Texas-Oklahoma Whirlwind Weekend

Around these parts, when the words Texas and Oklahoma appear in the same phrase it usually has to do with football and the big Texas/OU rivalry. This time, though, it was almost 900 miles of travel from Friday to Sunday as we headed north of the Red River for our grandson's high school graduation. 

Naturally, the commencement speeches were different this year. The last few months of school had been virtual. There was no prom, no senior picnic or any of the other events that most seniors take for granted. Yet the kids still had lots of memories to share.

While the trip was long in terms of miles, I always enjoy the views. South-central Oklahoma is beautiful country. Lots of rolling hills and some gorgeous horse ranches.

The Arbuckle Wilderness is always a nice change of scenery. 

 They call these the Arbuckle Mountains, though the term "mountain" is relative. They're only 1440 ft high.

However, they are significant in that they date back 1.4 billion years. The Precambrian Era granite rocks were later overlain with rhyolites during the Cambrian Period.

Yeah, that's kind of over my head, too, so I'll just enjoy the view.

Between Friday and Saturday, we visited four out of our five kiddos and saw all but one of our grandkids. And we only missed him because he's in basic training in Georgia right now. One did follow us home, though. 

When we visited our youngest daughter, Big Daddy had a special treat for her little one.

And me thinks she was pretty happy about it.

How was your weekend?

Award-winning author Mindy Obenhaus is passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. She lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, one sassy pup, countless cattle, deer and the occasional coyote, mountain lion or snake. When she's not writing, she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, cooking and watching copious amounts of the Hallmark Channel. Learn more at mindyobenhaus.com

Creamy Potato Soup

Jan here, newly returned from a trip east. We visited family, I did some research and talked with some readers, we had a tour of Baker Publishing in Grand Rapids, Michigan... in short, it was a great trip!

When we arrived home yesterday afternoon, we had driven more than 2400 miles, spent 44+ hours in the car, weathered heavy rain in Michigan, heavy snow between Sioux City and Sioux Falls...and we were ready to be HOME!

When the Black Hills appeared on the horizon, we breathed a sigh of relief.

BUT, then comes the perennial question: What's for supper?

This is one of those times when I was glad for my pantry!

Creamy Potato Soup

ingredients:

1/2 onion, diced small
1/2 cup butter
6-8 medium potatoes (I used reds - so sweet and creamy!)
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup milk
1/4 - 1/2 cup flour (depending on how thick you like your soup)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
seasonings: garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste

I fixed this soup in my Instant Pot, but you can easily cook it on top of the stove or in your slow cooker.

Melt the butter in your pan (in a separate pan if using your slow cooker), then saute the onion until it's transparent.

Meanwhile, wash and cube the potatoes.

Add the potatoes, chicken broth, and seasonings to the pot. Cook until the potatoes are tender.
(I cooked the soup for 5 minutes in the Instant Pot, then used the natural pressure release - about 40 minutes total.)

Whisk the flour into 1 cup milk until well blended. Add to the soup. Heat, stirring occasionally, until the soup is thickened.

About 3-5 minutes before serving, add the 1 cup cream. Taste and add more seasonings if desired.

It was a delicious homecoming meal!

What meal welcomes you home?

Road Trip with Missy!

Missy Tippens

It's funny that Ruthy shared travel yesterday when I was planning to also share our road trip from last weekend.

We headed from our town (near Atlanta) up to Tennessee to spend a long weekend with our middle son.

On the way up, we stopped a spent several hours in Chattanooga at the Tennessee Aquarium. It was a wonderful visit!! They have the River building and also the Ocean building. We saw every inch of the place! Some of my favorite parts...

First, the river otters! They were so cute. I want one!

Then we went in the butterfly house. Of course, my phone died while in there. I confiscated my husband's phone and took a gazillion photos and videos but haven't migrated them to my phone yet. But here are a couple I took of butterflies before the phone died.

We had a great day at the aquarium! Then headed to Knoxville to see our son. For lunch the next day, we went downtown to Market Square and ate at a recommended restaurant, known for its chicken and waffles. Myrtles Chicken & Beer. Best chicken I've ever had!

