And the winner is..............................

Well what do I know, the judges loved my flower design and gave me a red second place ribbon, Helen got third place, she may not like me anymore.

Why me, or just shoot me.

Flower aranging is not my thing! It's a long story, but I had to come up with a flower design for the flower show on Saturday. The theme was a lighted fall fanasty flower design.I will also be joining the garden club so Diane can get out of the VP spot she was railroaded into.

I made a deal with Helen,  a long time member (since 1953), to take the VP spot in place of Diane (Helen not me). She reminds me of my  late grandma Peggy and I found it very hard to say no. Just shoot me!!!!!!
This is not what I wanted to do, but Helen said that this is what the judges are looking for. YUK!

Potted Chicken over veggies.

The boss wants more chicken meals so here is an idea I created from a suggestion from Diane. (This is not in any family cook book and does not count as a meal of the month). This baby is done in a crock pot and slow cooked all day.

Potted Chicken over Veggies

(by Sue Kraus)

Start with cut up potatoes in the bottom of the crock pot. Add a layer of cut up onions. I then add 6 to 8 sun dried tommatoes, depending on size for added flavor. Next I added some green peppers from our garden, again for some added flavor.

On top of the veggies I cover with the chicken breasts, seasoned with coarse sea salt and black peppercorns (in a grinder). Then to top everything off I use a can of mushroom soup.

Prep time is about 15 minutes and your done!

Cook all day on low then sit down and eat!

Bon Appetit!

Cooking with Sue-lia.

After going to see the movie about Julia Childs and her life cooking in France I was inspired to try some new dishes for our dinners. Now here is the twist. I am going to make a new dish each month from one of the family cook books we have had in our house over the years. In fact, I have already made my first dish, and it was a big hit on BB Highway. Nancy went back for seconds, and even Travis liked it! So here it is if you would like to give it a go.

From the Gross Family Reunion Committee

OLD-FASHIONED MEATLOAF

(By Olive Weil)

2 lb. ground meat                2 tsp. salt

4 eggs                                 1 tps. pepper

16 crackers                         1/2 cup milk

1 small onion

Crush crackers fine. Chop onion fine. Mix everything together. Put into loaf pan. Bake 1-1/2 hours at 350*. I added a curly Q of ketchup on top of the loaf for fun. Nancy always used to squirt a design on top, so I thought I would as well. Bon Appetit!

Quiche and cake.

Diane and I decided to make quiche for lunch on Saturday for the family. I helped with some of the prep work, but Diane really put it all together. I was instructed to make an arrangement of cut flowers for the table. I also made a cake.

What's growin in the garden this month.

Pumpkins and cucumbers are really busting out now. We have at least 3 more pumpkins growing and several cucumbers as well.

T-Shirt Pillow

I am going to try my hand at sewing a T-Shirt pillow to match the quilt Diane made for me. Using a rotary cutter, I cut out fabric squares and strips that will make the border around the t-shirt graphic. On the back I am using the brown fabric with the rope design for a western flair.

Dehydrated Toe-Maters

The drying process.

Diane let me use her dehydrator so I could dry out some of my toe-maters from the garden. Most of them were cherry toe-maters but I had a few larger ones I cut up as well. They are just yummy!

I'm Back!

We had been without Internet service, again, but that is all going to change now. I dumped the other provider and we now have what seems to be a very reliable service. At the same time this was going on my computer died and I had to have the hard drive replaced. Lets hope this mess is now all behind us and I can continue to blog on!

B2 Tour or Sue gets a new set of wheels!

Hey Karl look, Aunt Sue is in the drivers seat of

a Stealth Bomber. Look out world! My call sign

is now HoundDog.

Ok, ok, I'm going. Gee wiz, I just wanted to do a

donut on the runway!

SantaCaliGon Days, Independence, MO

A large street fair near Kristens house with

many crafters, food vendors, and music.

A metal rooster named Jose.

A quilt show was also going on down the road so Diane

made us all go take a look see.

End of summer party, down on the farm.

Sue makes salsa for sundays cookout.

Diane cooked ribs and steak. Kristen made two plates of fresh veggies from our gardens, and Dee made a pasta salad. Yum-O

Fresh cut flowers.

Fresh flowers from the garden really brighten up your day!

Caught in the act!

Shadow thinks that the bird bath is his very own water bowl. No no Shadow!

Daily routine.

Every morning we can be seen walking a

dog or two down BB highway. From our driveway

to Diane's driveway is a 1/2 mile. So we get a mile

walk in every day.

Chilhowee Fair 2009 " Go Green"

Go Green,Save Fuel, Ride Mule".

The Chilhowee football team made their float

using empty milk jugs for the goal and football

player.

Courtney handing out the trophy to the

float winners.

Maybe we should design a float for next year.

The winners circle.

Scott-T-Dog

takes another

Blue ribbon.

Behind the dog my

stained glass Puffin takes a

White ribbon.

Nancy's fabric napkin

printed with a daisy wins

 a White ribbon.

Travis wins a Blue

ribbon for his " Go Green"

project. A rain catcher for

 your down spout.

Tom's soy beans take a Blue ribbon.

And Diane wins a Blue Ribbon for the T-Shirt quilt she made for me.

Courtney, Beth, and Kristen were also winners. I never got the total count of ribbons, but lets just say we cleaned up at the fair. Good job family!

And the winner is...................

Nancy is a big winner with

a blue, red, and a white

ribbon!

Chilhowee Fair 1st Annual 5K Run/Walk 2009

Travis is sporting the official Tee of the

1st Annual Chilhowee Fair 5K Run/Walk.

Some of the family helped out

 at the regestration table.

The first place winners. Look,

 it's our Kristen!

You go girl!!!!!

And here is the Weigand family with

3 winners in the group.

Great job guys.

Nancy's produce goes to the fair.

Last weekend was the Chilhowee Fair and the whole family was encourged, by Diane to enter something in the fair. Above is Nancy's selection from the garden. Good luck!

Gone to the dogs T-Shirt Quilt

Last August I decided to have a t-shirt quilt made from some of my many dog shirts. When we flew out to Missouri last year to look at the house I packed 25 shirts to be cut up into squares to make the quilt. I also picked out fabric for the front and back to complete the design. As it turns out Diane needed a total of 29 shirts to create this beauty. She delivered it to me last week. Great job Diane, we love it!

Caught caring, on the job!

Nancy was able to help a frustrated eldery woman who had made several calls to CareMark without having her issue resolved. After about 45 minutes of listening to the customers problem Nancy was able to fix her problem. The woman was so happy with Nancy's ability to solve her problem that she asked Nancy if she could speak to her supervisor to let her know how pleased she was with what Nancy had done for her.

Now here's the rub. When this happens, you get "Caught Caring" as they call it, you should get a gold heart balloon at your desk the next day. After about a week and still no balloon, I decided to bake Nancy a cake for her good deed.

Spice cake with cream cheese frostening and walnuts to top it off.

Way to go Nancy!!!!!!