Countryside Campground, Mogadore, Ohio
The poor man and the oppressor have this in common: The LORD gives sight to the eyes of both. ~ Proverbs 29:13
When you read this, we’ll be back on the road again! We had an absolutely stupendous time at home! If you choose to read all this post, you might want to grab a snack and/or something to drink first, ’cause it’s gonna take you a while. Here’s some of the things you missed:
I FINALLY got my Helix cut! Ten months without any type of cut or proper color is waaaaay too long! It took her all of three hours to get it back in shape! She shoulda taken before and after pictures. It would’ve been great advertising for her business. I have pictures Blaine took, but for some reason, the color in the ‘after’ picture didn’t turn out right. Maybe my phone’s used to pictures of me with blonde hair . . . . Anyway, it’s actually quite a bit darker brown now. At least until the sun gets a hold of it.
Before 
After
We visited multiple times with my Mom, Blaine’s parents, our two sons and their families (which includes 6 grandkids) my brother and his family, Blaine’s brother and his family, another of Blaine’s brothers came up from South Carolina, and his sister flew all the way up from Florida – – just to see us! Well, not really. She came to help get Blaine’s parents ready to move. That story’s in another segment. 😊
Here’s a few family pictures:
Harper, Kade, Gpa, Cooper 
Harper took this one.
As she snapped her fingers above her head to get Cooper’s attention. : )
Alex 
Cody 
Max 
Elise, Chris
Alex, Cody, Max
Harper, Gpa, Kade
One evening, we were entertained by a “Fire Lighting Ceremony” at the campsite next door. It was a mom and her teenage son, placing the entire plastic-encased bundle of wood in the fire ring then using a huge amount of lighter fluid, setting it to light, then as the flames quelled, squirting more fluid on it and then roasting (burning) a marshmallow directly in the flames. This pattern continued (the fluid and marshmallows) until they grew tired of burnt sugar for dinner.
We went through all our stuff that’s been stored in Blaine’s mom & dad’s (Ron & Joan) basement for the past four years, because we have to move it out while we’re home this time. With God’s provision, they’ll be moved out of their house and into their new digs just before we return to Ohio in May. Oh boy! I wrote this in September, as I was trying to make notes so I wouldn’t forget stuff or get behind. My how things have changed since then! Read on!
We spent a good deal of our time helping Blaine’s parents (Ron & Joan) get as ready for their big move as possible.
When we weren’t sitting and visiting at her home, I drug my mom (May) around with me as I ran errands. Sometimes she stayed in the car, sometimes she ventured out with me. But we got to spend more time together that way! What a wonderful blessing my Mom is!
Our first weekend home, we had some pretty inconsiderate neighbors – screaming, playing elementary-aged kids – till 11:45pm and then the next day, Blaine caught the same kids throwing rocks at our coach (Technically, supposedly it was at each other, but they didn’t have very good aim!) And all this while the three adults responsible for them looked on. Then again, maybe they weren’t looking on, or paying any attention whatsoever, but they were sitting right there . . . . Then, at 9:30pm, the kids came tearing between our campsite and the neighbor’s (the marshmallow people) yelling at the top of their lungs! Scared the bejeebers outta us!! Blaine called the campground owners to complain and was told that they had already spoken to them about quiet time being at 10pm. And at 10pm they were quiet, so what can you do? They left the next morning. Whew!!! BTW – – there was another horrible weekend thrown in the following weekend as well, when a group of 5-6 families arrived and camped beside us. (the marshmallow people had moved on) For some inexplicable reason, the adults and children felt the need to party until after midnight (music, loud talking, laughing outbursts). We considered complaining yet again, but knowing it had proved fruitless on previous occasions; and after doing some research looking for other places to park for 4-6 weeks (nada); and half afraid to continuing voicing our concerns because they could always refuse to accept us next time; we kept our mouths shut and tried our best not to zombie out, until we could sleep again on the week days.
We visited Ramseyer Farm with our son, Kyle and his family. Gorgeously perfect day for it! We were there for 5 hours! The kids – and adults – had a blast! What a supremely nice place, with the extra added bonus of being a Christian family-run operation! We could tell because they were playing Christian music over loud speakers, and everyone working there was so abundantly kind and helpful!
Harper, Kade
We don’t have the arms for it. : )
There were lots of activities! For all ages! 
Kade’s not quite ready to become a cowboy, but he sure tried! 
