Jumping the gun on the holiday season

 Okay, so it's November 16th and I've been decking the halls all week.

Okay, not literally. I have not put up one Christmas decoration. Then again, I really don't need to. I have over 200 Christmas figures from the 1940s-1960s in a cabinet in my office. Any time I need a bit of holiday cheer, I just gaze into my cabinet and sigh. But it takes a bit more than that to get me into the holiday swing, so I've been listening to Christmas music and watching Christmas movies. Okay, I've been watching ONE Christmas movie: The Santa Clause.

Because it is so early in the holiday season (although the grocery store started hauling in the decorations back in mid-October, later than usual, I might add), I've spared my hubby from listening to the Christmas CDs with singing. But the instrumental CDs have been going for about two weeks. (I'm allowed to play the others as of Thanksgiving.)

Several years ago, I bought a piano CD from Target that I really loved. (To tell you the truth, I'm surprised it's not worn out.) I decided to buy as many piano CDs as I could after that, so now I've got quite a repertoire, for just about every occasion (and I got a bunch of them at The Dollar Tree). I've got piano music to read by. Piano music to sleep by. Piano music with rain in the background. Piano music with birds cawing. Still, I like my Christmas piano CDs the best.

I watched (or rather listened--I was busy on the computer during) The Santa Clause twice this week. My husband had been out doing an errand, walked into his office (without seeing the TV in mine next door), heard one line of obscure dialogue and said, "Are you watching The Santa Clause AGAIN?" Well, I couldn't lie. There was the evidence (the empty DVD cover) sitting on top of my printer.

I'd never been a Tim Allen fan (couldn't stand his TV show), but I love this movie. The story of how the love of a little boy turns a not-so-great Dad into Santa. Sniff. (Did I mention that I love sappy stuff like that?)

I've got six more weeks of the Christmas season left to keep enjoying movies (hey, I've still got The Santa Clause II and III to go through, Elf, A Christmas Story, Polar Express, White Christmas, Charlie Brown Christmas and Rudolph, too), CDs, and did I mention the 30 or more coffee table and recipe books I have based on the season?

Okay, I'm a glutton for all things Christmas. How about you?

Oooh, yum. Now, if only I had the recipe . . .

Years ago, Mr. Ivy and I traveled to Colonial Williamsburg for a much-needed vacation.  While there, we stopped at one of the little places tucked behind one of the historical homes and bought a snack of Queen's Cake.

Yum yum!  As I remember it was very much like pound cake, but a lot lighter, possibly lemony, with poppy seeds.  I say possibly because it's probably been twenty or more years since I tasted it.  As I wasn't a pound cake fan, I was hoping I'd be able to find the recipe.

No such luck.

Every once in a while I go online and search for Williamsburg Queen's Cake.  I've found a couple of recipes, but none of them have poppyseeds.

Okay, I admit it, I'm not about to start experimenting in the kitchen to try to come up with a vague facsimile.  Reason?  Well, there's just the two of us, and someone has got to eat all those baking attempts, and Mr. Lorna and I simply can't afford the calories.

But when I think back to that trip, and that bright, HOT, sunny day when we drank lemonade and ate Queen's cake, I'd love to have just one more bite.

Have you sampled a taste sensation you enjoyed but can't replicate?

It's not a cold enough yet, kid

As you know, I brake for yard sales. This summer I started collecting movies on DVD that were new and old to me. I figured they'd be fun to watch on a cold, windy day somewhere down the line.

One sale had about a gazillion old movies. The kind you get at the dollar store for ... a dollar. They were selling them for a quarter so I figured--what the heck and bought a couple. One of them is The Little Princess starring Shirley Temple.

These cheapie DVDs come in cardboard sleeves and tend to get lost on my DVD shelf. (Lately DVDs seem to be pushing the books out of the way.) Therefore, Shirley has been sitting on the shelf by my computer for at least a month now looking at me with her kid eyes and I can hear her sad voice say, "When are you going to play me?"

