Meringue Matters

Last Monday, I hosted my monthly meeting of the Fleur de lis Ladies. It was a smallish group that day, but nonetheless, entertaining as always, and full of instruction for me...

For this meeting, I made an Old Fashioned Sour Cream Raisin Pie, Neighbor Dorothy's Heavenly Carmel Cake, and Naomi's Cheese Pimento Spread (the last two from Fannie Flagg's books)
I thoroughly enjoy entertaining my Fleur Gals and really wanted to make a special treat for them.
Why in the world I thought that with my horrible history with meringue, a meringue topped pie should be my choice, is beyond me. I guess it was a moment of complete dufus competence.

So my ladies got to be extra gracious this month, while crunching my way over beaten eggs, yet rich raisin pie innards.
One thing that happened due to this debacle, the Wisdom of the Ages appeared and gave me varied Meringue Tips that I quickly wrote down for further Adventures in Meringue.
Thanks to Ruth (age 92), Joyce (near 70?), Priscilla (age 80) and Jennie Lee's fun laughter at my pitiful attempts at meringue, for making it a grand meeting....

What I Learned About Making Meringue:
1. Use extra fine sugar if possible (maybe powdered sugar?)
2. Eggs should be at room temperature
3. If by chance, you get some yolk in your egg whites (which, of course, I did), use the shell to gather it up; works like a straw (I used a spoon; fought it all the way..)
4. If all else fails, use 2 tbs marshmallow creme to make it stand up pretty
5. Big mistake I made: Cold, cold for whipping cream; room temp for eggs....Got it backwards, hence, crunchy meringue....

May you be blessed as you make the Merriest of Meringue for you next To-Do....

Grant Goodness

I had an orange lunch today.
My buddy Grant set the table. He found my cobalt blue plates on the shelf in the dining room and decided that we needed to use them. Good choice, Grant. Orange and blue; highly complementary on the color wheel. Grant was pretty sure that he should have his milk in the blue willow tea cup. I agreed. He poured it carefully from his little cup. Grant will be three in March.

After my visit with Miss Viv last week, I decided I needed some magnetic letters for her next visit. Cracked them open to let Grant have at them in his usual academic ways. He had alphabetized them in a twinkling. He told me the color of each letter as well. Grant will be three in two months.

We had grilled cheese, oranges, steamed carrots and Cheetos. (Cmon! Ya gotta have some fun!) Grant kept to good manners, using a fork with his Cheetos as well as his carrots! Good lunch.

Of course, we had to visit the library. It is only 198 steps from my home. As we descended my front steps, Grant reminded me: 'Nana, you need to hold my hand.' Advised.
Good library visit. Two Frog and Toad books and one Fox book. I found them on the shelf and he read the titles to me. Grant will be three in two months. We picked up a video, Tales of Desperaux; he watched two minutes of it. We watched at least the first 15 minutes of at least 5 videos. To his concentrating credit, he did sit through the entire reading of five books. One which he helped me read by pointing out important words.

What a fun day we had!
Next week: Gracie's turn!

Corners in My House

Years ago, Soule Mama had (and still does) a flickr group that highlighted different areas in her followers homes.
Very interesting.
I love to photograph my house. It always helps me to see things in a whole different light. I can make improvements. I can rearrange. I can paint. Or open (or close) curtains.
When I was little, I used to like to hang upside down and pretend to 'walk' on the ceiling.
Actually, I still kinda do this. It gives you a different perspective. Like sitting on the floor. Do you know how much dirt babies must endure sitting where no adults usually park?




So these are just a few of my corners.
Taken by Baby Girl last summer.
Things have probably changed because of these photos actually.
See?
It works good.
Now, go take some photos of your home.....

How Rude!

Cannot believe I failed to share Miss Vivien's 'Wee Wonderfuls' 'Chloe' Dolly!!!
Christmas's deadlines kept me from completing her..(wanted her just right, so I kept her for my Eldest/Admin Birthday Trip last week....

Isn't she a hoot?
She has a dress made of vintage fabric from good ol' Pauline Hill's abundant collection that I scored at an auction last fall....
Undies made from an old pillowcase.
This dolly, renamed, CoryAnne, by Eldest/Admin, does not have alopecia, unlike the first Chloe I made for Gracie....In fact, CoryAnne has abundant hair, thank you very much.....

