Almond Tea Cakes

Wow, only 13 days until Christmas!! In case you are wondering where I have been, I am just now coming out of a fog that began five weeks ago. I'm not sure if time flies by or drags along when you are forced to lay low. That's not the way I live my regular life but life has been far from regular these past weeks. For now I will explain it in a few well-chosen words:

AFib - 911 -  ambulance-fire department - near-death - revived - ER -  near death - revived - battered+bruised - over-drugged - blood-work - black-out - attached to heart monitor 24/7 -  "they are trying to kill me" - heart stop - heart reset - over-drugged -  can't drive, need to be driven - "they are trying to kill me" - fainting - vertigo - house-bound - nausea+vertigo - downloading heart monitor - fainting+vertigo -  that repeated day in and day out, plus 11 trips to ER and urgent care explain our last few weeks. It is a long story and I am looking forward right now and spend very little time looking backwards! I might share more sometime next year. That's not a promise!

I was given a new cookbook "Good Food Great Medicine" a while back. It is very interesting and has tons of great looking recipes. I decided to make the almond tea cakes. Someone shared their last bite with me, otherwise I would have missed out. One bite wasn't much to write a review on but the rate in which they were devoured tells the real story! I heard "these are so good" "what are these, a cookie or a muffin" "are there any more" so I will base my review on those comments. They are super easy to make and I would make them again. They are gluten free and technically sugar free but they do have a half cup of honey. Even so, they aren't overly sweet from what I tasted. I place of flour you use ground almonds. I buy mine at Trader Joe's for under $5.00. This recipe did use up the remainder of our delicious Blackberry Honey so we will need more very soon!

So... here is the recipe...

Enjoy!

Gingerbread Scones

I have not had much appetite lately but I have been craving anything spicy like ginger, cinnamon and cloves. The holiday spices. I love the wonderful smell they bring to the kitchen while they are baking. I searched out some gingerbread recipes and what a surprise, I decided to make some gingerbread scones. I combined a few recipes and then used a few healthier ingredients. I used white whole wheat flour from Trader Joe's and I used coconut sugar in place of brown sugar. I wasn't disappointed with the smells that filled the whole house. Oh wow, it almost made me want to take a bite of one warm from the oven, but I passed. As soon as dear hubby opened the door into the house, I heard him say, "Oh Wow!" Yep, I did it! I succeed in my quest to fill the house with the smells of Christmas.

As you can see from the picture, I drizzled half of them with the lemon icing.

P.S. I ended up drizzling all of them with the lemon icing. They taste good!



Enjoy!

Happy Anniversary to Us ~ 42 years...

...and they have been the best 42 years of my life!

I was 14, he was 16 way back in the day... 1969

(No we didn't get married at 14 & 16)

Since that day, he has been the bright spot in every day!

He is always kind and compassionate

He keeps God first in all things

He is honest and true

He is my very best friend

He is always there for me, no matter what comes our way 

He is the best companion and partner a wife could hope for

 

He supports me in every way

His warm hands warm my cold hands

He loves me with his whole heart

He always respects my opinion

He gets better with age, not worse

November 25, 1972

In 1975, our amazing son arrived

In 1977, our beautiful daughter joined our family

So cute

Hon, there has not been a day that I have not felt and seen your unconditional love for me and our family!

San Francisco, CA 2014

Now we are older, both in the "60's" 

We don't look like teenagers any more

But your heart has not changed nor mine for you

I still love you more every day!

 I thank God for you and our family everyday!

Thank you isn't a big enough word!

I'm looking forward to many more years with you!

 You are my one and only true love!

Flashback Friday

Back in the day...

Squeaky clean

Blackberry Honey

A couple months ago, a Portland morning show, AM Northwest, featured a lady that knows everything you ever wanted to know about honey. One of the things she said that I kept thinking about was regarding flavored honeys. I have never been a lover of honey, but what she said about honey intrigued me. She said that orange blossom honey does not taste like orange, naturally. Same goes for all other "flavored" honeys, with one exception, blackberry honey! Who knew! You probably did but I didn't! I was intrigued by this and started looking for pure "Blackberry" honey. Let me just say, It wasn't easy to find. We finally found blackberry honey in McMinnville, Oregon, of course! We have found many good things in that beautiful city.

Don't judge us! We are aware that we have used almost half a bottle!

