My grandma

She dressed up to go play bingo
She did our laundry while my mom worked
She said she could read Paula Deen's southern drawl on her lips
She baked everything from scratch
She didn't like to ask for help
She drove too fast, but never had an accident in her life
She could take one look at you and see your true soul
She loved music and often said that even though she couldn't hear the songs she still remembered them
She was an emailing whiz
She didn't like to lose and sometimes decks of cards were destroyed when she did
She grew raspberries, logan berries, and all sorts of other berries
She made the best jam in the world
She loved to play Scrabble online
She loved Andy from the moment she laid eyes on him
She was frugal
She was generous
She always went on vacation with us
She was a people-watcher
She taught me the beauty of the ocean
She never put a meal on the table without a salad
She used Oil of Olay for as long as a I can remember
She wore silky 2-piece pajamas
She never got over losing her dad
She couldn't tell a lie because her eyes curled
She loved to read and trashy romance novels were her favorite
She came to every one of my games, band concerts, school functions, etc.
She let me stay up late and sleep-in
She was old-fashioned
She found animals in the clouds
She made-up my song - "Melania Sue, Melania Sue, is quite a girl I'm telling you"
She was mine and I was hers

I know that I could just keep writing and writing, but I'd never be able to share everything she meant to me. She was much more than just a grandma, a mom, a wife. The love and happiness that she brought to me and our family is something that I just do not have adequate words to express.

One of my very favorite songs is from the musical, Rent. The song, "Seasons of Love" so perfectly illustrates how I feel about looking back on my grandma's life.

525,600 minutes, 525,000 moments so dear. 525,600 minutes -
how do you measure, measure a year?
In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee.
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.
In 525,600 minutes - how do you measure a year in the life?
How about love? How about love? How about love?
Measure in love. Seasons of love.

525,600 minutes! 525,000 journeys to plan. 525,600 minutes -
how can you measure the life of a woman or man?
In truths that she learned, or in times that he cried.
In bridges he burned, or the way that she died.

It’s time now to sing out, tho the story never ends -
let's celebrate, remember a year in the life of friends.
Remember the love! Remember the love! Remember the love!
Measure in love. Seasons of love! Seasons of love!

Edith Irene Menken
April 4, 1923 - June 4, 2006

Victory!!!

I am not much for sharing my politics. I truly believe it is something that is so personal, so intimate, that I prefer to not share my opinion. I'll discuss and hear your viewpoints, but normally I'll leave it at that. Tonight, I can't!!

Watching Senator Barack Obama secure the nomination to be the Democratic candidate for President of the United States, I was overwhelmed with emotion! I am inspired when I watch him, hopeful when I listen to him, and I believe he will be a great president. He is what America needs right now.

Peach Puzzle - on Memorial Day

Monday, Memorial Day, was baking perfection for me. However, I'm only just sitting down to write about it. Figures!

About a year ago, maybe a little more, maybe a little less, I was reading my gossip sites and found that my very favorite (popsugar) has a cooking/baking sister site, yumsugar. They were doing 52 weeks of baking and this peach puzzle recipe caught my eye for many reasons:

One - it sounded delish!

Two - it was very old-fashioned and seems to be quite an old recipe

Three - I wanted to know if it was true...would the syrupy goodness truly end up in the ramekin?

Anyways, I had saved the recipe planning to make it when the peaches were big and juicy towards the end of August....well something about the best laid plans, right? Knowing that we had purchased a few peaches over the weekend, I figured now was the time for the peach puzzle! However, when I grabbed the peaches from the fridge, I found them very small and not quite ripe enough, so I decided to make this a peach and apple puzzle. I also found that I was out of brown sugar, so I used Splenda in place of all the sugar in the recipe, including the syrup concoction. Also - it gave me the opportunity to pull out my brand new food processor that my parents bought me for Christmas. They're the best and now so is Ol' Blue!

The peach puzzle truly is a rustic and old-fashioned recipe. You take whole peaches, peel them, and place them in your baking dish. I used a round casserole dish thinking I would get a better result than a regular pie plate. You then take and turn a ramekin upside down in the center, and pour the syrup over the peaches. After all that, you place your dough over the top of them making sure to not attach it to your dish, just the peaches. Bake and cool and then, invert. Here is where the recipe lost me.

