What's Up Doc?

Oh me, oh my, lots of things are up here. We have been busy, busy, busy. My work has been crazy, but has now settled down a bit. Honey finished his trucking school, but then had a bit of a health issue, so now should be starting back this next week. Thought I would show you all a bit of what we have been up to! Sorry, sorry, sorry for the quality of the pictures, but a photographer I am not.

Kitchen cabinets have been painted - still green, just a darker shade. We do still need to enclose the dishwasher, just waiting until we can put in the countertops.




Roses have been blooming, blooming, blooming. I made a batch of rose petal jelly! So yummy!




Basement has been carpeted. Honey has been out of work while trying to get his health back on track, so he has been busy with some Honey do's! I thought I had another picture of this, sorry!



Stairs have been completed, carpeted and carved toe boards put in. II Peter 1:5-7. [5] And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
[6] And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
[7] And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

Honey carved in the boards, stained them and then back lit them with LED multicolored Christmas lights, which he then backed with thin metallic-covered insulation so that it looks like a prism. Then he backed the whole thing with plywood. Looks fantastic! My pictures definitely do not do it justice!





Kitchen floor has been replaced with glazed hickory laminate. What was there before was those stick tiles, the ones that are like linoleum, but they are tiles. Many of the edges were coming up and so we got this laminate and put down. It looks a little redder in these pictures than in real life.




Now we just need to save up and get our new kitchen counters, faucet-sprayer and sink. And put up our new border - just have to get busy and do that.

Bookshelves - built in - downstairs in the "den". Our basement stays nice and cool in the summer. When we bought the house almost 3 years ago, Honey built in a bedroom. I think it measures like 11x13 or so, nice sized. Closet and everything. Back behind it is a storage area, probably 10x6 or so. Where the bookcase area is, we are going to put in a sleeper sofa. There is a twin bed downstairs in the bedroom and we are going to put in a queen or full in the spare bedroom upstairs. We like to have plenty of room for folks to come visit!





Downstairs bathroom. This is really a showpiece, I think. 48" shower, ceramic tile floor. Not very big, but quite functional. Still needs some trim work and touchups here and there.







I am happy to report that Honey's health is back on track, he has even been able to stop one medication.

We did make a flying trip down to Oklahoma when Honey's former pastor passed away. Despite the circumstances, we had a good time visiting with friends and family. Here are the grandkids.



Farmer's market has started again, fresh strawberries, rhubarb, spring onions - oh my! I planted tomatoes the other day, Mr. Stripey!

Our weather here has been rainy and quite cool, interspersed with thunderstorms, more rain and tornados!!! None have hit here, thank the good Lord! We are about 160 miles or so from Joplin, but we have had several on the ground near here and in Sedalia, about 60 miles away, they had one the other day that hit the south end of town and did quite a bit of damage.

They actually call the area right where we live the Golden Valley - because supposedly there is an Indian legend or something of the sort that a tornado will never hit here. We do have a lot of times storms will split and go around north and south of us. However, I know the Maker of the Rain and I know the Master of the Wind and he can who whatever he pleases, so we go to the basement whenever it storms.

I will leave you all with a recipe, quick and easy, a crowd-pleaser!

Pampered Chef Crab and Artichoke Dip
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup mayo
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts in water, drained and chopped
8 oz crabmeat
3/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1/3 cup green onions, chopped
zest of 1 lemon
1/8 teaspoon black pepper, ground
1/3 cup red bell pepper, minced
Extra green onions, chopped for topping.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all in bowl except for red bell pepper and extra green onions. Put in casserole dish - I used a 9x 9 pan and bake 25-30 minutes. Sprinkle with red bell pepper and additional green onions. Serve with crackers.

Will be "seeing" you all again soon, as Honey is headed out on the road and I will have more time on my hands. Much love to everyone!

Glorious Fall Day

Hello everyone! It is an absolutely be-yoo-ti-ful day here in Missouri. Fall is finally starting to peek its head around the corner. We have had a bright, sunny day with bright blue sky and warm temperatures. These kind of days could just last forever, as far as I am concerned. I had a great day (even tho my hay fever is in full swing) just out and about. I mailed a package at the post office, stopped in and paid the water bill, did a bit of grocery shopping, got breakfast from Wendy's (bacon panini, seasoned red potatoes and iced coffee - YUM)and have just been lazing around home, doing a bit here and there. Then my parents came over with my niece who is up visiting from South Carolina. We ordered pizza for lunch and had such a good visit. DS and his girlfriend, Liz came thru on their way down to visit Liz's parents. Such a great change from the hectic work week. Only thing is, I do have to work tomorrow and Sunday - blah. Then I am off Monday and Tuesday. Oh, well, it pays the bills I guess.

