Be Back Very Soon!

I apologize again for the long delay in posting. The laptop died, completely this time (hard drive, OS, and motherboard all went kaput) and the desktop decided it no longer appreciated its promotion and rejected all new responsibilities. But we just bought a new computer and it's being set up as I type this! I'll be back online very soon and I'm excited to share some delicious recipes and a full recap of my trip to the Minnesota State Fair (complete with photos of everything we ate)! Thank you for your patience!

A Door County Excursion: Fresh Cherry Cobbler

Once again, I apologize for the delay in posting. My laptop died and this time could not be revived. While it is out being diagnosed for potential repair, I spent the week convincing my 10-year old desktop to accept the software for my scanner and camera. After hours of persuasion, it finally accepted the challenge. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it enjoys its new role and continues to chug along.

Now that I’m finally up and running again, I can share my adventures in Door County, WI. My husband and I made the trek across the state of Wisconsin last weekend to attend a family reunion. I was excited to see family I haven’t seen in years, introduce Ryan to this beautiful area, and also to indulge in some of my favorite Door County treats.

Savoring the Memories: “I Remember” Baked Beans

It always amazes me how smelling a dish baking in the oven or the first bite of a favorite food can flood my mind my memories, some that I haven’t recalled in years. Sometimes, however, it’s even easier than that. The mere mention of the name can send me back in time. For instance, fried chicken will always remind me of summers in Pensacola, FL and going to the now defunct Hopkins Boarding House for fried chicken dinners. It was the best I’d ever eaten and my whole family was really disappointed when we learned they were closing down.

And peanut butter sandwiches, the staple of every kid’s school lunch, will always remind me of my grandmother and the way she used to make them when I was little: two pieces of white Wonder bread (each one slathered in real butter), a heaping layer of peanut butter was added to each side, then it was all topped off with a generous drizzle of honey. Looking back, I sometimes want to cringe at the utter unhealthiness of this concoction, but it still gives me that warm fuzzy feeling in my tummy when I think of it because it just tasted like my grandmother and no one could replicate the way she made peanut butter sandwiches.

Solvitur Ambulando: July Birthday Cake/Merry-Go-Round Cake

I’m back online!

I apologize once again for the delay in posts. My computer died last week. I checked e-mail in the morning, walked away to do something and when I came back, it was sleeping. Only, it was in such a deep sleep, I was unable to awake it. The lights on the keyboard were illuminated, but it just didn’t want to do any work. I tried restarting it. Same result. I checked the power cord. Nothing. The next step was to panic. All I could think about were all of my documents that were stranded on the hard drive. I wanted nothing more than to throw them a life raft and save them. My photographs and poetry and attempts at writing a book were all drowning in a sea of technological uncertainty.

After the initial wave of panic washed over me, I was hit by another ripple of anxiety-ridden thoughts: I couldn’t post to the blog, I couldn’t check e-mail or Facebook, and web searches were nowhere in my near future. I decided I needed to step away from the comatose machine and clear my head.  So Murphy and I headed out for our daily walk.