GOODBYE SEPTEMBER

September where did you go?  I so looked forward to my "September Morn" on the first of the month and my anniversary on the 16th and now the month is over.  I think I feel a sob coming on.

First of all, thank you for all your comments on my eggplant post.  I have eaten eggplant since I was a tiny child and never thought anything of it.  It was just something you ate.  I had no idea so many people have never eaten it or didn't like it.  Both you my readers and the people in the class I attended have opened my eyes.

I was not feeling all that good this morning, but went to work anyway.  I'm not sure I should have because I ended up falling asleep while I was doing some computer work and almost fell off of the chair.  I ended up not eating lunch.  Instead I laid my head down on my desk and went sound asleep for half an hour.  I felt better when I woke up, but I'm still really tired.

Joe called off Bible study tonight because he still is not feeling good.  He says he will be OK for Saturday and I hope so because this has been going on for about a week now.  If he is not better by tomorrow morning I am going to make him go to the doctor.  I don't know if your husband (or wife) is like mine, but he always wants to "ride it out" and see if he can get well by himself.  Sometimes you just need an antibiotic to knock it out of your system.

 And now it's late and I have to go to bed.  Really!  I can hardly keep my eyes open.  So goodnight everyone.

Kathy

NATIONAL COFFEE DAY

When I saw this picture this morning I had to laugh.  I love Garfield and this was just too good.  I heard about Coffee Day on the morning news and that some places were giving out free coffee.  I don't drink coffee, but Joe does.  So I knew he would want a cup.

I picked up Debbie for Bible study and she had her cup of coffee with her.  She's another coffee person.  It's really funny because not one person at work drinks coffee.  Not a single one.  We don't even have a coffee pot.  So Coffee Day didn't really affect us.

We had only a couple of people at Bible study, but that's OK.  With a smaller group you get more interaction.  We are up to the 4th chapter of Galatians.  We have 5 more studies before our winter break.  I am looking forward to having some time off.

After we were finished I went to Wawa to get the free coffee for Joe.  And like everyone else there I bought other things.  I found two bags of truffle potato chips.  They are so hard to find now and they are our very favorite chips.  I will be so unhappy if they aren't made all year round.  And I got some Italian pinwheel sandwiches for lunch.  They were sooooo  good!  I could have eaten four or five packages of them.  Well, no I really couldn't, but my mouth would have been happy.

When I came home from work Joe had dinner waiting for me.  He had made roasted chicken thighs and baked potatoes.  It was so nice to just walk in the door and have dinner waiting for me.  What a wonderful guy!  I really lucked out in the husband department.  

By the way, if anyone wants to see Joe's latest Saturday night message, here is the link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mxs-kg6R1Y .

So now I need to get myself together and get ready for bed and work tomorrow.  It's already halfway through the week tomorrow.  Time is flying by.  Retirement is now only 9 1/2 weeks away.  And after the day I had at work today, it looks better and better.  I will still be visiting the library just as I have since I was 6 years old, but it will be when the kids are in school and I can visit with my friends.  Those kids are just out of control!

Well, on that note I'm going to leave and do what I need to do.

Good night everyone!

Kathy

E IS FOR EGGPLANT

Stephanie, the nutritionist from Shop Rite, came to the library yesterday with the fifth of her Cooking through the Alphabet programs. This time it was E is for Eggplant.

 How to Select an Eggplant:
1.  Look for firm, smooth, deep purple skin that is free of cracks.  There should be no shriveling or soft spots.

2.  Heaviness is also important -- choose an eggplant that is heavy for its size.

3.  Gently squeeze the eggplant, it should give slightly.

4.  Avoid rock hard or spongy and squishy eggplants.

5.  A medium-sized eggplant, between 3 and 4 inches in diameter is the best bet.

6.  Shriveled and flabby eggplant is often bitter and poor in flavor.

7.  Check the leaves at the stem end; it should be fresh and green, not dried out and brown.

8.  Avoid eggplants with brown or blue streaks, a light color, or yellowish cast -- these eggplants are of poor quality.

We also found out that the end opposite the stem has an indentation.  If it is round, it is a male, if oval a female.  The male has less seeds and is sweeter.  The female is interested in producing seeds and sowing new plants so is more bitter so that animals won't be interested in eating it.  Fascinating, isn't it?

