Sunday, February 27, 2011

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.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

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?

Friday, February 25, 2011

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.

Friday, February 4, 2011

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.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

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.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

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 . . .

Monday, January 17, 2011

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.

Friday, January 14, 2011

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.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

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!

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

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.

Monday, December 27, 2010

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.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Merry Christmas 2010

Pictures can speak more than a thousand words . . .

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

The Influence of a Story

I read this article on msn today and thought it was interesting:

Recession surprise: Teen births hit all-time low

Experts stunned by 6 percent decline in 2009 for girls ages 15-19; birth rate up for older moms ~

The U.S. teen birth rate hit an all-time low in 2009 — a decline that stunned experts say is partly because of the economy. The birth rate for teenagers fell to 39 births per 1,000 girls, ages 15 through 19, according to a government report released Tuesday. It was a 6 percent decline from the previous year, and the lowest rate since health officials started tracking that data in 1940. Experts say the recent recession — from December 2007 to June 2009 — was a major factor driving down births overall, and experts say there's good reason to think it affect would-be teen mothers.

The CDC report: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs

However . . . perhaps there is another reason . . . just maybe . . .

It may not have anything to do with the economy . . . or who is in the White House . . . or even family planning education in schools . . . my thinking is of a much more "fantastical" nature.

Twilight became a cultural phenomenon in 2007. By 2009 teenage girls throughout the country were in love with Edward Cullen and the romance between him and Bella. Edward refused to take away Bella's virtue before they were married - despite her attempts of seduction.

Most women (whether we will admit it or not - or regardless of whether we liked the Twilight books) appreciated the message that was sent to the world. We want to be treated with love, tenderness, respect, and honor. Women are worth more than the world wants us to believe we are worth.

Thank you Stephenie Meyer ~ you may have created an unrealistic expectation of what real relationships are all about - but I believe you just might have helped lower the rate of teenage pregnancies. Good job!