Good to see Haute smiling and looking in the rearview mirror at the surgery!

This has been one long road for our dear Haute! But I know she is well on the road to recovery and that's GOOD! Hopefully, the next three to four weeks won't be too bad and you'll be back on track for lots of good times and good blogging. And I say kudos to T-Bear whom I know has risen to the occasion and shown us all how loving and thoughtful she is. What a wonderful person/daughter/granddaughter! We love you for being so sweet to your mom during this pretty challenging time.

On a different note, we've been having some fun times with Courtney, Tom and Thomas! We just can't get enough of that happy little boy! We had a good birthday celebration for Daddy Jerrell and he is loving his Kindle. I was secretly hoping he wouldn't so I could have it..ha!

We had a big picnic at Eagle Springs with lots of kiddos. Here are the matriarchs of the families with all the grandchildren. It was action packed. They all leave on Tuesday...so sad. Haven't really cooked much of anything except CORN! It is the sweetest, tenderest corn in the world. And we've been eating a lot of peaches since Jimmy Thomason brought me a whole BUSHEL. Peaches, anyone??? I've given many away but still have a lot left.

Happy birthday to Thomas....White that is! And love to all!

MK

On The Road Again...

Well it's official, I have been dismissed from my nursing duties, kicked to the curb... boo hoo for me. Woo hoo for haute! She is feeling much better .... good enough to get out of the house for a little while.






We had a great lunch a North in The Domain and celebrated the success of the surgery.






On a sidenote, hats off to this kid, who is becoming a lovely young lady. She ran errands the entire time I was in Austin, from the grocery store, to the drug store, to restaurants, picking up sundries and delivering dinner to her grandparents, banana pudding and skim milk to her cousin, cards and cravings to her mother and cooking dinner for all of us at home with out a single complaint.
DAD - GIVE THIS GIRL A RAISE!

Also, I will note, because she won't say, the road to recovery will have some potholes, the doctor says there will be a rough three to four weeks ahead for her as they adjust her medicine. So keep those cards and prayers coming!

Julie & Julia or Holly and her hautes

What a grrreat movie!! Grab a foodie and run to the coolest theatre near you. It was so enjoyable. All about a woman who loved her husband and loved food. Holly had Julie's idea - only she didn't get it together quick enough to make a book and a movie about it. Now she has to make her money the old fashion way - earn it. Instead of raking it in doing what you are passionate about. She, Julie, was a little more aggressive - 561 recipes in 365 days. (It is, I do believe a fictional book!!)

I have been baking a lot lately, but it is about to come to a screachin holt. With RD back at UGA :-{, but, truly :-} and Tbear here for a brief dusting off of her boots. But, indeed, she is to arrive tomorrow at 1!! I don't know who is more excited, Charlie or Lance and I.

I so love the pics, please keep them a comin! I will try to have my adorable computer savy daughter teach me how to do dat!!

So, in the spirit of Julie, we sister slackers need to step up the pace!!

You are loved,

Haute

Fancy Schmancy

Pam, I see that you are catching on to our blog style - blog, or be thrown under the bus! Well I made the Coconut-Roasted Pineapple Dacquoise, page 293 the other day. It is pronounced daquahhhhh - I know that is correct because Mama Kathy said so. Now girls if you try this, and I think you should, clear your day - your ENTIRE day. The dacquoise (meringue) bakes for three hours. Then the ganache needs to be heated and then chilled for you guessed it, three hours. Now if I had read through the entire recipe before I started I could have done this simultaneously with the meringue, however I did not. So, take note if you make this. When I got to the pineapple steps I did not use a fresh pineapple, I used canned sliced pineapple which worked out just fine. I made all the parts the day before, then on the next day, whipped up the ganache and assembled the daquoise. No, I am not a huge meringue fan and only made this because the hubs picked it out. Truthfully, kind of a sleeper - I was really surprised, I really liked this and so did everyone else. It is really good for a summer dessert. It is light and fresh and a great way to kick back and celebrate after spending the entire day putting this together. Plan on sharing with a few friends because I don't think it will have a very long shelf life. TRY THIS!

Hello ladies,

I have learned a very valuable lesson - be sure to check the blog regularly or you risk being scolded publicly. And, I fully deserve to be scolded! So, I will try to redeem myself.

I have been on traveling a lot. We went to Italy in June, I did my South Padre trip with Amy etal week before last, and I spent this past week traveling for work - Monday in Houston, back to SA on Tuesday, Fort Worth on Thursday, Houston on Friday and finally driving home Friday night in a rent car due to extreme flight delays. Then, I decided to continue my torture by taking Mercer back to school shopping yesterday at the San Marcos outlet malls! The heat (103) and the crowds were bad, but it was worth it to get to hang out with Mercer by myself. She's starting high school in the fall, she's beautiful, and she's about 5' 8". (We look like Mutt and Jeff.)

While the shopping excursion was about Mercer, I did have to treat myself to a few things. (big surprise, right?) I purchased a Calphalon egg poaching/saute pan, and I used it this morning to make a great, simple brunch of poached eggs garnished with fresh basil on broiled tomatoes. I've posted some pics that happen to include the world's cutest red poodle. Speaking of world's cutest, I love all the Thomas photos - please keep them coming!

Much love to all,

SistaFriend

Basil Plant and Word's Best Dog

Freshly Squeezed OJ from

Rio Grande Valley Oranges.

Grapefruit Juice to Come.