Craft Sale at First Congregational United Church of Christ.

Ah, some of the home baked stuff!

And Jill wants a picture of it also!

And Don Hustead will regal Carol Hobbs, Mary Jane Voelker, and Tracy Mosley with some wild tale!

Lois Duvall is an avid bronco fan!   

Her son, Mark will keep her under control as her daughter Heather makes fun on the situation. 

I can almost tell Theresa Cordova and Steve Parke are up to no good in this shot! 

Patty Timm is manning my table because I have wandered off to the kitchen!

 

This is the view across the aisle from my table.

Matt and Tia hard at work holding down a couple chairs.

And here is Don spinning a wild tale for Patty Crehan in the kitchen.

Diane Hustead hard at work in the kitchen with Jeremy (forgot his last name.)

So, a good time was had by all and I wound up with this picture of Jill that I can not get to delete, or center or do anything I want it to, so I guess I will leave you to look at the back of her shirt.  Try to make the sale next year.  It is a hoot.

 

 

 

 

Oh, I think I did this right!

Got up early!

Yesterday I got up really early, so I decided to make a cake I had seen in the recipe section of the newspaper the day before.  I think it was called  "Black Magic Dark Chocolate."  Sounded too good to miss out on, so by 5:15 AM this is what the kitchen looked like.

And this was the sight in my sink!

While it was baking I had time to tidy up!  And when the timer went off I was in good shape.

Oh, doesn't that look good? 

I do not like frosting, so I had a big piece without frosting.

It was superb!  Dark, moist, just the right amount of sugar.  But then comes the problem us single women run into...We can only hold so much cake!  I decided I would put some chocolate frosting on it.  That was a mistake!  I ate two more pieces, but help was on the way!

I had mentioned to the son-in-law that I might make it the day before.  I was surprised when my phone rang at 8:30 last night and his little voice said, "Grandma!  What did you do with that cake?"

Now in all fairness, I had thought about taking it into Jackie's shop and sharing it, but hadn't.  Then I had thought about running it over to her house, but that had not happened either.  I thought about calling and having them come and get it, but by that time me and that cake were getting to be pretty good friends!  So when Jimmie called, I told him my dilemma and he sent Shellie right over to save me from myself.

The only drawback to being a single woman seems to be what to do with the leftovers.  I love to cook and there seems to be no way to make cake for one, or a pot of vegetable soup for one,  and half a pot of coffee just seems to be a lonely undertaking.  So, now that Jimmie is renting the garage, I may have an outlet for my leftovers!

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus!

 

 

 

 

 

Fall colors and the animals are staying close.

Isn't this beautiful?  It is a house up on the corner by Lagree's.  The homeowners really gave some thought to the planting of these trees; red, yellow, green, red, yellow, green.  There is no rhyme nor reason to what happens in my yard at any time of year.  Guess I am a sort of "early morning dig a hole and stick something in it and hope it lives" kind of girl.   I admire this yard.

So, since it is cold tonight, I decide to just watch a little television.  I remember when Kenny used to say he was going to watch a little television, I would tease him because he always fell asleep.  I told him it must be a damn little television because it was hid behind his eyelids.  Sure miss him.  Anyway, I sat down to watch television in my 2400 square foot house and see how everything manages to fit into 2 square feet, most of which is on my lap.

On the left is Elvira wedged between my hip and the chair arm of the recliner.  I like to call it "my recliner", but we know better than that, don't we?  Daisy has her head between my knees and looks at me with sad eyes trying to figure out how to dislodge Elvira and get onto my lap.  Icarus is down on the fuzzy rug acting like she does not care.  I have no idea where my other foot went!  It must be some where!

OK, you guys can have the recliner and I will just stand here and look busy.  So this is how I spend most evenings.  When I am up here on the computer, the Daisy dog is under the desk at my feet and the Elvira is in the dog bed under the buffet.  Icarus is usually on my lap, but tonight she is still down in the big recliner.  I am going to post this and as soon as that is done I will turn off the computer and they will all three run into my bedroom.  Icarus gets her treat on my dresser and the dogs grab thiers and Elvira goes under the bed and Daisy eats hers on the rug.  I hop in bed and it is off to dream land for all of us!  Yes, life is good!

