Doppelganger | Celebrity Look Alike Generator

In a recent fad stated by Facebook, everyone is in search of their doppelganger. What is a doppelganger? Well, I had to turn to the trusty old Wikipedia to get an exact definition.

Doppelganger: As stated on Wikipedia here.

In the vernacular, the word "doppelgänger" has come to refer (as in German) to any double or look-alike of a person. The word is also used to describe the sensation of having glimpsed oneself in peripheral vision, in a position where there is no chance that it could have been a reflection. They are generally regarded as harbingers of bad luck. In some traditions, a doppelgänger seen by a person's friends or relatives portends illness or danger, while seeing one's own doppelgänger is an omen of death. In Norse mythology, a vardøger is a ghostly double who precedes a living person and is seen performing their actions in advance.

The definition left me feeling kinda freaked out. I don't know if I want to do a search and find my doppelganger. But I am sure I will, and post it to this article. If you too, want to jump on the Facebook bandwagon and keep this fad going, here's a handy celebrity look-alike generator below.

If you want to join in on the fun and see who you resemble, it is fun, fast, simple and free at Picitup.com or MyHeritage.com. You can then post it to any of your social pages and share the fun. Just a note, MyHeritage.com wants you to install a toolbar before you can use the morph feature. I hated to, but with the higher than normal usage at Picitup.com, their site is currently down. And search after search kept leading me back to MyHeritage.com.

Have fun and if you wish, feel free to leave your celebrity look-alike photo in a comment! I'd love to see which celebrities (look a likes) are reading my articles. lol.

The below results of the celebrity look alike generator are mine. However, I don't think I really resemble any of the ones MyHeritage.com chose for me. And so therefore, I retried it all over again with a different picture of myself a few times. And here are the links to my other look-a-likes:

Anna Kournikova (famous tennis player) look-a-like.

Jessica Simpson (famous singer) look-a-like.

Cool Links you may also like:

What is your Urban Name Definition?

Celebrity Look Alike Generator:

Get Your Doppelganger Here!

My long lost dog, Gravey

My dog ran away or what-have you almost two years ago. We had just moved here, to a new place, right next to the Daniel Boone National Forest, which is huge!

This is a pic of my dog, Gravey about 3 years ago. Somehow he got out of his dog kennel and I saw him late that night because his barking alerted me he was out front. Which was odd because his dog kennel was in back. I cracked the door a little, looked out, and saw him backing up in our driveway, barking in the opposite direction. Almost like something was coming after him. We do have coyotes around here, and that's the first thing that went through my mind. All the neighbors have their dogs in fenced yards or kennels, so none are really out running, but it could have been a dog too. But I yelled, "Get!" and after a few moments, my dog, Gravey, came on up towards the porch. I then shut the door because I was home alone. My husband was working away that week. So I didn't feel safe going out and locking him back up right then. I thought to myself, "I'll just put him back in his kennel in the morning." And I now wish I had done that then!

And we looked and looked for him. Days, weeks and months of searching all the main and back roads. And nothing.

And then outta the blue, my sister ran across this pic to the right, of a dog one of her friends found on the side of a road, about 20 minutes from our house, around the Cave Run Lake.

I immediately thought it was my dog. I had her ask him all kinds of questions about where and when he saw it. And why he took a pic, and so on. He said he was just driving around with friends, saw it and they feed him and let him back go, because he had on a collar.

Do you think it's the same dog? Is the flash maybe making the brown appear lighter in the photo above? My husband thinks the pics are of the same dog, but as much as I want to believe it is, I don't think they are the same.

What do you think?

Wander how I came up with the name Gravey for him?

Knock Knock | Santa's Here

That's what I said as I knocked on each door tonight.

Sitting here thinking, I feel pretty good about my days work. Well, I would hardly call it work. But I did get a lot done.

Even though we will be spending another day finishing up our Christmas shopping tomorrow or Thursday. Today I was able to deliver a load of gifts tonight to those whom I had already finished shopping for. And it felt good. My husband was a great little helper also! Mostly the good feelings came from getting to see those people I hadn't saw in like forever! Life is just super busy and many reasons are there to keep us from visiting as much as we like.

I believe I will put that in my New Years Resolutions for 2011, to visit family & friends more often!

A Bright and Joyful Christmas is the Wish I'm Sending You | Vintange XMAS Card

A Bright and Joyful Christmas is the wish I'm sending you

Another one of my Christmas postcards from my vintage collection. It has so much nice detail, I thought it deserved a closer look.

 

 This is just one of my Vintage Christmas postcards from my collection.
It, along with many more can be found in my STORY OF CHRISTMAS post displaying a variety of old vintage Christmas cards that's in my vintage collection.

Come take a look!

To Wish You Joy at Christmastime | Vintage Christmas Cards

To Wish You Joy at Christmastime

Another one of my Christmas postcards from my vintage collection. It has so much nice detail, I thought it deserved a closer look.

