New Year's Eve

We went to the Clifford's home this year for New Year's Eve. They had invited a number of couples from our ward asking each to bring their favorite munchies. After everyone got there, we took turns telling our life "sketch" (as many of the couples were newer to the ward). It was fun to get to know more about the Thompson's, Creagh's, Clifford's (and daughters too), Vermillion's and Fosburg's. What we did find out was almost everyone has lived in some place very interesting and/or exotic. It was interesting to learn more about everyone there. Games were supposed to be on the docket, but we spent so much time talking and visiting and sharing that we never got to the games. For our munchies we brought chips & salsa and then super-easy crock pot mini-wieners:

COCKTAIL WIENERS
1 – 16oz package little smoky sausages
1 – 8oz jar cocktail sauce
1 – 8oz jar grape jelly
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the cocktail sauce and grape jelly. Mix in the little smoky sausages. Cook 5 minutes or until the sausages are hot. Can also prepare, cook & serve in a crock pot.

Dinner...and snow

I'm forever stopping to take pictures of our dinner so I can post the recipe later. So the other day we ordered pizza take-out. We were just getting ready to eat and John says "Wait!" and runs into my office. He comes back out and takes a picture. Then said, "You'd better blog that!!" And here is the view I had today on my drive home. Isn't my street lovely? And peaceful?

Cranberry Mousse Salad

We had this on Christmas Day. Made a lot! Very good and could easily be a dessert too. Use the strawberry gelatin for a more mello flavor.


CRANBERRY MOUSSE SALAD
20oz can pineapple - drained, reserve juice
6oz strawberry or raspberry gelatin
1 cup water
3 tablespoons lemon juice
11oz whole berry cranberry sauce
1 tsp fresh grated lemon peel
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Drain pineapple, reserve juice. Set pineapple aside. Combine gelatin, water and pineapple juice. Bring to a boil. Blend in lemon juice and cranberry sauce. Add lemon peel and nutmeg. Chill until mixture thickens slightly. Add cour cream. Blend well. Finally add pineapple pieces and pecans. Mix. Pour into a pretty dish. Chill.

Quick Fluffy Dinner Rolls

I don't make rolls. But I love bread. So I was intrigued when I saw this recipe that said from start to finish (including baking time) you could make rolls in about 1 hour. I tried them on Christmas Day. They were easy to make and the taste was good, but I did not take into account baking them in the oven with the ham and the yams and not getting all the heat they needed. So we sat down to eat and bit into one of the rolls and put them back into the oven to finish baking. I guess for my 2nd attempt ever at baking a bread product, I did "ok" and will be happy to try this again. Also, I had just read an article saying sometimes too much flour is added and the flour used for kneading is not accounted for. So I backed off on the flour, but then realized that there was no kneading involved, so should have kept the original amount called for in the recipe.

FLUFFY DINNER ROLLS
3/4 cup milk
4 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup hot water
4 tablespoon sugar
1 tsp salt
4 to 4 & 1/2 cups flour
1 heaping tablespoon yeast

Pour milk into a microwave safe container. Add butter to the milk and put it in the microwave for 1 & 1/2 minutes. While the milk warms preheat your oven to 170 degrees. Turn on the tap to get your water hot. Put your hand in the water to test it. Should be just on the edge of unpleasant. Put milk/butter and hot water in the stand mixer. Add sugar and salt. Add 2 cups of flour. Let mix for 1 minute. Add yeast. Turn the mixer on and add the rest of the flour, 1 cup at a time. You have enough flour when the dough scrapes the side of the bowl clean. Mix on medium speed for 5 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap (tightly) and let sit for 5 minutes. Coat the inside of a 9x13 pan with butter. Spray a large cutting board with cooking spray. Lay your dough on top of it. Take a sharp knife, spray it with cooking spray and cut your dough into 12 pieces. Make them as equal as you can. Gently round them into balls and put them in your buttered 9x13 pan. Put the pan into your warm 170 degree oven. Let them rise for about 20 minutes or until they have risen about 1 inch above the rim of the pan. Leave your pan in the oven and turn the heat up to 350 degrees. Bake for 15 minutes. Bake until golden brown. Brush with a little softened butter and serve warm.

Sweet Potatoes / Yams

I was trying to replicate a sweet potato recipe I had at Thanksgiving one year. Did not quite make it (too dry) but think the changes included below might be the winner. I'll keep trying each year until I find it!

