Another cold one

It's just one of those winters...

It's been cold...alot...

 

But it's pretty in it's own way too...

It was beachy!

Aruba in pictures...well...ok...some words too...

View from the hotel balcony. 

 

We earned this trip by meeting sales requirements of corn and soybean seed. 

 

We've been able to meet those requirements almost every year for several years.  DH and I have gone on a couple trips but 2 of our sons have gone and last year our salesman went on the trip.  The company that has this as an incentive is already making plans for next year and that will be to Costa Rica. 

 

There are a few business meetings while we are there but there is plenty of time for rest and recreation too!... 

 

 



One of the 1st days there we went on a 3 hour bus tour.  This beauty was at the Butterfly Farm.

 

 



The island of Aruba is a desert island with cactus and thorny bushes everywhere.  About the only thing grown there is aloe but I don't know where it grows...we never saw any.  Mostly they seem to be bulldozing the cactus and thorny bushes to make room for more houses.

 

 



The east side of the island is rocky and has rough waters.  No one hanging out at the beach here!

 

 



We also went on a sunset sail on a catamaran.  There were a couple cruise ships docked each day at Aruba and then about sunset they would take off for their next destination.  Those hummers are HUGE!

 

 



Another pretty sunset while on the sunset sail.

 

 

 

 

We also went on a boat/submarine that was called a SemiSub.  Both DH and I are a bit claustrophobic and couldn't bear to go on a submarine but this way we could look underwater and if it got too much we could go above and sit on the deck.

 

 

 

 

Here is one of the cute little fishies that we saw.

 

 



But the main event at Aruba are the beaches on the west side of the island.  Beautiful beaches with white sand and gorgeous aqua colored water.

 

 



We reserved a palapa (shaded table on the beach) and spent a bit of time reading and people watching.  But if you can believe it...we even waded out in the ocean!  So we can officially say we were in the Caribbean Sea.  What fun!

 

 

Aruba!!

 

 



See ya later!

 

We are gonna be gone for a few days.

 

 

 

Catch you on the flip side!

 

It's a little nippy out there.

 

Brrr.

New house progress

There has been a lot of progress on our house since last time I posted.

Windows, shingles, exterior lighting, and garage doors...done.  Wrapped up in Tyvek...also done. 

Inside the walls are up (no sheetrock yet though) and the wiring and plumbing are currently the projects du jour.

The appliances have been purchased.   I thought this would be one of the last things needed but Darin, the electrician, very much wanted to know exactly the specs on the appliances.  Had to buy them sometime...now is as good as any! 

Today we are buying the fireplace and possibly the countertops.

We need to decide on flooring and make the final tweaks on the cabinetry as soon as we are able.  Well that, along with an amazing number of other decisions....

Phew!

One pair down. Two pairs to go.

 

Christmas mittens finished just today.

 

 

 

They turned out pretty good.

 

 

 

I love the pretty red lining.

 

 

 

I have 2 more pairs to go and I'm afraid my enthusiasm for stranded mittens is already flagging a little.

 

Any cheerleading would be greatly appreciated! 

 

 

Especially since I did this... 

 

Before.

 

 

 

After.

 

I just had to make the wrists longer on 2nd DS's mittens.  And so here I am...almost back to the beginning...

 

/sigh

 

 

Holupture update

Since I'm the only place on Google that has information about Holupture also spelled holupse (that spelling has more places to look for info), I decided to do an update since my last post about how to make it.



This year's holupture.  Wish I could share it with you!

I've learned a few things since I made it that Thanksgiving and it really made a difference in the taste.

One thing I learned is that consistency in size is quite important.  We have foreign workers from Moldova and we were invited to their house for an evening meal.  It was awesome.  So much food we couldn't even taste it all.  BUT.  They served holupture.  Yup.  It didn't really surprise me but they were very surprised that we knew what it was.  Anyway each piece of holupture was the same size.

Then I went to my own source of information on the subject.  DH.  He is the one whose family has this as a tradition and so he is the closest thing to a pro as I can get these days.

He told me that to cook it early and let it marinate in the sauerkraut for as long as possible is the best thing to do.

And so here is what was done.

2nd DDIL and I made the holupture on Saturday evening.  The recipe was the same as before but if the cabbage leaves were too big we cut them in halves or quarters to make the rolls more even in size.

We arranged them in my bigger crock pot and dumped 2 large jars of sauerkraut on top.  I started it out on high for a couple hours and before bed I turned it down to low. 

It cooked overnight until about 9 in the morning.  I tested the rice to make sure it was cooked through.

Since we live in ND and it's cold here, I put the crock pot in the garage to keep cold and not have to use up refrigerator space on the big crock.  I left the sauerkraut on top and didn't drain any liquid off.

The holupture stayed in the garage for 2 days and on Tuesday I removed the sauerkraut and put the crock pot back in the heating unit to warm it up for dinner.  

It was delicious.  DH said we could have even put another jar of sauerkraut on top.  He remembered his gramma's being stronger tasting but he said this was a very close second. 

And now I know how to make the holupture as tasty as possible.  Start early.  Let it sit and marinate for a couple days after cooking it and use lots of sauerkraut.

It was so good tasting and also heartwarming to have hit on the right combination to get the end result as close as possible to Gramma Lora Stein's recipe.