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Archive for October, 2011

Happy 80th Birthday, Mom

Posted in Family, Musings, tagged , on October 18, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Saturday, I drove hours away to help pull off a surprise birthday party for my mom.

My dad and I had been planning it for weeks and were biting our nails in hopes the event would remain a surprise. Judging by the look on Mom’s face as Dad brought her into the room, our mission was successful.

About 80 people joined us to celebrate Mom’s 80th birthday (how ironic is that?). It was so awesome to see friends and family I haven’t seen in years and years.

I so appreciate everyone who came and helped make the party a big success. And those who helped keep the secret. And those who helped keep things running smoothly! You all are so appreciated!

 

The birthday girl with my dad.

 

Some of the family.

 

More guests...

 

The birthday cake, which I was glad to have the bakery make!

 

Flowers for the birthday girl.

 

I think one of my favorite photos I took was of my great-nephew Will holding my cousin's new little guy. There was just something about our baby holding a baby that made my heart melt in a puddle.

 

She Who Enjoyed This Party

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Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars with Crumb Topping

Posted in Cookies, Desserts, Entertaining at Home, Recipes, tagged , , , on October 14, 2011| 2 Comments »

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars with Crumb Topping

The other day I had a craving for pumpkin cheesecake which somehow morphed into the idea of pumpkin cheesecake bars which turned into pumpkin cheesecake bars with crumb topping. Unable to find a recipe I liked, I made up my own.

So there!

It actually turned out pretty good, or at least that is what the taste testers told me. Some asked for seconds, but I only brought a limited few to work. Sorry guys! Next time there is taste testing to be done, I’ll make sure I bring extra samples!

So, without further ado…

Ingredients

Crust Mixture

Crumb mixture in the pan. Press in lightly.

Mix up the pumpkin filling.

Pour filling over cooked crust.

Sprinkle with crumb topping.

Bake for 25 minutes.

When cool, cut into bars. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to two days - if they last that long.

If you want to make these even better, drizzle on a little (or a lot) of caramel sauce.

Then enjoy! Sharing is optional.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars with Crumb Topping

Crust

1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats

1 1/4 cups flour

3/4 cups brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup butter, room temperature

Filling

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature

3/4 cup canned pumpkin pie filling

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine oats, flour, brown sugar, salt, baking soda, and butter. Beat until mixture is crumbly. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the crumb mixture, pressing the remaining mixture into a greased 13 x 9 x 2- inch baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes.

Mix cream cheese, pumpkin pie filling, sugar, egg, and cinnamon. Beat until well blended and smooth. Spread filling over hot crust then top with remaining crumb mixture. Return to oven and bake 25 minutes.

Cool and cut into bars. You can make this a couple days ahead of time but keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

If you want to get wild and crazy, drizzle the tops of the bars with caramel or chocolate sauce, or both. Also, try serving bars with Dulce de Leche ice cream. See if that doesn’t make you melt in a puddle.

Note – if you like nuts, you can add 1/2 cup of finely chopped pecan to the crust mixture. You could also put toasted pecan halves on top of each bar before you drizzle with caramel.

She Who Loves Pumpkin Sweets

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Astoria Column

Posted in Travels, tagged , , on October 13, 2011| Leave a Comment »

When Captain Cavedweller and I were on vacation a few weeks ago, one of the places we visited was the Astoria Column.

It is a very interesting piece of architecture and beyond that, the views from the column are breathtakingly beautiful.

To get the full effects of the view, you must climb up a gazillion stairs which would be why CC and my camera went to the top and I stayed at the bottom.


These would be the gazillion steps I did not wish to climb. CC climbed them and was still sore four days later.

If you ever find yourself in the Astoria, Oregon, area, take a trip out to the column. It is well worth your time.

Here are some details:

A COLUMN OF FACTS
  • Patterned after Trajan’s Column, Rome, Italy
• Constructed of: Concrete
• Depth of foundation: 12 feet
• Elevation, Coxcomb Hill: 600 feet
• Height: 125 feet
• Number of steps: 164
• Number of cartoons: 12
• Number of brown figures: 200
• Length of artwork, unwound: 500+ feet
• Decoration at top: State seal of Oregon
• Completed in 1926
• Dedicated July 22, 1926
• Original cost: $27,133.96
• Column restoration: $1 million 1995
• Plaza restoration & lighting: $2 million 2004

 

She Who is Not Fond of Stair Climbing

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Soldiers and Magicians

Posted in Captain Cavedweller, Musings, Pets, tagged , , on October 12, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Monday night I had to run out to my sewing/craft room (which is not attached to the house, but is across the backyard) to patch Captain Cavedweller’s work uniform. In my haste to get back to whatever I was doing before himself reminded me I promised to patch up his problem, I failed to give the room the usual sweep to make sure Miss Maizy had not sneaked in uninvited.

She has a unique talent of opening doors. It was a challenge all summer once she mastered the ability to open the patio screen door. Then there is the small problem of her sneaking in the back room into my craft room unseen. I will firmly close the door to the back room (which is CC’s domain of weight machines and whatnot) and go into my sewing room and push the door mostly closed. Then the next time I turn around, I’ll be scared half witless, because Miss Maizy will be sitting in the middle of the floor staring at me. She makes no noise, doesn’t announce her presence and I have no idea how she got in.

That is really starting to morph from a small problem to a big problem.

Last night CC ran out to put some chicken on the barbecue and looked over at the back room to see Miss Maizy sitting in the craft room window. Seriously? Apparently she snuck in while I was doing CC’s patching job and I failed to notice her presence before I shut the door.

Fantastic.

When I went running out back to rescue her, she took her own sweet time climbing out of the window and wandering her way outside. As if to say “Oh, there you are. I  wondered when you’d come back.”

Good grief!

I think I will start calling her Houdini.

Drooley

And while she is perfecting her break-in routines, Drooley, the Heinous Cat has been doing his best at pretending he is a soldier guarding the home post.

A stray cat has taken up residence in our neighborhood and attempts to sneak in and steal whatever food Drooley and Maizy leave behind. This covert activity is not settling well with Drooley at all.

Last night he was on perimeter patrols for hours. It was entertaining to watch him march along the fenceline, back and forth.

I told CC he needed to get the cat a little helmet to wear. Maybe a toy gun to carry. We wouldn’t want our little soldier to feel deprived of a full uniform as he defends his post and keeps up the guard work.

She Who Must Tolerate Two Crazy Cats

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