Pumpkin Waffles...MMMMM Good!

I have a wonderful picture of my fall recipe! Too bad Gary downloaded something new on our computer and now I have no idea how to post a picture on my blog. It's completely different and nothing I've tried works so, without picture you will just have to take my word for it....These pumpkin waffles looked good AND tasted great! I was going to make and blog my favorite apple cake recipe in honor of fall but Ariann beat me to it so I tried something new tonight in honor of our niece Kerrie who is also celebrating fall. Here's the recipe that made about 16 waffles. It was just Gary and I so I am going to try freezing them and hope that they will taste good straight from the freezer to the toaster to the plate to the stomach!

Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk ( I make my own by adding 1 1/2 T of vinegar to milk)
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 large egg
1 T. canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 egg whites
Directions: Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Place a large baking sheet in the oven.
Combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl, stir to mix well and set aside.
Combine the buttermilk, pumpkin, egg, oil, and vanilla in a medium bowl, whisk until smooth. Add the buttermilk mixture and 1/3 cup water to the flour mixture and stir until a moist batter forms. Beat egg whites in a medium-size bowl with an electric mixer on high until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the whites into batter.

Coat the waffle iron with cooking spray and preheat. Spoon about 1/3 cup of batter for each 4 inch waffle onto the hot iron, spreading the batter to the edges. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until the steaming stops. Transfer waffles to baking sheet in oven to keep warm. Serve with the Cranberry Honey (recipe to follow) or use raspberrie syrup like we did because our grocery store didn't have the fresh or frozen cranberries. I assumed they had them year round but apparently not. Here's the recipe if you want to try it. It sounds good but the raspberry was delicious too. Of course we had to garnish our waffles with cool whip and to make it a real dinner, we had a hunk of ham on the side!
Cranberry Honey: 3/4 cup honey
1/4 cup cranberry juice
1 cup fresh or frozen, thawed cranberries, divided
Bring the honey and cranberry juice to a boil over medium heat in a medium saucepan. Add 3/4 cup of the cranberries and cook 5 minutes or until cranberries pop. Stir in the remaining 1/4 cup cranberries. Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes before serving. Makes about 1 cup.

Our Niece Has Inspired Me to Update!

Yes I know that I posted my pumpkins last year but our niece Kerrie finally updated her blog and invited her readers to share their favorite fall decor or recipes. Since I'm indebted to her because some of my favorite blogs have been found through her site, I had to share my mantle in her honor and besides, this year I added orange lights! Kerrie if you check back on Friday, I will try to have made one of my favorite fall recipes and taken a picture of it. I'll even include the recipe! Wow, now I'm committed to 2 posts in one week. I think that will be a record! The picture below explains why we had to break down and spend nearly $10,000 to have a new roof put on our house. We were afraid if we waited until we got an offer (by some miracle) that the shingles would not pass inspection and could cause a sell to fall through. Thus, painful as it was, we took the money out of savings and hoped and prayed we are not throwing more good money after bad. We have already lost a great deal of money on this Florida venture. Anyway.... the picture below is one of many areas they ran into that had rot in the plywood. Our $8,000 roof job ended up being closer to $10,000. They even had to replace some rafters in the garage! When they gave us that bit of news we declared loudly and clearly: NO MORE SURPRISES ALLOWED!

The last picture depicts the biggest frustration of all. One of the main reasons we decided to have the project done was to avoid any leaks that would inevitably come and end up damaging the interior ceiling. The roofers exposed an area on a day when we were hit with a downpour and they didn't properly cover the vulnerable spot. Within minutes, Gary noticed water dripping down from the upstairs ceiling. When he hollered at the roofers who had taken refuge on our covered patio they started yelling at each other, "I told you to cover that area better!" They new exactly where the problem would be because when Gary let them in, they went right to the place they expected to find the indoor waterfall!
Our friend who does excellent dry-wall work is going to try to get it repaired in the next few days. Hopefully he can because we would hate to tell someone they couldn't come look at the house. Those potential buyers here are so few and far between we can't afford to miss out on a single "lookie lou"!

And there you have the oh-so-noticable water stain. Well Kerrie, thanks for inspiring me to update. It is still sticky, sultry summertime here but it makes me happy to know that our family is enjoying the most beautiful time of the year. Check back on Friday for hopefully a yummy, fall recipe! If you read this Kerrie, I would love your e-mail address!

