How to Make a Thanksgiving Apple Pie

It was great to have Nathan here from Portland for Thansgiving. He came over late morning on Thanksgiving Day to make one of his famous apple pies. He had prepared the crust dough the day before, letting it refrigerate overnight to "make it easy to work with." He then went to work and we caught all the action, step by step.

Roll out the bottom crust.

Then put it in the pan.

Pour the pie filling into the pan.

Protect the pie from your parents grabbing the thinly sliced apples you worked to hard to peel and cut.

Prepare the top crust

Transfer top crust to the pie.

Trim the excess crust. Save dough for your Dad to nibble on later in the day.

Using both thumbs, form a decorative edge.

Cut in a subtle but creative pattern.

Brush on a light glaze of heavy cream

Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar

Put it all in the oven and go watch football for an hour.

Pull it from the oven.

And it's all done

Seventieth Anniversary -- Platinum!

Today, November 26, 2008, is the Platinum Wedding Anniversary for Mother and Daddy (Grandma and Grandpa) who were married at 8 AM in the church where Ed and Laura Ely had been married in 1909. On their Golden Wedding Anniversary, they renewed their wedding vows as seen in the photo. Here is what Anne wrote for that celebration. It is worth another read today.


Fifty years ago today, a young man and woman stood on a church altar and promised to be partners for the rest of their lives.


He was a tall, handsome athlete -- she was radiant in her long white velvet gown.


There was much to celebrate on that cold November day. They looked ahead knowing that life would bring its challenges, its setbacks, but also the joy that becomes greater when shared in love.


Today we celebrate fifty years of that love --- a love that has proved to be the most enduring, sustaining force in an impermanent world.


Together, Marge and Gene Ely have loved one another enough to enrich not only themselves but their family, friends, church and community. Their gift, in all things, is their love --a gift which touches all of us.

First Tooth

Andrew lost his first tooth this evening over dinner at Bob Evans. Nathan had "accidentally" kicked him in the face three weeks ago, leading to the tooth's premature departure. Once learning he could wiggle the tooth with his tongue, it was only a matter of time.

Now, he has to wait all the way till Tuesday to show off his tooth at school. (We expect Mrs. Stephen to be happy to have a quick way of telling the boys apart.) Tonight the infamous tooth fairy will visit the boys room to exchange the tooth for a shiny quarter. My mom told me the going rate in first grade is $5 per tooth. Once we did the quick math of 3 kids at $5 a tooth, we decided that we could save an entire month's house payment by leaving a quarter instead. Nathan was very interested to know when the tooth would be put back.......

Visiting Wheaton College

Gretchen and I had a good time at Wheaton College's Parent Weekend the past couple of days. We really enjoyed seeing Matt, meeting a lot of his friends and seeing the campus. Despite the wind, rain and 36F temps, we had some very warm conversation. Here are a few photos:




Matt showed us many of his classrooms. Here's where he does Shakespere each day. Nice classroom...nothing like this in the school of Engineering at Purdue!!



We visited his ROTC building as well. Here is the lad pointing out his photo on the chain of command chart for the cadet class. He is glad to not be on the bottom anymore...he's actually a team leader, responsible for two first-year cadets. He was also on an honor guard for some campus Veteran Day observances last week...even got to shoot a rifle in a 21-gun salute.





We went to church with him this morning and here's a mug shot of us afterwards.

It was a great weekend...enjoy the photos of Matt. He's doing well.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from the Spider Witch, the Mobster, the friendly Kitty Cat, the BumbleBee (no stinger-- she is too sweet!) and the little boy with the pumpkin colored hair!

I'm sure everyone has some great memories of Trick or Treating. In Auburn we were allowed to walk wherever we wanted and the word was always out where the best treats were!! Homemade popcorn balls were quite a treat in those days! In Parkersburg, our kids went all over the development and came home with enough candy to last until Valentine's Day!

Have a great time, everyone!

Photo Time

Just a few links for you!

First, you can find Joe and Gretchen's photos from Italy here.

And you can find pix from my marathon in Indianapolis on October 18 here. It would appear from this set of photos that Matt comes by his usual pose for photos quite naturally.

Love to you all.

