I Miss Them!

Our two youngest boys were invited to go with Brooke and Ricky and family last Thursday to the Smokey Mountains to see SNOW!! Monroe and I had planned to take a short family trip up to Tennessee to see some snow this winter but Monroe's back is not doing too well since his back surgery in October. It is just too painful for him to sit more than 30 minutes at a time. So, to say the boys were elated with this invitation would be putting in mildly!

Brent and Bradley are not home much with school and jobs so our house has been extremely quiet the past 4 days and I hate it! I miss the antics of the two younger ones, like this for example:

I even miss the gross surprises when I turn around to see this:

And the times when they are so bored that they get creative and make paper clothes....LOL!

And I do so miss these 3 lovies!!!

Oh. I miss Brooke and Ricky too ;-)

My dear family is on the way home. They had such adventures! I can't wait to hear all their stories. Most importantly they got to see SNOW and lots of it! They got to spend every day playing in the snow. I let Brandon take my camera so I will have pictures to show soon. I will keep you posted....

Nonna's Baby Girl Is Sick

Let me just begin by saying that girls are most assuredly different than boys!! Oh the drama and emotions this little darling displays!! Reese or Reesie Pie as I call her, has been feeling bad the past few days. Brooke gave her medicine and watched her for a few days to see if she would begin to feel better (I can tell she is the third child because Mom and Dad didn't head to the Doc right away!).

After about 3 days of Reese moaning as she walked around the house, Brooke said if she wasn't moaning she had her little bottom lip poked out(ok I can't handle the pouty lip, it melts Nonna's heart)-Mom decided to let the Doc take a look and see what was causing all the fuss.

Brooke was expecting some sort of terrible infection somewhere by the way Reese had been behaving. As it turns out, the Doctor couldn't find anything wrong except the very beginning of ear infection. Thankfully, Reese has not been very sick for the past year and I suppose she just couldn't figure out what was wrong with herself!

Oh. My. Goodness. What is she going to do when she loses her first tooth???

I must confess something. All the pictures above were taken by Brooke except the last one. I only wish I could take such nice pictures..... Brooke keep your opinions to yourself!

Candied Lemon Peel

Have you ever eaten candied lemon peel? I had not until last year. I was at my dear friend Kay's house and she had just finished a batch. She let me try some of her candied citrus and let me tell you it was DELICIOUS!! She graciously shared the recipe with me. After listening to her tell me all the steps involved I thought I probably would never give it a try. However, another precious friend, Nicki (actually she is pretty close to being a daughter to me) allowed me to pick all the lemons on the tree in her yard last week. Thank you, Nicki!!



I knew I wanted to freeze the lemon juice for later use. I decided to give the candied peel a try as well. I grabbed two of my boys to help in the process and we got started.



I wanted to share the steps with you so you can give this a try sometime. It really is worth the effort. The nice thing about it is you can make a small batch or big batch. I used a lot but then I had some help.



First of all lightly scrub the fruit. If it is not organic, I would use Veggiewash.

Next, peel the fruit getting as little of the white pith as possible. This is very important when the peel begins to dry. I was still able to juice my lemons because there was so much of the white pith left on the fruit. (Sorry about the poor color of these pictures. I have a new camera and I am still learning all the settings). Next, take some kitchen scissors and cut the peel into thin strips. I cut the pieces you see in the picture below into half the width shown.

Maybe you can see how I cut the thin strips in the pot below. After cutting, cover the peel with water and bring to a gentle, rolling boil. Boil for 20 minutes. Then pour off the water. Repeat this process two more times.

After the third boiling step, drain and gently dry the peel. I used a towel to dry mine.

Next, lay wax paper out on the counter top or surface you have chosen. Sprinkle the wax paper with sugar and lay the peel out in a thin layer. Sprinkle more sugar on top. That is all there is to it! A couple of times each day use your fingers and gently stir the strips so they are evenly coated with the sugar. Then sprinkle another layer of fresh sugar on top. This is the drying process and it will take up to 4 days. After the first day, you will begin to see moisture on the peel and the sugar will begin to clump. That is why it is important to keep stirring and sugaring each day.

When the drying is done the peel will look shriveled and it will be slightly crispy in texture. That is how you will know it is finished. Store your candied peel in a jar or airtight container. I am not sure of the shelf life because around my house this delicacy will not last long enough to spoil!!

Wouldn't this make a nice Christmas gift for that hard-to-buy for person on your list? I wonder if you could add this to breads or muffins? It is wonderful to nibble on with a cup of hot tea! The possibilities are endless! C'mon give it a try!

The "Fire Camp"

Our grandsons, Parker and Luke, are growing up so fast. One of their very favorite things to do is to come over to Nonna and Poppa's house. Brooke says the boys get so excited when they find out they are coming for a visit. She will not even stop by to drop something off to me if she can not stay because they will cry all the way home. Of course this just makes Nonna and Poppa over-joyed!
Lately we have been enjoying the cold (not freezing!) nights outdoors by having a cookout/campfire. Parker and Luke unintentionally have named this outing a firecamp! They absolutely love to have their firecamp in the evenings whenever they possibly can.

Even little Reese gets in on the fun. This is the rare occasion that she is not dressed in something girly! Don't tell her mother but she kinda likes getting dirty too (tee...heee...heee!)

Monroe and the boys have built an open fire stove pit for us to cook on. We have tried stew and chili and both were delicious. Love that cast iron!! Why is it that food tastes so much better when it is cooked outdoors?

Tonight as Poppa and Parker were putting out the "fire camp" with the water hose Parker told Poppa he wanted to make a wish before they put it out. After they finished dousing the fire Parker told Poppa what he wished for. Would you like to know his wish? Because I was dying to know what my four year old grandson would make a wish for. This is so cute. He wished that Parker, Poppa and Daddy could all go hunting and get a deer. Ain't that just precious!