Five more things....

 I’ll begin this post by mentioning that today is Munchkin #2’s birthday!  We won’t be there to help her celebrate, though we did call to sing “Happy Birthday” to her.  Do you remember when you were 14?  

1)  I love holidays!  Of course, Christmas seems to be at the top of everyone’s list, although I love any of them!

2)  I love being part of the United Methodist Women!

The top two pictures are from the UMW Assembly held in Columbus, Ohio in 2018.  The third one is from our own Conference UMW Annual Meeting/Training honoring the 150 years of the UMW in 2019.

3)  I love a cozy reading corner!

It’s probably a good idea that the reading corner not be too comfy, or some spur-of-the moment napping might occur.

4)  I love breakfast!  I especially enjoy being able to assemble something tasty the night before for baking the next morning.  The picture below is one that has appeared on the blog at some point in the past.  It’s not one of those “do-ahead” marvels, though it includes lots of tasty ingredients!

This requires several steps....10 minutes to prebake the bacon; take off the pan and set aside; frozen hash browns in the pan next; bake 20 minutes; sprinkle with grated cheese; use spoon to indent space for the eggs; arrange bacon on top; bake 10 more minutes, or until eggs are cooked to desired doneness.  Oh, the bacon slices are halved first before initially placing them on the pan for baking at 350 degrees.  

5)  I love Massachusetts!  Granted, I’ve never been there in the cold of winter with deep snow, though I don’t think I’d even mind that as long as I was somewhere to keep warm and didn’t have to venture out in snowy conditions.  This time last year, we were returning from a family trip to Cape Cod in honor of our 50th wedding anniversary.  

We stayed on Cape Cod, and on a visit to Titcomb’s Bookshop, we were surprised to see they were celebrating 50 years, too!

How have you been the past several days?  Are you staying safe and well?  A mask is a necessary accessory when going out anywhere.  Is there a mask mandate where you are?

Have a pleasant evening!

The weekend....

 ....gave us a busy Saturday!  When the chore was completed, the Country Couple had assisted The Husband with burning an accumulation of brush.  We were left with this....

This pile of ashes kept enough heat....with more to spare....for baking potatoes on Sunday afternoon.  The Husband wrapped them in foil and buried them in the ashes, with great results!

There is the pot of baked potatoes!  They are delicious!  Of course, we usually cook more baked potatoes than we need at once, so we’re happy to have all these extra!

We had hoped the ashes might be hot enough to honor this day....National S’Mores Day....but the rainfall that has come our way today has sadly done away with that plan.  It’s not like we actually need another dessert option around here.:-)

Sunday lunch went as planned....

Some vinegar cole slaw, compliments of my favorite market, sneaked in to be part of the menu, and dessert?  Well, that’s a great use of zucchini!  Double Chocolate Zucchini Cake!  I’ve posted that recipe on the blog before, with a number of pictures to demonstrate the process.  It was part of a Picnic Game link that I joined.  It may be possible to do a search for it.  

As always, I hope you are doing what is needed to stay healthy, plus to encourage those who are near to you to stay healthy as well!  Be safe!  Remember to wear your mask!  Avoid large groups!  If we all do our part, we will be finished with this horrid time more quickly!  Remember to wash your hands often!

On the menu....

 This has been a busy Saturday here.  The Country Couple devoted some of their time to helping with a big project in the yard.  That called for a special Saturday breakfast....

Blueberry Stuffed French Toast was a great way to start the day!  

Now, I’m thinking about Sunday Lunch.  On the menu tomorrow?  Slow-cooker pork roast (I must remember to turn on that crock pot tonight!), baked beans, fresh applesauce, and a dessert using something that is in season now....either peaches or zucchini!  I’ll show you on Monday what our decision was.  

It has been a warm one here today!  Thankfully we’ve had some shade, and it wasn’t difficult to find something cool to drink.

Good wishes to you for your Saturday evening!

Five Things on Friday....

 Wishes for a good day to everyone on this Friday!  It’s time for that list of five things I love.  Since I experienced a bit of stress in the last post with inserting my pictures with text to follow, in this one....and posts to follow (until I figure it all out)....the pictures will follow all my text.  So....here we go with those five things!

