December 24, 2008

• A Day of Rest and Enjoyment

  Whoa! 

  I AM SO GLAD WE SAVED THE COOKIE BAKING FOR LAST!!!! 

  It turned into quite a fiasco . . . aka. . . all day project . . . aka . . . mess . . . aka . . . just as much of a  back breaking “chore” as wrapping those gifts the other day – if not more so!!!

  As my blog’s pulse stated yesterday, I don’t think I’m a very good Mom when it comes to teaching children and helping them bake cookies.  I sorely lack patience!  Of course, the fact I started my monthly cycle in the middle of the night (guess I’m not done with those, as I had hoped!) explained a lot of my . . . ummmmm . . . “lack of patience” during yesterday’s cookie baking! 

  I thought of my Grandma M. yesterday while the girls busied themselves in the kitchen with me and wondered where she found the patience to make cut-out cookies with me and my sister and all the decorating mess that followed at her kitchen table (a red formica one with chrome legs!).  Then I remembered that she HAD answered that question before she died.  “Honey.  I didn’t mind . . . really.  At the end of the day, I sent you and your sister back to your parent’s house, while I cleaned up the mess and rested for a few days!” 

  Rest?  I’ve heard of that.  Maybe I’ll strive for “rest” today!!!! LOL

  I think, at my age, I am experiencing grandmotherly instincts with my youngest daughters, who are only a few years older than my granddaughters.  You know?  Stuff I didn’t have the desire or patience for when I was younger?  It all seems so important now that I don’t have much else going on in my life except my family life with my children.  No job.  No parties to attend.  No dates (my husband and I don’t have “date nights” like many other couples).  And, no TV shows I just *have to* watch or friends I *have to* yack with for hours on the phone.  That was “me” when I was younger.  Now I’m more devoted and grandmotherly.  And, I *am* a grandmother too, to two little girls.

  So, cookie baking was on the list of important things – for my daughter’s sakes.

  I started with the ingredients you’ve seen for days on my kitchen bar.
   

  
  First on the list were bourbon balls.  Lest you think I’m a heathen, let me explain.  Every five years or so, Jesse buys a small bottle (a pint???) of bourbon for my cookies.  The cookies only call for 4 tablespoons of bourbon for 2 -3 dozen cookies.  If there was flavoring that duplicated the bourbon, I’d use it.

  They are easy to make and I divided the mixture into three portions on paper plates and gave them each a small bowl of powder sugar.  They made the dough into balls and then rolled them in the sugar and put them on a rack.
   
  They diligently made balls close to the size I had demonstrated.  But, it was a tedious and LONG process!!!  I could have whipped them out in minutes . . . but these were children having fun (for a V-E-R-Y long time)!!!!

  Sampson and Stormy slept in their beds and Chirper was mysteriously absent during the whole process.  Annamarie found him with his paw over his eyes in my planter.  He was pretty cute, but woke up when he heard the camera.
                                                 
  

  
  When the bourbon balls were FINALLY finished, I dismissed Annamarie and Luci to go play while I let Rissy watch me make fudge.  I told her she needed to watch carefully because I usually made candy only once a year.  I explained it would be best for her to watch me make it a couple of times before attempting to make it herself.  We discussed the burner temperature so the milk wouldn’t scorch and how to use and read a candy thermometor and the IMPORTANCE of the candy being the correct temperature.  I showed her how quickly the chocolate chips and marshmallow cream had to be stirred into the milk and sugar mixture before the candy began to solidify.  She was suitably impressed with my endeavors and lesson!  And, *I* wondered where all of my arm strength had gone.  My arm felt like it would fall all before the chips and marsmallow was thoroughly mixed into the candy!

  A square pan of fudge.  I couldn’t find my second jar of marshmallow cream I was SURE I had purchased.  That meant no double batch this year!
            

  
  It was almost lunch time, and I told the girls we would take a break after the bourbon balls and fudge, and we would turn the oven on AFTER we had some lunch.  Meanwhile, they each got a spoon of fudge from the pan I had scraped  – my spoon was bigger, because I had done more work!  (I also taught Rissy how quickly, after making the fudge, you have to clean off all of the utensils containing fudge before it hardened into fossil-like material)

  Their little spoons of fudge.                                                 My BIG spoon of fudge!!!
   
