Day Five of the Twelve Days of Christmas

Christmas is all about blessings. We give the gift of service, which is a blessing to others, as well as to ourselves. We give other gifts as well, and we receive gifts, of service or otherwise, which bless both the giver and the receiver. It all starts at Thanksgiving, and continues on to Christmas, and long after, if we are true Christians. So today's project is a blessing box.

You start with a box of some sort. Not too big, not too small. An oatmeal box works well, or I have discovered a garbage bag box works great! I use a Hefty Tall Kitchen, 13 gallon size bag that comes in a box of 40 or 45 bags. The box has the opening on the top and makes a perfect slot for our purposes. Cover whatever box you choose with pretty paper, or have your children draw pictures of things they are thankful for and use them to cover the box. If you use an oatmeal box, cut a slot in the lid. If you use a different box, such as the garbage bag box, be sure to put glue around the edge of the opening and cut the paper to the shape of the opening. If your box doesn't have an opening already, cut one.

Now cut some brightly colored paper strips and put them in a baggie by the box. Each day, maybe right before you bless the evening meal, have each family member write on one of the strips something they are thankful for, and drop it into the box. Maybe you want to do this only with the Sunday meal. It's all up to you and your family, of course. (If you have a large family, you may only want to do this once a week, or you will have too may strips.) On Thanksgiving day, read all the strips and then staple them into a paper chain to use for decorating for Christmas! And start all over! Decorate a new box every year, and this will be a wonderful family tradition that will help you all to remember what you are truly thankful for.

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a child is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

Here's a thought from Oprah: "Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough." So true. 'Night, Gramma G.

Day Four of the Twelve Days of Christmas

Angels We Have Heard On High! Sweetly singing o'er the plain. Angels are most often associated with music. We read in the Bible about heavenly choirs of angels, we say she sings like an angel, we say a beautiful song or rendition of a song is heavenly music. So today's project is an angel. And of course, she has to have music to go along with her. (I'm sorry the photo is so lousy. My camera is having issues.)

First, you need to find a Christmas carol that you really like, or use the one mentioned above. Make a photo copy of the sheet music, maybe from a hymnbook or sing-along book. You will need a wooden plaque to put the music on. You can stain the wood or paint it, or leave it it's natural color. Your choice. You can size the music so the whole thing fits on the plaque, or you can just use a part of it. I like just using a part of it, and I tear the edges so that it looks like I once had the whole piece, (which I really did!) and decoupage it onto the plaque. You can use a commercial decoupage medium, like Royal Coat, or you can make your own from 2 parts white glue and 1 part water.

While the plaque is drying, it's time to make the angel. This can be done in any number of ways, but I will give you two ideas. One way is to make her out of salt dough. Form the angel and bake her at 250 degrees for about 2 1/2 hours. When she is cool and hard, you can paint her, or leave her the natural color, and varnish her for protection.

The other way is to make a small rag angel. This is fast and easy, and all you need is a piece of muslin 6" to 8" square, a small ball of stuffing, some moss for her hair, and a little ribbon. Fold the muslin corner to corner, forming a triangle. (If you tear the muslin square, you get nice raveley edges, which I really like.) Place the ball of stuffing inside at the middle, and tie the muslin around it with a piece of string or some heavy thread. Glue the moss on the head for hair, glue the two side points of the triangle in front for her arms, and glue a piece of ribbon around her head for a halo. You can use a fine-point permanent marker to give her a little face, or leave her just like she is. (Faceless is kind of cute.) You can also glue a little tiny rosebud to her hands and one on her halo to add a little decoration. Now glue her to the plaque, leaving enough of the music exposed so you can tell what carol it is. Put a picture hanger on the back, and proudly display your musical angel. Or give her as a gift. These are great gifts for your children to make for teachers. My kids made the salt dough version many years ago, and I know for a fact that their teachers still have them and bring them out every year at the holidays.

"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God is the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." Luke 2:10-14

Remember, if the only prayer you said in your whole life was "Thank you", that would suffice. 'Night, Gramma G.

