Ruby Tuesday ~ darling daughter

This is Kid One, Allegra, last Tuesday after she picked up her last paycheck from her job working with preschoolers all summer.

Yay! She's smiling because it's back to college time.

To see more photos that feature a little or a lot of red, visit Mary T, The Teach, at Work of the Poet.

Memories, I think

On Wednesday I bumped into someone at the supermarket who I recognized. She said hi and I said hi.

I had no idea who she was, just that I knew her from somewhere.

On Friday night it suddenly dawned on me who she is. She works at the bank, but I rarely go inside any more. I use the ATM, so I hadn't seen her in quite a while.

And this morning her first name came to me in a flash of memory.

This is scary. I am not remembering stuff. Two days to remember a person? Yikes.

This takes the cake

I made a cake recipe that Empress Bee sent me to give to our niece Amy, who is collecting favorite recipes from family and friends.

It's easy to make and oh so good, if you like sweets, that is. The frosting is whipped topping covered with sweetened coconut flakes.

Here is the recipe:

bake a cake mix in a disposable 9x13 baking pan

cool cake

stick a fork in it all around to poke holes

put one cup of milk in a measuring cup with 1/2 cup of sugar and heat to dissolve sugar

pour over cake and refrigerate

when cold, frost with cool whip and top with sweet coconut (like mounds in a plastic bag)

yummy! bee
xoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxo

Thanks, Bee ~ I know it will be a hit.

Sepia scenes

Linus posed nicely for me without even meaning to!

This is the original color, but with some matte and vignette features.

For more sepia-fied photos, visit our hostess, Mary T, at Sepia Scenes.

Ruby Tuesday

This is another one of the pix I took at a car show we went to in July at the Shelton (Ct.) History Center.

Someone had carved a likeness of Paul Bunyan to use as part of the display featuring "Little Red."

I hesitated to use this photo because it is a bit off-kilter. I must have been in a hurry to get out of the direct sun!

To see more Ruby Tuesday photos, visit Mary T, The Teach, at Work of the Poet.

It's that time of year again

Once again I have been on an unplanned blog break. I guess we've been a bit busy around here.

We brought Kid Two back to school today. It was rather hot moving him and his essential stuff into his new dorm room, but we survived the sweaty work. Cameron is the first one of his suite roommates to return. It looks like it will be a fun place to live once it is set up.

The building is not air conditioned, but we did get a window fan in place in his bedroom.

Cameron went back early because he is chief engineer for the college TV station (he has always been our behind-the-scenes tech guy, starting with for school performances since he was in eighth grade) and they have to get things organized after relocating the studio over the summer.

I just know he will have a wonderful sophomore year.

And on Wednesday it's Kid One's turn to return.

Helpful cooking hint #6

When using a spoon rest while cooking, make sure you take advantage of the long handle on it. That is supposed to be where the spoon rests.

For some reason I have been wrongly using it upside down, putting the spoon on the fat end with the handle ending up on the counter.

I'll be OK.

Ruby Tuesday ~ the way we were

I found this photo of us girls taken in 1991. Fortunately I was wearing a shade of red, which made it a Ruby Tuesday post waiting to happen.

To see more Ruby photos, visit Mary T, The Teach, at Work of the Poet.

Back to quack

In our household we use the word 'quack' for any monosyllable - it works like a charm, or a quack.

I'm back after an unplanned blogcation (that's blog + vacation for you non-blog speakers, as Queen Mimi says!).

I found a photo to share for Ruby Tuesday, but now that I've edited it I don't know how to save it on the new photo software.

Now I must wait for tech help to wake up...

I just peeked at my Facebook account, and I have 54 notifications. Lot of catching up to do around here.

Sepia scenes ~ our Rigby

I used iPhoto for the first time on this photo I took today of Rigby relaxing. And I just found the vignette feature, with the help of my son, Cameron.

This is fun!

To see more Sepia-fied photos, visit Mary T, The Teach, at Sepia Scenes.

Ruby Tuesday ~ our Linus

My son snapped these photos of Linus peeking out of the vinyl fun house he and his brother, Rigby, use (occasionally) while I was working this afternoon. I was on the phone and didn't even know there was an important photo shoot going on behind me. haha



Hope you enjoyed.
For more Ruby Tuesday photos, visit Mary T, The Teach, at Work of the Poet.

Sunday morning thoughts

OK, so it's not quite 7:30 a.m. Sunday and I've already brewed the coffee, with a snitch of cinnamon, cooked the turkey bacon without burning it, and now I'm starting the pancakes.

We're heading to church later, and then I hope we can find something more fun than laundry and dishes and cleaning to do when we get home at 11:30.

*I'm using this blog post as if it were a status update on Facebook. That FB makes me a bit crazy, because there is so much to read and do, and I don't really understand the games and gifts and all. So I've been taking a break from it this week. No offense to any of my Facebook friends. I'm sure I will be back soon.

We have a new monitor and the computer will be here soon

We have a 19-inch monitor as of yesterday. Now I'm actually glad the other computer gave up the ghost two weeks ago. This is a nice new toy for me and Ralph. Photos look great on it.
And this new Apple keyboard has such a light touch. It's almost effortless.

Woo hoo!

Looking at the Sky

I took this in April, when Ralph and I took a brief daycation to the beach in West Haven, Ct.
Haven't taken any photos this week, so I went to our archives. Gazebos always make for a scenic shot, don't they?


