Betty's Ramblings

Eating Out and the Weekend

2012-02-05T20:23:00.000-08:00

On Friday morning, we met up with the Sacramento Breakfast Club gang for breakfast at a restaurant in Rocklin called Venita Rhea's. Their meals are wonderful and they serve very large portions.

I ordered Bobby Earl Egg Benedict...a traditional benedict with canadian bacon, 2 poached eggs with hollandise sauce on top of an English muffin. Instead of potatoes I got fresh fruit which consisted of sliced pineapple, cantaloupe, honey dew melon, watermelon, a strawberry and a slice of orange. I don't drink coffee so I always have a large (if the restaurant has that option) glass of orange juice. Their orange juice was fresh squeezed...so YUM! My breakfast was absolutely fantastic and I ate every bit of it. These pictures were taken with my phone.

Gerry had an omelette called Fire Roasted Vegetables. It was full of different kinds of vegetables with some kind of sauce on top ot it, home fried potatoes and a bagel with cream cheese. The omelettes are made with 4 eggs. Gerry wasn't able to finish all of his breakfast.

After we left there, we did some errands in Roseville before coming home.

On Saturday morning, there was a PGR Welcome Home mission at the airport. Besides the soldier they were there for, they welcomed several more service personnel coming home on leave. There was over 40 PGR members there for the Welcome Home. Afterwards some of the PGR got together with the family and gave them an escort back to their home in Salida which is south of Sacramento in the Central Valley. We didn't go on that mission.

After leaving the airport, we drove down to Oto's Marketplace. Gerry wanted some brown rice. I didn't think I needed anything, however thought of several things...like over $85 worth...about had heart failure. We were getting low on rice so we bought another bag, some pork rib strips to make sweet and sour, of course always have to get bento boxes...got 3 of them, a package of futomaki and inari sushi, some pickled cucumbers, Gerry wanted more kim chee and a container of ahi poke. We had 2 of the bento boxes for lunch after we got home and saved the other one and the poke for dinner. Gerry cooked some quinoa for his dinner. He had gotten some at Whole Foods when we were there on Friday. It smelt awful while it was cooking; he said it was good. None for me, thank you very much...nor brown rice. I am perfectly content with white steamed rice that I've been eating all my life.

While we were at Whole Foods on Friday, I had a near accident. I had gone to the ladies room, it is down a hallway at the back of the store. I was walking out of that hallway and an employee was going down the aisle way at the end of that hallway. He was pushing a cart rather hurriedly, looking over his shoulder towards the meat counter. I had to put my hand on the cart to stop it from hitting me. He glanced at me when I did that and kept on his merry way...not saying a word...no excuse me...I'm sorry...When I got back up front I went over to the customer service desk to see if there was a manager on duty or a floor supervisor. The customer service supervisor told me no one was available...she offered me the email address for an assistant store manager and apologized. I emailed the person...haven't heard a word back. Anyway, it would not have been real nice being hit by a grocery cart.

I purchased an Entertainment book and we were going to use a coupon out of it for lunch today. The restaurant we were going to go to has 3 locations listed. We decided to go to the one closest to us....surprise...it was no longer in business. So we drove over to another of their locations in Rancho Cordova...surprise...that location was closed...a Mexican restaurant is there now. So we ended up going to The Old Spaghetti Factory...one of their locations close by. After we got home I checked the website for the first restaurant and all 3 of their locations are closed. This is the second time in wanting to use a coupon from the Entertainment book that we found a restaurant out of business. We were going to go to a tacqueria last week and it was closed. I have a feeling we are going to have to call first before we venture out. Oh, we used a coupon for Venita Rhea's so that was nice.

Gerry watched the Super Bowl and I've been playing on the computer. Sure am glad it is over...

Our weather has been really nice...in the 60's during the day. We had one day of rain last week and it may rain one day this week. Otherwise it will be more of the same. It is nice...yet not good for our water...we need lots more rain.

Celebrating My Chinese Heritage

2012-01-23T21:19:00.000-08:00

In celebration of the beginning of the Chinese New Year, the Year of the Dragon, I wanted to write about my great grandfather, Chung Hoon, who arrived in the Hawaiian Islands sometime between 1850 and 1852. It is believed he was on one of the first ships arriving with Chinese immigrants, who worked in the sugar cane and pineapple fields.

Here is a short writing that was found in the book entitled "Chinese Historic Sites and Pioneer Families of Rural Oahu"; compliled and edited by Wai Jane Char and Tin-Yuke Char. It was published by the Hawaii Chinese History Center and distributed by University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu 1988

Chung Hoon Family:

Chung Hoon was a prominent Chinese of the 1850s, very active in various business enterprieses. Chung Hoon was married to a Hawaiian woman. He was one of the elite Chinese merchants who planned and gave a Chinese ball to honor the marriage of Miss Emma Rooke and King Kamehameha IV. Chung owned Chung Hoon Company, which was a factor or agent for several Chinese sugar plantations on the Big Island. His store in Honolulu, "the new Stone Store" at 11 Nuuanu Street, carried imported goods according to the Hawaiian Journal of History (1974). His home was at 42 Emma Street.

He was also a participant in the founding of the Lin Yee Association's Manoa Chinese Cemetery. Chung had a leadership and philanthropic position in the Chinese community of the 1850s.

In his book, Chung K. Ai said this about Chung Hoon:

Chung-Hoon was grandfather of William Chung-Hoon, Jr., for many years treasurer of the City and County of Honolulu, and father of William Chung-Hoon, Sr. (1859-1934), who was connected with E.O. Hall & Sons [for forty-three years]. William Chung-Hoon, Sr. had been taken by his father, when young, to China [September 15, 1863, on S.S. Palmer] and educated there, and therefore spoke excellent Cantonese. The grandfather was an alert businessman. When the Hawaiian government offered a bonus of $25 for every Chinese immigrant brought to these islands, the grandfather chartered a vessel, sailed to Canton, and brought back many Chinese laborers. He was also an advisor to King Kalakaua and a frequent visitor to the Palace.

When the Chung Hoon family plot at Oahu Cemetery was visited, a stone marked with the name Chung Hoon was seen; no inscription was seen. There were gravestones for William Chung-Hoon, Alo K. Chung-Hoon (his wife), Ernest A.K. Akina, Violet E. Rosehill, Gladys Akina Pearce, George Elama Kaelemakule Awai, Sr. and Kaui Chung-Hoon.

Chung Hoon owned the Hoon Sing Plantation, a sugar plantation, with Hu Bak Sing (Asing).

The story I always heard about my great grandfather was that he sailed to Hawaii with 4 other young man from his village in Canton. Because they had no family with them, they became family to each other. In doing some research on the Internet, I found where he became a naturalized citizen of the Hawaiian Islands in 1867.

It is not exactly known when the name Chung Hoon became the surname and was hyphenated.

I took this picture of the Chung-Hoon family plot in June 1981. We were there for the graveside services of my father.

My father, Ernest Ha'akua Chung-Hoon, taken in the late 1960s. He died in May 1981.

William Chung-Hoon, Sr was Daddy's father; William Chung-Hoon, Jr was Daddy's half-brother. Alo K. Chung-Hoon was Daddy's mother; Ernest A.K. Akina was the son of Goo Chin who came to Hawaii with Great Grandfather Chung Hoon; Violet Rosehill was Daddy's sister (I was named for her); Gladys Pearce was sister to Ernest Akina; George Awai, Sr. was Daddy's brother-in-law married to Daddy's sister Beatrice and Kaui Chung-Hoon was Daddy's first wife.

I treasure this story about my great grandfather. His legacy lives on in the many members of the Chung-Hoon family.

Stuff

2012-01-22T20:23:00.000-08:00

It started raining Thursday night, rained most of the day Friday with strong winds. Saturday the sun came out and warmed up a little although it was still very windy. The rain started up again today with more strong wind. We haven't had any rain for a while so it was needed. Just makes it so unpleasant to be out in.

Yesterday there was a PGR mission at the airport...a soldier coming home for a few days. He returned to the states last month after being in Iraq. He is a combat medic in the 82nd Airborne stationed at Ft. Bragg, NC. His wife is also a combat medic. She is in Germany right now. Gerry asked him he knew my grandson, Nathanael...he said he didn't.

The PGR here has been contacting the local media to come out to the airport when there is a Welcome Home. There was a guy from Fox 40 News there yesterday. I got an email from my stamping friend last night asking if we had been at the airport. She said there was a quick shot of me...she said "talking to a guy and it wasn't Gerry"...can't think of who that might have been...she called it "my 2 second claim to fame". LOL! There was another time I was on camera at a Welcome Home...it was at the old Terminal B. We were at the new Terminal B yesterday. I tried to see if there was something online on Fox 40's website...couldn't find anything. After the Welcome Home, the PGR guys escorted the soldier and his family home...we didn't go on the escort.

For some reason, I am not able to get into the comments left on my posts. I can publish the comments, however, I can't access them to reply to a comment. Three comments were left on my post about my grandfather...sorry Casey, Jalna and Gem...Thanks for leaving your comments. Casey, I love the old stories...there are lots of them in both my dad's family and my mom's family. My grandfather had royal Hawaiian blood...The Hulihe'e Palace that I mentioned was used as a summer home for the royals. It has sustained quite a bit of damage in recent years. It was closed for quite some time as repairs were done. Last year when the tidal wave hit Hawaii, after the earthquake that hit Japan, the palace did receive more damage.

I asked my sister Nani if she remembered who the baby was in that picture. She didn't know. I got to thinking about that picture and wondered if it was our cousin, Dona Ray...I asked Nani, she said she wasn't sure. So I need to find the original and see if my mom wrote anything on the back of the picture. Several years ago Mom had found some old pictures...she made copies of them for us kids and sent them to us. Some of them I scanned and put on my computer for a project I did for my grandchildren...I need to find the original copy.

I started reading a hardcover, library book the other night. I've been reading e-books from the library. I finished all the ones I had downloaded and needed something else to read. The one I am reading was not available in e-book format so actually had to go to the library to borrow it. It is called Sutter's Cross by W. Dale Cramer. It takes place in a small southern mountain town in the Appalachian Mountains. This is the author's first novel published in 2003...it is faith-based. So far I am enjoying it.

In fact, I think I will go read for a while before I go to bed. Have a great week!

Grandpa Hulihe'e

2012-01-18T20:46:00.000-08:00

Here's another picture from days gone by....
My grandfather, David Hulihe'e...he was my mother's father. That's brother Eddie next to Grandpa, then sister Ernie in front of Eddie, sister Nani ( I don't know who she is holding. It could be baby brother Sam, I'm not sure) and then me. I was 8 years old when Sam was born and I don't look that old in this picture. I'll have to ask Nani if she knows.

I don't remember a lot about grandpa. From my earliest memories, he and grandma were not together, so I don't know when they were divorced. Grandpa was born on the big island of Hawai'i and worked for a sugar cane plantation on Kaua'i. He was an avid golfer and after retirement he was a golf pro at the Ala Wai Golf Course in Honolulu and then did maintenance at the course. I can remember Daddy taking us kids to see Grandpa at the golf course. We would also see him when we went to visit Uncle Sonny, mom's brother. Grandpa was at Uncle's house a lot.

It is through Grandpa's father's family that there is royal blood. The Hulihe'e Palace in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island is named for the family.

I love looking at these old pictures and trying to remember what was taking place when the picture was taken. :)

My Arrival in California - 50 years ago, January 14, 1962

2012-01-14T13:38:00.000-08:00

Late Saturday evening, January 13, 1962, after tears, hugs and goodbyes, I boarded a Worldwide Airlines plane to fly to Oakland, CA. I would later learn that Worldwide Airlines was a charter company. The airfare was quite inexpensive so that is why my flight was booked with them, courtesy of the government. The flight would take about 13 hours to reach our destination. I arrived about 1:30 pm at Oakland and waiting for me at the bottom of the steps was my then husband. I was so relieved and happy to see him. We had married two months before this and I was finally joining him. He was in the Marines.

It was a Sunday, the day being much like it is today...the sun was shining although it was not a very clear day. The first thing I noticed were the trees without any leaves...I wanted to go back home where everything was green.

My mother made me an outfit to wear for my trip...a powder blue wool dress...a sheath with three quarter length sleeves, completely lined. She also made me a coat to match. The coat had just one button at the neck and the rest was open. Even though the sun was shining, it was cold and I was freezing. It was a beautiful outfit and I loved it, especially since my mom had made it for me.

Some days before I left home, my grandmother wanted me to come down to her house. She gave me some money to go to Liberty House to purchase a few things for my trip...a pair of black patent leather heels, a black purse to match, a black hat that had a small veil on the front, black gloves and...a pair of nylons...by Hanes...South Pacific was the color. She, of course, told me exactly what I was to purchase. She also wanted to tell me how to act...to speak clearly, not the way we speak back home...to use my manners...there were other things she told me...I don't remember them all now.

Grandma had a sister that lived in Oakland and she had gotten a bouquet of anthriums that I was to take to my grand aunt...Auntie Ida. I had her phone number and so after my luggage was claimed, we found a pay phone to make the call. One of her daughters, Dorothy, got on the phone and told us how to get to Auntie's house. I knew Dorothy and her husband as they had visted Hawaii a few times.

We found the house without too much trouble and when we were invited in, Auntie's whole family was there...it seemed they all got together on Sundays...it made sense being a Portuguese family. I had met Auntie once when I was a little girl so I remembered her. She immediately wanted to feed us. We declined as the uncle we would be staying with was expecting us for dinner. Auntie loved her flowers and knew exactly what her sister would be sending her. The visit was nice although I was so shy and didn't say a whole lot.

After a short visit, we drove to Castro Valley, to the apartment of Charles and Alice Long. Charles was the youngest brother of my then father-in-law. Charles and Alice had been married about a year, Charles had been laid from his job and Alice was going to beauty school. They had a one bedroom apartment. They allowed us to have their bedroom for a few days and they slept on the hideaway bed in the living room. We then changed the arrangement. I was so unhappy to be there and felt totally out of place. John was actually a patient at Oakland Naval Hospital and would get leave whenever he could. He would also have to hitchhike to get to Castro Valley. During the day I was alone with Charles in the apartment and was totally uncomfortable.

For dinner that night, Alice fixed tacos for dinner. I had never had them before and I sure didn't like them. They were very spicey and I drank more ice tea than I ate...I also didn't know what ice tea was...I liked it, though, and still do.

I was totally exhausted from the long trip and was emotionally drained, all I wanted to do was go to sleep.

And so ended my first day in California...50 years ago.

There is more to this story...my first few months in California...I'll tell it later.

Sacramento Breakfast Club - Today

2012-01-06T19:58:00.001-08:00

The breakfast club got together today. It was our turn to pick the place to go. We've had a Groupon coupon for The Omelet Professor so we chose to go there. We got there right at 8am. Eric Rench was waiting....strangely enough the restaurant wasn't open. They are open from 7am to 1pm according to the sign on the door. There was no sign on the door saying they'd be closed. So Gerry suggested we go to a place in Orangevale called "Ashley's Country Kitchen. Another couple had driven up. So they followed us over to Ashley's and Eric was going to wait for anyone else that showed up.Here is the breakfast I had...half of a Belgian waffle, 1 scrambled egg and 1 sausage link...with OJ to drink. It was perfect...I think it was called Silver Platter on the senior menu. Gerry's bike club had gone here on Wednesday. They've been open about a month and have a sister restaurant in Granite Bay called Jessie's Country Kitchen.

My breakfast was good and I actually "cleaned" my plate. The group numbered 10 people today. Gerry said a Burger King was there and then a Mexican restaurant.

We started going through boxes that have been stored in our spare bedroom today. There is stuff all over the living room floor. I had 3 piles going on...keep, trash and Goodwill. The trash has been taken out, the Goodwill stuff is in the back of Gerry's van, plus the totes that need to get taken to storage. I've set aside stuff that I want to keep...I will probably go through it again and see what I can do without.

As I was going through each box, I realized that the reason the boxes were in the spare bedroom is because it is things I don't want in the storage unit...so I've got to figure out where to put them or just part with more.

Elizabeth came over and she took home two big shopping bags full of stuff for she and her girls. She was also going to see if Jenni wanted anything...what they don't want will be saved for the girls youth group to put in their annual spring rummage sale. The stuff I've designated "Goodwill" may go that route too.

Our mobile home park does a garage sale in May...I don't want stuff sitting around until then. I did find the choir picture I just posted and I'm excited about that. I will work on more tomorrow.

By the time Elizabeth left, we were tired and starving so we drove over to Brookfield's for dinner. It is 3 blocks from our house...it is a little more than a Denny's type restaurant. I had a chopped steak dinner (hamburger patty with onions, green chilis and cheese on top of it, covered with gravy) and Gerry had meatloaf. I didn't think to take pictures...

Kailua High School Choir, School Year 1959-1960

2012-01-06T19:45:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of the Kailua High School Choir, school year 1959-1960. We had performed a Christmas concert at the then Kailua Intermediate School. Mr. Shigeru Hotoke was our director. I was in Mr. Hotoke's 5th period class, we were the "Select Class".

I have looked for this picture several times over the years and was never able to find it. Gerry and I are in the process of cleaning out boxes that have been stacked in our spare bedroom. In one of the boxes was an album that had some old pictures in it. I was taking the pictures out and putting a post-it note on the back of them. Towards the back of the album, SURPRISE...here was this picture. What is awesome too is that on the back of the picture are the names of the classmates who were in that 5th period class.

I just scanned the picture onto my computer and wanted to post it. I will be sending it to Rodney Inefuku, who is a 1961 graduate. He has kept the classmates connected through email. Some time ago, I told him I had this picture and then couldn't find it.

Oh, I am on the left side, 4th row, 3rd person from the end. Standing next to me (the 4th person) is Shirley Davis. We reconnected a few years ago.

Note: Click on picture to see the entire choir. I wish there was a way to zoom in on it.

Siblings and A Cousin

2012-01-04T20:49:00.000-08:00

Here's another picture from days gone by...I think it was taken either in 1947 or 1948.

Left to right: my brother, Edwin Ernest (Eddie), our cousin Keith Kaneta, my sister Puanani Rowena (Nani), me Violet-Elizabeth (Betty) and my younger sister Ernestine Kealoha (Ernie). Another sister, Agnes Naomi (we call her Naomi) was born in December 1948 and our brother Samuel (Sam) was born in August 1950.

This was taken at Ala Moana Park (I think). The five of us were always together; usually we were lined up according to age...Keith is older than my brother Eddie...can you tell that I am fairer than my siblings?

I was named, partially, after Keith's mom. Her name was Elizabeth...she went by Eli...she was my mom's younger sister. I was also named after my father's sister Violet. I don't have a middle name and my first name is hyphenated. Brother Samuel doesn't have a middle name either. Brother Eddie was named for my mom's brother, Edwin and my father Ernest. My sister Ernie was also named for my father (my father was hoping for a boy) and her middle name was my mom's middle name. Samuel was named for Samuel in the Bible. I don't think sister Nani was named for anyone.

I think I've told the story how I got my nickname "Betty"...if not, I'll tell it some other time.

Dinner Tonight

2012-01-03T20:07:00.000-08:00

I made stir fry for dinner tonight...it had been a while since I made some...used beef, string beans, red bell pepper, celery, onions and mushrooms. It was really good.

I got the Christmas stuff packed up...just need to get the totes back to storage. We have several boxes in our spare room. Gerry asked me if we could go through them. He wants to get them over to storage. So much of the stuff that is in those boxes can be either thrown out or taken to Goodwill. Of course, I've been wanting to do it for quite some time...getting him to be in the mood doesn't always happen. :) We'll see if I have to do it by myself or if he will actually help me...

