Snow, pie, pumpkin bread..and a project

Today I took a little stroll over to Carytown, took some pictures of the snow around the neighborhood..stopped in and grabbed some groceries at the store, and then grabbed some lunch at the Baker's Crust..delish. It was really bright out, and warm, despite the snow everywhere. The snow is too powdery to make anything with it, though..

Earlier I baked an apple pie from scratch, the best way to make pies. First I prepared the dough and then peeled and sliced up the apples. In the bowl, it's a good idea to put lemon juice with the apples so they don't brown before you are finished with them. Next I mixed sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and then added in the apples. The juice from the apples is all the liquid needed for the mixture, so once all of that was incorporated, I added it to my pie pan. Then I added some cut up butter to the top, put some dough on for the top of the pie, and then I sealed it and foiled it. I also brushed the top with some water and sprinkled some sugar on top.



It baked for about an hour, or a little less. I just watched it while I was in the kitchen preparing some pumpkin bread.



I made some quick pumpkin bread and poured it into 4 little pyrex fridgies. Once the pie was done, I baked those and they came out perfectly. Our home smells sooo good right now, it feels like Christmas all over again.





Usually around this time of year I get sad about things for no reason in particular. I suppose it's just a seasonal thing. Anyway, the snow and all of this baking has really brought in a bright spot for me. I have definitely enjoyed being snowed in with Daniel this weekend. Even though he had to work both days, he still got to come home early since his store closed early on both days. I have a lot to be happy about, so I'm going to be happy from here on out. No one's gonna take that away from me.

I guess it's also time for me to start editing my novel, for real. Remember, back in November I participated in national novel writing month. I finished in time, but I know my novel needs a lot of work. It was just a fun project to do. Since then, I have already read Fayth's novel.

Another project I am going to start is cooking/baking from the family recipes I have collected over the years. There are many things I have made successfully, but there are several things I have been too scared to try and make. Back when we had our wedding shower with Fayth's side of the family, one of her cousins, Mary Ellen, gave us a family cookbook she had made and published. I have made a few things from it, but I am going to try and make everything from it. Call it a Julie/Julia phase.. (love that book and movie) but I think it's going to be fun. Also, for my bridal shower, the guests gave me recipe cards with their own traditional or family recipes on them. I want to be able to make all of those, too.

So, if you know me, be prepared to be trying some of these things I'll be making/baking.

It's almost February! Daniel folded me 120 pink and red (7 different colors) origami hearts today. I also learned how to make them; it's his design. So they are on display ready for Valentine's Day!

We also had a lot of snow hit Richmond today. We got over a foot of snow! We were both really excited about it because we were in Texas when Richmond got snow the last time. Yesterday I was constantly checking the weather radar, just watching the huge mass on the radar get closer and closer to us. I knew it was gonna be huge. So many people are complaining about it (wah wah), but I love it-it's great! Especially when you don't have to be anywhere. Tomorrow we plan on going out to make snow people and snow angels in the snow. Our neighborhood is so pretty with the snow everywhere. All of the old buildings here in the city are beautiful with snow everywhere.

I'm not too concerned about being snowed in, because Carytown is just down the street from us so we can always walk to the grocery store if we needed to. A little trudging in the snow never hurt anyone.





Also, I have been thoroughly going through my uncle's book on my maternal grandmother's side of the family. He has traced that side (her paternal side, the Kageys) of the family all the way back to the late 1600's..in 1693 my great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather Johannes Keagy was born in Zurich, Switzerland, and then he moved over to America to live in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he married my great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother Rebecca Patterson, who moved to Lancaster, PA after she was born in Ireland. How cool is that? He is currently working on her maternal side, the Lloyds, so I am really looking forward to that (my uncle told me that side of the family is where the Cherokee Native Americans come in). I have always been interested in genealogy studies, so maybe one day I will do the same thing for my dad's side of the family. I think it's important to know about your family's history, but it's also really exciting to see who was doing what way back when. I was never really interested in American history until now, now that I think about it.

I was able to make a little time line of my Kagey ancestors, by using the internets and my uncle's book (I am also on ancestry.com, and it's amazing how many people are linked to me on there already!). I had three sets of great grandparents who were living in America before there were any presidents, before the Declaration of Independence, before the Revolutionary War, or any of that. It's all really neat and fascinating to me. I knew my parents grew up in a time when a lot was going on in America, so it's really cool to trace ancestry back like this. My grandmother's parents were born in the late 1800's. That to me is just amazing.

More to come..

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow..

Here are my pyrex snowflake dishes:







Yesterday I scored another one of the smaller blue with white snowflakes dishes. With the lid, too! Awesome..

I am definitely bringing these out this weekend for our big snow!

Which blogs do you read?

