“Utterly Deadly Southern Pecan Pie”

Today we visited the home of the author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. She wrote several books about Florida, the most famous of which is “The Yearling” that won the Pulitzer Prize in 1939. I love to read but I have not read any of her books, but I plan to do so.

We took a tour of her home in Cross Creek, Florida and it was very interesting. The home was build about 1889 and is still the original house. It was formed from putting together three different homes and connecting them with a porch.

One of the books she wrote was a cook book. Just to give you a sample of her writing and her wit I will give you the recipe for “Utterly Deadly Southern Pecan Pie”

4 eggs
1 ¼ cups Southern cane syrup
1 ½ cups broken pecan meats
1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Boil sugar and syrup together two or three minutes. Beat eggs, not too stiff, pour in slowly the hot syrup, and add the butter, vanilla and the pecan meats, broken rather coarsely. Turn into a raw pie shell and bake in a moderate oven about 45 minutes or until set.

The funniest part is the next paragraph,

“I have nibbled at the “Utterly Deadly Southern Pecan Pie” and have served it to those in whose welfare I took no interest, but being inclined to plumpness, and having as well a desire to see out my days on earth, I have never eaten a full portion”

Congradulations to Crystal and Matt

I just had to let everyone know that my beautiful granddaughter, Crystal, is now engaged to a great guy by the name of Matt Herndon. The ring is so beautiful and...yes...HE WENT TO JARED!! Matt is a science teacher at CT Walker Magnet School. They will take their time and plan to marry sometime next summer. We all welcome Matt into the family with open arms.

Braves Baseball in Orlando, Florida

Jimmy and I drove to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Baseball Stadium at Disney World. It is the Spring Training home of the Atlanta Braves. We saw the Braves beat the Houston Astros, the score was 10 to 5, Braves, at the bottom of the eighth inning, when we left. The weather was perfect and we really enjoyed the day, especially the ice cream cone that advertised to be only 10 calories per ounce. I believed them so I got one. I would like to share with you a few pictures from today.

An Astro player running to first base...but not fast enough.

All set for a swing and a hit!!

Oh no...Pop fly!!

We enjoyed the day and the sports center at Disney is really nice. They also have Baseball fields, Soccor fields, LaCrosse fields, Basketball courts, etc. all for the use of local teams. It is a real nice place to visit.

Sean and Sara

Dawn and David went to Utah for some skiing and the "grandparents" took care of Sean and Sara while they were gone. Dawn is very fortunate to have three sets of grandparents and they all pitched in to ensure the health and safety of their most precious children. Jimmy and I were scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.

Dawn left us a very helpful set of instructions which began, "Who said that children do not come with instructions? Here they are."

When Dawn called back on Thursday I told her that Sean's "instructions" worked well, but Sara's "instructions" were more like "suggestions" because Sara had her own idea of how and when she would eat, drink and sleep.

Sean was such a good boy and Sara is a little doll. Here are some pictures taken while we were there.

Sara and Grandma bonded during this visit. She looks like me, don't you think?

Sean, the handsome boy, had fun at Monkey Joe's.

Sara was only allowed to sit on the slide, only big brother could slide down.

Got to take a break for a cool drink.

Sean loved playing Ski Ball.

Sean and Grandpa playing pinball.

I think Sean had the most fun at Monkey Joe's.

Sara had the most fun at home.
Love those kids!!

Merry Christmas from Jim & Judy

We had a great Christmas this year. Family is the most important thing during the holidays and Jim and I are blessed with a great family. Dawn came down on the 22nd for Kim's birthday and then went out to lunch on the 23rd with some of her old high school friends. But the best was the grandchildren. I read an old Egyptian proverb that says, "The only thing more precious than our children are the children of our children." I can relate to that.

This is a picture of the whole gang. From left to right is David, Dawn, Sean, Crystal, Sara, Caleb, Kim, and Donald. What a good looking group!

It seems a lot of the day revolved around food, and there was plenty of it. Here are Kim, Crystal, and Sara with the Monkey Bread. David, Dawn's husband, makes the Monkey Bread every year and it is always a hit.

Here are Caleb, Sara, and Sean. The picture may not be perfect but getting three young children, on Christmas Eve, to sit still for a picture is not as easy as it sounds.

This is Jim and I with our girls. I love this picture.

Sara and Grandpa...youngest and oldest (don't tell Jimmy I said that)

Here is a picture with Jimmy's mother, Rose. Pictured are 2 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.

Merry Christmas from Jim and I and a very Happy New Year to all.

Christmas in Ocala

I just wanted to show you some pictures from the Christmas decorations in the "city square" in Ocala. Yes, Ocala has an actual city square and it is beautiful this year. They had a line to talk to Santa and a young girl singing Christmas songs and talking to all the children in line. The girl must have been a professional singer because she sure did have a great voice. The city of Ocala also had a "tractor ride" to take everybody around downtown for free. The Christmas Tree was really beautiful this year. It changed colors every couple minutes. Ocala is a nice little city.

The trees wrapped in green lights with red lights at the top are all the plam trees planted around the square. They are higher than a three story building. Notice that there is no snow on any of the trees. Oh yes, that is because it is 75 degrees! I love christmas in Florida.

Visit with Dawn and family

Jim and I spent a few days with Dawn and her family. David, who works for IBM, went to Australia on business. That is a 22 hour flight! Dawn began decorating her home for Christmas and we helped.

Sean worked hard trimming the tree...

...and he did a great job! It was the "most beautiful Christmas tree" he ever saw.

(and me too)

Sara's job was to look cute...

...and she did that very well.