Christmas decor, one last time

   This is NOT my dining room—it’s my neighbor Jan’s.  Each year she does something a little different.  I’m so happy she has shared her ideas with us—she even decorates the chairs. She is a fabulous decorator—even does store windows and others’ homes.

I’ll finish the season today with Sunday brunch for our church group.  There are 9 of us which is a bit of a squeeze in our small dining room, so I’m using 2 sets of Christmas plates and a blue checked table cloth with blue and white plates I’ve had over 20 years. Our menu: turkey tetrazzini, fresh fruit cups, hot rolls, and perhaps mimosas made with Italian sparkling wine Prosecco (which we received as a gift) if I can figure it out.  Then for dessert, some candies and cookies received as Christmas gifts I’d like to have finished early in the year so I don’t get the munchies while blogging.

Today is Epiphany, we celebrate the gospel being given to the gentiles.

And my Christmas dress. If you are an elderly snowflake, close your eyes.

My summer of 1958, part 3

What does an 18 year old do all day while living on a farm with her grandparents who aren’t thrilled to have her “help?” See Part 1 and Part 2 for the story about why I was there and what the farm was like.

The diary I kept that summer reveals a lot of cooking and cleaning, certainly more than I do now. Also some gardening—surprise—didn’t remember that at all!  Although I thought they were rather set in their ways and not too friendly then, 60 years later rereading the diary, I’m amazed and admiring at their flexibility and good humor at my housekeeping abilities.

June 1: “The food situation was bad.  Bacon and cold baloney are the only meats in the house. For some reason there are about 2 doz. lemons.  I fixed an orange and banana fruit dish and mixed some peas and potatoes for something hot—and also a meat sandwich.” Note:  when I was a child I thought eating baloney sandwiches at grandma's house was a wonderful treat since my mother never made them.

June 2: “We had scrambled eggs for breakfast, chicken a la king, biscuits, pineapple-cottage cheese salad and tapioca for dinner (noon) and “left-over loaf” and a mixture of green vegetables and fruit salad and tapioca-applesauce.”

June 3: “I mixed up some apricot-buttermilk  bread and put that in the oven at 7:30 a.m. I fixed grandpa and me soft boiled eggs and we all had mixed fruit.  They seem to enjoy fresh fruit in most any type of combination. . . For dinner I fixed hot dogs with bacon, corn and fruit with the fresh bread. . . I bought $10.84 worth of groceries—12 boxes of Jello and 2 puddings to make sure we wouldn’t run out for awhile.  For supper I fixed liver, boiled potatoes, orange-carrot-banana Jello salad and bread.” (My parents showed up around 8 p.m., I made coffee and Dad and I talked in the kitchen) “ and he sure liked that bread I made.”

June 4: I fixed pancakes for breakfast; they might have tasted better if the skillet were  not so rusty. I fixed minute steaks, beans, orange Jello salad and bread pudding for dinner (noon). . . for supper we had soup.

June 5: “The oatmeal I made for breakfast tasted like paste. . . macaroni and cheese for dinner—not much better than the oatmeal. . . soup for supper.

June 7: “I dusted some before breakfast—we had cereal, eggs and juice. . .[ate lunch in Dixon]  For supper I fixed liver, mashed potatoes, tossed salad, relish plate, and strawberry shortcake.  I used the good dishes and really had fun, but what a clean-up job..  After dishes were over I tried to make a strawberry cream pie, but it didn’t work!”

June 9: A reversal of meals--onion soup and baloney sandwiches for dinner and meat loaf, cabbage slaw and melon for supper.

June 10: Oatmeal for breakfast; hamburgers, corn creole and pear salad for dinner; fruit plate for supper with custard.

June 11: Ham, asparagus, cabbage salad and custard.  Soup, sandwiches and Jello for supper.

June 12:  Grandpa's birthday.  I baked a date cake for him, "a major project." Lima bean casserole. Took some cake to the neighbors in the evening.

June 13: Made out a menu and schedule for next week. Chicken pot pie for dinner; meat plate, potatoes & peas and tomatoes and banana bread for supper.

June 16: Hamburgers, mashed potatoes & gravy, tossed salad and blackberry pie for dinner.

June 20: Baked a coffee cake which didn't turn out, so I put it in Jello. Creamed ham and rice for dinner; hotdogs, corn and Jello for supper.  Decided to quit, but had a long talk with Grandma and we worked things out.

June 24: Baked a raisin pie; baked chicken for supper and salmon for dinner (noon) trying to use up food due to refrigerator repair.

