redhenfarm

I walked for over 2 hours at the park this morning and it was a beautiful day. The new mushroom I saw today was witches butter - they can vary, the one I saw was orange.

Cat, the violet cort was more like the second example you posted - looked much deeper purple. I'll tell ya my son is able to spot most of the interesting things. He has a good eye for something in the woods behind a log that I'd never see or what bird is flying over. On the way home we saw some different kinds of pelicans on the river. We usually see the brown pelicans so these must have been migrating. I'll have to look them up.

Well, folks, I won't be eating any or other stuff unless it's the kind we have here in cyberland. My LDL is 113 and needs to be below 100. Time to eat more healthy foods.

The school delay or cancellation due to fog reminded me of when I worked in a doctor's office and how crazy it was keeping the appointment schedule when weather got bad. Some people would cancel at the drop of a hat - other's were dying to get in and it was balancing the two. I also remember how it felt as a kid when you found out your school didn't get cancelled (ours hardly ever did).

Hello everyone. It's noon here now.

I've been to my Wednesday meeting this morning and I've been gadding about this week so today I really need to done yesterday.

I finally found out why my garden didn't do so well - the topsoil/sand/compost we got was too fresh - next year (with added maneur/compost) it ought to be great. Next year I'll be able to start planting earlier, too. I'm still waiting for the old potato vines to die down so I can dig in and see what's there.

Theyd: Hope you are feeling better.

We are having beautiful weather this week. Last night we watched a sunset and could find "faces" in the pink clouds. This morning I stepped out on the patio to see if the cat wanted in yet and the star was bright with stars. Our low was 47 and high today will be 72. I put the flannel sheets on the bed last weekend.

Yesterday DS#1 and I walked for several hours at two local parks. We found an amazing mushroom called a violet cort (sp?). It looked like purple velvet. We saw many coral mushrooms as well as others.

Today I saw my doctor for the first time since January. I am scheduled for a mammogram on Friday (oh, joy) and had labs done for thyroid, a1c, cholesterol.

Laundry is in process, bathtub is clean and floors are swept. Need to mop and then vacuum. How many times in a lifetime do you think we do these things? Wouldn't it be nice if you did something and it was really done My cat is a good hunter but she gave this rat some space. She had a scratch or bite on her face last week and I'm wondering if it was the rat.

With the flu shot shortage my doctor told me the only place you can get a shot is at the hospital on Thursay between 12 and 4 and this is for everyone in the community who qualifies. I am supposed to have one because of the diabetes but I'm not looking forward to waiting for hours with scads of other people.

A mess?

Pumpkin guts?

Oh, this is better: pumpkin pie!

Pumpkin Spice Cake with Maple Cream Frosting

Ingredients for cake:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1-1/4 cups light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 cup fresh or canned pumpkin

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups sifted cake flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 cup buttermilk (room temperature)

Ingredients for frosting:

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

1-1/3 cups confectioners sugar, sifted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two pans about 8" diameter.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add eggs, one at a a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the pumpkin puree and vanilla and beat until incorporated.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and buttermilk alternately to the pumpkin batter, in three additions, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes clean. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes and invert and remove cake from their pans. Cool completely before frosting.

Frosting:

Place the cream cheese and butter in mixing bowl and mix until creamy. Add the maple syrup and confectioners sugar and mix until combined. Adjust syrup and sugar until you have the right consistency.

Hmmmmmm. Now I'm envisioning a skeleton in a bikini but I'm feeling really dumb and clueless.

Happy Monday morning

I hope Monday doesn't foretell the rest of the week. I woke up with a headache.

This is the third day of cloudy weather. If it would just break through we would have sunshine and be warmer. It's 54 right now and our high will be maybe 72.

Yesterday both of my sons went to the last Sunday Market (open air market of vendors). I got three pots of grasses that are so dark they look black but the base of them is green - it's very pretty. Also got three "black" pansies. These are very deep with purple in the centers. It's sad to see the market closing for the year. It won't reopen until Mother's Day weekend.

I feel like cooking today and gardening. Usually both together don't work. I get pooped out from the gardening part. We'll see.

