Oh dear this cannot be

How can this be the last day of July already?

Where has my summer gone?

Last year by this time I had a long list of accomplishments.

I fear this year has a much shorter list.

Here goes:

I got 2 walls of my house decorated.  After 3 years in the house it was time to put holes in the wall, right?  So we did.  A wall above the computer/study table in the kitchen has been decorated, mainly to help absorb noise.  It now has a "life's lessons" quilt and two fabric covered bulletin boards.  A wall of family portraits in the dining room has been completed.  That was tough--sifting through years of family pictures to find the ones that we most wanted to put on that wall.  I am still working on smaller displayes for the stairwell--pictures of each of the girls, photos I love but couldn't make fit on the dining room wall.

I got the pull down shade installed in my middle child's bedroom.  She has had a curtain on that window for a good long while but I wanted a shade.  I finally got one and hung it with just a bit of help from my husband.  (Still need to hang one on the last remaining uncovered window on the main floor.  And maybe I should get some for the 2 windows downstairs.)

We took the girls to baseball games.  That was fun.

We spent a lot of time at the library.

We spent at least one day each week swimming.

The kids had friends over to spend the night and just hang out.

We purged kids' dressers and closets.  Young Imelda was able to pick up a number of pairs of shoes for her closet once we pulled them out of her sisters' closets.  And still we had a number of pairs of shoes to donate away.

I bought daylilies and my husband planted them for me around the yard.  Our old house had a lot of gorgeous daylilies that I wish I had dug up and brought to my new house (seeing as the current owners just kept cutting them down each year when then grew up--so sad!)

We went to the gym--a lot.  One would think I would have a decent amount of weight loss to show for that but no.  Sad but true.  On the upside,  clothes do fit better so the gym did some good.

I painted my laundry room and the upstairs hallway.  If I am lucky I will get some painting done downstairs before I have to return to work.


We built the shelves for the basement. 

Oops, those last two projects were supposed to happen already and didn't.  Darn. 

But still, that's not such a bad list after all.

Friday Night Fireworks

This past Friday we took the kids, along with four of their friends, to a baseball game.  We had friends who were going with their three kids as well.  It was all the chaos I expected and then some.  But by the end of the evening I was just overcome with emotions.

You see, they had fireworks after the game.  So of course we had to stay for those.  Took me right back to my own childhood watching fireworks after a game at that same ballpark.

And then the little ones wanted to run the bases after the game.  So we stayed for that.  The two oldest kids even decided to take part.  After that they stayed to get autographs from the players.

That was what really did me in.  It was really getting late by that time (doubleheader plus fireworks!) but those guys lined the dugout for the kids who were politely swarming around them for autographs.  Surely they just wanted to go shower and be done with the ballpark for a night.  But they smiled and joked with the little kids who had stars in their eyes. 

Best Friday night I have had in a long time.  Truly.

Can't be a child of the Vietnam Era without songs like this

It speaks entirely for itself:

On the Road Again--aka vacation with the grandparents

Working on the photo wall means reliving so many great moments in my life.  For many years my sister and I were the youngest grandchildren on my mother's side of the family.  Since my grandfather retired when I was about 5 years old, that meant we got time with them that the other grandchildren never had a chance at getting.

I remember going on more than one vacation with my grandparents.  We went to Florida.  On that trip we visited a cousin and spent time at the beach. We also took in a few historical sites.  My mother wasn't much for the heat of the beach but she tolerated it for us kids.  My grandmother wasn't much for the sand or sun so I guess she stayed in the hotel.  My grandfather loved the sand, the sun and the whole experience. 

On another trip we went to Mackinac Island and on into Canada.  I have more vivid memories of that trip.  There was the ferry ride over to the island.  We would get up in the morning and go to "The Fort" for an amazing array of breakfast foods on the buffet.  Then we would get our tickets and ride over for the day.  Riding on the top level of the ferry meant getting wet but it also meant wind in your face and so much noise you couldn't carry on a conversation.  Riding on the lower level meant that it felt damp but there was no wind and no water spraying your face; still it was so noisy you couldn't carry on a conversation.

