I'm back!!!! My last post was October 4th - then I got sick and I believe that I contracted distemper! I have been ill ever since that last post, it started with a runny nose and the sniffles and progressed to the point that I actually thought I would die from a sore throat. The doctor (who shall remain nameless) would not give me any antibiotics and told me it was viral. So, check it out - my symptoms were uncontrollable shaking from being ice cold, my nose was all pussed up, my hair was scruffy, my eyes eventually stuck shut from the puss - now, doesn't that sound like distemper? If I would have been a farm cat, my family would have put me out of my misery with a 22 shell!! Yesterday, I went to a different doctor who told me that if I was not going to stay warm and stay rested, I was never going to get better (and he didn't even know about the Jingle Bell Crop where we worked until we were sick again!) It has been a whole month of hell, but I think that I am getting better, today is the turning point!
For those of you who requested the recipe for the dessert at the Jingle Bell Crop, here it is:

Cindy's Pumpkin Dessert

4 eggs

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 cans PURE pumpkin (14 oz.) not the kind with spices added

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 1/2 cups evaporated milk

Mix these ingredients in a bowl until smooth and creamy. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a separate bowl, combine 1 box of golden cake mix (I have also used lemon when it was on sale and it was just as good) and 1/2 cup hard margarine. (not hard as in chilled to hardness, just hard margarine as opposed to those whipped, soft margarine tubs) Get it?

Cut the margarine in until it is crumbly and sprinkle the cake mix evenly over the pumpkin mixture. Bake for 1 1/2 hours.

*** note, keep checking the pan s it cooks and turn the pan end to end in the oven if your oven does not cook evenly. You want to watch the edges, as they may get brown and burn before the timer goes off. Just keep rotating the pan in the oven if you see any such problems.

Serve with whipped cream, that is sprinkled with a little cinnamon. At home, I picked up some very, very small plastic pumpkin decorations and I put one on the top of every slice. Too cute!!!

This recipe makes a large pan, about 18 servings, so invite some friends over!

Enjoy! Cindy

Fall Photos, Gingerbread and Cozy Sweaters

I love this time of year! Wood smoke curling up from our chimney, the smell of baking in the kitchen, bales strewn all over the fields, just waiting to be picked up by the ranchers that have bought them, dry leaves blowing into the garden, were the last rows of carrots are still residing, cows being trailed home from summer pastures, geese flying overhead. Fall just seems so BOUNTIFUL.
We are almost on our way to Creston for Thanksgiving, I am literally counting the days!!! All of our children and their girlfriends/boyfriend are coming , along with our best friends, Mel and Loretta - in all, five fifth wheel trailers. We will be a regular convoy!!! LOL. Everyone has their camera ready to go, because we plan on taking a lot of fall photos at the fruit stands. We are going to cook our turkey on the BBQ and hopefully the weather will permit us to spend a great deal of the long weekend outside. I have cold Coronas in the fridge and a new camera chip, I have charged my batteries and packed the tripod - I am prepared!!
Now, if I could just get my shoulder to behave long enough to enjoy the trip, I would be forever grateful. I am hesitant to say it, but I have a SCRAPBOOKING INJURY!!! I would rather give birth to more children than go through this pain, so if you know some of the stories of what my children have put me through, then you can appreciate the pain that I am in!! My muscles are so tight, that they have literally pulled my collarbone and ribs out of place. Just from working with my shoulders forward and my head down. Let that be a lesson!! When you are scrap booking for HOURS at a time, make SURE that you get up and stretch and exercise your shoulder muscles!!
For my friends, Amy, Edna ad Debbie, here is a recipe that I know you are going to love!! I baked them for Daniel and Andrew and did not tell anyone what was in them - the rest of my family enjoyed them without even knowing that they were gluten free!



Gluten Free Gingersnap Cookies



350 degree oven

1/3 cup butter, softened
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1 egg
¼ cup fancy molasses
2 ½ cups gluten free all-purpose baking flour
1 ½ tsp ground ginger
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp each ground cloves and cinnamon
Pinch of salt

In a large bowl, beat butter with 1 cup of the sugar, beat in egg and molasses. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cloves, cinnamon and salt.
Stir into butter mixture to form stiff dough.
Roll dough, by one level tablespoon, into balls, roll in remaining sugar.
Place 2inches apart on parchment lined baking sheet. Press to flatten slightly.
Bake in a 350 degree oven until edges are lightly browned. The center may still be a bit soft – approx. 10 minutes.
Transfer to rack and let cool.
Enjoy!!


This week, Megan gifted me with a new fall hoodie - my version of a sweater. I love it!!! I also found an amazing hoodie in Waterton Park when Lorrie, Megan and I went shopping. It is totally fall colored and very warm. I am saving it to wear at the Jingle Bell Crop. Some people get excited over shoes or jewelry - I am all about hoodies! (and new dishes) Which, by the way, I have two new sets waiting for me in Creston. Shhh! Mike only knows about one!! I will keep you posted as to how I snuck them home!

