11.05.16 Saturday Applesauce Day

Well it was round 2 of applesauce at the McDermitt household!  I had bought 1/2 bushel of Ida Red Apples when I was in NJ last week.  Today was the day they became applesauce.  I make unsweentened applesauce.  I leave the skins on when I cook them and they turn out a lovely pinkish color.  Jenny, my daughter has chickens and I know her girls will love the apple cores, skins, etc. that I'm going to take to them tomorrow!

First I cooked the apples until they became soft.

I then proceeded to put the cooked apples in a food mill and presto applesauce!!

2 of the 6 quart jars of applesauce I made today :)!

6 in all today!  I love homemade things and applesauce is one of them!!

Will we have a little of the new applesauce tonight with dinner!  I have a stuffed flank steak in the oven.  Oh the timer just went off-gotta run!!

There is some sadness in my life.

I am sorry to say there is some sadness in my life.  A few weeks ago my Dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  The Drs. should have caught this a long time ago and now I'm afraid it is pretty far advanced. A PET Scan on Monday shows cancer has spread to my Dad's spine.   I had to take an emergency trip up to northwestern NJ two Mondays ago.  I was at work and my Mom called and said my Dad was in the hospital and she didn't know if he would make it.  I rushed home, my husband, John rushed home, I packed our thing (I got home before John) and when he got home we took off.  Yes, we drove the 10.5 hours.  My Mom said she thought it would be better to drive and that Dad would probably be all right until we got there.  We arrived at 10:08 p.m. and much to our surprise my Dad was back home and sleeping in his bed.  He made my Mom promise as soon as we got there, she would bring us up stairs to see him.  He woke up when we went into the room and was greeted by a hug, a weak hug but a hug it was.  Now most of you don't know my Dad, but he is not a hugger or a person who shows affection.  This was totally out of character for him and made me even more anxious.  Then my Mom explained that he was on morphine.  That explained it all!  I am happy to say my Dad is still with us as I compose this post but my Dad is getting weaker and weaker.  He hardly eats or drinks and is now taking morphine and synthetic marijuana.  My poor Mom is tired all the time because she is taking care of everything and she has to wake Dad up at 1:00 a.m. to give him his morphine.  If she doesn't give it to him then, he is in pain later. 

My Dad and I have had a relationship that is up and down.  For a good many years we didn't even speak, but I have forgiven him for some horrible things he said and did.  My Dad is of German and Dutch descent and has a really bad temper, wants things his own way, doesn't believe in progressive into this century but he is still my Dad and I love him.  The last few years have been the best years we have had and now this happens.  Now that I have listed some of Dad's not so pretty traits, here are some of the things that is awesome about him: 

He is an accomplished woodworker.
He has restored many antique tractors and farm implements (this makes him the happiest man on earth).
He loves to read about things that happened years ago and that makes him really happy too.
He was an accomplished residential builder for over 50 years.
While he was building, he never wrote anything down, even when he was framing a house, he just knew the angles to cut and everything worked out wonderfully until he got sick with medicine induced Lupus and was forced to retire.
He always had a roof over our head, clothes on our back and food in our tummys!

What I guess I am saying is whenever my Dad's time on this Earth is over, I will miss him greatly!  Love you Dad!!

Dad and I when I was a baby (1959) with our dog, Lassie.

Labor Day Weekend

It is Labor Day Weekend :)!!  I am so glad it is Friday and I have a 3-day weekend ahead.  I have a few things planned but nothing that is very strenuous for sure-LOL!!  Saturday I'm going to get the attic more organized.  I have some things up there that probably needs to go Goodwill.  Then I am planning on putting up my family photo wall in the hall upstairs.  Probably some reading and knitting (and of course, tea drinking) will happen.  Sunday the grandboys and Jenny are coming for dinner.  So during the day on Sunday there will be knitting and reading happening again!  Monday will also be a chilling out day and I think a visit to Jenny's to help her move the chicken coop.  She wants to move it further away from her house and up by her greenhouse.  So overall it will be a great weekend!

I mentioned knitting.  I finished the gauntlets I was working on and if I say so myself they turned out really nice! She really loved them!!

I have also been knitting a Cascade Topper 2 for myself.  This is the photo of the Topper from Ravelry:

Photo Courtesy of Ravelry

I am knitting my Topper in 3 colors different from the Ravelry one.  I am knitting with cream, a rich purple and a tweedy green.  I am working on the first oblong.  In the picture it is white, but that is where I am using the cream yarn.  See below:

I really love this yarn!  It is so soft.  I hope the topper comes out just the way I have planned in my mind!

