Precious Memories

I've decided to start a new series on my blog called "At Grandma and Grandpa's Place". I was inspired by the following post by my sister a couple of weeks ago:

There are some things I’ve been wanting to record about my Grandpa Hayes who passed away last December, but just haven’t gotten around to it. Here’s the first installment…

He loved to tell jokes and funny stories. His favorite one to tell about me actually says a lot about him. How mischievous he could be. How he had a soft spot for kids but loved to rile adults (especially women)… The event actually happened when Eric was in the hospital for his burns and Grandma and Grandpa were babysitting me and Crystal. Mom had thought Grandma and Grandpa might need a break, so she arranged for Grandma Kagy to go to their house and pick us up for the night. I guess I balked at the idea of going with Grandma K. and Grandpa obviously didn’t want a break from us, so he planted the idea in my little 3-year-old head that if I threw a big fit when Grandma K. arrived, she might not take me with her! Sure enough when Grandma Kagy came to pick us up, I threw a big one. Grandpa laughingly tells how I ran screeching back and forth on top of the back of the couch, refusing to go with her. She had to leave there without us… after having made the 35 minute drive to gather us in the first place! I, of course, have always thought the story funny but looking on it now as a mom myself, I can imagine how miffed my mom and Grandma K. must have been! He’s a guy, though, against whom, I would imagine, it was hard to hold a grudge.

Grandpa also loved talking about the “old days” and, of course, had kept some antique items. One of which was his mother’s old butter churn. He kept it down in the basement (a vaguely spooky place full of old things where just about the only thing for a kid to do was to write on the chalkboard that hung on the wall). He had warned Eric, now fully recovered from his burns and around 5 or 6 I would guess, not to play with the butter churn, but I suppose Eric didn’t listen because he ended up breaking it.

Grandpa says my dad brought Eric to him and said, “Eric has something he needs to tell you.”

“I broke your butter churn,” and as Grandpa quotes Eric he speaks in a small, little voice with head down turned.

“You broke my churn!?” Grandpa bellows intimidatingly.

Eric, evidently put on the defensive by Grandpa’s reaction, counters boldly, “I thought it was plastic.”

And Grandpa always breaks out laughing at this point, I assume at Eric’s boldness and again at the idea that anything that old could have been made of plastic.

So, once a week (not on a set day) I'll be recording some of my own memories about life at Grandma and Grandpa's Place. I'm also blessed to have my Grandma's diary from 1979 so I'm planning to include some excerpts from that as well. I hope you all enjoy a look into the not so distant past.

Manic Monday

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Why Me?

Why can't I be the one that...

doesn’t even know when the property taxes are due?

leaves the mayonaise out on the table?

never shuts the car door, garage door, screen door, bathroom door?

just throws my dirty clothes on the floor knowing they will magically be cleaned for me?

doesn’t care if the house is locked at night?

never buys a gift for anyone?

doesn't carry a checkbook, band-aids or chapstick?

sleeps soundly through every single night?

doesn’t know the date or time of any event and yet someone always gets me ready and has me there on time anyway?

Or as Hillary Swank said in "P.S. I Love You":
“Why do I have to be the mature adult who worries? Why can’t I be the cute Irish guy that sings all the time?”

Someday (probably when I'm old and senile) I'll be the cute Irish lady that sings all the time. I can't wait...well I wouldn't mind putting off the senility for a few more years.

FYI

1 sleepover campout

6 boys

5 hours of sleep

0 blog posts

Conversations on the Way Home From Church

Mom: So, what was your lesson about today, Ryker?

Ryker: Well, we actually talked a little bit at the beginning about Transformers.

Mom: Why did you talk about Transformers?

Ryker: Because our lesson was about how God can transform us.

Cainan: (in awe and wonder) How does God transform us??!!

Mom: (realizing that Cainan is picturing God ripping us limb from limb as he twists us into new robotic creatures) Transform just means change. God can change people's hearts.

Ryker: Yeah. Like he makes us want to be good and obey him.

Cainan: (slightly disappointed) Oh.

Ryker: Now do you understand?

Cainan: Yeah, most of it. I understand all about the Transformer part I just don't understand about the God part.

Patriotic Pestering

Here is the Fourth of July version of harassing your older brother.

Rykie Doodle

(Sung very sarcastically to the tune of Yankee Doodle)

Rykie Doodle went to town

riding on a pony

Kissed a girl on the lips

then ate a pepperoni

Lessons From Ditto-Land

This week we hired a babysitter and I spent one day out working with Brian to help him finish a construction project he was doing. It involved painting. Brian does not paint.

Anyway...working with Brian means two things. Huge fountain drinks from Motomart and Rush Limbaugh....two things I avoid when I'm on my own.

The fountain drinks are ok. I love the little pellet ice, but I could live without the soda. The Limbaugh on the other hand...ugh! I don't disagree with what he says necessarily, in fact I agree with a lot of it, but its just that arrogant, know-it-all attitude that drives me crazy. But this time he actually had a story that did interest me quite a bit.

He was talking about how these high gas prices are hitting everyone hard and he played a sound bite from an interview with a gentleman who was lamenting all of the changes he has had to make in his life because of the outrageous gas prices. This gentleman said that now his wife takes the subway to work everyday, they don't let their teenage daughter drive her car around just for fun anymore, he walks to work and they just keep their car in the garage and use it for emergencies.

Hello! You lived close enough to walk to work? Your wife had mass transit available to her? Your daughter was just driving around for no good reason? This is why we need billions of gallons of oil a year! This is why we have cities full of pollution! This is why our environment suffers! Here are three people who did not even need to drive cars at all who were driving them every day just because they could!!!

What is wrong with walking, taking the subway, staying home? This is not a sacrifice. This is common sense. This is good stewardship of your own resources. This gas crisis is a good thing if it teaches people these truths.

Note: This was not the point Rush was making by the way. He was saying that Democrats enjoy the oil crisis because it mostly adversly effects the working middle class in the Red states. Whatever.

One, Two, Three, Four

This week we had a specific challenge for WFMW. We had to come up with a recipe that uses 5 or less ingredients. One, Two, Three, Four was the first thing that popped into my mind.

It is a yummy and completely unhealthy dessert. The name is also a reminder of the recipe. Here it is.

1, 2, 3, 4 Dessert

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

3 cups flour

4 eggs

Mix the four ingredients together and spread 2/3 of the mixture onto a cookie sheet. Dump 2 cans of pie filling on top of the mixture and then drop dollops of the reserved mixture on top of the pie filling.

Bake at 350 for 30 mins.

Nothing could be easier.

For oodles more 5 ingredient or less recipes head over to Rocks In My Dryer.

Sally Lunn Batter Bread

For Kitchen Tip Tuesday I thought I would share one of my favorite bread recipes. This one is super easy. As a matter of fact I handed Brian the recipe card last night and he made the bread from scratch with no help from me and it turned out great!!! He had never made any kind of yeast bread before....it's that easy.

Sally Lunn Batter Bread

1 pkg. active dry yeast

1/2 c. warm water

1 c. warm milk

1/2 c. butter, softened

1/4 c. sugar

2 t. salt

3 eggs

5-6 c. flour

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, butter, sugar, salt, eggs and 3 c. flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Do not knead!

Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Stir the dough down. Spoon into a greased and floured 10 inch tube pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to wire rack. Serve warm with honey butter.

For more great kitchen tips and recipes click here.