The Pumpkin Painting Is Mine At Last!!!!!!

Every year for about the last five years, I have gone to the same studio in Creston (where I buy my pottery collection) and I have admired the pumpkin painting titled "Thinking of Pies". The first year, it was priced at $895.00. For the next four years, I longingly admired it - but it was $600.00. Every time, I sighed wistfully and put it back on the display, dreaming of how beautiful it would look in my dining room, but knowing that I shouldn't be spending that kind of money on yet another addition to my fall decor (which now overflows a HUGE AREA of my basement.

Last year, on our fall trip to Creston, the owners of the pottery studio told us that they were putting the business and house up for sale and leaving Creston, to become full time residents of Mexico. I thought that might be the last time that I ever saw my pumpkin print, but I still put it back on the rack and walked away (which is a huge feat, if you know anything about me). Last weekend, I was surprised to see that the studio was still open, although the "For Sale" sign from the realtor impressed on my mind that this might really be the last time that we got to visit with the owners and buy the last installment on my pottery collection.

Sure enough, David told us that they had been successful in selling the business, the house was the last thing to go, and by October 1st, they were on their way to Mexico, not to be artists anymore, at least not for a living. I could not find the pottery pieces that I had wanted to purchase to complete my set, but David offered to custom make them for me and leave them behind, I could pick them up at Thanksgiving, when we come to take photos of all of the fall displays in the fruit stands.

I didn't even want to let my self look in the direction of the pumpkin painting. I was sure that it was gone. But it wasn't!!! Not only was it sitting in its place, when I turned it over to look at the price (one more time) it had been marked down for a quick sale to $150.00. I just about fainted!!! It wasn't getting out of my hands this time!! Mike came over, glanced at the price, smiled at me and took it away from my hot little hands, and added it to my pile - without a word!! He knew!!! He didn't even have to say a word. Not only that, when we got home, he arranged with his sister-in-law to do the framing for me. I had to take a photo of the painting, sitting on my veranda, because I was soooo excited!!!! "Thinking of Pies" is finally mine!

Lessons From My Mother

I was so inspired by our trip to Creston, B.C. this weekend that I just had to start scrap booking fall layouts! As most of you know, I "resist" making one page layouts and snottily refer to them as "one page wonders". Okay, I admit it, I am a snot!! Please don't take any offense by my put down of single page layouts!!! But to me, most often, these layouts contain one photo and next to no journaling (which is really my pet peeve in the scrap booking world) - sometimes only a quote and a date grace the page. They tend to show off a lot of pretty product, but don't tell too much about the person in the photo, or the person who made the page. But whenever I start a new album, there has to be a front page and a back page, no matter how hard I try to get around it!!! So I decided to use my one lone photograph of my canning jars, filled to the brim with pungent pickled carrots, to make a tribute page to my mom and everything that she has taught me.
I love the way the light is coming through the window and shining through the mason jars - which by the way, are one of my most favorite comfort items in the world. I love mason jars!!! As my moods strike me, I fill them with colorful flowers from the garden or sand, seashells and candles and cupboards full of jars get filled with crisp veggies and sun soaked fruit from our Creston trips. They are warm and homey and totally full of goodness!
Our trip last weekend, while short, was one of the best in recent years! Mike and I spent three days scouring the fruit stands, antique stores, my favorite pottery shop - we had so much fun!!! The truck and trailer were bursting with treasures on the way home. I will take some photos of my "finds" and post them soon!

Scrapbooking History

So you are probably wondering why I am scrap booking a page on slavery? This layout was one that I started last year, but found a little difficult. It is not like you can walk into any scrapbook store and find embellishments for slavery!!! It took a very long time to find all of the pieces of the puzzle. I googled slavery and downloaded a few images that showed slaves at auction and how they (the people) were advertised and what selling prices would be expected for them. I was also able to procure some drawings of the slaves loaded on ships and estate records that listed the human inventory along with the cattle, sheep, horses and other "belongings" to the estates. Some of the photos were very graphic and made me shudder.

By printing out the images and then collaging them together, I was able to create the backgrounds for the two pages. A clip art bull whip seemed to be the most appropriate embellishment for the page, considering that I did not want to cover up much of the text in the old slavery auction bills. I also used Barracks signature saying "Anything Can Happen" and included the People magazine article about Obama's historic election. But why scrapbook it in the first place?

From the very beginning of my scrapbook hobby, I have included pages in my family albums about significant events that have shaped our world. Because we are creating "history books" for our families, I feel it is necessary to include world events that have changed the way we live, the way we do business, the way we feel about things. Y2K, the terrorist attacks of 9-11, Amish school shootings, the stock market crash/Motor industry bailouts/recession and Barrack Obama's history making election all deserve a place in our scrapbooks. They have changed us in some way. Just try to get through security at an airport,with a liquid, and see what happens!!!

