An Award & A Recipe. . .

A big thank you to Stacey for my very first award! You're such a sweetie, thank you for being my blogging friend. I want to pass this award on to 3 other new blogging friends,Dot, Sharon, & Denise. They have all been so warm, friendly, & welcoming to me since I started blogging in September! Click on their names to check out their wonderful blogs.

Stacey is hosting a soup & chili recipe exchange today. Great idea girl! Here's my chili recipe. I'll be serving this for dinner tonight before the little goblins start ringing the doorbell! :0)

Big Batch Chili

4 pounds ground chuck
2 medium onions, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 (14 1/2 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
4 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 can Rotel
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper

Toppings sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, chopped green onions, Frito corn chips.

Cook ground chuck, in batches, in a large skillet over medium-high heat, until meat crumbles and is no longer pink, drain. Place meat in large crock pot, add all other ingredients. Cook, covered , at HIGH 5 to 6 hours or LOW 6 to 8 hours. Serve with desired toppings listed above.

Makes 15 to 18 cups

Happy Halloween everyone, enjoy the fun! :0)

Is Your Costume Ready?

Is your costume ready for tomorrow night? HEE-HEE! Well, I don't dress up in a Halloween costume, but I usually do wear a Halloween t-shirt when I hand out candy. Do you remember any of your costumes from your childhood days? My most memorable costume was a princess dress & head gear my mom made out of old pink curtains when I was in 1st grade. I remember feeling so elegant in that dress. Wish I had a picture!

Sorry this picture is so blurry! :0)

Here is a picture of my cousins Becky, Nancy, & me all dressed up & ready to trick~or~treat! I think I'm about 3 years old. My Grandma Berger made our costumes out of crepe paper. Can you imagine that? How creative!

Well, I've got lots on my 'to do list' today, I'd better get going! Have a tremendous Thursday!

God Bless America. . .

I feel led to post this political message today. I hope each of you who read this will honor my decision to voice my concern about the need for prayer in the last few days before this very important election.


One week from today we will know who our next President will be. Now is the time for us to pray like we've never prayed before. Will you please join me in a 'prayer pledge' ? Pledge yourself to pray 3 times a day for the next 6 days that God will touch the hearts of all Christians as they prepare to cast their votes. My heart has been burdened by what I see & hear in the news. I have already made my decision on the man I'm voting for. As a Christian, I believe with all my heart there is only one clear choice. Will you please join me in this 'prayer pledge'?

God bless each of you!

Tonight's The Night. . .

Tonight's the night for the annual showing of, 'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown'! I don't remember the first time I saw this classic for the very first time. I think it was when I was a teenager. My little sister, Susan, was a big Peanuts fan at that time. I love all the Peanuts characters & the music.

Don't miss it tonight at 7:00 CT on ABC!

I will probably watch Charlie while I'm recording 'The Biggest Loser'. I love that show, it gives me inspiration!

Cold October Morning. . .

My goodness it's cold this morning here in Oklahoma. The 1st time I woke up this morning at 5:15 AM the temperature was 36 degrees. The high today should be in the mid 50s. There is a freeze warning for tonight. This normally happens the 1st or 2nd week in November.

We finished planting 2 flats of pansies & 90 tulip bulbs before the sun went down yesterday evening. I didn't get any pictures yesterday because of battery issues with my new camera. By the time I tried to take some shots with my old camera it was too dark. Here are some photos taken this morning.

Pretty pansies standing straight & tall.

We planted red tulips with yellow centers in the empty areas.

I love how the sun looks shining through the 'maiden hair'

ornamental grass.

Fuzzy view of the front of our house.

Wishing you well, enjoy your day everyone!

Boo-Hoo. . .

Boo-hoo!! We lost to Texas by 4 points! It could have been worse I guess. So, I humbly say congratulations to all you Texas fans.

We're getting our picture taken this afternoon at 3:00 for the church directory. We hope we'll have enough time when we get home to plant pansies & tulip bulbs before it gets dark. You know how it is, you plan a project & it always takes longer than you anticipated. I can already feel my sore muscles! Anyway, when the planting & mulching is complete I will post pictures.


