Girls' Outing....

My sister Linda and I love spending the day looking at model homes, browsing through decorating stores, and eating out (our favorite part).  Each summer we take a whole day and spend it together, hoping to get some fresh new ideas and a little re-motivation to care for our own homes.  This year my niece Audrey joined us.

Audrey made a great "Vanna"!  (Thanks, Audrey, for putting our shoe covers on for us!)

We saw some pretty houses, some pretty large houses, and even a few smaller condos.

There were houses with theaters, dance studios, exercise rooms, swimming pools, and  rooms without a purpose.  One house even had a huge television screen right outside the door of the family movie theater! 

(I think it was for the parents to be close enough to check on the teenagers in the dark room!)

  We went through so many different houses that they were all starting to look alike.

 It was a fun day and we always enjoy sharing a few good laughs, 

but we decided we like our own homes just fine. 

We also spent some time at one of our favorite shops, The Secret Haven at The Rock Loft.

It is located in Farmington, Utah.  The little restaurant next door has sandwiches, soup, and a great bakery, too.

Now, on with the summer cleaning projects!

♥

JoAnn

Random thoughts.....and some links

Remember awhile ago when Holly (Mitchell Avenue Designs) gave away some of her cute cards on my blog?

Today, Pat at Mille Fiori Favoriti featured them.  Go check out Pat's blog.  

Pat writes about her beautiful city of New York and gives information that most tourists probably don't know.

Wouldn't it be fun to have her as a tour guide?

She takes you to places like the Ukrainian Heritage village where you can experience the culture (and buy souvenirs) or Montauk Point Lighthouse and the Memory Motel.  I have never been to New York, but if and when I do go, I'm going to reread all of her old posts before I go and be prepared to get off the beaten track.

(Hint to my husband- if you ever want to REALLY surprise me- New York would be a great vacation!)

Speaking of surprises...

this is the recliner my husband gets for Father's Day.

(He already knows about it since- it is already here!)

It was on a great sale at RC Willey Furniture and it took looks much better than our HUGE sofa couch did.

It looks like leather, but it is really microfiber.  (The salesman promised me it will hold up!)

We haven't quite put the room back together yet, but I will show some pictures when we do.

 Other news... 

(photo from Jason Olson- Deseret News)
Check out this newspaper article in the Deseret News about Steve Nelson (our brother-in-law).
He has spent hours and hours helping restore a pioneer village in Provo, Utah. 
It is nice that he is getting some recognition for all of his hard work.
Way to go Honorary Mayor Nelson!

Also...
Still no grand baby!

♥

JoAnn

Where's the butter?

Our little home improvement project

Remember the surprise boxes coming from Home Depot?  Well, they have caused a little chaos at our house.  Why is it that a simple idea usually leads to a TON of work?

Our little project was to take out the carpet in our office/den and replace it with some hard wood flooring.

Well, it wasn't quite that simple.

First, we had to sort out all the wood.  (Of course it had to be done in the living room!)

Then my husband had to install the new floor.

With all the furniture out of the room it felt so large and airy that we decided that the HUGE sofa bed needed to find a new location in our house.

The sofa downstairs was in need of retirement so that was the chosen spot.
(Thanks for the camera picture, Andrew.)
After turning it every possible angle, removing doors from hinges, holding our breath, and PUSHING, it just wouldn't budge around the corner. Would a little butter help it squeeze through?

(Sofa beds only weigh 5 million pounds, too.)

No problem, we untwisted it and hauled it back up the stairs to rethink the possible solutions.

 My husband decided to take the basement window out and put it through that opening.

About this time I had to leave...I'm not good at seeing all my flowers trampled or my house being disassembled.

Well...

(Drum roll please....)

It worked! 

Thanks, Ken, Katie, Andrew, and Irene for helping!

To be continued.....

♥

JoAnn

A quiet moment....

 

Isn't it nice when you find a quiet moment in a hectic day?

(Besides, it's never too early to teach an appreciation for reading!)

