Pear Terrine

Today I tried to cook. Mary Alyce and Jim have a Bartlet Pear tree in their backyard. We were there on Monday and picked some. I saw this recipe in Martha Stewart Living(You may wonder why I would read Martha Stewart Living, but I like the pictures of the china). It was a beautiful pear dessert called a pear terrine. I peeled and sliced all those pears, made the carmel sauce and baked it at 250 degrees in a boiling water bath and it was a disaster. They ended up as slices of pears floating in syrup. Now I know why I leave the cooking to Hubby. I went back upstairs and worked on my needlework.

Home Depot

If we should ever move we know that our house has to be close to a Home Depot store. Hubby made three trips there today. It's about a half mile away. One of those times I had to go with him because he was buying a 16 foot board and he needed me to help carry it. It all worked out well because we bought polish sausages for lunch. I love Home Depot hot dogs and polish sausage. When I worked with Carole we would drive to Home Depot on our lunch hour just for a hot dog.

Quirky Machines

We all know that machines can't think for themselves. They only do what they are programmed to do. Yet I know that there were times when I was working and a robot would just get lost and there was nothing to do but take it back home again. Everyone who works with computers knows that sometimes you have to just turn them off and start over again. I understand a broken appliance. Our Bun coffee maker has a coil burned out so you can only make a pot of coffee every 6 hours. But our ice maker sometimes doesn't work and has to be turned off so that it will thaw( I guess). My dryer drum will not rotate until you give it a push and then it will work fine for days. I am not saying I want to go back to a clothes line, or even ice cube trays, but are there appliances that work all the time?

The Olympics are Over

For many evenings we watched the Olympic happenings. I really enjoyed watching Michael Phelps and the divers. However there was much too much beach volleyball. I like watching Misty May but the men's teams didn't excite me as much. I was surprised that they showed the entire women's 26 mile marathon and I am even more surprised that I watched it all. The gymnastics were interesting but I really don't know much about wrestling or boxing and I don't even care to learn more. I was in total amazement that both American relay teams dropped the baton. The expression on the runners faces was heartbreaking. I missed the opening ceremonies but I thought the closing ceremonies were very interesting. Now we get to watch the Democratic convention which is kind of an Olympic event.

A Great Party

The Book Club party was a terrific success. Hubby's chicken was spectacular, both with its taste and the 4 alarm blaze when the grill caught fire. He was the entertainment for the evening. We made Martgueritas and sangria, both were yummy. The food everyone brought was great and Margie's brownies were to die for. We are so lucky to have such good friends. Today Hubby and I will have a feast for dinner just eating the leftovers. Of course we all had Jerry's cake and a brownie for breakfast.
Arnold was the hit of the party. He made sure he was right in the middle of everything. Mary Alyce said she was going to sneak him home with her.

The Patio

We have a beautiful wood deck off of our family room. It seams that years ago, mostly before I married hubby, we used it a lot. Now we use it seldom because Hubby likes the air conditioning and says it is too hot to eat outdoors. Tonight the ladies book club is meeting here with their husbands, which makes 14 people. Hubby says it is too hot and sticky to eat outside. He has even gone so far as to say if I want to eat outside I can but he won't. I think because of air conditioning we are becoming sissies.

Grumpy Girl

Last Saturday I went out to the farm to help pull weeds in the display gardens. Since then I have a rash on the back of my neck and on the crooks of my arms. Could I have touched something I shouldn't have? It is not poison ivy. Maybe I ate something that I shouldn't have. I had a red wine on Wednesday night a week ago. Hubby brought home some dark sweet cherries about the same time. Lately we have switched laundry detergents to Tide Ultra. The pharmacist says that the rash is not a problem with the prescription drugs I take. So today I am taking Benadryl and using a cortisone cream and boy am I grumpy. It itches.

A Quick Trip to East Lansing

Today Hubby and I made a quick trip to East Lansing to pick up a display for the Michigan State Fair for the Master Gardener Society. As we drove along we were aware of the end of the summer greenery. Somehow everything looks dusty and at the end of its life cycle. The plants look like they are done growing. It isn't the cold just the end of their summer life span. My gardens don't have much color now. The roses are still blooming, but even the Rudbeckia seems a little wilted.

Animal Farm

About a year ago we went on a garden tour with the Master Gardener Society. The woman whose home we visited had a children's playhouse and had planted all around it, plants whose names had animals in them. We later on found the plant Bear's Britches and yesterday we found Pig's squeak. We don't have a playhouse but we thought the names were fun.

