There's been a lot of living in our living room lately

or why I have not blogged in the last week or so....... 

My mom with her 2 great grands



Jeff and I with Gavin and Elizabeth


My parents came to visit for a week.  Gavin's parents took a little vacation and he stayed with us for 4 days. 
And while they were here,  our other children and my brother came to visit everyone and join the fun.





That is John in the center, he was playing with my mom's IPad,  he thinks they are pretty nice. 



Daughter in law Bridgette and dog in law Fletch.

Bobby and my dad, his Pa. 

No, Bobby is not pinching Elizabeth's foot, she just has her eyes closed.  She is mostly wary of people she does not see daily but she went right to her Uncle Bobby even though she had not seen him since Christmas. 
Gavin usually likes everybody, even strangers,  but he would not have a thing to do with Bobby.  It was kind of funny.

Son Jimmy would of liked to be here, he graduated from law school in December and is now in prep class for the bar test.  We missed him but we all know he should be studying. 

knockoff recipe for Star$$$s Cinnamon Scones

This recipe has been posted on 2 coupon boards I read.  So Monday morning,  when I wanted something "good" for breakfast,  I decided to try it out.  Jeff and Nina were both here for breakfast, these scones are so good, there were no leftovers!

knockoff recipe for Star$$$s Cinnamon Scones
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 egg, separated
3 tablespoons honey
1/3 cup buttermilk - my dough was really dry, I will try 1/2 cup next time, and I did not have buttermilk, I just added a little vinegar to the milk
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut in butter until the mixture is the consistency of coarse crumbs.
In a small bowl, beat egg yolk (reserving the white) with honey and buttermilk until blended. Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture, stirring lightly only until dough clings together.
Using floured hands, lightly shape dough into a flattened ball. Roll or pat out on a floured board or pastry cloth to a circle about 1/2-inch thick and 8 1/2 inches in diameter.
Using a floured knife, cut 8 or 12 equal wedges. Place themslightly apart on a greased or non-stick baking sheet. In a small bowl, beat egg white slightly to a froth.
In another bowl, blend 1 tablespoon sugar and cinnamon. Brush scones lightly with egg white, then sprinkle them with the cinnamon and sugar mixture.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.
I added a glaze as one of the coupon boards recommended,  just mix about 2/3 cup of powdered sugar with a teaspoon or 2 of milk, just enough to make a drizzley glaze. 
Makes 8 to 12 scones.  I cut ours into 8,  cutting them into 12 would be very dainty. 



Gavin had so much fun with bubbles.  He had fun watching me blow bubbles and he  was really delighted when he could blow his own. 



Little Elizabeth looks like a princess here
but she climbs and crawls on everything
a little more like a monkey than a princess!

your vote is requested

This is my son Bobby and his wife Bridgette.  Bridgette is the singer for a band and Bobby is the band's manager/roadie/jack of all trades.  I am not a big fan of metal music but I really love Bobby and Bridgette.  Their band,  Siva Addiction, is a in a battle of the bands contest sponsored by the Fire Department Instructors Conference in Indiana. 

to vote,  just go to the link, then scroll about halfway down and vote for Siva Addiction.  You don't even have to listen to them if you don't want to or put in any information, it is very quick to vote.   The contest has a big prize,  $20,000!     It is a limit of one vote per computer. 
So,  if you want to take the time to vote,  it would make Bobby and Bridgette very happy to get your vote.

thanks!

Pyrex baked bread

My grandparent's bread recipe makes 4 little loaves that fit perfectly in my 4 little Pyrex loaf pans. 

You can still use this recipe even if you have not collected Pyrex. Just bake it in 2 regular loaf pans and it will be just as delicious.  It might not be as cute, but then everyone does not always care if their bread is cute, do they? 

we will be having some tomorrow at breakfast,  toasted with crockpot apple butter.  yum!

Crock pot apple butter

I bought 2 bags of cooking apples this fall and planned to make apple pies with them.  Then Jeff got several bags of apples from a coworkers yard and I made pies with those apples.

Those grocery store apples have been sitting in the fridge just waiting.... and they were not getting any fresher. 

So I looked up how to make crockpot apple butter to use them,  and it was very easy.  I used THIS as a guideline -  my way  used a little more than 5 pounds of apples, peeled and chopped,  2 cups sugar, 3 t cinnamon, 1/2 t cloves and a dash of salt.  It cooked on high most of the morning until the apples all broke down, I mashed them with a potato masher to help them along.  Then they cooked on low all afternoon until the juice cooked out and they thickened up. 

I put the apple butter in 1/2 jars - it made 7- and then put them in the fridge.  They will get eaten pretty fast here.  The recipe talks about freezing it and I am sure it could be canned. 

and you sure don't need scented candles or potpourri when apple butter is cooking,  it smells wonderful!