Staying Warm!

Last night, I plopped on the couch, covered up with my favorite knitted quilt and Greybaby decided that was a good idea. So we both stayed warm while Bob and I watched TV on our Christmas gift TV from Jon and Jeanne. We saw a wonderful program about a man who is installing merry-go-rounds in Africa that pump clean water to the people in the villages. It will revolutionize the living conditions for the people since their water supply was tainted and brought disease to the village. At the end of the program, there was a picture of Laura Bush and a group of people who contributed to the merry-go-round program. Steve Case, founder of AOL, and his wife were philanthropists to this life-saving idea. It brings joy to the children through running the merry-go-round and fresh, clean water comes to the village through the pumping action of the playground toy. What a great idea!

Fun in the Kitchen!

Urban Home on the Free Range

Laura posted a wonderful recipe for Tuna Melt recently on the above link to her blogsite. Coincidentally, Bob and I had Alfredo Fettucini with Tuna for Supper on Friday. I opened a bottle of Yuengling Black and Tan to drink with it. It was delicious; but it made so much that we had leftovers to eat for days afterwards. Bob likes Alfredo Fettucini and I might make it with chicken sometime too! I take the easy way out and use Betty Crocker's Tuna Helper. Since I worked Friday, it made a hot meal and in 15 minutes. That Tuna Melt sounded like a great idea too for an easy meal along with some soup on a cold winter day.

Today, Bob brought up 4 quarts of apple sauce from the freezer and we put it in the big roaster pan that has been in the family for years and still handles the food. I added 3 pounds of brown sugar, 1 cup of cider vinegar and 1 1/2 tablespoons of cinnamon and stirred it all together. We put it in the oven at 350 degrees and slowly roasted the mixture, stirring every 15 minutes, for about 3 hours. When it gets thick and a lovely shade of dark brown, it is ready to come out from the heat. Then we let it cool for about 15 minutes and ladle it into sterile containers, from my stash of plastic memorablia, and cover. Let it cool for another 15 minutes and place into the refrigerator. What we don't use or give away, we put into the freezer and it keeps for months. It was a great day to fill the house with the sweet smell of cinnamon and apples cooking in the oven. And now we can put something sweet on our breakfast toast!

A Birthday Tea

Helen, was totally surprised with all the gifts. She stressed that she desired our presence, not presents. But she enjoyed opening all the cards and boxes that the guests brought to the affair. Happy Birthday Helen and many more!
Melanie, Mary Kay's charming daughter, helped with the party and chatted with all the party people while Mary Kay was in the kitchen preparing the feast.
Would you believe that this is a birthday cake? My friend, Mary Kay, had this beautiful banana creme cake, made for a special birthday party. It was for our prayer lady, Helen, who turned 85 this month. We celebrated with balloons, a musical concert by Helen, and lots of good food prepared by Mary Kay--lasagna, salads, beverages including Lambrusca! Yummy!

Epiphany!

Little Jared, Bob's grandson, wiggles around when Alicia tried holding him. He had loads of fun today playing with all his little cousins. And he didn't even miss his naptime!

Alicia brought us some Christmas presents. She gave Bob really brain-puzzling challenges and she had more comfortable and inspiring gifts for me--a fuzzy green scarf and a special Calendar that I put up in my work room for inspiration. I am gazing at the wholesome hunk now!
Today we celebrated "Epiphany." Alicia came to visit us from the snowland. She brought us an epiphany of joy! Here she is reading the story of Sue and Tom's wedding ceremony told in a collage. She arrived Saturday with Betsy and little Hazen. They had roast chicken for supper and then Bob showed them his new TV. I showed them my favorite Channel CCTV. But they thought it was dorky. Alicia likes Kareoki more than the shows that were on CCTV last night. It was like an amateur show, or American Idol. We spent all evening catching up on her adventures and she explained her little kitty Herman to us. Greybaby and Blinky played shy; and Blinky finally came out from hiding for some petting.