Hot Chocolate Lessons

This has been around the web because I received this in an e mail from my daughter, whose friend sent it to her. On the chance it has not reached you, it is a perfectly wonderful message to share on New Years' Day.

A group of graduates, well established in their careers, were discussing their lives at a class reunion. They decided to go visit their old university professor, now retired, who was always an inspiration to them.

During their visit, the conversation turned to complaints about stress in their work, lives, and relationships. Offering his guests hot chocolate, the professor went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of hot chocolate and an assortment of cups. Some cups were porcelain, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite. He invited each to help themselves to the hot chocolate. When they all had a cup of hot chocolate in hand, the professor shared his thoughts.

“Notice that all the nice-looking, expensive cups were taken, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. The cup that you are drinking from adds nothing to the quality of the hot chocolate. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What each of you really wanted was hot chocolate. You did not want the cup…but you consciously went for the best cups, and soon you began to eye on another’s cups.

Now friends, please consider this….Life is the hot chocolate…your job, money, and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life. The cup you have does not define, nor does it change, the quality of life you are living. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the hot chocolate God has provided us.

Always remember this…God brews the hot chocolate, but He does not choose the cup. The happiest people don’t have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything that they have.”

Live simply…love generously….care deeply….speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.

And remember…the richest person is not the one who has the most, but the one who needs the least.

Enjoy your hot chocolate!

More Goodies From Grandma's

This is too good to keep!! Almost any flavor imaginable can be made using the Easiest Fudge recipe from yesterday's post. Coconut pecan frosting with peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips and cream cheese frosting are a few that come to mind right off the bat!! Almost anything from nuts, chopped candies like Butterfinger, to chopped candied cherries can be added. The variety is endless. Just think, next Christmas everyone will think we are quite the cook, and we will never tell a soul our little secret. I wish I had known how simple and easy this candy is to make before the holidays this year. Oh well, I didn't but next fall I'll be stocking my pantry with all kinds of chips and eagerly awaiting another trip to the grocery store to look at the baking aisle and check out the newest flavor of frosting!! It takes so little to make me happy! Be sweet and be good!

Easy Fudge Recipe

I am so excited!! I found a recipe for fudge that I have to share with you. There are only a few ingredients and it is sooo easy to make. So here it is.

Easiest Fudge

12 oz. pkg. chocolate chips
1 tub chocolate frosting(Betty Crocker is best)
dash of salt
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup pecans or walnuts (optional)

Butter pan while chocolate chips melt in microwave. When melted mix in frosting
then salt, vanilla and nuts. Pour into pan and refrigerate till firm (at least half an
hour). Cut into squares and serve. Delicious!! TNT recipe!!

Be sweet and be good.

A Childhood to Die For

Hi everyone! The holidays are almost over---only a few days till New Year's Day and 2009. I just now got used to writing 2008! I have lovely pictures of Brittany and Logan, Debye's children, and will post them soon. I would look at my pictures all day if I could. I want to share them with all of you

My brothers and I had a childhood to die for!! If angels had come to our house they would have felt right at home, for surely my mother was one of them! Our dad had a great big heart with a bear hug to match! We listened to "Stella Dallas" on the radio, played kick the can, let our imaginations run wild, trying to fly and hypnotize each other and whatever else we could think of! It was such a magical time. That is the only word that describes it. I will put some of Mom,s recipes in a post soon. She rarely used recipes---it was "a handful of this and a pinch of that". Somehow it all tasted so good. After I was married I went to Mom and Dad's almost every day and I always had to eat something she had made, even if it was just a cold biscuit. All my life I wanted to be just like my mother and, trying as hard as I could to be like her, I turned out exactly like my dad!!

The Reason For The Season

Homemade Happiness

           I must be getting lazy since I have retired!! So long since I have posted....
I can hardly believe it is almost 2009. It seems like not long ago, my kids were all home. Then I could tell them to go in their room and stay there and they would!! Time sure changes things. Change is good, but I miss those days and wish I could go back there. I go often in my thoughts and dreams. When my head touches the pillow at night I think of each of my children and hope they are safe and at peace with themselves and the world. I have been so blessed!! I have the most beautiful grandchildren and three of the prettiest great granddaughters you ever saw. I am very grateful this holiday season and try always to remember...........

contentment is not found in having everything, but in being satisfied with everything you have!

Debye

This is a couple of pictures on a scrapbook page of my oldest daughter, Debye. She was the one who saw "the little bitty puppy running real hard". Debye has two children, Logan and Brittany and one grandaughter, Abigail, one of the little cuties on the left side a little farther down.

