WHO'S THAT KNOCKING ON MY DOOR?

It's a rainy rainy Halloween Saturday here in Atlanta.......it's about 11:00a.m......me and the Boss have just gotten up which leaves me in P.J's and if you have been reading this blog for any length of time you know the Boss is on the couch "pantsless"....

The door bell rings.....the dog goes crazy....more so then usual....then the sound of someone pounding on the door.....really pounding.....I get up from the couch to peek out the window to see who is on the porch and what do I see......

A very tall man with those dread-lock thingies and dressed very colorfully.....I'm thinking some sort of Jamaican Costume?........after all it is Halloween......I go back and sit down and inform the Boss of my findings......Some sort of teenage Trick or Treater......and I am not answering the door....

It doesn't dawn on me that it's 11:00 a.m. and only little kids trick or treat in the daylight......

The pounding continues......now I'm getting nervous and the Boo Dog is going nuts.....

The Jamaican is gone off the porch and the dog has now moved to the side window of the L.R.

Barking like a Mad Dog.....I look out the window to see the man inside a car in the driveway....

This is Odd?

We have a very very long driveway and we frown upon people being parked so close to the house......

At this point the Boss.....who is more pissed off that he has to get up off the couch and put on pants......gets up and is going to find out who this intruder is.....In the meantime I am scrambling for a piece of paper and pencil to write down the license plate number and county......

Bartow County?.........we live in Cobb.....I see....he drove all the way from another county just to break into our home.....

He backs down the driveway stopping at the bottom near the mailbox....He gets out of the car confirming the Jamaican garb......he puts something in the mailbox and gets back in the car....

But he doesn't drive away......this gives time for the Boss...now with pants on.....but shirtless...to head for the door.....Never one to hesitate confronting a stranger....I suggest he puts on a shirt.....and he grabs for "my" coat that is hanging by the front door......

In his very authoritative walk he heads down the front lawn......if your paying attention you know it's raining.......

He reaches the car....I see him stop for a moment then reach for something from the mailbox.....

He makes a brief comment to driver then heads back up the lawn......looking very calm....not like he just gave this guy a piece of his mind......

He reaches the front door.....I ask.....

Who is that guy.......and why is he in the driveway?????

The Boss says..............."I gave him a piece of my mind and asked what the ____k are you doing in my driveway"................still not knowing who the guy was "I believe" the Boss really said this...

After all he is from Jersey.....

and the poor guy......

"FLOWER DELIVERY GUY"

daughter.....son-in-law and Miss B sent flowers for our anniversary.....
oooops...........

But let me say two things.......I don't answer the door for "Anyone"......NoOne!
dreadlocks......the Jehovah Witness's........the UPS guy....NoOne.....
and when it's raining.....it's more a Boo thing.....can't put him outside in the rain.....and who wants to make a delivery and have a 135 pound growling animal staring you in the face......

I can't make this stuff up folks......

to see an adorable Halloween post stop by daughter's to see what Miss B was up to....

http://ruedelaclef.blogspot.com/2009/11/opera.html

39 YEARS AGO TODAY...................

I dressed up as a bride for Halloween ..........

My father blindfolded me...put me in the back seat of the local funeral homes limo....

and drove me to the St. Mary's church.....

I thought I was going "Trick or Treating"........I ended up bringing home a husband in my trick or treat bag.......

and it's been pretty scary ever since....

Happy Anniversay Boss......

I expect a trip to Paris for our 40th.....

Start planning!

p.s. dress made by me for a mere $40.

White velvet with emerald green velvet buttons.....my hair was not as long as it looks...there was a long green ribbon down the back of the hat.....

flowers were orange...green and yellow straw....

which I still have!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

HERE TODAY.........GONE TOMORROW.

Yesterday me and the neighbor headed North up I-85 to the little town of Hoschton Georgia...

The sky was bright blue the weather was gorgeous compared to the day before when it poured all day...

What is in Hoschton?

My blogging friend Cheri from http://www.geergathering.blogspot.com/

and the Infamous "Peckers" restaurant......

