A Beautiful Morning

It was a cool, peaceful, misty morning,





tinged with the smell of...


skunk!





Oh, am I glad the dogs sleep inside!

My Boys Enjoyed Clothing Shopping - I Think Not!

I've entered the Twilight Zone, when it comes to keeping clothes on the backs of my boys. It's a strange and eery place for a girl like me who begged and begged her mother for clothes. I'm a gal who enjoys shopping, not in a neurotic way, I just enjoy acquiring the essential items.

My boys detest clothes shopping. They will shoe shop any day of the week, but mention clothes and, oh boy, you will witness every form of resistance. If you find a way to get them to go, they don't like to look at the clothes, they don't like to tell you which they like, and they definitely don't like to try on the clothes...and about this time a mother's brain begins to melt.


In years past, this refusal to shop was not a problem. I would shop for them and they would wear the clothes. Something has taken hold of these boys. They will no longer grab just ANYTHING to pull over their heads and onto their legs. They have become selective...AWARE.


So what's a mother to do? It's a truly bizarre dilemma. I'm still begging. Now I beg MY CHILDREN to go shopping with me! To accomplish this I've first, laid down the law: an outfit is worn for only one day. You'll have to trust me when I say one day is MORE than enough. Next, I have explained that if they do not go, they will have to wear last year's jeans when it gets cold, even if said jeans are three or four inches too short. Finally, I was simply forced to explain to them they will need to wear what I select for them NO MATTER WHAT, if they refuse to shop!


They agreed to go yesterday! To my great fortune, their father was home and in a moment of weakness, he agreed to go, too! As we entered the mall, my hands began to sweat and my heart to pound. Would I leave this mall with my sanity? I tried a strategy designed to make it easier on both my husband and me. "I will take Youngest (the child who needed the most clothing) with me and you take Middleman and Oldest to the store they like and we will meet." The ole' "divide and conquer" strategy.


Youngest seemed to like this approach. When we arrived at the store, I began by asking him of the shirts in a particular display which color combo did he like best. He pointed. I quickly grabbed his size. Onto the next grouping. Same approach, same result. Whew, this was going well. Jeans...dreaded jeans. Who knew a slight color variation could be so upsetting to pre-teen and teenage boys? A stroke of luck, however. All the jeans displayed were very close in color...grabbed a few sizes and we headed for the fitting rooms. Youngest was beyond cooperative!!! We left the store with some new clothes that he liked AND agreed to wear!

We met the rest of the crew and found they also were successful...a pair of jeans for each boy. We were able to work Oldest into selecting a shirt and some boxers (sorry son, I have inadvertantly revealed your boxer/brief preference). I may have learned the most valuable lesson of all today. The time to go shoe shopping is when only one child needs one pair of shoes... ha ha ha, that happens a lot, hee hee hee ho ho ho...like almost never! Picking up that one pair was amazingly easy. We made it out of the mall alive.


My plan is too study what we bought today very, very carefully. When it is time for the boys to have more than one pair of jeans that fits, I will go to the mall ALONE and buy EXACT duplicates. By then they will probably prefer some variation... refuse to wear them... and I will check myself into the local mental facility.

The Besto Pesto

Do you have a coffee group? Having coffee with your friends involves the sharing of great wisdom, not to mention laughs. Occasionally, gifts!








At this morning's coffee, Sarah brought me this wad of fragrant Basil from her garden.









I threw in the basil I had left in my garden and the pesto making began in earnest.






Basil Pesto
2 cups basil leaves, packed down
1/3 cup pinenuts
1/4 cup parmesian cheese
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste


If the pinenuts are not chopped, place in food processor and pulse to chop. Add cheese, garlic, salt and pepper and 1/2 the basil. Pulse. Add the rest of the basil. Pour oil in with processor running until it forms a spread.

Refrigerate and use within several days or freeze and use within 3 months.

I broke out the Quisinart, which was a wedding gift from my in-laws. They've tried for years to convince me to keep it on my counter, but the only appliance that has been a fixture is my husband's coffeemaker. But y'know, they may be on to something... ideas bounced around in my head as I processed. Pizza dough may be next.

When Marjory learned that I wanted to freeze the Pesto, she suggested freezing it in an ice cube tray. Once it's frozen, pop out the cubes and place in a freezer bag. I will then have go-to Pesto for soups and sauces, or I can use several cubes with pasta. Brilliant! I have to admit to having a hard time putting that tray in the freezer after hearing the dishes the gals prepare with Pesto, but I did it. My plan is to pull some cubes out in the deep, dead, cold of winter.

A Garden Tour at My Sister's

My sister, Pam, loves gardening and a few years ago completed the Master Gardener program in Indiana. She now lives in St. Louis and has been transforming the yard of her new home. It is gorgeeeous, simply gorgeous!



This little bed greets you as you drive up. It's at the front edge of the yard telling you there's more beauty to see.

Pam has been working inside and outside on making her new house an inviting, beautiful, refreshing home. She added a picture window to her family room looking out over the back yard and here's what you see.

Walk out onto the patio and this burst of color and texture grabs your attention.

