What You Need To Know /Tasty Thursday

This Tasty Thursday, What you need to know in this picture is not the French,

it's the French Chef, 

Paul Bocuse.

Google, do your thing and Explain to the people about the Godfather of Chefs.

What you need to know about this early Christmas present isn't that it's new,

it's the creme dele creme of cast iron cocotte.

Used by world reknown chefs.

What my mama will call 

'that fancy Dutch oven'.

And it Will be initiated this evening.

And what you need to know in this hastily written recipe isn't the ingredients,

But the Instruction,

"Don't stir".

And What is in the recipe is enhanced by this ingredient.

The secret's out.

Here's the side dish you won't be ashamed of,

Spanish Rice.

It cooked so evenly, it was criminal.

Coming from a wife of a retired narcotics officer, 

This. Is. Serious.

If you MusT have a recipe, 

this is a decent one. 

And Remember,

"A messy kitchen is a 

Sign of Happiness"

What Child is This?

What child wants.......

• to Share---Set a timer so that when it beeps the toy can go to someone new for awhile and then back again.
• to Wash hands---I buy foamy soap to "smash" it.
• to Go Potty----especially in the middle of play. I am guilty. I bribe with stickers that have "special powers stuck to them". It keeps with the dramatic play they're involved in.
• to Eat their vegies---Puree them an add to the spaghetti sauce. It's ok to be sly.
• or tell them it makes their hair grow fast if they like getting hair cuts :)
• to Be Quiet just because the baby is asleep---Pretend to be quiet so the bear can't hear you in his cave
• to Take a Nap---Whe we wake up, it's time to do a "special" activity. And keep that promise.
• To Sit Still--- During storytime, involve them with asking them to find and touch an item on each page, like "I Spy".

Any helpful hints for children? I'm all ears!

Check out some other A to Z blogs Here

Life is Too Short

Feelings that can come to pass when you have been singled out by your family.

1. Despair: "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."
   Philippians 4:8
2. Anger: "Do not be eager in your heart to be angry, For anger resides in the bosom of fools."
   Ecclesiastes 7:9
3. Depression: "Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."
   Isaiah 41:10
4. Grief: "Casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you."
   1 Peter 5:7

 Yesterday at a local craft show while attending my booth there came along a lady who was reminiscing of yesteryear as she tasted the goodies from the booth next to ours. She described in great detail the recipes of her grandmother who was an immigrant of Austria and how it was rumored she was held for some time by the Royalty there for her great talent of baking and finally allowed to come to America. Great stuff. A story to be very proud of.

I said as much and said I hoped she had those wonderful recipes. The next thing I know she's telling me she is estranged from her sisters who have the book of recipes her grandmother had written them all down in and who won't allow her even copies of the recipes. Or copies of family photos. They won't even speak.

She was in tears slowly telling me more and more about wrongs of her siblings towards her and she was unaware of why they treated her this way. She talked about her brother near death but recovered and hearing about it from a family friend.

She offered her help in a family member's time of need and was firmly refused; given excuses that seemed sensible at the time, but revealed later by another friend as just another part of her alienation.

The story went on and on for about 45 minutes.
Ron, sitting there, was totally convinced we knew each other. I never learned her name.

We've all been in situations where someone is mad at us. My theory after losing my father at a young age:

Life Is Too Short

 





I'm not here to preach about wrongs and rights. Only about feelings.
During this upcoming holiday season, if you can lend an ear to someone, do it.

We all have struggles.

We all have been wronged.

We all feel pain.

And we all have the ability to lend some human spirit of caring to someone.

Pass It On.

What To Do On A Snowy Day

View out my back door this afternoon.

Gotta love it :)

This is how much yarn I started out with.

Usually I would roll it up in a giant ball and put it in my stash.

But.....

My mother bought me this yarn winder for Christmas!!

It's pretty awesome.

The color of the yarn is Cafe'Late'. Appropriate I'd say.

Advantages I can see with winding this yarn in this manner are

• You can just pull the yarn from the center
• No hand cramping from rolling it up by hand
• You will not have knots show up unexpectedly
• If there are blemishes in the yarn, you'll find them thru the winding process

And my personal favorite,

Desmond won't get hit in the head at naptime by a runaway ball of yarn while laying on the cot at my feet :)

Thanks Mom!!!!

Happy New Year everyone!!!!!

Auction, Bottle, Party

Those three words might conjer up various images. But let me explain them in the order you see........

Auction

For quite awhile, Ron and I have attended local auctions. We have come up with some interesting items, some of which will end up in a yard sale. Or better yet, have been donated  to a good cause.

The ones typically designated for said yard sales are the ones hidden in the bottom of a box, grouped together for cheapness' sake, or someone looked up at the wrong time (not me). The auctioneer who did that we'll just call "John". You know who you are :)

All that led up to us acquiring a beauty of an item.

Let me just say I have braggin rights.

What you see here is a 1920's to 1930's era printed embroidery piece according to our appraiser.

We think it was embroidered by someone and placed in a 'safe place'. You know, the place everyone has where something of great importance is placed and then forgotten.

We felt compelled to have it framed for a spot in our home.

It was produced by Merribee Art Emb. Co.and we can't find another one online like it.

We think it's a gem & deserves a place of importance in our home.

Hope you can appreciate it for the treasure it is. 

So that's the AUCTION section

Bottle

Our daughter finished her chemistry experiment/final last night.

The inside of the bottle was coated with silver nitrate, you know, the stuff they make mirrors with? So it's very reflective and hard to get a good picture of.

Note to self: I need photoshop.

They say if you can see your eye in the bottom of the bottle, you did good.

Ron had to check it out. (I did too)

Notice the time? Late night for Rachel. 

This was very good in Chicken Marsala. Olive Garden eat your heart out. 

That concludes the BOTTLE portion.

PARTY

It is December.

It is time for our annual

White Elephant Christmas Party.

Rules for gift giving at our party:

1. Must be a "white elephant" type of gift. (You really don't want it)
2. Must be kept a secret
3. Must keep it for 2 years if you wanna regift it to some lucky person

So here ya go.......

Another Smilebox for your viewing enjoyment

straight from Maybelle and Bob's garage.

Make a free slideshow design

Family Christmas Moments 2010

This slideshow design made with Smilebox

Please enjoy our family photos of our celebration of Christmas!