Happy Halloween

;)

huh?

I'm watching the Obama infomercial and I'm thinking that this may be a bit over the top.
The music and the production... mmmmkay.
When do we text our vote to see who is given immunity and who takes the walk of shame away from the White House?

Early Gift

I just received my Christmas present from my mom.
Early, yes... but that is because she knows that I will use it for my Christmas cards. I already have so many ideas for projects around the house, and Brownies, and scrapbooking, etc. My mother has had a cricut for over a year (I bought it for her birthday), and E1 used it when we were there visiting. I'm sure that E1 will be jazzing up her school projects as well.
One good thing, I was forced to clean, really clean my office/sewing room/craft room to create a designated space for the thing.

Holiday Ham

With the holiday season fast approaching, I thought this was the perfect time to repost this recipe. The ham is bargain-priced, but tastes like you waited in line at the ham store and paid 5 times more.
During the holidays, many stores have specials on spiral-sliced hams. Buy two, this recipe is enough to glaze two. Do NOT use the glaze that is often included in the package, use this recipe instead.

1 fully cooked shank half ham, bone in (pre-sliced)
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground clove
1/4 teaspoon paprika
dash ground ginger
dash ground allspice

Mix the sugar and spices in a small bowl. Place the ham flat side down onto a large baking sheet. Rub the sugar/spice mixture all over the outside of the ham. Use a blowtorch… yes, a blowtorch, on medium flame, to caramelize the sugar on the outside of the ham. You can use the small little torches that are sold in kitchen supply stores for crème brule, or, you can go to the garage and borrow your husband’s blowtorch.
Carefully wave the flame back and forth over the ham so that the sugar bubbles and browns, but does not burn. Turn the baking sheet around so that the entire outside of the ham is glazed. Rub additional sugar/spice mixture onto the ham and continue with the caramelizing process. Repeat until the entire ham is covered with glaze.
Reheat the ham in the oven as stated on the ham package.
I usually bring one ham to share at a gathering and keep one at home for the family because there are never any leftovers to bring home.
I originally found this recipe on a website some years ago and it is requested by family every holiday.

You can see other delicious recipes at Gayle’s Grocery Cart Challenge
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If you can

From the Sky Terrace Fire Victim Relief Website:

The Marek Fire Devastated This Neighborhood
Early Monday morning, October 13th, the Marek Fire stormed through the Sky Terrace Mobile Home Park. Residents were given only minutes to evacuate. Fortunately, all residents were evacuated safely.

Unfortunately, the fire, aided by gusts of Santa Ana winds up to 60 miles per hour, destroyed 40 of the 58 mobile homes in the Park. 40 families lost their homes lost and everything they owned.


Firefighters Did Their Best
Please support these families to rebuild their lives.

Please donate to the Sky Terrace Fire Victim Relief Fund.

Plan B

In a comment on my last post, Buck asked for photos.
The camera battery was D.E.A.D., but we did catch a couple on the camera phone.
I was not able to ride my bike. As we were loading it, I noticed the front tire was low. It was fine a month ago when I rode down the street just to see if it started. The valve stem is crap and won't hold air. So, there goes my spontaneous trip riding.
We salvaged the day with a fun 4x4 drive around Hungry Valley. The new truck is awesome off-road. The kids had a blast and the weather was perfect. The day reminded me of the many times Stuntman and I drove all over SoCal off-road, except this time we had three kids squealing and laughing in the back seat.


looking down on the valley... see the tiny trucks down there?
Stuntman and the kids tossing rocks down the giant hill that we had just conquered.

Going Riding!

WhooHoo!
I can't wait!!
My bike has been lonely!
Off to grab my gear, See Ya!