Coco likes to jump on the ottoman first before anyone sits in the chair.
There’s never been a bad view from a hotel in Paris!
“They were funny, these old women; they may have talked constantly of the past, but it was a past full of particular and often eccentric people doing things that charmed and amused me. I remarked on it once to Grammaude:
‘when you’re old,’ she said, ‘ you have a lot to pick and choose from in your memory. If you’ve lived an interesting life, the things you’ll want to keep will be rather wonderful. I think only bores talk about boring things….I heard too many dishwater-dull stories from old people when I was your age. I vowed I’d have good things to remember and talk about.”
–Anne River Siddons, Colony
Here’s a fabulous recipe for a great appetizer….I have served it at many parties and it is always a huge hit! I served it at my New Year’s Eve party last night. I made up the rolls in the morning, stored them in a container with wax paper so they didn’t stick together, and during the party it was very easy to get them out and slice and bake them. Easy to serve and guests love something fresh from the oven! I usually double this recipe, since they go so fast and each guest usually gobbles up at least half a dozen!
Party Pinwheels
3 oz package of cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon prepared horseradish
1/2 teaspoon mustard
1/2 teaspoon parsley flakes
8 oz can Pillsbury refrigerated Quick Crescent Dinner Rolls
4 oz package thinly sliced boiled ham ( I like the smoked)
Heat oven to 375F. Lightly grease cookie sheet. In small bowl, combine cheese, horseradish, mustard and parsley flakes; mix well. Separate dough into four rectangles. Firmly press perforations to seal.
Spread cheese mixture evenly to edges on dough rectangles; place one ham slice on each rectangle. Roll up, jelly-roll fashion, starting with shorter side. Cut each rectangle into eight 1/2-inch thick slices. Place cut-side-down on prepared cookie sheets. Bake at 375F, for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm. 32 snacks. Note- I usually don’t go the whole 12 minutes as I like them to be more soft and less crispy. 10-11 works for me. The easiest way to slice them is to start in the middle and cut in half, then half again, and again.
Easy-peasy! Enjoy!
“It is an electric storm of some violence. They can see the forked lightning flash around them and above them. The snowy peaks and dark creased mineral clefts and ridges of the sharp alps are ranged inhospitably below them. The plane shakes and shudders like a thin tin can, and other bottles of wine tip over on to other trays and on to other breasts of chickens. Julia and Cynthia exchange worldly glances of comically exaggerated alarm. Anais shuts her eyes and Mrs. Jerrold placidly butters her bread roll. Sally Hepburn stares, transfixed, out of the window, at the galvanic display of heavenly fireworks, and at the white mountain summits, as though expecting to see the long-legged monster of Frankenstein loping over the crevasses beneath. Candida Wilton quietly resigns herself to death. If it be now, so be it, but she really would have liked to have seen Carthage and Cumae and Naples first. It seems a pity to get so far, and not to arrive.
Death does not yet choose to claim her or any of her fellow passengers. Death gives them a warning, but lets them pass through. The tumult abates, and the frail little metal craft sails on to calmer skies. The pilot broadcasts over the loudspeaker system a polite and perhaps faintly sardonic wish that they have not been too discomforted by the slight turbulence. The Seat Belt signs remain illumined, but the cabin staff begins to move around again, reassuringly, collecting trays, distributing coffee, offering Duty Free. The atmosphere still crackles with electricity. Candida can feel the crackling in her brain. Like some forms of electric shock therapy, it seems to have done her good. It has burnt out some dust. She feels dazzlingly, radiantly lucid, as Salammbo flies her south to Carthage. She ignores the unceasing conversation of Sally, which starts up again as soon as the thunderclaps fall silent. She feels that the rest of her life lies before her on a clear and shining track. Onwards and upwards, nach Cuma, nach Cuma. She has left her earthly attachments far behind, and is sailing into the future. It lies before her like a cloth of dreams. All shall be made plain at last, in this bright new light.”
