Care Packages and My Week

On Sunday our church had Shalom Sunday. I was part of a team that packed and sent out packages to our soldiers. We were so blessed with donations and excited helpers that we were able to mail out 13 packages. There were many prayers and commitments to continue to pray for each soldier that got a package too. We sent them to family members of church members and neighbors and friends.

If you are mailing a package to a deployed soldier they have different needs than one that is stateside. I thought I'd share a bit in case you want to mail a soldier a package. Christmas is coming!

Of course, letters and pictures. If kids are drawing pictures remind them that they should draw pictures of what they have been doing at home. Soldiers don't need pictures of war, they see that everyday.

Use many Ziploc bags as they reuse them and can put them to good use. Plus it's good to keep the smells of the hygiene items secure.

Shelly's son Jed has been deployed so she had great ideas. As she reminded us, soldiers don't always get enough to eat; after all they are at war. I know Sam misses many meals and he is stateside for now.

Deployed soldiers:

*baby wipes- it's dusty over there.

*mouse traps and fly strips- enough said.

*hygiene items-solids and they like Axe products to mask smells.

*drink mixes, zip fizz energy drink, crystal lite etc.- sometimes their water doesn't taste good.

*Starbucks Via- add it to bad coffee to amp it up.

*beef jerky, protein bars, trail mix, nuts.

*homemade cookies usually arrive in crumbs but they tell me they don't care, it tastes like home.

*books and current magazines- don't worry about their reading tastes, it's trading stock.

Stateside soldiers:

*homemade cookies and bars- wrapped two by two for controlled sharing.

*gift cards.

*candy, beef jerky, favorite snacks.

*drink mixes-they are required to stay hydrated and sometimes the water isn't great.

*Via for the coffee.

*Treats for their spouse and children. We put together a package for a soldier, his wife and six boys! That Mama is a saint :) We packed a box for a family with a new baby too. See below for the dinner idea we sent.

College students:

If you're mailing a package to a college student, they love the homemade cookies and bars. I send emergenC, gift cards, microwave popcorn, snacks, etc. A meal in a bag is great too. For chicken and rice soup, I send Groentesoep mix, cream of chicken soup, 1 cup rice and a can of chicken. Dump it all in a crock pot or soup pot, add water and cook. Danny loves to get this soup. He needs a package this weekend as he's been super busy and had a bad cold. I think I'll send the afghan that Great Grandma made for him. It was in his room and it's going to be winter soon in Michigan.

*EDITED TO ADD: A great site for ideas and restrictions for packages to military personnel.

Meanwhile this week...

*My Dad was in the hospital being treated for a blood clot. He got to go home last night and is sooo happy to be home. He is 76 and it was his first hospital stay. He was hoping to never need to stay but fortunately the doctor realized he had a blood clot. He happened to go with my Mom to her appointment and since they share a doctor and he asked about Dad and it was discovered. That was a God thing!

*I've been crazy busy at the museum, getting ready for the Open House which is October 13, getting ready for Christmas, getting a new VISA system and more.

*Today is the BiG Fall Costco trip. Hubby has a day off so he is going with me. Very happy about that this morning!

* Meanwhile the laundry was piling up at home. Sigh---I hate it when that happens.

Have a great weekend! I have an exciting day on Monday with lots of prep this weekend. Fun, fun, fun! Oh, and I have to get my Fall decorating done...

Almond Joy Bread

Almond Joy Bread

4 eggs
2 cups sugar
¾ cup canola oil
¼ cup melted butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp coconut extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup sweetened coconut
½ cup almonds, chopped
1 cup chocolate chips

Combine the first 6 ingredients into the bowl of an electric mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat ingredients on medium speed for 2 minutes.
In a separate bowl, sift and combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Starting with the flour mixture alternate flour, buttermilk, flour, buttermilk and flour…in that order. Mix until just combined, like you would if you were making muffins.
Fold in coconut, chocolate chips and almonds.
Pour into two loaf pans or 8 mini loaf pans that have been sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake at 350F for 1 hours(minis take only about 10 minutes less). I made one regular loaf and four mini loaves from the recipe.

