Mid Atlantic Magpie Chatter forum: Magpie Chatter #33 ~ December 2011
After 13 years online, Cubits.org is scheduled to be shut down. Please make sure you have the contact information for all your friends, and that you download whatever content you want from this site.
Views: 27, Replies: 202 » Jump to the end |
|
|||
Time for a new chat thread - we've had lots to talk about this season, and I'm sure that won't change as the holidays begin! Please stop in, sit a spell and let us know what you're up to.  We came from here: http://cubits.org/MidAtlanticMusings/thread/view/64162/ Photo of female Northern Cardinal Courtesy of jmorth  Breathe in, Breathe out...Move on - Jimmy Buffett |
|
|||
| Hm , well, I now have 11 dozen peanut butter and m and m cookies baked. THats for a cookie exchange party on Saturday. And managed to have some extra to eat till then. Bought Christmas cards today, maybe- SHOULD- start filling out tomorrow. "If you bring joy and enthusiasm to everything you do, people will think you're crazy" W. Haelfeli, New Yorker cartoon |
|
|||
That sounds great, Sally, but I fear I'd be, um, "sampling" until Saturday, and there wouldn't be much left!  I got lucky at Borders (RIP) just before they actually closed, and found quite a few boxes of nice Lange Christmas cards at 75% off... hope to maybe even send them out BEFORE Christmas this year, but I'm not making any promises.  Breathe in, Breathe out...Move on - Jimmy Buffett |
|
|||
| not making any promises. I hear that "If you bring joy and enthusiasm to everything you do, people will think you're crazy" W. Haelfeli, New Yorker cartoon |
|
|||
Gosh I haven't sent Christmas card in years  I get them for the kids, each get their own with their gift. One for my husband, sister and niece. Got the pizzelles done last night, almost two hundred if you count the throw aways, they take the longest so I do them first. I have a list and hope to do them all but sometimes my expectations are bigger than my brain I have to stop looking up recipe sand watching the food channels for something new  I did my raisin cakes and have them in the freezer. I have a couple of ideas for desserts, want to try my hand at a hot milk cake my mom used to make. So much more room this year with the new counters, I don't have any excuses  It happens in a flash, but the memory of it last forever. It can not be borrowed or stolen, and it is of no earthly good until it is given away. So if in your hurry you meet someone who is too weary to smile, leave him one of yours, for no one needs a smile quite as much as he who has none to give... |
|
|||
I am slowly getting my gifts together. Ordered several online yesterday and the toy store is having a big sale tomorrow so I will hopefully be finished with the kids by tomorrow night. I think Julie is going to be avaiable tomorrow evening to go shopping so I might be finished with her also by tomorrow. Still sitting here with piles of boxes around me as I still haven't started serious decorating.  Life is Great! Holly Please visit me and learn more about My Life on the Water a Personal Journey Thread in the MidAtlanticMusings Cubit. http://cubits.org/MidAtlanticMusings/thread/view/5752/ |
|
|||
| I will take the throw aways!!!! |
|
|||
| I don't like decorating that much. I have cleaned/ cleared in the living room to make spaces for some. Drove a half hour away to a different shopping area this AM- to discover I for got my wallet.  what the heck, went back for it and went back to shop. Not too many free days before Xmas! I got great sales advice from the REI people for a daypack, and on the hammock. A big JoAnns fabric store in Columbia has way more selection than my local stores. And Ann's House of Nuts outlet in Columbia, a true outlet with some good prices on snacks, huge selection of nuts, dried fruits, even candy making and spices. Now I'm tired. Who's making dinner? Oh yeah, me....  "If you bring joy and enthusiasm to everything you do, people will think you're crazy" W. Haelfeli, New Yorker cartoon |
|
|||
| Cards went out over the weekend and shopping is almost done one more trip should do it. But still need to do something about a tree . Only really make one kind of cookie for Christmas. it's kind of a family favorite from my grandmother called birds-nest. They are not the ones like the Easter cookies. They are similar to the thumbs print cookies but are made with pecans and apricot. |
|
|||
Bob, sounds like you've got all your ducks in a row!  Those cookies sound lovely!  Let us know that you decide to do about a tree! Breathe in, Breathe out...Move on - Jimmy Buffett |
|
|||
Ronnie I haven't had a pizzelle since I left Trenton 35 years ago. My neighbor would roll them and fill with cannoli cream. Yummy  RicThe Amen of nature is always a flower. Oliver Wendell Holmes Thanks to Grandma and the joy flowers brought to her and in turn to me. |
|
|||
| Ric you should try making them, they really aren't hard just tedious since you can only do one or two at a time. Mine turn out pretty good for only being Italian by marriage My husbands family never did the "real" Italian stuff so I tried to do some of them. It happens in a flash, but the memory of it last forever. It can not be borrowed or stolen, and it is of no earthly good until it is given away. So if in your hurry you meet someone who is too weary to smile, leave him one of yours, for no one needs a smile quite as much as he who has none to give... |
