The Big Party

Here are some pics of my youngest grandson's third birthday party. It wasn't a great big one like Josiah's, held at the local bacteria gardens, aka McDonald's Playland. Good thing, too. This one was just Karson, his two brothers and the two local cousins. The other five boys are too far away to come, durn it!

I haven't have much to say here, lately. I look at my "dashboard" and see about eight posts I've started that have got to the point where I'd have someone investigating me because of the rage I have of what these clowns are doing to my country. I will eventually have something to say that I can post. Until then, stock up on the durable and consumable goods that can keep your family safe and fed through hard times.

Here's some good news, though. Linda Lou is through with the "pool" part of her physical therapy and they are starting to train her on walking without the walker, using only her cane. So, watch out for the fat girl on a cane. (Whack!)

The last good news? It's been some years since I posted Linda Lou's Grandma Hagen's Oatmeal Raisin Cookie recipe. She (LL) lost sixty pounds over a period of months on a diet of six of those cookies a day, plus a Sonic double cheeseburger and fries or tots, five days a week when she was working. On "weekends"* she ate whatever she wanted.

Well, anyhow, she hasn't baked those cookies since she fell and broke her ankle. When we have been desperate for cookies we have been making do with those Betty Crocker "pouch" things where even I can bake cookies without too much mess and hoo-rah! The peanut butter cookie mix and the sugar cookie mix are fine, right out of the bag, their oatmeal have been too sweet. And no raisins! So, I added some dry raisins and it didn't work, still too sweet and they fell apart. Foo! So, I did what Linda Lou always did and put the raisins in water, brought the water to a boil, turned off the heat and let them sit in the hot water while I got everything else ready. The I drained the raisins and used a tablespoon of that water instead of tap water for the water the recipe, or is it instructions when it's on the bag, instead of tap water. Now, because the raisins have so much water in them, the batter is too runny. Well, I read somewhere or other to never add extra flour to the mix and can tell you that this is true. Instead, add oatmeal until the mix gets to the right consistency. This also takes out the too-sickly sweetness. As a matter of fact next time I make these, and there will be a next time because we just gotta have cookies! I shall add maybe a tablespoon or two of brown sugar. What can I say? They ain't Linda Lou's but they're better than no cookies at all and far better (to us, anyway) than the original instruction cookies come out.

* Through most of our marriage we had Mondays and Tuesdays off so our weekends were funny.