Bet you're wondering what's in the swanky Amy Butler fabric bag next to CoryAnne?
Well, in my haste to truck it off to Eldest/Admin for her birthday, I neglected (I know! Right?? Ridiculous!) to photograph her very festive Happy Birthday banner (thank you Soule Mama!) Made it out of all her favorite and a few unknown fabrics. Used shiny gold satin for the letters for the festivity of it all...Bells on the proper Amy Butlered Storage bag, for more festivity. We do so love a celebration!
Don't tell my other children, but I do believe each one of them shall receive one this year. New Year's goal.....

Oh yes! Both items are resting on ALL the coupons that I delivered to 'Miss I Am the Deal With Coupons'...She is amazing, she and Lavender Becca rule in Coupon Land in Cincinnati....New Sunday night ritual: Watch Masterpiece Theatre while clipping coupons for the Wizard of Bargains.......

Again, apologies for not sharing CoryAnne and for forgetting to photograph the Birthday Banner...It's really cute.....I could blame it on Post Holiday Stress Disorder, but I already told you that my holidays were almost catatonic so that won't work....

Ah well...What can I say....?

Tea Time!

I likes me a good, hot cup o' tea.
I used to sugar it up real good in my younger years, but in my dotage, I've taken to drinking it straight. Like a big girl.
And I love it.
Always have.
Oolong, Earl Gray, Chai, Orange Pekoe, Rooibos (which some will say is a different plant from tea)Herbal of all kinds..(NOT jasmine however. To me, it's like drinking perfume. Guess I'm not totally grown up.)
I have many teapots collected over the years. I've given and I've taken them and I have a favorite.
It's a hand blown Swedish crystal pot, complete with infuser and warmer. Completely wonderful yet fragile. Pulled out for important occasions.
A lovely utilitarian one that is used daily is one given to me from Old Friend's mother. She knew my affection for the hot liquid and she generously gifted me one day long ago...
One problem.
I like it really hot.
And in the chill of winter, it cools off quickly.
I purchased a tea cozy in the 70's when I was young and still heavily sugaring my tea. The little cozy is rather primitive in an early crafting stage of someone on the east coast thirty years ago.
I recently stumbled (a good word for wading through my 'collections') across it and was convinced that by now, I could make a stab at creating a new grown up one for my new grown up taste.
And I'll share it with you....

A good grown up material.
Tapestry Upholstery.
Followed the design by making a sort of onion spire shape. Four of them.
Also repurposed an old mattress pad for my insulation.
Cut four of those as well. A little smaller than the tapestry.
.
Sew the insulation to the back of the pieces.
Right on the edge.

Found a sweet lining. Cut four of these as well.
Sew this wrong sides together.
Trim close to stitching.
Zig Zag edges and trim again.

Stitch through all layers to form a quilty look.
I followed the shape of the piece at progressive intervals, but you could outline a design on a print you use or just use a cross pattern. The goal is have it look quilted.

Placed a small bit of grosgrain ribbon for a nifty little pull. You know, so you can dramatically pull off the cozy and say, 'Ta Da'!! when you serve tea to some unfamiliar with the ways of a cozy. Guaranteed to impress.
You could use a variety of other ribbon like trims as well. More Wow power.
I pinned the ribbon in the seam allowance near the top of the cozy.
Sew each panel to another. Zig Zag edges here as well. If I was making this for someone other than unworthy me, I would bind these edges.
Being as this is a prototype, I skimped. My bad.

Was I ready for how fun this was and how these could be a good addition to my Phantom Etsy shop?
Pretty cute, huh?
And gift ideas for other old ladies that like their tea hot, hot.
Also, for you young yayhoots, coffee mugs/pots would like to keep warm in winter too, yes?
And platters of food? Veggie bowls waiting for others to finish?
Oh yeah...I hear your brains clicking....

Enjoy!
I'm off to make some tea!!

Reporting In...*sigh*

Back in Mitchell.
Thrilled to see Hubby and Youngest Son.
And Dixie.
Having a dog greet you after an absence is a fun thing. Like her oxygen was just delivered.
Love to be back in my home with all it's absurdity.
But........
Oh my. What I left..
The picture below shows the simplicity of my week.
A little girl and her family, learning each day new things, about each other and about how a ten month old sees the world.
Each day, new things that we take for granted but a baby sees as fresh and exciting.
A shot in the arm for those of jaded years.
Then to have the joy of meeting several new lives, well, I do believe I have reduced my accumulation of years by many, many months!
Refreshing.

Hubby and I traveled to Cincinnati following some snow and awoke to more on the Sunday there...
No matter. Warm and cozy and relaxing watching The Grandaughter remember Grammy and Poppy...

Nothing like Vivien to inspire some creativity...Shouldn't we make CoryAnne, the new dolly that I brought her, a dolly of her own? Thanks to Kris for the fun material!

