What I'm Reading Wednesday

Here I am, again, with slow but steady progress on the books I listed two weeks ago. I have been reading a little more the last few nights as my husband was gone on business and I enjoyed the thoughts of Father Tim in Mitford caring for his church and town flock as I went to sleep. I would turn the tv on and set the sleep timer, but that didn't serve my brain as well as the happy thoughts. If you haven't read the Mitford series, I do recommend it. I also am still reading my devotional. I had missed a few days but have changed my routine up a bit as of late. My sister in law has started a new job and my brother in law takes their oldest two kids to middle school. Then they needed someone to get the younger two around for school and get them onto their bus. It's only about an hour and a half job, nothing major, but when I get there I have about twenty minutes of quiet before they get up. I'm in their house so I can't be distracted by the things at our own house that need tending, so I have been bringing my Bible and devotional book. Such a nice start to each day this week. I felt my soul sigh in enjoyment today. :) What are you reading, Reader?

Talk About Family Tuesday

My parents came to visit this past weekend and we truly had a very nice time. It went too fast, though, with my mother receiving a phone call that her mother had been taken to the hospital. They left early, of course. Her mom, my Gram has been on my mind since. She's a great lady. She is small, only 4'10" with very white hair. In my youth, she was my spunky caregiver during the days while my parents were at work, in the summer. When Mom would take me to Gram's house, her house smelled like coffee, and the radio was on-talk radio. {It's funny, as I typed that I realized that is how I start my day thirty years later...} She was either making oatmeal or toast with peanut butter or powdered sugar on it. She had two spare bedrooms. One had a bed and it was where we spent "afternoon rest time", read and played sometimes. The other spare room was a corner room with windows that let in wonderful light. She had a plant stand in front of one where she kept all her houseplants. She even had cactus that she trimmed. She had an old typewriter in there and a place to sit and type whatever you wanted. I loved that thing. LOVED it. I felt so grown up using it. :) Many days she made us fish sticks and macaroni and cheese for lunch. Gram and Gramp, Mom's dad, were always busy. They took us to garage sales, or the grocery or to visit family. They were retired, even though my Gramp did odd jobs at a local lawyer's office. They took good care of us. Once my grandfather grew purple grapes in their backyard. They turned them into a delicious grape juice and jam.
More recently, in the last ten years, we would have Gram, who never learned to drive, come stay with us for a week at a time, a few different times per year. We would always take a day trip to the local metro gardens and take lots of pictures. It was nice having her at my house, spending time with my children. She didn't mind our dogs, either, and enjoyed walking the girls to school, too. As she got older it seemed to tire her out, but she enjoyed it and had a good afternoon nap. :) Then she had a stroke a few years back and couldn't come visit. Now she gets so confused when we visit her. She can't remember family member's names. She still seems happy to see my family and I when we visit, but, boy is it hard. She was living at a home that had been made into a care facility, but this week they found that she may have been over medicated and my family decided to move her somewhere with more, round the clock care. It is sad and difficult to see our dearest family get older. Even harder still for those who live close and take part in caring for and making decisions for those loved ones. I'm a few hours away, which has its drawbacks, too. My grandfather passed away about 15 years ago, and I know she misses him.

Social Media Monday

Last November, I read about Cathy Zielske's 30 Days of Thankful, and I am trying to remember to do this each year, as well. I just tweet when I think of it: #30DaysofThankful. Here is one from this week: Day 4: So grateful for our warm home, inside and out, and neighborhood full of wonderful neighbors! #30daysofthankful I like taking a moment to think about all the things I can be grateful for. It's not too late to join, Reader, and make a conscious effort to look around at all you can be thankful for... Even do a blog post each day, or one here to catch up. I'm thankful for readers of my blog: Thank you!

Recipes I have tried

My parents visited last weekend and we had a wonderful time! My husband smoked some pork in our meat smoker, and it was delicious. He made twice baked potatoes, I roasted broccoli and cauliflower, I baked apples and he made bread. For dessert I made the recipe below and it was delicious! There was a little seizing in the pan for the caramel sauce, but constant stirring eased it. It was wonderful, in fact, my husband said it was the best cheesecake he has ever eaten!! That is high praise! Enjoy!

NEW YORK CHEESECAKE WITH GRAHAM / PRETZEL CRUST & SALTED CARAMEL SOUR CREAM (from the Kitchy Kitchen Blog-YUM!)

