Happy New Year!!

I had just gotten out of the shower and into my jammies intending to take a nap in preparation for my midnight shift at work when Brillo Man brought the mail inside.

And there it was! A package from Sara! The scarf is here! The scarf is here!
Olivia can hardly contain her excitement (and neither can I --in fact, I'm wondering how I'm going to possibly settle down and catch a nap before work because I'm so excited to receive the scarf!!)

Sara, thank you so much for the gift! She sent a vintage (I love all things vintage!) cup and saucer which belonged to her Grandmother...along with some wonderfully, rich smelling coffee with which to christen the cup. I promise I will taste the coffee and then pass it along to Brillo Man who is the King of coffee in this house. She also knows that I am a tea drinker and the cup will be used DAILY for my cup of tea! Sara, each time I use the cup, I will think of you and say a prayer.

Wow. I feel so blessed to receive this scarf. Even though I knew that I would receive it eventually...I'm more excited than I even thought possible. The connection that I feel to each and every one of you is astounding. The way God has knit us together - most of us have never even met - yet we are sisters.

I am blessed.

....stay tuned for some adventures!...although I'm not sure I can top that most recent performance with the Pips! ;)

Happy New Year to all!!

Goodbye From Dearborn

The Scarf has had a fine time with the family over the holidays. Now it's time for her to move on for her next adventure. Whose mail box will she end up in? All I know is that she's hopping on a bus, catching a plane or maybe just taking a midnight train...

I HAVE NO SHAME!

I am sure that by now, all of you think I am ready for the loony bin. This is clearly evident from some pictures I posted here in my apron and our baking day. Here's my latest act of self-promotion fro the whole wide world to see! Our 6 year old grand-daughter Jelly Bean LOVES Bat Man!! For Christmas some friends of theirs gave her this harness that fits like a backpack. When you pull the ripcord, bat wings fly out! I nearly died laughing she was so precious! Since I have been dubbed Miss Entertainment at times, I had to give it a try. Fortunately, I have no fear of being blackmailed because my husband knew what he was getting himsef in for when we got married! Without further adieu, I give you...
BATGIGI!!

Hi - Also trying it out!!

Hi Ladies
My name is Rebecca
I am the very "newling" to the Sisterhood.
I need a scarf, for I live in the frozen North.....Winnipeg to be exact.
My life is as most women of my age. Filled with a little granddaughter and two grown kids of my own. I moved back to Canada after ten years of living in Europe - the Netherlands and England
and it is taking me time to become adjusted to life here, especially in the winter - did I mention that I need a scarf??
I have been reading your blogs for some time now and look forward to hearing from each of you and also to taking the scarf on my travels and sharing my life with you all
A very Happy New Year to you all

Wrapped In Swaddling Scarf

Merry Christmas Scarf Sisters! We spent today at my mom & dad's house celebrating Jesus and singing bad karaoke. We ate too much prime rib, potatoes, corn casserole, rolls, jello, apple slaw and DESSERTS! The Scarf had a fine time being photographed with the family. Let's start with me & Daboyz!

Sara & Rob (Who apparently does not respect the sanctity of The Scarf)





Sara/h, Sara & Lexi

Amy & Sara

Sara & the Family

Dad, Sara & Dean

Sara & Dean

It's been long day and so I have taken a moment to ponder these things in my heart. I have to go now because Dean is saddling up a donkey as Caesar has declared a census and we must travel to Bethlehem...no wait. That was a different couple.

Anyway, Merry Christmas!!

The Scarf & The Elves

So here is the much awaited Scarf post! Yesterday (Tuesday) three of my favorite elves showed up to make some goodies. Left to right, Lexi, Sara/h, Sara, Mac. We baked for about four hours and ended up with buckeyes, magic cookie bars, lemon bars, cocoa crackles, oatmeal butterscotch cookies and walnut bars. And yes, we've already made a nice dent in our beautiful baked goods. This is a pic taken by the Mr. with my new Christmas camera so be patient with us while we learn to use it and maybe even post some Christmas video! Happy Christmas Eve!

Hello Dere!

Guess what I received in the mail today? The Scarf will be spending Christmas in Michigan with ten inches of snow on the way this evening! Tonight I'm cleaning house for a busy day tomorrow. Work and then the Mr. and the Metroband are coming to the hospital to sing Christmas carols with the patients. Afterward we're all returning to our house for a Christmas party. On Saturday it's off to my sister's house for her husband Rob's birthday. Next week it's Christmas Eve with we four and Christmas day with the Family. Won't you be sick of me! Look for pictures of the Scarf with Daband coming soon!

