HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE MAGNOLIAS

I am going to take a couple of coconut cream pies along with a couple of loaves of french baguett bread with roasted garlic dip spread tomorrow along with a bunch of seedless purple grapes, bananas and tangerens to a friends house that lives on Magnolia street for a party to celebrate the New Year coming in. I am also taking my cappuccino making machine and sugar free syrups. The host's machine doesn't make decent frothed milk and he requested that I bring mine. I was going to take it anyway. I think he may want to see it so he can get one like it. I am the one that took his out of the box last week and showed him how to use it and it makes great hot milk for lattes. Also we are taking a couple of bottles of bubblie non alcohol juice since none of us are drinkers of strong spirits. So early in the day I need to get those pies made and then roast the garlic. The bread and fruit is bought and ready. Then when we get there Cowboy is taking him to the place where we buy our coffee while I stay behind and help make some tamales.

Hope you all have a fun and safe New Years Eve.

Good Morning, Flowers!
I've been to the grocery store and the post office. I thought it would be busy and crowded but it was pretty quiet. I suppose things will liven up this afternoon. The weather is nice so I look for lots of celebrating tonight. As far as I know we are staying home; I will probably fall asleep waiting for the clock to strike midnight so I can go to bed!

Maggie -- YUMMY, YUMMY, YUMMY!! The pies sound wonderful! I just pie! I've never heard of the bread, is it a specialty type bread? . . . guess I don't get out and about much. It sounds like you have a good time planned to ring in the new year!

I am going to take down the tree today and put the Christmas music away for another year. I never get tired of the carols so maybe I'll play them all one more time.

Have a nice day, Flowers! I wish a "Happy and Healthy New Year" to you all!

Jean -- from Iowa!

GOOD MORNING MAGNOLIAS

Looks like rain. I am just taking a quick check in before I get busy making my pie crust. Going to be a bit busy getting it all together today. I think I will do pork chops and baked potatoes for a late lunch. Then off we go to Magnolia street which is lined with Magnolia Trees. Life is good and I am on my second box of tissues.

JEAN You do know what French bread is for sure ~ well the baguettes are just long and skinny loaves of the same stuff. Not so special except with the roasted garlic you tear off a piece and dip it into the garlic stuff and enjoy.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

[SIZE=huge]HAPPY NEW YEAR MAGNOLIAS[/SIZE]

Just had the most wonderful New Year's Eve and it isn't even midnight. DD#3 and SIL and 3 grandkids just left. They dropped by very unexpecedly and we had an impromptu supper and played with the kids. We don't see them as often as we would like as they are about 1 1/2 hrs away and in a direction that means traffic both going and coming almost any day or time. They came this way and visited with the other local sisters and just dropped by. Kids are two boys 9 & 6 and a little RED haired 3 yr old girl. Her hair is 'Shirley Temple' curly and is she an imp.

I just finished straightening up and am leaving the dishes till next year.

Gloria in MA....just stopped here and now to bed. I just a real party gal.

Happy New Year to You!

At first I thought I was in the wrong spot -- I like the new look! I took my nap earlier this evening so was able to be awake when the new year arrived in Iowa. I see Dick Clark is going to wait until CA can celebrate also.

Maggie -- Yes, we do have french bread! Hope you are enjoying your evening out.

Gloria -- What a nice way to spend New Year's Eve! Our evening was a very quiet one -- the whole neighborhood seems quiet tonight. One couple left to spend the winter in Texas before Christmas and there are some others who are also gone but will come and go all winter long.

I am heading for bed. See you all later!

Jean -- in Iowa!

Good Afternoon, Flowers!
It is spitting tiny snowflakes as I type and the temperature is 30 degrees. Nothing is staying on the ground so we won't dust off the shovel quite yet.

Hope you are enjoying a peaceful day. I am trying to catch the halftime entertainment on the TV; I don't watch the games. I've been cleaning the high spots and need to polish my spoon collection. Someday I just may get caught up on my "to do" list.

Once again, Happy New Year!

Jean -- from Iowa!

