Our 33rd Wedding Anniversary

Saturday was our 33rd wedding anniversary.

Time Traveling with our Travel Group

We had supper at a chain restuarant at an interstate exit with five friends. We met these people last year when we cruised aboard Brilliance of the Seas in the Mediterranean last October and we shared the same dining seating assignment. We had not yet looked at each others' photographs and videos. Ruth and Alva invited the group to their home for dessert and watch Alva's videos. They gave directions to their house, and that's when it started to seem weirdly familiar.
Their directions took us one street past our first house. We lived in this neighborhood in 1975-1977. Their backyard is about three backyards down from our previously owned backyard. As I sit at the table and eat strawberry shortcake, I am aware that Ruth and Alva's house is the same floorplan as our home was. I'm reminded of an Agatha Christie novel where the heroine thought she was having deja vue until Miss Marple solves the mystery that she lived there as a child. (I won't spoil the whodunnit.) Then my attention was on what changes they made to their house from the way I remembered ours.

Grandson is a month old

We spent most of our visit watching him sleep, and it was a great day.

Writers' Group

Thirteen people attended the meeting and one member could not find us. I received an email from him the next morning.

Benefit Barn Sale

Cousin Lisa and the family of her husband Jim are having a Benefit Barn Sale at their barn this week. There are raffles of donated merchandise from local businesses. All proceeds will go to Jim's brother, John.
At the end of July, John was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Surgery removed a large portion of the baseball-sized tumor. He now faces seven weeks of radiation and chemotherapy treatments to shrink and eradicate the rest of it.
John has two children, a son who is eleven and a daughter who is nine. John is the co-owner of a flooring business in the county seat north of my family porch. He has worked in the flooring business all his adult life.

Michigan 400 NASCAR Pace Semi

If the driver of the semi looks familiar, he is Cousin Dean. Dean won the Gordon Food Rodeo Contest. Part of his prize is to drive the semi as the lead pace car at Michigan 400 sponsored by Gordon Foods. His younger son will be with him and then they get to watch the race.

A Visit from a College Friend

My friend, Norma, visited yesterday. I keep in touch with her and two other women from my university days. We talked for ten hours! Her summer vacation went by too fast: she visited family out-of-state and she went to her high school alumni reunion. Next week she returns to school for her 33rd year but with a different position as a fourth grade language arts teacher.
When we weren't talking or looking at pictures, we ate some good food. For our lunch, I picked the local tea room which has delicious home-made pies. I had the cherry pie ala mode and Norma had the peanut butter pie. I cooked supper, and the menu was glazed salmon filet, sesame-flavored asparagus, and roasted sweet potato cider salad served with Le Rime blend of reisling and pinot grigiot.
Host and I wanted to watch the finale of So You Think You Can Dance. She quickly learned that we could not decide between Heidi, Travis or Benji to win. Congratulations, Benji!

This recipe is from Eating for IBS by Heather Van Vorous.
Roasted Sweet Potato Cider Salad
Makes 4 servings

1-1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (about 2 large) peeled, quartered lengthwise
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided
2 Tablespoons scallions, finely diced
3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/8 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place sweet potatoes in large baking dish, drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil, and toss potatoes until evenly coated. Cover pan (with foil or lid) and bake 20 minutes. Uncover pan, turn potatoes and bake uncovered until tender and golden brown, about 15 -20 minutes. Cool potatoes and chop into bite-size pieces. Transfer to serving bowl. Whisk vinegar with remaining teaspoon of oil and salt. Pour over potatoes, add scallions, and stir gently until well combined.

My Great-Grandmother

I had one great-grandmother whom I remember. We weren't close friends, but I remember visiting her home several times. I may have been pre-school age when there may have been a family reunion at her home. She had a rat-terrier dog that bit me (barely broke the skin) for no-good reason except I wanted to pet it and the dog did not want to be petted. That may explain my reluctance to visit until I got bigger than the dog, Tiny.
Family always came to her house by the backdoor. She had flower gardens along both sides of the walk between her garage and porch area. I stepped down to a cement area that had a hand pump for water that she still used for the garden. The screen door screeched, and then a yoo-hoo announced our arrival. Her house was full of plants and bird songs as she had many cages of finches and canaries. I remember an enclosed back porch with a water closet at one end. That water closet had a high bench-seating toilet. The kitchen was the next room. I remember two windows and three doors. One wall was lined with oak pantry cupboards. One wall had the sink in the middle and counter space for food preparation. I had to twist and turn to get to other rooms: go through a doorway and turn left immediately to go through a doorway into the dining room. Beyond the dining room was the front parlor. To the left of the front parlor was a stairway to the bedroom area.
I was twenty when she passed away and she was only 84 or 85 years old. I don't remember when she came to our family gatherings at her son's home. She did not come even though she lived in the same small village. My grandmother (her daughter-in-law) would put together a plate of food to take to her, and I remember riding along to deliver the food. I also remember riding along to deliver groceries to her from the grocery store. I hope the reason she did not come to the family gatherings I attended may have been that she visited one of her daughters' homes.
Her appearance to me was that of an elderly woman who wore her hair in an upsweep and secured it into a bun. When she worked in the gardens, she wore a broad-rimmed hat, a Mother Hubbard apron for all its pockets and gardening gloves. Her thin voice quavered when she spoke.
I don't know if I remember her funeral.

Artspark in Indianapolis

Host, Daughter and I visited Artspark and Indianapolis Art Center.

Host's Parents Visit Their Great-Grandson

Host and I drove his parents to visit our grandson.

Aunt J reports from Annie Oakley Days

I had a busy weekend: went to Annie Oakley Days Friday with a friend, ate breakfast and played bingo until noon. That was a real treat. We had burnt eggs and burnt biscuits and there were a lot of older than me people there. The bingo was funny they would pause at least two minutes between numbers because the older people couldn't get their cards played fast enough. They should have just played a straight line and four corners because they didn't understand how to play so it was quite interesting. I didn't pay the $5 which was cheap enough for a breakfast and bingo; but, did you ever taste burnt eggs? They just need to be a little more organized. Ha!! Listen to me. Then I took a friend to the campground and we had a nice time.