Week #10 Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things I Love About My House (As It Is)

1. It's location in a small town in Utah. I may like it better if it were in a small town in Oregon or Washington. (Whoops! This was all going to be positive and I've messed up on the first item.)
2. It's location near schools, work, fast food, park, and grankids.
3. The backyard. It's little, but green with plenty of shade and a hammock. Plus hubby keeps it looking good. And it's a pleasant place for get togethers.
4. It's made of brick.
5. The family room since we've remodeled it. Used to be dark paneling, with small basement windows and ghastly red shag carpet. Hubby used a diamond-edge saw to cut the cement and make bigger windows. What a difference. Plus we added a shelf, new light-colored carpet and painted the walls a soft apricot and the wainscoting of bead board white. The inside of the cupboards are periwinkle which adds a bit of whimsy.
6. Big laundry room.
7. Good sized pantry.
8. Good-sized kitchen with lots of cupboard and counter space.
9. Four bedrooms.
10. Nice floorplan. I really like the layout.
11. Masterbath. Even though it's small, it's there and provides some privacy for the king and queen.
12. It's location, again. We're not on a busy street and so the traffic is minimal. Although on the 4th of July it provides a great parking place for people who want to view the fireworks at the park.
13. Well-built. We personally knew the builder and his work. He did a great job. Many of the new homes today are not built as well as this one.

Week #9 Thursday Thirteen

13 Home Repairs/Fixups I'd Like For My House

1. Bigger dining room
2. New cabinets in the kitchen
3. New countertops to go with the new cabinets in the kitchen
4. New carpet in the master bedroom
5. New windows throughout the house
6. Sprinkler system
7. Fresh coat of paint in the living room
8. Sewer pipe replaced
9. Carpet in the living room and hall
10. New blinds and/or curtains on all upstairs windows
11. New tile in downstairs bathroom
12. New flooring in the laundry room
13. New interior doors

Week #8 Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Favorite Quotes from Books I've Read

1. "Truths walk toward us on the paths of our questions. As soon as you think you have the answer, you have closed the path and may miss vital new information. Wait awhile in the stillness, and do not rush to conclusions, no matter how uncomfrotable the unknowing."

-from Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

2. "It's okay to try out negative emotions and see how they feel, but it cetainly isn't a place one would wisely want to stay. When the soul is in human form you get to play--to see how it feels to be happy or sad, jealous or grateful, and so on. But you are supposed to learn from the experience and ultimately figure out which feels painful and which feels great."

-from Mutant Message Down Under by Marlo Morgan

3. " It is a fair, even handed, noble adjustment of things that while there is infection in disease and sorrow., there is nothing in the world so irresisteibly contagious as laughter and good humor."

-from The Christmas Caroll by Charles Dickens

4. "There are only two kinds of people in the end, those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, in the end, 'Thy will be done.' "

-from The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

5. "Knowing can be a curse on a person's life. I'd traded in a pack of lies for a pack of truth and I didn't know which one was heavier. Which one took the most strength to carry around? It was a ridiculous question, though, because once you know the truth, you can't ever go back and pick up your suitcase of lies, heavier or not, the truth is yours now."

-from The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

6. "And when you get down to it, Lily, that's the only purpose grand enough for a human life. Not just to love but to persist in love."

-from The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

7. "Anybody could get worked up . . . it's peacefulness that is hard to come by on purpose."

-from Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver

8. "I prefer to be a widower of Ethel than a husband to anyone else, even in my imagination."

-from The Bird Artist by Howard Norman

9. "Sometimes simply getting from bed to bathroom can take the charm out of a new day."

-from Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

10. "We who survive must go on in the names of those who fall. Perserverance is impossible if we don't permit ourselves to hope."

-from Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

11. "When your're as hollow as Enoch Cain, the emptiness aches. He's desperate to fill it, but he doesn't have the patience or the commitment to fill it with anything worthwhile. Love, charity, faith, wisdom - those virtues & others are hard won, with commitment & patience and we acquire them one spoonful at a time. Cain wants to be filled quickly. He wants the emptiness inside poured full, in quick, great gushes, and right now."

