Warning…this post is frightening.
And I am posting it especially for my friend Applie.
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These nasty things reside in our basement.
And this is what we do when we find them.
A big shout out to the girl for eradicating one more nasty from the house.
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It is Friday, Internet, and I’m nosy.
I want to know what your absolute favorite sit com is/was.
For me, it is Gilmore Girls.
PS. Last night was ‘Trick’or’Treat’ night and I really expected more vampires…I only saw 3. How many did you see?
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Last Saturday when the girl and I were out taking pictures and getting milk, the girl thought it would be oh. so. fun. to take many, many, many pictures of me.
Blech!
Because a good mom teaches her children lessons.
How to cook, how to clean, how to be polite, how to say ‘sorry’, how to share, how to purchase the right kind of chocolate.
I thought it would be a good time to teach her that you reap what you sow.
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Anyone that spends any amount of time in my home or in my presence knows that at some point they will have their picture taken.
Whether they like it or not.
But beware, you will be lulled into a state of unawareness.
Then you had better watch out, because I will be there.
Camera in hand.
muahahahahahahahaha!
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Today’s TWD is a Cherry Fudge Brownie Torte.
April of Short + Rose picked it.
Chocolatechic didn’t make it.
Don’t faint.
I know it is astounding to your psyche that I didn’t make something chocolate.
I didn’t have Marscapone cheese, or dried sweet cherries, or cherry preserves or Kirsch.
And seriously! who in their right mind puts ground black pepper in a chocolate fudge torte?
Not me.
Sorry my fellow TWD’ers.
Let me comfort you with a picture of chocolate.
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On Saturday the girl and I went up one county to get some milk from my cow.
We are past the peak of color in Ohio, but I still think it is beautiful.
Every so often I’d stop to take a picture.
Or I’d hand the camera over to the girl and say, “get a picture of that…quick…try to get the man walking too”.
And she’d snap away.
I love this time of year.
I love the color, the smell of rotting leaves, the crispness in the air, but most importantly the end of ragweed season.
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It’s Friday, Internet, and I’m nosy.
I want to know about how you do your finger nails.
Do you trim them every week?
Do you file them?
Buff them to a shine?
Chew them down to the quick?
Keep them short? grow them long?
If one or two of them break, do you trim them all down to the same length?
Tell me…tell me…tell me!
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I love little old people.
They are wise, they forgive faux paus, and they are just plain old fun.
My love affair with them began when I was around 4 or 5 when my Grandpa Teal would pull me on his lap and do ‘Eye Winker’ to me.
Grandpa was ornery, wise, and twinkly. His blue eyes would crinkle up when he smiled.
When we moved to Missouri, a little old man named T. O. Hughes attended my dad’s church.
He was a ‘twinkler’.
Then I found out that he had a horse.
That I could ride.
My obsession love affair with horses began when my Aunt Marty got me horse back riding lessons when I was 4.
So, over to T.O.’s house I’d go every chance I could get and we would ride. Or we’d mow, and rake his hay. Just spending time with him was great fun. I loved him, and he loved me.
After we were done, we’d go inside and he’d make me this fabulous and simple lunch.
He’d take some potatoes, slice them into wedges, add some onion and add them to some hot bacon grease.
I do this with tater tots because it is faster.
Fry them till they are golden.
Add some scrambled eggs and cook till done.
This is a hearty, quick, cheap meal, and it reminds me of T.O every time I make it.
It is especially good when you serve sweet potato kerplunks biscuits with it too.
T.O. is gone now, but I’ll never forget the hours he poured into a lonely 16 year old girl and made her feel special.
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My mom is a fabulous cook.
Her roasts are tender, her dumplings are flavorful, and her pie crust is flaky.
We almost always had roast, mashed potatoes and sometimes biscuits for Sunday dinner.
As a teen, I would invite friends over for a Sunday meal, then it was boyfriends, and then husbands.
After the sister and I were married, whenever we lived close enough, our families would still eat Sunday dinners at the Parents.
Because newlyweds are always on the lookout for free food.
One Sunday, mom made some biscuits and Internet, they were sad little things.
They were flat, and a bit burnt dark on the bottom.
Sister’s husband, who never passes up an opportunity to make a joke, called them kerplunks so now our family calls any home made biscuit ‘kerplunks’.
They looked sort of like this.
Erin of Prudence Pennywise picked today’s TWWD of Sweet Potato Biscuits.
These are fabulous little kerplunks.
They are tender, sweet and wonderful with the honey butter I served them with.
I used a fresh baked sweet potato instead of canned, and I added a wee bit of sour cream to these because I thought it was the right thing to do.
These would be wonderful with soup, roast and mashed potatoes or even breakfast.
Go check out Erin’s blog. The recipe is there, but don’t be surprised if your ‘kerplunks’ don’t raise..I don’t think they are supposed to.
That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.
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TWD will be later today as I haven’t made it yet.
I have never been one for adventure, where adventure equals anything other than my sane, daily routine.
Adventure does not equal fun.
Fun is planned, adventure is not, and not all adventure is fun.
Let me tell you a bit about my adventures this past week.
Which Dad named the Green Hornet.
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Hey Internet, it is Friday and I’m nosy.
Banana Split or Hot Fudge Sundae???
I’ll take one of each.
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Superman has never really been able to keep a secret.
He doesn’t actually come outright and spill the beans, but he hints at it, and me being the discerning person I am, I always figure it out.
Until Sunday.
Sunday we went over to the Parents house for lunch.
Only it wasn’t lunch.
It was a surprise birthday party for moi!
Everything was decorated in pink and chocolate.
There was all sorts of Chocolatechic paraphernalia. Grade cards, and papers I wrote when I was wee little. They were hil.ar.i.ous!
