What's a Walkman?

Do you remember in the late 70's the debut of the Sony Walkman? It was the latest and greatest in audio technology. You could play cassette tapes when you were on the go, not just at home or in your car. Wow, weren't we cool!

Now we have the Apple iPod that is so sleek and thin and can store 1,000 songs. It is so much smaller, lightweight, and truly portable. We download songs from the internet to compile lists of all our favorites, old or new.

Back in the 1970's there was no such thing as the internet, or downloading, or personal computers, or cell phones, etc. Technology changes so fast, what seems state of the art when we buy it is quickly replaced by something new. It boggles the mind as well as drains our wallets. So, as we continue to purchase newer, better, faster technology, let's take a moment to fondly remember LPs, 8-track tapes, and cassette tapes...ah, those were the days (:

Snow, snow, go away--come again another day!

"Snowflakes keep falling on my head, just like the..." oops, wrong words! I thought if March came in like a lion (which it did) it was supposed to go out like a lamb. I guess Mother Nature had other plans. The snow was actually quite beautiful, carefully coating every little branch on our birch trees.

Our burgeoning tulips were covered in snow, I hope that they're not permanently damaged. The snow was melting quickly today so I think the flowers will be fine at least from the snow, from the bunnies is another story. The rotten rabbits are after the tulips, nibbling their tender leaves down to the nubbins. Not this year I cry! I am trying to foil the rabbits efforts this year by protecting them with cages made from old plastic pots. I have been successful so far, but as we all know rabbits are rascally, I will have to be vigilant.

Although pretty, I hope Mother Nature is done with snow, I'm ready for Spring!

Nail polish isn't just for ladies.

It's such a girlie thing to paint our finger and toe nails. A bright bit of color that sparkles as we go about our daily routines. I have never routinely painted my nails, but only dabbled it on when the mood strikes me.

When I was a teenager and I was painting my nails, my dad happened to be taking a nap in the recliner. My dad always said he never napped, "he was just resting his eyes". So to test his napping ability I decided to see if I could paint at least one nail without waking him up.

I was quite stealthy and I carefully applied a coat of clear nail polish to his right thumb. Dad didn't wake up. Dad didn't notice the polish on his thumb at all that day. In fact it wasn't until the next morning as my dad was standing in church that he noticed his thumbnail looked shiny, and upon further inspection the shininess wasn't rubbing off!

We were all amused at my dad's shiny thumbnail. I took pity on him later that day and removed the polish and all was right with the world.

Joys of Jell-O

Did you know that Jell-O Gelatin has been around since 1897? It is has been around 112 years, I think that it is amazing! My mom would often make it for dessert. It always tasted good and was economical for our large family. We would have it plain or sometimes mom would add fruit, and one of our holiday favorites had orange juice and ginger ale! (More on that in a future post.)

Some people don't care for Jell-O Gelatin but I like it and enjoy how creative you can be with it. And so I begin my campaign to introduce you to the Joys of Jell-O!

This book belongs to my mom and is from 1962 and is full of great gelatin recipes, it is also full of pencil scribblings from some young artist sibling. Looking beyond the pencil marks, I found a recipe for Pineapple Snow. How intriguing! The recipe was simple and sounded tasty, I just had to try it. It turned out great, a just a bit tangy and so airy and light. I will definitely make it again and try other flavor combinations.

Pineapple Snow

1 pkg (3 oz.) Jell-O Orange-Pineapple Gelatin (I don't know if this is available anymore, I used Orange Sugar-Free)

1/8 tsp salt

1 cup boiling water

1 cup canned pineapple juice*

1 egg white

*for a firmer snow, use only 3/4 cup juice. (I used 3/4 cup.)

Dissolve gelatin and salt in boiling water. Add pineapple juice. chill until very thick, about an hour an a half. Then add egg white and whip until fluffy using beaters in an electric mixer. Pile lightly in sherbet glasses or pour into an 8-inch square pan. Chill until firm. If chilled in pan, cut in squares or spoon into dessert dishes. Serve with whipped cream. Makes about 5 cups or 6 servings.

A Little Cutie

This is my mom in 1935 when she was one year old. It is one of my favorite pictures of her, a hand colored black and white photo, very state of the art at the time.

It is amazing to look back and see how much of a person's features are already defined and retained into adulthood. My mom was born with soft, pale blond hair--a towhead and she turned into a lovely brunette. Otherwise most of that cute baby face can be seen in my mom right now, especially that look! It cracks me up, because I have seen that look so many times. In fact I have been on the receiving end often too. It is a very expressive glance, ranging from "What are you doing?", "I don't think so!", "Don't make me tell you again!", or "What did you say?".

Such a little cutie that was already making people take notice!

Paperweight

This paperweight combines several of my favorite things: rainbows, hearts, and glass.

Rainbows are full of color, stretching out across the sky. They always make me smile when I see one, I just have to stop and admire it. Rainbows are wonderfully random and fleeting. I don't need a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, for me the rainbow is the prize.

Hearts are so expressive, usually associated with love themes, but can you can have heartache, heartburn, or a heart attack. I like to think about the positive heart metaphors: giving your heart to someone, your heart's desire, heart and soul, learning something by heart, keeping someone or something near to your heart, to take heart, or perhaps to do something to your heart's content. When was the last time you did something until your heart was content? It sounds so warm and comforting. We make oaths on our hearts too. So, for me, hearts are places of love, joy, solace, friendship, hope, and occasional ache; a place to keep my family and friends close.

Glass exhibits qualities of strength and weakness. It is commonplace but it can also be an art form. It is in art that glass captures my attention, stained glass and blown glass art. Stained glass windows adorn churches of many faiths to aid in contemplation and story telling. Stained glass windows can also be found in businesses and homes to add beauty and design. I love the creativity and range of colors used in the windows. I have been privileged to watch several blown glass artists at work in their studios. I am always amazed at the skill, strength, and stamina that it takes to shape their pieces.

I think about all these things when I admire my glass rainbow heart paperweight.

Morning Glory Muffins

If you're looking for a great start to your morning try a Morning Glory muffin. Delicious! They have a wonderful combination of healthy fruits, vegetables, and nuts but the muffins are not dry and cardboard-y like some "good-for-you" food. The muffins are good at room temperature but are best eaten warm with a bit of butter.

This recipe was published in the newspaper courtesy of the Willow Creek Lutheran Church Cookbook, Dell Rapids, SD.

Ingredients
1/2 cup raisins
2 cups flour
2 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 large tart apple, peeled and grated
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup coconut
2 cups grated carrots
3 eggs
2/3 cup canola oil
2 tsp vanilla

Soak raisins in hot water for 15-20 minutes.

Preheat ovent to 350 degrees. Combine flour, soda, salt, sugar and cinnamon. Stir in drained raisins, apple, walnuts, coconut and carrots. Beat together eggs, oil and vanilla. Stir egg mixture into flour mixture to blend. Fill greased muffin tins or use cup-cake liners.

Bake 18-20 minutes. Makes 24 muffins.