World AIDS Day

December 1st is World AIDS Day and is dedicated to raising awareness of the global AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. It is one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history having killed more than 25 millon people. In 2005 alone an estamated 3.1 millon have died and over half a millon were children. The World AIDS Campaign has chosen the theme - Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise as the theme for World AIDS days through to 2010.

For 12 Ways you can help in the fight aganist AIDS go to:
http://www.worldvision.org/get_involved.nsf/child/worldaidsday_2006?Open&lid=worldaids_day&lpos=today

To read about Episcopal Relief and Development comprehensive HIV/AIDS care programs
go to: http://www.er-d.org/programs_41310_ENG_HTM.htm

Wearing a Red Ribbon is the global symbol for solidarity with HIV-positive people and those living with AIDS.

TV Land Lists 100 Greatest Catchphrases

The TV Land network will air a countdown special, "The 100 Greatest TV Quotes & Catch Phrases," over five days starting Dec. 11.
"We have found that television is such a huge part of baby boomers' DNA that it makes sense that so much of America's pop culture jargon has come from TV," said Larry Jones, TV Land president.

They found the greatest number of moments, 26, came from the 1970s. TV Land identified nine moments from this decade. Ten are from commercials, and 28 from comedies, including six from "Saturday Night Live."

How many of them do you know or have said? Check out the list. Add your own in the comment area.

In alphabetical order:

_"Aaay" (Fonzie, "Happy Days")

_"And that's the way it is"

_"Ask not what your country can do for you ..." (John F. Kennedy)

_"Baby, you're the greatest" (Jackie Gleason as Ralph Kramden, "The Honeymooners")

_"Bam!" (Emeril Lagasse, "Emeril Live")

_"Book 'em, Danno" (Steve McGarrett, "Hawaii Five-O")

_"Come on down!" (Johnny Olson, "The Price is Right")

_"Danger, Will Robinson" (Robot, "Lost in Space")

_"De plane! De plane!" (Tattoo, "Fantasy Island")

_"Denny Crane" (Denny Crane, "Boston Legal")

_"Do you believe in miracles?" (Al Michaels, 1980 Winter Olympics)

_"D'oh!" (Homer Simpson, "The Simpsons")

_"Don't make me angry ..." (David Banner, "The Incredible Hulk")

_"Dyn-o-mite" (J.J., "Good Times")

_"Elizabeth, I'm coming!" (Fred Sanford, "Sanford and Son")

_"Gee, Mrs. Cleaver ..." (Eddie Haskell, "Leave it to Beaver")

_"God'll get you for that" (Maude, "Maude")

_"Good grief" (Charlie Brown, "Peanuts" specials)

_"Good night, and good luck" (Edward R. Murrow, "See It Now")

_"Good night, John Boy" ("The Waltons")

_"Have you no sense of decency?" (Joseph Welch to Sen. McCarthy)

_"Heh heh" (Beavis and Butt-head, "Beavis and Butthead")

_"Here it is, your moment of Zen" (Jon Stewart, "The Daily Show")

_"Here's Johnny!" (Ed McMahon, "The Tonight Show")

_"Hey now!" (Hank Kingsley, "The Larry Sanders Show")

_"Hey hey hey!" (Dwayne Nelson, "What's Happening!!")

_"Hey hey hey!" (Fat Albert, "Fat Albert")

_"Holy (whatever), Batman!" (Robin, "Batman")

_"Holy crap!" (Frank Barone, "Everybody Loves Raymond")

_"Homey don't play that!" (Homey the Clown, "In Living Color")

_"How sweet it is!" (Jackie Gleason, "The Jackie Gleason Show")

_"How you doin'?" (Joey Tribbiani, "Friends")

_"I can't believe I ate the whole thing" (Alka Seltzer ad)

_"I know nothing!" (Sgt. Schultz, "Hogan's Heroes")

_"I love it when a plan comes together" (Hannibal, "The A-Team")

