The Dragon's Lair

7:18:04 PM CDT

     YUMMY!!  I think I mentioned a chocolate eclair recipe in one of my entries.  Here it is!  I haven't tried it yet.  Looks like it could be a little time consuming, but not difficult.  And I do so LOVE a good chocolate eclair.  No wonder I'm having trouble losing weight.  Just one couldn't hurt tho, right??  LOL

 Chocolate Éclairs
Serves 12

1 cup water 
1/2 cup margarine or butter 
1 cup all-purpose flour 
4 eggs 

Filling: 
1/3 cup sugar 
2 Tbs. cornstarch 
1/8 tsp. salt 
2 cups milk 
2 egg yolks, slightly beaten 
2 Tbs. margarine or butter, softened 
2 tsp. vanilla 

Chocolate Frosting: 
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate 
1 tsp. margarine or butter 
1 cup powdered sugar 
1-2 Tbs. hot water

Preheat oven to 400F. Heat water and margarine to rolling boil in 2-1/2-quart saucepan. Stir in flour; reduce heat. Stir vigorously over low heat about 1 minute or until mixture forms a ball; remove from heat. Beat in eggs; continue beating until smooth. Drop dough by scant 1/4 cupfuls onto un-greased cookie sheet. Shape fingers 4-1/2" long and 1-1/2" wide with spatula. Bake 35-40 minutes. Cool. Cut off the tops and fill with cream filling. Replace the tops and frost with chocolate frosting.

To make filling:
Mix sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a 2-quart saucepan. Gradually stir in milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute. Gradually stir at least half of the hot mixture into egg yolks. Stir into hot mixture in saucepan. Boil and stir 1 minute; remove from heat. Strain mixture to remove any lumps. Stir in margarine and vanilla; cool.

To make frosting:
Heat chocolate and margarine in 1-quart saucepan over low heat until melted; remove from heat. Stir in powdered sugar and hot water. Beat until smooth and is spreading consistency.

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2:01:10 PM CDT

     "I have a theory about the human mind.  A brain is a lot like a computer.  It will only take so many facts, and then it will go into overload and blowup."   Erma Bombeck

     I was thinking about my mom the other day and it brought back memories of how much she loved Erma Bombeck.  We grew up with Erma's columns hanging on our refrigerator, and with her quotes, especially about teenagers (lol), ringing in our ears.  Both my mom and Erma are gone now, but I still enjoy reading Erma's books and laughing when I remember a certain bit of her wit and wisdom that my mom used as we were growing up.

     Quite a coincidence that years later I would live, for a short time in Dayton, Ohio.  This is where Erma Bombeck grew up and is buried.  Her gravesite is located in the Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum, and is marked by a 29,000 pound rock brought in by her husband from Phoenix, Arizona to commemorate the 20 some years they lived together there. Woodland 

      My youngest son, Andy, and I, used to take walks there and it is truly lovely.  The cemetery/arboretum is huge and has quite a history to it.  It's full of what my son calls "spookables". I'll tell you more about those sometime.  It's a beautiful, serene area.  Home to a pond with geese and swans and enchanting statuary.  From the very top of a high hill, there's a breathtaking view of the City of Dayton.  If my scanner ever works, I'll include pictures I took from there.  In the meantime, check out the Woodland link.

      So, this is in memory of my mom and Erma.  Two amazing and wise women.

     "When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, "I used everything you gave me."   Erma Bombeck

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1:19:19 PM CDT
Feeling Happy

     Doing the happy dance here today!  Earl got a job!  Now it's my turn.  Anyway, he had been talking to a guy who was doing a roofing job down the street and he hooked Earl up with his brother-in-law who put Earl to work this morning.  Earl's making $12/hr. which isn't bad and it's work that shouldn't put too much stress on his legs and joints.  We'll see how he feels when he gets home tonight.  The BIL (Randy) even said he'd see about his wife putting in a word for me at the place she works.  It's one of the stores I've applied at and they pay around $8/hr. to start so that would be so great!  So, as long as the landlord gives us time to get things caught up we'll be okay.  There's another store too, that I applied for a supervisor position at.  It's practically next door and I'd love to work there.  Just waiting for them to call and set up an interview time.

     And my honey is sooo sweet.  The job they're doing is in Chicago and he called me a little while ago from there to see how I was doing and to tell me he loved me. (Well, ok...he was checking to see if he had any messages too. LOL)  But it's nice to hear him say he was calling to see how I was doing and that he loves me.  Especially when I wasn't really expecting to hear anything from him.  I am sooo crazy in love with that man.  LOL  Think I'll make him a celebration dinner tonight.

