A Visit to Nana and Curt

Spring is always a good time to put new flowers out for Nana and Curt. The cemetery people collect all flowers and dispose of them the middle of January, so if we miss going out in February spring is a definite. I love going out with Papa and this time with Tracy and Lacy to put pretty flowers on the headstones. A time to be together and remember them. Of course we all remember them everyday, but being there is a physical way to remember for a bit. Quiet and reverent. That's how I feel when I go there. I miss them still so very much and I know we all do. I love being able to do the flowers that stay there to make their places lovely.

Love them both, so much.

Christmas in the Kitchen

Spending some quality time in the kitchen again as I try to get things done here before we leave for AZ and the rest of the season there. Of course there are the treats we like to do for people who have been so good to us here as well as those we home teach/visit teach. That has not always been very important to me, but in the last couple of years I have decided that even though I don't know some of these people very well they should be on my list at Christmas. Some of Grumpy's home teaching families won't even open the door to him, one sister is in a care facility and doesn't really know who he is from month to month and I have never been able to catch one of my sisters home to meet her. Nonetheless, I feel it is important they know we do think of them and hope they are doing well. With that in mind I made two batches of toffee, 1 batch of caramels (haven't made those for years) and found a cute idea on LDS living for a simple treat. Got the toffee all packed into the tins in the pic below and am now working on getting the caramels cut and wrapped and some M&M's into something cute. I think Taya is using the M&M idea for her give-a-ways this year. Can't wait to see a pic of how she did hers.




I'm a little frightened so see if the caramels are going to behave and come out of the dish okay. I hope so, otherwise I envision throwing the whole thing in the garbage, dish and all. That would be sad as I really like caramels. And my dish.



I decided to make the second place soup recipe from the LDS Living soup contest since I have made the grand prize winner and the third place winner. It sounded like a great recipe and it didn't disappoint. I will post that recipe on the cooking blog for anyone who might like to try Chicken Cordon Bleu Soup. I know Taya's family has tried it and decided it was a keeper.

Not much else going on here today. I have been going through Nana's recipe file and want to post some more of her candy recipes she made for the holidays. There are a bunch. She has left us such great information and I know if it is in her file, it must be a good recipe. Most of them I have sampled over the years (which is why I am not a size 3) and hope that we can use the recipes she left to enrich our lives and those around us. Food is such a memory stimulus, at the holidays more than ever. I can remember rolling up on the driveway by the back door of their house on my way home from work, or wherever. Most the time Nana was in the kitchen, or sitting at her little round table. This time of year there would be aluminum take-out rounds filled with fudge, penuche and she would be getting some bows out to stick on the tops. The kitchen would smell like candy cooking and I have associated that with Christmas in my memory. To this day when I walk into a candy shop and smell fudge and other sweets, it takes me right back to Nana's kitchen at Christmas. She always did a container of her chocolate fudge and one of penuche for her kids, and usually one or the other for all the grandkids. She would have stacks of round dishes all over the bar in the dining room ready for a bow and delivery. Papa was the delivery service and he would take them to their neighbors and friends. I know they looked forward to her annual candy and for a couple of years after she passed away, people would remind me how much they loved her talents in the kitchen. The fudge especially.

I hope as my children are in the middle of raising their families they will know how much those things we do in the kitchen, the decorating, the choir practices we attend, and all the other little things we do for the holiday seasons impact their kids. Even the shopping trips to Costco for nuts and chocolate chips this time of year are such a part of the memories I have. Sick, I know. I love it all though and am glad I have such poignant and precious things to remember.

Always with us…

It's one of my side bar titles with a picture of Nana. The picture above is one Papa took many years ago in their cotton field. I love it. It's sometimes really hard to live here where she was. Even though things are changed up and look different in some areas, it's still so very much her home. I know I have mentioned several times the need to clean out closets and rooms downstairs and get rid of stuff. Every time I thought about it and even actually started to do it, I just couldn't get through it. My thanks to Tracy, Lacy and Chelsey for coming over to help me do that. They really made some headway downstairs and made it not so sad. Those spaces hold such memories for me, especially the sewing room. It was full of boxes with all the things Nana loved to shop for. Funny little things that caught her eye for the many special things she did. Quilts, quiet books, wedding drapes, tablecloths, lace curtains for the house, folk art painting, craft projects and on and on. We spent lots of hours down there while she helped me with wedding dresses, bridesmaid dresses, formals for my girls and some of my nieces. Tracy has come over and made many things and helped me with stuff too. I know it's just a room, and the things in it are just things. Somehow it doesn't make it any easier to throw it out, put it in a garage sale, or take it to Goodwill. Second only to the kitchen, the sewing room is full of wonderful memories of Nana, most of the girls and Tracy. There were some treasures that of course are keepers and it is fun to see what the girls want to keep. It all goes out on tables in the atrium where her grandkids can come over and choose to keep whatever they want. The rest will go to the garage sale in November and whatever is left from that will go to Goodwill. We made a dent in the downstairs project, and maybe the rest won't be so hard. I freely admit what a baby I am about it and I will try to remember Chelsey's phrase…

