a thriftin' i will go!!!

in about 45 minutes, i'm off to st. catherine's thrift shop ~ one i've never been to before. i'm in search of christmas decorations! (and anything else that comes to mind when i see it!) outdoor and some indorr christmas dec's!

thrift shopping for christmas dec's?! you say? in 2004 and 2005, when i was trying to rebuild my christmas decoration collection (that my ex stole/threw out after i kicked him to the curb), the thrift shops helped me tremndously and for little cost! (love that!)

and you can find some really nice stuff, well worth the few dollars they charge for it! i'm not just talked christmas dec's here either! all over the house there are picture frames, candle holders, pictures and paintings, our spring through thanksgiving dishware set (8 full place settings ~ mikasa ~ for $5!!!), many mugs & glasses, pillows, throws, books, purses and jackets, not to mention other holidays besides christmas decorations, all from thrift shops! i even got my first computer (monitor, keyboard, mouse, hard drive) and printer from a thrift shop ~ all for $20!!!

when i was A LOT thinner, i used to buy a lot of clothes from thrift shops too, but, now that i'm not so skinny, the selection is pretty nill! anyway, if it's a piece of crap, don't buy it just because it's cheap! if it's nice & in good condition & you love it, go for it!

did you know? / tips of the day!

to keep onions from being so potent that you tear up to the point you can't see while chopping, keep onions in the fridge! it cuts down on their potency and keeps them fresh longer!

also, washing your hands immediately after chopping & handling onions does NOT get rid of their scent completely, especially on your finger tips! so, before washing, rinse your finger tips with white vinegar! then wash your hands as usual and the onion scent (as well as the white vinegar scent!) will be gone!

after turkey day recipe of the day!

time for turkey soup!

i planned ahead a bit when i saved 2 small soupd sized tupper wares of turkey broth & drippings on thanksgiving. i put them in the fridge and today, i skimmed the fat off that had risen and turned somehwhat solid on the tops and threw that out. (too much fat from chicken or turkey in home made soup can upset the stomach!)

then i dumped the somewhat solid broth & drippings into a large pot on med/high heat, followed by 4 cups of water and a zip lock bag of turkey cuttings w/some bones from thanksgiving day. i opened and used a 1/2 bag of green giant frozen mixed veggies ~ which has way too much corn in it, so i dumped it out onto a paper plate and tried to seperate more of the peas, carrots and green beans from the corn before throwing the veggies into the pot as well. (i discarded the extra corn). then i drained and rinsed a can of del monte fresh cut diced potato's, threw them in and stirred.

i'll let theat heat for a while before cutting up 2 onions and adding them to the pot. i'll let it all boil for about 20 minutes and then turn the heat down to low and let it simmer until dinner time (about 5:30p). about 10 minutes before serving i may add a quarter of a bag of egg noodles ~ either way is good! around the same time i'll warm some rolls to go along with the soup!

and there ya have it! turkey pot pies are coming up this weekend!

i broke away from the computer for a few minutes to see this from my bedroom window!

in other news... !!!

i started re-reading "the artists way" by julia cameron this past friday evening after having lunch that afternoon w/1 of my longtime best friends, "spirited singleton" where we discussed our very similiar writing struggles.

i don't know what made me search for the book after my husband had fallen asleep ~ i was wide awake and a bit bored! there wasn't much on tv and even if there was, i couldn't turn the sound up very loud since vic was asleep next to me and i couldn't watch tv in the living room since my sister-in-law was out there sleeping on the pull out or watching the game show network before going to sleep!

i remember noting in a sketch book @ 10:42pm that i had "that feeling" again ~ like i'm on the verge of something really good, even big ~ feeling inspired or creative or something".

then i started reading and i noted the following also: "ya know what i hate?! intro's to books! everyone i read makes me think the same thing: they should be at the end of the book! the same goes for acknowledgements!"

