SNOW!!!!!!!!

I am so happy -- we finally have a decent snowfall. Here in coastal Delaware we get very little snow. It has something to do with proximity to the ocean. I am from Pennsylvania so I grew up with lots of heavy snowfalls. I remember when I was little we could hardly open the front door after it snowed a lot. I lived on a great hill and all the kids in the neighborhood would sled on it. Actually there were a lot of hills and sometimes you could start on our hill and if you had enough momentum you could keep going around the corner and down another two hills. Our dog, Teddy, would invariably get out of the house and chase the kids on their sleds.

I am sitting here in my little home office looking out at the snow coming down. It started last night and it is now 10:40 a.m. and still snowing a little. It is so beautiful.

My daughter is in Massachusetts and she is expecting a total accumulation of 15 inches -- on top of the foot or so they already have! My grandsons are in one school district and Beth teaches in another -- they are all home today. And little Ian's 9th birthday is today -- what a great present. Happy Birthday, Ian!

SHARING A SATURDAY LAUGH

Why, Why, Why?

(from Paul Galvin)


Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are almost dead?
___________________________________

Why do banks charge a fee on 'insufficient funds' when they already know there is not enough money?
___________________________________

Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars; but have to check when you say the paint is still wet?
___________________________________

Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?
___________________________________

Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?
___________________________________

Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
___________________________________

Whose idea was it to put an 'S' in the word 'lisp'?
___________________________________

If people evolved from apes,
why are there still apes?
___________________________________

Why is it that no matter what color bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white?
___________________________________

Is there ever a day that mattresses
are not on sale?
___________________________________

Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?

Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?

How do those dead bugs get into those enclosed light fixtures?

Always,

....TO GRANDCHILDREN'S HOUSE WE GO!!

I am posting the pictures first because it is too hard to try to get them under each paragraph. Does anyone know an easy way to do it?


Me with my daughter and grandsons.

What a great meal!

Helping to build the giant Lego pirate.

Beautiful snow!

Snow isn't always beautiful!

I got home yesterday from Massachusetts. It was a nice visit - a little short - but better than nothing. The grandsons seem to be taller every time I see them (which is every few months). There was still lots of snow there and we had a fresh dusting one of the nights.

I am not a mall shopper, but we were at two different malls on two different days. Each day to get presents for the boys. Ian's birthday is next Sunday. Cooper's isn't until July. So they both got early birthday presents! There was a Lego Master at one of the malls which we had to visit. He was building an 8 ft. tall pirate and there were hundreds of kids there to help.

Beth made THE best dinner on Saturday night - shredded chicken tacos, fresh guacamole, black beans and rice......yum. We visited the local thrift shop in the afternoon and I found two blue willow plates - one a divided diner (as in diner, not dinner) plate for my display and another larger platter. If I haven't mentioned it before, I have been using Blue Willow dishes since I was 21. A very long time. I have some other dishes, too, but the main ones I have always used are Blue Willow. I always get a kick out of the old movies I always watch when I see families sitting down to dinner and what kind of dishes do they use? Blue Willow!

THIS N' THAT

On Sunday I attended one of my favorite local auctions. It was crowded and had lots of good STUFF. I ate my usual hot dog and watched the action. I came away with this oriental rug (that's Chloe testing it out). The prices for stuff at this auction is unbelievable. They even sell some cars which go for great prices. This rug was $225 which is a very good price for an oriental rug. You would pay that for a rug at Home Depot! After I got it home I noticed that it is a little crooked on the ends, but I can live with it. I saw a beautiful armoire that was probably about 75 years old and I would say if it were in a showroom it would be priced at $1,500 or more. It went for $335!!

Tomorrow I leave for Massachusetts to visit my daughter. She and my grandsons are off from school this week so I will go up and spend a few days with them. My son-in-law has to work, unfortunately. Beth and Dale are both teachers, but at different schools so their holidays don't always coincide.

I usually get stressed whenever I have to travel anywhere. The older I get, the worse it gets. It is just the preparation - what should I pack, clean up the house, get to the airport in time, etc., etc. Are you like that, too?

I will take some pictures up there and share them with you when I return on Sunday.

All the best to all of you,

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

MAY YOU ALL HAVE THE SWEETEST VALENTINE'S DAY!

(Thank you to Graphics Fairy for the vintage Valentine)

HAS SPRING SPRUNG??

For a week now the birds have been going crazy - swooping and flying and chirping and working real hard. I had to move things around in my garage so I could get my car in. I usually keep it in the driveway and there was bird poop all over it in one day. I was embarrassed to drive it to the car wash.

We have two huge holly trees in our yard and there are berries everywhere. We also have a little frog pond (man-made). As I am writing this I am looking out my window at the pond and there are about thirty birds enjoying the water. I guess it is a veritable feast at my house for the birds. I put suet and seed out in the winter and the seed was eaten, but the suet wasn't touched. I moved it to another location and the birds have eaten it all in a week.

Here is a photo of some tulips emerging. I thought it was early, but then I realized that the picture I posted on Monday (which was taken in a previous March) are the same tulips.

I just realized that today is Friday the 13th. I don't even like to think about it. Stay safe everyone!

I haven't done a meme for quite awhile so I was pleased to have Cindy from Sagescript Institute tag me for this one.

The instructions are:

1.Go to your Picture Folder on your computer or wherever you store your pictures
2.Go to the 6th Folder, then pick the 6th picture in that folder
3.Post that picture on your blog and tell the story that goes along with the picture.
4.Tag 6 other people that you know or don’t know to do the same thing and leave a comment on their blog or an e-mail letting them know you chose them.

This is a photo of some daffodils by my front step right after a late and infrequent snowfall. I took this picture a few years ago - the date said March 2006, but it may have been a year later. I see that it was before Easter because the wreath I made is on the front door.

I tag:

1. Lynne at Lynne's Little Corner of The World

2. Mary at Marys Writing Nook

3. Willow at Willow's Cottage

4. Flower at Flower Power

5. Barbara at The Clark Homestead

6. Linda at Somewhere in Time

Have fun!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LYNNE!!

Today is Lynne's birthday at Lynne's Little Corner of the World. Lynne and I have been friends since 6th grade and we are now, well, let's just say we are women of a certain age. Lynne taught me the latest dance steps in high school, we shared the joys and sorrows of teenage romances, we drank cherry cokes at the soda fountain in Willow Grove, we graduated together, went to the same secretarial school after high school and even attended our 40th high school class reunion together. She is the one who introduced me to the blogging world. She's the best! Stop by and wish her a happy one!

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!!!!