Santa Rides a Harley- A Christmas Lesson

Santa Rides a Harley

Sleet and snow blanketed our area unexpectedly December 2007 on a most important day, at least for three year old Taylor, our granddaughter.  It was the day she was supposed to see Santa and tell him what a fine girl she had been all year.   We were going to the mall which was at least thirty miles from our home and twenty of those are over curvy, hilly, two lane, no shoulder roads where roll-overs are the norm.  The fortunate ones don’t land upside down in the many small creeks.  

How was I going to break the news that we just couldn’t make it?  She truly is fine girl.  One of the most well behaved children, kind and sharing.   I don’t say this simply because she is my grandchild, it was a concentrated effort of all parties involved to set limits, examples and actually provide discipline rather than have a kiddie free-for-all that is so common these days.  Then it hit us- 

Our local paper advertised Santa’s arrival at the nearby Harley dealership.  It is located at the cross section of Hwy 44 and 50 just outside of Union, MO.  It stands by itself, very rural and of course has motorcycles in the parking lot.   I have passed by it several times and there have been some pretty strange looking people there.  I was a bit nervous; I had watched movies where Hell’s Angels terrorized towns.  They rode Harleys.   There were tatted up, leather capped, long hair bearded men - also women in tall boots donned in pure black leather with more than a hint of silver studding.  We could get there, but would we get back?

It was only eight miles away, we could make it.  We all jumped into the 4WD truck and headed to the dealership.   I asked my husband to wait in the truck with Taylor while I checked out the store, just in case we had to hightail it out of there.   No, I’m not the brave one, I just can’t reach the truck pedals to make the fast getaway.  He thinks I am ridiculous, a West County princess, but gives in to my request.  

I gingerly approached the door, entered the building and what to my wandering eyes did appear . . . . . ?  Sitting atop a beautiful, shiny motorcycle was a wonderfully jolly, white haired, bearded Santa donned in Santa red and white from tip to almost toe-the required black boots as the finishing touch.  The pretty lady elves in elfin garb, their pointy caps all green and red, ushered the little children to Santa, snapping photos of each- compliments of the dealership.   Little play areas were set up among the aisles where awaiting tots could build with blocks, play with tiny cars or hug stuffed bears.  

The store had been transformed into a winter wonderland with homemade decorations of candy canes and packages high up on the walls.  Display areas were filled with stuffed animals, an unusual selection with anteaters, opossums, skunks, chipmunks and squirrels, all at very reasonable prices.  There were Christmas trees- the traditional green bushy variety. There was also a very special orange and black tree covered in Harley ornaments, all very pretty and quality made.  Across the store was the bake sale with freshly made cookies, fudge and candies which rivaled any PTO selection I have seen.  All proceeds would go to charity, just one of their many charitable events throughout the year.  

I ran back to the truck to get Taylor.  She couldn’t miss this, and I couldn’t pass up this photo op!  Now this is our annual Christmas event.   She loves that Santa and you can tell how much he loves the kids.  He takes his time with them, no rushing.  He has an actual conversation with them, and also with the parents. Then he pulls everyone in for a group photo.   I’m no longer uneasy around the long haired, bearded, leather capped and tatted up patrons, in fact, I would really love to have one of their leather tooled black purses complete with the silver studding  but they are way above my price point!    I make certain to purchase several items from their bake sale and Taylor always gets her pick of unusual stuffed animals, my favorite being the opossum. 

So the magic of Christmas didn’t stop at a child’s wonder but also transformed the preconceived ideas of a grandma.  Peace on earth and goodwill to all.  Merry Christmas.   

Taylor in 2016

I am Still Here

Hi,

Just an update.  It took a trip to the emergency room to determine that I have carried around a bacterial infection, C Diff, for months.  It's a Really, Really bad infection but we thought it was just a colitis flare.  It wasn't.  In the meantime I also twisted my knee badly so the ER also put me in a substantial brace which I was not allowed to remove, except for showing, for a month.

Today I am on Humira, which I will post about later, and finishing up the second round of antibiotics for the C Diff.   I'll be back to posting soon.  I am so far behind reading all your blogs.

Thanks for the nice thoughts while I have been out.

