Monday Mirth :: Life is full of surprises ... not all of them pleasant

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I will put up a proper blog post tomorrow.

That's not a threat but a promise.

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Happy Monday

Monday Mirth :: wise decision

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Happy Monday

Christmas

My six words, memorialized for my mother

The pirate is aware that it is Thanksgiving week, and not Christmas.

Not even December yet, as a matter of fact.

However.

Homemade pecan pie for Pastor Tony's family

My post is not as much about the beloved holiday, as it is about the word.

The word Christmas, that is.

Allow me to elaborate.

Spicy Cranberry Meatballs made from scratch

For the past two Friday nights, we have had guests over for dinner.

Last Friday, the seventeenth, it was to be a young family -- Eric and his wife Lauren, and their three-year-old daughter Alaina.

Except, at the last minute Eric was detained at work, and thought he might be able to get away in time to join us, but it turned out being only Lauren and Alaina who came for dinner.

On the seventeenth we had two special guests

But Audrey and Dagny were here, along with Chad and Erica and Rhett and Baby Elliot, and we had a great time even without Eric.

I served hamburgers and hot dogs that TG prepared on the grill. To dress those we had many toppings, including all the condiments and pickles and two kinds of cheese slices.

Our sides were apple pie baked beans, baked macaroni and cheese, an assortment of chips, creamy Southern slaw, and deviled eggs.

Apple Pie Baked Beans

For dessert we had homemade lemon brownies and pumpkin bread, plus a store-bought cookies and cream pie.

The beverage pail overflowed with ice-cold soft drinks and waters. And there was coffee.

What a marvelous visit it was, and we're so thankful that we were able to get together.

Dagny cradling Baby Elliot a/k/a Skippy

But a week ago last Friday night, on the tenth, we had a different bunch for dinner -- in addition to all of us.

It was Pastor Tony, co-pastor of our church, and his family.

Pastor Tony had recently returned from a ten-day trip to South Africa, where he went to encourage our missionaries there.

Tomatoes, onions, and mini cucumbers in a scratch-made vinaigrette

We wanted to hear all about his trip, so we invited them over.

Pastor Tony and his family have been at our church just since May of 2021, and they had never been to our house before.

For dinner that night I served spicy cranberry meatballs (meatballs made from scratch), slow-cooker baked potato casserole, classic green bean casserole, Crock Pot creamed corn, a fresh tomato-onion-mini cucumber salad, and scrumptious Brazi Bites (which I buy at Costco).

All the pumpkin-y stuff goes back into the bins this weekend

We also had three homemade desserts: vanilla pound cake with amaretto icing, pumpkin bread, and pecan pie.

Along with a large assortment of soft drinks, flavored waters, and plain water, both still and carbonated, surrounded by ice in the big pail. Plus coffee, of course.

It was a blast. We all ate, and Pastor Tony told us many stories about his trip, and showed us some pictures.

Pastor Tony sharing pictures with TG

Before supper, while I was showing the house to Pastor Tony's wife, Amanda, she commented on several framed cross stitch art pieces displayed on the wall in our TV room.

Some were made by my mother, some by me, and one by my friend Susan who passed away in 2011.

In that vein, and because it involved a recent happy discovery, I showed Amanda a bookmark that I cross-stitched for my mother about twenty years ago.

Pumpkin Bread

The story behind the bookmark is that when I was about four or five years old and just learning to write and spell, I became obsessed with writing the words CAT DOG RAT I LOVE YOU.

I have no memory of why those six words -- in that order -- resonated with me, but I wrote them constantly.

I've always liked putting pen or pencil to paper, but you have to believe me when I say that I think I may have written CAT DOG RAT I LOVE YOU five hundred times, on everything I could think to write it on.

With our burgers and dogs, we had plenty of chips

My odd scribblings became part of our family lore, and once in a while my mother would tell about it, and we would all laugh.

So it was that, back in 2003 or '04, I decided to make my mother a special gift by cross-stitching those words onto a pre-made Aida cloth bookmark that I got at the craft store. 

My project completed, I gave the bookmark to her in a card. Not for any special occasion that I remember, but just because.

Vanilla pounds cake with amaretto icing

And you'll have to take my word for it when I say, my mother's reaction to the gift was uncharacteristic and certainly not what I expected.