-from From the Corner of His Eye by Dean Koontz

12. "I will hold to the principles received by me when I was sane, and not mad--as I am now. Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptations; they are for such moments as this, when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigor. ... If at my individual convenience I might break them, what would be their worth? ...Preconceived opinions, forgone determinations, are all I have at this hour to stand by; there I plant my foot."

-from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

13. "More than anything else, our understanding and use of language shapes us. Language is the way we express every idea, every thought. Sloppy thinking leads to a sloppy use of language. But the opposite is also true. Imprecise language causes imprecise thinking."

from Whispers by Dean Koontz

Seamless Pictures

Crusty Carpe asked us to let him know which picture on Seamless Pictures was our favorite. It was a hard choice. I feel like I would like to study them a little longer. It would be nice to have a picture right next to the computer that I could rotate out on a daily basis. I suspect that many of the pictures have depth of meaning as well as perspective. Take the one of the man painting a picture that blocks out the people's heads. Instead of heads we see above the judge a court of law and a library above the librarian, and so on.I also like this one of the children who are in one sense part of the neighborhood and in another, swinging way up over the rooftops. The girl reminds me on myself right now, with school about to start again, pumping for all she's worth to get the last bit of joy from her summer (or her childhood).

It also reminds me of my grandchildren. Jeff being observant and reflective, trying to figure it all out, to see the layout of the streets, the construction of the houses, and looking for a big truck, wondering how it will seem to him from way up here. And Megan feeling the thrill of the height, the power of her own body, marveling at the rush of the wind, grasping for every ounce of joy in the moment.And how about that fence? What's it's meaning?

43 Things - Stolen Idea from Framed

Read Framed's (Shaneen) new post and then decided to check out www.43things.com for myself. I looked up the top 15 goals out of 100 under the heading "Books".

1. stop procrastinating 10320 people
2. write a book 8804 people
3. be happy 7668 people
4. Learn Spanish 5444 people
5. Read more books 4674 people
6. write a novel 3572 people
7. wake up when my alarm clock goes off 3392 people
8. To live instead of exist 3261 people
9. Swim with dolphins 2704 people
10. Read more 2695 people
11. make a difference 2599 people
12. live passionately 2596 people
13. identify 100 things that make me happy (besides money) 2523 people
14. Never stop learning 1911 people
15. Finish what I start 1863 people
Some curious goals, especially since they are filed under "Books". #7 wake up when the alarm goes off?! Heck, I'd like to just get out of bed when the alarm goes off, I could wake up a little later. But what does that have to do with books, unless maybe you could read more if you got up on time. #9 swim with the dolphins? Did that idea come from a book, or is that person going to read a book while swimming, or maybe, she's going to write a book about the experience - okay, that makes sense.

I think # 13, identify 100 things that make me happy (besides money) is an admirable goal and one that I think I could do. In fact, I'm going to start today (or tomorrow). Ignore #1 above.

I have no desire to #2 and #6, write a book or #4, learn Spanish though I 've always wanted to learn French. I would like to do #5 and #10 read more, as in continue reading like I'm doing now. Along with that is #14, never stop learning. Learning helps me feel rejuvenated and young until I try to stand up and my knees hurt!

Week #7 Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things on My Desk

1. Empty soup bowl left here by one of my daughters, who is the shower so I can't yell at her.
2. Lots of scrapbook stuff - straight edge cutter, box of pictures, eyelets, felt tip markers, etc.
3. CD player and CD case for Suit Francaise, an audion book which I'm listening to.
4. A turtle 'storyteller' art piece with little Native American children climbing all over him.
5. A box of Kleenex.
6. A glass of water on a sandstone coaster.
7. A stack of used books that I've ordered and entered on librarything.com.
8. A Jim Shore angel statue.
9. Off to the side is a pillow case with cute doodles that depict my daughter's inside jokes with her friends. K's been working on it today.
10. A telephone.
11. A few extra sweet and sour sauces from McDonald's for chicken selects. (They either forget to give you any or they give you three!)
12. Lamp
13. And of course, my computer.

