Kate Collins's Blog, page 247

December Birthdays Galore!

by Hannah Reed/Deb Baker

Can we say, 'stressed'? Not only do we have all these holidays, but the birthdays!
December 7th - my oldest sonDecember 15th - my mom turns 80December 17th - my husbands birthday exactly one week before the biggie - ChristmasNot to mention those who have passed in recent years but are front and center in our thoughts:December 3rd - my husband's dadDecember 9th - my dadEvery year I go out of my way to make each of these special days...well...special. That means:

No cake decorated with a holiday themeI don't serve leftover turkey pulled from the freezerTempting as it may be, I avoid combo gifts (you know, that one gift for both occasions)Presents don't go into stockings or under the tree, and they certainly aren't wrapped in Santa paperI ignore the fact that Black Friday and Cyber Monday have wiped out my budget and treat the birthday boy or girl as though I've financially recovered from those two crazy days.Everybody deserves to feel loved and cherished on that one day each year when we celebrate their arrival into the world and into our lives. Don't short-change them.

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BTW, one of my babies entered the world on December 4th.

 You can find out more about the book, request free bookmarks, and/or enter a fun photo contest.

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Holidays Far From Home

by Maggie Sefton



Holiday Goodies.  Yum!  I always make some of our family's favorite recipes to give as gifts during the holiday season.  An old favorite recipe---Gingersnap Cookies---I'll post on the Cozy Chicks Blog for our Holiday Cookie Exchange week starting December 16th.  This past weekend, however, I started making another family favorite---my Chocolate Mint Fudge.  Both the Gingersnap cookie recipe and the Fudge recipe are in the back of the 6th book in the Kelly Flynn Mystery series, FLEECE NAVIDAD.  And----both recipes are also included in the Cozy Chicks Kitchen cookbook, available in trade paperback and in Ebook version, all formats.  

I've already made several batches of my fudge and tonight will make another two pans before heading to bed.  And I won't be finished with fudge-making this year until after this weekend.  I'm making eight extra pans of fudge this season---yes, you read that right, eight (8) extra pans.  Why so many extra?  Because this year I'm sending all those extra pans to my daughter Maria who is presently assigned to Afghanistan for the next six months.  She's in the midst of a great deal of  nonstop activity and lots and lots of military personnel.  She falls to sleep exhausted every night.  Very cold, but they layer up, and she says the Hindu Kush mountains are beautiful covered in snow.  

So-----as a Mom, I'm doing what every Mom does.  I worry, I pray that she and the others stay safe, and I send memories and good things from Home---like Maggie's Chocolate Mint Fudge.  Lots of fudge---along with lots and lots of Love.

DO YOU PLAY THE NAME GAME?

By Kate Collins
Confession time: I’m horrible at remembering names. If we were introduced, there’s a 90% chance I forgot your name thirty seconds after I heard it, and it has nothing to do with you not being memorable. Actually, I’m not sure how it happens. I think I concentrate on what the person is saying to me instead of playing the name game. “This is Jane. Jane is plain. Plain Jane will now remain in my brain.”  Or something in that vein.
Okay, now I’m stuck on rhymes. Excuse me while I clear my head.
Anyway, at the elementary school where I taught, we had different classes for homeroom, reading and math, which meant I had to memorize up to ninety names each year. And I did it with no problem. In fact, by day four, I could take attendance and know exactly who was who.
Obviously, as with muscle, if you don’t use it, you lose it. This was brought home to me yesterday at church, when a very nice woman introduced herself and then apologized for not remembering my name. She said she was terrible at remembering names and we laughed at our shared handicap. Luckily, she was wearing a name tag, because I’d already forgotten hers. How embarrassing.
Do you have a different trick or technique that you use that might help me?

And Then There Were Three!

by Leann

November 30th 2012 was a special day for the Sweeney's. Our third granddaughter arrived Friday afternoon and she is a beauty! I will be sharing pictures after my son and daughter-in-law have shared first. Right now they are getting settled back at home with their new little bundle--Meika Elise Sweeney. She came into the world weighing 7lb and 1oz, which I believe is the exact weight her sister Morgan was at birth.

There are two older Sweeney girls who are very happy right now with their new little sister. Maddison turned five in October and is ready to help. Morgan turned two in September and her help might be "spotty" at best.  Friday morning they happily ate breakfast with my sister in attendance. When Candy (my sis) asked if they were looking forward to a new sister, Maddie answered with an enthusiastic "YES!" and Morgan with a big "NO!"

I understand Morgan's two-year-old concern. It has been all about her for a while and now, well, things will change. She will become what I was: the middle child. That's sometimes good--you try harder to get noticed, especially in school. It can also be not so good--you try harder to get noticed by doing things that are at times "frowned upon," to put it gently.

Right now I am imagining my son's life when these girls grow up. Three teenage young ladies? Should be interesting. He better have a house with a lot of bathrooms by then! At any rate, they are marvelous parents and are going to have many wonderful memories yet to be created. I will be meeting Meika at Christmas time and I am SO looking forward to holding another little beautiful Sweeney baby.

