Cassie-b

Vacation in New Hampshire

We had a nice week (well, nearly a week) visiting relatives in Rindge, New Hampshire.

Because their large house was bursting with people, Don and I stayed at the Woodbound Inn by a very nice lake. It was only a couple of miles from their home. The people were very friendly and we enjoyed our stay very much.

We took a little side trip to the Cathedral of the Pines, and got a tour of the area. There was a wedding taking place there, and we got to see a bit of the ceremony (trying not to be noticed).

Rindge is in the shadow of Mount Monondauk, the second (or maybe first) most climbed mountain in the world. We didn’t climb it this time, but will give it a try next time we're in the area.

I will try to post some personal photos later, but haven’t got them ready yet.

Vacation ended

We just got back from our short (4-day)vacation in New Hampshire this evening. We had a good time. The leaves had just started turning, and it was pretty. But it'll be even prettier next week.

We picked up our cat from the kitty sitter, and I fixed some food from the freezer, and now I'm ready for a nice, long sleep before going off to work tomorrow.

I'll try to catch up tomorrow.
Have a great evening!

Spilt Salt

I thought this was kind of interesting, although I'm not superstitious.

Spilt Salt
Salt was once considered a very precious commodity; as important as money has grown to be.

Because it was so valued within ancient societies and was very expensive to buy and also very difficult to extract, it has had quite a lot of symbolism and superstition attached to it over the course of human history.

Salt was used as a preservative and, in this sense, began to symbolize life and the avoidance of decay. It became a sign of hospitality, trust and friendship because of its high price. Soldiers in Rome were often paid in salt and, in this way, it was also a form of currency. This latter use of salt is the source of the expression that a person was "not worth his salt."

To spill salt then was an extraordinary waste and the superstition that claimed bad luck would visit anyone who spilt salt was invented specifically to deter this behavior.

• If salt was spilt in a particular person's direction, bad luck was coming to that person.
• Spilt salt should not be cleaned up but should instead by tossed over the left shoulder, into the face of the Devil.
• Enough tears must be cried to dissolve the spilt salt in order to reverse the bad luck that was coming your way.
Other superstitions for salt:
• Wearing a small bag of salt around your neck protected you from the Evil Eye.
• A pinch of salt was left in a baby's crib until it was christened.
• Salt was an unlucky word for sailors and should never be mentioned at sea.
• Salt was thrown on the threshold of a new house for good luck.

Are you superstitious?

Just how old are you?

Do you know how many days you’ve been around?

Well, here’s a way for find out without counting on your fingers:

Easy appetizer

We had company for a picnic supper yesterday, and I made one of the easiest ever dips.

Cream Cheese and Salsa Dip

1 (8-ounce) jar any-style salsa
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

Mix together, refrigerate a couple of hours, and serve with tortilla chips, corn chips or crackers or veggies.

How quick and easy can you get? And it really is good.

Doves again!

My friend M is enjoying watching his second family of doves in the hanging basket of petunias on his balcony. He sent me more pictures. What a great experience!

The last picture is the last baby on his first voyage from the nest!

School has started

When I taught nursery school, we had one set of parents - 3 kids, 3 different years - who came to the first day, and took pictures and carried on till the child cried.

Then they went happily on their way, certain that the little tyke still loved them.

End of summer

Summer’s winding down here in my part of the world. I’m going to miss the flowers.

But autumn is nearly upon us, and the changing of the leaves is just beautiful. We like to take rides into the country and just ooh and aah for hours. We live near Pennsylvania Dutch country in Lancaster, PA, and it's always so beautiful on the back roads. That's one of our mandantory trips each autumn.

Soup Season - well, almost

It wasn’t quite so hot this weekend, and I decided it’s time to make a little soup.

And here’s the one I chose to start the season:

30 minute Cream of Mushroom Soup
3 cups (about a pound) chopped fresh mushrooms
½ cup finely chopped onion
½ cup chopped celery
about 4 Tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons flour
salt-pepper
2 cans chicken broth
3 cups milk

In large saucepan, sauté mushrooms, onions, and celery in butter till soft.
Stir in flour and seasonings.
Gradually stir in chicken broth and milk, cooking till slightly thickened. Stir a lot, and do not boil.

It was absolutely delicious.
And I'm having leftovers tonight!

A Favorite Expression of my Father's

We just happen to own 2 shares of stock from a company who shall remain nameless (we didn’t buy this unbelievably awful stock, we somehow acquired it from other stock that we lost at least the sleeves of our shirt).

The two shares are worth $12.50 each. The company would like us to sell back the stock to them, and will only charge us a $5.00 fee for handling the sale.

That made me angry. I told Don to tell them“to go pound sand” ( a favorite saying of my Father's – a man who had a real way with the English language).

Then I had to look up the phrase. And here’s what I found.

The origin of the expression "go pound sand" is from a longer expression, not to know (have enough sense to) pound sand down a rathole.

Filling rat holes with sand is menial work, and telling someone to pound sand down a hole is like telling them to go fly a kite.

The expression dates to at least 1912 and is common in the midwestern United States.

September Holidays

With so much going on, I simply forgot to post my September Holiday calendar on the 1st. So, only a little late, I have posted it in the extended entry.

And I hope you can find an unusual holiday or two to celebrate.

I TOOK 2 GOLF LESSONS, BUT...

Many years ago in Scotland, a new game was invented.
It was ruled "Gentlemen Only...Ladies Forbidden"...and thus the word GOLF entered into the English language.

Could that be the reason I was so bad at the game?

This has been such a hard week. I thought a little levity might help.