What did you do on your Christmas vacation?

I finally took a few days off from work over the holidays. Work was slow anyway, and I didn't have any classes scheduled, so it seemed like a good time to catch up on some fun!

Amanda and I grabbed a slice of pizza at Vinnie Van Go-Go's then wandered around Broughton Street checking out all the holiday displays. This over sized Nutcracker freaked me out about 3 seconds after this picture was taken: as I turned to walk away it's arm and mouth started moving!

I have been having a great time knitting the fun toys from my new favorite book, Knitted Toy Tales. This owl was really easy to make, and I'm in the middle of finishing an elephant and piggy!

If you didn't already know, I have a pretty firm policy on gifts: make it myself or forget about it. (There are, of course, a few exceptions. But for the most part if you get a gift from me it will be something I made with my own two hands.)

For Dad's Christmas gift, I made him a pair of purple, flannel pajamas. Flannel is one of my favorite fabrics and I've made PJ bottoms before on many occasions. This was my first attempt at the complete set and I have to say I'm pretty happy with it!

Joy's present was a bit belated. By "belated" I mean that I actually made it back in 2003 and just got around to framing and giving it to her! I drew this picture of her cat, Bailey A.K.A. Meemers, from a photo I took when I had been living on her couch after college. I re-discovered it in the packing and moving process of last March and decided to finally frame it up and pass it along.

Harley was happy with her new bed (this is one of those "handmade gift exceptions" because the foam material I wanted to use to make her a bed cost $60 and this ready-made bed only cost $19!).

Dad and I attended a Compline service at the Christ Church downtown. I can see why some people may not enjoy a "passive" service where the congregation merely listens. But for me, it is comforting to partake in a service yet not recite passages and phrases which I do not wholly believe.

And what are the holidays if not a time for comfort food? I made one of my favorite dishes: Lentil Shepherd's Pie for dinner and savored the leftovers for many days.

I rounded out my holiday events with a quick walk on the beach New Year's Day. It was a bit on the chilly side (for Georgia) and storm clouds were threatening, so I didn't linger long. But I did enjoy the fresh air, beautiful shells and adorable little sand pipers that were flitting about.

Care Package #8: Don't sniff the box!

I picked up a bag of mini-Reese Peanut Butter Cups a few weeks ago with the intention of eventually making Peanut Butter Cup Brownies. Then I made a fatal mistake: I opened the bag to use one Peanut Butter Cup as a prop to pose my newly finished knitted Ant.

Sure, it looks really cute and I'm happy with the way the finished Ant came together (I'm also happy to finally be done with it!). But after the Ant photo shoot, I had to eat the Peanut Butter Cup. I mean, it was already unwrapped, so I couldn't put it back. And throwing it away was just out of the question. And one little Peanut Butter Cup all by itself is not such a big deal. But there was also the issue of the bag. The bag full of dozens of other little Peanut Butter Cups sitting on top of my cabinet taunting me. After nibbling all weekend I finally decided that I had to make the brownies ASAP, before all the Peanut Butter Cups were gone!

I may come back later and post the recipe, but I wasn't very happy with it. Don't get me wrong, the brownies were perfectly fine, but I didn't think they were great. They certainly didn't come close to the Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies. They did, however, smell wonderful. In fact, even after I vacuum-sealed the brownies and taped the box to the point it would take a blowtorch to open it, you could still smell the chocolaty goodness.

Um, Brrrr

I moved to Georgia just a little less than a year ago. The first few weeks I was here it was kinda chilly. According to folks in Savannah, it was freezing. But, having just come from a location that actually was freezing, I sorta enjoyed the "mild" winter temperatures. I'm also not the sort of person that generally complains about the weather, it being one of those things over which I have no control (at least not yet, anyway...).

So the fact that Savannah has been getting down into the teens and low 20s during the night and barely topping out at 50 during the day is not really upsetting to me. What is upsetting, however, is that my heat system decided that this was the week it would up and die on me! I guess it just had enough and couldn't keep fighting the good fight to keep me warm and toasty (and by "warm and toasty" I mean 62 degrees) anymore. My property manager brought over a couple of space heaters...which do absolutely nothing in rooms with 13 foot ceilings. So Saturday night and most of Sunday Harley and I camped out in my bedroom trying to fend off hypothermia.

When I wandered out to use the bathroom and noticed that the rest of my house was a mere 40 degrees I decided that it was no longer fun to tough it out: I sent Harley to spend the week with Dad and have been bunking up at a friend's house for the week.

