Blackberry Cream Scones

Friday I posted an instragram photo of my previous fail making these yummy morsels. Both Gordon and I agreed they were so bad that the remaining 6 went into the trash! I used baking soda instead of baking powder! And because I am a curious girl I went looking to see why that was a bad mistake! It turns out that too much baking SODA can give the product a bitter or soapy taste. But when you add an acid, which baking POWDER has in the form of cream of tartar, it neutralizes the bitterness. Ah, chemistry!!

So today, between sessions of conference, I was ready for a do-over on this very promising recipe.
I donned my apron (Nona's favorite pink one), assembled my ingredients, making sure to get baking POWDER, and set to work.

I made a couple of tweaks to this recipe- Friday the dough was too dry. I thought if I sifted the flour it might resolve that problem. Nope, so I just added more cream again. Is my cream to thick? (I love that problem!)

Another thing from Friday- when I folded in the blackberries they just got mooshed into a pulp. So I divided the dough and put them in between two layers.

Cut the circle into 8 pieces-

Transfer to a parchment* lined baking sheet-

Bake to a yummy golden brown-

This is a wonderful, toothsome treat- (even after you drop it on the floor!) They are very light, moist and delicious!

Right down to the last crumbs!!

Maybe next time I will add a little cinnamon to the dough, maybe top it with some sweetened whipped cream.

**
Funny story about the parchment paper.  I had a new roll in my food storage in the dungeon. When Bekah was here Camille came down to visit. The three of us were talking and cooking and the Bitties were playing in the dungeon with toys. Usually that isn't a problem. But for some reason, THIS-day it became extraordinarily quiet. When I went to check I found that they had opened the parchment paper box on the end and unrolled miles of paper looking for the chocolate chip cookies that surely MUST be inside since they were pictured on the outside of the box!

Bekah said, "Here Me-Mum. Just let me re-roll it!" She did, straightening the somewhat mangled paper, some torn off with jagged edges.  Each time I get out this roll now I chuckle about my Bitties, looking for cookies!

Blackberry Cream Scones
by Liz Berg

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup fresh blackberries
• 1 cup heavy cream (I needed to add 2-3 Tbs more)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste

1. Preheat oven to 425°. Line baking sheet with parchment and set aside.
2. Placer flour, baking powder, sugar and salt into the food processor and pulse to mix.
3. Remove lid and sprinkled the butter over the flour mixture. Pulse about 10-15 times till mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Transfer mixture to a large bowl.
4. Add vanilla paste to heavy cream, then stir in cream with a rubber spatula until the dough starts to come together. Pour out bowl contents onto a floured surface, and knead a few times, then carefully knead in the blackberries. I sprinkled a few on top, folded the dough over and repeated. You don't want to overwork the dough.
5. Form dough into an 8-inch round (alternatively, you can press into an 8-inch cake pan lined with parchment, then carefully flip out). Cut into 8 wedges
6. Place wedges on baking sheet and bake until tops are light brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool on wire rack for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

This is NOT my original recipe! 

All credit goes to Liz Berg of That Skinny Chick Can Bake

Those Flynn Boys

As I sat down and started looking at photos to write this post I was overwhelmed with a wave of emotion! I accept that my children are all grown into responsible, competent adults but now my grandchildren are going and doing the same darned thing (which is exactly what they are supposed to do... but... but)

GRAMMIE'S BOYS

CADEN - TADHG - BROCK

JUNE 6, 2017

It sent my mind back to these little boys that made me a Grammie. Prior to Tadhg's birth I'd planned on being Nana, but when I held that darling little red-head I said *Your Grammie loves you!* And I knew that is who I REALLY was!

And it seems like just yesterday that these little monkey-boys were these darling, mischievous little people!

BROCK -  CADEN - TADHG

FALL 2003

Now when I call for the Flynn boys after church for our obligatory photo op these are the big men that tower over their little Grammie!

BEKAH - TADHG - GRAMMIE - CADEN - BROCK - CURTIS

And here is the happiest part of this photo... when I called for the *Flynn boys* to step outside for a photo Curtis stepped right in. I'm so grateful that he knows he is also one of my boys!! (And Bekah and I didn't even coordinate our wardrobe choices!)

We had a wonderful, eventful, yet very busy, 6 days together. Wednesday was Caden's graduation from high school. The weather was delightfully cool for a change.

Thursday we went down to Fresno to the temple and to shop. Tadhg is the selfie-king!!

Friday we were busy. Saturday they got the house ready for Tadhg's open house and we shopped. Sunday, after Tadhg's missionary report in Sacrament meeting, they had friends over for a tasty lunch. I loved when I took a break in the kitchen and found this puppy pile of boys on the couch!

Now I'm trying to come to grips with the fact that likely the next time I visit there will only be one Flynn boy left at home.

Grammie's Costume Box of Memories

In 1979 I made my little kids Halloween costumes. I was so pleased with the how they turned out. (Please to notice the barn wood shelf, the very stylish macrame owl and plant hanger- accenting, of course, the harvest gold couch)

AMANDA, TONY AND REBEKAH HALLOWEEN 1979

Previous years I'd done easy things like a ghost, cowboy, fireman etc but this year I went all out.

