GREETINGS FROM NEBRASKA

GREETINGS FROM OUR COLD NEBRASKA HOME

2011-01-21T19:38:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since I have made a posting. I was just looking at the pictures from when we were packing up my Mother's stuff in her home in Scottsburg in November 2009. Wow. It is now January 2011 and much has changed. Mother's home sold and she died in June 2010. I have a lot of very fond memories of Mother and of the home I grew up in and came home to for many years. The people who bought the house have not been taking care of the outside like Mother would have, nor I. Moe still lives a couple of blocks away and tells us from time to time what the place looks like. We did make a trip back in December for a quick visit with Moe , Sue Collins, and Edith Murphy and her family. I got word today that Edith will be moving into Assisted Living at the Hampton Oaks in Scottsburg next week. It is a small world. Edith has been living in acute care in the same room Mother was in and died in back in 2010. Edith was such a good friend and I think of her are sort of a second mother. I have been writing to her weekly and keeping in touch with Janet Hall. Janet says Edith is doing very well physically, but is slipping mentally. Her good friend, Hiram, lost his driving rights, but his son drops him off at the Oaks to see Edith daily. Janet says she stops in to see Edith 2 or 3 times a day. It is nice that they are so close and can do that. We thought it would be nice for Mother to move out here, but would have been so far from her many, dear friends and would not have been happy here. Like I said, it is cold out here and we have about a foot of snow laying around. Actually, I just looked and it has actually warmed up to 19 tonight. We love Nebraska and the cold and snow go with it. Blessings, BRIAN

BUTTERFLY FROM TEXAS

2010-11-05T07:55:00.001-07:00

I will try to see if this picture will come in sharper. Now that is more like it. For whatever reason the modified pix was a different number. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the picture. BRIAN

TEXAS BUTTERFLY

2010-11-05T07:42:00.000-07:00

On our recent trip to San Antonio, Texas, for the wedding of our friend Shannon Pinkelman, we stopped in Austin at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and I got this picture of a butterfly. I think I got lucky, for this is a pretty good picture. Well, it looked more in focus when I edited the picture in iPhoto, but when you download it the edited pix does not go for some reason.

I AM BACK

2010-11-05T06:49:00.000-07:00

I have not been good about posting. That is an understatement. We are fine here. The fall weather here in Norfolk, Nebraska, has been beautiful. Last night it got down into the 20s and the high today will get into the 50s, but that is the coldest it has been. The fall colors were nice, but fading fast. We got some nice pictures of our red maple tree out back that I will share. In Nebraska we don't have beautiful forests around here or mountains, but we do have our own brand of fall beauty.

EASY CHICKEN & CHEESE ENCHILADAS

2010-05-06T17:49:00.000-07:00

This is good. It is from CampbellsKitchen.com. Prep: 10 min. Bake: 40 min. Serves 6

1 can condensed Cream of Chicken soup. 1/2 c. sour cream. 1 c. picante sauce. 2 tbs. chili powder. 2 c. cooked diced chicken. 1/2 c. shredded Mex. cheese. 6 flour tortillas (6"), warmed. 1 small tomato, chopped. 1 green onion, sliced.

1. Stir soup, sour cream, picante sauce and chili powder in medium bowl.

2. Stir 1 c. picante sauce mixture, chicken and cheese in large bowl.

3. Divide chicken mixture among tortillas. Roll up the tortillas and place seam side up in 2-qt. shallow baking dish. Pour remaining picante sauce over the filled tortillas.

4. Cover and bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until hot and bubbling.

5. Top with tomato and onion.

LEMON BUTTERMILK CHESS PIE

2010-03-14T19:48:00.000-07:00

I was reminded how long it has been since I posted something, so here is a new recipe I found while I was in Indiana visiting my Mother who is not well. Anyway, I would read the Louisville paper every morning and came across this recipe. I made it this afternoon and it is GREAT. We ate half of the pie already. There was a recipe for the pie crust, but I used a prepared one and it worked fine. So here is the recipe for the filling.

INGREDIENTS: 1-1/2 cups brown sugar, 1 tablespoon yellow cornmeal, 1 tablespoon all purpose flour, 1/4 tsp sea salt, 4 eggs (room temperature), 1/2 cup unsalted butter (melted), 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest, 1/3 cup lemon juice, 1/2 cup buttermilk (room temperature), 1/2 tsp of vanilla. 1 tablespoon powdered sugar for garnish (optional). Note: I did not use the eggs or buttermilk at room temperature and it worked fine.

PREHEAT OVEN TO 350.

