Black Friday and Hiding Angel

 

Getting out there on Black Friday is not what I usually do.  I certainly do not like crowds, especially the pushy ones that are out there early only caring about the "bargains" that bring them out at midnight or three or five in the morning.  Not that I was out there at 2 am, but I was up that early.  My #2 daughter called me because she was bored waiting for a store to open.  She thought that I would be up getting ready for work- NOT!  After I got back to sleep, #3 daughter called me somewhere around 4 am to tell me that she was out there in the crowds.  I finally got back to sleep and didn't get up until after 8 am.  I did get out there, but not until after ten o'clock.  I was only looking for some boots,Christmas gifts for my son and Angel and a new digital camera for me. 

The camera that I currently have is inexpensive and a couple of nights ago I broke the door to the battery compartment.  It still works but the door comes off too easily.  I never found the boots, but I ended up getting a Sony Cyber-shot camera with a 10x optical zoom.  It even has a timer, image stabilization and it takes panoramic pictures. Now whether or not I figure out how to actually use those functions is another story.   The camera came with the lithium battery and for an extra $49.00 I got an additional battery, a camera case and a memory card.  I also got a mini tripod.  This is what I finally used the gift card that I got for tenth anniversary at work, so I didn't go too far in debt to get it.  I also found something for Ted, but I can't  say what it is because he reads this blog.  Sorry Ted, I'm not telling.  Oh yea I also got something for Angel at Pet Smart. That was it for venturing out there  on one of the busiest shopping days of the year.  The rest of the day I caught up on reading blogs that I follow and watched a couple of Christmas movies.

Today I slept in and I haven't even gone out of the house.  I started going through papers.  I have saved some magazine articles that I wanted to read or for reference.  There are a lot of them.  I am keeping the ones that pertain to things that I can use now or once I start RVing.  I'm also keeping some about organizing and gardening that Mellissa might like to look at once she gets here.  I only made a dent in what I have.  There is so much to go through and I've been putting it off because I was getting ready for the craft fair.  No excuse now!  It has to be done and maybe it will keep me from eating out of boredom, either too much or all the wrong things.     

     

These are the pictures of Angel that I finally got last night with the new camera.  She's not begging tonight because she happy to be sleeping next to me in the recliner.

I guess that I had better finish this and get to bed.

Thanks for visiting

Susan and Angel

Happy Thanksgiving

 

It is actually the end of Black Friday when I finally sat down to post.

Wednesday night, I picked up Samantha and her guide dog Gilbert for church.  It was a little bit different this year in as much as there was no message.  Instead we all shared what we were thankful for.   Then afterwards we had coffee and pie.  The apple slices went over well. 

Ted got in town and spent the night at Steve and Kyle's so that he could get started on dinner.  He and Kyle made pies early.  I was invited over for traditional Lox and Bagel breakfast.  Really good.  They didn't want any help, so I left only to return later for dinner.  

Since I have lost so much weight, my leather coat is way too big and I wanted to find a warm coat.   There have been stores that have been closed in the past on Thanksgiving that were actually open and I found coat that was 50% off.  I really like it because it is warm and is really light weight.

Kyle is a wonderful hostess and loves to entertain.  She and Ted prepared the best dinner.  Ted roasted brussel sprouts, (so far that is my favorite), and there were mashed potatoes, (white and sweet), green bean casserole with caramelized onions, cranberry/orange relish and of course the turkey and stuffing.  It was a wonderful meal with friend and family.  I meant to take picture but forgot and only got one of what was left of the pies and one of their dog Nicki.

         

I have so much to be thankful for, the main thing is that I live in a country that allows me to dream and live a life doing things that I enjoy.     ********   While I am writing this, Angel sits up and gives a little bark, I guess saying pay attention to me, I want to be held.  She looked so cute, so I took out the camera to get a picture and she went to hide in her tent.  *********  Angel is another thing that I am thankful for.  she adds so much more to my life. 

