Far more than diamonds...

Heading to South Carolina

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 22:59:00 +0000

Our northward trip brought us back to WW Ranch near Jacksonville and we got to see a 2 day old calf and enjoy the barnyard sounds again.

From there we went to Savannah Ga and stayed at a lovely place. Our granddaughter, Bella and her boyfriend Aaron live nearby and joined us that evening for pizza and laughs.

Next we made it to the midlands of South Carolina and are staying at Cedar Pond CG not far from Jessie and Mike's family and John (my brother) and Debbie.

I had to visit my doctor for annual checkup in Idaho in April so I took a flight out of Charlotte NC April 8-14.

It was nice to check in with friends and see home for a few days.

i missed getting a photo with Debbie and Brent, but I borrowed a car from them spent good times with their family and am so grateful for their care and friendship!

The trip was good and I returned to Charlotte and spent the night there to await the arrival of our children, Zach and wife Mandie from Portland,OR, and Elizabeth from Montana. I rented a van and drove around Charlotte. My great uncle David Sheets lived there when I was growing up. I went to look for his old property and did find it, but it's now a subdivision on a street named for him.

I drove back to the airport and picked up the kids and we headed back to the family in SC.

Charlotte airport:

We are so grateful for their visit since Zach and Mandie are going to be moving to Denmark because Zach is going to be working there as a Lego designer. It's a boyhood dream come true and we're so proud, yet sad to have them so far away. (New vacation location, though!) Also Elizabeth is leaving to work her summer job at a salmon fishery in Alaska soon and granddaughter, Bella is going to Mississippi with her Navy Reserves unit to prepare for deployment to Kuwait. Lots of changes coming!

Sorry these are all sideways. They came through some other sources than my phone camera and I am technology challenged, so that's what happened.

The kids have already gone to their next destinations and Mike and I are relaxing and resuming some normalcy now, but we've had a few more visits. I went to Columbia yesterday and had lunch with some USCarolina band friends. After being apart 25+ years we had lots of fun catching up!

Today, April 29, 2026, Mike and I traveled by car to Charleston SC and had the opportunity to meet a sister from his biological father's side. Jenny is his youngest known sibling, as he has been discovering more about his family thanks to ancestry. She was delightful to talk with and looks so much like Mike! Having been adopted as an infant, Mike has always been curious about his biological roots. He has made many connections and has met his biological mom, and her two daughters who are from NV and we stay in touch with them. He now has been in contact with 2 sisters from their father and will meet more sisters and hopefully a brother when we make it to Minnesota. Here's a picture of Mike and Jenny

His family history, as we are learning is quite interesting... His father was married a few times and fathered children even more times. We've learned some absurd things about him and even crazier things about Mike's paternal Grandfather. None of it, although it is and interesting story, is anything I plan to write more about.

Thanks for taking the time to read!

Heading further south

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 15:27:00 +0000

From Bradenton Florida we moved on to the Highlands area near Avon Park and Sebring. The weather was warm and Mike did a lot of fishing, we swam in the pool, and had a relaxing couple of weeks.

There's a sea service museum where we enjoyed the tour.

We went by the Sebring Raceway and caught a lap or two.

Next we headed to Homestead Florida. It's been mixed days of hot sun and cool rain. I visited the history museum in hopes of learning anything about my Great Grandfather who was a settler of the area. I didn't find him specifically, and left info with the guide there who is going to pass along to the curator when she returns from vacation and hopefully get some information on him to me if there's anything. ~Update she did send me info regarding his death in Miami and burial in Newberry SC

Mike and I visited the Coral Castle. It's a fascinating home of a local legend who built this interesting home and gardens from coral rock.

We went to Everglades National Park and enjoyed the beautiful scenery, on boardwalks around swamp and over wetlands. Truly a beautiful place.

We spent a day driving to the Florida Keys. It was a lovely drive and we went to the southernmost tip of the United States in Key West.

We visited the aquarium there as well and had a delicious lunch. Stopped at a local bakery too and brought a delicious Key Lime Pie back with us.

We traveled after that to Patrick Space Force Base and camped right on the Banana River and watching the dolphins and other fish jumping. Mike caught and released a pufferfish

There's lots of pelicans and dolphins to watch as well.

This was the sunset our first evening here.

On our way north toward Jacksonville, Florida.

