Oh, I continue to have so much fun with this. I did some simple shirts for the boys Solstice gifts and a couple designs with numerous cut out sheets. Love, loving the results.
And my helpers.
Two weeks ago, I got the dreaded phone call announcing the passing of someone near and dear to me. My sweet grandmother, diagnosed 10 weeks prior with cancer, struggling through 2 chemo sessions, left this world with an incredible legacy. She had an amazing journey and while logically I am so glad that she didn’t have to suffer incredible amounts of pain, or have a lingering hospital stay or live her life’s last days wondering if it would be the last, my heart still aches. I knew that my time with her was limited, I just didn’t know how limited and am still not ready for this monumental death in my family. She is our matriarch, my mother’s mother. The one who we circled around, the one who kept my extended family rooted in central Illinois, the one we all depended on. And by we all, I’m not just talking a handful or people, I mean her siblings and spouses (8), her children and their spouses (9), her grandchildren and their spouses (27) and her great grandchildren (19) not to mention all of our extended families and her friends. Her tree has 63 branches all who adore and love her.
I spent the christmas holiday in her home, without her. And while there were many moments that felt as though nothing had changed, there were bigger silences acknowledging the passing. Luckily, I had some quiet times to soak up everything that I loved about her. Welcome to her home.
A door handle mounted on upside down, for at least a decade. I think it was just 4 years ago that in my frustration to open the dam thing, she declared, "Turn it up, it's mounted upside down." Which helped, and every time I opened that door, I laughed at how hard it is to open the other way.
A thermostat set way to high. Grandma always gave out flannel pajama pants for Christmas to everyone. Unfortunately to be in her home in the winter, the average person slept in shorts.
There are definitely some questionable ingredients for me. Gelatin, knox brand isn't exactly something I want to eat. There are some kosher gelatins that I may try to get my hands on, hoping for a slightly better product. Step one is softening the gelatin, which just doesn't smell good and it really absorbs water fast, I though maybe I botched because by the time I walked and got the spoon to stir it, it looked like the mess above.
Next the heating of the sugars. Ah corn syrup, those of you who actually know me, know my rants about high fructose corn syrup, and I don't necessarily like to use corn syrup, but the marshmallow was the bigger focus- this is a place you should read ingredients (if not always!) as the generic brand's second ingredient is HFCS! It is hidden everywhere- you know b/c corn syrup isn't bad enough. My thoughts here: at least the rest of the sugar is organic, and those kids of mine are only getting two anyway. So you heat the sugars, requiring a candy thermometer, and use a brush with water to prevent crystals forming on the side.
Add to the geletin in your stand mixer and mix on Medium High, not just medium or one notch past medium, one just before high- I made the mistake of just a high medium and it took longer than the 8-13 minutes to get the peaks needed.
Pour into an oiled pan that is dusted with sifted powdered sugar, cocoa or toasted coconut. sit for an hour and then you can cut. Or you can throw a lid on it and cut it in a couple days, or perhaps a week, they last a month, so I think I would store them like this and cut them when we go camping and put them right on the stick.
