Day of the Dead-Evansville Museum style

The Evansville Museum of Art, Science and History has a Day of the Dead Exhibition featuring the tradition, symbols, and heritage of Mexico. The exhibition runs through the beginning of January.

It's finally Halloween...

It's the triple-treat...Friday, Halloween, and a day off! I'm on the second load of the dishwasher today...BUNCO was last night and we had a really enjoyable time. My menu this year was a little shaky, but I was feeling a bit overwhelmed with the busyness of life. Here's what we had...

Pumpkin Dip with gingersnaps

Mulled Cider

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Mixed green salad

Stouffer's (yes, sad but true) Lasagna

Garlic Bread

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Pineapple Charlotte

Coffee

Lots of conversation and laughter...it was a good evening. Now it's back to my 'regularly scheduled programming'...

I've decided to take a space at a craft show on Saturday November 22. A woman at work put me in contact with the show organizer, so now as I sit in my chair and contemplate life, I'm also making jewelry. I've made probably 50 pairs of earrings in the past week, sold more than half of them, and taken orders for more. A little more bead shopping is on the agenda for this morning, and then it will be time to select, wrap, embellish, clip, and hang.

Have a great Halloween!

BOOfest

A few pictures from our carry-in yesterday...great food, and lots of fun! Ghosts in the Graveyard are in the center frame...cute AND delicious.

It's a James Whitcomb Riley kind of day...

This is what Fall should look like...wouldn't it be wonderful to have a sunny place to relax, read, and watch the squirrels?

I hate this phrase, but the 'frost is on the pumpkin' here this morning. That means more blankets have been pulled out, and wool socks are being worn indoors. We're seeing how long we can hold off turning the heat on. It's supposed to warm up towards the end of the week, so maybe it won't be so bad. Hope my BUNCO pals dress warmly...

I mentioned working 9 days in a row in my last post--believe me, this was not my doing. It's just how our work schedule fell to accommodate people on vacation. I'm definitely feeling this long haul.

We're having a carry-in at work today...all kinds of Halloween-y/Harvesty treats for lunch. Here's what I've made. I'm bringing in a few decorations and a table cover, with every one's input, it should be a festive occasion. My camera battery is charged, so I'll take some pictures to post later---way later, after class this evening.

Saturday before work...

This cute (as opposed to gnarly) little witch is the free image this month from The Vintage Workshop. I see some version of this as placecards for Bunco this month. It's my turn to host this coming Thursday, so thoughts have turned to what to prepare and when to finish getting the house in order. Somehow or other, I've been scheduled for nine (9!) days in a row at work, so preparations will have to be fit in among other pending things. We'll call any dust or cobwebs holiday decor, okay?

What I've been up to...

This has been one of those 'crawl into the cave and stay there' weeks. A final paper and exam for my Ethics & Jurisprudence class (along with a 10-15 minute presentation) has taken up a lot of thought time, so what do I do? It seems that whenever I'm up against the wall with projects and assignments, I mentally take off and do anything else. I've made (and sold) lots of jewelry this week...one of my co-workers asked me to bring in some earrings so she could look them over and perhaps do a little early Christmas shopping. I keep my things in an old cigar box...it's a nice, compact way to carry things...anyway, I sold my earrings and took orders for a half dozen other 'custom' earrings and two necklaces. Nice. Another co-worker brought in a few cigar boxes for me from her "I don't know what I'm going to do with these" collection. I love cigar boxes...some of mine are among the few things the ex-husband left around that I wanted!

All of the rain we wanted and needed over the summer is due to set in this evening and last for a few days...it's cool, dark, and gloomy here...a typical SW Indiana fall day. Think I'll just sit in front of the TV and make jewelry.

A cool crisp blather...

We had our first really cool (cold?) night last evening. I had the front door open waiting for my friend to get safely into her car and my daughter commented that she could smell the cold. Pretty refreshing, and such a nice change from the humid stuffiness of the past few days.

I wasted some time on Facebook this morning. I really don't "get it" when it comes to stuff like that. Do I really want to know what everyone is doing at any particular moment? NO. I kind of feel the same way about Twitter, but like a lemming I accepted an invitation and signed up. When answering the standard prompt - What are you doing right now? I would honestly have to say "being brain-dead in front of the computer". I much prefer the land of blog...complete with photos, ideas, dreams, goals, and of course plain old blathering. There's always the option of reading if you want to, or if the subject offends, distresses, or otherwise disengages you, you can feel free to move on. It feels like my little corner of the www.

Shaker Tomato Pie, part 2

Shaker Tomato Pie

1 #10 can of diced tomatoes

1 cup real mayonnaise (do not use Miracle Whip)

1 TBSP lemon juice

2 cups shredded cheese (cheddar, cojack, mozzarella, whatever)

Diced onion (optional)

1 clove fresh garlic, minced or pressed

Italian seasoning - a good sprinkle

Dry or fresh basil - a very good sprinkle

Double pie crust

Drain (and squeeze) juice from canned tomatoes. (As a side note, fresh tomatoes may be used in season...chop them, and let them drain for a few hours on paper toweling). While the tomatoes are draining, mix the mayo and lemon juice. Stir until smooth and well-blended. Add dry herbs and garlic to the mixture.

Put pie crust into pan; top with drained tomatoes. Add diced onion and shredded cheeses. Pour mayo mixture over the top, gently spreading to the edges. Top with pie crust, crimp. I always add an egg wash to the pie crust to promote a "golden" crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes, or until pie crust is well-browned.