As you stroll into the backyard, you're greated with all kinds of lovely plantings. The mulch she uses is this new stuff called "Black Gold". It's not oily, I swear! It's like a black peat moss or rich, dark soil. Only it's magical, because she says it stays in place and seems to control the weeds better than traditional bark mulch.

Look at this...those weepy, bushes that are really trees are just too cool!

Do you see that bush in the back with the fushcia flowers? That little number has caught the eye of my husband. He wants to plant them here in Kansas.

They are Crepe Myrtle (with my poor spelling I first typed Crape Myrtle...drop the first e...now there's a plant you want in your yard - ha). I've been asking around and what I've learned is they are a little tempermental here... a little too windy and a little too cold in the winter. They will grow here, but every few years they decide they are perennials instead of bushes and die back to the ground. We can live with that, 'cause you need to keep the guy who does all the heavy lifting very, very happy! If he wants some Crepe Myrtle, he's getting some!

Touring gardens is inspiring, with different plant varieties to investigate. How it's all put together, for me, is the most intriguing part. Pam has that gift. She is able to group plants in ways that make a whole garden bed interesting and beautiful. I love watching her gardens evolve and am currently plotting a way to extract her creative genes and inject them into me...we are sisters, so it should work!

Ralph Waldo Emerson Wrote It and Kevin Lives It

My cousin, Joy, on my father's side, has one daughter and identical-twin sons. One of these sons, Kevin, headed to New York City when he finished college. You might think to find fame as an actor on broadway or fortune working on Wall Street, but he endeavors at something significantly more important.

Here's Kevin with my Mom in October of 2007.

Kevin first worked at a long-term intensive residential drug and alcohol rehab facility for prison-involved men. Now he serves as Assistant Director of Palladia Inc.'s. Dreitzer Women's and Children's Program (http://www.palladiainc.org/). Kevin emailed his family and friends explaining that the facility is a 26 bed long term intensive residential drug and alcohol rehab for single women. These women have been in prison, homeless, and have chronic substance abuse and psychiatric issues. They move into the facility with their very young children ages 0-4. He added that Dreitzer is an exceptionally pioneering and innovative program that offers women the rare opportunity to receive intensive treatment while also living with and caring for their children. Sadly, there continues to only be a handful of such programs in the country despite the growing need for them.

What a remarkable young man!


At the end of his emails, Kevin includes the following quote that truly embodies the person he is and offers inspiration.



-- "To laugh often and much, to win the respect of the intelligent and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, to redeem a social condition, to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

I've Got a Secret...about Frozen Custard

I've got a secret, well...ok...not really, especially if you live in St. Louis! I know the location of the best frozen custard in this here small world.

Ted Drewes

Ted started his business many, many moons ago. Before a few folks discovered his luscious, rich, unforgetable treat, he operated out of a tiny building, like a little shed, during the summer and then in the winter he used his parking lot to sell Christmas trees.



When you have something truly special word travels...and travels and travels. Fast forward to today and a trip to Ted Drewes (worked into all of our St. Louis visits) greets you with this...

You know what I really love? Ted won't franchise! I bet he's been asked about a gazillion times, too! He did have some of his products in local grocery stores at one time, but mainly he sticks with his two locations - the original on Chippewa and a second on Grand Ave.

The base recipe is guarded in a vault, I imagine. The add-in list and speciality concretes are listed on a big board on the side of the building. My sister had Tirimizzou, a nod to her alma mater the University of Missouri. The kids had a variety...chocolate to snickers. As for me, I had my all time favorite: Chocolate Chip. I know what you are thinking...she traveled all that way and she had Chocolate Chip!!! You'll have to trust me on this one...it's the closest thing to nirvana that I've found. They take chocolate syrup and swirl it into the custard. The chocolate freezes ever so slightly and melts in your mouth releasing waves of chocolate goodness.

So...on your next visit to St. Louis or if you're within one, maybe two...no I'm thinkin' three hours of St. Luois, head straight to Ted Drewes on Chippewa Road. Tell them Jenny sent you. It won't actually get you anything... except maybe a strange look.

Guess Who Turned...Another Year Older?

My Dad!

His birthday falls around Labor Day, which gave us a great opportunity to travel to St. Louis to all gather and celebrate.


My sister is a truly talented cook and she prepared an incredible meal including Grilled Beef Tenderloin, Garden Salad, Risotto, Roasted Potatoes and Fruit Salad. Following the meal we anxiously awaited dessert of Chocolate Layer Cake and Blackberry Cobbler. One of my Dad's favorites is Blackberry Cobbler and I tried a new recipe that far surpassed my expectations.

Time came to blow out some birthday candles.

"Uhhh...could I get a little help here?"

"Hmmm...some more help, please. Does anyone have a bucket of water...a fire hose?" Oh, my sneaky sister! My brother finally got those perpetual lighting wax sticks out with a glass of water.

We enjoyed the lovely evening on my sister's patio and then gathered for more conversation in the living room.

Don't kids usually last longer than the adults...

Happy Birthday, Dad! We look forward to many more.