Of course we wanted to try it so as soon as we arrived back home. We had to do a taste test. Oh my, I knew instantly that I love "Blackberry" honey! We decided this honey needed some  Buttermilk Cornbread so we could really try it out. I can tell you it is very good on cornbread. It would also be good on a scone, a piece of toast, or with a spoon! There is a new honey fan in town, as long as it is "Blackberry" honey. If you are interested in more information about all things honey from an Oregonian, you got it! Click here and you will find all you need to know about honey. Marie Simmons also has a cookbook "Taste of Honey."

If I didn't make you want to drop everything and go on the hunt for Blackberry Honey, I haven't done my job. Go find yourself some "Blackberry" honey and...

Enjoy!



P.S. Did you notice the little bee above the label? Until I just saw the bottle this big, I though the honey bottle had a blemish. It makes me happy that it's actually a little bee!

If You Rest, You RUST

This is my omage to Kaiser Permanente for trying to keep us active and healthy throughout the fall and winter seasons. It would be easy to stay inside and "rest" while it is raining or snowing outside. Resist that urge and head to a mall and walk if that's your only option.

Just keep moving! 

Your body will thank you later!

Kaiser Permanente SUV

Our Favorite Chili with Buttermilk Cornbread

One day last week, we were told we could expect freezing temps and 4-6 inches of snow overnight. Wow, that's a lot of snow in the Willamette Valley considering we are still in the middle of November. We live on a mountain so we get even more snow up here. We decided with the cold weather and snow that chili would be a great choice. I started paging through my 3-ring binders, where I keep with recipes I have made. I found this recipe back in 2002 and made it several times. It has been several years since I made it and it looked like the perfect chili for a super cold day and evening to come. We were leaving the house for the afternoon so we decided to put it in the slow cooker so it would be ready when we got home. Between the two of us, we had the chili put together in about 30 minutes. Most things take less time when there are four hands instead of two! Plus, my dear hubby insists on doing all the clean up. Yes....!!!

This recipe is certainly not hard to make but it does have 19 ingredients so it does take a little time for one person. I pull all the ingredients and line them up in order on my counter and add them one at a time when needed. This speeds up the process and it also gives me a chance to double check that I haven't left out any ingredients.

Since we were leaving the house, we warmed the chili to a simmer and then poured it into the warm slow cooker. We waited until the bubbles started appearing along the edges and then turned it down to low until we got home, about 3 hours. I had never finished it off in the slow cooker before but it worked out just fine and I will do it again! Here is the recipe:

What's better with chili than cornbread! I had made this cornbread recipe for the first time a few weeks ago. It was the best we remembered ever making. It seemed like the perfect match for this chili. Here is the recipe:

Some of our favorite chili toppings are fresh avocado, fresh chopped tomatoes, green onions, grated cheese, sour cream and crumbled corn chips for a little crunch.

For the cornbread, nothing makes it better than a pat of butter and a drizzle of blackberry honey. Yum!

That was more than a drizzle of honey. That was more like a river of honey! The honey container doesn't have a pour spout so it is a little tricky to "drizzle!" I will tell you what I learned about honey another time.

Since there's only the two of us, we like to put half of a recipe in the freezer for another meal or two another time. 


Enjoy!

P.S. My pictures aren't the best right now. My camera needs a tune-up so all my blog pictures are coming from my iPhone.

Flashback Friday ~ Happy Birthday, Hon!

Happy, Happy Birthday to my husband! 

You are my one and only true love!

It would take me days to list all the things that make you so special to me! 

You are a one-in-a-billion kind of a man!

I am so happy that your are my man!

You will always be young in my heart!

I love you today and always!

Blogger Heaven

A bit of heaven on earth

Here are a few blogs I enjoy:

Twig Studio

A Sweet Spoonful

Manger

Dinner: A Love Story

Top With Cinnamon

The Vanilla Bean Blog

Cheryl Style


Here are a couple links I use when I am looking for a recipe:

Yummly

Recipelink

Recipe Goldmine



Here are two blogs that have great recipes and cool and unique items for your kitchen and home. You should check them out!

 Food52

Love and Lemons



Have a great day!

Country Pork Ribs with Apples and Sauerkraut

This is our favorite fall meal. I came across this recipe way back in 2008 and have been making it every year since. I was convinced I must have shared this recipe here but apparently not. After I had taken several pictures that didn't look appetizing, it became clear why I have withheld this recipe. It doesn't present well in a picture! Nothing seemed to help. High light, low light...not very appetizing. I will post a small picture of it, but trust me, don't judge this recipe by the picture. It is warm comfort in a bowl. Trust me!