 

This is just one of my Vintage Christmas postcards from my collection.
It, along with many more can be found in my STORY OF CHRISTMAS post displaying a variety of old vintage Christmas cards that's in my vintage collection.

Come take a look!

Best XMas Wishes | Vintage Christmas Card

Best XMAS Wishes

Another one of my Christmas postcards from my vintage collection. It has so much nice detail, I thought it deserved a closer look.


 


This is just one of my Vintage Christmas postcards from my collection.
It, along with many more can be found in my STORY OF CHRISTMAS post displaying a variety of old vintage Christmas cards that's in my vintage collection.

Come take a look!

A Merry Christmas | Vintage Christmas Card

I am in love with vintage Christmas cards! I have alot of them.

One of my Vintage Christmas postcards from my collection.
It, along with many more can be found in my STORY OF CHRISTMAS post displaying a variety of old vintage Christmas cards that's in my vintage collection.

Come take a look!

A Joyous Christmas | Vintage Christmas Cards

One of my Vintage Christmas postcards from my collection.
It, along with many more can be found in my STORY OF CHRISTMAS post displaying a variety of old vintage Christmas cards that's in my vintage collection.

Come take a look!

A Vintage Christmas

The Story of Christmas Cards

How did the tradition of giving out Christmas cards even begin? Well, Collectors Weekly proclaims that over in Britain in 1843, a rich man named Sir Henry Cole, had a terrible problem. It seemed he had so many people to send a greeting to that he couldn't possibly hand write them all. So being a man of wealth, he had a card made showing charity to the poor. He then sent that out to all on his list. And there you have it, the Christmas card was born.

Christmas cards, along with all other holidays and even including the postcard form has always intrigued me. Being as I have a love for arts and almost everything vintage anyway. And as many people already know, I am an avid auction goer. All consisting of auction houses, estate sales, and storage units. Seems like whenever I hear an auctioneer bellowing out those jibber jabbish words, my blood gets to pumping. And I'm there!

Well, since it is so close to Christmas I thought I'd share a good ole' auction find here with you. In one of the last estate auctions I went to this past summer, I bought a couple boxes of old books. My husband loves them and has bookcases full. So I always try to buy them when I can. Well, when going through them at home, I discovered that one of the "books" was not actually a book at all. It was a fake book. A fake book that was like a mini safe. Really cool, let me tell you. I couldn't wait to slide it out of the fake book case it was in and see what was inside. And when I did, I found oodles of old love letters. And lots of keepsake post cards & vintage Christmas cards.

So I have scanned some of the vintage Christmas cards that I found in that sale to share here. Going by the postmark, all the ones below are from the early 1900's. Enjoy!

I also collect postcards of my hometown. It's a cool way to see how it was before I was around.

Notes of Interest:

Collectors Weekly says, "The most sought after vintage Christmas postcards are those featuring Santa Claus dressed in a color other than red – such as purple, green, yellow or orange."
That is cool! I have never saw Santa in a purple outfit before. Have you?

Do you collect vintage holiday cards or postcards? If so, what holiday is your favorite?

~*~

INTERESTING LINK:

From Collectors Weekly, you can see how these vintage cards are selling on eBay:
View by: most watched • high bid • ending soon • completed

~*~

Gathers New Site SKYWORD| Gather Shutting Down?

Gather has launched a new site called Skyword. It's like an interface that helps join writers to other companies to write on specific topics. It's site reads something like "skilled freelance writers, from experts like doctors or investment advisors to people with practical life experience like stay-at-home moms" can become Skywriters.

So is Gather as we know it shutting down?


There has been no formal announcement yet. But the end seems to be anticipated.

I was first hit with the thought of Gather maybe closing when I came upon a thread of discussion here, on 12-15-2010. And I was like, "OMG." I hadn't heard anything of it, until reading those comments.

Seems Gather is moving on to big & better things (Skyword) and this site is probably not gonna continue as it is. Whether that means changing or closing is anyone's guess. For now, with no formal announcement on the matter, we are all left in limbo. Although while checking out Skyword, i was reading the About the Team section and saw that Tom Gerace had written this, "Gather remains an owned-and-operated property of Skyword Inc."

So take that however you may. Remains? As in how long is what I am thinking.

What site will you turn most of your "Gather Time" to if Gather does close? Will you consider checking out the new SKYWORD to become a "skywriter?"

Until reading Gather.com- The Elephant in the Room, I never really thought of Gather as a site being full of rubbish & spam. As described by Praveen Deepak.

Check it out. I found a link to that page in Kevin's comment section. Thanks Darren ("Site Psychologist ") Lynn, for posting that link for all of us to check out. I'd never really given Gather much thought until reading that. It gives you a bit to think about, that's for sure.

