The Second Generation

Cousins - 1984

Cousins - 2011

There are still some pieces of furniture in the house that appear to have come with a lifetime warranty. I'll be doing  something about that soon.

The West Coast Women's Show

This past weekend we took a leap into unknown territory when we said yes to the invitation by Winks Home Garden and Gifts to join them at the West Coast Women's Show. Winks owner, Wendy, with her capable staff set up one of the most beautiful displays of the entire show. Maybe I'm saying that because she sells beautiful things ... whereas the guy next door, selling pots, may have sold practical stuff, they just did not look as pretty. And this coming from someone who likes to cook?

Just look at those displays ... are they not beautiful and attractive? And since the reason to be there was to have a look, people just had to stop.
Sitting at the table to sign books or standing and visiting with guests, we met so many women . . . always happy to share the story of the book. And it sold. So did a lot of Winks merchandise. There was a beeline to the handbags, scarves and especially the jewelry. I must confess I did some shopping too.

On Saturday, as well as on Sunday, we took a turn on the kitchen theatre. We were honored by Chef Dez introducing us and hanging around to sample after the shows.

At our first presentation, we did up a brunch idea calling it Gathering Family for Breakfast. I did waffles . . . Judy, the vanilla custard . . . Julie (behind me) the triple berry sauce . . . Marg and Ellen, ham and egg cups. Ellen came up from Seattle for the show and she helped wherever she was needed . . .

while Lovella M.C.'d about what was going on and told our story.

The berry sauce and the milk for the custard . . . on the monitor . . .

for a while we were all watching to see if  the milk would ever come to a boil . . . while Lovella continued to talk . . . because she is good at that. Come to think of it, she is good at a lot of things.

The ham and egg cups came out of the oven

and out of the pan, beautifully . . .

and it all came together just in time. We made up tiny samples of the waffles with toppings and they disappeared quickly.

In the end we had some left-over custard with berries to taste ...

and the eggs.. which we did not serve, deciding to be on the cautious side of health concerns.

By Sunday, Ellen and Marg had left us, but Bev joined us for the Autum Soups and Scones theme on stage to make savory cheddar scones. We made a cauliflower soup (which is in the book) from scratch.

The second soup was a roasted pepper soup, made with home-roasted peppers and yams.

Again ... it was so good to see friends as well as those who had never heard of the MGCC in the audience.
I must say that the second time up there was quite fun! It is a good thing to be challenged to keep growing in this journey with sister-like friends!

By noon, on Sunday, I did not have much of a voice. Can't say it was due to too much talking . . . just so happened to come on this weekend. I went home and enjoyed the last cup of roasted pepper soup with a sliver of the scone. It was just what the doctor ordered.

Free Fall Fun

She wanted to go outside to rake leaves after school.

It's her first fall living in Canada . . . and right now she thinks there are a lot of leaves on the lawn.

I'm thinking, she has no idea how many will be coming down yet.

 

But for now I let her enjoy her little pile.

Waffles - simple or loaded

I'm wondering . . . if you had a choice to have a waffle

with butter and syrup

 

or with vanilla custard and berry sauce .  . . which one would you choose . . . and why?

I have a sneaking suspicion that some would choose the first one only because the latter sounds like it would be richer and less healthy. And they would be wrong.

There is generally a method to my madness. Because I know the ingredients of the loaded waffle, I enjoy it for what it's worth. In contrast, a while back I was staring at a plain waffle on my plate in a fancy restaurant ... and got caught somewhat off guard as to the presentation. It was rather boring. Two stikes agains a meal that does not, at least, have the benefit of being healthier.

I've done a little study and found that the traditional waffle with 2 tsp of butter and 4 Tbsp of syrup has more fat and sugar in it than the one with a homemade cooked custard and berry sauce (2 cups frozen fruit cooked with 1/4 cup sugar and 1 Tbsp cornstarch - to serve 4). Not only does the loaded waffle come with less sugar and fat, but it gives you a 3/4 serving of dairy plus a serving of fruit. And this makes me feel better, because you know how I like my waffle.

This coming weekend you will find us MGCC at the West Coast Women's Show by invitation of Winks Home Garden and Gifts, in their booth or on the Kitchen Theatre Stage. Sampling waffles with custard may just be one of the options for our guests.

Camp Visit

On Saturday a car-ful of us headed out to a women's conference at Camp Squeah, following up on an invitation to do a short speaking and book-signing segment.  Browsing through the program I learned that the theme of the weekend was about being a woman of honor. The conference speaker addressed isues of how times have changed for women yet how the Proverbs 31 woman still has relevance for women today.

Driving the lane into the campground, I thought it looked like a very welcome place to retreat to.

While the sun peeked though the branches, golden leaves gently fluttered to the ground, creating a sense of confetti being tossed atop this glorious day.

Upon entering the lodge, the retreat co-ordinator greeted us with a huge smile and informed us that our visit was still a surprise. Although she was giddy excitement, we held ourselves in check, thinking that others may not quite feel the same way.

It turned out we were the ones surprised! We all got called up on stage as Lovella shared our simple story of how we met and the cookbook came about. It's a story that seems too easy. Too simple. It's about five loaves and two fish . . . and God multiplying it to feed thousands.
After that, we sat at a table and signed cookbooks supplied by House of James . . . until there were none left to sign . . . and then we signed special stickers that had been prepared for books that were at home or yet to come.
I loved meeting and observing three generations of women enjoying a place to share life experiences. It was a great time to learn from each other and, once again, we enjoyed the stories of those coming by to purchase  books . . . or just to say hello.

We shared a delicious lunch . . .

and left with a gift bag of goodies packed for each of us.

 

Although we were thanked for coming . . . we were the ones who were blessed. Thank you, Waltrude, for inviting us!

Wheels and Moving Parts

I noticed it again last week, but did not have the camera in my hand. He was on his knees beside his little caravan, his head tilted sideways on the carpet . . .  looking rather like a caterpillar as he inched along, watching all moving parts of the truck and trailer he was playing with.

I pulled out older photos of this favorite pastime of his . . .

When he sees wheels turning,

or other parts tilting,

he is in his own world . . .

assessing, calculating, refining.

 

The world is a perfect place when each part does its job.