Wednesday Medley: Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day

Our dear friend Terri from Florida is so dear and faithful to her readers that she even posts as she prepares for a hospital trip! What a trooper! And Terri has selected the Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day for us to use in lieu of questions today. 

I loved our little Trudy, and all our little dogs who have crossed over, but Trudy's crossing was especially meaningful to my husband and I. Her story is a testimony of our God's love for His creatures and His care for us. Link us here to share your story.

I have shared several times about our dog, Trudy. One of the sweetest dogs we ever had and a great little fun-loving companion. The way she came to us in the first place was remarkable in itself. After our Miniature Schnauzer Allie died, we thought maybe we shouldn't get another dog, but of course, after you're used to having a lovable dog around, you miss it and the house just feels empty. After a long search to find one exactly like her, it just wasn't happening. That is, until one day after looking at a number of possible dogs to adopt, we showed a pic to the lady at the humane society to tell her this is what we are looking for and the dog has to be like this. We left and about 30 minutes later, received a call saying that a woman and a little girl had just found a dog wandering about their neighborhood. The dog matched our description and would we be interested? Heck yeah! We went over, found this sweet dog and loved her from the beginning.

This docile looking little dog was quite deceiving. We discovered early on that she was a bolter and most likely, that is why she was out wandering the neighborhood where the little girl had found her. We spent many, many times chasing this dog down because she could sneak out of a barely open door faster than anything. She loved going for walks, chasing rabbits, and swimming in the pool.

Let's Walk!

Her last two years were difficult as we watched her go silent into a world of old age and dementia. The last year was especially trying as I had to carry her to the places she needed to be - to her bed, her food and water bowls, and outside to take care of business. She never made a peep of complaint, just wagged that little tail expressing her happiness at being with the people she knew loved her. Friends and family suggested gently many times that it was time to let Trudy go, but we just couldn't do it. I prayed that she would go peacefully because it would have broken DH's heart had I taken her to be put down. Especially the last two weeks it was hard to deal with because DH's surgery was getting closer and I didn't know what to do about her.

One Wednesday night I attended a special memory care support group and the pastor asked for prayer requests. As I explained my DH's love for Trudy and his denial about her condition, my prayer request was that Trudy would die peacefully before Friday morning because I had decided we could wait no longer and she would have to be put down.

That night, DH held her in his lap for the last time. As I tucked her into her bed, she was barely breathing and I told her we loved her and it was okay for her to go.

On Thursday morning, I went to take her from her bed as usual, and discovered she had passed away.

We loved this dog and I knew how much she meant to DH and I was never convinced that putting her down was the right thing to do because of my concern for him. I share this to say how thankful I am that God does care about the events and concerns in our lives and He knew this would be best. I am so thankful to You, Lord for letting Trudy go peacefully in her sleep.

My friend Bettye and Trudy had a great friendship and so it just seemed fitting

that she be buried in Bettye's back yard out in the country.

Continuing to pray for Terri's good recovery from her knee surgery.

Wednesday Medley Flying High

It's time to meddle again! Terri has the medley of questions for the Wednesday Medley right here. No rules and there is no obligation. Join in and link up with other ‘Meddlers’!! 

I am adding to Terri's information a bit of trivia about gyro-copters from the past. A movie with Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert, "It Happened One Night," includes a landing by a Pitcairn autogyro as a stunt by an alleged "famed aviator" at his intended wedding. The included footage is great shot of a landing on the lawn of a mansion with a close-up of the deplaning, right out of the Pitcairn advertisements of the day (1936). Goofy!

This one looks more like a small plane.

1. Tell us about the first airplane ride you took and do you like to fly?

My first flight was from Tulsa, Oklahoma to Orlando, Florida in a 6 passenger prop jet owned by the insurance company I worked for. The company pilot flew my boss, me and another employee to audit a new company they had purchased. It was so exciting to me and I was totally unaware of the danger that night!! Before we even left Tulsa, one of the plane's generators had to be repaired, and we later learned that mid-flight the other one went down, leaving us with one generator!! We flew through a storm with lightning flashing across the plane's windshield. There was no potty on the plane, and although we made one quick stop in Mississippi, it wasn't enough. I will spare the details. When we landed in Orlando, my boss informed me that the pilot would be fine by Monday when we left. You see, the pilot loved to drink! He promised to be sober by the time our departure arrived. I am living proof of God's protection throughout my life!

Although we have taken countless plane trips, I am not crazy about flying anymore. 

The plane, the plane!!! 

On a glass bottom boat at Silver Springs.

2. Have you ever gone hang gliding and was it on the beach with boat power, or from a mountain with only the wind and your body? No, I'm a little surprised that we haven't done that.

3. Have you ever gone kite flying and with whom? Do you mean fly a kite or kite flying? I think there is a guy in our town who does this. About once or twice a week he flies past our window and over the lake in something that looks like a kite or parachute.

4. Experimental aircraft is quite popular as a hobby where Terri lives. Have you or anyone you know ever constructed a flying machine and did you ride in it?

