Making Salsa.......................

Today we were going to have taco's for supper. Well not really because they were in wraps and not in taco shells.........whatever!!!! So I thought I would have another go at making salsa. The last batch we sort of liked but it was not quite the same as at LaSenorita. So what was the missing ingredient? I did follow a recipe but then added things to it trying to get the taste right.
Basically it is 4 green chili peppers (jalepeno)and 8 Roma tomatoes to that they said to add onion and fresh cilantro (I had to use dried) salt to taste, and garlic. Well I cant remember what I added last time but it was OK just not quite right. I did add lime juice.I tried a teaspoon of sugar, and even added a can of tomatoes with the peppers in it.
So this time I had 6 jalapeno peppers, 9 Roma tomatoes, 1/8 cup of garlic(from a jar) 1/2 can of tomato paste, salt, lemon (did not have lime) dried cilantro, and onions then after looking at a jar of bought salsa, I added some vinegar. I didn't measure things just kept mixing and adding until I liked it.

we tried it on some crackers and it was pronounced good.
I used Roma tomatoes because they have more flesh and less seed than regular tomatoes.

Meanwhile, while I am trying to figure out what is missing..........my little helper is washing every dish not hidden away.



He had declared that it was a PJ day for him. Trouble was he was soaked by the time he did a couple of plates. I got my jars out of the way so he could have at it...........

Off came the top and he was happy to play with the bubbles but he did actually do the dishes and went looking for more.

Well Tristen had fun, he declined to taste the end product. I have since found another recipe that I will try next time. Making your own is just so fresh tasting. The bought Salsa is much more tomatoey than mine. Maybe I should try without the green peppers???? This is the end product.


Next time I am trying a new recipe I found using canned tomatoes, it looks more like the restaraunt style so we shall see. Hey, its never bad so why not keep trying. Right!!! If anyone has a great salsa recipe I would love if you would share it.




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Little Chef...............

Today I had a good idea to get Tristen busy. Gerry had complained that we didn't have any cookies left in the house. I gave it all away because I sure don't need that stuff and neither does he. He would not agree with that I have no doubt. Anyway.....I had two cake mixes left, both orange. One I had decided to make cookies with. I made lemon ones and everyone liked them. I wondered if they would be good in orange. SO.............I called Tristen and told him a I had a job for him and Granddad. He was enthused and dragged Granddad in to see what was what.
I showed them what they were making. That got him excited. First I gave him the cake pans and papers. He had to set a paper in each cup. Some had multiple papers but I let that go.........next was to get the eggs out, he was excited about that and wanted to crack them. FOCUS.......no we don't want to crack them, go get two more.....phew!!!. After everything was measured and in the bowl he got to mix it with a big fork, and then I gave him the beaters. (I was not letting him near my food mixer)His face was a picture when he got to the beating part. Here are some pictures.

This is his embarrassed to be proud of himself face.

He couldn't contain himself, he just got the biggest grin and then burst out laughing


He did a great job, then took a break to lick the beaters while Gerry put the batter in the cups.

The cakes came out perfect
Tristen tried one an announced it was good. I snuck in and did the frosting.

I had to agree, they were good. Not something I would normally do but I needed to use up all my baking supplies. I still have more to do. Maybe later this week, but this one was for Tristen to do.

not bad for a 4 year old chef.

My House..............

I was thinking about my house this morning. It is New Years Day and this morning I snuck into Alex's room (as we still call it) where baby Cooper was sleeping. I could hear him sucking his fingers but he was not yet awake. So I went and got dressed before going back in to get him. I pulled the curtains back and heard him natter to himself, his eyes were open so I picked him up and got a big grin,we went downstairs.
(Cooper)

My house has seen a lot of activity over the years. This New Year Gabby and Tony (Coopers mum and dad) came back to my house after their celebrations to spend the night. Gabby's Dad lives with us and was in the next room, but he came in later. My husband and I were sleeping and heard not a thing. Tristen (Alex son) woke up from a bad dream sometime in the night and Gerry went in and slept with him. He slept till 8.30 this morning. A very rare thing.
(one Christmas season)