This recipe makes 8-10 servings so invite the neighbors over for dinner. I like to freeze leftovers in portions for the two of us. The are even better the second time around. Another thing I do is make the recipe the day before we are going to eat it. This really melds all the flavors together and there is another benefit too. The extra fat solidifies on top and you can pull it off with a fork or spatula before you warm it up to serve. You can cook on simmer on your stove top, cook it all day in your slow cooker or in your oven for a couple hours on a medium heat setting.

I hope you like this as much as we do!

Enjoy!

Family Fun

We headed north last week to spend time with our family so I am running behind on my posts. Now I am trying to catch up with my life. I do have several recipes to share, but today I have pictures! Sorry if you are bored! They are my loves!

Ivan on the left was a ninja. Wiley was blimp boy. Wiley wore his costume all afternoon at school. It had a battery operated fan that whirred away, keeping it inflated! He couldn't see his feet when he walked down the stairs of most every house in the dark while trick or treating, so kudos to Wiley to navigating so well with his added girth!

Our favorite grandsons

The boys took a pirate, a whitch and a beautiful knight trick or treating

A few pics from the last soccer game of the season

Our soccer boy

Ivan made 5 goals! He won the coach's award for his unselfish play and for being the team leader in assists for the past season! Go Ivan!

The boys didn't seem to notice the pond of mud in the middle of the field!

Throwback Thursday

Oh how we love these boys!

Toffee Scones for Two

I can't remember the last time I made scones. The only thing I have baked since last spring were birthday cupcakes. I had a bag of Heath English Toffee Bits that kept taunting me every time I opened that particular drawer. I finally gave in and decided to make some scones with them. The thing about the toffee bits, they can turn rancid really fast. Make sure you smell them before you use them. If they don't smell good either return them for another bag or throw them away. If they are rancid, anything you bake with them in it will be ruined. Not fun.

I have a basic scone recipe that I have used often and just add spices, flavorings or add-ins to change them up. This is considered a small batch because it uses only 2 cups of flour and you can expect to get 6-8 medium sized scones depending on the size. I like to make them on the smaller size.

The recipe is here ~

Yes, I decided to drizzle four of the scones with chocolate!

And yes, I dipped the bottom side in chocolate too! Don't worry, they appear larger in the picture than they actually are.

The other eight are in the freezer waiting for the next coffee talk.

Enjoy!

The Summer Blooms Have Ended

My hydrangeas have kept me enraptured by their beauty all summer! I rarely cut any of the flowers that I grow to bring in the house for a bouquet because I love to look at them in their natural habitat, connected to the plant. This is the first one that has made it into the house. My plants have hit the end of the road for this year. No more buds bursting out. The natural process of shutting down has won out again. No more fresh flowers from the garden until Spring 2015! They are worth waiting for!

The last beauty of the year in my favorite color

Have a great day!

Pumpkin Muffins Updated "2014 Style"

 A lot can change in a couple of years...

I shared an easy pumpkin muffin recipe a couple of years ago here on this blog. I hadn't made them for years so I decided to make a batch last week and this time I ran into a problem. My dear hubby didn't like them very much. His exact words were, "Were they baked long enough?" Of course I said, Yes, I baked them long enough, they are just a little more moist inside than usual. Then a couple days later, I decided to try one so I took one out of the freezer where I had stowed them away. After I took a bite, oooonnnnoooo...yuck, the texture was very moist, like it had not been baked inside. It felt like I had a mouthful of raw pumpkin, not one of my favorite textures. It kind of turned my stomach a little, but I knew no eggs were involved, and after all, my dear hubby was still alive so they must be ok-ish!?!

I puzzled over that for a few days, wondering what in the world had happened. I started looking at the many other recipes for 2-ingredient pumpking muffins/cake and they were all basically the same and didn't offer any insight to the problem. And then I got an idea. Yes, I put some brain cells together and came up with an idea. I raced to my cupboard and pulled out a cake mix I had bought for another project. I looked at the Net Weight. It said 15.25 ounces! I checked my recipe and the recipe calls for an 18.25 ounce cake mix!! Wow, how do the big companies like Pillsbury get away with that! They should have brought it to our attention! I had noticed that the boxes were smaller but never would have guessed that they were putting less inside the box. Think of all the recipes people have used for years and that can't possibly turn out like they did without major adaptation. I knew I had solved the mystery. I do realize that most everyone who bakes with a cake mix has probably solved this mystery years ago. I have been in the baking slow lane for a while now.

