Dishing It Up With Christine

Frosting Cake

1 yellow cake mix
1 cup water
1 cup oil
4 eggs
1 container of pecan carmel icing
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Mix cake mix, water, oil and eggs together with mixer. Fold in icing and chopped pecans. Pour into oiled and floured bundt pan. Bake 375 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes. Ovens vary so watch carefully. Cool and turn over onto cake plate. This cake is delicious and very moist.

Notice that someone has already had a piece.

A friend gave me this recipe and I love it because it is not only good but easy and takes just a few minutes to whip together. Get a cup of coffee and enjoy.

Christine

Rocky's Antics

That's the biggest ball I've ever seen in my life!

Try It, You Might Like It

A few weeks ago I was invited to sub for a Bunko playing group of women and the hostess served Seattle's Best Cinnamon Ground Coffee with dessert. Now, I'm not one to promote commercials on my blog but I just had to share this one. This is a perfect coffee for any cold morning or evening with or without dessert. 

This brand of coffee can be found at Walmart and no, I'm not receiving a dime from either Seattle's Best or Walmart. Just consider it a favor from me to you. Try it, you might like it.

Here's to you,
Christine

On The Road Again

This is a picture of my sister that I took while we were driving on our latest road trip. Once a year we get together with our aunt and some first cousins on my dad's side of the family. We all grew up together and were close as youngsters but when we grew into adulthood we all scattered to different states and couldn't get together because we were busy raising children. Now that we are all empty nesters, we can get away from the hustle and bustle of the world and get together and visit like there is no tomorrow. This year we all met at Medicine Park, Oklahoma in the Witchta Mountains an hour and a half south of Oklahoma City for three days of fun and frolic.  This is a quaint little resort town with Medicine Creek running down the middle of it. At one time during the 1920' and 30's it was the place to go for relaxation and fun, but then during the 1960's it lost it's alure. It was nothing but a lot of run down buildings and cabins when I was a child growing up. Not a safe place to take your family. Within the last few years a boom started up again in this little community and everything is being revitalized. New homes are being built by the dozens and shops and resturants are being reopened. Mountains, lakes and wildlife abound in the area.

Mt. Scott looms from Medicine Park.

                                                    Another view of Mt. Scott at night.

An evening stroll along the creek's edge made for a fun outing.

                                              Looking down on some of Medicine Park.

This is a picture of our cabin which slept eight comfortably. A wrap around screened-in porch surrounded the cabin. We did most of our eating and visiting out on this porch. The weather couldn't have been better. Relatives from Lawton came out to visit also. We even had a second cousin from Marlow join us. We hadn't seen her in years. We did a lot of visiting, laughing and eating for three days and had the time of our lives. A lot of memories were made and I can't wait until next year. Who knows where we might end up.

Christine

One Hundred Years

This sweet lady that attends the church where I worship turned 100 years old a few weeks ago. Isn't she beautiful?  She definitely doesn't look one hundred. We gave her a "big" birthday party to celebrate her special day and the local newspaper gave her a one page write-up on what she had experienced in her lifetime. If you think about all that has happened and everything that has been invented during that time it boggles the mind. Wars, the Depression, assasinations of famous people, the bombings of the Oklahoma Federal Building and the Twin Towers in NYC, inventions of the car, airplane, telephone, and computers. That is just a smidgen of events that she has seen in the last century.

I'm amazed at what has happened in my lifetime and I have another forty years if I were to live to be one hundred. I can't even comprehend what may happen or the inventions of the future. I'm having difficulty just keeping up with all the inovations of today's world. It will be fun though to sit back and watch with anticipation the inventions of the next ten, twenty, or thirty years. I hope I live long enough to see researchers find a cure for cancer and diabetes and other diseases that cut lives short. I also hope to see transportation that doesn't consume crude oil and, hope beyond all hope, politicians that get along and work together for the betterment of our country. So, having said all this, what do you hope to see or live through til you reach one hundred?

Christine

Football Fever

When I was younger I felt sorry for those wives who never saw their husbands during the fall months of the year because their husbands were hunters never knowing that I would suffer from the same fate. No, my husband is not a hunter. He eats, breathes, and lives football! (Have I ever mentioned that he is a retired high school football coach?) The pictures above are his stat notebooks. Everyday he sets part of his day around the sports section of the newspaper and keeps track of who won which game and the scores. The Tulsa paper has a contest going called, "Beat the Picker" that he participates in. He even has our two boys entering each week also.

I have never enjoyed football except when our boys played in high school. I do not have a passion for it. I have learned to live with his obsession with football however. It has been real easy for me. When weekends come around and he goes to an area football game or  watches football on television I go shopping. In fact, our boys married women who don't care for football either and when we all get together on weekends the guys watch football and we girls go... you got it, shopping.  

Yes, I know there are women who love football, but I'm just not one of them. My attitude is, if you've seen one football game, you've seen them all. 

Chrisine

New Toy

This is my new toy. I know I'm alittle behind the times but I eventually catch up to all the new gadgets that are in this world today. I can not only make calls, but check the internet, facebook, take pictures and play games. I've downloaded a bunch of apps just for my pleasure and to gain all kinds of information. One I particularly like is Google Sky Search. With this app I can search the sky and locate planets and the stars. I'm still learning how to use this android and hopefully, I'll become a pro. This is a HTC Inspire 4G from at&t and cost me $48. at Walmart.  My youngest son has one and talked me into getting one for myself. I'm glad he did.

Christine

Rocky's Antics

I overheard my mama telling my dad that she had made an appointment with the vet to get me fixed.  I didn't know I was broken!

Rocky

Up In Smoke

This summer has been so dry and this has caused a lot of concern because of the chance of wildfires that could take place in our area of the state which is the northeastern part of Oklahoma. The Oklahoma City area where my sister lives, has suffered from wildfires for the last month. It is nothing to see smoke rising from different areas around her. Luckily, the subdivision where she and her husband live has not been threatened. We have been watching the news of how some homeowners in subdivisions around the OKC area have been asked to evacuate. I just can't imagine the feeling they must have leaving their homes and not knowing it they will be there when they come back. Many have experienced this already and some have lost everything.

That got me to thinking.  What if my husband and I were asked to evacuate because of a possible wildfire threatening our subdivision. What would I take with me that I couldn't bear to lose if I had the time to do so. (say 30 minutes). I didn't have to think long and hard on this one.  Besides our two dogs I'd take the things that mean the most to me.

               My mother's paintings (38 of them) and family pictures.

Geneology notebooks and scrapbooks of my family and my husband's family that have taken years of research by various family members, including myself.

Our metal file box with our wills and other important documents would need to be taken with us as well. Everything else can be replaced, but not these items. I know it's a horrible thought but what would you take with you if you had to leave your home on a moments notice? 

Our area of the state is not under a burn ban since we've had some rain lately, but most of our state is still under one.  I'm praying for a wet and cooler fall so the peace of mind for all Oklahomans will return.

Christine

My Real Life Doll Baby

Don't you just hate it when some grandparent pulls out pictures of their grandchildren to show you and go on and on about how smart and cute they are?  Too bad.
Since you are already here you might as well hear me out. This is our youngest grandchild and isn't she a cutie.  She' smart too. (LOL) She'll be two in November and is ALL girl.  There is nothing tomboy about her. She is a tease too. Even though the grandkids call my hubby Papa, she'll call him Nina. She knows what she's doing. He'll tell her his name is Papa and she just grins. He gets a big kick out of that. O.K. enough bragging. Now that I've made you totally gag I'll stop. Just had to share the pictures.

Christine