Happy Birthday Hubby!

Don't worry, a cat hasn't eaten your present.

Actually, your present will not arrive until after Jan 10th.

Your long wait for the DVD release

of Primeval seasons 4 & 5 will be done soon.

You will finally get to see how Abby and Connor get unstuck from their unplanned cretaceous camping trip.

Sorry you have to work today,

Sorry that restaurants typically refuse to give you a free dinner

on this evening because it is a holiday.

We have been missing the usual atmosphere for your birthday,

but the weather report hints that we might actually get some snow this evening.  You're thrilled, right?!

None of us are as young as we used to be,

but I bet you could still do this.

However, with age comes the wisdom to know

that it is so much easier to walk on your feet instead.

Happy Birthday Dear!

Wishes and prayers for many, many more!

Remembrance of Christmas Gifts Past

On Wednesday when I was quite busy cutting the "stilts" for the toilet, I recalled with gratitude the occasion that brought such a wonderful, trusty Milwaukee jigsaw into my hands.


It was Christmas.  Hubby and I had only been married a few years, and had moved back to this area.  We were living in an apartment, and had not accumulated the quantity of tools that we now have for home DIY projects.  Dad had invited us over for Christmas food.  Either on impulse of plenty of Point Boch or because he had not gone shopping, dad said to us "Sit tight; wait right there on the couch."  He then snuck off to the basement where we heard various scrambling, thumping and bumping sounds as he found and wrapped our gifts.  He returned with a somewhat mischievous smile on his face and handed us two packages "wrapped" in either grocery bags or newspaper.  Mine was a slightly used Milwaukee jigsaw.  Hubby's was a 1/2" chuck Milwaukee hammer drill.  We were truly thankful for the wonderful tools, because at that time our budget was more in line with the Black and Decker barely works brand.  Dad has since borrowed back the hammer drill, but I still have the jigsaw!  Every time I use it, I am reminded of that truly strange but wonderful Christmas.

Once Chores are Done

There will be a little time to bake some of these.


The plan is to send them to a relative
who is taking really serious pain medication for cancer. 
One of the nasty side effects of those pain
medications is constipation. 
Hope the oatmeal in the cookies will help with that.


Stopsign requested the recipe so here it is.
I had it in an earlier post, but good things are worth repeating.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Ingredients:

1 Cup all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 Cup butter (or Smart Balance Light)

     (Smart Balance light works OK in this recipe,

      but if you cannot manage to get the cookies eaten within 2 days,

      freeze half of the baked cookies and save them for later.)

3/4 Cup white sugar

3/4 Cup dark brown sugar

2 eggs

1-2 tsp. vanilla

3 Cups oatmeal (quick or old fashioned-doesn't really matter)

12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

   (or Ghiradelli double chocolate bittersweet chips)

1 Cup nuts (optional)

1. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, & cinnamon - set aside

2. Cream butter and sugars, add eggs 1 at a time, add vanilla

3. Add dry mixture, blend.

4. Add oatmeal, blend

5. Add chips and nuts, blend

Spoon onto cookie sheets and bake at 350 deg. F for 10-14 minutes each sheet (5-7 minutes on middle-bottom oven shelf then 5-7 minutes on the top oven shelf).  Remove from oven, allow to cool slightly before loosening cookies on pan.

Enjoy!  They're full of fiber, so don't eat too many at once.

Toilets are Heavy!

The ongoing saga of the toilet at mom's house

is hopefully concluded.

After everybody had a late breakfast this morning,

hubby, stepdad, and I adjourned to mom's house.

Mom was left at my house in the comfy chair

with beverage, almonds, and the movie Seabiscuit

to keep her occupied until we could return.

Hubby kindly disconnected the toilet water supply,

we wet-vac'd the water out of it,

and by the time stepdad and I had dumped the water outside

hubby had the toilet moved out of the way.

Hubby had to stop at home, grab his lunch, and leave for work.

The rest of the project was for me and stepdad to complete.

