Jewelry

[SportyShorty07]

@Enufstuff  It was a wonderful story to read- you have such great memory recall, I wish I could remember things as well as you do.  Your lovely mother was absolutely instrumental in geting the two of you together, and I'm very sorry for her passing.  I believe in heaven and I do think that loved ones who have passed do watch over us.  

    It is interesting that your ex husband also thought that your new husband would be a great fit for you, it's a testament to how great he is that an ex husband and all of your friends and your aunt all approved of him !  I laughed out loud at "those are Donna's two husbands, moving her trees!" Such a fun image and its good that they were able to get along and work together.  I bet that felt fun to tell him that you're dating his boss- and it sounds like your husband is a really great boss. 

    Oh yes indeed, 43 is definitely young and it's interesting that your husband didn't like how aggressive she was- it reaffirms the fact that its better to play it cool and keep some mystery when it comes to knowing a man. Wow, 15 times in Bermuda- I'm so glad that you've found a favorite place in the world to keep coming back to and its great that 4 of your kids and both husbands were able to go.  I do hope that you get to go to Bermuda again- you could get more Bermuda Triangles .  

    Your mother was absolutely right, "You can't judge a book by it's cover" and I am so glad that you did give it a shot! Oh what a sweet husband to not only get you flowers throughout your relationship, but to also gift Holly a dozen red roses at your wedding.  What flavor was your wedding cake? Also, I completely forgot to ask- did your husband and son enjoy the elaborate and delicious dinner that you made the other night? 

[Enufstuff]

@SportyShorty07  The wedding cake. I am obsessive about details, so I worked with a pastry chef and designed my cake.

 When we went to the jeweler's to get our rings, they had a lot of lovely gift items. I fell in love with a large Lladro figurine of two white doves and bought it.

  Doves would be our wedding theme and were on our invitations.

  I got the idea of using the Lladro doves some how on our cake.

The figurine was too large and heavy for a topper, but I thought that it could be set on the bottom layer.

  I went to a party supply store and found pillars and arches

to make a kind of Gazebo on the first layer for the doves, and supports for the weight.

The next smaller layer would be above that and a smaller top layer.

  I didn't want a bride and groom topper ( old fashioned and kind of corny). I wanted fresh roses in pink, with fresh ivy trailing down the layers. Phil grew the ivy in his greenhouse.

  The cake itself was white vanilla with chocolate mousse between the layers. The frosting was ivory vanilla butter cream done in a basket weave design on all three layers. It seemed to me that a basket weave would give an almost nest impression for the doves.

 You can google Lladro doves and see the figurine. It is two doves sitting side by side, so sweet.

  My mermaid style dress was ivory. I never had a wedding before, so I loved planning all the details. We were married on June 28, my mother's birthday.

 The first time was just a JP and witnesses.

  About the Lentils du Puy, it did come out good. I have made it a few times before. It is crucial to use only green lentils from the Puy region of France. They don't get mushy when cooked.

  Other kinds of sausages can be used, but I like sweet Italian sausages. My guys like it.

   If you might like the recipe, I could post it in Recipes and share it with others here.

[SportyShorty07]

@Enufstuff  I googled "Lladro doves" and those are gorgeous !!  No wonder you went to a craft store and found pillars and arches to fashion a gazebo for those doves- they had to be on the cake ! I love it when brides incorporate real plants into their wedding cake- the pink roses and Phil's ivy cascading down the cake sound so beautiful. 

    The basket weave of the ivory banilla botuercream along the cake was  aperfect touch and the vanilla and chocolate mousse sound so good- I love vanilla and chocolate as a combo!  Your wedding dress sounds so classy and pretty and you picked a very thoughtful date to get married.  You are so thoughtful in picking details, dates and locations. I'm glad that you got to really live it up and have such a beautiful and elegant wedding- it must've been so much fun .  You really went above and beyond with making sure that the cake was structurally sound to support the doves- do you know how many people would've just plopped it on top without any regard? You used your eye for detail and intelligence to work with the pastry chef  to MacGyver a Lladro Doves gazebo. 

    Your Lentils du Puy sounds delicious and nutritious- yes, please I would like to see the recipe smetime so that I can cook it someday. Thank you for offering .

[Enufstuff]

@SportyShorty07   Thank you for reading the tedious story of the "wedding cake" and my obsessive details.

It all was an obsession and fun, planning the wedding and all the details.  I had a big binder with everything from dress and accessories, cake, music , a soloist, a harpist ,flowers, favors for guests, place cards that I made (little cut out doves), linens and centerpieces, the dinner , decor and of course the honeymoon.

