What Isn't Foggy Makes You Hungrier!

      It's nice to be sitting here posting my blog with a rested body, a clear non-foggy head, and a good night's sleep under my belt...well, clear...except for some lingering flashes of a dream I had last night about a 8-foot mouse trying to take over the world, and my kitchen! LOL...WHATEVER!!!...{By the way, the old microwave is gone, and the tiny hole that the little field mouse made is plastered up, covered with metal, spackled, duck taped, etc...... ^_^ If he gets back in here I'm gonna pack up my dog and pony show, move, and let him have the place!! LOL}
     The only fog around here this morning is in the backyard! :-) I had hubby run out there and take a few photos before it burned off...

       It has the  feel of a 'Bronte' sisters novel in the backyard...like 'Wuthering Heights' :-) ... 

     Hubby is getting pretty good with that camera, huh?! :-) ... He's getting pretty good with something else too...most of the time...^_^ ...COOKING! 
      I know...you're saying to yourself: "Is that the Wug talking?!...saying her hubby's cooking is getting better?!...after he almost burned out the kitchen?!!!!" LOL...Yes! It's me...Hey! Everybody's entitled to one mistake! ^_^
      Okay...I may be a bit biased about my hubby's cooking today because he followed my friend's recipe for some "Chipotle Tamale Pie", or as I call it.....Chilli! :-) ...and it came out GREAT!!!!!!! :-] Soooooo good!...He's gonna modify it slightly for us the next time though. It needed a little bit of cheese, and some hot peppers. We like HEAT!! :-)) ...If anybody wants the recipe just let me know!

     I ate good yesterday!...and I wasn't the only one!...We had birdie visitors to the new suet cage all day!! :-) One was a pretty special one...Hubby tried to get some good pictures of him, but he was pretty nervous and jittery. This is the best he could do (You may have to click the photos to make them larger in order to see him)....

      Can you see him?!....It's a cardinal!!!! :-)

     Him and the other little birdies seem to be all getting along at the feeder now. At first it was a 'noise-fest' every time a new one showed up!.....Hmmmm...all this talk about fog and food is making me hungry! ^_^ Breakfast time!!!....See you later! Have a good day!

It All Went Away In A Fog

I dreamed I was writing my blog,
in the middle of an old Irish bog.
There came a woof! woof!
and the pounding of hoof,
and it all went away in a fog.

The next night I was out for a jog,
and again heard that same old dog!
I took off down the street,
hid in golden high wheat,
and it all went away in a fog.

I awoke eating just like a hog,
having wine with a spicy cheese log.
Giving numerous naps,
and the dog all my scraps,
it all went away in a fog!     

Food.......Football.......Or A Loooooooooong Nap?!!

(Pastel Macarons with Coffee Watercolor Art Print by jojolarue)

       *Yawn*........*smack, smack, smack*.........I think it's gonna be one of 'those' days! Not for anything bad though. I feel pretty good this morning. I slept really well, and nothing pressing...except crocheting...

         ...which is 'all good!', and not really pressing at all...is on the schedule for the day!

      I 'do' wish I could get a nice hot cup of coffee from the local coffee shop, and maybe a honey-dipped donut! But I won't be able to do that today. People here are celebrating a holiday and a whole lot of places aren't open until later this evening.

    My hubby and I don't celebrate Thanksgiving, but we do have food on the brain this morning. How could we not, with food commercials on all day long for the last week or more?! Seriously!! I haven't had a turkey in.......'forever!'...but that's all I'm craving today! ^_^ I know it's because of my childhood memories though. My family celebrated when I was a kid.

      Even back then I didn't know what Thanksgiving was about. I just looked forward to the FOOD!!! :-) Turkey and my mother's homemade cornbread stuffing, sweet potato pie and peach cobbler. Not to mention the canned cranberry sauce! LOL I LOVED it!!

