so I know it didn't cost much. They are really good. You mix up the brownies, then squeeze the butterscotch from a packet and then drag a knife back and forth.

Ghiradelli Turtle Brownie Mix

Made from scratch blondies

The Blondies are a move over, Paula, recipe. Lots of butter! But these blondies are to die for!

Blondies

3 cups flour

2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 lb unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

4 large eggs

2 T vanilla

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Butter & flour a 9x13 baking pan. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder & salt until well combined; set aside. In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugar, & brown sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed- continue beating until light brown & thick, about 7 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, allowing each to be thoroughly incorporated before adding the next. After beating in the fourth egg for one minute, beat in the vanilla. Stir in the chocolate chips, then the flour mixture just until incorporated. Do not beat, although the batter will be very thick. Spoon the batter in to the prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until the top is light brown & a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set the pan on a wire rack to coll for at least 30 minutes before serving. Serves 24.

(Unless everyone eats two or three!)

I watch the Super Bowl for the half-time show and the commercials! Enjoy! Have a SUPER Sunday!

Saturday night confessional

2012-02-04T23:58:00.001-05:00

Forgive me Father, for I have sinned

In high school, I went with a guy for two and a half years, whose family was Catholic. I loved his family. More often than not, I was at his house for dinner. Before eating, the four of them would make the sign of the cross. I grew up in the Foursquare Pentecostal Church. Quite a difference from Catholicism. My boyfriend's parents would attend service on Saturday evenings. Afterwards, they would play cards with friends. David and I would be at his parent's house, listening to our favorite radio program, The King Biscuit Flour Hour. This was in the late 70's. To avoid going to church on Saturday evening with his family, David would go to confession on his own. This seemed to appease his parents. This troubled me greatly. What did he tell the Priest? Did he tell him we were parked at Baker Park and got caught by the police? (We did.) Did he tell him we were at David's house when his family was gone? (Something both of our families would have frowned upon.) Did he tell him that David peer pressured me into sipping my first liquor? (Grape Vodka- it was hideous.) I worried and worried about what David told his Priest.
Well, it is Saturday night and I have a confession of my own.

My name is Cheryl and I like nice clothes.

Some might even say that I am a clothes horse.
In years past, I wore some right fancy dudes. I would shop and shop and lay that plastic down. Lordy, I nearly wore out some of that plastic. Back in the day they would lay the card down and sweep, sweep back and forth over it. Do some of you remember what I'm talking about? I shopped and charged. Well, it is quite likely that I am still working to pay off some of said charges. Now a days I get just as much of a thrill from saving money as I used to get from spending money.

We have a Vintage Vogue in our town. If you are a regular reader, I've written about this store before. It is by Goodwill. But this is upscale Goodwill. They carry brand new shoes. They carry high end purses. You never know what you will find. But I have become a Goodwill Vintage Vogue snob. You see, on the first Saturday of the month, everything is HALF off.

I started dragging Doug in there with me. We found a pair of Cole Haan shoes for him in there. Again, brand new. Doug wears a size thirteen shoe. These were a moccasin style with a tassel. He was quite taken with the tassel. "I've never had a pair of shoes with a tassel, before." They have a soft sole- perfect for dancing. Ever so often we go out dancing. They can be worn for dress with socks or casual without socks with bluejeans. He loves them.
Last month on the first Saturday we went to Vintage Vogue and I spent $30.00. Today we went back and I spent something like $54.00. This is all half-price. And Doug spent $24.00. He found a dress shirt, two pair of pants and a brand new pair of Levis. I found grey lounge pants for $4.50. Crisp, beautiful paisley Talbot's capris for $7.00. (I'm thinking Paris.) I found a sunflowers shirt for $4.50. You know, the kind they sell at Cracker Barrel that normally run $20 or $30? I found a wonderful blue flowered three quarter length sleeve t-top by Take Two with butterflies on it. At first Doug wrinkled his nose and I said "you don't like it." He said "if you like it, I like it." (He is good to say that because he knows if Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.) I found another pair of Talbot's capris for $6.50 and lots of other items.

For Christmas, I bought Doug a soft blue flannel shirt. Then I started stealing it to wear with my pajamas when I was chilly in the evening or early morning. I found a soft flannel man's shirt for $4.50. (I paid $15.00 for the one I bought for him at TJ Maxx.) I found an adorable pink and green Lilly Pulitzer looking bag for $4.00 that I will carry in the spring/summer.

We have two other Goodwill stores in our town. We were in the vicinity of another as we did our errands today. I had a trash bag of clothes to donate and I wanted to take them through the drive-through donation. After we dropped it off, Doug said "do you want to go in?" I said "we may as well." I found a pair of pajama pants for $1.50. And Doug found a pair of Eddie Bauer hiking shorts for $4.00, Adidas work out shorts, NBA warm-up pants, another pair of warm up pants and a pair of LL Bean zip off hiking pants. (He turned to me and said "do you know how much those would have cost, new?") I've turned him into a bargain hunter, too! (At this Goodwill location, our purchases totaled $14.00.) When we left the house this afternoon he said to me "do you think I could find some pants for work, there?" He found the pants for work, too.

I love the Vintage Vogue, and so does the fashinista, Jessica Quirk, author of What I Wore. Hope over to her blog to see her photos and what she has to say.

This is my confession. I feel so much better, now.

Rolling over in goodness

2012-02-01T21:04:00.001-05:00

Good.

Life is just good right now.

It has been insanely busy, but good.

I started a new job last Monday.

In my previous job, I worked for a person who is very well known.

An expert in his field. Someone who is respected and revered by all.

It was a good move to go to work for him.

This new position, is an excellent opportunity, too.

Another good move.

All part of the journey.

My new job is busy, busy, busy.

That is how I like it.

The day flies by, you look up and all of the sudden think

how can it be time to go home?

In my new job one of the things I do is go to the mail room once a day.

I like going to the mail room.

Even my new boss said "oh good!"

(Different administrative people have different duties,

so my new boss didn't assign the mail room to me.)

But, it gets me out of our suite.

It is in the next building

and down in the basement.

I get to greet others in the halls.

I get to be in the midst of the students as they hustle and bustle between classes.

Some university employees complain about students-

but not me.

I love them.

Heck, I was a student not so long ago and they were wonderful to me.

(Just earned my B.S. in 2007.)

My children were students.

Those students are the reason we are there.

The reason we have jobs and get a pay check.

I get to walk on the bridge hallway

that crosses over the road

to the other building

and see the cars and people, down below.

And, I get to see the free stuff on the shelves outside of the mail room.

I just scored a new, never used rolodex.

I am over-joyed!

Have you ever seen an altered rolodex?

Some people call them altered "rolos."

This won't be something that I sit down and complete all at once.

But something that will be a work in progress.

Already I'm dreaming of papers with apples listed under A

Or a piece of purple under P

Kisses under K

Oh the fun

part of the journey

just like my life.

I am feeling

blessed

happy

content

hopeful

rested

loved.

Pepperoni Cheese stick roll ups

2012-01-29T17:19:00.001-05:00

After a long hike today (six miles) Doug and I came home and I made a fattening snack. I saw these on Pinterest and wanted to try them. You just get a tube of crescent rolls (8 rolls), 4 mozzarella cheese sticks (cut each one in half) and a package of pepperoni (I put four slices on each of mine). Starting at the large end, I put four slices of pepperoni and then the cheese stick then rolled them and put the small end face down on the parchment paper. I baked on my Pampered Chef stoneware with parchment paper. Our oven runs hot and parchment paper keeps dough from burning on the bottom. (And makes for a very easy clean-up.)

These are very rich, but very yummy with a cold beer after a long hike.

Barefoot Contessa's Salmon Spread

2012-01-24T22:18:00.000-05:00

Barefoot Contessa's Salmon Spread

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon minced fresh dill

1 teaspoon prepared horseradish, drained

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 pound (4 ounces) smoked salmon, minced.

I stirred and stirred until my arm hurt.

This is one of those recipes that you need to mix up at least a few hours ahead so that the flavors can mingle. I made mine this evening to serve tomorrow evening. You can serve on crackers or toasted slices of french bread. I'm serving on crackers.

I would like to introduce you to my new go-to recipe. You know the one that you can quickly and easily mix up and wow your guests?

I'm having a meeting at my house tomorrow night. The Meeting of the Intelligent Minds. It is a small meeting- just myself and two other gal friends. We started trying to get together about every four weeks or so and then we gave our meeting a name. Because you know what we do? We get together and solve the problems of the world! Just the three of us. We are small, but mighty. Oh, the results that we produce! And oh, the safety that abides with the three of us! No subject is taboo and what is spoken at The Meeting of the Intelligent Minds stays with The Meeting of the Intelligent Minds.

Sometimes we go to a restaurant to meet after work. (All three of us work full time.) Twice now, one of the gals has had us over on a Saturday evening and had a full-blown get out the good dishes and the crystal sit down at the table meal. She had pork roast and potatoes and green beans and she served us this dip as part of her appetizer spread. I about went plum crazy for it. I hope my version is as good as hers was. This is the second time that I am hosting. It is just so nice to cozy up to the fire. I love our little meetings.

Ice day quiche

2012-01-22T11:42:00.001-05:00

I made this quiche, yesterday. Yesterday because we had ice, I called it an "ice day quiche." Fact of the matter is, this is an any day quiche. If you have Milk, Bisquick and cheese on hand, and two cups of any vegetable, you can make this quiche. My desire is that you learn to cook like a Grandma. You don't always have to follow a recipe exactly. Learn to improvise. You might produce surprisingly delicious results. Trust yourself.

Yesterday, when we were iced over, the cupboard was bare. I scrounged to make something for lunch. I found a sweet potato and half a bag of mixed vegetables. Steam your vegetables first. This recipe as is, produces a lovely quiche.

Harvest Vegetable Pie

Broccali, frozen- 2 cups

Onion, chopped- 1/4 cup

Cheddar cheese, shredded - 1 cup

milk- 1 1/4 cup

Bisquick 3/4 cup

Salt- 1 teaspoon

Pepper- 1/4 teaspoon

Steam broccoli until almost tender. Drain thoroughly. Chop broccoli, add onions and cheese, fold together lightly. Arrange in greased 10 inch pie pan. In mixing bowl beat eggs, milk, Bisquick, salt and pepper together with a wire whisk for one minute. Pour egg mixture over vegetables.

Bake at 325 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes or until golden brown.

Before baking

After baking

Ready to eat!

On a cold, frozen day- this hit the spot!

Ice, ice, baby!

2012-01-21T14:10:00.001-05:00

We woke this morning to ice. Doug and I ran out briefly to make a couple of brief stops last evening and the freezing rain had started. By the time we got home my car was covered in a layer of ice. The drive is covered in ice. We won't be venturing out any time soon. I'm thankful it is Saturday and I have no where to be. I ventured out in my house shoes this morning (carefully!) to take some photos.

slats of the swing in the yard

grasses in the yard

deck

abandoned planter

ice covered ivy

upper deck

hand rail on steps to upper deck

small barn

Of course we need to go to the grocery. I did have all of the fixins for a quiche. A nice day to stay in my pajamas.

Keepin' it real

2012-01-18T20:10:00.000-05:00

Just so you don't think my life is all sunshine and roses all the time, I am going to tell you what happened at our house yesterday.

A real life not made for t.v. story.

Yesterday, when we got up, it was pouring rain. I don't know if we had a lot of accumulation or not, but when we got up, it was POURING. Our road runs along side Clear Creek. When I say Clear Creek, people around these parts don't picture a raging, ravaging ,nearly river size situation, but I've seen it and have lived to tell the tale. We have canoed Clear Creek on more than one occasion when it was probably too dangerous for us to be out in our canoe in it, but there we were.

I've seen Clear Creek completely up and over our road to the point that they posted emergency personnel and told us not to drive down our road. (It was only about up to the bottom of my car and I did anyway, there isn't anywhere for me to go even if I did get washed over the side of the road. It isn't like I was going to fall to my death over a cliff and the way that the emergency personnel man wanted me to go MILES out of my way.) Anyways, I tell you all of this to tell you, I have seen Clear Creek clear out of its banks. And despite the fact that our house is up on a hill and we've been hit by lightening before, we've also had water come into the house to the point of running down the entry way hall. I'm serious. Now since most of this has happened, they have done a lot of drainage work on our road and it hasn't flooded as bad as it did in the past for some time. And we haven't had the water come in to the house for some time. But, it could happen. So yesterday morning, it was pouring down rain and Doug told me that he saw a couple of wet spots on our ceramic tile. Just before leaving for work, I went in to the bedroom and gathered up my two stacks of stuff sitting in the floor by the bed and I put them on the bed just for safe keeping.

(If you don't have any stacks of stuff beside your bed, just stop reading, now. I don't even want you to read my blog.)

You know, the stacks of stuff that you usually go through and throw away most of but you have to keep it around just in case.

Well, now. I love my animals, but I don't love my animals in my bed or in my bedroom for that matter. Sorry, never have and never will. So consequently, because we try to keep them out of the bedroom, they are forever trying to get n. What is the attraction? Somehow, when I was about to leave for work, Milo slipped into the bedroom.

Milo who loves to cuddle to my laptop for warmth.

Or lay on a freshly folded load of towels for warmth.

The very same adorable, lovable Milo slipped into the bedroom where he spent the entire day while we were at work.
As soon as I came in last night, Doug met me at the door and said
"I have to tell you something."
And I said "something happened to one of the chickens."
And he said "no, it's Milo."
Well, Milo is thirteen years old and even though he is a beautiful boy, he has his good days and bad days.
I said "something happened to Milo?"
And Doug said
"No. He got shut in the bedroom all day and he pooped on the bed."
On. The. Bed.
Doug continued "And he tried to use your papers to cover it up."

