Friday, September 9

At the Fair - Part one

Yesterday at the crack of dawn Butch was up and ready to go. I do not like it when he gets up too early. I have my things I like to do in the quiet and peace of the early morning. And when he gets up too early the day seems to get off on the wrong foot for me. Like waking up on the wrong side of the bed. So we were up and on the road by 7:50 AM headed for Spencer IA and the Clay County Fair. And so the rest of the day was taken up with meet and greets, visiting and too much food. You see the fair does not start till Saturday but many gather early for good camping spots and reduced price entry tickets and we are among such a group.
So perhaps I will get my ducks in a row today and be a better reporter of what is happening all around.

Wednesday, September 7

Tip of Texas

Drought picture of Texas. Looks like the tip is abnormally dry but most of the rest is exceptionally dry.
Click on picture for larger view.

September is a beautiful month


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The temps get a little cooler and our thoughts turn to different things. Like cooking and wrapping up the loose ends of summer and heading south. Although the heading south is still a month away and my memory is good enough to know it is plenty warm down there yet.
We have the west storm door on and Butch has a few finishing touches to do to it. I know, I know, PICTURES. Maybe later today.
I have a funeral to go to this morning. A classmate of mine. Karel Johnson Bane. We share cousins. My Uncle Jack and her Aunt Gar married and produced our shared cousins. It took me awhile to figure out how to word that effectively and it will most likely take you awhile to decipher it.
The recipe below is a definite on my To-do list and I have the roast in the freezer to do it with.

Slow Cooker Italian Pot Roast

8 ounces sliced fresh mushrooms
1 large onion, cut in half and sliced
1 (2 1/2- to 3-pound) boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed
1 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 (1-ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix
1 (14-ounce) can beef broth
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
Hot cooked egg noodles

Place mushrooms and onion in the bottom of a 5 1/2-quart slow cooker.

Sprinkle roast evenly with pepper. Brown roast on all sides in hot oil
in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Place roast on top of
mushrooms and onion in slow cooker. Sprinkle onion soup mix evenly over
roast. Pour beef broth and tomato sauce over roast. Cover and cook on
HIGH 5 to 6 hours or until meat shreds easily with a fork.

Remove roast from slow cooker, and cut into large chunks; keep warm.

Skim fat from juices in slow cooker; stir in dried Italian seasoning and
tomato paste. Stir together cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water in a
small bowl until smooth; add to juices in slow cooker, stirring until
blended. Cover and cook on HIGH 20 to 30 more minutes or until mixture
is thickened. Add roast pieces back to slow cooker. Cover and cook until
thoroughly heated. Serve over hot cooked egg noodles. Makes 6 servings.

Monday, September 5

Laboring on Labor Day

I have cleaned house and caught up on laundry while Butch is still laboring away on the west side storm door in the breezeway. We are in a bit of a push as we would like to get things tied up a bit before going to the Clay County Fair next Thursday. We really like the Clay County Fair. It has most of what the state fair has but it is so much easier to get around. I have a few photography entries, thanks to my friend Norma Cooklin who takes them to the fair before the deadline. We will be meeting up with the Cooklins and the Cleavelands when we get there. We have heard that Jefferson friends Bert and Everett Beebe will also be there. Keri is bailing me out again by preparing Crockpot Pizza for me to take for a joint meal contribution. I am so lucky.
Yesterday we went to breakfast with Leo and grandniece Anna Kelley who stopped by for a visit. She is new to college and was finding it lonely on campus as most of the students do not stick around for the holiday. She needed to stay due to a work study program she is in. But the distance to Jefferson was close enough to get back to campus before she needed to be there. We had a great breakfast and a nice visit.

I have been hot and heavy on bracelet making finishing about one a day. I took some photos of them yesterday but only one was worth keeping. This is the brides bracelet.

Elise at a festival

Santa-Cali-Gon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyQPvB2kyLU