     Anyhoo....I'd like to thank everyone who kept us in their thoughts.  Especially like to thank Kim (Kimbellina) and Sara (Ceschorr).  You two have been great!  Thanks for the encouragement.

    

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12:38:34 PM CDT

     An EXTREMELY quiet day today.  Neither Earl or I are feeling too great (tummy problems) and he's still in bed.  Of course, he was awake a lot last night and he needs to get some sleep. It's a beutiful day out, though.  Perfect for just sitting out on the deck and relaxing.  I need to clean up the kitchen, but then I think I'll go outside for a bit.  Maybe take a book and just kick back for awhile.  If Earl gets up and is feeling any better maybe we can take a walk around the neighborhood.

     Not much has been going on...thankfully perhaps.  Earl found himself some garden snakes that he's put in with the turtle.  I knew it was only a matter of time. LOL  We did have a toad, but that nasty turtle ate him the other morning.  Earl didn't believe me about the turtle killing the last toad we had, but I saw him with my own eyes this time. It was the most disgusting thing I've ever seen.

     I've talked to both my boys the last few days and they said they can come up with around $200 to lend us until things get straightened out with rent and stuff.  They both even said we don't have to pay them back.  I told them we most certainly do and Earl agrees.  I hate borrowing money to begin with, but this is an extreme case and I guess it's what we'll have to do.  Hopefully the landlord will accept whatever we can come up with until we can come up with the rest.  By the beginning of December we should be ok.  I hope.

     My daughter and son-in-law have owed us $150 for over a year now.  It'd be nice if they'd pay it back.  They can afford to, but both are very selfish.  Sometimes I wonder how my daughter got to be the way she is.... My boys say she acts like trailer park trash most of the time and I hate to admit it, but they're right.  She certainly wasn't brought up that way so I really don't understand it.  Maybe I'll write an entry about her one day so you all can understand.  I love my daughter, but a lot of the time I don't like her very much.  She's the one that told me how much they'd like living here and now that I've called and told her they can she avoids my calls and tells my youngest, Andy, that I'm always calling and bugging her about it.  I've only talked to her once to tell her they could move in if they wanted.  She was supposed to call me a couple days later and let me know. She didn't so I left a couple of messages on her voicemail to call me and she didn't so I let it drop. Figured they'd changed their minds which was fine. I only thought she'd at least be courteous enough to return my call.  You'd think after 25 years I'd know better.  Oh, well.

     It's soooo quiet around here with Earl asleep and the puppies all outside.  They're enjoying the nice day, too.  Poor babies.  Most of the last few days have been kind of wet and cold, so they haven't been able to be out playing as much as they like.  They are so much fun to have around.  Sometimes we think maybe we have too many (4), but I can't imagine not having all of them here.  They act like toddlers and I guess we actually treat them more like kids than dogs. The whole lot of them are spoiled.  Such personalities though.  LOL

     I hear Earl moving around...maybe he'll get up soon.  Better go and clean up that kitchen.  It's afternoon already.

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10:01:10 AM CDT

     Ok.... all the threads about cookies and recipes I've seen on the message board today are making me hungry!!  Nothing I enjoy better than trying out new recipes and seeing how people react to the finished project.

     One site I just found this morning is PastryWiz Food Resource Center - Food & Fun starts here!.  It's got a recipe for Chocolate Eclairs that I'm dying to try...among others.  It looks like a really neat site and besides the recipes, has ideas for cake decorating.  Some real cute ideas for Halloween cakes.

     This is a recipe I found in a "Taste of Home" magazine years ago.  I lost the magazine,but was lucky enough to find the recipe again after much searching.  This is Earl's absolute favorite desert and perfect for making this time of year.  If you don't tell anyone it's zucchini instead of apples they'll never know.  Honest!  Enjoy!!

 

LuAnn's "Guess the Mystery Fruit" Crisp

Posted by LuAnn at recipegoldmine.com 7/4/01 6:56:06 am

Source: Original recipe, very loosely based on one from a local church fund-raising cookbook.

OK, so where I live, it is zucchini season, not apple season - but your family may never guess the "mystery fruit." My brother once devoured a half pan of this crisp before knowing what it was!

Crisp Mixture
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 pound butter or margarine (3 sticks)

Filling
8 cups prepared zucchini (About 3-4 medium,
    which have been peeled, halved lengthwise,
    seeded and thinly sliced)
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup Crisp Mixture (see above)
1  to 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon cinnamon

To prepare the Crisp Mixture: In a large bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar and salt . Using a pastry blender, cut in butter or margarine until mixture is crumbly; set aside.

