Five Things Thursday

A few random things for today:

1. After my Travel Tuesday post about our day at the Stones River Battlefield, Butch got out one of his Civil War books to explain it all to me again. Remember, I said I couldn't keep the generals straight? Were they confederates or union? Well, Butch explained it all to me again. Do I really have it down now? Well, no, but maybe a little! (You can see a closeup of the book a little further down. With this new Blogger platform, I'm having trouble getting the photos exactly the way I want then to appear.)

2. Justin grew up in a family with avid gardeners. He's doing the best he can with their little balcony. He definitely has a green thumb. 

He has flowers AND vegetables on the balcony. 

I need to drive down to see their garden in the sky from the sidewalk.

3. I thought this was the most darling first day of school picture I've ever seen. Someone posted it on Facebook. What a clever idea!

Oooops! Here's that close up of the Stone River Battle. 

4. You might remember that I hired Parker, the little granddaughter of my friend, Pam, to paint me some rocks. Well, I've been passing them around the neighborhood--all to people I don't know. The only problem is that I don't get to see any reactions. Anyway, as I'm nearing the end of the rocks (don't worry, I've ordered more---Mindy wanted some too!), I noticed this on the plate. Apparently, she tried out a few designs before committing them to the rocks. Now that's serious and I love it! How darn cute!!

5. Another puzzle in the books. We finally finished this one. It took a really long time for a couple reasons. It was really hard, so we weren't motivated. Plus those extra pieces threw us for a loop. As it turned out, there were only the 3 that were extras. Funny that we would discover them at the exact same time! We're glad it over. I wish I'd have kept count on how many we've done since the beginning of the pandemic. I'm sure we've surpassed the number we've done in our whole 49 years of marriage!

That's if for today.

This and That Thursday

I always marvel at how many "church" envelopes we get every month. Besides the regular 4 envelopes for our parish and the gold one for the diocese, there are always "add ons." There are envelopes for school, to benefit Haiti, collections for flowers for the altar---I don't really pay attention to the others. It's too much. We just do the main ones and skip the special collections. Plus, we pay our contribution directly through our bank. I would imagine they could save a ton of money if they eliminated the paper envelopes. On the other hand, maybe if they did away with them, people would not give. 

Recently, Connie was telling me about how she cleaned out her "plastics." I told her that years ago, I hit upon an idea that really works and has worked for a very long time now. Storing the containers and lids can be a problem I tried putting the lids on, but that takes up way too much space. I tried keeping the container in one drawer and the lids in another---still too much space. I tried having everything just thrown in as a hodgepodge---that drove me crazy. I tried putting all the lids in a bigger container with the others stacked. I didn't like that either. Then I finally hit upon this.

I stack all the bowls, and then stack the lids on their edge according to size. This is by far the best method. You can easily find the lid you need. Plus, it looks nice and organized. Exactly what I want! Even Butch can handle this. The only time it's a mess is if someone else unloads the dishwasher (which doesn't happen very often) and they just toss things in. Plenty of room for just about ALL the plastics. I have some large ones that I keep nested in with my casserole dishes.  

 Mindy shared her enchilada recipe. I streamlined it a bit by cooking the chicken in the crockpot with the sauce at the same time. Plus, I put the chicken in frozen. I know that you are not supposed to do that, but I've been doing it for years with no problem. When I do, I cook it on high, so the crock pot is really hot.

 I cut the recipe in half. I cooked the right amount of chicken, but froze that for future use.

Mindy's Enchiladas

Chicken breast (1.25-1.5 lbs)

6” flour tortillas (I used Mission Carb Balance)

2 cans Verde enchilada sauce (found in the international aisle with the tortillas)

1 can/package red salsa or sauce (we absolutely LOVE the Frontera “chicken taco skillet sauce”— also in the international aisle)

Shredded Cheese (1/2 bag)

(1) cook chicken (I personally really like the texture of shredded chicken, so I cooked mine in the crockpot and then shredded it)

(2) preheat oven to 375°

(3) mix in sauce/salsa with chicken

(4) lightly layer the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with verde enchilada sauce

(5) roll chicken mixture into 8 tortillas and place horizontally in 9x13 dish, seam down

(6) cover tortillas with remaining verde sauce (no need to use all of 2 cans—just use enough to cover the rolled enchiladas)

(7) cook at 375 for 25 minutes

(8) remove from oven. sprinkle cheese over top (just enough to cover the top in a thin layer.) place back in oven for an additional 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted.

Thanks Mindy! It was delicious. We're getting 3 meals out of a half recipe!

 Remember this from last week when my sisters started sending me pictures of their condiments? Sandy had an overabundance of tuna.

Well, this week, she found 3 more cans!!! I told her that made me crave tuna casserole, so I made one. I've shared it with Nicky because Butch hates tuna casserole. I made it a lot when the girls were little and Butch was traveling. I thought they liked it too. But when I offered to give some to Mindy and Stephanie, it was a hard pass! Steph even sent the vomiting emoji!! Luckily Nicky likes most everything! I've tried to freeze some too, so we'll see how that works out.

