I just made 3 pies for tomorrow and I'm taking a little break. I made a chocolate pie and 2 caramel crunch pies. The Caramel Crunch Pie was something Robin always made each year and everyone loved it. It's sinfully delicious. Two of my friends have gotten the recipe from me this year and are making it for the Thanksgiving holiday so I thought it might be something you'd be interested in, too. It's easy and foolproof and I also left the calories out. Okay, I didn't really.


I also have an url for it-- http://easybakecoven.net/recipes/caramelpie.doc
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CARAMEL CRUNCH PIE - (local 1st Place recipe I saw in the paper)
--makes TWO pies--

2 graham cracker crusts
1 cup butter (I use about 3/4 cup margarine)
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 (7 oz) pkg flake coconut
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese
1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (16 oz) cool whip
1 (12 oz) jar caramel ice cream sauce

1) Melt butter in skillet; add pecans and coconut and cook until golden brown. Set aside.

2) In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk until smooth; then fold in the cool whip.

3) Layer 1/4 of cream cheese mixture in one graham cracker crust; layer 1/4 of the mixture in the 2nd pie crust; drizzel caramel sauce over the cream cheese mixture, drizzle sauce on 2nd pie; then top with the coconut-pecan mixture on both pies. Repeat.

You end up with the coconut-pecan mixture on the top of each pie and a nice, tall pie. You could add pecan halves or shaved chocolate topping or a dollop of cool whip and a cherry, if you like.

4) Freeze until firm (about an hour). Remove from the freezer about five minutes before serving.


**MAKES TWO PIES**

EARRINGS?

The jewelry my kids wear is still a little foreign to me. I'm referring to earrings. The bigger the hole in the ear the better.

I'm looking for some "plugs" for my daughter. Hot Topic has a few and I found some at BMEShop.com from the bmezine.com people.

The picture shown is of some abelone plugs at Hot Topic. Many are made of rubber, wood, stone. Sure is different from the hoops and posts we grew up with, isn't it?

Many ladies are spending $18 on Chanel's "Black Satin" nail polish -- or varnis, in the Chanel vernacular. The Chanel is now completely sold out, but you can find more on eBay if you want to pay $49.99 for it. And Opi's "Lincoln Park After Dark," is also MIA. Even good old Wet & Wild was cleaned out. I bought the last W&W's black polish, "R.I.P." at CVS during Halloween. I haven't done a black pedicure yet, I still have a nice soft pink on, but the manicure is fun to do. Especially with a white french tip.

Remember Chanel's "Vamp"? About 10 years or so ago? Deep dark blood red/black? It was selling out in a flash, too.

I guess wild manicures are one safe place a crone like me can enjoy a little rowdiness. Do you like the wild, dark polish?

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Northeast Judging by how you talk you are probably from north Jersey, New York City, Connecticut or Rhode Island. Chances are, if you are from New York City (and not those other places) people would probably be able to tell if they actually heard you speak.
The South
The Midland
Philadelphia
The Inland North
The West
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

NORTHEAST? I definitely have a southern accent, but it's more of an Andie MacDowell southern, not Dolly Parton southern. I think. This was fun. Found at Shirl's.

Families have always gathered for Thanksgiving dinner here in the US. The vegetarians can still eat well, with all the trimmings that go along with the turkey. I like turkey and stuffing/dressing and gravy and all that good stuff.

Over the years I've had turkeys that have been prepared in all manner of ways. My Mother puts the turkey into a 450� oven for one hour only the night before Thanksgiving, turns off the oven, and without opening the oven door for 8 hours, it's perfectly ready to serve the next morning or later.

My mother-in-law puts a flour-based paste all over the bird, then places it into a large paper bag, and cooks it. A previous mother-in-law (settle down, now) has a smoker and smokes her turkey to golden perfection each year.

It's always interesting to see the different ways that people carry on that family tradition that begins with a large turkey as the centerpiece.

What will you do this Thanksgiving? How do you prepare your turkey?

