HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY..!! To honor John's Irish heritage, we had cabbage twice this week...altho, the halupkes I made last night were probably more Ukranian than Irish...but still, cabbage all the same.
As far as I know, I'm not Irish. But the other day I had a friend tell me I was the "human embodiment of a four-leaf clover..." so I'll take that.
So, it's another Saturday. The winter is getting long...and the kids are getting a little weary of my indoor Grandma activities.
My normal Grandma Game ALWAYS includes a puzzle to work on, of course. And, if I'm lucky, there might be a kids movie on my DVR we can watch...
But the kids love to make things...and on this Saturday...
It was refrigerated cookie dough to the rescue (again).
The gold stars make this cookie adorable, albeit nearly inedible...
The square cookies came from a box of expired cookie dough (2014 doesn't seem so long ago, does it?)...and, honestly, it's not like I'm gonna eat them...
But, on this Saturday after our trip to Narnia -- the kids were in the mood for MORE FACE PAINTING...
Yes, Grandma can do that. Guess what Warren's pick was??
Lilly wanted to go with a classic snowflake...
And IT'S SO EASY, FOLKS!! I am amazed that I didn't think of this sooner as a possible business idea. Everybody is so intimidated about painting on a kid's face. There's nothing to it!!
Last year, I did face-painting at Lilly's kid-birthday-party.
I had a little booklet of ideas from Michael's...
But the best faces were free-style.
Here's what I'm thinking. These Saturday activities are a training ground for WAYS LILLY CAN MAKE MONEY WHEN SHE GOES AWAY TO COLLEGE. I used to sew for people (hem pants, etc.) Lilly can decorate birthday cakes and do face-painting at kids' birthday parties.
I haven't discovered Warren's particular talent yet. But, hey -- he's only five.
As you know, I am a big fan of theater. And I love taking the kids to the local high school productions. Just like Broadway -- some are better than others. But, unlike Broadway, a high school show is ALWAYS AFFORDABLE.
Recently, our local high school was doing "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe".
My niece Amy, called to see if I wanted her to get tickets...
Because, her son, Garrett, had a leading role.
Gheesh...it seems like just yesterday, Garrett was sitting on my lap!!
I also bought tickets for the pre-show "Tea Party"
All the characters were in the decorated gym, ready for the play -- wearing their costumes...
These girls were all on stilts -- and they had mini-lights embedded in their skirts!!
The kids loved the different activity tables.
They played all the games...
Gleefully took pictures with the various characters.
Their favorite thing was the face-painting!!
It is always shocking to me how the kids can sit so patiently...
It was a WONDERFUL PRODUCTION -- and we had a really great time!!
FIVE. The number of cakes we took down to Virgil Grissom for their fund-raiser was FIVE...
Three small round cakes, one United States of America cake, and one Rocketship cake. We had to make cardboards, and cover them with foil...
(it only occurred to me after two hours of effort that it would have been MUCH EASIER TO GIVE THEM A PLASTIC PLATE OR PLATTER -- which I have many of -- and would never miss!!)
With every cake, Lilly gained a little more confidence...
She's getting pretty good with that star-tip
I made two more batches of buttercream frosting...
After he added half a jar of sprinkles -- Warren was delighted with his Rocketship
Lilly used licorice candy...
We had to make TWO trips to the school to deliver the cakes. John and Lilly took the two big, decorated cakes down first. Then, I followed with the three small cakes.
As it turns out, this cake walk is a very big deal. They had 116 cakes. But -- guess what?? About 100 of them were in the original HyVee Grocery Store packaging.
REALLY PEOPLE??
Warren was delighted to be able to walk during the Cake Walk. He was one of the first kids to win -- and OF COURSE, HE TOOK BACK HIS ROCKETSHIP CAKE..!!
Before the event started, I took a picture of the kids with their principal, Mr. Kline.
I don't know exactly when it happened -- but Lilly LOVES to decorate cakes. And she's getting pretty good at it.
Maybe it was watching all those episodes of Cupcake Wars or the Kid's Baking Championships...
It doesn't matter. The most important thing is that we have found the perfect child-friendly activity. She gets to be creative...and at the end of the day, it turns into a gift she gives to somebody.
A coupla Saturdays ago -- Virgil Grissom Elementary was having their annual fund-raising school carnival. Besides the usual suspects of kids' games and hot dog lunches -- there was going to be a "Cake Walk".