Day Three of the Twelve Days of Christmas

In the Bible we read of the wise men who came from the east to worship the Christ child. They followed the star, and who knows how long it took them to get there. They had a visit with Herod first, and then when they found the holy family, the scriptures say they came into the house, not the stable, and saw the young child, not babe, so it probably took them a while to get there. The nativity sets we get today almost always include them, but they probably were not there at, or even close to, the birth of the Savior. But that's OK. They came and worshipped, and they need to be included.

Today's project is an ornament representing the star that lead the Wise Men to Bethehem. It's fairly simple to make, and will be enjoyed by all, especially any little ones that are around to help make them.

Start with a piece of waxed paper and some sparkly fabric paint or glitter glue. (The glitter glue makes a harder ornament that will probably last longer.) Draw a pattern for your star ornament and place it under the waxed paper so you can see it. Use the fabric paint or glue to draw the ornament on the waxed paper. Make sure your lines are thick enough to have body when they are dry. Also be sure to draw a loop on one point so you have somewhere to put the hanger. Let it set overnight, thread a tiny ribbon through the loop, or just an ornament hanger, and hang it on your tree! You can make quite a few in one sitting and let them all dry at once. After they are dry, you can turn them over and do the other side too, so that they are puffy on both sides. Have fun making different types of stars...just outlines, filled in, long pointy type stars like you see in nativity pictures, whatever your heart desires. There is no right or wrong, just fun. (This is a good way to make snowflakes, too.)

"Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem....And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshiped him..." Matthew 2:1, 11

Have a wonderful night as you watch your stars twinkle on your tree, and imagine how it would have felt to be there with the wise men. Here's a thought for you: Friends are like stars. You don't always see them, but you know they're always there. 'Night, Gramma G.

Day Two of the Twelve Days of Christmas

What do you know about candy canes? There are many stories and "legends" out there about this simple little candy, but most of them evolved after the candy cane came into use. One story has it that a candy maker in Indiana made the cane to represent Jesus. The stripes represent the beating He took, the red for His blood, the three small red stripes for the Trinity, etc., etc. One story has it dating back to early Christians and being a secret symbol by which they recognized each other. The truth is that the candy cane didn't come into being until at least the latter part of the 17th century, by which time most of Europe was already Christian! And as for the Indiana candy maker, candy canes were around long before there WAS an Indiana, and they were originally all white. The stripes didn't get their color until the beginning of the 20th century.

The story I like the best is only part fact and part fiction, but I still like it. It says that a priest in Cologne Cathedral about 1670 invented the candy cane to help keep the little children in the live nativity quiet through the evening. Now, we know he didn't "invent" it, but he probably did have the canes made in the shape of the shepherd's crook to entertain the children. It was still all white, though.

The candy was originally straight, too. It was made as a decoration for the Christmas tree soon after Europeans adopted the custom of having Christmas trees in their homes. The bent shape made it easier to hang on the tree, too. Christmas cards from before 1900 show all white canes, and those printed in the early 20th century show stripes on them.

Whichever story you subscribe to, the candy cane is a great thing! It represents the embodiment of the season, because you see them everywhere, whether in a secular setting such as with a department store Santa, or in a religious context, representing Christ as the good shepherd who saved us all. (If you turn it upside down, it's a "J" for Jesus, too!) I love candy canes, so today's project is two candy cane recipes. One for the actual candy, and one for a scrumptious bread in the shape of a candy cane. Take your pick.

Mom's Recipe For Candy Canes
3 c Sugar
1 ts Peppermint flavoring
1/2 c Water
3/4 c Lt. corn syrup
3/4 ts Red food coloring
1/4 ts Cream of tartar
Combine the sugar, water, syrup, and cream of tartar in a large sauce pan and heat till the sugar is dissolved well. Divide equally into two saucepans, and bring to a boil, but DON'T stir until each is 280 degrees. Add 1/2 tsp. peppermint to each pan and add the coloring to one, leaving the other plain. Pour onto an enamel or marble table to cool. Oil the table first, so the candy won't stick. Now, like taffy, you have to stretch and pull the candy and form it it into ropes of red and white. Put one rope of each color together and twist them around each other to form your candy canes. Leave them on the oiled surface to harden. Voila! You have real candy canes. Give them to your family and friends (and don't forget the neighbors), with a little card attached sharing the story you like the best about it's origins or meanings.

