What Does the Year 2009 Hold for Us?

     I sit here listening to the news and reading the Internet and  I wonder how we will economically fare as individuals and as a nation in the future.  Retirement for some is in the future, just around the corner for others, and here for some and scary.  Not      only are  retirement incomes being effected but  incomes for thousands of  working  people are being changed.

I have a friend whose husband's retirement is gone, will it come back, maybe, but what do these people do in the mean time. I saw the oil is down in the low 40's per barrel.  This is not good for my husband's type of work.  The company he works for has shut down 5+ rigs and laid off all those men.

We have an intelligent new President,  one who seems determined to take us out of this quagmire but he lacks experience.  We have both houses of Congress in the hands of the same party, not good for checks and balances. I hope that each member of Congress can put aside his personal interest and all work together for the good of this country and the world.

We all know that our economy will return to"normal "one day in the future, but thousands of lives will have  been damaged.  I just read an article written by a young mother of 4 whose husband was laid off 3 weeks before Christmas. She said they had to rearrange their priorities and discovered everything wasn't about  money.

As jobs are lost and these employees are forced to find different levels of work, they have to re-appraise life goals, values and their sense of purpose.  For many they are finding less stressful jobs which can be a definite plus by providing a more healthy, enjoyable  life style.

Technology is changing our lives so fast that most of us can't  keep up with them.   They do, however , promise more convenience, but at the same time they are taking away our privacy.

Why am I on my soapbox?  I am not sure.  I guess because all we hear and read on the news is our economy, job layoffs and protecting our privacy.

Whatever our year ahead holds, we will face it with God's help,  a strong back, and the courage and intestinal fortitude of our founding fathers.

We pray God will keep you and guide you in 2009 and it will be a blessed year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM BARBARA  AND ROY TO ALL MY BLOGGER FRIENDS.

GOING TO BE A BUSY DAY!

 

Today like most Mondays, I have a million things to do, so I will just say hello and show you 2 of my calico cats.  Meow Say Toon was the first calico to arrive on our door step one cold December day around Christmas time. Roy named her and took her to the vet.  The lady at the vet's office ask her name and Roy told her and she repeated her question and Roy said the name again.  She looked at him hard and said "All right Roy, what is the cat's real name".  Roy realizing he was not getting through to her just said,"Noel".  So at the vet's office she is Noel but her real name is Meow Say Toon.  She is in the front of the seat of the chair.

Miss Cali, which he has since called Lt.Cali was the last to arrive. She came and left several times before she decided to stay.  She now lives almost constantly in the house and become Roy's buddy.

Cali is in the back of the seat.  Can you tell they are kin? I would love to see or find the mother, we have 4 of her children, 3 calicos and 1 solid black (Tee Neg). I posted her picture before.

Well now that you are bored to tears, I will share my recipe for the day with you.

TACO  TARTLETTS

1 lb lean ground beef

2 tbs. taco seasoning mix

2 tbs. ice water

1cup shredded cheese

 

TORTILLA CHIP FILLING

1/2 pt  sour cream

2 tbs. taco sauce

2 oz.  chopped ripe olives

3/4 cup coarsely crushed tortilla chips

To prepare tart chip filling, mix all ingredients together and set aside.

In medium bowl mix beef, taco seasoning and ice water with hands.  Press into bottom and sides of 1 1/2 inch miniature muffin cups, forming a shell.  Place a spoonful  of filling in each shell, mounding slightly.  Sprinkle cheese on top and bake for  10 minutes at 350.  With tip of a knife, remove tarts from pan.  Serve immediately or cool and freeze.  Makes about 30.  You can add sour cream or a slice of avocado or jalapeno on top or you can chop jalapeno  and put in filling mix.

I don't have a picture,  I am making these today.

Have a great day.

See Ya'll

Barbara

Testing New Recipes for My Bunko Buddies

I belong to two Bunko groups and I am hostess for both in Jan., so I am trying out new recipes on Roy.  Last night I made a Vegetable Beef Stew  in my slow cooker.

