Quilt in a Day Forums

Good Morning!

Still cold here. In fact, colder! 21* this morning. Going to upper 30's I think. Poor Foxy wants out so bad. We usually let him wander in a campground like this but we have to keep the storage bin hatch open so he can come back in. Well, in this cold, that's not happening! No open doors, windows, hatches, or vents are open!! We are going for our camp hosting interview this morning. This job is a volunteer position but the host gets full hook-ups for free. Mainly it's to just maintain a presence in the campground but you welcome campers (very few of them in Jan and Feb!), make sure they are registered, and keep the kiosk stocked with registration envelopes and park maps. Also, the bathrooms stocked with TP and handle emergencies. They have paid people who come in weekly to do real cleaning. Part of me wants to do this and part of me hopes we don't get it. We'd be out in that park (in the middle of a pecan grove) all alone. No friends. And stuck there for the most part because of the "be a presence" part of the job. But lots of sewing time! But this would give us an 'in' for next year when they open a larger park that would require two hosts and we and our friends could share the park and trade off weekends so we could both go into Austin to see our DD's. Oddly enough, our DD's work across the road from each other!

BECCA - how are things at your house? Who is coming for Christmas or are you going to one of the family's homes? Or will you have a cozy Christmas for Two this year? That's not all bad, you know. We've had some good Christmases, just the two of us.

VELDA - Hope you and your DH are feeling better today! Do you have toppers on your slides? Our friends pull theirs in, too, in wind, so their toppers don't rip. We've considered toppers and so far haven't gotten them. Except for when we're out camping, our trailer is always under cover so we figure we don't really need them.

JANA - how is Michael feeling this morning? He must be getting tired of having a sore mouth by now. Will there be any compensation from the dentist that pulled the wrong tooth? Now he'll probably need implant$. Love your description of Gracie's first Santa visit. I have a picture of Lara (soon to be 45 yr old) at the same age and you described her to a 'T'!!

CALIFORNIA CAROL - glad someone is getting some warmth!! Did you get into your sewing room yesterday? I don't seem to ever be able to get rid of anything 'sewy' because I always think, "maybe one day I'll need this . . ."

Tonite for supper we are having the last of the Southwest soup and rice I made for the kids on Saturday. I bought some frozen baking powder biscuits you just heat in the oven to serve with that soup. My gosh, they were good! the only ones I've ever tasted that were better were Chickie's. (hers are FABuLOUS!!) But these were very light, fluffy, and tasty. Frozen foods have come a long way!

What's on your menu tonite?

Hello from the frigid plains… -1 degree this morning. The pond is frozen solid, and I’m so sad. Lonesome duck had swam all night the night before and kept her little bit of water unfrozen. She swam around yesterday and rested when she could. This morning… her little spot is frozen over. I wish I could have saved her, but I was sure she couldn’t fly, and she was too wild to try to capture… not to mention unstable ice… Sigh! Nature can be a cruel mother… I hope to see Lonesome Duck on the shore, but… (Sniff!)

Yes, I’ve been absent, but I’ve been family dining, partying, and sewing… and EATING! I’m still on crunch time sewing. We were brutally cold yesterday morning, so it was a good day to stay inside and sew. I made some progress, but not enough. Christmas dinner will be here on Sunday, and I have groceries to purchase, house to clean, set-up, and dinner to prepare. It will be lasagna, garlic bread, blackberry cobbler, and some side dishes brought by others… I have no idea how many to prepare for, so we may be eating/freezing lasagna in quantity.

Mary—your “job” sounds interesting. I guess you just have to weigh the worth/benefits of the “free” hook-ups as opposed to “being stuck”… Good luck!

The Hooligans aren’t spending too much time outside here, either.

Becca—“cozy” small group is sounding better and better… LOL! I got one of the DDILs to do Thanksgiving at their house, but Christmas will be here.

Mary—Mom has the frozen biscuits that she makes in her toaster oven “fresh” for her breakfasts. They really are good. Thanks for the compliments on mine! I guess I really should make some for DH…

Irish--interesting trick about the kitty litter in the sock! I have heard of the alcohol water spray. I usually wait until the sun shines before I go out... LAZY!!! I don't have to scrape too often. I could go move machinery around and use the machine shed...

Jana--do you make your divinity in light puffs? That's how my aunt made hers, and it was awesome! She never made it on rainy or high humidity days, either--guarantee to fail if she did. Some batches she put chopped pecans in for variety, and some she tinted pink (maybe with cherry?). It's been a long, long time since I had any... She was pretty stingy with her recipe, too.

