How to make Mother sad:
Mother sends package to Mexico to son on mission, in November, with Christmas gifts inside. December 25th. No package received.
Mother sends package to son mid-December with home made treats, hoping it will get there close to Christmas/New Year. No package received.
Mother sends package end of December for missionary son's January birthday.
Seven weeks after first package sent. Still, no packages received. Sob. Sob. Sniff, Sniff.
How to make Mother happy:
Mother talks to son on SKYPE (greatest invention, EVER) on Christmas day. Son doesn't care he didn't receive package, he is just beaming and so thrilled to be able to talk and see his family online!
Mother sends email just before son's birthday.
The email starts off with- Questions: PACKAGES????
Son's response in email later that day: "No packages, yet. Don't worry about it. I love you! I miss you a lot."
Also in Mother's email to son: Do you need anything?
Missionary son: "I just want some homemade cookies or something haha."
"And maybe some potato salad."
Well at least HE still has a sense of humor about the packages not being delivered!I'm grateful to have a son who has lost himself in service, and doesn't think it's a big deal to celebrate Christmas or his birthday without a gift.
Note to me: It's just stuff.
I tried to send this treat( the recipe I'm posting today) a month before his b-day. I even saved one square, wrapped it up, taped a little note on it and set it next to my computer. The note said "do not eat till December 29th". A few of my friends saw my note taped to the treat, and were really amused by this. Do you think this is funny? Doesn't everyone do this? I wanted to see/sample for myself how fresh it would taste if he received it two weeks after I sent it. Um. Well, whatever. For the record, it was still decent. Not super fresh, but if you were, say, living in a foreign country, and you hardly ever got home made treats, you would probably think it was wonderful :), even if it was a little less than fresh. That is, if you ever received your mail.
Ok, enough of my rant about mail, treats and the lack of timely, or any delivery.
**Update 1/23 Letter home from Stephen. He received two packages on his birthday! His Christmas gifts were a little late. Next Christmas, Ill send in September. Yay!
On to wishing Stephen a happy birthday!
How did you grow up so fast??
About 19 years later....Stephen (on the right) with his last companion, Elder Gallan.
I'm posting these, because last year when Stephen left on his mission (yes, it's been 11 months!)- He requested Peanut Butter Scotchies for his farewell celebration. You can look back here to that day...
I thought his birthday was an appropriate day to post one of his favorite treats!
Happy birthday, Stephen.
love and miss you,
Mum
Peanut Butter Scotchies
aka, Chocolate Scotcheroos
print recipe
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cups smooth peanut butter
4 cups Rice Krispies*
1 1/2 cups butterscotch chips (or one 11 oz package)**
1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips (or one 11-12 oz package)**
Bring sugar and corn syrup to a boil . Add peanut butter and cereal.
Remove from heat, and press into a greased 9x13 pan.
Place the butterscotch and chocolate chips in a glass bowl in microwave for about 1 1/2 minutes, stirring and place back into microwave for 30 seconds and repeating stirring until all chips are melted. This usually takes about 3-4 minutes total.
Spread the melted chips on tops of the cereal mixture in the pan. let cool and cut into bars.
Tips:
*The original recipe from Kellogg's uses 6 cups of cereal, I have always used 4.
**They also use only one cup each of the butterscotch and chocolate chips. I like to have a really thick layer of topping, so I use more chips.
-Don't over cook the sugar and Karo Syrup mixture, just bring to a boil and remove from heat. If you over boil, the bars will become very hard and difficult to cut.
So hard, Si. It really is the thought that counts. Time is flying (although I'm sure it is going by much slower for "the parents" than me). I remember your post a year ago about the scotchies. It's hard having your children grow up but bittersweet at the same time isn't it?
ReplyDeleteyes it is Bonnie. No one ever told me my kids would eventually grow up and move out!! Oh, and it's amazing to me a year has gone by!
DeleteWhat handsome missionaries:) In our family we all LOVE Scotcheroos! I like your tips.I never thought of cutting back on the amount of RK's, but it makes total sense because at 6 cups the mixture is so stiff and sometimes way too hard.My great-auntie added 1 TBSP water to the boiled mixture which helped, but I like your tip of 4 cups...makes it so those other two cups can be added to another batch!lol
ReplyDeleteThey are very addictively yummy!!I've also experimented with brown sugar Karo and dark Karo also peanut butter chips instead of butterscotch.Wonder where your packages are?
Thank you Janet, I've never tried the water addition. I'll try it next time.
DeleteThe packages...no idea where they are! Hopefully, they will surface sometime soon :)
Si: Three tips that will help get packages to Stephen. Send it only to the mission home in La Paz, not to his actual apartment/house etc. Also, if you put some Christian-looking stickers/photos of Mary and Jesus on the outside of the package, they are very much superstitious. And the last tip is to change his name to Spanish, so they don't think it's anything "different or special" . You know..? FYI: Estavan is Stephen in Spanish.
ReplyDeleteAnd those look absolutely delicious.
Lar, I did try the first two tips you gave, but not the third! I will try this. You'll love this recipe, and so will Mr. E :)
DeleteI like, very interesting
ReplyDelete