just today...

Claire came to have lunch with me today...she picked the ripe tomatoes that I have been neglecting (mainly due to tomato overload), but you can't look at a beautiful bowl of fresh picked tomatoes and not eat at least a few...so she made the most luscious roasted veggie sandwiches ever! take a look:

Roasted Veggie sandwiches:

1 medium peeled zucchini
1 medium peeled yellow squash
1 super sweet onion
2-3 tomatoes
1 medium peeled eggplant
Italian dressing (homemade is best)
feta cheese (optional)

Slice all the vegetables and lay out on a cookie sheet. Drizzle the Italian dressing over all the vegetables and throw in the oven for about 35-40 minutes at 425* or until they caramelize or the edges turn golden brown. Serve on toasted bread with feta cheese or drizzle flavored olive oil. mega -yum!

Oh Ya....
Last night Claire called me and Rob at around 11pm and asked if we remembered to call Jeff for his birthday? Oh Crap! It was too late to call him then...so I stewed about it for another hour. But during the stew time, I just thought about Jeff for awhile. What a great guy. really. He is so very funny and we all really miss him right now (gone to the air force) and I know that he is wishing he could be hanging out at my table eating these sandwiches and a birthday cake that I would surely have made if he were here. After Jeff came home from his mission, the 1st time we saw him was at stake conference. He was sitting a few rows back from us and Claire saw him out of the corner of her eye...she said "mom, don't let him see me!! I know he will ask me out and I don't want to have boyfriend right now!!" ......ya. That lasted about 30 seconds, 'cause Jeff made a Bee line straight over to her as soon as the Amen was said. She was a gonner. Thank heaven.
Love you Jeff...even if we are a lame family that never calls or writes...or knows how to take pictures...believe me, we are thinking about you.

Fru-its of our Labors

It all started a while ago when someone, (for the life of me I can't remember who) I think it was Kit...gave me a bunch of apricots. "Awesome, I will make jam" I thought. So I did, and so did Kindle and Kit.
Then a couple of weeks ago, a neighbor brought over a box full of cucumbers and peppers and tomatoes out of her garden. She had way too much and was going on vacation..."they all were going to waste", if I didn't take them. So I did, and made dill pickle relish and salsa...mmm.
Then you know I bought peaches, but I ended up leaving town, so I gave them to all the girls to do whatever with...so when I got back, I went and got some more so I could can peaches...
Kindle wanted some, and she wanted me to take a left-over box of apples that she couldn't finish, so I did, and made apple pie filling.
Claire's mother-in-law (Jamie) called to see if I would take a huge bowl of Roma tomatoes, so I did, and made spaghetti sauce.
Kindle wanted to trade some jalapenos' she had done, so I did.

Just bringing people together one piece of produce at a time. =)

1st letter

K....this was in the mail today:

hmmm...

I guess I can stop worrying. I don't know...I feel sorta...."hardcore".



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Basic training

My baby boy left today...

ok, I know he's not a baby..he's actually this tough guy that drinks milk from the carton and chews tobacco. (hopefully not together) but it still felt like my heart would melt when I said good bye.
I joked around and told him to think positive...we laughed with the staff sergeant over something I wasn't even listening to...Rob had told him before to fly under the radar, and that he didn't have to be the fastest in the group, just not the slowest...I could feel the heat rising up from my sw0llen heart. I smiled and told him "it would all be okay", and "we'll see you at Christmas." we hugged... I walked out to the car...we drove away and then I realized that my heart was still in his hands...and then came the tears.





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Quickie Vaca

Last Tuesday, Rob was getting ready to go to Cali. for some business. As I was helping to load the truck, which was full to the brim...except the passenger side...I thought to myself..."why am I not sitting in that passenger seat?" I quickly called everyone that I could, to take care of everything for the week that I was supposed to do---threw together a duffel bag of clothes and before I knew it, we were cruising along on our way to the Bay! There IS a God.

The shore at Half Moon Bay:


Sonoma:



Yosemite:


Yes, we saw a BEAR!


The world is truly a beautiful place. I'm glad we get to live in it.

Also, it just so happens that this trip coincided with our 29th Anniversary,
which was yesterday the 12th of September!

"It's been a wild ride sweetheart....love you more."

My Kitchen

This morning I got up to this:
Labor day weekend was a bust....everyone headed in different directions: Garners to Vegas, Claire to Texas, and everyone else here had there own schedule happening. Thus it is with adult children....they do whatever they want and you have no control. (dang, I hate that free-will stuff) Anyway, Monday proved differently...they all came home, not all at the same time granted...but they all made it back to see what was happening in my kitchen.
The Kitchen I had growing up was small, dark, and seemed to more often than not offer up burned dinners. Even with that, there were alot of really good memories made there. I remember doing the dishes with my sister, Maureen, and we would sing camp songs and harmonize old timey songs like "you are my sunshine". In the summer, it might end up with a water fight. I miss singing like that....
When Rob and I moved to the house on 27th street, we had small children and proceeded to remodel like crazy.One day I came out (I was busily getting ready for girls camp) and Rob had taken a sledge hammer to the wall! "What the....!" He decided that while I was gone that week, he was gonna remodel the kitchen...6months later it was done. Ok...It was worth it. We had so much fun in that kitchen. After dinner we would get all the kids to help clean up....we would turn the music on loud and sing and dance around while we were all doing dishes and wiping counter tops. the kids never wanted to stop, so we would dance around for a couple of hours. I have vivid memories of them doing these crazy dances to Ravel's Bolero, or Ella Fitzgerald....our music selection was all over the map, so they got a very diverse education in music. ( not to worry...we mostly listened to rock...Rob and I are children of the 60's and 70's you know)

(we bought these great big strawberries that looked like tongues...heh, heh,....ok so we're a
little dimented.)

(there at Easter...)

I absolutely had the kitchen of my dreams, when we built our house in the valley. We had great parties there...it was made for having lots of people and lots of good food....the dancing continued....

This is a picture I took right before we sold the house. Don't get me started...that is a whole nuther post.So where was I...Oh ya...labor day....well on Monday, we picked Claire up from the airport with Levi and on the way home, decided that we needed peaches, which were not on the way home...but DPR being the sweet pirate that he is drove us to Willard to get a box of peaches. =)


So, last night I made some wonderful (sugar-free) peach pie that is to die for...and viola'everyone showed up. I guess it's not the size of your kitchen, but the size of the love in your kitchen that makes them come back for more....or maybe it's just peach pie.....ok...whatever.
anyway, so here I am eating peach pie for breakfast and thinking of my kitchen and that I need to clean it up. Maybe I'll turn on a little music....