Pumpkin Something...

Mmmmmm...I can almost taste it now! This recipe was born out of a deep need for something creamy, rich and sweet. I looked at a can of pumpkin and thought: "I can make something like pumpkin pie!" So, with a little tweaking, I came up with what I called Pumpkin Something I have found the "suffix" something to be quite useful when I'm not sure just what I've made but want to give it a cute name. It works great for pumpkin. Pumpkin Something--just has a ring to it, don't you know?




Pumpkin Something

This recipe begins its life as pie and ends it as something much more satisfying...

*1 can of pumpkin (mashed, unsweetened), about 16 oz
*1 10 oz can of evaporated milk (can you believe I actually had this just sitting in
the cabinet??
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 T vanilla
3 eggs
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t (each) ginger,nutmeg,cloves
please feel free to add more or less of these spice ingredients. myself, I'm always heavy on vanilla and cinnamon--I would probably use more cinnamon than this and no cloves, since I don't have any!!

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Puree. Grease 6 custard dishes and pour mixture into prepared dishes. Bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit until set (test with fork for doneness). You can actually eat this mixture at any level of done-ness, just make sure the eggs are thoroughly cooked!

Research on acorns and winters

I love old wive's tales and farmer knowledge regarding the seasons. With the veritable rainfall of acorns in our yard, I thought I would do a bit of research concerning the old tale of acorns and wintertime. To my surprise, I found that many areas around the country are experiencing this same abundance of acorns.

How about you? Have you ever heard stories of the amount of acorns falling predicting the weather in any way? Do me a favor and vote above. I would love to hear what my readers think. If you have any comments or suggestions to improve the poll, please leave it in the comment box. I look forward to hearing from you all!

in the country...

When was the last time you saw a firefly? For those of you who live in the country, you may say you saw one tonight. I always forget about fireflies until I visit my family in the summertime. There are still for real fireflies flitting about in the back country of Louisiana. And, I caught one of them! Of course, it was a catch and release kind of situation, but I was thrilled nonetheless. The firefly stayed on my finger long enough to blink at me and then she was gone again. What a nice experience!

A few nights later, I had an altogether different insect experience. I was standing in the front yard of my sister T's little house when a bug flew directly into my mouth. Why was my mouth even open? I wasn't talking to anyone. I wasn't eating or singing. For some reason, my mouth was open and the unknown flying insect took the opportunity to fly inside. I coughed the rest of the night and the next morning. I seriously thought the bug was trying to crawl out of my mouth. I believed I could feel its little legs scratching on my throat. It wasn't a nice experience. You know what makes it even better? The lovebugs are in full force around these parts. That means I got two for the excitement of one. Why swallow only one flying critter when two will do just as well?

Yum...

More birthday fun...

I love stretching out a birthday as long as possible. My birthday was yesterday but James had another activity planned for today. We went kayaking out in the bayou and on into the gulf. Kayaking in the gulf was fun but the swells took some getting used to. Then, rowing all the way back to the launch from the gulf--against the current (on only two pieces of toast!!) was almost more than I could manage. At the very end of the trip, we saw a bald eagle flying overhead. I didn't get any photos of it but it was lovely!

fall party

At least, it's still fall here. We will be having our first really cold weather this week. We went to a party and drank cider and saw kiddos and bobbed for apples (it's really kinda gross, you know), ate chili and roasted marshmallows.

Pictures are of:
1. birthday girl
2. me
3. dirty apples
4. kermit
5. cute elephant I found at goodwill. someone made her and I need that pattern!

Goin' to Helen!

We are planning to go to Helen, Georgia for our anniversary. It is a lovely little Bavarian town nestled in the mountains of North Georgia. We're excited about it and were planning to camp out in the state park. On second thought, I checked the extended weather forecast and I'm not sure this girl can handle 35 degrees in a tent!

Family Visit

Begonia at the plant sale

Friday night memory game

Laurel at the keys

That's Micah's face


Well, Mother, Micah and Laurel have been visiting this week. Mother says she is tiring me out. After weeks of no transportation, I am not accustomed to going whenever the fancy strikes--unless I go on a bike!

We went to the Milton plant sale on Saturday--great folks out there. James and I hope to take a class sometime soon. Sunday, we just kind of relaxed. Yesterday, we went to fetch Micah and Laurel from the Parry's. My first visit to Crestview was nice. We saw lots of cute little shops--everyone was friendly--well, there was that one lady...I broke two vows by shopping at Wal-Mart and going through the drive-thru at Macdonalds!!

We aim to misbehave some more today...