Mornin group...reporting in from Dallas as we are here for our son's graduation from the police academy.  The graduation with pinning on of badges, etc was yesterday afternoon at the academy.  This afternoon will be the more "formal" graduation downtown, with the mayor of Dallas, city officials, etc. He got his duty station assignment, and will begin patroling with a more seasoned officer next week.  It was a very impressive ceremony....everyone looked so nice in their uniforms. Our other son and grandson got to come, so we had a good time. Daughterin law's folks couldnt come as her dad's health is quite fragile, but the kids have a video camera, and we were able to tape it for them.  They will go to her folks' this evening and let them see it. I have taken pictures which I will email sometime in the next few days.

We are quite shocked to hear about the incidents at Ft. Hood yesterday. That is the army post near where we live.  Just can't figure out people!

Gotta get ready for today's festivities..will check in when we get home tonight. Y'all take care.

Pat

Good morning everyone.  I'm getting started earlier today.  I enjoy sleeping in, but it sets the tone for the day and I don't get much done.  I've already had breakfast...allbeit a small one as I have First Friday Feast today at 11...we'll have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with different kinds of bar cookies for dessert.  I haven't cut mine yet so still not sure how good they will be.  Last night at Aloha our meal was taco soup, a large tossed salad, cornbread (jalapeno and regular), chips and cheese to top the soup along with guacamole.  Dessert was ice cream sundaes and cookies.  I'm going to type up the cookie recipe and share it.  Called cereal cookies with both oatmeal and crushed corn flakes in it along with other goodies.  Made nice crisp cookies and we all loved them.

The events at Ft Hood yesterday really put a pall on everyone here.  I know Lynn's Chris has been in Texas but think it was all in El Paso...certainly hope he's safe at home now.  Everyone around here is just simply stunned.  And so little information is available at this time.  Please keep this base in your prayers.

Viny, will Pat walk with you?  That is such good exercise for the body as well as the mind.  I do hope she gets her strength up soon.  Will you be going with her to the new doc next week?   I hope you are continuing to take care of yourself too.

In regards to Christmas shopping....in our family, you're asked to present a list of what you want.  If you don't make a list, you get.....underwear and sox.  Didn't take DGS too long to figure out that you have to make your wishes known.  He was a sox and underwear recipient several times!  We older ones don't mind the sox and undies!

NursePat...didn't realize you were here.....will you be here all weekend?  If so, we could do dinner out tomorrow night...maybe Thai food!

Julie, sorry to hear of the problems you're having.  Hang in there.

Lynn, please check in with a Chris report...is he there with you?

I have time to accomplish something before I leave for church, so I'm off to find a chore to do....back later.

vammie

Good Morning, Viny and Pat.   It's been a busy 2 days of babysitting.   Wednesday included dinner when Kim got here and they didn't leave till 9 since Ava wanted to watch a movie she and I rented.   Then yesterday was my half day and they hung around till after 3.   Yesterday was at my house and Ava always has to show her mom some of the things we do during the morning.   We raked a big pile of leaves that she got to jump and play in.   Also we went out a new gate at the back of the property that takes us to a reclamation pond that collects water from storms.   it is only an acre of ground with very high sides and I always see kids running and climbing there.   It is all grass and Ava had a ball since we took Kruzer out there too.   Naturally she had to take her mom out there and run some more.   I'm so glad the weather is nice right now (high 60's).   Then she wanted to collect some Fall leaves and paint them.   That was quite interesting to be painting red leaves - naturally I had to paint too:)

We went to a financial dinner last night at a favorite steak house, although I opted for salmon.  I don't know if they do this in other states, but to get clients here, we often get invites to dinner and an hour seminar.   We take advantage of the good places, but never bite on appts afterward.

That Ft. Hood incident scared me because Roger is in the middle of 2 weeks of training in TX, but I'm not sure where.   There has to be more than 1 base, right?   TX is so big:)   We haven't heard anything, so I hope no news is good news.

 Viny, that sounds like good news for Pat.   I was more than a little concerned about her.   With you talking about Christmas, I can't believe it's creeping up on us.   You will be a busy man doing the shopping.

Pat, you sound in good spirits this morning, you must be so proud of your son.   I'm sure it's not that easy getting on the force.

I have a huge list of what I want to accomplish today, just hope I can make a dent in it.   The freezer part of the frig needs to be totally gone through and organized along with my kitchen counters.   I can live with the clutter and then all of a sudden it has to go.   This computer room could sure use an overhaul too, but that's not in the cards for today.   There is still some outside work to do, but think the rain predicted for Sunday won't materialize, so I have plenty of time.