Florida adventures

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 22:03:37 +0000

Our first stay in FL was going back to the Jacksonville area at WW Ranch. A beautiful setting where they have cattle, as well as a llama-alpaca cross, peacocks, and goats. It's really peaceful, even with the animals and the Motocross training facility. The owner is so gracious and we enjoyed 2 nights there just taking in the sunshine, watching the motorcycle training and walking around the ranch.

Next stop was Ocala Florida where we visited the World Equestrian Center and experienced the training facility and lovely grounds

We went to Silver Springs nearby and took a ride on a glass bottom boat. The day we were there the weather was unseasonably cool and overcast, so unfortunately we didn't get to see any gators or manatees, but the springs and a few turtles and fish and birds were lovely .

We also went back to a place we'd been years ago, Big Daddy, Don Garlitz's Museum of Drag Racing.

so many cars, I can't show them all!

This week we're in Bradenton Florida. It's near Sarasota and south of Tampa. We're not sightseeing, but we were able to enjoy time with my great nephew and his partner, plus this owl.

Having fun, enjoying Florida, and loving life!

Snowbirds on the Road

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 16:13:00 +0000

Our week in the SC Midlands was great. The snow left and the weather was cold but clear.

I had time to complete my craft project, this miniature fruit stand, that Jessie gave me at Christmas. Then I got another project and finished it too. It's called diamond painting and is sort of a mosaic idea with small jeweled dots that you adhere to a template

We enjoyed visiting with some of my cousins and with our daughter and her family and my brother and his friends and family.

We camped at a RV park next to a big flea market that's been there for as long as I remember, the Barnyard. Sunday we walked through and we bought an old southern favorite from a food vendor, Boiled Peanuts. They're yummy , soft and salty.

I don't have pictures of most of our meet-ups because I get so involved in visiting that I forget to take pictures!

I did get some photos of old memories though, when I drove to Columbia, SC, my home town, and checked on my old haunts.

My childhood home

My Highschool

Middle School

My Aunt BeBe's house I spent much time in growing up

My Grandparents home

My parents memorial at their church

USC Williams Brice stadium, where I marched in the Carolina Band and Home of the Gamecocks!

It was good to enjoy seeing the city, it's growth, and remember so many good times and family and friends from there.

We left SC yesterday, Feb 8, and came back to Florida. We're in Jacksonville area, once again at WW ranch, a Harvest Host with a Motocross training facility. As I type I hear the kids ripping around the track, as well as the ranch animals, wildlife , and a gentle breeze on the sunny day. It's quite relaxing and we're just chilling before we head deeper into Florida for more adventures.

Snow comes south sometimes!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 15:40:00 +0000

We woke up to snow today. We were still in Moncks Corner SC which is close to Charleston SC on the coast. As the next picture shows it was little more than a dusting, but snow is always a little exciting!

We left this morning and have traveled to Lexington SC for a week . The roads were clear and it was a pretty quick drive. We're at the barnyard RV Park. It's snowed here too but the sun is out and it's melting away

Hoping to catch up with some of my kinfolk in the area this week and maybe the sun will keep shining! Happy Trails to all!

January: Getting a little cold in the South now

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 15:19:00 +0000

I'm glad to be back at the campground with Mike after the holidays and the cruise. We are still in SC until the first part of February. Planning to leave the low country Feb 1st and spend a week in the midlands making a few more connections with family in that area. It's been very warm and nice here but the wind came in with a vengeance yesterday and it's cooling down enough to bring out the long pants and jacket. I hope the turtle I saw yesterday got himself dug in enough to stay warm!

Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 15:03:31 +0000

Here's to 2026! Hoping you all have a blessed New Year!
I went on a Jeremiah cruise with my sister Linda, to the eastern Caribbean from Dec 27- Jan 3. We celebrated 2026 on board Holland America 's Koningsdam and enjoyed lovely ports while digging deeper into our faith with messages and music from David Jeremiah and his family and team. It was a wonderful time. I'm thankful to my brother in law Larry and husband Mike who sacrificed and kept home fires burning to allow us this beautiful time!

Wonderful Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 14:46:21 +0000

Here's hoping you had a marvelous Christmas! We sure did. Despite missing our Western family, we thoroughly enjoyed spending the holidays with our Eastern family! We love being Memaw and Pepaw to our 4 young adult grandkids and being with them and their wonderful parents was a blessing this week.

