An Amazing Turn...

of events. Who would have thought that this girl would find someone who really cared for her? Skeptical I was at first and perhaps still a little, but EW has been slowly breaking down my defenses. Tonight before my departure to Padre Island, he presented me with a lovingly cooked pot roast, fruit, fresh squeezed orange juice, and various other delicacies so that I wouldn't have to cook when I got there. Plus he has monitored the weather and worried if I was driving in any adverse conditions. There is also the elaborate set up he constructed so that I could plug in my travel trailer at the house which has eliminated the need to pack large and cumbersome ice chests. The best part though is that we share the same sense of humor. For example, tonight we were having dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant. After we both visited the restroom and commented on the annoyance of those air blowers instead of paper towels, I asked if he had noticed the directions printed on that device. He hadn't, and of course I had because it takes about 10 minutes to get your hands dry in such circumstances. So I was reading the directions while waiting. The last line of directions said: "Turn nozzle up for drying your hair." Now I ask you, who dries their hair in the restroom of a restaurant? Well, let your imagination take hold of that!! And we did. The waiter, who didn't speak English very well, showed signs of distress because we were laughing so hard. EW thank you for an amazing 2 months.

Our Christmas Choir

It's hard to describe so I'll let the picture speak for itself.

All for Tiramisu

After my dear EW searched San Antonio for ladyfingers without success, I decided to make them myself. So of course I researched and sent off for a state of the art ladyfingers pan which arrived quite quickly. Production began and all was going well until they came out of the oven. Then low and behold they refused to release their grip of the pan and had to be scrapped out. They tasted good but who wants to eat crumbled sponge cake. So here is a picture of the second attempt which I piped onto parchment paper from a plastic baggie. One group I baked so they were soft and the other group I let get crispy. As they don't keep very well, they are now in the freezer awaiting a decision on which tiramisu to make. Who knew that there were about 60 possible kinds?!! I'm thinking that the recipe with the rum soaked ladyfingers sounds promising.

December Already?

Here is the finished baby quilt made for my Angel Tree family. This was the first quilt that I have quilted on my own. Very scary at first since I do not have a long arm machine, but I launched into it with wild abandon thanks to a class I took at 7th Heaven. Thanks, you all for giving me confidence. It is finished in a pattern of rambling hearts and leaves which I just improvised on as I went along. Since I didn't have much time and took on an Angel Tree family with a friend on the spur of the moment, the quilt is very simple as you can see. Now I'm thinking I should consider starting another quilt for next year which could be more spectacular if I had more time.

September Gardening

Well, I didn't do a very good job of blogging my gardening progress last month. Maybe I'll do better this month.

September 8-28 Planted 3 gardenia bushes, 2 chaste trees, and 1 Duranta repens (Golden Dew Drops) in the backyard. Jessi mowed down one of the chaste trees thinking it was a big weed, but it surprisingly came back and is almost as big as the other one again. Then in the side yard, I planted a Mirror Leaf Viburnum. In the top garden, I planted a Ruellia Chi Chi. It has quarter sized pink petunia like flowers and is very heat tolerant. It may not like its spot because it likes full sun and the top garden is a little shady.

September 7 Although it is raining today, I did spend time yesterday unloading the top soil that I brought in to replenish the raised bed. As I wasn't able to unload it all, I pulled the truck into the garage so that I wouldn't have a mud pit to deal with when the storm hit. Glad I did.

Spetember 5 Mowed the front lawn.

September 3 Trimmed the front and pulled out the spent impatiens.

Owl Apron

Kate and I were out to lunch when we spotted a cute owl apron in the restaurant's gift shop. Kate said how much she liked it except for the colors. She doesn't like orange. So thinking that I could be like the designers on Project Runway which is one of my favorite programs, I went home and cut out an apron, hand drew some owls, and here is the outcome. I can't wait to give it to Kate!

September's Reading List

The Red Queen by Phillipa Gregory - Margaret feels that she is destined by God to be able to sign her name Margeret R (Regina) and spends her life plotting against the Yorks in the hope that her son Henry can return from exile to claim the throne from Edward and then from Richard. She serves in the courts of both kings and their queens conniving all the while against them. At the end of the book Henry finally defeats Richard who is killed in the battle. I am hoping that she will write a sequel to her two novels about the War of the Roses as everyone has heard of her grandson, Henry VIII but it would be interesting to read a novel about Henry's father and early childhood.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins - Katniss becomes the Mockingjay and joins with the people of District 13 to crush the rule of President Snow and capture the capitol. With Gale and Peeta, she battles to an unexpected conclusion.

The Summer Guest by Justin Cronin - Joe comes to Maine scarred by WWII and begins a new life restoring a run-down fishing camp. His son, Joe, takes over but flees to Canada to escape the draft. This is the story of Joe, Lucy, and their daughter Kate as it intermingles with the life of Harry Wainwright who has visited the camp most summers since he was nine.