Hello Again

I know, I have been MIA! I have found a new interest and that interest is called Pinterest! Click on either Pinterest button I have added here and it will take you to my boards. Click on the "Follow All" button and you will have access to all my Pinterest Boards. You will find many recipes and you will also find many other interesting things too!

I hope to see you there!

More Life in Pictures

 Woodpecker that often wakes us up with his rapping on the house

Mommy Starling on the bottom feeding her baby

Baby Starling waiting to be found

Parents mid-air fighting over the food

One of the babies figures out how to feed himself

Still waiting...

I felt like the babysitter!

Wheat fields in Southeastern Washington

Wheat

The Blue Mountains in the background

The wheat will be ready around August

The pea fields roll on and on...

I love the amazing clouds patterns in the Southeas!

My 2013 Life in Pictures

Like everyone else, our life has been very busy. I did manage to shoot a few pictures every once in a while. My dear hubby gave me an iPad for Christmas and now I am more likely to take pictures from it rather than digging out my camera. I always have my iPad in my handbag! It is lightweight, slim and oh so easy to use! All last year, my dear hubby asked me if I would like an iPad. I always said no, no, no, it would be a waste of money, I have my desktop and my smart phone and I don't need any more electronics!! Well, he disregarded my protests against having an iPad and surprised me with one anyway. There has been no looking back! I love it!! The "how did I ever live without it" kind of love! If I can figure out how to get all my pictures from my iCloud into my blog via my desktop, I would really be in business! Until then, a few pictures downloaded from my camera.

A few winter shots...

There was constant conflict at the feeders all winter

Our dark and naked woods was alive with wildlife activity. I still have not captured a picture of the deer that graze next to the fence. If I see them through an upstairs window, the camera was always downstairs, and vice versa.

This little guy spent most of the winter sitting right on that branch

Dad surprise 80th birtday party...

A surprised dad arriving at his party

Dad, mom and their seven kids

Grandpa Don and our son Alan

Singing with my sibs - something we grew up doing on a regular basis (that's me peaking out 4th from the left)

One of the many beautiful centerpieces courtesy of baby sis

My overwhealmed dad thanking everyone for attending his surprise party

Wiley with a handful of balloons from dad's party

Finally, signs of spring...

A little green on the little tree in the middle

Doggies and my two favorite grandsons...

My two babes

Dogs and boys

Ivan LOVES Lucy!

Wiley loves Buddy!

I love these boys!

Brother love

Wiley showing us his moves

Funny faces

Hoping I can figure out whats going on with the crazy spacing issue!

Now we have caught up through early March.  

More pics another time...

Happy, Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Alan!

How is it possible you are 38 today!

I look forward to celebrating with you!

I love you, I love you, I love you!!!

Happy Birthday Dad!

It's the big 80!

So happy we get to celebrate your milestone birthday with you!

I love you very much! 

Granola....mmmmm good!

I am always looking for new and unique granola recipes. In November, dear hubby and I were on the road when I opened up an email on my phone from Relish Magazine. As I looked through the message, I found a link that looked interesting, and it took me to a web page were I saw the most amazing looking granola! Unfortunately, I didn't save it and when I returned home, I couldn't find that link again. I searched for hours, googling, trying everything to find that recipe.

 

Finally, after many attempts to find it and lots of frustration from not being able to find that specific recipe, I got an idea. I put an actual thought together and sent a message to Relish Magazine, asking about a link to a granola recipe that I had seen on an email from them. The editorial department responded within an hour and sent me the following message:
 

Oh goodness Connie! We have many granola recipes on file so tracking down
the exact one may be a bit of a challenge, but I'll try my very best! Was
it any of the following?

http://foodonfifth.com/2012/02/19/e-a-t-easy-as-that-granola/
http://relish.com/recipes/camp-beckwith-granola/
http://blogs.relish.com/sweetly-spiced-roasted-pumpkin-seed-raisin-snack-mi
x/
http://relish.com/recipes/jills-granola/
http://relish.com/recipes/cinnamon-granola-bars/
http://relish.com/recipes/peanut-butter-granola-clusters/
http://relish.com/recipes/yogurt-and-fruit-parfaits-with-maple-granola/' 

How amazing is the editorial department at Relish Magazine!!!! The recipe I had been searching for was the very first one! You can check it out right here. I was so happy!! And in addition, you can see they also sent me several other amazing granola recipes that I look forward to trying very soon, and I decided to share them with you too! I went out and bought the ingredients I was missing and made that amazing looking, much sought-after granola. It was well worth all the effort! Even my dear hubby scoops a bit out in the morning to enjoy as an afternoon pick-me-up. 

