Catching Up - Award - Giveaway

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Isn't it hard to catch up on things after being gone a few days? I've caught up on the laundry, but it will be back tomorrow :-) I've weeded a flower bed and dead-headed a few plants. I'm going through my messy table that I use as a desk and filing and throwing away things. I've got a soup.. maybe more of a stew going. The veggies are chunky. It will last us a couple of days and some will probably be frozen.

Frank prepared the veggies for the stew. He dug potatoes from the garden yesterday and some are in the pot. He harvested onions from the garden too and they are in the pot. I've added carrots and green beans to the pot along with chicken that Frank cooked yesterday and chopped up. Don't I have the best husband... I think so :-)

Frank also washed the travel trailer today. That is a job! The sun has finally showed its head and there is a slight breeze so it shouldn't take long for the awnings to dry.

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Tammy at Creative Thoughts was kind enough to give me this One Lovely Blog award. Thank you, Tammy! Tammy is into scrap booking and has an adorable blog. I can never pick who to share awards with... since I think all of your blogs that I read are Lovely please feel free to grab the award.

The giveaway is from Michelle at Chocolate Marmalade and Tea . She has an adorable blog too. If you want to participate in her great Summer Giveaway just reply to her post, Summer Giveaway . The deadline is June 15th.

An Award -- What's Cooking?

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Lynn at Lynn's Lovelies was kind enough to award me this One Lovely Blog Award. Lynn truly has a Lovely Blog... please pay her a visit.

So after receiving this award, I am to do 2 things~~~
* Accept this award and

** Pass it on to 15 blogs that I have recently discovered

The first part I can do easily. The second... I can never choose. I enjoy each blog I read. If you see your blog under Blogs I Like to Read over in the far column of my blog... feel free to grab this award. I feel each of you deserve the award.

I now have 25 followers. It is a surprise to me that anyone reads my ramblings :-)

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Yesterday I made my version of Beef Stroganoff. I've posted the recipe in my recipe blog.

Chopped Mushrooms

Mushrooms, Onions and Ground Beef browning. Sometimes I use chopped stew meat.

Added the Medium Noodles.

A couple of dollops of Sour Cream was added. I usually use a bit more, but that was all the sour cream I had. I couldn't get the coloring correct in this photo :-(

Frank has some lights that I could clamp onto a cabinet. I think I would get better pictures in the kitchen using them... I just need not to be so lazy.

Yummy... ready to eat with my mushy peas and carrots.

Leftovers for today! :-)

Oh... Marcy finished her sister's birthday cake... it is beautiful! Take a look and drop her a comment. I used to decorate cakes, but I never did as well as she does. She changed the url of her blog to Lady M's Cakes.

Award - First Letter Name Game

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Today I've cleaned out my closet. Those things in good enough shape to donate are bagged and other stuff is in the trash or rag bag. I may add more to the donate bags... I have a few things I'm thinking about what I want to do with. I will probably drop the bags off at the Salvation Army next Tuesday. It is near the doctor's office we go to that day.

Yesterday I washed the toppers over the windows in the living room and washed the inside of the windows. I did the outsides a couple of weeks ago. I also vacuumed. That sure did perk the living room up. It would have even looked better if I could have taken the blinds down and washed them.

Frank's parents came over for a visit after lunch.

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I received this award from Joy at Doodlebug. Thank you, Joy!

This award is given to those whose blogs are full of sweetness, thoughtfulness, and kindness. :o)

The rules are as follows:

1) Put the Berry Sweet Blog Award logo on your blog or post.
2) Nominate 5-10 blogs that show sweetness, thoughtfulness, and kindness.
3) List and link your nominees within your post.
4) Let them know they have received the award by leaving a comment on their blog.

My nominees are:
Any of my followers that will accept the award. I enjoy each of your blogs so much. Each of you are sweet, thoughtful and kind.

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I saw this game at A Mellow Life is a Good Life Make sure you stop by and read her answers.

Let's play a game! It's harder than you think!

Rules:
Use the first letter of your name to answer each question. They have to be real things, names, places, nothing made up. You can't use your own name for the boy/girl name question. Post your answers on your blog and then invite 5 other bloggy friends to do the same.

