It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

 

 

Ok, not really---it's November 30th and 70 degrees.  I don't think I'll ever get used to the Calendar telling us it's Christmas, in the absence of snow and cold---but for the most part, it's all good!  Notice the beautiful blooming bushes--they JUST started blooming in November.  They are in our front yard.  I'd say by Christmas, they will be bustling in blooms!

The Sandhill Cranes--My Parents' Chatty Neighbors!

 

 

It's Becoming An Epidemic

Little Miss Angel just wants her two front teeth (ok four) for Christmas this year!

 

And apparently Little Miss Fairy Girl could use one too!  Just last night she (age 5) was seeking the guidance of her wise and experienced older sister (6), who had lost two teeth just last week!  

We like to think that we are doing our part to help drive the economy into a positive direction by keeping the Tooth Fairy in Business!

Happy Thanksgiving from Our Family to Yours

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with both sides of grandparents--oh, and it was 85 degrees:)

Wishing you a blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving--a holiday of togetherness (and of course food, I'm still stuffed:)

All I Want For Christmas Are My Two Front Teeth

 

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth...then I could wish you a Merry Christmas:D (you tube) 

"The Best Potato Soup Ever" recipe

 

6-8 large baking potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 medium sweet onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped coarsely

3 celery ribs, chopped

1 tsp chopped garlic

olive oil

chicken broth or water

salt and pepper

Morton's Nature's seasoning (I used Penzey's Garden Salad Seasoning--cheese and chives)

2- 8 oz cream cheese, softened,

grated cheddar cheese

bacon, crumbled (morning star for us:)

green onion tops or chives, chopped

croutons

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DIRECTIONS:

In a large stock pot, cover bottom of pan with olive oil and saute onion, garlic, carrots and celerty for about 3-5 minutes or til celergy is beginning to become tender.  Add cubed potatoes and toss to coat.  Cover entire veggie mix with chicken broth or water or a mixture of both.  Add salt and peper to taste or Nature's Seasoning to taste.  Reduce heat and simmer til potatoes are fork tender.  Remove from heat and strain veggies from broth (saving broth).  Return liquid to pot and using a whisk or hand mixer, whisk cream cheese into broth til smooth.  Divide veggies in half and return half the veggies to the broth and mix til smooth.  The soup should be a thick chowder like consistency now, very creamy.  Return remaining half of veggies to pot and reheat to serve.  Serve topped with grated cheddar, bacon bits and green onions or chives, and croutons, if desired.

 

Tooth Fairy Pays Another Visit!

 

Fifth lost tooth--only this is the first one she didn't really lose!!!!  We finally had evidence for the Tooth Fairy!

 

But, because we didn't have evidence the last four times, she got into the habit of making a note for the Tooth Fairy.

 Thay Cheethhhhhh Little Angel!

Flowering Bushes

 

When we first visited the area of South Carolina where we were potentially going to live, it was April.  One of the biggest things that stood out to me were all the beautiful flowering bushes--everywhere!  I've seen a few here and there in Wisconsin, but they really aren't too prevalent up north.  Come April in Wisconsin, I'm usually just starving for color after a long grey winter; so the very colorful bushes really made my day!  

Well, we live in South Carolina now!  This will be our first winter down here, and I honestly don't believe I will be deprived of color any longer!  I happened to be washing dishes and look out the window to see that the three bushes in our front yard started blooming?  In mid November???  I ran outside, as I thought I was hallucinating--but the flowers are really opening up--and these bushes (with very hard and stiff leaves, no clue what they are) have hundreds of buds---I think these bushes are going to be bursting in color in time for Christmas!  That will make up for our first non white Christmas--that and the 60 or 70 degree temps:)

 

Peanut Noodle Salad

1 package (8 oz) lo mein noodles (I used thin spaghetti)
1/3 cup peanutbutter
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
3 medium carrots, shredded
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1/4 inch strips
6 medium green onions, sliced
1/2 cup dry-roasted peanuts

1.  Break noodles into thirds.  Cook and drain as directed on package.  Rinse with cold water; drain.
2.  In small bowl, mix peanutbutter, soy sauce, orange juice and cayenne pepper til smooth.
3.  In large bowl, toss noddles, peanutbutter mixture and remaining ingredients.
 ***I also fried up seitan in terryaki sauce, and tossed it in.

I threw in some crescent rolls to accompany the above home-made butter!  My girls learned how to make butter, the old-fashioned way, at a harvest festival in Savannah we attended (life in the 1800s:)  So, here is some butter they made at home tonight!!  Naturally we had to have something to accompany the butter:)

Coconut Mud Bars

 

Bottom Layer:

1-1/3 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

1/2 cup (packed) dark brown sugar

1 stick (1/2 cup) unslated butter, slightly softened and cut into small pieces

Ganache:

10 oz semisweet choclolate, finely chopped

3/4 cup heavy cream

Topping:

4 Tbsp (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp coconut extract (opt)

2 large eggs

1-1/2 cups shredded coconut

1-1/2 cups chopped pecans

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 Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9x13 pan.  

MAKE THE BOTTOM LAYER:  In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and brown sugar.  With a pastry blender cut butter into dry ingredients til mixture resembles coarse meal.  Press mixture into bottom of prepared pan.  Bake 10 minutes, or til crust is just set.  Place pan on rack to cool, but leave oven on.

MEANWHILE, MAKE THE GANACHE: Place the chocolate in a medium bowl.  In a small saucepan, bring cream to a simmer.  Pur hot cream over the chocolate; let stand for five minutes, then stir til smooth.  Pur ganache over the crust and refrigerate for about 15 minutes to set the ganache.

