Peanut Brittle

   I have not made a batch of peanut brittle in a couple of years. I love it but my stomach sadly does not.

It is a fun candy to make, I buy a large bag of peanuts from the Amish grocery store every several years or so. I  make it now for one of our friends who also works for us when we need projects done.

  He is driving several hours away to pick up an outdoor lift for  Larry-he has a spot to put it next to the rock wall that will take him up to the top-and into his new electric chair-made for outdoor use.

  So I thought I would surprise our friend  when he gets back today, with a batch of peanut brittle his favorite.

 The last time I made it in the microwave-I still use a thermometer as only way to know if it gets to 300 degrees F or not. It turned out really good that way

  Last week it was a total failure-it would not get up to temperature so that was a toss in the garbage it went.. I could not remember which bowl I used last time so I think I used a bowl too large. . 

    So I looked around online for another recipe-and perfect he suggested getting a 2 quart Pyrex  I found an anchor hocking brand made in the USA   Happy dance! good results this time. The other tip I read was to use the instant read thermometer instead of those bulky candy thermometers-why didn't I think of that??? so much easier.

  I have a marble slab that Larry rescued from demolition back when he was in his 20's still in Chicago at that time  Perfect for candy making I also make my chocolate barks on this marble.

We will be back in the 90's this weekend 

 Enjoy your weekend

Our First T Stands for Tuesday for 2023

   I really can't believe we are now into a brand new year. Last year went fast for us, but in parts dragged do to the weather preventing me from getting things accomplished outdoors-we'll see what happens this year-I am not going to fret about it though.

  I am linking this post for Elizabeth's T Stands for Tuesday where we share a drink related photo-find link in my sidebar-thank you Bleubeard and Elizabeth for hosting.

  Did you make it to midnight to celebrate the new year?  I always try to do this, I celebrate alone with the tv as Hubs always says I will see the new year in the morning haha.  I have been enjoying the New Year's tv celebration in Nashville over the last couple of years, as I enjoy the music much more, and they celebrate two time zones for the count down which I like too.  This year I was really tired and fell asleep probably a little after 10 pm and woke up 5 minutes before midnight-how perfect was that??  smiles.

   I did miss some of the surrounding fireworks here on the lake though. The professional that lives right across from us on the lake usually does it earlier-so if he did I missed it. I did watch several neighbors near me shoot off a few at midnight. I caught one photo-sorta

After 20 plus years of using my digital camera I never could figure out how to set for night photos etc. A month or so ago Larry played around with my camera and found a setting for all sorts of things and it comes up first for me to choose-only way I got this shot with some colors

  Below photo was taken on the first-we were totally fogged in for most of new year's day. I took those battery tea lights out of the luminary bags and set them back to burn out the rest of the way.  In front is last year's amaryllis bulb-no flower stem so far for this year.

Pretty sunrise New Year's Eve day

The squirrel proof bird feeder was a surprise gift from our new friends down the lake a bit.  I only put it outdoors when I can keep an eye on it-as the racoons would destroy it and the squirrels would try to Very thoughtful of them to gift us.

  Not sure if my asthma is really bad or I caught a bad chest cold but it's been bad for a few weeks for me now.  The allergy medicine has now jumped to over $600.00 so I refuse to pay that-total craziness. So instead I have been brewing me a tea pot of dried elderberries, echinacea, and mullein  It has really helped to break up the tightness and congestion in my chest

  Over the weekend I have been watching class videos on Craftsy. The last couple of years they have kept their yearly prices very very low-you just have to call them and they really knock down the price from what is originally quoted.  I really want to learn to paint better and to learn how to draw-so I have been watching those videos and have already learned new things.  One teacher that is an illustrator  showed how she paints with watercolors first and then when dry uses gouache paints to highlight. I have acrylic paints already and since they are water base too, am trying it out with what I have on hand already.  Instead of coming up with my own sketch for now-I traced a Crayola coloring page on to watercolor paper-painted it and then cut it into two cards for slow mail writing. I really liked using the two different paints, a good way to practice and then share as writing papers.

  I was pleased with my first try

Below is the Crayola coloring page I traced

And you may remember this handmade journal I bought from Ink Torrents a few months back. I wrote my first entry New Year's evening with my black walnut ink and glass dip pen. I don't usually write into a daily journal, but I wanted to try this year writing down inspiring quotes and progress with my art adventures. 

We did have one gorgeous sunny day so I could finally make the peanut brittle, also pistachio and cashew brittles.  Hoping the friends we are gifting this to- will find time to drive up for their goodies-if not my freezer is way too full and I will need to gift it elsewhere

This is the cashew brittle-I bring the mixture to 300 degrees first and then add in ground roasted nuts-it all "snaps" perfectly

I made it a different way this year, a little faster and just as good.

That's it for me --Here's to a Happy  New Year for all of us

T Stands for Tuesday & an Update-Gift Quilt-Gifted

    Happy T everyone, 

          Does it seem possible that we are closing in on the end of the month soon and the year as well? I think most will be happy to see 2020 gone but there is allot happening the first week in January so hold on to your seats.

       T is where we share a drink related photo in our post with our hostess Bleubeard and Elizabeth Anyone is welcome to join

    This past week "our" eagle pair has been nearby almost every day and they stay a long time too at least half the day and then some days they return. We so enjoy their visits. This is their courting season so they are much more visible. Larry has seen the pair fly right past his window where his desk and computer are (facing the lake)  twice last week-always exciting.

and Sunday we finally had sunshine.

  I have been sewing the 4 patch blocks a few every other day, trying to limit my time at the sewing machine as I over did it a bit on the past 3 quilts. This one has allot more blocks to make.

  I made a batch of peanut brittle and gave it all away plus a big batch of soft chocolate chip cookies for one of our friends that comes up and helps Larry when he can. It's an hour drive for him but he loves peanut brittle so he drove up for a visit and his treats. He brought his daughter and a friend over so that's the only interaction we have had with people in a couple months now-except for me when I go grocery shopping every 2 weeks or so. When they left I put all the placemats into the hamper to be washed and sanitized the table.

   We are in a warm spell right now, cold in the mornings but has been warming up to the 50's f which is really nice.

   Where the moon is right now I have to go out onto the deck and look up towards the house-I can see it through allot of tree branches but sadly I can't see the planets which is bummer. I will watch it on the 21st online through the telescopes.

   Last time I was at the Amish store I spotted spices for steeping in cider, wine, and they suggested black tea. So I bought a container and steeped it with a green tea-very nice.

     This single serve teapot I found in my Mom's things several years ago now-so I had brought it home with me. I love the strainer insert.

and I have to blame this on Elizabeth-I bought eggnog last time I went grocery shopping. I Loveeee eggnog too but I have been staying away from buying it these past years do to the high carb content--but after seeing her post-yep I needed to splurge this Christmas Sooo good 😀

  Monday I am driving to the woods house-to check on the propane tank to see if I need to order some in before the next bitter cold front. So I called up our friend that I made the gift quilt for and she will meet me there. So excited to finally get this to her-she has no idea it's a quilt. 

Happy T everyone, and Merry Christmas to all of you that celebrate

Monday Update: It was so wonderful to be able to visit with a friend again