Filed under: Day-to-Day, Desserts, From my mother's (and sometimes grandma's) kitchen
Does that sound gross to you? Well, DD had her laser procedure yesterday… I know, I know… I errantly called it surgery but it was a “procedure”. I sat in the same room with her while it was done. She said it felt like little scissors in her eyes snipping but not bad… Anyway, we had to go to Greeley for her to have it done.
When we go to the “big” city we are usually gone for a good portion of the day and we generally end up at a buffet of some sort. DD and my favorites ones are Golden Corral and Country Buffet. Now, Country Buffet has the most wonderful banana pudding and, of course, hot fudge cheesecake! (Cheesecake is wonderful with hot fudge on top of it— yes, I put my own on).
DH is not fond of banana pudding to say the least. He would only eat it if there was nothing else to eat but me… I LOVE banana pudding… Perhaps because it reminds me of mom and home and growing up. Banana pudding as a staple dessert for special occasions in our family of six children.
Now, meatloaf… I love meatloaf… just not mine… for some reason I cannot make meatloaf that’s worth eating to save my life! DH has never said anything about it but I can see it in his eyes…. the pleading … “don’t make this EVER again, PLEASE!!!”…. though he’d never say anything to hurt my feelings.
So, yesterday, I got my meatloaf at Golden Corral… though they didn’t have banana pudding…they did have another childhood favorite that brought lots of memories… bread pudding… Now, mom always put raisins in bread pudding for what ever reason… and I can’t say I liked that part but the rest of it was wonderful. Again, this is something DH would NEVER eat unless he was starving!
This has been a bonanza week for doctors at our place. I took DH to the ER on Friday with his “it feels like someone’s standing on my chest” pain. Thankfully we found out it was “just” pneumonia… He’s on an antibiotic and he sees the doctor again today… so we’ll see how things go… then, of course, DD was yesterday…. tomorrow…it’s me.
So until next time, love God, love others… and try some banana pudding and meatloaf… it’ll make your life grand! 
that the older one got the faster time went. I honestly didn’t believe them when I was a much younger person but… I’m starting to be a believer.
Wow! Uncle N. sent this to me and said Aunt D had been carrying this around for a loooooooong time! Did I know this person?? This was good for a belly laugh… I did recognize her… I was about 6 or 7 in this picture and I was always so proud of that little topknot! I think mom put it up there to keep the hair out of my face… which always seemed to be a problem for me.
My, time certainly flies! 
Here I was a little older I think… though honestly they could have been taken around the same time.
What is it that makes us look back with nostalgia when we get older. Well, speaking of Uncle N and Aunt D, it was around this age that I remember their boys came to visit us on the farm. We all went outside to play. Being a farm, there were always a multiplicity of things to play on… one being a hay wagon. Now this hay wagon had a steel tongue and a front board in front of it.
Their son, Kelly, gave me the end of a rope and told me when I got up on the back end of the wagon, to keep going backward and he’d tell me when to stop… Problem is, he didn’t do it in time and I fell over the front board and hit my head on the tongue. I ended up in the smalltown doctor’s office and several stiches in my head! Now, this might account for a LOT in my life now… Thanks, Kelly!
Time… flies so fast. These days it seems it’ s flying even faster than usual. I get up, go to work, come home, and though most of the time I’d like to just go to bed, I end up getting supper and laying on the couch, falling asleep before bed! Oh, my… where did the time go?
Well, until next time, love God, love others… and don’t let time get away from you! It’s the most precious commodity we have.
I was driving home from town after dropping dd by the church so she could go to the youth rally tonight with the kids in her youth group and so many things were going through my mind like… the phrase “big doings”…
Actually, I had stopped by Walmart on my way home and saw someone I know and before I knew it out of my mouth came my mother’s voice… “Got big doings this weekend?” Or maybe it was my dad’s… I”m not sure now… Now, tell me, what are big doings? I remember mom or dad saying that when I was young (did I roll my eyes as dd would at me?) and I really never understood it even though I heard it come out of my mouth, I still don’t believe it. Big doings… is that like “are you having a party? Hmmm… must think more on that.