Do you think Gather is full of rubbish and spam?
In my eyes, I love it. So I guess it's view lies within the eyes of the lookers. Make it or take it as you will. Gather is and has been my favorite online forum since I ran into it many years ago. And I think it will continue to be, that is, if they get their servers back up and going. lol.

Are you going to sign up for Skyword?

PS. Friends & Comment Club members, I've not been around much past few days because my husband is taking a few days off from work! YAY! And I am getting to see him a lot & loving it :-)

Gather | The "Welcome to Gather" Post by Tom Gerace

I was reading through many posts and articles this evening about whether or not Gather may be shutting down. And somewhere, maybe on Kevin's comments? I'm not sure but if I can find it again, I will leave credit below. Anyway, I ran across a very interesting link to this: Welcome to Gather | Gather. It was posted by Tom Gerace, the founder and CEO of Gather.

What I found most interesting when I visited the welcome post, is that it had only been viewed 58 times and had only one comment. ONE COMMENT? I was thinking that if I had started Gather, that maybe I would have chosen to send out the welcome post to all new members. Because I'm sure there are many out here in Gatherland that have no idea exactly what Gather is or what it was intended to be. And that post would have given me a little insight.

Have you ever saw that "Welcome to Gather" post by Tom before now?

or less yet, are you with me in not even knowing who Tom was?

Simple Roasted Pumpkin Seed Recipe

Simple Roasted Pumpkin Seed Recipe:

This recipe for pumpkin seeds are best when enjoyed while still warm, fresh from the oven.

-All you do is scoop out the seeds of an average pumpkin, (which most do anyways when carving the pumpkin). Place them in a medium sized bowl.

-Wash them off in the bowl under cool water. Pour out the water and drain.

-Add a teaspoon of melted butter to the seeds and stir until seeds are well coated. (This is optional)

-Place them on a backing sheet and sprinkle with a dash of salt (to your own taste, which is also optional)

-Bake in the oven at 350* for about 45 minutes. More or less per your own desire. Everyones tastes are different. So have fun and experiment with different techniques.


Please Note: 1 1/2 cups will yeild approximately 6 small servings

Gurning Granny | Champion Crowned

At the Egremont Crab Fair, in Cumbria, Anne Woods, age 62, won first place and a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for gurning.

For those of you, like myself that didn't know, the Wikipedia Encyclopedia states that gurning is a distorted facial expression.

And within the contest, Anne Woods was holding her face in the same distorted position for four minutes for the judges to make their decision. She reportedly passed out moments later, and was found lying on the floor by Tommy Mattinson, a fellow champion gurner. She spent the night in Whitehaven's West Cumberland Hospital and was later released.

She had previously won the competition 26 times but had yet to make it into the Guinnes Book of World Records. Now that she has done that, it is unknown if she will compete again in the future.

Energy Sucking Electronics | Vampire Power

[REPOST]

Everyone knows about turning off a light when you exit a room to help save on your electric bill. But did you also know that even though electronics aren't on, they can still be sucking electric and raising our bills? This is known as "vampire power," or standby power.

The "vampire power" can use as much as 10 to 15 watts per device. And Wikipedia reports that "vampire power" makes up 10 percent of the total electric used in residents.

So simply unplug the unused items or hook them up to a power strip, and unplug that. This small action can save big time at years end and put that hard earned money back into our pockets.

Christina Aguilara's Rebound Romance

After splitting from her soon to be ex-husband of a five year marriage, Jordan Bratman, 33, just three weeks ago, Christina, 29, takes the town with a new beau, Matthew Rutlet, at her side.

The new couple were on a double date with Nicole Richie and Joel Madden. They were spotted by E!Online entering L.A.'s Soho House located in West Hollywood, which is for private members only.

Aguilara first met Rutlet while working on the movie Burlesque, which premiers on November 24, 2010, where Rutlet was a set assistant. So one has to ask the question of whether or not this is a true love interest? Being as it's happening so quickly, remember, only three weeks have passed since her marriage mishap, one can be lead to another possible conclusion. Is this simply a staged romance to create more sparks for the movie? Hum, either way it seems the couple is attracting loads of attention, so something is working. Especially as there is no such thing as bad press anymore.

Going by the numbers stated at DivorceMag, Aguilara and Bratman are short two years of the average Hollywood marriage, which runs approximately seven years.

Bratman and Aguilara are parents to a two year old son, Max. Do you think after some time apart, they will rekindle their marriage or stay on their separate paths?

How to Cook Corn on the Cob

Corn on the Cob Cooking Tips

Enjoying fresh, summer corn on the cob is a taste bud's treat of the year. But did you know you can also enjoy corn on the cob, with the same yummy taste during the winter months?

Whether you are handy in the kitchen or not, dont worry, it's an easy process. Doing so comes with ease.