Surprises:

Where's the flange? - Disintegrated?

Why is the drain pipe extending above the floor?

(Don't think about it, save question for later, get-r-done.)

We can make this work, because we have to!

DIY stores sell pvc flanges with rubber gaskets on the outside

to fit into old cast iron drains.

So, we went shopping and bought one, along with a new wax ring, bolt covers, and just in case we had to remove the tank - a new gasket set for that too.

After stopping at home for tools, plywood, and to change mom's DVD to Song of the Thin Man, we headed back over to mom's house to continue the project.

The directions for the new flange said something like

"Lubricate well before shoving this into pipe."

The lubricant for pulling wires through conduit worked pretty well; the stuff is designed to not hurt electrical insulation,

so I figured it wouldn't hurt the flange gasket material either.

Asking a salesman where the flange gasket lubricant was located just sounded bad, and would probably be the subject of break-room jokes, so I didn't bother.

That left us with the issue of the too tall pipe.

Since the upstairs bathroom is scheduled for a complete redo

after the work on the downstairs one is completed, a temporary, functional, and rather ugly solution will suffice for now.

We really didn't want to try cutting the cast iron pipe; it was decided the toilet would get stilts instead.  We cut pieces of plywood in the shape of the toilet footprint to shim up to the bottom of the new toilet flange.  Then we cut another piece to fit around the flange to make it "flush" with the new "floor" section.

After plywood and flange were all fastened into place,

it was time to put in the new toilet bolts,

add the wax ring,

and your guessed it - dead lift that baby back into place.

In a tight space there is no way around this,

one person just has to grab it and very gently heave it into place.

Just a reminder

Toilets are HEAVY!

Warning:

Lifting toilets can make one's backside and legs a bit sore.

From there, it bolted down like a dream.

The only glitch, stepdad had to make a run to the store for a longer supply hose, because the toilet is 1 1/4" taller than it was before, and the old hose didn't quite reach anymore.

We connected everything, turned on the valve, and flushed it without water coming out anyplace that it shouldn't.

Yeah!

No pictures, cause although it works, it is ugly.

My father is enjoying his vacation, blissfully unaware that he will be asked one rather pointed question when he returns,

"Why did you install the too tall pipe that way in the first place?"

You Know the Day Will Take a Detour When

mom calls and says,

"Stepdad is fixing the toilet.

He went to get parts, hasn't come back yet,

and I need to go potty.

Could you come and get me so I can use yours?"

All that can be said is

"Hold on, I'll be there as quick as I can."

Took a quick look at the toilet project,

saw both flange bolts missing.

Thought, "they're never supposed to be taken out from the top",

and brought mom over to my house.

After a pit stop I settled her in a comfy chair

for an afternoon movie marathon.

She's not really a sci-fi fan

and action adventure films would have her reaching

for extra doses of blood pressure medication,

so she passed the afternoon and evening watching

My Big Fat Greek Wedding,

The Princess Bride, and

Charade

Stepdad still hadn't finished the repairs by suppertime, so I called.

After some discussion with stepdad,

we decided that discretion is the better part of valor.

We will remove the toilet tomorrow

during normal business hours to see

what is wrong with the closet flange,

then proceed with buying the appropriate parts

and making the necessary repairs.

All those leftovers came in handy,

because I have house guests tonight.

The ham bone is simmering in a soup pot with some onions, carrots, split peas, and few potatoes.  Guess what's for lunch tomorrow.

Good night all.

Sweet dreams!

Christmas Food

Since things were a bit busy this Christmas weekend,

thought it was time to post pictures of all the food

that was shared with family.

Saturday, Christmas Eve hubby had to work.

This was his consolation lunch,

plenty of fuel to keep him from getting hungry.

Beef tenderloin, peas, fresh biscuit, and peaches.

Christmas day dinner was a sit down meal

with mom and stepfather.

Not wanting to send mom off into sugar buzzed la-la land,

there was no desert,

and the only sweet thing on the menu was the shrimp sauce

(ketchup mixed with hot horseradish).

