Chocolate Cream Cheese Brownies

These are delicious! Very rich, cut small.

Brownie layer:
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup baking cocoa
3 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
Heaping cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder

Mix butter and sugar well. Add sugar, cocoa, mix well. Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla. Stop mixer. Add flour, salt and baking powder. Mix slowly until well mixed. Pour into lined pan and set aside.

Cheesecake layer:
3 oz unsweetened chocolate
4 oz semisweet chocolate
8 ounces very soft cream cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
2 eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt

Melt chocolate. Mix room temperature cream cheese and sour cream. Make sure there are no lumps. Add eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt. Add melted chocolate. Scrape bowl often so there are no lumps. Spread over brownie layer. It did not cover completely - it went almost to the edges.

Preheat oven to 350 F (330 if convection). Cover 9x13 pan with foil and spray.

Bake 40-45 minutes. Cool completely. Remove brownies with foil to cutting board. Cut off edges and save for another day. Cut small pieces. Arrange on platter, cover with saran wrap. Refrigerate.

Downton Abbey

Into season 2 - I am hooked! I think Pat likes it too.
We connected the Wii to the TV and the Wifi. So we are streaming from our prime membership on Amazon.
In season 2 the world is changing because of the war. It is 1917 and in real time my Mom would have been 2 years old.
I really like the story. It's fun to see the servants lives and the Lord and Lady with their family.

Not a Smart Bird!

Oh Fran, your little Flamingo is up to his keister in snow!  I did leave the little sun to try to keep him warm.  There is a reason they should stay in Florida!  -33 windchill today!  We went out for a bit and now came home to find a little ice on the back entry way ceiling.  Goodness the wind has been blowing so hard the walls and roof was making loud sounds last night!  YIKES!

Festival of Books

YEAH!  My books have been featured on the Festival of Books website.  

Velyn Cooper has graciously created a space for authors to meet.

I can't tell you how much it means to me to have someone else promote my books!

Meat Pie!

I finally made a great meat pie. Pat's favorite food. Every time I made it the potatoes and the meat just didn't meld together right. It seemed the meat and potatoes stayed separate.

Now when I make meatloaf and baked potatoes I make three extra potatoes. Then I combine the leftover half a meatloaf with the potatoes and mash up and refrigerate overnight. Keep 1/4 cup of the drippings from the meatloaf and refrigerate that separately.

Today I made the piecrust. Then heated up the meat and potatoes. I added garlic powder, sage, Mrs. Dash, salt and pepper. Mixed well and added it to the piecrust. Make a small hole in the middle of the pie filling.

Take the leftover drippings and discard the fat layer. Put a tablespoon of the drippings in the hole. Cover with the top crust.

Bake for 40 minutes in a 400 degree oven.

A Day to be Proud!

Robbie signed up for the Air Force.  He had his swearing in ceremony in Troy.  I think he was embarrassed by how many of us came to see it!  Too bad - we loved seeing him follow through on his lifelong dream.  He will leave this summer after graduation.

Winter Reflections

This Winter has been so beautiful.  Breathtaking, literally, the cold has been making it difficult to breath.  But the ice on the trees has been wonderful.  On a recent trip to Owosso I took these pictures.  Except for the cardinal who was perched in the Forsythia in our backyard.

Mr. Lepeak!

Mr. Lepeak called from Freeland where he was at the car dealer with car trouble.  Pat went to pick him up and we had a delightful evening visiting.  It was fun catching up on all the Lepeaks, Grand Marais, politics, church, and a handful of other subjects!  He spent the night with us and Pat just took him to Westside Decorating and then back to get his car.  Sometimes car trouble can be such a blessing!

Christmas Update

No one came over for Christmas! Cathy sent a text that the roads were too bad.

We packed dinner up and Pat and I headed over to Midland.

We had an enjoyable afternoon with his Parents.

Then Jesse and Caroline and Ayva stopped over and we had a tea party with Ayva's new tea set.

