Turn, turn, turn

(click any picture to embiggen)

Some of you already know the story of my neighbor, Mr. Connelly. But it always deserves to be said again.

Mr. Connelly is about 80 years old. Of course, I have thought he was 80 since we moved into this house and that was almost 22 years ago now. About 12 or 15 (?)  years ago he started to plant dahlias. Dahlias are a beautiful flower but oh so much work. Not only do they have to be planted, they are not winter tolerant in our zone so they have to be dug up every fall, split apart, stored for the winter  and planted again in the fspring. I have planted dahlias before (About 3 of them). They remain part of the soil, may they RIP.  They are a HUGE amount of work.
Every year, Mr. Connelly would have more and more dahlias until they filled up every inch of yard that he has. Lucky us.  The picture above shows my house  in blue with a yard full of dahlias in front. Let me tell you, there is no better way to have a yard full of flowers than to have your neighbor plant them. I do the enjoying. And I must say that I am darned good at it!

This past winter, I did not see Mr. Connelly for a long time. He is usually outside bright and early every single morning all year round.  After a month or so of not seeing him, I knew something wasn’t right. His son informed me that he had been in the hospital for quite a while and then went to rehab. He had “everything” wrong with him. Whatever that meant. It didn’t sound good.

Mr. Connelly finally came home in the early spring. We had a pretty horrible spring here so there was no good planting time. When I saw him trying to get around with a walker, I knew that perhaps this would be the year without a dahlia. Made me a little sad, I have to admit. I imagined how hard it would be for Mr. Connelly to have a summer with out beautiful flowers.

His family stepped in, as sometimes they do. His son and his niece did a HUGE amount of work to get the dahlias planted and maintained. By the end of the summer, Mr. Connelly was out puttering around in the garden without his walker but still not strong enough to do all that work himself. I’m not sure how many summers he has left or how long his family will take on the herculean task of the garden, but I did enjoy it so. Not as much as Mr. Connelly of course, but it sure is nice to have a view like mine in the summer.

But to everything, there is a season and the freeze will inevitably be here. The dahlias die immediately upon the first frost. The race is then on to cut the stalks and lift the bulbs. Thousands and thousands of them.

That’s what they did today. Another season has come and gone, the dahlias just a sweet memory now.

I hope to see them another year!

Sometimes you cannot get home fast enough

 

Sometimes a day is so bad, in fact, a week stacks up bad…SO BAD that there is only one thing for a person to do. Wine about it.

I felt close to dissolving in tears a couple of times today, it was not pretty. Tonight I will spend a bit of time with a fat bastard. Cabernet Savignon, that is.

Cheers to you! TGIF!

Sharing the (g)love

Moose (g)love

Really, I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news or anything, but Christmas is just 50 days away. 50 days is not much knitting time.  Especially when you have an orange cat trying to eat your yarn and you have to knit at work or in secret. But this orange cat has a sixth sense about yarn. He can sense it near.

I have a couple of other Christmas knitting projects planned but they are totally doable. One is a wonderful beret (Jared Flood’s Relm pattern. LOVE it) and perhaps a manly scarf.  I only knit for the people that will be good receivers. You know the type we avoid like the plague, the ones that do not understand how personal it is. How it’s an extension of ourselves, how it is NOT a cheap gift at all. I have more giftees that I will never knit for, ever. Not even if hell freezes over and they need a pair of mittens. I won’t. They will have to buy their mittens in bulk at Walmart or something, I won’t budge .
I won’t.

Mitchell sits on the computer

Mitch says “she’s not telling stories about me, AGAIN, is she?? Who are you going to believe????”

What’s for dinner Wednesday

The big question as the cook of the family is “what is for dinner?”  Tonight I had to have an early dinner because we are going to an art show (Hi Faith!) so it had to be quick-ish. But delish, always.

Shaw’s Get Inspired Recipe Cards to the rescue! Tonight will be Skillet Baked Spaghetti . You can find the recipe here: CLICK FOR RECIPE

First, I gathered my ingredients.

