Maple Syrup Candy

[This one is for Aunt Jone! :) ]

There is a chapter in Little House in the Big Woods (by Laura Ingalls Wilder) when they pour boiling maple syrup into snow, and it hardens into candy. I had always wanted to try that as a kid, but alas, it does not snow in Southern California! 

I do remember one year when my family went on our annual Tahoe ski vacation; there was a ton of snow on the ground and when my mom went shopping I requested some pure maple syrup. Once I had it I decided that boiling it would be too much trouble, and probably wouldn't make a difference so I just poured the raw syrup onto the snow and got a maple flavored snowcone for all my trouble!

I decided this year would be the year of the maple syrup candy! Along the way I found a great blog, A New Old-Fashioned Gal, and her post on maple syrup candy ... and it is so easy to make! 

You'll need:

~ 100% Maple Syrup (Light/Medium is best ... of course, I ended up using Dark and it tastes fine!) 

~ Candy thermometer

~ Saucepan (high sides are good)

~ Olive/Vegetable oil

~ Candy molds (optional)

All you have to do is pour the syrup into the sauce pan and heat it to boiling without stirring. Add a few drops of oil to keep the bubbling/frothing down. I didn't have any issues with the syrup boiling over. Use the candy thermometer, and once the temp reaches about 240* F [soft-ball stage], remove from heat. Let cool for about 3 minutes, and start to stir. The syrup will start to become opaque- this is when you want to pour it out to "set up" (crystalize). If you stir too long it will set up in the saucepan, and if you don't stir enough it might not set up at all! You can use candy molds; I just greased a baking pan and poured it right out, but I thought it was hard to break up. You can pour it over some parchment paper too. 

I Love the Winter Weather ...

They say children are like petri dishes, little incubators for disease ... in my case it's Sam. I can be in a house full of sick people and be fine, but one kiss and WHAMO I'm out for a few days! [Awww ... but I still love him!]

Winter break is all up ons and I have found myself being even more productive than I imagined. I have read a lot already, I have done quite a few things on the ole to-do, and I've actually finished my holiday shopping (as of 5pm today, but still!) ... not too shabby MacCulloch! Sometimes when faced with several successive days of no real commitment I find myself sleeping ridiculously late and idling away, feeling so unproductive that at the end of the day I'm quite depressed. I do have some things to look forward to in the next few days: A massage tomorrow morning, seeing my family for Christmas & Eve, seeing Sean & Jennifer on Friday, Rockband & lunch with friends on Sunday, going to Phoenix next week to visit my brother and his family, and possibly even working for a few days (which at this point is very good news indeed!) 

Saturday night we had the family Hanukkah party at Sam's sisters house, which is always fun. I grew up in a Christian family, so it's nice to kind of have a built in Jewish family with established traditions. Sam's brother proposed last week so Cathy [his fiancée] wore her ring to dinner to see how long it would take Sam's mom to notice. Forty minutes later, she was very surprised! 

Well, now I have to go pick up Sam from the train ... and make some maple syrup candy ... and finish wrapping ...

Happy Holidays!

Something Silly

If you're ever sitting around wondering just how far you can bring the nerd factor, you might ask yourself, "Hmm, what would my Hobbit name be?"

For the record, mine is Tigerlily Deepdelver of Brockenborings.

And if you think Hobbits are hairy and weird, and prefer the romance of Elves, then I present you with Tári Narmolanya, my Elven name.

Tigerlily OUT!

Who is Ruben?

One of the mysteries of the Internet .... 

About a week ago, Sam sent me a text: "Hey does the name Ruben M___ sound familiar to you? I just got a random email, could be spam I guess." He had received (and forwarded to me) the following email:

I didn't recognize the name, nor did anyone else Sam asked. He shrugged it off, and didn't respond. Then today, over IM Sam asks again if the name sounds familiar... 

The IM conversation was even more bizzare. He ignores Sam's request for more info, and just gets angry!

Ruben then proceeded to "block" Sam ... and that's the end of it. For now. I just think it's kind of strange, and a little creepy!

Sunday at the Pier

Saturday night was my parents annual holiday party, after which Sam and I took Sadie and Hannah (my sisters) home with us ... to clean! I had offered them the opportunity to pick up some extra holiday cash by cleaning my house, which I have neglected during finals!

Afterward we brought the girls down to Santa Monica- they had never been! We all had a yummy veggie burger at The Counter and then went to the Pier. It was windy and cold, but such a gorgeous day, I couldn't resist playing photog ... 

At the Pier

Christmas in California

Memorial for Fallen Soldiers

The Sisters MacCulloch

Thick as Theives

Under the Boardwalk

Grace

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year: END OF SEMESTER!

Peace has arrived but the costs have been high.
A time to heal and take measure. A period of rest.

[Tarot Card of the Day: Four of Swords]

Finals are finally over! This was a particularly stressful trimester- around midterms I was going through some personal "stuff" that kind of overwhelmed me and that entire week I was a mess. I was convinced I had failed every midterm. I didn't fail, but I didn't do as well as I'd liked. Over the past two weeks the pressure was on to do really well on my finals, and to pass the class! I just found out that I did better than expected on my Herbs final, and that makes me happy. I had Chemistry this morning, and I feel pretty confident about it. Whew! 

Now I have three glorious weeks off school! A lot of that time will be spent preparing for the holidays- I have not gone shopping at all! Ugh. I also have a lot of "fun" reading to catch up on, I have several recipes I want to try (including homemade tortellini!), and I have a lot of cleaning out of closets and organizing of paperwork to look forward to. I might even go to Arizona and see my brother! :)

Most importantly- I need to relax. Spend some time in nature. Decompress. Breathe. 

Survey!

