HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM IOWA!

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I've Been Tagged, Here's My Crappy Gift!

MnMom has tagged me - I must choose a crappy gift. Here's mine . . . thank heavens I never recieved one!
If I opened this little gem on Christmas morning, I'd know my husband really didn't know me at all after nearly 24 years of marriage! Don't get me wrong, I know other women just love them, but the last thing I personally want to wear locked around my neck are stick figures of colored glass children! The only thing that might be worse is this . . .

. . . the dreaded Mother's Birthstone Heart necklace. Yes, I would know that my hubby had totally depended on my daughter's advice on what to buy mommy for xmas.

I remember one year, our mom got a set of very fragile glass fish sculptures for her birthday, dad had taken us girls shopping with him. It was a mommy fish to which was literally "chained" three little baby fish. She was supposed to set it on the edge of the bath tub, her only retreat from all of us in our small house. I can just see her now, taking that long bath, behind that locked bathroom door, one of us on the other side of the door saying, "Mooooooooom, mooooooom, when will you be out?" "Moooooooom, moooooooom, can I get a new toy telephone system for my room?" "Moooooooooom, moooooooom, when are you going to be out?" At which point, she "accidentally" knocked that little chained-mother fish sculpture right off the tub edge to a very brutal hard landing on the cold linoleum. To this day, (I live in the old family home), there are little fingernail marks in the pine wood trim around the bathroom upstairs where us girls used to dig our fingernails into the soft wood in rows while waiting for mom to come out of the bathroom after a long bath. I wish I could find a photo of that little fish family for you, it was hysterical and the same 70's green of the tub and toilet! Mom was a trooper though, they lasted about two weeks or so before they "broke", that's longer than I could've made it.

SNOW DAY! YIPPEE!!!!!

Okay, here's the view from my kitchen window this early morning! Definitely a snow day in Iowa! And the best part is that there is another big storm coming right behind this one! It took us all, five of us, about two hours to dig out this morning. The kids are now all out snowboarding and sledding, spouse is out in a deer stand, and I've got the kitchen for the day, preparing goodies for our annual HOLIDAY BASH this Saturday night. About 100 friends and family join us for a night of merriment and jocularity. Everyone has been charged with bringing their best gourmet appetizer to wow and amaze all. My friend Nancy and I provide the sweet treats -- mini-cheesecakes, chocolate pillows of heaven, Santa's Nipples, Cranberry-White Chocolate Blondies, Mint Truffles, and a good supply of ice-cold Akvavit for a cheerful round of shots and a toast to Christmas. Everyone may have to snowshoe or sled to the party, but the party must go on!

Here's a pic of Lil Sis and I at last year's soiree. Hope she and Happy to be From Iowa can make it this year! You too, MG!

FIRST BIG SNOW OF THE YEAR!

This is what we'll wake up to tomorrow, but even MORE! (This was taken last winter after a good snowstorm.) I'll take pics tomorrow when the sun comes up, but suffice it to say, this was a BIG ONE! WE LOVE SNOW!!! So far there's about 10 inches out there and the radar shows bright blue across the entire state yet! YIPPEE!!!! School is already called two hours late, but I'll bet it will be a full snow day by 8am tomorrow morning. It is just a beautiful, heavy, pouring, lovely white winter wonderland out there, just waiting for tomorrow's snow angels, sledding, fort building, snowboarding, skiing, jump building, hot cocoa drinking, etc. WE LOVE SNOW DAYS!!!!!!!

YES WE DID!!!!!

Not only did Obama win HUGELY in my little corner of the world, so did the rest of my picks here! GREAT NIGHT FOR DEMOCRATS!!!! YAHOO!!!!

Trails, Trails EVERYWHERE! I LOVE FALL!

Brilliant Maples and Blue Sky, you can smell the air! I LOVE FALL! I LOVE FALL!!! I've been trying to get out at least once, if not twice a day lately for a good hike. The weather has been spectacular here; the leaves are falling, the colors on the bluffs are gorgeous, the air is dry and crisp and clean, the skies are brilliant blue, the squirrels are busy, and my dog is smilin' every minute of it!

There are literally dozens of hiking trails in the parks around this little town, and all of them have their own beauty. One of my favorite hikes takes me high above a fresh, spring-fed trout stream, through a hardwood forest up into a gathering of some of the tallest white pines you'll ever see. There's a picnic table way up at that top most point where I can lay down and look straight up into those majestic pines gently moving with the wind. It seems each of them has their own personality. It is up there where I feel the closest to my parents, if I listen quietly enough to the wind, they are often in it.
Another of my favorite trails first goes through a wildflower filled field, along another spring-fed creek, over two wooden walking bridges and up into a dense forest. The pathway up into the forest is an old access road for the farm that used to be up there and is covered with limestone rocks, many of which are fossils. This path eventually leads to a grassy meadow lined by brilliant red and orange sumac trees. Every year I'm awed at how intense the red of a sumac can get. Through the meadow and into another one of the area's white pine forests, the trail now a soft bed of fallen brown pine needles. I can see shallows here and there where the deer had bedded down just the night before, or perhaps they very quietly got up just as I was approaching, the scent on the wind giving away my human presence. This huge stretch of bluff land full of trails was given to the city several years ago by a local family. What a great way to share their good fortune with their community.