Well, let's see. I've already read the book once this year. And I saw a movie that was out a couple of years ago. (Got it and The Secret Garden for a steal from Amazon.) So, the Shirley Temple version of The Little Princess has not been on the top of my to-be-watched list. Not when I'm going through Star Trek Voyager for a second time and realizing how many I missed the first time around. (Wow--that's fun!)

I'm thinking that a cold, windy, SNOWY day in February will go well with the suffering poor Sarah Crew has to withstand in her attic garret. So, sorry, Shirley, you've got a wait on your hands.

Maybe I'll turn the DVD over so I won't have to see her little imploring eyes.

What movie is on your list to watch on a cold, snowy day some time in the future?

Pondering the possibility of an Etsy

Ever since I gave up my booth at the local antique co-Op, I've had a hankering to open an Etsy online shop. The problem is, I'm not crafty. I had a lot of linens left over from my booth and wondered what I should do them. Ah-ha! There's my Etsy Shop!

Well, not really. I mean, the reason I gave up my booth was because I really didn't have time for it. The cleaning and repairing of merchandise, the inventory, and selling. If I opened an Etsy, I'd still have all that -- PLUS photographing and maintaining a site, plus packaging and shipping.

So for the time being, no Etsy shop for me.

But that doesn't mean I haven't been accumulating merchandise for that day. First of all, I love handwork. The effort that people put into making doilies, potholders, and dresser scarfs, and all the embroidery, tatting, etc. It's lovely. I can't bear to see the stuff end up in free boxes -- or worse yet the trash. And I can't believe how cavalierly people get rid of great grandma's chair tidies and doilies as though they were just junk. Hey, your gramma made that with her own two hands. You might not want it right now, but one day you might say, "Hey, I had something my gramma made and sold it for a quarter."

Shame on you!

Of course, not all of it is in tip-top shape, either. Stains, tears, and linens that are just plain worn out from years of use. I need to sort through everything and figure out what is good, what needs a dip in Oxy-Clean, and what should go in a scrap bag. (Hey, maybe someone more crafty than me can make it into something else.) I haven't done that yet, but every so often, I take the stuff out and look at it, which makes me smile.

Is there some project you've got simmering on the back burner for a later time?

Just in time for the season . . .

When I was a kid, I figured I'd get married at 18 and I should be prepared.  So, I started collecting recipes.  I figured I'd have to feed the brute who was going to let me be a stay-at-home wife.

Well, things didn't work out that way.  I went off to work and stayed single for a VERY LONG TIME.  And when I finally got married, it was Mr. Ivy who did (and still does) at least 75% of the meal prep.  (Mostly so he can get a decent meal, although I've gotten better at cooking in the past couple of years.)

I was poking around in the basement a couple of weeks ago and found my little recipe box.  Boy, my handwriting was a LOT neater in those days.  (These days I have to squint and sometimes use a magnifying glass on my handwriting to figure out what the heck I've written.)  And darned if that little recipe box didn't contain 95% cakes, cookies, quick bread and muffin recipes.  Yup, I've got a sweet tooth, and my baking has always been better than my cooking.

I'm ecstatic because I've found the recipe I always used for pumpkin bread. It was one of the first recipes I made all by myself.  I haven't been able to make it for years before I lost the copy I had.  Thank goodness it was a copy--because there's the original bad boy in that little gray file box.  (I'm going to type it up and put it on the computer.)

Yesterday was grocery day and a big can of pumpkin went into the grocery cart.  Got the walnuts, too.  Ain't nothing like toasted pumpkin bread for breakfast.  Ahhhhhh.... 

What's the first recipe you remember making all by yourself?

I fixed it myself!

Over the summer, my fan died.  One day it worked fine, the next day it was pushing up daisies.  Somehow I didn't have the heart to throw it away.  But, lately I've been in a "if-you-haven't-used-it-in-a year (or longer) it's-time-to-get-rid-of-it" mood, so yesterday it got walked to the curb for the trash men.