Gathering Your Bounty

You simply first gather your harvest for storage. Whether this means roaming through your very own garden or purchasing the corn on the cob at your local Farmers Market. When trying to pick the best corn, please keep in mind these simple tips.

Picking Corn at the Peak of Ripeness

Always pick corn at the peak of ripeness. Choose corn that boasts bright green husks that appear moist. When the silk is stiff and dark, the ear of corn is at it's best. You should also be able to feel a kernel of corn through the husk. Feel for fullness.

Corn on the cob begins to lose approximately 25% of it's sugar within 25 hours of being picked. So keep this in mind, and try to get it into to the freezer as soon as possible.

Preparing Corn for Freezer Storage

Next you prepare your corn for freezer storage. There's no need to shuck your corn prior to freezing. To retain the corns most flavorful goodness while cooking, I prefer to leave the husks on during freezer storage. So you simply take a knife and cut the top off the husks even. Make sure the corn is clean and free of dirt and bugs. Then place approximately four ears of corn per one gallon freezer storage bag. Place bags into the freezer at 0*. These bags of corn can be stored for approximately 10 months, while retaining most flavor.

Cooking Frozen Corn on the Cob

Remove your frozen corn on the cob from the freezer. Rinse under cool water. Do not remove husks. There are a number of ways to cook the frozen corn which includes boiling, grilling, microwaving or steaming. The best way, which allows one to get the feeling of summer corn all over again is to simply boil it.

No need to thaw your corn. Place your corn in a pot of cold water, leaving approximately three inches above for the boiling process. Add one tablespoon of sugar, if desired. Let the corn come to a full boil for approximately 7-10 minutes. You will begin to smell the corn. Take off boil immediately. Let corn cool, then remove husks and silk. You may want to add your own flavorings such as butter, salt, chili powder, etc. and enjoy!

Corn on Cob Dont's

Do not be tempted to quickly submerge your scalding hot corn on the cob into a bowl of freezing water. Doing so can leave your corn tasting soggy. Overcooking corn can lead to tough kernels. As does adding salt during the boiling process.

Health Benefits of Eating Corn

• Corn contains beta-cryptoxathin which is healthy for lungs. And beta-cryptoxathin may also help prevent lung cancer.


• Consuming corn in moderation, regularly helps improve your cardiovascular health.


• Corn is rich in folate, which helps the body generate new cells. This is a very important process during pregnancy.


• Corn contains a high amount of fiber. It helps to keep cholesterol levels low and may even help reduce the risk of colon cancer.

Corn on the Cob Facts

According to Food Facts & Trivia there are 800 kernels in each ear of corn. These kernels come arranged in 16 rows. The rows are always an even number. This is because one cell always divides into two. And as this process continues, it always comes out to an even number. And surprisingly, there is one piece of silk per kernel to each corn on the cob.

Corn is one of the most important foods of the world. It comes in third only to be surpassed by wheat and rice.

How do you enjoy corn on the cob? Plain, dripping butter or do you add spices such as chili powder?

My Peddlers Mall Booth

As an avid auction goer, yard saler and bargain hunter, one of my favorite places to shop is at the Peddlers Mall.

What is a Peddlers Mall?

If you are not familiar with a Peddlers Mall it is basically an old building, usually an out of date Wal-Mart building, that has been revamped into a flea market type store. Within the last 11 years they have grown to 20 retail locations mostly which are within Kentucky and Indiana.

This store is very unique and different from a flea market because each vendor does not need to stay with their booth in order for sales to occur. Customers roam the store, make their selections and pay for their entire order all at the front counters. Each item in the store is marked separately by each vendors' tag. And so the cashiers take extra care, reading each tag and so on, to ensure sales are correct.

Then vendors are paid once a month for their booth sales, minus the booth rent, which is usually around $120 each, and a mere 4% sales fee. I believe. I'll have to recheck that.


A Look Inside the Store

The store itself is very unique. Every ten feet or so, you are presented with booths of various vendors. You see, each booth is rented out separately, so everyone's items vary in detail greatly. You never know what you will find. One vendor may offer antiques while the booth next to it may offer Nascar items. You just never know what you will find. The categories are endless.







Peddlers Mall in Morehead, KY

Our local Peddlers Mall is wonderful. It is located in Morehead, KY. I've been to a lot of them, but this particular one is awesome. I even have my own booth in which I sell the primitive furniture and decorating accessories I make. If you've been connected to me here, I'm sure you've seen some of my posts about re-doing furniture in the primitive style. If not, here's a link.





The aisles are always clean. The individual booths, most of them (99%), are very well kept. The workers are very friendly and accommodating. Overall, it is just a wonderful, thrifty shopping experience. Makes the hunt for treasures all the more fun. Not to mention how much money you save rather than shopping retail!





Do you have a Peddlers Mall close to you?

If you don't have a Peddlers Mall close, you can always shop their shelves online here.

