Mom's 74th Birthday

I made a cake and brought it to mom's house to celebrate her 74th birthday.

STRAWBERRY CHOCOLATE CHIP CAKE
1 box strawberry cake mix
1 pkg instant strawberry creme pudding mix
1 and 3/4 cups milk
2 eggs
1 and 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients except chocolate chips with a mixer until well combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.Pour into greased 10x15 baking pan or 9x13 cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes. Cool completely. Frost with whipped cream. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Cake Pops

Cheyenne showed me a cake pop pan that Grandma had bought and then asked me when we were going to do something about it!! We decided we'd make dessert for Grandma's 4th of July party, so Cheyenne came over on July 3rd and we got to baking. For the cake pops we used a cake mix and then we dipped them in red, white and blue candy melts and then into sprinkles or colored sugar (or both). Cheyenne was a great baker!! Thanks for hanging out with Aunt Sam-alam-acam-afam-alam!

Orchard Prairie Cemetery

While mom and Audrey did their annual Memorial Day cemetery tour, John and I went to Orchard Prairie cemetery to visit my dad's grave. John felt so bad because when he was taking the arrangement out of the container, it broke in half!!

Bet my dad was laughing : )

So instead of a circular wreath, we improvised:

Mother's Day Saturday

Today we went to the Browne's Addition neighborhood for the annual MAC (Museum of Arts and Culture) Mother's Day tour. Each year they choose a different neighborhood to highlight and provide the historical details of the homes. We don't go every year, but when we do go - it is a treat!

This year's tour featured six homes in Browne's Addition. Established in 1883, Browne's Addition was Spokane's first neighborhood and considered one of the oldest in Washington. For decades this neighborhood was the home of the city's elite residents. The tour included a wide array of architectural styles:

• The Campbell House (2316 W. 1st) was built in 1898 for Amasa B. Campbell, who made his fortune from the mining industry in Idaho. The home was designed by Kirtland Cutter and features elements of the Tudor architectural style including its steeply-pitched roof, wood shingles, decorative bargeboards on the gable ends, half-timbering, and diamond-paned windows. 
• The Reid House (2315 W. 1st) was built in 1899 and designed by architect Albert Held for Charles Hoffman, a real estate and mining broker. Reid House is a Craftsman Bungalow with elements of Tudor Revival. Notable features include a clinker brink living room fireplace and inglenook, a wraparound front porch, a butler's pantry and a second floor sleeping porch.  
• The Page-Ufford House (364 S. CDA Street) was constructed in 1896 for Alba and Flora Page. Page was a wealthy financier who specialized in loans, investments and mineral properties. The home features Queen Anne style including bay windows, wraparound porch, steep-pitched roof, and a turret. It was one of the earliest homes constructed in Browne's Addition.
• Westgate Apartments (2306 W. Pacific Avenue) were constructed in 1908 for the Kaminsky family and it a three-story multi-family building with six Pullman-style flats. The Pullman style is names after sleeping car trains designed by the Pullman Company in the early 1900s. The space is a long and narrow, and commonly seen in Chicago and other Midwestern cities. Built in the Spanish Colonial architectural style, the Westgate features small arches on the second floor frontal facade to each side of the large central arch above the entrance.. 
• Clark Mansion (2208 W. 2nd) was designed by Kirtland Cutter in 1898 for Patsy Clark, an Irish immigrant who made his fortune in the mining industry. The exterior of the 3 and 1/2 story home suggests Spanish and Moorish influences, including rounded corner towers and arched loggias. A few of the rooms include a French drawing room, a foyer with Moorish style influences, a dining room constructed in an English Medieval theme, and a Chinese-inspired gambling room. The home housed the Patsy Clark Restaurant from 1982-2001. Today the mansion house a law firm, but the main level is available for private events. 
• The Loewenberg- Roberts House (1923 W. 1st) was designed in 1889 by architect W.J. Carpenter for Bernard Loewenberg, owner of Loewenberg Mercantile. The stock market crash of 1893 bankrupted Loewenberg and by 1898 he agreed to trade houses with Empire Builder E.J. Roberts, the chief engineer of the DC Corbin Railway Systems and founder of Union Iron Works. The home is an example of the Queen Anne design with features such as decorative spindle work, square-cut granite foundation, a second floor gallery extending out to create a porch, and a round turret. The home is now a bed and breakfast. 