I cooked the ground beef and sausage out of it’s casing until browned.

I drained the meat, added garlic (lots of garlic)

I also added some red pepper flakes and oregano. When the garlic was smelling wonderful  I added 2 large cans of crushed tomatoes. (I doubled the recipe. We have a lot of hungry people eating here) And 3 1/2 cups of water.
Then in goes the spaghetti, broken up into smaller pieces. It looks a bit like a porcupine with the noodles all spiky.

About 12 minutes later, it looked delicious!
I then added about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of cream, a bit of shredded Italian cheese mix and then put the rest of the cheese on the top.  Into the oven it went.

Honestly, if I had to do it again, and I may have to it was that good, I won’t bother with the cheese on the top. It was not needed and won’t be missed.

It was absolutely delicious, easy and filling. A nice hot dinner to greet the fam. It is not trying to be health food, something we won’t dine on every evening but a taste bud delight to have tonight.

Bon Appétit

What’s for dinner at your house?

So sweet of a list, your teeth may hurt

november sky

(even though I rotate that picture and save it, it is still on it’s side. Turn your head to the left. There. It was like that)

Claudia challenges her readers to explain what it is that makes November so special to us. I could write a dissertation on the subject, I swear.
~The November sky
The November hating Claudia may say “Sure, but there is sky in ANY month”. And that is true. But there is something so sparkly about November sunshine, not to mention the golden sunshine that I speak so highly of.
~Add crisp, cool air to the pretty sky and it is a dynamic duo.
~The colorful leaves turning crunchy. There is nothing better than walking down the street, dragging my feet in the leaves. The sound, the feel. Those darned leaves make me happy.
~The anticipation of the Christmas season, which for me is sometimes better than the actual season. I have not yet started to make myself crazy with lists and plans and worries of budgets that won’t stretch far enough.
~This is also the reason I enjoy the early Christmas music. This is my time to enjoy it, free from the holiday stress.
~Thanksgiving and all of it’s cooking. I start looking through the cookbooks and buying up magazines sporting browned roasted turkey on the cover like they are going out of style, which they never do. Every year there is a new crop of roasted turkey covers making me throw them in my grocery cart. Planning of the meal is almost as important to me as the sharing.
~Taking a day off from work Thanksgiving week to bake pies. Pie Day. Should be a national holiday in my opinion. If you don’t fancy baking pies, then go EAT a pie. Should be mandatory. Not as many angry people around if they eat pie.
~Wearing of the wool. Taking out the wool sweaters, donning mittens and wrapping a scarf around my neck is a wonderful thing. The smell of the wool, the feel, the touch the warmth. Wool is November’s friend.
~winter squash. I never met a squash I did not like. Butternut, acorn, delicata, buttercup, spaghetti squash: roasted, boiled, steamed, sauteed. I love it. It loves me. Squash is a wonderful thing. November is Squash month.
~the desire to cook a bit more after the grilling of the summer. I love the smells of the oven foods.
~Soup. Any kind. Packed with veggies. Or with chicken or maybe noodles. Or fish. Potatoes. All soup. All kinds. I could eat it every day.
~Woodpeckers and cardinals in the tree. They are so beautiful any time of year but their red stands out this time of year
~the wind rustling the branches of the trees. Such a relaxing sound, especially when covered in a blanket.
~November to me, is contentment. Warm and snug, happy to be in my home, anxious to cook for the ones I love, snuggling with a cat, a kid or a husband, looking forward to what is coming,
Oh, that and PUMPKIN PIE~
That helps.