Why Eat Eggplants?
Eggplants are a member of the nightshade or potato family, which also includes tomatoes and hot peppers.  Eggplants can be purple, green, white or striped.  They are often used as a meat substitute.

Fat and cholesterol free -- part of any healthy diet.
Fiber -- promotes heart health and can aid in weight loss and feelings of fullness.
Vitamin B6 -- helps the immune system produce antibodies which fight off diseases.
Vitamin B12 -- helps form strong red blood cells as well as boost brain and nerve function.
Potassium -- an important electrolytem, this mineral is essential for normal fluid regulation.
Manganese -- plays a role in metabolism and can help regulate blood sugar.

Different Ways to Prepare Eggplant!
1.  Eggplants contain no sodium, and pair well with many herbs and spices, like marjoram, oregano, allspice, chili powder, curry powder, garlic or rosemary.

2.  They also go well in Italian dishes that include tomato sauce and low-fat cheeses, like mozzarella.

3.  Instead of frying, try sauteing or pan-frying eggplant.  These cooking methods still make it crispy, but reduce a lot of the fat content.

4.  Eggplant can also be roasted or grilled for a delicious smoky flavor.

And then we made the most delicious Sicilian Eggplant Pasta.  I'm sharing the recipe here for you.

Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked whole wheat pasta
4 tbsp. olive oil, divided
1/2 red onion, chopped
4 cups cubed eggplant
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup diced Roma (plum) tomatoes
2 tbsp. chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan (optional)

Directions:
1.  In a large pot of water, cook pasta al dente according to package directions.  Drain and set aside.

2.  Meanwhile, in a large, high sided pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high heat.  Add onion, cook, and stir about 2 minutes.  Add eggplant, cook, and stir 5 minutes or until softened.  Add garlic and tomatoes, cook and stir 5 to 7 minutes.

3.  Add pasta and toss to combine and cook until heated through.  Remove pan from heat.  Add basil and drizzle remaining oil over pasta, toss to coat.

4.  Spoon pasta into serving dishes and sprinkle with parmesan cheese, if desired. 

IT'S MONDAY AGAIN

This weekend just flew by.  I didn't do anything on Saturday, just napped and watched TV.  I am so tired all the time and I know it's just until my thyroid gets back to where it should be.  Then it's look out world!

We had to cancel Saturday night service because Joe was sick.  He didn't make church yesterday either.  And today we are having a cooking demonstration at work that he was going to go to but he's still not up to it.  Poor guy.

It was freezing yesterday.  Well, comparatively speaking.  So Joe took the air conditioner out of the front window.  I had bought a new curtain about a year ago but had lost it in the black hole I call a house and so it never got hung last winter.  Well, over the summer I found it and I put it up yesterday.  It's so pretty.

 
Here's a close up of the design that's woven into it.  So pretty!

And, as usual, I threw a cloth over the a/c unit and made a little table of it.  I put my vase of sunflowers and two pumpkins on it.  It looks so cute!

 I'm slowly getting there.  As Joe told me yesterday, it doesn't have to get all done in one day, although I would like it to be.  I just have to know my limitations and stop being so hard on myself.

I made caramel apple cookies for church yesterday and for the first time ever I came home with an empty tin.  It's a Betty Crocker mix and if you see it, get it.  It was SO good and tasted just like a juicy apple.  You could actually see little pieces of apple in the batter.  I made up only half of the batter, so I will do the remainder after work today and take it for Bible study tomorrow.

Speaking of work, it's time for me to get ready to go.  This begins the 10th week until retirement.  It's coming up fast.  So much is going on.  I know that once I can rest, get my medication under control, and get the house under control things will get better in my life.  Then I'll go looking for a little part-time job.  I already have my eye on something but I'll have to wait and see if it's still there when I'm ready.

So until later...

 

HOORAY, IT'S THE WEEKEND!

It's so beautiful today.  Much too pretty a day to be at work.  The sun is shining, the temperatures are perfect and I'm sitting at the front desk watching Bob shelve some videos.  Doesn't get much better than that if you have to be at work.