So the next time that a world event occurs that has a significant impact on you - scrap it!

Things I Love About Summer

If you could summer in a jar, my absolute favorite thing about summer is my soup recipe, with ingredients straight from the garden, it can not be beat! Try it out and see if you don't agree. It might seem a little complicated, because of all of the steps, but it is just a lot of chopping and dicing and nothing is too hard. Don't be freaked out by the title - it is not like the borscht that you have tasted that is just full of beets! This has a beet in it for color, but you fish it out and throw it away about halfway through the recipe. This soup is creamy and rich and chock full of good veggies! I have tried using the food processor to speed up the process (LOL) but it really made the ingredients too fine, almost like a big pot of baby food. Plus, there is something therapeutic about cutting all of the vegetables by hand and putting some "love" in the pot.

Cindy's Summer Borscht

In a large soup pot or stock pot, add the following ingredients and let simmer away :

1 quart canned tomatoes

1 onion, chopped finely

1 cup cream (I use whipping cream)

While that is cooking, peel about four large potatoes, do not cut them up fine, leave in large chunks so that you can fish them out of the soup later on.

Add to the pot:

the four large potatoes cut in big chunks

2 carrots, chopped

1 pint (2 cups) frozen or fresh peas

1 tbsp salt

Cover with boiling water and let it simmer away until the potatoes are cooked. While that is happening, crack a beer (LOL) and chop up the following:

5 stalks of celery, chopped up finely

1/2 head of cauliflower ,cut up finely

1 small head of green cabbage, cut up FINELY - no one likes big shreds of cabbage!

Fish out the big potatoes and mash them with salt and pepper, lots of butter and cream. They should be runny . Set aside. Add to the pot:

1 tbsp dried dill

the celery

the cauliflower

While that is simmering away, have another beer (you deserve it for slaving away over a hot soup pot) and fry 1/2 of the pile of cabbage and one onion, chopped in lots of butter. Watch this carefully, do NOT let the cabbage brown. You just want to sweat it and "almost" take it to the point of carmelization. ALMOST. If you cook it until it browns, it looks like there are "burnt bits" in the creamy soup.

When you are done frying the cabbage, finely chop and add to the pot:

1 green pepper, seeded

salt and dill to taste

Peel and dice four small potatoes and add to the soup:

raw pile of cabbage

fried cabbage/onion mixture

finely diced raw potatoes

Let that come to a boil once more. Turn off heat. Stir in mashed potato mixture. Cover the pot and let it sit, to fully cook the last vegetables. When you are ready to serve, bring the soup up to temperature. Taste for the last time and add salt and/or dill if necessary.

This sounds really complicated, but it isn't. It is just the best summer soup you will ever have! Enjoy!!

Summer Nirvana

Summer has so many attributes that I love, although it can never top autumn in my mind, it certainly gives it a run for its money. Have you ever had one of those days, were you don't really have any where else to be, you don't really have anything else to do, no one is expecting anything of you and this calm, serene peaceful feeling comes over you. It does not happen much in my life. Usually there are millions of pressing details every day that make those days just ordinary days. Only about one day of the year do I get that special feeling. Everything is good in my world, I have no worries and this state of mind just overtakes me. It is the day that you take the time to stop to smell the new rose that has blossomed, the day that you sit on the veranda with a cold beer and you SAVOUR it, not just drink it, the day that you really hear the different sounds of the birds twittering in the garden, the day that you realize that there is a hummingbird nest just a few feet from the veranda railing and it has been there all along and you just never LOOKED before. The day that you taste a warm from the sun, wild raspberry and you don't think that you have ever tasted anything so perfect and sweet. I imagine that this feeling is like the state that people obtain when they are deep in meditation. It's just too bad that it only happens one time a year.

Why do we push ourselves so hard? Why do I feel the need to fill every waking moment with some sort of productive activity? Why, when my whole yard is weeded and pristine, I decide to build a new brick wall and yet another flower bed? Another obligation that has to be met with regards to weeding and watering and dead heading. Another job, in an already "bursting at the seams" schedule.

Contentment. Why can I not achieve it? Why do I only get to feel calm and rested and wonderful just one day out of 365. IT'S MY MOTHER'S FAULT!!!!!

My mother is the proverbial energizer bunny. She never stops. She never rests. She can accomplish more in one day than most people do in a week. She expects perfection, she is demanding - on her body, on her production, and on her expectations. My need to fill every moment with activity is directly a result from being raised by an over achiever.

I have read that if you have an abusive or alcoholic person in your family, it takes four generations to undo the harm that one person has inflicted on the family. Looking at Mom and myself and Megan (my daughter) I can tell with absolute certainty that we are still a good four generations away from achieving a more peaceful, slothful, relaxed, lazy version of ourselves.

With that in mind, I am going to go and weed the vegetable garden.