We are gonna be gone for a few days.
Catch you on the flip side!
Friday, January 25, 2013
Monday, January 21, 2013
Friday, January 18, 2013
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!
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!
Sunday, January 13, 2013
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
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
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.
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.
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.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Sewing, sewing, sewing
The sewing machine has been humming...
A party dress has been made for 1st DGD's American Girl doll, McKenna.
And what party dress is complete without pretty party shoes too!
And everyone needs to relax in their jeans once in awhile.
And even jeans outfits need a change of pace...so here's a t shirt.
And a pair of sneaks to go with.
It's cold here now, but summer will come again and then you need a sun dress.
2nd DGD has a Bitty Baby American Girl doll and she has lots of clothes already but no party dress and so Gramma had to fix that!
And Bitty Baby also needed some warm clothes for this winter.
Amoungst all this sewing has been a little knitting. This pair of mittens might get done for 2nd DDIL.
But there isn't a prayer that these for 2nd DS will be done by Christmas Eve. He's had to wait for gifts before and this probably won't be the last time either...poor guy!
A party dress has been made for 1st DGD's American Girl doll, McKenna.
And what party dress is complete without pretty party shoes too!
And everyone needs to relax in their jeans once in awhile.
And even jeans outfits need a change of pace...so here's a t shirt.
And a pair of sneaks to go with.
It's cold here now, but summer will come again and then you need a sun dress.
2nd DGD has a Bitty Baby American Girl doll and she has lots of clothes already but no party dress and so Gramma had to fix that!
And Bitty Baby also needed some warm clothes for this winter.
Amoungst all this sewing has been a little knitting. This pair of mittens might get done for 2nd DDIL.
But there isn't a prayer that these for 2nd DS will be done by Christmas Eve. He's had to wait for gifts before and this probably won't be the last time either...poor guy!
Saturday, December 15, 2012
My opinion...
On Thursday evening, DH and I attended our precious grandchildren's school Christmas program. Our grandson is in Kindergarten and our granddaughter is in 2nd grade. It was so much fun to see them perform. They were exuberant and joyful and full of promise. Little people so full of life and excited for every experience.
Just the same, I'm sure, as the children in Newtown, Connecticut that attended Sandy Hook Elementary School. What a heartbreaking loss to those families. And to our country. What does it say about us?
But more importantly, what can we do about it? Personally, I don't think gun control is the answer. There are so many guns out there that there is no way to get them all. And the people that would surrender their guns are the law abiding people that wouldn't have used them in such a way in the first place.
What we need is acceptance of and no stigma attached to mental illness. Mental illness needs to be treated and thought of the same way as cancer or any other debilitating disease. It needs to be more thoroughly studied and researched and find ways to treat the people who suffer from it. Because clearly, someone who can go into a school and murder little children must have had a mental illness.
This probably sounds like an overly simplistic approach but we need to start somewhere. Obviously, our children's lives are at stake.
Just the same, I'm sure, as the children in Newtown, Connecticut that attended Sandy Hook Elementary School. What a heartbreaking loss to those families. And to our country. What does it say about us?
But more importantly, what can we do about it? Personally, I don't think gun control is the answer. There are so many guns out there that there is no way to get them all. And the people that would surrender their guns are the law abiding people that wouldn't have used them in such a way in the first place.
What we need is acceptance of and no stigma attached to mental illness. Mental illness needs to be treated and thought of the same way as cancer or any other debilitating disease. It needs to be more thoroughly studied and researched and find ways to treat the people who suffer from it. Because clearly, someone who can go into a school and murder little children must have had a mental illness.
This probably sounds like an overly simplistic approach but we need to start somewhere. Obviously, our children's lives are at stake.
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