“I feel so empowered!” Cleaning and purging are good things. I just need to remember that and know that nothing can take away the memories of so many, many hours of doing things together. Now on to the pantry, drape and fabric closet and the room with all the Christmas in it. I don't think the tears are over just yet.

In Memorium…

It was high time for new flowers by the time Nana's birthday rolled around this August, so I went out with Taya and Jade to do just that. The girls had not seen the headstone yet, so it was nice that they could go with me. We set out the new arrangement and then just stood and talked for awhile. It was really nice to remember funny things she would do, memories that we made together and just think about her life with us. We must have been there long enough to inspire the cemetery caretakers to get in their little cart and come over to ask if everything was okay with the gravesite. We assured them all was well. It was a sweet time to remember and enjoy some of the things that were Nana. I didn't take new flowers for Curt's headstone this time, but I am looking forward to putting the October arrangements from last year back out for them both. Nana really liked those pumpkins I got for Papa's 80th birthday party. They make me smile every time I look at them. I hope she smiles too.

The Official Dessert for the Summer

I thought I would post a little bit about Nana's ice cream. She was so good at whipping up a batch or two, and Papa would do the honors of freezing it. She would make Vanilla (with just a touch of lemon flavoring in it) and bake a big chocolate cake often in the summertime. Works in perfectly with my idea of what the summer food groups ought to be. Who needs dinner when you can have cake and ice cream? I can remember many phone conversations that either started or ended with, “I have ice cream in the freezer for anyone who wants to come eat some with me!” After a while she got a recipe for the toffee ice cream and refined and honed it to perfection. I know Bob and Syd and Tracy and Kevin know how to do her recipe to it's finest. I posted a picture of the recipe above and I think if you click on it, it will appear much bigger. I guess you can print it out from that, or you could leave a comment with your email address and I will send you a pdf file that I know will print out great. I am looking at the ice cream freezers now available at Sam's Club for around $60.00 in the half gallon size. They have both the hand crank feature and the electric motor attachment which would be nice. I may have to go back and get one to try out.

I just can't think of summer without the sound of the ice cream freezer going (especially on the holidays) and enjoying some ice cream with Nan and Pop. Those are precious memories and I treasure them. I'm glad I had a Mom that “went to all that trouble” for her family. I don't really know how anything could be that much trouble when you are doing such wonderful things for your family. After all, if you don't do special things for your family, who would you do them for? Thanks Nana and Papa for the many, many things you did for all of us. We have such a lot to remember.

I am posting the recipes on Nana's Cooks In Nana's Nook blog. I hope you will make some ice cream from her wonderful recipes and throw caution to the wind for some ice cream and cake for dinner sometime this summer. I, meantime, am going to explore more flavors and techniques to learn some new stuff. Freezer Time! I also will be going online to find a recipe for the Brandied Fruit that Nana used to keep going. It is a culture that must be tended and added to, much like the popular Friendship Bread that makes it's rounds from time to time. We would put it on vanilla ice cream and it was heaven. If I find it, I will post it.

