Commenting or not

I just want to say thanks for all the nice comments on my blog recently.  I’ve been in sort of a blogging funk lately, but when I have something to share I’ll try to share completely.

I also haven’t been commenting on other’s blogs as much recently….more of a “time thing” than anything else…..I’m still reading blogs in fits and spurts.

Last night I tried out a new recipe for a tamale pie….I made little individual pies…..they turned out really pretty….

…but as far as taste was concerned, they were a little heavy on the cornbread…

oh well, not every recipe is a winner.

However, I did make some coleslaw that was tasty.

 

Caesar Coleslaw

1 small head cabbage – grated

3 carrots – grated

small container of grape or cherry tomatoes (halved)

1 small bottle Caesar dressing (about a cup or so)

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

squeeze of lemon

Directions:

Mix it all together!

If you like Caesar salad, I think you’ll like this coleslaw.

I used purple cabbage and then just added in the carrots, because

I had them on-hand….they made the slaw really pretty.

I think it would have been even better if I would have had some croutons to throw on top.

This may not be one of my healthiest recipes, but it was certainly easy and delicious!

You could make it even easier and use bagged coleslaw mix and save yourself the grating!

 

I have such a hard time eating enough veggies…..I grew up eating corn and potatoes and green beans…..other than that, I didn’t like any other veggies and my parents never tried to make me eat any other veggies…..I’m totally serious.

Now I’ve learned to love tomatoes, raw spinach, sweet potatoes, red and yellow peppers and lots of other veggies, but I still wouldn’t touch cooked spinach….unless it’s in a quiche or dip or casserole! I’ve also tried roasted brussels sprouts and haven’t had much luck learning to like those either. Any ideas?

I guess while I’m yammering on….how do you feel about daylight savings time?

I’m not liking it at all! Once I get home from work, I go into hibernation mode….

After walking the dogs, I find myself lying on the couch, flipping through the channels….

Putting on my PJs at 5:30 or 6pm….sometimes going to bed at 8:30.

I swear, I’ve got to figure out some sort of new routine or I’ll end up in my

big girl jeans again!

Finally, the hook-in

I got up that Saturday morning and jogged across the Boonslick Bridge which

crosses the Missouri River….

I think it was 32 degrees and the bridge is 1/2 mile….I jogged

the 1/2 mile over and then on down to a building, so probably just 3/4 of

a mile…..oh, my hands were SO COLD! I walked the rest of the way back.

I run at the gym, but I forgot that my asthma kind of kicks in when I run in

cold weather.  Regardless, it was a beautiful start to my morning, watching

the sun come up over the Missouri River.

I considered this my penance for all of the drinking I did the night before.

I’m not saying that I consider exercise to be punishment, but rather a reminder of

how much better I feel when I live a little cleaner

Plus, there is nothing like getting your day started on a good note.

I came back, got ready to go to the hook-in, scarfed down a pretty big breakfast…

yogurt, banana, milk, coffee, hard-boiled egg, more coffee and headed to the hook-in.

OMG! There were SO MANY people there! It’s what my grandpa would have called

“elbow to a**hole”

I mean, if you look at the pictures, there is not much

room to walk between tables, there are soooo many hookers…..

wishing I could have body surfed above the crowd!

And then I saw it……

Hand-spun yarns and dyed fleeces…..OH MY!

Cha-ching!

Now, I must say, I haven’t spent hardly any money on

anything rug hooking related since last spring when I went to the hook-in

while I was in Florida…..well, I needed to make up for lost time!

I bought some fleece and some hand-spun yarns….what am I going to do with

them? Not sure, but they will certainly inspire me for future projects.

I also saw this adorable turkey…..

Well, I had to have the pattern for THAT! I love, Love, LOVE

Thanksgiving!

And look at all these other 3-D patterns….

These 3-D patterns are from Prairie Road Designs.

Now, I must admit, that I don’t have tons of pics from the hook-in,

but I was able to get pictures of the rugs that were being worked on around me.

Finally, here are a few pictures of finished rugs that I was

able to get pics of…..so beautiful!

Thanks for hanging in there with me and waiting for the hooking pictures!

This was truly one of the most fun hook-ins I’ve ever attended!

Also, just an update…..Sunshine has been adopted!

Yes, I know…..

….I’ve been lax in posting the pictures from the Boonville Hook-in.

However, after a needed “unplugged” period of time, I’m back and ready to share!

I arrived in Boonville and checked in at the charming “Hotel Frederick” in downtown Boonville, MO.  I must say the hotel was wonderful and the staff….even more wonderful.

The front desk clerk checked me in and helped me upstairs with my luggage and hooking paraphernalia.

My room was like me…quirky…it showed a love of history with a twist of modern.

