Peppermint Candy Plate

Hello my raviolis.  Grandma-ma just found the neatest way to serve birthday and holiday treats.  You can make a candy plate from hard candies like the Peppermint Mints that are usually given out at restaurants.

 
Lay parchment paper on the cookie tray you use so they don't stick to the tray and it makes it easy to lift off the tray to cool.  If you want a perfect circle, use a cake pan. You unwrap each candy and place them in a pattern.  Make sure they are touching each other. 

 


 

You then bake at 350 in an oven and bake about 5 minutes.  Check to see that all have melted into each other.  You may need to bake it 1-3 minutes longer depending on your oven.  Be sure to watch after 5 minutes.

 Take out and allow to cool on cookie sheet {cools in approximately 5 minutes}
Remove parchment paper from bottom {be careful, tray is fragile and breaks easily}

I wish I discovered this neat candy plate before Christmas. Still, this would be fund to make in red and white for Valentines Day and when the easter colors come out, you can make one for Easter treats.  Have fun making these serving plates and post a photo if you do.  Love Grandma-ma

Welcome our newest ravioli

Ah my raviolis...this is a special day because today we have a "7th" ravioli among us.  Aunt Maura and Uncle Brian have brought into our families and this world the newest ravioli:  Evan McClure Pfeifer.

 What a beautiful and happy family.  We can't wait to meet Evan.

Happy New Year 2013

Hello my raviolis.  Wishing you all a very happy 2013.  You are the joy in my life and you make me want to dance just like these New Years piggies.

Love Grandma-ma.

Alpine Coaster

Now doesn't this look like fun?  It's an Alpine Coaster!

 

Jaw dropping, high-speed, brakeless journey down the mountain. Austrian downhill coaster is nevertheless terrifying." The coaster located Mieders , Austria , starts at the top of a mountain, reachable by a cable car. It's pretty simple: single pipe, single person, single giant sloping, winding hill. But through hundreds of pine trees whizzing past you on tight bank curves and it gets a bit scarier. Oh, there's no brakes!!!

 

 

I wonder how many Raviolis could ride this coaster?  It sure looks like fun.  Love to all of you.

Dog Christmas

Hello my ravs.  It's been a few weeks as Grandma-ma has been very busy getting ready for Christmas.  Here is a sweet little video of a dog an his Christmas.

 

 What a sweet baby, he reminds me of Squirt!

Love to all of you, Grandma-ma

How to Annoy a Frog

Hello my raviolis. Everyone loves video games and I think this frog sorta enjoyed it.  Let's watch, shall we?

And that, my friends, is Mother Nature setting things right. Love to all of you. Grandma-ma

Funny Friday photos

Hello raviolis.  Today I have funny photos to share.

 

Your eyes are drawn to the penguins and what they are doing but do you see the happy little seal sneaking a photo op in the corner?  This funny little guy was not supposed to be in the picture but he popped up just as the wildlife photographer hit the button.

 

 Look how clever this costume is for this German Shepherd pup.  this is the biggest spider you will ever see. I how many trick or treaters or neighborhood cats  he scares away.

This is a real fish and it is called a Blobfish.  It lives at deep depths in the ocean where the pressure is several dozen times higher than at sea level, which would make gas bladders inefficient for maintaining buoyancy.   Instead, the flesh of the blobfish is primarily a gelatinous mass with a density slightly less than water; this allows the fish to float above the sea floor without expending energy on swimming.   It looks like a fleshly old man doesn't it? 

 So, which broom shall we ride today?

How funny is this tiger?  Yup, somebody painted their dog to look like a Halloween tiger.  This picture makes me laugh.  So, tell grandma-ma which of these pictures is your favorite.  I think my favorite is the sneaky little seal popping into the photo or the tiger dog.  

I can't seem to decide.  How about you?

 

Word of the Week Wednesday

Hello my raviolis.  It's been a while since we did word of the week Wednesday, but today's word is nothing short of what you will see in the below video...Amazing.

Yes, today's word is amazing.

Amazing is defined as being to affect with great wonder; astonish and surprise.

 

Watch as you see the ocean tide return to the sea under the blocks of ice.  What follows is magical.

It is truly amazing and another wonder of nature.  Grandma-ma has to admit that she would venture into this short lived world.  Would you?

Ghostly fruit cups

Hello My Raviolis.  Don't these look tasty?  Nothing like fruit  cups that have a spooky look to them.   These are super easy to make.  You will need a package  of Peeps Ghosts, some whipped cream, two cups of pineapple  and two cups of mandarin oranges.  You can use canned, just  be sure to drain as much of the liquid it sits in from the fruit.   Fresh fruit really is best and has the most flavor. Fill glasses half full of your fruit, top with some whipped cream and add a Peep Ghostie in the center.  Yummy.  Let's eat!

Monkey Face Orchid

 Hello my raviolis.  Today I want to share with you a very interesting flower.  It is an orchid that looks like a monkey face.  Nature is so grand in all of her cleverness and these wonderful orchids come from the south-eastern Ecuadorian and Peruvian cloud forests.

 Its scientific name is Dracula simia.  "Simia" stands for "simian" and this remarkable orchid bears more than a passing resemblance to a monkey’s face. The Dracula (genus) part of its name refers to the strange characteristic of the two long spurs of the sepals, reminiscent of the fangs of a certain Transylvanian count of film and fiction fame.

Wouldn't it be fun to see these in real life?  They say they blossoms smell like oranges.  What fun to see a monkey face in a flower that smells like oranges.  Have a wonderful day my raviolis. Grandma-ma loves you.