Yes, I realize this muffin has a frosty texture on top. I took this frozen muffin out of the freezer for your enjoyment! It's back in the freezer bag with the rest of the pumpkin muffins. We will most likely save them for 6 months and then throw away because we didn't like them!

I do have to say, the flavor in these muffins was fantastic! I added cinnamon, (lots of) ginger, cardamom (just a little, it is very strong), star anise, vanilla and orange peel! Oh what a waste of taste!

In case you are interested, I am posting a recipe for cake mix that you can make ahead and keep on hand. This recipe works in place of a 18.25 ounce cake mix. There may be other cake mixes out there that have kept their weight at 18.25 ounces but I don't use them that often so I'm not going to go searching for them. I am keeping this recipe here for safe keeping.

Homemade Yellow Cake Mix:
2 cups Flour
1-1/2 cups Sugar
1 tablespoon Baking Powder
1/2 cup Non-Fat Dry Milk

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and non-fat milk. Store in an airtight container or zip bag. Keeps well in the pantry for months.

Thank you to Chickens in the Road for this recipe. You will see more cake variations on her blog.

Enjoy!

Pickled Golden Beets with Ginger and Star Anise

 While I was in pickling mode, I was reminded how easy it is to pickle things! I went on a crazy search for anything and everything I could pickle! I decided to go for it and make pickled beets, not the red ones but the under-rated yellow beets.

I was so happy to find a recipe that used whole star anise! It looks so nice tucked inside this jar.

 My dear hubby loves beets so I asked him if this recipe's ingredients  sounded good to him when pickled. He said YES so he helped me make these beets that are mostly for him! Don't worry, we will share.

I found this recipe on Pinterest and it comes from the food blog Garden Therapy.

This recipe makes 4 pints of pickled beets. We have not tried ours yet because we are trying to save them for the holidays. They will be here very soon. Less than 10 weeks until Christmas!

Enjoy!

Pickled

If you love pickles, raise your hand...I'm raising mine! I consider myself a pickle connoisseur. Not just any old pickle. No run of the mill pickles for me! I grew up in a home that always had Mrs. Neusihin's Pickles. Only Mrs. Neusihin's dill pickles! It was a sad day when they were bought-out by a Wisconsin company. Fred Meyer's sold them for a few years but they appear to be gone from the west coast. Never fear, make your own.

My mom-in-law made pickles every year 30+ years ago. They were very similiar to the pickles we ate at my parents house. When our kids and their cousins were young, we ate Sunday dinner at my in-laws house almost every Sunday after church. The condiments, pickles, olives, carrot and celery sticks were the first foods on the table. By the time we sat down to eat, all the pickles and olives were long gone! Surprisingly, the carrots and celery were left for the adults.

I was pickless for years. It took me many years to find a pickle I would/could eat. I can't tell you how many times I was told, "Here, try this pickle, it's exactly how you like them." Not!!! When we lived in SoCal, I finally found my new favorite pickles, Bubbies. They are so good and hard to beat. We don't eat very many pickles but when we do, it has to be Bubbies.

Well... that is last summer and I got the crazy idea that I wanted to make some dill pickles. I had made pickles with my mom-in-laws recipe back in the 80's and it sounded like a great idea to try it again. My dear hubby is always ready for anything, so we had fun shopping at our favorite farm stands for the best ingredients and then we jumped in and made pickles. We accomplished all of that in one fun afternoon. Projects are always more fun when your helper is very strong and does all the heavy lifting!

These turned out very good!

It's always nice when you put out a lot of time and energy and you are rewarded with it turning out well. I enjoy sharing projects that are successful with family and friends. We made seven quarts and I expect they will be gone by January 2015!

Here is my dear mom-in-laws recipe for Never Fail Pickles

Enjoy!

Ice Cream Cone Treats for a Birthday Party

I just noticed this blog post that I never posted from June 19, 2013, well over a year ago so I am sharing this now just like I made these treats yesterday!

