A New Year's Resolution

Wordless Wednesday in the Winter Palace

The Scene of the Crime with Photos

The last thing I expect to see when I look out of my back window is what appears to be a massacre.  What does this look like to you?

I was baffled until I remembered a post at Garden in a City regarding a certain four-legged creature and some berries.  Sure enough, here was the critter:

And here is the Cranberry viburnum:

The snow is all melted, so the crime scene evidence has been definitely tampered with by Mother Nature.  Guess she takes care of her own.

Good Help is Hard to Find - or Not

It's the time of year when everyone is stressed - especially women who are trying to get the cleaning and cooking and shopping done, seemingly all on their own.  I saw this quote on Pinterest last night and I laughed out loud.  Yep, I remember those days.

I have never had household help other than someone to watch the kids if I had to go shopping (I hate screaming kids in the grocery store and yes, even the best behaved will scream at some point).  Once a babysitter cleaned my son's room while she was here.  I laughed and told her that was a complete waste of time, but thanks.

If you have raised kids, you know how difficult it can be to get them to do any chores.  But Charlie is on the right track, all of his own initiative:

Have a shower that needs cleaning?  Need to give the dog a rinse?  No problem.  Master Charles will take care of it.  Not sure how he got this idea 'cause he has never seen me clean the shower and my son says they do not have a squeegee.  

Somehow I doubt that when he is a teenager he will be interested in wiping down the shower walls.

Have a loose screw (or a screw loose)?  Charlie will take care of it with his handy-dandy plastic screwdriver.  Must be those episodes of This Old House I had on TV.

If you are cleaning leaves or weeds from the garden, Charlie will bring his little wagon for you to load.  And then dump it out after you fill it.

Don't cry over spilt milk Gramma (actually he calls me Bubba, which is just too funny), I've got it under control.

Hey, I heard all about how your Mother-in-law would check for dust when she visited.  I'm on it. These swiffer dusters are great!

This has been my little respite from holiday chaos.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

Welcome to the Wednesday Hodgepodge hosted by Joyce at From This Side of the Pond.  Here are the questions and my answers:

1. What's left to be done on your Christmas to-do list?

Hmmm...  I need to pick up the salad fixins.  I'm cooking much of my dinner ahead of time, so I'll be doing that on Friday.  All the decorations except for the ceramic village are out.  I am actually able to sit in the living room and enjoy the lit up Christmas trees.

Of course, this could be wishful thinking cause I may have forgotten something, but then how would I know?

2. The Hodgepodge lands on the first day of winter this year. What's your favorite thing about winter? 

I've already said I hate winter.  My favorite thing about it is that it will eventually end.  Snow is only pretty at Christmas when you do not have to shovel it, drive in it, walk in it....  And does anyone really like temps in the single digits?  Bah, humbug on winter, 'cept for the Christmas celebrations.

3. In what area of your life are you immature? Feel free to elaborate or not.

I still read the comics?  I watch Arthur cartoons even when my grandson isn't here?  I think Cookie Monster is hilarious?  Can you be older than 70 and still be immature?  Assuming you are not a man.  My friend says they never mature.

4. What was the most (or one of the most) important lessons you learned in 2016?

Never underestimate the gullibility of the American public to believe whatever BS is being handed out.  I will not elaborate; you can fill in the blanks.

5. It's Fried Shrimp Day...are you a fan? What's your favorite way to eat shrimp? Will there be shrimp somewhere in your holiday feastings?

I love fried shrimp but rarely eat fried food.  They are a treat if and when I have them.  I do love shrimp cocktail.  We will be having poached shrimp for an appetizer Christmas Day.  

6. What sound lulls you to sleep? 

Too funny.  I can fall asleep just closing my eyes.  Anytime.  No sound needed.  I used to have a sound machine with surf and rain sounds, but fell asleep before I ever needed it.  

