Ancestry

 I know there are a lot of people into it, and I have not been one of them. Not deeply at any rate. However, I have recently been much more informed about my father's side of the spectrum over the last year. My father was adopted at 3 months of age due to the death of his mother. His father gave him to Sam and Anna Brock, which was not at all uncommon in those days. As a result, we "Brock" grandchildren knew very little of our Vanhorn, my father's birth name, side of the family. 

My birth grandfather was Walter Vanhorn, and Walter was a twin. Wesley was his twin's name. The twins had a brother, William, as well.

A few years ago Butch and I did the Ancestry.com thing, more to find out what part of Europe we came from more than anything else. I was put in touch with some of Walter's and Wesley's families as a result of being in the large pool of ancestors.

I recently found out I have 1st cousins in Greene County. They have been here most of my life, if not all, and I was unaware. 

Ancestry.com sends out a "hint" every little bit to entice you to become a member. My interest is not that strong, so I pass. I do, however, look at what they will show me for free. This is a photo of what I received yesterday. 

From this bit of info, I found out that my great-grandparents on my dad's side had a large gap between their ages. He was 28 years older than Luvica! She lived to the ripe old age of 107, and he died at 89. If I had known of her existence, I could have visited her had the circumstances been right. My father's biological sister, Ione Beason Shafer, lived to 104, so longevity might have been a factor.

Hey, it is raining outside, and I am all caught up on many things, so you get the leftovers of my mind on days like this one.

Day and Light

 Every photographer worth their salt knows it is all about the light. My "job" each morning is to unlock the doors in the morning; All six of them...that's another story.

When I opened the door on the east side of the breezeway, I stopped in my tracks and got my camera, my best camera! Now, this may not be a big deal to many people, but it is to me.

Here are the results:

This is actually the shot that sent me for my camera. (Chives)

These are the 3rd or maybe 4th generation of cacti my son, Gary, gave me for Mother's Day in 2004. We bring them in for the winter, and our house sitters give them a drink every month or so. It is awesome how they have evolved from the tiny little cactus they were to begin with.

Tricks of the Trade

 When I am stumped about what to share with you, I have a couple of tricks I rely on. One is pictures, always an easy way out. Another is recipes. But first, a rhubarb story. When Butch and I moved to this lot in Jefferson Iowa there was a heritage rhubarb patch, but it was in the wrong location. So we moved it and it has thrived, mostly. Rhubarb does not grow in the South. You might find it in northern Missouri, but it is rare to see it in southern Missouri. It is still abundant in Iowa, but that may not always be true as our winters get warmer each year. It would also help if people would help them thrive and recognize them for the treasures they truly are.

Last summer was a dry one and the patch suffered for it. It also went to seed abundantly. It did not look healthy, so I googled it to find out what to do about all those seeds. The advice was to cut them off immediately because it will suck all the goody out of the rhubarb if you do nothing. OMG!  That was very good advice. It sure is thriving this season, as you can see.

And I ran across this recipe, I might decide to try today.

Crustless Rhubarb Pie

Ingredients

3 cups rhubarb, diced

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. fine sea salt

4 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup 2% or whole milk

A small amount of softened butter to grease the pie pan

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F, and prepare the bottom and sides of a 9" pie plate with the softened butter. 

Clean and dice rhubarb and put it into the prepared pie plate. 

Mix the remaining ingredients in a blender until well blended. Pour over the rhubarb in the pie plate. 

Bake for 40 minutes at 375 degrees F. The center will be just slightly soft when it's done and will firm up as it cools on the countertop. 

Cool completely. Serve with a dollop of fresh whipped cream.

The Lever on 8-oh!

When the 80th birthday rolls around, it feels like there is a silent switch in the system. Things change. The outlook on life, future, and past takes a different tone. Don't get me wrong, it isn't a bad thing. It is a reality that isn't fully structured. Your peers are leaving this good earth, and that is a little hard to ignore. And the ones who are still near and dear sometimes are not able to join you in the same activities they did in their younger years. We are all headed in the same direction, and there is no getting around that, but after 80, it looks a lot closer. Not something you give much thought to till you are there.

