Happy Holidays!

We've returned from a wonderful and strange holiday adventure in the Pittsburgh area. I will post more later with photos of our family and the loot!! Thanks to those of you who thought of me and my family as we remember this time last year. All in all I am doing well as is my sister and dad. We've made it this far together with family and friends and we'll continue to do so in the years to come.

On a brighter side, Matt heard from our transaction broker dealing with our new house. It looks like all is a go and we'll be closing on January 21 and can move in anytime after that! We'd thought the cleaning out of the house might take us into March, so we're thrilled to hear that it will very likely be much sooner AND we'll have time to make some cosmetic changes before we move in...whew!

Never Fail Fudge

A few folks have requested the fudge recipe. I always joke that it is my mother's secret recipe...but it is from the back of the Marshmallow Fluff jar! Here it is:

NEVER FAIL FUDGE

Ingredients:
5 cups sugar
1 large (12 oz.) can evaporated milk
1/4 lb. butter
12 oz. (3/4 of 16 oz jar) Marshmallow fluff
1 teaspoon salt
_____________

1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large (12 oz.) bags chocolate chips
{When making PB fudge, I use 3, 10 oz. bags Reeses PB chips}

*optional: 1 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions:
1. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large saucepan (I use a stockpot, because the mixture expands with the heat, then settles down...but, if it spills over your pan it make a HUGE mess.)
Stir over medium heat (do not cheat and use high heat...) until blended.

2. Bring to a boil over moderate heat (I never change the heat levels) being careful not to mistake escaping air bubbles for boiling. Then boil slowly, stirring constantly for 5 minutes. (The mixture will darken in color slightly and you'll know when it is boiling. This last step is the real key. I set a timer for 5 minutes. If you mess up this step it changes the consistency of the fudge and it isn't right....trust me, I've done it.)

3. Remove from heat. Stir in the remaining ingredients until the chocolate is melted and the fudge is smooth. Pour into 2 buttered 9x9 inch pans and cool.
Yield: approx. 5 lbs.

I usually use the foil pans you can get in the store and then line them with foil and spray them with PAM or olive oil. When the fudge is cool you can life it out with the foil attached and reuse the foil pans.

Happy Fudging!

Holiday Traditions

One of our favorite holiday traditions is making pounds and pounds of fudge, licking the spoons, and then giving it away to anyone that comes within arms reach of our house! This year was my 8th or 9th year making fudge of my own. My mother always made the fudge and one of the first years after I was married, she talked me through the steps over the phone as I stood in my kitchen in Kansas.
This year I had lots of help! Sam was ready and waiting, wooden spoon in hand, to stir until his little 3 1/3 year old arms couldn't stir anymore ( which didn't take long)! He helped with each batch, chocolate, peanut butter, layered. And when it came time to wrap it all up, he was ready to help with the labels, the bags, the ties, even the photograph. (Do you see him peeking through the rows of fudge?)
Then it came time to give the fudge away. All afternoon he watched the neighbors house, waiting for the Christmas lights to be on...that was the sign that they were home. Three times during dinner he ran to the front window to check on "Jessie's house". When he finally saw them park in the driveway, he opened the front door and yelled, "Hi Jessie, we'll be over to bring you FUDGE!" After all coats, hats, boots and gloves had been applied, he ran over to Jessie's house, rang the door bell three times and knocked in between, then handed Jessie the fudge with all his might. She was not as excited as Sam had hoped, but her Barbie collection distracted him and he was off playing in Barbie world.
When in Maine we made sugar cookies and of course, Sam helped. We had lots of them, though they didn't last long and my sister and I ended up decorating ALL of them. It was a fun way to start off the holiday traditions we all know and love!

My Sweet Boy!

At one year old Arlo is amazing! Walking everywhere, running, in fact, to keep up with his big brother. He mimics sounds, waves "bye-bye" , nods "yes", and shakes "no". He can sign "milk", "all done", "hot", sometimes "please". He has a few words, "bye-bye", "mama" and "dada". He is very deliberate in his actions and extremely observant of others and their actions. He knows where things "belong", i.e. the blankets go on the bed, etc. He points at everything and grunts with an intonation of question. When asked to go get something he'll usually follow the direction. He can complete his wooden stacking toy and loves to "race" cars along the floor.
We had a simple party with few gifts, as I have learned how little they play with them and how little they can handle. One or two quality items are enough to sustain a one year old's attention! He was given a couple wooden pull toys, and a fantastic wooden race car from the Maine State prison Showroom.