At this point I think to myself how it would have been better if my papers just got wet.
Then I ask Doug what got ruined.
He said "your paint samples."
As you can see, the room is blue and white. Doug painted this room blue and white- two walls blue, two walls white. His closet is blue, my closet is white. This is the next to the last room that we have to paint and fix up. We are getting new carpet. (The only room in the house to have carpet.) We are painting and getting a new light fixture.
I decided to paint the room "chalky grey." I had it in my mind that it would look nice with white trim and that I could change out the duvet cover. Do you know how difficult it is to find the perfect shade of grey? I don't want lavender tint or blue tint or greenish tint. I want chalky grey. The girl at Lowe's said "we can mix black and white." I had an envelope overflowing with paint samples of various shades of grey from Lowe's and Menard's. That is what Milo used to cover his poo.
I am going to take this as a sign of God that it is time to start all over. I don't even know if I want to do the chalky grey. I'm open for suggestions.

Grandma's Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes

2012-01-17T19:16:00.000-05:00

While thinking about the title of this post, I thought I might call it "Mama's Scalloped Potatoes." Then I thought wait just a gosh dern minute, there- I am a Grandma now! Doesn't it sound so much better to say "Grandma's" anything? Everyone knows Grandma is a good cook! First I will tell you how the recipe reads from my 1977 American Classic vintage Betty Crocker cookbook, (I just looked it up on Amazon and that is the description) then I'll tell you how Grandma does it.

Scalloped Potatoes

No sauce to make! Only a mix could be faster.

2 pounds potatoes (about 6 medium)

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

3 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup butter or margarine

2 1/2 cups milk

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Wash potatoes, pare thinly and remove eyes.

Cut potatoes into then slices and measure about 4 cups.

In greased 2-quart casserole, arrange potatoes in 4 layers, sprinkling each of the first 3 layers with 1 tablespoon onion, 1 tablespoon flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt dash pepper and dotting each with 1 tablespoon butter. Sprinkle top with remaining onion, salt and pepper and dot with remaining butter. Heat milk just to scalding; pour over potatoes. Cover; bake 30 minutes. Uncover; bake 60-70 minutes longer or until potatoes are tender.

Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

4 to 6 servings.

I always (nearly always) change recipes. I make them "better." Now, do you see any cheese in Betty's recipe? No. In my cookbook, I have written one cup cheese. At some point in time, I decided that I was no longer a quivering rabbit of a cook and that I would cook like a Grandma- I don't really measure. I look at this recipe to see how long to cook the potatoes and when to cover/uncover and what temperature. Other than that, I wing it.

First, get you a big strong man to peel and slice your potatoes. Be sure and say "Honey" when you ask him to peel and slice your potatoes. Then give him lots of praise. Then tell him to get out of the way.

This is what your first layer should look like:

I leave the flour bag sitting out and use a serving spoon tablespoon and get a big ol' spoonful of flour and shake it over the layer of potatoes. Then I give each of the salt and pepper a twist over the potatoes. Then I chunk off some butter (Grandma wants you to note here that she only uses butter and never margarine because margarine is only one molecule away from being plastic and Grandma doesn't want plastic in her food or body.) and chunk off some Velveeta. Yes, Grandma said Velveeta. Don't tell me it isn't cheese- the box says "cheese food" right on the label. And, from someone who grew up eating her Grandma's government cheese, Velveeta is good stuff. (And I liked government cheese just fine, thank you very much. Raise your hand if you remember government cheese.)

Do you see any onions in Grandma's scalloped potatoes?
No.
Grandma has colitis and can't eat onions any longer.
I do scald the milk and I do measure out two and a half cups. But I gauge if I have enough milk by the way that it looks in the pan. You want the milk to about three quarters of an inch from the top. I pile everything high- it will cook down. And, put a baking sheet under your pan because most likely, it will run over.

I should have put the foil back on near the end, but I didn't check on them, so some of my potatoes and cheese burned a little. Oh well. Most people like it like that. Grandmas don't worry over such trivial details.

Yum.

Just like Andy Griffith used to say "Now, that is goooooooooood!"

three

2012-01-14T14:04:00.001-05:00

Today's post is brought to you by the number three.

three

Sometimes I think about a post for quite some time before I actually sit down to write it. Such is the case with this post. I have been thinking about this post all week. It has been tip-toeing in and out of my mind, snippets of thoughts just before I drift off to sleep. Because we have a three day weekend this weekend, I've been thinking about the number three. I remember studying the significance of the number three in one of my lit classes in college. It was fascinating.

The three bears
with three chairs
and three beds
and three bowls of porridge.

three bears

The three little pigs- remember the saying
"I'll huff,
and I'll puff,
and I'll blow your house in?"

three little pigs

In Greek Mythology the three graces- charm, beauty, creativity.

three graces

In comedy- The Three Stooges, Larry, Curly and Moe.

three stooges

In jewelry- the three stone ring, a center stone anchored by two outer stones.

three stones

Three blind mice- remember the song?
They all ran after the farmer's wife
she cut off their tales with the carving knife
did you ever see such a sight in your life?

three blind mice

In Christianity- the trinity, Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
Three kings visit the babe in Bethlehem.
Three crosses at Calvary.
Three days before Christ arose.
Peter's three denials of Christ.
Three times the cock crows.

To denote time- yesterday, today, tomorrow.
Past, present, future.
Morning, noon and night.
Twenty-four hour day- divided by three equals three eight hour shifts.

The trilogy, triad, trinity.

"I'll give you three wishes."
"Third times a charm."
"Three strikes you're out."
"Three ring circus."
"Three sheets to the wind."
"Thought, word, and deed."
"Me'nage a trois." (Ooooh la la.)
"Hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil."

While reading what I could about the number three today, I learned humans perceive white light as a mixture of three additive primary hues- red, green, and blue. Who knew?

For one of the most conclusive essays regarding the number three, consult this website, www.threes.com
specifically, here.

Or, for a generic version, there is always good old wiki.

What comes to mind when you think of the number three?
I hope you enjoyed this post today, brought to you by the number three. Now I'm off to enjoy my three day weekend.

Let's play in the snow!

2012-01-12T21:38:00.001-05:00

Tonight I'm joining in with Shannan over at Flower Patch Farmgirl. I'm certain she is getting snow at this hour. I know we are. I just drove home after being in town after work with a friend and the further out I drove, the worse it got. But I arrived alive. I'm sitting in the kitchen at the table. Milo the wonder cat is to my right, that's right, on the kitchen table. The dishwasher is running and Doug is in the living room watching Indiana University and Minnesota play basketball on t.v. Life could be worse, people.

Here we go:

current guilty pleasure: sleeping in on the weekend.
current nail color: Nail Magic nail hardener (sans color)
current playlist: Anything Adele

current read: The Berlitz Self-Teacher French, Stuff Parisians Like, The Sweet Life in Paris, The Starter Wife, and Full Dark, No Stars. (Yes, simultaneously, all at once!- Life is too short! The Starter Wife is on my bedside table, The Sweet Life in Paris is in my car, The Berlitz Self-Teacher French, Stuff Parisians Like and Full Dark, No Stars is in on the table near the fireplace.)

current drink: Bigalowe Constant Comment. I call it "constant comfort."

current food: Just had Friday's shrimp and fries
current favorite show: IU Basketball

current wish list: getting our bedroom painted!

current triumph: Being published in New Castle's her magazine and interviewed and featured on little Indiana in the same week!
current bane of my existence: Frustrations

current celebrity crush: Always. Richard Jenkins. You know, the dad from Six Feet Under? There is something about his voice, those eyes, I don't know, he looks a little like James Taylor.

Recent indulgence: I currently own more than one (several) pairs of tennis shoes at once! How did that happen?

current blessing: Support and love from friends.

current outfit: Olive green cargo pants with lavender v-neck t, white socks and my red crocs (I wear crocs for house shoes.)

current excitement: A pending trip to PARIS

current mood: grateful
current link: I love Paris in the Springtime! Our friend, Tom Roznowski just sang this to me from the stage this past Sunday night when he preformed at Player's Pub.

Now if I could get Richard Jenkins to meet me in Paris...

(let us know if you play along and link us to your post)

Featured on little Indiana!

2012-01-10T23:01:00.001-05:00

Can you stand a little shameless self-promotion? Isn't that what blogging is all about? Do you see anything new on my blog? A featured blogger button from little Indiana! And I'm so proud I could just bust my buttons! I don't know who stumbled upon whom first, me or Jessica, but she emailed asking if I would be willing to be featured on her blog. Would I? What an honor! Jessica Nunemaker is the hostess with the mostess of little Indiana. In her words: your guide to the best of Indiana small towns. I've never met Jessica, but I would love to because there are a lot of crazy photos of her online, evidently she truly enjoys life and must be an enjoyable person to be around. I envision recognizing her sometime, say at the state fair and hollering "Jessica!" She would turn to me, giving me that "who are you crazy lady" look and I would say "Whosyergurl!"

Jessica followed up with another email with interview questions. Wow, that was tough and I'm grateful for her probing questions because it caused me to take a long hard look at my blog. I basically went all the way back to the beginning and combed through my blog, post by post.

I think if most people are honest, they are usually madly in love with the state that they hail from. I had a hilarious conversation (I thought it was hilarious) over the holidays with someone who told me IF she were to get a tattoo, she might get a tattoo of the outline of her home state. (Not Indiana.) I laughed and told her that would be the most boring tattoo ever and I think I made her about half-mad. She said "it wouldn't be boring because I have a lot of pride in my state!" I have to say I understand. Don't we all have a lot of pride in our state?

I know whenever we are out of state and cross over the state line, no matter who is in the car, we always break out in song singing Back Home Again in Indiana.

To read all about what Jessica had to say about Whosyergurl, click here. She tuned in on the post at the beginning of the year, the day that I waded into Monroe Reservoir. Doug and I went to the Y tonight and afterward, to the grocery. We were walking to the car, me wearing shorts in thirty-six degree weather and I said "I think I'm just going to wear shorts all winter- it will make me tough." Thus far we are having an unseasonably mild winter. Remind me of this proclamation when it is really cold and snowy. O.k., go see Jessica at little Indiana. Even if you aren't from Indiana, you'll enjoy it. If you are from Indiana, you will really enjoy it!

Hilltop Restaurant

2012-01-09T22:24:00.001-05:00

On Saturday, Doug and I went to Spencer, IN in Owen County to the Hilltop Restaurant. It is located near McCormicks Creek State Park. (Note: not the official DNR website.) The restaurant sits on the top of a hill.

Doug, ready to strap on the feed bag

When we went in, we saw that it was still decorated for the holidays. We were escorted to a table by the window. Tables for two were along the sides with larger tables in the center. Another couple was seated at a table behind me and it was too tight for everyone to sit. The solution was to angle the table behind us.

quaint

As you can see by the menu, each meal includes house salad (which consists of lettuce with "sweet vinaigrette," which is made of vinegar, water and sugar), tomato juice, pickled beets, carrots, celery sticks & ranch dip, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, corn, fresh baked rolls with orange marmalade.

"just like eating at Grandma's"

pleasant

I feel that we live in the land of apple butter. Apple butter is something this area of the state is known for. Seemed they were missing out by offering packaged apple butter.

packaged apple butter

Pickled beets were tasty. Anything you want more of, you just ask. You choose your meat and all of the rest of the meal is standard. (Dessert and drinks are extra.)

Salad was disappointing. It tasted fine but it was basically "bag" salad. We were encouraged by our waitress to try sprinkling garlic salt on it. Neither of us did so.

salad & roll

Rolls and marmalade were very good. Our waitress emphasized "rolls, fresh out of the oven." The rolls were hot and fresh.
All of the photos in this post were shot without a flash. Something kind of romantic- photos of food in natural light. (Is it just me? Or do you agree?)

orange marmalade

Doug ordered fried chicken which he felt was a bit disappointing and greasy. I ordered pork chops. The meat was tender and tasty. I was very pleased with the pork chops. Doug thought the gravy looked like pudding but it was very good.

For dessert I ordered the persimmon cake or pudding. This was disappointing. In the past when I've had persimmon, part of what was wonderful was that it was moist. This was not moist. It was a little dry and chewy. I didn't eat it all. (We felt our waitress was a bit absent-minded, but when it came to desserts, she rattled off a long list.)

persimmon

Doug ordered the blackberry cobbler and he said he has had better, but he did eat it all. Seemed to me he enjoyed it. (He may have said "I've had better," in an effort to comfort me because I had just told him I wasn't thrilled with my dessert. It seems that whenever we eat out his food is better or his portion is larger. Sometimes he notices before I do.)

blackberry cobbler

The Hilltop originally opened on July 4, 1948. Other than a facebook page, I was unable to locate an official page online. When it comes to restaurants, I am picky. If I have a negative restaurant experience, I don't usually go back. There are too many restaurants and life is short. Overall, this was a positive experience and we both agreed we would return. They feature fish on Friday night. I would like to try that. As we were leaving I captured this parting shot of the sign. If you are in the area, I would recommend trying the Hilltop Restaurant.

How do you wrap Paris?

2012-01-02T12:14:00.002-05:00

The weekend before Christmas I went out to MD to be with my girls. My daughter and her wife are both successful women. I was concerned about what to get them for Christmas. When my daughter said "just get us restaurant gift cards" I bought them both cards for about every one of their favorite restaurants. Doug was asking what I got them for Christmas before I left. When I started telling him he said "I think you got them a lot!" I said "well, who knows what they are getting me!" My daughter is extremely kind and generous and around November I made a point of calling her just to tell her how proud I am because of this.

We sat down to open gifts and my daughter sat this shopping bag down in front of me.

I said "I'm afraid you got me more than I got you."

She smiled and said quietly "that is possible."

Then she pointed out that the shopping bag had European flair and showed me the guy on the bag that was wearing the I heart Paris t-shirt.

She said "I know you studied French and have always wanted to go to Paris."