While Sandy was counting purses and totes, she found this---yarn covered hangers that my mother made. I made some  early on, but they were too boring to me. My mom made them for all 7 of us in different colors to match our rooms. Plus that's how we could tell which were our school uniform blouses from the others---she also sew colored "x's" in to our clothes with embroidery floss to match. I can't tell you how we fought over socks. You heard a lot of "take off your shoes!"

Well, when my mom died in 2010 (gosh, I can't believe it's been 10 years already), all of a sudden, those hangers became very important to us. 

We divided them up and each got about 2 dozen. I have them in my hall closet, well,  because I like my hangers to match---fanatically so. Sandy, I can spare some! I never have this many guests at one time!

 I have plain white, cheap, plastic hangers in my closet. They have to match!! 

I even went so far as to order white wooden pants hangers. Seriously, matching hangers is what makes your closet look neat and organized.

Two months ago---right before the "stay at home" order---Connie pawned one of her errands off on me. She asked me to take these jars to Karolyn who I was supposed to see that evening. Well, Karolyn didn't come. Of course  I'd do anything for Connie, but now I'll be driving these darn jars around for God knows how long!! 

Well, we've been asked to wear masks whenever we go out. We don't have makes, so decided to make our own. Both of these are made with athletic socks.

 The top one is the one I made. You need a tube sock and two rubber bands. You simply slide the rubber bands on the ends and fold the sock over in the back and tuck in to the sock opening. 

 It worked perfectly, but Butch didn't have a tube sock. As a result, the rubber bands are really tote on the ears. 

The one that Butch made has been cut to make straps to go around your ears. It gaps in an odd way. Plus, when I put on my glasses, they fogged up. So obviously this makes isn't all that air tight.

I stuck with the rubber band method. I used a cloth napkin folded up. It's nice and thick and feels perfectly fine. This is what I'll be wearing when the time comes---like tomorrow when I go to the post office!

Well, I couldn't get the photo to cooperate for my last item. Yesterday, Sister Anne Catherine, principal of St. Cecilia Academy (all girls school), had red roses (red and white are SCA's school colors) delivered to ALL the seniors. They posted the seniors individually in a big group collage. I guess for security reasons, they figured out a way that no one could "get" the photo. Still, the picture was so pretty with all those red roses and those surprised happy faces! What a great idea!

That's about all of this and that for Thursday!

This and That Thursday

I have a few things to share. Some make me happy, others, not so much.

1. I brought down the boxes of Easter decorations. But that was right about the time that we decided to self-quarantine. I decided that I wasn't going to go to the trouble of decorating since no one would be around. 

 

Still, I did put out my Easter pillows since this was the very first time I was going to get to use them.

They make me really, really happy!

2. After all our hard work cleaning the porch on Saturday,

All of these tree seeds are all over. I knew we were doing the cleaning a bit too early. At least I just have to brush them off the furniture. That little tiny one on the bottom is from a maple tree, I think, but the ones we had growing up were way bigger than this. We used to throw them in the air to watch them "helicopter" down. We don't even own a maple tree. I have no idea what those other seeds are. 

Could they be from the dogwood tree that is currently in bloom? It is located right next to the porch. I tried to get my plant identifier app to tell me, but apparently it doesn't work for seeds. The dogwood in full bloom makes me happy. The seed all over the place---not so much.

3. On Monday, while cleaning the garage, I noticed the wonderful smell of my lilacs that line the drive. I just had to cut some.

 I made three arrangements. One I delivered to a friend who could use a little cheering up. One I gave to Mindy when she came by to pick a cleaning supply up.

I don't think lilacs were really meant to brought inside since they don't last long as cut flowers. You can tell by the fact that you cannot buy lilacs at the florists. Still, I wanted to give them a try. They made my whole kitchen smell divine.

Since they are on woody stems, I decided to crush them to see if I could get the flowers to last longer. So far, as of this writing 3 days later, they still look good and haven't made a mess dropping petals. The fragrance has diminished but if you stick your nose in them, they still smell good.

I used my meat mallet to smash the stems. They have made me happy.

4. We're getting ready to have our 50th class reunion in September. I was really looking forward to it, but as it turns out, the girls and I will be in New York---assuming this quarantine is over---surely!

So, one of my grade school classmates posted this picture. In a way, it makes me happy--to see our uniforms and the back of our school building from the early 1900's. She wrote the name of the nun pictured, Sister Richard Maureen. Then in another way, this makes me unhappy. It reminds me of, when in the 6th grade Sr. Richard Maureen slapped blue striped masking tape over my mouth for talking. The whole class couldn't stop laughing, so she put out in the hall and promptly forgot about me. Twohours later, the entire school filed out to go home and there I still stood. Sister came out an hour later around 4:00 and saw me. She gasped and sent me home where I got in more trouble. Of course my siblings couldn't wait to get home to "tell" on me. Those were the days that built character!

5. And then this made me REALLY happy! My friend, Nancy E. 

Delivered farm fresh eggs to me along with a puzzle. The puzzle is wooden. We've never done one like that, so we're starting it next.