 

 

 

I may not have the cleanest closet on the block, but I am working on that!

I have a friend who moved into a new apartment and he has worked very hard to get rid of "clutter" and that got me to thinking.  His idea of clutter and my idea of clutter are definitely 2 different things!  I have spent many years collecting "things" that I really need.  I have 2 bookcases full of cook books.  At one point in time, several years back,  I decided to sort them and only keep the ones I really needed.
So I made 3 piles: One for cookbooks I definitely wanted to keep.  One for maybe I wanted to keep.  One for "never look at these and why are they even here?"  I very carefully leafed through each book and placed it in one of the three piles.  When all the cookbooks were in respective piles, I put the "definitely wanted to keep ones" back on the shelf.  Then I took a closer look at pile number 2.  When all of them were in pile #1, I put them back on the shelf.  Pile #3 was now in pile #2 position.  And I sorted them and they were now in pile #1 which went back on the shelf.
I picked up the one remaining item and looked at it.  I could not think of a single soul that was worthy of having it and it looked so lonely there that I put it back on the shelf.  Now you may think this was an exercise in futility, but it wasn't.  I did exactly what I set out to do.  No, I did not throw anything out or give anything to the Goodwill, but I convinced myself that it was alright to keep all of them because they were my friends!  I love books and I worship cookbooks!
So now I have this friend pointing out the virtues of "purging" and I decided to try it again.  This time I decided on the closet.  Man, there is stuff hanging on those rods that I do not even remember ever seeing before.  This body has not seen a dress draped over it in 15 years and yet there are two dresses and 3 skirts hanging there waiting for the right moment.  Patient little things, I will say that for them. 
Now, last year I purged all my shorts after the summer was over.  In all fairness I did that by sheer virtue of not knowing where I put them.  The only thing I can figure out is that they wound up in the Goodwill box quite by accident.  In all fairness, I decide this year that I am a little old for shorts so I have narrowed the summer selection down to the ones that end at mid-calf.  Those are called something like "capri, jamaca or something else."  I think those are going away this year.
So, into the closet I went with my little bag.  First to go was the brown dress with the necklace to match, still complete with price tags.  Then came a pretty little white gathered cotton skirt with a turquoise band embroidered around the bottom.  I really liked that, but into the pile it went.  Little old for that one.  Then there was a beige almost denim fitted skirt that actually fit me, but there again, it was a skirt.  Then some sort of African caftan, that God only know where that came from!  And a slinky black number with huge blue and red flowers.  What the hell was I thinking when I brought that home!  Also pulled out a long sleeved light blue shirt with a frilly bow-tie and a vest to match.  (I can not picture me in long sleeves, or frills, and sure as hell not a vest!)  There is even a Japanese kimono hanging in there; a gift from a friend.  I can not imagine what my friend thought I would do with that, but I can not toss out something a friend gave me, can I?
OK, so I am setting here at 6:00 in the morning looking over at that black bag and some how that white skirt is peeking out at me.  I know if I touch that bag, the skirt is coming out and going into the closet.  If it gets out, so will that beige skirt and then what?  OMG!  I think I am a hoarder! 
So, here is what I will do...When my friend asks how I am coming in the closet, I am going to tell him "Really, really good.  I have a giant bag!"  As long as he does not ask what is in the bag, I am good to go.  That sounds like a very non committal answer to me.  Not a lie, exactly, and really not the complete and unadulterated truth and with a little luck and a cookie waved under his nose, he may not push it.   Damn! 
 

Departing from my regular format.

I am departing from my regular way of giving you my opinion to bring you words I have copied from the NaturalNews.   I can see a boycott on the horizon!  I am going to highlight in yellow foods that I normally buy which I will NOT be buying anymore.  I mean are we asinine enough that we want to support the companies that are supporting the legislation to keep our food from being labeled with honesty?  Not me man!

