People in my Head

Some readers establish themselves so firmly to an audio book that when I hear the same reader on a different book, it seems as if the same characters and plot should be there. I really like the Outlander series, both in book and audio format. My husband is watching the television series and wants me to watch it, too. I don't want those people and voices in my head when I'm reading the books. I really like the reader of the audio books and if there were a button to push so I could hear all of my audio books in her voice, I'd click the button.
I'm currently listening to American Assassin. The reader is the same guy who read 1632, Ring of Fire. There is no similarity between the books, but the voice keeps me expecting it.

Orange Cake

The hospital put together a holiday cookbook. The first recipe was for an orange cake. It sounded good to me so I got the stuff and made it today. It was quick and good. I don't think it is on anybody's diet, but I'm thinking if I don't eat the whole cake at once, it won't be so bad for me.

Sound Track Update

OK. I deleted the sound tracks from my iTunes library and connected to the internet. Then I plugged in my iPod and moved the music cds onto the library. They now have names on them. Thanks!

Sound Tracks

I put four John Denver cds and 2 Billy Joel cds on my iPod today. Usually when the cds are imported, the titles are, too. This time they were all mixed up even though I entered them separately. They are all listed together as one Unknown. So I don't have song titles, album titles, or artists listed. I have no idea why it didn't work as it had before.

Boiled Peanuts

Larry loves boiled peanuts and I like them all right. For years we thought it was necessary to have green peanuts. So we could buy them but not make them at home. Finally Larry asked a guy at one of the Southern gas stations selling boiled peanuts how he did them. He said green peanuts are great but not always available. Just take raw peanuts and boil them with salt until the peanuts are cooked through the shells. It takes a while, but they are good for a snack.

Ambrosia

The ambrosia recipe I grew up with was just oranges carefully cut so no membrane was included, sugar, and shredded coconut.

Our recipe is the same except we use splenda instead of sugar and add cherries. It is a part of Christmas food that takes a while to prepare because of the chore of putting just the orange pulp in it.

Some people put raisins, apples, and nuts in theirs. We don't.

Tomorrow's Plan

We thought we'd go to town Monday and look for after-Christmas sales on decorations. But watching the weather tonight, we have a flash flood warning until noon. I don't know if we'll go or not because sometimes that road has water over it.

December Blooms

More camilla buds are opening. Some others are blooming now, but this is my favorite.

Unusual Weather

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and I don't guess we'll be having a white Christmas. Tornadoes, thunderstorms and floods seem to be our possibilities. Maybe all of them took a different route as it seems to have calmed down here and the television signal is back on. For a while all we could get was radio. But the wind, rain, and lightning are at least taking a break here.

Eleven Hours in the Car

Today we drove to a farmers' market about five hours from here. With shopping time and return travel, we were gone about eleven hours. My feet are pretty happy now in my socks from WalMart. Right before Christmas, WalMart puts Christmas socks on sale for a little under $3 each. They are supposed to be aloe and vitamin E infused. Maybe they are, but they feel soft and comfortable.

 We got a box of Florida naval oranges, a 25 pound bag of peanuts, a basket of Rome apples and a couple of rutabagas.

I tried to convince Larry that the farmers' market in Nashville would have good stuff. He agreed to try it later. But today was really long.

Christmas Scene

 This is a scene like a German Christmas Market. It's inside a basket. Such a clever idea!

Messy Presentation

I had lunch at a place I'd seen advertised on a local television station. It has gotten awards and looked good on television. I ordered a bowl of chili and a couple of apple dumplin's to go. The service was poor and when the bowl of chili came, it was in a shallow bowl with a wide, flat lip positioned on a square plate. It would have looked really nice except chili was smeared along the wide lip of the bowl. To be fair, the chili tasted good. But if I want something that tastes good and looks messy, I can eat at home!

Discouraging Problem

I've had problems with my audible account pretty regularly lately. It took a couple of tries before their technical people were able to fix my ability to download. So a couple of hours and three different techs isn't fun for me. The years I've used audible with no problems at all seem to have ended about the time Amazon took them over. I love audible books, but I'm tired of waiting for somebody to fix things so I can download.

Relocating Ladybugs

I showed the fuzzy white bugs to a friend who likes plants. He thinks they are some kind of plant lice and said it's a shame I don't have ladybugs. Well, I do have them in the sunroom of the house. So instead of vacuuming them up, I carefully caught the ones I could reach and took them to the greenhouse. The lady bugs that were out of reach, I used the vacuum cleaner on.

A Former Student

Today I read the announcement of the death of a student I had in the fourth grade. She was a senior. Her parents were wealthy. I remember they rented a limo for her birthday party in the fourth grade. Today's announcement showed a picture of the twisted wreck of the car her proud parents had given her. I can't even imagine how they must feel. I feel bad at the waste of her life.

