The "Toybox" theory of decluttering....

With my washing machine on the blink, I haven't done laundry in a couple of days. That means that our favorite things are all in the wash! :( Sounds like a good time to clean out the closets!

That's the strategy I used for the "toybox" theory of decluttering. When my kids were small, they'd get out a TON of toys and have them ALL OVER the room. I would look at the mess and think, I should get rid of about half of these, so they'd fit into the toybox! One day I realized that the toys that were all over the room were the FAVORITES, and that the toys left in the toybox were the ones that the kids didn't care about. Now I recommend that you let the children play. Let them get out every toy, or at least start to ... and then, once they are quite happily playing with a bunch of toys, you can go through what's left in the toy box and get rid of most of it!

So, now that we have most of our favorite clothes in the hampers now, perhaps it's time to go back and look in the closet. If it's still hanging in there now, it probably won't fit, or was a dated style. Either way, I should get rid of the stuff!

A Visit to RI

Did you know that this is a Pirate Ship? Teresa, Phillip, and Abigail sailed to many adventures on this ship. They must had a really well-stocked galley, because they kept having picnics and bringing food to Anne & me!


Phillip and Abigail played several rounds of the Fishing game.

Aunt Mabel's Cookies

My apologies to Facebook readers who will now see this a second time, because I'm posting it to my Blog and it will get brought in as a NOTE on FB.

When I was young, I loved to go to Aunt Mabel's house. It always smelled great - sort of a molasses cookie smell... There were always cookies in the cookie jar, and often cookies cooling on the counter. We tried for year to recreate these cookies, but no one could seem to do it. At one point, my Mom and I, and I think maybe even Aunt Shelley, looked through recipes, and came up with this as the most likely candidate. I think we made them that day?

I made these cookies yesterday, and I think they did come out really well. I've realized that the recipe card says 375, and I'd baked them at 350... that may explain why they weren't as crisp as I'd remembered!

Taffy Crunch Cookies
1 C. Butter
1 C. Sugar
1 C. Molasses
1/4 C. Milk
4 1/2 C. sifted flour
1/3 tsp. salt
2 tsp soda

Cream butter and sugar.
Mix molasses and milk.
Combine creamed mixture with molasses mixture.
Add dry ingredients.
Shape the dough into a roll or pack in a pan.
Chill overnight.
Slice thin.
Bake 8-10 minutes
Beware of burning
Keep tightly covered.

As I recall, Aunt Mabel made these in a rectangle, about 1" wide and 2"-3" tall. I wonder what she used for a pan to pack them into, or if she just made a roll and squared it. I used a loaf pan, but the shape wasnt right, and they were too big. I cut the dough in half and shaped it some and it worked ok. I baked them at 350, and the first batch weren't cooked quite enough... (2 cookie sheets, 2 dozen!) the second batch came out really good (another 2 cookie sheets, another 2 dozen!). I think I have enough to cook up one more batch (another 2 dozen, total 6 dozen cookies!) I wonder if she mixed up this much and just cooked some each day... that might explain how her house ALWAYS smelled so good!!!

These are the other "contenders" for the title... feel free to try them all... I'm sure they are all delicious, in their own way!!!!

Hard Crispy Molasses Cookies
2 1/2 C. sifted flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp salt
1 C. molasses
1/2 C. shortening
1/2 ts soda
Sift flour, measure, add baking powder, ginger, and salt and sift again.
Heat molasses, remove from stove, add shortening and soda.
Add flour gradually, mixing well.
Chill until firm enough to roll.
Roll very thin on a slightly floured board.
Cut with floured cutter.
Bake on greased pan 350.
remove from pan carefully

Mabel's Molasses Cookies
1 C. Molasses
1 C. Sugar
1 C. lard or shortening
1 egg
beat together and add:
3 rounded teaspoons of soda in 1/2 c. hot water
1 tsp cream of tartar
2 tsp ginger
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
4 C. of flour or so

Molasses Cookies
1/2 C. Molasses
2 tsp soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
beat until foamy and add:
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. shortening
scant 1/2 c. warm water
1/2 tsp salt
spice or vanilla
about 2 1/2 c. flour to roll.
mix and leave in refrigerator to cool.

Recipe: Lemon Crisp Cookies

I have always liked these cookies. They are light and crispy, and really easy to make. I've since experimented with other cake mixes, and they work well, too (particularly strawberry), but the lemon are just really nice.

1 Package Duncan Hines Lemon Supreme Cake Mix
1/2 C. Salad Oil
2 eggs
1 tsp grated lemon peel

Combine all and mix well.
Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes until golden.