Wow, It has been a long time! Lots of changes, good changes, and less free time. A few weeks back, my nephew Jason, reminded me that I have a blog and I have I have been ignoring that blog! Guilty as charged!

Last month our youngest grandson, Ivan, turned 4! We headed north for his birthday party but I always feel the need to take something special to share. Here are some quickly shot, random pictures of the treats I made. They aren't that great. I was using my ipad and they needed a flash. I got word that there were 27 kids in his class, and amazingly, I ended up with 27 treats! I was releaved when they all turned out!

A funny story - Ivan's teacher confessed to my daughter that one of the kids was absent that day. She had put his treat into his desk so he could have it the next day. On her way out at the end of the day, she went to the little boys desk, opened it up and took that treat right out of his desk! She took it home for herself! She couldn't resist!! 

Too Funny!! 

Back to reality...

Here we are October 2014 and I found photos of birthday treats I made for Wiley quit some time ago! This is the last time I made cone treats. Big kids and little kids seem to love anything in a cone!

I poke holes in the empty cone boxes so that I can stand them up until they are firm.

To make these, I pick a flavor/color cake mix that I think the kids will like. You you bake the cake according to directions in a 9x13 pan. Let it cool completely. When cool, crumble all the cake into a large bowl. Sounds strange doesn't it! Next you mix about 1/2 a tub of frosting into the cake crumbs and start stirring. Continue with this process until all the cake crumbs are moist with frosting. It usually takes about 3/4 tub of frosting or to your preference. You don't want it to be to wet because it will make the dipping very difficult as they will soften too fast. Trust me, I learned this by trial and error.

Before you start the next phase, I would suggest having all your ingredients and tools out and ready to use. Have all your candy melts in bowls, ready to melt when you are ready for them. Now you will need an ice cream scoop to scoop out balls of cake mixture and place the cake balls on a baking tray or trays lined with wax paper or parchment paper so they wont stick. Place them in the freezer for about 1-2 hours or until very firm to the touch. If you use too much frosting, the cake balls will melt when you dip them into the warm candy melts. 

When the cake balls are completely frozen, one at a time, dip the cones in melted Wilton candy melts in what ever color/flavor suits your fancy. Place the cake balls onto the cones and let them cool in the cones in the upright position until the melts have hardened and the cake ball is firmly attached to the cone. (This is where I use the cone boxes.) This works best if the temperature in the area you are working in is cool, not warm because the cake balls will be wanting to melt.  Continue until all the cones you are making are dipped and have a cake ball on top. At this point, I usually place the cones on a small tray and keep them in the refrigerator to keep them cool. I then take out a couple at a time to dip into the next color.

Now you are ready to do the next dip. Use the picture above as a guide. You want to dip your cone into the next color, leaving as much of the melt on the cone as possible. Put them in the refrigerator until they are all completely firm and to keep them firm until you are ready to do the last dip.

After your last dip, you will want to add your sprinkles or gumdrop or what ever you want on top so that it can cool and be attached to the top. That's about it! I like to put mine in bags so they are easy to transport. These can be made over a period of days or hours. They aren't hard to make but they do take time. I don't keep them in the refrigerator once they are all finished unless your home is very warm. 

Have fun making a little someones day a bit more special!

Enjoy!

Our Favorite Go-To Treat

This is the best treat ever! Sometimes you just need (want) a little something sweet or chewy or crunchy. This recipe won't satisfy your need for a crunchy treat but it definitely works when you want a little something sweet but healthy at the same time. That is why this treat is the best! It has no added sugar, no flour, no egg, no butter, no dairy! It mixes together in 5 minutes or less. You don't even need to measure if you don't feel like it. Just guesstimate! I can have these mixed up and scooped out on a cookie sheet by the time the oven reaches 350!


The base for this recipe is the lovely banana. It's adds the sweetness, the thickener, the stabilizer, etc. I don't know of any other fruit that is this versatile. You can add whatever you want to the banana /oatmeal mixture. Your favorite spices, flavorings or add-ins. You are going to love these!

Before baking

Healthy Banana Treats

Ingredients:

3 mashed ripe Bananas, mashed

A big spoonful of Fresh Ground Peanut Butter, approx 1/3 to 1/2 cup, more or less (you can use store bought)

About a teaspoonful of Vanilla, more or less

A heaping teaspoonful of Cinnamon, more or less

About 2 cups Rolled Oats,  more of less

About 1/2 cup of Dark Chocolate, more or less

About 1/4 cup Coconut, Almond or Hazelnut Milk, I have used them all

In a bowl, mash your bananas. 