We enjoy our pansies all winter long here in Oklahoma.

Pansies are very hearty & strong. They survive the winter ice & snow storms so well. So, let me ask this question. Why are weak people called pansies? Doesn't make sense to me. Just an observation on my part.

Enjoy your Sunday friends, God bless!

Big Football Game. . .

Today OSU is playing #1 Texas. This is a big game for us, we're #6 in the top ten, undefeated 7~0, the best season we've had in decades! We will be glued to the TV at 2:30 to watch every play.

Go Cowboys,

beat Texas!!!!!!!!!

I hope I'll have a victory comment to post tomorrow!

Cozy Quilts. . .

It's getting much cooler here in Oklahoma. If you're like me, you like to stay warm & cozy while napping, reading, or watching TV. What better way to get cozy than with a quilt? There is something so comforting about a quilt, especially antique quilts.

Here are some quilts in my upstairs linen closet just waiting to be used.

These antique quilts are really tattered, I think they look pretty in this basket in the laundry room.
I keep this antique quilt that belonged to Grandma Minnie folded on top of this chest for guests to use when they spend the night. I made the quilted kitty for Grandma many years ago. When she passed away I brought it home and gave it a place to live in the guest room.

This beautiful blue quilt was my Great-Grandma Berger's. I took it to college with me at Oklahoma State, it kept me warm in my dorm room at Willard Hall.

I even think pictures of quilts give warmth to a room. I stitched this way back in the '80s.

Another cross stitch creation by me. Wow, if I tried to do a project like this today I'd have to buy one of those fancy lighted, magnifying lamps. Maybe my eye sight is bad because of the many cross stitch projects I made for so many years, or maybe it's because of the thousands of papers I graded for 30 years under fluorescent lighting. LOL!! ;>)

This little guy lives in the guest room along with kitty.

I sewed this 8 x 10 mini quilt for Halloween many years ago when Bobby was a little guy.

Hope you have a quilt to cozy up with when the wind starts to howl!

Wishing you a fantastic Friday, until next time take care!

Tortilla Soup. . .

The 'cook more~eat out less' challenge continues! Wednesday night has traditionally been Mexican food night at our favorite restaurant. This is the second week we haven't eaten there. Typically we ate out two or three times a week. We did eat out Sunday evening with my uncle & aunt because we were out of town. I estimate we have saved well over $150.00 eating at home for two weeks.

Another family favorite. . .

Tortilla Soup

served with jalapeno cornbread sticks & mini muffins

I want to give credit to my sister, Mary, for this recipe. I have modified it a little from the original recipe she gave me about 15 years ago. Thanks again sis for sharing!

1 can whole corn, 1 can tomato sauce, 1 can diced tomatoes, 4 cans chicken broth, 1/4 cup chopped jalapeno peppers, 1 cup chopped roasted red peppers


1 teaspoon black pepper, 2 teaspoons cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce, 4 tablespoons chili seasoning, 1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 onion, chopped, 1 large or 2 small green peppers, chopped.


2 cooked chicken breasts, chopped

Put all ingredients in crock pot & cook for 4 hours on high, or 8 hours on low.

We will have leftovers tonight & freeze the remainder for another meal in a few weeks.

My goodness October is flying by. Turkey day is fast approaching!

Tea Towel Chores. . .

I remember my grandmas having tea towels with the days of the week embroidered on them. The towels would show a woman doing a different household chore for each day. Sunday~resting, Monday~ laundry, Tuesday~ironing, Wednesday~sewing & mending, Thursday~shopping, Friday~cleaning, Saturday~baking.

