HAPPY ANNIVERSARY SUNDAY FAVORITES

I'm joining in with Chari of Happy to Design
to celebrate her one-year anniversary of Sunday Favorites. Sundays are a chance to repost a favorite of ours from the past. Please go by Chari's to wish her a happy anniversary and check out the other favorite posts. Today I chose an older post about the Eiffel Tower and other engineering marvels.

My husband, Bob, is retired from a 44-year career as a civil engineer. Consequently, when we travel, engineering marvels are always at the top of our "must see" list.

There are many engineering feats I have not witnessed such as the pyramids of Egypt and the Great Wall of China.

But, I have seen the underside of the Golden Gate Bridge, and viewed the Royal Gorge Bridge of Colorado from a tram 1100 feet above the river.

I've been claustrophobic at the top of the St. Louis Arch, and have ridden 13 miles across the Confederation Bridge to Prince Edward Island in Canada.

I've been in the bowels and seen the inner workings of the Tower Bridge in London, and traveled 180 miles an hour under the water of the English Channel through a tunnel.

BUT, in my opinion, the absolute best, best, best engineering marvel is the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

It combines the structure and strength of engineering and the beauty and form of art.

I know that there are professional photos that capture that beauty better than our amateur pictures, but these are ours and remind me that I was actually there!

A view from the top!!!!

Ooooooo, I so want to go back and see it again!!!!

BIRTHDAY WEEKEND PLUS A SUNDAY FAVORITE

It's our miracle child's birthday today. Our daughter, Jennifer, was adopted by us at the age of 3 weeks thirty-seven years ago. It has always been amazing to me that her biological mother loved her so much that she gave her baby to us so that we could love, care for, and cherish her, too. It is such a blessing that she is with us to celebrate another birthday. I've blogged about her struggle with brain cancer before, but if you are new to my blog and would like to read about it; please click here.

Happy Birthday, Jenni!! Thanks for the joy you have given us, and the special gift of making us the grandparents of your adorable children.

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I seem to have a bit of wanderlust recently, so thought I would join Chari of Happy to Design's

Sunday Favorites this week with a trip to the Eiffel Tower previously posted on October 8, 2008.

Please go by Chari's to find a list of other Sunday Favorites.

My husband, Bob, is retired from a 44-year career as a civil engineer. Consequently, when we travel, engineering marvels are always at the top of our "must see" list.

There are many engineering feats I have not witnessed such as the pyramids of Egypt and the Great Wall of China.

But, I have seen the underside of the Golden Gate Bridge, and viewed the Royal Gorge Bridge of Colorado from a tram 1100 feet above the river.

I've been claustrophobic at the top of the St. Louis Arch, and have ridden 13 miles across the Confederation Bridge to Prince Edward Island in Canada.

I've been in the bowels and seen the inner workings of the Tower Bridge in London, and traveled 180 miles an hour under the water of the English Channel through a tunnel.

BUT, in my opinion, the absolute best, best, best engineering marvel is the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

It combines the structure and strength of engineering and the beauty and form of art.

I know that there are professional photos that capture that beauty better than our amateur pictures, but these are ours and remind me that I was actually there!

A view from the top!!!!

Ooooooo, I so want to go back and see it again!!!!

SUNDAY FAVORITES

Chari at Happy to Design is hosting Sunday Favorites, a party where everyone can share a post from their archives. Check out her blog for a list of the participants and join in the festivities.

I'm showing a post from August 19, 2008 that features one of my all-time favorite EASY desserts - Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake.

The title of my personal recipe book is "If It Isn't Easy, Sally Doesn't Cook It!" That pretty well sums it up. I was doing semi-homemade before Sandra Lee was born, but I wasn't smart or charming enough to capitalize on it. Here is one of those easy recipes from my files.

TRIPLE CHOCOLATE FUDGE CAKE

1 small package regular chocolate pudding mix
2 cups milk
1 box chocolate dry cake mix
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Cook pudding as directed on box in the microwave using the milk. Blend dry cake mix into hot pudding; mixture will be thick. Pour into 9 x 13 pan that has been sprayed. Sprinkle with chips and nuts. Bake 35 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool before cutting into 2" squares.


It doesn't get any easier than that!!

Thanks for stopping by,
Sally

SUNDAY FAVORITES

I'm joining in on the Sunday Favorites party today hosted by Chari of
Happy to Design.

This is a chance to repeat a favorite post from the past. I've chosen a post originally published on Oct. 14, 2008, about a person who had a lot of influence on my love of home.
- - - - - - - - -

Her name is Edith. She was the mother of one of our childhood friends and happened to be the daughter of the doctor that delivered me.

She was the first person in my life other than my mother that I realized had personal STYLE.

I can think of any number of beautiful homes where they lived in our small town, as she loved to move and she loved to decorate.

She had wonderful things like art, dishes, and antique furniture in her house; but it was a home foremost for a family where you always felt comfortable.

She was gracious in every way!

Her only child, our friend, was killed in an automobile accident when we were in our early 30s. He was not married and had no children. Edith was naturally devastated; I don't think she ever fully recovered.

Soon after he died, she called to say she had a couple of things that she wanted me to have, then pass on to my children someday.

She gave me this beautiful Victorian fruit dish that had belonged to her father, the doctor.

And, she also gave me this tablecloth from her youth.

She said her mother always used it for Christmas morning breakfast, as the design reminded them of Santa Claus!

In the 1990s, I was visiting with Edith at a party at my parent's house. We were standing near my mother's china cabinet, where this plate was prominently displayed.


Edith said, "You know, I gave your mother that plate when you were all babies and we were young with our future ahead of us. It makes me feel good that she has cherished it all of these years."



Edith is almost 100 years old now, quite fragile, and in a nursing home. Remaining with me are three beautiful items that have passed through many hands. I know that in the end, things are just things; however, the memories they raise and the emotions they evoke are PRICELESS.



Thanks for stopping by,

Sally