Category Archives: Flashbacks & My Old Posts

Repost – Cheese Puffs, a Cautionary Tale – National Cheese Doodle Day

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Thank you all for your well wishes and healing thoughts.
You cheered me up and help me to feel better.
Y’all are the best.
Wishing you all sunshine and smiles!
🌞❤️

Did you know there’s a National Cheese Doodle Day celebrated on March 5th? Yep, me neither, I happened on it by accident.  The day celebrates cheese doodles and others like, cheese puffs, cheese curls, and cheese balls. The website has a short history and other info.
~*~
So, for just a bit of silly fun on this 5th day of March, I’m reposting part of my post from 2017 Cheese Puffs, a Cautionary Tale You’re welcome to click the link to read the whole post if you want too.

Cheese Puffs, a Cautionary Tale repost from 5-26-2017

When my grandson was a little boy, he’d asked me many times, “Grandma, Why do you eat Cheese puffs with a fork? You’re the only person I know that eats cheese puffs with a fork.”
I’d tell him, “I don’t like to get the cheese crumbs under my fingernails.”
But for some reason, my explanation would get lost and again, the next time he had cheese puffs, even if I didn’t eat a one, we’d have the same conversation.I was thinking about cheese puffs and my grandson asking me over and over again about why I eat them with a fork. I remembered a fond childhood memory about a funny conversation I had with a special Uncle about cheese puffs. For a few minutes I mused if maybe it has something to do with my odd quirk of character of eating cheese puffs with a fork.

When I was a child, we had a big family. Chili was an affordable hearty food to feed many hungry mouths. Unfortunately, I was the only member of the family that couldn’t eat chili. It just didn’t agree with me. So, When Mom would make chili, she’d have my Dad take me to the local grocery store and buy me a can of chicken noodle soup and a bag of cheese puffs.
Also whenever I had a cold or tummy ache or other childhood ailment, cheese puffs and chicken noodle soup was a couple of foodies that would pull me through.I had a wonderful Uncle who was big as a mountain with a heart as big as the sky. He loved to tease us young’uns. He and my Aunt happened to be visiting once when Mom made up a huge batch of chili. Mom and my Aunt took me to the store and bought me my chicken noodle soup and cheese puffs.

That evening when everyone had finished their chili, I was still munching on my cheese puffs, I had learned to make them last since they were a rare treat.
My Uncle asked me why I was eating chicken noodle soup and cheese puffs instead of chili.
I told him that I couldn’t eat chili. I then offered him a cheese puff.
He said he would never eat a cheese puff because he didn’t trust them.
Then he told me an amusing story that has stuck with me my whole life.

My Uncle said when he was a little boy, he loved eating cheese puffs. Unfortunately, his hands would get cheese crumbs all over them and he’d need to wipe them a lot. He didn’t have a napkin handy and didn’t want to ruin his shirt or pants, so he’d wipe his hands off in his hair. And oh what glorious locks of hair he bragged he had as boy.
Sadly, one morning after he had eaten a bunch of cheese puffs the night before, he woke up and his hair had turned curly and yellow like cheese puffs and then it all fell out.
This, he explained, was why he was bald-headed even as a grown man because his hair never grew back. He refused to ever eat cheese puffs again. He warned me to be careful because it could happen to me too. Then he gave a hearty laugh and patted me on the head.

I remember giggling at his silly cheese puff story. Even though I knew he made the story up, I kept my hands washed and the cheese puff crumbs out of my hair just to be sure.

I wish my Uncle was still with us, I’m sure he would tell my Grandson the same amusing cautionary tale about eating cheese puffs. I’m so thankful that my Uncle took the time to make up a silly story to share a laugh with me.

~*~

Wishing you all smiles and special moments.

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Cheese Puffs, a Cautionary Tale – Flashback Friday

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Sometime ago, I was cutting across our local department store trying to take the shortest route between the craft isle to the fishing isle where my husband was shopping. I was weaving in and out of isles I don’t usually frequent and as I darted through the party favor isle my eyes happened upon these wonderful little tongs.I had been searching for little tongs like this for years. It never occurred to me to check in the party stuff for them. There’s 6 of them for less than $2.00. I happily put them in my cart and bought them.These little tongs are perfect for cheese puffs, pickles, chips, marshmallows or most any little snacks.
I usually use a fork to eat cheese puffs with. I like the tongs much better.

