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Monday, December 19, 2016

DECEMBER 20TH: CHRISTMAS CANDY AND KITTENS

My dad grew up during the Depression.  He usually just received  a warm shirt or a pair of boots he needed for Christmas, but the one thing he looked forward to was getting candy from the mail-order catalog.  Way back then you could order a pail of assorted candy, which included hard pieces and chocolates, it was a real mixed bag.  He never got over the excitement of getting candy for Christmas.  When my sister was a teen, she worked at the dime store and  always brought home the first little white paper bag of seafoam and chocolate drops in early December when they received their first shipment of Christmas candies.  His excitement would build from then on,  as he studied the advertisements to get the biggest and best box of chocolates he could find.  And the box would be huge, at least five pounds.  He loved his candy.  Our church handed out grocery bags full of candy on Christmas Eve to all the children.  Dad reveled in being on the committee to fill the bags, always urging the gentleman that owned the store that donated the candy not to be so stingy with the chocolates.  Still to this day, the smell of hard candies mixed with peanuts brings me right back to five-years old on Christmas Eve. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree!   So every Christmas, whether we need it or not, I make a batch of candy in honor of my father. 
English Toffee is quick to make up and uses basic ingredients.

English Toffee

1 C. butter
2 C. sugar
1/2 C. water
1 tsp. vanilla
1 pkg, chocolate chips (I use milk chocolate but you can use semi-sweet if you prefer)

Combine butter, sugar and water in a heavy saucepan and cook to 285 degrees (or soft crack) on a candy thermometer.  Take off heat and stir in the vanilla.  Pour onto a buttered cookie sheet. Cool.  Melt the chocolate chips and spread over the toffee.  When chocolate hardens, break into pieces.  I sprinkled some chopped almonds on mine to jazz them up a bit.

Look what Ran brought home!
Neighbor Connie, informed him that she had spotted  a  stray kitten freezing in the neighborhood, so he  went hunting for it.  Poor thing was shivering uncontrollably, it was 1 degree out.  He stuck him or her (we don't know which) into his jacket and brought her home.  Reason  one-billion and thirteen why I love my husband!  Hopefully we will be able to find her a home soon because I'm getting attached to her.  Seeing our little strays interact with her is heartwarming.  They all were curious and came and sat right next to her. Little Jolly was the first to make friends and went up to her and touched noses.  Binks and Hissy couldn't be outshown so they did the same.  It breaks my heart to see all the strays, but I cannot take them all in, as it is now, I have more pets than the zoning  laws allow.  But what breaks my heart even more is thinking of homeless people out in this cold.  Please, please, please keep them in your prayers.

29 comments:

  1. One more little mouth to feed, she has all the TLC she needs right now.And the others, they did so well with their welcome.

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    1. Hello Jean! I hope you are doing better! She's a small kitten so there really isn't much food involved. Ha! Really hoping that we can find a home for her, but it will be hard to let her go. Got to be about the softest kitten in the world. Hope this day finds you well!

      Hugs
      Jane

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  2. gorgeous kitty, it's so sad about all the strays & homeless especially in this day & age.
    would love to see all your other 'strays' too. wish i could help some strays, ohhh well, maybe next year when i can get a fence up
    hope you have a great xmas
    thanx for sharing

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    1. I suggest you never get started taking in strays, Selina. It's a never-ending business! One year I fed about two dozen during the winter. During the warmer months, plenty of villagers take care of them, but they all leave for the Winter and the poor animals need to be fed, so what's a body to do? They are overloaded at the shelters and euthanize them, so I always debate whether it's better to fed them or take them to the shelter and put them out of their misery. I think they are pretty happy being feral, except for when it really gets cold. Guess I just have to pray for a mild winter.

      Hugs
      Jane

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  3. What big generous hearts you have, and how could one resist this little sweetie. I hope you will find a loving home for her/him soon. Until then, enjoy every moment you have with her, loving on her. (Cats are hers, dogs are hes.) :-)

    That chocolate looks delicious and the recipe sounds easy.

    I pray that towns and cities will open more shelters for the homeless during this winter season.

