The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1322401
Katiedid Versus By Katiedid Langrock Living in the walls BROCCOLI HAM BAKE MEALS IN Monica's MINUTES By Monica Sinclair Two days from now is Christmas! It's hard to believe we finally made it here after the harrowing year we have all had. So, I hope you all appreciate this special time with your family and remember those that have lost some- one this year. Maybe take them a plate of food or a tray of goodies, just to brighten their day a little. If you are having ham this year, I found a recipe to use up any left- over ham and I'm sure someone in need would appreci- ate it. Have a safe and wonderful day, and Merry Christ- mas! Enjoy! INGREDIENTS • 3 cups frozen chopped broccoli • 1/4 cup chopped onion • 4 tablespoons butter, divided • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour • 2-1/4 cups milk • 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese • 2 cups cubed fully cooked ham • 1-1/2 cups seasoned stuffing cubes, divided DIRECTIONS 1. Cook broccoli according to package directions. 2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, sauté onion in 3 ta- blespoons butter until tender. Stir in flour until blend- ed; gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat; stir in cheese until melted. 3. Drain the broccoli. Add broccoli, ham and 1 cup stuff- ing mix to cheese sauce. 4. Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish. Melt remain- ing butter; toss with remaining stuffing mix. Sprinkle around edge of casserole. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 25 -30 minutes or until golden brown. Source: tasteof home.com Share your favorite recipe! www.facebook.com/mealsinminutes Monica's Meals in Minutes PO Box 68, Petersburg, IN 47567 mealsinminutes@pressdispatch.net FACEBOOK MAIL EMAIL The first time we went to our house after purchasing it, we found a snake in the basement. "This will happen," an animal control officer said as she removed the 6 -foot rat snake. "You live on wa- ter next to the woods." "So they come in for shel- ter? " I asked. "They come in for food," she said. "What food? " I asked. "Mice, moles, voles, bugs." "We have mice, moles, voles and bugs?! " "Of course," she said. "You live on water next to the woods." We've lived in our house for four years now. As the seasons change, we get our busy time with spiders and palmetto bugs, with the oc- casional mouse and the even rarer snake. We told this to the woman who has been liv- ing in our home while we've traveled around the coun- try in our RV, along with the name of our very lovely pest control man, who always gets any problem fixed in a jiffy. I don't think she believed us. Or maybe she wasn't men- tally prepared for nature. "There's something living in the walls," she said one time. "I don't know what it is, but it's big and it's every- where. I think it lives in the chimney." I asked her whether she had called our pest man. "I want him to move in," she said. "My anxiety is through the roof. I look down at the floor whenever I walk, just in case there's a spider." "Is there a spi- der? " I asked. "Sometimes." Maybe mov- ing out of the city and into the coun- try wasn't the right move for her. Or maybe it's not her at all. Over the past week, my friends have told me about a fox living under one house, an armadillo liv- ing in one of their basements, a bird (which they originally thought was a bat) flying in and wreaking havoc all over the living room as they spent days trying to remove it, and a raccoon that's been coming in through the cat door to eat from the cat's food bowl in my friend's bedroom. She woke up to two raccoons at the foot of her bed. "I'm getting a trail cam- era," she said. "I want to see what other animals are sneak- ing into my bedroom while I sleep." "Why don't you just lock the cat door at night? " I asked. "And miss out on this op- portunity for great discovery? What if the supposedly ex- tinct Tasmanian tiger walks in looking for delicious cat food? " "We're not in Australia," I said. She argued that I was miss- ing the point. And perhaps I was. But for all the animals that have visited my home, they've never entered with an open invitation. "What do you think you will come home to? " my friend asked me. "A perfectly clean and over- ly sprayed house," I said. "You don't believe your house sitter at all? " my friend asked. "Even after all our sto- ries? " Hmm. "Don't forget," she said. "You're the one who found a snake upstairs in the kids' playroom — and then left it there." Oh, yeah. Maybe there is some rea- son for concern about the gi- ant creature living in the walls near the fireplace. I asked the kids what they think we will find when we come home for Christmas. "An alligator! " my son said. Oh, jeez. "A bison! " my daughter said. I tried to think of