A perfectly lovely blue sky day

A tip for good health... A brisk hike, fresh air, blue sky, great views and a loving companion. 

Family time

My husband is one of eight children so family gatherings, even if they are just a part of the family, can be a big group. Today 10 of us gathered here in Arizona from Canada and Minnesota to enjoy being together. We have lots more family we wish could also be here but we will take what we get when we get it!

Friendship

 My husband and his friend Joel have been friends for over 60 years. For the last 20 years they have also been our neighbors and are very close friends. Today we had the fun of meeting together here in Sedona and enjoy a hike in this beautiful area. Of course, we had to take pictures!

Sunday silence

 It was a sweet silent Sunday morning in our condo facing the serene view of "bell rock" and the "courthouse rock."  And we spotted this little hummingbird sitting for a long time at the tippy top of the evergreen tree outside our balcony.  With many views of the changing clouds, we continued to relax and feel quite blessed for this time.

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We can't imagine

In memory of my dear friend, Carol, who is now experiencing things our minds cannot imagine.  

Today...

Today we took a hike... But my heart was heavy. Today my friend died.  She fought a battle with a tough illness and I thought about how much she would have appreciated the ability to take the hike we took. I appreciated it in a deeper way today.  My dear friend had a deep faith and I firmly believe she is now whole once again and praising her Redeemer. But today my friend died.

A day in the sunshine

 Today was just a day of sunshine.. And we went to the driving range with our golf clubs to see how rusty our golf swings are! I am still so new to the game and despite the ridiculous nature of hitting a little ball with a golf club in the direction (and distance) you desire, I am determine to persevere. No matter I am a poor golfer, I am a happy one!   We followed our little golf outing with lunch in Old Cottonwood and then back to the condo to actually go swimming!! on March 2nd! How lovely.
And a special hello to Vicki! Glad you like that I am blogging, I am not even sure why I decided to start posting again. I don't think too many folks even know I have posted over here, but it is kind of fun. I am getting a bit tired of Facebook.. (And I know I post there a lot).  But since I figured out how, with my iPad, to post while on vacation, here are a few posts.  So hello!

Minnesota snowbirds

 Now that we have achieved the happy status of retirement, we have officially joined the ranks of "snowbirds" ....folks known for traveling south for warm air and sunshine.  Our destination of choice has been the dramatic and beautiful Sedona, Arizona; it's dramatic views and tons of hiking trails, fresh air, great restaurants...  We have a fantastic view from our condo and we feel very fortunate indeed.

A grand surprise at the Grand Canyon.

 As we were traveling towards our destination in Arizona, we stopped to visit the Grand Canyon... And while walking on a path towards the parking lot I thought I recognized someone!! I did, a sweet girl who grew up in my neighbor, same age and played with our sons, went to the same private high school as the boys, was one of my cheerleaders, her parents are close friends, etc. etc!! She and her husband were visiting the area from the state of Washington, while we were here from Minnesota. To say it was a fun greeting is an understatement.  And the views of the Grand Canyon.. Amazing.

It's good to have a hobby...

 For most that know me, they know my hobby/passion is genealogy. I could go on and on about various ancestors whom I never met except via their paper trail. My dear friends listen kindly. And my dear hubby agreed to a two day stop in Salt Lake City where the largest genealogy library is located. (No, to clarify, I am not a member of the Mormon church.) Here in this amazing facility are rows and rows of cabinets holding reels and reels of microfilm... Along with lots of books, computer terminals, etc.  I happily spent a day and a half doing research while hubby went skiing. A very good trade off for both of us! Did I have any break-throughs in research? Well, not too much, but one significant find was that the sister of my great-grandfather died as a child. I have wondered about her and now I know that she died of croup at the age of 6. Sometimes these finds gives one pause.

Cookies

So, while hubby works in his shop crafting wooden bowls and the like, I am enjoying myself working on my cookie decorating skills.

Beautiful bowls

 Retirement provides time to explore and create... Here are some of hubby's bowls and candleholders that he recently crafted. I love the natural look with the rough edges of bark that some of them have.

The Saga of the Mississippi Roast!

 There is a really fun story to share here about a tasty roast that you made have heard of called "The Mississippi Roast."  The roast is good, but how it became an "internet" sensation is a great story since my blog is a small (but integral) part of the story. 

For me, it started back in December of 2010 when I saw a recipe for this easy roast on a blog of a young mom named Laurie. (Laurie lives in Arkansas and I enjoyed following Laurie and her sweet friend Kelly; two lovely Christian young moms.)  I tried it and it was good so I shared the recipe with some friends.  I did not want my friends to call it "Candis' roast" since it wasn't my recipe.  Laurie got it from her husband's Aunt.  So I sent a message to Laurie (who I did not know, actually) and told her I liked the roast and my friends liked it too, but it needed a name.  She responded nicely "let's call it a Mississippi Roast."   So I called it that on January 9, 2011 on my blog. 

Apparently someone put my blog post on pinterest... and it got saved ("pinned") again and again and again.  I had no idea it was going all over pinterest and internet.  However, the New York Times food editor Sam Sifton discovered this Mississippi roast, somehow learning it was the most "pinned" roast on pinterest so he set out to find out its origins. 

His search went through pinterest back to my blog post.  And then from my blog back to Laurie's blog.....

 Here is the full story.... starting with a gal named Robin, in Mississippi, who tweaked some ingredients and made the tasty roast.  Next, Robin's friend Karen put it in their church cookbook.  Next, a gal from the church named Judy (she saw it in the cookbook) made it for her nephew and his wife Laurie who were visiting Mississippi from their home in Arkansas. Laurie came back to Arkansas and wrote about it on her blog.  I read her blog, tried it and posted it with the name Laurie suggested.  And it went viral. And the New York Times food editor wrote an article about it.  And then Good Morning America did a feature segment on their show with Robin and Karen from Mississippi.  (I imagine those two ladies were completely shocked when they were told about this amazing roast and then they got to be on Good Morning American!  No, they did not call it the Mississippi roast but I'm pretty sure they do now!)

This is Laurie holding up the NY Times article. She also got her picture in there!

 

 



 
 .  This is a picture from my original blog that was saved over and over on pinterest.

 If you look to the left of Robin Roberts you will see the picture from my blog.

 

And the recipe?  Oh my, this is easy peasy. 

Place a 3-4 pound chuck roast in your crock pot.  Sprinkle one package of McCormick's Au Jus mix on top of the roast. Then sprinkle one package of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix on top.  Place an entire stick of  butter on the roast (I use unsalted) , add about 5-6 pepperoncini peppers around the roast and cover, cook on low for about 8 hours.  DO NOT ADD WATER. 

 

Trust me. You will love it.  Apparently people nationwide do!



Time for a long overdue update!

Hello, it's been a long time since I posted!  I thought I would add these two family pictures for those of our blog friends near and far that may check in here.  The top picture was taken in October 2015 at the baptism of our 14th sweet grandchild - born to our youngest son and his wife.  This sweet grand-daughter joins 6 wonderful siblings!  Obviously, it is a busy household, full of energy and full of love.  Also in the picture is our eldest son and family; they were honored to be the godparents. 

 

This second picture is us with our middle son, his wife and 5 children in their new home.  They live only an hour away from us, so we often get to see these grandchildren in their various activities. 

 

Because we, as a family,  are spread out a far distance apart, we were not able to take a photograph in 2015 of all of us together.  That is the way things go and we have to be so thankful for all the years we did get a group photograph - and I am also thankful for things like facetime, etc. to keep that connection regardless of the distance!

 

May this day find you healthy, happy and thankful!