winter pleasures...

After a rather grey and dreary week...

we had a beautiful day yesterday.

We decided to try playing tennis at our favorite court yesterday afternoon...

my friend and I.  

How does one dress for winter tennis?  

We laughed when we arrived at the court to see we looked like we were on the same team.  

We were both dressed in black stretchy pants and jackets...

with white down vests.  

Gloves without fingers might have been nice...

but we warmed up after a while. 

 It was so good to be outdoors on such a beautiful winter day.  

And the bonus of playing tennis in January is that no one else is on the court!

This was the view as I drove home from the tennis courts.

 I never tire of it.

Mt. Cheam...in all her glory!

I've had lunch with Dad and Marge at the cafe in their apartment complex quite often...

and thoroughly enjoy the potato soup that is served there.

Yesterday I cooked up my own version...

and it was the perfect meal on a cold winter day.

I'll be posting the recipe on the MGCC blog sometime soon.

Enjoy the weekend!

remembering...

Thomas Arthur was born to my Aunt Helen and Uncle Al on March 29, 1959...joining his twin brother Timothy and older siblings Robert, Daniel, Paul, James, and Ruth. Though his twin was robust and healthy, Thomas was listless and arrived with severe disabilities.  After being cared for by his parents in their home for many years, Thomas lived out his life in a facility that could better meet his physical needs.  He passed away on January 2, 2013 and is being buried today in Kelowna.  He is survived by three siblings. I wish I could be there for them today.  Theirs is a family that has been through much hardship and pain and sadness over the years.

My cousin Robert was a year older than I was.  By the time his twin brothers arrived, he was eight years old and my aunt had seven children to care for.  Wow!  I can't even imagine.  They lived in distant places at that time, and so we never got to know those cousins real well.  Eventually they moved to my home town, and Robert attended the local high school with me.  We were in the same Chemistry class and sat next to each other.  We chatted off and on...though I think  he mostly listened and I chatted.  He was quiet, good-looking and wore an easy smile.  It was during those years that tragedy struck their family...not once, but many times.  Timothy was throwing rocks with friends in a local rock quarry and fell to his death as he plunged over a cliff.  He was about 10 years old at the time.  James was pedaling a bike along a city street, and was struck by a passing vehicle.  He never totally recovered from his injuries.  When Robert was in his early twenties, he was in a motor vehicle accident involving a train.  Both he and his girlfriend were killed.

I can not even imagine what my uncle and aunt went through.  Uncle Al was later diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease...my aunt was there for him to the end.  Daniel passed away suddenly at the age of 50....and several years later my aunt reached the end of her earthly life. We went to her funeral...a wonderful tribute to a lady who endured much pain and hardship.  We know she is now free of all pain and suffering now. No more tears...no more sadness.

 
As for Thomas...today he is with all those from his family who have gone before.  His body is now perfect...and he is 'walking and leaping and praising God'.  For Paul, Ruth and James there is sadness as they once again bury a loved one.  Though I am unable to stand with them today, my thoughts and prayers are there.

As I wrote this post, I was reminded that I have much to be thankful for.  Seeing the pain that one family has lived through, puts my problems into perspective.

Posted in loving memory of my cousin Thomas...

 

try, try again...

'Tis a lesson you should heed, 

If at first you don't succeed, 

Try, try again.

I've learned my lesson well.

I don't give up easily!

I've been making Anneliese's French bread for the past few years.

One recipe yields two large loaves.

Quick and simple...

and ready in no time.

Usually.

Just before Christmas we had plans to go to a concert with friends.

The plan was to have a quick soup supper together before we went.

I offered to bring fresh bread.

Anneliese's French bread.

I mixed up a batch of dough...

and realized it was missing the secret ingredient.

Yeast.

I added it after the fact...

but decided it was not likely going to produce bread to share with friends...

so I quickly mixed up the second batch.

 It went into my favorite large, red Tupperware mixing bowl...

and I tucked it into the oven to rise in a warm place.

I turned on the oven for 15 seconds...

then turned it off and went back to the sewing machine.

Well, I thought I turned it off!
Some 10 minutes later...
the lid of my nice bowl was a molten mass on top of the rapidly rising yeast dough.
Not only was my favorite bowl ruined...
I still had no French bread for supper.
So I mixed the third batch.
All went well...
and it came out of the oven just in time!

I just thought I'd share that things sometimes go terribly wrong over here as well.

The lesson I've learned...

try again! 

There were a few happy endings to my story.

The first batch of bread with the yeast added after-the-fact turned out just fine in the end.

And so we had our fill of French bread.

And my favorite red bowl which was ruined...

has already been replaced.

My friend just happened to have a green one that she was saving to give away...

and so I was the lucky recipient.

One more thing...

you too can be baking Anneliese's French bread in your kitchen soon.

The recipe will be posted in the new Celebrations cookbook...

coming in spring...

along with all the variations including bread sticks and pizza rolls.

Just keep your Tupperware bowls away from the oven.

I'm just saying!

Enjoy the day...