I nodded.

She said "we are doing a theme this year."

Again, I nodded.

A theme.

That's cool.

We've done themes before.

I'm on board.

There were stickers.

And sticky notes.

File folders.

A Parisian calendar.
Cool.

Little notebooks.
I always carry a little notebook in my purse. I'm always jotting down ideas that I don't want to forget.

Parisian art papers.
Originally, my daughter thought she would wrap my gifts in these papers. These papers are large and heavy duty like wallpaper. Then she thought I might want to use them with my art. (I hope to frame one of them and possibly use some of them to decoupage a table top.) In the end, she decided not to use them as gift wrap, but to include them as part of the gift.

Bath & Body lotion.
I like the way it smells!

Ooooh la, la! Paris panties!
(Front)

(& back)

Two books.
At one point I started to reach to the bottom of the bag and my daughter said "there is an order to this." She had a layer of tissue paper and then more gifts below the tissue. She told me the tissue was a false bottom to the bag. I nodded.
An order.
O.k.
No problem.

In the bottom of the bag- a s'mores ornament.
I have always been the queen of s'mores and I love these little s'more ornaments.
Isn't he cute? Cute little frenchie s'more guy.

Then these two books.
She said "I thought you might want to brush up on your French."
I nodded again. Sure. I studied four years in high school and at Ball State University.
I joke: "J'obliez tout le monde." Roughly translated "I forget the world." As in, I forget it all. Meaning I don't remember a lot of my french. (Or as much as I wish I did.) I LOVE the French language. The language of love. Oh swoon. You can say trash can in french and it sound romantic and sexy.
See that piece of paper stuck in the front of the Frommer's Paris 2012?
This whole time, I'm not getting it.
Oh, I get that we are doing a theme Christmas.
And the theme is Paris.
I did study French for five years.
It has always been a dream to go to Paris. I do love all things French.
So, I say "hey, you left a piece of paper in the front of this book."
She nods "uh-huh, look at it."
Me: "Is it your Amazon receipt?"
My daughter: "Look at it."

I open the piece of paper. I say to her "it looks like you've bought a ticket."
My daughter says "Look at it. Read it."
I start reading it. My name is on it. I see the words Dulles and Charles De Gaulle. Suddenly I start to get it. I start to cry. I can't talk. I'm blubbering. The kind where snot starts coming from your nose and the tears are coming so fast you can't see. I'm holding the piece of paper in my hands. My daughter and her wife are sitting there looking at me. My daughter-in-law holds baby Bee on her lap. In the worst kind of sobby, snotty I'm crying and can't talk voice I say
"Are you taking me to Paris?"
My daughter is so happy.
She motions to her wife and the baby.
She says "we all are! We are all taking you and we are all going!"
At this point everyone is wiping tears.
My daughter-in-law turns to my daughter and smiles and says "I think that went pretty well."
My daughter told me that she wanted to make this dream come true for me.
I said "thank you."
But how insufficient is thank you when someone is making a life-long dream come true?
Baby Bee will be fourteen months old when we go. I'm certain she will simply charm everyone we meet in Paris. Maybe by then I can teach her how to say "Bonjour!"

For two days, I couldn't tell the story without tearing up. It seems like a dream. I've applied for my passport.
I'm going to Paris!

2012: Plunging in!

2012-01-01T14:36:00.001-05:00

my legs and wet Keens

This morning Doug and I went to Lake Monroe to do the Polar Bear Plunge. I don't really have a bathing suit right now, so I just wore shorts and a t-shirt. Doug wore his Hawaiian swim trunks. Most people did wear bathing suits.
Last Friday, Doug and a friend of mine started telling me that we needed to do this. First, I didn't even know if I wanted to do this. I posted something about it on facebook. A friend of mine from high school is battling cancer and she commented "you only live once, take the plunge!" That about made me cry.
Last night at our friend's party, we all talked about how we might live differently if we knew that 2012 was our last year. I said that I would be braver. Oh, I talk big. People who know me might think I am never afraid, but I am. Fear is that little feeling in your stomach that causes you to think you can't do something or that you might not do it well.
I saw the movie "We bought a zoo," yesterday and in the movie they talk about how with most situations all you need is twenty seconds of intense confidence. Before we left I got online and looked at some videos of people doing Polar Bear Plunges. They jump in, they jump out. I don't even think it takes twenty seconds.
Doug said that he was going to go in over his head. But once he got into the water, he went in up to his waist. That water was SO COLD. It made me realize how fast someone could get into trouble if they fell through the ice. I didn't intend on going in very far.
But on January 1st, I walked into Lake Monroe on purpose. And I walked right back out.

2011: The year that was

2011-12-31T21:04:00.001-05:00

Our road on an early December morn

Are you ready for the whirlwind recap of 2011, the year that (just about) was?

As I write this, it is 7 p.m. and the Indiana Hoosiers are on t.v. playing Ohio State (ranked #2 in the country). I'm sitting at the kitchen table in the kitchen and Doug is in the living room in front of the t.v.

Here we go:
January:
We rang in 2011 at a party at our friend's, Craig (Doug's boss) & Iliana's. I wasn't feeling too well.
From the 14th to the 17th, I was out in MD with my girls. I went out for a baby shower on the 15th. On the 19the I had a little bit of out-patient surgery, and after about six weeks I was good to go. (This was a procedure I had put off for almost thirty years.) Take it from me, if you need to get something taken care of, do it!
February:
February is an icy, snowy, cold, quiet, month .  I always attend the local Theta Antique Show. I enjoy walking about by myself. I go every year. All by myself. I enjoy it greatly.
March:
My first grand child, the little Bee was born in March. She was due to arrive on the 17th, but as mommy was getting into trouble, the doctor called her and said "hey, how do you feel about having a baby today? O.k., yeah. Come in today and we are going to do this." So she was born on March 8. On the way to work that morning I bought a dozen pink roses and then printed out a little sign to display at my desk telling everyone that I was a Grandma on that day and all of the important information about our new arrival. Then that night, to celebrate, I took myself out to eat.  (I can't remember what Doug was doing that night, but I wanted to celebrate and savor the feeling of happiness and joy, so I did.) I already had my ticket to fly out to MD at the end of the month, so it was a long month. I flew out on March 31.
April:
I was in MD until April 3. It was heaven on earth to finally hold her in my arms, to breath in her sweet new baby fragrance and just to watch her face as she slept.
On the 16th we met a friend of mine, Christine, and her family at a local winery. They were down from Chicago to visit friends in Indiana. I worked with Christine at a newspaper in Muncie, IN years ago and we've kept in touch. It was wonderful to see her and her family.
On the very next day, the 17th, I drove south to Louisville to rendezvous with a dear friend from North Carolina, Laura and her daughter. They were visiting from North Carolina.
On April 23, I wrote "chick day" on my calendar. Doug and I went to our local farm supply store and came home with a dozen chicks. We were going to get five and then Doug said "oh, we'll lose some, get ten" and I went a little crazy saying "give me one of those, and one of those," and we came home with twelve. To date we have butchered one (excessively mean) rooster and have lost one hen. We have one rooster and nine hens remaining. The next few weeks were spent checking chicken's butts for pasty butt, waking in the middle of the night to go make sure they were still alive, constantly adjusting the heat lamp and general restlessness as I was a nervous new chicken mom.
The 24th was Easter and we found some wonderful morel mushrooms in the yard.
On the 28th, we left our home, animals and new chicks in the care of the very competent Alissa. She is friend and pet sitter/house sitter whenever Doug and I happen to travel at the same time. We appreciate her so.
Doug and I drove from Indiana to Maryland. We were heading east to attend Doug's nephew's wedding and when we were that close to MD, I had to go see my girls. On the 29th, the world tuned in to watch the wedding of Wills and Kate. My daughter in law came home with heart shaped donuts in honor or the wedding and baby Bee and I spent the day in front of the television watching the wedding over and over on every channel that I could find it on. (And it just so happens the wedding was on every channel.) I'm certain it is a day she will remember.
The next day we left to drive on to PA to attend Doug's nephew's wedding.
May:
On May 2nd, I started a new job on campus, moving to the law school. I was excited to be at my new location in the heart of campus and to work for my new boss, a highly respected man.
Doug and I attended chicken class and learned of every malady and terrible awful thing that might happen to a chicken. I think if we didn't already have chickens, we might not have taken the plunge, but we already had twelve of them so what could we do? To date, other than one of our hens dropping dead for no apparent reason, none of the terrible, awful, bad things have happened.
June:
On the 3rd of June I flew to MD until the 9th. I enjoyed taking baby Bee for daily walks in her stroller, giving baths, rocking and reading and generally enjoying being in Grandma Heaven.
On the 18th, my little sister came down to Bloomington to attend the Taste of Bloomington
The next weekend brought us a visitor from far northern IN, my dear friend, LizBeth. Liz has a wonderful mother and I have a wonderful daughter, but LizBeth and I have always had a relationship that is something akin to mother/daughter. I met her at Ball State where she became one of my kids and has remained so.
July:
The next weekend brought us weekend visitors from my home town, John and Kathy, to help us celebrate the fourth of July. Kathy and I have been friends for over thirty years and a few years before I met Doug I went out to Colorado with John and Kathy. Shortly after I met Doug we returned to Colorado and John and Kathy invited Doug along. It didn't seem to matter how I felt about it, he was going. Kathy and I have had many travel, hiking, camping, caving and mountain climbing adventures through the years.
On the weekend of the 23rd, Doug's youngest son got married. The entire family came to Bloomington and it was one of the hottest weekends of the summer. We sat in the sun as they stood beneath a gazebo, saying their vows. We were drenched but quickly headed inside for a meal and dancing. After all of the formal activities were over we all headed across the street to a hotel where some of the family was staying and we spent the rest of the day in the pool.
On Monday the 26th, my professor turned mentor turned friend, Dr. Amy from Ball State was visiting a local state park and spent the evening with Doug and I at our local county fair. We had a lot of fun looking at chickens (and ran into our chicken teacher, there), cows, horses and goats. It was a spontaneous visit and oh so fun.
On the 28th, I headed back to MD. We headed to Deep Creek Lake for the weekend with my daughter in law's family. Baby Bee got to attend her first campfire and watched as we all enjoyed s'mores. I am blessed because my daughter in law has a kind and loving family and they include me with everyone else.
August:
I stayed in MD until the 6th to help out my daughter and daughter in law as the regular sitter was on vacation. It was my joy to be there for so many days and to help with baby Bee. We had daily walks with the stroller and lots of time to sit on the deck and look at the trees. Just like her Grandma, baby Bee loves nature.
September:
September began with Doug taking me to see Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. Oh my. I have loved Gillian Welch for, oh, forever, but had no idea what a talent David Rawlings is.
Doug and I attend Lotus Music Festival here in Bloomington every year. You can buy a weekend pass or an evening pass. It is costly, but very worth it. This year we decided to volunteer the first evening of the festival and then was able to attend the second night of the festival for free. We have decided this is the way to go. We are involved in a community event, get to see the groups the first night as we work and then attend for free on the second night. Because we had not put out a lot of cash, there was no frenzy to fly around and try to see each group in attendance.
I started to write for her magazine in September. (My second piece is about to be published- on this very subject, how I use my calendar as a journal of sorts.)
WE INTERRUPT THIS POST TO ANNOUNCE THAT THE INDIANA HOOSIERS JUST BEAT #2 RANKED OHIO STATE! Doug called me into the living room to watch the final three minutes of the game with him. I had to tell him that in sports, three minutes to a woman is like thirty minutes. There is a reason I cannot watch basketball when the team I want to win is winning. Very quickly, I am sick at my stomach from screaming and jumping like a lunatic. I can't help it. I am a Hoosier, born and raised.
October:
The second weekend in October I met a life-long friend at Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. Becky and I have been friends since age five. She lives in TN and I live in IN so we met in the middle at one of my favorite places on earth. We camped, cooked out, laughed, hiked, got in the cave and had a grand old time.
The last weekend of the month the girls came to IN so that my parents and sister might meet little Bee for the first time. I met them in my home town and we visited with my family then had lunch with my friend Kathy and then headed to Indianapolis where the four of us spent the evening. While my girls attended a wedding, the Bee and I hung out and did downtown with her in the stroller.
November:
On the 10th I headed to MD. My friend Laura from North Carolina and her daughter drove to MD to spend the weekend with us. We all went to the National Aquarium together. My friend's daughter is eight and she and the Bee had a wonderful time together. The Bee had not been with a little person of that age before and she was crazy for my friend's daughter.
At the end of November, my son and his girlfriend came to IN for Thanksgiving. This was her first visit to IN. She arrived a day before my son, so it was nice that she and I got to have a day to visit before he arrived. On the Sunday after Thanksgiving I got on the scales and had my ohmigosh moment and decided to battle the bulge during the holidays.
December:
The first weekend in December we headed north to Goshen, IN to celebrate Doug's mother's 80th. Family gathered from all over the U.S. for the weekend.
On the 15th I went to MD to have Christmas with my girls. They gave me a fabulous gift. This gift is so fabulous that it deserves a post in and of itself, so I am still holding out on my big news and will share with you in 2012.
I got on the scales this morning and was four down from the Sunday after Thanksgiving. I have been up and down and all around but am happy to report that I didn't gain from Thanksgiving to New Year's.  How did you do? And don't worry, there is more dieting to come with the new year.
We are ready to head out to our friends John and Jeanna's house to ring in the new year.
This year long report of mine serves as history of my life, but is testimony to more. I am blessed. I am blessed beyond measure, beyond the trips and visits with friends and family that I have mentioned here, there are lunches with gal friends and after work get-togethers and driving to Greenwood to meet friends for dinner half-way and seeing friends for dinner when I drive to Muncie to get my hair done.  I am blessed. Pressed down, shaken together and running over blessed. Truly.

