I love blogging – it has introduced me to a whole new world of friends and interests… and for that I’m grateful. I have decided, for very personal reasons, to take a break from the blogosphere. I love you all and want you to know that this is not goodbye!

My wish to all of my readers is:   Enjoy the precious moments with your loved ones and give of yourself in any way you can. Years ago, I taught an early morning religion class. Once a week we had “Called To Serve Tuesday”.  I asked my students to serve in even a small way on that day… if only so much as a smile to a lonely student passing them by.

Have a great week and I hope to return soon!

Bright stripes and polka dots are just a cool look  this 2013 spring/summer season. I love stripes, never tire of them. Here’s a fun spring or summer look in bright pink.

How about accessorizing your outfit with a striped scarf and a polka dot Brahmin bag? Add a  blazer and this outfit becomes a versatile set. You can always dress it up with a nice pair of trousers. I’m comfortable going almost anywhere in jeans!

Have you started adding  color to your wardrobe? When I add a splash of bright, even on a chilly spring day, it just brightens (pun intended) my mood!

I’m a statistic…  I’m a victim of sexual child abuse. This statement somehow sounds so cold. My abuser was a neighbor… no one suspected him. I don’t know how many children he abused. Back in the early fifties, there was really no accurate count of the number of pedophiles in our country. It was really taboo to speak of such things.

At least now, sexual abuse is a  much more acceptable subject and is even an encouraged discussion among parents to children. But we have so much more work to do, if we wish to eradicate all child abuse and sex trafficking in our country. I believe that there is hope – but we need to get parents, educators and legislators all on board to improve the statistics. That’s right… it happens, most often right under our noses. And Utah (where I currently live) ranks a D when it comes to stopping sex trafficking of minors. No young, innocent girl wakes up one morning and says, “Gee, I think I’ll be a prostitute when I grow up.”

Most young girls, who are, are being forced into this profession ( I don’t like using that word) Rather than prostitute, let’s use the term “sex slave” – since many of these young girls are the product of kidnapping and methodical grooming. They are often treated worse than animals.

People, this just has to stop! Recently an observant Delta flight attendant noticed a peculiar and uncomfortable situation on her plane. Before landing, she contacted the authorities and a man who had been on her plane was arrested for kidnapping the three young people traveling with him… IT CAN BE STOPPED!

I have struggled with image my entire life… never really feeling pretty. It’s been a constant inner battle. The evening that I was asked to share my abuse story publicly –  the first time in my 64 years… I found myself asking HB for affirmation to try to dispell my negatives: “Honey, does my hair look okay? And what about my eyes… do thy look really bad… all puffy and gross?” It was in those moments that I stopped and connected the dots. This goes back to years of my feelings of worthlessness and guilt. I felt like I was being abused all over again by this neighbor.

I copied a photo to show this high school group… it was taken shortly after the abuse began. “It’s our secret… just between us. Remember, don’t tell anyone!” Les would say. So for 38 years I was silent. I did begin to avoid him whenever he came to our home after I reached age nine or 10. But I can still smell the cigarettes on his hands and see his yellow crooked teeth in my mind….

It’s so different looking at my young me and realizing how innocent I truly was.

I look back at photos of me when I graduated from Denver University. I wasn’t ugly – and yet I felt ugly, dirty and guilty.

It’s easy to hide behind a mask when you’ve been sexually wounded- physically, emotionally and psychologically. I spent much of my adult life doing just that. It wasn’t until I met  HB, my best friend… the person I finally felt completely safe with, whom I could finally share my abuse story with. He held me close and let me sob. I’m not sure how long. But I do know he was there for me. It’s very difficult to allow people into this ugly world. But once I did, I was able to begin my healing and forgiving process. Therapy definitely helped.

As I said earlier, I finally, after all these years, shared my story publicly for the first time. It was another cathartic moment. The tears flowed freely, but once I was finished, I felt some more of my burden lifted.

You may ask, how can I help? If you’re a Utah resident here is a link: Raise The Grade

We each have a voice. I would suggest we use it – for it can be a powerful tool against this evil! As always, I welcome any comments.

HB and I love pine nuts. If you  follow my blog, you will know that we add them to as many recipes as we can.  One of my favorite snacks is a handful of these wonderfully tasting toasted nuts. Toasting brings out the savory flavors found within these delicious morsels.