anyway, i've had "the artists way" since about 1995. i remember hearing about it during a college class i took entitled something like 'writing from the women's perspective' ~ one of the best classes i ever took! i fiddled with it sometime after the class but, i know i was trying to read it (again) in march of 1998 shortly after the breakup of a 3 year (bed) relationship. at that time, i was watching the travel channel in the living room, lying on my love seat sleeper sofa, seeing images of taos new mexico and writing down all of the info #'s given inside the front cover apparently in denial and planning a trip that my ex & i could go on.

pretty pathetic huh?! and it's not that i was devastated over actually not being with him anymore! it was a very physically & emotionally abusive and draining relationship. but, i didn't know how NOT to be a part of 'gardeningjo and dope-along' (a more polite nick name than he actually deserves). i didn't want to lose the home i had put my heart & soul into and loved so much in an area i loved so much. and then there was the fact that the person he cheated on me with was not just one of my friends but also one of our co-workers. the hurt & humiliation was something else! (how she walked around work so smug like she'd won a prize ~ made him quit our company to work for another where one of her friends suddenly transferred to shortly after... he'd beat her like he did me, treated her like crap like he did me, cheated on her with one of her friends like he did me... who was smug once that news got out?!)

ANYWAY... i never followed through with anything in the book in 1998. (can ya blame me?!) but, reading it (AGAIN) now, i've decided to take it on in full this time!

and i've told 'spirited singleton' about the book as well because many of the points that struck me were things we discussed at lunch this past friday! for example: not writing anything down on the page because you keep writing it in your head 1st until it sounds good to you ~ anything you write you're already re-writing before you get anywhere with it ~ re-reading things you've written and thinking it's just crap ~ wanting everything to come out perfect and be perfect right from the start ~ comparing what you write to already published authors and losing all confidence in any ability that you thought you had...

i digress!!!

so, i'll do the book, in 12 wks (or perhaps less) and finish the 1st part of my horticulture course this week (so i can move onto the landscape desgin modules) and begin my interior design couse as well. i'm going to come up with a schedule of sorts to help me budget my time so that i can work on all 3 along with writing and reading and exercising, regardless of what else i do throughout the day & at what time i do it. part of my problem is that i lack discipline and focus. i have been given the gift of time and i need to begin to use it more wisely.

now if i could just get off this damn computer!

given all the decorations up around the neighborhood, i'm actually behind in the game! yesterday, i put up the lighted stuff in the front windows and some of the winter stuff (mainly snowmen & snow flakes) around the living room.

but, i'm just not feeling it yet! usually, by this time i am & i'm itching to get all decorated for christmas ~ this year, not so much!

maybe it's the weather! it's 61 degrees today!!!

happy day after turkey day!!!

i'm exhausted, stuffed & content! and no, i did not partake in 'black friday' shopping! i was asleep until 10am & not out of bed until 10:15am!

i got together w/1 of my long time best friends, 'spirited-singleton' (see my links section for her blog!) for lunch and for tea here afterwards ~ it was sooooooooo good seeing her! (i've known her about 17 years though we've actually been friends & i've considered her one of my best for about 14 even w/losing tough for a time in that 14 years!)

but, i digress for now and until tomorrow!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!

turkey's been in the oven since 9am ~ the macy's parade is on in the living room and bedroom ~ dishwasher should be done by now ~ hubby's in the shower ~ all that's left to cook are the veggies, mashed taters and stuffing! there's still a bit of straitening up and vacuuming to do, but, i'm not worried about going crazy w/it!

it's been grey & cloudy & raining since last night, but it's so cozy & warm in here, not to mention the whole place smells delicious! we're staying home, people are coming here! it's great!

day before turkey day!!! ~ part 3

well, the sweet potato's and turnips (cut by my husband because my hands are so bad i cannot manage to do so!) were boiled & mashed, both in their casarole dishes in the fridge ~ the rest of the laundry was dried ~ dinner was cooked & eaten and a mysterious lump has appeared on my right hand (looks classy w/my bandaged & burned ring finger! at least my ankle's stopped throbbing - i took garbage out earlier and the wind caught the fence gate and slammed it into the back of my right ankle & cut it open)...