So much fun!

Last weekend we had the opportunity to attend my cousin's family reunion. I hadn't seen them in several years and met new generations for the first time. It was a great time too!

I wish I had taken more pic but I was too busy catching up with everyone.

This morning was an early start. Mike drove me to Charlotte NC to catch my flight to Ft Lauderdale where I'm meeting my sister to go on an Eastern Caribbean cruise. What a week! I catch you up after I get some more photos and catch my breath.

Enjoying Short Stay Joint Recreation Area

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 17:42:31 +0000

We've had mostly nice weather here at Moncks Corner SC. Yesterday was cold and we woke to frozen pipes. We had backup water in the RV's insulated and heated tanks and we're thankful we could start the day making a pot of coffee!

Mike fishes every day in the lake or the ponds around us. He has caught a few little bream, bluegill and bass, but they're all too small and he returns them to the water to grow up.

This weekend there was a Christmas boat parade at sunset so we sat on the lakeside and enjoyed the view. My photos didn't come out too well but you get the idea

We drove down to Charleston yesterday to go to Costco and got our shopping done. We decided to come straight back to camp after shopping because the traffic was terrible. We've spent lots of time in Charleston in the past and done the tourist things before, so we didn't feel like it was necessary to fight the traffic to see anything else.

Settling in for a bit

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 20:34:00 +0000

We're in South Carolina now, at the Short Stay Recreation area for military at Moncks corner SC. If you don't know, SC is my home state and where Mike and I met, married, and started our family. We're looking forward to seeing several family and friends over the next couple of months, including our daughter and her family, my brother and his family, many cousins and other relatives as well as old friends. Just chilling for a while with more plans to travel Christmas week and return here for several weeks.

Lake Moultrie, where our campground is located, is part of the Santee Cooper project created in the 1930s for hydro-electric power. The lakes were made from the Santee river. It's counterpart, Lake Marion is slightly northwest of Moultrie and the water from both continues on into the Cooper river which meets the Atlantic Ocean in Charleston SC. The fishing is world famous here. I'm not a fisherman but Mike's been enjoying it.

Our last 3 days have been a deluge of rain. It's drying out a little today and hopefully we'll get sunshine soon!

The campground has put some Christmas decorations around the place and it's nice to have them. I don't miss the decorations at home, especially with not having to climb ladders and figure out extension cords!

Ww Ranch Harvest Host

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 07 Dec 2025 02:20:05 +0000

Our stay near Jacksonville Fla was based on driving time between Eglin AFB FL and Short Stay Navy rec area, SC. What we found was WW Ranch, a Motorcross training facility on a working ranch owned by a really fine gentleman named Junior. He was an awesome host who graciously served us as we took up space on his property. We were set up next to his Motorcross training facility where you g folks come to learn how to ride with the finest!

The ranch is huge and has all sorts of livestock and natural beauty. Junior allowed us to take the RZR around the trails and view the place. So lovely!

We did have to make a trip into Jacksonville on Sunday because bour propane on the RV was low We headed to a U-Haul to learn there wasn't anyone there qualified to pump the propane. We proceeded to contact and inquire 4 more propane dealers to learn that non could serve us that day, either they were closed for inventory, out of propane, or didn't sell propane. Needless to say driving a 31' motorhome around Jacksonville Fla and not locating a propane seller was frustrating at least! We ended up purchasing an "exchange" tank at a gas station so we could have heat, stove and hot water that night! It was all worth it though because the ranch and Junior made it all worthwhile!

Heading across the Deep South: New Orleans to Florida

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 29 Nov 2025 00:21:00 +0000

We stayed in New Orleans, LA for a few days. Mostly kicking back and enjoying the warm weather. Mike washed the RV and took lots of dust and dirt off to make it shiny again. Of course, that night it rained! Even so, it looked much cleaner and it was good to get the grime and dirt off!

We visited the French Quarter and walked a few miles around New Orleans. We really enjoyed our Bienet and cafe au lait breakfast!

We ducked in and out of a few gift shops and marveled at the beautiful architecture and landscape of the city.

