First Full Day Home

First full day home - Horray.

Being home means my healing has allowed me to return to the home front. It hit me that my fight against this rare and illusive sarcoma cancer has to begin also.  Sleep not was comfy as in the hospital bed.  That one cradled me with all sorts of pillows and massage options.

Day one was attempting to do things - sometimes the effort of three times to so something so simple like pouring a portion of apple sauce, forgot the dish, spoon, putting jar back in fridge.  I just crack me up.

An almost three hour meeting with the visiting nurse.  Nice guy, I get squeamish doing medical things.  though the dressing on my thigh is not doing well.  I'll call them today to find out how not to have the gauze stick so I continues to heal.

Lots of phone calls and messages on my FB page Patty's Journey from friends, family, neighbors.  There are so many requests to help me out, so fortunate for that.

Living My 60th Year - Having Lunch and get a Bonus

Here's to a new year and remembering to eat lunch!

Yes, remembering to eat lunch.  I know that could sound strange.  

It's not the eating, I'm referring to.  I have my lunch, sometimes it is over the sink, grab a sandwich and run, or bring it back to my desk and consume it among the pile of paperwork.

I've been taking a full break for lunch lately and not at my desk.  Lunch is a pretty decent meal for me.  Many times it is left overs from the dinner before or a sandwich with fruit.  How much time?  About an hour, it's an hour I take time away from my work.

When I worked in a large office with lots of people around, this was what we did.  Somewhere around 10am we began discussing lunch.  Where to go, what we would like to have, who brought lunch and a host of questions.

Since I've worked for myself, that isn't the case.  I often talk to myself, though the subject matter isn't about lunch!  

What I have found, that by taking that break has allowed me to do a host of items that would had been regulated to some other part of the day.  I've done some fun reading; do part of the laundry;  or do some pick up around my non-working space.  Most of these types of tasks are 5 -10 minutes, though they feel like a received a bonus at the end of the day.  I find that I am a bit more focused during the balance of my day and accomplish work effectively.

Life is good, I get to have a better lunch,  a good break and am more productive for the balance of my day.  

What's your lunch break like?

Here's to a year of catching the dreams you chase,

doing what makes you smile,

and loving the life you live.

Special Corn Bread

It's that time of year that says it's corn bread time.  I have this little recipe that is so simple and tastes great.  I think it came from my Mom, so thanks Mom!

Take a box of Jiffy corn bread mix.  Prepare it according to the package.

Saute some sausage - I used a chicken sausage - 2 links.  Use whatever flavor of sausage you like.  Take it out of the skin and cook untill its brown, drain out any extra fat.

Place the sausage in an 8" x 8" pan.

Peel and core a green apple.  Cut it up into small pieces and place it in the pan.

Pour the Jiffy mix over the sausage and apple and bake according to the box.

This is such a simple recipe. I will make it and save it for lunch.  Easy to warm up in the microwave and goes great with salad.

Enjoy!

It's Fall and It's the BIG E!

It was Connecticut Day at the Big E this past Wednesday and according the staff, one of the largest attendance days.  Go CT!

 

I choose the day as it's in the middle of the week, and of course I like to see the parade.  Over the past couple of years, I've demonstrated making lace for part of the day and that gets me a ticket and parking!  Actually, the Big E would not be able to operate without all the volunteers at the fair. 

The Parade - there are lots of CT related high school bands, the Governor and her Foot Guard, the State Police, fife and drum, Miss Pre-Teen CT, Miss Teen CT, and Miss CT all riding in shiny convertible cars and lots of others.  The end of the parade was the Budweiser Clydesdales and the Hallamore Clydesdales each had a eight-horse hitch. Of course there is the poo zamboni ending the parade.  The horses are so amazing, their size and strength of these gentle giants pulling the wagons.  If you go to the barns, you can get pretty up close to these horses.

After a bout with morning traffic, I arrived and set up at the the New England Building / Creative Arts.  Actually we don't really have a space, we set up in the aisle. It would be nice if we had a 'real' space we could set up in (hmm idea for next year).  Linda (fellow lacemaker) met me there and we organized ourselves so we could talk with the patrons about lace.  I met Linda at the fair last year and helped her rekindle her love for lace making.

Before you know it, the building opens with a raising of the American flag, accompanied by a group of fife and drum musicians.  It is fun to watch the patrons go by, some are outright curious and come up and declare that I'm tatting (lol) and others are too shy unless you invite them over to see what we are doing.  The patrons like to touch - so I bring a pillow for folks to actually work some lace - the 'snake'. Time goes so quickly.  Some where around three and a half hours into it, I could feel my voice getting scratchy.  I really enjoy it, and can continue on and on about cross and twist and counting to four.  Stop by next year and watch us lace makers.

After volunteering for four hours (requirement to get a ticket and parking), I had the rest of the day to get around the grounds.  I watch the beef cattle get showed and receive their ribbons.  There were dairy goats, dairy cows, sheep and assorted other farm animals.  This is the best part of the show/fair for me.  I love to watch the hatchling chicks pop out of their eggs and tiny pigglettes wiggle around in a pen.  Sheep are the best. Sheep Rule.  One thing you need to know about the fair especially if you want to see the animals.  There are barn change over days so watch what day you want.  There may not be many animals to see.

