Tooting ones own Horn

In todays world this seems like something you need to do, not only do but be good at. this is extremely hard for me. I don't know if it is from childhood, or a personality thing but I am AWFUL at it. Yet, I have been told I NEED to do just that if I ever want to get anything done for our town. I have huge dreams that we can restart our town. It was and still is a very pretty little town, Set in some of the best hunting, fishing and camping in Wisconsin. Times change and people go where they see the ads for and unfortunately there have been no huge ad promotions for Montello since the 70's. The lakes and woodlands we had then we still have, the rivers and bike trails, birds and wildlife. We need to get visitors to our town and new small businesses to fill the shops and make stopping here something to talk about. Now with all that said , where do I come in.....I had a dream     you've heard that somewhere before. Let me go to the beginning, I am a MOM of 5 grown kids who since the early 70;s has had symptoms of myastenia gravis ( a form of MD )  , I muddled through when no one knew what was wrong. The in 1989 I was told the diagnosis, I had one small grandson and was give some very good advice from the smartest woman I knew ( My Gram)  make each day count, none of know what is in store for us, don't waste a day) so I have tried. I have taken Granddaughters to ballet, moved to Wisconsin. Here to my every day is vacation spot and am raising 3 teen age grandkids and two adorable but tiring great grandsons. Yet there is more to my dream. It has three parts. First to open the small diner in our downtown and add to it a cupcake bakery. The kind of diner where you can depend on Monday Meatloaf , homemade soups and desserts and a basket of fries to share. Second to enter Iron Cupcake Milwaukee and third to help put Montello back on the map for tourist year round. Now to alot of people this sounds out of reach but, I think it is possible...maybe bot to win Iron Cupcake Milwaukee but at least the diner, the town and get entered in Iron Cupcake.  I was given a link to a great site where you can post your project and people from all over can learn about it and if they choose give you a donation and earn some perks for doing so. I have that link and please check it out, share it with friends and help me toot my horn! http://www.indiegogo.com/Patti-Lekas  I will check back time and again and let everyone know how we are doing! Thanks in advance for getting the word out!

Crisp Fall Air

makes me want to bake, clean house, rake the yard.......unfortunately I am still battleing the back ache, it has now been about 10 weeks. Four doctors appointments, a pain specialist, a catscan and I still can't function like normal. Or as my husband says, nomal for me ! So, to keep myself busy I have been baking cupcakes to find the best recipes for the diner when we finally get it open. (Yet another long story) the pumpkin ones from last Wednesday were great. http://muffintop.wordpress.com/2006/11/03/pumpkin-muffins   I used the whole can of pumpkin and they stayed moist, well as long as muffins can last in our house. Today inbetween finishing a skunk sweater http://www.etsy.com/shop/Grammasgifts  I am going to try a spce cake from scratch. The two little men in my life are off with my daughters on , what I hope will be a day long shopping trip. I have found I really am not as young as I used to be. They tire me out in no time at all. Ialso cannot pick them up, so like an old person, I am not left home alone with them....nursing hme here I come. LOL
  I also got an order for a squirrel sweater, so I am going to have to work on that. The tail has me stumped right now....but I am sure something will come to me. Our little guys who last year were skunk and frog , this year will be dinosaurs....they just love Dinosaur Train on PBS. So off I go to bake and inbetween maybe wash some dishes and get a sweater done.....all before my family returns. Wish me luck!

50's style meatloaf

Part of my plan with this diner is to make it a family place where everyone can come enjoy some comfort food and reconnect. From the seniors in town to the kids who need a place to get a basket of fries and a couple cokes and talka bout boys or girls and just have a place to BE. That spot where you can stop in the morning for a cup of coffee and a muffin on the run or grab breakfast and read the paper. No dress code just good simple food, at reasonable prces with some friendly conversation and maybe if you saved room a cupcake for desert!






Enjoy moist, delicious meatloaf slathered in Heinz Ketchup with this free meatloaf recipe from H. J. Heinz. Equally great for family dinner or Monday Night Meatloaf at the Diner.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutesIngredients:
•1 slightly beaten egg
•1 cup Heinz Ketchup ®
•1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
•1-1 ½ pounds lean ground beef
•½ cup dry bread crumbs
•½ cup chopped celery
•½ cup chopped green bell pepper
•½ cup chopped onion
•½ teaspoon salt
•¼ teaspoon pepper
Preparation:
In saucepan, cook onion, celery and bell pepper in oil until tender-crisp; stir in ketchup. Combine ½ cup ketchup mixture with ground beef, bread crumbs, egg, salt and pepper. Shape into a loaf (8” x 4”) in shallow baking pan. Bake in 350°F oven for 1 hour. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing. Pour remaining ketchup sauce, cold or heated, over meat loaf. Makes 6 servings.

Wednesday 's

Wednesdays are almost always not very productive. We have a downtown business owners group meeting at 8:30 to discuss the upcoming events in town and how we can best promote our town and businesses. A very friendly group of four or five of us , planning to "SAVE the WORLD" one event at a time. About 10 am we return back to our businesses and get the day started. MOST of us,

I am a first thing in the morning person. I have myastenia gravis and am at my best early in the day. Somedays I come in at 7:45 with an idea and get right to painting and g all day each piece coming so easy. Other days like today I am thrown off by a change in plans. Today our meeting is at 6:00 in the evening! I have accomplished little all day.
Montello where I live has a population, at the time of the 2000 census, was 1,043. A toursit area that two years ago was hit by floods and last year had a drop in tourists due to the closing of our boat launch. With fewer tourists of course our shops make less money, the locals have a harder time finding jobs and we are forgotten. I have decide this just can't happen. Montello is a great small town for kids to grow up in, friendly people and loads of natural resources . So I am working to get us back on the map, all the while still filling the shop and trying to keep home life good for all of us. By all of us, I mean I am never quite sure how many will be there. Some days there are us ( my husband and I ) Kathy my daughter and her son Mike, Liz, Chris and Matt ( three teenage grandkids) 3 dogs and 4 fish. Other days my oldest grandson Joe is there with his two little guys and even my daughter Cheryl and a stray friend or two. I can't tell you the last time I was home alone!

My son has backed me along the way with my shop and website. Without him , I dont even want to think how things would have been. I use my painting as a stress reliever, stress is my #1 trigger for my MG. A Profitable shop would be nice, right now after two slow summers we are tredding water and I may have to make a decision to close the shop....but for right now I am painting to fill orders and keep my sanity.With the help of my son I am going to revamp the old diner in the photo and give out downtown the anchor it needs and a central visitng location for the locals and toursits alike. It will be alot of work and I am knee deep in paperwork right now , but if you want it, and focus anything is possible. This is how I see the next chapter in my life!!!

but until that chapter starts I will be painting because painting takes the stress away and the customers visitng makes each day enjoyable. But, today I was interrupted and didnt get an early start so I have finished almost nothing and now that I am typing this....IT IS OK tomorrow will come soon enough and I will get everything done! I had a good friend who worked with me at Michaels about 13 years ago and when I would worry about what seemed like everything she would say "Don't sweat the small stuff... and it's all small stuff" and she was right. So I will get stuff ready for the meeting tonight, reada few more blogs, finalize my cupcake recipe choices and call it a good day.