The trout stream, rich green scents combined with the crispy smell of fallen leaves.

One of the ravines I pass on a trail, always makes me think of the feminine in nature. Someday, you'll see another photo of this same ravine with additions, but you'll just have to stay tuned to my blog to see what I'm talking about doing someday.
One morning, there were literally hundreds of these newly spun webs along each side of the trail, and every single one of them was strung with pearls of dew. It was a magical morning!
Each year I go through the same emotions about Fall, the strongest feeling being, "couldn't it last just a month longer?" That's not to say I don't love the white beauty that winter brings with her, but Fall needs to be appreciated longer; maybe that's why we love it so much, we know how fleeting it can be! So, before the brilliance of the sumac is dulled by the cold and the bright yellow of the sugar maple turns to brown, GO OUT AND TAKE A HIKE!!! (Don't forget the dog and kids!)
Morning mist over the river. The sun is just beginning to burn it off for the day.

A FRUITCAKE YOU'LL ACTUALLY LOVE!

Okay, MnMom, you'd actually LOVE this fruitcake! No dates, not nuts, no raisins, and it wasn't baked in a tin can! Ymmmm, ymmmmm. MG, next time you're in town, you'll have to stop by for another slice!

Palin Schmalin' and McCrusty

I'm sick of the whining, the "thanks but no thanks" lies, the glasses, the scary religious zealots, the anti-choice/anti-women stance, . . . everything about this ticket just simply stinks. People in other countries favor Obama 4 to 1 over McCain!!! This should tell us something folks! Please make this nightmare end, ELECT OBAMA!

RNC Spectacle

Like most of you, I've been glued to my TV the last few nights watching the spectacle called the Republican National Convention and trying to keep the vomit from coming up into my mouth. It's kinda like when you were a kid and just had to stick your finger into your belly button and then smell it, you knew it was going to stink really badly, but you just couldn't help yourself . . . that's how I felt this week, I just had to watch it. And now, my convictions in my vote for Obama have been cemented, my energy to volunteer and be active in the campaign have been re-charged, and I'm going to do everything I can in my little corner of the country to ELECT BARACK OBAMA!!! I could go on and on and on about how misguided and out of touch the republicans have become, but instead I'll simply direct you to my sister's blog HAPPY TO BE FROM IOWA, where she has covered it all for us. Thanks sis!!

Too busy to blog!

I'm taking a blogging break in the interest of finding something more to do that actually makes money. NO MORE VOLUNTEERING FULL TIME FOR EVERY REQUEST THAT COMES MY WAY! With three children's mouths needing ortho work, three college's tuition to cover some day, and just simple maintenance on our home, it's time to get more serious about making some REAL extra money around here.

Check back in a few months, maybe I'll have something of interest to say. Thanks!!

NORDIC FEST 2008!

Nordical Festicles Photos Coming Soon!

KRUMKAKE SEASON! UFF-DA!

It is that time of year again, the annual baking of the Krumkake! Our little town sponsors an annual Norwegian Festival complete with baked samples of; krumkake, lefse, lutefisk, rommegrot, sandbakkels, kringle, and meatball sandwiches to name just a few. There's also Norwegian folk dancing, a huge parade, lutefisk* eating contest, canoe races, bunad shows, and tons of live music up and down the main street. (*Lutefisk tastes and looks like rancid wallpaper paste, not that I've ever tasted rancid wallpaper paste, but I did try lutefisk once and that is exactly how I imagine it would taste!)

Each year I bake many dozens of Krumkake for this festival, (pronounced kroom-kaka, not crumb cake!) This is a treasured cookie bake by only a handful of people anymore, (and some of those who bake them - shouldn't!) This cookie is supposed to be very light and crispy, rolled on a slightly tapered cone. Some "bakers" in these parts try to pass off a very heavy, soggy krumkake as the real deal. Shame on them. If you ever come around here and are served one of those soggy things, demand your money back and move on to the lefse or varmepolse booth! But if you are lucky enough to get a really well baked Krumkake, a light crispy one that crumbles upon the first bite, you've got the real thing! Savor it!

For those of you who feel adventurous enough to try them at home, here's how it's done! ENJOY!!

First, gather the ingredients (which, by the way, are basically the same ingredients for most all of the Norwegian treats, just baked differently!) You'll need flour, sugar, eggs, milk or half & half and/or cream, butter (REAL BUTTER, NO MARGARINE ALLOWED!!!), cardamon or vanilla extract or lemon extract.

And, most importantly, you'll need a krumkake iron, available online or in an import shop. The best brand I've found is the Nordicware brand, to be used over a burner on your stove top. Some people also use the double electric models, but I prefer to use the stove top method, not because it's any better, it's just what I've always done.