Anna's Scrapbook Page---Keith & Carol

This is Keith and his sweet little wife, Carol. Brooke, Kristi and Eric are their children and Anna and Carlee, their grandchildren. I guess that makes me a great grandmother!! I have three of the sweetest, prettiest little great grandaughters. The three of them are pictured along the side. They are angels and I love them soooo much!! Anna calls Carol "Nan" and Keith "Papa". Carlee isn't talking much yet. When I was there this summer, both girls gave poor Bailey (Keith & Carol's cocker spaniel) a hard time. They laid on him, pulled his hair, kissed him and whatever else they could think of. Bailey just lets them do whatever they want, but he probably wonders when they will take naps so he can rest too!! Later!! Stay sweet and good.

Memories of a Snow Girl

Hi everyone! Hope you had a happy and joyous Thanksgiving. Guess what? I think I have discovered who wrote the starfish story. My friend, Glynis Smy, thinks it is by Lauren Eisley. A friend of hers had read it in a magazine and written it down. I am glad to find out who is responsible and wanted to share it with you. You may have seen it elsewhere as I have many times, but no author was ever given. I believe a big round of applause goes to Lauren Eisley for writing something so moving!!
Please drop by Glynis' blog, New Scribbles by Glynis. She conveys such a wonderful positive attitude on life and I know you will enjoy her writings.
It snowed a tiny bit today, just enough to tease us a little. Once Mike, one of my boys, made a snow "girl"! He named her Crystal and poured water over his creation so it would freeze solid and not melt so fast. He wrapped a red scarf around her neck and took such great pains to make her beautiful. He would come in from the cold and look longingly out at Crystal until he was warm enough to brave the weather once more. He thought she was the most beautiful snow girl in the world. I am sure she was because she was probably the only snow girl in the world!! I took a picture of him with his arm around her, smiling from ear to ear. I love that picture, seeing his little face beaming with happiness. I believe we almost went into mourning when poor Crystal began to go the way of all snow people. She slowly became a little puddle with a red scarf lying on top and buttons at the bottom. I am happy that we have immortalized her with that picture!! Be sweet and be good!!

The story of the Starfish

I have read this little story many times, always with no credit to anyone, so I have no idea who wrote it or when. I know for sure it is one I will always remember and so today I wanted to share it with you. I know you will enjoy it just as I always have.

Early one morning, a young man walked along a beach upon which many starfish had washed ashore during the night. In the distance he could see an old man walking toward him. The old man paused often and bent down to pick up a starfish and toss it into the sea. When they finally met, the young man asked the old, "Why do you waste your time? There are hundreds of starfish stranded on the beach, and you cannot possibly save them all. What does it matter if you save one here and one there?" In answer, the old man bent again and lifted a starfish and threw it into the sea. "It matters to that one." he said.

My Grandson Eric, Stacey and Their Family

Such a sweet little family. Baby Carlee has it made with two big brothers to watch out for her!!

Happiness is..............

.....being content with what one has. Give thanks, not just today, but every day.

Family Scrapbook, etc.

I have been working on scrapbooks for my family for quite some time. I absolutely love editing their pictures and arranging them on scrapbook pages. I keep getting sidetracked and go the the pictures of my great grandchildren. It is such fun just looking at them. I tell them that I play with them in my computer, since they don't live close. I even put a picture of Anna in a computer frame. I sometimes play with the three of them for hours, putting photos of them in flower beds, the sky or whatever I choose. I fear I will never finish the scrapbooks and I want them all to know where they came from, their heritage. A few years ago I thought a mouse was something you caught in a trap! I have gradually learned on my own how to half way use it and am so thankful I did, now that I have had to retire. I have learned digital scrapbooking and this is a page I did of Keith and me at Kristi's wedding. Keith is my first born. I believe his daddy had to buy a bigger hat when his first son was born!!

Great Grandmother

This is a picture of my great grandmother. She was my maternal grandfather's mother and a full blooded Indian from Oklahoma. She delivered my mom when she was born. Of course in those days, when there was a lot of undeveloped land, everything was spread out and you either walked or rode a horse. When Grandma's labor pains started, my grandpa immediately saddled his horse and set off to bring the doctor! Darkness had fallen on the little log home before he managed to fetch the doctor and all they saw as they galloped up was the soft glow of a kerosene lamp through the half open door. Imagine his surprise when he entered, with the doctor close behind, to hear my grandma crooning a lullaby to a tiny newborn, already wrapped warmly in soft flannel, with a fluff of black hair sticking out at the top! My grandma loved to tell this story, only with much more detail, and I loved listening to it.
This picture was made from an old tintype. A tintype is actually metal and I wager a lot of folks have never had the pleasure of seeing one. It is the only one that exists in our family. I hope you enjoyed the post today. Be sweet and be good.