When we got into Canada we quickly discovered that Canadian beef tasted nothing like American beef.  We determined it to be a result of how their cows were fed.  Once we navigated the "my dinner doesn't taste right" issue we moved on to the main event--a trip to Agawa Canyon to ride on the Algoma Central Railway.  It was the first time we kids had ever been on a train.  For my parents and grandparents it was like a trip back to the days of riding a train to cross the country.  It was a beautiful ride; unfortunately I dozed off during that train ride.  In my defense it was an all day trip and the rocking of the train was a bit like a cradle.

We made some other trips, smaller ones.  What stands out about all of these trips?  Well, we always prayed the Rosary as a big family.  My grandparents worked to keep us kids happy and agreed to do things they might not have wanted to do otherwise.  Each trip we took started off with someone saying "On the Road Again!" just like the Willie Nelson song.  And while each trip took a toll on the whole notion of "family togetherness" I think we all look back now and think "I'm so glad we did it."

Buried in pictures!

I have been working on a photo wall for my dining room.  Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine it would be so hard to select pictures for this wall!  I wanted a mix of family pictures. . .my side, his side, our kids.  It is not an easy task to sift through some seventy five years of photos to find just the right images for the wall.

I have made it through most of our family photos (just under twenty years--woo hoo!).  I have sifted through many of my photos from when I was a kid, going back another twenty years in history.  I have worked through many of my husband's family photos; my best guess there is that I have made it back to the 1940s.  However I have not managed to get through all of my parents' side of the family--yet.  There are pictures there dating back to World War I.  Oh dear.  That means that I have around one hundred years of photos!

Daunting task to say the least.  Do we make it a true collage with a mixture of color and black/white photos?  Turn all the color photos into black and white?  Do we make it random or matchy-neat pattern?  Should we select posed studio type pictures or random captured moments?

Decisions decisions decisions. 

I'll leave you with a taste of what might go up on the wall. . . .

He finally got a piece of the pie!

RIP Sherman Hensley.  Probably best known for his role as George Jefferson, first on All in the Family and then in his own series The Jeffersons.

Another little piece of my childhood gone.

I'm particularly partial to the write up that USA today did for Mr. Hensley.  You can read it here

Thank you Mr. Hensley for the choices you made that allowed you to enter into our homes through our TV.  May you rest in peace.

Easiest salad dressing ever!

In fact, it's so easy I have to wonder why I never thought of it for myself. 

Peel 1 avocado and remove the seed.  Smash it and stir in a couple of teaspoons of rice vinegar.  That's all there is to it!  One of my kids loves it too and one avocado makes enough dressing for the both of us. 

Good healthy salad dressing and it's super easy as well as super fresh.

Can't do better than that!

Delirium and Pandemonium

When will I ever learn?  Once again I have read a book, ok, 2 of them, only to learn that the story doesn't end here.  I really need to do more research before I start my books don't I?

I literally ran through Delirium.  I couldn't wait to see what would happen next. 

Pandemonium took more effort because it is told in two time frames. . .now and then.  The flipping back and forth caused me to just wish the story was being told chronologically.  It also frustrated me because it seemed some questions were not answered.  At the same time, some parts were entirely predictable.  I don't like when the books I read are predictable.  I like from them to have surprises.  Maybe I have just gotten better at understanding foreshadowing?

But then, suddenly I was at the end of Pandemonium. . .and left hanging until March of next year to get answers to the remaining questions. 

Oh dear.

Two girls for every boy!

And so begins the very well known beach song "Surf City" by Jan and Dean.  I was completely fascinated by their music (and the Beach Boys) when I was around 10 years old.  I guess I saw the movie "Dead Man's Curve" about Jan and Dean when I was about that age.  I just couldn't get enough of that music for a good long time.

Where were you?

On this date 43 years ago?  When man first walked on the moon?

My kids asked me that one day.  I had to giggle.  They had no idea.  I wasn't even born yet!

But my friend Leslie was. . .something I give her endless grief over.  OK, fine.  It's not like she's a lot older than I am.  Not like she actually remembers man walking on the moon or anything.  (Unlike another friend's husband who just threw into conversation one day "Yeah, I remember when JFK was shot."  This of course left the rest of us speechless because he was already in school when that happened and um, the rest of us had years to go before we were even born.)

Just for fun, here is the song that topped the pop charts on that day 43 years ago.

Pizza--the great American meal!

Earlier this summer the Today show had a segment about pizza.  They had someone on who discussed the results of some pizza surveys that had recently been completed.  One statistic stood out--on average Americans have pizza once a week.  Personally, I'm stunned by that because my family has had weeks were we had pizza as many as 5 times in a week.  We love our pizza!

