Purses

These days, we must find our excitement where we can. I confess that I've never been much of a shopper,  at least in the sense of going to an actual store to browse and buy.  Even when I really needed something, I could usually find plenty of reasons to put off going in search of it.  When online shopping became a "thing", I loved it!  I didn't have to go anywhere.  When I was still teaching, I Christmas shopped on my lunch hour, sandwich in one hand, surfing and buying with the other, usually paying high shipping fees as I'd even put this type of shopping off until the last minute.  As I said, a shopper I am not.  

So, recently I noted that my trusty purse had a problem.  I've had the same one for I don't know how many years, six, seven?  It's black and before its most recent problem, I'd had to take a black sharpie to some worn spots on it.  Worked like a charm, until I noticed it was becoming unstitched in a crucial spot.  I am not a fan of carrying a purse in the first place, but they are a necessary evil for us ladies.  In order to make peace with the item, I have some specifications that must be met.

Here are pictures of my last two purses:

Trusty black purse

Adorable (but small) red purse

Notice that the fronts of both of them have additions. An easy-to-get-to area where I can have ready access to my driver's license, credit cards, etc.  

Alas, the black one became unstitched in the corner where I stowed my cell phone and I could see no way to fix it.  

I began to feel quite tacky, which would never do.  Since we're home all day and catalogs seem to fill our mailbox on a daily basis, I began to look for a replacement. About ten days ago, one arrived from The Vermont Country Store and as I glanced through it, a purse jumped out at me.  It had a front on it!  It came in black with dark brown accents.  I ordered!  And today it came.

It's bigger than I usually buy, but not so much so that I can't live with it.  And the front area is wonderful!

It even has an area for coins! And I discovered that the main purse will hold my iPad should I want to take it along for reading when Dan stops to look at trees (yes, he really does) when we're out.  Double win!!♥

Hmm... Hmm...

I feel like I should write a scintillating blog post, but what can you say about day after day of the same thing?  I am thankful that I'm continuing to enjoy outfoxing dinner for the 30th night in a row, so that's a good thing.  We are eating well.  

I have been doing a lot of reading on my iPad.  Ann introduced me to the Libby app and I'm happily downloading books from the library as well as getting the freebies from Amazon Prime.  I never thought I'd like reading on a mobile device, but I'm having to eat my words.  

Dan has gotten to go out in the woods several times this week, and he also taught a "class" using Zoom with the help of the U of I forestry extension department.  (He didn't enjoy it...) 

Our excitement tonight was peach shortcake featuring peaches I froze back in August of '18.  Still delicious! The cake part was a recipe I got many, many years ago and is an easy yellow cake.  According to my handwritten recipe card, I got it from the Family Weekly, which was, as I recall, the precursor to the Parade Magazine we get in the Sunday paper these days. Here's the recipe in case you've got some frozen peaches or strawberries in your freezer and don't want to head to the store for those cute little shortcakes in a package.

Shortcake (Yellow Cake)

2 cups unsifted flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

1 cup milk

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Heat oven to 350.  Grease and flour a 9 x 13" pan, or two 8 or 9" cake pans or two 8" square pans. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Add butter and 2/3 cup of the milk.  Beat two minutes at low speed.  Add remaining 1/3 cup of milk, eggs and vanilla and beat two minutes longer at medium speed.  Turn into pans and bake 30-35 minutes or until done.  

I've made this dozens of times over the years and it always tastes so good.  Sturdy, sweet, and when split and topped with the juicy fruit, soaks it up beautifully and is very satisfying in an old-fashioned sense.  Didn't think to take a picture.  ♥

Another Day--With Sunshine!

It's true!  The sun is shining, the birds are chirping and the windows are open. It's a glorious day for certain! It's amazing how a lovely day can boost the spirits.

We were excited to learn yesterday that the yard waste section of the recycling center was reopening and so my sweetheart is out mowing the lawn and gathering up the few remaining leaves from last fall. He's a happy man! Ann, Eric and boys have taken advantage of this beautiful day and loaded their kayaks and headed for the river to, as Ann termed it, "isolate on some water."  As Eric works, Ann teaches, and the boys do schoolwork from home using their computers and other devices, the time had come to go have some fun.  Good for them.

