Hello, wonderful people. It’s good to be back after my 3-day offline snafu. You would not even believe the phone calls I made and the hoops I jumped through to resolve my problem.
The worst part of the day was when one guy kept tying to inform me he could find no record of me or my blog even though I’ve had an account with his company for five years. And then somehow when I called him yet again, late into the evening, he magically produced my customer ID number which enabled me to change my primary DNS server and get back online
So. Long story (sorta) short, I am ever so happy to be up and running again.
And now, here is the post that I wrote on Monday morning but never got a chance to post. It’s one of those “this and that” posts featuring pictures and happenings that aren’t long enough to make up a post by themselves but are still things I want to write about.
You know you are having a busy, too-many-things-on-the-brain morning when you eat half an orange and put the other half on a plate to store in the fridge, only to turn back around and see that you have deposited the orange on the plate like this. It’s the thought that counts, right?
Is there anyone else out there who has discovered Kind bars? I absolutely love them. They are healthy and delicious and their company even lives up to its name, aiming to make the world a little kinder by inspiring unexpected acts of kindness. My favorites include Dark Chocolate, Nuts and Sea Salt and Madagascar Vanilla Almond. (No, this is not a sponsored ad but if Kind felt like giving me a hundred bars free, I wouldn’t argue!)
I had to laugh when I saw these rolls in the store the other day. Hand-Tied. Really? You want me to believe that there are people lined up in a factory somewhere in Italy, laboring over the precise tying of each and every roll? I think not. (Note: They are quite delicious with a plate of spaghetti!)
I just saw this ad for a baking pan with an attached sampling cup.
It especially caught my attention because it took me back several decades to when my mom would bake cakes. She would always pour a little batter into the lid of a peanut butter jar and bake a sample first to make sure she hadn’t left out any important ingredient. When you are baking with six small children in the house, it’s not unheard of to get slightly distracted in the process.
It was always a special honor to get to be the one who would get to taste the sample when it came out of the oven. Of course, mom would take a bite too, because a 5-year old is not usually the best judge of whether or not a cake needs a little more salt.
At dinner the other night when I was telling Sarah about this new fangled pan and my mom’s old fangled way of cake-testing, Sarah gave me a puzzled, disbelieving look which I couldn’t figure out until it occurred to me that peanut butter lids have changed a little in 45 years. They used to be metal and perfectly oven safe. Now they are plastic and Sarah was having a difficult time trying to wrap her mind around a plastic lid going into the oven.
At any rate, the picture provided me with a happy trip down memory lane. It also convinced me that mom’s way was best because with this new product, once you’ve already baked your bake, it’s too late to do anything about changing it!
What about you? What did your mom or grandma do in the kitchen that you still remember?
And speaking of moms and kitchens, here is a certain grandson of mine whose mom found him “cooling off” from the Florida heat by sitting in the fridge. Smart kid!
And on the subject of Noah, you may have seen the video I posted of him last week banging on stuff as he pretended to play the drums. I thought of him when I walked into a thrift store last week and saw this sign.
“If you value your life, please do not bang on the drums.” Too funny!
Since I am not only a mom to Noah’s dad, but also a mom to a fur child, I thought it might be time to post a few pictures of her. Summer just got her summer hair cut and looks especially adorable.
Is she spoiled? Maybe just a little.
And saving the best for last, may I present to you a few photos of the Fabulous Creator of My Brilliant, Gorgeous Grandchildren–the lovely Mrs. Meagan Smith!
Thirty weeks and counting.
Oh. And one more thing. Just in case you’re wondering if that daughter-in-law of mine has a sense of humor, here is what she wore for Nerd Day at the school where she teaches fourth grade.
Please note the Batman socks. Sarah gave them to Nathan for Christmas and when you run, two little capes fly out behind you. Pretty high tech!
Love this gal!
I am thankful to be back online and back in touch with you wonderful people. See you soon!
Jodi,
Thanks for the compliment lol 🙂 I’m doing ok. I’m very tired this time. Being a mommy to a toddler, as well as a wife, and holding a 40hr. a week job, all while being pregnant, has definitely taken a toll on my energy. I’m eagerly anticipating holding our baby girl in my arms and not my belly Lol. I pray every day that the Lord will bless me with a new strength to make it through that day.
I have been very blessed to have Nathan walking this journey with me. He has been a great help and has picked up a lot of my slack. We are due June 27. Nesting has finally kicked in and I’m now on a fast track to prepare for Maddy’s arrival.
Sorry about the book response… We would appreciate all your prayers as we begin buying and preparing for our newest baby loves arrival 🙂
Missed, missed, missed you…so glad you are back! I loved all the photos! Meagan is a darling nerd. And, I think Noah found a great way to cool himself off.
Interesting pan, but I never heard of anyone baking a sample cake, and with that pan, once it was baked, it would be to late to alter the “real” cake.
When I was growing up, our neighbor would take the “extra” pie dough, roll it out, spread butter on it, then sugar and cinnamon. roll it up like a jelly roll and slice it and bake the slices as cookies. It was a real treat to me when she shared them with us!