Solitaire and Such

Pirates of the Caribbean playing cards. My souvenir from Disneyland. I love to collect playing cards from the places we visit. I have tiny cards from Hawaii and Alaska, regular size cards from the Royal Caribbean Cruise line, Disneyland and Las Vegas. I love to play spider solitaire, so it takes two decks for me to play. Yes, I play with real cards - not on the computer. I don't have a laptop, and I play cards in the kitchen a lot to pass the time while I'm canning, etc. I remember playing the regular 7-Card solitaire when I was little up at Gramma and Grampa's cabin. I loved to go to that cabin with my Mom and I learned lots of things there. Gramma and Mom taught me to crochet, and I still crochet all the time. It's great therapy for the stressed out brain. I've made afagans for almost all my kids, I am now working on one for Robert. Then, I guess I'll start over as Tawna's is looking a little worn now. Still pretty, but they could use a new one sometime. Gramma taught me to play solitaire and I spent many an afternoon in the cabin or on the front porch doing just that. Those days of afternoon rain showers when I would read (with M&M's of course), play cards or crochet are pretty ingrained. Every time it rains I start looking for a good book and a bag of M&M's, the most recent afagan in progress or a deck of cards. Funny the things that stay with us for a lifetime. I loved those days of quiet, peaceful times. We had lots of fun too, but the things I learned have really stuck with me. I remember Gramma canning all kinds of stuff. She was an avid fisherman and would bottle rainbow trout. She put Catalina salad dressing in with it and I only wish I knew what else. After being pressured it tasted like salmon. So good. One of the other things I did a lot at the cabin was sew. I would bring fabric with me and make all my clothes for school while I was there. I sometimes would sew for various cousins too. If I ran out of fabric, we would go to Showlow to the T,G&Y (dime store) and buy some more. I guess this is on my mind lately as I'm finishing up a couple of weeks of sewing baptism outfits and doing dresses too for Faith and Madison. I will finish Madison's (after the font) dress tonight and I am happy I could make these things for the girls. The outfit to be dunked in was so very cute on both of them. I made the same pattern for them both, and I love the way they looked in it. So very sweet all in white. I am thankful I had a patient Mom and Gramma and that they didn't give up on me when I was frustrated in the learning process. I take great joy and comfort in being able to make things for my family.

I'd probably get a lot more done if I lived in a really rainy place! (not).

Conference

I have now reached the point in my life that I not only enjoy Conference, but look forward to it. I love listening to the speakers, looking at the beautiful flowers on the stand, and the music is always inspiring. The messages this time seemed particularly timely, and I hope we can all take heart and put our best efforts forward to do the things we should be. I am really looking forward to singing with our choir next week for Easter. The songs will bring comfort as well as a renewed desire to be better, make better choices and live a better life. We have Faith's baptism coming up this Saturday, the lunch that goes with it, and seeing all of Nathan's family while they are here for the occasion. Then it will be Madison's baptism and lunch with the fam for that. What a great April so far. I can't help but remember the two year mark of Nana's passing this month also. I can't say it hurts any less yet, but it has become easier to deal with. I think of her every time we have a family gathering, celebrate anything, or even at Disneyland knowing how she loved the plants and flowers there. I still miss her so very much. I still am also so grateful for the memories I have, my siblings and Father, and all my children and grandchildren. Life does go on.

Sweet Memories

We had a great weekend full of activities and many, many thoughts. I put some flowers together so Papa could take a valentine to Nana and Curt. Saturday was such a beautiful day. The skies were perfect, the air was crisp and cool and it was nice to drive out to the cemetery to visit. It makes him so happy to have flowers there. Nana loved flowers so much, but always said not to give them to her because they were expensive. I love shopping for blossoms I think she would like. After our visit there, we were off to Costco. That was just plain stupid on a Saturday. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but that's not saying much. We got the items we needed and headed home to put it all away. We had a dinner date with Summer, Jamie and the crew for a sweetheart dinner. They went all out and made a nice dinner to share. Check out her blog for the details of a nice evening for all. Papa said several times today how much he enjoyed the party, and spending some time in their home for the first time. Summer and Jamie are gracious hosts and we appreciate the time and effort they spent making an evening to remember. The kids seemed to enjoy it all as well and it was nice to see them all. I love getting to know J.T. and Jacob better and touching base with Taylor, Jordyn and Rylee.

Church today was especially meaningful for some reason. I have had a heavy heart lately, and can't seem to define the problem. It's many things I am sure, but the only thing that can really change is my attitude. That's the only thing I have any control over. Sitting in Sunday School we were discussing principles of the gospel and of course among them is repentance. I decided that I need to repent of my bad attitude, forgive those individuals that I need to forgive, ask the Lord for his forgiveness for being so slow about it and just move on. I know to forgive others is really to ease your own soul as well as allow the Lord to forgive you for all things you do wrong. And I do plenty wrong. If I want the Lord to be gentle with me, then I better expect the same from myself. Those who hurt us don't spend any time worrying about it. I won't either any more. I'm done. I hope with this conviction I can now heal the wounds and get over things I can't do anything about anyway. I am sure I have enough to answer for on my own without worrying about what other's have done. I know time will heal all, and I do feel a lessening of my burdens and hope that will continue. I'm glad I didn't let my headache win today, and I was in church to hear what I needed to hear today. I didn't spend the weekend in my nightgown, so maybe it was two steps forward.

