Peach Cobbler Bites by Elizabeth

My great-niece Elizabeth came to visit today after school, and she is ready to teach me how to make her own original recipe, Peach Cobbler Bites. She makes these at Grandmother Jan's house, so naturally we wanted to see what all the excitement is about. Elizabeth is 9 1/2 years old and already is devising her own recipes!

This is the Cast of Characters: a roll of Pillsbury Lite Crescent Rolls, a can of peaches, honey, and cinnamon sugar.

The first thing Elizabeth did was to take the baking pan outside to spray it with Pam. That prevents the mist of oil from landing on my counters and furniture!

Then it was time to pop the Pillsbury tube and pull out the section of dough. The other section can be left in the tube and put in the refrigerator to keep it cold. It is always easier to handle dough that is cold!

Find the straight seam that goes across the roll and unroll on the counter so that you can see the perforations marking the triangles.

Drain the can of peaches in the colander so there will not be too much liquid within the dough.

Place a slice of peach in the middle of the triangle, and dribble a few drops of honey over it.

Wrap the dough around the peach slice, gathering and pinching the dough together on the bottom. Turn the bites over and lay on the baking pan. Don't you just love the green nail polish? :D Perfect for spring...

Shake cinnamon sugar on each dough bite.

Pop them in the oven at 375 degrees for thirteen to fifteen minutes until browned and cooked through.

Put on a pretty plate and...

share with mom (Kendra) and Uncle David. They really enjoyed coming home from work and walking into a house that smells like peach cobbler. We even saved some for Elizabeth's dad (Chris).

These are really delicious, easy, and fairly healthy, if anyone cares about that! What a great recipe for a nine year old to be able to fix on her own. Congratulations, Elizabeth!!

Happy 60th Birthday, David

Today is the big day, the big 6-0, for my hubby. I asked him what he wanted to do for his birthday (a safe question for which I already knew the answer :D), and he said, "Go to Maui!"

Since it's low season in Maui for us, with corresponding low plane fares, and high season for humpback whales, on their annual vacation trek from the frigid waters of Alaska...it was pretty much a no-brainer, and fly off to Maui we did, today.

It's also a business trip as we need to do a lot of little jobs getting ready for our realtors to sell two of our condo units. So we have our work cut out for us!

We weren't within view of the ocean for five minutes after arriving when we saw our first whale breaching. Dave was itching to get his hands on his new camera and lens and start hunting for the perfect whale shot! That's the best way to take your mind off turning 60 that I can think of...

Tonight I took him to Merriman's for dinner, up on the point by Kapalua Bay. The restaurant is situated on a cliff with the bar overlooking Kapalua, one of the most beautiful beaches on earth. The other side of the restaurant overlooks the ocean towards the islands of Lana'i and Moloka'i.  You can sit at tables up above for dinner, or sit in lounge chairs down on the rocky point with a drink and await the sunset. That gave Dave an opportunity to work on his Maui sunset photos...

The dinner was fabulous, featuring the finest Mauka (mountain side) and Makai (ocean side), freshest foods that Maui has to offer. It was topped off with a gooey, melted chocolate confection served with homemade vanilla bean ice cream, just enough to share.

What a way to bring in the next decade!! Happy birthday, Hubby.

And thank you so much for the surprise lei presentation at the airport!!

Aloha wau ia' oe, ku'u ipo.

 

Happy 35th Anniversary

This is the happy couple, my husband, David, and I, who are celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary today. There is an amusing story of our meeting which has become part of the family lore, and I would like to share it with you.

One day, in the fall of 1972, my mom, Mary, was happily playing golf with three friends: Bette, Dorothy and Peggy. As mothers are wont to do, Mary and Bette found themselves discussing their grown children who were as yet unmarried. They were walking toward the clubhouse where they planned to have lunch together. Mom pulled out a photo of me and showed Bette. As they enjoyed lunch, phone numbers of their children were exchanged, and a plot was hatched to get us together.

The idea was to get David to come up to the ranch and pick some persimmons for his mom, Bette, and I would just happen to be there. That didn't work out because by the time David got there, I had already returned to Sacramento where I was working on getting my teaching credential.

During the winter David called me and we had a date, which wasn't all that successful. He talked about his old girlfriends, and I was dating someone else at the time... However, when June rolled around, I was out of school for the summer and no longer involved dating anyone. SO...a voice whispered in my ear, "What about Dave? You never really gave him a chance..." I wrote him a little note and invited him to come down for dinner. He called, we set a date, and he arrived with a bottle of wine in hand on June 9, 1973.

I served a scrumptious dinner of Beef Stroganoff over noodles, steamed broccoli, salad, and for dessert, chocolate fondue. That was a stroke of brillance! I don't know if it was me, tanned and glowing with my long, blond hair, in my long, halter-neck dress, or the chocolate fondue, but it was a magical dinner and I think it was a done deal from that evening on.