SWEET POTATOES / YAMS
2 (16oz) cans sweet potatoes, drained (do you like chunks or mashed?)
1 (oz) can crushed pineapple (says to drain, but maybe not?)
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 Tb butter, melted
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Layer sweet potatoes, pineapple, pecans into a baking dish. Sprinkle brown sugar over all. Pour the melted butter into dish. Sprinkle with the cinnamon and nutmeg. Bake in oven until warmed through. Sprinkle with marshmallows and place back into oven until marshmallows just start to melt/spread.

Honey Glazed Ham

HONEY GLAZED HAM
1 small, spiral cut, ham
1 cup honey
2/3 cup butter
1/4 cup brown sugar

In a small saucepan combine honey, butter and brown sugar. Bring to a simmer, let brown sugar dissolve, reduce to low. Place ham in baking dish and brush sauce liberally over ham. Reserve some sauce for later. Place ham in 325 degree oven. Baste every 15 minutes for 1-1.5 hours (depending on size of ham). After ham is cooked, turn on broiler until crust is crunchy - about 3-4 minutes.

Cheese Mashed Potatoes

Another "non recipe" recipe. We always had cheese mashed potatoes with ham for Christmas dinner when I was growing up. John started adding crushed garlic a few years back and we've like that addition.

CHEESE MASHED POTATOES
Potatoes
Grated cheese
Butter
Milk
** New: clove garlic

Wash & peel potatoes. Boil in large pot of water until cooked through. Drain water. Mash potatoes. Add butter & milk and mash until creamy. Add a few handfuls grated cheese, the more the merrier. Optional: Add crushed garlic if you want to make garlic cheese mashed potatoes.

Grandma's Cheese Pimento Celery

This is one of those recipes that we always had when we went to my Grandmother Whisler's house. No amounts, just make it to taste.

GRANDMA WHISLER'S CHEESE PIMENTO CELERY
1 jar pimentos, drained
Mayonnaise
Shredded Cheddar cheese (smaller shreds work best)
Celery

Wash celery, pat dry. Put cheese, pimentos and mayo into a bowl. Mix well. Spread cheese mixture into long celery stalks. Cut into pieces.

Christmas Day 2010

Audrey let us sleep in a little this year which was nice. I think we ended up in the living room around the tree about 7:30am. We take turn opening gifts while the cat bats the wrapping paper around. When John thought all presents were opened, we talked him into going to 'take out the empty boxes' to the garage to burn in his fireplace. Of course it was also to get him to the garage to see the rolling tool chest we had gotten him. It was far too heavy to haul into the house just to take back to the garage. Audrey and I barely got it off the truck into the garage when John was gone one Saturday.

We stayed home as a family this year and enjoyed staying in our PJ's all day. We relaxed, made dinner, watched Christmas movies and played with our new toys. I even got out my red & green dinnerware.


Then we sat down to a dinner of Ham, Yams, Cheese Mashed Potatoes, Cheese Pimento Celery & Olives, Cranberry Mousse Salad, rolls and Eggnog.

Santa PJ's

After coming back from mom's we found that Santa had left a gift for Audrey and Sam to open = new PJ's!! Now we could snuggle down for a long winter's nap...

Christmas Eve at Mom's

We had our annual breakfast for dinner celebration at Mom's for Christmas Eve. We brought a hashbrown/egg/sausage casserole and the fruit salad. Kathy made bacon, Michelle made apple oven french toast with apple syrup, Brianna scrambled eggs and Michelle flipped pancakes. After our delicious meal we had a fun time exchanging gifts. Each year we each draw one name. This year Cameron gave me some American Prescut dishes; Cheyenne had John and gave him some chocolates and a lovely yellow tie; and Mariska had Audrey and gave her a gift card, a Phineas & Ferb CD and some sour punch straws. I had Dakota and gave him a Star Wars book, puzzle and fruit snacks; Audrey gave Brian a Columbia multi-tool; and John gave Brianna a Hello Kitty tin, ornament and a gift card to Pac Sun. Grandma gave John a magazine subscription, me a couple DVD's & a piano ornament and Audrey received two CD's she had wanted, a ring plus a goodie bag. The three girls then were required to pose under the drawing that was done of them when they were very young (see center picture). All-in-all a very nice time to spend with family!!