June 26: I baked all morning (complained to diary they weren't appreciative). Home made rolls, strawberry parfait, deviled eggs, asparagus and tuna cakes.  Baked pinwheel cookies, ate 10, and sent the rest to my boyfriend in Minnesota. Supper was creamed dried beef and peas on hot rolls.

June 27: Baked rolls for breakfast and made cocoa. Macaroni and cheese for dinner, corn bread and creamed chicken for supper. 

June 30: Cleaned out the kitchen cupboards; washed plastic bags. Pork chops, baked potatoes, corn and apricot tarts for dinner

July 2: Hamburgers, tossed salad, fruit for dinner and potato salad, tomato slices, beets and rhubarb parfait for supper.

July 3: Cess pool backed up into the basement. Liver, asparagus, corn and fruit for dinner.

July 4: Baked a cherry pie, meat loaf, baked beans, fresh rolls.  Salad and soup for supper.

July 11: Fried chicken, lima beans, dressing, cranberry sauce, and crumb cake. Made Henny Penny muffins (uses left over chicken in batter) for supper, then baked a peach-butterscotch pie for the neighbors' anniversary.

I didn’t note in my diary if these menus were my choice or theirs, but reading them over in the following weeks I see a lot of hot dogs, liver and asparagus—which it seems I would go out and cut stalks along the lane. And they were a generation that loved Jello—one of the first convenience foods of the 20th century. Rereading the meals, it seems like a lot of food and they were probably not used to that.

The cleaning I mention makes me wonder how they felt about that—true, they couldn’t do a lot, and dust would blow in from the fields, but if someone came in my house and immediately started dusting everything would I be pleased or insulted?

June 3: “I took down the curtains in my room, washed them and the windows, dusted the halls and stairsteps and ran the sweeper.  Every time I pumped a pail of water I felt guilty—but it does my muscles good even if the water supply is low.” There wasn’t a washing machine so I assume I hand washed the curtains.  I always wrote about washing dishes right after a meal and what time I finished, because I think Mother warned me not to leave any dirty dishes around (not sure it was bugs, mice, or Grandma’s preference).

June 4: “I cleaned out the bread cupboard before breakfast and then had my coffee while I listened to the radio.  **This “revolution” in France seems a long way off from the tranquility of the farm.” . . . in the shed “I found the clippers and decided to try my hand at sharpening them on the old wheel.  I’m not much of a bush clipper, but I attacked the job with unusual pep and concern.  Well, at least we can see the bird bath now from the dining room. . . After dishes I ran the dust mop around and swept a few rugs with the broom.” It seems Grandma wouldn’t let me run the vacuum cleaner which was the whole house kind with tubes built into the walls. I mentioned it several times in the diary, with no explanation why.

June 5:  “I spent most of the morning sewing up the hem in Grandma’s navy blue slip and mending a pillow.   . . In the afternoon we all went to Ashton to look at some cattle Dale wanted to buy, and they finally decided on 89 head. . . After cleaning up the supper dishes I cut a fresh bouquet.”

June 6: I put on an old shirt “and a pair of peddle pushers and went out to the garden for lovely 2 hours of sweat and dirt.  I took my good old time about spading the garden—mixed it with a little tool shed browsing and knife sharpening. . . When I finished my “garden” looked like a fresh grave, but I was happy.”

June 9: “After supper I planted tomatoes and wrote letters."

June 10: "started in on the filthy stove.  The mouse dirt was really thick and there were old nests behind the stove.  I put clean paper in the drawers and put the pans and stuff in them."

June 11: Scrubbed the bathroom floors. Dusted 4 rooms, mopped the kitchen floor and washed the two porch doors. Scraped the paint off the dog door stop.

June 17: Cleaned the silverware and dusted my room and the two west bedrooms. I wrote that I was an intrusion on their privacy and they never said thank you.

June 19: Walked to town after supper, but the lane was like quicksand so it took longer.  On the way back I spoke Spanish and sang hymns. (This sounds sort of pious, but I think it was boredom.) I had also walked in on the 18th after supper to the Ives Drug store, and because it was getting dark by 9 I cut through a freshly cultivated bean field and snagged my dress on barbed wire, was wearing sandals, so was a mess when I got back, but "saved 10 minutes."

June 20: Cleaned dining and living rooms, swept the pantry, clipped the grass on the west fence--was still pumping water.

June 27: Cleaned the dining room and 2 living rooms and mopped the porch; caught a ride with a neighbor to Ashton to shop for groceries. 

