Second Annual Halloween Party!

"Once upon a spooky night......."

A group of silly creatures met together to celebrate their second annual Halloween Party!

A "spooktacular" feast was spread out for all to enjoy.

They even welcomed a first timer.....little Maxwell.

Loud laughter was heard rippling through the house as everyone played a wild game of "Lightening".

Stay tuned for more eerie details........

Oops!

Welcome to the world....!

Last night little Brooklyn Kay joined our family!
She was welcomed by her mommy, daddy, and big sister Madison.
We are all relieved and happy that she and her mom are both doing fine,
and we can't wait to meet her.
She weighed in at 7 pounds-6 ounces and is 19 1/2 inches long.
(Exactly the same size as Maddie was!)

I am looking forward to spending a few days with them.
(I thought it was fun seeing them both at the exact same age!)


Thanks, Brooklyn, for giving me enough notice to get all my sub plans finished!

See you soon!

JoAnn

Simple pleasures.....

"Happiness...

is a way....

of travel-

not a destination."
-Roy M. Goodman

(Thanks, Liz, for permission to share these great photos!)

Yummy Apple Dumplings.....

Do you have any fall comfort foods that you like?

This Apple Dumpling recipe is a great one.
Who doesn't like the smell of apples, cinnamon, and sugar baking?

Carol Gilbert's Apple Dumplings

2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/3 cup shortening
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup milk

Mix together the dry ingredients. Add in shortening like you are making a pie dough. Add egg and milk. Roll out in a large rectangle on a floured board. spread a few tablespoons of melted butter on the top. Sprinkle on cinnamon and sugar. Peel and grate about 4-6 apples and spread across the dough. Roll up the dough into a log shape (I like it to be short and fat- not long and skinny). Cut in 1 inch peices and place in a greased dripper size cake pan.

Make a syrup to pour over the dumplings.

Mix together in a sauce pan and bring to a boil:
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup butter

Pour over the dumplings and bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Serve watm with Vanilla ice cream.

P.S. Did you notice that someone couldn't wait to sample the dessert? Sorry! I forgot to hurry and get a picture.

P.P.S. The recipe comes from a good friend of our family. Carol was one of my mother's best friends and she was also the mother of my friend Danny (who recently passed away). Not only does it taste delicious, but I always think of good friends when I make it!

♥
JoAnn

Witches Night Out!

Recipe for Witches Night
Add:

1 cool night (do not chill)
hundreds of assorted witches (all sizes, shapes, and ages)

stir in:
Hot cheese and potato soup in bread bowls
energetic music
festive lights
lots of pumpkins
caramel apples

Mix together until well done.
Awesome!

There is a great Halloween cooking link on 320 Sycamore.
(Thanks, Melissa for sharing the link!)

Our Best Bites
click here

(Thanks to the girls at Our Best Bites who put this together!)

It has some fun spooky treat recipes and
I plan to make some of them for our Halloween party this year.

Do you have any fun ideas?

♥
JoAnn

P.S. Witches Night Out pictures coming soon......

(I won a gift basket at Witches Night Out, but since we had already left I have to pick it up tomorrow. Fun!)

Oh, brother.....look what's new!

I just got an early birthday present!
Yeah!

(It's a Brother brand)
Look at all the stitching options on the front.

I'm hoping to do some of the following things soon:

Be creative (by sewing up a little curtain for my kitchen)
Be useful (maybe I'll make some humanitarian school bags)
Be domestic (I'll leave it where people will see it and they might THINK I use it a LOT.)
Be thrifty (doing some mending?)
Be clever: (I'm thinking.....)

Bet you didn't know a machine could make you so talented!
(At least it sounds good on paper!)

Thank you to my family!