There's a man outside with a leaf blower and he yells at me because apparently I've parked my car the wrong way and even though I am the ONLY ONE there he makes me re-park my car. It's loud and jarring and sets my teeth on edge because these people, of all the people in the world, should speak softly and kindly.
Once inside I am directed where to go and I enter a tiny, sparse room and there she is in her tiny white coffin. Her hair is smoothed and so are the lines of pain on her sweet face, her hands relaxed instead of clenching and struggling. I look into her face and the tears well up so I tilt my head back and all I can think is how funeral homes should not be allowed to have popcorn ceilings. Or floor lamps from the 1980s. Or white walls. It was spartan and cold and unfitting to the gentle lady who lay there in repose, all alone. There's only one small basket of flowers to brighten up the drab room.
This lady who lays there welcomed me into her family with open arms, proclaiming almost immediately that she had decided that I'm another granddaughter, not just an in-law. She was sweet and feisty and loved to have her family around her; would watch them with bright and loving eyes and fuss and worry over them.
We rushed to her bedside when we hears she was sick, and we spoke to her and she knew us. We told her we loved her and she said she loved us too. Later we stood on either side of her in the hospital, each holding one of her hands as she spoke confusedly from behind her oxygen mask. We finally figured out that she was asking for a glass of buttermilk. She thought that would taste really good. When we explained to her that she couldn't have any, she asked if she could have some orange juice instead. With tears in my eyes I begged the nurse for something, anything, to give her. A cup of ice chips magically appeared and we worked together to slip them one at a time beneath her mask. Her face relaxed when she tasted the first piece and I was so, so very grateful to be able to offer her some comfort. I am so, so very grateful to have had the chance to speak words of love with her before she passed.
Go with grace, gentle woman of God. Your loving presence will be greatly missed, and you will be always in our hearts.
In loving memory of Maimee Jean Bryant, Steven's grandmother.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Pumpkin, punkin?
I spent the majority of the day on Sunday up to my elbows in flour, sugar and canned pumpkin as I embarked on my first-ever baking of pumpkin bread. I love baking for the Christmas holiday, so I decided to start early and bake for Thanksgiving!
It took me a while to find a recipe, but I finally settled on one from foodnetwork.com with a few modifications. I can't stand trying an allrecipes.com recipe because all of the comments are full of cooks showing off and listing their many modifications and trying to out-do each other.
Anyway. This is the recipe I finally decided on, and it made a really good, moist pumpkin bread. Double the spices if you're looking for a little more spice flavor.
Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil (you can substitute 1/2 cup applesauce for 1/2 cup of the oil)
4 eggs, lightly bean
16 ounces canned unsweetened pumpkin
3 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
2/3 cup water
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 9 by 5 loaf pans. Stir together sugar and oil. Stir in eggs and pumpkin. Sift together dry ingredients in separate bowl. Blend dry ingredients and water into wet mixture, alternating. Divide batter between two loaf pans. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes (mine took 45)or until cake tester comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool.
And here's the photo of the finished products, all wrapped up and tied with pretty fall ribbon I found at Hobby Lobby for $1 a roll.
It took me a while to find a recipe, but I finally settled on one from foodnetwork.com with a few modifications. I can't stand trying an allrecipes.com recipe because all of the comments are full of cooks showing off and listing their many modifications and trying to out-do each other.
Anyway. This is the recipe I finally decided on, and it made a really good, moist pumpkin bread. Double the spices if you're looking for a little more spice flavor.
Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil (you can substitute 1/2 cup applesauce for 1/2 cup of the oil)
4 eggs, lightly bean
16 ounces canned unsweetened pumpkin
3 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
2/3 cup water
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 9 by 5 loaf pans. Stir together sugar and oil. Stir in eggs and pumpkin. Sift together dry ingredients in separate bowl. Blend dry ingredients and water into wet mixture, alternating. Divide batter between two loaf pans. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes (mine took 45)or until cake tester comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool.
And here's the photo of the finished products, all wrapped up and tied with pretty fall ribbon I found at Hobby Lobby for $1 a roll.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Menu Plan Monday
And Kerfuffle returns! Sorry for the long absence - I had quite possibly the busiest and most stressful two months of my life, culminating in Haunt the Zoo and a vacation to Mexico! Photos from that trip coming soon!
