Quick post

Hi Everyone,

I have not done a post again for a while. I finally have an appointment to see a top neurosurgeon in Boston next Wednesday, hopefully he can find out what the heck is going on with me and fix me up. After I told my regular doctor how that spine doctor treated me he told me he was sorry I had to deal with that and not to go back to him, I took great glee in cancelling that appointment.

I hate complaining, I am sick of being in pain, I am sick on not being my old self, and being snappy at people....so that is one reason I have not been doing posts. I have to catch up on quite a few blogs too, I miss checking in with all you.

Last week my doc gave me a new fentanyl pain patch (strong stuff) I wear for 3 days then change and doubled the pain meds. The one draw back is I can not take the pills that stop the daily break through pain while I am at work because It makes me kind of out of it. The patch makes me tired and sick to my stomach the first day, I felt good Saturday for a while, then miserable yesterday I think the cold wet weather makes the pain worse. Yesterday was 34 flipping degrees and rain wind and some snow! Yes I said Snow in OCTOBER!

Dave went back to work today! He was getting stir crazy but the doctor only approved 4 hour days for 2 weeks to start out with then he has to go back to see if the doctor will allow him to return full time (he has been out since June 19th!). We celebrated his 46th Birthday Friday and we sure where both grateful he is around to have another one, I took him out for prime rib dinner. I finally put my Halloween decorations up this weekend, it took we 2 whole days as I had to take it slow and easy. I will try to post some pictures soon.

Well that is about it I just want to let everyone know I am still breathing:)

Checking in been busy and a few treats, screen savers and 30 minute chili!

Technorati Tags: cooking,halloween,30 minute chili,screen saver,black cat,pumpkins

Well I have been busy the last 4 or 5 days and have not been able to catch up with my old and new blogger friends blogs....but I will try to catch up by today or tomorrow. This weekend was a total lazy weekend, it was freezing! Both days where between 40-50's and in the 30's at night! We had a fire going both Saturday and Sunday it was nice and cozy, my kitty Delilah curled up with me all weekend. Sunday we made a wonderful homemade beef stew. I have tons of it left over. Whenever we cook our winter Sunday meals like, stew, chili, etc we always seem to make enough for an army and there are only 2 of us, (the dang cat wont eat chili). I am going to try a new recipe in the slow cooker from my friend in Florida- pulled pork she made it Sunday, I have to get the instructions again but when I do I will share. It takes 16 hours to cook and its true Southern pulled pork...yum! Hope everyone had a great weekend, I wish it was Friday already.

Well as promised here a few treats:

The first 2 are desktop backgrounds free from HGTV, click on the picture to save it to you pc, then set it as your background very cool.

And now from www.Marthastewart.com and easy fast recipe for our cooler nights, it may seem like it took all day to cook but how does 30 minutes grab ya!

Ingredients

Serves 8

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3 medium onions, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, chopped
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 tablespoons chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 pounds ground beef chuck
• 3 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes in juice
• 1 bottle (12 ounces) mild lager beer
• 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• Shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Directions

1. In a Dutch oven or large (5-quart) heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add onions and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes.
2. Add tomato paste, chili powder, chipotles, and cinnamon. Cook, stirring, until mixture has begun to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add beef, and cook, breaking it up with a spoon until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes with their juice, beer, and beans. Bring to a boil, and reduce to a rapid simmer. Cook over medium heat until chili has thickened slightly and beans are tender, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese, if desired.

The Move from Hell is over and some Friday laughs.

 

I am so HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY today!  Not only is it a long weekend but we Finally got all of our stuff out of the old place last night and gave the keys back......NO MORE MOVING I am DONE!  The weather is absolutely beautiful its around 70 degree's today and is suppose to be sunny and pleasant for the weekend.  I am thinking of cooking outside on the grill and relaxing around the fire pit with a few cold refreshments.  I can also now start on painting and getting stuff organized finally. 

This joke below is from my friend Ricky a little chauvinistic but I thought it was a riot:

 

OOO I can make my real live scarecrow for the yard and my legs sticking out of the ground, this is a picture from my old, old house where we did the legs:

 

This is my old beloved dog Max sniffing the giant pumpkin we got (these pics are probably 10 years old)

Me and Max, I miss that dog!

Here is my old baby Shepard Xena she took care of the little kitten because the mother was horrible. (Again this picture is about 10 years old)

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Now Friday's Fun Recipe

 

(picture from: Witch fingers ) My co-worker makes these for us every halloween and they are very good!