We had a wonderful summer, dating and meeting each others' families and friends. One memorable Saturday afternoon we took a large tractor tire inner tube up the river a ways from my parents' ranch, and put in just above a small rock dam. We had a t-shirt for me in case of sunburn, and a six-pack of cold drinks for the river float which should have taken an hour or two to get down to our sandbar. I was seated across from Dave, balancing on the tube, hanging on to my t-shirt, as we started to go over the dam.

Somehow disaster struck and I was flipped right over Dave's head and we both ended up in the river, the t-shirt and drinks sank to the bottom and the inner tube quickly deflated. There we were, in the middle of the river, treading water and trying to figure out what happened. I still remember the man sitting in his boat about twenty feet away with his fishing pole in his hand. He glanced at us once, with the most remarkably unconcerned look upon his face, then he turned back to his line in the water and completely ignored us. I've often wondered, if we had started floundering and flailing, as if we might actually be drowning, what he might have done?

There was no where to climb out as the banks were covered with blackberry vines, so we just floated in the river all the way down to our sandbar. It wasn't a problem because we were both strong swimmers, but we were very cold by the time we got there!

One night in September, Dave took me to see the movie, The Sound of Music. To this day, it is one of my favorite films. When he drove me home, we were talking out in the car in the driveway, and he asked me to marry him. There wasn't a moment's hesitation! The answer was "Yes."

I couldn't wait to tell my mom the next morning that Dave had asked me to marry him. She was just as happy and excited as I thought she would be!  My dad, known for his reserved ways, was very pleased. It was decided that Dave should come a little early for our date that night so that he could "speak" to my dad~ you know, ask his permission to marry his daughter. Dave arrived, and mom, dad and I were duly assembled in the living room. Small talk ensued, about anything and everything as Dave no doubt searched his mind for an opening on the subject at hand.

My dad must have thought the subject would never come up, so he got up off the sofa and went in to the kitchen where he started opening the mail. We three followed, Dave finally broached the subject and the congratulations were given. What joy!!

We chose a date in the middle of October to have our engagement party in my parents' home on the ranch, and picked out our engagement and wedding rings at the local jeweler's. I was so excited, I had a hard time at first paying attention to my student teaching which had just begun! I remember looking down at my engagement ring often during each day, and feeling SO happy...

My mom wrote a poem called Persimmon Time for the engagement party. She typed it on the old typewriter and put each copy in handmade persimmon-shaped folders. On the outside it said, 'David and Sylvia will wed on February 9, 1974.' Here is the poem my mother wrote...

Persimmon Time

'Twas persimmon time in seventy-two
When Dave and Syl began to woo,
Introduced by the mothers, (the plot was well hatched),
As is often the case with two people well matched.

Slow off the mark, the pace became hurried,
To and fro from Sacto the innocents scurried.
There were river floats and barbeques, and picnics on the bar,
With sand in the hair, and eyes on a star.

The mothers were ecstatic, the fathers content,

A beautiful thing, this romance heaven sent!

Though great confidence in this couple was centered,

Into the mind odd thoughts sometimes entered.

Could he with his skiing, bank-building, shop-talking,
Get used to lawnmower, garden hoe and dog-walking?

Would she with her photos, music and trunk-gilding,

Take to stove, mop, and humdrum nest-building?

Yes! The two decided they could pull together,

In double harness, through every weather,

For love conquers all and Mother Nature's so smart,

She knows all the answers in affairs of the heart!

When Persimmon Time once more rolled around,

And Fall's gay carpet lay on the ground,

Syl's father and mother were proud to say,

"The lovers will wed near Valentine's Day."

When the date was set, and the news was out,

While joyous sounds rang round about,

The dads shook hands, and the moms agreed,

"It's been a long, long year indeed!"

By Mary H. Jenkins

I love you, Hubby.

Heather, David, and Eliza in Williamsburg

In response to my welcoming story about Baby Eliza, our cousin Rich wrote in with an amusing anecdote about his trip back to Williamsburg with his daughter, Jenn, and cousin Heather. All three were attending the annual get-together of the descendants of our Grandmother, Minnie, and her siblings. Here is Rich's story...

"I had been charged with 'chaperoning' the girls and was driving them everywhere and making sure they had breakfast, lunch and dinner. We ran off to Chownings Tavern one evening and the entertainers came by. I asked some very insightful questions about jigs vs. reels and the Scottish sound vs. the Irish sound, and I was quite certain that my clever repartee was what caused the entertainers to dwell on us so. They had us playing colonial games and pounding the tables to the music...we went there another night or two and on the last night, after the family dinner, the girls wanted to go back again.

I suggested they just walk down the street and I'd hang around Merchants Square. Everything was closed there, however, so I roamed down to Chownings, too. I looked in the window and the girls seemed to be having a good time~and I didn't think they needed an old man cramping their style~so I went back to the hotel. THAT'S when the minstrel struck. In my absence he slipped her his phone number...and after a few months of talking across the country, they were engaged."
Heather and David were married on May 5, 2007, and had a beautiful wedding and reception at Providence Hall in Williamsburg.

