Grandma's Deviled Eggs

In the interest of full disclosure, here's a recipe Aunt Vena sent this week.  It has a little less mustard that I typically use and has just a touch of vinegar.  Tried it today and I must say, I like it.....a lot.

Grandma's coleslaw was also different than Mama's.  Grandma grated a little carrot and her dressing was some kind of sugar/vinegar combination.

Mama was not a fan of the sweet-and-sour kind of taste.  Grandma was.  Wonder if the difference is due to where ancestors came from:  Coopers from Germany.  Haydens/Dunns: not Germany :-)

Cousins - Karen's First Birthday

I love quests.  I love gathering, researching, compiling information.  And I always feel rather satisfied when the pieces come together into a cohesive story.  The following images are the result of one such quest.

The pictures were in one of Aunt Nancy's photo albums.  They weren't labeled and they were scattered throughout the pages.  As I sorted her photos, I realized I had three images of the same event.  Emails from RoseMarie and Sue confirmed that they were they two oldest children.  The three of us guessed that the baby was Karen.

Then I emailed Aunt Katherine and as Paul Harvey always said, "...now you know the rest of the story."  

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Click the link below for the second page:

Renewed Admiration

I love this picture of Aunt Maymerose and Uncle Robert.  They are so young.  They look so happy and even glamorous.

From their marriage, came two cute little girls.  RoseMarie, named in part for Grandmother and Maudie (Mary) and Sue, whose name is Nancy Sue, named after Aunt Nancy.


Unfortunately, later in life, things went somewhat awry.  Especially unfortunate is that the trickle down impacted their sweet little girls.  Although the story isn't mine to tell, my feelings about my cousins is. (or "are".....let's see..."feelings" would be plural....or in this case is it collective.....WHAT-ev-er!!)

Granddaddy's Transportation

These are Granddaddy's horses and his carriage (reportedly, there is also a picture somewhere of these horses pulling Granddaddy's hearse).

The other two are  from a book I have entitled Cars of the Fabulous '50s.  (Isn't anyone curious why I own a book about cars?)  Anyway, Grandmother and Granddaddy had matching Dodges with the pushbutton shifter. (See picture to the right)

Hers was pink and white, his solid black. I'm not at all certain that the year was 1959, but the black one stayed

around long enough for me to drive it.


I'm pretty sure Uncle Kenneth wound up with the black one in 1978.

They were very cool cars.  But were they any cooler than the white horses and the carriage?  Not so sure. I love them both.

Thanks to Sue for sharing her picture of the horses and carriage

Ah Ha! Cake Mystery Solved

I was wrong.  Well, I was 1/2 wrong.  The cake recipe we've been baking all these years did come from Aunt Vena.  That's the 1/2 right part.  However, there was a similar recipe that belonged to Grandmother (Rowena Hayden Dunn).  That's the 1/2 wrong part.  I had no idea she had a Chocolate Spice Cake recipe.  And it appears that over the years, Mama had somewhat combined the two, using ingredients and techniques from each.

I've struggled through the years with the Aunt Vena cake.  It rises nicely, but there's not enough structure to the cake to support the center.  As a result, the it always sags a bit.  Frustrating (although still incredibly delicious)

Fairytale Friday

Once upon a time,  in a brand new Executive Cottage on Kentucky Lake, we had a one and only family vacation.

Aunt Vena, Uncle Herschel, Linda, her friend, Norma, Grandma and Grandpa all came down and we spent (I don't remember how many days, probably just a weekend) at this cottage.

Aunt Vena brought a cake recipe with her - a chocolate cake recipe that she got from her pastor's wife.  She even brought a pan with her because she wasn't sure if the cottage would have the right size pan.

That cake has been baked again and again (if, for example, it had been baked once a month since summer of 1967 it would have been baked 528 times).  It has been passed on to the next generation (Shelley and Hannah both make the cake).  It has been passed on to cousins (Rosemarie baked it this week).  It has been passed on to friends (Nancy Anne baked one for us and brought it over still warm). 

Fairytale Friday

Shelley and Grandmother, Rowena Dunn

 Once upon a time, a beautiful princess was born......wait.....that's not a fairytale!  It actually happened!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SHELLEY!!

Fairytale Friday

I decided to try creating a weekly entry called "Fairytale Friday".  Named this, not because the stories aren't real, but because they come entirely from our memories and therefore, can no longer be independently verified.  That means, there is likely a bit of fantasy mixed in.  Not intentionally, you understand, but just because our memories sometimes either blur or become exaggerated over time.  I'll want to include your stories, too.  So be thinking....until then....

Once upon a time, there were crayons and a table.....

...and as far as I can remember, the table sat in the living room of the old funeral home.  When I was a little girl, Maudie would color with me at this table.  We lived across the street in the little white house and when all the other grown ups were busy, Maudie would watch me.  And color with me.  And demonstrate infinite patience with me.

The little table now lives at my house, the cut glass candy dish one of the last things Mama gave me.  She said the dish needed to live with me because it always sat on the coffee table.  So for today, here's the start of our stories. You'll remember the table.  You may not remember the dish.  But you certainly remember hours spent coloring with Crayola crayons.

Finally, to tie the pieces together, a picture from so long ago of us girls on the couch with the little table just barely visible in the lower left hand corner.

(l. to r.  Beth, Cindy, Mama, Grandmother, Rose Mary, and Maudie)

PS.  Just because there aren't any small children in our house, doesn't mean that bringing out crayons wasn't fun :-)

 

Work in Process

Over the next few weeks, I will be updating this blog.  I was surprised to see that I hadn't posted since May, 2010.  I am working on a couple of projects that I hope all of you will enjoy.  Check back in a few days....I will "literally" keep you posted :-)