Afterward we went to the Old Spaghetti Factory downtown for lunch. I ordered the baked lasagna, John got a Roy Rogers and pasta with meat sauce while Audrey got an Italian soda and pasta with marinara sauce. We love the spumoni that comes with the end of the meal!  What a wonderful day before Mother's Day!!

Copycat Costa Vida

We made copycat Costa Vida Sweet Shredded Beef, Cilantro Lime Rice and Tomatillo Ranch Dressing tonight and decided we needed to share with someone, so we invited John's mom and brother down for dinner. We served the beef and rice on soft tortilla shells with toppings such as shredded cheese, lettuce, diced tomatoes, sliced olives and of course the dressing. After dinner John had me play a few numbers on the piano. Ralph set a glass on the piano and put money in it (and snapped the photo).

Tomatillo Ranch Dressing
1 package ranch dressing mix (1 oz)
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tomatillos, husks removed
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
1 tsp fresh lime juice, or to taste
1 jalapeno, remove seeds for a mild taste
Place all ingredients in a blender; blend well. Note: The dressing gets hotter the longer it sits.

Cilantro Lime Rice
1 cup long-grain white rice, uncooked
1 tsp butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp fresh lime juice
1 (15 oz) can chicken broth
1 cup water 1 TB fresh lime juice
2 tsp sugar
3 TB fresh cilantro, chopped
Place the rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp lime juice, chicken broth, and water in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together the 1 tablespoon lime juice, sugar, and cilantro; set aside. When rice is tender, remove from heat. Pour cilantro mixture over hot cooked rice; mix in as you fluff the rice with a fork.

Sweet Shredded Beef
2 pounds beef chuck roast
1 cup salsa or picante sauce
1 cup brown sugar
Place the roast in a crock pot. Dump the salsa and brown sugar on top of the meat. Cook on low for 7 to 8 hours, or on high for 3 to 4 hours. When 1 hour remains, shred the roast with forks and return the meat to the crock pot to soak up the juices.

Audrey Birthday Movie

Today we celebrated Audrey's birthday with her choice of movie and lunch. Audrey and I went downtown with Misit Munns, Kathy Cutler, and Shaylin Munns and met up with Mariska and Tyler to see the movie Non-Stop. (John was busy helping a friend, but was able to meet us later for lunch).

Non-Stop is about a US air marshal on a flight to London who receives a series of text messages demanding that he instruct the airline to transfer $150 million into an offshore account or a passenger will die every 20 minutes. There was a lot of suspense throughout the movie - you did not know who to trust or what to believe. Good action / thriller.

After the movie we headed to the valley for Cafe Rio. And to finish off our day we went to Steve and Angela's for dinner (lasagna, bread and salad). Great day!

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

We went to see the new Jack Ryan movie with John's brother, Steve, while his wife (Angela) and daughter (Katie) saw another movie (Saving Mr Banks).

I did not know this, but the Jack Ryan character has been around for awhile - Alec Baldwin in The Hunt for Red October; Harrison Ford in Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger; and Ben Affleck in The Sum of All Fears. This movie stars Chris Pine as Jack Ryan with Kevin Costner and Kiera Knightley in main roles. Jack as a covert CIA analyst uncovers a Russian plot to crash the US economy with a terrorist attack. It was a enjoyable way to spend a Saturday!

Saving Mr Banks

We went to the Valley Mall to see Saving Mr. Banks today. I love everything about Mary Poppins, so was rather excited to see this movie. Having Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson in the movie was a plus. It is the story of P.L. Travers very reluctant meeting with Walt Disney as he seeks to gain the rights for and adapt her Mary Poppins book into a movie. From the trailers it seemed like it would be a fun, light-hearted movie about the 'making' of Mary Poppins. However, it was full of emotion and depth in addition to music and humor. We got a glimpse into Traver's childhood in Australia, her relationship with her father, and why she was so against Disney transforming her story into a film. Bring a hankie!

Christmas Day 2013

When we got home on Christmas Eve, we did open the presents Santa left for us. Always thoughtful! John got a Griswold Family Christmas t-shirt, Audrey got Batman pajamas, I got new slippers and PJs, and the cat got lots of paper to swat around the room.