Off I went grocery shopping.  But all the while I was picking stuff like kitty snacks and not-too-ripe banasas from the shelves, I was thinking about how much I loved my blue fan.

Back I came.  And there sat my fan.

I bought it just after I moved into my first house.    It was $25 at K-Mart and it worked great.  It worked so great, I went back a month later to get another one and they didn't have the same model, but I bought one anyway.  It has long since gone to fan heaven.

My Dad, who passed away last year, would never have tossed out a useful item without trying to fix it first.  So, in view of all my neighbors, I retrieved my fan from the trash and brought it back inside.  As I suspected, it wasn't broken at all.  But it had been living near our forced-air heat run for the last 17 years and it was full of dust.  (Ick--we're breathing in all that crap all winter?  Oy!)

With just the first shot with the mini shop vac, it started to run again, but then I took the back off and really gave it a good clean with vacuum, compressed air, and a dust cloth.  Now it runs like new.

All the time I was cleaning it I felt like my Dad was standing behind me giving me advice.  And best of all--I got my beloved fan back.  (Just in time to retire it for the winter. Oh well, you can't win them all, eh?)

Do you try to fix broken items?

Eww! It went bad!

Back in February, Mr. Ivy and I bought a new fridge.  Actually, I bought it.  For some reason, he wasn't available the day we decided we had to get rid of the old one.  (It was freezing EVERYTHING, especially the milk.)

Fast forward into summer and -- gosh darn it, didn't we wish we still had old Mr. Freezer Fridge, because now our milk is constantly going bad.  I don't mean one or two before their sell-by dates, I mean ALL OF IT.

The new fridge has these really big door shelves that will hold a gallon container of milk.  Great.  Except the milk is always warm.  Not great.

So now we've moved the milk from the really convenient place, and put it on one of the shelves, where stuff usually gets shoved in front of it.  Then we have to search to get the milk out for stuff like adding to coffee or recipes.  Not very convenient.

Truth be told, we just don't like this new fridge.  It's too small.  The guy at the appliance store assured me this was THE standard size fridge, but it isn't.  The next time I was in the store I looked a bit harder and saw that there are quite a few taller ones.  (Of course they were all stainless steel and cost about $500 more, but that's beside the point.)

Well, at least the milk isn't going bad anymore.

Have you bought an appliance that didn't live up to its hype?

Go Home Pepe Le Pew

Even during the colder months, I like to leave the bedroom window open a crack for fresh air, but even that doesn't guarantee a good night's sleep.

I don't always sleep well, so I get a little irritated when "outside" events wake me in the middle of the night.  Annoying things like our neighbor's motion-sensor light.  Yup, RIGHT OUTSIDE OUR BEDROOM WINDOW.  Black-out shades?  Forgettaboutit.  This light is bright enough to search the heavens for incoming bombers . . . or a waddling skunk.

The light didn't go on last night, but a skunk did traipse through our yard--and apparently right under my open window.

Skunk.

Even the word is unpleasant.

Hubby likes to tell me that Chanel #5 is really just essence of skunk--watered (or rather alcohol-ed) down.  That most perfumes have behind them a really bad stink.  Okay, so how does one figure out that one drop of skunk stink in a hundred gallons of alcohol equals lovely perfume scent?

As I laid awake (for far to long) I kept telling myself ... the stink will go away soon.  The stink will go away soon.  Eventually, it did.

I sure hope Pepe Le Pew stays home tonight -- either that, or walks on the other side of our neighbors hour.  Yeah, by THEIR bedroom windows.  It's their turn to be awakened in the middle of the night.

Have you been skunked lately?

Trying to hang on to summer . . .

The following pictures were taken yesterday in my garden.  I could NOT believe that it was November 3rd and there were still lovely flowers blooming.  Can you say global warming?

This silly lilly is still blooming.  Okay, it's not as pretty as it should be, but it's still blooming.  I don't think I've ever seen any of our lilies bloom this late in the year.