  We all agreed my fudge was better than any store bought chocolate!

  After lunch, I mixed up Ms. Shanda’s Jell-O cookie recipe in red/cherry and green/lime dough  I was concerned that there was no baking powder in the recipe and wondered if I had copied it incorrectly.  I checked on line and there were lots of recipes, but none identical to Ms. Shanda’s. 
                                   

  So, I added a tsp of vanilla and a tsp of baking powder, mixed the whole thing up, and was delighted with the colors and how vibrant they became, the longer I mixed the dough.
                                  

  
  Admittedly, my cookies didn’t turn out as cute and puffed as Ms. Shanda’s, but they DID turn out!  I’m thinking I copied something wrong when writing the recipe.  I thought the baking powder would give them more lift, but maybe it made them spread out, instead!

  The green cookies                                                             The red cookies
   
  For some reason, the green ones burned quickly.  You aren’t supposed to let them turn brown.  I don’t know what was up with the green/lime cookies.  Without the frosting, the green ones were so tart – almost like lemon cookies (which I detest).  But, the girls thought they were good and WITH frosting, the tasted better to me.   We ended up with more red/cherry ones than green anyway.  I let the girls eat the slightly dark/burned green ones before I frosted them!
  

  After they cooled, I dipped them into the frosting and let the frosting harden before stacking them.  They made a pretty display of red and green!
            
  After the red and green cookies (which took the girls FOREVER to roll into balls!!!!!), I made peanut butter cookies for Jesse (the only thing he had requested).  Those are in the ice cream tub to the right of the red & green cookies.

  
  Here are the bourbon balls made by little hands and not exactly round balls as they should be (but they taste the same!) and the pan of fudge.  I could definitely eat that fudge until sores in my mouth appeared – sweet stuff does that to my mouth.
              

  
  Everything is neatly tucked away in my cookie cupboard.  I’ve thought about making some mini M&M cookies today.  But, I don’t want any big or messy projects being started.  So, M&M cookies are up in the air!!!
              
  

  Here are the girls enjoying the fruits of their labors.  Yes, Rissy and Luci are on skates!  And, Luci’s skates are blurry because she slipped at the same time I clicked the camera!  Rissy is the only one who has mastered walking on the toe stop of the skates when on the tile floor!
                              

  
  After all of that, I let the girls chase each other around the house and scream at the top of their lungs, as well as laugh loud.  They really needed the exercise and I’m sure the cookies and candy didn’t help calm them down!

  This morning, I went out into our colder than cold garage and saw the groceries from last Friday we had quickly unloaded on the garage floor.  No fairy maid has come to the garage to put those things up for me!  It’s all cans, pastas, or cake mixes, so nothing will perish.  I’m in no hurry to put things away – not in that cold, cold garage!  Although, I did riffle through the bags when looking for that second jar of marshmallow cream!  It’s probably somewhere staring me smack in the face, but I just can’t see it.

                                     
  
   
  While out in the garage, I spied my childhood books and brought them in to see if Rissy was ready to read some of them.  Quite a stash, huh???!!!
              

  
  The Nancy Drew books were mine, except for the top 3 paperbacks.  Those were Stephanie’s..
                          

  
  I found a stash of Stephanie’s books, including a set of her Little House on the Prairie books.
          
  
  I’m not sure Rissy’s reading level is high enough to read all of these, but she isn’t far away from reading them.

  
  Jesse had a couple of nice surprises yesterday.  And, I’M GLAD!!  First of all, someone came up and wired the desk area with a 220 outlet so a heater and fan could be used behind the desk.  His friend’s son runs that store and the son had never returned Jesse’s calls this weekend.  He offered to PAY for an electrician to wire it, but said he’d wait to hear back from the son.  He called him 3 times!  The son came in yesterday morning in a very bad, foul mood and Jesse didn’t know if his Dad had chewed him out for making Jesse and the other employees work in such cold conditions, or if something else was wrong with the son.  But, they do have “some” heat now.

