Count Down to Happy...And Just What Have I Been Doing?

Good evening, peeps and peepettes!!

Can you hear it?  Far, far away?  In Iowa?  It's the plane taking off to bring my baby boy home!! Yay, more yay, more yay, and as much yay as you can handle!!  (Can you tell I'm a wee bit excited?  LOL) He really doesn't leave until Friday, but I'm starting the celebration now.  I pick him up from the Bay Area next Tuesday, but just to know that he's in California.  Big Mom Sigh....

So, I know that all of you are just on the edge of your seat, waiting to hear what I've been up to this last week.

Christmas day was very quiet.  Dinner for four, soup for Dad. I got up early to start the prime rib. Last Thanksgiving, I had a little accident with the lid to my roaster and broke the handle.  Very sad.  I ask hubby if he could find me a new handle.  Hmmm, no.  But, he could make me one!  Okay.

Here is a picture of the finished product.  Oak with tung oil.  Isn't it pretty?

And since baby boy is on his way, here it the scarf that I've been working on for many months.  I'm sure you will remember when I pulled out quite a bit of knitting since it was curling so badly:

And now:

It's still curling, but I think if I block it, it should be good.  It's a wool blend, so he'll be able to use it in Iowa. LOL  A lot.

And for my piece de resistiance....here is the latest update on my second giant granny square afghan. I love the purples and greens.  It is much more vibrant than the picture shows.

Continuing with Christmas news...My baby sister decided that I needed a new tv.  Honestly, tv is tv. I enjoy documentaries and crime shows, but I'm not really picky about the picture.  I bought my tv in 1995.  It is about 30 inches, in a wood cabinet.  I like it.  But baby sister is all about technology. Came in with a flat screen 50 inch tv.  Really?  The only thing I can think it will be good for is to watch YouTube videos of crocheting.  LOL  She has now spent two days, loading all the programs that SHE thinks I just NEED to have. I put my foot down on syncing my phone with the tv.  I love baby sister, so I just sit quietly on the couch, head down, working on my knitting.  There was only one glitch...as baby sister is opening the various boxes and bags, I glance over and see that she is using my embroidery scissors to do all this opening and cutting.  After I regained my senses, and grabbed the scissors as if my life depended upon it, she looked at me.  In a completely innocent voice, she comments that they are the sharpest scissors that she has ever used.   What a surprise...

The next day, she sends me this picture on Facebook:

I told her that I thought it was an excellent idea...LOL

Okay, I'm off like a herd of turtles.  I think I left a load of laundry in the dryer...yesterday.  LOL Have a great night, be kind to one another.

Merry Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas Eve from the rancho!

I hope that each of you spend the holiday with those you love and are blessed and happy in the new year.  

Perform random acts of kindness.  Smile more, frown less. Slow down the journey, enjoy the scenery. Pick the wildflowers.  Hug your friends whenever you get the chance, tell your loved ones how much they mean to you.  Eat that extra piece of fudge really slow....savor life!

Be kind to one another.

Happy Dancing in the Rain!

Good morning, peeps and peepettes.

We've got rain!  The weatherman says only half of an inch, but I don't care.  Rain is life for our area, I will be glad to take it.

It was a long, long week.  I had a great Sunday, found some amazing yarn in a yarn shop at the coast. My husband saw a beautiful scarf and hinted that I should make it for him.  It is a simple knit/purl, so I can do it!  It is a mix of merino wool and brushtail possum.  Yes, possum.  I did some research.  In New Zealand these animals are not native and considered a pest.  They cull thousands a year.  I'm sure that some people will be offended, but I feel that it is like cows....you raise them to use them. Can't get around it.  All you can do is give them the best life you can and be as humane as possible. Here is a picture of the yarn. It is so soft...

The rest of the week went like this...

Drove to work on Monday, behind an accident on a bridge.  Black ice.  It's California, we don't know how to drive.

Drove to work on Tuesday, accident at the end of my road.   More ice, car drove through stop sign, hit rail, all bad.  I stopped to offer help, no injuries.  

Drove to work on Wednesday, accident on highway, wrong way drunk driver.  So incredibly sad, the fatality was the person that got hit, not the drunk driver.  It had been several hours earlier, so took the detour.

Drove to work on Thursday, no accident, but did see a huge wooden wire reel on the road, missed it. Coming home, my truck started making crunchy noises in the front tire.  Got hubby to look at it.  We were both up until 10 pm changing the bearings and rotor.  I was only his gopher, but felt bad about leaving him outside to do it alone.  Since he is such a hoarder, we couldn't fit my truck in the barn. Worked outside in 35 degree weather.  By the time I got in the house and showered, I had to put two down comforters on the bed to try and get warm.

Drove to work on Friday, no problems.  Wheel worked fine.  Work was good until the sewer system plugged and the prison dumped 85,000 gallons of raw sewage in a creek.  All water was shut down with rumors that we would have no water for three days.  It took me and my staff two hours to plan meals for three days, for 2,200 people, with no water.  We did it!  Of course after we got everything planned and the canned food into the kitchen, they got the plug cleared.  LOL  I'll just think of this as an emergency exercise.  But I was so tired!  Came home, had dinner, and fell asleep in the chair at 7 pm. Of course, I did get up and go to bed at 11 pm, but still slept until 7 am.  Feeling pretty good this morning!  I should, I got at least 11 good hours of sleep.  LOL

The only thing I got done for Christmas this week was to make six batches of fudge.  Lots of different kinds:  Coconut, Heath Chocolate, Chocolate Mint, Candy Cane Peppermint, Peanut Butter.