List of store locations


More photos of my own booth, Booth #555

Church Billboard Signs

Our little community has a lot of churches. And once a week they update their billboard signs outside. That is, the ones that have one. They are meant to be catchy to grab your attention. And do they ever. Of all of them, there are three each week, that I wait on to update. I love reading them as I drive by. And I want to share them with you.

'Seven days without God makes one weak.'

Does any of your local churches post catchy signs?

My Coke Rewards

I am a member of MyCokeRewards. That is where you save your twist off caps and box codes from drinking Coca~Cola and trade them in for rewards. I love the magazines! Anyways, I just entered all my codes and after doing so, up came a "did you know." So I thought I'd share it with ya'll.

Did You Know?

Going green: Over 75% of solid waste from Coca-Cola Co. plants is recycled/reused.

Favorite Food on Turkey Day?

Turkey day will be here soon. What is one of the dishes you wait on all year long?

For me it is a banana split cake that one of my sister-in-laws makes. It is to die for! And thankfully she makes it every year.

I wanted to try this post out while dealing with the .gif pics to see if I could get them to post correctly. If you see a flashing (moving) turkey then my work is successful. lol. If he's not moving, then I still don't know how this works. lol. If you need photos in the .gif format, you can find them at photobucket.

Dressing or Stuffing?

Is it dressing or stuffing at your Thanksgiving dinner?

Around here it is home-made dressing. Being that it starts out as home-made, baked cornbread and then in comes all the extras.

What do you have at your Thanksgiving dinner?

Easy Recipe | Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

I made these again the other day and everyone loved them. Enjoy.

1Box of Devils Food Cake mix

2 large eggs

1 cup crunchy peanut butter

2 teaspoons milk (optional)

1 bag of snack size Reese Pieces

~~~~~~*~~~~~~

Pre-heat oven to 350*

Grease bottom of cookie sheet.

Mix all ingredients together.

Form dough balls, spoon sized.

Place on greased cookie sheet.

