Fifty-One

Fifty one is an odd number.

It is dividable by 17.

It is over half way through a century.

It is my least favorite number ever.

I turned 51 this past weekend.

Fifty-one.

So to celebrate my getting beyond

the half century mark I am posting

pictures from various stages of my life.

Notice the constant changes in my hair.

My cousin Clark and me in 1961.

Me in 1963.

 Me in 1969.

Me in my Ginny Gown in 1970.

Me and my little brother Michael in 1972.

He died one month later.

Me and my niece Melinda in 1975.

Me and my Prom Date Rod in 1977 at the State Capitol.

(Only time I have actually had cleavage - sort of.)

 Me, Katie, and my cousin Mary Jane in December 1981.

Trevor's gun, Trevor, Trevor's hand grenade, me, Katie, and Troy in 1989.

The Mafia Don's family.

Katie, Me, Troy and Trevor in 1993 - Littleton.

(Yes . . . that is actually my natural color of hair.)

 Me and Tanner in Seattle the summer of 1994.

Notice Troy running behind me in the mismatched outfit.

New mother or what?

Of course Tanner and I are completely color coordinated.

The above picture is exactly why Katie became a Stylist.

My hair will never look like that again.

Me and Tanner in 1994 in Seattle.

Tanner had colic. Enough said.

Me and Tanner in Oregon 2000 right after I had my tonsils out.

Me, my radical hair, and Cindy in Park City.

 Katie and me in 2004 in Park City.

Katie is the most photogenic person I have ever known.

I am not.

Me in 2009 as a new Grandmother.
(Don't ask me why this photo is fuzzy - but I love little Grant in my arms.

Sheri, Cathy, and me at Thanksgiving Point Spring 2010.

Well that is more than anyone should have to look at with the 

same person appearing in every single picture.

It has been a full, challenging, adventurous, and good life.

And there is still much more to come.

PLEASE CHECK OUT

www.josephsmithjr.org

then click on "Become a Member"

to support an amazing work that is

taking place in the world right now.

An organization that is very dear

to my heart.

Quilting Vs. Painting

This is a bit of a dilemma for me right now in my life.

I use to love quilting but right now my sewing machine and I . . .

well let's just say we haven't really been getting along lately.

I do have a bunch of beautiful fabrics I love.
It's the sewing machine I have a problem with.
I will always love and cherish my

flannels, cottons, silks, pinks, purples, yellows, blues, etc.

I love color. That is what I truly love.
Doesn't matter in what form that color comes in - I love it.

Hence my love for painting.

Except I am not sure about portraits. Gotta work on that ability.

So for now I am going to box up my fabrics,

and wait for a time when painting is not the focus of my creativity.

Then I will pull those beautiful fabrics back out

and create something beautiful.

But maybe not a quilt. Maybe a tablecloth.

Maybe just pillows or a vest or a skirt.

Except I just remembered . . .

I promised my Laurels a quilt for their graduation

from WX High School in June.
That's five single sized quilts by June.

Okay just a few more quilts and then I can retire for awhile.
And I know there are a few young adults out there that when
they get married I will make them their promised rag quilts.

But I am thinking I will always like painting better.

Fifteen More Months

Honestly - I love being a mother.

But honestly - after 24 years of dealing with the

public school system I am so done.

Tanner will graduate from high school in 15 months.

Yep - I am counting the months and

I will eventually be counting the weeks . . . and then the days.

Some are sad when their youngest child graduates. Sorry - not me.

I was sad when my youngest child got his own car
because it meant the end of nice chats while I drove him to lessons etc.

Then he crashed the old white Audi into a curb . . .

going 25 miles an hour in a very severe snow storm . . .
and evidently totaled it.

According to his older brother Troy the damage

had nothing to do with the road rally out on the salt flats months before 

when Troy had borrowed the same (at that time not) broken

car to compete in with a certain guy named Brady.

I then resumed the role of chauffeur 

or lender of my only vehicle to my youngest -
and consequentially good friend Tanner.

He will be getting another car this week -
much to his relief I am sad to say.
(okay - and a little of mine!)

So to honor the 15 more months until his Public School Graduation

(at which time I do not anticipate he will totally move out -

or if he does it will only be temporary as was the case with all my kids -
they always come back for a period of time)

I am going to post a picture of Tanner throughout the years once a week.

Those wonderful Cello playing days in 6th grade . . .

before Tanner acquired his spectacles.

He has since moved on to more modern strings such as

the bass guitar, and the electric guitar.

Gotta love this kid.

Mary Louise Richardson Walker

I had a dream about my Aunt Mary Lou last night.

