Puffy Pastries

Just because the holidays are over, doesn't mean we don't have other things to celebrate.  For instance, today is National Cream Puff Day. 

Mom used to make cream puffs for us when we were on the farm growing up, and I can still see her standing by the stove stirring her homemade vanilla filling.  The puffs were hollow, just waiting to be filled with a spoonful of the luscious creamy pudding.  Then she'd sprinkle a dusting of powdered sugar over 'em.

I've never made cream puffs, but that shall soon be remedied.  I found a recipe in the new cookbook I received for Christmas, and it's so simple.  Put 1 cup of water and 1/2 cup butter in a pan until boiling.  Add 1 cup of flour all at once, and stir until dough leaves the sides of the pan.  Remove from heat, and add 4 eggs one at a time, beating between each egg.  Drop small spoonsful onto a greased baking pan.  Bake 15 minutes at 450 degrees.  Turn heat down to 300 degrees and bake additional 30 to 40 minutes.

Sorry to say, my cream puffs will be filled with a store-bought vanilla pudding mix.  Trying new recipes is one thing, but I'm simply not domestic enough to fiddle around making a pudding from scratch.  I must be missing the wooden-spoon gene, or something like that.

First Blog of 2011

A fresh new year called for a fresh new blog start.  So, hope you like my nature-influenced background.  Me and rocks......well, we rock!

The old temperature gauge took a dive overnight, with a current reading of 2 degrees above zero.  What else can one expect right smack dab in the middle of a Midwest winter. 

We stayed up to bring in the new year.  Just as the years traded places, a blast of fireworks went off in our small town.  We could see the flash of light through our east living room window.  Pretty neat. 

Today we're off to a house party.  The hostess calls it a 1-01-11 party starting at 1:01 in the afternoon.  Hubby fixed a crock pot of his delectable chili to add to the food buffet.  Instead of the usual kidney beans, maybe he should have used black eyed peas.  In many cultures they are considered to bring good luck and symbolize prosperity.  Greens are often eaten with them, as the peas represent coins and the greens represent paper money.

Cabbage is another food eaten on New Year's Day, as it also represents paper money.  Many cultures believe that any food in the shape of a ring will bring good luck, as the closing of the ring means 'coming full circle' and represents a fresh start.  In Japan, people often eat long noodles, as they represent a long life.

Oops, gotta go watch the New Year's Day parade on the telly!  Have yourself a great day.....

Ta-ta.

Happy New Year Around the World!

Now that we're giving up our land phone line and I'll need to carry a cell phone with me at all times, I had to come up with a way to keep it on my person.  For someone who doesn't usually have pockets or doesn't always carry a purse, this presented me with a good old-fashioned dilemma. 

A while back I purchased two skeins of Yarn Bee fabric yarn.  It was unusually neat, and it intrigued me enough to be tossed in my Hobby Lobby shopping cart.  I like having a stash of supplies for times like this when I need to design my own pattern on a whim.

With a size H crochet hook and the fabric yarn, I delved into my memory of stitches and patterns, and within an hour a necklace phone pouch evolved and the problem was solved.  I just love making things myself and having an original creation. 

Tonight we are going out for dinner at a local restaurant.  We're meeting another couple there at 5 o'clock.  The four of us have spent New Year's Eves together for quite a few years, and this one night we girls order our champagne by the bottle and merrily clink our glasses and  savor the sips of sweet sustenance until we get silly.  We won't stay out late, but will return home fairly early to snuggle down and watch the ball drop in the Big Apple at 11 o'clock CST.

Best get crackin' here.  A list of tasks awaits me.  Went to bed late last night--got up late this morning.  My personal approach to a lackadaisical retirement!

This will be my last blog of 2010.  Will meet you back here in 2011.  Until then......

"Stir the eggnog,

Lift the toddy,

Happy New Year

Everybody!

                        -Phyllis McGinley

Life Lessons Learned

During the last week of each year, my brain kicks into a reflective mode.  I find myself thinking about all that has happened the past twelve months.  Some events bring us so much joy, and others bring us utter sadness.  The older we get, the larger our stockpile of life lessons becomes.  Today I ask myself what  have been some of the most important lessons life has taught me....

• The only person I'm in charge of is me.
• Peace of mind is priceless.
• Be loyal to myself.
• Be honest, but don't expect others to be honest back.  The world is a stage.
• Work hard, save money, and be willing to live with less, if need be.
• Laugh till it hurts. 
• Betrayal is inevitable.
• Respect all opinions.
• Continue to learn. 
• Mother Nature has comforting and healing powers.
• True friends are as, or more, important as family.
• Good health is wealth.
• Be leery of those who are manipulative and use others to their advantage.
• We will lose those we love, but we are given a strength (from somewhere) to endure the loss.
• I must have a puppy to be completely happy.
• Marriage is a transitional process.  First we fall in love, and then we fall into deep friendship.
• Live right now.  Don't dwell on what was, or what might be.
• It's okay to cry once in awhile.
• Have fun with hobbies.  Creativity feels good.
• Have lazy and crazy days and stay in p.j.'s.