The book I'm reading is Devonshire Scream by Laura Childs.  I love these tea cozy mysteries!  I have read all of Laura Childs Tea Mystery Books, this is the latest one.  I am also listening the America's First Daughter by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie.  This is a very interesting book.  

I hope everyone has a really enjoyable Labor Day Weekend!  Remember:

08/20/16 New Projects, Walk around the Yard and Dinner on the Patio!

Today was a really good day!  Slept in a little.  During the week I get up at 5:30 but today is Saturday so I slept in until 9:00!  It felt so good to sleep late.  After breakfast and watching DIY and HGTV with John he went out to mow the front lawn and I decided to go throw my jewelry and get rid of a few things.  I then went downstairs and started a new knitting project.  Jenny wanted me to knit her a pair of fingerless gloves (called gauntlets) from the Highland Knits book.  These are knitting projects influenced by the TV series Outlander.  She chose a Malabrigio yarn and I love the colors!  See below:

Here is the beginning of the gloves.  I've never made cabled fingerless gloves.  It is pretty easy though :)!

I then decided to take a walk around the yard.  It has been so very dry here so there isn't really many flowers blooming right now.  My swallowtail butterfly was still flitting around the butterfly bush in the backyard.  The butterfly bush has grown to over 6' now!!

My roses are starting to bloom again.  I absolutely love these roses.  Their fragrance is intoxicating!!

My rose of sharon bush that I brough from NJ when we moved to the Charlotte area 13 years ago grew from a little skinny stick to a bush now over 5' tall!!  The flowers and buds are just gorgeous!!

After being inside for most of the day, we decided we would have dinner out of the patio.  It is still hot out but it did feel really good sitting outside.

I love caprese sald with fresh tomatoes and fresh mozzarella!

Last but not least, when we were eating on the patio, I noticed one of my containers on the patio which I planted Coleus and Dusty Miller.  I love the many colors and the contrast between the coleus and the dusty miller.  I will be planting more of this combo next year! I also had dried some blue hydrangeas this year.  I put them in the entryway of our house.  I put them in a French Flower Holder in a wrought iron stand.  They brighten up the hallway!

I hope everyone has been having a wonderful, enjoyable weekend!!

Yesterday was full of JOY!!!

Yesterday I only worked until 11:30.  I took half of a PTO day.  Jenny and the grandboys came over for lunch.  They are so funny!!  I was having a little anxiety because at 3:30 I had my oncology appoint and I was so afraid the Dr. would tell me my Lymphoma was worse or came out of dormancy.  Those boys made me laugh and almost forget that I had my appointment later that day.  Owen and Jack are opposites.  Owen is quiet and loves to build things.  Jack is chatty and loves to destroy things!  Here is Owen building his domino buildings. 

Owen was explaining to me what he was building in detail!

Jack and Owen are very different in their eating habits too!  Owen doesn't really like to eat too much.  He only likes certain things.  Jack starts eating the minute he comes through the door until he gets ready to leave!  They both are so funny about their food. 

Jack saw I had coffee cake on the counter.  He had two pieces while he was here, plus some bacon, chips, tomatoes, Oreos and some tomato.  He does love his food!!

So after the boys left to go home and take a nap, I had to leave and go to my Oncologist appt.  I had blood drawn, answered what seemed like 35 questions and then the Dr. came in.  He asked me some more questions and then told me they still don't have a cure for lymphoma I seem to be doing really well!  My lymph nodes were slightly smaller and my blood work was perfect!  He was very pleased.  So I will go back in 3 months for more blood work and lymph node checks.  I am truly blessed for sure!!  Hopefully some day sooner than later they will find a cure for lymphoma but I'm happy with the way things are now!  When I came out of the Dr.'s office this is what I saw when I looked up to the sky to thank God for a great visit!!

I just feel like the dark clouds was all the anxiety and fear I had and then the opening in the clouds with a silvery almost electric looking border around the opening was me coming through my fear and anxiety!!  Just a moving photo for me!!

I am truly blessed!!

Drinks and Dinner After Work with Some Co-Workers

TGIF is an understatement!  We were all feeling worn out from work this week, so we decided to go to Workman's Friend.  Workman's Friend is an Irish Pub in Charlotte.  This Pub hasn't been opened too long and it was so good!  One of our co-workers, Carl had a birthday on Wednesday, so we also thought we should celebrate!  I had a drink called Honey Badger.  It was so good!!  It was made out of the following:  brown sugar pear preserves, fresh lemon, Cathead honeysuckle vodka.  What a drink!!  I had the Pub Salad for dinner, which was leafy greens, cucumber, pickled beets, tomato, roasted shallot vinegarette and feta cheese.   It was awesome!  It was good to get out and relax and not have to think about our jobs, just enjoy each other!

