SUPER BOWL SUNDAY

The hoopla is over and it was a great game. I am not a football fan -- at all. But this game was exciting and congratulations to the Steelers.

We had a party at our house which was a lot of fun. We seldom entertain and it was fun to have our friends and neighbors over. People brought food and we ate non-stop. Thank you to all! I may not be a sports fan, but Super Bowl Sunday is about the food as far as I am concerned. We had my homemade chili, cornbread, salad, wings, steamed shrimp, cheeses and dips, cookies and eclairs, beer and wine and soda.

Several people wanted my recipe for chili so this is it:

This will serve about 12-15 people.

3 lbs. ground beef

2 packages of Chili-O or some brand of chili seasoning (optional, but I had it in the cupboard and it is a fast way of making chili)

Approx. 1 Tbs of chili powder

Approx. 1 Tbs of ground cumin

1 large can of kidney beans (or also black beans or pinto beans) to taste

3 15 oz. cans of petite diced tomatoes

1/2 bag frozen chopped green pepper (or more)

3/4 bag frozen chopped onion (or more)

2-3 cloves chopped garlic

1 -2 cups frozen corn (optional)

I sautee the garlic, green pepper and onion in some olive oil until they are soft. Then I add the beef and brown it well.

Add the seasonings and then the tomatoes. Simmer a few minutes and add the beans and corn.

Simmer it all for approx. an hour and a half. I transferred it to a crock pot to keep it warm for self-serve.

I don't usually make this large a quantity of chili, so I was tasting as I was going to make sure the seasoning was right. I don't like it real hot and this was just a little spicy. Obviously, you may want to chop your own peppers and onions, but this was so much easier.

Everyone has their own chili recipe, but everyone raved about this. It is simple, basic chili.

ALL IN A DAY'S WORK

I will be so glad when this stinkin' winter weather is over. If we had a decent snowfall to at least make it pretty, it wouldn't be so bad. This winter seems exceptionally cold for southern Delaware. But I do notice that it is getting dark later and we will be setting the clocks ahead (remember "spring forward") on March 8.

I had lunch with some girlfriends today at a little family restaurant. Their special today - chicken and dumplings. Remember my recent post on dumplings? These were delicious - chicken, homemade slippery dumplings, stuffing, ice tea and tip - $10.00. Then off we went to our Realtors' Board office for another update class to the ever-increasing bureaucratic stuff we need to know or change. We were given a little gizmo that processes a pin number for us to use every time we enter our listing service. Ok. But - the irritating thing is that if we lose this little gizmo it will cost us $50.00 to replace it. At least they could have made it larger -- it is only about the size of a half dollar. Do you know how many people will be losing these things?? I will probably be the first!

After that I had my hair done - cut and color. I had a ten dollar off coupon which helped some and the hairdresser also gave me a break on the charge because she had misquoted it to me. I started coloring my hair myself recently, but this time I had them do it.

Pizza and chicken pizza steak hoagie for dinner from the local pizza place - yum!

I am now going to change into my pj's and settle in with my latest mystery.

That was my day - how was yours?

TIME TRAVEL 101

I have recently embarked on a journey into the past. The joke in my family is that I am the keeper of the H___ Museum. I treasure anything that I own that once belonged to me when I was a child, to my parents or to my grandparents. Within reason of course.

I still own my black and white copy books from first and second grade. You know the ones I mean. They still sell them. I have almost every picture my daughter ever drew in elementary school. I inherited most of my mother's old photos. My sister and I split them up, but I seem to have the bulk of them. You know - those old little black and white photographs showing people that we cannot identify. Old dolls, old dishes, tea sets, cut glass, souvenirs. You name it, I've got it.

To add to this, I have discovered the joy of genealogy. Why is it that when we reach fifty or thereabouts, we begin to be interested in long dead relatives? Why didn't we question our parents and especially our grandparents about their lives while we still had them with us? Not just about names and places, but how they lived their day to day lives, the trivia and details of their days.

I have found a site through our library's on-line service, wherein I can research old census documents. I am sure many of you have done this. It is like a mystery to be solved and I certainly love a mystery. I don't know much about doing this, but so far it is intriguing me to the point that I am glued to the computer screen until all hours of the night.

