Hello again

Just popping in to say hello.  This will be another short post with mostly pictures. My package to Peri arrived so I can show you the watercolor I did of her house in California.

I took this before it was framed, and the final version may have been tweaked just a bit.  She likes it and that's what is important.

I also sent her some crocheted slippers that I designed myself.  If by design I mean cut out a piece of paper to fit my own foot and just sort of went crazy from there...

How in the world can you call this pointed thing a slipper...

By folding and sewing the pointy ends together to form the top of the bootie and sewing the straight end together to form the heel I got this...

I thought she would get a kick out of the pointed toes.  When I tried them on my own foot (hey, we're sisters, she didn't care) they wouldn't stay on, so I created a tie to secure them around her foot.  Mission accomplished, ta da!

Each evening when we talk on the phone, we always discuss what we will be cooking for dinner.  This is something our family has done for years (not quite like Hee Haw's "Hey Grampa, what's for supper" but close).  Then one of us usually says, that sounds great I'll try that soon. Monday night I actually had ingredients on hand to make my version of her dinner.

She used beef and green peppers and onions, while I used chicken, celery and onions for what we are calling CA-VA fajitas.  She lives in California and I live in Virginia and since we tone down our spices a bit, (due to the sometimes delicate constitutions that we Southern Belles have developed) we didn't want to call it Tex-Mex.  Anyhoo, here is my version of fajitas made on flat bread instead of tortillas.

Pintos and cheese along with some seasoned up brown rice and it was a pretty good meal.

I also made what I'm calling a Frontier cake.  It didn't rise much for a variety of reasons, but it tasted delicious.  I topped it with a browned butter glaze and that did the trick.

I forgot to take into account the dark pan I was using and didn't adjust the time, so it stuck to the pan and I had to cut it into quarters and remove it with a spatula.  It had a very rustic, Little House on the Prairie look and taste and it was fun to make.  It was a different technique for me and if you are interested, let me know and I'll e-mail you the recipe.

Well, that's almost it for me today.  I'll leave you with a crazy shot of me wearing my new sparkly velour hoodie that one of my friends likened to a planetarium.  I'm all about the glitz.  Always have been shiny and flashy.

One last thing, this was going to be the year for Timbo and me to do things and buy things that we had been hesitating to do.  As you may remember, I decided to continue on in this vein, even though we won't be sharing these things together.  I bought a new couch, and am gradually getting a few items of clothing and jewelry. This week, I made a big purchase and I'll show you pictures next week.  He would be proud of me for handling things the way I am.

I'll never stop thanking all my friends and especially my sisters for helping me adjust to this new life. Whether it's sending me cards or e-mails, calling me on the phone, or offering up your prayers, I just want you to know I love you all.