3/4 lb. lean stew meat in 1/2 cubes

1 can (14 1/2 oz.) beef broth

1 can (14 1/2 oz.) stewed tomatoes, cut up

1 1/2 cups cubed peeled butternut squash

1 cup frozen corn, thawed

6 dried apricot or peach halves, quartered

1/2 cup chopped carrots

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon salt & pepper

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 cup water

Brown beef and transfer to slow cooker. Add broth, tomatoes, squash, corn, apricots,carrots, oregano, salt and pepper. Cook on high for 5-6 hours or until vegetables and meat are tender.

Combine cornstarch and water;  stir into stew. Cook on high for thirty minutes or until gravy thickens. Serves 4.

 

Roy was pleasantly surprised..what no potatoes?  After eating a bowl, he said it was definitely a keeper.

 

 

 

I am making tablecloths and napkins for the card tables, we eat at 11:30, then play and eat dessert after we finish playing 15 to 21 games.

I set up at the lake house, this way I don't have to worry about dogs and cats and the lake house is always clean thanks to my helper, Gloria.

I was going to make bunko bracelets for everyone, but don't think I have enough time now, so I will save them for favors later.

You all should come to Texas for bunko, we have a "Texas Big Time" and the food is great.

See Ya'll,

Barbara

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BARGAINS? NOT SURE

Well, I braved the crowds and ventured out yesterday into the world of bargains.  It was strange, some of the stores were crowded and others only had a few shoppers.....but everyone was eating out.  Resturants were full at lunch and dinner.

On to my purchases....I have bunko twice in the month of January. I'm just lucky that way, so  I needed prizes.  You will notice in the pictures that I am a practical prize buyer, but only after years of getting great prizes that were of no use to me.   Oh, I did get plenty I could use, but now I am getting picky and mostly tired of dusting all the stuff.

There 3 of the prizes, a 2009 Texas Road Atlas,a desk calendar called Country Living and 10 non-slip skinny hangers.

.

 

 

 

I also bought gift card,  those hot wax tubs you put your feet or your hands in, the box  of different flavors of chocolate and peppermint stick dipped in chocolate and the crosses on a stand.

 

 

    For us, I bought 3 Santa's  (showing you one),material to make table cloths, and a table runner for Bunko.  I bought numerous other things I will not bore you with. 

Did I get a lot of bargains....I think I did.....Roy probably doesn't agree.....hehehe

The weather here has turned cold and wet.  The temp has dropped 20+ degrees in the last hour and we are under a tornado alert.

See Y' all.

Barbara

HEADED OUT TO CHECK OUT THE BARGINS!

I know better than this...but I haven't been out on this day in several years, so I thought I would try today. I don't really need anything but my daughter will be here Monday so I will try to find some little things for her...she loves to open packages. My cousin in coming also and we will have Christmas on New Year's day. The oil field never shuts down, so you get accustomed to having holidays when Roy is off.



Roy was working yesterday, so it was very quite around here. He came home yesterday afternoon for a couple of hours and we had our lunch/supper.



I hope if you are venturing out today, you are very careful. The weather here is hot today but it will not last long. This has been very strange weather for us.



Well, I am off to capture all those bargains out there....will report when I return.



Have a great day!



See Y'all



Barbara

MY HOUSE

Thought I would show some pictures of our Christmas

My tree is a spiral tree, I found several years ago and of course is purple, gold, silver and this year we added line green trees we found in Galveston and gold humming birds and gold and purple butterflies.

My dishes are pink, green and gold. My Santa is Fitz and Floyd, Roy bought me 2 years ago. We love Fitz and Floyd.

This is my bar and the write dish in the next picture came from the Nutcracker Market in Houston.

Thanks for Stopping by...See you!

PARTY TIME

Friday night was the Jones 10th Annual Christmas Party. What Fun!!!! Everyone brings their favorite finger food and we have the proverbial Chinese Gift "Ordeal". We are suppose to bring a gift for $5-$10 dollars, ever tried to find something worth wild for that price, so I just took 16 (thought I put 15) one dollar bills all crumpled up in a very small box without any eye appeal and wow..it was the first one to be chosen and the other one was in a small box I wrapped but included 2 rolls of pennies to make $16 and to add weight. These gifts were stolen all night until the boxes were coming apart......who would have thought.