And that blue egg couldn't be more appropriate for Easter! I don't have any idea what I'm going to be making for Easter yet. I thought I would just order something takeout for us. It's just the two of us, but most restaurants seem to be doing take out for 4. I just might have to do something with some of these eggs instead. We'll see!

This and That Thursday

First off, let me start by thanking those of you who left comments on yesterday's post. I left the part out of the story where I did, indeed, contact HP. I sort of blamed them for my stupidity!!! And then, when my computer guy came yesterday, he cleaned my computer and found nothing at all. So, luckily nothing was infiltrated. We had him do Butch's too while we were at it. He actually had several bits of malware that were cleared up. We have now installed a protector that does exactly what Susanne suggested---it let's you know if you are going to a "bad" website. In fact, there's a little green check mark if the website is okay and red if it's not. It works in the background and lets you know if anything comes up and then fixes it!! It's called BitDefender Shield. I'm feeling a lot more relaxed now. Oh, and that $99 service call? Well let's just say---it wasn't JUST that! He was here for two hours!

Okay, on to more pleasant topics. I'm getting ready to leave on Saturday for my sister's cruise. There are 7 of us. 4 have never been on a cruise. We have all of our excursions booked. We cruise out of Fort Lauderdale. I've been on many cruises, but all of these stops are new to me--Key West, Grand Turk, Amber Cay and one other place. We're on a brand new ship that just started in December on Holland American. We all got the drink package, so we're set!! We're really looking forward it.

While I'm off with my sisters, Butch will be in Peru with his brother. We plan to have these trips every year. I just told him that he can't go to places that I want to go!

Here are a few other things

 Mindy, Stephanie and Morgan finally got to do goat yoga. Steph and Morgan did not post any photos. Mindy said it was fun, but not really much of a workout.

 I've made a couple additions to the senior picture wall. Only one left to go.

 Our little Elizabeth is not so little any more, but it will be about 4 years until she's on the wall.

 I've finished the engine of my Easter train. There are three cars. I'm giving myself a month for each one. That way I will have them finished before the workshop I'm doing in May.

I tried a new recipe that was soooo easy and really good. I loved it.

Sausage and Cabbage Casserole
Polish sausage
6 red potatoes
head of cabbage

I just cut up everything (washed the potatoes and cut them up as if I was going to cook them for mashed potatoes---skins on). I tossed it all with onion salt, pepper, seasoned salt and Paula Dean's house seasoning. You can really use just about anything. Put in a casserole dish, cover with foil and bake at 425 for 40 minutes.

Butch thought it was just so so. He said that he prefers polish sausage and sauerkraut, because after all, that's cabbage! I like that too, but this was just different and really good. I really like simple.

We're going to be trying Martha Stewart's home food delivery when we get home from our trips. I'll have to let you know about that.

That about brings you up-to-date with me. What's going on in your world?

This and That Thursday

 I recently visited someone in the hospital and noticed her wrist bands.

I had never seen anything like this. I think the "limb alert" has something to do with her surgery. But, it was the "fall risk" band I was most interested in!! I asked her if I could have it---since it was meant for me!! The nurse overheard me.

She gave me a brand new one!!! (Side note: I really am going to wear it)!

And then there's this:

 I signed up for a needlepoint workshop in May. I couldn't resist. This thing is gorgeous!

Look at the close up detail! It's loaded with beads and sparkly things. (Side note: remember my resolve to live off of my social security this year? Good thing I have until May to "save up")!

I've been on an organizing roll this week.

I cleaned out all of my photo albums.

These are about 1000 photos that I'm getting rid of. I know this because these photo boxes hold 1000 photos. I have two of them. (Side note: Remember I keep preaching how our kids don't want our stuff? They don't want photos either! Unbeknownst to them, I have a plan. The next time we're all together, I'm going to sit them down at the dining room table and start passing them around. Whatever is left that they truly don't want, I'll toss when it's over).

Remember this sign I saw in England? I didn't know what that word meant as I had never seen it before. My British friend, Diane told me that it means "custom." Since then, I've run across the word many times in books---I have a love of books about England or set in England.

 (Side note: the word served me well in my computer game! Woohooo! 104 points!).

This and That Thursday

 We're seeing a lot of this around here.

 Why in the world wouldn't they just tear the whole thing down?

 It seems to me that it would be really hard to build around the roof!

These are brand new houses---pretty darn ugly. That's why I'm not too crazy about modern or contemporary. I don't even know what to call this type of housing. Add to that it's on a busy corner. There's nothing about this that I like. I feel sorry for the neighbors!

I loved that downtown Charlotte had benches lining the streets. I wish every city had them. I love to sit and people watch sometimes. Especially if you are with people who like to shop!

 I really liked the bathroom at Haven Farm. The girls got in on my picture.

And then this. I used to play a joke on the grands when they were little. I'd always asked if they wanted me to turn on the heat seats in the back. They'd always say "yes" and then I'd say, "Ooops, I forgot, you don't have them!" Now they do!!

That's it for today!