Blogging about Clogging!

Check out the debut of our newest dance at www.starsandstripescloggers.blogspot.com . We had a great time dancing at a local nursing home.
Ya'll Come Back!
Lorilee

AAGGGGH to AAHHHH!

I made a special stop at our HEB Plus last Friday to get some International Coffee Pumpkin Spice Creamer! BUT THEY WERE SOLD OUT! AAGGGHH! I was so looking forward to having it in my coffee on Saturday morning. Alas, the day was saved, they had my favorite Pumpkin Walnut scones AND there was wine to taste. Of course, I found a bottle to bring home!

NO I didn't drink all of these, the lady gave me some empty colored bottles for my bottle tree! AAHHHH a good day after all!

Ya'll come back!

Lorilee

Holey Toast!

First, I made biscuits and eggs on Sunday morning. Myself, my sweety, the 14-year-old and two of his friends cleaned it up! Our 24-year-old arrived, so I made Toad in the Hole or Holey Toast for him. Don't you love those dark yolks?

I even shared my special Maple Syrup with him.

I found Toad in the Hole Toast on Pioneer Woman's blog. I recently made her Cauliflower Soup too. It is awesome. Sunday evening, I made her Apple Dumplings. They are out of this world. I have been on a recipe trying roll! I also made the Crock pot Chicken from Julie's recipe here http://circlecliffviews.blogspot.com/2009/10/last-hooray-for-falland-nummy.html

It was delicious! Now I need to do some serious clogging to burn off the calories!

Ya'll Come Back!

Lorilee

First Born turns 24!

Whoa! I can't be old enough to have a 24 year old son! I guess we raised him well. He is a Glenn Beck fan! This is his first "storebought" cake. Actually it was a chocolate chip cookie from the Cookie Company!

Ya'll Come Back!

Lorilee

Benefits of Bad Housekeeping!

I haven't been doing a very thorough job of housecleaning, but it has its advantages! Look at the benefit of a few cobwebs!
Ya'll come back!
Lorilee

Birthday Gift.

A friend at school knows how much I love cardinals! She made this fleece throw for me. Isn't it beautiful? Thank you so much, Pat!

Ya'll come back!

Lorilee

Critters everywhere

The Gulf Fritillary butterflies have discovered my second Passion Vine. It is covered with caterpillars and nearly stripped of leaves! I have discovered chrysallis' everywhere. I counted 25 on the "lookout". (That is what Brian named his playset tower). The above caterpillar is hanging on the newly painted vintage rocker.

This one is on the "lookout".

I also found this critter on the grill cover.

And the best critter of all! Oh Hi Sweety!

Ya'll Come Back!
Lorilee

Sunday Shenanigans!

Sunday was such a beautiful day. We spent some time outside enjoying it. Dustin, our 24-year-old, came over with his friend, Matt. Brian, the 14-year-old, also had a friend over. Matt and Brian started "hacking". Hacky Sacks were popular when Dustin and Matt were in high school. Now that Brian is in high school 10 years later, it is popular again. Actually, it was popular when I was in high school too! We used a smaller sack. Matt (in the red shirt) is quite good at it!

Brian is a newbie in comparison!

Wow, what hair!

Brian again.

What a pose! They look like they are doing a crazy dance.

Matt and Brian were joined by Dustin (leg up) and James (far right). It was kicked over the fence a few times. I think Matt managed 30 hits before it hit the ground at one point. I'm impressed!

Ya'll Come Back!

Lorilee

Finally some Fall decorating!

I wish I had the real bittersweet that I have seen other ladies using to decorate their homes! If it grows around here, I have never seen it!

I love the crackled finish on this ghost. I think I found it at Wal-Mart.

Sometimes I use the fuzzy cobweb stuff on this mirror, but it sticks to my rough fingers! I haven't used any yet this year!

I love this old clock! It is out year round, is spookified with a couple of ghosts!

Ya'll Come Back!

Lorilee

Birthday gift!