which one would be worse. Then I pushed the thought out of my mind. "We don't have either of those animals living near us." "Yeah-huh. They found an alligator walking across the street only a mile from us," my son reminded me. "Yes, but they believe it was someone's released pet," I said. "A released pet that found a new home," he smiled. "Our home." "OK, OK, let's assume we don't have large crocodilians looking to shack up in our house." "Why not? We live on water next to the woods." Why does everyone keep reminding me of that? At least I can be sure there isn't a bison living in our house — and certainly not in the walls. "It's a bison," my daugh- ter repeated. "It's probably hanging upside down from my bunk bed." "Upside down? " I asked. "Oh! You mean a possum." AREA HAPPENINGS Celebrate Recovery–Will meet every Monday at 6 p.m. at the River of Life Church, 342 E. CR 300 N., Petersburg. For more information, contact Pastor Jim at 812-354-8800. Pike County History Center—Will meet the fourth Monday of each month at the History Center, 1104 Main Street, Petersburg at 6:30 p.m. New members welcome. History Center hours Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. until further notice. DAR—Local chapter of the Daughters of the Ameri- can Revolution meet the second Monday of each month September through June at 6 p.m. at the History Center in Petersburg. Free Clothing Bank–Oak Grove Church in Oakland City offers a free clothing bank each Tuesday 9 -11 a.m. (Oakland City time) for everyone. They carry new and used clothing. Location is on Morton Street, just past Chuckles. Come to the gymnasium door located at the back of the church. Winslow Alcoholics Anonymous – will meet every Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Call 812-789 -8535 for location of the meeting. Al-Anon meeting – Meetings are each Wednesday at 11:30 a.m., located at 424 W. 7th St. in Jasper. For more in- formation, call 812-887-0349. Narcotic Anonymous – Every Wednesday at 7 p.m. at River of Life Fellowship Church. Odd Fellows IOOF Pacific Lodge #175 meeting–the second Monday of each month at 7 p.m. All area members are encouraged to attend. Otwell Ruritan–will have its monthly meetings the sec- ond Monday of each month at 7 p.m. Pike Lodge #121 F&AM regular stated meeting–the second Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. All area Masons are invited to attend. Jefferson Township Community Center of Otwell– will have its monthly meetings the first Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. All members are urged to attend. Oakland City-Columbia Township Public Li- brary-The Board of Trustees will hold an additional board meeting on Tuesday, December 29, 2020, at 4 p.m. in the library meeting room. The meeting is open to the public. D-2 Wednesday, December 23, 2020 The Press-Dispatch Down Purdue Sweet's Column By Barbara Sweet CARL MELLOY ESTATE SALE Lic. #AU10800006 CALL OR TEXT Johny Ray at 812-598-3936 for more information Thurs., Dec. 31 • 10 a.m. CST Backhoe, fork trucks, vehicles, shop and hand tools, lawn and garden items, plus more. Also featuring an Evansville collection including antiques, glassware, collectibles, furniture and more. Auction Center • 114 E. SR 68 • Lynnville, IN 47619 Trust me to sell your home or find your dream home! Call/Text me today at 812-380-1133. Hi stars and welcome to the big stage all lit up in bright colorful lights and decorated to help celebrate with all our stars who will have a birthday or anniversary in the week of December 24-30. Come up onto this stage and take a bow. December 24-Em- ily Bayne turns 30 ; Aslynn Noelle Halfactor turns 13; Donnie and Jan Stephens celebrate 43 years. December 25 -Aunt Donna Collins Meyer turns 89; Carol Alpine Fickel turns 92. December 26 -Cynthia Raney turns 52; Leann Ste- phens turns 51; Sierra Sim- mons. December 27-Ed Gerber turns 55; Kenny Stuppy turns 73; Jeffery and Debbie Meyer celebrate 45 years. December 28 -Dot Burton Ware turns 65; Louis and Glenna Russo celebrate 16 years. December 29 -Misty Jones, Kelly Ingle turns 30 ; Chuck and Stacy McCandless cele- brate 2 years. December 30 -Christopher Meyer turns 46; John Alan Bellamy turns 60 ; Lorin Hum- mer turns 16; Jayden Allen Branden Dunn turns 3. May all our stars have a re- ally great day and may all your wishes come true. Keep in your heart and in your prayers all our stars who have COVID-19, those recov- ering and in therapy, those with colds, flu or allergies, and those with the aches and pains of everyday life. EVENTS December 23-31-Christmas in the Park at Petersburg Hor- nady Park every night from 6 - 9 p.m. December 25 -Christmas Day. Jesus was born in Beth- lehem under the bright star, and many church stars celebrate His birth with prayer, music and scriptures. Children love this day when Santa leaves them a