I'm glad the weather was so lovely and that I was imagining all the fun Tawna, Nathan, Jade, Jeff, Tracy, Kevin, Chelsey, Daniel, Colby, Malea, the Washburns and all the kids were having at the dunes. I'm really excited for the next trip and hope as many as can will be able to come with us. I love you all and life is good.

Feeling Sentimental

This weekend has been a good and productive one. I am having fun with the Christmas Grumpy and I have planned for our family–we had great food and got to see most of the kids. Grumpy and Papa fired up the old Japanese hibachi's on Saturday night and I wish I had taken pictures of the steaks. They were beautiful and soooooooooo, so tasty. It brought back such memories of the many many times we cooked on the hibachi's growing up. I remember when Papa brought them back from one of his trips to Japan when he was in the National Guard. He had a couple of different sizes, and even a little tiny one we had for a while. It was sadly broken in one of our moves by a moving company. 

Grumpy got the back yard, patio and gazebo mucked out and ready for our RS progressive dinner to have their dessert course here (the whole group). Hopefully it won't rain as that would put a real damper on our plans. It's looking pretty nice out there now. There's nothing like volunteering your home for something to get things done. I hope I can remember to take some pictures of some of the things coming up this week. 

I got out the candy making book, thought I had my copy, but it was Nana's. It has all kinds of notes and comments on the pages she would use to make her specialities. That brought immediate tears, but it was so fun to see the things she had written. I have to get some pictures or a scan of that. When I do I will post those recipes on “thecooksinnanasnook” blog site for all of us.

Lots to do, time is slipping by and Christmas day will be here. I hope I can get everything done. We'll see.

Remember in December

Pop and I went out to the cemetery yesterday to put some Christmas flowers out for Nana and Curt. It was nice to see so many flowers there. The cemetery is very well taken care of and always has so many flowers out. I was having a hard time getting the arrangement I did into the vase for Curt. The vase is just a little smaller in diameter than the one for Nana. I found myself wishing I had a pocket knife to shave the styrofoam down just a tad to get it in the vase. Since I didn't, I tried to just push it in and wound up breaking the bottom part of the styrofoam. One of the directors came out with me and called one of the gardners over. He was very nice and finally got it shaved down enough to stay put. I know it makes Papa happy to see the sites looking nice. He swept a few grass trimmings off both headstones as the grass had just been cut. He always says to me that Nana would be mad that we put flowers on. Even though she loved flowers, she didn't like people to spend money on flowers for her. I told him I don't think she would be mad. She did so love flowers and anyway, she can't argue about it now. It was a nice visit there and I look forward to going out with him to spend a few minutes there. Of course I forgot my camera again, so these are just off the phone. Robert was kind enough to get them off my phone and onto the computer desktop for his techno-challenged mom. Thanks Robert.

Days that are past

After spending the day cleaning out the kitchen pantry it was time to take Taya, Lauren and Emmy home. Pop decided to drive so we all piled in the car and went on the journey to Taya's house. On the way home we stayed on Sossaman and that took us through what used to be Williams Air Force Base. Papa pointed out the different sites on the way through the base. Of course it is very different now than it used to be. Among the things he was remembering was the Base Ops building where Nana was working when he met her. Among her duties there she recorded pilot time in their logs on record. The building isn't there anymore, but the trees that were next to it are. Those little remembrances are like windows to a side of Papa and Nana I don't know. I always say how much I would love to know my parents as they were as young marrieds, or even while they were dating. There is so much we can only glimpse about their personalities, dreams and goals at those ages. It's like in the movie “Field of Dreams” where he gets to see his Dad as a young man. We just don't realize how very much like us our parents are and were. Or I should say we are like them. They went through similar ups and downs, disappointments, career changes, financial highs and lows, children and all they bring, marital thick and thin (even literally for some of us) and all the things we think are exclusive to us. I can feel Papa's longing for his sweetheart thick in the air as he remembers places they went and things they did. I can tell when he watches us interact and go through the every day things we do he is remembering those things they did everyday too. Thank heaven they loved each other so much that the hurt of being separated right now is worth it. There is no pain of loss if there is no love. This Thanksgiving season I am grateful for parents that stuck out the bad times that I'm sure they had and cherished the love and bond of a forever marriage. They did what was best for them and us as they were raising us. In this crazy world family is more important than ever, and I'm glad for mine. All of them, all the time.