Fruit Salad

We made this to take to mom's house for our Christmas Eve celebration.

FRUIT SALAD
15oz can pineapple chunks, drained (reserve juice)
2 cans (11oz) mandarin oranges, drained
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 egg, beaten
1 cup pecans, choped
3 bananas, sliced
3 medium apples, chopped (unpeeled)
1/2 lb red seedless grapes or blueberries or strawberries, etc.

Place reserved pineapple juice in a small saucepan; add sugar, flour and beaten egg. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth and thickened. Allow to cool. In a large bowl combine the fruit and pecans - pour cooled dressing over fruit mixture; toss gently. Chill before serving.

Butterfinger Peanut Butter Chip Fudge Cookies

Brianna said she needed to make cookies for Santa, so I suggested we make these cookies that I had been wanting to try for a couple months. So delicious! I know Santa will enjoy them!!

BUTTERFINGER PEANUT BUTTER CHIP FUDGE COOKIES
1 cup unsalted butter, softened slightly
1 & 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
2/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
2 cups flour
2 Butterfinger candy bars, roughly chopped
1 cup peanut butter chips

Preheat over to 350 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a bowl beat butter, sugar and salt together. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Mix in cocoa powder & baking soda. Add flour once cup at a time. On low speed mix in candy bar pieces and peanut butter chips. Scoop onto cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for 9-10 minutes. Slid parchment paper with warm cookies onto counter to cool.

Panera Broccoli Cheese Soup

I have never eaten at Panera so cannot tell you if this was like theirs or not. I did like the flavor and would make some changes the next time I made this soup. I had cooked the flour mixture on too high of heat so ended up with very thick soup. Also, my family did not like having their veggies pureed, so I will leave in chunks next time.

PANERA BROCCOLI CHEESE SOUP
1 tablespoon melted butter
1/2 medium chopped onion
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups half-and-half cream
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 lb fresh broccoli
1 cup carrot, julienned
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
8 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

Saute onion in 1 tablespoon butter. Add melted butter to pan. Whisk in flour and cook over medium-low heat for 3-5 minutes. Stir constantly and add the half & half. Add chicken stock. Add broccoli, carrots and onions. Cook over low heat 20-25 minutes. If you cook too high it will thicken too much. Just add more chicken stock. Add salt and pepper. If you want you can put portions in the blender and puree (or use the immersible hand stick blender), but I will leave in big chunks next time I make soup. Add cheese. Stir in nutmeg.

Christmas Party at Uncle Steve's

Steve and Angela invited us to their Christmas party. They served enchiladas, rice, beans, tortilla chips, salsa and a massive amount of desserts. We brought our corn tomalito dish, though it cooled off too quickly to serve at a buffet. Steve had instructed us to bring a White Elephant gift - really as weird as we could get. So we each found something fun around the house and wrapped it up. The massive jar of pickles that was one gift we brought actually went over well. It was enjoyable to visit with family, eat yummy food, have fun with the white elephant gift exchange and enjoy a wonderful evening. Thanks Steve & Angela!!

Chevy's Fresh Mex Sweet Corn Tomalito

CHEVY'S FRESH MEX SWEET CORN TOMALITO
5 tablespoons butter, softened
1/4 cup Masa Harina
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen, thawed, divided
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon milk

In a small mixing bowl, mix the butter, masa and sugar using an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. In a blender container, blend half the corn kernels with the water until smooth. Combine this mixture with the butter mixture, stirring well. Add the remaining corn kernels, corn meal, baking powder, salt and milk and mix well. Pour the corn mixture into an 8-inch square baking pan. Tightly cover with plastic wrap and steam by setting atop a medium saucepan of water on top of the stove. Bring water to a boil and steam corn mixture for 50 minutes to one hour (check to see whether you might need to add more water), until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Tomalito should have a smooth, moist texture.
NOTE: The pan must be tightly wrapped at all times. Makes 12 to 16 servings.

This can also be cooked in the oven. Cover the pan tightly with foil, place in a larger roasting pan, pour enough water into the roasting pan to reach 3/4" depth, and cook in a 250 degree oven until a thermometer reads 175 degrees. For a 13"x9"x2" pan of corn tomalito, this should take about 2 hours.

