I know I mentioned our one room schoolhouse door predicament on this blog a long time ago. Well, here's what it looks like. The bottom two panels had rotted through and Bob tacked on a piece of plywood last fall for at least some protection from the elements. We absolutely had to do something about it and could not let it sit like this for another winter. So Bob and I went down to the Wood Shack in Fort Wayne on Saturday and purchased a big oak door - 88 inches in length. Bob cut about three inches off the bottom, sanded it, stained it, and covered it with Spar varnish. At the Wood Shack I also stumbled upon four mahogany Grecian columns, which, I think we could utilize in our new dining room. Hmmmm. Well, probably not all four, but two anyway. Here's Bob sanding the door. And, speaking of the new dining room, I went to Middlebury on Wednesday and ordered my handmade-by-the-Amish dining room table and ten chairs. Yes, ten chairs, and I'm going to save the four from our old kitchen table in case we need more seating. While I was up there I stopped at the flea market in Shipshewana and bought half a bushel of delicious Red Haven Michigan peaches and put them in the freezer for pies. We'll be eating us some peach pie at that dining room table this winter, God willing. This is a twig stand that I also bought at the flea market for fifteen dollars. You could put a pumpkin in there too, if you wanted...and I will.












Thoughts on Football:


I am really fighting hard to resist the urge to get on board the Viking ship. But, it's very difficult.........and I am weak.


More Thoughts on Football:


Terriers Maul Orphans. Yes, the Carbondale Terriers dug a hole on the field and buried those Centralia Orphans, yet again this year, although the record should show that the Orphans are much improved. According to the radio guys, Carbondale Big Dog, Kendall Edwards, drug two of those orphans for five yards. "He really took those Orphans for a ride." The score was 54 to 18.

Recipe of the Week: This is the perfect cookie for TET (tough economic times) made from simple ingredients that we all have in our pantry. (except maybe the cream of tartar)They're also Rob's favorites. I don't know if I've ever mentioned this before, but when measuring flour, one should NEVER EVER plunge one's measuring cup into the canister or sack of flour. I truly think this is the leading cause of sub-par or crappy, if you will, cookies. Also, make sure you use a whisk or fork to combine dry ingredients before adding them to a creamed mixture. This will evenly distribute baking soda, powder, and salt. (yet another reason for crappy cookies).



Snickerdoodles


1 cup shortening
1 & 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 & 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon soda
1/4 teaspoon salt


Cream sugar, shortening, and eggs. In a small bowl combine dry ingredients and then add them to the creamed mixture and mix well. Shape cookies into 1 inch balls and roll in a mixture of: 1/2 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.







And one last thing: I was downstairs talking on the phone this evening - well trying to get volunteers for the Apple Festival, and I looked out the door and saw that we had captured a balloon in one of our trees. That doesn't happen very often.