Remove from oven and place on rack to dry. While breads are still warm, poke several holes in the top with a wooden skewer. Drizzle Coconut Glaze(recipe follows) into the holes. Finish glazing bread by taking a pastry brush and brushing on remaining glaze(as much or as little as you would like). When bread is completely cool, drizzle chocolate ganache over bread(I used a ziploc sandwich bag with corner snipped off).

Coconut Glaze

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 TBSP unsalted butter
1/2 tsp coconut extract

Place ingredients into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Allow to boil for about a minute. Turn heat off but leave saucepan on burner. Glaze breads as instructed above. I halved this recipe for you. I think it's plenty.

Chocolate Ganache
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped *I used chocolate chips
¾ cup heavy cream*I went with a bit less

Place chocolate into a bowl.
Place cream in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
Once cream has boiled pour over chocolate. Let sit for 3 minutes.
Stir with whisk until smooth and glossy.

I am loving the mini loaf pans that come with covers. Great for gifts or to take to a friend for coffee or put in a care package. Add a ribbon and a tag for a sweet gift.

Saturday Evening

On Saturday evening we had friends over for dinner. It was probably our last Grilled Pasta of the Summer. I used Janice's recommendation and tried a new Alfredo sauce recipe from Best Bites.

I used 2% milk and added some parsley for color.

Guiltless Alfredo Sauce

2 C low-fat milk
1/3 C (3 oz) low fat cream cheese
2 T flour
1 t salt
1 T butter
3 garlic cloves
1 C grated Parmesan cheese

Toss the milk, cream cheese, flour, and salt in a blender. Process until smooth and set aside.

In a non-stick sauce pan, melt butter on med-high heat and add garlic. Stand above the pan (but not close enough to scald your face) and inhale. Ahhh…butter and garlic. Okay, now get cooking again. Let the garlic saute for about 30 seconds, you don’t want to burn it.

Then add milk mixture to the pan. Stir constantly for about 3 or 4 minutes or until it just comes to a simmer. Keep stirring and let it cook for a few minutes more. It should be much thicker now.
When it’s nice and thickened remove the pan from the heat. Add the cheese, stir it up and then cover immediately. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before using. It will continue to thicken upon standing. Also, if you have leftovers in the fridge, the sauce will thicken almost into a solid. Just re-heat and add a little milk and it will be back to normal again.

For dessert I baked a Tiramisu Layer Cake. We had an Italian theme going on with dinner so I just went with it. I'll post the cake recipe sometime, if you like.

We had starters on the patio and dinner inside. It was a fun evening with good conversation and great friends. A nice way to move from summer into fall.

Scrapping, Baking, Cooking this Week

It's not too early to start your December Daily album. I did some scrapping with friends this week and made pages for days 1-25. I am not going to scrap December Daily 1-31 this year but rather 1-25 plus Thanksgiving weekend. It's my way or the highway and I think this will work for me. Last year I was exhausted for the holidays as we put the addition on the house so no December Daily. I missed it.

This year I used a kit from Hobby Lobby, a Pretty Little Studio Christmas kit that I won from Ali Edwards, some packs from making memories that I got at the UVill sidewalk sale and mini file folders from the new Paper Source located in UVill. A mishmash of products keeps me from getting bored. I'm not a heavy embellish'er, more of a plain Jane but I do say, "when I grow up I want to be an embellish'er just like Julie!" I'm trying!

I got a ton done and met some great women. Love that :) A good day of reconnecting. Amy's husband is a beans to bar chocolatier. We didn't have hot chocolate but rather we sipped drinking chocolate.

*Hubby was in Washington D.C. this week. His luggage may have had more fun than him as it went to Hawaii. He eventually got it. This afternoon he and hopefully, his luggage come back home where they belong. I missed him...

*Besides a scrap day I have been crafting up some fun things for the redecorated guest room. When Hubby is out of town I make Max a BiG pan of beef and bean enchiladas. That way I don't have to make dinner all week. Everyone is happy and I have time to make stuff.