**I have no recollection of a revolution in France in the summer of 1958, so I had to look that one up.  And sure enough, there was one due to the Algerian War of Independence (1954–62) which led to collapse of the Fourth Republic and its replacement by the Fifth Republic led by Charles de Gaulle who returned to power after a twelve-year absence (Wikipedia). So there I was sipping coffee and clipping bushes in Illinois and not paying attention while deGaulle was forming a new cabinet in France.  Without TV and the Internet we just had no idea. . . 

Neighborhood block party, August 3

In August the home owners on our Lakeside street will get together for a pitch in dinner and games, and this year it was our turn.  We had everything set up (top 2 photos), and then it started to rain about 4:30, so we moved a few things inside.  By 5 the rain had stopped, but it was pretty hot, and many chose to stay in the air conditioning.  We had 20 people in our little house/yard/deck counting us (one neighbor brought their friends from Indianapolis who were visiting), and I served sweet/sour (meatball recipe) sloppy joes on buns, and the guests brought fruit plate, vegetable plate, chips, cookies and brownies—all finger food so we’d have minimal clean up. We broke up about 7:15 so everyone had time to get to Hoover to see Point of Grace, a trio of Christian women who had replaced the original program, Sandi Patty. https://www.thoughtco.com/point-of-grace-biography-709697

An entitlement repealed

A government entitlement repealed. Wow. Small businesses can grow again. Maybe there will be health insurance with deductibles people can afford, and there will be counties with at least one provider.  I didn't know I'd have anything to celebrate, but for dinner we're having beef roast, baked potatoes, fresh salad, strawberries, and chocolate pie.

Christmas 2016 recap

We served communion at UALC Lytham 10:30 service--really a good crowd--great sermon by Jeff Morlock and then home to prepare dinner. While things bubbled and cooked, the family was enjoying "A Christmas Story" in the living room.  They've all seen it so many times, they were speaking the lines. I put out some snacks in the kitchen, like the Harry and David box Rick and Kate sent of cookies, popcorn and candy, some crackers and cream cheese, plus a new cereal I found--Rice Chex with dark chocolate mixed in which makes a nice snack.

 It was probably the largest ham I've ever fixed. Phil donated it. I did find the right glaze recipe by checking my blog when I couldn't find one.  Just real maple syrup with about a generous teaspoon of mustard.  I basted it about 3 times, but it was so large, Phoebe had to help, and Mark had to lift it out of the oven.  The the rest of dinner was potato salad, tossed salad, vegetable casserole, green beans, sugar free apple pie, home made pickles from my Mom's recipe, olives, garlic bread, corn muffins, and wine using my gingerbread boy plates.  I won't do that vegetable casserole again--although everyone tried it, there was a lot left over and no one offered to take any home.  We have so much ham left over, it will take months to use it up--even after sending half of it plus the bone home with Phoebe (we're hoping for some of her delicious bean soup for cold January nights).

We received so many nice gifts.  Big surprise for me was a necklace I wasn't expecting.  We got gift cards to our favorite Friday night date spot Rusty Bucket, my favorite brand of Merle Norman foundation and a lovely Coach leather clutch bag which can be used with a strap. I don't like big, bulky bags, but this is just the perfect size.  I got a lovely, cozy robe, and subscription to my favorite magazine and a book from my TBR list;  Bob got a huge umbrella since he claims he gets wet under these lady types and his box of goodies for watching bowl games. He got two books, one as a trial for a new mystery series, plus Megan Kelly's new bio and YakTraxs for walking in the winter plus a knit facial ski mask.  The Levi's I got him fit well, he's already using the new billfold, but the hat has to go back to Kohl's.  We both got underwear, but we deserved it.

Merry Christmas 2016, same hair style I had in 1946

Today is November 1 and it's 80 degrees

We'll be eating on the deck this evening. Baked chicken, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli, and chocolate pie.  I was looking through some October 2009 blogs and found a photo of our almost completed sidewalk improvements that apparently our wealthy suburb got from the ARRA, Obama's stimulus to get the economy going again.  Of course, the recession was over in June 2009, and has been the slowest recovery ever, other than the Great Depression, which FDR managed to drag out for almost a decade through government interference in the economy.  Since my husband's surgery, we've been doing a lot of walking.  I don't like to do the hill shown in this photo, so I walk south to the church parking lot and circle around, and he continues to the north to the next corner.

http://collectingmythoughts.blogspot.com/2009/10/thanks-america.html

A special Thanksgiving menu from November 22, 2007

               

Today is my wonderful daughter’s birthday—she has been such a blessing.  I can get teary remembering the first time I laid eyes on her—and her face really hasn’t changed that much, but she did grow into her long eye lashes.  Last night I came across this “Thursday Thirteen” which listed the 13 items she’d prepared for our Thanksgiving dinner in 2007, so I decided it was worth a delicious rerun.

