It's My Party

Live Nativity

2011-12-31T07:07:00.001-05:00

The Presbyterian Church in Montclair displayed a live Nativity scene on their lawn. It was beautiful to see and the weather was quite agreeable, a little cold but no snow or rain to dampen the activities.

Christmas in Manhattan

2011-12-15T06:02:00.000-05:00

I went to New York City and took a few pictures along Fifth Avenue. Here are some of them.

Window display at Lord & Taylor

Window display at Bergdorf Goodman

The tree at Rockefeller Center

The tree in Bryant Park

Pumpkin Filled Wonton Dumplings

2011-09-26T21:42:00.003-04:00

This is my favorite pumpkin recipe because they are so easy to prepare.

Pumpkin Filled Wonton Dumplings

The Purple Heart

2011-06-02T14:43:00.000-04:00

Here's a brief history of the Purple Heart awarded to members of the military.

The Purple Heart is a military honor awarded to those wounded, killed or have died as a result of wounds while serving in any branch of the United States Armed Forces after April 5, 1917.

A Purple Heart is awarded automatically for wounds received during combat by enemy fire or action. Before presentation can be made, a chain of command review must be done to validate that the wound or death was a result of enemy action. The wound or death is not limited to battlefield combat. i.e. if a member of the military is injured in a vehicle accident, and the accident was caused in any way by the actions of the enemy, that individual is entitled to a Purple Heart.
Next of kin is entitled to receive the Purple Heart for a deceased veteran after a report of death has been issued ensuring the requirement of death by enemy.
August 7 is National Purple Heart Day.

Some well known recipients:

Charles Durning
Lee Marvin
John McCain
John F. Kennedy
Colin Powell
James Garner
Pat Tillman

Margaret's 40th Birthday!!

2011-05-23T09:12:00.002-04:00

The Traveling Plate

2011-05-20T08:20:00.000-04:00

Here is a nice poem to use when taking a plate of food or goodies to a party:

The Traveling Plate

This plate shall have no owner for its journey never ends.

It travels in the circle of our family and our friends.

It carries love from home to home for everyone to share.

The food that’s placed upon it is filled with love and care.

So please enjoy what’s on this plate, then fill it up again,

and pass along the love it holds to family and your friends.

Inexpensive plates and bowls can be found at your local thrift shop.

Monkey Found (she came in thru the bathroom window)

2011-05-16T10:58:00.002-04:00

Good News!! Monkey the cat has been found. Once again, my brother-in-law Charlie came to the rescue of a cat. The flyer above is what Charlie used to identify Monkey.
Charlie was standing at the sink on the second floor of the Manse at the Bloomfield Presbyterian Church on the Green when he looked out the window and saw a cat on the roof. He noticed that it looked a lot like Monkey, the cat on the flyers that were taped to trees in the neighborhood. He immediately ran downstairs to get one of the flyers, a can of cat food and a bowl of water. Back upstairs he opened the window and made the identification. Monkey raced inside, grateful to be fed and safe. She was missing for two weeks.
Charlie called the phone number, and Monkey's Dad said that he was at work but would be home in an hour. When Dad arrived he called Monkey's name and she came running to him.
Monkey has been to the vet for a check-up and all is well.
You might recall from a previous post when Suzanna didn't feel well, it was Charlie who told me what to do.

Featured on Redgage

2011-05-09T06:40:00.000-04:00

Yesterday RedGage featured my Cats On A Plane story. I got a nice bonus for it too!! $4.90. Here's the featured article Cats On A Plane. It's really easy to earn money on RedGage, click here to sign up.

Julie & Julia

2011-04-27T12:58:00.003-04:00

My new favorite movie is Julie & Julia! It's the true story of 2 women; Julie Powell and legendary chef Julia Child.
It starts with Julie Powell, a young woman who likes to cook for herself and her husband. To improve her culinary skills, she obtained (stole from her mother) a copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. Julie's goal was to prepare all 524 recipes in 365 days. She also blogged about each recipes' success and failure.
Julie's blog became extremely popular. She was inundated with calls from book publishers. She wrote a book about her experience and a movie was made with Amy Adams as Julie Powell and Meryl Streep as Julia Child. Bravo!

Feed the Hungry Dinners

2011-04-17T14:06:00.002-04:00

It's been a while since I posted about our monthly Feed The Hungry Dinners at the Bloomfield Presbyterian Church on the Green. Nothing has changed. We still hold the dinners on the 3rd Monday of every month. I'm still on kitchen duty. We have the same volunteers and picked up a few new ones.

The dinners usually consist of: Fruit cup, salad, main course and dessert and coffee. For the main course we've served pasta with meat sauce, bread and butter; homemade chicken pot pie; corned beef and cabbage with potatoes and bread and butter; turkey breast with stuffing, vegetable, rolls and butter.

Bumble Bee Tuna

2011-04-17T05:36:00.000-04:00

This is a pretty good story and a 'thumbs up' for Bumble Bee tuna.
Back in January I bought a can of Bumble Bee Tuna at the local supermarket. The can wasn't dented nor did it appear damaged in any way. Then one day I went to open the can and I noticed that the top was flexible. I could press down on the top and it popped back up. That's usually not good. It's an indication of an improper seal. I did not open the can.
So, I contacted Bumble Bee by email through their website. They were quick to respond by email advising me that I would be contacted again.
A short time later I received a letter asking that I send the can of tuna to Bumble Bee's laboratory for examination. A postage paid envelope was provided. I sent the can of tuna to Bumble Bee. Within about 2 weeks I received another letter advising me that an examination showed that inadequate vacuum had been drawn inside the can. Bumble Bee also advised that I was correct in questioning the safety of the can.
Along with their letter, Bumble Bee sent 3 coupons for a free can of tuna and several .25 cents off coupons.
Thumbs up for Bumble Bee!

