Pithy saying # 1

I was shopping in town yesterday and dropped by the hat store which is run by this lovely couple although the wife is...hmm, how shall I put this....slightly intense.  I must admit I kind of prefer it when only the husband is working, the wife scares me a little although I really do like her.

They were both working yesterday, and I found the most darling little hat as a late Christmas present to me, and when I took the hat up to the counter the wife exclaimed over its cuteness and then took my hands in hers and said something like "let's vow right now that next year will be the best one ever."  Yeah, ok, the hat WAS cute but I don't think it's going to change my life.  But then she said something that got me thinking - "It's not enough just to make a vow, I'm a firm believer that change only happens when we act on our vow.  We've got to MAKE next year the best one ever."

I feel like 2011 happened to me, I just laid down and let it run over me without doing anything to stop it.  I want things to change but I haven't been acting to make it happen, I've just been waiting for stuff to happen to me.  That's got to change, I feel like I wasted a whole year, like I put things in motion in January and then dropped the ball.

So today I picked up a month's worth of accumulated mail and there was one of those catalogs that they send out at Christmas time with all sorts of plaques with pithy sayings.  A few of them spoke to me, things I want to keep in mind next year so that I don't waste another 365 days.  Here's one for today:

I cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from passing over my head but I can keep them from building a nest in my hair.

Merry Christmas

 To you and all your family

Your neighbors and your friends

May all your days be happy

With a joy that never ends

May peace and love surround you

At Christmastime and all the whole year through

It says so in my Christmas card to you

Golden hugs

Guess what we did last week?

We VISITED puppies.

Or, at least, that was the intention.  Well no, the intention was to visit dogs.  We'd been missing the feeling of petting and hugging a big, golden dog.  Luckily we know a great breeder that was nice enough to tell us that we could come out and pet dogs to our hearts content...and that's what we did.

It was very satisfying to pet a bunch of happy dogs.  They were so excited to see us but so well behaved that we never heard a bark the entire time we were there. Just a bunch of wriggling golden bodies with the occasional kiss.

And, of course, there were puppies although we didn't really get to play with them because they were too little.  Golden retriever puppies have got to be one of the cutest things on Earth and you can't help but want to take one home.

So we went home and really thought about putting our name in for one of the upcoming litters.  Really thought long and hard.  It was oh so tempting.

But in the end we knew we weren't ready yet.  The minute we admitted that to each other, we knew it was the right decision...for now.

What would Laura bake?

In keeping with yesterday's theme, I decided to do a little baking today.  Rather than jump right into sourdough starter or salt rising bread, I went with a tried and true favorite - gingerbread.

Laura's gingerbread recipe is a perfect example of something that is a more closely linked to adult Laura rather than Little House Laura.  Laura became well-known for her gingerbread when the favorite recipe was included in the Laura Ingalls Wilder issue of The Horn Book in 1953.  I've made the recipe many times and it really is delicious gingerbread, more like a cake than a cookie.

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup molasses

2 teaspoons baking soda
mixed into 1 cup boiling water

3 cups flour
1 teaspoon each:
ginger, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 beaten eggs

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a 9x9 baking pan
2.  Blend the sugar and the shortening and mix in the molasses
3.  Add the baking soda to the boiling water and mix well
4.  Combine the flour and the spices.  Combine the sugar-molasses mixture with the flour mixture and the baking soda-water liquid.  Lastly, add the eggs.  Mix ingredients well and pour into prepared pan.
5.  Bake for 30-45 minutes or until toothpick  inserted in the center of the gingerbread comes out clean.

I've learned from painful experience that it's really important not to skip the toothpick tester thingy.  Trust me.

If all goes well, you should end up with something like this

Laura suggested that raisins and/or candied fruit could be added and that chocolate frosting "adds to the goodness" but I prefer my gingerbread pure, untouched by these extras.

Rose Wilder Lane, Laura's daughter, wrote about a time when she made the gingerbread as a pre-teen but used cayenne pepper by mistake, instead of ginger.  I actually think a little cayenne pepper might add an interesting side note...maybe next time.