PROCEDURE: In a bowl, combine the brown sugar, cornmeal, flour and salt. In another bowl, whisk the eggs until light and lemon-colored. Add to the dry ingredients, blending well. Add the melted butter, lemon zest, lemon juice, buttermilk and vanilla. Mix well. Pour into the chilled crust, and place on middle oven rack. Bake until top is golden brown and jiggles just a bit, 45-60 minutes. I baked our pie 60 minutes and it was perfect. When cool you can garnish with the powdered sugar. We ate 1/2 of the pie before it cooled. Ha. This is good stuff. This is supposed to serve 8-10, but make that 4, if you like it as much as we did. BRIAN

SCOTTSBURG TRIP TO SORT MOTHER'S STUFF

2009-11-02T15:37:00.000-08:00

Mother, Lucy Rogers, moved into assisted living in June or there abouts, and is enjoying the good life at The Hampton Oaks in Scottsburg, Indiana. She is 92 and enjoys having someone cook for her and look in on her and really enjoys her many visitors. She said she wanted her furniture and antiques collected over the past 70 years to go to us and to our daughters. We arranged for ABF to spot a trailer in Scottsburg and we packed, loaded and bulkheaded the treasures and they were delivered a few days later to Norfolk, Nebraska. This was so much easier than renting a truck an driving all the way to Norfolk. Well, we are all enjoying our "new" treasures and the house has been listed for sale. Here are some pictures of our packing session.

LEMON POPPY SEED BREAD

2009-11-02T15:28:00.000-08:00

This is a great easy recipe taken from the pages of the Taste of Home Cake Mix Creations cook book (a book of east deserts that start with a mix). INGREDIENTS: 1 pkg (18-1/4 oz) white cake mix, 1 pkg (3.4 oz) instant lemon pudding mix, 1 cup warm water, 4 eggs, 1/2 cup canola oil, and 4 tsp of poppy seeds. PROCEDURE: In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, pudding mix, water, eggs and oil. Beat on low for 30 seconds; beat on medium for 2 minutes. Fold in poppy seeds. Pour into two greased 9-in. x 5- in. x 3-in. loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes before removing to wire racks. YIELD: 2 loaves (16 slices each). Depends on how pick a slice you cut for yourselves. Enjoy! BRIAN

FRUITY CHICKEN SALAD

2009-09-07T16:44:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe in the September/October issue of Nebraska Life Magazine. The recipe from Dorothy Rieke from Julian NE and is GREAT. I made it tonight and it is YUMMY!

INGREDIENTS: 2 large chicken breasts cooked, cut into bite size pieces and cooled. 1 can (8 oz.) of mandarin oranges, drained. 1 cup of pineapple chunks, drained (save 1 tsp juice). 1 large eating apple, cored and diced just before serving. 1/4 cup of slivered almonds, toasted. I added the apples with the rest of the ingredients and did not toast the almond slivers. DRESSING: 2/3 cup mayonnaise, 1/3 cup whipped topping, 1 tsp grated orange peel, and 1 tsp of pineapple juice.

DIRECTIONS: In a large mixing bowl, mix dressing ingredients and fold into well-drained fruits, almonds and chicken. Chill. Wait to serve before adding apples. As I said, I don't think this is a big deal. Serves 8. Well, Rose Ann and I ate about half of it and we used 3 chicken breasts. ENJOY!

BAKED DIJON CHICKEN

2009-09-01T17:50:00.000-07:00

This is a great, simple recipe that is really good.

INGREDIENTS: Nonstick spray, 3-4 tbs. of Dijon mustard, 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup of evaporated fat free milk, 1/4 cup of plain, dry bread crumbs, and 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves. I needed more of the Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs to get the 4 breasts coated.

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 475 degrees F. Spray 13 x 9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Combine evaporated milk and mustard in a shallow bowl. Combine bread crumbs and cheese in a separate shallow bowl. Dip chicken in the milk mixture, coating both sides, then into the bread crumb mixture. Place in prepared dish and bake for 15-20 minutes or until chicken is golden brown and no longer pink inside. We baked ours for 15 minutes and the chicken was done, but maybe not brown and crispy enough. Your call. It was very good. Enjoy! BRIAN

FAMILY VACATION ON OUTER BANKS NC

2009-08-21T06:01:00.000-07:00

We just returned from a wonderful family vacation in North Carolina on the Outer Banks. We all drove the many miles there, but the road trip was great driving through the mountains to get there. We rented a wonderful large home and just had a GREAT week creating memories. Here are a couple of pictures from our trip.

SARA CHECKS EMAIL AT NORFOLK

2009-07-25T15:47:00.000-07:00

I thought this was a good picture of Sara at our computer when she was here this week. Our "office" is not real tiddy. Ha.

RIBS AND SAUERKRAUT RECIPE

2009-07-23T19:12:00.000-07:00

Sauerkraut & onions join the classic apple-and-pork combo for a sweet-salty sensation. This is a great tasting recipe for your crock pot.

COOK: Low 6 hours, High 3 hours. 6-8 servings.

INGREDIENTS: 1 14-oz can sauerkraut, drained; 1 large sweet onion, sliced (about 2 cups); 2 medium tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced (2 cups); 2 lbs. boneless pork country-style ribs; 1 cup apple juice. (I had no apple juice so I used a cup of white wine and it was good.)

PROCEDURE: In a 4 or 4-1/2 quart slow cooker place kraut, onion and apples. Top with ribs. Pour apple juice or wine over all. Cover and cook. Serve with a slotted spoon. ENJOY! We did. P.S. I used ribs on the bone and they were good. In fact, I have heard that cooking meat on the bone is more flavorful.

DAVID PROTZMAN JULY 2009

2009-07-21T15:05:00.000-07:00

I caught David still enough to take this good picture of him with his awesome curly hair. Someday he will not like those curls, but we sure do now.

