Simply Drinks

What a wild month of weather - we just had snow on June 10th and just a mere 20 days later, it is 97 degrees out! Makes me think of ways to stay cool. The "Simply" products are favorites in our house to quench your thirst. On a hot day like today? Simply Lemonade is very yummy. And Simply Orange? In our house, you'd better get your share before it is all gone. You might want to try these products, but buy when on sale as it is a bit pricey at regular price. They also make single serving sizes, which are great for road trips!

The 5 Browns

Becki S, mom and I went to The 5 Browns concert last night. The 5 Browns -- Ryan, Melody, Gregory, Deondra and Desirae -- are siblings who are each concert pianists. They started playing piano around age 3 and by age 9 each had made a debut with a major symphony orchestra. They became the first family of five siblings ever accepted simultaneously to Juilliard. The evening was a treat. We had performances on 5 pianos by all 5 siblings, some duets, some solos and then the sisters played a trio on one piano. The music was diverse and enjoyable - from Gershwin's "American in Paris" to Stravinsky's "Firebird Suite" to Debussy's "Clair de Lune" to my favorite, "Grande Tarantelle" by Gottschalk. That one was a real toe-tapper! Overall a very enjoyable evening.

Lacey, More!

Lots of work done in the last couple days at Lacey. First we got the carpeting installed. The entire upstairs was carpeted (4 bedrooms and hallway). Plus the bedroom on the main floor was carpeted too. All the old carpeting was hauled away as part of the install (big yah!!). They did a terrific job. And now that the carpeting is done, it feels like we can 'almost' say the upstairs is finished. Just a few items left on the punch list. And then we planted shrubs out front and laid the bark. It makes the entrance more welcoming. And will look good when we get the railing up and the curb-appeal items too.

Birthday Cake

I made a birthday cake yesterday in honor of dad's birthday. I have the BEST frosting recipe that I now use all the time. I cannot stand the containers of frosting you can buy at the grocery stores. They just taste fake to me.

FLUFFY CHOCOLATE FROSTING
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
6 tablespoons boiling water
8 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place the cocoa powder in a large mixing bowl and pour the boiling water over it. Stir until the cocoa comes together into a soft mass. Add the butter and blend with an electric mixer on low until soft and well combine. Begin adding the "sifted" confectioners sugar and mix between batches until incorporated. Add the vanilla. Increase the mixer speed and beat until the frosting lightens and is fluffy, about 2 more minutes.

Happy Birthday Dad !

My dad was born June 25, 1936, the third child to Eugene Walter and Florence Belle Gramlow. Their farm was halfway between Oakes and Fullerton, North Dakota. His birth place is listed as Fullerton on the birth certificate as the doctor would file the record of birth at the next town they would go to (even though dad always thought it was Oakes). Dad spent his 10th birthday in hospital with polio. It initially affected his left arm. For many years he did not let the polio hold him back in anything he tried, but many years later he would suffer from what was finally given a name "Post polio syndrome" where it had affected his nerves in his back & also his respiratory system. He graduated from Rodgers High School in 1954 and the following year purchased the farm he lived on for the remainder of his life. He joined the church in 1959(?) and married mom in November 1960. Dad was a farmer and grew & processed carrots which were marketed all over Washington, Idaho, Montana and Colorado. He was also a great mechanic / inventor, and developed a carrot harvester, a cabbage harvester, a square tank dumping system with an agitation pump for handling vegetables, a carrot packaging system, and a cardboard pallet bin for handling produce in large 1000 pound lots. He continued to invent things for the remainder of his life. If I needed to have something fixed, made or figure out how it worked, I would always go to dad. He was funny. He'd answer the phone "Duffy's tavern, Duffy's not here, Dave speaking". He was a great debater (headstrong) and had many great opinions. He was also very patriotic and felt it was every ones responsibility to vote. So when John wanted to marry me, I knew he had to make sure he was registered to vote or the answer would have been no! Well, I could certainly go on and on. He was just an all-around great guy. Love ya dad!

The Whole 9 Yards

John did a lot of things at Lacey Monday, but the funniest was when he ordered bark. He called me up to say they would be delivering the bark around 2pm. He then said, "I'm going to have them put the whole-9-yards right near the front tree. I love saying that...whole-9-yards!" because that is the amount of bark he purchased. So they delivered on Monday afternoon and then Audrey and he spent Tuesday afternoon working on spreading it. And here he is giving me a sweaty, bark-y-hug!

Poor Kitty!