Kathy

A Little Under the Weather

I was thinking that I haven't made any progress on

the projects I wanted to accomplish as pertain

to learning the old ways.  This summer has been 

wet or I have been under the weather again, 

fighting this colitis.  It's hard to get too 

enthused when you don't feel well.

Instead, I thought I'd post some photos of the project I AM working on.

I really have enjoyed this quilting/embroidery project sponsored by

Moda,  Bee-utiful Quilt A Long with designs by Pamela Jane Morgan.

It has helped me to learn new embroidery stitches and to take

some creative license with the basic pattern.

You'll see some blue markings in the photos-

they was off but serve to outline the basic pattern,

each containing a bee or two.

 

It's easy to sit in my recliner and stitch

and still spend time with my husband.

In the meantime I am working with 

doctors, fighting their recommendation 

to get on medicine with potential side effects

of brain infections or TB.  Another lists 3-4

types of cancer, one 100% fatal.

Maybe the odds are small but one brain infection

is enough to change everything.  I am going to consult

another doctor to see what the alternatives are.

We've only had these new biologics (you hear them on 

tv all the time now) for awhile,

people managed before without them.

Wish me luck!

Hot Springs Arkansas Visit

We were Arkansas bound, headed for Hot Springs

to visit my mom for a four day weekend.  We brought

our granddaughter along and took the required photo

at the Arkansas welcome center on Hwy 67 just after

the Missouri border.  This time the sweet ladies that 

man the center gave her a cutout of Arkansas to hold up!

It's a long drive for us but we have made it so many 

times that we have familiar landmarks which help

to make the trip shorter.  Additionally, it was good

to see they extended the four-lane section so we are 

down to only about 30-40 miles of two-way!

After resting a bit upon arrival, we made our way out to

Tom's favorite restaurant, Mr. Whiskers.  It's moved 

locations, expanded the seating but was still so crowded

the line to order stretched down one whole side of the 

seating area.  You had to estimate departures so you

can tell them To Go or Eat In!  He had fried oysters

with hush puppies and slaw.  Taylor had the kid meal,

mainly because it comes in a snazzy cardboard boat!

Mom had fish and shrimp and I chose ala carte since

I can't eat much these days.  Three shrimp and some

hush puppies were plenty, with some of those hush

puppies to take home!

We made sure to go downtown the next day.

We dropped my husband and Taylor off while Mom

and I went to the quilt shop to pick up my

Row by Row that mom had purchased for me

but we still had to pick up.  

Afterwards we met the hubby and Taylor downtown.

It was really nice except it's a small area and when you

add 10,000 motorcycles for a rally on top of tourists,

it was a bit deafening! 

This is Fat Bottom'd Girls, a cupcake shop that won

on Cupcake Wars that Taylor watches.  She was simply 

amazed last year when she saw her idols were right there!

She had to get a big chocolate cupcake this time.

By the looks of it, it was grand!

Taylor and I had our photo taken outside of the 

Ohio club with Al Capone!!

Mom owns the point so we have a great view plus

a lot of water frontage to swim.

Captain Taylor and Pops

Taylor takes a break and sits with my mom

up front to enjoy the view.

CANNON BALL!

Mid air too!

Relaxing on the deck.

Our view as the sun sets.

Mom's house from the water at dusk.

There are some tremendous houses on this lake.

This is mom's neighbor and yes, it's as big as it looks!

Another house down the lake.

This one has an infinity swimming pool just before the lake.

Soon the weekend came to an end and we were packed up

and heading back to the St Louis area.  

Now I need some time off to rest!

I Survived !

Shared from FaceBook

I needed help and help did not come!!! It was horrible, twisting and writhing across the basement floor and here I was trapped between the washer and IT. I yelled for help and my husband answered me, but not with the reply I expected. 

No, abandoned in the basement with The Bug! And, it has pinchers. I was quiet for awhile, you would have thought he'd check on me, but no! What to do? Think, Kathy, what do you have here? I positioned a measuring cup and dust pan on either side and then scooped it up. Then I walked upstairs and showed it to him!!!! He didn't seem impressed. Neither did he seem impressed that I captured it ALIVE, with pinchers moving to boot!

 I took it outside-where it belongs- and tossed it onto a large lump of grass. It's on its own now and finally, the basement is safe once more!

Are the Hives Strong?

Are the hives strong?  

