Up against it

One World Trade Center, New York City :: October 29, 2019

Ugh.

I didn't realize it had been so long since I reached out to you all.

The Queen's funeral sort of knocked me sideways -- was it not poignant, especially at the end? -- and then other events crowded in.

But here we are.

Bad news: Brittany's grandparents live in Cape Coral, Florida.

Their house is a near-total loss. They lost one nice, new automobile too.

They did not evacuate, but rather rode out the storm at the second home of some friends who are still up north for the summer.

This morning, they went back to their house and faced the devastation.

Just about everything they own is under five feet of water and mud.

As of now, they are themselves uninjured and all right physically. But I can't even imagine the mental anguish of the situation they find themselves in.

Of course, nearly all of their church members (Brittany's grandfather is a pastor) are in the same boat.

As are their neighbors and friends, and even some relatives.

A daughter and son-in-law from farther up the Florida coast have managed to reach them today, to help in any way that they can.

Their trip into Cape Coral was iffy because power lines and trees are down, and roads are washed out, and bridges are gone.

Speaking of power, no one has any. Can't use the water, either.

It's a desperate situation and I ask that if you will, pray for Brittany's beloved grandparents.

She is upset and feels helpless sitting out there in Altus, Oklahoma.

Andrew is just finishing up pilot training -- he's in the last phase now, wherein he learns to fly the KC-135 Stratotanker.

In less than two months, he will be a fledgeling tanker pilot. Still rather green, but a tanker pilot nonetheless.

They've already bought a house in Maryville, Tennessee. Brittany will be driving east with Ember to set up housekeeping next week. They have a busy fall planned but if all goes well, they will be with us for Thanksgiving.

As for South Carolina, Ian is working its way towards us. 

We live in the geographic center of South Carolina, so I don't think we have a whole lot to worry about; coastal areas are more vulnerable.

But we've had a gray, windy day, and unless something changes (doubtful), the rain will join forces with the wind during the night tonight and they will both be with us all day tomorrow.

I love a rainy day so I will be moled out at home, burning scented candles and watching the weather from the big windows of my sun room.

There will be a dog on one side of me -- actually two dogs, because Erica's chorkie, Sibi, is staying with us for a few days -- and a cat on the other.

Interesting.

But my thoughts won't be far from the tens of thousands of people who are dealing with the destruction wrought by Ian.

God please meet all of those folks in their trial, and comfort their hearts, and protect them, and help heal these devastated communities!

And that is all for now.

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Happy Thursday

Last bash of the summer

We have transitioned to autumnal decor

We have a family tradition on Labor Day.

Since it is always within the week of our Stephanie's birthday, we throw her a party.

She invariably arrives with her family late on the Sunday night before the Monday holiday. This year was no exception; they got here a little after eleven thirty.

My mother gave me this rooster many years ago

(Joel is a pastor in Western North Carolina. They have to wait until the conclusion of Sunday night services to pack up and head for Columbia.)

I had all of the beds ready and things laid out for breakfast. They always stop on the way for food, so there was no need to feed anyone that night.

We did stay up too late talking. It was nearly one o'clock before we all headed off to bed.

Dagny wanted to pose with the birthday flamingo

The next morning, I was up earlier than anyone else. I wanted to make sure I was organized and had time for quiet during the coffee hour.

This get-together is always about swimming for the kids. The last swim of the summer. Except, this day, it was rainy.

I was so upset! Although I love rainy days, I hastily prayed that the weather would clear up so that the children -- especially Dagny, who missed out all summer -- could enjoy playing in the pool.

New fall gnomes in the home

And it did. The rain moved off and the cousins swam in the morning despite still-overcast conditions. It helped that the pool water, due to a string of hot days with hours of direct sun, was still a perfect temperature.

By afternoon, it was positively sunny. The children had plenty of time to splash and cavort and dive and snorkel and float and laugh and just be kids.

As for my menu, I broke with tradition.

This year we went with baked spaghetti

Our Labor Day spread is usually a lot like our Memorial Day feast: hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill, baked beans, potato salad, mac and cheese, deviled eggs, and the like.

Plus a great big birthday cake.

This year I wanted to do something a little different, and I finally decided on this recipe for Baked Spaghetti. All of my grandkids love spaghetti and you won't hear an adult complaining either.

