Am I having fun?
You bet!
The theme of this trip has been
FAMILY.
Friday we got together and drove
over to check out Rozann and Greg's
business. WOW! They have made it
even more amazing in the year since
I got to visit last.
A couple more machines,
more employees,
more inventory,
more organized,
more... EVERYTHING!
(Mostly work... these people are
NOT SLACKERS!)
However, the alternate theme
has not been pictures.
I keep forgetting to take any.
I know.
TERRIBLE.
Anyhow,
after distracting them from their work
we took M&D and Sondra to my new
favorite place to have my new favorite
food item.
Lorenzos at Jason's.
Or Jason's for Lorenzos.
Whichever.
I'm pretty sure we'll have more this trip
and I'll be sure to be "that blogger"
and take a picture.
A crispy small corn tortilla on the bottom,
a layer of melted white cheese,
a layer of yummy steak in small bites,
a layer of fresh pico,
a couple of fresh avocado slices.
Simple.
Fresh.
DELICIOUS!
Sondra had a Mexican Coke.
M&D shared a strange but wonderful
Mexican soda that looked a bit like
cream soda and loved it.
Dad sucked up the last drips
from their glass bottle.
(Everything tastes better in glass!)
We dropped M&D&S at their house
for naps, and we went to Nancy's.
We putzed around, I came back to my
little house and relaxed a little.
I'm not a good napper.
We all ended up back at Nancy's.
Reid picked up a couple rotisserie
chickens on his way home.
Those are such a life saver!
She made a beautiful display of yummy
fruits and cheeses,
we picked a bunch of fresh salad fixin's
from her beautiful garden
and Mom brought over a tray of
fabulous biscuits!
SO yummy! I've missed those things!
And for desert she pulled out a giant
bowl full of her famous Tapioca Pudding.
It was REALLY yummy!
She even made it using almond milk
for Soni and I... the non-milk drinkers.
Reid had TWO bowls!
(Plus finished off Nancy's... lol)
I don't think he likes it much.
Then we sat around and watched an old
Jack Benny episode and then some
amazing children playing violin at an
annual amazing competition.
Wow! The talent of these kids!
Oh, and of course, through it all there
was much laughing, talking, reminiscing,
more laughing, more talking...
It's so much fun now that we are all
grown up and love each other even
more than we ever have before.
Saturday found us all at Nancy's for
a breakfast that Mom planned and was going
to host, but we talked her out of it.
It's so much work for her.
This is her Queen Season.
Time for her to let US serve HER!
Nancy whipped up some pancake batter,
Sondra was in charge of the scrambled eggs,
Soni and I put a couple of rashers of bacon
in the oven (we covered one tray with a light
sprinkling of brown sugar - HEAVEN!)
and of course there were lots of berries
and whipped cream, milk and OJ...
Kurt brought Fin and Jackson.
Jeff brought Alex and Sophia.
Rozann and Greg "brought" Sam and Randy.
(grin)
It was terrific to get to see everybody!
We sat out on Nancy's back patio to eat.
Reid was in charge of the pancake griddle.
Everything got rave reviews.
And, again, we had a blast sitting around
talking, laughing, telling stories, eating,
more talking and laughing.
Sam and Randy are such a fun couple!
She tried REALLY hard to give me her duck.
No sale.
lol
(Although I might trade her for Roxy!)
It was time for them all to leave.
Jeff and Reid worked on Reid's truck for a bit.
Put a replacement front grill on it.
He was really pleased.
And then Jeff headed back to his shop.
He had a bunch of machines go down all at
the same time, so it has been all hands on deck
trying to get them fixed and catch up on the
orders they couldn't fill in the meantime.
The girls stayed with us, so we sat around
and figured out what we wanted to "learn"
in the pressure cooker (Sam brought her's
over for us to borrow) and then we loaded up
to head to the grocery store.
But we accidentally stopped at Jason's
on the way over.
Yup, Lorenzos are as good as they were
the first two times I had them!
LOL
Then to the grocery store.
(Alex was taking lots of pictures,
I'll try to get them from Nancy, they were
on her phone...)
It's always fun to grocery shop.
We got everything we needed, including the
elusive cut okra for my breakfasts!
And another flat of water for my house.
I'm drinking like a FISH trying to stay
ahead of the dry desert air.
Back home to Nancy's to unload the
groceries, only to remember we were cooking
at Rozann's so we loaded it all back up into
a big plastic tote and Reid (the white knight)
carried it all over for us.
Sondra and I immediately started in on the
cheesecake. It is the easiest recipe in the world.
Once that was in the pot, we went back
out to the pool to sit in the sun and visit
with Rozann and watch crazy Greg do a
quick lap of their freezing cold pool.
(They spent the mid morning wedding their
front yard so they were HOT...)
Once the cheesecake came out of the pot and
into the fridge to cool and set, we started
on the pulled pork.
