Even though my last column was published the day after Christmas, I wrote it before the holiday. Now that our celebration is over, I can relate details of how I spent my time with family. There was a splendid sunrise on Christmas morning. If it had not been for my busy schedule, I would have been outside snapping pictures. (I did take a couple of photos of the gorgeous sunset on Christmas Eve.) I drove to my son Jonathan’s house…..
I can’t let October get away without featuring apple recipes. I have collected them for years and have tried lots of them along the way. Several years ago, a friend of mine called me the “apple lady” because she was fascinated with all the different things I made with them. I used to spend a lot of hours at the orchard picking our favorite varieties. When the season for harvesting apples was over, my freezer would be full of them,…..
Use your noodles! I will be forever grateful that my parents, especially my dad, taught me how to think for myself. If I asked for help solving a problem, Dad didn’t necessarily spout out the solution. He often guided me along the path of figuring out the answer on my own. To him, my head was for something more than to fill the space between my shoulders. Dad trained me in the art of “using my noodle.” Bob (my late…..
One of the most memorable vacations of my childhood was a trip my family took to Oklahoma in 1968. It seems so very long ago – and that’s because it was – fifty years, to be exact. We made our journey in August, headed for the Kiamichi Mountain area. Two parents, six children (ranging in age from thirteen-year-old me down to my youngest brother, who was almost four), plus luggage, a tent, and other camping and food supplies were loaded…..
One of the greatest needs of motherhood is wisdom. I cannot even begin to say how many times during my child-rearing years that I prayed for just that. A recent conversation with my daughter-in-law, Heather, reminded me just how much wisdom it takes to understand each child. No two are alike, and they do not come with instruction manuals. Only experience lets a mother know, “This model is extra sensitive and needs careful handling.” Or maybe, “This version is quite…..
I am not really a morning person, nor am I a night owl. Depending on my schedule, I can be one or the other, but I don’t do well if I have to “burn the candle at both ends.” The older I get, the more I would rather get up early than stay up late. I manage to do more in the morning than I do at night. Just because I get up and start my morning routine doesn’t mean…..
September has arrived, and with it came my daughter, Molly. She was on her way home to Illinois from New Jersey, where she has been living since December, having been on active duty assignment with the Air Force for the past several months. Although eager to see her husband and children, Molly gladly spent a couple of days with her mother. How much can you cram in two days, especially when you have recipes you want to try, and not…..