"Bewitched, bothered, and bewildered, am I. Umm-hmm That's me, alright. I do not understand why I am made to suffer such indignities. Please put this dopey hat back on the wooden squirrel out in the front yard, where it belongs. This is the most humiliating hat I've ever been forced to wear.....no, wait a minute.... I'm remembering a rhubarb crown made out of construction paper. It might have been worse."(see May post).

Where did all these ghosts come from, I wonder . It's not like there's been any conscious effort to collect them over the years. I guess they just appeared. We had a pretty good week. The pie baking class on Tuesday went well and the Book Babes met on Wednesday night at Julia's house. Next month's book will be The Book Thief, which comes very highly recommended. Also, yesterday, on Make a Difference Day, we held our annual Common Grace Love Walk. It was cold and windy. After a three-mile walk around the Albion park, we joined hands around the courthouse and then sang some hymns. I haven't heard how much money we raised, but I'm hopeful that it was a substantial amount.

***Political tip of the Week: If you are seeking election to one of the the top executive posts in our nation, please do not use the word hollerin' when you are making a speech or talking to the media, because when you use the word, hollerin', I start thinking you might not be any smarter than I am, and that really scares me.

I went to church by myself this morning and when I came out, there on the hood of my Jeep was a can of beer. It was Bud Light, and it was in a red can holder, shaped like a shotgun shell, with the Ducks Unlimited logo on it, so it most likely came from MY HOUSE, alright. But, how did it get there? When I got home, I asked Bob about it, and yes, when he was working on the door of Rob's Blazer, the night before, he had a beer and he forgot and left it on the roof of the Jeep. This means that I drove to church with that up there, and then some fellow worshipper saw it, and moved it to the hood. So my Jeep was sitting out in front of the church on Sunday morning with a beer on it. Nice.

Nick and Stormy were here this weekend! We dined with them at the St. James on Thursday night. Then, on Friday night they came to our house for dinner, along with Shane and Krissy. Here are our Friday night guests. We served a beef tenderloin roast and shared a great evening together. Stormy had to drive back to Wilkes Barre on Sunday, but Nick stayed on to tend to some business, so he was our Sunday night guest for a pork tenderloin roast. He brought along a bottle of Chilean Savignon Blanc to go with the pork. Here's a picture of our lone Sunday night guest and his Chilean wine.

From the Archives:

Our pumpkins, in 1992, as the Statue of Liberty and a purple dragon

Our pumpkins, last year, as adults who can speak civilly to one another

Recipe of the Week:

We had that leftover tenderloin on Saturday so we made beef stroganoff. This dish turns out well when you use round steak, but, it turns out really really well when you use beef tenderloin

Beef Stroganoff

1 1/2 pounds round steak

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup butter

1- 4 oz. can sliced mushrooms, drained

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup shopped onion

1 small clove garlic, minced

1 can Campbell's beef broth

Dash of pepper

Noodles

Cut round steak into think strips; dust with flour and dash of pepper. In a large skilled, brown meat in butter. Add mushrooms, onion and garlic; brown lightly. Stir in beef brother. Cover. Cook about 1 hour or until meat is tender. Stir occasionally. Gradually stir in sour cream. Cook over low heat about 5 minutes. Serve over 3 cups cooked noodles.

"I think the mistake a lot of us make is thinking the state-appointed psychiatrist is "our friend.'" Jack Handey

I had to report for jury duty for federal court on Tuesday morning at 7:30 AM. Ordinarily, I wouldn't have minded, but I had promised Sally, months ago, that I would fill in for her at the park department while she was on vacation this week, so I really didn't want to be chosen. Fortunately, I wasn't called to the stand, because the judge was really scrutinizing the questionnaires we had returned, and I, trying to get out of being called, had filled the page with whiny reasons and lame excuses as to why I would not be a suitable juror. I didn't really want to face him - thought he might make a federal case out of it. Ha-ha.

So, I got to fulfill my obligation to Sally at the park department where I learned this:

"You are never more than six feet away from a spider at any given moment."

Earlier in the week, I noticed a lot of squirrel activity in my newly-expanded flower bed at the edge of the woods. I wondered if those pesky scamps were digging up the daffodil bulbs I planted last week, so, Saturday morning I walked back to check the situation out, and I came across this......................................very funky fungi.......I know.

So, you see, dear readers, just when you think you got nothin' for the blog, you stumble across something as interesting as this.

From the Archives: Us, at Emmet and Emily's wedding reception in Cleveland, almost three years ago.

Recipe of the Week: One of the pies I'll be making for this week's class is this rich caramel apple pie. The recipe came from Midwest Living. Hope you like it:

Caramel Apple Pie

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

6 cups, peeled and coarsely chopped Jonathan apples

1/2 cup caramel apple dip

2 teaspoons milk

Topping:

1 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

Line pie pan with crust. For filling, mix sugar, 1/2 cup flour, and cinnamon. Add the apples and toss to coat. Place on crust. Combine 2 tablespoons of the caramel apple dip and 2 Teaspoons milk and drizzle over apples.

In a mixing bowl, combine the 1 cup flour and brown sugar. Cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over filling. Cover edges of pie with foil to prevent over-browning. Place on a cookie sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for about an hour. Remove foil toward the end of the baking time. Cool for ten minutes. Pour remaining caramel over the top of the pie.