Beth always takes each couple's picture, so if it a good one, I intend to put it on my profile.

See You!

I DID IT....I LEARNED TO POST AND ADD MY PICTURES ...YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT A DEPRESSING THING FOR ME THIS WAS! I AM NOT THE SMARTEST PERSON AROUND BUT NOT THE DUMMEST EITHER..SO LOOK OUT NOW YOU ARE IN FOR LOADS OF STUFF.
NEXT PROJECT IS THREE COLUMNS AND WIDGETS......

I DID IT....THANKS JOANNA

DICKENS ON THE STRAND

I wrote earlier about our weekend in Galveston. My camera is now up and running, so I would like to share some pictures with you. Here are just a few pictures, I hope you enjoy, remember this street had 6feet of water after Hurricane Ike.

 

 

These are just people who were attending the event.  So many people come in costume and those that do can walk in the Queen's parade.

 

 

 

 

 

o

Doesn't this man look just like the real "Jack Sparrow"?

He even gave me a card that said the other Jack Sparrow.renspace.com.  It also says to email the picture you take of the two of us and he will put them on his web site.  I didn't take my picture with him.

 

 There were about 6 riders with different

size bike.  They are so fun to watch.

 

 

He was part of the Historical Society.

 

The Queen's guard.  The Queen rides in the parade, but my camera battery died .  Typical!!!!

JUST RAMBLING!

I can't post pictures, I have computer problems, so I thought I would just ramble. After all, isn't that what our personal blogs are all about. It gives us an opportunity to share ideas, recipes, make friends and vent.

The weather here is terrible and very strange for us. We usually have the air conditioning on this time of year, but we have had unusually cold weather off and on for several weeks. Yesterday and today, it has not gotten over 32 degrees. Needless to say, I have remained indoors except to feed and check on the goats. We have 6 new babies and I really worry about them in this cold.

I have spent this day cooking and making jewelry. I need a dish for Bridge on Thursday and a party on Friday and we have company coming on Wednesday and they will be here for lunch, so I am trying to get all of the above done today.

I have the Geek Squad coming Wednesday afternoon between 4 - 8 pm, so I hope to be back and running at full speed on Thursday and maybe we can get the changes made to the site within a few days.

I just read an interesting article on the Internet about the 5 dirtiest foods. They are in this order: eggs, peaches, pre-packaged salad mixes, melons and scallions. After reading the article I will definitely be sure I wash food more carefully. I have also been watching the decorating channel on tv and it makes me want to start all over on my house....Roy would die.

I am not a shabby chic, antiquer, or thrifter, but I love to see your homes and what you have done with them. They are beautiful and I am happy to see your talent, just wish I had some also.

Well, enough rambling, hope you will appreciate style even thought it is different and you will let me share your homes and ideas.

Freezing in Central Texas..............Barbara

COMPUTER TROUBLE

I AM HAVING COMPUTER PROBLEMS, WILL BE BACK SHORTLY...

Galveston, Oh Galveston!

What a wonderful surprise awaited us. I am not ready to post pictures, but I can tell you those folks down there have really worked.
Dickens on the Strand was delightful. The weather was perfect and the crowd was awesome.
There were about 150 vendors and almost 1/2 of people came in custom. The atmosphere was one of light hearted and friendly. About 10 of the stores had cleaned out 5-6 feet of mud, torn out walls, replaced electricity and had some merchandise for sale.
Willie G's, one of Roy's favorite restaurant, opened Friday night and it is beautiful inside, the service was excellent and the food delicious.
My favorite store, Coastal Creations was also open with new walls, paint, carpet, and some beautiful new merchandise.

As you can see, we had a great time. Our bed and breakfast was great, food and hospitality typical of southern charm and the best part, my brother and sister-in-law came from Groves, Texas to spend the day with us.