P.S. I got some yummy chocolates and a warm blanky in case I am trapped in my garage. As if that could ever happen! Lol.

BRAGGIN' RIGHTS!

Let's face it, have you seen any cuter kids than these? Be honest! These are our 2 youngest grandbabies, at their Christmas dance recital last night. "Sweet-Tart" is so tiny that Jennifer said they had to wrap her skirt twice around her and cut the footies out of her tights!! "Kit-Kat" at this point at the age of 4, is no longer a rookie!

OK, I did it!

Guess what? I have a blog! Here it is:
http://charsworld41.blogspot.com/

I really prefer visiting other people's blogs though. I'm afraid to put very much info out there. How secure is it? I need some advice from blogging pros like you all!

Hey, I know how to make the picture go below the words. Check this out:







Ta Da! This is my husba-wasba of 22 years, Steve, and our miracle son, David, age 7.5.
Honest, I'm not normally this retarded. Did I say normal? LOL, you get the idea!

trying it out

OK, I've been lurking way too long. I keep hoping I'll get the scarf soon, and one of these days, I know I will. So, I thought I had better practice my blogging. I'm going to see if I can insert a picture. How else will I show you where the scarf has been? Ok, here goes...

Hey, that wasn't so bad. The image appeared above the words instead of below them, but I guess I can handle that. Anyway, this is my sweet little son David. He is 7 1/2 NOT 7. At this age, he WILL correct me if he overhears me leaving the half out! He is eagerly anticipating Christmas, and he keeps bugging me to hurry up and wrap presents. He knows I've been stashing them since the summer!

I hope everyone is having a joyous Christmas season. I'm going to post this and see how it turns out.

Merry Christmas, Scarf Sisters!!!!

OH WHERE OH WHERE?

Oh where, oh where has our travlin' scarf gone
Oh where, oh where can it be?

It's takin' a trip,
it's headin' your way

but where, oh where
I will not say!

Tee Hee!

Word's Out ...

... that our beloved scarf is making her way to the home of another sister just in time to spend the holidays. Won't our sister look grand graced this Christmas in our scarf making memories with her family. Look in your mailbox ladies. Hugs,

Mrs. Mac

WINDING DOWN OUR TIME TOGETHER

The scarf and I are soon to part ways but before we do, here are some offerings of our Saturday together. Every year our youngest daughter (and newly married) Laura and I have our Christmas Bake-a-Thon. On this day, we bake our hearts out making goodies which we put together onto trays and deliver to friends, family and my cleaning clients. Here is some mother-daughter silliness!

Two of the things I make are Rum Balls and Holiday Truffles which are made with Triple Sec Orange Liquer. It's going to be a long day so I need to get energized!

Listening to Christmas music is a must while we bake the day away. Here I am dancing and prancing to "Sleigh Ride by the Boston Pops. Be honest, we all LOVE that Christmas song! Maybe I had a little bit too much of that liguer and rum in that picture above!

The beautiful and talented Laura Lou, my right hand woman!

Dipping the Mocha Truffles into their chocolate coating. Later they will get a little decoration on the top. (This helps me to know which candy is which!)

Laura Lou, she is my queen of Peanut Butter Snowballs! These will be coated in White Chocolate and then decorated as well.

I hadn't told Laura about our Scarf Sisterhood yet and before I could, she actually said to me,
"Take a picture of me with your scarf".
I HAD to oblige! So here is our honorary scarf sister, Laura Louise!

Laura is making fudge, hers is without nuts since she HATES nuts (except cashews!)

Oops, how did that get in here?

Turtle Bites waiting for the Chocolate Finale! On the left are the Holiday Truffles which are rolled in walnuts.


I ran out of time so I didn't get the "Puppy Chow" made, I'll do that Sunday. At the end of our baking day here is what we had done:

2 Batches of Fudge (one with, one without nuts)
Turtle Bites
Holiday Truffles
Mocha Truffles
Oreo Truffles
Rum Balls
Peanut Butter Snowballs
Dipped Gingersnaps
Dipped Peanut Butter Ritz Sandwich Crackers
Frosted Lemon Cookies
Frosted Spice Cookies
Frosted Vanilla Cookies
German Chocolate Cookies

I had to shut it down at 5 PM because we were headed to a surprise 40th birthday party for a friend of ours who is in our Life Group. His wife was counting on us to be a part of the deception, getting him to the party. We had a lovely dinner at an Italian restaurant and got to hang with another couple from our Life Group who are PRECIOUS to us!
Our friend and Birthday Boy Mike, his wife Alicia and their beautiful twin daughters, Ashley & Madison.