|
|||
| Ronnie, I lived in the 'burg in Trenton about a block from Columbus Park for about 5 years in the early 70's. I helped all the ladies in the neighborhood with their gardens and flowers, and they fed me well always saying, "Mangia, mangia, fatta grassa!" They also taught me to cook real Italia cuisine. Back then there were butcher, produce, and dry goods shops over on Hamilton Ave. and the Italian Peoples Bakery was only another block away. I had a small lean to greenhouse on the back of my row house that was built using the glass panels from the tops of the office dividers that were used back then. The ladies would also see that I had plenty of cookies since I was so "esile". Wish that was still true. Ric The Amen of nature is always a flower. Oliver Wendell Holmes Thanks to Grandma and the joy flowers brought to her and in turn to me. |
|
|||
| Well I spent the entire day shopping and now have almost all my presents. Off to Julies today to make cookies. Life is Great! Holly Please visit me and learn more about My Life on the Water a Personal Journey Thread in the MidAtlanticMusings Cubit. http://cubits.org/MidAtlanticMusings/thread/view/5752/ |
|
|||
Bah humbug!  I'm playing Scrooge this year, and the weather has been playing right along with me - I was out in the yard at 6:30 this morning in bare feet. Hard to believe this is December and that it has already snowed a couple of times. But it's been great to get outside. I've been pulling irises out of a patch that was invaded by the dreaded Bermuda Grass  and moving them across the drive to a place I've cleared. Hopefully I'm not going to get a long hard freeze and kill them all.In the end, only kindness matters. Art and Artists & The Reading Room http://cubits.org/thereadingroom/ |
|
|||
Aww Sheryl  My shopping is done and wrapped, one more to go and that should be delivered by Friday. Just have to get the candy I like to five to the kids. I'll do that one day net week so it will be fresher. There is a candy shop near me that makes homemade candy that is to die for. Been going since I was a kid. I made a couple of batches of cookie dough and they are in the fridge waiting to get baked. The girlies are coming to sleep over on Friday and we will do the ginger bread and snicker-doodles. we are having a dinner at my sisters after Christmas how many pounds of macaroni do you think I need for about 40 people, some of them kids and some of them that will eat two portions at least. I was thinking 3 but maybe 4  It happens in a flash, but the memory of it last forever. It can not be borrowed or stolen, and it is of no earthly good until it is given away. So if in your hurry you meet someone who is too weary to smile, leave him one of yours, for no one needs a smile quite as much as he who has none to give... |
|
|||
| Hey sheryl, no judgement from me! I'd prefer to be digging. luvs-- Got all your presents??!?!?!?!?? !!?!? Macaroni, thats easy. 3 pounds will be 'not enough' and 4 will be twice what you need. sorrry, I have no idea. Mac and cheese? Will this be in several pans? Can you make them all, cook some, and have a backup ready if its going too fast? Ya know, kids will be fine filling up with cookies if the mac is all gone."If you bring joy and enthusiasm to everything you do, people will think you're crazy" W. Haelfeli, New Yorker cartoon |
|
|||
| I put some cookie recipes in the recipe Box http://cubits.org/MidAtlanticMusings/thread/view/31429/ Still need to add my main one, but it is actually just peanut butter cookies with M and Ms baked in. "If you bring joy and enthusiasm to everything you do, people will think you're crazy" W. Haelfeli, New Yorker cartoon |
|
|||
| Is the pasta the main meal or a side-dish? If it's the main meal I would go a pound for each 4 to 5 people if side- dish go about half the amount. We're Italian so no such thing as too much pasta plus leftovers are always good. We really don't eat mac & cheese if that's what your making ,but I would guess less of that it is much richer. |
|
|||
Thanks for the new recipes, Sally! Those Maple Crisps sound especially good to me - I may have to give them a try this year.  Funny story about mac & cheese - DS and then-fiancee INSISTED that we have that at the wedding reception. Sigh... When we met with the caterer, and mentioned this, he thought we were kidding, and we assured him that (sigh again) no, we weren't... So, he recovered, and asked the kids what type they liked, creamy, cheesy, crusty, etc., and we (the adults) thought we were "placating" them to keep the peace, etc., etc. Long story short, when the big day came, they almost ran out of it! (Maybe they did) And this was a late August wedding in hot, humid DC! Go figure. Sorry, I know this doesn't help with the planning for your event, but my take is that it is ALWAYS better to have leftovers than to run out. I've always felt that way, and am bad at estimating food amounts for other people, so the story about the reception wasn't the point of how I personally feel - you should see what I pack for a tailgate with FOUR people... Breathe in, Breathe out...Move on - Jimmy Buffett |
| « Back to the top « Cubits.org homepage « Mid Atlantic Musings cubit homepage « Mid Atlantic Magpie Chatter forum |
You must first create a username and login before you can reply to this thread.