Dan and I went to the store the other day, my first outing in three weeks.  We found everything we were looking for and as we checked out, I thanked our outgoing and smiley clerk for her work. Before she let us put our purchases on the counter she had very thoroughly cleaned every inch of her stand as the previous customer left.  She looked at me and then said, "I'm marking you down as one of my angels," and proceeded to make a tally mark on her left forearm.  I looked at her and she said when customers were nice as I was, she marked them down and it helped her get through her day.  I still must have looked confused so she told me that many of her customers were angry and rude; some yelled and one even gave her the one-fingered salute, and not the good kind.  I was shocked! She nodded and then gave me a big smile and said, "Thank you."  If I could have hugged her, I would have.  

I'm continuing to knit on a new pair of socks although the color is not the greatest.  I've loved the other socks I've knit from Knit Picks Stroll Tweed sock yarn, but this brown isn't very appealing. They'll be warm and cozy though, and that's all that counts.  (I'm still loving that adorable yarn bowl!)

I also finally bought a cover for my iPad with help from Eric while we were on vacation.  I'm not really a pink girl, but this makes me smile every time I see it. 

I love that it turns off the iPad when it's closed, and when I open it, it quickly goes right back where I left it without punching any buttons.  That grooved top also folds to become a stand.  ♥

Provisions

Saturday we had to be out for a quick bit (another drive-by), and when we got home I told Dan to leave the car out as I wanted to find out just exactly what was lurking in our freezer.  It sits in our garage right in front of the car, and while I can get the door open and get what I need, it isn't conducive to a large inspection or rearrangement.  

Dan volunteered to bring out a folding table so I had a place to sort and that helped immensely.  So, what exactly was in there?  More than I thought!  I even unearthed a box of Skinny Cow fudgesicles! Score!! Underneath the bacon I found two vacuum sealed bags of three pork chops each.  Oh yes, I remembered them. The ones I used from the larger pack they came from were tough, and I mean tough.  No matter how I cooked them, they were awful.  Dan appeared about the time I found them and suggested that maybe they'd make pulled pork.  Hmm, didn't sound like a bad idea so I said I'd try.  

Further rummaging found an extra bin of pork roasts and lots of stew meat.  Yay! Meat for dinners that will stretch over a period of days.  We are good to go for many a day, especially with the bread flour he found last week.  

As I finished up my mind drifted back to the early days of our marriage and the first freezer we bought.  It was the summer of 1973 and the oil crisis was nearing its height.  Freezers were hard to come by as were canning supplies (this situation lasted for well over a year) but we somehow managed to score a large freezer from Sears.  (Side note:  It was a self-defrosting model which wasn't supposed to be good for the food stored, but it was absolutely the best freezer we ever had, lasted the longest, and gave us the least freezer-burned food of all the freezers we've had. And we've had to defrost all the rest of them!)

Yesterday evening I decided I'd see what was available on Costco.com as it doesn't look like it's worth making a trip out of town to our nearest one.  The lines, the time, the availability of goods, it all sounded like an exercise in futility.  So, I opened up my computer and went shopping.  Turns out Costco.com is out of many, many items, too, but I did manage to get some more almond milk (I use it in my smoothies and for our oatmeal), Ghirardelli  brownie mixes, and the all important evening TV snack, Pub Mix. I got some other things, too, of course, but these will help make the days a little more palatable.  

Oh, and the pork chops?  They did indeed make great pulled pork! We had it Saturday and Sunday nights and I froze the rest.  Another meal in the freezer for when I am not in the mood and that's a good thing for certain! ♥

Day 500 of Quarantine

Or so it seems.  Hmm, even for a homebody like me, these days are getting a little weird.  There were always things we did each week that helped us keep track of the days, but now we don't even have church on Sundays. We gathered in front of our TV last Sunday and using my computer and our Chrome-cast, watched "church" live-streamed via Facebook. Somehow, it didn't seem like Sunday. . .

One thing that has helped me pass the time besides the laundry (haha!), is Ann's reminding me that I could download the Kindle app on my iPad and get books through Amazon Prime.  I've rewarded myself with several interesting/fun reads over the last couple of weeks which has been very helpful because the library is closed.  One was recommended by Ann and I found it interesting because I could remember many of the names featured in it.  It's Upstairs at the White House: My Life with the First Ladies by J.B. West who was Chief Usher during five presidencies, Roosevelt through Johnson.  