My Momma and I - 1959-1960

2012-01-03T19:58:00.000-08:00

Last summer we were cleaning out some things from our storage unit to put in a garage sale. We found this picture in one of the boxes. It is my momma and I taken in front of Kailua Church of the Nazarene after church one Sunday morning. I was a senior in high school. My momma made the outfits we are both wearing.

I scanned it to my computer so it is rather grainy and not real clear. I was so skinny then... :)

Today's Evening Sky

2012-01-02T21:22:00.000-08:00

We had some errands to do this afternoon. We got back home a little after 5 pm. As we drove down the street towards our mobile, the sky towards the south was pink and purple...just gorgeous. In the few short minutes it took to get in the house and grab my camera, the sky had completely changed. Where it had been pink and purple was now gray with just a sliver of pink at the very bottom. It is clear towards the west. It is amazing how quickly things change.

Joyce, Wendi, Katie and Emma drove up to Sacramento on Thursday for a belated Christmas with their mom and other family. Yesterday afternoon we went over to Elizabeth's to visit with them. They headed home this morning. Katie and Emma both had Christmas programs at school so they sang a couple of songs for us from their programs. It sure was cute watching them.

I had planned to start taking Christmas decorations down today. Unfortunately, that didn't get accomplished. Oh well, there is always tomorrow...laundry didn't get done either...just the bed sheets...

We had the leftover casserole I made the other night for dinner tonight. I think it was better tonight than the night I fixed it.

Hau'oli Makahiki Hou/Happy New Year

2012-01-01T09:51:00.000-08:00

Hau'oli Makahiki Hou/Happy New Year to you!

Were you able to stay up until midnight? I tried...made it to 11:30pm...I did hear the gunfire going off at midnight. Fireworks are not permitted, although I wouldn't be surprised if there is some of that going on too. There is always gunfire...that is against the law too.

We went to Nagato's Sukiyaki & Sushi restaurant for dinner last night. Their food is so good. It is a family run restaurant...they've been in business for 40 plus years. It could probably be considered a "hole-in-the-wall" type of restaurant. It is nothing fancy...just authentic Japanese food and lots of it. We were both stuffed when we left.

A story about Nagato's...back in the late '70's...my younger sister lived in Sacramento...I lived in Fresno. Denise and I would come to Sacramento to visit and a couple of times, we went to Nagato's to eat.

I moved to Sacramento in 1980...shortly after I moved here, I met Gerry...we were engaged shortly thereafter. One Friday night Denise was invited to a birthday party so we had about 2 hours before we had to pick her up. I took Gerry to Nagato's for dinner. I kidded him...it was a test, if he ate Japanese food and liked it, I would marry him. Well, obviously he passed the test.

Nagato's is one of the places I go for lunch...once in a while...I absolutely LOVE Japanese food and could eat it every day.

We came home and spent a quiet rest of the evening.

I am looking forward to a great new year. I have several projects I want to do...trust I will enjoy good health...I still need to have my cataract surgery.

A very heartfelt thank you to all who read my blog or find it in your searching for other things. Hope you like what I "ramble" about...

Have a blessed New Year!!

Dinner Tonight - New Recipe

2011-12-30T21:26:00.001-08:00

I am always on the hunt for new recipes to try. I found this recipe on Pinterest. My Denise told me about this website some time ago. She sent me an invitation to join which I did. I set up several "boards", however did not know what to do from there. I was talking to her earlier this week and she helped me in "pinning" stuff to my boards. So instead of saving all the things I like, including recipes, I can "pin" them to my boards. You can also follow other peoples boards. So that is how I found this recipe. It sounded good and quite simple to put together. I made it for dinner tonight...we both enjoyed it...

It is called "Low Fat Tex-Mex Chicken and Rice CasseroleMy dinner plate.

Here's the recipe:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

1/2 c chopped onion (1 medium)

1 T olive oil

1 package (6.9 ounce) chicken flavored rice and vermicellin mix (like Rice-a-Roni)

14 ounce can of chicken broth

2 c water

2 c chopped, cooked chicken (I parboiled 2 chicken breasts)

1 c chopped, seeded tomato (2 medium)

3 T canned diced green chile peppers, drained (I just scooped out 3 T's from the can)

1 1/2 tsp. chili powder (I only used 1 tsp)

1 tsp dried basil, crushed (I just scooped out a tsp)

1/8 tsp ground cumin

1/8 tsp black pepper

1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese ( used 1/2 of a bag of Mexican blend cheese)

1. In a saucepan cook onion in hot oil over medium heat until tender. Stir in rice and vermicelli mix (including seasoning packet), cook and stir for 2 minutes. Stir in broth and water. Bring to boiling, reduce heat. Simmer, covered for 20 minutes (liquid will not be fully absorbed).

2. Transfer the rice mixture to a large bowl. Stir in chicken, tomatoes, and seasonings. Transfer to a 2 quart casserole dish.

3. Bake, covered in a 425 degreen for 25 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with cheese. Let stand for 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

I was afraid this would be too spicey for me, however it was not...Gerry would have liked more spice. I thought it needed some salt.

It was good and I will make it again.

Chayse Katherine

2011-12-27T16:51:00.000-08:00

I just copied this photo off of Facebook. Megan's sister, Cameron posted it. She is sitting up...can't tell if by herself or with some help. She will be 4 months old on January 2nd.She is a beautiful baby!! Sure want to hold her and love on her!!

Christmas Dinner

2011-12-25T21:04:00.000-08:00

I forgot to take pictures of what I fixed for dinner tonight...oh well! It was yummy. We ate a lot later than I intended. I took the roast I was going to fix out of the freezer last evening and put it in the bottom of the refrigerator. I really thought it would begin to thaw...unfortunately, when I checked on it this morning, it was still hard as a rock. I put it in the sink and about 2 pm, it was still frozen. So I got out one of my non-stick pans, took the roast out of the wrapping and put it in the pan. It was finally thawed about 4:30pm.

So here's the menu:
Roast Beef
Boiled Red Potatoes
Steamed Fresh Green Beans
Rice Salad
Ambrosia (Fruit Cocktail, Pineapple Chunks, Mandarin Oranges, Miniature Marshmallows and Cool Whip) - my very favorite!!

Everything was so good and we stuffed ourselves.

Here's how I fix the roast:
I try to get a Cross Rib Roast or Sirloin Tip Roast, about 3 lbs. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Put some kosher salt, black pepper and garlic powder on a dinner plate and roll the roast in the mixture...patting it on so it sticks. Roast for 1 hour at 425 degrees. At the end of the hour, turn off the oven. Do not open the oven door. The recipe that I follow says to keep the roast in the oven for 2 hours, then heat the oven up to 300 degrees and warm the roast for about 20 to 30 minutes. I didn't do that tonight because it was so late. After the potatoes and green beans were cooked, I took the roast out...it had been about 30 -35 minutes. It was a perfect tender, medium rare roast. It had a little bit of a thin tail on it and that got about medium. The crust that formed was so good.

I've had the recipe for the rice salad since the '70's. A girl that I worked with at the Fresno County Main Branch Library use to bring it for potlucks. I begged for the recipe and she finally gave it to me, making sure I promised that I wouldn't share it with anyone. I have pretty much held to that promise...Denise has it. I don't make it very often...usually just for Christmas dinner. I have seen recipes that are similar.

The Ambrosia is super easy...a large can of fruit cocktail, a 15 oz can of pineapple chunks and mandarin oranges, half a bag of miniature marshmallows and cool whip. Sometimes I put flaked coconut in it, also cut up red or green apples and sliced bananas. I made both of the salads Saturday night...they taste much better the next day.

I used some red glass dinnerware and we had Martinelli's to drink. Nothing fancy...so, so yummy, though.

Hope you've all had a great day!!

Mele Kalikimaka - 2011

2011-12-25T11:35:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to all of you in blogland who happen to read my blog. I so appreciate your interest in what I have to say. I hope you are having a great day with family and friends.

Here is one of the cards I made for this year. To see the others, visit my Elegant Reflections blog. The link is on my side bar.I used this picture to send with the Christmas cards. It was taken at Disneyland on Black Friday. We are standing in front of Sleeping Beauty's castle with our two youngest granddaughters, Katelyn Joy (almost 7 years old) and Emma Louise Yniguez (4 years old).

This is the Christmas letter that was also included:

"Joy to the world, a Savior has been born".

Christmas Greetings from our house to yours...another busy year is about over...here's a few highlights from our year.

The big excitement was the birth of our first great grandchild...a precious girl. Chayse (pronounced Chase) Katherine was born on September 2nd in Fayetteville, NC. She weighed 8 lbs 6 oz, 20 inches long...with lots of dark hair. This is Denise and Stephen's first grandchild...son Nathanael is her daddy...her mom is Megan Elizabeth. Megan posts lots of pictures on Facebook.

Gerry and Jason went on the annual Bogus Basin trip in February to ski and snowboard. Erik plans this get together every year...2011 was the 10th year. Plans are already in the works for the February 2012 trip.

In June I flew to Enterprise, Al for Rebekah-Elizabeth's high school graduation. Gerry and I were in Enterprise in 2009 for Nathanael's graduation. I spent 2 weeks there in hot, humid weather...typical weather for the south.

In October Gerry did the bicycle ride around Clear Lake in Lake County again...he did that ride for the first time 10 years ago. We spent two days in Lakeport...the weather was gorgeous...our hotel was lakeside.

November 1st we celebrated our 31st anniversary by going on an overnight trip to Lake Tahoe...beautiful daytime temperatures with cold nights...32 degrees the morning we left. We took a route back home that we had not been on before...Highway 89/88...up to Carson Pass at about 8000 ft...the highway closes during the winter time because of heavy snow...it was a beautiful drive.

We spent Thanksgiving in So. California with our daughter, Joyce, and her family. On Wednesday, we drove to Irvine to meet up with Gerry's sister, Jeanne, and her family...Jeanne lives in San Marcos (San Diego County)...her son Kim and his wife Robin were visiting from Connecticut, daughter Karie flew out from Arizona and son Kevin lives in Vista (5 miles from San Marcos). We had a great time visiting and catching up.

George (Joyce's husband) fixed the turkey for Thanksgiving dinner...what a feast.

On Friday we were going to go to Knott's Berry Farm for lunch. Instead we went to Disneyland...George works there...he had some extra passes so we spent the day. George joined us when he got off work. Gerry and I hadn't been there since our 10th anniversary, 21 years ago. Being with the girls (Katie and Emma) made it so much fun! We came home on Saturday, tired and in my case, hurting. I surprised myself by being able to walk all over the park. Being able to sit and rest helped...I did pay for it on Saturday.

The rest of the family is doing well. Stephen and Denise continue to minister in Enterprise...their business is doing well. Denise has taken up sewing and quilting...is enjoying finding new projects to make. Rebekah-Elizabeth enrolled in the local community college and has a job at a spa/salon. Nathanael is still stationed at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, NC.

Daughter Jenni was laid off from her job last year...she is going to a business school taking accounting classes. Daughter Elizabeth continues to homeschool Hannah and Emily. Ashley graduated this year. We see Jason occasionally...his step-son and girlfriend are expecting a baby early next year...so that will be great grandchild #2...a girl. Erik was here earlier this year for a couple of weeks...he put a new roof on the house where Elizabeth and their mother live. Jason and Gerry helped. Grandson Seth (Erik's youngest) is going to Boise State...maintaining a 4.0 GPA...pretty impressive. Erik's 2nd son, Joshua, was married this summer. He and Mary Ann live in Dumas, TX. Keith didn't come out this year; Gerry will see him in February. Joyce and her family are doing great. So is Wendi. Wendi's job takes her to Riverside every day...a long commute for her. Granddaughter Katie is in the 1st grade...she has been taking Mexican Folk Dance lessons and is absolutely amazing...Joyce told us Katie reads at a 3rd grade level...Katie will be 7 in January...sweet Emma is quite amazing too...she celebrated her 4th birthday early November.

May this Christmas season be a blessed time for you and your loved ones.

Mele Kalikimaka & Hau'oli Makahiki Hou (Merry Christmas & Happy New Year),

Gerry & Betty Townsend

Sacramento Breakfast Club - 12/23/11

2011-12-23T17:24:00.000-08:00

Today was the Friday for the Breakfast Club to get together. We went to a restaurant in Auburn called "The Breakfast Club". There were 10 of us today. I had French Toast with sausage. I was only able to eat 2 half slices. This was a huge meal, the bread was thickly cut. They soak it in a batter that tasted really cinnamonly. It was good, however I couldn't deal with more than I ate. The sausage was really large links also.Gerry wasn't able to finish his breakfast either. My usual breakfast at home is a muffin and a 16 oz glass of orange juice. That is what I have every morning. So to eat this much food is more than overkill. I'm going to have to figure out something else to order so I am not wasting so much food. The waitress would have boxed it up for me...I wasn't even interested in having her do that for me. It seemed all the breakfasts that were being served were large. It was a pretty busy place, small space for a restaurant.

Christmas Decorations

2011-12-23T16:39:00.000-08:00

I thought I had posted these pictures. I did a little bit of Christmas decorating. I really wanted a tree this year...we don't really have room to put one up and Gerry won't deal with one.

I always set the table with my Christmas dishes. I got some new candle holders this year...they are a little too big. Funny story about finding the tablecloth...I have a round one, a rectangle one and an oblong one in this particular pattern...I have no idea why. Anyway, I took this one out of the linen closet, thinking it was the round one. Then I couldn't figure out why it wouldn't fit. I was pulling and tugging on it, getting very frustrated. Then Gerry tells me it is because it is oblong, not round. Well, I kept insisting I had a round one and where did it disappear to...I even looked in the drawers under the china cabinet...couldn't find it. So Gerry tells me we need to put the leaf in so the tablecloth would fit. So I get the table all fixed up and later I opened up one of the drawers to get the napkins out and guess what...there was the round one. Well, I wasn't going to take everything off. I'm glad we opened up the table because the candle holders take up quite a bit of room and especially after I put the candle rings around them.Gerry wanted to know who was coming to dinner after I got the table finished. I even polished the silverware.

I found these poinsettia napkin rings a few years ago and just love them.

This nativity set is on the buffet. I got it a couple of years ago at a California Backyards Christmas store.

When we were in Salado, TX 2 years ago, I found this pearl garland in a store there. I bought one roll of it and wished I had bought 2 of them. I forgot I had this and found it in the drawer too. It adds a nice touch to the nativity display.

I have a crystal candle holder with tapers on each side of the nativity. Those are tiny poinsettia candle rings.

This nativity set is on top of the entertainment center. I got it at a craft show several years ago.

Four angel votive holders

And lastly, these wood candle holders are usually on the entertainment center with some other candles. I put these red glass candle holders on them with more poinsettia candle rings. I use to use these on the table, I had 3 of them...I broke one of them last year.

So it looks a little festive in here for Christmas.

Sacramento Breakfast Club

2011-12-19T16:40:00.000-08:00

During the summer, Gerry and I joined a group called "Sacramento Breakfast Club". We use to go to church with the guy who coordinates the group and his wife. They meet every other Friday for breakfast. Everyone in the group either works for AT&T or retired from AT&T. There are usually 6 of us that get together...others join in...depending on their schedules. I don't know exactly when the group was formed, however, they would get together after they got off of work and go out to breakfast.

Since we joined, we have been to some places Gerry and I hadn't been to before...several of the places he and I do go to. We've gone to a restaurant in Auburn and one in Placerville and several around Sacramento.This is the breakfast I had 2 weeks ago...it is minced ham with scrambled eggs and melted cheese on the top. I substituted the potatoes for a bowl of fruit with wheat toast and a large glass of orange juice. I am not a coffee drinker, my beverage of choice for breakfast is OJ. This was at a place called "Waffle King" not far from the AT&T building.

We will be getting together this coming Friday and are going to a place in Auburn called "Breakfast Club". We have not been there before so it will be interesting to see how this place is with their breakfasts.

I actually took this picture with my phone...I really surprised myself that I was able to figure out how to get it on my computer... :). The real test will be to see if I can do it again. LOL!

The Donut Hole

2011-12-17T10:42:00.000-08:00

We left La Puente on Saturday (11/26/11) to drive back to Sacramento. Gerry took Katie and Emma to The Donut Hole to get breakfast. It was cute watching Katie help her sister get ready to go with Granddad.

The Donut Hole is a drive-through. They do have a walk-up window. I don't know how long this has been in business...its a fun place and we usually make at least 1 stop when we go to La Puente. Behind it is an old-fashioned McDonald's. I think across the street is an old fashioned In 'n Out burger drive-through.

We had an enjoyable visit and look forward to the next time. Joyce, Katie, Emma and Wendi will be in Sacramento after Christmas. Don't know if Geraldine will be able to come...she is home for the Christmas break from the college she attends in New York state. George will be working.

Disneyland - 11/25/11 - Part IV

2011-12-17T10:10:00.000-08:00

Mrs. Claus's float

Enjoying the parade.

Winnie the Pooh...my favorite Disney character!!...along with Mickey, Minnie.... :)

And Tigger too...

So close!!!

Loved the faces on these snowmen!!

Oops...a float having to be towed...

Eeyore...

These were so cute!!

The Princesses!!

Belle and The Beast dancing.

Here's Santa!!

Thank you to Joyce for taking the majority of these pictures...the battery on my camera had died...I did take a few on Gerry's camera...I will get those later.

As I've mentioned...this was a fun time, especially being with Katie and Emma. Hope you enjoyed the trip, too, through these pictures! Disneyland is an awesome place!!

Disneyland - 11/25/11 - Part III

2011-12-15T19:51:00.000-08:00

We are in Mickey's House in Toontown...waiting to see Mickey. Katie & Emma playing Mickey's piano.

We waited in line for over 30 minutes to spend less than 5 minutes with Mickey. :)

I don't know why I've got 2 pictures... :)

Emma wanted to ride the roller coaster ride in Toontown so Granddad went with her...standing in line waiting...

After the ride...Emma is all smiles...

Another picture in front of the castle...this was taken after Toontown and on our way to the plaza to wait for the flag ceremony. I used this photo to include with our Christmas cards this year.

The drum and bugle band at the beginning of the flag ceremony. When the flag is brought down every night, there is a very nice ceremony that takes place.

The barber shop quartet that sang several patriotic songs. They were awesome!

The honor guard ready to take the flag down.

That is Gerry in the tan colored cap. It was announced that as the song from each branch of the military was played, that veterans or active military in the audience step up to the flag. So, of course, when the Marine Corp hymn was played, Gerry joined the others gathered at the flag. It was so awesome!

The Christmas tree all lit up...it was so pretty after it got dark.

We are waiting for the Christmas parade to start. Front row seats!!

I will have one more post of our Disneyland pictures.

Disneyland - 11/25/11 - Part II

2011-12-14T19:37:00.000-08:00

Silly Emma

Sitting in Santa's sleigh

Petting Zoo - Santa's reindeer

The girls with Mrs. Claus

Pluto came out just as we were getting ready to go over to Toontown.

Giving Pluto a kiss.

Disneyland - 11/25/11 - Part I

2011-12-14T18:51:00.000-08:00

There are over 200 pictures of our trip to Disneyland...some of them I took, the majority were taken by Joyce. I am not going to post all of them...I chose some to post and will do it over 2 or 3 posts. We had such a good time!! Granddad and Katie...we are at the entrance to the park waiting for Joyce to come back with our passes.

Emma, Katie and Granddad.

