Welcome back to Part 11 If Oak Trees Could Talk. I hope that you have been enjoying my latest Romance/Suspense Novel. When I began Video Blogging my book, I wasn’t for sure if it was a good idea or not, however I have really enjoyed sharing it with you. I didn’t know if anyone had ever shared their books like this, but hey I’m a little “out there” sometimes, so I’m going for it. I hope that you will continue to go along for the ride.
Today we begin in Chapter 6 A Gift of Hope
Chapter 6
A Gift of Hope
When Amelia left her Dad, she went straight to the closest office supply store and bought her Dad the biggest, thickest journals that she could find and many pencils, erasers, and sharpeners. She prayed as she paid for them that the Lord would help her Dad fill each page with memories of his life that he so desperately needed to remember. She also went home, got her camera and took a picture of the old Oak tree. Amelia hoped that seeing his old friend would help jar her Daddy’s memory. She was determined to do anything to help her parents come home. After she had taken the picture, she had it blown up to poster size and framed, so that her Dad once again could see his old friend anytime he wanted to.
When Amelia returned back to Glenview with gifts in hand, she first went into her mother’s room to show her what she had gotten for her Dad. When she had shared with her mother, there was a knock on Helen’s door. It was her physical therapist and her doctor.
“Mrs. Tyler, we have great news!” The doctor said with a huge smile on his face.
“We feel that your therapy has been a huge success and that you’re ready to go home in a few weeks. We can continue to give you physical therapy in your home!”
“What about Henry?” Helen asked immediately.
“Well now, Mrs. Tyler, Mr. Tyler’s condition is something different altogether than yours. As we both know, his is not a physical problem as much as it is ….. Well, you know Mam what I’m trying to say.”
“Yes, I know what you’re trying to say.” Helen repeated, with absolutely no joy over the fact that she was on her way out of Glenview.
When her visitors left, she and Amelia looked at each other with much concern.
“Well, out with it Momma! I already know what you’re thinking. I think so too!”
“Henry will not stay in this place without me! If he has too, he’ll dry up and die, and I will not allow that to happen!” Helen said with heartbreak in her voice.
“I won’t either Momma, we’ll work it out somehow, don’t worry.” Amelia consoled, but she too was very concerned and did not really have a viable solution.
“Don’t worry Momma. We’ll come up with something. Who knows, maybe this will be what Daddy needs. He followed you in here; maybe he’ll come to himself and follow you right back out! Momma, it’s great that you’re doing so well, we need to rejoice about you.”
“I suppose so.” Helen agreed, but still she was not going to leave Henry in Glenview by himself.
“Come on Dear; let’s go give your father his gifts. I know that he will be excited about them.”
“When do we let him know about you Momma? He needs to know that you’re doing well doesn’t he?”
“He already knows that I’m much better. Now we have to work on him.”
“Just tell me what and when Momma and I’ll do whatever you say. Nobody knows Daddy like you do. Mom, he was so much better this morning when I talked with him. He was like his old self. This is why I bought him all of this stuff. Do you know he’s writing down what he remembers so that he won’t forget it again?”
“You’ve done good Amelia, let’s go see him!”
When Helen and Amelia knocked on Henry’s door they could hear Henry talking with someone. However, once entering the room, neither of them saw anybody.
“Who was you talking too Henry?” Helen questioned.
“Oh I was just chatting with an old friend.” Henry replied, once again with that mischievous grin upon his face.
Thank you once again for spending this time with me. When I first began the Youtube Video Blogs ofIfOak Trees Could Talk I was only recording about a minute or two. However, it seemed as though I wasn’t really making a lot of progress into the story, so I increased them to around five minutes. I wanted to make the video segments short and sweet as I know people are busy!
Last week I shared a recipe for Mama’s DIY Maple Cookies! So I wanted to expand upon that recipe a bit!
I love summer for the wonderful variety of fresh berries and other fruits. I live in the great state of Georgia, which of course has some of the most wonderful mouthwatering peaches! So……
Today I am featuring a peach cobbler which is one of my family’s favorites! This recipe can be as sweet as you would like, however the peaches that I use are usually really sweet, so I do not add any white sugar, instead I use maple syrup or stevia leaf sweeteners, or local honey.
With the ingredients below, I can make cookies that are gluten free and “sweetened” with 100% real maple syrup which I have found when used in moderation actually has some pretty amazing health benefits! However, by tweaking the recipe just a tad, I can use the cookie dough as a wonderful crust for my fruit cobblers!
When maple syrup is used in appropriate amounts it has nutrition benefits such as important antioxidants and minerals like zinc and manganese. Its benefits can also include the ability to lower inflammation and better manage blood sugar.
Mama’s DIY Maple Peach Cobbler
Ingredients :
3 cups fresh peaches peeled and cut into quarters.
