Matzo Balls!

I’m known for my matzo ball soup. I learned the technique over many years, peeking over the shoulders of two generations of matzo ball makers before me. Grandma Gussie’s were small and hard resembling golf balls. My mother adopted the Manischewitz Matzo Ball Mix which made into light fluffy dumplings. Aunt Esther’s always came out … Continue reading →

Get Them Doggies Rollin’

We’re flying the dogs home! “I have a mission for you, should you choose to accept it.” Lucas says. “I will disavow any knowledge of knowing either of youz two and the dogs you rode in with if you get in trouble.” So, naturally, it was a go. The plan was simple—Carole Jean flies to … Continue reading →

Less is More! Posted on January 26, 2021 by CAROLEJEAN’SCAPERS@WORDPRESS.COMLeave a comment As an experiment, I made a small crystal collage. I had to search my sources for small but interesting components since the frame was only eleven by eleven with a two-inch border. I was so delighted with the end result, I emailed a photo of it … Continue reading →

Sold!

Five hundred dollars! Cash. Yay. And just in time for Christmas. Oh, but wait. I’m home alone — all dressed up and… (Ah, well, there’s always my little secret stash box where I can squirrel it away and lay in wait for the floodgates to open when we can get back to full-on retail therapy.) … Continue reading →

Workshop is Open!

It all started with a Waterford crystal salt shaker. The silver top broke off and the shaker was rendered unusable. Hey, I paid good money for that precious hand-cut crystal! I bought it in Ireland when I used to fly through Shannon on a regular basis. All of us TIA flight attendants did — on … Continue reading →

Menorahs on Parade

Donna, my wise-cracking Jewish friend from Queens and I pulled into the parking lot of the Santa Cruz Veterans Hall to meet our group for the first annual Menorah Parade. There was a guy with a long fuzzy beard standing in front of the building. I rolled down the passenger window of Donna’s shiny red … Continue reading →

What Happened to the Hubbard?

People wanna know! I just left you hanging and now Christmas is coming. Who cares about a big ole blue squash at this point? Well, a good number of you do. My long-time friend, Victoria, asked me about it just this morning. We don’t talk often but when we do it’s as if we’re picking … Continue reading →

Hubba Hubbard!

I found the Hubbard! The last time was in 2016 and I look every year. I happened to be walking by the vegetable stand near my home when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw it —larger than life, larger than the turkey I plan to cook. I hauled it home and stared at … Continue reading →

Essential Ingredient

If it’s October, it’s time to make plum pudding. I learned how to make this traditional English Christmas treat in a cooking class in 1977 and I have made it every year since. If I do the math correctly, this is my forty-third year. I can still hear the voice of the cooking instructor, a … Continue reading →

Where’s the Camel?

With all that manure around here, there has to be a camel somewhere! Or was that a pony? Remember that story? Here it is which I lifted from fellow blogger, Judy Minz, who, to quote from her blog post was, “Stolen shamelessly from some random website with the assumption that retelling a joke is as fairuse as … Continue reading →