Recently Read ( Aug 5-11)

On Amazon this book has 662 5-star reviews!

The Help ...I starting listening to this(on Wednesday, Aug 5) (it's 21 hours!)...and went out and bought the book (sorry, there I go again)...because there are so many choice parts I feel like underlining!...(Sunday, Aug 9)finished listening/reading...wow...I really enjoyed it...thought provoking and a good ending! Highly recommended.

Maisie Dobbs...I read this a couple of years ago but reread before continuing on with the next books in the series...it reminds me of the Anne Perry mysteries set around WWI...I also went on the author's web site and enjoyed reading about her background.

The Penderwicks ....sent this to Amber for the kids... a new kids classic...it reminded me of Little Women, the Happy Hollisters, the Boxcar Children, but taking place in the present...

Relentless

....eh....I love a lot of Dean Koontz...but the last couple have been unremarkable...better books by Koontz: the Watchers, Midnight, the Face, Odd Thomas , Life Expectancy, By the Light of the Moon. Skip his early stuff (before about 1990)

Double Identity .... upper elementary, young adult....Margaret Haddix is best known for her "Shadow Children" series...the first is Among the Hidden . Also good is Running Out of Time.

Found...another (the first in a new series) by Margaret Haddix...sent this to Amber too...I thought Alec and Sadie would like it.

Zucchini and Carrots

It used to be that summer meant an overwhelming amount of zucchini from the garden....this was Grandma Della's recipe and the ONLY way we ever ate it

This is a very flexible recipe...amounts are not exact:

Saute a large sliced onion (brown, white, Maui) in a little oil in a frying pan.

Slice "some" zucchini...I used about 8 small (6") ones for the dish in the picture.

Peel a large carrot...then continue "peeling" the carrot into the pan with the zucchini and onions. Season with lemon pepper and stir fry for a few minutes. Cover pan and lower heat to steam veggies until tender...abt 10 more minutes.

Here's everyone with Grandma and Grandpa Eck (Della and Lou)...like mom's 80's hair?...remember the "potato van"? This was the trip we took before Karl went on his mission. We had to go to the LA temple because Oakland was being rennovated...and we went to Disneyland.

Lasagna Casserole(edited)

A few good casseroles will get you through a lot of family meals! And by using less fat ground beef or turkey and low fat versions of cream cheese, cottage cheese and sour cream...it's a good diet meal.
We had this with zucchini and carrots...yummm!

12 oz medium egg noodles, cooked in salted water and drained

Mix:

1 lb. hamburger, browned

1 24 oz.jar spaghetti sauce

Mix:

8 oz. cream cheese (fat free works fine)

1 C cottage cheese
1/2 C sour cream
3 T dried onions

Layer in a 2 qt. casserole(or a 11 3/4 x 9 1/2 x 2 3/4 foil pan)
: 1/2 noodles, all of the cheese mixture, 1/2 meat sauce; repeat noodles and meat sauce. Bake at 350 until hot...about 30-45 minutes. You can top with some grated cheese (jack or cheddar) the last 5 minutes

More cute grandkids!

Penny...pretty in pink...



Kendra and Kody


Brady and Carson's first soccer game...Parker's smart to stay in the shade!


Little Dustin (Kody) and big Dustin


Pool time for Penny...

Great Grandmas

There are a lot of grandmas in our family...grampas too. I had three great grandmas that I knew... Grandpa Roger's two grandmothers, Grandma Clara Dean and Grandma Edith Cecil (later Coppinger), and Grandma Janiece's grandmother, Grandma Nora Pearson.
Grandma Pearson was born in 1880 and died in 1987, so she was almost 107. Her full name was Nora Louisa Buchanan...Kendra's middle name, Louise, was because of Nora Louisa (and also Grandpa Lou).
Here are some pictures of her:


She is about 18 years old here, in the center of the back row. She had long red hair and a feisty personality. Her parents were Julia and John Buchanan. Her father's father, John Buchanan, was in the Mormon Battalion. She lived on a ranch in southern Utah; she made quilts, churned butter, made cheese and her own soap.




Here is Grandma Pearson holding me (Grandma Pat) when I was about 2 years old...See the tape on the bottom of my shoe...that was to keep me from slipping.




The little boy in this picture is Karl; I'm in the back with the long hair; next to me is my mom, Grandma Janiece; in front of me on the right is Grandma Della, her mother, and on the left is Grandma Pearson, who was Della's mother...is that confusing? It's like a family train....

Gma Pearson had Grandma Della who had Grandma Janiece who had Grandma Pat who had Karl (and Kendra, Michael, David, Mark and Kaity)

More about other grandmas later....

Nieman News...more summer activities...

Dave, Jessica and Penny....Penny was blessed on July 5

Alec(3rd back playing the clarinet) and Christian (playing saxaphone behind Alec) played in the 24th of July parade in Salt Lake City...


Dave, Jess and Penny in San Francisco.
Kaity is in Boston this summer as an SLP intern.

Dave, Jess, Penny and Kaity visited Gma Evelyn.

Sadie went to Girl Scout Camp.

Chrisitan, Alec, Sadie and Karl went on a Trek with their ward.

Pictures from the Past

The Way it Was....before Oakhurst, while the neighborhood was filled with almond trees...our street...Cardinet Dr. was named for George Cardinet who owned the Cardinet Candy Company...they made Uno bars (which used to be good...sort of like eating a fluffy chocolate milkshake...they're different now) Our neighborhood used to be the almond orchard for the candy company.

Here's our house while it still had the almond trees in front...remember "knocking almonds" in the fall? We'd let them dry out on the patio; then dad would fill gunny sacks and take them to a "huller" in Oakley...one year we got 400 lbs. of shelled almonds! I used to sell them for $1.00 a lb. And we'd make a lot of toasted almonds and English Toffee. (To toast almonds: fill a 9 x 13 pan with almonds and bake at 275 degrees for a couple of hours...until a little creamy inside; then stir in a cube of margerine...don't use butter as it will go rancid if the almonds are stored very long...and sprinkle with salt...turn off the oven and leave overnight or several hours until cool.)

Before the pool...wasn't I a good mother to let Karl and Michael Busch swim in the mud pit in the back yard...of course Karl was my only kid...so things were still pretty much under control...I made that shirt Karl is wearing...I used to make most of his shirts (thanks to Stretch and Sew)...I really didn't have enough to do! Actually I was just being frugal...following in the footsteps of Gma Eck and Gma Dorothy...I don't think I bought myself a "store-made" dress the first 12 years I was married.