Can you tell we had a great time and were thrilled to see Galveston still need lots of work, but the attitudes were WE ARE COMING BACK!

Will post pictures in a day or two. Still planning some changes for the blog.

TODAY IS THE DAY!

WE ARE HEADED TO GALVESTON AND DICKENS ON THE STRAND. The local newspapers say there will be a much smaller version of it this year, but we are just happy they are having it at all and it gives us a chance to have a couple of days away from the animals and daily chores.

We are staying at a new B&B for us and Lana the owner seems to be an exceptionally nice lady. I will bring back pictures. There is an old drugstore there we love to go to, they have the oldest coke sign in the US, hope it is still there. Talking to the owner's aunt yesterday, I learned they had 7 feet of sludge in the store, but are cleaning up and coming back like all the other people down there.

We are leaving behind our beloved cats and dogs. The black cat is Te Neg, she comes every morning and lays down while I work on computer and waits for her attention.

Hope everyone has a great weekend....see you Monday

Way Behind with Christmas Decorations

I have been going to lots of beautiful blogs today and nearly everyone has Christmas decorations, so I took a picture of the one decoration I have out. I had back surgery several months ago, so I need my hysband to get my boxes out of my fru fru house. This will happen Monday after we return from Galveston. Looking at this picture, you can see why I am the purple goat lady.

The Perfect Gift That Fits Everybody

Are you still looking for that exactly just right gift to give this Christmas Season? Here's one that is easy to find, inexpensive, non-fattening, and fits all sizes. HUGGING! Yes, you are reading this right, hugging! Hugging has been found to be healthy because it helps the body's immune system, it cures depression, it reduces stress, it induces sleep, it's invigorating, it's
rejuvenating, it has no unpleasant side effects, anyone can apply it, it is unbreakable, and it works like a miracle drug!

Not only that HUGGING is all natural...it is organic, naturally sweet, no preservatives, no pesticides, no artificial ingredients, and 100 percent wholesome! HUGGING is practically perfect...no movable parts, no batteries to wear out, no periodic check-ups, low energy yield, no assembly required, and always....fully returnable! TRY IT! You might be really surprised!

What Can I Say?

It is 9:30 am and my helper has not appeared, I called my friend that we" borrow him from" and she said his sister relates that he has gone to work for a roofing company.

I don't take back the things I said about him, I am just terribly disappointed. So are my friends.

That's life.

Help Is On The Way!

Today I have a young man from El Salvador coming to work for about 4 days. Roy is still gone, so this is a blessing for me.
His name is Danny and he is one of the most pleasant young man I have encountered in a long time. He told me, he lives in a travel trailer with his sister and her husband. His parents are still in El Salvador and they are field workers. He has a limp and some fingers crooked on one hand and the best we can understand is it happen on some kind of machinery.But believe me, it doesn't slow him down. He also related to me that he walked 1 month to get here. We ask about his parents coming and he said they had no car and couldn't walk that far.

A Hispanic lady at the resturant explained to me that El Salvador has the same currency as the United States and that the average pay is about $5.00 a day.

I know Thanksgiving has come and gone, but in this country we should always be thankful.

I look forward to my four days with Danny.

Well, on the lighter side, Roy and I are headed to Galveston on Friday for Dickens on the Strand.
We realize that it will not be the same as years gone by, but we want to lend our support and some money to these people who lost so much and have worked to hard to return to normal...... And I MIGHT ADD DID THIS MOSTLY ON THEIR OWN ......not sitting around waiting for someone else to do it. I am proud to be a Texan.

I am off my soap box for now.....see you soon.

SOME KICKIN' RECIPES

CHEESY VEGETABLE SOUP

4 10 1/2 OZ. cans chicken broth

2 1/2 cups potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped onion

2 1/2 cups chopped broccoli

2 1/2 cups chopped cauliflower

2 10 3/4 oz cans cream of chicken soup

1 lb. pasteurized process cheesed, cubed

1 lb. Mexican cheese

1 lb cooked chicken or ham, cubed

In a large soup pot, combine chicken broth, potatoes, celery and onion. Cook about 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add broccoli and cauliflower. Cook an additional 10 minutes. Add soup, cheeses and chicken or ham; simmer until warm. Makes 14 1/2 cups.

