Buckeye Balls .....

Morning salutations from sunny California.  It's become the norm ... a dense fog warning over the entire Central Valley.  It looked like this pretty much all day long.  It certainly makes it drab and dreary while searching the premises for skunk tracks.

Looks like this ....... 

Feels like this!!  I'm happy to say it has not snowed here or in the lovely warm desert of Tucson ... yet anyway.  This was a couple of years ago.  It can snow all it wants once I get there.

Fog makes Nancy a dull girl.  It just saps your energy in spite of three cups of coffee.  You become glued to the funny videos on your phone until suddenly you realize they aren't funny any more.  People sure can post weird stuff.  

Mister Mister kept me occupied much of the day.  He's pretty insistent when it comes to playing the ball games.  I have to admit though, he's good company.  There's not much better than a puppy snuggling up to get warm.

It's almost time for that big 15 pound turkey breast I got from the Elks Lodge.  They ended up with too many, and sold me one for what they cost.  Not cheap mind you, but I'm hoping it will be one of the best I've ever cooked.  

Yeah I'm not holding my breath, but as long as it's not raw, it will be good for Cooper and I.  

Here's a recipe that's been on the back burner for awhile.  I think it's a Chicago thing, only because it came from an Elk friend who lived in Chicago.  Except really, it has nothing to do with that because the Buckeyes are from Ohio, right?  These are Buckeye Balls.  Not exactly an appetizing name, but boy oh boy are they tasty.

Super simple ... peanut butter, butter, powdered sugar and chocolate.  I melted an entire package of chocolate chips ... less than the 2 cups it called for ... and had so much left over, I couldn't waste it.  I ate a good portion which gave me an instant migraine, then grabbed some cookies from the freezer to finish it up.

I won't be eating more than one at a time of these beauties.  Good grief ... they are so sweet and decadently rich, it took me 20 minutes to eat the first one.  Hurray for Christmas candy!!  The headache, not so much.

Here's one that came across my phone yesterday that brought back memories of the ranch.  There was no fireplace in the house, which was a very old one built in the 1800's with square nails, meaning no insulation.  The only heater was the big one in the floor.  You could stand over it to get warm as long as no laundry had been done on that day.  

In the foggy winter, you couldn't use the clothesline out back (there was no dryer), so a wooden rack was placed over the heater and everything laid across it ... sheets, towels, Levis.  It was a little embarrassing when company came by and your underwear was hanging over the heater.  Sometimes you even wore damp clothes because they didn't get quite dry.

Our "chimney" was a card table set up in the middle of the room with homemade stockings taped to the sides.  We never got coal, because we were scared to death to be "bad".  I remember several occasions, mostly involving dish washing arguments, where anything at hand was used to "ring our bell".  A coat hangar, a yardstick, a hairbrush ... you learned real quick to be "good" in our house.

What we got in our stockings was one orange, one apple and several whole walnuts in the shell.  It's funny that we were so excited about getting fruit.  We didn't get anything like that very often and it was SOOOO good!!  My how times have changed.  We did get socks every year because they seemed to disappear outside when we were playing.  If we were REALLY good, we got one toy each.

I haven't heard anything about the ice cream yet ... I've got my fingers and toes crossed.  

Although I'm trying to clean out the freezer (since none of it will fit in my teeny tiny RV freezer), I have to brave the crowds at the grocery store today.  Jonathan has requested a banana for Christmas dinner since he's been such a good boy!!  Or girl as the case may be!!  

Since I've been good this year, maybe I'll even pick up a new pair of socks!!