As you can see it was a bit dark in there but it was decorated wonderfully!!  Just reminded me of an Irish Pub in Ireland!  I definitely will be going back there again for sure!!

My co-workers and I decided we are going to try to go out about once a month.  I really think this is a great idea!!

I hope everyone has an awesome weekend!

Moon Vines

I have been enjoying my moon vine so much this summer!  It is blooming so much!!  My Nana used to have a moon vine plant every summer.  She would call me to come down and see it open.  Yes, you can actually watch the plant wiggle and start to spiral open!!  I told my 2 grandsons, Owen and Jack about this and they missed the first few that opened but one night they were here when the whole plant started to shake because there were 3 opening at the same time.  They were fascinated by this!  Here are some photos of the plant opening its beautiful white flowers. 

This is how the bud starts to open.

Here are 2 almost opened all the way.

This day 5 were opening and these were 3 of them.

This blossom is open all the way.  I love the greenish white star in the center!!

This moon vine is fully opened!  Just gorgeous.  It starts to open as it starts to get dark.

This is my grandson, Jack watching the moon vine blossom open.  He was so interested in in this whole process!!  I love his wellies!! 

I will be planting a moon vine plant again next year.  It has been a blast from my past because my Nana would grow these every year.  It also has been wonderful sharing this experience with my grandsons.  Hopefully they will remember this experience with their Nana!!

08.06.16 Very Hot Day, So we took a Ride!

John and I both woke up late today.  I guess we both needed our sleep!  We wake up at 5:30 everyday during the week to get ready for work.  I love to sleep in on the weekend. 

Today it was 100 degrees here!  We both knew we wouldn't be doing any yard work because of the high temps.  We decided we would take a ride.  John's job is a Sr. Real Estate Title Insurance Underwriter.  The company he works for is insuring a large piece of land in Mountain Island Lake, NC.  We decided to take a ride up there and check it out.  I couldn't get a good photo of the lake, which was too bad because it looked so pretty. 

We then left that area and drove through Belmont, NC and down by Lake Wylie, SC.  I was able to take a photo of Lake Wylie as we crossed over the Buster Bay Bridge. 

It was extremely sunny so the photo is a little hazy.  There were alot of boats out on the lake and some waterskiers.  It was just gorgeous!!

As we drove home the clouds in front of us were gorgeous!!

They almost reminded me of a painting instead of real life!  For some reason this summer the clouds have been absolutely beautiful! 

We then came home and had burgers from the grill and fresh butter and sugar corn on the cob!!  YUMMY!!  I love butter and sugar corn.  I do have to say I do miss the corn from my home state NJ!  There is just something about the corn and tomatoes from Sussex County, NJ!!  I have not tasted anything as good as the corn and tomatoes from there. 

I just saw on some of my friends post on FB that the State Fair, which is held in the county I was from NJ is going on now.  Boy will I miss seeing the horse shows over the next 10 days!  I didn't love every part of the fair but I loved going there and seeing the flowers in the flower show, eating some of the fair food, watching the horse shows for hours, watching the livestock shows (my girls used to show their sheep in the Fair) and last but not least having a milkshake from the 4-H Dairy Barn! 

John and I have been watching the Olympics tonight and I just had a lovely small bowl of vanilla bean ice cream with pecans!!  YUMMY!!

Have to stay cool right!!

Everyone have an awesome rest of the weekend!!  ENJOY!!!

John and I

A friend of mine challenged me on FB to a spouse challenge this week.  It has been fun going through photos of John and I.  I found one that I really love!  It is really appropriate because on August 11th it will our 37th wedding anniversary!  I really love the photo below because we look so happy but even more if you look at our hands our fingers are intertwined with each other.  That just says it all about how our lives and love are intertwined with each others!

John is my soul mate, best friend, basically my life!  I wouldn't want to go through this life journey with anyone else!

Indian Summer Blog Book Swap

Happy August! Wow, I cannot believe August is already here.  I love a good book.  Actually, if you are like me, you understand that my TBR (to-be-read) pile keeps growing, my current reading pile includes more than four books, and my book wish list is endless.  I love books!  My Nana introduced me to books when I was very small.  She took me on my first library trip.  I love mysteries, historical fiction, chicklit, and fiction. My dear friend and booklover, Angie thought of this idea and asked me to co-host this blog book sway with her.   Angie and I met blogging in 2010.  We have been really close friends, just like sisters!!  

So I’m delighted to announce that I teamed up with Angie to bring to you a Indian Summer Book Swap to celebrate the summer season just a little bit longer! We hope that if you love books, it will be the start of growing a book loving community. And if you are not a blogger, fear not.  You are still welcome to join us!