To prepare the Filling: In a large saucepan, over medium-high heat, cook the zucchini, lemon juice and vinegar together, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini is very tender, but still retains its shape. Stir in 1/2 cup of the prepared Crisp Mixture, and the brown sugar, nutmeg and salt. Simmer over low heat several minutes, stirring constantly, to allow the filling to thicken, and the flavors to blend.

Pat half of the remaining crisp mixture into a 9 x 13-inch pan. Spread the zucchini filling over the base. Sprinkle the rest of the crisp mixture evenly over the filling; press lightly. Bake at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes, or until bubbly hot throughout, and top is lightly browned.

Serve warm or cold. Very good with vanilla ice cream!

 

   

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2:11:44 PM CDT
Feeling Sad

     The landlord showed up today.  The roommate took off owing over $2300.00 in rent.  This means that while we were paying the other bills and buying all the groceries the roommate was paying nothing and sitting on his a-- eating our food.  The landlord is very nice and said if we can come up with $750.00 in 5 days we can stay.  That is of course an impossibility.  No way is that going to happen.  Plus, we have no money to go anywhere else either.  God...just shoot me now.

     We're also out the $1000 the roommate owed Earl from when Earl worked for him.  That was supposed to go toward paying our part of the rent for the last couple of months, but since no rent got paid he still owes Earl $1000.  Which we will never see.  I'd like to know what he did with all the money he was earning before he supposedly got sick.  He never bought anything.  He must have had this planned all along and held onto it to leave.  Who knows?

     Now the best we can hope for is that we find someone that can loan us some money until Earl's inheritance gets put through.  I know none of my family can help.  They all have a houseful of kids still at home and won't have that kind of money extra to lend out.  My family has never been big on financial help anyway. Maybe I can go panhandle out on the streets....LOL

    On a better note...I think I will have a job soon.  It's just fast food, but maybe it will at least take care of the rent.  If we can just get a hand with November's rent we should be okay again.  Everyone who reads this....pray for a miracle.  I sure am.

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10:19:59 AM CDT
Hearing Stomp

     Ok....so a message was left on the roommate's cell yesterday telling him we'd like the name of the landlord and that I want our comforter back.  No return call from him yet. Probably won't get one.  I think there's a way to find out who owns what property...maybe by calling the county clerks office?? I used to know a long time ago, but have forgotten now.  Oh well...I guess if nothing else he will show up for the rent.  Have no idea if the roommate even told him he was leaving or that we're living here.  The landlord has never been to or called the house. We assumed the roommate was either mailing rent or calling him on his cell.  I'm tired of worrying about it.

     Earl's been having problems with one of his legs the last couple of days.  It started out with the top of his leg tingling and now he says the whole area is completely numb.  He's going to call his doctor today.  He hurt and felt so bad last night that he couldn't sleep so he stayed out in the living room until the wee hours watching tv.  I checked on him at one point to see if he needed anything....he had tears coming out of his eyes he hurt so much.  All the stress hasn't been helping, I'm sure. 

      I should be hearing from my daughter sometime today on whether or not they can move in with us.  If they can, it would help take some of the pressure off of Earl.  Then I'd be babysitting my grandson and have decided that if that's the case, I might as well take in a couple more little ones and make some money that way.  Thought about babysitting before, but couldn't do it with the roommate here.

     It's been raining here for the last few days.  Nothing unusual for the month of October.  I think, in all the years I took my kids trick-or-treating, there were only one or two Halloweens when it didn't rain.  That never slowed them down though. LOL

     Now that the roommate mess is pretty much over maybe I can think of other things.  Time to lighten things up.

 

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9:07:49 AM CDT
Feeling Anxious

