A Prairie Home Companion

In 2002, which is when I turned 40, my dear husband surprised me with tickets to A Prairie Home Companion at the Fitzgerald Theater in the Twin Cities. My parents looked after the children while we went to the show. It was a wonderful experience. I will never forget it. Not that I need to worry about that: The whole show is still on the website here.

Near the end is a song sung by Robin and Linda Williams, "If I Should Fall Behind." I believe Bruce Springsteen wrote it, and I've listened to his version and don't like it nearly as well. Every time I hear Robin and Linda sing it, tears come to my eyes, especially at the last verse. I know that someday one of us, Barry or I, will have to be left behind when the other goes to heaven, at least for awhile; I don't like to think about that day. Going together would probably mean a tragic accident which would be awful for our children so I guess one at a time is best. But still, I don't look forward to that time for whichever one has to be left behind.

Here are the words that always get me:

Now everyone dreams of a love lasting and true,

But you and I know what this world can do.

So lets make our steps clear, that the other may see 

And I'll wait for you. If I should fall behind, wait for me.

Now there's a beautiful river in the valley ahead

Down by the old oak where we were wed. 

Should we lose each other in the evening shadows of the trees,

I'll wait for you, and if I should fall behind, wait for me.

More lyrics: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/bruce+springsteen/#share

Stuck in an old cookbook:

Queen Bess is my mother's wedding registry silverplate pattern.

Just thought it was fun to find it being used as a bookmark.

Rummaging around in a fallen-down building

Now THAT's my idea of a good time.

A friend let me hunt through the last bits of what remained of a fallen-down garage that belonged to his grandparents and then his parents. He okayed everything I took, so I made sure I did not take anything he wanted.

He let me have all these old canning jars, storage jars and glass jugs!

A total of 13 quart canning jars ranging from beautiful old blue ones to repurposed mayonnaise jars, plus a blue pint; then a bunch more that were around a half gallon size, which work great for dry storage; and a square gallon jar with a huge lid opening that will make an awesome canister. Also two gallon jugs and a half gallon jug which I will be passing along to my father in law, who makes apple cider vinegar.

Then, there were a few odds and ends of old graniteware, rather beat up but I still love them:

I love how that red and white bucket took a pretty serious blow but is still ready to go to work. No holes.

That's why they pay me to spell.

"We then introduced an awl to the center of the tibia. Spelled O-W-L."

Easy Bake

I told this story on Facebook, and was informed that it is adorable, so I got to thinking I should write it down so I do not forget.

Yesterday was my 49th birthday. I don't expect a fuss over my birthday. Maybe when I get into the 80s, I'll start wanting more fuss. But it's sweet that my family still makes a minor-league fuss some years.

This time my Little Miss A (who, incidentally, is now 10 years old, and is shooting up in height, and is going to need a new nickname here pretty soon) wanted to bake me a cake. She agonized for several days over what type of cake to make, and finally settled on a carrot cake. I love carrot cake so I approved. The only catch is, she really wanted to bake it with her Easy Bake Oven. And the Easy Bake Oven requires an old-fashioned 100-watt bulb to bake, and hers had burned out. It had been in the back of my mind to hunt a few of those down against the coming incandescent lightbulb famine, but I had not gotten to it yet, so she ended up using a soft white bulb, and it really did not get the oven very hot. So the cake did not turn out the way she envisioned it.

Still, I blew out my candle and I made my wish and I ate my carrot cake. I have a very, very sweet daughter. I'm so thankful for her, thankful that when Barry and I thought our family was complete with two children that God knew better and blessed us with one more. She is so precious to me. I cannot imagine life without her.

Update: One of my sisters in law sent me this just now. :) So adorable.

Homemade Ginger Ale

Over the past couple days I tried making homemade ginger ale using this recipe. It turned out really good! The two changes I made were to use half the yeast it called for, and also to start with a cup of sugar and a couple of cups of hot tap water, shaken together hard in the bottle to mix thoroughly and dissolve the sugar, then I added cold water and the rest of the ingredients.

I also vented the pop bottle several times over the 36 hours I let it sit at room temperature.

The ginger ale is refreshing and clean flavored. Even the kids like it.

Subscribe and Save on Amazon

Are y'all aware of Amazon.com's Subscribe and Save program? - They give you 15% off and free shipping if you sign up to have something delivered every so often (up to every 6 months). Example: Traverse Bay dried cherries or dried cranberries, a 4-pound box, is under $18, less than $5 a pound, through Subscribe and Save. You can sign up and then cancel the subscription tomorrow, if you like; or you can just let it ride, as they email you a few days before the next shipment goes out, to give you a chance to cancel it then if you are not yet ready for more.

Link to the Traverse Bay deals here:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...t+traverse+bay

It's that day again

and here I thought the Google team had forgotten, until I saw Gmail Motion.




And then there's YouTube's Century of Viral Videos:

And in other news, George R.R. Martin's Dance with Dragons is so huge and cumbersome that Bantam plans to split it into 5 smaller volumes, a Google Autocompleter weighs in, and Weinstein Co. has nabbed the highly sought after movie rights to popular nursery rhymes like Little Bo Peep and Three Blind Mice.