And I’m Going To Wear A Blue Apron Too!

March 24, 2015 / apronsandappetites.com / 3 Comments

Sometimes I scan through blogs, and often times I find at least one really cool one. Such was the case today. I found this super cool, informative (unlike mine) healthy lifestyle blog called dailygarnish. She writes about running, yoga, eating well, raising healthy children… just a good place to go when you have a few extra minutes.

It’s where I found out about Blue Apron. You know how I love aprons, and you know how my cooking is supposed to be kicking off and going places (for only as long as I’ve been blogging), so when I saw this blog post about a food service called Blue Apron, I was wildly curious.

I read the article on dailygarnish then went on to Google to check out the reviews. Everything I read gave the food service a thumbs up. So I clicked on the website and filled out the information and now I wait. The beginning of April I will get my first shipment.

The delivery is everything I will need to make three meals for two people. Three really cool meals. Each ingredient is measured, each vegetable is included as are the meats, each box is iced. It includes a recipe card, easy-to-read recipe card. I am so very excited!!

Oh, To Get It Right

March 20, 2015 / apronsandappetites.com / 9 Comments

From my Mom

This card was from my Mom at the party in 1981 or 1983. I don’t know when it was. I’ve tried to figure it out, and right when I think I have, I post a card from B. O. and Jane Young that says June of 1983.

Which explains the gist of most of the cards and letters: I love you, you dork.

Which is also pretty much the gist of my life today: I am a dork.

But my Momma loved me, and did right up to the day she left for Heaven. I would imagine she still does.

This card is especially precious because of my Mom’s handwriting. As we walk through life, or run, we have no idea how we will miss those little things like handwriting, a voice, a chuckle.

Here is another one of my cherished gifts from that day: a long-ago picture of some neighborhood kids.

Jamie, me, and Terry

A lot of us had horses or ponies in those days. We all played and played together: sledding down the big hills in the snowy winter, pretend ice skating with our boots in the freezing weeks, riding ponies and bikes in the hot summer, playing in the water hose or in the rain. Gail tells it well:

Gail’s letter

Gail’s letter back

Oh, the times we had as children! Wonderful, imaginative, exciting times!

There were more letters from my Acteens youth girls and my Sunday School class, sweet letters from sweet girls who became good, sweet women, mothers, teachers of their own Sunday School classes, employees.

A time capsule of sorts. One that I hope you have enjoyed opening.

The Party of 1981–The Hands of Old Friends

March 18, 2015 / apronsandappetites.com / 1 Comment

Dymisha and me plus ours and others — way back when

Man!!! We were skiiiiiineeeee!! I remember that red outfit; I loved it. Must have been my going-to-town shorts and shirt since that’s where I thought we were going. Headed to the big city of 12,000 compared to our little town of 1800. Yes, you read that right. We’re even smaller today with the commerce dwindling and people going elsewhere to buy what they need. Forced to now that things are shutting down instead of choosing to.

As is the way with most small towns, we’ve kept getting smaller. Waaaaay back in the day, people called our little town “going to town” because it was a bustling little place with several grocery stores, two big hardware stores, a dry cleaner, drugstore, a newspaper office, clothing stores, several taverns, car dealerships, gas stations, restaurants, jewelry store, skating rink, and I’m sure I am leaving some out.

It was a happy time then; a time when our children were small and easily entertained and easily maintained! A good time for a party!

Here are some samplings of my gifts that day, gifts I have treasured for over 30 years:

This was the beginning of the book. A card from Dymisha and a long letter. Followed by cards and letters from my Mom and my friends. A heart book.

A letter from Dymisha

page 2

That letter is five pages long!!! A wonderful letter that I’ll share only part with you. But here are some more!!

Ms. Catherine’s letter

Ms. Catherine was the nurse in our one-doctor hospital. She and Doc Stanelle cared for a lot of people over their years of doctoring. I can remember Dr. Stanelle making house calls! He had to come to our house once because my fever was so high it scared my mother. Really scared her for her to call the doctor to the house! I can remember all those kids being on my bed, jumping around and putting rocks on my forehead. When I told my mother as much, she ran to the phone, and good old Doc did his thing. It must have worked because I’m still here today.

Ms. Catherine was a woman of substance. And I am very honored that she took the time to write me a message.

Another person of substance, a man who gave years and years of his life to stand in front of our small church congregation and pick out songs to sing was Byers Young, B. O. Young. He and his wife, Jane, were great people I will always remember fondly. They ran one of the hardware stores in town. And to think that he took the time to sit down and write something to a young woman just amazes me. And humbles me as well.

B. O. Young’s card

(more to come)

The Party of 1981 – Part 3

March 16, 2015 / apronsandappetites.com / Leave a comment

As I read the letters, I couldn’t help but laugh at the fact that I am the same today as I was all those years ago. Several voiced in their letters qualities or lack of them that are my personality traits today. And I was overwhelmed with joy that I had been blessed with such good people in my life. They each had stories or an encouragement or accolades. They each took their precious time and sat down and wrote something to me, something I have cherished all these years.

There were letters from the Acteens group at church that I was leading; busy teenagers who wrote me the sweetest, most heartfelt letters that I cry over. Older women who have now gone on to be with God, women of substance who gave me moments of themselves. Women my age (older women now) who spent time reminiscing, blessing me, loving me. Women who acknowledged the positive things about me and laughed at the not-so-positive things. Good stuff there in that book.

