Begone, Winter!

I'm sure my readers can tell I'm sort of "forcing it" with the scattered entries I've been doing.  Nothing is happening, folks!  Well, except for weather, but who wants to hear about that?  Weather is ALWAYS happening.  

So I told Cliff, "I'm going to the big computer to see if I can come up with something for a blog entry."  And I turned toward the computer room.  Just as I started to sit down at the computer, Cliff starts hollering some story to me from the living room.  Kind, considerate woman that I am, I walked up the hall and peeked around the corner to listen attentively.  I gave some sort of answer to his homily and walked back to the computer.  Unfortunately, the Shakespeare of the tractor world realized he had another thought that needed to be expressed, so before I could get my backside to make contact with the chair, he started talking again.  I can't tell what he's saying from this room, so again I go peek around the corner in rapt attention.  I guess Alzheimer's is setting in here, because I don't remember what either of his lectures was about.  When he seemed to have imparted all the wisdom he wished to, I ever-so-gently told him, "OK.  Now, I'm going to the big computer and make an effort to do a blog entry."

"OK," he said, "I'll shut up."  

Let me say right here how grateful I am that Cliff is a good sport when I tell a story like this.  He's gotten used to me sharing embarrassing pictures of him sleeping with his mouth open, and tells me he no longer has any shame at all.  So he lets me twist and re-arrange one or two of his sentences, just for fun:  But if anybody thinks I'm trying to make my husband look stupid, trust me, that's the last thing I'd want to do.   He didn't just fall off the turnip truck yesterday!

You know what my favorite pass-time is in winter?  Baking!  You know what people shouldn't be doing who are wanting to lose their Christmas pounds?  That's exactly right:  Baking.  But oh, this winter.  It's driving me crazy.  There is relief in sight.  After today the temperatures are going to rise; I noticed in the forecast for next week,  the highs for every day were in the 40's.  It's about time!  Lately I've been making Oatmeal Raisin cookies.  I found a wonderful recipe on Allrecipes.com.  The raisins soak in the beaten eggs and vanilla for an hour before you go ahead and mix up the recipe.  You might want to not go overboard on the flour, because when it's done, it's VERY dry.  But I have several witnesses who will testify that these cookies are great!
  "This is the best Oatmeal Cookie I have ever tasted and is my family's favorite. This is a recipe that I have had for years that a friend of mine gave me."

GRANDMOTHER'S OATMEAL COOKIES

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup butter flavored shortening
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar

 

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 cups quick cooking oats
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Beat eggs, and stir in raisins and vanilla. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. Cream together shortening, brown sugar, and white sugar until light and fluffy. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; stir into the sugar mixture. Mix in raisins and eggs, then stir in oats and walnuts. Roll dough into walnut sized balls, and place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
4. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in preheated oven, or until edges are golden. Cool on wire racks.
5. 
   

In other news, our tractor club is always invited to be in the St. Patrick's Day parade in Lexington, but Cliff and I have only done that one time.  The weather seldom cooperates in the middle of March.  We shall see what happens this year.  We will also be doing a memorial drive for a club member who died recently at the age of 90:  We'll meet at the guy's farm, drive the tractors around there, then to his grave at the cemetery.  Then we'll all go eat someplace, because we love to eat.  

There's a fundraiser for House of Hope at Big River Ranch in June.  Lots more activities will be coming up later.  Meanwhile, Cliff and I are planning a trip to Memphis at some point, but we will wait until there's no chance of getting snowed in someplace.

Until next time, dear readers, I am

Sincerely yours,
Donna