Calling All Chocolate Lovers

There are a ton of chocolate lovers in the world and we are certainly no exception. There were lots of homemade desserts when my kids were little, most of them containing chocolate in one form or another. I made the Fudge Pudding often as it was a favorite and so easy to throw together. After all these years, I am still asked to please make the "upside down chocolate cake" as it was sometimes called. Enjoy!

Download here.

My Grandaughter, Brooke and her Husband, Jackie

Such a pair---she is so beautiful and Jackie, so handsome!!

For Anna and Carlee

Free Holiday Candy Recipes

Candies are that little something extra to please our sweet tooth and homemade ones are always the best. Holiday times and homemade goodies just seem to go together. I hope these give pleasure to you and yours during this season of THANKS!!

Travel in your Dreams

Christmas Nostalgia

The best Christmas I ever had was long ago, but whenever I go there in my thoughts and dreams it becomes as real as what is happening in the in the here and now. As the days become colder with the threat of snow I become again the excited little girl gazing through the window watching the snowflakes fall and never letting on that I knew it was Dad trudging up the walk, dressed as Santa. This year I was compelled to write this Christmas poem, so my children, grandchildren, greats and so on would have those memories to keep with them and hold in their hearts forever. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Christmas Dream

I travel often in my dreams
to that Christmas so long ago
when my gaze swept through the morning light
and saw the first flakes of snow.

When garlands of cranberries and popcorn
graced the branches of our tree
highlighted by sequined ornaments
that were made by Mom and me.

Almost covering the red felt skirt
and adorned with homemade tags
bright red ribbon tied each present
wrapped neatly in paper bags.

The magical aroma of Christmas
gave our house a special glow
as, clad in a Santa suit,
Dad emerged out in the snow.

Every holiday has its memories
but when cold winds begin to blow
my travels take me in my dreams
to that Christmas so long ago.

copyright Polly Little 2008

Heartstrings

Thought you would all enjoy this photo as much as I do---the wrinkled hands and the soft skin of a baby speaks volumes to us about the marvelous thing we call LIFE!!!

Quick and Easy Candy Recipes

How I remember those yummy smells swirling in the air during the holidays!! Seemed they were unusually taste tempting during the winter months, perhaps because of the closed windows and shut doors. These are three of the quick candy recipes (or receipts, as my grandma called them):

CHURCH WINDOWS

1 stick margarine
1 cup chopped nuts
1 12-oz. pkg. semi-sweet
chocolate chips
1 small pkg. colored marshmallows


Melt margarine, add chocolate chips, melt and cool. Add chopped
nuts and marshmallows. Wrap in waxed paper and roll into small
loaves or rolls. Chill over night. Slice and serve. Easy, pretty and good!!

STRAWBERRY CANDY

1 sm. box strawberry jello,
1 cup chopped pecans
1cup coconut
1/2 can sweetened condensed milk
red and green sugar

Mix first 4 ingredients. Chill for 4 hours. Shape to
look like strawberries. Roll in red sugar, then dip
the largest end in green sugar.

TURTLES

1 can sweetened condensed milk
pecan halves
milk chocolate chips
1 cup white corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla

Arrange pecans on a buttered surface like a cookie sheet. make clusters
of 3 or 4. Mix condensed milk and syrup and cook over low heat, stirring.
Cook until thick or soft ball stage--takes about 15 to 20 minutes. Drop by
spoonfuls on each pecan cluster. Melt chocolate in microwave or double
boiler and spread over caramel. Easy and simple.

Later on, friends! Be sweet and be good!!!

Till Tomorrow

Goodness! Three posts in one day---this will not be the norm. I'm just making up for the time I lost. Tomorrow I will have some melt in your mouth, easy holiday candy recipes. Can hardly believe it is that time again. The most exciting time of the year!! Till tomorrow you be sweet and good.

