An embarrassing recipe

Posted on April 6, 2023 by E.A. Wickham

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Lemon lush

We are invited to a friend’s house for Easter dinner. I offered to bring dessert and said I’d make lemon lush. These friends were parents from my kids’ elementary school and the wife was a golf buddy of mine for years. We were surprised to find out that they moved from Palm Springs three months after we moved — and they live less than a mile away.

It’s an old recipe that I discovered in the 1980s when I worked in public relations for the Bob Hope Classic golf tournament. When the tournament was over, we’d have potluck in our meeting room for staff and volunteers. One of the wealthy woman volunteers brought in lemon lush and it was a huge hit. I asked her for the recipe. So many people asked for it that she used the copy machine and handed them to us.

I kept that recipe in my old Betty Crocker cookbook until it faded. There are tons of versions online. The one posted below is closest to the recipe that faded beyond recognition. (Tip: I use pecans instead of walnuts.)

Our friends loved lemon lush and asked for the recipe. I’m embarrassed to share it because it’s a Jello Pudding and Cool Whip recipe. But it tastes so delicious. When I’ve shared the recipe before, people look disappointed. It’s verging on embarrassment to share this with my friends! But it tastes so good — I won’t stop making it. Maybe I should throw in some fresh ingredients like lemon zest or fresh lemon juice?

I think it must be a recipe from the 1970s.

LEMON LUSH

Printed from COOKS.COM

Crust:

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups ground walnuts
1 1/2 sticks of butter

Filling:

8 oz cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup of Cool Whip

Topping:

2 small packages instant lemon pudding
3 cups cold milk

Crust:

Using a pastry cutter, combine ingredients for crust and pat into the bottom of 9×13 pan.

Bake at 325°F for 30 minutes. Let cool.

Filling:

Mix well and spread over cool baked crust. Refrigerate.

Topping:

Mix packages of lemon pudding with 3 cups of cold milk. Once mixture has thickened, pour over filling.

Top off with more Cool Whip and nuts, if desired.

HTTPS://WWW.COOKS.COM/REC/DOC/PRT/0,1613,129181-245195,00.HTML

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What recipe do you have that is super easy but so delicious?

The perils of pickleball

Posted on April 19, 2022 by E.A. Wickham

Olive the cat — Olive doesn’t play pickleball. She’d rather sit in the sun.

Friday I opted out of barre class to try beginning pickleball. Since it was Good Friday, I realized my husband didn’t have to work so I took him along.

I was nervous when we walked into the gym and asked if this was beginning pickleball lessons.

“There are no lessons,” a woman answered.

“But I was told that beginning lessons were on Fridays” I said.

“This is beginning pickleball. We just play.”

Yikes.

Then two more couples walked in and said they had never played before either. We were all relieved to not be the only newbies.

A woman and man suggested each first-time couple go to one of the three courts and experienced players would play with us. My husband and I got Bill, who turned out to be an amazing coach. He said he’d been a coach for 30 years of different sports.

Bill had us practice serving over and over. He went through the rules and told us where to stand. He helped me with technique and after one hour, he said we were ready to play. He was patient and encouraging. Without Bill I don’t know if I would ever play again.

We played games or matches for the next hour. Yes! Two full hours of pickleball.

The next day I couldn’t move. Even after four weeks of swimming and barre classes my body was in shock after pickleball.

Easter Sunday my husband and I practiced at our neighborhood tennis court. We had ordered removable lines and markers to turn the tennis court into a pickleball court. A pickleball court is much smaller than a tennis court. After measuring and placing the markers down, we were ready.

A few serves later, I reached down for a ball and pulled a muscle. I’m currently sitting on an ice pack.

My kids told me I shouldn’t have gone from zero workouts to four in one week, but should have built up slowly. They said they knew I would get hurt. A good friend told me that, too. My question is this. Why didn’t they tell me before? Or did they and I didn’t listen?

What activity have you started and stopped and started again? Have you ever done too much too soon and gotten injured? What happened? Is this just the side effect of old age?

Movies for Holy Week

Posted on April 14, 2022 by E.A. Wickham

When I was a kid, the major three TV networks aired Holiday Specials. My mom would make popcorn in a big pot on the stove, or if we were lucky, my brother and I’d get to shake the aluminum-foil bursting “Jiffy Pop” right on the electric burner. We’d gather on the sofa or in chairs to watch — get this — as a family – the “Holiday Special.”

Around Halloween it was Wizard of Oz and It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Christmas had a bunch of great ones. My favorite was Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, but we also watched A Charlie Brown Christmas, and my Mom and Dad’s favorite — It’s a Wonderful Life.

This Easter, I’d love to rekindle the tradition of sitting down with family to watch holiday movies together. Unfortunately, my kids are grown and live 780 miles away. I don’t think my husband will watch with me, but I can ask.

Here’s my list of must see Easter Movies:

1. The Robe. Starring Richard Burton, Jean Simmons, and Victor Mature. 1953. Won 2 Oscars.
2. The Ten Commandments. Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter. 1956. Won 1 Oscar.
3. Ben Hur. Charlton Heston. 1959. Won 11 oscars.
4. Passion of the Christ. Mel Gibson director. 2004. Not for the faint of heart!

5. God Is not Dead. 2014. Now there are more in the series that I haven’t seen: God’s Not Dead 2 (2016), God’s Not Dead: A Light in Darkness (2018), and God’s Not Dead: We The People (2021).

Do you have other movies to add to my top picks? Which of my list of movies have you watched?

Ash Wednesday: do you give something up — or give?

Posted on March 2, 2022 by E.A. Wickham

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of 40 days and 40 nights of Lent for many Christians. Do you give something up? Or what are you going to do?