It's pretty quiet in here today.  Most people think we are closed because of the Pope's visit.  And a lot of things in the city are closed.  Russ, my friend Debbie's husband, has no work today.  The phone keeps ringing here to find out if we are open today or not.  We are!

Midmorning we got a call that the President of the library was  going around visiting branches.   We were next on the list.  We all  quickly found work to do and were all busy and productive when she showed up.  She didn't stay very long, maybe about 1/2 hour, but shook my hand on her way out and said it was nice to see me again.  OK.  There are hundreds of people who work for the library and she can't possibly know them all.  I doubt very much if she even knows who I am.  But that was nice of  her.

I got some not so good news from my doctor yesterday.    She had the results of the blood test I took on Monday.  My thyroid level is worse.  It's down to 1/3 of what it should be.  She told me not to worry that it is often up and down until the right level of synthroid  is found.  So she increased my dosage once again and gave me more detailed directions on how to take it.  She said I should be feeling much better within a week.  I sure hope so.

And then to top it off when I took Joe to the  hospital yesterday I blew out my knee driving home.  What else can happen?  I am in quite a bit of pain, but it's getting better.  And I have just a few more hours until I go home and can put it up for the weekend.  All  is good in my world.  You can tell I'm in a  good mood today.

I'll finish the  post when I get home because it's  starting to get busy and if I'm being paid to work, I really should do just that.

So now I'm home.  We just had an awesome dinner.  I made pork chops, mashed sweet potatoes and creamed corn.  I got little pumpkin pies for dessert.  It was a real autumn dinner and Joe LOVED it.  He kept saying over and over that my dinner was "slamming".  That's his term for awesome.

I am looking forward to the weekend.  It's the last one of our summer schedule at work.  Next week we start Saturday hours and we are open six days a week.  It is my Saturday to work.  Things will be much different.  

I just discovered the show "The Great Food Truck Race."  I know, I'm slow and it's been on for six seasons now.  I DVRed last season, Season 5, and I'm on a marathon watching session.  I know I will get through the season this weekend.  Then it's on to this season, Season 6.  So I'm going back to watching that.  Have a good night everyone.

MARIANNE STORIES #1

My friend, Marianne, is a librarian in the Children's Department of a library that I used to work at.  She always has interesting stories and so I thought I would share some of them with you.  She is also suffering with Graves' Disease.  And I do mean suffering.  If you can, please remember her in your prayers.

April 6

I am delighting in the basket of pansies and pot of daffodils I received yesterday! I always loved pansies, daffodils, hyacinths, crocuses. I especially love Wordsworth's poem I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud and the Persian Poem Hyacinths To Feed Thy Soul, both of which Mom quoted to us regularly when we were children, and then as teens, and then as adults. She reminded me daily to buy hyacinths to feed my soul (or that which most delights me, not necessarily an object). because it was vital to find and experience joy and to nourish the need for personal joy in the trials of daily life. Each stage of life seemed to bring a deeper meaning to both of these poems! Enjoy your day! Find the hyacinths to feed your soul!

LAST DAY OF SUMMER

It was back to work today and boy do I feel it.  I am so sleepy and tired so this will be kind of short.

Bible study was good this morning.  I was a little late getting there because I was picking up people to give them a ride.  We had more people today and the conversation was very active.  I like it that way.  People should get invested in the study and make it their own.  To me, that's how you learn.

Work was OK.  I was surprised that there wasn't more work piled up on my desk than there was.  I was able to get most of it finished, but there's still lots more for tomorrow.

It was hard working the whole day.  I fell asleep for a few minutes at dinner time.  I woke up with Doug talking to me.  "What???  Oh, OK.  Yes, that's the way you do it."  Sheesh!  How embarrassing.

One of the new people, Matt, was in today and I was training him some.  My staff did a good job last week.  He's doing very, very well.

Today started The World Meeting of Families here in Philly.  The beginning of road closures and towing of cars has started.  We have become like a captive city with all of the restrictions on travel, streets closed, etc.  I understand and agree with the need for security, but it is becoming more and more difficult to live here.  But...  it's only for one week of our lives and gives Philly a great honor.  It really is a wonderful place to live.

