On a Lighter Note...

DARK COCOA BROWNIES-PINEAPPLE SCONES-WHEAT ROLLS & POTATO CORN CHOWDER~

Just a few things made in the Royal Kitchen this week....

BROWNIES -

This recipe has been used by the my Mother since I was born...1963

Preheat @ 350 -30 minutes  check with clean tooth pick
2/3c sifted flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2tsp salt
6Tbsp dark cocoa powder

~~whisk dry ingredients in a separate bowl ~~

2 eggs
1c sugar

1/2c vegetable oil
1tsp vanilla
cream eggs and sugar then add oil and vanilla
1/2c nuts chopped
frost or top with powdered sugar if desired

SCONES - 
please note this recipe makes a ton of scones, but I have 4 teenagers with friends who love them~~~they freeze beautifully

14 c flour- can add 10 white and 4 wheat if desired
2Tbsp baking powder
2tsp baking soda
1c sugar
1tsp salt
~~whisk dry ingredients in large bowl~~
6 sticks butter cold and grated 
CUT mixture with pastry cutter or fingers should resemble small pea size lumps
1pint sour cream
1cup cream

add 2 large cans crushed pineapple drained -reserve juice for glaze

add more cream if mixture is to crumbly

should pull together, roll out 1 and 1/2 inches thick large rectangle

slice 4 inch sections and cut triangles

place 9-12 depending on desired size on greased jelly roll pan

brush with cream 

Any choice of fruit may be added, frozen berries is also delicious, note fresh fruit will not keep as long in scones...frozen or canned or dried fruits seem to work best;)

GLAZE

1 box Powdered sugar
1/3 cup  pineapple juice
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
whisk and glaze scones while they are warm out of oven, let cool and serve.
BAKE @ 375  15 minutes

WHEAT ROLLS -I HAVE POSTED MY ROLL RECIPE UNDER ROLLIN IN DOUGH-JUST SPLIT FLOUR HALF  AND HALF WITH WHEAT FLOUR AND WHITE!

POTATO CORN CHOWDER

1c chopped onion
1c diced celery
8c diced potatoes -peeled
3c corn canned- reserve juice 
6 garlic cloves minced

~~cover raw vegetables with water in a stockpot then add reserved corn juice~~

simmer until vegetables are tender~~

2 sticks butter
qc. flour
1quart half and half
2tsp salt 1 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp Parsley~~in a large sauce pan melt butter and add flour whisk briskly until you have formed a rue , should be a light Carmel color add cream, corn  and seasoning to mixture bring to a simmer and add directly to stock pot of tender vegetables in water~~

Stir until thick...may add cheese if desired, Harvarti, cheddar, cream cheese or your favorite!

So glad to share some things on the lighter side ;)

WISHING YOU ALL A ROYAL WEEKEND.....Aloha...Queen B


crown photo courtesy of                                                                                    costumevintagejewelry.com

My Kinda Blues....

Heirlooms... from three generations of  lovely ,leggy, Blue eyed dazzles from the roaring 20's through 2008.
Exquisite Eleanore , daughter of  Elegant Anna...and Mother of

Divine Dorothy, these three women are the Mother, Grandmother and Great Grandmother to my Husband.
The striking commonalities of all five(including my husband and youngest daughter) of these cherished loved ones is their  Blue eyes .
All three of these women who have graced our past and honored us with their memories, also loved sporting the fashions of their eras.

 Anna in the 20's and 30's and 40's, Eleanore in the 40's and 50's and 60's
Dorothy in the 50's and 60's ,70's and 80's and 90's.
Since Dorothy is my Mother in Law I knew her the longest.Every one of these lovely beauties had great  sense

of style and charm.
Dorothy recently passed in 2008 but not without leaving behind a legacy of love for her posterity to cherish and enjoy.
I have recently come across these photos saved from Dorothy's family files.


I am so very grateful to have them and document them for our posterity . I love Family History and Genealogy, it's one of my passions. We believe families are forever, so along with these classic photos of bygone eras are pieces of heirloom jewels that were saved through the generations.
Dorothy was not specific as to exact dates and pieces,

but it is evident in their designs. She had taken great care of her Mother Eleanore and I know she loved her Grandmother Anna as well. Dottie's closet was dated by decades.As sad as I was to have to sort through the things she had collected and enjoyed through her life and the lives of these women before her, it was really interesting to piece together the puzzle of her past and what was deemed cherish-able.