Sam's Blessing Day

It is obvious to everyone that I really don't get this "blogging thing". I had to post 2 different times to get 9 of the pictures in that I took while on my trip. Nothing is ever in the order I plan it to be but I just do the best I can and hope the few people who visit my blog once in a while will understand that I am "technologically challenged". This family picture was taken on our way to church on Sam's special blessing day. Paul gave him a beautiful blessing and I felt so blessed to be there. I was glad that Gary insisted I make the trip in spite of his serious health issues. Zachary, Rachel and even Emily sang all the verses to the new primary song they have learned this year for the Primary program coming up. The entire congregation was amazed that they were able to memorize every word and sing so clearly and beautifully! It was a real treat for nana! Aunt Renie and Uncle Randy made it for the blessing then hurried off to fulfill responsibilities in their own ward. Uncle Kent was able to attend the meeting and the nice luncheon afterward although Aleta was unable to get away from her ward duties. Of course Grandma and Grandpa Sumner drove down from Logan to add their love and support.

Paul had the day off Thurs. so he drove us all to temple square where I was able to meet up with the Mohlmans and then to the Salt Lake City Cemetary where they drove right to Pres. Hinckley's gravesite. We had a good time walking through the old pioneer graves too.

The Boltons are related to the pioneer who built and lived in this cabin which now sits between the Family History Library and the Museum right across the street from Temple Square.

I thoroughly enjoyed the dry air, the time with family including: A barbeque at Renie and Randy's home with their children (delicious food! great company!) ; a visit with Gary's folks in Jerome because my parents were willing to drive me to Boise to see Ariann and family; time to visit with my parents while we traveled and time to help Aubrey with a few projects around the house, allowing her time to get a bit caught up on her photography business. She has her hands so full I don't know how she does it but she does! It was good to be able to see where the Wheelers have landed in Idaho so that I can now picture their surroundings when we talk on the phone. Poor Ariann is absolutely miserable with a case of the hives that I didn't know was possible. Every bit of her body is covered---including the bottoms of her feet! Please keep her in your prayers as doctors are finally realizing how serious her condition is and running tests to find out what is going on! Gary is going back to the Mayo Clinic on the 2nd of September for another surgical procedure----another broncoscopy and then another surgery after that to remove a gland that they say is larger than it should be. We are prayerful and hopeful that the broncoscopy will not turn up any more problems. They are going to scrub down his lungs again to make sure nothing has been missed. Life continues to be "interesting" and we continue to ask for your prayers and positive thoughts. Love you all!

My Too Short Trip to Utah/Idaho

These pictures are not in chronological order so I will type captions then tell about my trip at the end. This is a picture of our dear friends from Mesa, John and Jeanette Mohlman who are serving a mission on temple square. It was such a thrill to see them after 5 years. As we shared memories and a short visit together it was as if 5 years had not come and gone since I was able to enjoy their loving and kind spirits.

Ariann's adorable living room in their Idaho home. Her "stuff" works beautifully in the house.

Not a good picture of the kitchen but it is very nice.

Another view of the living room. Travis won the big screen tv in a raffle at work right after they got to Idaho.

Just before grandma and grandpa Sumner and I headed back to Utah we had the kids show us one of their favorite swimming holes. It looked like a blast. Even has a rope swing over the water!

Here's the Latest

Just a couple of shots from our ward Pioneer Day celebration. It was very laid back this year. We invited families to bring a picnic dinner and the ward supplied the drinks. While they ate I shared a few pioneer stories then everyone went outside to play softball with the old rag ball's I made. This year I let them use a real bat instead of a tree branch. They appreciated that. All seemed to have a lot of fun. The adults were very good to include children who wanted to play and all 4 missionaries really got into it as well. After the game we went inside to have popcorn and to watch "Legacy". We had planned to watch the new movie, "Emma" but Bishop pointed out that it said on the cover for home use only and he wasn't comfortable with our showing it at the church so the only other option was that oldie but goodie "Legacy".