Waiting for Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. It has been completely remodeled.

Walt Disney and Mickey.

Sleeping Beauty's castle.

One of several pictures we took with the girls.

Riding the Winnie the Pooh ride...Granddad with Emma.

Having lunch at a Mexican restaurant. The girls got a giant cookie for dessert.

On the river boat going past Tom Sawyer's Island.

Hashbrown-Pork Chop Casserole & Erik's visit

2011-12-14T16:19:00.000-08:00

Erik came to town last week for a short visit. He had driven to Texas, Arizona and Southern California before he came to Sacramento. He got into town last Wednesday and came here for dinner. Here is what I fixed for dinner. I got the recipe from one of the food blogs that I follow.

Browning pork chops.

Hashbrowns thawing in a pan.

The casserole put together.

This is my plate.

Here he is...Erik lives in Mountain Home, ID. He and Jason went on a PGR mission with Gerry Thursday night. I tagged along...he left Friday morning to head home.

Here's the recipe:

Hasbrown-Pork Chop Casserole

4 bone-in pork chops (I used 6 chops)

1 T oil

1 cup sour cream (8 oz. container)

1 can (10 3/4 oz) cream of celery soup (Campbells)

1/2 cup milk

Frozen shredded hasbrowns (32 oz package), thawed

1 cup onion, chopped (I used a small onion, chopping the whole thing)

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

salt & pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Season both sides of pork chops with salt & pepper

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown pork chops on both sides, in hot oil.

Set aside. Be sure not to cook pork chops all the way through, they will finish cooking in the oven.

In a large bowl, combine sour cream, soup and milk.

Stir in hashbrowns and onion.

Spread hashbrown mixture in an ungreased 9x13 baking dish and sprinkle with cheese.

Top with pork chops.

Bake uncovered for 45 to 50 minutes or heated through and pork chops are fully cooked.

Recipe Note: Would not recommend using thin cut pork chops for this recipe since the longer baking time may cause them to become dry.

www.thecountrycook.net

This was very good, even though I forgot the cheese. We had leftovers the next day...

Brrrrrr

2011-12-06T09:30:00.000-08:00

It is so cold this morning...it was barely 30 degrees when I woke up at 7:30 am. I am still in my jammies 2 hours later...

I have a busy day too...need to finish my laundry...go get copies made of the Christmas letter, order and pick up copies of the picture I'm including with Christmas card. Hope to get everything finished today...don't know if that will happen.

On Saturday, my stamp group is getting together for a card swap. I still have to make those card kits...I have a few days left.

Better get off the computer and get started on my day...

Have a good one!!

Dinner Tonight - Chicken Casserole

2011-12-05T19:18:00.000-08:00

I haven't done this in a while...post what I've fixed for dinner. So I'm going to try and do better with my posting. Here's a recipe I got from one of the food blogs I follow...http://plainchicken.blogspot.com. Steph is the blogger...she has some really yummy recipes.

I bought a rotisserie chicken from Bel Air and shredded it.Cream of Celery Soup, Cream of Chicken Soup and a small container of sour cream mixed together and spread over chicken.

A package of Stove Top Cornbread stuffing sprinkled on top.

A stick of melted butter (1/2 cup) and 1 cup of chicken broth mixed together and poured over the top. Ready for oven.

My plate with some petite peas. It was good, a little rich with the two soups and sour cream. Here's the recipe:

Yum Yum Chicken

1 to 1 1/2 lb chicken, cooked and cut up (I shredded a rotisserie chicken)

8 oz sour cream

1 can Cream of Chicken soup

1 can Cream of Celery soup

1 box Cornbread stuffing, uncooked (Stove Top)

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 stick of butter (I used a whole stick)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In 9 x 13 baking dish, lay chicken in the bottom of the dish. In separate bowl, mix together the cream of chicken soup, cream of celery soup and sour cream. Spread over the chicken.

Sprinkle the uncooked stuffing over the soup mixture, (note: if herb packet is not mixed with stuffing mixture, top stuffing with herb packet). Mix together the broth and melted butter and pour evenly over all.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serves approximately 6 to 8.

*****

This was really easy to put together. We ate about half of it... :)

Thanksgiving

2011-12-03T21:46:00.001-08:00

Here's some pictures from our Thanksgiving dinner at George and Joyce's house, with Katie, Emma and Wendi.

The table centerpiece, a stuffed toy turkey and Emma's pumpkin.Katie leaning on Granddad's legs watching TV.

George and Wendi in the kitchen.

Joyce looking for bargins online.

Granddad and Katie acting silly. Marley had to get in the middle of it. He is the sweetest dog.

The turkey!!

Katie waiting to eat.

Gerry carving the turkey using an electric knife for the first time.

Wendi made the best sweet potato dish. She cut up fresh sweet potatoes in chunks. Put them in a zip lock bag and poured molasses over them; coated the sweet potatoes with the molasses; put them in a casserole dish, put a few pats of butter over them and baked at 400 degrees for about an hour...so easy and so yummy!

Here it comes out of the oven. They were fixed in a casserole dish in the shape of Mickey Mouse ears. :)

The table is all set and Katie is waiting...

The food all set out.

My plate...turkey (dark meat), stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, steamed asparagus, and sweet potatoes. There was gravy too, I took the picture before I put any gravy on my potatoes and meat.

Here we are...Wendi, Katie, me, George, Gerry and Emma. Joyce is taking the picture.

Geraldine, who is away at college in New York, wanted Katie to fill her mouth with whipped cream.

There she is...so funny!

That was so good...she had a little whipped cream on her pumpkin pie that Wendi made...she also has some lemon meringue pie on her plate.

Sweet Emma...

She had to have some whipped cream in her mouth, too. :)

NOTE: I took some of these pictures. The majority were taken by Joyce. Joyce took all of the pictures of our visit with Jeanne and her family, on Wednesday.

Visit with Jeanne and Her Family

2011-12-01T11:43:00.000-08:00

Here's a few pictures from our visit with Gerry's sister, Jeanne and her family on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. These were taken at an Elephant Bar Restaurant in Irvine.

Karie (Jeanne's daughter), Emma, Jeanne, Katie and GerryGerry, me Jeanne, Emma, Katie and Karie in the front row. In back is Wendi (our youngest daughter), Kim and Kevin (Jeanne's sons)

Jeanne and Kim

Joyce (our daughter) joined in the group picture. Katie and Emma are Joyce's daughters and our youngest grandchildren.

Robin (Kim's wife) joined in. She and Kim live in Connecticut. Kevin lives in Vista, Karie lives in Phoenix and Jeanne lives in San Marcos. Jeanne recently moved back to California after living in Phoenix for a few years. She celebrated her 76th birthday in October and is the older of Gerry's two sisters.

Emma's middle name is Louise...Jeanne's middle name is Louise and so is Joyce's twin sister...Jenni Louise (another of our daughters)...

Super Windy Day

2011-11-30T13:28:00.000-08:00

The wind is blowing like crazy...the sun is out and the fog has been blown out. Gerry just went outside to take our flags down and lower the flag pole. We could hear the pole hit up against the mobile. Not sure what's worse...dense fog or super windy...the wind is coming from the north so it is pretty cold too.

I went out to have my usual Wednesday Japanese food lunch. The wind was blowing so hard that the leaves were like a whirlwind in the street. And to make it worse, bushes were being trimmed along Madison Avenue. That didn't help the blowing leaves situation.

Gerry texted me about 9:45 this morning to tell me he had left the club bicycle ride. He said it was too cold and I'm sure the wind didn't help. He was home by 11:45...that is super early for him on a ride day.

Making this short...I'm not getting very far on getting my Christmas cards done...so I better get over to my craft table.

Remembering...

2011-11-28T16:00:00.000-08:00

I probably shouldn't be remembering what happened 50 years ago today...however, I have thought of it...

Fifty years ago today I married my first husband. We were both so very young and immature in a lot of ways...at least I know I was. It was probably a marriage that shouldn't have happened for so many reasons. Our cultures were so different...I was born and raised in Hawaii and he was born and raised in Arkansas and Texas.

He was in the Marines stationed at the Marine Corp base in Kaneohe, HI. His sergeant brought he and some other guys to church and that is how I met him. Our marriage lasted 9 years and 11 months. The one good thing that happened in that marriage was the birth of our daughter, Denise.

My coming to the mainland was because of that marriage and in January of next year, it will be 50 years.

We're Home!!

2011-11-27T09:34:00.000-08:00

Started this post on Sunday 11/27.

We got home last evening after 6pm. We didn't leave La Puente until 10:30 am. We wanted to wait until Wendi came over so we could say goodbye to her too. Joyce, Wendi and the girls will be in Sacramento after Christmas, so we'll see them again. George may have to work.

Our visit was fantastic...the girls, Katie and Emma, are so much fun being around. They play very well with each other, although like most siblings, there is some fussing between each other.

On Friday we had a very enjoyable day at Disneyland. George had access to some other passes so we were able to go. I think Joyce had to buy a ticket for Emma. Joyce had also previously gifted a friend with some passes so we met them at the park. We got there at 9am and didn't leave until 8pm. It was a long day...I throughly surprised myself by being able to walk all over the park. We would sit and rest periodically so that helped a lot. I had one of my canes with me and that helped a lot too.

The last time Gerry and I were at Disneyland was on our 10th anniversary (1990). A lot is new at the park, some updated and some still the same. We went to the Tiki Room (that's still the same), Jungle Cruise (still the same and always enjoyable), Haunted Mansion (had not been there before. It was always closed...it was still decorated for Halloween. We got to go through the Fast Pass lane because I had my cane.). The Pirates of the Carribean ride had just reopened on Thanksgiving Day so the line was too long, over a 2 hour wait. So we missed that ride and "Its a Small World.

On the way to Toon Town, we stopped at the Petting Zoo and saw the reindeer they have on display for the holidays. Pluto came out so the girls got pictures with him. We met up with George after leaving there.

In Toon Town we visited Mickey's house and had our pictures taken with Mickey...Joyce commented that we waited 30 minutes to be with Mickey for less than 5 minutes. It was worth it...the girls were excited and that's what counts. While we were in Toon Town, Emma wanted to ride the roller coaster ride there. So Gerry went with her...as they came around the track, we noticed that Emma was holding on tight to her granddad. :)

We wanted to see the Flag Ceremony at 4:30pm and the Christmas Parade was at 5:30pm. After we took pictures in front of the castle we walked up to the town square. Wendi spotted an empty bench so she ran over to it before someone else came along. We all were able to sit there and watch the flag ceremony and the parade. The flag ceremony was so impressive. At one point, the announcer said that as each song was played from each branch of the military, that members from each branch gather around the flag. Gerry joined in when the Marine Corp song was played. I am sure he was probably teary eyed... :)

The parade was so nice. It passed right in front of us and some of the cast members were mere inches from us. Little Emma stood the whole time waving to everyone.

After the parade, Joyce and I went shopping; George, Gerry and Katie went to go ride a couple more rides...Thunder Mountain and another one; Wendi and Emma went to go do the Haunted Mansion ride again. Joyce and I just went to 2 stores and I was able to find some things for Chayse. By that time I was starting to get tired so we walked back to the town square and the same bench where we sat for the parade was still available. Everyone met us back there after awhile. It was getting pretty cold by then.

We had had lunch in the park and so decided to stop at McDonald's on the way to the freeway. It was quick...the girls fell asleep soon as we got back in the car. The traffic was pretty light so it didn't take us long to get home.

Finishing this post on Monday, 11/28.

Unfortunately, I paid for all walking I did at the park. I woke up Saturday morning hurting and stiff. The long ride home didn't help...I did sleep a lot of way. We did stop a couple of times so I was able to get out of the van and walk around. I slept really good Saturday night and got up Sunday feeling a lot better. I have a bulging disc and arthritis in the same area so walking for long periods of time can be very painful. That's why I was so surprised that I was able to do so much walking at the park.

I haven't downloaded my pictures yet. Joyce copied her pictures to a flash drive so we'd have those too. She also took pictures of our visit with the Nicholas family on Wednesday. We took a lot of pictures of us with Katie and Emma in hopes to have a nice one for our Christmas card this year. I will share some pictures soon as I get them downloaded.

So it is back to getting things accomplished at home. I need to be at my craft table working on my cards...I went shopping for a little bit this morning so the laundry didn't get started until after I got back. Gerry went out for his Monday ride...he hadn't ridden for a week...

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T11:07:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone is having a fantastic day.

This post is for my son-in-law, George. He reads my blog and told me he has been missing my posts.

We are visiting in La Puente with George, Joyce (our daughter) and our two precious granddaughters, Katie & Emma. We got here Tuesday afternoon and will probably head for home on Saturday. On Wednesday we drove down to Irvine (Joyce, Katie, Emma, Wendi, another daughter, Gerry and I). Gerry's sister Jeanne lives in San Marcos and her kids were visiting her for Thanksgiving. So we met them at an Elephant Bar restaurant for lunch and had a very enjoyable 2 hours visiting and catching up. George had to work so he didn't get to go with us.

Katie and Emma are our youngest grandchildren and such a delight to be around. They are sweet little girls. Gerry and I were very impressed with their behavior at the restaurant. They were so good considering we were there for such a long time. They didn't fuss in the car both driving to Irvine and coming back. Katie took a nap coming back, Emma tried...The traffic was horrible coming back, stop and go, took us twice as long to drive back.

George works at Disneyland. Joyce told us we need to come back another time so we can go to Disneyland. Gerry and I haven't been there since our 10th anniversary...that was a few years ago. Joyce teaches 3rd grade and has had this week off.

I apologize for not posting on my blog for quite some time. Its not like I haven't had anything to post...I think about doing it and then its too late in the day and then I forget about it.

I started working on my Christmas cards on Monday. I did manage to get a few done. I'm trying something different this year for cards...going to do very little stamping, using mostly designer scrapbook paper. I was quite pleased with the few I got made.

Have a wonderful day...eat lots of great food...and if you are traveling, drive safe.

My First Crochet Project

2011-09-09T21:06:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I decided to teach myself to crochet. I love the crochet flowers that are used on card projects. So I decided I would learn to make them. I bought some yarn and a couple of needles and watched lots of You Tube videos. It looked easy enough and so I decided to try making one. Well, it was beyond frustration. I just couldn't do it.

Several of our family members crochet including Denise and my sister Nani. My sister told me to get Clove needles, that would be more comfortable to use. Denise told me to get 100% acrylic, worsted yarn. I had gotten a Size H Clove needle and that was ok. I decided to give up on the flowers and try making a simple dishcloth. I found a begineer video and watched it several times. It was just chaining and then single crochet.

Unfortunately, I had to take it apart twice and on my third try, it seemed to be going together a lot better.

So here is my finished project. I actually made it a little bigger than what the instructions on the YouTube said. There are still some booboos in it, however, it looks like some others that I have. I even put a border on it by single crocheting all around it. That covered up some of the rough endings on some of the rows.

I even did 3 single crochets at each corner for some extra detail.

I found a blanket tutorial on You Tube that looks easy...the demonstrator even said it was suited for a beginner project. It uses a huge needle which I got today and 2 strands of yarn. So I will give it a try and see what happens.

The dishcloth is now in the dishtowel drawer in the kitchen along with the others that I have either bought on Etsy or Denise made for me. I have 3 that Becca (my granddaughter-in-law) made and I bought from her. Now I can make my own when the others wear out.

There certainly is a nice feeling of accomplishment to try something for the first time and have it turn out. I made another placemat purse the other day. I put the other placemats away for now, I'll do them up sometime later.

My sister Nani was going to look for some Hawaiian print material that would be nice enough to make a baby quilt. She is suppose to let me know what she finds, then I will send her some money to get the material for me. I'd like to do one for Chayse...I got to thinking about the Hawaiian quilts Denise had when she was a baby and thought it would be nice for Chayse to have one. Denise's quilts were still in good shape to use when Rebekah was a baby. Denise also has a quilt that my mother handquilted for her. I asked her in June if she still had it and she said yes.

It is very warm here tonight. I turned the A/C off (9:26pm) and have the windows opened up. Thunderstorms and lightning are expected in the foothills and mountains for the next few days. We may get some of it down here in the valley. That kind of weather is a sure thing for fires.

Sewing Projects

2011-09-05T22:43:00.000-07:00

While I was at Denise's in June, we watched numerous "YouTube" quilting videos. Denise has recently started quilting. Watching all those videos got me interested in doing some sewing again. It has been at least 25 years since I've done any sewing. I decided to start with some simple projects.

So I started with making placemat purses. I saw a "YouTube" to make clutch purses out of a placemat. This is the first one I made. I also saw a few videos to make different kinds of flowers. This blue flower was made from lace...it was so simple...like "duh" I can use these on my cards too. I put a button in the middle of this one.

I used this clutch a couple of times and it actually holds quite a bit and is comfortable to carry. I used velcro strip on the inside of the flap to keep it closed. Here's another one. I really like this one...the pattern on the placemat is kind of Asian looking. I used an ivory Chinese frog as an embellishment on the flap.

I've had this placemat for several years. I had a matching napkin too so I used it on the inside. It has black web handles. Cute story about this bag...my Hawaii blogger friend, Jalna, was crocheting a couple of baby beanies for me that I was going to send to Chayse. I emailed her pictures of what I was working on and when she saw the picture of this tote bag...she told me she wanted it...she would trade the beanies for this bag. I had plans to use it which she didn't have a problem with it so I got to use it once. It was not the neatest job...she didn't care. Jalna also wanted some cards...since I have them coming out of my ears from all the card swaps I do, I sent her a lot along with the bag. I don't know if she has gotten the bag yet...it was to arrive on Saturday.

I also had 3 pieces of fabric that I had bought before I retired. I was going to make some summer skirts with them. Well, the package got put in my closet never to be seen again until I went hunting. So I made three skirts...they are real simple with elastic waists. This one is a lavendar print.

A pink one...there are tiny white flowers woven in the fabric.

This one is a sage green with tiny flowers...different shades of pink. This was the first one I made and it is a little too full...I should have not used all the fabric. Lesson learned... Since I enjoyed making the placemat purses, I decided to make some more. This placemat is red...kind of has a shiny finish to it.

Fern and palm branches.

See how much this next one cost...$1.79...on clearance at Kohl's.

Here's the placemat...another Asian looking one.

These next 3 I got at Walmart...$3 each. I'm going to use some jumbo rickrack to embellish them.

And here's the project I made today. This fabric is a patchwork pattern...the colors are burnt orange, dusky blue, brown, orange, yellow daisies and beige. I used a different fabric for the inside and the strapes. I am so pleased at the way it came out...a simple, easy tote bag...my favorite kind of purse to use. Its pretty small...the measurements are 10" across the top, 9" tall and 8.75" across the bottom. The straps are 9". I have some fabric left if someone wants one. :)

The other side of it...

The lining...a stripe pattern with the dusky blue, burnt orange and brown. I made the straps from this fabric too.

I found these next two placemats at Penney's on clearance...they are part of the Chris Madden line. This one is a tapstery...very elegant looking....browns, black and beige...

I took these pictures on my oak dining room table and forgot I had turned off the flash. It all looks yellowish ... sorry! This one is chenelle in red with ivory and gold trim. Another elegant looking one.

The medallions in the middle of the first mat.

I am enjoying so much sewing again...even if they are simple, quick projects. I still want to attempt to make a baby quilt. I remembered that when Denise was a baby, she had 2 quilts that were from Hawaii and had an island theme.

I was talking to my older sister, Nani, the other night and mentioned to her about trying to make a quilt. She is going to look for fabric for me and let me know how much it would cost. She belongs to a craft group and they have made some simple quilts. So I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do. It will be for Chayse.