Microwave directions: mix all ingredients and cook in the microwave with tight saran wrap for 4 mins, stir thoroughly, cook for another 3 mins, stop to stir again, then another 2 mins.

Chocolate Cookies with Christmas Kisses

This was one of the cookies we made for our holiday treat plates.

CHOCOLATE COOKIES WITH CHRISTMAS KISSES
1 & 1/4 c. butter, softened
2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 bag Peppermint Hershey kisses
1 bag Mint Truffle Hershey kisses

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl cream butter and sugar until fluffly. Add eggs, one at a time, beat well. Add vanilla. Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to creamed mixture. Stir in chips. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto parchment covered baking sheets. Bake 9-11 minutes. Do not overbake. Slid warm cookies/parchment paper to counter to cook. Cool for 1 minute and then add unwrapped kisses in the center of each cookie. Makes about 4 dozen.

Candy Cane Snowball Cookies

CANDY CANE SNOWBALL COOKIES
2 cups butter, softened
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped pecans
8 ounces white candy coating
1/3 to ½ cup crushed peppermint candy

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter & confectioners’ sugar. Stir in vanilla. Gradually add flour. Stir in pecans. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours or until easy to handle. Roll into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt candy coating; stir until smooth. Dip the tip of each cookie into the candy coating, then into the peppermint candy. Yield: 5 dozen

Christmas Cookies and Treat Plates

We made cookies tonight and then delivered them to a few of our neighbor's, visiting teaching families and another sister in the ward who had recently hurt her leg. We made Chocolate Cookies with Christmas Kisses and Snowball Cookies. While we were rolling up the cookies I told John that they needed to be as small as he could make them....
Now do you wonder why this man makes me giggle??!

Tangled

Since we did not get to see Tangled on Saturday, we jumped at the chance to see it on Monday night for Family Home Evening. We were to meet up with the Heerdink's at the north theater. We headed out a little early to grab a bite to eat. The fog was soooo thick heading up on the north-side freeway that everyone was going about 20 miles an hour and quite happy about it. You could not see anything! We got up to the Wandermere area and tried out a restaurant that Sam's coworker had recommended (Hula Hut Grill). While we were waiting for our meal - who showed up but the coworker who had recommended the restaurant. Guess Jodee really likes it : ) It was tasty and we'd definitely try it again. We got to the theater and then there was a slight snafu. Angela had printed up a coupon for us to get $'s off our ticket, which worked fine for us. She had printed up a coupon for her family to use but it did not work at that theater. It was odd that her coupon was different than mine since she had printed them both and we certainly felt bad that we had already bought our ticket, used the coupon and had no issues. The Heerdink's regrouped and saw that another north side theater was playing the movie, the coupon would work there and they could make the movie that would start in another 30 minutes. So both families enjoyed the movie, just in different theaters... FUN MOVIE! Especially love the horse, Maximus. He definitely was the best character of all. What was really funny during the movie was the group behind us. The female laughed during the film just like my buddy Jessie. We kept turning around thinking the McLaughlin's had gone to the movie theater too. But alas, it was just Jessie's doppelganger voice, if there is such a thing.

Birthday Movie & Lunch & Holiday Pops

Before we headed downtown we had a few errands to run. Figured we had plenty of time since the movie did not start until 11:20. We got downtown and parked close to the restaurant rather than the movie theatre and planned to walk. When we looked at the time (11:15) we figured we'd better walk quickly but ended up sending John running ahead to buy our tickets and we jogged behind (as I had sandals on). We met up with John at the ticket booth (there had been a line) and he ordered Tangled at 11:20. The booth operator repeated the order and we got our tickets and headed to the theatre. When we got right outside the theatre, we noticed #18 was listing The Tourist and not Tangled. The Tourist started at 11:30 and we decided by the time we went downstairs to sort it all out, we would have missed too much of the movie, so we went and saw The Tourist. I'm glad we did as we really enjoyed it (and had planned to see it anyway). After the movie we walked through Riverfront Park to Clinkerdagger's. It happened to be the day that Santa was visiting, so we got our photos taken with Santa. Then we had a delicious lunch and a free birthday Burnt Cream. Yum. After our late lunch we went home to relax until I needed to get ready for the symphony with mom. Tonight was the Holiday Pops which is always a treat and a tradition for mom and me. The concert included numbers with just the Symphony directed by Morihiko Nakahara and numbers with the Spokane Symphony Chorale and the Spokane Area Children's Chorus as well. My favorite number of all was "A Musicological Journey Through the 12 Days of Christmas" by Craig Courtney. I'm going to have to find that recording! Santa came and directed Leroy Anderson's Sleigh Ride and then the traditional audience sing-along concluded the concert. What a great day!