~~~~~*~~~~~

Bake for approx. 8-10 minutes

Take up, let cool... Serve!

~~~YuM~~~

What is your all time favorite cookie?

What do you see from your window?

This post goes along with my profile pic. Someone has once posted a comment under it, stating that it would make for a good post. I asked this question once before about a year ago, and got wonderful answers.

It's a simple question. And will give us all a lil insight as to each of our surroundings.


From my window I see big ole hills, countless trees, so bare. A few of them are hanging onto to a couple last leaves that haven't fallen yet. An empty hammock, hanging ever so still, waiting for spring yet once again. A small creak in the distant, flowing ever so gently.

My backyard is huge. It is also called the Daniel Boone National Forest.

Thats what I see from my window.

What do you see from your window?

Decorating My Peddlers Mall Booth

Just time for a quick post this evening, as I have a lot of items to get together tonight. And it is already 9:42pm here. I am usually headed to bed right now. lol.

Tomorrow I have a full day ahead of me. I am going to be re-decorating my Peddlers Mall booth in a Christmas theme. I know it seems a little early, but I want it to be ready to go come the Black Friday sale.

I have primitive Christmas trees to put up and decorate. I bought some new type of battery operated lights that stay on for 6 hours, then automatically turn themselves off for 18 hours, then back on again, etc. They claim that one set of batteries will run them for 90 days. We will see!

I have tables to move into the booth and tables that do not fit the theme, to move out. And oodles of holiday treasures to display. And lots of items to tag. It will be a full day for sure.

So goodnight Gather!

When (if you do) do you begin to decorate for Christmas at your house?

Thinkpoint has got me....

I read about the virus earlier this week. I didn't think much of it sine I have not had a virus in about four years. Well, my home pc has now got it. And I am on my husbands palm pre cellphone to post this. So until I can figure out how to fix it, I won't be on here but from my cell to check mail. m
My pc won't evendo the control.alt. Delete function so I'm just stuck bigtime. It literally won't do anything but come on and show the cllickpoint popup.
So gonna go search on this phone for thinkpoint removal help.
What a headache.

ThinkPoint Virus | Update

My pc was infected with the "ThinkPoint" virus the other day and OMG! Such a headache! I want to thank all of you that sent messages and comments as to how to maybe help with it. I really appreciate it! But my pc was completely at a stand still. Only buttons clickable were related to the ThinkPoint screen, like to do their virus scan and such!

Thanks to my bro-in-law Shane, big time, for doing a system recovery for me and updating the virus protection today.

Now, I will be making up time, commenting and viewing all posts in the Comments Club, and my friends posts soon. I hated it that the "ThinkPoint" virus stopped me like that. It was awful!

Also, thanks again to all those who left me comments as to what may help. I was trying to lookkup all the help topics from my husband's Palm Pre Plus, and it is an aggravating phone if there ever was one! I like it, but omg, hard to do things like that on! Thank goodness he doesn't take it to work with him. He takes his old LG Vu, so he left the Palm at home. And it had wifi. But I used it sparingly due to the fact it is very complicated to work. lol.

But all is good now, and I will be commenting, viewing, and replying to you all soon!

Aluminum Collection

For some reason, the past year has had me searching for aluminum kitchen items. I had an empty pot rack above my stove and didn't want to hang pots/pans from it. As I like to be more decorative, I guess you could say.

So one day, my collection started when I used my late Mom's aluminum measuring cup (far right in pic). I then hung it up above the stove for easy access. And gradually, since then, I have been hunting for me aluminum items, kitchen type, to hang. I like them to be useable to, as I am an avid baker.

I also have aluminum cookie cutter decorating my grapevine tree!

My Aluminum Collection

Do you collection any certain things in your kitchen?

Houseplants | Winter Care for Best Growth

As winter approaches, our household plants usually take a turn for the worse. I don't know if it is because my thumbs are not green or what? lol.

Anyways, I looked into plant care a bit and found some interesting tips. So, I wrote an article for handy tips to help prepare and extend the life of your household plants through winter. If you care to read it, it is found here.

Ferns Indoor Plants

Do you have indoor plants?

Red & White Granitwear | Remembering Days Gone By

Along with starting to collect aluminum items, I also enjoy the look of Red & White Granitwear. This is a pic of one of my open shelves where I display a few pieces. I dunno, the look of red and white, I believe, just belong in the kitchen.

The colors remind me of old days gone by when visiting with my Grandmother, whom we called GrandMammy. And so she insisted everyone, even strangers call her that too. Anyways, she had splashes of red in her meager kitchen which were on mainly dishcloths and lots of aluminum cookwear. She was very basic by all means. Only the simpliest items did she own. Both because she was wife to a tobacco farmer with a low income, and because she didn't really want for anything fancy.

I can remember her on various occassions getting read to "go to town" as she said, after the tobacco sales were in. And they bought only what was needed. What they did have, was actually used on a daily basis for survival. Back in those days, it seemed you were happy to just simply put food on the table and take care of the family.

Nowadays, I don't know where that has all went, but we do live in a material world. Makes me kinda sad looking around. If my Grandmammy were here today, I'm sure she'd hate 90% of the items I have, as I never really use them.

What do you remember greatly of your Grandparents kitchen?

Red and White Granitwear

Destination: You Choose

Being an avid poker player, over the years I have met and became friends with many people worldwide. And these friendships have grown over years. I'm talking like, some I have known and played with on a regular basis for almost 10 years now.

Well, this got me to thinking that maybe someday down the road, I may want to actually visit with them. Okay, this goes to the "Captain Safety's" out there, I am not talking about meeting people I just met like yesterday. lol. I am talking years and years of friendship. Although, that too could be very dangerous at times. And one must take all measures of safety in today s world. Hum, this has me rethinking the whole thing again. lol.

