I am a retired 44-year veteran of the Real Estate Assessment field. As with real estate assessing and how it applies to real estate taxes, one can make many acquaintances, but not many real friends. It was a great career choice.
It has been nearly 10 years since I reclaimed my home and my real passions within my home. I enjoy it more each day and tip my hat to those who I left behind.
Each day I try to stretch myself with the use of my computer as it relates to this site and using it to print out labels for quilts for trying to incorporate photos into my sewing. Life is so full and I know that I have room for more.
Easy Crock Pot Pork Chops
• Spray crock pot with cooking spray
• Layer pork chops in crock pot
• Cover with 1 can of cream of chicken soup
• Sprinkle with 1 package of dry Ranch Style Dressing
• Cook on “Low” for 6-7 hours
The gravy is great on instant mashed potatoes.
The best part of a crock pot is the cooking time can be a bit more and the results are still great.
Spray crock pot with cooking spray
Layer pork chops in crock pot
Cover with one can of cream of chicken soup
Sprinkle with I package of dry Ranch Dressing
Cook on low for 6-7 hours
(the beauty of a crock pot is that the time can be a bit longer and the results are still good)
Spray crock pot with cooking spray
Layer thawed pork chops in crock pot
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Crock Pot Pork Chops
Crock Pot Pork Chops
Sprinkle with 1 package of dry Ranch Dressing
Cook at the Low setting for six hours
Gravy is great for instant mashed potatoes.
I am going to miss the lilac season. Nothing can inspire garden work more than being surrounded with plants that smell good. Long gone are the blooms and fragrant grandma type lilacs. Years ago our Pamida Store was weary of watering their garden hoop plants and of course I had to scope it out. I brought home the Miss Kim Lilac that looked more like a cast off that had been sitting next to the Christmas Tree that Charlie Brown had chosen in times past. One stem had some snap to it when I bent it over. The remaining ones broke off right down into the root ball.
The Miss Kim Lilac Tree
I had been doing some reading and knew that with vigilant pruning of sucker sprouts that come from the base of a shrub a tree could be developed from what had been sold as a shrub. The wonderful aspect of Miss Kim is that she blooms a bit later so the season of a great smelling yard can be expanded. The blossoms are a delicate lavender that often passes as white. The grandma lilacs that I have show bold blossoms and Miss Kim’s have a look of lace.
This morning I was out splitting some of my hosta and Miss Kim kept me going with inspiration in spite of the big black flies that would bite. I applied two different bug sprays, one complete with deet, and they just seemed to lick it off my legs before they feasted.
As I was on the highway last weekend I did spy my next year greenhouse score: a late blooming lilac that had blossoms of red. I do brake for plants — after I check my rear-view mirror.
In May I had posted a photo of what would be a portion of this project I was working on. Today I can tell you it is finished. Oh yes, it took me eight weeks of starting and stopping as the energy would allow. I just wouldn’t have felt like there would be a successful recovery on the shoulder replacement if I could not have a bit of threads, batting and thimbles lying about. I had the basic prep work of the front of the wall hanging layered onto the batting and the backing. When I thought I could swing manhandling a quilting hoop propped on the dining room table the progress was slow but steady. The hand quilting was very satisfying. What I had not counted on was all of the additional binding that would be required with the four smaller banners hanging on the larger one that has the winter scene. As I was putting the button holes onto the straps that would bring the four small banners in their rightful place it was with relief. I knew that oh yes, I had bitten off more than was chewed comfortably. There was no turning back and the thought of leaving a project unfinished is against all that my Mom had ever taught me. In visiting with a few of the other gals that love to putz in crafty manners it always surprises me just how much time and the amount of resources that are tied up to be finished at a later time. Not this cat.
Too Many Men aka: Snowmen
Now that I have the go ahead to be out in the yard and doing some hands on gardening, I needed to get the hanging sleeve sewn onto the back of the wall hanging. Of course my garage wall off of the patio is the perfect spot for me check out the end result. When Christmas is over and we still may have waist deep snow, the wall hanging entitled “Too Many Men” – referring to snowmen – can be put up and enjoyed. My sewing area is tidy and neat until such time when the sun is too hot and the bugs are too many and I am driven back to it to start something else. Actually, though nothing is physically laid out as I was mowing the yard this morning, I did have a few thoughts flit through the white hair of what may be the next latest and greatest project. Thoughts such as those make me wonder how anyone can be bored. My belief is that only boring people get bored.
Here’s a quick meal when there just isn’t any energy to get creative. It serves two.
• Hot mashed Potatoes for two
• Heat one can of stew
• Several slices of bread
• Potatoes on the plate
The stew is spooned over the potatoes and the bread slices are used to soak up the extra gravy.
Dinty Moore Commercial
Perfect quick meal on days when there just isn’t energy to be creative
Serves Two
Hot instant mashed potatoes for two
Heat a can of Dinty Moore Stew
Several slices of Bread
Potatoes on the plate
Stew is spooned over potatoes
Bread slices used to soak up extra gravy
It’s a Monday and just as in days of old – laundry day. Too many little flies that want to sit on the clothes and make naughty as clothes were going to be hug out to dry. Thank goodness for clothes driers. Mosquitoes decided to make a huge presences known today as well. Oh for the love of summertime.
Snow Balls Complement White Hair
What a great sunny day for Father’s Day. I had to snap a photo of the snowball bush as the wind has really been raising cane with the blossoms. For the longest time the blossoms were that premature green and the cool temps held them at bay. The sun came out Friday and the blossoms did not disappoint.
While I was gone to a graduation reception yesterday the clouds opened up and out came the rain and down went a flutter of snowball petals.
Yesterday the errand for the day was to get a graduation card for this coming Sunday. As I was walking into the Shopko Home store here in town I couldn’t help but take a detour through the garden hoop. Man, if they sell all of their tomato plants there will be bushels of tomatoes ready for canning this fall. Of course the clearance area of plants caught my eye. The hanging baskets that had been $24.00 were now $12.99. One pot holding Tuber Begonias stopped me in my tracts. It was one pot overflowing with the most beautiful yellow begonias and it brightened up the entire garden hoop.
My mother-in-law, Esther Schafer taught me the love of Tuber Begonias. Esther would save the bulbs from year to year in the used mesh onion sacks. In the early spring of the year she would get them up from the basement and give them a hearty dusting of Garden Guard. Pots of soil with a tuber each would be found on her living room window sills. As the weather warmed up the sprouted tubers adored the north steps of the house and soon there were blossoms that thrilled everyone that came to visit. The blossoms take the texture of wax and when one blossoms dies off there is another to take it’s place.
During the time when Orlin and I farmed, Orlin had taken two retired milk cans and cut them off with the cutting torch about four inches from the handles. When painted black and tipped upside down with the cover in place they made the most beautiful urns for Tuber Begonias. Placed by the north door of our home we also had visitors that were thrilled with the endless blossoms.
Tuber Begonia Incubator
Back to real time: I bought the overgrown pot at Shopko and worked my whiles. There were four plants crowded into that one hanging plant. I am sure when the early spring demanded the greenhouses to get the stock ready for resale it took four plants to make it look attractive enough to warrant the $24.99 price. Right now the four pots are being sheltered from the winds under the lilacs.
After the contents of my four pots have had a chance to recover from being pulled apart, I will have an array of blossoms to be placed hither, thither and yon for the entire season. The secret for continued blooms is a fair amount of fertilizer every other week. Yup, it’s a good thing that you taught me, Esther.