Better Living Center is a riot.  There are all kinds of vendors willing to sell you anything to make your life better.  From fancy showers for your bath, to window screens, a blender, lots of pots and pans dealers,  and even a guy selling a mop!  It is really alot of fun.

So what is a country fair without eating your way around? That's easy - it wouldn't be a fair.  There is just about everything known to man to have to eat at this fair.  Big E Cream Puffs are amazing.  (not for me this year)  I was pretty good, a large fresh brewed Sam Adams beer to walk around with after demonstrating was just what my voice needed.  Lunch, a taco chicken salad in a shell, lots of water to drink.  Dinner had me search for fried clams that I found in the Rhode Island State house (yum yum), a little ice cream and a coffee to go at the end of the night.  Of course you can eat your way into oblivion. 

My feet were giving out, I actually walked around enough to log some 4 miles on my pedometer!  I found gel insoles in the Better Living Building.  That helped a bunch.  Though the best find was back at the Fiber Nook - (near the sheep).  I have a new genuine handcrafted sheepskin scuffs!  Even better - they are made by Golden Fleece Fashions in Caterbury, CT  !  I met the owner, Adele, and she said they are good 'forever'.  She was repairing a pair a customer brought back because the dog ate off the toes!

I have a great pair that family gave me from LLBean.  Each year I call to get another pair, unfortunately they don't carry this type any longer made slippers any longer and they weren't US made when they did.  My feet are nice a warm and I can have now preserve the other pair a bit longer. Don't you just love sheep!

While food is plentiful, so is the shopping. Everything you could imagine. I give the vendors a hat's off. These guys travel in motor homes and are on the fair circuit for five months of the year. Most of them say the Big E is the best! I took cards from several artist types, need to do some measuring at home before buying.

Another year, and another Big E.  I was trying to think of the number of times I've come to this festival.  My parents brought us and we camped out somewhere near there.  I think that in the last ten years, I missed one year due to weather.  There is still time to see the fair - it is well worth the trip!

Taylor's Day at Camp

It was Taylor's Day with me.  She planned that we would do the Loop.  The Loop is the 6000-6600 blocks of Delmar Boulevard near Forest Park.  Its lined with many shops and plenty of places to get a bite to eat.  We walked the entire street - both sides - walked all the planets and visited with each "star" in the Walk of Fame.  A star is for an individual that has some connection to St. Louis - very interesting to find all these folks!

While it was hotttttt and humidddddd, it was great.  We would hop in and out of little businesses and stores.  Visited a yarn shop, while lots from Vermont, there was some hand dyed roving that came from some sheep not far from the shop.  Another shop had this interesting perfume, we both tried it and kept smelling the difference all night long. 

Several shops had vintage clothing, and some with 'hi' fashion clothes.  The vintage vinyl record shop - Wow, talk about stepping back into time!  There were the shops with all sorts of local artists jewelery, pottery, and artwork.  We missed some of the shops as the either closed early or were not open.  Not to worry, it gives us some places to explore on a future trip.

For me it was a great time! We had a chance to talk about her future at college.  About girl stuff, and just about what was going on.  She'll be leaving for college in just about a week from now to join the undergrad class at  Franciscan University of Steubenville!  Go Taylor!!

To wrap up our evening - we went to Pi Pizzeria.  You may think, yeah? big deal pizza?  I must say it was the best thin crust pizza I have ever had and it was gluten free!  We shared a salad and designed two, very different, great pizzas. I had a local draft beer - while not gluten free, it was fresh and really cold.   We sat back and enjoyed ourselves.  The restaurant was fun, very very busy, and by the time we left (about 7:30), the place was packed - inside and out - with a line waiting in 95degree weather!

Once again Taylor, thanks for a great day!

What to do when the cake falls?

A few weeks ago, I was incharge of bringing dessert to a dinner party. After consulting with the hostess and clearing all likes, dislikes, and alergies, I deciced to make my special angle food cake. A simple cake with a dusting of powdered sugar. Just the treat for a warm summer evening.

It's really simple and borrowed from WW as it was a one point dessert. Really easy cake to make and best done the day before. Take the box mix and fold in a can of crushed pineapple including the juice,nothing more,and pour into a tube pan and bake according to the directions on the box.

Some 50-60 minutes later (longer since my stove is way too old) pull it out and let it cool for awhile upside down on top of a sturdy wine bottle. And Yes, you need to have drunk a bottle of wine before making the cake. Only Kidding. Upside down is important so that the remaining juice floats back up to the top of the cake. No soggy bottoms for me.

So early that morning, made the cake, had it cooling on the wine bottle. I began to remove the cake from the pan. It all looked okay. Pleased as I was, then the cake fell over and cracked all over, in six pieces. Oh no I exclaimed, "what am I going to do now". My heart was racing. Dinner was in three hours and not enough time to do a re-do.

