IT'S LOOKING LIKE CHRISTMAS

OH FUDGE!

I love fudge! I mean it rates right up there with cheesecake. Oooooh yeah! I've never tried making it myself...until yesterday. It was so simple and ohhhh soooo good and creamy!

MAPLE FUDGE

1 1/3 cups of sweetened condensed milk

1 cup pure maple syrup

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp butter

1/2 cup nuts, chopped (optional)

Combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan except nuts. Simmer slowly, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves. Stir occasionally until mixture reaches the softball stage - 236 F

Cool without stirring until mixture reaches 110 F or until it feels warm. Beat mixture until thick, add nuts, pour into buttered pan. Allow to set.

SUCCESSES, SOAP, SOURDOUGH AND SYVRETS

I opened up the first jar of pickled beets from September...man oh man, are they delicious!! So my very first attempt at the pickled beets was a huge success!! Yippee! I know, for the amount of beets a person eats, it's probably much easier to just buy a jar at the store...yeah, yeah I get it. But really, it's the fact that I can do it. Oh and note to self: wear rubber gloves next time during the beet skinning process. The stains on my hands were....ummm....worrisome for the general public. lol

We opened up a jar of strawberry jam - July 12/08 - batch #2 - again, it was a hit! Woohoo! 2 for 2! I'm on a roll....

AFTER 2 BREAKFASTS - GONE!

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Baby J has the most delicate skin and I have to be verrrry careful what products she can use on her skin and clothes. Specialized and super expensive products can still make her break out...it's really weird. So this week, I made my own batch of laundry soap to see if it would work. It works great! No break-outs, it's super cheap, and honestly it does a better job of cleaning our clothes.

You'll need 3 products:

1 cup of borax

1 cup of washing soda

1 cup of a laundry bar soap grated (I used my cheese grater - took 1 minute)

Just stir them together. Use 2 Tbsp per load.

Then I use plain vinegar in the rinse cycle. Voila!

3 PRODUCTS:

FINISHED PRODUCT:

Oh, and I know what you're thinking...that I'm just one step away from wearing ankle-length denim jumpers and Amish headgear. What next, cooking on a woodstove and chasing goats from my garden?! Hmmmmm...now that has possibilities!

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I tried my hand at sourdough bread on the weekend....now I really wish I had taken pictures of that. Total failure! Something happened to the sourdough starter...not sure what happened...but something happened. A thick crust formed on the top and under the crust was a runny slime. I couldn't stop laughing. The only thing Big Daddy said was "I don't have to eat that, right?!" lol

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I read somewhere on a blog this week that this homesteader described herself as part Olivia Walton, part Ma Ingalls, with a good dose of Ma Kettle thrown in. I laughed until I peed. Because my own mother says that she can't believe how much of a hillbilly I am and my Granny Syvret will never be gone as long as I'm alive. Sure we share a name, both love a full pantry and have been known to throw a clean dish towel over a pan of brownies, but that's where the similarities end....I think.

FORGOT ONE

Yeah, I forgot the best one that happened yesterday morning while walking to Kindergarten.

Rylee was tugging at her snowpants every few steps and finally I asked her what was wrong.
Rylee: "My bum is itchy. Scratch it for me, Mom!"

THE LIFE OF RYLEE

We took a little drive over a very winding road last week and of course Little Piddle is nauseous. She's so much like me!! Anyway, after trying lots of remedies - opening the window, holding my hand, not looking out the window - J settles down...and then we hear from the other back seat: "Mom, I'm car-healthy."

Since Rylee has been attending Kindergarten, I've eased up with the lessons at home. She points up at the planets on the ceiling in the playroom yesterday while playing playdough trying to recreate them.
Me: "What's the name of the red one?"
Rylee: "Marvin"
I think we'll get back to homeschooling again!

She tells me that some kids at school cry. A lot!
Me: "Why do the kids cry?"
Rylee: silence...just thinking this one through
Me: "Do you think they miss their Moms?"
Rylee: "Yeah, they probably miss their Moms."
Me: "Do you miss me sometimes?"
Rylee: "NO WAY!"
Oh it's good to be loved! lol

BOUGHT BUNKBEDS

At 7:30 on Friday morning we threw the kids in the CRV and headed off to the big smoke to do our bit to help stimulate the economy. By the time we were finished I was expecting a personal call from Stephen Harper, thanking us for our dedication to the cause or a call from some Visa official thinking that our card had been stolen.

One of our purchases was a set of bunkbeds. I know, I know, more kids are hurt from bunkbeds than all childhood diseases and all other accidents combined. I know! But, we bought a set anyway. lol Oh don't worry, we set them up as single beds for now...until the girls are old enough NOT to have an accident. I'm thinking maybe when they're 20 and 17.

By the way, if you're in the market for a set of bunks, I would highly recommend the plain-jane type over the more fancy and upscale ones. Why fork over good cash and then have a team of burly men deliver and set up your purchase, when you can carry a 500 lb box with at least 724 pieces to assemble by yourself with little people under foot! Ohhhhh, let the games begin.....

GOING TO NEED THE INSTRUCTIONS AND A BEER:

HELP ARRIVES:

TAKE A BREAK DADDY AND WE'LL GROOM YOU:

GOOD PLACE TO KEEP YOUR COMB:

AND WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE MUCH HAIR, YOU HAVE TO BALANCE YOUR BRUSH ON YOUR HEAD:

Sidenote: We've had 3 nights of peace since the girls are now together in their own big girl room, sleeping in big girl beds...okay, maybe 2 since the first night was a flippin disaster. And we never did get a call from Stephen Harper.

LONG DISTANCE CALL

I asked her what she was doing. She says, "Yao Yao talk". Yes, she was making a long distance call to Lao Lao in Florida....on the tv clicker! Too cute!