Happy Julianuary!

Happy Birthday, Julianna! I am proud of you and I love you. (How did I ever live with that kitchen?)

Pickles

I am in the process of making pickles. I have a wonderful recipe that is just as good as Claussen and a LOT less expensive. These are refrigerator pickles, so they stay crisp and taste wonderful. I will post the recipe on the recipe blog, but I will also post it here.

Bring 3 cups water, 1 cup white vinegar, and 2 tbsp kosher or pickling salt to a boil.

In quart jars put:
1 clove garlic
1/4 tsp yellow mustard seed
4-6 black peppercorns
4-6 whole allspice
pinch of dill seed
sprig of fresh dill weed
small pinch of turmeric
1/4 tsp sugar or 1 sliced carrot
1/4 sliced onion
sliced cucumbers

Pour brine mixture over cucumbers. Leave at room temperature 1-2 days. Store in refrigerator.

Brine mixture makes enough brine for about 2 quarts of pickles. Buying all of the spices is expensive initially, but will make dozens of jars of pickles. Any clean jar with a lid can be used, not just canning jars. Regular cucumbers from the store work just fine. I usually buy fresh dill but dried dill can be used. I keep all of the spices together in a box and then it just takes a few minutes to make them.

I posted a recipe for Yogurt Smoothie on the recipe blog, but I don't think it showed up as a new post. The recipe is there and those of you with school kids should try it. It is so easy to make and tastes better than regular yogurt.

Also, call my phone at 210 827 5087 so I can put you in my phone directory. I don't have numbers for my sister or my nieces anymore.

1 210 827 5087

I had to get a new cell phone. Our contract still has another year on it, so I bought a prepaid phone and put my sim card in it. I actually like the new phone a lot better than the old one. The problem is I don't have anyone's phone numbers anymore. So call me. Then I can save your number in my phone book. My number is 210 827 5087. The only problem is I will be at Education Week all week and so I will probably not answer my phone. Maybe I will blog again next week and remind you to call me.

We had so much fun on Thursday. Pam and Dutch came to visit and then Katharine, Mitchell and Joseph came over for dinner. Nothing in my life experience has prepared me for 2 two year old boys. They were pretty wild, but it was wonderful. I love my nieces and their kids.

Sister Puckett

I loved my trainer on my mission. She is a legend in my family because of the funny things she used to say like "Doesn't that just frost ya?" or "Waste not want not-that's what I always say."
She and her husband, Don, have been staying with us this weekend. Tomorrow they enter the MTC and will be serving a mission in Mongolia. Can you imagine living in Mongolia?
It has been a glorious visit. Of course, her name isn't Sister Puckett anymore. It is Kathy Carter.
I am so impressed that they are willing to leave their children and grandchildren to serve the Lord. I know that must be hard and I know they and their family will be blessed for their sacrifice.
Have a wonderful mission Don and Kathy. I love you.

Smurfs

On Saturday we went to see Beezus and Ramona. It was wonderful. Everyone should go see it. Just be warned that there is a bad word in it.
The previews made me think about my nieces and I decided to blog about it. There is actually a movie about Smurfs!!! I have to wonder why, because they weren't popular for very long and there can't be that many people nostalgic enough about them to want to go see a movie about them. I wonder if Pam even has much memory of when they were popular. My girls don't.
Sometime in the very early 1980's I flew with Popi and Grandma in Popi's little plane to visit the Bailey's in North Carolina. I got really sick and I threw up in front of Carianne-something that happened quite often when she was little. She admired me, so she thought throwing up was really cool.
One of my memories from that trip is the little Bailey girls begging Popi to buy them some Smurfberry cereal. Popi kept telling them no because he said they wouldn't like the way it tasted. They kept begging and finally he gave in and bought them some. I think it was supposed to be blueberry flavored, but I think it just tasted like dark blue food coloring. It was awful. I think the girls ate it anyway, because it was supposed to be smurfalicious or something. Marketing worked again.
I do remember that Beckie had decorated the girls room with a Smurf theme-complete with Smurf sheets and curtains. Charming.

Fabulous New Kitchen

The new kitchen is finally done and I have time to blog about it. It was finished Tues afternoon. It took them 7 days, rather than 5, but it is beautiful. I don't have a camera, so I can't post a picture, but trust me.
I guess there is one way to tell you how great it is. I don't have to have anything on the counters except the toaster, breadmaker and paper towel holder. I could actually store them, but it is easier to have them on the counter.
The men who worked on the kitchen were great. It amused me that they would listen to Sean Hannity on the radio and talk about things like missions and being Bishop.
So now everyone has to come visit me and see my perfect new kitchen.

A New Kitchen

Today we are moving everything out of our kitchen because on Monday we will start getting a new one. Everything is being replaced. (Except, we will reuse the refrigerator and dishwasher.) New flooring, cabinets, lights, sink, wiring, etc. The old kitchen is hard to work in and hard to clean. The new kitchen will have granite counters, high end laminate flooring, and much more space. The new stove will have a convection oven. We are using 3 Day Kitchen and Baths again, so the new kitchen should be finished by Friday. (Since it is such a big remodel it will take 4-5 days rather than 3) We are all SO excited.