My passing encounter with Charlie

I know that a lot of people mind this end to Daylight Savings Time. I’m not one of them. I enjoy driving to work in the morning sunshine. But I especially enjoy coming home in the dark. I love the cold air as I leave work, the stars coming out (Or the sun setting if I’m so lucky!), the streetlights shining my way home. I especially love the warm glow of the light in the windows. I love to catch a glimpse of a family. (not a peeping tom, just a passing glimpse as I drive by). Of course, my favorite home to view is my own, looking inviting as ever to me, the warmth waiting for me.
Yeah, I love that.
~~
Today after work, I stopped at the grocery store on the way home. The lights there just remind me that I need to open my wallet, but that is not part of this story.
As I left my car, I noticed a man putting flyers under the windshield wipers of all of the cars. I immediately got kind of pissy to myself. You know, snobby about it, judgemental, thinking perhaps he is promoting some new weirdo church that worships a holy goat or something. He was very friendly as I walked past him, furthering my notion that he IS the minister to the goat. He was, in fact a good looking middle aged man but I did not give it another thought as I rushed past him into the store.
My bag full of my purchases, I noticed the flyer under my windshield wiper. I was suprised to see the heading: HANDYMAN. Hmm. I guess Mr. Handsome was not His Holy Goatness. He was a regular guy trying to work in a tough economy. His list was quite extensive. He is a licensed air conditioning and oil and gas technician. He could do emergency heat calls, furnace repairs, he would cut your lawn, clean up your yard, trim your trees, landscape your property, clean your gutters, seal your driveway, do general household repairs, painting and odd jobs. He would even plow your snow. All for the asking.
I climbed in my car, reading that flyer, feeling a bit bad for my judgement call, feeling a WHOLE lot lucky for my job and paycheck.
Well, if you live in my area and are interested in a kind of cute handyman that is a self motivator, call Charlie at 978 290 3613. Tell him you got his number from a friend who shops at Shaw’s.

That turkey is texting me

October flew right by, didn’t it? I have to say that our Halloween was just lovely complete with an (almost) full moon, spooky wind and mild temps. You’d think that one single trick or treater could have managed to stumble down our driveway. But no. Not a one.

Dear Lazy Trick or Treaters,

Saving yourself a couple of steps cost you a king size candy bar, your choice of Reese’s peanut butter cups or Kit Kat. Don’t worry, my chocoholic family will make short work of them.
Sincerely,

generous Halloweener

King. Size. What has become of our youth?

(read: more for us!)

And then, just like that, it’s November. Time to think about turkeys (for us USA-ers) I saw an ad for a Butterball service that texts tips and hints for the Thanksgiving dinner. I couldn’t help but sign up. Those texts make me smile every time.
Except for this one:

Practice makes perfect! Ensure ur Thanxgiving meal goes off w/out a hitch by scheduling a practice run b4 the main event.

That one is the least helpful of all. Imagine having a complete Thanksgiving meal only to do it (and all the leftovers) again in a couple of weeks? Honestly, Butterball. That’s a sneaky way to try to get us to buy 2 turkeys this season.

Historically November is also a bit famous (or infamous??) for it’s blogging challenge. Blog every day during the month of November. I took up the challenge 2 years ago. Once I started blogging, I couldn’t stop. I blogged every day for the year 2008. 2009? Not so much. So, I threw down the gauntlet to myself to blog everyday. It’s good for me. I’m not so sure if it’s good for you, but hopefully you’ll read. And comment a bit to encourage me. Or yell at me. Or something.

~
And a word about face rash:

If you follow me on Facebook, you already know this. On Thursday I came down with a face rash complete with red cheeks. The rash was a bit itchy but not overly so. I did not change any soaps or shampoos or detergents. I did not eat any weirdo food. I looked like I had a huge zit breakout with a red, red face. And I was TIRED! I slept yesterday for 13 hours! I think I may have had a fever because I kept waking up shivering. (It was not cold last night at all)

But today, the bumps have gone down a bit, my face isn’t as hot and red as before and I can keep my eyes open for a bit.

Progress.

How’s your face??

