Horrified friends have been emailing all day, reeling with shock. Carrie Fisher, dead? Can't be.
Rest in peace, princess.
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
Rest in peace, Princess Leia
Wow. Somehow I didn't see this one coming.
Horrified friends have been emailing all day, reeling with shock. Carrie Fisher, dead? Can't be.
Rest in peace, princess.
Horrified friends have been emailing all day, reeling with shock. Carrie Fisher, dead? Can't be.
Rest in peace, princess.
Making merry
Sorry for the blog silence over the last few days, but as you can imagine, we've been making merry.
It all started on Christmas Eve, which found me in the airport awaiting the arrival of Older Daughter from New Jersey. Thanks to all the hard-working airline personnel, our oldest arrived on time and safely from her home away from home.
The airport was festive, of course...
...but the thing about airports is you can't wait to get out of them. After picking her up, Older Daughter and I went into Coeur d'Alene, where Younger Daughter was working until mid-day. We poked through some downtown stores, waiting for Younger Daughter to get off work. While in a toy store, I happened to see this startling game for sale:
(Goal: The player with the most teeth remaining wins!)
We got home just before our friends D and S arrived. These dear people have joined us for opening gifts every year since we arrived in Idaho. (Sorry for the dark photo.)
Unfortunately D. got called out a mere half-hour after arriving -- he works for the State Highway Department -- to plow. We plied him with food and sent him on his way to work a ten-hour shift through blinding snow to clear the roads. Next time you pass a snow plow on the highway, give thanks for these hard-working men.
Because let me tell you, we have had SNOW. Lots and lots of snow.
On Christmas, we feed our beasties extra well. Legend has it animals are granted the gift of speech on Christmas night, and we don't want them spreading any complaints about us.
Christmas Day was quiet. We pretty much stayed holed up, though friends and neighbors stopped in to visit. Lydia played in the yard with Older Daughter.
Walking in the woods.
Christmas Day ended with just the tiniest hint of color.
I hope everyone had a blessed and lovely Christmas!
It all started on Christmas Eve, which found me in the airport awaiting the arrival of Older Daughter from New Jersey. Thanks to all the hard-working airline personnel, our oldest arrived on time and safely from her home away from home.
The airport was festive, of course...
...but the thing about airports is you can't wait to get out of them. After picking her up, Older Daughter and I went into Coeur d'Alene, where Younger Daughter was working until mid-day. We poked through some downtown stores, waiting for Younger Daughter to get off work. While in a toy store, I happened to see this startling game for sale:
(Goal: The player with the most teeth remaining wins!)
We got home just before our friends D and S arrived. These dear people have joined us for opening gifts every year since we arrived in Idaho. (Sorry for the dark photo.)
Unfortunately D. got called out a mere half-hour after arriving -- he works for the State Highway Department -- to plow. We plied him with food and sent him on his way to work a ten-hour shift through blinding snow to clear the roads. Next time you pass a snow plow on the highway, give thanks for these hard-working men.
Because let me tell you, we have had SNOW. Lots and lots of snow.
On Christmas, we feed our beasties extra well. Legend has it animals are granted the gift of speech on Christmas night, and we don't want them spreading any complaints about us.
Christmas Day was quiet. We pretty much stayed holed up, though friends and neighbors stopped in to visit. Lydia played in the yard with Older Daughter.
Walking in the woods.
Christmas Day ended with just the tiniest hint of color.
I hope everyone had a blessed and lovely Christmas!
Sunday, December 25, 2016
Spectacular rendition of "Hallellujah"
I've always loved Leonard Cohen's song “Hallelujah.” I first heard it sung by the group Il Divo -- a spectacular performance -- and various renditions have been floating around for years.
Well here's a little 10-year-old autistic girl named Kaylee Rodgers who absolutely floored me with her performance.
This will send chills down your spine, guaranteed. As one viewer noted, "Grown man just finished a box of Kleenex. ... Whew! Thank you for touching a hardened heart, now I remember who I once was."
Merry Christmas to all.
Well here's a little 10-year-old autistic girl named Kaylee Rodgers who absolutely floored me with her performance.
This will send chills down your spine, guaranteed. As one viewer noted, "Grown man just finished a box of Kleenex. ... Whew! Thank you for touching a hardened heart, now I remember who I once was."
Merry Christmas to all.
