Fresh and Colorful

The world is so full of wonderful opportunities to do really exciting things. Several nights ago I received a very excited late night call from Stephanie. She had found an incredible website created by a very talented lady, The Pioneer Woman, who is/was offering free Photoshop actions. Of course Stephanie doesn't just give a gift and then leave it alone. She took it one step further and challenged me to do something with this gift.

Note: I went to Jennifer's blog and saw all her great pictures. When I talked with her she added her encouragement to Stephanie's challenge. That was the last straw. I had to give it a try.

Here is my first attempt . The picture on the left is the original. The picture on the right has been changed by the Fresh and Colorful Action. Can you see any difference?

Edward Cullen Came to Visit

Yes, you read the title correctly. Much to my delight, I found Edward Cullen on my doorstep one morning this week. He has proceeded to turn our hearts cold each time we see him. He claims to be a vegetarian vampire but ....

On the first day he chose to hang out in the entrance. Amberlyn returned home from school in quite a rush because she needed to visit the little girl's room. When she rounded the corner from the mud room door to go to the restroom she ran directly into our favorite blood sucker. I will never forget her scream of shock.

I made sure I contacted Forrest and let him know we had a visitor. He thought we should invite Bella to join us so that Edward would have someone to fawn over. He moved Edward from the one side of the entrance to the other so that everyone can see him when we open our front door. This was NOT a problem, except that when I came down the stairs, unaware that Edward had taken up a new view. However, never fear! Mae Tae is on guard and keeping the house safe.

I thought that Edward would be most comfortable in the library. He could even browse the shelves and maybe read a good romance novel. I thought he might really relate to Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse or Breaking Dawn.

Tonight Amberlyn was feeling that Edward needed some excitement so she moved him to the bathroom. Her father was the first to be shocked out of his socks when he went to visit the little boy's room. The shouting and laughter would have woken the dead.

Edward obviously felt a little put out because he decided to park outside of Amberlyn's room to get a little rest from all of the excitement. He was in for a REAL shock when Amberlyn opened her door unawares of her visitor and Edward greeted her with his CREEPY smile.

I keep wondering where he is going to turn up next. I walk around the house repeating the words, "Edward is here, Edward is here" so that I won't loose my teeth when I run into him unawares.

Note: Edward's visit is courtesy of Mycal and Stephanie who have had TOO MUCH fun at our expense. They just couldn't resist sending Edward our way.

Christmas is Coming

There have been a lot of exciting things happen so far this month. I have spent the last 2 weeks working on gifts for my mother and Forrest's mom. As I write this, I realize that I sent their gifts without taking a picture. Hopefully, one of them will be willing to take a picture and send it to me. It will be more fun if they are in the picture.

Last night I decided to make a really fun meal. I started out by making Italian Stuffed Tomatoes". Then I decided to make Chicken and Rice (should have made noodles). This led to making Bruschetta and Alfredo Sauce which was delicious. It actually turned out very well. To top it all off, I made Cinnamon Rolls to eat after we decorated the tree.



Italian Stuffed Tomatoes

5 Tomatoes
2 Eggs, Hard Boiled
3 Anchovy Fillets
2 T Capers
6 oz. Tuna
2 T Parsley, Finely chopped
1 c. Mayo
8 Basil, fresh and torn
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cut off the top of the tomatoes and hollow out the insides being careful NOT to break the skin. Turn upside down to drain. Dice eggs, anchovy, and 1 T. capers. Mix into mayo and tuna. Add parsley. Salt and pepper the inside of each tomato. Fill with tuna mixture. Top with basil and remain, whole capers. Chill in refrigerator for 1 hour. Serve cold.

Bruschetta with Feta Cheese

Yesterday afternoon it started to snow. However, the REAL storm didn't happen until late into the night. By morning it had snowed at least 18 inches. Our neighbor, Doug Moss, was so very kind and used his NEW snow blower on our driveway so that we could get out to go to church. I awoke at 7:00 to the sound of his snow blower moving the snow.

It snowed ALL day. Late this afternoon Forrest started moving snow around the mailbox. We LOVE getting mail and know that the mail woman won't leave it if she can't get to the mailbox. I joined him and together we moved snow in the driveway (yes it was covered AGAIN!). After 2 hours and Alex, Addison and Amberlyn joining in on all the fun, we were able to clear the driveway and 1/2 of the circle drive. Addison asked why we were bothering to clear the circle. It was very understanding when I explained that the propane truck would be coming to fill our 1000 gallon tank and that if the driver couldn't get to our tank we would be without a warm house and there would be no HOT water.



Watson had to get into the act of moving snow. He used his nose and plowed through the soft powder making wandering little paths. He really liked to be right where I was moving the snow so that he could sniff out any rodents or other undesirable creatures. His attentiveness made it a little difficult to work as he was always in the way of the shovel.