Invert onto a plate and all the syrup will end up in the ramekin? Now, I am definitely not a physics major, but it just didn't seem possible to me. I called my mom - as it was cooling - and asked her if she thought it was possible. Nope. Neither of us did. But, as always, mom said to try it...you just never know! So, after 30 minutes of cooling time, I put the plate over the puzzle, prayed, flipped....and VOILA!!!! Every ounce of that syrup was now in the ramekin for yummy yummy goodness.

Andy and I sampled it for dessert and both of us were pleasantly surprised. The apples were more flavorful than the peaches, but I think that is the season more than anything else. Peaches just aren't at the height of their glory yet. The dough is the texture of a homemade shortcake, where I was expecting more of a pie crust and the syrup is so, so good!! Andy said he could probably just drink the syrup straight up. I think it would have been nice a' la mode and drizzle the syrup over the ice cream, but maybe next time.

This recipe is definitely a keeper and will offer up many variations. Apples, pears, plums, any sort of fruit you like. Of course, I will vary the spices depending on the fruit I use and will definitely continue to play with it. This would be a great hit at a dinner party, as you could invert it onto its serving dish tableside and wow everyone with the syrup trick!

Peach Puzzle
Peaches and Syrup
7 medium peaches , peeled
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
6 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
Dough
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and chilled
6 tablespoons milk
For the peaches and syrup:
~Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Place 6-ounce custard cup or ramekin upside down in center of 9-inch pie plate and arrange peaches around ramekin.
~Combine brown sugar, water, butter, vanilla, and salt in medium saucepan and stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves and butter melts, about 5 minutes. Pour syrup over peaches.
The dough:
~Pulse flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in food processor until blended.
~Add butter and pulse until flour mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse cornmeal, five to six 1-second pulses.*
~Turn mixture into medium bowl. Using rubber spatula, fold milk into flour mixture, pressing mixture against sides of bowl to form dough.
~Squeeze dough together and flatten into disk.
~On lightly floured work surface, roll dough into 9-inch circle.

To assemble:
~Lay dough directly over peaches and press dough so that it fits snuggly around peaches. The dough will stretch as you fit it around peaches, but do not attach dough to pie plate.
~Bake until top is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool on rack for 30 minutes.

To Serve:
~Place large rimmed serving plate over top of pie plate and quickly invert Puzzle onto plate.
~Cut into wedges around each peach and serve, pouring syrup over each portion.

*To make the dough by hand, use a pastry cutter or a fork to work butter into flour mix. Cut the butter into the flour until you have a pale yellow mix resembling corn meal.

Would Juror #447405 please stand up?

So, it's official. I have been issued a summons for jury duty! OH MY! I've wanted to serve on a jury since I was about 14 years old, but now the opportunity is here and it just seems a dreadful way to spend my time. Ah well. I have a couple of weeks to prepare myself, and who knows - I might not even be selected. Maybe I should just say that I consider everyone guilty and they have to be proven innocent to me....no, I'm sure that won't work. I never have been able to lie, my eyes tell all.

Friday, Andy and I headed out to this brand new winery, Barrel Oak, that was celebrating it's grand opening this weekend. So much fun! I find vineyards to be some of the most beautiful spots on Earth. Something about the way the grape-vined trees go on for miles in front of you, perfectly straight, never once weaving out of their perfection. By the time the roads wind around to the actual tasting rooms, I have been transported to some beautiful European Villa and am romantically dreaming my cares away. Of course, once I get inside the tasting room, the delicious wines keep the cares even further at bay.

Barrel Oak did not disappoint on any level. The grounds are as beautiful as I had hoped and the tasting room is comfortable, ecclectic, and pleasing. Directly off the tasting room, they have a gorgeous patio that overlooks the Blue Ridge Mountains. After our tastings, I couldn't pass up a glass of their Bowhaus White to sip whilst we sat on the patio and took in the view. The owners of Barrel Oak are dog-lovers (like us) and so everywhere you look, everything you drink, is dog-themed. Of course we were going to fall in love...who doesn't want dog-themed wine? "BOWhaus"!! Even the front door of the tasting room has a glass etching of a golden retriever! As we were doing our tasting, one of the family labs came in and said hello and were very pleased to find out that they welcome their patrons bringing their dogs with them to enjoy the grounds. Next time, we will definitely be bringing Emma along for the ride. They offer 2 dessert wines and we found our favorite is their Chocolate Lab. How cute is that? And as you'll see below, some of the labeling features dogs too.