It has become a tradition in my house to serve

chicken and vegetable soup with herbed dumplings.

Mom loves shrimp, so that was also served.

Then there was roast ham,

fresh bread (parked by the fellas out of mom's reach),

sausage, crackers, and a salad.

And the best part, there is plenty left over so that we can have sandwiches and soup for lunch today!

Merry Christmas!

Family will be coming over later for Christmas Supper.

Bread has been mixed and is rising on top of the pellet stove.

In a couple of hours, it will look like this.

However, we are about to do something really quite crazy.

We promised a relative that we would pick up her car from long term parking at the Green Bay airport.

There is a Packers game tonight, traffic is probably already headed there.  What are we thinking going to Green Bay on a game day?  Oh well, if we don't make it back in time to throw the bread and the ham in the oven and veges in the pot for chicken, vegetable, & dumpling soup to have dinner ready by 6:00

that will just be too bad.

Mom will probably be late anyway.

Gotta run.

Traffic wasn't bad at all.

Prayers for all those traveling today,

and thanks to all those highway patrol officers working overtime

to snag speeders, drunks, clear up after accidents

and help those whose cars just go pbhtttd when least expected.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Christmas Cut-out Cookies

I have to admit that with all the family emergencies this year, I haven't made any of these yet.  I tried - got as far as making the dough, and after a couple days of it sitting in the fridge, I took it out, cut it in slices and baked it.  They taste great, but the presentation just isn't the same.

If any of you out in blogland want to try making some, I can assure you that these cookies actually taste good enough to justify the calories contained in them.  If you make a quad batch, you will also have enough egg whites to make a chocolate angel food cake, or a huge batch of really fluffy waffles.

It has become a tradition in my family that I make a whopping batch of cutout cookies at Christmas to give away to friends and family.  You know they like the cookies when they give back more tins than they received.  Return for refill?

The cookies can be made anytime the weather is cool (below 50 deg. F outside at least); otherwise the dough will not roll properly and the frosting will melt too much inside the piping bag.

Radio Cut-out Cookies

Source: old radio program

1. Cut together

  1 Cup Butter

3 Cups Flour

1/2 tsp. salt

2.  Add and mix.

1 Cup Sugar

1 tsp. soda

3. Whisk together and mix the following into dry ingredients. Dough will be stiff; use mixer with dough hook, or you may need to finish mixing by squeezing dough through your fingers - similar to mixing meat-loaf.

3 Egg yolks

3 Tbs. milk

2 tsp. vanilla - be generous

Press into a bowl (lined w/plastic wrap for easy removal)

Chill dough overnight or for 8 hours min.

Allow dough to warm slightly before rolling 1/8"-1/4" thick on well floured surface.  Cut to desired shapes.

Adjust oven shelves to middle-low & middle-high locations.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.

If cookie sheets have not been used for a while, oil them, dust with flour and put in oven for a while to reduce the chance of cookies sticking.  Remove from oven, cool, & scrape/wipe off excess flour.

Place cookies on sheets and bake 3-4 minutes on low shelf and 3-4 minutes on upper shelf.  Remove from oven & cool lightly on sheets before removing cookies.

Complete cooling and frost as desired.

Cut-out Cookie Frosting

Cream 1 stick of butter

Blend in 2 Cups or more powdered sugar, Whip until smooth & fluffy

Add 1 tsp vanilla or any other desired flavoring

Add coloring as desired

If using a small piping bag to apply frosting it should be fairly stiff.  For a swirl effect, try alternating colored and white frosting in the bag.  A chopstick inserted & removed will help swirl the colors more.  Heat from your hand will cause the frosting to soften.  Work quickly or put frosting in fridge for a few minutes if it becomes too soft.

Frosting takes 4-8 hours to dry before cut-out cookies can be stacked in containers.  Separate layers of cookies with wax paper - if they last that long.

Fun Times

 At the moment there is not much time for fun and games,

so memories of past adventures will have to do for now.