Karen: This is a good place to share, just like you did, about what's going on today.

Unikemom: Great it's going to be a good week for your DH. I can see getting ready for slow season for you.

Snowmom: Take care. Did you see a dentist about your tooth? It's good you and Old Pine had some time to yourselves.

Well, folks, if I don't get out of my bathrobe I won't get anything done today - so off I go.

Oh, Mary, I missed your party - I'm so sorry. Will you put the dress on again today so I can see? Good thing about the cyber food and no calories! Maybe there's a piece of cake left. I've got a cup of coffee here. Since I missed the magic of your party I'm just sitting here in my purple bathrobe. Best wishes for the coming year

I missed going to the pool for aerobics this morning because I was up in the night wide awake for awhile so I couldn't get my get-up-and-go to work. So I called my son to see if he was free to do something. His wife was busy preparing her things and getting ready for her move to Portland to look for work so just the two of us went out to Ft. Stevens State Park to walk on the bike trails. I knew about the trails but (duh!) never connected you could just walk on them. The sun was out and it was beautiful walking under the trees but also my son is the most entertaining person to walk with. He has taught himself about so many things in nature. He knows what birds we are listening to and showed me many kinds of mushrooms and told me about them. We saw one kind of mushroom he was going to look up when he got home that looked much like a shiny, red apple. We must have walked three miles or more. I'm thinking more because my legs are stiff tonight and they usually aren't. It was fun just walking and talking and him stopping frequently to show me something on the side of the path my eyes would have missed. Sigh. I'm going to miss him so much when he moves and I'm so thankful for a perfect day like today.

We used to be referred to as a "melting pot". Apparently that notion has changed for some. In Job Corps they proudly proclaimed we weren't a melting pot - but a salad bowl, meaning immigrants should be encouraged to keep their own ways. Therefore there were students who spent a couple of years in Job Corps and STILL graduated (?!) not able to speak sufficient English to hold a job. I worked with some of these young people and most had good hearts and tried really hard but they needed to be in an immersion program to learn the language.

I liked Ginger's concept in the study of Ruth on how to really help people to help themselves.

My grandparents all had to learn English when they came to this country. In the 60s my aunt and uncle went to Norway and a young family member really wanted to come to the US. They had arrangements for her, but she was unable to get employment and show herself to be self-sufficient so she wasn't allowed to come to this country. When did those laws change?

Jan

LOL

It is beautiful here today but only 56 right now. My son and I are going to go out to the park to walk. I wanted to go to pool aerobics this morning but I woke up in the night and it was too hard to get going this morning. I am really looking forward to walking around Ft. Stevens. We'll walk on the bike paths.

I deep cleaned my kitchen countertops this morning, stovetop and burners. How do the burners get so icky so fast? Like refrigerators, I think. Isn't it great when things are all cleaned up?

Unike: Sounds like you are on a roll this morning and it was "catching". With my DH back at work it changes how things get done around here. When he was "retired" all he had to think about was when the lawn needed mowing, etc.

Wiccad: Terrific news about exchanging rent due for massage and good for you hiding the phone. Let's just hope he doesn't have a phone jack in his room.

Have a great day everyone.

I want to add more about how my parents and grandparents celebrated the holidays and this will be on Mom's side of the family because we weren't invited to Dad's side.

