Emerson Publications

 

 

 

The Family First Newsletter
Promoting family unity one issue at a time
Vol. 10 Issue 38 - Week of October 8, 2007
ISSN: 1527-6201
©2007 - Joyce Pierce --All Rights Reserved

In this issue:

 

Grandma's Silver Spoon
Grandma's Peach Crisp Recipe
Haunting Hearth: Decorating Your Fireplace for Halloween
Candy Corn Activities for Halloween

 

 

Good morning!

 

I just love publishing this newsletter.  It gives me an opportunity to write articles, which means that I probably spend more time thinking about things than I would if I didn't like to write, and it also allows me the opportunity to share articles with you that I think might be helpful to you.   I'm always interested in articles on relationships, reducing clutter, anything related to budgeting or saving you money, and good recipes.   One thing you can say about this newsletter is that you never know what topic is going to be covered and sometimes there is no pattern to it at all!

I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but I don't make anything from this newsletter.  In fact, I go in the hole for this newsletter every month!  I don't even have any paid advertisers, so this project truly is a labor of love.  I used to use Yahoo to deliver it, but after my friend, Terry Rigg, of www.homemoneyhelp.com pointed out to me that there were too many steps involved to subscribe to Yahoo, I switched to something else.    I hope you enjoy Family First and forward it to your friends when you see articles that they might be interested in reading. 

 

I am grateful for all of the blessings in my life, and I appreciate you!  Hey, for something fun to do, watch the Gratitude Dance and do it daily! No formal training or coordination required!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NeMC1Fl3J0 


Joyce Moseley Pierce

 

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Grandma's Silver Spoon

by Joyce Moseley Pierce

 

Whenever I reach for a spoon to eat a treat like ice cream or my grandmother's sugarless peach crisp, I reach for grandma's silver spoon.  My brain seems to bypass the other spoons in my cutlery tray for this silver spoon.  I guess I've been doing that for quite awhile, but just recently I realized that this has become a ritual.

 

Before my grandparents died, they either sold or gave away almost everything they had accumulated in fifty years of married life.  My sister got the real sterling silver and I got three silver plated sets.   Mixed up in those sets were a few oddball pieces of silver, and I pulled them out of the boxes before I turned each one of the sets over to my children.  For years they stayed in a box in the closet, but when we made our last move, I pulled them out, polished them with a cloth, and put them in the silverware drawer.  I guess that's when I became selective about choosing one of those spoons to eat some of my favorite foods.

 

I probably spend too much time trying to figure out why I do the things I do, and this is no exception.  For example, my family has noticed that when I eat, I always have at least two things on my fork.   When I'm getting toward the end of my meal, I mentally count how many potato bites are left and make sure there are enough pieces to go with the meat.  If not, I'll cut things in half to make sure the number of pieces are the same.  That might be a bit obsessive, and I realize that I do it, but it's just become a part of me!  My sister, on the other hand, will eat all of her potatoes and then start on the meat.  Or she'll eat the whole hamburger and then the french fries.   So what is it about our personalities that make us do that?   If you have any insight on that, I'd love to hear it.  Maybe it's just that she wants to enjoy the flavor of one thing before moving on to another.  Maybe my food is just a Libra thing where everything has to balance; or maybe it means that I just like to blend my flavors or the textures.  I'm sure there's deeper meaning in there somewhere, but I'm not willing to start psychotherapy to find out.

 

As I hold this silver spoon and enjoy the flavor and texture of some of the treats that it holds, maybe it allows me to also hold on to a wonderful time in my life.   My sister and I spent three years living with these grandparents after our parents divorced.  While every child wants to feel comfortable and safe with their parents, it isn't always possible.  Parents generally love and want the best for their kids, but too often they decide that they just don't want to be married anymore.  Thank goodness for loving grandparents who are willing to assume the responsibility.  During those three years I felt an abundance of love.  I felt safe.  Life was not complicated.  Food was plentiful.  Aromas from the kitchen were heavenly.  Children were treated with respect.  Adults loved each other.  We enjoyed each other's company...and after dinner we watched a little bit of television and ate ice cream before going to bed.