I knew that my paternal grandfather died when my father was a baby, supposedly during the 1918 great flu pandemic. This led me to a treatise written by a doctor about the epidemic and how it specifically affected Philadelphia. I then started to wonder what my grandmother's life was like when her young husband died and she had to return to her mother's house with her little boy. Why didn't I ever ask for details?

I have contacted a second cousin whom I have only met once and he has been working on the family history also. He has tons of interesting information that he will share with me.

Doing this is like herding cats, as they say. This person leads to that person who leads to another person and on and on and on.

Wish me luck - I am time traveling into the unknown past.

CONGRATULATIONS, MR. PRESIDENT

OH, DEER, WHAT CAN THE MATTER BE?

My husband greeted me early this morning with this.




He leaves the house by 6 a.m. everyday, while I am still pondering getting dressed at 9 a.m. He came back today around 9:00 and said, "There is a leg of deer in the refrigerator from O___. Just cut it up and put it in the convection oven." Whaaaaaat????

After awhile I took a peek and yes, there was a "leg of deer" in the fridge. Granted -- it was probably only half the leg, or maybe a small deer, which even made me feel worse about the poor creature. Now, I am not a vegetarian nor am I tremendously opposed to hunting (I guess). Hunting is a pretty big deal around here. Mostly duck and deer. I think it is mean to do it, but if it is legal and you need it to eat or thin the herd, or whatever the reasons/excuses are, well I don't get on the bandbox about it.


So I quickly closed the refrigerator door and called my sister. When in doubt, I call my sister. What am I going to do about this? She suggested marinating it or taking it somewhere and having it ground up for hamburger meat. Nah. I don't have a pan big enough or a saw to cut it up with and I doubt that a regular butcher would grind it up for me. I waited a few hours and took another look. No, I am not dealing with this.

I think I prefer meat that doesn't look like the original animal - meat that is nicely packaged in a grocer's freezer. Well, yes, I do dream of living in a log cabin, but no, I guess I won't be doing any hunting.

I called my husband and told him to thank the man, but that his wife is a "vegetarian" and won't cook the poor creature's leg and please give it to someone who will appreciate it. My husband didn't even balk or complain. I don't think he wanted it either. He doesn't like hunting and can't stand to watch anything on television that shows a suffering animal.

Right now? It is still in the refrigerator, but not for long.....I hope.

CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS, ETC.

It has been so cold here for the last few days. Beau and I haven't even been out walking much. Today it hit almost 40 and felt like a heat wave. We actually had a dusting of snow this evening. Not much, but enough to be pretty.

My daughter gave me the DVD "Mama Mia" for Christmas and I have watched it a few times already. I watched it again today -- it always makes me happy and I love to sing and dance to the music. My favorite - "Dancing Queen."

For dinner I made chicken and dumplings, using a leftover rotisserie chicken from the grocery store that we barely ate last night. It turned out great. Here in Delaware dumplings are really like large thick noodles and are called "slippery dumplings." I am from Pennsylvania and when I made chicken and dumplings the first time for my husband, he said "what are these?" "Dumplings," I said. I had made my usual dumplings from Bisquick. "These aren't dumplings," he complained. A lot of old time cooks here make their own slippery dumplings, but I buy the frozen store-bought ones that come from North Carolina. You can't really tell the difference. Here are pictures of what the two different dumplings look like.

I'll close tonight with my favorite goodbye - Happy Trails to you!!

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON

I saw this fantasy/drama/romance last night. One word -- incredible. You have to see this film. Not just for the story. Not just for the actors. Not just for the special effects. All are amazing. See it for the message of enduring love. The movie stars Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett.

This movie was based on a 1921 short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I do not usually cry at movies, but the end really moved me to tears. Essentially, the story is about a man who is born an old man and follows him to his death as an infant. It is about the journey of life and the timeless power of love. It is about understanding and tolerance.

The special effects and computer generated images are so amazing. How did they do this?? I read that computerized whatever was used -- how I do not know.

Brad Pitt is, of course, beautiful. The older he gets, the more accomplished he is as an actor. Well, okay, I am happy just looking at him.

I strongly recommend this film.

