Computer

We got another computer yesterday. We have looked for months. The old one was being overused by six people with 4 e-mails, 2 facebooks, 2 blogs, 1 business, school research and paper writing, and game playing.

Cute Chai Dog

Son D and Mac., and cousin Les S. were out Sunday for chicken soup after church. Chai found an old pacifier on the floor. Darn cute!

More Skiing...um..Snowboarding

Daughter L. and friends Cassie and Isabel. The friends are laughing because L's mom is being so bossy about taking pictures.

Superbowl Potatoes

Superbowl Potatoes

8 potatoes, baked, cooled and cut into 1-inch chunks

3 c. sour cream

2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

1 lb. bacon, fried and crumbled

1/2 -1 bunch green onions, cleaned and sliced

Layer half of all ingredients in bottom of 9 x 13 pan, starting with potatoes. Repeat. Bake at 350 for 35-45 min. or until hot and bubbly.

Super Bowl

We celebrated our annual Super Bowl party with the G's. We have been doin this "holiday" together since 2001 or 2002. FOOD and fun.

W with Mark's caramel corn. International gustatory parity-Midwest deviled eggs and Brazilian flan.

We made these favorites: deviled eggs, bbq'd meatballs, wrapped pickles, lemon pie and Super Bowl potatoes. (All recipes on blog.)

Fun and games-L. and H., T. B-H and W.

Brazilian and Midwestern versions of A., Teens and Sprite

(Daughter W.): L, I. B-H and H.

Chocolate Chip Biscotti

Today we cooked and cleaned all day. We made a bunch of goodies for our traditional Super Bowl party with Gerdes's tomorrow. I will post about all that tomorrow. A couple of days ago I made this biscotti recipe with some cookie mix that my mother-in-law gave me. Yum!

Chocolate Chip Biscotti

1 pouch (1 lb. 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix

1/3 c. butter or margarine, softened

1 egg

1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. toasted, chopped nuts

1 1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Blend cookie mix, butter, egg and flour to make a stiff dough. Add nuts and chocolate chips. Roll 1/2 of dough at a time into a 8 x 2 1/2-inch rectangle. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 min. on ungreased cookie sheet. Cool 15 min.

Cut each rectangle crosswise into 3/4 in. slices. Place slices, cut side down, on cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 min, turning once, until crisp. Cool, move to cooling racks. Cool completely. If desired, drizzle cooled biscotti cookies with melted chocolate chips.

What We're Reading

In the 25 years I've had kids, I never knew until recently that this clever Curious George book existed. It is one of W's favorites. She is reading it aloud right now.
Daughter M. is enjoying this series about a young orphan boy who is involved with the great playwright Shakespeare. Her sister L. enjoyed it, too.
L. loves both of these series, and has read and re-read them. The Redwall Series by Brian Jacques is a classic. The other series is newer.
I just finished The Humbug. It is an interesting hist./fiction murder mystery involving Edgar Allan Poe and P.T. Barnum. (Yes, really!) It was pretty good. I enjoyed the Poe-esque style and the vocabulary. I also just finished re-reading the Dorothy Martin mystery series by Jeanne M. Dams, about an elderly American woman living in England. I seldom re-read books, but did enjoy these again. Dams has a second mystery series that is set in the early 1900's in South Bend, Indiana, (home of Notre Dame), where the Norwegian immigrant heroine, Hilda Johansson, works in the household of the rich and famous Studebakers.
Daughter A. is studying again for her massage test, but is also reading some supplementary books from the library. She just bought the Chi book for herself.
And Husband is reading his usual farm magazines, farming chat rooms, weather, markets and Fox News online.

Outside Foray

Daughter W. went outside for a bit today. It has been a week and a day since her operation. We learned she cannot wear jeans with her "bikini cut" scar (they rub), so long pants will have to be in the "sweats" category. She felt good outside. She wanted to dig snow with the shovel, but we told her she should wait a bit.

Chilly Beauty

"Beauty is all around us, but only a few enjoy it." -Joel Strasser SD photographer Pix by Daughter L.

Geography and History

Daughter L. is enjoying three good classes in our Tuesday co-op (Tutoring Center). She takes Geog./Lit./Composition with Mrs. B-H. They learn geography by copying and coloring maps, as seen above. They also have a reading list of literature, write some papers and are working through a composition book.

Her American History I and II classes are with Mrs. S. These texts and workbooks are called All American History by Celeste W. Rakes. Vol. 1 covers the Explorers to Jacksonians and Vol 2 covers the Civil War to the 21st Century. The text books are called "Student Readers" and the workbooks are called "Student Activity Books." We are really liking these texts and workbooks.