Rain, Rain Go Away...
Fr. Tony Update...

Stem Cell Breakthrough...
Giant Eagle Grocery Store and UK Products...

Shepherd's Pie Recipe...
MegAbroad and Graduate School...
Getting In The Mood...

Rain, Rain Go Away...

I think we've had 3 full days of rain, and I also think I've had quite enough. Mind you, I know we need our rain, but the end result is a mud pit. Dear Harry spends some of his day outside, thus every re-entry into the house means mopping the floor! ugh

Oh, a bit of exciting news. On Tony's way home from work today, he passed by a woman walking a 7 month old Airedale. Tony stopped to meet him (and her), discovering they live somewhere in the vicinity. She commented that she'd heard there was another Airedale in the area. Hopefully, when the mud pit is gone, we can track them down and have the pup over to play with Harry. Gee, it's like having a toddler again.

Fr. Tony Update:

Fr. Tony's doing quite well today, and was fit as a fiddle yesterday as well... taking the late service and attending the monthly vestry meeting. Tomorrow is round 4 of 4 (chemo). Hopefully the side affects will come and go, and he'll be making the trip to NYC next week, without any setbacks. He's already warned the airlines that he'll be wearing a mask, so they're not to mistake him for a terrorist! grin

Stem Cell Breakthrough!

A new discovery in stem cell research may mean big things for cancer patients in the future. Gary Van Zant, Ph.D., and a research team at the University of Kentucky published their findings today in Nature Genetics, an international scientific journal.

The researchers genetically mapped a stem cell gene and its protein product, Laxetin, and building on that effort, carried the investigation all the way through to the identification of the gene itself. This is the first time such a complete study on a stem cell gene has been carried out. This particular gene is important because it helps regulate the number of adult stem cells in the body, particularly in bone marrow. Now that it has been identified, researchers hope the gene, along with its protein product Latexin, can be used clinically, such as for ramping up the stem cell count in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation.

CLICK HERE to Read More.

Giant Eagle Grocery Store increased their inventory of Brit products!

YAY! Geeee, I only put the request in a year ago. grin

Our local Giant Eagle in the University Towne Center now has a couple dozen UK items. You can now purchase:

• HP Steak Sauce (most excellent on shepherd's pie: My Recipe Below)
• Ambrosia Cream Rice (I think this is like a rice pudding)
• Ambrosia Custard
• Plum Pudding
• PG Tips Tea
• Typhoo Tea (I think I saw it on the shelf)
• Heinz Baked Beans
• Digestive Biscuits (cookies: great with tea)
• HobNobs (yummy cookies)
• Irish Oatmeal

Hmmm... drawing a blank on the other items... but, did notice they also have German Pickled Cabbage (yummy with a good German meal), Swiss Chocolates, and a smattering of other products that I can't seem to recall.

I did my part to help support Giant Eagle in their meager efforts, and hope they'll grow the line of UK products soon.

PitterPat's Shepherd's Pie:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

• 1-2 lb organic ground sirloin
• 1/2 cup sliced/diced vidalia onion
• 1/2 cup frozen organic peas
• 1/2 cup sliced/diced carrots
• 1-2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 sm can mushrooms (or the equivalent in fresh chopped mushrooms)
• 1 tsp: Ground Pepper
• 1/2 tsp: Garlic Powder
• 1/2 packet: Lipton's Onion Soup Mix (shake the packet well before dumping in mix)
• 3 TB: HP Steak Sauce
• 1/2 cup red wine (optional)
• 7-9 White Potatoes (sliced/boiled and mashed/mixed with a couple tablespoons butter and ohhh... enough milk to make them the consistency you want.)

Saute your ground beef. Add your sliced/diced veges, mushrooms, and saute till cooked through. Add Pepper, Garlic and Onion Soup Mix. (if you want, add the red wine) Stir everything together, and continue to simmer till everything is cooked through. Make sure you don't boil away all the "juice". If need be, add a bit of water to the mix so when you're done simmering you have a meat/vege mixture that has at least 1/2 cup of juice/gravy. You can add more water, or wine. If the mix is too watery, add a bit more dry soup mix.