We will be paring bloggers with bloggers and non-bloggers with non-bloggers. Here are the details of the swap:

Because we want to extend the summer season :) here are a few guidelines to assist you:

·         a summer read preferably BUT not necessarily

·         a book from your partner’s wishlist

·         a book that you think your partner would love

·         *optional-any other odds and ends related to summer or books

Some deadlines:

·         Sign-ups open on Friday, August 5th.

·         Sign-ups close on Friday, August 26^th.

·         Your partner assignment will be on Monday, August 29th

·         You must mail your box out by September 10th.

We will provide a link-up for bloggers on September 15.  This will allow you to receive and write a post about your experience (which we hope will be fantastic) and the package. Please note we are asking that posts are linked by June 20th-please link up a post summarizing your experience/package by September 19th!

Of course, we have some rules to make sure we all have a wonderful time:

·         After signing up for the swap, please share this swap on twitter, facebook or you blog. This will help spread the word to others about the swap! You must do this within 3 days of signing up.

·         Packages must include three books as stated in the swap objective. Be prepared to spend at least 15-20 dollars on your package, not including shipping. There are no price limits.

·         Send books to your partner that will fit their interests as best as possible. Email them and get to know them while curating their package!

·         Packages must be mailed by September 10th. If you have any problems, email your partner and host immediately.

·         All packages require a tracking number, You must email this tracking number to your host and your partner after you mail the package.  Again, we want to ensure we all receive our packages in time.

·         I do not mean to be tough but if you sign up for the swap, please do not drop out. By signing up for this swap, you are committing to following through with the swap.

·         After receiving your package, please take the time to write about your experience and link it up. We are giving the link up a few weeks to be open so that you can take the time to even start reading a book and review it, if you so choose.

BY SIGNING UP FOR THIS SWAP, YOU ARE AGREEING TO ALL OF THESE RULES. PLEASE DO NOT SIGN UP IF YOU CANNOT FOLLOW THROUGH WITH THE DEADLINES AND OBLIGATIONS.

We don’t want anyone to be left out of the swap, so please let the host know if something arises that will prohibit you from participating.

This swap is open to U.S. residents only. We hope to open it up internationally the next time around. Sorry!

Please go over to http://maria-baer.com/  This is Angie's blog.  You then click on blog and go to her August 1st post and you will see at the bottom you can click to fill out the form to register for this wonder blog swap!

Enjoy!!

07.31.16 Last Weekend of the Month

I cannot believe this is the last day of July!!  It feels like the 4th of July was just yesterday.  I had a wonderful weekend.  Friday night John and I just went to a quick dinner at Dunwelz.  Then we came home and chilled out.  we read and then we just watched TV.  Yesterday I had a pedicure.  It was such a wonderful pedicure!  I loved my "me" time!  Then John and I had a quick lunch and took a drive.  We ended up going to Barnes and Noble.  My Nook Color's charging cable doesn't work anymore.  They told me they thought Barnes and Noble was giving cables away for free because they were defective.  They placed an order for one for me.  I got an email today saying they can't fill my order!!  REALLY Barnes and Noble are you kidding me!  I had just ordered 3 books from the class-action suit a few weeks ago.  I was 7/8ths of the way through the book when the charger broke!  I have been reading these books on my phone and it just isn't the same!  I'm going to look on amazon to see if I can buy a charger cable. 

Last night John, Jenny and I went to Upstream for dinner.  This was a belated birthday celebration! 

It is restaurant week.  Well restaurant week is over tonight.  So they had a menu for restaurant week that was to die for!!  I opted for the lobster dinner!

This lobster was soooooo good!!  Before the lobster came I had a Tega Cay Bib Lettuce Salad.  There were tangerines and goat cheese on bib lettuce.  It was fabulous!!  The dinner ended with a wonderful dessert.  I had the blueberry pear crumble with almond gelato.  It was all out of this world!!

Saturday during the day I saw some of the gladiolus were blooming in the front garden.  I also had some limelight hydrangea still blooming.  I thought they would look wonderful together in my grandmother's vase.  I love using the vase my grandmother gave me before she died.  I put flowers in it throughout the summer because every week I used to take my grandmother flowers and she  would put them in this vase.  Lovely memories!

Today I slept in and then cooked a big breakfast for John and I.  I went grocery shopping and decided that I needed to make eggplant parmesan!  So I did!!  It was wonderful!  I hadn't made this in such a long time.  I also made beer bread to go with it.  What a wonderful dinner!

So this was really a wonderful weekend!  It was still so hot here, but atleast I found things to do inside to stay cool!!  I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend too!!

Enjoy your week :)!!