Merry Christmas to ALL!

And I just want to say to each and everyone of you

that you have been a blessing to me

this year.

With all your kindness, support and even a shoulder or two,

 I so appreciate your friendship.

 Spend time with your friends and family

making wonderful new memories.

May all your

come true ♥

Be careful with your fun new gifts,

or

Wishing all of you out there in blog land the most

Magical Memorable Merry Christmas ever!

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

It You See A Fat Man........

IF YOU SEE A FAT MAN ...

Who's jolly and cute,

 

Wearing a beard and

a red flannel suit,

 

And if he is chuckling

and laughing away,

 

While flying around

in a miniature sleigh,

With eight tiny reindeer

to pull him along,

 

Then let's face it...

 

Your eggnog's too strong!

 

Victorian Scrapbook Images

Holiday Baking with Some Knock Offs

OK OK I finally got off my bottom and did some baking.

I was waiting for it to rain. Why?

Because that's when I enjoying baking.

BUT the weather wasn't cooperating and it's getting pretty close to Christmas so....

But let me digress for a minute.

We went for a visit to B & T's for a doggie play date with Lily last weekend

and came home with lots and lots of Pecans from her parents tree!

Yippee!!!! 

How awesome is that!

Thank you so much L & J!!!

I have already shelled ALL of them!

OK on to the baking...

I made 4 loaves of Zucchini Bread and 3 loaves of Banana Bread

This is my fave recipe for the Banana Bread

Only I didn't check to see if I had enough Bisquick ----

I didn't :(

I didn't feel like going to the store,

but remembered I had a recipe of Knock off Bisquick.

I dug it out made it and used it in place of Bisquick.

It worked perfectly! Yay!

I don't plan on buying Bisquick anymore because this is so much cheaper!

Here's the recipe should you happen to run out...

Homemade Bisquick Mix

5 cups flour

1/4 cup baking powder

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter or margarine

Mix together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.

Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly.

Store in an airtight container for up to 6 weeks or in the freezer for longer storage

Makes approx. 6 cups.

Use for any recipes as you would Bisquick.

I've also made 2 batches of Rice Krispy Treats, a double batch of Rocky Road,

white chocolate fudge with pecans and chocolate fudge with walnuts.

I also have a knock off recipe for Sweetened Condensed Milk.

I haven't tried it but in case you happen to run out here it is.

Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 cup instant nonfat dry milk

2/3 cup sugar

3 Tablespoons melted margarine

1/3 cup boiling water

Combine all ingredients in blender or food processor (it can be done by hand).

Blend until very smooth. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.

Makes 1 1/4 cups equal to a 14 oz can of commercial sweetened condensed milk.

For fat free, leave out the margarine.

2 batches of Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies

and 3 batches of Chocolate Leftover Cookies.

Why are they called "leftover" cookies?

Because I threw in what ever was leftover from the rest, LOL

Some chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, pecans, walnuts, oatmeal,

I think there may have been a few stray marshmallows in there too ;)

Whew!

I'm baked out!

I'll see how I feel tomorrow whether I'll do more baking or not.

If only it would rain.....

During the Holidays Remember........

A glass of wine

To my friends who enjoy a glass of wine..

And those who don't and are always

Seen with a bottle of water in their hand.

As Ben Franklin said:

In wine there is wisdom,

In beer there is freedom,

In water there is bacteria.

In a number of carefully controlled trials,

Scientists have demonstrated that if we drink

1 litre of water each day,

At the end of the year we would have absorbed

More than 1 kilo of Escherichia coli, (E. Coli) - bacteria

Found in feces.

In other words, we are consuming 1 kilo of poop.

However,

We do NOT run that risk when drinking wine & beer

(or tequila, rum, whiskey or other liquor)

Because alcohol has to go through a purification process

Of boiling, filtering and/or fermenting.

Remember:

Water = Poop,

Wine = Health

Therefore, it's better to drink wine and talk stupid,

Than to drink water and be full of Shit..

There is no need to thank me for this valuable information:

I'm doing it as a public service

Indoor Hopscotch Knock Off

The last time we went to our counselors

she had made a kiddie corner

that had a hopscotch area.

It was the cutest thing,

made from a thick foam core material

 that fit together like a puzzle.

Similar to this one.

T said that his girlfriends little girl loved to play hopscotch

and that would be a great Christmas gift since they live in an apartment.

After shopping around the least expensive he could find was $40.

Too steep for this frugal family.

So we started brain storming on how we could make one.

We could:

buy some foam core material

but wasn't sure if we could get it that thick

and what it would cost

or find some rubber mats that could be "dressed up"

or.....

a bunch of other things that wouldn't really work

physically

or monetarily.

Plus it needs to be sent out of state to her,

so postage cost (weight) comes into play also.

I suggested an old sheet that was still good in the middle

he suggested felt for the squares

He set about working on it.

Centering the felt squares

Cutting the numbers out

Using spray adhesive to attach the squares

Almost done

Vintage buttons secured the corners

He added her name with a Princess Crown above 

Just need to finish the sides.

Sorry didn't get a photo of it finished.

Needed to get it in the mail.

But not bad for a frugal knock off using what we had.

He did a pretty good job for some one who crafting is a bit foreign.

Good job T!!!

You put all your love into this.

She is going to love it!

♥♥♥