Let the Fireworks Begin

"Firework season" actually began for us last night at midnight when Greg and his dog came into the house. I will call it "a season" even though it is a holiday to most families. We say the Christmas season (The reason for the season), because it actually lasts longer that a couple of days. It is only fair to say firework season because it will last more than a couple of days for our family. Next to Christmas it is my favorite time of the year.
This is either the sixth or seventh year for Greg and Randy to have a firework stand. We have watched this little stand that two college boys start, so that they could blow up fireworks, evolve to a much larger business. They now have two stands, and they get to put on two city firework shows.
For me I get to be with family and friends. Not only do we get to have family time, I get to cook for people who actually enjoy eating. This is a treat for me. By 9:30 this morning, I had already got to spend time with  Greg, Justin and his kids, and Jenna. After a lunch with Jenna and Di, I made my first dessert for the season. I chose a peanut butter cream pie. The recipe for this is on the Pass Your Plate blog.

So let the fireworks begins. If you are reading this and are in the area, come buy some fireworks from

  Davis and Miller Fireworks.

If fireworks are not your thing, then come by for a coke, a laugh or if we are lucky - a song with Greg on his guitar. 

Oreos and Milk - In Memory of a Great Lady

June 21, 1923 - Bennie Henderson Scoggins was born. What a great lady! Many posts have been written about her by Diana and I; so on this day instead of writing a post about how great she was, Diana and I chose to do something different.
We ate oreos and milk in memory of her. On Fridays when the kids were little, we would go to her house for oreo cookies and milk in celebration of surviving another school week or in celebration of the weekend. However you want to look at the celebration, it was a great tradition that was shared by a grandmother, her daughters, and grandchildren. This was another way to instill in our children that the love of a family is one of life's greatest blessings.

So mom, this snack was for you. We love you.

It is Finished - Almost

I have not blogged a long time about my kitchen. It is almost finished. We had Rick's birthday party at the house the end of May which helped move the process along faster. He is now waiting on a rainy day to finish!

 Cooking in the kitchen is wonderful.  The food does not taste any better, but it is fun to cook in the new setting. I am about to learn where everything is, and only a few things have been totally lost. It is hard to say what is my favorite, but it might be the countertops. Sorry Chad, I know you loved the old yellow countertop. The biggest difference is the convection oven. I still have not got that down. I have a tendency to cook cakes and bread too long, and I do not cook cookies long enough. I will just have to practice more.

I have talked about this and waited years for this remodel to take place. The wait has been well worth it. I have to give Rick the majority of the credit. Even though he called us the "inferior decorators" with lots of trips and returns to Lowe's and Home Depot, he did a beautiful job with his workmanship. He also displayed a great deal of patience with the project and me. Patience is not a virtue that we usually equate with Rick, but he was so good to go with me and look and look and look. Then he also allowed us to take back and back and back.

Miles to go Before We Sleep

But I have promises to keep, 

And miles to go before I sleep, 

And miles to go before I sleep.

Robert Frost

This seemed to be the theme for our recent girls' trip. We covered 1300 miles in 11 days/10 nights being tourists in the New England states. I got stars on my US map for 6 new states to visit - Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Maine, and Rhode Island. We work at being tourists. Our goal is to see how much we can see and do in 18 hour days. Without boring you with too many details or pictures, I will give you a quick overview of the highlights.

• Boston - The Freedom Trail and lots of history
• Cape Ann and Salem Witches
• Maine - an old-fashioned Dairy Queen with the best ice cream blizzard
• New Hampshire - mountains and black flies that bite
• Vermont - The Von Trapp family with the hills filled with the "Sound of Music"
• a cog ride to the top of the mountain, Ben & Jerry's ice cream factory
• Connecticut - one of the United States largest casinos
• Newport - the Breakers, the Vanderbilt's mansion
• Providence, Rhode Island - history
• Hyannis Port and Nantucket - windmills and light houses
• Cape Cod - Provincetown
• Plymouth Rock - history

I assure you of three things:

• the trip was well-documented with many pictures.  
• great food was eaten.
• the Golden Girls have nothing on us.