OTHER WEDDINGS OF NOTE

While watching the "Royal Wedding" this morning, I started thinking about other weddings dear to my heart

BEAUTIFUL BRIDES

Heather, my beautiful daughter...

Son, Adam's wedding with a stunning Melissa...

My parents, Genevieve and Richard.....

Sunflowers 1985

In browsing my photos, I came across this one from 1985 with me and Adam, age 5.  We had quite a crop of giant sunflowers in the "back 40".  I wonder how many snakes lived there???

Grandpa and Grandma

Nothing more fun than your kids and grandkids.

Adam and Melissa

Uncle Adam and Aunt Melissa were great coaches during the Easter Egg Hunt. 

Heather and Family at Easter

EASTER AT THE SCHELS

We had a great time with Adam, Melissa, Heather, Jason, Maddie and Reese.  We started with Mimosas, had a wonderful brunch, and then an Easter Egg Hunt for the kids.

Reading Recommendation

I just recently finished a novel that I absolutely loved!  It's by Beth Hoffman and called "Saving CeeCee Honeycutt."  It's a heartwarming story about a young girl who is neglected as a child, and then finds a secure home and many wonderful people who care for her.  I have given it to many friends to read, and all come back saying how much they loved the book.  I hope you do too!

Easter 1963

As usual, Mom made all of our dresses.  I remember getting our hats at Carson Perie Scott, & Co. a semi- posh store in one of the new malls that had been springing up.  It was sort of a beehive hat with flowers all around.  Beehive hairdos were also big that year.  Mom's was a pillbox hat made popular by Jackie Kennedy.

Easter Clothes

Don't get the wrong idea.  Just because I got new Easter clothes each Easter doesn't mean we were rich.  Far from it.  My mother used to make most of my clothes, including coats, even on into my teens.  In the Easter picture of me at age 7, she did make my dress, and my coat.  My grandfather (her father) was a tailor, and Mom and her two sisters also learned to sew.  They were all good seamstresses.  My Aunt Jo even went on to have a business where she designed and sewed Barbie Doll clothes.  One thing I remember fondly is the treadle sewing machine my Aunt Jo used for years.  My cousin Barbara still has it.  It is a White, and you can still find them on Ebay.  It had the cutest little drawers on each side.

Easter in Years Past

When I was a girl, dressing up for Easter was a big deal.  You would get a new dress, gloves, shoes, hat and purse.  Going to church was a must. 

Another Flower Picker?

When we visited my husband, Dave's parents, Heather loved their yard.  She was a chip off the old block and proceeded to pick her Grandmother's flowers.

Farm in Koleen, Indiana

After I got married, my parents actually bought a farm in Indiana with several acres.  Mom and my Aunt Jo would spend hours canning all of the things they had grown.  Mom's vegetable garden had grown to astronomical proportions.  When my kids were little, I would visit the farm each year.  I loved eating the baby veggies right from the garden.  There's nothing like it.

Vegetable Garden

Mom loved vegetable gardens.  Everyone had one during WWII to supplement the food they were able to buy with their ration cards.  They called them Victory Gardens.  When I was 12, we moved to McHenry, Illinois, where Mom had a huge vegetable garden.  We were out in the "country" you see, and that made all the difference in the world.  We were 60 miles away from Chicago and it was as rural as you can get.  We even had cows across the road---more about that later.

Lincoln Park Botanical Garden

From birth to age 12, I lived in Chicago.  My parents, or my cousins Barbara or MaryAnn would take me to parks or zoos.  You could go anywhere in Chicago on the Streetcar, or later the bus.  Lincoln Park had not only a world class zoo, but a botanical garden.  I loved to stroll through it taking pictures and admiring the different species of plants.  I still love to do this at places like Descanso Gardens, The Arboritum, or the L.A. County Fair.  Even nurseries can be a wonderful outing.  There's nothing I like better than buying a new plant to try in my yard.

In The Beginning

I was interested in gardening at an early age.  However, I was not very good at it.   I would strip leaves off bushes, and to my Grandmother's dismay, at age 2, I would pick all the flowers in her garden.  As far back as I can remember, I loved being outside.  When I got a little older, I would pick flowers like lillies of the valley, violets, lilacs and buttercups for my mother, or for May altars for the Blessed Mother.  I wish I could grow lillies of the valley here in California, as they are one of my favorite flowers.  Their fragrance is heavenly.

Ladybug Season

This is the time of year for ladybugs, and I love them.  I also love my new books, A Year at Ladybug Farm, At Home on Ladybug Farm, and Love Letters from Ladybug Farm.  Great stories about 3 ladies who buy an old Victorian farmhouse on several acres.  Many of you will be able to relate to the problems that the ladies encounter.  Sure brought back memories for me.

Whatever Happened to.......

I have been quite remiss on posting to our blog.  When I make my lists each day, I need to put "Post to Blog" as a to-do.  As you may or may not know, my passions are Reading, Cooking and Gardening.  So, I hope to post something about one of those items each time.  I read an article today about a chicken recipe, and it looked so easy I thought I should share it.  You need a whole chicken, cleaned and ready to stuff.  Next, puncture 2 lemons with a fork and stuff them into the chicken.  Take an additional lemon and squeeze it all over the chicken.  Salt and pepper the chicken well, and bake at 350 until golden, depending on the chicken's size, about 2 hours.  Probably best to use a meat thermometer for doneness.  I plan to make this soon, and will report on its success (or failure).  By the way, if you are in the market, make this for a prospective husband (or wife), and you may get a marriage proposal.  Happy cooking!