Here are some pictures in the news from The World Meeting.

Barricades and walls of porta-potties.

These "Pope dolls" are everywhere!

Bicycle being given to the Pope by the mayor and Cardinal Chaput from the people of Philadelphia and the World Meeting of Families.

Stage being constructed for the Pope.  You can see the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the background.

Aerial view of beautiful downtown Philadelphia.  The Art Museum is in the foreground.

So that's what's happening here.  Joe's upstairs snoring away.  He's hooked up to a machine to do a sleep study for his apnea.  We have to take the machine back to the hospital either tomorrow or Thursday morning before I go to work.  That will be a nightmare going there and back in rush hour traffic with all the streets closed.  That 20 minute ride will be an hour or more each way.  *sigh*  

Well, goodbye summer.  It's been wonderful.  And I do mean wonderful this year.  I wonder what the autumn will bring.

Kathy

LAST DAY OF VACATION

I'm sort of sad to end this week off.  I didn't get hardly anything done that I wanted to.  So much to do and so little time to get things done.  It seems all I do is run from place to place.  I'm almost never home except to eat and sleep.

Yesterday after church I mentioned to my friend, Caity, that I wanted to get some fall decorations for the tables in the fellowship area to replace the summer red, white, and blue.  She said she thought there were some fall decorations in the supply closet.  So we went looking.  We didn't find table decorations, but we did find the little wreaths that hang on each window and the big one that is put up by the front door.  So she gave them to me and I hung them all up before I went home.  Here's the wreath by the door.

Today Carole took Joe to the hospital while I went to get a blood test.  I am still having trouble with my thyroid and all the side effects that go with it.  Feeling like there's something crawling up my arms and the swelling and joint pain in my legs and ankles are the things that bother me the most.  I hope the doctor can adjust my medication some more to stop these things.  The nurse had a hard time getting the needle into my veins.  She stuck my arm twice and then went to my hand.  Although she found a vein, the blood was being stubborn and didn't want to flow.  So she had to pump my hand.  As you can imagine my hand is hurting quite a bit tonight.

Driving home from the doctor's office I passed by the chemical company in back of my house where Joe used to work.  There were a lot of geese in the field there.  So I pulled over and took a few pictures of them.  The Delaware River is only four blocks away, so they must have flown over from there.

 
Since it was a fasting test I took, I got a couple of pumpkin cupcakes to eat and then took off for the hospital to pick up Joe.

It was so hard to get a parking place.  I drove around and around and AROUND.  I finally saw someone pulling out and I pulled right in much to the dismay of the guy in back of me who honked at me for doing that.  The spot was so far from the door -- about a block away.  Then I had to do a lot of walking around that huge hospital.  My leg was killing me.  It swelled up almost right away.  I can only imagine what it's going to be like at work tomorrow.  Oh, yes, it's definitely time to retire.

I was supposed to meet Joe in the clinic but he had already been there and left.  I knew he had to get an x-ray, so headed over there.  He wasn't in the waiting room.  Then I thought maybe he had to have blood drawn but he wasn't there either.  So I went back down to the lobby and sat in the Starbucks section.  I was about to call him on his cellphone when he came walking around the corner.  He had been up in the X-ray Department but was told there was a wait of 1-1/2 hours, so he left.  We had been riding different elevators all over the place.

We sat outside for about 1/2 hour and enjoyed the nice, sunny day.  It was beautiful.  The temperatures were around 70* with a nice breeze.  This is why this time of year is my favorite.

We got out of the hospital a little after 1 p.m. and headed for home.  We were both hungry, so I suggested going to Chick-fil-A for lunch.  That's what we did.  We both got the grilled chicken sandwich.  It is SO GOOD!

Dollar Tree is across the street from Chick-fil-A so I went over there after we ate and got two little pumpkins with autumn leaves to put on the tables at church.  I'll take them with me to Bible study tomorrow and put them out for Sunday.  They will look really cute there and can stay out until after Thanksgiving.

We finally got home and while Joe slept, I made some phone calls and then took a nap myself.  And now it's time for me to go to bed and get some more sleep.  Tomorrow is going to be a long day.