When I sat down at my computer with the idea of a blog entry, I wrote "Writer's Block". And the story above is what happened when I let the writer in me take over. I know there are those who do not want to even think about it. If that is you, then you probably are not going to get this far.

There are two things I hope I never lose: JOY and a sense of humor.

Time Flies more than Crawls

 BY THE WAY! Made this for supper last night. I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out every bit as good as I remembered it!

When I get a 2-mile walk in, do some yard work, play an hour's worth of pool, fix meals, buy groceries, think of and prepare meals, something gets left out. And that something tends to be computer-related, such as getting ready for Iowa trivia, reading bits and pieces of the "wonderful" happenings of our torn and battered US of A, handling text messages and emails, etc.

Today, after returning from the 2-mile walk, I got lots done. I have a guy who loves to clean windows. Shocking, I know! Not only does he clean them, he does it for a very reasonable price. We all know the people who get ready for the cleaning lady. Hey, I was one of those! It forces a person to take care of the clutter you know the cleaning person would not know what to do with or where to put it. Same story with the windows, I do the sills and leave the heavy stuff for him. Today I did my sills! So I will give him a call and move onto the next project.

I feel like I am getting more-than-normal but necessary things done this season. I am assuming it has to do with not having any major projects in the works. I am anxious to get to the point where I am looking for something to do. I do not feel like it is very far away. I have set the date for Iowa trivia, Thursday, May 15th @ 6:30 pm. Everyone is welcome.

 I have set the date for the Zimmerle Cousin Reunion on June 14th. Everyone is welcome to that too, but better to let me know you are coming on that one.

Keri and I were talking about spaghetti recipes and I sent her one of mine that has inspired me to make it soon. Here it is:

Recent Photos

 I am enjoying my view as I sit at my computer. I am not as quick as I used to be. I still enjoy the challenge of getting a good shot.

                             Out on a Limb 1

 Out on a Limb 2

                           

                         Grosbeak 1

Get this show on the road...

 Whatever day I choose for a Zimmerle Cousins Reunion is not going to work for someone, so I picked a day...and it is Saturday, June 14th! Yeah! Food will be provided, and at this point, we do not know what it might be.

We will be getting together just like when we were babies and the magnificent 7, Mae, Ray, Phil, Herold, Vivian, Jack, and Fern, gathered at Grandma Z's humble abode for Sunday dinner.  Oh, the stories that could be told!

You will not want to miss it if it is as much fun as last year.

Please let me know if you can attend.

Settled in

 We have been home for over a week and are settled in. There are a few things we need to get done, mostly outdoor things. We have had some nice days, but they seem random to me. It will all get done in good time.

This week's theme is "Doctor Appointments." There were three, and the last one is tomorrow.  They are mostly getting the medical stuff that happened in Texas in the records for Iowa, so everyone is on the same page.

I haven't started Pool Hall Trivia yet, but I plan to do so later this month. Butch and I are playing pool nearly every day at 4:00. Drop in for a visit. We can easily make it a billiards/happy hour combo.

Laura, our daughter-in-law, had knee replacement surgery yesterday, and anyone who has had that knows it is a tough row to hoe for a couple of weeks and no darn fun for longer than that. We hope it is smooth sailing and she can get back to her regular routine as soon as possible.

I want to set a date for the Zimmerle Cousins reunion, and I am leaning towards Saturday, June 7th. That was my sister Myrla's birthday, and close to the same date as last year. If I receive no opposition within the next week, we will make it official!

Iowa Homecoming

 We are tucked into our Summer home with Winter temperatures (low 40s). The trip was smooth except for an uptick in road construction. It seems they were fixing things everywhere we wanted to go!

In getting caught up on my computer, I came across this cartoon, and it was appropriate after our long drive home!

We are very happy with our T-Mobile internet connection. It served us well for our 6 months in Texas, and when I turned it on here, it found a tower immediately and hooked up with a strong connection. We also have a strong connection in the pool hall, all this with not one booster! I could have hooked up along the way if I had wanted to take the time, but I didn't.

It will take us a while to settle in, as it always does in both directions. More so as the years add up.