“It's all about being thankful--for family, friends, country and milestones passed. So yesterday after church we drove along the river and past some woods to my daughter's home for her 40th birthday and our Thanksgiving celebration. I asked several times and offered to bring something, but she wanted to do it all, and she really did. All I did was dry the dishes after dinner.

Here's the fabulous meal that awaited us--and we're going back today for leftovers! Everything was sugar-free, and most dishes were low-fat until we got to dessert. She used her lovely Lenox wedding china and crystal and seasonal decorations.

1. A 24 lb turkey roasted to perfection--I've never seen a prettier golden brown.

2. A spiral sliced honey baked ham.

3. Cubed and roasted butternut squash, the best I've ever tasted.

4. Fresh, buttered beets.

5. Homemade, chunky applesauce.

6. Wild rice and mushroom stuffing (I think I saw one of her Martha cookbooks on the counter).

7. Sausage/corn stuffing (with a side portion without corn for my husband who hates corn)

8. cranberry relish, home made

9. Veggie platters of 4 colors of bell peppers, grape tomatoes, pickles, celery

10. hot clover leaf rolls

11. Mashed potatoes and gravy

12. red wine (2 choices), coffee

13. 2 deep dish homemade pies (apple and cherry) and one pumpkin pie, with crusts so tender and flakey she's getting very close to my mother's standard, served either with Cool Whip or vanilla ice cream.”

We’ll be going to her house this coming Thursday; I can’t wait to see what special things she’s prepared for her family.

Dinner was delicious

We had baked salmon with shallots (a type of small onion) and herbs (parsley and dill in lemon butter) and baked potatoes with a salad plate of fresh fruit, toasted pecans and mixed greens of kale, Swiss chard and baby spinach with onions and olives. We are celebrating the end of our colds—and Palm Sunday, of course.

Rana mushroom ravioli

This is not a paid product placement, just wanted to mention a product I tried and liked. I've never made ravioli, and not sure I've even ordered it in a restaurant, but this was very good. All natural, stays fresh in the bag. Cooks in 3 minutes in boiling water. http://www.giovannirana.com/products/mushroom-ravioli/

Last night I served it plain, from the pot, and it was excellent.  Today I served it with some tomato based sauce.

There are a number of products—check product on the web site.

Thursday Thirteen Christmas season 2013

Christmas  these days seems to begin around Halloween when Christmas themed merchandise appears in the stores, although for some retailers it’s even earlier and you see craft and decorating items stocked in strategic places.  This year Thanksgiving was the latest it could be and so the festivities and shopping had one less week. Our holiday season was saddened by the death of brother in law John Sterling, whom we had visited in October in California. He died the Sunday before Thanksgiving.  For us, Christmas more or less began at Thanksgiving when we began to discuss how we would do the holidays.  Usually our daughter has Thanksgiving dinner, but her father-in-law who lives in  Cleveland and who has been ill, was unable to travel, so they needed to be free “just in case,” so we had dinner here, and decided that I would host the family on Christmas Eve, and then we’d all go to our daughter’s for Christmas Day. I fixed a huge turkey, and we’ve had leftovers off and on since.  So beginning with Thanksgiving, we all went to church together at the Lytham Road campus of Upper Arlington Lutheran Church at 10 a.m. where we had worshipped when the children were growing up (began attending in 1974 and joined on Palm Sunday 1976).  Pastor TJ Anderson, our new senior pastor, gave the sermon. At this service we bring sacks of groceries to be distributed by the Lutheran Food Pantry. Our location of UALC has a traditional style worship with hymns and organ; Mill Run has contemporary style worship with praise songs and communion.

1.  On Wednesday, December 4, we attended with our neighbors Tom and Joyce the annual Conestoga (friends of the Ohio Historical Society) Holiday Party at The Boat House at Confluence Park. It was a lovely venue with views of the river and the downtown skyline lit up for Christmas.  Conestoga has 203 individual members and we learn about Ohio history, travel around the state together visiting historical places, and have fund raisers.  All the money supports the Ohio Historical Society. Our current endowment is about $66,000.

2. Mid-week day time Advent services are held on Thursday at the Lytham Rd. location, and we served communion on December 5.  Wednesday evening services are held at our Mill Run Campus. Usually serve at all these Thursday services, but this year we had conflicts on the other two dates. These services are followed by lunch in the fellowship hall.  Generally, it’s an older crowd, and follows the Thursday morning Bible study.

