(I'll save you the trouble of reading this whole thing if you're just looking for the recipe.)
I decided to make popcorn balls to add to our menagerie of bird feeders. It's not a good day. In fact, it's the worst day of the year. But I don't want to write about that right now.
When I was about 6, every family got one of these popcorn poppers from my grandparents. My parents made a ritual of getting it out every Friday. When we cleaned out my grandparents house a few years ago, we found the one they had bought for themselves. It's all but mint in box, so we salvaged it from the donation pile and squirreled it into the trunk of our van. It smells like 1981 and I love it.
I broke it out today in an attempt to keep myself busy. Connell and I had a good time measuring and pouring the kernels. He sat there with me until the popcorn got a little feisty and we needed eye protection and maybe a hard hat... then he settled down for a nap.
So that was the easy part. I checked the recipe more closely and realized I was missing the corn syrup. I substituted pancake syrup. Probably not the wisest idea, but in the spirit of staying busy I soldiered on. I threw shortening, brown sugar, and pancake syrup into the pot. It bubbled up nicely and I added it to the tray of popcorn. I threw in walnuts instead of peanuts because that's what I had on hand. I don't think the birds or squirrels will mind.
A little scrap of ribbon made it a colorful accent to our favorite tree. Watching the birds makes me happy and entertains Connell. And right now, this is a good place to be.
Shorty after nap time was over, a furry friend discovered the new feeder. Graham helped Connell watch and
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