Mari's spectacular hot taco dip rounded out the menu

I first tried this recipe two years ago, when we all went to Holden Beach in Supply, North Carolina, where we stayed in a rented house for three or four days.

I'd planned for weeks ahead of time, and took huge pans of frozen casseroles that I had prepared so that all I had to do each night to feed everyone was thaw one of the pans, bake it, make a salad, and add fresh bread.

We got our salad course from Olive Garden

We had things like Shepherd's Pie and of course, Baked Spaghetti.

So I doubled the recipe so there would be plenty for everyone, with some left over for TG later in the week.

I made it in a disposable pan so there would be zero cleanup for me.

All the go-withs

Joel and Stephanie contributed a family-size salad and breadsticks from Olive Garden. Joel went to pick it all up at one o'clock that day.

Olive Garden -- at least the one near our house -- is meticulous about preparing and packing your takeout order. It's done so neatly and thoughtfully, and everything you need besides actual dishes, is supplied.

The salad and breadsticks were fresh and went so well with the baked spaghetti.

There's a black cat gnome chillin' on the ledge

For those who observe a low-carb diet, and also just because it's so good, I made Mari's Hot Taco Dip (minus the black olives) and served it with Mission Carb Balance soft tortillas and sour cream.

I also made my signature salad of cucumbers, tomatoes, and onion, with homemade red wine vinaigrette.

I made it and I decorated it and I even ate some of it

For dessert, I again made the ice cream cake that's created by layering ice cream sandwiches with Cool Whip plus toppings -- I used caramel syrup and crushed chocolate sandwich cookies -- and frozen solid.

It's a winner. You should see their eyes light up when they see this dessert. Dagny even requested it for her next birthday.

Last year I made this same cake for Stephanie's Labor Day birthday party, but this year I decorated it differently.

We sprung for the PW dishes that matched my pan and the Happy Birthday topper

This time I made a banner diagonally across the cake, spelling STEPHANIE in pink sixlet candies.

On either side of her name I put crushed cookies, and added a Pioneer Woman Happy Birthday topper, plus some hot pink candles.

It was pretty impressive if I do say so. And completely delicious.

I can't wait each year to light up the pumpkin spice jar candle

I also switched it up this year by decorating for fall on the first day of September.

Usually, the only thing I change on the first day of September is my door decoration; I take down my patriotic display and replace it with a fall wreath.

I also have fairy lights on my porch railing, and I change those out from red-white-blue to orange.

We had candlelight all day long

And I did all of that as per usual, but this year I decided to ditch the patriotic decor in the kitchen and go all-out for fall.

(Actually, in a day or two I will change it again, to my October display which is not Halloween per se but which is definitely recognizable as being distinctly October. Then on November first, I'll bring back all of the autumn decor and add more, for Thanksgiving.)

I had the pumpkin spice and mulled cider candles going, so the air was scented with the requisite autumn fragrances.

My two-tier tray was decked out in autumnal cuteness

Everyone noticed and seemed to appreciate my efforts.

So it was that after a morning of hanging out, drinking coffee and getting ready and whatnot, I put together the baked spaghetti and the hot taco dip and laid everything out for the meal.

We ate at two o'clock. Sometimes we wait before having dessert, but this time, after clearing the table, I went ahead and made coffee and cut the cake. I'd taken it out to thaw a bit just as we sat down to eat.

Stephanie was pleased but she doesn't like all eyes on her

We enjoyed our cake, and then Stephanie opened her presents. When all of that was accomplished, everyone went outside and the kids got back into the pool.

Everyone had gone home by six forty-five, and TG and I had the evening to relax. 

What did you do to observe Labor Day? I hope that whatever it was, you thoroughly enjoyed it.

There will be blessings

Forward into fall! Just a few more days to wait. Queen Elizabeth's beautiful funeral will be summer's swan song.

And that is all for now.

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Happy Tuesday

Anglophile alert

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Queen Elizabeth II

April 21, 1926 - September 8, 2022

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Confession: I am a confirmed, committed, card-carrying anglophile.

It probably comes from immersion in the books of British authors and poets -- such as the Brontës and the Brownings, among many others -- and also being a fervent cinephile, from childhood to the present day.

I have for many years been particularly fond of Queen Elizabeth II. In fact I believe that I love her.

Notice I did not put that in the past tense, although yesterday she passed into history.

