Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Website for Wednesday

I have noticed that a lot of bloggers have a "Wordless Wednesday" on which they usually post a photograph or something.  I have decided to have a "Website Wednesday".

I love to surf the web and this will give me an opportunity to share some of my finds.   Sooo------today's Website Wednesday is a tutorial for making a reusable Swiffer duster on the blog "Sew Much Ado".

I like to use those dusters, but I hate buying disposable refills. I hope you find this useful.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Menus and Chicken Stir Fry Recipe

Well, today is Tuesday and though I am feeling unenthusiastic about it, I do need to figure out what we are going to eat for the next few days. Here is my list:
Tuesday 
  1. Fried Catfish ( which my husband loves - I try not to use much oil)
  2. Grits (a good southern dish)
  3. Cole Slaw ( to use up cabbage left after last week's stir fry and sauteed cabbage)
Wednesday
Out with friends 

 Thursday and Friday
  1. Taco Soup (something new - should be enough to feed 2 people 2 days)
  2. Tossed Salad (if I am feeling ambitious)
Saturday 
  1. Pot Roast/Carrots/Potatoes (I think I have had this Pot Roast on the last two week's menu, but somehow I haven't cooked it yet - maybe this week??)
  2. Green Veggie (whatever I decide from the freezer)
Sunday
Easter Dinner at My Son's and Daughter-in-law's House (Thank Heavens! :)
  1. Sour Cream Pound Cake 
  2. Strawberries and Cool Whip
  3. Brownies (or some kind of cookies for the small grandchildren)
Now off to the grocery store......What fun!! :(

Though I don't like grocery shopping, I don't mind cooking too much.  Here is an easy and inexpensive recipe that I used last week.  This one is on my favorites list and it serves 5-6 people.

Chicken Stir Fry    
4 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 whole chicken breast boned, skinned, and cut into 3/4 in. cubes
4 carrots, sliced
2 cups chopped broccoli
     (I use frozen broccoli florets)
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 med. onion sliced
2 clove garlic minced (opt.)
1 1/2 tsp. ginger
1 cup coarsely chopped cabbage
2 cup water
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 cup sliced celery (about 2 stalks)
I usually chop everything first. That takes the most time.  Everything else is quick and easy.
Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in wok or large skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and stir fry till pieces turn white. Remove from pan. Add 1 Tbsp. oil to wok and stir fry carrots 3 min. Add remaining 2 Tbsp. oil, broccoli, celery, onion, garlic, and ginger. Stir fry 3-4 min. until vegetables are crisp tender. Add chicken and cabbage. Stir-fry until cabbage softens slightly.
Mix water, cornstarch, soy sauce, and bouillon cube and add to wok. Actually, the original recipe called for less water and cornstarch than I use, but we like a lot of sauce with it.Bring to a boil and simmer 1 min. You may add peanuts or cashews (opt.). These really add to it, but I don't always have them. 
We like extra soy sauce with it, and I usually just serve it with chilled Mandarin Oranges from a can.  Cucumbers and Tomatoes with Vinegar and Oil would be nice also.



Monday, March 29, 2010

Starting Another Scrapbook

I have changed my template.  I need to get some graphics..............

My husband was 3 years old when his father died of a ruptured appendix and peritonitis. We have a couple of old scrapbooks that he kept.  He had a good voice and sang in the Atlanta Light Opera for a few seasons.  He also sang in a chorus in the Metropolitan Opera in New York.  In one scrapbook are programs and newspaper clippings about the performances including pictures of him.  In the other scrapbook are pages of photos of girls he knew (I don't know why my mother-in-law let him keep those though probably most of them were in the productions he sang in). 

I have been planning some time to make a scrapbook of these things, some letters that he wrote, some old photos, etc.  I finally got started yesterday.

The things that he had saved were just glued into the old scrapbook.  Some were already loose, but many were not.  My husband gently ran warm water over them and most of them came off pretty well.  A few had some tears.  I plan to scan them all.  This is going to take some time


He was a handsome man.

 

You can see what I have to work with.



The photo in the middle is Irene Dunn.  I don't know for sure if she is the famous Irene Dunne, but after checking her biography on the net, I believe she was. She was born a Dunn but later added the "e" to her name. She was in several of the operas that he was in.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Blog Reading

I've been sitting at this computer for two hours this morning. My mind feels over whelmed.  I've been blog reading - mainly reseaching info on writing blogs.  Or at least that is how I started out.  There is so much information.  I bounce from one site to another......and get further and further lost in internet land.  I have got to find a better way to spend less time looking for what I want.  I do have my booksmarks categorized in folders, but there are so many of them.

