Sunday roast...

 

A month or so ago, my first grandson (not to be confused with my oldest grandson) said that he had made chicken and dumplings, and was very happy with the result.  (Oh the shock of realizing that my sweet little baby was old enough to live on his own and cook real meals for himself!)  We were talking about dumpling recipes, and how I had to try a lot of recipes before I found one that worked every time.  He asked me to share that one with him, so I made him a recipe card of it to pop in the mail.  

Of course I had to decorate the card.  I think the original recipe came from a Better Homes & Garden cookbook that had a red gingham cover, so I used that as the card background.  And yes I know that he may have preferred a digital copy of the recipe, but maybe this will be a keepsake.

I like dumplings, not only with chicken, but also with a roast beef.  I've been hungry for beef and dumplings ever since I sent him the recipe, so I added a roast to the grocery order this week, and put it in the slow cooker today.  After it cooked all afternoon, I removed the roast and carrots from the pot, and added the dumplings to cook.

It was exactly as yummy as I hoped for.  I texted him this photo with a note that dumplings are not only for chicken.  

The cooler temps that we enjoyed earlier this week also made me want oatmeal in the morning.  So today I made a batch of Oatmeal To Go.  Nice to have that done to take to work with me.

Speaking of work... Last week I worked from home a couple of days.  Carey came home from work a little early due to a co-worker testing positive for Covid.  Carey's brother, who works with him too has now tested positive, and his wife is now symptomatic too.  Carey is feeling fine, but he is going to be tested just to make sure he isn't positive and asymptomatic.  After his test results, my boss and I will decide if I should continue to work from home for awhile.

What I'm reading Wednesday...

In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume

Making it Monday...

Another catch up of cards made...this is a long one as it has been awhile.

The next eight are from August 2021 Paper Pumpkin kit by Stampin' Up!  The first three were made pretty much by just following the instructions that came with the kit.

When I made the one above as per the instructions, I found it way to frenetic.  Then I went on to make some that were more to my taste.

The one above and the one below both use the same background paper.  The one above I used some floral stamps to stamp over the flowers of the background.

The one above is pretty simple; I just outlined the background spirals and flowers with a black pen.  This was CASEd by a design I saw at Cards by Cheryl on Youtube.

This was also CASEd from Youtube at Stamp Your Art Out With Rachel Tessman.  That brightly colored laser cut against the black sings to me...it says...Light Bright Lalalalalala.  LOL, all I can remember is the Light Bright name and the tune of their jingle...and those amazing colored pegs against the black background.  Ooooo...and COLORFORMS...another good toy that was very visually appealing to me as a child.

Then I thought I would turn the laser cut over to use the white backing side, and I put it on a lavendar background.  I dropped it it the mail this morning to my mother-in-law as that is her favorite color.

This was also inspired from Cards by Cheryl.  I loved her suggestion of cutting all the banners in half and using them as a bunting.

This one and then next four are all birthday cards from over the summer.  This one has a slug bug for my Catiebug on her 16th birthday to commemorate her getting her driver's license.

The candles were for Bobby's 22nd birthday.  Looking back, I have given him a lot of 'candle' cards over the years...maybe because I want all his wishes to come true.  :)

This one  was for our beautiful Chloe's 15th birthday.

This yellow 'I Miss You'...

...and this "Wish we could hang out" went to friends.

I made this seashell card as a condolence for the loss of a wonderful man. 

And I loved its elegance so much that I made it again using a metallic gold layer to border the embossed seashells.  It went out as a wedding card to a celebrity...no kidding...you would definitely recognize the name if I was allowed to use it...alas, it's work related.

And I will close with this wine bottle sleeve that I made last week.  It's not really a card, but it is made from paper with great directions from Wow Nola Creations along with her Youtube video.

And with that I will close.  I was up stamping at 5 a.m. this morning, and that is SO unlike me.  Well, I can't say I've never done it before, but when I have, it was because I had stayed up stamping all night, not got up and stamped before work like I did today!  :)

Thankful, Grateful, Blessed...

So many things to be thankful for...

Thankful that Carey is home safe from a week away.

Blessed to have had the energy to make him a pie to surprise him.

Grateful for free eggs from my non-sanctioned neighborhood chicken wrangler.

Blessed that I got to hug my granddaughter yesterday, and her smile...oh that beautiful smile!

Always grateful when my boss takes the elevator and, knowing I will be following soon after, sends it back to the floor I'm on so I don't have to wait too long for it in the heat (it is a slooooow outdoor elevator).