I'm trying to teach myself to crochet also...not doing too well at it so far. Except that last night I watched several videos and I think I figured out what I was doing wrong...I am doing a chain and then single crochet...so nothing complicated. I wanted to sew today so I put the crocheting aside for later.

So that's what I've been doing lately...enjoying myself so much!!

More Pictures of Chayse

2011-09-05T22:33:00.000-07:00

I downloaded these pictures off of Facebook...

This one brought tears to my eyes...grandmother holding her granddaughter for the first time...so sweet! I wrote on Facebook..."there are no words to describe holding a grandchild for the first time"...it is pure joy!!

Meet 1st Great Grandchild/Granddaughter

2011-09-02T21:23:00.000-07:00

Chayse Katherine

September 2, 2011

Born 1:57 pm, EDT, in Fayetteville, NC

8.6 lbs, 20 inches long

We are excited to welcome the newest member to our family. Baby Chayse was not due until Monday, September 5th. She obviously did not want to wait that long and made her appearance this afternoon in Fayetteville, NC.

She is a beautiful baby with lots of dark hair. Mom, Dad and baby are doing well.

Congratulations to Nathan and Megan...Stephen and Denise...Megan's parents...and a very special welcome to Chayse Katherine...we are all so blessed!!

Happy Birthday...to me...

2011-07-29T14:30:00.000-07:00

This has been birthday week for Gerry and I...his was Monday and mine was yesterday...the beginning of the last year of the 6th decade of my life! Wow, that sounds strange! :)

Gerry asked me Wednesday night and again yesterday morning what I wanted to do. I had no clue other than I wanted crepes for breakfast and wanted to go to Mimi's later for dinner. Other than that, I didn't really care. So here's what we did for my birthday...

We went to Country Waffles in Citrus Heights for breakfast. They have 2 items on their menu featuring crepes...one is 2 Swedish crepes filled with a choice of apples, strawberries or blueberries. It also includes 2 eggs and bacon or sausage. The other item is just 2 crepes with choice of filling. I had the 2 crepes with blueberries. They put a small dollop of whipcreme on top. It was perfect...and some orange juice to drink. Gerry had a waffle with bananas and caramel sauce on top and coffee to drink. (I didn't take pictures...had my camera with me too).

From there we drove to Roseville to the Galleria (shopping mall). Gerry has an account at Helzberg Jewelers (he's gotten me a few things there). He had gotten a postcard in the mail from them for a "free pearl bracelet", so he wanted to go get it. The bracelet has a silver heart attached and it says "I Am Loved". :) The pearls are not real...the sales clerk recognized the necklace I was wearing and asked if we had bought it there. It was a Christmas present one year...3 diamonds set in a row (downwards) with a piece of gold down each side of the diamonds.

We walked around the mall for a little bit. Construction is still going on in the area of the mall that was burned last fall. Supposedly that portion of the mall will be open by this fall, a year later since the fire.

Since we were close to where son Jason works and the Nissan needed an oil change, we drove up there to get it done and see him. We also wanted the Nissan washed...it was in dire need of a "bath". Denise called while we were there and had a chuckle that we were getting the oil changed on my birthday. There's a bead shop next to the auto repair place and so we walked over there. Gerry is looking for some beads to make a replication of a couple of military ribbons he has. They didn't have anything that he wanted. I did get some small jewelry boxes I needed for a swap I am doing. When we got back to the auto place, Jason was ready for lunch so we walked across the street to La Bou's...he had a sandwich and Gerry and I got something to drink. I had a piece of lemon square. It was not as good as the ones Denise makes.

When we got back the van was finished. We then drove over to Joann's. For my birthday I bought myself a kit that contains a 18" x 24" self-healing cutting mat, a 6" x 24" ruler and a rotary cutter. I want to start sewing again and am thinking about learning how to quilt. I have a high school classmate friend that told me she'd help me. Denise is learning to quilt and has made a few things. We watched lots of quilting "you tubes" while I visited last month. That got me interested...besides I have always loved quilted things and wanted to learn how to do it. I need to finish up some card projects before I really get into it.

After we left Joann's, we came home. By then the temp was hitting close to 100 degrees and I was getting a horrible headache. We relaxed for awhile then went to Mimi's for dinner. I had gotten a birthday online coupon. I had their Asian Chopped Chicken salad with a carrot/raisin muffin and Gerry had Jambalaya (I think that's how you spell it). He really enjoys the dish that the Elephant Bar makes. He said Mimi's was not as good.

It was a little after 7 when we got back home. One of the neighbors, a few spaces down, was having an estate sale. She fell a while ago, cracking several ribs. Her daughter wants her to move in so she is getting rid of her stuff. There wasn't anything interesting...not that we need anything. We need to be getting rid of some of our stuff.

Gerry went for his walk...and while I was "chilling"...my sister Nani called. We have just started talking again...she has gotten into card making...it has been nice catching up and finding out where her kids and grandkids are and what they are doing. Her phone call was a very nice ending to "my day".

Oh, my phone was "dinging" all day long with Facebook notifications of someone posting to my wall. When I checked Facebook before I went to bed...there were over 60 people (family and friends) who had left a birthday greeting. I felt so blessed...

I have no idea what this next year will bring...Gerry and I were sharing the other day...we have been so fortunate to be in good health...no major problems (little annoying ones sometimes) and we are still able to do what we need to and want to do. Gerry rides his bicycle 3 days a week...50 to 60 miles each day. Not bad for being 72 years old and 69 years old...:)

Happy Birthday, Honey

2011-07-25T13:03:00.000-07:00

Gerry is celebrating his 72nd birthday today. Since today is a ride day with his bicycle club, he decided to lead the ride and mapped out a ride that will consist of 72 miles for him...one mile for every year of his life.

He mapped out 3 options for the ride, the longest one being 58 miles. The coffee stop on the long ride was to The Flower Farm out in Loomis. I drove out and met him there. He was the last one to get there because as the ride leader, he has to sweep the route to make sure there aren't any riders that need help. Just a few riders went out to The Flower Farm. Most of the group went to Karen's, a bakery/cafe in Folsom. That was one of the short options. Here he is ready to get back on the bike. Looks pretty good for 72 years of age, huh! I think so.

Ready to hit the road again. I enjoy going out to The Flower Farm. I've blogged before about this place. It includes a nursery, a Bed & Breakfast, an event hall and a coffee shop. The coffee shop was recently sold. It was really busy in there today and it took quite a while to get an ice tea and a peach smoothie. We use to always enjoy a bagel sandwich that had smoked salmon on it. We asked the person taking our order if they still made the sandwich. She said "yes" and that they made it better than the previous owner. She started to tell us what was on it and when she mentioned "capers", that turned me off. The sandwich had smoked salmon, cucumbers, tomatoes, green pepper and this sauce that was so delicious. Maybe we will have to brave it some time and try their version of the sandwich.

It took so long getting our drinks that I went inside to find out what was happening. The smoothie was just being made and I had to get the ice tea myself. Wonder why they didn't give us a cup to get the ice tea, to begin with. Service was not what it use to be.

There were two ladies from the club that came in before Gerry got there and they insisted on waiting for him. He was okay with riding by himself....

It is a beautiful day today with a nice breeze...in the 80's...I took a jacket with me when I left home in case it was cool out there. The temps will be back up into the 90's by Thursday. That figures...it is always HOT on my birthday! :)

There is a nice covered deck on the back of the coffee shop that overlooks the garden. It is so nice to sit out there. I walked around the garden when I first got there...there were lots of dragonflies flitting among the plants and trees. A flock of geese flew by too...

I didn't ask him what he wanted for dinner...will have to see what he wants when he gets home. We are going to Reno next week...he was thinking of a birthday trip for us and then I found out that Nathanael will be in Reno from August 3rd to the 6th. We are going to drive up to see him and it will be our birthday trip. The 82nd Airborne Convention is being held then and Nathanael was picked to supervise the medical teams that will be taking care of the guys doing a jump. He only has to work on that one day so will be able to hang out with him some. I am really excited to be seeing him.

As a side note...

I know I haven't blogged since I got home from my Alabama trip. I've over-committed myself with Splitcoast Stampers card projects plus sorting out 2 swaps that I am hosting...so blogging has been the last thing on my mind. I'll get back in the swing of things...sometime soon... :)

I'm Home

2011-06-21T15:03:00.000-07:00

Another quick note...I got in last night about 10:50 pm. It was a day of delays and lots of waiting. I've caught up on reading all my Facebook posts, read and deleted tons of email and have to update my Splitcoast Stampers threads. I tried to keep up on my Windows phone, however, it was a little difficult doing so and it also took a lot of battery usage.

My visit to my daughter's was very nice; my grandson Nathanael was able to get some leave time and so he was there too.

I am doing laundry today and getting unpacked. The TSA people completely turned my things in my suitcases upside down. I was not too happy when I opened up my suitcases last night.

I will do more blogging later...just wanted to say "HI" for now.

Talk to you all soon! :)

Saying Goodbye to Sweet Home Alabama

2011-06-20T06:40:00.000-07:00

A quick note....I leave this afternoon and fly to Atlanta....after a 3 hour layover, I fly to Sacramento and home. It has been a great visit...however it is time to go home. :) I will blog later, maybe tomorrow. I have a busy week ahead...looking forward to seeing my stamping friends on Saturday.

Take care....

Hi from Alabama

2011-06-09T09:39:00.001-07:00

A short note to say hi. I am in Alabama at denise's. It is hot and humid here...to be expected.

Yesterday all the girls went to a local nail shop and pedicures. I just had a foot soak and massage.

Graduation is tonight. Rebekah is excited.

Today

2011-06-03T19:36:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile since I blogged. I've been working on several projects and by the time I stop for the evening, the last thing I want to do is blog.

I made graduation cards for two granddaughters and a set of Thank you cards for each of them. I kept changing my mind as to what I was going to do so it took me a few days to finally finish the projects. I'll have the pictures up on my card blog later. I also did a card kit swap project. Actually those went together quite easily and surprisely enough, I used stuff from my stash instead of having to go buy stuff. Wish that worked all the time.

This morning I went and got my hair cut. It is pretty much the same style as the one I got in December. I was going to have Brent do some color too, however, decided not to do it. It looks good as it is and Brent thought it looked fine too. That saved me a few dollars... :)

I haven't said anything yet...I am leaving Sunday night on the "red-eye" flight and flying to Atlanta, GA. I arrive there early Monday morning, have a 3 hour layover then fly to Dothan, AL. It is a short drive to Enterprise. I'm going to Rebekah-Elizabeth's graduation (Denise's daughter). I plan on spending 2 weeks there and will fly back on the 20th. I'm looking forward to seeing Denise and the grandkids. Nathanael was able to get some leave time and he is in Enterprise right now. Stephen's family will be there too...don't know when they all are arriving and how long they'll stay. Graduation is the evening of the 9th.

It is hot and humid there right now. I looked at a 10 day forecast and it said, thunderstorms or showers and high 90's. Ugh!! We are dealing with temps in the 50's and 60's. We continue to have rain...this past Wednesday there were 2 tornadoes that touched down north of Sacramento. Brent lives in Roseville, just east of where we live, and he said they were getting tornado warnings. The worst of the storm went around us...to the north, east and south of us. We had rain that was heavy at times...other areas around us had lots of hail.

Today has been overcast all day and it is suppose to be rainy tomorrow and Sunday. We all keep wondering if we'll have summer anytime soon. Of course, I prefer the cooler weather versus the hot stuff.

You know, I haven't taken the flannel sheets off the bed yet. Each week I keep thinking I can put regular sheets on, however, it is just too cold at night. At one point, I took the quilt off and put it away. Then I had to get it out of the closet and put it back on the bed. I've been turning the heater on for a little bit in the mornings.

I want to share an article I read in the paper this morning...as soon as I read it, I knew exactly who this was even though it has been at least 30 years since I've seen them. His mother and I worked for Alta California Regional Center in the '80's. It was where I was working when I met Gerry. Alta California Regional Center is a non-profit organization that offers diagnostic and counseling services for developmentally disabled people...mostly children and teens. Betsy was an associate counselor and I was her secretary. We worked together for a few years and then I transferred to one of the satellite offices. Betsy left the agency and went to work for the Department of Developmental Services. Alta is under their direction. She always wanted to have a Bed and Breakfast place. So, I think in the late 90's she moved to Port Angeles, WA and opened a B&B. Unfortunately, the economy did not allow her to continue with the B&B and she had a file a bankruptcy.

A while back I had written about seeing another girl I worked with at Alta at the grocery store. I asked her if she knew where Betsy was. Sandy told me about Betsy's B&B and the town she was in. I came home and googled her name and found her. We emailed back and forth a few times and then one afternoon, she called me. We had a lovely time catching up with each other. She told me about her son being in the Army and where he was.

A funny story about Joseph...I think it was either his 6th birthday or 7th birthday...I wanted to get him a gift so I purchased an item of clothing, I think. I left it on Betsy's desk (she was out of the office). The next day she walked in to my office area...laughing. She said to me: "evidently you haven't seen my son". "He is a big boy and your gift will not fit him". I was so embarrassed...when I did see him, he was indeed a big boy for his age. :-)

My Sasaki Bag

2011-05-22T17:15:00.000-07:00

Sometime ago, in my browsing on Etsy.com, I found Sasaki Bags. Barb Sasaki of Kona, HI makes bags out of burlap coffee bean bags. What caught my attention was that she had a bag made out of a Kauai Coffee bag and the address on the back side of the bag had the town of Eleele, Kauai. My mother was born in the town of Eleele.

I left a comment about loving her bags and so began a cyber friendship. I told her I wanted a bag with that coffee bag. She told me to let her know when I was ready and she would make one for me. I "liked" her Facebook page and have commented on her blog.

About a month ago or so, I emailed her to tell her I wanted to order a bag and would she be able to have it completed by the end of May. I got it the first week of May. She told me she could and I then told her what I wanted. I decided on the style and what I wanted. The bag I purchased is called the medium Omiyage bag. Here's the front of the bag. I don't know what this bird is called, it is common to the Hawaiian Islands. The bag comes with web handles.

As a gift, she included a shoulder strap. It would have been an extra charge.

Here's the back side of the bag.

Showing the shoulder strap and the web handles. And her tag.

As another gift, she included a cell phone pocket and a pencil pocket. The fabric used for the inside and the bottom of the bag is a common hibiscus pattern, red and white. I love it....

This is a 10 inch zippered pocket that I ordered.

Another gift she included is this tissue holder. The fabric is a map of the Waikiki area including parts of Kapahulu. I was so excited to see this fabric. Hopefully the picture can be enlarged, if so Seaside Avenue is just above Royal Hawaiian Avenue. My mother and her cousin, Aunty Lou (we called her Aunty because she was older than we, although she was a cousin...this is Hawaiian style) had a dress shop on Seaside Avenue just up from Kalakaua Avenue. While I was in high school, my younger sister and I spent a lot of time after school, helping to sweep up the floor
and take the trash out.

On this side, Palani Avenue can be seen. It runs between Kapahulu Avenue and Date Street, just one block long. My grandmother's house was on Palani. Grandma had a drapery business and my younger sister and I would go there too after school to help her clean the floor in her sewing room. Sometimes she would have one of us iron the pleats in on draperies she was making. Her house is no longer there. After she died, her property was sold and there's an apartment building there now. That was really sad to see because between the "big house" (that's what we called it...there was usually a family member living there. My mom lived there for a while) and Grandma's cottage and sewing room was a huge Hayden mango tree. The cousins spent many a day up in the tree eating green mangoes until we were sick to our stomachs. :-)

I am very excited to have my bag. I'm going on a trip in a couple of weeks and I'm going to use it as my carry on bag. It is quite large...13 inches from the top edge to the bottom of the red fabric and 18 inches from side to side. The bottom is 6 inches wide. There is a piece of wood that is fabric covered on the bottom. I will be able to have my Nook, camera, phone and Mp3 player and still room for my wallet and other items. And with the shoulder strap I can cross it over my shoulders and it won't be cumbersome to carry. I plan on taking another bag to use too.

Oh, she also included a stainless steel water bottle with a hook on it. I can hook it to the shoulder strap. I used it the other day when we went to watch the Tour of California downtown. My water was still cold when we got home.

I believe Barb is originally from Idaho. She is married to a Japanese man. Here are some of her links: her etsy shop, her blog and her web site. Take a look and see what she has to offer.

I've sure enjoyed our chatting and who knows, maybe someday I'll get to meet her.

Mahalo, Barb!

Philadelphia Cream Cheese Sauces

2011-05-20T20:13:00.000-07:00

I don't know if these are brand new products on the market...I've seen them advertised so I decided to try one. I bought a tub of one of the sauces, Italian Herbs and Cheese, and fixed some pasta for dinner tonight. I looked on their web site first to see if there was anything interesting and quick.

So here's what I made...I bought a Farmers John ham steak and cut it up in cubes. Then I cut up half of an onion. I cooked the ham first in a pan with a little bit of olive oil then added the chopped onion, cooked that for a few minutes. I microwaved 1 cup of frozen peas then added that to the ham mixture, along with the tub of sauce and 1/2 cup of half 'n half. Mixed it all together and let it simmer for a few minutes. I added more cream to it because it was getting too thick. I had some fettucine cooking and when that was done and drained, I added the sauce mixture to the pasta and mixed it all together. We sprinkled some shredded Parmesan cheese on top.

It was good and simple. I forgot to take a picture. The dish was very similar to one that I make with tortellini. For that dish, I make the sauce from scratch. There are 2 other kinds of sauces...I'll have to try them some time. I'm constantly on the lookout for different dishes to fix.

On another note...
Last night we went to a concert at Melody's school. She's a granddaughter. This was the school choir's spring concert. For an elementary school choir, they are excellent. The choir is made up of 4th, 5th and 6th graders. Melody is a 5th grader. This is her second year in the choir. Tomorrow the 5th and 6th graders are singing the National Anthem at the River Cats game. The River Cats are Sacramento's minor league baseball team. I believe the choir was there last year too.

It brought back a lot of memories of singing in school and church choirs for me. It was always a lot of fun.

Erik, Gerry's son that lives in Idaho, is in town. He got into town yesterday afternoon so we picked him up and he went to the concert with us. We stopped at Smash Burger first and had some dinner. He is going to be re-roofing the house where his mother and older sister live. Jason (younger son who lives in the area)will work with Erik on Jason's days off. Next Tuesday Erik's younger son, Seth, is flying into Sacramento to help out too. We'll have the boys over for dinner one night next week.

Tour of California, May 15-22, 2011

2011-05-18T19:24:00.000-07:00

Stage 2 of the Tour, downtown Sacramento, Monday 5/16 - a new Nissan Leaf, one of the sponsors
Here comes the Peloton, heading east on 9th Street, we are at the corner of 9th and L Streets.

Getting closer.

Here they are!

They are a blur as they whiz by...

Team cars

Team cars and some of the motors that are part of the group

More team cars

Part of the CHP escort and emergency vehicles. The police officer on the right had quite a job making sure no one crossed the street in front of the riders and vehicles

We crossed L Street and am now on the east side of 9th Street, looking back towards L St. The motor coming around the corner is in front of the Peloton. They should be coming around the corner any minute. They did 3 and a half circuits around several blocks but they crossed the finish line at 11th and L St, on the side of the State Capitol.

A few of the riders rode by after the race.

Here's a couple more.

Stage 3, Tuesday, 5/17 in Folsom. This rider was part of the 6 man breakaway, ahead of the Peloton.