_"I want my MTV!" (MTV ad)

_"I'm Larry, this is my brother Darryl ..." (Larry, "Newhart")

_"I'm not a crook ..." (Richard Nixon)

_"I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV" (Vicks Formula 44 ad)

_"I'm Rick James, bitch!" (Dave Chappelle as Rick James, "Chappelle's Show")

_"Is that your final answer?" (Regis Philbin, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire")

_"It keeps going and going and going ..." (Energizer Batteries ad)

_"It takes a licking ..." (Timex ad)

_"Jane, you ignorant slut" (Dan Aykroyd to Jane Curtin, "Saturday Night Live")

_"Just one more thing ..." (Columbo, "Columbo")

_"Let's be careful out there" (Sgt. Esterhaus, "Hill Street Blues")

_"Let's get ready to rumble!" (Michael Buffer, various sports events)

_"Live long and prosper" (Spock, "Star Trek")

_"Makin' whoopie" (Bob Eubanks, "The Newlywed Game")

_"Mom always liked you best" (Tommy Smothers, "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour")

_"Never assume ..." (Felix Unger, "The Odd Couple")

_"Nip it!" (Barney Fife, "The Andy Griffith Show")

_"No soup for you!" (The Soup Nazi, "Seinfeld")

_"Norm!" ("Cheers")

_"Now cut that out!" (Jack Benny, "The Jack Benny Program")

_"Oh, my God! They killed Kenny!" (Stan and Kyle, "South Park")

_"Oh, my nose!" (Marcia Brady, "The Brady Bunch")

_"One small step for man ..." (Neil Armstrong)

_"Pardon me, would you have any Grey Poupon?" (Grey Poupon ad)

_"Read my lips: No new taxes!" (George H.W. Bush)

_"Resistance is futile" (Picard as Borg, "Star Trek: The Next Generation")

_"Say good night, Gracie" (George Burns, "The Burns & Allen Show")

_"Schwing!" (Mike Myers and Dana Carvey as Wayne and Garth, "Saturday Night Live")

_"Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy" (Lloyd Bentsen to Dan Quayle)

_"Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids" (Trix cereal ad)

_"Smile, you're on `Candid Camera'" ("Candid Camera")

_"Sock it to me" ("Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In")

_"Space, the final frontier ..." (Capt. Kirk, "Star Trek")

_"Stifle!" (Archie Bunker, "All in the Family")

_"Suit up!" (Barney Stinson, "How I Met Your Mother")

_"Tastes great! Less filling!" (Miller Lite beer ad)

_"Tell me what you don't like about yourself" (Dr. McNamara and Dr. Troy, "Nip/Tuck")

_"That's hot" (Paris Hilton, "The Simple Life")

_"The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat" (Jim McKay, "ABC's Wide World of Sports")

_"The tribe has spoken" (Jeff Probst, "Survivor")

_"The truth is out there" (Fox Mulder, "The X-Files")

_"This is the city ..." (Sgt. Joe Friday, "Dragnet")

_"Time to make the donuts" ("Dunkin' Donuts" ad)

_"Two thumbs up" (Siskel & Ebert, "Siskel & Ebert")

_"Up your nose with a rubber hose" (Vinnie Barbarino, "Welcome Back, Kotter")

_"We are two wild and crazy guys!" (Steve Martin and Dan Aykroyd as Czech playboys, "Saturday Night Live")

_"Welcome to the O.C., bitch" (Luke, "The O.C.")