Dining in Italy

As you all know, we celebrated Joe’s 55th Birthday at the Villa in style. Pictures cannot capture it all, but we did sing to him (in Italian) with the help of our chef, Luciano. Please join in, you know the tune :

Buon compleanno a te
Buon compleanno a te
Buon compleanno a Giuseppe
Buon compleanno a te


Marge volunteered to be the chief cook at the villa and came up with some fantastic dishes, despite being challenged by the labels on the spices (all in Italian) and some unusual utensils. We loved it all. This is a fritatta that was incredible!

We didn’t get photos of all the food, but believe me, it was fantastic.

Back from Italy!

The Great Italy Trip of '08 is now complete (with the exception of the Deans, who will continue their Italian wanderings for another few weeks.) It was a wonderful, amazing and unforgettable trip for all! I am sure we'll all post thoughts, recaps and Shutterfly links over the days to come, but for now here is a quick shot Dan took outside our villa, and another of the wonderful, narrow cobblestone streets of Lucca where we spent many an hour over the past week. I'm still pretty jetlagged but wanted to say hello to all - it was a wonderful, wonderful trip!

Under the Tuscan Sun

Certain senior members of the Ely clan are headed to sunny Italy this week as we gather at the Villa Del Barbaro near Lucca. We've been looking forward to this trip for so long, it's hard to believe it's almost here! We'll post updates on location if we can get online. In the meantime, take care, everyone!

How Twins Sleep

About once a month, Gretchen and I have Nathan, Drew and Berneice overnight. It gives D&S a night out and we get to be with the kids.

Last night was one such night. About an hour after the kids all fell asleep, we tiptoed into our (old) family room where N&D were sleeping in a double bed.

The two of them are so close, they really enjoy being physically close to each other. Even in sleep. As G puts it "They breathe each others' air."

Enjoy.

Quick update on Andrew

Andrew came home from the hospital yesterday, and is now recovering at home. He was looking looking forward to some fresh air, sunshine, and life returning to normal. He sounded better on the phone then he has in weeks.

Guy's Afternoon Out

This weekend, a vintage B-17 visited the Purdue Airport, open for tours and taking people (with money!) for rides.

On a picture-perfect Sunday afternoon, David and I took Drew and Nathan out to see the plane. It was quite an amazing sight for the boys; a very cool restoration for David and me to enjoy.

And, a great backdrop for photos.

Drew is in the dark blue, Nathan in the light.

It was an awesome couple of hours. Enjoy the pix!

The Cousin Tree

Not too long after I was home for good, I received this plaque from the cousins thanking me for my service in the army and thanking God for my safe return home. Along with the plaque was a gift of a tree. With some help from my Master Gardner mother I picked out a suitable tree and the nursery, and planted the ornamental pear pictured below. This was a total surprise to me and Susan and we were very touched my this gesture. I am posting the pictures I promised that include the tree at the store...

"in" the car...

and the finished planted tree in our front yard.

Adding to the symbolism mentioned in the plaque is that there was a dead tree in that spot that we removed as soon as we bought the house. Now there is a fresh, young healthy tree in that spot. Thank you again to all the cousins for such a thoughtful gift and thank you to the entire family for their years of support and prayer for our family.

Gene Ely would be Proud

David, Susan, Nathan, Drew and Berneice were over for supper tonight to say good bye to Matt, who heads back to Wheaton College for his sophomore year tomorrow morning.

And I realized I had a photo op, as well.

After supper, Gretchen was reading to all three kids.

And Drew and Nathan wore their matching Gene Ely shirts.

I asked them if they knew who that man was on the shirt...they said yes, but thought it was me! I tried to explain that I had a Dad too...but that was a bit much to comprehend right now.

Dad would get such a charge out of this. And I know all of you do too!

Cousins in Cincinnati

Summertime get-togethers are a lot of fun for children of all ages! We've had several here in Cincinnati celebrating little Emily's arrival. It has just worked out more conveniently for people to come at different times and spread out the fun on the calendar. Abbey is doing very well in identifying the adults as "Mikey's Mommy" or "Makenna's Daddy" as well as by their own names. She will certainly be ready for the upcoming quiz on Family Genealogy! (more photos on http://www.waun.net/ )

Now might be a good time for all of us to smile and think of some fun summer times in Auburn with cousins at the swimming pool, the fair, and of course riding horses at the farm!