Now for recipe number two. This is a candy cane coffee cake that is really yummy. I got the recipe from "A Taste of Home" magazine.

Candy Cane Coffee Cake
1 TBS active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
2 eggs
2 TBS sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
Filling:
2 - 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla
Topping:
1 TBS confectioner's sugar
1 jar (12 oz.) cherry jam

In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water and set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine the butter, sour cream, eggs, sugar and salt. Add the yeast mixture and flour. Beat until smooth, but do not knead. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top, and cover and refrigerate overnight.
For the filling, mix the cream cheese, sugar, egg yolks and vanilla until blended. Now punch down the dough and turn it onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half and roll out each half out into a rectangle16"x10" and place on a baking sheet. On each long side, cut 1 1/2" wide strips about 3" into the center. This will leave about 4" in the middle uncut. Spread the filling down the center of each rectangle, and starting at one end, fold alternating strips at an angle across the filling. (I hope you can see from the picture what this is supposed to look like.) Pinch ends to seal and curve one end, forming a candy cane. Cover and let rise until doubled, about one hour.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Carefully remove from baking sheets to wire rack to cool. Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar. Stir the jam and then spoon over the tops of the loaves, creating stripes. (Be sure to refrigerate your leftovers because of the eggs.) Do the same as above, with a little card telling the story you like best.

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, kwwping watch over their focks by night." Luke 2:8

Remember, the Twelve Days of Christmas are not about how much you can give, but about spending time with your family and loved ones, doing good and enjoying each other's company. Here is a quote from Mother Theresa, who showed the whole world how to treat one another. "Spread love everywhere you go...let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier." 'Night, Gramma G.

Twelve Days of Christmas 2008 - Day 1

On the First Day of Christmas.....This is the beginning of my 12 Days of Christmas ideas. Make a small manger out of heavy paper and put a bag of straw or a mini bale of hay by the side of it. For each good deed done by a family member, they get to put a piece of straw in the manger, and hopefully by Christmas eve, there will be enough straw in the manger to cradle the baby Jesus. Here is a pattern for a paper manger that is easy to make and easy to store for the years to come. Cut heavy brown cardstock to the dimensions shown on the pattern. Fold and cut according to the pattern. Slip the two rectangles, which are the legs, into the slots you have cut and you have a manger! It will look something like the drawing to the left. Kids love to do this, and adults think its pretty fun, too, so give it a try.

I plan to keep these ideas simple and easy, so that you actually have the time to do them, without too much prep time or money spent. I hope you like them.

"And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn." Luke 2:7

Remember what this season and this celebration are all about as you go about the daily job of living, and hold Him in your heart, for this will bring you peace. 'Night, Gramma G.

Baa Humbug! :)

Christmas is coming up too fast and I am not ready! I am working madly to get something done for each of the kids, but I think I am fighting a losing battle. Maybe more of them will get gift cards. Yuk! I think gift cards are so impersonal, but I am up against a brick wall--both time-wise and also not knowing what to give them. They are getting older now, and have very definite likes and dislikes, and I don't know them well enough to know what they like. I didn't find an old-fashioned game this year to make for everyone, so I'm wracking my brain, small though it is, for something that I can give them that I can make in a week. HA! HA!

The library pocket books are almost finished, and they are looking really cute. I hope the library ladies will like them as much as I do. Sometimes I wonder why I do this? I could just make fudge and cookies, and call it good, and don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with that, but I always seem to feel the need to do something more personal. And that something is never quick to make. I always swear that I'm going to start in January for the next Christmas, but I never seem to do it, except for last year. By last December, I had almost everything made but the last-minute stuff, and it sure was nice. I will be trying to do it again next year. I am going to try to simplify my life, and that will help.