Thought you all might like to see a few pictures from our sister's tea last weekend. I say sister's tea - it is actually my mom and her sisters. Alas, I have none.


This is a picture of my Mom's oldest living sister, Colleen. It was her house that we were at for the tea party. She polishs rocks and makes jewelry, etc. out of them. My mom is leaning over her shoulder.


This is my aunt Marilyn, the next oldest. She does house cleaning, etc. She is an ordained minister - Methodist, I think.


This is my aunt Naomi. She has a twin sister, Ramona, who lives in Nebraska and so was not at the tea party. Naomi is an LPN at a local hospital.


This is my aunt Charlene. She is a widow and works as a janitor at a local school.


This is my aunt Loqueeta. She and her husband farm-sit year-round for a jet-set couple.



This is a picture of all of them together. They really have a strong resemblance, don't you think?

We have a lot of fun, they gab and gab and gab. Well, me and my cousins do as well.

Thought you might want to know what I whipped up to take!

Ham Salad

I am very bad about measuring anything, but here goes. This turned out very moreish.

1 lb sliced ham
1 hard boiled egg
2 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, cubed
1 large or two small stalks celery - chopped
1 tablespoon (more to taste) chopped white onion

Dressing:
1 tablespoon honey
2-3 tablespoons Dijon mustard (I used the country style with the seeds)
1-3 to 1/2 cup mayonnaise
2-3 tablespoons pickle relish
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste

In a small bowl, mix dressing ingredients. Throw everything else in the food processor and process until finely chopped. You can make this as chunky or smooth as you like. Pour dressing over top and mix well. Serve with crackers, like Ritz. I used the buttery garlic club crackers - oh yeah!

Hope everyone is having a fantastic week.

Roll it up

There are times when I would like to take certain things in my life and just roll them up for a while and put them on a shelf until I feel like dealing with them.

Now, there are certain things I can do that with - my needle work for example. I have a picture of stacked teacups that I have been working on in my spare time (don't get much of that) for over a year. I work on it for a bit and then I roll it up and put it away until I have time again. I also enjoy doing puzzles and I have a puzzle mat - you just roll it up until you can work on it again. That way no cheeky kitties can scatter your puzzle pieces hither, thither and yon.

Unfortunately, most issues in life are not that way. You can't just roll them up and put them on a shelf until you are ready to deal with them. They demand your attention now and you must deal with them, sometimes on a daily basis, whether you feel like it or not and whether you have time to or not.

I have found it is better just to deal with those things and get it over with. It will lighten your burden if you do. There is a sense of completeness when you have dealt with those issues. A sense of accomplishment - there, that's done. Even if it is just for one day, you have done it! You have fought that particular dragon and won!

These little gems don't mind being rolled up - in fact that is part of their charm!

Tortilla Rollups
Makes 6 large, burrito-sized rolls.

OK, here goes:


1 package burrito-sized flour tortillas - I used zesty garlic herb
2 packages light cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
About 1/3 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Buttermilk Ranch dry salad dressing
6 slices of thinly sliced ham, chopped fine
1/2 cup shredded cheese - I used a colby-jack mix
1 small can sliced black olives
Assorted veggies - I used Red bell pepper, cauliflower, onion, celery, carrot and some radish - chopped fine

Put all above in a bowl, except for the tortillas. I usually season it a bit more, add some freshly cracked pepper and some garlic powder.


Then spread it on the tortillas. Now, you can spread it thickly or thin, thick will give you fewer rolls, but they will be fatter.


Then roll them up into a cigar shape. These are easier to cut if they are chilled first and they will fit nicely back into the tortilla bag after being rolled up. I usually make these the day before and cut them right before serving. Just cut them about 6 pieces or so per roll and set them on a plate. I do apologize for not having final pics, as they were all gone!

I really like to get creative with these - you can do Italian with salami or pepperoni and sun-dried tomato, Greek with hummus, kalamata olives , cucumber and feta cheese, Asian style with peanut sauce mixed in with your cream cheese and chopped chicken, an all veggie version, you can use different kinds of meats - roast beef goes nicely with smoked cheddar. I like to do a variety of these and set them out for a snack when friends come over. Use your imagination and roll it up!