This Week In Review!

Hi all,

Well, according to the weather man, tomorrow we go back to winter weather, no more mid forties for a few days anyways.  I really don't like the cold and windy weather, but then I really don't have to go out in it very often.  Now that I think about it, I haven't been out of the house since Tuesday morning.  Usually I go for groceries on Thursdays, but I wasn't feeling very well, so I thought I'd go on Friday.  Turns out I still wasn't feeling well, so my husband did the grocery chore for me.  He did pretty good at following my list.  Turns out I was still feeling a bit under the weather today.  I do hope that tomorrow comes without any aches or pains, or more to the point, less sinus drainage and less congestion.

What have you been up to lately?  I do hope you've been doing something to express yourself creatively.  I've been very busy between writing.  I'm almost finished my sequel novel, "Crafty-Cruise" With A Capital "C".  It will still be some time before I am ready to get it to a publisher.  I have a lot of proof-reading to do and changes to make.  But, the good news is that I now see a light at the end of the tunnel.

I've also been busy creating handmade greeting cards.  I've been trying some new card designs and I love using them, but it does take me quite a while just to do one.  I've finally finished my Halloween cards and I'm almost done with my Thanksgiving cards for my family for this year.  I also made two 'get well' cards, but I still have quite a few more to create. 

Along with being an author, and greeting card creator I also have been busy doing some quilting.  I love doing hand sewing and for me, it's such a relaxer.  I finished a tree wrap for my artificial pine that's in my bedroom and now I'm almost completed with a quilted table runner for my dining room table.  The fabric is a combination for teapots, teacups and saucers.  It's so perfect for my dining room because the artificial pine that's in there is decorated with miniature teapots, teacups and saucers. 

Once or twice a year I have a tea luncheon here in my home for my friends.  I get out my good vintage china charger-plates, salad plates, dinner plates, bread plates, saucers and tea cups, butter plates and dessert plates.  Oh, and of course, my vintage teapots and creamer and sugar bowls.  It's a lot of work, but all my friends seem to love it, so it gives me pleasure in pleasing them.  But, only once or twice a year!

I can't  believe that we are on the down side of February already.  Lent started this week and before you know it, Easter will be upon us.  I decided not to give up anything for Lent this year, but rather to make more quiet time with just God and me.  Without Him, I wouldn't be alive, so I certainly can give Him a bit more one on one time. 

Of course, this past Tuesday was Fausnaught Day.  I'm really not sure if Fausnaught Day is celebrated in other countries or even it it's celebrated everywhere in the US.  But, here in South Central Pennsylvania, it surely is celebrated.  One of these days I'm going to make a small batch of those wonderfully yummy fausnaughts. 

When I was a child, my Mother would start mixing the ingredients for fausnaughts on the Monday evening before Fausnaught Day.  It was an all evening and half the night venture for her.  After mixing the dough, she needed to sit it aside so it could rise, then she'd punch it back down and let it rise up once again.  Then she'd start rolling and cutting out the donuts, laying them all out on tables all through the downstairs (kitchen, dining room and living room).  At this point, which was usually around 12:30 or 1:00 in the morning, she'd go to bed for maybe two hours.  Then she'd get up, dress for work and head out into the kitchen to start frying the fausnaughts.  After all the frying was done, she'd place them in a large paper bag and add 10x sugar, shake and then put into bags of either 1/2 dozen or dozen.  Everybody at the sewing factory, where she worked,  ordered fausnaughts.  Not only where my Mother worked, but at my Dad's place of employment (York Barbell Co.) as well. 

So, what I was used to was waking up on Fausnaught Day to the smell of fresh made fausnaughts.  (Actually it was more the grease smell, but I thought it smelled wonderful.)  We (my sister, brother and I) would eat at least two for breakfast.  (I mean to tell you, these were very large fausnaughts.  One of my uncles, Uncle Sam, made my Mom a large donut cutter.)  Then I'd put one in a bag and take it to school with me to eat after lunch.  I'm sure we had at least one or two more after school and for a snack that evening.  Note:  I still have my Mom's recipe and I have never tasted anyone else's that were as good as hers.  That shouldn't surprise me, because she was a great cook.  Actually she was good at pretty much everything she did.  I miss her and my dad very much.

Well, I do hope you are having and will continue to have a good weekend.  My husband just got back from one of my Grandson's Lacrosse games.  He really enjoys going to all their sports games.  I'm glad he goes because he enjoys it and it gives him something to do, since I'm usually too tired to do anything by 3:00 in the afternoon.

Talk to you soon.
Susan