The Polar Vortex (Sounds terrifying, doesn't it?)

It's bitter cold here today in Michigan. Scary cold. The high is supposed to be -6. Yes, the high. Real feel is 38 below zero right now.

The power companies asked the manufacturing facility where my husband works to please turn off anything they can because the Midwest is experiencing a power shortage. Yes, it's that cold.

I have not been outside. The Adoration chapel at my church is closed. The Pilates class I usually attend has been canceled. All the schools are closed.

Even the University of Michigan is closed which hardly ever happens.

Blame it all on the polar vortex. Learn more about it HERE and HERE.

It seems that polar vortexes are not new. They occur fairly regularly but the term has only recently been popularized. I like the term. It sounds powerful, just like the drama of these dangerously cold conditions.

Mu husband enjoys feeding and watching the birds. He has a heated bird bath for them. Clearly this is the only liquid water around.

But I haven't seen a bird all day. They must be in shelter, poor things.

Just checked the Audubon website where it says that birds have varying techniques to cope with frigid weather, that is the birds that decide to tough it out here in the North, rather than fly south for the winter.  Learn more about it HERE.

Ties That Bind

There are many ties that bind but one of them is surely blood. Here I am with my brother and sister.

I know not everyone gets along with their siblings, and some sibling relationships not only do not bind but aren't even healthy. Life is complicated.

But I love my brother and sister and I credit my parents for having made it so. We had our squabbles. We still do occasionally. But our parents set the example of forgiveness. If you mess up, you apologize. If you disagree, you try to understand the other's point of view and apologize for whatever part you played in the conflict. Rarely does the blame fall entirely on one person.

We also were never allowed to be intentionally hurtful in our disagreements. You couldn't go personal. And there was a line past which no one ever crossed. Respect for each other had to be maintained. Did we ever yell? Sure. But we did not attack. We stuck to the issue at hand.

As a result, I don't think any of us hold any grudges against each other. (Watch, one of them will call me and bring an incident up. Remember that one time.....Hehehe. Well, nothing comes to mind.)

When I'm having a bad day I call my sister and she lets me vent. I do the same for her. We both know that, for the most part, we will always be on each other's side.

My brother can always make me laugh. Regardless of the circumstances, he will be able to find something funny about it-- and something that I will think is funny as well. We seem to have exactly the same sense of humor. Sometimes just a look from him can crack me up. And when the three of us are all together, sometimes we can hardly stop laughing.

So today I'm feeling grateful for my siblings and for parents who taught us well how to get along.

Stay warm. We're getting a lot of snow in Michigan. Guess I better call my sister and find out what the weather is like in Missouri. :-)

Winter Wonderland Hot Chocolate Bar!!

We all agreed that we had taken on a bit much for this one-year-old's birthday party. The theme of the party was "Winter Wonderland." Yes, parties have themes now. That's a thing. We always just put on a party, but now everything revolves around a theme. It's actually kind of fun.

Daughter Mary not only played a major role in the decorating of Steady Eddy the Snowman, she also planned additional cupcakes that would have clear gelatin snow globes over the frosting. That was quite an undertaking and didn't quite work out as planned. We still had the cupcakes though with the little trinkets on them that would have been under the globe.

Daughter Anne, the mother of the birthday boy, planned a hot chocolate bar, with rich hot chocolate (whipping cream, condensed milk, regular milk, vanilla and melted chocolate chips) simmering in a slow cooker, and add-ons: marshmallows, praline sticks, candy canes, cinnamon, whipping cream, snowman peeps and caramel sauce.

Daughter-in-law Elle did decorations complete with twinkle lights...And daughter Liz helped with everything.

They also served subs!!

We finally looked at each other and agreed. This was a lot! We also realized we had actually pulled it off. It was a lot of work but also a lot of fun!

I remember thinking in the last half hour of preparation how delightful it was to work with my daughters on a hospitality event. We worked quite well together, all kind of on the same page. No one chatted about unrelated things or told stories. We helped each other as needed. We stayed on target. We talked fast. We moved fast. I loved it. I was so proud of them. And even though it was not my party, I felt a certain maternal satisfaction as I watched them work. I thought, "I have a team."

Yes, we overdid it. We took on too many elaborate projects. But we truly enjoyed ourselves and we pulled it off. Somehow. Thanks be to God.  :-)

Everybody, stay warm. It's freezing cold in Michigan, not exactly a winter wonderland.

Biting Off More Than We Can Chew...

                                                       

It was such an adorable cake pan. And the birthday boy loved snowmen. Perfect! We would make him a snowman cake.  I couldn't find a flat Wilton pan in the shape of a snowman, where you just decorate it flat. No. So I discovered this three dimensional guy who stands up. I thought, "Cool. That will be adorable." It was only after having placed the order on Amazon that I thought about what I had done. I had never made a three dimensional cake that stood vertical before. How would I get it to stand up? What would steady it? It would probably fall off the tray with a lit candle on it, just as we brought it to him singing Happy Birthday.

There would also be no extra time. The pan would arrive the evening we would have to start baking. Oh dear. I solicited the help of my clever daughter Mary. That took some of the pressure off.

We had to bake him the night before, glue him with thick icing to the cardboard and refrigerate him overnight. I started referring to this guy as Frosty, of course. With great trepidation we lifted him, undecorated on the cardboard, with only wet frosting holding him vertical. After he made it into the fridge I started calling him, appropriately I think, Steady Eddy. The next morning we started the decorating. The snow was mostly done as stars, the hat and the scarf with a ribbon tip, I think.

My daughter, who has much less experience than I in cake decorating, turned out to have quite a natural knack. Thankfully!

And here was Steady Eddy, on his little pedestal, the prince of the hot chocolate table (which I will write more about tomorrow.)

 When my one-year old grandson saw it he started laughing and pointing. (Heart throb!) It was worth every effort just to see his face.

As moms and grandmoms we have to be careful about overextending. Generally, I've found that, for me, it is not a good idea to take on too much.

But sometimes it just works! This was one of those times. There was stress, yes. But it was a good stress, the kind that propels you forward and uses creative energy, powered by love.

May we all learn the right boundaries on what we ought to try and ought not to try. May the Spirit guide us. And if the Spirit says, "Go for it," may we go for it. Blessed be God.