       In the years after becoming one of Jehovah's Witnesses I never missed celebrating the holiday itself, but thanks to all of the media coverage, I was always aware of it! I always knew that turkey would be on sale around this time, and so would all of the food items to make the 'fixins' out of....So, again, the food was a big focus around this time of year!...A baked turkey leg, with some cornbread stuffing would be good for breakfast right about now...since I can't have my coffee and donut I mean! ^_^ But that's not what I'm having. :-) It's grits and bacon for me....with a green tea chaser!

     Hubby and I are gonna do some studying together, look at some old movies, eat food all day...especially baked ham......something else that was on sale. The BIG baked ham too!...We've had ham two days in a row already.....O_O....And I see ham soup, open-faced ham sandwiches, ham and egg omelets and maybe ham kabobs before we're through with it!! LOL

       Something else that we're definitely gonna do is watch football!! :-) ...

 (Screen Printed T-Shirt by IceCreamTees)

       I haven't watched a full football game all season I don't think! But my 'Dallas Cowboys' are playing today, everything else is closed, and nothing is pressing on my schedule....except my meeting this evening and some crocheting...

         ... :-) neither of which I consider pressing at all. They're both just enjoyable! :-) ...So, 'Dallas Cowboys'...and maybe a bowl of popcorn....HERE I COME!!! ^_^

       So, no! It won't be a big turkey dinner with cornbread stuffing and gravy, macaroni and cheese, green bean casserole,  sweet potato pie, and eggnog for me....today. It's gonna be this breakfast that I just got served in bed....

         .....a cup of green tea, a little chocolate...

 (Watercolor Painting Art Print by jojolarue)

         ...and football!...

 (Dallas Cowboy Print Wall Hanging by ZekesAntiqueSigns)

              But all of the leftovers of the food sales are gonna be up after today, so I'm sure I've got a turkey dinner in my future somewhere! ^_^ ....And more than a few naps too, I'm sure!!! :-)

Nostalgic

Why do we get nostalgic
for the places of our past?
For the music and the people
who were in our high school class?

Why do we get nostalgic
for the foods we used to eat?
Like your mom's banana pudding,
boiled pig ears and chicken feet?

Why do we get nostalgic
for old bikes we once rode on?
And for buying penny candy
at a time that's long since gone?

Why do we get nostalgic
for long conversations had
when our cousins used to visit
(That was-til we all got mad)?!

Why do we get nostalgic?
Frankly, I'm  sure I don't  know,
'cause I sat and wrote a poem
like a true nostalgia pro!

O_O WOW! Is That The Right Time??!!!!

      Hello Y'all!!...Can you tell I'm trying to divert your attention away from my bed-hair, unwashed face, and eyes still half shut?! ^_^ WELL, I AM!!...I just woke up about ten minutes ago! YIKES!!
      I had such a good day yesterday...well, the second half of it was good anyway!...that I went to bed, and woke up smiling, laid back down, woke up at one in the morning......and couldn't go back to sleep until around five a.m.!!!....And I just woke up again!!!
       What made me so happy was the biggest 'one person' order of lapel pins and boutonnieres that I've ever sold in my Wuglyees shop at one time! :-) I sold twelve of them TO ONE CUSTOMER!! :-) The one in the header photo was one of them...Happy, Happy!!!! And yes....I now finally believe that the lapel pin business may be my niche! :-]
      And since I'm running so late this morning, I thought I'd just quickly show you the ones I recently made that all have to be put in the shop quick, fast and in a hurry now...to make up for the big....PRETTY!...hole last night's customer left! :-) After that, I'm off to take a bath, get out of the way so the nice lady can clean my house, and do some MORE lapel pin crocheting!! :-) Here goes!...

Bolder colors...

A basic color (blue)...

My very first 5-petal lapel pin...(more may be forth-coming soon)...

Two sets. One lapel pin....One boutonniere...

And last, the boutonniere I'm working on right now ^_^ ...

         It's waiting for a personality and a dream! LOL

       Okay Y'all....I'm sorry for the 'show-off' and run, but tomorrow.......tomorrow......I don't know what I'm talking about tomorrow! LOL No worries though, I'll show up and talk about something I'm sure!!! ^_^ Have a good day!

