Dad and Fay's Big Birthday Bash!

We had a fantastic time! Did I mention that we had a fantastic time!?! We started talking/planning/dreaming about a birthday celebration for Dad's (Granddad) 85th birthday and Fay's (Grandma Fay's) 75th more than a year ago. Sometimes it seemed like it would never arrive. But it did! And did I mention we had a fantastic time!

Now this blog is mostly about the pictures- pictures of family- at a celebration all about family!

So first with the BIG GROUP PICTURES!

This is one BIG, BEAUTIFUL FAMILY!

So we'll start with Dad and Fay and my brother and sister and step brother- and our most significant others!

And you just have to see my oh, so beautiful family!

But this blog is mostly about the pictures- so I best get started!

And we had friends from Norman that drove up just to join the celebration!

It was wonderful to see Walt and Earline- and we're already getting excited for the University of Oklahoma and University of Cincinnati Football game next fall here in Cincinnati!

And then Clare and Oliver came from OKC!

And of course Bill and Ellen!

We had the BIG BIRTHDAY BASH at LaFortune Park in Tulsa- complete with Barbq- Thanks to BUBBA...

BIG BUBBA!

And a great time was had by all!

Holding my babies is what I love the best!

The newest member of our family! Mikayla joins in the fun!

Mary and Sam!

It was wonderful to have our niece Tracy join the fun!

And you of course are noticing how cute Sam is looking...

Taylor takes the curve!

Marianne and Deseree in cartwheel contest!

Will, Brandy and Mikayla!

Aunt Mary and her Grandniece, Mikayla!

Cousins! (When Mikayla complains that maybe her BIG CUZ doesn't want her tagging along in a few years- maybe we should remind her she seemed less than enthusiastic when Reeder wanted to hold her- even for a moment.)

AND I THINK THIS MIGHT BE A MOST WONDERFUL GRANDMA MOMENT!

And I haven't even mentioned that we all went to the Tulsa State Fair!

Taylor and Reeder kept me safe! I really, really, really don't like heights! In Ferris Wheels! But I was safe!

I think this ride is more my speed!

Trust me! I'm not a pair of those dangling legs. But if you look closely you'll find Amber and Deseree!

My absolute favorite! The Merry-Go- Round!

And of course we did find the FAIR FOOD!

Amber heard about the Pineapple Whip on NPR and I was determined! And it was amazing- and I don't even like pineapple!

Notice the matching shorts on Marianne and Deseree!

A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL!

A new coat of paint and a new look

After several months of work our house painting project has finally been completed. The house was first power washed to remove the dirt and loose paint. This was done about a month before the painting actually started since construction was still in progress. When the painters returned, they power washed it again to remove paint that was still loose. The house looked pretty awful before the first brush of paint was put on it. Then they started priming the house and as they primed it, they scrapped off anything that hadn't been removed by the power washing. We picked out four colors, two shades of brown, an off white, and a red for accents. We wanted a real change from the white, blue, gray and pink we had for the past 14 years.

First, they primed the whole house with the lighter shade of brown. At first I was having some second thoughts about our color choices. The house was solid beige and not very interesting. But we had some faith in the colors and didn't change anything. Once the house was primed they started caulking every crack and crevice that they could find. I was somewhat amazed that they spent almost two weeks caulking the house. I was impressed. Then the real painting got started and we had ladders everywhere.



There were times when we had ladders outside most of our windows. It became a habit to check the bathroom windows just to make sure that a painter wasn't positioned just outside when the bathroom facilities were needed for a shower or other uses.

An, although the construction crew occupied my whole garage during their work, the painters only took up half of it. We were able to occasionally actually park a car in our garage. It had been since early January since were had been able to do that.

But now it is done, and it does look great. Our painters were not cheap, nor were they fast, but I do believe that they did about as good a job painting this house as anyone could have. Their work was meticulous, they didn't leave any mess and they were careful to make sure we knew what they were doing and anytime they thought that a change in plans needed to be made, they discussed it with us. Here is the finished product.

