Oregon, Deni, scouting, the car, and Twin Lakes

We (Glen, Hannah, Alex, and I) spent a week in Oregon visiting my folks. Had a great time. Even got my dad to play a few games with us. Didn't do much but hang out. It was cloudy for the fireworks on the 4th, so we didn't get to see the fireworks as they just seemed to make the clouds glow. Wish they didn't live so far away.

Since I don't have any fireworks pictures, here's a fun youtube clip of some:

Mom showing Hannah some watercoloring techniques

Denise was able to come for a short visit. We played so many games that 2 weeks later my arms are still hurting from spending so much time leaning against the dining room table. Wish she lived closer.

Alex went to scout camp where he had a great time and did some awesome things. He was chosen one night to be the solo camper...he went off into the woods and spent the night alone. The Seneca run is a race where you do things like shoot a black-powder gun at a target, throw so many tomahawks, run carrying a rock.... Alex came in 1st. He also came in 2nd for the camp in archery. One of the amazing feats he managed to do was shoot at a tomahawk and split the bullet on the edge of the hatchet. (I probably have some of those facts confused, but Alex isn't home to double-check anything)

Glen has been very busy helping with 2 different Eagle Scout projects that have been working at fixing the old movie theatre. The first one was our nephew Thomas's project where ancients fabric wall coverings were take down out of the 2 theatres. The second project was Orin's dealing with painting the walls now that the curtains were down. They did a great job and its look has improved so much.

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Glen painting from the projection booth

Meanwhile Hannah drove up to Rexburg to pick up Eric and Ryan for a visit. They haven't been home since Christmas, so it's been so great to have them here.

One of the projects that has been going on this summer is that Glen took our Camry that had been rear-ended in March and fixed it using the parts from our Camry that died last October, I think it was. Eric and Ryan helped him to finish up.

The guy at the garage said it would cost $2,000 for him to fix it. It cost us $16.00. That's how much the inspection cost needed so we could register it with a salvage title. Glen replaced the muffler, a rod, and the back bumper (using the parts from our other Camry, so they were "free").

We borrowed a friends cabin up at Twin Lakes, California for one night. Hannah couldn't go, so it was just Glen, Eric, Ryan, Alex, and me. The boys went kayaking for a little bit. We played games. Watched The Rockford Files. Bumped into Mont and Elaine who live 2-3 miles from us here but have the cabin next door to the one we borrowed.

It was beautiful, serene, and refreshing. Ahh. And on the way home, we made a quick stop to Fort Churchill. They guys don't think they'd ever been there before.

family get-togethers

Not too much happened this week. My big project was sorting my binders of recipes that I've collected over the years. I managed to condense about 7 binders to 3 due to a lot of purging. Not too exciting, but I'm glad I got it done. I even found a few missing recipes that I thought were long gone. :)

On Wednesday, Mom P, Teresa, Kathy, Jackie, Alicia, Alicia, Hannah, and I went shopping at Meadowood Mall in Reno. Sarah met us there. Mom scored a bunch of nice outfits for church plus some other clothes and things. I got a picture frame from the thrift store. Everyone else seemed to be in-between these 2 extremes. It was a very nice outing.

Saturday was the annual 4th of July get-together at Kathy and Gary's. I believe there were 49 of us there for lunch. We played games all day. Alan recited the old Johnny Cash song about the ragged old flag. Nice day. Good to see some family we don't often see.

Activities included a little volleyball in our yard once it had cooled down a bit

Since I didn't have much to say this week, I thought I'd add the 2 recipes I was happiest to find. I might be the only one in my family who likes the Polenta casserole, but I'm happy to make it just for myself if needed.

Polenta-Tomatillo Casserole (from the Curves magazine)

1  18-24 oz tube prepared polenta (I take 1 cup of ground polenta and cook it up to use)
1  15 oz can pinto or black beans, drained
1  15 oz can corn kernels, drained
1 cup (about 4 oz) shredded Monterey Jack cheese (more is better, though)
1 1/2 cups mild tomatillo green salsa (or green enchilada sauce)
2 T chopped cilantro
1/2 cup half-and-half
I also like to add chopped tomatoes

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Dice polenta into 1/2" cubes. Put them into a 9" x 13" baking dish. Top with bean, corn, and half of the cheese.
3. In a bowl, mix the salsa, cilantro, and half-and-half. Pour the mixture over the ingredients in the baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
4. Bake covered for 25-30 minutes. Let it stand a few minutes before serving.


And this recipe was a favorite treat when Denise and I went to youth activities at church when we were teenagers.

Heavenly Hash Cake

4 eggs (slightly beaten)
2 sticks butter
2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. flour
1 t vanilla
2 c. pecans
4 t cocoa

Mix all together. Pour into an ungreased 9 x 13" pan. Bake at 325 for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and cover immediately with a 10 oz bag of mini-marshmallows.

Icing

1 stick butter
1 box confectioners sugar (1 lb?)
4 t cocoa
8 t evaporated milk

Melt butter. Cream with the cocoa. Beat in the sugar and add the milk. Spread on the cake.

Spread icing on warm cake and let cool. Cut into squares.