9/21/17

So, I feel a little bad getting this one out so late.  There was a lot of great conversation and stories that happened before all the political drama this week and had nothing what so ever to do with any of it.

Having dinner, there were 11 adults, 1 tween, 2 toddlers and 2 babies.  The toddlers had been dropped off a little early since their big sister had a riding lesson, and I was showing off our horse Lucy to her potential new owners (she needs a job, and I just can’t keep her busy enough!)  Rest assured we did all make it in time for dinner to hit the table (it was a little late!)

There were Dad’s Chicken Strips, Green Beans with Bacon (every bite of those was gone!) Creamy Parmesan Noodles and Polynesian Bread (Thanks, Ilea again for that recipe! The extra loaf that somehow got overlooked made amazing french toast Thursday as well!)

Prayers were said for the food and for those in Puerto Rico recovering from the hurricane, especially those that are members of our Tuesday family.

 

We talked about goofy names and made it to the original “man Bunn”, which inspired this story to be shared.

 

Job Bunn was a Union soldier who was captured by the Confederate army while guarding a train. He was marched to Andersonville internment camp and somehow managed to survive. When the prisoners were released the union army would pay $5 for an enlisted man and $10 for an officer to the boats to bring them up the Mississippi. Job was on an overpacked steamship, the Sultana, that exploded, It killed 1192 soldiers (less people died on the Titanic). It is the worst disaster in US maritime history, but no one knows about it because John Wilkes Booth was assassinated the next day.

 

 

Job’s family erected a monument in his honor. His body was never found. My uncle the keeper of family history saw it a few years ago, and when he went to see it this year it was completely home. He made calls to all of the city officials, and when none of them knew where it went he filed a police report. Job’s memory shouldn’t be stolen.

 

We all agreed that it was a terrible story, especially with the memorial being stolen.  But, agreed that it would make an excellent documentary for our reporter friend.

This story leads to another about the husband of a church member who a served in WWII and survived a Naval accident, where a ship was damaged defending the East Coast and no one knew about it because the government did want the people to panic that the Germans were so near the shores.

And on lighter notes, we talked about how spouses were met during this time because of day passes for German Prisoners of War into Ann Arbor, and others because they were in the right place in the White House and met the right people to set them up!

We talked about my Dad serving in the Navy over in Italy, went into a bar one night and the waitress recognizing his last name said “Ah! Italiano!” and he replied, “No, Siciliano!,” and the waitress went pale and all of the locals paid their tabs and left the bar, leaving only the sailors in the room.

The mafia influence was really that strong?

Oh yea, if you were from Sicily at that time you were bad news.

We moved on to talking about a party happening over the weekend, and my craft show coming up.

Don’t forget if you want me to take something I need it this weekend!!

Did you get those soap dishes made for me?

When did you need those by again?

Saturday! If you can?

I’ll have her drop some off later this week.

Good! Thanks!

 

And for dessert, there was a toe squishing and Apricot Coffee Cake!  The coffee cake was much better than the toddler’s toes being squished, but rest assured she is fully recovered and has forgotten all about it.

The coffee cake, however, did not recover and had been fully demolished.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Happy Birthday Dad! Happy Birthday Michael!

So I totally managed to miss two birthday dinners.  Luckily for me, they are also two of the most patient men I have met (not always how one would describe Italians).

Noteworthy moments from my Dad’s Birthday dinner;

We had Lamb Patties wrapped in bacon and served with Dill Sauce, and we had two desserts.  Much to my daughters’ delight, we sang happy birthday twice.  Once for the Blueberry Pie and once for the Vanilla Raspberry Cake with cream cheese frosting (my oldest daughters creation for fair this year, which she got an outstanding ribbon for!)

And being Dad’s birthday, there were many bottles of wine brought as gifts, a few didn’t make it past dinner.

Birthday Dinner #2 was for Michael,

With Pan Fried Pork Chops, Mashed Potatoes, and Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting, his choices were a crowd pleaser to be sure.

There were quite a few absences this week for dinner due to various reasons, but the to-go containers for dinner and dessert made it home for those who were missing.

 

And I truly wish I could remember more, but life is busy and I have been hustling trying to get ready for my first ever craft shows.  And as I am typing toddlers are climbing over me pushing buttons………

8/29/17

I think the pictures speak for this weeks dinner more than anything I could possibly say.  And I am sure I am prejudice, but seriously how gorgeous are these kids? When they put their cute on they really rock it!

We did have a new adult face this week subbing in for one of our Mama’s who was out sick.  We had 13 adults, 2 tweens, 2 toddlers and 2 babies.  To eat there was Pork loin with a cognac sauce, fresh corn off the cob, rice,  apple bread (it was a white yeast bread made with apple juice and grated apple, amazing!)  And then there was the cake… SO AMAZING, chocolate cake filled with layers of chocolate and raspberry mascarpone!

My youngest toddler slept through most of dinner, one of those bedtime busting naps.  The babies played and conspired together on the floor in a pile of noisy toys.

My husband was missing, picking up the turkeys from the butcher, a two-hour drive…

One of the moms was also missing, not feeling well.

 

Don’t forget your hat.

Right. Thank you.

Speaking of hats, did we tell you our hat story?

No?

So, we were camping and decided to go for a bike ride.  There is a path that goes right along the main road and as we were riding along we saw this big straw hat.  So our son, stopped and picked it up and put it on his head.  There was really nothing wrong with it, just a big straw hat.

Then he starts singing “If I only had a brain,” and I was surprised he knew every single word!  We go a little further down the path, with our son singing and a guy yells from the road, “Hey! Is that, that hat?”

Our son replies, “Yep!  If I only had a brain…” And, we keep going back to the camp ground where a little girl asks him, “Hey! Is that that hat that was on the road?”

“Yep, If I only had a brain…”

And another guy in the camp says,

“Hey! Is that that hat?”

“Yep, If I only had a brain…”

Then we get settled around the camp fire for the evening and he takes the hat off, looks at it and says “Hey! There’s a dead frog in this hat!”

Sure enough, there was a little dried out frog in the hat, which he flung out and put the hat back on. “If I only had a brain”

I’ll fight you for a piece of that cake!
That’s right, you guys go out side and fight for that cake.

Sure, when we come back in it will all be gone.

That’s a chance you’ll have to take!

 

Were you still interested in that secretary still?

Well, we were thinking about starting the business again, I’d need one then.  But it depends, how old is he? What does he look like, does he mind if the furnace is on all the time so he can’t wear a shirt…

Like Fabio?

Maybe a young Fabio

Does he have to be Scottish?

So, if he arrives on a stallion with his hair blowing in the wind, so be it huh?

(This goes on for a while, and I should clarify the secretary in question is a piece of furniture)

Then the kiddos all head over to the big tire swing next door.  I am pretty sure my middle child will be an astronaut!

Tomato thief

So she might not be your average tomato thief, but she is really cute and does love those tomatoes!!