It was a dark and stormy night ........

(pretend there's spooky music playing in the background...) It was a dark and stormy night. The wind was blowing, the rain was pelting the windows, and the lights were flickering on and off. There was a tree limb outside making a low moaning sound as the wind blew and it caused an eerie shadow on the wall. The kids were watching an unbelievably scary movie (much scarier than the stuff I watched at their age --- remember Dark Shadows? Barnabus was such a creepy wierdo !! but nothing compared to the movies that are out now.) Anyhow, I was thinking of some spooky places that might be fun to visit around Halloween. How about Salem, Mass.? or Sleepy Hollow, NY ? or our haunted little town of Jim Thorpe,Pa? Quite a few places around here claim to be haunted , including The Inn at Jim Thorpe, my husband, Dave's place of business. (He is the manager and one of the owners.) The Asa and Harry Packer Mansions also supposedly have ghostly happenings.

In addition to all the haunted buildings in town, there is a unique (ummmmm..... REALLY different) kind of shop in town. The Mauch Chunk General Emporium (they don't have a website, sorry.) There are two sides to this shop. The one side has all sorts of vintage reproduction ornaments and decorations (that's where I got all of these neat reproduction Halloween cards and decorations .) ..... then, on the other side of the shop there are all sorts of items for sale if you happen to be into Wiccan Witchcraft ---- hmmmmm ---- whatever ......

Anyhow ....... BOO !! (and pretend the scary music is still playing ....)

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Happy 15th Birthday Evan !!!

Today is my baby's 15th birthday !!! 15 ?!?!!!!!!! How did he get to be 15 so fast?????? I'm still 29 !!!
C'mon Evan, smile for Mommy ..... goofy face made by goofy kid (who is constantly embarrassed by his goofy mom!!!) (... and note goofy birthday hat -- made by brother Matt for their Gimma's birthday about 8 or 10 years ago -- that hat -- which has seen better days -- has become the traditional head wear for which ever family member is celebrating a birthday -- except we did break tradition this past July when my nieces, Maura and Erin made a new birthday crown for their Gimma.

Well, time for me to look in on my sleeping 15 year old baby, give him a kiss, and wonder where the time has gone.....

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Lazy gal's chicken pot pie .......

I've been craving chicken potpie. I try not to buy the frozen variety (even though they're yummy) -- they have about a zillion calories and grams of fat in them -- RATS !! Anyhow, while at the grocery store, I spotted this "Cooking Light" magazine with the picture of -- gasp -- could it be? a "light" version of my latest comfort food craving? YES !!! (and I just happened to have a bunch of left over chicken already cooked!) So, I trotted up and down the aisles collecting all of the ingredients when I decided that whole scenario was gonna be WAY too much work! So, I thought to myself, how can I cheat on this recipe and it still be "light" and taste OK? Hmmmmmm....... I put back the flour and fat free chicken broth the recipe called for and picked up 2 cans of Campbell's Healthy Request Cream of chicken soup. Then, I put back the potato and sweet potato the recipe called for (didn't feel like peeling and slicing them). I did buy a bag of frozen peas and frozen pearl onions, and fresh carrots and celery (probably should have just gotten a bag of frozen sliced carrots instead of fresh -- oh well, next time!) Oh, and I did use the frozen puff pastry dough (I bought Pepperidge Farm frozen puff pastry I found in the freezer section next to frozen pie crusts . I never used this stuff before, so it was a learning experience -- I basically just used a rolling pin, then smooshed and pulled at the stuff until it was big enough to cover the top of the chicken mixture.) So, here's my version of "lazy gals' chicken pot pie".

Ingredients:

2 cups (or more, if you like) cooked chicken breast , cut up in bite sized pieces.
2 cans reduced fat cream of chicken soup (I used Campbell's Healthy Request)
1 sheet of frozen puff pastry dough (comes 2 sheets in a box of Pepperidge Farm brand)
2 cups fresh or frozen carrots (sliced)
2 cups celery (sliced)
2 cups frozen pearl onions
2 cups frozen green peas

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Take one sheet of puff pastry dough out of box and defrost (let it sit out on counter -- may take about 20 - 30 minutes for it to defrost). Wash, peel and slice carrots (unless using frozen). Wash and slice celery .(slice into bite sized pieces). Steam carrots, celery, frozen peas and pearl onions in a pot (I use a steamer basket) until just tender. Put all steamed veggies and cut up chicken into an 11x7 inch baking dish. Add the 2 cans of reduced fat chicken soup and stir/combine with veggies and chicken . Place puff pastry on lightly floured surface and roll out to approx 13x9 inch rectangle. Place dough over chicken mixture, pressing to seal at edges of dish. Cut small slits into dough to let steam escape. Place dish on foil lined baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 - 30 minutes (the original recipe said to bake for 16 minutes, but it took longer for my pastry to get brown.) Anyhow, bake until pastry is browned and filling is bubbly.

makes 8 servings
Wt watchers points = 4 points/serving

OK, the reviews are in -- my panel of distinguished food critics (Kid #1 and Kid #2) have determined that "it's about time we finally have something different for dinner , for a change" --- however, I noticed that they expertly ate AROUND the peas ..... hmmmm....... maybe the peas can be omitted ..... BUT, I like the peas , so the peas STAY !!!

Well, I'm off to clean up the mess in the kitchen (I thought if I let it sit there long enough somebody else might get the inclination to clean it up ------ well, that didn't work ......)