And...

We're still waiting for our new grandson to arrive.

Hopefully, it will be soon!

♥

JoAnn

Orange rolls, buttermilk cake, and Facebook.....

A few days ago my sister Linda posted this comment on Facebook:

"I would like to go back in time for a day.  I would like to eat one of my mom's good meals with the family crowded around the table (made from the garden and probably a roast). 

I'd like to see my dad resting on the family room floor after a hard day's work (probably snoring).

I'd like to listen for the phone to ring...to see if it is for our house or Leta Hall (party line).

Sigh....."

(Norman Rockwell knew what she meant! Image from Google)

That comment started a chain of events, including some sentimental reminiscing by family and friends.

I'm not including all the comments that followed, but a few that help paint a good picture of two people (our parents) who knew how to have fun, appreciated the value of hard work, showed love through their generosity, and could turn every day ingredients into a wonderful culinary experience.

Here are some of the replies:

Phyllis (a friend): "Your mom did always have a great smell coming out of the kitchen.  I loved coming to your house.  Treats were the best!"

Jenny (our niece):  "I would so love that, too.  I would also wish for a delicious Orange Roll that she made...yummy!  Dang, I miss them!  They were 2 amazing people.!  Do you know how to make her orange rolls?  If so, when I come down you need to teach me.  I've told Brady how very scrumptious they were!  I can't believe how many of us would fit in that tiny area now."  (She's talking about the area around the kitchen table.)

Linda (my sister):  "Jenny, I have mom's recipe.  We will have to try to perfect it together.  We also didn't know better than to stuff a million people around that little table in the nook.  Gosh, those were the days!"

Julie( another sister):  "Hot, homemade bread with butter, buttermilk cake with penuche frosting, chicken salad with hot rolls, and yes, of course, THE ORANGE ROLLS!  I could go on all day, naming my favorites that mom used to make.  It surely would be fun to spend a good old summer day with them!  They were the best!"

Diane K (a friend):  "You're making me wish I were a Hall girl!"

Lisa (a friend):  "I think my mom and Mid (our mom) had the same orange roll recipe, and she also made a buttermilk cake with penuche frosting.  I bet they shared their best recipes with each other and those were some of my favorites."

Carol (Lisa's mom and a best friend of our mom), mom. and dad

So, now that I have made myself very hungry for some good old home cooking,
I think I will attempt to make the famous buttermilk cake with penuche frosting.  I haven't even thought about this recipe for many years.  Here is the recipe:

Mom's Famous Buttermilk Cake 

1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup butter
(Mix together until creamy)
Add 3 eggs- one at a time- mixing after each
Add 1 cup buttermilk
(Dissolve 1 teaspoon soda in the buttermilk)
Beat together.
Bake in two round cake pans or 1 cookie sheet
at 350 degrees (about 25 minutes for round cake- about 12-15 minutes for cookie sheet)

Easy Penuche Frosting

 Melt 1 cube butter
Stir in 1 cup brown sugar
Cook about 2 minutes, stirring constantly, after it boils
Add 1/4 cup milk
Cool and add 1 3/4 cup powdered sugar

Spread on cake and sprinkle with chopped nuts

(This cake from Google is kind of like it.)

(Or this..... with nuts.)

****

It is now several hours later.
I planned for my Sunday dinner to have the famous cake.
My mouth watered as the cake cooked in the oven.

My taste buds were eagerly awaiting the first bite.
I was almost there.... in the past...almost.

Help!  My frosting was too thick and wouldn't spread.
I thinned it a bit, but it still only covered part of the cake.
It also seemed to harden and clump.

THIS WAS NOT THE WAY I REMEMBERED IT AT ALL!
Oops!  I forgot to add the milk to the frosting- or let it cool first!
(Don't make this cake while talking to your family!)

Even though it did NOT look like my mother's beautiful two layer cake, it did taste good,
and the memories it brought back were wonderful!
(Don't make this cake when you are on a diet, either!)