My house decorated for the fall.

Kathy

25 REALLY WEIRD THINGS SAID TO PASTORS PART 2

I had forgotten all about this series until I was going through my computer files and saw it.  I started it and never finished, so here's another installment.

Kevin says:

During my few years as preaching minister, I had some real winning comments hurled at me, too. One widow was particularly rich with advice. One day she came into my office, threw two pairs of khakis at me, and exclaimed “Here! Wrinkle-free pants!” (For Sunday evenings of course.) This was followed by wardrobe tips on how to look more presentable preaching.

Thom replied:

Nothing like a widow giving you some pants.

Sarah says:

• Just within the past week a parishioner told my husband, “That his hemorrhoids bothered him too much while he was sitting on the pews so he couldn’t come to church that often.”

   
  • Daniel replied:

    
    

    Tell him to sit on one of those donuts in the foyer!
    

    
    
• George says:

  
  

  I call that Deadman’s haberdashery.
  

• Rick says: 
  • “Dickies” Khaki pants stay wrinkle free! I’ve been wearing the same pairs of Dickies for almost twenty years!
    
    
    Aaron says:
    • If you’ve had them on for 20 years, perhaps that’s why they’re wrinkle free!!!
      
      
•  

  Carissa says:

  If wrinkled khakis are the problem, you should start preaching in jeans or athletic shorts…no wrinkles there!
  

A BUSY SATURDAY

I am not looking forward to the summer ending.  I love summer and have enjoyed it so much.  But...  Wednesday it's coming.  Fall that is.  And the cooler weather we've been having tells that.

Saturday was so busy.  I did a load of wash and hung it on the line.  I had no idea I had so many tops in the load.

 Do you see little Shy in the background?  The cats come right up to me now and don't run.  But I still can't touch them.  I still have some weeks to work on that.  They have won Joe over and he wants to take them in.  But I still think we can't afford it what with shots, flea control, food, neutering, etc.

I finally got my nails done for September.  I wanted to use a "fall" colored polish and I think I did.  I was going to do something dark, but instead decided to go for a sparkling golden color.  Sort of like the leaves that are starting to turn colors.  It's the Julep color called "Sharna".  I really like it.

 Joe's hair was really long.  It was ridiculous.  He has been going to get a hair cut for weeks now, but it hasn't happened.  Well Saturday was the day.  There's a place he likes on Cottman Avenue, about 4 miles from our house.  So we headed over there.  It's near the library where I used to work and the jewelry store we go to.  I took my watch because it needed a new battery.

He got a nice cut.  It's better than anything we could get around the neighborhood.  I do like it there and I'm thinking in the spring I will go there and get a short cut for the summer.  It was interesting people watching while waiting for Joe to finish.  People are really funny.

When he was finished we headed over to the jewelry store.  Everything is in the same shopping mall so that's convenient.  On the way we passed the Halloween store which is just opening.  Out front they had a giant blowup of the Stay Puff guy from Ghostbusters.  I asked Joe to stand by it so I could get a shot and he did just that.  We do have fun together!

On our way home we had to pass by a couple of blocks from our church and one of the streets we wanted to use was closed.  It was roped off and there were police cars all around.  It turns out there was a drive by shooting and a 41 year old man was killed.  It happened about 1/2 hour before we got there.  This world is going crazy.

Last night was our second Saturday night service and it went MUCH better than last week.  There are still some things to work out, but I know that will come as we go along.  This time the camera worked, the music worked, and you could follow along with the bulletin.  Carol led the music and I read the scripture.  I got it all on an SD card and put it on a flash drive which I will give to Elder Rich to put on our website.  When that happens, I will give you all the link to it.

So now I have to get going and get ready for Sunday morning church.  Joe said to me last night that I've had a taste of my upcoming retirement.  I said, "What retirement?  All I do is work and run around doing stuff.  Who has time to retire?"

Kathy

WHERE DOES THE TIME GO?

Whoever told me that retirement would be boring didn't know what they were talking about.  I don't have enough hours in the day to do all I want (and need) to do.  And this vacation week is just a taste of the soon to be future.