Perfect...that's a very good cause -- we can definitely make a cake.
We put on our aprons and got busy...
Lilly knows her way around a KitchenAid...she was adding red food coloring and sprinkles to a yellow cake mix...
She picked out a few pans...we started off with round cakes. She loves using her star tip...
My plan was canned frosting...(which is actually cheaper than making buttercream from scratch -- and, hey -- IT'S NOT LIKE I'M GONNA BE THE ONE EATING THIS CAKE). But, we ran out...
Because, once she got going...there was one more cake...
And one more cake, because OF COURSE I have a cake pan in the shape of the United States of America!
And then, yet another cake, cuz Warren wanted to make a Rocket ship...
We have learned (mostly from watching Cake Wars on the Food Channel) that you cannot frost the cut edges of a cake....until you put it in the FREEZER...(which we did)...
She used up all our red food coloring, trying to make the white frosting turn red.
But, hey -- it was beginning to look like the Space Shuttle...
One of the more unpleasant aspects of an Iowa winter is that all the smart people GO SOUTH.
So, 50% of the TMBC was MIA in February. (the two Lindas).
Sandy and I were left to carry on in the frozen tundra. The Lindas were either on a cruise in the Carribbean or enjoying sunny California (I tried not to pay too much attention).
So, we got together every week -- and on this particular Tuesday -- we went OUT TO THE COUNTRY...
It was Sandy's first visit to Argo --which is in the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE.
The breakfast prices are very reasonable. At night, this joint becomes a bar, with lots of card clubs and Nascar-watching events.
The large windows insure a nice view of the surrounding farms and barns.
Just like home -- the mugs come straight from the Goodwill store (every one is different)
The BEST FRIED POTATOES west of the Mississippi!! Crisp, yet buttery and soft in the middle...they almost puff up, and they are BEYOND DELICIOUS.
As we were leaving, I noticed the bulletin board.
Apparently, the "Nut Fry" is a VERY POPULAR EVENT at Argo. I happened to be driving by Sunday afternoon, and there were at least 60 cars parked UP AND DOWN the four corners of this country intersection. HOLY COW!! WHO KNEW??
The Nut Fry (aka Rocky Mountain Oysters; aka pig testicles) works like this. As the local farmers castrate their livestock, they store the testicles in their freezers. When the collection is big enough, they donate them to Argo Corners.
Everybody in the community is welcome, and the reason for ALL THOSE CARS is that the "Nut Fry" is FREE. (They are deep fried.)
***********
FYI: Don't worry...it's not a non-profit venture....apparently, they make their money on the massive beer sales...
So, here's what happened. After I saw Keala's Oscar show performance -- I REALIZED I HAD MADE A BIG MISTAKE by NOT going to see The Greatest Showman.
When I looked to see if it was still playing in our local theater, I discovered that Wednesday, March 7, was the last day it would be here. Ugh. So, with the excuse of it being Lilly's "birthday week" -- I told her we were going on an "adventure". I picked her up from school an hour early, and we went to the theater.
Our Cinemas have those "Loungers" now -- and they are so comfortable. Wow. We got a big box of buttered popcorn, put our feet up and settled in...
WE BOTH LOVED IT. At one point, Lilly leaned over and said, "this is a really great movie, isn't it, Grandma?"
It sure is, Lilly...it sure is....
THIS IS THE WAY the song looks in the movie. I'm posting this sing-a-long version, with the costumes and cast from the movie...because it is AWESOME.
After the movie, we met Uncle Ross and John for supper. We talked about how tough it is to be different...if you're too short, or too fat, or have too much hair, or too little...and, how, really -- everybody has something they don't like about themselves, or wish they could change...but, maybe you've just gotta wake up one day and say...
I am one of the millions of people who actually recorded the Oscars, instead of watching them live.
Because, of course, then I get to FF through the technical awards and commercials.
The other benefit of using my VCR (or, is it a DVR?) for my excessive television viewing is that, every now and then, something is SO GOOD, I get to hit the rewind button and watch it again and again...
I don't often go to the Movie Theater -- and even after rave reviews from my cousin Jackie and my friend Rhonda, I had not seen The Greatest Showman.
But then, I saw this performance on the Oscars.
I'd never heard of Keala Settle...but I know her now. And I'm pretty sure, after this movie, and this one song...her life will never be the same.
