The Star Still Shines........

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. - Matthew 2:1-2

As we move forward into the Christmas season, let us not forget the One who made this possible. This holiday is not about the gifts, the trees, the tinsel or lights. It is about THE Light. The Son of God. The birthday of a King. It is not the number of parties you attend or the value of the gifts you prepare. It is a celebration for Mary & Joseph's boy, the Son of God, King Jesus.

As a mere babe in a manger, I'm sure He slept quietly while others looked on. He was observed by the shepherds who came in from the fields. He was bowed down to by the Wise Men who traveled by the light of the star.

Today, that Star still shines. It shines for each and everyone of us. A guiding light to prepare the way. He is still The Light of the world. He is still reigning in all His splendor.

As we go into this Christmas season, remember that every bell you hear ringing, every word you hear sung, every tree you see decorated and every stocking you see hung is simply a celebration of the love of Jesus and an acknowledgment that His light STILL shines today.

Merry CHRISTmas to one and all.



Bee's Baking Tips....

With the holiday season upon us, visions of sugar plums are dancing in our heads. Okay, maybe not sugar plums, but what about cookies, cakes and candies? There is nothing better than a homemade treat on a cold winter evening. There is nothing worse than slaving all day over an old family recipe, wanting it to taste "just like Mom made it" only to have it be a huge flop.

Here are some of the tips I have found make my baking life easier and insure success with each recipe.

Being Precise:  Baking is not a matter of adding a pinch of this or a dash of that. As opposed to cooking, baking requires exact measurements and precise ingredients. If it calls for a cup of sugar, use an exact level cup. Use a knife to level off any excess ingredients in your measuring devise to insure you are using the proper amount.

Using Proper Equipment: Like any professional, you should use the proper tools for your product. Dry ingredients should always be measured with a standard measuring cup while liquid ingredients should be measured in a cup that has a spout. Measuring spoons are a must. You can not use a kitchen spoon to measure a teaspoon of ingredients. Your mixing bowls or cooking pans should be used in a size to allow plenty of room for mixing. Using a bowl or pan that is too small can result in "spill over" causing a loss of ingredients and a flop for your dessert.

Following the Recipe:  This is one of the most important rules of baking. You must follow the recipe exactly. If it calls for 1 1/2 cups of flour, that is what you must use. Don't say "I just have 1 1/4 cups, but that should work." Trust me, it doesn't. While it may "turn out" okay, the taste will definitely be effected if you take shortcuts or cheat on the recipe.

Talking with the Source: One thing I have found to be very important when you try a new recipe, is to talk it through with whoever gave you the recipe. Especially ones that are old family recipes that have been passed down. I have tried recipes from Mom that were a huge flop. When discussing it with her, she would say "Well, did you make sure you......? And my response would be no, the recipe didn't have that on it. Many times through the years, the cooks have failed to write down pertinent steps and it results in a disaster when you try to follow their recipe. For example, the famous No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal cookies. I tried to make those for years. I even had Mom's exact recipe in her handwriting. They never would set up. They were always gooey. When I mentioned it one day, she asked how I was making them and I read her the recipe. She had neglected to tell me that over the years the family realized that 3 cups of oats made them gooey so she had changed it to 2 cups and it worked better. But it was never written on the recipe. So make sure you go over every ingredient.

Following the directions: Again, discuss the instructions whenever you can with somebody who has made it before. It may have left out pertinent information that you need to know. For example, do you add the ingredients in a particular order so it mixes and blends better. If you are heating part of it on the stove, do you use medium or low heat. Do you time it or cook it to a particular stage (soft ball, hard ball, etc.) These little things will insure your success, but earlier generations just knew to do them, so they failed to write them down. When I get a recipe from someone, I ask a ton of questions about the process to insure the success of the dish.

The Importance of Ingredients: This one is something that not everyone adheres to, but I have found it to be invaluable. If you eat a dessert and love it, ask for the EXACT recipe, down to the brand they buy. I have an easy, delicious no fail peanut butter fudge recipe. I always make it with Carnation cream and Parkay margarine. When I give the recipe out, I make sure they know that is very important. One lady tried numerous times to make it and she said hers was never as creamy and smooth as mine. Upon checking with her, she substituted the cream with Eagle Brand and the Parkay with real butter. The taste will never be the same if you change ingredients. I make a Reese Peanut Butter Brownie trifle. If I do not use Duncan Hines brownies and Cool Whip brand whipped cream, it is nowhere near as good. So if someone mentions a specific product, don't try to cut corners and use an off brand if you want to duplicate the flavor.