 

 

~~~~~

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Autumn’s golden light is back

This time of year is just energizing for me. Our weather is stunningly wonderful today, I hope yours is too.

On Friday, I took a picture of the tree in our yard because I was enjoying the gold color so much. I did not post it because the photo did not register the gold like my eyes did. Saturday brought a wind and rainstorm to our area and Sunday, the tree is almost bare.

On the left, the tree on Friday. Same tree on right, Sunday

What a difference a day makes. Or two. ( I came very close to naming that photo, Linda Leafless, but I thought perhaps that was too obscure.)

Life is swimming along, busy and yet not. Going for walks, cooking dinners, mountains of everylasting laundry, knitting when Mitchell isn’t looking, reading (I just finished reading the Diary of a wimpy Kid series! I love these books so much! I laughed out loud numerous times (lol, if you will) I have gotten a couple of people at work to read them. I think that although they are meant to be a young adult book, an adult will appreciate the humor more) , watching movies (I watched The Boy in the Striped Pajamas today and I am still stunned about it!) (My yearly viewing of Hocus Pocus is next) And of course, working, which honestly just gets in the way of all the fun stuff.

So I ask you this:

1. Have you seen any good movies lately?
2. What are you reading?
3. How is your golden light?

Pork chops are in the brine, butternut squash is ready to be roasted, apples are ready to be…sauced and dinner is served at 6.

Cookies, timing, an old hatred of silverware and a pumpkin shortage

chocolate and white chip cookie

You know what I like best about baking cookies? (Besides the obvious “eating the cookie”?) Setting the timer. 11 minutes in my wonderous new oven, is the perfect time for a perfect cookie. 11 minutes. Doesn’t seem like much time, right? But when I set that timer, I got elbow deep into the pile of dirty dishes waiting for me in the sink. I had let them stack up a bit. You know how that happens kind of all of a sudden. There is a few dishes in there so you pass on it. The next time you glance over? Mountains. It was like that. Mountain climbing in dirty dishes. No good view on this mountain.

11 minutes later, I had gotten the bulk of the dishes washed, even the dreaded silverware. I have hated washing silverware from way back. WAY back. I don’t know what it is, so tedious I guess. Gag me with a spoon. And a fork, and butter knife and steak knife for that matter. Hate them.

But when that 11 minute timer buzzed, sweet cookie aroma filling the chilly air, I only had a couple of pans left to wash. Life seemed a little easier. And cleaner.  Then I could enjoy my one cookie. I’m not much of a sweet eater but I do have to have 1. Preferably still warm and melty.

~~

I watched the movie Marley and Me last night. I have the puffy eyes this morning to prove it. Kind of a tearjerker at the end. I enjoyed it, a good heartwarming, funny (and sad) movie. Made me think about getting a dog. And then Mitchell smacked me in the head.

~~~

Autumn has arrived in full force. I plan on making boeuf bourguignon for dinner and while that is cooking perhaps take my mother in law out for a ride to view some foliage. (She feel a couple of weeks back and broke her hip. She has been in a rehab since. Perhaps she’d like to break out for a while today!)

Enjoy your weather. What’ it like where you are? I know Vicki has had some snow. So has Kim (her blog has disappeared! I know I am a bit out of it blog wise, but what the HECK??) . Have you? (Make a snowball for me!)

~~

And in a totally unrelated note, when I was at the store yesterday, I wanted to buy a can of pumpkin to make our favorite autumn pumpkin bread. Not ONE can of pumpkin to be had. A weird run on pumpkin. Weird.

sometimes time stands still

So last Monday, I noticed when I got to work that my clock had stopped. It is an electric clock not battery so I unplugged it and plugged it about a half a dozen times like you do. Still did not work. The outlet clearly was working becaue my computer was also plugged in there and that was fine. The time on the dead clock read

3:40

(I tend to round time to the nearest 5 minute increment when it is close)

I lived with 3:40 all week long waiting for my new, ordered clock to arrive.

The next Monday morning, the old clock was miraculously working again. I guess the old one had  a bit of steam left in it after all.

Today, the new clock arrived.

And the time on the clock?

3:40

Is it a message? What does it mean???
SPOOKY!