Mary's Musings: May 2011

Friday, May 27, 2011

Family Recipe Friday: Janet's Russian Fluff

In keeping with the current generation and those to follow I add a recipe of my niece's. Easy and simple and waiting to be passed down to her descendants by her children!

Mary Post Warren

Monday, May 23, 2011

Mary-Mary Quite Contrary, How Does Your Garden Grow

When we lived in California many years ago, we had a mature orange tree that produced year round with no care. We also planted a peach tree but only got one or two peaches off it after 3 years of babying it. I did a lot of canning/freezing but the veggies and fruit were always given to us by others. We moved before the fourth year and don't know if the tree produced. I hope if it did that the buyers of our property enjoyed the fruits of our labor!

After 20+ years we decided to give gardening a try. Last year (2010) we planted zucchini in our back yard (the little yellow blossom you see peeking out from under the leaves on the right side is the start of a zucchini) but it never produced. We were disappointed but not defeated. This year in April (2011) we got out our gardening materials and planted zucchini, yellow crock-neck squash, and another variation of zucchini. We waited and we waited, then we watered and watered some more. We gave them lots of TLC but it took a long time (in our opinions) to get them moving. Then last week we gave the plants a good talking to and said 'produce or else'! We had tons of yellow flowers that looked very pretty but they were not producing what we wanted - food!

A couple days after our talk with the squash we walked out to our yard and, voila, there it was! YEAH, our first zucchini! It's grown a little since I took this picture but other zucchinis or squash have yet to pop out. We have hopes...we waited a long time for this one and we're excited about it. Tenacity is the answer! Hopefully we'll get a few more this summer.

We've recently planted spaghetti squash and our pumpkin seeds are ready to plant in July. And next year we're adding tomatoes to our list.

Mary Post Warren

Friday, May 13, 2011

Family Recipe Friday: Biscuit Mix Cookies

From my mother's (Margaret Troyer Post) recipe box. I've never made these cookies but the recipe looks fairly easy. I'm not sure if I even remember having these when I was smaller - but then my memory is not so good. My mom was a GREAT cook and I loved everything she made.

Mary Post Warren

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Wordless Wedneday (Almost)

Engel, Christian and daughter Alice (about 1909)

Christian Engel was the hubs grandfather and my mother-in-law's father. Alice was one of 4 daughters and 1 son born to Christian and Edith (Gibson) Engel. Alice Clare Engel born January 25, 1906, died September 11, 2000; Christian Engel born May 28, 1847, died January 18, 1932.

Mary Post Warren

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Mother's Day 2011

I know I'm getting this post in just under the wire...it's almost 9pm and the day will be over in 3 hours. I wanted to remember two very special women in my life, my mother and my mother-in-law, on this special day. Thank you very much for all you done for me. You are gone but not forgotten:

Margaret Troyer Post
June 16, 1909 - September 18, 1987

Myrtle Engel Warren
December 21, 1908 - September 9, 2001

Mary Post Warren

Friday, May 6, 2011

Family Recipe Friday: Baked Fish

This was a recipe from my mom's collection of recipes. According to her diaries, when my family lived in Los Angeles my dad and a friend would go to the beach and fish every couple of weeks...whatever they caught was brought home for dinner. Being Roman Catholic, we had fish for dinner every Friday night. Today my fishes of choice are Salmon, Tilipia, and Trout....I'd prefer it all grown in the U.S.A...but know that is not always possible to find....

I do use my 'white' meat fish with the tilipia and trout and then use the recipe below. It's pretty yummy:

Instead of white wine I will use a marinade and the rest of the direcions. I serve the fish with Brown rice and green veggies!

I fix Salmon once a week too - I LOVE SALMON - and it's almost aways grown on the west cost of the western states. I will marinate in Balsamanic Vingerette Dressing for an hour or so and then pop in the oven. Serve with Salad and a potato it's so yummy! and so easy to make!

Mary Post Warren

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Those Places Thursday: In A Country Churchyard

The year was 1975, and we were south of Anadarko, Oklahoma (18 miles west of Chickasha) on a fall foliage tour. I noticed a church steeple rising up out of the red, gold and green foliage.

As we bumped down the hill, on a narrow rutted road, I had no idea of the historical significance, of the well kept, old church-school house we would find there.

Note: Anadarko is deep in what was once Indian Territory, and now has the tourist attraction called, "Indian City".

Poem written by and used with permission of the hubs cousin Carl Stanislaus

Photo taken by and used with permission of hub's cousin, Carl Stanislaus

Mary Post Warren

Wordless Wedneday

2011.4.29 Hubs and the son-in-law
solving the problems of the world
Long Beach California

Mary Post Warren

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Follow-up on Goals/Resolutions - May

My May update on my 2011 goals/resolutions....I've kind of evened out the reading vs. genealogy work and am making progress on both.

My goals for the year and their current status:

1. Read 5 chapters of the Bible daily - ON TRACK: Finished Psalms....starting Proverbs today

2. Read 2 books a month - ON TRACK: This month I read "Homespun Bride" by Jillian Hart and "Daughter of Joy" by Kathleen Morgan. Both are historical fiction. I'm also working my way through Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility"...it's a slower read than the others, thus taking me a little more time.

Other books I have read thus far this year:

O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi" (January)
Frances Hodgson Burnett's "The Secret Garden" (January)
Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre" (February)
L. M. (Lucy Maud) Montgomery's "Anne of Green Gables"(February)
Mindy Starns Clark and Leslie Gould's "The Amish Midwife" (March)
Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" (March)
Leslie Gould's "Garden of Dreams" (March)
Patricia Davids' "Katie's Redemption" (March)
Cindy Woodsmall's "The Hope of Refuge" (March)
Tracie Peterson's "A Dream to Call My Own" (March)
Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter" (March)

3. Volunteer in the school library - ON TRACK

4. Research family info and blog a minimum of 3 days a week - NOT ON TRACK

I recently connected with the hub's cousin Carl (his mother and the hub's mother were sisters) who has been sending me much information on their side of the family. He has traced ancestors back to their arrival on the Mayflower and before. I will be sharing much of this information in the near future, be sure to keep an eye open for some good reading. He's also written many short stories and poems that I will be sharing.
I did get done more than my quota of 3 blogs a week this month.

5. Attend a genealogy convention - ON TRACK

went to AZ Family History Expo in Mesa AZ a few weeks ago.
Trying to squeeze in an online classes.

   6. Get my zucchini to grow this year (last year I got none) - ON TRACK - praying my zucchini and other squashes planted earlier this year will sprout! Also doing a lot of watering to keep them moist during this hot weather.

   7. More canning and freezing of fresh fruits and veggies (either grown by me or given to us by neighbor)
No canning or freezing in April - but had a promise today from a neighbor of some zucchini (she said she'd give it to me tomorrow). If I can't get my own to grow, I'll get it from others!

   8. Walk more - NOT ON TRACK - although I did walk a few times this past month to and from school/work.

Pray for my sis-in-law (hubs older sis) who has terminal cancer, diagnosed a couple months ago. Prayers also for my brother-in-law (sister's husband) who has undiagnosed medical problems.

Mary Post Warren