The Full Gamut

Yesterday was one of the kind of days that has you to experiencing the full gamut of emotions. Grief to joy all in the same twenty-four hour day.

Suz and I went to Marie's funeral and the lunch the ladies of the church held for the family before the service. Before I go any further, if you've never experienced a church luncheon hosted by a ladies circle from a church, especially a small southern one (of course, I'm partial), then, honey, you've never had good food. God truly blesses those cooks with the cooking talent. The way those ladies cook is a blessing. I'm just positive that God gives them even a little more talent and puts extra good flavor in the food they prepare when they're preparing it for others. Especially grieving families. Everything was so nice and the food was delicious. I have a recipe to share with y'all at the end of this post. It was one that my Auntie Barbo especially enjoyed. I didn't try it. I was too busy stuffing myself on some sort of chicken dish. We all bought cookbooks from the Oakland Baptist Church. I'm looking forward to trying some of them out.

After the luncheon, Marie's funeral was held. It was beautiful. There were a few speakers who spoke before the pastor. A couple of friends and her daughter-in-law gave everyone beautiful memories of Marie. It was very touching. The pastor's message centered around the Twenty-Third Psalm. I thought it was very comforting. I'm praying for Maddie Lou, my great aunt. And all of Marie's family and friends. She sure had a bunch of them. The chapel was full.

Straight from the funeral, we went to Target and got the things we needed for my mom's b'day party that we were having last night at my house. We took her to Red Lobster for supper, then came back to my house for dessert.
My Auntie Barbo joined us. We were happy to have her come.
Here's a parting shot of Crystal, Suz and me. Alayna had the camera. Daddy decided that maybe Alayna would be a news reporter or something. She was kinda crazy with the camera. She loved making pictures and took pictures of everything and everybody. Her birthday is next week and she's decided she wants a real camera. Not a cheapo one. A real one.

After eating like little piggies at the trough, we went back to my house for dessert. No one really saved room for it, but, hey, it was Mimi's b'day. When it's your b'day, by golly, you have dessert. Just look at Mimi with the kids. PaPa decided to join the picture. Isn't he handsome in his red shirt? Joseph and Ethan were at their dads, so they missed the party. I sent them home a goodie bag that Suz and I made. Even though it was Mimi celebrated her 63rd b'day, when you have a b'day party at my house, goodie bags are in order.
Thanks, Suz, for making the dessert. Yummy cake balls.
Look at that sweet smile on my mama's face. Isn't she pretty? I think so. We sang happy birthday to her. She let Eli blow out the candles. He grabbed the candles to lick the frosting and got hot wax on his hands. Do things like that happen to y'all too?
And that was my Sunday. It was a good day, with a shot of sadness mixed in. I enjoyed spending extra time with my Aunties. They always make me laugh. And, in fact, my favorite scripture that I have up on my sidebar kinda came from my feelings toward them. They were with us when my daddy nearly died in 2003. They stayed with us 24 hours the night they thought he would die. And from that point on, they were with us almost non-stop. All we had was each other. And it was at that point that I discovered that, just like the Bible says in Proverbs 17:22, A Merry heart doeth good like a medicine.

Here's the recipe for the apple dish from yesterday.

CHEESE APPLES
1 (20 ounce) can unsweetened sliced apples
1 stick margarine
3/4 cup self-rising flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 pound Velvetta cheese, grated
Combine margarine and flour. Add sugar and mix. Add cheese and mix. Drain apples and layer in 8x8 inch baking dish. Sprinkle cheese mixture on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, until brown on top. Serves 8 to 10.

I think it may have had some crushed Ritz crackers on top. Not sure on that though.

Till tomorrow, may your heart be merry.