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Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Fruit Salad........Yummy, Yummy

No, I am not doing a blog about "The Wiggles" today.  But, they have had their moments of adoration at our house!!  We have even been to a Wiggles concert.........we could sing you nearly every Wiggles song..........complete with hand movements...........
by WE I mean Jim, Samuel and me.  I did the WE in yellow because our favorite Wiggle dresses in yellow.

No, the last few days I have been thinking about my brother Graham and one of his most famous and favorite recipes.
FRUIT SALAD
In fact, to honor him, I am going to share his recipe.  This recipe has been handed down for generations and as part of the tradition, only the male members of the family can make it for special occasions.  It is a must  for the dessert portion of Christmas dinner. 

So, without any further ado, here it is.......
 Chop up every known fruit upon the face of the earth......or whatever happens to be handy
Throw it into the largest bowl or pot you have.......Graham uses a big stock pot that looks something like this.......
Give it all a good stir
Serve with ice-cream or cream.
It is best served with cream from Australian cows, very thick and creamy....

But, in a pinch, heavy whipping cream from American cows may be substituted
 A sprinkle of sugar over the top if desired......over the fruit salad, not the cows! 

I love my brother very much
Sally-Ann

PS.  No rude comments about Australian cow/American cow thing.  We can arrange a taste test. 

Monday, May 10, 2010

Inspirational

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Happy Mother's Day

Walking for Samuel

On Saturday, 1st May, 2010, we participated in the Tampa Bay Walk for Autism Speaks.  Fourteen of us walked, we were a few in thousands.  The Tampa Bay area raised over $180,000.  
We walked to support Samuel.
When Samuel was first diagnosed, Autism Speaks sent us a 100 Day Kit that has helped us navigate us through the world of therapists, neurologists, the different therapies available, tests, tests and more tests..........
 
 Our team is called
THE MIGHTY ROOS!! 
Some were a little disparaging about our mascot.....
is it a mouse or a kangaroo??
Have you ever seen a boxing mouse????
Don't mess with the MIGHTY ROOS, we are serious when it come to supporting the cause of autism and Samuel!!

The day of the walk happened to be the hottest day we have had in Tampa for quite some time now.  The walk itself took place at North Straub Park, St. Petersburg.  Beautiful setting for the event, and a nice breeze did come in off the water every now and then.
Thank heavens for the trees!!!  When we stood under the trees it was immediately cooler.
 
 They were well equipped with porta-potties.  As we were waiting for our team to arrive, we did a little people watching.  The first place people went when arriving at the park????  You got it.....
 
 This was a very popular place with the kids.  They had several jumping thingos set up for the kids to enjoy.  I know I took a picture of Samuel jumping, but can't find it, so here is a picture of Sam's friend Luke jumping.
 
 Here we are trying to organize organizing ourselves and preparing for the strenuous walk ahead....in the sweltering heat........early on a Saturday........wearing the best t-shirts there.........
 
 All kinds of people were there to support us.  We were a little suspicious of some.  But it just goes to show that even villains can take time off from doing evil to support a good cause. 
 
Luke, I am your father..........sorry, a bit hard to resist.
 Sammy Cummins, Eli Nickles & Luke Nickles pictured with Storm trooper 1, Storm trooper 2, Storm trooper 3,  & Mr. Vadar.
 
Luke with Storm trooper 2........or is it 1, 3, or 4???
 Eli with Darth
 
 Don't mess with the ROOS storm trooper guys!
 
 The crowd
 
 The walk begins........
 
 Frank and Lisa Griswold
 
Kenny and Luke
 
 Samuel thinking in his wagon
 

 

 
 
 
 Samuel holding his Mum's hand.
Please excuse my big bum.
 

 
 Everyone was there, even ELVIS!!!
 
 This was Samuel's favorite spot.  Right by the Toys R Us tent.
If you look closely at the upper left side you can see where Sam has spelled S A M.
 
 After the walk in the shade of the trees.....
Eli and Beth Nickles (and Jessica's fingers....how rude!!)

 

 
My sweetie, Jim. 
 
Jessica
 
Jimmie Lee Cummins

Kenny & Luke Nickles
Kenny dancing in his manly shirt

After it was all over, we walked down to the pier to have some lunch and to chill out for a while.
Sam liked riding on the trolley.
Terrible waitress in the restaurant we ate at, but the company was good and it was air-conditioned!!!



Sally-Ann