I have my timer set for my exercise time later this morning.   My big problem is all of a sudden it is lunch time and I haven't exercised.   I can't let myself get into a "no exercise" rut or I will gain 10 lbs through the colder months.

I don't know how many make their own pie crust, but there is a really good suggestion in Real Simple about how to keep from getting the ragged edges when you roll it out.   I'll see if I can find it online so I can put the recipe and tip on RTR.

Hi, Verna, I was typing and eating so it takes me pretty long on here.   My first thought was of Lynn's Chris, but I knew he was in El Paso, so I hope he is out of harm's way.   The FBI supposedly knew someone by the shooter's name had some scary posts on one of those computer sites, but didn't know for sure if it was him.   C'mon, this is the FBI we're talking about.  That's hard to swallow.

Those are some feasts that you and your group have.   No wonder you had a light breakfast.  LOL!   Have an enjoyable morning and hope your bars are a hit.   BTW, I'm the same as you on getting up late.   I could do it all the time, but I force myself up no later than 6:30 - it doesn't feel so great at the time, but I'm happy for it later on.   Plus it causes me to be tired at night which is a good thing.

Better get a move on, see you later.........

Good morning... The events at Ft. Hood are certainly sad. It hits close to home here because something similar happened at the air force base near Spokane (the city where dm used to live) about 15 years ago. If I remember correctly, Chris is home with Lynn - but, I may be wrong.

Viny, I like Verna suggestion of Pat walking with you. You get off early enough in the afternoon that you could go then. At first, she may not be able to go as far or as fast you do but, in time, she should build up some strength. Did she start smoking, again, after she got home from the hospital?

Pat, you must be so proud of your ds. I hope the area where he is assigned to patrol is a nice, quiet area. Enjoy the festivities.

Verna, your cookie recipe sounds similar to one that I have a recipe for. Mine has coconut, cornflakes, and oatmeal. I haven't made them in a long time. I'm anxious to see if it is the same.

Speaking of cookies, I'm looking for a good pumpkin cookie recipe; does anyone have one? I'm thinking I want either a frosted pumpkin cookie or one with oatmeal.

One of the treasures I got from Mom when she moved this last time was her recipe box. I have not had time to go completely through it. I did go through some of it and was surprised how many recipes she had gotten from me that I don't remember! lol The other treasure I got was a serrated knife that has been in our family as long as I can remember. Either my grandpa or great grandpa made it out of saw and let me tell you, it is the best knife to cut tomatoes or bread. The rest of the stuff I got from her latest move I got by default since it was our trailer we were using to move her.

I have today off from work. We have an appointment with the accountant at 10:00 and then I have a nail appointment this afternoon.

PatA, you asked if I am making Thanksgiving dinner for the whole family. At this point, I think I am. I need to double-check with the kids and make sure they will be able to come. I think my sister and mom are coming and maybe my brother and his family. Oh well, everyone will bring something and on Thanksgiving it seems like it is the same amount of work whether you are cooking for 8 or 16. jmho

Until later...

JoLynn 

Marti how is Joe today? I was surprised to hear he work outside the other day.

Good morning everyone,

How nice to see so many posts so far, today.  Another sunny, but cool day here.  DH is outside as I type this, trying out his new blower.   Before you know it, he'll be blowing the last leaves off of the trees. lol

Viny, when I was in the car accident, and in the hospital for three months,. the physical therapist told me that it takes muscle a long time to build up, but you can begin to loose it in just 7 days of bed rest.  That was a shock.  She said it's possible to build up strength again, but you have to be consistent, and realize it will take time.  I'm sure by now, Pat is feeling like a "limp noodle", but am sure she'll be able to build herself up again.  Keeping both her ane you in my prayers.

Nurse Pat, congratulations on your DS's accomplishment.  I can't wait to see the pictures.  How proud you must be of what he's doing. 

Vammie, the cookies sound good. I'll look for the recipe. It sounds like something that would be good for the little ones with two kinds of cereal in it.  Enjoy your First Friday dinner today.  I'm getting in the mood for a good turkey dinner.  I saw a program about why we should only eat heritage meats and looked into it on their website.  www.farmforward.com  and agree with just about everything on there.  However, a heritage turkey costs $11 a pound and they recommend 1 pound per person. I'm not ordering one, but  I would love to compare the difference in taste.  When you have a large group for Thanksgiving, it woul cost well ove $100 just for the turkey.  I'm not sure about the packaging process either, but they must know what they're doing.  It comes fresh, not frozen.  ?????

Maureen, you've been so busy. What fun you're having with Ava.  You're both so lucky to be able to spend so much time together.   The Fort Hood incident was terrible.  I hope we hear from Lynn, soon that Chris wasn't there.  I hope Roger wasn't there either. 