I chose the Blue pieces  to journal because that was their favored color amongst the three,  it matched their eyes. I know my camera and photography skills are in need of improvement, but I must push through my limitations and hope that the thoughts are enough.

I would like to see these Blue eyed lovelies remembered,cherished and appreciated for their similarities and their differences. They all had fine qualities. Each of these women were different and very individual, still chosen and woven together with lovely shades of undeniable Blue....I am so glad my youngest lovely daughter Makinsee carries on the Blue. She too is as dazzling and individual as the Blue eyed lovelies before her.
I know Makinsee is happy to have her  Big Blues...
I tell her often I would love to swim in them.
It will be fun to see if the Blues continue on in our posterity.
As much as I love our Family tree of pictures and  eclectic bobbles of bygone eras, the golden threads that weave and bind us together is our relationships, love and the sweet memories to cherish and share with those that continue to come forward and keep the links of our Family Chain strong ,bonded and forever eternal.         These are definitely...My Kinda Blues...............

Have I done any good in the world today?

This New Year has brought me a deeper understanding of just how fragile things are in the World. At the same time, windows into people's lives have been opened up to me, where I have had a chance to view their concerns, hopes, dreams,struggles,passions,worries,challenges and yes even triumphs. In learning a little about myself, I know I am a fixer, or I at least try to be. I have come to understand that the key for me is to be a good listener rather than focusing on trying to fix what ever issue of need is at hand. A dear friend of mine recently shared her desires of living in the tropics, as I am doing and the thoughts of island living seemed to lift her spirits and bring her glimmering hopes of  fresh and exciting chapters on the horizon.
Our 25+ years of sharing our lives together is a precious jewel to me. She is a few years my Senior, we met when I was 18 and I knew it all!! Where do I begin to try describe this Regal Beauty of Style,Grace,compassion for others and a fierce ability to slay the Dragons that flew into her life . She knew who she was and I loved that about her. I remember a time when I was still in my late teens and we were going out for the evening somewhere very elegant and I felt unsure of myself,she quickly calmed my fears and said"Bran, just walk in like you own the place"! I followed her lead many a time, never failing me...
I grew up with her, when my husband first met her, he understood me, much better.
She taught me a lot about my inner beauty and self worth.Her head start over me in life was definitely in my favor. I tried to learn from her mistakes that she shared with me rather than repeat them.I have found that in moments of sweet triumphs in my life , I want to share them with her first. She has blessed my life, just by sharing her life with me and loving me unconditionally.
I met her through a co-worker in the Beauty business, I have been a licensed Hair Stylist since 1981 and I am currently still,. She was looking to hire a few people and my friend invited me to come along and interview with her.Well that was the beginning of our adventures in life together, we were roommates ,sisters,friends and co -workers too.We spent many days walking the beaches of Laguna trying to figure out the keys to happiness in life...our time on the ocean is where we are at home and find peace.
We reflected a lot on the poem " footprints" during those years of walking on the beach together. It's still a favorite.

My point to sharing this precious jewel of a friend with you is that through our last conversation by cell, I felt so helpless being so far away.....remember I'm a fixer......not that being in the same room with her meant I could of changed anything for her and she wasn't needing me to fix anything either. It was just the love and support you feel when people you care about are burdened. I ended our chat with a request for her to check her in box on her email.....this was all I sent

her name in the sand, it's not the clearest photo, it was taken from my cell phone,but it was my Aloha to her, and she loved it...I hope it was something good in her world... love you Sharon....

PERSEVERANCE

thomaskincade.com

In Perseverance; thunder crashes, sails billow, waves toss the fragile boat. We see that the clouds are about to break. The sea will calm; the sailor's perseverance will soon be rewarded by a return to God's safe heaven. Perhaps this painting can assure each of us that if we can simply persevere, God's hand of love will soon disperse each storm.