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
Witches Fingers
Yield: about 36 witches fingers
1 cup water
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
Pinch cayenne
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 cup grated Cheddar, (about 4 ounces)
1 large egg yolk
Whole unblanched almonds
Kosher salt
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Put the water, butter, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking until the butter and sugar melts. Remove pan from the heat and sift the flour into the pan. Stir the dough together with a wooden spoon. Return to the heat and stir constantly until pulls away from the sides of the pan and is slightly shiny, about 3 minutes.
Transfer the dough to a medium bowl, and beat until cooled, about 2 minutes. Add the cayenne, and whole eggs, 1 at a time, incorporating each 1 thoroughly before adding the next. Mix in the mustard and cheese.
Put 1/4-inch plain tip in a pastry bag, and spoon the dough into the bag. Pipe 3 1/2-inch long thin finger-like shapes onto prepared pans. Beat the egg yolk with a tablespoon of water and dab or brush the tops of each witches' finger with it. Lay an almond on the end of each witches finger so that it looks like a nail, sprinkle fingers with kosher salt.
Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F. Continue baking until the fingers are golden brown and slightly crisp, about 5 minutes more. Cool on a rack.

 

courtesy of photobucket

 

Im out of here peeps for now anyway, Have a Great Weekend!

Yummy spooky pizza, and a few Friday funnies and odds and ends

A beautiful picture in Vermont my Friend Lynn took







A Yummy Idea for dinner







(from: http://www.halloween-online.com/recipes/halloween-recipes-pumpkin-pizza.html)

JACK O' LANTERN PIZZA
Having a hard time feeding your little ghouls before they go out to Trick or Treat?Planning a party, but can't think of a cute food idea? Try our Jack O' Lantern pizza! This is a great recipe to keep the kids happy and feeding them before they go out treat hunting will keep them from eating anything until you can check out their candy first ... and get first pick of all the good stuff!
INGREDIENTS
1 pre-made soft pizza crust1 bag of pre-cut pepperoni1 8 oz. bag mozzarella & cheddar cheese mix
1 container pizza sauce1 Green pepperAny other veggies you'd like.Jack-O-Lantern cookie sheet
PREPARATION
Following the instructions on the pizza crust tube for pre-baking the crust after you shape it to the Jack-O-Lantern pan. After the crust is done, cover it with the pizza sauce of your choice, add pepperoni and any veggies you want.
Cover liberally with the cheddar / mozzarella cheese mix, making sure to cover anything underneath it. Cut green peppers in to thin slivers, save a larger piece to make the stem. Lay pieces out to make the indentations of the pumpkin. Cut pieces of pepperoni to make the eyes, nose and mouth of the Jack-O-Lantern. You could also use a yellow pepper to do this for variation on a meatless pizza. Here's what mine looks like before baking.
Bake according to the instructions on the pizza crust wrapper, usually about 20 minutes, but you'll know when it's done. The cheese will be all bubbly and the crust will be golden! It looks so yummy, you won't be able to wait to taste it and, maybe, share with all my spooky friends!

The finished pizza! It's almost too cute to cut! But never fear, with your trusty pizza cutter or a sharp knife, you can carve this Jack-O-Lantern just as easy as the real ones. And this one is much more fun to eat! Serve hot, while the cheese is still soft.
You could do this using a solid pizza crust, it won't be as cute since it won't be a pumpkin shape but you can still make a Jack-O-Lantern face.

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Some frosty cheeks

THIS IS ME!!!!

YOU KNOW YOU'RE A HAUNTAHOLIC WHEN ...

you're pestered all year by kids who want to know what the theme for THIS year is.
you find yourself thinking that one corpse is more attractive than another.
you get more excited over a fog machine than a dirty movie.
you have more help at your haunt than necessary for an old-fashioned barn raising.
you have more than ten sound effect CD's.
you have names for the skeletons in your closet.
you play spooky music all year round.you spend more on one Halloween than on your spouse's birthday, Christmas or anniversary.
you try to make Fido look like a hellhound every Halloween.
your neighbors avoid you a full month before Halloween.
your garage, basement and attic contain nothing but Halloween props.
the only candelabra you own is in a spider web motif.
there is a monster under your bed because your attic/basement/garage is full.
your electric bill higher in October than in December.
the family dog ignores masked individuals breaking into your house.
instead of giving your child a cat or dog, you give them a gargoyle to play with.
the guy at the paint counter at the hardware store sees you coming and starts stacking gallon cans of flat black on the counter.
you go to "Goth Night" at a local club, armed with a pocketful of "volunteer recruitment" flyers.
you can't watch a horror movie without jotting down ideas every two minutes.
you're nervous about taking rolls of film in to be developed, for fear the police might show up at your house looking for the corpses.
you have a room in your house reserved for special props/projects, and won't allow anyone in there because it'll "spoil the Halloween surprise!"
people refuse to walk into your house at night.
people refuse to walk into your house in broad daylight!
you have a customized license plate that has something to do with Halloween.
you start actually setting up your yard haunt in August...
you judge homes by how well a haunt could be set up in them.
your toddler's first words are "TRICK OR TREAT!"
it's not uncommon to see a "Barbie" doll hanging in a noose in you're daughters room.
your teenager wants his/her "own" coffin....
you start checking out the Halloween Online family of web site in June every year!