3.  On December 7, the combined choirs of Lytham and Mill Run presented a wonderful Christmas Concert on Saturday evening, “Glory, Peace, Joy” with conductors Brian Carlton and Michael Martin, with an orchestra. Members of our pastoral staff gave the readings from Isaiah, Colossians, Luke, and Matthew. I sat with the other women of our SALT group—our husbands were at home watching the OSU-Michigan football game, and they missed a beautiful concert.

4. On Sunday December 8, we attended our own service (8:15) and the 9:30 Celebration Service at Lytham, so we could participate in the installation of Pastor Thomas J. Anderson. Pastor David Wendel, assistant to the NALC Bishop performed the installation, with Pastors Brodie Taphorn and Buff Delcamp participating. Pastor TJ follows Pastor Paul Ulring who ended his service with the church in September. Pastor TJ said, “My primary mission is to kick you out of the nest.”

5. We were thrilled to have our friends Martti and Riitta Tulamo of Helsinki, Finland with us December 11-13.  We did some touring of the OSU campus where Riitta was a student at the veterinary college in 1978-80.  We spent a lot of time together in those days, so our children remember them well, and we had a dinner here on Friday night before taking them to the Brens where they would enjoy a few days, then going to the Rigolli home in Worthington before returning to Finland. We attended Advent services on Thursday and then stayed for a very nice lunch of lasagna and salad.

6. On Saturday December 14 our church’s Mission ministry had a pot luck at the home of the Camerons to meet with our missionaries Dave and Pam Mann who teach in Haiti and are home during the month of December.  It was so good to see them, and hear about what is happening at the school and clinic.

7.  On Sunday December 15 members of Conestoga were invited to a buffet and program at the Ohio Historical Society.  We went with our neighbors the Rieslings. The theme for this fall/winter has been the 50s—and there is a Lustron on display, so it was decorated with the much more simple décor of the 1950, including an aluminum tree and plastic poinsettias.

8.. Party with Faith of our Fathers study group Monday Dec. 16 and my  first training session with the Pregnancy Decision Health Center on Wednesday Dec. 18 where I hope to continue volunteering.  This is a Christian ministry that saves lives—of babies, but also mothers who may be in great distress with a pregnancy

9. Party for condo association hosted by the Thompson and Rieslings on Sunday Dec. 22.  The Thompsons had their twin 18 month old granddaughters with them, which really enhanced the environment. Joan and Joyce put out a beautiful spread of of wonderful food, and I think I gained back all the weight (6 lbs) I’ve struggled to lose during the fall.

10. We had a get together after exercise class at instructor Christine’s home on Monday December 23, and will have a 2 week hiatus.

11. We hosted our family for Christmas Eve for dinner—ham, roasted squash, potato salad, mixed fruit, cookies. Then together we attended the  UALC  9 p.m. service.  On  Christmas Day, we opened gifts at home after a leisurely morning, then attended church at 10 a.m. where we served Communion, and then went to our daughter and son-in-law’s for a lovely Christmas dinner and more gifts. Such lovely thoughtful gifts, and my daughter spiffed up my wardrobe, something I always look forward to.

12.  Friends of ours are hosting events in their homes in the next week, on Saturday December 28  the Sloughs, and on Monday evening December 30, the Zimmers.

13.  We will attend the New Year’s Eve Jazz Concert and Worship with Communion at our Mill Run church on Tuesday December 31 beginning at 5:30 for music and 6:00 for worship.

Ready for Easter Dinner

Everything's ready--but first we'll go to the 11 a.m. traditional service at Upper Arlington Lutheran Church on Lytham Road in Upper Arlington. Usually, there are 9 services in 3 locations, but I think today there are 12. We've had some wonderful services this Lenten season and Holy Week, two particularly stick in my mind: Pastor Reuben Mellem's (retired Lutheran pastor) sermon on April 14, and Pastor David Mann's (our missionary in Haiti) on Good Friday evening. I'll probably write about them at my Church of the Acronym blog--it's unusual for me to remember a sermon 5 minutes out the door, but these were definitely keepers.

Here's the menu: Honey Baked Ham (couldn't lift it out of the frig to put it in the photo; potato salad, green salad (romaine, tomatoes, peas, olives, yellow peppers, cukes), asparagus, bakery sandwich buns, and mixed fruit. DeCaf coffee. For dessert, we're having fresh strawberries on sugar free ice cream, and sugar free lemon cake (yes, we have diabetics watching such things). Mustard, mayo, butter, etc. are on the sidelines ready to do battle.