TONY, 7- THE PUPPY, COMPLETE WITH EYE-SPOT AND LEASH.

My first thought was that these would become pajamas but I was so happy with them that they became the first residents of the Halloween box.

REBEKAH, 6- THE SWEET KITTY

AND AMANDA, 3- AS A LEOPARD

THIS IS A VERY TIRED LEOPARD AFTER A TIRING NIGHT OF MARAUDING THE NEIGHBORHOOD!

AND YOURS TRULY IN MY 27-YEAR-OLD TOMATO-Y GLORY!

(When I ran across this tomato costume last week I'd forgotten that it was this old and I was that young.)

Over the years I've added more costumes: the Fruit of the Loom guys (a bunch of grapes and an apple), the tortoise and the hare, salt and pepper, pirates, hula girl, shepherds, Tinkerbell (a hand-me-down from Sue), an old woman and many more. Each Halloween we'd pull the box out and have a costume parade... and I loved it.

My favorite will always be the years Bek and the boys would come to visit. Stuart would usually have us in tears of laughter. I searched in vain for my blog post about this and I just now remembered- it's not on my blog but tucked safely in one of my many scrapbooks (you remember those days before blogging?)

So I was happy when Camille asked if the kids could come over and *shop* in Grammie's costume box for Halloween. Yes, please!

But this was our unexpected bonus... we put Fiona in her Auntie Amanda's 35 year old costume. (And see Mama-Camille's cute *costume*?)

What do you think this little costume would say about this?

Grammie says it makes her heart very happy!

Yosemite National Park- A Heritage Vacation- Day Three

Thursday we planned for a mule ride! I was very excited about this bit of reenactment! I've ridden a mule once before, at Mammoth Lakes in 1994 but apparently it was an atypical, cooperative mule! I love Grandad's description of mule riding...

"Every day we hiked to points of interest. The falls were nice and full in July and we explored them all as far as we could go. This [the trail to Glacier Point] is the trail over which the guides take their tourists by horse- or mule-back. We kept pace with them almost all the way up the trail; sometimes we would pass them and later they would pass us sitting down to rest. A mule is a very aggravating animal, especially on the trail. The guide would be up in front, mounted on a horse, and occasionally a mule would spy a nice green sprig off to one side of the trail, and the rider couldn’t stop him from getting it—which as very uncomfortable to the rider, who would have a hard time to keep from sliding backward out of the saddle. When this occurred in the middle of the line, it caused quite a jam and the guide would have to come back and get the mule to change his mind again. We saw one old fellow in this kind of a fix and he hollered bloody murder until the guide righted his mule again."

We were set for a 4-hour trail ride that started at 8 am. We needed to arrive early to watch their safety video and get our mandatory riding helmet. There were only 5 riders this day, plus the two guides. They had the mules all lined up on one side of the hitchin'-fence and told us to wait on the other side (the safe side) until we were matches up with our mule. Imagine my surprise and delight when they said, "Joanie, this is your mule, Elsie!" I won't lie... it brought tears to my eyes. What were the chances? Just a coincidence? I THINK NOT!!

Rebekah got paired with Melvin. We were assured by our guides that none of the mules were suicidal and to trust them. I loved watching Melvin's little mincing steps as he maneuvered his way on the trail, keeping my acrophobic daughter safe... even in the face of sure death!

But it was a close thing. About three-quarters of the way up the steep mountain trail the mule right in front of me stepped on the side of the trail as it maneuvered one of the many hairpin turns, knocking loose some rocks, which, naturally started a mini rock slide. Welp! Elsie decided to take exception with that! (And if you've ever been horse or mule back riding, you know what I'm talking about!) That 16-hand-tall mule turned on a dime that would make any good cuttin' horse jealous and started tearing off down the trail away from that evil mass of rock wedging her way between Melvin and Rebekah on the inside, uphill side of the trail pushing her puny friend and rider right up to the precipice of death!! Luckily I am an experienced horsewoman (oh, but mules are a different breed!) and was able to stop her in quick time.

Rebekah mentioned that her leg and knee hurt but it wasn't until later that we saw the extent of the damage... and this is before the bruising started to bloom.

But Bek cowgirled-up and we had a lovely view from the top.

We wanted our guide to capture our likeness, just like Bill and Elsie 102 years ago, but Elsie-the mule is a big girl...

and we needed a better vantage point so we could even see Rebekah and Melvin.

The stables are right at the base of Royal Arch, where Grandad and Grandma camped those many summers ago.

When we checked in at the Ranger’s Station, we were assigned to Camp 8 which is under the Royal Arch, which is within walking distance of Camp Curry, where they had an entertainment each evening, which was climaxed by the fire-fall from Glacier Point each night. Glacier Point is about 3,000 feet above the floor of the valley and each day they make a big pile of wood which is lighted in the evening and when it burns down, the embers are pushed over the precipice—thus the fire falls. Midway down the face of the cliff is a ledge upon which the embers fall and burn themselves out. A person at the top of the cliff cannot throw a stone or stick hard enough to fall on the valley floor, for the draft will suck it in so that it falls on the ledge every time.

