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Stitching & Stewing on Sunday IV

My Mom (88) and her gentleman friend, Ken (89), have a favorite restaurant called Mr. & Mrs. J's. We eat there every time we visit them in Devils Lake. When the girls were young, they would color their placemat and leave it there to hang with dozens of others.They are most famous for their 'PigOut' Omelet, however, we have never ordered it. It would probably feed our whole family! Ken and I like their knephla soup. Today we did not have to wait to be seated...last night we waited 40 minutes for a table. We listened to Ken tell fish stories!

We were saying 'goodbye and were on our way by about 3:00.

Because we were traveling, my stitching was limited to what I could do in the car. I finished this scarf and added fringe. This is the super soft yarn that is made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles.
While we were driving we saw hundreds...and hundreds of deer along the highway. We stopped three times just to watch them cross the road. This picture is only a small glimpse of how many were scattered in the fields.

While we were at my mom's, she asked me to help her make Banana Bread, as she had some ripe bananas to use up. I brought my favorite recipe for banana bread. Notice it involves cream cheese! So this was my stewing for today...

Banana Bread

1 cup margarine

2 cups sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

2 tsp. lemon juice

4 eggs (1 at a time)

2 cups mashed bananas

1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese

1 tsp. salt

3 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp. soda

2 tsp. baking powder

1 cup nuts

Cream margarine and sugar, then blend vanilla and lemon juice. Add 1 egg at a time. Mix in all remaining ingredients (except the nuts) with the mixer. Fold in 1 cup nuts. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Finally Friday and this week's Follow-Ups

Yesterday...Parent/Teacher Conference Day...just a long day, as we teach our regular schedule and then return for conferences from 5-9. Since there are 130 students on my day's roster, I was anticipating a busy evening. Feeling rushed and stressed, I did go home for an hour after school and when I returned at 4:55 I found this awesome box of chocolates on my desk...no note...no clues...you can see it is bigger than my laptop. I wish I could share with all of you!

30 years of commitment During staff development time today, recognition was given to the teachers and support staff that have been with our school district for 25, 30 and 35 years. Cookies, coffee and stories were served. (Do you see me there on the 30 year list?) These co-workers have been my friends since the 70's. Together we've been through weddings, birth of our children, graduate degrees, family crisis, budget cuts, death of parents, building a new high school, graduation of our children, etc. etc. Now, young, new teachers are filling in the spaces left, as we all look to our retirement in the next few years.
Blog Give-Away

Another high-light was the package that came from Sharon at the Old Oak Swing. I was the lucky winner of her January give away. It is still winter in SD so the cozy throw and devotional book is just what I need for my weekentd 'retreat'. Visit her blog to see what she is giving away for February!
Blog Award

Last week, one of my blog friends, Debra at Needles, Fabric and Thread, has honored me with this award. Again, making my day! I do enjoy checking in with so many of you on a daily basis. Since in January, I had a difficult time narrowing a list to pass this on to, I am happy for another opportunity to share this award. Today, I want to share this with

Scrap & the City ~ Jasmine

Dakota City Quilter ~ Lori

Bittersweet Punkin ~ Robin

Oakleaf Hollow ~ Julie

Primgal ~ Jody

Deb's Primitive Kitchen ~ Debbie

Momma B's Front Porch ~ Vickie

Painted Kreations ~ Kris

Hopeful ~ Hope

Rabbit Hollow Prims ~ Susan

Privies & Prims ~ Doreen

Child Development Guests... Here's another pic of Steph and her little nephew in my Child Development Class. It looks as if he is getting ready to say something to us. Anyway, his mommy, Samantha, left such a sweet comment on my Tuesday's post...these are the very reasons why we teach for thirty years...

Things in my House Thursday XIV

Our kitchen has had fluorescent light panels in the soffets, providing us with great task lighting, without a lot of ambiance. Here is a picture of the panel above our sink and the panel above the range. For several months, there have been some problems...lightening like flashes...random off & on...so the project has begun. My handy hubby is taking out the old fixtures, filling in the huge cavity with sheet rock, and inserting recessed canister lighting.