moi

Here I am. Moi. Me. Doug took this photo of me on Christmas day because I wanted a picture of me in the necklace that he bought for me. (I picked it out.)
I cannot tell you how thankful I am for the friendships I've made here, through my blog. Your patience with me, your support and kindness and love is overwhelming. Over and over I think thank you is such an insufficient expression of gratitude, but thank you.
Oh, and Happy New Year! xo, Cheryl

Resolutions

2011-12-30T19:10:00.065-05:00

Don't you just love Calvin & Hobbes? I do.
My resolutions aren't too different than those of last year. I think this is an indication that it is a continual process. For me, at least.
This year I will:
try to let go of the little stuff
I'm getting better at this one. Considering that I didn't get most of my Christmas cards mailed out, I would say I'm very good at this one. Stuff doesn't bother me like it used to.
exercise
Sigh. Huge sigh.
I do love to exercise. For me it is getting out the door. Hitting the pavement. Lacing up the laces and going! I have a DOG for pity sake. I have no excuse. It always makes me feel better mentally.
Save money.
I'm doing better with this one, too. Pay yourself, first! Put it away and don't touch it! I am working to get out of debt and save, save, save!
No charging.
Charge cards are of the devil. Outrageous interest rates. I hate them. I do not like to use them at all! You shouldn't, either!
Buy used.
I love buying used. We have a Goodwill here in Bloomington that is called Vintage Vogue. It rocks. I recently found a brand new pair of Mizuno tennis shoes for around $13.00. And everyone knows I love My Sister's Closet. Buying used is sustainable. The days of my paying a lot of money for my clothing are over.
Be positive.
Being positive is something else that I'm pretty good at. I can be wadded up and thrown into the trash can and I am going to climb out every time. I've been through a lot in this old life time of mine and I am pretty good at bouncing back. I'm not saying that I don't ever struggle or get down. I do. But overall, I try to be positive. Try it. Smile and the world smiles with you.
Cook more.
If I can get Doug to keep his paws off of me and whatever it is that I am cooking, I enjoy cooking. Basically, I would prefer he wouldn't even be in the kitchen with me. There is something peaceful and comforting about cooking. I was buying some Calphalon pans for Doug for Christmas (self gift?) and I started telling the sales gal at Bed, Bath and Beyond how much I love them and how I could do a commercial for them. She smiled and said "I don't cook too much." She was way young, a wee bit of a sprig of a girl. I smiled at her and said "Oh, you will some day."
Don't worry, we don't starve or eat out a lot. Doug cooks, too.
Blog more.
Oh, I try, I try, I try. And you don't know the amount of posts I've written in my head, posts I even have photographs for, that don't get written. There are only so many hours in the day. I work full time. I have a man and a dog and two cats and ten chickens and two children and a daughter in law and a granddaughter and oh, you get the idea. I don't ever apologize for not blogging because I do my best.
Read!
I love to read. Again, only so many hours in the day. When I have a good book, I am one of those people that you see reading in line at the bank or when I'm stuck in traffic. No electronic readers for me. I like to feel and smell the pages and lick my finger and leave my bookmark in the book. There is nothing like the escape that a good book provides.
Eat healthy.
Just like exercising, I truly love to eat healthy. I also have a sweet tooth and love, love, love pizza. And margaritas and wine and beer. Insert another huge sigh here.
Well, there you have it. The good, the bad and the ugly. What do you resolve to do in the upcoming new year?

Hugo - two thumbs up!

2011-12-29T16:43:00.000-05:00

On Christmas day we went to see the movie Hugo. We have a long-standing custom of seeing a movie on Christmas day. On Christmas day, I want to see something magical and miraculous and happy and up lifting. This year we saw the perfect movie.
The movie Hugo is based upon the children's novel, The Invention of Hugo Cabret. This is a very uncharacteristic Martin Scorsese movie which explores my favorite genre of writing which is creative non-fiction. The story is fictional except for the fact that it tells some sort of historic truth. The factual portion of this story is about Georges Melies.
The story begins with Hugo's father bringing an automaton home from the museum where he works. The quest to bring the automaton to life becomes the father son project of Hugo and his father, played (briefly) by Jude Law. (An automaton is a non-electric self-operating machine- often, a robot resemmbling a human or an animal.)

Hugo with father and automaton

Much of the story takes place in a Paris train station where Hugo employs himself as the keeper of the clocks. He peers at the world from the clock above. Hugo Cabret is played by Asa Butterfield, (The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.)

Hugo watches from above

The evil villain, the Inspector, is played by Sacha Baron Cohen who is best remembered for his role as Borat Sagdiyev, in Borat: Cultural Learnings of America fro Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. (Which I saw under absolute and complete protest.)

evil villain

Georges Melies is played by a similar looking Ben Kingsley. Oh what beautiful brown eyes. Kingsley is strict, cruel, kind, caring and vulnerable.

Georges Melies played by Ben Kingsley

The female counter-part to Hugo, Isabelle, is played by Chloe Grace Moretz. Does this girl have a future or what? What gorgeous lips! Her eyes dance. My favorite line in the movie is when Hugo leads her on an adventure in which they might get into trouble. Her response: "that's how you know it is an adventure!"

discovery of the key

You have to have a chase scene. I was holding my breath.

frightening

The factual part of the story line as I have mentioned is the real life of Georges Melies.

the real life Georges Melies

The recreated film scenes are lavish and artfully colored with a soft pastel color scheme.
Without giving away the story, I hope that I might compel you to go see this movie. You won't be sorry. And let me know if you recognize a certain street musician playing at the train station.

Christmas day hike

2011-12-26T21:52:00.000-05:00

It was sunny and uncharacteristically warm (for Indiana) on Christmas day.

Forty-five degrees. We took Chelsea and headed to the bluffs.

I found this tree, encircled in thorns.

Look how clear the water was.
And beautiful reflection.

trail

We spooked an owl or a turkey buzzard. Something big that was roosting and took off in flight as we approached. Doug thought it was a turkey buzzard. I thought it was an owl, by the way that it flapped its wings. We encountered another couple with their dog and another man with his dog. After the hike we took Chelsea out to a nearby field and let her run. That girl loves to run.

my beautiful girl, Chelsea

Getting out and hiking cleared my head. We went home and baked a ham and cooked up a skillet of fried sweet potatoes. Then we went to a movie last night. (More on that with a later post.) It was just us- a quiet day. It was a great day for a Christmas day hike. Now they are calling for snow and rain for tonight and tomorrow. Typically, they are calling for snow for New Year's eve weekend. The weather usually pretty nasty on New Year's eve. I'm back to the office tomorrow through Friday. It will be exceptionally quiet. A good opportunity to tie up a big project that I've been working on for months.

The best gift

2011-12-25T16:52:00.001-05:00

The best gift
That I ever got
Didn't really weigh a lot
It didn't have a ribbon 'round
And it sometimes made the terrible sound
The best of all it seems to me
It wasn't neath the Christmas tree
And yet, I guess I'd have to say
That it made all the other presents twice as gay
The best gift that I've ever known
I'd always wanted most to own
Yet in my dreams of sugar and spiceI never thought it could be so nice
The best gift that I ever get
Was sometimes dry and sometimes wet
Was usually pink but oftentimes red
As it lay so innocently in its bed
The best gift of the year to me
The one I hold most dear to me
A gift that simply drove me wild
Was a tiny new born child...

I have always loved this Barbra Streisand song- from the first time I ever heard it. And although my granddaughter was born in March and is now nine months old and toddling about and getting into things, I think out of all of the gifts I've recieved, she is the best.

I'm thankful for each of you. Your words of encouragement, the friendship you so freely offer. You have no idea how your comments brighten my world. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Christmas Eve eve

2011-12-23T23:25:00.000-05:00

For those of you who have been long-time readers, you've seen this room before. This is our fireplace room. When I took this photo, our fire wasn't roaring, but it is roaring, now. We bought this little pre-lit tree a few years ago when we had the Christmas that wasn't. Doug's dad had just passed away and I was sick. I asked Doug if he wanted to get a tree and he said no. So I went to Kmart and found this little four foot tree, pulled out my favorite ornaments and it has been our tree ever since. We are having a quiet Christmas this year. We had Bradley & Dino here for Thanksgiving and I was just out to Maryland to see my girls last weekend. Two of Doug's sons are local (the third is in AZ) so we will see them, but not until next week. (Everyone has so many people to see and it was fine with us to wait.)
With helping out at the shop in the fall and travel and guests, I haven't had a free weekend in a very long time. This is the most laid-back I've been about Christmas in quite some time. I have always sent cards and as my talent has grown, my cards have become more intricate and I just didn't get them all finished this year. Last night and tonight I've spent the evening in front of the fire. I'm tired. I want to tell you all about my trip with my girls, but I have some news that I'm sharing in person with friends and therefore waiting to post on my blog.
I will head out tomorrow to finish my shopping- just a few more items to purchase. We will go to the movies on Christmas day, it is kind of our own little tradition. Ever since the year Doug took me to Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street I have gotten to pick. (It was disgusting, not festive and I had to come home and watch Little Women staring Winona Ryder and Susan Sarandon to purge the thoughts of plunking heads and (people) meat pies from my brain.) Not yet certain what we'll see this year.
Hoping you are feeling restful and at peace. I'm certain I should be stressing about something but for now I'm lounging by the fire.

Going Postal

2011-12-22T16:52:00.001-05:00

Have you had the pleasure of going to the post office to mail a package?
I had to get my package into the mail to my son in North Carolina.
The parking lot was full.
The line was to the back of the post office.
The line went past the exit so that you had to step out of the way in order to allow people to exit.

Two people took a box up and sat it down in front of the mail man.
The mail man says "you need to tape this up. It needs an address and a return address."
The lady says "you don't put a sticker on it for us?" I think these people don't know how to write.
The mailman says "I've got priority mail and first class stickers. Which one do you want?"
Then the lady says "how much?"
The mail man says "do you have a zip code for me?"
She fumbles in her purse, finds a piece of paper and tells him the zip code.
Then they quibble over first class or priority.
Then he gives them a roll of tape and tells them to step out of line.

After a couple more customers, a red headed man in a suit steps to the same mail man's window.
His box isn't taped, either.
It is in a USPS priority mailing box.
The mail man gets another roll of tape and says "get out of line and tape this up."
The red head rips off a piece of tape and sticks it on the top of the box.
"There, he says, it is ready."
The mail man shakes his head and says "o.k."
An African-American man in line a few back behind me chuckles and says "no moh line for him, he be done wid the line!"
Others chuckle.
The mailman says "do you want priority? You have this in a priority box."
The red head says "whatever. Tell me what I owe you."

After a couple more people, it is my turn.
I step up, put my box on the counter and say "look at that, all taped up, return address, mailing address. I'm ready."
The mail man never breaks character. At 7:30 a.m. he is pissed.
He starts rattling off his spiel "anything breakable, perishable, blah, blah, blah."
Then he told me if I wanted it guaranteed by the next day it would be fifty dollars.
I shook my head no.
Then he told me two to three days would be thirteen dollars.
Then he asked me if I wanted to pay so they would sign for it.
I said "they will let me know when it gets there."
Then he told me that my hand-made Christmas cards are too fat and they will be twenty cents extra.
I say "I make my own and get carried away." I think I may have seen a faint smile at that point. Grouchy, grouchy, grouchy. I stood there and thought do you have any idea how many people would love to have your job?
If you're happy and you know it clap your hands...
C'mon, people, it is Christmas.

How ya doin?

2011-12-14T09:45:00.000-05:00

This was the scene at our house last weekend. Doug had just given the chickens a pan of "sop." I thought this was some home-grown farm word that Doug made up, but I looked it up and it is a for-real term. Sop: a piece of food soaked or dipped in a liquid. He gives them bread with milk and they go crazy for it. We started letting our flock free-range when we are home. Sometimes they take off into the woods. I am afraid some critter will get them. I try to tell myself the same thing as I tell myself about Milo (orange cat, pictured above)- he was always an indoor cat when we lived in the city on a very busy street. When I first moved to the country with Doug I had signs at every door stating "orange cat does not go out!" Everyone made fun of me. But Milo saw Doug's cat going in and out and Chelsea (our Welsh Pembroke Corgi) going in and out and soon enough Milo wanted to go in and out, too. I just tell myself that if something happens, they were happy running about in the yard and woods.

For the record, neither of our two cats or the dog has every bothered any of the flock. One of the roosters (R.I.P.) jumped on Chelsea's back! Oh my. It is getting harder and harder to get the flock to come back in. Our chickens don't seem to be very smart, but they do seem to have a mind of their own.

How are you doing this week? I feel like I'm getting there. I've got some shopping done. I have a few Christmas cards made. In no way shape or form am I bragging, but I have grown as an artist to the point that my cards are not as simple as they were in the past. This is my third (fourth?) year of making my own cards. I am working on a couple of different designs and they are complex. Complex means that each one takes a long time to make. But I love it. I'll post at some point.

Doug and I walked through Sam's Club, Walmart and Big Lots the other night just to see if we needed anything. Nope. We discussed that some might think we are big ol'scrooges. We don't have many Christmas decorations out. We have a little four foot artificial tree in the fireplace room that we enjoy. Other than that, the decorations are sparse. His two sons and girlfriend/wife that live in town will join us at some point, but other than that, we don't expect to entertain. My son and girlfriend were here for Thanksgiving and I am off to visit my daughter and family. If we were having a big dinner or party we might go to more of an effort.

My heart is especially tender this time of year. Tender for the needs of others. Sensitive to the point that I am easily moved to tears. I have so much and yet it seems there is never enough money. Then I think about those who truly have nothing. Sometimes I think God, why did you give me this heart?