I had always heard of people making grilled pizzas so we decided to give it a try.  I picked up a copy of Grill This, Not That at the library and what follows is our ever so slightly modified version of their pizza dough recipe:

1 c warm water
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp Rapid Rise yeast
2 1/2 c flour

Mix flour, salt, yeast and sugar in a bowl.  Add the water and mix.  When the dough is not sticky, remove from the bowl to knead on a flour-dusted surface.  Knead for about 5 minutes (kids are always great for this task!) then let rist for an hour. 

(Side note--I rarely use regular yeast anymore.  I like being able to cut down on steps in the kitchen and when it comes to making pizza dough, Rapid Rise yeast has always worked just fine for us)

This recipe will make enough dough for 2 10' pizzas and will keep, covered, in the fridge for up to 2 days.  You can also freeze dough for later use by putting in a large ziploc bag and flattening.  When you want to use it, remove from the bag and let thaw on a plate, covered with a clean towel.

Preheat the grill with 1 side on high heat and the other low heat.  Divide the dough into 2 balls; roll out dough into a 10" circle. 

It is important to have all your toppings ready to use when you put the dough on the grill.  Cooking goes quite fast grillside.

Place the dough on the hot side; cook for 30 seconds then rotate and cook for another 30 seconds.  Then flip onto the cool side.  Work quickly to add toppings--cheese first, then dot with sauce and complete your toppings.  Let the pizza grill for 2-3 minutes then rotate and let cook for another minute or 2.

Slide from grill onto a pan or cutting board.

Time to enjoy!

Yummy Squash/Zucchini Casserole!

I used to have a recipe for a yellow squash casserole.  I couldn't find it the last time I wanted to make it so I had to go searching for one.  I used one from the sparkpeople recipe file and amended it.  I was supposed to be 12 servings and each one had 220 calories.  Nope, far too many calories for me.  So here's my new and improved lower calorie version:

3-4 zucchini or yellow squash, washed, half-hazardly peeled and diced
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 cup milk
1 whole egg
2 egg whites
salt and pepper to taste
4 oz shredded cheese
sprinkling of bread crumbs

Here's what we did:
Spray 13 x 9 baking pan with cooking spray.  Put zucchini, squash and onions in this pan; sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast the veggies for about 30 minutes at 350.

After removing the veggies from the oven, increase the oven temp to 375.  Mix the milk and egg.  Pour over the roasted veggies then sprinkle with shredded cheese and bread crumbs.  Spritz with a bit of cooking spray so the bread crumbs can get a little toasted.

Back for another 20 minutes.

While I can't tell you the calorie count, I can tell you my version used less eggs (theirs called for 4 whole eggs), much less cheese (theirs called for 12 oz!), less bread crumbs and no butter.  And yet we thought it was delicious!

Yummy Breakfast Muffins

Surely these suffice as breakfast.  They have peanut butter for protein and jelly like you would put on toast.  So that works, right?

I stumbled across this recipe on the Cooking Light website last year and my family loved them to death.  So here you go. . . .

Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins
1 cup all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 ounces)

3/4 cup whole wheat flour (about 3 1/2 ounces)

1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups fat-free milk

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup egg substitute

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cooking spray

1/4 cup jam

Preheat oven to 400°.

Mix flours, sugars, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

Combine milk and next 4 ingredients (through vanilla); add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.  Be careful not to overmix as this will cause your muffins to be heavy.

Either line the muffin tin with paper cups or lightly spray your muffin pan.  Fill each muffin cup about half full with batter. Spoon 1 teaspoon jam into each cup then spoon remaining batter on top to cover jam.

Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Let cool in pan 5 minutes. Remove from pan, and cool on a wire rack.

How I Knew I Was Grown Up

When I was younger I used to wonder how I would ever get to be as smart and grown up as the adults in my life.  They seemed to have all the answers and make things look easy.

I graduated high school and thought I knew a lot but I knew I wasn't really "grown up."

I went to college and held down as many as 3 jobs at a time while taking classes and thought I knew a lot.  But even then I knew I wasn't really "grown up."

Eventually I got married and had kids.  We bought a house.  I was doing a pretty good job of looking grown up I thought. 

But I distinctly remember the night I realized I was about as grown up as I was ever going to get.