Patience: The final and most important ingredient of any successful dessert is the patience the baker puts into preparing the product. If you are required to stand and stir constantly for 5 minutes after it comes to a boil. Then that is what you must do. You can't stop to go answer the phone, or grab a cup of coffee. Extreme care and a great attention to detail must go into every recipe you make. You cannot allow distractions. It could cause a simmer to become a rolling boil. It could cause you to miss including an important ingredient. Baking is not something you can "throw together" in a few minutes. It is a process and it requires patience to see it through. But the end result is well worth the wait.

Mish Mash for Monday

I took a day off from blogging yesterday. We had an awesome church service. Afterwards, we gathered in the fellowship hall for our traditional Christmas dinner for the church. I ate the best dessert and have no idea what it was. It was a chocolate type concoction similar to a cake/brownie with gooey fudgey icing. Heavenly!!

I finally made my little snow shovel. (Ignore the background color. The wall is a soft yellow but with the mirror lights on, it makes it look real dark) The shovel was $1.49 at AC Moore, the ribbon and blue balls came from some stuff I had around the house. The background in the blade is scrapbook paper I had and the little snowmen were foam stickers from AC Moore for $1.00. Total cost: $2.49.

Colby is starting to stay awake more. His Mommy had him grinning and laughing so much. He turned 2 months old on the 1st. Here he is totally vegged out on Uncle Michael. He stayed there forever.

The family came over for our annual birthday get-together Saturday night. The kids decorated the Christmas tree for the "everything" room. It's a combo of office-guest-library-den-play room. I let them do all the ornaments and icicles and left it like they did it. No adjustments made. They had a great time decorating it. (Just a note, when I put the lights on it Saturday morning, they didn't work either....so back to the store for more lights. This has NOT been my year for lights).

I just wanted to post this picture because I love it. Mamaw's boys and Mamaw's girls...all together...all smiling and having a great time. This was at Thanksgiving. I'm going to blow this one up and frame it for my office. Love my grandbabies!!

Got a gift from my secret sister at church yesterday. I love this little angel. We find out Saturday who our secret sister is. I can't wait. She has gotten me some neat things this year and I want to thank her.

This was taken at Thanksgiving. Full of Turkey, and having worked 60 hours in 3 days, Michael was enjoying some R & R. Shelby was patting him on the head. I told her not to wake him up. She looks up and says "But I WANT him to wake up."

The next few weeks are going to be busy. Here is my cooking schedule for this week:

Monday - Try new peanut butter fudge recipe from Mom

Tuesday - Try the chocolate coconut cream cake from Family Circle magazine

Wednesday: No baking Scheduled

Thursday: Experiment with a new cookie recipe from my new cookbook

Friday: Make Allen's Mom's Orange Cream Cookies for after the Christmas program

Well, off to start my week. Need to finish addressing Christmas cards and get started on wrapping. Hope everybody has a great week!

Finally......

Never had a tree that gave me such grief. But I am very happy with the finished product. I'm probably the only one in America that still loves icicles on her tree. But you know what, I don't really care if I am. I love them and will always have them as long as I can.

A walk down memory lane.....

Ruby Algeo Ward

Let me take you back to a simpler time. We lived out in the country where neighbors helped neighbors and everybody knew everybody. Two doors down from us, lived a sweet lady name Ruby. Ruby's husband passed away when I was still a toddler. She lived with her sister Bea in an old run down house that didn't have any running water. They never had much money, but made do with what they had. She would walk over to our house carrying a couple of buckets. Daddy or Mommy would fill her buckets with water for her take home for cooking and cleaning. Sometimes, she would could come over twice a day. She lived a frugal life, but never seemed to mind.

We went to church with Ruby in the old country church up on the ridge of the hollow we grew up in. Ruby played piano for the church. She didn't have much in life, but she had her music. Never having a formal lesson, Ruby had taught herself to play the piano. I have a vague memory from my early years of Mom telling about Homer getting an old piano up the hill for Ruby before he passed away.