Cool town, but we had enough after one day of sightseeing! It was a lot of walking for two old folks 😉

We traveled from New Orleans via I-10 mostly passing through Mississippi (where we stopped at our first Buccee's, that's an experience!). I didn't get a picture of the place but Buccee's are giant truck/stop/travel center/ gas station places that offer really good food and all sorts of souvenirs, necessities and anything else you might want on a road trip stop!

We ended up at Eglin AFB at the campground for families of military and vets called Postal Point. We stayed 4 nights there . The first 3 days were warm and sunny but Thanksgiving Thursday has turned pretty chilly! I got in some nice walks with Maggie and bike rides while enjoying the beachside. Will head on to the Jacksonville area next.

So long, Texas. Hello, Louisiana

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 22 Nov 2025 17:58:15 +0000

We left San Antonio TX yesterday and drove to a Harvest Host called "Snow White Sanctuary" near Vinton LA. It was a lovely setting, and filled with animals. The owners have a sanctuary retreat for animals with a vegan approach to saving animals from farm life. The horses, dogs, chickens, emu, goats, pigs, turkeys, ducks, and maybe some we missed just wander around the farm living the good life. It was a pretty spot and we enjoyed it. From there we're heading to New Orleans for a few days to enjoy a different atmosphere!

Warm weather in Texas

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 15 Nov 2025 01:19:22 +0000

We're enjoying warm weather and lots of sunshine in San Antonio TX. We're set up in the RV Park at Joint Base Lackland AFB. They have one of the B-24 Liberators on display here which is the kind of plane my Dad was a mechanic for during the Ploesti raids in WWII. I was excited to see one in person.

We've been here for a week and will be for another week. We're close to San Antonio City and have been downtown twice for sightseeing to the Alamo, and the Riverwalk Boat tour and delicious Mexican food.

Life is good and we're still loving living in the RV!

Busy few days and lovely weather!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 09 Nov 2025 02:05:49 +0000

Our time in Oklahoma was relaxing and enjoyable. We went to the National Cowboy and Western History Museum and it is very impressive and lots of fun. The outdoors and indoors are full of displays, art, history, and a very broad collection of relics and stories of western history and the making of America as we know it!

We stayed near the campground most of the week and caught up on laundry, cleaning, and rest.

One of the campground days I had a notion to bake something. I had brought some of our pear pie filling from the pear tree in our yard in ID, so I made a few fired pies with my air fryer. They turned out pretty yummy even if they weren't too pretty! 😋

Thursday we headed down to Texas, and a little past Ft Worth to a town called Cleburne. We camped at a Harvest Host called Wintergrass Vineyard and Winery. The hostess, Amy, was really nice and we enjoyed our wine tasting with her in the afternoon.

The trip Friday to San Antonio was long! Both of our phones were dead because we decided to dry camp without the generator Thursday night at the winery. We won't make that mistake again. Without shore power or generator the electrical outlets are useless. Besides no charging power we also couldn't use our CPAPs to sleep. I didn't sleep at all that night because without the CPAP Mike snored like a buffalo. Between poor sleep and dead phones, travel Friday was a mix of grumpiness, frustration, and unease. We did make it to our destination with a bit of navigational confusion... Paper maps, poor Google map reception, a poor navigator (me), and an amazing but very grumpy driver (Mike). No more non- electric overnights!

Friday's travels culminated at Lackland AFB Fam Camp in San Antonio. We'll be here a couple of weeks. It was hot today with lots of sun. Both of us did some work around the rolling home we live in. Mike had some mechanical work in and around the big tow-behind trailer, and he brought out of it our pickup with some things I needed to to get the class C better organized. It was a long work day, and we felt relieved and tired after getting those chores accomplished. Thanks for taking time to read and always feel free to send questions, comments or just a hello on Facebook or the blog. Happy Trails!

Staying warm as Fall moves in.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 17:12:53 +0000

We moved south after our stay in Taos NM, typical snowbirds on a southern migration. We spent one night boondocked (the term for camping in an RV with no hookups) in Vega, TX. This was a Harvest Host stay at a Rt. 66 museum. The museum wasn't open over the weekend, but there were lots of neat things outside to see.

This tarantula visited us , a sober reminder that it's wise to be aware of our surroundings. I got close enough to take a picture, but left it alone and didn't see anymore

From there we ventured on to Oklahoma City.