This huge barn was filled with corn! We watched Kyle walk through it and it was nearly up to his knees, and he said he wasn’t touching bottom! That’s a LOT of corn! 
The kids loved it! 
Cooper’s not asking to be picked up, he was throwing the corn. : ) 
Sweet thangs! 
You knew we were pretty great, but did you know we were great, great? lol
The Girl’s Picture 
The Boy’s Picture 
The Grandparent’s Picture 
In the Sunflower Field. Everyone that came was given a pair of scissors and allowed to roam the field and cut a flower for each family member. And THEN, they gave you a wet paper towel in a bag to put them in so you could get them home. How great is THAT?!? 
It’s only the first week, and we’re already feeling worn out! 😊
We checked in with our financial advisor, Eric Schroll. We highly recommend him if you’re looking for someone! He’s also a Christ-follower.
Here’s a quote from one of our morning devotionals – “The worst moment for the atheist is when he is really thankful and has nobody to thank.” ~ Dante Gabriel Rossetti (an English poet and painter from the mid-1800s)
There was a reunion with Tyson Hartzler, the realtor who sold our house about four years ago. We invited him to come over for a consult with Blaine’s parents. He’s a terrific guy and really knows his business. If you need a realtor anywhere in the Akron/Canton area (or beyond?), give Tyson a call at Keller Williams in Green!
We spent a day with our very good friends, Brad and Jeannine, letting Brad chauffer us around and over to a lake somewhere for hiking. I don’t really know where we were, because I was too busy catching up with Jeannine. 😊 Once we all felt we’d walked enough to warrant dinner, Brad drove us back to their place for soup made in an Insta-pot (something we’re beginning to look into) and burgers on the grill, topped off with a delicious apple dessert! (Recipe below. Once you read it, you’ll understand, as I did, exactly why it tastes so mouth-watering!) We’re so very blessed to spend time with them! In addition, we were able to meet them for dinner one evening – – Mexican! Yummm–meeee!!
but since we forgot to take pictures, you’ll have to make do with this one. : )
We took the coach to Canton for its annual service, which takes all day long. Yuk! One of those necessary evils you hear tell of . . .
There were several God Moments blessings from random people – – – We were walking around in Bed, Bath & Beyond and a woman walked up and handed us a 25% off coupon, which we used on a new iron. And I found a DuckDuckJeep note attached to a rubber duck in the handle of the driver’s door when I walked out of the grocery store one day. Which made us smile! A lot! And then there was the storage unit incident. Blaine stopped by the place where we’d stored our motorhome for a short bit before we hit the road, to ask them about renting a unit. Perfect God-ordained timing! Someone had just moved out of a unit that very same morning, and it’s the only one currently available, so even though we weren’t quite ready, Blaine went ahead and took it. How blessed we are to have our Father looking out for us!
Blaine had to get his passport renewed. He wanted to attempt to take his photo himself, but eventually gave up on the idea of saving a trip to CVS and a few bucks. This is the picture I took. 😊
Plus you have to get the exact measurements they require.
The drug store does all that for you! You just have to cut and mail!
Blaine washed and waxed the entire 40’ coach. No, not all in one day! It’s much, too much! I fear that if he ever tried that, both his arms would actually fall off and I’d find him lying on the ground. And then I’d have to feed him and dress him for the rest of our lives . . . Not to mention, who would wash and wax the coach??
Wax on 
Wax off
I was too busy in the kitchen to go outside and take decent pictures. Sorry.
And then there was the greasy shirt incident. We had grilled teriyaki chicken one night as we sat at the picnic table. I reached over to the grill (while I was sitting) to grab a piece, and promptly dropped it down the front of my new, yellow, Rocky Mountain t-shirt. It was covered in chicken grease and grill marks and teriyaki sauce. But at least I saved it from falling to the ground! It took four washings! After Shouting at it and washing/drying it, it was still stained. I couldn’t tell after washing because the wet hid it from me. Of course, if I choose to wear it wet, the stain wouldn’t show . . . Anyway, I turned to my friend Google for an answer, and lo and behold, I found one! It took three more times because the stain was dried in, but it worked! And just in case someone else out there has a klutzy moment, here’s what you do with food-grease-stained clothes:
Our three oldest grandsons spent a Saturday with us. How fun! We had an absolutely tremendous time! Hiking and eating, and building a campfire and eating, and making s’mores and eating. Eating’s a big deal if your last name’s Peck!