What Would Laura Eat...for Christmas

I've been feeling rather domestic lately and quite Little House-y, which is actually kind of unusual for me.  As much as I enjoy learning about Laura Ingalls Wilder - reading her books and researching her real life - I am most interested in the grown up Laura that lived in the 20th century, more than the 19th century pioneer girl.  I have little interest in dressing up in a prairie dress and sunbonnet or learning traditional 19th century cooking techniques and crafts.  I went through that pioneer phase in my teens and rarely feel the need to revisit.

Christmas time is different.  Christmas just seems right for Little House traditions and so tonight I've surrounded myself with my Little House and Laura cookbooks, trying to plan the perfect Christmas menu.

I'm intrigued by the recipes for Roasted Stuffed Goose and Stewed Jackrabbit and Dumplings but I think I should probably start with something a bit less frontier.  Now, we'll be traveling on Christmas day but I'm thinking about oyster soup for Christmas eve dinner, which is also a family tradition from my childhood although I didn't like oysters back then.

I also want to try molded cranberry jelly, Swedish crackers, dried apple and raisin pie and fried apples 'n onions.  I might even have another whack at sourdough starter for bread and biscuits.  I tried it as a teenager with rather disappointing (and smelly) results.  Time to try again!

Of course, my Little House-ness only goes so far; no wood burning stoves or campfires for me.  I intend to indulge my inner Laura with modern appliances.  Let's not go crazy or anything.  And no, I'm still not wearing a sunbonnet.

Have you been admiring my cookbook?  It's an original edition from  1979 and one of my prized possessions.  I was lucky enough to meet the author a few years ago and she was surprised to see such a vintage edition.  Apparently it has had a different cover for, oh about 20 years now.

Anybody have other Little House Christmas menu suggestions for me?  How about Pot Roast of Ox?  Oh, I know - Blackbird Pie!

Thanksgiving

Give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way. ~Native American Saying


There are a log of things I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving but the biggest one is hope.  I wake up each morning to a day filled with possibilities and for that, I am grateful.  I know that my prayers will be answered even if I'm not completely thrilled with the timing these days.  The unknown blessings are out there, of that I am sure.

I pray that each of you is enjoying a wonderful Thanksgiving with the people that you love.  In spirit, I am with my family even though it's been many years since we've shared Thanksgiving together.  Maybe next year.

Enjoy!

Crafty

I hate craft stores.

Well...it's not actually hate, it's more like I'm really intimidated by craft stores.  It's genetics.  The crafty gene in my family diminishes from generation to generation so by the time it got down to me, there was barely a speck left.

At least that's what I tell myself to make me feel better but it can't really be true because EVERY woman in my family, older than me, is really crafty...some, like my sister, to the point of being damned artistic.  My only consolation is that my niece (who is more like a younger sister - don't ask, too complicated) seems to be as un-crafty as I am.  That's how I know I wasn't a changeling.

That's why today's blog post is about a very unusual subject for me.  I found a craft project that I like!  I willingly, without force or threat of violence, drove myself to a craft store, walked in and actually bought raw materials to turn into a usable and attractive object!  I can barely believe it myself.



I took these raw materials



and made this sweater clip!

 Apparently sweater clips are somewhat trendy again because of the character of Emma Pillsbury on Glee.  Apparently you can find them all over Etsy.  Apparently I didn't know any of this before I  decided to go the DIY route and willingly walked into that craft store.  At least my sweater clips are going to be unique because I had to use whatever I could find at my local store and they didn't have any actual sweater clip bottoms (probably not the technical term) so I improvised with badge clips.

I like to wear cardigans, it's always sweater weather here in Fogville.  I don't like to button them up but they slip off my shoulders when I leave them open so enter a staple of the 50s (resurrected again in the 80s) - the sweater clip.  I have an old one but I wanted other styles and colors and somehow, before I knew what was happening, I got the bright idea to try to make my own.  The interesting thing is, I enjoyed making this first one and already have ideas for several more designs.

And just like that, I'm crafty like the rest of the women in my family!  Hmmm, now I'm starting to wonder about my niece.