Monthly Archives: September 2013
Doing that Voodoo that I do so well.
I am trying to come up with a pattern for my giant voodoo dolls for the porch on Trick or treat night. So far, I traced G’s silhouette on to tracing paper and it just doesn’t seem to be quite large enough to work. Therefore I do believe I shall have to create one in pieces sewn together to be large enough for what I am picturing.
If I have enough material, I may try to make two of them. The Curmudgeon thinks that dowels with toy balls on the end will make suitable pins. Plastic lids will make lovely button eyes.
Now, I need to buy some heavy black yarn…
You all have a good one!
The neighbor’s little calico cat is scary smart.
I was outside talking to a neighbor about two new props I bought, when up walked another neighbor’s pastel calico cat. Ella is just a little bit of a thing and used to be quite skittish. So it was extremely unusual that she walked right up to me, rubbed against my legs, and head butted my hand when I went to pet her.
Now the reason I say she’s scary smart is that she was out a couple of weeks ago, I saw her, and led her back to their back door so someone would let her in.
She heard me talking to the neighbor and came to get me so I could tell someone to let her inside the house. Once, I did it once before mind you. She led me all the way to the back door. If I didn’t move fast enough, she ran back to my feet and led the way again. Scary smart.
You all have a good one.
One of the two props.
Could a change in medication make a difference? We shall see.
After having such a bad week last week and a not so bad one this week after not taking his Avonex, The Curmudgeon made an appointment with his neurologist for Monday to discuss stopping the Avonex completely and switching to one of the new drugs, Tecfidera.
This what Web MD has to say about Tecfidera:
How does Tecfidera work?
It appears to have anti-inflammatory actions and brain-protective actions. The main problem in MS is that immune cells are getting into the brain and the spinal cord and they are attacking the nerves. One of the main ways they cause damage is by inflammation, particularly in relapsing-remitting MS. So Tecfidera does a number of different things to lower inflammation and lower the ability of the immune cells to get in and attack the central nervous system. Additionally, it may protect nerves from damage.
For Tecfidera, the common side effects are abdominal pain, diarrhea, and some bloating. And it causes flushing. You also have to watch the white blood cell count and the liver enzymes.
The Curmudgeon is hoping he has better results with it than he’s had with the Avonex of late. Keep your fingers crossed people!
You all have a good one!
Side view of the brain and spinal cord (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Filling
Yesterday G brought over samples. I’d given her a recipe I saw on Facebook and she tried it out. Can you say delicious? They are so yummy!!! They are a delightful taste sensation!
The Curmudgeon tried to eat one late last night and had two drooling dogs to contend with. They sure did want to share with him.
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Filling
Makes 12-14
3 cups All Purpose Flour
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 – 15 oz. can of pumpkin
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat together brown sugar, sugar, oil and pumpkin. Add eggs one at time, mixing well after each addition, followed by the vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined.
Using a pastry bag with a round tip, or a big zip top plastic bag with one corner snipped, squeeze out concentric circles of batter, starting from the middle and working outward until the circles are about 2 inches in diameter. Bake for 11 minutes and cool on a rack.
Cream Cheese Filling
1 – 8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened
1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature
1 – 16 oz. package of powdered sugar
about a cap full of vanilla extract
a pinch of cinnamon (to taste)
Beat together cream cheese and butter. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Frost flat side of half the pies and top with another piece.
Enjoy right away or chill overnight.
Mid-week updates
So The Curmudgeon decided to skip his Avonex shot Monday night since he had so many bad days last week. So far this week, he hasn’t been nearly as bad off as he was any day last week.
Both of the pups were itchy last week. I went over them with the flea comb. They each had two fleas on them. Damn it, we haven’t had fleas here in almost twenty years. So far since then, I’ve gone over them daily, found three more, have vacuumed the house like a maniac, and we are now two days clear of them.
The Curmudgeon mowed the lawn. Took him two days but he did it.
My tomato plants are done, pulled from the pots, and the green tomatoes are inside ready for me to fry them in the next day or two. It looks as though I may get two more eggplants before the frost kills the plants.
Next project is to figure out how I’ll get the house painted. Do I wait until they do the bathroom? I think so, I’d hate to have them damage a new paint job getting the old bath tub out of here.
I can always get to work on the much-needed, much neglected caulking on the back porch.
Then there are those voodoo dolls I need to make for our Halloween porch decorations. Anyone ready to volunteer to lie down on my tracing paper so I can draw my life-sized patterns? 😀 I have coffee.
You all have a good one!