So with my heart racing - a little cleverness and I went into 'Plan B'. Since the cake was broken, I broke it some more, into little pieces and placed them into a large glass bowl, kinda like a bare trifle. Looked into the fridge and found a pint of blueberries. Mixed the blueberries in and added a few basil leaves around the edge for color and pizzazz.

I served the "cake and blueberries" ontop of a little whipped cream and the dessert was saved. I sat back in relief as all the guests just loved it.

Remember - when the cake falls - literally - a little bit of cleverness will save the day!

Home Garden

Finally today I had a few minutes to finish planting the herbs and flowers in my container garden. 

This year's planting of basil, basil, thyme, purple sage, chives, parsley flat & curly, balm lemon, and savory and more basil.  So far all is healthy and growing well. 

When I stoped at Bob's Fruit Stand, in Wethersfield (next town over) they were having a sale. I was able to pick up some annuals, called mini bells and a plant with blue flowers.  So much for my flora knowledge at this time.   More pictures as the plants grow!

 Two summers ago, the large grass fern in the picture on the left was only 2 ft high when I planted it.  It is now over 4ft high.  The mound of green in front of the fern is Savannah's plant.  This year it was so beautiful and it too has grown.

My evergreen wreath,  by my door, is decorated with American Flags.  You can also see the "new" walkway that was installed earlier this spring.  Seems like the outside is getting better!

Looking forward to my herbs and watching my garden grow.

Happy Thanksgiving to All

Just a quick note to all of you.  Thanksgiving is a great time of the year.  Sometimes it is so warm and other times it is like the middle of February.  This year it looks like it will be nice and most of all, it will be spent with some of my family.

Mom and I spoke this evening and did the run down.  Two pies and cake she'll bake tomorrow, and put out the serving dishes and such.  I'm making the salad for the dinner and the special salad for mom and I.  My salad is a vegetable salad - it has just about everything in it and is very colorful and good.  I'll be making a fresh vinaigrette dressing.  She puts the turkey in the oven about midnight and by the morning - the bird is just magnificant!  I've picked up various types of bread for dinner - a soft loaf and two crusty loaves.

 I'm also bringing another Thanksgiving tradition - the indian apples.  Now if you look up indian apple and get the defination - it's not Podophyllum peltatum, native to North America; also known as May-apple, mandrake, wild lemon, raccoon-berry, and wild jalap. It's pomegranates.  I remember as a kid enjoying them to no end and always sad when we finished them.  That tradition has been passed on to my nieces and nephews.  It also seems that I'm the "incharge" on getting and supplying the indian apples for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

What are you traditions?  Are you passing them along, remember that those experiences that are passed along are great memories for down the road.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving!

PS - The Macy's Day parade begins at 9am!

Soup time of the year

It is that great time of the year when I begin to make a soup a week.  Over the last couple of weeks I made a tomato white bean - one of my favorites, a potato cheese soup, and a quickie minestrone one.  Tonight I'm making a version of two-mushroom barley soup.

Begin with a yellow onion, carrot, and celery stalk all finely chopped and cook until it is translucent 2-3 minutes or so in some oil and butter.   I then added the left over of some white wine to get the bits up from the cooking so far.  Add 1 lb of sliced mushrooms and raise the heat to saute until mushrooms begin to soften. This is where I changed the original recipe - it was only 1/2 lb of mushrooms and 1/2 oz of dried porcinis.  There were no porcinis so skip it and keep going. 

Once the mushrooms are soften, add 2 to 2-1/2 qts of your favorite stock - today's choice - chicken. Since I added the wine, I cut back on the stock.    Throw in a couple of bay leafs, S&P, I added some dried parsley and some thyme and cook for about an hour or so until the barley really puffs up and the soup becomes thick.

Oh - one more addition - I cooked up two links of my favorite chicken sausages from the D&D and added them to the soup.

YUM YUM  That's one thing I love about cooking - you can always add and subtract to make a recipe - sometimes you come up with just the twist that makes it truly your favorite.

Tomorrow's lunch is going to be really good!

Quinoa.... do you knowa?

Sometime ago I had a stickey note on this grain though I didn't know what it was. Then recently I was shopping for gluten free items as my niece & nephew were visiting. I like to find a gluten free dish we all can make and enjoy together. I found a "corn bread" recipe that was a great hit and now my sister-in-law has to make lots of it.

While I didn't use it during the visit, I spotted it in the pantry and made some the other day. Simply boiled it, added fresh herbs, lemon juice and let it marinate in the fridge over night. It cooks like couscous (though that is made from wheat and not gluten free) it was a breeze. Yum Yum!

It's a native of South America - primarily from Bolivia and Peru which produce about 60% of the world comsumption. The plant is grown for it's seeds and there are many varieties. It's a complete protein - i.e. it includes all nine amino acids.

I highly recommend this grain/seed. If you are interested, do a internet search - you'll be pleasantly surprised