NOT SO HO HO HO...OH NO , SNOW ! and easy no fail pie crust rescipie

It was just a SIMPLE trip to town with our 4 wheel drive.., That's all...

Change into "town" clothes, smile, yes it will go ... oh no.... vrooooom.......spinnnnn.....sliddddeeee....spewwww.....get stuck,reverse, slidddeeeddd... go into ditch... back into work clothes, grab a shovel,uncover the tractor, get it started , LOOK OUT for the hot wire over the horse gate, lift gates buried in snow to open them, then lift back to close them, close horse gates,reopen them close them , call wife back from her hilarious photo "shoot" , hook suv to tractor, , pull ....only to get the tractor stuck too, tell wife to go away (well not exactly, but I did)

wow ...I got lots of nice snow shots, I also got stuck in the ditch up to my knees when I stepped into a snow bank off of the main road to town , hopefully to be SAFER ? from an oncoming vehicle. Thank goodness I didn't also need the tractor to get out of my snow bank...it was still stuck... Oh I hear it now, oops, photo shoot is over, back to see if I can "help?"

Tractor made it up the hill, and was headed back down ??? I am sludging my way behind yep the snow is over my boot tops, NICE...brrrr........

SUV take 2.... get on your mark get set.......vrooommmmm spinnnnn,sliddddeeee mud, snow and gravel spewing everywhere. AGAIN only worse...our gorgeous snow laden driveway where is it???

Stuck AGAIN...I said it was because of the red survey flag for our new home...after all every time any vehicle reached the FLAG it stopped. dig out SUV again,then drive backwards, hit a tree, hit a buried log alongside the driveway...almost hit gate, well this WAS a fun trip to town,after all....

What about going back up the hill for a video ( I missed the first time, I was so spellbound during the EVENT..)that suggestion came out of my mouth, the same time it dawned on me what a very bad idea it was, but up the hill , went hubby in suv....suv must be related to Thomas the train...I think I can ,I think I can, I know I can...vrooooom......slidddde,spinnn.....vrooooom....snow,gravel flying.....and to the top "she" went. only to get stuck again, shovel if you please ...anyone?

Umm ,,,hubby,,,,I thinketh ...ummm...thou mayest.... shouldest ....letteth... sleeping suv's be. Finally very tired, hubby agreed to try later, WHEW, I was relieved, hubby was beginning to worry me... Good thing this was a "dry" run to town...since we didn't get out of our drive, Snow in our near future? Yep, 4 more inches predicted tonight...I do love snow, but maybe we have enough now, for where we live?

can I bake a cherry pie ,billy boy ,billy boy? yes I can and so I will, I'm still a young thing , and I really left my mother... after all it is Christmas eve tomorrow, we may lose electricity yet, and one of my kids really does enjoy a cherry pie, and of course pumpkin pie for the other "tooths"yum.

Did you know pumpkin is extremely good for dogs indigestion? I often add about 1/4 cup of canned pumpkin to the dogs food ( they do like it better when it is pie form, so I baked the left over filling in a small oven proof bowl to "serve" for a "snack" for the lil pups :-) barky bark...

Easy no fail pie crust recipe : (so easy even a kid can do it)

When I was a young bride, i watched a lot of cooking shows for ideas to become a better cook...this recipe has become a standby, prepared it has "gone" to school pie sales,church bake sales ,pie socials and potlucks,family gatherings,and potlucks,to homes in pain or struggles. May it serve you well too.

for a two crust pie, 2 1 crust pies or for baked shells.(can double or triple recipe)

2 cups of flour cut in 1 cup of (originally called for shortening) I use butter or lard 1/2 cup of cold water , this will be a shade dough, gather and turn out on a well floured board, knead a few times (about 10) divide in half (divide accordingly if you increased the recipe, if you double it you can easily get 2 two crusts and 1 single crust pies out of the dough

pat out your circle of dough ,flour your rolling pin ( I use a marble rolling pin, it is so much nicer) rolling from middle of the circle outwards, roll out your dough when it is the right size kind of roll onto your rolling pin and lift it to your pan and "roll" onto it, slightly press in pan and crimp the edges if it is for a single crust or to be a baked crust (prick with a fork if it is, and set an empty pie dish inside the dough, set a soup can half full with water in the empty pan)

bake 425 degrees 12-15 min

Gift ideas for next year

WATER:If you are stranded like we have been, and haven't finished your shopping you can still give a wonderful gift, check out the link to Abba Stories where you can find how you can give a gift of water....this one would fit my merryheartblog

Goats,Chickens,Heifer: I've been considering this one myself , it seems appropriate for my farmfunnies blog... http://www.heifer.com/ , I shared this idea with client/great new friend ,since she was stranded too. She went a step farther, each of her kids is getting either chickens or a goat in their Christmas stocking (ok, ok a card with a picture of one), what a great idea Carole :-)