 

While I wasn't conscious of anything in particular the first time I chose my grandmother's silver spoon from the drawer, once I realized it, I had to figure it out.  It's clear to me now, and I'm surprised that it took me three years to even think about it.   When I see that silver spoon, all tarnished and worn, it sends me a message.  It reminds me of a time when amidst all of the craziness in my life, there was an abundance of whatever I needed.  Most spoons are just tools to deliver something delicious to the body, but my grandmother's silver spoon is much more than that.   Her spoon feeds my soul.

 

Copyright 2007.  Joyce Moseley Pierce is a freelance writer and contributor to the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.  Visit www.emersonpublications.com to read more of Joyce's work.

 

 

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Grandma's Peach Crisp
by Joyce Moseley Pierce

 

Grandma always loved to use a lot of sugar in her recipes.  This is one I've actually adapted that works quite well with no sugar.  I just like to call it Grandma's Peach Crisp because she was such a wonderful baker of pies and desserts.  It's delicious and fast.  Give it a try.

6 cups peaches - fresh or canned. I use the canned peaches that have no added sugar. Usually the sweetener is pear juice.
1/3 cups flour
1 cup oats
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup melted butter

Put the peaches in a baking dish. Combine dry ingredients and add the melted butter. Mix it all up and distribute it over the top of the peaches. Bake at 350 degrees until it's bubbly.

This recipe is great for dessert and if you're lucky enough to have some left, it's a great breakfast.

For those who aren't trying to watch the sugar intake, add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and watch it melt.

 

Copyright 2007.  Joyce Moseley Pierce
 

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Haunting Hearth: Decorating Your Fireplace for Halloween
 by Susan Penney

Halloween is more than kids and candy. It has, in the past few years, become one of the major events for which Americans decorate their homes! So here are some quick, easy, and simple Halloween decorating ideas featuring your fireplace hearth:

• Convert a cluster of small, three to six inch pumpkins into candleholders for your fireplace mantle or hearth. With a knife, cut off each pumpkin’s stem. Then, with an apple corer, remove a cylindrical core from the pumpkins. Stick a candle into each pumpkin. Use black and orange candles in your mini-pumpkin candle holders for a Halloween look or candles in yellows, burnt orange and mellow browns for an autumnal display.

• If you are using your fireplace for gas, wood, or gel fires, Halloween appropriate andirons are both fun and functional. Black cat andirons not only hold your logs but also hold the attention of those by your fire! Each andiron features a cast iron black cat with glass eyes. With a fire going in your fireplace, the flicker of the fire through those black cat andiron’s glass eyes gives a spooky but charming effect!

• If you are not using your fireplace for fires, it is a great place for your jack-o-lantern. Since your fireplace is designed for fire, it is a super safe place for a jack-o-lantern with one or more candles inside it. Either set the jack-o-lantern on your fireplace grate or on the floor of the fireplace. Your fireplace is the visual focal point of a room, so featuring one or more lit jack-o-lanterns there can be either the total extent of your Halloween decorating or a striking main decoration.

• If your fireplace is currently just an empty black hole, a fireplace candelabra can keep it from suffering from the Black Hole Syndrome. For Halloween add orange and black candles, or candles in the shape of little pumpkins or jack-o-lanterns, or even candles shaped like candy corn! After Halloween, just change the candles and get a new look. Whenever you want the welcoming glow of firelight in your hearth without the hassle of logs, just light the candles in your fireplace candelabra. Fireplace candelabra are available not only in traditional black cast iron, but also in copper and silver tones. Some fireplace candelabra are designed to hold votive candles or tea lights if you prefer those.

Use one or more of these decorating Tricks to light up your fireplace for Halloween, and you will be delighted by the visual Treat in your hearth.