Me and the love of my life!

Our precious friends Craig and Kim.

Kim and I, she's such an incredibly sweet lady! She has just gone back to school to try and become a nurse! She inspires me!

Dave and the birthday boy. Mike is from Minnesota and LOVES to fish and hunt. He and Dave, besides their 13 year age difference are kindred spirits. Dave is taking him on their yearly wilderness fishing trip up in the extreme northern wilds of Manitoba in June!

A LONG day for me and our scarf!

SAGA OF THE SCARF

On Friday we had the new flooring installed in Laura's former bedroom. It was emotional for me as I remembered all of the events that had taken place there. Two of my girls had grown into womanhood in there. The spackle and paint removed the last traces that children had once lived, laughed, loved and played there. The scarf kept me warm as my heart was chilled.


That evening after Dave and I had transferred things into the room we went out and finally got our Christmas tree. Here Dave is making our selection.


Dave loads the tree into our van. Once we get it home he'll shake the loose needles out and the we will have the fun (yeah right) of getting it into the stand without getting irritated (at each other as well as the tree!)


After wrestling the tree into place, the scarf and I relaxed a bit. Unbeknownst to me, my new son-in-law snuck into the picture. Honestly, I think he just wanted to wear the snazzy scarf!

Ornament Exchange?!

I was reading Connie's blog earlier and had an idea...

Work with me....I don't have ideas often.

Are any of you Scarf Sisters interested in having an ornament exchange?

If so, email me privately with "ORNAMENT" in the subject line...at d_erskine@verizon.net and I'll include you in the list. Brillo Man or Olivia will draw names from a hat and I'll pair you up.
PLEASE include your ADDRESS in the email...yes, yes, I know, I already asked you for your addresses. But trust me, they're lost in some file in my computer someplace.

If only one of you is interested, you'll receive a fabulous ornment from moi. Guaranteed to clutter up your Christmas tree for years to come!

Any takers?

Please respond before December 20th. Ornaments should be mailed before December 31st --that way we all can hit the clearance sales after Christmas to be sure to find the best leftovers that nobody else wanted for really, really cheap!

I'm kidding, of course. But it will take the pressure off to get something mailed out immediately, especially since I came up with this fabulous idea so late.

(and it is a fabulous idea...really...it is....I asked you to work with me here..)

;) (p.s. Did anyone happen to notice how marvelously well the ornament photo matches the blog background? I planned that!) ahem.

YUMMY PUMPKIN BUTTER

CONNIE'S PUMPKIN BUTTER
2 cans Pumpkin (the smaller size and definitely NOT the pie mix filling!)
1 box of Sure-Jell
1Tbls Pumpkin Pie Spice
4 1/2 cups sugar

Combine pumpkin, spice and Sure-Jell thoroughly in large microwavable dish. Cook covered for 5 minutes. Stir well, cook additional 5 minutes. Remove from microwave and stir in sugar until thoroughly mixed in, it will become runny. Cook covered for 5 minutes, stir well, cover and cook for 6 minutes.

In the meantime, have jars prepped and ready and the canner heated to boiling. Spoon mixture into jars and process for 10 minutes.

I double this recipe and it makes 13 1/2 pint jars. I make this for our family but also to hand out with the Christmas Cookie trays I make at Christmastime. This is wonderful served on toast or cinnamon raisin bagels etc. Refrigerate after opening.

WEE WEECHU

It's a romantic full moon, when Pedro said, 'Hey, mamacita, let's do Weeweechu.'

Oh no, not now, let's look at the moon!' said Rosita.

Oh, c'mon baby, let's you and I do Weeweechu. I love you and it's the perfect time,' Pedro begged.

'But I wanna just hold your hand and watch the moon.' replied Rosita.

Please, corazoncito, just once, do Weeweechu with me.'

Rosita looked at Pedro and said, 'OK, one time, we'll do Weeweechu.'

Pedro grabbed his guitar and they both sang.....

'Weeweechu a Merry Christmas, Weeweechu a Merry Christmas, Weeweechu a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

Welcome Aboard Miss ....

