A Reunion

The Prospector and I drove down to the valley and stayed overnight, in a HOTEL, on Saturday.

 A very nice hotel, with a swimming pool and a hot tub.
Why did we leave the farm? Why did we leave the dogs in a kennel overnight and venture down to the town of Manteca in the great central valley?
Because 50 years ago, the Prospector graduated from Manteca High School and we were celebrating the occasion with a PARTY.
Yes... FIFTY years. It was 1962.
John F. Kennedy was our president.  No one had been to the moon yet, but John Glenn was the first American to orbit the earth. The average home cost $12,500. and a gallon of gas was about .28 cents. We went to the Drive-In movies to see West Side Story and To Kill A Mockingbird... and "make out". It was a good time to be a teenager.

 Manteca was a small farming community between Stockton and Modesto. Today the railroad tracks still run through town and the old Lincoln Elementary School, where the Prospector went, is still teaching children everyday. Yosemite Ave. looks better than it use to and has murals of Manteca at the turn of the century on some of its buildings.
We arrived at the Golf Course on Union St just in time to sign in, get our pictures taken and start meeting all the "old" folks that were walking around looking for signs of recognition. It's a good thing that they not only gave everyone name tags, but they also had the good sense to put a photo of the person on it from the yearbook. Everyone that walked up to us looked at the name tag first, then the lights would go on in their eyes. "Oh, it's ... my gosh, you look great.", and they would smile and give the Prospector a big hug or a hand shake. He was on the reunion committee so he did know quite a few people, but there were a lot of people that were total surprises. That's the fun of a reunion of 50 years.

It was quite dark in the room. I brought the little Canon point and shoot, instead of my big Nikon, so a lot of the pictures didn't turn out well. But we had a great time and it was a beautiful evening with good food and "happy to see you" ambiance.

The next day we met everyone for breakfast and then drove to the Manteca Museum. This was an amazing place.

It's an old church that has been revived and filled with everything Manteca has done for the last 150 years or so. This photo above is a replica of the old, original high school. The walls were covered with class pictures from the very beginning.

This is a PE class in 1923. Can you imagine wearing a skirt and stockings to play sports? Life was definitely different then.
There were all kinds of rooms filled with what life was like in the 1800's.

You know. What they called "woman's work". And it was.

Look at the smile on that "dummy's" face. She's happy and she's ironing. What's wrong with her?

Even when it was a new invention, it was still a lot of work. This washing machine below, still used buckets that had to be carried, emptied and cleaned out every wash day.

 Then, as I was contemplating the efforts of my grandmother and her dislike (hatred) of housework, I looked up on the wall.
There, before me, was a familiar face.

There on the wall, for all the world to see, was a picture of my staid and rather stern father-in-law, doing the HULA. He is the lovely one, second from the left in the back row... with the blond hair.
Yes, it was him.

He was 33 years old and doing a skit for the Manteca Jaycees in 1952. Oh my gosh!! I never pictured him doing anything like this.
 But there were moments, years later, when he would say or do something that would make me think he was still a little boy... and his blue eyes would twinkle. I never saw him like this however. I don't remember him ever being a skinny dancer with a blond wig.
 I met him 10 years later, for the first time, and life had settled him down a bit. He was a good father-in-law and always treated me with respect and love. In 1968, in a hospital room, the night I gave birth to his first grandson, he quietly put his head through the doorway and whispered "Thank you." to me. I was scared, hurting and not quite ready for parenthood. Those words made such a difference to me. That was a moment that I will never forget.
He was a good man. He died too young and we all miss him.
So... to see this serious, and sometimes harsh, man dancing in drag at 33 years of age was astonishing, to say the least. He looks like he was having a great time. The Prospector said he kind of remembers his dad doing this, but he was only nine years old at the time and the memory is vague. We all had a good laugh over the photo. It was a moment in the history of Manteca that surely gave some of the town folk a good laugh too.

The weekend is over. I'm kind of tired and have sore feet from dancing (very little) and standing for long periods of time in "fancy" shoes. But it was a great reunion and we all decided that we better not wait another 50 years, for the next get-together, because there might not be anyone left.
We drove home Sunday afternoon and picked up the dogs.
Everything is back to normal. The weather is cooling down, finally, and the fancy duds are back in the closet.
This is us... at the reunion.

 We clean up pretty good, don't we?... for a couple of old, farm folks.

Wordless Wednesday: "The Bean"

Wordless Wednesday: Clouds that look like water

This one's a keeper.

Remember all the veggies that we bought on Sunday at the Farmer's market.

  I said, yesterday, that I wanted to make a vegetable galette with all those tasty little squash that we got at the market and some of my abundant tomatoes from the garden. .
I started with this recipe and made some major changes for lack of  ingredients.