On October 30th, 2008, their daughter, Eliza Adalaide, was born, also in Williamsburg (please see my post on December 17th).

And this is a photo of Eliza's first visit with Santa Claus!

Christmas Blessings

On Christmas Eve, no matter where we are, my family and I attend a midnight candlelight service. This year we were at home, so we attended our own parish, Trinity Life Church. It's always a really special feeling, driving home from church past midnight, with the quiet streets and the Christmas lights still on in the neighborhoods as each family waits...

Then on Christmas morning the excitement builds as the family begins to stir, including the puppies, Chloe and Max, who are always anxious to get us up early.

This is my family: our son, Grady; myself; my husband, David, holding Chloe; and our daughter, Olivia, holding Max.  It seems Mom is the only one who gets dressed early~the others are anxious to get right into the festivities!

After we open the stockings, we go into the living room to sit by the tree and open gifts. Max, the baby, was a little confused by the goings-on so he retreated to Mom's lap where he could be extra comfy in Dad's new sofa blanket and Mom's new scarf.

After the gifts are opened we adjourn to the kitchen to cook up something special for brunch. This year it was French toast, bacon and scrambled eggs.

Our afternoon was spent enjoying each other and our new gifts, especially Dad's new camera. At one point I looked over at my husband and he was asleep on the recliner, with his new camera on his chest and the manual open to the last page he was reading...it was really cute. My family really enjoys cameras, computers, and phones. Any new technology holds a fascination for all of us. I guess that's probably true for just about every family in America!

For early dinner, Liv and Grady made cheese fondue with raw veggies, French bread and wine, and chocolate fondue with fruit and marshmallows. What a wonderful day we had!

On the day after Christmas we had some friends over to celebrate with a potluck dinner: appetizers, martinis and wine, and a delicious ham with all the trimmings. We raised our glasses in a toast to 2009~may it be a better year, yes, a wonderful year, for all!

Welcome, Baby Eliza Adalaide, our newest "Girl From Williamsburg"

Our new baby cousin, Eliza, was born on October 30, 2008, in Williamsburg, Virginia. She weighed 6 lbs, 7.3 oz and she was 19 inches long. Her mom and dad are Heather and David, Heather's parents are Joanne and Mitchell, and David's parents are Birgit and David. Joanne has already had a trip back east to meet her new granddaughter.

Eliza is becoming very alert, according to her mom, Heather, and she loves to be held sitting up so that she can look around. She loves to be bounced! Her mom and dad hear a lot of cute cooing noises, and they have even learned that Eliza likes showers. She has grown three inches in a month and a half!

The birth of Baby Eliza helps bring our family full circle in an interesting way. Before the turn of the last century (in the late 1800's), Eliza's great-great grandmother, Minnie Galt Braithwaite, was born in Williamsburg. She was the eldest of eight children who had dreams for her future. In October 1896 she applied to be admitted to the College of William & Mary, but she was declined (twice!) because she was a woman. Not to be deterred from her plans to make her mark upon the world, Minnie took the Civil Service examination and entered the Indian Service. She packed a large picnic basket and rode the train west to Winslow, Arizona, where she worked under incredibly difficult conditions teaching the Navajo and Hopi Indians in the remote area of Blue Canyon.

Later at Fort Mojave Minnie met and fell in love with Clarence Wilmot Jenkins, and they were wed in California, founding a family in 1909 with the birth of their first son, and a family farm in the Sacramento Valley in 1910. Minnie went on late in her life to write a book, Girl From Williamsburg, about her experiences teaching in Arizona. (On Saturday, October 5, 1996, the College of William & Mary held the inaugural event in the annual Minnie G. Braithwaite Lecture in Women's Studies series which is held in honor of Minnie, the first woman to apply to the college.)

Eliza's mom, Heather, was raised near that family farm in California. She met her husband-to-be, David, on a trip back to Williamsburg to visit with descendants of Minnie and her siblings. David is a musician with Colonial Williamsburg, as well as head of the language department at the high school, and on one memorable evening when he was performing in Chowning's Tavern, he met Heather. They were married in Williamsburg on May 5, 2007.

That's when Minnie's circle was closed. One of her descendants came "home" to Williamsburg and has now founded her own family!

Eliza, we California cousins can't wait to meet you. Until then, enjoy your very first Christmas. With you in their arms, mom and dad's holidays will be complete...God bless you, little one, and may the guardian angels watch over you.

A Leap of Faith

Hello world, here I am! Today is my first blog posting, ever. I have been inspired to share my life with you, and I'm hoping you will do the same with me. My postings will generally fall under the headings of faith, family, friends, food and fun, and many will overlap.  I'd like to thank my family for their help: my husband, David, who is always willing to advise on a new project; our daughter, Olivia, who has led the way with her own blog, Just a Running Fool; and our son, Grady, who is endlessly patient with all things Mac.

Most of all, my inspiration comes from above! From God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. From all the saints and all the angels in heaven, and from all the "saints-in-the-making" living out our lives here on Earth. We all live...Under Angel Wings!