A few years back before two friends married

and promptly produced three darling progeny,

we took some weekend jaunts further north to

what we call Yooperland.

It is a long drive, even from here.

Afternoons and nights were spent driving up the sled hill/road,

then zipping down on plastic sleds, cold air on our faces,

steering with our feet.

At night, our way was lit by the headlights of our 4WD

following at a safe distance.

On most runs, the speedometer clocked us at 35-45 mph,

but the speed depended on the snow depth and underlying ice,

Weeeeee, whoosh, we just passed a running dog.

Oo, look, it's Lake Superior out there somewhere.

 After the fun of sledding we would adjourn to the sauna.

Since it was mixed company,

bathing suits were a requirement.

Besides, who wanted to risk splinters from the rather rustic benches.

At first, I thought

"I will never get warm enough to want to step outside and play in the snow."

When the thermometer reached 150 at the ceiling,

even though snow still did not melt on the floor,

it was time to go outside for a snowball fight

and watch one very zealous friend make snow angels

while wearing swim trunks.

Aahh, relaxation, conversation,

 throwing snowballs on the rocks around the stove

and watching them turn to steam, it was a blast.

We went back to the B&B and slept so very soundly.

The next day, we got to play all over again.

Away from telephones, work, and responsibilities,

it was a great mini-vacation.

Busy Day

Went over to mom's again today.

Did some cleaning & sorting.

Does anyone need a set of World Book Encyclopedias, copyright 1976 with year books and science year updates up through 2010?  They fill 4 1/2 copy paper boxes.  Makes you really appreciate internet search engines and e-books.

Took mom over to aunt's house so she could take a shower, mobility issues at home.

Brought mom's vacuum cleaner home for a tune-up.  Nothing quite like field stripping and cleaning an old Filter Queen vacuum cleaner. Replaced all the filters and the cord too.  It still works like a dream.

Good night all!

Anticipation

Waiting for some important phone calls.

Still waiting.

Oh well, might as well be comfortable while waiting.

Phone calls all done for now, I hope.

Keeping in mind that my worst job ever

was working as a receptionist,

I have to admit that telephones are useful tools,

but only the threat of a dire emergency

would ever make me carry one on my person every day.

Home Sweet Home

Spent a fair amount of time over at mom's today helping out.

She's doing better.

It is so nice to come home

to a place where the hearth fires burn brightly.

Hopefully, the only things roaming in this house

are the dog and cat.

Grr Aarrgh!

Romans 8:26-28
"And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.  And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose"......


Had a bad day.
Dear relatives far away are having troubles, and we are unable to be there right now to help.


Went to lunch at an aunt's house today.  Mom was there too - sort of.  She was holding her fork backwards and didn't seem to know or care that it was the wrong way.  If I had used those table manners as a child, she would have been mortified.  Just got home an hour ago from taking her to the emergency room with step-father.  She'll live.  Suffice it to say, we missed some of her secret candy stash and she must have hit it hard this morning for breakfast.  Plus there was an infection adding to the confusion factor.  The language out of her mouth in the emergency room was startling, but I guess I can be thankful that her vocabulary of cuss words is very limited.  She only used two.  Unfortunately, she squeezed both of them into practically every sentence.


Well at least the water main break up the street was patched by the time I came home.  We have running water again!


Tomorrow has to get better.  It just has to.

Good to the Last Blob

Chloe and Blueberry Yogurt

Sweet Dreams

Rest well.

May you catch all the things

that you chase in your dreams.

Tomorrow is another day.

Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake

Since I don't have a springform pan, the crust recipe was doubled and the filling was divided between two pie pans.

If you have a springform pan, the recipe is as follows.

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 bag ginger snaps, crushed to make 2 cups crumbs

  (if not enough, add some graham cracker crumbs and cinnamon

   to make 2 cups)

1/4 cup smart balance light, not melted

Stir smart balance into the crumbs until it is evenly distributed.

Press into oiled springform pan.