    Love & hugs to you and yours as you enjoy this Christmas week ~ FlowerLady

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    1. Yeah, I always think of cats as shes too, Rainey. Fortunately, we don't have any homeless around here, but one of the reasons I hate going to the big city, is seeing the homeless people. I fret about it for weeks. You'd think with all the empty buildings in the world, no one would need to be homeless. Well, o a happier note, I hope you will have a wonderful Christmas!

      LOve and hugs, back to you!
      Jane

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  4. Jane, I loved reading the story of your dad and his candy. And I well remember the bags given out at church that had an apple, an orange and an assortment of candies. We had gifts at home for Christmas, but the smell of a red delicious apple amongst all those candies was the happiest aroma to me, anyway. That was Christmas, and it's too bad it's not done much anymore.
    Thank goodness the kitty has a warm place for now. I just want to cry when I hear about dogs or kittens out in the weather. And the thought of people being homeless is nearly unbearable. Our personal donations don't really make a dent, but along with donations from others, millions are warmed and fed all winter long. My Pollyanna view. :)
    Have a lovely day! (I'll be in the city with the teenage grands today - hope my feet can handle it.;)

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    1. Hi Toni! Thank you for the link to Alexander Scouby reading the Bible. I definitely will enjoy that. I tend to comprehend better when I hear rather than read things.

      I pray that your Pollyanna view is correct. At our local food pantry, you can buy six meals for $1! So it wouldn't take much to feed a lot of people. (Now that's some real frugality!)

      Have a lovely outing with the grands! And put your feet up when you get home!

      Hugs
      Jane

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  5. Loved the candy recipe! I also think it's neat your husband brought home a new kitty. So cold outside for it to be out there alone. Our kitty that we "adopted" is a little sick. Liver problems. The vet said with proper care he should recover with no problem. thank goodness! Have a great day!

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    1. Bless you for taking in a sheltered cat, Vickie! I guess cats get a lot of liver and kidney problems. Poor things. Looks like we're going to warm up a bit today. That's something to rejoice in!

      Hugs
      Jane

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  6. Stray/neglected animals, especially cats, break my heart. We have always 'taken in' too many. When I was working and had a bit of money to spare it went to the local animal shelter.

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    1. I really appreciate all you do, taking in so many strays, Sharon. Maybe I need to find a nice place out in the country like you have for all these cats. I think God was rewarding you for taking care of them, by enabling you to get such a wonderful place at such an amazing price.

      Hugs
      Jane

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  7. What a great memory about your dad and candy! Your candy looks delicious. Thanks for the recipe; I hope I can make it soon.
    Aww what a sweet kitty face! I think you can tell a lot about a man by the way that he treats animals. Glad that your husband found the lost kitten.
    All of my cats now are strays, I found the first litter in a hollowed tree stump, the next under our wheel barrow, sometimes I think our house has been marked by cats like during the underground railroad.
    I'm not sure how big of a homeless population that we have in our town, but I did see someone sleeping in a shelter at the bus stop. We have a group of churches that take in the homeless each week, so I contacted them, and they were able to help him with some resources for now. Thankful for caring people in this hurting world. I wish that I could do more...

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    1. I think we all wish that we could do more, Kathy. But we do the best we can and leave the rest to God. However, I more determined to sacrifice more in the coming year to do more good. I always think of "But for the grace of God, there go I". Had to laugh about your house being marked like the underground railroad by the cats. Sometimes I think the same thing! How else would Jolly have known to come to our house to get fixed up? Bless you for taking care of the homeless man!

      Hugs
      Jane

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  8. What a sweet face! She's happy to be inside, warm, safe, and full! You will have a reward for being so kind to the little ones... We say our vet has our picture and our phone number next to her phone so she can call us when there is a needy one... thus, we have ended up with Noble and Moose... Leon was found hit on the side of the road... Waldo was a set out kitten.. and Lydie came from a family with way too many kitties... and so it goes... I told our vet this week that if we get all our pets back when we go to heaven, I am going to need a bigger house! LOL Good thing is, kitties will keep us warm by snuggling... How is Georgie taking the new housemate??

    Stay warm, dear Jane, champion of all things furry and cold!

    as ever.. m

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    1. I need a farm like you have, Matty, you old softie! Georgie hates the kittens I'm afraid, thus they have to stay out on the enclosed porch, but at least it stays above freezing out there and there's plenty of blankets. It's actually pretty nice in there when the sun is out, with all its South facing windows. I hope she's happy, still pretty skitterish. I hope she doesn't miss her cat family too much. Matty, she has the softest fur ever.