-Margaret Drabble, The Seven Sisters
Here it is…the most luscious creamy fudge you will ever taste..it’s one of our favorite family traditions….having Mom make her amazing fudge.
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
12 ounces German sweet chocolate, broken into bits
2 7oz jars marshmallow cream
pinch of salt
1 12oz can evaporated milk
4 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans
2 tablespoons butter
Butter a 9″ x 13″ square pan and set aside. Or alternatively, my mom prefers to spray the pan with PAM. In a large bowl, combine semisweet and German sweet chocolates, marshmallow creme and salt.
In a large saucepan, combine milk and sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for six to seven minutes. (The longer it cooks, the firmer the fudge.)
Pour milk mixture over chocolate. Add nuts and butter and beat until chocolate is melted and the fudge is creamy.
Pour the mixture into pan and let cool at room temperature for a few hours before cutting into small squares. Store in airtight container. We actually prefer to refrigerate our fudge. So so yummy good!
“While breaking ground requires courage, so does changing course. It’s something I’ve come to appreciate as being vital and requiring a good amount of guts. I call it course correction and it can require the greatest courage because when you alter your course, you’re fully aware of the step you are taking, as opposed to following the instinctive response that may have led you on your present path.
Someone once pointed out to me that missiles are important not because they go straight to their target but because they course correct, so that if they’re fired and they enter a high wind, they crab into it. If they come to a mountain, they go over it. If there’s an incoming enemy missile, they evade. I’ve come to think of life as a series of course corrections, and I share this philosophy with my students, who are seniors at the University of Texas where I know teach. They worry so much about what they’re going to be, what they’re going to do when they graduate. I say to them that what is important is to have a general direction, to be heading someplace with intense effort, but then to be open to all of the course corrections that are possible or that may be compelled. The more they think of life as course corrections, the more they remain open to opportunities and the less they feel the need to have one answer. Nobody can, not at any age, these days. Which is why the courage to forge ahead anyhow is so critical now.”
—Sarah Weddington, Women of Courage
You either love her or hate her but everyone who watches tv knows the Christmas Champ. She’s the wacky, insanely enthusiastic character advertising for Target this Christmas season. I happen to think she’s hysterical and every new ad that has come out makes me laugh harder. I usually fast forward through tv ads but I stop to watch her sing into musical christmas cards or flirt with a plastic santa. But my favorite ad has to be where she is using “elf grease” to condition her hands and elbows while getting ready for Black Friday. She then proceeds to throw a hissy fit over how hot her nutmeg eggnog is. It’s exactly my sense of humor.
I have a buddy on Twitter… @theNextMartha who started me on this kick. She decided to dress up as The Christmas Champ and go to the Black Friday event at Target, hoping to win a $500 Target gift card. Sure enough she did, tweeting all the way. Her tweets were hilarious. So I send out a tweet…saying that I yearn to lather myself in elf grease and it’s all because of @thenextMartha and @ChristmasChamp. A few minutes later @ChristmasChamp responds to me. “All I’ve ever wanted is for you to be happy.” and a link to her site that promises to send me a present. You can only imagine the anticipation. What will this wacky character send me? Glitter? A Target coupon? The possibilities are endless.
Today I found out.
My lovely postal lady delivered a package and I started laughing…even before I opened it. I told her the story and she insisted I open it…IMMEDIATELY. The first thing we saw was The Christmas Champ autographed picture.
Underneith was a gift bag……with a tub of ELF GREASE.
Apparently The Christmas Champ is sending out props from the filmed commercials to a few lucky fans. It’s brilliant. I already thought it was the best ad campaign I had seen in years. But the minds at the ad agency responsible- Weiden & Kennedy…who are deliciously twisted….took it so much further. I will be laughing throughout the Christmas season…as I look at my fabulous Elf Grease. I bet you wish YOU had some. Thanks Christmas Champ.
Vintage French Childrens Book Fables de La Fontaine / Rare 1982 Edition Illustrated by Romain Simon / Gautier Languereau Publishers
Penelope's Musings 