As of this morning I am waiting for a compressor to arrive. Hopefully it will be installed and charged up tomorrow and I can return to life as I know it. It has been kinda relaxing to stay at Amanda's, but I am a home-body that misses my own home! I also miss my morning walks around Forsyth and my puppy and my own bed and not having to live out of a suitcase and having a choice of what to wear each morning.

Interestingly, this has actually been a very positive learning experience for me. When I thanked Amanda for offering to let me stay, she replied that she was just excited to be able to do something for me. Now, I love doing things for others; I get a lot of pleasure out of making gifts, or helping out, or any other type of giving/doing. But for some reason, maybe owing to my fierce sense of independence, I rarely allow others the opportunity to "do" for me, thus denying them the pleasure that I so greatly enjoy. Clearly this is something that I need to work on, especially since I have such wonderfully caring and giving friends. I think this is what Steven Covey means by "inter-dependence" being more powerful than independence...

Care Package #7: New Year's

I thought long and hard about what to send in the New Year's care package. I don't like buying junky stuff, so I didn't want to send the usual noise makers and confetti. I thought about some traditional New Year good-luck foods, like Black Eyed Peas, but didn't think Brian would have a way to cook them. Then I thought about one of the biggest parts of New Year's Eve: the kiss at midnight! Since I couldn't be there for a kiss at midnight, I figured I could send him a bunch of kisses... Hershey Kisses, that is.


I tried a new Peanut Butter Cookie recipe for the base of these Hershey Kiss cookies. Seemed to taste the same as my old recipe, so nothing really exciting there.

Just for fun I decided to try a completely new cookie.

You can find the Raspberry Pinwheel recipe here. They are pretty yummy, but I need to work on the rolling process: most of the jam squeezed out while I was rolling it up. Oh, and Harley helped herself to two sticks of butter and a package of cream cheese that were softening on the counter. A quick trip to the vet for X-rays showed that the packaging wouldn't cause any blockage problems and also revealed that she had been shot twice with a BB gun! Seems my girl had a tough life before I found her.

I was very surprised and more than a little annoyed to find out that the Army does not issue pillows to the soldiers. Brian had been sleeping on an inflatable camping pillow until he got a flat, stiff pillow from the PX. So I picked up a soft, fluffy pillow from TJ Maxx and sent it over in a large vacuum bag, along with a broken-in pillowcase. I was afraid that shipping it in a vacuum bag might kill the fluffiness, but Brian said it sprang right back to life as soon as he opened it.

Care Package #6: Christmas, Part 3

This is the last Christmas box...really. Three is enough, right? I thought I would be able to get away with sending the sugar cookies in one of the flat boxes, until I remembered Brian's only request for a Christmas gift: a file holder for his desk. I managed to squeeze it all in together and hopefully the cookies weren't totally broken by the time they arrived. I also tossed in a box of Propel drink mix, just for fun.

As yummy as they are, I just don't think sugar cookies are worth all the trouble of rolling, cutting, rolling again, cutting some more, then decorating. A friend pointed out that it's more fun with little kids helping to decorate, but I'll have to take her word on that. I'm definitely a drop-cookie kind of girl. But I'm glad that I gave these a shot because they looked really great when I sealed them (the diamond shape and colored decorations gave the sealed packages the look of Argyle!).
Sugar Cookies

Ingredients
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup vegetable shortening (such as Crisco)
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
colored or coarse sugar, for decorating

Directions

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl; set aside.

Combine the butter and shortening in the bowl of an electric mixer and cream until smooth. Slowly add the sugar, beating on medium. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla. With a wooden spoon, stir the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture 1 cup at a time.

Turn the dough onto a floured surface and divide in half. Place each half on a large sheet of plastic wrap. Flatten into disks about 1 inch thick. Wrap separately then refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to 1 week.

To bake, preheat oven to 350° F. Roll to 1/8 inch thick on a well-floured surface. Cut into shapes. Sprinkle with the colored sugar, if desired. Using a spatula, transfer to a large greased baking sheet, sugared-side up. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges. Transfer to a cooling rack.

