The Granny Diaries

We All Scream for Ice Cream

I told you about our family obsession with cake.  Now I confess that we have a relationship with ice cream that extends beyond obsession. 

We are addicted.

Sign us up for "Intervention" on A&E. 

I have an ice cream jones. 

This monkey is deliciously melting all down my back.

However, it cannot be just any ice cream. 

Look at that picture above and check out that chocolate chip.  Looks big, doesn't it?

It isn't.

That's just a fair to middlin' sized chip for the best ice cream in the whole world.

In southwest Ohio, there is a war that has raged for more than a century.  Which is better?  Aglamesis Brothers or Graeter's.

Graeter's wins.  Period.  Hands down.  Spoons at the ready.  Even says "irresistible" on the container.

Mint Chocolate Chip is my favorite.  The little girls and my sister are pretty crazy about it, too.

My husband and Sarah Jessica Parker prefer Black Raspberry Chip.

It's that good...SJP actually mentioned it in a magazine interview.

This Christmas my husband won our annual "Best Gift Giving of the Year" award.

He bought everyone a little red neoprene pint holder because you don't eat Graeter's ice cream by the dish, you eat it by the pint.

The one above is for you, Kathleen.  It was the last one in the city and the big guy actually went to three different stores to find it for you. 

Graeter's says that they seriously underestimated the demand for this handy little item.  Haven't they noticed how chilly one's fingers become when cradling a container of this lusciouness?

Anyway, there are no more available right now.  I decided to fill the void and add a bit of style to my favorite form of overindulgence.

It is my civic duty.

So I made up a pattern for Pint Cozies.  As you can see, I tried them out.  They work great and look even better. 

I'm making a big batch of these and they are going to show up in my Etsy shop this week.

And because I am an equal opportunity ice cream enabler,they also work with Aglamesis pints.

And if you are unlucky enough to live outside the Graeter's zone they can even be used with Hagen Daz and Ben n' Jerry's.

Ladies Who Lunch

Sorry, Em.  I 'm hoping you don't find a new house for a few more weeks because I am just having too much fun with the girlies on the weekends. 

 

Maybe you and Jeff could take up ballroom dancing or paranormal investigation after you move so we can keep playing with your darling daughters. 

I'm a bit worried about your father, though...

 

...the girls seem to be rubbing off on him.

I Am Going to My Happy Place

There is not more than a foot of snow on the ground.

The gazebo did not collapse under the weight of the nonexistent snow.

I do not have the regular old everyday flu because I am not allergic to the vaccine.

I have not spent the past three days in bed.

So, I am going to my happy place.

It is 63 degrees outside and the humidity is very low. 

The garden fairies have come and cleared away the winter debris from the garden leaving behind a flat of annuals to plant among the perennials.

I like my happy place. 

 

 

 

Weekends with Alex, Pat, and Vanna

This summer our son, Alex, moved into his own house.  It's a rambling cottage with a wonderful sun room, bedroom, music room, kitchen/great room, two porches and a basement.  Alex has a full time staff to help him navigate life.  As you can tell, he is not your run of the mill 20 year old. 

Alex has a list of things that bother him.  Medical settings would be at the top of that list.  That's why I am dreading tomorrow morning's jaunt to get blood drawn at the hospital.  We plan to do a hit and run at the crack of dawn because he can't have any meds or breakfast until we are done and Alex really does not like changes in his schedule.  I tried to bribe him with breakfast at the IHop, but he really wants to get back home as soon as possible for his usual meal of strawberry yogurt and peanut butter toast (three pieces, liberally coated, cut in half, straight, not from the corners) and ice water with a straw.

The school calendar dictates the boy's life from Monday through Friday. Alex's weekends are a bit less scheduled except for 7 PM on Saturday.  No matter what else happens, Alex and his father sit down to a fast food dinner and join the millions of folks in nursing homes across America to watch Wheel of Fortune and Cash Explosion, our local lottery show.

We wouldn't know that it was 7:00 without hearing Pat and Vanna in the background.  Alex only eats dinner when Wheel is on the television.  This is an Alex rule and is one of the reasons he lives in his own little house with a full time staff.  I have watched enough Wheel of Fortune to last keep me satisfied until I check into my own room at the nursing home. 

Good Night, Pat!  Good Night, Vanna!  See you in the morning, Alex!

 

I'm Open for Business on Etsy!

I've been busy in the sewing room and I finally decided to give Etsy a try.  You can find my new shop at

www.etsy.com/shop/knitvic

I am going to develop the Trunk Show concept which kept me busy and crazy between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  My darling daughter is my biggest cheerleader and helped me do a trial run at her office.  I learned a lot from that experience:  price, scheduled delivery date, and inventory of options all have to be better delineated.  Also, I am simply not built to stay up 40+ hours at a time! That is a definite OLD AGE ALERT!

 

In the meantime, I am going to keep creating costumes for the littles. I guarantee no real life mail carrier ever got such a charge out of his route as Ethan in his new uniform.

 

H1N1, R2D2, C3PO...whatever...

I don't know the official diagnosis but I was sick as a dog.  Even Louie was worn out after the holidays.  The girls and I passed it back and forth, lost our voices, slept for days on end and used up boxes of tissues.

The good news is that it is now February, we all feel better and we have been busy. 

We celebrated double birthdays at Alex's house.  Ethan turned 4 and Alex became 20! Of course, the event required cake.

And at 4, you are just as cool as you are at 20.  Happy Birthday, Ethan!  Happy Birthday, Alex, I can't believe it has been 20 years.