Drop dough on a well-floured surface. Either by using a rolling pin, or even your hands, roll out dough to fit a 13 x 9” cake pan.
Place peaches in bottom of pan. Pour the water over the top of peaches and sprinkle 1/2 of the cinnamon onto the peaches. Place the crust over the top of the peaches. Take a fork and score the crust randomly through the cobbler. Sprinkle the rest of the cinnamon over the top of crust. Place in oven and bake until crust has browned and the peaches bubble through the holes or around the sides. Usually around 45 to 45 minutes depending on how fast your oven bakes.
Variations: This cookie crust is much like a basic sugar cookie, you can add a variety of different fruits to make many different cobblers.
One of my favorite variations: Instead of making a whole pan cobbler make individual servings by placing ½ of a peach in a cup cake pan with the cupcake papers. Use about 2 tbsps of water to cover peach and follow through with cinnamon. Crumble the cookie crust mixture on top of the fruit instead of rolling it if you prefer. When the cobbler is bubbling and the topping is brown Viola you have individual cobblers!
I hope that you will enjoy this recipe and that you concoct some of your favorite kinds of cookies or cobblers by simply throwing in what you like or what your family likes! I would love to hear from you! Until next time have fun concocting!
Welcome back to my Video Blog If Oak Trees Could Talk.I am so pleased that you chose to join me this week!
As always, I want you to feel at home, so I hope you have gotten you a tall cold glass of sweet tea or your favorite drink and have gotten yourself all comfy as we continue reading today in Chapter 5 Gleaning Wisdom!
Chapter 5
Gleaning Wisdom
As Amelia and her parents sat outside on the warm terrace, Amelia became silent herself. She again thought of how her parents loved one another. She also thought of how much she loved her own husband, but wondered if what she had with Robert could possibly compare to the kind of love and passion that her parents shared over the years. One thing she did know for sure was that her life wasn’t full of adventure the way that her parent’s lives were. As Amelia continued to think upon her life and compare it to her parent’s she suddenly realized that she must glean from them. As the sun continued to shine on their whitening heads, Amelia felt urgency in her heart that she had to learn how they kept the passion and adventure in their marriage? She needed to know now! Just as she turned to ask her Mom a question, a nurse interrupted her.
“Ms. Amelia, it’s time for your Mother’s therapy now.”
Amelia disappointed, turned to her mother and kissed her.
“I’ll talk with you later okay Momma?”
“Yes dear, we’ll talk later. You had better take your father inside, the sun is becoming very warm and your Daddy’s fair skin will burn.” Helen suggested as she always had her husband’s wellbeing on her mind.
Amelia took her mother’s suggestion and before she barely had gotten Henry back inside, he made a suggestion of his own.
“Let’s go see your mother!” Henry said with a devilish grin.
“We will, Daddy, she should be out of physical therapy pretty soon!”
Amelia pushed her Daddy down the hallway and made several loops down and back as she stalled for time until she thought her mother would be back into her room.
“You know she spent the night with me, don’t you?” Henry said with a smile that told more than Amelia wanted to know.
“Daddy, you and Momma are going to get in trouble!”
“Ah, What can they do to us, kick us out? We only wish to be in such trouble as to receive that kind of punishment.” Henry stated with a defiant little chuckle.
“Daddy, I know you and Momma want to be home. It will happen, Daddy. It really will. I promise you Dad, I’m working on trying to get both of you back home.”
“I know dear, this has been as rough on you as it has been on us!”
“I’m fine Daddy, I’m just happy for our conversation today! I truly believe that you and Momma will be home again soon!”
With those words said, Amelia knocked on her mother’s door. She pushed her Dad inside and the room seemingly lit up as Helen smiled widely and so did Henry.
“You two act like teenagers!” Amelia said with a giggle.
“Nope, not really, your mother didn’t care that much for me when we were teenagers!”
“Now Henry, that’s not true! I just wanted to make for sure of my feelings before I agreed to go steady. My goodness, you kept me scared to death as all you talked about since we were kids was marriage!”
“I had to wear her down, Amelia!” Henry said with a giggle.
“Well, I’m glad she gave in!” Amelia replied as she shook her head and giggled as well.
“Tell me, how do I keep passion in my marriage the way that you two have?” Amelia asked.
“Why honey, that’s easy, we’ve always just put each other first. In doing that, we’ve never wanted for anything outside of what we have together!”
“Surely Mom, it’s not that simple!”
“Yes dear, it’s that simple. It’s not always easy, but it’s that simple.”
“See your Daddy, wouldn’t even let me be sick first that he didn’t follow me right into this place!” Helen stated with a chuckle of her own.
A knock on the door interrupted the laughter and the best conversation that the Tyler family had had in a long while.