Put your sauted mixture into a baking pan.... use a pan that will allow your meat mixture to be at least an inch thick from side to side. Spoon your mashed potatoes on top of the meat/vege mixture, and spread it out from side to side. Top off the mashed taters with your cheddar cheese and bake till the cheese is melted.

Voila!

This is a very forgiving recipe.... and also allows you to experiment. You can add all sorts of veges to the saute. You can add beef broth for your juice/gravy, or a favorite beef based soup mix. You can even make your shepherd's pie with ground buffalo, venison, chicken or turkey.

Meg-Abroad and Graduate School:

My, how time flies. Only 4 more months left and Megan will be returning to the states. I guess this means she's 1/2 way through her volunteer stint in Thailand.

What's the gold on the faces, you might ask. Face-painting is a traditional custom in Myanmar. Women and children can be seen wearing intricate patterned swirls on their cheeks made with a golden-coloured paste. This is thanaka, a traditional face paint that has been worn in Myanmar for centuries – and is still in common use, particularly in rural villages. The paste – made from the sweet-scented bark and roots of the thanaka tree – acts as sun block, as decoration, as perfume and as a cleansing agent, as has anti-fungal qualities which can cure skin irritations. Ya learn somethin' new every day, aye?

It's crunch time regard to applying for Graduate School. Megan's currently applying to Oregon State University, and University of Oslo, Norway. For backup she'll probably be applying to WVU. The first two Universities have a Masters in Public Health and come highly recommended. Tulane is also on the list of possibilities, but we shall see.

While in Thailand, she's met several students who attended university in Oslo, and speak highly of their education. Her first pick is Oslo, and the price is IDEAL! Basically, it would cost her about $7,000 (that's everything... housing, travel, food, utilities, and school.... amazing!)to live and go to school in Oslo, vs taking on another student loan for $40,000+ (I won't get on my soapbox about the cost of higher education in this country... HRUMPH!!!!!.... and how it prevents SO many well deserving wanna be students from going on to receive a degree.... whoops... I started into it, didn't I? OK.. zipping the lip!) to get the same degree at "home".

BUT, here's the rub... the Norwegian govt. wants to see $12,000 sitting in an account, thus showing Megan would not be "dependent" on the govt. while she's there. This is the only requirement for her to get a visa to attend. Our Megan has a friend, Mette, whose offering her a place to stay, so housing is covered. .

Geeeeeeee, anyone have $12,000 lying around that they would like to park in a bank, quietly and untouched? Hrumph, again.

Speaking of money. I must make an announcement. Our dear, and oh so kind Dorothy Skidmore donated funds toward Megan's volunteer work. That was so sweet of you Dorothy!!! Thank you so very much. Dorothy is an avid follower of the blog, which makes my heart jump. If only you all could meet her! and... speaking of Dorothy. She sent me a very interesting link of photos recently taken by the Hubble spaceship. CLICK HERE to see them.

Now that Christmas and the New Year is behind us, Megan and I will be working on a newsletter. She'll be filling the newsletter with information about the project she's working with, plus stories about the children she's growing to adore in Mae Sot. We'll mail a copy to those interested. So, reply to this blog email to receive your copy, and send your mailing address. I'll save the newsletter in .pdf format as well, so everyone can view it, and print copies for distribution.

Getting In The Mood...

As you can see from the photo above, I've got quite an assortment of patterns to choose from, for my latest greatest money making project. grin I've also got some very yummy fabrics and trims to work with, and an especially nice (sinful) stash of embellishments. I'm greatly looking forward to getting creative with the new handbags.

For now, I'm working on making some felted fabric... yet another idea for the bags. Above is a picture of some knitted wool fabric in the making. Of course, this whole "knitting" thing is quite new to me, so the end result may be "interesting"! When it's all done, I'll wash it in hot water, and the end result will be felt. Cool, aye? Am beginning to get a bit obsessed about the whole concept of fabric design and layout, even going so far as to try designing some fabrics for the handbags. OHHHH, the ever flowing ideas!

Penelope, or Penny for short. I had to take a picture of my constant little companion. She sits and sleeps dutifully in the rocking chair, next to my computer and sewing table... while mommy works. Too cute for words!

Well, it's tea time. Must close for now. Stay dry and keep in touch, please. Hugs all around! PitterPat