Grandaughter Kristi and her husband, Heath

A Mouse in the House

My kids were all so funny when they were little----matter of fact, they still are! It was funniest when they were not trying to be funny. Our family lived in the country on a gravel road with rice fields and soybean fields surrounding our yard on three sides so, of course, snakes were everywhere in the summer and mice came in from the fields to keep warm in the winter. Our house was new but I will tell you those mice could stretch out and come in through a nail hole! Though we had moved into a house, we had made it into a home and I never knew how many extra kids would be there when I woke up each morning. I was counting mouths I had to feed one morning and overheard my oldest daughter say to her little friend, "Guess what we have? Betcha' can't guess, betcha' can't!! We have little tiny puppies running really fast in our house--so fast we can't even catch one." I remembered a few days before when a mouse ran along the wall, she was so excited and screeched loudly, "I saw a little bitty puppy running real hard!" How sweet it was. I loved it to pieces. Be sweet and be good. Later.

How Could I Forget?

Later, Dude---Be sweet and be good!!!

Hello World!

Well, it lasted long enough but I do believe the pity party is over!! I hope that doesn't happen again soon. I truly love life and all its joys but sometimes the sorrows just seem too much to bear. I may get down but I will not stay there because I believe we all have choices, just took me longer to come to that understanding than usual. Maybe it had something to do with the cardiac arrest I suffered ---don't know. I do know that I thought for the longest period of time that when they had to shock me back to life two different times a part of me didn't come back. It seemed as if the me that was always laughing and happy was not here any more, just an empty shell with no emotion or feeling. Nothing much mattered. I had never watched TV, never had time and I found myself sitting in front of it for hours, not even sure what I was seeing. I lost track of time and it seemed I did not remember what I was supposed to do. I had not known the meaning of boredom but suddenly it became my close companion. What in the heck was there to do and how did I go about doing it even if I knew? I still am not sure I have an answer, but I am commited to find one. I know for sure it lies within me----maybe deep within but I KNOW it is there!!!

My Private Pity Party

I have been having a pity party I suppose. I have what the doctor calls "treatment resistant depression". He has had me on every medicine known to man and nothing has helped. I don't know if this is something I can just shake or if it has to run its course. I believe it will have to run its course because if I could shake it off, I would. I have been feeling much like a victim for months now and not finding joy in anything or being able to be thankful for anything. I laugh very little and am sure I am not pleasant to be around. I am no longer the happy go lucky person I once was. It seems part of me was not brought back when I died and was shocked back to life. It happened twice on New Year,s Day---I had no pulse, no blood pressure and no heartbeat. I have no memory of it, only of waking days later in the hospital. Way down inside me, I feel like this is temporary. but it has gone on so long. I am praying that writing about it will be helpful and bring a bit of relief.

A Lesson in What

When we were little my brother and I thought it would be so neat to save our allowances of twenty five cents a week. Mom washed out two Pet milk cans and cut holes in the top big enough for a quarter. We thought this was the grandest thing ever---we had our own banks!!
It was sooo hard to keep that money! Our little mouths watered when we talked of what it would buy. We decided to bury our banks in the grove of trees behind our house, plant moss on top of the hiding place so we could find it and come back at a later time to retrieve our stash!! We waited three long weeks and each of us had seventy five cents---what a treasure! We did as planned and sat back to wait till such a time as we wanted something bad enough to dig our banks up.
After a few weeks, we could no longer contain ourselves--went to the woods, shovel in hand, ready to set out for the store when we returned with our riches! Imagine our shock and disbelief when we found moss growing everywhere and could not remember where our money was buried! We dug in so many spots the grove of trees looked like it had chicken pox!! We grieved and mourned over our lost banks like they had been our best friends. Honestly, that was a real lesson in something---I just have never figured out what---it had to be for me to still think about it after all these years!!! Be back soon--stay sweet and stay good.

Saturday

Another day!! Any day I wake up is a good one! Back to you later----be sweet and be good. Polly

Jerry & Polly, Summer 1960

Fried Green Tomatoes

Sunday my son and daughter-in-law were at a barbecue with one of his co-workers, who lived in the country and had a garden. My son's friend gave him two sacksful of green tomatoes! Now, I have not had fried green tomatoes in years and I do dearly love them. He left them (quite by mistake) in my refrigerator and, guess what? They were every bit as delicious as I remembered them!
I plan on throwing in a few of my old fashioned recipes and the like. I love cooking the old way. I was raised on beans and cornbread. My mom canned everything in sight. She was just doing what her own mother did. My grandfather was half Indian and a lot of things they did was very interesting. I want my children to know where they came from, their roots. I am trying to get scrapbooks made for all of them for Christmas. I started these a few years ago, so when I finally get them done I will be one happy camper.
Talk to you soon---be sweet and be good!! Polly