This has been a year of change for all the us and we have much to be thankful for. What about you? Any good news to share?

Favorite Christmas Cookie

by Lucy Arlington


I adore baking cookies. They are little bites of sweetness, easy to make, and loved by practically everyone. Almost as much as making them, I delight in eating them--fresh from the oven, cooled and stored in a tin, even icy cold from the freezer. Ask anyone who knows me. They’ll tell you I’m a cookie monster (even though I don’t have blue fur). So one of my favorite tasks, when it comes to preparing for Christmas, is baking Christmas cookies. For years I would try new recipes, producing a collection of colorful and tasty treats to share with friends and family. But over time my family settled on their favorites, and now at Christmas my cookie plate has just seven varieties--black forest cookies for Eric, raspberry pinwheels for Lindsay, chocolate crackles for Stuart, cranberry shortbread chews for Jake, speeculaas for Richard, Christmas biscotti for me. And Florentines. Hands down, Florentines are the family’s all-time number one choice for Christmas treats. If I only made one kind of cookie, they would all choose the Florentine.
You might ask, what are Florentines? Clusters of fruit and nuts baked in thin sweet batter and backed with chocolate. Not only delicious, but beautiful, too, like small round stained glass windows.
So in honor of it being December first (twenty-five days to Christmas!), I thought I would share my recipe for Florentines with you. Baking them is easy, painting the chocolate on can be messy and tedious, since you have to do each one individually. But once you take your first bite, I’m sure you’ll agree with me that it is worth the effort!
Happy December, everyone!
FLORENTINES
3 Tbsp butter1/2 cup heavy cream2/3 cup sugar1/3 cup flour2 cups chopped mixed dried fruits (I used currants, papaya, cherries, apricots, cranberries, pineapple, almonds and cashews, all chopped to be about the size of the currants.)4 squares chocolate
1. In heavy pan, bring the butter, cream, and sugar slowly to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the rest of the ingredients. Make sure that all the fruit is coated with the batter.
2. Drop the batter by teaspoonfuls onto baking parchment. Flatten each mound with a wet fork.  Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes.
3. Cool briefly on baking sheets, then transfer with a spatula to a rack and cool completely.
4. Melt 4 squares chocolate (temper it if possible) and spread on the backs of the cookies when they are completely cool. (It takes a few hours for the chocolate to harden again)
Do you have a cookie recipe that's a family favorite?

Sauce for the gander (or hen)?

by Lorraine Bartlett / Lorna Barrett / L.L. Bartlett

[image error] "Bah! Humbug--but that's too strong, 'cause it is my favorite holiday."

Those are the opening lyrics to Christmas Wrapping by The Waitresses.  (Love that song.  One day I may even learn all the words ... and if you don't know why that's so difficult, I guess you haven't heard it.)*

There are a lot of reasons to be happy during the holiday season, and I suppose just as many to be grumpy.  Let's choose happy!  And one reason to be happy is because cranberry sauce goes on sale from November through December.

[image error] Here's an unbelievable fact:  Some people only eat cranberry sauce on Thanksgiving! That wouldn't be me. Nope, I eat it with any kind of fowl. Turkey, duck, goose, chicken, and I suppose I'd even eat it with swan, but I never heard of anyone eating a swan.  (I'll bet that meat is tough. Have you ever seen a swan land on water? Wow--like the Spruce Goose. Taking off looks about the same, too.)

Last year, cranberry sauce sold at my local Wegmans store for 79 cents a can. Immediately after Christmas, it went up to $1.29. A DOLLAR TWENTY NINE!!!  Well, we paid it, but grudgingly.  And I knew when it went up to $1.29 (from 99 cents) that when Christmas rolled around, it was going to BE 99 cents.  Sure enough, this season they're selling it for 99 cents a can. 

[image error] I'm not taking any chances on another price hike. That first week in November, I bought six cans. And I've been buying a can every week ever since. And I will continue to buy a can every week through December. (Um, I eat a lot of chicken, and therefore eat a LOT of cranberry sauce.)

So, what holiday treat are you stocking up on so you can enjoy it through the rest of the year?

(*And by the way, cranberries play an important part in the Christmas Wrapping song.)

Food and Wine Expo

by Julie

My husband and I did something wild and crazy. Super wild and crazy. Yep, you guessed it. We went to DisneyWorld without the kids! First time ever!

No, we weren't missing the head-pounding turns of Space Mountain, or the crooning flowers of the Tiki Room (though we did visit both), we were there for the Food and Wine Expo, which took place in Epcot.

Wow, was this a lot of fun. And incredibly well organized. But hey, this is Disney. No surprise there. All around World Showcase of Epcot were booths offering your choice of two or three tastes of that country's cuisine. We got there on a Monday afternoon and made our first stop at Canada. Excellent choice because we wound up eating there twice. Only one other kiosk held that honor -- Desserts and Champagne. We didn't have the Champagne, but we really, really enjoyed the desserts.

