Hope you all had a great day.

I forgot CARDAMOM!

You need one tablespoon of Cardamom spice.

To be added when you add the sugar.

I am guessing at the Tablespoon, Gram always just said…

“ummm a little more, yeah, that looks about right. “

Take dough out of the fridge from it’s overnight rest.

(By the way… The fridge was empty yesterday because today was grocery shopping day. Now we have FOOD!)

You need A rolling pin, and big brother who was gone the night before,

and a very heavy cast iron or aluminum pan.

Lots of Vegetable oil and flour.

Special buckle cutter!

This one is a little fancier then Gram’s, her’s was made by a cousin and is all wood and tin.

This one has a brass wheel and stirrups.

It worked like a charm!

Pour oil in pan and start heating it.

Hey! I’m rollin here!

Kneed flour into dough until it is rollable.

Roll out dough.

Use cutter to cut eyeball like shapes, then go through and put a slit into the center of each eye shape.

Pick up one piece at a time, fold each end into the center slit.

This forms the buckle.

Drop into hot oil. Watch until edges are golden brown then flip so the top side fries.

Cookie should come out golden brown.

Drain cookies on paper towel.

The perfect buckle cookie!

Tomorrow there will be food, and family!

Those that are still with us and those that have gone on but will ALWAYS be in our hearts!

Easter at Grams, I’m the blonde in the pigtails, D is the brunnette scratching her chin.

I can’t wait to stuff my face and spend the rest of the day horribly uncomfortable because I ate too much!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

To make buckles you need.

The buckle making formula, or recipe is

1T Margarine / 1T sugar /1Tcream / 1 egg yolk.

Start with cream, margarine, eggs, sugar and

two insane children.

(Must be Margarine the first year Gram was gone I tried butter… it didn’t work)

First sperate eggs… set whites aside.

Gram used to use them to make angel food cake, Charlies favorite.

If you have an oops… don’t panic, use a big spoon to fish the yolk out.

While yolks are being speparated 

Put 1 T of sugar and 1T of Marj. in bowl for each egg yolk.

Pour egg yolks into bowl.

Add 1 T of cream for each yolk used.

Mix together.

After butter is creamed.

Slowly add 1 T of flour for each yolk.

Cover and refrigerate over night.

The Buckle making continues!

Today it is on to the frying!

Buckle Making Part 2!

Later!

This time of year, more then any other, reminds me of my Gram.

She loved to have dinner parties for her family.

Prepared to the end, her food was WONDERFUL!

Heart attacks waiting to happen, butter and cream and sugar galore!

She made standing rib roast or what my sister fondly called stringy beef.

Meat so tender you could cut it with your fork.

Mmm Mashed potatoes made with heavy whipping cream, and squash,

cucumber salad and vegetable trays.

She made tasty treats too.

Fudges, peanut clusters, pinwheel date cookies,

pies - apple, cherry and peach.

Always, always… there were buckles.

A family cookie, she had a special cutter to make them.

When she passed on, my cousin got the cutter because that was her job in Gram’s late life.

I made the dough, and Brenda cut them out and fried  the cookies.

Always under Grams caring supervision.

Well it’s time.

My Mamala found me a special cutter!

Almost like Grams.

So today the monsters and I make the dough.

Tomorrow there will be BUCKLES!!!

My Gram, the bathing beauty and buckle maker extraordinaire!

We’ve all seen it, the scene in  the movies where a car stops in the road blocking the car behind it and a group of big intimidating guys get out and approach the car  in a menacing fashion.

I was sitting in my car at a light the other day when I reached over to make sure my door was locked. It was an automatic jester and a pointless one as the doors lock automatically, but it still made me feel a little better.

I realized that I have a fear of someone getting out of the car in front of me and approaching my car at a stop light. I don’t know why or where it came from, as I’m sure I haven’t actually experienced it in real life before.

My beautiful Sister inlaw Anna

came from Detroit for a short visit.

As an added surprise she brought my youngest Brother inlaw Jon.

Ben is from a family of thirteen children.

He falls fifth in the order.