We had friends visiting from out of town.  I wanted to make pizza for supper because that was something my mom always made and they always loved to have at our house.  While they sat and visited I mixed up the dough from scratch and made dinner.  When dinner was over I cleaned things up and let them talk.

It was around the same time that I took on tasks like dinners after baptism or First Communion as well as birthday parties. 

Well looky there.  Without realizing it I had suddenly become the grown up.  Preparing for parties like my parents used to do.  And not really minding it.  OK, so sometimes there is a little hissy fit due to stress and the general pig-sty lived in look of my house just not quite working for me when it's almost party time.  But overall, I realized that when you can host Thanksgiving dinner for the family and not mind cleaning up while they sit and talk, that's when you are the grownup.

And frankly, hosting/cleaning up from parties is probably the easiest part of being a grown up.  Right?

Duke duke duke duke of Earl. . .

When I was a little girl music was absolutely everywhere.  The TV wasn't on in our house. . .music was on.  And when we went to the ballpark for a game the music education continued.  Up in the stands behind homeplate was the organist who played live, right there. . ."Charge!"  Each player for the hometeam had his own theme song.  This one belonged to Mr. Earl

I "heart" Michael Bennett

Really truly I do.

I mean, he's the man.  A Catholic police detective in New York City with 10 children that he's raising with a lot of help from his nanny and Father Seamus (I totally loved when they ran down the top ten reasons it's great to have a priest as your grandfather!)

This character speaks to me.  In the midst of all that happens with his job and his family he keeps track of what is most important and he does not screw up.  Well, sometimes he does--but not in a way that cannot be fixed.  When he is coping with a great loss, he heads to church to pray.  He takes breaks from his job to be with his family.  He is resigned to his role as dad of 10 but you know that he wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.  Obviously he would prefer to have his wife Maeve with him in this crazy world.  But he has his head on straight to tackle the crazy world he is in.

I love that.

As much as I love Jack Reacher for his renegade sense of justice (and his impeccable thought process to solve the situation), I completely adore Michael Bennett for being the perfect gentleman, doting father and smart detective who always gets his guy.  Yup, you could even compare him to Cary Grant.

As soon as I saw that there was a new Michael Bennett novel coming out I got on the waiting list for the library.  But then luck smiled upon me and I found a copy just sitting on the Bestseller Express rack, waiting for me to pick it up.  I refuse to read it too fast though.  Patterson and Ledwidge always makes these novels page-turners but I want to savor my time with the Detective.  Because he is everything you want a familyman to be. . .plus a detective who always manages to get the bad guy.  He is "the good guy" that you hope still exists in the world.

If you haven't read any of this series yet, shame on you.  Go pick up a copy and treat yourself to a great story.

Thank goodness for a pie crust making daughter!

I simply cannot make a good pie crust.  Good thing I have a few other things I can make.  But a good old fashioned homemade pie crust is just not in the cards fo rme.

However, my daughter can do it.  When she was in second grade she watched my sister make pie crust for Thanksgiving pies.  And ever since then when I need a pie crust, I turn to my daughter to make them for me.

The supposedly "fail-proof" recipe is as follows:

1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c shortening (my sister always used Crisco)
4-5 Tbsp ice cold water

Mix flour and salt.  Add shortening and blend with the pastry blender.  When you have pea size crumbles, add the ice water, one tablespoon at a time.

Roll out onto a floured surface.  Fold dough in half then in half again to transfer to a pie plate.

My favorite pie is apple pie with a crumb topping.  My secret ingredient is ground cloves.  I peel and slice 6-8 Granny Smith apples and add 1-2 Tbsp flour, 3 Tbsp sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp ground cloves.  The cloves add warmth and depth to the pie's flavor.  The crumb topping is a 4 Tbsp of flour, 1/2-3/4 c sugar and 1/2 stick of butter mixed until crumbly.

The recipe says to cover the edges of the pie with aluminum foil so they won't burn then  bake at 375 for 30 minutes.  Then remove the aluminum foil and bake for another 30 minutes.

Heaven~~even on a hot summer day since after all, warm pie and ice cream are absolutely delicious and refreshing!

Wicked reads

A few years ago I decided to give Janet Evanovich a chance.  I had a friend who simply adored the Stephanie Plum series and I figured it was a good way to spend my summer, right?

