If I Only Had a Brain

One of my favorite movies is the Wizard of Oz.  When I was growing up it was on television once a year in the early spring.  How it is that I can remember that, I do not know.  I knew a lot of the dialogue and all of the songs and can do a pretty mean Wicked Witch of the West cackle.   I love the song where each of Dorothy's companions lament, "If I only had a . . ."

I often find myself relating to the scarecrow's wish, "if I only had a brain."  I can usually laugh about it because my husband seems to be dealing with the same challenge these days.  What is this leading to?  It seems my eyes are also showing the consequences of aging.  I can read very small print if my contacts are out, but if they are in and the light is inadequate, I am using those little glasses that perch on the end of the nose (the ones that I was sure I would never need). The other day I was filling out a bunch of papers prior to starting physical therapy.  It was daytime and there was plenty of light. I was wearing my contact lenses.  One of the pages had items to check off if they applied to you - such as pacemaker, etc.  I was surprised when I noticed one of the items - mental implants!  Just as I was wondering where I could possibly get one of those, I noticed that there was no "n" in that first word.  No metal implants for me, but I sure could use a mental implant.  If any of you ever hear of such a thing, let me know - I'll be the first to sign up!

Three Cheers for Rotisserie Chicken!

For many years I cooked for our family of seven people.  Since becoming empty nesters a few years ago, I've had to change the way I cook or we could be eating leftovers for a LONG time.   I also like easy, quick meals.   I love Costco's rotisserie chicken - juicy, tender, and I don't have to handle or clean a whole chicken (ick!).  We can eat a whole week on a Costco chicken, which, at $5.00 a pop, is great on the budget.  I use the meat in panini sandwiches, on pizzas with vegetables, in salads, etc.  In the winter chicken noodle soup is a favorite.  My newest recipe is one for turkey or chicken enchiladas.  It is quick and easy and most of the ingredients are in my food storage.

Turkey or Chicken Enchiladas

2 1/2 cups shredded, cooked turkey or chicken
1 quart stewed tomatoes, drained and  cut (or a 14 1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes)
1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed
Cheddar/jack or Colby/jack cheese - however much or little you want
1/2 cup chopped onion, sauteed in small amount of oil until tender
1/2 cup no fat sour cream

Mix these together for filling.

Sauce:

1 pint of salsa mixed with small can of mild enchilada sauce.

Put small amount of sauce on bottom of a 9x13 pan.

Cook 8 tortillas (Tortilla Land from Costco).  Fill with chicken mixture.  Put in pan seam side down.  Top with remainder of sauce.  Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.  Remove cover and add cheese.  Bake 5 to 10 minutes more until cheese is melted.  Serves 8.

Barbara Ellen Asire

Barbara Ellen Asire, my great-grandmother, was born February 24, 1858 in Millcreek Township, Coshocton County, Ohio.  She had a twin sister, Amanda, who lived only six weeks.  They were the youngest of eight children born to Henry M. and Elizabeth Conrad Asire.

Both the Asire and Conrad families came to Ohio from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.  Elizabeth Conrad arrived in 1826 with her family in a covered wagon.  The Asire family came a few years after that.  Henry and Elizabeth were married in 1836 in Holmes County, Ohio.  Six years later on March 26, 1842, 95 acres were deeded to them by Elizabeth's parents, Jacob and and Mary Conrad, for the sum of $500 (tribute to Barbara Ellen Asire Bechtol, written by daughter Nellie Bechtol Patterson).  That land was in Millcreek Township.  They built four different homes on the land and were living in the last when when Barbara was born.  Ironically, she died in that same room nearly 53 years later.  Photo of the Asire home taken c. 1902 - Barbara with several of her children.

Barbara attended  church and Sunday School at the Reformed Church in New Bedford.  She went to Hardridge, which was a one-room school house located just over the hill from where they lived.   Her brother Leonard taught at the school for one term while she was there.  Later, her children would attend the same school. 

In 1879, at the age of 21, she married Frederick Bechtol, son of Nathan and Nancy Griffith Bechtol.  He, too, was also born and raised in Millcreek Township.  The Bechtols were farmers who had come to Coshocton County from Pennsylvania.

