Friday Funny

 

Cooking Thursday

Today's recipe is for potatoes.  It's the perfect side dish, and not only does it taste good, but it's easy too!

Roasted Parmesan Potatoes
1 1/2 pounds baby potatoes, halved
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus a little more for drizzling
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Mix together the parmesan, garlic powder, oregano, black pepper and salt.
Drizzle oil in a 9x13 pan and tilt pan to cover whole bottom with oil.
Sprinkle parmesan mix over oil in pan as evenly as you can. Don't try to move it once it's in the pan.
Place potatoes cut side down, pressing firmly into parmesan mix.
Drizzle a little more olive oil over potatoes and sprinkle with salt.
Bake for 40 minutes until potatoes are soft and parmesan crust is golden.
Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes.
Cut parmesan crust between every 3-4 potatoes, and flip over so cheese side is up on serving platter.  Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday

 

Grandma and girlies annual day out

 Every year, I take Alaina and Ruby out for a little before school shopping.  This year we had a problem with scheduling and had to do it the week school started.  However, they had half days, so I picked them up a little after noon for our time out.

We started with our usual picture together before we left.

I let them choose where to get lunch, and we ended up at McDonalds.

Then we were off to the shoe store. Ruby thought she wanted shoes with high heels...  :)  but we found these short boots that were a little more practical!

And here's my Alaina, being goofy and striking a pose with the shoes she found.  They were both happy with their finds.
We then set off to find a shirt.  The first place we went to no longer had kids clothes, the second one still had shorts and t-shirts. 

Then we found these, cozy and warm.  Ruby was thrilled because hers was so soft.

They thought we had done enough shopping at that point, so we went to the sunflower farm near us.  It's owned by Bob's stepdad's family and has lots of fun things.

They've had baby kittens in the barn and the girls were so excited to see them, but they were in hiding.

They played a little cornhole...

Tried out the swing...

and got to use a hand pump.

We got some flowers to share with some special people.

We stopped and brought some to great grandma who was thrilled to see the girls.

We were hot from being outside, so we stopped for ice cream.  Ruby had Superman ice cream.

I can't remember what kind Alaina chose but she said it was good.

Then it was time to go home.  We brought Mom some flowers too.
We had such a fun time. They are growing up fast and I treasure these moments.
They are in 3rd and 6th grade. I'm praying they have a good year, with good friends and teachers, and they learn the important things!

Fun Getaway!

 Some of you may remember that this Spring, our church hosted a fun night where we played The Price is Right. I ended up being the grand prize winner! People had donated prizes and part of my prize was a stay at a B&B.
Our stay was Friday night, at a Bed and Breakfast in Holland Michigan. Holland is about 25 minutes from us, on the shores of Lake Michigan. It's known for its Tulip Festival in the Spring, but tourists visit often, just to enjoy the beautiful city with its Dutch heritage and also to enjoy Lake Michigan.

True to the history of the area, we were greeted by these Dutch Dancer figurines at the entry.
The owner also greeted us, showed us around and showed us our room.

When we got to our room, she informed us that friends from church had already been there and left us these flowers, candy, champagne and money for supper!

Here's our room.  The whole house is filled with antiques.  Look at that bed!

This was also in our room.

And this sitting area. There was also a bathroom with a jacuzzi and shower.

Here's a few other areas of the house, the living room...

The sun room...

The Dining room.

After checking out the house, we went to downtown Holland. There are lots of charming shops to check out. One thing Holland is known for is their heated sidewalks. In the winter they heat them so people can walk with no concern for snow and ice.

There are quite a few art pieces downtown, including this one of kids raising the flag.

We ate supper outside at this authentic Irish pub. We were early but when we left this area was full of people.  We enjoyed our meal.

We admired this old church, built in 1856.  It was the first church in the area, when people were immigrating from the Netherlands to Holland.

We walked through this big, beautiful park. There was a band playing in the gazebo.

We came upon this huge living book.  It's a tribute to Frank Baum who wrote The Wizard of Oz. He liked to spend time in Holland and said that a park he visited there had a path with gold pavers that inspired the yellow brick road.

