January is Almost Over!

Wow, January has been one long and cold month! We haven't done much but stay inside and try to keep warm, which doesn't make for very interesting blogging. We had one week of school that went like this: Monday - early release due to a snowstorm; Tuesday - late start due to the snow; Wednesday - normal day of school; Thursday - no school due to extreme cold; Friday - late start due to extreme cold. Kind of hard to get anything done at school, but it sure was a cheap week for daycare!

This last week, Phebe ended up getting the flu, which made for another interesting week, but I won't go into those details! Thanks to my wonderful neighbor, Judy, I only missed 1/2 day of school. She was here in 10 minutes when I called her (and woke her up) on Wednesday morning to see if she could stay with Phebe while I headed off to school. She came back on Thursday morning, and then I got a sub for the afternoon. Phebe is finally feeling better, and was able to return to school today.

We helped Sandy celebrate her birthday tonight (I won't say which one), and as you can see, Phebe definitely has her sparkle back. She didn't look quite that lively on Wednesday! Hopefully, February will be a much better month!

Bread Making 101

Joyce and I try to get together every Christmas to make our Grandma's recipe for Swedish rye bread. This year, we couldn't fit it in before Christmas, so we finally scheduled our session for last Saturday. Since it's an all-day process, I got up early and started the first step. The mixture of lard, sugar, salt, yeast, water, and flour had to sit for a couple of hours until it was light and fluffy. Joyce arrived at about 9:30, just in time to supervise the next step.

Time to add the molasses. Phebe was very interested in watching, and soon she was helping.
In with the raisins.

Next comes the bran.

Then, the rye flour.

Mixing was a real challenge!
"This is hard work!"

"But I can do it!"

Then comes the white flour. It was way too tough for Phebe to mix, now. She switched to taking the pictures!

Now it's time to knead the dough. Joyce always does the messy part.

But Phebe thought that looked like fun!

She also tried to keep the bread board from sliding all over the place.

We finally plopped it back in the bowl and let it rise for 2 more hours. This is our chance to do a little shopping, chatting, and eating. Jenna showed up in time for this part!

We finally got to shape it into loaves.

Once again, Joyce did the kneading. Then it had to rise for another hour.

Ready to bake!

After another hour, the bread was out of the oven and cooling on the counter.

Finally, it was time for a sample! Yum!

We figured our Grandma would be 120 years old this year, so that means this recipe has been around for a really long time. It was fun to watch Phebe help, and to remember how we used to do the same thing when we were her age. However, I also remember my grandma having short curly white hair, a plaid housedress, and an apron. Times have changed! What a great tradition, though, and the bread is sooooo good! I can't wait for raisin bread toast for breakfast this week, just like in the olden days!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! It was great to have a nice long vacation from school this year, with two full weeks off! With so much time on our hands, we had plenty of time after Christmas for some shopping, relaxing, entertaining, and a quick trip to Two Harbors.

Andy's parents and sister made the long trek to Minnesota from Pittsburgh to spend a week with Jenna and Andy, and we were able to get together with them several times during their visit. They came to Cannon Falls on New Year's Eve for some fondue. We started in the dining room with steak, chicken, wild rice, salad, bread, etc., and ended in the kitchen with chocolate and fruit for dessert. It was delicious!

Jenna and Andy had another party to go to, so after they left, we headed over to Stangler's just in time for champagne and more dessert. We missed Snyder's, who were celebrating in India this year!

I spent New Year's Day playing with Maddox while Heidi slept (after working all night) and Corey nursed a nasty infection in his foot. He had to keep it elevated, which made chasing a 2-year old impossible! Maddox took this picture - not bad, huh? Kinda looks like Corey has a serious case of pillow-head, though.

When I got home, Phebe wanted to celebrate New Year's with us (she spent Wednesday night at Kyle's and fell asleep at 11:00), so we donned hats and leis, got out the noise-makers, and ate cookies and juice.

We took off Friday morning for a quick trip to Two Harbors to visit Chuck's mom. We were supposed to go the day after Christmas, but put it off due to a predicted snow/sleet storm. We stopped for lunch at The Scenic Cafe, my all-time favorite restaurant on the North Shore. Phebe had worms and dirt for dessert, which we ended up sharing since there was no way she could eat all that chocolate ice cream and oreo cookie crumbs, although she had no problem finding room for the gummy worms.

After Phebe helped Great Grandma Flo open her Christmas and birthday presents (she turns 83 on Sunday), we ate again, and then we watched Mama Mia and played some games before bedtime. Another snowstorm was predicted for Saturday, so we left at about 10:30 in the morning. I really wanted to go up to Gooseberry to hike in the snow and get some winter pictures, but it's a good thing we took off since Two Harbors got about 6 inches of snow

later in the day.

So.....it's back to school tomorrow. It will be good to get back into our usual routine, and Phebe is very ready to see all her friends at school!