HAPPY NEW YEAR MAGNOLIAS

What a beautiful day! It was top down weather so we went for a glorious ride up to the mountains. I am looking forward to weigh in tomorrow morning and am excited about getting started on this years weight loss. Hope all of you are determined to make this year a difference and have positive plans for your year. BUBBLES are you ready to plung in and lose 40 pounds along with me in 6 months? Lets get to it gal.

One of the gals last night wants my recipe for my coconut cream pie... well what is going to happen now is that I am going to go over there and teach her how to make them. She is only 22 and never made a pie so this should be fun. Next I will teach her to make a lemon merange pie which is my very most favorite.

We made red chili pork tamales (mild in taste) yesterday and more cheese and jalapeno ones and a few sweet ones. The sweet ones didn't get cooked yet so I have yet to try them from there but they will save me some. The masa looked like chocolate chip cookie dough but the spots were raisins.

GLORIA what a neat surprise visit you had. That little red head sounds like what my daughter used to look like. She has natural curley hair and ..... well you can imagine since you saw that little glorious child last night.

JEAN LOL snow fluries. If you have French bread there then do you have the long skinney loaves AKA:baguettes? I can just picture you with your "to do list" when you are very old and gray still checking things off ~ then your dryer buzzes and it starts all over once again.

Good Morning, Flowers!
It's a sunny and cold (19*) day in my neighborhood this morning. Our snow showers didn't leave a trace on the ground so everything still looks dingy and dirty.

Today I am sorting through CDs and trying to organize them alphabetically. Every time I think I have them all, I find another one that was buried. I sure hope I lose my "pile-it's" license this year. You would think I would learn after all these years! I do have a bag full of old magazines to take to school and a bag of junk to put out for the garbage man. I do think I am making some progress.

Maggie -- I am CONVINCED that pie making is an art that one either has or doesn't have. I sure don't have it! My grandma, mom, and mother-in-law made pies where the crust would just melt in your mouth. No one in my generation has mastered the technique and believe me I have tried. The trick, for me, is to get the crust rolled out evenly and into the pan. By the time I get done, I have flour everywhere and holes in the crust -- not to mention being !! Community Ed. offered a class a couple of years ago and I signed up. I was the only one and so they cancelled the class.

I need to get busy! Have a terrific Thursday and !

Jean -- in Iowa!

Happy New Year One and All!

Jean, my answer to pie crust is Pet Ritz.......can't beat it:~}

Gloria, what a nice holiday surprise you had! I was in bed before the ball fell in Time's Square. Actually, I was walking Jimmy around 11:30 when the Fire Whistle went off.......it's only a block away, and I've never been outside when it went off.........hurt my ears, so I can imagine what it did to the dog.

Last night had dinner with our neighbors.............John is an Exec. Chef at the Greenbrier Hotel, so it was delish! Started out with a shrimp bisque, second course was an honest to God Maryland crab cake on assorted greens, which was to die for. Main course was Beef Tenderloin accompanied by mashed potatos with little bits of lobster in it. Oh yes, and the tenderloin was topped with a hollandaise sauce, the likes of which I've never tasted.........I held the bowl while John was pouring in the melted butter and whisking it...........I almost died. I had no clue there was that much butter in hollandaise........I've forgotten the ratio he said between the egg yolks and butter, but it can't be found in any points book, that I can assure you! For dessert, we had a chocolate mousse with a chocolate sauce over it, placed in a pool of raspberry sauce.............I'll have to walk from here to NYC to atone for that one! Everyone else was drinking wine, but I was good and stuck to my diet coke..........like it made a difference:~} I know I feel better than they do today.
Off to walk.
Bubbles

GOOD EVENING MAGNOLIAS

It was definitely another top down day - up in the low 80's like a great summer day. Had a great time this morning at WW and showed a loss of 1.2 which is a good start for this new years losses. In my group there is a gal that has already lost 100 pounds and two gals that have lost 150 pounds so far. What a great inspiration!

JEAN the trick to making a good pie crust is starting with a good simple recipe and not handling your dough any more than necessary. I am so pleased that my pie crust equals my mothers and grandmothers. Just watching them gave me the clue not to overhandle your dough.