present, if they are good, under the Christmas tree. Families get together with a meal, exchange gifts and see the children enjoy their gifts. December 31-New Year's Eve. Everyone has their own traditions to end the year. January 1-New Year's Day. Winslow and Petersburg se- niors will not meet again un- til Governor Holcomb gives the okay. Sweets Column, Winslow, IN 47598 received no post- cards this week. The Winslow Patoka Riv- er is high but not overflow- ing. We started the weekend of Dec. 12 in the 50s, but the north wind began to blow and brought with it the 30s, with a wind chill in the teens by the beginning of the work week. Tuesday morning we had frost most of the morning, then on Wednesday, Dec. 16, in the early morning, Winslow had sleet at midnight, then snow flurries most of the morning. The temps were cold enough for the snow to stick on the grass, tree limbs, wood porch- es, vehicles and Christmas yard items. Winter officially starts on Dec. 21, so I guess Old Man Winter wanted us to experience some days of what winter should feel like. This weather didn't last long because the temps are said to rise in the 50s again next week. I have talked about Norm fixing us breakfast on the weekends and he has gotten better fixing those eggs with the yolk running, so you can sop it up with your toast, but his sausage, bacon and ham cooking is most delicious al- so. Now, I do cook but during the week for the supper meal and those holiday meals. This weekend, Kyana, Laura and mom will be here and the Sweets will have their Christ- mas dinner together. More on that get together next week. Vernon and Dixie invited Norm and I to eat out to cele- brate Our Lady of Guadalupe at a new Mexican restaurant in Princeton. Yes, we all wore our masks and the seating was at a distance from oth- ers. The atmosphere was en- joyable as we ate some deli- cious and filling food, and the conversation on many topics was great as friends enjoy each other's company. As we left, we saw a decorated room with lacy-like, colorful rectangles hanging from the ceiling and a big Santa face on one big window. We also saw more businesses with decora- tions in the windows and out- side their business. The town square in Princeton has snow- flakes on and around the light posts and the courthouse still has the star on top shining brightly. All along the way, we saw more and more deco- rations in yards and on houses through Francisco, Oakland City, Arthur and Winslow. Later on that week, we went grocery shopping and passed by the 57 Bones family that are dressed up in Santa, Mrs. Claus and elf by the sleigh and reindeer, and at night, they are lit up in lights. Plus many of the houses are also great to see through Oakland City, Glezen and Petersburg, then on 61 through Half-Mile Hill, Campbelltown and into Winslow. I hope you all get to see all the decorations in your ar- ea and enjoy the many yards and houses that bring joy to the decorator who put those items in its place; also, to see all of you smile at what deco- rations you see in those yards. I like to see how, this year, the lights are all different on some houses and that looks great. Trees have been dec- orated on the trunk, but not too many trees have lights all over or hanging down from the limbs. Many have candy canes or big bulb ornaments hanging from the trees. Lots of manger sets, Santas and reindeer, snowmen, plus Min- ions, other cartoon characters and lots more. The coats and scarves on light posts or other kinds of poles in Winslow all along Main St. was a great sight to see and then to know out of 75 to 100 items, there were on- ly 13 items not taken by those stars who really needed them. We are grateful that the volun- teers wrap these items in our town and we all thank you for your kindness. Our wish for all our stars ev- erywhere is that your Christ- mas Day is one of your great- est with family and friends. Christmas is different for ev- eryone. However you cele- brate this day, we hope it's with the ones you love the most. Have a Merry Christ- mas to all our stars from the writers of Sweets Column. As the lights begin to dim for this week, keep an eye on family and friends, even if it's just to listen. Slow down and don't be in such a hurry to get somewhere or to do some- thing. See all the wonders in your area. As always, smile, wave and say "hi" to every- one you see this week. Mer- ry Christmas to all. Pregnant... or think you are? Call:1-877-257-1084 or Locally Call: 1-812-354-2814 • Free pregnancy testing • Free counseling and info. on pregnancy options. • Confi dential counseling for women & men who are suff ering from post-abortion syndrome. • Residential Care • Health and assistance referrals. • Training and education. • Assistance in getting baby and maternity clothes washpcc@sbcglobal.net www.washingtonpregnancycenter.com