Thanks, Linda, for reminding me about some great times with our parents! 
P.S.  I will try this cake again some day soon....when I need to remember....
and the recipe is now out there for my family to try it, too.

"From morning till night, 
sounds drift from the kitchen, 

most of them familiar and comforting....

on days when warmth is the most important need 
of the human heart, 
the kitchen is the place you can find it; 

it dries the wet sock, it cools the hot little brain."

E.B. White

♥
JoAnn

Memorable Moments.....at school

Last Week of School

Memorable Moments

(Or, how I talked my class out of a FIELD TRIP)

This has been one crazy week at school!

On Tuesday we walked a mile to a swimming pool for a morning swim.

Did I mention it was raining?

And cold?

Despite my ruined hair-do and soggy feet, the kids had a great time.

The pool water was warmer than the surrounding air, plus all their moving and jumping around in the water gave them some additional warmth.  Our school district has a new swimming pool policy that mandates one adult for every five students.  Have you ever tried to keep track of five moving targets that seldom come near each other, or who can't stay in one place more than five seconds?  We were all required to stand at the edge of the pool (not sit) and supervise.  There were also at least four life guards on duty.  

Our grade did fine (only seven kids had to be pulled out of the water-but with all those adults watching, some were rescued before they knew they needed help), but today a fifth grader had to be fished out and needed to be revived.  I guess some boys were doing dead man floating and everyone thought he was still playing.  Pretty scary!  Fortunately, he will be fine.

Anyway...back to Tuesday.....

With freezing bodies and chlorine induced red eyes, we walked back to school.

That afternoon I felt like I was like teaching zombies.  They were pretty tired.

Wednesday was a field trip. 

With budget cuts and so much pressure on testing,we save all our field trips for the end of the year.

We always look forward to going to This is the Place State Park (click to learn more) and stepping back in time.

It was a fun day learning about life as a pioneer and about all the different local animals, including learning about tanning their hides, recognizing their fur, and identifying their tracks. We also got to go inside a  Native American tepee and a hogan. Our very cute Native American guide surprised me by asking me if my name was Mrs. Clegg.   
HE WAS ONE OF MY STUDENTS IN MY VERY FIRST YEAR OF TEACHING!  What a fun surprise for me!  Yes, it is a small world.

(Another great guide)

Today (Thursday)  we were scheduled for another field trip, a day at a park.

We were given free UTA (public transportation) bus tickets and had planned on going to a fun park.

This morning I gave my students a pretty good sales pitch for spending the day at school instead of going to the park.

I've never been a debater, but I managed to convince them that we could have more fun staying put.

(O.K., offering to order pizza, erupt my volcano, work on boondoggle key chains, water color, and have extra recess was a little heavy handed, but it worked!)

When the other classes came back sunburned and tired we were happily eating our pizza.

It was a pretty fun day.

Tomorrow (Friday) will be the last day of school. 

We will have our awards assembly, spend a little time signing autograph books, and then depart our separate ways.  My time as their care giver will be over.  

Yes, I will miss them!

I wonder if our lives will reconnect again some day.

You never know!

♥

JoAnn

Country roots.....

"I'm a little bit country....."

I grew up on a farm in Southern Idaho and you just can't take the country roots out of me.  

(However, I eagerly gave up the one root I had that involved smelly cows.)

Every Memorial Day holiday we like to go back "home", and that includes a little drive up to the hills north of Preston.  Cache Valley, which includes Logan on the Utah side and Preston on the Idaho side is a beautiful place.  It has a lot of rolling hills, lakes, small rivers, and beautiful farms.

Yes, it is the center of the universe!

(Sorry, to those of you who might have thought you lived in the center.)

If I ever come across a hefty inheritance, I would like to buy this white barn (and the hillside it is sitting on).

I think I could create a cozy place to live there, don't you think so, too?

Or, I could move in the cabin in the picture above it.  So charming!

It's even a beautiful place to rest in peace!
♥
JoAnn