Wordless Wednesday

My tomatillo plant did not produce any green tomatillos but...

to my surprise the plant was full of these hollow green balloons.

20 Years Ago......Experiencing Hurricane Hugo

Experiencing a natural disaster like Hurricane Hugo is something that stays in your mind forever. I remember most of the details...Tomorrow marks the 20th anniversary. The night before it hit, I went to bed like any other day. I had no worries...and slept until around 5 a.m. Back then, I used to sleep through the night...LOL...Cliff did stay up for part of the night. He awoke around 1:00 a.m...I guess we really should all have been staying somewhere in the middle section of the house. We really did survive Hurricane Hugo.
The side of the house got hit by a real tall pine.

We were without power for about 8 days and like many others ended up throwing away food. That's Andrea taking a look at some of the food we were getting rid off. I still don't know why we put that food outside on the deck, instead of throwing it away right away....Oh well...maybe we were taking pictures for insurance purposes.

My son Kevin was around 7 and like many kids his enjoyed the little vacation from school.

The back of our house 20 years after Hurricane Hugo.

If You Like Ginger Try This

My sweet co-worker Debbie Beteta is a master at making Split Pea Soup with No Ham. I just love it when she brings some to work to share. The health benefits of eating split peas are numerous and you will be able to tell right away after eating a bowl of this wonderful soup.

Split peas are an excellent source of fiber which helps to lower high levels of cholesterol and helps to keep blood sugar levels from rising.

Split peas are very inexpensive. I usually cook the whole bag. You can freeze part of the soup...It freezes well.

Rinse split peas well in water. Put the rinsed split peas in a medium size pot and add water to cover. The peas expand as they cook, so you will need to add a good amount of water up to around 5 inches. As they cook, if the water is getting absorbed you will need to keep adding water.
For this recipe to add even more nutrition I used a sweet potato, two carrots and an onion to add flavor. You may also add whole kernel sweet corn once the peas have cooked.

While your split peas are cooking in water. On a separate frying pan heat some olive oil, then add the chopped sweet potatoes, carrots and onion. Cook until the onion looks clear. You will finish cooking the carrots and sweet potatoes in the pot with the split peas.

I absolutely love the flavor fresh chopped ginger adds to this soup, so I chopped and added around 1/4 cup chopped and sauteed it with the carrots and sweet potatoes. This may be a bit too much for you, so try by using 1 tablespoon chopped ginger. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper at this point.

After semi cooking the veggies add them to the split peas and cook until the carrots and sweet potatoes are tender. Other additions to try on this soup are corn and cooked brown rice.

Enjoy

Wordless Wednesday

Volunteer Sunflower

Fragrant Ginger Bloom

Pretty but Not as Fragrant Ginger Bloom

Fall - Very Much in My Mind

The pattern for this Scallop-Edge Leaf can be found in the Suzann Thompson's Crochet Bouquet. The patterns I've tried so far are easy to follow. This leaf would be perfect to decorate this fall your home, hats or garments. I did not succeed in making a smaller version.

Speaking of Fall colors....This Lacy Crochet Hat was a custom order which I will list soon on my Etsy shop. This one was made for a 3 year old girl.

Same Hat with a slightly different smaller rose. This one will fit a newborn to 2 month baby. The Crab stitch edge adds a nice touch.

I like to photograph my hats outside early in the morning and Carla did not waste any time letting me know she wanted attention. She posed on the same bench where I took some of the pictures.

29 Years Ago...

It's hard to believe 29 years have gone by....Today is indeed a special day. Cliff and I were married on a sunny warm morning, September 13, 1980 in Panama City, Republic of Panama. Cliff remains the sweetest and most loving husband after all these years. I'm so blessed the Lord put our lives together and He continues to keep us safe together.

This is the beautiful fall bouquet Cliff gave to me.

Tonight I'm cooking something special to celebrate this special day, Butternut Squash Cannelloni with Sage Brown-Butter Sauce.

A close up of the beautiful flowers.

Me and Cliff on our recent visit to Bethany Beach, Delaware this September.

Fall is all Around and in my Thoughts

The other day on my way to Showmars, I picked up the cutest acorn. This one was still green, fresh from the huge acorn tree that is next to the Library. I could not resist buying the Fall Issue of Crochet Today, because it hat the cutest pattern to make an acorn.

I worked on the tiny leaf while I looked at a new recipe for Canneloni I want to try.

I stitched the little leaf to the top of the acorn.

After completing Acorn #1, I decided to modify the pattern and made two other smaller sizes.

The top of the acorn is separate so the acorn can be used to store candy or a small gift. The green is a pretty close color match. I used Vanna's choice yarn in Pea Green. The leaf was also worked on another shade of green. The top was worked using Knit Picks brown wool.

Thankful Thursday

Kevin has left Afghanistan. We heard from him this morning while he was in Qatar. He is on route back to Aviano Air Base in Italy.

Please continue to pray for him and for the thousands in the Armed Forces who serve our country.

For He will command his angels concerning you....
Psalm 91:11