Last week we spent 4 days at the Mayo clinic in Jacksonville Florida trying to find out what's wrong with Gary. He now has 4 doctors working on his mysterious case. They did another CT scan, blood tests/ urine tests and pulmonology tests. We should have some results some time this week. I'm getting ready to leave for Salt Lake in the morning. I want to postpone my trip until Gary is doing better but because he has had 5 pretty good days in a row, he's insisting I go as planned. I am anxious to hold that new baby and to see all of the kids and family but it will be difficult worrying about Gary from so far away. I am supposed to fly home on the 21st but I will just take it one day at a time. Bryce has agreed to spend the nights here and a number of neighbors are on stand by during the day if Gary has any trouble. This will truly be a test of my faith. Gary booked this flight for me before he started having his serious attacks that cause him to pass out. I will have to nag him via cell phone to take his medicine and to use his c-pap machine at night. I think he is looking forward to having me gone but little does he know I can nag from afar! I'll take pictures in Salt Lake.

Looking for a House to Buy?

Ours is one of a zillion for sale now in Central Florida! Forget the others....ours is just what you're looking for! Do you think that sounded convincing? Our faith will be tested on this venture. When we bought the house 5 years ago, the prices were heading up. We never dreamed it was possible that we could lose money on a home investment, I guess because we never have. Just the opposite. In the 8 homes we have owned during our 33 years of marriage, we have always made money. I guess it's true---there's a first time for everything. It would have been nice to break even but at this point we are hoping the loss won't be devastating.

Aubrey here's the picture of the bedroom upstairs I was telling you about. Maybe if you blow this one up you can see the cut-work detail in the curtain. I love this curtain. Probably my favorite in the house. The picture below shows the old window with plates hanging on it that our Realtor thought maybe we should take down because it's too "country". I told her to think of it as cottage because it is hanging from an antique coat hanger and I have no paint left to touch up the holes it will leave. Besides, I LOVE my old window so a potential buyer will just have to get over it!

Tell your friends to move to Florida and buy my house but no one I love is allowed to move here! We are going to get home to the west "come hell or high-water". Five years is long enough to be homesick!

We're No Longer the Scourge of the Neighborhood

But beauty comes with a price. Thankfully we have a friend who has a POWERFUL pressure washer so we could go from the black moldy surfaces to regular colored cement.

First step is pouring clorox on and brushing it in. Just one of the many things I love about Florida!

I turned these plain wooden balls from JoAnn's into some contraption to hang my valance from in the master bedroom.

All they needed was a little paint, bling from an old bracelet, a hole drilled in the back and molly-bolts for the wall.

Wal La! Curtains! We had a garage sale this morning to get rid of stuff I don't need to stage the house and thankfully it didn't rain like it has almost every day for the past.....FOREVER! Most of the junk sold and everything that didn't got hauled off to the thrift store. The Realtor is coming Tuesday to get this house on the market and then we pray and exercise faith that it will sell quickly and that our patience will hold out while we wait to see what "quickly" is in the Lord's time table! Gary had a rough week. He is going to an allergist on Tuesday and we are hoping she will have some answers and HELP! He is too young to be feeling so terrible. We are also looking into some natural remedies because all the drugs are not working. Accupuncture is on our list. Keep praying for us. We are doing everything we know to do and then it's in the Lord's hands so your prayers are very appreciated. Love you all!

The Only Constant in Life is Change

Moments before they hoped into their van and rode off for Idaho.

If the smile on my face appears pasted on it's only because it was!

Breakfast on our last sleepover morning with the kids.

Last swim in our sweet neighbor's pool. She has welcomed us "whenever". She always says, "Diane, my pool is your pool."