To see more photos of the sky and join the fun, visit Tisha at CrAzY Working Mom.

Happy Friday!

Back to brewin'

Our coffeemaker has miraculously come back to life. I started thinking about how it was just seven months old, and that it shouldn't break so soon, even with almost daily use.

So I cleaned it with a vinegar and water mix and rinsed it through a second time, and it worked fine. I tried it with coffee on Tuesday morning and yippee-skippee it brewed a pot. I've been happy ever since.

I think I may have clogged it up by adding a bit too much cinnamon to the grounds one day, and it rebelled. Just a theory.

Sepia Scenes ~ our church

First Congregational Church, Derby, Ct.

I took this photo on a Sunday morning in February. I'm pretty sure I posted the original with the sparkling clear blue sky back then. I'm not up for looking back in the archives! I don't know how the evergreen tree came out almost gray in this sepia-fied version.


To join in the fun, visit Mary T, our hostess, at Sepia Scenes.

Web sight

This is not a web, 'tis true, it's just some lovely morning dew.
But I like the title and I'm sticking with it. ;-)

These two dew clusters (I don't know the scientific term) greeted me outside the front door this morning, so I grabbed the camera.



Isn't it pretty? And no spiders!

The smaller one below is a few feet away on a Scotch pine type shrub.

Ruby Tuesday ~ flowery

Pretty perennials push past pesky weeds (!) to brighten my small flower garden on a hot summer afternoon. I think these are a variety of day lily.
Happy Ruby Tuesday!
To join in the fun or just view some great photos featuring a little or a lot of red, visit our hostess, Mary T, The Teach, at Work of the Poet.

Polly wants a ...

Last week I attended a parrot program. (Like the alliteration?)
It was a fun event at a local bookstore and I actually learned a lot about parrots. Turns out they are a lot like children!

Here's a link to the story. Hope you enjoy!

Recipe-less

I just got a note with a self-addressed, stamped envelope and four index cards from our niece Amy. She is asking her family and friends to send her their favorite recipes. I haven't come up with one yet.
Thinking, thinking...

Ralph will send along his famous chili recipe. My mother is willing to divulge a secret ingredient for the deviled eggs she used to make, so I can send Amy that...

Anyone have any ideas for a recipe that I can add to her collection?

Looking at the Sky

Snapped this one afternoon while waiting for my daughter to get out of work. She deals with preschoolers for eight hours a day. They're cute, but I couldn't do it.
The steeple is atop a beautiful Russian Orthodox Church a block away. Too bad about all the wires, but it is what it is.


For more sky-looking pix, visit Tisha at CrAzY Working Mom.

Helpful cooking hint #5

I thought up another one. Woo hoo!

As some regular readers may know we have been drinking instant coffee for a few weeks, until we decide what kind of coffee maker to purchase.

This morning it dawned on me to put a pinch of cinnamon into the cup on top of the instant coffee, to try to boost the flavor. It didn't taste bad at all. Just don't put too much. Just a smidge, a dash, a snitch, of cinnamon will do.

I'll try not to go two more weeks before coming up with another hint.

Ruby Tuesday

"Summertime...and the livin' is easy..."

I took these frog friends outside for a photo shoot, because a late Ruby Tuesday post is better than no Ruby Tuesday post at all!

To see more photos with a little or a lot of red visit our hostess, Mary T, at Work of the Poet.

The three Cs

They would be Coffeemaker, Car tire and Computer, of course!
The danged things have all died on me in the last two weeks.
Last night it was the computer. Yep, we need a new one after more than seven years' service.
Luckily we have a computer kid here and he hooked my keyboard and monitor up to an extra one he brought home from college. So I still can write stories, blog, and go on Facebook!
Life is still good.
If bad luck comes in threes, I hope that's true for good luck as well, because I'm ready for some. Not asking for a lot, just a little bit o' luck.

Happy Friday ~

Sepia Scenes ~ cherubic

This little cherub greets me when I walk out the front door of our humble abode, and I thought he/she might look good in sepia. I like the shadows from the morning sun. Our house faces East, can you tell?


To see more sepia-fied photos or to join in the fun, visit our meme hostess, Mary T, at Sepia Scenes.

Looking for that perfect cuppa joe

I need your opinion.

For you regular readers, all two of you, you may remember our electric coffee maker recently bit the dust after only seven months of use. We've been drinking instant coffee, and occasionally buying one at Dunkin' or Mickey D's or the bakery downtown.

Now the question is: do we get another automatic coffeemaker that will last less than a year, or get a manual brew, non-electric one like this:

What do you think?

Ruby Tuesday ~ motoring along

Ralph (aka Airhead 55 - who is also a gearhead) and daughter Allegra and I went to a classic car show Sunday, so I have several offerings for Ruby Tuesday this week:


The vintage vehicle display was on the grounds of the Shelton (Ct.) History Center, where this renovated red barn houses a museum with items and information that cover three centuries of the city's history.

This rickshaw-styled conveyance below was used as an ambulance after the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco. At least that is what it says on the piece of paper you see sitting on it. I thought it was pretty cool looking.

Here we have a police car from 1957.

It's a Chevy!
For more car show pics, visit the gearhead, Ralph, at Airhead 55.
For more Ruby Tuesday fun, visit Mary T at Work of the Poet.