Recently, I have started using Stumble Upon (just for entertainment - not for searching - well, maybe for searching what other blogs look like).  I highly recommend this if you are looking for interesting sites to read.  There are really some unusual blogs out there.

I said all that to say this:  Here is a good article about how to find a niche in blogging that I ran across in my wanderings around the internet this morning.  You need to scroll down the page to find it.

Have a great day!

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Recipe Book - And A New Follower

I have a new follower!! Thanks very much to The Older Geek.  She sounds like an amazing woman.  A mother of 4 teenagers, she writes a LONG list of blogs with current and very interesting content - one of which is about how she did the electrical wiring in her home. Her posts on blogging are written very clearly and are most helpful.

I seem to be thinking about things in the kitchen a lot this week - especially my recipes.  I have this idea that I want to make a "Mama"s Recipe Book using all of my old recipes.  I'm talking about sort of a Heritage Cookbook, I guess, with pictures and a few stories here and there.

I have all of my recipes organized on my computer.  I've used different formats for them over the years - made a couple of notebooks for them.  A few years back I decided I wanted to go back to 4x6 cards.  Now I have decided to print them and put them back into a notebook - mainly to organize them better.  I can use the pictures of them that I am using on this blog.

I have a recipe program called Big Oven that I have used for a long time.  It is very easy to import recipes from the web into this program.  It makes shopping lists and has menu planning capbilities.

How to really go about this is not really clear to me yet. Maybe as a scrapbook??

Does anyone out there have any suggestions??

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Kitchen Tips

I would like to share with you my very best kitchen tip.

Before beginning any meal preparation, always fill the sink with hot, soapy water - yes, even if you have a dishwasher! You can rinse your hands off quickly, wash a bowl or utensil if you need it again, and put cooking equipment in to soak until clean-up time. I'm sure nobody ever thought of this except me. :) 

Also, here is an organizing idea I use in my kitchen for my spices.  I place them in alphbetical order in plastic trays (the kind that are usually used in drawers, but any will do).
Then I use my trusty labler to put labels on the top so that when I take them off the shelf I can see immediately what is in each container.When I empty a container, the label peels off easily and usually has enough stickum to use on the new spice top.
Here is my labeler.  I really like it - use it for all kinds   of things.  Of course, any label method will work.

Recipe: Skillet Barbecue Pork Chops

Here is my Skillet Barbecued Pork Chops. The first time I prepared this recipe was about 50 years ago.  I served it to our first dinner guests, a fellow university student and his wife. It came from a magazine, and I thought it was great.

When our children came along, they, like most kids, would not eat everything and it seems like the only meat we ever had then was ground beef - hamburgers, meat loaf, spaghetti, etc. Somehow, I drifted away from this recipe.  I have been using it again for the past 2 or 3 years.  I can't say that it is my favorite recipe.......but it is good for a change.

Skillet Barbecued Pork Chops                          
4 -6 pork chops  (I used only three which is what I needed.)
1 tbsp. Wesson oil (optional)
1/3 c. chopped celery  (I use more.)
2 tbsp. lemon juice  (Of course, fresh is nice, but usually I only have bottled lemon juice.)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon Pepper
1 -2 8 oz cans Hunts Tomato Sauce
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard   

In a large skillet with a tight fitting lid, brown pork chops in oil over medium heat about 5 minutes on each side. Actually, I omitted the oil, heated the dry skillet on medium heat until drops of water sprinkled in it danced, placed the chops in the skillet for about 5 minutes until they released easily from the pan, turned them and gave them a couple of minutes to brown on the other side.

Drain off excess fat. Sprinkle celery, (I used 2/3 cup), brown sugar, lemon juice and seasonings evenly over pork chops. Pour tomato sauce over all. Cover; simmer over low heat 1 hour or until chops are tender. It takes at least an hour.

Here is dinner served.... And it was good! The cabbage and black-eyed peas give away the fact that I am from the South.  Baked potatoes are good with this dish also.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Menus and Grocery Shopping

Yesterday, I planned my menus for the week, made my grocery list, and went to the grocery store.  This is the one thing I do that always makes me feel as if I have a handle on things (whether or not I really do), and I usually am pretty consistent with it.  Since most of the time there is just the two of us, I usually only plan 3 or 4 menus per week as each menu usually is enough for 2 meals. We eat out with friends once a week.