I've been talking to some of my children, trying to convince them that they need to down-size Christmas for their kids. They need to teach their children what Christmas is REALLY about, and it's not presents and parties and stuff. In fact, they have too much stuff. I was talking to a young mother last week who says that she and her husband started a family tradition a few years back that has simplified their Christmas and given them a lot more time to focus on the true meaning of Christmas, and on giving service. She has three children, and they each get 6 presents for Christmas. One from mom and dad, one from each set of grandparents, one fron Santa, and one from each of their siblings. That's all. No more. No going into debt for huge amounts of money, no trying to make sure that all the kids have the same number of presents, no lo-o-o-o-ong lists for Santa.....just 6 simple gifts. I thought about that for a week, and I think its one of the best ideas I've heard in a long time. By the time her children get to be teenagers, they will know that they are not going to get a mountain of presents and they won't expect it! I wish I had had such an idea when my kids were little. We have always made our gifts, but I really like the simplicity of her plan. I just wish my children would embrace that idea.

Well, I really got off on a tangent there, didn't I. But I guess what really bothers me is that I've got grandchildren that don't even know what the true meaning of Christmas is! They know nothing about the Savior, his birth, death and sacrifice. To them, Christmas is Santa and presents, and the more the better. This makes my heart hurt. I'm just not sure what I can do to change it. I am going to think on it.

I wanted to do a "12 Days of Christmas Series" for you with ideas for gifts and for service, but I don't know if I have it all together. I will start tomorrow, which really is the 1st Day of Christmas, and we'll see how it goes. I may skip a day here and there and let you come up with your own ideas. So here's to you and your good ideas. If you do something and it works out well, let me know. Post it in the comments for me (and others) to read. Or you could tell me about something that may not have worked out like you wanted it to, too, and maybe we can figure out a way to make it better next time. All will be welcomed.

Oh, by the way...I am 54 today! I am never sure I will make it to see another birthday, but I did this year. My husband turned 54 two days ago, and we are quickly approaching honest-to-goodness old age. We feel old now, but I know there's worse to come. I tell myself that every day that I wake up is a good day! Both of my parents died at the age of 59, so I have a few years left to go. I'll try to make them good ones.

For now, I must bid you adieu, and remember.....time with you is better than ice cream! 'Night, Gramma G.

Wow! I'm a Slacker!

WOW!!! I didn't realize it had been so long since I wrote. My life has been so hectic. My daughter has moved into her own apartment with the two boys, and my son has moved in instead with his little girl, who's 4. In a couple of weeks I think we'll have his other two, also, who are 10 and eleven. My husband and I were looking forward to having some time to ourselves, but that's not gonna happen! We could even use a bigger house! Life just never seems to follow the plans we lay out for it, does it? At least not for me. Oh well, it will give a chance to get to know these grandchildren better. The two oldest have been living with their mother in Tennessee, and the little one has been with her mother in Arizona, so we haven't gotten to see them very much lately. And we will still have the two boys for two days and nights a week, so our house will be rather busy.

I have also been busy trying to get another book written. I've got the drawings done, I think, and now I just have to type it all up together. This will be number one in the kid's crafts series. Now if I just knew what to do to get them published. There's a small publisher here in town, but they don't do children's books and they don't do craft-type books. That's what they told me. I gave a copy of the first book to the head librarian at the public library, and she said she really liked it. She led me to a big fat book (that I have no time to read) about how to get published, but it will be a while before I get around to it.

I have been busy, too, with helping to get the plans laid out for the year for the library story time. I am a volunteer for that program, and I really enjoy it. We read and tell stories, do activities and crafts, and have snacks. We did a Jackson Pollock painting a couple of weeks ago, and you should have seen the kids flinging that paint on that paper! They had a ball, and so did all of us adults. We all wound up with paint on us, but it was worth it, and it was only tempera paint, so it washed out. Sandie, who is in charge of Story Time, even wound up with purple paint in her hair! Last week we dedicated the whole day to Dr. Suess, and I wrote a poem in as Dr.-esque style as I could. Here it is:

There's a grouch on my couch.

He just walked in my door

And I really don't want him

Around anymore!

He grumps about this

And he gripes about that,

And he even complained

About the name of my cat!

He sits around eating

My cookies and chips,

And he ate up my veggies

And all of my dips!

