A Man With Class

Our sweet Grandpa passed away last night, after struggling for several years with, mostly, missing his sweet wife terribly.  We've all cried a little bit, but more than that, we know that Grandpa was ready for the next step.   He was greeted with loving arms by his amazing wife, his youngest daughter, and his Heavenly Father, who is incredibly proud of him.

I married into Grandpa's clan, but I quickly learned that Grandpa and Grandma were superglue holding their family together.  I feel so blessed, and more than a little intimidated, to have their example to look to as I raise my family.

 

I think one of my favorite memories of Grandpa was when BJ and I visited Hawaii with our two girls, who were then three and almost a year old.  Bug's favorite thing to do was go into Grandpa's office and sit on his lap and just talk to him.  I'm pretty sure he didn't understand everything coming out of her cute little mouth, but he listened intently to every word.  I, too, enjoyed just visiting with him.  He loved talking about the church talks he was listening to on tape, his temple trips with Kathie K and his weekly phone calls with Kathy Jo.  

I know there's a presumed "celebration" that's supposed to go with your 100th post.  I can't think of a better way to celebrate than to acknowledge the life of a great man who left behind him a big mark on the world.  

We Love You, Grandpa!!

Sunday Dinner

Once a month my family gets together for dinner . . . all 22 of us.  Last night we had 21, we lost one to wisdom teeth recovery.  Feel better soon, Kiddo!

So, instead of sharing a favorite conference talk this week (which would be President Uchtdorf's Saturday morning talk if you just can't stand the suspense), I thought I'd share our menu with you.

When feeding a crowd, we've learned over the years to be simple, even boring.  You'll never completely satisfy the diverse tastes of 22 people, washing and ironing 5 tablecloths and 30 napkins is not my idea of fun, and dishes . . . I don't think so.  Yes, that groaning sound you hear is Brett's fabulous Grandmother rolling over in terror.  She would not agree with me on anything I just said.  

We served baked potato soup last night.  I'd like to post pictures, but the soup disappeared too fast to get any pictures.  So, without further ado, here's the recipe.  Don't blink or you'll miss it.

Bake 4 large potatoes.  Cool to handle, peel & cube.

Sauté in butter:

1 cup diced celery and 1 cup diced onion

Make white sauce:

2/3 cup butter

2/3 cup flour

¾  tsp. salt

¼ tsp. celery salt

¼  tsp. pepper

6 cups whole milk

Add potatoes, celery, onions and 1 cup sour cream.  Heat but do not boil.  Correct seasonings and thickness.

Serve with thinly sliced green onions, grated cheese & crumbled bacon.   

Double (or triple, in our case), and leave in a crock-pot to keep warm as you eat.  Serve in bread bowls (everyone thought I was being clever, but remember how dishes and I don't get along?)  We used 2% milk that we had on hand.  If you bake your potatoes beforehand, this should take you about 30 minutes, start to finish.  You could easily use skim milk and fat-free sour cream.  If anyone tries it that way, let me know how it tastes.  BJ also added some frozen corn, which was fantabulous.

Big sister served a drink she called "Friendship Punch."  Combine light cranberry juice with diet grapefruit Shasta.  You expect it to taste like cran-raspberry and sprite, but it has a lot more tang to it.  Very fun.

All right, there you go.  Now, go try some for yourselves.  Have a great week!