1)  I love my family!  The picture shown is one that has been posted before on the blog.  It is of the time on July 12 that they were here for a backyard camp out, their idea.  Prior to that, it had been last December since we had all been together, and I honestly had wondered if we would be able to gather again.

2)  I love my church!  Of course, the church is not a building.  We are the church; however, the fellowship of believers is important to me.  The picture shown was taken sometime ago and before the service began on that Sunday.  Currently, our church is closed to in-person worship, and worship is online.  

3)  I love rainbows!  The picture shown was taken in early evening just this week!  I can remember from my past years how excited I was to see a rainbow!

4)  I love Emory and Henry College, my alma mater!  It was the fall of 1958 when I began my freshman year on a campus I had never seen before.  Times were different then, and there had been no campus visit prior to enrolling.  Our three daughters also chose to attend Emory and Henry, making it very possible to have family reunions during special events!  When they were students there, The Husband and I served on the Parents Council.  We return to campus several times during the year.  The picture is one of the marching band prior to Homecoming 2019.  This year, sadly, we will have “Homestaying.”

5)  I love birthdays, even mine!  The pictures that follow illustrate a couple of birthday celebrations, one when we were able to be with others, and one when we were home.

I have composed this part of this post; now it’s time to attempt those pictures!  I’m hopeful that all will work fine.  I’m not deleting this and starting all over!:-)

That much was successful!  Yay!!  And....I’ve begun typing text below the pictures!  Not sure what happened on that last post!

Time to wish you a good weekend!  I hope you have something that is relaxing planned!

Things to know....

There are a few things to know about this day, both serious and just for fun.

Growing up in the area not far from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, we were very aware of the impact Oak Ridge had on World War II.  This is a copy of the local newspaper on this day 75 years ago.  I am trying to post this with the new Blogger Interface, and I’m unable to insert pictures and text as I have done in the past.  The type automatically switched to blue underlining when I attempted to write underneath the picture.  Apparently one of the things I need to know is how to maneuver this “new and improved” thing!

Anyway, another thing to know is just for fun!  Today is National Root Beer Float Day, and we are ready for that here!

Also, it is National Wiggle Your Toes Day!  Did you ever wiggle your toes in the cool grass during the summer?  Today, my toes would get wet since we’ve had a shower of rain!

Now, I’m going to see if I’m able to post another picture underneath this one.  I’ve no idea why I’m unable to continue the black print below the picture!  This will take some investigating, and that involves time! 

Thank you for checking in today!

Success with the picture, but see what I mean?  

Sunday lunch.....

How quickly weekends seem to pass!  Does that seem to be the case for you, too?

Sunday lunch was a success!

The menu was roasted turkey breast, which I glazed with mango chutney the last half hour of baking; mashed potatoes; peas and carrots; cranberry casserole, peeking out at the top left; and blueberry dump cake, shown below.

I have had this recipe for several years, and it’s good with or without whipped cream!😋

The first full week of August is ahead.  Do you have some special things to anticipate?  Are you able to usually keep your worries under control?  Being busy is a help to me, and heading to the kitchen seems to do that!  

Wishing you a week of all good things!  Be safe, and stay well!

On the menu....

Rabbit!  Rabbit!  The first day of a new month, and good luck wishes to you!  I posted the picture of the rabbits in our yard a day early.:-)

A special breakfast treat was this Blueberry Dutch Baby:

It was very tasty, though it really stuck to the iron skillet!  I was lucky enough to get a picture when it was just out of the oven and still puffy.  It wasn’t long before it deflated.

The tea tray that was in the previous post included fresh blueberry preserves, as well as zucchini bread baked with zucchini straight from our generous neighbor’s garden.

On the menu for Sunday Lunch is: roasted boneless turkey breast, glazed with mango chutney (sounds fancy, doesn’t it?); mashed potatoes; peas and carrots; cranberry casserole; and dump cake.  There may be a surprise in this one.  I’ll hope to remember to do a follow up on Monday.  I have a jar of mango chutney from the grocery store that I’ll brush over the turkey breast while it is roasting, and the cranberries are from the freezer.

Be safe, stay well, and remember to wear your mask!