The ABC's of Trip Reporting- PLEASE JOIN US ON THE NEW THREAD!

[glennbo123]

MeDICAL UPDATE. TANYA. MOM3SONSTT

I am in hospital. Received kidney transplant tires night. For now I am only posting here since most ppl follow ur. Thread. I am. Using iPhone and hate it. Will have iPad late.

Surgery was fine kidney is working. Of course it's a whole lifetime change but I was On waitlist nearly 6' years

Will update more with. Bigger screen

That's great news Tanya!!!!

Best wishes on your recovery from surgery.

 

[brookelizabeth]

Great Christmas update! The pic of the kids around the tree they picked is adorable. And all those treats looked delicious!!! YUM.

Don't be jealous. Buy a ticket.

Oh I'm sure we'll make good use of our time together gabbing, drinking wine and having a good time calling phone booths in the UK. Wish you could be there.

Tempting to join you!!! If only...

Oh my word - if you call the phone booths that would be HILARIOUS!!!! Do it!!

And of course tell us all about it!

MeDICAL UPDATE. TANYA. MOM3SONSTT

I am in hospital. Received kidney transplant tires night. For now I am only posting here since most ppl follow ur. Thread. I am. Using iPhone and hate it. Will have iPad late.

Surgery was fine kidney is working. Of course it's a whole lifetime change but I was On waitlist nearly 6' years

Will update more with. Bigger screen

This is fantastic news!!!!! I rejoice with you!!!!!

(and ugh, I hate DISing on the iPhone too though, the DIScret mode does help some...but only some! lol)

 

[All7OfUs]

Great post about Christmas Liesa!! I loved seeing all the pics.

Oh I'm sure we'll make good use of our time together gabbing, drinking wine and having a good time calling phone booths in the UK. Wish you could be there.

THanks! And now you get to see the house IN PERSON!! ( I promise I'll clean as if you were my mother- only younger and a Disney lover! )

Those sound like quite excellent ways to spend a few days!!

Great pics from the ball! :

I think I posted those earlier in Dec., but I thought they'd be a nice addition to this update. Our next ball is next weekend- I'll be sure to take more pix.

Gingerbread houses?? That was like a whole metropolis!!! :

Imagine if my other 2 had been there! She has 6 kids, I have 5! Hey, that's a baseball team, isnt' it??!!

$15 tree? I spent $45 for ours this year. I think next year I am just going to hike through the woods till I find one.:

$45!!? OUCH!! Here in Oregon, you have to have a "cut permit" to go find and chop one. Same in CT?? I think it's like $5 for one. The only problem with that is that they can be sort of lopsided and not very "full". But you know me well enough by now. Cheap is good!

I see your family is well versed in handling firearms.... Remember that post I made about Hairy Feet on Molly's TR tonight??? ... I take it back.

Yeah, I remember that post, you knucklehead. Watch it! We also like to keep them handy for any young suitors who might have an eye on Bek or Mik. (Yes, that has started.) Don't want them getting sassy or anything. (The guys, that is; the girls already are. )

Liesa, thank you very much for the wonderful Christmas post! I think your home looked very lovely and welcoming for the season.

Your cookie plate looks like it could be from Germany, not only the cookies, but also the plate! That's a very traditional China pattern here in Europe.

Oh, you're so welcome!! I totally had you in mind while making all those cookies!

Technical ?? === When I made my dough, you can see it's quite "sticky", and I had to use quite a lot of flour to keep it from sticking to everything in order to shape them. When we were in Nuremberg, we watched the lady in the gingerbread store there on the Square (the one that sells ALL gingerbread in the decorative tins) actually kneading the dough on marble (maybe it was wood) board and it seemed quite a bit more 'stiff' and easily handled. Should I have added some flour to my dough, even though the recipe doesn't call for any?? I have about 1/2 the bag of spice mixture left and am thinking of making another batch soon, but will ice them with lemon glaze with almonds.

My MIL loved all things European- and it wouldn't surprise me if she bought that at the German import store here in Salem. She also has/d a TON of stuff from the Scandanavian import store. Fun little wooden carvings and such.