I will always love her.

How can you not love someone who (I heard) ate a jam sandwich every day of her life?

And went around encrusted in fabulous jewels, and made it look like just another day that ends in y?

Also, I am directly descended from denizens of the United Kingdom, going all the way back as far as you're willing to go.

Roots.

At any rate, I will miss Queen Elizabeth the Second. I will miss her every single day.

God bless the memory of a wise and gracious lady, the likes of whom the world will not see again.

And that is all for now.

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Happy Friday :: Happy Weekend

Straight out of central casting

The cast is off but there's a boot brace in its place

Back in mid-2001, just weeks before the world changed forever, our Stephanie got married.

In the week or so leading up to the wedding, my mom and Henry were in town to lend moral support.

During that time, we rented the movie that stars Tom Hanks as a Fed Ex executive who gets stranded on an uninhabited island after a plane crash.

You know the one.

I remember a brief discussion with my mother about the movie's title.

Is it Castaway? I asked -- thinking of the term for a person who ends up on a desert island, alone.

Just like Tom Hanks in the movie.

No ... it's Cast Away, my mother informed me.

Not much difference, except that castaway is a noun.

Cast Away (to be cast aside, as onto a deserted island) is what's known as a phrasal verb -- an idiomatic phrase consisting of a verb and another element, usually an adverb or a preposition.

What is she on about now? you may be justified in thinking at this point.

Well, I was mulling that small but important point as I planned our next-to-last party.

(Our last -- as in, latest -- party took place yesterday. I'll tell you about it soon.)

This was the party before that: Dagny's Cast Off party.

Not castoff! That's a noun. But Cast Off -- a phrasal verb meaning, in this case, the cast -- at last! -- came off.

Dagny's special friend Alexis joined us for the celebration

Or was taken off. Not like takeoff (noun) as in a plane, but take off -- as in, take it off! I can't stand it anymore!

And she couldn't. Dagny was so ready for that cast to come off on August 29th, two months and one day after the day she snapped her tibia while swimming in a shallow river in the upstate.

It was a Monday, and she got to leave school early for the doctor appointment.

Later, she FaceTimed us to relate what it was like to have her leg freed from the clunky cast.

Naturally we hoped that she'd be one-hundred-percent normal, just bopping along as though nothing had ever happened.

But that's not how it is.

She was fitted with a special boot brace that she must wear for another month, except when she takes a shower or goes swimming.

And she has been in swimming, a couple of times now, and her leg is getting stronger every day.

But it's still awkward for her to walk. The leg is atrophied and stiff, and she limps, but she does so without too much complaint.

I decided that a small celebration was in order, so on Wednesday, August 31st, before our mid-week service at church, we all met at East Bay Deli for supper.

They have a pretty great salad bar.

I had invited Alexis, who is the daughter of our assistant pastor, to join us. Dagny is devoted to Alexis, who considers Dagny a special little friend.

We ate salad and chatted and had a nice time of reminiscing about Dagny's broken bone ordeal, which is almost over.

TG and I had bought Dagny a giant balloon that looked like red roses. I also got her a small puzzle book called Purrlock Holmes, featuring a feline sleuth.

That's sort of a joke because Dagny is allergic to cats.

I call them Dagnett ... here pictured after church last Sunday night

Alexis brought her a few treats and she got some other things as well.

Now we can put that whole episode behind us, and move into autumn with the cast off.

Who knows what the tide could bring?

And that is all for now.

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Happy Tuesday

Party of two

She weighs one hundred pounds even, and rides a Harley on the weekends

Last week, on Wednesday I threw a tiny party. Number of guests: one.

And that single guest was my friend Marsha.

Marsha is the receptionist at my dentist's office.

We became friends over the past three or four years, in just the few minutes we had to chat when I would arrive for an appointment, and later in the few minutes before I left.

There were red grapes, strawberries, and a birthday present

A few months ago I said to her: You need to come over for lunch one day! She agreed.

(I live about two miles from my dentist's office. Marsha gets an hour for lunch, so that would give us fifty minutes to eat and talk.)

Which we should have known was not nearly enough.

Nevertheless, we decided on the day and I began to make preparations.

I used a few things left over from Henry's birthday party

I kept it simple: The main dish was homemade chicken salad.