Shaker Tomato Pie

A friend is stopping by for dinner this evening--a night of jewelry making for me, and probably knitting or cross-stitching for her. We're having Shaker Tomato Pie--using the recipe from the Village Mercantile Quilt Shop in Boonville, IN. Up until recently, they had a wonderful tea room on the top floor of the shop. This recipe is one of my favorites from there. Not a real recipe, since I just watched someone make this in their kitchen, but I took good notes! I've made about a dozen pies since then, and they are delicious.

Here are all of the ingredients, the only thing missing is a tablespoon of lemon juice--and I didn't realize that I hadn't pulled the lemon juice from the fridge until just after taking and uploading the picture. The pie is in the oven now--I'll post a picture when it comes out. I'll also post the "recipe" then.

A place to work...

Workspace unplugged...isn't this a nice clean uncluttered work area? I crave uncluttered space, but it's sorely lacking in my home.

Photo: Coastal Living

Fabulous Giveaway at Elizabeth Williams blog

Without a doubt, my favorite jewelry designer is Elizabeth Williams. She has a wonderful Etsy store fully stocked with beautiful earrings and necklaces. Her birthday is this week, and she's doing a giveaway every day this week...just leave a comment on her blog. Also...all items in her Etsy shop are discounted 10% if you mention her birthday in the Etsy comment area.

Autumn's Bounty

This time of year is just so beautiful. The sights, scents, and sounds of autumn are so welcome after a long hot summer.

This recipe is wonderful for sipping on a cool, crisp evening:

Spiced Cranberry Apple Cider

1 quart apple cider or apple juice
2 cups cranberry juice
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
4 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks (3 inches)


DIRECTIONS
In a large saucepan, combine the cider, cranberry juice and brown sugar. Place cloves and cinnamon sticks on a double thickness of cheesecloth; bring up corners of cloth and tie with kitchen string to form a bag. Add to pan.
Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes. Discard spice bag before serving.

Utilitarian Pink Saturday

A pink bicycle...perfect for pedaling around town. My daughter purchased this when gas prices exceeded $4.00 a gallon. We still haven't gotten around to buying those perfect bicycle baskets we want...

I thought I'd take a picture of a fern one of my friends gave me this week; she didn't want to bring it into the house and she knew she would kill it. I'm guessing she hasn't heard my horror stories of trying to keep ferns alive over the winter months. This may be the healthiest you'll see this fern!

Yesterday at the Fall Festival was pretty amazing. The Digital Bookmobile is incredible. Their next stops are in St. Louis and St. Charles. It seems that lots of libraries across the country are signing up for this program.

Megan joined me for lunch yesterday...we had the sampler platter from the Humane Society--deepfried stuffed black olives, fried green tomatoes, and fried macaroni and cheese; a Monte Cristo sandwich (never again), a Cajun catfish sandwich, a BBQ baked potato(amazingly enough, not deep fried), and chicken and dumplings. I also bought a cherry kuchen from Resurrection Church, and some buckeyes (chocolate and peanutbutter candies) from Albion Bacon Fellows organization. All washed down with a Coke Zero. The kuchen and buckeyes were brought home for later.

Overdrive Media

This is where I'm going to be today...on the Overdrive Digital Media Bookmobile. The Bookmobile is setting up shop at the Evansville West Side Nut Club Fall Festival, the second largest food festival in the U.S., second only to Mardi Gras. The Festival is a week long opportunity for groups to raise money for their cause...band boosters, drill teams, churches, schools, animal shelters, etc. This is the place to be to see old friends you haven't seen since the last fall festival. Now about those food booths...it's all about everything fried...a grease-fest, so to speak. Fried Twinkies, Snicker bars, the ominous Brain Sandwiches (remember, this is Evansville), and all assorted things you can think of --and some you can't--deep fried.

Now...about the Overdrive Digital Media Bookmobile...check with your local library to see if they offer this fantastic, FREE feature. If your library subscribes to this, you can download audiobooks, MP3 books, DVDs, readable books via your computer screen, and so much more. You can do all of this from your home computer with your library card! The libraries usually have a download station available, so you can bring in your MP3 player or IPod and load up on music or audiobooks right at your library. The downloads are also available via your home computer. It's pretty cool.

We will be promoting this great new feature for our library at the festival all day today. Should be fun!

Halloween Swap Goodies...

Today is the big "reveal" of the Foxgloves, Fabric and Folly Very Vintage Halloween Swap. My partner was Susan of Sweetpea Sue's Cottage.
I received some wonderful Halloween goodies...a glittery black BOO banner, complete with sparkely clothes pins, a cute little black cat "gentleman", tags, and a black box painted with pumpkin and witch images. It was filled with orange berry napkin rings. I love everything! Thank you so much Susan!

Saturday chores and fun...

Photo: BHG

Busy, busy, busy...the weather is beautiful and I have company coming! Today is the day to do some housecleaning, decluttering, and food shopping. I have little bittersweet "droppings" to vacuum up, and lots of dusting to do. The way the light comes through the windows this time of year reveals everything, including the fact that the windows need cleaning! Another day for that...I'm not up to any ladder climbing today.

Applebutter is on the "to do" list. Nothing smells better than applebutter cooking. I have a crockpot recipe for it, but today I think I'll use the big Nesco roaster to do the work. So easy...put the prepared apples and spices into the roaster, cover, and let it cook. Yum.

A little beading...

Santa's workshop...jade earrings and a 'mix and match' miscellaneous necklace.
I can't believe how much I enjoy playing with beads.

Happy October!

Here's one of my quick 'n easy projects from this past weekend...I took a resin white pumpkin and used rub-ons from the scrapbook area of Hobby Lobby. I had purchased the rub-ons several months ago 'just because.' I used a few more rub-ons on my little sign. I love Halloween!