by jphilo | Mar 26, 2013 | Top Ten Tuesday
Over the weekend, I made 4 pies for a dessert auction at our church. We were raising money for scholarships to send kids to camp. Once the pies were in the oven, these ten pie-making tips came to mind.
10. Always use Grandma Conrad’s Never Fail Pie Crust recipe.
9. Always use real lard.
8. Always cover the dough and let it rest for at least 10 minutes before rolling it out.
7. If you make fruit pies, you can believe pie is sorta good for you.
6. When making fruit pies, cut the sugar in half and you can believe pie is even better for you.
5. Contrary to what the name would have you believe, Delicious apples are not delicious in pies. Use Granny Smiths, Jonathans, or Jonagolds instead.
4. When you’re getting tired of peeling Granny Smith, Jonathan, or Jonagold apples for the pies, imagine happy kids at church camp.
3. Bake pies in a hot oven (425) at first and turn it down to 400 after the first 15 or 30 minutes for crispy crusts.
2. Lay a piece of aluminum foil on top of the pie if the top is browning too quickly.
1. To create memories to last a lifetime, place leftover scraps of dough in a pie plate or flat casserole dish. Drizzle with a little melted butter or margarine, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, and bake until golden brown. Cool for a few minutes before eating or these crispy treats will burn your tongue. Don’t ask me how I know this.
My mom made this special treat for her kids just like her mom made it when her children were little. I used to make it for our kids, and they still think it’s the best treat ever! What traditional goodies does your family like?
by jphilo | Mar 19, 2013 | Top Ten Tuesday
Once March arrived, winter in these parts decided to dig in its white heels and stick around. Since the strategy is proving highly effective, this week’s top ten list extols the reasons to be happy for a late spring and make hay even when the sun don’t shine.
10. Extra winter makes northerners appreciate spring more when it finally does arrive.
9. We get more wear out of winter clothes.
8. A late, cold spring gives female rabbits headaches, and therefore has a dampening effect on the rabbit population.
7. The cold weather makes midwesterners more sympathetic toward Canadians.
6. Shivering gives spring sport athletes an Iron Man or Iron Woman aura.
5. Less time in the sun = less chance of skin cancer.
4. When the weather’s cold, teachers have an easier time keeping their students’ noses to the grindstone.
3. That first grilled meal of spring tastes better when it’s a long time coming.
2. The apple trees bloom later, so there’s less chance of a late frost nipping their buds.
1. A cold spring makes spring break trips to points south seem like a good investment.
What’s good about a late spring in your book? Leave a comment!
by jphilo | Mar 5, 2013 | Top Ten Tuesday
While waiting for my stomach to stop rolling from all the plot twists in Downton Abbey, Season 3, several burning questions came to mind. The top ten made this week’s list. Spoiler Alert: If you haven’t yet watched Season 3, stop reading now!
10. Would citizens of the 1920s really have been so open-minded about homosexuality?
9. Can Mrs. Hughes and Phyllis Logan possibly be the same person?
8. Will Daisy accept her father-in-law’s offer to take over the farm?
7. Are Lord Grantham and Lady Cora up to the task of riding herd on Rose?
6. What will come of the Dowager Countess poking her Maggie Smith-shaped nose in the business of a fallen woman?
5. Why did Lady Sybil have to die? Ditto for Matthew?
4. How will Lady Mary ever recover?
3. Could Lady Mary and Tom Branson become an item? Or is that too tidy? How about Tom and Rose instead?
2. Is Lady Edith about to ruin her reputation by engaging in a scandalous romance?
1. Will there ever be a bouncing Baby Bates?
What are your burning Downton Abbey questions? Leave a comment.
Photo source
by jphilo | Feb 26, 2013 | Top Ten Tuesday
Winter came to visit last week, not as fiercely as the weather forecasters predicted. But it covered the ground with a clean, white reminder of the top ten good things about snowstorms.
10. The prospect of a humdinger of a snowstorm breaks the monotony of the job for weather forecasters, especially after last winter’s incredibly boring and blizzard-free weather.
9. When a snowstorms hits, those of us with sense enough to stay home feel far superior to the TV news reporters who stand on the edge of the snowy freeway, gravely reminding viewers to “Stay home and don’t even think about driving in this!” Hmmm, do you suppose the reporter and the film crew walked or drove to the freeway?
