If the Shoe Fits...

Today is my birthday.

Not that it, of itself, is necessarily a cause for celebration - other than, you know, considering the alternative.  I've never been one of those to shy away from marking another successful year on this planet.  I've pretty much enjoyed every one of my birthdays - all 56 of them to date (which makes me 57 this year because you can't really consider the actual date of one's birth.  I don't recall anyone having a party that day - certainly not my mom.  It's kind of like which year was the first of the new century - 2000 or 2001?)

But today, because it's my birthday (or more likely because the movie came out and we had nothing more urgent on our calendar this morning), my Prince Charming took me to see Cinderella.  (Which is actually saying more than you might think since I don't think he's ever quite fully recovered from when I suggested seeing Angela's Ashes.)  We figured since we try to hit the very first showing on a Saturday or Sunday morning we would beat the rush and while there were more people than usual for a 9:50 am showing, the theatre was no where near full (how do they keep these things open anyway?)

It didn't take me too long to realize though how woefully under-dressed I was.  There were many princesses (of all Disney varieties - the most popular, of course, was the Elsa costume from Frozen and I have to admit if I had forked over the money that those things cost my little princess would be wearing it until she outgrew it...and probably then some!)  One dad, with his bevy of beautiful little girls even wore his tux!  Now THAT'S fatherly love!!!

If you see this movie (and I really recommend that you do - even the hubby liked it!) be sure to stay until the very end...the very end of the credits, that is.  I don't really know why Disney, when they've already paid for the talent to perform in the movie insists on getting some lesser quality to sing the main theme (ala Frozen - I mean, seriously, they got one of the best talents of Broadway today - Idina Menzel (or whatever John Travolta is calling her these days) to voice Elsa and then they get DEMI LOVATO to re-hash the song over the credits?  That's like getting Celion Dion to voice Mrs. Potts in Beauty and the Beast and THEN asking Angela Lansbury if she'd do the single for the credits!)

Anyway, Disney has some new song for the soundtrack but if you wait until after that muzak gets done, you'll get to hear a very sweet rendition of A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes sung by Lily James (Cinderella herself), which is followed by a fun version of Bibbidy Bobbidy Boo by the fairy godmother (Helena Bonham Carter).  It's fun...and much, MUCH better than whatever/whoever sings the incredibly non-memorable song over the initial credits.

If that weren't enough of a birthday celebration, I also got to Skype with both daughters and their boys and even had a phone call from my calendar-challenged son, Chris.  Lunch out with the hubby, dinner out with friends.  Birthdays, as Martha would say, are a good thing!

~later, another year older (and still looking for some pie to celebrate the 14th in style), tw

PS - I did manage to find some pie on the 14th (National Pie Day) after all - key lime pie for my birthday.

Cousin Cecile

Gerry and I made a quick trip over to Spokane (not quick enough that gas stations didn't feel the need to raise the price of gasoline $.30/gallon in a single day but that's another rant!) this week as my cousin (Cecile) was visiting town.  She is a curator at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC and was in Spokane as the keynote speaker at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture and their launch of a program focusing on American Indian Basketry. 

Since we don't get much of a chance to connect with her (other than annual Christmas cards) it was a great (albeit brief) opportunity to catch up with that side of the family!  Cecile had just returned from a trip to Trinidad, accompanied by her brother and sister, as they traced their father's ancestry.  It was an amazing journey for each of them and was wonderful to her to stories.

Naturally, it isn't officially a trip to Spokane unless Margo and I visit one (or usually several) different quilt shops!  This time we checked out A Heart Like Yours and Hattie's Quilt Shop (both in Spokane) and even dashed over to Coeur d'Alene (Gerry is a very patient chauffeur!) to visit Bear Paw Quilting (Gerry quickly made himself at home in the "Spouses' Corner").

~later, tw

The beginning of the next chapter...

