Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Poor Dumbledore

Thought this was appropriate with Halloween coming up... it's a little creepy. I've sort of lost respect for Prof. Dumbledore, though he's a "wizard with the ladies."

"Harry Potter star fathers second child with mistress"

Sir Michael Gambon is a busy man. The 68-year-old, known to many of us as Dumbledore from the Harry Potter series is about to have his second baby…with his mistress.

Sir Michael has been married to Lady Anne, a retired mathematician, for 45 years. They have a 44-year-old son together, and share a home near London.

The mistress is 43-year-old Philippa Hart, who shares a 17-month-old son with the actor. Philippa reportedly wanted to have a sibling for their son, and so chose to get pregnant again by Sir Michael.

A friend of Sir Michael’s said, “Michael and Philippa are delighted that she’s pregnant again, but he is very worried about what his wife thinks of all this.

“He says it will cause him a lot of hassle if it comes out, but his private arrangements are so complicated he can’t really expect a completely smooth ride.

“He continues to see his wife and mistress, but is very secretive about both relationships. He may be getting on, but Michael is still a wizard with the ladies.”

Lady Anne is reportedly taking the news “in stride.” What do you think of Sir Michael’s wild ways?

Source: The Sun, Photo: PR Photos

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Exciting Great News!
The new Christmas List is Out!
I know you have all been waiting for ages for the new list of gift givers, so without further delay, here it is.
And remeber, you get what you get and you don't throw a fit.
Due to circumstances beyond their control, The Matt Blattman Family will not be able to participate in the great giveaway. But don't forget them, remember a little Christmas card goes a long way.
The Joseph Blattman Family has the Jake Blattman Family
The Jake Blattman Family has the Heather Light Family
The Dan Blattman Family has the Sarah Pyrah Family
The Sarah Pyrah Family has the Dan Blattman Family
The Will Blattman Family has the Joseph Blattman Family
The Heather Light Family has the Will Blattman Family
AND MOM and DAD have everyone! Hey wait a minute---oh, well, it's all fun.
You can do this however you want. Buy one huge gift for the whole family or one gift for each person in the family. Cost limits are hard to make, but I think if you spend between 50.00-75.00 per family that should be about $15.00 per person. If you think that is too high let me know and we will change the limits. We don't want to place a burden on any family. Soooooo, happy shopping.
Love MOM

What I've Learned From My Sister

So I took Sarah's roll recipe a couple of weeks ago and made some cinnamon rolls as she suggested. While they were "ok", they weren't perfect but good enough!...a bit of my bad baking skills and a bit of my personal tastes. Tonight after church, I made another batch.
This time, used 1/3 cup of sugar instead of 1/2 cup, added a little more salt. And, then for the cinnamon filling, I used soft butter dusted with nearly straight cinnamon (little to no sugar). Finally, added some chopped pecans before rolling it all up.
We made the same caramel syrup that Sarah suggested but added some pecans. I put the rolls in a buttered pan, dripped just a little bit of the pecan caramel before baking and then put it all in the oven. After baking, we poured the remaining pecan syrup on the hot rolls and let cool.
Better than anything we've ever had at Cinnabon! Thanks Sarah for the recipe!

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Boo!


Here is Synnova's submission. She loves playing with our webcam. She is a real ham.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

heather and I or is it me and heather

heather and I are working on a new business idea...
I am still nervous to tell people about it in case I (more I than heather) turn out to be a failure...

I guess we should start telling people though, if word of mouth is going to be our biggest form of marketing.

HERE IS A HINT, see if you can guess:

Monday, October 13, 2008

Fun Seasonal cake

I thought this was a cool idea: Candy Apple Cake
RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsps cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp allspice
2 tsps baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 cups unsweetened applesauce
1 cup vegetable oil
2 tsps vanilla extract
60 caramel candies
3/4 cup walnuts, toasted and finely chopped
wax paper
1 large craft stick
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Grease and flour two 1 1/2-quart oven-safe bowls.

3. Combine 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/2 teaspoon allspice, 2 teaspoons baking soda and 1 teaspoon salt.

