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Dear Friends and Schoolmates,
Today's Newsletter theme came at the suggestion of my beautiful #2 daughter-in-law,

Bethany Winona Harty (Siuslaw HS, OR - '94) of OH, also known as "My Favorite Person in the Whole World".

It began with the waaaay cool image above (first Utah snowfall - 12/01/07), taken from the blog of Bethany's sister,

Madi Winona McShinsky (Siuslaw HS, OR - '03) of UT:

It is a very good thing that I do not gamble. I would have placed Big Bucks as a bet that I had used "Let It Snow!" as a Newsletter theme several years ago. I cannot find it anywhere. Can you?!? Oh, well, so much for my "time-saving" methods.....

With a house full of delightful company - including five adorable grandchildren ranging in age from ten to two - my time is extraordinarily limited, and my concentration level has dropped to waaay below zero at the moment. Therefore, I'm saving practically all personal correspondence, as well as anything time consuming (namely images or anything causing me to have to think), for later editions this week.

29 - Roy Tate ('57); 30 - William Gwynn ('57) AND Ron Miller ('59) of NC AND Sarah Stewart Vance ('69) of VA; 31 - Pat Floyd Pride ('62) of VA AND Susie Overton Jones ('63) of VA!

From Sepi Dinwiddie Prichard ('58) of NC - 12/26/07 - "Re: Fruitcake lovers":

Dear Carol and Typhoon Family,

Decided to go ahead and send to to all Y'all, If you are woman enough to make this recipe, you are woman enough ! If you guys want to try, your mothers' taught you well ! Go for it ! I might add this recipe makes 16 lbs. of fruitcake, so you may want to cut the recipe in half and figure out how much you want each cake to weigh so that you will have enough ovens ready and enough pans prepared ! Read the recipe about four times before you even go out to shop for the stuff, and to make sure you even want to attempt it ! I hope to get at least one fruitcake in the mail next year ! E-mail me for my address, and no, I do not accept C.O.D.'s !

Dimples aka Sepi

Ingredients and instructions for Dinwiddie Family Fruitcake Recipe

1 C. Buttermilk
1 C fruit juice
2 lbs. dark raisins
1/2 lb. dates-chopped
1 lb. candied pineapple
1 lb. candied cherries
1/2 lb. candied lemon peel
1/2 lb. candied orange peel
2 lbs. chopped pecans and walnuts
1 lb. Crisco
1 lb. brown sugar
1 dozen eggs
1 tsp. molasses
6 1/2 cups sifted flour, not self-rising
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. each of cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt
1 jar apple jelly-8 oz.
4 apples peeled and chopped, DO NOT add apples to mixture to soak, but submerse in cold water and store overnight in fridge, draining thoroughly the next day.

Reserve some nuts and cherries whole, to use for decorating the tops of the cakes. Mom used Almonds, walnuts, pecans, whole cherries and pieces of green candied fruit to decorate hers...presentation is the eye of the appetite.
Soak chopped fruits in juice in large pot overnight.

Prepare pans, fruitcake, bundt, or loaf pans with shortening and coat with flour.
Cream shortening. sugar, molasses and add 1 egg at the time, beating well after each addition
Slowly add 1/2 dry ingredients, beat until well blended.
Continue to beat at medium speed and add 1 C. at a time fruits, jelly, apples,nuts and Buttermilk, continue to beat until throughly blended.   Spoon mixture into prepared pans until approximately 1 1/2 inches from the top. Have your neighbors preheat their ovens to 250 degrees, along with yours. Decorate tops of cakes with reserved fruit and nuts. Cook at 250 degrees until cakes draw from the sides of the pans and a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean. Remove cakes from oven, place on cooling racks for approximately 20 minutes until cake is easily removed from pan by running spatula around sides of pan, some times it takes two people for this step so that cake does not break, place cake back on cooling rack until completely cool.

Prepare yards of cheesecloth by soaking in Brandy and squeezing out excess, leaving cheesecloth moist. Completely cover cake with layers of Brandied cloth, put cake in metal tin. If you are lucky enough to have found large metal cans, two or more cakes can be stored on top of one another, each in their own blanket of cheese cloth. Store fruitcakes out of sight. Sit down, open a bottle of your favorite wine or make a martini, sip, relax and congratulate yourself on a job well done. Do not drink the Brandy !   Check on the cakes once every 10 days to moisten cheesecloth with more Brandy if needed. Have another glass of wine or Martini, and look forward to the day when you can cut into the cake and savor the delicate flavors that have blended over the last month. Always re-wrap cake before putting it back in the tin.

Then start the rumor that no one likes fruitcake anymore, if ever ! Simply because it's way too much work, and you promised yourself you would never, ever make another fruitcake in your life. Next year, start buying the ingredients when they present themselves in the grocery store, before anyone else can buy something you may need. Line up willing neighbors, and start just after Thanksgiving. It's sort of like giving birth, your forget the pain the minute you see the baby. And these "babies" are really worth the effort ! My Mom used to do this by hand, not having a mixer, and she made them every year for over thirty years.   ESS.....and enjoy ! Oh, one last thing send me one so that I can see if you followed the directions properly.