Linda in Pittsburgh
Linda,
So happy to be missed, missed, missed! 🙂 And I am ever so happy to be back online.
I’ve had several readers mention that pie dough thing. I really must give it a try!
Glad to see you back Becky. Computer problems are such a pain. I am completely computer ilitterate when it comes to fixing any kind of problem.
My mom never did a sample in the over first as far as I can remember but I do remember the pie crust trick with the sugar and loved that.
Great idea from Noah on cooling off. We do not have central air in our house and it does get pretty darn hot in the summer.
Mel,
This summer when your non-central air isn’t quite keeping up, I expect to hear about you going to sit in the fridge! 🙂
So glad you were able to get your computer issue resolved!
Meghan, you look adorable (I “think” you read here), pregnant & as a NERD! How are you feeling? When are you due?
Five minutes before your email (BLOG) came through the Today Show did a little “ditty” on Kind Bars. I can’t get the link to post here but if you google “FDA Warns Kind Bars on Healthy Labeling” you should be able to see one of the articles. And, if you go to todayshow.com you might be able to watch the actual clip.
No fancy cooking stories per se, though my Mom was a good cook. However, my GG (great grandma) was famous for her Tomato Soup Cake (Spice Cake) w/ cream cheese frosting. One afternoon as she was cleaning up while the cake was baking she was missing a spoon. She looked high/low & up/down……..NO SPOON! She let it go figuring it may eventually show up (unless it ended up in the trash)? Imagine our surprise when we went to cut into it that night & low & behold, the missing spoon! It must’ve fallen into the batter and she didn’t realize it! The spoon had baked inside the cake.
How’ve you been feeling Becky? Is this “newish” RA medicine you’re on helping? Have your platelets stabilized?
I don’t mean to be “one of those people” but have you been tested for Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency? I guess many people diagnosed w/ COPD actually have Alpha-1 & not COPD? When I was on hold w/ Corum/CVS the other day I heard (for the 100th time) about Alpha-1 & how many people are misdiagnosed (COPD instead of Alpha-1)! So, I figured if I heard it that many times it was a sign that I needed to tell you! Stepping off my soap box now; I really hate being one of “those people!”
Have a great Friday (& weekend)!
Hugs, Jodi
Jodi,
Meagan replied to your comment at the top of the page–just want to be sure you saw it. 🙂
I had someone else mention the Kind bar story to me so I looked it up and it turns out that four of the bars have a higher saturated fat count than what could be called “healthy” on the package. (Around 3-4 grams) As it turns out though, the fat comes from the nuts in the bar and since nuts are healthy, I’m not too worried about it! 🙂
Last time my platelets were checked they had risen a little; still well below low normal but at least I’m headed in the right direction. I’ve pretty much come to the conclusion that none of the RA meds are going to make a huge difference for me; my goal now is just to keep things from getting a whole lot worse and stop the progression.
And yes, I was tested for that deficiency. It was one of the first things the looked for when they found out I had never been a smoker. And don’t apologize for being “one of those people.” 🙂 I’m always happy to have people on the lookout for helpful health information. Thanks for taking the time to pass it along!
So glad the blog problem was solved before I went into withdrawal!
Cindy,
We can’t have our sweet Sonoma friend going into withdrawal!!
Glad to have you back. I at first thought my company had blocked your website but then got the same error on my iPad so knew it wasn’t that. I like the Kind bars also. Like some of the other readers, I remember my mom taking the leftover pie crust and sprinkling cinnamon and sugar and baking it, so good. Now we just use the pre-made pie crust. Much easier! Sadly my maternal grandmother passed away when I was just four so I don’t have a lot of memories of her although she was an excellent cook. My paternal grandmother was an okay cook. Her homemade rolls were very good though. I remember one time she tried to pass off rabbit as fried chicken though. Not sure why that chicken had four legs!
Phyllis,
The rabbit/fried chicken story made me smile. I’m not sure that the best cook in the world could convince someone that a rabbit was really a chicken. Too funny!
So glad you’re back! Loved everything about the posting. Loved Megan’s socks.
Sharyn,
I know. Aren’t those socks the greatest?
Welcome back!!! You were badly missed by MANY!!! My mother used to used a child’s baking pan and put some batter in it to bake and we would get to eat it along with some of the big cake!
Lib,
Thanks for missing me! I loved that your mother used a child’s baking pan. What sweet memories–literally and figuratively.
Love the Batman socks! Meagan is so cute in all her pictures. Take care, Smith family. Prince will get his summer hair cut next month. I am excited to see him with short smooth hair again.
Ann,
I bet Prince is looking forward to his summer cut. He’ll probably feel like a puppy all over again!
Welcome back! We missed you!
My mother is an excellent cook, which is sadly NOT a trait she passed on to me. When I get back to NY for a visit, she tends to make some of my favorites… BBQ ribs, stuffed squash, sausage and rice casserole… mmmmmmm. Deliciousness.
When I was a kid, though, I was always quite excited by the chance to eat NON-homemade meals. Which makes me wince to admit, actually. Sheesh. Macaroni and cheese from a box was SO exciting to my brother and I. I suppose if we’d always gotten mac and cheese, we’d have been excited by sporadic homemade meals?
me. my brother and ME. ouch.