.... Terry. How do you like that. I've gone and signed up Miss Terry (our Canadian friend) for the last spot in the Scarf Sister's club. She is one for waiting for the eleventh hour ... but is on board and that's all that counts. So give her a big welcome ... and go visit her blog. She is known for spreading good cheer, sunshine and birthday wishes. She is a prayer warrior too. Make yourself known around here Miss Terry with an introduction.

TEXAS SCARF GOING ONS!

Today the scarf and I were busy. After coming home from work and doing some painting, it was time to make Pumpkin Butter for my gift trays this Christmas.



Pumpkin Butter essentials!


The jars are cleaned and prepped.


Cooked and waiting to go into the jars.


Filling the jars.


Processing in the Boiling Water Bath Canner.


What a lot of work! The scarf held my hair back out of my face!


Some of the ribbons my Pumpkin Butter has won over the years at the State Fairs.


Tonight a cold front from Canada has blown in and the winds are howling outside! There's nothing like a warm fire and a steaming bowl of chili on an evening like this.


It's official, my son thinks I am crazy!

Stay tuned there is more coming!

Urgent Prayer Needed

Hello All --can't post to By His Stripes...I must not have signed up...so I'm posting here.

Please pray for my friend Dawna's stepson, Brian. Brian is 25 years old and was admitted to the local hospital last night with blood clots in his legs and a severely impacted bowel. A few moments ago, they life-flighted him to Pittsburgh because he has a pulmonary embolism (blood clot in his lung). This is a very life-threatening situation. I know that you all will storm the gates of heaven on his behalf.

Thanks sisters!

SO WHAT ARE THE ODDS?

Guess what was waiting in my mailbox today? YUP! It's here and now my ensemble is complete! I have a couple of adventures in mind for our scarf so keep watching! That sly Cheryl never let on that it was on its way when I posted that goofy picture!

MISSING SOMETHING?

I think a certain scarf would complete this holiday ensemble, don't you?

And Then There Was One ...

With the latest addition of Kell (Trish's daughter), that leaves only one spot open in our little Scarf Sister club. Not that more wouldn't be welcome, but let's face it, this is a club that needs a cool climate since we're passing around a winter scarf :) ... we don't want to be wearing a scarf next summer. Maybe we'll have to come up with another club, eh?

Kell is a busy mom and sure could use some prayer. Her little boy is not well, which is hard on him AND his mom. Go visit her blog and leave her an encouraging comment and prayer.

When you get a chance Kell, and you've registered to be a blog administrator, you can come back and make your formal debut. For now, go ahead and leave a hello introduction in the comment section of this post. Welcome!

Watch Out ...

... in your mailbox for the all important scarf this week. Is she somewhere on a boat, a plane, or a train? Time will tell. I'm so excited!

One of Amrita's readers found her way over here to the Scarf Sister's site and would like to join in. Her name is Rebecca and presently lives in chilly Canada, so could definitely use a warm scarf. She is a mother and grandmother and has a very nice blog. Maybe you could go pay her a visit and I hope she will introduce herself here as well. Welcome Rebecca.

Keep those yummy Christmas recipes flowing over this way. I am getting inspired and hungry. There are some websites you can google that will convert standard and metric measurements if you need help.

Hugs,

MY BEST COOKIES

I don't bake. I've had my Mom and friends making birthday cakes for me. For Christmas I make three sorts. One involve a premade pepper cake dough, M&Ms and frosting on a tube, # 2 are the Serina cakes, very Norwegian, but the third has made me a popular scout's Mom.
Somehow Moms are always engaged to deliver cakes for all kinds of occasions, it would save a lot of time if one could just buy them. The scouts made a lot of stuff themselves, but mother's should produce buns for sale.
I made rice chocolate tops.

Two 100 grams dark chocolate bars.
25 grams of coco fat.
Melt slowly in water bathe.
Stir gently to mix the melted compound.
Add five cups of puffed rice.
Not too much, just to keep the substance together.
Fill up and top xx-large cupcake forms.
Set cold for some hours.
Serve or sell preferably same day.
I outsold the skilled mamas with this recipe.
The supersize made the trick.
Also yummy to persons with gluten intolerance .
Yours Felisol

P.S.

• 1 grain = 0.06479891 gram
• 1 ounce (avoirdupois) = 28.349523125 grams
• 1 ounce (troy) = 31.1034768 grams
• 1 gram = 15.4323583529 grains
• Doesn't make much sense to me, but some might catch the general idea.
  