Great tips from Everyone

Well I have received some great tips from both old and new friends tonite, Thank you everyone who helped me! I was able to add a new background and some html tags. Check out this site it gives you step by step instructions http://www.thecutestblogontheblock.com/ also here is a blog for beginners that explains lots of stuff I have not even gotten into yet: http://tips-for-new-bloggers.blogspot.com/

This is going to be fun as it is a learning curve for most of us new to Blogger.

As you see I have my Halloween theme going on in full swing....Woo Hoo!

For tonites Halloween goodie:

Trick or Treat by your Sign

...

Aries: pushes the others aside to get to the door first.

Taurus: will only eat the finest of Swiss chocolates.

Gemini: goes around the neighborhood once, changes costumes and goes around again.

Cancer: stays at home and gives candy to the other trick-or-treaters.

Leo: plans their costume for months, then won't go out because someone else had the same idea.

Virgo: wears a neatly-pressed suit and tells everyone they're a bookkeeper.

Libra: is still standing in front of the closet trying to decide on a costume.

Scorpio: isn't in it for the candy.

Sagittarius: will manage to wander to the next town.

Capricorn: makes a list of all the houses that give good candy and the optimal route to take.

Aquarius: builds their costume out of spare flashlights and spends all nighttinkering with it shorts.

Pisces: skips the whole thing to compose poetry to the Moon.

20 Rules of Halloween

1. When it appears that you have killed the monster, NEVER check to see if it's really dead.

2. Never read a book of Demon Summoning aloud, even as a joke.

3. Do not search the basement, especially if the power has gone out.

4. If children speak to you in Latin or any other language, which they should not know, shoot them immediately. It will save you a lot of grief in the long run. However, it will probably take several rounds to kill them, so be prepared. This also applies to kids whose eyes glow and speak with somebody else's voice.

5. When you have the benefit of numbers, NEVER pair off and go alone.

6. As a general rule, don't solve puzzles that open portals to Hell.

7. Never stand in, on, or above a grave, tomb, or crypt. This would apply to any other house of the dead as well.

8. If you're searching for something that caused a loud noise and find out that it's just the cat, GET THE HELL OUT!

9. If appliances start operating by themselves, do not check for short circuits; just get out!

10. Do not take ANYTHING from the dead.

11. If you find a town which looks deserted, there's probably a good reason for it. Don't stop and look around.

12. Don't fool with recombinant DNA technology unless you're sure you know what you're doing

.13. If you're running from the monster, expect to trip or fall down at least twice, more if you are of the female persuasion. Also note that, despite the fact that you are running and the monster is merely shambling along, it's still moving fast enough to catch up with you.

14. If your companions suddenly begin to exhibit uncharacteristic behavior such as hissing, fascination for blood, glowing eyes, increasing hairiness, and so on, kill them immediately.

15. Stay away from certain geographical locations, some of which are listed here: Amityville, Elm Street, Transylvania, the Bermuda Triangle, or any small town in Maine.

16. If your car runs out of gas at night on a lonely road, do not go to the nearby deserted-looking house to phone for help. If you think that it is strange you ran out of gas because you thought you had most of a tank, shoot yourself instead. You are going to die anyway, and most likely be eaten

.17. Beware of strangers bearing strange tools. For example: chainsaws, staple guns, hedge trimmers, electric carving knives, combines, lawnmowers, butane torches, soldering irons, band saws, or any devices made from deceased companions. (or chipper/shredders, remember Fargo).

18. If you find that your house is built upon a cemetery, now is the time to move in with the in-laws. This also applies to houses that had previous inhabitants who went mad or committed suicide or died in some horrible fashion, or had inhabitants who performed satanic practices in your house.

19. If your parents move you to a town where you find out the high school gym burnt down during Prom night, or hear that a maniac gets loose from a sanitarium every Halloween, then it's time to run away!

20. When trick-or-treating and you come to a house made of gingerbread and gum drops...RUN!! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!!