- Thomas Kinkade

I happen to own this painting in my Art collection..., I love it! I was first drawn to this piece because of my love for the sea and sailing with my Father.So it has a double meaning for me.. It seems to me that our lives are very much like the boat in this painting, if you look very closely on the back of the boat it is named Faith, and you can see the light inside of the boat and it has a glow. When you have the painting under a dimmer light, depending on the bright light or a low light determines if the boat is sailing into a storm at sunset or sailing out of a storm at daylight... I just love it, aren't we all sailing in or out of storms in our lives? It is not the storm that is important, but how we weather it...right? The rub in life seems to be that none of us really ever want to be in a storm.Clear weather and calm seas is the forecast I like! If all we ever get is good weather, how will we grow?, how will be be able to "Persevere" and become stronger,heartier,deeper, someone of substance.?
Now, I don't go looking for storms either, but you know as well as I do that a storm is bound to show up sometime!! so....
 I hope you will consider" Perseverance" in your next storm...I have this painting hung where I can look at it everyday in my room. You know, I am writing this blog for my Children and their posterity so that  maybe, they will get to know a little bit about me through my eyes and thoughts and feelings about life and my love for them. I wonder who will end up with this Painting of mine, years from now? I hope they have a chance to read this post in my published memoirs of my personal journey..it's on my" List",then they will know a little more about what is behind this simple painting of a boat and the Sea and what it meant to me.
Did I mention that when I brought my husband to look at the painting at the T.K. Gallery he bought it on the spot for me? He knew my love for sailing and for my Dad, so he didn't hesitate. Thank You Al for loving me enough to honor me with this painting...I Love You

So here is the essay I wrote about my Father that was published in my College literary magazine,THE DELTA WINDS,San Joaquin Delta College,CA. I was just happy to pass the class, never thought this would be my first publishing, and hopefully not my last! I am honored to share it with you...Aloha

FOR THE FUTURE QUEENS FROM MY KINGDOM...My Bucket List

I think that I have decided to post this because it is very personal to me. I love blogging the most because it allows me to truly share who I am and what I am thinking and feeling .  When I am able to someday slurp this blog into a hard bound Family Journal for my posterity, maybe they will feel a little closer to me by reading things that  happened in my life and those whom I love most and those things that are important to me. 

The things on my Bucket list are not in order of importance . I did date the things that I have already checked off, some things I won't ever really know until after I have kicked the "BUCKET"!!  

I have also changed the name of my BLOG,as I am sure you can see. I decided that while this blog is about my family, I wanted to take the focus off my name and make it a little FUN! I was hoping to post the picture of my white Hummer that had my license plate"4RQUEEN" but it is still in IDAHO on the wall of our Restaurant.And the Hummer  that the license plate was attached too,I sold in Honolulu last year ,2009, when gas hit over $5.00 a gallon!! I was commuting to North shore everyday.I loved my 2004 WHITE HUMMER...may she forever ride free

Things come and go......

One thing that will never change is...... there is only one QUEEN in my Kingdom and I love to remind my friends that they are the Queen's of their kingdoms as well.

So this post I dedicate to The Future Queens from my Kingdom and to all of you who rule your Kingdoms with love,grace,happiness,laughter,peace,good food,lots of forgiveness for yourself and others,kindness,charity,faith and hope. Share your dreams, make them a reality ,we only go around once, love the life you live and live the life you love....and if you haven't a Bucket List???...write one!!..it really opens your mind to things that only you know about yourself,your dreams,your hopes......once you write it, put it out to the Universe!!! I just did and so can you. I will continue to date my list as I accomplish them.

At least think about it?....here goes.....:))

My Bucket List

BE ON A GAME SHOW  -FAMILY FUED              DONE-1979  MARRY        A KING DONE 2-8-1989

WITNESS A MIRACLE-DONE 1993 HELPED IN THE BIRTH OF MY BEST FRIENDS SON J.M.,SAW MY SWEET K.C.,T.R. AND M.C CHOOSE GOD IN THEIR LIVES AND LIVING IT..I LOVE YOU ALL 2001
.                                                                    

RIDE IN A HOT AIR BALLOON                                DONE -1991

BE PUBLISHED-literary College magazine at San Jacinto college, a poem about sailing with my Dad                           DONE-2000