My mom didn't have a set of these tea towels that I remember, but she did follow the 'tea towel chore schedule'. I vividly remember walking home from school on Mondays during the colder months of the year & seeing the windows all steamed up, which meant we were having beans for dinner that evening because she had been doing laundry all day. We probably didn't have beans every Monday, but it seemed like it to me. As a child I didn't care for beans too much, as an adult I love them.
Until my mom got a clothes dryer in 1970 our laundry was hung on the line. In the winter it was more challenging because clothes would freeze on the line, then you would take them inside to dry on the wooden drying rack sitting on top of the floor furnace. It was quite an ordeal!

Here are two examples of chore tea towels.

These tea towels were given to my by our dear neighbor, Bonnie, when we moved into our first home in 1976. These towels are hand painted. They don't have the days of the week, just pictures of a little lady doing different things around the house.

Here's a close up of one of my favorites. I have never used these towels. They have been hidden away for years. I think I'll start displaying one or two in the kitchen or laundry room. Any suggestions?

It's cool & rainy here today. It's a perfect day for tortilla soup, I'll post the recipe tomorrow. Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Collections. . .

I have several collections that I enjoy. Today I'm featuring my Colonial figurine collection. I have them displayed in my corner curio cabinet next to our piano. I haven't added to my collection in several years because the three shelves are full, & I decided it was time to stop buying. However, the next time I'm in a flea market or antique mall & I see a figurine that is the right price I may add a piece or two to my collection. Most of these pieces were $4.00 or less.



I want to point out two of my favorite items on this shelf. In the lower left you see a cute little bride & groom kissing. They were part of the cake topper that we had on our wedding cake 33 years ago. Also, notice the hand holding a fan. This was Grandma Ruby's vase.

The tallest piece, a couple, on the back left belonged to my mom. This is what got me started collecting.

Hmm, I wander what I'll start collecting next? Maybe I need to start antiquing again!

Glad you stopped by today! Hope you'll come back soon!

Family Visit. . .

Sunday was the perfect day for our road trip to see family, the weather was absolutely beautiful.

Here are some of the collectibles in Aunt Lucille's kitchen. The piggy cookie jar belonged to my Grandma Minnie, I remember her keeping it filled with goodies.

After visiting a while at Uncle Jack & Aunt Lucille's home we drove over to see my Great Aunt Hermina.

Aunt Hermina is such a sweetie. I believe she is 93. On the table behind her is a precious quilt she is making for her great grandson, Tucker. She was married to my Grandpa Luther's brother, Lloyd. Uncle Lloyd was a school superintendent for many years before retiring in 1973.

Here is a picture of him shortly before he passed away 21 years ago. I remember him as a sweet, funny man.

Uncle Jack, Aunt Lucille, Aunt Hermina, and me.

Here is my hubby, Bob, with the group.

I'm so glad we made this trip, it made me realize I need to see them more often. It was a special time of sharing memories from my childhood, and catching up on the latest news about our families.

As you can tell we're still trying to learn how to use our new camera, I wish these pictures were a little clearer. We'll keep practicing.

Have a marvelous Monday friends! God loves you! ;>)

Simple Sundays. . .

When I was growing up Sundays were simple, calm, & restful. In our family going to church on Sunday morning & night was the norm not the exception. We always ate dinner at our house or one of the grandparents' homes. After the kitchen was clean & tidy it was time to rest & relax. Stores were closed, there was no place to shop. So what did we do? Most Sunday afternoons everyone took a nap. Dad worked 6 days a week & always looked forward to taking it easy. Occasionally we would drive out of town to visit a relative. My grandma Minnie liked for us to take her to see people. We very seldom called ahead to see if the person we were going to see was home, we would just take off. As expected, the person would be home, because that was just a way of life on Sunday. After all Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest, right? Maybe it's time for us to go back to simple Sundays. . .

Today we are going to visit my Uncle Jack & Aunt Lucille after lunch. It will be about a 2 hour drive. By the way, I called ahead & they are going to be home!Uncle Jack was my dad's only sibling. He is very good about e-mailing & staying in touch. The last time we saw them was at Bobby & Kari's wedding 3 years ago. We're looking forward to seeing them.


This is a sweet picture of my dad on the left, & Uncle Jack. I love this picture!