Mom and Dad built a little two bedroom, one bathroom house after WWII when I was a baby. When we were little kids they put a tree up on a high table (wonder why? ) and that was it for decorations. Grandma and Grandpa lived down the hill from us. Our neighborhood was in a big loop. I don't remember having a meal at their house either because Grandma went blind when I was a baby and later came to live with us when Grandpa died. I heard stories about Grandma having a tree with candles on it and my uncle trying to climb it and knocked it over and scorched the clothes Grandma made for him (he was the type who tipped over outhouses, too). He sucked his thumb for so long Grandma told him he could have a bicycle if he quit. He didn't quit and on Christmas he saw Grandma's footprints out to the woodpile by the garage and was just sure Santa brought his bike but she stuck to her guns and he didn't get one. I never heard the part if he quit after that. We usually at in the kitchen where there was a counter/table thing that pulled out from the cupboards to eat at (red formica or whatever it was in those days) but when company came we pulled the table out in the little dining area or since it was usually relatives we might go down to Grandma's larger kitchen. I remember well in the tiny kitchen the first time Mom and an aunt were preparing turkey and taking the stuff out and said "here's the heart" and I wanted to see just sure it would be like a valentine - how disappointed I was! There were about two years we lived with Grandma after Grandpa died and I remember one Christmas there very well. Grandma's room was downstairs but ours were upstairs. Mom and Dad had a great room - best in the whole house which was rather dark - with lots of light and wallpaper and the slanted ceiling under the roofline and a low linen cupboard along the wall under the slope. That's where the Christmas presents were hidden and my sister found them. So that year when Mom and Dad were out one night we opened every single present in there and carefully rewrapped them. Come Christmas there were no surprises and we never did that again. Later Mom and Dad had their little house remodeled, added a bedroom and an addition of a laundry room, second half bathroom and living room/dining room. Then we had relatives visiting at that house at Christmas.

Another part of Christmas were my "aunts" - who were dear family friends of my grandparents. I spent most summers with them and sometimes school holidays. They never had a tree in the years I knew them but had a little bottle brush tree on the tabletop with a little tiny reindeer plastic ornament (I still have that ornament). They made fudge, fruitcake (soaked in rum or was it brandy?)- a much simpler Christmas but with a lot of joy. When they came to our house for Christmas it was always much more fun.

Where is that CD?

Good morning Unike and everyone else who shows up later:

The sun is out here this morning but it's only 46 brrrr. Our furnace comes on for awhile in the morning about the last two weeks, but then it's pretty good for the day. Our family room (where the computer is) was converted from a garage before we bought it and the heat isn't ducted out here. We've had a couple of electric wall units but now use an electric space heater and it is on this morning.

Today I need to take some photos my cousin loaned me down to be copied. Since the furnace has been serviced I can move a couple of plastic containers back to store in that space so when DS#2 comes down this weekend he can find his bed.

Unike: Hope all goes well with the doctor visit. Your a mom - I'm sure you'll get a tooten thing done today

It's afternoon here now.

I can just about smell the vegetable soup from Unikemom's house. Will you have leftovers? I like making things where there's a bit for at least a lunch another day. It's nice of you to make something your aunt can eat with her dental problems. Too bad we don't have a graemlin of a pot cooking away on the stove.

Snowmom: It's great you make a special time for the little guy while the older one goes to Scouts. I remember well (so many years ago) how it felt that my sister got to do so many wonderful things just because she got to be the age to do them first. Nowadays she just gets to be older first

Westie, They don't know what thongs are!

I love both Thanksgiving and Christmas and start looking forward to them as soon as the leaves start to turn on the trees.

Starting in September I decorate for autumn and this carries into Thanksgiving. I put out a welcome sign that says Autumn Welcome and Debbie Mumm mailbox cover with a barn, lots of pumpkins, scarecrow, etc. Then I have two garden flags - one with a squirrel and autumn colors and the other that is on the path that leads to my front door is a country lady in her kitchen with pumpkins, apples, etc. all over the table and in her apron. I've had lots of years to collect some of this stuff for fun and they are easy to store (easier than Christmas).

Thanksgiving has always been about family. I don't know what to expect this year because my son and his wife will probably be moved and it remains to be seen if they will be able to make the trip. I know our youngest son will come. My sister is moving six hours away and has invited Mom for Thanksgiving. Mom is 92 and finds traveling uncomfortable and likes to be in her own apartment so we'll see what happens. I may have a plan B this year where we may go to Portland and have dinner in a restaurant if Mom doesn't make that trip. Our youngest son can still come down for the weekend. Oh, rats! I just remembered we can't do that - my husband is on call that week. Since I've lived this far away from my family for quite a few years I am the cook/hostess. I usually serve what my Mom served: turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes & gravy, sweet potatoes in orange sauce or the ones with the marshmallows on top, green bean thing with mushroom soup, pickles, olives, celery and carrots, pumpkin pie. During this holiday I like to think of the things I am thankful for - most definitely my family, a good job for DH, a big one this year is that I was able to quit that horrible job, the many things the Lord has seen us through over the years and this year.

