BLAST FROM THE PAST-MAKING VALENTINES AND NEEDING PROZAC -FRIDAY THIS & THAT

 

I was looking through some of my old posts

and kind of got a lump in my throat 

reading this one so I thought I would share it with you.

Grab something with caffeine because
you will be tired when you are done reading this.

Step One:
First you must hang a banner inside 
so the grandkids
will know which holiday they 
are celebrating.

Just a word of caution..

If you hang one

that looks like

the one below..

SOMEONE

(who shall remain nameless)

will be sure to ask..
IS HIMS NAKED?

Your reply should be

Absolutely..

That is why he is

carrying an envelope.

This is sure to produce

a giggle from at

least 2 or the 3 grandkids.
The third one doesn't giggle.

She doesn't giggle 
because she doesn't
"get it".  
She is trying to figure out 
where HIMS got that big of an envelope.

Step Two:

You must lay out supplies.

These will cost somewhere

in the neighborhood
of $459.00...and....

after you buy

ALL THAT STUFF,

you will realize that you have

forgotten at least one or

two crucial supplies..

Like...

Elmer's WASHABLE glue. 
Lord help you if you buy the 
regular Elmer's glue
because it will NOT be pretty!

Now that you have

your supplies home
and have signed the bank loan

to cover the expense..

you must lay out the goodies...

Lay them out nice and neatly..

Sigh over the paper-Oh So Sweet

Step Three:
HANG A FLAG OUTSIDE YOUR DOOR.

A cute little cherub flag

to greet them with a smile.

Isn't it perfect?

Love Mary Englebriet's flags.

Then they arrive bringing presents.

Bringing PRESENTS?
PRESENTS FOR ME?

Yep-these are for Nana..
and they made them all by themselves.

Inside are beautiful little

hearts made with love..

One from Ria.

Two from Lulu...

and one from SweetCheeks.

Of course I must put them all on..

I pick up SweetCheeks...

What does this say, SweetCheeks?

That's jus' sumbuddy ehlse's name

on there...Doan't pay eny

attenshun to the name...

just putt it on..

Whereupon I am informed

by Lulu that

"I told SweetCheeks

NOT to give you that one".

Whereupon SweetCheeks says

NOAH.YOHU.DIDN'T.LULU

an' I dohn't care cuz I am ghiving

it to her enyways! PFFFFFT!

I start the legal paperwork

to change my name to Allison.

Great.. We are off

to a nice, calm start...

Now where were we?

Okay..girls..

Let's get started...
WHO WANTS TO MAKE A VALENTINE?

Everyone's hand shoots into the air.

In short order everything

 looks like this.....

All three girls are

Busy-Busy-Busy

Lulu made this-

 Ria loved the self-stick hearts...

SweetCheeks has changed into 
her 3rd Princess outfit and has busied herself

making th...........

Oh, Dear Lord In Heaven...
While I was refilling my coffee cup,

pray tell WHO handed HER 
the glitter?

There is glitter glitter everywhere..

On the floor and on the chair..

In her mouth and on her hair....

I could go on and on with the

rhyming thingy but I'm afraid

the Dr. Suess police will get me.

An especially nice touch? 

The globs of

glue that dropped here and there

and shine brightly up

from the chair...and the table...

and the floor...and the countertop...

Did I say floor? Ah..yes...

and back to the glitter...

Nothing like glitter on the floor

that can be tracked from

room to room..

Leave NO ROOM untouched

seems to have been the motto

of the day.

I decide I need a bathroom break

to dispose of the 3 gallons of coffee

that I have downed in an effort

to keep up with this

CRAFT DAY WITH THE KIDS.

Lo and behold,

in the small reading nook

(where the old steps used to be)
I SEE THIS!!!

How did all these books get off

the shelf and on the floor?

I ask ever-so-sweetly-

between slightly gritted teeth.

Uh-oh---Here it comes...

Welllll...says SweetCheeks..

Ria toohk a few books off

the shellf and then I helped her

and taked the rest offf..and

we jus' put 'em there for now.

Yeah? Where do you think

you're gonna put them later?

Wellll...It was Ria's idea.

I dunno how they gonna

get bahck on the shelfs.

Hmmmm...I dunno where YOU'RE

gonna go either if you guys don't put

these books back.

All too soon-

hahahahahahahaha

the day ends and we clean up the

mess, they put on their matching
dresses that Nana bought them
 and they get ready to go home.

As you can plainly see 

SOMEONE has been so overworked

she has collapsed in a heap

using her sisters as pillows.

These little girls are big girls now...
but I love them as much as I did 
when they were little like this...
even more...

Kind of bittersweet to look back on 
these special times.

I am so glad I had so many

hands-on experiences with these kiddos.

Now I have two dogs hanging around

instead of the girls.

Hmmmm....wonder if they would like to

make Valentines using

doggy treats?

I suspect they would eat the 

supplies before we could begin!

Edited to add:
MyHero reads my blog and says:
 You SPENT $459 ON THIS STUFF?
(Sheeez...don't ya know a joke when you read one?;>)

FRIDAY'S THIS OR THAT----FLASHBACK TO THE 60s--WHAT WE WORE

 Oh, I know that some of you

are TOO YOUNG to remember the '60s

But for many of us it was a time of

New freedoms~ 
New music,

New hairdos and 
NEW CLOTHING STYLES

Twiggy was one of the first ones

that brought us the 

MINI DRESS!

image

I had a dress almost identical to this in navy blue

and wore it with ORANGE SHOES.  