Las Vegas Death Ray

2010-10-31T07:56:00.001-04:00

We all know it gets hot in Las Vegas, but these guests at the Vdara Hotel experienced a real scorcher! They witnessed the Las Vegas Death Ray!

Suzanna the Cat

2010-10-09T02:24:00.006-04:00

This is my cat Suzanna chasing her tail.

Squidoo Lens

2010-08-01T22:09:00.000-04:00

I'm working on another Squidoo lens. There's a lot of typing involved so I;m doing it in small doses. Everything gets blurry after awhile. Anyway, I thought it would be cool to make a lens of capitals of the world. Check it out even though it's not finished yet.

Studio Apartment Entertaining

2010-07-10T17:44:00.001-04:00

Living in a studio apartment has its advantages, although I can’t think of any right now I’ll have to get back to you on that. The ultimate challenge however is entertaining guests. Yes, plural. More than one. Whoever said ‘two’s company, three’s a crowd’ must have lived in a studio apartment. Here is a link to my latest article on Xomba.
Studio Apartment Entertaining
If you would like to write articles and earn money, join Xomba now!

Investing Lens on Squidoo

2010-06-30T07:11:00.000-04:00

I really like making Squidoo lenses. I like the idea that they never have to end, you can continually add to them or remove outdated material. So, I started a new lens Tools For Investing Online. Check it out. It covers all sorts of websites and products for stock market trading online. If you would like to make a Squidoo lens, you can sign up here.

Memorial Day Parade

2010-06-11T08:18:00.004-04:00

I finally got the pictures from the Memorial Day Parade off my camera and saved onto my computer. This time I took my photos a step further and made a Squidoo lens. If you don't know what a Squidoo lens is, it's a blog sort of, with loads of options. Click to see my Memorial Day Parade lens.
If you would like to make a Squidoo lens, here is a referral link to sign-up. Have fun with it and enjoy the parade!

Cinco de Mayo Dinner

2010-05-21T07:09:00.001-04:00

We held our monthly fundraiser dinner at the church Friday night May 14. It was a Mexican theme in honor of Cinco de Mayo. The tables and decorations can only be described as an explosion of color! The menu was:

Tortilla Chips and Salsa

Cheese Quesadillas

Beef Empanadas

Taco Casserole

Rainbow Sorbet

All that for $8.00!!!

Arizona Land Investment

2010-05-01T12:18:00.021-04:00

I bought some vacant land in Dolan Springs, Arizona. 20 acres. I bought it as an investment, and here's why: Dolan Springs is 80 miles from Las Vegas, Nevada, via the old route. (currently the only route)

The new Hoover Dam Bypass is set to open soon which will shorten the drive time to Las Vegas by about a half hour. So with the problems that Las Vegans are facing with the highest rate of home foreclosures in the country along with many other drawbacks, some folks might consider living in Arizona and working in Las Vegas. With that in mind, Dolan Springs would be an excellent alternative. The land there is cheap now but when the bypass is completed later this year (2010) I, and many others, expect that the price of land in Dolan Springs will skyrocket! If you're interested in buying investment property, you can do it online. Here is the website that I used: Dolan Springs Landscapes Online
This is what my land looks like now:

I also want to mention that Dolan Springs lies about halfway between White Hills and Golden Valley, AZ.

That said, after you watch this video from CNBC you might want to contact Dolan Springs Landscapes.

Rummage Sale

2010-04-27T15:17:00.001-04:00

Saturday I volunteered to work at the Rummage Sale where the Bloomfield Presbyterian Church had 2 tables. We had one table with items from the Church's thrift shop, and one table with baked goods. All donated. I spent most of the day carrying items from the thrift shop to the tables outside. The weather was sunny and warm but just a little breezy. Good turnout though and it was a lot of fun. I think we made more money from the bake sale than the merchandise sales.The Bloomfield Presbyterian Church in Bloomfield, New Jersey was built in 1797! If you would like to see a photo, go to Zazzle's Historic Buildings tab.

Below is Jill. She was at the rummage sale and hoping to get adopted.

Egg White Omelet Mini Cups

2010-04-04T13:08:00.003-04:00

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I wrote a recipe for Mini Egg White Omelets. They're really easy to prepare especially using purchased egg whites. Read the recipe and you'll see how easy they are to make. Enjoy!

Give Them An Inch Pet Tee from Zazzle.com

2010-03-31T12:41:00.001-04:00

Give Them An Inch Pet Tee from Zazzle.com
My new product on Zazzle. "Give them an inch, and they wanna be a ruler". Pet t-shirts and mugs.

Playwright Celtic Pub and Restaurant, New York City | Bukisa.com

2010-03-07T07:39:00.000-05:00

Playwright Celtic Pub and Restaurant, New York City | Bukisa.com
I published a new article on Bukisa after my visit to New York City. The Playwright Celtic Pub is THE place to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.
Writing for Bukisa is easy. If you would like to give it a try, join Bukisa now!

You're So Vain, Revealed

2010-03-02T11:31:00.005-05:00

For those of you who remember the song, Carly Simon's lyrics say "You're so vain you probably think this song is about you". But who is the song about? It's been a mystery for 38 years. I wrote an article on Xomba, click here to read You're So Vain .

Feed The Hungry Dinner

2010-02-16T22:59:00.009-05:00

Last night was the monthly Feed The Hungry Dinner at the Church. It was cold and snowy outside but despite the crummy weather, we served 50 guests. We also strayed from the usual menu of pasta with meat sauce. This month's dinner started with tossed salad, the main course was homemade Shepherd's Pie. For dessert, marble cake with chocolate icing. As always, I was on kitchen duty!