He's rude and he's selfish

Like an old crocodile,

And he needs a new comb!

(Or a different hairstyle.)

I'm going to talk to him,

Tell him to go.

Tell him to leave here

And don't make it slow!

I don't like this grouch.

I just want him to leave.

Oh, wait, I forgot........

He's just make-believe!

I drew couches and some sample grouches and they colored them and cut them out and glued their grouches on the couches. They had a lot of fun, and it was the first time any of my writing has been public. It was kind of fun, even if it was only at Story Time! The next week we wrote a group poem about a ghost and a pumpkin, and then I wrote a companion poem to go with it. It was a lot of fun, and the kids love doing that sort of thing.

Now I'm trying to get the Christmas gifts going. I have a few done, and a few bought, but many more to go. I am making library pocket books for the ladies at the library, none of whom even know I have a blog, so I know I'm not giving anything away by writing this here. I am making ABC books for some on the grandkids, a game for Hal, a coloring bag for Hannah, and I'm not sure about the rest of them. The two oldest will get gift cards, I think, even though I hate the thoughts of that, but I don't know what to get them! And I need to send a nice care package to my oldest son, who just moved to Glendale, Arizona, to go to school. He knows no one there and doesn't start classes until Monday, and I'm sure after he starts classes he'll make some friends, but the holidays will be lonely, so I want to send him some cookies and fudge, things he likes. Maybe a magazine or two, some socks.....you know, kind of like what he would get in his Christmas stocking. I better get busy if I'm going to get it done, huh?

Well, I better go and get busy now. Too much to do and too little time. I will try to post more often, and not let so much time go by. Here is something I read a while back that I think is great: Live simply, love seriously, care deeply, speak kindly; leave the rest to God. Later, Gramma G.

Computers!!!

I have been having computer problems. My hinges have been slowly giving way, and they finally went gone! I finally found a pair that I could afford on ebay, and then they had to come from Hong Kong, and that took two weeks! But now they're on and my laptop will now hold its head up with dignity, whereas before it just laid flat, like a pancake. Not very condusive to much use. I've gotten very brave about working on my laptop. I have changed the monitor screen twice, (0nce was actually not necessary, because it wasn't the real problem) and I have replaced the converter at the bottom of the screen. Now the hinges. Not bad for an old lady, huh?

Talking about computers, I read an article in a magazine the other day that was about the 17 greatest advancements in the 20th century. One of them was the internet, and I sure do agree. I know there are a lot of things on the internet that are not good, and certainly people use it for purposes that are totally at odds with what I believe to be true and right, but think of all the good that has come from it. You can now keep in touch with family and friends in real time if you want to. You can send greetings, pass on advice and touching stories and recipes, all with the click of a button! How amazing is that? And think of all the genealogy that has been facilitated because of the internet. There is so much information available on our ancestors, and now we don't have to travel miles and miles to get it. That's not to say that you can take all that information at face value, because you can't. You still have to check it out, but its so much easier now. Being able to order birth and death certificates online is great, too. It really cuts down on the time we have to spend fact-finding.

My grandmother on my father's side used to spend a lot of time getting information on her (and mine) ancestors. She wrote letters, ordered microfilms, took trips to see people and cemeteries and record books....all of which I can now do from the comfort of my living room. And the programs just keep getting better! Now I can check and double check my information before I do anything with it!

I can also do my shopping from the comfort of my own living room, if I want to. And I do sometimes, because I'm really a home-body. I would be happy to stay at home all the time as long as I had my sewing and crafts and scrapbooking and art and genealogy and family and the supplies I needed to take care of them all. Unfortunately, I have to go out sometimes, but I would love to have a little cabin in the woods away from everything and (almost) everyone. I could be happy with that kind of life. Oh, well......

Now it's time to go. I have Christmas gifts to make, and I'm not making much progress, so I had better get busy. Remember, peace comes from within, not from outside sources. So look inside yourself and find your true peace. "Night, Gramma G.

Short and Sweet?

