Baked Oatmeal from Savory Inn (Vail)

This is so good - and perfect for the rainy, cold days we've been having. The best part is that you can throw any fruit/nut combination together and it always turns out yummy.

½ C Vegetable Oil
¾ C Sugar
2 Large Eggs
3 C quick cooking oats (not instant)
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. cinnamon
1 C Milk
1 Apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
1 C Walnuts or Pecans (optional)
1 C Shredded Coconut
1 C dried fruit (I like blueberries, cherries, etc.)

Mix oil, sugar, and eggs and beat until yellow and glossy. Add remaining ingredients except for fruit. Beat until well mixed. Stir in fruit. Pour into greased 8x8 pan” baking dish. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Serve warm in a bowl.

Suggest eating with vanilla yogurt and fresh fruit.

Grams

This beautiful lady is my Grams. Donna Dee Lyons.

A lover of jeans, cold beer, and a good lipstick. An incredible cook, awesome listener, and spit fire personality. Proud, loyal, funny, and extremely thoughtful. Bass player, bowler, dancer (who could really shake her tail feathers), gardener, and baseball fan. A woman who always had time to for her children and grandchildren.

She passed away two nights ago, May 25th, 2008.

Lung cancer - but on her own terms. She died in her sleep, in her bed, in her home, after seeing most of her family in the prior weeks.

She was such an important person in my life.

I have a lifetime of wonderful memories that are tied up around her, especially my childhood and adolescent summers spent visiting her and Gramps in Newell. Reading magazines all day (As an adolescent, "Ten Ways to Keep Your Man" was very important reading) eating awesome dinners every night, going for coffee every afternoon (they drank coffee and I drank cherry shakes), painting my nails with her famous beige nail polish, crawling in bed at night in the West Bedroom, into clean sheets that always felt cool and smelled so good ...

Watching her battle crawdads in the hoses outside, helping her water her flowers ... listening to her advice about how "real" tans meant your neck was a bit lighter than your face. Nothing was more fake than a sunbed tan to her...

In later years she would call me just to say hi. She'd touch base because she loved me and cared what I was doing. Those phone calls always made my day. I'd return the favor and call her, too, but wouldn't you know she was always out. I LOVED that about her. She was always busy and on the go. More than once I have thought about how I want to always be like that. Be the woman who had something going on. Be the woman who looked awesome in jeans and who always had lipstick close by.

But mostly, what I really love about Grams is how is was always there. Especially in the tough times. She was there to listen, to help, to encourage ... to offer a beer.

Recently I was at her house for a visit. It was before her tumor was diagnosed as lung cancer. I remember walking in and seeing her sit at the kitchen table. Her apartment was spotless, as was she, but she just looked tired. It was the first time I had ever allowed myself to think that one day I would lose her. But, we had a wonderful visit. She never complained and never let on that she wasn't doing too well. However, she had a grocery list sitting on the table and asked me if I would mind running out for a few things for her. That's when I got it. She wasn't able to leave her apartment. The lump in my throat was so thick ... I was relieved to go to the store so that she wouldn't see me cry. To this day, I have her hand written grocery list pinned to my fridge. Radishes, oranges, lettuce, an avocado ... and the one thing not listed but *really* wanted was "Honey, see if you can find something sweet to dip into coffee." I brought her donuts and the way her eyes lit up ... she must have wanted them for awhile.

I didn't think that visit would be my last, but it was. And here I sit on bed rest, unable to attend her funeral, unable to say goodbye. It is one of the hardest, most disappointing moments I have ever had. But, maybe this way, when I am finally able to visit her resting ground, I can tell her these things in private, and in a way that she can hear me. Maybe I'll bring donuts - there's only so many flowers a girl needs, right?

I love you Grams. I miss you so much.

The First Time

Am I the only one who feels incredible pressure to come up with clever titles to blog posts? Yes, I am aware mine is NOT clever, but still, I DO feel the pressure to be.

I thought this might be a great way to record the family stuff -- it seems Caeden and Wayne are always saying something funny (Caeden I can post ... most of Wayne's I probably shouldn't ...) and with another baby making her debut any day, the hand written journals that I have for Caeden probably will dwindle. This is much more efficient, although not as charming, as I really do have great handwriting. Sorry Caeden. Sorry Baby. BUT, on the bright side, look at how tech savvy your mother is becoming. Awe inspiring, I know.

I think one of the rules in the blogging world is each entry has to be accompanied by a photo. That's good because my camera is going to see a lot more use!

While I am well aware it is summer time, this is such a great picture to start things off with. We had so much snow this year in Colorado, and I just love how much Caeden loved it. I must admit, I have learned that I am much more of a warm weather gal than cold, but I do appreciate the beauty of fresh snow.