Very Talented Son-in-Law!

There were so many things going on during Christmas! Here is another big project that happened at our house.

Since Elizabeth and Dave were coming, Dave offered to help do any projects around the house. The first thing that everyone thought of--the front entry hall! The entry hall has needed to be replaced since we moved in. It was a long time in coming. We are so pleased with the outcome!

The entry hall needed to be done in stages, so that there would be a spot to walk through to the other hallway . So we took 2 days to lay the tile. Dave set up shop outside the front door on the porch. A friend of the family was coming to bring us Christmas treats, driving past several times. He finally stopped and he said, "I thought this was your house, but I didn't recognize this guy out front!"

You can see in this photo why it was on the top of the project list! We have had this ugly, yellow tile with grout that couldn't be cleaned, for way too long. The old tile was so low from the floors that were merging, that Dave opted to simply place the new tile on top. Made things quite a bit easier.

The pattern is starting to take shape! Hunter was very skittish about walking on the new tile. He would only walk on the old tile until the entire floor was put down.

Placing the spacers between the tiles for the mud to dry. Martha loved working on this project as she is very good at puzzles.

Cleaning up!

Almost done~

The finished job! Doesn't it look great! We have really enjoyed the newness. Last week, we painted the entry hall a new color and the baseboards are almost dry to attach to the wall.

We had so much fun with the entry hall, that we decided to do the main bathroom and the master bath floor! Actually, the main bath had some problems with the floorboards and needed to be fixed. That was very ugly. . . No pictures of that.

This is the tile pattern.

Below is the main bathroom.

Then the master bathroom.

Thanks Dave for a job well done!

Traditional Holiday Treats

As the Christmas season passes, I wanted to post a couple of our favorite Christmas treats! I think I make them in honor of my mother. She always made these two treats and I loved the flavors. It probably has something to do with the colored/flavored marshmallows. Sometimes these colored marshmallows are hard to find. I start looking for them in November and buy a couple of bags.

The treats are called Cathedral Windows and Butterscotch Filbert Bars. I loved how when these treats were cut, they were so pretty with the colors inside.

These are the Cathedral Windows:

Cathedral Windows

1 cube margarine

1 12oz. bag chocolate chips

1 bag (12-16oz.)

powdered sugar

In large pan, melt slowly the margarine and chocolate chips. Allow to cool a bit. Then add the bag of marshmallows; coating them well. Dump out onto waxed paper sprinkled with powdered sugar. Roll up the waxed paper and twist the ends to create a "log". Place into the fridge to set. When set, cut into slices.

These are photos (not the best) of the Filbert Bars

Butterscotch Filbert Bars

1 cup chopped hazelnuts

1 cup butter or margarine

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 12 oz. bag butterscotch chips

Bag of colored marshmallows

1 3/4 cup flaked or shredded coconut

Toast chopped nuts in 350 degree oven for 5 to 8 minutes. Melt butter, peanut butter and butterscotch chips together over low heat. Cool slighty. Add marshmallows, nuts and 1 cup of the coconut. Mix well.

Pat mixture into a buttered 9 x 13 pan. Sprinkle on remaining coconut. Cool in fridge until firm. Cut into bars.

I hope if you try these treats, that you will enjoy them and maybe make them a part of your holidays!

Happy New Year to 2011!

Happy New Year everyone! We had a great New Year's Eve with family and the missionaries from the Monte Vista Ward. Great food and games for the family! Here is how our New Year weekend went.

On Thursday, Dec. 30, we did our traditional Dim Sum lunch in Milbae. It took two cars to get us all there. We go to the same restaurant every year and are never disappointed. We order dishes such as, steamed pork buns, shu mi, spring rolls, fried tofu, calamari, all kinds of dumplings, and all are delicious!

After our dim sum lunch, Scott, Jonathan, Elizabeth and Dave went on to Chinatown to shop at a pottery store we love to go to. Only Dave and Elizabeth went in. Scott found a parking space, which is a miracle in Chinatown, to wait for them. They found some beautiful green pottery pieces for their home.

I went to Fisherman's Wharf with Martha, Katie, and Sarah to buy crab for dinner. It was such a BUSY place that day! The other items we wanted were sourdough bread and salt water taffy. I stayed at Grotto 9 to buy the crab. The girls went on around the corner to buy taffy and bread.

Grotto 9 is the best place to get crab on Fisherman's Wharf.

We all met up at the de Young museum to hopefully see the post-impressionist exhibit. Jonathan and I were not able to get in to the exhibit. However, all the others did. We were expecting my dad to come down for dinner that night and we were running behind schedule. Jonathan and I left for home to meet up with grandpa.

One of my favorite parts of the museum are the Dale Chihuly glass pieces. The first time I ever saw Chihuly pieces in person was when the family went to London in 2001. The pieces in London were massive. Twenty feet tall and as large around as a doughboy swimming pool.

The next night was New Year's Eve. It is our tradition to do a Japanese dinner this night. This year, we had shabu shabu, which is basically a one pot dinner. It is delicious! We have small burners that are placed in the middle of the table. A pot with water starts to boil and you place in the food items that you want to eat. They cook for a couple of minutes and are done. The food is then dipped into a shabu shabu sauce. Our favorite is probably the sesame one. Doesn't it look good?

For that night, we had carrots, onions, tofu, baby bok choy, mushrooms, yam, beef slices, rice noodles, and broccoli. The dinner was topped off with a large plate of sushi rice balls, and homemade gyoza. This was a treat for one missionary as he is familiar with this type of meal. The other elder was fascinated by the process and tasted everything to experience them all!

The dim sum lunch and the shabu shabu dinner was a test for Dave. He hadn't really used chopsticks before. He said Elizabeth had him practicing at home before they got here, prepping him for these meals. He did well with the chopsticks! A real pro!

Happy New Year Everyone~~