Sam's Birthday

My bosses took me to lunch at the Downriver Grill today to celebrate my birthday. They also gave me these cute holiday elves, a poinsettia and some gift cards as an early Christmas Gift. When I got home from work I opened the gifts that Audrey and John gave me (Beehive dinnerware, exercise pants, LDS Christmas songbook, Trans-Siberian Orchestra CD and a Straight No Chaser CD). My mom had dropped off my gift as well - a Natalie Cole CD. Earlier this week John's mom had taken us all out to eat at the Timber Creek Buffet to celebrate birthdays (Ralph, John, Steve, Sam), so it was definitely a fun celebratory week!

Decorate for the Holidays

Audrey decorated the house for Christmas. She did a great job!

Christmas Letter 2010

Audrey (17): Wow -a Senior this year at West Valley! Looks forward to her 18th birthday in February. Taking video game programming currently and took welding last year. Plans to attend SCC in the summer & then EWU.

John: Just got a new job at Sterling Savings as a Payment Systems Engineer. Also the Webelos Leader in the local scout troop and loves the excuse to be able to play with knifes, tie knots and light fires.

Sam: Has been with Safeway for 24 years and still in the District Office assisting the 2 District Managers for the Eastern WA / Idaho territory. Enjoys playing the organ at church, accompanying the choir, scrapbooking & reading. John & Sam celebrated 22 years of marriage in November.

Sidney (Kitty): 13 years old and still feisty. Made friends with the neighbor cat this year in addition to neighbor dog, Lily.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
Love, The Carters
December 2010

Birthday Celebration

Seems we sure do a lot of celebrating around here!! Today was John's actual birthday so we headed downtown to see his movie choice, but first had to open presents. He got a book, his annual Star Trek ornament, a tool (impact driver) and then.... ... a Star Trek Pizza Cutter from Audrey. John originally thought it was another ornament, but then thought it was a little too sharp!!
We headed downtown to see Next Three Days. Very suspenseful and full of action. One of those movies you think about a few days later. Like, would I want John to try to bust me out of prison? Then we headed to the valley and had lunch at Hallet's. It is a fun local sandwich shop. I always order the Reuben paninni - very delicious. Audrey always gets the twice baked potato and dill pasta salad. John is usually the adventurer who orders something different each time. They also have some fun food gift items so you can browse and try samples while they are preparing your meal. And they bring bags of popcorn to your table so you have something to munch on while you wait for your food. Fun store!

Davenport Day #2 & Ornaments

The next morning we decided to have breakfast in the Safari Room. Audrey ordered crepes, I ordered biscuits and gravy and John had pancakes. Large portions and very tasty. We checked out of the hotel later that morning and headed over to Old World Christmas ornaments to do our annual ornament shopping with grandma. Lunch was served at grandma's house afterward while I headed out to the church to play for a baptism.

Happy Thanksgiving & Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to us! 22 years ago we were married in the Seattle Temple. I don't think I could have imagined how happy our lives would be. We are truly blessed. So to celebrate our anniversary as well as Thanksgiving (since they fell on the same day this year), the three of us headed downtown to The Davenport and booked a hotel stay in the Tower and also made reservations for the Thanksgiving Buffet.

Kind I just say WOW on the buffet? The buffet had a hot section where you could have beef roast, turkey and/or pork roast sliced to order; salmon, yams, mashed potatoes, gravy, veggies and various side dishes. So we started there and filled our plates and sat down at our table to begin our feast. Afterwards we headed to the cold section where we had our choice of spinach & lettuce salads, pasta salads, sweet potato salad, assorted rolls, crackers, various cheeses, sushi (yes, sushi), shrimp and crab and assorted seafood. Audrey really liked the sweet potato salad. John thought the spinach salad with the lemon dressing was great (while I had the spinach salad with the poppy seed dressing which was also yummy). Far too many choices and all very delicious. Then we headed to the dessert buffet. There was a chocolate fountain and fresh fruit and cookies to dip. Multiple types of cheesecake, pies and cakes to choose from. We had a little sampling of desserts and relaxed for the remainder of our meal.
We then walked around the hotel and gift shop before heading across the street to the Tower and our room. Our room was on the highest floor below the penthouse suite so the view was wonderful. It was lovely to look out the window at the falling snow.