7. What one word best describes your 2016? 

Peaceful - except for sometime around 10:00 am on November 9.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.
As I am writing this I am thinking about the indictments that came down this morning by the State Attorney General against two former emergency managers in Flint, MI.  I wrote about this water crisis earlier this year.  In January to be precise.  And every day there has been another article in the newspaper, with an entire section devoted to it on Sunday.  It is criminal and heads should roll.  There are some things I have discovered that just made me so angry I could not blog about it.  Like finding out that they continued to charge the Flint residents Detroit water rates even after the switch to 'non-potable' Flint River water.  And then used the cash to fund other areas of government.  I don't understand how the audit firm let that happen without reporting it.  Ugh.  I just can't even think about this.

Time on My Hands

This is something that does not happen very often - I actually I have nothing I need to do for the rest of the day.  Christmas-wise anyway, cause I could always clean out a closet.

I suppose if I were a person who kept a weekly schedule of chores, I would have something that I always did on Mondays - like dust or laundry.  But I do not believe in that kind of regimentation.  I have a  friend who told me that the only women who ever kept those kind of schedules are women who never worked outside the home.  But I didn't have one even when I was a stay-at-home mom for ten years.

But, back to today.  I had three phone calls to make this morning - one to schedule furnace maintenance, one to schedule my car for maintenance, and one to my broker to ask what a letter I received meant - and he had no idea - wonderful.  And that didn't take long.

Then I made up a large tray of cookies for the staff at the spa where I do my yoga.  I meant to take a picture of it - and forgot.  When I got back home after dropping it off, I realized that I forgot to put the chocolate covered apricots on the tray.  Guess I'll have to eat them myself.  While at the hospital I planned to check out the gift store, but it was closed - for maintenance - after a pipe froze on the floor above it and apparently caused quite the mess.  I am still wondering how a pipe freezes in a large hospital?  (it is 13 degrees F here, but still)

Obviously, I do not have Charlie this week - or next.  But I am used to doing my chores on the week-end, so today does not feel like Monday without him.  I did a fair amount of running around this weekend.  My gifts are all wrapped except for one that is being delivered today.  I have the train under the tree, but still have the village to set up.  Charlie will be here Thursday afternoon, so I will put it up after he leaves.

I have one more run to the grocer's to pick up the fixins for the salad.  I surely have forgotten something really important.  Or maybe this is how it works when you start all your Christmas stuff right after Thanksgiving - a first for me.

Christmas cookies 2014 - nope, I did not make this many varieties this year.  As a matter of fact, I only made the molasses cookies from that pic.  Later this week I'll make the lemon drops in the lower left corner.  If I make 20 dozen cookies, I want to eat 20 dozen cookies.

The Lost Plates

I mentioned in a previous post that I had some Christmas plates and that I had misplaced them.  I found them in a cabinet in the basement last summer (when I was complaining how hot it was, if only...).  After I wrote the post, I decided to go looking for them.  And they weren't there.  It was obvious that I had brought them upstairs, but for the life of me I couldn't remember where I stashed them.

Of course, something is always in the last place you would think to look which is why I found them in the bar cabinet under the cheese plates.  No idea why or when I did that.  Anyway, here is a pic:

The plates are from Lillian Vernon .  They are labelled Carrigaline Pottery, County Cork, Ireland.  As I recall (go ahead, laugh), I received a free plate after purchasing so many dollars in merchandise.  I will not even attempt to remember what I purchased from her.  I do remember receiving their catalog - long before I had a website to peruse.  And I am guessing that since they are dated 1978 and I put them away in 1980, I must have used them at least twice.

I enjoy having dated items.  My Christmas tree has a dated ornament for every year back to sometime in the 1970's.  I always say I am going to photograph them but then there are so many thing to do that it just doesn't happen.  I did take a few pics this year:

 1983, the influence of children in decorating

Perfect for the family cook

One of several glass ball ornaments that were issued each year.  This one is dated 1994 on the back.  I have seven of these for different years.

These are two from the same year, 1979.  I must have really been in the Christmas spirit.  Son Mark was 2 1/2 and Jason was 1.

Some years I could not find a dated ornament I really liked which is why this little mushroom house says 1978 on the bottom.  And then I have the complete dated Hallmark collection of the rocking horses - all 16 of them plus the special issue in 2013 for 40 years of memories.  Charlie loves rearranging these on the table as I obviously am not doing it right.  More pics when I have the time - lol.
And, I also figured out why the colors on my photos were always 'off'.  It seems that I inadvertently changed the setting a long ways back.  Sometimes I could correct in the editing program, other times I just gave up.  Here is a pic of my front arrangement that is more true to life:

So, Christmas is one week away?  Are you ready?  I always say if something doesn't get done, no one is likely to notice but you.  Then again, my kids asked if I was making my lemon snowball cookies and I said no.  Guess who is baking more cookies later this week.

