Kolacky's

Lessons learned today from making Gramma Helen’s kolacky:

1) When she said 1/2 tsp of filling, she was NOT kidding. More is NOT better. 🤷🏻‍♀️ . . .
2) Thank heavens I made a half recipe, because THAT made 5 dozen. 😳 . . .
3) Sealing them closed is serious business... after much of my first batch popped open, I have new respect for Gram’s pinching abilities. . . .
4) I used a food processor to blend. She used 2 forks. It was a more patient generation. . . .
5) I used homemade raspberry jam for kid 1 and Nutella for kid 2. I can’t remember Gram ever using any filling except poppyseed, apricot and prune. I’m not sure if she’d approve, but I hope she gives me a pass. . . .
6) Making and tasting things that were once made for you by people you’ve lost brings a strange mix of sad and happy. ❤️

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Recipes Anyone?

Over the last month, I have spent my “spare” moments taking this huge, unruly, disorganized, decades-old binder of treasured recipes and loading them all into an app.
. . .
I’ve organized them and categorized them and attributed them to the people who passed them to us. Gramma Zdenek’s recipes for dumplings, sauerkraut and kolacky are all in there, along with Nana’s dill dip and bishop pie and Alison’s dad’s baked beans and my own dad’s garlic salad dressing, and Mom Rinker’s pumpkin apple muffins and holiday cheese spread... and hundreds of others, including my own recipes for the things we love, like meatballs and gumbo and paella and hot pretzels and apple coffee cake. . . .
In the aftermath of my mother’s death, this felt important — and healing. Someday, these recipes will go to my sons and their families, part of their own history and story. My 14yo is already the heir-apparent to the culinary genes; I imagine and hope that, someday, cooking some of these things for his own children will bring back good memories of this time and space.
. . .

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Super Dragster

Y’all!!! 😲 When a “random Instagrammer mom” posts a photo of her son with “The 12 Sleighs of Christmas” and says he likes the dragster sleigh on the cover because his mom and dad both drive dragsters, and then you find out (HOLY CRAP!!!!!!) THIS is that mom: JESSICA BOGACKI, @nhra Super Comp DRAGSTER DRIVING MoM!!! 🏎 👊🏻

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Vehicle Loving Boy

Thank you SOOOO MUCH to @teachreadmama for this photo!!! 🥰 Her vehicle-loving little boy says his favorite Christmas picture book is {The 12 Sleighs of Christmas}. She also casually mentions that his “Mommy and Daddy both drive dragsters” (!!!!!!) and, after all, there IS a dragster sleigh on the front cover. (I REALLY need to get more info on that; my house knows and loves @nhra !!! . . . 📷:

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Boys

My boys constantly tease my husband, now that he’s shorter than they are. Not sure this was appropriate for church, but it did make me laugh.

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PS Send More!

They looked so innocent, sitting next to the register at @peetscoffee ... So, I casually grabbed a bag, just wanting a tiny nibble of something sweet with my tea. 🤦🏻‍♀️ Addiction is not pretty, friends. 😳 PS: SEND MORE!!!!!!

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