Teaching An Old Dog New Tricks

Throughout my life I have heard the old adage you can't teach an old dog new tricks but until recently I did not think it pertained to me. I'm here to tell you it does. While I'm not saying that teaching an old dog a new trick is not possible.....I am, however, saying it is much more difficult. Old dogs can learn new tricks. It just takes them longer to learn them and you have to have much more patience with old dogs.

For the past few weeks I and five other women in the ward have been taking an organ class from Jeanette Schulthess. Yes, I can already play the organ and yes I can play it well enough that it sounds somewhat acceptable during a sacrament meeting at church. This has been a totally new experience though. Up to this point I have used only part of the pedalboard when I played and I have always played in my stocking feet. I also was playing all four parts of the song with my hands. According to our teacher, we need to be using the full pedalboard, we need special shoes and we should only be playing three parts---alto, soprano and tenor---with our hands.

The trouble with old dogs is that they are used to doing things the way they have always done them. They don't want to fetch a new fangled looking stick. They are comfortable with the old worn out chewed on stick they have fetched forever. The old dog may compromise a bit with us and play fetch with the new stick while we are there but he is probably always going to go back to the chewed on worn out stick he loves the most.

I'm becoming more comfortable playing the entire pedalboard, and I have to admit I even like the special shoes (see photo below) but I don't think I'll ever been comfortable leaving off the bass part of the music with my hands. Compromise is a good thing---any old dog knows that!

Then and Now

So Brian and I celebrated our 27th anniversary yesterday. Most of the day we just vegged out at home. Sometimes that is a good thing! We went in to watch the volleyball team play the alumni women. The games were pretty good. I have to say I'm impressed those women can still move like they do. I wouldn't be walking today if I had moved around like that. We also watched some of the little league football game.

Kade is having a hard time leaving sports behind. He gets so sad when he watches the team play and can't be out there with him. I tried to explain to him last night that it is all part of life. Yes, high school is fun but it doesn't end there. Life goes on and good things still happen to us as we go forward with life. If I hadn't gone forward with life I wouldn't have the great husband and two incredible kids I have today. Speaking of going forward......I'm sharing two pictures today.....one of Brian and I 27 years ago on our wedding day and one taken fairly recently. I have to say.......I looked better then.......but I'm happy with where my life is right now!

Best Buddies!

Everyone who knows me knows that one of the highlights of my life is getting to watch Haydee for Bridget while she works. I have to admit that I have enjoyed having her two days a week instead of just one while Betty Jo has been recooperating. (Not that I'm glad Betty got sick or anything---and I am very glad she is starting to feel better.) Haydee is such a special little girl. She just lights up the room when she walks into it. It has been such a blessing in my life (and in Uncle Brian's life----he sneeks home early sometimes to see her on the days she is here) to have her in our home. I hope she will always want to come to Aunt Leesee's house and will always feel welcome here.

I had to laugh yesterday when I had her here though. She was sitting on my lap and I was reading a book to her (she loves to read!). I said, "Aunt Leesee loves you Haydee. You are my buddy." She looked at me and said, "I Kader's buddy!" How is that for devotion? I spend the most time with her and she still loves Kade best. I snapped this photo of them a few weeks ago. Isn't it adorable? She will lay there on the couch with him and watch all kinds of hunting shows and sports with him. Kade looks forward to coming home from work and having her still be here. They love to tease each other. They truly are best buddies!!!!

Applesauce Cake and JoAnn

I knew before I married Brian that I was going to have some pretty big shoes to fill in the kitchen. My mother-in-law JoAnn is like the queen of the kitchen. I never visited their home without being offered something to eat and let me tell you it was always wonderful food. I have to admit I think she spoiled her baby boy just a bit (but thats okay I wouldn't have him any other way).
JoAnn was diagnosed with a brain tumor in the summer of 2001 and passed away in August of 2002. It was a devastating blow to our family. I miss her everyday. I have to admit when I hear some of my friends talk about the witches they have for a mother in law I just cringe and it makes me sad. I was blessed with the best mother in law in the world. She wasn't just the mother of my husband---she was my friend. She taught me so many things about being a good wife and mother. Life just isn't the same without her in it.
One of the great things she used to make for us was applesauce cake--it just happens to be one of Brian's favorites. After JoAnn passed away Brian wanted me to make it for him. Just one problem. I didn't have her recipe for it. I talked to both of his sisters and they didn't have it either. So I started searching through recipe books and trying out different recipes. Finally, after much trial and error I came up with the one I use today. Then came the frosting. Nothing I came up with tasted like hers. One day I thought oh well I don't know what else to try but I have to ice this cake with something so I just made a simple powdered sugar frosting to put on it. That day I was also out of vanilla so I used a little maple flavoring instead. That night when Brian came home from work and tried the cake he was like---this is it Lisa--this is just how it tasted. Woohoooo! I was thrilled! So I'm sharing my recipe with you today. Enjoy!!!

