All Dogs Go to Heaven

Our sweet Libby. We love you. We'll miss you. Thank you for being our friend.

"People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right? Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."

~ Anonymous

Friday the 13th

Did you know that Paraskevidekatriaphobia is a fear of Friday the 13th?   If you're interested, you can read more about it here.


I am not a superstitious person.  I've never owned a lucky rabbit's foot, I'm not fearful of black cats nor am I overly concerned about broken mirrors or walking under ladders.  However, I did find these facts, which confirm a kind of universal concern  about the number 13, fascinating:

·      More than 80 percent of high rise buildings lack a 13^th floor

·      Many airports skip Gate 13

·      Airplanes have no 13^th aisle

·      Hospital and hotels regularly have no room number 13.

·      Italians omit the number 13 from their national lottery

·      On streets in Florence, Italy, the house between houses number 12 and 14 is addressed as 12.5

·      Many cities do not have a 13^th Street or 13th Avenue

It might not make the worriers among us happy to know that this year, unfortunately, Friday the 13th will occur 3 times (for the record, the day occurred just once in 2011 and 2010).  What to do?  Cross your fingers and wish for the best.  

National Apricot Day

Who knew something as obscure an an apricot would have it's own day?  On second thought, perhaps something as "obscure" as an apricot needs it's own day -- a way of calling attention to this member of the plum family.  


My extensive research (okay, I Googled apricot) tells me apricot means "precious" in Latin and that 95% of all apricots are grown in California, yet I'm fairly certain I'd never even eaten an apricot before a friend gave me this recipe.  This simple list of ingredients changed all that for me.  Because, you see, this recipe, which I call Frozen Apricot Salad, makes 36 servings (yes, you read that correctly, 3 - 6) and it's delicious.  


You will need:


1 can (12 oz) frozen orange juice, thawed
2 juice can of water (12 oz)
1 cup of sugar (I use Splenda instead)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 can (17 oz) crushed pineapple with juice
2 can (17 oz each) apricots, drained, then chopped
6 bananas, diced


Combine all ingredients.  Spoon into paper muffins cups then set in muffin tins.  Freeze.  Remove paper wrapper and place in freezer safe sealable bags until ready to serve. 


Here's a printable copy of the recipe (and might I add, hooray to the non-tech-saavy me for figuring this out!)

A little bit icy, but still delicious

I take a few out of the freezer at a time just before a meal, usually while I am setting the table (they do need to thaw a bit, so they are easy to eat). 

In my grandmother's little parfait glass.  Cute (or should I say, precious?) and delicious.

Trust me when I say, they are a delightful way to end any meal.  We especially love these in the winter when good fresh fruit is expensive and difficult to find.   Enjoy!

Happy Twenty Dozen

An Agenda

"Don't be fooled by the calendar. There are 

only as many days in the year as you make use of."

~Charles Richards

You might have guessed that I love a calendar.   A calendar represents so much promise.  


 And, I bet if you Google it there are lots of  great tools out there for scheduling and tracking days and dates, too.  Sometimes I lose myself in the calendar, wall planner and appointment planner sections of the office supply store.  I know.  I know.  I should get a hobby. Mostly I rely on my iCal, though I also love Google calendar for its sharing feature.  But here's a great online resource I use when I want to plan ahead and, heaven forbid,  print a set of calendar pages (like the entire summer) so that I can have a frame of reference for all our activities and appointments.  This is especially helpful when I need/want to spread adventures, trips and events out over a period of time.   


So, as you begin to organize the days, weeks and months of 2012 - happy planning.  

Today

More Tradition

"I thought maybe we could make ginger bread houses, and eat cookie dough, 

and go ice skating, and maybe even hold hands."

~Buddy, the movie Elf

My children still enjoy decorating Gingerbread houses.  Mostly, they still enjoy eating candy, but nevertheless, we do it every year.  Generally our Gingerbread house day follows the last day of school before the Christmas holiday.