Hitch Your Wagon to a Star…

Hello, dear friends!

Another busy weekend come and gone…where does the time go?!

One little card to share with you today…and just a bit of a story to go along with it…




A sweet little vintage image from Crafty Secrets’ “Vintage Photo” Creative Scraps…just about my favorite set!



“Hitch your wagon to a star”, it says…so that’s exactly what I did!

My daughter Sarah drew the star for me…I’ve never been very good at stars!  Covered it with Crystal Effects, then literally smothered it with chunky, clear German glass glitter & a bit of Dazzling Diamonds for extra sparkle…

 
…it’s fat and heavy and looks like the most scrumptious star-shaped sugar cookie!



Some lovely seam binding courtesy of Miss Martha Stewart along with a beautifully aged mother-of-pearl button…a bit of platinum Stickles for framing, lace & that’s about it!

The wagon with the little cuties in it reminded me of a few of my family pictures, of course…

Dow was born in the quiet little Alberta town of Stirling…surrounded by a loving family, lots of cousins and friends, and his grandfather Theodore’s farm…which included the billy goat we see here…



When my grandfather (Dow) was ill with Parkinson’s Disease, but before he was no longer able to speak, I  sat down with him to try and capture some of his earliest memories.



It was such a gift for me to see his sad eyes begin to sparkle like a little boy’s as he began to remember…



…and the words—not many were spoken at this time in his life—began to come more quickly and easily as happy memories came to the forefront of his mind…I wrote down every precious word.

He said that his grandfather “bought an express wagon and a billy goat for (his) Uncle Noel, and one afternoon when they had the billy goat hooked up to the express wagon and Grandfather was bending down to talk to a child, the billy goat butted him in the rear end.  I saw it.  He got up and brushed himself off….He swore in German a lot….”! 

I still chuckle whenever I think of this little story…and I remember my grandfather’s deep, wonderful chuckle as he related it to me…



Here’s Dow pushing his cousin Delight on the swing about 1918…look at all her beautiful hair!

The cousins in front sit with the “turkey gobbler”, as my grandfather called him…this critter scared little Dow to death, and he often taunted it then ran for his life into the house, screaming “The turkey gobbler is the devil!”



Dow sitting in front with cousins and aunties…



…one more…I just couldn’t resist…aren’t these just the most wonderful childhood pictures?!


Now…how about some of the most amazing cinnamon rolls I’ve every had in my life?  (Sorry, Mom!)



GINGERBREAD CINNAMON BUNS

1/4 cup warm water (105-115 degrees F)
2 packages active dry yeast
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/3 cup molasses
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. salt
3 3/4 to 4 cups flour

In a large bowl, combine warm water and yeast, stirring to dissolve yeast.  Let stand for 5 minutes.  Stir in evaporated milk, molasses, 1/4 cup brown sugar, egg, oil, and salt.  Stir in as much of the flour as you can.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough that is smooth and elastic (3 to 5 minutes total).  Shape dough into  a ball.  Place in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in size (1 to 1 1/2 hours).

Punch dough down.  Turn out onto a lightly floured surface.  Cover and let stand for 10 minutes.  Lightly grease a 13x9” baking pan; set aside.

Combine the ingredients for the filling.



FOR FILLING:

1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
2 Tbsp. butter, softened

Roll dough into a 12x8” rectangle.  Spread dough with butter.  Sprinkle with filling, leaving 1 inch unfilled along one of the long sides.  Roll up rectangle, starting from the filled long side.  Pinch dough to seal seams.  Cut into 12 slices.  Arrange in the prepared pan.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until nearly double in size (about 45 minutes).

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Bake in the preheated oven for 22 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool in pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes.



Drizzle with Spiced Glaze.  Makes 12 buns.

SPICED GLAZE:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. milk
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. vanilla

(From Better Homes and Gardens “Holiday Baking” magazine 2010)



YUM.  I can’t even begin to tell you how fabulous these are!  They were even better the next morning, which was hard to believe!



Perfection!

I hope you have a most beautiful day…enjoy every moment.  Think back to your childhood.  Take a ride in a wagon (or your minivan!).  Gaze up at the stars.  Eat a warm, gooey cinnamon roll.  Chuckle…Make a memory!

See you soon with something new…

Julie

LiveJournal Tags: Crafty Secrets,Dow Ostlund,Gingerbread Cinnamon Buns Recipe