And shouldn't we go to the Thrift Store that Becca told us about, on Monday where everything is 25 percent off? Shouldn't we buy all the old school toys for Vivien's future endeavors? Shouldn't we buy 31 items for 34 dollars? Shouldn't we have a riot doing so?
Yes, we should.

Pretty sure I should measure the summer outfit for The Girlie on her...Pretty sure she will love the Owlie Material purchased with Aunty Baby Girl on her last visit...

A trip to Joanne Fabrics is a must on each visit.
1. It's close by.
2. It's brand new.
3. The staff loves Vivien.
4. All Christmas Decor was 90 percent off.
What?!
Yep.
And not your typical cast off crumbs. No siree. Top notch stuff. See the cart. Full to the brim.
A Debbie Mumm snowman (see him in the cart?), 100.00 for 10.00 for Miss Vivien's second Christmas next year.
Oh we had fun there. A book on crocheting food for Eldest/Admin. A wonderful book on sewing for babies/toddlers for Newly Adopted Daughter Kris.
And we had 40 percent off coupons too.
Uh huh.
Score.

Miss Viv hates food.
Yep.
Coming from a family that thinks, acts, breathes based on our next meal, our Little Miss is quite skeptical of this thing called solid food.
Despite Grammy's best effort to make it appealing and fun, she nixed the whole idea.
Her mama has a nifty little Foodifier that sneaks banana (but not carrots; she was on to mama by then) into her cynical little mouth.
Under the table is another story.
Like a teenager smoking behind the garage, our Little Character found big fun in snarfing the crumbs left behind the last foodathon by her Big People and her little buddy, Will.
Hysterical.

So not all our Thrift shop scores worked out.
Vivie's Papa had some shirts that didn't work out.
So is that a bust? Oh no, she says. Let us repurpose. Let us make two stocking hats and a pair of pants for some little person, ala Made by Rae's last summer post.
Good, good idea. And both Will and Viv looked adorable....for three seconds..(did I mention that Vivien dislikes head coverings almost as much as food?)

Wednesday is La Leche meeting day.
Got to meet an amazing assortment of loving mamas. Young women bent on giving their little one's a good start in this crazy world. Loved meeting all of Eldest/Admin's lovely friends....
Knew about them from Eldest/Admin but getting to meet them and their little ones, was quite a treat.
And Vivien thought that all these ladies and their progeny, were meeting for her! Miss Social visited her friends and willingly gave a smile to those not so well known.
She even played a rousing game of Peek Through the Little Blue Chair with two adorable boy type friends.
She giggled and smiled and played like quite the girly girl.
Loved it.

After La Leche, it was only fitting that we go to First Watch and involve ourselves in some serious breakfast/lunchy type good good food.
With two babies that were nap deprived, this was going to be good.
But thanks to pretty quick service, good mothering on Eldest/Admin and Newly Adopted Daughter, things went well....
Fun times.
Sleep Deprived Vivien proved the trooper she is by embarking on a TJ Maxx extravaganza after First Watch.
Grammy hit some great deals and Miss Viv kept her sweet self highly amused with a bright yellow package of cocktail napkins.
Shouldn't she have some new books for such good behavior?
Of course...

Poppy thought that our growing girl needed some new jammies. Ones with doggies on them would be novel; a break from the pinks that most baby girl's get inundated with...(even though her papa did request, early on, that we tone down on the pink...His favorite: Crazy Dee's green and brown polka dots....)
I loved my play time with the Quick Witted Little Lovely....
Here we were playing whilst mama grabbed some extra zzzz after a bumpy, pre walking night....
Gladly. Two hours of heaven; playing, laughing, learning and Viv instigated cuddling session...Is it really Thursday and I have to leave her????

Ah.
So here we are at the half way point, North Vernon Indiana.
Lunch with Unca Jordan while Grammy tries to figure out how to pack her in the car quickly....
Alas, I know her mama would chase us down the highway without benefit of car if she had to, she's that good of a mommy.....
So we get in our last hugs and smoochies and say till next time(month)
Don't forget me Vivie....We have more fun to make.....

Vacation in Vivieland!

Probably be missing for a few days.....
I'm absorbing all the time in Cincinnati with the incredibly social and loving Miss Vivien...!!
My cheeks are sore from all the smiling....returning the gracious smiles of The V....watching her little family respond to each other, observing her acts of daring as she pre walks, mellow, restful smiles of the vibe of her family......Fun times.....

Sooooooo while I shall document our goings on and report next week, I am far too busy now crawling around on the floor with my little sweetie and enjoying her world for a few days......

May you have a blessed week......

Love,
Grammy Deb......