When I got into my car of the Thursday before Mother’s Day, with my friendly, sometimes companion dog, Shadow, who was with me for several days, I had no clue what a fun adventure the weekend would be. The dog is a mid-size poodle and belongs to friends who were having a Mother’s Day weekend out town. I had committed to keeping him before I was invited to go to Wheeler, Texas to visit my newest one-month-old great-grandson, so he had to go along. Thank goodness for my pet-loving family!
As for the great-grandson, he’s possibly the cutest little boy on the earth! By the time I left, I was over-whelmed with cuteness, love and baby cuddles. It was so much fun to be around my grandchildren and their new-born little boy, they are such precious loving parents, and everyone had plenty of chances to hug and cuddle with him. There was enough love for all of us.
It is a long way from Devine, Texas to the Texas panhandle and our trip was great, luckily with no bad weather, and my daughter-in-law is a very good driver. We stopped frequently enough that no one had any real problems with being over tired (except maybe her), and the scenery was beautiful. There aren’t many wild flowers left, mostly the bright yellow coreopsis, mustard and enough Indian paintbrushes to keep it interesting. Going through the Texas hill country is always interesting, we left Texas 173 at Kerrville, took IH10 to Junction, and switched over to Texas 83 North for most of the rest of the trip. It is a very long drive, but the scenery and the end result were both worth the effort.
We got to see the infamous wind turbines that froze up not long ago, (they have blinking red lights on them at night and it looks like something from outer space), as well as seeing the acres and acres of solar panels that are in that area. You go through the Texas hill country with all the hills and mini mountains and the next thing you know, you are back in flat plains, and gullies, and then it’s back to scenery that is so beautiful that it takes your breath away.
My church service was Saturday evening and I attended a beautiful little church that is near their home. The Mass was a Spanish service, and the priest used enough English that I could follow his homily fairly well. Sunday, I was happy to attend the service my grandson-in-law was preaching, he is very good at what he does, and is a very good preacher.
We went back to the house to have a lunch and when we finished, it was time to head back south and home. Our first four hours were uneventful, with only one break, but then we reached Abilene and met up with my youngest grandson and his family at a park for a short visit, as they were on their way to Wheeler themselves. These two couples are not only cousins; they have been friends all through college and have such a good time together. He and his wife have two little boys who are always fun to be with and I collected another batch of hugs, and cuteness and kisses, as I hadn’t seen them for several weeks. We soon got back on the road and our next stop was at my oldest granddaughter’s home for a short visit with her and her twin girls. I can never believe how quickly they’re growing up. Another batch of hugs here and then it was back on the road for another six hours. We finally got back to Devine after midnight. All in all it was a truly wonderful weekend and an awesome way to spend Mother’s Day. I came back to my home on Monday morning, and had a quiet week, after having a fabulous time with family.
I gave y’all several zucchini recipes last week, and even though zucchini are not ready yet, they soon will be, so here are a couple more.
Squash Casserole
2 yellow squash (6-8-inches)
2 zucchini squash (6-8-inches)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium bell pepper, chopped
1 medium fresh tomato, chopped
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
¼ cup Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
¼ cup Swiss cheese, shredded
½ teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon fresh or dried basil
Salt and pepper Slice squash into ¼-inch thick slices. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
Spray a 2-quart casserole dish with non-stick spray and pour squash mixture into dish, cover with foil and bake at 350ºF for approximately 45 minutes, or until squash is tender.
Zucchini Parmesan
8 to 10 small zucchini
3 tablespoons olive oil
2/3 cup chopped onion
¼ pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese (not the canned kind)
2 cans tomato paste (6-oz size)
1 teaspoon (or less) salt
1 finely minced garlic clove
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
Wash, trim off ends and cut zucchini into 1/8th-inch slices. Heat olive oil in saucepan with lid; add zucchini slices, chopped onions and mushrooms. Cover and cook over low heat 10 to 15 minutes or until tender. Stir occasionally. Remove zucchini mixture from heat, mix in about ½ of the Parmesan cheese, stir lightly with a fork; add remaining ingredients, mix lightly and thoroughly; pour into 2-quart casserole, sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake at 350º for 20 to 30 minutes.