Week Two of our December Random Acts of Kindness contest! You all had such good ideas last week and I’m looking forward to reading all of the ways that you found to bless others this week. Leave your RAK comment on today’s blog, and I’ll use the Random Number Generator to identify the winner of the prize (which you can see pictured in this previous post) and will post it on Monday. That also means that if you haven’t had an opportunity to do a RAK this week yet, you have until I run the numbers and post on Monday to do one and comment on it. One of the things that I really love about RAKs is that often the people who are the recipients, then go on to do something nice for someone else – and so on, and so on, and so on. We really have no idea where that chain of events will end. It’s nice to know you might really be starting something!
Have you seen the newest issue of Knit 1? I wanted to give a big congratulations to some of our wonderful Indie Dyers who are featured on the “Indie Spirit”. There are 10 different dyers listed and it says their yarns are “dyed in small batches, these yarns have heart, soul, and a whole lotta color”. (And the people behind the yarns are pretty special, too!) So congratulations to: Georgia with Yarn Pirate, Claudia with Wollmeise, Marie with Brooklyn Handspun, Khris with Chewy Spaghetti, Jana with Hand Maiden, Jess with Yarntini, and Angela with Duets. (Rounding out the top ten list of indie dyers, you’ll also find Sundara with Sundara Yarn, Julia with Knitterly Things, and Tina with Blue Moon Fiber Arts. And yes, I’d love to have all three of those lines here at Loopy, and yes, I’ve asked before!) Further congratulations to Cookie A and Wendy for being picked as wonderful knitting bloggers (who have both designed and shared a sock pattern in this issue.) If you haven’t picked up this magazine yet, you need to. There are lots of great patterns in there!
As promised, here is the recipe for Meg’s amazing Peppermint Pudge. And the name? When one of her sons was little, he was eating a piece and then asked for “more pudge please”. It has been known as Peppermint Pudge ever since.
Meg’s Peppermint Pudge
4 1/2 cups sugar
24 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) salted butter
1 jar (7 1/2 oz) marshmallow cream
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups (10 oz. bag) Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips (reserve 1/4 cup to sprinkle on top)
Butter or line a 9 x 13 pan. Place chocolate, butter, marshmallow cream and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a 3 qt. saucepan, combine sugar and evaporated milk and mix well. Place over low heat and stir until dissolved. Increase heat to medium and cook, stirring mixure frequently, until candy thermometer reaches 234 degrees F. Remove pan from heat and pour hot mixture over contents in the mixing bowl. Beat on a low setting until all ingredients combine thoroughly. Increase speed slightly and mix until fudge is thick and holds shape. Stir in the Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips and vanilla. Pour into prepared pan and let set.
Thanks for sharing the recipe (and sending us fudge!), Meg!
I’m off to the grocery store this afternoon. College Guy and College Girl are arriving home today for the holidays, and I’m sure they need some Peppermint Pudge. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.
Sheri lookingforwardtoreadingyourRAKcommentsagaintoday!
Last week I gave to our local food bank. My gift inspired my husband to drop off another check this week! Cool.
My RAK was to give a friend of mine a skein of yarn that she saw in my stash that she said she absolutely loved. I told her to take it home. She was so excited. Fun to share the yarn love!
This isn’t very big . . but my RAK consisted of making faces at an unhappy toddler on a crowded bus. I live in Ecuador, so my fair hair and blue eyes are a novelty. I distracted the child long enough that she stopped crying. The mother was grateful .. . . .as were the other passengers on the bus!
I helped an older woman at Costco loading things into the trunk of her car. I just imagined it was my 82 year old mom..sure, she could have done it, but I know it is nice to have someone help with that extra strain. Every little bit helps. I think when you get older and less in shape it takes more effort to to everyday things……She was happy and so was I !!
I gave my sandwich to a co worker I know didn’t have anything to eat. I also found a group that is teaching young people to sew, and donated some fabric.
I work PT at a LYS that also carries needlepoint supplies and does finishing. A customer called when I was working Sat. — requesting that her newly finished item be mailed to her daughter, as her husband’s lung cancer was worse. As she gave me the daughter’s address, I realized that I could drop it off by her daughter’s on my way home. Yes, it was about 3-5 miles out of my way, but it would make sure her daughter(and grandson, who the finished item was really for) had the item this weekend to go on their Christmas tree. So, that’s what I did.
We donated to a homeless shelter collecting outside the grocery store. I knit fingerless mitts for the children of co-workers, just because. Hopefully more to come!!
Whenever I do something nice for someone else, I feel like I’m the recipient of the random act of kindness as well because I find so much joy from trying to do little things for others.
I love to shop at estate sales and thrift stores so I try to find items that will benefit someone in our refugee community or someone else in need which helps me avoid bringing home more loot for us. Lately I have been finding used Paul Revere or Farberware and cleaning the pieces and giving away. Much better cook ware than the cheap pans available to those on serious budgets. Sometimes they are acts I think of myself like buying and cleaning the pans; sometimes the situation just presents itself. Like the other day at Target, as I’m getting out of my car, I hear a car horn alarm. I noticed an older woman in a car two parking spaces away, sitting with the door open looking forlorn. I walked up and asked her if I could help. She had been studying her car manual trying to find out how to make the noise stop for some time. Of course how could she focus sitting in the car with that awful noise? Anyway, I asked her if she had her keys and we quickly found the right button to put an end to the alarm noise. As I walked into the store, they were just about to page the store for the owner of the “blue HOnda” that was honking. I was able to assure them that the problem had been solved. Yea!
Oops! I had the wrong email address – left out the n in msn.
A co-worker and her daughter decided to help out her daughter’s co-worker, who was recently divorced and had $5 to last 10 days. We adopted the family and brought in gifts for her and her 2 daughters, ages 3 and 5. I bought toys for the little ones and kitchen necessities for the mom. When my friend delivered the stuff to her in the parking lot, she filled up her trunk, back seat, and front seat. with gifts. This woman had tears in her eyes and was so grateful to us… She was thankful even with a 5-lb bag of potatoes! It sure felt good to be helping others at this time of the year. It will be a great Christmas for the family.