THANK YOU for catching that and knowing it was wrong! So many people don’t know that! 🙂
Glad to appease the soul of a fellow Grammar Geek 😉
I only wish I had caught my mistake the moment BEFORE I pressed the ‘Post Comment’ button rather than the moment after!
Kristina,
Next time that happens (and if you want to keep your excellent grammarian reputation intact) there is an edit button on the same line as your name. Just hit edit, make your correction and no one will be the wiser! (Although it IS always fun to spark a conversation between fellow Smithellaneous grammar lovers.) 🙂
I waited to respond to this until posting a new comment, in case it was time-sensitive… but FYI, I do not seem to have an ‘edit’ button I can press to go back and add things / fix errors. Perhaps it’s a specific browser type that’s required, or maybe only you, as the blog owner, have such a thing? Or, perhaps that’s a feature that is supposed to be there but is missing!
Kristina,
My mistake. I just asked Sarah to go look at one of her comments that she has left here and she didn’t have an edit button either so I guess it’s only available to the blog administrator. Although I’m not sure why they would allow ME to go in and edit other people’s comments. Seems sort of odd. Anyway, that’s the scoop. So sorry about that!
Kristina,
That’s funny about the non-homemade food. In school, I always had homemade break in my lunch bag and was sooo envious of the kids with Wonder bread. We didn’t know how good we had it, did we?
Welcome back! I’ve been wondering where you were. (Missed you)
That Noah is one smart little guy! Sitting in the fridge…..cuteness overload. 🙂
LeeAnne,
Yes, I think Noah had a great idea to sit in the fridge. When the middle of July hits NC, you may find me in the very same place!
YAYYYY! You’re BACK!!!!!
Stefanie,
Yay-ing right along with you!
Back in the day, when we made our pie crusts “from scratch,” my mom rerolled the scraps, brushed on a little milk or butter, and sprinkled sugar and cinnamon on top. We called it sugar pie and loved it.
I love the memories that Smithellaneous comments trigger! My mother used to do this, too, Jan… I’d completely forgotten about it until I read your note.
Such a fun treat! My brother and I used to specifically request one-crust pies (ie no top crust) so that there would be extra dough for the cinnamon-sugar treat. Now that I think about it… I’m not entirely sure that that’s how that worked?
Jan,
I really must try that. And the name “sugar pie” brings a smile all by itself. 🙂
So glad you are back!
Thank you, Angela! I missed being here.
wondered what was going on with you….
had the same initial tho’t as Sarah regarding peanut butter top. Wondering why the sample in the new pan wouldn’t be done way too soon for the rest of the cake…. ????
Meagan is precious as a nerd. Had dinner with a friend last night who was wearing similar glasses that she got in the 1980s. I tho’t that wasn’t her best look…. probably not 35 years ago, either.
My Grandmother was the BEST cook and baker ever! one thing I remember, though it wouldn’t be an award winning recipe for sure, is that when Granddad came home from a fishing trip, she always made him a glass torn up bread and milk and salt, and I got a glass, too. of course, I liked it. but, I have no idea why that was a tradition. ???
I always said my mother didn’t know where our kitchen was. actually, one time she made the Senate Bean Soup (It seemed like it was enough to feed the WHOLE Senate.)
Well, one day I came home from school feeling sick, and as soon as I smelled that awful soup,…. you can imagine what happened.
Mrs. Pam,
That’s a good question about the sample not being done before the rest of the cake. Just another reason why my mom’s idea was the better one! 🙂
I have to say that a glass of torn up bread and milk does not sound very appealing to me. Wouldn’t the bread get terribly soggy? Regardless, it was nice they had that tradition and nice that you noticed it and remembered it.
And yes, I can imagine what happened when you smelled that soup. 🙂 Amazing how powerful certain smells can be!
Good to have you back online! 🙂
Eva, thank you! It felt strange not to be able to log on here whenever I wanted to. Glad it finally got worked out.
Grandma always saved her bacon drippings in a can on the stove and used it to make her corn bread in her iron skillet. She would cook individual cornbread cakes like pancakes. I guess you’d call them johnny cakes. She never baked cornbread in the oven.
Karen,
I have heard of people keeping bacon drippings for cooking. I can only imagine the flavor in those johnny cakes and frying them in an iron skillet just made them taste all the better, I’m sure. I’ve always wanted a cast iron skillet but they are expensive!!
I’m with Sara! I thought “wouldn’t the lid melt?” And, I’m old enough to know the lids used to be metal! have a great day!
Imahokie,
Yes, there does seem to be a dividing age line between those who knew about metal lids. And you and I seem to be on the other side of it. 🙂
I was thinking the same thing as Sarah about the peanut butter lids, forgetting that back when we were kids, they WERE metal!!!
Dale,
Funny how things have changed over a couple of decades, isn’t it?
Metal coffee cans. My mother bakes some really good bread wherein the recipe is set up for baking it in coffee cans.
Brooke,
Coffee cans? How fascinating! It would make some really cool-shaped loaves.