Our campground has a few goats and chickens. : ) 
Quail Hollow State Park 
After we returned home, I kicked all the boys out and made them go for a walk alongside Mogadore Reservoir so I could get some work done in the kitchen. They found a vine to swing on. : )
He always does a remarkable job!
Sampling the goods 
Not a very happy looking bunch, are they? : )
Don’t look at him. Look at the pumpkins. : )
Then we had another bad weekend. The family next to us had kids. The kids were pretty quiet during the day, but as with the previous weekends, for whatever reason, they get much louder and more boisterous once the sun goes down. (Is that some kind of syndrome?) The parents seem to visit with someone else 5-6 doors down every night and leave the kids unsupervised to run and carry on into the wee hours. Ugh!! The owners don’t really care and didn’t answer our 10:35pm call. Are you having trouble understanding what the problem is? Well, imagine this. You’re lying in bed (after curfew) and you’re dog-tired, when suddenly, a group of banshees stand outside your window yelling and laughing at each other and banging on the window frame. . . . . On Saturday night (after enduring Thursday and Friday night), Blaine simply couldn’t take it anymore and employed his loud, authoritative, dad-voice out the window at them. It worked! But they left on Sunday while we were at church.
There was a family picnic, which was missing our youngest (Kyle) and his family due to prior obligations ☹. The rest of us thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! Despite the cool and fairly strong wind – as you’ll see evidence of in the pictures. 😊
Cody and Blaine’s sister, Sandy 
Look what Alex made from a leaf he found! Who knew you could do leaf origami? 
Terri, my mom May, Sandy
We’ve heard the wind-blown look is in this year!
Alex, Joan,Terri
Cody, Max, May
And then a dinner, sponsored by the missing son and his family, at my mom’s. Dinner was delicious (chicken fried rice and tomato/cucumber/red onion salad) and the company was fun! Of course it was! There were small, energetic children involved!
Well, Kade, it is almost Halloween! lol 
Harper
You gotta wrestle with little kids! 
Taking tenuous steps!
He’ll be running before we leave. : )
Blaine 
Cooper
People say they look alike, but I don’t see it . . . . What do you think?
Blaine’s sister, Sandy (who lives in Florida) arrived! Yippee!! Unfortunately, most of our time together was spent working rather than playing. But that’s okay. It was great to have an extra pair of hands to help get their parents’ (Ron and Joan) house ready to sell. For three days, we cleaned out the barn, garage and basement, and Sandy worked on some things inside the house.
We made them even better by adding berries and sausage. : )
We thought it was pretty funny!
This is the year 2020 with COVID.
A big part of cleaning out the basement was going through and then moving all of our stuff to a storage unit. And for that, we were very pleased that Blaine’s brother, Bruce (who lives in South Carolina) arrived just in the nick of time to help do the heavy lifting! Other than that, we didn’t see much of Bruce during the week he was here. He was busy playing with his Ohio friends.
We bought it at Home Depot. We used about 1 1/2 rolls at $15/each.
We thought it was a terrific bargain!
Silly girls! I’m supposed to look really tired, but I didn’t pull it off very well.
Good thing I didn’t aspire to become an actress!
But we did! With room to spare!
Years of fitting weekly groceries into one shopping cart helped me prepare. : )
The supervisors! : ) 
Our lives are now reduced to a 10 x 10 x 8 storage unit, and a 40′ motor home. : )
One afternoon, we ended up with time for Sandy, Blaine and I to play! We walked around their old neighborhood and I got to enjoy listening to them reminesce; and then we went and bought a pumpkin for Blaine and Sandy to carve.
This is the house they grew up in. It used to be country blue and brick.
Time to go pumpkin shopping at Shafer’s Market. They sure have a wide variety! 
We’d never seen pumpkins like this before. Aptly named. : ) 
That’s the one!
Time to open it up . . . 
. . . and gut it!
The master at work 
They moved inside because it was pretty chilly outside today! 
Ta . . 
. . .da!!!
On Sandy’s last day, the unit Ron and Joan wanted at St. Edwards, became available, and we managed to easily convince them to go ahead and put their house on the market and move before they go to Florida for the winter. Ron especially liked the idea that he might not have to shovel snow if they did that. 😊
This was near the entrance! We thought this was a really good sign! (pun intended lol) 
So Tyson (the realtor) got the ball rolling. He thinks their house could sell in a week, but we’ll see what God has to say about that.
There weren’t any days when all four siblings were together. This picture was taken after Sandy went back home.
