***The Senior WW Challenge*** - MONDAY 4/8

Happy Eclipse Day! And to Sandy and Fred Happy Anniversary. 💕

After dinner last night the sun came out and it turned into a lovely day.  It should be clear today for the eclipse. Nathan and I took a long walk to and through the park.  I have a breakfast casserole in the oven but the guys are still sleeping.

For Brenna’s bridal shower next month I bought the baking set from their registry.  It’s sheet pans, cake and loaf pans.  I want to include some of my favorite recipes, hand written.  I can’t think of any other way to give them other than recipe cards.  When Kinkos was still around they could bind them into a book.  I’d appreciate any ideas.

Good Morning Friends!

For those of you that will be able to view the eclipse get your glasses ready and enjoy. I do not have glasses and I will be busy and out and about so I have put a note in my car not to view the sun between 1:43 an 4:15 as I have no glasses and want to be safe. The viewing in our area will only be 65% but still not safe to look at the sun without assistance of the special glasses.

Mike is going to Lakeland to pick up his 2021 Wolf Pup RV today. It is pretty much exactly like this one: rv.campingworld.com/rv/2334629?storecode=TPA&scpc=lia-gpm-cwrv-nat&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwq86wBhDiARIsAJhuphnDKGy9In__8V-12DBaZZVR1VBoq_pNDCYtjjoxVohmqMCduWi8YPcaAgH8EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
We should send the dealer a thank you note for not accepting our offer as Mike saved $6,000 by not getting it from the dealer. 

Off to Stretch class and then will go to play Mahjong with friends. BBL

Ruth that floor plan is exactly like our last camper. It was the smallest one we owned but traveled many wonderful places. It’s just perfect.

Greetings:

Joan, Tea Time Magazine is the absolute first, last and best authority on tea parties. My library subscribes to it electronically and I've checked out a few copies. It's such an elegant and fun publication. There are internet sites which have a lot of info. You do want to do things "right". One of the sites said to flatten the bread, cut off the edges, spread the filling to the very edges which is a big deal in tea and then cut the edges off. I did it easier. Spread the filling, put the top on, smashed the sandwich between two cutting boards and then cut off the edges. I got 6 bite-size sandwiches from each. The sandwiches are to be no more than 3 bites! 

The ham sandwiches I made were my recipe. I bought the ham from Costco and minced it. Cheddar cheese is generally used, also minced. I used gruyere because i really like it. Then the "binder" was miracle whip (mayo is fine), a little Greek yogurt for tang, a tablespoon or so of fresh lemon juice, 2-3 table spoons of honey mustard. You can use whatever mustard you like. Not everyone likes dijon so I didn't go that way. Then did mince the cheese so it was about the same size as the ham pieces. I added minced chives for a little color and  some pickle relish. I let it drip through a strainer so it wouldn't make the bread mushy.  I did see a tip somewhere that if you have a jucier filling to put a thin coat of butter on the bread to keep the filling from going through. I did it for a couple, then my husband, who was helping said he didn't think I needed it. So, stopped that. I think that was all. Then put on a slice of bread, added a top, smashed and cut. 

Do the sandwiches the same day as your tea. They are best fresh. In the salmon ones I put parsley. 

One of the cautions I read was not to have big pieces of anything in the filling. You don't want anything falling out. So, that was the reason i minced everything and used miracle whip and Greek yogurt to bind it. In the salmon I also minced cucumber. An English cucumber since the skin can be used and adds a bit of color. Anyway, someone else made sandwihes with filling that didn't go to the edge. They weren't as good, strangely enough. Also, someone else sliced cucumbers and "stuck" them to the bread with either mayo or miracle whip. They didn't hold and the cucumber slices were falling out. So, I thought that was good advice. 

It was fun. I kind of wish I'd signed up for scones as I use a mix from a high tea place for my scones anymore and they are just delicious.  Have fun with your party and tell us about it!

The eclipse was beautiful and interesting. We had 94% coverage of the sun by the moon and it was semi-dark but the trees still cast a shadow. The interesting thing was the upset noisy birds and our cat was so stressed out she cried at the screen door.  Our peek was 2:04 and at 2:57 it’s still happening but sunnier now.  Through the glasses I can still see the moon covering part.  Don’s planting garden.  At least radishes, lettuce, spinach and scallions.  Hopefully an eclipse garden is the best one.  

Vicki I hope your viewing was awesome and you and yours had a good time.

Goodness, I have no idea where my afternoon post went. Anyway, Mike got home at 7. He got the Wolf Pup and has it stored at their office until he can take it up to Old Town. He is not a person who likes to camp. He got it mainly so he has a place to stay when he is working. They are still working on the 12 ft by 24 ft utility building. Once they start the house I will go up there for a few days with him. They do have water and electricity now, which is another reason to get the camper rather than stay in an expensive hotel. 

We did not notice anything here with the eclipse. It was a little cloudy out. We did not notice it getting any darker and we were in a room with lots of windows. At yoga tonight the people that did get to see it said it was like a crescent moon. My cousin Linda Vadnais from Wisconsin posted some nice pictures of the eclipse on Facebook. If you are my FB friend check them out.