Harley decided that she wanted to get in on some of this cookie business. I left some butter and cream cheese out on the counter to soften and popped out to the store for an hour. I didn't think anything about leaving them out since Harley has never shown any inclination to get food off the counter. Well, to my great surprise I came home to find that two sticks of butter and an entire package of cream cheese were missing. I mean completely gone: there were no scraps of wrapping or greasy paw prints or anything. I checked the house over top to bottom and found no sign of the baking supplies. Harley was looking a little uncomfortable, so I decided a trip to the vet was in order (cream cheese is wrapped in the foil-type paper, and I didn't think that could be a good thing to eat). Long story short, after $200 worth of X-rays, Harley refunded the stolen goods all over the exam room floor. I didn't see the $200 as wasted because I found out that her hips are in good shape, she has a bit of arthritis in her back and at some point in time she had been shot twice with a BB gun! Harley seems to be doing fine today and hopefully will pass any remaining junk in the next day or two.

Care Package #5: Christmas, Part 2

I hadn't originally intended to send multiple Christmas packages to Brian. But once I got thinking about all the holiday stuff I wanted to make, I realized it would not all fit in one box! So I decided to break it out into three shipments. This second package ended up being a monster, weighing in at 14.5 pounds!

Brian told me that he has become a favorite when packages arrive, so I knew I wanted to make enough for him to share. There are 11 guys in his platoon, so I whipped up 12 stockings. They were really quick and simple, since odds are they won't make it back home after this deployment. As much as I wanted to stuff the stockings myself, due to the logistics of shipping Brian had to be in charge of assemble.

I wanted to make a few different snacks to fill the stockings, and had picked up a bunch of whole nuts on sale at Kroger. My first attempt at candied nuts was not really a stunning success, but they still taste good and I guess that's what really matters.

Real Simple Candied Nuts
2 cups unsalted mixed raw nuts (such as almonds, cashews, pecans, and walnuts)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions
Heat oven to 400° F. Spread the nuts on a rimmed baking sheet and toast, tossing once, until fragrant, 6 to 8 minutes; transfer to a bowl. Once the baking sheet is cool, line with parchment.

In a large skillet, combine the sugar, salt, and 2 tablespoons water. Simmer, swirling the pan occasionally (do not stir as it will crystallize the caramel), until the liquid is amber colored, 12 to 15 minutes.

Stir in the nuts, then spread the mixture on the prepared baking sheet, separating the nuts as much as possible. Let cool. Break up any large clusters before serving. The nuts can be prepared and stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

I had a tough time getting the sugar to caramelize (maybe because I tried to triple the recipe and make three batches all at once?) so I just stirred the melted sugar over the nuts and said done! I'll try it again with a recipe from Alana and see if I have more success.


Peppermint Bark is a very simple but really beautiful holiday snack. I made some two years ago and people went crazy over it!

Peppermint Bark
12 Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Bars
2 bags white chocolate chips
2 dozen candy canes

Using a food processor, chop the candy canes up until they are broken into small pieces but not powdered.

Unwrap the Hershey's bars and line them up side by side on parchment paper. Melt the white chocolate (either in a double boiler or in the microwave, stirring frequently). Let the white chocolate cool slightly, then spread quickly across the Hershey bars, spreading evenly. Quickly sprinkle the chopped candy canes over the white chocolate, pressing gently with the back of a spatula to stick them into the chocolate. Let cool completely then wrap or seal in baggies.


Kimberly's mom turned me on to chocolate dipped Oreos. When you use semi-sweet chocolate (instead of milk chocolate) it makes a snack that is nearly irresistible. Really. I couldn't resist eating the ones that didn't dip just right. There isn't really a recipe, just melt chocolate and dip the cookies! YUM!

Since the chocolate peanut better fudge was such a hit, I made another batch of fudge as well. However, this time I made chocolate Oreo fudge! Instead of splitting the marshmallow mixture between chocolate and peanut butter chips, I just used two cups of chocolate chips and stirred in some chopped Oreo cookies before pouring the fudge into the pan. After the fudge cooled, the cookies got a little soft and almost had a brownie consistency. Truly decadent!

The best kind of news!

In the midst of trying to not be depressed about the one year anniversary of losing Mom and Jen, and reconciling myself to the fact that my boyfriend will be in a war zone for at least 10 more months, and attempting to keep some kind of focus on my very busy work life, I have just gotten a bit of the best possible kind of news: pure, unadulterated, no-strings-attached good news!

My dear friends Alana and Xander just got word from their adoption agency: they are having twins! Sure, they planned on adopting a boy and girl under the age of 12 months... But they are getting twins! Actual, honest to goodness, related to each other twins! Check out their blog for Alana's very entertaining recollection of the news.

I couldn't be happier for them to get this news just before the holidays. Of course, they probably won't be bringing the little sweeties home until March, but the worst of the waiting is over. For my part, I can now start making their baby gifts!