Happy Hour Chatter

  These are my new fuzzy socks, aren't they wonderful?  I've grown quite fond of fuzzy socks, they make my feet feel so cozy in the winter time.  We have hardwood and tile floors in the house, and sometimes they're not so warm.   They were given to me by my work Secret Santa...obviously they know me!  LOL   I've always had a Can Do attitude and Believe that nothing or no one can stop me....except me.  I have Girl Power, I am Strong, I am Confident, I AM Powerful! With the Christmas holiday in full force, it's always good to remember the Christmas rules.   I saw this on Facebook and couldn't help but save and repost it here.  My perso!  nal favorite....#3.  I've been doing really good on my eating....obviously as there are still baked goods still chilling out in that garage.  However, I'm on my 2nd batch of chocolate chip cookies because somebody (named Tom) ate the first 6 dozen in a week and a half!...

This is my mother's recipe box.  It's filled with love - all the recipes that she accumulated in her life time.  Her treasured "go to" recipes for the delicious meals and morsels of goodness that she placed on the supper table  every day, every week, month and year.   As I read them, I smiled.   They're in my mother's handwriting....a lasting memory of her...Bernice.   You could tell the ones that were her favorite for they are the most worn and stained.  I knew these dishes for I ate them often; the hamburger hot dish (top L) was a weekly staple at our house.  To this day it is a favorite of mine, although assuredly it does not taste "like Mom's".   The molasses crinkles were cookies that Mom made only around the holidays; they were Dad's favorites, and my  Grandmother Jongewaard's too.  I never much cared for them as a child, but I'd give anything for a batch of Mom's right now.   I pu...

I scoured my mother's recipes, sorted through some of my own, scrolled through Pinterest and came up with the winning list of tasty treats that  were going to grace my holiday baking list. It was an ambitious list.  My sister Peggy's chocolate chip cookies (with pudding in the mix), cinnamon candied pecans, caramel puff corn, peanut butter blossoms, double chewy bars (new), salted chocolate pretzel bark (new), and peanut butter delight bars (new), praline Chex mix (new). Rules to successful Christmas Baking   don't be ambitious with the list. when trying new recipes for the first time, do not multitask and make two at the same time.  Invariably you'll forget an ingredient one recipe or double up on an ingredient in the other. remember to set the timer and make sure the temperature on the oven matches the one listed in the recipe.   measure the ingredients correctly.  Don't mistake 1 tsp for 1 tablespoon, or vice versa. Baking powder is no...