The museum here has so much information and exquisite displays of the Western history, including Native American people, cowboy, and military notable stories, art and artifacts. We enjoyed it very much.

Thank you for taking the time to check out our adventures. I'll be posting more along the way.

October 31 2025.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 01 Nov 2025 01:34:00 +0000

Our 10th travel day! We've been in Taos the last 3 days. Had a lovely ride up by the Rio Grande Gorge on Wednesday and settled down for 3 nights here.

Yesterday we visited the Taos Pueblo and learned a lot about Native American History and life. Much of how they live is just as it was in the 1500s. We both enjoyed that excursion. Especially the freshly cooked fry bread 😋

Later in I did a little shopping and sightseeing around the town of Taos. There's lot of beautiful art and plenty to do for the adventurous. We both had a pleasant afternoon in the sun and enjoyed walking Maggie and hanging around camp.

Thus weekend is a Hot Air Balloon event and we got to see a few this morning!

Today we did some housekeeping/RV necessary chores and I worked on a project, rolling a bunch of coins that have been collecting at our house for years. The quarters are very handy for RV Park laundry rooms! The rest will be easier to deposit in the bank now that they're rolled!

Tomorrow morning we'll be on the road again and seeing more of America! Thanks for following along and I hope you're enjoying our journey too!

Day 7, One week into this journey

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 21:27:00 +0000

We had a good time visiting Seligman AZ the last few days. We saw a couple of Mike's old school buddies and visited a ranch out of town where one of them works. Today we traveled into New Mexico and are spending 1 night in Grants before heading to Taos, NM tomorrow.

10/25/ 2025 Travel Day UT, NV, AZ

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 26 Oct 2025 03:57:00 +0000

Good bye UT ! Took off this morning and headed down past St George UT towards Nevada, then the Arizona Strip and again NV, passed Las Vegas and finally making it to Seligman, AZ, where Mike called home from age 11 through high school. We're staying in the KOA that his parents and another couple built. Mike still has friends here we'll be trying to catch up with them the next couple days.

Day 3 Sand Hollow State Park UT

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 25 Oct 2025 03:20:00 +0000

This is the reservoir at Sand Hollow State Park UT. We're camped just above it and are enjoying the peace and the beautiful scenery. We saw migrating pelicans and lots of coots on the lake. We rode bikes and the RZR and tried a little rock climbing in the RZR which was a little scary, but successful!

The weather was cool this morning. We had quite a rainstorm during the night. By mid day we had warm temps again. Mike worked outside tuning on the RZR and bikes. I took a bicycle ride and tried to get brave and ride the little motor bike. I made it safely around the campground but I'm not very comfortable with it. Mike took his bike out and around and had a great ride. Every day or two I put a leash and harness on Roxxi and try to take her outside. She is not impressed by it at all. Today she did take a few steps before she plopped down but she really doesn't like it...

Day 4 , Last day in Utah

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 25 Oct 2025 03:18:00 +0000

This was our last full day in Sand Hollow UT. It was fun and full. We had some family come visit who happened to be visiting St. George UT this week. It was great to visit, take a ride together and just spend time with them. After they left I did a little shopping to be ready for the next phase, and we got the rig ready to go again. We saw some really cool paragliders this afternoon, but couldn't get any pictures because I was driving and then the sun was too bright to catch a good shot. They were fun to watch as they spun and turned about in the air and over the lake! We're heading to AZ tomorrow for a few days and hopefully catch up with some of Mike's friends in Seligman.

Happy Trails!

Day 2 Oct 22 2025

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 23 Oct 2025 01:28:00 +0000

We got a fresh start around 10 this morning. The night was chilly in Nephi. I tried taking Roxxi out on the leash and she didn't care for that. She ate and drank though, and seems happy. Maggie is a great dog companion for her and all is good! It's a 3 hour trip and we stopped for fuel, potty, and food in Florence. We arrived at Sand Hollow, near Hurricane UT and situated close to Zion National Park, around 2 pm. We have a beautiful view from the campsite. The pets are doing wonderful and we took the RZR out on a little trail ride. It's gorgeous weather and views here and glad to be settled for a couple of nights here.