So I have made my way through the Plum novels and all the in betweens.  When I ran out of Plums I picked up the MotorMouth series and read it.  Loved it and wished Evanovich had taken the time to write more for that series (graphic novels are not my thing).

Then along comes the spin-off series for Lizzy Tucker, cupcake baker, and Diesel.  Delightful!  Wicked Appetite was a scrumptious little morsel.  No, really, it was. Pure fun to read.  So when I stumbled across the second novel Wicked Business on the bestseller shelf at the library I was terribly excited.  And even though I knew I had two weeks to read it, I was compelled to move it up in the reading stack. 

Evanovich is pure fun to read.  The characters are quirky and yet comfortable to hang out with for a few days, although it never takes me that long to get through one of her books!

Today a different note on 95

RIP Ernest Borgnine who died on Sunday at the age of 95.

Even the young folks know this one even if they don't realize it.  Since 1999 he has been the voice of Mermaidman on "SpongeBob SquarePants."  (Not one of my favorite shows but the fact that Mr. Borgnine had a role gave it some redeeming quality for sure).

The Ernest Borgnine I remember is the one who played Lt. Commander Quinton McHale in "McHale's Navy" and General Worden in "The Dirty Dozen."  He is also well known for his role as Sgt. 'Fatso' Judson in "From Here to Eternity."  He made guest appearances on "Little House on the Prairie" and "The Love Boat." He was a working actor from 1951 up until 2012 (his last work "The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vincent Fernandez" is listed as completed on imdb but no information on when it is to be released.)

Impressive accomplishment I think.  The man continued to find interesting work for years.  And the changes he witnessed in the industry over that time. 

Thank you Mr. Borgnine for all your hard work.  We enjoyed watching you.

It's hot. Who knew you could be excited about a forecast of 95?

Like so much of the country we have been under a heat spell with no rain.  June was a very dry month for us.  Our flowers are struggling, even with daily watering.  The grass is hopeless. 

I cannot imagine what it would have been like in the days before any kind of air conditioning.  My mom tells me that's why they would go spend the day at the movie theater--because they had air conditioning and you could get in for a quarter and stay all day.  When I was a very little girl we had a window air conditioner in the living room.  But not in the bedrooms.  Eventually we had them in bedrooms too and then finally we had central air. 

Over the last two weeks we have had eleven days that were 103 or higher.  And humid too.  And yet, no rain!  We had spotty showers come in on the July Fourth but beyond that, almost no rain for the last six weeks.  Sunday afternoon we had plenty of thunder and lightening but not as much rain as we hoped we might get. 

But the upside is that this week's forecast calls for high temps in the 90s rather than 100+.  I guess you just take what you can get and be glad it's not worse.

I'm a Leavin' on a Jet Plane. . .don't know when I'll be back again

Oh just kidding.  I don't fly.  Anywhere.  Ever.  Except when I was 3.  So that means I was last on an airplane. . .oh nevermind.  I'm not sharing how long it's been.  Who really cares how long it has been?  I will say that my sister was 4 at the time and we were flying home from a 2 week stint in another state with my parents (temporary job spot for my dad).  My sister and I had gotten sick so my mom flew home with us rather than make us do the long drive home.  I remember the inside of the plane was blue.  I remember fighting over who sat in the window seat.  And I remember my mom had these pink harnesses that we wore in the airport so we couldn't get away from her (People wrinkle their noses and think those harnesses are cruel but I never felt like a dog on a leash. . .it was just what we did and it made it possible for Mom to navigate the airport by herself with 2 small kids and luggage)

Anyways, anytime I hear this song I remember my one and only trip on a jet plane.  Oh yes, and it has to be the Peter, Paul and Mary.  Nothing else sounds right to me.

Take me out to the ballgame!

When I was a little girl my parents let us go to a lot of baseball games.  We were fortunate enough to have a minor league team in town and many businesses would sponsor the team and give away free tickets.  My dad recently told me that one year the team had something like 35 home games and we were at something like 28 games.  It was a good time for us.  I learned the game and got the chance to see players move up, some eventually playing in the majors and a few lucky guys made it into the World Series.