When we first moved in here in approx 1983(can't remember) it was the first house that we had not built ourselves.My husband is a carpenter, he builds houses. We had intended to move back to England but that had not worked out. So when our house sold unexpectedly we sought out and found this one. Over the years we have added to it and remodeled it. We had our own 3 kids with us when we moved in. Over the years it has seen many people come and go. When my boys left home to go into the USMC for 6 years each, they would come home on leave. When done with that and at the local college they moved home for the year before going to college up north.
My daughter Laura married and moved away. She would come home for 6 months at a time when Dan (first husband) went overseas on deployment. So I would have her and her girls with us during that time.She felt better being home rather than in North Carolina alone.
After the boys had gone, one of their friends, Jason moved in for 6 months while he got settled and found himself a place closer to town. Now, if I were a gun toting type of person I could have been in trouble quite a few times. Jason would have a friend stay now and then when someone he knew came to town. Quite often I was unaware of this. I do recall one day standing at the stove cooking when an unknown (to me) young man came upstairs, said good morning and went upstairs to take a shower.............hmmmm who the heck is that I wonder????? I just said "good morning" ......was not till later I found out who he was.
One day when Mum and Dad were over visiting us from England, just after we first moved in here......Gerry and I were sleeping on the living room floor having given up our room to them. Well according the the next door neighbour, Bud...a lady from across the street who we did not know, walked right in (we never locked our doors).She must have had a good look around and then left.They made sure she came out again before calling to make sure we were OK. We never saw or heard a thing. At that time they had closed the state hospital and some of the inmates rented over the road from us. On another occasion prior to that visit, the same lady according to my dad...........was standing out in our garden stark naked. My Dad said " Hey there's a naked lady outside" my husband "yeah right" goes to look "Bloody hell there really is" he says .....my mum "well Harry you don't have to stand there and gawp at her" "why not" says Dad. I called the police and said " Um can you send a car around please we have a naked person in our driveway". Poor cop......he arrives and I gave him a coat for her to wear as he had her in the front seat next to him..............Well she moved out after a bit because she didn't seem capable of staying on her meds. I could tell a few tales of some of the other folks who stayed there on and off too. Recent years have seen different, more permanent renters.
Well next came some friends of ours who got divorced, our friend Pat moved in with us. Twice.
After that my daughter and son in law were divorced and She came home to live for a time and again when she divorced for the 2nd time.

Laura and her family

Eventually Dan (husband number one)retired from the Marine corps and he and the 3 girls came back to Michigan. They moved in until Dan married again.
Next was Danielle, the eldest granddaughter, she came to stay when she began college. It was her safety net. She was away from home but still under our care and learning how to be independent, working and going to school etc. She was still with us when Dan asked if I would take Alexandra, she was not getting along at home. So she came here next. It was rough going in some ways as the two girls would find it difficult to get along sometimes. Danielle being oldest was the little mother type and Alex was having none of that. Danielle eventually went away to college and has recently become a nurse and married. Alexandra went home for a short time but was soon back again and she remained with us until she died.
Alexandra was difficult. She was a free spirit. She had many problems, some from the divorce but also her personality type. The last year of high school her friend Fallon moved in with us for her last year of school. Fallon's folks had moved away and she was not doing well with her guardian so, yup, she moved in with us. I think those girls had some good times during that year. Some not so good too. (smile)......Alex eventually became serious with a boy who was just not good for her. They had some emotional breakups and always got back together. Eventually she got pregnant and had Tristen. She died in a car accident during a winter storm and I am raising Tristen.
Alexandra and Tristen on his first birthday, how could we know time was so short

Gabrielle the youngest of the 3 had gone downstate to college. When Alex died she came home. With that shock, she just could not handle being away from family and rather than go home, she came here. She only left last year when Cooper was born, she moved in with her boyfriend. So..............I was thinking of all of this as I was pulling back the curtains to let the light in and see to Cooper. Dan, my daughters ex first husband is living here as he is in the process of a divorce from his 2nd wife. Not sure how long he will be here.
I guess its a friendly old house. It has seen so much and no one wants us to move as its been the "home base" for so long now. I would love a smaller place but it does not seem likely at this point. Over the years of remodeling we now have 5 bedrooms. Only 2 baths though. Still its all we really need most of the time. Tristen tells his Grandpa Dan that he can use HIS bathroom. He knows Alex's room was his Mothers room and he does like to go in there, even though I make him stay out. Lots of breakables in there. Not that it matters but if I didn't he would play in there and well..........I have to have SOME rooms that stay clean and tidy. Down in the basement are two rooms, one a library with a double bed, the other room is now Dans and he cleared all my stuff out. Boo hoo. I don't go in there and we put a lock on so Tristen doesn't either. Upstairs are 3 bedrooms. Alex room, Tristen's room and our room. There are usually two rooms free for overnight guests. I always have the beds made up. They come home for Christmas or Thanksgiving or a summer trip or just a visit. In winter they stay if the roads are bad or just because..........
The house was originally very small, part was brought in from the country in the 1800s and added on to what was already here. We added first a bigger kitchen and laundry and a 1/2 bath.Later a dining room was added. So downstairs (ground floor) has a family/tv room, a sitting room, dining, kitchen and laundry a 1/2 bath and the old dining room. I suppose that could be a breakfast room, but it is soon to be altered again when we change the back entrance. The house is a living thing, it evolves. When we change it, the room will be Tristen's play room with access to the deck via the new back door. I have always been attached to houses in my life. My grandparents homes, my mums home but I have never set my heart to one of my own. I am still not really in love with this one but..........well its as close as I will come because my heart will always be in England, but this is close enough.