The dough was pretty basic accept that it called for cream cheese. Never did that before, but it sounded good, so I tried it. I did half unbleached all purpose flour and half whole wheat. I also put wine vinegar in the ice water, like my mom always did, and looked it up to see why. Lots of controversy on this and endless discussion on the subject. Some folks even use Vodka. Amazing.  Take a look at this link. I, personally, don't think it matters what you put in the ice water, but I will continue to use wine vinegar because mom always did it and I'm kind of partial to my mother's old recipes. She made excellent pies. Why change something that works. There is one thing I have never done. I don't use LARD, for savory pies, like she did. She never used butter, either, until her neighbor made a pie for us using butter. Then, once in a while, Mom would make a crust with butter. But not often. She always used Crisco.  I like butter in the crust, especially for fruit pies. It's delicious. You have to like what your are cooking or baking. It's too much work to create dishes that you can't tweak to your liking.
I used cottage cheese in the filling because I didn't have any ricotta. I didn't have any mozzarella so I just didn't use any substitute for it at all. I didn't have fresh thyme. I used some dried thyme and added some dried Tarragon too. I layered the sliced squash and then covered them with  thin slices of tomato and topped it all with some olive oil and some hard Irish cheese that I get at Costco.
I always use a whole egg, not just the yolk, to wash the dough with. The rest is up to you.
It turned out beautiful... and RUSTIC. I felt very European and creative.

This Galette is so beautiful and the fragrance in the kitchen is to die for.

This beautiful open vegetable pie and a salad were a wonderful dinner.

I can't tell you how good this was. Do try it.
It makes quite a mess, but you can clean it all up while the Galette is in the oven.
Then sit down and have a glass of wine... and another with dinner.
I think that next time I will use less of the filling and more vegetables, but all the same, it was a great dinner and a wonderful way to use your excess vegetables. This recipe is very adaptable. You can really use any vegetables you want. I forgot the fresh basil. That was almost a sin. Don't forget the basil.
Please try this. It's sooo good.
And remember 9-11 today. Remember how it happen and why. 

A Hudson Hornet and Beer Bread

 I have to act like I don't like things, sometimes. You know... not showing  enthusiasm for something that brings a passionate twinkle to my husband's eye, when I know that it's another really expensive proposition...  so that the Prospector doesn't get any ideas about buying something that will require a lot of money (which we don't have) and will also require WORK. ( That was a run on sentence wasn't it?)  I tried with "other woman", our '38 Chevy. I have to try discouraging this passion in him for OLD CARS or we would have an "vintage car" lot in our driveway and we would be BROKE. I'm not being cruel, I'm being the same way he is when he doesn't get excited about the antique buffet that I want at the local antique store. The one that needs refinishing. The one that will cost twice as much by the time I get through restoring it. I understand passion, I really do, but enough is enough. One old car at a time.
The Prospector may be good at a lot of things, but fixing cars is not one of them. So if we invest in an old car, like "the other woman", it's not just the initial cost of the old car, it's the "restore and make it road worthy" part that becomes a budget breaker.
So today we drove into town to pick up some veggies, garlic and other things at the local Sunday Farmers Market. We went to the hardware store and then, when pulling onto the highway, the Prospector, as if he was being drawn by an invisible rope, turned right instead of left and headed for the Auction House car lot. I should have known what was going on. I should have known that this was about another old car.
This is what he HAD TO CHECK OUT.

It's a 1952 Hudson Hornet.

 It's a very cool car. Reminds me of my old Buick Roadmaster that I drove around in high school.

I like the sun visor over the windows, the real, solid chrome bumpers...

 The very cool hood ornament.

 and the "hornet:" insignia.

 It's a BIG car and it's in beautiful shape.

 We looked. We checked out the price... $8000... and we left.
Sometimes you just have to be brutal about these things. You just start walking back to your own car and don't say anything.
 I actually would have liked to trade the Chevy for this Hudson. It's all done. It's finished, reliable, drivable and... it's BLACK. I love black cars.
So if any of you want an old '52 Hudson Hornet for $8000. please drive up to Jackson, CA. and BUY IT, so we don't have to look at it sitting there... waiting for someone to want it. It would be the right thing to do.

We went to the Farmer's Market and got more vegetables than we needed but that's OK. We will eat them all. There is no tomato shortage, here in the garden, but we needed some good vegetables and fruit for dinners. It's still hot and the tomatoes are still doing their thing.
I think I will make a vegetable galette tonight. Sounds good doesn't it?

Isn't this a bountiful photo. Just makes you want to eat something.

 The bread is a rosemary, walnut beer bread. Oh my... we couldn't resist. My daughter in law baked some bread when I was down in the Bay Area a week ago. It was Ciabatta bread and it was beautiful. I don't make bread, so this was a really treat. When I saw this beer bread I thought about my DHL's bread and found myself buying  the beer bread... just until my grandchildren's mom shows me how to do it myself.

And at the same booth, calling my name, were some raisin, pecan cinnamon rolls. I did exercise some restraint. I only bought two of them. I could have bought the whole pan. Do you think it will help if I take a long hike tomorrow morning BEFORE I eat the cinnamon roll. Do you think that it will balance out the calories? NO? Well... I just thought...

