Bejeweled Barbie

Funny stories don't usually come via the Obituaries, but that is just what happened to me today. I used to question why people picked up the newspaper and went straight to the obits. Now that I am of a certain age, I understand. Daily I read the email obituaries from the local newspaper, or what is left of it.   Often, perusing the names of the deceased and their kin will jog your memory of someone or some event that you haven't thought of in ages.  Today, there was the photograph and long obituary of a lady from the church in which I grew up. Her late husband is the one who I am sharing this story about; it is 100% true.   This church was the largest, most affluent Baptist church in town. It was what you would call "high church," although absent some of the liturgy used in Methodist, Presbyterian and Episcopal churches.  You had to walk up a very large set of steps as though you were entering a Roman temple. (In later years, an elevator was installed for ...

  In the photo above, what you see is an expensive package of Hawaian sub buns (hoagie buns) with one missing!  Apparenly someone in the pathway of our Walmart grocery order yesterday got hungry and helped themselves!  We started out with Walmart Delivery during the pandemic, never joining for longer than a month at a time. We would get frustrated and not renew, only finding ourselves back when our life was too busy or too tiring or too whatever to warrant a long grocery-shopping trip. Then when Walmart offered a year's membership for half price, I jumped on it.  (There are no refunds on yearly memberships, just saying.) We have had a few unusual items arrive with our orders, and we have had a few orders almost not arrive....we looked outside once to see our groceries being unloaded across the street.  The young neighbor happened to realize it and redirected the delivery.  We had one or two call us and ask which mailbox was ours that they couldn't figure it...

 Over the years I have had many breadmakers. Apparently most people don't use theirs enough to justify the space used to store it.  Thus, the Goodwill usually has at least one almost-unused breadmaker on hand at any given time. Recently I purchased a new Breadmaker by Toastmaster, and I am thrilled with it!  Unlike the others I have had, this one does not take up as much room on my counter,  I have not had a bad loaf yet! i can't say enough about this little breadmaker.  Here is the Amazon link if you would like to purchase one. ( I do get a small commision on the sale.)     My first breadmaker was a gift from my one of the dearest friends who has siince passed on .  She taught me to make bread using her  breadmaker recipe, and other than substituting kefir for milk sometimes,  I still use this as my go to bread recipe.  The order of adding the ingredients is the most important thing. White bread 1.5 lb loaf Ingredients: O...

 I heard the news from Texas yesterday, before we were to go live with our weekly Coffee and Jewelry Show on YouTube. I was alone. After watching part of the initial report, I had to turn away. I could not watch one second longer.  Ironically, it wasn't shock I was feeling.  Perhaps it was the realization that we were no longer shocked by these stories that gave me a dull, sick feeling. I tried to force myself to go back to the news clip and get specifics, but the newscaster was saying that all the facts were not yet being relesed because officials were still trying to notify parents.  This felt like a hard punch in the gut. As a mother, grandmother and great- grandmother, empathy kicked in for a few moments.  This was my child and my phone call; I couldn't bear it. So, I fled. (Clicked out of it) I have not been able to view the coverage, but I see headlines that the death count has gone up.  I can't discuss much about the event, since I have avoided most ...

 An elegant European take on an old Appalachian staple.  My husband loved it. Ingredients : 1 can corned beef 2 onions, cut in pieces, but not diced 4 or 5 small to med potatoes, cut in larger pieces, but not peeled One TABLESPOON black pepper Five TABLESPOONS  apple cider vinegar 6 eggs 4 slices Muenster cheese Three handfuls of fresh baby spinach Salt to preference Grated parmesan sprinkle Optional: very light touch of cayenne on top Generous amount of vegetable oil Chili sauce or ketchup Directions : Add generous oil to deep skillet on medium. Add potatoes, onions and pepper. Allow to brown a few minutes. Add corned beef, cut in cubes. Allow to cook while stirring often with spatula. Add more oil as needed to prevent scorching. Add vinegar one TABLESPOON at a time, allowing it to cook on low for a few minutes between each spoonful. When potatoes are getting soft, top with spinach with a sprinkle of Parmesan. Place Muenster slices on top. Crack eggs on top of cheese, be...

  Today is Elliot's birthday. He has been my son's best friend since childhood. After I saw the reminder on Facebook, I began to think about something that Elliot did in 2014 that will forever be one of my most cherished memories. i don't really know if he knows just how much it meant to me then and still today.  Let me tell you about it. In 2014 my mother passed away. She had been hit by a car in 2004 with many injuries, the worst of which required brain surgery.  She lived 10 more years after that with multiple health challenges:    a broken hip, colon cancer and Parkinson's. She had "died" so many times. God raised her up each time to bring Him glory, which she did!  My son was very close to "Dee," as we all called her, and he spent quite a lot of his time with her when he was in. At the time he was a cross country truck driver, travelling to California every week and back. When my mom died, we were afraid to tell my son until he got to his destin...

"Everywhere I go, I get slandered, libeled I hear words I never heard in the Bible And I'm one step ahead of the shoe shine Two steps away from the county line I'm just trying to keep my customer satisfied, satisfied"  Listen to Simon and Garfunkel sing it here. I was just thinking about an email exchange I had last night with a customer. In case you didn't know, we have a jewelry show every Tuesday at 7 pm est.  A customer had written me that an omega necklace did not fit but that the bracelets did. Since I had measured and stated that everyone could wear it, I promptly refunded her, although she did NOT ask. I emailed her back to tell her, and she was very upset. "Oh, no, can you undo it? I wasn't expecting that!"  The Question is why not? That is our policy with everyone. We don't ask questions, and we refund immediately. Whatever the reason, my husband and I want our customers happy.  Isn't that how businesses operate? Apparently, not so ...