We woke up on Christmas morning and opened presents. Audrey got some Xbox games, some Disney blu-rays, and a Wacom tablet and case. John got the Good Wife series, the Bond series, and a new winter coat. I got a pashmina (if you don't know what that is you must listen to the humorist Jeanne Robertson on Youtube "Men Don't Know the Style in NYC"), an EWU turtleneck, Crock-pot hook-up set, some serving dishes, a french rolling pin and a shortbread baking pan. John wanted to put something in our stockings and got Poo-Pourri for each of us - "Spritz the bowl before you go and no one else will ever know". (Another for you to checkout on Youtube called "Girl's Don't Poop - Poo Pourri ad")

For our Christmas meal we had prime rib, garlic mashed potatoes, cranberry fluff, fruit salad, and more of the pimento cheese stuffed celery. Then we watched Christmas movies for the rest of the day, enjoying time with each other.

Cranberry Fluff
1 cup cranberry juice
16 oz whole berry cranberry sauce
3 oz package raspberry jello
1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped

Heat cranberry juice in a medium saucepan. When boiling, add Jello and stir until dissolved. Stir in cranberry sauce. Chill until thickened. Fold in whipped cream and serve

Creamy Fruit Salad
10 ounce can pineapple chunks, drained
11 ounce can mandarin oranges, drained
1 medium apple, cored and chopped
1 cup grapes, halved
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sweetened, shredded coconut

Combine the fruit in a large bowl, tossing well so the apple can get coated in the pineapple and orange juice to prevent browning. Stir in the sour cream and coconut, gently tossing to coat. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours prior to serving to allow the flavors to meld together. Serve chilled.

Christmas Eve

We went to mom's for Christmas Eve. Everyone brought a couple items to add to the menu of appetizers and desserts. Note for next year - we each only need to bring one thing... way too much (yummy) food!  We brought Cougar Gold cheese and crackers; pimento cheese stuffed celery; Jalapeno Popper Dip; and two types of meatballs (Swedish and BBQ). Recipes are at the end of this post. Yup, we could have brought less food!! Note John taste testing the cheese? He's wearing his new Christmas t-shirt (Chile Dogs) that we got in New Mexico. See the green and red chiles on the dogs? Refers, of course, to the "Red or Green" salsa question you have when eating in New Mexico.

The Cougar Gold cheese is a great story. I tried to pick some up at the WSU Spokane bookstore and they said they would be out of stock until January. I sent an email to my Safeway store manager in Pullman asking if he would know how to get some. He (Ray Stirling) and the Assistant (Rob Knapp) went to the WSU creamery, bought 2 cans ($30 each), brought them up to Spokane and then would not let me pay for them! Said "No.. drop it....we love you". Sweet!  PS - as an interesting side note, John reminded me that while we were in New Mexico in the gift shop at Los Poblanos, they had WSU Cougar Gold cheese in their cooler. They had to include the cost of shipping, so their retail was $49. Interesting to see a bit of the Pacific Northwest on our trip to New Mexico.

Cheyenne entertained us with some piano music. She does not look thrilled, but I think she enjoys sharing her talents. I thought this picture of Mariska and Cheyenne was great!!

Below are pictures from our gift opening. Top photo: tree in library, Grandma, the girls - Cheyenne, Mariska, Audrey. Bottom photo: Tyler and Mariska, the group (Dakota, Mom, Audrey, Shaune). Grandma got Audrey a Susan Boyle CD, a WSU Cougar key chain and some earrings. She gave John pistachios and gave me some earrings and a light aqua, (very soft), knitted scarf. We gave her some DVDs for her movie collection and some lavender items from our Los Poblanos stay.

This was the first year that we did not do a gift exchange between families (only to/from grandma), so we made sure to have some activities to keep everyone entertained. One of the activities was a clay thumbprint showman ornament. Supplies included Polymer clay (white, black, orange, and assorted colors for scarves), eye-hooks, and thumbs!  Roll three balls of white clay. Stack them closely together. Press the thumbs evenly into each of the balls. Add decorations. Insert the eye-hook. Bake the ornaments according to package instructions. Cool. Optional: Paint a thin coat of glaze over ornament. Mom's is the red scarf, mine is the blue scarf, Cheyenne's is the pink scarf. Then Michelle got off work and she and Mariska made the cutest ones - the ones along the bottom.

