Shirleys Cottage

Cook & Chat from Shirley's Cottage... Get a glimpse of small town living on the lake. Weekly I will share my stories and recipes with you. Yes, you will get to know my family and even some of the towns people, and maybe even a little about me. Well, maybe alot about me! So grab your cup of coffee or tea, be sure to have your favorite mug, and relax while I share my life with you...from Shirley's Cottage.

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Location: Cambridge, Wisconsin

There is an old German saying: "We grow too soon old, and too late smart." I am trying to prove it wrong. I'd rather go with the saying: "It's never too late." I heard 70 is the new 50 with us 'oldsters' living longer. I certainly hope so. I can use the extra twenty years to go with my hopes, dreams, and ambitions. The first being my writing. I have written things here and there over the years. I was even inspired to write a poem or two. Two years ago I got up my nerve , went to the local newspaper and started a Cook & Chat column, titled "From Shirley's Cottage. With this blog, I hope to share with you some of my recipes, hopes, and dreams. Thanks for coming along. Let's go relax on the lake... from Shirley's Cottage.

  • Kelly's Blog
  • Paula Deen
  • Tuesday, October 17, 2006

    birthdays

    Birthdays They just keep coming
    In our family, the only month there is more than one birthday is July that my mother and I share.
    Everyone else has their own month.
    October belongs to my first born. The one that started it all. She didn’t know the responsibility the first-born in the family has. Neither did I. Even though I was the oldest, there was only my sister and me. I was five years older, and I just thought that was the way it was supposed to be: taking care of and watching our for my sister.
    Deb has three siblings, and they are all bunched together in six years. She grew up with the lot of them looking to her to be the team leader.
    Growing up with siblings so close can go either way When it is time to go off on your own, you can be free, and have your own life. Or-you stay close and are always part of each other’s life. They stayed close. T hey truly are each others best friends. I think I am most proud of that.
    As each of them left home, they went off to different places. Deb couldn’t wait to get to the lake. She graduated from high school, and there was no question she would move to the cottage.
    You think you cry the first day of kindergarten? You should have been there when she backed her car out of the driveway, packed to the hilt. Her dad didn’t cry, but the look on his face said it all.
    The rest of us piled in every weekend .When we would leave on Sunday nights, she would be waving at the door. She always said she was sad to see us go, But I know she was also happy she could stay.
    This is where she married, and had her precious daughter.
    Yet, they were not always good times. Life is not that way., of course But good enough to stay put When things got tough, she would walk down to the shore , and just "look at the lake."
    I would do a disservice to try and quote her about her feelings about the lake, but it is passionate.
    They grew up on the lake. As kids one of their favorite things for the girls to do was to walk down the lake road and sit on 1913. For those that don’t get on the lake road, it is a piece of cement that serves as a bench with 1913 engraved on it. They would say, "We’re walking down to 1913."
    About the lake, we agree. There are many things we don’t agree upon. We have had many rocky roads. I don’t know if every mother bugs every daughter, but I can do a pretty good job of it. I don’t do it on purpose. I think that is just what moms sometimes do.
    What I probably don’t do often enough is tell her what I think of her.
    It is more than a mother loving her daughter unconditionally, which I do. But there are other things like, respect and, pride and admiration
    She has raised her daughter as a single mom. When Jade was a toddler, she went back to school.
    She started a part-time job and has worked herself up in the company to be regional manager. She bought her own home, and is sending Jade to college. She has always told her, "Going to college is non-negotionable" and meant it.
    When her birthday comes, she makes it last a whole week. This year they are off to Chicago to visit her niece, Paige, who recently moved.
    She might be embarrassed to have me write this from the cottage. But I wanted to say happy birthday in a special way. A way that says how much I admire the girl who loved to sit on 1913 and just watch the world and the cute boys go by
    I am very proud of the person you are.
    Happy Birthday, Deb. You are loved.
    When they get home, we’ll have the birthday dinner. There is plenty of time. The birthday lasts or a week, you know. One thing for sure, the cake has to be chocolate. Keeping it simple, this one is good.
    DEB’.S BIRTHDAY CAKE
    you will need:
    one box chocolate cake mix of your choice
    four eggs
    one cup water
    ½ cup water
    one small box instant chocolate pudding,
    Mix all together on high mixer
    Bake in bundt or angel food cake pan
    bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes or until done.
    While cake is baking, make glaze
    4 T melted butter
    2 T cocoa
    2 T water
    3 cups powdered sugar
    Add cocoa to butter
    mix in sugar
    enough water to make a glaze
    pour glaze over cake when still warm.
    Serve with ice cream.
    Birthday or not, Enjoy

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