Tuba Christmas

I found out about TUBA CHRISTMAS this week and decided we would go. If you haven't been, you should check it out at a Tuba Christmas near you. I was drawn in by "80 tubas and the people who play them" as it was listed in the community ad.
I loved it.

(Forgive me for the quality of the video . . . it's just my little camera--not a video camera by any means). That was their first song, "Deck the Hall." We were quite far back from the action, but I snuck up closer to get a photo.

Not everyone in my family dressed as warmly as they were asked, and it ran a little long for the attention span of a little someone, but I thought it was humanity at it's finest.

Music unites people.

The plaza was full. We could hear them warming up two blocks away. Some brought their dogs, too.
They played 15 songs or so, there was a written program which I saw in the hands of a passerby . . . . I never saw where to pick them up. The youngest performer was 12, (in Andrew's band class), and the oldest was 77. One man had played in 26 Tuba Christmas's, and someone else drove over 50 miles to come play.

Sitting on top of one another to keep warmer

Andrew is in "Heater Mode" and Eddie was just trying to get through it

One who likes her outerwear

Only two didn't ask to sit here during the concert . . . . Andrew and me

Spotted in Old Town

Some had to leave to go to the car early. After sitting there longer than they wanted to, they saw an "Open House" sign on one of the historic mansions, so they went inside for a peek. It was decorated for Christmas and we learned a little about our town. A great day together as a family.

November

This month we:
Expressed gratitude with our thankful tree.
Got lice.
[11 children in one class went home one day to wash their heads. How can you NOT get it with that many?]
Bought a car
Posted our first ad to Craigslist to sell the old one
Had a great thanksgiving feast at my mom's with my sister's family
Went to the temple
Tried several new recipes
Tied a quilt
Enjoyed unseasonably warm weather
[Felt guilty because of Superstorm Sandy]
Walked the neighbor's dog 3 times a week
One learned to tie her shoes
Skipped gymnastics once because of sickness
Enjoyed the Primary program
[How can the sunbeams be SO BAD on saturday, and SO GOOD sunday morning?]
Went out to dinner with friends from Chicago who were here visiting family
Went to ward council together.
[Like a date?]
Raked lots of leaves
Taught two friends how to bake bread
Moved up in Scouts to second or first class.
[Whichever one is higher].
Found an extra child in one of our beds.

They call her "NoName" and she was dissembled to continue the wash

Good times.

UPDATED TO ADD:
Sold a car.

Helping Hands

Get your kleenex, mom, and then click on the link below.
Helping Hands
We watched this two times today (in Primary), and then I showed it to Nate tonight.
I cried every time.
It's very well done. I wish I were closer and could be more helpful. We've had a string of good weather days and I feel almost guilty about them when I see what the storm left.

 Thankful.

Craisin experiement (part 2)

More questions than answers, but
I will probably try making craisins again.

When I went back to the syrupy fruit to put it on the trays, I wondered how to make it not fall through the holes.??

I had a tiny note on a handwritten recipe (from when I lived in Chicago), "cheesecloth."
I cut a piece, spread the fruit over it on the tray, put in the dehydrator, and walked away. The cheesecloth worked very well but made it tricky to get them off.

I think if you have these plastic sheets you could make them more easily.

I peeled the sticky fruit off the cheesecloth anyway, and pulled out some tiny threads that got stuck in it.

The flavor is excellent, and worth attempting again. I've noticed my storebought craisins have a miniscule amount of oil in them, perhaps to pry them off cheesecloth or a drying rack?

Because cranberries are so sour, you are instructed to cook them in syrup before drying them. I saved the syrup when I drained the fruit. Is this byproduct diluted and sold as cranberry juice? I thought I would probably add some apples to mine and make applesauce with it.

I am also not sure they were dry enough not to turn moldy. Must do more reading on this topic.

Very interesting . . . . will update you if I get the plastic sheets and try again.

p.s. I've never made my own cranberry sauce, so I didn't know this, but they popped when I boiled them. Very unique sound.

My science (kitchen) experiments

Hot Wheatberry Cereal from Lazy Day Cooking

1 C Wheatberries
5 C water
butter, milk, honey, salt

1) Rinse and sort berries. Cover with water and soak all day, or 8 hours in slow cooker.
2) Cover. Cook on low overnight (or 10 hours).
3) Drain, if needed. Serve hot with honey, milk, butter and pinch of salt.


I doubled this and added extra water because I was afraid of running out. I had plenty.
It turned out great--but I'm pretty sure only the adults in my house want to eat it again. I want more fiber at breakfast but don't love most bran options, so I will be making this again. This is a great way to use wheat if you don't have a grinder.
I think salt should be added in the cooking step, but I don't know how much yet. Will play around with it.



I'm making craisins! Can't wait to see how they compare because we go through a lot of them.

(Keeping it real: For the past several years, I've bought extra cranberries during the holiday season intending to make craisins with them. Then, sometime in January or February when they weren't looking so great anymore, I would throw them out. Yeah for progress!)

Sad day for our state

One of the big issues at stake in the vote yesterday was legalizing marijuana. It passed, for now, hopefully it won't stay.
http://www.coloradoan.com/viewart/20121106/NEWS11/121106007/Colorado-voters-pass-pot-legalization-Amendment-64?odyssey=mod|breaking|text|FRONTPAGE

5 Links

Fun for kids:
Don't Eat Pete
A fun game for using up some Halloween candy (M&M's). I would not play this with fewer than 4 people. It worked really well with the 4-10 year old crowd on a day we had friends over.

Recipe:
Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps
This recipe helps achieve two of my food goals:
1) More veggies
2) Less red meat.
(My experience with ground turkey is that it always seems easier to me to try it in something totally new to our family instead of replacing ground beef in a family favorite. And ground turkey without onions is a mistake).
I loved this meal. On a scale of 1 to 5, 1 = eat once a week, 5 = never again in my life, my husband gave it a 2. . . . . but then pointed out that my kids didn't like it very well. Perhaps they just need more exposure.
Changes: Don't love teriyaki or garlic, so I omitted and made up my own sauce. Added ginger & sesame seed oil--But will cut the oil in the next version b/c I don't like the "darkness"of it. Loved the sesame seeds I sprinkled on top. Never thought I would like them, but I'm a big fan.
Very different from our normal, but very satifying.

Pattern we are using for sewing class this week:
Perfect Box pouch
The first time I made this was my first zipper ever. If you want to try a zipper, I would begin here.

Funny Home Evening:
Studio C is a comedy put on by members and former members of Divine Comedy, a BYU performing group. We love it. I think you will, too.

Did you know there's a
Colorado Mormon Chorale ??
We didn't either, but in the beginning of October we heard them sing. They are pretty good and invited a local high school choir to join the performance.

Have a great week--can you believe it's November??