Just a Little snow..........

Here we are only just beginning Winter and we have so much snow....... Well the road commission says "Hope everyone had a Christmas filled with wonder and joy! In case your "wonder" included, "I wonder how much snow we've gotten." The answer is we've measured 85 inches this season. Last year at this time, a whopping 16.5 inches. 'splains a lot!" .....sure does. Here it is not even 1st of year and my little poodles are confined to the deck. If we let them out the back garden they could walk over the fence right now.
This is the view down the road yesterday.


And the other direction

A few icicles

The blue blue sky.....and my pines look like they have icing on them.

The kitty footprints on the porch are ankle deep..........


Then the snow on the front path.

So we went for my eye appointment. It was still snowing. Here are a few pictures. Lucky me thats its not very far to go. One guy had a two hour trip in this stuff

One guy was coming down the hill sideways but he stopped at the light sideways on, but he did stop. Then there were several trucks moving out the snow from the hospital car parks.we saw 3....

The plants at the eye doctor were looking pretty against the falling snow.


This is the guy who ended up going sideways. Little did he know that he would end up sideways at the light.........he thought he would be in the ditch haha. There were a few of those.

Ah well, just one day in Northern Michigan.........Look at the bird feeder, you can see the snow is up to the fences so the poodles wont be out there for awhile. Hope for January thaw maybe.

......and there is a lot more snow coming and it's going to get colder too. Should be below zero's next week. Ahhhhhh cant wait. Sigh!!!!
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Hustle and Bustle.....

Preparations for Christmas for me begin after Thanksgiving. We are not what you would call "social" people. We don't attend or give parties. So it should be straightforewards one would think. In fact I don't want to go to get togethers or do any of that fun stuff because I am either too busy or too tired. I used to enjoy it, years ago........pre Tristen, pre grandkids and so on. When going out, dressing up and all that was fun. Is it a natural progression or just me. Now having family for Christmas dinner is the height of "the season". Anything getting in the way of those preparations is a pain in the butt. That's not how it's supposed to be.

Husle and bustle, yes thats what it has been since Thanksgiving. I write my list of things I want to accomplish. I write what I want to give as gifts and to whom. Then I decide I better get my Christmas cards done. The overseas first. I begin that chore, it should not be a chore, but it is. I love to send them, I don't like writing them. I adore getting them myself. So I start those, that usually takes a weekend. If I am decorating I do that over the Thanksgiving weekend. I need to start the week before next year. I need to start earlier. Its like, it feels so far away before Thanksgiving and then like a snowball rolling down hill it gets closer and closer and.........I am never ready. I am organized but. I have slowed down I decided. I must have. Or time moves quicker. What are the odds?

Maybe next year I wont bake. I make cheeseballs for our neighbour and for friends. I usually make fudge. Not this year though. I am making cookies, and savoury treats to give to the kids and grandkids this year. I will use up all my baking things. Maybe then next year I will just buy the treats. Its cheaper. Do people really care? All I know is I can't any longer do it all. I enjoy doing it though so its a quandry. Still that's next year. This year I have loads to do yet. So why am I sitting here. I have one more day to finish the cleaning. My granddaughter Danielle will arrive some time on Monday. She is driving down from the U.P. I hope the weather is good, she will drive back CHristmas day, in the evening to drive 8 hours and then go straight to work at the hospital, where she is a nurse. Her room is ready. Jason will arrive Christmas Eve and his room is ready. Everyone else will show up at some point Christmas Day.

When the 3 granddaughters were young and they came up from North Carolina we would play games like "hunt the thimble" and one year even played "Hide and seek" throughout the house. What a riot that was. Maybe they will teach their kids "hunt the thimble" when they have them. Now, I like a more quiet time. Mainly adults now, except for Reina and Tristen who will be wound up like springs. Justin and his family wont be here this year. We did see them over Thanksgiving. Tristen will have a very active social life, he will be going hither and yon. Gabrielle has to work but her boyfriend Tony and Cooper will be here. Laura and Robert with Reina. They will come for dinner, that has to be early this year I was told because Danielle has to leave. Dan is working.
So...........tomorrow I finish my baking and cooking. My cards are done, my shopping is done. The cleaning is done. Tonight I am relaxing.