*Shalom Sunday this week at church so I am busy baking cookies and finding fun things to send in soldier's care packages. Ideas?

*My windows are filthy but I'm not going to wash them until the potatoes are harvested from the field next door. One year I washed all the windows, dusted the house and everything was a dusty mess in a matter of minutes. Lesson learned! I'm waiting it out.

*I got new eyeglasses. They are purple and paisley. You'll see me coming...

*Hubby and I are having a small dinner party on Saturday evening. The foodie and wine connoisseur friends are coming. Game on!

*Have a great weekend! The weather promises to be unpredictable. When I left my house for boot camp before six this morning it was 71 degrees outside. Weird.

Ick!

Boys get dirty. Someone once told me that boys are just noise with dirt on it. They were right. Max went riding on Sunday and it was dusty. He had on several layers of clothes but the dirt goes right through clothing. Sweat, dirt, grease and oil, blood stains on the riding clothes.

I missed my calling in life... I should be starring in laundry detergent commercials.

Happy Birthday Yogi

We celebrated my Dad's birthday today. We all love Dad's Birthday because his favorite meal is pic-a-nic food. Just like Yogi bear, "hey Booboo, let go find a pic-a-nic." Fried chicken, potato salad, baked beans, a green salad, Ina Garten's corn salad, fresh crab legs and french bread. Yum! My Dad is smarter than the average bear.

I brought dessert. I remember Dad having a bowl of Neapolitan ice cream at night before bed so when I found the recipe for Neapolitan Layer Cake on Pinterest I knew I had to bake this special birthday cake for a special guy on his birthday.

Neapolitan Cake

adapted from:here and here

Strawberry Cake

1 c. sugar

1 1/2 oz. strawberry Jell-O

1/2 c. butter, softened

2 eggs

1 + 1/4 + 1/8 c. all-purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 c. milk

1/2 T. vanilla

1/4 c. strawberry puree (I used frozen strawberries and pureed them with a bit of sugar in my magic bullet until smooth)

Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy; add dry Jell-O. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Combine flour and baking powder and add alternately with milk and vanilla; beating until just combined. Blend in strawberry puree. Pour batter into one (9-inch) greased and floured cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until done. Cool in pan 10 minutes, invert to rack and cool completely.

Vanilla Cake

1 c. all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs

1/2 c. vegetable oil

1/2 c. buttermilk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour one (9-inch) round cake pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In another bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk and vanilla until smooth. Pour into dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Pour batter into prepared cake pan and bake for 22-26 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then invert to rack and cool completely.

Chocolate Cake

For the chocolate cake:
¾ cup plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
6 tbsp. dark cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
¼ cup vegetable or canola oil
1 large egg
½ cup black coffee
½ cup buttermilk
1½ tsp. vanilla extract

To make the chocolate cake, butter and flour the edges of a 9-inch round pan, shaking out the excess flour. In a small bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt; whisk to blend and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the sugar, vegetable oil and egg. Beat on medium speed until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, blend in half of the dry ingredients, beating just until incorporated. Blend in the coffee, buttermilk and vanilla just until smooth. Beat in the remaining dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.

I try to use good quality cocoa when I bake, after all I want it to be worth the effort. A bit of coffee with chocolate just amps everything up a notch. When recipes call for coffee I use Starbucks' Via, easier than brewing a pot and very tasty. I make a cup and sip the leftovers as I'm baking.

I use the spray flour and oil combo, it's easy and it works great. As I have mentioned before, buttermilk in a recipe just amps it up to a whole new level.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

2 cubes butter, softened

1/3 c. shortening, optional

1 stick cream cheese, softened

6 c. powdered sugar

3/4 c. strawberry puree (frozen strawberries with a bit of sugar, thawed and pureed)

2 tsp. strawberry extract (I didn't use any, I didn't have any and the strawberry flavor was fine without it.)

a few drops red food coloring, opt.