Susan Penney appreciates simple ways to make our homes renewing spaces for our families. She invites you to visit http://www.FireplaceMall.com  for fireplace accessories to serve your fire-less or your fire-filled fireplace.

Susan Penney may be contacted at http://www.fireplacemall.com or fireplacemall@earthlink.net

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Candy Corn Activities for Halloween
 by:  Gaylene Davis

Through the miracle of modern technology, this Halloween you can enjoy your candy corn without gaining weight.  Try using the
little goodies in some fun kids' activities and games.  And if you work at it hard enough, maybe you'll even burn off a few
calories!  And remember, October 30th is national candy corn day. There's no better way to celebrate than with some fun candy corn
games.


Candy Corn Hunts
Little people love hunting games.  Hide ten pieces of candy corn in a room - under the couch, behind the door, on the windowsill.
You might need to throw out a few "getting warmer/colder" clues to help in the process.  If you leave them uncovered, even the
smallest hunters will be able to find their bright colors. 

If you want to dress up the idea, put the candy in little cellophane bags and tie with decorative ribbon.  Hide the bags
all over - either inside or out - for a new twist on the Easter egg hunt.

Make a trail of candy corn for children to follow.  Lead them through the woods, or a maze - or through a messy house.
Depending on the condition of their bedrooms, you might use this idea to help your children find their beds!  If you stick a
toothpick into the broader end of the candy, you instantly have an arrow.  Use the arrows for clues in your hunt.


Target Practice
Try an update of the old clothespins in a jar game.  Have children stand on a sturdy chair or other safe elevation and drop
the pieces down into a canning jar.  A container with a wider opening, or a funnel might be better for really little
participants, while a two liter pop bottle would present a bigger challenge, when the older kids want to show their stuff.

Remember Bozo's Grand Prize Game?  Make your own with several small sand pails.   Use a piece of tape, or just a stick to give contestants a
boundary line.  Number the pails, placing them in a row perpendicular to the line, pail number one being closest.
Children stand behind the line and throw candy into each consecutive bucket.  Keep score or issue prizes for hitting each
pail.  Rename the game after your favorite Halloween character.

After putting the pieces into a small sealed sandwich bag or similar cellophane bag, have a "corn bag" toss.  Small fabric
bags would be ideal due to their durability. After playing catch, try aiming at a target, or try throwing the bags into a
container.  Paint a scarecrow face on the front of a box, and cut out openings for his eyes, nose, and mouth.   Different points
could be awarded for getting the corn bags through these holes. 

Other Fun Stuff
On a smooth surface like the dining room table, or the kitchen floor, try some shufflecorn or "bocce corn".  One person acts as
the referee, sliding out the first piece of candy corn.  He then marks this piece with a toothpick.  Contestants take turns
sliding 4 different pieces as close to the referee's mark as they can.  The referee determines which piece is the closest, awarding
that contestant a point.  Play until someone gets ten points.  To eliminate confusion, marking each contestant's candy pieces would
be helpful.

If you really don't mind a mess - try candy corn and frosting sculptures.  Obviously, a suitably covered table or other safe
surface is recommended.  Thinking about it, maybe this is better as an outdoor project.  Prizes could be awarded for the most
extraordinary sculpture, the tallest one, the neatest one -- or maybe the one that looks most like dad.

String candy corn like popcorn.  Not only is the activity fun, but also you have great decorating material when you are done!
Tape several strands in a doorway, like a 70's-style beaded curtain.  String some through a spooky tree in the yard.  Hang it
inside like party streamers or use it for jewelry.

So whether you are trying to avoid the sugar calories, looking for fun Halloween activities to occupy children excited about the
holiday, or trying to find something to do with all of those left-over candy corns, you can enjoy these guilt-free pleasures.

Gaylene Davis is a formerteacher, now a work-at-home mother tending to her two boys. This article was originally published on http://www.Candy-Corn.info .

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