Of course, meals are a constant and keep me busy. There's no eating out because all the restaurants are takeout/delivery only, and somehow I can't bring myself to eat something made by someone who may have the virus and not know it yet.  While I'm trying not to dwell on the reason for this quarantine,  I don't want to be imprudent.  So, all meals by Chef Moi.  This morning I thought I would upgrade our breakfast and decided to make Ann's recipe for scones.  Oh yum!  We each had two, I froze four, and tomorrow we'll feast on another four.  

I'm thinking of other things I can make and freeze some of.  Stocking the freezer seems like a worthwhile endeavor during these must-stay-at-home days.  ♥

Crazy!

Well.  

What a day it's been.  Four snowstorms, sunshine, a virus version of a birthday party, and an earthquake.  Yes, that's right, an earthquake.  

So, to back up, we got up early this morning and my husband daringly went out in search of some items I longed for in my kitchen.  Specifically, King Arthur bread flour, and cream cheese.  There were other things, of course, but those were tops on my list.  He scored!!  As I told one of my nieces, I feel like the richest lady in town.  

And then it snowed.  Really, really snowed, and everything turned white.  And a while later, the sun came out.  Repeat three more times during the day.  

And then the birthday "party."  One of the dearest ladies I know, a friend from the first days we moved here, has a birthday today.  Her daughter came up with a genius idea for a way to celebrate Gill's (she's from England, so it's pronounced Jill) day.  She emailed a few people, asked them to email others, and so on.  We were all to drive by Gill's house at 2:30, bring a flower, and honk our horns.  They would have Gill on the front porch.  At the appointed time, I found myself in my car, down the que about five cars, and it began as more and more cars showed up.  As we got to the front of the house, Gill was on the porch and her daughter had a bucket to gather the flowers as we drove by.  I am allergic to most flowers so I took some of the quilted potholders I made before Christmas.  They did have flowers on them!  Gill was absolutely overcome as car after car drove up. What a wonderful gift for her!

And then, the earthquake.  About five, I was sitting here at my computer when all of a sudden things seemed to start moving.  Was I dizzy?  No!  The curtains were moving, Dan's empty recliner was rocking, the whole house was moving!! I realized what it was and shouted to Dan who was in the basement.  It turns out it was a rather large quake situated in the center of our state, fortunately where there's not much of anything.  

What a day.  March is definitely not going out like a lamb.  ♥

Greetings from the Last Outpost

Ha!  At least I think that's how my poor husband is feeling these days.  At least the weather is crummy, so he's not tempted to be outdoors right now.  Rain! Wind! Cold! 

As I told my longtime pal, Kathy of Homestead Happenings, this whole situation is like a challenge to me.  How long can I keep making meals with what we have? Meals that taste good! I had a win tonight.  We often have waffles and bacon for dinner on nights when a cozy meal is called for.  But we had that last week. Somehow or other, I stumbled onto a recipe for pancakes this afternoon. Normally I'm not much of a pancake fan; they've always tasted too heavy to me. This recipe had rave reviews so I printed it off and gave it a try.  YUM! Simple, simple ingredients, but awesome flavor and texture.  And Dan, who loves pancakes, gave them two thumbs up, too.  Here the link. I halved the recipe and we got ten yummy pancakes, which was perfect for us.  

To backtrack a week or so, I have a couple more things to say about our vacation house.  It was kind of a "smart house."  It had a thingy in many of the rooms that turned out to be a Google version of Alexa.  We drove that poor thing crazy with a myriad of questions such as When's low tide? When does the sun set in Rockaway Beach, Can you play some Ella Fitzgerald? and so on. The best part was when we were cooking.  "Hey Google! Set the timer for ten minutes!" and she would.  Do I want such a thing at home?  Nope, but it was fun for a while!

And here's a picture of the intrepid Keat cleaning off our windows for a better view after a naughty seagull left splatters all over them.  

And those pillars under the house?  It is supposed to be tsunami resistant.  The angle of the photo makes them look a little weird, but they were straight up and down. ♥