FINALLY!!

Awoke this morning to an absolutely beautiful morning -- temp in the 60's, humidity low. Wore a sweater all day at work.
May get to turn off a/c tonight and open window!

Street sign -- Houston, Texas. Really? Yes, really. In some places we have signs in Chinese and in some places we have signs in Vietnamese. We saw these when we took my grandson to a Chinese market.

Dump Cake

I mentioned in an earlier blog that my friend made a Pumpkin Dump Cake.

Some people didn't know what a dump cake was so I thought I'd send the recipe.

The original recipe I had for this easy cake used Cherry Pie filling and Crushed Pineapple and a yellow cake. That recipe follows.

Take a 13 X 9 inch pan.

Pour 1 can of cherry pie filling into the pan first, then top with a 20 ounce can of crushed pineapple (undrained). Next sprinkle 1 box of yellow cake mix over the top of the pineapple.

Then melt 1 to 1- 3/4 sticks of margarine and pour the melted margerine over the top of the previous ingredients. Top with 1 cup of chopped pecans.

Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour. (1 cup of coconut may be added on top, if desired.)

Note: Some people mix the fruit and cake mix and some people just let them mix as they cook. Both ways seem to work equally well.

The Pumpkin Dump Cake calls for

1 15 oz can of Pumpkin.

1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

4 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice.

Mix all of these together and spread them in a 13 X 9 inch pan.

Sprinkle a yellow cake mix (18 1/4 oz) over the pumpkin

pour 3/4 - 1 cup melted butter (or margerine) over the dry cake mix.

top with 1 or 1-1/2 cups chopped walnuts

bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until knife comes out clean

serve with whipped cream, ice cream, or Cool Whip.

As you see, the ingredients are just dumped into the pan so the cake is called a dump cake.

I admit I doubted that this would work but, it did!

Now, I'm going to be adventuresome and I'm going to use a spice cake mix instead of the yellow cake mix. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Still working in the sewing room -- closet is coming along very well! I have sorted some of the stash and have it placed where I can walk in and see what is there -- better than before when it was all stacked in a box and had to be moved in order to see what was underneath. Have all the fat quarters (and other small pieces) in one location so they can be seen. I have some items grouped -- an Alaska box (fabric I bought in Alaska) a UFO box, a box of patriotic fabrics, a box of Texas wildflower prints, etc. I have some projects that I need to do, however, before I do too much more rearranging. Still, I see it getting better and better.

Ladies Table Top Dinner #1

The Ladies Table Top Dinner was great fun. I liked this table which is based on the scripture...
"Thy word is a lamp to my feet,and a light unto my path." Psalms 119:105
The words of the scripture were written on stones which were placed around the lamps in the centerpiece.

The table where I sat used the Garden of Eden as a theme, with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the center. The trunk of the tree was covered in jewels and it was lit by small lights hidden among the foliage.

Can you see the snake coiled in the tree?

At our table the "favors" were a pair of soft, fluffy socks wrapped around some body spray and some lip gloss. The leaf in the center states that it is a leaf from Eve's bikini. The stems of the crystal were covered in bark.

This year our meal was Mexican influenced, which was different from the usual baked chicken, and included a spinach and corn tamale (which was good) and a grilled chicken taco (very good), Mexican rice and charro beans, followed by Tres Leches cake for dessert.

Ladies Table Top Dinner 2010 #2

Pictures from the Ladies Table Top Dinner -- first the appetizer line, then a sampling of several tables.

This one used the hymn "Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus" as a theme.

Today was quilting day. What fun! I have started quilting on the last baby quilt top that I made. I didn't like how my quilting looked so I sat tonight and picked out all the stitches. I was doing it in white and it was just too, too white. I'll start again and use a different color thread. The back will probably be some shade of blue thread and the top may change, depending on what part I'm working on. The blocks have a lot of primary colors and I can't think of one neutral thread that will work in each of the different squares.