I have known Cheri since March but only got to meet her in person a few months ago on our trip up to Chateau Elan.....So we made a point of meeting up again for lunch and a day of shopping before Cheri moves to Alabama next month.....

We have lots in common.....we both have daughters....I have one she has three....we both have adorable granddaughters.......and Cheri has a husband who hunts deer and I have 3 deer head on my living room wall.....buying mine at the flea markets....he's the hunter.....I'm the shopper....
So I'm going to miss her when she moves and I'm just sorry that we didn't meet years ago....
Isn't that the funny thing with us bloggers....When you meet for the first time you feel like you have known each other all your lives.....Don't you find that to always be the case....

And now......Peckers.....you gotta love the name and it was only until yesterday when we pulled up and I saw all the chickens in the window did it dawn on me what the name meant.......
chicken's peck.....Oh....so that's what it means!!

Here's Miss Cheri with the Pecker's menu.....it is cute isn't it?
And the prices!!
Cheri suggested the lunch special......

We got chicken salad on a really large croissant.....homemade potato chips which were wonderful...a dill pickle and a big glass of iced tea.....I actually had two glasses....
All for a whopping $5.35

After lunch we strolled down the little strip mall to see these cute guys out infront of the local Pub.....

Pumpkins out for lunch and enjoying a beer.....

This picture looks kind of eerie....her arm looks very ghostly.....

as we were driving out of the shopping center I noticed the

"City Hall".....wish I had taken a picture....

Appearing to be in the storefront of an old dry cleaner I have never seen such a small

City Hall....

Quaint.....I suppose....

But on to shopping!!

Here is Cheri and Neighbor Necie out infront of

Real Deals....not just a furniture store....Oh no.....a warehouse filled with

tchotskes....Just my kind of place....

Real Deals is located in the next town over in Jefferson Georgia....

We were greeted at the door by a huge Halloween display.....we failed to notice the even bigger sign that announced 50% off all Halloween merchandise......

such cute stuff and great prices.....

Lots of clocks...everywhere you looked.....

Lots of red stuff......

Sarcastic stuff.......

There was even a French Sailor holding a globe......now that's something one shouldn't live without!!

This didn't photograph well but it was beautiful in person....the colors together were very vibrant....

More Fall decorations.....

And pretty colored things.....I love this aqua color...
They had a whole selection of dishes this color....

More Red!!

These large vases were only $11.00 each.

We all had a wonderful day and me and Necie have decided this is a must go back to before the holidays....we had to breeze through the last shop because it was getting late and we needed to get back down 85 before all the crazy traffic started....

Thanks Cheri for sharing your wonderful little town with us.....Who knew such good stuff was such a short drive away.....

You'll be missed but we are planning a road trip to see you over in Bama.....so get the guest room ready!!

And then this morning as I was preparing to write this daughter called......The first thing she said was...

"it feels like forever since we talked last"........

We missed yesterday's calls because I was gone all day...

Daughter you made my day......

We discussed last nights Top Chef and decided that Mike got the axe simply because Tom didn't like his attitude.....we both hate the whiney blond....and we think Kevin from Atlanta with the big beard should win.....

The days not over yet....daughter and Miss B are scheduled to call back around dinner time...

I think Cheri will agree that daughters are the best!

WILL THE REAL KATHLEEN PLEASE STEP UP.........or who has the pumpkin pudding?

Will all the Kathleen's in Blogland please step forward and make your presence known....

Yes.....no matter where you live please let me know that there is more then one of you out there......and clarify your state of residence.....

WHY?

Well......you all know me and this falls into that

"It could only happen to Sue"

Category................ This is really all Joyce's fault as she mentioned Jell-O Pumpkin Pudding in her blog which got me started and that's when I heard from Miss Kathleen that the pumpkin pudding was nowhere to be found in her neck of the woods......

What neck of the woods would that be???

You think I would have further investigated the whereabouts of Kathleen.....

You see there are two of my blogging friends and as of yesterday I only knew one of their last names........

The other one's last name has something to do with cooking.....

Which I thought was an odd choice for a last name.....