After she’d returned home, Sandy sent me this picture. She says it’s me inviting her into trouble. LOL
Hey, no one forced her to come along!
Her book’s titled “Consider the Ravens”, and I for one, can’t wait to read it!
There were also annual dentist and doctor appointments for us to attend to. (No pictures of those. 😊)
Happiest of Birthdays to share with our youngest son, Kyle (can’t believe he’s 34!), our grandson Kade (now five), and our oldest’s fiancé, Elise (A lady never shares her age. Or more accurately, we don’t know for certain. Yet. 😊). I felt really bad that we totally missed Elise’s first birthday with our family! There was so much craziness going on at that time, plus we neglected to turn the page on our calendar. I’m relatively certain it won’t happen again . . . Then again, I’m of the mindset that no one should have a birthday at the beginning of the month. . . . Sometimes I neglect to turn my calendar page in time.
Blaine switched out our batteries. Oh, if only it were that easy to get recharged! These are for the coach. We have a group of six (each weighing a whopping 70#!) that have been with us since the coach was built. They’re our back up power source, and they were cheaply made ones, so they’d corroded horribly. It was time to get new ones so we wouldn’t run into an unexpected a problem. What an undertaking that was! Took him the better part of a day! But don’t make the mistake of feeling sorry for him with all this manual labor he’s engaged in, he secretly loves it!
Out with the old . . . 
…In with the new! 
My mom invited us and my baby-ist brother (there’s another in between us) and his family – Lance, Kelli and Logan – for an old family favorite, meatloaf, real mashed potatoes and corn. There was also pie available, but we were all much too stuffed after gorging on meat and potatoes to even think about pie, so instead, we played a rousing game of “Doubles”. What fun! In fact, we had so much fun, we forgot to take pictures. ☹ Here’s a picture we took last Christmas.
I visited with my friend, Gail. So good to get caught up after so much time apart! I’m grateful for this wonderful friend the Father has seen fit to send my way! We also enjoyed a lunch date with her and her husband, Phil at Hartville Kitchen. Those of you from the area, know how mouth-watering and plentiful their Mennonite-based, homecooked “comfort food” is! Good times!
Unfortunately, there was also a sad time when we attended calling hours for the husband of long-time friends, Gary and Connie Rardon. We met when we all attended Springfield Baptist Church, and so much enjoyed ministering with them! They joined us on our mission trip to Guatemala. What a blessing that was! We have some wonderful memories of our interactions with them! Connie was also a treasured member of my girls Bible Study for several years. Even though we haven’t seen them for a number of years, they will always hold a special place in our hearts, and while it’s sad that Gary has left this world for his permanent home in Heaven, he’s in such a better place now. How grateful we are that God chose to bring us all together! And how wonderful that he’s now dancing all over Heaven as he waits for us!
We were officially dubbed “The Best Grandparents EVER”! Well, I don’t know how official it is, but it comes from our three oldest grandsons, so that’s a pretty good endorsement. 😊 And all because we took them to Boettler Park to hike, play on the playground and enjoy a picnic dinner of cold sandwiches and chips. Just proves the adage – the best things in life are free, especially if you’re enjoying them with those you love! And thanks to Elise, we received our first ever Grandparents Day recognition, as she had the boys make cards for us and present them when we were over to visit! Also that same night, Max drew us a phenominal pencil sketch of him and his two brothers!
Alex discovered a snake for us to torment. 
Everyone except Max took a turn holding it, but we finally coaxed Max into at least touching it. : )
This is what shear and utter 
joy looks like!
All the boys compared mouth sizes. : )
The front of Cody & Alex’s
and the inside of Max’s
Cody’s 
Alex’s 
Love how he put freckles on himself, added Cody’s mole on his forhead and Alex’s glasses!
Plus, look how all their hands and feet are different!
And the partial picture in the corner!
Incredible work for a nine-year-old if you ask me!
One morning, was breakfast with my good friend Melanie and she graciously invited my mom to join us. Unfortunately, Melanie’s mom Evelyn, was unable to join us this time. What a wonderful blessing these women are in my life! I forgot to take a picture of the three of us, and Melanie stubbornly refused to send me a picture of her and her mom together. She sent me one of Evelyn, but I couldn’t get her to share her face with the world. Maybe she’s secretly in our witness protection program? Hmmmm . . . .