CREATE MY OWN PERFUM IN FRANCE                      DONE-2004

OWN  A RESTAURANT-ROADSTERS GRILLE          done 2006

OWN A RACE HORSE AND RACE                                   DONE-2006

WORK AS A REALTOR @ Sotheby’s intl.                     DONE-2008    

SWIM WITH DOLPHINS                                                   DONE-2008

GIVE MY TESTIMONY IN HAWAIIAN                           DONE-2008

HEAR SHERI DEW SPEAK-BYUHAWAII                        DONE-2008                                                                  

LIVE IN HAWAII                                                              DOING-CURRENT

FIND MY HAWAIIAN FAMILY  NAME& LINEAGE

TAKE PIANO LESSONS AND PLAY ANY HYMN AND THE THEME FROM “THE NOTEBOOK”

WRITE A BOOK AND PUBLISH IT

OWN AND RIDE MY OWN HARLEY

LIVE  TO ENJOY ALL  OF MY GRANDKIDS

RE-UNITE MY BROTHER WITH MY MOTHER

TRAVEL TO ITALY,GREECE,SPAIN,SCOTLAND,IRELAND,ENGLAND

NORWAY,SWEDEN,DENMARK,EGYPT,AFRICA

HAVE A 2^ND HONEYMOON WITH  AL

BUY AL HIS A CAMARO

CHANGE SOMEONES LIFE FOR THE GOOD

SEE AL  ATTAIN HIS DREAMS FOR HIS SUCCESS

BECOME A REGISTERED NURSE & WORK IN MATERNITY

LOSE ALL OF MY UNWANTED WEIGHT & STAY HEALTHY

BE A BEST FRIEND

PUT ON THE 10 VIRGINS PRODUCTION FOR THE STAKE

HAVE AN 800 FICO SCORE

SEE ALL MY CHILDREN MARRIED IN THE TEMPLE

MEET  OUR  PROPHET

LEARN ASTRONOMY AND PHOTOGRAPHY AND CALIGRAPHY

BE ON A COOKING SHOW

SLEEP IN A CASTLE

RIDE A ANDALUSION HORSE

SEE MY CHILDRENS DREAM S COME TRUE

KEEP MY FATHERS MEMORY ALIVE IN HIS POSTERITY

HAVE AND USE SKYNET

LEARN TO COOK AUTHENTIC, THAI AND GREEK  FOOD
MAKE MONEY WHILE I SLEEP....zzz...$$$...zzz...$$$

SEE GRAND CANYON, NIAGRA FALLS,YELLOW STONE,REDWOODS,MT.RUSHMORE,PALMYRA,NAVOUU,TENESSEE,ALABAMA,KENTUCKY,CAPE COD

GO SEE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW

HAVE OUR DREAM HOME-WHERE THE SPIRIT DWELLS ALWAYS~

Christmas in Hauula 2009

With the Holidays and activities all so close together I am posting my Holiday photos a little late. But I did not want them to be left out of our family journal.Blogging began as a way for me to journal our life together, but it has really become so much more. I really enjoyed our Holidays this year.It was our last Christmas together for the next two years. Our Eldest son Travis is serving a Mission for our Church in 2010, he will be gone for 2 years. We feel like every moment is a moment worth savouring. He is going to be a great Missionary and he is really excited we are excited for him too!. His time with us is short and we all love being together.Travis bought the Christmas tree this year and brought it home after work one day. It had to be the most perfect shaped tree we have ever had. It smelled divine, as if he had just cut it!! truly the pine scent was wonderful.It was a sweet gesture on his part to contribute such a special part of our Christmas. We felt the Spirit of Christmas in our home and with our loved ones ...I hope you enjoyed your Holidays for 2009.

New Years Eve Birthday Girl!

We celebrate Nana every New Years Eve with a small family Birthday party. This year she wanted Lemon cake.We spent the day together, running around the island and doing lunch with the kids, going shopping and then we came home and we sang to her and had a few gifts .Breakfast will be Martha Stewart's Popovers with butter and Jam ,Thick Smokey Bacon and Orange Juice.She wants her favorite Chicken Pecan from Martha Stewart's Cookbook also for New Years Day Dinner.She loves to watch all of the Bowl games on TV, so I think we are set!.Happy Birthday Nana we all love you! Here is the recipe for the Lemon Cake, it is from The Barefoot Contessa, I think she should of called it Lemon Zinger!! and I would of served it with a scoop of Vanilla Bean Ice Cream!next time I will...Ina makes it in 2 loaf pans but I used a large Bundt pan instead and it was great.. Here are the three recipes I used,If you have any problem reading the last 2 I will be happy to email them to you. Have a Great New Years Day...Aloha