Superbowl's Coming...

Back in 2014, Children's Hospital in the Denver area sponsored a Broncos song contest...

the winner was a 14-year-old named Daniel Halpern.

Here is his song.

Goofy, but dedicated -- that's us Broncos fans! 

See if You Can Watch This Without Giggling...

I know...I should have saved it for Valentine's Day.

Snow, Snow, Snow...and the Broncos

Day #3 of this blizzard...we're currently up to about 2 1/2 feet, and I wouldn't be surprised if we got a few more inches tonight before the storm moves on. 

from lolzbook.com

(Actually, Punxsutawney Phil didn't see his shadow...so we're supposed to have an early spring. 
           Uh huh. Sure.)


The snow is pretty, light, fluffy stuff -- and very, very cold. The chickens refused to come out at all today. But at least they're still laying. The drifts were way higher than our boots, but at least, I didn't fall down in it. (I did drop a couple of eggs, though, and had to fish them out.) 

While we're shoveling out, here's some inspiration for Sunday:

Go Broncos!!

Monday Stuff: Here We Go, Broncos!

We may be in the throes of a snowstorm, but hearts are warm here:

The Denver Broncos are going to the Superbowl! 

Castle Rock's star-on-the-rock is Broncos orange and blue. 

This is the Rock in the daytime - see the star frame on top? (From Wikipedia)

We had a big rally last week on the Capitol steps. 

And of course, there are lots of goofy memes making fun of our boys. Like this one, comparing Peyton Manning and Others. (Poor guy -- wait, there will be more!)




Fortunately, the Broncos don't seem to be getting a big head over all this fuss. Which is great: the Panthers have been outstanding this season. If the Broncos really want to win, they'll have to work very, very hard.
     Meanwhile:


I just got another phone threat from 'Officer Brian Schneider of the IRS.' According to this esteemed individual, the IRS has issued an arrest warrant for me, my property is under investigation -- and I'd better Call Back Right Now.
    Needless to say, we do NOT owe money to the IRS. (Yet, anyways.) If you get a call or e-mail from a scammer creep like this (ours was from area code 510), sprint to this website and file a complaint. You'll feel so much better.

Libby Lehman finished a 1000-piece puzzle...a big step forward in our mutual buddette's recovery.

Eight interesting ideas for shoe storage via IKEA. You could use these ideas for other stuff, too. I can only wonder -- who in the world actually has room to store shoes like this? Don't they have books, clothes and collectibles, instead?  (From Apartment Therapy)

This is probably the best of the batch...

A fake Rothko...sold from a distinguished gallery?  Now its purchaser is suing for big bucks. The guy is chairman of the board at Sotheby's...oops, wrong person to try to defraud. (From Appraiser Workshops) From the article:
    Being chairman of Sotheby’s does not require being an expert on art, he said. 'You need to know business.”"
     (As my dad would say, 'Oh yeah? Oh yeah? Oh yeah?')

Rethinking brown. And orange. From Wombat Quilts.

Origami folded fabric ornaments -- a step by step tutorial. Good for scraps...and a start for next year! (These would be cute for everyday decorating, too. From Ami Simms's blog, Through the Eyes of A Quilter)




Just what you want to see...an act of kindness given in kindness.

A very funny Hormel 'natural' commercial...

How I tripled my income in 2015.  (From Stefanie O'Connell)

A ton of free downloadable quilt patterns. (Thank you, Bear Creek Quilting Company, for putting these together.)


Have a great week. GO BRONCOS!!

Pantry Challenge Report: Week Three - On Track - Sort Of

     Well, I'm doing better. 

After the porkchop frenzy last week, I didn't stop at the grocery store all week, though I was tempted. King Soopers, our local Kroger affiliate, is running a special on pork roast -- 99 cents a pound! But I held back. 

The Brick, bless his heart, now cooks one night a week. Last Monday, he was bound and determined that he needed a green pepper. (This, in spite of his asserting for years that cooked green peppers just 'did something' to his gaseous output.) I got a glimpse of his Sprouts receipt: $11 and change. (He bought some spinach and other stuff, too.) 
    The meal was delicious, and I love it when he cooks. Didn't have the heart to make a fuss out of an extra dollar and change. 
    Our neighbors dropped by with dumpster-dived veggies and fruit. (They got a dozen eggs in return.) Nearly all of it went to the chickens, but I scavenged some for banana bread, and pulled out some limes. I also snagged bread and some hamburger buns from the thrift shop. (They put it out free generally on Wednesdays. This week was half-price books, too!)

