Favorite photos of my grandparents...

I have a big, ole' brown thumb...

But my sister does not.

A long time coming and well worth the wait...

When I was a senior in high school, my coconut pound cake won grand champion at the fair. It sold at the auction for $300. The recipe came from a relative, Sally, who lived in the neighboring town of Sour Lake. She often brought coconut pound cakes to my father at Christmas. He loved them.

Anyway...

I grew up, moved away and lost the recipe. We searched for it to no avail. About 15 years ago, I wrote to Sally at an address I found on the internet. I got no response. It looked like the recipe was lost forever.

When I was in Texas this past October, I got to visiting with a man from Sour Lake who was shopping at our estate sale. We were talking about family history, and such, when Sally's name came up. He knew her well so I told him the pound-cake story. He took my number and left.

Here's the good part...

Within two hours, my phone rang. He had gone home and found Sally's pound-cake recipe in his mother's recipe box. Can you believe it?

So, without further adieu... I am sharing it with you here so it will never be lost again.

(I'm not re-wording it because I think it's so charming just like it is.)

Sally's Coconut Pound Cake

3 sticks butter or oleo
3 c. sugar
6 eggs
3 c. plain flour
8 oz. sour cream
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. soda
1 pkg. frozen coconut (not canned)
1 tsp. vanilla

Defrost coconut (to avoid failure). Have eggs and butter out at room temperature. Preheat oven to 300. Grease tube pan. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar well. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each. Add flour, salt & soda, sifted together, and sour cream and vanilla and beat well. Stir or fold in coconut. Pour in tube pan and bake until done 1 to 1.5 hours, maybe longer.

Gentle giant...

My sister, Biz, takes in just about any stray animal that comes along. She's had as many as 10 dogs at one time. Her most recent addition, Willis, is very special and she's quite attached to him. Here's a photo of his paw in her regular-sized adult hand.

Fathers from my family tree...

Well, it's Father's Day so I thought you might like to meet some of the fathers in my family tree.

This is my great-grandfather... my paternal grandmother's father.


This is my great-grandfather... my paternal grandfather's father.


This is my paternal grandfather pictured with my dad.


More photos of my paternal grandfather.


This is my great-great-grandfather... my paternal great-grandmother's father.


So, there you have the fathers from my family tree. Unfortunately, there are no photos from my mother's side of the family.

Happy Father's Day!

Where bluebonnets and limestone grow like cotton...

I received an e-mail from the sweetest lady named Sandi who lives in a beautiful limestone house with a white tin roof and a yard filled with pure splendor. Sandi was kind enough to let me share her gorgeous photos with you. I know you're going to enjoy them so.

Sandi says, "We are located at the very edge of the Texas Hill County where bluebonnets and limestone grow like cotton in East Texas." I just love that!

That's her beloved, Brad, there amongst the bluebonnets in Sandi's front yard.

Brad has gone to the Rainbow Bridge. I hope it's every bit as lovely as the Texas Hill Country in spring.

Linking to Outdoor Wednesday at a Southern Daydreamer

Village Creek...

In the deep South, where temperatures linger at 100 degrees in the shade, and a day with 90% humidity is considered "not so bad," you need a place to cool off. That place, if you live in the Big Thicket of Southeast Texas, is Village Creek.

It's a place that so many Southeast Texans hold near and dear to their hearts.

Cypress knees

If you grew up around it, Village Creek becomes part of who you are.

It's hard to understand unless you're from there.

Cypress trees on the banks of Village Creek

It's more than just a place to swim, canoe, fish, BBQ, camp... It's a place to make memories... the kind that never go away.

Linking to Outdoor Wednesday at Southern Daydreamer

Has potential, needs prayer...

This is the back porch in the Old House. We call it the "back porch," because in the old days (very old days), it was a screened-in sleeping porch. In the 1950s, Grandmother had it enclosed. It's funny how this "addition" isn't holding up like the original parts of the house.

This room is under the huge limbs of a 100+ year-old oak tree. The water stains you see to the bead-board ceiling are from roof damage during Hurricane Ike. I am believing God for $9,000 to replace the Old House roof. Anyway...

I didn't show you these photos to point out the problems and bellyache about needing a new roof. I shared these with you because of the awesome potential this room has. (In case you're wondering, the views are terrific.) Go on, let your imagination run wild. What do you see?

I know it's going to be fabulous...!

Linking to Mellow Yellow Monday

Close your eyes and visualize...

Here is the back porch of the Old House now...

Here is the back porch of the Old House in 6 months.

Come on... close your eyes and picture it...! Maybe we can think it into existence.

Linking to White Wednesday at Faded Charm