December 20, 2008
December 19, 2008
01. the sight of candy canes in canning jars.
05. the taste of regent apples + peanut butter.
06. the wisdom of C.H. Spurgeon's morning & evening.
December 18, 2008
I sliced open the package and gingerly folded back the flaps, and what to my surprise and delight...
As soon as I saw the contents, I called Grant to make known the glad tidings.
His wonderful aunt just sent us a box of goodness. (& plenty to share with our family!)
It comes in the form of dried mangoes. And not just any dried mangoes. Oh, no.
These are Philippine brand. The best. Our favorite. Better than candy.
I don't even like mangoes. And I'm not a huge dried fruit person. But I am smitten with these.
We can't find them anywhere around here, so they are a rare delicacy.
What a joyous Christmas gift!
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Debbie. You are always so thoughtful and generous!
December 17, 2008
By special request, I present peanut butter balls.
A family favorite. A Christmas classic. A no-bake, low-stress, why-not-do-it sort of thing.
collect the stuff.1/2 c. butter (softened or room temp)
step 1.
step 2.
step 3.
1 lb. powdered sugar (about 3 1/2 c.)
2 c. peanut butter
2 c. rice krispies
16 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips w/ paraffin wax OR 1 pkg. milk chocolate almond bark
step 1.Mix first four ingredients.
(how it happened in my kitchen...)
First try stirring with your handy wooden spoon. Carefully, mind you. You don't want to crush the krispies.
After awhile, switch to a fork. Because we all know that pb + powdered sugar practically screams "fork it."
After a go at that, just dive in. Take off your rings, and plunge your (well washed) hands into that aromatic mixture.
step 2.Shape it up. 1 inch balls will work.
(...my kitchen)
Make some larger ones for your husband who likes a good, hearty bite.
Make some smaller ones for yourself, because then you can have two & not feel bad.
If they aren't sticking together enough, add a little bit more pb.
Then add a little bit more p.sugar because you added too much pb & now it's a little too sticky.
Keep going with this system until your consistency is flawless.
step 3.Melt your chocolate concoction of choice & dip away.
step 4.
Place on cookie sheet lined with wax paper or foil.
step 5.
Let harden.
(I put mine in the freezer because it's speedy and I like 'em good & cold.)
step 6.
Do the dishes. And do it with a happy heart. Because you're all done! And because even though wet pb doesn't smell that great- wet chocolate smells absolutely wonderful. And by the time you're done cleaning, you can have yourself a well-earned, freezer-firmed, fresh pb ball.
happy Christmas dessert-making.
December 16, 2008
Day 3 of what one weather source called a "life threatening" blizzard.
Snow blowing. Winds whirling. Cars slipping. Ice never melting. Headlights gleaming. Temperature: -3 degrees. Windchill: -20 degrees.
Clearly, I live in Minnesota now.
And winter has swept in.
On our way to a white Christmas.
Am staying home.
Rejoicing over having no place to go.
Observing the holiday that is a day of being snowed in.
Putting real sugar in a mug of tea.
Listening to "Let it Snow" on repeat.
Cleaning my house with extra care.
Pretending a space heater is a roaring fire.
Wearing my scarf.
Preparing comforting soup for the crockpot tonight.
Painting nails a Christmasy red.
Hanging newly received Christmas cards.
Hovering over a double boiler.
Creating a Christmas treat.
Dancing to "Last Christmas" by Wham.
Watching the snow accumulate.
Praying for a safe drive home for a certain husband.
Again, yay for December and Minnesota and all their weathery charms.
December 15, 2008
Despite the disappointment of an early departure due to an impending blizzard, Haley's visit was just what we dreamed it would be. Given a day and a half we managed to chat leisurely, whiz through wal-mart, watch Little Women, try a new banana bread recipe, browse through a charming antique shop, find out that some places serve blended vanilla ice cream and call it coffee, whip up some "just like we remember" mint brownies, and finish a hastily-planned, highly-secretive surprise for Mom...
1. We stole. (her infamous overstuffed and disorderly recipe folder. complete with magazine clippings, coupons, grocery lists, index cards, recipes in Grandma's gorgeous cursive, and newspaper articles from 1984)
2. We sorted.
3. We stacked.
4. We exclaimed. (at things that we remembered)
5. We laughed. (at Mom's endearing & persistent tendency to write out her plan for Christmas baking every year, including re-writing recipes that had been written 15 times before)
6. We stuffed. (a brand new folder)
7. We returned. (a more orderly & efficient system for storing & accessing her recipe finds, hopefully)
all in all, it was a sweet end to my week.
December 13, 2008
this movie.It was on tv tonight. Did you miss it? If you did, you can catch it again on nbc on Christmas Eve. I didn't miss it. I was waiting for it. For me it's not just a movie, it's an event.
