Memories May be Beautiful...

Remember the white ice cream bags we used to get. When you saw a rectangle box in a white bag with blue writing you knew good things were coming.

Remember the fire hydrant on our property on Ellen Street and the pyracantha berries under the front window?

Remember bologna sandwiches with mayonnaise?

Remember feeding the animals Friskies?

Remember Nate Bryant's car that was cola brown?

Remember when President Kennedy died? I remember dad saying he couldn't believe Jackie was going to walk behind the hearse. I kept thinking, now why would Jackie Hoelscher do that and how did she know the president?

Remember Rick Starcher in dad's bright striped robe chasing kids away...what was that story again?

Remember eating peaches from the garden that were still warm?

Navajo and Zuni Jewelry

Mom and I took her jewelry to a man who buys and sells similar jewelry. We had an interesting conversation. He polished up the 2 bracelets (no big deal he said because you wear them and enjoy them, then they tarnish up right away anyway.) She has not worn these bracelets since June 1943 when she enlisted in the Navy. They got to be too difficult to put on after that. He did a slight adjustment to them and here she is proudly wearing her Native American bracelets.

Running Chef

I promised you a better picture and here it is. Notice the addition of the whisk. All the running chefs have them!

Our Valentine girls!

Happy Valentines Day !!

First Portland Christmas

Another scrapbook by Smilebox

Snicklefrits Love

Harvest Time

Unfortunately for the cooking world my persimmons never make it to the oven. Aren't they yummy looking!

Exeter Mural Geo cache event

Amelia and Chris came last night for a visit...or maybe just to eat enchiladas and try my new Pumpkin Dessert that I found here: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/great-pumpkin-dessert/Detail.aspx

Today we went to the town of Exeter about 15 minutes away. They have 27 murals in the town related to the area. We had a map that listed hidden items in some of the pictures. Here we are by the mural of the Mineral King area.

This train mural had hidden pictures of Darth Vadar, the Wizard of Oz and Buzz Lightyear so it was especially fun.

In addition to the hidden pictures Chris found that if we followed online clues about several of the pictures we could decode the coordinates of a geocache. We did that and found a "treasure". We did one more unrelated geocache in town. This tiny canister was the magnetized container Chris found at on a piece of equipment with lots of bolts. Inside was the tiny piece of paper where we signed in as having found the cache. We had a good walk and were quite entertained by our outing.

Of course Amelia had to pet the horse.

Look who's running through my head...

Aye, yii, yii, yiiii,
I am the Frito Bandito.
I like Frito's Corn Chips,
I love them I do.
I want Frito's Corn Chips,
I'll get them from you.

*****
Aye, yii, yii, yiiii,
Oh, I am the Frito Bandito.
Give me Frito Corn chips
And I'll be your friend.
The Frito Bandito
You must not offend.

Frito Lay used this character from 1967-1971. Let's do a virtual sing a long, I'll start.....Aye, yii, yii, yiiii, I am the Frito Bandito...take it from there.

Color Color Everywhere

Ok, so these are easy and I got carried away. These 26 blocks are large and will be put into more than one quilt. Most are 1 color blocks but 6 of them are pink and orange blocks. It started as a Block of the Month at my quilt guild. I can put some of the blocks into the drawing for more blocks but I'm thinking I may not do that...more blocks, eek!

Color Blocks aren't just for kids!

Today I made these blocks. They will eventually be trimmed, added to other blocks and made into a quilt top. I thought it made a fun picture. It won't look like lanterns when it is done.

Look what I found...worth a try!

Snickerdoodle Muffins

Muffins

2 c. flour

¾ tsp. baking soda

¾ tsp. cream of tartar

¼ tsp. salt

½ c. butter, melted

1 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 c. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

Topping

1 c. sugar

2 T. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Either spray a 12-cup muffin tin or use cupcake papers.

Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl. In another bowl, combine the melted butter, sugar, eggs, milk, and vanilla. Stir until combined. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and mix lightly with a fork.

Fill the muffin cups with batter. Top each muffin with the cinnamon/sugar mixture. It can be applied heavily.