FUN TIME IN NORFOLK WITH PARACHUTE THING

2009-07-21T14:58:00.000-07:00

I thought these pictures were good of some of our grandkids enjoying laying on a very colorful parachute we got the last time we were in Nashville with the Shives. We will take it with us to the Outer Banks for our family week in August. We have this great house rented near Nags Head, NC. We plan to have some great pictures from NC to post after our vacation trip. On the parachute are Gertie Peterson, Ben, Matt and Esther Protzman.

MORE PICTURES FROM GAIL & MARILYN'S PARTY

2009-07-14T19:49:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share a few more pictures from this special day we shared with Gail and Marilyn on Sunday. Enjoy. Grandson, Matt, gave them a chalice from the Vatican. That was a nice surprise. A couple of their favorite Priests, Fr. Printy and Fr. Richared, concelebrated Mass for them. It was a grand day.

ANNIVERSARY MASS & PARTY FOR THE KOCHS

2009-07-13T14:12:00.000-07:00

Sunday we were privileged to attend a 50th Wedding Anniversary Mass and party for Gail and Marilyn Koch down at Jerry & Mary Jo Navara's home South of Omaha. We had a great time as we always do when we are with the Koch family. Here are a few pictures you might enjoy from the day.

MY LATEST WATERCOLOR PAINTING

2009-07-04T08:18:00.000-07:00

I just had another painting from a class by a local artist, Randal Anderson. This one was of floral picture. I took some liberties with mine, printing out a picture of the flower from the Nebraska Botanical Society. The flower is native to the grasslands of Nebraska and is called the Penstemon and is very pretty. Anyway, it is quite different from the picture of Randal's painting.

QUICK & EASY LEMON CHICKEN & RICE

2009-07-03T07:36:00.000-07:00

This is another easy and quite good recipe.

INGREDIENTS: 1/2 cup Italian dressing. 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips. 1 cup chicken broth. 1 cup small broccoli florets. 1 red pepper, cut into strips. 1 cup thinly sliced carrots. 2 cups Minute brown rice, uncooked. 1 tsp. lemon pepper seasoning. 2 tablespoons Parmesan Cheese.

DIRECTIONS: (1) Heat dressing in large skillet on med-high heat. Add chicken. Cook and stir 1 minute. (2) Add broth, broccoli, red pepper and carrots. Bring to a boil. (3) Stir in rice. Return to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover. Simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir in lemon pepper seasoning. Sprinkle with cheese. I added some chopped pecans with the broth, etc. just because we had some and that was good. This is good and tastes just as good reheated later.

ENJOY.

BERRY EASY COBBLER

2009-06-30T06:04:00.000-07:00

This simple recipe is yummy. This is good warm or cold, with or without ice cream.

INGREDIENTS: 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1-1/2 tsp baking powder, 3/4 cup milk, 1/3 cup butter melted, 2 cups fresh blueberries, 1/3 cup sugar for the topping.

DIRECTIONS: 1. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and baking powder. Add milk and melted butter. Stir until just combined. 2. Spread batter in a greased 8 x 8 x 2 baking dish (2 quart square). Scatter blueberries evening over batter. Sprinkle evenly with the remaining 1/3 cup sugar. 3. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake portion near the center comes out clean. 4. Serve warm with ice cream or frozen yogurt, if you like. Makes 10 servings.

MOTHER ROGERS SETTLES INTO ASSISTED LIVING

2009-06-24T10:36:00.000-07:00

I made a quick trip to Indiana to help my mother, Lucy, move into an assisted living room at a very nice place, The Hampton Oaks. We moved some of her pictures and furniture, her TV, a couple of lamps and got her a new lift chair. She is happy there, and so are we.

GRANDMA LUCY AT ALUMNI BANQUET 2009

2009-06-15T15:16:00.000-07:00

Mother sent me a picture of her and Edith at the Banquet where they got the honor of being the oldest grads there. Representing their class of 1933, this is their 76th year anniversary. I bet in those 76 years they have not missed may of these annual Scottsburg Alumni Banquets. I think they both look pretty darned good. I hope I look that good when I am 92.

GRANDDAUGHTER GERTIE PETERSON

2009-06-04T06:39:00.000-07:00

I drove up to Vermillion to deliver a "lefty" ball glove to Gertie and watch her play her first T-Ball game. I got a really good picture of her in the dugout.

MEALTIME PRAYER SUGGESTION

2009-06-02T09:02:00.000-07:00

I am reading a good, little book "The Whispers of Angels" by Annette Smith and in one of the short stories her father finishes every mealtime prayer with "Father, we pray that each day will find us, in some way, a blessing to our fellowman." I think this is a very good prayer. Let's all go out and be a blessing to someone today.

INDIANA AND TENNESSEE VACATION

2009-05-31T19:20:00.000-07:00

We had a great time on our 10 days drive through Indiana to see our mothers and some of Rose Ann's sisters and brothers and then on to Nashville to see Beth, Ben, Jude, Lucy, Ezra and Annie. Here are a couple of pictures of our trip.

DAVID'S CURLY HAIR

2009-05-09T14:26:00.001-07:00

I finally got a good picture showing David's curls. Rose Ann says this is the way I sleep sometimes.

