Home again!

"Home is the nicest word there is."

Laura Ingalls Wilder

We are home. 

Ahh... what a good feeling it is

to be back among our favorite things.

Things like my Lazyboy recliner, my jacuzzi bath tub,

my own bed, and my internet.

Goodbye Kansas City!

We have been gone for two weeks helping Kdaughter move.

I will miss their neighborhood,

it's walking trails, lakes and

proximity to so many choices you get

when living in the city.

It began with a major purging of household items, clothes and lots of shoes. I love it when she purges. I get a new wardrobe complete with matching shoes, purses and jewelry to bring home with me. 

She is a fashionista

(my word, not hers) and she stays up on the latest looks and fashions. 

 I am NOT a fashionista

as shopping and trying on clothes is my least favorite thing to do. 

 She makes it so easy for me and I am so blessed to wear the same size as her. I put this bulletin board on a closet wall to hold some of the jewelry she gave me.

This will be so convenient for me to

find that perfect jewelry piece. 

I went a week without checking emails, reading blogs and staying in touch with everyone on facebook. We were so busy, and so tired at the end of the day that I didn't miss it. Now that we are home, I am enjoying the slower pace, sitting in my Lazyboy, reading my ipad and catching up with everyone.

We also celebrated my 56^th birthday by going out to a nice dinner. I wanted Italian and my only experience with Italian food is the Olive Garden. I love their salad dressing and keep a bottle of it in my pantry. 

Well, Kansas City, Missouri has so many choices in restaurants, when you say you want to eat Italian food, you have to choose which Italian restaurant. Kdaughters favorite Italian food is served at Cascones, a small little place that plays Frank Sinatra music and serves hot, fresh bread with real butter. Our waiter was a family member who spoke Italian, real Italian, not our Missouri version of Italian. The food was delicious, the atmosphere was like I was actually in Italy, and the service was amazing. We had a fun, relaxing and delicious evening.

Here is a link to

Cascones

I am so grateful for the blessings of another year of life.

I thank God every morning for another day, another 24 hours,

to live my life. He blesses me so.

I want cheesecake!

Diets, like clothes, should be tailored to you.

Joan Rivers

I gained about 15 extra pounds this past winter.  Cold weather is perfect for baking cookies, cakes, pies, fudge, and hot rolls.  And I did a lot of baking this past winter.  In the past, the weight has just fallen off when the spring chores begin.  With flower beds to clean and plant, a garden to grow, long walks near the lake, and swimming those extra pounds just disappeared. But not this year.

Those extra 15 pounds have stayed, they have lingered long past their season. I have tried to cut back on calories when and where I can. I have turned down extra helpings of mashed potatoes, refused dessert, and tried to walk more. Five of those pounds are gone now but those last ten may be here to stay.  

So... I am using less butter in my cooking, more fresh vegetables, grilling more, and frying less.  But we love cheese cake around here.  I started making this cheesecake about 35 years ago and is still one of our favorites.  It isn't heavy, it is light and fluffy but has that cheesecake flavor that we love.  I made it recently for a family gathering and topped it with fresh strawberries and it was so good.  I thought I would share it with you.

Jello Cheesecake

2 graham cracker pie crusts

1 large package of jello, any flavor

1 cup boiling water

8 oz. Cream cheese at room temperature (low fat is ok)

½ cup white sugar (or splenda)

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1 can Milnot evaporated milk (Milnot whips better than other brands)

Add jello to a cup of boiling water, stir till dissolved, then chill about 20 minutes (just till it cools slightly)

While the jello is cooling - Mix together room temperature cream cheese and sugar till well blended and sugar is dissolved. Add vanilla, stir till mixed well. Set aside.

In a large bowl, Whip one can of Milnot Evaporated Milk until stiff peaks form.

Add cooled jello mixture to cream cheese mixture and stir till mixed well, scraping sides of bowl. Then fold in the whipped Milnot till blended well.

Pour into graham cracker crusts, chill for three hours.

Top with fresh fruit before serving.

--------------------------------------

Hope you enjoy this as much as we do!

Saying Goodbye to Raintree

WE have been in Kansas City for the past few days helping Kdaughter get ready to relocate and come back home.  They left their "home" about 5 years ago for career changes that involved three new construction houses, 6 moves and lots of packing and unpacking.  Their 5 year plan is now close to completion.

Southwest Missouri is not the greatest place to build a career, relocating is almost a must in order to get the experience necessary to move ahead.  I am just so happy it only took five years and now they will be coming back home, only an hour away from me. I have enjoyed their moves, as inconvenient as they were, as meeting new neighbors, making life long friends was the best part of the whole experience.  I will miss the adventures of learning new places, getting lost in traffic, and eating new foods.  

But having them come back home

is a prayer answered.

The last move is now only a week away.  We will leave again tomorrow, to head back for Kansas City to help with all the details, a garage sale, packing, loading and moving down the road.  I want to share some photos of their neighborhood taken during my 6am walks.

Raintree Neighborhood

I counted 6 lakes, 5 smaller ones and one large one.

The neighborhood is filled with walkways, flower beds, clubhouses, and boats.

