Perfect Garden Party

You never know when it's going to happen -- but if you ARE VIGILANT -- and just keep getting OUT THERE -- you will have a moment that is perfection. My sister Deena was the hostess for her granddaughter's baptism. Baby Nora. They decided to have it in the backyard...

This is Deena, moments before the party.  Yes, that's a piano!  And she played during the sing-a-long element of the event.  Although -- as singers -- we pretty much sucked...

Deena, with baby Nora, her seventh grandchild!  SUCH RICHES.  Please note the little gold "baby ring"...such a beautiful family tradition!!

I took this picture before the party, from the pianist's point of view.  What a stunning summer day. 

This is the view from the deck of the house -- right before the baptism started.

It was such a memorable day -- for so many reasons. The weather was hot -- but because of all those old oak trees -- we were comfortable sitting in the yard. In my opinion, air conditioning has ruined our appreciation of old fashioned shade trees and summer breezes.
During the baptism, the little kids and the big Schroder dogs were running around, playing with each other. A retired minister family friend, Ruthann, preached a sermon -- and she brought her 12 year old grandson, who played his violin. It was a memorable, enjoyable afternoon -- with a sermon, a piano, AND a violin recital in the back yard. The perfect, beautiful, well behaved, smiling newborn guest of honor made it a very unique experience.
During the lunch, I told Ruthann that if church was like this, I would go. She laughed. Kinda.
Good job, Deena!! It was like everything came together...the day, the people, the food. Everybody who was there enjoyed it as much as I did....
Congratulations on the beautiful new baby girl. Like I said -- PERFECTION...!!

And -- for the record -- SEVEN GRANDCHILDREN!! I am GREEN with envy. Totally green!!

Out of the Mouths of Babes...

Holy Cow!! What a busy summer this has been. Elliott and Emily have moved back to Iowa -- and Ross is moving back to Iowa, too. YIKES. Hey, if you're doing it right -- life is plum full of changes, eh?

Of course, the biggest change is having Lilly be a part of our daily lives. She is three this summer -- so she's able to help set the table, fold napkins, pick cherries...

Put her own outfits together, including accessories...

She was very proud of the headband she made for ME -- out of a piece of t-shirt material...AND then she used my camera to take the picture.

I gave her a pedicure, she gave me some toe rings (I wore them all day -- and I think she might be on to something!)

Like every Grandma in the world -- I love to watch her sleep....here, with her constant companion, Sophie...

Lillian speaks very clearly -- which is so much fun. Well, most of the time....

The other night -- we were both in our nightgowns.  She looked at me for a long time, then said, "Grandma, pull your boobies up."

At least that's what I THOUGHT she said...but, uncertain, I asked, "What did you say?"

This time VERY clearly and slowly, she said, "Pull your boobies up."

I just looked at her.... 

To help me figure out what the problem was, she patted her own little chest and said, "Mommie's boobies are up here"...

I am totally rethinking the conversation part of our time together...

Dress For Success

Now that the E team has moved back to Iowa -- Lilly is just ten minutes away. I am delighted. A long time ago, I realized the most important thing I will ever do is to make a difference in the life of a child.

We can have Sunday dinners at Grandma's house...and regular overnight visits...we can establish our own special little weekly traditions...

Of course -- be careful what you pray for, people. It used to be that every time Lilly came into this house (and I mean EVERY time)-- she'd run back to her little room and find a dozen new things -- dresses or tops or pants or hats, or coats or boots or crowns or Barbie dolls...

But that was when they visited six times a year...And NOW THEY visit at least once a week...How is a Grandma supposed to keep up??

LOL...of course, it turns out I have NO PROBLEM with coming up with a huge number of fun new things for Lillian to find in her room.

The problem is going to be the SHEER AMOUNT OF STUFF this little girl has to deal with....IT'S A LOT OF PRESSURE.   Since she's learned how to put on her own clothes -- she LOVES changing and picking out her own outfits.  And she does her level best.  But that means that in a single day, she might change clothes ten or twelve times.  Really.  I am not kidding. 

LOVE the layered gypsy skirt...and she thought the top was a perfect match...

Sometimes, there are wigs to go with the outfits...

