Thursday, October 24, 2013

Live Jazz Band in the house tonight!

My husband has been a band director. He's also a musician. He plays tuba, string bass and trombone. He has reunited his former group known as the Evergreen Classic Jazz Band and they will be here tonight to rehearse. They've got a live performance in November. No one call me tonight. I won't be able to here you. If you came to my house tonight and wanted to talk to me, I won't be able to hear you. Thanks to some new windows we put in 5 years ago, we won't be disturbing da neighbas!
They are also coming to eat first! A wonderful pork stew in in the big crockpot, herb and garlic breadsticks are on the menu. Little pumpkin cakes are dessert.
Meanwhile, I've set up a sewing station in my bedroom. So much to do this holiday season. And, as usual, I always think I can do it all.........don't know what I would accomplish if I didn't think this! NO TV tonight--again--I wouldn't be able to hear it. The band has seven musicians: trumpet, trombone, clarinet/sax, banjo, piano, drums and tuba. Trust me---that's a lot of sound.
It is always with great joy to prepare for them. The music this group makes is so fantastic. And, it is so rare to hear.
The three four-legged critters that live with us will bark at first, then settle comfortably on their beds in my bedroom and happily spend their evening with me. They, too, love the music.
I think hubby's chewing something--oops! He's got a lot of music he's thrashing through!

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Freaky grandson

I made a new banner for this blog. Inside the left frame is a photo of my grandson dressed as The Scream. His favorite Halloween costume. You've heard of kids wanted to be the sheet ghost year after year--OK I'm aging myself--well, this guy loves to be The Scream. He'll be on the blog until Halloween. He's quite thrilled. He found the Halloween Peeps I bought. Ate them quite heartily---yikes! I would love to learn how to make marshmallows. Anyone out there who can help me?

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Pumpkin Butter & Tatting








Pumpkin butter and biscuits--can you imagine it? I can hardly wait. One of the Farm Girls shared this recipe:
3 1/2 cups pumpkin pureƩ
2 teapoons vanilla
3/4 cup apple cider
1 cup packed brown sugar
2-3 teaspoons cinnamon
1-2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Combine pumpkin, vanilla, apple cider, spices, cinnamon and sugar in a large saucepan; stir well.
Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30-40 minutes until thickened. Stir frequently.
This recipe can be doubled. Some use the crockpot to do the simmering.
It's a reduced sugar recipe thanks to the apple cider.

My friend and I decided to tackle tatting. We first tried a more difficult method, then the easy one. Love it! Now to practice to make it a smooth operation! :)