And yet. I just couldn’t let it go. It took some thought, time and effort, but I managed to dredge up an old picture of my dear friend. Seems appropriate for the Season. She won’t be happy, but I can tell you that, other than the clothing, she hasn’t changed a bit! 😊
we all dressed up like characters from The Beverly Hillbilles.
Except for Keven who insisted on being a pirate. Maybe a pirate appeared in one of the episodes??? Nah….. Anyway, that’s me as Ellie Mae, Dominic as Jed, Audrey as Jane Hathaway, Pam as Granny,
and in the back sporting the lovely fur hat? Tthat’s Melanie as Mrs. Drysdale!
Oh! And this is from 2008. : )
As I mentioned previously, we celebrated Son Number Two’s 34th birthday at Texas Roadhouse. Any time spent with family is a blessing! Little Cooper’s a hoot! Sooooo much like his Dad and his Gpa Peck! Ornery, rotten and hysterical all at the same time! Of course, Harper and Kade were fun too! The grown-ups didn’t get to talk much . . . . 😊
Grandson, Kade turned five while we were home! Instead of a party for him, they put together a Halloween Carnival for all three kids at once – since COVID nixed the other two’s parties earlier in the year. And, surprise to us, they added a couple more of their friends’ kids too. It was quite the shindig, and unfortunately, due to inclement weather, we had to be indoors for most of it. ☹ Still, a good time was had by all – – and there was a whole lot of all. . . We stayed for the food, face-painting, and magician, then took off shortly thereafter. There were a ton of gifts to open, as you can imagine, and we were very tired from four weeks of constant running.
Look how intently Miss Harper’s watching Alex’s transformation! : ) 
The magician also made elaborate balloon animals
There were additional catch-up dates with other cherished friends – Kay Lynn, my long-time accountability partner, and very close friend and confidant . . . .
I don’t look so good. . . : )
. . . . my former Bible Study group . . . .
We studied together for nearly 20 years!
And now that we’re on the road, we still get together twice a year when I’m in town.
Love these beutiful Christian ladies!
I made this cheese ball for our meeting – thanks to Jeannine introducing me to Pinterest! 
These crackers are perfect with it!
. . . . a long-time friend from my veterinarian days, Deb. No. I wasn’t a veterinarian! Just worked in a vet’s office. But Deb is! That’s where we met – many moons ago. And thanks to our lunch date, I missed out on much of our son’s moving day. And no. I’m not a bit sorry about that. 😊
. . . . and even longer-time friends, Rich & Martha (over 30 years!). Blaine and Rich worked together. Nick & Cathy were there too. Nick is also a fellow electrician whom Blaine met on the job and we’ve been friends with them for a number of years, but not quite as long as Rich & Martha.
And a superb roaring fire!
We had individual pizzas (one per couple) and bags of Halloween/Fall cookies,
and we brought individual (one per couple) cheese balls.
One tidbit I discovered when I made the Bible Study one;
if you put the cheese ball on the lid of a container and then top it with the bowl part of the container,
when you open it up, you can use the bowl part as your chip holder!
The collage family picture we have hanging in the coach has needed updated for quite some time, so I worked on that. Thanks to Jeannine forcing me to join Pinterest (in order to obtain the apple dessert recipe), I found a company that makes your pictures into a tree shape and adds words to the bottom if you want. It was a little difficult as we had to figure out how to use Google Drive so the person we found through Etsy (first time for both those things too!) could open the pictures and get to work. We LOVE the finished product! Now we just have to get it printed and mounted in the frame, but that won’t happen until we’re on the road again.
One of our evenings was spent visiting with Blaine’s Aunt Sandi (Ron and Sherri’s sister) and her husband, Bill. Delicious dinner! Splendid company! Stupendous lasagna, garlic bread, and salad with homemade balsamic dressing! Yum! And dark chocolate cake! Couldn’t ask for a better evening. 😊 But here’s my question . . . . how is it that everyone’s lasagna tastes different, when all the ingredients are basically the same? Noodles, red sauce, meat, cheese, Italian seasonings. That’s pretty much it, right? And yet, the finished product is very diverse! I think lasagnas are like donuts. There’s no such thing as a bad one.