This was Lilly's first attempt to take MY PICTURE

Still wearing the gypsy skirt, she added a cherry dress AND a crown...

The other day, to make room for a new Moon lamp and Moon bookshelf -- we did a little redo of Lilly's room (by "we" -- of course, I mean Carrie)...there was a VERY LARGE BAG of size 5 summer clothes -- which I promptly delivered to Lilly's new house.

Emily just looked at me.  "She has at least six tubs of summer clothes, Rita..." (she sounded a little weary -- because me cleaning out my house means yet another mountain of stuff for HER to deal with)...

So many cute clothes...so little time to be a Size 5....

Popovers

I am still having a love affair with popovers!!  But since the NEW blogger interface -- my sidebar recipes don't show. And I have sent out numerous emails to people who can't find "my" recipe.

It is the King Arthur Popover Recipe (although, of course I have used other brands of flour).  This recipe has become such an important part of my life -- I'm going to also post it on Pinterest.  So, in the future, that may be the easier way for you to find the darn thing!!

Preheat oven to 425 degrees...butter the sides generously -- then preheat the Popover Pan... (yes, you definitely need a special Popover pan)...

King Arthur Popover Recipe:

4 eggs
1 1/2 c. milk
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbl melted butter

Whisk eggs into milk. Make sure everything is room temp. Whisk in the flour and salt, add the melted butter at the end.

Pour thin batter into Popover pan (2/3 full) and bake for 30 minutes. DON'T OPEN THE DOOR. When the popovers are done -- get them out of the pan ASAP and prick the top with a sharp knife to prevent collapse. Serve with REAL BUTTER...that's mandatory. Homemade jam is optional...

They puff way up -- and look SPECTACULAR...

My nephew Austin LOVES making popovers!  His Grandma Deb had to buy him a pan...



If you did it right -- when you slice them in half, there is a big airy center.  GREAT for tuna salad, or to serve chicken & noodles.  Wonderful with plain butter, too.  HOT is best.  THEY ARE AWESOME...

Bussey, Iowa

Yesterday, I was watching the TODAY show -- like I always do (I am shocked that I don't miss Ann Curry) -- and I saw this wonderful story about an artist in a small town.  The name of the town was Bussey.  And it wasn't until the very end that I realized the name of the state was Iowa.

Click on this link... to see the story about Bussey, Iowa and the new mural there.

I love towns that have murals on the sides of the buildings.... AND as it turns out -- Bussey is about two hours away.  I FEEL A DAY TRIP COMING ON...

Here's a mural near my cousin Linda's house in Bettendorf, Iowa...

I think it was a community art project for young people...and it is a block long retaining wall...

That had been nothing but boring cement for many years...

I don't know who had the idea -- BUT BRAVO!!  It is very well done!!

Art is where you find it. Sometimes it's in a museum or a gallery...sometimes it's on the side of a building or a chalk drawing on a sidewalk....and I always LOVE a building mural...like this one....

Does anybody live in this town?

Our special "DINNER CLUB" night during my visit to Olympia.  Shelton, Washington right, Pat?

The best thing about the Bussey, Iowa mural story is the STORY behind the story. The man was almost killed in a car accident, and the people in the town helped him raise his kids. Oh yeah. I love Iowa...

Writing class...

First of all -- Happy 4th of July.  It would be pretty darn easy for me to cut 'n paste an American Flag or a link to a moving rendition of God Bless America.  But I'm thinking there's actually PLENTY OF THAT GOING AROUND...lol...

I didn't realize I'd be taking a mini-blogging-vacation.  But don't worry -- I'll get back on track next week.  In the meantime -- thanks for the emails telling me you missed me.  AND -- it was a mistake to ask about what I do in a writing class...

This is a picture from several years ago.  Dr. Roald Tweet.  A distinguished professor at Augustana University -- he taught me how to write.  I've taken many classes from him over the years...and the recycled t-shirt I'm wearing says, "How Can You Go Wrong If You Write?"



My favorite teacher at this year's conference was Christiana  Langenberg.  She gave us this 3-word sentence assignment.  Take a period of your llife and condense it down. Try to get five years on one page -- using ONLY THREE WORD sentences. 