STILL LIFE by Louise Penny

I just finished this delightful mystery by a new author (for me). I actually read until 3 a.m. to finish the book and see "who dunnit."

From the book flap:

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surete du Quebe and his team of investigators are called in to the scene of a suspicious death in a rural village south of Montreal. Jane Neal, a local fixture in the tiny hamlet of Three Pines, just north of the U.S. border, has been found dead in the woods. The locals are certain it's a tragic hunting accident and nothing more, but Gamache smells something foul in these remote woods, and is soon certain that Jane Neal died at the hands of someone much more sinister than a careless bowhunter.

"Still Life" introduces not only an engaging series hero in Inspector Gamache, who commands his forces --and this series--with integrity and quiet courage, but also a winning and talented new writer of traditional mysteries in the person of Louise Penny.

This book was first published in 2005 and there are several additions to this series since then. I will definitely be reading them. This book kept me on the edge of my seat - especially the last third of the book. I couldn't figure out who the culprit was and never saw it coming when it was divulged. The writing was charming, but also kept a sinister thread running through it. One part made my skin crawl -- I won't tell you what it was! The characters were interesting and fully developed and I wish there would be more crimes in Three Pines for Inspector Gamache to solve.

TO MARKET, TO MARKET TO BUY A ...........

I love going to estate auctions. I especially like the one that is held every month or two in Rehoboth Beach. Today I went although I didn't get there until mid afternoon. I was in no rush because I had no intention of buying anything. I like to go and eat a hot dog from the concession and watch the action and if there is anything I can get for a good, low price, well that is even better.

Today the highlight for me was the bean and ham soup -- homemade by the people who run the food concession and just about the best I have ever had. There was one lot of things that came on that my friend and I split - $5.00 each. Can't beat that. She ended up with two martini glasses, a pair of very nice pewter candle sticks and two copper pans. I got a copper tea kettle and a copper pan.

Another lot contained about eight miscellaneous items which included a little toy furniture puzzle kit made in 1926. Someone bid against me on that and got the lot for $17.50. The woman asked me if I wanted some of it and to make her an offer. I offered her $7.00 and got a "breakfast in bed tray", a vintage Lenox cigarette box, a Universal Studios California cobalt blue cup and plate, an Italian pottery ash tray and a vintage glass sugar bowl. I went on E-bay and found the cigarette/dresser box going for $64.95. Not bad for the lot for only $7.00. So my grand total today was $15.00 including the $3.00 bean soup!

A great day. Anyone need a china cigarette box?

A BOOK REVIEW AND AN AWARD

My good friend and fellow blogger Lynne at Lynne's Little Corner Of The World has given me this very nice award. Thank you, Lynne!! (I really wish people who create these awards at least do a grammar or spell check - "For the coolest blog I ever know"?????) I now pass it on to the following fellow bloggers:

1. Barbara at The Clark Homestead

2. Willow at Willow's Cottage

3. Tristi at Tristi Pinkston, LDS Author

4. Diane at Diane's Place

5. Jess at Jessica's World

The guidelines are that you post the award graphic on your blog and link your post to the person who gave you the award and the people you are passing the award on to.

Congratulations - you are all SO COOL!

Thanks to Lynne again for reviewing this wonderful book - "Hannah's Dream" - which I have just finished and have been left wishing there were more. As you will notice on some of my previous posts, I have read several books about elephants - some fiction, some true. I have developed a keen interest in these complicated and wonderful creatures and have joined the supporters of The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwalt, Tennessee. Please check out their website here - they even have an elephant-cam.

Hannah's Dream by Diane Hammond is fiction, but could very well be true because the author has done such excellent research into the life of the captured elephant and the problems and mistakes made by zoos and elephant keepers. Hannah was fortunate enough to have the same keeper for forty-one years and this keeper and his wife loved Hannah as if she were their own child. The time was drawing close to when the keeper would have to retire which coincided with the ambitions of the new zoo director and her plans for Hannah and the zoo. This is a book with a happy ending - I only wish there would be a sequel or that there would have been an "Afterword" at the end of the book. I wanted to know what happened to the characters after I read the last sentence. I strongly recommend this book.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR SISTER!!

Today is my little sister's birthday. I am reprinting here what I wrote last year on her birthday.