I used canned chicken and added hardboiled eggs, red grape halves, celery, Granny Smith apple chunks, julienned carrots, sweet pickle relish, kosher salt, coarse-ground pepper, a dash of yellow mustard, and a dollop of Duke's mayonnaise.

For Marsha's sandwiches, there were soft white Pepperidge Farm Hawaiian slider rolls.

Funny story: TG had taken me to the store the night before, to buy the things I needed for the lunch.

I hung out the birthday banner

I asked him to pick out some slider rolls while I looked for other items. Get something Marsha will like, I said. (I don't eat bread. At least not that kind.)

TG loves Hawaiian bread and since he figured correctly that there would be lots of rolls left over and they would fall to him, I knew he'd choose wisely.

Moments later I said, Sweetie please go pick out some chips. They're for Marsha (I don't eat chips).

A short while later, as TG piled several bags of Lay's Lightly Salted chips (his favorite, and they were on special) into the buggy, he said: Who's Marsha? 

Star of the show was homemade small-batch chicken salad

Haaahaha. TG does not go to my dentist and I guess I had not talked much about Marsha or the plan to treat her to lunch at our house. Or else I did, and he did not listen. Which do you think it is?

(Because he knew I was having a guest, otherwise I would not have needed to go to the store.)

Anyway.

Besides the chicken salad I had chunked up some tomatoes, cucumber, and onion, and dressed them with a homemade vinaigrette of light-tasting olive oil, red wine vinegar, a dot of mustard, the aforementioned kosher salt and coarse-ground pepper, and a dash of powdered stevia.

These PF Hawaiian slider rolls were tasty ... but I didn't taste them

The chips rounded out the meal, along with small dishes of red grapes, fresh strawberries, and Wickles.

There was an assortment of soft drinks in the fridge, plus sweet tea (Marsha ended up choosing a Pepsi).

Since Marsha had had a birthday the previous Saturday, August thirteenth, I bought her an oversized red velvet cupcake for her dessert.

On the day, it was raining and cool. Seriously! In South Carolina, in August! The temperature topped out at about seventy-five degrees, and the rain continued throughout the daylight hours.

TG is partial to Lay's Lightly Salted chips

Marsha brought me a small hostess gift: a fall decoration, just in time for that happy season.

Of course I had bought her a birthday gift, and I had baked six miniature loaves of banana-nut bread: one for Marsha and four for her to take back to the office for the dentist, his assistant, and the two hygienists. 

(I consider them all my friends, and if I could have had the whole group to lunch, I would have.)

There was one tiny loaf left over for TG.

Wickles kick everything up a notch or two

The whole thing was wonderful. I had my autumn candles burning and the smell of mulled cider (arguably my favorite fall candle fragrance) permeated the house.

Marsha arrived slightly late, having been led astray by her phone and missing the turn onto my street.

Fifty minutes to talk and eat became forty-five.

Marsha brought me a wooden leaf fall decoration

It may as well have been five, as quickly as it dissolved into thin air.

I talked more than I ate (I'll thank you not to sneer), and Marsha got a few words in too, and she was so entranced by my picture table that she spent as much time as she could walking around it and commenting on the photos, and before we knew it, she had to hurry back to her desk.

I could eat this tomato cucumber onion salad every day

We decided that she should return on an evening after she gets off work, so that we have time to sit and relax and talk to our hearts' content.

Audrey and Dagny use the same dentist as me, and they love Marsha and she loves them -- they're all so lovable -- and so they will be invited too.

We look forward to that.

But what a lovely occasion it was! A short visit, but sweet.

I don't have a huge number of friends, but the ones I have, are quality

I am grateful for sincere friendships, wherever I find them. Also I love to feed people.

So when you come here, come hungry.

And that is all for now except to ask, what have you been up to?

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Happy Tuesday

Thursday's child has far to go

Henry as a first-grader, circa 1938

A week ago Saturday -- August sixth -- we celebrated Henry's ninetieth birthday.

The big fancy to-do was held in Greenville, a ninety-minute drive from our house.

It was hosted by Henry himself (who footed the bill for almost everything), plus my big sister Kay, and me.

Henry's children bought him this banner for his first 90th birthday party

Kay's daughters Gena and Susanna, who live in Greenville, put in a lot of work on the party too.

It was a smashing success.

I was in charge of the invitations and decor. Our theme colors were black, white, and gold. Susanna helped me get everything set up on the day.

