Times Square

Eight balls have dropped in Times Square on New Year's Eve since 1908 (the tradition also began that year). The current ball is two years old and is embellished with 2,668 Waterford crystals and has 32,256 LEDs. The ball weighs 11,875 pounds and measures 12 feet tall.

These are interesting tidbits provided by Real Simple magazine.

Even more interesting -- to me, anyway -- is that the buildings comprising Times Square are required to have at least one illuminated sign that stays lit until 1:00AM. I knew NYC is the city that never sleeps, but I did not realize it was mandated.

Wishing you health and prosperity in 2011... Happy New Year!!!

Friday's quote

"Happiness is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that but simply growth. We are happy when we are growing."

William Butler Yeats

The help

Lauren has been helping with laundry for quite a while now.



(Please pretend not to notice the condition of our washcloths.)

She has become very proficient in the folding of "wasscloffs" and immediately asks for them any time she hears either of the machines in use.



Recently, when I explained there were none to be folded, she kept persisting until I finally asked if she wanted me to take some out of the closet to fold. (Look how proud she is; she folded that entire stack.)



Now she regularly asks if she can have some out of the closet to fold.

Birthdays and aging

Today is my birthday.

I managed to remain 28 for several years -- so many that I would have to think for a moment about my real age, when called on in situations where I had to be truthful. I continued to be 28 until it was no longer believable, and then I moved up to 32. So now I will stick with 35 for a while as an homage to the below Wilde quote:

Thirty-five is a very attractive age. London society is full of women of the very highest birth who have, of their own free choice, remained thirty-five for years.

-Oscar Wilde

A merry little Christmas

Wishing you and yours the merriest Christmas and a wondrous New Year.

Christmas ornaments

Why am I just now discovering this?



And how could I have possibly missed this?

Ballet

Last week at ballet, the parents were treated to a dance exhibition. Above, they are waiting to perform. Below, they have politely taken a seat after the performance.



Here's the crowd awaiting a candy cane.



And here's the big dance:

Ballet performance 12-14-10 from Cathi Lindsey on Vimeo.

Perfect harmony

The Hilltop ad originally aired in 1971. I'm not completely sure, but I believe the below is a subsequent version (the original versions are much too grainy to post). This is the one I remember as a very small child. In fact, this is probably the earliest advertisement that halted viewers in their tracks. For the record, we did not watch the commercials out of necessity, because the remote control had not become ubiquitous yet. There were other things to do, like procure snacks, visit the restroom or talk; it was a simple time. No matter what was occurring, we dutifully watched this ad.

Friday's quote

People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes. All is a miracle.

Thich Nhat Hanh

Christmas card & Christmas party 2010

This week Kelly is discussing Christmas cards. I realize people are drifting away from mailing Christmas cards, but this is a tradition we will likely continue for quite some time. I like greetings of all varieties, from postcards to Christmas letters and everything in between. Normally, I use printed photo cards. However, I found several boxes of the photo cards that you assemble yourself that I had purchased a couple of years ago, and therefore, I used those instead -- since I already had them and since I had not gotten around to ordering the other kind. We used the above pic.

The other news is that the big preschool party was yesterday. I always appreciate the job our teachers do, but, when I see them making order out of holiday chaos, I firmly believe they should receive hazard pay for the month of December.

Here is the whole class:



Getting ready to party:



Singing a few songs:



After the book exchange, they settled in for a nice snack:





After the party, we came home and CRASHED with an almost three-hour nap. These girls love to party, but they also love to sleep.

Here's to plenty of sleeping and partying for your weekend!

Recipe of the week

Even though I am tempted to post another dessert (since it is the holiday season), we'll talk about an actual meal this week. I am a big fan of one dish entrees; Skip is not. We can agree, however, that the crock pot is the single most underrated kitchen tool. Accordingly, we try to use ours at least once every week or two, and we have worked to expand beyond the roast option.

Recently, we tried Chicken & Mushrooms in wine sauce. (We omitted the mushrooms because we are not very 'shroomy.)

Here's the recipe.

Chicken & Mushrooms in wine sauce

3 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 - 3 pounds meaty chicken pieces (breast halves, thighs and drumsticks), skinned
3/4 c chicken broth
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1/4 cup dry red wine or chicken broth
2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
2 tablespoons snipped fresh basil or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil, crushed
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups hot cooked noodles
2 tablepoons finely shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1) In a 3 1/2 to 5-quart slow cooker, place mushrooms, onion and garlic. Add chicken pieces. In a medium bowl combine chicken broth, tomato paste, wine, tapioca, dried basil (if using), sugar, salt and pepper. Pour over mixture in cooker.

2) Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 7 to 8 hours or on high-heat setting for 3 1/2 to 4 hours. If using, stir in fresh basil.

3) Serve chicken and mushroom mixture over hot cooked noodles. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Although I did not snap a pic of the finished product, I'm sure you can get the idea. Give it a try.

Free TV

We're toying dangerously with the notion of ending our relationship with our cable provider and returning to a prior era -- the time before cable/satellite television. We rarely watch television and begrudge the monies spent monthly for a service we do not use. This article discusses the trend.

Overheard

Yesterday morning we had some snowfall. It snowed for approximately an hour and a half with no accumulation. Lauren wanted to play in the basement (no windows), while I encouraged her to play upstairs (windows galore) so that she could watch the snow.

Me: "Lauren, don't you want to see the snow?"
Lauren: "Not really."
Me: "You don't like the snow?"
Lauren: "I don't like the little snow. I only like big snow... like at the North Pole... where Santa lives."

Bundles

One day last week, the monkeys were watching Sesame Street. I walked through after finishing some laundry and saw that they had cleverly retrieved a couple of old comforters from the master bedroom. They were bundled up for the duration of their viewing.

Christmas Tour 2010

Welcome to the Christmas Home Tour hosted by The Nester via Kelly's Korner. Welcome, and Merry Christmas!







This table in our foyer gets some daily adjustment from Lauren and Grace, our four year old twin daughters. The card holder usually hits the floor a couple of times a day, and the cards keep disappearing. Tis the season...



Stockings hung by the chimney with care...



The dining room table...



This is the upstairs landing, leading to the girls' decorations.



The girls received this cute pink feather tree from Uncle Bill and Aunt Kathy last year for Christmas. This poor tree has been assaulted by four little hands, but it still looks great. It has really held up.



Below is the little four foot tree we have in the girls' room. I have been stalking Target to pick up their six foot green tree (for $20!) over the last two weeks -- with no luck. Associates always tell me that inventory reveals there are two in the store (I did say "stalking," didn't I?), meaning the display and one that is currently in someone else's cart. The associate kindly gave me the truck delivery schedule, and told me to "get there early" on the next delivery day. Since I was there that particular morning at 8:20am, I assume I will need to stand in line on the sidewalk prior to the store opening to nab one of those trees. Needless to say, that has not happened, and we are continuing to work with our four foot tree.

They love their tree. The ornaments include Dr. Seuss characters, Scooby Doo, and all of their milestone ornaments.



This is the last of the pink trees... a Barbie fiber optic tree.



And finally... I cannot believe I do not have a pic of our main tree. I will try to include that later today.

The Lindsey Family wishes for you and yours much peace and joy this Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

iPad apps

Cool apps for the lucky iPad users.

Friday's quote

"Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none."

William Shakespeare

Baby, it's cold outside

As the temps have dropped, we have scurred to find gloves, scarves, etc. Even Skip wore an overcoat when he traveled up north for a day trip this week!

Food: Chocolate molten cake

As part of an ongoing Thursday project, I will be posting some recipes each week. I promise to move on to actual food, but this week features another dessert, a delicious chocolate molten cake. This recipe is also a Martha Stewart recipe, but one featured in her Everyday Food book. Those recipes live up to their billing, that they were designed to be simple and straightforward.

Here is the recipe:

Chocolate Molten Cake

Ingredients

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for muffin tins
1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus more for muffin tins
3 large eggs
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
Whipped Cream , for serving


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously butter 6 cups of a standard muffin tin. Dust with granulated sugar, and tap out excess. Set aside.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and granulated sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. With the mixer on low speed, beat in flour and salt until just combined. Beat in chocolate until just combined. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups.

3. Place muffin tin on a baking sheet; bake just until tops of the cakes no longer jiggle when the pan is lightly shaken, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes.

4. To serve, turn out cakes, and place on serving plates, bottom sides up. Dust with confectioners' sugar, and serve with whipped cream, if desired.



We use the whipped cream recipe very frequently to add a little zing to any pie or other confection. Here is the very simple recipe:

Whipped Cream
(Makes 2 cups.)

Ingredients

1 cup heavy cream
1 to 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Directions

1. In a deep mixing bowl, beat the cream until soft peaks form.

2. Sprinkle sugar over cream; beat until soft peaks return. Do not overbeat. Whipped cream can be refrigerated, covered, for up to two hours before serving.

30

Thirty years ago I was eating lunch in my elementary school's lunch room when a student at the end of my table said, "Did you hear one of the Beatles was shot last night?" I remember thinking, "Not John... don't let it be John."