My Christmas tree is up and my stocking has been hung on the banister with care. Yes, I know it is early (even by my standards), but I'm heading to California for Thanksgiving and know that life will be too busy when I get back to have time to decorate. It was either put it up now or be a humbug and not put it up at all. And, since I like snuggling up with a blanket in my favorite chair next to the tree and reading by the glow of the tree lights, I decided I'd better put it up. Thanks to W who hauled it up from the basement and assembled it! BTW, W, I did find the brass ornaments.
It's time for my theme song...all together now..."Deck the hall with boughs of Holly"!
:-)
Why I have a blog
- Holly
- Since I never seem to get around to sending out Christmas cards or letters, I decided to blog a bit to keep my fans updated. :-)
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
High School Musical
I spent a lovely evening at Timpanogos High School watching and listening to their production of "Thoroughly Modern Millie" tonight. I thought it was quite well done! The leads had lovely voices, particularly Millie, Mrs. Meers, and Muzzy. All of the kids seemed to be having a great time, and with such an upbeat show, I imagine it's easy to have fun. The pit orchestra did quite a nice job too -- I loved the musical jokes that appeared here and there.
Honestly, I was tired and cranky when I got home from work, but somewhere between the show and the fun of sharing it with a great companion, the tired and cranky me disappeared and left a happier me in its place. I LOVE that about live theater!
If you want to see it, there are only 2 nights left. Tickets are $6.00 for Adults, $5.00 for students. It starts at 7:30 PM Friday and Saturday. I'd suggest arriving early, because it will likely be a sellout crowd this weekend.
Honestly, I was tired and cranky when I got home from work, but somewhere between the show and the fun of sharing it with a great companion, the tired and cranky me disappeared and left a happier me in its place. I LOVE that about live theater!
If you want to see it, there are only 2 nights left. Tickets are $6.00 for Adults, $5.00 for students. It starts at 7:30 PM Friday and Saturday. I'd suggest arriving early, because it will likely be a sellout crowd this weekend.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Giggle for a Monday
Here is a conversion between my favorite 4-year old (Silly Girl) and her mother:
Silly Girl: Mom.... Mom! I'm hungry!
Mom: What would you like to eat?
Silly Girl: I dunno...do you know mommy?
Mom: No, I don't know.
Silly Girl: Yes you do... you're a mommy!
Silly Girl: Mom.... Mom! I'm hungry!
Mom: What would you like to eat?
Silly Girl: I dunno...do you know mommy?
Mom: No, I don't know.
Silly Girl: Yes you do... you're a mommy!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
S*N*O*W
It's another snowy morning, but somehow, I don't mind as much as last time. At least most of the leaves are off the trees and it is November!
A funny thing happened on my way to work. I pulled out of my garage and hit the button to close the garage. The door went down about a foot, then rolled back up, which means the sensors are unhappy. I had just pulled the garbage can in, so I got out and made sure it was not blocking the sensor.
Tried again. No dice. Got back out of the car, checked the sensors. They were kinda spider-webby, and the snow was blowing just right so that it stuck to the webs. I got out a tissue and cleared the sensors, and was finally able to get the door closed.
In 8 years, that's never happened. Must take just the right combination of wind, snow, and webs.
For a cool halloween candy dispenser, check out this posting by Mrs Mordecai!
A funny thing happened on my way to work. I pulled out of my garage and hit the button to close the garage. The door went down about a foot, then rolled back up, which means the sensors are unhappy. I had just pulled the garbage can in, so I got out and made sure it was not blocking the sensor.
Tried again. No dice. Got back out of the car, checked the sensors. They were kinda spider-webby, and the snow was blowing just right so that it stuck to the webs. I got out a tissue and cleared the sensors, and was finally able to get the door closed.
In 8 years, that's never happened. Must take just the right combination of wind, snow, and webs.
For a cool halloween candy dispenser, check out this posting by Mrs Mordecai!
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Dinner Party
A friend, Mrs Mordecai, was touting quinoa on her blog this week, and it intrigued me enough that I decided to try it tonight. I found an interesting-sounding recipe for "Quinoa with Moroccan Winter Squash and Carrot Stew" and knew that tonight's dinner guests would be ideal taste-testers because they are quite adventurous cooks themselves.
I'm happy to report that I was very pleased with the results! The stew had quite a bit of kick to it. It didn't clear out my sinuses, but it certainly made my tongue tingle. The quinoa bed for the stew was nice too. Overall, I'd say it's a keeper, but is not something I will make for picky eaters (in fact, we made grilled cheese sandwiches for my friends' children and didn't even try to sell them on the stew).
I also made Mrs Mordecai's crusty and chewy bread to go with it:
No-Knead Bread
(Be sure to start this the day before you want to bake it)
3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.
In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.
Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
Note: I ended up with a horrible mess when I tried this with towels, so now I put the dough between 2 flour-dusted silicon baking sheets.
At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.
Note: I’ve tried this with whole wheat flour, and it was yummy, but different. If you want to play with WW, start with 50% and move up or down from there after you sample the results. (But see Mrs. Mordecai's comment -- she does not recommend white whole wheat) With 100 % All-purpose flour, it has a lovely hard crust on the outside and is riddled with small air pockets on the inside. It is very chewy (and fat-free unless you butter it before you eat it!)
Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.
I'm happy to report that I was very pleased with the results! The stew had quite a bit of kick to it. It didn't clear out my sinuses, but it certainly made my tongue tingle. The quinoa bed for the stew was nice too. Overall, I'd say it's a keeper, but is not something I will make for picky eaters (in fact, we made grilled cheese sandwiches for my friends' children and didn't even try to sell them on the stew).
I also made Mrs Mordecai's crusty and chewy bread to go with it:
No-Knead Bread
(Be sure to start this the day before you want to bake it)
3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.
In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.
Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
Note: I ended up with a horrible mess when I tried this with towels, so now I put the dough between 2 flour-dusted silicon baking sheets.
At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.
Note: I’ve tried this with whole wheat flour, and it was yummy, but different. If you want to play with WW, start with 50% and move up or down from there after you sample the results. (But see Mrs. Mordecai's comment -- she does not recommend white whole wheat) With 100 % All-purpose flour, it has a lovely hard crust on the outside and is riddled with small air pockets on the inside. It is very chewy (and fat-free unless you butter it before you eat it!)
Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.
More Sleep!
It's time to change the clocks back and get an extra hour of sleep tonight. While I dislike the time change because it will now get dark so darn early, I am still looking forward to that extra hour of sleep.
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