SHRIMP PETITES

2 Cups plus 2 tablespoons Pioneer Buttermilk Biscuit and Baking Mix, divided

2/3 milk

1/2 lb cooked shrimp

4 slices bacon, cooked crisp

2 slices Swiss cheese

2 eggs

2/3 cup evaporated milk

1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

1/4 teaspoon salt

dash of pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine 2 cups Pioneer mix and 2/3 cup of milk. Form into ball and knead on floured surface until smooth. Dough will be sticky, so use plenty of flour as you roll out thin and cut into 24 rounds using 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter. Place each round in greased cup of muffin tin and mold to fit bottom and sides. Or, if desired, use a miniature muffin pan and instead of rolling out dough, make small 1 inch dough balls and press into cups. Set aside.

Clean shrimp and chop if medium or large. Divide shrimp evenly among muffin cups.

Crumble bacon and divide evenly over top of shrimp. Chop cheese finely and sprinkle over top of bacon. Mix eggs, evaporated mild, 2 tablespoons Pioneer mix, Tabasco, salt and pepper and pour even amount into each cup. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until cheese begins to brown.

This recipe was a runner up in a recipe contest!

Hope you enjoy these, they are both excellent.

MEET PILGRIM/OWNER OF THE PASTURE AND HIS GOATS

This is Pilgrim, one of the dogs that guards our goats. Pilgrim came to the Bar H as a puppy. He had never been touched by a human until the day I bought him. He was raised in a pasture with his mother and father and a lot of goats.

They said in the goat books not to make a pet of your guard dog, so I listened well. I did put a collar on him shortly after he arrived and that was a fatal mistake, as he grew the collar didn't and we could not touch him. Finally the Vet had to shoot him with dart to put him temporarily down, so we could take off collar and treat his neck.

He has grown into a beautiful dog, but make no mistake the pasture and the goats belong to him. He has never bitten or attack anyone, but he does not want you in his pasture or around his goats. He will kill any animal that comes in his pasture....racoons, skunks, cycotes,possums, etc.

Pilgrim will live his life here and I guess when his time comes, he will die in his pasture with his goats and his Mary. Mary is the love of his life. But Mary is another story and another day.

Have great shopping day, if that is what you do, or just a great day period. We got a little rain last night and hopefully some more today.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING AND NEW BABY GOAT

Hi,

Well the long awaited day is here ! Time to eat all that good food you have been preparing.

Just stuff yourself, it only comes once a year, so to heck with the calories. Anyway tomorrow you can walk it off...shopping.

I wouldn't get out in that madhouse for anything. I think I will just stay home and start taking down all the Thanksgiving and start putting up Christmas decorations. The following are pictures that will disappear tomorrow. Well as you can see, I don't know how to move pictures.

I went to Houston Tuesday to get my hair cut and when I returned, I saw what appeared to be a lonely goat in the pasture all by herself and that is disturbing....I was expecting a new baby. There he was the cutest little wad of fur curled up on the ground.

As you can see I only added one Thanksgiving picture..trying to learn to put pictures below text. I am slowing getting better. (I THINK)

FOOD FOR THE NEEDY

GOOD MORNING TO YOU ALL,

Friday, Karen and I went to Tyler, Texas to pick up some Greenberg turkeys for her company to give to customers. Her company also makes a donation to the Lord's Pantry that provides for the needy in our county. We bought cereal, oatmeal, peanut butter, jelly, etc., things they told us the were in desperate need of. Her company is also giving about 10 plus commercially processed deer to the Pantry.

Folks it is that time of year, each one of us can make a difference in the lives of another
person.

My Bridge club is providing food and gifts for a less fortunate family in our area and the Bunko ladies are gathering food for the Pantry.

