Small Bites … Adventures in Downsizing
Jan Kinzel
Yes! We bought cans of spray paint for our five grandchildren! There is a perfectly reasonable explanation for this aberrant behavior of perfectly dignified, law-biding, gray-haired grandparents.
The condominium we purchased, and soon will be moving into, had no model for us to sit in and visualize how we might plan our new living space. The model of ours is the sales office and is not configured the same as ours. The wonderful saleswomen guided us to Linda, a woman who has the same style of unit that we will have, and made arrangements for us to meet her. She invited us to come to her home to see the layout and take measurements and the like. Of course, we had the blueprints, but seeing the build-out was invaluable to us. Linda has become a great friend. We decided to begin our friendship early. We go to lunch and movies and sometimes I walk Sonny, her dog, with her.
One day when I was at Linda’s, she showed me some pictures of graffiti on concrete. And then she shared a very fun activity that she and her grandchildren had done. Before any of the decorative flooring was installed, she had her grandchildren spray messages on the slab of her home. I loved the idea and asked permission from Linda and the builder to do the same in our unit. When all of our family were together a month or so ago, we went to Wal-Mart, purchased the paint with trigger tops and went to our condo which was at the perfect stage to do this. My husband sprayed several large frames on the floors throughout the rooms – this gave the kids some boundaries. They donned hard hats, received the cans of paint and went for it! We all had so much fun. My husband took pictures of their artwork. Once the floors are installed the artwork will no longer be visible, but as we walk through the rooms we can imagine the pictures under our feet and revisit the fond memories of that day.
STAINED GLASS DESSERT
This dessert/salad looks like a work of art! It’s a holiday favorite for our family, we use it as a salad with turkey dinner.
Jell-o Squares
1 large pkg. each – lime, cherry, orange Jell-o
1½ cups boiling water for each package
Dissolve each Jell-o in separate containers keeping colors separate. Glass pie plates or square disposable plastic containers with seals work well. Lightly spray containers with Pam before adding Jell-o. This helps with removal and keeps the edges neat. Chill overnight.
Cream Mixture
1 cup pineapple juice
1 large package of lemon Jell-o
In a saucepan, heat lemon Jell-o in pineapple juice until completely dissolved. Remove from heat and add 12 ice cubes. Stir until mixture is syrupy and chilled. Remove any un-melted ice.
Whip 1 pint of heavy cream and add ¼ cup sugar. Whip until peaks hold. Fold whipped cream mixture into pineapple mixture, being careful not to deflate the whipped cream.
Cut the colored firm Jell-o into 1 inch cubes. Carefully fold the colored cubes into the whipped cream mixture.
Crust
24 crushed graham crackers (do this in a food processor, or purchase the crumbs in a box)
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 stick butter, melted
Combine graham cracker crumbs and sugar then stir in melted butter, coating all of the crumb mixture. Line a spring form pan or an English trifle bowl with 2/3 of the crust mixture. Bring the sides of the crust up only about an inch or so. This way the colors of the Jell-o squares will show. I like to use the clear trifle bowl because it shows off the colors but is much less messy to serve. Turn the cream & Jell-o onto the crust. Sprinkle remaining crumbs over the top. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 6 – 12 hours.
Tip: Sometimes you have to think ‘inside the box’.
John 8:8 ……Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground…….