sometimes being "crabby" is a good thing!

I made one of my favorite things to eat last night... crab salad! I found the recipe about 20 years in an eating light cookbook. I made it the first time for a ladies luncheon at church. It was a hit and I have been making it regularly since then. It is delicious anytime, but especially in the summer because it is cool and light.My experience is that it is better when made several hours ahead and refrigerated. That gives the flavors time to blend.

Here is the recipe if you'd like to try it:
12 oz imitation crab meat, flake style (it is REAL white fish with crab seasoning)
6 green onions, chopped (the white part of the onion)*
1 stalk celery, chopped
2-3 tbsp mayo (according to taste)
2 oz (give or take) cooked spaghetti pasta
dash salt and pepper

While pasta is boiling, cut up pasta into small pieces. Add onion,celery, salt and pepper. Stir until well mixed. Add drained and cooled pasta, mix again. Add mayo, mix again. You may garnish with dried chives or some of the green tops of the onions or serve as is... which is what I do most of the time.
* I gave this recipe to a friend and found out a year later she was chopping up the green part of the onion and putting it in the salad. So, I wanted to make that part clear ! :-)

Here is a close up, so you can really see what it looks like.

I just looked through that cookbook. This is the only recipe in it that I have ever made. No matter, it was worth buying it to get this one... it is a winner!

the weekend..... continued

If you haven't read the previous post, please read it first. This will make more sense that way!
We went to two "Queen of Hearts " stores. They were huge and had lots of good "stuff"! Don't you just love the names of these places... "Green Bean Exchange", "Runts", "Queen of Hearts"?

This is the "great place to eat" where we didn't get to eat because it wasn't open on Saturday.
Beautiful old house... loved the sign out front....

Bought this for our spare bedroom. Love the picture, don't care for the frame, but for $4, I can paint it!


Going to use these to hold candles at our daughter's wedding reception coming up in Sept. Priced from $1-$2.50...couldn't pass them up!



We'll use these in the church somewhere...got them both for $14.


The bookends I found for my sweet girl. She plans to paint them, but they are iron, so they are nice and heavy. And she loves tulips.... great find!



The wire basket is for extra toilet tissue rolls for the hall bath we just remodeled. The "coffee can" will actually hold my splenda and the "Eggs" plaque will rest on the shelf with my fat little hen. (BTW, I am still working on that kitchen window project. I'm trying to get one shelf just right. I promise I'll be sharing the final result soon!)

So, there you have it....... the whole story. Well, except for one last thing. On the way home, my friend asked me, "What was your favorite thing?" And then we both said, at the same time..."the garlic rolls!" Of course we were kidding....... at least I think we were !?!? :-)

can you say u-turn?

We had a wonderful weekend! The hotel was lovely with the friendliest and most helpful staff. We met some very nice people who were eager to suggest places for us to shop. However, most of them didn't give the best directions. Hence, the title of this post! They told us right when it should have left, they told us left when it should have right, they told us "you can't miss it" but of course we did because the sign was small or hidden by trees (or the name of the place had changed) and the"great place to have lunch" wasn't open on Sat! So, we made a lot of u-turns!
The funniest thing happened at the "Green Bean Exchange", which we found when we were looking for "Runts" on the right when it was actually on the left and we made a u-turn....... Anyway, when we checked out, we asked about the "largest antique mall in the state" (which was the main reason we were in the area) and the young man said, "Oh, they closed about 5 years ago!" My friend and I looked at each other and started to laugh. We had prayed at breakfast that God would direct our way and He obviously was doing just that! So much for our plans... He had better ones.
We had a great time browsing and shopping at the places He found for us, we had the best bread (garlic rolls) at "Ippolitos", a local Italian place, delicious Mexican food and live music at "La Parilla", and we relaxed in our spacious suite with a large screen TV where we watched movies because "Letters to Juliet" wasn't playing at the two theaters near us (2 u-turns to find those!). As always, it was a fun time and we did indeed make some memories!
So, here are some pictures.....

We found these in the bath when we arrived in our room... pretty nice for $54/ night, I thought!

The entrance to "Ippolitos". Those garlic rolls were large, round, twisted, parmesan cheese dusted, savory delights. I love bread and since I have been trying to lose weight, I haven't had anything like that in a while. I entertained the thought of canceling my entree and just ordering more rolls!

The first of two "Green Bean Exchanges" that we discovered. Found bookends that my sweet girl had asked me to look for here.


Well, blogger is acting goofy and won't let me add more pictures. So, I'll try again later. One last thought... isn't it wonderful that God, in His grace, allows u-turns?

"If my people who are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins, and will heal their land." 2 Chron. 7:14 Praise the Lord!

we bought a few things....

More later.... :-)

we are outta here!

My friend and I are headed out of town this afternoon to spend the weekend "antique shop hopping"! It is one of our favorite things to do. I booked a great hotel with all the "niceties" for $54/ night at hotels.com.... a gift from God! We have directions to "the biggest antique mall" in the state (or so they say!) and a few smaller shops. We will browse until we are hungry and then we will look for someplace original to eat. God always directs us to the neatest places..... we have never been disappointed. Another friend recommended the new movie "Letters to Juliet", so we are planning to see that, too. We never spend a lot of money.... we don't buy the "real" antiques, but we sure have a great time looking and spending time together. The spending time together is the really important thing. The trip just gives us the opportunity to do it! Some really funny things have happened to us on these trips.... when they do, my friend says "we are making memories"! I should have pictures to share and a movie review (and maybe a funny story to tell!) on Monday..... I hope you get to do something YOU enjoy this weekend! :-)

never too old to swing!

We have been enjoying these all week and there are many more blooms to come. I love pulling in our driveway and seeing them smiling at me!
About 7-8 years ago, J bought a swing for me for Mother's Day. We have really enjoyed it. In case you didn't know, we are big swingers! ha! ha! Last fall, the squirrels (those delightful little critters!) chewed on the fabric and pulled out the stuffing for their nests! It has looked pretty pitiful since. So, this spring, we started looking for new cushions. Whoa! they are expensive.... $199. So, I thought of trying to make some, but J wasn't crazy about that idea... not sure he thought I could do it correctly. Anyway, last Friday, an Ace Hardware sale paper came and, believe it or not.... drum roll, please... they had a bigger swing (three seats instead of two) for only $99! So, J picked it up, put it together and here it is.......
We have been swinging all weekend! J placed it close to the gardenias so we could smell their sweetness and away from the tree that the squirrels jumped from. So, maybe it will be safe for the summer and we will put the cushions in the garage in the fall. Our son took the other swing, so they get to figure out what to do about cushions. :-)

remembering a teacher

Jennifer at Trading Ashes for Beauty is starting Friday with Friends this week. She is going to post a subject or question on Friday and then you have until the next Friday to post about it. This week's question is "Who was your favorite teacher?" That was a long, long time ago for me! I've been mulling it over and I remember things that I liked about several teachers. But, it didn't seem like enough to call them "my favorite". Then I thought about Mrs. Guttenberg, 6th grade. At the time, I probably would have said I didn't like her much at all. She was very serious, didn't smile much and ran a "tight ship" as far as the classroom was concerned. But, she expected us to do our best, to be responsible, to have our assignments ready when they were due, and to show respect for her and our fellow classmates. Also, every day after lunch, she read to us for 30 minutes. She chose great books that captured our attention and our imagination. It was the best part of the day. At the time, I didn't realize she was teaching us about the joy of reading...... sneaky, huh? :-) I'm sure she didn't remember me much past that year, but I will always remember her and the important things she taught me in that red brick school house so many years ago.