Sentimental Sunday…

Today was a little crazy. We cleaned outside all day yesterday so there could be a youth fireside in the atrium on the west side of the house. We had a few lingering odds and ends in there from our move here (sadly that is not the only place), so it took awhile to dispense with the stuff, and then clean up. When I woke up today I remembered it was the annual Children's Sacrament Presentation at Tawna and Nathan's ward. I decided I've been a bad granny because I have missed several of those so I really wanted to go and see the kids. Jade and Jeff were going with their boys so there would be quite a group of us.  We were late because Grumpy didn't hear all the directions from Tawna and you know men - never ask enough questions. We were driving along the streets looking for the chapel and we did finally find it. He spotted it - I would have driven right by it, so I'm glad he has better eyes than me. 

When it was time for the presentation to begin one of their first songs was “Tell Me the Stories of Jesus”. It is the second time in about a month I have heard that song from the primary children and I immediately teared up. I cannot hear that song and not think of Nana. I can still see her in my mind's eye singing that song. It is one of the few I remember her singing. I'm sure it is one of the oldest primary songs still in use and I love it so much. The expression on her face, her unique voice. I can see and hear her so clearly still. Sweet memories.

It has made me think about the little things we all do every day. You never know the random things that will leave their impression behind. I know I am going to try much harder to leave better moments. 

Went to choir practice today in the middle of all that was going on. We sang some beautiful hymns and special numbers for Thanksgiving. I wish we spent more time celebrating Thanksgiving. It is such a great holiday. I am so looking forward to whoever is coming for dinner, the weather being even cooler and the quiet holiday that it is before the crazy days of Christmas come. We ended choir practice with a first time run through of the Hallelujah Chorus by Handel. Most of us have performed it before, but have not seen it in at least a year. We did surprisingly well and it is always a joy to sing it. Practice or not. 

I love music. I love the emotion, passions and drama it evokes in all of us. The peace it can bring, the comfort it offers. Even the simplest of Primary songs can be a part of my heart forever.

Cemetery TLC

Papa and I went out to the cemetery today and put new arrangements out for Nana and Curt. Nana and I bought these cute pumpkins three years ago for Pop's 80th birthday party. They were very nice on the tables in the back yard and she really liked them, so thought it would be nice to put them in the flowers for Oct. Papa just had the flower vase and receptacle replaced on Curt's headstone so it's the first time we've been able to put any flowers on for him for awhile. I really appreciate the caretakers of the grounds out there. They do a wonderful job keeping everything so nice. Sorry the pics aren't very good quality. I forgot my camera and so the cell phone had to pinch hit. I really miss my brain.

Sentimental Tuesday

I was too crazy to post on Sunday, but instead went blog stalking and read the posts of others on Sunday. Something Jacque said got me thinking. She mentioned that most of her Sentimental Sunday posts seem to revolve around food. As do most of mine and some of our kids too. It reminded me of something Nana used to say. A friend of hers and long time visiting teacher was saying that she wanted to make stronger family traditions, but didn't enjoy cooking all that much and  “why does everything always revolve around food?”  I really loved Nana's response. She explained that it really isn't about the food. The food is just what gets people together and triggers the memories. Our family holidays do take place at mealtimes for the most part. Everyone has to eat, right? What better time to get together than a mealtime to share food and fun. Of course we love good food. That really isn't what the memories are all about though. We remember the good times and associate those with the sensory perceptions of food. Even smells will evoke memories of things, good and bad sometimes. 

Nana knew that food is what gets people together. We make the memories from there. I again so appreciate her wisdom and willingness to serve us all. This fall season has for some reason been very difficult emotionally for me this year. It is my first of all the occasions to be in her and Papa's home and the memories are wonderful, but hard. As Taya said in her blog, the open doors in the mornings are soon to start, but I don't think I can handle the music of Don Ho this year. I would just cry all day. And not only because it would be Don Ho. (not my fav). Music is right up there with memory association and it is just a little beyond us all here at the house for now. I am enjoying the season and hope to get through them all without a total meltdown. I still miss Nana so much. I am looking forward to making the house a fun place through the holidays and hope she will smile on us all and our efforts. I know she must be getting a kick out of our crazy canning mode. Gotta love it.