PREPARE THE TOPPING:  In a medium bowl, cream butter.  Add granulated sugar, vanilla and coconut extract, and beat til blended.  Beat in eggs.  Stir in coconut and pecans.  Drop coconut-pecan topping evenly over the ganache and spread gently.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, til top is golden brown.  Cool on wire rack.

***you HAVE to cool this for a few, but make sure you test a small piece while it's still warm!!!

  

A Birthday Party

 

Once upon a time, someone knocked on a door and a little girl was invited to a birthday party.  Her name is Samantha; Kalela is having the party.  

 

   The much-anticipated birthday party time has arrived.  Samantha is excited to get ready.  Samantha put the invitation on the table and put her greatest clothes on (they were pink:)  Her mom said, "Samantha, you forgot something.....A BIG HUG!"......"Samantha, you forgot something else....your makeup."

 Samantha went to the party.  She rang the doorbell and everyone was at the party.  They ran out of drinks and Samantha had to drink water.  Samantha began to cry because she didn't get a sweet drink.  Kalela was turning 10, Samantha was still nine.  Then, they ran out of food and Samantha began to cry purple tears---she's down in the dumps:(

Kalela, the birthday girl, walked up to purple teary-eyed Samantha and said, "can you please leave?"  As Samantha was sadly walking out, Kalela blurted out, "Please don't leave!  Sorry---Sorry---Sorry!"

Samantha came back to the party.  But she cried again because the birthday girl wouldn't let her play with Fairy Princess doll, only with Prince Charming doll---she didn't want to be a boy.  She wasn't having fun:(

But, she was happy to receive a birthday hat!!  And she started to have more fun!!!  The kids started playing tag, and she chased the birthday girl, Kalela, who tripped and fell head first into the cake.  Then Samantha, running backwards,  tripped and fell butt first into the cake!!  Everybody was laughing.  

NOW Samanth was having fun!

THE END

Oatland Island Wildlife Center Harvest Fest

 

Trying to create fire, the old fashioned way! (good thing we live in the south now:)

Cooking, the old-fashioned way; and our family's preferred method:D

Some good ole-fashioned nut-crackin!  (ok, some things don't change:)

 Spinning

 

Home-made corn bread in the cabin

 Kids are shaking and making home-made butter--it was quite good:)

 My favorite festival find--big jolly santa gourd man--he's come to live with us now:D

 "Come and experience and old time southern tradition.  Back in the olddays country folk would gather together after the sugar cane harvest and
grind their cane to make syrup.  More often than not, it turned into a celebration with children playing games and food being served with music and dancing on the side!  Oatland tries to duplicate the sight, sounds and smells of those by-gone days.  The Savannah Folk Music Society will be playing their hearts out.  We'll be cookin' cane syrup, apple butter, corn bread and other foods."

 

Tortellini with Fresh Vegetables

one pkg chesse filled tortellini
olive oil
small onion, diced
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium bell pepper, cut into one inch pieces
2 cups roma tomatoes, chopped
1 medium zucchini, cut lengthwise in half, then crosswise into slices
Italian seasoning
garlic salt
freshly grated italian cheese (I used asiago)


saute' onion, garlic, pepper, zuchhini till softened.  Add roma tomatoes, and cover for a couple of minutes.  Add in seasonings to taste.  Add in (drained) tortellini and stir in freshly grated italian cheese.

Barbie's Finally in The Family!

Three years ago, when my oldest was three and my youngest was 1.5, I realized, "wow, I have little girls---BARBIES!!!!"  and I bought them their first barbies:)  They of course loved the Barbies, didn't do a whole lot with them at the time, but non-the-less, loved their barbies.  Well, soon after, I had gotten into a Goodwill stage for "treasure" hunting--and as luck would have it--the girls spotted Barbie cars--two, as a matter of fact--for $.50 each!  So their Barbies now had wheels!  Well, no long after, it was in my head (though I didn't say a word to Little Angel) that Barbie needs some place to live.  Believe it or not, the very next day three yr old Little Angel said, "Mommy, Barbie needs a house!"  And it was that day that I started looking---and I was shocked by the sticker prices--upwards of $200!!!!  The next day, something told me I should check e-bay---and I did.  And guess what I found--I found the above-shown house, as a local pick-up only, which happened to be in the Milwaukee area, with tons of wooden furniture--oh, and it was only $10!!!!!!  And, not only was this in the Milwaukee area, when we exchanged addresses, they happened to have to be in my town, just a few blocks from my neighborhood; and told me to meet at the local Ace Hardware, just outside of my old subdivision!  Talk about the law of attraction in action!  So, I showed up with the Jeep Grand Cherokee--it didn't fit!  (we have a dog barrier between the trunch and the backseat)---so then I ran home and came back with the Explorer, with the seat down--victory!! 

Well, the girls were of course excited about the new house, but honestly had no idea what to do with it.  So pretty much, for the last three years it's served as a storage shelf---it's been upstairs, it's been in the basement, it's been in both girls' rooms--but, again, pretty much my $10 treasure collected dust.  And, I ALMOST considered donating it before we left Wisconsin, almost...

Excitement arose in our household--last night in fact; my girls finally discovered the magic of barbies, together!!!!  And now, they can't get enough of playing Barbies!!!

My little girls: Fairy Girl, age 1.5, Little Angel, age 3

 

Artwork

 

Grandpa and Grandma's Visit

 

Grandma's Here...

 

 She knitted!!!

Angel Art