We do get those invitations for the dinners, and I've always wanted to go, but DH doesn't.  I think you can probably pick up a lot of good information even if you don't hire the host to be your financial consultant.  Sometimes they have the dinner at our favorite spot, The Blue Canyon.  I'll have to see if he'll go to one of the next ones. 

JoLynn, I don't have any pumpkin cookie recipes with oatmeal or a frosting.  I did post one on RTR that is a Pumpkin Walnut Chocolate Chip cookie recipe.  They are a soft cookie and very good. Let me know if you want me to find it and I'll take a look.  I also just came across a recipe for Pupkin Cream Cupckes that I'll post on RTR.  They look very good.

Shirley, I'm sorry to hear about Uncle Frank's surgery and hope he will recover soon.  You must have lots of leaves too.  Can you get anyone else to help with them?  Sometimes our church has confirmation candidates looking for someone to help with things like that.  I hope you can find someone to help with your fall cleanup. 

 I'll be keeping Holly and you in my prayers.  What a difficult time this is for you.  Sometimes all we can do is pray. 

Have to get moving.  I haven't even started cleaning, yet, today. Boy am I running  late today.  Take care, everyone and God bless. Jo Ann  

Jolynn, I'll just post this here really quick.   I haven't made these, but put them in my Recipe Box the other day since they sounded so good.   Would be easy to put a frosting on them.   This got many excellent reviews.  

The ones I made last week are more cake-type and stay more round.   DH loves that type of cookie, so that's why I made it.

See what you think.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

Photo by: Taste of Home

100% would make again

Read reviews (6)

Rate recipe

"I'm one of the cooking project leaders for my daughter's 4-H club, where these soft delicious cookies were a great hit with the kids," reports Marietta Slater of Augusta, Kansas.

This recipe is:

Quick

• Rate Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

*Click on stars to rate

 

Poor

Fair

Average

Good

Excellent

Would you make this recipe again?

• Yes
• No

Write a review

*required

 

Cookie recipe is posted on the RTR thread....they are soo yummy!

Hey...when did you all sneak in?? 

One more quick note....I understand Lynn's Chris was at Ft.Bliss, which is in El Paso...WAY out in  west Texas, just across the Rio Grande from Juarez, Mexico.  Ft. Hood is almost right in the center of the state.  If you look at a map of Texas and find Interstate 35 running between Dallas and Austin, about halfway down and just to the west, you'll find Ft. Hood.  We live in Temple, which is where a lot of the victims have been taken. Scott & White hospital is the only level 1 trauma center between Dallas and San Antonio.

Verna, we'd love to meet for dinner, but we have to get back home tonight.  Have to get Ana from the kennel tomorrow morning, and get things ready for church on Sunday.  But next time we're up here, we'll get with you.

Y'all take care.  Pat

Whew !!!   You guys are really early this morning. 

We were at Costco gas when the attendant told us about Ft. Hood.  My first thought was also of Chris.  I didn't think he was there but never the less, those soldiers are his "Brothers" and I'm sure the whole incident made a big impact on him and all the other soldiers.

Maureen, sounds like you and Ava had quite a day.  Aren't they just the most precious things at this age ?  Too bad they will soon turn into snarly teens ! 

Viny, it does sound like Pat is feeling better.  I think our bodies tell us when we need to start getting more exercise after an illness.  But, when we are able to do a little more, we do need to push ourselves to exercise.  I think the girls are right.  If she will just start walking a little with you it will help her build her strength.

Yesterday my chiro told me to sleep with a pillow under my knees.  I did and it was the first night I didn't have back or groin pain so was able to get some sleep.

Shirley, I'm sad for you.  I wish you could take Verna up on her offer and go for a visit.  It would do you good. 

N.Pat, I'm looking forward to seeing the pictures.   I can only imagine what an impressive ceremony that was.

JoLynn, that is a priceless gift you received, recipes and a family knife.  OGD wants me to write our life story for her for Christmas.  I just happen to have a book made especially for that so I might do that.  Also, I thought to go through my favorite recipes that I've used over the years and write those down for her.  Of course, I'll get her a little something else.

Jo Ann, You sound more cheerful today.  I hope things are going better for you.

I need to clean house too but I believe that will have to wait.  The Young Lad is coming to spend a few hours.  Need I say more ?

Verna, those cookies sound kind of like Cowboy cookies.  I haven't made those for a long time.

How is your DD feeling now ?

Julie, sorry to hear about your problems and hope they can resolve the SS issue soon.

