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I’m also too cheap frugal to put out the money for it.  Well, almost always.  I just purchased the first issue in years.  What, might you ask, is so special about this issue to pry that much money from my hands for a magazine that isn’t sewing, knitting or garden related?  I walked past the display and then had to backtrack to look at the beautiful woman on the front.  I stopped and looked some more, checked out the articles in that issue, picked it up, put it back and walked out.  But it kept haunting me.  I didn’t make a special trip back for it, but I had to run out to Target to buy a bunch of moth balls and a couple cans of that expanding foam insulation.  That story comes later.  I decided that if I saw the magazine at the checkout, I would fork over $4.50 US for it.  Now that’s a lot considering our economy has no upside right now, and I vowed to cut back even more on my expenses.  There it was.  The only copy left.  I grabbed it like it was some precious jewel. 

I could hardly wait to get home and start reading.  Talk about disappointment.  I had to wade through a half inch of adverts before finally finding my article.  Ah, the disappointment was only momentary.  There she was in all her glory.  Marilyn.  And if you don’t know who I’m talking about, you aren’t old enough to truly appreciate her.  Marilyn was from the era of beautiful women with names like Liz, Audrey and Brigitte.  Everyone knew them by their first names.  Monroe, Taylor, Hepburn and Bardot weren’t needed to identify these ladies.  Marilyn was the one who haunted us, while Liz dazzled us, Audrey gave us style and grace and Brigitte was the daring one.  The mystery of Marilyn’s death is 46 years old.  Was it suicide?  Was it an accident?  Was it a conspiracy?  There’s still much speculation.  Two locked filing cabinets and more than two years documentation of the contents are the basis of the article, “The Things She Left Behind.”  A collection of her papers, fur, jewelry and other items were photographed by Mark Anderson.  What do all these things reveal about Marilyn and her death?  You don’t have to shuffle through 319 pages of ads to get to the article.  It begins on page 320.

This is the 25th anniversary issue of Vanity Fair.  In it you will also find interesting articles about Dominick Dunne, Annie Leibovitz, Brooke Astor, Anne Hathaway and Vladimir Putin.  Also in this issue is the 14th annual “New Establishment” list of 100 leaders of the information age.

No, I don’t regret spending the money on this Vanity Fair.  I know it’s highly unlikely I will do it again.  Sometimes a woman just has to have a little splurge before going back into frugal mode.

This is another one of my “I don’t have a clue as to where I got it” recipes.  I may not remember it’s origins, but I certainly do remember how good it tastes, especially on a chilly October day in Indiana.

APPLE BREAD

• 1 cup salad oil
• 2 cups diced, peeled apples
• 1 cup chopped nuts
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups sugar

Mix the above ingredients well and add:

• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Pour the mixture into an ungreased angel food cake pan.  Bake at 350F for 60 to 90 minutes.

I always used the toothpick test to see if it’s done.  Insert a toothpick and when it comes out clean, the bread is done.  Of course, I nearly always get in a bit of a hurry and end up with a gooey toothpick and have to bake it longer.  Sometimes it smells so good, I might end up with at least three gooey toothpicks before I get one coming out clean. 

It’s starting to smell good in the kitchen.  Where’s the toothpicks?

Today Chicken Little called out, “The sky is falling!  The sky is falling!” The panic began and Wall Street plunged, but eventually came to it’s senses a bit.  When the final trades were counted, the index was off 363.35 points, or 3.5 percent and closed at 9,962.03.  Still not a good day for the market, but not as bad as it looked earlier.  It rained, but the sky did not fall today.  I wonder what it will do tomorrow.

It’s not stopping, folks.  The New York Times just reported that the Dow is down 700 points and Standard & Poor’s is down 7.7%.  The Dow has lost more than 1,100 points — or about 10 percent — in slightly more than a week. The S. & P. has lost more than 15 percent in the same period.  Stocks around the world have taken a tumble.  Both the euro and the dollar are down.  You can read more in the Times article, Credit Crisis Drives Stocks Down Sharply.  You can also read more about Europe’s battle in Europe Works to Contain Crisis.  You can also read about it in The Washington Post. 

Can anyone out there tell us, is it really as scary as it sounds?

The New York Times breaking news is bad news on the financial front.  The Dow just dropped below 10,000 for the first time since 2004.  You can read about it at Stocks Fall Sharply on Credit Concerns.  There are also two related stories, Full of Doubts, U.S. Shoppers Cut Spending and Europe Tested by Financial Crisis.  This financial crisis that we here in the States have created for ourselves is having far reaching consequences.  Where’s that bailout and didn’t they say that would fix things?  The only good thing I saw as a result of this is oil fell below $90 a barrel.  Of course, that’s really a bit of good news, bad news. 

I don’t know about you, but I’m one of those people who had already cut back in order to get my debts paid off as fast as I could.  Unfortunately, I got them paid down, but not paid off fast enough.  Now I’m going to become one of those people who are cutting back in a more drastic manner.  What are you doing now?  Are you cutting back or way back?  I do know that Christmas was going to be less this year, but now it’s going to be even more frugal.  I’ll be shopping my sewing and knitting stash here at home and giving gifts based on what I find here.  I have already put my red envelope system in use for birthdays and had planned on using them at Christmas.  I’ll probably still use them, but they will be thinner than I had planned.

Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.  I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.”

As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble, in whom is all my delight.

Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names upon my lips.

The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.  The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage.

I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.  I keep the Lord always before me; because he is at  my right hand, I shall not be moved.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure.  For you do not give me up to Sheol, or let your faithful one see the Pit.

You show me the path of life.  In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 16

That’s the number of mittens, gloves and wristlets sent to the Cheyenne River Reservation from the Native American Support group and friends in their Mittenz 2008 blitz.  That’s a lot of warm hands.  Other warm up goodies included in this blitz were 234 hats, 48 prs. booties, socks and slippers, 17 sweatshirts and sweaters, 1 vest, 29 scarves and neck warmers and 1 shawl or poncho.

The regular monthly totals from the support group for September are:
Household stuff
1 pot holder
4 food containers
23 blankets/quilts/afghans/lap robes
6 baby spoons
4 Sippy Cups
2 candles

Personal care
18 toothbrushes
3 combs
9 pill containers
1 Diabetes monitor
1 thermometer
1 pr tweezers
13 soap
2 shampoo
2 conditioner
2 cream/lotion
1 powder
2 boxes dental floss

Clothing
922 pairs of mittens/gloves/wristers
234 hats
48 prs. booties/socks/slippers/tights
20 jeans/pants
17 sweatshirts/sweaters
1 vest
2 pj’s/sleepers
4 Scarves/neck warmers
1 shawl/poncho
1 jacket
16 Shirts
2 pr shoes
25 scarves

School Supplies
1 highlighter
14 crayons
168 pencils
42 pens
5 pencil boxes
3 packs colored pencils
40 erasers
1 journal
5 scissors
33 folders
5 composition books
1 pkg foam rubber pencil grips
3 spiral notebooks
5 glue
1 Phonics cards
1 mini clipboard

Food
1 pkg. Splenda
1 package. candy

Sewing and crafts
4 kids craft aprons
3 cones yarn
asstd Red Heart yarn
45 skeins yarn
15 + 1 set of rubber stamps
1 Pot holder kit w/ 2 extra bags of weaving loops.
3 pkg. wooden beads
2 pair knitting needles
3 square yards fabric
26 partial skeins of yarn
4 circular needles
19 pkg. foam stickers
10 crafts kit
3  packages of Clog Its – Decorates 2 plastic clogs
2  packages of pop beads
46 stamper markers
2 packages stickers
2 sewing patterns

Treats and toys
1 toy vehicle
4 crocheted animals
1 doll with clothing
3 puzzles
1 jump rope
4 Sticker Fun Books
1 Cats Cradle: Book
1 recorder
1 Kids meal toy
1 bag of Lego’s
2 bears
 3 toys

Misc.
1 contact lens case
2 pr. glasses
6 purses/backpacks/totes
2 books of stamps
30 diapers
1 neck pillow (gently used)
12 batteries
12 box top labels
5 Campbell’s soup labels
1 snowman decoration
1 Xmas stocking

Gently used
5 pants/jeans
24 shirts
11 sweaters
2 hats
16 pj’s/ sleepers
2 buntings
2 jackets
12 onesies
3 outfits
2 tights

Would you or your charity group like to help us keep some of our Native American families warm this winter?  You can find out more about our group and needs for the rez here.  Scroll down and check out the group site as well as the free pattern links.  We welcome you all into our group.

Just in.  Latest information indicate another 56 pairs were sent which brings the total to 1059.  Praise God for these blessings for our friends on the rez.

This recipe is for Oatmeal Pie.  I’ve had it around since the seventies, but don’t remember where it originally came from.  This tastes like pecan pie, but without the cost of the pecans.

OATMEAL PIE

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3/4 cup quick oats
• 3/4 cup flake coconut
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup margarine
• 3/4 cup syrup

Combine and mix well.  Pour into an unbaked pie shell and bake at 400F until brown – about 45 minutes.

This is sounding good right about now.  I have all the ingredients except the syrup.  I think I’ll have to buy some tomorrow at the grocery.  Consumer Man is coming home Friday afternoon to spend the weekend.  This will be a nice surprise for him.

I just saw this video link at the Wastrel Show and wanted to share it with you.   Apparently it’s making it’s way around the Internet.

Audrey Hepburn.  The epitome of grace and style.  Pamela Keogh guides us through timeless lessons for living with grace and in the style of Audrey.  She presents Audrey as a role model for women of all ages.  I was a young teen when Audrey’s hit movie, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, was the rage with all the girls I knew.  I wanted to be Audrey, and if I couldn’t be Audrey, I would settle for being Holly Golightly.  Holly wasn’t really anything at all like Audrey, but she was exciting and glamorous.  How very much more glamorous was the real Audrey! 

Throughout this book, Pamela gives us the rules that Audrey lived by.  Each chapter has a section “Would Audrey…” which speculates on what Audrey would do if presented with some of today’s situations.  And as always, the answer is an action of grace and style.  This book has the reader wanting to rise above the pettiness of so much of our life and fill ourselves, our lives and our surroundings with graceful simplicity.  This is definitely a guide book unlike any others.  But then, it is based on a woman unlike any other.  Read the stories behind the style and grace that was and is Audrey.