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

This is absolutely my FAVORITE season !!!!

(Before you read this big, long winded post, scroll all the way down and click on my earlier post from this morning -- you don't want to miss that cute guy !)

I just LOVE autumn ! It is definately and absolutely my favorite season. I love everything about it. I love the colors, the textures, the crisp air, the fact that it's cool enough to need a jacket or sweater and not hot and humid (which makes me cranky), and it's not so cold that I need a heavy coat and my hands and toes are numb. Those first 2 pictures are the view from my front porch taken today (when, yes, I was supposed to be inside doing the dreaded left over paperwork .) .....and hydrangeas in the fall! don't you LOVE the way they turn from white to that pinkish, greenish around the edges! (I have to get out there and cut some off of the tree and dry them before they turn completely brown.)

OK -- so not doing what I'm supposed to be doing... as usual ... instead I'm piddling around taking pictures and drawing pictures .... again .... Anyhow, while standing on my porch admiring the fall foliage , I decided that the white chair sitting on the porch needed a splash of color, so I plopped that little pumpkin on the seat, and it's big sister on the floor next to it .... then I took a picture of it ....... then I drew a picture of it ..... (talk about piddling around !!!) (and talk about a deformed chair!!!the one I drew, that is ... not the real one).

OK, it gets worse! A few weeks ago while out taking a walk, I picked up some acorns. I just think they're so cute -- they look like a little head with a hat on. So,these acorns are sitting in a pile on my desk and when I'm sitting there attempting to concentrate on the dreaded paperwork, I end up looking at the cute acorns.... which reminded me of a craft book I bought about a year ago ..... which led me to look for it and look through it. The name of the book is "Felt Wee Folk" by Salley Mavor (check out her cute acorn people on her website !!). One of my favorite pages/scenes in her book is that one I took a picture of with the pumpkin houses --- don't you just want to live in that little world ?!? (.... and, yes, for cryin' out loud, I had to sit and try and draw a picture of it .....)

Well, since I spent the day not accomplishing anything I was supposed to do, I better now go and accomplish something! (sometimes I'm my own worst enemy!)

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

This just CRACKS me up !!!!!!!!

I just LOVE this little guy! I don't know who he belongs to -- but he can come and live at my house anytime! (and I want his hair do !!)click here .

Enjoy !!

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Doodle, Dawdle,Doodle, Dawdle . . . .

Did you ever get so overwhelmed (or maybe just bored) by what you're supposed to be doing that your brain just goes on "non function mode" and about all you can handle is to color ? or eat mass quantities of chocolate ? For me, both of these "coping mechanisms" (wow, I actually remember something from those psych classes I drudged my way through a zillion years ago ...)pretty much surfaced my freshman year at Temple University. Now, we all know that chocolate thing can/did get way out of hand (talk about your "freshman 10 " as in pounds !! lets go another 15 on that !!) Anyhow, as a joke, somebody, and I can't remember who, got me a "Pink Panther" coloring book and crayons for my birthday during my sophmore year -- by that time I hadn't colored in years -- but it was always one of my favorite things to do as a kid. I put the coloring book aside, being way too cool and sophisticated (HA!) and just looked at it as a gag gift. Well, one night while studying for midterms, and also having a couple of papers to write, etc, and the clock was ticking into the wee hours of the morning, and I was hitting major PANIC mode, I dragged that coloring book out and just started to color. It was unbelievably relaxing !! Just mindlessly coloring. After I finished coloring one page, I was calmed down enough get back to studying with a clear head.(and I didn't reach for the chocolate!) Believe it or not, the idea caught on. First, my room mate asked to color a picture, then a couple of the girls next door, then more girls down the hall, then a couple of the guys from the soccer team, etc. You should try it some time -- its' a great stress reliever ! (just like knitting, crocheting, quilting ,etc -- I guess it's the repetitiveness of it all .) So, the past couple of days, my patience with that mind numbing paperwork from the day job is at an all time low, so doodle and dawdle I do !!!!!! (that 2nd drawing of the birdies on the branch is my attempt to copy one of Susan Branch'sdrawings out of her "Autumn" book that I won from Sharon)

Anyhoo, the past week hasn't been a total bust, quilting-wise --- I did stay up late a few nights ago sewin' in my pj's and actually FINISHED machine stitching on the last of the letters going around the borders of my Finish What You Have Project. Now all I have to do is piece the back, baste the layers together, and machine quilt it ... oh, and put the binding on !! Hopefully that won't take another 5 years !!!!!

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Fall Foliage Festival in Jim Thorpe

It was perfect fall weather for the annual Fall Foliage Festival here in Jim Thorpe, Pa. There were train rides to view the foliage (which is a bit behind schedule -- maybe due to the warm spell we had over the past couple of weeks -- there are some trees that have turned, especially up on the mountain, but here in town, it hasn't hit its' peak yet -- maybe by next weekend. Oh, wait ! There's one -- if you enlarge that first picture of the train station and look over to the right of the roof, you'll see a red tree -- everybody came to see that one red tree ! -- just kidding, there were other red trees, and yellow ones and orange ones, too). Anyway, it sure was feeling like fall -- you definately needed a sweater or a coat -- and some hot cider or hot chocolate to keep warm. There were craft vendors and food vendors in the park, a trolley available for tours of the town, and all of the shops were dressed for the occasion.

Well, gang, hope you all had a good "Fall-ish" weekend (hold that thought as the Monday morning, rude awakening blahs roll in .....)

Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)