West Bloomfield from the Air

I was online at my community's website looking to see if garbage pick-up was delayed.  It was.  

I am figuring that if a seven-inch snowfall on a Sunday cannot be handled by Monday, when everything is shut down or cancelled, god forbid it should snow on a weekday. 

Anyway, whilst on the site I saw this link to a video produced two years ago.  It is an interesting overview of the community I live in.  While the subdivision I live in is not seen, the hospital where I do my yoga is along with the country club where my middle son works and the high school they all attended.

When you have more than a few minutes, you might want to watch.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day - December 2016

It is just eight degrees outside and we had about eight inches of snow on Sunday.  I guess winter is here.  Which means that here in southeast Michigan, not much is blooming.  As a matter of fact, I had to shoot these pictures through the glass yesterday cause the doorwall was frozen shut.

 I love seeing the grasses in the winter.  I hate getting out early in the spring to cut them down.

This rose just wanted to keep on blooming.  I give it an A for effort.

Inside, I've moved my plants in front of the window.  I keep all of these for sentimental reasons.  The peace lily was from a funeral arrangement for my Dad, Christmas 1980.  I was not able to attend the funeral as my baby's due date was December 27 and it was extremely cold that year.  The other two plants are from baskets I received when I shattered my leg in 2007.  The areca palm is sending up a new flower shoot.
I have no poinsettias or Christmas cactus this year, but I do have this arrangement at the front entry.

To see more flowers and blooms, head on over to May Dreams Gardens and thanks to Carol for hosting.  Have a wonderful holiday season.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

It has been ages since I participated in a Wednesday Hodgepodge.  Last June to be exact.  I read the questions and then decide that Wordless Wednesday is more my style and what I have time for.  But this week, I decided WTHeck.

1. Are you more task oriented or people oriented? Elaborate.
Very definitely task-oriented.  Usually 'cause I find that helpers are not really helpful when I have a task and I prefer to do it myself.  It is amazing that I taught in the hospital for eight years.  Then again, I was teaching students how to perform a task and do it right.

2. December 15 is National Wear Your Pearls Day...do you own/wear pearls?  Everyone share a 'pearl of wisdom' with us here today.
I have a pearl necklace.  I only have it because one of my sons told his dad that he wanted to get his Mom something really nice for Mother's Day.  When you know that one year I received an 5 HP self-propelled lawn mower, the request makes sense.  Alas, I can't even remember the last time I wore them, but it was way before I retired in 2008.
As for a 'pearl of wisdom', this is what a guy told me his mother told him when he first got serious with a girl.  'If you want to make a woman happy, never buy her anything with an electrical cord.' 

3. Speaking of pearls...oysters? Are you a fan or not a fan? If you answered yes, tell us your favorite way to eat oysters? If you said no, be honest-have you ever tried one or does just the idea of eating an oyster make you gag a little?

I like oysters and used to enjoy them as oysters Rockefeller at the old Joe Muer's in Detroit. I cannot remember the last time I had them, maybe not since I quit working at the hospital in 1977.

4. Time Magazine has named President-elect Donald Trump Person of the Year. Let's take presidents and presidential candidates out of the mix for a minute. If a political figure had not been chosen who would you name Man or Woman of the Year for 2016?
OK.  This just takes too much thought.  DT wins the election and Bob Dylan gets a Nobel Prize.  Talk about the world going to hell....(IMO)

5. The Pantone Color of the Year for 2017 has been announced, and it's a vibrant green aptly named-greenery. Your thoughts? Is this a color currently in your home or wardrobe? Will you add something in this shade for the new year? Click here to see the color.
I have green in my home, but not this shade.  Here are the colors I have in the living and dining areas (paint chips on a red tablecloth):

The two greens are much more subtle than the selection, so much so that when I tried to get a pic, they faded out on here.  Which is odd since the prior post shows almost perfect colors with the Christmas tree.  (don't even ask why I still have the paint chips considering these rooms were last painted about ten years ago.)  I love color and could never live in some of those rooms I see on HGTV where everything is some shade of taupe or beige.