I will post pictures tomorrow of our trip. Enjoy your day of rest! ;>)

Saturday Morning Breakfast. . .

Sometimes changing a routine can be difficult. For us, we have decided not to eat breakfast every Saturday morning at our favorite mom & pop cafe as we have done for quite sometime. This is all part of our challenge to 'cook more & eat out less', but I'm thinking we may treat ourselves to eating there at least once a month. ;>)

We love the biscuits & gravy at this cafe!

The eggs are delicious too. No matter what you decide to order it's good with a hot cup of coffee. I can't seem to make coffee that good at home! Sigh!

Today we're taking my car in for a check up so we'll probably fix a quick bowl of oatmeal.

I want to check out some garage sales while we're waiting on the car. I'm still looking for baby things.

Here's hoping your Saturday is GREAT!!!

A New Camera. . .

My new camera arrived late yesterday evening at my door via the UPS man. We knew we had to get a better camera so we can take lots of pictures of baby Ethan when he arrives. I can't wait to experiment this weekend & see if I can get some great shots.

It's called 'Easy Share', sure hope it is easy!!

Here is the recipe for 'tomato florentine soup', this is my second meal prepared from what I have on hand in my kitchen. Bobby asked me if I could try & find a recipe for this soup. He loves the florentine soup they serve at Zio's, one of our favorite restaurants. We all liked it. It was very hearty & tasty. We're having the leftovers for dinner tonight. So far my 'eat at home, eat out less' challenge is going well & I'm enjoying it!

Tomato Florentine Soup

1 med. onion, diced

2 gloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp. olive oil

2 (1lb.) cans tomatoes

2 (1lb.) cans tomato sauce (I used 3 cans to make more servings)

2 tsp. oregano

2 tsp. basil

2 tsp. thyme

1 bay leaf

1 bunch fresh spinach, washed & chopped

Salt & pepper to taste

Saute onion and garlic in large skillet in olive oil. Transfer to crock-pot. Add remaining ingredients. Cook for 4 hours on high. If you are gone for the day you could cook it on low for 8 hours. Remove bay leaf before serving. Makes about 6 (2cup) servings.

Have a blessed day!

Look What I Found. . .

Well, look what I found! I have been eyeing turkey plates for Thanksgiving dinner. A few weeks ago I saw some plates at Cracker Barrel that I absolutely loved, but I wasn't willing to pay that much, I think they were $7.99 each. I purchased one turkey plate at TJMaxx week before last for $3.99, I will use it for decorating. Yesterday I went shopping at Old Time Pottery & found these beautiful plates for $2.49 each! I spent another $35.00 with my gift certificate, I still have almost $40.00.

I love the colors!

I also bought salad plates for $1.99 each & a large serving bowl for $8.99.

Here is my birthday gift from Bobby & Kari. It's a very unique box with a lid, & I just love it! Note the saying on the box, I think it's so special! They filled it with yummy biscotti & chocolate flavored coffee. I also loved my happy birthday grandma card!!!

Today is another fabulous fall day, enjoy!

Wet Wednesday. . .

Even though today started out wet & dreary I know it's going to be a good day. How could it not be a good day, it's my birthday! I turn 56 today. Wow, I'm getting old! I still feel like I'm young at heart. What is it they say, 'You're as young as you feel'? I keep reminding myself of that every morning when I get out of bed. LOL!

Yesterday Bobby & Kari told us the name they have chosen for their baby. His name will be Ethan (strong, firm,steadfast) Asher (happy)! I need to get busy creating something for his nursery with his name on it. I'll have to give this some thought. Granny already loves you little Ethan! :0)

Today I'm busy doing laundry & ironing hubby's shirts. I think I'll venture out to Old Time Pottery a little later when the rain stops to spend some of my gift certificate.

Wishing you a glorious day!

Tonight's Menu. . .

Well, the food inventory is complete. I have ingredients for approximately 40 meals, maybe more! I will have to buy a few things such as sour cream & cheese. I'm excited about the challenge to cook more & eat out less.