Then as I was driving home, the rain started… and it just made me smile. It wasn’t a driving rain but rather just a nice soft rain… coming down and I wondered if my dirt-ridden car would get a nice wash before I got home. I thanked the Lord for the rain… we’ve needed it for so long. I thought my tomato plants and bell pepper plants, the strawberry plants, the cucumber and squash plant would be drinking this in thirstily.
As I turned on to my gravel road, I could hear the sand and gravel kicking up under the car and knew we’d already gotten some pretty nice rain. I looked at the pastures and saw that color was popping out everywhere! When you live in a semi-arid high plain desert area, it takes so very little rain to make color pop!
When I arrived home, I heard it! Thunder! What a tremendously comforting sound! Oh, I know perhaps you don’t think so… but every time I hear thunder I remember the time when I was about 4 or 5 and a thunderstorm woke me up and I went downstairs scared.
My dad (who was still up) was there… and there was a rocking chair. Now, I don’t remember all that he told me that night but I do remember that he picked me up in his arms and sat down in that rocking chair and part of what he told me was “that’s God talking”. You know, I’ve always loved the sound of thunder ever since. Even when it’s what someone I know used to call head bangers.
Then I thought ah… dh and I will be able to spend some time alone tonight… It’s not that we would do anything special, it’s just that well, we’d be able to just enjoy each other’s company. Even if we end up falling asleep in our respective places of residence for the night… but we’ll be startled from our repose by the phone ringing and we’ll need to pick up dd.
Ah… I also thought about that Cheerios commercial where Steve comes into the room while his wife is eating a bowl and asks ” Are you trying to lose weight?” Steve’s wife says, “Do I need to lose weight?” Steve looks like he’s been caught out and sputters… well, no but the box says this helps in losing weight… Wife says, what else does the box say?” Steve says, “Shut up, Steve”… then you see Steve’s wife smile with a very satisfied smile on her face. It’s not a mean smile it’s a smile that says, “Oh good, I really didn’t marry an insensitive man… and I’m glad…!” smile. I like the way her eyes crinkle at the edges. Her smile makes me want to smile.. not at Steve but because she’s smiling.
So, then I wonder when I smile does it give others the urge to smile too? Hope so…
Well, there I go again… those are my musings for tonight… think I’ll go find that respository for me to fall asleep on until the phone rings… you have a good night and remember….
Love God, love others and pursue those relationships… {crinkle smile}
Filed under: From my mother's (and sometimes grandma's) kitchen | Tags: childhood, Recipes, tips
1 lg can of eagle bran equals:
1/2 cup powdered milk
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. warm water
Beat together. Make 8 oz .
To make 14 oz add
1/4 c milk
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c warm water
Filed under: From my childhood | Tags: childhood, little sister, memories, mom, Sunrises
It appears it’s that time of year when the e-mail surveys are going around. Someone sent me one of those recently and one of the questions was, “Have you ever watched a sunrise with someone?” Well, I answered no. Thinking perhaps they were talking about a “special” someone of the opposite sex.
Then, I had a vivid memory hit my brain…. when I was 5 or 6ish, we lived on my grandfather’s farm. As you’d come from town, the road would climb. First you’d come to the dairy barn that was set into the hill. The lower level of the barn was used to milk the cows. The upper level housed hay and silage. (it is there we grandchildren first went when grandma said, “Now, don’t you kids go down to the haymow!”)
After the dairy barn, as you progressed up the hill, you came to grandma and grandpa’s house, then highest up on the hill was our house. I have quite a few memories of that house/farm… I’m not sure why. Some of them connected some of them not.
This memory was of watching for the school bus for my older sisters to take to school. There was a big picture window that faced east. It looked down over grandpa and grandma’s house and the barn. As my mom, little sister and I watched for the bus, we got a huge bonus! A big red ball of fire came up over that barn. It was gorgeous! Mom seemed almost as excited to see the sunrise as my sister and me. So, to answer the question, have you ever watched a sunrise with someone, the answer is… yes! Wow!
