Tiger Ears

It's time for "our state fair, is the best state fair, don't miss it, don't even be late!" One of the favorite treats there is Tiger Ears, scones made large and thin and served with honey butter, sponsored by the local Boy Scouts. We planned to go on Saturday, but changed to going the following Saturday. We could hardly wait for the Tiger Ears, so we decided to make these "scones" ourselves. Ours weren't as large and thin, but the kids liked them better.

The recipe is from my cousin who says she uses this recipe for everything, but any bread recipe will do.

In mixing bowl:
Dissolve 3 cups warm water, 2 Tbs. dry yeast, 1 Tbs. sugar and let sit 5 minutes.
Add: 1/2 c sugar, 2 tsp. salt, 1/3 c. oil, 6-7 cups flour, knead 5 minutes with dough hook.

For SCONES: Increase sugar to 1 c. After turning onto floured board, pat 1/2" thick. Cut, stretch thin. Let rise 30 minutes. Fry in hot oil.

For LOAVES: Shape into 2 loaves. Let rise 30 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

For ROLLS: Do not punch down the dough after rising. Just turn onto floured board. Pat to 1" thick. Cut, stretch thin. Let rise 30 minutes. Fry in hot oil.

For CINNAMON ROLLS: Increase the sugar to 1 cup. After turning onto floured board, roll to 3' x 3' square. Spread with 1 cup butter, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup white sugar, lots of cinnamon, nuts and raisins, optional. Roll up, cut 1" thick and cut. Bake at 375 degrees 15-20 minutes. Cool some, frost with 1 cube magarine, 4 cups powdered sugar, 4-5 Tbs. milk, 1 Tbs. vanilla

Things you can control

Have you heard that one CONTROLS out of fear? It's so stressful to control everything. Below is a list I got somewhere of things we can and cannot control, fear or not. Isn't fear just False Evidence Against Reality? Isn't the opposite of Fear FAITH? Stephen R. Covey http://www.franklincovey.com encourages one to work within our personal Circle of Influence not our Circles of Concern.

One Stress reducer is "Know Your Limits". Consider what you can and cannot control. Sometimes a reality check can show us whether we're causing ourself unnecessary stress, either through unrealistic expectations or feeling like everything is out of our control. It's been suggested printing these lists and posting them on our dashboard, the refrigerator, or anywhere you can read them over for a quick "reset."

Things You Can Control
• your reaction to others
• your to-do list (and the number of items on it)
• how your day is spent
• your goals
• how much time you're willing to spend on a particular project
• your self-esteem and self-worth
• how you treat others
• your exercise and eating habits
• the communication of your needs to others
• telling people when you're stressed out and need time alone or help with projects
• whether or how much you smoke or drink alcohol
• how old you act
• the way you raise your children


Things You Can't Control
• the age or stage of development your children are in
• the way you were raised
• whether the stoplight turns red or green
• how fast other cars are driving
• the number of hours in a day
• other people
• the timing of your teenager's mood swings or your toddler's temper tantrums
• your age
• when work or a project takes much longer than expected
• waiting for your doctor 30 minutes after your scheduled appointment
• a death, illness, or accident in the family
• the calendar (helpful to remember when holidays are approaching)
• being laid off from a job
• messes made right after you have cleaned the house

Mountain Man Rendezvous

The annual Fort Henry Buckskinner's Mountain Man Rendezvous was held at Camp Henry this week. http://henrysforkcountry.com/full.php?sid=50 We've been attending for a number of years and enjoyed it again this year.
We enjoyed throwing the "hawk and knife",
throwing the "atlatl",
rescuing the "damsel in distress",
throwing the "buffalo chip",
watching the rifle shoots,
chasing candy shot from the "candy" cannon -- our kids were seen scrambling for candy on tv www.kifi.com,
playing "Lewis and Clark" on the raft -- the water was the lowest I've ever seen it,
tasting Grub's grub http://www.cityofashton.com/tom_mattingly.htm,
and attending council fire.

We didn't stay over, but went back up each day. Nor did we get to attend any trading blankets because of other activities we had. We made "fire bread" or fry bread (scones) for us to eat at home when the trader who usually sells them wasn't there this year.

Some of our purchases include a Bowie knife, a play bow and arrow, ermine and muskrat hides and a necklace from Jull, bracelets and pants from No Recoil, the annual trinket from Tinker, and ordered a sheath from Crazy Al, etc.

We also heard Many Strings singing, watched Dirty Rifle making baskets from pine needles, the skinning of a beaver and racoon, and several other traders making new items. We also enjoyed seeing many of the usual folk who come watch or participate. Saturday was a very busy day. It rained -- as it always does sometime -- on Wednesday during set up, but got drier and warmer each day. When we woke up Wednesday morning, the kids said, "It must be Mountain Man, because it's raining!"

We've had a wonderful few days. Mostly for me, it was so great to be in beautiful Henry's Meadow again!

May is so hectic!

It seems that the month of May gets more hectic each year. With it being the last month of school it means so many extra school and extracurricular activities e.g. plays, field trips, field days, softball/baseball practices and games, recitals, and then graduations for all ages, end of school parties, teacher gifts, etc. Although I enjoyed each of them, I was so happy when the last day of school came and went!

Ice Cream Cake

This year each of us had an ice cream cake on our birthday.

I've used 2 - 9" silicone rounds or my silicone bundt pan for the shapes so far. It takes a half gallon for each round or 2 quarts for the bundt pan. You can even use 2 flavors of ice cream. I let the ice cream begin to thaw enough to empty from the carton and dump into the pans. Then I press it down, place plastic wrap over them and immediately freeze them. When I'm ready to serve them, I get a nice cake plate out and easily peel off the silicone pan and place the cake on the cake plate. The upsides are 1) there's no need to take the time to make a cake and 2)you have so many flavors to choose from. The downsides of using these homemade ice cream cakes are: 1) it slides off easily, 2) you must serve it immediately when you get it out and you must immediately then refreeze the leftovers, and 3) when I use frosting for decorations or names, it too slides off easily as it begins to thaw. This time I used the sugar letters and drizzled chocolate sauce on instead and it stayed nicely. Decorations like candles, flags, etc. are easy to stick into an ice cream cake.

Milky Boots Finds a Good Home

We've found a home for Milky Boots in the next neighborhood. At least he's closer now, but they are moving out of state later this summer, so again, the kids are very sad about this. They worry if he's being taken care of or not since he's now a garage cat vs. house cat. Here's one last photo before he goes to his new owner. She's a cat lover thankfully.

We heard and met Glenn Beck tonight!

We had a chance to hear Glenn Beck, #3 radio talk show host, speak and tell about his conversion to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His conversion story was incredible and if you know Glenn Beck -- entertaining. His acceptance of the atonement and dedication and devotion to his temple covenants -- a complete 180 for him are inspiring. You can find out more about him at www.glennbeck.com.

A friend sent me a link to an 8 minute interview about his conversion, which tells the short version. It's a great interview and a good one to watch. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKtAPT9KEfM

As far as his radio talk show and CNN tv show, he says he is simply a seeker of truth regarding any issue and most recently issues like Muslims, global warming, the border and so on.