Since I've been on the internets, I have always been a reader/fan of blogs..one of my most favorite of all time blogs is Not Martha http://www.notmartha.org/ . The author, Megan, has been writing on that blog since 2001. I discovered it around that time when she posted about some diy marble magnets, and shared a tutorial. Since then I have been hooked.

I also love Apartment Therapy http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ , and its sister site The Kitchn http://www.thekitchn.com/ . They always post unique design ideas, helpful tips, and delicious recipes that keep me coming back for more ideas, tips, and recipes.

FoodBlogga http://foodblogga.blogspot.com/ is a great blog to read, too. There is always something interesting to read, and more great recipes and ideas..even warnings, like why you should never eat canned string beans. Thank goodness someone else out there knows what I mean about the whole canned veggie thing. Yuck! Doing your own home canning is one thing, but buying them already like that is gross to me.

SML Trip

Over the weekend I went to Smith Mountain Lake..it was nice going back to the lake house and being reminded of little things about my grandparents. We used to go there pretty often during summers as kids growing up, so there are a lot of memories there. I learned how to swim in the lake, how to fish (and bait the hook, and take the fish off & throw it back in), how to ride a bike, how to tie my shoes, how to play rummy & solitaire and other card games, how to drive a tractor and not hit a mailbox, how to hull and slice strawberries & how to pick them, how to play bingo, how to put up a purple martin house & when the birds would be coming and going, and more things, but those are the ones that stick out in my mind the most right now. I could go on..but I'll stop.

The picture above represents one thing that I will always remember: the love between my grandmother and grandfather. They were very happy and loving towards one another, and I can remember them holding hands, laughing together, kissing, hugging, pinching each other, etc. A great couple and marriage, one that I hope mine resembles when I grow to be the ages they grew to be. The picture is of the cement near their dock, with their names "Orpha" and "Bill." I remember tracing their names as a kid out there by the water, hoping one day to have what they had. I now believe that I do, and I can only hope it will last the way their's did.

My uncle told us a few stories, we made him dinner on Saturday night, and overall just had a nice time. I definitely needed a trip somewhere. I think next month I'll take some road trips during some weekends, just to explore and see what is around. It's fun going places when you don't actually have to be anywhere or on a time frame.

It's 2010 and I've got a plan for a positive, stress-free, fat-free life. If I stick to my plan, I should be where I want to be come August/September.

My uncle let us go through my grandmother's china cabinet, so we all got to take a few pieces from there. I got some crystal candy dishes I plan on using for candy or as a loose jewelry holder on my jewelry cabinet or dresser. My grandmother always had candy dishes laying around the house, full of good candy. Especially Werther's and Reissen's. I just like the idea of strings of pearls and cameos sitting in the dish.

I also discovered some of my grandmother's vintage kitchenware, like pyrex and bakelite pieces, and a fireking bowl. There were also some tin salt and pepper shakers and vintage dishtowels. My uncle let me have the big red pyrex 404 bowl, which has been lovingly used a lot over the years. Who knows, the bowl may probably be older than my mom and uncle are.. He gave me the bakelite silverware, a couple of vintage dishtowels, and a big old potato bin that my grandpa dug out of the trash a long time ago and fixed up-it looks like an antique. He also gave me 2 yarn things he made..I am not sure what they are called but they look like vintage christmas to me, so I can't wait to display them during christmastime.

When I got home, I put the potato bin next to my pyrex cabinet in the dining room, and I put the dishtowels in the top of it. The red bowl is on display on my pyrex cabinet. For some reason it is all very comforting to me.

I made a SML set on my flickr stream. At an antique shop we stopped at (after practically begging), I scored a friendship 403 and a spring blossom loaf pan. Awesome!


I know I got my good taste from someone..my grandma always had awesome taste, so it had to be her that I got it from.
Her birthday is on 1/30. I think of her every day, but I will definitely make something special that day in honor of her, in her big red pyrex bowl.

<3

You know you're addicted to Pyrex when...

...people who know you participate in "Pyrex spotting" during movies or tv shows, and then report back to you what they saw.

guess what..

Guess who got a flickr pro account?

me!

YAY! one thing I can finally check off of my wish list. :D

vintage stuff

I'm thinking of taking all new photos of my vintage stuff, like my pyrex and other little kitchen stuff..

I would like to do it so I can have a complete inventory listing, and also list some pieces for trade and whatnot..

stay tuned!

100 skills everyone should master

http://mightygirl.com/2009/12/30/100-skills-everyone-should-master/

I came across this list, of 100 skills everyone should master. I was checking one of my favorite blogs, notmartha.org, and she linked to it on her blog. What a great list!

There are some things on the list I am going to learn to do. Most of the things I already know, but there are some things, like putting snow chains on tires, that I have no idea how to do. Guess it's time to learn!

very cool list.