Today is my little firecracker’s birthday. He wanted a bicycle for his birthday so he could begin a “buff & bulk up” program hoping to prolong his “youthful” like body…so off we went to look for him a bike.  We finally found one and he brought it home and off he rode into the wild blue yonder, with the phone in his pocket in case he couldn’t make it up all the hills around our house…….am making him a german chocolate cake today for his requested cake and just make him a homemade card. We agreed several months ago to begin to make cards and not buy them anymore. When we moved, we threw away stacks of cards, which showed us how much money we had spent on cards through the years. So when we saw that we could have possibly gone to Europe on the money we had spent buying cards, we decided then and there to make cards, write emails or letters that conveyed our thoughts and save our money. So far, we have enough to go to San Diego for one night, but I’m sure we will get better at this card making thing. Happy Birthday Bicycle Bill, will have you a great German Chocolate cake ready by the time you get home for your round the block bicycle tour tonight.

I will be returning to the blog sometime in the next two weeks. My dad is in the last stages of life and am headed to Texas to be with him and my mom. Please pray for my family as we go through this difficult time…will be back in a couple of weeks…until then, Southern love and hospitality to you…Trudy

I think that this is some kind of oxymoron, walking for exercise and to buy butter and eggs.  Most people around the great state of California walk everyday. You cannot go anywhere around Pasadena without seeing people walking to work, walking for exercise or just our for a stroll. Because the weather is just so amazing and cool, it invites us to just put our walking shoes on and head out. Some of our friends who live down the street actually walk to church every Sunday morning, a 40 min walk. I would have to do a lot of praying before I attempted that, but this morning, it was 57 outside, sunny and just so gorgeous, that I decided to put my earphones in and crank up the ole iPhone and listen to Sandi Patti and walk to the grocery store. Randy’s car is in the shop, so I am without a car today, which puts me at home. What do I do when I am home all day? I bake! So upon the realization that I only had 5 eggs, I realized that if I was going to do some heavy duty baking, I was going to have to go to the store and get more eggs and butter. When I think about that, it just seems weird. Most people you pass walking on the street are walking around with a bottled water, but no, not me, I am carrying my bag with cholesterol laden butter and eggs and sour cream! Maybe that is why all the cute little joggers stared at me when I was walking. At first I thought maybe it was the cute little walking outfit I had on, blue jeans with black paint splattered all over the front, new sparkling white tennies, pink earphones and a flamingo patterned hat…..now there’s a picture you can’t get out of your mind. But as I strolled along, humming Sandi Patti all the while, switching the butter and eggs from hand to hand, I realized that the “true walkers” were looking at my grocery items. I think they probably hadn’t see an exercise guru such as myself walking along, carrying butter and eggs. But….I made it home before they called the walking police after me. So am back home, looking at recipes to figure out which scones and pound cake to make today. Maybe tomorrow, I will walk past the grocery store to the fitness center……no, I just remembered, I went there once and promised myself I would never, ever go again: they threw me out when I brought everyone in  my exercise class a bag of cookies for all their hard work.

We have been in California for almost a year and a half now.  People have told me that it takes about 3 years for you to begin to feel at home in a new city and I’m sure that is true. This past week, we have had several things that have just made us stop and realize that this is really beginning to feel like home. Our church Sunday School class went as a group to the Getty Museum on Saturday and it was just a gorgeous day. As most of the group left, there were 6 of us still hanging around, trying to muster up enough strength after touring the grounds of 750 acres just to walk back to the car, so we  just sat under the shade of the most beautiful pepper trees (I don’t know why they are called pepper trees, I didn’t see any peppers or salt,)and drank coffee or tea having a great time of laughter and fellowship. All  3 couples ended up going shopping and out to eat mexican food that night. Driving home, Randy and I began to talk about how that was just such a sweet blessing to us. Something unplanned and spontaneous as shopping and dinner, made the whole day. Just sitting and talking and laughing like we didn’t have a care in the world was such a great time. We don’t do that enough. It seems that we are always in such a hurry to get someplace or get something done. Last night, we ended up walking about 6 blocks to some friends house to deliver a cake and ended up sitting on their front porch for over an hour, once again, just talking and had a marvelous time. We talked about it on the way back home, (well, in-between me stopping every block to loosen my tennis shoes and complaining about my foot) that those are the things that make us feel at home. The time spent visiting with others and sharing laughter and yes, chocolate cake, help create that feeling of “home” . We look back over this past year and 5 months and acknowledge that yes, we do miss family and friends who mean so much to us and who we can’t wait to see on visits back to Texas, but we are so blessed to have new friends who have truly allowed us into their hearts. If you are new to a city or area, give it time. God will use you where He plants you. Just look and expect the “day” to come when you wake up and realize that it is good and sweet to feel “at home”. Just give it a Day…..it will make a difference!