in between all the cooking, baking & running to and from the basement to wash and dry the laundry, i managed to finish a book called 'the sugar camp quilt' by jennifer chaiverini (very good read - highly recommended!) so i can give that back to my aunt tomorrow along with 'the quilter's apprentice' (by the same author) ~ my aunt loaned me nearly a dozen books, including 5 of the 'elm creek quilts' novels by jennifer chaiverini and i know she's read them all yet they look as new and un-cracked open as the day she bought them! (all of her books have always looked like this!)

it makes me soooo nervous to read them - most of their spines aren't even creased! so i'm trying to read them as carefully as i can so i can return them the way she's loaned them to me, but, it's not easy! i like to make notes in books i read, including the day i started & finished the book and i like to flatten a book out to make reading it more comfortable for my hands.

i like the 'elm creek quilts' series so much i've purchased the 'elm creek quilts sampler' on ebay, which is the 1st 3 novels (once it arrives, i can return what my aunt has loaned me w/out reading her copies!) and 'an elm creek quilts album' which contains 3 more in the series. the book i finished today is not necessarily a series book, more of a prequal i suppose and i will purchase that at some point and re-read it as well.

anyway! i should really get to bed & try to sleep! i've got to be up well before the macy's parade begins to get that turkey in the oven! again, how time flies!

day before turkey day!!! ~ part 2

5 loads of laundry are washed, 1 dried, 1 drying, 2 pumpkin pies are now in the oven and 1 burned ring finger!

now it's on to the sweet potato's!!!

day before turkey day!!!

well, out of all i mentioned yesterday that i've got to do today, i've loaded the dishwasher & it's running! (actually, i don't think i mentioned that one!) and it's 11:23am!!!

my sleep pattern changes every few months and i don't get into my 'deep sleep' until sometime around 4 or 5am. it makes getting up early or getting motivated to do anything when i am up really, really difficult!

i've got to do laundry for myself, my husband and my sister-in-law (who, as i've mentioned, has been staying with us since 11/17 and is going home this coming sunday). i hate doing laundry to begin with! i'll start off with hers ~ she's already got hers ready & in the laundry bag!!!

and then i'll start baking the pies!

i can't believe the holidays are upon us!!!

2 days before turkey day!

2 days before thanksgiving... wow how time flies! my husband's been resident manager here for just over a year now (as of 11/15). we've lived here nearly a year now (as of 12/15) and the basement's still unorganized and the only room painted (and not finished!) is the kitchen!

my sister-in-law and her husband were over last night from north carolina ~ it was so good to see them, especially my sister-in-law. my husband & i have missed her since they went out there last year after the holidays. so, along w/us and my other sister-in-law who's been here since 11/17, we ate baked lasagna & laughed like old times.

well, the grocery shopping's all done and the turkey's on it's way. (the management company who owns this porperty gives all of it's resident managers a 25lb turkey each year for thanksgiving in addition to a generous christmas bonus!) i'm relaxing for the rest of today. tomorrow i'll bake the pies & make the sweet potato's and turnips and start the cleaning and do some laundry.

on thursday, my husband & i are having my sister-in-law and my mother over for dinner along with my aunt and 2 cousins for desert.

friday afternoon, i'm getting together with one of my best, longtime friends ~ 'spirited singleton,' as a matter of fact! (see my links section for her blog!)

on saturday, my husband & i are going to a wedding for one fo his friends. i just got the dress yesterday and i'm not going to let him see me in it until we're ready to leave! (i'm not big on dresses, even more so since i've gained so much weight, but, i love this dress!)

by sunday it'll be time to make my 'famous' turkey pot pies w/the leftovers!

i've finished knitting my first scarf!!!