                              

Tomorrow is another day to catch up on what we did today, on Black Friday.

Until then,    Thanks for visiting

Susan and Angel       http://whatsupwithsusanandcompany.blogspot.com/

Recipe Request and Chocolates

 

This will be a short post as an answer to Barbara of Me and My Dog.  Many years ago I got a cookbook Make a Mix Cookery .  It contains many recipes for "master" mixes.  This is from that book.

Hot Chocolate Mix

1 (25.6-oz.) box of instant nonfat dry milk (10-2/3 cups)

1 (6-oz.) jar powdered non-dairy creamer

2 cups powdered sugar

1 (16-oz.) can instant chocolate drink mix   (I used the least expensive)

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix well. Put in a large airtight container.  Label.  Store in a cool, dry place.  Use within 6 months.  Makes about 17 cups of  Hot Chocolate Mix.

For 1 serving: Add 3 tablespoons Hot Chocolate Mix to 1 cup of hot water.  Stir to dissolve. 

I sometimes use vanilla flavored creamer or add mini marshmallows.  Other times I will put a little bit of vanilla extract in the cup. 

When I had kids still at home, it would last most of the winter.   ENJOY!

The Chocolate part of this post is not above, but it is the SEE's Candy that we get from work.  I will have to give it to someone else so that I don't eat it.

That's it for tonight.

Thanks for visiting

Susan and Angel      http://whatsupwithsusanandcompany.blogspot.com

A Bit of Baking, Puzzled and Possible Search

Today I took all those apples and made a half sheet of apple slices.  It really looks good.  It will have to wait until Wednesday when I bring it to church.  Now I have to find room in the refrigerator.  The topping will go on on Wednesday afternoon.

                 

                     

           The second picture is show how big it is compared to the apple.

I of course had to make a couple of calls to Ted, since I was not using a recipe.  On one of those calls he asked for the recipe for the pumpkin pie that I make every Thanksgiving. One of the ingredients is vanilla ice cream, so I had to search for that for him.

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I would like to resize my header photo and haven't figured out how to do it. I am really technologically challenged.  It is probably something simple, but I still need help.  I usually write my blog on Live Writer and then post it.

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One of the things that I need to start some research on is finding a toad if I end up with a Class A.  That's what I'm leaning towards, but it can still change.  Is it practical to get an older car?  I won't be able to tow what I have (KIA Sedona), and I really don't want to keep it.  I think that I would love to have a little convertible, but a little truck would be more practical.  How does one even get started in the search?

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I guess it's time to start thinking about what I need for work tomorrow.  Fortunately it is a three day work week.  Yea!  (unless I get Wednesday approved)   Ted will coming in from San Francisco on Wednesday and will be cooking on Thursday but will have to go back to SF on Friday for Black Friday.  He is the manager at an Ace Hardware store there.

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Thank you all for your concern for my daughter's welfare.  She is doing better. 

Also thanks for visiting

Susan and Angel      whatsupwithsusanandcompany.blogspot.com

Catch UP with Family and Dodging the Raindrops

 

Well today I got a bit of laundry done and finally called my sister in Albuquerque.  She will not be able to go with me when I am able to go full time, too many health issues.  She is looking into moving into a manufactured home with another couple to share the cost.  I checked it out on the internet and it seems to be very nice and has many amenities that she will be able to use and there may even be a place to park an RV when I visit.

Rest of family news, Mellissa may not be able to get the transfer until maybe March.  That will be okay and might work better for financially.  It also gives me more time to purge the stuff.  My # two daughter, Sandi had an accident earlier this week- Hit and Run.  She is alright just sore.  They ended up totaling her PT Cruiser and she was able to get an '08 Chevy HHR.  The interesting part about it being a Hit and Run is that the driver left his bumper and license plate at the scene.  