As in, you would have thought I'd given her something made of solid gold and set with precious stones.

Something with actual value other than sentimental. 

The wall of cross stitch pieces I showed to Amanda

She went on and on and on about that bookmark. She raved. She loved it. My mother was an avid reader and owned hundreds of books. In whatever book she was reading from the time I gave her that bookmark, the bookmark was in it.

When in her house over the years I would often see it lying on the table beside her chair, or peeking out from her latest read.

The last time I saw the bookmark (until recently), was not long before my mother died. 

For a crowd, we always make up the beverage bucket

She passed away on October 21, 2020, of pancreatic cancer. 

During the barely three months between the dire diagnosis and her death, I stayed with her and Henry at least half of the time. I'd be with them for a week, then go home for several days, then drive not quite two hours back to Greenville, to be with them for another week. 

Several weeks before her passing, Mom lost the strength to read. Her books were returned to their shelves.

Lemon Brownies

After she died and we had buried her and I went home, Henry began going through her things. I mentioned the bookmark and asked him to set it aside for me when he came across it.

Mom kept an immaculate house, so it should not have been difficult to locate the bookmark -- not least because it was almost sure to be found inside a book we had recently shelved.

But Henry couldn't find it. The next time we visited, a month or so after Mom's passing, I looked for it. I couldn't find it either.

Rhett is never here for long before he gets out the cars

Henry took apart the leather recliner Mom used, looking for it. No luck.

He finally told me that he really thought the bookmark had somehow been thrown away in the days either just before or just after Mom passed away.

I could hardly believe that, but I had to accept it. Still, every time I have been back in Mom's house over the last three years, I have looked for the bookmark (knowing I would not find it).

Deviled eggs are somewhat a specialty of mine

Until a few weeks ago, when Henry called me. As it happened, I did not pick up and he had to leave a voice mail.

He said, reading: Cat Dog Rat, I Love You, by Jenny.

Then he explained that my sister had returned several of my mother's Mitford books, which she had borrowed within the last couple of years.

For the hamburger supper we used melamine trays

And in flipping through the pages of one of those books, Henry came across my bookmark.

He put it into an envelope and mailed it to me, and it reached me safely.

Now, so that it will not be handled too much and my children will know where to find it when I'm gone, I keep the bookmark tucked inside my cherished book The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson, which I received as a gift from my late mother-in-law nearly forty years ago, and which is always on a small table beside my chair.

Store-bought cookies and cream pie

So I was showing the bookmark to Amanda -- Pastor Tony's wife -- and telling her about it, when she shared a story that I know will stay with me always.

It's quite simple: When her son Gideon -- who is now eighteen -- was four or five years old, he discovered, learned to spell, and subsequently became enamored of, the word Christmas.

And he wrote it everywhere.

In tiny letters, both printed and cursive, and very neatly, Gideon inscribed Christmas on everything he found -- random papers, napkins, note pads, what have you.

Gideon showing something to his big sister, Alexis

Amanda told me that she'd be going through the mail, or consulting her shopping list, or sorting a desk, and there it would be: Christmas. Christmas. Christmas.

He simply loved that lovely word, and was addicted to writing it.

I told Amanda later that out of all we talked about and rejoiced over and shared and laughed about during our visit that night, the thing I will never forget is that story about her Gideon loving to write the word Christmas.

Speaking of which: Cat Dog Rat I Love You, and -- hurrah! -- it almost IS Christmas.

In a few days we'll be stacking these plates up again

But first, we must all have a truly happy Thanksgiving.

One that we will always remember, and the memory of which we will treasure amongst all the other simple yet priceless things with which we have been blessed.

One in which we are found to be genuinely grateful. 

And that is all for now.

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Happy Thanksgiving Week

Monday Mirth :: unemployed

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Happy Monday

Monday Mirth :: finished

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Happy Monday

Time for a coffee break

I picked up this enameled cast-iron calf at Tractor Supply

Time for a little update as to what's going on around here.

Our electrician sent out a team to install the round back-lit bathroom mirror that was sent to replace the one that broke after five months.

The fake fall foliage is distributed for maximum effect

They were here for about fourteen minutes.

It's one of those things that's not the least bit complicated if you know what you're doing.

So we are in business again -- until we aren't. Forgive my skepticism but once burned ... you know the rest.