 Never As Expected

Why can't things go as expected?
No left turn. No oops!...'Snaffu'!
There's always got to be a fly
in the ointment, soup or stew!

Why can't things go as they should,
Without a hitch, impending doom?
Instead of 'Steady as she goes'!
There's always Click, click, click! Then BOOM!! 

The Rutabaga Story-PART 2......EEK!!

(Original Watercolor Architectural Art Work by ruthsartwork)

       Ahhhhhh!...Home sweet home!...Or at least that's the way it's suppose to be, right?! O_O That's the way it 'has' been for us...until now!.....RE-CAP: Hubby cooking rutabags for the first time.....boiling them on high under the built-in overhead microwave!......microwave smoking, fumes filling the house!.......fans employed to get the smoke out of the house.......deep breath....Ahhhhhhh!......But, as it turns out,  that was only the beginning of the story. O_O

       We called the repair guy to come over and check out the microwave. But before he came we wanted to clean out the cabinet above the microwave and move everything so he could get to it, or take it out of the wall to fix it, or whatever he was gonna have to do! 

       Having a microwave mounted into the wall under a cabinet, and over a stove....NOT a good idea!!! But that's the set-up that was here when we moved in a couple of years ago...

      Although, as of today, I'm thankful that this microwave 'is' mounted all the way into the wall!!!...If you look in the photo you can see that there's only a can of red peppers in the cabinet over the stove. There was also a packet of gravy seasoning too. I don't know how it got in there! We don't generally keep things like that in open cabinets...Anywayyyyyyyy!...

      When hubby opened the cabinet to just make sure nothing was gonna be in the guy's way.....so he can get to the wiring..which you can see, right?!...he found the gravy seasoning packet......WITH HOLES IN IT AND CHEW MARKS!!!!!!! O_O ..*gulp!!*...He took a picture for me because I couldn't see in the cabinet, and because he didn't wanna touch it with his bare hands!!

       I'm gonna spare you the sight of it.......and the sight of the chewed electrical tape on the electrical cord with a trail of gravy seasoning going all the way to the hole where the cord came out of!!!!! O_O YIKES!!!...With the chewed up gravy seasoning and paper from the package everywhere, it looks like we have....and HAD....PLEASE LET IT BE 'HAD'!!!!....a mouse!

(Field Mouse Art Print by KiriMothDesigns)

      I just saw a news report from our local station yesterday, talking about the influx of field mice in people's homes now that the cold weather is upon us! Not in my wildest dreams did I think one....I hope it was one!...*gulp*...would get into our house!

      Maybe that really was dreaming, because a few months ago one of our neighbors was complaining that he had to call the exterminator because he found a mouse in his house. He was sure it was from his next door neighbor who had just moved in...We didn't think too much of it. Hey! It wasn't our house! And I'm such a nut about not having food out anyway, that I didn't worry about it!

      When I was a kid in the south, bugs and critters were a problem. So I grew up getting laughed at by my adult friends for being such a nut about washing every single dish out of the sink before bed every night....drying sinks and counters like a crazy person....and for keeping flour and cornmeal and anything else that was crawl in-able, or chew through-able, in the refrigerator or in solid plastic containers!...Oh, how happy I am now, that I did!!! All that mouse could get into in here was that gravy packet!!...Stupid gravy packet!!!....Although I had hubby investigate every inch of the house to make sure there was no other evidence of mice!! :-] I shouldn't be too worried...Even my crochet projects are in plastic bins!! ^_^ ...Once bitten....twice shy!....Maybe that's not the expression I wanna think about right now! ^_^

       Anyway....we're getting a new microwave in a few days...Once they un-mount it from the wall they'll be able to see what's going on back there...where the hole leads to....and if.........if...*gulp!*.......I'm hoping they don't find a zapped mouse with little 'X'es on his eyes! LOL...And if they do, that they don't tell me about it!!!!...Yuck!!!..Let's hope there is no part three to this story!! O_O I want my home to stay a 'home sweet home'!!