When I arrived it was a little too late to do much in the downtown area, but too early to

eat supper, so I decided to check out the lounge (aka “the bar”)

OH MY!

Delicious cocktail creations were just waiting to be savored!

I ordered the Pear-Basil Martini…..I thought to myself, pear…a bit fall like, basil-a bit summer-ish….perfect for the beautiful warm autumn day….caught between fall and summer!

Waxing poetic about cocktails? Yes!

In the lounge they also had fresh oysters from the east coast as well as fresh Gulf shrimp that they have flown in once a week…..well, that just set my wheels turning.

Next, I had Jeremiah (the bartender extraordinaire)

 

whip me up an oyster shooter…..that would consist of an oyster in a shot glass with some pepper vodka, Worstershire and tobasco…..it was divine!

Then, Jeremiah had an idea…..wouldn’t it be fun to make up a martini

with the same type of flavor….”Genius!” I replied…..create one for me and I’ll let

you know what I think…..

Does this answer the question…..

DELISH! Yes, that’s an oyster, a shrimp and an olive on the skewer!

So, as you can tell, by this time, I really have my “party on”, but I’m

starting to teeter a bit, so I really need to get something to eat.

Just my luck, when I go into the café….

which, by the way, is SO MUCH MORE than

a café …I run into several rug hookers who let me sit at their table and break bread with them.

Fun night? Most definitely!

Delicious food? Blackened Redfish….spicy and delicious!

Afterwards, a few of us got together and hooked in the lobby for probably about an hour….

By now it’s getting late…..11pm? Something like that….I’m beat, so I

head up to my room and fall asleep so quickly….which is unusual for me if I’m away from home.

Most of the time when I stay somewhere new I don’t sleep well at all…..slept like an angel.

That is…..until 2:15 am, when I am awakened by this…..

Oh yeah! The hotel is situated near the river and railroad tracks…..there were trains going by

with whistles, helicopters flying overhead and THIS is what wakes me up…..

Okay, well when THIS wakes you up…..of course you can’t help but listen….I

swear it went on for 30-45 minutes…..let’s just say I’m glad the guy didn’t have the 4 hour Viagra!

Someone had a romantic weekend in Boonville!

Now, I swear…pictures of the hook-in tomorrow!

Happy Halloween

Pictures taken Saturday night in downtown Springfield……

It was dark and late, but many revelers were out in costume….

A brigade of Oriental maidens….

Something big, creepy and spooky….

A big, creepy monster….

This is us before we headed downtown…..I had just

gotten back from the hook-in and was reallly tired, but

threw on a wig, a mask and made the best of it…..

really had a fun time once we left the nest!

On the way to a hook-in

No, I’m not on the way to a hook-in, just got back.
Relaxing with a hot cuppa coffee, on my big computer….so much easier to blog
from than the iphone
I thought I’d share some pics I took on my way up to Boonville, MO for the hook-in.
The trip from Springfield to Boonville takes about 3 hours, but when you stop
here and there and everywhere in between it takes much longer, but often the longer
road is the more interesting road……
This is somewhere in Missouri…..I headed off the highway and went down a few
country roads….it’s really beautiful this time of year….the trees making canopies over
the roads. Something about that just makes you able to breathe a little deeper, than driving
on the highway.

While I was driving I saw a sign for the historic towns of Blackwater and Arrow Rock.
I’d never visited either place, so I decided to check them out.
Blackwater is a sleepy little town with some quaint antique shops and super nice people running them, the people there were so friendly and so proud to tell you about their town.
I loved this little garden situated between some of the old buildings….reminded me of when
I visited Charleston, SC several years ago.



On the way to the downtown area of Blackwater, I saw a house with this
gnome home out front….I didn’t get a picture of it, but luckily
it is on the Blackwater website…..how fun!

I decided to move on to Arrow Rock….I’ve heard of Arrow Rock for years….
they used to have a workshop there that was run by Bobbie True who was a resident of the village.
I found one of the rugs she had hooked on Barb Carroll’s website….the date was her wedding date.

While I was in Arrow Rock, I stopped by their little post office and the
postmaster let me take pictures and told me that they were going to find out
in the next month whether or not their post office was going to be closed.
There are only 15 people who live in Arrow Rock village, but they have thousands of
visitors each year who purchase stamps while they are there and she is so proud of her
little old post office and has a wonderful collection of postal memorabilia.
Beautiful post office boxes…

A collection of stamps from when the postage used to be cancelled by hand…

This ceiling…..to die for….

Old mail satchels….

Kenny would give his eye teeth for a leather mail satchel like this one….

I also learned that this is where the 1973 version of “Tom Sawyer” was filmed.
This is the house where Becky Thatcher lived….




This is the greeter in one of the shops…..

Thanks for stopping by, tomorrow I’ll share about the hook-in….