All in all there were 29 different temporary locations set up between the countries that reside permanently in World Showcase. We hit 24 of them over the course of our trip. We did take a break to visit the Magic Kingdom, which was already decked out in holiday lights, and we got a sneak peek into the newly remodeled Fantasyland. Dumbo has been moved and there are new attractions featuring Beauty and the Beast and Ariel from The Little Mermaid.

Of course we snuck over to Animal Kingdom where we rode Expedition Everest. And we visited Hollywood Studios for my all-time favorite ride Tower of Terror. I was truly terrified the first time I went on it, but now... I can't stay away. Love the way it makes my stomach jump.

Hmm... can you tell I'm a kid at heart?

In any case, the best part of the trip truly was the Food and Wine Expo. We ate too much, but had the most wonderful time doing so. If you ever have the chance to enjoy this particular festival (it usually runs from late September through early November), go for it!

Have you visited DisneyWorld in Florida? What's your favorite attraction?

Passion Attack

by Hannah Reed/Deb Baker

You read that right. I didn't mean panic attack. Passion attack. I haven’t had a sudden onset passion attack for a long time.

This one was triggered by a gift box filled with old family records. Symptoms continued unabated for twelve hours straight. Nothing could relieve that intense period of total intensity while I searched online for more information to add to my box.

It started out innocently enough – a quick peak through the papers and photographs that had been carefully documented by my mother, who is interested in our genealogy. Then a casual online Google of a family name, my maiden name – McGarity.

Where I found a whole society of McGaritys sharing research. And located our family crest. Documented records went back to the 1700s, meaning we were here in Colonial America, served in the Revolutionary War, blazed a trail with the thirteen colonies. Wow! That took my breath away.

I had to find out where and when we entered the country – spent hours scanning ship’s passenger lists, deciding my ancestors probably came in through Philadelphia and followed the Wagon Road into South Carolina.

Time stood still. The world ceased to exist. Did we come from Ireland? Or Scotland? I had to know. Just one more search. Just one more…. I refused to believe I’d reached a dead end. I was like a gambler. Just one more toss of the dice and I’d win!

I couldn't eat or take a break, my heart raced, blood pressure soared, I'm pretty sure I lost consciousness...
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Epilogue

The box is now set way back, high on a shelf inside a closet. I don’t think I should open it again.

If I do, I might never return.

History On the Holiday

by Maggie Sefton



After enjoying a wonderful Thanksgiving meal with old friends and family in Northern Virginia, my daughter Melissa and I took a little trip into America's colonial past by visiting the marvelous and carefully preserved historical area of Colonial Williamsburg, just a short three-hour drive south of Washington, DC.  

Colonial Williamsburg contains most of the 17th Century buildings of what was once the state capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia.  The Govenor's Palace complete with beautiful gardens once housed England's royal representative to her earliest established colony.  English colonists established the first permanent colony in Jamestown, Virginia in 1607.

Visiting Colonial Williamsburg is a great way to "step back in time.". The colonial buildings and streets are filled with people who are dressed authentically for the 1600's and have definite roles to play in the town.  They are shopkeepers, tavern owners, militia, judges, and other ordinary citizens.  So you can watch them at work.  Also, various historical personages make regular appearances, so you can gather in the Palace gardens or elsewhere and hear George Washington or Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and others speak and answer questions from the audience.

For someone who began her writing career penning historical novels---as I did---an opportunity to immerse yourself in an authentic historical time is more than wonderful. The weekly presentations vary during the seasons, all the while emphasizing how our American colonies made the decision to create a new nation of our own---the United States of America.

Have any of you ever visited Colonial Williamsburg?  Or any other historical location or representation?

THE BLACK (FRIDAY) PLAGUE

 by Kate Collins
I’m not a Black Friday shopper anymore, but I used to be. I understand the thrill of buying gifts at super low prices. But the corporate hype for Black Friday now seems to have gone to the extreme.
I know many of you don’t mind getting away from the football frenzy and working off some of those pumpkin pie calories. I get that. But for those of us who have family members in retail, it’s a real bummer, and as I see it, this love of the bargain is only going to make those early store hours get earlier, until finally we won’t have a Thanksgiving holiday. It will be just another day and another meal. And I find that sad.
What makes me angry is that the decision to open a store at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving is made at the corporate level and is driven by greed. You can bet that the store that has employees report in on Thanksgiving is not going to affect the CEO’s holiday. And look how that corporate drive for money has creeped into our collective consciousness. People are so accustomed to Black Friday sales, so what if they start a little early? And then a little earlier? And then a whole lot earlier, wiping out the entire holiday?
That’s what big corporations are banking on. We won’t complain about losing our holiday because we love bargains. 
Is it a win-win?  You tell me.[image error]