Old Fashioned Applesauce Cake

2 cups sifted flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup shortening

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. soda

2 eggs

1/2 tsp. cloves

1 cup applesauce

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

3/4 cup raisins or chopped dates (optional)

Combine all ingredients and pour into greased loaf pan. Bake 55 minutes at 350 degrees.

For frosting I just combine melted butter, powdered sugar, a little bit of milk and maple flavoring to taste.

Sharing the Harvest and other memories

So my niece Bridget brought me a pint of pickled beets that she and Jaci had put up a few weeks ago. I wish I would have taken a photo of them so pretty looking in the jar to post on here. Too late for that now. They are gone. Anyway, can I just say woooohooooo! Luckily, nobody else in my house will even touch beets; so I got to eat the whole thing myself and they were wonderful.

As I munched down on this much appreciated delicacy I had been given, my mind wandered back to my youth (Yes I am getting old and my mind wanders alot these days!) and the huge garden that my grandparents (the Myers) used to raise each summer. I really can't remember if I have any photos of their garden or not. Hopefully I do somewhere. I remember they had rows and rows and rows of stuff in it--cucumbers, tomatoes, beets, carrots, beans, chard, peas, squash, potatoes, corn, cabbage and much much more. It looked much like this photo only larger.

I remember going to their house in the summer and my grandma would have a bucket full of tomatoes she had picked sitting in the corner of the kitchen. We would wash them off, sprinkle a little salt on them and devour several of them. Sometimes we would make the trek down to the city to home can several of the items they had raised in their garden. She canned everything including the fish they caught and the deer they killed. The shelves in their basement looked much like this photo.
I'm sure I gained my love of vegetables from them and their willingness to share their bountiful harvest with us each year. My grandparents were wonderful people and I appreciate so much the many things they taught me through the years. This is my Grandma and Grandpa Myers--Ora and Levi--shortly before they were married in 1929 and then in 1966 when they were older.

I love fall and Happy Anniversary!

Okay today I just have to post and say how much I love fall. It has got to be my most favorite season of the year. I love the pretty colored leaves on the trees. I love the crisp clear air. It's not too hot and still not cold. I enjoy driving down the road and seeing all the fields with the hay stacked and ready for winter and the cows home from the range. I'm sharing one of my favorite fall pictures. Brian took this in Teton National Park several years ago. Isn't it beautiful?

Brian and I were married in the fall and went to Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Yellowstone on our honeymoon. We spent a week there (and yes I did get homesick Brian--he just can't let me forget about that) enjoying the beautiful fall weather. We still go back there every year for our anniversary and this year will be no exception. We will be celebrating number 27 this year. Wow where does the time go? I can't believe its already been that long because it seems like it was just yesterday. What a blessing Brian has been in my life. I can't imagine going through the highs and lows of life without him by my side. He is not only my husband but my best friend.

Happy Anniversary Bri! I can't wait to see what the next 27 years has in store for us!

Remembering. . . .

Today is 9/11/08; seven years have passed since the Twin Towers and the Pentagon were so brutally attacked. When my radio alarm switched on this morning Alan Jackson's--Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day was playing. I remember the day vividly. Brian called me from work and said turn on the television they just attacked the Twin Towers. I was like was are you talking about? Who attacked them? Nobody would dare. I seriously thought he was loosing it. Then I turned on the television and I found out he wasn't going crazy--but the rest of the world certainly had. The horrible sights I was staring at on the television seemed unreal--like I was watching some kind of horror film--only I knew it wasn't a movie--these were live shots. What a senseless waste of human life. My heart ached for those who had lost loved ones--for families that had been ripped apart. I kept thinking to myself--why--why would someone do this?

Today as I ponder that day, my thoughts also turn to the vacation our family enjoyed to New York just two months prior to 9/11. We spent two days in New York City. Enjoying the sights and learning about the city. We drove right past the Twin Towers on our way to the ferry that would take us over to Liberty Island where this photo was taken. Its hard to believe that just two months after (almost to the day) this photo was taken the two tall stately buildings behind us were gone.
Today my heart still aches for those who lost loved ones in this senseless tragedy. I pray that today especially they will be comforted and be able to feel the love of a kind and wise Heavenly Father. Today, I just want to put my arms around my family and let them know how much I love them and how much they mean to me.

In the beginning. . . .

Okay I know lots of people blog these days....but seriously this is a totally new concept for me. I'm going to give it a whirl though. Hopefully, I won't make a total fool out of myself.