This morning we had a little crisis when Arlo climbed from his high chair and fell to the ceramic tile floor! He was immediately lethargic and vomiting, pale and sweaty. He wouldn't nurse and wasn't alert....I took him and Sam to the ER! Matt is in San Diego at a conference!
A long story short; he's fine, though had a concussion. After 3 hours at the ER, a 2 hour nap, and a big snack with some mommy milk, he's back to normal! Whew! What a scare.

I can't believe my baby is a year already. Time really does pass much faster with kids....

Link to December of 2006 for a flashback of when my sweet boy arrived!

Travels and Friends

Sam, Arlo and I have been in Maine visiting with my family and some dear, dear friends. Ann and her youngest, Mi-a were here enjoying family for the holidays. Dan and her two sons stayed in France, so this visit was special.

Mi-a i s a sweet little girl with lots of energy. She and Arlo had quite a time being new walkers and explorers.

I have known Ann since were 12 years old and it feels good to have reconnected. There is something to be said for the importance of friendships with history.

We have celebrated Arlo's first birthday, which is today! More on that later, but here is a sneak peak!

We return to Lansing this afternoon!

Forest Road

We went to the house today to share with Matt's Mom and Dad and my girlfriend, Sarah, just what we're getting ourselves into! I took a handful of more detailed images.

We learned so much more about the house, too. Two of the four boys that were raised there were at the house and shared lots of great stories. They also gave me a few photos from 1960 to scan and have to help preserve the history of the house.


You can see in the black and white image on the left (you can click on the images for larger views), the original 1925 house before the addition and removal of the front porch.
The image to left, also taken in 1960, shows the family as posed for a Christmas card.

We walked up and down the 4 acres and explored all over the house. It was fun looking at the house knowing that it really will be our home in just a few months....though hard to see passed the 50 years of photographs and art,
books and heirlooms.

On the right you'll see the kitchen from one angle, notice the stainless steel work space and the 60's built in oven.


On the left is the "informal living room" and the "formal living room" on the right.

The fireplace in the informal living room is a corner fire place with two windows to access it and a fan that is thermostat controlled. While we sat and visited the room became very warm! It was cozy on this cold, early winter day.

The master bedroom is so wonderful with a fireplace and really great light. You can see on the left the dormer window and the fireplace with the mantle. I can just imagine having some fresh balsam fir clippings and holly berries on the mantle with a crackling fire at Christmas time next year.

As mentioned before, outside there is plenty of garden space and here you can see the six raised beds and a proper larger garden space around it. There is a 27 tree apple orchard and two large mature concord grape vines. We'll have more than enough to keep us busy indoors and out!
The image below and on the right shows the driveway and the detached garage. It used to be the original barn that went with the farmhouse, but has been since remodeled and is in great shape. It is built into a hill, so there is car space on the upper ground level and a huge amount of space (could fit cars) on the lower level. It could easily house a wood working shop for Matt AND a pottery studio for me, should I ever return to that. The driveway looks longer in the photo than it really is, but it gives a sense of where the garage sits in relation to the house.

I am not sure that I have made it clear in previous posts, but this house and land is in Lansing city limits. It is 2 miles from the university and from all the wonderful things this city has to offer. There is a bus stop right in front of the house that has a direct line to the library! To the left is a Google Earth satellite image that illustrates where the house and land are in relation to things close by. To the North and West of the property (outlined in red) is the Fenner Nature Center. It is owned by the city and has miles of hiking trails. We'll have access through the fence in the backyard!

Having been to the house 3 times in the last month, I am increasingly aware of how lucky we are to have found this perfect homestead. The pressure of finding a place is off, now the waiting to move in begins. We have our inspection on Wednesday!

Offer Accepted!

Yes! Our offer was accepted and though there are still inspections and mortgage applications and yada, yada, yada, to go through...it looks like we'll be the proud owners of our dream house! I am floating on cloud nine!