Friends were sneaky and showed up.
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The best part of the day was that friends and family drove for hours just to spend the afternoon with me.
But this was a very close second.
Thanks to the Mother and Aunt Sandy for working till wee hours in the morning to make the room beautiful.
Thanks to the Father for running and fetching for them, because I know you did.
Thanks to everyone that drove for hours to spend the afternoon with me, and thanks to everyone for my huge stash of chocolate.
I have the best family! You made my birthday very special.
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So today I was going to tell you all about Sunday, but instead…
Instead I thought I’d show you what happens when Superman you take your eye off the road for just a few seconds.
Superman You will rear end the stopped vehicle in front of you.
Superman You will be transported to the hospital, where they will take x-rays, and tell you that you are very fortunate that Superman you only have a bruised shoulder and a bruised knee, now go home and rest.
All I can say is thank God for air bags.
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I was so happy when I saw today’s TWD recipe of Allspice Pumpkin Pie Spice Muffins that Kayte of Grandma’s Kitchen Table picked for us.
You see, I have been in a funk for the last couple of months.
A baking funk.
A cleaning funk.
A cooking funk.
A blogging funk.
A funk funk.
This recipe was simple, easy, and quick, and just what I needed.
I tweaked the recipe just slightly.
I melted the butter before adding it to the crumb topping. I think doing that makes a much better topping.
I also used pumpkin pie spice instead of allspice.
I had allspice, but I didn’t want to have to dig for it, because hellooooo funk!
This goes together in about 6 minutes.
Bakes in 20 minutes.
And 2 of them will pay for a house call from the computer repair man.
Score!
If you want the recipe for these quick, easy, tasty, but slightly ugly muffins, go check out Kayte’s blog. She has the recipe.
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Yesterday we went over to the Parents house.
I didn’t take my camera because the lens is broken, and it is just frustrating to try to use it.
I always have my small point and shoot in my purse, so I snapped photos with it.
When I got home last night I tried to upload them.
They wouldn’t upload.
So, Superman working hard to be my hero tried to help me, and in his helping, he broke the power button.
I can not even turn the thing on.
So, here I am on the boy’s laptop…waiting on my computer fixer guy to come over and fix my power button.
Until then, there will be no show, and no tell.
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Hey Internet!
It is Friday, and I’m nosy!
What was the favorite game you played as a child?
For me, it was Old Maid and Uno.
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Today is Barefoot Blogger day.
I bet you thought that I had given up on them.
Nope.
Last month was all cake, and while I heart me some cake, I also do TWD and I just don’t need that much sweet in the house.
The best part of the pig is bacon.
I know…ribs are fabulous. Ham is what we eat at Easter. Pork loin is tender and succulent, but Internet bacon is the most flavorful, the most versatile, and the most favorite part of the pig.
You can wrap bacon around a fillet minion.
You can wrap bacon around chicken.
Bacon cheese burgers.
Bacon on meat loaf.
Bacon on pizza.
Chocolate covered bacon.
Bacon, bacon, bacon!
If I see a recipe and the first ingredient begins with bacon, it stops me right in my tracks.
This recipe of Cheddar C0rn Chowder that Jill of My Next Life chose for today’s Barefoot Bloggers begins just that way.
8 ounces of bacon.
Way to go Ina. Drag me in…hook…line and sinker with those 4 little words.
I tweaked this recipe in several ways.
1. I do not like thin soup, and this soup calls for 12 cups of chicken stock so I halved the amount of liquid.
2. I also just added about 1 cup of straight cream.
3. I knew I had frozen corn. I always have frozen corn. When I looked in my freezer there was no corn, so I had to use canned.
4. Aldi doesn’t carry sharp white cheddar cheese, so I used regular cheddar cheese.
5. I didn’t add the tumeric because I didn’t think it would be good in it.
The end.
Oh…Internet….this soup is perfect for a cool winter day.
In a large stockpot over medium-high heat, cook the bacon and olive oil until the bacon is crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve. Reduce the heat to medium, add the onions and butter to the fat, and cook for 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent.
Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, and turmeric and cook for 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and potatoes, bring to a boil, and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. If using fresh corn, cut the kernels off the cob and blanch them for 3 minutes in boiling salted water. Drain. (If using frozen corn you can skip this step.) Add the corn to the soup, then add the half-and-half and cheddar. Cook for 5 more minutes, until the cheese is melted. I also added all the bacon back into the soup at this point. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Serve hot with a garnish of bacon.
Make it, your mouth will be happy with you for days.
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The world is being taken over by pink.
I know…
It is unbelievable, but it is true, and I’d like to think that I have had something to do with it.
Over the weekend, the high motor burnt out on the hair dryer.
The girl and I figured that we could just make do with the low setting.
I’m all about making do, but Internet, low on a hair dryer will drive even the most stable person to insanity.
Yesterday, Superman looked at me and knew by the crazed look on my face that something was wrong.
I said “Bring. Me. Home. A. Hair. Dryer!”
He saluted, said “Yes ma’am” and away he went.
I told you that pink is taking over the world.
One hair dryer at a time.
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Hey there Internet.
I’m a slacker.
I fully admit it, and take responsibility for being such a slacker.
I didn’t make today’s TWD recipe of Split-level Pudding that Garret of The Flavor of Vanilla picked for today.
It sounds just yummy.
Thick ganache topped with vanilla pudding.
I even was going to start my post with ‘ebony and ivory…live together in perfect harmony’….
But I didn’t make it.
I had considered even making a pie with it, but instead, I spent the afternoon wrapped up in a blanket on the couch.
My apologies to all you TWD’ers that come here every week to see what I have posted.
My only excuse is that I’m a slacker.
The end.
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Chocolatechic 