Cream together butter, shortening and cream cheese until fluffy. Add 2 cups powdered sugar. Add 1/4 cup strawberry puree, strawberry extract and food coloring and beat until smooth. Add remaining powdered sugar and strawberry puree alternately and beat until reaches desired consistency.

I put it in the fridge for an hour to chill it back down and firm it up prior to frosting the cake.

TO ASSEMBLE CAKE: Slice the strawberry and the chocolate cake layers in half horizontally. Trim the vanilla cake if you want it to be the same size as the strawberry and chocolate, if not, just leave it whole. I used the whole layer. Place one chocolate layer down on your cake board and top with either strawberry jam or strawberry frosting*. Top with a strawberry layer and top with more jam or frosting*. Top with vanilla cake, then more jam or frosting*. Followed by the remaining chocolate layer, jam or frosting*, then top with the remaining strawberry layer. Frost entire cake with strawberry frosting and decorate as desired. Eat immediately or store in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before serving.

*I used frosting only. I served the cake with Neapolitan ice cream, of course.

On this last shot I think my Dad is wiping a tear because Max is such a putz!

Happy Birthday Dad! Love you!

Sweet Dreams

Last night was just another restful night at the Stone House. Max was at school helping his shop teacher with a project. Hubby and I sat in the hot tub and then retired to bed ten thirtyish. Max came home, was chatting with us, when the conversation turned to chairs. He needs one in our bedroom for when he comes home and chats with us. He was sitting on the floor. Then the conversation went to chairs...

Max and Hubby are chatting about other things and my brain is stuck on chairs. I blurt out, "honey, you were right, we shouldn't have brought that chair to the dump."

Max and Hubby look at me like I'm crazy and I am so that's okay.

Me- "you know."

Them- "uh, no we don't."

Me-"the red upholstered chair that I bought at a garage sale with Sam a million years ago, well not really red, it's faded."

Them- "what chair, what garage sale, what are you talking about?"

Me- "the upholstered chair! that was in the carport and we brought it to the dump!"

Hubby- "It's still out there."

Me- "No."

Hubby- "Yes."

Back and forth we go, Max is putting in his two cents and we go on and on...

Hubby- "It's out there."

Me- "SHUTUP!!!"- in a good way!

Hubby-"I'll go find it right now!" By now they have both lost patience with me and just want me to see the chair and go to sleep.

So, we hop out of bed, Hubby goes out to the carport and comes back with the chair.

I am so happy! A chair! A little chair that will fit through the guest room door(it's tiny)! I go online and find the slipcover that I'd seen on sale for $9.98, regular $69.95. It is this slip cover that got me feeling bad that I'd dumped the chair in the first place.

I can redo it myself if the slipcover doesn't work out, I just know it.

I do a happy dance all the way back to bed!

At that point Max left the house to camp out at school to have first choice of activities for LCHS's Outside the Walls. Of course I lay there wondering if that was good parenting to let him stay out all night. Toss and turn a bit...

Let that thought go, he's a good kid, drift off to sleep.

I fell asleep dreaming of my cute little chair with BiG potential.

I woke up when my alarm went off at 12:30 a.m. to start two crock pots of breakfast casserole for the museum docent's breakfast this morning. Sleep interrupted.

Then I took a nap until six and hopped out of bed for the day.

At eight Max and friends came home from camping at school to sit in the hot tub before their day begins at school.

I think we'll all go the bed early tonight. I'm tired...

Company for Dinner

Company coming for dinner means dessert. Except Blake isn't really company, he's like one of our guys.

Hubby and I had picked blackberries and Hubby loves this dessert recipe. Except he calls it, that really good stuff your sister, Kathi made at Desert Canyon.

I'm sharing this recipe which I was making while distracted by sweet Lily. That's the reason for the lack of quality pictures taken while baking. This recipe is so easy that I think you can make it without step by step pictures showing you the way.

And really, can you blame me? I had an adorable baby to love on.

Black and Blue Dessert

6-7 cups blackberries and blueberries- I used mostly blackberries

Sugar and flour- like a pie. I used 2/3 c. sugar and 1/4 flour.

