About Me

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West Virginia
When I started my retirement travels in 2009, I wanted a way to share it with family and friends as it was happening. Hence, "My Travel Journal". However I realized I wouldn't always be on a trip and wondered what to do with the blog in between times. My daughter pointed out, wisely, that travels can also include trips to the kitchen to try a new recipe, trips to visit family, trips to my neighborhood Starbucks, or a fun day trip with a friend. You're welcome to join me on any of these journeys! I've set up individual pages for each of my major trips (see tabs above).

Also, I have an Etsy shop where my current needlework resides. The last pieces I posted here were in 2013! So if you'd like to see what I have accomplished recently, go to (and I apologize for having to copy and paste):

www.etsy.com/shop/thedollhouseneedle

I recently added an "Italian Word a Day" thingie which shows up at the bottom of every page. You see the word and can click to hear it pronounced. I've been enjoying it and I think my accent is improving as time goes by.

September 05, 2011

A Rainy Day So A Good Time to Blog

(Update from when I typed this this morning:  I uploaded the two recipes mentioned below and now, you can either blame or thank the rain because I added four more!  And it's still raining!  So, 1 new under Pasta and 5 new under Sweets)

This is probably going to be long and rambling and I've been taking pictures around town so will just stick them in here and there even they won't relate to what I'm talking about.

I'm still waiting for anything to happen with getting repairs started on my condo.  But at least it's beginning to sound like aside from my deductible, everything will be covered which has eased my mind quite a bit.  This past two weeks have been kind of like living under a cloud!  There was the flood, of course.  Then I got one of those sore spots on my tongue which would not go away and hurt when I swallowed, talked, ate, etc.  Finally after about 5 days I remembered how the aspirin had cleared up that wound on my hand that wouldn't healed and thought "well, nothing ventured, nothing won" so I managed to wedge an aspirin between my tongue and gum (a video of that would be hilarious) and the next morning it was quite a bit better - still there but not excruciating.  So, who knows?  Either it was time for it to get better, or I really have discovered that aspirin applied to whatever's bothering you does the trick!  Still under that cloud, my eye had some problems - kept feeling like something was in it and hurting.  I finally noticed a blister-type thing on my eyeball and thought "good grief".  But it quit bothering me...the blister is still there and I should maybe have it looked at but...  And as a final little "we're not done with you yet" reminder, my friend Peggy and I decided to go to Charleston last Wednesday and I parked my car at her house and she drove.  We had just started our shopping when her husband called to see if we wanted to come back because her neighbor had pulled out of her garage and backed into my car!!  Once he said the it was still driveable, and realizing that her insurance was going to be taking care of it all, I found the incident funny, actually.  We didn't go back home and had a real nice time shopping and eating.


Two pictures of the new cupcake bakery.  This was her second day in business and already when I walk by I see she's really got it looking spiffy.  I, of course, got a cupcake the day I was there and it was, of course, delicious, but for the most part, I'll just try and forget it's there!


Speaking of eating (aren't I always?), I've posted two more recipes to my collection.  One is for a roasted red pepper sauce that I've made before but apparently never posted.  Made it again last night and really do like it.  It's not Italian I guess, but whatever it is it's quite tasty.  And it dawned on me as I was once again cutting the recipe into quarters that from now on when I cook these sauces I like so much, I'll cook the full recipe and freeze portions.  Duh!!  The other recipe is for a dessert called apple pudding, which sounds really weird but pudding is referring to a pudding like plum pudding.  You don't steam this, but it's that kind of texture.  Made it one evening when Jamie, Cindy and I went out for dinner.  They professed to love it.  I served it with some de leche ice cream which didn't hurt at all either.  This was an old recipe that I had totally forgotten about.  But once I made it and ate it I remembered that I used to make it years and years ago and we all liked it.

I set up a little shop on Etsy.com.  Don't know why really - for one thing, I always enjoy learning how to get something like that done; ergo, the website, this blog, etc.  But also it's pumped up my interest in my needlework and I just finished cross-stitching a little Noah's Ark and am pondering whether to frame it, fringe it for a wall-hanging, or maybe quilt strips of fabric in the colors of the stitching and then mount it to that.  And I'm already looking forward to some more tiny stitching.  It's unfortunate in a way that the second or third day my shop was "open" I sold a little rug.  Because there's every possibility I'll never sell anything else which could be disheartening, but I won't let it be - I'll just use the shop as my excuse to keep on stitchin'. :)  And when I have enough stitched, I might take it all out of the shop and get myself a table at a miniature show...

I've started (or am trying to) a new walking regimen of Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday walking at least more than a mile and a couple of times already, I've walked about 2 miles.  I do it before breakfast which is a real nice time - not much going on and not much traffic except on the two one-way roads that go through downtown Huntington.  I have music playing on my phone and it's been quite enjoyable.  Especially  before the weather got real hot again.  The last few days of August were surprisingly nice - actually chilly in the morning, pleasant during the day and beautiful up on the roof in the evening.  On one of the clearest days we've had all summer I think, I took some pictures at the river, but they didn't turn out as pretty as I wanted.  But this one is pretty nice:

You can see how pretty the sky was and the flowers are pretty.  All the flower beds and tubs at the riverfront park are planted and maintained by volunteers who are certainly earning their halos!

A couple of other pictures taken on my walks...

On the left, just a sign, but a sign of good things to come!  They are apparently still on schedule to open mid-September.

And on the right is the water massage place I mentioned in an earlier post.  They're already open and I wish them all success, but I don't think I'll be brave enough to try it out.  And ever since I've lived in Huntington (and I'm sure for quite a while before that,) this place was a peanut/candy shop and I just can't get my head around going in for a water massage instead of a bag of peanuts! :)


That's about all I can think of for now.  I am getting quite excited by the thought of going up to NYC for the miniature show and an evening on the town with Chris!  He's just started a flex-time system at work and has the Friday off that week so instead of going up after he gets off work, we'll be going up Friday morning and can probably work in a little museum or just Manhattan walking or whatever when we get up there.

2 comments:

Christopher said...

Let the renaissance continue! Even it some if may not help the waistline :)
Sorry to hear all those woes upon woes---August will go down as the most memorable of my life, certainly, and it sounds like one you're just as happy to say farewell to!

Sandra said...

Isn't it great the way they are restoring the older buildings to their original appearance? Sooooo much nicer than the 50's or 60's 'blah'! Must go have a look at your Etsy shop!
Hugs
Sandra

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