But anyways, whether I acutally do or not, I was thinking and I narrowed it down to one person and place that I would like to visit, if I could, before I die. And that would be Cumbria, England, predominately the Lake District. It is rumored to be one of the most beautiful countries in England. And who wouldn't want to visit it? The reason I chose Cumbria is because of a fellow, long term poker buddy that lives there. I would just love to see the everyday views that they see. And to just take in how different we are in so many ways, yet come toghether with such fun, and feeling of same at the tables. I think it would just be awesome!

Where would be one place that you would love to visit before you die. And why?

Closing the Weekend Out

Ahhh. I have had a full day. So doing a little quick post tonight.

Yesterday was sooo slow here. That's the reason I had so much time on my hands to post alot here. My husband had to work, so he only had a one day weekend and that was today. So we done alot of running all day long, trying to fit as much as we could.

Then when we finally got home this evening, I spent about an hour and a half leaf blowing the driveway. Then the driveway turned to the side yard. Then, of course, I did the front yard, etc. Well, anyways I am happy it is done, as I love a well maintained yard. And pretty soon I'll be decorating for Christmas and won't need to bother with the leaves then. Of course, unless more fall or blow all over again. As our yard is huge.

I am missing the auction that we regularly go to tonight, (Sunday.) Just because we've literally ran outta run-around time. lol. I have alot to do to get ready for the week ahead tonight.

I did however, find some great deals today out shopping. I was estatic to find a stone crock bowl at the Peddlers Mall for $1.25! I think they left off a number somewhere. lol. But I was way happy to get it. Then we went to a flea market and found all kinds of goodies. One booth was loaded with all types of new, gift items. So I ended up with three bags just from her. I will use alot of them for small Christmas gifts.

And now, here it is 6:27pm, so I need to go check my emails and get my online activities taken care of. On my way now to the Comments Club posts! :-)

Did you have a busy or relaxing weekend?

My Never-ending Day | A good one!

Just a quick post tonight, again. Been busy all day.

It started out at the Peddlers Mall, of course. lol. As do 99% of my Mondays & Fridays. Got all my decorating done with what I had ready to go. Put up yet another 6' tree there also, with decorations. :-) I love Christmas time. And by then, it was 12:00 pm, already. So had to rush to my Aunt Wilma's house for an early Thanksgiving meal. She's going into the hospital on Wednesday morning for galbladder surgery, so if she comes home that day, she will in no way want or be able to cook on Thursday, so she had it today.

It was a small gathering. Friends and family stopped in on their lunches that were close.

Then at 3:30pm, I went and visited an uncle (heres a pic of him: Where's The BEEF? (funny pic to pass along) that I hadn't seen since last Februrary, which was the death of his sister, another aunt of mine. It was great to catch up with him. We laughed until 6:30pm, and I headed home..... Then back to town because I forgot some things. And now I am home for the night. WEW!

Seems my quick posts run a little long......lol..... sorry!

Myth about Thanksgiving

A funny myth about Thanksgiving to pass along since it is the holiday week.

Did Pilgrims really dress in black with those weird belt buckels and hats?

Well, according to Rick Shenkman, editor of hnn.us, that is a total myth. Seems they wore black on Sundays, and other days, including the first Thanksgiving, they wore white, beige, black, green and brown.

What is something you always heard of about Thanksgiving that may be a myth?

Bag it or Not?

What kind of experience, if any, have you had with cooking turkeys in a bag?

Do they really make the skin more rubbery? Does the bag really make the turkey cook in half the time? Or does it make the turkey more tender and juicy?

I've never cooked one in a bag before. And with all the hype, I'm starting to want to cook a dinner this week. I so wasn't going to as I posted here before. But if I do, I was thinking of cooking it in a bag this time. Should I?

Reasons I Love the Rain

"Anyone who says sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the rain."-Author Unknown

It's 5:15am and I just awoke to pouring rain. It's raining so hard. The wind is blowing just as hard also, because the rain is hitting the windows almost in a sideways fashion. All this makes for one of my most favorite days. Always has been. For some reason I will take a rainy, chilly day over any sunny day.

Reasons you ask?

Well, for starters my makeup always goes on better on rainy days! I guess with all the moisture in the air, it really makes a difference. And until early spring, we always kept a cool mist, large, housesize humidifer going. One of those that look like a large piece of furniture. That goes off and on by itself, after detecting the humidy level.

Another reason is, seems more people stay home rather than out shopping. And yea, I don't only love staying home and staying in on cold, rainy days. I love to get out in it. lol. And believe me, now this week may be an exception, with Thanksgiving comming up. But most days, the shopping stores areound here are at about half that of a regular, sunny day. And that, my friend, I really enjoy. I like elbow room!

And last but not least, another great reason I enjoy rainy days so much is because of my husband. Most of you know, he's an erosion control specialist, and they do 99% of thier work outside in the weather. Trying to keep our land from disappearing from rain wash off, etc. Well, on such days as today, they will have about a 50% chance of comming home. Now, most of the time they just put on thier rain clothes and keep at it. But sometimes, come hard, heavy rains such as today, they may get to head home.

What do you enjoy on a chilly, rainy day?

Christmas Crafts |Creating A Snowman

I enjoy making crafts almost on a daily basis, if time permits. And want to share a previous post I wrote on how to make a snowman, found here.

Banana Cream Supreme

Banana Cream Supreme

After eating dinner at my Aunt Wilma's house Monday, I now know what dessert I am making for my husband's family on Thanksgiving. She had a variety of pies and cakes for us to choose from, but my eye was quickly drawn to a creamy looking, banana pie, topped with chopped pecans. YUM!