Years ago I bought a pastel colored table cloth, but this seems to be the only time I use it. I didn't receive china for wedding gifts (hadn't picked a pattern), but during the first decade of our marriage, my mother bought most of this, Syracuse Countess. The center piece are items from my son-in-law's mother, who either collected or created the eggs.

My husband ushered at the 8:15 service. He said there were about 100 at the 7 a.m. service, and maybe 150 at the 8:15. The only people dressed up, he observed, were the children, although he did see one woman with a hat. My outfit is about 12 years old--my mix and match navy, light blue and beige--but I'm a hold out for skirts on Sunday. It's about the only time I wear one.

Eating from the pantry

That's the title of today's food blog at the Columbus Dispatch. Occasionally I have to do that, because I don't plan menus, and increasingly have become careless about planning my shopping (I was quite good about planning ahead when I was working). But if there's one diet and budget trick I've learned over the years, it's DO NOT buy in quantity. You need those fresh fruits and vegetables, and you can't expect them to last. Also, every overweight person I know keeps huge stores of food in the house, and always accumulates leftovers, which they use as an excuse to "clean up" (eat). I doubt that it saves much money if you really keep track of prices. The super jumbo size is not always the best buy per ounce or pound. Also, every grocery store has weekly "loss leaders," and even if you avoid coupons the way I do, you can always pick up a good deal with those.

However, on my grocery shopping day, which is usually Monday or Tuesday, I do tend to clean out the tired and poor that have taken up residence in the frig yearning to be free. Monday this week I made sweet potato soup--and I did make it a few weeks ago, but this one was better because I didn't toss in the slightly sharp fresh pineapple that wasn't very fresh anymore. Cooking tip: pineapple is too stringy to go through an old blender that's about 35 years old. So here's the recipe:

1 can (14 oz) of chicken broth
1 medium onion, cut in pieces
1 medium white potato, peeled and cut in pieces
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in pieces
1 small carrot, peeled and cut in pieces (this is just for color in case your sweet potatoes are pale)
Bring to boil, reduce heat. After the veggies are tender scoop them out and run through the blender.
Add about 1 cup of half and half, or can of evaporated milk, or regular milk.

Return to sauce pan and the remaining broth. Just a smidgen of cinnamon really brings out the flavor.

The white potato is for thickening, just as in broccoli soup, but I suppose you could use flour or corn starch.

This soup was very hearty and thick. My husband scraped every bit out of his bowl; served with a bowl of fresh fruit and sugar free brownie for dessert.

And that's another item. Pillsbury reduced-sugar brownie mix didn't sit long in the pantry. In fact, I made it on Monday. I would give it a B+. It's very hard to make low or sugar free favorites taste right (uses Splenda), but this was very close, and served with a little sugar-free vanilla ice cream, "it wasn't half bad," as my grandpa use to say.

What's for Christmas dinner

Most of the food is ready. I dashed into Giant Eagle this morning--ran out of butter and milk of all things. Don't like that store, but it was close. I thought I'd beat the crowd since it was still dark. For our Christmas Eve dinner we're having roast turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, colorful green beans (with red peppers and white mushrooms, onions and bacon), carrots with a dab of honey and herbs, and my daughter is bringing a sugar free cherry pie with real whipped cream. Yes, I know it's not terribly original, but the left-overs are good. Church service is at 9 p.m. at Lytham Road. Then tomorrow we're serving communion at 10 a.m., so I'm serving two kinds of soup--broccoli and chili (already made and ready to be warmed up) with assorted spreads on bread and crackers, a few sweet sour meatballs, and probably some homemade applesauce if I have enough apples. I think we'll skip a rich dessert since none of us really need it. Only one member of the family lost weight in 2009, and the rest of us are enlarging our footprint and our sitprint.

I've had a real problem with my chili. For years, I made it with Brooks chili beans which has a nice sauce and flavoring. That was a tip from my mother-in-law 50 years ago--she never used anything else and always made fabulous chili. After 3-4 stores and not finding it, I bought another brand. The beans were pale, the sauce tasteless, so I've added a can of dark red kidney beans, and now it looks like something a new bride would make with the neighbors pitching in.

Now all I have to do is shift a little clutter and vacuum. I woke up about 1:30 thinking of everything I needed to do, but most of it I've forgotten. Oh well. I never have been a list maker.

Happy Birthday Robert Burns

We're going to a Robert Burns birthday party tonight. He was born on January 25, 1759 and after his death on July 21, 1796, Burns admirers have been celebrating each year at or around his birth date with "Burns Suppers". We're fortunate in that one of Columbus' finest host and hostess have invited us to enjoy a Burns Supper at their home.

