Bon Voyage?

Last night we had a bit of a going away party for my husband....who leaves on deployment in a few days.....It was a lovely party....the guests were fellow parishoners from our Church...

there's nothing like a get together to get my house in order...I spent the day cleaning and redecorating and cooking....I decided to make it an appetizers and dessert party......I made a few recipes from Pampered Chef that turned out terrific... they always do....everyone had a great time...it was really fun to get together with our Church friends....we really should do it more often.....tomorrow we are going to Kings Dominion for the day...once a year on the first Sunday in October they sponsor a Knights of Columbus Day at KD along with another organization....the park is open only to Knights or employees of the other organization and their families...we have gone for the last 6 years.....It's about 2 hours away...we'll bring a picnic lunch...and spend the day with family and friends...I've also finally finished the afghan I was making for the hubby to take w ith him on deployment....I"ll post a picture of it later ....

I'm not sure how I fell about this coming deployment....it's going to be at least 7 months.....we've never been apart that long before...We've been very lucky to have avoided long deployments until now.....this should be the last one as well...

Monday Thrift

I went to my usual CHKD Thrift store today...and scored a few cool things...

two cute shabby chic type candlesticks....love them.....another vintage pyrex bowl....I've really been lucking out with the pyrex lately.....this one is beige with a mushrooms pattern on it...and then divided pyrex casserole dish....the color is off on this one..it's not so turquoise..it's more of a royal blue...and finally a colorful fair isle sweater that I am hoping is wool so I can felt it and make something cool out of it...

Sunday Supper?

I decided to make Enchiladas for my hubby tonight...as it's one of his favorite meals and one of my few 'signature' meals that I do well...LOL


we start with some browned beef with green peppers and onions....


and cook until the ground beef is cooked thru....drain the grease...then we'll add the sauce...I usually useOld El Paso Enchilada sauce in cans...

usually I try to add 2 or 3 cans of 'hot" and two can's of 'mild" we like it spciy but not 'too' spicy...today I only could find one can of mild in my cupboard...so we have 4 cans 'hot' one 'mild'...mix it in with the meat mixture...and then I add 3 or 4 large handfuls of shredded cheese ..either Cheddar or today I used a "fiesta" mix...






In the meantime I have my tortillas set up and ready for filling.. to start...place a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of a casserole pan ...
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this is so the torillas don't stick to the dish...and/or dry out when baking.....we place a spoon full of the sauce mixture in the center..I then fold up one end to cover the mixture and start rolling...carefully lift the rolled tortilla and place in casserole..being careful not to let the filling fall out.
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continue until the pan is full I was able to fit 16 enchiladas in this pan...that is about 1 1/2 pkg....my daughter will use the rest this week either in quesadillas or tortilla wrap sandwiches...






now I pour the remaining sauce over the top of my pan full of Enchiladas and then sprinkle more cheese on top...

I place a cookie sheet under my casserole dish to catch any spills while baking....and bake at 350 for about 20 to 30 minutes...just long enough for the cheese to melt and brown a little..

and Voila...the finished dish.....


yummy...

Saturday Sky

Beef Stew........

I was reading Mrs. Catherine's blog @ http://www.xanga.com/MrsCatherine yesterday and saw the stew she was making for her family.....I was going to make stew for my family yesterday but just never made it to the store for the ingredients I was missing....so I went today and made Stew for Supper ...

and Oh My Goodness did it turn out GREAT....as I have mentioned in past posts I'm not usually THAT good a cook.....but again reading so many blogs with so many talented women really does inpire me....I pretty much followed Mrs Catherine's directions...

added a few of my own speical touches like the Chardoney.......

and the 'grilling spices"

.....well.....my stew was to DIE for........I also made garlic parmesean monkey bread from Kelli's blog @ http://kellishouse.blogspot.com/

they were delish as well....

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Woo Hoo...I'ma winner ...I'ma winner...

that's WINNER not WHINER..at least not today or at least not in THIS post...LOL...

I won the most socks contest! ...in the Summer of Socks!!!

Woo Hoo!!!!!

Feeling Domestic...

I been feeling domestic lately......I realized yesterday that DH will be leaving on deployment in about a week......the time went sooo fast!!....it seems like just yesterday that we found out he would be going in a few months...now those few months are over and he's almost out the door....so .......I've decided I want his last week to be a good one....I've been rather 'lazy' in the homemaking department lately...knitting has consumed my life.....so ....today I'm baking Brownies

.....cheesecake brownies...my favorite kind...YUMM...I'm sooo talented ....see how well I swirl!
here's the finished product: that 's one of the Dishcloths from Rosa it's sitting on.... and here they are on display...again that's one of the Towels from Rosa....actually Rosa's package is what inspired me to bake today to begin with....

Yummm

BTW just so none of you go thinking I'm some kind of SUPERWOMAN.......I DID cheat a little......these weren't baked from Scratch.......I used a mix....LOL

Pumpkins and Goblins...

I'm getting into the 'fall' mood......time to start decorating...I'm really inspired this year..some years I just never get around to doing much and then the season is over and it just doesn't feel worth it to decorate....but reading so many different blogs and seeing what everyone else is doing inspires me to get off my behind and get stuff done too..LOL

Cooler Days ahead....

it's gotten considerably cooler lately....YES.......