Frederick and Barbara lived with her widowed mother for several years (I assume until Elizabeth's death in 1892).  During the 1880's they purchased 110 acres from Elizabeth (including the house).  Barbara and Frederick had 12 children.  One son died in 1889, at the tender age of three months.  No one has a record of what the baby's name was.

As a farmer's wife and mother of 11 living children, Barbara led a physically hard and demanding life.  She had been ill for several months before she died on November 24, 1910 - only 52 years old.   It was said that she bore this with patience and endurance.  Her death certificate lists the cause of death as organic heart disease complicated by nephritis (kidney disease) and enlarged liver.  In her obituary a neighbor said this of her:  "The most beautiful feature of her life was that she was always more thoughtful for the happiness and welfare of others than for herself.  Her name will ever be a blessing to her estimable family and all who came in contact with her."

Today her descendants number in the hundreds and are scattered across the country.  Not long ago I asked my mother if she named me after Barbara Ellen.  Although I wasn't, I am still proud to carry her name.  She left a great legacy to look to.  Aunt Nellie wrote in her tribute, "I think we can truthfully say, as in Proverbs, that 'She looketh well to the ways of her household and she eateth not the bread of idleness and her children rise up to call her blessed'."   These photos are of her New Testament, published in 1859, just a year after she was born.  The book measures 3" x 4 1/2".  The cover is peeling and there is some water damage.



Do You Remember?

We were just finishing dinner this evening - reminding each other not to forget to call and wish Megan a "Happy Birthday" tomorrow.  The phone rings. Not the 5:00 p.m. phone call.  6:00 p.m. instead.   I guessed right - Megan.  "Do you remember . . ."  It took a minute to dig down into the deep recesses of my half-century old brain to come up with the recipe for a salad/dessert I used to make.  It was one that my kids liked and is very easy:

1 can fruit cocktail
1 lg. can pineapple chunks
1 small can mandarin oranges
2 bananas sliced
1 box (4-serving size) instant lemon pudding

Drain most of the juice off of the canned fruit.  Add bananas and stir together.  Sprinkle dry pudding over all of the fruit and stir, making sure all of the pudding is dissolved.

Oh, and Happy Birthday, Megan!  You're the best Valentine gift I've ever received.

Just Around the Corner . . .

I spotted this when I went outside yesterday!  That can only mean that spring is around the corner.  I will be glad to say good-bye to winter.  I am always grateful for the snow that falls in our mountains to provide us with our water for the upcoming year.  But I do not enjoy the cold nor the inversions that often blanket our valleys.  But spring -  it is my favorite season.  I love the smells of spring - hyacinths blooming, wet soil and the freshly mown grass.  I love the buds beginning to burst on the fruit trees.  I love being able to open the windows and hear the birds chirping and children playing outside.  Oh, the joys of springtime!

Whose We Are Part 2

This is the link that I first learned about the quilt.  The voice you hear at the beginning is Bernice Patterson Dreher, daughter of Nellie Bechtol Patterson.

http://pomerenearts.org/community/quilt_trail/edgarcoxfarm.html

Whose We Are

I began another quilt yesteray.  I love the whole process of choosing a pattern, buying fabric, cutting, piecing, quilting and binding.  Each time I work in my sewing room with my modern gadgets and computerized sewing machine, I look over on the dresser where I see a shadowbox containing mementos from my grandmother, Anna Mary Bechtol Porr.  One of the items is a quilt block from one of the myriad quilts she made.  It is hand quilted.  Perhaps some of the fabric was purchased, but the stars were made from scraps of the remnants of a dress or skirt.  Many of the quilts she made were hand pieced.  She didn't have a sewing room - her machine was set up in either the dining room or her bedroom.

I don't know how old Anna was when she began to quilt.  I assume it was when she was quite young.  Her sister Nellie Bechtol Patterson was an accomplished quilter, who in her lifetime made over 500 quilts!  Of course, they were all quilted by hand.  In a newspaper article featuring her prowess, Aunt Nellie recalls that she first learned to quilt when she was five years old - on a set of frames that she used to that very day!  In this same article it said that among her keepsakes was a quilt that her mother, Barbara Ellen Asire Bechtol made using her mother's dresses.  Last year as I was doing some genealogical research on the Asire family, I came across pictures of that very same quilt.  The power of Google!   