• Bottom line:  the only person that can make me happy is.... me.

Life is a lot like rolling a snow ball.  We take something with us from every experience we go through, and that's what shapes us into who we are.

New Year's Resolutions

2010 is winding down, and 2011 is just a new calendar away.

This coming year I'm going to zero in on three resolutions that have potential for rewarding me with fun and self-satisfaction.....

  1.  Make new recipes so as to add variety to our plates and palates.    For Christmas I received a cookbook put out by a high school cheer-leading team, and that will be the perfect stepping stone in January.  Maybe I could use a different cookbook every month.  Not a bad idea. 
 

2.  List one item a week on e-bay.  Why not convert clutter into cash.

3.  Devote 15 minutes each day to physical exercise.  Don't they say that it's the moving hinge that keeps working?  Anymore than 15 minutes won't cut it for me.  That much I know about myself.  My goal is 15 minutes every day, rather than 30 minutes three times a week.


Old Man Winter is sounding off where I live.  Rain and ice and sleet are in the forecast starting tomorrow.  Already family plans have been postponed for a week so as to avoid any of us being out on the roads and in possible danger.  We who love winter, have to be mighty flexible and tolerant, because Mother Nature pretty much calls the shots this time of year.  We go according to her schedule, not ours. 

We went for an afternoon drive yesterday, and the frosty trees were absolutely beautiful.  One of our stops was at Farm Fleet to buy more bird seed.  No doubt about it.....our feeder is a popular diner for lots of little feathery ones all day long. We also saw a herd of deer feeding in a farmer's field and a snow bunny huddled beneath a farm fence.  I'm pretty sure we'll take another one of our nature drives later today.  My hubby also asked me to give him a haircut and to fix a vegetable chowder for supper.  That's the least I can do in return for all he does around here for us girls.  

Gotta go refill my coffee cup.  Ta-ta.

Hefner-Harris Engagement

This was a very special Christmas for Hugh Hefner and his dolly, Crystal.  Do you suppose there's a possibility that Hugh's wallet is whispering sweet somethings into Crystal's pretty little ears? 

One cannot help but wonder what the two of them will talk about at the breakfast table.  Especially on those mornings when his 84-year-old body moans and groans with aching muscles and painfully creaking joints.  The normal 84-year-old has ears that don't hear very well, eyes that don't see very well, hearts that don't beat very well, and the list of other possible glitches and malfunctions is close to endless.  Will Crystal really be able to relate?  

When Crystal is 44 and Hugh is 104, what will be their typical Saturday night be like?  She'll be anxiously wanting him to wine and dine her, while poor old Hugh will simply want to sit by the fire in his pajamas wrapped in his favorite blanket, dozing and drooling.  But, the great guy he is, more than likely he'll adoringly toss her his credit card and insist she go out and have fun with her playboys.  It will all work out.

Mr. and Mrs.

Realizing full well that this is absolutely none of my business, isn't Crystal young enough to be Hugh's great-great-grandchild?
 

What a Christmas!

When I cozied down under the blankets last night and said my prayers, I thanked the highest heavens for giving us the most wonderful Christmas.  We are blessed to have some nieces and nephews who are over-the-top, super-duper, fun-loving, and best of all.....they're kind to us.

Our roof top about flew off the house from the laughter and silliness yesterday.  If we'd have had a richter scale in here, we'd have blown it off the charts!  My heart can't stop giggling this morning.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Christmas Day is behind us, yet ahead of us lies another family celebration.  Scheduling get-togethers is no easy task these days with both spouses working one or more jobs, plus countless other scheduling conflicts.  So, we're happy to have two of my nieces and their families coming over for some silly gift exchanging, munching on the pot-luck goodies that will more than fill the kitchen island, and an afternoon of plain old-fashioned fun. 

Last evening I put on my apron and played the role of Mrs. Domestic and baked three dozen crescent rolls (not the ones in the tube).  They can be eaten alone with butter or for making sandwiches out of the bone-in ham that will be going in the oven in about an hour.  Now that the generation before us is gone, I find myself clinging to some of their memorable holiday contributions to our Christmas table.

At this very moment where I live, night is trading places with day.  I've said before, this is the most magical time of day.  With the snap of a finger, one minute it's dark.....then it's light.  Isn't our universe an incredibly accurate timepiece?  Just can't get over my fortune to have been born into this world filled with so many marvels and equally as many mysteries. 

I'm taking the liberty of sharing a photograph that our dear friends sent to us a few nights ago.  Notice how their nativity scene is brought to life with the full moon shining in through their bay window on a crisp wintry night.  I feel it's too beautiful a picture not to share with my readers around the world.  As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.....

All is calm.....all is bright!

It's Christmas!

Every time a hand reaches out

To help another...that is Christmas.

Every time someone puts anger aside

And strives for understanding

That is Christmas.

Every time people forget their differences

And realize their love for each other

That is Christmas.

May this Christmas bring us

Closer to the spirit of human understanding

Closer to the blessing of Peace!

My love to you all............

Santa Took Our Fuzzy One!

Tonight we find out if we've been

naughty or nice!