The Big Night

Song - Tarantella by Beppe Gambetto, Carlo Aonzo & David Grisman

On Saturday night our family had a cousins reunion......

let me introduce you to the Malacarne Family!

These are my grandparents, Art & Sophie Malacarne.  They had four daughters and each daughter had three children - my cousins.  The cousins spent a lot of time together growing up because the sisters were so close and........we're Italian. So they are more like my siblings than my cousins.  Great memories there!

 This photo was taken at the family cabin in Lake Tahoe with all twelve grandchildren and our Grandma Sophie (on the right) and her mother Grandma Mary (on the left).

Can you tell we had fun together?

 For many years Art & Sophie would host a Christmas get together on Christmas Day but the families grew too large once we started marrying and having children of our own.  But we still have that Malacarne bond. So every 5-10 years someone would host a reunion, usually in the summer months.
Last year the "boys" decided to host a Christmas party at a local restaurant. 

It was great to get together but the sitting arrangements were to tight to get up and go visit anyone else other than the people sitting next to you.

So Saturday night it was the cousins turn to host and invite the two remaining daughters - my Aunt and Mom at a new place that turned out to be perfect!

Being the family historian, I was in charge of the slide show and music for the event. Six hundred and sixy-four photos later.........they are still talking to me!

We have aged just a smidgen since the photo above in Lake Tahoe.

 But we still enjoy each others company and getting caught up on family events.  Even the "out-laws" have fun. (They are the SO's who are honorary cousins)

A great night and thanks to those "boy" cousins who know how to throw a proper shindig!!!

 Love each and everyone of you!

"The bond that links your true family 

is not one of blood, 

but of respect and joy in each others life."

-- Richard Bach

Where Have You Been?

Song - A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall by Bob Dylan

Where have you been my darling young one?

I'm a bad, bad blogger.....I forgot November and December!

Well I didn't really forget them.  It was more like they bowled me over!!!

 I babysat my son's sweet pup Chewy. What a cutie!

We had 22 guests for Turkey Day!

I completed two commissions and started a new painting.

This was from our Spring trip to Scotland - a piper greeted us in the Highlands near Glencoe.

My mom and I had some downtime at Lake Tahoe.

We had a great cousin's reunion which I did a lot of family tree work for.

David, Timmy & myself

And then Christmas just blew by......

And I was sick the entire time (3 months) with some kind of 

flu-bronchitis-pneumonia-cold-cough thingy! UGGG!

And being stubborn - I never went to the doctors.

Lucky for me, my husband and my boys all cook as well do their loveys, so I had plenty of help.

I hope you will forgive my absence for the last two months.

I'm still here!

As a treat I am going to share two special yummy recipes 

Pumpkin Bread a la Monica

Pumpkin Bread Recipe

1 ½ c. flour

½ tsp. salt

1 c. sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

1 c. pumpkin puree

½ c. vegetable oil (I sometimes use ¼ c. water and ¼ c. oil)

2 eggs, beaten

¼ c. water

¼ tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. allspice

¼ tsp. cloves

½ c. chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift the flour, salt, sugar, & baking soda together. In a separate bowl, combine the pumpkin, oil, eggs, water, & spices. Pour into bowl with dry ingredients & mix until all are combined. Stir in the nuts. Pour into a well-buttered 9x5x3-in. loaf pan, bake 50-60 minutes until done in the middle. Remove from pan, cool on a rack.

 

Jacque's Delicious Cranberry Honey Butter

 1/4 c. honey
1 c. butter
1/4 - 1/2 c. chopped dried cranberries
& orange zest to taste

Jacque placed the butter in small canning jars with handmade labels. 

“And now let us welcome the New Year —full of things that have never been.”

—RAINER MARIA RILKE

TBT

Song - Vivaldi's Winter - The Piano Guys

My cousin Susan with Missy and myself with Molly at the family cabin in Lake Tahoe - c. 1965

A snowlady that I made with my friend Jill on the same deck as upper photo - c. 2012

"I want to become acutely aware of all I have taken for granted" – Sylvia Plath

Suzie Q

Song - Suzie Q by Creedence Clearwater Revival

My sweet cousin Susan passed away Thursday morning and I began reminiscing about the fun times that we had together.

Susan is in the center of her family with her arm around her dad - 1958

In the 60's my Aunt and Uncle would rent a cabin near Donner Lake. My family used to go and stay with them sometimes.
 

I am on the left & Susan on the right -  in some very short dresses!  Oh my!!!

All of the cousins took water skiing lessons from a little old lady who worked at Donner Lake (now that I think of it she was probably all of 52). I remember her having us stand on the beach with our skis on and hold onto the tow rope.  She would pull us right into the water off the beach and you never had to work at standing up! Nor did you get wet!!

Probably not safe anymore......and probably wasn't safe then either.  Kind of like how fun it was to sit on the tailgate of dad's station wagon with our feet dangling near the road all the way home from the swimming pool.

 At the cabin one night, my older brother David and cousin Bill were supposed to be babysitting us and our two younger brothers while our parents went out for dinner.

Susie is the one with the party hat on and that's me next to her with the braids

Well, this particular night we were all in our bedrooms getting ready for bed.  Susan and I were sharing a room on the second floor and Bill & David had the room right next door.

We are in the forest, it's very dark and we hear a scratching on our bedroom window.  Someone was trying to get inside.  How can this be - we are on the second floor?  A bear perhaps?

David with his arm lovingly draped around Susan leg

We scream, head for the door and the door handle comes off in Susan's hand. We fall to the floor, wet our pants and when the boys open the door for us, they were laughing hysterically and holding a very long stick..............they had to do the dishes for a week!

Susie is on the top row, second from the left.  I am next to her and our two older "stinker" brothers are next to me.  David is holding our cousin Patty and Bill is next to him with the dark hair.

Susan and I used to pick Pampas Grass flowers in the empty lot across the street from her house in El Cerrito.  We would stick two fronds each into the back of our shirt and pretend that we were angels. Now you are a real angel Susie.

 You will be missed.......

“Scars remind us that the past was real”  -- Shakespeare