A trip to the doctor's office yesterday brought better results. My blood pressure had dropped a bit, still a little bit high though. Dr Libert suggested I look at the the Guide to Lowering Blood Pressure with DASH when I told her I could use some help knowing what to eat and what not to eat. She was out of pamplets, but said I could Google it. (doctors are googling, too!)

DASH, stands for "Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension". Your Guide to Lowering Blood Pressure with DASH. NIH Publication No. 06-4082. 2006. 56 pages. 6" X 9". Full Color is online with both a html file or the pdf file.

I'm looking into it today and I think there may be some Susan*Jayne visitors who can benefit from this as well.

Last year I thought someone had stolen my breasts. I was lying in bed and they were gone! As I jumped out of bed, I was relieved to see that they had just been hiding in my armpits as I slept.



Now I keep them hidden in my waistband.

Scroll down over there on the right side and you'll see a picture of me on the webcam. The next good hair day I have, I'll update that photo, although that might be a long time from now!

I have it configured for Yahoo messenger and my id on there is sudio1. Feel free to add me. I'm trying to configure it for my AOL IM, too. (susanjcook on AOL)

Time to read email and blogs. Later, tater.

This was an email I received...

A young wife sat on a sofa on a hot humid day, drinking iced tea and visiting with her Mother. As they talked about life, about marriage, about the responsibilities of life and the obligations of adulthood, the mother clinked the ice cubes in her glass thoughtfully and turned a clear, sober glance upon her daughter.

"Don't forget your Sisters," she advised, swirling the tea leaves to the bottom of her glass. "They'll be more important as you get older."

No matter how much you love your husband, no matter how much you love the children you may have, you are still going to need Sisters. Remember to go places with them now and then; do things with them. "Remember that 'Sisters' means ALL the women... your girlfriends, your daughters, and all your other women relatives too. You'll need other women - women always do."

'What a funny piece of advice!' the young woman thought. 'Haven't I just gotten married? Haven't I just joined the couple-world? I'm now a married woman, for goodness sake! A grownup! Surely my husband and the family we may start will be all I need to make my life worth while!

But she listened to her Mother. She kept contact with her Sisters and made more women friends each year. As the years tumbled by, one after another, she gradually came to understand that her Mom really knew what she was talking about. As time and nature work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman, Sisters are the mainstays of her life.

After more than 50 years of living in this world, here is what I've learned:

THIS SAYS IT ALL:
- Time passes.
- Life happens.
- Distance separates.
- Children grow up.
- Jobs come and go.
- Love waxes and wanes.
- Men don't do what they're supposed to do.
- Hearts break.
- Parents die.
- Colleagues forget favors.
- Careers end.

BUT........
Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how many miles are between you.

A girlfriend is never farther away than needing her reach. When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you have to walk it by yourself, the women in your life will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on, praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the valley's end.

Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk beside you. Or come in and carry you out Girlfriends, daughters, granddaughters, daughters-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law, Mothers, Grandmothers, aunties, nieces, cousins, and extended family, all bless our life!

The world wouldn't be the same without women, and neither would I.

When we began this adventure called womanhood; we had no idea of the incredible joys or sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we would need each other. Every day, we need each other still.


This is how I feel about my favorite online people who visit here. Allow me to get a little gushy. After my best friend for over 30 years passed, I just didn't bother trying to maintain friendships anymore. I never returned phone calls and seldom do now. I grieved and grieved over that passing.

And now my sister, Robin, is gone and she and I had always had plans about growing old together in our later years. My husband or her husband or kids or whatever would also live with us. We had an elderly great aunt and grandmother, Minnie and Hattie, who lived together so we called ourselves Minnie and Hattie, knowing we'd always have each other. Because we always did. Throughout schools, moving, husbands, deaths, birth, divorces, life. And we always came back to each other. Like a labryinth that led us back to it's center.

What I'm trying to say is that I really do cherish the friends I've made online here. You know who you are!