Note: This is not my picture, I found it on google! :0)

Tonight's Menu: A family favorite, Chicken Enchiladas.
My sister, Mary, gave me this recipe several years ago. Thanks Mary!!

I usually double the recipe so we can get more than one meal & send some home with Bobby & Kari.


Chicken Enchiladas

8 tortillas
1 1/4 cups green salsa (salsa verde)
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (I use dried)
1 1/2 cups (8 oz.) diced cooked chicken breast
1 1/2 cups (6 oz.) shredded, reduced-fat Swiss cheese
1 jar (7 oz.) roasted red peppers.sliced
garnish with diced tomato & sliced green onions


* Mix salsa, sour cream, and cilantro in a medium bowl.
* Spread 1/2 cup over bottom of baking dish.
* In another bowl, combine chicken, 1 cup cheese and the roasted peppers.
* Spoon chicken mixture in tortillas and roll up. Place seam down in baking dish.
* Pour remaining salsa mixture over top.
* Sprinkle with remaining cheese, garnish with diced tomatoes and green
onions.
* Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes until bubbly.

Side dishes for this meal:
Mexican rice
Chips & salsa

If you try this recipe I hope you like it as well as our family does. Happy cooking everyone!

Making Do With What You Have. . .

I am on a quest to cook more meals and eat out less. My plan is to use up what is in my pantry, freezer, & fridge. I think this could be fun, at least I'm trying to convince myself it will be! Today I'm going to take inventory of what I have & do a little menu planning.


This picture looks very much like my grandma Berger's basement pantry. She & grandpa Ralph always had a large garden & orchard. Summers were spent canning & putting up food for the winter. I especially remember canning green beans with my mom at our house. They would both make apple butter & chow chow. My grandparents had a large blackberry patch. It wasn't much fun picking the berries because of the thorns & chiggers, but it was wonderful eating blackberry cobbler!

My pantry looks similar to this picture, lots of soup, beans, & vegetables.

Years ago we had a garden, we're talking about planting a garden again this spring. No, I won't be canning, but I think it will be great having fresh vegetables to eat & share with the neighbors.

I'll keep you posted on my menu planning & cooking. I'm anxious to see how long we can restrain from eating out! :0)

Sunday Afternoon With Billy. . .

This afternoon hubby & I went to see the movie, 'Billy, The Early Years.' The movie was excellent in our opinion. The actor who portrayed Billy did a wonderful job. The movie was directed by Robby Benson. The story line followed Billy Graham's life from 1934 until his crusade in Los Angeles in 1949. My favorite part was when he met his future wife, Ruth Bell, while they were both students at a Bible college in Chicago. I was in tears through the last part of the movie. I won't tell you more about the movie just in case you want to see it. The movie is rated PG, I think it's because there is film footage from World War II. I recommend that everyone see this movie. Check out the info at www.billytheearlyyears.com.

Shopping With Style. . .

If you're from my generation you may remember how the typical housewife dressed up to go shopping during the 1950s. Many ladies dressed up in their best suit, hat, gloves, the works! My goodness how times have changed through the decades. When I was in high school in the late '60s my friends & I would meet down town to hang out on Saturdays. We would all show up with our hair in gigantic rollers covered with a ruffled hair bonnet, this was the fashionable look!! How many of you ever used juice cans for rollers to achieve volume? Oh, and don't forget the Dippity Do, couldn't have the perfect hair without it! I remember how excited I was when my mom bought electric hair curlers, no more sleeping in prickly, hard rollers, or wearing curlers to town.

It's fun to go down memory lane. What style memories do you have?

It's A Boy. . .

I just got a phone call from Bobby & Kari, IT'S A BOY!!!!! I'm so excited, now I can start shopping for little guy things!!!! Guess what? He will be arriving earlier than expected, Kari is 21 weeks, the new due date is February 20th! Don't know yet what his name will be.
I couldn't resist posting this picture! So funny!!! :0)

Wow, I can't wait to hold our little grandson. Thank you Lord for the miracle of life!