When you are in the kitchen and you are in the middle of making something and find yourself out of one of the ingredients, the list below will help you find a substitution and allow you to go right ahead and bake what ever your little heart is craving. I found this on her web site and thought it most worthy of sharing with you. Print it out and tape it inside one of your kitchen cabinets so it is handy when you need it. Don’t ever open the cabinet where all my spices are. You will find a whole magazine taped to the inside door.  Measurements, pound cake recipes that I use almost weekend, and yes, you would think that I should have them memorized by now, but I am old, memory is fading and I do everything in a hurry, so I don’t trust myself to remember amounts of oil/water or whether it is Baking powder or soda.  The only cookie recipe that I can make without even glancing at the written word is chocolate chip cookies, which I have made more times than I care to admit. Of course, once you look at my backside, you might have a pretty good idea how many times I have made them.

Buttermilk

Add 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar to 1 cup fresh milk; let sour for 5 minutes.

Cake Flour
Substitute 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour for 2 cups cake flour.

Corn Meal Mix
Having trouble finding corn meal mix in your grocery store? You can make your own by combining 1 cup corn meal, 1 cup all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon salt and 4 teaspoons baking powder. You can store it in a tightly covered container for up to 6 months.

Corn Syrup
1 cup of sugar dissolved in ½ cup water equals 1 ½ cups corn syrup.

House Seasoning
1 cup salt, ¼ cup black pepper, and ¼ cup garlic powder.

Lemon Juice
½ teaspoon of vinegar can be substituted for each teaspoon of lemon juice.

Liquids
Instead of the water your recipe calls for, try juices, bouillon, or water you’ve cooked vegetables in. Instead of milk, try buttermilk, yogurt or sour cream. It can add a whole new flavor and improve nutrition.

Self-Rising Flour
To make your own self-rising flour, add 1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder and ½ teaspoon of salt to each cup of all-purpose flour.

Sour Cream
Use 1 cup of plain yogurt, OR 1 cup cottage cheese blended until smooth with 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1/3 cup buttermilk for each cup of sour cream

Sweetened Condensed Milk
Mix 6 cups whole milk with 4 ½ cups sugar, 1 stick of butter, and 1 vanilla bean (or 1 tablespoon vanilla). Cook over medium heat, reducing liquid, for 1 hour. Stir occasionally. Cool. Yields 4 ½ cups. This can be stored and covered in the refrigerator for several weeks. Cut recipe in half for immediate use.

As most of you know, I am in Phoenix, caring for grandkids while Jodi and Eric just brought Noah Michael into the world last Thursday. While Noah is just the most precious little blessing, this has been a huge reminder that I am not 40 anymore. Caring for a 2 yr old and a 10 yr old, much less a 33 yr old and a 39 year old, has also proven to be very…well, proven to be most tiring. Fun, but tiring.