Then things started getting silly. Dakota was heard to say "Someone had too much eggnog". Cheyenne was heard to say "Grandma, your butt fell off" because her ornament needed some TLC before going into the oven.

Dakota and John played the slapping game. John is quite good, but I think Dakota gave him a run for his money. John was heard to say "Tell me when you've had enough".

Michelle had specifically asked if we could do Whoville hair like Cindy Lou Who on the Grinch movies. Michelle started with my hair - I thought she did an awesome job! Then Mariska did Cheyenne's hair and then Michelle and Cheyenne did Grandma's hair. Michelle was heard to say "Shaune, I need some wire cutters" as she made her way to Grandma's tree....shhhh!!

John was heard to say "Shaune, nice nuts!"

Cheyenne scared me with this fake mouse

We had a great time, a crazy time, a goofy time. Let's do it again!!

Grandma Whisler's Pimento Cheese Stuffed Celery
1 (4oz) jar diced pimentos, drained
Mayonnaise
Cheddar cheese, shredded (small shreds best - mixture of medium/sharp cheese is good)
Celery

No amounts - this recipe is by taste. Wash celery, pat dry. Mix pimentos, mayo and cheese in a bowl. Spread mixture on celery stalks. Cut into chunks. Can use leftovers on bread or crackers, but tastes best on celery.

Jalapeno Popper Dip
2 (8oz) blocks cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup Mexican cheese blend, shredded
1 cup Parmesan cheese (divided)
4 oz an chopped green chiles (not drained)
40 can chopped jalapenos (not drained)
1 cup Panko bead crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted
Dried parsley (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 2-quart casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Using an electric mixer, mix together the cream cheese, mayo, Mexican blend cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, green chiles and jalapenos. Mix until smooth and totally combined. Spread the mixture into the casserole dish. In a separate bowl, mix together Panko bread crumbs, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, parsley and melted butter. Sprinkle crumb mixture evenly over dip filling. Bake for 20 minutes (on the middle rack). Do not overcook. Topping should be golden brown and the dip should be gently bubbling around the edges. Serve with your favorite crackers.

Swedish Meatballs
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 cup soft bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/3 teaspoon pepper
1 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
1/4 cup butter, cubed

In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. Crumble beef and pork over mixture; mix well. Shape into 1.5 inch balls. In a large skilled, cook meatballs in butter in batches until no longer pink. (Or bake in 350 degree oven in rimmed cookie sheet for 30 minutes or until no longer pink). Remove and keep warm.

Dill Cream Sauce
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup beef broth
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dill seed
In a bowl, combine the sauce ingredients until blended. Stir into skillet. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve over meatballs.

Cookies & Candy Baking

What do you need on cookie baking day? A regal looking cat with supervisory skills and a husband with a hammer!

We made a few old favorites: Bessie's Christmas Candy (recipe obtained from Bessie Riggin), Candy Cane Snowballs, and Soft Ginger Cookies. Then we tried a new favorite, Stained Glass Window Candy.

Bessie's Christmas Candy
1 package Almond Bark (white), melted in a double boiler
Then add:
3 cups Rice Krispies
3 cups Captain Crunch Peanut Cereal
1/2 jar dried salted peanuts
3 cups colored miniature marshmallows

Mix all ingredients well. Drop onto waxed paper. Let set. Break into chunks.

Candy Cane Snowballs
2 cups butter (no substitutes), softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 and 1/2 cups flour
1 cup chopped pecans

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and 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 un-greased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.

