random thoughts

My fuse glass piece, with filigree, brass stampings and vintage crystal

I love love love love my new blanket.  We bought it actually for Cathie's visit in September, and now it's migrated to our bed.  It's one of those incredibly soft micro-fiber ones in a deep cobalt blue.  It's so light, it's what you imagine a cloud feels like ( unlike what a cloud really feels like... fog)  incredibly soft and gentle but sooo warm.

So Iowa finally has a woman on the Federal level.  Kewl.  Did it have to be Joni Ernst? 

I'm kind of disappointed in Iowa all the way around this election.  I've always been proud that the state was so down the middle.. for years we have been almost evenly split between the Dems and the Reps.  For most of my life we have had 1 Dem and 1 Rep as senators.  Our 5 (now 4) house was usually 3-2 split.  The governor was sometimes Rep, sometimes dem.  I figured it echoed Iowa's laid back , live and let live attitude.

After this election, we are mostly republican.  ugh. 


I am playing with resin again after 4? years not playing with it.  I will post interesting pics of this soon. 

I'm also making rings this week for the upcoming show -- the last show of the season. 

I am planning on doing show research this weekend as well, as the yearly grind of show applications needs to get started.  I know a couple of shows I'm thinking about have application deadlines of Dec 1st. 

My daughter voted this year, as she just turned 18.  It's possible I made the experience more of a trial than it had to be.  I asked the folks running the precinct where the 1st time voter's stickers where ( and isn't that a brilliant idea!! ) and once she was done, I started clapping, and wouldn't you know, everyone else did as well.  Not sure they knew why, but in Iowa it's polite to clap along.

I didn't do it to embarrass her, I was just so genuinely proud of her exercising her civic duty for the first time.  I know she's disappointed with the results as well.. She really doesn't like Joni Ernst. 

Now that most of the shows are done, and we are on a strict budget again, I am making a weekly menu and trying to make new diners.


Some of the resent hits: cheesy corn ( Jerry's favorite) , my version of Shepard's pie, chicken and dumplings, and ham and potatoes.  Most of these are done in the crockpot.  I tend to make big, lots of left over type meals Sun - Tues, to generate leftovers for my work lunches.  Later in the week it's more of a hamburger or pizza kind of thing.

I'm trying to incorporate healthier ingredients as well, but that's tricky. One of the Shepard's pie I over did the carrots.  To my taste buds it made everything else in the casserole taste carroty.  Even the corn tasted contaminated with carrot flavor!!! So this last batch I only added corn, because I couldn't go through that again.  I've promised Jerry the next batch will have peas in it as well as corn, and I'll try the carrots again -- just not as many.  I also think I will cook them separately and add them in only at the end to lesson the risk of carroty taste taking over the entire batch again.

Something I want to try in the crockpot but haven't yet: lasagna.

hm..... I still need to make the menu for next week......