My son and daughter in law are expecting another son in October.

I love being a grandmother- it is one joy after another- without most of the hard work and decisions that come into play as a parent.

I am here to engage in play and enjoyment.  I get to receive lots of hugs and kisses and happy to see you smiles.  And I have the distinct joy of spending time in the lives of my children and the next generation just through babysitting and skyping.

And I have Allyson’s foster children to love as well.  Aiden is headed to becoming her son.  And now, she has another foster baby to love.  And that means I get to hold the baby and enjoy.  And believe me- I AM enjoying!

So is Cynthia!

So, I am getting in some serious practice for October!

And now onto the oatmeal portion of this post.

I like oatmeal.

As a cereal, certainly, but even more as an ingredient.

Today I made oatmeal cookies and granola.

They both turned out great- and not a slice of bacon in the recipes!

Here’s the approximate recipe for the granola.

Ingredients:

6-8 cups of  old-fashioned oatmeal

1 cup pecans

1 cup sliced almonds

1 cup cashews

1 cup walnuts

1cup raw sunflower seeds

1 cup coconut

1 pinch sea salt

1 cup honey

1 cup canola oil

1/2 cup maple syrup

Preheat oven to 250 F degrees.

Stir together dry ingredients.

Stir together wet ingredients.

Stir together ALL ingredients, place in oven and stir every 30 minutes for about

2 1/2 hours or until golden brown.

Take out of oven and continue to stir until cooled down.

Place in air tight container.

I ended up with about 5 1/2 quarts of granola.

You can use your favorite nuts in this mix-  add a little more of this – a little less of that and make the kind of granola you like the best.  I like mine really nutty and not too sweet.