Pancakes and Icicles

We finally made it to The Pancake Pantry for my long-awaited pancakes.  I am happy to report that I can check one more item off my list.  I skipped the chocolate chip pancakes and picked pecan instead, but Reed and Caroline ordered them so I had a few bites.

They were as yummy as I remember.  Cole ordered M&M pancakes with peanut butter syrup (he could only handle about 3 bites, then switched to his dad's omelette) and Brooks ordered parisienne pancakes.

We waited about 15 minutes in 30° weather just to get a table.  The wait was twice as long by the time we left!

After breakfast, we dropped by the Sugarlands Visitor Center to plan our hike for the day.  Tim and I were optimistic that we could still get to the Chimneys despite the cold weather.  However, the ranger discouraged us.  She said it had been down to 1° that night, so about a mile into the hike it would be treacherous.  Since we had our fearless Cole along for the hike, we decided we should revise our plan.

We headed up to Newfound Gap, the place where FDR dedicated the Smoky Mountain National Park in 1934.

  We stood on the North Carolina/Tennessee border and had a snowball fight! 

Mt. LeConte had over 7" the night before - glad we got to hike it a few weeks ago!

After our making a mini-snowman for the car, we drove down the mountain a bit to play with the GIANT icicles! Cole was in heaven, running from ledge to ledge, collecting as much ice as he could.

Brooks and Reed had a blast making it snow - they just forgot how cold it can be when the snow goes down your shirt!

Our hike on the Appalachian Trail never came to fruition, but that's ok. 

 We had a great time in the snow, and a warm and cozy afternoon watching movies and playing games in the cabin.  We watched The Christmas Story for the very first time.  It was great!  We've been quoting lines from it all week.

On our way out of town on Sunday, we stopped by WonderWorks for a little more fun.  It was 3 hours of action - much better than I ever expected!  I'm not a museum girl, but this one was well worth our time.

Caroline and I tried the piano...

They were ready to experience an earthquake...

and we all had fun lying on a bed of nails...

Funny, the kids all laughed and said the nails "didn't even hurt"!  I personally thought the bed was quite prickly.  I'll take my comfy bed over this one any day!

Happy Thanksgiving

My parents are coming to town tomorrow night.  We are excited to have them this year for Thanksgiving.  Last year we were in Hilton Head with my parents and my sister's family.  I was sick as a dog with a respiratory virus and shingles, so this year I have great hopes of a healthy Turkey Day.

Of course healthy at this time of the year is nearly impossible.  So, when Brooks woke up with a stomachache, I was not too surprised.  I actually handled it quite well and began to make my 

"To Do" list in my head.  I had a whole house to clean and a few things to cook for Thursday.  I'd just been waiting for a good excuse to stay home all day.

The weather is rainy - and it is chilly.  I think the high is 47° today.  Actually, that's warm compared to the weekend.  November has been exceptionally cold this year.  Hopefully it will be unusually warm in January and February.  I'm just hoping............

In order to check one item off of my list, I had to make 3 trips to the grocery store today!  Oh the things I will do just to please my husband.  I kept forgetting little items that can't be left out of Tim's very favorite holiday breakfast, mincemeat pies.  I think I enjoy making them as much as he enjoys eating them.  It's the only thing I've ever made that involves chopping oranges and lemons, peel and all.   

I got my recipe from Tim's mom.  She got it from her mother-in-law, Tim's grandmother.  The two of us are continuing a tradition passed down from Nenaw's family.  They were frugal, rural people who killed hogs in the wintertime using the head for mincement which was canned for pies.  By the time Billie (my mother-in-law) joined the family in 1953, Nenaw had switched to purchasing pork roasts.  Thank goodness!

It took me a mere 10 years to decide I would try a mincemeat pie.  There was just something about eating a pie with meat in it that turned me away.  However, at some point, I started to love them.  I think part of it is that I finally acquired a taste for the mixture and the other is my love for those in this family.  I always love traditions!

Here is our version of a mincemeat pie:

Cook a 4 pound pork butt roast till tender.  Shred it in a food processor.  Save the broth.

While pork is cooking, chop by hand or in a food processor: 3 oranges, 2 lemons, and 5 unpeeled apples.

Add meat and fruit to a 6 quart pot with the following:

2 lbs. raisins, 3 cups sugar, 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon, 

1 tablespoon of each: cloves, allspice, ginger, nutmeg, salt.

2 cups of each: apple juice, orange juice, pork broth

1 cup of cider vinegar.

The mixture will be very soupy.  Simmer on top of stove for about an hour until flavors have blended and fruit rinds are tender.  Most of the liquid should cook out but do not allow it to become too dry.  If more liquid is needed during cooking, add more of the above liquids.  Stir frequently, being careful not to let it stick.

A crock pot is worry free (cook several hours on HIGH).  I always use a crock pot.

This makes approximately 12 pints which I put in freezer containers and freeze after it has cooled.

A pint will fill a double crusted 9" pie.  Prick the top crust and bake at 400°  until the crust is done.

Our family makes an individual pie.  A double pie recipe with 1 pint of mincemeat will make 8 pies.