1. What is your name: Zaroga
2. A 4 letter word: Zero
3. A boys name: Zarone (my brother)
4. A girls name: Zellean (Frank's Aunt)
5. An occupation: Zoologist
6. A color: Zinc White
7. Something you wear: Zories (I don't wear them...just not my kind of shoe)
8. A beverage: Zinfandel wine (I'm not allowed to drink alcoholic beverages) Is there a Z Cola?
9. A food: Zuchinni or Ziti
10. Something found in the bathroom: Zinc Oxide
11. A place: Zebulon Georgia
12. A reason for being late: Zzzzzzz or Zero movement in traffic
13. Something you shout: Zounds! or Zippity - Do- Dah!

Please join in the fun!

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I think of life itself now as a wonderful play that I've written for myself, and so my purpose is to have the utmost fun playing my part. -- Shirley MacLaine

Award - Weather - Life and Remembering

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Michelle at Chocolate and Marmalade Tea presented this award to me. I love Michelle's blog. She always lifts my spirits. Thank you, Michelle!



"This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."Now I'm supposed to find eight others to bestow this on. Here goes!

1. A Second Helping
2. A Mellow Life Is A Good Life
3. Daily Yarns 'N More
4. Creative Thoughts
5. Flip Flop Floozie
6. Life With Liza Ann
7. Seasons Of Life
8. Faith, Family, Food and Fun
Weather-

This week has been very warm... even for our Decembers. I think we hit 80° yesterday. At 1:30 pm we are at 75°. Tomorrow our weather will change. There is a 60% chance of rain. The high will be around 60° and the low around 30°. Then Monday it is suppose to be windy with a high of 52° and a low of about 29°. Tuesday's high will be around 58° and low of 41°. Christmas Eve we get warmer with a high of 68° and low of 43°... which is more like our winter temps.


Life and Remembering -

Life is getting better. I'm moving around easier. I just worry about Mama. Mama is getting confused when she is talking. I will stock it up to pain meds for now. She saw the surgeon this week and he said she seems to be healing fine. Mama tells me that her leg has swollen more again. I really haven't understood why she is having the swelling. She said she has increased her water pills. I tried to get her to get her family doctor visit sooner than the January 2nd appointment that she has.

I feel joy this time of year, but I also feel sadness. My thoughts turn to my Daddy that passed away in 2000. I do find joy in remembering him playing Christmas carols on his guitar and singing. I especially miss hearing him play and sing Silent Night. My sadness comes in knowing that he is only here in our hearts.

... brighter notes of my life. I got the carrot cake layers made and in the freezer. I have such a wonderful husband to help me out. Oh... I know he didn't read my post yesterday. Frank mixed sugar cookie dough up. The dough is in the fridge ready to bake. Now isn't that true love! The sugar cookies will get baked tomorrow.

As long as I can remember there has been sugar cookies in the cookie jar or can this time of the year. I said cookie can :-) At one time we had a huge lard tin that we painted and wrote COOKIES on. I made a lot of cookies back then. I'm not sure where we got the lard tin from because if we had bought the lard in that tin we would still be eating the lard. Frank was in the Army then so it might have been from the mess hall.

I did a bit of digging and found an old Polaroid picture. I wonder why we kept it. The picture was taken in December of 1971. I was somewhere between three and four months pregnant with our son and not the happiest camper... I had morning sickness from three months to end of pregnancy. I remember being frustrated. I had never frosted sugar cookies before. I cut out my own patterns for the cookies out of brown paper bags. You can see the large tin in the background with COOKIES written on it. I still have the green mixing bowl and the rolling pin. The handles are no longer on the rolling pin. I still have the green cake cover too. Remember when avocado green and harvest gold where the "in colors"? You can see my old checker-board cookbook sitting on top of the ice bucket. I still have the cookbook. We lived in a single-wide house trailer over in Bluff Creek Alabama then. I don't know why that counter is so messy. I usually kept it neat. Okay... go ahead and click on the picture for larger view.


It was fun remembering. The sugar cookies this time won't get frosted. These days I roll the dough into small balls in the palm of my hand and then place the balls of dough on cookie sheets... then I take a glass and dip the bottom of it in sugar and flatten the balls into nice rounds and bake. If I have any colored sugar around I might sprinkle the cookies with a bit before baking... a lot less frustrating :-)


One more thing to share today. A genealogy friend shares his grandmother's collection of Vintage Christmas Cards. I hope they brighten your day as you look at them.



We do not remember days; we remember moments. -- Cesare Pavese