My Dad and Stepmom surprised me with this Crystal Rooster last Sunday. I decided to perch him on a serving pedestal! Thank you Pop and Barb!
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Lorilee

My country side!

The laying box is a success! The girls all seem to like it, or at least they use it for it's purpose! I was hoping for some bluish eggs from my mixed-breeds, but I am getting some nice shades of pinkish brown!

Yup! That's my weekend country look!

Ya'll Come Back!

Lorilee

Fall Decorating Naturally!

The Golden Raintree is one of my favorite trees for fall color in South Texas. The choices for fall color are slim around here. Here the buds are just beginning to bloom.

This branch has blooms and pods.

I think the pods are gorgeous. They will slowly change color to become a deep copper tone! Gorgeous!

Ya'll Come Back!

Lorilee

Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake

I found this recipe in the Fall edition of Kraft Foods "Food and Family". I think it is very good!

First, for the crust, you need:
1 1/2 cups Ginger snaps, finely crushed

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

1/4 cup or 1/2 stick butter, melted

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Mix crumbs, nuts and butter; press onto bottom of 13x9-inch pan.

Next you need:

4 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese ( used 2 regular and 2 low-fat)

1 cup sugar divided into 3/4 cup and 1/4 cup

1 tsp. vanilla

4 eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

Dash of ground cloves

Beat cream cheese, 3/4 cup sugar and vanilla with mixer until blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each just until blended. Remove 1 1/2 cups batter. Stir remaining sugar, pumpkin and spices into remaining batter.

Spoon half the pumpkin batter into crust; top with spoonfuls of half the plain batter. Repeat layers; swirl with knife.

Bake 45 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool completely. Refrigerate 4 hours.

Wow, what a mess. I guess I have the bake time and refrigeration time to get it cleaned up!

Finally, the taste test. Mmmm pretty yummy!

I am tempted to just make it with the whole can of pumpkin mixed into all of the cream cheese mixture and "up" the spices a bit. I would like it to be a bit more pumpkiny! If anyone tries this, let me know what you thought.

Ya'll Come Back!

Lorilee

Still Working on the Laying Box!

One evening last week, I put a coat of Kilz on the laying box.

A few days later, I put on a coat of paint to match our house and barn (Sherwin Williams Windsor Greige). Saturday afternoon, before the rainy weather hit, my sweety put on the shingles and added some trim under the roofline. I still need to paint those boards to match the barn and coop trim.

Ya'll come back,

Lorilee

I have started a new blog, Stars and Stripes Cloggers, blogging about clogging. Look for the image below on the sidebar. You can click on the image on the sidebar to go to the blog. The address is www.starsandstripescloggers.blogspot.com . There is a video clip of our dance to Amos Moses there.

Ya'll come back!

Lorilee

Sunday Exhibitions!

The Stars & Stripes Cloggers put on two exhibitions at local church celebrations this Sunday. We performed 6 dances at each church. I think we got our exercise for the day! We danced to "Sky Full of Angels", "Sugar Foot Rag", "Turkey in the Straw", "Bad Moon Risin'", "Religion in Glory", and "Amos Moses". We had a great time! We always do when we dance! My sweety took some video of us practicing before our first performance today. This is "Bad Moon Risin' ".








Ya'll Come Back!

Lorilee

Brian's New Look!

I am so happy that Brian has decided to start wearing slimmer cut jeans. I told him I wanted a photo of his "new look". I suggested he lean against the tree, and this is what I got!

Cooperation is not his strong suit!

Ya'll Come Back!

Lorilee

Painting projects!

A while back, I posted about getting this chair that belonged to my sweety's grandmother. My Granny also had a similar chair on her front porch. Last weekend, I started re-painting it.

While I worked on this chair, my sweety did some repair painting on our patio dining set.

First came the prep work, treating a few rust spots and sanding.

Next came the main color. I used Rustoleum Seafoam Green.

Then came masking off the main part of the chair. I discovered that I had used up my favorite blue painter's tape. I had to settle for plain masking tape.

And finally, the "new" chair! I love it!

Ya'll Come Back!

Lorilee