Oh yes, indeed! My DH constructed such a flying machine! After he got his pilot's license, we did several trips in single engine planes, however, that is not my cup of tea. So he researched and convinced me that gyro-copters were the safest way to go. So he built a one-seater plane (which he later crashed), and I took a ride with one of his instructors in a two-seater gyro-copter. It was quite exhilarating to be up in the sky with nothing but open air around you. He told me when he was up in the sky flying, it brought tears to his eyes it was so beautiful. (Still, I was very thankful when this hobby was done.)

A gyro-copter

His dream: a tri-cycle that would convert to a flying cycle

when he encountered traffic. 

I have shared before that DH has always been the adventurer! His dream was to be able to drive or fly the tri-cycle copter to work and just be over the traffic!

5. Another big hobby around Lakeland is Radio Controlled Airplanes. Have you ever seen them flying or tried your hand at it? No.

6. Please tell us something about your week.

Monday was quite busy with an annual doctor appointment, birthday lunch with old friends, and a visit to the Apple store to get the new battery for my phone. Tuesday I attended Ladies of Grace and Tuesday evening our Monday friends will be over for food and fun! Wednesday is breakfast with the guys, Wednesday night serving in Gracekids, and Thursday lunch with friends. The countdown is on for BSF and I will be in Ft. Worth all day Saturday for training! Looking forward to all that each day brings!

Hunter off to school! What will Mommy do all day?

Keep the younger three! Lol!!!

My brother with his family!

My Christmas cactus! Look at all the leaves on it! 

Hope it blooms like crazy!

Birth Day for Maverick!

Back in the saddle again!!! All it took was two metal parts to get this chair back in the business of holding DH and Annie. Lazy Boy recliner is 20 years old … I would have opted for a new one, but he insisted he wanted to keep his chair! The towels covering the chair have kept the fabric in great condition.

These kids are back in the saddle again also … school started this week for them.

Each one of them is special and unique. Praying for a good year for them … to be good students, good role models in the things that make for good character, and for their minds to be filtered and protected from the world's ideas. All of them so far exhibit excellent character and eagerness to learn! 

A new kid in town!

Nephew Chase with his little family 

Tenley meeting little brother, 

Maverick, up close and personal!

My brother holding his grandson! ❤!!

This one is over the sink

Unedited pics of my light fixtures which our buddy Fred installed this week. The lights are so bright, I don't think you can tell how pretty they are. The LED bulbs are supposed to burn 3 hours each day for 22 years!!! Hahaha!! I sure hope so because putting the light bulbs in was really tricky in that I could hardly get my hands in the glass. We sure do appreciate Fred ... he is the one who fixed the chair and works around our house doing things I can't. 

Several of the broken things mentioned previously have been taken care of or in the process. The hatch door on the Sequoia is fixed ... again! The recliner fixed, door clips are on the way to fix the storm door, and I have an appointment with Apple on Monday to fix my phone!

Wednesday Medley

1.  I'm sure many kids today have no idea what V-J Day is all about.  Did you have a loved one who fought in WWII? Yes, my Dad was in the Philippines and also New Guinea. My uncle was in Europe and killed in action. 

2.  The iconic sculpture from the famous photograph of  "The Unconditional Surrender" has been defaced recently because of the #metoo movement. I know we can get very political about this subject, but just keeping it in the spirit for which it was created, what are your thoughts? I always liked that photo and the statue because  it spoke to me of the joy of the war being over! Everybody was celebrating and servicemen were glad to be home and everybody was in the streets celebrating their return!

 

3.  Terri's grandson, Tristan, loved playing a game called "Axis & Allies".  It was quite complicated, took up the entire dining room table, and was not something Terri wanted to play (Grandpa understood it and played though).  Can you name three Axis countries and five of the many Allies (okay to look it up!)? Germany, Italy and Japan. Allies, England, United States, Soviet Union, France, and China.

4.  Terri was surprised to learn that most historians agree that WWII began when Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. Others say it started when Japan invaded Manchuria on September 18, 1931. And some scholars suggest WWII is actually a continuation of WWI, with a break in between.  Have you ever visited Pearl Harbor in Hawaii or any other WWII memorials around the world? We did visit Pearl Harbor. Very sobering. We also visited the WW II Memorial on the National Mall.

5.  Calvin Graham was only 12 years old during WWII when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He won a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart before the Navy found out how old he was.  (God bless him.) Terri doesn't know any 12-year olds today who could qualify or get away with something like that.  Times are so very different now but (in the US) we do have ROTC in high schools.  Do you know anyone who started in ROTC and went on to enlist in one of the services? My husband was in ROTC, Officers Training School, and then joined the National Guard, but that may not count. He served here in the U.S. I can’t think of anybody I know who was in ROTC who then enlisted. So many of my classmates were drafted to go to Vietnam.