The original recipe doesn't call for cinnamon but I sprinkled it lightly over the berries.

1 yellow cake mix

1 cube of butter

Mix the cake mix and butter to make crumbs. Put it on the berries. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.

*I thought of adding almonds and a splash of almond flavoring to the crumb mixture to late but I think that might be tasty too.

Took one for the team this morning. I needed a picture of the finished dessert for the blog.

Black and Blue Dessert with a dab of vanilla ice cream is a nice change from the protein shake I usually have for breakfast...

Gal Pals

I went to the city yesterday, with gal pals. We left early, came home late. We shopped, yakked, had wine with lunch, yakked, went to happy hour, shopped, yakked and laughed a lot. It was fun, we need more field trips. Give us a little and we want a lot.

My shopping included a Mac makeup makeover and a kitchen cupboard makeover. No one bought the beautiful terrarium from Anthropologie, the car was just too full. It did make us swoon though.

We Remember

This past week Sam's unit had several jumps. The U.S. Army posted pictures on face book. There were some heavy drops such as a Humvee and of course, many soldiers. When pics get posted I am looking for Sam, no go this time. Sam was behind the scenes. One day he was on the plane but didn't jump as he was on duty as a medic. Lots of barf bags! It's pretty rough up there. They jump out in rapid succession. Sometimes chutes get tangled.

They have tons of gear on, sometimes Sam jumps with his medic gear, including a stretcher. As Sam says when he has a lot of gear, he drops like a rock.

When I see these soldiers, I think, they were all some one's little boy or girl.

On Saturday Sam was on the ground, as a medic, taking care of injuries.

On this tenth anniversary of 911 I remember with sadness all the lives lost and the loss of security we all felt then and continue to feel. The world changed that day.

I am thankful for all of our military, Homeland Security, everyone that fights against terrorists.

For the sacrifices, the risks and their deep conviction.

Sam has a number tattooed on his back.

It's the number of people that lost their lives on 911.

It's with him everyday.

As are the prayers of his family.

Angry Bees

Last night we went to the Hannegan Speedway to watch Max and Austin on the track. It was practice night and they were the newbies.

Motocross is a form of motorcycle sport or all-terrain vehicle racing held on enclosed off road circuits. It evolved from trials, and was called scrambles, and later motocross, combining the French moto with cross-country.

Oh, I get it now. Thank goodness for Wikipedia.
There is a lot that I don't know about this sport. I have to learn new terminology and bike etiquette. Apparently, we were at a moto... I think. I have been at the soccer and football fields for the past 17 years. And just when I get that figured out, our youngest changes sports on us. So cut me a little slack here...

I learned a lot last night, including this is not a camera friendly place. That fence!

It's dirty and dusty.

It's hard work. I saw a lot of sweat.

I don't like the quads, they are too noisy.

The little bikers are really cute. The little guy that sings out loud as he rides is funny.

The whole track looks like a swarm of angry bees.

Austin, taking a break, finds the one girl in the whole place. Go Austin!

The boys told their moms not to come and watch. Hubby and I are not obedient parents, so we went anyway. Karrin came later. Next week, we are on it.

Afterwards, I get a text, "We are done. Thanks for coming."

You're welcome... from a Mom that knows best.

I am working on getting the video clip to work, hang in there with me. Can you find the guys? Me either. But they are in there.

Thursday Things & Thoughts

This guy got a promotion! Congratulations Sam, so proud of you! Today he is up in the air, on duty as senior medic.

In other news...

*We got a bid to have the poplar trees removed. Looks like they are staying for a while.

*Amazing weather we're having in the Pacific Northwest. I love September, fall light and the way it can be so warm during the afternoon and then cool down at night. Every evening is a perfect patio evening.

*Danny called on his first day of school at Grand Valley University. He didn't stop someone on the street to snap a first day of school picture like I suggested. He was afraid I'd blog it.

*Bike and Barge is coming to the museum today at 1:30 p.m. I have an idea that I'll be wanting to take a trip. Everyone is welcome.