                         

Angel and I headed out towards Apple Hill to get apples for a recipe for apple slices, but saw that there was a Farmers' Market on the way so I was able to get what I needed there.  They were just starting to pack up their wares because it started to rain.  On the way home I stopped to get premade piecrust.  I don't do piecrust well, so I'll cheat on that part.  The apple slices are for the fellowship that we have after the Thanksgiving Eve service at church.

                         

Ted will be here and will be fixing dinner at Steve and Kyle's house.  I love it when he cooks and I get to watch and visit. 

I hope that everyone is having a great weekend.

Thanks for visiting

Susan and Angel        http://whatsupwithsusanandcompany.blogspot.com/

Another Short Post

It's 51 degrees and raining and a good time to catch up on our blogging friends.

Earlier today we went out to fill up the car and then off to Winco to stock up on the things that I make my own trail mix from the bulk foods section. I wanted to run the errands before the rain.

                                       

Today we finally got the gifts packaged and shipped to Hawaii.  In addition to the guitar I put in a couple of stuffed animals, mainly to cushion the presents  The box was oversized so of course I had to pay a surcharge.  I was still pleasantly surprised when the cost to ship,and insure the package was much less than I expected, $28.56 is a lot less than the $100.00 + quoted by the Mail Store. 

When I got home there was a package waiting for me on my porch.  I ordered the Shark Portable Steam Pocket Cleaning System.  Does anyone out there in blog land have one?  I'm hoping that it will help keep an RV "clean and sanitized".  So far I have only used it in the kitchen to clean the cabinet doors.  So far  it seems to have done a decent job.  If I like it here, it will be nice for the smaller space of an RV.

Not much else to do tonight, maybe a movie?

Good night to all.

Thanks for visiting

Susan and Angel          http://whatsupwithsusanandcompany.blogspot.com/

Talent Showcase, Moderate Success.

Today was the day for the Craft Fair at work.  I used 5+ hours of vacation to participate.  From 10:00 am until 2:00 we could display and sell our wares.  There were 12 of us, selling all kinds of things, quilted items, baby blankets, jewelry, greeting card, handmade soaps and lotions and then there was FOOD, yummy food, (nachos, beef jerky, dried apple chips, rocky road, peanut brittle, fudge, cookies and amazing cake pops on a stick) and of course my watercolors (note cards, stationary and prints).

                        

It started out kind of slow.  My supervisor came down and bought some note cards for someone's birthday.  Then nothing for a while and all of a sudden there were quite a bit of activity.  I ended up selling several cards and a couple of 8x10 prints.  I am actually surprised that I did as well as I did.  We were to donate 20% of our sales to our choice of two charities,  Now I will need to find another outlet to sell my artwork.  I already have a web site that I need to develop geared to what I am currently doing.

  

There were a lot of compliments, but not a lot of sales, except the food of course.  A lot of people from the other parts of the company, even the CEO, came by to check us out.  I guess it will depend on how well we did as to whether or not they will do it again.

After I packed up my stuff, I headed over to Platinum Wheels to get a new tire.  Last Saturday I pulled out of the driveway and discovered the right front tire was flat.  Fortunately I have roadside assistance on my insurance and within an hour I was on my way.  The tire could not be fixed so I have been nervously driving without a spare until today. At least I covered half of the cost of the tire with what I made on my sales.  "Easy come, Easy go".

I needed to get home right away, because someone was coming over to pick up the tent.  He paid me earlier today while I was at work.  He is Boy Scout leader and can use the big tent.  He may get more of my camping stuff when I decide what I need to get rid of.  Then later one of my neighbors stopped by. 

While we were visiting, Angel started growling.  We realized she was looking in the mirror and growling at Jean's reflection.  She's such an entertaining puppy.

It's getting late and I have to work tomorrow.  Good Night to all those out in Blogger Land!