I will post the recipe for Lentils du Puy in Recipes.

[SportyShorty07]

@Enufstuff  Your stories aren't tedious at all! I really like all of the details= that you write and you paint a picture with your words- it is a joy to read your stories and posts.  You deserved that beautiful wedding and I am so glad that you took the time and care to make sure that the details  of the dress, cake, decorations, table settings and more were right! When I get married someday, I'll do what you did and really take joy in the details .  I'll look at the recipe when you post it and I'll cook it as a treat for my parents as a special dinner  . 

[Enufstuff]

@SportyShorty07    Thank you for your kindness.

                                I'm glad that you enjoy reading my stories.

                      I'm sure that if you decide to marry one day,

                     being an artist, you will plan a beautiful wedding.

                    I don't know if you ever watched "Everybody     

                    Loves Raymond". After they got engaged, Debra

                   dragged out a huge binder and started showing it to

                   Ray.

                   He was dismayed and so surprised that she had a                  whole wedding planned.

                   When he questioned her, she replied, "I have been

                    planning this wedding since I was 12, you were

                   just the last piece of the puzzle".

                  The recipe is posted.

[SportyShorty07]

@Enufstuff Thank you!  I hope to have a wedding as beautiful and special as yours- I'll buy the Lladro doves someday before I find the man! That is such a funny Everybody Loves Raymond joke, so relateable- I think every girl dreams of what their wedding will be like and then the dream really takes off when a girl meets the right guy. I wonder what my wedding will be like .  I'd illustrate the invitations and maybe even bake my cake since I bake such great birthday cakes from scratch .  Thank you for posting the recipe!  Today was a long day of cleaning and laundry and then I made cuban sandwiches with my homemade mojo marinated pork for dinner- I used cuban bread rolls, marinated pork, mustard, mayonaise, sliced pickles, deli ham and swiss cheese and grilled each sandwich on my panini press- they were delicious crowd pleasers with my parents!  What did you have for dinner tonight?

[Enufstuff]

@SportyShorty07  I'm sure that you would bake a delicious and gorgeous wedding cake.

  How wonderful that you cook for your parents. They must really appreciate all the wonderful meals that you make and your baking too.

  Your Cuban sandwiches sound delicious. Your parents must have enjoyed them.

  I have never made them, but had them twice at the Coco Reef Hotel in Bermuda. They were very good with a Rum Swizzle, yum!

 It was a quick and easy dinner last night. I cooked Mostaccioli

and Raos Bolognese sauce. Yes, from a jar!  I mostly use Raos

Marinara, but with Bolognese, I don't need to add any meat.

 It was a lazy dinner prep. I have not made spaghetti sauce, since I discovered Raos, a couple of years ago. We all love it.

 After more than 60 years of providing three meals a day for a family of seven, I'm trying to simplify. I always made a big pot of sauce for the family. I made everything from scratch for our dinners. And I baked every week.

  Now, it is too much work to cook like that, to feed just three people. I will occasionally make some recipes that take some time, but not every night. I'm tired.

 I've had a bad back for 40 years and now, standing longer than

30 minute causes a lot of pain. So, I like quick and easy meals.

 My back was very sore, after making the lentils.

  This was the first Christmas, that I did not bake and decorate

cookies. I always made 2-5 different kinds of cookies, as far back as 1963. But this year, Covid hit the homes of three of my children, so there were only four of us here for Christmas.

 I only baked brownies and pumpkin bread, for Christmas this year. Easy stuff.

 Tonight it will be Shake'n' Bake chicken, rice and beets. Simple and easy.

 In my next life, I would like a chef and a driver.

[SportyShorty07]

@Enufstuff  Thank you for your kind words! I love to cook for my parents every single day- they're great cooks too, but they let me do it all as my kindness to them.  I'm like your son in a sense that I also live at home in a high cost of living city and so I also help out a lot at home.  My lovely sisters have great careers and their own apartments and I'm a bit of a late bloomer in leaving the nest.  I lived away from home in the dorms for college and moved back once I graduated.  My parents love me very much and I love them very much and so I do all of the cleaning, dishes, laundry and cooking while they're at work and I make sure to make a fantastic dinner with side dishes for them each night. We all loved the Cuban sandwiches last night and tonight I'm going to make lime red pepper marinated boneless skinless chicken thighs with sauteed green beans.  I've been unemployed since Covid happened despite applying to many jobs and if I get this law enforcement career, I will have the finances to move out (even though its scary to gain independence) and I will still visit all of the time to be a fun guest chef, see my parents and help out with chores .  