Being an over-achiever -- I did ten years...

I'm only going to leave this up for a day or so...and mostly I'm posting it for Sandy...THANKS FOR ASKING, BABE...

****************

My Iowa Summer

Dear Everybody,

I LOVE writing the blog.  I love the emails I get from ya'll, and I love it when you miss the blog...lol...Anyway -- this post is a total cop-out.  I'm going to share part of an email I sent to a friend...

But you will see that as soon as I get my life back under control, I'll have a LOT OF FUN STUFF TO BLOG ABOUT!!

Dear Reader/Friend,

I had a crazy busy week....Last Sunday,  I took chicken & biscuits up to Low Moor...Elliott and Emily have been working day and night to get their new house ready.  I lOVE, LOVE, LOVE, having Lilly only 10 minutes away!!  Lilly came home with me so they could work on the new laminate floors into the night...

Wednesday I had an all day workshop about Pinterest. Thursday-Saturday I went to the Midwest Writer's Conference annual workshop. I signed up for three workshops -- but that's always a mistake because there's NO WAY I can do the writing for three workshop classes. But you never know which class is going to be THE GOOD ONE...Anyway -- my favorite was "Flash Fiction". The thing is -- I write non-fiction -- but the more I learn, the more I realize writing is writing. People who write "fiction" always write about something in their own life. AND people who write "non-fiction" (like, say, a politician's biography) -- are mostly making crap up...

Thursday night I met my niece Amy and her boys in Eldridge at 7:00 -- and we went to see "The King and I". Cale's friend Keegan had a part and he is a wonderful singer. The woman who had the lead was a terrific singer, as well. But the play was deadly boring...and REALLY long...so after the 90 minute first act, I said, "Hey, boys -- wanna leave now and go for ice cream?" And they all just lit up!! Amy wasn't about to argue. I told her that culture is best in small doses...

Sunday morning there was a REALLY Big party at Deena's house. Baby Nora's baptism...There were about 50 people...an electric piano in the backyard, with a retired minister, Ruthann, who is a family friend. I quite enjoyed her sermon. Maybe it was the big shady trees and the beautiful morning breezes. Even though it was hot hot hot.....it was a beautiful party. The baby was gorgeous in her hand-made-by-Grandma-Deena baptism gown. Ruthann's grandson, Zack, 12 years old, serenaded us on his violin...my favorite song was the Tennesee Waltz!!. (He's getting ready to compete in the Iowa State Fair.) Deena had plenty of benches and lawn chairs in the yard -- and there were little kids running around and big dogs barking. IT WAS A PERFECT PARTY...

SO MUCH FOOD....Deena made meatballs, and had pulled turkey in crock pots for sandwiches. It was a potluck and we had maybe 20 different salads. One had Snicker's candy bars in it...another one had Heath toffee bars...and the third had Butterfinger bars. I AM NOT KIDDING...

IT'S NO WONDER WE ARE FAT IN IOWA. For the record -- I took a healthy apple/kidney bean salad. (With celery, Vidalia onions, and a sweet/sour vinegarette.)  When I pointed out to my sister Ronda that nobody was eating my HEALTHY salad, she said, "well, now you've guilted me into it."  She scooped some on her plate, then made a move to give me a big spoonful. Covering my plate,  I said, "are you kidding?  I'm eating the Snickers apple salad."

Then -- Sunday night, I took two of my great-nieces (13 & 15) to "The complete works of William Shakespeare "abridged""...and it was AWESOME. Lexie and Ally laughed so hard -- I was amazed by how much of it they actually understood.  The whole thing was, of course, a parody (like, the four guys did all of Shakespeare's comedies as a RAP number).  It was very much an audience participation event. And I just loved being with them.  I cannot remember ever having a better time with two kids.  Both girls are bright and funny and at that perfect age -- when they're eager to learn and willing to talk.  Those girls had the best time ever -- and I was just delighted it worked out.

Hey -- Happy 4th of July!!
love,
rita

P.S. -- thanks for the email, Susan -- I am delighted you missed me.  And you are right -- some days it's just more fun LIVING life as opposed to WRITING about it!!