Thanks for visiting

Susan and Angel            http://whatsupwithsusanandcompany.blogspot.com/

Shopping, Scanning and Shipping

Friday Angel and I went to check out popular local store that has succumbed to the effects of the economy.  A year or so after the death of the founding father, William Glen, the family decided to call it quits.  It has been a Sacramento retail landmark for the last 47 years.  It is sad to see this store close.  I was looking for a thermos type travel mug, which they didn't have.  The one that I did get works well as far as drinking from it but it isn't a thermos so it doesn't hold the temperature like I wanted.  I did find a small grill and bake set for a microwave/convection oven or an RV oven. Part of it I can use in my toaster oven but the pans are too wide,

                                          

I also couldn't resist a warm and cuddly pink robe for $15.00 instead of $40.00.

We also drove up to El Dorado to Clear Bags to get a box of envelopes for the note cards. I was disappointed to have a note on my order stating that as of January 1st  all walk-in customers will be charged retail, unless they call their orders in with a minimum order of $40.00, if not the minimum there will be a minimum order fee.  Oh well I think that I have enough supplies to get me through for a while. Now if I can only sell what I have, then I will probably have that minimum order. 

Now that I have my laptop back and the printers reconnected I can get back to work on scanning my artwork into memory (nearly another 100 images).  That is what I have been doing since Friday.  I think that I have most of my note cards scanned and packaged for sale.  The event at work is on Wednesday of next week.  There are the note cards (most need hand painted and some are prints), note enclosure paper, laminated bookmarks and watercolor prints.

I just got off the phone with the Geek Squad about disabling the touch pad.  I will have to bring it back in for them to install the driver properly.  I think that I have been in to visit them at least once a week since I first brought the laptop in to be fixed.  That's okay because every time I go in I learn a little bit more.  They are really nice and patient there, even though I am so technologically challenged.

I also need to take the Christmas gifts for my great grandsons and get them shipped.

                                          

                                   Can you tell that the big one is a guitar?

            Jessica and the boys.                                        Nick and the boys.

Nick is in the Navy and is stationed near Honolulu Hawaii and will be there for 3 years.

I  had better finish this for now and get out to ship the gifts and visit with the Geek Squad.

Okay, Angel, time for your ride!

Thanks for visiting

Susan and Angel        http://whatsupwithsusanandcompany.blogspot.com/

Time Change and Not Much More

Although while reading Myrddin's Travels, he reminded me to turn my clocks back, I of course didn't do that.  Instead I must have been thinking about it all night long and ended up waking up around 2:00 am to check out all the clocks and then went back to bed.  Then I heard a flock of geese flying overhead, they must have been flying low, because they seemed to be quite loud.  Then the rain started.  By the time I was ready to leave for church it was pouring. 

Since I can't download the pictures of the presentation, I asked Pastor Steve to let me take a picture of him with the painting.

                  

The rest of the day was spent with a nap and  watching our local PBS TV station, interesting program on Thomas Jefferson.  Of course, Angel was happy in my lap most of the time. 

It's back to work tomorrow.  It has been very busy there.  It is the time when we have a lot of companies having their open enrolments, so people want to know what their benefits are and those that already have them are in a hurry to use them before the year is over and they lose them.  I will be glad when it slows down. 

Forgive me for not welcoming my latest followers, Jeana with Four Windows with a View,  also Dawn and Denise with Cruzin2some, as well as Gail with Gail and TC'S Travels, and any others that I haven't mentioned.  Thank you all for being interested in my preparation to follow the Dream.

Thank you for visiting

Susan and Angel     whatsupwithsusanandcompany.blogspot.com/

Another Week is Gone

Here it is Saturday again.  There just isn't enough time to do all the things that need to be done.  I haven't even taken any pictures lately.  After I got the laptop home I couldn't get  the printers connected and had to wait until Ted could help.  By late Friday night, I'm not sure what he did, but he worked his magic and finally got both of them online.  He also got me hooked up to Skype, although I don't know how to use it.  Another lesson is needed.

Today Angel and I went in search of a frame for a portrait of my great grandson Carter,so that I can include it in a Christmas package to Hawaii. 