Timberrrrrr…yeah, that’s why I don’t do ladders.
So the basement finally dried out. Unless I can find someone to come and clean my gutters and replace the down spout on the back porch, we’ll have more water the next time it rains.
I don’t do ladders and roofs. I have trouble doing ladders inside the house much less taller ladders outside. I have this fear of heights. It wasn’t always with me, but it started during my early teen years and grew as got older.
As a child I had no fear. I would climb to the highest branches of the trees, clamber headlong up rocky cliffs, and lean over the edges. I didn’t fear death and dying, those words didn’t enter my vocabulary for a long time.
I explored and experimented with plenty of things as I grew up. Then one day, I learned to fear a little. That fear grew with experience.
I wish I were that child again. I’d tell that first taste of fear to leave me alone along with all subsequent ones. Then, maybe I’d enjoy climbing a ladder to the roof, maybe I wouldn’t have panic attacks and sweaty palms driving over high bridges and along cliff edges.
You all have a good one.
She’s my bestest friend. :D
I had planned to go to the grocery store yesterday, but certainly not in the round about way I did, and not exactly to the store to which I went . 😉
I was drinking my first cup of coffee after a lousy night’s sleep. My eyes barely open and my brain still lost in the fuzziness of sleep deprivation. The phone rang. The Curmudgeon answered it.
G was calling, she needed a favor. Keep in mind that my brain had yet to regain consciousness. It took her three explanations to get through the fuzz.
“Oh!” The light went on. “I’ll be right there.” I made a quick trip to her house, grabbed her spare car key, and hopped in my van. Dadada DA dada! To the rescue!
I pulled into the South Side Giant to find her standing next to her car. She waved at me. I pulled the van into the space next to her, opened my door and, with a big grin, dangled her spare key from my index finger. She laughed and showed me her keys, on the seat, behind the locked door.
I decided that while I was at a Giant, not my regular one, why not do my shopping? She joined me, which made the hated chore go by fast and somewhat painlessly.
You all have a good one.
No post today.
I am too effing tired and too effing depressed to post. Really bad day for The Curmudgeon.
Less junk, less clutter…less pressure?
For the past week we’ve had someone cleaning out some accumulated junk from our yard. It probably would’ve taken a mere day if the guy had proper tools and no interruptions.
The dogs suffered from shy bowels for a solid week. Poor dears. Neither one could go as long as the guy and his friend were in the yard working. It was hysterical.
I am happy to say that the old Cushman buggy and the old mobility scooter are now gone. The scooter couldn’t be fixed. Unfortunately, this means we’re out a mobility scooter for The Curmudgeon. The yard looks better. The majority of the clutter is gone.
The scooter was great for those days when The Curmudgeon had difficulty walking. He could still take the dogs out and help out a bit. Now there’s very little he can do to help since most days are bad days.
With us soon paying for the removal of the old tub, and replacing it with a shower that The Curmudgeon can more easily use, the cost of a new scooter is prohibitive. It sucks. However, we will manage.
Before anyone jumps in telling me to start asking others for money… We do not do chip ins or anything of the sort. If we can’t do it ourselves, it will wait until we can. We have always taken care of ourselves and never depended on anyone else. We do not plan to change that.
You all have a good one!
Paint…The Curmudgeon…2 Dogs…this should be interesting.
I bought the paint for the living room, stairs, and upstairs hallway today. Only cost me an arm and leg even with the 40% off.
Digging out my sketchbooks
So I decided that I really need some form of creative outlet. Since with all the stress, my brain has shut down on the writing, I thought maybe doing some sketching will kick my brain back into writing mode.
I used to do a lot of pastel, charcoal, and pencil work, as well as oil painting. For some reason, that fell by the wayside. It’s time to take a crack at it again. At least the pencil sketches…
I only hope that I have half of the talent my cousin Carol has. You can check out her site at http://carolsartblog.wordpress.com/.
You all have a good one! 
Yes, the insanity has begun at my house
If it were up to me, I’d leave my Halloween decorations up all year round. Oh. Wait. I already do. 😀
My animatronic caged crow arrived today. He’s cute. I hope I manage to drive The Curmudgeon over the edge by Halloween. 😉
I found and ordered a 4 CD Halloween music mix. It has everything but one song I wanted on my mix. Wicked good!
I have my tracing paper now so I can get to work on my giant life-sized voodoo dolls. I’ll have to trace and cut the figures out of the burlap out in the driveway. Hehehe! I do love freaking out my neighbors.
You all have a good one!
I’ll be using my cookie cutters as a pattern
Doggonedmysteries 