We ended up buying 2 bottles of their Bowhaus Red to savor here at home. As I type this, Andy is downstairs putting the finishing touches on our specially planned meal with the wine as the star. I am very much looking forward to it.

Tomorrow is Memorial Day. Andy is headed back to work and I am looking forward to doing some baking. I will spend the day remembering the sacrifices of our soldiers, both past and present, and being thankful for each and every one of them. Of course, none more than my own father - a proud Vietnam Veteran.

Sunday Morning Brunch

Sunday morning brunch with the girls
It is our once-a-month therapy
Supposed 2 bring one dish - I always bring 3
Step 1 to my therapy, for sure

Most Sundays before - we didn't talk about our real lives
Too busy talking about our grief....sadness....empty hearts
But then Baby Tobey arrived and we found affirmation
Now our mornings are filled with bottles and diapers & smiles

The news, bad dates, new jobs, everything...we share it all
Today we even cleaned the poolCommon threads found and laughed about
Weaving our lives together over mimosas and french toast

2day I wasn't ready to leave when it was time to say goodbye
I wanted to linger longer....keep laughing and waste the day away
I came home renewed...as if my spirit had received a shot of adrenaline
Those girls (and that little man), I tell ya, good for my soul!

Today, you were in a white Honda Civic

Parked in the fire lane, hazards flashing
Through the noise of traffic and our footsteps, a baby cries
NO, it couldn't be as I peer in through the tinted windows
Not one baby....but two - twins, no more than a year old

Look around, scan the perimeter
Where is the mom...Panera for coffee?....Petco for Duke's new bag of food?
No one.....no where.....and now they are both crying
Where can be more important than with these two?

Not exactly sure what to do...try the door - locked
Cell phone - 911 - what is my emergency?
2 babies - locked in car - parked in fire lane - no one with them
Hold while I patch you through - I can hear the panic in their voice or is that just mine?

All of a sudden....there's mom - getting in the car like this was business as usual
HEY - I yell - this is YOUR car? These are YOUR babies?? What the fuck do you think you were doing?
She's shocked.....what? What do you mean? I only ran in there for just a second!
I tell the cop on the other end of the phone, the mom is here now and she is mad that I am calling you

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please don't call the police....it was only one quick second that I was in the store, I swear!
I stare at her blankly and hold the phone up - too late
I've already been here for five minutes

A man comes out of Panera, tells her she broke the golden rule
Sorry, sorry, sorry, I cracked the window for them - they were asleep
Cracked the window? I scream at her - they are NOT dogs!
Backseat - the babies are still crying....she hasn't touched them....looked at them

Dispatch tells me officer is on the way
She moves the car out of the fire lane and parks
Finally the babies are tended to, brought out of the car
She collapses on the sidewalk beside me in tears

Now it's just us, woman to woman - no one else exists
This time she whispers, I'm sorry - they were asleep....I am angry all the way through me, but I cry with her....I'm sorry too
I had no choice - the reasons too long to list

Officer arrives, tells her it was illegal to do what she did
No leaving babies in cars by themselves
No parking in the fire lane
Have a nice day

Wait just one sec, Officer
Tell her what would have happened if she hadn't shown up
Tell her how her life would have changedwith the addition of new abbreviations; CPS, DHS, FCPD, FCCC.....

She shakes with fear....finally!
I grab her hand and look into her eyes
I don't judge you...
We take a few deep breaths
Not sure how to disconnect this strange bond
I stand and tell her to take care and love those babies more today than ever before

Walk into the store to do my business
Grab the few things I was there to get
At the checkout line, I see her
Babies in their stroller and she is picking up a balloon bouquet....

Where is more important than with these babies?
Who knew?....it's in the store buying balloons!