Bake 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Shepard Family Photos

We had so much fun spending time with our kids and Clark. Here are some pictures, which include the box train with Grandpa, first time eating with chopsticks and first time using a straw. He was a pro at everything he tried.

July 2010 Portland

Picture slideshow generated with Smilebox

Pain in the Neck

These are my faithful walking partners, Barbara and Vicki. They came every morning to walk me. We are up to 3 miles a day together. Even though my brace came off today we are starting 4 miles tomorrow. Of course I have had to do my remaining miles on the treadmill but I think we can work up to 5 miles easy enough. What good sports they are! I am thankful for them. That good looking necklace is a BGS (Bone Growth Stimulator).

This is the picture Paul took when I came home from the doctor's office. You can see my scar a little there. My neck is thin but as soon as I build up my strength it will go back to usual. Don't be fooled by the pictures. I have not lost weight. It's trick photography. I'm getting a haircut tomorrow and looking forward to that.

Happy Birthday Clark

Check Alli and Ben's blog for pictures of Clark at his birthday party.

News from the Central Valley

This slideshow design customized with Smilebox

What up Doc?

Who doesn't have need of a 3' quilted carrot? The funny thing was I showed this to a friend and made a joke about what kind of bunny would go with this on a table.....just so happens I was at the house of a person with a 2-3' paper mache bunny! She thought this was great.

Actually, this brings up a memory for RuthAnn, T and I. Mom used to have a friend on Sherwood Street who would decorate her living room and a branch "tree" for each holiday. Mom would take us over after school at each holiday to see what this woman had done that month. I remember her son was in the Navy in Siam and so she had some cool momentos of things he had sent her. Anybody else remember this woman...I don't remember her name...maybe mom knows.

Not so long weekend

FRIDAY Our weekend started Friday night with dinner and a trip back to the 1940's when we saw "In the Mood". The music of Glenn Miller, Bennie Goodman and so on. Do you remember the famous picture of the sailor kissing the nurse on the day the war ended? The nurse is 92 now and came in her nurse's uniform. She's a pip! Check out the picture.
http://www.inthemoodlive.com/

SATURDAY I got together with my girlfriends for a "Gal"-entines Day. It is a tradition of some women to spend February 13th with the girls, hence the name. We saw the play "Hot Flashes" which is similar to "Menopause the Musical". Oh, my goodness, did we laugh! Not to worry as the entire audience was laughing until they cried. It certainly was for adult audiences but it was a way to make fun of a not so funny topic. I went online to check into the follow up performance. Turns out the couple who wrote this has 2 more musicals. "Flashbacks" is the follow-up performance, then in the fall they will premeire their newest one, "Mama's Got a Brand New Bag" at Portland Metro Performing Arts, 9933 S.E. Pine St. Performances will continue through Oct. 25. Seems they are from Portland. How did I not know that so many good things came from Oregon? Check it out!
http://www.hotflashesthemusical.com/

SUNDAY I made a liquid chai tea concentrate to be added to black or herbal tea. It calls for sweetened condensed milk but I chose just condensed milk so it is less sweet. I add soy milk to my chai tea too. All good. Chai Concentrate
Ingredients
· 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
· 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
· 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
· 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
· 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
· 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
Empty condensed milk into a jar or plastic container with tight-fitting lid. Stir in the sugar, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Store in refrigerator.
To use: Brew a cup of strong black tea, such as Assam, then add two heaping teaspoons of concentrate or more to taste. Stir well until concentrate has fully melted.
To give: Pour into small jars with lids and tie with an attractive bow, or wrap the jar first. Attach a tag with instructions to keep the mix refrigerated and how to use it.
To keep: Store in refrigerator for up to 6 months.

MONDAY I quilted some, cleaned some and made "Cranberry Sweet Pototo Bread". Yummy. If you drop by in the next 6 hours, there should be some left.

Starbucks Cup album sampler

As promised I am showing pictures of my Starbucks cup photo album. These are sample ones so they don't have pictures....yet. Enjoy!