  THEN . . . a little lady that he mowed for, told him to go by her house.  She said she had a card for him under her mat.  It was near the shop he’s been working at, so he left for lunch, picked up the card and came back with it.  We opened it together last night and it contained a $50 bill.  Talk about a shock and surprise!!!

  THEN . . . after coming back from picking up lunch, his friend, Camilo, came by the shop and gave him a turkey, which is has been safely put into our big freezer for later use!

  THEN . . . Pastor C. J. showed up unexpectedly with a big gift sack filled with little wrapped things from the Sunday school teacher at his church.  We don’t send our children to Sunday school, they sit with us during the service, but I guess she wanted to include ALL children in the church and he made a special trip to come see Jesse and deliver it. 

  I think I’ll let them open it today to avoid all the confusion tomorrow with lots of people piled into our den.
                                  

  
  THEN . . . *I* had a surprise this morning.  Jesse was asking what I planned to fix for the next few days.  I told him brisket with potato salad, etc. tomorrow and cranberry chicken over rice tonight.  He said, “You know what sounds really good?  Chinese food.”  So, that’s MY job – calling the restaurant to see if they are planning to be open this evening.  I just made that call and THEY’RE OPEN TONIGHT!!!!!!!!!!  No cooking today  Yay!!!!!!!!!!

  Stephanie and JanaLyn are coming here sometime this afternoon.  I guess they’ll be joining us for Chinese food.  They will be spending the night.  It’s more fun for JanaLyn (and probably Stephanie, too) to be around the girls when she opens her gifts.  Stephanie has told her there is a Santa Claus and all the other Christmas stuff people do, and we just keep our mouths shut and smile.  I was so proud of my 3 little ones on Saturday when JanaLyn chatted away about Santa coming, blah, blah, blah.  They answered her with phrases like, “Really?” or “Wow!”  I’ve taught them to NOT reveal the truth to children whose parents have chosen to tell their children something different.  In other words, it’s none of our business.  JanaLyn calls our house “Granny’s World” where things are a little different from everywhere else.  We pray before our meals and pray about other things, we don’t cut our hair and we wear dresses only, we don’t have a Christmas tree or those types of decorations, and our children are EXPECTED to obey (immediately) and use manners.  They even have to answer us with “sir” and “ma’am” – which JanaLyn has picked up!  All things that are different for JanaLyn.  Funny thing . . . JanaLyn tries so hard to fit in while staying here and even has a rod in my closet full of dresses she likes to wear!  Her table manners are improving and her obeying has improved greatly!  We call it “positive peer pressure” . . . unlike bad traits peers often display and others learn.

  Last night, when I was dead tired and had the makings of a horrible headache (I’m sure hormonal, now that I “know”), Rissy offered to fix dinner for us – soft tacos.  What a blessing.  I let her.  I looked at the kitchen afterwards and thought there was no way I could stand long enough to deal with the cookie and taco mess.  Rissy encouraged me, “C’mon, Mom!  Many hands make light work.  The dishwasher is empty.  Let’s get as much dirty stuff in it as we can, let it wash the dishes over night, and have only a few things to wash in the morning.”   I persevered (only because of her gentle, yet insistent, prodding) and was glad I did.  Things don’t look so horrible today!

  No sense in posting a “To Do List” today.  I have to bathe and get dressed and take the brisket out of the freezer.  We need to make tomorrow’s potato salad and that’s about it!  I just need to remember to take deep breaths, breathe, and enjoy relaxing.  Maybe that should be “try to learn *how* to relax!!!”  That will be on my “To Do List” – *learn* to relax and enjoy things!

  I think Jesse’s mother is going to have a PIC line (spelling???) put in her arm so she can come home for Christmas and receive her antibiotics via that line at home.  I’m glad.  She was really upset that her sisters were coming from Louisiana and she would be spending her time in a hospital.

  Be blessed  ~ 

  • 12:52 pm
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