2011 is coming to an end.  I'm sorta sad to see it go.  I'm sorta happy to see it go.  The year ends with my mixed emotions.


We did a lot this year.  We dug a basement - 15 feet by 16 feet, and started adding an addition onto our home - right out the kitchen.  


2011 has to be the rainiest year of the last 50 years!!!  From the time we cut the hole into our basement, it rained and rained and rained!!  I've done twice as much laundry, washing so many muddy clothes.  Our backyard was a swamp for a couple of months!  


Now things are progressing along.  We have the walls up, insulation and siding done.  The roof was completed on July the fourth.  We have pre-wired the place.


2012 should be the year of the finish of our addition.  We look forward to completing it, and having many family parties in it.  We'll pray for the best.


The best and happiest New Year's to you all!

My FAVORITE pie crust - right here!  It is good thick or thin.



Best Pie Crust


2 c. flour
1 t. salt
1 c. shortening (Crisco is the best)
1/3 c. milk
1 T vinegar


Mix vinegar into the milk.  Set aside.  Add salt to flour.  Cut shortening into flour until the size of peas.  Add milk mixture.  Roll out on a floured board - or use a pillowcase, and just throw it in the wash afterwards.  Bake 10-12 minutes at 400 degrees.  




Happy Thanksgiving!

It was the Primary Program in our ward today.  I have 3 grandkids in my ward.  We've been talking about the program for a few weeks - since we went to their cousins program.  I've tried to get them excited about it.  The oldest told me that she wasn't going to sing : (  - maybe just mouth random words.  Every time I watched her, she was singing right along!  The Middle child had the best smile on his face at all times.  The sunbeam just stood on the front row and twirled his hair!  Later I asked the oldest one why she was singing.  She said, "  When you're under pressure, you can do almost anything!"  I asked her what pressure she was under.  "Well, if we didn't sing, we'd be yelled at for the whole singing time today!"  LOL!  Kids!  I love them.

Walnut Snowball Cookies Recipe

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 35 minutes

You can make these cookies with wild black walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, hickory or butternuts -- all will work fine.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup all-purpose or cake flour
• 1 1/2 cups walnuts, finely chopped
• 2-3 Tbsp sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 pound butter (at room temperature)
• Pinch of salt
• Powdered sugar, to coat (about 1 cup)

METHOD

1 Preheat the oven to 300°F and prepare a large cookie sheet.

2 Mix all the dry ingredients (flour, walnuts, salt, sugar) in a large bowl. Add the vanilla extract. Add the butter in little pieces, and combine everything together with your (clean!) hands until the mixture looks like a coarse meal with nut bits in it. Form the dough into small balls no larger than a walnut and place on the cookie sheet, spaced at least an inch apart from each other.

3 Bake for 35 minutes. When they are still warm, but cool enough to touch, roll the cookies in some powdered sugar. Set aside on a rack to cool completely. When cool, dust again in powdered sugar.

Yield: Makes about 20 cookies.

A few pictures from our shop hop adventures.

Dolls.  I love them.
Here is a picture of 
some bug dolls I made
There is a ladybug 
and a bee.

This is my Halloween Fireplace.  I made the banner with cake mix boxes for the base.  The other side is Merry Christmas.

This is a close-up of the wreath made from pages out of a book.

We have much to be thankful for . . .

our family . . .

our friends . . .

jobs . . .

a home to live in . . .

opportunity to build onto our home . . .

our church . . .

good neighbors.

It's been a very rainy spring and summer.  We started working on our house - we're building a 15 foot by 16 foot addition.  It has rained SOOOOO much, that we are really behing schedule.  Even last night, August 28, 2011 we have water in the basement again.  I can't tell you how much extra laundry I've done with all of our flooding.  The walls are up, the roof is on.  We have windows, doors and a lot of cement in.  Al has pre-wired the addition as well as the garage, so we can have a dedicated line to our trailer.  Oh, the mud and all of the work.  I never anticipated it would be so hard.  We will just keep pursuing the dream.