When we got back to our room, I got a message from the Dr I used to work with.  He lives in Holland and I had told him we were coming to his town.  He wanted to pick us up and take us to a favorite ice cream place.
It was a nice surprise to be picked up in his 1929 Model A Ford!  What fun to drive through town in this old car.  It's beautifully restored and attracts a lot of attention. It was nice to catch up with him and his wife and the ice cream was good!
We had a nice evening, then had an amazing breakfast the next morning.  We were able to meet and talk with another couple who were staying there.
We headed home, but then had a little more of the prize package to enjoy.

We went to our friends home and Bob was taken out on a fishing trip.  My friend Barb and I went out and did some shopping.

After all that fun, we had supper with them, and it was time to go home.
Bob and I felt thoroughly spoiled. It was a wonderful weekend!

Friday Funny

*I'll be away from here over the weekend, having a little fun.  I'll see you all on Monday!
 

Cooking Thursday

 I made something fun for breakfast last weekend.  It turned out so pretty and it was so good!  It would be perfect to make for a brunch.  It was much easier to make than it looks.  It was so easy, that I made it again and took it to work.  Everyone loved it and wanted the recipe. You have to try this one!

Raspberry Danish

17.3 ounce package Puff Pastry (includes 2 sheets)
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 pint fresh raspberries, you won't need the whole pint
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon water
ICING
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon milk

Remove Puff pastry from freezer and let it thaw on counter for about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla together.

Unfold puff pastry.  It will open into 3 sections. Use a knife to cut about 12 slits on each side.
Spread 1/2 of cream cheese mix on the center of each piece of pastry.
Sprinkle the raspberries evenly over the cream cheese mix.
Fold the strips over the center, alternating sides to give a braided appearance.
Whisk the egg yolk and water together and brush over top of each Danish.
Bake 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.
Combine icing ingredients and drizzle over warm pastry.
Slice and enjoy!

*You could use other fruits if you wanted. I think strawberry, blueberry, cherry, even peach would be good!

Wordless Wednesday

 

Shopping and lunch with Cassie

 On my day off last week, Heather and I decided to go out for lunch. There's a cute little decor shop we like to go to and we thought we would stop there first, then pick up my stepmom and take her with us to lunch.

Here's Cassie at the store. They had these cute sunglasses for kids, so I picked this pair up for her.  She's styling!

We went and picked up Ann at her Assisted Living place and drove to the restaurant. My brother Duane had the week off and when he heard we were going for lunch with Ann, he said he would meet us too.

When we got there, the waitress told us they had a new computer system and everything was taking a little longer.

Cassie got tired of waiting!

But finally our food came!

Macaroni and cheese and a side of strawberries made Cassie happy.

Ann ate her whole Belgian waffle and enjoyed it!

After lunch we brought Ann back, then brought Heather and Cassie home too.  Cassie was ready for a nap!
It was a fun time together, and so nice we could include Ann and Duane too.

Here's what's been happening in my world

 Life is busy over here, and I bet it is for you too.  Summer has flown by and school starts for my granddaughters this week.  
Here's a few snapshots of what went on last week:

Excuse the glare on the side of this photo. I was taking a picture out the window at work.  These twin fawns have been around a lot. They don't seem terribly afraid, just watch us as we look out the windows at them.  They are so cute and fun to watch.

Saturday, we drove 1 1/2 hour north to go to a reunion of my Mom's family.  She was the youngest of 9; 2 sisters, 6 brothers. One sister died at 16, the others all married and had kids. All the siblings have passed away and here are a bunch of the kids - who are now getting old!  It was a beautiful day for a drive and nice to catch up with cousins.

This is one of the realtor shots of my Dad's house. It sold this week. Now we just have to go through inspections, appraisal and loan process for the buyer.

Last but not least, this happened 42 years ago, on the 21st.

42 years! Those years have flown by.  I'm so thankful for God bringing us together and for the gift of a wonderful husband.