My husband and I both have surnames that travelled with invaders to Britain during the Norman invasion in 1066, which means our origins were French, then into Scotland, but with so much mixing and matching over the centuries, especially in the British Isles, who knows really? We are both 8th or 9th generation Americans, with families that originally settled in Pennsylvania after getting off the boat before the Revolution, then traveling further west and south in the next generations and intermarrying with boatloads of Germans, some of whom kept their language for almost 100 years. Lots of Presbyterians in our family trees. . . his more recently than mine.

Churches in Scotland are celebrating according to Christianity today.

Churches join Burns celebrations by Anne Thomas Posted: Sunday, January 25, 2009 Around 10,000 people are expected to gather in the Scottish town of Dumfries on Sunday to mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of national bard Robert Burns. According to Scotland on Sunday, the crowds will be carrying several thousand handmade lanterns through the town, past Burns’ house and the place of his burial at St Michael's Churchyard, before gathering at the River Nith to see the torching of a 15m wooden model of Tam O’Shanter atop his horse. Church groups, Scouts, Brownies, Boys Brigades, Guides and other community groups have been running lantern workshops over the last few months for members of the public to come and make their own lanterns for the procession, reports Scotland on Sunday. Two specially commissioned stained glass windows, one of Burns and the other of his wife Jean Armour, will be unveiled at St Michael’s Church earlier in the day. The occasion will also see the unveiling of a life-sized bust of Burns, gifted to the church by the World Burns Federation. Although Burns was born in a small stone cottage in Alloway, he spent much of his life in Dumfries and died there in 1796 at the age of 38. His most famous works include Tam O’Shanter, Auld Lang Syne, and My Luve is Like a Red, Red Rose. Burns Suppers, held each year on or around the bard’s birthday, are taking place around the world this weekend to commemorate the bard’s life and works, continuing on a tradition of more than 200 years. A special evening service will be held in his honour in Westminster Abbey in London, where a white marble bust of Burns is positioned on the wall of Poets’ Corner. The service, held in association with the Burns Club of London, will be led by the Rev Graeme Napier and include recitations of Burns’ verse as well as solo performances from the canon of his songs.

Update on menu:

The differences between men and women

Reading a church newsletter (not my church--we don't have women pastors) about a clergy women's retreat, I was reminded of what I wrote about 2 years ago on this topic:



1) In a Protestant denomination that ordains both men and women, the men wouldn't be allowed to have a retreat limited to only men.

2) But if they could find enough guys to pull it off (women are outnumbering men in many seminaries), chocolate wouldn't be a featured part of the programming.

Another media myth

It's expensive to lose weight. And usually, if you read the entire article, someone explains that it is processed food that is expensive, not fresh or frozen.

It's January so newspapers are promoting their diet plans which probably have tie-ins with processed food companies, TV reality shows, and pharmaceuticals. News articles will also encourage coupon use, because they print them (they are ads that exercise your scissor muscles). Coupons cover up price increases and introduce the 15th type of Ritz cracker.

It's not expensive to eat fresh food, or even food labeled "organic," although that probably doesn't make a lot of difference, except to increase the cost slightly. The advantage to your health of not buying food fertilized or contaminated by sewage is probably huge, but by the time you get down to the minuscule, unmeasurable amounts of herbicide and pesticides on commercially grown food, which is where we are today with our health gate keepers who want to return American women to long food queues like Europe, the cost and health benefit is pretty small. You have a much better chance of getting Grandma's genetic links to cancer and heart disease than developing problems from eating too much fish or chicken on hormones. News flash. If you live long enough, everyone gets cancer or their heart gives out.

Anyway, today for lunch I took out about 5 spears of tender, fresh asparagus, rinsed them, and arranged a few "baby" (peeled) carrots from a bag, (always, always rinse) on a glass plate and zapped in the microwave uncovered for 1 minute. Add a dollop of low fat sour cream, a little salt and pepper, and enjoy. Then I had my sliced apple and 1/2 cup of walnuts, because I missed breakfast due to exercise class. The entire lunch/breakfast probably didn't top $2. You couldn't make and eat a bagel sandwich with potato chips for less than $4.

One thing mentioned in the USAToday article on dieting that I agree with is that half of all food dollars are spent eating out or take out. Combined with my morning coffee and our Friday date night, that's certainly true for us. However, I count about half of that as "leisure and entertainment."

Real food is cheaper

Over the river and past the golf course

We began the day with a lovely service at church with pastor Eric Waters preaching. I hope it's on the church web site, because it was certainly fabulous and worth listening to again. Our son and our son-in-law's father attended with us. Lots of wonderful hymns and seeing many faces from our scattered 9 services. Then it was off to our daughter's for a fabulous meal, two naps (turkey overload), and lots of left overs to bring home. A lovely table set with her Lenox wedding china and crystal.