      Hugs
      Jane

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  9. Oh dear, oh dear...oh dear.
    I never heard of candy being given out like that, and it makes me appreciate the tins my grandmother would get every Christmas filled with an assortment. Now I know! Toffee is my Achilles heel of candy love. I've avoided every recipe for it, I never wanted to know...and now you shared...and now I will have to make. I will. No hope I can say no.
    What a sweet face. The other kitties weren't a least bit territorial is even sweeter. If I lived closer, I would take her in a heartbeat.
    Our shelters around here are getting full and are in need of repairs. It breaks my heart.
    Have a great Tuesday.
    hugs,Jen

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    1. Sorry to put temptation at your door, Jen! The little kitten is so adorable, the pictures don't do her justice. He/she has short little legs like a corgi and some of the softest fur I've ever felt. I'm sure someone will want her, if not we'll just have to hide her from the the village worker that comes around and checks on the dog licenses.

      Hope your day is going well!

      Hugs
      Jane

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  10. Reason one billion and thirteen why I love your blog! Jane, thank you for your heart of gold toward kitties! I.just.love.cats. and it breaks my heart when I see one neglected, lost, or hungry. That little tyke is a darlin' and it is getting a special Christmas blessing by meeting up with you and your husband! Perhaps "Holly" or "Noel" or some yuletide name like that would be good *-D

    My husband's mom and dad always got a little brown sack of treats in their country Lutheran church on Christmas Eve. Every year I hear my m-i-l tell the story about how much she anticipated getting that sack and that to this day, the scent of hard candies and peanuts and an orange is the "scent of Christmas" for her. In this day when oranges are SO taken for granted, I marvel that an orange (think Little House) could be as a JEWEL to a little one. God help us to stop taking the marvelous gifts of God as mere common rights that we deserve -- or worse,that we skim over and ignore.

    Now that I have come back to my four-season state, I am in bliss looking out at the bright frosty snow in the yard! Don't you think the very best thing about Winter is the cozy, inviting warmth of our little candle-lit homes? Where the fireside crackles, and kitties snuggle,and teapots whistle on the stove?

    Now may the God of
    ***HOPE***
    fill you with all
    JOY and PEACE in
    BELIEVING! Rom. 15:13

    Have a peaceful, joyful week, Jane!
    Lori

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    1. I'm trying not to give her a name, hoping that someone else will give her a home, Lori. Not working out to well, as she has to be one of the most adorable cats ever.

      I looked forward to the sack too. Only ours weren't little, they were a large grocery bag size. Bless the Lutheran church for doing it, because I'm sure it was some childrens' Christmas gift. This was in the days before Toys for Tots and such.

      I'm glad you are enjoying your Winter. I tire of hearing people grumble about the snow. It's beautiful and it makes us slow down and just be. BTW, I'll soon have an e-mail sent out to you, I promise. I don't even have any children at home and Christmas is still rush, rush, rush!

      Hugs
      Jane


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  11. Hi! Poor little kitty. She must've been "put outside" recently if her fur didn't build up to keep her warm. You are right! About the candy....my mom said their present was candy. ....period. And I remember going to the American Legion in my time and they handed out those mesh stockings with candy...I used to think they were so neat! Hugs, Andrea

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    1. We had about 50 mile winds that night combined with the cold, it was an unfit night for man or beast, Andrea. I remember those mesh stockings, they used to hand them out at the VFW Christmas party. Thanks for reminding me about them!

      Hugs
      Jane

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    2. Oh my! With those winds and the cold, it would be hard to keep the inside warm! btw, thanks for the toffee recipe...I'm going to use it. Hugs, Andrea

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    3. The wood stove has been going full blast these past few week, Andrea. This cold so early into Winter doesn't bode well for the February, which is usually our coldest month. Hope you enjoy the recipe. It's an easy one!

