I'm Back! 12/7/23

 Hello there!

My two days off from work and away from the computer were WONDERUFL!  Just what the doctor ordered.  Yes, I missesd catching up with all of you and letting you know what I was doing, but it was SO good to not turn on the computer.  (I will be paying for that later work-wise...but so what!)

There was no stitching done and only a very little knitting.  I did manage to read some.  Also, I wrapped gifts that need to be shipped out (and boxed them up).  Only a little bit more to be done in that department.  I did do a lot of cooking!  One night I made a Quiche Lorraine.  I did add some kale and spinach along with mushrooms and onions.

There is lots left over too for lunches or another dinner.

Fletch loves apple fritters, but is always complaining about how there are so few apple pieces in the ones he buys.  Yesterday morning when I got up, I baked him some apple fritter bread!  I'm sorry I forgot to take a picture of the loaf, but the house smelled wonderful and the bread turned out pretty well too.  I used THIS RECIPE but did not put the glaze on it.  An easy and simple recipe that turned out tasty.

After baking the bread, I ran out to get my haircut.  And, it was snowing!!  At first just flurries and then it was coming down like crazy and was so pretty.  Nothing stuck around and by the afternoon it was over, but it was lovely to see the snow.

New haircut and new glasses!!

With snow in the air, it seemed like the perfect day to make some soup for dinner.  I had everything in the frig and on my pantry shelves to make Curried Shrimp and Potato Chowder.  

I whipped up some biscuits to go with this.

This is another very easy recipe that I have made a lot.  If anyone is interested in the recipe, let me know and I will e-mail it to you.  Again, plenty left over for lunches and/or another dinner.  During dinner we listened to one of my favorite CDs for the Season:

And now my friends, it is back to the grind for moi.  My work in-box is showing a ton of new emails (hoping that many can just be deleted...), so I'd best hop to it.

Have a great Thursday!

Weekending 12/4/23

 Good Mornoing All,

How are you and how was your weekend?  Mine was good and I hope yours was too.

Saturday morning I met up with Dee at the Manhattan Bagel in Lansdale.  We went there because I had to stop by C&M's to feed Marcel and Talbot.  Convenience is everything.  Even if the horrible singer was there (again) (they need to get someone else to entertain).

Saturday night Fletch and I started watching Season 8 of Shetland.  I wasn't sure I would like it without Jimmy Perez (LOL), but we both thought the first episode was good.

Sunday the temps were very mild (50's) but we had rain ALL day long, so it felt rather damp and chilly.  I think that's over for now.  I managed to do a little knitting and a little cleaning.  I got as far as putting a Christmas tablecloth on the table and a seasonal runner on the buffet, but I have yet to drag out the birch log and other decorations that are standards in our house.  We have (finally) made a decision on a tree.  We will get a small table top tree that we can have in the living room and see how Mabel deals with it.  Hopefully she will just think it is beautiful and then leave it alone!  Ha!  Of course we have not gotten it yet, but hopefully this week.

Today I will go over to feed the cats this morning and then head to the office.  I need to print some things and overnight them to Kevin.  I also have a big (meaning a lot of people on it) conference call at 10 which I will plan to take at the office.  Then it will be off to Trader Joe's for a few things, Staples for a couple of things and, of course, the State Store for some wine (always some wine).

And then I am off on Tuesday and Wednesday!  Yup - I emailed all the powers that be and told them I wanted to take a couple of days off and they were fine with that.  I will also be off the week between Christmas and New Years (though most of those days are holidays anyway).  No real plans for this week other than I did make an appointment to have a haircut (again!!) on Wednesday.

Mailing flies up tomorrow for work, so we will be "off" cat duty for a couple of days.  The break will be nice.  So, a good weekend and a start to what I am sure will be a good week.  I did not take any pictures over the weekend, but my brother in Colorado sent me a picture of his backyard a few days ago:

Bobcat!!

A beautiful creature, but I'm glad we do not have them around here!  My brother and his family are vigilant since they have dogs - one of which is a small one...

Back to Normal (Whatever That Is) and Two Cats on a Friday 12/1/23

 Good Morning!

Yesterday was a different day!  It started out normally.  I was up early and actually finished all my reports before it was time to go feed Talbot & Marcel.  Thank goodness as it turns out.  I had completely forgotten (even though it was on the calendar) that our power was going to be off from 9 to approximately 2:30.  A planned outage as they replaced a pole at the bottom of our street.  

I got home from C&M's about 8:50 a.m. and was going to do some laundry, but promptly at 9 the power shut off.  Of course that meant no internet service either, so work was out of the question (not a bad thing in my mind).

Luckily it was a sunny day, but the house still became rather chilly (we have electric heat).  Finally at 11:30, we left and went out to lunch - to get a hot meal and sit somewhere with heat on!

The power did come back on just about 2 p.m.  I managed to get two loads of laundry done and had a rather busy work afternoon.

Fletch grilled some steaks for dinner (which were not that good) and I made some smashed potatoes and roasted Brussels Sprouts with a bit of EVOO, some maple syrup, a touch of dijon mustard and S&P - roasted at 425 for about 20-25 minutes and they were delicious!

Finally, here are the two cats for Feline Friday:

Marcel watching birds - what a floofy tail!!

Talbot enjoying breakfast (they are messy eaters)

One of the plants C&M brought up from Texas is a succulent - a Sunburst which is very pretty.  Some of the "petals" had fallen off, so I gathered a few up and now have them planted.  Hoping to have my own Sunburst eventually!