Then we drove down to the Mokelumne River. The water was very high. Lots of water being held back. P,G&E has a power house at the end of Electra Road and they regulate the water that comes down the river. Sometimes it's high and some days it's very low. 

I asked if anyone had seen the PELICAN and a woman, who was fishing from the bridge, said that it hadn't been there for weeks. She said that it turned down a blue gill a few weeks back. Grabbed the fish out of a net, and then dropped it in the river. Guess the Pelican is a trout lover only.  Picky bird.
Hope it comes back. I still want to get some photos of it....maybe, with a trout in its mouth.

Gazania

 "She said she usually cried at least once each day... not because she was sad,

 but because the world was so beautiful and life was so short."   -Unknown

Wordless Wednesday: Creative "Beans" (my Grandchildren)

"Have a Good Time and Drive Defensively."

Those were the Prospectors last words a week ago, as I drove off to see my family."Did you take the phone, your camera charger, your medicine and your toothbrush?"
"Yes." I answered. I had enough "stuff" to stay for a month. He was still waving as I drove down the dusty road.
I drove to South Sacramento first and got four Cortizone shots, at the hospital, in my feet. My poor feet were aching , tingling and overdue for my twice a year injections for multiple Neuromas... the awful afflection that numbs and cause pain at the same time. The doctor says that an operation is coming, in the near future, to remove the thick nerve tissue that has developed in both feet. Bummer!! It from all those years of working for a living.
 I headed down the highway and through the Delta, stopping for some fruit and vegetables at the Delta Farmers Market on Highway 12, just before the Rio Vista bridge.

You can read about all of the good things that The Delta Foundation is doing for the Delta if you're interested. It's a good non profit organization that has membership with benefits.
The California Delta is a beautiful resource that is worthy of being taken care of. It's one of California's geographic wonders. Take a look at the links.
I turned south and drove along the  Sacramento River on highway 160 and, of course, got stuck waiting for the bridge linking Brannan Island and Sherman Island because it is just what happens out there.

 The traffic stops for all the boats going under the bridges. You wait, get out, stretch. TAKE PICTURES and relax because there's nothing you can do about it. It's a water world out there and bridges are the only way to get from one place to another. If a bridge is up, then you wait. It's a time honored Delta tradition.
The bridge went back down and I continued on.  I drove over the San Joaquin River and into Antioch, through Pittsburg, Concord, Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek... and finally got to my sister's in Lafayette.
My lovely upstairs "room with a view" was ready... with flowers.

My sis always does some little "extra", like flowers and... see the black clock? She found two little Corgi statues and put them they to remind me of Carl and Cutter while I was away from them. That was very sweet.
I needed a nap. She left me to veg for a few hours and later she fed me. This is my home away from home when I come down here. I'm so lucky.

The next morning I sat with Sis and the dogs, drank some really good coffee, and planned the day.
 Later I went to visit my grandkids and their Mom. She needed to get some work done so I took them to the park.

Oh, the wonderful Pleasant Hill Park and pool...

This is where I learned to swim and hang out with friends... and yes, if we're being honest, met boys every summer. This little brick building was the first building here. Now they are building another one to the right that will be a swimming and teen center.
The park is beautiful.

 The Beans love to play here. There are lots of ways to swing, climb, slide and tumble. They always move at the speed of light.

Climbing high and yelling, "Hey Noni, WATCH ME." and I do... like a hawk, following them, worrying, telling them to stay in my line of sight. Telling them to smile for me, as I take pictures of them.
They know that Noni "Takes pictures of their LIFE." and they are so good about it... most of the time.

Angry Bird, sittin' in the tunnel, is five and trying, very hard, to keep the tongue in the mouth. It's always getting out.

They really like to climb. It must be a throwback to our "monkey" connection. Darwin would be proud.
Here is the "hanging monkey" move.

And this is the half hanging monkey.

And my most favorite,

The "Oh, my gosh. What do I do now." move.
You just have to love that flexibility and form.
Later they  found a small shovel that someone left in the sand. But there was no pail for them to put the sand in. So, being the amazing and creative Bambinos that they are, they improvised.

Laughing themselves silly about having "fat" stomachs and looking like they were "going to have a baby".

What goofiness!

Before we left they climbed into a big old tree and I took... "More pictures, Noni?"
"Yes dears, just one more...please."
 and they let me indulge my passion...one more time.

 And... once more.

There's that tongue again. It's uncontrollable!
Tomorrow would be the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL for them. Angry Bird would be starting Kindergarten and my California Bean would start second grade. Wow! Growing at the speed of light.

On the road again.

I will be gone for almost a week. I'm going down to see my family. The Beans (my two grandsons) start school on Wednesday and Noni (that would be me) wants to be there. This also gives me a chance to visit with my son's, and my sister, and my extended family.
See you in a week...

While I'm gone Carl and Cutter will guard the farm... and the Prospector... and the rug...