Oh my gosh!!! I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since I last posted! What a slacker. I have been so busy with everything else, I keep forgetting about this until it's the early hours of the morning, like now, and I'm too tired. I know, this is a recurring theme. I will try not to repeat myself again.

I am having a real problem with the spacing in this blog, and I can't figure out how to fix it. I also can't figure out how to get my slideshow the right size so the right-hand edges of the pics don't run of the edge. I even changed slideshows, and slideshow providers, and it still does it. Oh, well, what would I have to do if I had no problems?

Problems are what life is about. It isn't about being happy all the time, or having everything you want, or even everything you need necessarily, but rather it's about how we handle our problems. How we deal with the lemons life throws at us. As I get older, I think my lemons are getting bigger and bigger, and I'm not sure if I'm equipped to handle them, but I perservere! I'm not given to depression as a rule. I have my bouts of the blues, but mostly I try not to get down. It doesn't help or change anything, ad it usually just makes it worse by making others feel bad. My husband suffers from depression, and I have several children who do, also, and it's not fun, either to have or to deal with in other people. So when I start feeling down, I try to find something I like to do that will make me forget what's making me blue. It doesn't always work, and sometimes it takes me longer to realize what is happening and to do something about it, but I do try. Right now, days are good. I have these books to keep me occupied and I'm enjoying working on them.

What is it about the word (or even the thought of) diet that makes me hungry???? All I have to do is think about it, and I'm starving. I want to eat everything in sight. I do all right for a few days, even a week, and then Wham! I find myself gnawing on my arm if there's nothing else around! This is the thing that depresses me more than anything...my weight. I lost 45 lbs. last year, and now I've gained almost all of it back. And I went on a diet, starting last Monday, and I'm failing miserably! But I'm determined, because I don't want to be too fat to have fun with my grandchildren. And I got rid of my fat clothes when I lost that weight, so now I have nothing to wear! If that's not incentive, I don't know what is.

It's really chilly tonight. It has been all day, because we've been having rain. It's been cold enough to put the boys in long pj's and have slippers on our feet and blankets on our legs! Isn't that nice? In the middle of August, no less! I really love this weather.

I added a guest book to this blog tonight. If anyone is reading this, I hope you will sign it for me. There may not be anyone reading it. I don't know quite what to do to get it out there. I'm still learning about this stuff. I found a website tonight that I will check out tomorrow, called blogtobook.com. I think it's about selling your books on your blog. At least I hope that's what it's about, because that's what I ultimately would like to do. If anyone has any ideas to help me, let me know.

I'm making this a short one tonight (or should I say this morning?) because I need to get some sleep. Amanda leaves for work at 6am and I am in charge of the boys after that. They got up at 5:30 this morning, so it's been a long day. Until next time, Gramma G.

A Good Night

Tonight is a good night. I have been working on ideas for the next book in the Baggy Grandma books. More Recipes for Mom. Disappearing ink, slime, more silly putty, face paint, things like that. I think it will be good. Now I have to get started on it. I'm not too sure why I'm doing this, but maybe someday something good will come from it. I'm also going to start on the Kid's Crafts series. Volume 1 will be full of ideas for everyday crafts, Volume 2 will be summer crafts, etc........there are 10 or 12 total, each with 10 ideas in it. Just small little books. I have them all outlined and the projects chosen, now I just have to write them up and draw the illustrations.

I have just been made the chorister in Relief Society, plus I am doing the bulletin board and the newsletter. All of this came at the same time, so I am feeling a little overwhelmed right about now, but as soon as I get into the swing of things, I'll be OK. I love doing the bulletin board, and the newsletter is fun, too. Leading the music is more work, and the RS sisters have been asked to sing in Sacrament meeting next Sunday! With time for only one practice! We'll see what happens. The ward music chairman chose Hymn #113, and that's a familiar one, so we should be OK.

I have a new recipe for you. I got it from HungryGirl.com, and if you've never seen that website, you should check it out. They give all kinds of ideas and information on ways to scale down on fat and calories. It a great site! Anyway, this recipe is an "instead-of" recipe for those frozen lemonades you get at fairs that are so good, but not so good for you.