I thought I was SOOO cool.

The town I lived in thought I was scandalous!

I think it was the first mini-skirt 
they had ever seen.

That's would be me-

always causing a ruckus of some kind...

just ask my mother..never mind...

she's in Heaven.

The 1960's also brought us

BELL BOTTOMS

image
You were totally hip in those
especially if you wore them with one of 
THESE TOPS!

image

There were hippie clothes-
The SHORT of it looked like this~

image
That mighta been me...oh wait..
my Go-go boots were white!

The LONG of the 60's looked like this:
A Gunne Sax dress that some of us wore:
Were we grown girls playing
Little House On The Prairie?

Some of us wore
TIE-DYED pieces

Some of us would have DIED 
to be caught in tie dye.
I, for one, never owned a single piece of tie-dye!

Some of us were preppy in the 60's
Yes-it's true- I had this dress!

image

POP ART clothing POPPED UP here and there-

image
I would have worn something 
like this to church
on Sunday
(after hiding my mini dress in the back of the closet)

image
Somehow,
I always envied this woman's 
class and style.

image
And while the beautiful Jacqueline Kennedy
had someone that dressed like this-

image

The ones that looked like THIS
are the ones that usually found me!

image
Was I lucky, or what?
What?
Add you own favorite fashionista
remembrances in the comments if you'd like.

FRIDAY --THIS & THAT-- MINUS 45˚ PEANUT BRITTLE WEATHER

Remember- my This & That

can be about ANYTHING.

Got that?  ANYTHING!

My son-in-law, Glen, LOVES

peanut brittle.

SORRY-GALS- 

He's taken!

Anyway-back to the 

PEANUT BRITTLE

I made some at Christmas time

and he ate it all without sharing.

Okay- He might have left a couple

of measly little pieces but

only because he felt he "had to".

 SO-we are going to make Peanut Brittle today.

Or, in my case, 

ALMOND BRITTLE.

I found the recipe in my box of 

Blogger's Recipes.

Sadly, I do not know which blogger

posted this first but it is GOOD!

I will include the recipe at the end.

Here is what you need:

Sugar, Karo Syrup, Peanuts (or almonds),

Butter, Vanilla & Baking Soda.

Make sure you use a 

LARGE PRYEX MEASURING CUP/BOWL!

(not all bowls will take this kind of heat)

Mix the sugar and Karo together.

It will make a pasty mess that you can hardly stir.

Pop it in the microwave for 3 minutes 40 seconds

While this is cooking HEAVILY BUTTER a cookie sheet.

Remove mixture from oven and 

add 2 cups of  peanuts or almonds.

DO NOT STIR-just push them down into sugar

Don't freak out cuz they barely fit into the sugary stuff.

.Ummm...that is NOT my hair in there

regardless of what my kids might tell you.

After 2-1/2 mintues remove and add 

the butter and vanilla.

AGAIN- DO NOT STIR.

Nuke another minute and half and remove 

and add baking soda.

NOW YOU MUST STIR FAST!

It is gonna froth and bubble like a witch's cauldron.

What did you say?

Who you calling a witch?

 QUICKLY spread onto buttered cookie sheet.

Use the back of a buttered spoon to spread it thin.

It will look a mess but don't worry about it.

I waited a tad too long taking pictures so this is not spread as 

thin as the last time I made it.

Then, I covered it with tinfoil and put it on the 

shoveled off back deck to cool. 

Weather temp is Zero-It cooled fast!;>)

Otherwise, inside it hardens in about 45 mintues.

Once it is set break it up into pieces.

Now...Here is

THE MOST IMPORTANT INSTRUCTION.

HIDE IT!!!!

And break off little pieces when no one is home-and Glen isn't visiting.......

Shhhh...It's our SWEET LITTLE secret!

And if you tell

 I will make you go sit in the on the patio in minus zero degree weather!

Oh- I almost forgot-How do you

AVOID THE CALORIES?

Don't eat it! Just feed it to your friends.

Remember- The fatter they get the 

skinnier you look standing next to them!

Here's the recipe:

Peanut  Brittle

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup Karo syrup

2 scant cups nuts

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon butter

1 teaspoon baking soda

In a 2-quart Pyrex bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar and ½ cup white syrup) 

Microwave on high for 3 minutes, 40 seconds.

Remove from microwave and add 2 scant cups (cups not quite full) dry roasted salted peanuts. Punch them down into the mixture. Do not stir.

Return to microwave and cook for 2 minutes, 30 seconds. Remove from microwave and add — but don't stir —1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 teaspoon butter. Microwave for 1 minute, 30 seconds.

Remove from microwave and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon baking soda. Stir the mixture. It will foam. Immediately pour mixture onto the heavily buttered surface. Drag the bowl along to make sure the mixture is flat. Using a spatula, lift the candy and scoot it around, so it doesn't stick to the surface. Let the mixture cool until completely hardened, about 45 minutes. Break into pieces.

As a side note- I made this in two different microwaves with different power levels/wattage.  It came out perfectly in both of them.  The time might be off for the really low wattage (700-800W) microwaves. Those are the older ones-most newer ones are at least 1000W. 

HAPPY WINTER FRIDAY-

THIS CHICK WILL BE SNUGGLED DOWN

WITH TWO PUPS, HOT COFFEE 

AND

ALMOND BRITTLE!!!!