Filling:

1 - 8 oz. package light cream cheese, softened

1 - 8 oz. package fat free cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

3 eggs

1 cup pureed pumpkin

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

Combine cheese, 1/2 cup sugar & vanilla, mixing at medium speed until well blended.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Reserve 1 cup cheese mix, add pumpkin, remaining sugar and spices to remaining mixture.  Mix well.  Layer pumpkin mixture and plain mixture in pan and swirl with a knife.  Bake at 325 degrees F for 1 hour or until center is almost set.  Remove from oven and let it cool before cutting it.

New Tool

I must bid farewell to an old, much used tool.

  It served me well until yesterday afternoon, when it jammed.  Once I cleared the jam, it only fired two projectiles for approximately ten trigger depressions.  It was a good staple gun.  I will feel sad to put it in the steel scrap recycle bin, but it is basically useless now.  The hammer mechanism still works, but there is something wrong with the slide, staples feed only occasionally.


So, I went shopping today and experienced some sticker shock, and a pleasant realization that the heavy duty stapler has evolved over the last mumble-mumble years since we bought the last one.  They drive small nails now as well!

  I think I just bought my Christmas and birthday present.

It works really well so far for staples.

Will have to let you know later how well it works for nailing trim.

Wonder how accurate it is at a distance?

You Know You're Getting Older When

Your heavy duty staple gun

no longer shoots staples.

DRAT!

Well, if I have to go shopping for a new one,

I might as well do it during

the Packer game.

I will probably have the store all to myself.

Bizarre Christmas Traditions

It might be possible that my city has a really strange one.

I call it "Santa on a Flatbed".

In order to wish everyone a Merry Christmas,

some dedicated soul dresses up in a Santa costume.

He sits on a decorated flatbed trailer

while someone drives him all over town

so that he can wish everyone

a Merry Christmas over a loudspeaker.

It is really cold tonight!

Hope he is wearing lots of long underwear.

There is nothing quite like hearing

"Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas"

with a doppler effect!

Fruitcake - MMM

Hubby doesn't understand why fruitcake is so maligned.

Of course, not many people have tried his mom's fruitcake recipe.

Since I really cannot stand candied fruit, the recipe has been altered to contain only dried fruits and fresh cranberries.  Some of the bad fats have also been replaced with olive oil.  It does make the recipe a bit healthier, but also shortens the shelf life of the bread.  It is best to make a batch and throw two of the three loaves in the freezer to enjoy later.  It also keeps fairly well in the fridge.

Fruitcake with Fresh Cranberries:

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups thick hot applesauce

1/2 cup olive oil (non-virgin)

1 cup white sugar

1 cup dark brown sugar

3 eggs

2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups whole wheat flour

4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp allspice

1 tsp cinnamon (more if using applesauce without cinnamon)

1/4 tsp ground cloves

4 cups nuts (I typically use hazelnuts, pecans, almonds, & walnuts)

   (Try to avoid brazil nuts unless you know they are fresh.

    Rancid nuts really ruin a fruitcake!)

3-4 cups dried fruits like raisins, dates, apricots, etc.

   soaked in boiling hot water or hot adult beverage of your choice

   and drained.  (Reserve the sweet water for making regular bread.)

1 12 oz. bag of fresh cranberries, sorted, washed, and drained.

Add olive oil to hot applesauce.  Stir until emulsified.  Then add sugar and eggs, stir until sugar is almost dissolved.  Add flour, salt, baking soda, and spices; mix well.  Switch to a dough hook and incorporate the nuts.  Add the dried fruits and incorporate well.  Add the fresh cranberries last and stir just until distributed evenly through the dough.  Double line three loaf pans with aluminum foil, and spray with non-stick cooking spray.  Put batter in pans.  Bake at 310 degrees 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until a toothpick comes out clean.

The original recipe listed the baking temp. as 300 degrees, but in my experience, temperatures that low tend to make a cake a bit soggy.

Enjoy!

Makes a great substitute for granola bars when hiking, hunting, etc.