Dimples aka Sepi

Joyce, this one made me laugh out loud - and loudly! Thanks, Lady!

Happy New Year!

Have a nice weekend!,

Shari

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http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=8fe_1198487854

This is amazing! Start that collecting today

We used this method back twenty to thirty years ago to travel home to see family each year. Of course, gas prices were hardly what they are now way back then....

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/65150/

A old funny--Had A BAD Day.

I find this video so disturbing. I keep wondering just what it was the parents of these people failed to teach them about anger management and problem solving.

http://listverse.com/nature/top-10-animals-you-didnt-know-were-venomous/

10 venomous animals . I didn't know the last was considered an animal..."live and learn."

This is a vivid illustration of why I try to stay inside whenever possible.....

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After Christmas

'Twas the week after Christmas, and all through the house
Nothing would fit me, not even a blouse.
The cookies I'd nibbled, the eggnog I'd taste
At the holiday parties had gone to my waist.

When I got on the scales there arose such a number!
When I walked to the store (less a walk than a lumber).
I'd remember the marvelous meals I'd prepared;
The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared,

The wine and the rum balls, the bread and the cheese
And the way I'd never said, "No thank you, please."
As I dressed myself in my husband's old shirt
And prepared once again to do battle with dirt

I said to myself, as I only can
"You can't spend a winter disguised as a man!"
So away with the last of the sour cream dip,
Get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker and chip,

Every last bit of food that I like must be banished
'Till all the additional ounces have vanished.
I won't have a cookie - not even a lick.
I'll want only to chew on a long celery stick.

I won't have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie,
I'll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.
I'm hungry, I'm lonesome, and life is a bore,
But isn't that what January is for?

Unable to giggle, no longer a riot.

Happy New Year to all and to all a good diet!

~Author Unknown~

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A woman meant to call a record store, but dialed the wrong number and got a private home instead. "Do you have 'Eyes of Blue' and 'A Love Supreme?'" she asked.

"Well, no," answered the puzzled homeowner. "But I have a wife and eleven children."

"Is that a record?" the caller inquired, puzzled in her turn.

"I don't think so," replied the man, "but it's as close as I want to get."

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This really works!

Ball point ink out

Ever have a pen leak in your pants/shirt pockets? Well, I have, and it's not pretty. just use hairspray, and wash by hand. If it doesn't work the first time, the second time it will come right out...

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Thinking Green--For our planet

* Think creatively. Who might be able to use what you are throwing away? Recycling doesn't always have to mean aluminum and glass.

* Donate unwanted articles of clothing, furniture, and books to appropriate agencies so they can be used again.

* If there is a second-hand store or used furniture store in your neighborhood check it out before making a purchase of new merchandise. You never know what you might find!

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EMT's

I'm an EMT (emergency medical technician).

I work for a private ambulance company. I would like to remind people that if your going to a Christmas party, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE hand over the keys.

We've had several head on MVA's in the last two weeks with deaths resulting. The other night we came upon a family of four, just happened. Fortunately for them they were wearing seat belts and the kids were well restrained. The drunk driver that hit them escaped with less injuries. Pay attention to on coming traffic at night, they're out there!

While I'm at it, please pray for all the EMT's, firefighters, police officers, nurses, doctors and all the support staff that it takes to help all of you in your time of need. We're working Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Our Christmas present to you is to be there when you call. So when you pass by us on the holiday say Merry Christmas, it'll make our day since we won't be partaking in the gift openings or dinner.

Pray for our military too! Without them, where would we be?

Merry Christmas, may you all have a safe and happy holiday.

~A MountainWings Original by Lila Zuchowski, Johnston, RI

Remember - there are still many images and thought provoking topics yet to be covered - sometime soon - MAYBE even - next time! Meanwhile, Happy New Year!

Y'all take care of each other! TYPHOONS FOREVER! We'll Always Have Buckroe!

"The wonderful Christmas song Let It Snow was created by lyricist Sammy Cahn and the composer Jule Styne in 1945. The words and lyrics of Let It Snow reflect the feeling of warmth and security associated with Christmas and also brings in the more modern customs of popping corn! The song Let It Snow was reprised in recent years when used in the Bruce Willis film Die Hard which started with the film's hero travelling to meet his family at Christmas."

Oh the weather outside is frightful,
But the fire is so delightful,
And since we've no place to go,
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

It doesn't show signs of stopping,
And I've bought some corn for popping,
The lights are turned way down low,
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

When we finally kiss goodnight,
How I'll hate going out in the storm!
But if you'll really hold me tight,
All the way home I'll be warm.

The fire is slowly dying,
And, my dear, we're still good-bying,
But as long as you love me so,
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Animated Tiny Birthday Cake clip art courtesy of Sarah Puckett Kressaty ('65) of VA - 08/31/05
Thanks, Sarah Sugah!

Army Seal clip art courtesy of Al Farber ('64) of GA - 05/24/06
Thanks, Al!

Marine Corps Seal clip art courtesy of Herbert Hice of MI - one of my Famous Marines who served in the South Pacific during WWII.
Thanks, Herbie!

Dear Carol / Dimples Something to ponder. Herbie GIGGLES! Thanks, Herbie Darlin'!
		Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.
		-Robert A. Heinlein