      Hugs
      Jane

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    4. Just made the toffee....tasted it while it is still warm...delicious! Butter will do it! The vanilla adds to it too. People here tell me that December came on colder and snowier than recent years this time around. For me, it is the type of December we had 5 decades ago when I was growing up in this area! Good old-fashioned frigid air! Hugs, Andrea

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    5. Can't go wrong with butter and sugar Andrea! I'm glad you liked it. I gave mine all away before I could eat too much. That's funny, I was saying something familiar to Ran the other day about this Winter. This is the first time in ages I remember there being big snowbanks to climb over to get to the sidewalks. The one good thing about the cold is that it kills all the allergens. It's good for the lungs!

      Hugs
      Jane

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  12. Imagining Ran scooping a tiny, shivering kitten out of the cold and tucking her in his coat to warm her made me tear up a little over my coffee this afternoon. When Jesus said "Whatsoever you do unto the least of these..." I firmly believe he meant ALL in need--even animals. If that makes me heretic, so be it.

    Jane, did you know that back in the Depression, hobos would mark the houses they stopped at, to signify what sort of reception a fellow traveler could expect? And that the sign for "a kind lady lives here" was a cat? :^) :^)

    Christmas Candy: Oh, we had wonderful candy at Christmas! A small grocery store near us had just the sort of setup that your dime store had. A whole section of the store was cleared out just for the candy--dozens of varieties! Bin after bin of dark, milk, and white chocolates varieties, hard candies, jellied fruit slices, bins of fancy nuts in their shells--the candy drew people from miles around. My favorite was the milk chocolate coconut haystacks--they tasted a lot like a Mallow Cup to me. And of course there was angel food candy--a crisp, molasses-based candy, broken into chunks and dipped in milk or dark chocolate. The staff running the candy section were very considerate of kids and would allow us to buy candy by the piece, rather than the usual minimum of 1/4 lb, which none of us kids could afford. But they never, ever handed out free samples. No one needed to be enticed to purchase at that once-a-year candy extravaganza.

    The candy arrived at the store in time for the Feast of St. Nicholas, which we celebrated on December 6. German tradition has children set out their polished shoes to receive candy from St. Nick, but mom thought it more sanitary to use our dad's ragg wool hunting socks (thanks, Mom!). So we did not have our stockings at Christmas, but woke up to them on Dec 7 stuffed with special candies, nuts (blech!) and tangerines for St. Nicholas! We were always excited about the tangerines because they seemed so much more exotic than regular oranges.

    I did not carry on the tradition of St. Nicholas Eve with my own family; we do our stockings on Christmas Eve now. And they're not really about candy anymore. Candy is not the special, once-in-a-while treat it used to be. But it sure did get our little Wisconsin town buzzing every Christmas season! Those little white paper bags with their heavenly candies were just one exciting hallmark of Christmas.

    Sue

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    1. Sounds pretty idyllic, Sue! What you call angel food candy is what we call seafoam around here. I love it, but can't stand the feeling of it squeaking on my teeth. I think I need to buy some tomorrow. Did you ever try making it? I don't a few times, but made a mess when it bubbled over after adding the baking soda. I prefer store bought. Remember the nougats with the Christmas trees in the middle. Loved to stretch them into funny shapes. Poor kids Silly Putty!

      Neat tradition about St. Nicholas Day. We never celebrated any other holidays in December. My mom was a bit of a party poop. Ha!

      You're right, candy among many other things is not a special treat anymore. I think we have loss something by trying to give our children too much. I always have trouble buying for the grandchildren because the get toys almost every week. I doesn't mean anything to them. Growing up we only got toys at Christmas and our birthday. Since my birthday was only a week after Christmas, I had to choose wisely. Ha!

      Hugs
      Jane

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    2. You learn something new every day. I thought seafoam candy was like divinity! My whole family has tried their hand at angel food candy at one time or another. Low humidity is the key to success. I can remember my oldest brother churning out pan after pan of flat, rock-hard, sticky failures--man, he was upset and frustrated and after like 3 batches my mom said enough! They really were not salvageable--a person could lose a tooth on that stuff.

      Yes, toys are seen more as developmental necessities than luxuries these days, so new ones are constantly being brought into the home. I don't think it's a necessarily a bad thing, but I do think there are a lot of bad toys out there. If I buy a toy, it's going to be a classic toy that builds brain connections without flashing lights or beeps. And I honestly don't think a kid can have too many books.

      Sue

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