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13 Aug 2015 – My Sister – My Hero!

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My sister Andrea is special to me because even though she is six years younger than I am, I have learned so much from her!  She is wise, beautiful, and kind-hearted with unlimited potential and determination.  I have so many fond memories of her, but this post will focus on just one.

Andrea lives in Florida.  She is the mother of four beautiful children, all of which have college degrees!  That’s impressive in itself.  In addition, the children are all close in age so Andrea had four children in college at the same time!  Can you imagine that?  Andrea didn’t do it on her own, she has a loving husband who is an exceptional father!  Prayer is at the foundation of everything they do!

Andrea was a surgical technician for about 18 years.  She was in high demand from so many surgeons she worked with, but her true passion was to become a registered nurse.

The video below captures the graduation speech by none other than my Sister!  Join me in congratulating Andrea!

 

Andrea is working full-time as a registered nurse in Florida!

Between The Dashes

11 Aug 2015 – Grandma Flagella’s Honey Cookie Recipe

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Thanks so much Joanne!

Ingredients:

  • 4-5 cups of flour
  • 6 eggs
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 pound of butter melted and cooled
  • 3 1/2 tsp baking powder
Honey Mixture:
  • 2 cups honey
  • 2 tbsp apple jelly
  • 1/2 cup white wine or pink Catawba
  • Bring to a boil and then shut it off
Directions:
  • Beat eggs, add sugar and mix well.  Then add the melted butter and mix well.
  • Add flour and baking powder to mixture slowly, mixing well by hand and with a wooden spoon until soft to roll like a pie crust.  Roll out on counter top or wooden board.  Cut into strips.  Using the tines of a fork, press the long edges of each strip, and make one loop to look like a bow.
  • Deep fry until golden brown, remove and drain on paper towels.
  • Then place cookie strips in the honey mixture (from above) and put in a crock by layers. Sprinkle each layer with cinnamon and chopped walnuts. Cover the crock with a dish and aluminum foil, place in a cool dark place for at least 2 weeks.

 

11 Aug 2015 – Family Reunion (Buffalo, NY) – July 2015

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We attend my husband’s family reunion each year – My Mom, daughter, granddaughter and I. There are generally about 120 family members at the reunion.  It’s a great turnout.  Each family brings a side dish, and the main meat dishes are catered.  We not only enjoy the family, but the food is fantastic!  I will be adding some Italian recipes  to this site from my husband’s family in the near future.

While in New York, we also use this time as a opportunity to take advantage of the local sites.  One year, we visited Niagara Falls!  It was awesome!

According to the History Channel:

Niagara Falls functions as one of the major power providers to New York state. Comprised of three waterfalls — American Falls, Horseshoe Falls and Bridal Veil Falls — Niagara Falls water stems from the upper Great Lakes and the river is estimated to be 12,000 years old.  Ninety percent of the water goes over the Horseshoe Falls. Originally, as much as 5.5. billion gallons of water per hour flowed over the falls. Today the amount is controlled by the Canadian and American governments to slow erosion. In addition, some of the water is diverted to provide power for the United States and Canada, making Niagara Falls the largest source of electric power in the world.

While at Niagara Falls, we traveled on the Maid of the Mist (boat is visible in pictures 4 and 5 below) which takes you by all the falls.

Mom, Granddaughter Taylor and Me - Niagara Falls, NY

Picture 1 – Mom Alice, Granddaughter Taylor and Me – Niagara Falls, NY

 

Picture of Niagara Falls, NY

Picture 2 – Niagara Falls, NY

 

Picture of Niagara Falls, NY

Picture 3 – Niagara Falls, NY

 

Here is a photo though that shows the boats out between the American and Canadian (Horseshoe) falls

Picture 4 – Here is a photo that shows the Maid of the Mist boats out between the American and Canadian (Horseshoe) falls

 

Photo Taken From http://www.niagarafallsstatepark.com/

Picture 5 – Photo Taken From http://www.niagarafallsstatepark.com/

Between The Dashes

10 Aug 2015 – The Ditch

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The kids always made fun of Alice, my Mother, when she was younger, around 12 years old.  No matter how much Alice tried to be nice and friendly, it didn’t matter.  She was not part of the pack.

One day Alice was walking home from school with her best friend and cousin, Yanetta.   They walked past the homes they normally did each day.  But today was different.  Today there were a group of the girls from school following behind them.  Alice wondered what they wanted.  Perhaps they wanted to be friends, Alice hoped.

The girls finally called Alice who turned to greet them.  The girls were laughing and looking mischievous.  They seemed to be making fun of her.

One of the girls came up to Alice and pushed her.  Alice was hesitant to do anything until the girl pushed her in the ditch with a dead dog!

Alice became angry.  So angry she found the courage to fight back.  The dog must have been there for days because of the odor,  flies and maggots swarming around and on it!  Alice came out of the ditch swinging her fists with accuracy!

The girl who initiated the fight had a bloody nose making the other girls have second thoughts about approaching Alice.  Th girls grabbed their friend and ran in the opposite direction!  They were actually afraid of Alice!

From that day on, Alice and Yanetta looked for fights!  They became the bullies in the neighborhood with their new-found courage!


Between The Dashes

9 Aug 2015 – Caribbean Cruise – May 2015

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We enjoyed our December 2014 cruise so much we decided to go on another one!  But this time, we cruised on the Carnival Pride (see the ship below – ship capacity for 2,124 passengers).  The Carnival Pride is an older ship and is smaller than the Quantum of the Seas which has a capacity of 4180 passengers.

Carnival Pride

Carnival Pride

Our itinerary:

Day 1 – Depart Baltimore, MD

Day 2 – At Sea

Day 3 – At Sea

Day 4 – Grand Turk

Day 5 – Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

Day 6 – Freeport, Bahamas

Day 7 – At Sea

Day 8 – Arrive Baltimore, MD

Cruise Map

Cruise Map

 

This cruise was so different from our first.  We did not have to travel for 6 hours by bus to get to our departure port – only 90 min with traffic!  We were able to board as soon as we arrived which was a lot earlier than our boarding passes indicated – nice! Continue reading →