Here is the new lighting above the peninsula. It certainly changes the atmosphere in my kitchen.

What'cha Workin' On Wednesday?

There was no time for crafting today...but I did get some prim bunnies listed in my Etsy Shop. Last night's focus was correcting & entering grades, as Parent/Teacher Conferences are tonight. Yes, it's one of those days when we teach from 8:10 to 3:20 and conference from 5 to 9. To compensate for our extra time put in today, we will have the day off on Monday, Presidents Day.

Tuesday's Topics

How was school today? My Independent Living class spends one day a week in the Foods Lab. Our focus is on convenience foods and convenience appliances. This week we made Skillet Spaghetti...prepared all in one pan! Saves on time and on dirty dishes!
Skillet Spaghetti
1 lb. ground beef
1 16 oz. can Italian tomatoes with basil, with liquid
2 tbsp. tomato paste
2 C. beef broth
2 C. water
8 oz. spaghetti
Brown ground beef until no longer pink. Drain grease. Add tomatoes and their liquid, tomato paste, beef broth, water, salt. Stir and heat until boiling. Reduce heat so liquid barely simmers. Cook 10 to 15 minutes or until spaghetti is tender, stirring freqently.

My Child Development class has completed their study of prenatal development and care. This week we begin the discussion of adjusting to parenting and caring for the newborn. One of my students (on the left) invited her sister (a former student) and baby nephew to class. It was a great experience for all.

They got to hold him and quiet him, as we interviewed his mom. They even changed his diaper. He was such a good baby!

In Fitness for Life class we are still talking about fat and making good choices. We made Apple Crisp and served it with both Regular & Light ice cream. Did you know there are only 3 grams of fat in Light Ice Cream, compared to 7 grams in Regular? That's in 1/2 cup...And...there was not much difference in taste!

Stitching & Stewing on Sunday III

Stewing this Sunday was actually baking. We tried a new recipe for muffins and they are fabulous. This time, I followed the directions to a 't'. Next time, I might try using some whole wheat flour and maybe, pecans in the topping.

Delicious Pineapple Muffins
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour muffin pans, or line with paper liners.
In a large bowl, stir together 2 cups flour, white sugar, baking powder and salt. Drain pineapple, reserving 1/4 cup juice. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour in the reserved juice, egg, milk, and 1/4 cup melted butter. Mix just until blended.
In a separate bowl, stir together the cinnamon, brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour, and 1/4 cup melted butter to make the topping.
Spoon batter into muffin cups, then spoon crushed pineapple over the batter and sprinkle with the cinnamon topping.

Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted in the crown of the muffin comes out clean.

Today's stitching...finishing the Bunny Brooch for my Etsy Shop. You will see the green bow tie bunny listed there, however all three colors are now finished and available.

Going to a Wedding & Glamor Girl Give-Away

With daughters ages 20 & 24, we will likely be invited to several weddings within the next several years. This is the second of Emily's classmates to be married. Here we are...ready to go.
Emily and Michelle became friends in kindergarten. We have memories of TBall, Dance Recitals, Sleep Overs, School Programs, Track & Field Day, and more. Best wishes to Michelle & Tony.

February Glamor Girl Give-Away.
Here are the names of blog friends that left comments during the first week of February. I am remembering that when I started my blog in June, that several weeks went by before I received even one comment, and then...when I did... it was just about as exciting as my first Etsy sale! And now, over 100 posts later, I still enjoy reading your comments.
Here is DD, car loaded, ready to head back to college, serving as the give-away random selection official.

Even Callie waits with much anticipation...
...and my first blog give-away winner is Renna, from Finding My Knitch. Please stop over to visit her in the near future.

Thank you to everyone that entered...I'm already plotting my give-away for March.