Stephanie says

My cousin Gayle (and her husband) bought the McGilchrist Building in Salem and invested a couple of long years restoring the monster; just a little something to do in their retirement. It should be noted that they are not retirement bound after all because they've opened an Italian restaurant/grocery/catering business on the ground floor. Lovely, lovely job.  I'm very proud of Gayle, (and Doug, but to forgo any appearance of political correctness and save typing so many extraneous pronouns, I am hereby assigning all credit to Gayle.  So sue me.) Eschewing my hermit tendencies, with Baby Henry in Salem (unseen for a couple weeks), an invite to a wine tasting at a much loved cousin's new restaurant, and committed sherpa duty transporting Tyler's new couch and chair, I drove the 120 miles to Salem.   And thoroughly enjoyed myself at the wine tasting.  It is an Italian market and has a wide selection of Italian products, of which I'm thoroughly enamored....

By now my readers (and hopefully I do have readers,) know I work at an accounting firm.  Wait a sec, I'm the only employee, so perhaps "firm" isn't the right word. Whatever.  Rather than be distracted by semantics, here's the story I'm trying to tell: The local Methodist Church is my client and Mary Lou handles offering deposits and church mail.  By default, as church membership has declined in the past twenty years due to aging and a declining population.  Mildred Whipple, a person I wish I'd known, grandmother to my boys, (figuratively speaking) established an annual endowment for the church.  That's tidbit isn't relevant to this story.  I just wanted to get it in writing that Mildred had much foresight and was a generous, generous woman. On task:  Mary swings by on the Monday.  Sometimes again later in the week should she need a check.  A tiny woman of octogenarian age, (mostly) salt and pepper curls, and a thorough hoot. I'm delight...

Browsing Facebook, an infrequent pastime (hmpft;   I have much better things to do with my time, no judgment of course…), I click through various links and drill down here and there and happen on a previously unseen page for my boy, Don.   Damn, I think he moved to Nebraska.   I feel an immediate loss.   He’s lived in Oregon since college, transplanting from Nebraska a long, long time ago.   I am bereft.   I’m nonplussed at this feeling. I shoot off an email.   Get a reply post haste.   Phew, he’s still here. I can't really express this but  Oregon would be emptier without him.  How do you know when you first meet someone that they’re going to impact your life so tremendously?   I had no clue the first time I laid eyes on Don Willey, a new friend then of my (first and likely only) husband.   We were at a trade show?   My husband had a landscaping display, (he was truly gifted in this trade) and people were...

This morning, a general futzing around:   watering the garden; cleaning house; performing a couple small repairs.   All put aside for an interlude of movie watching this afternoon.   I am delightfully alone in my clean house, (and even a tidy house if my peripheral vision is blocked from the stack of toys piled in a corner.)   My daughter and her family have been here for five weeks.   I love my daughter.   I’m enjoying getting to know her husband.   I’m bonding with baby Henry.   Then again, I savor my alone-time wholeheartedly.     All is good, he's got his rock.

Recipe by Martha Stewart Bought a crate of Red Haven peaches at the fruit stand yesterday.  Yep, a crate.  We cannot possibly eat that many fresh peaches so I'm scrambling to find uses.  I'd make a peach pie but I'm holding out for delivery of my high-powered Cuisinart Food Processor to make the crust (which is currently langoring at the post office.  Oh sure, I get a notice for pickup but being Saturday, the post office is closed...I want it.  I want it.  I want it now.) So it's upside-down cake. It came out of the pan perfectly! INGREDIENTS 5 1/2 ounces (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened 1 cup sugar 3 medium ripe peaches (about 1 1/4 pounds), skins on, pitted, and cut into 3/4-inch wedges 1 cup coarse yellow cornmeal or polenta 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 2 teaspoons chopped fresh lavender, or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried lavender 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt 3 large eggs 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract...

Sinfully rich I could talk about attending the Country Fair in Veneta yesterday, an alternative kind of fair with all sorts of spectacles catching my attention.  But instead, I'm talking about desserts again. I had two at the fair!  I've been craving chocolate pudding in my indulgent dessert obsession.  I was certain Deb at Smitten Kitchen would have a suitably rich pudding recipe, and I was right.  Alas, I only had four ounces of bakers chocolate so added two ounces of really good cocoa (whisked in a separate bowl with some of the milk mixture then added to the pot when the spoon stage was reached.  This is soooo chocolatey! Serves 6 to 7 - maybe in some universe.  At my house, it serves three. 1/4 cup (30 grams) cornstarch 1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar 1/8 teaspoon salt 3 cups (710 ml) whole milk 6 ounces (170 grams) semi- or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (or 1 cup good chocolate chips) 1 teaspoon (5 ml) pure vanilla extract Comb...

We've been on a dessert binge. I don't worry about having to eat an entire batch of whatever (so it won't go bad...) with Tyler and Ryan here.  They both have a sweet tooth.  For tonight folks, Terry made cinnamon ice cream.  It is wonderful.  First bite:  "Ahhhh."  Smooth with a bite of cinnamon.  Second bite:  "How about paired with apple pie?"  Terry has stated as fact that he makes a thoroughly exceptional pie.  So, how about it? This was my serving.  Note the restraint!