The team we have now is a part of a sort of "last chance" kind of league.  The guys give the game everything they have but they don't have a particularly great record.  But they do know how to get people out to the ballpark.  (I have to note here that as much as my husband loves sports, baseball is not his game.  Sad, isn't it?  But this explains the gaping hole in my children's cultural experiences)

A couple of nights ago our youngest was asked if she wanted to go to one of their games with a friend and her family.  She said yes.  When she got home she was sooooo excited.  She had gotten to go out on the field to run the bases.  She got to hang out after the game and get autographs.  She even got a baseball from the team and they signed it.  She was in heaven!

And she was especially excited that we had tickets for the very next day for a game too.  The team was celebrating a "heroes" day for military personnel.  My dad picked up a bunch of tickets for us but unfortunately, after we got into the park the rain started.  And it didn't not stop, which was good because we definitely needed rain.  But it meant that our perfect 4th of July game had to be postponed to the next night for a doubleheader!

It was hideously hot for the doubleheader.  We arrived late which was fine with me as it was going to be a long night.  We lost the first game but came back to win the second.  The girls (mostly) enjoyed the game.  At the end our youngest ran the bases again.  Such a sight to see.  My baby girl running the bases on a field where I spent so many evenings when I was her age.

As Cary Grant would say "good stuff."

I Miss Mayberry

RIP Andy Griffith. 

A bit late with my thoughts here.  He left our world on Tuesday.  And yet somehow fitting that it would be the day before the 4th of July.   At least it seems fitting to me.  Mayberry is the picturesque small town where everybody knows everybody--and their business but not in a bad way. 

A gentler time when Aunt Bea (or mom) was in the kitchen and the family gathered for meals every night. . .plus had hot breakfasts every morning.

A time when parents worked hard for their families and the kids knew their place in the family.

While I didn't grow up watching The Andy Griffith show in real time (re-runs only for this girl!) I did watch Matlock "back in the day."  It was another one of those good shows--clean language, good story line, good morals--the kind you are hard pressed to find on current tv.

He always seemed to portray the kind of guy you'd want for your dad or grandfather.  The one you wanted in your corner. . .the one who could find the solution to that problem that was nagging at you.

RIP

4th of July!

Ahhhh, the 4th of July.  Every country has one but the US has a great way to celebrate it!

Cookouts with friends and family followed up by fireworks. . .all night long. . .and for the weekends before, and after.  Ooooh and out in the country, it's a reason to hold target practice off your back deck shooting into the woods.  Oh yes, good times for sure.  Oops, I believe some sarcasm slipped in there.  The shooting off the deck doesn't annoy me all that much.  When we built our house, I knew who we were building next to and I was aware of their gun addiction.  But when it scares the kids it is a bit stressful.

Anyway, back to the subject at hand.

The Fourth of July!  Patriotism and good times.  We tend to celebrate with a cookout at our house, a small fireworks and sparklers display in the driveway (which is usually entirely stressful for at least one anxiety filled member of the family) and then we head off to my workplace to watch the city's fireworks display.  We are so lucky to be able to go to a quiet controlled spot for fireworks.  It is a patio with restricted access for employees and their families only.  Quite lovely.

I'm going to leave you today with one of my favorite 4th of July songs.  Have a good one!

Happy Hour

This can be classified as my new favorite treat.

I'm a fan of Sonic's happy hour anyway.  Limeades and Lemonberry slushes have been my treats for a while now.  But last week we stopped in and I saw the new Island Breeze Slushes so I said "what the heck" and got a pineapple slush.

Yummo!!! Cold--refreshing--sweet but not too sweet.  Perfect.

Everything but the kitchen sink!

The Pour House had amazing pizza.

I remember being introduced to it when I was very small.  My uncle called to order a pizza and it took so long to get it that they gave it to him for free. 

They were known for making pizzas however you wanted them (I know, everybody does this now but this was some thirty years ago before pizza became such a staple of life).  They were a little family owned business that had 2 locations, neither one of them was much to look at. 

The pizza they were most know for though was the one they called "Everything but the kitchen sink" because it was loaded with veggies and meats.  Since I wasn't a fan of mushrooms, anchovies or even sausage back then, it was not my favorite pizza but I do remember that overall their pizza was good.  The crust was unique--just crisp enough on the bottom but delightfully soggy from the spicy sauce. 

The sign to advertise their location was a big billboard with a pitcher of beer being poured.  Thus the Pour House. 

Wish they were still around.  While we have some good pizza places and a lot of chains, nothing quite compares to the Pour House.