Anyway, a blogger friend of mine does this "Menu Plan Monday" thing (and a LOT of other bloggers participate as well). I don't know why but it's interesting to read about what other people are eating for dinner. And since I have actually pre-planned and shopped for all of my meals this week, I decided to participate! Steven and I spent a lot of time during the past two months eating microwave miracles, frozen skillet dinners and sandwiches, so I returned from vacation determined to cook healthy, satisfying dinners. Plus, it's getting colder outside, which means all my favorite comfort foods are back in season - soups, chilis, casseroles, etc. If you have any favorite soup, stew or chili recipes, send them my way!
Here's this week's meal plan:
Sunday: Beef pot roast with carrots and potatoes
Monday: Chicken pot pie with salad
Tuesday: Quick beef stew with homemade cornbread
Wednesday: Sandwich night! (I reserve the right to not cook at least one weeknight)
Thursday: Grilled marinated chicken breasts, long grain & wild rice, steamed green beans with almonds
Friday: Pork spaghetti bolognese with green salad and garlic toast
Anyway, a blogger friend of mine does this "Menu Plan Monday" thing (and a LOT of other bloggers participate as well). I don't know why but it's interesting to read about what other people are eating for dinner. And since I have actually pre-planned and shopped for all of my meals this week, I decided to participate! Steven and I spent a lot of time during the past two months eating microwave miracles, frozen skillet dinners and sandwiches, so I returned from vacation determined to cook healthy, satisfying dinners. Plus, it's getting colder outside, which means all my favorite comfort foods are back in season - soups, chilis, casseroles, etc. If you have any favorite soup, stew or chili recipes, send them my way!
Here's this week's meal plan:
Sunday: Beef pot roast with carrots and potatoes
Monday: Chicken pot pie with salad
Tuesday: Quick beef stew with homemade cornbread
Wednesday: Sandwich night! (I reserve the right to not cook at least one weeknight)
Thursday: Grilled marinated chicken breasts, long grain & wild rice, steamed green beans with almonds
Friday: Pork spaghetti bolognese with green salad and garlic toast
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Check this out...
I love searching for other fascinating bloggers, and this blogger makes me wish every single day that I could go explore her house! Also, makes me wish I was much more crafty and creative than I am.
Delicious Weekend Crepes
I decided to make Steven breakfast last weekend as part of his birthday celebration. He loves having a big breakfast on the weekends but most times the last thing I want to do on my day off is spend the morning cooking and making a wreck of my kitchen!
I decided to try to make crepes for the first time, since pancakes tend to be a little heavy for me. I bought a jar of Nutella and some bananas and set about trying to re-create the amazing crepe we shared on our trip to Paris last year:
Steven eats a Nutella and banana crepe on the steps of Sacre Coeur in Paris, October 2009.
After searching through cookbooks and Web sites I wound up combining ingredients from various recipes until I got just the amount of sweetness that I wanted. So here it is!
BANANA NUTELLA CREPES
Ingredients:
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Extra butter, cut into small pieces (about 1/4 tablespoon)
1 jar Nutella spread
2 ripe bananas, thinly sliced
whisk together eggs and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and 1/2 cup milk. Whisk until combined, slowling stirring in the rest of the milk until the batter has a smooth and liquid consistency. Set batter aside for 20 minutes to an hour. After resting, check the batter to make sure it has a consistency like that of heavy cream and is not too thick or lumpy.
Add a piece of butter to a small nonstick skillet (I use one about the size of the crepe I want to make) over medium to medium-high eat. Once the butter melts, use a paper towel to swirl it evenly around the skillet. Pour about 1/4 cup crepe batter into the skillet, swirling it around to make it round and even. Cook the crepe until it is almost cooked through, then flip it over and cook for another 15 seconds or until done. Crepes cook QUICKLY and are not a walk-away type food! Transfer the crepe to a plate and immediately spread with Nutella. Add thinly-sliced bananas and fold the crepe in half. Serve immediately.
The crepes taste best straight out of the pan because they cool off rapidly. I make four crepes for our breakfast, folded them each in half and then right before I served them I tossed them back into the pan for a quick re-heat, which worked out well.
The filling options for crepes are practically unlimited! For sweetness try fruit, chocolate and whipped cream. For a savory version try tomato sauce and tangy cheese.
I decided to try to make crepes for the first time, since pancakes tend to be a little heavy for me. I bought a jar of Nutella and some bananas and set about trying to re-create the amazing crepe we shared on our trip to Paris last year:
Steven eats a Nutella and banana crepe on the steps of Sacre Coeur in Paris, October 2009.