This is what we are eating this week:
  1. Skillet Barbecued Pork Chops/Black Eyed Peas/Sauteed Cabbage/Leftover carrots
  2. Chicken Stir Fry/Rice/Chilled Mandarin Oranges
  3. Oven Pot Roast/Potatoes and Carrots/Green Beans/Tropical Fruit with Cheese Salad
I rarely see anyone at the grocery store who appears to be shopping from a list.  I always have one. The other day I was talking with a neighbor about this. She admitted she never does - she always "knows" what she needs.  Now I am wondering if there is something wrong with me because her home and her life seem much more organized than mine.  Maybe I spend too much time making lists!

Years ago I made a project of marking down all the aisle numbers where items that I bought were located in the grocery store and using that information to make my Publix Grocery List.  This is the store where I buy most of my groceries.  Occasionally, I go to Sam's to buy meat. I have never believed that I saved much money by running around from store to store chasing sales. I don't really enjoy grocery shopping!

An objection I have heard to a list like mine has been that stores are always moving things around.  I only remember that happening one time at Publix.  (The key words here are "I only remember".  I have shopped there for years, and they must have changed more than once.) By that time, my husband (who loves to go grocery shopping) was so hooked on my list that he took a tour around the store, noted all the changes, came home and edited my chart for me.

Tomorrow I will post the Pork Chop recipe. Have a great day!!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Thrifting: Estate Sales

I wish that I had known about estate sales when I was a young wife and homemaker.  I could have furnished our home a lot quicker and a lot cheaper. 

Several days ago I wrote about the valentine that I bought for my husband at an estate sale.  Here are the other bargains I got at that sale.  

This cake plate and server cost $2.50.  I love the rose design.  Roses are my thing!

 
This floral picture (roses again) in a gorgeous gold frame was $7.50.

 
A teapot for $2.50 (more roses, apparently also the "thing" of the woman who had previously lived where the sale was held)..... The ivy is from Joann's. I had a coupon.

I got all of these at half price because I was there on the last afternoon of the sale when they had reduced the prices of whatever was leftover.

I subscribe to Estate Sales.Net, a web site that emails notifications of estate sales in certain areas. 

Click to enlarge the photos!

Monday, March 22, 2010

Today's Pursuit: Yardwork

This time of year in Central Florida our big oaks start shedding their leaves.  I have already raked one time just a few days ago, but you would never know it. Though there were other things that I would much rather have done today, those leaves were calling me. They look messy, but they do make good mulch for our azalea bushes.

We have a lot of big oak trees on our street though not as many as we had before Hurricane Charley.  There were 8 big trees blown down across the street.

There is also a lot of work to be done in the back of our house.  My husband has already trimmed a lot of dead limbs, etc. that were a result of the freezes we had this winter.  The lanatanas that I planted around a Florida Holly tree in the back were damaged, but they are very hardy.  I gave them a haircut and they will come back. Today I did a little more weeding in that bed. The pavers that surround the bed have become buried in the ground so I started digging them up and will reposition them.

My husband had planned to spray Round Up on the patio as there are a lot of weeds peaking up between the pavers, but there is too much wind this afternoon. The patio also needs to be sprayed with bleach for the midldew on the pavers.

There are big beds along the back that need to be weeded and mulched.......a lot to do.  I don't like yardwork!

**Clicking on the photos will make them larger.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Blog Reading

It is Sunday morning. My granddaughters, who spent last night with us, are still asleep on the pull-out sofa in the family room.  Our guest room is currently occupied by my son-in-law who has been staying with us. He and my daughter and granddaughter are moving to another country (oh, wait....another state....just feels like another country) and he has been in job transition while my daughter has already gone ahead.  Since I can't go out to watch news, knit, and have my cup of coffee, I am in the computer room (also the sewing and ironing room) trying to catch up on reading blogs.

My list of blogs to read and check out gets longer and longer.  I feel a little frustrated that I can't keep up with all of them.  One site leads to another and another...........I was on I'm an Organizing Junkie this morning and found another great-looking site, Reluctant Entertainer.

I here someone rattling around in the kitchen.  Guess I'd better go check.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

There is a lot going on at my house this weekend, and I don't have time to blog........so here is a funny joke that I plagarized from Grandma P's blog.  She admitted she had plagarized it so I guess it will be ok if I do.
This doctor has some unique ideas that I thought you would appreciate.