Christmas 2008

Christmas Eve

We celebrated with all the kids and grandkids on Wednesday. I played for the 4:00 service, hurried home and got dinner on the table by 6:00, and then, PRESENTS! It was very hard for the little ones to wait, but they did well.

Corey, as usual, played Santa, with a little help from his friends. We always go in order from youngest to oldest, which means I'm last.

Oh well :-(

Phebe loved opening and she also had fun helping Corey read the words on the gift tags - good job!

Maddox really understood presents this year, and had a blast ripping into everything. He was not, however, impressed with gifts of clothes.

It was fun helping others open, too!

Maddox's comment: "Ooooooh - that's a BIG one, Jenna!"

"It's a mirror - I see me!"

Maddox and Phebe got a new sled to keep at our house. They wanted to try it out right away, but it was a bit too dark, and very cold, so they practiced inside sledding instead.

After presents, we had our traditional dessert - java chunk ice cream pie! Then Heidi headed off to work the night shift at the hospital and I got ready for the 10:30 service at church. Jenna, Andy, and Phebe joined me, while Chuck and Kyle relaxed and started to clean up the mess. I finished when I got home, and finally went to bed at about 1:00, almost ready for the next day.

Christmas Day

On Thursday, my whole family (minus Tom, Kim, and kids - we missed you) joined us for appetizers, presents again for the kids, and a ham dinner.

Chuck decided Maddox needed to try some pickled herring (see it on the tooth pick?). He was a really good sport about it, and popped it into his mouth.

Hmmmmm.....he thought about it for about a minute, and then out it came.

Must be an acquired taste.

There it is, on top of his folded hands. "That was yucky, Grandpa!"

My nephew's son, Matthew, joined the kids. He and Maddox are about 3 weeks apart in age, and they're like little bookends. Last year, they ignored each other, but this year they had lots of fun playing. Aren't they the cutest?

It's hard to get them all to look the same direction at the same time when there are multiple cameras snapping pictures and multiple photogrtaphers telling them to say "cheese."

We just did presents for the kids this year, which worked great. We "oldies" don't need more stuff, anyways!

Phebe got a guessing game, and Jenna and Joyce had as much fun playing it as she did. Phebe was great at giving clues.

Let's see - who am I?

Joyce is the best toy. She and Phebe played "rides" for awhile, until Joyce got too tired!

Of course, I had to take the yearly picture of Jenna and Andy under the Christmas tree. Jenna hasn't been home on Christmas Day for the last few years, so she really enjoyed being with the whole family.

After Ted and Pat left for the trek to Illinois to visit Tom and Kim, and Corey took Maddox home for a nap, Phebe finally got to go out and play in the snow and try out the new sled. I opened my kitchen window to take thses pictures on zoom, so they're a bit fuzzy.

They even built a snow fort back by the trees.

What a beautiful day - perfect weather, great food, and best of all, time shared with family!

After everyone left, I cleaned up most of the mess (again) and finally got a chance to relax. Zzzzzzz! Thanks everyone!

Funny Phebe /Grandpa Story

On Tuesday, I had to go to the Cities in the afternoon, so Chuck was on "Phebe duty." He picked her up from Cannon Kids (after school care) around 4:30 and they headed home. I called at about 5:00, and I could hear her in the background asking for graham crackers and other stuff. She was bound and determined to make a gingerbread house, and when Phebe is determined to do something, get out of the way! For the last few weeks, she has been watching my class collecting materials for a gingerbread house project, and my plan was to have her make one on Thursday with our leftover supplies. Now, Chuck didn't have a clue about any of this, and he certainly had no idea about the process, but, good sport that he is, he got out graham crackers, old Halloween candy, pretzels, cheetos, and some Cool Whip to hold everything together. Well, they found out quickly that the Cool Whip wouldn't work at all, so he thought of peanut butter, and Phebe set to work. Here's what I found when I got home!

Very creative, don't you think??

It was still holding together the next day, when Phebe posed for a picture, and then she dug in for a great afterschool snack!

My class made theirs on Thursday, and so when we got home after school, Phebe gave it another try with the right materials, and Grandma's help. Here's what Chuck found when he got home!

Hmmmmm...

I think Chuck deserves an award for his efforts (and his patience)!

To see more samples and get directions, check out my First Grade Fun blog - the project was so much fun, and the kids did a great job!

Happy Birthday, Chuck - Part 2

Finally, a picture of Chuck with his two little grandkids - aren't they cute? This one is getting printed and framed for his desk at his office!

All the kids came down for dinner on Sunday, and after cake and ice cream, we headed to church for Phebe's first Christmas Program.

She was so excited! Here she and her friend are showing off their pretty dresses before the program.

Phebe sang so well! She knew all the words, and didn't miss a beat! We were all so proud of her!

Maddox felt a little left out and had to get into the act after the program was over. He ran up to the front, stood in front of the huge Christmas tree, and said "cheese."

Another birthday over, and time to move on to Christmas!