1 year.

One year ago today I said a final goodbye to my Mom. There have been a few times that I wanted to blog about it but never really seemed to have the right words.
Well, I still don't really have the right words. But it's time to blog about it anyway.
Anybody who has lost a parent knows it doesn't really matter how old they or you get...you're never ready to let go. Mom's last couple years with us were not good ones. There were moments of goodness, but generally those are the times that I would rather not remember. And as this year has passed, I find that the good memories of her are returning and the bad ones are disappearing. I am thankful for that.
I had a lovely Mom...who loved to cook and bake, tend to her garden...and most of all loved to be with her family. Even more if there could be a baby in her arms. And with 6 of her own, 14 grandbabies, and 7 great grandbabies...there was good share for her to hold.

I miss calling her when I have a question about what I'm cooking for dinner.
I miss talking to her about my kids.
I miss taking the kids over there for pancakes.
I miss her hugs.
I miss her.






Love you Mom.

Apple pie cookies

When I saw these cookies I knew they were something I would have to make for Cooper. He loves pie....especially apple pie.
I also thought they looked really pretty and a perfect cookie for fall. (although it is supposed to reach a humid-ex of 39* today so Fall it ain't)

When Cooper saw them afterschool he got excited...really excited.
"Mom, these are quite possibly the best thing you have ever made"

"No seriously Mom, you MUST make these again"

"Are they a lot of work?" he asked.
"Not too bad." I said. I won't tell him they came from store bought pie crusts and store bought apple pie filling. At 15 years old, there isn't too much that I can do these days to impress him. I'll hold on to this secret for a while.

Taggart turns 9

We were in Seattle on Tag's birthday for the second year in a row. We like to spend the Labour Day weekend there to do some back to school shopping and just a last hoorah to summer.
So here's how it went down:

 Birthday presents in bed

Counting some of his loot. {Sorry Nana...I know you probably would have preferred that I crop you out of this shot but you being there in the bed with him is part of the memory. I hope you agree. :)}

Breakfast at McDonalds. Tag loves McDonalds hashbrowns...I mean LOVES. I think he ate 4!

Then back to the gum wall so Tag could add a 'T9'. Good thing I had hand sanitizer in my bag.

 Then off to get ready for "Ride the Ducks". If you haven't done this tour of Seattle, it is really worth it. We have seen the boats driving around the city everytime we go and we decided it was time to check it out. Such a great way to see the city and the driver was not only very informative but also very funny.
 
You can just imagine how fun those quackers would be. (insert sarcasm here)



Tony let the driver know that it was Tag's birthday so he pulled him up into that special seat, put his captain hat on him and had the whole boat sing "Happy Birthday" to him. Definitely a highlight for Tag.

Then we found a Mexican restaurant for dinner as Tag's only birthday dinner requirement (every year) is that there are tacos.

When we were done in the city we headed back to our hotel for a swim in the pool and the hot tub.

This hot tub where just before we headed back up to the room, Tag decided to do one more jump in.

Which resulted in his leg smashing into the side so hard that he split it open. So a quick rush back up to the room with first aid not far behind where it was determined that it required stitches.

So off we went to the nearest emergency room.


Dad trying hard to keep up Tag's spirits.

Not too bad.

When we finally got back to the hotel, it was midnight. He stretched his birthday out to the last minute. But now of course, everyone was starving so we ordered up some room service, watched a little TV and called it a night. A birthday we won't soon forget.

A good sign

As Hudson and I left the walk in clinic tonight and headed over to the pharmacy to fill the prescriptions for the horrible mouth sores he's been dealing with, along with a fever, for the past three days this is what we saw.

"Hudson, that's got to be a good sign" I said. "We are driving right into a rainbow. Your misery is going to end soon."

And when we arrived and saw that our destination was directly under it I was even more sure. There has got to be some relief for him in there.

Now we are home. He has taken the pills, he has done the mouth rinse (not enjoyable) and he has put on the topical numbing cream.
We are hoping for great things in the morning. 
Rainbow or no rainbow.

Cookies with Nana

An afternoon with Nana is always special, especially when you get to choose exactly what treats you want to make and you get to make a trip to the candy store to get the perfect toppings for the 'pizza' cookies.
Thanks for sharing these with us Tag. They were delicious.

Seattle

The first Seahawks home game of the season was on Saturday. Tony took Hudson to Kelowna for a football tournament of his own so that meant I was the one driving into Seattle for the game. I don't have a lot of interest in seeing the Seahawks and Cooper was much more interested in taking a buddy anyway. So while Cooper and his friend were at the game, Reagan and Tag enjoyed exploring the city with me.
We had so much fun doing nothing.


Some cow chip cookies made the perfect snack.

Have you ever seen the gum wall? I had heard of it but never seen it. We stumbled upon it by accident. Tag was bummed that we didn't have any gum with us so he could add to it. I told him next time we come, we would remember to bring some. (it was an iphone day, so I've got blurry photos again)



We arrived at Pike Market just minutes before closing but we still managed to buy Tag a big juicy apple that he enjoyed for the next hour.

We came across these blue trees that i thought looked pretty cool. And there was a kids climbing area nearby which we spent some time at before heading to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner.


Ipods became handy as we had to wait about half an hour for a table.

The three of us had such a great day. I really enjoyed hanging out with just these two.

A couple food successes

When a good friend threw a package of live mussels into my fridge because she wasn't going to be able to use them before she left on holidays, I really wasn't sure whether they would go to good use.
After all,  I've never cooked mussels and my family is not too crazy about seafood.
But then as if by fate, I had the short notice opportunity to have Anita and Brenda for dinner. My SIL, Brenda is a seafood lover, that I knew. But what I still didn't know was how to cook mussels. So Google became my friend and I found a recipe that looked simple enough and off I went. Turns out mussels are really easy to cook and they were delicious, if I do say so myself. Actually my lovely guests said so too. But as for my non-seafood loving kids...I didn't convert them. Anita actually paid Reagan and Cooper $5 to try one, which they both did. Cooper actually ate a few more but Reagan ate only the one to get her five dollar bill and then ate a bowl of cereal.
But I still call this a culinary success.



My second success was our meal of watermelon and rollkuchen. This wasn't an experiment or a first try. I have made them a couple times before, but somehow I never think I am going to be able to cook them like my Mom did. She is on my mind the whole time I roll out the dough, twist the little rectangles and do the frying. I think I am trying to channel her somehow to make them turn out as light and lovely as hers always did.
 
 
 
After my first bite, I realized quickly that these are not my Mom's rollkuchen. A little tough and just not the same. But the looks on the faces of those that I cook for as they walk into the kitchen and see them piling high in the dish and the smiles as the enjoy them is why I still consider this another culinary success.