The next day, the three of us went to Asheville to spend a couple of days. We love Asheville! We started the morning with coffee from Trade & Lore.

We lucked out that they were holding an arts and crafts festival downtown. I saw some amazing artwork! Bought a beautiful photo for my daughter's upcoming birthday (hopefully she's not reading this!). :) My son really liked a photographer's work--Fine Art Photography by Walter Arnold. The artist takes photos of abandoned sites, showing the beauty in them. My son's favorite was a photo of an arrangement of books at the Cossitt Library in Memphis, TN. You can check it out here. He may start saving for one of the large wall-sized photos that's printed on metal. They're gorgeous.

On the way back to Knoxville, we stopped at Soco Falls. Hubby and son took a hike to the bottom that was steep and slippery (so there were ropes installed to hold on to as you climbed). I stayed safely at the top and took photos. :)

Here they are working their way back up...

We got back to Knoxville Sunday night and left for home on Monday afternoon after having lunch at my favorite Knoxville restaurant, The Tomato Head. They make the best Caesar salad--which I have them add Benton's bacon to. I crave it when we're not there! At our last visit, we ate at the restaurant both days we were there. And yes, I got the salad both times. LOL

This past holiday weekend was a great trip with four whole days to spend with our son (we have usually only been able to spend one night with him). We're so thankful to have the time with him!

I hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend!

www.missytippens.com

Revisiting Ouray

I miss Ouray. Not only is the quaint southwestern Colorado town the inspiration for my books, it's become a part of me. Whenever I'm there, I'm rejuvenated. So, since I'm not able to go there right now, I'll have to visit vicariously. And the best part about that is that you get to go with me on my virtual journey.

Do you see this? This is why I love Ouray. The untouched beauty created by God alone. From the mountains to the wildflowers...

On our last trip the Columbines were out to greet us.

Along with some cute little creatures, like the chipmunks at Box Canyon.

This little fella likes to hangout at one of the area's many abandoned mines.

Can you see him there in the middle, atop the cinder block? That's a Pika. A little mountain creature that has no problem telling off those folks who dare intrude on his turf.

This secluded spot will make an appearance in an upcoming book.

And then there's the town itself.

Inviting. Historic. Unique. And unlike most places, it's virtually unchanging.

Of course, no trip to Ouray is complete without a visit or two to Mouse's Coffee and Chocolates.

Are you drooling yet?

 How about now?

There were so many wonderful things about Ouray. But the best thing of all is that it's chock full of story ideas. And I can't wait until the next trip to see what we uncover next. 

Now it's your turn. Where is your favorite place to travel and why? 

-------------------------------

Three-time Carol Award finalist, Mindy Obenhaus, lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, the youngest of her five children, two dogs and countless cattle. She's passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining and sometimes adventurous manner. When she's not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more at mindyobenhaus.com. 

Goodbye.... for now!

Hello, everybody! Mary Jane here and this is goodbye... for now.
                                                             
I'm eyeballs-deep in several series, we'll be traveling for a while, and, frankly, I think I've run out of recipes!
                                              
 So, I've decided to take a step back from the cafe until life is calmer.
                              
I can't express how much I've enjoyed sharing recipes on Yankee Belle Cafe.
                                         
The charming successes...
                                                 
                                                                    And the fails!
                                   
Like double chocolate pound cake with mint ganache. 
                                            
The pork roast with onions that I think I stole from Ruthy... Or was it Jan?
                                    
The never-fail  Biscotti recipe from a friend.
                              
The lavender flan recipe from a magazine.
                               
                                                                
Oh,  how I made myself hungry looking at posts like this chocolate cream raspberry pie!
And then there were the photos of family life...
                                                     
OH MY. All the pictures!
                                                 
Butterfly hunting...
                                             
Cardboard armor...
                               
Hilarious photo fails!

I love this one. Or maybe I just love the memory of the brown sugar pound cake with caramel glaze!
                              
I might possibly have cried a little at this "banana phone" picture. All my babies did this. Now they're all too old to pretend to talk on the banana phone!
                                               
So many milestones. All the wonderful food, comments, conversations, memories...
                                         
 I've learned so much about cooking and family and faith in the cafe.
                                     
