Sylvia's Scenario

I've been experimenting with making homemade pumpkin spice lattes and I think I finally found the combination.  Instead of sugar, I used sweetened condensed milk...AND sugar.  LOL  There is nothing "healthy" about this recipe but the same can be said for Starbuck's pumpkin spice lattes but we all love them, right?  I made more of these last weekend when Lauren and Nick + family came over for dinner.  It was a damp, wet day, perfect for a pumpkin spice latte and my family loves them.  I immediately started serving them as everyone arrived.  We practiced using our new covid precautions while having people over but it's still going to take some practice, I'm not going to lie.  The good thing is that I believe we had excellent ventilation with all the doors open.  We were lucky that it wasn't that cold last weekend and the temperature was in the 60's so we didn't have to wear our coats inside the house.  If they are recommending to have your...

During our trip to Japan, we spent one day sightseeing in Kamakura that was once the ancient Capitol of Japan from 1185 to 1333.  There are many beautiful temples in Kamakura and it's a place that is always worth visiting when in Japan.  This is also where the giant Buddha is located called Daibutsu.  We visited Daibutsu in 2014.     Kamakura has a historic railway called the Enoshima Electric Railway or Enoden line that looks like a streetcar which dates clear back to 1902.  It is fun to ride and takes you to many of the sightseeing stops.  Kamakura is also right along the coast making for beautiful scenery.  It is about an hour train ride from Tokyo so it's similar distance as Nick's home town of Yokosuka.  Lots of people come from Tokyo to Kamakura on the weekends for the beach and it's laid-back, earthy vibe, organic restaurants and cafes, and lots of unique shopping.  We always enjoy...

I got another gift in the mail today and decided to blog about it as I sit here and drink my second cup.   My sister, Laurene, sent me some Chai tea on this Christmas Eve and it really hits the spot as I take a break from wrapping presents and preparing food for tomorrow.  It was a very pleasant surprise to receive in the mail today. Laurene made this same tea for us on  sister's weekend   over Memorial Day weekend.  I loved it then and I love now.  I love this Chai tea so much that I texted her and told her I wanted to put it on my blog.  I didn't realize it had such a story to go along with it so now I want to share the story on this Christmas Eve, a most appropriate time.   This should be another "guest blog" like  Aunt Velmas Waffle Cookies  but Sage isn't here to write about it. You see, she died of ovarian cancer in September 2013 at the age of 24.  Sage was my nephew's girlfriend, my nephew who is Laurene's son...

I wish we were having warmer weather but it's still cold outside. And it's still hot chocolate weather, not quite Spring yet, and since we're all thinking "Valentine's Day", let's combine the two. Here is a very simple way to do just that. Homemade Hot Chocolate  Makes 4 one cup servings 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup cocoa powder dash of salt 1/3 cup of hot water 4 cups of milk 3/4 tsp. vanilla 1. Mix sugar, cocoa and salt in saucepan. Stir in water. 2. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture boils; boil and stir 2 minutes. 3. Stir in milk and heat. DO NOT BOIL. 4. Remove from heat; add vanilla. Marshmellow Hearts  1. Cut the marshmallows in half. 2. Cover the marshmallows in a sheet of plastic wrap and use a rolling pin to roll the marshmallow halves flat. 3. Using a small heart cookie cutter, cut hearts out of each flattened half. Sometimes the simplest actions can really make your day and all you need to turn a day ar...

The holidays are over, home life is settling down with no visitors scheduled to come over, Bruce took down the Christmas tree today, I washed some of the Christmas towels and napkins in preparation to put them away but usually putting the Christmas stuff away will take most the month of January! Too much Christmas stuff all over the house… The fake snow everywhere makes putting things away a little more challenging. The mantle and wood stove is perfect for lots of Christmas trinkets. I like to put lights on everything in the house to give the inside that certain glow of warmth for Christmas, even though it is tedious to put up and take down. I'm also very nostalgic so Christmas is an excuse to put out all my kids' old Christmas projects to remember years gone by. I put gifts under the tree that were handmade by friends or passed on to me by my dad that we played with when we were children. I display all our Christmas cards on rib...