You may see this picture and think–what on earth am I looking at here?
I’ll tell you. You are looking at a hole in the rock facade on my front porch, that used to have a doorbell in it.
NOW however, what it has is a creepy hole, with creepy wires poking out, that could easily be hiding a creepy spider family just waiting for some unsuspecting person to fish around in there for a doorbell…so they can pounce and eat their fingers off.
Well, I wouldn’t do it. And neither would anyone else. So, instead, people knock. Which is fine enough but I don’t always hear that knock because it’s kinda quiet and then I miss stuff…and all the people who think I’m not home…
or deaf.
Then, here comes Josh–my friendly neighborhood fix-it guy who also just happens to be my sweet son-in-law. He measures and fiddles around and measures and fiddles around some more. He comes and goes a few times. He says, “Darn it” a couple of times and leaves again only to come back with…
a magically created doorbell button and a plate that fills up that silly hole in the rock space! Take THAT spiders!! It’s even lighted!! *Squeal!!*
WHAT?!! How did he even DO that?!
I’ve lived here for 10-1/2 years and have never had a real doorbell. Ok, there was a doorbell on the inside of my house…
but you just ignore something like that when it looks all fancy-schmancy but doesn’t actually work. Duh.
NOW, however, not only does it work, but it sounds like a rich lady’s house.
So if you come over–don’t knock!! Ring the bell, and wait for my butler to answer the door. Or, I’ll see that it’s you and actually answer the door myself.
That’s how some rich, fancy-schmancy ladies do it, you know.
Dane and Kortney had to move from one house to another in a hurry. The weather was getting colder and they wanted to be done. The guys and girls and even kids helped move nearly everything but the garage needed some organizational help. Who better than these sweet ladies?
From what I hear, they had that place whipped into shape in a couple of hours. Moving is ALWAYS hard and disruptive–that’s a fact. But when you have some happy, sweet sisters that are always willing to turn hard work into an adventure, the time does fly by a bit better. Many hands and all that, you know?
And oh, my goodness, I’m feeling very clever right now. It just hit me one night–while I was sound asleep–maybe I dreamed it, I don’t know. But I woke up thinking, “I need to make my own throat drops!” These ones will not just soothe a scratchy throat, but they can actually strengthen the immune system against the nastiness that is causing it in the first place. So there.
I have recently become an enormous fan of essential oils–I know, I know, I was a bit slow to catch that train. But I’m here now and I’m pretty excited to find all these unbelievably simple ways to help the sweet little moms and dads that I teach every week…plus my own family and friends. So my Honey Spice Throat Drops are a good place to start.
Put all the ingredients except essential oil in a heavy pan and cook slowly over medium heat until it reaches the “hard crack stage.”
Because area, altitude and climate can make such a difference in candy making, PLEASE click on this link and test your thermometer for your area. It will make all the difference in whether or not your drops are too soft, just right or burned. For example–at sea level, Hard Crack is between 300 and 305 degrees. But here in Utah, where we are waaaaay above sea level, Hard Crack is about 275-280 degrees. BIG difference. If you do this test and follow the directions~ your drops will work.
Resist the urge to turn the heat up higher to speed up the process. It will burn unless you keep it on medium and check it often. Once you can drizzle a spoonful of the syrup into a cup of cold water and have it turn to brittle threads–take it off the heat immediately. Wait about 30 seconds to a minute and then add the essential oil. Stir.
Pour into a buttered cookie sheet. Fold edges of the candy into the middle with a metal spatula until cool enough to handle.
Working quickly, pull and roll into long strips…
and cut into nickle size pieces.
Allow to cool completely and harden. If your drops have been cooked long enough, you’ll be able to store them in a ziploc bag.
If they are a bit soft and still sticky, wrap them in waxed paper squares and store in a ziploc bag.
Just wait until you tell your friends what you just did.
You’ll likely be worshiped as a Goddess of Health and Happiness.
Make sure your essential oil is the purest grade available. If it does not say that it is ingest-able, then it isn’t–so in that case don’t use it in this or any other recipe.