You should try it sometime.  It's a Ragsdale Family Tradition!  

Happy Thanksgiving, Y'all!

Never Say Never

I've done it again.  I swore I would never do it and I am having to eat my words.  

Two summers ago, we took care of a friends' gecko for a night or two.  Actually, I think it was for one night and I happened to be out of town that night.  I was scared to death of that thing.  The owners were ominous with their warnings - don't put your hand in there - it might bite.  Now, I didn't know a thing about geckos but if it had potential to bite, I wasn't going anywhere near it!  I was never so glad to hand the biting reptile off to our friends with toads.  Yes, they have a multitude of toads living at their house (as pets), so feeding hopping things a meal of crickets and playing with slimy, wart-causing animals was nothing new.  Don't worry, they don't allow toads in the kitchen, so all is safe over there.

They didn't know it, but when my friend (the mom of the gecko owner) and the other friend (mom of the toad owner) discussed purchasing crickets, I sighed a huge relief that I would never have to purchase crickets.  or feed toads.  or lizards. or snakes. or anything else that might bite or be slimy or wartish.  I will also reveal that I had great admiration for them.  They fell into the "real mom" category in my book.  Yes, I have birthed 4 children and raised them to the healthy ages of 12, 11, 9 and 7, BUT I was not willing to go out of my comfort zone for my beloved offspring.  These "real moms" had ventured from comfort into the adventurous zone and they will reap great rewards for it in the future, I am sure.  But back then, I really didn't care.

This summer we travelled to Dallas for a few days.  We were visiting with friends who have 2 boys and a girl.  One afternoon I went up to check on their daughter, Kate (6), and Cole (6).  I found them playing quite contentedly with blankets and boxes.  They looked to be playing house.  I asked what they were doing and they said, "making a maze for Duchess!"  As I processed the whole maze thing and the dainty name, I began to search for the cute kitten that was buried under the blankets.  Imagine my surprise when I found a bumpy, leopard-type red lizard staring up at me from a box.  I tried to hide my surprise as I slowly backed up to get away from the lizard that had biting potential!  I headed right downstairs to find my friend (the non-pet-loving girl that she is).  I really was quite miffed!  She had entered the "real mom" state and had not clued me in (or warned me that there was a biting reptile in the house)!!!!!!

As my astonishment set in, I complimented Amy on her accomplishment - I was so impressed that she had agreed to raise a lizard.  She assured me that the Leopard-Spotted Gecko (the rock star of all geckos) is actually the easiest pet you could have.  You throw in a few crickets a few times a week, try to keep water in its bowl, and you have earned the title of "real mom".  I took her word for it and tried to stay as far away from that thing as possible.  Cole and Kate toted that thing around for 3 days straight.  They covered it up with blankets, talked to it, cajoled it through their maze, and put it to bed at night.  I have to admit, by the time we left, I was buying into the "easiest pet" claim.

Cole continued to talk about Duchess after we left Kate's house.  It was absolutely the calmest, coolest looking lizard I had ever seen, for sure!  The oldest boys were sold on it, and Caroline?  Well, she didn't get too close to it.  I couldn't blame her.  When I was a little younger than 10, I picked up lizards all of the time.  But once, I must have startled a big green chameleon that was on the swingset and it chomped down on my hand as if it were lunch.  That bite hurt and scared me to death and I haven't had any desire to touch a lizard since!

Yesterday we took a family trip to Fins N' Skins.  It's the local shop selling reptiles and fish. Cole celebrated his birthday on Friday and guess what he got!?!  

Meet Sahara, our rock star Gecko, who now resides in our home.  She/he is really quite cute and watching her snatch up crickets captured this family's attention last night.  It makes me happy to watch all 4 children (and my husband) roll out of bed in the morning and walk straight to the kitchen - to see how our yellow-stripey lizard is faring.

Just one more thing to add to my resume' - I'm a REAL MOM!

The Wedding

We spent last weekend celebrating with nephew Adam and new wife Sampy in their beautiful wedding. Caroline was a Jr. Bridesmaid. Her description? The dream job in her dream shoes. She looked so pretty and I think she had a fabulous time.

Brooks and Reed were ushers. Brooks had the honor of walking his Grandmother to his seat. Both boys were great at their jobs - once they mastered which side was which (bride's or groom's). The wedding coordinator even had a little trouble with that concept. Reed's comment when asked how he liked it? "those tuxedos were HOT!" He looked great, though.

Cole was the "Ring Bear" (in his own words). The weekend began with his determined little mind saying "no, I am not holding the flower girl's hand" but fortunately, he acquiesced and they were adorable. Of course, that is after he had the tux de-linted twice from crawling under pews and after a fairly long session on his DS while waiting for pictures to be taken. He stood pretty still and only gave us a "thumbs up" once during the ceremony. The reception was especially fun for him - he got to dance with all cousins and a few aunts!

Overall the weekend was lots of fun. It is always fun to see what personal touches couples add to their very own ceremony. Adam's groom cake was a King Cake and Sampy had chosen words to a Jack Johnson song for hers. She even had banana pancakes for breakfast that day.

Congratulations, Adam and Sampy! We hope you had a great time in San Francisco!