“Hello Tyler family, I’m sorry to interrupt the party, but Mrs. Tyler has more therapy and Mr. Tyler is due for his meds!” Nurse Wanda stated as she looked at Amelia.
“Okay, Momma, I love you, I will see you later. I’m going to keep things simple,” Amelia said as she blew a kiss to her mother.
“Come on Daddy! Let me get you back to your room for your medicines. I hope that you will have a whole book of memories written down for me the next time I see you.”
Thank you so much for “tuning in” or reading along with me today to If Oak Trees Could Talk! It is my pleasure to spend this time with you each week. Again I would love to hear from you. All of my videos are archived both on my Youtube channel if you would like to Subscribe, or on my Blogs! Feel free to comment on either site. Thanks again, “Tune in” next week!
Hello friends, thank you for visiting my Video Blog of my Romance/Suspense Novel ~ If Oak Trees Could Talk!
It is truly my pleasure and joy to be able to Video blog this book each week and present it to you! I hope that you are following along and either listening or reading! We are picking up this week in Chapter 4 Daddy’s Little Girl!
Chapter 4
“Daddy’s Little Girl!”
Although Amelia could have gone to the finest schools, she like her Daddy had very simple dreams. She traveled once she was out of college all around the world secretly hoping that she would find someone like her Daddy. She prayed to meet someone who would sweep her away in a romantic lifelong love affair so that she could have what she witnessed in her parent’s lives. While travelling, Amelia never found love. However, once her feet hit United States soil, she was bowled over by a handsome stranger who literally knocked her off of her feet and right onto her bottom side at the Airport. When she finally was able to catch her breath, she looked right into those apologetic eyes which were pleasantly inset in the most handsome face that Amelia had ever seen. As the stranger extended his hand to help her to her feet, she noticed how tall and muscular he was. Although embarrassed because she was knocked right on her butt, Amelia was pleasantly surprised that the person who slammed into her was very gentle as he tenderly picked her up. Amelia’s heart pumped wildly and her cheeks became flushed as she gazed into his eyes. She knew from that very moment that she had found the love of her life. His named was Robert Arron Steele. The couple immediately fell into a whirlwind romance and soon they were married.
The newlywed couple bought a wonderful house where they settled down right across the street from Amelia’s parent’s home. Amelia was contented to be a doting mother of two boys and a loving housewife. When her boys went off to school, she would help her Daddy in his hardware store. Eventually she and Robert went in partners with Henry. It was what made Amelia perfectly happy. This was the life that she chose, which was the most satisfying choice Amelia could have ever made.
“I know who you are dear, come here and let me hug you! Did you bring the youngsters? Have you already seen your mother?” Henry asked with more excitement than Amelia had seen from him in a long time. “Do you know what has been happening to me, Amelia?” Henry asked impatiently. “I’ve been remembering things that I’ve not been able to remember for a long time!” Henry said with a smile upon his face.
“That’s wonderful Daddy!” Amelia replied. “Tell me some of what you can remember.”
“Well let’s see.” Henry began. “I remembered when I first met your dear sweet Momma. She had little pigtails and I fell in love with her at first glance. I had never seen such golden hair in all my life. But of course I don’t think she felt the same way about me. Nah, I’m sure she didn’t feel that way about me. I had to woo her with a swing that my Daddy put up in an old Oak tree in our side yard. That old Oak tree was my dearest friend. Did I ever tell you about me and that old Oak tree daughter?”
“Yes Daddy, do you not remember that I grew up with that same old Oak tree? I swung in that same old swing and you pushed me many times. Do you remember how you used to wind that swing around and around and then let it go? I had so much fun! I would become so dizzy that I thought I would throw up. I giggled and giggled though. Yes Daddy, I remember a lot of things that you told me that happened to you because of that old Oak tree. I also remember a lot of things happening there with us Daddy. Do you know that that old tree is still standing? She is waiting for you to come and visit her!”
“Daughter, when my time comes to leave this old earth, I want to be buried underneath those outstretched limbs that I remember so fondly. I want to be buried right beside my Dear Sweet Momma. Do you understand me Amelia? I want you to know also that as I remember bits and pieces of my life that I’ve been trying to write them down. I know that it might sound crazy, but hey, I’ve been known to be a little crazy. It’s ironic that I have what the doc calls “Amnesia that is making me even crazier huh. I guess the bright spot is that I don’t remember that I’m crazy most of the time” Henry said as he laughed out loud.
I hope that you’ve enjoyed “tuning in” or reading along today to If Oak Trees Could Talk! Again I would love to hear from you. All of my videos are archived both on my Youtube channel if you would like to Subscribe, or on my Blogs! Feel free to comment on either site. Thanks again, “Tune in” next week!
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