       This story didn't go where you thought it would, did it?! ^_^ It didn't for me either!!!!...I could let it get me in a 'Whoa is me'...'why me?'....kinda mood. But instead I'm gonna think about how much worse other people are having it than worrying about a simple field mouse in their house..and I'm gonna raise my head!!!....Have a good day, Everybody!....But still, dry up your sinks and put your dry goods in a non-get-in-able place!!! :-)

Struggle To Raise Your Head

Now, who am I to say
the way that others ought to live;
But my pep talk, to help you through,
I'm  motivated, now, to give.

The struggles of this system
are an alert-to raise your head;
To put one foot before the other,
and not lay down like you are dead.

Many things are just not fair.
They seem to happen just to you;
But is crying and complaining
all that you can find to do?

Use the logic of your mom-
who made you finish every drop,
and think of others who were hungry
for the food you left for slop.

In other words, just say
to yourself-when feeling bad:
"Look at all the other struggles
that the ones I love have had."

It doesn't  make it go away.
It doesn't  make your trials less real;
But it may make you raise your head,
and how you think,-and how you feel!

More Than Just A Simple Rutabaga Story - PART 1

(THEBUTLER by micklish)

       What is 'The Butler' you ask?! :-) Well, 'The Butler' is what today's blog post was "suppose" to be about!...I saw it on the front page of Etsy and fell in love!...It's a wall mounted place to put a wallet, your keys, your glasses, and all your other personal items that you find yourself looking for like a crazy person every time you're in a hurry to leave the house!..."Yeah, I'm talking to YOU, hubby!" ^_^ ...What a great idea 'The Butler' is, huh?!!! 

        It even has a routed out section in the backside, where you can put your charger or extension cord in case your mounting area on the wall is not next to an outlet! (You can see it's other uses in the description in the shop)...How cool!...Hubby is forever looking for his keys and saying: "Where did I leave my wallet?" If he had 'TheButler' maybe he wouldn't have to think about that anymore!...Although, for me and my hubby, 'The Butler' might have to come with a reminder to actually put the keys and wallet IN or ON it!! ^_^ Our memory chips aren't performing like they used to when we were young 'whippersnappers'! LOL

       ANYWHO!...My story today is not really about a wall mounted personal butler. My story is about a rutabaga, and a man...a cooking man....'MY' cooking man! :-]...Here Goes!...Hubby had never made rutabagas before...

 (Botanical Lithograph Illustration from SurrenderDorothy)

      You do know what rutabagas are, right?!...The rutabaga is a 'root vegetable that originated as a cross between the turnip and the cabbage', says Wikipedia. They can be cooked and used in all kinds of ways. My favorite being to cut off the skin, chop it up, boil it in broth, add seasonings and butter, and mash it up like mashed potatoes.  YUM!

      I hadn't had them for a while, so I asked hubby to pick one up from the store. He did...I was expecting him to come back with two or three that looked sorta like this...

(American Purple Rutabaga Seeds from CheapSeeds)

      ...but instead he came back with one HUGE rutabaga, the size of a soccer ball!! O_O...Organic produce!!...Anyway, I had to cut it up for him. Well, I didn't HAVE to...but I had visions in my head of a 3-fingered man, blood running down his arm, and a fast dash to the emergency room!...and I decided to avoid that whole fiasco, and cut it up for him! ^_^

       He washed the chopped up rutabaga, got a big pot...sorta like the size of this one...

 (Vintage Enamel Steamer Pot from bmegdesigns)

           ...and put the rutabagas on to boil....at full steam! He was a cooking fool! You could have called him 'Chef Rutabaga'! :-))

(Chef Inspired Original Watercolor by CharleneFreemanArt)

        A few minutes later, with the rutabagas still boiling away, he decided to warm up the rest of the dinner in the microwave, so that everything would be nice and hot together. But therein lies the problem...You see, our stove and microwave set up is like this...