Dinner here… unless I thaw something… Chinese food that I brought back Friday evening. I probably should make DH some beef and I’ll do the Chinese chicken… Maybe a burger for him or whatever is in the freezer…

Sorry I’m kind of in and out… too much going on that pries me away… I’m thinking of you and missing our chats!
Bon appétit!

Good morning everyone,A foggy day here in 30s.

Maryz Our DS2 & his family are coming for Christmas.Then on the 26 Our DD & all her family are coming.That includes Avery which we have never got to hold yet.Just see her thru pictures & videos.So it will be fine.
You can always eat pecans Mary.

Jana I feel for DH & his tooth ordeal.Our DDS did My DH lousy on one of his teeth he filled.He wound up losing it too.

Carol CA our meal was delish.We both enjoyed it.But no leftovers so it's start from scratch.

Chickie You sneaked in again on me.Sorry about the little Duck.We had to let them go to DSs house At Thsgiving bec there was 24 & I can't seat that many grown ups.Family has got big white the Grands.

I have been mixing sugar cookie dough.Hope to get them done today,maybe.

I have stew beef to cook.Will add rice & salad. Becca

Good afternoon from sunny but very cold, SW. Pa....Thank goodness for the sun.....

Mary, the "job" does sound good but as Chickie said, you do have to weigh the benefits...But, who better than you, you would certainly make everyone feel right at home and know they would enjoy their stay.....I also wanted to send my congrats along for a great football season...But, you know, those new uniforms just don't seem to do it and you know how I love green...Do they glow in the dark? Did you happen to see or hear about the "curse of the Terrible Towel"? You would think the Bengals of all teams would know better than to even think about tearing up our towel but, I'm sure they'll remember in the future...Don't mess with the Terrible Towel! But, I'm glad for all our Steeler fans, although I really don't watch them as I used to.....

Becca, sounds like your Christmas will be a happy time, especially getting your hands on that new baby....Those little ones make Christmas.....

Chickie, feel so sad about "little ducky", poor baby....You're right about nature, sure can be cruel...It's a survival of the fittest and I've seen that even with newly hatched eagles....I'd love to have a chair at your table or even an over turned box in the corner, on Christmas...Your dinner sounds delish! AND so happy.....

Hope both our Carols, with or with the e, are feeling better...You both are in my prayers.....

We had more (not good) excitement over the weekend...It rained very, very hard during the night into Sunday and when I opened the basement door that morning, another flood...Waiting at the bottom of the steps was about an inch of water and it had started going into the laundry room (which has carpet)...It was seeping through the wall and where it was actually coming in was at least 10 feet below ground...I guess with all the ice and then the rain, there was just too much water and lucky us.....It took most of the day, every 15 minutes, sopping up water...Not the way I had planned my Sunday.....But, all is good, no major damage....And I did get my attic/window/panel done for Kathy and have it finally packed up ready to go to Reno...She did tell me, I need to get to the mail and pick up all the boxes that are waiting for me down there....And we just had a UPS delivery from Honeybaked Ham from her and DH...Lots and lots of goodies....Jim was especially happy to see there is a pecan pie and a huge red devils food cake in the box...Sounds like his appetite has returned, lol.....

Well, gotta get moving, boxes to pick up and maybe cookies to bake..This week is going to fly by too quickly but I'll be so happy to see my boys!

For our dinner, it might be hot dogs and beans...One of Jim's favorites.....

Happy eating................

Good Afternoon Everyone!
The wind seems to have died down and it is very pleasant out, something all of you would enjoy as much as I do.

Tonight's dinner will be Skillet Pork Chop Dinner. I went to the meat market this morning and stocked up. I decided to put a package of chicken cutlets in the freezer so I wouldn't have to fight any crowds. i think we have enough meat now to last well into the new year.(lol) (I bought a small ham on Saturday as well as another small turkey breast.)

Maryz - Yes, I did get into my sewing room and after throwing away about 4 bags of trash, mostly pieces of batting taking up far too much room. I reorganized things and cleared the floor in the sewing room. I need to clean the bookshelves and give away children's books I kept to read to classes. I love children's books!

Becca - You are going to be brimming with company! It is good to be you with both son and daughter coming!!

Irish - You too are now filling your larder with good food and awaiting Terry and sons. How wonderful Jim has his appetite back.

Chickie - I too am sorry about the duck. I thought ducks migrated south, guess that is why.

Jana - It is very dry here and I have always wanted to try making divinity, but think I will make caramels first. I purchased wrapping papers for them this morning. I intend to give them away to my knitting group.

I need to get back to sewing I was doing.

Have a great day everyone!
California Carol