The day after Thanksgiving is the day I start to decorate for Christmas. Living in Oregon, my family always had a fresh tree and we did, too, until about four years ago when we got a fake. I miss the fresh tree smell. I don't miss crawling under one to water it or the falling needles. We have collected ornaments over the years and I can remember some from when my kids were little tots (my big, ol' sons like to help put them on the tree if they are here). DH puts lights along the front of the house and we enjoy lighting those. Our gift exchange is just with Mom and our kids and I enjoy buying/finding/making things I hope will delight my family. I love listening to Christmas carols and I've already hauled my CDs/tapes out and played them a couple of times. Christmas is an awesome time for us where we take time to ponder God's gift to us and the wonder of it all. We have a little lighted village we put on top of the entertainment center with cotton batting for snow and styrofoam under it (and sometimes tuna cans) for hills. We've never had a set Christmas Eve/Christmas dinner. I think Swedish Meatballs, mashed potatoes and gravy, peas, fruit salad and Christmas cookies would be a favorite of my family. Again - I don't know who will be here this year. Makes me feel a little sad. I love family being gathered and remembering holidays from the past. We all remember the time Grandpa played Santa Claus at a family get together with the cousins and our oldest son said "Grandpa, is that you?" Christmases were, for some reason, painful for my Dad and he usually drank too much. Despite that I remember how much he loved us and how hard Mom worked to pull together a nice dinner usually with her crabby, mean sister-in-law present. Doesn't every family have one of those?

It's fun hearing what everyone does and it sounds like it's a pleasant time for most of us.

Good morning everyone Sounds like those little ones are settling in. Take care of yourself, too.

Buttercup: I remembered as I read your post I have to renew our registration on one of the cars this month. I think bow hunting has already started here. Guns start in October some time. You know when you hear the gun fire and don't see the deer or elk. My son was hearing gunfire in the woods behind his apartments and tried to call the police and they laughed at him. Some of the gunfire was automatic but we live in a good, ol' boy county(imho).

Have a great Monday everyone.

Hill: This looks so good and easy. What smells better than something with cinnamon baking?

Good morning everyone .

Have a great Saturday everyone.

Hill: Adding my hugs

I'm here late this afternoon.

I've been going to the pool with a friend on Monday and Friday and leave the house early to do that. We get in on half of an aerobics session taking place and then do another one for the hour after that. Then a short time in the hot tub. I've been using hand weights in the pool and can really feel it across my shoulders.

We started out very foggy this morning which burned off to a glorious day.

This afternoon I went down to a fall open house at a country type store - really just decorative although there are cookbooks, cute dish towels, etc.

Unikemom: I have fond memories of school programs from long ago.

Becca: What nice days for you, too, with the kids in school.

Snowmom: Good thing you saved those bunkbeds. We got our kids some when they were about 4 and 8. When it was together and made up we all got up on the top bunk and got the giggles because it was so fun being up there. Sounds like busy times for you, too.

The cousin I haven't met yet will be here tomorrow afternoon. I'm really looking forward to it.

What a beautiful time to share with your grandson. It sounds like one of those times you will remember forever.

I plan to do some work in the garden this afternoon.

Yesterday was tired Monday for me - I left the house before 8 with only one cup of coffee in me which means not awake yet to go to a water aerobics class with a friend. We're going again Friday and I like it except the early part. Made the mistake of getting in the hot tub and felt all wrung out like a rag doll all day. A friend told me a couple of years ago the way to do that is after the hot tub (if you want to accomplish anything all day) is to dip in the cool pool before you shower. Anyone else have that happen?

Last night I had a surprise call from a cousin I've heard of but have never met who is going to come visit me on Saturday. She has geneology information and I am interested in hearing what she has to tell me. Mad dash house cleaning before then.

Dinner here tonight will be apple chicken skillet with brown rice and kale.

Heading out for number three.

Sad: Down In The Valley - I think it's the tune that makes it so sad.

Silly: Hokey Pokey