_"Well, isn't that special?" (Dana Carvey as the Church Lady, "Saturday Night Live")

_"We've got a really big show!" (Ed Sullivan, "The Ed Sullivan Show")

_"Whassup?" (Budweiser ad)

_"What you see is what you get!" (Geraldine, "The Flip Wilson Show")

_"Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Willis?" (Arnold Drummond, "Diff'rent Strokes")

_"Where's the beef?" (Wendy's ad)

_"Who loves you, baby?" (Kojak, "Kojak")

_"Would you believe?" (Maxwell Smart, "Get Smart")

_"Yabba dabba do!" (Fred Flintstone, "The Flintstones")

_"Yada, yada, yada" ("Seinfeld")

_"Yeah, that's the ticket" (Jon Lovitz as the pathological liar, "Saturday Night Live")

_"You eeeediot!" (Ren, "Ren & Stimpy")

_"You look mahvelous!" (Billy Crystal as Fernando, "Saturday Night Live")

_"You rang?" (Lurch, "The Addams Family")

_"You're fired!" (Donald Trump, "The Apprentice")

_"You've got spunk ..." (Lou Grant, "The Mary Taylor Moore Show")

Apple Walnut Pie

Crust -

2 1/2 cups flour
2 sticks of cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup ice cold water
I find it easiest to make this in the food processor with the knife blade. This is more than enough to make 2 crusts and you'll probably have a little left over.

Filling -

You can mix all these ingredients in a large bowl, starting with the lemon juice on the apples while you are getting the other ingredients together.
6 to 8 apples, peeled and sliced depending on how deep of a pie plate you are using
I like to use a mixture of baking apples, Granny Smith, MacIntosh, Honey Crisp, Winesap
juice of 1 small lemon
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1 - 5oz. jar of Smucker's Walnut in syrup-topping
(put a sharp knife into the jar pressing it aganist the sides to cut up the walnuts into smaller pieces)You will add the entire contents of the jar to the mixture.
a little drizzle of maple syrup, about a Tablespoon or so.
1 teaspoon cinammon
3 Tablespoons flour

Brush the crust with a slightly beaten egg with a little water added, teaspoon or so.
Bake: 450' for 20 minutes and then lower to 375' and bake for 50 minutes more. After the first 20 minutes when you go to lower the oven you can put a pie crust shield or foil on the edges to prevent them from over-browning.
Important: Bake this on a cookie sheet with sides. It will run over a bit. Also don't forget a few holes in the top crust for steam to escape!

I made this recipe up and it got me a first place ribbon at the local county fair back in 1995.

For more about baking with apples go to:
http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Baking-with-Apples/detail.aspx

Celebrations at the Geranium Farm

This past Saturday night there were celebrations at the "Farm" as Barbara and Q hosted a party for newly engaged daughter, Anna and her fiancée, Chad.

Pictured above Q toasts the happy couple.
Barbara and Q also celebrated their 17th wedding anniversay this same evening!
Best Wishes to you all!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends,

the old and the new.

Ralph Waldo Emerson
US essayist & poet (1803 - 1882)

Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them,

is the true measure of our thanksgiving.

~W.T. Purkiser

Fancy Napkin Folds

Release the inner Martha Stewart in you! Fancy ways to fold your napkins. I know like you have nothing better to do. You could have the kids do it, if you need to keep them out from under foot in the kitchen. Kinda like origami for your holiday table. Hee-hee...

http://kitchen.robbiehaf.com/NapkinFolds.html

Thanksgiving Stuff from Last Year

For Tips, Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe, and History of Thanksgiving go here:
http://geraniumfarmhodgepodge.blogspot.com/2005_10_30_geraniumfarmhodgepodge_archive.html

DJ's Maple Walnut Pie:
http://geraniumfarmhodgepodge.blogspot.com/2005_11_06_geraniumfarmhodgepodge_archive.html

Carrot Souffle', Pumpkin Yams, Broccoli Cheese Casserole, Pumpkin Dip
http://geraniumfarmhodgepodge.blogspot.com/2005_11_13_geraniumfarmhodgepodge_archive.html

Poem
http://geraniumfarmhodgepodge.blogspot.com/2005_11_20_geraniumfarmhodgepodge_archive.html