His kids got him this funny t-shirt too

Kay and Gena organized a beautiful spread of food, much of it homemade.

There were forty guests in all.

I put this together at home and brought it with me

Henry was born and grew up in Blue Island, Illinois (a place that is neither blue nor an island, but rather a suburb fifteen miles south of Chicago) on August 4, 1932. 

He made his appearance on his own father's thirtieth birthday.

I've seen all of those movies

In TG's remarks just before we ate, he quoted parts of the nursery rhyme Monday's Child. 

Monday's child is fair of face / Tuesday's child is full of grace / Wednesday's child is full of woe / Thursday's child has far to go ... and so on. 

I complained and got the invitations for free

Henry, who was born on a Thursday and whose ninetieth birthday fell on a Thursday, has certainly had far to go, and seems to have further to go yet.

He has buried two wives and is still in good health.

There was creamed corn, barbecue beans, and watermelon

He was married first, as a young man, to Nancy Gustafson. In twenty-seven years of marriage, they had five children: four daughters and a son.

Nancy died suddenly in December of 1981 at the age of forty-seven, from a brain aneurysm. 

Henry and Nancy ... she died young

My mother had been single for ten years when she visited TG and me for Christmas in 1982.

I was expecting Audrey at the time; Stephanie was two years old.

TG was a basketball coach at the Christian school where he taught Biology and Chemistry. One night we were invited to a Christmas party by the parents of one of his players.

You could read about times gone by as you got your beverage

The couple were lifelong friends of Henry and Nancy Dykstra; thus Henry was at the party.

Henry was very much in the market for a new wife. He took one look at my mother and set his cap for her.

They were married on June 4, 1983.

Henry during his college years

He still cannot believe that he outlived my mother, who would have turned eighty-five this past June. He wasn't expecting that.

Since my father died in 1968, Henry is the only grandpa my children have ever known on my side.

I did not have any chips but they looked really good

He loves all fifteen of Kay's and our half-brother Shawn's and my children, and all twenty-eight of our grandchildren, like his own. He has been a wonderful grandpa and great-grandpa to them, and they love him in return.

Henry's own five children and nine grandchildren live up north and out west. They get together for a few days each year to celebrate the Fourth of July, and this year they threw him a big birthday party during that time.

My big sister, Kay, who is an exceptional cook

So this was his second party, attended by the Carolinas-based families as well as many friends of Mom's and Henry's from the thirty-plus years they have lived in Greenville.

It was a special time and we made some happy memories. Since it's doubtful we'll ever do anything like this again, we made it as nice as possible without spending an inordinate amount of money.

My fairy-lighted birch trees came in handy for the food tables

Because ain't nobody got time for that.

For the invitations, I used a stock design from Walgreens. I know! So pedestrian. But I needed them quickly because I was drawn into the planning for the party a beat or two late.

Henry had a small Bible open at his place

I paid the maximum for shipping in order to get the invites in just a few days, but they were not available until four days after that, and even then TG had to go to the FedEx office and pick them up.

I complained and got a full refund for both the invitations and the shipping cost. Pirate.

Henry was born during the Hoover administration

Once the invitations were sent, I began planning for the party decorations.

I had lots of fourteen-inch round revolving platforms left over from Erica's wedding reception.

Like little lazy susans.

I could have eaten one third of that watermelon

TG spray-painted them a brighter gold, and I bought a pack of twelve-inch black paper doilies.

My niece Gena went to Henry's house and scanned about a dozen pictures of him in his youth, and sent them to me.

I had five-by-seven enlargements made of those, and framed them in clear acrylic holders.

Henry in junior high

At Dollar Tree I found some vases, and from Amazon I bought glitter-gold 90s on nine-inch sticks.

Into the vases I put clear gems and then stuck in one of the 90 sticks alongside a fake but realistic white rose (flowers also left over from Erica's wedding).

Onto the gold-painted lazy susan in the center of each table went a picture of Henry, a vase, and a candle holder with a tea light inside.

The soft fresh buns were for the pulled pork

At home I'd made up a special letterboard sign for the gift table, and another small one for the cake table.

I spent about a dollar fifty per person for the table settings. I got attractive white plastic plates and round gold table coverings, plus plates and forks and napkins for the cake service, at Dollar Tree.