Remembering

Today I created a site for us to post Nana's recipes, and our own recipes, complete with pics as we make them. I hope it will be fun to share all the things we do everyday in our kitchens. All of us have our favorites, things that challenge us and the special things we do for holidays etc. I hope you will all feel welcome to contribute and reap the benefits of all of us cooks. I hope it will be a way of sharing our stuff and keep Nana's kitchen legacy going. Just go to my side panel under sites I like and click on the link The Cooks in Nana's Nook. Add it to your link list if you wish and under the comments on the first post there is an email address you can send your email address to if you would like to be a contributor on the site. I hope we will all have a good time with this. I love you all and look forward to sharing this as a family.

Birthday Bash

I use the term quite literally in this case. Most of us wanted to bash someone by the time we had to find a different place to have our birthday celebration for Nana and Lacy. We planned to go to Mattas since our family has been going there since they opened. 

We have lots of history there. We have eaten there after many a temple night, wedding, date night out, lunches from work, countless take out dinners when they were too busy to seat us. With the restaurant on main street closed, the only alternative for Mattas was the one on Higley and Brown. They aren't really a full service restaurant, more like an order and seat yourself place. We usually do order and then sit down, but as with many people sometimes we try to get enough tables to sit together to insure we can enjoy lunch together. We were doing just that and getting some our little ones situated when an employee came over and told us we had to order before we sat down. It is the first time I have ever been told that anywhere. We had people in line waiting to order for all of us that were there and saw no need to try and make the line even longer by adding every person, and child to it that were in our party. Now that my story is getting long, I will just say that the employee was not acting in the best interest of Mattas and by insisting we all stand up and go order first has probably permanently lost the business of several family members now. Papa included. When he was still farming many years ago he brought truckloads of lettuce in to Mr. Matta at no charge when he had fields of lettuce that he wanted to see get used. Mr. and Mrs. Matta were always gracious and a pleasure to see. Papa and Nana would get bags of chips and containers of sauce and salsa at least once a week and maybe more sometimes. For years. Not to mention all the meals eaten there. We decided to go to a restaurant with some customer service skills and so ended up at Gecko Grill on Guadalupe and Gilbert. It took a few minutes for them to get tables ready for us, but they did it with a smile for the 12 adults and 5 children that were with us that day.

We had a great time at lunch and enjoyed each other's company. The food was good and I'm glad we could get together for the occasion. I know Papa and Nana made good memories at several restaurants with all of us, so next year we will choose from another of those. Lacy isn't a teenager anymore - WOW. I can't believe I'm so old. Tracy too. LOL. Fun times.

The Dish Disease

I have it and it's incurable. I have managed to keep it at bay for a number of years, but I had a relapse not long ago. Nana loved dishes too, I obviously caught it from her, or it is genetic, not sure which but I am a sucker for beautiful dishes, cute dishes, seasonal dishes and fun dishes. I knew I was in trouble when I started looking at dishes online. I thought I would just see what was out there because I have been wanting a new set for everyday. I couldn't find anything I really liked online, that I could afford anyway. I went to Fry's to do some shopping and thought I would just look at what they had available. Big Mistake! When something is 40% off and pretty cute it all of a sudden becomes the thing you have to have. I came home with 24 dinner plates, 24 salad plates and a vow to find bowls at the neighboring Fry's stores soon. I was unpacking the plates and putting them in the dishwasher and Papa came in. I showed him the new dishes and told him I would be looking for the bowls sometime and would collect some for everyday use. He asked what kind of shape they were, and I told him the wide more flat kind as opposed to the deep, smaller cereal kind.  As it turns out he likes the flat, wide kind so that sounded good to him.  Next thing I know he is coming home with bowls to match the plates. He was so good to go to various stores to find 12 in all. I am sure it reminded him of the many times he would go to the different stores to find enough of a certain kind for Nana. She was an amazing dish collector. Between us it is quite the dish closet. She had started to go through her dish “linen”closet and was getting rid of some of her less favorite ones, I think so she had more room for new ones. Me too. Moving some of the plates to new people to make room for more current stuff. It has been fun to get new plates and bowls. It's fun to set the table and plan for dinners. Dishes are just the trimming for the time we spend around the table talking and visiting. I love it. I love that I share that wonderful sickness for the accoutrements of the table with Nana. It's just plain fun.  I hope some of my kids, nieces and friends are infected too. By the way, the goblet in the place setting above is something I wish I had more of. If anyone knows where to find more, or what kind it is I would love to know. It is pewter and seems like it sold for around $20.00 several years ago. Thats probably why I only have four. I did find them at the Canterbury boutique once, but alas, made the mistake of not getting them. I bought my four from a neighbor that was moving. I don't know who makes them, or where to find them, but I am sure someone does. 