8. White snow is prettier than brown, dead grass.
7. The snow makes it easier to track the critters who hang around the yard, possibly lowering your house’s resale value.
6. A cold, snowy day makes a person much more thankful for a warm and cozy house.
5. The reflection of light on white snow makes a sunny day seem even sunnier.
4. The prediction of a snowstorm brings back the Will school be called off? pit-of-the-stomach excitement and uncertainly of childhood.
3. Being home during a snowstorm is a good excuse to bake something yummy.
2. Every snowstorm means spring is one day closer.
1. Snowstorms bring back memories of past winter adventures: my little brother ordering a rose for Mom during a Valentine’s Day storm and asking for it to be delivered; Hiram picking up his mom at the Rapids City airport during a May blizzard, after she purposely scheduled her visit to avoid a blizzard; watching my kids, bundled in snowpants and coats, dig tunnels in the snow piles around the garage.
How about you? What memories come to your mind when it snows?
by jphilo | Feb 19, 2013 | Top Ten Tuesday
Organization is an innate ability for some, but for the rest of us it’s a constant struggle. Over the years my organization has improved, but many chaotic black holes remain. Here are the top ten at our place:
10. CDs of speaking gigs. Anyone have a good idea of how to keep track of them?
9. Outdoor flowerbeds. The weeds hold a personal vendetta against my best efforts to tame them.
8. The back of the refrigerator. Lack of organization in my fridge earned it’s own, scary Halloween top ten list.
7. The deep freeze. If I open the freezer five minutes after defrosting and neatly stacking its contents, everything is a jumbled mess. How does that happen?
6. The stack of books on my nightstand. Maybe our elementary school librarian knew what she was doing when she set a 3 book per week check out limit.
5. Shoes. They behave much like the contents of our deep freeze. Only faster. Immediately after I shut the door, the shoes walk around and mess things up.
4. Notepads. These are a paper version of Hydra. As soon as one free notepad gets used up, two more spring up to take it’s place.
3. The fruit room. I haven’t canned in several years, but empty fruit jars keep appearing down there.
2. Wrapping paper and bows. They look so pretty in the store, but they are evil, evil closet-messer-uppers of the worst kind.
1. Undie and sock drawers. My more organized friends fold their panties and line up their socks so they lay smooth. But my modus operandi is why bother when nobody but me sees the wrinkles? So consider yourself privileged for this peek at my sock drawer!
So what defies organization at your house? Leave a comment about the black holes you contend with.
by jphilo | Feb 12, 2013 | Top Ten Tuesday
Hiram and I became grandparents in October. (Uh-huh, that explains the shout of joy you heard on that warm and lovely autumn day.) SInce then, I’ve become increasingly aware of my growing behavioral, if not physical, resemblance to my grandmother, Josephine Hess. Therefore, I compiled this list of ten indicators for people who suspect they’re in the process of becoming their grandparents. Of course, the list comes without any advice about how to stop the trend. It’s only purpose is to make what’s happening painfully clear to those of us who can actually remember what’s happening to us.
10. Your toenails are getting too hard to cut with toenail scissors. Your solution is not to make an appointment with a podiatrist, but to move closer to your children so they can cut your toenails.
9. You have an irrational urge to save plastic bread sacks…inside a plastic bread sack.
8. You have matching Grandpa and Grandma chairs in the living room. Facing the television set. Along with a strong desire to watch Lawrence Welk on Saturday night.
7. You believe any recipe for anything can be improved by adding a cup of sugar and a cup of cream.
6. You hang clothes on the line to save money…and because the smell reminds you of your grandparents’ house.
5. You store a variety of sizes of kids’ pajamas and new toothbrushes in the bottom drawer of a dresser…so the grandkids can stay overnight even if they weren’t planning on it.
4. You believe the cookie jar should always be full…just in case the pajama drawer isn’t enough to lure the grandkids to stay overnight.
3. You consider hot oatmeal a delicacy.
2. Ditto for grapefruit.
1. Your favorite Saturday morning of the whole year is when you prune the geraniums you wintered over and put the cuttings in water to root.
What indicators would you add to the list? How are you starting to resemble your grandparents?