Q: Doctor, I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life. Is this true? 
A: Heart only good for so many beats, and that it... Don't waste on exercise. Everything wear out eventually. Speed up heart not make live longer; that like say you can extend life of car by driving faster. Want live longer? Take nap. 
 
Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables? 
A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does cow eat? Hay and corn. What are these? Vegetables. So, steak nothing more than efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef also good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And pork chop can give 100% recommended daily allowance of vegetable products. 
 
Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake? 
A: No, not at all. Wine made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine. That means they take water out of fruity bit; get even more of goodness that way. Beer also made out of grain. Bottoms up! 
 
Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio? 
A: If you have body and you have fat, ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, ratio is two to one, etc. 
 
Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program? 
A: Cannot think of single one, sorry. My philosophy: No Pain...Good! 
 
Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you? 
A: YOU NOT LISTENING!!! .... Foods fried in vegetable oil. How getting more vegetables be bad for you? 
 
Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle? 
A: Definitely not! When you exercise muscle, it get bigger. You should only do sit-ups if want bigger stomach. 
 
Q: Is chocolate bad for me? 
A: You crazy? HELLO ... Cocoa beans! Vegetable!!! Cocoa beans best feel-good food around! 
 
Q: Is swimming good for your figure? 
A: If swimming good for figure, explain whales to me. 
 
Q: Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle? 
A: Hey! 'Round' is shape! 
 
Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets. 
 

Thursday, March 18, 2010

More Menus and Blogging

I spent time yesterday writing the "About Me" post in the sidebar and working on my template - also researching some blogs.  I found a site called Blogging Basics 101 that promises to be helpful with my blogging and  also this site,  another interesting blog listing the ten top blogs in all kinds of subjects.  I have spent some time - using instructions in Blogging Basics to insert an RSS feed.  I have taken all of my "blogging time" with these things which has not left much time to post. I have to get up and start house cleaning as we are having a little company this weekend.

However, as I wrote about menus last, here is a photo of the Pinto Bean menu.  This was dinner for Tuesday night.  I ended up making just a quick tossed salad with what I could find in the frig as Tuesday nights are Little League Games right now and I did not have time to make the Columbia Salad.

Everything was good anyway.  As far as I am concerned, you can't beat pinto beans with fresh chopped onions and cornbread.  It's cheap, too!

I never use placemats.  (I do use tablecloths when we have company) This place setting would look much better with a placemat - I keep thinking I am going to make some.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Menus and Columbia Restaurant Salad Recipe

In searching the web looking for blogs by older people, I came acress this post by Nicholas Carr entitled "Blogging: a great pastime for the elderly".  He talks about a survey that says young people think blogging is uncool and only older people do it.  Oh well, everything always seems to be out before I am in.

I did get my menus planned for this week.  They are;
  1. Pinto Beans/Cornbread/Columbia Restaurant Salad
  2. Old Fashioned Beef Stew/Rice/Green Peas/Pear and Cheese Salad
  3. Pot Roast with Carrots and Potatoes/Broccoli and Cheese Sauce/Canned Tropical Fruit Salad
  4. Chicken Dressing Casserole/Quick Candied Yams/Green Beans/Fruit Salad
This allows for leftovers and for eating out at least once. The Columbia Salad Restaurant Salad is a signature recipe from a restaurant here in Florida.  It is very good.

Columbia Salad Recipe
1/2 head Iceberg Lettuce, torn
2 Tomatoes, diced
1 stalk Celery, diced
3 oz. Swiss Cheese, julienned
3 oz. Ham, julienned
1/4 cup Spanish Olives, pitted
2 tablesp. Romano Cheese
Dressing:
1 clove Garlic, minced
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 Lemon, juiced
1/2 cup Olive Oil
2 tablesp. White Vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste
Arrange salad ingredients in serving bowl or individual salad plates.  To prepare the dressing mince garlic and put in a bowl.. Add oregano, Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice.  Beat with a wire wisk until smooth.  Add the oil gradually and finally add the vinegar, beating continuously.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  When well-mixed, pour dressing over salad and toss.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Housekeeping and More Thrifty Finds

Many times I have made schedules - some simple, some complicated - for getting my housework done.  Somehow I've never really hit on one that works for me.  I have read all the housework organizing books, Confessions of an Organized Homemaker, Side-Tracked Executives, Speed Cleaning, The Messies Manual, etc.and when the web came along, I would read all the home organizing sites that I could find.  I would get very enthusiastic about it, but in all too short order, it would become boring, or impossible to keep up with, or something would come along to get me off track.