I love this image. If I were a tattoo girl I might do something like this. This is what I imagine my heart to look like. My heart has wings. Of course my heart has wings. I have a "my heart has wings" wooden stamp that is just about worn out, I've used it so much. And of course my heart has a crown. And a flame. My heart burns with flames. If that flame ever goes out, I'm in big-time trouble.

I love where I am in life. In the past I was more emotional. Now that I'm older and don't have the hormonal fluctuations, I am more logical and reasonable. Plus, I am more educated. That never hurts as far as logic and reason goes. I don't let the opinion of others define who I am. I know myself and I am happy with who I am. When Doug and I met on match.com my statement was "Can you handle a smart girl?" Doug says it should have said "Can you handle a smart ass girl." When my ex and I split he said I was too challenging and that he was going out to get a ditz- "the total opposite of me." Well, he did that (and it was quite the compliment to me) for a while but he must have tired of that because he finally settled for a lovely, intelligent woman. But not all men can handle a smart girl. Some think it is too challenging. I always think of that scene in "Harry Met Sally" when Meg Ryan says "I'm difficult!" And Billy Crystal says "But in a good way."

Finally, I would like to encourage me if you are joining me in the battle of the bulge this holiday season. I am trying! I am two pounds down from the Sunday after Thanksgiving when I got on the scales and said "OHMIGOSH." Try to eat a little less, drink a little less. Go for a walk. Just try. You'll be happy you did come January 1 when the big diet season is upon us. Less gained means less to lose.

I'm off to Babyland, Maryland tomorrow. The baby Bee met Santa last weekend and let's just say she was a little less than delighted to meet him. She screamed and cried. Baby Bee (screaming) and Santa are my profile photo on facebook right now. It makes me smile. I know, mean Grandma. I'm off to rock and love and cuddle and hug. Just wanted to check in on you and say How ya doin? Spread the love, it's Christmas!

Hoo-Hoo-Hoo-HOOSIERS!

2011-12-11T08:26:00.003-05:00

IU won HUGE last night. Funny how one point can be a HUGE game. (I love the look on Coach Crean's face right after the game- looks like he is about to barf!) I was down in Nashville at Papertrix yesterday, helping Cindy with inventory. (Will be there again today if you care to come by and say hi.) The game was just ending as I got in my car to drive from Nashville to Bloomington. The game was so exciting I could barely keep from speeding. (What you hear on this video is what I was hearing on the radio.) Bloomington was crazy. It was like New Year's Eve, horns honking, people screaming and yelling. I called my daughter after the game and held my phone into the air and she could hear the mayhem. As you can see by the video, the fans took the floor after the game and then they poured on to Kirkwood. Have you ever heard of the term Hoosier Hysteria? Oh yeah. It was goin' on. I met Doug at Yogi's and it was just crazy.
I grew up on basketball. That is what Indiana is all about. Have you ever seen the movie Hoosiers? I grew up in New Castle which is home to the world's largest and finest field house. I graduated in that field house. I can remember crying after a loss in high school. Might seem dumb to some to cry after a game, but it was that big. It was the end of the world.

My son, Thanksgiving weekend at New Castle field house.
(photo courtesy of Dino's facebook account)

We initially heard that tickets for the IU/Kentucky game were going for $500.00 each. Then Doug heard about four guys who bought tickets and paid $750.00 each. That is just dumb if you ask me, but I tell you this to illustrate how big of a game this was! It would have been sweet to have been at the game in person. And after this win, fans will be clamoring for tickets. This is what Indiana basketball is all about. Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star says it best. This article is pure poetry- "they rushed like a bunch of kids being let out for recess?" Be still my heart.

Grandma's Christmas tablecloth

2011-12-09T11:09:00.002-05:00

Because my parents were very young when I was born, I was blessed to grow up with a great-grandma. Her name was Minnie Eudora Bottoms King. Isn't that some name? She told me a story of meeting a man whose last name was Butz and she said "I know how you feel." Said she was teased in school by other students for having the last name Bottoms. I called her Grandma Minnie. My mother's mother was Rosie the Riveter , working in a factory in downtown Indianapolis while her dad served in the navy. Her Grandma raised her part-time. My mother called her "Granny." My Grandma Minnie was known for her home-made chicken and noodles. Wherever she went, people asked her to make them. I'm proud to say that this is true of me as well. I've made chicken and noodles in Indiana, Tennessee, North Carolina and Maryland.

Grandma was known as a great story teller. Again, I follow in her footsteps with this trait. I love a good story. Not all agree with me. Just as Grandma did, I already repeat myself and tell the same story over and over. Some tire of my stories. Oh well.

After a meal, Grandma Minnie would push her plate forward and bring her hands together, clasping them together before her. I grew to call this "assuming the position." This is when, through out my lifetime, I would sit up a little straighter and pay rapt attention. I knew Grandma was about to tell a story. Oh, the stories she told! Of setting up house-keeping in Illinois with a team of horses. She and Grandpa never drove- always took the bus. I said "you never had a car?" in an incredulous voice. She said "well, no child, first of all, what good is a car? What could it do for us? A team of horses could help us farm!" Years later, I would be the one to drive to Terre Haute to fetch Grandma back for Christmas. She lived at 1923 First Avenue. The house is still there. It looks very small to me, now. She told of being a cosmopolitan working woman and working at Sears Department Store in lingerie in downtown Indianapolis. She always had a twinkle in her eye and bragged that she had heard it all and nothing we could tell her would shock her. I don't think I ever saw her wear slacks. Maybe at the very end of her life when she became painfully thin. She always wore a dress and stockings and shoes with a little heel, beads and earrings. She had this crazy cackle (which I am guilty of as well). She always smiled and never complained. She was a strong influence on my mother and myself- who we both are today.

One day mother asked me if I would like to have her Granny's Christmas tablecloth. Without hesitation I accepted. A story found here tells some of the history behind such tablecloths. This particular cloth is seamed together. When I asked my mother about the seam, she said "it must have just came at the end of the material and they pieced it together- that is how it was done back then, nothing was wasted.

ceramic snowman I made years ago in ceramics class

I like using old things. Especially in the kitchen. I've used this tablecloth every year since my mother gave it to me. I like to run my hand over the material and think about Grandma's hands. Think about the stories that were told. The conversations that my family had sitting at a table dressed with this cloth. I think about the Christmas dinners when Grandpa would have a box of corsages for every woman in attendance from babies to old ladies- everyone got a corsage. This tablecloth is Christmas to me.

My Christmas donation

2011-12-07T17:15:00.000-05:00

Every year I choose an organization to give a Christmas donation to. Sometimes I do it in honor of someone in my life. It is a great gift. They are always tickled when I tell them what I've done. This year I think I'm going to give my donation in honor of my boss. He is a kind person. Whenever I meet with him, I walk away with a smile. Isn't it wonderful to have a boss that leaves you with a big old smile on your face? I think so.

This year my donation is going to raise money to build a well. Do you read Flower Patch Farmgirl? If you don't you should. You will be blessed beyond belief. Shannan is a beautiful woman who just lays her soul wide open and invites us all in. She is a wife and a mama to a passel of beautiful children. (Sorry, Shannan, I only had two so more than two is a passel to me.) She writes of real life adventures like little boys that rearrange their bedroom when they are supposed to be taking a nap. She shares delicious salad recipes. Which I make and even take photos of and then fail to blog about. She tells us when she cries. (Yes, Shannan, I cry too.) She shares her faith. She is a teacher. She wrote 31 days of letting go and if you weren't along for the ride you should go back and read it all. I learned so much. Shannan makes me miss my faith sometimes. And then I think to myself oh hello, you were there all the while.

My faith is very personal and it is deep inside of me just like a tree planted by the water.

So hop on over to Shannan's wonderful blog, visit with her and make a Christmas donation. You'll be glad you did.

Bowl of jelly

2011-12-02T11:45:00.000-05:00

Do you think Santa wonders how did this happen?

You know, your waist band gets tight, your bra gets tight, whatever it is doesn't want to button? And I don't know about you, but I think how did this happen? I am getting ready to be interviewed by another blogger which has caused me to take a long hard look at my blog. I've sat looking through old posts and photos. Posts a little more than a year ago that talk about being a gym-rat. I was doing boot camp. I was filled with determination. It was a "biggest loser" type of situation and I won! I did. I was the top overall female. But, my weight has crept back on. Bite by bite, nibble by nibble, little by little.

Santa and his bowl full of jelly

We spent Thanksgiving day waiting to go pick up my son and his girlfriend. We baked a ham and had a couple of ham sandwiches. We congratulated ourselves and joked about how we were probably the only people that were not stuffed. And despite the lovely salad that my son's girlfriend made and her healthful influence, once they arrived, we ate and ate. On Sunday morning after they left I stepped on the scales and was horrified to see that the scales were as high as they had been since boot camp, a year ago. I went to the Y that afternoon. And I went back on Tuesday after work and last night after work. I said to Doug "can we try through the holidays?" I want to not only maintain and not gain any more weight, but lose!
Are you with me ladies?

I'm talking to myself, here, but if this applies to you, then heed my advice: ignore that little voice in your head! I need to ignore that voice that says "sit down in front of that nice hot fire and take a load off- have a glass of wine- have some cheese- have some crackers- have a beer!" (Then whatever you do, don't move the rest of the evening!) Shut up little voice!

And this is where I might add that I don't want a bowl full of jelly belly, but I already have one. And I'm tired of this:

As much as I love muffins, I do not love the muffin top! (Or, for that matter "mom jeans.") (And as I am not entirely certain just what "mom jeans" are, I may be guilty of wearing them already- despite how cool I think I look in my mind...)

And remember, every pound counts. Every pound UP and every pound DOWN. (Gross, huh?)

Here is one way to look at it:

just say no!

And remember:

I battle SAD during the fall and winter. I've been off and on anti-depression meds. IF you need them, take them, by all means! People have suggested that I've never been on the correct meds, but they make me feel lethargic and numb. I feel like I gain weight when I'm on them. When I asked my doctor if there was an anti-depressant that has an appetite suppressant in it, she replied "wouldn't that be handy?" I was able to avoid taking anti-depressants last fall and winter and hope to avoid them this fall and winter. I talked to my son's girlfriend when she was here and said "it is hard to get out the door, but I always feel better afterward!" (If nothing else, I'm glad when it is over!) My doctor advises averaging 35 minutes a day. What is that? Four hours of exercise a week? I think I can do this! My goal is to get my heart rate up and to sweat. In turn, that causes me to consider what I am and am not putting into my mouth. Nibble when it comes to sweets and fats and carbs. I'm not saying cut them out entirely because if you are like me, it makes me crazy with cravings, but just a little.

My friend Jayme over at Tales from the Coop Keeper has done an amazing job this past year. She has taken off around one hundred pounds! For more inspiration (and a lot of giggles) go over and give her a visit!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2011-12-01T15:41:00.000-05:00

the Color Stylist

What says "Christmas" to you? This is one of those posts that is going to make me seem like a total material girl, and I really am not, but I do loves me some Estee. About this time every year they have this giant collection, which I refer to as "the Christmas box." I don't buy this every year, but I do love to get it. This year a year that I bought it for myself. You have to purchase a fragrance and I bought White Linen to get it. They had gift sets which had both fragrance and lotion in them and it was like getting one of them for free. This is the first time that I've bought White Linen. A friend of mine wears it and I love the crisp, clean fragrance. There is something about taking this big ol' box of make-up home and taking everything out that is such a treat. The lady behind the counter asked if I would like it gift boxed and I said "oh, no, darlin'. This is for me."
While I love Estee Lauder, I don't always buy it or wear it. But I love it to the extent that my friends tease me about it. I am an outdoors girl but have been known to carry a lipstick in my pocket. My philosophy is we don't have to be ugly in the woods. Doug and I went on a back packing trip in Colorado once and he told everyone that all I had in my backpack was make-up. I am here to tell you that is not the truth, but I did take clean underwear for every day and baby wipes and some lotion and Burt's bees for my lips. I do think make-up helps my appearance and if I don't have anything else on, I like to wear lipstick and under eye cover (to hide those dark circles).
There is something about Christmas shopping, too. I am supposed to be shopping for others, and somehow I end up buying for myself. One year (prior to the aforementioned backpacking trip) I went to the mall up north in Indianapolis and the first place I visited was Galyen's. Oh, how I miss Galyen's. It was heaven to me. Pure heaven. My children used to literally bodily pull me from that store. So I go to the mall to shop for others and start to look at backpacks. I had looked and looked and could not get the right one to fit my frame. I found an excellent salesman and he found a Gregory that fit me just perfect. What could I do? I HAD to buy it. So, afterward, I'm carrying this $250.00 backpack to the car and think (gulp), now I need to start shopping for others.
I have a friend that enables me in my selfish problem. She and I buy "one for me and one for you" gifts. We've been friends for years- since we were seventeen and we have so many things that are alike- tops, earrings, bags. Her daughter recently said to me "my Mama has a shirt like that." Well, her Mama bought the one I was wearing. I said "Honey, your Mama and I have a lot of things that are alike." It is a lot of fun.
Do you suffer from the same malady? Do you buy for yourself when you are supposed to be buying for others? If not, bless your heart. As for me, I can't help myself!

Holiday Market

2011-12-01T09:00:00.024-05:00

On Saturday we went to Holiday Market. Holiday Market is the reason that I hate to travel over Thanksgiving. For some reason I just love to attend this event. It is in conjunction with our regular Farmer's Market, which is stellar. With Holiday Market, there are singers and performers and chestnuts roasting on an open fire. I usually get a little Christmas shopping done at Holiday Market. Don't tell the grandbaby, but I bought her first bracelet. I will give it to her for Christmas. It is mult-colored so she can wear it with anything. When I called my daughter to tell her, she said "just what she needs!" Part of me thinks she may have been being a bit sarcastic. I love jewelry and my hope is that grandbaby will love jewelry, too!

Every time I attend the market, I have to get some kettle corn from the kettle corn lady!