These team cars are for the riders in the breakaway.

Here's the Peloton. It was raining lightly and the streets are wet. It is also cold and windy.

They had their rain gear on.

More team cars...these are for the riders in the Peloton.

The lone rider in back of the Peloton. Hopefully he was able to catch up with the rest of the riders.

More team cars.

The first stage of the Tour of California was to start in South Lake Tahoe on Sunday. Unfortunately, it was snowing up there. They postponed the start time a few hours to see if the weather would clear up. They also shortened the race. The plan was to go around the lake one and a half times ending at Northstar which is on the north side of the lake. Because of the weather, they were going to go around just the west side of the lake ending at Northstar. It kept snowing so the race was cancelled completely. The second state was to start at Squaw Valley, still in the Tahoe area. However, the roads had iced over Sunday night so the location was changed to Nevada City, ending in Sacramento. So instead of a 130 mile ride, it was a 70 mile ride.

Gerry and I left home before noon and took the light rail into Sacramento. We had a couple of hours to walk around and look at what the vendors had to offer. We decided to get some lunch and had about 45 minutes after we ate to wait for the riders. We stood at the corner of 9th and L Streets to watch them come into town. We thought they were coming down L Street, instead we found out they were coming down 9th Street. There were barriers across 9th. So we had to get out of the way as the barriers were opened up. One of the barriers caught the back of my shoe and scraped my heel. There was a guy in front of me with two large dogs and I couldn't get around them. The guy that was pushing the barrier apologized.

Across L Street, on 9th...there was a huge arched balloon going across from side to side. Just minutes before the riders appeared, it deflated. There was a huge scramble to get it out of the way...with mere seconds to spare.

It is such an impressive sight to watch the riders come into sight. They are riding fast and are so close together, it is a wonder they don't all crash.

When we moved over to the east side of 9th, there weren't any barriers up so we were standing on the curb. The riders were so close to us as they whizzed by. Everyone was whopping and hollering as they went by.

On Tuesday Stage 3 started in Auburn, came through Folsom on their way to Modesto. So we drove over to Folsom to watch them ride through. We were going to go out a little ways outside of town. Instead when we got to Folsom, Gerry turned off on Leidesdorff and drove through a couple of parking lots looking for a space. We ended up parking in a new parking garage which was right off of Riley and Scott. We were able to stand at the corner of Riley and Leidesdorff to watch the riders come up Riley after crossing Rainbow Bridge. It had started to rain lightly and it was cold and windy waiting for them to come through. One can only imagine what it was like for them having to be out in it. At least it wasn't snowing. :) We left as soon as they passed by.

We were going to go eat at Sutter Street Grill. It would have been a little difficult getting to it since it is right where the riders went past. So then I thought of Lake Forest Cafe which is on Folsom Blvd. We drove out there, unfortunately they were closed. So we ended up going to a Japanese restaurant on the east side of new Folsom. That was a big mistake. The prices for their lunches were very expensive, the service was horrible and the food was bad too. I told Gerry that we had been there before, he didn't remember that we had. So that's a place we won't go back to again.

The tour will end next Sunday in Thousand Oaks which is off of Highway 101 in Ventura County. Hopefully the weather cooperates and the rest of the tour is pleasant for them.

Before I forget, riding light rail is quite an experience. I think this was the 3rd time we've ridden it. We don't have to drive very far to get on it. When we got there on Monday, we missed one train. They run every 15 minutes so we didn't have to wait very long. They have security people around the stations now. The one that was there on Monday told us to stand at the spots where the front of the train stops. He said during the middle of the day there are a lot of teens that ride the train, they play their loud music and usually sit in the back cars of the train. There were several seats empty in the front train so we were able to sit together. Coming back, the trains were packed. We had to stand for most of the way and then a couple of stops before we got off, a seat became available so we could sit. It was much nicer being in the front cars so we will have to remember that for any future rides. We've encountered some spooky people on past rides.

My daughter Denise Noelani and her Children

2011-05-07T21:29:00.000-07:00

My daughter, Denise Noelani and her children, Nathanael Ray (Nathan) and Rebekah-Elizabeth Noelani (Bekah)

Denise Noelani

Mother's Day, May 1971, Denise at 18 months old, Vista, CA

Denise posted this picture this morning as her Facebook Profile picture. The comment she left brought tears to my eyes. I am so blessed to have such a fantastic daughter. Not only is she lovely to look at, she has a beautiful spirit about her too. She is an example of a Proverbs 31 woman of God and for that I am most thankful.

I've always loved this picture. She was always a very happy baby, playful and with a beautiful smile. Her hair was a beautiful auburn with golden highlights.

In Honor of Mother's Day - My Grandmother and My Mother

2011-05-07T21:27:00.000-07:00

My grandmother, Evangeline Camara Hulihe'e

January 1, 1894 - April 29,1990

She was born on the island of Kaua'i

My mother, Bernice Kealoha Hulihe'e Chung-Hoon and I.

This picture was taken in August 1994. I had gone home to join the family in celebrating my mother's 80th birthday. We had a big Chinese dinner for her. That next week there was a Christian Women's Fellowship luncheon. Mom wanted me to attend it with her. I was thankful that I had taken a dress with me. I am wearing a white ginger lei that a friend of my Mom's had given to her in celebration of Mom's birthday. Mom wanted me to wear it...I was thankful to have it to wear. It, of course, smelled fantastic.

I have this picture as my Profile picture on Facebook.

Today

2011-05-05T20:50:00.000-07:00

There's a high pressure system sitting offshore of California. When this happens it means the temperatures go up. Yesterday and today has been rather warm. I turned on the A/C for a couple of hours yesterday and today turned it on around 3pm. I turned it off before 8pm and opened up the windows. It is still warm outside. The bedroom window has been left open the last couple of nights. Its still been hard to sleep. I forgot about it being warm and put the flannel sheets back on the bed Monday night. That certainly hasn't helped...duh!! I need to get them taken off and put regular sheets on. The heavy blankets are off and just have a light summer blanket on. Get this, though, by Sunday there are showers forecast.

I finished the last ebook I downloaded from the library last night. It was really good, a little heart-renching though. It is called Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Linda See. I think I mentioned in a previous post it takes place in rural China in the mid 19th century. It went into a lot of detail about binding the feet of young girls and the match making that occurs when the girls are still quite young. I would highly recommend it if interested in stories that take place in the Orient.

I was going to download something else, however there wasn't anything that I was interested in and available. So today I stopped at the library before I went to Bel Air. It is on the way to the grocery store. I have read several books by Brock & Bodie Thoene (pronounced Tay-nee). They write historical fiction. They wrote several series about the Jews in Europe and the struggle to get back to the Promised Land. A few years ago I started a series called the AD Chronicles. These take place during the time of Jesus. I would buy the hardcover, read it then pass it on to Denise. There are now 11 books in the series...I got as far as the 6th book. Barnes & Noble does not have them available as ebooks and the library doesn't either. They do have them in the branches. So today I borrowed the 7th book and also borrowed another book of Debbie Macomber's that is on my wish list. They are both due May 26th...I'll have them read before that date.

A few months ago I found a crafter online who lives on the Big Island of Hawaii, Barb Sasaki (Sasaki Creations). She makes handbags and other items out of coffee bags. I think I found her Etsy shop when I snooping around on Etsy. Anyway she had a few bags made from Kaua'i Coffee Company. My mother was born on Kaua'i in the town of Ele'ele. One of the bags she had in her Etsy shop that was made with a Kaua'i Coffee bag had the town of Ele'ele on the bag. We've corresponded back and forth on Facebook and email and last month I ordered a bag made from that particular coffee bag. I got an email from her today that it was finished and she was mailing it. I am so excited to get the bag. I want to use it as a carry-on and bag when I leave on my trip to Alabama next month. It should be big enough to hold my Nook, camera, MP3 player plus wallet, etc. This is an early birthday present from me to me. I'll take pictures when it gets here and upload them on this blog.

Easter Sunday we went to Mimi's Cafe to eat. I got their Asian Chicken salad...it was so good. So since it was so hot and I didn't really want to be in a hot kitchen, I decided to make a salad for dinner. I didn't take a picture. I bought a bag of mixed greens, then put in half of a red bell pepper, some mushrooms, green onions, red cabbage, avocado. I also bought a package of won ton wrappers and some chicken. I pan fried the chicken and then cut it up in small pieces. I used half of the package of wrappers...cut them in strips and then fried them. I broke them up when I added them to the salad. The dressing I got was made by Ken's...an Asian Sesame dressing. I was not too pleased with it. It definitely did not taste like Mimi's dressing. :)However the salad was fantastic.

Wow, this post is long...that's enough then...until next time...

E-Books

2011-05-01T20:17:00.000-07:00

Last year for Mother's Day I got a Nook e-reader. I've enjoyed it immensely and have read several books on it. I created a Wish List on Barnes & Noble and it has been from that list that I have purchased and downloaded books to my reader.

A few weeks ago I learned that the Sacramento Public Library had e-books to borrow and download to one's computer. Depending on the format of the e-book available, they can be synced with e-readers or other media devices. I thought it was a great idea that I could sync any book I borrowed to my Nook. Unfortunately, to date I haven't been able to figure out how to sync the books to my Nook. :(

I had to go up to the local library branch and get my library card renewed. So far I've downloaded 4 books and read 3 of them. You can choose the borrowing period of either 7 days, 14 days or 21 days. I downloaded the books for 21 days. Earlier this afternoon I figured out how to return the books before the borrow period is up. At the end of the borrow time, the books just automatically disappear from my library. I had to download a program from the library so I can read them on my computer and a library was created when I did that.

I've read 2 books by Debbie Macomber - Susannah's Garden and her newest book that was just released last week A Turn in the Road. Her books are based in Seattle, WA. She writes in a conversational style...her books are easy to read, some twists and turns in the story line and very entertaining. I discovered her when I was setting up my Wish List on Barnes & Noble. I've read several of her books on my Nook.

Then this afternoon I finished a book called When the Soul Mends by Cindy Woodsmall. This was the 3rd book in a trilogy called "Sisters of the Quilt". She writes Amish fiction, much like Beverly Lewis and Wanda Brunstetter. I've read several of their books. I have hardcopies of the first 2 books in this trilogy. This was another outstanding book and I enjoyed it a lot.

Reading these e-books on my computer has really been enjoyable. I'm able to expand the view so it is easy to read the print.

I am going to start reading the 4th book which is called Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Linda See. I believe the author is originally from the Sacramento area and is of mixed heritage - Chinese and Caucasian. Most of her books take place in China. This one is no exception...the story is told by an 80 year old woman about the very close friendship she had with Snow Flower. It takes place in 19th century rural China. I am anxious to begin reading this book.

The library has about 500 books that are in e-book format, unfortunately there is not too many titles that interest me. The ones that do are not available. In fact, on Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, I put in an e-request last week and got notice this afternoon that it was available. I think I have 2 more books that I've requested.

Senior Prom 2011

2011-04-18T10:27:00.000-07:00

My granddaughter, Rebekah-Elizabeth Noelani, graduates from high school in June. She had her senior prom this past weekend. Denise posted pictures on Facebook and I saved them to my computer.

A beautiful young woman!

The back of her dress.

Friends

Parents - Stephen and Denise with Rebekah-Elizabeth

Grandparents - John and Jane Bledsoe

John is Denise's father...yes, my ex-husband. Denise told me they were going to be in Enterprise for a visit. I will be traveling back to Enterprise in June for graduation and spend a couple of weeks there.

The time has just flown by. I remember vividly the Saturday Rebekah was born and the telephone call I got from Denise that she had had a girl...and what she named her. I believe I have mentioned before...Rebekah's first name is hyphenated as my name is and Elizabeth is for me. She has Denise's middle name of Noelani. She is not only a beauty to look at...she also has a beautiful spirit. I sure do love her so very much and can't wait to see her in a couple of months.

Pampered Chef Party and Rubber Stamp Convention

2011-04-09T15:16:00.000-07:00

My stamping friend, Candice, had a Pampered Chef party this morning. The demonstrator made a breakfast casserole dish. It was really good. She put a layer of hash brown potatoes in the bottom of a baking dish and sprinkled cheese on top of it. Put it in the oven for a few minutes. Then put some chopped ham on top of that. Mixed up eggs that she put some cream cheese in and poured that over the potatoes and ham and baked it. She put some chopped up tomatoes on the top after she took it out of the oven. It was very good. I bought a couple of things, needed more of the clips to use in closing up bags. We've seemed to have lost some...I had tons. Then I got some new scrapers.

I left there a little after 11 am and drove into Sacramento. Candice lives in Rancho Cordova, south of Hwy 50, off of Zinfandel. So I got on Hwy 50 to get to the Scottish Rite Hall where the Rubber Stamp Convention was being held. The hall is over by Sacramento State University. I do not like to drive on Hwy 50, I think cars are going a lot faster than on I-80. There is construction going on and the lanes have been narrowered down. I got to the Scottish Rite Hall and the parking lot was packed. Thankfully I got a space close to the hall, a lady was pulling out so I waited for her spot.

I was rather disappointed in the stamp show this year. For one thing, there were less vendors this year and they were all in the large banquet room. They were nicely spaced a part...however with the people packed in the room, it was hard to move around. Besides the fact that I do not do very good in packed crowds. I bought one item and that was all. I spent more money at the Candice's party. I stopped and had some lunch before I came home.

So now I need to get over to my craft table and do some projects.

Tomato & Spinach Pasta Toss

2011-04-07T21:39:00.000-07:00

I received my Kraft Foods e-mail newsletter today. There was a pasta toss recipe included in the newsletter. I was going to make it for dinner tonight. After I read the reviews, I decided maybe I wouldn't fix it. The one I did make was pretty good. I didn't follow the recipe...just did my own thing.

I sliced a Hillshire Farms Smoked Sausage in pieces and sauted them in some olive oil. Then I added some yellow bell pepper to that, 2 cans of diced tomatoes and a package of baby spinach...gave it a good toss then added some sliced mushrooms. I rinsed out one of the cans of diced tomatoes and added that water to the sausage mixture, along with some salt and pepper. I cooked some rotini pasta and when that was done, I rinsed it then added the sausage mixture to the pasta. The sausage mixture had been simmering for a few minutes. Added an Italian blend of 5 different cheese and tossed everything together. We sprinkled some more of the cheese onto the pasta after we dished up our plates.

The loaf of bread I got has Guyere cheese and black olives baked into the bread. The bakery at the store sliced it for me. I buttered a few slices and put them under the broiler for a few minutes to melt the butter and let the edges get a little crispy.

Along with a simple salad of different kinds of lettuce and Red Wine Vinegar dressing, this was dinner for tonight. It was very good.

So here's what you need:
1 package of rotini pasta
1 package of sausage (your choice). (The actual recipe calls for Italian sausage. We like smoked sausage or Kilbasa)
1 package of baby spinach leaves
2 cans (14.5 oz) of Italian style diced tomatoes, undrained
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
fresh mushrooms ( I think I used 4 or 5), sliced
Salt & Pepper
Italian blend of cheeses or shredded Mozzarella and grated Parmesan cheeses

Hope you try it.

Cranberry Chicken

2011-04-05T20:14:00.000-07:00

Here's another recipe that was lost and found again in my messy craft room. Cranberry Chicken: 4 lbs chicken pieces (3 pieces each of breast, thigh and drumstick). 1 (1 oz) envelope dry onion soup mix (I use Liptons). 1 (16 oz) can whole berry cranberry sauce. 1 cup spicy sweet French dressing. Rinse chicken, pat dry. Place chicken in a single layer in a lightly greased 13 x 9 baking dish. Sprinkle soup mix evenly over chicken. Stir cranberry sauce, and spoon over chicken; top evenly with dressing. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 400 deg fror 40 minutes; remove foil, reduce temperature to 350 deg and bake for another 20 minutes. This is the recipe has written in a Southern Living magazine. They used Kraft Catalina dressing. Here's how I did it. I used 6 chicken thighs. I sprinkled the soup mix over the chicken, put the cranberry sauce in a bowl and broke it apart. Added an 8 oz bottle of Russian dressing into the cranberry sauce, mixed it up then poured it over the chicken. Covered it with foil and baked at 350 deg for 40 minutes, then removed the foil and baked for another 20 minutes while the rice cooked. Steamed some fresh broccoli to serve with it. I think the first time I made it, I mixed the soup mix in with the cranberry sauce and dressing. This is really good. While I was rinsing the dishes and loading the dishwasher, Gerry was sitting at the breakfast bar. He was resetting the time on my camera to 24 hour time. I didn't know he took this picture...he also did a video. So this is what I look like from the back...LOL!! Pretty exciting, huh!! :-)

Dinner Tonight

2011-04-01T21:21:00.000-07:00

Here's another recipe I found when I was cleaning up in my craft room. This recipe dates back to the '70's. It is something one of my sister's use to make.

Round Steak w/Mushrooms

1 round steak cut into strips.

1 can of mushrooms, drained

Flour for dredging meat

Lawry's seasoned salt & pepper

Water

bouillon cubes

Roll the meat in the seasoned flour. Fry until brown. Add can of mushrooms, 1 1/2 cups of water and bouillon cubes. Simmer 30 minutes or until meat is tender.

That is the recipe. Now here is what I do:

I bought 2 top sirloin steaks that were cut rather thin. I cut the steaks in half and cut those halves in half again. Then I cut the halves into thin strips. I heated a fry pan with olive oil and after dredging the slices in flour, I browned the meat. I seasoned with Lawry's and Garlic pepper while the meat was browning. I added enough water to just cover the top of the meat, lowered the heat and let it simmer for about 30 minutes or so. I also added 2 beef bouillon cubes. After the 30 minutes or so, I added sliced fresh mushrooms and let it simmer for another 10 minutes or so. I did need to add a little bit more water.

Since I cut the meat in thin slices, it didn't take long to cook and the meat was very tender. I served it with rice and fresh Sacramento Delta asparagus. This is the first of the Victory Island asparagus. I like some mayonaise on my asparagus. Gerry likes it without anything on it. I use to butter the asparagus...I don't do that anymore. It was all so very yummy.

My friend Jalna takes step by step pictures of dishes that are cooked at her house. I think about doing it after the fact. :-)

Sandy

2011-04-01T15:34:00.000-07:00

I was at Bel Air earlier today doing some grocery shopping. I was standing at the dairy case putting some orange juice in my cart. A woman passing by said "Hi Betty". I turned around and she said "you are Betty, aren't you"?. She asked if I remembered who she was. She looked very familiar, however I had no clue where I knew her from. She mentioned we worked together years ago at Alta California Regional Center. That was my first job when I moved to Sacramento in July 1980. I said to her "please, tell me your name". She said "Sandy". Oh, it has been so many years since we worked together. I started at ALTA in August of 1980 and she started in November 1980. We were both secretaries. She still works at ALTA and is a case worker now. We stood there at the dairy case for about 15 minutes or so catching up on who still works there. There's been a lot of changes at ALTA, both good and bad. They are now in a union and flex schedules are offered. She works 4 10 hour days and has Fridays off. I left ALTA in 1985 and she got married soon after that. Her husband passed away a few years ago. She remembered that I had gotten married in 1980 and had a daughter that I talked about a lot. She couldn't believe Denise was now 41 years old. She said "you still look the same". :) It was super great to see her and catch up. Before I left to go to Bel Air, I was crusing on Facebook. My grandson had posted an ultrasound picture. It is a girl...her name is Chayse Katherine. It is a beautiful picture...very clear and her perfect little body can be seen. So exciting...