We usually buy our raw shelled pine nuts in a 1.5 lb bag from Costco. Spread them out on a cookie sheet. Place in a preheated 325 F oven and toast for 12-13 minutes or until they are golden brown.

Place cooled pine nuts in a freezer bag and they should stay fresh for about 6 months (we always run out of them before six months is up!)

Here are a few of our favorite pine nut recipes:

blue corn blueberry piñon waffles

best ever chocolate chip cookies

cherry pine nut cookies

le creuset  mini cocottes – sausage-pine nut dressing

There are so many ways to experiment with pine nuts. We add them to our egg scramble and grilled cheese sandwiches… pretty much everything is better with pine nuts! And an added bonus… they’re super nutritious! How do you use your pine nuts other than in pesto? As always, I welcome your comments! 

The color mint is everywhere this spring 2013 fashion season. It’s a yummy shade of pale green sherbet or seafoam. We ladies are loving this color in all pieces from dresses to shoes to jewelry and accessories!

Mint is a fresh color and it just feels great on our bodies!

What do you think? Are you liking this shade? I’d be bold and mix it with coral, orange or any other bright color combination… but have fun with it!

Each year there are an estimated 1.7 to 1.9 million visitors to Arches National Park near Moab, Utah. They visit the park to to see the incredible formations (we did that and you can see our images here)… to hike and sometimes to just sit, ponder and take in some of nature’s most magnificent vistas.

I wonder how many stop to visit Wolfe Ranch. It is, after all, off the main road which takes you to Delicate Arch and everyone wants a photo of this iconic arch! I would, however, suggest to those of you who may visit Arches, to take the left fork and drive the short distance to see this historic building. Then ask yourself, how on earth did Wolfe and his family survive in the middle of nowhere?

At first HB had no interest in walking to see this sad- looking edifice. But on closer inspection… and I mean peering into the windows, we were both taken back by the tiny living space – and immediately wanted to learn all we could about this family and why they would choose this desolate spot to live.

This is apparently the remains of the corral that Wolfe used for his livestock. How did he find water? We saw no nearby water sources when we were there. How far did they have to travel for basic needs? It’s all quite mystifying to me!

There’s no chimney or stove that we could see. How did they cook? How did they keep warm in the cold winter months? The difficulty of this lifestyle has had me pondering ever since we visited this place.

Here’s what we’ve learned from Wikipedia:

“John Wesley Wolfe settled in the location in 1888 with his oldest son Fred. A nagging leg injury from the Civil War prompted Wolfe to move west from Ohio, looking for a drier climate. He chose this tract of more than 100 acres (0.40 km²) along Salt Wash for its water and grassland – enough for a few cattle. The Wolfes built a one-room cabin, a corral, and a small dam across Salt Wash. For more than a decade they lived alone on the remote ranch. In 1906, Wolfe’s daughter Flora Stanley, her husband, and their children moved to the ranch.^[2] Shocked at the primitive conditions, Stanley convinced her father to build a new cabin with a wood floor.”

The root cellar-

One thing I realized after our visit to Arches National Park and especially the Wolfe Ranch – just how easy our lives are. We are surrounded by luxuries and yet  find so many things to complain about. We need to take a moment and realize all that we are blessed with on a daily basis.

Have you ever visited Arches National Park? While there, did you stop to see this historic building? Granted it isn’t much, but there’s such a story behind it. If you do go… maybe – just maybe – you’ll look at the water bottle you’re holding in your hand and realize that there was no chore in getting it! As always I welcome your comments.

My eldest grandson, Josh (age fifteen) absolutely loves to cook. He and all five of his brothers have been cooking since they were very young. Their mom has always encouraged my grandsons to experiment with their culinary interests. She and my son have done an incredible job raising their sons to be very independent and “prepared”. Josh, after all, is an Eagle Scout!

Josh loves churros! One day he asked his mom if she would buy some for the family. She did, but soon realized that it was just too expensive. So, she told Josh that he’d better figure out how to make them, if he wanted anymore churros. So he did!

On his own, when he was in sixth grade, he searched the web and found just the right recipe on allrecipes.com. Initially, he rolled the dough into long ropes and dropped them in the deep fryer.

