Snow baby

I'm so jealous.  Everyone else is getting piles and piles of snow while we here in Rochester have just a few scant inches on the ground and fitful flurries.  Sigh.  Wee Ninja Girl hasn't been able to use her snowpants yet! 

She did, however, get to build a snowman and enjoy some wintry shenanigans last weekend when we hauled ourselves to Albany for my grandmother's 93rd birthday party (more on that in a minute).

Our trip was pretty uneventful, actually.  We took my little sister, The Queen of Musicke, along and she rode in the backseat with WNG, so we didn't have to stop once!  WNG was supposed to nap in the car, but she is the only baby this side of the Mississippi who doesn't ever sleep in her carseat.  Plus, she had her auntie and godmother to entertain her for 3.5 hours, so why would she even try?

Amazingly enough, TQOM even sat in the back with WNG on the ride home as well!  Awesome!

Randomness alert!

One thing I learned while in Albany was how lucky we are in our parish here in Rochester.  (Surprising, I know, to anyone who knows the situation in our diocese!)  We went to a Mass at one of the cluster parishes, so it wasn't the parish I used to attend when I lived there.  It was... an experience.  I don't want to badmouth or criticize clergy, but I will say that I've never in my life had this sort of conversation with a priest before:

Father:  The Body of Christ.

Me: Amen.

Father: Hey, how are ya?  Good to see ya!  How've ya been?

Me.  ...

Yes, folks, he tried to strike up a conversation whilst I was receiving the Host.  I didn't know what to do, so I just moved away and continued back to my pew.  Strangeness. 

It also made it difficult for me because this Lenten season I am focusing on the positive and trying to be more charitable in my daily interactions with people.  It took a lot for me to not seethe and rant about it (and other oddities during the same Mass), although I admit that I did vent a little bit to EP Dude and my mother.

Sigh. 

Anyway, my grandmother's party was tons of fun, and it was great to see so much of my family.  I was able to catch up with a cousin I hadn't seen since my grandmother's birthday last year!  My grandmother just glowed having all her children and most of her grandchildren there.  WNG was the only great-grandbaby present, which was a bit of a bummer, but understandable as the others have a lot farther to travel.

And yes, the candles on her cake are backwards to say "39" on purpose.

It was also EP Dude's birthday, but he graciously agreed that we should spend it in Albany celebrating with my grandmother rather than relaxing in Rochester like I know he wanted.  I'm so lucky to have such a guy!

And to make up for everything, I baked him his favorite Dr. Pepper Texas Chocolate Cake from the Dinosaur BBQ cookbook.   Sadly, we forgot to bring the leftovers home with us, but my mom froze it so we can enjoy it the next time someone from Albany makes their way westward.

Mmmmmmmm..... cake.............

Pity party, table for one

I always find it hard to get back into the swing of things after the Christmas holidays.  To transition from seemingly endless activities to the bleakness of January can be a bit depressing.  Thus, I always try to do something to liven things up.

So, Thursday night after I had trimmed some chicken to cook for dinner, I decided to vigorously scrub the cutting board.  While doing that, the large, sharp knife I had previously wielded somehow fell into the sink—blade-side-up, of course—just as I pushed the sponge downwards.

Ouch.

I basically punched the blade of the knife with my right-hand pinky knuckle.  Thankfully, EP Dude is an Eagle Scout and promptly patched me up.  After we got dinner together and Wee Ninja Girl to bed, we decided to go to an urgent care to have professionals take a look, just in case I sliced a tendon.

Hmm, I probably should have put a DO NOT EAT WHILE READING THIS POST warning at the top.  Oops.

It turned out that even if I did knick a tendon, since the cut was straight up-and-down rather than across the knuckle, it would heal just fine.  So now I have to wear a splint on my finger for TWO WHOLE WEEKS.  Ugh.

I have learned since then just how important the pinky fingers are, and hope I never take them for granted again.  And I learned that tenanus shots hurt worse than lacerated fingers, so now I have a sore hand AND a sore shoulder.  *whimper*

At any rate, I'm thinking of knitting up a splint cozy to keep grime from grossing up the medical tape.  I think I have some lovely sock yarn left over that would do quite nicely.

But in the meantime, I will probably just eat some ice cream while riding around in this:

Most. Insane. Duet. Ever.