TT Idea - Places I would like to visit

Thirteen Places I Would Like To Visit

1. Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont in the Autumn.
2. Copenhagen and Randers, Denmark
This is where many of my ancestors came from before immigrating to the US.
3. Switzerland, Austria, Germany
Where my husband's ancestor lived.
4. St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada
My family lived here for 3 years, 1934-1956. Two of my sisters were born in Newfoundland.
5. Mackinac Island (and bridge), Michigan
6. Alyson's New Apartment in Ogden
7. Machu Picchu, Peru
8. London, England
9. Ireland
10. Nanaimo on Vancouver Island
11. Montreal
12. Alaska
13. Russia
13. New York City

Monday Memories

My mother was at our house last night playing games with us and my sister. Mom mentioned having made hamburger gravy for dinner that night. The memories came flooding back as they often do at the mention of food. I started thinking about dinners at the Rasmussen household when I was a child. One of our favorites, by ours I mean the seven children, was hamburger gravy. Another was hamburger rolls. Mom would make up a batch of biscuit dough, roll it out and crumble raw hamburger on top, sprinkled with salt and Parmesan cheese. Then she'd roll them up and slice them jelly-roll style. They only baked for 25-30 min. We'd eat them with slightly thinned cream of mushroom soup and ketchup. Delicious! I still make hamburger rolls and my children and husband love them, but it's been years since I've made hamburger gravy. I will make it soon.

I remember occasionally coming to dinner and finding a teacup and saucer setting atop our dinner plates. In the cup was a slice of lemon. Mom would pour hot tomato juice over the lemon. I thought it was quite elegant for our very 'homestlye' family.

Recently Mom and I were talking about how we use to have fish sticks on a regular basis. I commented that I hadn't seen fish sticks in ages and Mom said that they just didn't make them like they used to.

One favorite meal, that my friends thought sounded very unappetizing, was cream tuna on Ritz crackers. When I married I was concerned that my husband would think it sounded awful, too. Fortunately, his family were familiar with it as well, only they served it on toast.

It's funny how certain foods from your childhood had to be eaten together. Like grilled cheese sandwiches and cream of tomato soup. They HAD to be served together or not at all.

Speaking of soup, I remember my brother S always liked the chicken noodle broth and I liked the noodles, so we'd pour back and forth to satisfy both of us. The same was true of vegetable soup - I wanted all those little alphabet letters. Unfortunately, when it came to fried chicken we both wanted the breasts. Ooohhh, the delicious chicken gravy my Mom could make. WOW!

Something else Mom could cook that I've never been able to duplicate is roast pork with sliced potatoes cooked along side the roast. Hers would turn out flavorful with just the right amount of crispness to them. They were to die for.

I'm sure more memories will keep flooding in, but I'll save those for another post.

Week #6 Thursday Thirteen

13 Ingredients in Cheya's Summer Squash Sandwiches

1 1/2 Cups sliced yellow summer squash
1 1/2 Cups sliced zuchinni squash
1-2 carrots, grated
1/2 onion, sliced
1/2 green pepper, sliced
2-3 cloves garlic
4 oz sliced mushrooms
extra virgin olive oil
Basil pesto
salad dressiong, such as Sweet Vadalia Onion, Asiago and Peppercorn, etc.
sharp cheddar cheese, sliced
provolone cheese, sliced
Asiago or ciabata bread, sliced

1. Steam the squash and carrots in a little water and olive oil, stir in 2 tbsp pesto after a few minutes of cooking, continue cooking until tender.
2. Meanwhile, sautee the onion, green pepper and whole garlic cloves in olive oil (or butter). When the onion is transparent and tender, smash the garlic cloves with fork tines and stir in well.
3. Sautee mushrooms (I prefer butter for this).

To assemble sandwiches: (you can prepare these sandwich-style or open-faced)
1. Spread the bread with a little pesto and salad dressing.
2. Layer 1 slice provolone and 1 slice cheddar cheese on bread.
3. Top with the cooked vegetables. If desired, add sliced tomato (my daughter liked it with the tomato).

This hot sandwich is to die for!