The Turkey Shot Out of the Oven

The turkey shot out of the oven
and rocketed into the air,
it knocked every plate off the table
and partly demolished a chair.
It ricocheted into a corner
and burst with a deafening boom,
then splattered all over the kitchen,
completely obscuring the room.
It stuck to the walls and the windows,
it totally coated the floor,
there was turkey attached to the ceiling,
where there'd never been turkey before.
It blanketed every appliance,
It smeared every saucer and bowl,
there wasn't a way I could stop it,
that turkey was out of control.
I scraped and I scrubbed with displeasure,
and thought with chagrin as I mopped,
that I'd never again stuff a turkey
with popcorn that hadn't been popped

by Jack Prelutsky

These Sisters Stick Together!

Sisters Kristee and Kellee holding their new daughters

as Great-Grandmother Marie looks on.

My husband Paul's cousin Steve and his wife Ro, just became grandparents. I am mentioning this because something happened that is just a little out of the ordinary. You see both their daughters were pregnant at the same time with their first babies. Now they were due several weeks apart and were to deliver at the same hospital. Well, don't you know, Kellee goes in about a week late and Kristee has to go in early due to high blood pressure. Kellee delivered on Wednesday, and Kristee followed the next day. Both had girls! Kellee and Bobby - Brianna Lynn weighing in at 7lbs. 13oz. and Kristee and Sal - Victoria Marie at 6lbs. 2oz.
Best Wishes to you both and to the new grandparents!
(The middle names honor the babies Great-Grandmothers.)

The new baby cousins born one day apart!

Propel Powder Packets

Propel now comes in powder packets. Berry, Lemon, and Strawberry-Kiwi

Secret Language of Babies

If you missed this Oprah the other day you can still check it out on her website and hear the different sounds babies make up to 3 months old to indicate their needs. New moms and dads check it out. Learn what your baby is trying to tell you!
The The Dunstan Baby Language DVD, will be available November 27th. Go to here to preorder it: www.dunstanbaby.com

To read about and to see parts of the show from Oprah go here:
http://www2.oprah.com/tows/slide/200611/20061113/slide_20061113_350_101.jhtml

Neh="I'm hungry"
Owh="I'm sleepy"
Heh="I'm experiencing discomfort"
Eair="I have lower gas"
Eh="I need to burp"

Black Friday

You know the Friday after Thanksgiving. The official start of the holiday shopping season. Each year the stores open earlier and earlier. The store my son works for part time will be opening at 5am. He'll have to be there at 4.
Now you can even checkout the sales and plan your strategy as the ads for this day are posted on the internet. When will the madness end?
As for me, I'll be sleeping late. I'll have none of it.

Just have to be a part of the madness? Then go to:
http://blackfriday.gottadeal.com/

BrainPOP

BrainPOP is an educational program developed according to national education standards spanning six main subjects including: Science, Math, English, Social Studies, Health, and Technology. There is even a newly added Arts and Music.
It features more than 500 animated movies. Each movie is supported by activities such as a quiz, comic strip, experiment and other printable worksheets, all of which speak to kids in a language and voice that they can understand.
BrainPOP's movies main focus is for kids in grades 3-12. For content aimed at grades K-3, there is BrainPOP Jr.
So if you home school or your kids could use additional tutoring, this is a great website. It is also available to school districts. It would be a wonderful addition to the classroom, computer room, or media center.
BrainPOP is a subscription-based product but you can sample part of it for free or try a 14 day free trial. Check it out. You won't be disappointed!
You can get a family subscription for $99 per year paying in one lump sum, or $9.95 for monthly billing. This gets you 3 log-ons per day. There are other plans available for home schooling and schools.www.brainpop.com

If you are looking for a tutor you may want to try here: https://www.tutoo.com/

You Know You Really Feel Middle Age When . . .