Anna is the youngest daughter, the eleventh child

and Jon is the thirteenth, he just turned sixteen and has his driving permit.

He was more excited to drive up here then to see us I think.

That’s ok. We’ll take him any way we can get em!

I think fun was had by all.

It was a short visit but a really good one!

Hope you guys had a great weekend.

Special guest! Special guest! We are having a special guest!

Shoving stuff under the beds and in the closets… putting a shine on the floor and closing the bedroom doors! Special guest!

I’m sure I will have things to share! ! ! ! ! !

Meezergirl posted a cool video… that reminded me of pets and PAYBACK… 

When I was pregnant with Cooper, we were dog sitting for my Pop, something we do upon occasion. My Pop is an avid bird hunter and his tried and true pal is George a German Shorthair by breed, a large child by nature… We had Max a jack russell terrier, a very small dog, the two of them were the Laurel and Hardy of the dog kingdom, BIG and little following each other around the yard and through the house.

On this particular occasion I was trying to get food ready for my family and ship them out the door to church and  I was to head  off to work at the fabric store. Normally Max would follow me around the house here and there, and that day was no different, except, Max’s amigo was the size of a small tractor. As they followed me around the kitchen I would often be pushing George’s head off the counter  hoping his drool didn’t hit the french toast on the way by. Several times I sent them to the corner where you could practically see the cogs of their doggie brains plotting for contraband. Finally sick of dealing with the frustration I sent the pair of pooches to the porch and shut the door.

After that things were fine! Family was dressed and out the door,  I had waddled to the porch and retrieved my shoes letting the dogs in to clean the floor of crumbs and syrup drips. As I sat in the chair to put my shoes on, quite proud of the fact that I could still do that myself, I noticed one of my shoes was… wet…

Now my brain was screaming… DON’T SNIFF THE SHOE! ! !

But it was also still processing the wet… hmmm why is it wet?

So brilliant, blonde, pregnant woman that I was I sniffed my wet sneaker…

The shoe hit the floor and the gagging and stumbling for the bathroom commenced… The damn dogs had peed in MY SHOE!!!

Not all over the floor.

Not on the other shoes…

My shoe!

Then after I had smelled it and was loosing my so recently eaten breakfast they sat in the hallway watching my pregnant self hurl it back up with the smug satisfaction of having taught me a lesson.

I did learn something valuable that day. If your shoe is wet, don’t smell it, especially if your pregnant.

Oh… and BIG dogs can have really good aim.

The Comedy duo of Max and George…

Seedsower made me the Albert Shwitzer look…

She is right, I think t is much more becoming.

I have a new addiction!

Television on my computer…

All of the networks have full episodes on their sites.

Does anyone else have productive periods?

I find that my productive periods start at two or three in the afternoon and go until ten or ten thirty at night. I used to want to watch certain shows during that time, Monk or Psych, any of the CSI’s, House… you know, shows…

Now I don’t care! I can watch them on my time my schedule.

So I have been getting more things done in the evening and watching what I want during the morning. When I am about as useful as a slug anyway.

I am not sure yet if this is a good thing or a bad one, but for now I am going with it.

It is Wednesday and I still have nothing.

The kids and I are cleaning out the freezer…

How inspiring that can be…

We are going to the pool tonight, we always do on Wednesday…

So that could be good.

I think I’ll do a photomontage…

Captain Underwear from last years

Detroit Thanksgiving Day Parade…

Pictures curtesy of my Lil Sis… and yes… she did yell…

Look you can see his crotch!

Stuff animals doing…

Well…

Sited after christmas last year.

Cheese

because… who doesn’t like Cheese…

The Cooper double pick pose.

Just because I asked him too.

Well… that’s all I got.

I’ll wrap my beard around my bare and head for the pool.

Actually looking forward to sitting in the hot tub with my honey.

Chlorine is hard on the whisker’s though.

*sigh*

Oh… the hardship.

*****************EDIT*****************

PROJECT RUNWAY IS TONIGHT!!!

Oh I know… I just can’t help myself!