8 ounces white candy coating
1/3 to 1/2 cup crushed candy canes

In a microwave-safe bowl, melt candy coating; stir until smooth. Dip the tip of each cookie into the candy coating, then into the crushed candy canes. Yield: 5 dozen

Stained Glass Window Candy
1 stick unsalted butter
1 package (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
1 package (10 oz) colored mini marshmallows

Melt the butter and chocolate together over the stove at low heat just until melted. Stir well and let cool 10-15 minutes. (Or you run the risk of melting the marshmallows when adding them). Stir the marshmallows into the slightly cooled chocolate mixture and stir gently until well-coated. Place the bowl in the refrigerator to let the mixture cool and firm up, only about half an hour. On a sheet of wax paper or aluminum foil, form the mixture into a log about 1 and 1/2 inch thick. Roll up the log and wrap tightly, sealing the ends so it looks like a burrito. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight before slicing. Remove tin foil/wax paper before slicing. (*this is the tricky part!) Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

FAIL!  I've made these many times before and they are usually wonderful. They were the last cookies we mixed up and when they came out of the oven, I was tuckered out and defeated. (I don't know about you, but when I plan my baking day, I usually have grandiose plans on how many millions of different batches of adorable cookies and candies I'm going to make.... and by the time I get to only #3, I'm almost done!) Anyway, we scrapped the first batch and then realized what had happened... I saw "3/4 cup" in the recipe below and grabbed 3 cubes of butter = 1.5 cups!  That would certainly flatten them out.... I showed the picture to Audrey and she said I should delete it. I said "I have to post the fails 'cause people think I'm perfect". She literally fell to the ground in uncontrollable laughter. After about a minute of non-stop giggling, she breathed and then asked "Who does?" We were both laughing now : )

Soft Ginger Cookies
3/4 cup butter (no substitutes), softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 and 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt
Additional sugar

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg and molasses. Combine the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Roll into 1 and 1/2 inch balls, and then roll in sugar. Place 2 inches apart on un-greased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until puffy and lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Yield: 2.5 dozen

Bro Date

John went to the movies with his older brothers, Steve and Ralph. They saw the latest Hunger Games movie, Catching Fire. He said they had a good time and the movie was great!

Catch up!

A few things to make note of:

11/12 - The Youth hosted a Single Sister dinner for the older sisters in the ward. John came home and was raving about the food that some of the young women leaders had brought. I was able to get two recipes from Nicole Black. See below - Pumpkin Dump Cake and Buffalo Chicken Chili

11/18 - John came inside before going to work and said he thought his truck had been gone through during the night. I asked him why he thought that? He took me out to his truck where all the contents of his glove box were all over the seat and his garage door opener was in a different spot. They took nothing from the truck, however, we found later that they had used the garage door opener to get into the garage and take one of John's nicer tools. (Did not realize until when he went to go use it). We have now taken to keeping the garage door opener inside the house.

12/3 - Safeway Spokane Distribution Center luncheon at work. The meal was catered again this year. Went down after the crowd had died down and the food was running low, but still had an opportunity to visit with current and retired Safeway employees.

12/5 - Safeway Spokane Store managers luncheon at Twigg's in the valley. New venue for us this year. Brian (District Manager) and the Store Managers were in attendance. Because our HR rep Nancy had just left for another job opportunity, I was the only other one there besides management. Nancy usually had attended in the past. We had a nice lunch (able to order off the menu), a short meeting and then the gift exchange. Doug Ryan and Dan DiCicco had planned a few fun games and a different spin to the gift exchange. Made it more enjoyable as they had said "no alcohol" this year! Meant I could actually have more than one other gift to choose from. No... I did not go home with this bear. Part of the gift exchange was being able to steal from others and one of the managers' young child was the ultimate recipient.

12/6 - Safeway Columbia Store managers luncheon in Moses Lake at Michael's on the Lake. Jodee (HR Rep) and I carpooled to the meeting. Jodee was a little sad (as she was retiring the first of January) so knew this would be one of the last opportunities to see the store managers. Little did we know that it was the last time we'd have Craig as our District Manager. At the meeting he announced his retirement, with last day of 12/10. I was pretty emotional as Craig has been a wonderful boss and great supporter for all in the district. He truly will be missed! What ended up being kind of funny..... the store managers in Columbia also do a gift exchange. Jodee and I were discussing what we had brought for our gift exchange. I (as usual) had something non-alcoholic, but Jodee brought something she thought no one would guess. Well, we started opening the presents. #1, #2, #3, #4, #5..... each gift was Crown Royal. Each one! They were different sizes or gift packs, but all were Crown Royal. When all the presents were open, every single one was Crown Royal except what Jodee and I had brought. After Craig made his retirement announcement, the store managers "gifted" all the Crown Royal gifts to Craig. They had NO idea he was retiring, but kind of thought he would in the next couple years. So without realizing it, we actually had a Going-Away party for Craig. Nice venue if you are ever in Moses Lake - I ended up ordering crab stuffed chicken (delicious). After the meal Jodee and I headed home. I was pretty bummed out, was not a happy day for me.