So we thought everything was going just fine for Sidney and on Sunday evening when I was petting her, I felt a HUGE lump which turned out to be an abscess because of the puncture / bite wound. So we took her to the vet on Monday and were told to pick her up anytime after 3pm, but before they closed at 6pm as they would need to drain it. So after work I stopped by to pick up Audrey (because picking up kitty from the vet is a two person job!) and headed to pick up Sidney. When we got there, the front office person said to the vet assistant that we were there to pick up "the feisty one". And then the vet assistant, a sweet elderly lady said very slowly - "Oh..." But then they spent a few minutes sharing the news that we would have to give her a pill twice a day. I swear they were giggling! The vet came out shortly afterward and said "Sorry, we had to sedate her" while in my mind I'm saying "yah think?" and then he explained that she needed to spend the night because of the sedation. Poor Kitty! We did get them to catch her up on her shots since we had her there, as I'm certain we're not getting her to go back any time soon!!

Rocket Party!!

We were invited to attend the Elder's Quorum rocket party and barbecue. John was personally asked to bring his plane also. He brought his "trainer" plane and had some fun trying to figure out how to start it. We all took a break to have yummy barbecue (hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken) and potluck salads (pasta salad, pink fluff, fruit salad and Shepherd's salad). Dessert was angel food cake & strawberries. After dinner the rocket launch started. I took a TON of pictures, but these were by far the best. Kevin Erickson Sr is pictured here: And here is Lyric Erickson: The great part was whenever the rocket was launched into the air, then ALL the kids would go tearing through the field to go retrieve it. Near the end of the evening, John started his plane and it broke one of the propellers before he could take off, so it just taxied the runway tonight. Another time!

Quick Fruit Salad

I got this recipe years ago from my friend, Necielle. She laughed when she gave it to me because she said it was so easy. But tasty! Usually John would not eat a salad like this because it has "Fish Bait" in it (marshmallows). There are only certain food items that should contain marshmallows per John (s'mores only!). So after I made him take a taste bite today, I was surprised when he wanted more. So this recipe is a keeper:

QUICK FRUIT SALAD
8 oz Cool-Whip
2 (11oz) cans mandarin oranges, drained
1 (20oz) can crushed pineapple, NOT drained
1 (3.4oz) package instant pudding - lemon, vanilla, etc.
Today I used Coconut Cream (yum!)
16 oz Marshmallows (add as much or as little as you like)

Mix it all together and let set for a few hours. Great salad to take to potlucks on hot days when you don't want to do any cooking.

Update on Kitty

Sidney ended up not having any broken bones. Just a nice puncture wound and a wounded pride. She is much better and on the mend. Yeah.

Sleeping Porch, Update #2

We worked hard on the sleeping porch yesterday. From painting slats, to installing the railing, to pulling staples out of the floor (had indoor outdoor carpet stapled down), to using 11 tubes of caulk on the walls of the room. Yup, 11 (and counting). Thank heavens we had Ethan Dexter's help today! Once we get the upstairs of the house done, we'll do a similar railing around the front and back porches. If you want the "Before" picture, go to my June 2nd post.

Kitty Sick

Sidney got into a cat fight the other night and has been hobbling around ever since. We don't think anything is broken, but it appears that she got hurt on the skin near the top of her left leg. So she has been hiding a lot and resting a lot and grumbling a lot since she cannot get around as easily as normal. As the days have passed she seems to be getting better.

Ocean Chicken

This is the new recipe I tried on Sunday. It was a hit, but very, very rich. None of us could finish a whole chicken breast. And it is probably not something you'd make everyday, but it certainly looked cool.

OCEAN CHICKEN:
Chicken: Bake or barbecue 4 or 5 chicken breasts after seasoning (garlic powder, lemon juice, pat of butter and Mrs. Dash)
Crab Mixture: In a separate bowl, mix 1 package imitation crab meat, chopped celery, chopped green onions, 1/2 cup shredded cheese, 1/2 cup mayonnaise and 1/2 cup sour cream. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
Sauce: Meanwhile, in a saucepan, cook 1 package Hollandaise Sauce mix according to package instructions or make your own from scratch.

To Serve:
Place hot chicken on a serving plate, top with a scoop of the cold crab mixture and drizzle the warm Hollandaise sauce on top.

Pesto Tortellini Salad

This is John's favorite salad. It is very tasty, a little time consuming and a bit expensive (what with the pine nuts and other ingredients I normally don't have at home). But it is worth every bit of effort.