On the road again Day 1 10/21/2025

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 20:15:00 +0000

The RV is serviced, fueled and packed and the pets are riding along, a dog who has made many trips and a cat who is brand new to this sort of adventure. She's our tiny kitty who's about 10 years old. She's only been separated from us for short periods until our last RV trip. Usually she was fine, but when we left for a few months we came back and she'd lost weight and hadn't come back in the house after the first day the sitter let her out. I couldn't bear to leave her so we made the decision to give her a try in the RV. The first couple hours were interrupted with a few desperate whines, but now 3 hours into the ride, Roxxi has found a happy place nuzzling with our Aussie, Maggie.

The weather at our home in Idaho was chilly this morning with the first frost of the year. It was a confirmation that it's a great time to head south. The stay tonight is in Nephi, UT. A small town that was a good distance to break up the trip to Sand Hollow where we're going tomorrow.

Long time since I wrote online....I'm back

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 10 May 2019 21:29:00 +0000

When I think on how long it's been since I wrote in this blog, I can't remember when it was. Frankly, my life is so full, of good things and bad, that my memory fades quickly. I looked back to see that it's been almost 4 years since I wrote, and then just a small amount. Prior to that I started, 6 years ago, in a very different time of my life. Then, in 2013, I was in the throes of home-making and career, and motherhood. All of those are important to me still, but very much changed.

These past six years have really seen the doing and undoing and doing again of me. I would not have ever thought to imagine some of what I have been through. Before I start a new story, I'll recap those years.

I think I crashed a little when the last chick left my nest. My sense of purpose shifted and I, perhaps, wasn't ready for the change. The year was 2013. I threw myself into being present for other kids, as I sent my last child out of the nest. My baby boy had joined the Navy and was serving his time, and my baby girl was off to a faraway city to pursue college and all it had to offer her. My blogging emphasis shifted over to my job as a teacher of physical education. My passion to make a healthier, happier world was extended beyond our home walls. I suddenly had more time to pursue this new challenge. I started a part time position at a county foster residence for teens that needed temporary shelter, I served with a committee at the State Department of Education that proposed and amended changes to the state standards for K-12 Physical Education and Health, I became a competitive grant writer and poured my knowledge and writing skills into obtaining more equipment and opportunities for physical activity for the schools that I was a part of. In all of this, I found purpose and meaning, and consequently happiness.

Of course, all good stories either (a) come to an end; or (b) start another chapter. My next chapter started: (a) because my teaching position rapidly went from being a pleasant way to spend my time and efforts to a time where I suddenly felt that my sense of purpose had morphed into someone else's token of convenience. My teaching assignment was split up in a way that was difficult, at best. I spent a final year in the job I had loved for the previous 13 years with a sense of unhappiness and a surety that I was no longer called to that place.

I felt led back into my old career, hair stylist. I had given that up in 2010 in order that my mom-in-law could come to live in our home, in a space once converted to a beauty salon, that re-purposed beautifully into a studio apartment. She was the best mother in law that I could imagine. I loved her and she loved me just like mother and child. We were the best of friends. She was a great companion, whether we were shopping, watching TV, or just sounding off over whatever nonsense to deep conversation we had to talk about. Her life in our home was a blessing to us, and she always said that she was happy and fulfilled here. Now, Mom was still here when it occurred to me to start back into hair styling, so I rented a little shop and began a second job alongside of the teaching position. It was fun, and it helped me gain a more positive outlook on life and work, but it was expensive and difficult to grow. I closed the little shop and rented a booth in a large salon and it was good. Clientele grew slowly, so I was still teaching, but I downsized to a half time contract in a charter school in 2017. My position is still PE and Health, but I went from elementary school to secondary school. I teach two PE classes of mixed grades, 7-12 and one high school health class. It's been a challenge to learn a new set of standards and curriculum, but it's been good.
Just before the new school year began my mother in law was diagnosed with lung cancer. I'm positive that God set up a plan in advance that let me have more freedom in my schedule so that I could handle the primary care giving for her. In May of 2018, she left us to spend her eternity with Jesus.
After her passing we decided to revert the room back into a home salon. I have been doing business there for almost a year and it is growing and I love it!
There was a slow start to the business because I had a total knee replacement on July 17, 2018. Recovery was slower than I expected but the home salon made it much easier to work through my recovery.
It was not until Mom passed away that Mike and I lived alone together since we met. When he and I married he had three kids, two who stayed with us part time and one who was with us all times. We had two more over the next three years and by the time the last one left home, mom was living in our home.
Living this past year as just a couple, has really been a year of discovery, devotion and oneness. It's like we fell in love all over in a better way!
Now after another year of secondary teaching under my belt and freedom from being a caregiver, a new chapter began. I'm finding that I have time to pursue some projects long denied and spending leisure time that was previously so rare.
I've had a passion to write for many years. I know there is a novel inside that will be written, but starting back with the blog is an effort to hone my writing skills.
If you're still reading it must mean that I'm on to something good.
I'm one year away from 60 and that means that there's less if my life left than has already been spent. God has provided for me all that I need, much that I wished for, and He will continue to see me through. My job is to listen for His Spirit and keep both heart and mind attuned to His ways.
I pray that this blog is an instrument that might be used to bless others and me. So as Bugs and Daffy say, "On with the show. This is it!"