He took several selfies, but they’re all a bit blurry. : (
One time, I spent a day in the kitchen whilst Blaine was out gallivanting around the countryside in the Jeep. I don’t know exactly what he was doing this day, other than the Summit County required e-check, but he was gone all day, and for some reason, I had no lights. But I had power, and that’s what’s most important! And it was a brilliant Fall day, so no real need for lights. So I cranked up my music, dusted my face with flour (Remember the old Rice Krispies commercial? 😊), and began baking. Banana muffins, chocolate chip cookies, sugar cookies and with half that batter, nutmeg/sugar cookies (because my mom loves nutmeg 😊). Cheater stuffed peppers for dinner. That means, rather than trying to find a pan that’ll fit the peppers perfectly so they stand upright, I chopped them up and stirred everything together, then nuked it until it was hot and the peppers were semi-crisp. Blaine came home and said he’d stopped at his old “Loomis Electric” work office garage to use some of their equipment for something or other, and all his former bosses, and other co-workers came out to chit-chat with him! Isn’t that great?!? He really enjoyed that!
You wrap it around your neck to wipe your hands on while you’re baking/cooking!
That’s dinner cooking on the stove.
Somehow, we managed to fit in dinner with Blaine’s brother and his family here in Ohio – Brian, Barb and their son/our nephew, Chad. We partook of the infamous Barberton Chicken at White House Chicken. I can’t tell you what makes Barberton Chicken so special, but it’s well-known in the Northeast Ohio area. Fried chicken and hot rice, which is tomato-based, and when made in Barberton, is superb! I even have a recipe for it, if you want to try it sometime. Besides eating great food, we had a terrific time visiting, too!
Oh! And we’ve been blessed with little to no water pressure for the majority of our stay due to a well problem at the campground. Blaine, of course, discovered an end-around that, which gave us more than twice what we had. Yay, Blaine!!!
And then, Blaine’s parents decided they should move now, instead of waiting until the house sells.
I think it’s time to inject some humor . . .
And then, we sprang a leak. It rained long and hard for hours, for two (or was it three?) days in a row. A seal around one of our air conditioning units broke (Blaine informed me, it’s a gasket), and water started dripping from a vent in the ceiling just behind the driver’s seat. Because it was raining, with no end in sight, Blaine wasn’t able to get it fixed, or even put tape or something around it. Thankfully it’s not a steady drip, but still. It was one more thing for him to work on. ☹
We participated in several other activities, like short, ‘let’s-get-some-exercise’ hikes through the stunning woods around Mogadore Reservoir near our campground, watching the tree transformation from our front yard, and keeping an eye on the cat gangs roaming the streets of our “neighborhood”.
Blaine performed all manner of maintenance-type things on the motorhome and Jeep. Everything from washing windows, to fixing the small ceiling leak, to figuring out why the refrigerator keeps shifting (even though it’s bolted in!), repairing a broken heater, readjusting our awning what was off-kilter, carpet cleaning . . . and the list goes on . . . All these are in addition to his big projects that I mentioned previously.
He had trouble getting the frig back in, so I had to stand on the handle of a screwdriver to lift it, while he pushed – – hard! My mom was there and took the picture. 
Washing the slide cover before he tries to fix it. 
It’s not suppposed to roll up like that. He ended up getting it straightened out.
Number One son moved into his new home one weekend.
The company Chris works for, graciously loaned him a truck for free. Nice!
And then, Number One son got married the following weekend in a nice, small ceremony in the backyard of their new house. We stopped by the day before the wedding to hand out wedding presents to Chris & Elise and the boys.
along with weather info, because his current career goal is to be a tornado chaser!
I told him he has to take his gma with him! : )
He was ecstatic to receive it!
Mission BBQ! Yummmmm!!! 
Me with my mom. Isn’t that bush gorgeous?!? 
Blaine’s parents 
As ringbearer, Max carried this board up the aisle. Her ring was added after I took the picture. : )
We learned from Elise’s dad, Kurt, that the table and chairs belonged to HIS great-grandparents!
The tables were covered with the tableclothes Ron and Joan had at their wedding – – 65 years ago!
So much heritage here!
That’s Elise’s bouquet. 
Nice picture of Joan! 
Max was in the original picture, but he was so far off to the left, I had to crop him out. : ( 
Time for everyone to bring out their cell phones. : )
I sent Cody over to keep his great gpa company while we waited for time for the wedding to begin. You can always count on Cody for conversation. : ) 
Still entertaining gpa. 
The boys are showing off their new books to their Uncle Kyle and Aunt Shena.
Looks like Shena’s picked up a stalker! Actually, the guy came along with the videographer. lol 
Uncle Kyle brought out a face-altering app on his phone. It was much more fun watching from across the table, than looking at the app. LOL!