A good Christmas!

Merry Christmas

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

Christmas plans are still up in the air. Waiting for the okay from Pat's parents!

Two days ago Pat's sister told his mother she couldn't reach her brother. Pat's brother's phone was out of order with the winter storm and that was why he didn't answer the phone. His mother was sure something was terribly wrong. So she worried so much she didn't sleep all night. Yesterday, Pat followed up with his sister who just had dinner with her brother. She didn't think of calling her mother? So Pat called his mother, but she already had worked herself into a frenzy.

Yesterday she said she wasn't sure she would feel okay to come for Christmas. So we are being held hostage - send cookies, chocolate or money (I'll take a trip to Aruba far, far, far away!)

Christmas Shopping

Please tell me I'm done!

I hate shopping!  I don't like crowds at all!

I know, I know, with a mother like Elinor I should LOVE shopping.  But I don't!

It really wasn't awful - yesterday we went to Sam's Club, Gordon's and Meijer.  Even though I was only food shopping I thought I would be in for a terrible time.

We started out waiting in line at the Y to go in right after it opened.  Then after 45 minutes there we were pleasantly surprised that no one else seemed to be shopping at Sam's and Gordon's.

However, by the time we got to Meijer we were sorry to be shopping!

Not only were there tons of people in the aisles, but everyone seemed intent on blocking the aisles.  And it seemed as if a few of the people were trying their best to put in in a bad mood by following me no matter how many rows I skipped to avoid them!

Then the lines for checkout!  What a mess.  I hate when a store has you block the main aisle of the store when you are in line.

So anyway, church and then home today.  The ice and snow is a mess out there.  I think Hallmark has a movie marathon today!!!

Abbott Henderson Thayer

I printed out this picture called "Virgin. " I framed and hung it in the living room. I love it.  The faces look like Jesus and his cousin John are being escorted home by Mary after getting into some mischief!

Smiles

So many people are stressed and hurried during the Christmas season. We were shopping and I noticed that no one really looks at you. Everyone seems to have pinched faces and frowns on their faces.

Then we joined the Y. Everyone smiles and says hi when you walk by them. It is such a nice place to spend time that you almost don't mind going a few more miles on the bike!

Happy Birthday!?!?!

Oh goodness - what a way to start!

I started getting errors with Internet Explorer - took awhile to understand that I should download Chrome and use that from now on!!!

Anyway - I've been getting so many Happy Birthdays on Facebook - I love how easy it is to stay connected.

Only two more days of my free book - "No Christmas for Olivia" - I want to give away 1,000!!!!  Do you think I can?

FREE BOOK THIS WEEK!

My Christmas Present to YOU!

 

No Christmas for Olivia

 

Free on Amazon - December 16-20th

 

Give it as a gift to yourself or someone you love!

Dinner

How I love family get togethers. We had a nice time at Harvey's after church today.

Our Christmas Season begins!

 

 

Christmas is here!

We put up our Christmas decorations today! And we get to pick up Sheala! Then dinner with friends! That makes today very special.

OhOh

I just put up a 7 inch tree!!!!  It might have to do!!!!!  Busy, busy, busy!!!

YIKES!

We haven't even started decorating!!!!  I don't feel like Christmas!!!!  HELP!!!! 

I don't know why - but we just can't get started.  OK - if I say it will be done today, maybe it will.  Check back tomorrow for update!!!!!

Tonight!

Oh my! Sound of Music! I can't wait!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ROBBIE!

We had a great birthday celebration for Robbie.  Cannot even imagine that he is now 18!

Sheala and Conner were home and Alecia was there, too, of course! 

We had a wonderful visit with everyone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unexpected Art

We met Jane and Chris and their family in Cedar, Michigan.  About a half hour away from Traverse City.  Caroline, Ayva, Pat and I decided to take the trip north on the day after Thanksgiving.  We were graciously invited to stay for dinner at Chris' sister and brother-in-law's home.  John is a potter.  He threw several small vessels and invited us to transform them into a mug or a vase.  We had so much fun!  Ayva LOVED working on the fresh pottery.  We learned how to attach the handles or in our case, berries onto the mugs.  Everyone enjoyed the project. 