One of our ladies brought cake for the September birthdays. (I was one of them.) It was a Pumpkin Dump Cake. I didn't know you could use pumpkin to make a dump cake, but I assure you it was delicious! I'll have to ask what type of cake mix she used to make it, perhaps spice? It would be a nice thing to make for the holidays.

Speaking of the upcoming holidays -- they will be here before we know it! It is actually getting a little cooler here and I'm loving the weather.

Tomorrow night is our Table Top Dinner at church -- I'll take pictures to share with you.
Till then, take care!

Gracie and Sweetie go exploring

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Saturday morning, 4 am and I'm awake -- ugh! Don't know why I woke up so early. Oh well, I'll try to use the time productively!

Sweetie and I have been working on closets -- the guest room closet is finished and has room to add things to it. The sewing room & closet are still a jumble but it is getting better. I have been gathering some things to pass on to a relative. No need to stuff things in a closet or drawer that I'm not using -- I'll clean them out, have more space for my own things and bless someone else with something they are needing. Will have a large load of those things. I've also made some progress on the office closet but have more to do there. I think I need to label one day a week "closet day" and just work on some closet every time that day rolls around.

Monday is my quilting day -- first I have to take my granddaughter to the doctor. Then she'll go to school and I'll go to quilting. I will start the quilting on a baby quilt that is ready for that step.
I still need to cut some more "flowers and leaves" for the pineapple block quilt that the quilting group is doing as a joint project. Not a hard task but one that I just haven't completed.

While my OD was here for my birthday she asked about some old pictures. Fortunately, because we had been working on consolidating the pictures into one closet, I knew exactly where the pictures were. I would like to get all of my kids together, at one time and place, and sort through my pictures . I need to be passing these on to the next generation.

We are planning a busy Saturday -- then will grab a quick bite out with some friends before we come back here to play "42." Do any of you play this game? Sometimes I hear it called "Texas 42" but I'm not sure that only people from Texas play it. It is played with dominoes and is lots of fun. The couple we will play with are from Oklahoma but they learned how to play from their Texas friends.

I really need a pantry re-stocking trip to the grocery but won't have time today, so I'm making a list and will be ready when the opportunity presents itself. Perhaps Monday after our workout.
I've been thinking about cleaning out the pantry so I need to do that BEFORE I re-stock it! I know, I know, it sounds like I'm doing 'spring cleaning' and here it is the end of summer -- I'm either very late or very early for next year!

My birthday toes!

Today is my birthday -- I'm having a lovely day! Oldest daughter flew in to surprise me.
We got our toes done, went shopping, ate out, etc. What a great day!

Sweetie and I found ourselves up too, TOO, early so we went upstairs and started working on the closet swap. We made great progress! My new book shelf ($5.00 at a garage sale) is wonderful to hold the small boxes of fabric that have been sorted as to type, color, etc. Another new bookshelf will hold my books and patterns. My goal is to get all the sewing/quilting/knitting/craft items in one closet. Photos and family history will be in another closet. It is really coming together but now the dilemma is...do we have a garage sale or just donate the items. We really don't like garage sales but we do have a lot of stuff so I'm leaning that direction. What do you think we should do?


This is the braclet I made as an example. The girls each made three.

This afternoon we hosted a b'day party for granddaughter V -- her 11th. We made crafts and the girls loved them. Pop-top bracelets, locker photo frames and necklaces.
It was fun when they were here and fun (and much quieter) when they left!

Oh, yes, my daughter brought a b'day present for Gracie -- an "Ocho Cinco" jersey to be worn for Halloween. I didn't know about Ocho Cinco but I do now!

