I haven’t blogged in quite some time.  First of all, I am getting winter lazy.  I do it every winter.  I just want to hole up and read, sew or bake and cook.  And I cleaned my keyboard the other day and the stupid space bar keeps sticking and I am getting so angry.

My computer is doing the dumbest thing.  It tries to update and shut down but it goes right to shut down and then it won’t come up in the morning when I turn it on.  I have this little circle of white lights that keeps turning and turning. The hubster looked it up on line and has got this system for getting me back in my computer. I have to unplug it three times and then it will talk to me and say to wait and then a recovery window comes up and he has to type this dos looking stuff into the computer.

I stopped and cleaned the space bar with alcohol and it seems to be working better.  (It is probably clogged with those magical fibers of love that aren’t dog hair.)

I went on an adventure with friend, Lauri, on Black Friday.  We went three hours north of Madison to visit the Amish Walmart.  It was out in the sticks, had no lighting and smelled pretty bad.  I purchased two bandanas.  I ran down the battery on my telephone using it as a flashlight.  If you are into old stuff, antiques and carrying a flashlight to look for things, go to the Amish Walmart better known as Trail’s End.  Otherwise just go to the Goodwill store in Delavan as it has a lot of cool stuff.

I had my Master Gardener’s Book Club Christmas party the next week.  My club read my children’s book, The Cow Who Ate the Hippopotamus, for our monthly selection.   It has absolutely nothing to do with gardening but is a quick read and you can do all those other things you need to do in December like reading, sewing and baking and cooking.  Anyway, I think everyone enjoyed it, but I don’t really know because no one said as such.  They just asked me where I got the idea.  I showed them the huge cow photo from Photobucket.  Just surf huge cow photo and you can see it too.

The next week was my Master Gardener’s Holiday Party.  I was in charge of ordering the meat dish and entertainment.  I put together some holiday carols as they had enjoyed that game at the party two years ago.  Example:  O Shrinking Steel mills is Oh Little Town of Bethlehem.  Facilitate translucent ice crystals was Let it Snow.  Fun game.  Let me know if you want a copy.

We also played a game to guess what was in the stocking.  I stumped a bunch of them with an old broken protractor.

Emily and I haven’t had much excitement.  It is too cold and snowy to go for walks We play sqeeky toy a lot.  I may try to take her to Petco someday.  I just don’t know how she will react.  I guess I can just go in and if it isn’t going well turn around and leave.

I had to clean up some snow yesterday to prepare for today’s snow and Emmie went out with me.  She jumps right into the mounds of snow and leaps and is so very entertaining.  I tried to get her to fetch snow balls but she wasn’t being taken in by that stupidity.   As soon as they exploded on the ground she just walked away looking at me as if I had grown another head.

When we got inside I decided to try the boots on her.  Addi and Sam had gotten them for Jessie dog but she only wore them once and lost one on the way and I had to backtrack to find it.  Well the hubster gathered in the living room to witness the donning of the boots.  I thought at first they were too small but sure enough I gave them a little twist and on they went.  I velcroed it up and her leaping began.  She jumped three legged and shook it.  Then she tried to bite it.  I told her “no” and told the hubster to get a treat and fast.

We assured her that she was the best dog in the world and I got a boot on the other front leg.   She was sitting down to one side and I got the back boot on.  I told her to stand and I started getting the other back boot on.  The hubster was feeding treats and telling her “good girl.”  Well the Velcro got stuck to the other back boot and they both came off.  I lay back on the floor exhausted and she came to kiss me but remembered the boots and started to eat them.

I tucked the boots away but determined I would try again.  I’d really like to walk on the ice again.  I think she must wear the boots to keep her little paws from freezing.   I haven’t walked on the ice on the lake since I got Jessie the first year, that must have been about ten years ago.

I don’t know if you have ever walked on an ice frozen lake but it makes the coolest sound ever.  It kind of sounds like a whale.  And it is so peaceful out in the middle of the lake with nothing but a bunch of drunks in ice fishing houses and holes drilled everywhere in sight.  We used to fly one of those Styrofoam airplanes back and forth when the girls were little.  Some guys used to hit orange golfballs.  It is another world out there folks.

So today I am going to try to make my candied peanuts.  The last two times I made them I burned them.  They are too much work to burn so I have to watch my temperature.

Yesterday I made chocolate covered cherry cookies and candied ginger.  I used Alton Brown’s ginger recipe as I couldn’t find my old one.  He always weighs his measurements (really pisses me off) and so I over sugared my ginger and have a pint jar of gingered sugar.  Anyone interested?  It is pretty good in tea.

The chocolate covered cherry cookies came out great.  I like my cookies to remain a ball rather than let them melt flat.  Son-in-law Anthony has proclaimed the name of the cookies to be Big Black Boobie Cookies. No derogatory disrespect intended!

It snowed last night and the wind was blowing pretty severely.  We have a mound at the front door and I must suit up in my snow gear and go out and clear the way.  The dog has to jump over another mound outside the garage.   Hope my back holds up.  Bengals game comes on at noon and I must go get the snow problem taken care of.