Honey baked ham
roast (to perfection) turkey
baked and browned squash
fresh green beans
fresh beets
mashed potatoes
home made cranberry sauce
home made applesauce
wild rice and mushrooms
traditional stuffing
turkey gravy
rolls, deviled eggs, pickles, olives, etc.
several red wines
pumpkin pie
cherry pieWe just sort of rolled in the door when we got home. Tomorrow I'm back to the veggies and sensible eating. I couldn't get into my favorite pants suit before we went, and it will certainly be impossible now!

We look like a Hallmark card

my husband said this morning. "The table is set with the good china, you're preparing food in the kitchen, and I'm putting up the Christmas tree." Celebrating birthdays tomorrow, so I'm getting the food ready today so that we can all go to church. Usually, this doesn't happen, but each year I can hope. It's pretty awkward. I go to church at 7 a.m. to pray, my husband ushers at the 8:15, and then we are all supposed to meet up for the 11 a.m. traditional service. Then it's back to the house for dinner. This year, we hope that 1) everyone gets to church on time, and 2) my husband can keep them busy decorating the tree while I put everything in the oven to warm up. It's sort of like eating leftovers since everything except the meat is prepared today. Here's the menu:

Boneless pork roast with orange sauce
dressing with apples, bacon and onion
buttered, spiced carrots
mashed potatoes
scalloped corn
pumpkin pie with whipped cream
I tried a new scalloped corn recipe--the kind you make with a corn muffin mix. I used to make it from memory, but the memory's shot. Not sure how that is going to work out--it sort of looks like a cake. My husband hates corn so the only time I fix it is when there will be someone else to eat it. And bacon. No matter what brand I buy it seems so tasteless. Has anyone else noticed this? It never gets crispy and yummy--just lies there and takes up space. Is it low-cholesterol pigs? Too many antibiotics and hormones? I wish they'd stop messing with our food. Maybe it's just my taste buds. They are my age, after all, and probably wearing out.

When I looked on the internet for a corn recipe, and bunches of happy cooks were contributing theirs (all with canned corn), of course one of the grow-your-own vegans drops by and insults everyone by saying she would never eat that garbage, but "y'all have a good day." Don't you just hate that on bulletin boards? Everyone's chatting and exchanging ideas and being so friendly, and then Mrs. Poo Poo I'm better than You chimes in.

Fall 1971, probably taken for birthdays

Our son has been battling a cold, and possibly the flu, so we may be a very small group. He's dragging to work, and then goes home and goes to bed. He never eats much, but at least I can send home the left overs. My cold seems to be undercover for now with the Zicam and the Clariton and extra sleep. At least, it hasn't gotten to that stage yet where I'd call it a cold.

What's for dinner?

Lots of bloggers write about the facts of life things--menus, cleaning, health tips, auto-repair, etc. I need to once in awhile because of my unrelenting Obama-Bashing during the campaign. I mean you could go crazy looking at all the Obama lies and mess ups. Today after church in the narthex, a blog reader came up to me and said, "Norma, why don't you just say what you mean, speak your mind?" Being funny of course.

So for dinner today:

baked, wild caught salmon
baked red skin potatoes
tossed salad with cherry tomatoes, broccoli, mushrooms and shredded carrots
sugar free banana chocolate pudding topped with fresh raspberries

Summer's bounty

It's peak season for cucumbers, and if you're lucky, you'll have a farmers' market near by or your supermarket will have locally grown. Fresh cukes and fresh green bell peppers taste very different in August than they do in January. Read the Whole Foods story on cucumbers.

Cucumbers are a very good source of the vitamins C and the mineral molybdenum. They are also a good source of vitamin A, potassium, manganese, folate, dietary fiber and magnesium and contain the important mineral silica. See all the nutrients

This week I've been sweetening a small amount of apple vinegar, adding a little salt and pepper, then slicing into it cukes, onions, bell peppers, and fresh green beans. I refrigerate it and shake it from time to time. Yummy snacks.

Today for breakfast I grilled two small, sliced Ohio peaches, jazzed it up a bit with a few sprinkles of cinnamon and a dash of sugar free maple syrup, added a few Michigan blueberries and topped it all with some walnuts. Then for lunch I grilled fresh green beans in a little olive oil, added onions, bell peppers, some frozen corn and in the final minutes some locally grown zucchini, turned the burner off and put on the lid to steam lightly. Heavenly.