 

It was so good to see everyone.

 

Saraj!

Look at Saraj with the binoculars Uncle Pat and Aunt ME sent him! He's such a cutie pie!

So Cold!

Oh my goodness, I'm freezing!

And it is only November!

Wind chill is in the single digits today.  It feels as if the cold air is just streaming through our windows today. 

I love this version of Royals

       

The Florida State University A cappella group, the AcaBelles, sings "Royals" 

First Draft Done!

After sending the first book of the new series to Mary Lynn she agreed with me that this has to be a novel instead of a series.  There are so many characters it might be easier for the reader to have it all in one book.

So, I have been working night and day on it for the past few weeks.  I just finished the first draft.  Now I will read it out loud and work to get it ready to go to Mary Lynn.  Then when she sends it back I make corrections, tweak it a bit more and then I send it off to Kay.  She always comes up with some great suggestions and corrections.

After Kay reads it I am going to ask Jane and Sarah and Mary to read it out loud together.  They have a unique homeschool advantage and I want to make sure the homeschooling part is accurate.  It is also imperative that the characters are the correct characters in each spot.  When I say Jerry's mother is Mrs. Castor, it better be Mrs. Castor and not Mrs. Maxum!

Then hopefully, the book will be out this summer.  My first novel!  Yeah!

Grandma Shea is Smiling!

 

I love this photo. Grandma Shea's 75th birthday with all her grandchildren.

Look at the top, there is Michael. He was at the top there and he is at the top today. The road was long and filled with sharp dangerous curves and detours.

But he made it! Dr. Charles Michael Shea!

He sent me a reply to my congratulations and told me he was exhausted. The last week of preparation for defending his doctorate took a lot out of him.

Good! He should be exhausted! It was a huge undertaking. We should be exhausted and overworked and ready to have our eyes fill with tears of gratitude when accomplishing something great.

Otherwise it is just getting something finished.

This endeavor was much more than that. It has been a dedicated, concerted effort to be the best he can be. He set his goals high and achieved them.

We are very proud of him.

Short Trip

To Traverse City, of course! We found a great family restaurant. Little Bohemia on Front Street. It has been owned by the same family for 45 years.

I had their award winning Lasagna and Pat had perch. Both were great. We'll go again.

Then in the morning we went to the UP. We do love Michigan. There is something so special about having  bridge connection. Then back home via 23. It was long, but we do love driving through all the little towns.

Then home. It is always good to get home, even after just an overnighter.

Cheating!

That's what a day like today feels like in November! Cheating the winter blues away. It is almost 50, the sky is blue and the sun is shining down on us.

You know us, we are in the car!

Just Scroll Through My Blog

Just scroll down through this blog and you will see the most brilliant colors.  Reds, Oranges, Pinks, Yellows, Greens.  So many days with rain where the trunks turned pitch black to make the colors pop.

I have never seen a more beautiful fall!  The colors were brilliant for a very long time.  We hit the peak in so many different spots this year.  The UP, Petoskey, Grand Rapids, Lansing and Saginaw County has been the longest ever.

We haven't had very good color for the past several years.  And if we did see it the leaves only lasted a day or two.  Last year everything was very brown and dark yellow.  So maybe that is why this year has seemed so extraordinary.

Thank you God, for the gift of fall.  May we never ever tire of its beauty.  Amen.

A Hug is just a Hug, unless it is Jim Galm!

Even though this picture displays a romantic hug, I couldn't help but think of our friend Jim.

He gives such a good hug that everything does seem right with the world!

Thank you Jim for all your healing loving hugs these many years!

Margot

Yup, we got our Margot time! She is a doll. Joe and Liz are great parents. We had such a nice visit.