As I was photographing the tongs to make a post about how handy they are, I remembered a fun post from my ex-blog about cheese puffs. I dug through my files, found the post and made a few edits. Since I don’t have that blog anymore and I have several New Blogging Buddies & Readers, I’m going to post it again.
It makes me smile to share this with you. I hope it gives you a bit of a smile too.
~*~

Cheese Puffs, a Cautionary Tale

When my grandson was a little boy, he’d asked me many times, “Grandma, Why do you eat Cheese puffs with a fork? You’re the only person I know that eats cheese puffs with a fork.”
I’d tell him, “I don’t like to get the cheese crumbs under my fingernails.”
But for some reason, my explanation would get lost and again, the next time he had cheese puffs, even if I didn’t eat a one, we’d have the same conversation.I was thinking about cheese puffs and my grandson asking me over and over again about why I eat them with a fork. I remembered a fond childhood memory about a funny conversation I had with a special Uncle about cheese puffs. For a few minutes I mused if maybe it has something to do with my odd quirk of character of eating cheese puffs with a fork.

When I was a child, we had a big family. Chili was an affordable hearty food to feed many hungry mouths. Unfortunately, I was the only member of the family that couldn’t eat chili. It just didn’t agree with me. So, When Mom would make chili, she’d have my Dad take me to the local grocery store and buy me a can of chicken noodle soup and a bag of cheese puffs.
Also whenever I had a cold or tummy ache or other childhood ailment, cheese puffs and chicken noodle soup was a couple of foodies that would pull me through.I had a wonderful Uncle who was big as a mountain with a heart as big as the sky. He loved to tease us young’uns. He and my Aunt happened to be visiting once when Mom made up a huge batch of chili. Mom and my Aunt took me to the store and bought me my chicken noodle soup and cheese puffs.

That evening when everyone had finished their chili, I was still munching on my cheese puffs, I had learned to make them last since they were a rare treat.
My Uncle asked me why I was eating chicken noodle soup and cheese puffs instead of chili.
I told him that I couldn’t eat chili. I then offered him a cheese puff.
He said he would never eat a cheese puff because he didn’t trust them.
Then he told me an amusing story that has stuck with me my whole life.

My Uncle said when he was a little boy, he loved eating cheese puffs. Unfortunately, his hands would get cheese crumbs all over them and he’d need to wipe them a lot. He didn’t have a napkin handy and didn’t want to ruin his shirt or pants, so he’d wipe his hands off in his hair. And oh what glorious locks of hair he bragged he had as boy.
Sadly, one morning after he had eaten a bunch of cheese puffs the night before, he woke up and his hair had turned curly and yellow like cheese puffs and then it all fell out.
This, he explained, was why he was bald-headed even as a grown man because his hair never grew back. He refused to ever eat cheese puffs again. He warned me to be careful because it could happen to me too. Then he gave a hearty laugh and patted me on the head.

I remember giggling at his silly cheese puff story. Even though I knew he made the story up, I kept my hands washed and the cheese puff crumbs out of my hair just to be sure.

I wish my Uncle was still with us, I’m sure he would tell my Grandson the same amusing cautionary tale about eating cheese puffs. I’m so thankful that my Uncle took the time to make up a silly story to share a laugh with me.

~*~

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend filled with smiles and special moments.

.