     Ok....he left yesterday and didn't say a word to us about leaving or even as he and his buddies were taking his stuff out the door.  He still has some things here, so I guess he'll be back.  We need to find out the name and phone number of the landlord from him and he better bring back the comforter of mine he took with him.  Plus he'd better take care of the bills he owes so we don't have to try to pay them off.  Though I guess we're not responsible for them as they are not in our names yet.  We just have to get everything changed over.  I can guarantee the people he moved in with don't know about his crack addiction.  They have three or four little kids and I can't imagine them letting him around their kids if they knew.  And, this may sound petty, but it really irritated me....he couldn't be bothered to tell us he was leaving or pay any of the bills or do anything else he was supposed to do according to the agreement we came to when we moved in here, but he still ate the food we provided.  Even the morning he left!  That was our agreement.  He was going to cover the rent and utilities (Earl had been working for him and he owed Earl $1000 when we moved in, so it was never like we were sponging off the man to begin with) and we were going to take care of the yardwork,the house and groceries and I cooked the meals for everyone.  And let me tell you, we had plenty of cleaning up and out to do when we got here.  The trees in the back all needed trimmed and thinned out and all the brush then needed burning.  It took Earl a week to get it done because it had been left for so long.  All the walls and ceilings in the house needed scrubbed.  They were covered with smoke film and what looked like pop or something that had been sprayed down at least one wall in every room.  The carpets needed shampooed and are still stained from their dogs and kids.  There is no way to get them looking decent as the stains had been left for so long.  Plus, the people who had lived here with the roommate before hadn't even got all their stuff out of the house, so we ended up packing and moving their things out into the garage just so we could move our things in. 

     I don't know.... Earl has that money coming from his mother's estate, butthat could be several months from now.  I've got a couple of job interviews coming up, but nothing definite yet.  And one of the rehab agencies in the area is supposed to be helping Earl find/train for a new job.  He had a work-related injury a couple of years ago and it resulted in a lot of nerve damage.  Some new pain or problem seems to keep popping up.  It never gets better.  The doctors keep giving him pain pills, but he doesn't like to take them.  They don't really help and quite often upset his stomach.

     Hopefully my daughter and her husband will agree to move in.  I'd babysit for them while they worked, at least until I find some kind of job.   I will keep faith that God will provide. We haven't been out on the streets yet.

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7:58:53 AM CDT
Feeling Frustrated

     Earls' mother passed away in June.  He just found out about a month ago.  No one in his family bothered to get in touch with him.  Just an example of what his whole life has been like.  Now, he loved his mother, but she was an extremely trying and difficult woman to be around and we had been expecting to hear of her death for some time.  She had various mental problems, including bi-polarism and paranoia.  Most of which she's had all her life.  She had an extreme "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" personality.  You never knew from one day to the next which she would be.

     Now, Earls' biggest problem comes from the fact that his younger brother was named their mothers guardian a couple of years back.  Once his brother got some control, everything went haywire.  Things that should have been included in her estate seem to have suddenly disappeared.  Things like a car, antique furniture and diamond rings.  Plus, her property, which had been appraised at $90,000 just two years ago, and which has supposedly had $20,000 worth of work done to it since then, has suddenly become worth only $40,000.  I smell something fishy here.  So does Earl, and instead of signing papers to okay the sale of the property, he is insisting on an investigation into the discrepancies.  I bet his brother is throwing all kinds of fits right about now. LOL  But, in the end, Earl's entitled to 25% of her estate and I think he's doing the right thing.

     And, on the roommate front.....we may be getting rid of him soon.  The other day, when my kids were here, I had overheard him on the speaker phone and the friend he was talking to said that he could go stay there.  We have noticed that the roommate has become very busy all of a sudden.  Cleaning up his stuff and packing it.  He has yet to say anything to us yet, however.  We figure he plans on just taking off and stiffing us with back due rent and all the bills that he never bothered with. Ain't gonna happen. Earl's going to confront him and make him have the landlord put the lease in our names.  My daughter has said more than once that they would be happy to share the house with us.  That would make it affordable and we wouldn't have to worry about finding something else.  (I think this is the worst time of the year to have to move.)  I just think the roommate could at least be good enough to give us a little advanced warning.  Of course, why would he?  We just found out that he hasn't even been paying the bill for our garbage pick-up and, this week, they left the garbage sitting out front when they went through.  Lovely!  Oh well. As long as he gets got, I'll be happy.

     And, on a happier note, I've finally been getting calls in for interviews.  I think most of them will be for seasonal work, but it's more than I have now.  And seasonal often turns into permanent.  Also, A huge thrift store just opened at the mall next to us.  It takes up three storefronts and I love it.  Thrift stores and garage sales are two of my favorite things.  I will be spending a LOT of time there.

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3:21:32 PM CDT

     I've just started a new journal, P.S.  I LOVE YOU. I hope you all enjoy it.  Please go and check it out and let me know what you think so far.

     So far this has been a pretty ordinary day.  Just doing housework and messing on this computer.  Also a little bored, which is why I guess I started the new journal.  Gave me something to do and an outlet for a little creativity.  I'm sure I'll be working on that more later today.

      Here's a link for a cute little story.sex and candy story using chocolate bar names

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