homemakers auction and potluck

Each year, when it's time for Homemakers to renew their membership, Ruth, our extension agent holds a meeting day for all the homemakers in all the groups.

New calenders and booklets are handed out. Upcoming activities are discussed.  And of course, we eat !

Sometimes the meal is catered, but this time everyone was asked to bring a side dish or dessert, to go along with fried chicken contributed by the extension office (from Walmart, I think).

I took the opportunity to make a something using up some jalapenos from my husband's garden.

I cut 2 straight sides on a flour tortilla, spread with cream cheese, sprinkled with parmesan, diced roasted jalapenos and diced red bell peppers.

Then I rolled them up and sliced them.

They were good. I had to test a couple to make sure they weren't too hot.

Here is a look at the food everyone brought...

No one leaves hungry!

Another table for desserts....

There was also a silent auction to raise money for ovarian cancer research.  Some of the ladies donated hand crafted items to be auctioned off.

I bid on this fabric pumpkin but didn't win it.   Look at the cute wreath made from flip flops right behind it!

I also bid on another cute fall decoration on the left here...didn't win that one either...so I came home empty handed.    

Except for a big plate of chicken. There was so much fried chicken left over, they told us all to take some with us.

Lonnie was glad to see me walking in with that!  And I didn't have to cook supper! 

light bulbs

Are you as confused about light bulbs as I am?

Ever since "they" announced that incandescent light bulbs would be phased out, I have been confused and worried about what I am going to use for light.

I really like those good old incandescent bulbs...especially in the kitchen. I want that kitchen lit up like an operating room!  My overhead fixture in there uses two 100 watt bulbs....

....and I don't intend to ever run out of them...

I did some stocking up before they phased them out.

I haven't been a fan of the CFL bulbs.  Even though I was ready to try them out, for energy savings, way back in 1996. That's when I bought a couple of these bulbs.  I wrote the date on them so I could see how long they lasted.  It wasn't a good  test though, because it's hard to find a place to use them. They look stupid sticking out of a light fixture and they are too tall to fit under the harp of any of my lamps.

I just don't like the cold dead look of the light from fluorescent bulbs.

On our recent trip to Ikea, my older son picked up some of these LED bulbs. Trusting his judgement, I bought a couple of packages for my younger son and myself.  I like them pretty well and they were reasonably priced.  

My younger son really likes them too. He is all about saving money on electricity, so he ran a test using a kilowatt measuring gadget that he has, to compare the energy usage of different types of light bulbs...and he made these detailed charts to show the results.  You might have to biggie size this to read it.

This second chart is a real eye opener! You can see how much more the incandescents cost over time.

(these figures are based on burning the bulbs 24 hours a day)

It looks like my secret hoard of 100 watt bulbs are going to cost me in the long run. But, I only use them in  the kitchen, and then only when I'm working in there.

We usually turn on the under-cabinet, cold, dead fluorescent lighting after I'm finished in there for the evening.

So we have light when we run in there and look for snacks!

What I've been reading

Before I tell you about the book, I want to show you this pretty little bookmark my mother made for me.

She had my dad to look around outside for small wildflowers and tiny leaves. She then pressed and dried them between the pages of a heavy book for a few days.

Then they laminated them on both sides of a strip of cardboard and added a tassel.

Pretty clever, huh?

Well it was a shame to use something so sweet and pretty as a place marker in this book about a horrendous murder...but that's what I've been reading.

"A Deadly Game" by Catherine Crier. 

The author is the very same Catherine Crier you may remember if you were a Court TV fan.

She has done an excellent job with this true crime novel about Scott Peterson and the murder of his pregnant wife Laci Peterson, on Christmas Eve 2002.

It was a highly publicized case and Court TV kept viewers up to date as the investigation progressed and the trial got underway, but they were not allowed to show the trial on the air (judges decision).  So there are a lot of details in the book that didn't get out to the general public at the time.

The story starts out with Scott Peterson's version of events that took place on that Christmas Eve that Laci went missing.  He had been fishing that day and arrived home to find his dog in the yard but wearing his leash, and his eight months pregnant wife no where in the house, but her car is there.

Well, he washes his clothes and eats some cold pizza before calling his mother-in-law to see if  Laci is there. Laci's mom springs into action right away and gets the police involved. The police are way more responsive than usual because of Laci's advanced pregnancy.

It's this early investigation by police and a smart and watchful detectives that turns the focus on Scott Peterson as a possible murder suspect.  The book gives lot's of details about  small things that made them suspicious of Scott...even though both Scott and Laci's families and friends felt sure he had nothing to do with her disappearance.

The author keeps the story moving along as she describes the Peterson's childhoods, family members and early married lives.

Finally the book reaches the part where Laci's headless body washes ashore and the body of her baby son is found washed up a short distance away.

A bit about the murder trial brings the book to a close. Just the right amount of information without going into long courtroom word for word exchanges.

I don't want to give away too much of the story. I would recommend reading it if you like true crime.

I checked to see if Catherine Crier had written other books, and she has, but this looks like her only murder investigation novel.

behold, the burning bush

I have written before about 3 smallish Leland Cyprus trees in the front yard that slowly died from disease.
They looked horrible and I have been intending to cut them down since last spring but kept avoiding it, because I knew it would be a scratchy, itchy job with all those dry needles on the trees.

