Mom used to make these every year. One or two to have at home and a whole bunch to take to friends. I used to think they were pretty boring, but now I would give anything to have one of Mom's Applesauce Raisin cakes.
It seems like it would be a 'no brainer to make them myself, but it just isn't the same.
1 spice cake mix, replace the oil with applesauce, add eggs and water according to package directions.
Divide the batter between two greased and floured loaf pans, bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Dust cooled cakes with powdered sugar.
I can do all that. Definitely a no brainer, but they still didn't come from Mom's kitchen.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
I had forgotten...
how funny toddlers are.
Yesterday the niece brings the kids in saying that she had to go to the cemetary to put flowers on her mom's grave. It would have been her mom's birthday, but she passed away in September. She really didn't want to take the little ones because of the cold and the wind. Besides their papa had already told her that it was OK.
What was I going to say? No you have to take your kids so they can get pneumonia?
The five year old pretty well knows what is off limits and what is ok to play with. The 16 month old on the other hand..... she was definitely testing limits.
Do we play in Mimi's trash can? No, we get told that it is 'shooey nasty' like the one at home.
Do we play with the mouse or the phone? No, they get put up really high so we can't open the wrong files or call China.
Do we use the book shelf for practicing mountain climbing? No, that makes Mimi turn really pale, and move really fast for an old fat woman.
Do we get to eat dog food? No, that gets hidden too.
She must have had a piece of kibble in her pocket (I checked her mouth) though because a few minutes later she brought me a very wet piece and a big grin.
I took it and told her "that is for puppies, bad". She extended her index finger and told me "good, good, good".
At that point I had to look the other way so she wouldn't see me laugh.
I managed to keep the two of them, and myself. From injury or untimely death before mom got back. There was however one casualty. My husband for several years has posessed a rather ugly (read hideous) dragon made of resin. The one time I turned my back it got knocked off the desk. He lost one wing and his head. Of course dh starts in with "you have to watch her when she's here". Um, excuse me who exactly volunteered us for this tour of duty?!?!?
Hm, I will have to remember that next time he brings something like that home. "Hello, can J***** come over for a while?"
Yesterday the niece brings the kids in saying that she had to go to the cemetary to put flowers on her mom's grave. It would have been her mom's birthday, but she passed away in September. She really didn't want to take the little ones because of the cold and the wind. Besides their papa had already told her that it was OK.
What was I going to say? No you have to take your kids so they can get pneumonia?
The five year old pretty well knows what is off limits and what is ok to play with. The 16 month old on the other hand..... she was definitely testing limits.
Do we play in Mimi's trash can? No, we get told that it is 'shooey nasty' like the one at home.
Do we play with the mouse or the phone? No, they get put up really high so we can't open the wrong files or call China.
Do we use the book shelf for practicing mountain climbing? No, that makes Mimi turn really pale, and move really fast for an old fat woman.
Do we get to eat dog food? No, that gets hidden too.
She must have had a piece of kibble in her pocket (I checked her mouth) though because a few minutes later she brought me a very wet piece and a big grin.
I took it and told her "that is for puppies, bad". She extended her index finger and told me "good, good, good".
At that point I had to look the other way so she wouldn't see me laugh.
I managed to keep the two of them, and myself. From injury or untimely death before mom got back. There was however one casualty. My husband for several years has posessed a rather ugly (read hideous) dragon made of resin. The one time I turned my back it got knocked off the desk. He lost one wing and his head. Of course dh starts in with "you have to watch her when she's here". Um, excuse me who exactly volunteered us for this tour of duty?!?!?
Hm, I will have to remember that next time he brings something like that home. "Hello, can J***** come over for a while?"
Monday, November 3, 2008
"Why did Kim's Parents Come Here?"
Just up the street from us is a convenience store that the grand niece calls "the candy store". It is owned and operated by a vietnamese family, and she thinks that the daughter and mother walk on water. The teenage boys always like to tease her and after much prompting by me she just looks at them and says "you are full of prunes".
A few months ago we took her to a buffet we frequent and while we were having dinner she gets this shocked look on her face. "Mimi, I see a chinese lady and she's beautiful." Well I knew instantly that the lady in question was our favorite waitress. I explained that Snow wasn't chinese she was vietnamese like Kim and Emily. And yes she is very beautiful.
"Mimi where is Viet Nam? Is it a long way?"
"Yes honey, it is a very long way. You have to fly or take a boat to get there."
"Mimi, why did Emily and Kim come here then?"
Well, at that point I took a deep breath and knocked out the easy part first.
"Emily was born here. Snow might have been born here too, I don't know."
Then I waited for the other shoe to drop and wondered how I was going to explain so much in words that she could understand.
Then it came. "Well then why did Kim come here?"
At this point my husband was looking at me with this horrified look on his face. At the same time he was obviously glad that he wasn't on the receiving end of such a question. I just wanted to pinch his head off.
"Well when Kim came here she was a little girl, not much older than you are now. Her parents brought her." I was hoping this would be the end of it. No such luck.
"Mimi, why did Kim's parents come here?"
Where do you begin to explain man's inhumanity to man. She's five, she has no concept yet of true evil.
Another deep breath, "Well the government there wasn't being nice to the people that lived there. There were a lot of things they weren't allowed to do."
She looked at me and for a minute I thought I was going under for the third time. But no, she went back to her dinner. The only problem now is that my very fair, blond niece can't figure out why she can't have long black hair and almond eyes. She thinks that they should have them at Wal-mart.
A few months ago we took her to a buffet we frequent and while we were having dinner she gets this shocked look on her face. "Mimi, I see a chinese lady and she's beautiful." Well I knew instantly that the lady in question was our favorite waitress. I explained that Snow wasn't chinese she was vietnamese like Kim and Emily. And yes she is very beautiful.
"Mimi where is Viet Nam? Is it a long way?"
"Yes honey, it is a very long way. You have to fly or take a boat to get there."
"Mimi, why did Emily and Kim come here then?"
Well, at that point I took a deep breath and knocked out the easy part first.
"Emily was born here. Snow might have been born here too, I don't know."
Then I waited for the other shoe to drop and wondered how I was going to explain so much in words that she could understand.
Then it came. "Well then why did Kim come here?"
At this point my husband was looking at me with this horrified look on his face. At the same time he was obviously glad that he wasn't on the receiving end of such a question. I just wanted to pinch his head off.
"Well when Kim came here she was a little girl, not much older than you are now. Her parents brought her." I was hoping this would be the end of it. No such luck.
"Mimi, why did Kim's parents come here?"
Where do you begin to explain man's inhumanity to man. She's five, she has no concept yet of true evil.
Another deep breath, "Well the government there wasn't being nice to the people that lived there. There were a lot of things they weren't allowed to do."
She looked at me and for a minute I thought I was going under for the third time. But no, she went back to her dinner. The only problem now is that my very fair, blond niece can't figure out why she can't have long black hair and almond eyes. She thinks that they should have them at Wal-mart.
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