Stormy Day

2011-03-24T11:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had a short break from the rain....blue sky and sunshine. Then last night the rain returned and brought the wind with it. The wind was pretty strong through the night and it continues. The sun screens are rattling on my craft room windows. We can expect this kind of weather for a few more days.

Last night I was irritated because I thought my favorites didn't get copied from my laptop to my desk top. Then I discovered my pictures were "lost" too. Well, Gerry did some searching and found everything. Huge relief. Now I just need to move everything to where it should be.

Right now I'm going to go get some lunch...

Desk Top Computer/Dinner Tonight

2011-03-23T20:49:00.000-07:00

I have a computer to use again. The laptop is terminal so it has gone bye-bye. Gerry took my desk top to the computer guy and he fixed whatever was wrong with it. It is alot faster than it was even though it is running XP. My laptop had Vista. It will take some adjusting to get use to using it again. My desk top has a 19" monitor so it is HUGE compared to the 15 inch laptop screen.

Gerry had picked up the laptop when he took the desk top in to the repair shop. When we went to pick up the desk top, we also took the laptop so the computer guy could copy all my stuff over to the desk top. We specifically told him to be sure to copy all my favorites. Well, unfortunately that didn't happen. So now I've got to figure out what all I had on there...that will certainly be a daunting task. Gerry is going to call him tomorrow and find out what happened.

*********

Here's what I made for dinner tonight:

Oven-Baked Chicken Parmesan

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 1/2 lbs)
1 egg, slightly beaten
3/4 cup Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs
1 jar (26 to 28 ounces) Ragu Old World Style Pasta Sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400 deg. Dip chicken in egg, then bread crumbs, coating well.
In 9x13 inch glass baking dish, arrange chicken. Bake uncovered 20 minutes.
Pour Ragu Pasta Sauce over chicken, then top with cheese. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Serve, if desired, with hot cooked pasta. Serves 4.

I used 1 package of breast steaks. There were 2 pieces. If I make this again, I'll season the chicken a little. It was a little bland. I found this recipe when I was cleaning up in my craft room/office last week. It was okay...just needed some additional seasoning. I was going to cook some pasta, instead cooked rice. The rice didn't go very well with it. And we had more of the fruit salad.

I've got to get the software for my camera on the desk top then I can add pictures. I'm just thankful to have a computer to use again. :) Trying to do things on my phone was not the easiest and I wasn't able to use Gerry's laptop much...

Fiesta Cabbage

2011-03-22T22:19:00.000-07:00

This is what I fixed for dinner tonight. I think maybe I have posted it quite some time ago.

When I was doing some cleaning in my craft room/office last week, I came across a bunch of recipes. Fiesta Cabbage was one of them. I found it in a Southern Home magazine.

Here's what you need:

1 package of Kielbasa Polish Sausage
1 head of cabbage
1 small red onion
1 bell pepper
1 - 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes

Slice the sausage and brown in a large skillet Take it out of the pan and drain on paper towels. Cut up the onion and bell pepper (I used a red one) and saute in the drippings from the sausage. Cut the cabbage up and add to pan. Mix it in with the onion and pepper. Put a lid on the pan and wilt the cabbage (about 10 to 15 minutes). Add the sausage back to pan along with the can of diced tomatoes. (I rinsed the can out with a little bit of water and added that to the pan). Add salt & pepper then mix everything together. Let it cook for about 5 minutes or so until everything is heated through.

I served it by itself. I had also fixed a fruit salad...fruit cocktail, mandarin oranges, pineapple chunks, mini marshmallows, coconut and cool whip.

The mixture probably doesn't sound very good...however, it is really yummy!! There is just a little bit left over.

Stormy Night

2011-03-20T11:19:00.000-07:00

The rain continues to fall...

Yesterday it was pretty ugly...then in the late afternoon the winds picked up. At times it was blowing so hard, the windows would rattle. It was a little spooky. The paper this morning says the wind gusts were up to 49 mph late last night. We have a motion light on the back porch and it was on most of the time.

Sometime in the wee morning hours, the power went out. The light in the dining room has a remote control that turns the light on and changes the speed of the overhead fan. For some reason, when we lose power the light comes on when power is restored. It was on this morning. My clock radio said 3:58 am when I woke up about 8:30am.

The winds are suppose to be heavy again today although it looks pretty still outside right now. Rain is expected through the week too.

The weather service has issued flood watches for small streams and low-lying urban areas. We are not close to any streams that would flood over.

Well, it will be nice when all this stops and we can enjoy some consecutive sunshiney days...not just teasers every once in awhile.

New Computer?

2011-03-15T16:54:00.000-07:00

Gerry got a phone call from the computer repair shop where we took the laptop last Friday. It seems the motherboard is the problem...so it appears a new computer needs to be purchased. I forgot to ask him about all my stuff that is on my laptop. Not real happy!!

He left to go to Sam's...he ordered new tires for the Nissan and they are in. He asked me if I wanted to go look at computers. It is raining and I didn't want to go out in it.

It has been raining since Sunday afternoon. There's been some breaks...yesterday afternoon it was clear. However, today it has been pretty steady. Supposedly rain is expected most of the week.

Being without a computer has been a sorta good thing...I've been doing some cleaning in my craft room/office...going through stacks of card samples I printed off the computer and magazines where I've tagged recipes. I threw out the magazines...I've got so many recipes that I'll never try them all in my remaining lifetime. Slowly I am beginning to see the top of my lateral file cabinet.

Back to my cleaning...

Today

2011-03-13T20:12:00.000-07:00

The day started looking very gloomy. The sun came out for a little bit this afternoon and then it started raining, as predicted.

Remember I mentioned how we like to cut out coupons for restaurants around town...Gerry had cut one out for Chevy's. It was buy one entree at regular price and the second entree was $3.99. So today we drove out to Chevy's by the river. We've been to that particular one a few times. It was crowded and we ended up sitting at a small booth in a corner in the bar area. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to manage it, with short legs it is somewhat difficult to sit at anything that is high. Anyway, I managed it. We both had combination meals...I had a cheese enchilada with green tomatilo sauce and a soft carnitas taco. Gerry picked 3 items...a chile rellano, flautas and I don't remember what the other one was. We were stuffed.

After we left there we drove down the Garden Highway which turns into Arden Way. We decided to stop at Arden Fair and go for a walk. We have not been there in quite a while. The traffic moving through the mall area is always crazy. Surprisely enough we found a parking space close to one of the back entrances to the mall. The mall was packed too. We walked down one side on the bottom floor then walked back on one side of the 2nd floor. We stopped at one of the sporting goods stores and Gerry bought a couple of University of Texas tee shirts. The son of a dear friend of ours is a freshman there this year.

After we got home we sat at the breakfast bar, he at his laptop and me reading the paper. I checked my email off of my phone. I am getting more comfortable in figuring out how to do things on my phone.

I was looking over his shoulder as he read his FB posts and noticed one of his Bike Journal friends mentioning that she had been looking at digi stamps all afternoon. So I said to him "ask her if she is a stamper". He turned the laptop around so I could leave a comment. We commented back and forth and then he told me to go "friend" her. When I went over to my FB, she had already "friended" me. I'm not sure where she lives now...Gerry did tell me she was teaching school overseas for awhile, however is back in the states now.

I just cooked a little bit of rice...got hungry all of a sudden so I am going to have some of the leftover Kalua pork I fixed on Friday. It is kind of late to be eating anything heavy...oh well.

It sure seemed a little strange for it to be lighter later than usual. The time change always takes a little bit of adjusting to it.

Don't know when I'll get my laptop back. Hopefully we will hear something tomorrow about what is wrong with it.

Laptop Died

2011-03-11T19:44:00.000-08:00

My laptop died this morning while I was reading my email. We took it to a repair shop after Gerry got in from his ride. They will call in a few days...probably by Monday and let us know what is wrong. :(

In the meantime I am using my phone. Not real easy to do.

The pictures and videos I've seen of the earthquake and tsunami have been horrendous.

Country Waffles for Breakfast

2011-03-08T13:53:00.000-08:00

Either Gerry or I will cut out coupons for different restaurants around town. Recently he cut out a coupon for Country Waffles located in Citrus Heights. This is one of the places his bike club goes to quite often. The coupon was for buy 1 entree and get 1 free and 2 beverages had to be purchased.

I didn't feel like my usual muffin and orange juice for breakfast so asked if we could use the coupon he had cut out. I enjoy eating breakfast out on a weekday or Saturday morning. Gerry enjoys breakfast at any time. Occasionally I will agree to breakfast on Sundays. I prefer Sunday dinner (we usually go out after church).

Gerry ordered a Portuguese sausage omelet which was chuck full of sausage, bell peppers, olives and onions (that I could see). There might have been other stuff in it. There was a choice of country potatoes or hash browns. He always gets country potatoes with breakfast, however, he told the waitress hashbrowns. After she left I asked why he ordered hashbrowns instead of potatoes. She came back to bring my orange juice and more coffee and so he changed it. He also got 2 nice size biscuits with it. It was a huge breakfast.

I got Swedish Fruit rollups which were 2 crepes with a choice of apples, strawberries or blueberries. I got apples. It had a nice dollop of whipped cream on top and also 2 eggs and either sausage or bacon. I got sausage and my eggs scrambled. I love crepes and these were very good...not burned anywhere and just a little crispy on the edges. Of course, I didn't take my camera...I could have used my phone...didn't think of it. :( My breakfast was huge too. I did finish it. :) It is after 2pm and I'm not hungry for any "lunch".

The building that Country Waffles is in has been there for a lot of years. It originally was called Perko's and when Stephen (my son-in-law) was in high school he worked there. Its close to the neighborhood where we lived when Denise was in high school.

Wild Turkeys in our MH Park

2011-03-07T16:31:00.000-08:00

A little bit ago, I was at the stove browning a pot roast for dinner. I looked out the kitchen window and couldn't believe what I was seeing. I grabbed my camera real quick and went out the sliding door. There was a turkey going past our carport. I was going to get a picture as it walked by and only got its tail feathers. They move so quickly! So I walked out to the street and here it is in front of our mobile. There was another one that was going into the carport of the mobile next door.

In the carport next door. That dead rose bush is in the way. :)

Here's the two of them by the shed. They are dark in color and it is a gloomy afternoon so it was hard to see them. They walked around the back of the shed.

After I came back in, our neighbor that lives across from us on the carport side was outside. I called to him and he said there were several feeding in the yard of a mobile a couple of spaces down from us. So I grabbed my camera again and walked down there. Here's 3 of them.

There is actually 9 of them...they are hard to see.

I got pretty close to this one.

It starts to walk away.

Bob, our neighbor, said they have been in the park most of the afternoon. Gerry sees a lot of them down on the bike trail, which is along the American River. I use to see some in a housing area close by the American River on my way home from work. There's really no open areas between us and the river so wonder where they came from. We also live quite a ways from the river.

Quite a nice sight to see, certainly not something to be expected. We have squirrels in the park and we see them around the mobiles where our space is located.

My Prize Box

2011-03-01T16:13:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I received my prize box from Jalna, my Hawaii blogger friend. Here's what was in the box: 2 boxes of the Meyer Lemon cake mix

A package of these Nori Maki tidbits. When I was growing up we ate this kind of stuff like candy. They are Japanese crackers with a piece of Nori (seaweed) wrapped around them. So YUM!

A bag of baked wheat crackers. I have put a large dent in this bag; I have it sitting by my computer. I love these!!

On the back of this bag it says "Sweet Pop Corn". I'm not sure if it is a cereal or actual pop corn. Jalna, tell me.

This bag contains individual packets of dried plums. I had one last night. They are good...salty.

Instant Miso soup. Jalna, what do I do to fix it. Translate please.

A waffle patterned rather large cloth. Jalna, is there a particular use for this?

And lastly, a tube of this awesome lotion. Jalna got some and used it on her hands. She took a picture of how smooth her hands looked and they did. Also, her husband used it on his feet. I commented about Gold Bond products being very good. So she included a tube of the lotion. I have it by my computer and have been using it on the dry skin on the top portion of my hands. In the winter time they get really dry and I am constantly moisturizing them.

Thank you so much, Jalna!!! I know I am going to enjoy all of these goodies.

Crazy Weather Day

2011-02-25T19:47:00.000-08:00

Starting yesterday afternoon and through this morning, we experienced some very heavy rain. I woke up this morning about 3am and it was quiet...the rain had stopped for a little bit...however it started up again. Then about noon the sun was out and it was quite pleasant although cold.

I drove out to Rocklin this afternoon to go to Green Tangerines Scapbook store. I've always been fascinated with the formations that clouds make. On the way home I noticed that the sky was so very blue with lots of puffy clouds. Then half way across the sky, in the area I could see, there was a very distinct line of blue sky and white clouds with very dark clouds. I wished I had my camera with me because it was beautiful. The dark clouds got darker towards the east. As soon as I got home I got my camera and went outside to get some pictures. It was hard to get some good pictures.

This is looking towards the east. Little did I know that these dark clouds were causing a horrendous thunderstorm over neighborhoods towards the east...hail included. These same clouds produced a tornado that touched down in an area northeast of Mather Field (a former Air Force air field) which is off of Highway 50.

This is looking south...beautiful blue skies and puffy clouds.

While I was outside, I took a couple of pictures of our tree in the front all blossomed out. Surprisely enough with all the rain and wind we had, the flowers are still on the tree. There are bits of green popping out so the flowers will be gone soon and the tree will be leafed out. Spring is not too far away. Yay!!

Savory Hamburger Vegetable Soup

2011-02-24T20:56:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I made a double batch of this soup. We ate it one night and then I froze the rest of it. Since today is a cold, rainy day I thought the soup would be great for dinner. I took it out of the freezer this morning. After I got home from doing some errands, I decided to put it in a pot, with a low fire, and let it thaw and warm up. I was really surprised that the vegetables didn't get all mushy after it was thawed and warmed up. The taste was still very good. I made some cornbread and we had it for dinner with the soup.

I think I am going to make another double batch and freeze it. This soup is so easy to make and it tastes so good.

I want to try some other recipes out of my new cookbook too. Most of the recipes in the cookbook were handed down from grandmothers, aunts and other family members of the singers that make up the Homecoming group. Every recipe has a story that goes with it...the stories are fun to read. I actually read the cookbook from cover to cover. :)

Well, we are going to have an interesting couple of days with the latest winter storm. The weather people are saying snow may be as low as a 1000 ft. If any "falls" here it will just be a dusting. We are suppose to have lows between 27 deg to 31 deg. One weather service said 27 deg with highs in the 40's. Too, too cold!!

Raining...Again

2011-02-24T15:26:00.000-08:00

We woke up this morning to a cloudy, dreary day. I was out doing some errands and on the way home it started raining. The paper this morning said there is a slim chance of snow in Sacramento and surrounding towns. A storm from Alaska will be passing through later today or tomorrow. We've had snow fall a few times. It doesn't stick and is gone rather quickly. There will surely be more snow in the mountains and maybe the foothills. Well, won't be expecting much other than rain.

If anything it is good hot chocolate weather...I just enjoyed a cup with some Oreo cookies. YUM!

Broccoli Casserole

2011-02-22T21:00:00.000-08:00

Here's my new cookbook. I've tagged several of the pages. Broccoli Casserole

This is one of the recipes I tagged. I made it for dinner tonight. It was pretty good, we ate half of it. I pan fried a couple of pork chops to go with the casserole.

2 (10 oz) packages of frozen broccoli, chopped

1 (10.5 oz) can of cream of mushroom soup

2 eggs, beaten

1 medium onion, grated

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1 cup mayonaise

1 (14 oz) package herb seasoned dressing or stuffing

3 T butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease casserole dish (I used butter). In a large saucepan cook broccoli according to package directions (I used my double boiler). In a bowl, combine cream of mushroom soup, beaten eggs, onion, cheese and mayonaise; mix well. Put broccoli in a 2 quart casserole baking dish and pour soup mixture over broccoli. Top casserole with dressing or stuffing. Add pats of butter. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until bubbly.

So here's what I did differently and what I will probably do if I make it again:

I used 1 16 oz and half of another 16 oz bag of broccoli cuts. I chopped the onion real fine instead of grating it and I bought a bag of grated cheese. I used Stove Top Cornbread dressing mix. I put several pats of butter on top of the dressing mix. I think the next time I make this dish, I will prepare the dressing according to the directions then put it on top of the casserole. I didn't care for the crunchiness of the dressing.

Enjoy!!

Snow Covered Mountains

2011-02-22T16:14:00.000-08:00

On the way home from the grocery store earlier I had a beautiful view of the snow covered mountains. They sure are pretty. We have sunshine here in the valley with temperatures in the 60's. This will be short lived as rain is predicted for later this week.

Oh well, we can enjoy it while it lasts.

I got a new cookbook. It is called "Homecoming" by Gloria Gaither. The recipes are from different members of the Homecoming group led by Bill Gaither. Bill & Gloria are recording artists, their music is called Southern Gospel. We love their music. Anyway, while Gerry was gone I received an email announcing this cookbook. They are only available in Cracker Barrel restaurants. We don't have any of these restaurants in California. There is one in Boise, Idaho and so I asked Gerry if he would go by, if he could, and get me a copy. He did make a special trip to get me a copy when he took some of the ski trip group to the airport in Boise. I've read through the whole thing and marked a lot of the recipes.

Tonight I am going to make a broccoli cheese casserole, a recipe that is in the book. I'll take pictures and post later. I'm going to pan fry some pork chops to go with it.

I Won!!!

2011-02-21T20:02:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited!!! My Hawaii blogger friend, Jalna, had a prize giveaway on her blog last week. So I left a comment on her blog so she could enter my name. She was going to have her husband do the drawing this morning. When she was ready to do it, he was still asleep so she made a few noises until he woke up.

And guess what...he pulled my name!!! She was surprised it was me!!! I took a short break this afternoon from putting card kits together and checked my blog. I saw that she had put a new post on her blog about the prize giveaway so I checked it out. I couldn't believe what I saw. She had taken pictures of her husband getting a folded up piece of paper out of a container. So, so cool.

So check this out...

I forgot to show you what I got...

Chess Squares or Gooey Butter Cake

2011-02-20T20:01:00.000-08:00

I saw a recipe for Chess Squares on a blog I follow. I was talking to Denise a day or two later and told her about it. She told me it was a variation of a Paula Deen recipe and that Paula called her recipe Gooey Butter Cake. Denise makes this cake for their coffee shop and it is a big hit.

I decided to make it this past Monday when Candice and Karen came over to work on projects. I used the Chess Squares recipe. The difference between the two recipes is that butter is added to both the cake part and the filling part. This is very good and very rich.

Here is Paula Deen's recipe:

Crust:

1 yellow cake mix

1 egg

8 T butter, melted (1 stick)

Filling:

1 8 oz cream cheese, softened

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

8 T butter, melted (1 stick)

1 16oz box powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Crust:

Combine cake mix, egg, butter; mix well with electric mixer.

Pat mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish

Filling:

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add egg, vanilla, butter and beat together. Add powdered sugar and mix well. Spread over cake batter.

Bake 40 to 50 minutes.

Don't overbake as center should be a little gooey.

Variations:

Chocolate:

Use a chocolate cake mix and add 3 to 4T cocoa powder and 1 cup nuts (optional) to filling.

Toffee:

Use a yellow cake mix

Add 1 cup almond or chocolate toffee bits to filling.

Pumpkin:

Use yellow or spice cake mix for the crust.

Add 15 oz can of pumpkin and 1 tsp cinnamon to filling.