Coupons

I'm not very good at remembering to use coupons, or even looking to see if any are available. But this morning we stopped at McDonalds for sausage biscuits. The clerk said it was free for seniors with coupons and she had a couple of extras. That was really nice. Thanks to McDonalds and to the clerk.

Sled instead of a Tree

I have a big tree with lights but haven't put it up for the last couple of years. Larry decided that the sled would be a good place for our Christmas packages. We haven't used Christmas wrap for over fifteen years. I bought some pretty cloth and we just wrap the boxes in the cloth and then reuse it the next year.

Nothing Hurts Yet

 Roger harvested the soybeans a couple of nights ago. It is supposed to rain tonight so I guess he got it at a good time. Our yield isn't likely to be good. The green in the picture is where weeds were. The brown patches show where the soybeans were. It should have all been soybeans. The tree that is down is what Larry wanted help with. My knee wasn't hurting so I hoped helping would be all right since the area is pretty level. We have a while to clear up the debris before he plants in the spring.

Shopping not Buying

Today I went shopping. I went to the store, asked if they had a particular item. Yes. May I try it? Yes. OK. I like it and would like to buy it. Sorry, we don't have one in stock. We'll let you know if it becomes available. Fine. If it is over a month, scratch me off your list. That is so annoying, to find what I want, try it out, and not be able to buy it. Ho, Ho, Ho

German Christmas Goodies

German Christmas goodies are a favorite with Larry and me. I think I could make hot spiced wine, too. Maybe I could make a bread man. With no kids in the house, it is difficult for me to get very far into the Christmas spirit. I've put out decorations. I guess I need to start playing Christmas songs.

Ceramic Christmas Ornaments

 I made most of the Christmas stuff. The village took a long time because I scraped out the greenware windows.

 I didn't do the tall St. Nickolas.

 Most of the ceramic stuff I did started as greenware and went through at least two firings, more usually three.

The Nativity set I bought as bisque and just painted and stained it.

Another Camilla

 Camilla bushes are just bushes until fall. Then they are lovely with glossy dark green foliage and bright blooms. The buds are fat and frost doesn't damage them. Frost can burn the blooms that are open, but more buds open the next day and are beautiful.

Wood

The branches went into the burn pile but these pieces are large enough to donate to our neighbor who uses wood for heat. It wasn't enough to call them to come help with it. So, it's nice somebody can get some use out of it.

Clearing up some Trash Trees

The weather was dry enough to work outside some. The erosion washes still have water in them, but we didn't get stuck in the gator. Larry cut some small trees that are trying to take over one of the narrow fields and cut up a couple of trees that had fallen. We dragged the branches and sticks to the erosion wash and tossed them in.

Unattended Children

I saw a sign today that said unattended children would be given espresso and a puppy. 

Chips

My husband's mother had a can like this at her house. I never saw chips in it, but she had the can. Larry saw this one advertised in a catalog and ordered it with a refill. I ate one of the chips. I'm not a fan of potato chips (well, except vinegar and salt), so Larry gets the chips and will probably keep snacks in it.

Seasonal Fruit

 Satsumas are really sweet, easy to peel, and don't have many seeds. They ripen in the fall and are something to look forward to.

Lemons ripened on the tree are different from the ones in the bags at the store. Better.

A Bed of Lettuce

The stew I made was all right in a bowl. But no bread, no noodles, no rice! So I piled a bowl full of shredded lettuce and put the stew on top of that. The thing is, the first few bites were fine but then the heat of the stew wilted the lettuce and it wasn't crunchy any more. Maybe I'll have a side of shredded lettuce tomorrow.

Audible

I was going to return a book I didn't like but nothing showed up as eligible for refund. I went to their live chat, wondering if the return policy had changed now that audible is part of amazon. My person helped me immediately and returned my credit:)

Stew

Today the rump roast turned into a stew. Low-Carb thickener kept it from being too thin. I cooked mushrooms in a little butter and added them to the stew. I put three stalks of celery and three carrots in a pot of water so the whole thing wouldn't turn brown. Then I wilted a bag of baby spinach leaves in the pot of water. I added the vegetables and water to the stew next and made sure it was still thick enough. Now I have healthy stew for the next few days.

Finally Sunshine

It has been rainy and gray for days. But today it was sunny...finally. I have a horrible cold and haven't enjoyed any of the weather. But the house smells like roast and mushrooms so my olfactory receptors are still working so far. I used a low-carb thickener and made sure only meat with no fat it in the mixture. Tomorrow I'm going to add celery, carrots, and part of a bag of oriental vegetables.
I brought up a bunch of Christmas stuff from the basement and plan to unpack stuff and put it around tonight.