My week as a full time grandma.....

Maddie and Brooklyn are spending the week at our house.
(Their mom is at girls' camp.)
We are having a great time!
I've discovered some things this week as we have taken care of them.
I thought I'd share.

1.  I have not been able to complete any job before the next one starts.

(I'd forgotten how hard it is to "multitask".)

2.  Toys are a wonderful invention and a wonderful curse. 

(They provide a lot of entertainment-but are seldom picked up for very long.)
3.  Don't forget to lock the bathroom door.  If someone wants to come in-they will.
4.  "Light Bright" is a babysitter's dream (provided that it is not in the same room as a crawling baby).  Maddie spent hours today putting the little light bulbs in and making designs.  She didn't even want to stop for dinner.
5.  Holding a sleeping baby is a good excuse to take a nap.
6.  A child's prayers are sweet, but honest.  Maddie's "please bless" list not only included  mommy, daddy, Maddie, and Brooklyn, but also Shopko.

7.  Sticky hugs and kisses are worth washing up after.

8.  It's o.k. to go all day without combing your hair.

9.  A two year old is perfectly capable of being a helpful big sister in the middle of the night.

10.  Children bring a lot of love to a family!

♥
JoAnn

Welcome to the world....

Meet our new grandson, Joshua Andrew Clegg! 

Yesterday, after a very long (20 hours) labor, little Joshua entered our lives.  He weighed in 8 pounds 3 ounces and was 22 inches long.  He was in a little distress due to his long and tough entrance into the world, so he was whisked off to the NICU nursery, where he was given special care and put on oxygen.  He is doing much better and so are his parents, Andrew and Irene.  Irene was a real trouper and kept on working the whole time.  (And she never complained!)  It was a long, nerve wracking day for those of us waiting.  We kept thinking the event was almost here and then we waited and waited and waited some more.  What a relief to see his mom and dad being able to hold him today.  I will soon be posting about a million new photos of him.  Stay tuned!

♥

JoAnn

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