Our Crazy Weather

2011-02-19T14:15:00.000-08:00

Our weather has been so crazy lately. We had the wettest December than we've had in a long time. January was pretty dry. Then this month we have had nice sunshiney days with temperatures in the high 60's and days of rain...and it is only the middle of the month. Last week it was really nice. Then the rain came...

This past Wednesday afternoon I was cleaning our bathroom. It had been raining off and on most of the day. It was raining and then it sounded like it was raining really hard. So I walked out into the dining room and looked out the sliding door. Lo and behold...it was hailing...hard. I grabbed my camera and stepped out on our back porch and took this picture. Hail completely covered the street. The wind was blowing really hard too and it was cold. This is some hail that was on the front porch.

On Thursday Gerry needed to take some ski equipment up to Auburn. The equipment belonged to his kids' cousin and her husband. They were on the ski trip too. Gerry offered to bring their equipment home so they wouldn't have to lug it onto the airplane. It rained really hard all the way there and all the way back. Oh, and the temps were in the 30's. Brrrr!!

Then yesterday we went out to do a few errands and it rained hard again all day and all night. We've had a shower or two today. Right now the sun is out. There are dark clouds...hopefully any more rain will be held off for a while. Gerry wanted desperately to go ride his bicycle so he is out now. Tomorrow and Monday is suppose to be nice. Sure hope so.

Catching Up...Again

2011-02-18T20:56:00.001-08:00

I don't know why I have such a hard time keeping my blog updated. I think about it, then when I think I have time to blog I'm too tired. I must say I do get tired of seeing the same post on my blog every time I log on. You'd think that would be motivation enough to update it. :-) I do admire my friends who update their blogs every day or at least 2 or 3 times a week.

So I included several things into one post.

This picture of Stephen and Denise was taken at Christmas time. Today they are celebrating their 22nd anniversary. Hard to believe that much time has gone by. Their marriage is strong and they are totally committed to each other and their children. This mom is very thankful. They met in high school at the end of their sophmore years and were married a year and a half after they graduated. Stephen spent one year at BIOLA University in Southern California, came home to enroll at Sacramento State and then decided to go into the Army. They were married after he finished his basic training and AIT. They began their married life in Germany. Stephen's next duty was at Ft. Bragg in Fayetteville, NC; they lived in Fayetteville for about 13 years before they moved to Enterprise, AL where they now live.

Gerry holding Emma (granddaughter) at Bogus Basin in Idaho. She got tired and after rocking her for a little bit, she went to sleep in Granddad's arms. Last Wednesday Gerry and Jason (son) left to drive to Boise/Mountain Home, Idaho to spend a week with some of the family to go skiing at Bogus Basin. This is the 11th year they've been doing this, Gerry went for the 1st time in 2005. He and Jason got back to Sacramento this past Wednesday. It sure was good to see him Wednesday night.

He took this picture with his phone...looking west after they left Winnemucca, NV. They had to chain up before they entered California and had chains on for 2 hours or so. It was whiteout conditions after they left Truckee and over the summit. With the chains on they couldn't go faster than 30 mph so it was slow and go.

Last week Saturday I had lunch with some of the people I use to work with at the Juvenile Courthouse. L to R: Darlene, our former supervisor (she's retired now), Sherri, Monica (she resigned a week before I retired and now works for the State of California), me. In the back L to R: Mark (he also resigned, went back to school and works in SF now), Winston (also retired), Rhonda and Alena. Sherri, Rhonda and Alena still work at the courthouse.

This past Monday I had lunch with a couple of friends from the stamp group I belong to. Then we came over here and worked on projects for a while. So I kept myself busy while Gerry was gone. I do okay during the day, however, I have a rough time getting through the nights. I sleep with lights on so the house is not completely dark. I know its silly.

Family News

2011-01-29T14:29:00.000-08:00

I'm a great grandmother!

One night, a couple of weeks ago, Denise called. It is unusual for her to call at night; she usually calls during the day. She had some news to share...her son Nathanael had called her to say that he and Megan were going to have a baby. Denise told me not to say anything on Facebook or my blog. The pregnancy hadn't been confirmed yet and Nathan didn't want anything said as yet.

Then I called Stephen (my son-in-law) one day a week or so ago to ask him if he knew anything about the new Window cell phones. We chatted for a few minutes and then I asked how Nathan was doing. Stephen told me Megan had been to the doctor and the pregnancy was confirmed. Her due date is sometime in September so the pregnancy is very new.

This past week Nathan put on his FB status that he was going to be a daddy and changed his profile picture to a picture of the ultrasound that was done.

I'm excited that my 1st great grandchild will be born this year, however I must say it does not seem possible. I can still remember the first time I saw Nathanael in person. He was about 9 months old. It was at the airport in Frankfurt, Germany. I had walked through the doors of the customs baggage area and there stood Denise and Stephen with Denise holding Nathanael. He came right to me when I put my arms out to him and had the biggest smile on his face. There was no crying or anything. And he's been "my baby boy" ever since. And now he is going to be a daddy. How time flies!

Return Doctor Visit

2011-01-21T09:52:00.000-08:00

I went in to see the doctor yesterday about my persistent coughing. He had told me 2 weeks ago that if the coughing persisted to come back in 2 weeks. He'd have an xray taken to make sure there wasn't anything else going on. I had to wait for about 20 minutes before he came in to see me.

We talked about the xray and he informed me that their machine had gone down and the service technician couldn't make it out until the afternoon. He listened extensively to my lungs and determined that they were clear. He couldn't hear any rattling in the lower sections.

He told me that the viral bronchitis was taking longer to clear up and to give it a few more days. My coughing has improved, however, I still am experiencing episodes of heavy coughing. The codene cough syrup has helped. He told me to call him next Tuesday if the coughing still persisted. So for now, we'll just wait to see what happens. I feel fine, just the coughing that can be annoying.

Tacos for Dinner and the Weather

2011-01-19T21:24:00.000-08:00

I fixed tacos for dinner. Remember me saying I don't like Mexican food...I don't. My tacos are so good...there's no spicey stuff in them. I fix corn tortillas for me and Gerry likes flour tortillas. He actually made himself two burritoes then decided to have a corn taco.

Our weather continues to be crazy. Yesterday the sun came out and it was really nice...about 60 degrees. I went out to do an errand and had to take my jacket off and had the window down a little. Then this morning the clouds were back and it was in the 40's. The sun peeked out finally around noon. Then the wind picked up...the flags out front were really whipping around the flagpole when I went to get the mail around 4pm. It sounds quiet out there now.

Two weeks ago I saw the doctor for the cough I've had. It has gotten better although I still have bouts of heavy coughing. The doctor told me to call him and maybe have Xrays taken to make sure there wasn't something else going on. So I am going to call him in the morning and see about having the Xrays taken.

I didn't sleep very well last night so I think I'm going to head to bed.

Pot Roast in the Crock Pot

2011-01-17T21:59:00.000-08:00

I fixed a pot roast in the crock pot today. I started it about 11am and it was ready by 5pm. We, in fact, went up to the AT&T store and when we got back I turned the pot on warm. I put the rice on and fixed a vegetable.

I usually fix my pot roast on the stove...I thought it would be a nice change to do it in the crock pot. First I season the roast with Lawry's seasoned salt and McCormick's garlic pepper. Then I brown it on both sides in some olive oil. I turn the crock pot on while I'm doing this so it can warm up and I have a hot pot when the roast goes in. I sprinkle an envelope of Lipton's onion soup dry mix on the top of the roast and pour a small amount of water on top. That is to dilute the soap a tiny bit and make sure there is a thin layer of water on the bottom of the pot. Then I put a cut up onion on top of the roast. This one cooked on low for about 6 hours. It falls apart and its a challenge to get it out of the pot. Its so worth it though...it is so good!!

The sun didn't come out today as the weather people said it would. Supposedly there was suppose to be wind this afternoon that would blow the clouds away. Unfortunately that didn't happen. I just don't like the dreary weather...I don't know what's worse...rain and/or freezing temperatures or the gloominess. Curious to see what tomorrow will be.

Weather - Looking at a New Phone

2011-01-16T21:00:00.000-08:00

Our weather is so yucky. The mornings have been cloudy and then some sun in the afternoons. Today was cloudy all day...there's probably some fog out there now. The temperature was in the 50's so not too bad. Tomorrow should have some sun. Sure hope so. I think it was this past Tuesday night that we had some rain; it didn't last very long.

I've been looking at new phones to upgrade the one I have now. Gerry got a new one this past week. He's had to go into the AT&T store to get things fixed, besides talking to customer service and his son. Hopefully now his phone will work. We looked at some phones in the store today and I spent quite a bit of time online looking at different ones. It gets rather confusing after a while. I found a couple that might work for me. I want to look at them in the store and compare.

Think I'll go watch some TV before going to bed.

All-in-One-Pot Saucy Pasta

2011-01-14T19:22:00.000-08:00

This recipe was in the Kraft Foods email I got this week, so thought I'd try it. I can't say that I was very impressed. The recipe didn't call for any seasoning, however, it certainly needed some added to the pot.

I liked the idea that everything was in one pot including the pasta. It took about 30 minutes or so to put together.Here's my lazy way of fixing salad...some spring mix greens in a bowl, a little bit of cheese and some Red Wine Vinaigrette poured on it.

Here's the recipe:

1 lb extra-lean ground beef

1 onion, chopped (I used half of one)

3 cups rotini pasta, uncooked. (I used a 16 oz bag. If I do this again, I'll use maybe 3/4 of the bag)

3 1/2 cups of water

1 jar (24 oz) spaghetti sauce (I used a traditional sauce and rinsed it out for the water)

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms (I used 4 medium size)

1 red bell pepper, chopped (I only used half of it)

1 cup Kraft Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese (I used the store brand and I think it just said Low Fat)

Brown meat in Dutch oven or deep large skillet; drain. Add onions; cook and stir 5 minutes

Stir in pasta, water and sauce. Bring to boil; cover. (I didn't do this). Simmer on low heat for about 15 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms and red bell, cook 5 minutes longer, stirring.

Top with cheese. Also, add some Grated Parmesan Cheese along with the shredded cheese. Can use another kind of small pasta.

I was amazed the pasta cooked just fine. I may fix this again, however, if I do I'll doctor it up.

A Walk Down Memory Lane

2011-01-13T21:31:00.000-08:00

A few minutes before midnight, on Saturday January 13, 1962, I boarded a World Airlines plane at the airport in Honolulu, HI. My family and some friends from church were there to see me off. Thirteen hours later, Sunday January 14, 1962, about 1:30 pm, I landed at the airport in Oakland, CA. And so began my life as the wife of a young Marine.

I was a very young, immature, scared 19 year old who had not ever been so far away from family and things familiar. As I got to the door of the airplane and looked out, I really wanted to go back home. I remember the sun was shining, however, it was cold and there were no leaves on any of the trees I saw. Standing at the bottom of the stairs on the tarmac was the Marine I had married. I remember crying, partly from excitement in seeing him and partly because I didn't want to be in what seemed to me, a foreign place.

My mother had made me an outfit to wear...it was beautiful...a powder blue wool dress with a matching coat. My grandmother had given me some money to go shopping at Liberty House (a store that has been closed for many years) to purchase a black patent leather purse, black patent leather pumps, black gloves, nylons and a black hat that had a short veil. She wanted me to look "presentable" when I got off the plane. Actually I was very uncomfortable and could hardly wait to change into something else.

My grandmother had a sister that lived in Oakland and she had sent with me a box of red anthriums to give to her sister. I had her phone number and address and so we called to get directions. I walked into this grand aunt's house to meet members of her family. I only knew one of her daughters, the rest were strangers. I remember it was a very awkward moment for me...oh, did I say I was also very shy.

My first meal in California was tacos that were made by the wife of the Marine's uncle. They were so spicey, I couldn't eat them. They all laughed and thought it was so funny. To this day, I do not like Mexican food. I do eat tacos and even fix them sometimes. However, going out for Mexican food is not a favorite thing for me to agree to very often.

So for the past 49 years California has been my home other than a few months of living in Arkansas and Texas. I have lived in several cities in California, starting in Castro Valley. Hawaii will always be home and I still refer to it as such.

Oh...the marriage to that young Marine ended in divorce after almost 10 years of marriage. My daughter was born during that marriage. Little did I know that after almost 10 years of being single, I'd marry another Marine...

Savory Hamburger Vegetable Soup

2011-01-12T19:14:00.000-08:00

I love homemade soups, however, I don't make them very often because I don't really know how. A stamp blog/Facebook friend posted this recipe a while ago. It sounded so good so I decided to make it tonight.

Oh my goodness, it was so GOOD! I fixed my 5 qt pot about half to three-quarters full and I must say there is not a morsel left in the pot. Not even a bit of juice.

I fixed some Marie Callendar's corn bread with it.

Here's the recipe:

1 lb hamburger (I used 7% so it had very little fat)

1 clove of garlic, chopped finely

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp basil

1 can Italian Style Diced Tomatoes

2 beef bouillon cubes

2 cups water ( I measured the water, then poured some in the can of diced tomatoes, rinsing out the can and then pouring the water into pot).

1 can French Onion soup

1 bag frozen vegetable medley (I used a bag of frozen mixed vegetables)

Brown the meat...add garlic, oregano and basil. Drain meat (I didn't have to because there was no fat). Add to crockpot. Add rest of ingredients and cook on low for 2 to 3 hours. I did it on the stove and simmered on low heat for a couple of hours. I did add a little bit of salt.

While it was cooking, I could smell the oregano. I'm not a big fan of oregano and I was hoping it wouldn't be overpowering. It wasn't...the flavors all blended very well together.

Korin lives in Pennsylvania and has a small stamp company called "Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps". I've purchased a few stamps from her. She is the mother of 3 boys and homeschools her boys. I actually "met" her through her sister's blog. Casey has a business making quilted handbags. I've purchased several bags from Casey. I've not met Casey either yet we have become very dear friends through blogging, Facebook and emailing. Casey is the mother of 3 girls and 1 boy. Korin and Casey are both Christians.

Photo of Orange Cream Cake slice

2011-01-11T13:11:00.000-08:00

So YUM!!

Orange Dream Cake

2011-01-10T22:28:00.000-08:00

I made this cake this afternoon. I had intended to make it Christmas Day and then decided we didn't need a dessert. I had a piece of it a little bit ago...it is very good...I didn't think to take a picture.

Here's the recipe:
1 package orange cake mix (Duncan Hines)
1 (4 serving size) package orange flavored gelatin
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cup water
4 oz cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup orange juice
1 (4 serving size) package instant vanilla pudding
1 T sugar
1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple, drained
1 (8 oz) container frozen whipped topping, thawed (Cool Whip)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray (I used Baker's Joy that is a combination of flour & oil - for baking)

In a large bowl, beat together cake mix, gelatin mix, eggs, oil and water until well blended. Pour into baking dish.

Bake about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, make frosting by beating cream cheese and orange juice. Add pudding mix and sugar; mix well.

Stir in pineapple until well combined then beat in whipped topping. (I folded it in rather than beat it in). Frost the cooled cake, cover loosely and chill at least one hour before serving. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

To make it look pretty, decorate with some canned mandarin orange slices that have been drained well.

I thought it would be real orangey tasting, yet it wasn't. This recipe is similar to one called "Pig Lickin' Cake". I'll have to find that recipe and post it. If I can remember, I'll take a picture of a slice of the cake tomorrow and post it.

Enjoy!!

Doctor Visit Today

2011-01-06T17:34:00.000-08:00

I got a cold the first of December and since have had a lingering cough. At times the cough has been pretty bad. Gerry has been bugging me about going to the doctor. So today we went in.

As it turns out, my lungs are clear, I don't have a temperature and I feel fine. The doctor told me I probably have viral bronchitis for which there is no medication to take. It just has to run its course. He wants me to go back in to see him in a couple of weeks if the cough does not get better. He'll do chest xrays to make sure there isn't anything else going on. He asked me about smoking. I did smoke over 35 years ago, after I was divorced. Denise was about 8 years old when I quit cold-turkey. When I told him why I quit, he had a nice chuckle. Denise and I were on the freeway that runs between Escondido and Vista, CA in North San Diego County. I was wearing a dress that I really liked. Some ashes fell on my dress and burnt a hole. It made me so angry, I threw the pack of the cigarettes out the window. This was also after my hysterectomy and my doctor had advised that I quit smoking...I was already showing signs of having high blood pressure.

Anyway, he told me that even though it has been over 30 years since I quit smoking, sometimes symptoms of emphysema or COPD will appear. So I will wait and see what happens over the next couple of weeks. I do believe in God's healing powers so am trusting Him to heal the cough. The doctor gave me a prescription for some cough syrup with codene. I don't really like how codene makes me feel...I'll take the medicine to at least quiet the cough.

Some other good and bad news from the visit...my blood pressure was a little elevated which could have been from the apprehension of wondering what the doctor would say. The good news was...I've known for a while now that I was losing some weight, my jeans/slacks were feeling loose and baggy...I've lost between 10 to 14 lbs since the last time my weight was taken...that was over a year ago...I can't remember exactly what it was...and that was with my jacket and shoes on too. The awesome part of loosing weight is that I haven't been trying to do so which could also be not so good.

Today has been a cloudy, foggy, cold day. The sunshine got lost in the clouds. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. Rain is not expected again until sometime next week.

Enchiladas for Dinner

2011-01-01T19:18:00.000-08:00

I made beef enchiladas for dinner tonight. You probably won't believe this...this was the first time I've ever made them. There is a really easy recipe on the back of a can of Old El Paso Enchilada Sauce. I would have made some spanish rice too...I didn't have a recipe and don't really have a clue how to make it. The recipe says it makes 10...I got 6. They were really good...Gerry ate 2 and a half enchiladas and I ate 1 and a half.

Here's the recipe for the Enchiladas:
1 lb lean ground beef
1 can (19 oz) Old El Paso enchilada sauce ( I used mild)
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
1 package flour tortillas (6 inch)

Heat oven to 375 deg. Lightly grease 13x9 glass baking dish. Cook beef until thoroughly cooked, drain. Stir in 3/4 cup of the enchilada sauce and 1 cup of the cheese.

Spoon enchilada filling onto tortillas; roll up and place seam sides down in baking dish.

Pour remaining enchilada sauce over top; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cheese. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until hot.

I mixed in mild cheddar cheese in the meat and then sprinkled a whole bag of a Mexican mix of cheese over the top of the enchiladas. I also added a small can of sliced olives.

This was so easy...don't know why I've never made them before this. I'll be doing it again...only will try chicken instead.

Last night I made corn chowder. Mimi's Cafe has a really yummy corn chowder which we really enjoy. I've been wanting to make some so I googled it and found Mimi's recipe. It was really easy too and good.

Here's the recipe for the corn chowder:
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
6 tablespoons chopped onions (I cut up half of a small onion)
3/4 cup celery (I chopped up 2 stalks of celery)
2 1/2 cups hot water
2 cups cubed potatoes (1/2 inch pieces) (I used 2 small potatoes cut in small pieces)
2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed ( I put the corn on a dinner plate, spread out the kernels and microwaved for 2 minutes)
1 can creamed corn (14 oz)
2 T sugar
2 tsp salt
1 dash white pepper (I used black pepper)
3 T flour
1 qt half 'n half cream (3 cups)

Melt butter in large saucepan. Add in flour and whisk until smooth and a roux forms. Add onion and celery and saute for a few minutes, just til they are soft.

Add water, potatoes, corn, sugar, salt and pepper, making sure water covers everything. (Add more water if not completely covered). Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.

