blogger to the rescue!

My mother was well-known for her famously-delicious homemade baked goods--especially her cakes, pies, and breads. Of the many things I miss about her, one is her freshly-baked bread. She made it often and shared it freely, as it was one of the things she could still do given her visual impairment. I would commission loaves from her to deliver to ladies from church, or just because I was in the mood for one of my favorites. As I would thank her profusely when she handed over the still-warm loaves she would say something like, "Oh, thank you! You don't know how much I love having something to do, and helping you in the process."

Every year during musical season she would spend about a week making and freezing bread of all kinds to take to the kids during one of their long rehearsal nights. Bread Night is now legendary, and something all of the kids look forward to with anticipation. This photo was taken in March 2009:

Not long ago I realized, with some degree of panic, that I did not have some of my mother's recipes for my favorite breads. I enjoy making bread, too, but my mother had been the one to make it most often and I guess there were a few kinds that slipped through the cracks of my recipe books. Thankfully, as I was reading Miranda's blog one day I came across a post about my mother's buttermilk bread. I almost cried with relief to have the recipe right there for the taking! It's one of my favorites.

So last weekend, to go with a homemade pot of soup, I made my mother's buttermilk bread. I think she would have been proud of the outcome.

clogging blogging

Now that Mark has computer up and running again knock on wood) I can finally begin to attempt blog catch-up, starting with Sarah's national clogging competition at the end of May.

My good friend Linda drove to Utah with Sarah and I. We were making good time, and I had just remarked on it to Linda when she said, "Well, I hate to tell you this, but I think we've got a problem." Not good words to hear on a road trip.

The temperature gauge on her oh-so-reliable Subaru looked like this (aren't you impressed I thought to take a photo?):

After a stop at a Grease Monkey in Rifle, Colorado, where the car's fluids were replenished, we were on our way to Grand Junction, where we would have the car looked at by a Subaru dealer. (It turned out that nothing was wrong at all--perhaps just a loose radiator cap.) We laughed at this Grease Monkey sign, which of course would not have been so funny if the car had not been so easily fixed.

Charlotte got to spend the weekend with us, too, which proved an added bonus. We went shopping for wedding necessities on Friday night and then went to Pleasant Grove to stay with Linda's hospitable relatives.

The morning of Saturday's competition dawned cloudy, COLD, and rainy. Did Utah not get the memo that it was ALMOST JUNE? Linda, having packed for warmer weather, had to make a quick run to Kohl's for pants and socks before we left for Lagoon--the site of Clogging Nationals. We were all a bit skeptical upon arriving and parking at the amusement park, as evidenced by Charlotte's "I'm dreading being cold all day" expression.

I didn't take many photos of the actual dancing because I would rather watch the dance live than through the lens of my camera, if that makes sense. I'm really grateful that I have no cause in life that requires me to wear silver lame pants. I did enjoy watching the team perform in the tops I was hired to sew for them.

Sarah's team did really well, earning a Best Overall Team (in the intermediate division) for one of their dances, and the Best Overall Studio for their entire division! We celebrated that night by having dinner at the famed In-and-Out Burger.

Sarah looks a little too grown-up in her stage makeup, don't you think?

It was a short but fun trip. Now we get a break from clogging classes until August--that is, unless Sarah hears a toe-tapping tune on the radio and starts one of her routines in the kitchen, or down the aisles of Costco, or in the driveway. . . .

woe is me

Good grief--you'd think it was Musical Season again, given the dearth of postings on my blog of late. And what's more, our main computer at home is down--you know, the one with ALL OF MY PHOTOS ON IT. Despite Mark's valiant and ongoing effort to heal the blasted contraption, I am having to check email, blogs, etc. on various and sundry other computers when I get the chance.

I'm about ready to try my friend Paula's technique of showing the computer that I have a hammer and am not afraid to use it if necessary.

*sigh*

I hate computers.