So yesterday I popped in the mail a few packages of pumpkin pudding and sent off an e-mail to Miss Kathleen saying the pumpkin was on the way.....

Who knew these two women had the same last name?

The first Miss Kathleen wondered why I was mailing her a pumpkin and Miss Kathleen #2 wondered how I had her address......you see multiple e-mails went back and forth....well....at this point I don't need to explain myself.......except to say.....

Miss Kathkeen #1.....enjoy the pudding it is really really good....

and Miss Kathleen #2 ........please send me your address and I will get that pudding in the mail to you on Monday......and thank God for Ina Garten that now I know #1 lives in Michigan and #2

well.....she lives in the Hampton's.....and her neighbor knows Ina

You see I wondered why Ina possibly could show up at a garage sale this morning at Kathleen #2's neighbors house.....Which got me to thinking....

Thank you ladies for clearly that up.....and now here is the recipe incase any other Kathleen's would like to try my Pumpkin Spice Cream Puffs....

But your going to have to buy your own pudding!

Pumpkin Spice Cream Puffs

4 eggs

1 stick of butter

1 cup of flour

1 cup of water

a pinch of salt

for the filling

1 package of Jell-O Pumpkin Spice Instant Pudding

Walmart carries this near all the holiday baking stuff

1 cup of cold milk

1/2 pint of heavy whipping cream (whipped)

powdered sugar

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees

bring to a boil the one cup of water and the stick of butter until the butter is melted.

Take off the heat and quickly add in the 1 cup of flour and salt....Beat with a wooden spoon until it forms a ball...at this point I add the dough into my Kitchen Aid then one at a time add the eggs.

You can do this by hand but you must use a wooden spoon...

spoon dough using either a tablespoon or teaspoon depending on the size you want onto a parchment lined cookie sheet...

Bake for about 20 minutes or until puffed up and golden brown.....then leave them in the oven another few minutes.....Alot of people at this point cut a slit in the side of the puff allowing air to escape...this prevents them from deflating when removed from the oven.....

I can tell just by the smell when they are ready and I very rarely have them sink....But if your new at baking cream puffs cutting the small slit is a safe idea.....

Open the oven door and let them adjust to the outside air slowly......

The Filling.....

Beat the pudding with the 1 cup of milk

Whip the cream into peaks then fold the two together.....

Cut the tops off the puffs and remove any uncooked dough from inside (this is common the inside does not fully cook)

Fill the puffs with the filling then dust with powdered sugar....

Enjoy!!

and one other thing.......

To Ellen in Michigan....if you get a package from Fedex this week and there's a pillow inside...don't even let me know....just forward it to Ellen in New Jersey...

WOMEN......Natural Born Gift Givers.

I was thinking the other day about the "art" of gift giving and I'm going to go out

on a limb here and say that women are much better gift givers then men...

Does anyone agree with that?

My birthday was a couple of weeks ago and a few months before I said to the Boss

"I would really like my Blog turned into a book this year for my birthday"

To which the Boss replied.....

"You order it and let me know what I owe you".......

Something was missing don't you think.....

Well the birthday came and daughter......a World Class "Gift Giver" presented me with......

My very own book!!

Just like a real published author....

with a real dust jacket.....

info about me on the inside cover.....how cool is that.....

My recipes and crazy stories......


My Paris pictures.......

And whole pages with just pictures.....Do you love it....
I have to say that I did cry when she gave it to me......
A labor of love.......... she told me it has taken her since August to put it all together....
Remember daughter has both a job and a toddler.....
Oh and a husband and a house to take care of......

And this started me thinking about the difference....I think.....with the gift giving process
between men and women.....
I think all women not only love to receive gifts but they also love to give gifts....
No matter how small......homemade or store bought.....
something you have had and cherished but you know that someone else would love it just as much.....
It's the pleasure of making someone else happy....
Where men on the other hand love to get gifts but I just don't think they give gifts with the same
enthusiasm that women have....