Santa's reindeer were there!

Tuba Santas!

Although my son wasn't thrilled with the Holiday Market, I think Dino enjoyed it.

Dino, me, Bradley at Holiday Market

That wraps up our Holiday visit with Dino and Bradley. We got up at 3:30 a.m. on Sunday morning to take them back to Indianapolis to the airport. (For those of you who are keeping count- that was the fourth time in six days that I drove to Indy and back. But I would do it all over again! The things we do for love!) We didn't drink any coffee or anything and jumped back into bed when we got back home. I slept until 9:30. It seemed like we were off work forever and it was a great break. There is nothing I would rather do than spend time with my children!

Black Friday

2011-11-30T09:00:00.058-05:00

Our black Friday was anything but black. First of all, we had amazing weather. Exceptionally warm for this time of year. I had driven out with Dino to show her one of our favorite hiking spots, Cedar Bluffs. Once Bradley arrived and the lovely weather was upon us, we were excited to hike. Cedar Bluffs is about five minutes from our house and we hike it quite often. If you are a regular reader, you've heard me mention it in the past.

Dino and Bradley at the Bluffs

The trail runs alongside Clear Creek. The trail is ever changing as to the level of the water. Last Friday the water was unusually high, due to excessive rainfall. There is a lot of rock scrambling. Chelsea wanted to swim and Bradley threw in a ridiculously big branch for her to fetch.

Chelsea with a branch (log?) bigger than she is!

Once you are on top of the bluffs, you are about 75 feet up. My stomach does a flip whenever anyone gets too near to the edge.

Bradley and Dino on top of the bluffs

Doug, me and Chelsea on top of the bluffs

Often, Doug's family is with us for Thanksgiving. Something I've always wanted to do is attend the lighting of the square called "Canopy of Lights." It is a little cheesy, but a lot of fun. Lots of families with little ones. We sang Christmas carols. In the article in the newspaper they said that Santa would shatter the darkness with a white-gloved hand. We had a lot of fun with that.

Bradley excited about the shattering of the darkness by a white gloved hand

Dino and Bradley at Canopy of Lights

Doug and me at the Canopy of Lights

I love our square. Every tree has tree is covered in lights and then strands of lights stretch from the courthouse across the streets. It looks like Whoville. Our black Friday was bright with no shopping in sight!

Thanksgiving visitors

2011-11-29T14:52:00.002-05:00

My Thanksgiving holiday began by picking up my son's girlfriend, Dino, in Indianapolis. She had been attending a conference in Chicago. I drove up on Monday evening and picked her up.
Tuesday morning, she gathered eggs. We have ten layers and apparently a couple had laid after Doug gathered the day before. She found a dozen eggs.

Dino gathered eggs!

Twelve eggs!

My son was coming in on Tuesday evening which gave Dino and I the whole day to get to know one another a little better. I had previously only spent one evening with her when we celebrated my birthday in North Caroline (where they live) a year ago.

First, I took her to one of my favorite Bloomington restaurants, Malibu. This is a restaurant where my son and I have shared many an evening.

Dino at Malibu the day before her birthday

Originally, I had planned that Dino and I would hike at Brown County State Park which is one of the most popular parks in Indiana. A torrential downpour would have meant muddy, slippery trails so we opted for a car tour of the park.

At Abe Martin Lodge in the pouring rain.

Brown County State Park is in Nashville, IN. Some call it "Little Nashville" with Nashville, TN being "Big Nashville." We don't have mountains, but we have some fairly big hills. (Most of Indiana is flat until you head south.)

The hills of "Little Nashville"

On Tuesday evening, we headed back to Indianapolis to the airport. My son flew in and we met up with his Dad. His Dad took he and Dino for Wednesday and Thursday.
Until Thursday evening when we headed back to Indianapolis to meet my son's dad, Doug and I had a quiet Thanksgiving. We had ham sandwiches for lunch and decided we must be the only people that didn't stuff ourselves. We built a fire and hung out.

Milo and Chelsea hang by the fire on Thanksgiving day

That night when we returned to the house, I had a birthday cake for Dino. Although it slipped a bit, she loved it. Her birthday was actually on Wednesday so I was able to celebrate the day before and after with her.

I baked a cake for Dino's birthday

We were all very happy to have them home for a couple of days with us.

Bradley and Tree

Come ye thankful people come

2011-11-24T15:08:00.000-05:00

"Fire bush" on our property

As the fire bushes blaze in the fall, so does my heart. I love fall. Love the warmth that is the opposite of the falling temperatures here in southern Indiana.

Thanksgiving brings to mind the words of this old hymn:

Come, ye thankful people, come, raise the song of harvest home;
All is safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin.
God our Maker doth provide for our wants to be supplied;
Come to God’s own temple, come, raise the song of harvest home.

All the world is God’s own field, fruit unto His praise to yield;
Wheat and tares together sown unto joy or sorrow grown.
First the blade and then the ear, then the full corn shall appear;
Lord of harvest, grant that we wholesome grain and pure may be.

For the Lord our God shall come, and shall take His harvest home;
From His field shall in that day all offenses purge away,
Giving angels charge at last in the fire the tares to cast;
But the fruitful ears to store in His garner evermore.

Even so, Lord, quickly come, bring Thy final harvest home;
Gather Thou Thy people in, free from sorrow, free from sin,
There, forever purified, in Thy garner to abide;
Come, with all Thine angels come, raise the glorious harvest home.

On this Thanksgiving day I think of those that love me and give to me every day. People who enrich my life. If you are reading this, count yourself among those people. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Monday Moments with Privet and Holly

2011-11-21T12:49:00.000-05:00

Today I'm joining Suzanne over at Privet and Holly for Monday Moments.

In this season of gratitude, I want to write about a profound change that happened in this past year. In March, my granddaughter was born.

Natalie's hand in Grandma's hand

Before I became a Grandma, I basically thought "all Grandmas are nuts." You know, the way they go on and on about their grandchildren? It doesn't matter if they have one or nineteen, the subject of grandchildren comes up and they talk on and on. I would think to myself "yeah, yeah, yeah, crazy Grandma." I remember a few years ago when one of my friends became a Grandma and she was so excited and actually wanted to be called "Grandma." I thought first of all we are too young to be a Grandma, never mind actually be called "Grandma."

Grandma's socks, Natalie's socks

Then baby Natalie was conceived and my whole world changed. She turned me into an oooey, gooey marshmallow. It is difficult to put into words. First of all, she looks so very much like my daughter did. I never thought I would hold a baby in my arms again and look into the face of a baby that looks just like my daughter did. It never occurred to me. Having a grandchild is something like having a child, only better. Grandma gets to have all of the fun. And the office of Grandma? What an honor. What an honor to be called "Grandma." (That is what it is for now, unless Natalie comes up with something different.) She is my pride and joy. She lives back east. I live in the midwest. I try to see her once a month. With the exception of one month (which about killed me) we've done well.
I pass a billboard in our town which reads "celebrate your child's every accomplishment." Immediately, I thought of Natalie. First smile, holding a toy, sitting up, first tooth, up on hands and knees, standing. Each accomplishment is celebrated.

Baby Natalie and Grandma

Grandmas may be nuts, but oh the joy, the pride, the intense love that we feel for grandchildren. I was blessed to have three grandmas in my life (maternal, paternal and great-grandma). I was close to all three of them and especially close to one of them.
This past summer my daughter turned twenty-nine. I cried. Doug said "oh, honey, you'll see her soon...you sent a card, she knows you love her." I said "I'm not crying because of her- I'm crying because I hope I live to see Natalie turn twenty-nine!" Life is precious, but grows more precious with each passing year. Then you become a Grandma.
This year I am thankful for my family and especially thankful for our newest member.

Perfect Sleep

2011-11-20T11:06:00.001-05:00

"How blessed are some people, whose lives have no fears, no dreads, to whom sleep is a blessing that comes nightly and brings nothing but sweet dreams."
Stoker, Dracula

Perfect Sleeper

Everyone in my life knows that I have always had sleep issues. Anyone who has ever gotten between me and a good night's sleep has (barely) lived to tell the tale. I am happy and in a great mood when I get a full night's sleep. When I don't, I am beyond grouchy. Often, I just can't sleep. It has nothing to do with another human being. I toss. I turn. I get up and "prowl-" which means I tidy the kitchen. I take dry clothes out of the dryer. I fold the dry clothes. I take wet clothes from the washer and put them into the dryer and get that started. I put a load of dirty clothes into the washer and get that started. When I can't think of anything else to do, I go back to bed. This very often happens on a work night. I try to avoid turning on the television or getting on the internet.
The mattress that we've been sleeping on was the one that I bought when I got divorced. That was 1989. It was a cheap mattress. I bought the queen pillow top mattress and box springs and brass headboard with porcelain knobs for a small sum of money. At the time it was heavenly. Fast-forward to the past few years- frequently I had to get out of bed because my body was hurting. I am a side sleeper. Recently I thought my right shoulder socket was blown. I couldn't begin to sleep on my right shoulder for the pain.
A few months ago I began my campaign to redo the bedroom- paint the ceiling, get a new ceiling light, paint the walls and get some new inexpensive carpet. (The bedroom is the only room in the house that still has carpet.) In this house, in this relationship, I begin the campaign at least three to six months before I hope it happens. It takes a while for me to convince him that my great idea is actually his great idea. (There may be a few of you out there who know what I'm talking about.) About a week before my birthday, (October 20) he announced that he was getting me a bed for my birthday. Great. I mean, really. Great- we are getting a new bed. The first night that we shopped for a new bed was on my birthday. The evening of my birthday. ~~Which was pretty crappy in my opinion.~~ Which was great because we were finally shopping for a new bed even if it was in the rain and on my birthday. That night we went to Sam's Club and HH Gregg and Big Lots. Sam's Club had these fabulous Serta mattresses. I could have went home with any that they had on the floor. HH Gregg wants a million dollars for any mattress on their showroom floor and none of them were as nice as what Sam's Club had to offer. Big Lots didn't have anything at all that appealed to me on any level. After that he told me that since he could sleep on a rock, why don't I just go out and shop for a bed and let him know what I wanted? I went to another local place- Pate's in Ellettsville. The salesman was a southern gentleman that hailed from near Ashville, NC. Their beds were nice. I probably could have bought one there but in the end, despite the salesman saying he could work with us on the price, some of their beds were more expensive than Sam's Club. And I told Doug that this was one time that I didn't want to buy local- that I wanted to go with the huge box store. I said "who knows if the local place will be here if something goes wrong? We can feel fairly secure in the fact that Sam's Club (after taking over the world) isn't going anywhere."
So, I joined Sam's Club. I have always wanted to join Sam's Club. He has always said "I'm not going to pay to shop somewhere!" So, I paid for the membership- which he will enjoy especially when we get the cheapest price on gasoline in town with my membership card. (Sorry to the WalMart haters out there-haters gonna hate- and by the way, I'm not too keen on WalMart, either.)
Now, I have a Serta Perfect Sleeper which is the official mattress of the National Sleep Foundation. I can miraculously once again sleep on my right shoulder. I can't tell when he gets out of bed. It is fantabulous.
And it is sky-high. I am the princess and the pea. Although all you can see from the photo is that it is higher than my washstand bedside table. When I sit up to get out of this bed I have to take a little leap. My feet don't touch the ground- just my toes. I am five foot two. I use my cell phone as my alarm clock and I always leave it on the floor beside the bed- I have to lean out of the bed to reach my phone.
Paul Simon is playing B-town tonight. The Punch Brothers are opening for him. I would have loved to have been at this concert. But as he says..."I got you a new bed." The concert is sold out so we can listen to it on the radio.
This princess is happy.

National Aquarium and more

2011-11-17T22:57:00.001-05:00

Last Thursday I was off, once again, to the east coast- Babyland, Maryland.

My daughter is named for one of my best friends. My friend lives in North Carolina. She and her daughter drove from North Carolina to Maryland to be with all of us. My friend's daughter is eight years old. My granddaughter is eight months old. My granddaughter has cousins that are one and four but she had never been around an eight year old. She loved the eight year old and the eight year old loved her right back. The baby giggled and smiled and imitated. On Saturday we all went to the National Aquarium. It was amazing.

National Aquarium, Baltimore, MD

The jellyfish were my favorite. Drifting effortlessly through the water with tendrils streaming , they look harmless. Such a beautiful creature inflicts dire pain- sometimes death. Very near the jellyfish display a video ran with personal testimonies of those who met with the ugly side of a jellyfish.

jellyfish

At eight months old my granddaughter is aware of all around her. If she hears something behind her that she cannot see, she will turn her entire body in an effort to find out what is going on. She will lean and reach when one of her moms is nearby. She has this gimme-gimme motion that she does with her right hand. She leaned toward the tanks filled with sharks, dolphins and jellyfish with her right hand waving gimme-gimme.

Granddaughter showing her mommy the jellyfish

Can we play?

When we came out of the aquarium, dusk was falling. I snapped this picture of the Christmas decorations. I love how the cars are whizzing by. A frenzy. This is how I've been feeling- a weekend out of town followed by a full week of work- this next weekend I'll be down at Papertrix. Next week my son and his girlfriend will come in from North Carolina to join us for Thanksgiving. Thankfully, I will only work Monday and Wednesday. I don't seem to be able to get the same amount of housework done as I once could. In the past I could bust it out. Now, I have to have a plan and do a little at a time. Each night I tackle a room in a major way. I've cleaned the guest room, the living room and the kitchen. Tomorrow night I'll clean the family room and tidy our bedroom. Then just before they arrive, I'll clean the bathrooms and give the whole thing house a quick gloss over. I will clean it in a frenzy.

The photo below is my friend that my daughter is named for. We've been friends for over thirty-five years. How I love this woman. How I have always aspired to be just like her when I grow up. She is a beautiful, classy lady. She has nothing but love in her heart. She loves my children like family. And now she loves my grand baby. Some think we look like sisters. I take that as a high compliment.