The older we get, the closer we get. I wish that you, dear bloggers, could have a relationship like this in your lives with one of your siblings. I can remember when I was a very little girl and Linda was born. I stayed with our Nana while Mom was in the hospital. In those days, people didn't have babies and come home in two days. I remember that Mom had to come home without Linda because my new sister had a life-threatening problem. She was born -Rh factor and had to have blood transfusions. I remember clearly Mom sitting on Nana's sofa crying. I was four years old. Dad was frantically looking for blood donors. I don't remember more details, but the new precious baby in our lives pulled through. I remember being allowed to go to the hospital and see her in her little incubator.

Linda was the one who knew everyone in the neighborhood. She organized backyard fairs, had coffee with the older neighbors (she was then about 7) and loved to perform her dance routines for us in front of the television. Where was I? Mom would say, "Tina get your nose out of that book, and go outside and get some fresh air." As you can see, Linda was the outgoing one and I was the introvert. She was also the one who would cry if Mom or Dad yelled at her. I was the one who refused to shed a tear.

Unfortunately, looking back I remember being a brat to my little sister. I think she forgives me. There were adult years when we had disagreements and didn't see each other often, but thank heavens these always resolved themselves. I could go on and on, but I will end with this: Linda is so precious to me now. I cherish all of our memories and time together. Happy Birthday dear little sister!

Look on my sidebar and you will see a picture of Linda and me.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LINDA!!!

Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah

What a crummy day here in coastal Delaware - cold, rainy, yucky. Why couldn't it be snow? My daughter is in Massachusetts and they had a foot of snow on Friday and more expected.


Four days until Christmas and I guess I am ready. Actually, Christmas is very low key this year since I won't be seeing my daughter and the grandchildren (they were here at Thanksgiving and will travel to Tennessee for Christmas). I have lights outside and a little tree and decorations up in the house and it looks pretty festive. The packages have been mailed and we will visit my husband's daughter and grandchildren on Saturday. Since it will only be the two of us for Christmas dinner I thought we would go to a wonderful restaurant in Rehoboth which is very Victorian and oceanfront. They have a big Christmas buffet, but when I called for reservations they were all booked. What a bummer. I guess I will make a small turkey with all the trimmings, but I am disappointed. Christmas Eve we will go to church. We are having friends over for dinner on Tuesday night. I will be making my cherry tomato/capers/shrimp pasta recipe. My husband loves this dish and I hope our friends do also.


I hope all of you have a beautiful Christmas. Today is the first day of winter and also the beginning of Hanukkah. Happy Hanukkah!

TODAY ON BEECH DRIVE

I know I haven't written for awhile. In a nutshell: there was Thanksgiving, a real estate class, several doctor's appointments, a funeral and....and....is that all?? I feel like I have been SO busy.

My daughter and son-in-law and grandsons and my granddog came down from Massachusetts for the holiday. How wonderful it was to spend some time with them. The boys are growing so fast, but are still my little boys -- the same with my daughter. She will always be my little girl. I was in a funk for a few days after they left because I missed them so much. I think the older we get the more we miss our children if they aren't close to us. For those of you who have your family close by, treasure this because you are very, very lucky.

I am now recuperating from something -- the flu, bronchitis - something. I went to the doctor and am on antibiotics. I came down with it on Wednesday and am just now starting to feel better.

We attended a funeral on Saturday for one of my husband's very close friends. He was only 58. It was a graveside service -- very cold. I was bundled up and I hope I don't have a relapse. There was a bagpiper which only added to the sadness of the occasion. We just can't believe the friend is gone.

This is what happened to my Sunday dinner:

Since I haven't had much appetite I had made a beautiful chicken noodle soup and was planning to have it for dinner. I had chunks of chicken in it, along with pastina and some corn. I had a cup of it this afternoon and was really looking forward to it at dinner. My husband wanted stuffed green peppers and he had brought home the peppers and the ground beef last night so for his dinner I went to some bit of trouble and attention to make the stuffed peppers along with some creamed corn. I don't like stuffed peppers or creamed corn. He had been out working on his boat all day and when he came home he was in the kitchen and I called to him that the peppers were in the oven and would be finished in thirty minutes. He didn't answer so I yelled out "THE PEPPERS ARE IN THE OVEN"!!. Did you hear me? Yes, he said. He proceeded to come into the family room with bowl after bowl of chicken soup. I said, "Aren't you going to ruin your dinner with all that soup?" He said, "Isn't this dinner?" To make matters worse, he had dumped the entire pan of creamed corn into the soup and declared, "This is delicious!" So - gone was my chicken noodle soup and after he ate one of the stuffed peppers I asked him how it was. "Uh, so-so." MEN!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Today is the big day. Two years from now I will be eligible for Medicare. Whoopee.