I’m going to share some of them with you. Perhaps you will remember writing the letter, and it will bring back a good memory for you. Make you smile. Make you happy. As Dymisha said in her letter, “You know, if there has been one moment of happiness brought to her through this surprise party, or this letter… then I’m happy.”

(to be continued)

The Party of 1981 – Part 2

March 15, 2015 / apronsandappetites.com / 3 Comments

Dymisha was driving, and I was enjoying my free afternoon with my good friend. She kept driving down the road, past the houses, straight to the park entrance… and stopped. I just looked at her, and wondered what in the world was she doing. We were going out to eat! She was smiling from ear to ear and pointed to this big sign right in front of us. (I have never been one to notice the obvious.)

On the sign were big words that said, “Happy Birthday, Brenda!” My feeble little mind could not wrap itself around what was going on. There were all kinds of people milling around under the shelter, children running all over the place. What was going on?

When Dymisha finally opened the door and got out, it kicked in. A surprise party!!! She had planned this super awesome surprise party for me with family and friends there. I can’t remember the details now of what we did that day. I’m sure we had food because that’s where we were headed. All I remember is the love: the smiling, happy, love.

And I still remember it.

She gave me a wonderful gift that day, one she had prepared beforehand and presented to me that day. A gift I have kept for these past 30-some years. A scrapbook filled with letters from my family and friends with pictures from the party added later. A book that would never happen today in the age of texting and tweeting and emailing.

I found that book the other day as I was cleaning out a closet and sat down to look through it, again. Occasionally throughout the years I would get it out and thumb through it, sometimes reading all the letters, but mostly looking at the pictures. This particular day, I got out all the letters, everything that was in there, and decided to write about my friend, Dymisha, and the other great people who took time out of a busy day to come celebrate with me.

(to be continued)

The Party of 1981

March 14, 2015March 15, 2015 / apronsandappetites.com / 4 Comments

Her name is Dymisha. One of those friends that settle into your heart, make it their home, and will always be there whether you see them again or not. That door in my heart has been opened recently, and those wonderful memories came flooding out, balloons floating into the sky bursting into lovely fireworks.

It was 1981. We went to church together and were doing a Paul/Timothy study. We would meet; Dymisha would make me an egg and cheese sandwich with an ice-cold-over- ice Coke (she had Pepsi); the kids would play. These sessions drew us close, taught us who the other was, and bound us together as sisters, sisters in Christ.

She was the one that turned me on to those delicious egg sandwiches that are to this very day my go-to comfort food. Whenever I’m tired and hungry, I make an egg and cheese sandwich. Whenever someone at the house is hungry right now, they get an egg and cheese sandwich. And I always, always, always, every time I make one, think of her, Dymisha. I put this recipe (if you want to call it that) on one of my blogs way back in the beginning, but I will put it on here again because it is just that good.

My Most Favorite Egg Sandwich In The Whole World

2 eggs (mix with a fork in the pan) fried in a T. of unsalted butter, no salt, better flip once, maybe fold them over some to fit on the bread

2 slices whole wheat bread, butter lightly one side, lay one piece butter side down in the same pan after scooping up the eggs with a pancake turner, then plop the eggs onto the bread

1 slice of cheese, whatever cheese you like, parceled over the top of the eggs, then place the other piece of bread on that, once again lightly buttered

flip to melt the cheese until it’s gooey and oozing out the sides and the bread is all crispy.

serve with an ice-cold Coca-Cola over crushed ice

Double Yum!!

It was my birthday, June 17, 1981. Dymisha had invited me to go out to eat somewhere, and I was so excited. Mom was going to keep the kids; a girls’ day out. But first, she said, we had to make a stop at a lady’s house for some buttons or some kind of sewing stuff.

Okay. I was good with that because we were out for the afternoon!

Well, first I have to tell you that Dymisha could do anything. Really. Anything she set her mind to, she could do it. If she decided she wanted to wallpaper her living room, the next day it was done. If she wanted new curtains, get out the sewing machine and make some that afternoon. If she needed shelves built, well, where’s the drill. She amazed me!

So I never thought anything at all about going down the street to the park for her to pick up something she needed to make.

Was I ever surprised!!

(to be continued)

They’re Driving Me Crazy!!!

March 8, 2015 / apronsandappetites.com / 5 Comments

Never start with I. But in this case I have to because it is I who cannot wrap my raised-on-paper brain around all my computery gadgets. It exhausts me even now just writing about it.

My motto “Never Give Up” (which I might add I have had since high school although I didn’t know that I had it since high school until right now actually) has kept me going and learning and surviving all these long years of my life. Even when trying to master my computery gadgets. I have a real love/hate relationship going on with them: Kindle, MacBook Air, HP, iphone, Diamante and Case Catalyst, Roku… I’ll even include the DVD player for the girls.

Today I’ve been trying to get the Amazon Prime music on the Roku. Grrrrrrrr It sounds so easy when I read about it on my Amazon page: if you have Amazon Prime, you get all this cool music (gist of the Amazon music page). The Roku has a music icon on my Amazon station because, yes, I did subscribe to Amazon Prime. No problem. Well, no problem after I figure out how to download-upload-inload-outload-whateverIneedtodo to get it on the Roku and get my yet another password going.