So. I caught the beginning of the Alabama/Texas game this evening, just in time to see the pregame inanities and hear the National Anthem sung by Josh Groban, accompanied by Flea, on bass guitar.

Josh Groban.

Flea.

Yeah.

Hold onto your hats, folks, the apocalypse is near!

Twelve drummers drumming...

Aaaaaaaand we're back.

So today is the Feast of Epiphany, or the last of the Twelve Days of Christmas.  Any Christmassy things that were neglected so far must be done NOW or must wait until 12/25/10.  So there.

There was really only one thing I hadn't done in time (aside from the Christmas cards, but those are all sent now!  And there are still gifts to send to the Pittsburghian relatives.  Darn it!) this year, and that was make Figgy Pudding.  So, I made some today.  And because I'm extra nice, I will post the recipe here for you to enjoy next Christmas season.

Not THIS Christmas season, though, because that will END TODAY.

Mary Cratchitt's Figgy Pudding*

Ingredients

• 16 oz. dried Calimyrna Figs
• 1 ¾ cup milk
• 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 ½ tsps baking powder
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 large eggs
• ½ cup butter; melted and cooled slightly
• 1 ½ cup fresh bread crumbs (3 to 4 slices white bread)
• 1 tbsp grated orange peel (bottled)

Brandied Hard Sauce

• 1 ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
• ½ cup butter; softened
• 2 tbsps Brandy
• ½ tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 2.5 quart metal pudding mold or fluted tube pan.  I recommend spraying every square inch of the pan with Pam or your friendly neighborhood grocery store brand vegetable spray.  Seriously, spray that thing until it drips.  Well, maybe not that much, but close.

Chop the stems off the figs and then cut them into small pieces. I find it helps to slice each one once longways and then two or three times across.  They will be really sticky, so as soon as you finish chopping them up, wash your knife and cutting board.

In a saucepan over medium-low heat, cook figs and milk, covered, 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally (mixture may look curdled). Be careful not to let mixture boil.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt.

In a large bowl, with mixer at high speed, beat eggs for 1 minute. Reduce mixer speed to low; add butter, bread crumbs, orange peel, and warm fig mixture. Gradually add the flour mixture; beat until just blended.

Spoon mixture into the greased mold, smoothing the top. Use the spoon to push the mixture into all the cracks and crevices of the mold, and try to get the top as even as possible. Next, cover the mold with a sheet of greased foil.

Place the mold in a deep roasting pan and place on the oven rack. Pour hot tap water into the roasting pan to come 2 inches up the side of the mold. Bake the pudding for 2 hours or until it is firm and pulls from the sides of the mold.

While it is baking, mix the hard sauce. In a small bowl and with mixer at medium speed, beat all sauce ingredients until creamy. Refrigerate if it is not served right away. It makes about 1 cup of sauce, which should be enough.

Remove pudding from water bath; remove foil and cool on wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert onto serving plate and remove mold. Serve warm.

*I originally found this recipe online several years ago, but the website where it was posted no longer exists and I haven't been able to find it again.  Luckily, I had printed it out and am now returning it to its internet home.

The sauce is extremely sweet, so don't overdo it!  I like to put some on it while the pudding is hot and let it seep in, and then keep some extra for those who have a sweet tooth.  Or twelve.

Merry Christmas and Happy Epiphany!

Advent!

Today is the first Sunday of Advent!  It is early this year (or it seems so), and I am happy to break out all my awesome Christmas music.  I know the Christmas season doesn't officially begin until, well, Christmas, but there is just too much beautiful music to cram into those twelve days, so I enjoy it now.

I will try to recommend a different Christmas album or collection every week this Advent, since my taste in music is a bit out of the mainstream and most people haven't heard of stuff I like.  My music recommendations for this first week are Celtic Celebration and Celtic Celebration 2 by the Night Heron Consort.  The arrangements are beautiful and prayerful and really do justice to the meaning of the season.

Don't you just hate it when the holiday music on the radio consists of all these people ridiculously oversinging every song?  I mean, seriously, people.  Chill out.  I always thought of Advent and Christmastime to be such a peaceful, hushed time.

A Child born in the still of the night, surrounded by gently cooing animals.

Angels in the darkened sky calling the news to lonely shepherds in the fields.

The three Magi traveling in the darkness, following the star to the stables, then stealing away into the night.