Our front door.

The front porch

The front bay window

The back porch

The view from the driveway

The new Sun Room

The view from the back yard

And since the American Hornbeam in the back yard was putting on such a beautiful display of fall color, I decided it needed a little notice too.

Pine floors

When I first bought this old house over 22 years ago, the stairway, hall and second floor bedrooms all has beige carpet-ugly beige carpet. Although it wasn't exactly new, it wasn't awful carpet. The awful part is that it is still on the floors and now it is awful-really, really, really awful. It has been on this floor through several dogs, multiple teenagers, multiple grandchildren, and I would be misrepresenting it if I didn't include myself as one of the participants. So we decided that if the outside were to get a face lift, so should the inside. The first step was painting all of these rooms in this house and since we were going to replace these carpets, why use drop cloths when you paint? The painting is now done, so the floors are next. But since I refinished the wood floors in two of the five bedrooms on the second floor over a couple of years several years ago, Max decided they should all be wood. I really do like wood floors, but I really didn't want to refinish these floors, because it is a lot of work, and she was talking about me doing 3 of them instead of just one at a time. I love, absolutely love, wood floors. Especially the wood floors in an really old house (circa 1895)- wood that has been around so very long. Seems so very painful to cover it up with a nylon pile. But Don wasn't so sure- first of all- returning an old wood floor- especially one that has never been loved- is no small feat. Don knows- he did it on two of the fiver rooms on this floor. But I was determined- so I nagged, and nagged, and nagged, and nagged. So in addition to picking out new carpet, we also contracted to get the floors refinished. The carpet on the stairs, hallways, and 3rd floor will be replaced after they finish the wood refinishing. They started yesterday (Wednesday) by first moving all of the bedroom furniture out of the rooms and into the empty spaces on the rest of the second floor.

Below is our hallway. That's the cherry chest of drawers/mirror that belonged to Mom. Behind it is one of our queen beds. The hall is officially clogged.

This is my study, or at least it was before it got stuffed with everything else. I was able to climb over several pieces and around a book shelf to get to my socks and underwear. That was a relief. It has been quite a challenge trying to pack for a trip to Phili (we're going to help Matthew and Sharon move into their new condo- Hurrah!)- I can't get to any of my blue jeans- too much furniture between me and them- so we'll just have to "make do"- but am feeling so grateful I won't have to smell this "stuff" in the air much longer.

And this is a giant vacuum dust sucker that they put in our entry way to try and keep the dust down while they sanded the floors. This vacuum was plugged into our 220 volt dryer outlet in the basement.

The floors on our second story are solid 1X 4 pine boards that have never been refinished since they were first nailed down over 114 years ago. Some previous owner decided that wood was out and so they repainted, much like I did, and splattered paint all over these floors before putting carpet over it. But these floor sanders can take off anything and they brought out the beautiful wood that is below.

Today I came home to floors with a first coat of urethane on them. It will take two more coats that will be put on tomorrow and Saturday, but the floors will be done by Monday. The smell right now is pretty awful as the urethane dries, but we will survive.

Next they will pull the old carpet off the stairs, hall and 3rd floor and put down new carpet. So we are hopeful that in just over another week, this old house will be done.

Buckwheat Pancakes- You just gotta try these!

I don't usually contribute much in these food blogs that Max writes, except of course in pictures, usually with my mouth open and a fork in my hand. But this one deserves to be commented on since this is a really great recipe and better yet, it is very simple. Max made this somewhat by accident, but I'll let her tell you about that. Try them, you will like them.

