#greatjonesandcobakeoff

I received a text Saturday morning from my niece that it was the first Jones and Co bake off.  I had no prior warning (apparently neither did she).  Anyway it was to make a tart (or pie). 

I should have been adventuresome and tried a tart, but I checked with the peanut gallery and they wanted apple pie.  

I peeled and sliced six apples ...

I prepared a sauce for them and let them sit for 1/2 hour.

I then cooked down the sauce so it was not so saucy .. but thicker.

I cheated and used store-bought dough .. but cut the top and did a lattice weave .. notice that I actually wove it .. not just layered.

It turned out great!

The other entries were strawberry tart, raspberry tart and lemon meringue pie. 

Looking forward to the next challenge ..  hopefully I'll get more notice.  And, I promise to not cheat.

Weekly Motivation - Goals and Whatnot

One of things that I want to do this year, that I didn't put on my list is to live healthier.  To make better choices -- eating-wise and exercise-wise.  I initially started the year doing Noom.  I think it's a good thing, but not for me right now, so I cancelled it.  It has some great ideas though, ideas regarding lifestyle change not dieting.

Anyway, I need to figure out how to get my walking/exercise in when it's yucky outside.  I need to commit to going to the gym a few times a week (until I have a treadmill I can use).  It's time.  It's time to make some short term goals -- plans. 

So my plans for this week (since it's Thursday, my week will run Friday to next Thursday):

1 - start one of the books on the list.  I'll start with the Great Gatsby.  I read it before, I think, when the movie with Robert Redford came out.  I'll read it again anyway.

2 - go to the library to get the Great Gatsby or Catch 22 (if the Great Gatsby isn't available).

3 - re-start knitting the blanket for EOW.

This isn't exactly motivational but isn't he cute?

'twas the night before Christmas...

Here are the pics of the Night Before Christmas books that I got this past year.  I'll add them to my page as well.

It's been a quiet but busy week.  I haven't accomplished much. No sewing. Very little exercising.  Just hanging out. 

I think I need to make some plans.  How does that go, if you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time ... anyway if I plan to do nothing that's probably what I'll end up doing.

I need to box some stuff up to take to my daughter's and get some sheets.  That's it for plans -- oh and make sure I have stockings for the party tomorrow night -- maybe a shawl or scarf or something ... we'll see.

2018 Wrap Up

So in 2018, I completed 20 of my goals and partially completed 6 goals.  So I did about half of what I had planned. 

Here are the goals that I completed:

• Visit Buffalo
• make quilt for my #5 grandchild
• attended Gallifrey One  
• travel to Arizona
• StoryCorps interview with grandsons
• Send Birthday cards to my children and grandchildren 
• Participate in the AtoZ Challenge
• Birthday blog posts ...
• Visit Seattle
• Road trip (to Arizona for Thanksgiving) 
• 1SE  (one second everyday) project
• Work on decluttering 
• Add to Night Before Christmas collection
• Go to a minor/major league baseball game
• Put money in emergency fund
• Visit the redwoods
• Go to Napa/wine tasting
• Watch a sunrise

• Go on a date with my husband to the movies (just the two of us)
• Make a list for 2019

Here are the goals that I finished partially

• finish WIPS (only two)
• Blog 2x a week(I did a lot more than last year but wasn't consistent)\
• try something new/different each month
• Complete "Couch to 5K" (at least once)
• Take 12 Saturday morning walks
• Send out Christmas cards

Here are the goals that went nowhere...

1.  Go to Wales
5.  Knit a blanket for grandchild #5
7.  Continue reading 12 biographies (still in the middle of #2)
11.  Get headboard for beds.
17.  Replace grill and hubcaps on my car
19.  Have a 150,000 step week
20.  Make a dessert souffle
21.  Watch the original Star Wars trilogy
26.  Make 6 new soups
27.  Make 6 new breads
28.  Go to Nevada with Nevada??
30.  Add to Judy Bolton collection
32. 1400 FitBit miles
33.  35,000 step day
34.  Make pillowcases for me
35.  Make a photo calendar
36.  Make malted waffles
37.  Make doughnuts
38.  Organize sewing room
39.  Cover living room pillows
41.  Do something spontaneous
42.  Go to a museum
43.  Go to the beach
46.  Dinner party?
48.  Watch a sunset
51.  Get two different scotches

Pretty good.  Hopefully, 2019 will be even more successful.

First Bread of 2019

I want to learn more about bread -- about making / baking bread.  That's why I have this as one of my goals this year.  My first loaf I made following the directions from the Tassajara Bread Book.

This was the book my uncle used and I referenced it in an earlier post.   I made a batch (two loaves) in September when we got back from my aunt's memorial.  This time I tried to follow the directions exactly.

 I started with a sponge.

Here are the finished loaves. 