At Walmart I found cups and napkins that matched the black/gold theme, plus clear utensils for the meal. A gold-foil-wrapped Rolo candy was positioned at nine o'clock on each plate.

On each plate was a Rolo candy ... at nine o'clock

Sort of like a party favor. An exceedingly inexpensive -- but delicious -- one.

When it was all put together and the candles were lit, it looked nice. Appropriately festive. Like we'd gone to a bit of trouble. Which we in fact had.

For the food and cake tables, which TG and Susanna put together into an L shape, I brought my two fairy-lit birch trees, plus a larger carousel to hold more pictures of Henry and a few other decorations.

90 ... a piece of cake

Using my nephew's bluetooth speaker, I streamed a long Spotify set entitled A Dreamy Classical Playlist. It was just right.

People! It is not a party without music.

As for the meal itself, Henry had authorized the purchase of a quantity of pulled pork with various sauces, from a local restaurant.

Henry as a young man

My sister and her daughter Gena made creamed corn, barbecue beans, and macaroni and cheese. In addition, there was cole slaw and watermelon and a big bowl of chips. To drink, there was iced tea and lemonade.

Cake and ice cream on gold paper plates with black napkins and white forks, and coffee (served in an assortment of my own mugs brought from home), rounded out the feast.

I chose the spicy sauce for my pulled pork. It was hot.

All of our guests had arrived by one o'clock in the afternoon, and after the aforementioned few introductory remarks and a prayer, we sat down to eat.

I admit that -- again! -- I failed when it came to pictures. I was busy and then everyone was there and talking and laughing and eating, and afterwards it would have been difficult to get all the groups together.

My niece Gena and her daughter Caroline

Looking back, what I should have done is made a list of the pictures I wanted, and then harrassed people until they posed and I got all the shots.

At the very least I should have had Henry with each family, and with each of the other guests or couples.

What I got was Henry with two of the families, and one of him with TG and me. Plus the decor pictures you see here.

Henry with TG and me

My sister insisted on a group picture with all family members, so at least there's that. I don't even know who took it.

Henry wanted to make a sort of speech before he opened his gifts. He has recently been reunited (by phone) with a childhood friend, and he can't stop talking about it.

The last time he heard from or saw this friend was seventy-six years ago, when they were both fourteen years old.

Henry likes to say that if you ain't Dutch, you ain't much

Apparently they attended different high schools.

Henry went on to become a civil engineer. He retired early a few years after marrying my mom, and they traveled around Europe for a few years before settling in Greenville.

My sister and her husband ended up on the Weber side. Click to embiggen.

He's by himself in their big house now, for the most part making his own meals and taking care of cleaning and yard work.

We all wonder how long he can keep that up, but -- you won't believe this -- he's stubborn.

So we shall see.

It took a few tries but he got them all

Although Henry and I are technically not related, as in not blood relatives, he is in effect the last of both TG's and my parents. I hope we have him around for a long time to come.

When he's gone, I will miss him. It will be the end of an era, and possibly like losing my mom again.

Henry Dykstra, Jr.

But his ninetieth birthday was happy as such a milestone should be. He was visibly thrilled, both with everything done on his behalf and with what he was able to do for others.

I'm not sure what more a ninety-year-old could ask.

And that is all for now.

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Happy Monday

Bake news

They look good and they smell good because they are good

This won't appeal to everyone.

I don't claim that the information contained in this post is earth-shattering or mind-boggling or spine-tingling or heart-stopping or anything like that.

But it is something that for some, will be nice to know.

I speak of the recipe for a four-ingredient low-carb oatmeal cookie.

And none of the ingredients are almond flour.

It's primarily for those who make a habit of eating as low-carb as possible. And it could be helpful for those who adhere to a gluten-free diet. And for those who, like the pirate, despise almond flour but love cookies.

Even if you rarely give a thought to things like carbs and gluten, and thus have no interest in the subject, this recipe is still insanely easy, and it is truly healthy, and thus may be something you'd like to try.

Or at least, pass the information along to someone who may need it.

I saw the recipe on Instagram on a recent afternoon when I picked up my phone and checked in for about five minutes.

(Generally my limit with social media, haha.)

Brittany's Instagram reel of Ember helping to make the cookies

Within ten minutes of viewing the recipe, I was in the kitchen whipping up a batch of these.