Vegan and Gluten Free Brownie Bites

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 05 Jul 2015 05:18:00 +0000

This Fourth of July I decided to make something sweet to bring to a friend's BBQ. Now, since my children choose to eat a vegan diet and I rarely make sweets except when they're home, most of what I have on hand are vegan ingredients. Also, one daughter avoids gluten and she contends that it has greatly contributed to the fact that she no longer needs to medicate for depression. For that reason, and the fact that I try not to consume much wheat at all as I fight the middle age battle of the bulge, I only keep gluten free flour in my cabinet.

I've found this one from Costco to be quite good as a one to one substitute in all of my baking recipes. Now for the recipe, I adapted one from one of my favorite bloggers, theminimalistbaker.com. Dana is a pro blogger and always has super quick and delicious vegan recipes! I started with her Simple Vegan Brownie recipe, made it GF and added the frosting to come up with a hit! After deciding what to make I gathered the ingredients...

With everything mixed, the mini muffin pans filled, and the oven hot, it was time to bake, cool and frost!

I had these plastic star plates from the Dollar Tree that were perfect to take them to the BBQ. The finishing touches with the patriotic sprinkles were just right. They were a big hit for holiday style and deliciousness!

The Recipe

Vegan and Gluten Free Brownie Bites

Ingredients

Brownie Bites

½ stick Earth Balance Vegan Shortening Stick (¼ cup)

½ stick Earth Balance Vegan Butter (1/4 cup)

¾ cup organic cane sugar

2 Tbsp. ground flaxseed prepared with 6 Tbsp. water OR Egg Replacer (2 lg)

¾ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

½ cup Dutch* Cocoa powder

¾ cup Gluten Free Flour Blend

½ cup mini dark chocolate chips

(Makes about 48 mini muffin cups)

Preheat oven to 350. Spray mini muffin pans with non-stick spray or use paper baking cups. Melt the shortening and butter in the microwave in a large bowl. Using a mixer, slowly blend in sugar, flaxseed “eggs” or egg replacer, baking powder, salt, and cocoa until well blended. Slowly mix in flour. Add chocolate chips. Spoon about a teaspoon into each muffin cup. Bake 18-22 minutes. Done when brownies begin to pull away from the side of the cups and toothpick comes out clean. Don’t overbake! Cool in pan for 5 minutes then turn out and cool completely to frost.

“Buttercreme” Frosting

¼ cup coconut oil

¼ cup Earth Balance Vegan Butter (1/2 Stick)

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups Confectioner’s Sugar

Pinch salt

3 Tbsp. chilled canned coconut cream

Whip coconut cream slightly then add oil and butter to bowl. Cream together with vanilla. Add salt and sugar slowly until desired consistency is reached.

*Dutch Cocoa Powder differs from natural cocoa powder. Both are unsweetened and made when chocolate liquor is pressed to remove ¾ of the cocoa butter from it. In the Dutch process however, the powder is treated with an alkali to neutralize its acids. This causes the pH to be neutral and it will not react with baking soda. Therefore recipes with Dutch cocoa must have acidic ingredients such as Baking Powder in order to perform as desired. Dutch cocoa has a milder flavor and dissolves easier in liquids. Natural cocoa and baking soda create more leavening action. In this recipe you will note a dense texture of the brownies produced by the Dutch cocoa and baking powder combination. Because of their differences, substitutions should never be made between natural and Dutch processed cocoa.