6.  Please tell us something about your week so far. Dealing with broken things and very thankful that we are able to have them fixed. Tonight I am meeting with all the BSF group leaders and confess I am getting a little apprehensive about the upcoming classes and leading. Kate and Jack were here the past couple of days and we had a good time with them. They wanted to go to the mall and look around. Since we didn’t go to a movie or any other entertainment, I gave them money to spend. They are very different spenders!! Jack is quite liberal and Kate so conservative.  

This pic is so sweet! Jack took a selfie of himself with Annie. 

He also had to hide in the new red box.  

Monday night’s sunset was truly amazing.

Kate's birthday!

Kate was born right in the middle of the hottest month of the year, so every birthday has involved some kind of splashing in water! This year, her birthday celebration was about inaugurating/christening? the new swimming pool in the back yard! We had a great time. Jason cooked burgers and hot dogs. And my worries about the cake were all for nought!

Sorry, Heidi. No cake for you!

I think somebody stuck their finger in the side of the cake!

Kate with her Daddy

Money tree with somebelly photobombing!

Self-explanatory ;-)

The few pics I have are from Kate's Nana as my phone went dead when I tried to take a picture. This is happening constantly, so I guess I'm going to have to get that taken care of. DH's recliner broke,  the trunk back door of the Sequoia is also broken (that was fixed a couple of months ago, but guess Toyota didn't do such a great job.) Boo-hoo! It's always something, right?

Here is the recipe for the delicious birthday cake. My friend Alice came over to help decorate the cake. I would have been fine with just candles, but she wanted to help. We were both disappointed with the outcome on that, but too late! Once the decorations are on, there's no taking them off. Did anybody at the party care? Nope! Not a crumb left. And even better, Kate LOVED the cake and that I made it for her! All her hugs and kind words made the efforts worthwhile.

The recipe is from this website! I made the cake 3 layers in 9 inch pans, used real butter and butter flavored Crisco for the shortening, used whole milk and buttermilk, and real vanilla.

4.53 from 17 votes

Super-Moist Vanilla Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

When you're baking this super-moist, delicious cake, the whole house smells incredibly delicious with vanilla cake intoxication! Perfect for all your celebrations and holidays!

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time40 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, baking

Keyword: 2 layer, 3 layer, baking, banana, cake, vanilla frosting

Servings: 12 Servings

Author: Kim Lange

Ingredients

Super-Moist Vanilla Cake

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter , softened
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening , softened
• 2 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 5 large eggs , room temp
• 1 cup buttermilk or milk of choice or use 1/2 buttermilk - 1/2 whole milk combo , room temp
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

• 1½ cups unsalted butter , softened
• 5-6 cups powdered sugar
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• 2 - 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350º F.
• Prepare three 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick baking spray or coat well with shortening or butter and flour the pans, taking care to remove all excess flour. Adjust time for other pan conversions (see conversion chart below recipe if you want to bake other sizes and have leftover batter in some cases, make cupcakes!)
• In a medium-sized bowl. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt, set aside.
• Using a mixer, in another bowl, cream together butter and shortening until light and fluffy, approx 3-5 minutes.
• Gradually add sugar one cup at a time, making sure to fully incorporate each cup before adding another. Then start adding each egg one at a time, making sure to fully incorporate each egg before adding another, but gently incorporate in, don't over beat.
• Pour milk (s) and vanilla into measuring cup and whisk together until mixed.
• Add creamed mixture alternately with milk mixture and the dry mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients.
• Gently stir all ingredients until combined, getting all ingredients from side of mixing bowl mixed in as well, but do not over-mix! 
• Evenly distribute cake batter between cake pans and place pans into oven.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Note: Don't be tempted to keep opening the oven door a lot while the cake is baking as the oven temperature drops each time the door is opened.Remove and allow to cool slightly in cake pans for about 5 minutes, then cool cake layers completely on a wire rack. Note: Leaving cake in cake pans too long could make the cakes stick to the pan and hard to remove because of the moisture that builds up in the pan while it cools.
• Frost cake as desired.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

• Using mixer on a medium setting, cream the butter until it is smooth and has lightened in color, about 3 minutes.
• Add confectioner's sugar, ½ a cup at a time. After each cup has been incorporated, turn the mixer onto the highest speed setting and for about 10 seconds to lighten the frosting.
• Add vanilla and a pinch of salt and combine until well-incorporated.
• Add heavy cream until the frosting has reached the preferred consistency.
• For a firmer frosting, add more confectioner's sugar, a ¼ cup at a time.
• For a softer frosting, add more milk or cream, a tablespoon at a time.

Notes

Adapted from Robyn Stone | Add a Pinch

Notes:

-Best to cream the butter shortening, and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Don't over beat when adding eggs and other ingredients, just mix gently until incorporated well into batter. 

-This recipe makes approximately 24 cupcakes when cupcake tin is filled more than ¾ full.

-When filled ½ full, this recipe makes approximately 36 cupcakes.

-Bake approximately 18 minutes.

For other pan conversions, don't overfill your pans, whether you use, 6 in, 8 in or 9 inch pans and accommodate your baking time accordingly.  Below is a conversion chart with baking times to help out.