Another year is drawing to a close and we are getting(gasp) older. Look how young Dan and I look in this picture. It was taken 30 years ago in Collingwood Ontario while we were skiing at Blue Mountain. We were so young and had a lifetime in front of us. And a baby boy named Matthew staying at home with Grandma Kinsey. It was our first time away from him and Mom encouraged us to go--she knew we needed a vacation and she wanted him to herself! We had a lot of fun but very homesick for our son. Strangely enough, both my orange ski coat and Dan's ski vest are still hanging upstairs in our closet!!

Here is the last chapter of my Dobos Torte story. The cake has been frosted in my freezer awaiting Christmas------and I think it was a success! The picture doesn't define the layers and I left off the carmelized sugar topping. I wasn't sure how to do that(my Mom didn't put it on either) and I didn't want to experiment with my Christmas dessert. So end of story-------and I am quite proud. I did a little research and the torte goes back to the mid 1800's when it was developed by a famous chef in Hungary. Most people assume it was called Dobos Torte(or drum cake as Dobos means drum) however the last name of the chef was Dobos. So-there you have it. The tradition will continue in my family into the next generation at least because I plan on teaching my sons how to make it. And look at the beautiful background. My sister in law, Lisa, knitted a set of dishclothes and they are gorgeous!!

Christmas Future

Merry Christmas to You and Yours. Family is what is most important and may this coming year bring your families all the Blessings you so richly deserve. So, from Dan, Magglio, Michele Matt, Adam and Kellie(Jonelle is with her family and we miss her)--------Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Christmas Present

Joy to The World-The Lord Has Come, Let Earth Receive Her King!

I hope each and every one of you are surrounded by the presence or essence of those you love. Have a Very Blessed Christmas

Christmas Past

When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things - not the great occasions - give off the greatest glow of happiness." ~ Bob Hope, American film actor and comedian. I think most of use try to create for our own families, the type of Christmas we shared as children and in that way, it takes us back to the excitement of being a child on Christmas. I am sharing this photo of my brother and me on Christmas Eve. Note the look of worry on his face while I am looking quite serene---it is easy to see who was bad and who was good that year. Notice my ponytail. I still have that, tucked in a bag. I didn't want to get it cut and refused to leave it behind at the beauty parlor. Merry Christmas everyone.

Christmas Goose? Snow Geese?

Are you ready for Christmas? Well-I thought I was but there is still last minute cooking to do and one final gift to wrap. And laundry and well----you get the picture. I happened to look out my window and noticed the Canadian Geese arriving in the field----lots and lots of them. They remind me of-----US. Families coming home for the holidays----meeting and greeting and having fun. I am thinking of all our family scattered throughout the country and wish we could all be together--but know you are here in our hearts!

We've had an ice storm. This one's savage beauty is lingering because the temps are in single digits. We visited Adam and Jonelle and the entire landscape looked like crystal trees and shimmering branches. Beautiful yes but widespread power outages the farther West we went. In fact, our hotel had a lot of local residents without power in their homes. Appropriate to the weather are these snow people that I made. The snowman and snowlady now live with Adam and Jonelle and Mr Snowman lives with Matt. I found the pattern here at KnittingatKnoon.com and fell in love with them. Have a great week----stay warm and serene as we start this hectic week

Don we now our Gay Apparel! Ho Ho Ho! When your legs are as short as Mags, a little snow can be quite intimidating. A romp in the snow and then back in the house-------to promptly eat a box of fudge someone gave me as a present! How can you get mad at a face like that?

The Rest of the Story

Okay, so here's the story. Dan "celebrated" his birthday yesterday. Which would have been nice except he tore his other shoulder at work yesterday. But at least he had the distraction of the broken furnace to make him forget about his pain. Today is better though---Motrin is helping the pain, there is a new furnace being installed, even as I type, and we are scheduled for a LOT of snow so he will get to play with his new Birthday toy---a snowblower.

Happy Birthday Grossie!

Hope this weekend finds you warm and cozy. Take some time to do something just for you. I saw an article about how vintage felt Christmas stockings are back in fashion and my brother and I were so lucky to find the stockings that Mom had made for us. I totally forgot about them until I saw them in the box and again, I am totally in love with this stocking! I may make some for my family next year. And---since I know my sons read this blog---I hope that someday they will look at the treasures I make for them and love them as much as the treasures my Mom made for me.

Tonite's post will not make any mention of the coming Holiday--or the man in the Red Suit----or make you think you need to buy the latest gadget. We are going to step away from the madness and take a cleansing breath. I am sharing with you some very peaceful photos I took last summer and together we'll forget about all the things we need to do. Why do we do that to ourselves anyway? I think I am the worst offender---when I get caught up, I assign myself another task. So, enjoy the pictures and forget about all the things you have to do. There--doesn't that feel better already?

Isn't she sweet

This is my very favorite Christmas ornament--and has been my entire life. She came to live at our house this year----packed in a box with a handwritten notation on the lid in my Mom's handwriting. "This was the first ornament I bought when I was first married. 1942" When we were little, Mom would carefully lift her from her box and spray her with white flocking to look like snow. As the years went by, some Christmas's she never made it out of the box, in favor of newer fancier ornaments. But I never forgot her and and am thrilled she has a place of honor in my house. Check out her adorable face. I am not going to spray her with snow however---I want to preserve her and hand her down to my sons. She brings a smile to my face, every time I look at her! I don't think I will pack her away either-she may stay out all year round.