Blessed with good dreams almost always.  Last night I woke up from one that was so entertaining, I grabbed my phone off the nightstand and texted myself the plot so I wouldn't forget it.  And just last week I sent a card to my oldest friend (not to be confused with my eldest friend) to tell her how often I have been dreaming of her and her family...parents, siblings, spouse, and children...over the past year or so.  We live far apart now, but each time I wake up feeling like we've had a good visit.  Recently I even woke myself up singing aloud a song that makes me think of her parents.

So thankful that we have all been healthy.  So many locals have had Covid lately.  I'm wearing my mask again almost always.  My company has been requiring us to wear masks again in the office, and I am all for it as I am almost certain a number of our clients are anti-vax and/or anti-mask.

What I'm reading Wednesday...

I haven't been reading much for the past couple of weeks, and I'm still working through the book of short stories I posted here last.

Killing Trail by Margaret Mizushima

Now I'm in the mood for something adventurous.  The second book in this series (Stalking Ground) was $1.99 for the Kindle version on Amazon today.  The main characters are a policewoman and her K-9 partner in a small Colorado town.  And I thought it might be a series that Carey and I would both like to read.

I thought I'd check the library to see if they had the first in the series, and I lucked out.  Killing Trail (first in series) is the only one the library has, and it is on the shelf, so I put a hold on it and will pick it up tomorrow and start it, as I thought I would read them in order.  The first two should be a good sample of the series to see if we want to look for any more.  

Did you labor on labor day...

I did a little, but not too much.  I was home alone, so I did some normal weekend things (like laundry and a dishwasher empty/refill/repeat).

Did an abbreviated fridge clean out (threw out really old bottled condiments and wiped out the door shelves) then I took out the trash for pickup tomorrow.

I made a bowl of Tuna Salad to have ready for lunches this week.

I started to order meals from our subscription service, but I haven't been happy with their FedEx delivery lately.  So I made a grocery order instead to collect later in the week.  

Our grocery's website allows us to make 'lists'.  To make meal planning and grocery shopping easier, I have entered quite a few different lists, each containing the ingredients needed for a specific complete meal.  

For instance my list named 'TACO SALAD' includes salad mix, cherry tomatoes, an avocado, a can of sliced olives, a can of Ranch Style beans, Nacho flavored Doritos, Kraft Catalina salad dressing, and shredded cheese. 

My list named 'SPAGHETTI' includes ground beef, a jar of spaghetti sauce, a can of diced tomatoes, a can of sliced mushrooms, a package of spaghetti, a loaf of frozen garlic bread, and a bag of salad mix.

When ordering groceries, I just have to go view my lists, click next to the meal-name list that I want on the menu that week, and check the box at the top that says 'Add All to Cart".  Makes meal planning and placing grocery orders a breeze.  This week I took some time to add a few new 'lists' (meals).  Our menu for the week includes Taco Salad, Jambalaya, Spanish Rice, King Ranch Casserole, and Pizza Casserole; all things that are quick to make after work; or that I can start part in the slow cooker when I come home for lunch and finish up pretty quick after work.

FYI: I also have lists named "STAPLES" that include items like sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla, etc.  Another list is named "LUNCHES" and includes things like lunch meat, sliced cheeses, peanut butter, jams, chips, and canned tuna, etc.  Another list is named "PERSONAL" and includes toothpaste, deodorant, shower gel, shampoo, etc.  For those, rather than ordering the whole list, I pick and choose which items from that list I need for the week.  This helps cut down on time for me, because I only have my favorite brands/sizes on the list, and I don't have to wade through all the brand and size options available from the store.

Let's see, what else did I do...    I watered the tomato plants.  I cleaned out and refilled Rudy's outside water bowls (I'm not sure why, he refuses to drink out of them as he prefers to only drink water from his bowl inside the house.  I hung up all the laundry right out of the dryer, filled up my med dispenser for the week, I cleaned the toilet and sink in the master bath...

Over the weekend I also made some cards, had nice phone conversations with two friends and my husband, cleaned and thoroughly air dried my makeup brushes, picked up prescriptions from the pharmacy, picked up an order of Evan Williams Honey bourbon to make pecan pies, and some yummy Screwball Whiskey for medicinal purposes (the other Kathleen says that a little every day is good for arthritis 😄), I walked on the treadmill, and I wrote a LONG overdue blog post.