Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Electrifying the Village
I couldn't resist showing this photo I took this afternoon. I found some accessories for the village on the mantle at Walmart this afternoon...little lampposts and people. I think they are soooo cute! They didn't have very many...at that particular store, but I'm pretty sure that's a good thing...I can picture myself going overboard...because they're just soooo cute!
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Curses!
It wasn't fun I can tell you... I started cursing almost immediately. I put it up and I took it down and started over. I'd get it halfway done and then realize I needed something under it, or behind it...and it all had to come down again.
And I'm still not completely happy with it. I don't think the lighting is good enough. Oh, don't get me wrong, it's okay. Especially when you consider how few people will see it.
Maybe one of these days I can do it without the cussing. Bah!
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Done!
And it's done. Well, the tree, anyway. I got busy after breakfast this morning and finished putting the decorations on the tree. The photos below show different parts of the tree because it looks better than the tree as a whole.Well, that's not really what I meant to say. I took a picture of the whole, completed tree, but what really stands out are the lights...so much so that you don't see the ornaments. So the best way to look at it, in a photo anyway, is just little bits at a time.
I'm pretty happy with it. I did leave off quite a few small ornaments this year. They were the little wooden ones that I painted so long ago. There's also a box of small ornaments that a neighbor gave me and I usually use those but for some reason I didn't open that box this year.
Next, I need to hang the stockings. There are 13 of them...that's if I don't include pets. I used to include Robin's dog, but now she has three dogs and Wendy has a cat, so no pet stockings this year.
I think I'll keep the mantle a little more simple this year. Last year there were trains, a village , and trees...in addition to all the stockings. We'll see.
I'm pretty happy with it. I did leave off quite a few small ornaments this year. They were the little wooden ones that I painted so long ago. There's also a box of small ornaments that a neighbor gave me and I usually use those but for some reason I didn't open that box this year.
Next, I need to hang the stockings. There are 13 of them...that's if I don't include pets. I used to include Robin's dog, but now she has three dogs and Wendy has a cat, so no pet stockings this year.
I think I'll keep the mantle a little more simple this year. Last year there were trains, a village , and trees...in addition to all the stockings. We'll see.
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| The snowman is the first ornament on the tree every year. Wade brought that home from pre-school our last Christmas with him. The popcorn ornament said "Wayne" to me. |
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| I bought the leaf ornament while I was at Mirror Lake last year. |
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| It doesn't have to be expensive to look pretty on a Christmas tree. The green ornament was in a box of 6 for $4. In this photo you can also see glittery pipecleaners twisted into spirals. |
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| The tractor was also for Wayne. I made the baby in the sleeper a few years after the Tyrolean characters. Age has not been kind to this ornament...the baby looks like Lizzy Borden has taken an ax to her head! |
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| The santa working on the tire was for Wayne. I made the grandma in green and the angel in the egg shell. |
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| I bought this Santa in overalls because it reminded me of Wayne. I made the Tyrolean figure...made about a dozen of them in the early 70's. |
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Super cool
I've had my new iPhone for two or three weeks now and I just looked up Siri and how to use it on the Internet.
It turns out that I can go to any app that has a keyboard, and I can touch the microphone by the keyboard and start to dictate and it will type it in for me. It does a pretty good job, but sometimes it gets my words wrong so that I have to edit it.
I'm hoping that pretty soon it will understand me better and not have so many errors. My main problem will be that I can't really think and talk at the same time... although that has never stopped me before. This whole post was dictated with just a few corrections. I actually think it is getting better already.
Very cool!
It turns out that I can go to any app that has a keyboard, and I can touch the microphone by the keyboard and start to dictate and it will type it in for me. It does a pretty good job, but sometimes it gets my words wrong so that I have to edit it.
I'm hoping that pretty soon it will understand me better and not have so many errors. My main problem will be that I can't really think and talk at the same time... although that has never stopped me before. This whole post was dictated with just a few corrections. I actually think it is getting better already.
Very cool!
Ready or not...I begin
After breakfast today, however, I got back to it. It only took 30 minutes to get to this point...(tree put together)...and that includes bringing all necessities from all the various storage areas. So, I thought that deserved a quick post and a pat on the back. I was considering a cup of coffee and a cookie, but have decided that's not going to move the process along.
It just started raining...sounds like a good, hard rain. We'll see how long it lasts. I think we got about 14,000 drops earlier this week. It would be great if it rained all day. (Update on the rain...it lasted about an hour, but it was welcome...)
Update on the tree, too...I worked on it for a little while, then stopped to make hamburgers. After I ate, I made a cup of coffee and headed upstairs where I got on the computer, uploaded photos from the Pride Build to Flickr, and was busy working a couple of online jigsaw puzzles when I remembered I needed to finish this post.
Guess I'll get back to the Christmas tree a little later.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Thanksgiving-Getting Started
We are having our family Thanksgiving tomorrow...the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Since I provide the turkey and dressing...along with a few other dishes; gravy, noodles with croutons, pecan pie...it's time for me to get started.