4. In a separate bowl, beat together 2 eggs, 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, 2 cups unsweetened applesauce, 1 cup vegetable oil and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and beat until well mixed.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared bowls and bake for 60 to 70 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

6. Allow the cakes to cool in the bowls for 10 minutes, then remove them from the bowls and set them inverted on wire racks to cool completely. Once the cakes have cooled, turn them over and use a long knife to even out their flat tops.

7. Topping: Place 60 caramel candies and 2 tablespoons of water in a medium bowl and microwave on high power for 1 minute. Stir, then heat 30 to 45 seconds more until the mixture is smooth and forms a slow, thick ribbon when dropped from a spoon.

8. Layer the cakes (flat sides together) using a few spoonfuls of the caramel to help hold them in place.

9. Pour the remaining sauce over the cake. The caramel will run down the sides of the cake to cover it completely, or you can spread it with a knife while it's still warm.

10. Let the caramel set for about 20 minutes before pressing the walnuts onto the bottom half of the cake.

11. Cover one half of the craft stick with waxed paper and insert the covered end into the top of the cake.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

BOO! (not sure if it was him or us saying it...)


We inadvertently rolled up on this guy as he was trying to cross the road. Yes, this is from my car window. Yes, I shrieked like a little girl and rolled up the window. He peed on the car, spat on us, and "showed us his butt" as he stomped off into the bush.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Weather Update

Today was the first snow of Fall...my flowers were still in bloom on my lavendar bushes and our tress just started to turn colors this week. But all did not last as they were coated with white today.
It looks like it will melt by tomorrow.



Boo Who


School photos are out. My hair is thinning a bit but I feel great.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Beware of ketchup murderers...

Boo?





Guess it depends on your views of spiders...

(This isn't my 'boo' submission. We just found this guy by our pool)

another New Project - Done (check)


New Project - Done (check)

Some indication that I don't bake often

I realized that when I stumbled upon this scene that I don't bake enough.I stumbled on this scene last night, and decided that if my kids think that it is so interesting, I may have not baked nearly enough.
I tried a great recipe from my mother in law that is used for various rolls. I forgot that my mother in law is use to cooking for large groups and the recipe was HUGE. I think next time I will have to half it....I used 11 cups of flour!!! I added some caramel sauce to the bottom of the pan and it proceeded to run over the edges and produce some smoke as it burned on my oven burners.
However, it did not detract from the end result and we had pan of huge cinnamon rolls for breakfast this morning.

here is the recipe in half for those who would like to have some yummy cinnamon rolls.
2 Cups Warm Water
1 Tbsp Yeast = 1package
1 Tbsp salt
2 beaten eggs
1/4 cup Oil
1/2 cup sugar
5- 6 cups flour

Mix all ingredients except flour and stir well. I just did this in my kitchen aid.
Add Flour a cup at a time and stir . Keep adding until you need to knead in the rest of the flour. The dough should not be sticky and soft. Put in a greased bowl and let rise till double in size.

From here you can make dinner rolls, buns or various jelly rolls and cinnamon rolls.

I rolled out the dough flat at about 1/2" thick. I put melted butter on the flat dough and topped with sugar and cinnamon. Roll it up and tuck in the edge.
I made caramel sauce with cube of butter, 1 cup of brown sugar, and 4 tbsp of Caro syrup melted in a saucepan. I cooked until bubbly. And poured in the bottom of my cookie sheet.
Cut into rolls and put on top of sauce in cookie sheet. Don't pack them in too tight as they will expand and the sauce will run over the sides and burn in your oven...I should know.
Cook at 375 for about 20 Min (until golden brown).

Monday, October 6, 2008

Boo!


I think this guy was taking an upside-down nap. The thing was HUGE! Atleast inch long legs! I guess I was the one to say, "Boo!" because I woke him up by smashing him with the phone book.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

OCTOBER Photoblog Topic

I know you have all been waiting anxiously (no pun from last month intended) on the new Photoblog topic.
This month is: BOO!
I like to be vague and obtuse, so this will allow for your own interpretation and expression. And of course it has an element of Halloween.
I have a $10 Blockbuster card to send to the best photo entry (as voted on by me and using criteria known only to me. And I am not qualified to win...)
Happy Snappy!