Another easy recipe. Called for 2 chipotle
peppers in adobo sauce, 1 bottle of Dr Pepper,
a pork roast and when it's all done you
shred it and mix in some BBQ sauce.
Easy peasy! and about an hour instead
of 8 in a crockpot.
The only roast I could find was a bone-in
so I ended up cooking it a little longer,
but everyone was draped over various comfy
chairs and couches and visiting, sharing
pictures or knitting.
Dad's sister, Max, passed away recently and
they are having her memorial service this coming
weekend up in Victoria BC and everybody is
going to fly up on Friday.
(Not me, of course, the rebel without a passport.)
Soni and Nanc were Google Earthing the area,
reminiscing about our trip there a thousand years
ago and planning where they wanted to go
and what they wanted to see.
(Nancy booked a little Air BnB and an SUV for
everybody for a couple of days up there...)
Once dinner was nearly ready, Soni whipped
up some delicious coleslaw with an apple cider
vinaigrette, Greg set the table, Nancy and I
"pulled" the pork (it was done, tender, but not quite
to the pulling stage yet, but we were HUNGRY)
and we sat down to eat.
Served it on rolls and ate it Lousianna style with
the coleslaw on the bun with the pork.
YUM! Just the right sour/sweet combination.
And then we pulled out the cheesecake.
It turned out really good. I was afraid it wasn't
going to be set up enough since its supposed to
be in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours and
we were squinting to get to 3.
It was set but not FIRM, Reid said it reminded
him of Creme Broule, his favorite desert,
so I was relieved.
It had real sugar in it (not much, only 1/2 cup
for the whole recipe - 8 small but RICH servings)
I only had a taste, but it really was good!
Mom happily finished up my slice.
Dad had 2.
LOL
Rozann and Greg made short work of the dishes.
(Sondra and I are both "clean up as you cook" people.)
And we all enjoyed a nice "final evening" visit.
Had a blast googling some of Nancy's old friends.
Her BEST friend, Leslie Stanford turned out to be
a multi-millionaire "founder" over at Herbalife!
Who knew!
We briefly watched her giving a speech in front
of tens of thousands of people in ROME!
Finally Dad's 9:00 alarm (pills alert) went off
on his phone and we decided it was time to call
it a night. We are all getting OLD.
Everybody headed to their respective homes.
I sat on Rozann's comfy green couch over here
and knit a scrubby and watched the
Saturday morning session of Conference.
Fell asleep during the closing song,
woke up 15 minutes later with an ouchy neck.
Off to bed.
Got up early this morning and made a nice
big bowl of oatmeal for breakfast,
and here I sit at the breakfast table, in the
sunshine streaming in my patio doors,
writing a novel and eating my oatmeal,
listening to beautiful piano music.
Nancy will be coming over in 30 minutes or so
to pick me up and take me to Mom's.
Then she is taking Sondra to the airport and
going to visit her grandchildren.
M&D&I are going to watch conference together.
We putzed around, I came back to my
little house and relaxed a little.
I'm not a good napper.
We all ended up back at Nancy's.
Reid picked up a couple rotisserie
chickens on his way home.
Those are such a life saver!
She made a beautiful display of yummy
fruits and cheeses,
we picked a bunch of fresh salad fixin's
from her beautiful garden
and Mom brought over a tray of
fabulous biscuits!
SO yummy! I've missed those things!
And for desert she pulled out a giant
bowl full of her famous Tapioca Pudding.
It was REALLY yummy!
She even made it using almond milk
for Soni and I... the non-milk drinkers.
Reid had TWO bowls!
(Plus finished off Nancy's... lol)
I don't think he likes it much.
Then we sat around and watched an old
Jack Benny episode and then some
amazing children playing violin at an
annual amazing competition.
Wow! The talent of these kids!
Oh, and of course, through it all there
was much laughing, talking, reminiscing,
more laughing, more talking...
It's so much fun now that we are all
grown up and love each other even
more than we ever have before.
Saturday found us all at Nancy's for
a breakfast that Mom planned and was going
to host, but we talked her out of it.
It's so much work for her.
This is her Queen Season.
Time for her to let US serve HER!
Nancy whipped up some pancake batter,
Sondra was in charge of the scrambled eggs,
Soni and I put a couple of rashers of bacon
in the oven (we covered one tray with a light
sprinkling of brown sugar - HEAVEN!)
and of course there were lots of berries
and whipped cream, milk and OJ...
Kurt brought Fin and Jackson.
Jeff brought Alex and Sophia.
Rozann and Greg "brought" Sam and Randy.
(grin)
Sondra and I chose the same moment to
take pictures of each other!
Hahahahaha
(Reid and Kurt were playing ping pong in the background)
It was terrific to get to see everybody!
We sat out on Nancy's back patio to eat.
Reid was in charge of the pancake griddle.
Everything got rave reviews.
