Carrot Cakes and Happy New Year Wishes

Our youngest made a carrot cake for dessert on Christmas Day. It was her grandmother's recipe. The grandmother who was so close to her and who died this past February. It was bittersweet for her making the cake. She did it justice for sure. It was a very delicious cake and I can attest to that by showing the extra pounds that have appeared all over me. The rascal left the cake here.

I'd been over to the house the week before Christmas to help my husband clear out drawers from some furniture our oldest was going to take back with her. We found two portrait photos of his father tucked away in drawers. His dad was a very handsome young man and was still pretty good looking at age 93. He passed away, too this past year on March 30th. Our daughter called last night to tell us the furniture fit perfectly in the gate house and even the drapes that had been laying out and were "new" fit perfectly.

It is a new year nearly and decisions must be made regarding their property. My husband was an only child and there were no other family members to inherit. We have talked about selling the houses, but in the economy this year it doesn't seem wise to just dump them to the first rehaber who makes an offer. I think the best thing to do is to get them in shape to lease. Many people can't get a down payment on a home loan, but need a place to live. Getting a deposit for a lease is much more do-able. I have property that is leased and it is nice to have a little extra each month. Wasn't so nice to not have it leased for nearly a year in 2010, though.

All in all 2011 hasn't been a year to remember fondly. It was full of pain, loss, and despair at one time. I'm looking forward to 2012 and pray it will be a much better year than 2011.

Wishing all of you a wonderful new year filled with joy, wonder, and good health.

This is somewhat early, but it is going to be a busy weekend and I might not make it back before 2012. Stay safe and for gosh sake do not drive after drinking. Around here there will be a "No Refusal" policy toward anyone suspected of dui. There will be nurses to draw blood and if you have been drinking you will be arrested, thrown in jail, and your name published. I guess if you are having a diabetic issue they will get you help. No excuses for driving under the influence in Texas.

Siku

This little guy is so cute! 



The video was on the news this morning and it was a nice way to start the day. Today was the day to get the root canal that was started before Christmas finished. All went well and in a few weeks I'll have to get a crown. Always thought I needed one.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas or holiday break. We did. All our kids were able to come home for Christmas day and they did all the work. That was a super plus! The food was delicious and there was plenty of it, too. We bought a ham for breakfasts and sandwiches during the holiday and it came in very handy. For our dinner we had a pork roast and an eye of round beef roast with mashed potatoes, broccoli, green beans,and asparagus. There were lots of pickles and olives, too. For dessert we had a homemade carrot cake made by our youngest daughter. She used her grandmother's recipe for the cake. It was sort of like having my mil here...sort of.

Several friends dropped by in the evening to visit and share gifts. It was a very nice day and everything fit and everyone liked what they received. It probably doesn't get better than that.

How did your family celebrate the holidays?

Carlson School of Management Flash Mob, Deck the Halls

Merry  Christmas, everyone.  It has been a busy, busy time here in Texas.  Hoping to get back to blogging soon!  This is so fun and I'll bet you can't watch and not smile.

You might be an engineer or married to one if...

Today is a cool rainy day and we have not been doing much at all.  The TCU football game is on tv and I've been surfing the web.  There was a story on yahoo news or somewhere yesterday that had information about finger length ratios between the index finger and the ring finger (2D:4D) and health issues.  I started telling hubby about this story and knew when he got the millimeter ruler out that there would be measuring going on.  I've been an engineer's wife for so long that it just seems natural to me that if we read about something dealing in frivolous math we must try to replicate it, if possible.  We are a measuring family.  It turns out his index to ring finger ratio is over 1.03.  I don't know what my ratio is, because he left to look in the refrigerator.

ps-TCU just about skunked 'em TCU-56 UNLV-9
Go Frogs!

I have a page in the works about the bird and squirrel feeders and the denizens thereof.  Will get it up maybe tomorrow.  However, it is supposed to be colder and even rainier tomorrow and there MIGHT be some snow or frozen precipitation between Sunday and Tuesday.  What joy!  We don't have cold weather that much and snow even more rarely.  Stay warm.  I'm getting ready to go to the store for milk, bread and some really good cheese for grilled cheese sandwiches.  We already have some fire roasted pepper tomato soup.  There will no doubt be a large crowd at the store.