I am going to blog about this life changing event and then try to never think of it again. Our prayers were answered when Travis got his job transfer to Idaho. It was a difficult thing to pray for in spite of the fact that we believe getting our precious grandchildren into a better area and in a state that values education was of the utmost importance. It meant losing the sunshine in our lives. It has been bad enough not living where we can enjoy Aubrey's family but now to lose our Kaity and Brayden seems unbearable. I can't count the times one of us has to turned to the other and said, "I'm bored. Let's call the kids and see what they're doing." Bryce is also sad that they are gone but he does keep busy with single's ward responsibilities and activities. I'm grateful for that. Ariann has been such a big help to me in planning and carrying out the ward activities. I don't know what I will do without her. I don't know how I will get my house ready to sell without my interior decorator here to help me. Travis is my tech guy whenever I have a computer question or problem. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have a single "tune" on my IPOD. Gary's breathing situation is not improving much. He has pretty bad asthma attacks quite regularly. I don't know if it's safe for him to fly all the way across the country and as much as I am dying to hold my new grandson, I am too afraid to leave him home alone. Besides, I think I would have to hog tie him and run for the airport because he wants to head west as much as I do. Life holds challenges but joys as well and I have faith that one day we will feel joyful again. I hope I can develop patience as I wait for that day and for God to reveal his plan for us. They had only been gone from our house about 15 minutes on moving morning when Ariann called to say, "Kaity just remembered your wheelbarrow is still in our backyard. You'd better go get it before someone else does. Take anything else you want." We jumped in the truck and remembered to take a shovel to dig up some of her flowering plants that attract butterflies. I told Gary as we walked around the empty, dead feeling place that it reminded me of a cemetary and I felt like a grave robber as we dug up some of the plants that Ariann had taken such great care of. I couldn't wait to get out of there. I don't think I will ever go back. The last thing I said to Kaity as I hugged her and checked her seat-belt was, "It's your job to pray us to the west." I may have to remind her often of her assignment from grandma but it will be worth it. How could Heavenly Father refuse a sincere request from that sweet little girl of mine?! Life goes on, I just have to find a "new normal" while I wait for the time when I feel like I'm living again and not just existing. It will come. I know it will!
This was a very scattered post and a bit of a downer. I apologize and promise to do better next time. Really, I will.......it just may be a while!

These Shots Go With the Post Below

We Finally Spotted One!

In fact, we finally spotted 3! Gary has seen alligators on this particular board walk several times and Bryce has been with him to see them too, but every time I have gone along for the ride they have been non-existent. Today we had Brayden and Kaity with us and got lucky......3 different sightings. It was hot and sticky but the first day of summer vacation and we thought it would make for a fun outing. It did. We also spotted a huge congregation of turkey vultures. They are without a doubt some of the ugliest creatures on this earth. The tree that was full of them was right in front of the lighthouse we were walking to and we literally ran under the tree hoping to dodge any droppings. Not one of us got hit! The park had a fabulous play area and the kids had a ball while we sat in the shade and recovered from the walk. Finished off the day making cookies and playing UNO and Boggle. It was a fun day.

You know you're bored when you're willing to endanger your life!

The first blue shack is typical of what we experienced on our afternoon outing. Thankfully there were a couple of bright spots on the tour!

We decided to take a ride after church and explore the historic district of a town not far from home. I had discovered a walking tour of Longwood and in spite of the warning posted on the website, we decided to give it a try. Here are a few lines from the warning: "This trail may pass through one or more neighborhoods which, although full of history, may now be unsafe for individuals on foot, or which may make you feel unsafe there. Hikers have been approached by individuals who have asked for handouts or who have inquired (not always in a friendly manner) why the hikers are in their neighborhood....If you hike the trail, you accept all risks involved." Okay, I think you get the picture. We decided we were bored enough to give it a shot. (no pun intended) Anyway, it was a huge disappointment. Having lived in a home on the historical registry in a neighborhood in Moscow Idaho that had beautiful mansions on it's historical walking trail, we know what a walk like that should look like. Granted, our home looked like the servant quarters of the mansions that surrounded it but it didn't look like a falling down garage. In fact, just this past week Aubrey called to tell us that she had seen our Moscow house on the television show, "If Walls Could Talk". Our's wasn't the featured home but because it was across the street, it was shown 2 times. What fun! I'm feeling sad that I missed it. Anyway, the Longwood walk was comical. It was filled with descriptions like: "On this site in the late 1800's was a lumber mill." That's nice, but it would take an overactive imagination to picture it in 2009 because today it is the site of a Circle K gas station. We saw dozens of houses lacking any sort of archetectural charm but plenty of junk bicycles, tires and falling down porches. We did manage to find a couple of honest-to-goodness historical homes and an old hotel/boarding house that looked pretty cool but they were few and far between. I guess we just have to be happy that no one tried to accost us in our locked car as we "drove" the "walking" tour.

OOOPS!!!

This post goes with the pictures below. I was so excited to see them I forgot to type the script. I don't think I will ever get good at this blogging thing!