Add half 'n half and simmer until soup is thickened to a creamy consistency (about 15 minutes).

Add more salt and/or pepper if needed. Add more milk if too thick...if it is too thin, simmer for 10 minutes or so longer.

I get in such a rut and fix the same things for dinner over and over so am trying to find different things to fix.

Happy New Year 2011

2011-01-01T11:33:00.000-08:00

I made it to about 11:30pm last night. It was raining and it hasn't stopped...so it is a repeat of last weekend. It is pretty cold too. I'll take the rain any day over the horrible weather in other parts of the country. Read in the paper this morning that the midwest had some horrible tornadoes. Some friends of ours are visiting family in Mississippi and they spent quite a bit of time huddled in a hall closet as the sirens went off in the town they are visiting. Thank you...but no thank you. I can deal with the rain and cold.

I woke up before 8am this morning and watched the Rose Parade on HGTV. It is commercial free...that's a good thing. Once again there were some beautiful floats. Years ago, back in the early '60's I lived in Pasadena (I was married to my 1st husband). I worked for an answering service and some of the big name designers for the floats had service with us. I was able to visit the barns where the floats were built and decorated. It was pretty awesome. We also were able to have front row seats to view the parade. One of the years we slept on Colorado Blvd to insure we'd have our spots. The friends that we went with lived a couple of blocks from Colorado Blvd so we took turns going to their place to get warm. It was a lot of fun!!

I am going to be laying around today doing nothing. I should clean off my craft table. Maybe I'll do that...need to go get out of my jammies first.

Happy New Year!! May it be a year filled with many blessings and good health!!

Christmas Weekend

2010-12-28T16:07:00.000-08:00

There is such a build-up to Christmas and then it is over...

We went to the Christmas Eve service at Trinity Life Center. It was very nice. We hadn't had supper before we went to church so afterwards we went across the street to Brookfields to eat. We weren't sure if they'd even be open. There were a few people from church there. There was a late PGR Welcome Home mission at the airport so we went to participate. Surprisely enough there were about 38 people there for the welcome home. By the time we headed home the fog had gotten really thick.

Christmas Day dawned with rain...a pretty heavy storm...lots of wind and rain. Christmas morning is the only time I fix breakfast. I had a horrible night with my coughing so when I got up Gerry was already awake. He offered to fix it...as it turned out...we did it together...scrambled eggs, sausage links, biscuits (thanks to the "dough boy") and some fruit. I cleaned the kitchen up. Then for dinner I fixed a sirloin tip roast, baked potatoes, fresh steamed green beans and rice salad. I didn't fix a dessert...we didn't miss it.

We laid around and watched TV most of the day. Sunday was a nice day...after church we drove up to Sweet Pea's in Auburn to eat. Gerry wanted their Oatmeal Raisin pancake. It is so huge, covers the entire plate. He does good to finish one of them. He tried 2 once and barely was able to finish it. I had a club sandwich. After we left there we drove north out of Auburn on country roads, driving through the towns of Mt. Vernon, Mt Pleasant, Sheridan and Lincoln. It was a beautiful drive...the fields were all green after all the rain we've had...and it is always enjoyable to see the livestock grazing in the fields. From Lincoln we drove into Roseville, stopping at Bel Air before coming home. I wanted to get some sandwich rolls so we could make some roast beef sandwiches later.

We didn't get each other anything for Christmas. Denise sent us another Creative Memories calendar. Every page is loaded with awesome pictures of all of them. I am going to cut the pages on this year's calendar and put them in an album. The calendar is made that the top is a 12x12 page that will fit in an album. The bottom part can be discarded.

We woke up to rain again this morning. It has been raining all day.

Christmas 2010 Card & Letter

2010-12-23T20:06:00.000-08:00

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given...And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace". Isaiah 9:6

Another Christmas is upon us...to once again celebrate the birth of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

How quickly the days go by or so it seems. Maybe it is because we are getting older that it seems that way. This year has been a busy year or at least we have managed to stay busy. Gerry continues to ride with his bicycle club and I've been busy at my craft table participating in over 25 card swaps. Most of them have been online swaps on the Splitcoast Stampers web site. I did very little with cards last year so I've been making up for it this year.

The kids and grandkids are all doing well. Grandkids Seth, Ashley and Rebekah-Elizabeth will graduate from high school next year; Seth and Rebekah-Elizabeth have plans to go to college. (Addition: I forgot this in the letter that was mailed with our cards -- Granddaughter Geraldine will also graduate next year and I'm sure she has plans for college). Nathanael is in the Army stationed at Ft. Bragg Army Post in Fayetteville, NC. This is where Stephen was stationed and Nathanael grew up in Fayetteville. He is a combat medic in the 82nd Airborne. Stephen was also in the 82nd Airborne. We've learned recently that Nathanael is engaged to be married. He took Megan Elizabeth home to Enterprise, AL for Thanksgiving and to meet the family. They haven't set a date yet. Denise said in her Facebook status that she's getting the best daughter-in-law. Rebekah-Elizabeth has a special young man in her life.

On November 1st we celebrated our 30th anniversary with a trip to the coast. It was an enjoyable time and we had great weather too.

Last year in May (2009) we drove across country to Enterprise, AL where Denise and Stephen live. Nathanael was graduating from high school. We were gone for 4 weeks stopping along the way to visit family and sightsee. We had a great time visiting Keith in Ft. Worth and ate some yummy BBQ while in Texas. The last day we were in Alabama, we all drove down to the Gulf Coast. We ate at a restaurant that was located right on the beach. The Gulf of Mexico is beautiful, the water a beautiful turquoise blue. Heading back west we spent a couple of days in Louisiana, visited an Acadian village and enjoyed the drive into Texas along the Intracoastal Waterway. While in Louisiana we enjoyed a ferry ride across the Mississippi River. We stayed in Houston for a couple of days visiting the Johnson Space Center and driving down to Galveston. We took a ferry ride there too and saw the destruction left by a hurricane that blew through the area in 2008. The trip was fantastic, however, it was good to get home. Somehow living out of suitcases gets to be a bit much and we just wanted to be able to sleep in our bed again.

In closing, may Christmas be an enjoyable time with family and friends. And 2011 be a year filled with many blessings.

Mele Kalikimaka & Hau'oli Makahiki Hou
(Merry Christmas & Happy New Year)

Gerry & Betty Townsend

My New Do

2010-12-22T17:34:00.000-08:00

I went to see Brent this afternoon for a much needed haircut. I had an appointment with him 3 weeks ago, had to cancel and then I got sick. I called yesterday about noon and was surprised that he had an opening today...and that he was even working today. His normal days are Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Because of the short week, he was working some extra time.

Anyway, I told him I wanted to go short...he said "how short"...and I said up to my ears. So he gave me some layers in the back and shorter bangs. He didn't do any color this time...he said the color still looked good from when he did it in September. What he does is give me some low lights blending the gray hair and still leaving some gray. The gray is mostly at my temples and down the sides. Its covered up so it can't really be seen.

I really like the style and am happy to have no hair on my neck. I'll just need to go in more often. After I uploaded the pictures to my computer and was looking at them, I thought my face looks really bad with no makeup! LOL!!

He gave me an upsweep in the back.

I posted these on Facebook too. :)

My first birthday

2010-12-21T15:12:00.000-08:00

I thought I would post some childhood pictures of me occasionally. This one was taken on the front lawn of my grandmother's house at 738 Palani Street, Honolulu, HI (in Kapahulu). It was my 1st birthday. There is an apartment building where my grandmother's house was located.

During the summer of 1971, I took a trip back home with Denise. She was about 20 months old. I took a picture of her in the same spot. Rumor goes that I loved to suck my big toe on my right foot when I was a baby...I know...pretty yuck! LOL!!

I have so many fond memories of being at grandma's house. She was my mother's mother. We didn't know my father's parents as they had died by the time us kids came along.

What A Night!!!

2010-12-20T23:49:00.000-08:00

Gerry was told that tonight at the Roseville Galleria Mall there was going to be a "flash mob" singing of the Hallelujah Chorus in the food court or in front of Penney's. Both of us have seen different "Youtubes" of this sort of thing happening so we decided to go see.

We were having Comcast come this afternoon to change our Internet and Telephone service from AT&T to Comcast. The technician arrived on time and it didn't take him long to do what needed to be done. Gerry said the "flash mob" was happening at 7pm. So we left here about 5:30pm to give us plenty of time to get there and get a viewing spot. The traffic and crowds would be a nightmare. We got there by 6pm and didn't have too much trouble finding a parking spot. I believe I mentioned in an earlier post that there was a horrendous fire at the Galleria back in October and the part that was heavily damaged was closed off. We were on the upper level and finally got over to Penney's. We stood there for about an hour. Gerry looked at his phone at 7pm and nothing was happening. Then we overheard some people saying that there was a huge crowd over by the food court. So we walked over there. There were so many people in that location that it got kind of scary. I was starting to panic and told Gerry I needed to get out of there. There was no where to move. Gerry told me to hold on to him and he was going to try and move away from there. Just then an announcement was made that the Fire Department was closing the Mall and evacuating people. There were lots of booing going on. We managed to get away and started to walk towards Nordstroms where there is an exit to a section of the parking lot. Gerry told me to go outside and wait for him and he would bring the car around to get me. We had parked on the opposite side of the mall.

I had decided not to take a purse with me and I also didn't have my cell phone with me so I couldn't call him. He had to walk quite a distance to get to the car and then he couldn't move for the traffic. I was beginning to panic and 2 different ladies offered their phone to me to call him. The first time he didn't answer his phone. He answered when a 2nd lady offered her phone to me. He told me that he had parked the car and was waiting for the traffic to thin out. I guess at one point he had walked back into the mall. That must have been when I called him the first time. Anyway, the 2nd lady and her daughter offered to stay with me until he came. She came to the mall to do her Christmas shopping. He finally managed to get to me after almost 2 hours of waiting.

We were telling everyone that walked up to the doors that the mall was closed and what happened. Gerry said he saw a long line of ambulances and fire trucks waiting as he walked to the car. There was even a helicopter overhead. A couple of camera men walked up to the doors too.

According to online newstories, people were saying that they could feel the floor on the 2nd level creaking and popping and supposedly there were cracks in the flooring. Gerry isn't believing those reports.

The choral group went outside and performed. They were members of the Sacramento Choral Group and people from some local churches.

We went over to Mimi's across the street from the mall and had something to eat. As soon as I got in the car, I started coughing and could not stop. As soon as we got home I took some cough syrup and a cold pill. I got so cold and being sick was not a good thing.

We were so bummed in not hearing the choral group and then the whole nightmare of trying to connect. I've sung the Hallelujah Chorus many times and always enjoyed doing it...it would have been fantastic to have been able to hear it tonight.

On the rain storms, we had some sun today, lots of wind, no rain. I think tomorrow is suppose to be nice with more rain tomorrow night and Wednesday. Clear on Thursday and then more rain for Christmas. The lunar eclipse is going on right now, the skies were clear when we came in at 10:30pm and the moon could be seen.

I think I'm going to take more cough syrup and go to sleep.

Three Cheese Chicken Alfredo Bake

2010-12-18T21:06:00.000-08:00

I follow several food blogs. One of them is called Plain Chicken. The blogger posted this recipe a few weeks ago. I made it tonight except that I made it without the chicken. It was very good, a little rich with all the different cheeses.

Here's the recipe:
1 - 16 oz package of penne or elbow macaroni
2 - 10 oz containers of refrigerated Alfredo sauce
1 - 8 oz container of sour cream
1 - 15 oz container of ricotta cheese
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups of cooked chicken, chopped
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 cups mozzarella cheese

Prepare pasta according to package directions, drain and return to pot. Stir together all ingredients except mozzarella cheese. Spread mixture into a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

www.plainchicken.blogspot.com

Rain and More Rain. etc.

2010-12-18T12:14:00.000-08:00

It started raining yesterday and it continues. According to the weather people, it will be raining into next week. And after these storms are over, another storm is expected Christmas Eve. The wind has been pretty strong too. Supposedly it is going to be a wet winter, thanks to a La Nina weather pattern.

The coughing lingers on...it is mostly bad at night. I have been sleeping better and that's a good thing. The wet weather certainly doesn't help matters. At least we're not having real cold temperatures.

I need to clean up my craft table. I came in from our shoebox swap 2 weeks ago, dropped everything down on my table and there it still sits. I have a couple of SCS swaps that are due the first part of January so I really, seriously, need to be working on them. Somehow I can't get into a mood to even think about them. Of course being sick hasn't helped getting motivated.

Two weeks ago I had a hair appointment...cancelled it because it was raining that particular day. I desperately need to get another appointment made. Its been 3 months since my last appointment and my hair is back down on my neck. It is driving me crazy. I was watching "What Not to Wear" last night and the lady that was getting a makeover had her hair cut short. It really looked cute and I decided I'm going back short...not real short...just off my neck. I know I probably can't have a cut like she got...my hair is too coarse and wavy...I'm sure Brent can come up with something cute. I just need to get in to see him.

A Quick Post

2010-12-14T21:26:00.000-08:00

I am still fighting my cold. Actually...I think I've had a relapse. We were out Saturday, Sunday and last night. I think the cold air didn't do me any good. Then Saturday Gerry started sniffling and coughing. At the Christmas play we went to Saturday night and the Christmas concert we went to Sunday night, there were a lot of people around us that were coughing. I hate being sick and will be relieved when all this is over.

The concert we went to Sunday evening was really good. It was presented by the Music Department at Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church. The church is pretty big with a balcony and it was packed. They had folding chairs set down the aisles and had set up chairs in the foyer area too. The youth and children were also involved along with the adult choir. The young band played too. One of our neighbors sings in the choir. Every year we say we are going to go and then something comes up and we don't make it. We made it this year and it was well worth it. I sat there thinking about all of the years in my life when I was involved with choirs, ensembles and the like. It was always so much fun...it was hard work learning all the music yet such an enjoyable time participating in concerts.

Last night we made a quick trip out to the airport. The PGR had a mission welcoming some families back from a weekend in Dallas, TX. It's called the Snowball Express and every year the children and family members of fallen military are given an all expense paid trip somewhere. I'm not sure who sponsors it. This was the second year they went to Dallas. Gerry said there were 14 families from Sacramento that went on the trip. American Airlines provides the transportation.

Oh, yesterday we lost phone service and our internet since we have DSL. It was fixed by this afternoon. Gerry got so frustrated with AT&T yesterday that he called Comcast and next Monday we'll have cable for the internet and our home phone. When I finally logged on to my Hotmail account, I had over 100 messages...which I didn't think was very bad.

It has rained all day here...it is really not that cold though. Sunshine hopefully tomorrow, according to the weather people.

Cough, Cough, Cough!!!

2010-12-11T22:32:00.000-08:00

Its been a week since I got sick with this crazy cold. The cough lingers now and I sure wish it would go away. Elizabeth told me that Delsym works good for suppressing the cough so I got some the other day. It supposedly works for 12 hours too. Well, that may be true...it certainly hasn't worked for me. So today I got some Robitussin for cough and chest congestion. I'm going to give it a try tonight and see if it works. Here's hoping...

The thing I hate about coughing is that it wakes me up at night. I did sleep a lttle better last night...only woke up a couple of times. However, I woke up about 6:15 this morning coughing "my fool head" off and couldn't go back to sleep. I did go back to sleep about 8:30 and slept for about an hour and a half.

It was a dark gloomy day with overcast skies. There was quite a bit of fog last night and it didn't completely clear up. We came in about an hour ago and the fog was starting to get thick in some areas.

Tonight we went to a Christmas play at the church where Elizabeth and her girls go. Hannah and Emily were both in the play. It was pretty good...they presented the play last night too.

It is rather strange to be in the building where the church is. It use to be a Bel Air Market and it is where I shopped when we first moved to Citrus Heights back in the early 1980's. After Bel Air closed that store, it was a health club and there were some other businesses on the side of the building. The church has the entire building now so the sanctuary is quite large with classrooms surrounding it.

Several of the mobiles right around us have decorated the outside of their mobiles. Sure is pretty. I noticed driving down Madison Avenue, on the way home tonight, that there were a lot of homes decorated. I love to see what people do in the way of decorating the outside of their homes. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen here. Hopefully I can get a little bit of decorating done inside. How about y'all...do you go all out decorating?

I'm Sick

2010-12-07T19:35:00.000-08:00

I have a cold...I don't usually get one...when I do it is usually a bad one. I started with my throat feeling kinda of scratchy on Friday. I had a Shoebox Card Swap to go to Saturday so I couldn't be sick. Saturday morning I woke up and my sinuses were draining...I didn't feel bad.

I went ahead to the Shoebox swap and then after it was over, I came home and got Gerry and we went to St. John's Craft Fair. It is held every year the first weekend in December...Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It is huge, all the classrooms of the Catholic school are used besides the cafeteria and auditorium. And it is always very, very crowded. The parking is horrendous. Gerry was able to find a spot very close to the entrance.

We were there for an hour...walking through about half of it. I told Gerry I wanted to leave...I was completely wiped out. We stopped by Walgreens on the way home and I got some stuff to take for my cold. So for the last 3 days I've spent quite a bit of time in bed. Sunday it was raining and cold so it was a good day to stay in. Gerry drove me to Bel Air yesterday afternoon to get a few things and I went back to bed soon as we got back.

Sure hope I get to feeling better. I managed to get a couple of loads of laundry done yesterday...have more to finish...towels are on the sofa that need to be folded and there's a load in the dryer that needs to be folded also.

I hate being sick. Hope none of you are sick...

Holly Jollies, Christmas Candy on a Budget, In a Hurry!

2010-12-03T19:55:00.000-08:00

One of the food blogs I follow, Southern Plate, posted this recipe yesterday. My stamp group is getting together on Saturday for a Shoebox Card Swap and we are going to do a cookie exchange too. I didn't know what I was going to make until I saw this recipe. It looked super easy and quick. The blogger, Christy Jordon, lets her children make these. On the left are chocolate ones with rice krispies, then white chocolate with chopped up apricots and then white chocolate with dried cranberries. I am having one with apricots right now and it is yum!

Holly Jollies
1 package Almond Bark, white or chocolate
36 mini muffin papers
2 cups of one or more of the following:

Salted peanuts
Rice Krispie Cereal
Dried Cranberries
Raisins
Crushed candy canes
Other salted nuts
Your favorite dried fruit, chopped to the size of raisins

Line a mini muffin tin with the papers. Place almond bark in a large microwave safe bowl. Microwave for a minute and a half, stir. Return to microwave and microwave for about 30 seconds at a time, stirring each time, until the bark is smooth and creamy. Remove from microwave and stir in 2 cups of your choice of add in. Spoon into mini muffin papers and allow to sit until cool and hardened. (I used some wax paper too because I only have 2 - 12 cup mini muffin tins). They can be put in the refrigerator to speed up the process if you like.

Note: Take special care not to allow even the tiniest drop of water to get into the bark as it will clot up if you do.

Add this recipe to the Christmas goodies you make. I think you will enjoy them.

Recipe by Christy Jordon of www.southernplate.com

Evening Sky

2010-12-01T20:34:00.001-08:00

I looked out the kitchen window just before 5 pm and this is what I saw. I was starting to fix dinner. So I grabbed my camera and went outside to take these pictures. What a beautiful sunset!!

Within a few minutes, the sky completely changed and it was all gray with a little bit of blue by the time I walked back into the house.

I shared these pictures on Facebook too.

Note: the time stamp says a few minutes before 6 pm. I hadn't changed the time on my camera and it was still on daylight savings time. Its on Pacific Standard time now. :)