Good Lord!  I may starve to death!  I did not realize just how many of these yoyo's there were till I colored them yellow.  Jackasses!

Dear NaturalNews readers,
The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) was recently caught red-handed running an illegal money laundery "slush fund" operation that violated Washington's fair election laws.

The purpose of the slush fund was to conceal the identities of food corporations that were funneling money to defeat I-522, the GMO labeling bill nearing a vote.

After being threatened with a restraining order by an Attorney General, the GMA finally decided to comply with the law and release the names of the food companies that conspired in this illegal money laundering scheme.


We've got the list of those companies right here:

Secret slush fund donors revealed

The companies that funneled money into the GMA's money laundering slush fund are:

Abbott Nutrition
Bimbo Bakeries USA
Bruce Foods Corp.
Bumble Bee Foods, LLC
Bunge North America, Inc.
Bush Brothers & Co.
Campbell Soup Co.
Cargill Inc.
Clement Pappas & Co. Inc.
The Clorox Co. (owner of Burt's Bees brand)
The Coca-Cola Co. (owner of Odwalla)
ConAgra Foods
Dean Foods Co. (owner of Horizon milk)
Del Monte Foods Co.
Flowers Foods, Inc.
General Mills, Inc. (owned of Larabar)
The Hershey Co.
The Hillshire Brands Co.
Hormel Foods Corp.
The J.M. Smucker Co.
Kellogg Co. (owner of Pop-Tarts)
Knouse Foods Cooperative, Inc.
Land O'Lakes, Inc.
McCormick & Co., Inc
Mondelez Global, LLC.
Moody Dunbar, Inc.
Nestle USA, Inc.
Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc.
PepsiCo, Inc. (owner of Naked Juice)
Pinnacle Foods Group, LLC.
Rich Products Corp.
Shearer's Foods, Inc.
Sunny Delight Beverages Co.Welch Foods, Inc.
Share this list with others and encourage them to boycott all these brands, too. These are companies that actively participated in an illegal slush fund deception to try to buy the I-522 election by deceiving voters.

That the GMA would actively launch such a slush fund operation just proves that the conventional food industry in America has no ethics whatsoever and will actively pursue illegal activities in order to keep consumers ignorant and confused.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/042565_GMO_labeling_opposition_GMA_slush_fund_list_of_donors.html#ixzz2iK6V6UXQ

Took my friend Patty to Beulah a couple weeks ago....

I think my friend, Patty, has not been out and around much.  Rather think she might be a city girl deep inside.  Early in the spring I took her for a ride out to Avondale to meet Sister Nancy and she was fascinated with the gardens and and countryside in general.    I thought  if she liked the ride East she would really get a kick out of the ride to Beulah.
So I gathered her up and off we went to The Stompin' Grounds coffee shop ran by my friend Jan.  I usually have soap and lotions for sale up there along with my book.  I do like to rotate my stock and since I had not been up since the Spring, off we went.

While we were in there a herd of deer trotted across the street toward the coffee shop and went out back to have a little snack on the neighbors lilac bushes.  I snuck up on them, because that is what I do!

And when I was through wondering just how I would go about butchering one of these things, I decided to sing the song she had painted on the door to her garden shed! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r0MQpUTIow

 

 

Coffee cup drained and our goodbye's said, it was off to one of my favorite places when I go to the mountains...an old cemetery.  I have an insatiable appetite for tromping around in one of those places.  When I first came to Colorado, Charlie took me to a ghost town up around the old LaVeta Pass.  I want to go back there some day, but in the meantime, I make do with the ones at the lower altitudes. 

 

 

 

I hope you are enjoying the little slide show, because I sure enjoyed making it.  And so Patty and I,   a couple frustrated but laid back hippie's bid you a fond farewell from beautiful Beulah, Colorado.  I am sure we will return here again and again.    I am sure of one thing and that is The Stompin' Grounds in Beulah is both a hippie haven and a damn good place to get coffee on a cold winter day!