Last week it was a bear in the backyard, this week it is a snake in the parlor! I don't know why the blog cut off the end of the snake---it shows up on the computer. It was about 40 inches long. EWWWWW!!! Anyway, this beauty was discovered by Gary yesterday in the parlor as we were headed out the front door first thing yesterday morning. That means he at least spent the night with us! I could hardly make myself get up last night to go to the bathroom for fear he had a friend curled up on the floor somewhere. I am so grateful I wasn't home alone. I'm also very grateful it didn't climb into bed with me! Gary got a flat nosed shovel (so as not to damage the wood floor) and carefully chopped off his head. I know there are people who will be outraged that we killed the thing because for all we know he is the harmless kind that eats rodents. I DON"T CARE! ANY SNAKE WHO HAS THE NERVE TO COME INTO MY HOUSE IS A DEAD SNAKE!!! After all, he knows the way in now and what was to stop him from returning! We wish WE knew how he got in!

The other pictures are from the Leu Gardens that we found yesterday. They are beautiful even though it's coming into our hot season and many things are not blooming now. We thoroughly enjoyed our walk through miles of beautiful trees and flowers. The highlight was a tour through the old mansion. Very interesting. If you come for a visit we will take you there. But only if you're here on Monday morning (just kidding) but we discovered it's free admission on Monday morning before noon. That was a fun surprise! Enjoy my snapshots of Florida, especially the snake!

Oh the Joys of Florida!

Who'd have thought?!

No that's not a gorilla up the big old oak tree in our back yard, it's a 400 pound black bear! Who would have thought I had to add that to my list of critters to watch out for! Alligators I get, snakes, I get, racoons, possums, ardvarks......I get that, but who knew a big black bear would invade the yard at 5:00 in the morning and hang out in our shade tree until it got dark at 8:30? We could have sold tickets and made a few bucks because he was the entertainment of the neighborhood. The backyard neighbor called the police this morning and an officer came out but said as long as it wasn't acting aggressive they wouldn't do anything. Poor thing is stumbling around in the bushes as I write this, trying to find one of the two gates we left open for him to make his exit. I'd turn on the lights to watch him but I'm afraid it would frighten him right back up the tree. If I had known we were going to have so much company in our backyard I would have mowed it yesterday. It's looking pretty bad and Gary was embarrassed. Oh well, it didn't bother the bear.

Today is Brayden's birthday and we went to his house this evening for a barbeque and cake and ice cream. I can't believe he's 6 years old! We had a good time visiting with the Johnson's, Douberly's and Matt Nalley. Trena is still in Idaho. Friends sure make life fun! Travis and Ariann took the kids to a Monkey Joe's playland last night and we joined them for a little while until Gary had to lie down. His strength and stamina are slowly improving. We have to be patient and we are counting our blessings that he is not having to worry about finding a good cancer doctor! It was bad enough to lose 2/3 of his lung. I so admire all the countless people who endure that trauma then start down the chemo road. We are Blessed!

Spring "Bloomers"

Aubrey I should have had these in the mail before this but I ran out of elastic for the waste bands and haven't had a chance to get to the fabric store. It's not close enough to home! Anyway, the top picture shows an example of the white eyelet bloomers and the cream colored ones. I especially love the trim on the cream. I won it on an e-bay auction last year and finally figured out what to do with it. I had enough to make a few pair in a couple of different sizes.

These are the pantaloons I made for Rachel and Emmy. I'll get everything in the mail in the next day or two. Their's are in the cream color to go with their Easter dresses. The trim is not the same as in the picture above---not quite as delicate but still very feminine. The picture doesn't do justice to the fabric. As always, I'll hold my breath and hope they fit!

Our Adventure With the Velveteen Rabbit

OOPS, that first picture obviously belongs with another post so I'll explain it first! The kids came for a sleep over Friday night and Grandpa helped them make "houses" to sleep in. Those boxes have been stored in the garage since Christmas just waiting for the kids to turn them into something magical!

The other pictures are taken at Kaity's reward day from Grandma for working so hard on her FCAT preparations. The test is next month and she is gearing up for it. I read her the story (borrowed from the library) so we would both have a little background before attending the play. It was well done and we had a wonderful time. She had a blast taking pictures with her own camera that Santa brought her for Christmas. The Shakespear Theater has special shows for kids and the characters always come out afterward for autograph signing and photo ops. What Fun! Thanks for earning the reward Kaity!