*No running water in the kitchen yet. Hubby decided to fix the faucet, rather than replace it. We are waiting for a part. When I called Price Pfister the first time I got Miss Cranky Pants. She told me the part number didn't exist, I'd have to pay $29.95 in postage and blah, blah, blah.

I told her I better wait and try to find the correct part number.

I hang up.

Wait 5 minutes.

I call back and get Daniel, the king of customer service.

"No problem, why yes, that is probably the part you need, and your sprayer sticks, uhm, I'll throw in a new one, no postage due." He then apologized profusely for the national holiday that would slow down the mail and told me to have a good day. I love him!

Meanwhile, no running water in the kitchen means no baking, which means boughten baked goods. I cannot resist them, it's bad.

*I'm ready to let my flower boxes and patio pots die. I'm tired of watering and ready to move on. They got their last drink yesterday.

*Still working on the bedroom upstairs, the walls, trim, dresser and nightstand are painted. The progress is slow. I get sidetracked up there with cleaning, rearranging and going through closets. I'm thinking about having a garage sale this weekend... or not. I just can't decide.

*That's all, probably enough!

Novel Debut

In August I read three books by authors that were new to me and new to having books published. Not to say that they haven't been writers all along but that these are their first published novels. I tend to find an author that has written several books and then if I enjoy the first book I carry on and read their other books. I decided to go to uncharted territory in August. I'm not sorry.The Violets of March by Sarah Jio takes place in New York City, in Seattle and on Bainbridge Island. I enjoy local books. A romance story with some family secrets, The Violets of March, took a bit to take off. The author seems to develop writing skill as the book progresses. I enjoyed the story line and the setting. Definitely a personal preference but I need a bit more character development early on in the book. The marriage Emily is leaving behind is set aside until the end of the book when she is ready to move on to the next guy, that doesn't sit well with me. Marriage is serious and no tears isn't convincing.

Overall a good story. I need to read, Years of Grace, a 1930 novel by Margaret Ayer Barnes, as it is important to the character and is tied in nicely in the beginning and the end. And it looks to be a good read too.
The Arrivals by Meg Mitchell Moore is a story of adult children coming home. Ginny and William Owen's quiet life with their children grown up and out of the house changes as each of their three children come home to Vermont. Their oldest daughter arrives with a toddler and a baby, their son comes back with his pregnant wife and their youngest daughter arrives broke and with a broken heart. I enjoyed this story of their summer, their coming and eventually their leaving. As they should! On a side note, I'd forgotten how time consuming nursing a baby is, poor mama.

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. The star of my summer! I loved this story. Vanessa Diffenbaugh wrote her book because of her own experiences as a foster mother. I've always enjoyed learning the meaning of flowers and this story takes it to a new level. The language of flowers is tied in with a foster child emancipated from the system at the age of eighteen. Our children leave home prepared, slowly and knowing that they can come back home. Foster children are shut out of the system at 18 with few options. The main character, Victoria helps others with their problems using flowers even as her life is falling apart. She uses flowers to communicate.

I have a hunch that The Language of Flowers will be a movie. It was one of those books that I didn't want it to end.

I wasn't looking for a theme between the three books, but really all three were stories of coming home. Enjoy!

Laboring

Labor Day weekend is traditionally a laboring holiday for us. We try to begin the clean up of summer fun and get our ducks in a row for fall.

This year is no exception. I still have Danny's bedroom/the guest room dismantled, our exterior trim still needs to be painted, there are weeds in the gardens that now have leaves falling on them, the kitchen faucet is under construction, the laundry is in back to school mode(unlike the laundress), one more cord of firewood needs to be ordered and I have ironing.

The September ironing that plagues me every year. Summer clothes that no one will wear until next year but it can't sit in the laundry room for a year. There's just not enough room.

A busy, duty filled weekend ahead of us. But I can live with that, just as long as I get a few more evenings on the patio. The evenings with the lights, the company and the heaters. I am so not ready to give up that bit of summer. The reward after a day's work, a bit of heaven, if you will.

Whether you are playing or working this Labor Day weekend, enjoy the last of summer!