No, not really.  One hive is better than the other two,

one is so weak that we can't figure out what is happening.

It's almost like they don't know what to do.  That one is

the combination of the two week hives from our original

shipment.

They were hungry though.  There has been plenty for them to eat.

First the wild grapes bloomed, garden flowers, the elderberry fields

down the road and wildflowers.  My daughter had left a 

Mountain Dew on the porch table so I poured it out over

the rail which meant that some hit the bushes.

The bees flocked to it and suddenly we had hundreds

of bees licking the sugar off the leaves.

I gave them some sugar syrup in the same manner

and the flocked there.  Lots and lots of bees.

So we filled their sugar feeders and the strong hive

ate it all immediately.  The second hive about half of it

and the third hive had no clue.

I also saw some small beetles which may or may 

not be a problem.

We'll go visit our beekeeper store this weekend and discuss it.

I don't think we'll get honey.

Our best hope is that the bees survive the winter!  

It's Alive, My Rooted Rose

I had about given up, ready to throw out the rose

cuttings I made after my husband cut through the main 

stem to to remove it from the house.

But here it was today,

just as if it knew its fate.

You can see the new growth popping out, in 

fact, there are several all up and down the stem.

It was magnificent this year.

We had a great Spring resulting in tremendous growth.

It's a wild climber, going up two stories but unfortunately

climbing the down spout and trying to get 

beneath the siding.

The bees love it and it's oh so pretty!

I thought I would try saving it, replanting and

allowing it to grow up one of the trees at the 

edge of the woods.  

I tried sticking a cutting in a potato but it doesn't 

appear to be working, even with rooting hormone.

I put one in straight water.  Nice leaves but I can

see they are starting to fail.

This one was cut, dipped in rooting hormone and 

planted in an indoor potting soil- Success!

Now let's see if it will continue to grow!

Now, can someone tell me how to keep a misplaced

wisteria root from climbing my front siding?  

Tomatillo, a Citrus Balloon

When I tell people we grow tomatillos most don't know

what we are referring to so I thought I would

introduce you to these fun little fruits.

From what I understand, these are an ancient fruit going

back to Aztec times, related to the tomato but with a 

paper husk and the fruit having a citrus flavor.

They are the little green chunks in salsa that 

is not a green pepper.

Like a tomato, they vine and the stems are full

of tiny roots so they could be grown on the 

ground but it's much easier to pick when we 

grow them up cattle panels.   The paper husks

will fill with the fruit and start to split when ripe.

We pick them often and make small batches of 

salsa verde, or you could put them into a regular

red sauce in tiny chunks.  

My husband loves his salsa verde, topping everything

from breakfast eggs and sausage to his chicken tortilla.

They are very easy to grow as long as the soil is not too wet.

They don't attract many pests either; however, I found 

my squash bugs think they are little love balloons!

Fortunately for me, they are easy to spot riding atop

a big tomatillo!  

Crooked Neck Squash Cake

I have a Bunch of them!

Crooked Neck Squash.

All yellow and warty, full of seeds and growing like

weeds.  I still have babies popping out all over,

although the plants are looking on the downhill side this week.

We have stuffed them, pickled them and grilled them,

now I baked them

and they were good!

I found this yellow squash cake recipe on line.

This is way too sugary for me (but I had a slice anyway).

For that reason I didn't frost it as suggested in the recipe

and I made a couple of changes so you can 

follow the recipe below or click the link

at the beginning of this paragraph to get the original 

with the frosting recipe too.

It was a big hit at home, in fact I sent a good third

of it home with my granddaughter.

Everyone at worked that tried it came back for more.

I hope you will like it too!

Crooked Neck Squash Cake Recipe

• 3 Cups sugar
• 3 Cups flour
• 1½ teaspoons cinnamon
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1½  teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 cups  yellow squash (I peeled the warts and put them through the food processer so they were grated)
• 4 eggs
• 1½ cups vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (I omitted this- it was an accident but didn't make any difference, they all loved it without the extra vanilla

• Use a very large bowl and add the sugar, flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Stir this up well.
• Combine the eggs, oil and squash in a medium bowl and mix.
• Add the squash mix to the dry ingredients and stir until well combined.
• Grease a 9 X 13 pan and add the mixture

          Bake this at 350 degrees F for about 45-50 minutes

         Let cake cool and cover.  