I've already baked the biscuits. I used to make my own biscuits, then I started using the frozen biscuits. But for the last couple of years I have used canned biscuits...Pillsbury Grands Homestyle Butter Tastin. According to the recipe that I faithfully follow, I used 12 grands last year. So, I baked the same amount this year. This year I cut the biscuits in half before baking them...more surface to get crusty. After I took them out of the oven and let them cool a bit, I broke them into quarters and put them back in the oven that I had turned down to 300 and left them for another 10 minutes. I wanted them to be a bit more crusty. I will break them up more before I add them to the dressing. I think I might have used the food processor last year. Or maybe I didn't...I didn't make a note about using it.
And now it's time to make the cornbread. Or Egg Bread, in this case. It's what my mom always used in her dressing, so it's what I always use. There's no sugar in this recipe, so there is no vaguely sweet flavor to the dressing.
Egg Bread
Sift together:
1 1/2 cups white corn meal
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
Add:
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 cups buttermilk
Mix until blended. Meanwhile, melt
2 tablespoons shortening, in hot oven
Add hot drippings to cornbread mixture and mix well. Pour into hot pan and bake 20 to 25 minutes in 450ยบ F oven.
I make a quadruple recipe of dressing, so I make a quadruple recipe of the egg bread. I bake it in a large (almost 12" X almost 16" X 2") Wilton cake pan. When I pour the quadrupled recipe in the cake pan, it comes to within about 1/2" of the top. I'm watching it now as it bakes and it has come level to the top of the pan, but I don't remember it spilling over in the past so I'm assuming that it isn't going to make a mess in the oven.
I've also already made the croutons. I used half a loaf of white bread, cut into small cubes. I melted a stick and a half of butter in the big Wilton cake pan and then dumped the bread cubes in and stirred. I put it in a 375 oven, stirring every few minutes. I think it was in there for 20 to 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, I have been doing battle with a fly in the kitchen. I saw it just as soon as I started eating my oatmeal. I've made several attempts to execute it with my battery powered fly swatter, but it has evaded my attacks. It sits waiting while I approach. Then it flies away without my being able to touch it with the electrified grid head of the paddle...it looks like a smallish tennis racket. When it flies away, I'm left standing there with a bewildered expression on my face, trying to locate its new perch. I've wasted a bit of time during my fly hunt. All the baked goods are covered with clean dish towels, though, so the fly can't get to them.
The egg bread just came out of the oven. Of course, I had to test it...a small slice with butter. I pronounce it "good!"
I might be back later on, when I actually put everything together and create the dressing. Here's a photo of the biscuits, croutons, and egg bread. Oh, and my rock. It's my favorite rock of all time. Smooth, a slightly flattened egg-shape. I love it...don't judge me.
I've already baked the biscuits. I used to make my own biscuits, then I started using the frozen biscuits. But for the last couple of years I have used canned biscuits...Pillsbury Grands Homestyle Butter Tastin. According to the recipe that I faithfully follow, I used 12 grands last year. So, I baked the same amount this year. This year I cut the biscuits in half before baking them...more surface to get crusty. After I took them out of the oven and let them cool a bit, I broke them into quarters and put them back in the oven that I had turned down to 300 and left them for another 10 minutes. I wanted them to be a bit more crusty. I will break them up more before I add them to the dressing. I think I might have used the food processor last year. Or maybe I didn't...I didn't make a note about using it.
And now it's time to make the cornbread. Or Egg Bread, in this case. It's what my mom always used in her dressing, so it's what I always use. There's no sugar in this recipe, so there is no vaguely sweet flavor to the dressing.
Egg Bread
Sift together:
1 1/2 cups white corn meal
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
Add:
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 cups buttermilk
Mix until blended. Meanwhile, melt
2 tablespoons shortening, in hot oven
Add hot drippings to cornbread mixture and mix well. Pour into hot pan and bake 20 to 25 minutes in 450ยบ F oven.
I make a quadruple recipe of dressing, so I make a quadruple recipe of the egg bread. I bake it in a large (almost 12" X almost 16" X 2") Wilton cake pan. When I pour the quadrupled recipe in the cake pan, it comes to within about 1/2" of the top. I'm watching it now as it bakes and it has come level to the top of the pan, but I don't remember it spilling over in the past so I'm assuming that it isn't going to make a mess in the oven.
I've also already made the croutons. I used half a loaf of white bread, cut into small cubes. I melted a stick and a half of butter in the big Wilton cake pan and then dumped the bread cubes in and stirred. I put it in a 375 oven, stirring every few minutes. I think it was in there for 20 to 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, I have been doing battle with a fly in the kitchen. I saw it just as soon as I started eating my oatmeal. I've made several attempts to execute it with my battery powered fly swatter, but it has evaded my attacks. It sits waiting while I approach. Then it flies away without my being able to touch it with the electrified grid head of the paddle...it looks like a smallish tennis racket. When it flies away, I'm left standing there with a bewildered expression on my face, trying to locate its new perch. I've wasted a bit of time during my fly hunt. All the baked goods are covered with clean dish towels, though, so the fly can't get to them.
The egg bread just came out of the oven. Of course, I had to test it...a small slice with butter. I pronounce it "good!"
I might be back later on, when I actually put everything together and create the dressing. Here's a photo of the biscuits, croutons, and egg bread. Oh, and my rock. It's my favorite rock of all time. Smooth, a slightly flattened egg-shape. I love it...don't judge me.
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