Two of my friends and I celebrate our birthdays together. We have a tiara that we share and we go out to dinner at a nice restaurant and bring our own cake and give the birthday girl presents. I always look forward to these events - good food, girl talk and lots of laughing. The group at one time had five people, but it is now just us three old bags. Ha, ha. We are all the same age which is part of the fun. Here is a picture of the three of us - I am the one with her eyes closed and wearing the tiara.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK!

On Wednesday I took a Realtors' bus trip to New York City to see "Gypsy." I do this almost every year when they offer it. It is a long day (leaving at 6:30 a.m. and arriving home around 10 p.m.).

Unfortunately, the back half of our bus had no heat so that we shivered most of the way up and back. The city was VERY cold - even the theater was cold. But, the show was good. I had seen the movie starring Natalie Wood. I had a chance to run into St. Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue for a few minutes, stop into Saks and ogle at the prices ($250 for a little winter hat) and then to have lunch at a very good Italian restaurant (mmm, risotta). The tree was up in Rockefeller Center, but not yet decorated.

They showed movies on the bus ride home and I saw "Mama Mia" and "The Devil Wears Prada" which I had never seen. I saw the play "Mama Mia" in New York a few years ago. I love that show.

While I was watching the play I was thinking of how the actors must feel up there with people sitting out there in the dark watching. And to hear the applause and laughter! No wonder movie actors all want to try the stage. I guess if you do a show on Broadway you are REALLY an actor.

Since I now live in a small, laid back town I was interested in watching the people in the city. I guess I am now a country bumpkin!

How was your weekend? Quiet here and raining part of the time. Today was beautiful, though.

On Saturday I attended a tea given by a local women's club. It was called St. Nicholas' Tea. The club members wore aprons and served us three courses: scones with lemon curd, then tea sandwiches (my very favorite), followed by sweet little desserts. We had two pots of tea on our table and poured ourselves. Around the perimeter of the small room were things for sale, many with a Christmas theme for gifts. There were also two women playing harps. It was really quite lovely. I already plan to go next year.

I just remembered a memory that I will share with you: I was a little girl, eating lunch in John Wanamaker's Department Store's Crystal Tea Room in Philadelphia and eating, of course, tea sandwiches. I also remember in one of the large department stores there was a large ladies lounge. Times certainly have changed. Along with the regular bathroom facilities, there was a separate very large room containing lovely sofas and chairs and writing desks (complete with pens and writing paper). This was where the ladies could relax during a shopping break. I remember this in the 1950's and 60's.

John Wanamaker was a wonderful department store. They even had a ladies hatmaker back in the day. Wanamakers was well known for the Christmas Light Show which was accompanied by organ music from a large pipe organ that came from the St. Louis Exposition in 1904. People stopped in their shopping to watch the show, or people made a special visit to the store to see the show with their children. It is still a Philadelphia tradition. Today you can still go there to see it even though John Wanamakers Department Store is out of business and is now Macy's. Thank goodness Macy's has continued the tradition.

TODAY ON BEECH DRIVE

I got home from Massachusetts on Sunday. It was a nice trip and a good visit. Those little boys are really growing fast. They both went out on Halloween. I thought the twelve year old would say he was too old, but he did go out and they brought home tons of candy. I took some pictures on my daughter's camera and I am waiting for her to download them and e-mail them to me (hint).

My daughter and I went to our favorite junk/antique shop. Here is a picture of the sign. I came away with a few more things to add to my ever-growing collection of "stuff." I may need to open a store of my own soon.

By the way, here is a picture of my little hutch that I showed you before. I decided to leave it "au natural" and I filled it with more "stuff."