Now, I have been keeping house for over 50 years and I still haven't solved the problem - so I guess it is hopeless.  In my defense, a good bit of that time I had 4 children and worked part time.

Hope springs eternal, I guess, and I still keep trying because disorder does bother me. My idea of  heaven includes having everything in place and clean.........all done by someone else, of course!

I've said all that to say this - I have got to get menus planned for next week or we will spend too many evenings eating out!  And I have got to clean my house for company next weekend!

Here are other thrift store, etc. decorating finds. The little glass jar was 75 cents and the red and white saucer 50 cents.  The flowers were cut from one stem at the dollar store.  They sorta match my wall paper and the salt and pepper shakers that were given to me by one of my children who knows I like floral (especially roses) designs. The vase  was recycled from a candle jar.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Yardwork, Thrifting, and Knitting

Well, it 's a very nice day outside today which means...........yardwork!  It was nice to be outside but I am not a yardwork person.  However, since I don't have one (yardwork person), I got out and raked those leaves and started pruning the lantanas in the back yard.  And that is just a start!

Back to knitting:  that afghan I said was simple - well, lately it has been driving me nuts. Morning before yesterday I pulled out 4 looong rows  because I discovered a mistake. This morning I thought I had knitted an extra row in the pattern, pulled it out, and then discovered that it was not a mistake and had to knit it back in.

Probably nobody would have noticed those mistakes except me.  However, I have made a lot of mistakes in my life that I could not go back and correct.  These I could and so I did. (The italics are because I said something profound!)

Like many women, I love bargains.  I think garage sales, thrift shops, and estate sales are great.  Some of my favorite things in my home have come from them.  Recently I went to an estate sale and got several good buys.  Here is the one I thought was the best bargain.  It was my husband's valentine and it cost a quarter (we've been married 53 years so he appreciates any valentine he gets).  In addition to being a copy of a Mary Engelbreit print, it plays music to the tune of "Just the Way You Are".......and that is the way I have to take him. (and also how he has to take me)

Friday, March 12, 2010

New Blog Header

I have spent all morning making a new header for this blog.  Finally figured out that 1175 pixels will fit across the template (Minema Stretch) that I am using.  The width of a new header doesn't seem to matter.

I thought about changing the name of this blog to "Over 70 and Counting" inspired by  this blog I ran across last night.  It has a blogroll for bloggers over 50 with a lot of interesting looking sites on it.  If  I ever figure out how to make a bloggroll, maybe I could do one for over 70's!!  We could talk about our aches and pains and the trips we've taken :) .

I need to get out in the yard and rake oak leaves and cut back all of the dead stuff, but Thankfully unfortunately it is wet and rainy outside, as it was yesterday. This has been a weird winter.  We have lived here almost 50 years and I never remember another like it.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Doll Sweater

A couple of blogs back I mentioned that progress on my afghan had been slow.  One of the reasons for that is I stopped work on the afghan to knit a couple of American Doll Sweaters.  The above photo is one of them.  The other sweater has been sent to a granchild who lives in another state (and I am still not happy about that - in case a certain someone is looking at this!)

This is a free pattern from the web, and it is found here.  If you are like me, free is good!  I used some leftover sport weight yarn to knit it.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

HTML

This morning my husband and I went to Ikea. I had something I needed to return and wanted to look at their shelving. We were there early enough for their free breakfast (that's how I got him to go!).

While we were finishing the meal with an extra cup of coffee - and their coffee is really good - he mentioned a newspaper article that he had read about how some people have been able to go into blogs and find out where the blogger lives. I reminded him that
1. I don't think a predator would be interested unless he has a thing for old, wrinkled, slightly overweight women.
2. We certainly are not rich and famous, and
3. Neither of us is running from the police.

I don't really think this is going to be a problem.

What makes me very excited about the above is that I am doing this whole post in html instead of composer. About.com has a 10 week class on XHTML and I am plodding through it. Don't know if it will really help with blogging that much but will see.