"What is it that makes a complete stranger dive into an icy river to save a solid-gold baby? I guess we'll never know." Jack Handey

Out with the geraniums and in with the spiders. It was really warm here today, but we all know it won't last long. Halloween is a comin'. Today, after going to early church, we made the pumpkin topiaries and put the witch hat on the squirrel ( see last October post). I cut back the rest of the perennials and planted some spring bulbs and daylilies. I also made a quick trip to Fort Wayne to find the October Book Babe selection, The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, then I drove home and washed the Jeep, or rather, I started washing the Jeep and Rob intervened......Wonder what he wants.

Bittersweet and gourds

CARE PACKAGE FROM STORMY IN WILKES BARRE

Bob wondered what I was squealing about. Here's what she sent:

If a man's an empty kettle
He should be on his mettle
And yet, I'm torn apart
Just because I'm presumin'
That I could be kind of human
If I only had a heart.

Stormy found the tin man in a hardware store in Pittston, Pennsylvania and thought I just had to have it. She also sent:

A t-shirt from her new law firm

A store directory for the King of Prussia Mall

Halloween Peeps

Pirate Plates

Stormy and Nick will be coming in two weeks to put storm windows on the house. Can't wait to see them.



I've been working hard, trying to get my last two classes finished, so that I'll have a minor in English, but I've also been easing back into subbing. I taught two days last week, and on Thursday, this one young gentleman stuck his hand right in my face and was rolling something around between his fingers:
"Know what this is?" he asked
"No, what is it?"
"Ear wax."
"Oh, of course, I should have been able to guess that. I just wasn't thinking."




Roxanne keeps the squirrels off of Bob while he naps in the hammock.











Recipe of the Week: I had never had this dish before moving to this area, where I found it to be standard fare at our church dinners. Add some green beans and bread and you've got a great supper, plus enough leftover for lunch the next day, which is something to strive for in these difficult economic times.

Methodist Chicken Casserole
1 chicken
1 can cream of mushroom soup
3/4 cup milk
1 box chicken Stove Top Stuffing

Cook the chicken in your crockpot or bake it in the oven. Bone the chicken and put the meat in the bottom of a greased 9 X 13 glass baking dish. Spread the mushroom soup over the chicken. Prepare the Stove Top according to package directions and spread over mixture. Pour milk over the top. Cover with foil and bake for one hour at 350 degrees. Take foil off about halfway through baking.

"If I was the head of a country that lost a war, and I had to sign a peace treaty, just as I was signing, I'd glance over the treaty and then, suddenly act surprised. 'Wait a minute! I thought WE won!'" Jack Handey

I'm blogging later than usual tonight, following a very busy weekend of visiting children and Apple Festival activities. Bob and I worked a little in the information booth on Saturday, and I worked all day Sunday at the front gate, a job I'd never done before in the 14 years I've been on the committee. The high school boys' tennis team and their moms and dads were the money takers and they did a great job. The only excitement we had was somebody driving over two of the bushel baskets we were keeping our brochures in, oh, and we did get pretty excited when this couple from Wells County, I GUESS, changed their minds about coming into the festival and just started turning around and trying to go back out the front gate against three lanes of incoming traffic, WHAT ARE YOU DOING??????? The police chief told me the guy didn't seem to have a clue that he was doing something wrong or unusual. That's right, it's just all about you.




On Friday afternoon I did a field trip with 35 first graders at the One Room Schoolhouse. I'm not sure first graders can fully appreciate the 1885 classroom, as they've hardly had time to get fully acclimated to the 2008 classroom. When they were leaving, one little girl asked me where my real class had gone while they were visiting.... see what I mean. But, they did seem to enjoy the experience, whatever they made of it in their minds. They were very excited. At the end of the session, I told them that if they enjoyed their visit today, they could sign up for our summer camp and do some fun things like cook applesauce over a fire and make lemonade and ice cream. At that, they all jumped out of their seats and cheered. I turned to the teachers and said "It looks like I've whipped them into a frenzy over the prospect of possibly making applesauce next year. Sorry."



Lindsey and Brent brought Bonnie, the Dog who Will Not Be Ignored, along for their weekend visit. Rob and Candace brought Roxy, over so the two of them could meet, and on Friday night we had puppy follies in our family room. Here's a picture of the two cute critters. Sometimes Maddie would join in, and sometimes she just guarded her tail.

Lindsey holds both pups.

You remember those nuts I featured a couple of posts ago? I'm going back out to see if they're still there or if squirrels have carried them off. I think we may be eating them this winter.

Recipe of the Week: Tomorrow night I'm catering a supper for twenty-five people. They'll be having chicken salad sandwiches, ham and cheese sandwiches, barbecued pork, soup, and carrot cake. Here's the recipe for the soup they'll be, hopefully, enjoying. It came from the Vera Bradley cookbook. I would recommend cutting back on the salt, maybe just 1 teaspoon. Also, I used a combination of half and half and milk.

Potato Cheese Soup

4 cups chopped peeled potatoes

1 1/2 cups water

2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion chopped

1 3/4 - 2 cups milk

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon minced garlic

Parsley to taste
Combine the potatoes, water and salt in a saucepan. Cook for 20 minutes or until tender; do not drain. Heat the oil in a small skillet. Add the onion. Saute for 10 minutes or until translucent.

Puree the undrained potatoes and onion in a food processor or blender. Pour into a large saucepan. Cook over medium heat until heated through. Add enough milk to make the desired consistency. Stir in the cheese, butter, pepper, garlic, and parsley. Cook until heated through. You may add one ten-ounce package of frozen peas for a new twist.

"The tired and thirsty prospector threw himself down at the edge of the watering hole and started to drink. But then, he looked around and saw skulls and bones everywhere. 'Uh--oh, he thought. This watering hole is reserved for skeletons."

Jack Handey