After searching through cookbooks and Web sites I wound up combining ingredients from various recipes until I got just the amount of sweetness that I wanted. So here it is!
BANANA NUTELLA CREPES
Ingredients:
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Extra butter, cut into small pieces (about 1/4 tablespoon)
1 jar Nutella spread
2 ripe bananas, thinly sliced
whisk together eggs and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and 1/2 cup milk. Whisk until combined, slowling stirring in the rest of the milk until the batter has a smooth and liquid consistency. Set batter aside for 20 minutes to an hour. After resting, check the batter to make sure it has a consistency like that of heavy cream and is not too thick or lumpy.
Add a piece of butter to a small nonstick skillet (I use one about the size of the crepe I want to make) over medium to medium-high eat. Once the butter melts, use a paper towel to swirl it evenly around the skillet. Pour about 1/4 cup crepe batter into the skillet, swirling it around to make it round and even. Cook the crepe until it is almost cooked through, then flip it over and cook for another 15 seconds or until done. Crepes cook QUICKLY and are not a walk-away type food! Transfer the crepe to a plate and immediately spread with Nutella. Add thinly-sliced bananas and fold the crepe in half. Serve immediately.
The crepes taste best straight out of the pan because they cool off rapidly. I make four crepes for our breakfast, folded them each in half and then right before I served them I tossed them back into the pan for a quick re-heat, which worked out well.
The filling options for crepes are practically unlimited! For sweetness try fruit, chocolate and whipped cream. For a savory version try tomato sauce and tangy cheese.
A brush with famous-ness!
I was assigned a media escort at the Zoo last Friday for a film crew who was scouting out locations for a drama being filmed in Oklahoma this coming October. When they arrived, I immediately recognized one of them as a FAMOUS(ish) person!
It was Ben Foster! He is working as a director for the movie.
When he was younger, he also starred in a show called Flash Forward on the Disney Channel. Does anyone else remember that show? I had SUCH a big crush on him so it was extremely, extremely surreal to actually shake his hand.
After we scouted the location, he asked me what my favorite animals at the Zoo were. I told him it was probably the great apes since I find them incredibly fascinating. And he says, "Then lets go see the great apes!" So we did!
It was quite an exciting day for me. I didn't ask for a picture with him because I didn't want to be "that girl," but a co-worker managed to snap a photo of me standing with the group. So here's me! With a famous(ish) person! Cool!
It was Ben Foster! He is working as a director for the movie.
When he was younger, he also starred in a show called Flash Forward on the Disney Channel. Does anyone else remember that show? I had SUCH a big crush on him so it was extremely, extremely surreal to actually shake his hand.
After we scouted the location, he asked me what my favorite animals at the Zoo were. I told him it was probably the great apes since I find them incredibly fascinating. And he says, "Then lets go see the great apes!" So we did!
It was quite an exciting day for me. I didn't ask for a picture with him because I didn't want to be "that girl," but a co-worker managed to snap a photo of me standing with the group. So here's me! With a famous(ish) person! Cool!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
In Loving Memory
In Loving Memory of Grandma Jones
Steven's grandmother passed away on Thursday. She was 96 years old and was suffering from a broken hip, pneumonia and other ailments. It wasn't a surprise, but it was still heartbreaking. She was a sweet, loving woman who loved her son and grandsons fiercely and was incredibly proud of them. Steven and Mark spent every afternoon after school at her house and both have so many wonderful memories of her.
She was honored by a beautiful, touching funeral attended by dozens of people whose lives she touched in many ways - through her generosity, charity, kindness and faith. She was honored by the laughing stories told by her three brothers, their wives and countless other family members and dear friends. She was honored by the touching tributes of her two grandsons and the quiet grief of her son.
She was honored by our love.
Steven's grandmother passed away on Thursday. She was 96 years old and was suffering from a broken hip, pneumonia and other ailments. It wasn't a surprise, but it was still heartbreaking. She was a sweet, loving woman who loved her son and grandsons fiercely and was incredibly proud of them. Steven and Mark spent every afternoon after school at her house and both have so many wonderful memories of her.
She was honored by a beautiful, touching funeral attended by dozens of people whose lives she touched in many ways - through her generosity, charity, kindness and faith. She was honored by the laughing stories told by her three brothers, their wives and countless other family members and dear friends. She was honored by the touching tributes of her two grandsons and the quiet grief of her son.
She was honored by our love.
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