The Colorado Springs area has several creperies and we've tried a few of them.  They've all provided a pleasant meal but the one we tried today went above and beyond (and not just because our daughter happened to be our server). 

Coquette Creperie in Manitou Springs is truly unique - to start with they have a full bar available as well as a full barista coffee bar.  Not something you see very often.  And then there is their menu - if you're not usually into organic and gluten-free ingredients you might wonder if everything still 'tastes good'.  But everything was wonderful!  There are all sorts of savory and sweet crepes available (yes, gluten-free!) and unusual specials (scallop & coconut soup anyone??).  The menu also gives suggestions for pairing your entree with a glass of wine or mixed drink that will complement the food perfectly. 

Even though we're leaving in just about 30 days, I'm definitely going to get in another visit - I really need to try that scallop & coconut soup!!

So Grandma - I hope you're watching!  I did it!  :-)

Here is the original recipe (copied word for word from her recipe card):

3 cups brown sugar

1 cup half & half

1 stick margarine + 1 Tbsp.

Place all ingredients in 3 qt pan.  Bring to a boil and lower heat some or it will boil over.  Cook until a small amount forms a soft ball (but solid enough to pick it up) when dropped in cold water.  Let stand 45 minutes.

Beat until it is firm enough to spread.  If your first try doesn't set up OK you can add powdered sugar to set it up.  It should get firm enough that it does not settle down to flat when you stop beating it. 

And here is the recipe updated with a few more details and facts in case someone would like to try it (they may not look fancy, but they are really pretty good - the original 'salty & sweet' combination!):

Saltine crackers  (about 3 of the packs that come in the large box - have to count them next time!)

3 cups brown sugar - dark or light, either works

1 cup half & half

1/2 cup margarine (1 stick) + 1 Tbsp.

Place all ingredients in 3 qt pan.  Bring to a boil on medium high heat and then lower heat to medium.  Stir constantly to keep from boiling over.  Cook to the soft ball stage (235-240F on your candy thermometer).  Click on the 'soft ball stage' link to see a quick video of how the syrup should look/react.  Let stand 45 minutes to cool.

Beat with a mixer until it is firm enough to spread - 15-20 minutes.  It should be firm enough that it does not settle down to flat when you stop beating it.  If you can't get it to thicken enough, add powdered sugar - 1/2 cup at a time - until it is ready.  Spread between 2 saltine crackers - work quickly as the filling will harden. Store in an airtight container.

But there are some things that I would rather not part with.  I have 2 pieces of furniture that will not be sold this next month - an antique dresser that belonged to my great-grandmother (built in the late 1800's!) and a small desk that was my mother's.  That's it.  We call the rest of our furniture 'disposable'.  I also have a few wooden boxes and intarsia wall art my dad made that will be passed down to my daughters. 

And there is my grandma's recipe box.  It's nothing fancy - just a small wooden box made by my grandma in 1927 (when she was 18) for her mom.  It's filled with well-worn and tattered recipe cards and dividers.  Recipes that use lard and measure the oven temperature by how quickly sugar browns when you bake it.  When I look at it,  I can see my grandma's hands flipping through the cards looking for something specific.  It was usually to show ME the recipe, since she had everything memorized.  :-)

 One of those recipes was for what we called marguerites.  They have few ingredients - brown sugar, half and half, and saltine crackers are basically it.  The brown sugar and half & half is cooked to a thick syrupy kind of filling and then spread between 2 saltines.  I know - sounds weird, but these were an annual tradition and we loved them (especially my dad).   My grandma always made a batch to include in our Christmas box.  I wanted to make some this year, but couldn't find my recipe until recently.  I searched high and low on good old Google, but have never been able to find a similar recipe anywhere outside my grandma's recipe box. 

So that's my project this afternoon - I'm going to make some marguerites.  I'll post some pictures as well as the recipe later this evening or tomorrow.  At least that way I'll know I can always find it again! 

When I drove through Flagstaff, Arizona earlier this week they were recovering from almost 4 feet of snow in 4 days - now THAT'S some serious snow.  The clerk at the hotel told me they were shut down for 2 days - didn't really matter since no one could actually get there anyway - but still.  Yikes!  This was the view right outside my hotel room door - and that's pretty much what it looked like in all the parking lots and along the sides of the streets.

We did get a little of the white stuff over the past 24 hours - maybe 2 inches total here at our house.  I was first up this morning and enjoyed a few cups of coffee in the silence watching the snowfall outside.  Our front yard and driveway were all covered with white, virgin snow - my bootprints were the first as I took the outgoing mail down to the mailbox. 

Late this afternoon I sent Sarah outside to shovel the drive (not that it really needed it, but *I* needed her to do it - if you know what I mean!) 

And whispered as she closed the book "too beautiful for earth."

