Tea, Crochet, Football and Baseball

Yes, this is a full day!  First, there was TEA!  How I love tea!  There were several others there at our virtual tea party hosted by  MUM of  mumssimplyliving@blogspot.com.  A big Thank You to her for organizing this wonderful day, having fun together, and learning from one another.  This is what mine started out looking like.

As the day wore on, we ate most of our little goodies, and drank tea, hubby & me.  So this what it looks like now.  We did save some goodies for Noah when he gets home from work.  

I'm full    from all that food, so now I am     making applesauce.  Yes, I finally bought some apples to make applesauce.  If this comes out good, then I will make more.  It's kind of expensive, but I don't care.  I want homemade applesauce, and I WILL have it!        

So now that is all done, now there is football, baseball layer, and crocheting in the meantime.  Actually, I'm putting together this green blanket that I started awhile ago.  And then I have to put the baby blanket together, too, as all the pieces are ready for that.  So let me go enjoy the rest of this day!  Love you all, and welcome your comments and visits.  Thank you for listening to me!   lol.  Later.....JO 

      

 

 OH,  yes, I am sorry, but there are more pictures here than I intended, and I can't get them off.  xxoo

Tea Party!

Finally, the day has come for our tea party.  It's my first time visiting, so pardon me for being late.  Also, I'm in the USA, so the time difference is confusing for me.  Today, tea is hosted by MUM, and we thank her for being such a wonderful hostess.

I am so excited to join the tea party, and all I have left to share with you are goodies, but who doesn't love goodies.  Mine is a Rustic Fall themed tea party, since it is such lovely Fall weather.  I have lots of hot tea ready for you, an excellent Earl Grey, with lavender.  Wonderful!  And tho they have disappeared already, I had cucumber sandwiches with mint butter, chicken salad with walnuts, and sliced turkey, cream cheese and whole cranberry sauce.  Yum, they were good.  Hubby loved them.  What's left is just as good tho, and that is scones, with jam, cream puffs, banana/strawberry muffins, and little pumpkin cakes with cream cheese frosting.  Enjoy!!  And do try that tea!

This has been great fun and I hope you enjoy my Rustic Fall theme.  We must enjoy tea whenever we can!  It's been fun visiting with you all, and seeing how you "do" tea!  Love you all!     Later.........JO

Chicken Pot Pie

Hello .......
I was busy today, but I made chicken pot pie early in the day, so it would be ready to pop in the oven.

I found a wonderful recipe in an older magazine (don't remember what it was), and found it to be the easiest I had ever tried, and the most delicious..  So it is now a go-to recipe at least every two weeks, for this family.  As you can see, chicken, peas, carrots, celery and onions, plus a nice gravy, cover it with a bought pie crust.  You can make it ahead and keep it in the fridge til you are ready for it, later in the day.  

When you are ready to put it in the oven, ju

st make some slices into the crust, brush with egg and water,  bake.  Yummmmmm!      

Looks good, eh?   Recipe below.    Enjoy

. 

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

                                Meanwhile, cook 4 small potatoes (optional) , cubed 1/2 " pieces, until fairly tender.  Drain.                                                                     

                                                            

Bake two chicken breasts about 20 min. Or until cooked thru.  Heat 3 tablespoons butter in large skillet and add 3 large carrots,  diced, and 1 med. onion, chopped.  Season with salt and pepper to taste, about 1/2 tsp. each, along with 2 bay leaves, and 3/4 tsp. garlic powder.   Cook 3 minutes or so, stirring occasionally, then add 2 large celery stalks, chopped, and cook about 4 minutes more, or until tender.  Sprinkle 1/4 cup  flour over veggies and stir in, adding a tablespoon of butter, if necessary.  Gradually stir in 1 and 1/2 14.5 cans of low salt chicken broth to the skillet. Reduce heat and simmer for just a few minutes, to thicken the gravy, then add in cubed chicken, potatoes and peas.  Remove bay leaves, and add in 1/8 tsp. nutmeg, if desired.  Turn off heat, and let sit for ten minutes.  Roll out a refrigerated pie crust to fit casserole dish.  I used a 10" x 10" Corning dish.  Pour filling into casserole dish, and top with 

crust fitting it to pan.  Make a few slits into the top, brush with egg wash, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 400 degrees, or until bubbling, and brown on top.  

