Chatbug Karen

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

Did you have a nice Thanksgiving day? We spent the day with my son, daughter in-law and her family. I was anxious to get to Illinois to see everyone and hold a new baby. There is something about new babies that gets everyone excited.

It is hard to believe that my son and his wife will be spending their second Christmas as a married couple. It seems only yesterday they were sending out save the date cards for their wedding. They have been making holiday traditions of their own and spoiling their two dogs with winter sweaters.

Be glad that you can visit me via blog and not in real life. I have a nasty cold. I wish I could curl up in a blanket and sleep. I have too much sewing to do for that to happen.

Saturday evening, my son and daughter in-law made a wonderful dinner for us. I was so full that I thought I might explode! I knew though, that in a few hours my stomach would cry out for dessert so I began to try to think of a quick dessert I could make. I remembered reading in the newspaper, just the day before, about a recipe that was popular during the depression. This cake was popular during the depression, and does not have eggs in it.

I made Crazy Cake and it was so good! You should make it. I can just about guarantee that you will love it.

Crazy Cake
Ingredients

* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 cup white sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoons baking soda
* 3 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
* 5 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1 cup cold water

Directions

1. Sift flour, sugar, salt, soda, and cocoa together into a 8 x 8 inch ungreased cake pan. Make three wells. Pour oil into one well, vinegar into second, and vanilla into third well. Pour cold water over all, and stir well with fork.
2. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 to 40 minutes, or until tooth pick inserted comes out clean.

Icing
1/4 cup melted margarine
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salad oil

Mix all the icing ingredients together and pour over warm cake.

Serve and enjoy!

Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American clergyman, activist and prominent leader in the American civil rights movement. His main legacy was to secure progress on civil rights in the United States, and he has become a human rights icon.

King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963. That was an important year in our history.

What do you do in honor of such an influence on our society? Many schools are closed today. I have an appointment with our business plan consultant to talk about my least favorite subject: taxes. Whatever, enjoy your day and remember to appreciate those who took risks in order that we might enjoy the freedoms we have today.

What are your plans for the fourth of July holiday weekend? I hope your weather cooperates enough to allow you to enjoy the day outdoors. I plan to help hubby work in the yard in the morning before it gets hot. We may have to fire up the grill in the evening and then watch the fireworks in the park at dusk. I hope to get some sewing finished on Saturday and hit the mall to find some shorts for our vacation. I hope summer things will be on sale. (I wouldn’t be surprised if winter coats will be in all the stores). Sunday will be spent at church and then a nap in the afternoon. Don’t you love three day weekends? Have a great one!

Father’s day is the day we honor and commemorate our fathers and forefathers. Father’s Day is celebrated on a variety of dates worldwide. Iran celebrates fathers day as early as the month of march while Australia and New Zealand celebrate the date in September. Typically, fathers day involves gift-giving to fathers and family-oriented activities.

If you are trying to find a special gift for your father, you should check out all that Opticsplanet.com has to offer. They offer a huge selection of products for hobbies such as astronomy, bird watching and hunting. From radar guns to binoculars, they have everything the man in your life could ever want.

The holidays are officially over. Greg went back to school and took all his stuff with him. I enjoyed having the kids home and I think they enjoyed being able to relax. Lynn and I were working while they were on vacation so they didn’t have much choice in entertainment. We watched quite a few videos and even went to the theater to see Alvin and the Chipmunks.

Both of my kids like to cook and I got to reap the benefits! I can cook but it is not my favorite thing to do. They enjoy it. They had fun taking my debit card to the grocery and buying ingredients for a meal. I think my favorite meal was when Stacy made pizza. She bought the crust and added the ingredients. I should have watched her make it. I hope she will tell me how she made one.

We had enough snow to make Stacy happy. She made a snowman but he melted the next day. I don’t think we even had time to take a picture before it was a melted blob. I wore my sheepskin boots once but really haven’t even needed a coat since.

Both of the kids have lived away from home long enough that they take care of their own things. They kept my laundry done as they did theirs. I will miss that. Our dogs are going to wonder what happened when it is time to go to bed this evening. The kids have let them sleep in bed with them. That ends tonight. Lynn and I don’t sleep very well with the dogs so we got them used to sleeping in the new lodge room.

So, it is back to the normal routine around here. The holidays were great but I am ready for spring.