New York Cheesecake with Pretzel / Graham Crust and Salted Caramel Sour Cream On Top

Crust:

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 cup pretzel crumbs

1/2 cup sugar

12 tablespoons unsalted butter

Filling:

1 1/2 pounds soft cream cheese

3/4 cup sugar

5 eggs

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping:

3/4 cup sour cream

1/2 cup salted caramel sauce

To make crumbs, just pulse some pretzels in the food processor until fine.  Remove, and pulse the graham crackers. Combine crumbs, 1/2 cup sugar, and butter in the food processor until one event texture; press on bottom and sides to 8-inch spring form pan. In a standing mixer with paddle attachment, whip cheese until fluffy; beat in sugar; continue beating until light and fluffy. add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. stir in heavy cream. If at all lumpy, strain through sieve.  Pour into the pan. bake at 325F for 1 hour. turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake in the oven 1 hour. Remove from oven and let it cool gradually to room temperature, chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours. When ready to serve, combine salted caramel sauce and sour cream, and spread on top of cheesecake.  Garnish with pretzels.

For the Salted Caramel Sauce:

Makes 2 cups

1 cup white sugar

4 ounces unsalted butter

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

For the caramel sauce, heat the sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, until the sugar turns golden.  Stir until all of the sugar is dissolved and just starting to turn a lovely amber color.  

Turn heat to low, add the butter, and stir to combine.  Careful, it'll foam up. Then add the heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt stirring to combine.  You'll cook the sauce for about 5-10 minutes, until it comes together. It’ll take quite a bit of stirring!

Pour the caramel into a glass jar, let it come to room temperature, and store in the fridge for up to two weeks.  Pour over everything and anything!

Last Thursday's Helpful Apps

I got behind, sorry! Catching up! Today's Helpful Apps Category is Miscellaneous. This is a jumble of different types of apps I like. Next week will be Time Wasters, I mean games, that I enjoy when I have a few minutes to kill. However, since we have covered organization, health and fitness, listening, photography, social interaction, and the basics, I have some apps that just don't fit into another category. Enjoy!

https://itunes.apple.com/CA/app/id300048137

• One thing I used quite regularly was the flashlight app, but, as you know, I updated the iOS to 7 and it now comes with a flashlight app so I deleted the old one. I love that I can click it on quickly as I am trying to get the dogs to come back in the house after I have let them out. ;)
• I mentioned in my last post that I use an app called Vivino for cataloging wines. I have used it about ten times, so I'm not totally into a great habit with it, and, for that matter, I'm not always trying new wines. I do use it to keep track and I like the ease with which I can use it.  Here is the itunes description, and the app is free! • Take a photo and get to know any wine in seconds.
  • Remember wines and explore more of them
  • Get personalized wine recommendations
  • Share experiences and be inspired by friends.
  • Find the best rated wines in nearby shops.
  
  Vivino simplifies your path to enjoying great wines.
  The app helps you remember your favorites, know more about wine, and which one to choose for next occasion. Snap a photo of any wine, and while you have a sip we automatically recognize it from our database of more than 1,000,000 wines. If the app doesn’t match it immediately, our team will do it for you as quickly as we can.
  
  Discover all you want to know about wines, explore friend’s ratings and get personal recommendations based on your taste, simply browse wines in nearby stores or locate the ones on your Vivino Wish List.
  
  Best of all: It’s free!
• I use the Starbucks app, too. I, at most, am drinking Starbucks every other day. Usually less, these days, since I'm not working. I don't mind coffee at home, but I do love the ease of this app. Here is some information posted on itunes about the Starbucks app, which you can also get via the Starbucks site itself. The official iPhone application from Starbucks! In addition to paying from Starbucks for iPhone, you can now add a Starbucks Card to Passbook. It’s the fastest way to pay at Starbucks – just scan and go!
  
  With Starbucks for iPhone, you can manage your Starbucks Card balance, reload your card, track your Stars in the My Starbucks Rewards program and send an eGift to a friend. And there’s more!
  
  Our easy-to-navigate store locator points you to the closest store and lets you search by amenities. You can also explore our whole bean coffees, find nutrition information and build your own perfect drink. And if you feel like being social, you can share your location or favorite drinks through Facebook and Twitter.
• I use the app for my bank, too. I won't share which one I use here, but I do like that I can deposit small checks without having to leave my house. I like that I can check my balances in the palm of my hand, too. I checked most local banks and they all have a safe, secure app for your account.
• I have a few weather apps. I cannot ever decide which one I like better. I like them each for different reasons. While searching for information for this bullet point, I came across this article: Comparing iphone Weather Apps at a Glance. First, in my apps, the "weather" that came with the phone. I can't delete it and it gives me a nice, quick peek at the current conditions pretty well. I have found that I like the radar view the best via The Weather Channel (or TWC) app. Then, if I feel like one more point of view, I use Accuweather. Each itunes link has more information about each one, and these are just blurbs for information. They often have other types of apps for other types of devices. I just used itunes because that is what I know.

That's all for today! Hope these help!