Archive for October 19th, 2009

Old favorites, new finds

During our preparations for her party, we discovered that Karyl’s favorite dessert was Lemon Meringue Pie—a fact that surprised her children. They were left wondering, “What else don’t we know about her?”

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Because my sister-in-law Debbie can’t even say “meringue” without grimacing, I had the pleasure of making this particular dessert (one of the almost seven we served). Fortunately, Debbie brought me a pre-made crust, because despite a thousand attempts, I simply cannot make pie crust from scratch. (I’m sorry, Gramma…)

One of the many benefits of cooking at Karyl’s is the endless supply of pans. At one point, we had approximately 46 9×13 inch pans in use, and I was still able to locate one more. I wasn’t able to find pie weights, though, so Karyl, when you find an open, yet full, bag of dry beans in your pantry, you’ll know why!

A surprise 60th

My mother-in-law Karyl turned 60 on Saturday. Despite her insistence that we not celebrate the occasion at all, she arrived home from a 10-day vacation to find 40 of her friends and family in her living room. Needless to say she was pretty shocked.

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We had a fabulous time orchestrating the event—I loved the opportunity to collaborate with my talented and sweet sisters-in-law, and Josh, Bryan and Jason worked incredibly hard during the party preparations as well.

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It made for a wonderful day in celebration of a pretty spectacular sixty-year-old. Doug, who was in on plans far in advance, borrowed my camera and took a few shots of the guests.

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Happy birthday, Karyl!