Monday, January 2, 2012

Remembering my mother, Rosemary


Rosemary Elizabeth DePasquale Boykin

Mother was born to Jean and D.V. DePasquale of Dickinson, Texas on January 3, 1926.
Her mother, young and an immigrant from Italy at the age of nine, and her father, well-educated and of Sicilian descent from Texas, were parents who insisted that their children
"leave their mark".


My mother, on the right, was a good student, played the piano, was proud of being a gymnast. She went off to SMU at the age of 16.



She married my father, a WW II veteran upon her graduation from college... her father insisting there would be no wedding unless there was a college diploma!
Their courtship was only three months, but their
love lasted 62 years when their passing was but four months
apart from each other.



This is my favorite picture of my mother.
She had done an amazing job of
"leaving her mark"
by 2008.
*She was mother to four children
*She worked throughout most of her married life
at several universities, primarily at Texas A&M University.
*She traveled and lived abroad with my father in Syria, Iran and even eight years in Africa.
*She published two books pertaining to Italian history and genealogy.
*She wrote and illustrated cookbooks for fundraisers as well as for her family.
She had so many more accomplishments.
Most of all she was a loving wife, mother and grandmother.
I truly miss her.
She would have been 86 years old January 3rd.

Happy Birthday, Mother!




Happy New Year!


Happy New Year
from Deep South Texas


My Chocolate Lab, Simon, and I went for a walk
at our deer lease. Above are a few of the beautiful
sights we saw.

Yes, man's best friend enjoys the fog, brush, and cactus
at Las Islas Ranch as much as I do.
One morning we were fortunate to see a beautiful
deer. I'll have to remember the sight from memory as
I wasn't quick enough with my camera.

Wishing you good health and good fortune in
2012!

Monday, December 26, 2011

Christmas 2012 Resolutions!



It was a great Christmas....
We were blessed to have at least part of
our family with us.

BUT

Christmas 2012 will be very different.

I sent myself a note on October 1st that I would
start pulling out Christmas boxes and deciding
what I would need for decorating.

DID NOT HAPPEN

I actually took down my fall decorations
before Thanksgiving... even assembling my
new pewter-colored Christmas tree.

WASTE OF TIME

The results:

The most unorganized Christmas I can remember
in years!

My Christmas 2012 Resolutions

  1. Cut back on decorating
  2. Store only the decorations I plan to use next year
  3. Reduce the 17 bins (this is true confession here!) to 5 .. ok,  7 bins!
  4. Allow only 2  3 days for decorating... period!
  5. Plan menu and cook ahead AND
don't cook for an Army!

Signed,

And if you belive this will truly happen... then "I have some ocean front proptery in Arizona" to sell you! ;-)

My Favorite Christmas Recipe this Year

Cranberry Sauce with Bourbon

1 lb. (about 4 c.) fresh cranberries
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
**
1/4 c. bourbon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine cranberries, sugars, and cinnamon in 9x13" baking dish. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 1 hour, stirring after 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and stir in bourbon.
Refrigerate cranberry sauce until well chilled. This can be prepared a week in advance.
Transfer to a bowl and serve.

Today I am linking to
A Stroll Thru Life
for

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Merry Christmas from
my home to yours!



 

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Three Bloggers Enjoy a Christmas Party!


There are great parties.

Then there is great food at great parties

Then there is great music, great food at great parties.

But the BEST is GREAT friends at great parties!!

In case you do not recognize these three women:

Left: Moi! Ladybug Creek
Center: Laura of White Spray Paint
Right: Nancy of Nancy's Notes


Here are just some of the refreshments served
at our Christmas Dance.

I prepared the Paula Deen's
Shrimp Butter

2 sticks butter, room temperature
1 Tbsp. sherry
1 tsp. lemon zest
1 tsp. House Seasoning (1 c. salt, 1/4 c. black pepper, 1/4 c. garlic powder)
cayenne pepper to taste
2 (3 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp. onion, chopped (I used green onion)
1 lb. shrimp, shelled, deveined and cooked
Paprika for garnish
Put all ingredients except shrimp and paprika into a food processor. Process until well mixed. Drop in shrimp and process until pureed or chopped to desired consistency.
Garnish with paprika. Serve with crackers as an appetizer.

I added a few drops of Tabasco sauce.

I'm sharing my post with
Little Red House
                                                http://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com/
for Mosaic Monday

I'm also linking to
All the Small Stuff for
Tuesdays at the Table

                                       

Friday, December 2, 2011

Christmas Dance Sneak Peak!


Here is a sneak peak at just a few
of the tables decorated for our
Christmas Dance.
Mind you there will be candles and
tiny lights that will add to the glow.

We'll be rockin' and rollin'
TONIGHT!