Here is a picture of me Christmas shopping---online. No crowds, no waste of gas, no driving from store to store to find the right size. And I even order online from local stores too. The price of shipping is worth it to me in time saved. And instead of fighting the crowds, my only aggravation is when my furry friend plops his tired head on my laptop.

This was going to start out as a kind of "warm and fuzzy" post. Picture of our fire glowing in the fireplace to warm and cheer you. BUT---then I let the dog out and he took off like a bat out of hell--into the street and zigzagged through the neighbors yards. I was watching from the door in my bare feet and when he took off, so did I---zigzagging through the neighbors yards and streets in my BARE FEET. Did I mention we are having a mild ice storm. So, what you don't see in the picture are my numb, reddened, painful feet. And the dog--he is asleep in the chair without a care in the world.

Okay--I am feeling proud. I made a batch of Irene's Hungarian Pastries and they turned out well. They are packaged and in the freezer awaiting Christmas. I gave Dan a sample and he said "where's the powdered sugar" which made me laugh because he remembered how Mom had dusting them with powdered sugar down to a science. Friday I went on a "field trip" with Dan and some classes from Toledo Public Schools. We took a chartered bus to Cleveland to see Lebron James and the Cavaliers. Fun time and they handed out these great wigs. This is a pic of "Grossie" and one of his students. That is what his students call him which was also his high school nickname. Oh--and I frosted my Dobos Torte and that is in the freezer too!!!!!!!! So you can see---I really am proud------and Hungarian.

I did it! I made another batch of frosting for my Hungarian Dobos Torte cake and I was a success. Patience has never been my virtue and after consulting fellow Hungarian cooks, it was my cousin Kim who told me you had to be patient while stirring the melted chocolate, cream and yolks. It is in my refrigerator waiting for the weekend. Because-----I felt so proud of myself that I made a batch of Hungarian pastry dough. I plan on baking all weekend and freezing the results till Christmas.

Oh the weather outside was frightful----but the soup inside was Potato Soup. You can find the recipe here on Jonelle's blog. This is her Mom's recipe and since I like to name my recipes after the people who created them, I am naming this DELICOUS soup Joan's Potato Soup. Try it and you will like it too.

This is what it looked like outside and also what it looked like inside. This Christmas Tree skirt is going to be sent to Adam. Rain may be turning to snow tonite!

If laughter were money, I would be very rich after these last couple of days. I hope your holiday was as much fun as ours. Time spent with family and friends-----and ruined gravy(but that's another story). Last nite we went to see the Lights Before Christmas at the zoo and finished the evening with a group Catch Phrase competion.

Happy Thanksgiving

As we count our Blessings this time of year, we want to tell each of you--our Family and Friends----that we are most Thankful to all the joy you bring to our lives. We hope your Thanksgiving is full of people you love and love you back. To those who are far away, please know we are thinking of you with love and hope your day is very special. Happy Thanksgiving!

Dan took 8 members of his class on a field trip last Friday to the Henry Ford Museum. After looking at his pics, I wish I could have gone along. Rosa Parks historic bus drew the most interest and one of the students had his picture taken while sitting at the back of the bus. Note Dan asking the crash test dummy for it's autograph.

This is not how I wanted my Dobos Torte story to end. I wanted to be able to show you a gorgeous 11 layer torte on this cake plate. Thursday evening I made my frosting and------it was a flop. I frosted the layers and had to throw the whole thing away. In between a lot of tears---make that a lot of sobs(I was home alone) I tasted chunks of the messy cake and it did taste good but the frosting never thickened and ruined the cake. To add insult to injury, our dog pulled the cake out of the garbage and ate it. But I am determined to succeed. After consulting some Hungarian cousins and coworkers, I think the problem was in the cooking of the frosting. My cousin Kim told me it takes patience to wait for it to thicken. I vow----there will be a Dobos Torte on my Christmas Day dinner table.

You thought you were going to see a picture of my Dobos Torte, didn't you. I am avoiding the next step for fear of failure. The layers are wrapped and in the fridge and instead we went to a walking trail near our home. The birch tree with the "eyes" really caught mine!

This is going to be an ongoing saga this week. It all started when the announcement came out that my department at work was having it's Christmas Party this Friday. The invitation invited all to enter the Dessert Contest and I found myself writing in Hungarian Dobos Torte. For any Non Hungarians reading this---it is a multi layer cake that is baked on the underside of a cake pan---11 layers. Between each layer is milk chocolate creamy rich frosting. The sponge layers and the chocolate frosting---incredible. However---I have NEVER made this dessert. So Sunday I made 11 layers, using my Grandmother's recipe in the St. Stephen's cookbook. I have carefully packed them between wax paper and will frost it later this week. Keep your fingers crossed that this will turn out. I am not going for the prize because I saw there were a lot of great desserts coming---I just want this to turn out like my Mom made it. Kind of a tune-up for Christmas-because if I succeed, I will make another one for my Christmas Dinner. Stay tuned.

It's the weekend and it is a good one! The weather is cold and it started to snow---which prompted me to take to the kitchen. Dried Cherry Scones(using cherries from Upper Michigan) for breakfast and Jonelle's Delicious Leek Soup is ready to go for dinner. Recipe for soup can be found on Stuff'd--link on side of page. Christmas Music is on my CD player---Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. I know I am getting a head start on the season but I brought home a lot of my Mom's old Christmas ornaments and can't bear to pack them away. So I started decorating the dining room using a silver and gold theme with Mom's decorations. They bring back a lot of great memories of her. Mags seems to like the snow too!

Call a Veteran today and thank them. These are the Veteran's from our family--our Fathers who were WW2 Vets.