from shirley's cottage

Hi
I hope whoever reads my recipe column enjoys. I do not need comments, but if you want to, I am always available on my email-sherwinshirley@yahoo.com.
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Thanks for your support, friends.

Cars, cars, and more cars
If I go to work a certain way, I pass a house with six or seven cars in the drive-way, and on the yard. There is a big garage, but I bet there are no cars in it. At least that’s the way it was with us when we had six cars, and not a one was in the garage except the seventh one that had not run in several years.
Here I go down memory lane again. I can’t help it. Sometimes I see something and it just whacks me along the side of the head, and I go back faster than a time traveler.
There is not enough room here to list all the cars we have had. Besides, who cares? These that I am going to tell you about are more than cars. I didn’t realize it, but there is a story here.
It started with one. I was going to beauty school. My dad was still not over me not going to college, and I had to buy my own car, or continue taking the bus. (He did break down and help me pick it out.) It was a 1947 gray two door Plymouth. When it snowed or rained, I had to drive with my head out the window. I never did get the wipers fixed. Marriage came soon and a different car.
It was a 1952 Mercury. I never had the oil changed, or added any. When I checked the oil, the dipstick looked like dark honey.
My favorite was a 1955 green two-tone Pontiac. Deb was a baby and we took a trip to New Mexico to visit Ted’s folks. It only took me a few hours in Albuquerque to go through a stop light with my baby, my mother-in-law, and Ted’s Gramma in the car. No one was hurt, but my car was no longer my favorite.
As the family grew, so did the cars in the long driveway. The six cars fit end to end with just enough room to wiggle out..
Deb’s first car was a 1965 or 66 Mustang convertible. She still has it, waiting for the day it is refurbished. That’s the one that ended up in the garage.
Kelly had a red Mustang. I don’t remember the year. But I do remember the year the transmission went out on her way home from college.
Tracy had a little blue Datsun, 280 Z. It was amazing what and who would fit in it.
Ted had a 50's relic from his great uncle. He and his dad traveled to the North Woods to get it. It was a white over yellow Chevie pick-up. He named it "El Paso". I think that was the only vehicle that had a name. I had enough trouble naming the kids.
Ted, Sr’s favorite was a Chevie Suburban. Until, his mother left him her 1979 Buick. An immaculate thing only driven by that little old lady.
When Gram moved in with us, we made room for her and her blue Chevie. One of the kids, who shall remain nameless, burned up the engine of her red Chevie, driving from the lake, not checking the oil as she was warned.
And me? I just drove whatever was at the end of the driveway.
The stories those vehicles could tell. I’m sure I don’t know them all OR want to know.
All too soon, one by one, they disappeared. . Deb was the first. She couldn’t wait to graduate and move to the lake. But did she take her Mustang? Nope, it was my little green Maverick with the stick shift that everyone learned on.
Kelly and her little red Mustang went west to Oklahoma with her best friend. And Tracy packed that Datsun full and took off for Florida with her best friend. El Paso bit the dust when Ted went to college.
Ted, Sr. and Gram did not need wheels in heaven. They have their wings.
Then there was one. I packed the car that was left and headed for the lake, half of my dream intact.
. I have had several cars since moving to the cottage. Every time I get another one, I say this will be my last, but I keep outliving them. That’s okay with me.
We, my car and I are most happy when there is no room to park, the cars are all over the yard, and the cottage is in chaos. Just like the days when all our cars sat in the driveway, bumper to bumper, and everyone was home and safe.
One car I didn’t mention was a little orange Chevette that Deb once had. One Thanksgiving I had to run to the store for a forgotten ingredient. I backed out and whacked that little thing broadside. I remember what I forgot, and what I was making. I forgot the pineapple for one of Gram’s favorites:
MEXICAN FRUIT CAKE
you will need for the cake:
1 20 oz can crushed pineapple and juice
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 t baking soda
nuts (optional)
Stir all ingredients and put in a greased 9x13 pan
Bake 35 minutes at 350
for the frosting:
8 oz cream cheese
2 cups powdered sugar
1 stick melted butter
1 t real vanilla
Mix all together and spread on warm cake.
Enjoy.