I am happy that the election is over and even though Barack Obama was not my man, I am sure he will do as good a job as he can, considering the mess that he is stepping into. President Bush will probably be glad to get back to his ranch.

I live in Sussex County, one of only three counties in Delaware. We have a history here of celebrating "Returns Day." This dates back over a hundred years and is essentially when they used to get together to count the ballots or returns from the voting. It is a big deal here. Parades, food vendors, music, local officials riding in horse-drawn carriages. They even literally "bury the hatchet." This year Senator Joe Biden (from Delaware) was there. I heard it was a madhouse with Secret Service and extra security. It also rained all day. Violetlady did not attend! Another tidbit: Senator Biden's wife Jill graduated from my (and Lynne's) high school in Pennsylvania.

So that is about it for tonight. Oh - one more thing. If you notice the upper left corner of my blog there is a place where you can click and show that you follow my blog. Blogger has added this feature which is kind of cute.

A SHORT TRIP

I am leaving tomorrow morning for a flight to New Hampshire where my daughter will pick me up to go to her home in Massachusetts. I like flying into Manchester instead of Boston and she is almost as close to one as the other. I checked the weather and it is supposed to be rainy and windy. Yuck.

I am looking forward to seeing my grandsons and New England is so pretty now.

I will be back next Sunday -- see you then!

DINNER OUT

Yesterday I talked my husband into driving me out in the country about 25 miles from home to pick up a small hutch that I had found on-line on Craig's List. It was a beautiful day for a drive. I haven't decided whether to paint the hutch or leave it the natural maple. It will go in the kitchen to display more of my "stuff." Do you think I should paint it all one color, paint only the shelves or leave it the way it is?

One reason Ken was willing to drive me in the truck to pick this thing up was that it was near one of our favorite restaurants. It is called Jimmy's Grill and is a real country locals place. For people who know about it, though, travelers coming from Washington, D.C. to the beaches in Delaware like to stop also. Ken and I love their fried shrimp, although they are known more for their fried chicken. I embarrassed him by taking pictures of our food so I could post them here. I had fried shrimp, cole slaw and corn fritters. He had fried shrimp, limas with slippery dumplings (a local thing) and collard greens. They also have the most wonderful homemade rolls. I know all this sounds pretty ordinary, but I guess you have to be there to experience it. Here are the pictures. Yum!

THIS N' THAT

There is nothing exciting going on here lately. Actually, that is not entirely true. The local Jazz Festival was this past weekend. One of the headliners was Joe Piscipo doing his Frank Sinatra impression show. The convention center hosts several acts a day and many of the local restaurants have free jazz shows. To attend the big shows isn't free, though, and since I am being frugal (maybe an overstatement) these days, I didn't go to anything.

Thursday night will be our annual Realtors' Auction. We raise money for needy children to help give them Christmas presents (each child also gets a warm winter coat) and provide money for worthy causes throughout the year. There will be lots of food and silent and live auctions. It is usually a lot of fun -- local real estate companies compete with each other to create the best "basket" that raises the most money during the live auction.

Next week I leave for Massachusetts to visit my daughter. I am looking forward to it so I can catch up with her and with my grandsons. My oldest grandson recently attended a bar mitzvah - by himself. He was invited by one of his classmates. Beth and Dale delivered him to the temple and then picked him up and took him to the country club for the party. He had a new suit on and wore a yarmulke. He commented to his parents that he would no longer complain about Mass at his church being long - the bar mitzvah service lasted three hours. My youngest grandson is starting to take lessons to play an instrument in school - his choice is the bass fiddle. A beautiful instrument, but so big that he isn't allowed on the school bus with it!

I have been thinking about the various bloggers I have enjoyed who have "retired" from the blogging scene. It is interesting how involved we get with each other and how we miss those who aren't "with us" anymore. Life is so busy these days - sometimes it is hard to include everything in our lives.

I have been remembering my trip to Paris two (?) years ago and wondering if I will ever be fortunate enough to return to my favorite place. In memory, here is a photo I took of the Sacre Coeur.
Bon soir!

P.S. Just remembered something my oldest grandson said. He is taking French in school this year (7th grade). When asked why he chose French he said, "Well, you know it is the best language." That's my boy!