Cooking Class

Someone at church talked me into giving some cooking lessons.  So, I sent out a "feeler" to see if there was any interest and listed some categories.  I had 14 people express an interest in Quick and Easy Meals and Easy Ways to Save Time and Money in preparing those meals.  So, Tuesday night I had the first class, and 17 people came!  I was excited to see so many there.  I made a 16 page booklet for everyone, and it contained ideas, easy one-dish meals, and easy desserts.  I also included a page on What Can I Do With White Sauce? 

I began by talking about having the right tools to make cooking easier.  I focused on knives and a good sharpener.  As you can see, I talked about good kettles, storage containers, cooking salt and pepper shakers, Johnny Salt and a good cutting board. 

I asked for someone to help me, and we each made a white sauce.  She turned hers into egg sauce, and I turned mine into Chicken Mushroom Soup.  That was fun and "amazing".

  I had made some of the desserts to sample, and after talking about them, we all ate them.  Everyone liked that!  Above, you can see Banana Split Cake, Tuti Fruiti Pudding or Pie, Chinese Noodle Treats and 60 year old cake!  They were all a hit, and the recipes were in their booklet.

Here we see Creamy Tacos, Frito Pie, Add Anything Dish and Spam Loaf.  We made the egg sauce for the Spam Loaf.  Everyone liked all of the dishes, and everyone was surprised at the Spam loaf being so good!

Of course, I fixed a pot of My Favorite Vegetable Soup in the Crock Pot!  It was a big hit. 

Sorry, I didn't get a picture of everyone eating, but I was kind of busy answering questions, etc.  There was very little food left.  All in all, it was a fun evening and I had fun preparing!  They asked me to do more classes, and I agreed to do one in June, but probably wait until fall to do others. And, they LOVED the recipe book!

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

Saturday--Beautiful Weather, Not too hot or too cold--Wonderful, Modern Ball Park

This great day found us in Baker City watching Trampis blay baseball.  Ontario JV against Baker City JV.  He had several really good hits.

And off he goes. . .

He played catcher the entire first game.

All in all, it was a great way to spend the afternoon!   Good job, Trampis!

By the way, they won the first game and lost the second.  Trampis played 3rd base for 5 innings and catcher for 2 innings the second game.

Simple Pleasures

Today I decided to blog some miscellaneous tidbits, since I don't lead a real exciting life.  Well, some days are exciting, but everyone already blogged about branding, so that's out.  So, I'll just entertain you with some fun things from the last few days.  The picture above is Ella.  She came to visit and claimed I had no pictures of her on my camera.  So, she took a picture of herself!  Well, she's wrong, too, because I have several hundred pictures of sweet Ella.  But it's always fun to have another one!
The picture above Ella is supposed to be next (can't figure out what's going on this time with the blog. .  )  Anyway, we were all in the kitchen eating after branding, when someone looked out the window and saw a coyote!  He played around quite a long time, so we all got a good look at him--that was a fun addition to the day!  The picture above the coyote is my empty living room and dining room.  In August, 2009, I bought a carpet shampooer.  Before it arrived, I had an inflamed syatic nerve, followed by back surgery--you all know the story--Well, Monday I decided I felt good enough to put it to use.   My carpets were driving me crazy and needed shampooed.  So, I decided to just do the two rooms, so I wouldn't overdo it.  The machine was easy to use, and the floors look great!  I am very encouraged and excited about doing the rest of the carpets.  However, I have to wait a day or so in order for the two I did to COMPLETELY dry!!

What happened?  The picture loaded right!  Anyway, Kres gave me this funky candle holder for Mother's Day.  So, I turned it into a vase, and I think it looks really nice.  I needed something for the new TV stand.  So, here's the look.  I love the stand and the look.  Fun, but simple!

Here's the whole view.

That's enough excitement for one day!

I love everyone's blogs, so keep up the good work, and I'll try harder to do better next time!

Sweet Marianne

Our ward had a talent show, and since the talented people didn't sign up (except for a few), 90% of the acts were done by "non performers".   Ron was one of the "non performers" in a group called "Those 50's guys!"  (Doyle Slayter, Tom Trotter, Ron Waite and Mark Pilling)

They lip sang to "Marianne" by the Hilltoppers.  Each one proposed to Marianne (sitting in the chair).  Here Doyle Slayter sings to her while Tom Trotter and Ron Waite look on!

This is Tom singing to her, and he actually ended by giving her a kiss on the cheek!

I thought Ron did the best job of looking like a guy from the 50's!

His part was:

"When we marry, we will have a time you never saw

I will be so happy, I'll kiss my Mother-in Law--HOOEY

Children by the dozens in and out the bamboo hut,

One for every palm tree and cok-y-nut!"

ANYWAY, it was kind of fun, and I was proud of him for agreeing to do it!

Lots of Work--Lots of fun!

March has been a busy month.  I went to Boise March 6 to stay with Ky while Clay was in Florida on a military assignment.  It was a lot of work, as I helped Ky with the kids and some of her organizational goals!  But, most of all, it was a lot of fun.  I love being with my grandkids--all of them, and I was fortunate to be able to spend lots of time with Kres and Beckham, and some time with Trey, too. 

I wrote a story for Kres about us, my animal friends, and hats.  Ollie Elf was a main character, too.  Here is one of the pictures from the book.

Here we are after Ollie switched our hats!

I went to preschool with Kres and Ella (his cousin), and read the story to the class.  They all loved it!

Kres loves to build things.  So, I took my blocks and spent a lot of time playing blocks with him. Beckham joined in the fun, too.