Our posts aren't just about food.  They're about all the moments in our lives, good and bad. (Our good things jar. We're in our fifth year and every Jan 1st we open them one by one to read the wonderful things that happened. I don't curate the collection. Anyone can write, or have someone else write, a note. Some of them are hilarious! )
                                                           
They're about the history of our country...
                                       
...and the pioneers who made it what it is. The posts are about our yearning to carry on what was given to us.
                               
The recipes aren't just desserts or dinner or snacks. They're family recipes that are really more about generations of love, than the food.
                                
They're secret recipes passed from friend to friend.
                                      
Whether Mardi Gras King's Cake, Ash Wednesday, Easter,
                                                      
Advent or Christmas, the posts echoed the church calendar in our houses.

The posts are about  new babies and beginnings and passing on the Good News in a community of faith.

                                                
There are more posts about books than I would have thought possible, dozens between the six of us! It's about work and persistence and perseverance and fellowship. We lift each other up, celebrate writing 'the end' and each contract or book release.
                                                       
It's about pets, the cats and dogs that are members of our family.
                                            
Sleeping in silly positions...
                                               
 and laughter and growing up.

It's about learning to listen and work on new skills, trying new things, perhaps starting new traditions.

 About quiet moments of peace on a chilly day.

About noticing the beauty of a fluffy kitten, or a tender touch. The cuddles of sleeping babies, the warmth of a toddler's hand, the hug of a teenager.

These posts tracked five years of my family life, from having six kids under twelve, to having six readers in the house and three (almost four!) teenagers

 In our posts we bring our readers on our vacations, near and far. To conferences, on hikes, to churches and bookstores and restaurants.
                                        
Lakes and oceans and wheatfields.
                                                         
I saw five years of vacation photos...
                                                   
 and I felt a rush of gratitude for the freedom to travel and explore this beautiful country.
                                                        
Freedom to stay in a fancy hotel, or in a yurt on the Oregon coast...
                                                   
To eat a five star restaurant to catch our own food off the dock.
                                             
To see the old and the new.
                                        
To buy our food from a farmer's market, 
                                                  
Or buy cactus shipped from far away. (It's grown on me...)
                                  
                                        To make ice cream from our own mulberry tree, 
                                     
To plant the trees we want, how we want, and spray whether we want to or not. (Our organic cherries.)
                                     
Or buy from a local farm that can decide whether to grow organically or not.
                                           
To tend a forty year old grapevine, and sell or eat the fruit as we wish!

 We're writers, but we're readers, too!
                                  
Whether we're in the mountains or at the shore.

 The posts celebrated my sweet tooth and how delightful it was when I met Mr. Latte.  And then foun a delicious copycat Starbucks gingerbread syrup.

 We invited our readers into our kitchens, whether sharing our decorations, renovations,
                                            
Furniture rescues...
                                              
vintage dishware...

 First steps!!

 We brought flowers...

                                    
And more flowers (and more and more flowers)! I never knew I posted so many flowers.

 Sleeping babies in funny hats.

 Preteens pretending to fall in love with "seaweeda" with the fabulous hair!
And oh, the kid pictures. So many moments of our daily lives.
                                     
Blowing bubbles instead of doing dishes.
                                      
Finding the world's biggest icicle.
                                                      
Unhappy faces when their favorite pie pumpkin was sacrificed for pumpkin bread...
                                                     
That recipe is here! Of course, there were recipes, too.

So. Many. Cupcakes. 

                                                           
Can I just say how hungry I got while scrolling through recipes like these homemade calzones??

Or this lemon poppy seed sour cream bundt cake?? 

Or banana rum shuttles...

I smiled to see dear Edna in so many posts.

 She's still on my counter, supervising all the new arrivals and making sure their performance is up to par.

 But as much as life stays the same, it's still ever-changing. And so, we're off on our next adventure! I'll still pop in when I can because I'm sure I'll be missing the Yankee Belle Cafe community.

 All of our love and gratitude to Ruthy, Missy, Jan, Mindy and Cate! Until we see you again!