I will miss the paved sidewalks,

a real treat for a country girl.

Goodbye Kansas City!

Photo Challenge

“You don't make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.” 
― Ansel Adams

Today I am linking up with
Donna

for her monthly photo challenge

over at her blog

A personal Photo Challenge

I must thank BJ over at

bj's sweet nothings blog for

the referral.

I took this photo a few years ago and it captured my heart, brought a smile and a tear. I thought it was a pretty good photo and figured I got lucky getting a shot that seemed to speak to me such innocence and simplicity.  

I printed one and gave it to my aunt.  Just last week at our family reunion, I noticed that my Aunt had framed it and hung it on her wall.  Again, it captured my heart and spoke of such an innocent time. It was taken with a kodak point and shoot, I hope the size and pixels (?) are good. I then uploaded it into Picmonkey and added the frame and used the Sepia feature.

I just discovered Picmonkey a year ago, and still have so much to learn. But I find Picmonkey relaxing and fun to play with.

So I am entering it into her challenge.  

Thank you Sara Marie

for your innocent smile!

The wedding...

"When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive, to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love."  Marcus Aurelius

I hope everyone had a great Independence Day!

Ours was busy with a family reunion, fireworks and a wedding.  We have triplets in our family, and the oldest, by one minute, said her vows and married the love of her life. She was beautiful, all dressed in white. I have watched them grow up and become beautiful women, learning to ride bikes, graduating high school, going to college,and now being a beautiful bride. 

It was so nice having family here from out of state. 

My cousins whom I grew up with, all together, again.

This is just part of us, we can't get all of us in the same photo, if only our granny could see us now. She would be so proud!

My cousin and next door neighbor, has a large pavilion perfect for large gatherings, and lots of food.  We started Friday morning, decorating for the big 4th of July bash.

Everyone chipped in, hanging red, white and blue lights and flags all around. One thing our family does best is work together.

We had about 70 people at the celebration.

Here is a photo of thehubs (my best friend) and I,

celebrating 16 years of marriage.

Here is big brother and next door neighbor,

ready for company.

Then it was off to Kansas City to help Kdaughter get ready for her move back home. This is the sixth move in 5 years for them. It has been hard, but well worth the career changes. They had a 5 year plan and now they will get to come back home. 

This makes me happy.

Hope you all have a wonderful July!

Java Talk - 5 things about me!

Brenda

over at

www.cozylittlehouse.com

hosts a conversation on Thursdays.

This Thursday she asked each of us to list 5 things about ourselves. I hopped over there and got to know some great people a little better, had a few laughs and even had a tear or two.  

5 things about me...

1. I peel my pickles.  Yes, I peel all of my pickles, even my hamburger dill slices.  It is like that old saying "fingernails on a chalkboard" feeling when I bite into a pickle peeling.  We are big pickle eaters here, in fact we devote an entire refrigerator shelf just to pickles and olives.

2. I love wearing my husband's old worn out white socks.  I have a very irritating health condition that makes my skin feel like it is burnt, especially my hands and feet. I've had this condition for more than twenty years and the best treatment for it is soft, worn out cotton fabrics. So I wear white cotton socks, old cotton t-shirts and those thin long sleeve cotton shirts. Now I don't wear these to town, only around my house.  My family is used to it and no longer poke fun at me.  Although sometimes, when I get dressed early in the morning, I have to laugh at myself in the mirror.

3. I am addicted to fudge bars.  Just last month, thehubs bought a package of 24 fudge bars. I didn't touch even one, never even looked in the freezer at them.  Then something made me cry one day so I reached in and got one fudge bar, after all, one won't hurt and it would sure bring back my smile.  I ended up eating 12... in a row... I may need a 12 step program if he buys another box of 24.

4. I would rather receive a load of good black dirt than a fancy piece of jewelry.  I have worn the same two rings for the past 20 years. They mean a lot to me and I will wear them forever.  My husband (in the beginning of our marriage) bought a beautiful ruby and diamond cocktail ring. It was big and hard for me to wear so it sat in a drawer for 4 years. We kind of forgot about it.  Then he gave me another ruby and diamond ring for my birthday, it was the same ring as the one he had given me before. So we donated it to a charity for their raffle drawing.  He doesn't give me jewelry anymore.

5. I talk to animals, they can keep a secret, love me unconditionally and not talk back. We rescued a black and white cat from our local shelter. 2 years later, I broke my ankle after getting bucked off my brothers horse on a Friday. My brother broke his ankle that Saturday.  Barney the cat had to have his leg amputated on the following Monday.  All of this the week before Thanksgiving. Barney and I had a very special relationship, we healed together, even as I went through 8 more knee surgeries, he was always by my side. Cats are good listeners. 

R.I.P. Barney (named after

Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show).

Thanks Brenda for hosting this conversation, this was fun!

As life goes...

Hope you have a wonderful 4th of July Holiday!  We are having a cousin family reunion here. It will last a week and family will be coming from everywhere. Lost of food, fun, activities, float trips, fireworks, pool parties and more! And... we have a wedding on Saturday, one of our triplet cousins is getting married! This is a photo taken about 10 years ago, it seems like just yesterday.