INSTANT LEMON COOKIES

In the spirit of sharing recipes, here's a great one! When my daughter Jennifer was in Kindergarten, her teacher shared this recipe with me. It's a family favorite!

1 box lemon cake mix (2 layer)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
Lemon frosting
sprinkles

Combine cake mix, oil and eggs, dough will be a bit stiff. Drop by rounded spoonfuls on lightly greased cookie sheet and backe at 350 for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove and cool completely. Frost with lemon frosting and immediately decorate with sprinkles (frosting glazes over fast and they will run right off).

You can use any combination of mixes and frostings. Some of our favorites:

German Chocolate with Coconut Pecan Frosting
Vanilla with Buttercream Frosting, garnish with chopped pecans
Carrot or Spice with Cream Cheese Frosting ( I add a little orange rind to the frosting, I think it tastes better).

Last year on our Bake-a-thon day, Laura frosting the lemon cookies.

Blueberry Bar Recipe

I've been making this bar cookie for years. The source of the original recipe comes from my longtime, childhood friend's Mother. Carol and I have been friends since age nine...that means we've been friends for not quite 30 years.... wow.

Anyway....here's the recipe - it's something very simple and slightly different. The lemon drizzle icing adds a little 'zing'. Very Delicious! Enjoy!

1 3/4 c. sugar
1 c. butter or margarine
4 eggs
1 tsp. valnilla
3 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 - 21 oz. can blueberry pie filling
ground nutmeg

Lemon frosting: Blend well one Tablespoon melted butter, 1 1/4 c powdered sugar and 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice.

Cream together sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, beat well. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to creamed mixture, stirring until blended. Spread half the dough in an ungreased 15x10x1 inch baking pan. Carefully spread blueberry pie filly over dough and sprinkle with a little nutmeg. Drop remaining dough by teaspoonfuls over the pie filling. (It will blend together during baking.) Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. While warm, drizzle with lemon frosting. Yield 5 dozen.

Chocolate Ball Recipe

Upon request I am posting my Chocolate Ball recipe. I'd love to have the Buckeye recipe as well cause I don't think they are the same...they only look alike.

Chocolate Balls
1 Box confectioners sugar
2 Tbls peanut butter
3/4 C chopped pecans
1 C crushed graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 C shredded coconut (optional) (we never include this as no one in our family likes coconut)
1 & 3/4 sticks melted margerine

mix well and roll into 1 in. balls, insert toothpick into each one and place on waxed paper lined cookie sheet. Freeze 30 mins. meanwhile...melt 3/4 bag of semi-sweet chocolate morsels in a double boiler along with 2 ozs of parafin. dip each ball into the melted chocolate/parafin mixture and set back on the waxed paper to harden. remove toothpicks

Enjoy...I keep mine in the fridge to keep the chocolate coating nice and firm. :)

PS, I've been in on a recipe exchange the last few weeks and the recipes I have received are so awesome! and wonderfully simple. We should all post one of our favorite and easiest recipes here on the traveling scarf blog....make it one you can remember off the top of your head right now. They are usually the best. :)

The rest of the story...

the scarf and I really did go shopping on Black Friday..and guess what we bought?? A NEW TV!! Hooray! Actually my mom instigated the purchase by offering to buy half for our Christmas present...and we so needed it before the kids all come home for the holidays. So here we are checking them out at Best Buy. Let me tell you, a 32 in screen is HUGE! I had to back down to a 26in. It looks awesome in my Family room...and it works! Thats what makes it so much better than our old one! LOL

Now we have to have new holiday DVDs to watch on it don't we?? I must confess, I didn't do too much shopping for others this weekend...:)

The other big thing the scarf and I did this weekend was enjoy my sister's company. She came over from SC and wanted to make one of our family's prize holiday recipes, Chocolate Balls. I know...don't they sound boring?? Well believe me, they are pure Christmas deliciousness! (Is that a word?)

So here we are rolling them out.....(Jada's first time)

....and here we are dipping them in chocolate.....

....and here I am with my beautiful sister and the finished product...a weeks worth of sheer delight in sugar form. :) ...at least!

Well, time's up...I must say good bye to our scarf and send her on to the next sister....will it be you?? Can't wait to see where she ends up next! Hugs to you all and let the holiday madness begin!