MY MOST RECENT PAINTING

2009-05-09T10:59:00.000-07:00

This is a painting of my Grandpa Gray's old shed. I worked from a picture I took out there his past summer. I am going to give the painting to Grandma Lucy who is currently living at the Hampton Oaks retirement community in Scottsburg in their transitional care wing. She is liking it so far and we are going to encourage her to move into their assisted living wing rather than go home. She is 92, alone, not eating well and not exercising at home. The time has come, as they say, to make the big move. BRIAN

GRANDMA ROSIE & DAVID

2009-05-09T10:51:00.000-07:00

It seems the only time I can get a focused picture of David is when he is asleep. When he is awake he is always on the move. I was trying to show what curly hair he now has. He has grown up so much since many of you have seen him. We are kid sitting today. Abby and Tricia are at a tea party and Ben and Roger are at a father & son retreat. Matt had a soccer game this morning and Tricia was the substitute coach. They won 8-0 and Matt got the first goal. YEA!

NEW WATERCOLOR PAINTING BY ME

2009-04-19T11:23:00.000-07:00

I finished my watercolor classes and now have done my first project on my own and here it is. It is a painting of an old oil lamp belonging to Phyllis Williams, a friend from Missouri. One of our son-in-laws, Doug Peterson, has an artist background as his dad, Max, is an artist. He made some suggestions to highlight the chimney, but I had already framed the picture. I have shown the original photo, the finished painting and the framed pix. I could not get the black background to work, so I softened up the background.

BRIAN & NICK MAKE FISH FRY ONION RINGS

2009-04-05T10:40:00.000-07:00

Nick and I became the "Onion Ring Guys" this year at the Knights of Columbus annual fish fry during Lent. The Norfolk Daily News photographer came last week and said we might get our picture in the paper. We did!

SOCCER TIME IN NASHVILLE FOR THE SHIVES

2009-03-23T11:24:00.000-07:00

Beth sent us some really cute pictures of their new soccer kids. Spring has sprung! I hope they are still playing soccer when we visit in May. Beth says Lucy really loves soccer. In fact, she is the only little girl on her team that gets it. Ha. At one point she was the only one left on the field as the other left crying or just tired of running. It appears Lucy is a natural. You go girl!

GRANDMA ROSIE AND MAGGIE

2009-02-08T12:35:00.000-08:00

We had a nice visit by Sara, Maggie, Gray and Gertie this weekend and I got a great picture of Rose Ann and Maggie.

ANOTHER PICTURE FROM PHYLLIS

2009-01-29T17:54:00.000-08:00

This is another good picture from Phyllis and her goat ranch. I thought this was a very good night picture. Enjoy.

GOATS AND SNOW IN MISSOURI

2009-01-29T14:06:00.000-08:00

My friend, Phyllis, raises goats and takes GREAT pictures. Here is one.

MIRACLE ON THE HUDSON

2009-01-23T18:33:00.001-08:00

I thought this was so good that I want to share it with you.

GRANDKIDS NEW PJS

2009-01-19T13:44:00.000-08:00

Doug and Sara got a much better picture of the Rogers grandkids wearing their new pajamas.

DAVID IS WALKING

2009-01-18T17:51:00.000-08:00

We had the Protzman kids over for the afternoon Saturday and I got some pictures and this is a pretty good one of David.

SMILING ANNIE SHIVE

2009-01-17T05:45:00.000-08:00

Beth and Ben just sent this great picture of Annie.

NORFOLK'S LATEST BLIZZARD

2009-01-15T18:01:00.000-08:00

I snapped this picture as our little blizzard roared outside. We got about 1-1/2" of snow, but had winds of 19 to 30 mph with a top gust of 57 mph. We had lots of white-outs.

GRAY PLAYS WITH DAVID

2009-01-15T17:56:00.000-08:00

Sara sent this picture from our Christmas in Norfolk. Gray was really great playing with David and holding Annie.

ANNIE SHIVE

2009-01-13T07:11:00.001-08:00

Beth and Ben sent this picture of Annie in her new chair. What a neat chair and it looks like Annie loves it. She is getting so grown up.

ANOTHER CHRISTMAS IN NORFOLK

2009-01-08T05:53:00.000-08:00

We tried to get a good picture of our grandkids with their Christmas PJs on and this is the best picture I got. We just barely got Abby and Annie in it up at the top, left.

CHRISTMAS IN NORFOLK

2008-12-30T19:05:00.000-08:00

I thought this picture of Ben and Annie was really good and needed to be posted. We are enjoying this time we have together, wild and crazy as it is at times.

ANOTHER PICTURE FROM FOWLER CHRISTMAS 2008

2008-12-29T20:13:00.000-08:00

I thought this picture of Lauren and Grandma Freeland was very good. We really enjoyed our visit with Helen and all the Freeland Clan that could come out and see us.

CHRISTMAS IN FOWLER

2008-12-29T15:10:00.000-08:00

Rose Ann and I had a great Christmas visit with Helen in Fowler this year. Winter travel was a little dicy, but we got home safe and sound. We traveled in fog in Illinois and hit an ice storm in Iowa on I-80 on which we were stranded for 3 hours while the Iowa State Patrol closed the Interstate. We had plenty of gas and kept warm and fed with goodies we brought along including some yummy ham sandwiches from Helen. The picture is of Rose Ann and Helen resting.