We only knew about our 4th grandchild for about a little over a week before he (I choose to believe he was a boy - if not, I'm sure she'll forgive me!) went back to heaven.  You might think that wasn't enough time to fall in love with another little one - but it was plenty of time. 

We talked about names, smiled at the thought of our oldest daughter with *3* children under the age of 5, and thought about who this one would look like.   We thought about how we would rearrange our travels next year to be able to be there when the baby was born.  In just those few days, this grandchild became a part of lives.

But we're going to have to wait to meet him face to face.  Jennifer suffered a miscarriage today.  The loss of a baby is heart-breaking no matter when it happens.   I speak from personal experience and it is difficult for me to watch my oldest daughter go through this.  So I will be hitting the road early tomorrow morning - hopefully by 6 AM - to head west and to spend some time with her.

I love road trips but sincerely wish this one wasn't happening. 

The message above popped into my Facebook inbox a few days ago.   I have a lot of 'game' friends there and this kind of "post this on your status" round-robin is pretty popular, so I get these from time to time.  I really don't have a problem with it, just not not something I usually jump on.  99% of the time I hit the delete button and move on.  Which is what I did with the above message.  No big deal. 

The posts followed a predictable course - colors started popping up on walls all over Facebook, the women who didn't know about it and the men started posting "What's with the colors?", etc.  It peaked after a day or two, then dwindled out. 

And then I started seeing this post:

Ladies, your red, black, pink, blue, white, butterflied, cheetah printed, and clear bra colors made the channel 4 SLC news tonight. Facebook doesn't know who started it going but the Susan B Koman foundation says it was a great way to raise awareness for breast cancer. Way to go! Post this on your walls and spread the word again!!

Can someone please explain to me how posting the color of your bra in your status bar is raising awareness of breast cancer?  (As if there are people still out there unaware of breast cancer.)  I'm serious here - what am I missing?  Nowhere in any of the color posts was anything said about breast cancer.   I mean, if you want to 'raise awareness', then post something like -

75% of my immediate family has had cancer.

or

My medical bills for my chemotherapy came to over $100,000.

I can see something like that giving people pause and raising awareness of how widespread cancer still is or how horribly expensive and financially devastating treatment can be.

But just posting a color??  Even after everyone else found out it was the color of your bra, it was supposed to make them think about breast cancer? Or remind someone they should get a mammogram?  Yeah, that was the first thought I had too. 

Yup, that's our grandson Jack multi-tasking.  I promised him several months ago that if/when I got a new Blackberry, he could have my old one.  So here he is exploring his new toy. 

If you are not on Facebook but would like to see more pictures of both Jack and Aiden from their Christmas visit, you can click HERE and HERE to take a peek. 

Turning 30 was a traumatic event for me; I responded to it by pretty much running away for a few days.  By myself.  I sat on the beach in Monterey, California, wondering how the heck I'd ever gotten to be 30 and remembering all the stupid things I'd done during those 'turbulent twenties'.  I will admit that I had some pretty good times in the midst of those stupid things though.  Just not the kind of stuff I'd want to go through from the other side - as the parent of that 20-something young person.

Our oldest daughter is an amazing young woman.  She has been married for going on 10 years (to the same guy), has two boys who are our favorite grandsons in the whole world, and she's just finished months of paperwork, classes, certifications, and inspections to be licensed as a family day care provider at Ft. Irwin in southern California.  She's weighed the pro's and con's of working outside the home, the cost of daycare for those two little boys, not the mention the stress of mornings getting everyone ready, out the door on time, not forgetting whatever they are supposed to bring that day, not being late because it's $1 a minute late fee...on and on.  I did it with one child, not fun. 

So she's recognized that in this season of her life, this is the best solution.  She can contribute monetarily to the family budget and still spend the majority of her time raising her own children.  The best of both worlds I suppose.  Although I fully expect a phone call or two from her questioning her own sanity.  That's okay.  :-)

She's doing all this while being a supportive wife to her army husband who's served in Kuwait as well as Iraq (twice) and who'll most likely end up deploying again.  For all the stress and craziness of army life, she loves it.  She loves the travel and moving to a new state or country every few years, she appreciates the benefits, and I believe she also thinks her hubby looks kinda cute in his dress blues uniform.  I'll admit that I've had a soft spot for a man in uniform a time or two in my life as well.  :-)

There's just one thing I don't get about my favorite oldest daughter. 

She's been sucked down the dark hole that is called "The Twilight Saga". 

But one of the things we have to learn as parents is that our children do not always make choices with which we will agree.  I mean, at least she was on Team Aniston a few years ago.  So if she wants to be on "Team Edward" (I think?) I guess I'll just have to smile and say "Okay, that's cool sweetheart!"  And bide my time 'cause I KNOW there will come a day when I'll be able to bring "Team Edward" up and she will cover her face with her hands and say "Oh my gosh!!  I can't believe I did that!!"  

A mother can only hope.