Add the peanut butter and stir the two together until they are completely mixed. 

Add the vanilla and cinnamon and stir well.

Add the rolled oats and stir until they are completely coated.

 Stir in the chocolate. 

Add enought of the coconut/nut milk until it makes a good scooping texture. 

Scoop the mixture out on a parchment covered baking sheet or you can scoop them into lined cupcake pans to make them muffin style.

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Baking time varies from the size scoop you use.

After baking

I let them cool and then I store them in the refridgerator or the freezer.

This recipe doubles very well and is a very forgiving recipe. You can add just about anything you want to the base and it will turn out well. Don't add too much liquid because you don't want the dough to be soupy or wet. 

I have also used Greek yogurt as the emulsifier in place of the milk. 

You can leave out the peanut butter but make sure your batter isn't too moist before you scoop it on to your baking sheet. I would suggest letting it sit on the counter for a few minutes before scooping. That gives the oatmeal a chance to soak up the extra liquid.

Enjoy!

Monday, Monday, It's Here...

We have managed to keep our sunshine in the Pacific Northwest, but they are telling us it is ending today. Not too bad considering they originally told us the "Pineapple Express" headed our way last Friday. I have never seen a "Pineapple Express" type rain in person, but I have seen the pictures. I am familiar with torrential, pounding El Nino rain that dumps 2 inches in an hour, so I am bracing myself!

Here are a couple pics from our weekend.

It was a beautiful, warm and sunny day spent at Bauman Farms with family. I love my family!

On the way home I was taking pictures of the unusual cloud formations in the sky. All of a sudden, I watched a stream of light burst out from behind the clouds and shoot up with tremendous power into this amazing array! It was a most incredible experience that touched my soul!

Time to bring out the boots and set the sandals aside!

Have a great Monday!

Spiced Peach Jam

We love peaches!

I don't think I have ever met anyone that doesn't love peaches. This summers peaches were the best ever, according to the farmer we bought most of ours from. We used our peaches in many delicious ways but this lovely jam will remain all year. At least I hope it lasts that long. I love to share the things I make so we are down to just a couple jars (which, by the way, got rave reviews.) That's ok, we know how to make it last!

It had not canned anything since the 1980's when our kids lived at home. Somehow, in my feable mind, I was sure we still had that canner. I could still picture it and was convinced I wouldn't have given it away. I searched the garage and asked my hubby if he would look. He didn't find a canner. Ha, as if we would have packed and repacked that canner from Oregon, to Washington, from Washington to California and back to Oregon. Somehow I could picture it and was still convinced we had it packed away. I'm now convinced that I gave away all my canning supplies when we moved in away in the 90's.

When we headed out to find a new canner, I couldn't believe how many choices there are now. Back in the 70's-80's there were just a few choices. In spite of many colored jars to choose from, and several canning methods, I stuck with the clear jars as they highlight the treasures inside the best. We also bought the accessory pack so we were completely ready to tackle the peaches and several other canning projects. 

This is the first batch of jam I made this year and here is the recipe for Spiced Peach Jam. You will find complete directions from start to finish. I made another batch of vanilla peach jam and I will share that recipe another time. Costco still has peaches and we just got a fresh batch of our favorite Maryhill peaches last weekend. I might make another batch of peach jam if we don't eat the peaches first!

Canning can seem daunting if you haven't experienced it yet. It is a very easy way to preserve food. I do recommend buying a canner and the accessories. It makes everything easier. Start out small and go from there. You can preserve food all year long. It's not just a summer thing.

My Loves...

I love, love, love my family! I love my dear hubby. I love our son. I love our daughter and her husband . I love our grandsons. I love our doggies. Since they are the best part of my life I am going to share a few pictures from the past year.

Warning: there will be lots of pictures of my two grandsons and dog children!

Wiley's self portraits. It was a pleasant surprise to find these pics and about 30 more on my iPad! 

This cutie is a 7-year old 2nd grader

And now it's Ivans turn!

This little cutie is now a 5-year old kindergartener

Our doggie kids keep us laughing on a daily basis.

Miss Lucy

Who could resist that cute little face

My dear hubby and I in San Francisco last summer celebrating my 60th birthday!