GERMAN PORK CHOPS & SAUERKRAUT

2008-11-06T11:41:00.001-08:00

I tried this recipe last night and it is GREAT, even if you don't like sauerkraut. I got this recipe from the Frank's Kraut website and it is a recipe from Joanie Grow of Kennewick, WA. I cut this down to use for a couple of pork chops and it worked just fine.

This is how I made it. 1 small can of sauerkraut, rinsed and drained. 1 tsp caraway seeds. 2 pork chops (1/2" thick). Ground black pepper, to taste. 1 apple, peeled, cored, and sliced. 1 tablespoon of raisins. 2 tsp firmly packed brown sugar. 2 tablespoons of apple juice, cider or water.

Preheat oven to 375. Grease shiny side of 2 sheets of heavy-duty alum. foil. Drain and press dry the sauerkraut. I just opened the can and pressed down the kraut as I poured off the liquid. Place a bed of sauerkraut in center of each square of alum. foil. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp of caraway seed over the kraut. Place pork chops on the bed of kraut and season with pepper. Arrange apple slices and raisons on top of the chops. Sprinkle each chop with 1 tsp of brown sugar. Over each chop, spoon 1 tablespoon of apple juice. To wrap, bring 2 opposite ends of the foil up and over, making a double fold to seal tightly. Close both ends; seal tightly. Place pockets onto baking sheet and bake for 1 hour or until thoroughly cooked; remove from oven. Carefully open packets and transfer the the chop mixture to a serving plate. ENJOY.

NASHVILLE VISIT TO SEE SHIVES IN NASHVILLE 10/08

2008-11-02T15:20:00.000-08:00

Rose Ann and I made a trip to meet Annie, our 13th grandchild, born on the 13th of October, and to help Beth and Ben. The weather was great and we had a wonderful visit and I got a chance to drive up to Southern Indiana to see my mother, Lucy, for a couple of days. I hope you enjoy these pictures of our trip. (Well, I can not get the album to upload) I will try an image or two.

JESS, ERIC AND THE BOYS DO NEVADA PUMPKIN PATCH

2008-10-20T17:42:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I showed a picture of Eric. Looked like a great day for a trip to the pumpkin patch, even though Jess said it rained. I guess pumpkin is the universal fruit (vegetable). We have a nice pumpkin patch near Norfolk and Amber and her family found one in the greater Chicagoland. My dictionary says the pumpkin is a fruit.

HELOISE PEKING ROAST

2008-10-18T08:19:00.000-07:00

Rose Ann clipped this out of yesterday's paper. Use a 3 to 5 lbs. beef roast and cut slits in the meat with a sharp knife. Then insert slivers of onion and garlic. Put the meat into a bowl an slowly pour 1/2 to 1 cup of white apple cider or wine vinegar over the meat so that it runs down into the slits. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight. IMPORTANT: Before cooking, pour off the vinegar and pat the meat with paper towels. To cook, place the roast in a heavy pot (a cast-iron Dutch oven is great) and brown it on all sides in a few tablespoons of cooking oil. Next, pour 2 cups of strong, black, brewed coffee over the meat, add 2 cups of water, then cover and cook slowly on low heat on top of the stove for approximately 6 hours. You might have to add more water at some point, so check it every so often. However, do not add salt or pepper until the last 20 minutes of cooking. Heloise says the roast will be absolutely tender and delicious. I wonder if you browned the roast and then added it to a slow cooker (Crock Pot), if it would be just as good and easier to control the heat and cooking process. We have not tried this yet, but will soon. It sounds good. P.S. I am fixing it this weekend.

NORFOLK, NEBRASKA PICTURES, OCTOBER 2008

2008-10-18T07:54:00.000-07:00

From Cowboy Trail Pictures
I took a digital photography class this week at the college and thought I would go out and get some nice fall pictures around Norfolk and update my Blog picture. Who would have thought Norfolk could be so pretty in the Fall? WHEN YOU SEE A PICTURE WITH A "From...", YOU CAN CLICK ON THE PICTURE AND SEE MORE PICTURES.

BROOKE IS 6 YEARS OLD!

2008-10-16T11:52:00.000-07:00

Grandma Roberta sent some pictures of Brooke's 6th Birthday party.

ANNIE LANE SHIVE

2008-10-15T09:45:00.000-07:00

From ANNIE LANE SHIVE
These are the first pictures of our 13th grandchild, Annie Lane Shive. Annie was born at Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville, TN, at 3:30 PM and weighed 8 lbs. 11 oz. These pictures were taken on the day she was going home, Wednesday, October 15, 2008.

JESSICA & HER BOYS IN TAHOE FOR HER BIRTHDAY

2008-10-12T13:18:00.000-07:00

I got another picture to upload and thought I would share it with on my Blog. The Wilhelms were vacationing in Tahoe for Jessica's Birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESS!

JESSICA'S BIRTHDAY IN TAHOE PIX

2008-10-12T07:39:00.001-07:00

I find I can get one pix from the Kodak albums and I have to pick the one I like best. This is one of Brock and Kaleb on a rock at their cabin. Petty neat to be on top of a big rock.

