Focused at Fifty

7 Layer Cookie My father Robert Haynes's family owns a cattle ranch far into the deep southwest corner of South Dakota, just south of the town of Keldron. At the time, say the late 80s, Keldron had a population of 11. The next town due west was Thunderhawk with a population of 35. Further on through endless miles of prairie, was the sleepy town of Lemmon, SD, sitting right on the border with North Dakota, then with a population of 1900. Lemmon had the highschool, the hospital, etc and was the largest town for a hundred or so miles.  We visited the cousins on the Drieske/Haynes ranch for several summers during that time. What do I remember about those wonderful trips, these visits to the family ranch? Tons of cousins and family gathering for barbeques and horseshoes; long expanses of prairie; 1000s of locusts; horses and cattle; hunting for Sioux Indian arrowheads; seeing my first rattlesnake outside of a zoo; dry 105' summer heat; Lemmon South Dakota's Petrified Forest (loo...

Heartache. Heartbreak. We suffer loss. People pass away suddenly. People pass away over a long illness. Pandemics continue on. Pets pass away. Natural disasters strike. Man-made catastrophe strikes. Couples break up. Marriages end. Accidents happen. People lose their jobs. Mass shootings are now occurring again. Do I have your attention yet with this depressing intro? LOL  The year 2020 surely sucked with all of these. 2021 began not much better. I contracted Covid-19 in February. I survived but not without post Covid symptoms. Max the Cat passed away after a 4 1/2 month struggle with cancer. In these last two years, too many people passed away from Covid or other illnesses. Too many of our pets passed away as well.  I once mentioned before that my mother kept a paperback in her personal collection titled When Bad Things Happen to Good People  by Rabbi Harold Kushner. Anybody remember that one? She swore by it, well at least the title. I am still not convinced that she ac...

Maximus the Cat passed on to the Rainbow Bridge on March 29, 2021 at 1:30pm. He was born in the same litter as his twin sister Moxie on Dairy Lane in the Oley Valley of Pennsylvania on April 15th, 2007. Named after a Roman general, Max led a valiant fight against his cancer right to the very end. Max is survived by his sister Miss Moxie. Thank you so much to everybody who reached out to me and the Big Ragu during his last six weeks. He lasted far longer than anyone thought he would.  Thank you to Mountain Shadow Vet for all their support. They were so sympathetic and supportive through this process. Max went to sleep gazing into my eyes. I'm blessed that I was the last one he saw. RIP Max ❤️

"AP Cake" A couple of years back, I had a blog project named “Cooking Through Family”. You can check out the recipes I made on the labels tab of the same name on the front of my blog page. I made about 85% of my Mom’s, Dad’s family, and Mom’s family recipes learning about my family as I went through each recipe, remembering our fun time, etc. The only ones I did not make were the baking ones which included the cakes, cookies, bars and pies.  The Clutzy Baker I don't know why but I've always had an unnatural fear of baking but it  always seemed so scientific. Now I am not talking about the Betty Crocker box cakes, brownie mixes, or chocolate chip cookie dough "rolls". I am talking about baking from scratch. Almost anyone can spoon out cookie dough and shove it in the oven for 30 minutes.  In school, I’ve always been better with the arts, literary and history classes rather than sciences or mathematics. I always meant to get back to the baking recipes and I th...

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”  Attributed to Mark Twain

"Kitchen Tools" by ME Hey Friends! I want to start sharing kitchen recipes, tricks, trades, and tidbits again. I really enjoyed doing it in the past. I of course, will always give credit to where credit is do! I found this article waaay back in my cooking files from March 2009 in the "Relish" newspaper magazine insert. It was written by Chef Jon Ashton. Their website is now the blog.relish.com . I do not own this article! BUT... I will add my favorites and two cents where I see fit! LOL  Chef Aston gives his take on what you should have in a well equipped kitchen. Check out below for my additions!  TOOL BOX  by Chef Jon Ashton 1. Cutting Board:  I use a wooden Boos Board (go to Johnboos.com to order). Stay away from glass. Corian and acrylic boards actually dull your knives. 2. Meat Thermometer. A digital thermometer gives the quickest read, but the point is to use any thermometer to make sure you don't undercook or overcook your food.  3. Mandolin. To get pe...

Overheard Conversation at a Restaurant:  Guy: I'll take the French dip please.  Bartender: You don't want the French dip man. Guy: Why? I really want the French dip. Bartender: Nah man, we got a bad cow in the back ...  Guy: I'll take the wings.... 😳