Like I said, he loves to build things, and here he is with another creation.

Trey came over, and helped build with blocks, too.  After they built the towers, they played "block bowling"--can you guess what that was?

Trey also helped Ron put together some shelving for Ky's garage.  They both worked hard to get the job done!  Thanks, Trey!

Beckham's Aunt Amber decided he would be an adorable little girl--so she gave him a St. Patty green ribbon for his hair!  Beckham is very tolorent of everything, so he just went along with it!  (and he is adorable--boy or girl!)

Everytime I put my walking shoes on, Kres, wanted to "tie" them.  It was fascinating watching him weave those laces until not an inch was loose.  I think he has the idea, but it took Trey and I about 10 minutes to "untie" my shoes! 

Let me tell you, those "ties" were a work of art!

All good things must come to an end, and Kres hates it when anyone leaves.  He loves his cousins!
Well, it was nice to be have something really worthwhile to do, so I enjoyed my time in Boise.  Thanks Ky, Kres and Beckham for a fun 3 weeks!  And, thanks, Trey for coming to visit and help us out.

THIS IS FOR THE BIRDS!

Every winter Ron enjoys feeding and watching the birds.  I have to admit, I love them, too.  This is one of the perks of country living!  Last weekend, Kres and Beckham came to visit and helped Grandpa feed the birds:

Kres spreads the seed in the driveway--a whole bag full while Grandpa and Beckham supervise. . .

That done, he spreads it out nice and even, and inspects it for quality : )

Next step--stand back and watch what the birds do:

They start by watching from the trees--

As soon as everyone is out of sight, the birds gather.  The red-winged blackbirds are the larger ones.   They are really pretty when they fly!  The smaller gray ones are wrens.  They eat, then fly into the trees, then back to eat some more.  It is fun to watch their ritual.

After the blackbirds eat awhile, the doves arrive.  They are a much larger bird., but fun to watch.  They are usually followed by the quail,   It was getting too dark to get a picture of the quail.

Anyway, I love to watch the birds and it's another fun thing for the kids when they come to grandma's house!

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL WE DO . . .

We enjoyed watching Beckham crawling and trying to walk. . .

...and his new pattycake skill...

Kresimir and I had fun decorating a Valentine tree! 

I'm happy to say--the birds and grandkids brought a lot of joy into our llives this weekend!

WHO AM I?

I have been entertaining myself lately by cataloging and rereading my genealogical resources.  This may sound boring to you, but I have often, and for a long time, been interested in the question, "Who am I".   I find it fascinating to get to know some of my ancestors and to find out if I can see some of myself in them!  I have been rereading about George Calvert, my 2nd great grandfather, who immigrated from Yorkshire, England to Port Hope, Canada in 1852.  He was my dad's grandfather.  Fortunately for me, he wrote a weekly column in the Lindsay Post (he lived in Lindsay), and here is some insight into his character: 
March 1880:  George Calvert celebrates his birthday.  I want to tell you a little news.  On Sunday the 29th of Feb 1880 was my birthday so I made up my mind to have a birthday dinner.  You will see that it is a rare thing to have a birthday on the 5th Sunday in February--so I fed up a turkey to 20 lb.  dressed and called my children together and we had a good time.  I will tell you the bill of fare:  turkey, roast beef, plum pudding, potatoes, and lettuce of my own growing also green onions and celery.  I also had the old cook that cooked my wedding dinner fifty-four yhears ago this month.  I think it will be some time before you are favored with news that can equal this.

In another post, he was talking about the farmer's market in a town a short distance away:    It is not a fit place for women to be after coming eight or ten miles.  They want to be in a warmer place.  Improve the market house and have a stove to warm the place for these fine women.

I like this story:  I sold some wood to a fellow in Port Hope for $1.25 a cord.  On the way with the first load, my sleigh pitched over 3 times and I had to reload.   I had contracted for 6 cord, so I fixed the sleigh.   When I got there, he said to return in 2 weeks and he would pay me.  So I called the next Saturday, and he told me to return on Tuesday.  I did so.  Still no cash--I was to return on Saturday--then Thursday, again..  Well, I had a wife and 4 kids, and my wife told me to not come home until I had the money.  So On Thursday, I took off my overcoat and said I was staying with him until Saturday.  However, he tried very hard to get me to go away, but I felt comfortable.   He made me terrible promises, so also did his wife, but I told him I would stop until I got the money, so he said he would try to borrow the amount.  He came back with $3.00.  I would not have it.  I would stop until I got it all and so I got it all in a short time.  I was glad to get out of the house, but that man never spoke to me after.  I knew he was rich.  We worked hard for what he had to pay.  If you think it is worthwhile, you can print these few lines.  I have nothing to do at present but to write a little. 


This man raised 9 of his own children and 2 grandchildren, whose parents were killed in a house fire.
I think too often we think of ancestors as dead people.  Maybe we should look at them as real people, and we can get to know them and apprediate them more.  I see a lot of myself in George.  I love to write and am somewhat opinionated.  I admire him for defending and respecting the women in his stories.  He was known as a devout Baptist (help build and pay for the church in Lindsay, and his son, John, acted as minister for a short time because they could find no one else to do it).  He was instrumental in having alchohalic beverages banned in the city of Lindsay. (my dad was also anti alchohol and never drank even a drop.  People used to give him Calvert whiskey at Christmas time, and it line a shelf in our basement, unopened!)   He was a master gardner and won many prizes for his produce.  He lived to be 85.  It's been kind of fun to get to know George!