As my weeks go, this past week was pretty quiet. With three days of PT at the hospital and the other four days to do PT on my own, I’ve been busy. Some days, it seemed as if I was at the hospital more than I was at home as we are still selling raffle tickets for our spring raffle, and I did that two days as my one regular day of working.
We even had a couple of showers this week, and hay is being mowed in every field you see. The mowed the one beside and behind my house Friday and started baling it Saturday afternoon late. They finished after dark. My sister and I made a short run to Victoria on Saturday to do a little shopping, and spend time together, we had a good day, the heat was almost unbearable, so I was glad I wasn’t out in it very much. This coming week, my daughter is coming in for a short visit, as she returns from a few days with her children and grandchildren who live in the Devine area. It’s always a fun time when any of them visit!
Sunday, June 16, is Father’s Day and this is the perfect time to try to do something special to honor him. Dad, Daddy, Father, Pop, Papa or Padre, whatever you call him, Father’s Day is a day for pampering him!
The celebration of Father’s Day began with Mrs. John B. Dodd, of Washington who first proposed the idea in 1909. She was looking for a special way to honor her father, Mr. William Smart. He was a Civil War veteran who was widowed when his wife died in childbirth with their sixth child. Mr. Smart raised all six children by himself. They lived on a farm in eastern Washington State. After Mrs. Dodd was grown, she realized how much strength and selflessness he had shown in raising them as a single parent I that day and time.
In 1909, Mrs. Dodd approached the minister of her church and others in Spokane about having a service dedicated to fathers on June 5, her father’s birthday. The minister was unable to prepare for the service that quickly, so he spoke a few weeks later, on June 19th.
From that time on, the state of Washington celebrated the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day. At this same time, various towns and cities across America were beginning to celebrate a day especially for fathers. States and various organizations began lobbying Congress to declare an annual Father’s Day. President Woodrow Wilson approved of this. President Calvin Coolidge was in firm support of the idea of a national Father’s Day and in 1924, made it a national event to “establish more intimate relations between fathers and their children and to impress upon fathers the full measure of their obligations”. However, it took until 1966 when President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the 3rd Sunday in June as Father’s Day and put the official stamp of approval on a celebration that had been ongoing for almost half a century.
In early times, wearing flowers was a traditional way of celebrating Father’s Day. Mrs. Dodd suggested a red rose to honor a living father and a white rose for a deceased dad. (This is similar to the fact that we wear red carnations if our Mother is living and white ones if she is deceased, when we celebrate Mother’s Day). Mr. J. H. Berringer, who attended Father’s Day celebrations in Washington State as early as 1912, chose a white lilac as the Father’s Day Flower. Usually, I give you a bunch of recipes and a couple of ideas for pampering, but since most of the fathers I know don’t really care for breakfast in bed, we’ll skip that part this year. Visit with him or call him, send him a card, take him out to eat, and if you do get to see him, remember to tell him how much you love him. For those of you who like me no longer have a father, to visit, how about calling your brother(s), a favorite uncle or cousin and wishing him “Happy Father’s Day”, or call a friend you haven’t seen in a while…who knows, you just might make someone’s day. This dessert is super easy and if your dad likes chocolate, he will love this!
Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake
1 box Dark Chocolate Cake Mix
3 eggs
½ teaspoon almond extract
1 can Dark Sweet Cherry Pie Filling
Mix eggs into cake mix. (The dough will be very thick). Stir in cherry pie filling and almond extract. Pour into a Bundt pan and bake at 350ºF until cake tests done. This can also be baked in a 9 x 13 pan or in a microwave Bundt pan. To bake in the microwave, place batter in pan and micro on high for 9 minutes. Turn pan one-quarter turn (if you do not have a turntable), then bake an additional 6 minutes.
Margarita Pie
1 graham cracker pie crust
1 carton whipped topping (8-oz, thawed, light if desired)
1 package cream cheese (light if desired)
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 to 3 envelopes Holland House (powdered) Margarita Mix*
Green food coloring if desired
Soften cream cheese to room temperature. Beat with mixer until very smooth. Add sugar and Margarita mix and beat well. Beat in whipped topping until all is mixed well. Add food coloring if used. Spoon into crust and smooth top. Freeze for at least 1 to 2 hours. Remove from freezer 15 minutes before serving. Slice and serve. Makes 8 to 10 servings. *My daughter and I have used 2 envelopes of lime Kool-Aid if the Margarita mix was unavailable. It will work just fine. P.S. as you notice, there is no alcohol involved, but this pie is delicious.