                                

Angel sure likes to shop.  We went into several stores and finally found one.  We also got gas and I had to go into Sam's Club alone to get frozen fruit for my protein shakes.  They don't allow dogs even in the carrier.   When I got home I wrapped the presents.  Has anyone ever tried to wrap a guitar?  Interesting looking package!   Now I have to put ribbons and bows on and take them to get them shipped.

This whole situation with the computer has been a bit frustrating, having it being repaired in the first place was the beginning.  Then not having internet access for paying bills and all the other stuff that I do online, was why I pushed up the purchase of the IPAD.   Then I tried to download pictures off my camera, so I had to buy the camera connection kit.  I couldn't download pictures off the memory card that I have been using with my laptop since I got it.  Back to Best Buy I went to find out why.

 

Thanks to Tyler we figured out that the memory card has been corrupted.  It is too costly to restore them onto something else, so I can consider them gone.  I had to buy a new memory card.  Fortunately they are not too expensive, only $14.95.  On the corrupted card are all the pictures from BOO at the Z00 and the Anniversary Dinner, including the one of me presenting the painting to the congregation. The newest glitch is that I will have to take it back in because I can't turn the finger pad off, although if I leave the sound on it beeps to tell me that I touched the pad.  I hope nothing else goes wrong.

Here are a some of the pictures of my work and how they go all out for Halloween.

    

The last one is the image I painted on the teepee that is next to the cactus in the third picture. 

I don't normally go in to work on my day off, but I wanted to see how everyone decorated and I would be off on Monday when everything has to be back to normal. Halloween has always been a big deal, but this year it seems like not everyone got into it. I think that it is because anything that we did had to be on our own time.  In the past we were able to do a lot of it when it wasn't busy.  In the past couple of years there hasn't been time when it wasn't busy.

As good as this company is to work at, I will be glad when I can start a new adventure out there on the road.  As it gets closer, though, it gets a bit scary.  There is something to be said for a stable work environment.  I really need to concentrate on the preparation to make sure that I can really do this. 

Well it's off to bed.  I'm not sure what tomorrow will bring, most likely rain according to the TV weather.  Hope that all of you are having a great weekend.

Thanks for visiting 

Susan and Angel

It's About Time!

I have my laptop back. YEA! YAHOO! YIPPEE!   What more can I say? 

She's happy too.  Now she can help write our blog.  Just wanted to let you all know that I will be able to post pictures again.

That's all for tonight. Gotta get to bed.  I'll write more tomorrow.

Thanks for visiting

Susan and Angel    

Another Short Post

This weekend has just flown by. Saturday found me deciding to get a perm. I was getting tired of the straight hair, no body, couldn't do much with it. I had to put out $65.00 + tip. If you factor in that it will probably be another three or more years before I do it again, that's not too bad. The rest of the day I didn't do much of anything

Sunday, it was church and a quick trip to CostCo. I actually got out of there spending only a little bit more than ten dollars. I just needed to get yogurt for my protein shakes. It was just another day for me. I know it was Halloween, but there's usually only a hand full of kids that come by. I didn't bother with it at all this year, and kept the porch light off. There must not have been more than a few, because Angel barked only a couple of times. I've been a really weird mood lately. I just don't feel like doing anything, not that there's nothing to do. I need to get something for Carter for Christmas to include in the package with the guitar that I will be sending to his big brother Hunter. I also need to finish a painting of him for his parents. I had better get my act together and get it done.

Today I took off for no particular reason. I got out in the shed to find the sprayer and found that it would not hold any pressure, so off to Home Depot to get a new one. As you could see in one of the backyard pictures on a previous post, there is a lot of Bermuda grass that needs to be killed before any landscaping can be done. The spraying is done, but I'm sure I will have to do it again. That stuff is hard to kill.

Right now the Giants/Ranger game is on. Giants up by 2 and my bed is calling. Early day as usual tomorrow, at least it will be a three day work week.

Hope that you all had a great weekend and will have a better week

Thanks for visiting

Susan and Angel