10 Years Ago....
1.) I was 17 and a senior at Santa Susana HS.
2.) My best friends were Sean, KC, and Janelle.
3.) Theatre Nerd: By December I had just wrapped up a leading role in Lost in Yonkers and was prepping for the musical 70 Girls, 70 and the fantastically bad Another Happy Ending.
4.) I was nominated for Prom Queen ... I lost. Still an ego boost! Sean won Prom King though! Prom was actually terrible. I had a really lame date.
5.) I went to Paris ... !

5 Things On Today's List Of Things To Do....
1.) Work (already did it!)
2.) STUDY! (have not done it!)
3.) Relax?
4.) Talk to Sam
5.) Relax some more...

5 Snacks...
1.) Banana
2.) Terra Chips (SO GOOD)
3.) Butter free popcorn.
4.) Pineapple chunks - the fresh kind (at work).
5.) Sourdough bagels and other naughty baked goods (also at work).

5 Things I Would Do If I were A Millionaire...
1.) Pay off debt!
2.) Go to school without worrying about a job!
3.) Buy a condo/house!
4.) Take a vacation!
5.) We'd probably pay off our parents debt as well!

5 Places I've lived...
1.) Lived in three apartments with family in Simi.
2.) Lived in five houses with family in Simi.
3.) Rented three apartments on my own in Simi
4.) Rented two rooms on my own in Simi
5.) Currently: One apartment with Sam in NoHo!
[Yes, you did the math correctly. I've lived in THIRTEEN different residences in Simi Valley alone.]

5 Jobs I have had...
1.) Barista!
2.) Manager/Projectionist at Edwards Movie Theatre
3.) Admin Assistant for Private Investigator.
4.) Asst. to Dean/Student Services/Admissions Asst./Office Manager at TOHAI.
5.) Massage Therapist/Teacher

Help Fight Hunger!

As the holiday season rolls in this year, more and more people are struggling to make ends meet. A lot of people have been faced with the choice of paying the rent/mortgage, or buying food. As reported in the Los Angeles Times:

The [...] crisis confronting local food banks struggling to keep up with demand that has surged more than 40 percent since last year, according to Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. New to food lines are middle-class families--including some that until recently earned $70,000 a year.

"We're used to seeing low-income people and seniors on a fixed income coming in. Now we're seeing more and more middle-class people coming in--people who just lost their job, are trying to pay their mortgage, or are tapping into their 401(k) because of the huge financial losses," said Darren Hoffman, a spokesman for the regional food bank.

I know that the recession is causing everyone to tighten their belts a bit; I can tell you that as a massage therapist my income has severely decreased as people aren't flocking to the spa to drop $100+ on a massage- but I urge you to take a few dollars and donate to a food pantry. If you have never gone hungry for a day, a week, or longer please PLEASE make the effort to help, even if it's only $5.

I am hosting a Virtual Food Drive through the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank. You can donate money online, and if you're feeling really inspired join my team to help me raise more money for those in need! For every $1 donated, $5 worth of food can be distributed.

This is way better than buying a Starbucks (red) ... so please help.

My very good friend Sean works at the Oregon School for the Blind. He emailed me this wonderful story today, and I felt I had to share it.

Hi Everyone!

 

      I just wanted to share a moving story that I was able to witness firsthand.  We have a student, Chris, who used to attend the Oregon School for the Blind.  Unfortunately, he was not able to return to school this year due to tumors found in his brain.  The attack on his body and subsequent treatments have left him extremely weak and it he probably only has a short time left in this life.

     Chris is a huge country music fan, and has always loved Toby Keith.  He wanted more than anything to have a phone call from him.  Chris' family tried to accomplish this via the Make a Wish Foundation, but found out that the foundation would not assist in making his wish come true because he is too old.  He is 19, and the Make A Wish Foundation provides "wishes" for children up to the age of 18.

     When Chris' mother passed along this information to the school (she calls frequently and keeps us updated on Chris' condition), the staff decided that they would jump into action.  Based on the "six degrees of separation" theory (any two people on the planet can be linked by a maximum of six aquantinces), they figured they could contact Toby Keith.  Sure enough, after a relatively short search, the staff was able to have someone contact Toby Keith and explain the situation to him.  The singer willingly obliged the request.  Chris was SO EXCITED to receive a phone call from his idol!  Toby talked with Chris and his family for a while, offering words of encouragement and comfort.

     The simple phone call meant so much to Chris that he immediately used the magic of music to express his gratitude to the star.  Chris wrote a song and dedicated it to Toby.  Chris plans to perform this song himself at a surprise party he is throwing for the staff and students at OSB on December 9, 2008.  (The surprise is for the students)  I don't know if Toby has heard the song himself, but I was deeply moved by the lyrics.  It is a simple, sweet song that truly expresses Chris' feelings.  I am forwarding Chris' song on to you and hope that you too are moved by it.

    Thank you, Toby Keith, for taking the time to grant the wish of a wonderful young man.  It truly makes you a hero in at least my eyes.

 

Sincerely,

 

Sean Southworth

Oregon School for the Blind

 

P.S.

   Feel free to forward this story on to help brighten someone's day!

***

November 26, 2008

For my friend, Toby Keith

This song is by me. I hope you like it.

My Shinning Star

When the stars come out at night, I'll be thinking of you.

The smile on your face and the things that you do.

I'll remember the day that you rushed from your flight

to call me and mama and "make it all right."

The time that we spent just talking on the phone...

Your presence with me.. so I didn't feel so alone.

The words that you spoke were so real and so kind.

You are the finest example of what is good in mankind.

You are a shinning star in my life...that will always be true.

Thank-you for reaching out to me and making my greatest wish come true!

Love,

Your friend,

Chris

Wishing you Happiness, Peace and Joy