Loretto Visit

I was down at my annual retreat at Gethsemani Abbey in Kentucky last week, and we stopped by the Loretto Motherhouse since it's only a few miles away. The visit made for a few really nice moments. Three of the five guys I was with had met Mary Alice on a previous visit, so they were happy to go along. We parked up by the infirmary, and as we were walking in the south entrance to the church, one of the sisters who was walking in the same way asked us who we were. I said I was a nephew of Sister Mary Ely. Her eyes almost immediately welled up with tears, and she smiled and said how lovely she was and how much they missed her.

Anyway, she was on her way in to the church to read to the sisters in the infirmary from the ambo (for those who were there, recall that some sisters are too weak to make it down for Mass, so they can listen to the Liturgy of the Word over the sound system, and then someone can bring them Holy Communion later). It seems they also read some daily devotions over the system, and that's what she was there to do.

We were looking around the sanctuary when she started by announcing that "some friends and relatives of our dear Mary Ely" were here to visit. We got lots of smiles and comments from folks in the hallway after that. It was all a nice reminder of how special she was to so many people, whether they knew her as Mary Alice, Mary Ely, or Edward Mary.

I stopped in to see Sister Paschalita, and we chatted for a bit. She remembers Mom so well from Loretto Heights, and took a touch of pride in having taught someone who ended up a Superintendent of Schools. She was very happy that I visited, because she saved the Summer issue of Loretto Magazine with the notice of Mary Alice's passing, but she didn't have an address to send it to Dick. I told her I would take it along...I'm sure we've already got it somewhere, but I'll send it to Auburn like she wanted. It's nothing new, just the biography that they used at the funeral, but it was nice of her to save. I promised her I would be back to see her next time I'm at Gethsemani.

We walked down that tree lined road to the grave site, and of course I was thinking of April when we walked her casket down that path. What a great day that was. Her headstone is in now...the grave could use some attention, maybe I'll do a little of that next time I'm there. Maybe a couple of flowers or something, I don't know. It's most all in sunlight, and while there are some landscapers who cut the grass around the area, the graves themselves don't get a lot of attention apart from what nature brings. Any suggestions from the gardeners in the family?



The six of us stood at her grave site and prayed a Rosary for her, which was the best part of the whole visit. It was Monday, so it was the Joyful Mysteries...a wonderful way to remember her life. We talked about the fruits of those particular mysteries (Humility, Love of Neighbor, Poverty, Obedience, and Joy in Finding Jesus) and how Mary Alice modeled those for so many people. Even those of my friends who had only met her that once were touched by her, and they want to go back and visit every year.

Anyway, it made for a great day....just thought I'd share it with you.

Brian

July 23 Holiday

Today Marjorie Ely would have turned 91. We all can enjoy some fond memories of her and how she loved us. Here is a photo when she was about a year old probably in Edgar, Nebraska. So cute. It was a standard on the left side of The Gallery in Auburn. You'll see quite a family resemblance as you look at early photos of Margene especially.

With the recent new little children in the family we've had a chance to think about how people managed years ago....without the thousands of baby products now available. It is hard to fathom!

And as I think about Mother, I know she and Daddy would really enjoy the second photo of our family 2-year-olds, Berneice and Abbey.

The little girls are wearing sun dresses made by Gretchen with a pink John Deere logo! Just too cute for words. If you click on the photo and listen carefully, you can hear the great-grandparents laughing and sighing. And you can also feel their love for YOU!

Also Happy July 23 to Scott today!



Sharing family stories is a wonderful part of birthdays!

Kamping with the Kenlons

For years, Dan and I have been dreaming about living and traveling in an RV full-time when we retire. Last summer, we rented an RV and camped in northern NY and Vermont for a week and could not have loved the experience more (with the exception of the last night, when our cat slid open the screen and jumped out the window!)

Lately, we've been talking about how great it would be to have short weekend and overnight stays in the plethora of lovely state parks and campgrounds right here in our Finger Lakes region. There are so many places within a very short distance (some only about 10 minutes away, many others well within an hour's drive) and the more we talked about it, the more we knew we would really enjoy it.

So we started shopping around and last night, we took the plunge and purchased an RV! It's a 2003 31-foot Class C model, which we think should be the perfect size for the short, overnight or two-night trips we have in mind. Waking up in a quiet, wooded campsite has to be one of the most wonderful things we've ever experienced, and we're so excited about being able to do it regularly during our brief but beautiful summers here.