 

[All7OfUs]

I never said I didn't call myself a dicTAtorship, just that Dan must have helped you with the spelling! Otherwise, I don't have a clue what a diCAtorship IS???

Ooooooooooh, excuse me Mr. Dictionary. Maybe I really meant, Mr. Potaterchip.

Anyhow, I think I should get an extra bonus point, because it took me nearly as long to look for and find XXX Ali's, as it did to go back and find that post. (ie. 4-EVER!)

You did use the recipe and special baking secrets I shared in my TR didn't you???

Of COURSE, I did!! Is there any other??

Oh brother, I so had higher hopes for Liesa...

HUH? I never knew my ratings were high enough to drop in the first place.

Liesa, just make sure you stay away from any radiation monitors......

Loved the Christmas updates Liesa! Thanks for sharing some of your family traditions with us! Some great food pics in there too, and using Smarties for the roof of the gingerbread houses instead of gumdrops.....

Smarties, in my opinion are the ONLY candy REALLY worth eating at all. Well, except for dark choco, but that's in an entirely different league. Oh yeah, and marzipan. (Still enjoying my super secret stash of that Flossbolna!)

I didn't mention that my DMIL had baked 3 loaves of her special Christmas bread and had frozen them- We all believe that she knew her time on earth was limited and had prepared her family for her home-going. She had also done some a lot of extra canning of peaches and jams and pickles that we are all enjoying this winter as well. It was really hard, Marv, to ice and decorate that bread knowing her loving hands made it, as she prayed for us last summer.

Ooooh, love your Christmas updates Liesa! Sigh, don't you wish it lasted longer than a day? I love Christmas and it seems to fly by quicker and quicker every year. That's just so wrong.

I do so love Christmas!! I guess I always considered all the stuff we do before Christmas to be part of it, so by the time Dec. 25 rolls around, I've had my fill, and am usually exhausted. (and broke- but not from gifts, but from food and entertaining).

Your baked goods look delish! I think a tiny bit of drool just dropped onto my keyboard!

I usually try to get a few more things made, even while we were living overseas, but t his year was more focused on the guests, and I knew my Sisters-In-Law would also be bringing other baked goodies.

Ugh, we spent $90 on our tree this year. We go to the same place every time and every time I tell DH that it's too much money! How fun though to traipse through the snow and select your own tree! Reminds me of Christmas Vacation! And I love this pic of your sweet kiddos!

That's TWICE as bad as what Tim spent! I could never do that- guess we're spoiled here in the PNW!

Love all the pics from the ball! How fun, very Jane Austenish too. Were there specific dances you all did too? Looks like a blast!

It is exactly Jane Austen-ish; EXACTLY the kind of dancing they do in the movies like Sense and Sensibility etc.... The first dance that Jane dances with Bingley is one we do quite often called Comical Fellow; others we do pretty regularly are: Zephyrs and Flora, The Gothic Dance, and the Spanish Waltz. Most are done in lines of men and ladies, but others are done in sets of 3 or 4 couples. We sure have a lot of fun every Thursday, but the balls every couple of months are especially fun!!

This German stein is gorgeous! DH would love it.

My DH actually USES his occassionally!

That Mission Mill looks amazing! I'd book a homeschool field trip there in a second. And was this yarn made from the looms inside?

You know, I should totally check into that!!

The yarn was probably spun by the ladies' spinning/ yarn guild. There are quite a variety of groups that do different textile arts. I was thinking of Crissy (IfYouHadWings) when I saw those!! She calls it "yarn porn".

I have a large family myself (about 20 first cousins on one side of the family!) and I can't tell you how much fun our Christmases were! Everyone packed tightly inside like a Christmas cracker! But that was all part of the fun and I have such wonderful memories of those times.

That IS a lot of kinfolk!! My kids on both sides have only 11, and the 2 sides never are together.
Which is a good thing! Our families have COMPLETELY different dynamics!

Thanks for sharing your Christmas with us Liesa, it looks like you had a lovely, festive time!

You so welcome!!

 

[All7OfUs]

i think someone needs a lesson in gun safety...dont you remember you shot them with your gun 2 pictures ago.
why go through the whole woods, when you can just cut down one of your neighbors at night like i do.