ROYAL ARCH AS SEEN FROM GLACIER POINT

And it is where my mom, Elsie, was conceived.

ROYAL ARCH AS SEEN FROM VALLEY FLOOR

No trip to Yosemite would be complete without a photo of El Capitan!

And Grandma Elsie thought so too.

We saw several climbers scaling the face. We pulled out my 70-300mm zoom lens and could see them toiling bravely weighed down with way too much stuff! And, what, may I ask does one do when they have to go potty in the middle of a climb? It take two days and they sleep in a hammock set-up over night. Just one more reason I won't be doing any rock climbing!

And that's it... our wonderful heritage vacation. We had a lovely time. It was just the right amount of time.

And it only took us 2-3 days to get over the soreness of hiking and mule riding!

**
If you'd like to read more of Grandad's history you can find it here. The story about their Yosemite vacation begins on page 17.

Yosemite National Park- Mirror Lake- Day Two

After our jaunt up to Glacier Point we wanted something where we could stretch our legs. One of the park employees suggested Mirror Lake and that was just right for us! I could hardly wait to see this beautiful sight 102 years later!

We should have invested in a Yosemite map but thought we could get by with the map provided for free. Next time! We ended up on a mule trail that was quite rough and littered with evidence of recent mule activity!

The scenery was wonderfully beautiful hiking along next to these rock-a-dons. I needed to add this photo for perspective!

When we were almost to Mirror lake we saw these two rock cairns. Another park visitor informed us that there were about an hundred just around the corner.

But all I could think of was getting to the lake and putting my feet into the nice cool water...

Erm... do you think the park employee could have mentioned this tiny detail? This is all that is left of Mirror Lake. A sign informed us that there is always a cyclical pattern to Mirror Lake's size but this year it was ALL beach-front property... WITH NO WATER! (So sorry to my achin' little piggies!)

We noticed a middle-aged couple lying on the fine gravel of Mirror Lake's dry bed gazing up at Half Dome. We decided to follow suit and rest my piggies, at least!

John Muir stated that he felt like he was in a huge cathedral when he was in Yosemite. I have to agree with him. I felt such a sense of reverence in this wonderful specimen of God's handiwork.

Our return trip was much easier as we took the bike trail but completely forgot to go looking for the hundreds of rock cairns! Silly girls.

Yosemite National Park- Glacier Point- Day Two

Tuesday night we didn't even eat dinner until 9 pm so we had a slower start this day. Our first stop was Glacier Point.

It is at Glacier Point that the is the famous Over hangin' Rock! (BTW the handwriting on these photos is my Grandma Elsie's hand.)

 (El's handwriting)

The more I learn about my Grandad, the more I understand where my impulsive behavior comes from!

And, you know, this IS a heritage-reenactment vacation...

But, surprisingly, I've learned to be cautious in my 60s (I want to see my 70s and 80s). So this is my version of Bill Munce on over hangin' rock! (Taken the day before at Olmsted Flats) Also, the rock is fenced off and folks are not allowed to go out there any longer.

One of Bill and Elsie's first stops was Inspiration Point. Aren't they so darling? Inspiration Point isn't too far from Glacier Point.

I have to say that my favorite of all the places we visited was Glacier Point! The views from up there are wonderful!!

HALF DOME AS SEEN FROM GLACIER POINT

(update 2107- this photo now hangs in my front room)

Grandad says of their hike to Glacier Point-

Our longest hike was to Glacier Point by the long trail, which skirts Vernal and Nevada Falls. It is 13 miles and that was tough going in some places. But the climb was well worthwhile, for from Glacier Point you can look straight down onto the floor of the valley. The stages looked like toys as they rolled along the road and the people looked as big as dolls. We went into the restaurant up on the Point and had our meal out on the porch, which was glassed in and was nice and warm. From here we could look out all over one side of the valley and it was marvelous. Vernal Falls is only a short distance away, maybe a mile, and it is so clear and bright you almost felt as though you could touch it. Nevada Falls is further back, but it completed a beautiful picture.

We returned to the valley by the short trail, which was 3 miles long and all downhill. This was only a narrow foot trail and animals were not allowed on it. It was unimproved and in a great many places the going was tough, on account of the rocks and deep gullies, and if you think your feet won’t get sore getting jammed into the toes of your shoes every step, just try it. Our feet and ankles were sore for a week.

YOSEMITE VALLEY AS SEEN FROM GLACIER POINT

Several years ago Rebekah and family took Camille to Yosemite on one of her summer visits. Rebekah, Camille, Tadhg and Caden ended up taking the hike down (and according to Grandad, straight down!) from Glacier Point to the Valley... IN FLIP-FLOPS! Bek says they got a lot of strange looks that day! Curtis and baby-Brock met them at the bottom. We decided we would forgo this reenactment since it cost $25 each for a bus ride to the top. Happy little Elio took us there for only a sip of gasoline!

HALF DOME AS SEEN FROM GLACIER POINT 2014

HALF DOME 1912

I will be back tomorrow, or the next, with more of our Yosemite adventures. I'm having such a good time remembering!