The Naughton's Fall Pix

2008-10-12T06:04:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful day to go to a Chicagoland pumpkin patch. What fun!

WAYNE CROSS-COUNRY MEET

2008-10-08T13:06:00.000-07:00

Wayne X-C Meet 10-7-08

I am blessed to be able to ride to Benjamin's cross-country meets with the Protzmans. This meet in Wayne was his best as he finished 2nd. Ben's Jr HS team is very good and finished 1-2-3-4-7 for the day. They have one more meet this season up at Yankton and I am looking forward to watching them run then, too.

A GOOD PROTZMAN PICTURE

2008-10-06T18:22:00.000-07:00

Tricia made some prints and I scanned one of them to post on my Blog. I thought the one of David in the stroller with Esther was precious.

HERE IS DAVID

2008-10-02T17:19:00.000-07:00

Barb asked for a picture of David and I just happened to get a good picture of him at Benjamin's Cross-Country meet last week. Esther and a friend, Isaiah, are with David. Note that David has a Purdue shirt on. Go Boilers!

BENJAMIN'S RED WAGON

2008-09-28T17:12:00.000-07:00

I saw this wagon over at the Protzman's and saw that it needed some work. I took it home, replaced the bed, sanded and painted it and now David has a near new wagon. I believe the Petersons gave this wood wagon to Benjamin 14 years ago. It is a good, solid wagon and now should last longer. I really enjoyed working on this little project.

BENJAMIN IS A RUNNER

2008-09-28T06:30:00.000-07:00

I took these shots at this week's Cross-Country meet in Yankton, SD. Benjamin finished 3rd, his best finish. His team, the Norfolk Jr. High School team, finished 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6. Yankton has one of South Dakota's best X-C programs which makes the finish all the sweeter. Esther decided to run the kids fun run after the meet events. Benjamin ran/walked along with her. Grace also ran and finished well. I rode up with the Protzmans to the Friday afternoon meet.

THE PETERSON'S NEW DOG, REX.

2008-09-16T05:46:00.000-07:00

From Rex
These are the first pictures of Rex, Sara's new dog. Rex is calm and follows Sara everywhere and, above all, is a good dog. Sara, the kids and Rex are coming to Norfolk Saturday for a little visit and we will get to meet this new wonder dog of theirs.

FALL 2007 PETERSON FAMILY PHOTOS

2008-09-14T17:56:00.000-07:00

From PETERSON'S FALL 07 PICTURES

Pictures from last Fall are good enough to share now. Enjoy.

NEW LOOK AT OUR HOME

2008-09-10T09:19:00.000-07:00

From HOME REDO

Here are a few pictures of our new shades, blinds and what we did in the garage. Being retired gives me lots of time to work on these projects when I get the urge. We did not have a deadline to be concerned about.

MORE PICTURES FROM ROSE ANN'S NASHVILLE VISIT

2008-09-09T17:37:00.001-07:00

From August 08 Trip to Nashville
I am working trying to get an album from Picasa to post so you can click on the picture and see the album. I have been having problems like getting two of the same photo to post. ????

BACK TO SCHOOL IN NEW JERSEY

2008-09-05T15:26:00.000-07:00

Roberta sent some nice pictures of Marc and Brooke all ready for another school year.

ROSE ANN VISITS SHIVES IN NASHVILLE

2008-09-05T15:11:00.000-07:00

Rose Ann really enjoyed her time with Beth, Ben, Jude, Lucy and Ezra. The time went all to quickly. She came home a little under the weather, but is fine now. These were good pictures I wanted to share.

ANOTHER GREAT PICTURE FROM THE OLYMPICS

2008-08-24T07:08:00.000-07:00

This is a great picture from Beijing. "Fireworks explode over the National Stadium (The Bird Nest) during the closing ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics Sunday, August 24."

MANDARIN CAKE

2008-08-19T09:01:00.000-07:00

INGREDIENTS: 1 box yellow cake mix, 3/4 cup orange juice, 2 cans (11 oz.) mandarin oranges chopped and drained. Prepare cake mix according to directions on box, but add 3/4 cup of orange juice in place of 3/4 cup of liquid. Stir in chopped oranges. Bake in 9x13 greased and floured pan for 35-40 minutes or until done when tested. Bake in two 9" round prepared pans for 20-30 minutes.

FROSTING: 1 large box instant vanilla pudding mix, 1 (12 oz.) Cool Whip, and 1 (20 oz.) can crushed pineapple undrained. Mix pudding and Cool Whip together. Add undrained pineapple to the mixture and frost cooled cake. May toast coconut and sprinkle on frosting. Refrigerate.

I found this in the August 2008 issue of Rural Electric Nebraska Magazine. The recipe is by Marilyn Hytrek, Stuart, Nebraska. I baked this cake and it is yummy.

NAUGHTON NC VACATION

2008-08-17T17:16:00.000-07:00

Boy, Justin is growing up. Here are a few pictures from Amber.

AMAZING CHINA PHOTO

2008-08-08T17:50:00.001-07:00

I saw this amazing photo among some Olympic pictures.

THE WILHELM CREW SAYS HI!

2008-08-08T17:37:00.000-07:00

I hope these pictures turn out OK here. Jess sent us some new pictures of her boys.