This morning I did a load of wash and a load of dishes.  I also printed out the church bulletin and Joe's sermon notes for tomorrow night.

I found one Cherished Teddy to represent September and school and put it out.  I know I have a couple more, but they weren't in the box I keep them in.  I'll have to go looking.  But this one is cute.

I also put the mums I bought into the hanging pots.  I think they look nice.

If you look closely, one of the kitties is in the background sitting there looking on.  I think he wants food.

This afternoon I went food shopping.  It's my least favorite thing to do.  Debbie went with me.  I try my best to get the most for my money and that's how I get through the store.  I spent $13 over my budget, but that's not too bad for all I got.

For dinner tonight I had cream of potato soup, pork chops and green bean casserole.  It was good.

So now it's after 10:00 p.m. and I still haven't gotten any of my house cleaning done.  See what I mean?  Ah well, tomorrow is another day.  Have a good night, everyone.

 Kathy

NINE YEARS AND COUNTING

Yesterday was my ninth wedding anniversary.  It was a lovely day.  I keep waking up at 4:30 a.m.  I have no idea why but it makes for a very long and tiring day.  I heard Joe up and moving around 7:00 a.m. so I went into the bedroom and he was sitting on the bed with a card and a package for me.  Inside were two jewelry boxes.  When I opened them up I found...

... a silver and diamond fish necklace.  Ever since I worked in the Fish Department at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia I have loved and collected fish jewelry.  This was perfect.  But there was more.  He also gave me...

 ...a cultured pearl necklace and earring set.  Beautiful!

I went to Rite Aid to get my medicine.  While I was there you know I had to look at the sale items.  I got Joe a gray t-shirt that was on sale.  I also got some Danish butter cookies and this cute little pumpkin to add to my fall collection.  Like I need more fall stuff.  But this was so cute and different.

It has a battery operated flickering candle inside and looks so nice at night time.

Then I ran to 7-11 and got us breakfast sandwiches and headed home.

After breakfast we got ready to go out.  We were headed to Strasburg to see the show "Joseph" at Sight and Sound Theater.  That was my anniversary gift to Joe.  But first I had to get gas, so it was back to 7-11.  While I was pumping gas, Joe went into the store and came back out with a dozen red roses for me.

We finally got on our way and made really good time out there.  We got there about 45 minutes early which gave us time to go to the restrooms and get some water and vanilla almonds which is their specialty.  The whole place smells of vanilla almonds when you open the door.

 The next show coming is "Samson" and the statue for it is already up in the lobby.  Can't wait to see it.

The show was fantastic!  I must have said "WOW!" a dozen times through it.  The music was good, the costumes were beautiful, and the sets were outstanding!

You can't take pictures of the performances, so I took these off of their website.

I got Joe a tie-dyed t-shirt with the Joseph logo on it.  Joe loves tie-dye and since his name is Joseph...  Well, you know I just had to.

We took a few pictures outside of the theater before heading for dinner.

Too bad the sun reflected in my glasses.

The trees behind Joe are starting to turn color!

The Lion and The Lamb statue.

This is the view from the parking lot.  Beautiful!

Route 896 was all torn up so we wanted to get away from the traffic tie up there.  Besides when we passed Hershey Farm and Katie's Kitchen, two of the places we were thinking of eating at, the parking lots were full.  So we went off the beaten track and went to Bird-in-Hand Restaurant.  That was crowded too and we had to give our names and wait, but it wasn't too long.  There were lots of Amish people there.  I always feel that if the locals eat at a restaurant, it's got to be good.  But having been there lots of times before I KNEW the food would be good.  We both had the smorgasbord.  Is there any other way to go?

The meal was great!  I had a salad and then broasted chicken, ham balls, baked corn, mashed potatoes and stuffing.  I even left room for dessert and had a piece of pumpkin pie.  I usually don't eat pumpkin pie out because of all the spices, but this was just right and so good!  I wished that I had room for a second slice.

We headed for home around 7:30 p.m. and got home around 9:00 p.m.  Riding through center city Philly with all the skyscrapers lit up was beautiful.  I really am a city girl.

It was a wonderful day.  Joe said he wanted to make it perfect for me, and he did.

Kathy