Over the summer my friend Leann sent me a lovely hydrangea.  Isn't it pretty?  It's been blooming since mid-summer.




The marigolds are still going strong, too.




And one of my favorite flowers, cosmos--still in full bloom.



Are they still here this morning?  I'm afraid to look.  The temps dropped to the high 30s the night before.  But even if they're all gone today, they were there yesterday, and they were PRETTY!

Is anything still blooming in your garden?

What's a few tiny explostions . . .?

The other day I decided I'd like to have egg salad for lunch.  So I promptly put four eggs in a pan, set the burner on high, looked at the clock and said to myself, "Self, come back in 15 minutes."

Of course, I went back to my office (the other end of the house) and started working on emails.

About forty-five minutes later my husband said, "What's that noise?"

"What noise?"

"The cats must be up to something.  I go look."

Ivy goes back to work.

"ARRRRRGGGGGGGGG--the kitchen is full of smoke.  The eggs have exploded!  The pan is ruined!!!"

Uh . . . I guess I kinda forgot about my lunch.

And, thanks to hubby's scrubbing power, the (Farberware) pan was NOT ruined.  It's once again shiny and back in the cupboard ready for it's next adventure.

Next time I make hard-boiled eggs . . . I'll set the timer on my desk.  (Yes, I keep one there.  Otherwise I forget cats out on the enclosed porch on winter days.)

Um . . . that is, I'll set the timer . . . if I remember.

Have you had any cooking disasters lately?

(P.S.  Honestly compels me to tell you that the above picture was not taken by me.  My eggs were far more interesting because they'd exploded.  So there were shells and yolks all over the place.  Rats.  Why didn't I take a picture?)

The Last Farmer's Market of the Season

Saturday was the last farmer's market day of the season and we almost forgot. In fact, it was 1:55 and I said, "Hey, hubby--we forgot to go to the farmer's market!"  Well, on went the coats and hats and out the door we flew.

I'm not sure if they usually pack up at 2 or 3 p.m., or if it was the cold, gloomy rain, but we got there about ten minutes later and most of the market had already packed up and was gone.  There were a few straggler customers like us, though, and we walked up and down the aisle before deciding on what to get.  This week it was a stalk of Brussels sprouts, a small cauliflower, parsnips and a small cabbage.  Cost:  $4.50.  If we had bought these veggies at the supermarket, I estimate it would've been $8-$10.

Half the sprouts are already history.  We like them roasted with a little olive oil and freshly ground pepper.  I love parsnips, but don't know if I should just parboil them, then fry after a quick dip in a cornstarch/egg mixture.  (Oooh.  Yummy.)  I like to parboil the cauliflower and then pop it into a dish with shredded cheese and breadcrumbs--baking for about 20-30 minutes.  And as for the cabbage -- well, if we can find some corned beef, you know what's going to happen to that little guy.

What do you like to get at your farmer's market?

It tasted so goooooood

When I worked at the world headquarters for a Fortune 500 company many moons ago, they used to staff their own kitchens with their own workers who made homemade delights five days a week.  Oh, they had a TO-DIE-FOR walnut cake that was out of this world.  Their homemade soups were stupendous.  And they also made all their own muffins.

Mind you, when I'd leave the building on any given night, the air would smell heavenly -- just like a bran muffin.  It was actually the brewery across the river, but it smelled like breakfast to me.
And what did I love most at breakfast time?  Their marvelous bran muffins with raisins.  Several times a week I'd buy a bran muffin for my morning meal and hope that the guy in the with the gray eyes would be up at the cafeteria taking a coffee break so I could wave to him.  (Yeah, I ended up marrying the big lug.)

Fast forward way too many years.  The company went down the toilet, and long ago let go all their kitchen staff, and the company that took over the eats tossed out all the old favorite recipes.  The food wasn't as good, and the company ... well, let's just say the stock options I have are worth dog poop.

But I remember those muffins.  And I recently bought a bag of bran flour in hopes of recreating them.