I did mostly looking yesterday.  I did pick up a gift for DsonIL.  I am ordering a few things today.  I loved looking around the new Big Target.  BUT, it will be more fun when my friend and I go.  Yesterday it was DH and I.  He was very patient but.....I always feel guilty when he's sitting in the car drinking coffee while I shop.  He looks around for awhile and then it's off to the car.

I mentioned drawing names in our family but no one was very enthused so we won't.  However, I am really cutting back on the amt. I spend on gifts for them.  It just doesn't make sense to me  to buy a bunch of stuff.   The kids get so much  anyway.

Well, I am going to run and make a Fresh Apple Cake before the little guy gets here because I know I won't do anything but play with him afterwards.  He is really liking his books now so I picked up a couple new ones yesterday.

It's raining here and dark so it's nice with the fire going and the lights on.  And scented candles burning.    It's cozy.  I keep a string of lights on the mantle all the time.  Right now they are golden/rust flower lights.  I change them with the seasons. 

Have a great day everyone.

Barb

I couldn't believe the recipe and tutorial for the piecrust is on the Real Simple website.

Here is the link   http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/cooking-tips-techniques/baking/how-to-make-your-own-piecrust-00000000022711/index.html  

The part I found interesting is when you have the dough in a disk before rolling, you put your knuckles into the dough all around the edges and this will prevent it from piecing at the edges while you are rolling.   Wonder if it really works???    Hmmmmm!

Also this recipe only uses butter and I've only used shortening, so that would be another test for me.   Guess I need to see how it all works........   which filling sounds good??

I'll answer a few questions I read:

The frosting turned out to be orange.   When I suggested orange Ava liked it and pink was only a memory.   But I don't have the good cake decorating colors, so it was a pale orange.   She kept wanting to see "real orange", but it never happened.

I don't know if most men are like DH when they have a physical problem, but, no, he never went to the doctor.   Seems he thought it was slightly, slightly better and waited to see how it would be.   He judged it by how it would spasm while walking and that was noticably better.   I told him he is still going to the chiro and I will make the appt.   He claims no good would come of it right now because it would hurt too much while being worked on.   He is at work but can't sleep through the night without it hurting, so goes down into the lounge chair.   Very stubborn man!

Jo Ann, I think Frank will like his blower.   DH bought one of those about 2 weeks ago and loves it.   It isn't as powerful as Viny's but it does the job very efficiently.

Kim is having Thanksgiving.   She and the BF want to cook for us.   I jumped on that invite as it gives me a break.   I'm sure I'll be helping though:)

Dr. Oz was talking about hoarders this morning.   I think DH and I both are guilty.   I don't think we are at the extreme end of the scale, but we sound seriously affected.   Oh, boy, think I will talk to DH about it.

Yesterday's post was chock full of conversation - such fun to read.

Edit:   Barb, my little Ava isn't going to turn into a snarly teen.  LOL!!!   BTW, your house sounds so cozy with the lights and all.   Will you come help me make mine cozy??

Also, was going to tell Julie that my brother got a letter from SS when he turned 50 telling him they were re-evaluating his disability status.   He finally was approved, but it really upset him while waiting.   You sound like you're doing the best you can do, praying that all will work out for your family.

 Now to get down to serious business......

 Hello.  Congratulations to NursePat's son. I'll bet it was a very nice ceremony!  

The Fort Hood news has been all over here, too.  What a tragedy.

Shirley, it was nice to hear from you.  You have a lot to deal with just now for sure.  I hope it all gets better soon.  Take care of yourself.  I think the pool will be good therapy for you.   I didn't make it this morning, as it was cold and slippery outside, and Antti needed the car to get to his substitute teaching job.  If it hadn't been slippery, I would have walked the two miles easily.  But I didn't want to take the chance.   

I have been looking at my cross trainer for a few days and have decided to actually get on it regularly. Ugh.  So I downloaded some new tunes onto my I-pod to encourage me.  

Interesting about the pie crust rolling.  I'm going to try it.  I always make my own crusts.  

I had such a nice e-mail from Ari this morning. He was happy to tell me that he is the only one in his international relations class that got an A.  This is his major, so he was over the moon.  His father will be right proud, too.

Julie, I'm sorry to hear of your situation.  Thanksgiving is not far away now.

I have had a bit of a blah day here.   The crummy weather isn't helping.   You all sound busy today.  Enjoy the day!

lusi

Julie, I don't have your email so will write this thought on here.   Make sure your husband isn't out in public looking like he would have the ability to work.   Don't take this lightly.   I don't want to say anymore than that.

I was just reading Viny's email about aspirin and heart attacks.   Dr. Oz says if you suspect you are having a heart attach to CHEW an aspirin.