Friday M and I drove down to Stafford to attend a quilt show put on by the Coastal Prairie Quilt Guild of Texas. It was very enjoyable and I got a lot of new ideas. Sorry, I didn't take any pictures. There were also quite a number of vendors and I bought a piece of material that was a panel. It is a winter scene, in the style of Kincade, and I'm going to embellish it and hang it for Christmas. It can be worked on at night, while watching TV.
M bought a new ruler that makes spinning blocks out of plain blocks -- it is all in the way they are cut after the plain blocks are sewn together. It was quite expensive so I told her I'd paid her $1.00 every time I borrow it. She said, "NO WAY," but I think it would be fair. What do you think?

The hands that raised me.

(picture taken by Ashley Langford Photography.)


Rambling...


Rain, rain, sunshine. After two days of rain, compliments of tropical storm Hermine, we had a dry, partly sunny day. It was really nice, but as predicted, the mosquitos are out. Got a bite first thing this morning -- guess it got in when Sweetie and Gracie went out for their morning walk.

I have done a brave, hard thing this week. I cleaned out all of my FAT clothes. I gave them to a friend to go through, first, and then what she can't use will go to KCM or to a garage sale.
Somehow, I think that having those clothes waiting in the upstairs closet gave me the thought that, OK, I could fail in my new body goals -- I still had my big clothes. Well, too late now -- they are gone. Sad -- I really liked some of them!
There are a few new things in my closet-- bought in the Misses dept, not the Women's department! That was quite a shock -- I went to Dillard's and headed, out of habit, for the Women's department. Suddenly I screeched to a halt -- I didn't have to shop there anymore. I was back in regular sizes. What a shock and a pleasure! I like it!

A question: I read a lot of books written by British authors. Quite often I read words/phrases that I don't understand. One of these is the term "donkey jacket." I know that this is something worn by a person -- most likely a man -- but I don't know what they look like. Could someone enlighten me?

I was reading some comments sent to Daisy Quilts and something said sparked a memory.

A number of years ago my husband had just gone through a really rough time at work -- 800 people were laid off, but we kept our job. We were told to take a long weekend because there were going to be long hours ahead.
I decided to do something different so I asked my husband if he trusted me enough to let me plan a surprise trip without telling him anything about where we were going. He said, "well, yes, but...how will I know how to pack?" I'll tell you, of course.
I got on the phone and called Southwest Airlines and asked for their cheapest rates to San Diego, one of our favorite places to visit. Oh, dear, the tickets were just too expensive. I thanked the woman who was trying to help but told her that I just didn't think I could afford the tickets she found, even thought I thought it was a good idea. She asked what I was talking about and I explained what I was trying to do -- I was going to "kidnap" my husband so we could fly to San Diego and walk on the beach for a while.
Oh, she said, what a great idea! I promise I will find you some affordable tickets. SHE DID!
I asked for her name and she told me it was Rhonda. I laughed and said if I had known that I would have sung, "Help me Rhonda, help help me, Rhonda" She laughed and said I had just made her day. I told her she had made mine, also.
We packed our bags and drove to the airport. Our first stop (where we changed planes) was Phoenix, where my parents lived. When my husband saw what plane we were taking he thought, "Does she really think Phoenix is where I want to go?" Patience, I told him!
At Phoenix we changed planes, and the destination was revealed!
We landed in San Diego and rented a car -- would you believe they said all they had available was a Mustang! Did we mind? Nope, we didn't mind renting a great red Mustang! We got in our sporty car and drove up the coast, past the flower fields, to Carlsbad, where we checked into a motel we were familiar with (my daughter having lived in Carlsbad for a couple of years.) Then in the 24 hours we had for our adventure, we walked to the beach and walked up and down, loving the feel of the sand on our feet and the cool water washing over us.
That evening we went to "The Hungry Hunter" for dinner but alas, they had no openings. Reservations are required. However, I explained what we were doing and was told if we wanted to wait for a bit, perhaps someone would not show up. We waited and sure enough, we were seated and enjoyed a very delicious meal.
We had to go home the next day but the feeling of that lovely time at the beach stayed with us for quite some time.
So, if you even get an opportunity -- kidnap your spouse and take them on a surprise trip. I am sure you will both enjoy the get-away!