By the way, if anybody reads this and has advice or criticism about the set-up of this blog, I will be very appreciative of it!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Strawberry Festival and Current Knitting Project

Yesterday, my hubby and I went to the Strawberry Festival in Plant City.  It is an old festival here in Central Florida - started 75 years ago.  You cannot tell from this photo but there was a big crowd.  I meant to take a picture of the huge strawberry shortcake we had, but I guess I was too excited about eating it and forgot!

While there, we watched one of those waterless cookware demonstrations - the one where they cook and let the audience have samples of the food.  We bought one of those kinds of cookware sets about 40 years ago (and still use it) and certainly were not in the market for pots and pans.  But it was free food!  And the chef was very entertaining. And there were chairs where we could sit down for awhile.  One of the demonstrators gave me this website with cooking videos which demonstrates some of their recipes and cooking methods.

In the past year I have started knitting.  I learned how years ago but never did much with it - knitted a few sweaters and would probably be classified as a beginner. Currently I am working on an afghan for our family room sofa.  I found a free pattern on the web at this link and  found some Lion Brand Jiffy yarn on sale at Joann's that I could use with it.  I haven't made a lot of progress but am not really pushing it.  It's a simple, easy pattern and great for working on when I watch TV.   I never remember to change the little row counters that you put on knitting needles to keep track of which row you are on so I made a chart.  Anyone who may be interested in knitting this can access my chart here.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Struggling to Learn How to Set Up This Blog

Every once in awhile, the solution to a problem will jump into my head early in the morning after I wake up.  One morning since I last posted, it dawned on me that maybe blogger will take png graphic files as well as jpg (and it does).  I had been trying to make my own title design with PSE and being able to use png's will make things easier as it enables me to use digital elements while keeping the background invisible.

I also was having problems figuring out how to size pictures to fit the title bar and did not really understand the instructions I found on the web.  Finally, I just right clicked on the title bar of someone else's blog that used the same template as I do and noted the properties of the photo used in their title bar.  The size was 800 x 170 pixels with a 72 resolution.  I still had to tweak this a little.  So now I have my own title though I need to work on it as it is by no means an impressive work!

Another idea I had is to make a quick draft of post ideas for the day early when my mind is working  and expand on it later - when my poor mind is tired and can't do any new thinking.

Every thing I have read on the internet (and in Google Blogger for Dummies that I just got from the library) talks about the importance of picking a subject that the writer is passionate about.  This has stumped me as there is not one thing that I stick with.  I am interested in a lot of things - particulary if there is something new to learn about it.  The only thing I can do is blog about whatever the thing of the moment happens to be……..thus the name “Occasional Pursuits”.   And wonder of wonders!  I was able to get a blogger domain name using the same words.


Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Blogging and Cooking

I am still having to fiddle around with this blog. Lost my profile photo and photos in my posts and had to figure out how to get them back on.  Took me awhile........

This is a practice blog so I am just posting whatever I am thinking about.

Last night my grandson and his friend had dinner with us. I had the one dish that I know everyone in my family likes - a recipe that I got from my husband's aunt years ago. She called it Beef Stroganoff, but we just call it Beef and Noodles. Here it is:

Beef and Noodles
1 pound Ground beef
1 medium Onion chopped
3 cups Medium noodles
3 cups Tomato juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
1 can Cream of mushroom soup
1 cup Sour cream

Brown ground beef and chopped onions. Drain off grease. Add noodles, tomato juice, worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Cook until noodles are tender. Add cream of mushroom soup, followed by sour cream, stirring after each addition. Make sure food is not hot enough to boil when adding sour cream or it will curdle. Yields: 4 Servings

Monday, March 1, 2010

Working on Blogger

Well, it's the first day of March, and now I will have 2 months under "archives"!!  Of course, it doesn't matter that I started practically on the last day of February.

In doing some research on blogging this weekend, I found that Blogger uses Picasa Web Albums to store photos that it's users post.  Upon checking my albums I found that even photos that I had used and then deleted from my blog were in my Picasa Web Album - although some of the photos were repeats.  I deleted the repeats and hope I got the right ones.  The photos are still on this site this morning but, according to the article I read, sometimes it takes 24 hours for them to be deleted from the blog.

This morning, in trying to find the site about Picasa and Blogger - since I forgot to bookmark it - I couldn't find it but I found a lot of other sites about this subject..........so guess I will do some more research.

PS After trying in vain to reposition and add a new gadget, I found I could not make it work using Firefox for my browser but was able to after switching to IE.  (Not my idea - I found it after googling)