Ok.  This is the first time I have ever posted a recipe, so if it's wonky, please let me know.   I hope you try it, and like it as much as we do.  We love it!  

By the way, a big thank you to those of you who have joined my site, or left comments for me.  It warms my heart, really!! Thank you.  xxoo

Later.........  JO

Football and Crochet!

FOOTBALL AND CROCHET!  

That's all I have to say for today!  xxoo

Later.......JO

Housecleaning!

Hellooooo......

I know, housecleaning is not the most interesting subject of the day, but it is my subject of the day, I am afraid.  I am not a meticulous housekeeper, but I do like me house to be somewhat orderly, and it is NOT at the moment.  Sooooo...... I must do some housework today.  Of course, I started out the day in bed, with my cup of tea, reading blogs of all the interesting things others are doing and I am not,  and started longing to just sit and crochet all day, but I scratched that thought quickly, came in the kitchen, emptied the dishwasher, and loaded last night's dishes.  See, I hadn't even done last night's dishes.

We had strawberry shortcake for dinner last night.  Just that.  Do you ever do that?  We had had a nice  lunch out together and weren't very hungry (look at these bowls, does that look  like we weren't very hungry? )lol, and I had a nice bowl of fresh strawberries in the fridge, so that's what we had. Anyway, so I have been working on my house this morning, and this afternoon;  cleaning the kitchen, dishes, laundry, picking up things left around the house, junk mail, and organizing in general.  Then,tomorrow, when it is Crochet and Football day, I can relax and crochet.  I hope.  Today is Red Sox day, game four of the playoffs, and I can't miss that game.  Actually that is soon, and I have to pick up Noah from work.  Better get cracking!

Later.......JO.         Go, Red Sox!!

Title Change

Hellooooooo......

I have changed my blog title, name, to Aging Gracefully, although nothing about me is particularly graceful, I just didn't like the "old" title (pardon the pun).  It just sounds nicer, don't you think, a little more polished.  Hope you don't mind - I am a bit fickle -  but I just was not comfortable with the title!  Hope the change doesn't keep you from following me.

Later...........   JO  

Somebody Help Me!!

Yes!  Somebody help me.  Took my grandson to work at 7:00 a.m., (his car is out of commission), and on the way home, thought I would stop by some yard sales.  Did I mention I LOVE yard sales.  Love other people's treasures (junk), and imagining what I might be able to do with it.  RECYCLING  at its best!  I've been looking for something to use for a table in front of my little red love seat in the family room.  I've seen a cute rustic table, but it was $129.00, and I don't want to spend that much so I keep looking.  I found these two, and they have nice little wooden feet on them, and one is slightly taller than the other, which I actually like, so I got them for $7.00 for the pair.  Whoa!  I was lovin' that!  But I need another project like I need warts, and yet...... I bought them anyway.

Anyway, I must stop doing this.  I guess it is kind of my personality.  I get obsessed with things.  I just read on someone's  blog yesterday ( sorry, I can't remember whose it was),  that she gets into too many projects, and then doesn't seem to get anything done, cause she's jumping from one to another.  That's me!  Gotta stop doing this, work on one thing at a time and finish them.  Yes, MUM, I am working on finishing the green afghan, and hopefully will post pics of the finished product next week.  Maybe during my Crochet  and Football Sunday this weekend.  I know that the following Sunday is your tea, and that will trump over football!  I haven't forgotten.

So, that is one way that I need help.  No more yard sales, til I finish a few things.  Right?  The other way I need help is, that now that I bought these two adorable basket type seat thingys that I will use for coffee tables, I am not sure what to do with them.  As you can see they are a bit beat up, and I thought I would like to paint them.  Has anyone had any experience with painting this kind of surface, and do you have any idea for color? I have the red love seat, a black Windsor chair next to it, an oriental type rug, and white walls.  I want something cheery and bright, I think, but not white.  What do you think?  Help?!!  Any ideas will be appreciated.

Ok.  Thanks for listening.  And stop giving me so many great ideas!  (I don't mean it!)

Later..........  JO