Resurrection Cookies

Good Tuesday morning!

Wow! Can you say cold? You can never put away the fall and winter clothes in Alabama until May. We even had a freeze warning last night and woke up to temps in the 30s. Oh... and it was close to 80 degrees Saturday. Bizarre. Who knows what tomorrow may bring! We may have another snowstorm right before Easter.

But in California, the weather is always amazing. Or is it?

California Trip - Part 2 - Sacramento

We had landed in San Francisco, but our first destination was Sacramento, California. Our friends picked us up at the airport, and we saw the tiniest bit of San Francisco before heading to their home. We weren't upset about the lack of time in San Fran because the goal was to start in Sacramento and work our way up the coast before our flight home. What we saw definitely made us want to return. It was beautiful, and so very different from anything we had ever seen in the South.

People were very nice to us, and we were asked to repeat over and over anything and everything we said... especially Celeste who must have sounded a tad more southern than the rest of us. No matter where we went (restaurants, stores, gas stations), we were asked to repeat our requests again and again. But it was always in a very nice way.

I secretly hoped to see at least one famous person in California before we left. After all... that's where they ALL live. But California is a pretty big state... one of the biggest I'm told. Needless to say, we didn't have a lot of luck in that department. If we went to Sacramento today, I would be staking out the downtown courthouse hoping to see Arnold (add his last name here!) and his wife, Maria Shriver. They weren't around then.

Sacramento turned out to be a wonderful town. It was so clean. The weather was great. We had a wonderful time exploring, catching up and sunning by the pool. Before our two or three day ride up the coast to San Francisco, we had a couple of other day trips planned. One day we went to Reno, Nevada. (Home of the Ponderosa!) If you can't see a famous person, at least see a famous place where famous people once walked! However, the cost for the tour of the Ponderosa was quite steep... so we took pictures in the parking lot. (It's not like Lil' Joe or Pa or Hoss were around the corner waiting for us.)

We drove up a huge mountain and looked down on a place called Emerald Bay which was just amazing. The colors were so vivid they didn't even look real. What was even more surprising were the chipmunks. There were hundreds of them. And while we took pictures, more and more appeared. The longer we stood there, the more brazen they became. It was more than a little freaky, so after we soaked in the beautiful scenery, we escaped the vermin and drove to downtown Reno.

It is supposedly a mini-Las Vegas with casinos and wedding chapels. I had thought I would spot a famous person there because celebrities were performing in different areas in town, and there were advertisements on several billboards. However, even though my friends thought it was funny to keep yelling, "Hey, isn't that _____________ going into Denny's?" and laughing hysterically as I ran into Denny's (and various other establishments), no famous people could I find.

Somewhere along the way (I can't remember exactly where), we also saw the house where Falcon's Crest was filmed. (Do you remember that old show? It was similar to Dallas and starred Jane Wyman.) Anyway, we didn't actually see the house, but we stood at the gate down the road from the house and took pictures. (I know. I was pathetic even in my 20s!)

My next big chance to see a famous person came as we started up the coast. We drove the 17-Mile Drive and saw the sunset at Big Sur. We ended up in Carmel. (Carmel's mayor at the time was.... Come on! You know the answer to this one! That's right... Clint Eastwood.) We ate at a quaint little restaurant, and the owner told us we had missed Mr. Eastwood by TWO DAYS! He had a home in Carmel and he spent about five days a month in town. TWO DAYS earlier he had been eating in the same restaurant we were sitting in at that moment! Just TWO DAYS!

Now we had a picture of the parking lot of the Ponderosa, the gate in front of the road leading up to Falcon's Crest, and the owner of a restaurant who said Clint Eastwood had eaten there TWO DAYS earlier. Can you just imagine the scrapbook page that was going to be home to those amazing photos?

Tomorrow I'll take a break from my fascinating (yet somehow boring to other people) Trip to California story to tell about the Faulkner F1 tornado. April 8 is the three year anniversary, and as I said in earlier posts... everyone in Alabama has a tornado story. Fortunately, our story has a happy ending.

I'll finish up the Trip to California tale on Thursday and Friday of this week. Now, on to more Easter goodness.

Resurrection Cookies

After dinner the Saturday before Easter, you will need to sit down and make these cookies with your family. It is a wonderful way to share the story of Easter... BUT YOU HAVE TO DO THIS THE NIGHT BEFORE EASTER!!!

You will need:

1 cup whole pecans
1 teaspoon vinegar
3 egg whites
A pinch salt
1 cup sugar
1 zip-lock bag
1 wooden spoon
Scotch tape
Bible

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. (This is very important. Don't wait until you are almost finished with the recipe).

2. Place pecans in zip-lock bag and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested. He was beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19:1-3.

3. Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 teaspoon vinegar into mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross He was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30.

4. Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11.

5. Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. Read Luke 23:27.

6. So far the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1 cup sugar. Explain the sweetest part of the story is Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him. Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16.

7. Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3.

8. Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoon onto a wax paper covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid. Read Matthew 27:57-60.

9. Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF.

10. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. Read Matthew 27:65-66.

11. GO TO BED!

12. Explain they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20-22.

On Resurrection Sunday (Easter morning), open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matthew 28:1-9.

Have an amazing Tuesday. Tomorrow I have not one... not two... but four variations on the traditional Easter Egg Hunt. These will be fun for young children as well as teens. Thursday I have a family date planned which will be fun and inexpensive. It's a great way to spend a spring day together.

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.