Thank you Mrs. Welborn

Aly and her beau went to the peach orchard this weekend and picked some lovely fresh peaches which she later transformed into delicious cobbler.  Watching Aly work her magic in the kitchen took me back to a time long ago...

When I was a young girl, there was a huge white farm-style house with a pristine lawn and white picket fence, just down the road from us.  I was fascinated by it, and one spring day, I took it upon myself to meet the occupant.  Peeking through the fence, I saw a gray-haired lady working in the flower bed and called out to her in the cheeriest voice I could muster.  She opened the gate, invited me in with a big grandmotherly hug, and we became instant friends.  

Mrs. Welborn had a large strawberry patch behind her house and I earned lots of quarters picking berries every June.  I spent many hours, helping her with her yard work, and afterwards, we’d retire to the squeaky white glider on her porch.  There she served up good old-fashioned conversation and an endless supply of ice cold lemonade in bright aluminum tumblers.  
She was an excellent cook and would occasionally invite me into her kitchen to sample a slice of one of her homemade pies.  My favorite was her chocolate pie, so one day I asked her for the recipe. Mom and I have been making it ever since, and it’s a must at every holiday meal at the Sykes house.  
Looking back, I’m not sure how much Mrs. Welborn really needed my help, but I certainly needed her.  Mrs. Welborn happily spent hour after hour investing in me, a little girl who had no grandmother living close by.  She taught me a little about gardening, how to pick the perfect strawberry, and how to make my now “famous” Iron Skillet Chocolate Pie.  


Thank you to all the "Mrs. Welborns" out there. Your kindness, your generosity and the memories you help create will always be remembered. 


Who would you love to go back and say thank you to?

Iron Skillet Chocolate Pie

pie

1 baked pie shell

1 cup sugar

2 tbsp flour

3 tbsp cocoa

2 tbsp butter

3 egg yolks (reserve whites for meringue)

1 cup milk

vanilla to taste

Mix sugar, flour and cocoa in a small mixing bowl.  Melt butter in an iron skillet over medium/low heat.  Stir in sugar mixture till well blended.  In a separate bowl, beat eggs yolks, add milk and blend well.  Add the egg and milk mixture to the sugar mixture in the skillet a little at a time, stirring constantly.  cook slowly while stirring until thick.  Remove from heat, add vanilla and allow to cool slightly before pouring into a baked pie shell.

meringue

reserved egg whites

1/8 tsp cream of tartar

2 tbsp sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Beat egg whites with hand mixer on high until stiff white peaks form.  Add cream of tartar and sugar.  Top pie with meringue and bake for 8 minutes at 400 or until golden brown.  Allow pie to cool before serving.

Say Goodnight, Not Goodbye

Wow, I can't believe how long it's been since I've taken the time to post more than a line or two here.  So much has happened in the past two months, there has been joy and sadness...

On Monday, April 19th, my dear friend Gwen passed from this life into the next one.  I can still scarcely comprehend that.  Tonight, I came across a picture of her sweet face and totally broke down.  It's the first time I've really let the sadness of losing her wash over me.  I'm not sure why-- maybe because I just knew that she was going to make it.  If anyone had the faith and the eternal optimism to overcome cancer, surely it was Gwen.  But God had other plans.  And those of us who love her so must move ahead, with a piece of our hearts missing.  

I can hear her laughter, her southern lilt, the Louisiana slipping out in the way she said "yestuhday," and it seems like yesterday when she was all excited over some DUH licious new restaurant she'd found.  

I miss you Gwen and I don't understand why you had to leave us, but I'm so thankful that God lent us your sunshine for a while.  

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.  Psalm 116:15

ROAD TRIP!

Our friend Mark Lowry invited Michael and me to tag along on a quick trip to Charlotte, NC this weekend.  Much laughter, singing, reminiscing, and eating ensued.   What there wasn't much of was sleep.  But that's quite alright, we had a blast!

Mark playing with his new iPad.  Is it still a sin if you only covet a teeny bit?

Another LOONG time friend, Norman Holland.  We go back at least 30 years!

Also present, Norman's adorable pooch, Bella

Mark mesmerizing the crowd as usual. 

Bob and Jeannie Johnson stopped by to say hello.  Jeannie of course is as beautiful as ever!

Texas Steakhouse

The aftermath...

Um, were the ribs good Michael?

Mark and Me

I did manage to squeeze in about 2 hours of this Saturday night...

Lunch with Joy

My sweet longtime bff Joy and I had one of our epic 3 hour lunches today at J Alexander's. One of us, who will remain nameless, left her phone and we had to go back. But we didn't mind, that just gave us more time to talk!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Say What?

I love our rec room, actually WRECK room would probably be a more appropriate spelling.  It's one of the reasons we bought this house. It's a little haven just off the kitchen and over the garage. It has hosted countless scary movie marathons, Donkey Kong tournaments and surprise sleepovers. It's the place where all our cast off furniture goes to die. The cozy sofa that has family room written  dripped all over it.  White laminate bookshelves left over from childhood bedrooms. The GIANT antique chest I bought for next to nothing--topped with all the dusty awards that we're too self conscious to display anywhere else. The ugly old fashioned tv, that could double as an anchor for the SS Arizona. The hand me down rocking chair from Michael's grandad, complete with shag carpet glued to the bottom of the rockers, I KID YOU NOT.  Somehow it all works together with sort of a Martha Stewart meets Sanford & Son charm.  Tucked in every corner you'll find little treasures--like the ceramic dog "trat" canister made by Aly or the Andy Griffith throw Mallory bought for her dad for Christmas.  One of my favorite rec room gems is the furry, yellow day-glo pillow with purple stitching, a gift from our friends Doug and Cindy.


 A few years ago Doug had recently jumped into the wonderful world of email and suffice it to say, he wasn't quite up on all the lingo.  He didn't know his BFF from his BRB, if you know what I mean. Michael, being the epic emailer that he is was doing his best to get Doug up to speed on the basics. They emailed back and forth almost daily, sharing jokes and making plans for the four of us to get together. One weekend we had made plans for dinner and a movie with them when we got the sad call that Michael's dad had passed away.  Quickly, we packed up the family and headed to North Carolina for the funeral.  Just before we left, Michael sent Doug a short post to explain and cancel our plans for the weekend.  Once we got to North Carolina and settled in for the night, Michael set up his laptop and checked his email.  There was a response from Doug expressing his and Cindy's sympathy and letting us know we'd be in their prayers and he signed it--LOL, Doug.  Michael read and reread the email and finally said, "Babe, am I missing something here?"  We thought it a bit odd but figured it must have been a typo and frankly, we had lots of other things on our mind at the time.  In fact, neither of us thought of it again until we had them over for dinner a week or two later.  Michael said, "Man, I want to ask you about something.  You sent me a really nice email after my dad died, and you signed it LOL... I was kinda curious about that, you know the LOL."  Doug looked puzzled and turned to Cindy and back to Michael and said, "Well, you always put that in your messages--it stands for Lots Of Love--right?"  Let me tell you I snorted so hard I had sweet tea up my nose for DAYS!  Poor Doug, we teased him unmercifully.   We were all, "Hey Doug, sorry you've got the flu man, LOL or you guys have a good time on vacation, LOL."

When Doug and Cindy attended the state fair a few days later, Doug played one of the games on the fairway and wouldn't you know it, he won.  As he looked over the lovely array of prizes, he knew immediately which one he wanted. Today, it still sits in a place of honor in the rec room, a beacon of friendship shining forth from the rocking chair with the shag carpet trim.