NORTH CAROLINA MOON FLOWERS

2008-08-06T16:55:00.000-07:00

Marge sent some pictures of her backyard moon flowers. They are beautiful and thought they deserved to be posted. Can you beat these babies with your own pictures of moon flowers?

BAILEY'S CHOCOLATE CHIP CHEESECAKE

2008-08-02T09:27:00.000-07:00

This is good stuff.

CRUST: 1 cup graham cracker crumbs. 1/4 cup packed brown sugar. 1/4 cup melted butter.

CHEESECAKE: 4 pkgs (8 oz) cream cheese, softened. 1-1/2 cups sugar. 4 eggs. 3/4 cup Baileys (Carolina brand works and is cheaper). 1-1/2 tsp vanilla. 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips.

PREHEAT oven to 325. Use a 10" spring-form pan. CRUST: mix crumbs, brown sugar and butter. Pat in pan. Bake 5-8 minutes. CAKE: In large bowl, beat cream cheese 'til smooth, then gradually add in sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Blend in Baileys and vanilla. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of chips on crust. Gently pour in cream cheese batter. Sprinkle remaining chips over batter. Bake 1 hour. Turn off oven and let stand in the oven, door slightly ajar for an hour. Refrigerate 6 hours or overnight.

Enjoy!

A GOOD BOOK: THE BOAT by Nam Le

2008-07-29T12:29:00.001-07:00

I just finished a good book that I heard about from a review in the World Herald some weeks ago. I got a copy from our Library and really enjoyed it. Nam Le was born in Vietnam and raised in Australia. He has received numerous awards and studied at the Iowa Writer's Workshop. This book is a collection of short stories and really opened my eyes to the plight of the "Boat People" and visiting Tehran to the slums of Columbia. I enjoyed each of the 6 short stories, each unique. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a good, short read.

ANGEL FOOD CAKE DESERT

2008-07-28T18:36:00.000-07:00

I found this great, little recipe in the July/August issue of Nebraska Life Magazine. I made it this afternoon and it is really yummy. Ingredients: 1 angel food cake, cut in half. 1 can of cherry pie filling. One 8 oz. container of sour cream. 1 large package of instant vanilla pudding. 1 cup of milk. Directions: In the bottom of an 9x13-inch pan, crumble half of the cake. Add the cherry pie filling on top of the crumbled cake. Crumble the other half of the cake over the pie filling. Mix together the sour cream, dry pudding mix and milk. Pour on top of the cake. Refrigerate for several hours before serving. We only waited an hour, but that was long enough for us. YUMMY!

TROOPER SLEEPS ON HIS BACK!

2008-07-27T13:35:00.000-07:00

We caught Trooper asleep on his back. Not having a dog around, we thought this was rather a strange and funny position to sleep in. Only one more day and Trooper's family will be back. I came home this afternoon and found he had gotten into the trash. Not bad, but had gotten some kitchen trash out of the basket and on the floor. He is bored with us, it seems. He is a good dog, however and we have enjoyed having him with us for a week while his family was on vacation. Roger told me Trooper is really comfortable when he sleeps on his back like this. He really liked our couches/dog beds.

TROOPER STAYS WITH US

2008-07-26T11:25:00.000-07:00

Trooper finds life is good, but boring at the Rogers home. The Protzmans took a week vacation to a family reunion in Oklahoma and Trooper boarded with us. Trooper is a good dog and very easy to care for. Here is a picture of one of Trooper's favorite places to relax, on our couch. Life is good!

CHERRY CLAFOUTI RECIPE

2008-07-24T07:14:00.000-07:00

Rose Ann's secretary's husband is a buyer for a food cooperative and sometimes brings samples. We got some sweet, cherries from Oregon. I looked for a recipe and found this one and it is easy and yummy. Give it a try. Ingredients: 3 eggs, 1 cup milk, 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 tsp. of vanilla, 2 cups of sweet cherries, and powdered sugar. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease 8 or 9 inch baking dish. Beat eggs, milk, flour, granulated sugar and vanilla with a hand mixer until smooth. Spread pitted cherries in dish. Pour batter over cherries. Bake 45-50 minutes until puffed and golden brown. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve warm. This stuff is good warm or cold. Kind of like a custard. The batter is very thin. Not to worry. It cooks up great. Enjoy. Be careful pitting the cherries. I cut my thumb. Is there an easy way to pit cherries?

SQUIRREL CAUGHT STEALING BIRD FEED!

2008-07-22T05:24:00.000-07:00

Now, if I had a camera like Phyllis has, these would be better pictures. The little stinker is pretty smart. I first saw the squirrel on the ground under the feeder picking up seeds the birds picked out of the feeder. He evidently looked up and figured where it was coming from. Anyway, I thought you would enjoy these pictures.

MORE NATURE PICTURES BY PHYLLIS!

2008-07-20T18:32:00.000-07:00

My friend, Phyllis Williams, has been taking these wonderful nature pictures. The pictures are amazing and I am happy to share them with you all.

DOUG & MAGGIE IN "THE MUSIC MAN"

2008-07-14T05:44:00.000-07:00

Rose Ann, Matthew and I drove up to Vermillion, SD, Saturday night to watch their production of the Music Man which Doug and Maggie were in. They really put a lot into these community productions. The set, costumes, acting and music was great. Gray says he wants to be in a play sometime, too. They put in countless hours on these productions and they are rewarded by good crowds.