Thankful Board

During the days in November leading up to Thanksgiving, we each wrote down something we were thankful for onto fun shapes Audrey and I had cut out using my Cricut (turkey, leaves, pumpkins) and taped them on the cupboard in the kitchen. This was nice because we saw this every day - and multiple times a day. We each had different things we wrote that we were thankful for, but it certainly is not everything we are thankful for. Not by a long shot!! PS - The lists are in alphabetical order by the way. And the only reason I am posting is that I wanted to make note of what we had thought of during the month.


JOHN
A wife who plays piano, Art, Audrey, Birthdays, Candy, Chocolate, Cider, Clothes, Computers, Cookies, Garage, Grape Juice & Fiber, Heater & Stoves, Home, Hot showers, Movies, My Job, Nuts, Piano, Pizza, Sam, Soft bed, Tape, Tools, Vehicles

SAM
Audrey, Celebrations, Food, Friends, Gramlow Family, Health, Heavenly Father, John, Kathy & Family, Library & Books, Marriage, Mom, Music talent, My 2 bosses, My Daddy, My Job, Our Home, Photos, Piano, Quiet, Scrapbooking, Snow, Testimony, Traditions, Typing 110 wpm

AUDREY
Armed Forces, Disneyland, Family, Football, Headphones & Earbuds, History, Holidays, I Pod, Junk Food, Laptops/PC’s, Mariska, Movies, Music, Radio, Restaurants, SC Boys, Sidney, Snow, Speakers/Stereos, Theatre, Theme Parks, Truck & Car, TV, Welding, Xbox

Megamind and The Asian

What a fun day! We went downtown to see the movie Megamind. Good flick! We had popcorn during the movie so did not need to eat lunch, but did take the opportunity to shop afterwards. While I was shopping inside the kitchen store, Audrey sat down on a bench and started up a conversation with a nice lady who was visiting Spokane from Canada. Had a great discussion. Then John and I joined them for more conversation.

Later that evening we met the Sanborns for dinner. They had suggested The Asian, an oriental restaurant on Sunset Hill. We got there before Julie and Don and the owner, Sam, knew exactly who they were - where they liked to sit - and started in on their orders because he knew what they liked. Very personable man. Food was great and we enjoyed visiting with Julie and Don.

Surprise Bday Party!

We had a combined surprise birthday party for Kathy Thompson and John, as they have birthdays close to each other. It was great as John had no clue. Probably partly because his birthday was not until the next weekend. I had originally thought I would get him to the restaurant by needing to run an errand nearby, but he called me from work and said "hey, we should go out tonight" so it was easy to suggest The Onion, where everyone would be meeting. When we walked into the restaurant, we ran into some other friends (the Wynias) which was just fun timing. Those that were able to come were the Gordons, Fergusons, Heerdinks, Wilsons, Rusty & Dana(from our young adult years) and of course the Thompson's and our family. Fun time!!

Symphony: Big Band

Mom and I went to the Pops Symphony Big Band production tonight where Jeff Tyzik was the guest conductor. They played classic big band tunes such as Satin Doll, Take the A Train, String of Pearls and Song of the Volga Boatman. They also did the Armed Forces Song Medley which was wonderful (as 11/11 was Veteran's Day). They had anyone that had served in the Armed Forces stand during the portion of the song where their theme was played (army, navy, marines, air force). Love my country and appreciate those who serve for our freedom. Nice evening.

Greenbluff & Symphony

We headed to Greenbluff for our annual fresh pressed apple cider fix... and hot pumpkin donuts of course. It was kind of rainy which is why Audrey would not sit on the bale of hay. Smart girl. We checked out the craft booths and listened to the live band playing and then headed home to warm up.