The three things I’ve heard about Lent are to fast on Ash Wednesday and Fridays, carve out more time for daily prayer and do good works.

I get hungry on Ash Wednesday and Fridays, craving a fat juicy steak that I’d normally not care about. It’s a funny thing when you can’t have something, you fixate on it.

Second, I will find time to pray more. If you believe that prayers make a difference in this world, then more prayer should be easy.

Third, there is the part about doing good works. I think that is most difficult of all. Off the top of my head I don’t know what “good works” I can do. I will keep my eyes open and look around me to see small ways where I can make a difference.

I’m going to Ash Wednesday services for the first time since the COVID shutdown. There’s a church less than two miles from our house that I’ve never been to that has four Ash Wednesday services.

I remember when my daughter was young she said she was giving up piano lessons for Lent. She hated piano. In the past, I’ve given up Facebook, Diet Coke, wine and chocolate. I haven’t decided what I’m going to give up or do this year. I’m working on it.

What you are doing for Lent? What good works are you going to do? Or what are you going to give up?

heartfelt note to a soldier from a gold star child — A heartfelt note from a gold star child to a soldier.

What’s your favorite movie for Easter?

Posted on April 3, 2021 by E.A. Wickham

I posted this Easter week in 2014. Are there any new movies that have come out since then that you’d add to the list? Or maybe some classics that I missed?

Around Halloween, it was Wizard of Oz and It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Christmas had a bunch of great ones. My favorite was Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, but we also watched A Charlie Brown Christmas, and my Mom and Dad’s favorite — It’s a Wonderful Life.

For Easter 2014, I’d love to rekindle the tradition of sitting down with family to watch holiday movies together. Unfortunately, my son’s having a riotous good time at UCSB and my daughter will be off to see Lorde, Lana Del Rey, Beck and Arcade Fire. Yes, she’s going to Coachella!

If I can convince my husband, or maybe alone, I’m going to check out Netflix, Apple TV, or Google Movies to watch my list of must-see Easter movies:

5. God Is Not Dead. I’m going to see this sometime this week. It’s made my list based on a friend’s recommendation.

Do you have other movies to add to my top five picks? Have you seen all five of these movies?

What are your favorite Easter movies of all time?

Posted on April 10, 2020 by E.A. Wickham

I posted this Easter week in 2014. There are a number of new movies released in the past six years that might be added to this list. Or, maybe some classics that I missed? Please comment below if you have more ideas for Easter movies. With everyone hunkered down, watching Netflix, Hulu and TV, what a perfect time to review favorite Easter movies. We can’t join our congregations in person to celebrate. So, let’s get a list going of great movies to share with each other.

This Easter, I’d love to rekindle the tradition of sitting down with family to watch holiday movies together. Unfortunately, my son’s having a riotous good time at UCSB and my daughter will be off to see Lorde, Lana Del Rey, Beck and Arcade Fire. Yes, she’s going to Coachella!

If I can convince my husband, or maybe alone, I’m going to check out Netflix, Apple TV, or Google Movies to watch my list of must-see Easter movies:

1. The Robe. Starring Richard Burton, Jean Simmons, and Victor Mature. 1953. Won two Oscars.
2. The Ten Commandments. Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter. 1956. Won 1 Oscar.
3. Ben Hur. Charlton Heston. 1959. Won 11 oscars.
4. Passion of the Christ. Mel Gibson director. 2004. Not for the faint of heart!
and at theaters:

5. God Is Not Dead. I’m going to see this sometime this week. It’s made my list based on a friend’s recommendation.

PLEASE add to the list to share your favorite Easter movies with all of us sheltering in please. Add your top picks below in the comments.

Another Eggless Easter

Posted on April 19, 2019 by E.A. Wickham

Here are my thoughts on our first Easter without children at home. It was a trend that has continued. Happy GOOD FRIDAY and EASTER everyone! Enjoy the time to celebrate together with friends and family.

My friend Linda’s Easter Cupcakes

There won’t be an egg hunt at my house this year. That’s because my husband doesn’t want to dye eggs with me. Add that to my dislike of eating egg salad all week, I’ll have to get over the no Easter egg sadness.

It’s the first year that we haven’t had a child home for Easter. Last year, I forced my 18-year-old to hunt for eggs. She grudgingly dyed the eggs I boiled after I nagged her a few times. Easter morning, I hid them outside around our patio. I think she really did enjoy looking for them. At least, she went through the paces.

Kat at the Fireman’s Annual Egg Hunt.

This year, I’ll skip it. Somehow I can’t imagine my husband hunting for them. Or me. After I’ve hidden them. Yes, that would be sad.

Instead, we’ll walk over to O’Donnell golf course for sunrise service. It should be a gorgeous morning up against the mountain with spectacular views. I’m thinking the last time we did that was before we had kids. We went with our good friends and sat on the dewy grass on a plaid wool blanket.

Funny thing. I see a pattern where we are returning to activities that we haven’t had time to enjoy in years.

My kids and friends at the annual egg hunt.

My husband just said, “Let’s go to the beach.” We used to pick up our stuff and jump in the car on a few minutes notice and have a beach day. That was before swimming and school activities took over our lives. I think I can get used to this.

Happy Good Friday, everyone!

My son hunting for Easter Eggs. One said "God Has Risen!" His answer? "Did you hear that? Wow!"

My son hunting for Easter Eggs. One said “Jesus Has Risen!” He said, “Did you hear that? Wow!”

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thoughts about life from below the surface

Category Archives: Easter

The perils of pickleball

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Ash Wednesday: do you give something up — or give?

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Another Eggless Easter

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