One thing that appealed to Dan about this particular RV - he can actually stand straight up inside and has at least an inch and a half clearance between the top of his head and the ceiling! That was not the case with the compact rig we rented last summer. The bed is another matter for him -- very much what Mother and Daddy used to refer to as a "fiddlestick" bed -- but he's used to such things!

It's not the model we'd live in full-time, but that's still a number of years away and we think this used rig will serve our interim purposes admirably. This next week, the dealer is building in some additional cabinetry in the kitchen that we've asked for, and we anticipate punctuating the months of August and September with very enjoyable, relaxing visits to some lovely Finger Lakes locales.

Oh, and another request on the dealer's checklist before we take possession - paw-proof latches on the sliding window screens...

Emily Virginia Waun Arrives!

We're proud to announce the newest addition to our family, and to the Ely extended family, Emily Virginia Waun.

She arrived at 6:07pm yesterday evening July 1, 2008... the perfect birthday present for Amy, who is now officially resigned to second fiddle on subsequent July 1sts. Both mom and baby are happy and healthy, enjoying a much less traumatic day. We are thrilled that we're still a 100% July birthday family.

Emily weighed in at 7lb 8oz, 19 inches long... the same length as Abbey, but about 2 pounds heavier. Also like Abigail, Emily was born with a full head of dark brown hair.

Amy was also thrilled to find that Emily posseses our favorite genetic anomoly... the Ely crooked toe! She now joins the ranks of other distinguished Elys, such as Ann Kenlon, Maureen Young, and her mom, Amy.

Grandma and Grandpa Eichstadt, Nana and Poppy Waun, and big sister Abbey were on hand to join in the celebration. Abbey's first reaction was to declare, "Baby!" and give her a sweet kiss on the forehead. We'll see what her second reaction is when she gets home and has to share mommy.

We're hopeful that we'll be home from the hospital sometime Thursday morning. For more pictures and updates, head over to our family blog at Waun.net!!

Visit to Auburn, June 28-29, 2008

Last weekend, I spent a quick 2 days in Auburn. If a photo is worth 10,000 words, then I have a long essay here. Click on any of them to get a bigger view.

Here's the big green barn at the farm. It had some wind damage four weeks ago and you can see the new roof metal on the east end here. Good as new...actually better.

In place of the cattle and hogs Dad used to have south of the barn, our renter, Joe Moody, now uses it for storing his extensive grain handling equipment.

On the north side of the road, we sold the house and two pastures to Andy Beherends and his wife last fall (and now their 7 month-old son). He is renting the two pastures out for crops. Here's the view of the house from the top of the hill, looking east. You can see the beans planted where we used to have pasture.

The house and yard look fantastic! The Beherends have really cleaned up the place. It is very neat, clean and crisp. I met Andy and he told me of more plans he had for tree trimming, painting and making it more their own. I went in the house and, boy, does it look good. I'm thrilled to have a family living on the farm. They are thrilled to have their own place. They get along well with Joe Moody...the whole thing works.

Remember the green shop on the north side of the road?? Andy has cleaned it up well too. He added brown paint to match the house, put on a new garage door and cleaned out a lot of junk.

Speaking of houses, here's the house many of you remember well from Auburn. Anne and I grew up here. I could hardly get a good photo of the house as the trees in front of it are so big and healthy. The place looked good. And, as I look at the photo, I see the TV antenna endures, even in this world of cable and satellite!!

And, in quintessential Auburn fashion, the mailbox is no longer on G Street, but on 16th Street, even though the address remains the familiar 1607 G!!!!!

And for all you fans of erosion control, here's the photo from the top of a big waterway we built about a mile north of the house. We put this about 10 years ago...with time, the grass has matured, the terraces are now draining into the waterway and it is simply handling all sorts of storms with no sign of soil erosion. Hard to grasp this from the photo...but to walk it slowly on a summer day was a thing of utter joy to me.

Here's the same waterway from the bottom, across the road.

The farm is doing well. Joe Moody has done a terrific job as a steward of the land. It is highly productive and adapting to the very different agricultural climate we have now.

Hope you enjoyed the photos here.