Much to my dismay, I don’t currently have a single picture of Blaine! Shena was the photographer, though, and I know she got plenty. I’ll be sharing more of her pictures later, but here’s a sneak preview she sent me. Elise’s mom, Yvette officiated the ceremony.
And Blaine’s parents sold their house!
And we made dinner for the parents at Ron and Joan’s our last day.
Marie Callendar’s Key Lime Pie for dessert
And then we left Ohio.
And just in case you’re wondering if we were actually as busy as this sounds, just take a look at this calendar! And it doesn’t even include everything! Whew!!
Thus ends our six weeks in Ohio! We love and miss everyone already! Despite our busyness, we were so very blessed to be home! We’ll be back for two weeks at Christmas, and we’re already looking forward to it!
Here’s a few recipes for you to check out if you’re so inclined:
MOM’S SWEET AND SOUR MEATLOAF
1 ½ # hamburger
6 slices any bread, diced or torn very small
1 egg
½ C. water,
1/3 C. onion, diced
Mix well together, form into loaf shape and place in loaf pan.
Sauce: DON’T DOUBLE unless you double meatloaf
1 C. brown sugar
1 ½ C. ketchup
½ C. vinegar
3 t. dry mustard
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix sauce ingredients well and pour over meatloaf. (Mom pokes holes in the loaf before covering it with sauce, but I don’t 😊)
Bake for 1 hour.
Serves 4-6
HINT: I never make less than 2 pounds at a time. Everyone always wants leftovers, and I like to have a leftover meatloaf sandwich – just sliced meatloaf and a bit of sauce between two slices of bread. It’s good eaten cold or warm!
CARAMEL APPLE CHEESECAKE BARS WITH STREUSEL TOPPING (Jeannine)
PREP TIME: 1 HOUR
COOK TIME: 50 MINUTES
TOTAL TIME: 1 HOUR 50 MINUTES
APPLES:
- 3 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
STREUSEL TOPPING:
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
SHORTBREAD BASE:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
CREAM CHEESE LAYER:
- 2 (8 ounces each) packages cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
CARAMEL SAUCE:
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- For the apples, in a small bowl, stir together the chopped apples, two tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
- For the streusel, in a medium bowl, combine all the streusel topping ingredients and mix with a pastry blender or two forks (or your fingers) until crumbly. Set aside.
- For the shortbread base, in a medium bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two forks until mixture is crumbly but evenly and well combined. Press the crust evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes or until very lightly browned around the edges.
- For the cream cheese layer, while the crust is baking, in a large bowl with an electric handheld mixer (or in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), beat the cream cheese with the 1/2 cup sugar until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time and then the vanilla. Mix until evenly combined, scraping down the edges of the bowl as needed. Pour over the warm crust.
- Give the apple mixture a good stir and spoon over the cheesecake layer. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the apples. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the filling is set.
- For the caramel sauce, add the butter, brown sugar, cream, and salt to a saucepan and set over medium-low heat. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer and cook while stirring gently for 5-7 minutes, until thickened slightly. Add the vanilla and cook another minute to thicken further. The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools. If the caramel sauce has been refrigerated, warm slightly to pour over the bars.
- Cool the bars to room temperature. Drizzle with the caramel topping (or plate individual slices and drizzle with topping one by one).
CHICKEN STEW (Pinterest)
2 chicken breasts, cubed
1 T. butter
1 T. olive oil
2 ½ t. Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
1 C. onion, diced
2 medium-sized red potatoes (or russets), diced
1 C. baby carrots, diced
½ C. celery, diced
¾ C. fresh green beans, ends snipped and broken in half (thirds or quarters depending on size)
1 can cream chicken soup
1 C. milk
1 C. sour cream
1 oz. package dry ranch dressing mix
Season the chopped chicken with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Melt butter in the bottom of the crock pot, add the oil, vegetables and seasoned chicken. Stir to coat.
Mix together the soup, milk, sour cream and ranch dressing mix. Pour over the chicken.
Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or high for 4-5 hours, until the vegetables are tender.
FALL CHEESEBALL (Pinterest)
16 oz. cream cheese (room temperature)
½ C. sour cream
2 – 3 T. horseradish
2 green onions, diced small
6 slices bacon, fried crisp, then chopped into tiny bits
1 C. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
5 oz. Nacho Cheese Doritos, pulverized
Stem from a bell pepper
Bagel chips, Keebler Pita chips, or other sturdy cracker for dipping/spreading cheese on
Mix the first 6 ingredients together very well. Shape into a smooth pumpkin shape, wrap in wax paper or plastic wrap, then set in refrigerator to firm up. Overnight is best to blend flavors.
