Daniel's feast...
This is Daniel. He's 14 and this is how a 14 year-old reacts when there is a camera around. They scoff...they frown... then they give in and look really, really cute! Couldn't we just skip the frowning and scoffing and get straight to the cute? Nah, that wouldn't be cool. His feast consisted of all fesh fruit- nearly amputated the tip of a finger on one of Darilyn's pineapples. See? Ya live in Hawaii and you get blamed for my being a klutz! Note to self, and you know this one, but it never hurts to reiterate, NEVER rush with a knife in your hand. It'll never amount to any good. Well, it was only the index finger on my left hand- have 9 other digits and the throbbing only kept me up one night. I'm a "glass is half full" kinda gal. The kids were enchanted by the pomegranate. I don't think they'd ever had one, and having the genes they do, had to pick the thing apart, seed by seed. And it was quite tasty. We had clementines from Spain. Then, it was build your own grinders. Followed by candy bar cake. Oh, and he even made punch. I offered to add chips, but he said that he didn't want it to be all about junk food. The blessings they were thankful for were predictably wide-ranged and covered the gammit from chocolate to dirt. It was a very nice evening.

With all the talk, lately, about what Xmas is and isn't, I thought I'd share just a little amusing antecdote. DH Will picked up a Xmas CD at the Speedway station- you know the shpeel- only $1.99 with a fill-up. He figured, what's 2 bucks? Plus, he knows I love the stuff. Sorry Bonnie, but I love Xmas music and I listen to it, on and off, all year 'round. (When I was a kid, my sister and I would hall the Xmas decorations out of the closet and decorate our bedroom- in July! We'd listen to Xmas records- remember records? The first record I ever bought was Bing Crosby's White Xmas. Of course, the fantasy got off the ground better if we cranked the air-conditioner- sorry, Dad.) Oh, at any rate, back to the bargain Xmas CD. Contemporary Xmas Classics. I've come to the conclusion that there are songs that have no business being contemporized. Take, for instance, Hark The Herald Angels Sing. "Offspring of the virgin womb..." with the snare drum chinging and the trumpets doing a jazzy little number... Now that's just beyond silly. I don't think the word "womb" belongs in any song remotely jazz-like. When I am quilting, I listen to music very, very, loud, and even then, I only hear about 1/3 of what is being played. I had to take a quick break for a sip of Diet Sunkiss(it has caffeine, Darcy!) and then that line comes blaring out of the speakers, "Offspring of the virgin womb." she bop dubee bop! Nearly sprayed bright orange pop all over Sarah's quilt- wouldn't she have loved that? Cough, cough, splutter, splutter. I mean, what are people thinking? I don't guess they are. I don't have anything against contemporary Xmas music. Like it, even. Things like Deck the Halls, and Silver Bells, Frosty the Snowman, and Jingle Bells. But, please oh puh-lease leave the hymns alone. It's bad enough that they get relegated to the Xmas Department of songs when they were never intended to be stuck there for all eternity, but man, show a little respect!

Recipe For Candy bar cake:

• Make one Devil's Food Cake mix, according to directons, in a 9x13 pan. Leave in the pan.
• While still hot, poke holes in the cake with a butter knife and pour 1 cup of caramel sundae topping over the cake. Some will soak in, some won't. Cool.
• Top with one large tub of Cool Whip.
• Scatter about 6 candy bars, of your choice, coarsely chopped, on top of the Cool Whip. My kids love Butterfinger candy bars. I like an assortment. Keep refrigerated.

I won "best dessert" in a cook-off with this silly little cake, but figured it was kinda rigged, 'cause with the eight kids, the voting was bound to be in my favor. But it is yummy!