Byrne's Bytes

December 2008

Welcome to the December issue of Byrne's Bytes Newsletter

I hope you enjoy it!

http://www.christmashousebnb.com/san-antonio-bed-and-breakfast-rooms-and-suites.htm

http://www.christmashousebnb.com/aboutus.html

Celebrate Christmas 365 days a year in San Antonio, TX

A very cool craft from Mycraftbook.com here is a picture of the "Milkweed Angel"

http://www.mycraftbook.com/craftidea.asp?craftID=161

English Muffin Bread
cornmeal (for dusting loaf pans)

2 tsp salt

1Tbs sugar

6 cups flour

2 cups milk

1/2 cup water

2 packets yeast

1/4 tsp baking soda

In a large bowl combine 3 cups flour, yeast, sugar, salt and soda. Heat liquids until very warm then add to dry mixture and then beat well.

Stir in rest of flour to make a stiff batter.

Spoon into 2 loaf pans that have been greased and sprinkled with cornmeal.

Cover and let rise in warm place for 45 minutes.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove from pans immediately and cool.

This is great toasted with butter and jam.

Useless Information

A Christmas club, a savings account in which a person deposits a fixed amount of money regularly to be used at Christmas for shopping, came about around 1905.

A traditional Christmas dinner in early England was the head of a pig prepared with mustard.

An artificial spider and web are often included in the decorations on Ukrainian Christmas trees. A spider web found on Christmas morning is believed to bring good luck.

Animal Crackers are not really crackers, but cookies that were imported to the United States from England in the late 1800s. Barnum's circus-like boxes were designed with a string handle so that they could be hung on a Christmas tree.

Before settling on the name of Tiny Tim for his character in "A Christmas Carol," three other alliterative names were considered by Charles Dickens. They were Little Larry, Puny Pete, and Small Sam.

Hallmark introduced its first Christmas cards in 1915, five years after the founding of the company.