Roll in Dorito crumbs until well-covered. Use the flat edge of a butter knife to ‘carve’ the lines for the pumpkin. Insert the bell pepper top down into the cheese ball. Serve.
HINT: I ended up making this recipe into two cheese balls for two different occasions. The Doritos begin to get soggy almost immediately after rolling onto the cheese.
DARK CHOCOLATE CAKE (Hershey’s Special Dark)
2 C. sugar
1 ¾ C. four
¾ C. Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa
1 ½ t. baking powder
1 ½ t. baking soda
1 t. salt
2 eggs
1 C. milk
½ C. vegetable oil
2 t. vanilla
1 C. boiling water
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour two 9” round baking pans (or line 28-30 muffin cups that are 2 ½” in diameter) with paper baking cups).
Stir together the sugar flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda and salt in a large bowl. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat on medium speed of mixer for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (the batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans (or fill cups about 2/3 full).
Bake 30-35 minutes for cake or 22-25 minutes for cupcakes or until wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from the pans onto wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with “Especially Dark” Chocolate Frosting. (see below)
Serves 12 or 30 cupcakes
FROSTING:
½ C. butter
2/3 C. Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa
3 C. powdered sugar
1/3 C. milk
1 t. vanilla
Melt the butter in a small, glass mixing bowl. Stir in the cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading constancy. Add small amounts of additional milk if needed. Stir in vanilla. Makes about 2 cups of frosting.
BARBERTON HOT RICE (usually served with fried chicken)
1 C. onion, diced
1 jalapeno pepper (or jarred equivalent), seeded and sliced, optional
2 T. butter
2 t. paprika
2 cans (14.5 oz.) stewed tomatoes
½ C. uncooked rice
Sauté onion and pepper (if using) in butter until onion starts turning brown. Meanwhile, blend tomatoes slightly. Add tomatoes, paprika and rice to the onions. Bring to a boil.
Simmer until rice is done, adding water as needed to keep from scorching rice.
PASTA IN A POT
12 oz. thin spaghetti, uncooked
1 can (14 oz.) diced tomatoes w/liquid
½ C. onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ t. red pepper flakes
2 t. oregano
2 sprigs fresh basil, chopped
4 ½ C. vegetable broth (NOT low sodium)
2 T. olive oil
Parmesan cheese
Place pasta, tomatoes, onion, garlic and basil in a large stock pot. Add broth. Sprinkle oregano and pepper flakes next, then drizzle oil over the top.
Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and gently boil for 10 minutes, stirring often, until pasta is done.
HINT: This dish is yummy as is, but you can also top with whatever you want – red sauce, meat sauce, sautéed shrimp, cooked chicken, Italian sausage, etc. Also, since companies now reduce the size of containers instead of raising prices, you probably won’t find a carton of vegetable broth that holds 4 ½ cups. Add chicken broth or dissolved bouillon to make up the difference in the liquid.
CHICKEN PICATTA
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
½ c. flour
1 t. garlic powder
1 ½ t. paprika
½ stick butter
½ C. water
2 T. lemon juice
1 cube chicken bouillon OR 1 t. instant bouillon
Mix flour, garlic powder and paprika in a bag. Drop in chicken and shake to coat.
Melt butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and brown on both sides.
Meanwhile, mix together the water, lemon juice and bouillon. Once the chicken is brown, add the liquid. Simmer for 15 minutes, turning chicken once or twice.
HINT: I like to add 6-8 sliced fresh mushrooms and 2-3 sliced green onions just before the liquid. It makes an already great recipe even better!
Roasted Potatoes
Red potatoes cut up into chunks
Olive oil
Garlic salt
Italian seasoning
Sorry, I don’t have amounts for this one. For four pounds of potatoes I’d guess 1-2 T. oil and 1 ½ t. of each of the seasonings?
Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes. Or until browned.
Green Beans in Lemon Butter:
1 # fresh green beans
3 T. butter
¼ C. onion, diced
½ t. salt
¼ t. nutmeg
1/8 t. garlic powder
1 T. lemon juice
1 T. minced parsley
In a large skillet, heat 3 T. butter and sauté the onions. Add the green beans, salt, nutmeg and garlic powder. Stir gently and cook for 5 minutes. Add lemon juice and parsley.