I believe that my grandkids are the smartest and greatest in the entire world… and I’m not at all biased! In this particular case, Josh came up with what I thought was a brilliant idea… and…  he thought of it completely on his own. Why not use Mom’s cookie press to make his churros?

Isn’t he handsome?

Here, he’s kneading the hot dough,using Crisco-covered gloves so as not to burn his hands.

Below, he is filling the cookie press – using the “star” tool.

He’s making perfectly formed churros, and he can decide the length he wants!

Doesn’t this churro look delicious? It was!

From time to time, I will be featuring each of my grandsons from my eldest son’s family as they recreate some of my favorite recipes. I’ve decided to call this “grandson gastronomy”. I hope you will look forward to reading these posts as much as I will enjoy documenting them. I learned so much from just watching Josh making this yummy treat!

Do you encourage your children or grandchildren to use their creativity? Is it more important to you to always have a clean kitchen or do you teach your little ones the importance of  exploration and creativity, even at the cost of cleaning up lots of messes? As always, I welcome your comments.

Orange, hot pink,  bright green and yellow are all happy colors. They always seem to add a spring in your step when you put o  these fun colors. It’s been a long winter – and I don’t know about you, but I am so ready for sunshine, blue skies, warm weather and barbecues! Here are a couple of outfits that will help put you in the mood!

I just purchased a pair of bright green skinnies at Macy’s and I just love wearing them with my bright yellow slip-on loafers!

Just this week we celebrated March 21st and the first day of spring… finally! Now go out and enjoy the sunshine!

As a grandma, there aren’t too many more satisfying moments than story telling with your grandchildren. I love to tell stories. Each quiet moment spent with my adorable grandchildren, becomes yet another opportunity to share experiences through oral language. It’s just a part of me. I listened to my grandma’s stories – and still never tire of my mom’s. She always has something… some bit of wisdom,  to pass on to me. And, I in turn, I hope to do the same with my little ones.

A few weekends ago, I had the opportunity to play (babysit is such an inadequate word!) six of my grandsons. We had such a wonderful time together – but the best memory is snuggling up in the big king-sized bed surrounded by these darling boys and sharing our love, and of course, stories!

My son and daughter-in-law brought back this small treasure from their trip to Santa Fe. They told me it reminded them of me. They could envision me surrounded by my fourteen (and I’m sure that number will increase) grandchildren telling stories as the Native Puebloans have done, from generation to generation. I was so touched that I wanted to share this with my readers.

How could I not enjoy this lovely family and their handsome boys?… my wonderful grandsons!

Isn’t this such a great tradition of the Puebloan culture – gathering their children around the elders as they share the same stories that they had heard from their youngest years? This is such an important way to preserve our heritage!

The  timing of this just seems so perfect, as I am anxiously anticipating this week’s Story @ Home 2013 conference in Salt Lake City. A very special thank you to Oh Sweet Basil for offering this conference giveaway, that I was lucky enough to win! I look forward to sharing many of the things I will learn with my family, loved ones – and you, my readers!

What are your favorite ways to share your stories with your children and grandchildren? Do you always try to include some moral principle or educating moment, as you share? As always, I welcome your comments! 

I have been making scratch buttermilk pancakes and waffles for years. But, when our son brought us blue corn pancake and waffle mix from a recent trip to Santa Fe, we thought that fresh blueberries and pine nuts would be a perfect complement. It was!

Ingredients:

• 1 c flour
• 1 c blue corn pancake/waffle mix (or 1/2 c blue cornmeal to 1 1/2 cup flour)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 -1/2 Tbsp sugar
• 3 beaten eggs
• 2 c buttermilk
• 2 Tbsp melted butter
• 1 c fresh blueberries
• 1  c toasted pine nuts (piñones)

Preheat waffle iron.

Combine dry ingredients. Add buttermilk, beaten eggs and melted butter. Mix lightly with mixing spoon (batter will be lumpy). Gently fold in blueberries and pine nuts.

Waffle iron should be completely heated. Pour about 1/2 cup batter into each square. Our waffles took about 12 minutes to bake. Every waffle iron varies in heat and cooking time. This batter makes approximately 12 squares. Since  HB and I are empty nesters, we froze the leftover waffles for another day.

Reserve about 1/2 cup blueberries and pine nuts to top waffles, if desired.

Serve with warm syrup and enjoy! As always, I welcome any comments or questions.