(the pics don't do the colors in it justice!)

i finished it last night!

it's made from 1 and a quarter skeins of lion brand yarn "homespun," 318/sierra (color), lot # 99318115, in garter stitch (knit all) and size 19/15mm scarf needles.

it's sooooo soft! (i love the homespun yarn by lion brand!)

today it was a typical fall november day: cloudy & down right chilly! this scarf is warm & doesn't make me itch (i'm allergic to a lot!)! i've already gotten a compliment on it! i'm a bit proud of myself!

Veteran's Day

please go to my "links" section and click on "fellow blogger barbara." click where it says "click here to watch." it's a very touching song and video in honor of today.

my other blog: any small town usa

i just created this today ~ you can click on it in my links section ~ and it's as a result of a conversation i had yesterday afternoon with a local business owner. i decided i didn't want to overwhelm this blog (just diggin around) with the thoughts i had/have on issues for small town's and since there may be a small group forming soon, i thought it would be best to keep it seperate from here!

i can tell you one thing, if you think regular blogger is a pain, try setting up a new blog with blogger beta! i'm not too thrilled i can't set up the new blog with the old blogger!

yikes! woke up w/a migrane around 4:45am & it didn't even start going away until around 11am! this was the worst i've had in about 2 years! my face, head and down into the back of my neck hurt & burned so bad i seriously wanted to smash my head into the wall.

i was so desperate, i took my last half of a 50 mg vioxx (the only thing to ever get rid of my migranes & arthritis pain ~ people w/heart disease who abused it deserve(d) what they get (got) ~ why the hell should i suffer as a result?! it belongs back on the market!), but, it was so bad by then, it didn't do much good.

i couldn't lie down because that made the pain worse, so i had to sit up in bed, w/my head slightly back against the pillow & try to distract myself to fall asleep and i only dozed at that. i didn't get out of bed until after 1pm today!

i think it's gone. i'm never really sure for the first few hours afterwards. i'm weak & a bit feverish, but way better than this morning.

and that's on top of starting to have kidney pain monday afternoon ~ kidney stones again! (been down this road enough to know w/out a dr telling me!) so i've been drinking more than my fair share of water which has kept me up for 2 nights w/constantly having to go to the bathroom!

it's been raining here since last night. warm though so that's good. a bit humid too. what's left of the fall leaves, which isn't much, stands out against the grey of the day. i know i've said this before, but, i love grey days like this! (i wouldn've loved it more today had i not had that damn migrane since there was a lot i wanted to do around the house today!!!)

a chunkin' we did go!!!

just a few pics from this past weekend! it was such a blast! definately an annual thing from this year on!


sunset on our 2nd day, sat., 11/4/06. (had to take pics of the machines against the sunset because my camera batteries were nearly dead ~ the camcorder had already died at this point!)


the cabin we stayed in @ hollylake campsites, de., 11/4/06.


nearing the end of day 1, fri., 11/3/06.


mid day, day 1, fri., 11/3/06.

a chunkin' we will go!!!

it's a rainy, chilly morning here in this part of nj. the fading yellow & orange leaves stand out againt the grey clouds. my husband's long off to work already & most of the cats are fast asleep, curled up & snuggled into their "beds."

soon the rain will clear & my husband will be home & off we'll go to millsboro de for punkin' chunkin' (beginning tomorrow morning @ 8am!) ~ check out my links section for more info!

it's going to be a fun & beautiful autumn weekend! see ya'll next week!

All Soul's Day

these leaves are just gorgeous! from the corner of the property 11/1/06


trees in the courtyard ~ yellow & orange are popping out all over the surrounding areas! 11/1/06

finally the hills around us are alive with autumn color! last year, when we were first looking around this area (before we moved), all the trees and bushes were ablaze with shades of yellow, red & orange the weekend before halloween! looks like this year things will be in full swing by the weekend after!

i can't believe halloween's over already, it's the 1st of november and thanksgiving is 3 weeks from tomorrow!!!

(trying to upload pics here today is really frustrating!!!)