HAYDEN STRASBURGER WATER FUN!

2008-07-13T16:38:00.000-07:00

Boy, these kids are growing up. Proud Grandma Bertie sent this picture of Hayden playing in the pool and loving it. I noticed that I misspelled Strasburger in the title and just got it corrected. Sorry about that, Roberta.

OUR FRIENDS MARTA & JEREMY

2008-07-12T13:56:00.000-07:00

They went to a waterfall within 1-1/2 hours of their Nashville, TN area home. This is our introduction to their new dog. The waterfall is what I titled "WOW!" As you can see, they could not resist and jumped in. This waterfall looks like one of those best kept secretes we hear about.

ONE HAPPY BABY!

2008-07-12T13:12:00.000-07:00

I am pretty sure this is Tyson. Wow! What a GREAT picture that Jess took recently. Good enough picture to share on my blog.

4 GENERATION GARRISON PICTURE

2008-07-11T05:51:00.000-07:00

We thought this was a GREAT picture and wanted to share at on the Blog. We got lots of fine pictures from Jess. Looks like a fun summer for the Garrison clan except for a couple of stops at hospitals. Let's pray there are no more stitches and hospital stays the rest of the summer, fall and winter.

COUPLE OF GREAT NATURE PICTURES

2008-07-10T01:41:00.000-07:00

My friend from Missouri, Phyllis Williams, send some great nature pictures that I wanted to share. They are of a hummingbird and twin fawns.

MORE PICTURES FROM THE ROGERS' FOURTH

2008-07-04T21:45:00.000-07:00

I thought these two pictures were p0sting on the last posting.

4TH OF JULY IN NEBRASKA AT THE ROGERS' HOME

2008-07-04T21:36:00.000-07:00

Everyone was her for the week and we had lot of fun and good food and some fireworks, too.

JUSTIN & AMBER FUNTIME

2008-06-19T05:47:00.000-07:00

Amber sent some pictures of their family and I thought this picture was good.

SWIM TIME IN NEVADA

2008-06-16T13:18:00.000-07:00

Jess sent some new pictures of their swimming trip. Looks like beautiful weather and a great time.

PETERSON KIDS HERE THIS SHORT WEEKEND.

2008-06-08T18:23:00.000-07:00

Sara and Doug had a wedding and they dropped Maggie, Gray and Gertie off with us Friday night until Sunday afternoon. We had a good time with them. The Protzman kids were out of town all day Saturday as they went to an amusement park with a church group for the day. So, we had fun with the kids ourselves. Rose Ann had some one-on-one time with Gertie and Maggie seperately and Gray and I hung out. Gray got a new fishing rod and little tackle box and wanted to go fishing in the worst way, but I do not fish and do not have a fishing license for Nebraska. I asked a neighbor friend who is a fisherman, but he fishes in South Dakota. So, he pretend fished off the side of my pickup and our deck, learning how to cast.

GRANDMA LUCY AT ALUMNI BANQUET

2008-06-07T12:44:00.000-07:00

I got this picture from Mother showing her at the banquet getting flowers for graduating 75 years ago. Looks like she graduated when she was 16. Not me. Ha. Lucy, my mother, is on the left, with Mary Beth, Edith's daughter, in the middle, and Mother's good friend, Edith, on the right. Looks like they were having a good time. Mother is 91 and Edith is 92. Wow!

LET'S GO FLY A KITE WILHELM STYLE!

2008-06-03T17:59:00.000-07:00

Boy, they have some GREAT weather out in Nevada and certainly kite flying weather. Jess sent some shots of the grand day for us to share.

GRACE'S RIDING LESSONS

2008-05-30T10:54:00.000-07:00

This morning I drove Grace to her riding lessons. She had a new horse this morning, April. She normally rides J.R. She has to brush, bridle, and saddle the horse before she can ride. They say she is a "natural" and has great posture. She loves horses and learning to ride.

DAVID PROTZMAN MAY 2008

2008-05-27T16:00:00.000-07:00

Rose Ann got a picture of David this weekend.

The WILHELM BOYS MAY 2008

2008-05-27T15:57:00.000-07:00

Jess sent some neat pictures of their boys.

THE SHIVE KIDS MAY 2008

2008-05-27T08:01:00.000-07:00

Beth and Ben sent some new pictures of their kids. Ezra is really growing up fast.

IT IS GOOD TO BE HOME!

2008-05-25T07:14:00.002-07:00

Have you ever heard of "Uppercase Living" expressions? Well, we got a couple and one of them we put downstairs above our couch and looks GREAT. It is good to be home, though the vacation was wonderful, but coming home is always good. Since home Rose Ann is back at it at work and I am back into my routine of daily Mass, reading and working in the yard, etc. I have mowed our yard twice since back. The rains have our yard looking great.

2008-05-25T07:14:00.001-07:00

BROOKE GRADUATES

2008-05-23T07:39:00.000-07:00

Marc and Brooke at Brooke's graduation this week. Way to go, girl! Proud Grandma, Roberta, was right there snapping pictures.