Love and Marriage, Young and Old

There were terrible storms last night. Thunder rolled over the farm for hours, and lightning flashed constantly throughout the night while the wind roared. The dogs, always distressed during storms, were much more so last night. Once we let them in, it took them quite a while to calm down, but heavy claps of thunder still kept them skittish. John was up most of the night, dealing with the dogs, power outages, and other issues that arose. And the rain came down in heavy bucketfuls. You'd have thought there would be a pretty deep swimming pool in our yard this morning. But as the sun came up, it was evident that there was no damage,
none at all! We are so thankful to God for His mercies!

Although I was upset to hear about the storm damage and loss of life in north Georgia and the mid-west, I was relieved to know that our little farm had come through the night safely. I was also happy to see that the rain had ceased. Today was too important a day to be dampened by rain and storms. Today was the first anniversary of my niece's wedding four years ago, and a huge reception was planned!

Katie Mae and Ando were married on February 29, 2008 ~ leap day of leap year! They exchanged vows at the courthouse, with only their parents attending. Well, although Ando's parents made it, my sister took a few wrong turns four years ago, and missed the ceremony all-together.

Katie Mae & Andy (Ando)

Fast forward to now, the first February 29 (Wednesday) since 2008. Katie Mae and Ando, with the help of good friends, pulled together a beautiful reception held this afternoon at Red Top Mountain State Park in northern Georgia to celebrate their first official wedding anniversary! The theme was purple and white, and it was everything a wedding reception should be: family and friends gathered together, lots of toasts, lots of laughter, music, and dancing. Katie's friends, all beautiful, young women, and all dressed to perfection, would have served as her bridesmaids in a proper wedding ceremony. Today they served the crowd as hostesses, decorating the hall, setting the tables, preparing the food, organizing the events, and doing it all with gleaming smiles and wearing high heels!

Chantal with her son, Gentry, and Katie Mae. I have no idea who the other guy is!

My sister, mother of the bride, wept constantly, she was so full of joy!

Katie Mae and her PopPop

I cried a few times too, thinking of my own hard-won marital happiness, and my father's lost happiness. I miss my mother every day, but never more than I did today when my father stood to toast his granddaughter and her husband and wished them as many years of happiness as he and my mother had known together. That was 62 years for my mother and father.

The two-hour drive to Red Top Mountain this morning was pleasant and peaceful after a night of storms. The afternoon spent with family, friends, and new friends was fun, entertaining, and sentimental.

I danced with my husband today. We don't get to do that very often. My hips ached before the dance was over, but in spite of the pain I danced, and I let John twirl me around the floor. That's the part we love, the twirling, with a flourish! We kissed while we were on the dance floor too. The majority of the people at the reception were young, in their twenties, and although I would kiss my husband in front of anyone, I felt it was very important to kiss him in front of these young people, so they could see love and romance in the old. So they could see, and maybe understand, that being old can still be about having fun, being happy, being sexy, and being in love.

The guests gather

I didn't do a very good job of taking pictures today. Most of mine were blurry or dark, or blurry and dark.There was a professional photographer at the reception, so when the photos become available and get shared with me, I will share some of them with you.

In the meantime, don't forget to relax and enjoy your life. Find something to laugh about, and someone to laugh with. Celebrate something with champagne, and most important of all, kiss your Beloved in public! You'll make everybody jealous!

Tossing the bouquet

Claiming the garter

Happy 12th Birthday Ian!

In older posts I've talked about my husband's son, John IV, his wife, Deborah, and their children. Yesterday, there was a party to celebrate our oldest grandson's 12th birthday. I can't call him a boy anymore. He's now a young man, and we had a great time celebrating that fact! Family and friends gathered at the Alderfam home of John IV and Deborah for the epic event. Cake and ice cream, games and fun, and of course, presents! Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the party. Hope you enjoy them!

Ian decorated his own cake, and chose a Middle Earth them. He used a map from one of Tolkein's books to go by. The figures are characters from The Lord of the Rings

Youngest brother, Andrew

Younger brother Isaac.

John IV






Sister, Emily

Well, Bacon Day is winding down. It began before sunup this morning with a few loud claps of thunder and a short downpour of rain. At the first clap of thunder every dog in the yard was at the back door howling to get it. Softy that I am, in they all came, and once calm again, were sprawled across the living carpet like dirty (wet) laundry.

Since I was up early, I decided to make a hearty breakfast for John and my Dad. I did a simple Sausage and Egg Scramble with pumpernickle toast. To a spicy ground sausage, I simply added diced onions and diced rainbow peppers. I seasoned with salt and pepper only, since my Dad is not fond of herbs.


Sorry for the quality of these pictures. The lighting is terrible! I hope to improve at indoor photography as I continue this blog.





My first attempt at scones didn't go too bad! I made Bacon Scones using a basic scone recipe from Ina Garten. I didn't press them out as thin as the directions instructed, and so I had very large scones, biscuit-like because I decided to cut them in rounds instead of wedges. I sent a half-dozen of these scones home with my sister, who said they were better than the bacon biscuits I gave her at Christmas.

The BLTs were a hit! Always so simple to prepare, and so delicious to eat! I used thick cut bacon, and piled it on. I add thinly sliced onion to my BLTs. I learned a long, long time ago that the onion really gives the sandwich a boost of flavor that takes it out of the ordinary realm of BLTs. Lots of mayo, large slices of tomato, shredded lettuce, salt and pepper, and you've got a hearty, delicious sandwich! I didn't have a chance to take pictures of a BLT. They were gone before I could pick up the camera!

I have always loved cooking. For more than 30 years I hosted every holiday family gathering, doing all of the cooking and entertaining. I was always in my element creating elaborate meals for my family to enjoy. After my mother passed away, I stopped hosting the family events, but still enjoyed cooking for my husband. In the last two years, however, my energy level has dropped significantly, and for a time, I wasn't cooking much at all. In the last few months though, I've been pushing myself to do more around the farm, including more cooking, and over the holidays I did quite a bit, ventured into baking, something I've never bothered to try before now. I find that I enjoy baking, and it's much easier than I ever thought. I hope to be doing a lot more cooking, and baking, while the weather is still cool!

Bacon Scones
adapted from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Scones

4 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
1 stick cold butter, diced
4 large eggs, beaten together
1 cup heavy cream
5 slices (more to taste) thick sliced bacon, diced large

Mix together the first four ingredients. Add the diced butter.
In a separate bowl, mix together the beaten eggs and heavy cream. Pour these into the flour and butter mix and stir gentle to combine.
Add the diced bacon.
Don't overmix the ingredients. The dough will be soft and wet.
Pour the dough out on a lightly floured surface and quickly form into a round.
Press out to 3/4 inch, cut, and brush with an egg wash (egg and water).
Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes (longer if the scones are large).

Instead of bacon, you might like to try adding blueberries or cranberries, raisins, or other savory items like cheese and chives, or herbs.