The only thing I did miss this year was the version that I'm used to. I grew up watching a technicolor version that Dad taped years and years ago. You know, on VHS? You watch it on a VCR. Remember how that used to work? That particular version had little bits of commentary highlighting characters from the movie. Every time the movie would break for a commercial, snippets of scenes would start playing and a voiceover would say something like "And that's Beulah Bondi as Ma Bailey..." Plus, we would always get a little commentary from Dad, who over the years has learned a thing or two about the making of "It's a Wonderful Life." I remember him telling us that Donna Reed is from the tiny town of Denison, Iowa- which is only minutes away from where my grandma lives. It's little things like that that make this movie extra special to me.
Maybe I can convince everyone to watch it again when I go to Mom & Dad's house for Christmas. Break out the VCR, guys.
December 12, 2008
i'm playing hostess for the weekend.
my sister Haley is making the journey to cold Minnesota to visit us today. Way to brave the snow, sis. I can't wait for her to get here and make our spirits bright.
Haley, if our house had a guest room, I would set the latest issue of People magazine on your nightstand, along with a couple of cherry barber poles and a box of original Nips. Your bed would be dressed with cozy flannel sheets in a snowflake print & topped off with an ivory down comforter. I would drape my favorite Christmas blanket from Grandma's house over the end of your bed and fluff the mountain of pillows until they were puffed and primped to the max. I would make sure you had an open outlet so that you can lap-top away while you sit up in bed and would light up a fraser fir candle and our mini Christmas tree on top of the mahogany chest of drawers in the corner.
lacking such a room, I have nothing more to offer you than layers upon layers of blankets to keep you warm and snug on the couch. And hot meals, and supplies for making Christmas cookies, and a little shop to sip our coffee in, and a forecast of snow, and an eager sister who is waiting to welcome you in.
come quick before the flakes start to fall!
December 11, 2008
'tis almost the season for making resolutions.
and I am ready.
Ever since I did some reading on the subject of faithfulness (see post), there is a constant stream of resolutions filling my head. Some are piling up haphazardly in my memory, some have been preserved in corners of my notebook that will be impossible to ever locate again, and all are on the verge of being forgotten lest I quick collect them all and jot them down here in this post.
Most of my intentions are about the small things. (not that there aren't big things I can work on too) Why do I hate to do things that are so simple and easy? I am hoping that by acknowledging them, I will be more aware of my problems and be able to overcome them.
1. put the annoying twistie-tie thing back on the bread bag
2. remember to take my vitamins
3. wash the greasy butter dish before putting in a new stick
4. use my nice stainless steel frying pan instead of the easier-to-clean non-stick one
5. put lotion on my legs and feet
6. put necklaces & earrings back in my jewelry box instead of leaving them on the bathroom counter for a week
7. use fewer kleenexes and paper towels
8. use less salt on my potatoes and less butter on my banana bread
9. clean the whole shower, not just the floor and faucet
10. buy better quality fabric softener
11. sit up straighter and sit back in my chair, instead of on the edge
12. don't procrastinate when it comes to clipping fingernails and toenails
13. clean off the top of the sticky syrup bottle
14. get a bookmark instead of folding corners in all my books
15. get a new trash bag instead of letting the old one overflow
16. get rid of some of the cardboard box supply in our house
17. don't use the laundry room as a room to store unsightly junk
18. put things in their right place right away, instead of letting them sit there while I think about putting them away
19. spend less time getting ready for bed
20. put in my new pair of contacts instead of trying to make these last forever
December 10, 2008
my project.
remember when I told you that I had found something fun to work on? as fun as wrapping presents? well this is it.
the idea: back in november i heard about ali edwards and her december daily album. when i saw it, i fell in love with her clever creation. i wanted one of my own. but ali's album kind of resembled... well... a scrapbook. and scrapbooks and me, we don't get along. not one bit.
i am a simplistic, check-it-off-my-list-and-be-done-with-it perfectionist who admires creative people and wants to be like them, but is intimidated by anything crafty and who has very little money and patience and time for buying up and collecting odds 'n' ends and then putting them together to make something out of nothing. scrapbookers, on the other hand, are creative, patient, experimental, inventive, artistic, mistake-forgiving, multi-tasking, persevering, non-conforming, free-time-using, picture-developing, cute paper-buying & saving, amazing people.
herein lies the dilemma.
the execution: fully aware of my shortcomings and refusing to go all out of nowhere scrapbooky on my husband, but still wanting to make this happen, i set about simplifying ali's project. a few months ago grant gave me a great leather bound notebook that he wasn't using. i hadn't used it yet either. a full 2-month holiday supply of pottery barn and williams-sonoma catalogues were just sitting next to my couch, already read, full of pretty pictures, not being put to use for a single thing. so, i snatched both of these items, clipped up some lined paper, slathered on some elmer's, and scribbled in my thoughts. voila.
the advent journal.
the result: it's a rudimentary version of ali's original idea. highly unrefined. probably a disgrace to even be associated with the acclaimed "december daily album" project. but I kind of like that about it. the glue-produced waviness of the pages and the disappointingly messy handwriting adds a homespun effect. to tell you the truth, i've become fond of the crude, scrappy look it's taking on. for me to actually do something like this and keep up with it, it has to be ultra-simplified. and it is. i am loving it.
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