Happy Mother's Day...!

\

Happy Mothers' Day to the wonderful 

young "Mommies" in our life...

Our Sweet Cammie with her "Wee Will"...

What a lucky little guy!

Our lovely Becca with her "Little B" has her hands full but a more loving mommy I've never seen :)

She also has little Fiona, our little pixie!

Our wonderful Mindy, forever my little girl now has two beautiful kids of her own

And mostly, Happy Mothers Day to my mom...

My mother, my friend.

I love you!!!

~

Springtime on the prairie...

This.....

is what a spring time morning (May) looks like where I live.

(no...this is not a photo of my house, but an old homestead not far from here)

As I gaze upon blog posts, featuring stunning photos of lilacs, tulips and such, I wonder why on earth someone would choose to live in this part of the country.

I wonder, but only for a moment.

Soon, I am reminded of the reasons we chose to move to North Dakota nearly 13 years ago (from the gloriously beautiful Montana Rockies no less)

We relocated here for the hometown feel of the land.

I come from Midwest farm stock myself so what better place to settle than the prairie?

(If reincarnation is real, then I am sure I was a homesteader)

The smell of the prairie grass, wafting through our town, on a summer afternoon.

The old water towers, off in the distance, dotting the countryside, as we drive down a country road toward Strawberry Lake for an afternoon picnic.

It's a much simpler life than it might have been.

I am thankful for that.

We are simple folk, my husband and I...

we would much rather sit and chat over a cup of coffee than run to the mall,

enjoy a homemade meal in our own back yard, rather than eating out.

I'm sure we appear 'boring' to some.

But after a long week of working, 

there's no place like home.

~

This is a photo of my son and his girlfriend, Katie.

They will be graduating from high school one month from today.

Don't they make a handsome couple?

They will both go to the University Of North Dakota in the fall.

We will surely miss them, but what exciting times lie ahead for them.

~

Time flies...our youngest, ready to leave the nest.

ahh.....35 years with children at home, and now, it will be just hubby and me.

Might not be such a bad thing at all :)

Have a happy day!

~

Time to "Party"...

Wanna Party?

The baking day list is made.

The butter is bought and softening in the cupboard,

The nuts are chopped,

The notes written on the recipe cards remembered

(funny how my recipe cards have now 'yellowed' with love and with age)

It's nearly time to plug in the Kitchen Aid and get to work...

But wait...

The first thing we bake in our family homes

(My two daughters' and mine)

Is Chex Party Mix...

While some call it "Chex Mix"

Others call it something else...in our houses, we refer to it simply as 

Party Mix

and we make it in double batches...sometimes 2 or 3 double batches.

(I remember my grandma pulling large coffee cans of Party Mix out of her freezer during our summer visits, to be nibbled on while the grown ups played Pinochle and we, the kids, mastered our scissor skills on the JCPenney catalog.)

When Becca was a teenager, I'd often find the Party Mix container in her room....nearly empty, she really couldn't help herself!

We like to

doctor ours up a bit, adding a little more butter, a pinch here and  a pinch there of extra spice.

We like to put Cheerios in our mix as well as Chex.

Mindy likes to add Goldfish Crackers now that she has little ones in her house.

I add Planter's Deluxe Nuts

(this year they've added pistachios to the mix!)

 Mindy uses Cashews and Marcona Almonds while Becca prefers hers without nuts.

My favorite part of the mix is the pretzel sticks...salty with a hint of Worcestershire...

We stash part of this baked goodness away, hoping at least some of it will make it to the holiday.

But, to be honest, we've normally all had our fill by Christmas

:)

What's your favorite nibble to make during the holidays?

Our Family's

Traditional Chex Party Mix

(Single batch recipe...this will NOT be enough)

3 Cups Wheat Chex

3 Cups Corn Chex

3 Cups Cheerios

2 Heaping Cups Pretzel Sticks

1 Cup Deluxe Mixed Nuts

8 Tablespoons Butter

2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons Lawry's Seasoned Salt

3/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder

1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder

*Since you are probably doubling recipe, get out your bit roaster and set the oven to 250 degrees.

Put butter into roaster and let melt in oven.

Add W. sauce and other seasonings to the melted butter, mix.

I normally pour all of the cereal and pretzels into a large bowl to mix up a bit before pouring it into the roaster/butter/deliciousness.

Add cereal, nuts and pretzels to pan, mix very well.

When mixed thoroughly, place roaster into oven, uncovered, and bake for one hour, stirring well every 15 minutes.

After one hour, remove from oven and let cool in pan.

Store in airtight tins or containers.

Will freeze very well (thanks Grandma!)

in Folgers coffee tins

:)

Ours is nearly gone....

time to make another batch, or two!

~Merry Christmas~