This is a picture of the coconut.  I brown the coconut and then add it to the fudge.  A little extra on top.  Tasty!

And here is a group picture.  LOL

                                                 

I've used the same recipe for over 20 years.  Always creamy, not grainy.  And no marshmallow fluff. I hate to use that stuff, so messy.  Here's the recipe I use:

My Fudge

Mixture One:

½ cup butter

1 cup nuts

3 cups of chips

1 tsp vanilla

Measure all items and cube butter into small cubes.  Allow to soften.  Set aside.

Mixture Two:

2 cups sugar

2/3 cup heavy liquid whipping cream

10-12 large marshmallows

Stir and cook Mixture Two over medium heat until bubbly, about 7 ½ minutes.  I use a wire whip.

When Mixture Two bubbles for about 30 seconds, remove from heat and add Mixture One, stirring until chips and butter melts completely.  Pour into buttered pan and cool.  I use a 9x13. 

This recipe works well with chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips, mint chips, etc.  I have also added Heath Chips, Peppermint Chips, etc, as part of the original 3 cups.  Be careful to not add too many chips, it will cause the fudge to “seize” and separate.  I've added coconut, crushed candy canes as an extra, not part of the original three cups.  I'm thinking of trying a pumpkin recipe, but haven't got around to it yet.  I hate walnuts and never add them, but some people do, so I leave them in the recipe.

When a friend gave me the recipe, it was called See's Fudge.  I don't want to step on anyone's toes, so I just call it My Fudge.  LOL

Okay, off to start my day.  I really, really need to get some shopping done.  And I definitely need to get out of my jammies, it's a little chilly this morning.   LOL  Have a wonderful week, be kind to one another.

                                

This One's For You....Jocelyn...

Good morning to all my peeps and peepettes out in blogland!

Here's a little background on my title....Jocelyn over at Canadian Needle Nana was reminiscing about Christmas and  trees and ornaments.  I mentioned that my family had an aluminum tree with a color wheel. She hadn't seen a color wheel before...so let's begin our trip down memory lane!

A color wheel.  They can still be purchased...but beware, anything that begins with the word "vintage" usually comes with a high price tag.  LOL

This is exactly how our tree looked.

And if it was set up correctly, this was the final result...

For those with a yearning for the vintage, for the low, low price of $300, this could still be yours! LOL LOL  LOL

My parents had one of the latest Polaroid cameras, the type that the picture popped out of the camera. You would shake the picture and it would develop in your hand.  Unfortunately, the pictures don't last forever. Baby Sis has taken quite a few of them and had them put on photo paper.

Here is one of my favorites.  Me, Baby Sis, and Baby Brother in front of our Christmas tree.  The color has faded, but you can still see the sparkle of the tree.

I look at this picture and realize how little we have changed.  My brother still has the crooked smile, Baby Sis still squints her eyes when she laughs, and my chubby cheeks are still chubby when I smile. LOL

So I leave you with memories of times past, love of family, and the excitement of children at Christmas.  I hope that everyone has an amazing weekend.  Be kind to one another.

Happy Sunday From The Rancho!

Happy Sunday morning from the Rancho!


                                               

I have started with a little Christmas decorating.  My big box of ornaments has been MIA for about five years, so a couple of years ago, I picked up a little tree and small ornaments.  Now, I use it for the kitchen table.  This year, I went with red and white.  I found the place mats at the dollar store.

Christmas is not my husband's favorite holiday.  His father passed away during the Christmas season back in the 90's and it has never been the same for him. It was okay when we still had a little person at home, he put on the holiday face and stuck it out.  After my son moved out of town for school, for a few years, I didn't even put up a tree. Since my sister is here, I'm feeling more festive, so I started in the kitchen.   Husband seems okay with it...so I'll put up the "plug and glow" tree in the living room in the next couple of days.  It's only 4 feet tall, but with little ornaments and candy canes, it's pretty cute!

My baby sis was on a photo hunt yesterday.  Somehow she seems to think that it is always open season on pictures of me. LOL  She took this one while I was doing something on the computer...probably looking for yarn or fabric, I seem to be pretty intent.  LOL  I changed it to black and white since that color scheme seems to hide the wrinkles better.

I am still working on various projects, but not staying with one long enough to actually get anything finished.  LOL  Focus, focus, focus!  I keep saying I will do this, or this, or maybe this.  And what do I do? That, and that, and that!  LOL  I did all the housework yesterday, so once I get grocery shopping out of the way, I will have the afternoon for ME!

Short update on Dad...things are about the same.  He seems to sound a bit louder when he breathes, but the Hospice nurse says that it's in his throat, not his lungs.  Friday night was pretty bad.  I really thought that it was time.  I was surprised at myself.  After two and a half years on Hospice, you would think I was ready....nope.  Still scares me to my soul.  His breathing is quieter today...

Hug the ones you love, be kind to one another.