    I have been busy with work, so wasn't that big on fancy stuff. I cooked for us to eat. Not much more than that. I have been learning the merits of cooking protein in a sauce or soup that you plan to use for something else. The meat really enriches the flavor, and becomes deliciously tender. I did it twice (see Suppers below) -- and it worked great both times.
    Next week, I need to use some more venison, and finish off that ham. (Pea soup, pea soup!) I also want to make some French onion soup. Tomatoes sound good. Peppers, too, and Mexican food -- maybe we need the Vitamin C? (I have tomatoes canned with green peppers and onion in-house...but it Wasn't What the Recipe Asked For, according to the Brick. His engineering nature likes to keep to specifications.)
    A big blizzard is supposedly moving into Colorado tonight, and lasting through Tuesday...it should be a good week for soup.

    We need milk -- so I will steel myself to get just that tonight. A few gallons at $1.99 each should keep me under the $5 limit -- and make up for the Brick's extra bucks over the $10 limit. 

Breakfasts:
      scrambled eggs (with cheese and green onion) and turkey bacon
      chopped-up mixture of potatoes, onion, ham and turkey bacon  (cottage fry)
      oatmeal
      boiled eggs and bratwurst
      cheese guys (quesadillas) and eggs

Sunday mornings, we generally sing on Worship Team, and practice runs anywhere from 7:30 - 8:00 a.m. That means coffee in travel mugs, and a breakfast bar grabbed on the way out the door.

Lunch/snacks/desserts:   brownies (made a double batch), banana bread, nachos (with lime juice squeezed over), frozen burritos (the 25-centers I got last week), leftover soup, chocolate-covered almonds, applesauce, oranges, a few cookies. Made a banana-only split with 'nanas, chocolate sauce and lots of nuts.
    Also blenderized a bag of frozen melon chunks, with a little sugar and water -- cool and tasty.

Suppers:  
     Spanish porkchops with green pepper rings, and cooked rice inside (the Brick's contribution)
     Pork chops slow-cooked in canned green chili, with a can of chopped tomatoes thrown in
   (this turned out really fine...and the extra pork chop, chopped, made for a meatier 'chili')
     Canned chicken noodle soup, with chopped leeks and carrots added
     Boneless chicken thighs (cooked in the soup above -- which made them deliciously tender, and added to the soup's flavor)
     Boiled shrimp with cocktail sauce, plus celery and carrot sticks
     Canned beef and mushroom soup
     Grilled cheese sandwiches (using the waffle iron! I read this as a tip -- and it works)
     Baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, canned peas and sliced ham (leftover potatoes went into the cottage fry)

 

Oklahoma City Memories

Yes, I'm here...just trying to finish off a boatload of appraisals. Making progress in other areas, too. 
The sunshine and warm weather (warm for us, anyway) are deceiving -- we're supposed to get more snow late in the weekend and on Monday. Good -- maybe I can get more work done!

More reports on the Schorsch auction, the pantry challenge and the chickies are coming, as soon as I can print off the last appraisal. Soon, sooooonnnnn...

Meanwhile --
    I just got an e-mail from Barb Reynolds, who was one of my students when I taught in Oklahoma City recently. Barb finished her Memory Quilt, started in class! Here it is...

Barb handpainted this fabric during class -- one of my 'extra goodie' techniques. Yes, it's washable and colorfast!
 (I like to include extras, both freebie samples and techniques,  students don't expect)

Didn't she do a great job!!! Barb, I'm proud of you. 


And if you're curious about the Memory Quilt technique, you can see more via the show I taped for Quilter's Newsletter's cable channel. Go to Youtube for samplings, including this one.

(Yes, I was tired that day...)

So You Can Dream...

Fifteen garage sale items that turned out to be worth millions.

and another version here...

and 5 unexpected finds that made people rich.

Now you can dream about your next find!


UPDATE:  Turns out that Tony Marohn's stock certificate's ties to Coca Cola didn't take reverse stock splits into account. Now the family thinks the stocks are only worth $12,000-15,000.
     Coke, on the other hand, still contends that the old stock certificate is worth...
               zero.

Don't give up hope, though -- cool discoveries still happen.
     Here, too.   Personally, I'm still hoping for a Tamerlane.