A Life Taken Too Soon

I wish I was not writing these words. 
My brother-in-law, Michael Plotts, passed away last Wednesday evening, February 18, 2009.  He leaves behind his wife Barbara (my husband’s sister), and two beautiful little girls.  Bob and I are utterly heartbroken.  We watched as Michael miraculously rebounded from a dissected aorta last summer, and were ecstatic at his [...]

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It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas…

Quick Update: I went back into my blog archives and found last year’s Christmas meme.  It’s interesting because things really don’t change all that much from year to year…
Well, Sarah had me pegged, alright.  Noting that my blog has been a little “quiet” lately, she thought that I would be a likely candidate for copying [...]

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Vacation Photos

OK, so these are not your typical vacation snapshots of beautiful vistas, scenic overlooks, or smiling families posing in front of ironic roadsigns.  These are random pics I took while traveling to and from Kentucky this past weekend – pics from airport restaurants.  That’s so me, isn’t it?
This first one was taken at 5:30am at [...]

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Hmm.

Yesterday, I traveled down to Middletown to help my parents with the long and arduous process of cleaning out my grandparents’ house following their deaths this summer. What a task. More than 60 years of accumulated “stuff”, exacerbated by at least 5 years of no housecleaning (due to physical inability). Many, many [...]

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A Setback and a Weird Coincidence

Well, we thought my brother-in-law would be home last night, but he had a minor setback, and will be undergoing even more surgery on Thursday. Even though it’s truly miraculous that he’s even alive, we are so anxious to have him back safe at home, with his two little girls.
We’re keeping [...]

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God Taketh Away, and God Giveth

The past 2 weeks have been very trying for me, my family, and my husband’s family.
As I wrote earlier, my grandmother passed away last week. While this was not a shock, it certainly was very sad. My grandma had been ill for a very long time, and I knew she wouldn’t be with [...]

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In Memoriam

In honor of Eleanor Cuddeback Hosking, who passed away on June 9, I’m posting an article I wrote a few years ago, which was originally published (in edited form) on www.thegildedfork.com. I will miss your banana bread, Grandma, but not as much as I will miss you.
Grandma’s Banana Bread
Comfort foods. They evoke images of [...]

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Sauerbraten, the RIGHT Way

Well, I’ve been promising this recipe for a while – the Bayer family sauerbraten. My great-grandmother Clara Bayer Lynch made this recipe, and my mom gave it to me, scribbled on a greasy, food-stained scrap of paper, written in a very shaky handwriting with many misspellings. I think it belonged to HER mother, [...]

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