I had an idea to just light them on fire and burn the needles off!  I mentioned it to the Sasquatch when he was here...and he was right on it!    We just balled up a couple of newspaper pages and stuck them in the branches and lit them.

 This is all the same tree. We did them one at a time, even though it would have been neat to see all three burning at once. We aren't reckless!

Woosh! fast burning!

The Sasquatch was going to bring his chainsaw next time and cut down the remaining trunks, but the next day I wanted to see if I could dig them up instead. It seems like no matter how close to the ground you cut with a chainsaw - the stump will heave up and you can't mow over it.

So it turns out they were easy to dig up.  Well maybe not easy, but do-able.

I used my cordless Sawzall with this special pruning blade to cut through the roots. Perfect for the job since the blade is somewhat flexible. 

But my battery ran down after digging up two trees, and the saw battery ran down too!  So there is one tree left to finish up.

The only disadvantage to burning ahead ...handling the blackened remains. I had black soot on my clothes and all over me. It went right through my gloves.

But the soot still isn't as bad as dealing with those scratchy evergreen needles.

bean soup and jalapeno snackers

One day last week the temperature was a bit cooler and it was cloudy and rainy. A good day for soup!

I think I've only made one batch of soup since last spring...so it was a nice change from what we've been eating..

I decided on bean soup since there was ham in the freezer (from Easter!).

When I try making soup with dried beans, I am never happy. The beans just don't seem to soften up properly...mushy outside, dry inside.

My favorite beans for soup are the "Randall" beans...pinto or great northern.  This time I also added a can of black beans to make things interesting.

I dice carrots and onions and saute in a little oil (or bacon grease). Add chopped ham.

Then pour in beans, including liquid. Add bay leaves, cumin, pepper and Tony Chachere's seasoning,

Simmer until all veggies and beans are tender and soup is thickened. Add salt if needed. Sometimes I squirt some ketchup in there too...if it needs to be perked up a little.  Sometimes, balsamic vinegar.

Also that same day, I tried using up some of the jalapeno peppers from Lonnie's garden. Those plants just keep on producing.

I roasted them in the oven at 450 degrees.

Then sliced them lengthwise and took out most of the seeds and pulp. I put some shredded mozzarella and cheddar on the halves and sprinkled with garlic powder and panko crumbs. 

Then popped them back into the oven until the cheese melted.

They looked pretty but they were deadly HOT!  It was a sneaky heat that builds slowly!

I had eaten 3 halves before I realized that my mouth was really starting to burn. Owie!

Lonnie liked them and ate quite a few. I don't know how he did it. 

I need to figure out a different way to use the rest of those jalapenos.

dehydrating tomatoes and more

Even though Lonnie's tomato plants look pretty scraggly, they are putting out enough tomatoes that we are getting "tomatoed out". There are more tomatoes that we really want to eat.

I got the dehydrator out and not only dehydrated some tomatoes, I also dehydrated some fresh pineapple that seemed too acid to eat, some over ripe bananas, and also a little bit of cantaloupe...just to see what it would taste like.

Our dehydrator has 4 trays. I filled them all. 

I set it up out on the screen porch since it does put off a little heat and is also sort of noisy.

The tomato slices were ready in about 10 hours.  They all fit into a pint container and went into the freezer.

After 10 hours, I turned the dehydrator off.  The fruits still weren't crunchy-dry...they were a little chewy.

I will be storing them in the fridge so I wasn't worried about all the moisture being out of them.

The cantaloupe was mild and sweet. 

The pineapple was intensely sweet and tangy!

When I have dehydrated bananas before, they did get crunchy. I wonder if these didn't because they were over ripe. They were pleasantly sweet and chewy though.

The Sasquatch suggested that the dried banana slices might be good chopped up and added to chocolate chip cookies.  It sounds like it's worth a try!   Bananas and chocolate are a good combination.

day trip in Indiana

Lonnie and I did something different earlier this week. We drove up to Carmel, Indiana to tour a new Mormon Temple that has been built up there.

No, we aren't thinking of becoming Mormons.  I had read an article online about this new temple being open for public tours  - before they hold their dedication. After that, no admittance!
I was just curious about how it looks inside of a Mormon Temple.

I guess I'm not the only one who was curious, they said over 60,000 people had visited in the last few weeks. There was a steady stream of people going through while we were there.

The building wasn't as big as I expected.

On top of the building is a gold figure, the angel Moroni, playing a trumpet.

Our guide took us through several rooms, explaining the symbolism of some of the decorative features and telling what each room is used for.   It was interesting and educational.

No photos allowed inside...so these are pictures of pictures...

several brightly lit areas

baptismal pool

A fountain and nice landscaping outside.

Now we know!

On the way home we set the GPS for a pit stop in Indianapolis at.....

After we parked the car and put money in the meter box ( this was an all newfangled experience), we found out that The Old Spaghetti Factory doesn't open until 5:00...about an hour later.

We were hankering for spaghetti so we decided to wait it out across the street at....an Irish Pub. 

Look at this! Quilt patterns on the floor!

They had outdoor seating on the shady side of the building so we sat out there watching the world go by, waiting for 5 o'clock.

After dinner we headed home and found we had a big storm in our area. Leaves and twigs and patio furniture cushions blown around the yard. No damage though.