6. Today I've had too much________________________.
Cold weather.  And this is just the start of the cold.  How many days till spring?

7. Share a favorite lyric from a favorite Christmas carol.
The first carol that comes to mind is Adeste Fideles - O Come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant....  I no longer attend church and I don't go carolling, so not much chance I'll be singing it.  But unlike some moron on Amazon, I do not think you need to be Christian to sing carols.  They are just beautiful songs.  It's like saying you can't sing a love song if  you've never been in love.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.
December 12, 1980 was the last time I ever saw my Dad.  He was here for my son's birthday. Dad died suddenly on Christmas Eve that year.  This year I have thought more about it since reading posts of several bloggers who find this time of year difficult.  
The year he died I was upset because I only had five Christmas dessert plates and I needed six.  And then I only needed five.  I felt as though I had cursed our family.  I put the plates away and never used them again.  I had no idea where they were, but found them this summer.  And now I am again wondering where I stashed them.    

Tree Number Four

I just realized that this year all four Christmas trees are in the same room.  The last one is up and Charlie found the ornaments interesting.

I still have enough ornaments to decorate another tree.  And that is after clearing out many of them a few years ago and donating them.  I was quite spartan with the ornaments though this year.  I wanted each of them to stand out on their own.  Now, I get to enjoy the decorations for a few weeks.
The only thing left to do is put out the village.  But that will go on the table where Charlie has his train, so it will have to wait until my babysitting ends for the holidays.  I have a train to put under the tree and can't wait to see his face when he sees it.

My Christmas Menu

In keeping with tradition, I am posting my Christmas menu.  I had my menu all planned until I read a blog post.
My thanks to Jo at Jo on Food, Life and a Scent of Chocolate for posting a recipe for beef Bourguignon.  For many years now I have used the Barefoot Contessa recipe and love it.  Plus, it can be made ahead of time and reheated, when it always tastes even better.  Which means that on Christmas Day I am only reheating and preparing the mushrooms to go into the beef.

One of my sons asked if I was making noodles or mashed potatoes and I decided to make neither. Instead I am making Ina's potato fennel gratin, which can also be made ahead - YAY!!!

Keeping with the make-ahead theme, I am going with the poached shrimp which I have made many times and everyone loves.  And even though I always make my own salad dressings, I sprung for a ready made bottle of a creamy mustard vinaigrette.

I did make an alteration to the menu just yesterday.  I received a new recipe to test from America's Test Kitchen.  I made the caramelized onions and froze what I will need for Christmas.  The second part of the test is using them for the Brussels sprouts.  I sure hope this recipe works, though in all my years of testing there has been only one complete fail IMO.

In prior years when I have travelled, I have tried to include something from the country I visited. This year is no exception.  I will be making Brussels-style Belgian waffles for dessert with various toppings - ice cream, powdered sugar, maple syrup, jam, caramel sauce...  And since the batter has to sit overnight, we just have to pour it into the waffle iron after dinner.  My only debate is whether I make the batter from scratch, or use the mix I purchased from King Arthur flour.  I never liked waffles until I had them in Brussels.  Definitely not like Eggo, lol.

Here is the menu:

Poached Shrimp

Butter Lettuce w Pears, Walnuts,& Goat Cheese 

Boeuf Bourguignon

Potato Fennel Gratin

Pan-roasted Brussels Sprouts w

Caramelized Onions and Bacon

Rolls w Orange Butter

Brussels-style Belgian Waffle Sundaes

I Hate Winter

I hate winter.  And this is not the first time I have said it.  I am not a 'snow' person.

I cannot imagine what life would be like if my mother's family had not left International Falls, Minnesota and moved to Cleveland, Ohio and eventually Detroit many, many moons ago.  Just glad I am not part of the family that remained in Fort Frances, Ontario.  I mean, how do folks put up with the cold and snow worse than we have here in lower Michigan?