. . . you go for that first colonoscopy. Yes, that's what I did yesterday on a bright absolutely beautifully warm and sunny autumn day. The previous day we had torrential rain. The day of my prep. It is as they say, the prep is the worst part. The procedure is nothing. For prep I took my four pills at 2:30 in the afternoon, by 5pm I was feeling nauseous. It went away in 15 minutes or so, just shortly before I had to start drinking 8 oz. of that awful tasting stuff every 10 minutes until it was all gone. You know the rest. The actual procedure took only about 15 minutes. No polyps or anything. I have 5 years before I have to do it again.
If you haven't had it done and you're over 50, get it done. It's really not a big deal. It's worth it for the peace of mind. Want to learn more?

Go here: http://www.webmd.com/hw/colorectal_cancer/hw209694.asp

Homemade Chinese Food Gift Box

Here's something I made and it didn't require any sewing.
I first opened up a quart size Chinese food carton to use as a pattern.
I traced it on to fast2fuse interfacing which is double-sided fusible stiff interfacing. I found it in my local fabric shop.
See: http://www.ctpub.com/showproducts.cfm?Step=1&CrossCatID=8
Next I traced the retro salt and peppers print just a little larger so it could come around into the inside. I traced a second print for the inside and cut it just a little inside the line.
Following the directions given I ironed the outside fabric first, did some clipping and brought it to the inside edge, and then pressed the inside edges down all around.
I placed some Double Stick Fusible Web called Steam-A-Seam2 all around the insides edges that were overlaped.
I ironed on the inside fabric.
Using the pattern carton I made all the folds on the fabric.
I then took the end of a knife and made tiny holes where the ribbon had to go. A knot was placed both on the inside and outside, to hold all the layers together. Lastly I cut the interlocking slits for the lid to be able to close it.
The picture below shows it opened.

The Evolution of Silverware

Here’s something to think about when setting your table for Thanksgiving.
The spoon was the first utensil to be used, followed by the knife. The fork as we know it today wasn’t used as an eating utensil until the 16th century, that partly in thanks to the devil. Before that it was used manly for spearing things.
The fork reminded people of the devil’s horns. Also it was the idea that God gave us hands and food, and that we should take that which was given by God with our hands to convey it to our mouths. The Catholic Church greatly resisted the introduction of the fork.
In time the fork made its way to Britain and France from Italy. If you were invited to someone’s castle for dinner you had to bring your own cutlery. This is when the custom of turning your knife blade in towards your plate got started as turning it towards your neighbor would be a sign of hostility.
John Winthrop, the famous Puritan and founder of the Massachusetts Bay colony, had the first fork positively identified to America in 1630. Only those that were well-off had even one fork, let alone a set to serve your guests – which most of the founding fathers were.
In 1859 there was a huge silver strike in Virginia City, Nevada. This made silver and silver plate cheaper. Now implements for every conceivable use were being made. In got so out of hand with thousands of pieces to silver set, that in 1926 Herbert Hoover, who was secretary of commerce, decreed that there could be no more than 55 pieces to a silver service. That made a lot of servant-less housewives happy.
So, there’s a little something to think about if you’re setting out your best china and silver for the holiday table.

(From CBS News Program – Sunday Morning, The Evolution Of Silverware, October 15, 2006)

To Find Out Where To Vote and More

Don't know where your polling place is?
Go here: http://www.vote411.org/pollingplacebystate.php

Baby Quilt Kit in Pinks and Greens

Another baby quilt kit from the Rag Shop.

A Beautiful Tribute

I ask today that you please go to More or Less Church and read the beautiful tribute Matt, our webmaster, wrote about the passing of his grandmother. It made me cry. Our hearts go out to you and your family Matt....

Find a Flu Shot

Here's the easiest way to find out where they are giving flu shots in your area.

Just go to:

http://www.findaflushot.com/

Turkey Placemat Completed!

Here's the completed placemat.
I used a spool of multicolored thread to machine stitch around it.
The body is dark brown corduroy and the feet are felt.
The eyes are embroidered.