12/6 - And John had a YM winter camp-out so was already gone by the time I got home, all weepy....

12/9 - Today was the last day that I would get to have Craig as my boss and District Manager since I was on a planned vacation starting 12/10. Very sad day. Below was the official announcement they sent out about his retirement. I'm going to miss him!!!

Craig started his career as a produce clerk with Safeway at store #376 in 1969 and was promoted to Store Manager in 1989. He managed 2 stores and was subsequently promoted to Director Retail Support in March of 1997. He was promoted to District Manager in January 2000 successfully managing the Metro, Everett, Spokane and Columbia Districts. His accomplishments and contributions over his 44 years with Safeway are too many to list! Craig’s positive outlook, along with his commitment and drive for excellence are very much appreciated and he will truly be missed by all who have worked with him. 

Here are the recipes from the 11/12 event.

Buffalo Chicken Chili
2.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken, cut in 1" pieces
1/2 cup diced white onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
28 oz can diced tomatoes, un-drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup chicken broth
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup buffalo wing sauce
Blue cheese

In a 5-6 quart crock pot, mix all ingredients except the buffalo wing sauce and the blue cheese. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Stir in sauce before serving. Sprinkle blue cheese on individual servings if desired.

Pumpkin Dump Cake
1 large can (29 oz) pumpkin
1 can (13 oz) evaporated milk
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1 yellow cake mix (dry)
1 cup melted butter

Mix the first 8 ingredients together and pour in a 13x9 pan. Sprinkle with dry cake mix. Pour melted butter over the cake mix. Bake at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Sam's Birthday!

What a fun day! At church Jessie asked if we had seen the movie "Frozen" and then proceeded to give me this fun Olaf cookie! Mom gave me a scarf she made, Kathy T gave me an apron/towel set, Kathy (my sister) sent me red glasses, snowflake and snowman potholders and a wooden spoon, plus a Halloween frog-witch came in the mail from Kathy too.

After church and dinner, we opened presents. John and Audrey got me a black necklace, Just Dance 2014 for my Wii, and something in this big blue fabric bag.....a new camera - wow!

Ornament Shopping

Grandma, Michelle, Cheyenne, Mariska, Tyler, Audrey and I went on our annual ornament shopping today at Old World Christmas factory outlet store. It was very busy!! After choosing our ornaments we probably stood in line for 30 minutes, though we did have a fascinating conversation with a couple in line with us. Where we spent $24 for our ornaments, this couple had well over $200 (or more) in ornaments. This is an outlet store where all the ornaments are $4 a piece... Audrey picked out a dinosaur, a cougar and a mountain goat. I got a camper, a carousel, a bunny, a snowflake and a reindeer. Afterwards we went to Denny's and had lunch (or in Audrey's case - breakfast).

Frozen

We met up with Marcie and the kids downtown to see Frozen! We loved it!! The songs are catchy, the story line is interesting, the characters are fun - especially Olaf! I would watch this movie again and again and again!

John's Twin Birthday

John turned 51 today. He shares a birthday with his brother, Ralph. John was born on Ralph's 11th birthday in 1962. I'm sure he was "thrilled" to get a baby brother on his birthday!!  John's mom took us out to dinner to celebrate the birthdays together (Ralph/JoAnn, Sam/John/Audrey & Joan). We went to Mustard Seed and had a great time!

After work we had made John open his presents. He got his annual Star Trek ornament, Star Trek series blu-ray, Mr Potato Head Star Trek figures (Spock & Uhura), a belt and 3 blu-rays, including The Hunger Games.

Last Week of October

A busy week! We had the Ward Halloween Party sponsored by the Primary at the Whalen's on Tuesday. There was a chili & cornbread cook-off, a haunted alley for the kids and then a trunk-or-treat afterwards in their field. Very well attended!