My salt and pepper shakers are for looks only

The extra-large battered-looking round green metal clock in the TV room is back on the wall. Up and running, as it were. So far, so good.

We are back to frothing heavy cream, too, for our coffee. Every day. Singularly satisfying, that froth on top of the Joe.

To celebrate, we're planning a party not only for this coming Friday night, but for the next Friday night too.

These wooden crates come out every year

And the week after that is Thanksgiving, and boy will we ever have a houseful.

For the first time in our married life, TG and I have had to make arrangements with one of our children and their family to stay in a hotel when they are here for the holiday.

My Thanksgiving table runner features pumpkins

There's just not enough room for everyone. Audrey hosts a few of her nieces, who love hanging with Dagny, and one of the subject family's children will stay here with us (in our room, on the floor), but that puts us full up.

Erica offered to keep some folks as Elliot is still sleeping in his bassinet in her room, meaning that she has a guest room until that room becomes Rhett's room. But we decided that with the new baby still less than two months old, we'd spare her the extra work.

This little fox was picked out by Dagny a few years ago

Not to worry. It will be fun for everyone.

The next two Friday-night dinner parties will be with church friends. We are looking forward to these fun-filled soirées and I am busy planning menus.

I'll give a full report after the fact.

Gnomes hanging out on the ledge

Meanwhile, at the end of last week I put all of the October decorations away and brought out simply every autumnal doodad and whatnot and layabout and knickknack and so forth, along with fake foliage, that I possess, and scattered thoughtfully placed everything around.

Mostly in the eat-in kitchen, but there are accents in the TV room too.

It's hard to believe that in a few weeks, I have to put all of that away for another ten months, and haul out the Christmas stuff.

If you come over, one of the first things you'll see is this little house

How can this year have evaporated in such a way? Ah. Just like every other year has done. That's how.

At any rate, there is another new addition to my kitchen: a coffee bar.

TG is rolling his eyes somewhere. He does not drink coffee so is not the least bit simpatico with those of us who do. However, he is sweet about the quiet clamor that tends to develop around this particular beverage.

These towels hang on the oven door

He endured my "having to have" a Keurig coffee maker -- since time out of mind I had used one of my collection of French presses to prepare my daily coffee, and a percolator when we had guests -- when, back in early September, I used my son's new Keurig and was red-pilled to the concept.

That necessitated me buying my own Keurig (which was on order before we even returned home from that trip), and my introduction to the world of K-cups, and all that goes along with that.

My cake stand is holding pumpkin trinkets until I make a cake

Side Note: I think I've asked you this before, but do y'all have a CostLess store? We do and we're all crazy about it. I really believe ours is the only one, though.

It's wildly successful. Becoming more crowded every time we go. And they have a rewards program!

Audrey told me the other day that at CostLess they have boxes of 72-count Donut Shop K-cups for twenty-one dollars. I haven't seen it with my own eyes but when I do, I will be buying some of those.

This turkey holds up his end of the table

Never mind that I just bought a box of 100 Donut Shop K-cups for thirty-nine dollars at Costco, thinking I was pretty smart for getting the price-per-cup down to thirty-nine cents.

If Audrey is correct (and I'm sure she is), the cost per cup of the box at CostLess is twenty-nine cents.

My coffee bar

And yes, I do realize that I am paying lots more for cups of coffee these days, than I did when I bought the ground coffee and brewed it in a French press, one cup at a time.

Or even in the percolator, ten cups at a time.

The backlit mirror was replaced and has been installed

But in my own defense I no longer order coffee in restaurants and certainly not in the popular coffee shops, where it costs anywhere from three to five dollars a cup.

It's all relative.

And soon, our relatives (and other guests) will be enjoying the latest addition I alluded to above: my new coffee bar.

We got beaucoup candy at our church's harvest dinner

How it came about was, one, as slim and space-saving as the five-inch-wide Keurig is, I was beginning to get nervous about the crowded-ness of the countertop (workbench, my late mother-in-law always called it) where said machine resided.

It was encroaching on a main Crock Pot location, which becomes pretty important this time of year.

Two, as a result of mental ruminations on that subject, a few Saturdays ago I decided to relocate the Keurig to the kitchen desk and make a coffee bar there.

The popcorn machine has gone around the corner into the front room

The desk features four cubbyholes attached to the cabinets above, which cubbies have traditionally held baskets, which held all sorts of things.

