How on earth are we supposed to figure out which restroom is ours when we don’t speak the language? I once tried to use the restroom at a seafood restaurant. They had names on the restroom doors that were so weird that I had no insurance quote that I was entering the correct room. It was scary. This sign is self explanatory for sure!
I wish every restroom sign was blunt like this one! I was almost to the point of crossing my legs while standing at the door trying to figure out which room to enter at the seafood restaurant. Then there are the restaurants where you count on the women’s being in the same place. Cracker Barrel is one such place. I always know to turn to the right. Well, I cannot trust them. They switched it on me and I almost ended up in the men’s restroom. Waahhh! How embarrassing!

Here are this weeks questions for Four Foods on Friday
1. Chicken soup. Regular or creamy? I like to make homemade chicken soup with broth. It has to have lots of veggies in it.

2. Do you have a stew recipe?Not really. I just throw stuff together.

3. What’s your favorite hot comfort food? Definitely hot chocolate.

4. Do you like chicken fried steak? Yes I do. I love the white gravy that is usually served with it. I have never made it myself.

Would you like to meet great people who are interested in recipes, Syracuse italian restaurants, and interesting tidbits about cooking? Join us at Four Foods on Friday! Just click on the picture and you will be taken to Val’s blog, Fun, Crafts and Recipes.

My sister thinks I am panel crazy! Now, I am not talking about electrical supplies here. I am talking about fabric panels. I just bought two Pumpkin and Spice fabric panels made by Red Rooster. I love the colorations of soft oranges and tans. I cannot wait to start sewing.

I received a phone call from the fabric shop where I ordered the two panels, Creative Quilt Kits because there was a problem with one of the panels. The nice sales clerk who called me, explained that there was a portion missing on one of the panels. Here is a picture:

While I do agree that there is a portion sliced off the side of one of the squares, it is very minute. I am still thrilled with the panel and cannot wait to start making a table topper or something with each of the squares. Everything was above and beyond what I expected. I would also like to say thank you to all their staff.

I am so pleased with this product. I spent so much money on fabric yesterday! It is a good thing that I sold this today:

You just never know who your son will put on the phone to talk to ya! My son is wonderful!

Let me start at the beginning of this story.

I have been out of sorts since I began taking medicine for neuralgia of my jaw. Out of sorts for the past two weeks has meant struggling to get through day to day things needing to be done. I don’t know how Blue Cross NC deals with drug interaction but this situation has been stressful. Anyway…because I have not felt well, I didn’t mention to my son how much it would mean to me if he went to a book signing for me. It would take too much energy to figure out where it was being held and explain why it interested me so much.

The Pioneer Woman blog is one I have read for a couple of years. It began when my blogging buddy, Elizabeth told me how much she liked this blog about a woman and her rancher husband. I began reading the blog and even read the Black Heels to Tractor Wheels portion to my husband as we traveled to Florida on vacation one year. I checked every few days to see if the tale had been updated. If you want to feel true romance, read Black Heels to Tractor Wheels. I am sure that some day it will be a movie.

Ree Drummond, the author of The Pioneer Woman blog is a terrific cook. You can feel the passion she has for cooking by reading the comments she adds to each recipe section she writes. Ree aka Pioneer Woman has had a cookbook published, The Pioneer Woman Cooks.

While touring the country to promote her cookbook, she has been able to meet many of her blogging fans.

Today was the first day in a few weeks that I felt well enough to go to the gym, fix lunch and do everyday things. I even spoke to my son on the phone as he left school for the day. I mentioned that I wish I had told him about The Pioneer Woman book tour and that it was taking place in St. Louis this evening. He asked me about the location and we discovered it was only a few miles from his school.

To make a long story (sorry about that) short, my son found the venue, bought a cookbook and sat with Pioneer Woman fans so that I could be a part of this fun adventure that Ree Drummond is experiencing. And, get this, he put her on the phone to talk to me! Ree talked to me while she signed my cookbook. Isn’t that sweet of my son to think to have her do that? I am a lucky mom.

photo taken by Kate of Kate Oh Kate Blogs. That is her husband holding the coffee cup and my son in the background thinking why do I let my mom talk me into these things

Today’s Heads or Tails theme is Autumn Memory.
It seems that all my memories are being captured in my sewing projects!
This is what I hope will become my next project.

Visit Audrey’s Country crafts for great ideas on gifts and decorations for the holidays. Yours truly is offering $5 off each bag purchased from my Etsy shop. Click this graphic to see all the giveaways and special buys.

I have been so hungry for chili. The cool temperatures and falling leaves are prompting fall moods. Fall brings to my mind great soups and pots full of chili. I was happy that hubby felt the need to make chili this weekend, that was until he announced he was going to try a new recipe. His recipe called for roast beef! I don’t know about you but in my mind, chili calls for hamburger and beans. His recipe had me fearing that his latest concoction would be better than the best diet pills ever invented! I was pleasantly surprised.

The chili he came up with was a smooth blend of roast beef and tomato sauce. What surprised me the most was that he used Jiffy corn bread mix, mixed with a bit of the broth and microwaved for a few minutes. He then added the broth back to the chili which thickened it. It was scrumptious.

Lynn’s Chili

2 1/2 lb chuck roast cut into bite sized pieces
2 lbs 80/20 ground beef
1 1 lb package fresh pork sausage mild (whatever hotness you like)
1 medium white onion chopped
1 package chili seasoning
4 cups water

Brown meats, onion, add water and simmer for one hour.
Then add:
Add 4 cans kidney beans (2 dark red, 2 light red)
5 stalks of celery cut into half inch pieces
One 12 oz can V8 juice
6 oz can of salsa (Chi Chi’s Salsa is what we like)
2 cups water

Simmer until chuck roast meat is fork tender.
Spoon out 2 cups of liquid and put into a bowl. Add 1/3 pkg Jiffy corn bread mix. Stir and put mixture into microwave for 45 seconds. This mixture will puff up a bit. Stir and add back into the chili.

Spoon into bowls and sprinkle grated cheese over the top.

I tend to worry when I send hubby to the video store by himself. He usually comes home with a gory, bloody, action packed movie that encourages me to venture into another room and drop Entrecards. Tonight he surprised me when he brought home Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. We usually only watch animated movies when our kids are visiting and drag us to the theater. I enjoyed this movie and even found myself laughing out loud more than once!

Excerpt from Amazon:
Manny (voiced by Ray Romano) and his mate Ellie (Queen Latifah) are expecting a baby mammoth. Unfortunately, this makes Sid the sloth (John Leguizamo) and Diego the saber-toothed tiger (Denis Leary) feel left out. Diego, who worries he’s losing his edge, decides to head out on his own, while Sid adopts three suspiciously large eggs that he’s found through a crack in the ice. Up to this point, the movie is perilously sappy–does anyone, particularly a kid, want to watch a kid’s movie about parenthood and impending middle age? Fortunately, the eggs turn out to be dinosaur eggs from a pre-mammalian underworld, and when the mama T-Rex comes to rescue her rambunctious little ones, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs transforms into a delightful comic adventure.

I highly recommend this movie, especially if you are down in the dumps or not feeling up to par.

This is what I want to do! I would love to show up at my funeral and say hi.

A Brazilian bricklayer reportedly killed in a car crash shocked his mourning family by showing up alive at his funeral.

Relatives of Ademir Jorge Goncalves, 59, had identified him as the victim of a Sunday night car crash in Parana state in southern Brazil, police said. As is customary in Brazil, the funeral was held the following day, which happened to be the holiday of Finados, when Brazilians visit cemeteries to honor the dead.

You can read the whole story at AOL News.