You'll also need a krumkake roller. These are a couple that my dad made for me 25 years ago or more on his lathe. Some irons come with a wooden roller, or you could have someone make you one. They taper from 1 1/2 inches down to about 3/4 of an inch.














Krumkake Recipe:
2 eggs, beaten until lemon yellow.
1 cup sugar
1 tsp of vanilla extract, or lemon extract, or cardamon
1 stick melted and cooled butter

Beat together above until blended.

Add to egg mixture alternately:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 scant cup milk

Put batter in refrigerator overnight to let all air bubbles work their way out. This will prevent your cookie from having a very fragile lacy edge and instead have a strong solid edge.

To bake:
Put on your favorite CD or plug in your IPod, because you have to stand at your counter/stove top for the next hour without leaving! Heat the krumkake on stove top on medium high heat. Frequently turning from one side to the other to heat each side evenly. Brush a small amount of butter on your iron when heated then blot off excess.

Put about 1 rounded teaspoon of batter on the iron, immediately gently squeeze the iron shut, keep gently squeezing until you feel a very slight release of steam or the batter puff up just a hair. Let cook for a few seconds, maybe 10, then turn the iron over and bake another 20 seconds or so. Check the cookie, it should be very, very slightly tan, NOT DARK BROWN and NOT PURE WHITE. I usually burn my first cookie in each batch because the iron is too hot or because I don't turn the iron over soon enough. Just keep trying, you'll find the perfect timing on your own iron after a few burned cookies or a few undercooked cookies. Be patient, it takes practice!

When the cookie is baked to the right color, immediately remove it with a spatula to a nearby towel on the counter top and roll it IMMEDIATELY around your cone, be sure you tuck in the end so that while it cools it does not become unrolled. Let it cool on the cone while you start the next cookie. Take it off the roller when you turn the iron over for the next cookie. Let cooked/rolled krumkake cool completely and then place in an AIR TIGHT container or tin. You can separate each layer with waxed paper to protect cookies from breaking. Be sure to have your AC on when baking these or do it on a very cool, dry morning in Iowa. If it's too humid in the kitchen, they will get soggy very quickly.

They can be stored for months if they are in an AIR TIGHT container!!

ENJOY!

Wall-E, zzz zzz zzz

Took the kids to see Wall-E at the movie theatre tonight. I'd love to give y'all a movie review, but I slept through most of it. (This should come as no surprise to my family) :)

A Day at the Pool . . .

My niece (Happy to be from Iowa's youngest girl) is staying with us for a week, VERY FUN! I took them to the public pool today and let me tell you, the young mom's these days are frickin' too skinny! They must be on the "one pill a day with my diet soda" diet, they are simply bones with a thin layer of stretched malnourished flesh over them. Don't these women know they'll have osteoporosis as older women? Don't they know it's NORMAL to have a few pieces of evidence left on their bodies from childbirth? Don't they miss a good bite of a cheeseburger or a big glass of red wine? What the he** does their partner hold onto or hug when intimate? Those bones have got to hurt!

And the rudeness of kids now! Where are the parents?? The kids in the snack shack area leave wrappers from their candy and containers from their nachos all over the tables and the ground -- the trash cans are only 8 feet away! Back in the day we didn't dare litter! It wasn't cool to be a 'litter bug', and remember the Native American chief with the big tear running down his cheek as he observed the litter and pollution around him?! We need some kind of campaign like that again. And parents need to parent these kids!

Oh no, I'm sounding old and crotchety! Make mommy another martini, honey. Hurry.

STAY TUNED - KRUMKAKE "HOW TO" COMING SOON TO THIS BLOG!!

Unitarian-Universalist Humor

While preparing a lecture I have to give at our local UU church, I found this very funny UU joke on the internet:

"Have you heard about the latest UU miracle?"

"Someone claims to have seen the face of Ralph Waldo Emerson on an organic whole wheat tortilla"


I'm using it today. Know others? Send them on!

Iowa Summer Days - PERFECTION!

Summer has finally arrived here in Northeast Iowa! The flood waters have receded, the weeds are in their full dance of growth, our black lab is lounging in the shade under our mini-van in the driveway, baseball season is nearly over, the air conditioners are humming away, we're all out of sparklers, the river is ripe for kayaking, canoeing, or tubing, and the deep freeze is full of ice cream treats of one kind or another. WE LOVE SUMMER! This photo was taken last February of our very white, sun-seeking feet on the white sandy beaches of the Gulf Coast in Florida. I hope we can get down there again this winter, it REALLY helps to get a dose of summer in the middle of Iowa winters. If only we could bottle up these wonderful Iowa summer days we're having right now and pull them down off the shelf like a well worn board game every once in a while in winter. Well, if wishes were horses, beggars would ride. So for now, we enjoy and breathe deeply each and every glorious Iowa summer day - fresh green, clean clear blue, perfection.