I can actually start wearing some of the many socks I've been knitting and crocheting........today I wore pair #17..

.and I dug out my moccasins from last year...I forgot all about these..I was actually digging thru the closet looking for a different pair but when I came across these I knew these were the ones I was going to wear today...LOL....I LOVED these last year and wore them ALL the time.....now I can start wearing them again

Oh My SWEET Chocolately GOODNESS!!!

Look what arrived yesterday evening!!! The UPS lady deposited this HUGE box on my doorstep yesterday....what could It be I wondered?? I had ordered some makeup supplies but I knew it was way too soon for those to have come?.....did hubby order some car parts I didn't know about??? I mean I WAS expecting my chooclate swap box to arrive soemtime soon ..but surely it couldn't be THAT...it was WAY TOO BIG!!!

but it WAS!!!!!Oh my!! Rosa just spoiled me rotten!!!!

Look at all this great stuff.........Here's a little Peek: Inside this Gorgeous Hatbox
Take a look inside: A scrumptious Chocolate cookbook!! You should see the recipes inside...I want to make them ALL!! Right NOW!! Some cocoa powder.....some Hot chocolate mix with chunks of chocolate in it...two boxes of truffles..and Nonpareils..... I LOVE nonpareils.........also a huge hot chocolate mug...and four beautiful dishcloths....the one open and dislpayed has aplique and embroiderie...everything was soo beautifully packaged ...all wrapped in tissue with pretty brown ribbons tied around...Thank YOU soooo much Rosa @ http://cozyrosy.blogspot.com/Here I am enjoying a nice cup of Hot Chocolate and a couple nonpareils while I blog this entry...

Woo Hoo Fun Mail!!!

I received my SOS secret pal socks this weekend from

Marisol @ http://purlsjustwannahavefun.typepad.com/....OHHHHH they are beautiful!!!! The stitching is just wonderful!!

Thank You!! Thank You!! Thank You!!

SOS# 19!!!

Another Pair down...........I finished the Holly's Socks socks.....they turned out pretty cute....they're a little on the small side...since I was running out of yarn.....hopefully they don't shrink when they get washed....LOL.....or they'll end up being children's socks...luckily I ahve a couple fo nieces I can pass them down to if that happens....anyway here they are!

Saturday Sky

Looking Ominous......it started pouring later on....

Concrete Madness

We finally got the load of Concrete in for our new sidewalk and pad in front of the garage....wow what work this was...hubby did most of it...I helped a little though.....as did the delivery guy( even though he really wasn't suppsoed to...he was a LOT of help)...Brad worked on this until the late hours of the night...he wore himself out.....then today he went to church to spread mulch...he's a glutton for punishment...

SOS pair #18

another pair of baby socks...

.they are kind of pointy...

and I just started my next knitted pair....I really like this pattern...again, it's from Sockbug...a pattern called Holly's Socks....I'm not sure if I'm doing it right..but I like how it's turning out..I'll take a pic with me wearing them when they are finished and you'll really be able to see the pattern....

When I took the Picture I was worrying that I might not have enough Yarn to finish it off....I have another skein but need that one for the second sock...I have finished this first sock and just barely made it ....I made the foot and toe a bit shorter then they were supposed to be...but it fits fine...I also really like the colors....blue and brown with a touch of green.....almost a 'tweed" look...this is more of that alpaca yarn...I really like knitting with this stuff....it's really soft and makes a sortof 'fuzzy" sock...

Another SOS pair #17

and yet another Pair....

this is the pair I had started a while ago, and put down, to make my secret pal socks...I picked them up again yesterday, and finished them this morning! I love these! Ok...yeah...I seem to 'love" every pair I make....but I do really love these....the are sooo soft and yummy.....the yarn is 100% alpaca.....it's very soft...I really enjoy knitting with this yarn...I used the Port and Starboard pattern again, by Carie at http://knittedbear.blogspot.com/2006/07/port-and-starboard-socks.html

SOS #16!!!

Remember that 5 lb. cone of machine knitting yarn I got on e-Bay a week or so ago...well...I tried making a pair fo socks with it.and they turned out GREAT!!...they even ended up with a self striping design!!! I crocheted them with the same pattern as the last ones...they are much thinner because the gauge of the yarn is thinner....I had to adjust the pattern a little to accomodate that...I really like these..they are my new favorite..although I'm now finishing another pair that I started a while back..and I'm really loving them too.....I had put them down to start on my Secret SOS pal socks...then couldn't wait to 'try" the new yarn.....I've finished the first sock and will be starting the second later today..so I should have sock #17 done soon...then I think I'll make a few baby socks...

99 Thrift Challenge

Here's my latest scores...I went to one of the CHKD( Children's Hospital of the Kings Daughters) Thrift stores yesterday..there are quite a few of these in the area..I go to this one occasionally...found some kewl stuff...4 mini pyrex casseroles in Turquoise...LOVE them....2 shell dishes...and these cute little Owl displays...the Owls I will be selling on e-Bay...

then last night we had Ladies Bunco in the nieghborhood and afterwards one of the Ladies invited us to preview her garage sale items( there's a neighborhood garage sale this weekend ...so this was an 'earlybird" sale..LOL) I found a couple things I liked...

This cute little "loo" sign and an adorable little frog and lily dish...my total yesterday was $26.23

---------added to my previous totals brings me to $52.49