My eyes didn't lie. I loved it. It had a graham cracker crust, slices of bananas, and a hint of sour cream mixed with cool whip which all came together in the best possible way.

So banana cream supreme, my friends, is what I will be making for a dessert for Thanksgiving. I don't have a photo to post, but I will snap one later of the one I make.

Heres the recipe, found at AllRecipes if anyone's tastebuds are tempted!

Ingredients

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs


• 1/2 cup melted butter


• 1/4 cup white sugar


• 1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed


• 1 (3.5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix


• 1 cup sour cream


• 3 bananas, sliced

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, combine crackers, butter and sugar. Press mixture into bottom and sides of a 9x13 inch pan.


2. In a large bowl, combine whipped topping, pudding and sour cream; whisk together. Put half of this mixture into crust. Layer sliced bananas over top of pie. Pour second half of pudding mixture over top of bananas.


3. Immediately cover and refrigerate pie for one hour.

CLICK HERE to view the photo of the Banana Cream Supreme

Banana Split Ice Cream Pie

I wrote a post and mentioned this pie in it last week. A few of you asked of the recipe, but I didn't know it until today. As my sister in law always made it for Thanksgiving, and I'd never asked. lol. I never had time cause I was too busy eating it. lol.

Here's the recipe for the Banana Split Ice Cream Pie, as stated on AllRecipes.

Ingredients
1 (9 inch) prepared chocolate cookie crumb crust
2 bananas, sliced
1 quart strawberry ice cream, softened
1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup maraschino cherries (optional)
Directions
Mix cookie crumbs with 1/4 cup melted butter or margarine. Press into a 9-inch pie plate.
Arrange bananas over bottom of crust. Spread ice cream in an even layer over bananas. Top with drained pineapple. Whip the cream and spread over top. Sprinkle with nuts.
Place pie in freezer for 4 hours or until firm. Garnish with cherries, if desired. Makes 8 servings.

How Much Does Your Turkey Weigh?

Well, after days of saying I was not gonna do it....I did! I went ahead and purchased everything needed to make a Thanksgiving feast. And it was a last minute decision.

I was out shopping tonight for a new outfit for dinner with my husbands' family tomorrow. When he said that turkeys were everywhere on sale. I then asked him if that meant he was hinting for me to cook one. And replied with, "O no, not unless you want to."

Then I was like, "okay, lets go get some things and I'll cook dinner." Because I could tell he really wanted a dinner at home also. He always has dinner at his mom's house around 3pm. But he does like leftover alot!

So anyways, we make our own paths through the overly crowded aisles of the food center in WalMart. I ended up buying a Honey Suckle White hen turkey that weighed 11.93 pounds. It cost $.78 per pound, totally it out to $9.31. It has the pop up timer also, so I guess that was a good deal. I dunno really, cause the crowd was so huge, I didn't have time to really compare prices. Mostly what I went on was that the Honey Suckle White brand was the only ones that were not frozen. So being since this was my last minute decision, that was great!

After picking out the turkey, I then had to wander all the aisles looking for sides. It turned out to be a two hour affair. But I am sure we will enjoy it tomorrow! Whatever time I get around to it.

Since we all here at Gather are dots on the map everywhere, I thought this would be fun. Let's do a comparison of turkey sizes and prices in our locations. Just to see if there are major or minor differences.

How much does your turkey weigh this year?

Mine is 11.93 punds @ $0.78/per pound = Total Price $9.31

Banana Cream Supreme | Yum!

Banana Cream Supreme Dessert

I previously wrote a post about a Banana Cream Supreme recipe found here. I follwed the recipe and made it today as part of our Thanksgiving dessert buffet. And it turned out great!

Only thing I seem to have messed up somehow, was that I had a lot of leftover topping, which consisted of the sour cream, pudding, and whipped topping. And I even lowered the recipe to a 8 oz size of whipped topping instead of 12 oz. So I dunno what happened. But other than that, it was a very simple, easy to follow recipe. And belive me, it is Yummy!

Here's a pic of mine:

Banana Cream Supreme Recipe

Day of Nothing?

My day of doing nothing has turned into a day of baking more pies for family, somewhow. Ugh. Now i love to bake, but believe me, a day of doing nothing would be great too.

In between baking pie crusts and filling them with cooked, chocolate pudding, I have managed to view & comment on all postings for the Comments Club today. Which is great that I am finally caught up. Finally! :-)

By the way, If you are not yet a member, please feel free to click here to join!

I'll be heading off here for a while now, but checking in again this evening. My nephew is currently on his way over to spend the night. And he keeps me pretty busy! We'll probably head out to grab something to eat, as he is hard to please. lol.

Have a great day Gatherers!

Is your evening calm or hectic?

My New Years Resolutions | 2011

It is only the end of November 2010, but I want to go ahead and get started on my New Years Resolutions for 2011.

I wanted to get a jump on it because I just read a post by a fellow Gatherer, Matthew A., found here, and it really made me think. I mean those deep thoughts which I hardly get anymore! Seriously! I live in a material world, as most of us do. And we should just slow down sometimes and truly think.

I do alot of silly things. And I take alot of things for granted. I just really need to change my ways about some things. And hopefully, if I post those ideas down in my New Years Resolutions for 2011, I will be constantly reminded to stay on track.

I don't have alot of resolutions to list right away. But hopefully, I will be paying alot more attention to what life is all about within the next month and my resolution list will grow. Which, I intend on updating as they roll into my sometimes, pea sized brain.

My New Years Resolutions 2011

1. Stop Complaining about the little things: I really need to stop complaining so much about the little things in life. I know my home could use this or that to make it a little nicer. But all in all, it's my home. It is a roof over my head. It is paid for and I should be happy. Of course our neighbors may have fancier outdoor lighting, nicer lawn furniture, I could go on and on. But in the end, I am very thankful to have a home! And I should realize this more often.
   
   

What is something that you constantly take for granted?