This is as authentic a recipe for the old-school Italian water ice as you'd want to find. For strawberry, just follow the recipe for the peach one and use the berries, although for raspberry or black cherry, it's better with just the strained juice from the fruits. LEMON WATER ICE 1 quart water 2 cups sugar 3/4 cup lemon juice Grated rind of 1 lemon (no white part) Boil water and sugar together for 5 minutes. Cool. Stir in juice and peel. Pour into shallow bowl and put in freezer. As it starts to freeze, keep stirring the outside crystals into the center and mix in peel. Do this about every half hour. When really slushy, stop and freeze overnight. To serve, you must scrape very thin layers of the slush off the top. I use a big spoon with sharp edges moving it sideways. My notes: This won't turn out right unless you do both the stirring thing and the scraping thing. It really is all about the technique, not the ingredients, which is why you won't get the same results in an ice cream freezer, even though we've tried it. Depending on how many you'll be serving and when, you can divide the ingredients in half for a smaller batch because the syrup starts to congeal after about 2 or 3 days. For all of these, follow the same method as the Lemon Ice, boiling water and sugar together, add other ingredients, then freezing as directed: LEMON-LIME WATER ICE (my personal favorite) Make as above but use 1/2 lemon juice and 1/2 lime juice and equal amounts of lemon and lime peel LIME ICE Make as above using lime juice and peel instead of the lemon. FRESH PEACH WATER ICE 1 cup sugar 2 1/2 cups water 1 1/2 cups peeled and sliced ripe peaches 1 1/2 to 2 tsp. lemon juice Puree peaches in blender with lemon juice. ORANGE WATER ICE 2 cups water 1 cup sugar 1 cup fresh orange juice 1 grated orange rind (no white part) 2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice GRAPE WATER ICE 2/3 cup sugar 1 1/2 cups water 1 cup grape juice 1/4 cup orange juice 2 Tbs. lemon juice

Move the ice cubes to the front of the bin...Sometimes if it builds up in the back the ice maker will turn off for awhile..

OK., here's what you do: First of all, you do NOT cut ice cream cones to size. The average size of a cone is 6-inches (in height). You simply stack the cones to get the height you like. And 'glue' the cones together with dots of Royal Icing. There is a way to cut the cones neatly. But, while a simple process, the details would take me forever to explain (my PC is down, and I'm on my phone), plus, there's a risk more instructions would only overwhelm, and put you over the edge. In regards to which icing to use, I'd recommend Royal icing. Royal icing , when done right, has the consistency of stiff meringue. And is extremely easy to pipe from a pastry bag and leaf tip. Royal icing will set hard. But NEVER freeze royal icing. It turns rather 'spongy' and ruins its texture. Plus, royal icing dries fast, and lasts a very long time. Long enough that the cones will still look stunning by the time you're ready to toss them in the trash. I have pictures of Christmas cone trees I made years ago, with how-to photos, which I was planning to blog about, and never did. But the trees are simple enough, that you won't need a pictorial. BTW, I do not recommend the use buttercream for this projet. Buttercream is great tasting, and easy to work with, and can be frozen, true. But, once out of the freezer, buttercream instantly starts to soften. Meaning, that even with a delicate touch, the decorated trees will get smooshed before they reach the cake. With TG just days away, it might be a while before I get my computer up and running. But hopefully, these tips will ease your worries. Sol

Sherry..good memory!..I've used rocks and forks..and squirrels still climb up!..I've picked up rocks and forks that they've knocked out..my neighbor took empty soda cans and tried to "bend" them over the sides of the pot..don't know if this works..I haven't talked to her since she told me a few days ago.. popmama..I'm trying to train myself that it's ok to splurge sometimes..enjoy the plant and don't feel guilty if I don't bring it in and keep it going..it's funny I think of myself as conservative with money but if the total of my "good buys" was actually calculated it's probably a big number Lol..your bowl 'o minis is adorable..