Never Fail Caramels

Yesterday I promised you a
REAL TREAT.
Here it is!
There's a storm brewig here today.

We have 3-5" of snow coming

followed by a few hours

of freezing rain.

Can you see the big fat flakes

falling on the playhouse

in our backyard?

When I was a kid my mother

often whipped up a batch 

of fudge from scratch

after the chores were done

on a snowy Pennsylvania night.

I make caramels instead.

As you can tell, I love to bake

and make candy.

I don't know how many 

caramel recipes I have tried

over the years.

Some of them called for

stirring for what seemed hours

and then...

they might or might not

"turn out".

These are quick!

Less than 10 minutes from

start to finish AND they

NEVER FAIL 

to set up properly.

Ready?

Get yourself a nice big 

microwave measuring cup.
Edited to add this message
from Debbie (see below)
 Be careful though, I have a friend who was making caramels in the microwave with her daughter, but they were using a glass container, not a measuring cup. At one point, the glass fell out and my friend received third degree burns over her hands and legs. I would caution your readers to make sure they use a good quality measuring cup, as you mentioned, not anything else! Just a heads up

I use the 2 quart one.

Everything that is measured out

is in 1/2 cup increments.

Melt 1/2 cup butter.

Remove from microwave.

Add 1/2 cup Karo syrup,

1/2 cup light brown sugar,

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup sweetened CONDENSED MILK

(not evaporated milk)

Stir until mixed and dissolved.

Microwave on high 3-1/2 minutes.

Stir down.

Microwave on high 3-1/2 more minutes.

Remove from mic.  Add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Add 1/2 cup chopped nuts-if desired- I don't.

Stir until few air bubbles remain.

Pour into 8x8 buttered dish.

Refrigerate until set.

Cut into squares.

You can wrap these if they last long enough.

Ours never seem to make it to the

wrapped stage!

Serve these to your husband.

Make sure he eats twice as many

as you do.

Remember- the fatter he gets

the skinnier you look

standing next to him!;>)

Crafting Valentines-The Rest Of The Story

As you now know I was able

to free myself from the 

World Of Glue

and here I am prepared to

give you the rest of

the girls' crafting session.

If you remember we started

with this:

They assumed their positions:

And here are a few of their creations:

Lulu

made this one:

Sweet little Ria made this one:

 She is my glitter girl.

SweetCheeks made this one

using a card that Julie Marie/Idyllhours

sent her around Christmastime:

What fun they had-they were full of 

ZING!

And as for me...

Well I feel kind of like this...
Like my ZING got ZAPPED

No! That is NOT me!
I'm cuter....bwhahahahahaha
Pop in tomorrow for a 
SWEET TREAT!

Making A Mess-Er-Making Valentines

If you are a regular reader

you know I had my three

granddaughters here for 

the weekend.

With Valentine's Day coming up

I thought it would be fun

 (kinda like poking my eye out

with a stick)

to craft a few Valentines.

This, of course, involves

GLUE & GLITTER,

the bane of my existence.

I set up "stations" before

they got here.

Look how handy these sweet

chalkboard plates 
(that my daughter-in-love made me)
 come in!

Station One:

Station Two:

Station Three:

This involves scissors & a hole punch

AND a paper cutter which the girls

are NOT ALLOWED to use.

I gave them a very sweet, gentle reminder

about "HANDS OFF" the slicer/dicer.

SweetCheeks said:

Yohu wouldn't do that enyways, Nana.

That is a stooopid sighn.

Hmmmm...We'll see about THAT!

Choosing materials each girl starts

crafting. 

Thing One

Thing Two:

And, last but not least,

Thing Three

How did everything turn out?

How much glitter was spilled in the process?

How many fingers were glued to eyeballs?

How many scraps of paper were

glued to the floor?

You will have to come back tomorrow

where all your pressing questions

will be answered.......maybe.....

if I can get unglued from my

seat so I can get some sleep.

Later........