There are four ingredients: bananas, rolled oats, peanut butter, and semisweet chocolate chips.

(I keep frozen bananas on hand for smoothies, and they work fine. Just thaw them for thirty seconds in the microwave. And this is a great way to use up overripe bananas if you happen to have some on hand.)

If you'd like, you may want to add a fifth ingredient to the original four -- craisins or raisins or shredded coconut are nice.

But no flour, no sugar, no eggs, no butter, no baking powder. Leave all of that stuff in the fridge and on the shelf.

Set your oven to three-fifty and put those four (or five) ingredients into a bowl and mix them up.

Use your cookie scoop to distribute the mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

The cookies will not change shape during baking, so flatten the scooped mounds of dough with your fingers.

Bake for ten to twenty minutes, depending on the feistiness of your oven. The cookies should be browned nicely.

Remove them to a cooling rack.

And that's it. 

Four simple ingredients. Maybe five. Imagine that you see bananas.

Technically this is not a particularly low-carb treat; bananas and oats contain plenty of carbs, and so do semisweet chocolate chips, and certainly craisins and raisins and coconut are brimming with natural sugar.

But compared with regular cookies, the ingredients used to make this cookie have a relatively low glycemic index. The win-win is that they're good without spiking the blood sugar like your average homemade or store-bought cookie will do.

Now I must say, when TG tasted one of these cookies for the first time, he opined that it did not have much flavor.

In fact, he said that the only thing he tasted was banana.

(He did add, however, that he would eat some of these whenever I made them.)

But I shared this recipe with my girls, and two of them have made the cookies, and they love them. And incidentally, I can taste all four of the ingredients.

So I think they're wonderful and I've made them twice now. They're satisfying when you need just a little something.

Brittany made an Instagram reel of herself and Ember making the cookies. You can watch it above but unfortunately you can't hear the cute song. I would have posted a link but her account is private.

Oh and try not to flip out from the ought-to-be-illegal cuteness level of my granddaughter.

Maybe you've heard of these cookies already, and said nah, not for me, or maybe you've even tried them and agree with TG that they have no taste.

They're convincing when displayed on the cake stand

But I promised to share this potentially life-changing recipe with you, so that's what I've done.

Let me know if you make the cookies, and whether you like them or love them, or if the jury's still out.

And that is all for now except to say, have a great weekend.

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Happy Thursday

Bake it to make it

Of the two that we made, this one looked the best

I was so taken with a post of Mari's recently, that I decided to copy it emulate her.

She is, after all, a world-class grandmother (among other equally stellar attributes).

I speak of the time she made baked clay necklaces with her grandgirlies.

I had to buy only a few extra supplies

Dagny was coming over last Thursday and I knew she would love doing this, so on the day before, I made preparations.

This involved a trip to Hobby Lobby, where I bought bake-able polymer clay, a package of jump rings, two tiny rubber stamps, and an assortment of mini inking pads.

Dagny loved working with the clay

I had everything else I needed already at home: parchment paper, a collection of small cookie cutters (although it took me a while to find them), toothpicks, several colors of waxed linen cord, and lots of beads.

And of course, an oven.

I told Audrey to make sure that Dagny brought along her new Rainbow Loom for making bracelets out of tiny multicolored rubber bands, so that we could do that too.

The Rainbow Loom ... for all ages

This was just going to be a big old craft day.

(The loom was a gift from Mari herself, sent promptly as a get-well present when Dagny broke her leg at the end of June.)

Turns out that both Audrey and Erica had already tried to help Dagny make a bracelet, but had become bumfuzzled at one point and given up.

She was busy pressing ink right into the rolling pin

I was confident that I could get them all over the hump.

Haha. I thank you not to snicker.

Well anyway ... let's talk about the clay-baking craft first. To make necklaces.

The light colors did not make the bold statement she was looking for

First we assembled our supplies on the table: the clay, the cookie cutters, the rubber stamps, the little inking pads, the waxed linen cord, a toothpick, the jump rings, and two rolling pins -- one plain, and one embossed with a design.

I also grabbed a few of my bead boxes (my spin on the project, since I like to inject beads whenever and wherever I can), and my needle-nose pliers.

It's how we roll

I broke off a chunk of the clay and gave it to Dagny to start pounding on and rolling out.

