Autumnal Words and Pictures

 

These mushrooms were growing in all areas of the yard, this particular clump was by the driveway.  I guess all the warm, wet weather we had this fall made them grow.  They're an interesting shape and color, I think.

I made these wind chimes at a Zoom caregivers craft meeting.  It was fun, but the invisible thread we used proved challenging for me.  When I removed it from the bag of supplies dropped off at my house by the moderator I figured I was going to be in trouble.  First, I couldn't find the end on the spool so ended up using a box cutter to slice some to get it started.  Then I had a tough time tying the knots to connect the shells to the ring at the top. I ended up finishing it the next morning after Hillary left because I was the only one not done at the end of the meeting, and despite assurances that nobody minded waiting for me to finish, I declined and said I'd finish in the morning because my eyes were tired which was the truth.  So anyhow I worked on it in the morning and as I'm trying to tie knots in invisible thread my brother, who is a man of many talents and writing science fiction adventure is his current project, was texting me about time travel and how it relates to the characters and the universe he's built for the story collection he's doing.  I think that pretty much sums up our lives--I try to tie knots in invisible thread so things don't fall apart, and he creates new worlds.  Somehow it all works.   

I made this cake because I had invited the above brother's family over for a Saturday afternoon of comfort food.  I made my mother's recipe macaroni and cheese (with just a couple of my own tweaks), her coleslaw, and bought some hearty rye bread because that is how she always served it and my sister in law loves that meal.  As it turned out, her mother passed away from end stage Alzheimer's and other health problems the night before so it was extra nice to be able to comfort her with our company and food.  I sent everyone home with leftovers.  I will include the recipe for the mac and cheese and coleslaw at the end of this post.

I stopped at the library one day on the way home from grocery shopping and took the picture of this tree.  Just because I thought it was pretty set against the blue sky.

It’s been a pretty busy season so far, what with things breaking down (still!) and running back and forth to feed Hillary at lunch time and just life in general.  I’m still trying to get a handle on all the clutter in the closets and laundry room and other places where it’s tucked away.  I’ve taken numerous trips to the clothing donation bins and soon I’ll be stopping at Goodwill with some household items we no longer use but are in great shape; hopefully someone else can get good use of them!  The patient hoist is dying on us and it was a couple weeks of playing phone and email tag with the repair company to get on the service visit schedule.  They are the only company in our area and the surrounding areas that does this, so they are very busy always, and I did look to see if I could call someone else but no luck so we are praying this hoist doesn’t give out all together before they can come---5 more days!  At any rate, we are gearing up for Halloween weekend which honestly I don’t expect to be much of a thing as our town has a big trick or treating event at the school to keep the kids safe and off the many roads in town without sidewalks.  Still, I bought candy just in case. Maybe this year we’ll have a few more kids, we’ll see.

Mom's Macaroni and Cheese

3 T butter + 1 T oil

3 T flour

2 C milk

3/4 - 1 C starchy water from the macaroni

16 oz block extra sharp yellow cheddar, shredded

1 16 oz pkg elbow macaroni

saltine crackers, approximately 1/2 stack

Cook macaroni according to pkg directions, retaining 1 C of the cooking liquid before draining. Set aside.  Melt butter & oil over low heat, stir in flour and cook together until very light brown. Whisk in milk a little at a time until smooth, cook until slightly thickened and small bubbles appear around the edges; stir in cheddar. Salt and pepper to taste.  Let  cook a few minutes to thicken slightly and add the starchy water, stirring to combine. Remove from heat and stir together with the drained macaroni in a large buttered casserole dish. Crush the crackers and spread over the top.  Bake in a 350* oven 30 minutes or until crackers look toasted and the cheese bubbles around the edges. Serve and enjoy!

Mom's Simple Cabbage Salad

1 small head cabbage

1/2 - 1 cup mayonnaise (depends on how moist you want it) 

1/4 cup sugar (more or less according to your taste)

Shred the cabbage and place in a bowl large enough to allow for mixing.  Sprinkle in the sugar and stir in the mayonnaise. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Pizza is Fun!

 

I really like pizza, as I think most people do (I have a brother who won’t touch it, so I can’t say everyone likes it!).   It’s a staple at kids parties, creates long cafeteria lunch lines on pizza day at schools across the land, is a primary source of nutrition for teenagers and college students, and who can say getting with friends as an adult and ordering in or making your own pizza isn’t fun and easy?  There are even pizzas for special dietary needs, whether it is gluten free, vegan, or keto friendly they are readily available in restaurants and supermarkets as well as recipes on the internet if your area doesn’t have special ones easily attainable.  Some regions feature deep dish, some thick crust, some thin crust, and some ultra-thin crispy crust.  I prefer thin crust, as growing up in New Jersey in close proximity to New York City, our region is arguably where the best pizza can be found; it is what I grew up on and is my favorite to this day.

               When I was a kid our family had game night every Saturday and it always included pizza. I can vividly recall watching my mother munching away on a slice of cheesy, saucy goodness and laughing over something someone said or did. It was an important job for one or another of my brothers to go with my father to Dominick’s Pizzeria to pick up our order.  One time my brother Dan dropped the box as they exited the pizza place and so they had to wait while another one was made.  If I went on a sleepover at my friend Joan’s house, we’d have pizza for dinner and then munch on the cold leftover slices in the morning before her mother woke up and made us pancakes for breakfast.   When I moved out on my own, I survived mostly on pizza as it was cheap, delicious, and readily available in the strip mall where I worked at a donut shop.  Sometimes the boss would treat us all to pizza on a busy day, and sometimes we’d all go out for an evening on the weekend and start at Dino’s with what we referred to as a “garbage pie” because it had every topping available on it.  It was so much fun!  When my girls were young we had pizza and TV every Friday night, and they could earn a monthly pizza voucher from a national chain by reading books. When I worked as a lunch lady in an elementary school pizza day was the most popular day for the kids to buy hot lunch and we made trays and trays of square pizza slices.  Later when I worked at the high school cafeteria and pizza was offered every day it remained a popular item likely to sell out by the end of the day.  Now when we get together with friends and family we’re just as likely to order some pizzas as we are to cook for each other.  There’s just something uplifting about that tasty crust slathered with piping hot rich tomato sauce and ooey gooey strings of melted cheese hanging off the edges of each wedge shaped slice.  I’d have to say that it’s the one food I have many happy memories about.

               There are many foods that people associate with good times, but I think pizza is number one.  In fact, I think I might have to have some today, and I bet you want some now, too.  Hurray for pizza!!!

My hubby and me with our long time friends who we've shared many pizzas with over the years.

A tranquil scene from our local park where I went walking one recent morning. It has nothing to do with pizza, but the geese might enjoy some pieces of the crust to fuel their trip south.