Baked Small Wonder Spaghetti Squash – winter squash

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*This is an Edited post from 2011 from my ex-blog.
I thought it might be helpful to anyone new to small spaghetti squash.

~~~*~~~

Small wonder spaghetti squash are winter squash.
The largest small wonder squash that we
harvested in 2011 was around 6 inches tall.spegsqua2—————–
Here’s how I prepare, bake and serve Spaghetti Squash.
—————-

Baked Spaghetti Squash

The squash skin is tough and quite slick,
so to help keep it stable I set it on an old dishtowel.spegsqua3Carefully cut slits all around the squash.spegsqua4Carefully cut joining slits in spaces between
making one slit around the squash.
*Be extra careful cutting on the bottom dimple and the stem,
they’re terribly tough and hard to cut through.spegsqua5Pull the squash apart & openspegsqua6clean out the seeds and pulpspegsqua7Place halves side by side face down in a baking dish.

*In the bottom of the pan, Add about a 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch of water.

**Check on the water level throughout the baking process.
Add more water if it evaporates too much.

Bake in a 375° preheated oven for 30 minutes.
Stick a fork in the squash to check for tenderness and doneness.

Remove from oven when done and allow to sit for 20 or 30 minutes
or until cool enough to safely handle.spegsqua8Carefully remove squash halves from baking dish
and scrap the spaghetti strings out of them.spegsqua9Add your favorite sauce and serve.

Happy cooking!

.

Wildlife Wednesday – Napping Squirrel

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IMG_3370This is the only napping squirrel I’ve ever seen.
I’m glad it chose to nap in a tree within my line of sight.
I smile each time I look at this photo. I think it’s so cute.

Wishing you all a Wonderful Wednesday!
icnsqu1acorn1icnsqu2

*I originally posted my napping squirrel photo May 2013 in my ex-blog

2015 WP Weekly Photo Challenge – ROY G. BIV

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2015
WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge
~ROY G. BIV~

When our Grandson, was old enough to climb out of his playpen, we bought him a new twin size bed. We set it up, put on new sheets, but we didn’t have a comforter set for it yet.

I immediately wanted to make a quilt for the bed. My Mom was always quick to make new quilts for new beds or new folks. It took me a couple of days to search for a pattern and I didn’t like any of the ones I found. In the tradition of my Mom,  I sat down and designed my own special pattern for our Grandson’s quilt.

I decided to go with a lake theme in honor of all the fishermen in our families. The fish are all the colors of the rainbow except blue. I decided to use the blue for the background representing a water in lake.

I was amazed at how easily my pattern went together. It turned out quite well.

Here’s the picture of the quilt top before I quilted it.
rainbowlake1lgI think Every special quilt needs a story with it and here’s the one that I made up for our Grandson.
The pinwheels in each corner represent the propeller of a boat.
In the 1st boat is Grandson and his Dad (our son)
In the 2nd boat is Grandpa & Grandma (me & my husband)
In the 3rd boat is his Mom and other Grandparents (his Mom’s parents)
In the 4th boat he could pretend that anyone he wanted to be in it. Sometimes he chose his sometimes his cousins, sometimes his friends, sometimes the power rangers, sometimes his aunts and/or uncles. His favorite was when he pretended that his and our puppy dog and/or kitty cat was in it. lol

The story line took on many different aspects and adventures as our Grandson got older, but basically the story is:
The quilt story is ‘Rainbow Lake’. We all are in our boats on a fishing trip. We have a wonderful time and our Grandson always catches all the fish. 😉

I know it’s a simple story and some folks might find it quite silly, but it has always been such fun watching and listening to our Grandson pretending about our imaginary fishing trips.

Back to my mention of our planning to take our Grandson shopping for a comforter set for his new twin size bed, well, he loved the Rainbow Lake quilt so much that he didn’t want a store bought comforter. I was so surprised and tickled pink. It sure did my heart good to see him so happy about a quilt that I made for him.

Here’s the quilt set all finished.
rainbowlake2lg
I quilted the quilt on my sewing machine.
I used a low pile poly batting.

I made the dust ruffle a darker blue because the water in a real lake seems darker near the bottom. I made the pillow sham the same color as the dust ruffle to pull the set together, so-to-speak.

The set washes up beautifully.
It’s been washed regularly over the years and it’s colors has held up wonderfully.

It’s been about 12 years since I made the quilt and up until this past weekend, our Grandson still didn’t want a store bought comforter set… even though we’d put a full size bed in his room a few months ago and gave his twin to his little cousin. He still loved the quilt and the story that goes with it. I kept the quilt on the bed as a comforter even though it was way too short on the sides and looked quite goofy.

After much searching, I found a full size comforter that I thought our Grandson might like. It’s solid gray with geometrical lines and has matching striped sheets. I gave it to him this weekend and he was quite pleased with it.

Our Grandson still loves his Rainbow Lake quilt and it’ll always be here for him. I hope someday in the far far far future to give it his child. I do hope that they enjoy it as much and we have. There’s alot of special memories in that Rainbow Lake.

Wishing you all beautiful memories of rainbows and smiles.rainbow

The theme for this week challenge is ROY G. BIV. The first thing that came to my mind to share was about the Rainbow Lake quilt. I went back in my old files trying to find my original unedited photos, but I couldn’t find them, so I had to use old edited ones. I edited the photos to make them bigger and that explains the lower quality. For this challenge I hope the story helps makes up for the photo quality.

 ~*~*~*~

Wishing you all fun with the WP photo challenge!z00m

spgrnbgln