Fwd: [thesimple_life] Have an Ungrumpy Day!

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Mon, Oct 19, 2009 5:56 pm

[thesimple_life] Have an Ungrumpy Day!

 

 

 

The Simple Life

By Sheryl Simons

 

"The happier you are with the simple things, the easier it is to be happy."

 

Mr. Grumpy (it was obvious) was walking into a store with me.

"Beautiful day, isn't it?" I commented.

"Yeah, if I didn't have to work today."

"It's still a beautiful day!" I said as the clear blue skies were blurred only by a few soaring seagulls. There was a gentle breeze and no sign of rain.

What am I doing trying to cheer him up? I thought. He is the only one who can decide to make himself happy. 4 cups Flour

1 3/4 cups Vegetable Shortening

2 tablespoons Sugar

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1 teaspoon Salt

1 Egg

1 teaspoon Vinegar

1/2 cup Cold Water

16 tablespoons Jam -- any flavor, divided

 

In a large bowl, cut flour and shortening together with pastry blender or two butter knives, until completely blended (mixture will resemble crumbs). Add sugar, baking powder, salt, egg, vinegar and cold water. Mix with hands until mixture forms a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Divide dough into fourths, refrigerating the portions you are not working with yet.

 

Take first 1/4 of dough and roll out onto a floured surface. Cut into rectangles using a sharp knife. It is helpful to make a template the size you wish your pop tarts to be, from cardboard or heavy plastic, so they will be a uniform size. Spread on tbsp. jam on one half of the rectangles, leaving a half inch or so on the edges without jam. Cover with the other half of the rectangles. Crimp edges with a fork. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 12 - 15 minutes or until the pie dough is evenly browned and cooked through. Cool completely and place into zip baggies for storage until you are ready to eat them. Repeat with remaining dough and jam until it is all completed.

 

Variation: Glaze pop tarts with a simple glaze made from powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract. Be sure to let glaze dry hard before placing pop tarts into storage baggies.

 

Pop-Tarts may be stored up to one week as you would store bread, or frozen for up to 3 months before use.

"Have a nice day!" I said as I walked away. Probably way too cheery for him!

Ah, well, so he's going to be miserable. He wants to be! He can't ruin my day. I may never see Mr. Grumpy again, but I hope he had a good day. If you wake up and you can breathe, you are alive! If you wake up, can breathe, and have food in your refrigerator, you are better off than most of the people on earth. I just don't see spending one moment being a grump. Oh, I have my days, but rather than being grumpy, I might be sad. That is different. We all have days of sadness, but when it comes out as grumpiness, we should be lashed with a wet noodle! We are choosing to have a bad day, rather than choosing a happy day. Figure out what bothers you (you ever have a day when you can't even figure out what is bothering you, you just feel angry, and grumpy? – something is bothering you!) and deal with it.

Sure there are things in life that we can't change. But if we do have control over it – change it, or move on! Do the work it takes, no matter what it takes, to make each day the best it can be. Sure, we all have to go to work when we don't feel like it. But ruin my day? Not on a bet. When you look at the beautiful landscape, and think of all we have to be thankful for, who can afford to be grumpy? It really is that simple!

 

Simple Pecan Sandies

 

These are delicious!

Ingredients:

1 cup butter ¾ cup sifted powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla 2 cups sifted flour

1 cup chopped pecans

Direction:

Cream butter and sugar together; add vanilla and mix well. Add flour gradually and mix well. Stir in chopped pecans. Roll into balls about the size of a small walnut, or form into a crescent shape. Bake at 350F on an ungreased cookie sheet for about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. When done roll in additional powdered sugar while cookies are still very

warm.

* * *

Senator Hubert Humphrey, a man with an indomitable zest for living,

once talked about the "good old days." He said, "They were never that

good, believe me. The good new days are today, and better days are

coming tomorrow. Our greatest songs are still unsung."

The world is a looking glass, and gives back to every man the reflection of his own face. Frown at it and it will in turn look sourly upon you; laugh at it and with it, and it is a jolly kind companion. ~~William Makepeace Thackeray

You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance.~~Franklin P. Jones

 

Simple Silver Shining!

 

I can remember Polishing the Silverware a couple times when I was a kid. I don't think I did it very often. Here is an easy way to give your silverware a shine! If you are one of the lucky ones to have Grandma's Silver, don't be afraid to use it! It's not so bad:

Before you throw out all those aluminum pots and pans, keep one for restoring silverware and tarnished jewelry to original luster. Put a tablespoon of baking soda in water in an aluminum pot and heat until it is lukewarm. Place your silverware in this and electrolysis will do the rest. Also, if you can't bear to part with an aluminum pot, just don't use it to cook acidic food.

Or, use baking soda, and just rub on damp cups or silverware to remove tarnish, and coffee stains. Also, those new Magic Erasers are great for cleaning almost everything, and work splendidly on silverware!

 

Keeping it Simple,

Sheryl