Nah, I was just kiddin'. We wouldn't shoot ducks... only cats.

That thought has crossed my mind dozens of times; then I always think they might also have a .22.

Thank you for sharing your christmas with us Liesa! Those were some impressive gingerbread houses. Your girls are talented.

The last time I tried to build a Gingerbread house it ended in a bit of diaster. It was my bright idea to get a kit from Wilton to make with my cousin Mia when she was 5. When the icing wasn't holding the wall of the house together, I resorted to Elmer's glue and figured "no one eats these things anyways." When that still didn't work, the whole darn kit when in the trash, at least Mia was entertained by my frustration.

I also love the fancy ball! It's so Charles Dickens. Do you watch Firefly? The girls' Asian style dresses remind me of the Shindig from Firefly.

There is one picture there that shows my daughter pretty near the end of her rope. Her roof kept caving in, and she was almost ready to give up. So I know how easily things can go south in GBHouse making- Glad you could give Mia a bit of entertainment though.

I've never even heard of Firefly. I'll have to google it.

That dance was any formalwear- the next one's theme is "7 Brides for 7 Brothers". Should be a fun one to see the costumes! But the dancing style always stays Regency Period.

About 1 mile from our house there is an old Christmas tree farm that has since closed. The whole property is getting run down but there is still a house there that somebody lives in... I can see the headlines now. 'Man trespassing shot while trying to steal Christmas Tree.'

I guess he wants to live in a forest.

 

[that's nice]

Yeah, I remember that post, you knucklehead. Watch it! We also like to keep them handy for any young suitors who might have an eye on Bek or Mik. (Yes, that has started.) Don't want them getting sassy or anything. (The guys, that is; the girls already are. )

I guess I'd rather be a knucklehead than a blockhead!

I call Juliana knucklehead all the time... (playing of course)

 

[Flossbolna]

MeDICAL UPDATE. TANYA. MOM3SONSTT

I am in hospital. Received kidney transplant tires night. For now I am only posting here since most ppl follow ur. Thread. I am. Using iPhone and hate it. Will have iPad late.

Surgery was fine kidney is working. Of course it's a whole lifetime change but I was On waitlist nearly 6' years

Will update more with. Bigger screen

Tany, how absolutely wonderful!!! I did not know that you had been waiting for such a long time. I know that you once mentioned waiting but I had no idea that it was so imminent!

I think being an organ donor is such a honorable thing to do and I hope that everything will go perfectly with your recovery! I wish you all the best for your new life!!

Technical ?? === When I made my dough, you can see it's quite "sticky", and I had to use quite a lot of flour to keep it from sticking to everything in order to shape them. When we were in Nuremberg, we watched the lady in the gingerbread store there on the Square (the one that sells ALL gingerbread in the decorative tins) actually kneading the dough on marble (maybe it was wood) board and it seemed quite a bit more 'stiff' and easily handled. Should I have added some flour to my dough, even though the recipe doesn't call for any?? I have about 1/2 the bag of spice mixture left and am thinking of making another batch soon, but will ice them with lemon glaze with almonds.

My MIL loved all things European- and it wouldn't surprise me if she bought that at the German import store here in Salem. She also has/d a TON of stuff from the Scandanavian import store. Fun little wooden carvings and such.

How funny that she was such a Europe fan!

No flour ever into the Lebkuchen!! The dough is very sticky and it should not be kneaded. There are different kinds of Lebkuchen, but the recipe we gave you is for the most luxurious version (what else would be fit for you??), called Elisen Lebkuchen. Once you have the sticky dough in the bowl, you just need to have bowl with water which you use to make your hands a little bit wet (shake off any excessive water, it should just be a very thin film), use a spoon to portion off some dough (they can be different sizes, don't have to be as large as the ones that are made in the bakery) and then roll the dough in your wet hands to form a ball. Put that on the baking sheet and press it down slightly, but not too much (about so that it is half as high as the diameter of your ball was before). Leave quite a bit of space between them as they might run once in the oven. Once you have formed all of them, let them dry at a cool place (not at normal room temperature, but not as cold as the fridge ether, I would say between 10 and 15°C) overnight, so for about 12 hours. Drying them will prevent them from running into one huge lebkuchen on your baking sheet.