Look Who Came to Visit

We had garden visitors, uninvited ones at that!

We were paging through the trail cam photos,

typically a cat or perhaps one of us tending the 

vegetables--until this!

Now why are they looking at my tomatoes?

I don't mind that they are standing right in the middle

of the green peppers, they didn't do anything anyway, but 

I have never had them bother tomatoes before.

Maybe there are some tasty weeds growing beneath them.

Pork Rind Tortillas

We have been eating a low carb diet called KETO,

or at least I am following it as much as I can

with my colitis complications.  While I sat this dinner out

due to a flare up, my husband made these Pork Rind tortillas 

to use for a taco shell.  He got the recipe at the site below:

They are not exactly the same texture as a tortilla,

in fact they look a little like flat pancakes but

he said they worked out fine for dinner.  

I pasted the recipe below, you can also use the link

by clicking "Recipe Credit"

Recipe Credit

Keto Pork Rind Tortillas

• Servings: 12 six inch tortillas
• Time: 20 minutes
• Difficulty: easy

Ingredients

• 4 oz. Hot & Spicy Pork Rinds (regular work just fine, too)
• 1 (eight oz.) package cream cheese, softened
• 8 eggs
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 tablespoon granulated garlic
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin

Method:

1. Place pork rinds into a food processor and blitz for about 10 seconds, until they are dust.
2. Add all other ingredients to food processor and blitz for about 45 more seconds. Until you have a nice smooth batter.
3. Preheat an electric griddle to high. (Using a non-stick pan on the stove top would work also, I would just set the heat to medium-high)
4. Spray cooking surface with a little spray oil (I use either coconut oil or olive oil spray) and pour 1/3 cup of batter onto griddle.
5. Gently spread the batter as thin as you can with a rubber spatula and cook for about 2 minutes or until golden brown.
6. Flip tortilla and continue to cook for about 45 more seconds.
7. Repeat with the rest of the batter.

*These tortillas can be made ahead and wrapped in plastic, or stored in the freezer!

Stitching

I was never very domestic when I was younger.

I avoided Home Ec, I didn't sew or cook and,

to tell the truth, I still struggle with measurements

when having to increase a recipe.  I typically give

up and just measure twice if I have to double it.

The reason this blog exists is that I realized I missed a lot

so I selected some skills that I would learn, enough to get by

but by no means being an expert.

I think I succeeded!  I am by no means an expert!

But I try.

I found this cute quilt along on Facebook.

I love cats and I love bees so this was perfect.

It also helped me with embroidery and applique

 which will end up as a quilt with a bee theme.

  You can find it on Moda.com Bee-Utiful Quilt a Long

hosted by Pamela Morgan of  Sweet Little Stitches.

I have been able to experiment with fabric crayons

(disregard any blue lines, this is a marking pen that

will wash out easily)

Different embroidery stitches.

I also found a nice quilted interfacing that 

you steam onto the back of your fabric.  It 

keeps it nice and stiff plus fluffy!

More cute artwork to stitch.

I changed up the tractor color

to Ford 8N colors.

This was In-Progress.

I had to applique the top hat and learned

a good lesson.  Wash black fabric first.

It didn't fade when I dipped it in water,

a good sign, but it did run ever so slightly

so I'm looking for a color remover.

I am on the cupcake now.

Notice that each square has a bee somewhere.

See the Moda link for instructions

There is also a Row by Row quilt experience across 

not only Missouri or the US but Canada too.

You visit a quilt shop and get either a free pattern

or a kit which you make and combine to make 

a quilt. There are prizes but I don't enter those

contests.  Good thing too because I really messed

up and made a dumb mistake.

Remember the cooking and measuring.

Well, it's no different in quilting.

Why do I read 18 1/2 and cut at 18?

I pieced it together but will probably go back

and re-do it or applique something over my mistake.

This is the Arch in St Louis of course and my

first real attempt at machine applique other 

than an earlier six inch block where I didn't have

to be as careful.  It was fun and I have several 

more to make.  There is a Facebook group too

under Missouri so I can see some of the local quilts.

So, between pickling, sewing and gardening plus work

I have been very busy! 

If you are interested in the bee or row by row group, 

follow the links.