    A Cuban sandwich at the Coco Reef Hotel in Bermuda sounds wonderful!  Roas Bolognese in the jar is delicious- perfect on al dente pasta and great in baked ziti too. After 60 years of cooking for a family of seven, I say that you deserve to downsize the meal prep time- and I'm sure your husband and son love your meals for three! Your back must be strong and its understandable that it can hurt from standing too long- have you ever tried "one pan dinners" its where you get a sheet pan or a roast pan and you put vegetables and meat on it and roast it all in one go.  That way you can sit at a table and chairs and prepare it all on a cutting board and transfer it to a sheet pan, put it in the oven and set a kitchen timer and voila- effortless dinners that are easy on your back.  Just a suggestion since I want you to cook with minimal pain .  Have you tried a percussive massager or a pressure point massage device? I have a Sharper Image percussive massager that I got recently from QVC and it helps a lot with muscle soreness from my weightlifting.  

    Wow, your Christmas cookies must've been so pretty and delicious- and even downsizing to browinies and pumpkin bread must've still been very delicious and an effort to bake.  I love to make Christmas cookies and give them to my family. I have the original Betty Crocker Cookie Cookbook from the 1950's that I use to bake a lot of my Christmas cookies- the spritz cookies in my 70's cookie press, the cocoa crinkle cookies, ginger snaps and more.  I hope that your next Christmas is full of cookies ! I can definitely relate to wanting a chef and a driver in your next life - I'd like someone  in my next life to wash my hair and blow dry it.  I get my hair cut/done twice a year and I wash/blow dry my hair at home, but its so relaxing and comforting to have someone else wash/style my hair for me- if I ever win the lotto, I'd have my hair done once a week , 

[Enufstuff]

@SportyShorty07   What a coincidence that we have the same Betty Crocker Cookie Book. I think that my aunt gave it to me in the 60s. I have made the Spritz cookies, with the cookie press. I used to make those every Christmas, along with

my mother's sugar cookie recipe. Those are the ones that took so long to decorate. I used to make those cut out sugar cookies for every holiday. I used to make the Marzipan Fruit shaped ones from that book too and many others.

   The easiest cookie recipe is a chocolate cookie that my mother used to make. It is a soft, drop cookie, almost brownie like. When I've made these for Christmas, I just use a buttercream frosting and sprinkle some colored sugars or sprinkles on top. When the kids were young, I would make them for Halloween and decorate them like Jack O' Lanterns. I used orange flavoring and colored the frosting a light orange. The features were done in Cake Mate Gel.

  Maybe next Christmas, if I'm up to it, I'll make the chocolate cookies.

 In the Betty Crocker Cookie Book is a recipe that I would make for Valentine's Day, Love Letter cookies, so delicious. That is the book that I got the recipe from for the Egyptian Rose cookies. You can see a picture of them in the book.

 It is great that you are able to live at home with your parents, while waiting for your law enforcement career and I'm sure that they appreciate having you there.

 They are fortunate to have you do all that you do for them, especially the delicious meals.

  You mentioned sheet pan meals, I have looked at some recipes, but have not done any yet.

  I do like to make a meal just using my oven, if the items can all cook at the same temperature.

 Sometimes, I'll bake potatoes and a dish of carrots in the oven while a meatloaf or chicken pie bakes. I like making one pot meals and soups or stews.

  I've had Fibromyalgia since  1993 and have been going for massages every month, all those years until Covid.

 Last July, I started having massages again, but then by September, Covid was appearing again in the Northeast, so

I stopped going.

My problems are more skeletal rather than muscular. I have lower spine problem plus a bad knee and a bad shoulder. For two years, I've been getting injections, but with bone on bone,

they want to do a knee replacement and a shoulder replacement.

I'm not really up for surgery. I have a hard time with anesthesia

and all last year kept getting allergic reactions and bad side effects from medications, along with ongoing problems from eye surgery last July. It is tough to get old. I was always so healthy and took care of myself. Fibromyalgia and arthritis are what did me in, plus problems from medications for the past 8 years.

 I have some CBD cream and a heating pad that helps somewhat, with my shoulder.

 Like you, I only have my hair cut a couple times a year. Last week, I had two inches cutoff. It was getting a little difficult to manage. I like it to stay about shoulder length.

Unlike my three daughters, I've never had to color my hair. I am seeing a few occasional grays. I'm allergic to everything, so I would not dare to color it, so I'm lucky that it has not turned gray.

  I like my dark color, but with alopecia, it has been dimishing for several years. Headbands, wigs and berets are my friends now.