Well, after long thought (OK, 17 seconds) I've decided the Hinkelgruber family menu should be brought to the web. A couple of things for you to remember: no substitutions (Charlie's not a short-order cook, after all), and change is inevitable - Charlie may not feel like cooking kim chee on a Tuesday! Oh, and there is one request: if you're joining us for dinner, please either call or text the Scary Lady (you know the number - if you don't, you're really not invited).

Friday, June 24, 2011

Fabric, fabric....more fabric?!?

The goal of last week's garage sale was to clean out my sewing room. You read about the good news last week.  What I neglected was the bad news:  I never made it into my sewing room!  You see, I really have had some sort of 'addiction' problem with fabric.  I am happy to say, however, I believe that particular addition is over!  I've been cutting, ironing, folding and stacking even more fabric the past week with the intention of having another garage sale aimed directly at quilters. Today, I believe, I touched the last piece of fabric that needed tending to. There's a lot of fabric!

You'll notice polenta on this week's menu.  I'm not really a fan, but I told Mr. Hinkelgruber I'd try it.  (He gave me chicken and dumplings last week (and they were positively superb!), so the least I can do is approach this new dish with an open mind.)

Oh, yeah, and I got into my sewing room!

Saturday, June 18, 2011

I learned something about myself today....

I've never had a garage sale before and I've never been one who frequented them...I always figured I didn't have the patience to organize one and I certainly find no pleasure in pawing through other people's stuff (read:  junk).  Today I learned why I've never had one before:  I don't like people touching my stuff (and until it's sold - it's still my stuff!) and many of them make very snide comments.  But today, I participated for the first time in our neighborhood's garage sale.  People are interesting creatures.  You can give them the deal of a lifetime, and many will still ask, "Will you go lower?  Are you going to mark things down at the end of the day?"  That said, I did have a fun time and might even consider doing it again (I made over $400!) since I know what to do differently next time.

Oh, and food wise - did you notice chicken and dumplings?  One of the few meals my mother could actually cook well and, as a result, one of my favorite foods.  I can hardly wait!

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Let's all sing like the birdies sing....

How long, do you suppose, does it take the neighborhood birds to find the bird feeders?  Last weekend Mr. Hinkelgruber and I bought a new bird feeder, cleaned the old one and filled them both.  So far, no tweeters. On the other hand, it takes exactly 17 seconds for wee little neighbor kids to learn about freshly baked cookies and find them!  

We bought a new barbeque grill for Mr. Hinkelgruber for Father's Day - can hardly wait to break it in!

Friday, June 3, 2011

Ice Cream!

It's going to be 80 degrees and we're making ice cream for the first time this year!

Oh, by the way - the deck is open, the flags are flying and the flowers may finally begin to grow.