Pesto Tortellini Salad
1 package (9 oz) uncooked refrigerated cheese-filled tortellini
1 medium cucumber, cut in small chunks
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved (or regular tomatoes, small chunks)
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup prepared basil pesto
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 chicken breast
Parmesan cheese, fresh, grated
1 can olives, sliced

Cook tortellini according to package directions, drain and rinse under cold running water. Thinly slice (or chunk) chicken breast. Sprinkle with garlic, oregano, basil and Mrs. Dash. Place in baking dish, cover with foil, bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. After chicken is done, remove and place in frying pan. Coat with olive oil and lightly brown. Salt & Pepper to taste. Remove to cool. Put pine nuts in small pan, spread evenly and toast for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove to cool.

In a large bowl, combine mayo, pesto, and garlic; mix well. Add tortellini, cucumber, olives, tomatoes, chicken, most of grated parmesan cheese and pine nuts. Mix gently. Add additional grated parmesan over the top.

Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Note: Can make night before, just don't add tomatoes / cucumbers until ready to serve.

Father's Day

I had the greatest dad in the whole world. I will miss him always. Being the first Father's Day without him, I was not sure how my day would go. Started pretty good. Jessie had asked me to play the organ, so I was up at the organ playing the opening hymn. They had announced that Brother Kunz would say the prayer and when he was walking up during the last verse of the hymn, something my friend Juli (Kunz) said to me came into my mind. She said I could always borrow her dad if I needed to. It was just very sweet when she said it, and then especially sweet to remember that today as I saw him heading toward the podium. Do you know how hard it is to play when the tears are falling? The rest of the day was nice. After church we went home and had John's favorite salad - Pesto Tortellini salad. I had also made a new dish, Ocean Chicken. (Recipes for another day.) They were both hits and we relaxed by watching "The Bucket List" about two older guys who were dying. OK, so more crying today. I know I'm crying because I do miss my dad - just having him there, his words of wisdom, and as the summer progresses I will be missing his veggie garden. I would stop by his house on my way home from work and we'd go into the garden to pick whatever was ready that day. He was a hard worker and taught me a great work ethic. He could also fix or make anything. He was incredibly talented and quite the inventor. I love you dad. I miss you dad.

Father's Day

For my honey, here is to you! You are the funniest, sweetest, talented man on this planet and a fabulous father too. Check out the pictures of John and Audrey just this past year. I think the pictures speak for themselves on how much those two like each other! Snow day at the Hartman's lake place, birthday celebration downtown, Young Women event, fall day at Greenbluff, West Valley football game, ward campout, high school orientation event, biking on the Hiawatha Trail and movie night at the Roxy in Newport.

Banana Bread

I have had perpetual bananas needing-to-be-made-into-bread for the last couple of weeks. I finally made the time and pulled out a recipe that my friend Jill gave me awhile back and that I had never tried before.

Now, here is the tell-all moment - the embarrassing truth. So for the 3 people that read my blog, here goes! You know the things you do that are slightly un-safe in the kitchen? Like lifting your hand mixer out of the bowl (just a bit) while it is still going so that the frosting gets off the beaters? Or leaving your pot unattended for a 'second' while you answer the phone? Or taking the blender lid off and putting a wooden spoon in there (just a little way) so that you can just get the stuff moving... Whoops...So after I ruined the first batch of banana/sour cream mixture (and yes, I did pour it down the drain), I started over. I figured taking out little slivers of wood would take too much time... The end result was very beautiful and tasty too!

This escapade reminded me of a friend who made some mashed potatoes and used a rubber spatula to stir them. But was shocked when she went to put the spatula on the counter and big chunks of the rubber part were gone, thoroughly mixed into the mashed potatoes. She had a hard time living that one down. Which is why I figured I had to lay my dirty secrets out there for you to read.


Jill's Banana Bread
10 tablespoons butter
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large)
1/2 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups cake flour
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chopped walnuts
Lightly grease a loaf pan. Puree the bananas, sour cream, eggs and vanilla in a blender. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into the mixing bowl. Add the remaining butter and mix until blended. Add the banana mixture in 3 batches, scraping the sides of the bowl and mixing between each addition. Fold in the nuts. Pour into the loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees until lightly browned, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and cool before turning onto wire rack to cool completely. (Note, it made 1 loaf pan and 1 mini loaf pan.)

Lacey, more updates

When I stopped over to Lacey today, look what I saw!! This is the light that we purchased last night and John already installed it. It is at the top of the stairs, but you can see it when you walk into the entry way. And this is the light right in the entry way that matches the other one. You can see both of them at the same time.