Lemony Sip-its

2 tsp. lemonade powdered drink mix (Crystal Light)

1 tsp. fat-free non-dairy creamer (like Coffee Mate)

8-10 ice cubes

Dissolve the creamer in 1/4 cup warm water and mix well. Add 1 1/4 cups cold water and the lemonade mix. Mix well and place in a blender with half of the ice. Blend at high speed until thoroughly blended. Add the rest of the ice a cube or two at a time, until desired consistency is reached. Pour into a tall glass and spoon or sip your way to lemony satisfaction. For an even slushier drink, put it into the freezer for about 20 minutes before enjoying. Really easy and really good! And if you're on Weight Watchers, the whole thing is only 1 point!

If anyone out there is reading this blog and has ideas to share for humanitarian projects, email me and I will share your ideas with everyone. Or if you have a group that does humanitarian projects, let me know. I know you're out there. Speak up! My sister-in-law is knitting hats for veterans, and she has 88 done so far. She started out with a goal of 50, and then moved it to 100. It wouldn't surprise me if she does about 150 before Thanksgiving. She's really fast. I used to be, but my poor hands don't work so purty good any more. Last winter we did hats for the children's cancer ward, plus "chemo cans", which were gallon paint cans, decorated outside and filled with goodies like crayons or colored pencils, notebooks, coloring books, scissors, toys and games, slipper socks, all kinds of things. We collected beanie baby animals for months! I haven't come up with a new idea for this year yet. I don't even know what is needed in this new place we live. I need to do some research, but ideas would be helpful.

Well, I think its time to close for tonight. It's 1:51am and I need to get some rest. See you next time. Take care of you loved ones. They are you most important assets. 'Night, Gramma G.

Family Trees

I'm going to continue with the genealogy thing. I have another family line that I'm stuck on. It's my McGrew line. It has taken me 25 years to get back just three generations, and now I'm at an impasse again. Someone out there must have the information I need, but I haven't found them yet. My great-grandmother was Sylvia May McGrew. She married Walter Henry Harrison and they had George Walter Harrison, who was my mother's father. They also adopted a daughter, Alice. Sylvia's father was Robert Kelley McGrew and her mother was Ara Matilda Bridgman. Now here comes the problem. Robert's father was named Finley McGrew, and he was Irish. It seems that every family unit in every generation of McGrews had a Finley, and I can't find a connection to any one of them! There is a ton of information on the McGrews, and one man even wrote a book that claims all McGrews are related, but he doesn't have any information on my line! I know that a lot of them were Quakers, and the Quakers have extensive records, but I can't even find them there. I know that when Robert remarried after the death of his first wife, the children from his first marriage were put in a children's home. I can find all five of them on the census for that home, and Walter and his brother worked there as laborers. That is how they met, I am sure. It took a lot of years to find the Harrison family line, too, but I finally did. Now if I could just find that wily Finley McGrew, I would be so happy!

I have a lot of information on my mother's mother's line, but I have yet to get it all sorted out. She came from Georgia, and there was a fire there that destroyed a lot of vital records. My great-aunt went back there to see what she could find. She met a lot of people who were related, got a lot of photos and stories and such, but it's all kind of mixed up. (And there are some people she has information on that I'm not sure how they're related, or if they are.) These are the Kerby's and the Hoopers and all their families. They were all over Georgia, Virginia, South Carolina, North Carolina....good ol' southern families. My mother's grandfather used to tell her she was part Indian, (we don't know if its true or not) and he used to tell her his name was Jonathon DeWitt Talmadge Crackass and Popcorn Kerby. Now is that southern or what? My other main line is the Bagshaw line, and my grandma did a lot of work on them. They go back to England.

It's a good thing that we are not defined by our ancestors. Sure, they give us a sense of identity sometimes, but we are more than that. We are everything we see, do and hear while growing up along with everything we are taught and that which we make up as we go along. A lot of really good or great people have come from poor immigrants abut rose to their greatness because they were not held to the family business.

Well, I'm falling asleep again, so I guess I'll go to bed. 'Til next time.....'Night, Gramma G!

Tube Ski Hat Thingy....at last!