Amidst all the hustle and bustle, I must remember to be sure to remind Tristen what we are celebrating. He got a gift certificate in the mail the other day. We took him to Walmart to spend it, on the way he said " Nanny, I don't need anything. I want to give it to the old people"..........I have no idea where that came from. Melts your heart when they say things like that. Well, we went inside and he chose his toys. When we cashed out I gave him his money and he put it in the Salvation Army pot. As it was a gift certificate I figured he may as well spend it, but also be able to do what he wanted to. It's good to encourage generosity when young. So next time we went to the store, again he put money in the pot. He asked what they do with it. So I told him that its for children who wont get toys, for people who dont have food or homes and for those who are hungry. At Christmas I will explain the wise men's gifts and why we celebrate. That makes all the hustle and bustle worth while. None of us really need "things" ..........although my granddaughter Gabby is struggling, they dont earn much and have the baby. My daughter Laura and her family are always struggling over finances. I cant say we are well off, or even doing well but we are very very blessed. I believe that what we have needs to be shared. This coming year I want to make more effort to do that.

To install in our children and their childrens children that giving really is more blessed than to recieve.....that is what makes Christmas for me and makes it all worth while.

Merry Christmas................

I want to wish everyone a Happy Christmas. I also want to wish people Happy Holidays. I would not have said that before. I was one of those Christians who thought that people were trying to do away with Christmas.

Well I sort of had a revelation. Not sure why or how but I did. Christmas is a celebration of the birth of our Saviour, of the Christ child. It's not really His birthday but is sort of like the Queen, she has an official birthday. We don't know the date of His birth and maybe that's because He would not want a "birthday" party. I don't know. What I do know, is that this is supposed to be a season of Love and Goodwill towards men.

We use the symbols of Christmas to remember the day of His birth. The Star that guided the wise men to His humble place of birth. The Nativity set to show how He was accepted by the poor and the animals first. His angel spoke to the shepherds bringing "Tidings of Great Joy to ALL men" We give gifts to each other in rememberance of the Magi's gifts to the baby Jesus. Things used at His death and buriel.

However a lot of what we do is also very pagan. The Holly, Misletoe, the tree among other things. So really can we say that we have not taken Christ out of Christmas already? It's a Hallmark holiday. It's commercial. It starts at Thanksgiving and the January sales begin right away. Boxing Day is not celebrated here in America. Twelth Night is gone. It's back to work day after and on with the every day hussle and bustle and returning of unwanted gifts. Instead we should be treasuring them because someone though about you and chose that item for you. I never ever return or exchange a gift. Years ago it was a "Christmas season" people gloried in it, family and friends were the focus. The bible stories were read to the children.

I used to be very irritated when I was working. We ended up not being able to have a Nativity because it may offend someone. We could not have a tree because someone was a Jehovah Witness. That made me angry. I used to decorate our department but when I had to stop using the things that made it Christmas I refused to do it anymore. To me its NOT about Santa.
I tollerated a holiday I really despise without spoiling the fun for those who love Halloween. I could have. So why oh why can we not be left to do our own thing, within reason.

So where am I going with this you may ask.............My own revelation was this. It is not JUST Christmas. It really isn't. It is a season for many religions to celebrate. Kwanzaa is a week long celebration. Hanuuka is the Jewish festival. Yes, on the calender it is marked as Christmas, because its always been that way. This country and many others now are made up of many many non Christians. If we as Christians are to be loving and kind and worship our Lord, then don't we need to accept it with grace and pleasure that someone wishes us a Happy Holiday, because they do not know what our religion is. Not just because its a date on the calender that says Christmas. We need to greet people with Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays because it really is BOTH. How can we be seen as loving human beings who worship our Lord and then turning away a blessing by saying ITS CHRISTMAS, DONT TAKE CHRIST out of Christmas.........This is just my recent thoughts. I do understand now why a business must "not offend" its customers who may be of a different religion. Ironically, in places like some of the Arab countries they allow people to celebrate Christmas openly and by decorating Malls etc for their guests who are Christian. Can we not be as kind.?..........We can NOT take Christ out of Christmas unless we do it ourselves by our commercialism. By loosing the meaning of Christmas, by calling it Xmas.

Christmas is not about shopping, in what we get for Christmas, it's about Love, Peace, Joy, reflection, family, friends and above all it's about God, who came down to dwell amongst us, to die for us, to save our souls. Don't lets forget that by being petulant when someone says Happy Holidays, because it IS a holiday after all. Or being rude and saying "Its Christmas" because for them it may not be, but they are still wishing you joy......say peace be unto you, let the love of Christ shine through you. Jesus told us to let our light shine before men............. Merry Christmas and Happy joyful Holidays.