New Year's traditions

Every year we eat black eyed peas and rice on New Years Day. My Grandfather told me when I was little it was because the peas were for prosperity, the rice was for the riches and greens because that's the color of money. Plus it taste good and is healthy also. If you've been partying the night before it's the best thing ever. New Years Eve you just throw some black eye peas, onions, green peppers, and spices into a crock pot set it on low and the next day while trying to recover from all the champagne all you have to do is cook some rice.

I recently found out eating pork is also very lucky. Because a pig roots forward in the ground. Which represents forward movement into the new year. And we always have to have ham or hog jowl in the beans and now I know why.

Also I know eating chicken on New Years Day is very unlucky because it scratches backward and that is bad luck. Also anything with wings is considered bad luck because it represents your luck flying away.

Fish is considered good luck in some places because they can only swim forward and they look like silver. Which represents wealth. I bet fish would go good with some black eyed peas, rice, greens and corn bread. I don't know what the corn bread represents. Probably fullness.

A wonderful weekend.

Got the tree decorated last weekend.

Shop shop shop. Wrap wrap wrap. Super Saturday was spent getting Christmas together. Now there are some presents under the tree.
 I even got that package to Erica mailed. Yay me. She should get it right before Christmas.  We will have to make the next package for New Years. Even though she's not all the way in Korea anymore it feels as if she is. We miss her so much.And every time I see something that reminds me of her in the store I can't help but want to buy it. She wont be able to come home for Christmas again this year but at least she will be able to drive up to my sisters and be with some family. That's the life of a soldier I guess.

The Magic Pirate Cake just before it was loaded into the oven.

I finally got that cake baked. It has to be aged and then with one bite I'll be on my way to that pirate treasure. If it taste anywhere near as good as it smelled it will be a treasure. I'm not sure how long to age it. Some other cake recipes have the cake being aged up to 5 years. I thought a month would be a long time. I don't know if it will last a month. Next time I'm definitely making two.

The fruited rum. Yum.

And of course we had to taste the rum that was drained off the fruit. Most of it will be saved for a glaze but yum was it good. I think this is why pirates were always drunk and drinking rum.

Check out the recipe page!  I plan on posting a composite of the recipe and what I did. If anyone would like to try a rum cake made by me.... just let me know. I may go into business if this cake turns out as good as I think it will.

Fountain of youth.

A woman with a thick British accent asked "Sorry sir I must ask What has happened to you? Where did you come from?"

I found myself washed up on a beach in Florida. Or at least I think it was Florida. I was sailing just off the coast. I was beaten and bruised. My mined reeling. I had seen my whole crew and my ship ripped apart by wind. It was as if hands had come from the storm and literally tore everything. I stayed with the ship until the last timber went in the water. Then I dove away. I leaped into the air and it was if that great hand caught me and I flew forever before I hit the ocean and blacked out.

My head ached, it was as if I couldn't put thought together. I was sure I had a concussion and knew I needed to find people fast. I wondered up and down the beach for a while before interring the jungle. I had traversed jungle before and knew it would be hard going with out a blade but I continued on avoiding all peril. Eventually I came upon a small cave opening. There were jewels, coins and bits of old food, stale bread, scattered about the entrance. It was a  sure sign that people were about. I was starved so I ate the stale bread. It must have been some sort of grave offering I thought. It was getting dark and it seemed as good refuge as any so I entered the cave. It was unimpressive, limestone grey walls. I had to bend down for about a good six feet before I could finally stand upright. When I did there was a strong breeze. It didn't just blow at me but all around me as if beckoning me to come farther into the cave.

When my eyes adjusted I could see the back of the cave had a squared off area. Some one must have tried to carved a room I thought. I stood in that area for a bit. And then it was as if I knew what to do. I don't remember what I did for sure. Something with the rock. Pushed it, turned it. It was smooth. And then the water came... trickling at first... from a shelf area above. It didn't run down the wall like I expected but away from it. The water itself wasn't normal, there was light in it, sparkles were mixed in but it didn't feel like sand. It felt wonderful and the sight of it. It wasn't as the glow of the sun as it set but more like the moon when it dances upon the water. There was no light to be reflected but there it was. The cool soft water eased my cuts and bruises. I stood there in it as if I were soaking it right into my skin. I drank gallons of it. I felt the water as it passed down my throat and into my body. I felt it as my body absorbed it and I felt it in my mind. As things that had troubled me were suddenly washed away. Dirt was washed from me. My cuts were washed off and the bruises. I felt clean, a clean I had never felt before. I stood there with this strange water feeling its comfort until......until.............  I was here in this bed with no idea how I got here or where I was.

Mybe it's in a cave like this.

Or maybe the cave is now under water like this.

Thanks giving holiday.

Before the food hit the table.

Hope everyone had a great Thanks Giving. Around here we had a great time. Lots of food. Mom brought a yummy pineapple upside down cake and Aunt Patty brought a eggplant Parmesan that was also yummy. We enjoyed receiving a phone call from family up in Kansas where Erica spent the holiday and just relaxing around the homestead talking about old times.

Yummy pineapple upside down cake that Mom made.

The food on the table. Plate in front is Aunt Patty's yummy eggplant Parmesan.

Hope everyone enjoyed their feast as much as we did.

Been pretty busy lately

picture of hawk I took in the back yard.

I've decided to go with windows live photo galleries for editing. I think it was already in the computer. It's not as fabbo as the two I used to use for editing but... It's a lot easier to use than those sites you have to wait to up load your photo's and then your not sure who is looking at them. You have to worry about all the settings and this is just as good and I'm liking it.

We got excited and picked the watermelon a little too soon. It was sweet still but.... only the very center was truly ripe. So.....

Watermelon water!

We decided to make watermelon water. Which was really good and refreshing. We just added the fresh water melon to some water with a bunch of crushed ice and yum.... What a great pick me up.

Baby watermelon!

We've got one more chance at a watermelon though. We think it will be ready right around Thanks giving. Yum!

Diaper Cake

Grandpa helping make the diaper cake.

We all pitched in a built Erica a diaper cake for her baby shower. It was actually pretty simple. We rolled up two packages of size 2 diapers. Then secured with rubberbands. I used some cloth diapers in the cake too. We decorated with various baby things like pacifiers and ribbons and added some sample shampoo and baby oils.

washcloth flower

Veronica wiped up these cute roses made from little baby wash cloths. And they made the cake look even more awesome!

Diaper cake as centerpiece.

It turned out to be a great centerpiece. Best of all it will be disassembled and used later.

baby shower food!

 All the food on the table came out great too. Thanks to everyone who helped.

Girls having fun at the shower.

I hope everyone had a great time and Erica wanted me to let everyone know she is going to be late sending out those thank you notes as she is on the road traveling to her next duty station. When she gets there and gets settled she will be sending those out. However they may be on face book as she is doing a lot of her communicating that way.