About 12 or so years ago, the Guadalupe River severely flooded the town of Cuero, where my husband grew up and his mother still lived. Her home was destroyed. He took several months off and went down to cleaned up the mess and fixed his mother another place to live. He said all the days he was down there, in the heat, the people who came with food and water everyday were the Salvation Army workers...........so don't pass up their red kettles.

So from our house to yours......HAPPY THANKSGIVING!........and make it one for someone else by sharing all the blessing you have.
God Bless this Country!

countdown to christmas widget

Cake Balls

If you haven't tasted these...you are in for a real treat at probably 10 zillion calories.

I made these for my bridge club.

Cake Balls

1 box cake, flavor of your choice

1 can of icing, again your choice

I made my own cream cheese icing

chocolate almond bark

1 tablespoon crisco oil

Bake cake according to directions on box

I used a 9x13 pan

while cake is still warm, crumble and mix with icing

"great finger licking at this point"

put mixture in freezer for about 1 hour

Scoop with melon scoop, place on wax paper

put back in freezer for 1 hour or overnight

Melt bark, add oil while melting.

Roll balls in chocolate.

You can also roll in coconut, nut meal, or sprinkles.

One cake makes tons of balls.

They are delicious and make a pretty presentation.

New Look!

Thank You, Amber. I am so excited about my new look!

I was on the road again Sunday, to Martha's Bloomers in Navasota for a early look at some of their Christmas designs and to have lunch in their Tea Room. They had some beautiful things and the lunch was delicious. If you haven't been there, it is worth the trip. There is also a great winery, Windy Hill Winery at Breham that has some great wines.

I found some old jewelry in a box in my "fru fru" house and I think I will put it for sale on EBay.
This will be another new experience for me. I never dreamed the day my friend Sharon told me about blogging, that 2 or 3 weeks later, I would be so involved. I love it.

Anyone needing a bag or several hundred bags of leaves are certainly welcome to come and get them and the very best thing is that they are free, I will even furnish the bags.

Well, I need to get busy around here and do a little ironing.

Before I go, I would like to ask everyone to say a prayer for our country, we can use a little help.

Nutcracker Market

WOW!!!!

I went Friday to Houston to the Nutcracker Market and was over-whelmed by the merchandise and the number of people in attendance at 10:05 am.
What a fabulous market these ladies and gentlemen put together. It was well organized and there were people there to help you with any questions. What they couldn't control was the tremendous number of people who came to shop, and shop, and shop.

I was extremely please to find Tina of Cherry Hill Cottage and see all the things they had to sell. I bought several things......and so were hunderds (it seemed like) of other people. It was a beautiful booth. Tina took time to talk with me for a few minutes. Now I have a real person to go with the blog.

I also purchased a Mary Frances purse, I carried her bags in my stores and simply love them, so I was thrilled to see Robin Clayton Designs, they carry more Mary Frances bags than anyone else in the country. I got a cute one with animal print ruffles, will try to post picture.

The BEST NEWS is Amber at The Shabee Chick Designs is doing a total makeover on my very pitful attempt to design a blog. I hope lots of folks will visit me. I am really wanting to meet people and have lots of blogging friends.

Blogging is very new to me, so I hope you will all be patient and not come once and never return.

Not Perfect but will do!

I am not sure why I am creating a blog. I don't sell anything and am not particularly creative,but I am home alone alot and thought this was a way to meet new people.
I will continue to work on my blog's appearance. I hope you can tell I like purple, in fact my husband says he lives in Barney's Belly. We have about 40+ goats at the present time, but will be heading to the auction within a month or two. We have too many males and plan on buying some addition nannies.

Most people believe raising goats is just putting them in a pasture and forgetting them until time for market, well folks that is far,far from the truth. They have worms, pink eye and other problems, so I check my goats everyday and spend time in the pasture learning about each goat.
There is nothing cuter than a baby goat and nothing sweeter. I will include some pictures shortly.

Well that is your lesson for today........Goats 101. Tune in for the next episode and please let me hear from you.

Goats, Dogs, Cats, Ducks........

Hello, My name is Barbara and this is my first day!