Soup, Spinach Dip, and Sachets!

Mother Nature  gave us enough of a break that I was able to get out of this hollow, but more importantly my Homemakers club finally got to have our February meeting and Valentine's Day party. Not a moment too soon! Some of us were getting serious cases of cabin fever and got out of our homes and among civilization just in the nick of time before the men in the white coats came to take us away to the funny farm.
One of the things we do best at our meetings, is eat. Today was a good day for that. Our main course was a delicious home made vegetable soup. We had shrimp cocktail, little heart shaped turkey sandwiches, peanut butter fudge, deviled eggs, cup cakes, all kids of good food. I know I'm forgetting a bunch of stuff! I brought a bread bowl filled with spinach dip. It was a hit! Everyone loved my spinach dip and I was even asked for the recipe. I normally wouldn't divulge such a top secret recipe as this, but I've decided to share it this time. To make my special spinach dip, drive to your local grocery store. Find the snack aisle. Pick up a jar of Tostitos creamy spinach dip. Buy this spinach dip.  When you get home put the dip in your own container and after washing the jar, hide it to recycle or use in a craft. I prefer putting the dip in a  bread bowl, using the bread to dip but it also tastes great with Fritos Big Scoops.
Our hostess decorated the tables in a cheery  Valentines theme and had made two beautiful center pieces that were given as door prizes. Some people just have a talent to make beautiful things and this lady is one of those people who makes it seem easy. Several of the women had made little gifts to exchange and/or passed out cards. I finally was able to give them those mouse lollipops I had made. My Vice President gave me a lovely figurine of a Victorian couple who she said, reminded her of Michael and I. The lady is sitting on a sofa much like the one in my photo. The figurine is now on my mantle and will be treasured always. I won a beautiful butterfly pin. Can you believe I knew more about the presidents than the rest of my members did? It's true! So, I won the game this month, but only because the one who really does know just about every thing there is to know about every thing was visiting out West this month and I didn't have to compete against her.
Before going  to our homes and gearing up for the next snow heading our way, we made some big plans and made sachets for our lingerie drawers. They are very simple to make and fun. All you need is scrap fabric, ribbon or lace,and potpourri crystals. Cut 1 piece of fabric fill it with the crystals and tie a ribbon around it, TA DAAAA! You are finished! Or cut 2 pieces of fabric any shape you want (I did a heart). Put the crystals between them and glue gun them together. Trim however you like w/ lace and/or ribbon. Again, TA DAAAA! Nestle them between your unmentionables and they will keep them smelling sweet!
Happy HomeFaking!

and it's STILL Snowing!

Yep, we had yet another snow storm. And it's still snowing! So, no Homemakers meeting again this week. I hope everyone enjoyed a blissful Valentine's Day. I sure did. Valentine's Day fell on Sunday this year. Many people opted to go out on Saturday night. Not us. We stayed home Saturday night and ate pizza and watched movies. On Sunday, the official holiday, Michael cooked. He baked Cornish hens and biscuits and made stuffed crabs. It was yummy! He turned the TV to the Jazz music channel and we were all set for romance. We would have lit candles, but our friends have banned us from having any open flames in our house. Two of our houses have burned down and since rebuilding our little house IN the hill, Michael set a cloth bag on fire by flipping it over on a candle and  a kitchen cabinet got burned by a candle during a Ladies Tea I threw for my homemakers. So, no romantic candle lit dinner for us. It was still nice.
We were enjoying our dinner. The sweet sounds of Jazz in the background. Lucy staring at us, hoping we would drop something on the floor for her to eat. Then the phone rang. It was the holler gossip. Just who you don't want interupting a romantic dinner. But hey, she had news that I needed to hear. Her girl had read on the internet, Facebook as a matter of fact that my middle son Trent had passed away. Don't get excited people! Don't send flowers and I don't need any food for a wake.
 Trent is alive and kicking. Even though the news of his passing did make it all the way to Florida and was posted all over Owingville's Topix forum.
Since Trent's birth, I have never known what to expect fom that boy. He is my comedian. However, sometimes he takes a joke or prank too far. Once he saw a teacher in Walmart and jokingly told her he was there buying things he needed to blow up the school. In this time, post 911 and Columbine people just can't go around saying these things. He was suspended and arrested! My deputy sheriff husband convinced the powers that be that Trent was only joking and had no intention of blowing up the school.
Now, Trent has faked his own death. He says it was to get a particular girl to leave him alone. He thought if he told her he was dead, she would stop contacting him. I should have known that boy would be nothing but trouble when at 2 years old, he thought he could fly and jumped from the 2 story balcony of our apartment building. He was fine, but he did have a grapefruit size knot on his head and about gave me a heart attack until the ER doctors assured me of his well being. Oh, but he was such a cute baby! I put him in the baby pageant at the county fair and he won 1st place. Who could resist those huge brown eyes? Now, he's all grown up and faking his death. LOL! Where did the years go?
Mothers of young children, don't think that the worrying will be over when your children are grown and out of the house. The worry never ends. As the old saying goes, "When your children are little they walk on your feet. When your children are big they walk on your heart." 

We Don't Do Snow

My Homemakers Club was supposed to meet today @ noon. Our usual club meeting day is the second Tuesday of the month @ noon. But not today. Today it's snowing and we don't do snow. At 45, I'm the youngest in my club and even I don't like getting out in this stuff. The fact of the matter is, some of these older women get around better than I do. I gripe and complain about my arthritis and fibromyalgia and the fact that I can't wear the pretty slip of shoes that I love because of a foot surgery I had last year, while some of these older ladies are galavanting around the mall in sexy boots or going dancing every Saturday night. They really put me to shame. They show up to our meetings w/ beautiful from scratch cakes while I'm trying to pass off Archway cookies for my own for our annual Christmas Cookie swap. They grow bountiful gardens and have flowering plants all over their homes, while I'm killing bamboo. I think they only keep me around for laughs!
I honestly do try though. I write Thank You cards when a member has hosted a party in her home or given me a gift. I send Get Well cards and Birthday Cards. I try to come up w/ ideas for field trips, games and crafts. I do my best to make each member a little gift for Holidays.
February being the month for Valentines, I'm making each lady a Valentine Lollipop Mouse. They are easy, inexpensive, cute and did I say easy? All I have to do is cut out a red heart from construction paper, glue on some construction paper whiskers, draw on some eyes, a nose and mouth, cut out 2 smaller pink hearts and glue them on for ears. I'll bend those ears a little in the middle and then glue the whole thing on a Charm's Blow Pop. I wish I had known about this craft when my boys were young. It would have been a fun project to do w/ them and an inexpensive treat for them to take to their class parties.
Okay, I've written my first blog. I don't know if anyone  will read it but I'm on my way and it wasn't difficult and actually kind of fun. Happy Homemaking!