BUBBLES a meal to die for! Sounds like what my uncle Jimmy used to do when he was head Chef for Harrahs. Nice that you got to have such a meal before starting your losses this year.

Lets all get down to the business of losing weight now.

GOOD MORNING MAGNOLIAS

We are preparing for another storm today into Saturday. It won't bother me too much as I have enough inside work to do for 3 days. Chrismas decorations will come down today and then there is the always present laundry. Also, when the decorations come down the will be dusting, vacuuming etc. Yesterday we went to Bedford Air Base for Commissary shopping and it was good to get that in between storms.

MAGGIE: What a wonderful start of the New Year! You sure have some great 'losers' in your WW group. When the kids were small and I did a lot of baking my pies were the best thing I made. Cakes, on the other hand, were never something I would brag about.

JEAN: Sorting through CD's! That is going above the call of duty. I feel lucky when I can keep the house clean and haven't thought of alphabetizing my CD's or my paper backs. Now you have giving me a goal to achieve in '03!

BUBS: OH, what a wonderful dinner. I gained two #s just reading the menu. I have read about the Greenbrier and it sounds like quite a place.

Gloria in MA....going out to take down the outside lights before the storm starts. Have a great weekend!!!

GOOD MORNING MAGNOLIAS

Another gorgeous day here in sunny south California. I just finished a delicious breakfast on this 18 point day. I had a boiled egg and a tangarine. We usually use beaters but got some eggs laid by hens that have an all vegetarian diet so they are 25% less saturated fat than an ordinary egg. (Total fat 4g; cholesterol 180mg; omega-3 polyunsaturates 100mg.) I still count one as 2 points but they just have to be better for me.

JEAN we have all our CD's in binders according to type of music. I am not sure off hand how many CD's each binder holds but it is a goodly number and we have 5 of them. That is just the best way we came up with to have them travel well and got rid of all those plastic cases. We made a deal that we wouldn't get any more than would fit in those binders so if we want a new one - one of the existing ones has to go.

GLORIA that is good to stock up on the necessaries when you know a storm is coming. Do you often lose your electricity? Where we were we had a back up generator for such days as those. Winters can be rough even for those best prepared. Stay safe and have a good weekend.

BUBBLES I have the ingredients for your Potato Soup and am going to make up a batch today. Question ~ does it freeze well? Hope that out of the ordinary delicious meal didn't throw your system for a loop. How are you this day?

Love to hear from Flowers that used to come by......

Everyone have a nice Friday and a safe and happy weekend.

Good Evening, Flowers!
DH is watching the Sugar Bowl and I stuck around long enough to see that the half time show was going to be two guys rehashing football. I don't understand why they don't show the band/entertainment and have the rehashing sound over the band. Boy, Iowa got beat bad in the Orange Bowl last night . . . I'm sure Florida appreciated all the $$$ the Iowans spent down there though.

Bubbles -- I have used Pet Ritz pie crusts but they just don't taste like the ones Mom and Grandma used to make. I'm glad you enjoyed your fancy meal; I probably would have had to spend the rest of the evening in the bathroom.

Maggie -- CONGRATULATIONS on starting the new year 1.2#s lighter! You do have some inspiring losers in your group, that's for sure! I have tried several different pie crust recipes but no one ever told me about handling the pie crust too much. I'll have to keep that in mind. I also didn't know there was such a thing as vegetarian hens! It's good to learn something new everyday! I never thought about using CD binders; I just knew I had CDs all over and couldn't find the one I wanted when I'd go looking for it. It was time to make a plan!

Gloria -- You are smart to stock up before the storm hits. In our small town, you'd think people were never going to eat again when there is a storm warning. They flock to the grocery stores like they will be shut in for a month instead of a day or two at the most. I've got a few CDs that are duds . . . I think I ordered them from a TV ad of some sort. Anyhow, my plan is to play each one and if I don't care for it, it will go to the Good Will.