Life is kind of frenzied right now, but just like a jellyfish, I float. Sometimes gracefully, sometimes frantically, but I float.

**Thank you to the reader who contacted my editor to get a copy of my magazine article. Whoever you are out there- that was nice.

On being an office girl

2011-11-09T09:59:00.001-05:00

I've been an office girl for twenty -two years now. Who knew that being able to type really fast would be my claim to fame? In high school, I learned to type on a manual typewriter. That's right, a manual. Do you know how hard you have to type to push down keys on a manual? It made my pinkies very strong.  I think we typed on manuals for the first year. Once my school went with electric typewriters, my fingers really flew. I still type very "hard." Remember the scene from the movie Up in the Air when George Clooney asks Anna Kendrick "are you mad at your keyboard?" I type like that. Currently I sit in an open suite with three other ladies and it seems to me I type louder than anyone.
For ten years I worked inside sales for two different newspapers. I wore a head set and took classified ads over the phone. I can type as fast as you can talk. (This talent comes in handy when taking notes for meetings.)   At one of the newspapers, the atmosphere was just like the t.v. show The Office. And at times, the atmosphere was something like Mad Men. The first newspaper I worked for was in my home town. The second newspaper, located a little further north, was in a slightly larger town. The town was still made up of blue collar, factory working people, but also home to a university. Therefore, the second newspaper fancied itself a little more cosmopolitan than the first.  In advertising there were sometimes lunches which included alcohol. You never knew who was involved with whom. While I dressed professionally at the first newspaper, when working at the second newspaper, I had a closet filled with suits. I wore suits, stockings and pumps nearly every day. In those years, Kasper was my favorite suit brand. I had one that was pink and navy. Another Kasper suit was a soft pink. I had matching pink pumps and wore white stockings.  Another suit had a red riding jacket with black velvet collar which I wore with a white sheer blouse and pants and skirt in hound's tooth. My dry cleaning bill rivaled my children's day care bill.
Then I went to work for Ball State University.  Working on my BS degree, I had paid out of pocket for two years. Financially, this was killing me. I wanted to work for the university for many reasons, but one was that they paid tuition for employees.  I took a chance and started working temp for the university.  At my second position, they made me an offer. My boss there was the greatest guy. It was a small office and although we had contact with everyone on campus, the dress code was much less stuffy than that of advertising.
And now I work for Indiana University. At my first post here at IU, we worked with a man who greatly favored Roger Sterling. My second post here at this university is with the law school.  College co-eds are wearing more than jeans and work-out clothing to class these days. If you don't believe me, consult with Indiana University Alumna, Amy Levin's blog. Here at the law school, it is quite common to see law students in suits. The faculty and staff here dress professionally for meetings and presentations.  During breaks, (spring, summer, fall and Christmas) we dress down. During summer break, about anything goes.  Today is a meeting day and I am wearing black pumps and stockings, (I'm old school enough that it is difficult to do the bare legged thing) black pants and shell with a short leopard print jacket and vintage Trifari jewelry. (Originally mine, now considered vintage- a.k.a. "old." Vintage is a much nicer word than old.) I picked up the jacket at my favorite second-hand shop. I prefer to purchase standard slacks in brown, black, navy and grey and go from there. I rarely purchase anything that has to be dry-cleaned. Because I am a Jackie fan, I believe pearls go with every thing.
I enjoy being on campus, observing what the students wear, seeing the cute male professors and noting what the female professors wear. It keeps me in the game. I enjoy dressing up and making a fashion statement. I'm certain some days that statement is "ouch."
Overall, there are worse jobs than that of office girl.

Wizard of Oz - famous deleted scenes

2011-11-04T20:39:00.000-04:00

Remember the famous scene from Wizard of Oz where the lion sings If I were the King of the Forest?

Well, this morning, Milo decided to re-enact one of the deleted scenes from Wizard of Oz when the lion sings If I were the King of the Laundry.

I no more than put warm laundry straight from the dryer onto the kitchen table, than Milo is on top of it...all the way through the folding of the warm laundry, he is on it...checking it out, in charge. Roar!

Not your mama's ham and cheese

2011-11-04T10:05:00.000-04:00

One of the evils of Pinterest is that I see photos of yummy looking food. This recipe is from Food.com. I'll give you the recipe but it is found here.
The recipe says that it is better when you let it sit overnight, but we made it and baked them on the same night. I also cut the recipe down for the two of us, but still made plenty. Doug and I had them for dinner on the first night...I had one for breakfast the next morning (yes, breakfast) and Doug ate them at lunchtime. And a gal friend and I had them another evening. The recipe calls them The Best Ham Sandwiches Ever...I might also add...the most fattening. But, they are delicious!
You make these sandwiches with
sweet hawaiian rolls (the recipe calls for the small dinner rolls but I used the small sub rolls)
virginia ham
swiss cheese
3/4 C. butter
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons dried onions
poppy seeds

I baked in my 9x12 alumninum cake pan. I put two slices of ham per sandwich and topped with sliced swiss cheese. Then you top the cheese with the top of the roll. Then you heat the butter, mustard, worcestershire and onions in a sauce pan and pour over the top of the sandwiches. Then you sprinkle with poppy seeds.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Nom, nom, nom.

Big Oaks Trail and more

2011-11-03T10:28:00.000-04:00

This past Sunday, Doug, Chelsea and I went out to hike near the reservoir. We live near the reservoir. Chelsea loves to hike. I felt like meandering. We chose to hike Big Oaks trail. It is named for this big oak. There is a bench nearby if you just want to sit and consider this big oak.

When we reached this point on the trail Doug said "which way?" I said "let Chelsea pick." She went to the right. The trail winds around in a loop. We actually went off trail- which is easy to do in the fall when it is easier to see through the trees. It is hard to get lost when you can see the lake.

As you can see, the colors of the trees are beautiful this time of year in our area of Southern Indiana.

I gathered leaves and small geodes that are brain-like in appearance. It kills me that some people actually pay for geodes. They are everywhere. We wander areas around the lake that I call "geode gardens." We put geodes in and around our gardens and on our deck. When they are cracked open they are sparkling with crystals on the inside. We live on the limestone belt. There are rocks and fossils everywhere. I paused to gather some crinoid stems. They are fascinating and prolific along the lake shore. Doug told me he used to have a jar filled with them. I've always been kind of geeky and love finding fossils and looking at layers in rocks.

I also found a downed pine tree and wished for a bag to gather pine cones. Pine cones are excellent in the fire- they pop and put off a delicious fragrance. But we didn't have a bag or a back pack. (Note to self for the next time we hike this area.) By the time we returned to Doug's truck, my pockets (and his), were filled with various sizes of geodes. I had a pocket containing crinoid stems and my hands were filled with leaves ranging from pale yellow to orange, red and rich brown. Nature's bounty.

We wandered through this grove of pines...it seems at one point a road must have been cut through...now a lovely wandering path.

As we were leaving the area I turned back to look at the lake and took this photograph...

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-02T07:17:00.001-04:00

Love from a fellow Hoosier (At Heart)

2011-11-01T09:12:00.002-04:00

Recently I posted some photos of some cards that I made. Holly, over at Hoosier at Heart, and I have been friends for some time, now, but she didn't realize I enjoyed creating works of art. She wrote me back that day and said "I'm going to send you some things..."

I arrived home from work one afternoon to find this box on my kitchen table...how fun! How exciting! How nice!

Holly, how did you know that I LOVE candles...(pumpkin cream pie)...I LOVE pumpkin...LOVE candy corn...I was so touched...and then I noticed something that brought a tear to my eye...Holly's handwriting looks exactly like my Grandma's handwriting...(Grandma passed away in December of '06.)...

She also sent sleeves...I can ALWAYS use sleeves...(to put finished cards into...when you do a show, your cards are handled a LOT)...

Holly sent these little treat bags...would be good for trick-or-treat or any gift style...can't wait to dress up these babies...

light weight card stock forms...again...fun to paint, embellish...snazzle...(yes, snazzle is a word)...

This little jar with lots of brads...Holly, how did you know? I was running low on brads...(hey, did you decorate this jar?)... NICE...red is my fav...

If you can't read what Holly wrote on this gallon size baggie...it says "misc. doohickeys, what nots & thing a ma bobs." Yup...Holly is a Hoosier...sounds like words I've heard from my mama's mouth my whole life long...(note to self to write a post on "Hoosierisms")...

LOOK, Look, look! This is what was in that gallon size baggie...oooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhh...*squealing*...

This is where Milo wanted to investigate and get in on the action...(for those of you who are local peeps in my life and may see my cat on my table...please note: Milo is *never* on the table)...*snorts*...*rolls eyes*...yeah, right. (Sometimes I make terrible jokes that Milo is going to die on the kitchen table...he is thirteen years old)...

And...a treat...a copy of Cardmaker's Idea Book...wow. What a treat!

And...a birthday card...

Oh, my. Holly, thank you sooooooooooooooo much!

Holly's blog is called "Hoosier at Heart" because she was born and raised in Indiana, but life has transplanted her to Arizona. She is forever asking me about the weather...we email back and forth. She is a Hoosier girlfriend, for sure. Her gift will go on and on as I enjoy and play and create.

And...that is why they call it Hoosier Hospitality, folks.

Taking to the podium for my cause.

2011-10-26T14:39:00.000-04:00

There is a cause that I have believed in and given to for over thirty years.

I was nineteen the first time that I ever gave blood. A good friend of mine really wanted me to do it and he went with me the first time and sat there giving me reassuring looks the entire time.

Here at IU, during Homecoming. we have the Blood Donor Challenge. It used to be a challenge/contest between Indiana University and Purdue University. (If you are not from Indiana, this is where I have to tell you that IU and PU are huge rivals.) IU always won the blood challenge and basically, when you won, you got bragging rights. We always won and a couple of years ago, Purdue quit. Just dropped out. This is where I have to say "just like Purdue." If you are a Purdue fan, please don't write me a hateful response...I was married to a Purdue man, we held football season tickets for years. (I still know the words to the Purdue fight song, do you?) I thought I had died and gone to heaven...a forestry major from Purdue. I truly thought "it doesn't get any better than this."

When, when I divorced him, I divorced Purdue. Then both of our children earned their undergrad degrees from Indiana University. Then I went to work at Indiana University. And with the exception of the one day when Ball State University (my institution- where I earned my BS in English with a minor in Natural Resources) play football...I am an IU person.

I even bleed for IU.

This was the scene yesterday. The blood drive was held at the DeVault Alumni Center where I used to work when I worked for alumni. It was nice to go see all of my old friends...

It seems to me that the most people who can give, do. And people who can't want to tell you why they can't. It will be a sad day for me when I can no longer donate blood.
Please don't wait until someone that you love needs blood to donate.

Makes me feel warm

2011-10-19T00:53:00.003-04:00

Tonight I made a cup of tea to sip as I sat before our first fire of the season. It is raining and in the low forties this evening in Southern Indiana. Supposed to get down to thirty on Friday night.

There is something about a clean, tidy kitchen lit by the light of the stove. Something about it that has always tugged at my heart. Makes me feel warm inside.

I've always loved the words to John Denver's "Back Home Again..."

There's a fire softly burning

supper's on the stove...

It's the little things that make a house a home

I can't bear to hear that song or to even sing it to myself, even if it is inside of my head and not out loud without tears coming to my eyes.

Published in...

2011-10-17T07:58:00.000-04:00

COMING MONDAY, OCT. 17:
Fall edition of her magazine for women! The issue is a bonus to all Courier-Times subscribers.

The Courier-Times is my hometown paper. Many years ago, before I ever went to school to study writing, I whipped out a column and submitted it to the woman who would become my editor. My first piece for her was about a live nativity scene put on by my church. As it often is in December in Indiana, it was bitterly cold that night. I wore a white choir robe over bluejeans and hiking boots and sweatshirt. I thought the angelic robe would be long but as it was, it ended far above the hiking boots. I flapped my "wings" and sang the words to "I'll fly away oh, glory!"
The nativity scene was a hopeless failure. Few cars came, fewer people got out of the cars that drove by to come to see us in our effort. We made jokes akin to "if a tree falls in the woods..." changing the words to "if we have a living nativity and no one comes..." Near the end of the evening, a young mother came, her little daughter by the hand. We all fell silent as we watched them approach. The look on the little girl's face told the story. She looked to Baby Jesus (a plastic doll wrapped in a receiving blanket). Her face was enraptured, looking to the scene before her. Suddenly the cold of night, the too-short choir robe, the frozen fingers and noses mattered. It mattered to a small girl as she looked on with belief on her face.

This was my first story for my hometown paper. Back then, I probably scribbled it long-hand on a yellow legal pad and handed it to my editor. Fortunately for me, she loved it. And, soon after, she believed in me enough to offer me a column.

I was newly divorced and feeling kicked about by life. I had taken my two children and moved from the nice house we lived in with their dad to a rental. We lived in the downstairs and the landlord lived upstairs. He was a drug dealer. A drug dealer who partied a lot. When he partied to the extent that he woke my sleeping two year old son,I asked to be released from my lease and he agreed. While living in that house I was approached by the police to give descriptions of those buying drugs. I had refused. We were in danger. We moved back into the neighborhood that I had grown up in and lived in a simple, nice rental for the rest of my children's growing up years. My children ended up going to the same school that I had gone to.
I say all of this to show in those years, my life was not easy.

But this woman, my editor, believed in me. Everything I've ever written for her she enthusiastically accepted. She and I slowly got to know one another and became friends. I watched her as she frequently mailed letters to another friend. I envied the friendship that the two shared and how often the editor wrote to her. I would learn later that the friend was her mother. I felt this told so much about her. That all of the letters that I saw addressed to this woman in her curved, rounded script was her mother. I thought it was beautiful how frequently she wrote to her and mailed fat envelopes.

