Wednesday Medley: Parchment Paper?

I am happy to be joining other bloggers for this weekly meet-up medley.

Thank you Terri for the fun questions each week.

Click Here to go to Terri's blog where you can find the other participants and read all about this national day.

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NATIONAL PARCHMENT DAY

Last Wednesday in June

I agree with Terri.  Who knew???

1.  Who knew there was a day to celebrate parchment paper?!  Do you ever use parchment when you bake or cook? Tell us about your favorite way to use it, please.

Oh yes, I don't know what I would do without these boxes of parchment in the pantry.  I use it anytime I bake meat and veggies.  I also line the AirFryer depending on what I'm cooking.  It is great for baking brownies, cookies, etc.  I even put a piece on the kitchen counter top for cooling goodies before putting away.

2.  When Terri thinks of parchment paper, she usually thinks about special writing or artist papers. She loves using specialty papers for creating cards or other art projects. Tell us about a creative way you have used parchment paper other than to bake with!

I used a lovely parchment stationary for sending invitations once.

3.  Terri used to be in the cake business and has piped many borders and roses and leaves and letters, etc., etc.  You can make a pastry bag from parchment paper!  Have you ever tried decorating a cake with a pastry bag and specialty tips?  Do you have a picture to share?  Don't be shy, now!

No.  Baking is not my thing and decorating a cake certainly isn't.  I'll let the Terri's of this world take care of that for me.

4.  Tell us about something you baked or cooked in the past week or so that turned out great, parchment or no parchment.  Will you share the recipe?

The only thing I've cooked this week was some chicken breasts Tuesday afternoon to top off our salad for dinner.  I cooked them in the AirFryer and they were cooked to perfection in no time.  No recipe required!

5.  The last Wednesday in June!!  How can that be? Has your June flown by or have you been able to enjoy each day and make it slow down for you?

We spent the first two weeks of the month in Indiana and if you would like to see some of what we did click HERE and HERE.

You will not only get to see some mighty pretty girls, but sights from a road trip to South Haven and scenes I took of a Japanese Garden and the St Joseph River.

Each day has been enjoyable because I choose to enjoy every single one.

6.  Tell us something about your week so far, if you will.

We woke up to NO A/C Tuesday morning but thankfully it was a minor issue and the house was cool again in short order.  No air conditioning this time of year in the south is life threatening.

Tuesday afternoon we attended the funeral of a friend who was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) four (4) months ago. Two weeks ago he was walking and talking albeit with some difficulty, and then he just gave up.  He was in hospice for one week before his death.  

His wife and I talked about the importance of the will to live and how without it, there is little medical science can do.  Dale is in heaven now and will not have to suffer through the long affects of this horrible disease.

Thursday, we will be joining three other long-time couple friends at the lovely home of the fourth couple of our group for the weekend.  We met last year for the first time in over 30 years and declared it must become an annual event.

I will have pictures and stories to share next week.

Over the Bridges and Through the Trees

This will conclude the photo summary of our Indiana trip.

One afternoon I went alone to visit the tiny Shiojiri Niwa Japanese Garden in Mishawaka.  I find this sweet place to be so peaceful and serene.  I try to visit here almost every trip and love seeing it in different seasons.  Sitting quietly in the Teahouse Pavilion offers a time of quiet reflection and meditation.

Come walk among the trees and plants and over the bridges with me.

Afterward I drove to the Mishawaka Riverwalk.  Mishawaka is nestled along the beautiful St. Joseph River.  The city is named after Princess Mishawaka, daughter of Shawnee Chief Elkhart. The legend of her romance with white trapper Deadshot, and abduction by her jealous Indian suitor Grey Wolf, makes for a very romantic and mysterious story.

The Battell Park was designed and built in 1881.  In 1884 this Civil War Memorial was constructed and dedicated.  The title "Shiloh" on the statue had significance for me.  Even though this is a memorial to the Union Army, Shiloh is the name of a small community in North Louisiana where my dad grew up and where my paternal ancestors are buried.  It was very much Confederate land at one time.

Wars fought for just causes on both sides can be honorable!

In the 1930's as part of an economic development initiative during the Great Depression, government workers, part of the WPA project, built the stone walls and gardens along the St. Joseph River.  These stone benches and steps are the remains of that work.

Today there continues to be building projects along the river as the city grows.

I hope you enjoyed visiting the city of Mishawaka with me.

This site, Shiojiri Niwa will give you the interesting background and history of the garden and how it came to be in Mishawaka.

For more information about Mishawaka, Indiana click on This LINK.

Indiana Trip Photo Summary

Our recent trip to visit our son and his family in Northern Indiana near South Bend, was as always so very enjoyable.  I find it most memorable to record it with pictures that I can play back as often and as long as my heart desires.  So let me share a few of them with you.

On Friday night, our son's youngest, Mary-Elizabeth graduated from high school.  Prior to joining her friends for a meal prior to graduation, they allowed me to take a few pictures to memorialize the day and their sweet friendships.

They will all be going their separate ways and building new friendships, but these bonds will never be lost.

Because of the size of their school their graduations are held at the Purcell Pavilion on the Notre Dame Campus.

We found each other among the almost 900 graduates and hundreds of family members.

She graduated with honors and we are so proud of her.

Happy Day Family

Xavier University will be fortunate to have this sunshine girl this fall.

One day we took a road trip up to South Haven, Michigan.

It is such a neat little village right on the beautiful Lake Michigan.

 There are so many quaint little shops and I think we went into every one of them.

After walking to the marina and back we were ready for lunch.  Clementine's is in an old bank building that still has the original tin ceiling and light fixtures.  The food was quiet good as well.

For dessert we simply walked around one of the chocolate shops and just smelled the delicacies.  It almost took more restraint than we possessed to walk out empty handed.  But, we did!

We happened upon this little coffee shop, "The Living Room of South Haven," and Dick and Michelle are not known for passing up an opportunity for a cup.  This one smelled wonderful and is actually a Christian based business.  Not only do they offer a wide variety of coffees and teas, but a place to play board games, a small library and a quiet, comfortable reading room in the back.

We noticed this huge map on the wall with hundreds of pins stuck into places all over the world.

When we asked about it, we were told that since they opened two and a half years ago, they have had over 2,000 visitors from all the places where there is a pin.  It is unbelievable that the Lord would bring people from so many parts of the world to this sweet little spot where they can experience His love.

We just happened to be the first from Shreveport, Louisiana.

I loved this beautifully painted mural on the side of one of the buildings.

There were several outdoor restaurants along the Black River which flows into the lake.

And this is the mode of transportation for the wealthy.

We then drove down to another little harbor town, New Buffalo where we ate at the neatest place.  It is the Stray Dog Bar & Grill.  It got it's name from the owners family dog who has been memorialized in this painting which hangs over the fireplace.  All of the wall decor is pictures of their client's dogs.  Really a neat place and the food was delicious.

This place definitely caught our attention.  It is a church that had to close it's doors and sold the building to a local brewery.  We learned that it is called "The Beer Church."  Not your common sight and seemed a bit sad to us.

We laugh and say any road trip with John driving is an adventure and this held true for this trip as well.  However, it was a great day with our kids and being shown how fast a Tesla can go made it even more exciting.

This is where I spent a good bit of my day time.  The weather could not have been more perfect and this place makes me happy.

Next time, I will show you some pictures I took on a little excursion into Mishawaka.