Today will be, after 27+ years, Gerry's last day of work at Microsoft.  The announcement that his position was being eliminated wasn't any real surprise, but the suddenness of it did come as a bit of a shock.  Though the timing wasn't exactly his own, we had ironically (and somewhat prophetically) already been looking towards and prepping for his eventual retirement (which we estimated at 3+ years down the road.  As I've often told my kids:  Life is what happens when you're making other plans.).

I would like to go on the record officially today and say that (at least until yesterday when he was abruptly informed that he was now a casualty of company redirection), he has been a very valued and valuable employee for each and every single one of those 27 years, 4 months and 17 days.

Cake (made by Jenny) in honor of
his 25th anniversary with the company
(March 2012)

Microsoft's loss is definitely my gain and I truly look forward to not having to share him with his daily work life.  (You can't imagine how much my "honey do" list has grown just since learning this yesterday!  I'm thinking that one of two things will happen: 1) he will get everything done in short order and we will spend even more time traveling and visiting our kids and grandsons; or 2) he will decide it was more "restful" to be employed outside the house and begin updating his resume and contact list).  I'm sure there will be some period of adjustment - no doubt we'll be joining some new gym together and he's promised to help with my quilting (which I'm sure means less "UFOs" and more completed projects).  We consider ourselves the beneficiaries of all the blessings this career has afforded us over the years (especially since it was this job that brought us to Washington state and some of our greatest friendships).  But whatever comes next, rest assured that we've been looking forward to our "post retirement life" for nearly 35 years now and it is definitely our aim to make the most of this new "opportunity"!

That first company picnic at Radar Lake (1987)

In any event, I just wanted to take this chance to say that I am so proud of him and everything he has accomplished in life (so far - there is much more to come, I'm sure!)  He's heard from all three of our kids who each shared their love and pride with him in their own incredible, amazing ways which is, after all, the best and truest testament of his character.

It has been one hell of a ride - and I truly believe that the best is yet to come!  [And a special thank you to Ross Garmoe for taking a leap of faith and hiring him way back in 1987!]




later (and with much love and pride), tw

Simple Pleasures

This pan, as most everything (and everyone for that matter) in my world has a story...

As pans go, it probably isn't anything that anyone else in the world (save my two sisters) would find remarkable.  For starters, it's a strange size - definitely not your standard 9" x 13".  Not even a less-than-unusual 8" x 10".  It's something like 7 3/4" x 10 1/2" or so.  Nobody's ever measured it.

 

But it was my mom's...and now it's mine.  I've probably shared that Eleanor was not really much of a cook.  I got the distinct impression that it was never anything she wanted to do but was forced out of necessity, owing to the fact that she had a husband and at least two kids home all the time, to spend time in the kitchen.  "Throwing something together" for dinner was likely to result in a) sloppy joes and canned corn (her "go to" meal); b) something extremely well done (she liked charred food...but oddly not BBQ) or c) an extremely strange and usually unappetizing mixture of what could only be charitably called "glop."

 

She did, however, absolutely excel at following directions - the more complicated, the even more fantastic the result.  (This was, after all, the woman who made my dad's suits!).  This meant that baking, with many intricate steps, was something right in her wheelhouse.  There was that phase in her life where she decided to learn how to decorate cakes and took classes and purchased all the Wilton supplies.  The results were stunning works of art and she could have easily made money with that venture.  Alas, (or fortunately for all of us), turns out we didn't really care for frosting and so that was a short-lived project.

 

And to be fair, I'm sure she actually used this pan for lots of things...like baked ham...and... okay.  I don't actually remember anything else but her Oatmeal Cake in this pan.  My sister Dona and I tried to figure out or remember where this recipe came from (Dona seems to remember it as possibly being on the canister of Quaker Oats). 

But in my memory, this recipe and this pan share a symbiotic relationship.  Oh, I made the cake in years past and it was pretty darn good, quickly conjuring up its predecessors in my mind.  But now that I am in possession of the pan I no longer have to rely on those cherished memories of my childhood.  I can have it on a whim any day of any week (it should be noted that the new oven with its truly magical properties of turning out perfect product every time might have something to do with this as well).