I dreamed that I went to

Grandmother/Mary Lou's house and it was spotless -

no sign of anyone living there. 

All the furniture was there,
but there were no personal belongings. 

I walked into Mary Lou's room

and looked at the beautiful old fireplace.

(It used to be my Great-Grandmother's home -

five generations have been raised in that house.)

I then turned to Mary Lou and asked her 

why the house was so bare and where everything had gone. 

Then I looked at her again and said, "You're ready to go aren't you?" 

And she smiled at me and said "yes" and then the dream shifted. 

I didn't really think anything of it until this afternoon

when I received a text at 4:37 pm
telling me that my dear Aunt Mary Lou
died today from a brain aneurysm.

She is one of the women I have admired most in my life.

She is a strong, beautiful, smart, funny, independent lady.

This is a picture of her in her early thirties.

My Uncle Elliot was diagnosed with Polio when
Mary Lou was expecting their second child.

Elliot spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair
teaching everyone around him the
significant and eternal aspects of life.

Mary Lou went back to school and got her degree

in teaching, and then a Doctorate in Education Administration.

She was a Counselor, a Vice Principal, and then a Principal

at a variety of schools in the Granite School District.

Mary Lou and Elliot have five beautiful children.
All those Walkers have the best sense of humors
I have ever known in my life.

Mary Lou - you will be missed so much -
but there sure are a lot of people rejoicing right now
as you are welcomed back into their presence.

Brothers

WOW! I love that there are some souls out there that read my blog!!!

THANK YOU!

It means the world to me . . . really!

So I have decided to be brave like the true bloggers

and post a "little pinch of me" everyday . . .

even if it means no picture.

Although I do have to show you all this one

because I think it is rather . . .

sweet . . . should we say?

First of all . . . don't you love the way

Doug looks like he is praying?

Don't be deceived - he was once a complete rascal.

But not anymore.

The two boys sitting next to me are

wonderful good kind righteous amazing men.

These are my brothers Douglas and David
. . . along with young sweet Michael,

(who I still love and will always love and will see

one day when I pass through the Veil of Heaven)
they have watched over me my entire life.

And that doll that I am gripping. Still have it.

Still have the dress. Wish I still had the shoes.

In an adult size actually.
I wonder if my mother posed my feet for me that way?
Very Princess of Wales poise at a very young age.
What happened?

A Very Delinquent Blogger

I have been a very delinquent blogger lately . . .

and for the handful of faithful friends who tune in

to see a picture of Grant or

even perhaps a rare appearance of a recipe . . .

I apologize.

January and February have become

very difficult months for me to enjoy.

Something about cold . . .

short darker days . . .

the fact that I am getting older . . .

and the month following those two months

I get even older.

So please don't give up on me.

I promise I will get my creativity back

and start posting a bit more often.

Maybe even more than a bit.

A Portrait Without Paint

There are moments in life when you slow down,

and just watch the world around you.

Yesterday was one of those days for me.

January was long and cold, and February 
has been short and cold.

So hunkered down inside my house 
despite the sunshine

that kept trying to break through yesterday,

I watched Grant for a few hours.

Katie wanted me to take a picture 
with my phone and send to her.

Needless to say . . . 
my phone does not take perfect pictures.

Especially if the subject is constantly moving.

Somehow this little guy paused for a brief second,

giving me a Blue Boy sort of face.

My little Blue Boy. With Green Eyes.
Wearing a gray shirt and blue jeans.
Playing with a red tractor that was Tanner's.
How I dearly love him.

Grant's Cupie Doll face.
I love that look too.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Frosted Peanut Butter Cookies

So much for my promise of posting . . . 

but here they are the decadent little morsels 

I mentioned earlier in the week.

And yes . . . one of these days I will learn to take a photo that looks like all the other blogs.
Until then . . . my baked items will be slightly blurred.
I am a cook, not a photographer.
Not really anyway.
Mostly I am just a craver of delicious foods.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Frosted Peanut Butter Cookies

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

Mix together until creamy, butter, peanut butter, sugar, and brown sugar.

Add the egg and vanilla and mix well.

Add flour, soda, and baking powder and blend well.

Drop by teaspoonful onto cookie sheet and criss-cross with fork.

Bake @ 350 degrees for approximately 12 minutes.

I like them just barely browned.

When cooled frost with the following:

Peanut Butter Frosting

 1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup whipping cream

powdered sugar

Chocolate Frosting

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/3 cup whipping cream

1/2 tsp vanilla

powdered sugar

Mix each with enough powdered sugar to make a soft spreading consistency.

You will notice that I did not mix my frosting as well as I should have. There are little flecks of butter and cocoa.
Oh well . . . still tasted divine. 