Time to pour some more coffee and dry my hair - my head is cold!

Happy December and Happy Friday!

Unraveled Wednesday 11/29/23

 Good Morning!

It is a chilly one here - just 22 degrees by my phone and my computer.  I have a shawl wrapped around my shoulders and a steaming cup of coffee next to me.

Many of you commented on sweet Mabel yesterday and I thank you for that.  She is not all angelic though, for sure.  When I got home from feeding Marcel and Talbot yesterday morning, Mabel pranced across our patio with a bird in her mouth.  I was not pleased.  I know it's only natural, but I don't have to like it.

Also, I have a needle felted raccoon that I think I bought at one of the MD Sheep & Wool that I attended.  It is hanging from a shelf bracket in the kitchen.

Looking a little worse for wear these days.

On one of my strolls through the living room yesterday I noticed the poor raccoon under the rocking chair!  Now Mabel knows she is not supposed to get up on the buffet (under the shelf), but she could only have gotten the raccooon by jumping up on the buffet.  Again, not pleased.  A year ago I put that raccoon away in a drawer in the buffet because Mabel was constantly "getting" it.  I brought it back out after she went missing earlier this year.  Guess I may need to put it away again.

Yesterday was awfully chilly and very, very windy.  We also had some flurries!  When I was two minutes from home yesterday, driving over to Mailing's and Colin's it started snowing.  Stopped at a traffic light, I was able to get a shot:

We had more flurries in the afternoon before dinner.  Pretty, but bitter cold!

Well, it's Wednesday and time to link up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to talk making and reading.  Unlike the lack of stitching I had for yesterday, I do have a tiny bit of knitting to show.

The First Red Winged Blackbird Sock

The heel has been turned and the gusset decreases are completed on the first  Red Winged Blackbird Sock.  I need to step up my game a bit if I am going to get these finished for Christmas and, perhaps, knit something else.  I have some ideas in my head of "quick" things I could make...but time will tell.

Reading is still slow.  I'm almost finished "The Comfort of Crows" and am enjoying it immensely.  I think "Late Migrations" is my favorite of her books, but "Comfort" is a close second.  I've moved up in the queue for "The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store" - I am now #128!! 

On my nightstand I have Fox and I which I am looking forward to diving into once I finish "Comfort."  Finally, Fletch and I are wrapping up The Jefferson Key by Steve Berry.  It is like a Robert Ludlum or Dan Brown book and is ok.  We will be happy to get into something else!

After feeding Talbot & Marcel this morning, I am planning on driving to the office.  It's been quite some time since I went in and I should check mail, etc.  Then I have some errands to run (Trader Joe's and a bit of shopping for gifts!).  It will be a longish day for moi, but I'm hoping that stores will not be too crowded on a Wednesday.

Have a wonderful Wednesday whatever you are up to!

No TNT Today 11/28/23

 Good Morning Everyone,

There will be no TNT post today.  I have not picked up a tiny needle in over a week now!  It's just been busy (as you know, because I mention that ALL the time).

But, I have a couple of things to show.  First up, sweet Mabel.

A minute before I snapped this picture she was attempting to grab the yarn as it spun around the bowl.

I've always liked jade plants and I finally got myself one.  Very small.  In a small pot in the office room.

And here is what I hope it looks like some day!

This one is at Bonnie & Zhongren's home.

I managed to get C&M's wet laundry re-washed and dried yesterday.  I'll take that over this morning.  Fletch went over last night after dinner to feed Talbot & Marcel.  I had planned to go with him, but ended up having to work instead (see...busy!!).  I'm looking for an easier day today.

Time to dry my hair, get dressed and head over to C&M's house.  Wishing you all a lovely Tuesday - enjoy!

Weekending 11/27/23

 Hello and Good Morning!

I'm hoping that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that it was as tasty as ours was!  The biggest thrill for us though was having the kids back in town.

It was great to all be together again, if only for a brief time.  C&M are now back in Texas, having flown back last evening.  Colin texted that despite the dire prognostications, there were no lines at security so they breezed through and their flight was on time and no delays (despite the pouring rain here in the Philadelphia area).  Mailing will be back for 2-3 days next week for work and then they will both be back permanently on the 19th.  YAY!!

Otto (Anna's dog) joined us on Thursday.  He is a big fan of turkey!

He is a quiet dog and takes his food so nicely - sitting and then giving first one paw and then the other.  When he takes food from your fingers, he is so gentle!!

None of my Christmas cacti have buds yet, but Bonnie & Zhongren have a gorgeous one beginning to blooom.

I do, however, have snapdragons still blooming!  For the first time ever I caught deer munching on them, so I chased them off and then cut a couple of the blooms to have on the kitchen windowsill.

Dee and I did meet up on Friday for a few hours of friendship, knitting and sipping.  We decided that Panera's might not be quite as crowded as it can be on a Saturday and that everyone else out would be shopping on Black Friday.  As usual, it was a lovely time.  However, it kept making me think that Friday was Saturday and then Saturday was Sunday, etc.  

So now a new week.  We are on cat duty and I will be heading over to C&M's to feed Talbot and Marcel once Fletch is awake (and it is no longer dark outside).  I will also be picking up soaking wet laundry!  C&M's washer conked out in the middle of a cycle yesterday morning, so I will gather up the wet clothes, bring them home to wash (again) and then dry.  Once they are back in town, if they determine they need to replace the washer I will not recommend a Maytag (the one I have) - LOL.  I will, however, suggest a Speed Queen.

Cheers to a great week ahead!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!