I try to picture a grieving Barbara, 33 years old with a young family of her own, washing her mother's dresses, cutting, piecing, and then handquilting the entire quilt.  I hope she found peace and comfort in creating this wonderful keepsake.

Truman Madsen, author and religious scholar, said, "You don't know who you are until you know whose you are."

I never knew my grandmother, Anna.  Likewise my mother never knew her grandmother, Barbara.  My grandmother Anna was born just three years before her grandmother died. As I have gathered their stories they have become real to me.  But as I carry on their wonderful tradition, I feel them close to my heart.  Thank you, Mom, for passing on the skills that began with your Great-grandmother, Elizabeth Conrad Asire teaching her daughter, Barbara, who taught your Mother.

Baby Blessings

Photos courtesy of Brian

We were blessed in the fall with the addition of two new babies to our family.  Abigail was born in October and Benson followed a month later.  In December we gathered in Smithfield for Abigail's blessing and yesterday it was Benson's turn.  I think about all of those from Michael's side of the family and our side of the family as we attended church with them and as Michael pronounced a beautiful blessing upon Benson.  How loved and welcomed this baby is.  He will grow up with the support of many extended family members and that will be a great blessing to him in the years to come.

We had lunch at Megan's home after church.  There was quite a large group.  I often take one of my favorite salads to family gatherings.  It is very easy and can be made with a variety of ingredients.

Basic Spinach Salad

1 bag of baby spinach
Fruit of choice
Nuts of choice
Other optional add-ins:  Craisins, diced cooked bacon, swiss cheese, onion
Dressing:  Brianna's Poppyseed Dressing

My usual mix is with apples and cashews or roasted walnuts.  Clementines are very good to use as the fruit.  I have tried this with other poppyseed dressings, but none of them taste as good as Brianna's.  It is very easy to make for a large group - just increase proportions.  Even the grandchildren will eat this!

Jedis in Training

Thursday night we got a telephone call from Megan inviting us to come down on Friday and play with the kids while she cleaned the house to prepare for Sunday's blessing of Benson.  Ross turned six earlier in the week, so we took his birthday presents down for him.  He is into anything Star Wars.  And since he is, so is his little brother, Lincoln.  I made the Jedi robe for Ross and we gave him the light saber sword.  He was very excited and more than happy to pose for a picture.  He kindly consented to letting Lincoln wear it long enough to get his picture taken as well.

A Nut on My Family Tree

I am a self-proclaimed genealogy geek.  I think there is some genetic disposition towards this.  I had great examples in my own extended family.  My great-aunt, Nellie Bechtol Patterson, kept records for the Bechtol family.  It was always called the Bechtol book.  It was more of a booklet.  It rests in one of my Bechtol file folders.  I used it more before there was such a thing as the Internet and Ancestry.com.  Considering the size of the family, it was a great undertaking - especially in the pre-computer days.  Over 100 years ago Leonard Asire penned the Conrad family tree, a copy of which hangs beside my desk in the den.  My mother kept baby books for each of us.  I have scrapbooks of pictures and documents that provide the framework for the story that each family has.  A few months ago my husband began a blog to share stories of his ancestors.  It inspired me and was one of the reasons I decided to jump on the blog bandwagon.  As I gather my thoughts and ideas look for upcoming pictures and stories of those who occupy the many twigs and branches of the family tree.

In Our Lovely Centerville

We have lived in our home for over 28 years.  I love Centerville.

This is the view out my front window.

 This is what I see from my kitchen window at night. 

But today we are experiencing the only thing I dislike about this beautiful place.  East winds!  It is 13 degrees outside with 30-50 mph winds.  I shudder to think of what that wind chill factor is right now.  We have experienced hurricane-force winds in the past.  It has ripped shingles off our roof, the front door off its hinges, and a shed off of a cement pad.  We saw one piece of that shed the next morning and wondered if the rest of it was resting at the bottom of the Great Salt Lake!  These winds are to continue through the night.  Guess I'll have to pop in the ear plugs tonight.