Thursday, December 11, 2014

Today's Update - 11 Dec 2014


Cracked a bowl of pecans today to use the ones that I had in the freezer and save having to buy them in the store this year.  Oh ... my ... word!  I nearly choked at how expensive they were at Thanksgiving.  Thirteen dollars a pound in some stores!  They've come down a little but my mother says that she heard that because the crop was very poor to nonexistent this year in Georgia, we can expect these high prices to last at least another year.  I haven't been able to find any hazelnuts to speak of either so I'm wondering if it is the same thing.  Probably all thanks to the strange weather patterns we've had all year.  Looks like I'll be making cookies and pies that contain fewer nuts and instead have to substitute nut butters from the grocer's shelves like Nutella or Cashew Butter or something similar.  I like to make fresh but I like to keep at least a few pennies in my pocket too so cutting corners it will be.

Had a box of Christmas decorations disappear on me and I spent forever and a day looking for it.  It was behind another box on the very top shelf of one of my shelves in the garage.  I was just plain relieved to find it ... until fifteen year old daughter says, "Oh.  You meant THAT box.  Yeah I moved it because it was in my way."  ARGH!!!!  I almost said, "Child please!  I was ready to have a coronary - it contains some of my most treasured pieces - and was running around the house for hours like a chicken with my head cut off and you just now figure out what is going on?!"  I didn't, but it was a near thing.  I forget, when is it they take their common sense out of the deep freeze and start using it again?  Geez Louise.  Oh well.  Put the mother's curse on her and told her I hope she has one just like her.  It is the only thing that really works in the long run.  You know how I know?  Because my mother wished the same thing on me and ... now I know.  (But don't tell Mom, she'll laugh so hard she won't be able to see straight for three days.)

I got a little more writing done today but didn't get it edited in time for posting on tonight's update.  But I didn't backslide so it is the same four as I've been adding.

Zombies Aren't Real ... Are They?!
http://zombiesarentrealarethey.blogspot.com/

A Bunch of Wild Thyme
http://bunchofwildthyme.blogspot.com/

Up On Hartford Ridge
http://uponhartfordridge.blogspot.com/

Mother Hen's Recipes
http://motherhensrecipes.blogspot.com/

Every year I try and do an advent type unit study with the kids.  Well the older four have all "outgrown" the activities but for now my ten year old still really enjoys it.  This year I am once again doing the "Blessed" unit study that we've done multiple times since my oldest two were still in grade school.  Today's "theme" was poinsettias and Dragon Boy and I made poinsettia cookies as one of the activities.  Uh oh, even at ten I had forgotten how sensitive my son still is to red food coloring.  I've been peeling him off the ceiling all afternoon and finally just sent him and Darth Molly outside to see how many times they could run around the house without stopping.  I lost count.  He didn't bother counting because he and the dog were having too much fun chasing each other around.  I got tired just hanging what I hope is the last few Christmas lights ... they're like dust bunnies and multiply in the dark.  Right now it's 8 pm and he is just now beginning to settle down.  Darth Molly has already crashed an burned.  LOL.  Think I'll avoid red dye once again for a good while after this.  Hubby has the same sensitivity; it turns my Type A husband into a Type AAAAAA+++++.  So yes, those cookies are already packaged and hidden in the freezer under bags of cauliflower and some weird looking science project my older son has going.  They will only be safe their for so long so I need to get my cookie tins ready by this weekend.

Easy Poinsettias Cookies
 
 

5 comments:

  1. I wanted to thank you for the last post and sharing your family memories. Most of my grandparents passed before I could ever get interested in asking their life stories. My parents were both the youngest 'surprise' babies, so they don't recall everything. I overly appreciate the stories of others. I have some pictures, by grandfather performing baptisms in the river in the 30s, skinning a hog in black gum swamp before it was dammed and flooded...and only acquired them after his death so I'll never know. So, thank you. I was too young and stupid to ask or pay attention when they were around, so I always love hearing stories from other people's family. *hug*

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  2. I got NOTHING off my pecan tree either! It's usually good for a pound or three without too much effort, and there was nada. Either the squirrels got 'em while they were green (dropping the extra to stain my driveway) they were black and dried out, or the green husk never opened. We've had some wild weather this year in DFW, I gave up on a garden altogether...hope it's not pointing to a bad winter!

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  3. When you talk about your youngest being red coloring sensitive, I wonder if some old time versions of red velvet cake might work? In theory the chemical reaction between cocoa and vinegar tinged it red, but I've read versions where people used red beet juice to color the baked goods.

    One of these years, when you aren't too busy, I'd love to hear some homeschooling stories. I'm just starting out with my four year old, and I LOVE see how other people structure their days and lesson plans. I'm hoping I'll have by systems down pat by the time he starts kindergarten.

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  4. Kathy, none of the pictures in this post are visible this time. I've had computer issues so I don't know if it's on your end or mine.

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    1. Well, the other nutcracker pic was there this morning but it has since gone "x" so I put another picture in its place. If you are on an iOS machine you won't see the imbedded videos which is why I include the URL so to see those you'll need to follow the linky thingy to youtube. Sorry for the inconvenience.

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