Grant Learns To Climb Stairs

I haven't been blogging lately.

I caught a sore throat, started school,

and have just been hoping spring will come early this year.

So to cheer myself up I took some pictures of life around me.

Here are my favorite pictures of watching Grant 
climb stairs earlier in the week,

and a day later tearing apart my kitchen and office.

I adore this kid.

 Tomorrow I will post a picture of the 

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Frosted Peanut Butter Cookies 

we made while Grant was having a grand time.

Junior Prom

WX Junior Prom

Tanner invited his oldest and dearest friend

Julie Patterson to Junior Prom at WX High School.

My last child.

My last Junior Prom.

I loved every minute gazing at Julie's dress

and Tanner's hot pink accented Tux.

The benefits of parenting!

Old and Dear Friends for sixteen years.

Julie's Orchid and White Rose Wrist Corsage.

You are beautiful Julie.

 And Tanner . . . you are very handsome.
Your flower on your lapel was very classy.
The good part of High School . . .

Grant's Meltdown

Grant was having a very rough day on Saturday.

I have to admit that he is so cute when he has a meltdown,

that I simply pull out my camera and let it happen.

Am I cruel or what?

Then he realized I was taking pictures so 

he tried to smile through his tears.

But then he remembered he was mad that I wasn't

pushing him around on his Buzz Lightyear car anymore.

And he went back to mad and sad.

Finally he found my printer and 
paid me back by dismantling it.

Grant still wasn't quite happy.

So I picked him up

and plopped him down in front of the TV

where he happily watched Mickey Mouse Club House.

He also took 7 steps while watching Mickey and Minnie

and their big sparkly rainbow.

I didn't have my camera for that joyous moment.

Trevor, Mr. Timothy Riggins, and Old Max

Trevor and Mr. Timothy Riggins viewing recent pictures.

Old Max and Mr. Timothy Riggins 
cautiously checking each other out.

Old Max and Mr. Timothy Riggins 
deciding not to get too close.

Finally, Mr. Timothy Riggins' face.

Thank you Laura for sharing your cat for an afternoon.

He and I are now good friends.

He is way more affectionate than old Max.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

A great way to end a Fast . . .

This is a recipe that I inherited 
from a friend in Flagstaff, AZ.

I made it this afternoon for Tanner and I 
for a nice light brunch . . . 

accompanied with Hot Chocolate topped 
with fresh whipped cream.

A great way to end a Fast . . . 
and a nice start to the New Year.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Blend together well:

2 eggs

1 cups sour cream

1 cup melted butter

 1 tsp vanilla

Add:

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Pour batter into greased 9x13 pan and top with:

1 cup brown sugar mixed with 1 TBSP cinnamon

Bake @ 350 for about 35-40 minutes.

Delicious hot or cold.

This is the original sheet I wrote the recipe 

down on almost 20 years ago.

I have it in my computer - but I still always pull this paper

out of my old red Heritage Times Cookbook where I 

keep a dozen or so original recipes.

It is comforting to know that I have saved it for so long.
(I know - I know - I have changed the recipe just a bit -
but it's just the way I evolve.)

Enjoy!

 

Christmas 2010 Paintings

This is the painting I gave Rob for Christmas.

It was painted from a picture 
I took in Park City off of Kilby Road.

You can see the autumn ski slopes in the distance.

This was the worst of all the photographs 
I took of my paintings . . .

but my favorite painting I did for Christmas.

 

Christmas 2010 Paintings

Trevor's painting is the most 
complex I have attempted.

It was inspired by a photograph 
Trevor took in Telluride, Colorado. 

I tried to make sure the background 
appeared to be reflecting sun . . .

while the foreground was in shadow.

Tricky - but a great educational experience.

Trevor is a great photographer 
so I have many more paintings 
that will be inspired by his eye for nature.

One day I will learn how to photograph 
my paintings as well as Trevor 
photographs the world around him.

Christmas 2010 Paintings

I gave paintings for Christmas 
to my family this year.
I will show each painting in individual posts 
throughout this week.

Unfortunately I am not great at 
photographing my paintings.

I tried before I framed them 
and they looked pathetic.

So I took these on Christmas morning
and tried to have as little 
flash reflections as possible.

Hopefully you can "imagine" 
what they really looked like.

This was painted from a photograph 
that Brady took of Troy at Lake Como, Italy.

I was not confident enough to actually draw in Troy -

so I cut out the figure of Troy from the photo
and taped it on the painting.

Everyone got a good laugh out of it.

However, when I finish my 
figure drawing class this semester,

I will actually draw Troy into the picture.

Until then, he is 3-D 
standing on the shore of Lake Como.