As I am cooking away, which I love to do, I sometimes look around and see laying on the floor a pair of little underwear laying there because Caleb (the 2 yr old, not the 39 yr old) has run to the potty, but just takes off the underwear as soon as he realizes he needs to go. I have washed exactly 137 tommy tippy cups in 5 days, emptied trash cans every other hour (from the non-stop soiled diapers from the newborn and the 2 yr old.) Before Randy came to help me over the weekend, I was leaving the hospital the day Noah was born when Caleb decided he wouldn’t get out of the elevator, so here I am with a armful of balloons, 2 stuffed doggies, my purse, bag of extra clothes and “treats” for Caleb all the while trying to drag Caleb out of the elevator. People waiting to get on the elevator just stand there watching me to see how I am going to manage this. Jaden is already out and the doors begin to close when Caleb proceeds to scream, saying “no, I don’t want to go, I want my dad” and me, trying to sound so sweet and trying to bribe him out of the elevator, so the people wouldn’t think I was a child molester or kidnapper. Jaden finally grabbed one arm and me the other and we proceed to drag him out with him sitting on his bottom, screaming all the way.

The next day, Randy has arrived and we decided we need to go to Walmart to buy a few things when, Randy decides to leave Caleb and I at the check out counter while he goes and looks for a pair of sunglasses. I get all the groceries on the belt to check out and Caleb immediately yells, “”Nana, I have to go potty, NOW”…well, I cannot leave all my groceries on the belt, don’t have the energy to start back over and with no Randy in sight, I begin to plead and bribe Caleb if he can wait I will buy him any candy he wants. Finally Randy shows up and I throw Caleb at him and yell, take him potty now. Randy runs with Caleb to the bathroom, only to return him to me in a minute, saying that the men’s restroom is closed for cleaning, so I take him and run to the ladies bathroom……We get to the “minivan”, yes, we said, minivan, (for those of you who know Randy, you know this is quite a trick getting him to drive a minivan while we have the grandkids), and Randy says that the glasses he just bought are already scratched so he is going to go back in and exchange them. I try to catch Caleb to put him in the car seat when he decides that he thinks it is fun running around the inside of the van. So, I proceed to climb in and head to the back of the 3 seat van to retreive this precious little darling. Now if you can imagine a little old lady trying to catch a 2 yr old inside a mini van while he is climbing over all the seats trying to get away from you, you get the picture.

We got home, finally and Jaden announces that he is hungry. I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t cook anything. Besides dealing with over 100 degree weather and the 2 year old, I talked Randy into going to get us Taco Bell. I don’t think I have to tell you that we have doubled up on our viatamins since being here and am sleeping extremely well every night.  With Jodi and Eric and the new little Noah home now, it has been such a sweet time of seeing my daugher be a new mother once again. We actually had about 4 hours, just she, Noah and I, one afternoon at the hospital while Eric and Randy took the other two boys. What a sweet memory. Yes, it is worth all the dirty dishes, dirty diapers and dirty chothes, to see your kids become parents again. Not only does it bring back many sweet memories, but in the process of these two weeks, we will be taking home some new memories that we will cherish for years to come. Thank you Jodi and Eric for this new little blessing and thank you Lord for your protection and the gift of Noah. He has already won our hearts.

It is Good Friday. As I sit here and think about what God, in all His Glory, did for us so that we might live victoriously forever, it amazes me that Sunday, we will celebrate a Risen Savior who truly is in the world today. Last night, our Bible Study group had a meal together, reading scripture of what Christ did and why He came to earth. He came to bring salvation to all who believe and that the Father would be glorified. It brought to my mind that I needed to think more of my life and what I am doing that glorifies the Father. Would He be glorified by the life I live daily? Would TV shows, movies I watch, attitudes that I have…..would these bring Him glory or grief?

This Sunday, as we attend worship services, let’s reflect on not only what Christ has done for us, but what we are doing for Him?

Last night, as we gathered around with friends who have become so precious to us, reading of the Passover meal and sharing bread together in remembrance of 2000 years ago, I couldn’t help but wonder what Jesus and His Disciples were thinking. As we were there sharing prayer requests and the bond of friendship and love, because of Jesus Christ, it made me wonder what it would have been like to have dinner with Jesus, sitting, sharing, and encouraging each other in their faith. Praise God, because of the Resurrection, we will find out one day what it will be like to sit around the table and have dinner with our Savior……..Easter Blessings to each one of you, new friends, old friends and family, each of who we love so much!