It's Grand to be Great!

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would live long enough to be a Great Grandma! I would have settled for just being able to live long enough to see each of my grandchildren grow to maturity and have the opportunity to see what they do with their lives.

December 18th, one of my granddaughter's made me a Great Grandma! Her little boy weighed in at 6lbs 12 ozs. He was a little early, they said he would be born at the end of the month rather than in the middle, but you know babies, they make their entrances when they think they should!  He did have some complications. They had to put him on oxygen for awhile and then transport him to a larger hospital to their NICU unit because of some additional medical problems.  So if you would please keep this little guy in your prayers I would surely appreciate it.  They named him Rhett, which is his daddy's middle name. I have a feeling it is a family name that has been carried down from generation to generation.

I made cookies last night and then marshmallow fudge today and did it ever turn out yummy!  All I know is I'd best get it wrapped up fast before I end up eating it all. Otherwise I see a holiday weight gain of at least 10 lbs that will take me forever to get rid of!

I also made 8 mini-loaves of banana bread to be given as gifts. They all turned out really nice and have been wrapped and all I need now are some pretty bows to go on top.

Tomorrow I will line the wicker sleighs with wax paper and saran wrap and fill them to the brim with spice cookies and chocolate cookies filled with chocolate chips. My daughters are really going to love me, I am going to have my grandchildren on such sugar highs they are going to be bouncing off the walls for weeks!

Tomorrow I have to also make some regular fudge, the recipe is posted over to the side of the blog. I was in a panic earlier today because I had picked up several cans of evaporated milk, thinking all my recipes I was making called for it, where as the regular fudge calls for condensed milk. So I got on the internet and checked to see if I could substitute one for the other.  I know that evaporated milk is not as thick and creamy as condensed, but I was figuring maybe there would be just a reduced amount that you should use in order to substitute. I learned that you can actually make evaporated milk into condensed milk by adding sugar and heating the mixture to reduce the water content. I have added this handy tip over on the side of the blog.Otherwise the advice was NOT to just substitute one for the other since they vary in sweetness and density of liquid.

It looks like at least parts of Oklahoma are going to get a slightly white Christmas! We are expecting some snow here in Oklahoma in the next 24-48 hours, with the upper part of the state receiving more than the central and southern sections. There is still a very good chance that we could get 1-2 inches of accumulated snow down into the central section of the state, with blustering winds and cold temperatures for at least several days.I will need to remember to "drip the faucets" if the temperatures stay below freezing for at least a 24 hour period. Nothing worse than busted water pipes on a holiday!

But before the snow arrives, we are expecting some thunderstorms and rain which will then turn into snow flurries, so driving could be quite hazardous. If you are traveling into Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado or the Texas panhandle, please be sure to check your local weather reports for those areas ahead of your trip. We want everyone to have a safe and happy Christmas.