On Wednesday, we had the missionaries over for dinner and tried out a new casserole recipe on them! No picture since we basically got home at 4:30pm and had them at our house and dinner on the table by 5:30pm. It was a keeper though, so here is the recipe:

Creamy Chicken Noodle Casserole
8 oz package egg noodles
2 cups cooked and cubed chicken (or turkey)
8 oz package frozen peas and carrots
1 cups milk
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoons melted butter
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed
1/4 cup butter, divided

Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside. Meanwhile combine chicken, frozen veggies, milk, soups, onion, melted butter and salt and pepper. Add noodles and stir to combine. Transfer to a 9x13 baking pan. Cover top of casserole with cheese. In a small bowl melt butter, then add to the crushed Ritz crackers and mix. Spread cracker crumb mixture over shredded cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Thursday was Halloween. John had a potluck at work (they have a lot of potlucks, any reason to celebrate). Then Audrey had a costume party with some friends from her EWU club. She got all dressed up and then had trouble finding a parking spot (it was downtown) so ended up coming home and helping me pass out candy to the Trick or Treaters.

Finally, got some fun items from Kathy in the mail. First the Spooky blocks which were the project her ward did for Super Saturday. She added the Family to the back so I could display them year round. She also sent me a felt ghost and glass trick-or-treat block. I just had to add the tomato cage and lights under the ghost and the orange lights in the block to finish them off. Don't they look festive!?

Fall Activities !

Went to Super Saturday this morning. Each year my sister and I compare notes on what our particular ward is doing and if either of us interested in the other ones projects, we make sure to get them a kit. I was not interested in any of the projects my ward was doing, but Kathy was interested in the JOY blocks. Unfortunately the picture on the sign up sheet and what was presented that day was quite different. The tops of the blocks were 4x6 blocks and looked far too heavy for the spindles they were to be on. So I only painted the spindles and took the blocks home for John. He cut them down to about a 3x4 block and routered a nice edge to them. Definitely looked more in proportion to the spindles. I sent them to Kathy and this is the final project. She ended up putting not only the JOY on the front, but BOO on the back so she could have them on display during Halloween and Christmas.

Since I only had the black spindle portion to paint, I ended up sitting and chatting with Kathy Thompson for the rest of the morning until lunch was served. They had a Pasta e Fagioli soup, green salad, bread and then 4 different spreads to top the bread with. Below are the various spreads.

Spice Apple Cheese Spread
2 cups cream cheese
1 & 1/2 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 c. finely chopped apple
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
2 TB milk
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Ham Cream Cheese
2 c. cream cheese
1 c. sour cream
1/4 tsp garlic powder
5 oz deli ham, chopped
2 green onions, thinly sliced

Spicy Jalapeno and Olive Spread
1 block cream Cheese
Jalapeno, seeds removed and finely chopped
Green olives, chopped
1 TB lemon juice

Walnut Raisin
1 block Cream Cheese
Chopped walnuts
Golden raisins
Honey to taste

After a relaxing morning, John and I met up with Marcie and headed to the Incredible Corn Maze at Hauser, Idaho. None of us had every done one before. When we arrived they gave us a map. You could enter in the green, black or blue area depending on if you wanted short, medium or long maze. The older kids went off to explore by themselves while we took the easy route. I was not very good at this! But we did enjoy time with Marcie and her kids! Thanks for a fun fall quarterly activity!!

Greenbluff

We went to Greenbluff today to get our annual apple cider fix. We wanted to try something different than we normally do, so hung out at the open market adjacent to the store we buy our cider at. It was fun! There was a booth where a couple were selling different flavors of scones and was willing to sample A LOT of samples to us. But of course, that made us feel like supporting them more. So we filled up on scones (my favorite was a chocolate coconut one they called Almond Joy). Loved their business name, "Scone Ranger". They have a store front on 2nd Avenue the rest of the year - we will have to visit them again. And then, instead of getting the pumpkin donuts we do ever year, this year we tried an assortment of Aebleskivers from another booth. They are a Danish pancake cooked in a cast iron pan (so they look like donut holes) and served with syrup, jam or powdered sugar. The booth owner was awesome also, giving us both types of berry jams to try and splitting our order between traditional and pumpkin. We had a fun time today...but had to go home to get something less sweet in our tummy!