I also noticed that they were very light. I was wondering wether you were only using almonds? I think they have more taste if you use almonds and hazelnuts.

I hope this helps! If you would want a recipe for the other type of gingerbread (which would be more like a spice cake), I can dig one out as well!

Oh and in case anyone reads this and would want to try baking Lebkuchen, just say so, I can post the recipe!

 

[Poolrat]

MeDICAL UPDATE. TANYA. MOM3SONSTT

I am in hospital. Received kidney transplant tires night. For now I am only posting here since most ppl follow ur. Thread. I am. Using iPhone and hate it. Will have iPad late.

Surgery was fine kidney is working. Of course it's a whole lifetime change but I was On waitlist nearly 6' years

Will update more with. Bigger screen

oh Tanya what great news. Wishing you a quick and easy recovery.

 

[marvali]

Ooooooooooh, excuse me Mr. Dictionary. Maybe I really meant, Mr. Potaterchip.

Clean ing sno uh sn acks off com pu ter sc re en n ow...........


Okay, think I got the keyboard working and can read my screen again! Heading over right now to change my official Title on my TR!!!

Anyhow, I think I should get an extra bonus point, because it took me nearly as long to look for and find XXX Ali's, as it did to go back and find that post. (ie. 4-EVER!)

Actually, anyone who is working that hard deserves to LOSE points!!!

Be on the lookout for my final clue about the contest that goes with a few other comments I have made to people on my TR already! I repeat, everyone is making the Ali-do contest WAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY harder than it really is!!!!!!

Of COURSE, I did!! Is there any other??

Well.....no!

I didn't mention that my DMIL had baked 3 loaves of her special Christmas bread and had frozen them- We all believe that she knew her time on earth was limited and had prepared her family for her home-going. She had also done some a lot of extra canning of peaches and jams and pickles that we are all enjoying this winter as well. It was really hard, Marv, to ice and decorate that bread knowing her loving hands made it, as she prayed for us last summer.

Oh Liesa, what a wonderful memory to have of your DMIL while sharing the holidays with something from her own hands!!! I know it was special, rewarding and so very hard all at the same time.

I will be gone most of this weekend for a family reunion with my DM's family! They really wanted my Dad to be there and he didn't want to go alone, so I told him I would definitely come go with him. I know that is going to be really tough and special all at the same time too!!!

 

[All7OfUs]

And Liesa, I hope you get some easily-treated results back from all your tests ASAP.

I go today again for some MASSIVE back pain that sprung up literally overnight.

Now on to the update...what a wonderful Christmas. Though I have to say: 22 PEOPLE???!!! Holy mackerel!

It was crowded, but sometimes that adds to the fun!

Those gingerbread houses are awesome. Your kids must have so much more patience than I do!

I guess they'd have to be patient to live with me.

Oh, I hear ya. My DH's response to my guest-inspired cleaning flurries usually trends toward: "Nory, just relax. Just ignore the mess, no one cares." If I think about this too hard, it makes me get very frustrated about certain seemingly unavoidable gender inequalities. So I try not to dwell on it too much!

I totally don't get that response!! No one notices?? I think not! I've always believed that no one notices when your house is CLEAN, but they sure will when there's dirty dishes and slime on the cabinets.

I love this picture -- the contrast of the tree with the incredible lushness outside the window. I would give a lot for that view!

I really liked this picture too. It also showed the moments of quiet there were interspersed with the hubbub!

Great Christmas update! The pic of the kids around the tree they picked is adorable. And all those treats looked delicious!!! YUM.

Tempting to join you!!! If only...

Oh my word - if you call the phone booths that would be HILARIOUS!!!! Do it!!

And of course tell us all about it!

Thanks!

I know the "if only" all too well!

I guess I'd rather be a knucklehead than a blockhead!

I call Juliana knucklehead all the time... (playing of course)

And I was only playing too.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

MeDICAL UPDATE. TANYA. MOM3SONSTT

I am in hospital. Received kidney transplant tires night. For now I am only posting here since most ppl follow ur. Thread. I am. Using iPhone and hate it. Will have iPad late.