I seem to be having trouble finding the time to blog, and I really hate that because I do enjoy it. I have been so tired lately that I have actually been in bed before 3am! That's unusual for me. Then I have the two boys in the daytime, so there's no way I can write then. I need to figure out a better way to do this.

Guess what? I finished the tube ski hat thing. I think I will call it the neck warmer hat. It's really quite good at keeping the cold air off of your neck and head, and half of your face if you want it to. I think I will make some for the kids who live in cooooooold Tennessee, and those that live in Utah, too. Maybe a few extra ones to have around when anyone comes to visit Montana! The photos could be better, like if they were of an adult that the hat fit instead of my 2 and 3-year-old grandsons, but I think you can get the idea. And they thought they were hot stuff, trying on grandma's new hat thing, even though it drowns them! The pattern is really easy, too. I used the largest yellow circle loom for the one I made, and it's about right for an adult. For youth or children, I would use the next size down, the green loom. I used three yarns for mine because I wanted it to be heavy and really warm, but you could use just two if you don't want it quite so heavy.

Knit 16 rows, then form a cuff or brim by reaching inside the loom and bringing the first row of loops up and putting them back onto the pegs, keeping the rows straight. Bring the back loop over these loops and off the peg. Now continue knitting as usual, until the piece is about 15 or 16 inches long. Work the knitting off the pegs as you normally would, except don't draw the yarn up tight. Instead, make sure the cast off yarn is loose enough to stretch over your head. Tie it off and weave your ends in and clip them off. That's all there is to it! And man, is it warm!

My poor littlest grandson is suffering from allergies, and I think he's having a reaction to the medicine. He has diarrhea so bad that he has welts on his little butt from where it touches his skin. When I changed his diaper tonight to get him ready for bed, he just screamed because it hurt so bad. I finally took him into the sink and sat him in some warm water to get him clean. I felt so bad for him. He hasn't felt good for 4 or 5 days now, and I hate it when they don't feel good. It makes me hurt. He has been spending a lot of time on my lap, and when he does that, I KNOW he doesn't feel good, because he's a mover and a shaker. He doesn't usually stop for much. We're going to give him some children's Imodium, and I hope it will help.

Independence Day just came on and I have to watch it. I watch it every time it comes on. I love this movie! I think the President's speech just before all the pilots take off is a classic. And of course, the movie is just plain good! I own it on video and I still watch it every time it comes on TV.

I'm trying to get back to working on my genealogy. There is so much left to do, but now that its a three and a half hour drive to the temple, I'm not getting as much done. When we were in Nevada, I went to the temple almost every week and I was getting so much work done. I think I might send some names down there to friends and see if I can't get the work done a little faster. I have come to some brick walls in some of my lines, and its really frustrating. I especially have one that is nigh unto impossible to figure out. My grandmother's grandfather came from Germany during some type of political unrest there. The family was nobility, and his father sent him and his brother out of the country to get them away from being conscripted into the army, where they would have been sent to the front lines and most assuredly killed. Our family has heard this story many times, and we all know that their name was von Markus, and they changed it to Markus, and then to Morris. What we didn't understand was the depth of their fear that if found, they would be sent back to Germany and killed. My grandmother spent a lot of years trying to find a connection in Germany to trace the family line, and not too long before she was put in a rest home, she received a letter from a lady who told a different story. She said that the von Markus name was her family name, and that the two brothers traveled with her family to America and used their family name so as not to be caught. I assume those two brothers were so afraid of being sent back that they never told anyone the true story. The big problem is that now I don't even know what name to look for, and the work that has been traced back to Germany isn't our family. I don't even know where to turn or where to start. I know he married Mary Gertrude Schmidt, and that connection is how we got this tidbit of information, but I don't know the name of the lady who wrote to Grandma, and I never found the letter after she gave me all of her genealogy paperwork. If anyone has any ideas for me, I welcome any and all.

Well, I think it's time to close for tonight. I will try to be better at keeping this going. Next post will have a really good recipe in it! Take care and remember to tell your loved ones how much they mean to you. Don't wait until it's too late. Night, Gramma G.