Inside our granola jar

The aroma that came out of my oven was amazing! I kept the oven light on so that I could peek in every so often. Oh my, it was a beautiful thing as they went from moist looking pieces to shiny, glazed pieces of crunch! Of course, I made a change to the recipe, and yes, I added vanilla! A whole tablespoon! The smell of the vanilla and orange marmalade layered on top of the aroma of the toasty nuts was amazing. I wanted to open my doors and windows to share the smells with my neighbors. I decided not to because it was below freezing outside and the neighbors were snugly warm in their air-tight houses!

There was one big disappointment. The next morning I headed downstairs and went straight for the oven where the granola had spent the night. As I stirred it around with a spatula, I could see that the granola in the center of the pan was stuck to the pan! I was really disappointed but scraped it off anyway. As you can see from the pictures, some of the scraping made dents and bumps on the nuts.  I didn't want to loose a crumb. From now on, I will bake this granola on a sheet of parchment paper. Problem solved. Other than that issue, every piece was perfectly separated and ready for crunching.

Another look inside our granola jar

This recipe is very easy to make and it yields lots of granola. You will do the happy dance if you make this granola. Just saying!

Enjoy!

It's Your Birthday...

Happy Birthday Christy!

I hope you have a wonderful Birthday.

Wish we were there with you today to help you celebrate.

Christy read to go home January 1977

Christy...You are loved 

and have always been in my heart!  

Mom

It's About Time...

I hope that 2013 is going well for you and your family so far this year. We had quite a December 2012! Within the week of our return from our anniversary trip, our daughter needed emergency surgery. We rushed up to Seattle and did everything we could to help for a few days. A couple days later, when Christy was sent home to recoup, we brought the boys back home with us. Both of the boys were sick with a virus, so there was lots of nose blowing, hugging, holding and hand washing for the first week. I was a hand washing machine myself until my hands were so chapped, they were bleeding! Thanks to Curel Ultra Healing lotion, they recovered quickly. I keep pumps of the lotion at most of our sinks and on our nightstands so it wouldn't have happened if I had used it everytime I washed my hands. I think I gave up about half way through. Anyway, it really works if you use it! In spite of all the handwashing, I got sick anyway. 

Needless to say, most of the Christmas plans were modified to the plan of least resistance for our family and it all turned out fine. Before I lost my voice, the boys and I spent one day baking and decorating a gingerbread house. We also baked and decorated sugar cookies. I had lots of big plans for Christmas this year, but they ended with the cookies. We had so much fun that day! The boys did such a great job!

Lots of fun...

and a little messy!

This is still sitting in my kitchen. Don't judge me!

 

 

My dear hubby fixed a beautiful prime rib dinner for our families Christmas and that's about all I remember. I didn't lift a finger. I don't even remember if I ate anything that Sunday before Christmas eve. The kids left on Christmas eve afternoon for Christmas with family in SoCal. I must have let down after that because that is when I really got sick. No fever, so it was a virus. I had a very sore throat, dripping nose and a crazy tickle in my throat, and coughing, coughing, coughing! And a double eye infection! Even weeks later, I am still coughing up stuff! A few days later, dear hubby got sick too, but he's all better now.


Our Wolfe family Christmas was at the Stuarts again this year and everyone brought appetizers, soups and desserts. After dinner, most everyone went caroling around the neighborhood instead of the usual gift exchange. Every one that went had a great time. 

A few pictures from Wolfe family Christmas 2012.

Three week-old Rebekah

Greg and Ella

Wiley and Makena

Betsy, Lori and Cheryl

Natalie

Misty

Makena and Selah

Wiley

Mom and dad

Lexi

Nat and Ivan

Sisters

Looking up at Alan

On New Years Eve, we headed to bed a while after the new year arrived, but before we could get actually get into bed, I got a message that my dad had been taken by ambulance to the emergency room because of a possible heart attack. We got dressed and headed for the hospital. Most of the sibs were there when we arrived and we spent several hours together with mom and dad, waiting for test results. He didn't have a heart attack, but had a reaction to a new prescription, and we were told he could go home in a few hours. If you have older parents, make sure to remind them to talk to the pharmasist about possible side effects. My dad couldn't see temporarily and had bad pain in his chest, and it ended up being a side effect that can happen about 10 days after starting a new medication. He is fine now and my parents just arrived home from a trip to Hawaii after celebrating their 60th anniversary.