Or is it just the generosity of my fellow Bloggers.......
My dear friend Ellen from
http://www.nouveaustitch.wordpress.com/
just went on a whirlwind trip all over Europe......and what did she do....
She thought about me and sent me this fabulous hand painted olive oil container
straight from Rome......
Now she said she had it blessed by the Pope.....but something tells me that didn't happen....
But I was thrilled to get it....and I think of her every time I see it sitting above my stove.....

Then there is Joyce of......
http://www.flourpowerjoyce.blogspot.com/
If you don't already know who Joyce is you must check out her blog....
She is one of the funniest people I have ever met and I'm even luckier....
She lives right here in Atlanta so I get to see her and lunch with her and just have a
wonderful time together....
She likes me for who I am....a crazy Northerner.....
ofcourse she has to......She's also a crazy Northerner!!
We recently went to the big book sale together and not only did she bring me this
wonderful cookbook but I was also lucky to get her homemade pumpkin bread and
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies!!

So that's my take on things.....I love to both receive and give gifts.....
And if I was a man and someone asked me for a sweater for Christmas I would say.....
"buy the yarn.....knit it and let me know what it cost"........

And I send out a big Thank you to all the ladies in my life who have given me such thoughtful
wonderful gifts over the years..........
And most of all Thank you daughter for always knowing what to get me.....
I loved everything you gave me for my birthday including the necklace from Tiffany.....
But we all know that the best gift of all was year I was blessed with a baby....
"Daughter".....
The ultimate birthday gift!

p.s.......if anybody wants information on having your blog turned into a book just e-mail me...we just got a coupon offer today for 20% off and free shipping....I can send you the link...

sueadivari@bellsouth.net

TABLESCAPE THURSDAY.........OKTOBERFEST IN GEORGIA!

If it's Thursday.........or better yet Wednesday Night.....it must be

Tablescape Thursday......hosted by the tablescaper extraordinaire

Susan at http://www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ It's October.....my favorite month of the whole year and what better tablescape then an

Oktoberfest theme.....

We have been to Germany many times but have never been during this celebration...

Or for that matter during their wonderful Christmas markets....

Oh well.....it looks like there has to be a trip in our future.....

I was able to drag out my nutcrackers from behind glass for the special occasion......

I started my collection 39 years ago on our first trip and have been in love with

these little creatures ever since....

This big guy came back with me from Munich back in the 90's when we took

daughter for her first trip.....

She speaks German so she was quite handy to have with us!!

But how beautiful is this dish.....No it's not German....but it kind of looks it...

When I was just up in Jersey we went to the Visiting Nurses Association

Rummage Sale and on the last day of the sale it was fill a bag for $10.00

Between me and daughter we crammed as much stuff as humanly possible into

that grocery bag.....

These two plates were scooped up by me the minute I spied them....

I thought they were gorgeous......

The pattern is all raised and you can see an egg shaped indentation on the upper right corner

of the plate.....

no markings of any kind but you can see it's very old.....

If anybody has any information on what type of plate it is please comment!!

For all the stuff that we managed to get into the bag this plate probably cost no more then

50 Cents!

Necie the neighbor gifted all the gourds on the table.....
Every year she buys a big bag and shares them with me....

I love Bittersweet.....My mother always had it in the house during fall back in Jersey....
Fall was Bittersweet.......Winter was Bayberry......which she would pick on
Long Beach Island and sneak off the island at the end of summer....
I think she would be arrested if she tried that today.

All I need to get is some nice old Silver.....my twisty handled utensils just aren't right....

This little guy is a favorite.....He's all hand carved....

another view of the dish.....the colors are so pretty.....

Bottoms Up!!

A detailed shot of his carved face....

This stein was also brought back from Munich......

One of the few things that I have from the childhood home......

this little candle holder......I believe it was bought in Williamsburg....

The folks loved that orange theme going on at the house.....

Millie couldn't have enough orange and brown "Ball Fringe" to go around.....

Another stein.......with pewter lid....

Beer Anyone????

I've now gotten myself hungry for some Sauerkraut and Pork....

with a side of potato pancakes and applesauce....

Happy October....

HAPPY FALL!!!!