While she did that, I set the oven to 175 degrees (as specified on the package of clay).

It was really easy. After the clay was rolled out, I showed Dagny how to ink a stamp and make an impression. I did the first one and she did the second one.

This project was at least twenty-five percent trial and error

Then we chose a shape for her necklaces and I pressed out the first two, using a round cookie cutter.

Brandishing the toothpick, I made a hole in the top of each clay disc.

I popped them into the oven on a tiny tray lined with parchment.

This was the shade of blue that changed everything

They baked for about twenty-five minutes, and I took them out.

In no time, they were cool and hard enough to work with.

Meanwhile, Dagny was playing with the clay and pressing out more and more shapes.

Dagny was riveted by the possibilities in the clay

I showed her how to ink the embossed rolling pin with one of the inkpads, and roll out a fancy design in the color of her choice.

She chose blue, and soon the remaining clay had turned a shade much lighter than the ink color, but still blue. It was an unusual blue, very beautiful.

Dagny continued to roll out the blue clay and press shapes using the tiniest of the already tiny cookie cutters.

She had lots of colors to choose from

She did it so many times that in the end, there was an infinitesimal heart and only a pea-sized piece of clay left over.

Dagny put a hole in the wee blue heart, which for some reason was (or became, in the process) misshapen. It looked like Ember had done it. We laughed about that.

Then we put all of those shapes into the oven to bake, and I went to work turning the first two discs into necklaces.

I should put her to work making fancy cookies

Simples. Am I right?

Well, maybe for you. But I managed to break the first one while trying to get the jump ring closed.

I hate attaching the jump ring! Aaaarrrrrggghhhhhh!

The last blue heart was on the small side

Ugh. We had one disc left intact, and I managed to get it put together, embellishing the cord on either side of the jump ring with a few seed beads.

I think Dagny wanted the necklace to hang maybe a few fingers-width below her collarbone, but since I was using cord and not chain, I had to tie it off and it needed to be big enough to go over her head.

Success proved elusive on the first try

That made it a longer pendant, but still pretty, and I told her that I knew Erica had some chain that could be used to make her remaining designs into shorter necklaces.

We ended up completing two pieces, and I must say that the second one, with the embossed design rolled into the blue clay and cut into a flower shape, turned out prettier than either of us expected.

We turned our attentions to the Rainbow Loom project

Dagny seemed to approve of our results, so we cleaned up all of the necklace making paraphernalia and turned the oven off and got out the Rainbow Loom.

Part Two of Craft Day, as it were.

Using the printed instructions and eyeballing the part of a bracelet that Dagny and Audrey and Erica had already made, I soon became so confused that we decided to start over.

I was the helper while Dagny was the looper

Audrey had mentioned YouTube as a source for more detailed instructions together with some virtual hand-holding, and I took her up on that excellent idea.

We soon found a video of a lady making a simple bracelet with a Rainbow Loom.

Clearing off the loom and organizing our rubber bands into colors, we began. I started it but Dagny placed all but a few of the bands for the first part of the design, onto the loom.

The next step beyond the triangles threw us

Then came the hard part, where you use the hook to drag certain strands out and pull them around and hook them onto another post, being careful to bring out the right ones and attach them just so, and ...

Well. I tried but maybe I was tired by then and maybe it was sweltering in the kitchen (I forgot to add, we could have baked those clay necklaces out on the sidewalk, had we been so inclined, it was that hot outside), but I developed a sizable case of the yips and had to give up.

Dagny was glad to close the lid on that until she got better help

I texted a link for the helpful YouTube video to both Audrey and Erica. Here, I said. You're going to need this.

Then I added: I did the hard part for you. Laughing face emoji.

Dagny and I boxed up the Rainbow Loom with the partially completed second bracelet still in place, hoping that someone -- or two someones, working together -- smarter than either of us will be able to finish it.

I see now that we could have made a better impression

I should say here that I'm glad that one of the crafts was easy enough that I could see it through.

And I'm also glad that the other craft is hard enough to be a challenge for Dagny. And her mother. And her aunt. It will develop their characters.

Dagny wearing one of the necklaces

As for me, the next thing I baked was edible and turned out pretty great. I'll be sharing that with you later in the week.

And that is all for now except to say, it's time for me to go swimming.

Stay cool and be sweet, my friends.

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Happy Monday :: Happy August