TLC

Audrey thinks that since there is a Father's Day and a Mother's Day, there should be a Kid's Day. We keep reminding her that every day except the two days mentioned above "are" kids's days... But she always thinks that her self-appointed Kid's Day should be celebrated around or near the last day of school. She was very helpful cleaning up the debris that fell over our yard and driveway today, so when John came home we decided to go to Casa De Oro for dinner and to help celebrate the end of school. We were sitting there eating dinner and having conversation when Audrey mentions the word TLC. Then she says, "Before you think I'm talking about tender loving care, I'm actually referring to a TLC wrestling match where they use Tables-Ladders-Chairs." John and I looked at each other and then could not stop laughing; this really struck us as quite funny. This might have been one of those times that you had to be there??

Staining with Kitty

These are cabinet doors that John made for the Lacey House. He is most talented! They are for the upstairs linen closet that he built into the bathroom. (Was an open space with a large pipe showing before.) I had stained the back side of the doors a few weeks ago when it was nice and I could put them outside to dry. Of course the day I had done that was beautiful most of the day, but later in the afternoon when I was on the northside of town it started to rain and then I realized my doors were still outside. I raced home and beat the storm as it had not gotten to the valley. Thankfully. Anyway, I have been putting off staining the door fronts as (a) the weather has not been great, (b) I don't like the smell and (c) I really don't like to stain. But it is something that I can do, so finally decided not to put it off any longer. While I was staining, Audrey went and got the camera. I guess turn-about is fair play since I am always taking pictures of her! So here I am staining (lovely picture, huh) and here is my helper-kitty supervising the project.

Ouch !!

Poor plant! This is one of my outdoor plants that got pelted with hail last night. I'm one of those people that just plant things that I don't have to do much with. So, garden experts - What do I do? Do I cut off the ruined leaves or just let it try to revive and leave it alone? I need all the help I can get on this. Have 3 of these plants, poor babies!!

Weather !!

OK, this has been the weirdest weather that I can remember. Monday it snowed. Yes, Monday June 9th it was snowing in areas of the county. The 1973 record low was replaced with the record low that day. Now today. Audrey and I were running errands and at the last stop. We had noticed the pretty dark clouds while on our errands, but no sign of rain yet. There we were in the dollar store and you could hear this crazy noise. The shoppers started looking outside and it was just pouring down rain. Then it started to pelt hail. We ran to our car and we were sopping wet by the time we got in. Then we headed north on Argonne right under the railroad tracks. Road was flooded, about mid-high on the car. We got home and raced inside and then went out to play in the rain. It was cold, windy, but very neat to be outside for a few minutes in the storm. This is a picture on my block. You can see how much rain fell in less than 1 hour! Looks like a river, not a road... Got online and there is a severe thunderstorm warning in effect (with wind gusts up to 30-40mph). There is also a Flood Advisory in effect. See the picture below of the hail outside my door.

Daddy Daughter Activity

John and Audrey went to the Young Women Daddy Daughter Activity. It was billed as a who-knows-their-dad-best kind of activity, so they had been quizzing each other over the last few days. What's your favorite movie? Color? TV Show? When did you graduate? Where did you go on a mission? Etc. I thought they would do well. So off they went. When they came home, I was reading in bed and I hollered down, "So, how'd it go?" and I hear Audrey say "We failed miserably!" and off to her room. So chuckling, I ask John what happened? And then Audrey pops her head out of her room to tell me one of the questions they missed: If your dad was an animal, how would you describe him in the morning? I think it was multiple choice (if I got the story straight). John said Bear. Audrey said Bird. And then he went on to explain he thought he was grouchy in the morning saying things like "Audrey, get out of bed!" And then she says, "You're not grouchy dad. In fact you kind of flit around in a really good mood in the mornings." My theory is even though they did not win the prize in front of others, I think they did win the prize anyway.

Pirate Blanket

First of all, most of you know that Audrey is a HUGE fan of Pirates of the Caribbean and perhaps could be accused of being obsessed. She had a drawer full of pirate shirts and got this great idea one day that her Aunt Kathy would love to make her a quilt from all her t-shirts for her birthday. Imagine that! I'm sure that is exactly what Aunt Kathy was thinking!! Actually, the first time Audrey brought up this idea, she said it in such a way to sound like it was "no big deal, easy time by all type project". Kathy and I burst out laughing so uncontrollably and still get a huge chuckle when we remember this moment. Nonetheless, Aunt Kathy took on the challenge and did a FANTASTIC job!! She was in town today and wanted to present it to Audrey personally, and was quite taken back finding out that poor Audrey still has school until this Friday. Evidently in Idaho, school gets out earlier - even with all the snow days? Audrey came home to find this fabulous present on her porch and has been wrapped up in it ever since. She is finishing up a science project and where most would find it difficult to maneuver with a big fluffy blanket wrapped around us, Audrey is managing just fine!! Thanks again Aunt Kathy - Audrey LOVES it!!