A Sweet Treat For My Sweetheart(s)

Here are some 

Fast and Fun

little

Valentine's Day Cookies.

Want to know HOW EASY these are?

First bake up your favorite drop 

Sugar Cookie Recipe

(I'll share my own later)

As soon as they are done 

pull them out and while they are

still warm press a cookie cutter

1/2 way through the cookie.

You don't want to cut it completely out.

You just want the heart impression.

Sorry-blurry pic-hard to do it

and photograph it at the

same time.

Then take some colored sugar

and sprinkle it into the 

grooves.

It is just as easy to do it 

without the cutter in place.

Make yourself a little sign.

Use a pretty little setup

Watch the smiles!

And now, even though I never thought

I would do this I am sharing

My SECRET SECRET SECRET

drop sugar cookie recipe

when I am in a hurry.

Shhhhhh....don't you DARE tell a soul!

Have a wonderful Sunday

A Tutorial On Taking Children's Pictures-Using SweetCheeks As A Model

Ready?  Here We Go!

First ~ pick a child that is 

photogenic and likes having

their picture taken.

Two ~ DO NOT ASK

Can I take your picture in the

sweet little dress and cape that

your Uncle and Auntie bought you,

 SweetCheeks?

The answer will be-

  NOH!

I doan't wahnt my pickshure taken.

 Three: The Solution:

Tell her you want to take a picture

of the flowers in the basket

and ask her to hold them for you.

Ummmm...Not exactly what I had in mind.

Can you hold the flowers down and 

your head down a little bit and look

right at Nana.

Hmmmm..

Sweet Cheeks..just smile and look normal.

Yeah...well.....You kinda got that 

 fake smile

and puppy dog eyes

thing going on there...

How about one more.

What?

You want to take your cape off?

Okay- Off with the cape!

Now~How about a picture

with your Auntie Carol then?

Oh- That's a really good one,

SweetCheeks.

Now...give me one more picture when

you are looking all cute like that...

and this one all by yourself.

Ready?

Thank you SO MUCH!

I think the photo session is 

over for the day.

Today is your lucky day, ladies.

There is NO charge for this

tutorial.  The tips I gave you

 are all free and,

as you can see for yourself,

the outcome varies from 

shot to shot.

Go give it a try and may

God be with you.

Please Pray For This New Baby

Good Morning Friends

I had a fun post up this morning

but as I read my email I knew I had

to replace my morning post.

I have a plea

from Joanne @MyRandomInsanities

You can read about her beautiful

new grandson at the link above.

Here he is.

Isn't he beautiful?
She calls him The Boss~

Last night he went rapidly downhill.

Here is the email I got from Joanne.

D, things went rapidly downhill today and the little guy is in a lot of distress.  The doctor has sent him to a specialist**...Could I ask you to please ask your readers to keep them/life them with their prayers?  You were the first one I thought of tonight when I was praying for them  Bless you sweet friend

**I removed part of the letter from my blog
because Joanne's daughter is so upset about everything.
Sometimes  I wonder why I do this 

silly blog...

and then I get this and I "get it".

God is using me, when I let Him,

to find people that will 

pray for others.

Please wing a prayer skyward for

The Boss!

We all know we need one more 

Male Boss

here on Earth

to keep us on track.

Pray for his whole family-

especially his Mom.

Thank  you all~

Crafting Valentines With SweetCheeks And Company

First you must hang a

banner INSIDE..

So that 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 he

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

HE got that BHIG of an envelope.

Secondly..

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

Next---

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 enyway. Hmmmf.

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 makes this-

 Ria loved the self-stick hearts...

And SweetCheeks has now changed into her third Princess Outfit...

and has busied herself

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

Oh, Dear Lord In Heaven...

Pray tell WHO left HER alone

with 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 took 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 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.

The pictures above are from last year.

Guess what!

This weekend we get to do it all

over again.

If you don't see me by Monday

I will be glued to a seat somewhere

in the house.

I hope it is in a chair in front of

the computer.

Edited @ 6:55 am 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?;>)