Everything Changes ..

So, there are a few things that have been going on with me that I have not written about.  Mostly because I didn't know how things would turn out and I wanted to wait until they were resolved.

One of those things was work.  At the end of March, I was told by my company that the office was going to close its doors.  My bosses were looking to move, hopefully together and hopefully bring me along.  They didn't know what would happen (obviously) and they wanted me to be aware of the situation.  When I first started working, if you worked well with someone and they moved to a new firm, you went with them -- you were a team and that's how it was.  It's not that way today.

So, I started looking for a job.  I've been a legal secretary for 26+ years (working at an Intellectual Property ("IP") firm).  I've been an Office Manager for 10+ years (also at an IP firm).  I've been doing paralegal work for much of that time (also IP).  It was hard for me to get interviews -- whether it was age or just not the right set of skills (or perhaps my resume wasn't what it needed to be).  I was working with several recruiters.  I looked on Indeed,  I looked on LinkedIn.  I had several interviews and nothing was panning out.  I was very discouraged -- and stressed out.  I need to work.  It's not quite retirement time.

So, maybe in early July, one of my bosses let me know that the office was closing and we needed to sell the office furniture.  I put an email out to the association I belong to, asking if anyone was interested in any furniture.  I ended up talking to one of my colleagues and got an interview with her firm -- it wasn't exactly what I was looking for -- but it seemed an interesting option.  Long story short, I met with her people, they seemed great -- but they needed to interview some more.  I lined up a couple more interviews and then received an offer from the interesting option.  I was thrilled.  I accepted and started working with them at the beginning of August.

Everything is new.  Everything is different.

In the meantime, my former employers/bosses ended up going together to a different place, but there wasn't a position for me.  So, my getting this other position was a very good thing.

Now, the sad part of this is that for the past 26 years, I have worked for/with the same person.  He and I were not just co-workers, we were/are friends (and that obviously won't change), but when you have seen/talked with someone for just about every day for that length of time and then it just stops, just like that, it's hard.  It makes me sad.  I'm very happy where I am, but I'm sad that he and I aren't working together any more.

The other thing going on was with my father.  In May, he fell and broke his leg. Because he was unable to walk, he could no longer live in our home.  He was in a nursing home/rehab facility and refused physical therapy and at that point we decided that he needed to live near one of my other siblings .. he went to live near my sister in Oxford, Ohio. That was a great relief for me and my husband.  However, things did not go well.  He was in and out of the hospital -- in a few different nursing facilities and becoming more miserable, physically and mentally, all the time; steadily declining.

On December 23, my sister called to let me know that he had died.  He had died in his sleep.

I feel bad that when he left I was really angry with him and never saw him again to apologize or leave things on a better note.

Here's a picture of my dad from last Christmas.  His 90th birthday.

52 things to do in 2019

So here's my list for this year ..

1.  Go to the Kentucky Derby - DONE!!
2.  Visit Buffalo
3.  Finish the Grinch quilt
4.  Make two quilts (the Grinch + one other quilt)
5.  Knit a blanket for EOW
6.  Attend Gallifrey One
7.  Visit Aunt Mearlene
8.  Complete "Couch to 5K"
9.  1SE  (one second everyday) project
10.  Participate in the AtoZ Challenge
11.  Try something new/different each month
12.  Birthday Blog Posts
13.  Blog once a week, every week
14.  Go to Michigan
15.  2,730,000 fitbit steps = 1200 fitbit miles
16. Go to Adam's wedding
17. Go to Seattle
18. Bake new breads
19. Work on photography
20. Make pillow cases for me
21. Make gifts for all my children (and blog about it)
22. Meet my emergency fund goal
23. Begin reading the 100 books to read before you die
24. See a sunrise
25. See a sunset
26. Go to Arizona
27. Visit family (siblings/cousins/etc)
28. Make a dessert souffle
29. Work on 15 minutes a day discipline (Sew, Walk, Read, Clean)
30. Wine tasting
31. Watch original Star Wars trilogy
32. Story Corp interviews with grand kids
33. Make bread sticks
34. Get bikes
35. Work on scanning old pictures
36. Scan Howard's WWI letters
37. Nevada trip
38. Get another "Night Before Christmas" book
39. Make and execute a plan for watching less TV
40. Plant garden (tomato plants)
41. Pick berries/make jam
42. Take 6 different walks/hikes
43. Go on a date with my husband (at least one)
44. Re-start cocktail Wednesday (monthly)
45. Have a 60th Birthday Party -- or something
46. Visit Yosemite
47. Decorate for Christmas (before or on Thanksgiving)
48.  Make a stuffed animal
49.  Visit Tahoe
50.  Go to the beach
51.  Try a new ethnic food
52. Make a list for 2020...

One Second Every Day - 2018 Edition