It's almost time for the news and then I am heading off to bed. Have a relaxing weekend, Flowers!

Jean -- in Iowa!

GOOD MORNING MAGNOLIAS

It promises to be another lovely day this day. This little area made a heat record the other day when it reached 83 which was one of our top down days. I am having a 25 point day and had a delicious beginning with a 2 point turkey sandwich, couple of tangerines for a point and a vanilla cappuccino for a point. What a lovely way to start the day. Usually when I get up Cowboy has a fresh cup of java for me but this day he didn't turn on the machine so I declined and said I wanted to make a capuccino this day. OOOOO yes! How sweet it is. Life is good.

JEAN I just can't help myself but I am going to give you a Pie Crust Class 101 lesson here. This is a tried and true recipe handed down from my great-great-grandmother.

PIE CRUST for two pies or a top and bottom fruit pie.
2 cups sifted all purpose flour
1/2 cup Crisco
1 teaspon salt
1/4 cup ice water (very important)

1. Cream half of the flour with the Crisco and salt.
2. Add the remaining flour and sprinkle the ice water over all.
3. Stir with a fork or pastery blender until mix leaves sides of bowl. (Don't mash down or mix with your hands.)
4. Tear off a square of wax paper and gently place one half of the pie crust mix on the middle of it. If it is crumbly that is fine ~ just gently with the edges of your hands corrale it into a circle.
5. Place another square of wax paper over the top and roll out to desired thickness.
6. Pick up one side of the wax paper being sure you have both top and bottom and flip the pie crust over.
7. Gently peel the paper off which would have been the bottom but now is the top.
8. Lift the other piece which is on the bottom now and bring it up to gently fold the pie crust round in half.
9. Pick the pie crust up and place it into your pie pan and unfold.
10. With kitchen shears cut the edges leaving enough crust to fold under a tad so you can flute the edges.
11. If you are going to make a cream pie line the bottom with wax paper and fill the bottom with pie weights or beans.
12. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes.
13. Remove pan from oven and remove the pie weights ~ return pie crust to oven and continue baking for 5 minutes to make sure the bottom is done.
14. Cool on a rack and then fill with your cream filling.
15. If you plan on a fruit pie then fill the crust with your fruit and top with the second piece of crust that you have rolled out as you did the first.
16. Trim and seal and flute the edges, bake as directed by your recipe.

If you do all that, which isn't really that complicated, you will have a wonderful flakey crust that folks will rave about. Just remember to have a light touch.

Have a good weekend folks.

Good Afternoon Everyone

I hope all of you had wonderful holidays.

I see talk of CD binders. I finally had to take all of our CD's out of the cases. Too hard to travel with. Now I have so many Gaither Homecoming CD's that I bought a separate binder for all others. We listen to CD's when we are on the road. I love to sing along. Where no one can hear me except DH, and he is very forgiving cuz he can't sing either.

And talk of potato soup. Is that the same recipe you emailed me Maggie? It looks very good!!! And very low point which is wonderful!! My SIL made some potato soup made from canned Cream of Potato and added lots of veggies, some milk, and ham. It was very good. I thought I might try to lighten up her recipe and make an OP version.

We got back on Thurs from our first trip with our trailer. It worked okay. Since it's just a big empty box so far, I took a folding table to cook on. Used our backpacking stoves. We have comfortable, cozy lawn chairs. We bought a mattress before we left. And we took our portapotti - can't travel without it. DH's stepdad is a good carpenter. He built us a nice bedframe while we were visiting. It's up high enough to get several BIG Rubbermaid storage buckets under it.

We didn't get to Big Bend NP like we had hoped, ran into bad weather and it took extra time to get to the relatives place. We did way too much eating. I gained. Some water retention. So hopefully by weigh in on Thurs, I will show only a slight gain. It is so hard to eat at someone's house like that for a week. Too many cookies, too much chocolate, just too much.

Now I am going to make a cake, a mix (Spice cake this time) and a can of pumpkin. DH really likes these cakes. And they are very easy. I think it is 2-3 points for a 16th of the cake. Only thing that counts is the mix.