So let us enjoy the peace of the season and save your vocal chords (yes, Ms. Carey, I'm talking to you) for another day.

In conclusion, here is my favorite non-religious Christmas song, sung by the only person who should ever sing it.

Tripping, Turkeys, and Tires

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and hasn't yet gotten trampled in a Black Friday frenzy.  I can't even imagine going out shopping today.  I am running out of some really essential groceries like milk, bread, and Goldfish crackers, but I'm staying home and waiting until tomorrow to venture the streets.

Plus, my car has a flat tire.  Again.  But that story should end yesterday's narrative, so we'll come back to in a few minutes.

Yesterday morning, things were just peachy.  The cherry pie was finished and looked great.  See?  The house was clean, my outfit was ready, we all slept in, and life was good. 

Then, while I was taking pictures of important things, like this pie, Wee Ninja Girl tripped over my leg and totally face planted onto the (hardwood, of course) floor in the dining room.  She bit her bottom lip and scuffed her nose.  She now has a lovely purple mark on the inside of her lip, but she doesn't seem to be bothered by it.  I think it took me longer to recover.

Later, we packed up and went to my Awesome-in-laws for dinner.  We brought WNG's port-a-crib and all her bedtime gear in the hopes that she would take her nap there.

She didn't.  Not one wink.

Luckily, even when she is overtired, WNG is generally well-behaved, although she did hoark down what remained of a cranberry-walnut topping for brie and crackers and then refuse to eat any dinner other than about 3 green beans.  Needless to say, she has been eating an awful lot today!

Dinner itself was wonderful and we had a great time.  The turkey was perfection itself and all the trimmings and desserts were fantastic.

On the way home, in the cold and slight drizzle, we got a flat tire.  It is literally a two-mile drive from the A-i-L's house to our own, but we only made it halfway.  Of course, the trunk of my car was packed full, so we ended up having to put as much stuff as possible (including the tire!) in the backseat next to WNG, who wasn't as cranky as I was by then.

This stupid tire keeps going flat, even though we've had it checked out by tire pros and they all have said it's fine.  We tightened the little metal thingy in the valve thingy and it seemed to work for a while, but now we're going to replace the whole valve and hope for the best.  Or we could just buy a new tire.  Sigh.

Enjoy your leftovers!

So. Yeah.

Lest my faithful reader fear that I have succumbed in the Great Ladybug Invasion, I must put your mind at ease. 

It turned out that the "invasion" consisted of a grand total of five ladybugs.  Five.  I disposed of two all by myself, heroically and with minimal whining.  The others I trapped and waited for EP Dude to deal with as he saw fit.

I have my limits.

In the meantime, Wee Ninja Girl decided to cut three more teeth (including molars!) and is about to cut a fourth.  And as an added bonus, she is getting over another cold which, thankfully, wasn't as bad as her first.

I managed to rake the leaves from the neighbor's trees and create a compost pile in the backyard in between rainy days and might actually get the lawn mowed before it snows.  Except that the forecast has been hinting at snowfall tomorrow and I think it's safe to say that I will not be raking leaves on Thanksgiving morning.

I started to burn out on the knitting and crocheting after I made Wee Ninja Girl and my niece Sweetie-O square pink hats (not that the hats are "square" as in "L-7," but they are square shaped) so I've taken up sewing.  EP Dude gave me a lovely Husquevarna sewing machine for Christmas '06 and I'm finally using it consistently.  I've made myself a knit blouse and wool-blend skirt for tomorrow, and also this apron, which I haven't really used yet because I don't want to get it dirty.

Yes, I know that's the point of an apron.  But it's so pretty!

Tonight I kick off the holiday baking season with delicious (I hope!) homemade sour cherry pie with delicious (I hope!) homemade pate brisee crust.  Last year's was awesome, so I have a lot to live up to this time around.

Then it will be time for Christmas cookies and Figgy Pudding!

That's right, I said Figgy Pudding.  I found a recipe on the interwebs several years ago and managed to save it before the site took it down and I make it every year.  If you, dear reader, are very good and eat all your veggies, I promise I will post it for you in time for Christmas.

If you don't believe that it will be delicious, remember those enthusiastic carolers that not only demand that their audience bring them Figgy Pudding, but they refuse to leave the premises until they get some.

It is totally that good.  You'll see.