2009 is coming to an end ...

"And now let us welcome the New Year, full of things that have never been."

Things such as Emma's first steps and first birthday, meeting our new baby face-to-face, and so many more things that are still unknown.

Yes, let's welcome it in.

lemon curd

what do you all think of me trying to post a recipe a week? good idea? no?

This recipe is for a friend who asked for it a while back. I finally found it in my Grandma's recipe box written in her nursing shorthand, so here it is (translated from her shorthand so that you can read it too).

Lemon Curd
6 large lemons
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter cut into 12 pieces
6 eggs, beaten
Grate zest of 2 lemons. Mix with sugar. Squeeze lemons to make 1 cup juice. Heat juice, zest, sugar and butter in double boiler (if you don't have one you can make your own - like I did - using a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water making sure that the bowl does not touch the water) over simmering water until butter is melted. Add eggs and stir until thickened (about 20 minutes).
Pour into jars or bowl and cool.

This is lovely served with biscuits, scones, waffles or toast, and I have found a wonderful recipe for Lemon Curd Poppy Seed Bread from Williams-Sonoma that I want to share at some point.

Emma's first Christmas...

...and the ornament that I made for her.

My Gramma used to give each of us grandchildren all the same type of ornament each year: Daniel got soldiers, I got ballerinas, Anna got angels, Julia got nativities, etc.

I decided to make Emma's first ornament this year, and made her a bird. I hope that one day she'll have a whole collection of birds, one for each year.

Emma is tall enough to pull our DVDs off of the shelf, and last week we added it to the "no touch" group. She had been gravitating to the shelf more and more and I would often find her on the floor happily surrounded by - and chewing on - the movies that she had pulled off the shelf.
So, now Emma is learning to obey some more, and the DVDs are staying on the shelf (mostly).
Because of that I spent a moment putting them back into alphabetical order this morning. It had been bothering me a bit that they were all "messed up" and now they are back in order (for now). So nice.
Of course, I expect to find them spread out on the floor with our baby girl happily in the middle of them again ............ but it's nice for now.

winter solstice

christmas 2009, originally uploaded by Lizi Beth.

isn't it wonderful that on the darkest day of the year, December 21, the candles and lights shine the brightest?
it's something to ponder in relation to other aspects of life, too.............

I love that Christmas, the day we celebrate the Light of the World being come to earth, directly follows the darkest day of the year. Somehow it seems to be full of meaning to me.

memories

memories, originally uploaded by Lizi Beth.

Both my grandmas were wonderful cooks.
Grandma Jacobsen always made this tea ring for Christmas breakfast, and the plate in this picture is from Gramma Moose who organized her church's Christmas Tea each year. They each had their specialty dishes: Grandma J. always made goulash for everyone to eat the first night we of our visit (it's an easy dish to rewarm in case we arrived late, which we often did since we drove 3 1/2 hours to get there) and Gramma M. would cook lamb chops with mint jelly for the grandkids when we visited one at a time.
And now I'm tearing up .........

stretchhhhhhhhhhh

stretchhhhhhhhhhh, originally uploaded by Lizi Beth.

she can just barely touch the bells when she stretches, and every now and then we hear the bells jingling and know that she is at the door again. :)

a new heirloom

I finished knitting Emma's dress a few days before Thanksgiving, just perfect since I had been imagining it as her holiday dress for this year. It is a rather simple pattern, once you figure out how the yoke is laid out. :) I found it in The Expectant Knitter and knit it up in Pattons "Grace" cotton yarn instead of the silk that the pattern recommended and like it just as well. It is light enough to to be a Spring dress but heavy enough to keep her little belly warm this winter, too.

want one?

I put a large bowl of clementines on our coffee table, thinking that even if Emma could reach it she wouldn't be able to damage them (the worst she could do would be to suck on the fruit). Well, our little one has longer arms than I thought! And now she spends several minutes after each nap standing at the coffee table under our window pulling clementines out of the bowl and either dropping them or handing them to me. And sometimes she lets me keep them, too. :)

a new way to enjoy an old favorite (thanks to hulu)

Charlie Brown is very much a part of my Christmas memories, so imagine how wonderful it was to find that hulu had posted "A Charlie Brown Christmas" for all of us cheapskates to watch online.

Merry Christmas!!!!! (a little early)

cravings

, originally uploaded by Lizi Beth.

with this baby I am craving citrus. it doesn't really matter what kind, so long as it has that wonderful citrus-y smell and taste. and doesn't cost too much.
Clementines have been the best bargain so far, and I have eaten my way through several pounds of them in the past few weeks. They are just so juicy and good. But now that winter is getting into gear the oranges and grapefruit are coming down in price, so I'll begin to add a little variety to my snacking!

Daddy's Girl

Emma has been loving her Daddy more and more, and now lights up for him as much as she does for me. It is so cute to watch her get excited when he gets home from work! Now if I can only teach her how to say "Da-da" ....

comfort food

I was talking with my sister-in-law yesterday about different slow cooker recipes for chicken and pork, and I mentioned this one that I have made a few times. It is written for pork, but I've always made it with chicken. It turns out so yummy and (because the meat gets pulled) it's perfect for meat that you've over-cooked that has gotten tough or "gummy".

It also makes the house smell great!!!!

Pulled Pork (or Chicken) Tacos

adapted from Real Simple

2 cups salsa, plus more for serving

2 Tbls chili powder

2 Tbls dried oregano (Italian season works too)

2 Tbls unsweetened cocoa powder

2 1/2 lbs boneless pork butt or shoulder (or chicken)

In a 4- to 6 quart slow cooker combine the salsa, chili powder, oregano, cocoa and 1 teaspoon salt. Add the pork and turn to coat.

Cook, covered, until the meat is tender and pulls apart easily, on high for 4 to 5 hours or on low for 7 to 8 hours.

Using two forks, shred the pork and stir it into the cooking liquid. Serve with tortillas, cilantro, sour cream, lime and extra salsa.

our teething babe

The past few days have been filled with lots and LOTS of Emma holding, Emma comforting, and trying to find ways to relieve her discomfort.

So, when I heard her pull out the basket that holds our CDs tonight - which is usually a "no touch" item - I ignored it and let her play. She wasn't being destructive, just curious. She pulled most of the cases part way out and slid them back in, playing with a few colorful ones that caught her interest. It kept her busy and distracted for quite a while.

Now the thing is, she is happy but I feel bad that I was inconsistent!

remembering

Mom has put up some remembrances from the memorial service ago on Gramma's blog.

There are so many many more memories than what is written there. What we write or say can only scratch the surface. But we try. Because we want to remember. We want to enjoy the silly, the fun, the meaningful, the poignant memories and yes, even the sad ones.

Because remembering all those things heals. Remembering seems to help ease the pain and, somehow, it allows the joy to come in.