        O_O Can you see what the problem might have been?!....Next thing I knew, hubby ran into the bedroom where I was on the computer updating something in my shop, and said: "Uh Oh! We have a problem!" O_O

        Oh how I hate those words!...Come to find out the microwave was smoking, and the smell of plastic or something burning was wafting all through the house....*sigh* O_O

(ACEO Print Art Trading Card from 3crows)

        I felt like cat when crow cooked him dinner!! O_O ...It was a harrowing experience!...Thankfully the microwave was unplugged immediately, the fans were employed to pull the smoke out of the house, a call was made to repair people, and after a little coughing and so forth....we're still alive!! :-)

    But UNFORTUNATELY that's not the end of the story...*sigh...Part 2 of the story tomorrow...and it's not a fun part 2! O_O In fact, it's freaking me out a bit!!.....Tomorrow, People! Have a good rest of this one!

 For all the Mondays

For all the Mondays that come around,
and all the Fall leaves gently falling down;
For all the wet soil, caked and brown,
and all the worms it must have drowned;

For all the honking, and chatty sound
from all the folks scurrying round the town;
For aching feet and hearts that pound;
and lists and nerves to be unwound;

For bags and keys that hit the ground,
when well-tired bodies fall in a mound;
For deals and prices that do astound,
and all well worth it, pound for pound;

For all the Mondays that come around,
and all the weekends gone with a frown;
For adjectives needed, not just a noun,
Much thanks to Mondays that come around.

Sunday Morning.....Ahhhhhhh!

(Watercolor Print by kellybermudez)

        When I saw this print this morning (with the love birds sitting on a branch) the first thing I thought was: 'Yep! That's how I'm feeling this morning!' :-) ... And No! I didn't mean that I felt like I was 'up a tree'! LOL...I mean that it's feeling like a nice and quiet Sunday morning. The kind where you don't wanna do much...just sit around with your 'boo honey' and listen to music, nod, and nap! :-]

     That 'do nothing except listen to music, nod and nap' thing is not gonna last long though! I've got a package to wrap and get ready for shipping...I sold a black lapel pin in my Wuglyees shop overnight :-) YAY!...

      ...And after that, I've got to get me some breakfast and get ready for my meeting!...Good things need to go in my stomach and my mind today! ^_^

        Later on I've got some more crocheting to do, some phone calls to make, and some other odds and ends to get straightened out...Mostly though, it's gonna be just a quiet Sunday morning with my hubby...looking out the window for birds...

       ...Hopefully we'll be able to catch more than just a glimpse of their tail! ^_^ 

      

       ...Or we'll be looking at an old movie, or maybe listening to some music and bopping away...or something! ^_^ ...It won't be cooking today!!!...*sigh*...We had another incident. And the story is still developing this morning! O_O ...*shaking my head*...I'll have to tell you about that tomorrow...*cough! cough!*

       While I'm off to my meeting, maybe you can check out all of the goodies in these shops (including the shop that had my header photo....beautiful watercolor drawings!)...

 (Blue Agate and Sterling Silver Ring by ManariDesign)

(Botanical Papercut Greeting Cards by Papercutout)

(Woodland Owl Coffee Cozy by TableTopJewels)

(Paper Beaded Bookmark by TheLittlePaperHeart)

        To check out their full shops, just click on any of the pictures or the shop names, and follow the links.

      In the meantime, I'm off!...But I'll leave behind a poem and some music...just in case the shop browsing is not enough to keep you busy until I get back here to 'yak my head off' some more! ^_^ Have a good Sunday, Everybody!

Sunday Mornings

Sunday mornings are for quiet,
and for music in your ears.
Not for fretting over business,
or for struggle, or for tears.

Sunday mornings are for worship,
or for time to just relax.
Not for schedules that need keeping,
or for dealing with the 'Quacks'!

Sunday mornings are for slowness,
sipping on a cup of 'Joe';
Getting ready for the new week,
when you have to 'Go! Go! Go!'