The Greatest Generation

Yesterday I went to the funeral of my Great Uncle Mel. I remember this man as a laughing jovial man. When I was a tiny girl he would pick me up and let me rub his flat top back and forth "for luck". He always let me sit on his lap and play with the cb radio he listened to and we would talk to the truckers out there. His wife my Great Aunt (and grandma's sister) passed away several years ago. Each of her sisters has passed away and the only one left alive is my grandmother. An entire generation of our family has nearly become extinct.

This realization had me contemplating how the greatest generation is all slowly slipping from our world. It is just one person at a time and a great history of ours is slipping away from us. Why was this generation of 80-90 year olds called the greatest generation?

1. They were children/teens or early 20's during the Great Depression. This gave them perseverance. The great depression lasted from the late 20s to early 40s. This taught many of them how to make do with what they had. Be creative, and resourceful. It also taught them that you get more in life when you work together. Whole groups of people lived together in communities to pool their resources. In other words people Helped One Another!
2. They were the adults of the World War II era. These men went off to valiantly fight a war against a tyrant that tried to take over the world. This generation of women changed the world for all women by going into the work force during the war effort. 
3. Not only did women work in the work force they were nurses and some even went into the Military.

Is it any wonder that these were the Greatest Generation? These men and women achieved great things in their time and they are slowly slipping from our world. If you have anyone left in your family from this generation talk to them. Get their stories ask them about the time they grew up in. What was the Great Depression really like? What were some of the main meals their family survived on during that time? Did They work in a factory, or were they in the war? Honor them.

Something strikes me as I ponder these things. Our children are growing up during a Depression. This may not be as severe as the Great Depression but things are not getting better as fast as politicians would like us to believe they are. The population of people who are still unemployed is growing, and more and more families are finding themselves put out of homes. I hope that I am doing my children a service by showing them how to persevere during this difficult time, I hope that they grow up to be great people and I hope that we are all learning from the history that is not so distant past.

My grandmother is 90 years old. She is not an easy person to talk to because she does not always remember what shes talking about, or if she told you the same thing 3 times or not. I do not see her often but I am grateful for all her generation did. I hope to learn from them and I hope to honor them.

Recipe's

I have had several requests for a few recipes and I thought today would be a good day to share those with you all. I was going to make them again and take more pictures but life has just been way to busy for that and I really wanted to get the recipes out for those of my friends who really have been patient waiting for them.

Remember all of these recipes are my own. They are copywritted by me as they are my own personal adaptations and creations. If you are inclined to use them please also be inclined to give me the credit I deserve. :)

Zucchini Bread/muffins

2 cups shredded zucchini
2 cups flour (I use whole wheat)
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil (I use coconut oil but you can use just about any oil)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar (or use 3/4 cup sugar and 4 tbsp black strap molasses, if you use this method omit the brown sugar completely.)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

Dump everything into a bowl and mix. yep its really that easy! stir everything together just until its all incorporated and then pour into muffin pans or into a loaf pan and bake at 325* for 1 hour for bread pan or 25 minutes for muffins.

Blackberry Oatmeal Bars

Crust
1 cup flour
8 tbsp butter (use REAL butter not that fake stuff!)
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup whole oats
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1 tsp baking soda

melt the butter and pour over the dry mixture mix well and then press about 3/4 of this mixture into a 13x9 pan. bake the crust for 10-12 minutes in a 375* oven until light golden brown. Place on a wire rack to cool.

add 1/2 cup finely chopped nuts to the remaining crust mixture. This will be your topping.

Berries
in a small sauce pan combine
12 oz of frozen blackberries (if your using fresh you will need a good bit of fresh berries, I also use raspberries, blueberries or a combination of all 3)
1/4 cup orange marmalade
1/4 cup agave nectar (or honey, I prefer this instead of sugar)
simmer on medium heat during the time the crust is in the oven is usually about the right amount of time. The sauce should reduce and thicken slightly but still be fairly thin. You can mash the berries up or leave them whole. Pour over the slightly cooled crust. top with remaining crumb mixture and bake in the oven at 350* for another 10-15 minutes. remove to wire rack and allow to cool completely before cutting.

I hope that you enjoy these recipes.

time flies when your having fun!

Somehow I am the mom to a 16 year old today. She has grown and changed over the years and I am constantly amazed that she is who she is. How did I get so lucky to be her mom? I mean seriously she is an amazing girl woman! She is funny and sweet, very down to earth but loves to dream with her head in the clouds. It doesn't seem possible that she is almost an adult, wasn't it only yesterday when she was a baby?

Then back in September she almost died when her appendix ruptured and leaked into her belly for a week. She did not have any of the typical symptoms at all, only flu like symptoms that did not go away completely for 6 days. She was in the hospital for 13 days, in the ICU for 9 days and it was easily the most terrifying thing I have ever been through. I am glad that she inherited my drive because on day 3 in the ICU she told her father "don't worry I can't die, I have to many things I still have to do."

Now how about a look through the years at my growing beauty? 

M's Kitty cat costume 2 years old

Me, Daughter M (2 1/2) and Son A 

Daughter M age 11

M & Snickerdoodle her first bunny, age 11

M blowin bubbles age 13

M searchin for easter eggs age 14

Me & M @ brooks n dunn concert 

M last week playing with the pottery wheel. 

Happy Birthday my darling Daughter. I am proud to be your mom and I LOVE you! 

Finished... kind of

well I posted a few weeks ago and asked yall to help me decide what to make for myself out of this wonderful luxurious Alpaca yarn, you may remember it but if not you can refresh your memory here. I really struggled with choosing just the right pattern and I had to really think hard about how to decide what was best for the yarn, and for me.

I finally choose this pattern here called the Pineapple Shawl. It was not in the original mix of shawls but I found that it fit best into what I needed and wanted in a shawl.

I finished it a few days ago but was reluctant to post pictures or a blog because really it needs to be blocked to show off its true beauty! The biggest problem is that we have had one cold day after the next and blocking is a wet process and will require me to pin the finished product to my bed. This means I will need a fairly warm day void of rain to be able to leave the bedroom door open and the fan blowing on high in order to vacate the room of the smell that I am told will come from my beautiful project.

If you want to learn more about blocking please check out this blog. It is filled with wonderful tips and tricks on blocking projects.

now for the few pictures I took. I was not very good at taking pictures as I was working the shawl. It really didn't take me long to complete it. I calculated it took about 6 hours total, and only 4 days. that was working on it a bit here or there in those 4 days time.

The first picture I took was the first night and it was only an hour of work.

I used no flash, but I wanted you to see the depth of black

The flash washed out the black a bit in this picture, but you can see the stitches a little better. The edges are curled up slightly which makes viewing the true splendor of this shawl a bit difficult until its blocked. Once its blocked I will have to post a new blog to show you all the wonderful splendor of it completely finished. 

I am in love with my pineapple shawl. It lays perfectly and is warm enough when I just need that something light over my shoulders. I love how pretty it is and how elegant it looks if I use my Great Grandmothers Cameo to pin it shut. Please let me know what you think. 

O and if your so inclined to ask  "Will you make me one?"  or any variation of said question...

The answer is  YES for a price! I charge $10.00 an hour for my labor plus the cost of materials. The cost of Materials is to be paid up front and you are welcome to choose any materials you want. I also charge actual shipping costs, so if you live somewhere in a distant land you will be charged the cost of whatever shipping agent I can find is the cheapest to ship the finished product to you. I am allergic to wool so I do not ever work with it. I however am not allergic to Alpaca, Cotton, or any acrylic yarn.