That evening I went with mom to the Bugs Bunny at the Symphony performance. The symphony played the score for the cartoon while the cartoon was shown on a big screen. Interesting that the symphony all wore headphones during the concert. This was so they could synchronize their performance with the cartoon as it is all timed out, measure by measure. Evidently that was how it was originally written so that after the local studio symphony got done with their major motion picture filming for the day, they would finish their set by taping just a portion of the cartoon score. And because it is all timed, they could splice it right with a different portion of the score taped earlier, and so on, until they got the entire piece.

Celebrate New Job

To celebrate John's new job we went to the movie "Red" with Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich and Helen Mirren. Excellent!!!!


Then we headed to the Rusty Moose for lunch. That happened to be the restaurant that his new employer took him on one of his interviews, so John suggested we go there. Tasty food and large portions. Congrats John on your new job!

Last Day at WV

The email that was distributed to West Valley staff to let them know John was leaving.

From: Beau Williams

Good Morning,

I wanted to get a quick email out this morning to let you know we have a very valued employee of the Technology Department leaving us this month, John Carter. John has decided to take Sterling Savings up on an offer they made him.

John has been with West Valley for 10 years, and over those 10 years John has been a great asset to the Technology department and West Valley School District. With his friendly demeanor and technical skills John has made an impact with many teachers and students, we are sad to see him go. We wish John all the best in his upcoming ventures.

Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

PUMPKIN BARS with CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Bars:
Beat the following ingredients together:
4 eggs
1 can pumpkin (15 oz)
1 2/3 cup sugar
1 cup oil

Then mix in:
2 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Do not grease pan!

Frosting:
3 oz cream cheese, room temperature (important)
½ cup butter
Cream butter & cream cheese together, then add:
1 Tbs. vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar

Spread over cooled bars. Sprinkle chopped pecans over top.

Oatmeal Cake

OATMEAL CAKE

CAKE:
1 ½ cups boiling water
1 cup quick oats
½ cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 Tablespoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt

Pour boiling water over oats and set aside. In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugars together. Beat in eggs, then stir in soaked oatmeal. Add remaining ingredients and stir well. Batter will appear thin. Bake in greased and floured 9x13” pan for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees.

TOPPING:
6 Tablespoons butter
¼ cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 cup coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts
¼ cup evaporated milk
¼ teaspoon vanilla

Combine all ingredients except vanilla in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until bubbly, stirring constantly. Add vanilla and spread on baked cake. Place under broiler in oven until bubbles – approximately 3 minutes.

Lasagna

I had the day off today. Got the carpets cleaned, made lasagna and then made 2 desserts for John's potluck at work tomorrow. Which also happens to be his last day at West Valley. Timing worked out well since they had already planned a get-together so now they can call it a going away party too!

LASAGNA

Ingredients
1 pound ground Beef
1 pound Sausage
2 cloves Garlic, Minced
2 cans (14.5 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes
1 small can tomato sauce

2 Tablespoons Dried Parsley
2 Tablespoons Dried Basil
1 teaspoon Salt
3 cups Cottage Cheese
2 whole eggs, beaten
½ cups Shredded Parmesan Cheese
2 Tablespoons Dried Parsley
1 pound Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 package Lasagna Noodles

In a large skillet or saucepan, combine ground beef, sausage, and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat until browned. Drain the fat. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons parsley, basil and salt. After adding the tomatoes, the sauce mixture should simmer for 45 minutes. In a medium bowl, mix cottage cheese, eggs, Parmesan, 2 tablespoons parsley. Stir together well. Set aside.

To assemble:
Arrange in this order: Noodles, cottage cheese mixture, Mozzarella cheese, meat sauce - repeat. Sprinkle top with additional Parmesan. Bake 350-degree 30 minutes, or until top is hot and bubbly.

Fall Projects: Sprinklers

Here's a candid shot of John working on our sprinkler system. Fun times... for him!

Family Photos

After seeing how nice a job Arah did with Audrey's senior photos, we scheduled a Family photo session. Arah's sister Julie came also and the two of them were fun to work with. John even said he had a good time during the photo session and would do that again. We started downtown and had to make a few changes as North by Northwest was filming a movie where we wanted some photos taken - but it all worked out great. Then we headed up to the Corbin area and had some outdoor type photos done as well. The Heritage Garden was closed for the season, but we definitely want to check that out next spring.

Senior Photos

Arah took Audrey's senior photos today. Loved, loved them all. Could not pick so here is just a brief sampling of a few of them. Thanks for doing such a great job with the photography Arah!!