And, again, we had a blast sitting around
talking, laughing, telling stories, eating,
more talking and laughing.
Sam and Randy are such a fun couple!
She tried REALLY hard to give me her duck.
No sale.
lol
(Although I might trade her for Roxy!)
It was time for them all to leave.
Jeff and Reid worked on Reid's truck for a bit.
Put a replacement front grill on it.
He was really pleased.
And then Jeff headed back to his shop.
He had a bunch of machines go down all at
the same time, so it has been all hands on deck
trying to get them fixed and catch up on the
orders they couldn't fill in the meantime.
The girls stayed with us, so we sat around
and figured out what we wanted to "learn"
in the pressure cooker (Sam brought her's
over for us to borrow) and then we loaded up
to head to the grocery store.
But we accidentally stopped at Jason's
on the way over.
Yup, Lorenzos are as good as they were
the first two times I had them!
LOL
Then to the grocery store.
(Alex was taking lots of pictures,
I'll try to get them from Nancy, they were
on her phone...)
It's always fun to grocery shop.
We got everything we needed, including the
elusive cut okra for my breakfasts!
And another flat of water for my house.
I'm drinking like a FISH trying to stay
ahead of the dry desert air.
Back home to Nancy's to unload the
groceries, only to remember we were cooking
at Rozann's so we loaded it all back up into
a big plastic tote and Reid (the white knight)
carried it all over for us.
Sondra and I immediately started in on the
cheesecake. It is the easiest recipe in the world.
Once that was in the pot, we went back
out to the pool to sit in the sun and visit
with Rozann and watch crazy Greg do a
quick lap of their freezing cold pool.
(They spent the mid morning wedding their
front yard so they were HOT...)
Once the cheesecake came out of the pot and
into the fridge to cool and set, we started
on the pulled pork.
Another easy recipe. Called for 2 chipotle
peppers in adobo sauce, 1 bottle of Dr Pepper,
a pork roast and when it's all done you
shred it and mix in some BBQ sauce.
Easy peasy! and about an hour instead
of 8 in a crockpot.
The only roast I could find was a bone-in
so I ended up cooking it a little longer,
but everyone was draped over various comfy
chairs and couches and visiting, sharing
pictures or knitting.
Dad's sister, Max, passed away recently and
they are having her memorial service this coming
weekend up in Victoria BC and everybody is
going to fly up on Friday.
(Not me, of course, the rebel without a passport.)
Soni and Nanc were Google Earthing the area,
reminiscing about our trip there a thousand years
ago and planning where they wanted to go
and what they wanted to see.
(Nancy booked a little Air BnB and an SUV for
everybody for a couple of days up there...)
Once dinner was nearly ready, Soni whipped
up some delicious coleslaw with an apple cider
vinaigrette, Greg set the table, Nancy and I
"pulled" the pork (it was done, tender, but not quite
to the pulling stage yet, but we were HUNGRY)
and we sat down to eat.
Served it on rolls and ate it Lousianna style with
the coleslaw on the bun with the pork.
YUM! Just the right sour/sweet combination.
And then we pulled out the cheesecake.
It turned out really good. I was afraid it wasn't
going to be set up enough since its supposed to
be in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours and
we were squinting to get to 3.
It was set but not FIRM, Reid said it reminded
him of Creme Broule, his favorite desert,
so I was relieved.
It had real sugar in it (not much, only 1/2 cup
for the whole recipe - 8 small but RICH servings)
I only had a taste, but it really was good!
Mom happily finished up my slice.
Dad had 2.
LOL
Rozann and Greg made short work of the dishes.
(Sondra and I are both "clean up as you cook" people.)
And we all enjoyed a nice "final evening" visit.
Had a blast googling some of Nancy's old friends.
Her BEST friend, Leslie Stanford turned out to be
a multi-millionaire "founder" over at Herbalife!
Who knew!
We briefly watched her giving a speech in front
of tens of thousands of people in ROME!
Finally Dad's 9:00 alarm (pills alert) went off
on his phone and we decided it was time to call
it a night. We are all getting OLD.
Everybody headed to their respective homes.
I sat on Rozann's comfy green couch over here
and knit a scrubby and watched the
Saturday morning session of Conference.
Fell asleep during the closing song,
woke up 15 minutes later with an ouchy neck.
Off to bed.
Got up early this morning and made a nice
big bowl of oatmeal for breakfast,
and here I sit at the breakfast table, in the
sunshine streaming in my patio doors,
writing a novel and eating my oatmeal,
listening to beautiful piano music.
Nancy will be coming over in 30 minutes or so
to pick me up and take me to Mom's.
Then she is taking Sondra to the airport and
going to visit her grandchildren.
M&D&I are going to watch conference together.
1 comment:
I like how Reid and Nancy rebuilt the roof over the outdoor table, it looks great, I am jealous!
Post a Comment