Every Christmas, the women would exchange names at church. It was a small church with only 25-40 people at any given time. So many years, Ruby would draw my name. Everytime she did, I would receive a pretty new lace hanky and a container of bath powder from the 5 and 10 store. As a young girl, I loved when she had my name. She was a women of simple means and to get a hanky and powder from Ruby meant so much to me. Till this day, I still see those round tubs of bath powder and my mind goes back to that simpler time and I remember Ruby.

When I moved to Tennessee 22 years ago, my conversations with Mom would frequently involve "I saw Ruby today. She asked about you." That sweet dear woman never forgot me and I will never forget her.

She passed away January 10, 2006 at the age of 102. She would have been 103 that April. Two weeks before she passed away, she was still living on her own and cooking her own meals. She played the piano for that same little church for 45 years. Eleven days of her last two weeks were spent in the hospital.

She is in a much better place and can play piano again and sing until her heart is content. But for this old country girl, she will still be remembered every Christmas for her kindness, her generosity, and her love.

We miss you, Ruby. 

Say it ain't so.....

I am not in full blown panic mode yet, but I just realized that it is only 23 days until Christmas. Now that sounds like plenty of time to get everything done.....NOT!

I don't know how I have managed to have such a heavy calendar this year. Out of the next 23 days, 11 of them are already booked with "things to do". Saturdays are for shopping and Sundays are for church so I have to rule those out as possible days for getting anything accomplished.

During the next 23 days, I have to find time to bake the cookies for the Ladies Night Out, fix a dessert and pasta salad for the Sunday School class dinner, wrap all the gifts I buy (some already bought), make the desserts for the family and friends gifts, make the desserts for our holiday, make 2 different birthday cakes or cookies for the twins (they pick what they each want).

And during this madness, I still have a full-time job to do and a Christmas tree to decorate.

And that is another sore subject today....The Christmas Tree

I love my 7' Martha Stewart Pre-lit tree. It's nice and full and tall and perfect.....until this year. We put it up two days ago so it could "fall out" before we shaped it. The trouble with pre-lit trees is that it doesn't always light. We had a major battle getting all the plug-ins lined up in the right order so we could start decorating. No matter what we tried, one whole side section on the bottom 3 limbs did not light. We decided to worry about it the next day. So we get up yesterday, turn it on to work on it and WAH LAH - they all worked. Yay!! But I had a busy day and decided to wait and decorate this morning.

Well, guess what? When I turned it on this morning, the top section doesn't light now. There has got to be a short somewhere, which means I will not be using the pre-lit section. Now, I'm torn. Do I bite the bullet and buy a new tree or do I buy lights for this one. And if I buy lights, do I get the miniature or the old fashioned bulbs like we had when I was little (the C7's). But then, I hate to invest $ in the amount of lights I would need, when after the holidays, I'll pitch this one and buy a new one for next year. But THEN, I thought, OOO, if I have to buy lights this year anyways, why don't I head over to one of the stores that has REAL trees for $30 and just get a real tree one last time and buy lights for it.

Of course, my mind has had all these random thoughts this morning while hubby is not here. Once he gets home, I'll run my ideas by him. Of course, he'll say it's up to me, and I do like to let him at least THINK he's in charge once in awhile. But not at Christmas. So I'll wage a battle with myself this morning and let you know tomorrow which direction I go.

Memories of Christmas Past

Every December it is time to take a walk down memory lane as we recall moments of Christmas past. I remember so many great things about those childhood Christmas's.

.... laying in bed at night trying to stay awake so we could hear Santa come
.... getting bags of candy at church on the Sunday morning before Christmas
.... Barbies and baby dolls
.... Mom making Barbie clothes and hanging them on the Christmas tree
.... The year that was supposed to be my last year to get a baby doll and I ended up getting THREE of them
.... Ham baking on Christmas days
.... Mom bringing out the "Christmas Candy" - chocolate covered raisins, chocolate covered peanuts, chocolate stars, chocolate cream drops and malted milk balls.
.... orange Nehi and Grape Nehi with a ham sandwich for lunch
.... walking over to my aunt's or mamaw's house that afternoon
.... homemade cakes and candies
.... assorted nuts, some in cans and some that needed cracked from their shells
.... stocking stuffed with goodies

Many wonderful memories. Many happy times. I can only hope that I have instilled such wonderful memories in the minds of my children and grandchildren.