Friday, December 23, 2016
Christmas treats
Every year we try to make some delicious treats for the neighbors. This year's choice was a small amount of homemade Irish creme, and a lot of chocolate peanut butter balls.
[UPDATE: See note at bottom of this post]
Since the Irish creme has to ripen for a week, I made it first. (Full instructions can be found here.)
One of the ingredients in Irish creme is chocolate syrup. But wait, we're out! I was prepared to make a grumpy run to the grocery store when Don suggested I consult my faithful "Cheaper and Better
" to see if I could make it myself. Sure enough.
A few chocolate chips, a little bit of butter, some boiling water, and voilà: chocolate syrup. Gotta love that book.
I only needed four teaspoons, though, so I put the rest in the fridge.
Then I finished making the Irish creme. Normally I use vodka ('cuz it's cheap and flavorless) even though the liqueur is traditionally made with whiskey...
But wait! We had whiskey! A friend of Don's visited a couple years ago and brought along a bottle of good stuff.
It never even got cracked open and has been sitting gathering dust (literally) in our pantry ever since.
I decided to split the batch (since we only had a limited amount of Gentleman Jack). I made half the Irish creme with vodka...
...and half with whiskey.
We'll do a taste comparison and see which we like better.
With the Irish creme made and put into a dark cabinet to ripen...
...I turned my attention to making chocolate peanut butter balls, for which I went into full-scale production mode. Not all of our neighbors drink alcohol (we have a lot of Mormon friends), but sweets are always appreciated.
I picked up some pretty tins at a thrift store...
...and packed them with goodies. The tins are of various sizes, which is good. The smallest will go to a single friend. The largest will go to a family with seven children.
With all the treats done, we can now look forward to Older Daughter flying in from New Jersey on Christmas Eve.
(Bonus photo: sunset on the winter solstice.)
[UPDATE: Some readers have noted used copies of Cheaper and Better were going for outrageous prices on Amazon. Sure enough, they are. Yowza. I found another source here
which might be better.]
[UPDATE: See note at bottom of this post]
Since the Irish creme has to ripen for a week, I made it first. (Full instructions can be found here.)
One of the ingredients in Irish creme is chocolate syrup. But wait, we're out! I was prepared to make a grumpy run to the grocery store when Don suggested I consult my faithful "Cheaper and Better
" to see if I could make it myself. Sure enough.
A few chocolate chips, a little bit of butter, some boiling water, and voilà: chocolate syrup. Gotta love that book.
I only needed four teaspoons, though, so I put the rest in the fridge.
Then I finished making the Irish creme. Normally I use vodka ('cuz it's cheap and flavorless) even though the liqueur is traditionally made with whiskey...
But wait! We had whiskey! A friend of Don's visited a couple years ago and brought along a bottle of good stuff.
It never even got cracked open and has been sitting gathering dust (literally) in our pantry ever since.
I decided to split the batch (since we only had a limited amount of Gentleman Jack). I made half the Irish creme with vodka...
...and half with whiskey.
We'll do a taste comparison and see which we like better.
With the Irish creme made and put into a dark cabinet to ripen...
...I turned my attention to making chocolate peanut butter balls, for which I went into full-scale production mode. Not all of our neighbors drink alcohol (we have a lot of Mormon friends), but sweets are always appreciated.
I picked up some pretty tins at a thrift store...
...and packed them with goodies. The tins are of various sizes, which is good. The smallest will go to a single friend. The largest will go to a family with seven children.
With all the treats done, we can now look forward to Older Daughter flying in from New Jersey on Christmas Eve.
(Bonus photo: sunset on the winter solstice.)
[UPDATE: Some readers have noted used copies of Cheaper and Better were going for outrageous prices on Amazon. Sure enough, they are. Yowza. I found another source here
which might be better.]
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
Memories of Pearl Harbor
December 7, as you doubtless know, was the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor.
On that day, I had errands in the city. I was gratified to see numerous flags lowered to half-staff as a mark of respect.
Recently my mother (who was born in 1931) shared an extraordinary story as follows:
In the fall of 1941 my mother started making homemade bread every Saturday. She used yeast on the first recipe, but after that she would save a starter, a piece of dough. Of course we had no refrigeration, so she would just take the starter dough and put it in a bowl in the cabinet. The next week she would use the starter dough to make a fresh batch of bread.
