Grandson Zach Graduates from Broughton High School

Zach with his Mom and Dad. (Dad graduated from Broughton too.)

It hardly seems possible, but my first grandson graduated from high school today.  It seems like just a bit ago that he was a toddler coming over to spend the night with GrandPat. 

Zach at age two.

Zach at eighteen.

 He's grown into a fine young man, and we are very proud of him.  He's cute as a button, smart, a fine athlete, but most of all he is a kind and thoughtful young man.  He'll be in college at NC State University so he won't be far away.  He will be staying in the dorm though, so we may not see him as much as we would like. 

Classmates Will and Zach will be roommates at NC State University in the fall.

Honors and service cords.

 I've thoroughly enjoyed the role of Grandmother to him and to his three younger siblings. 

Zach with his family and the Broughton High Bell Tower in the background.

We will have more graduations on the horizon.  The next in 2015, then 2018, then 2020. 

Zach with his girl friend, Claire.

Zach and GrandPat. 

Good luck Zach in whatever the future holds.  Love you. 

A Simple Cheese, Spinach, Mushroom Omelet for a Late Sunday Breakfast

I slept a bit late and was rather slow getting started this Sunday morning.  I whipped up a quick and easy cheese omelet for a very late breakfast---maybe lunch actually.  I had a bit of spinach I needed to use so with that and a small can of mushrooms that was stashed in the pantry, I made a quick omelet.



 Recipe:
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs butter
1 cup pre-washed spinach
1 small can of sliced mushrooms, drained
4 large eggs or 5 medium sized eggs
1 Tbs mayonaisse
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Directions:
Melt butter with olive oil in skillet over medium heat.  Add spinach and mushrooms and cook until spinach has wilted.  Beat eggs with mayonaisse and a splash of milk until foamy.  Add egg mixture to skillet and cook over medium to low heat.  When omelet is just about done, add fresh ground pepper and cheese, and when cheese melts, flip omelet in half. 
This makes enough for two servings.

Spinach and mushrooms in skillet over medium heat.

Grate about 1/2 cup of sharp Cheddar cheese.

Beat eggs, mayo, and a bit of milk until foamy.

Spinach wilted and ready for egg mixture.

Add cheese when eggs are almost done.

Flip over.  A large omelet, enough for two servings.

An omelet is the way to go whenever you need a quick and easy meal. 

Zach's Graduation and Bon Voyage Party

Grandson Zach graduates on the 10th of June and leaves for Australia on the 15th, so we had a little family party here on June 3 to celebrate both events.

The ten guests were greeted with an Australian flag as they entered the front porch and a sign on the door to set the mood for an Aussie-themed party.

National flag of Australia.

Welcome to the Outback sign on door.

When Marcia and I were over at Southern Season the other week, I found some pretty lime green and some yellow paper plates so I used a green, yellow, melon color scheme.  I made this party as easy as possible---had barbecue and all the trimmings catered by Cooper's Barbecue---and used disposable plates, cups, and napkins.

"Green" table in dining room.

My friend Helen who is an avid scrapbooker made the little kangaroos attached to the cups that served as place cards. 

That left just the dessert for me to make and I made macadamia nut, chocolate chip cookies (Macadamia nuts are native to Australia.).  Dan prepared a fruit salad of cantaloupe and kiwi which matched the color scheme perfectly.

Macadamia nut, chocolate chip cookies.

Fruit bowl of cantaloupe and kiwi.

To make preparation even easier, I had flower arrangements prepared by Kelly Odom Florist.  (Kelly and Brian are our neighbors here on Davis Street)  Their floral designs are widely acclaimed, and the arrangements they prepared for this party were stunning.

Arrangement (by Kelly Odom) in living room.

Arrangement (by Kelly Odom) for "yellow" table in living room.

Arrangement (by Kelly Odom) for dining room table.

Dessert table arrangement.(by Kelly Odom).

I gave a quiz to determine the guests knowledge of Australia.  Claire's mother, Jeanette, is a native Aussie, and she helped me check the quiz answers to determine who had the most correct answers.  Michael won first place, a gift certificate to the Outback Restaurant, and Patrick was second and won an Aussie bush hat. 

Gifts of Aussie-style hats were presented to Jeanette, Claire, and Zach for their upcoming trip to Australia.

Jeanette, Zach, and Claire.

Zach and Claire with their Aussie-style hats.

It was a fun party!!!!

Macadamia Nut Cookies for an Aussie Themed Party

Macadamia nut, chocolate chip cookies.

I recently gave a little dinner party for family and friends, some of whom will be traveling to Australia this summer.  Although the barbecue and trimmings were catered, I wanted to make a dessert that would fit into the Aussie theme for the party.  I understand a traditional dessert in Australia is pavlova, but I wasn't keen to experiment with that. (However, my interest in this dessert has been piqued, and I plan to try making this before the summer ends.)

Pavlova, a popular dessert in Australia and New Zealand. (Photo from Wikipedia.)

Since macadamia nuts are native to Australia (not Hawaii as many believe) I decided to make macadamia nut cookies.  Here's the recipe I found from Taste of Home. 

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour 
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1 teaspoon salt ( I omitted the salt, because the macadamia nuts I used were salted.)
2 jars (3-1/2 ounces each) macadamia nuts, chopped 
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips 
1 cup (6 ounces) white baking chips  

Directions 

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. 

Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture and beat for 2 minutes. Stir in nuts and chips. Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight.

 Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on pans for 1 minute before removing to wire racks; cool completely. Yield: about 6 dozen.

Chill in refrigerator for a few hours.

 

Drop by spoonfuls onto baking sheet.

 

Cool on rack.

Ready to serve.

 These are easy to make and are quite delicious.

J & C Greenhouses Saved My Jade Plant

JL Pittman repotting my Jade plant.

About ten years ago I bought a lovely jade plant from J & C Greenhouses at the N.C. State  Farmer's Market in Raleigh, and for years it thrived and got bigger and in February it looked like this.

My ten-year old Jade plant in February 2013.

Then in the last two months some of the branches began falling off.  Friday I took it back to the NC State Farmer's Market to see if JL and Connie could help me save it.  I probably watered it too much during the winter.  Connie says the plant requires virtually no watering in the wintertime. JL saved the trunks that had healthy roots, and by adding another plant they had, it is restored to being quite a nice arrangement.

JL and Connie of J & C Greenhouses.

Their logo.

JL and Connie have a wonderful collection of succulents, and they display at the Farmer's Market throughout most of the year.  Here are some examples of lovely plants they have for sale.

A pretty cactus. 

Rows of succulents.

Tiered rock garden.

If you are looking for some nice succulents this is the place to go.

My Jade plant repotted and looking mighty good.

And here is my doctored Jade plant back on the front porch where it lives in the summer.