I cleaned out the cabinets and put the baskets up there out of sight, and moved many of my coffee mugs to the cubbyholes.

The mugs are in the desk cubbyholes

Put the Keurig on the desk (it had to be at an angle, which I did not like), and drove that arrangement around the block a few times.

It was imperfect in that, the kitchen desk is just that: a desk. It's not a coffee bar. There's a chair there.

I've had fun decorating the Origami coffee cart

The pirate was not happy.

I began searching on Amazon, and even went to a few stores, looking for some ideal (but inexpensive) piece of furniture to sit where our popcorn machine has been sitting for many years, to serve as a coffee bar.

Have you tried Donut Shop Snickers K-cups?

The popcorn machine was wheeled around the corner into the front room, which may sound offbeat to you but it's actually going to be fine. The room (intended as formal living/dining) is not used all that much by anyone but me.

And the popcorn machine can easily be wheeled right back into the kitchen when we make popcorn.

My friend Marsha gave me this little loaf pan and matching spatula

(Whenever I start rearranging things I often think, someone will think this is weird. Odd. Strange. Eccentric.

(And then I think: It's MY house. I'll put stuff where I want to put it.)

(I mean, if someone doesn't like it, they can always leave. But they will be missing out on a good time.)

Pumpkins are nestled everywhere

So that left the wall space to the right of the kitchen desk, for a coffee bar.

I summarily ordered a small baker's rack that would hold the Keurig without having to set it at an angle, and would also hold all of the other coffee stuff.

Minus the mugs, which I really liked in the cubbyholes above the desk.

My friend Marsha gave me this butter dish too

They look cute there and with a coffee bar a few feet away, it is a wise use of those spaces.

So the little baker's rack arrived and I attempted to put it together. I wanted to spare TG the hassle.

Owls and a squirrel and giant acorn

Only, one, I couldn't do it alone and two, I could tell that even all put together, it would look just like what it was: a piece of cheap Chinese junk.

Sorry but it was not up to my standards. I was just trying to save money but in the end, I had wasted money.

We'll be eating lots of pie on these plates

I boxed it all back up exactly the way it had come, and returned it.

Back to Amazon, where I located and purchased just what I needed: a sturdy, heavy, attractive rolling cart by Origami.

So named because it arrives already assembled and folded. I only had to unfold it, set a latch, and put the wheels on the bottom.

This is a mini gnome mug from Hobby Lobby

It's so heavy that the process proved slightly difficult, but I prevailed because I was determined, and have been rewarded with what I consider a primo coffee cart.

That did not have to be put together, piece by piece.

Y'all ... this cart is the bomb. I would say without hesitation, if you need a rolling cart for any reason, either decorative or utilitarian, or both, this is one you should consider.

More gnomes are nestled on the two-tiered tray centerpiece

It's solid -- both literally and figuratively.

This piece of furniture will be listed in my will. It's what I call an instant heirloom. Somebody is going to want it and I will specify who gets it.

So now the coffee bar is in place and I love approaching it every morning to make my coffee.

This little cow is cast iron and very heavy

Lots of counter space and cabinet space (where all the coffee mugs used to be) has been freed up, and I've been enjoying that too.

Then came the flurry of decorating for Thanksgiving, and acquiring of thematic paper dessert plates and napkins for the upcoming festive meals.

That was accomplished at Hobby Lobby, where all such supplies were fifty percent off.

This tiny gnome was a gift from a friend

I'm determined to have the tree up, and all of the Christmas decorations waiting in the wings, to be lit and placed the minute that Thanksgiving is over.

These days I have to get out in front of things.

Soon it will be time to say goodbye to fall

And since Thanksgiving is a tad bit earlier in November than usual, the Christmas season will be that much longer.

What a happy thought.

Tell me the stage of Thanksgiving planning where you are today, a little more than two weeks before the turkey goes into the oven.

May your holiday season hold many blessings

Will you be traveling for your pumpkin pie?

Is your Christmas tree up? And if so is it lit, or waiting to be lit?

I want to know your thoughts on the matter. Spill it.

And that is all for now.

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Happy Wednesday

Monday Mirth :: we've all been there

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Happy Monday

Monday Mirth :: an age-old problem

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Happy Monday