A Family Tradition

Last Saturday, Jane and I got together at my house to make Grandma's bread. It's an all day process, and when we do it at Jane's house, we go shopping while the bread is raising, or play duets on her baby grand. However, this time, Maddox came along to learn all there is to know about Grandma's bread.
He was great at counting the cups of flour. I think there are 10 cups in all, at various times in the process. He also enjoyed throwing in the raisins - because it just wouldn't be Swedish Raisin Rye without the raisins!


He helped knead the bread, and punch it down in the bowl. He even got to make his own little loaf when it came time to put it in the pans.

We didn't have time for playing duets - Maddox thought bowling was a much better idea. He also discovered my mom's old L.C. Smith typewriter, and the magnetic dartboard, and the 100 year old carrom board, and ...


We had to run over to Target to pick up some batteries, and Maddox discovered the $1.00 shelves with baskets of fruit, veggies, and meat. So ... we played chef for a while. I think we went through parts of 4 or 5 DVD's. He seems to have a little trouble staying focused for the whole movie.


Finally, the bread was done, and we had a taste test. Turns out, Maddox hasn't developed a taste for Grandma's bread yet. Is there anything else in Grandma's cookbook I might like?

We had a fun day - and we saved a loaf for Thanksgiving. It's a good thing, because MY loaf is all gone.

Publish Post

Forty Years and Counting

Well, Paul had his fortieth in September, so I guess it was my turn this month. Hard to believe that many years have gone by since high school. Our Patrick Henry reunion was at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Brooklyn Park, and I went with 2 other gals who's husbands did other things that night. I brought Paul to the 35th, but he didn't really know a soul - and I didn't know a soul at his, so we went alone and both of us had a great time!


I even won a $25 Target gift card - someone at my table won the bottle of wine. I already spent my card on new socks!



It was fun catching up on people I hadn't even thought of for years!


The following Saturday was Halloween, and we had a Harvest Party at Waterbrooke for all the kids and friends and neighbors. I did three 15 minute magic shows with a gospel message, so kids could hear the good news of how a Christian is like a pumpkin! God takes all the yucky stuff in our lives and cleans us up and carves a beautiful smile on our faces so we can shine for Him!


The kids had a great time - we gave double candy and prizes after they used up their first 16 tickets! Parents are going to have to ration the candy from now until Valentine's Day!

One of the guys made the Plinko Board - it was one of the most popular games at the Carnival. Our teens helped run all the stations, and I think they had just as much fun as the little ones!

Pick a duck and see if you are a winner, Tucker!


It wasn't too cold for outdoor games - and the s'more station was a big hit with all ages.


From the Harvest Carnival to the football game - I had to be really organized and bring my warm clothes in the car and change after the party. We sat on a blanket, and put another one over our legs. I was so warm, i didn't even zip my ski jacket or put on my mittens until half time!. The hat, I just carried home with me.


Go Goldie! He had to do 38 pushups at the end of the game. Rah!

The best costume I saw all night was two Northwest pilots in uniform. They really got razzed about leaving their laptops at home!

The half time show was great, but the reffing was the pits. Good thing they decided to even things up in the 4th quarter after penalizing the Gophers constantly in the first three quarters.



We won! M-I-N-N-E-S-O-T-A , M-I-N-N-E-S-O-T-A , yeah, GOPHERS, RAH!