My oldest brother had taken off for something, and he came home with a friend. The boy lived about a mile away from our house, but since we lived along a bayou, we had to cross a prairie to get to his house. He walked in the house and the smell of fresh bread permeated the place. He was wowed, and Mamma broke him off a piece of fresh bread for him to eat.
He had gone to school with us, but like a lot of kids his age he joined the Navy at age 17. He told my mother he was stationed at Pearl Harbor on the Arizona.
This took place on Saturday November 22nd. Thirteen days later he died on the Arizona at Pearl Harbor. His name was William (Bill) Stoddard.
My mother stopped making bread. I was ten years old.
Needless to say, Pearl Harbor didn't just affect Hawaii.
It also affected a tiny little town in the bayous of Louisiana, and a 10-year-old child's memory of a neighbor boy who died for our country.
On that day, I had errands in the city. I was gratified to see numerous flags lowered to half-staff as a mark of respect.
Recently my mother (who was born in 1931) shared an extraordinary story as follows:
In the fall of 1941 my mother started making homemade bread every Saturday. She used yeast on the first recipe, but after that she would save a starter, a piece of dough. Of course we had no refrigeration, so she would just take the starter dough and put it in a bowl in the cabinet. The next week she would use the starter dough to make a fresh batch of bread.
My oldest brother had taken off for something, and he came home with a friend. The boy lived about a mile away from our house, but since we lived along a bayou, we had to cross a prairie to get to his house. He walked in the house and the smell of fresh bread permeated the place. He was wowed, and Mamma broke him off a piece of fresh bread for him to eat.
He had gone to school with us, but like a lot of kids his age he joined the Navy at age 17. He told my mother he was stationed at Pearl Harbor on the Arizona.
This took place on Saturday November 22nd. Thirteen days later he died on the Arizona at Pearl Harbor. His name was William (Bill) Stoddard.
My mother stopped making bread. I was ten years old.
Needless to say, Pearl Harbor didn't just affect Hawaii.
It also affected a tiny little town in the bayous of Louisiana, and a 10-year-old child's memory of a neighbor boy who died for our country.
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
Preparing for Christmas
Last week Younger Daughter put her foot down and announced, in the face of Don's and my laziness, that enough was enough and she was setting up the Christmas tree.
This is fairly easy to do because last year we transitioned (gasp!) to a fake tree.
I miss the days when we tromped through the snowy woods to locate the best tree we could find; but we now have the compensating virtue that my husband can breathe with comfort through the month of December.
So Younger Daughter got to work, starting with moving her parrot Lihn's cage out of the corner where we normally put the tree, and put her in front of the window.
Then we hauled down the tree box and started unpacking it.
I still think artificial trees are kinda funky...
...but there's no question the results are consistent.
We tested lights before stringing them on.
It only took us an hour or so to get the ornaments on...
...and it only took Lydia a little longer than that to claim the space behind her tree has her "cave."
Then, on a day Younger Daughter was out of the house, Don and I pulled out all the wrapping supplies, and wrapped presents.
A tree always looks prettier with packages underneath.
Older Daughter will be flying in on Christmas Eve, thanks to the hard-working personnel working for airlines and airports across the country. We'll have her until just after New Year's. We know we won't be able to have our girls with us every year for Christmas, so we'll count our blessings while we can.
This is fairly easy to do because last year we transitioned (gasp!) to a fake tree.
I miss the days when we tromped through the snowy woods to locate the best tree we could find; but we now have the compensating virtue that my husband can breathe with comfort through the month of December.
So Younger Daughter got to work, starting with moving her parrot Lihn's cage out of the corner where we normally put the tree, and put her in front of the window.
Then we hauled down the tree box and started unpacking it.
I still think artificial trees are kinda funky...
...but there's no question the results are consistent.
We tested lights before stringing them on.
It only took us an hour or so to get the ornaments on...
...and it only took Lydia a little longer than that to claim the space behind her tree has her "cave."
Then, on a day Younger Daughter was out of the house, Don and I pulled out all the wrapping supplies, and wrapped presents.
A tree always looks prettier with packages underneath.
Older Daughter will be flying in on Christmas Eve, thanks to the hard-working personnel working for airlines and airports across the country. We'll have her until just after New Year's. We know we won't be able to have our girls with us every year for Christmas, so we'll count our blessings while we can.
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