Thirteen Days of Halloween Countdown

When kids are away at college or on a mission, you can let them know you're thinking about them with a special Halloween care package!

Calendar on the Wall

I’ve been missing from my blog lately…honestly, for quite a while now.  I make the occasional post.  I pull out just enough energy every now and then, but I haven’t had much to pull from.  I have lots of reasons – too busy, too tired, no enthusiasm, no follow-through.  But while I was getting dressed on Sunday…Father’s Day…I caught a glimpse of the calendar hanging on the wall across the room.  When I looked more closely at the date, I was startled… July 2011.   It’s been almost two years and it’s still open on July 2011, right where Scott left it.  I’ve never changed it!  On July 10th he went away to Scout camp and didn’t come back…at least not to this house, not to this side of the room, not to his side of the bed.  What happened?  How has it been two years and that calendar not gotten changed? This past weekend was Scott’s family reunion.  These are always so much fun.  We got to see family that doesn’t live close by and catch up on how and what everyone is doing.   Because of the number of family that attends each time (120+) and the scattered locations everyone lives in, we alternate the reunion location – Arizona, California and Utah – and meet every two years.  We missed the family reunion two years ago.  Two years ago, our household was busy with

I’ll Be Seeing You…

Naylor Family Favorites – Tuna Gravy

Every family has them…favorites recipes handed down from generation to generation that have the opportunity to get incorporated into new family unions…or lost forever!  We have a list of comfort foods that we love dearly.  We like to share, but sometimes have to twist our friends arms to get them to try concoctions that may sound weird to them, things like “Pink Stuff”, “Funeral Potatoes” and one of Tom’s favorites, “Tuna Gravy”. Yes, this is Tom – years and years ago, of course!  But some things never change – like family favorite comfort foods!  I grew up eating Tuna Gravy.  It’s probably one of those recipes that didn’t cost much to make, would feed a bunch of people and could be stretched by it being more white sauce and less tuna…besides, of course, it was delicious!  For me, its more about the protein being an excuse for the butter and half & half because I love a good white sauce. All of a sudden, Tom is away at college and finding himself not so ready to prepare some of those basic foods that he loves so much.  So, in an effort to help Tom bring some of those comfort foods to his college “living away from home” experience, I will be sharing recipes (with photos) designed to keep those traditions going.  The first will be Tom’s favorite, Tuna Gravy. Tuna Gravy 1/2 cup butter (8 Tablespoons or one cube)

Confetti Macaroni Salad

At home, we just call it macaroni salad.  But if you’re used to the macaroni salad you find at the grocery deli, calling it macaroni salad would be way off the mark and just plain old wrong!  I have been known to eat store-bought mac salad (on a rare occasion) if its served to me or I’m desperate, but the heavy use of mayonnaise/salad dressing is  not among my favorite group of flavors.   Which brings me to…Confetti Macaroni Salad! Growing up, our family made macaroni salad from scratch.  The distinctive flavor of the home-made salad dressing is something that I actually crave.  It is heavier than a store-bought salad dressing, but really yummy.  Its got that sweet and sour taste that comes with vinegar and sugar, but the mustard makes it delicious!  I resist the urge to make it all the time because the current residents of our house are my pickiest eaters and unless I get visitors, I find myself eating it all myself…wait!  What’s wrong with that! Confetti Macaroni Salad 1 lb. box of Ditalini (salad macaroni), cooked al dente; rinse and drain 1/2 of a red bell pepper and 1/2 of a green bell pepper, top and seeds removed, and diced – cut a few thin slices from the remaining halves of both for garnishing 1/2 of an red onion, diced 2 stalks celery, diced 1 large carrot, shredded 1 lb

A Somewhat Different Father’s Day

Happy National Donut Day!

Ah…the donut!  My first remembered experience with donuts is one of the Helm’s Bakery truck that would come around our neighborhood, stop and the driver would open up these wonderful, oak drawers filled with all sorts of delicious flavors of donuts!  As kids, our parents would let us gather the empty Coke bottles from our house and drag them off to the corner 7-11, where we would get a few pennies per bottle.  Back then, you weren’t charged up front for the recycling, but if you turned bottles in, they could reuse the bottle and they paid you for bringing them back.  It was a great way for kids to earn a little pocket change.  Sometimes we would buy 5¢ or 10¢ candy, but other times we would wait until the Helm’s truck came around to blow our “wad”.  If you were lucky, they came down your street earlier in the day – then there were more varieties to choose from.  Was anyone else so lucky?  Not exactly as I remember (I believe the side of the truck was a little different), but what a beautiful sight it was coming down the street! Without getting into the uncertain beginnings of the humble donut, or it’s evolution, let me suffice to say that it is National Doughnut (or Donut) Day(formerly known as Doughnut Day), which was founded by The Salvation Army as a fundraiser to honor the women who served

By Their Cover

Don't judge a book by its cover.

Man of the Hour…The Children’s Hour

There's another actor in the house!

The Sunday Afternoon Nap

A Sunday afternoon nap...a great way to prepare for the week ahead!