Sleeping Porch, Update #1

Here is the 'during' picture for the sleeping porch. John had opened up the space and knew he needed to add the header beam. Once again, picture me after work, in a dress & heels, holding up my side of this huge & heavy beam while John secured it. And if I leaned a little too far, yup, I'd fall two stories to the pavement. This next picture is the view from outside. Look how much bigger that opening is. Matches the house size much better than the little window did. And finally, another inside picture after it is partially framed in. The final steps will be to do the finish framing around the inside of the window (to match the woodwork around the interior door) and install the railing. We'll match the railing with the same style that will go around the front (and back) porches. I have 75 slats in the garage calling my name.

Van Gogh Temple

Audrey's last art project this semester was to create an impressionist oil pastel in the same style as Van Gogh. She got a picture from Grandma of the Rexburg, Idaho Temple and Audrey thought that would be an awesome picture to use! It is way cooler in person as the oil pastel is raised/layered just like a real oil painting would be. Anyway, what a great way to end the semester! Here is the original picture that she based the impressionist work on.

Fire !!

At work we have a security system now. We have to wear scan badges or we cannot get into our own office (no keys anymore). Our offices are on the second floor of a warehouse. Not a particularly pretty entrance or anything, but we don't get a ton of visitors. There is a main door at the bottom of my long stairs that I can open remotely. There is a security camera focused on the entrance to that door (the folks have to come up a smaller flight of stairs and ring the door bell if I'm not near my desk). I can also see an awesome view of the smoker's on their break at the picnic table. How fun is that? Anyway, I had just come back from lunch. It was quite windy that day. I was at my desk talking with one of my bosses and I say "Boy, it sure is windy down there" and then went on to mention how unusual the swirling smoke looked. Then I said "Oh my, there are flames!" and I grabbed my water bottle and raced down the long flight of stairs (in my dress and high heels), out the door, down the shorter set of stairs and dump the contents of the water bottle into the smoker's can. I knew not to touch it because of the heat, but wanted to ensure it was 'out'. So I hiked up my dress a bit and stepped up onto the picnic table bench and stared in. Evidently my boss was watching this whole scene and hollered at one of our merchandisers to "Come and see this!" since I looked pretty funny standing over top this smoldering smoke can in my dress and high heels! I say quick thinking on my part and now I'm the fire fighter at work!!

Kitty, Misc.

You might think we love our cat or something...

Here she is eating cantaloupe. Yes, I said cantaloupe. She is more interested in this fruit than sometimes a piece of meat. Sometimes. And no, watermelon or honeydew melon is no substitute. She won't even try those at all. But something about cantaloupe and this cat... And here she is about falling off the couch. She likes to get herself all comfy but sometimes that means she is truly, barely hanging on. She just does not know it yet. And wouldn't all the blood be rushing to her head since it is lower than her tail end? And finally, being harassed by the kid who promised that the iPod was not on. Just trying to get a funny picture of the cat before she woke up. Did you notice the blue blanket? That is the cat's.

Optical Illusion Drawing

One of the classes that I enjoy the most is Audrey's art class. I love when she brings home her different projects when she has completed them. This picture took her a very long time to do as she had a FINE point pen. Once she started with the one pen, she could not change. Do you realize how many 'shades' of black there are? And then it would not match... The picture is about 14"x14". Don't stare at it too long!

Food Storage ?

I went to put away some groceries and tidy the fruit room, and look what I found! Audrey had just asked me where the kitty was. Must be a new hiding spot - she's got lots...

Sleeping Porch

I will post a few pictures of the Sleeping Porch at Lacey. Look at the 2nd story at the tiny window. That will be your focal point for this post: The awesome thing about the sleeping porch is that they had just put paneling over the original woodwork. Note the tiny window (on the left of the picture). So once we removed the paneling, we could see the exact outline of where the sleeping porch used to be open to the outside (anything with the pink insulation was open). Once again, see how small the window was compared to how open the view and space used to be. This is the view from the master bedroom. There is the original door and two windows that open, in case you want to get a little breeze. Stay tuned for more pictures. On my way home tonight I stopped by to say hi to John, and he had opened up the space and was having me help him hold up the 12 foot header beam that he was installing. I will have more pictures soon to update.