Wreath for the Cemetery

We left early Sunday morning to be at the Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Agawam shortly after it opened (7 AM) to place a wreath at my parents' grave. We actually had planned on making the trip early Saturday afternoon, but the traffic with people leaving Grandma's house after the Thanksgiving holiday was horrendous. We had no traffic woes early Sunday morning and practically had the highway to ourselves for the hour long drive.

Himself had stopped earlier in the week to pick up a wreath stand, a wreath, and a bow. To me, the wreath looks sad compared to wreaths I've made for the folks in the past, but the military is strict, and Dad wanted to be buried at a Veterans cemetery. The rules are only a fresh, green wreath with a single bow may be placed at the grave and a wreath stand may be used. Wreaths may be displayed from 1. December to 15. January.

The cemetery grounds keepers will remove the wreaths in January. Cut flowers are welcome at any time of the year, and the grounds keepers remove flowers when they have passed. The cemetery is well kept.

I also brought a bouquet of flowers for Ma (her name and dates are on the back of the headstone). Otherwise, she would think the wreath was for Dad. She was funny about things like that. She was the Queen and expected to be treated as such. We always had to greet her first when we visited, even if Dad opened the door for us.

The cemetery was quiet, and we were the only visitors in this section of the cemetery. A few wreaths have already been placed.

Not too far away is an amusement park and last year a new ride opened up. It's a 200 ft. tower drop which can be seen high over the tops of the trees that surround the cemetery. During the warm months, the hush of the cemetery is broken by the joyful screams of park visitors. I don't like visiting the cemetery during the Summer. The raucous shrieks seem more disrespectful to me in this place than a celebration of life. Nothing to be done as I think the amusement park was open long before the cemetery.

The folks wouldn't have liked the noise or the lights from the amusement park. Dad loved town politics and would have been the first in line to fight Town Hall with protests. He would have collected signatures to force the amusemnt park to build a berm as a sound barrier. And that 200 ft. drop ride? That never would have been erected if Dad was in charge. :-D

Sticky Residue

When we were cleaning the glass top that protects the diningroom table, we noticed a sticky residue from the felt disks that prevent the glass from scratching the table. No amount of scrubbing with the glass cleaner would remove the sticky stuff completely.

Lemon essential oil to the rescue. I had read that the lemon oil was good for removing glue left by price tags. Had nothing to lose to give it a try. A drop of lemon essential oil and a little gentle rubbing and poof! Glue all gone.

Baby Got Buns

I like big buns and I cannot lie.  It's been a while since I baked bread. These were the rolls I baked for Thanksgiving. Aren't they gorgeous? Big and fluffy. This recipe is a keeper. Taste of Home Whole Wheat Rolls Very easy.

I only made three changes to the recipe:

I didn't have a 9 in. x 9 in. square pan so I used a 7 in. x 11 in. pan.

The recipe called for brushing the tops of the rolls before baking with canola oil. Seriously? How many calories are you saving? Not to mention the fat in the recipe calls for 1/4 cup butter. Brush the tops of the rolls with a couple of tablespoons of melted butter instead. You'll be glad you did.

I also did the mixing and kneading in a stand mixer with a dough hook. So much easier.

The Friday Five Good Things

Five good things that happened this week

1. Have been getting behind with the daily journal. Waiting for an appointment gave me time to catch up.

2. Skyped with A. Was supposed to be an art date, but I ironed linen napkins. There's an art to ironing, right?

3. It's been a while since I've baked. Made pumpkin muffins, apple pie, and whole wheat rolls.

4. Cleaned the flat file, and Himself helped me clean  and lift the glass so I could put Grandma's table runner on the table.

5. We had Thanksgiving dinner in the diningroom with the fine china and Ma's silver. It's been a long time since I've used the good dishes and the first time I've set the table with my mother's sterling.

How was your week?

To Near and Far

if you celebrate, and if you don't, have a wonderful Thursday. Thank you all for visiting our blog

                                                                           CJ and Ink

Wordless Wednesday

Felted Dryer Balls

Sounds naughty, doesn't it? Felted dryer balls take the place of dryer sheets in your clothes dryer. They are natural, contain no nasty chemicals, and are very easy to make. I followed DIY's How to Make Wool Dryer Balls. The instructions are clear and easy to follow. I made them while watching television.

I found the Patons Classic Wool Roving yarn at Michael's. Two skeins of yarn will make 5 or 6 tennis sized balls. The yarn balls will prevent static and supposedly will decrease drying time. So you save money on your utility bill, don't have to pay for dryer sheets as the yarn balls can be used over and over, and they are chemical free.

If you like scented dryer sheets, you can add a drop or two of essential oil to each dryer ball. I have a test load of towels tumbling in the dryer. I added a couple of drops of my beloved Thieves essential oil to the dryer balls. Figured Himself wouldn't want his clothes smelling like lavender fields.

The clothes had a very faint scent which is probably not a bad thing. Guess most of the scent stayed on the dryer balls as the dryer smells nice. And since the sensor on the dryer seems to be on the fritz, I can't tell if the clothes took less time to dry. Still will be nice not having to buy the dryer sheets and send them to the landfill.