Not sure now where the original thought "I think maybe we'll try Buckwheat pancakes" came from- but I'm always looking for new ideas for our Saturday "breakfast at home". So I went on line and found a recipe and went shopping- for Buckwheat Flour- And I had trouble finding it- But finally stumbled on what I thought must be it- only thing with buckwheat in the title- and it was near flours and grains- So brought it home- and we loved them! Absolutely LOVED THEM! They were marvelous! So we had them often enough that I almost ran out of the buckwheat- so went back to the store for more- But as I'm a slow learner I stumbled around again to find the buckwheat flour. Brought it home and we made up a batch- And HATED THEM! How could this be? Well we looked at the package- and sure enough it was buckwheat "FLOUR". And then I compared to the label on the tiny dab left in the package from prior- and I hadn't been using flour at all- but rather "CEREAL" -so rather than "buckwheat flour"- I had been using "creamy buckwheat hot cereal". Well I don't care a bit what all the folks out there making buckwheat pancakes are using- but I can tell them- they're making a big, big, big mistake. Because if they'd just make one tiny little switch to cereal instead of flour theirs would be as good as ours!

So when you try this absolutely wonderful recipe- make sure you get the cereal- not the flour- and you're going to love it. Or maybe instead you'll just come to visit us- And we'll make them for you the RIGHT WAY- OUR WAY OF COURSE! (I'll put the recipe at the end)

Ingredients: Other than the buckwheat cereal it is the usual pancake "stuff", buttermilk, flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, egg, sugar...

My job in this process is cooking these pancakes. As with any other pancakes, get the griddle hot enough that drops of water "dance" on the surface when sprinkled on. Let them cook until you see bubbles coming up through the top and then turn them once and cook until brown on both sides.

As most of you who know Max know that she is a kitchen gadget collector. We have all kinds of kitchen gadgets, and I must admit that most do get used. But the one pictured below is my absolute favorite. What could be better in the fall than an apple peeler, corer, and spiral slicer? It is one item that I would readily replace if this one ever broke.

Well summer is over- and gone are strawberries and blueberries and raspberries and blackberries and plums and peaches and nectarines. The days of abundance are over. We are squarely looking winter in the horizon. And Don is in heaven- IT IS APPLE SEASON. And Don can do without all those summer fruits as long as he has his apples. So we're doing all things apple. (By the way- I have discovered that all I need to make Don REALLY, REALLY, REALLY happy with a recipe- is mix apples with a little cinnamon and a little butter and a little maple syrup)



Apple Topping:

2 peeled, cored, sliced apples

1 tbsp butter

2 tbsp maple syrup (use the REAL stuff and grade b is best)

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cardomon

Soften apples in non stick skillet on low heat while you make the pancakes



One final comment from me. One of the things that I have always considered odd about Max's eating habits is her insistence on eating pancakes with fried eggs on top. Call it an aberration of pigs in a blanket - more like chickens on top of the sheets. Anyway, she definitely inherited this from her dad and insists that whenever I make pancakes, she gets fried eggs to put on top. I'm more of a purist when it comes to pancakes. They can be topped with a little butter and some maple syrup and now with Max's new recipe, topped with these wonderful apples sauteed in maple syrup and cinnamon. I love eggs- and just quite ever work up to "loving" a pancake if there isn't a fried egg close by. I rather like a "little of everything" on my plate!

BUCKWHEAT PANCAKES FOR TWO:
Ingredients:
1 ¼ cup buttermilk
1 egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted
8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) all-purpose flour
8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) creamy buckwheat hot cereal
2 teaspoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon of baking powder
Directions:
1.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, and melted butter.
2.
In another bowl, mix together white flour, buckwheat flour, sugar, salt and baking soda. Pour the dry ingredients into the egg-mixture. Stir until the two mixtures are just incorporated.
3.
Heat a griddle or large frying pan to medium-hot, and place 1 tablespoon of butter, margarine or oil into it. Let the butter melt before spooning the batter into the frying pan, form 4 inch pancakes out of the batter. Once bubbles form on the top of the pancakes, flip them over, and cook them on the other side for about 3 minutes. Continue with this process until all of the batter has been made into pancakes.