Surgery was fine kidney is working. Of course it's a whole lifetime change but I was On waitlist nearly 6' years

Will update more with. Bigger screen

Tanya! What a wonderful gift! I'm glad you and your kidney are doing well! Praying for a quick recovery!

 

[maroo]

Hi!!

I am here lurking. Tonya - awesome news!!!!!!

My back AND cable are out (I have cable Internet). But I have a bit of news. Not a kidney - but found out yesterday that Lisa, Lauren, her bff and her bff's sister and I are going to Disney!!!!!!!!


In 14 days.


Woo hoo!!!

 

[mom3sonstt]

Sorry for the hijack, but I knew you lovely people wouldn't mind. . I had met most of you through this thread so I figured more if my friends would see it here than they would on my poor neglected thread. I have to laugh at all the errors the stupid iPhone and I dreamed up. The iPad is better, but not perfect. I think I will blame the drugs too

But again, thanks for the use of your thread, and thanks to each and every one of you fir the well wishes.......they are bound to help with the healing. I love all of you "strangers"!

 

[PirateKate]

Your Christmas looks like so much fun! I can't wait until my boys are old enough to get into Christmas more. I would love to make gingerbread houses with them. Or would that be too girly for them? I'm sure they'd be willing to eat the gingerbread houses.

The ball looked really fun, too. It sort of reminded me of Enchanted.

 

[marvali]

But again, thanks for the use of your thread, and thanks to each and every one of you fir the well wishes.......they are bound to help with the healing. I love all of you "strangers"!

Tanya, I know you specifically meant me because they don't come any "stranger!"

 

[KatMark]

Congrats Tanya! I hope your recovery is short and quality of life is excellent!

Mark, I couldn't have said it better.

Congratulations, Tanya. I'm so happy for you.

 

[eandesmom]

I am doing a

​

For Tanya!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that absolutely made my night.

That and the pretzel glasses. Which isn't in the same league as a new kidney!

Pretty pretty tree!!!!!!!!

And no, it's not too late for Christmas, I've thought about it but not actually posted, not to mention I haven't posted the Germany trip yet either! Thank you for sharing

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Hi!!

I am here lurking. Tonya - awesome news!!!!!!

My back AND cable are out (I have cable Internet). But I have a bit of news. Not a kidney - but found out yesterday that Lisa, Lauren, her bff and her bff's sister and I are going to Disney!!!!!!!!


In 14 days.


Woo hoo!!!

Exciting news!

Sorry for the hijack, but I knew you lovely people wouldn't mind. . I had met most of you through this thread so I figured more if my friends would see it here than they would on my poor neglected thread. I have to laugh at all the errors the stupid iPhone and I dreamed up. The iPad is better, but not perfect. I think I will blame the drugs too

But again, thanks for the use of your thread, and thanks to each and every one of you fir the well wishes.......they are bound to help with the healing. I love all of you "strangers"!

So glad you shared here - Not my thread - I don't think I'm even an official spokesperson, but - still glad you shared your news with us DIS peeps!

 

[All7OfUs]

Tanya- YOu are absolutely welcome ANYTIME to post anything you like here - especially such amazing, really it's actually pretty danged miraculous, isn't it?!, news like that!! That's not HIJACKING the thread, that's ENHANCING it!!! Once again, it shows how much we can pray for and support one another in good things and in tough life circumstances. Once again, congrats!!


Please feel free to update as you need to---- there's about 10 pages left on this thread before I have to start a new one, and I'm hoping MAROO will give us at least one more BAKER STORY to round it out!!

(Been a long time since I've done that. Felt good!)

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

great news tanya glad to hear it.

About 1 mile from our house there is an old Christmas tree farm that has since closed. The whole property is getting run down but there is still a house there that somebody lives in... I can see the headlines now. 'Man trespassing shot while trying to steal Christmas Tree.'

it is trespassing if you wait till he goes to the store, then sneak in and get it.

Oh, you just paid me back for yesterday when the person in the next room was looking at you funny.....

Nah, I was just kiddin'. We wouldn't shoot ducks... only cats.

well thats okay then, cat meat is a little tougher though.