It's a very simple cake and though you can just prepare the necessary oats to make the cake, you can also make use of something I seem to find myself having more than a bit of on hand, leftover prepared oatmeal.  (When you cook for large groups and make 30-50 servings at a time, leftover oatmeal isn't such a strange occurrence.  But that's another story.)

 

So here's my mom's recipe for Oatmeal Cake.  It's simple, it's wonderful, and now it can become a cherished memory for you!

Oatmeal Cake from the kitchen of Eleanor Klar

 

Ingredients:

1 1/4 C. boiling water

1 C. oats (rolled, not instant)

1/2 C. butter

1 C. sugar

1 C. brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

1 1/2 C. flour

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. baking soda

 

Directions:

Pour water over oats, let stand 20 minutes.  Beat butter, add sugars.  Add vanilla and eggs.  Stir in oats.  Add dry ingredients.  Pour into greased and floured 9" inch square pan (or 8" x 10" unless you have a special pan from your mom which has magical properties and is is approximately the same overall size).  Bake at 350 F. for 50-55 minutes.  Let cool slightly and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

 

~later, sipping tea with my cake, tw 

TREATS!

...no tricks.

Happy Halloween!

~later, looking forward to tonight's sugar rush, tw



Christmas? Already??

This past Saturday we had a family/friends gathering with a purpose.  Our son-in-law (Travis) is currently deployed and his unit will not be home for the holidays.  Because we need to allow (LOTS of) time for shipping, we got together a group to work on making Christmas stockings for stuffing in the not-too-distant future.

The project was a simple one (I kept telling everyone that I started doing this project 20 years ago with first graders so I was pretty sure they could handle it!).  Stockings were traced and cut from felt:


A bit of typecasting here - John is tracing the pattern
with chalk (appropriate for a brand new teacher!)



Michael cuts out stockings (and is in charge of keeping the troops
"hydrated" - which must explain why he's working at the bar!

Marah cuts out the green stockings

Even Jax was put to work getting
the proper pieces together for
me to sew.

Yours truly assembling
the stockings.

 







To assemble, the stockings were then sewn together. 

Jeff gives a final "pink"
to the stockings.

Last step before heading to the decorators:  the edges were trimmed with pinking shears.  Then the stockings were decorated with puffy paints, glitter pens and felt scraps.  We had quite a group - 15 adults, one 4-year-old, 2 toddlers, one infant.  At one time or another I saw every single adult either with scissors in hand or decorating stockings (who knew some of these guys were so crafty!)  Though they tried to "mass produce" some elements for the stockings, they actually turned out quite unique and wonderful. 

 

Shh!  Don't tell Travis!

 

 

 

Aunt Marne helped Jax decorate a Christmas stocking for his dad.

 



Elizabeth helped keep Milo entertained.

Mark goes "old school" - keeping
the baby asleep while watching
the game!

People took turns minding the little ones as well (I saw several of the "grandpas" holding Milo at some point during the afternoon/evening). 

 

Gerry & Pete (in the background) start dinner prep.

Pete & Jeff "stirrin' &; saucin'"

While some were still working on stockings, others turned to the dinner portion of our event: a potluck stir fry.  Everyone brought things to contribute and we filled the new 10 ft. island with all sorts of veggies (bok choy, edamame, shredded cabbages, water chestnuts, mushrooms and more) and goodies (like chicken, shrimp, crabmeat and yakisoba noodles).  We handed out large bowls and people could toss in their selections and head to the cooktop to make their sauce selection and where Pete, Jeff and yours truly took turns doing the actual stir frying.  Even the kids loved it!

 

An having dinner with Elizabeth and Jax.

Shay digging in!

 

 

Jenny, Gerry & I owe a HUGE thank you to:

Carol, Mark, Jeff, An, Marne, Pete, Marah, Adra,

Sam, Cindy, John, and Michael! 

I know that Travis and his unit are going to have a

much merrier Christmas because of your efforts!!!!

