on-line

Hi all

soon the Cambridge News will be on-line and will include my column
When that occurs in the near future, I probably won't put my column on my blog
Kelly's blog is much more fun

I may write a thing or two
So thanks for sticking with me and I hope you enjoy all the things in the weekly News

Until then, here is my column

All In The Family
It is a rare time when the whole family gets together at the same time and place. It happened last week-end, save for son-in-law, Doug, and soon-to-be grandson-in-law, Chris.
They stayed home in Minnesota to keep the home-fires burning until bride-to-be, Paige, and her entourage made plans for an October wedding. (More later-the first grandchild getting married!)
Her plans resulted in my four kids and four grandkids to gather at the lake for an unexpected get-together.
The sun and temperature cooperated. But Mother Nature had to have her way again and her strong winds blew the lake into whitecaps. The waves kept us off the lake most of the day, but not off the pontoon, safely tied to the pier.
The old pontoon was swaying with the waves, and the activities of the group. That included the eight of them, their five dogs, and me. I’m not ready to miss anything yet.
Later, Tracy’s best friend since grade school came. Laurie had recently moved to Milwaukee. Another one who has to change her license plates to Wisconsin. She is a sweet reminder that blood is not the only thing that makes you family.
When everyone had their fill of snacks and sandwiches, and things quieted down, we talked. How we wish Gram and Ted, Sr. were here. For the wedding. For this day.
How fast time goes. Gram, who cooked her head of for all the people my dad would bring to the lake. And when she (and we) lost my dad, she was buoyed up by the her kids and grandkids.
Ted, Sr., an unbelievable fourteen years since he last captained the pontoon. He would perch my dad’s captain’s hat on his head, lemonade cooler in hand, thoroughly enjoying the ride around the lake.
Some of us need to talk about the old days and those we dearly miss. Some of us need to do it silently and privately.
And I, like Gram before me, am buoyed up by my kids and grandkids.
All too soon it was time for dinner before they took their leave. After the hugs and good-byes, the day was done.
The wind had died down. I sat on the pontoon. Just me. It was so quiet..
Funny, that night, the quiet was not such a good sound, and my beverage of choice didn’t have much flavor.
I had made a big pot of chop suey for dinner. It was ready in the morning and the rest of the day was mine. These muffins/biscuits are quick and go well with chop suey or any meal.
White Cheddar Muffins from Paula Deen’s Kitchen
you will need:
1/3 cup butter
½ cup chopped fresh chives
1 t minced garlic
1 3/4 cup buttermilk, or the substitute
3 cups baking mix, (such as Bisquick)
1 ½ cups grated sharp white cheddar (reg sharp cheddar if white isn’t available)
16 greased muffin tins
In a small sauce pan, melt butter, add chives and garlic and cook 2 minutes
In a medium bowl combine baking mix and cheese
add butter mixture, stirring until just moistened
Spoon into tins
bake at 350 degrees 25 minutes or until golden brown
cool 5 minutes
enjoy