My shout out to Nana

I wasn't back on the computer for mother's day, and although Mom Harmon's tribute made it in time, I did not get Nana's tribute done and posted.  Papa and I went to put new flowers in her vase and so am sharing that pic along with one of her more recent ones. She was such an amazing person, I find myself wishing it had been possible to know her when she was growing up. Some of Nana's most memorable qualities to me were…

• her incredible talents, so many and varied
  
• her beauty, both inside and out
  
• her love of everything kitchen (oh my, am I seeing that first hand at this point, LOL)
  
• her penchant that everything be “right”, lots of integrity there
  
• her absolute, unconditional love for her sweetheart
  
• her absolute, unconditional love for her children
  
• the way you could be in so much trouble for spilling your milk, but not so much if you wrecked the car
  
• when she catered, her desire to make things perfect for the bride and groom (and their families)
  
• getting that wonderful boufont (?) hairdo every week - she really liked her hair a certain way.
  
• that core of soft sweetness that she guarded so well, but you could see so easily.

My Mom

Just a few words about Mom.  It has been a year since she left us.  She left behind such a void.  She was integrated in every part of our lives.  Her talent, determination, long suffering and all that was her is so hard to live without.  I even miss her onery (?) side.  She also left an incredible example for us.  She took such pleasure in her family.  Loved us, loved to cook for us, raised us to believe we could do anything.   I am immeasurably thankful for the wonderful mother she is.  I hope she knows how much I love her.  How I look forward to seeing her again someday.  I want my children to know how much I love them and how much I appreciate them.  

I have a plaque that hangs in my family room.  It reads:  “Family – forever, for always, no matter what.”  

We are.

Tradition…

April. Lots of special dates this month. We already celebrated Chelsey, Faith and Madison's, birthdays, and will be celebrating Nathan & Tawna, and Kevin & Taya's wedding anniversaries on the 23rd. A huge and wonderful celebration for niece Ali coming up on the 26th - Wedding Bells in the Arizona Temple. So excited for her and her Jeremy, and the four princely boys in their fairy tale. One year ago on the 12th, our Nana passed away. This year of special occasions and traditions has been really hard without her. Not a day goes by that she is not thought of, missed, and yes - even talked to. Richard and I have been asked to speak in our new ward and have the last conference talks to choose from for our topics. I am choosing the talk on Traditions for my subject. So much of what we do each day, the way we celebrate, how we grieve, who we are, is in large part due to the traditions we were raised with or have implemented ourselves. A very special one that comes to mind for me right now is the traditional family BBQ that Nana began many years ago. Every saturday night her home was open to any and all family members that wanted to come over to BBQ. It was a bring your own meat party and she would always have side dishes and most of the time dessert for all of us. Sometimes someone else would offer to bring a side dish, or a bag of chips with dip. She and Papa also had a little refrigerator they kept stocked with soda pop and that was a huge hit with everyone. As grandchildren came their favorite part was the chip & dip and the soda pop. How odd. There were many times everyone couldn’t be there, but there was always someone there. She and Papa were very careful to never attach guilt if you couldn’t be there. Whoever could come was welcome and if you couldn’t, well, see you next time. It really wasn’t about the food - although food is a big part of our lives. It was about providing an opportunity for all of us to see each other and stay close to each other. Even the high school kids would come most of the time and if they brought a friend that was okay too. As her grandchildren got older and went off to college and got married they remembered the BBQ’s. The ones far away missed them, the ones that were close came. Everyone has to eat, right? This wonderful tradition continued for about 12 years. Nana just couldn’t keep up with all of it forever. I don’t know why we didn’t do it then, but now I hope to pick up the reins and try to provide that window of opportunity for our family to see each other and stay close in the future. I hope my brother and sister’s families will continue to want to share their lives with us. I can’t think of anything more important than making time for each other. Thanks Nana and Papa for starting us out on what we hope is a legacy we can treasure for generations.