The editor, whose name is Donna, gave me so many opportunities. I once had a front page story. I remember the day that paper came out. I picked up my children from daycare and sat with the paper before me, staring at the by-line. My name. My words.

A recent opportunity Donna gave to me was to interview the author of Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson. I had read the book and gushed to her about how much I loved the story. When Mortenson came to Indianapolis, Donna asked me to do the interview and to write the piece on him. I was nervous to the point of being sick, but thrilled beyond belief.

Through the years I would go on to work for another paper, to finish a degree in English, to move to another town. When I left the newspaper that Donna worked for, she and I began to write letters. The envelopes flew back and forth between us. We both have always had a lot to say. Then we both got on the Internet. Oh dear. The emails have been constant.

Recently, the hometown paper, The Courier-Times, started a magazine for women called her. It was given to Donna. The second issue came out today and I have a story in it. The story is about you. It is about the relationships and friendships that come out of blogging. I will share it with you, soon.

Donna is a journalist who has never lost her drive. One of the things I love about her is her inquisitive mind. She is always thinking about that next story. She is always asking questions. She has never lost her excitement for each and every piece she has ever done. She was one of those people who knew early in life what she wanted to be when she grew up and she went after it.

She had always encouraged others. She has always encouraged me and she has always encouraged a lot of other people. She has always believed in me. I have always been appreciative of all that she has helped to happen in my life.

Today the second edition of her comes out. The bonus is today is Donna's birthday.
Whenever I've introduced Donna as "my editor," she has said "friend."
Happy Birthday, friend!

Mammoth Cave

2011-10-13T20:14:00.001-04:00

I have a life-long friend that lives in Tennessee. I live in Indiana. She teaches in a year-round school system and was about to be out on fall break. We had not seen one another for almost a year and a half. One conversation led to another and we decided to rendezvous in the middle at one of my favorite places on earth- Mammoth Cave National Park.
I've always loved camping but had not camped for nearly two years. I hauled my equipment out of the barn and cleaned and scrubbed and organized for nearly a week. Finally, with my little Honda loaded to the max, I was ready to head out. Doug shot this photo of me just before I departed. Yup, I'm a treehugger.

Me and my trusty steed

Just south of where we live I headed into Bedford, IN. We live in the limestone belt. The photo below shows common topography for this part of the state. The air was thick with clouds all around.

driving through the clouds

The Ohio River runs between Indiana and Kentucky. I like to cross into Kentucky at Louisville over the Kennedy bridge.

Crossing over into Kentucky

My friend and I were in contact via cell phone off and on during the trip and as I entered the park and saw this sign I pulled over to meet her. We timed it perfectly and she arrived about ten minutes after I did.

She and I grew up together. Her mother was my kindergarten teacher. My family was moving and her daughter was in my new school district. Her mother, my teacher, invited me over to their house one day after school to play so that I would have a new friend when I went to my new school. That was when we were five years old and we have been friends ever since. We went through Girl Scouts together from second grade through our junior year of high school. We were Girl Scouts when most didn't think that was too cool, but we didn't care. We always had fun camping and hiking together.
We quickly made camp and set out to hike a few trails. We had a couple of days of perfect fall weather. The woods were pristine.

We came upon this shag bark hickory tree and decided it looked like an old man with his arms extended.

The deer in the park are accustomed to people being all around and are quite tame. The campers before us had spilled dog food in our campsite and we had deer coming to snack despite the fact that we were right there.

tame

We planned our meals together and had bacon

and fried potatoes for breakfast on our first morning. We both like to drink tea and heated our water over the flames. Food tastes delicious when cooked over a campfire. That is my Grandma's old orange cast iron frying pan. I love to cook in that old skillet and only use it on camping trips.

Our home away from home for a couple of nights was a tent. Because we are getting older, and the ground is getting harder, we slept on a Coleman mattress.

I was thrilled to accompany her the first time that she toured the cave. We took one of my favorite tours, the historic tour. I have a special connection to this cave and love to see people's reaction the first time that they experience it. The photo below was taken as we were coming back out of the cave into the sunlight.

A friendly ranger snapped the photo of the two of us. Friends for forty-eight years. Shew, that is a long time!

Photo below is of me at an overlook in the park. My favorite outfit- shorts, t-shirt and hiking boots.

We were able to explore some areas that I had not visited before and we hiked around Sloan's Pond.

We hiked, we cooked out over the fire, we talked, we laughed, we giggled. Oh, we giggled like the school girls that we used to be. The second night (our last) we stayed up late and talked and laughed. We were up later than anyone else in the campground and were trying to be quiet. If you are a female and reading this, you know that trying to be quiet usually just makes it worse.
When we headed for home we departed later than we meant to (of course) and as I was near to home, the sun was just setting.

Back home again in Indiana.

Let them eat cake!

2011-10-08T21:34:00.001-04:00

We are gathering four to six eggs a day now and I've been baking about once a week. Sometimes when life is crazy busy you just have to say "let them eat cake!" Pay attention and I will show you how.

These children, are perfectly greased and floured Wilton cake pans. Does it make a difference what kind of pan you use? I think it does. I used Crisco to grease the pans and lightly floured with flour.

Both layers cracked while baking. Can anyone tell me why this happens and what to do to avoid it? Or do we need to be concerned with such issues? My mama always taught me to lift the pan an inch or so off of the counter top and drop several times before baking. This does two things- it evens out your batter and it causes air bubbles to rise to the top.

After allowing the layers to cool in the pan for ten minutes, I ran a butter knife around the edge and then flipped each layer onto a rack to finish cooling. Doug was like a child asking how soon I could ice the cake so he could have a piece.

Then I whipped up the icing.

I use a Wilton spatula to ice my cakel. In another lifetime I dabbled in cake decorating. I didn't take any lessons, just studied intensely on my own. I was fairly successful. I produced some birthday cakes and did the cakes for a niece's graduation and I wasn't too embarrassed with the results. Doug was impressed with my cake icing skills, but maybe he was just trying to get me to cut a big piece of cake for him.

Cake with a cup of milk? It doesn't get much better!

Super-Moist Chocolate Mayo Cake

1 box chocolate cake mix

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup water

3 eggs

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350degrees

Blend all ingredients.

Bake as directed on box.

The recipe says the cinnamon is optional, but to me that is what makes this cake. And, just for your information, I don't eat mayonnaise in real life, but if it is in a recipe I will make an exception.

Chocolate Mocha Frosting

3/4 cup Crisco

1 tablespoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

4 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

1/2 cup strong brewed coffee

Cream Crisco, vanilla, salt and cocoa. Add sugar and coffee alternately, beating until smooth.

The coffee in this icing is delicious. Chocolate, cinnamon and coffee? YUM. Do you know that a piece of cake is excellent for breakfast? YUP.

I took most of the cake to work to share. I think it was appreciated. Or maybe they gobbled it up so I wouldn't feel bad. Sometimes you just have to say "Let them eat cake!"

Autumnal Art

2011-10-05T11:04:00.000-04:00

The good folks (a.k.a. local Hoosier gal Kristin Hubick) over at Retro Cafe' Art are having a "Anything Goes" Halloween contest. I've never entered any of my work in a contest. I entered via facebook. You can find them on facebook here. Retro Cafe' Art's blog is found here.
I created the piece below last fall. A gal friend of mine gave the retro photo to me. To make it pop, I mounted it on corrugated cardboard. I painted the canvas with Golden Fluid Titan Buff. I distressed with a standard Versa Fine sepia ink pad and Tim Holtz distress inks in various shades. I distress with finger tip pads and a sponge pad. I distress almost everything I make. Sepia and the Titan Buff are two of my favorite shades. The black bird is chipboard from a Tim Holtz set.

Which witch?

This card was created with a new stamp by Inkadinkado called Steampunk Skull. I do love steampunk but this card is a take-off from what is normally standard for me. That is what I enjoy about art though- that is is forever evolving. Would be boring if it was the same old thing all the time.

It is safe to say that I bought 99.9% of the supplies used on these two projects at Papertrix.

You can enter up to three items. I haven't created my third entry yet, but have it in my mind. Hope over to one of the websites and check it out for yourself. Or better yet, enter some of your own art work. You have until October 14th.

It is for your own good!

2011-10-04T13:12:00.000-04:00

Sometimes the powers that be have to make people do things that they don't want to do. Like...seat belts. And motorcycle helmets. Well, that one didn't go over so well. Don't get me started. One of the more recent actions that will affect all of us is the phasing out of incandescent light bulbs.

We already use CFL's but recently took advantage of Duke's free offer.

Even if you aren't on Duke energy, you might refer to the website to learn more about why CFLs are a good idea. After all, it is for your own good! (And isn't free an enticing word?)

Parting shots

2011-09-30T15:56:00.002-04:00

I'm not one of those people who feels summer is over as of Labor Day. When Labor Day rolls around, we are just heading into the bonus zone. September may be back-to-school, but it is still summer to me. October is the real beginning of fall. Last Thursday I attended an event across campus and shot some photos while walking over and back. As tomorrow is October 1, I thought I would share these parting shots with you, today.

The famous "Jordan River."

In June, a female student named Lauren Spierer disappeared. The blue ribbon around this tree serves as a remembrance of her. Her face is everywhere on posters around town and on campus. So sad.

Wonderful day for sitting on the terrace...

Wandering through our wooded campus...

Sample Gates

Looking down Kirkwood...

Heading back to my building...

Indiana Avenue (as you can see, leaves are starting to change and fall.

It is supposed to get down to 36 degrees tomorrow night. I am working to bring in the houseplants that have been outdoors all summer. We've already had some days that I've ran my heater in the car on the way to work and one morning I even turned on the heat in the house while I showered. I've been struggling with cold-like symptoms that my doctor tells me are merely allergies.

I've been switching out my spring/summer clothes for fall/winter clothes.

I am working at Papertrix as I do during the busy fall season. (Come see us!)

I am in the process of cleaning up the fireplace room because it won't be too long before we are sitting beside the fire.

I know we will still have some sunny, warm days in October, but to me October means fall is truly upon us. I love fall. Fall is my favorite season and October is my favorite month. And not just because I'm an October baby!

"Bye-bye September. Hello, fall!"

Fall

2011-09-23T09:27:00.001-04:00

Thank you for all of the kind comments concerning my brother. A few of you brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for the blog love!

Fall came in last night with light rain. Leaves skittered across the road. A cool breeze blew

through the kitchen window. I took this photo after work yesterday of a tree near my parking lot at I.U. I took this for my displaced Hoosier sister, Holly over at Hoosier at Heart. She doesn't live in Indiana any longer and misses our beautiful fall leaves. I'll be thinking of you and Kris this weekend...wish I could join the fun!

I found this recipe, yesterday, at Mennonite Girls Can Cook. It is very light. I hope you appreciate the photo below. I am right-handed and it is a difficult task to take a photograph left-handed!

This cake bakes up light and fluffy. They advise to let it cool for fifteen minutes in the pan. I normally only let a cake cool for ten minutes before flipping it. I had a little difficulty getting it out of the pan so I might only let it cool for ten minutes the next time. The also say not to under-bake. My oven runs hot so fifty-five minutes was perfect for me.

The recipe says to dust with powdered sugar. I might put cream cheese icing on it the next time. I am forever changing recipes- thinking how might I make this better? Doug brought this pumpkin home to me last night so I thought it would look pretty in the picture.

A perfect way to welcome fall. I love keeping a tablecloth on my farmhouse table. My mother bought this one for me years ago and it is one of my favorites. I am a candle nut. I went to Michael's a week or so ago and got three jar candles in fall fragrances, three for ten dollars. (Note: Michael's did not ask for an endorsement.)

Crunching leaves, cool temperatures, camping and campfires. Lighting a fire in the wood stove. Chili (or any soup) on the stove. Time to cozy in. Welcome, fall!

Bars

2011-09-22T11:42:00.001-04:00

Bars

After the first time you were there

you said

"never again."

But,

once again

you

have made choices

that have led to
arrest

and jail.

As children

we looked like twins

you were
the male version of me.

I was small.

You were tall.

And even though I was the big sister,

we were the same size

and learned early on

when little old ladies would inquire

"are you twins?"

to nod, because it got us a lot of attention.

In church

we sat together

and giggled

one look between us

told the other

what one was thinking.

No words were needed.

Last night

I slept

well

for the first time

since this arrest.

I fear

for you-

for
your life.

They beat you the last time.

Most likely, you've taken a beating again.

Angry fists pounding your face.

Feet kicking your sides.

Guards looking away.

This is what happens.

Lingering bruises that upset those

who love you and visit.

I do not visit.

I could not then.

And cannot now.

I suppose

if you go to prison

I may have to visit you
there.

That would be difficult.

The article

tells the story

for all to read.

Your picture tears at my heart.

Your eyes cast down.

You are ashamed
and it shows.

You look as if
you could cry.

I'm certain

you have.

I feel angry
and helpless.

I do not want to give
this situation

my energy

but it is taken

anyway.

Sleepless nights.

Stomach churning.

Our parents do not sleep, either.

How the pain you have caused has aged them.

Your addiction

has taken

all that you
ever
held dear.

destroying

your life

you are a felon, now.

My brother is a felon.

You say

I am your tough love.

I know

you know

I love you.

But I am

your big sister.

And must not let you

"get away"
with anything.

As much as is within
my power.

Which isn't much.

We are powerless.

We who love you.

We do love you.

You know?

But you are responsible

for you.

When you are in there

this time

as the last

I think of you

every

day.

I look up

at the sky.

And think how
I might feel

if my freedom
was taken
away.

How it might be

to be
caged

like
an animal.

It is for your own good.

For your safety.

And others.

I think of you

in that cage.

You were the male version of me

like me

but not.