Welcome to the "new" Country Chatter
 

It is time for another issue of Country Chatter, I hope everyone had a wonderful Labor Day weekend, the last weekend of the summer.  Football has started and the Bears will be on National TV this Sunday night and let's hope that they win.  Go Bears!!!!  The monsoons have gone away for a couple days but....... the month of August was the third wettest on record.  A week ago we had hurricane force winds, 85 to 125 miles per hour.  The storms were more on the East Side of town rather that over on the West side and we got about 5.66 inches of rain for the month.  Of course the weeds are growing, and all the plants in the back yard look beautiful.  But with football season starting, we all know that fall is coming which means cooler weather and everything starts to happen out here. 

I hope everyone who reads this is safe and happy, the house next door to mine is in foreclosure and now up for sale.  There are so many houses in my area that are in foreclosure and up for sale, am just so thankful to have a job and have the money to be remodeling mine.  I talked to my family back in Chicago a couple weeks ago, and I am flying into Chicago in March on next year.  My niece is getting married and we are going back for the wedding.  I have not been back to Chicago in a bunch of years and can not wait and get to see all my new grand nieces and nephews.  So I will enjoy seeing all my friends, too.

Claudia and I ventured out last weekend, I am remodeling my bedroom and needed to find a new bedspread, in black and white, which was really hard, I guess that is not the "in" color combination this season.  We were running in and out of stores, and came out of Borders, tried to start the SUV and had a DEAD battery.  Thank goodness for Triple A, it was only 105 outside and it only took about an hour but the bright spot was that it wasn't 115.  So after a long lunch to cool down, we were off shopping again.  Have you noticed that the stores are not real crowded anymore???  But Claudia and I did do our part for the economy.

The Magic of Autumn

It's a glorious day with a sun overhead
And maples off yonder in cardinal red
And elms spilling gold on the floor of the world
And the sumacs ablaze, as the picture's unfurled
Oh poor little genius, known as man
Work us such wonders, as this, if you can!

It's a glorious day, with magic of fall
Working its changes too swift for us all
Now the green turns to gold in the glint of the sun
But not one of us knows how the marvel is done
From the high hat of autumn gay ribbons are tossed
And mane merely calls in the work of the frost.

Here's a performance which dazzles the eye
Here are the illusions no magician dare try
Oh, who can detect it, or who can explain
Or who can equal such legerdemain?

The world is a stage, without curtain or wing
Where Autumn performs for the peasant and king
No velvet topped table he needs for his feat
As he scatters his silver and gold at our feet
We see the scenes change in the glint of the sun
But none of us knows how such wonders are done
--- From the collection of Blanche Phillips
 

Activities Around the Valley

This is for my friends who need a little reminder about what is going on around my part of the world.
Well, the heat has hit the Valley and this is the time of the year, when everyone heads up north
to the "High Country" or over to San Diego to "cool" off and only the brave ones go
out in the heat but the nights are soooooo nice.
Time to take a class or two at the Park District or your local craft shop

Downtown Glendale and Catlin Court are still open during the summer with new shops and restaurants, be sure and stop in and say hello.

Crafter's Corner


If you are in the Phoenix area and are interested in any shows, please get in touch with the kittens at
admin@calicokittendesigns.com and they will be more than happy to send you a list of shows.

I would still like to start a Quilting Club for quilters or anyone who would like to give it a try.  I have one person who has joined the group, along with me so we are looking for more wonderful people to join us.  I am looking for classes for quilting here.
I want to start a mailing list of people who would be interested in doing this.  Each month, you will send to one person on the list, four 5 inch squares of fabric of one theme.   We will do this for 3 months with one theme and then choose another theme for the next 3 months.  At the end of the three months, please design something with your fabric and send me a photo and I will put it in the newsletter with your name and website.  If you are interested in doing this, please email the staff at Admin@calicokittendesigns.com and please put quilts in the message line.

Bear is in charge of link exchanges and was wondering if anyone would like to exchange links with Calico Kitten Designs.
You can get in touch with him at admin@calicokittendesigns.com and he will be more than happy to sent you ours. One small note from Bandit, if you have any EXTRA Pringles (the original favor) he will make sure that you on the front page of the links.

Recipes

Each and every month, there will be a special section for them. 

If you would like to have yours in
the next issue of Country Chatter, please email Bandit at admin@calicokittendesigns.com
and he just loves samples.

Grilled Lime Scampi

1 pound peeled and deveined large shrimp
1/3 cup fresh lime juice, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup butter
2 green onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup white wine
pinch of cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine shrimp, 1/4 cup lime juice, and olive oil in a bowl, tossing to coat.  Set aside.
Melt butter in a large skillet.  Add green onions and garlic, and sauté 1 to 2 minutes.  Add wine, cayenne pepper, salt, and remaining lime juice.  Simmer 3 to 5 minutes.
Grill shrimp over medium-high heat 3 minutes or until opaque.  Toss shrimp in lime-butter sauce, and serve immediately.

Grilled Teriyaki Shrimp Kebabs

Sauce
1/4 cup low-sodium teriyaki sauce
1 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted

Kebabs
48 large peeled and deveined shrimp (about 1 1/2 pounds)
32 (1 inch) pieces cubed fresh pineapple (about 3/4 pound)
1 medium red onion, cut into 8 wedges
Cooking spray

Prepare grill.

To prepare sauce, combine teriyaki sauce and sesame seeds in a small bowl.
To prepare kebabs, thread 6 shrimp, 4 pineapple chunks, and 1 onion wedge alternately onto each of 8 (10 inch) skewers.  Brush kebabs with teriyaki mixture.  Place kebabs on grill rack coating with cooking spray; grill 8 minutes or until shrimp are are done, turning once.

Well, I hope that you have made it down to this little part, I love talking about
Arizona, sharing this state with everyone.  I want to share a part of my world
with everyone and doing this newsletter is my way of thanking
everyone for being a friend.  I went and voted on Tuesday in the Primary, sad, sad, the polls had been open since 6 in the morning and I got there at 4:30 and only 41 people had voted before me.  Please when it comes to the general election in November, go and vote.  I do not care who you vote for but please vote.  The country is in a mess and I don't know about you but........ I love this country.  Enough of my soapbox.
Say a prayer for our Armed Forces and pray that they will be home soon.  Tigger and Katie want to say hello, they have been yelling the whole night.  Tigger knows one word and yells it over and over again. Tigger is so excited that football season is starting again, he loves football, yells all the time and seems to know what is going on with the game.

Count your blessings, hug your family and friends,
thanks for being a part of Country Chatter
And just remember Fall is coming !!!

Hugs,
Cindy and the Kittens

Country Chatter
Cindy Kingren
623-210-3511
(after 4 - Pacific time)
dacarebear@yahoo.com or
admin@calicokittendesigns.com