My first attempt was not satisfactory.  I think my oven runs a little hot.  But they also weren't sweet enough.  I got the recipe from a 1930s cookbook.  "Hmmm," says I, "I'll find a better recipe on the Internet."  But most of them wanted to use bran cereal, not the real flour.  I wasn't as good a detective as my aunt, and she DID find me a great recipe.  Of course, I couldn't just make it as it.  I messed with it because it didn't seem sweet enough. I solved that by doubling the amount of raisins.  They are just perfect for breakfast or a mid-day snack.

INGREDIENTS
    * 1 Cup Bran Flour
    * 1 Cup White Flour
    * 4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
    * 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
    * 1 Cup of Whole Milk
    * 1/2 Cup Molasses or Corn Syrup
    * 1 Egg (well beaten)
    * 1 Tablespoon Melted Butter
    * 1/2 Cup Raisins  (I use a full cup of raisins)
    * Crisco Shortening or Paper Muffin Liners

Step 1:  Grease and lightly flour your muffin tins or use paper liners and Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
Step 2: In a large bowl, mix together the 1 Cup White Flour, the 4 Teaspoons of of Baking Powder and the 1/2 Teaspoon of Salt.
Step 3:  Slowly add the 1 Cup of Bran Flour and mix together thoroughly.
Step 4:  Add in the 1/2 Cup of Molasses or Corn Syrup, the 1 Cup of Whole Milk, the Egg, Well Beaten and mix well.
Step 5:  Mix in the 1 Tablespoon of Melted Butter.
Step 6:  Fold in the Raisins.
Step 7:  Pour into muffin tins until approximately 3/4 full.
Step 8:  Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Step 9:  Cool completely on baking rack before storing.
Makes 12 muffins


Is there something you long for that you wish you could have again?

Happy Halloween!

It came with everything but the thing I needed most

A couple of weeks ago, I bought a new printer.  I decided not to buy the most basic, El-Cheapo one because the time I did that it lasted a couple of weeks and poof!  Broken.  So this time, I bought a middle of the road one and paid (on sale) $129.99.

Low and behold I get this little printer home, go to set it up and -- hello!  There's no printer cord.  I spent $129 (plus 8% tax) to buy this sucker, and I can't use it until I go back to the store to buy a cord to hook it up to my computer.

Holy smoke--The prices were ridiculous!  It was $34 for a six foot cord.  I went for the three foot cord thinking that since the printer was going to be right next to the computer that it would do.  And it does--just barely.  The cost?  $24.99 plus tax.

That meant my $130 printer was really $155.  Grrrrrr!

And what has some cheapskate company gypped you out of lately?

Oops--lost another pair

I'm like an absent-minded professor (without the PhD, that is). I have a very bad habit of losing things.  Hubby calls it "the-drop-and-go" syndrome.  I'll be carrying something in my hand (glass of water, car keys, glasses, scissors, pens, pencils, camera, purse, and the list goes on and on and on) and because I'm thinking of something else, I'll set it down on my way to somewhere else . . . and forget where I put it.  This means I spend a lot of time looking for stuff.

One of the things I lose the most is reading glasses.  Now, if I only had one pair of them, it would be one thing.  But I have at LEAST six pairs of them around the house.  I keep them any place I like to plop down to read:  The dining room, the living room, my office, the bedroom, the enclosed porch, and the family room.  You'd think that with six pairs I would always have a pair available.

That would work if I didn't wear them on travels to the kitchen, to answer the door, or wandering around looking for something else.  So I take them off, drop them wherever and keep moving.

To fight the syndrome, instead of becoming much more efficient I've bought four more pair of "cheaters" (reading glasses).  I have no idea where I'm going to put them (there are no safe places--I forget where I put stuff, remember), so it's a fair bet that I'll lose these in no time flat, too.  (I've found if I have a glasses case in a certain spot (like my office or the porch), I'm better at putting them away.

Guess I'd better go buy some more glasses cases.

How about you?  Do you have drop-and-go syndrome, too?