Peanut Brittle Tradition

My husband's grandparents have both passed away. This will be our first Christmas without them. They have made peanut brittle every year for as long as he can remember. He would often help them in the kitchen as a little boy. This year, he decided to make the peanut brittle on his own as a way to carry on the Christmas tradition as well as honor them.

The raw peanuts are the most important part of the peanut brittle. They have come from the same local source for as long as my husband can remember. A lot of people make the mistake of trying to make peanut brittle with spanish peanuts...this won't work. It has to be raw peanuts. Watching my honey make batch after batch was like art. He has all the right tools and techniques in action. When I tried to help, I was quickly corrected. I'm glad too, because every batch came out so yummy!!!!!

We made a day of taking peanut brittle to family and friends. The family who remembers grandma and grandpa thanked us with tears in their eyes. There's more to food than just nutrition like memories, love and joy.

A batch of Christmas Memories

Passing on the Brittle,
Monica ;0)

It's an LED Christmas!

While doing some Christmas shopping this year we had to keep in mind two important elements. A.) Christmas lights cost energy and B.) Toddlers love bright shiny Christmas trees, thus broken ornaments. How we decided to handle A and B...

A.) We bought energy efficient LED Christmas lights
B.) We bought unbreakable Christmas ornaments, ribbons and tinsel.

I'm pretty happy with the outcome. I was especially happy to see that after the LED's had been on for hours...they didn't even feel warm let alone hot. When we hung the new lights up, I noticed a difference right away. The LED lights were brighter. I missed the feeling of the old Christmas lights, but after a while, I was able to enjoy the LED's more and more. And, as a matter of fact, I've quickly become attached to their extra brightness. When I look at the Christmas tree, the white lights look almost like magical sparks. My husband loves the fact that they are costing us less money. lol

The unbreakable ornaments are wonderful when you have a toddler who wants to touch everything. He immediately started playing with the ornaments as I was hanging them on the tree. When we had finished decorating the tree, my cute little toddler was practically covered in glitter from head to toe. After a couple of days of him taking the ornaments off the tree and me placing them back on the tree, he realized he didn't like the glitter that was hard to get off of his hand on his hands. LOL He doesn't touch the ornaments anymore. He lays down by the tree and admires it. A bonus I hadn't planned on. ;0)

Enjoy a couple snap shots of our cozy Christmas...

LED Multi-Colored Christmas Lights

1 strand of LED white icicle lights
(Yes, a Raiders fan and a 49'ers fan live here. ;0)

So cute.

It's a White Christmas!
2 strands of LED white lights

LED Tidings,
Monica ;-)

Rain, Rain Won't Go Away...

It's wonderful experiencing oodles of rainfall. We have recieved just under 4" of rain for the month. That is pretty exciting. When I planted my garlic garden, I did'nt put holes in the bottom of the tub because I wasn't worried about it reciving too much water or rain. Boy, what a year to be wrong. lol

When I went outside there was about 2"s of rain above the dirt. I was pretty shocked to see how much water was in the tub. So, I scooped out all the water I could with a cup and a needy puppy by my side. I then poked holes in the side in hopes it would seep out quickly. I'm not too worried because garlic seems to be pretty sturdy. I'm only worried about the garlic rotting or dying from too much water.

While I'm irritated with myself for not putting the holes in sooner, I don't wish for the rain to go away as it is helping with the water shortages. Here's to learning a new lesson...you never know what the Lord has planned for the weather.

Waterful Wishes,
Monica ;0)

5 Days til Christmas

Right now, I'm dreaming of giving Christmas gifts from my garden. Homemade jams and preserves, jars of honey (now thats really dreaming) and bundles of edible flowers. Oooo, homemade granola and dried fruits would be so wonderful! If I could, I would...and it would look something like this...


Happy Holiday Dreaming,
Monica ;0)

First Winter

So, since I've started the beginnings of a garden, I'm experiencing my first winter. When I started this garden, I knew it was going to be tough because of the winter. But, I also knew it was possible because I live in California. The winters are short lived.

I planted my garden with high hopes and have lost several pods from one factor or another. However, I have a good handful of plants that have held on. I even have the cutest garlic garden growing with no problems. Here is an update of my plants that have held on...

The "Cheater" Broccoli is doing great.

I'm so proud of my cauliflower! Completely grown on my own!

I have 4 Jalapeno plants holding on...2 for dear life. lol


I have some Peppers from a Hot Pepper Mix also holding on.


Tomatoes and Pot of Gold Bell Peppers are still kicking!


Wow, so wimpy. I should of transplanted a long time ago. :(


I have a small garlic garden. So far, so good.

I can't believe all of these plants are doing so well. Since I'm experimenting...I'm really surprised at how well they are doing in this cold weather. I thought they would all turn brown and wither away because of the low 40's weather we've been experimenting. But, they are all still green and alive. Cool.

Winter Wishes,
Monica ;0)