Question Time With Linda

I get a lot of questions from my readers, and I would like to start answering some of them from time to time on my blog.

Here is one of the most frequently asked questions:

Q: I recently ordered some lemon bars from you, and honestly they are the most delicious thing I have ever tasted. I know that you probably don't share recipes, but could you please tell me how you make this scrumptious treat? I would be willing to even buy the recipe from you. Name your price!!

--Marsha Stewvart, Conn.

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A: Thank you so much for that great compliment!!! I'm glad that you enjoyed your luscious lemon bars, and thank you for ordering them. Honestly Marsha, even if I could give you the recipe, (and if I did, I would have to KILL you), I don't think that they would turn out the same as mine, because you see, I have a secret. However, I am willing to share the "secret" with you.

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You see, I grow my own Lemons!!!! I know, I know what you are thinking.

You are thinking, "Gee she doesn't live in Florida, California or Arizona, does she? " Well, that is true. I do live in the mountains, but amazingly enough, I still grow my own lemons!!!!!

Here you can see my little granddaughter in a rare moment when I actually let her touch the tree right before I harvested the lemon. (Usually the kids aren't even allowed to LOOK at the tree) I use only home-grown, fresh Meyers Lemons for my lemon bars.

Anything else just won't do.

That lemon tree is my BABY. I have been nursing it for 5 years, and thanks to my son and daughter-in-law, who brought it back from the dead once, it is alive and doing well. It flowers in the spring and fall with blossoms that smell like honeysuckle, and it produces about 10 lemons every december. Next to my grandkids, that tree is my most prized possession. ---just for the record, if that tree could walk and talk and destroy, I wouldn't let IT look at my grandkids.

So Much To Be Thankful For

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!  Our whole family was together, for the first time in a long time.

Our feast was at Eaglewood, and with 35 family members, it was so nice to have a large place with plenty of room.  As a matter of fact, we could have invited 120 more people!  Probably the best part, though, was the 40 second dishwasher!!!

We made home-made potato rolls, and with all of this help, they were shaped and proofing in no time at all.

My mother made these cute little name cards.

However, somebody ate the candy off of several of them long before we sat down to eat.

Hmm....Does it look like he has anything in his mouth?????

I'm sure it wasn't them.  They look busy.

Guilty?

It wasn't grandma, she was busy playing games with the kids.

It wasn't Anabelle.  But she was busy eating the painted styrofoam berries.  As a matter of fact, she ate a whole branch of them.  Notice the paint-stained face.     

Maybe we should have checked this kid's boots.

                              I'm sure it wasn't this guy.  He was busy drinking all day long.

I don't think that Brent even knew that there were gumdrops,  because he was busy watching Kung fu Panda.

It wasn't any of the boys who were busy playing golf.  They probably had plenty of snacks anyway in the snack carts that they were driving.

I don't think it was this guy.  He looks too tired to be a gumdrop thief.  We might never know who it was.  Next time we all get together, we'll have to watch out for the bandit.

Gumdrops or not, we had a great day.  Thanks to everybody who brought delicious food, helped out with the clean-up, and stayed around for great conversation.

I'm thankful for a wonderful family.

PEEK at the WEEK

This is a great post for all of you who LOVE to watch other people's home movies and look at their photo albums. Yep, this blog's for you. This isn't about any big event, just a peek of what we did this week. The normal stuff.

This little guy did have a birthday this week. I guess that is a big event. Where did this month go, and why do babies grow so fast?

Ethan came upstairs with a new hat on. Coke Zero. They belong together, that hat and him.

OK, where did he get that marker, and what else is green now??????

Walking Carston to school has been a highlight of my day. Rain or shine.

Ethan came to sleep overnight. He brought his mom and sister with him. But I don't really think that we can call it a sleep over, since he doesn't really do much sleeping. Must be why he made himself a bed on these stools.

I had some fun taking pictures of the girls "reaching for stars"

I just happened to "catch" Anabelle reaching for the star all on her own, and I grabbed my camera real quick like to capture the moment. I love the lighting on this one.

Sometimes you just might need a stool. Karley set this one up.

On Saturday we were all together for a wedding. E V E R Y O N E came to our house after, and "hung out". Nichole took Nickolas home, and Tiffany and Ashley needed to run an errand, so I volunteered (?) to watch the kids. Crazy, I know. For the first little while I kept them entertained in between battles and tears by playing every game I could think of that could keep kids from age 1 to 6 interested. Each game lasted a matter of seconds. Finally it occured to me that I could let them watch TV (why didn't I think of that sooner?) This is what it looked like when their mommies came home. They thought that I had them in control the whole time, and that we had fun.

We did.

I just love these kids.

Some Girls Just Never Grow UP

I found the CUTEST cupcake kit at Costco (in the toy section), and when I saw the mini polka-dot cupcake papers, included with the kit, I was sold!!  I left everything in the package for several days, so that I could just look at everything so neatly displayed.  Don't you agree that sometimes the packaging just makes everything look even funner?  After I had made sure that all of the girls had seen this awesome kit, then I had them over to my house, one at a time (aren't I smart?) to make cupcakes.  I love to cook, and I really want them to love to cook also, because, like it or not, they will have to do it their whole lives, so they might as well learn to love it also.  It makes it much more fun!    I went to a cooking class with Chef Todd Leonard from the Garden Restaurant, and he actually got teary-eyed as he thanked each of the women there for cooking for their families.  He felt like it was such an important part of family life.  And he it right.....it is.  Nothing makes me feel cozier and comfy-er than food (and a blanket).   Food satisfies all of our senses.  

    There are a lot of pictures here, but the girls were so darling, that I just couldn't resist taking tons of pictures.  They were so proud of the results.

                Things got messy, but it was easily cleaned up.  All ya have to do is lick!

Lindsey was invited by Karley to join us.  Lindsey is great with cakes and she is so cute with the girls.

                                                  You can see, this was  serious business.
                             Sophie did this masterpiece.  And she sells cupcakes.  $4.00/dozen

These cute plates were included in the kit, (even napkins!) So we had "tea parties" when we got all done.

Mixing the frosting was the best part.

Grandpa likes to get involved, too, though usually just by teasing them that he is the best cupcake maker in the world.--Karley agrees.  Sophie doesn't.

Sophie chose Lemon Cupcakes.  She is learning how to "zest a lemon".

The tongues come out when it is cupcake time.  (Which is why I send ALL the cupcakes home with them.)

Yep, All of the cupcakes go home

                             Do faces get any cuter than that!!  That is one happy pastry chef!!

Anabelle...........was anabelle!!!  You'll see what I'm talking about later.  

Yep, ALL of the cupcakes go home.

She was just so into this.   I was really surprised at how long this held her attention.  She totally helped with every step.

Uh-huh, I didn't get tempted to eat ANY of them.

Sophie did these when I was on the phone.  She got a stool, got the things she needed and just proceeded while I was pre-occupied.  Did they turn out cute or what??

Anabelle was so proud of herself.  And then she started to get VERY creative.

By the time she was done, we had a mess that Anabelle is so good at doing.  She can take the most unmessy thing in the world, and still turn it in to a disaster.  A cute disaster.

Thanks, girls for a fun time.  I can't think of anybody that I would rather be in the kitchen with. (except maybe, um......never mind.)