Thanks to Mariann for sending us a picture of her cat.

A Vocal Cat

When we were first told about Arnold, the cat, we were told he was quite vocal. Boy is that an understatement. This cat walks around whining all day long. We have tried asking what is the matter? Is Timmy in the well? Even "Shut up Arnold." The only thing that quiets him is, if you stop what you are doing and give him a healthy dose of loving. Arnold is very affectionate. He loves a rough petting and is always appreciative of any kind of attention. Often he will come up to you and either put he paws on your lap, just to say hello, or else crawl into your lap and stick his tail in your face. I really like this cat. I tend to be a little rough with the cats, according to Hubby, and Arnold loves me and comes back for more. He sleeps next to me and follows me around all day long. I have a basket in my sewing room that he likes to nap in while I am sewing. What more could you ask for in a cat?

A Job Interview

I had a job interview for a position as an office assistant at a local elementary school. I have never had an office job or at least not in the last 40 years. The job seems pretty straight forward. They should be letting me know by tomorrow as the job starts next Tuesday. It is a half position so I would work every morning for 4 hours. That should get me out of bed anyway.
We had guests yesterday, Pete and Mary came in from Iowa. Such delightful people I wish we could see more of them. They are talking about a garden tour of Italy next spring. I could handle that.

Next year - A Vegetable Garden

Hubby has started on a project for next year, a vegetable garden. It should be quite large. He has begun to lay out the garden and solarize it to kill the grass and weeds. He has stretched plastic over the area. It has been making lots of compost so he will fill it in and also make it into a raised bed. We are kind of excited about it and looking forward to fresh tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. I love green beans from the garden and after tasting Mary's turnips, I am sure we will grow them as well.

Mary stopped overnight and felt confined because the guest room is on Fervor's side of the house.

Looking for a Job

Today I made an appointment for a job interview as an office assistant at a local elementary school. I also picked up an application from Bed Bath and Beyond. I really think it would be good for me to go back to work some place. I am a little picky about jobs. I thought I would apply at JoAnn's as well. I have lots of crafts to do at home but I think it would be better if I got out. I never thought I would be the kind of person to get bored at home. Hubby is very busy, probably because I can think of hundreds of things for him to do and he has a tendency to like doing them alone. I am not really complaining, he dosen't even want me to carry the laundry basket up or down the stairs.

A Break in the Weather

This morning when we awoke it was 51 degrees out. Hubby got up and closed the window. How refreshing though. We all went out to breakfast with my mother. It is Gretel's first 29th birthday, she says. It is always fun to see her and the Tummy. They spent the night before with Mary and she sent some Jalapeno cupcakes. I think I prefer chocolate but they weren't bad. Hubby has been recovering from having his tooth pulled and the lousy Tiger baseball game. The company was fun but the Tigers were rather boring.

Quiet Time

I don't know if I haven't been blogging because there is nothing to blog about or it's just that I have been busy working on Christmas projects that I cannot put on the blog. Probably both. Today it nice and cool almost like fall. I even walked a mile and a half this morning. I started a counted cross stitch project that is on 22 count thread. I used my "PC Stitch" software to get the pattern. I probably chose too many colors. I have to use a magnifying class to count my stitches. There is a strong possibility that I won't finish it. I need those magnifying glasses that the dentist uses. We are going to a Tiger baseball game tonight with the Lions, I will have to ask Dr. Kamar when I see him there. (Hubby thinks it's funny that the Lions are going to see the Tigers.)
Oh, and I have been cooking. I decided to give Hubby a break but he still helps. Wednesday night we had pork chops, fresh beets from Mary's garden,sweet potatoes and a salad. I made up the menu and did the kitchen work, Hubby cooked everything out on the grill.

Russell is Returned

This past weekend we drove Russell back home to Maryland. It had been a fun visit. He is such a sweet kid and beautiful. Wednesday when we went out to lunch with Great Grandma he was telling me we should fly back to Maryland. I told him plane flights were expensive and Grandma and Papa only had so much money. Russell said, " If you have so much money why can't we fly?"

We took him to the nature museum on Belle Isle where he fed the deer and to Greenfield Village where he especially enjoyed playing the old fashioned games on the green.

It was a long trip for him and although he was really good in the car we got a lot of "How many more hours?" On the way back from Maryland we took Interstate 68 because of repairs on Interstate 70. It was a beautiful ride with breathtaking scenery. It was like a mini vacation when we didn't expect it. Now we are getting back to normal. Gretel and her family will be here on the weekend.