I have a neighbor who moved down here from Marquette, MI (it's way up in the upper peninsula) several years ago to be closer to children and grandchildren.   We've discussed problems with roofing and windows in bad weather.  I cannot imagine staying and dealing with them.  But here I sit in Michigan watching it snow and hoping not to have ice dams on the roof.

I used to say that I would move to a state with no personal income tax after retirement.  Weather wasn't even the consideration.  But then a grandchild came along.  And unlike some friends I have, I do not relish the idea of traveling across the country every month to see family.  As a matter of fact, one cousin, who moved to warmer climes in retirement, moved back to Michigan to be closer to the two kids still living here (the other two: one is in France, the other in England, with little chance of returning home, which is why she is on her way overseas next week for the holidays).

I try to remember ever enjoying snow and can only think of one outing that was fun.  That same cousin I mentioned used to live on the east side of town.  Back in the early 1960's they were extending the construction of I-94.  She lived near the freeway and it was winter.  The land had been dug out for the freeway and there were the side walls all covered with snow.  Her husband suggested that we grab the kids and the sleds and go sledding.  And we did.  Along with lots of neighbors who had the same idea.  It was great fun.  One snow fun memory for 70 years hardly seems worth putting up with the bad weather.

Back in the 70's when I was working at the hospital, everyone would get ready to go on ski trips.  Not me.  I had fallen on the ice and broken a leg in 1968 so I was not interested in attempting anything that might cause another accident.  Especially since one of my friends had broken her hip on a previous ski trip.  One of the folks I worked with was not joining in the discussions and I asked her why she had opted out of the trip since she was a regular attendee.  She said she hated winter and she hated snow and was wondering why she felt she always needed to join the group skiing and decided she just wasn't going.  Well, it sure made sense to me.

Estimates of today's snowfall are for 6-10 inches.  I must say that Doppler radar is rather daunting at the moment.  I clean my own driveway as I have never had luck with any of the companies that promise to clear snow in a timely manner.  Someone has to be last on the list and it seems it was always me.  I checked the snow blower several weeks ago to make sure it will start, so I am all set to go.  Set, but dreading it.  And yes, I could live in a condo, but condo fees around here are ridiculous and I am rather frugal with my money, so I guess I will just deal with the snow.

And b---- about it.

February 18, 2014

Wordless Wednesday

A Visit to Frankenmuth, MI

Anyone who lives in Michigan is sure to have heard of Bronner's Christmas Store.  It is in Frankenmuth, Michigan, about one hour from my home and I have been there on numerous occasions.  I blogged about it during the last A to Z Challenge.

A few weeks ago I made a trip there to gather some Christmas items and remembered to take my camera.  The current location is much larger than the one I first visited - I can't remember how long ago.  The new location opened in 1976 and covers more than seven acres.  That's a lot of Christmas!

Of course, while you are in Frankenmuth you can walk around the lovely little town and eat a fabulous chicken dinner at one of two restaurants.  I've even stayed at the hotel there for conferences.  But this post is just to show you some of the lovely interior of this very large store.  You can buy all sorts of Christmas items - even a Christmas sock with a dinosaur on it.

Happy Holidays!!!

Three Down and One to Go

I am decorating early this year.  Much earlier than I have in the past, which is usually the week before Christmas.  I just decided to get it out there for Charlie to enjoy.  That being said, I obviously have no idea how to do it right since he has moved items around and made sure that I noticed how it is supposed to be done.  Did I mention he is only 2 1/2 years old?

There are four different trees and three of them are up.  To be fair, one tree requires absolutely no work on my part.  Take it out of the box, put a star on top,  and set it on a table.  Done.

And to be even more honest, tree number two gets put away decorated.  It's about 4.5 feet tall, but is easy enough to handle.  So all I need to do is unwrap it and plug in the lights.

Then I have an old wire tree that I purchased at Smith and Hawken many moons ago.  I do not even remember what I used it for when I bought it, but in more recent years many of my Hallmark ornaments have ended up on it.

This all is so easy compared to bringing out the 7.5 foot tree and decorating it.  If I ever were to build another home, I would have a closet where I could roll the decorated tree for the eleven months of the year when it is not being looked at.  These Santas have that look in their eyes that I have when I think of putting the tree up and then taking it down again: