Was that really me?

I was making banana bread a couple of days ago. I usually make it into muffins instead of loaves and it's something I have done for a hundred years with no problems. It's Mom's recipe and they always turn out yummy, so I couldn't wait to taste test these delights. I had my wet ingredients and sugar mixed and threw in a little flour but I had to go downstairs to get more flour because I had run out of it in the pantry. The only thing I had downstairs was my food storage flour in a big bucket so brought it up to finish off the recipe. Now most of you who know me, know that I am a very laid back, calm person 99% of the time and if there is a way to make things better I can usually find a way, which makes me even more confident and happy. Men (and women) are that that might have joy, you know.

Wellllllll, I could not get the lid off that bucket. I tried everything I could think of. There wasn't one of those zip tabs around the lid, and the tabs on the bucket would not bend. I pried open the front with a screw driver and then tried to pry open the sides and back so it would pop off. Nada. I then got the knife sharpening tool out because it was long and I thought if I ran it around the inside of the rim it would come off but NOOOOO, it was stuck like glue. I tried so hard that I broke the knife sharpener. (I NEED TO FINISH THE BANANA BREAD! OK calm down now, what can I do next?) I kept trying for 30 MINUTES!!!! My hand was scraped up now and my biceps were hurting. I was able to keep the front pried up about 2 inches but the 1 cup measuring cup would not fit into the bucket.


Now, I have a little 2 year old grandson and I have seen him get frustrated at things he cannot do. He will just stop and scream out of frustration and then burst into tears. Guess what I did? Yes, I screamed and burst into tears. I could identify with little E exactly at that moment. When your desires don't meet your abilities, it results in so much frustration that your emotions just take over.

I took a deep breath, felt ridiculous, and used my smaller measuring cup to get as much flour out as I could from the crack in the front. I ended up not getting enough flour for the whole recipe and the muffins turned out a little too moist and flat. I might add that it was a super duper batch too, not just a one batch recipe and it ended up making enough muffins to put in the freezer. When Wayne came home he thought they were delicious, better than ever.

When I told Wayne of my trial he jumped right in to help. He did have a hard time too, but got the lid off in less than 5 minutes.

Now for the rest of the story. I have resolved to do more bicep curls, I am back to my jolly self, we have many muffins for later consumption, I can feel E's pain when he is frustrated, and the lid is off. Life is good again. Whew! But, stay away from me when I have that moment 1% of the time. It is not a pretty site and you will be scared, very scared.

New Halloween Decoations for 2009

I know some of you don't particularly like Halloween, but I do. I really do. When I was a kid, I used to ponder for weeks what I was going to wear for my costumes each year. My very favorite was a Genie costume reminiscent of the "I Dream of Jeannie" costume but with my tummy covered. I don't dress up much any more, but I do love to dress my home. These are my new decorations for 2009.

The tall black candlesticks are turned on with a switch and flicker in the dark. Bwahahaha.

Paper lantern that also lights up with a AA battery


Screen printed wooden witch

Glittered plaque

You can't have too much glitter can you?

Anyway that's what Martha and my daughters say.

Screen Printed wooden Ghost

What else can I say?

The next three items are ones I made this year. This is a song that I learned when I was a little girl and have taught it to my kids and grandkids. I have never met anyone else who knew this song until a couple of weeks ago when my neighbor was over and she started singing it. I was shocked! It was not just a Cowley thing then. I had googled the song last year and couldn't find it but I found it this year and found it had 3 verses. Hooray!!

Click here to read and listen. Witchessailing

This is fabric backed and embroidered. The silhouette is stitched on felt.

This is a table runner that Amy and I made together. A paint pen was used to draw on the webs and I used orange and black trims on the ends.

This is a banner made from scrapbook paper, cardboard, ribbon and crepe paper and sprayed with glitter. You will need to enlarge to see this one.

After tonight I will be ready for Halloween. We are carving pumpkins and eating taco soup at Colett's. This is our tradition for several years now. Pictures of that to

follow.

Washington Redskins

I have blogged about my weird dreams before and how sometimes I can't wait to wake up to tell everyone how marvelous my nocturnal manifestations were. Well last night was another one of those. I must have heard at one time that American Indians don't like the name "Washington Redskins". Now to be truthful, I don't know anything about them. I know they are a team of some kind, Baseball? Basketball? Football? College team? Professional team? I don't know and I have no idea why I would even think of them (day or night), but the new name that came to me in my dream was..... ta ta ta da...the "Washington Red Hens". Yep that's right! Now who would complain about that name? Chicken farmers would have more exposure and I can't think of a single chicken that would express their outrage, nor would the sky really fall. I can't wait to get to sleep again. The brilliant ideas just keep on coming. Remember this one?

The O's Have It#links#links

I love sweatshirts, hot chocolate, and fires in the fireplace. I love pumpkin pie, ghostly decorations, fresh apple cider and soup with cornbread muffins. I love going for drives at this time of year and finding groves of trees that have mantled themselves in the colors of flames. This week Wayne and I took a drive around Utah Lake and through the small towns that we found at the end and we went to see the colors of the Nebo Loop. We were almost too late this year. What happened? It was 90 last week and 34 this week. The leaves changed so rapidly that it was hard finding a time to go see them. Each season, as I see the beauty of my surroundings, I am reminded once again how much God loves us and how he gives us variety in our lives to make our souls sing. I was singing this weekend.

There was a picnic table in the middle of this grove of trees, most of which had lost their leaves. How fun is it to walk on this carpet and hear the leaves crunch beneath your feet? It was almost a surreal feeling to be in the middle of it all. I wished for a rake so I could fashion the footings of a home with many rooms like I did when I was a little girl. Did you do this? I spent hours under my parents large cottonwood trees forming the edges of my home. You need to enlarge these photos for full effect.

Wayne in front of the lake


Utah has several types of maple trees so we get the colors of red, pink, yellow and everything in between. The scrub oaks and quaking aspen also reflect their beauty.



We didn't get our trip to Sundance to ride the ski lift this year. Can we still do this before the colors are gone? If not, here is a review of last year. The O's Have It: Sundance

The Chefs

We are a "foodie" family. We eat together often, we collect new recipes and cook them for each other, and we like to go out to eat at restaurants that we haven't tried. Wayne and I subscribed to the Food Network Magazine a few months ago and we have been having fun reading through the recipes and looking at the beautiful food photos. I am not a prolific cook even though I think I am a good one. It's just not something I like to do, so I try to find recipes that Wayne can work up for my benefit and I will gladly be his guinea pig for any new ones. He is a wonderful cook and in 40 years, I can count on my fingers the dishes that really just didn't work out.

In the September issue there was an article about the secrets of chefs. I thought there were some interesting and sometimes disturbing facts about the chefs that were surveyed.

Here are some of them.

1. Many chefs said they are rather picky eaters and they hate eggplant, liver, oysters and tofu.

2. However, chefs hate picky eaters, and when you ask for substitutions, they get annoyed. They don't believe people who say they are allergic to an item. Now this bothers me because I am allergic to celery and always have to ask if there is any celery in the items I order. I have been to the hospital a couple of times because I accidentally consumed some.

3. When chefs eat out at another restaurant, they avoid eating the pasta and chicken because they know how overpriced these things are. They like to order things they don't or can't make.

4. They like fast food and the majority cite Wendy's as their favorite fast food restaurant.

5. Only half the chefs interviewed graduated from cooking school. The other half worked their way up the cooking ladder.

6. 71 % of chefs give special treatment to food critics and 63% give special treatment to celebrities.

7. Three fourths of chefs say they have seen roaches in the kitchen, but most of them rate their kitchens as clean.

8. Some chefs admit that if you don't eat all your bread in the bread basket, you might find it in the next customer's basket.

9. Menu "specials" are often experimental dishes.

10. Only one chef said money bribes will get you a table when the restaurant is booked.

11. 90% of chefs said it is fair to penalize a waiter for bad service. (That is contrary to what all experts say, since they share tips with the bus boys.)

12. They say 20% is what they tip.

13. The saying that you shouldn't order fish on Sunday is probably wise since restaurants don't get fresh deliveries on that day.

14. They hate working on New Year's Eve more than any other holiday with Valentine's Day as number 2, but they like it when couples get engaged in their restaurants.

15. Nearly 60% said they would like their own cooking show on TV.

16. Only 13% have seen another chef do something unsavory to a meal.

17. Wine is marked up 2 1/2 times it's value.

18. Chefs cook even when they are sick or have cut themselves.

19. 25% of chefs say if they dropped food on the floor, they would pick it up and cook it anyway.

20. Most chefs will urge servers to influence your choice to specific dishes on the menu.

21. Most chefs have gotten inspiration from other restaurants...that is why most restaurants carry molten lava chocolate cakes. It's what the customer wants.

22. If you want to be a chef, be prepared to work hard. Most work from 60 to 80 hours a week, work holidays, and earn less than $75,000 a year as compared to waiters who make an average of $662.00 a week in tips and often don't pay taxes on it.

23. Beware if you are a vegetarian or a vegan because some dishes labeled as such may actually have animal blood poured into some sauces.

What are your favorite restaurants and why?