The finished results:

 





 

~later, counting...days 'til Christmas, days 'til Travis comes home, but most of all my many, MANY blessings, tw

 

 

 

 





Grandson #5!

We got the call just after midnight yesterday that it was time for Jenny to head to the hospital.  We were expecting the call.  We just weren't expecting that it would be coming from Afghanistan!  (Jenny didn't want to wake us - Travis said "I don't have that problem!")

Sarah and I took Jenny to the hospital while Grandpa stayed with the two boys.  The "morning addition" arrived just before breakfast:

Milo Travis Charles Lynch

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

7:14 am

7 lbs. 3 oz.

19.5"

They had picked out the name before Travis deployed but sweetly added Charles as well since yesterday would have been my dad's (Milo's great-grandfather) 93rd birthday.

Milo meets his brothers Jax and Shay

~later, gma terri

Time for a bit of Pomp and Circumstance

This month will see two of our nephews graduate:

First up, Nicholas (son of proud parents Cathy and Dan), who graduated 8th Grade on Monday (St. Alphonsus, Seattle) with many, MANY honors.  No surprise to discover that he won a drama award (I'm sure he was pretty delighted to get to keep his Harold Hill hat!) but he also received awards for: reading the most pages in 7/8 grade (53,082), the President's Award for Education Excellence, Outstanding Graduate, made the Honor Roll and was named Salutatorian for his class!  Next fall will see Nicholas transitioning to Ballard High in Seattle.  We're hoping that he will somehow find his way to the drama department there!

On Thursday we will attend the High School graduation (Issaquah High) Reed (son of equally proud parents Pete and Marne) at Safeco Field.  I'm not really sure why tickets are required for this event as the capacity of the venue is 45,000+ (though I'm sure attendance will exceed the typical Mariners game these days, I doubt we will be anywhere close to capacity!) but his parents assure us that they've got our tickets for us.  After participating in JROTC it should also come as no surprise to anyone that Reed is bound for the Marines after graduation and headed to California this summer.

Congrats to both of these fine young men!  We are very proud of you - good luck next year!

~later, tw

Like Mother...

Jenny - age 1 1/2 (1985)

Like son:

Shay - age 1 1/2 (2013)

~later, it's gotta be in the DNA, tw

It's Not All About Me...

Okay, who am I kidding?  It is all about me.  Or maybe just mostly about me.

Because today it's actually about my terrific "twin" niece (we share a birthday...along with Albert Einstein).  Beth has always been a pretty crazy, incredible, crazy (did I already say that?) kiddo.  She's very energetic and passionate and those are only a couple of the qualities I admire about her.

A few years ago (probably whilst looking some milestone birthday in the face) she decided to just "DO" something - to get physically active and in better shape. Being a true multi-tasker (I think she got that from her Gma El) she looked not only for an activity that would be of personal benefit to her but also that would incorporate her philosophy of helping others.

She found this in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and became involved (along with her hubby Matt) in their Team In Training Program.  TNT trains runners, walkers, triathletes, cyclists and hikers who then help fund research by participation in various fundraising events (like the Seattle Rock-n-Roll Marathon that yours truly actually completed in June 2011!  I went to see if I had blogged previously about that accomplishment - what the heck?  How could I have NOT shared that amazingly, incredibly, AWESOME ACHIEVEMENT!!!)

















Uh...yeah, not about me... Anyway, Beth & Matt have participated in numerous events - locally in Anchorage, here in the lower 48 (Seattle, San Diego and San Francisco) and even internationally (Dublin, Ireland!).  Along the way they have raised a lot of money to help fund research for a cure...on behalf of family members, on behalf of friends, and even on behalf of total strangers!

This year they will be running in the Nike Women's Marathon on October 20, 2013 in San Francisco.  Check out their progress towards this year's fundraising goal (and if so inclined, make a donation - no donation is too small!)

Way to go Beth and Matt!  You totally ROCK!!!


~later, your favorite aunt tw