A Fun Summer Reunion

A once-a-year family reunion...please bring desserts. What to bring is now the question? At this point I remember the rose silicone bundt pan that I found on the clearance shelf at Tuesday Morning store last September. Should I try it? What if it doesn't work? Decided to try it anyway. Used a vanilla bundt cake recipe.

Here is the purchase I made. If I remember correctly it cost me 3.99. You pour the batter in the mold without spraying or buttering it. It was fun to see the finished cake flip out of the mold after baking and cooling. A rose cake...how cool!! I sprinkled it with 10x sugar. Took one of my small glass vases, added water, a rose and two daisies from my garden, and set in the center opening of the cake. I took a container of my frozen peach puree' from last summer out of the freezer, thawed it. With one package of instant vanilla pudding and 1 and 1/2 cups of cold milk stirred together, I added the thawed peach puree' to this, to make a separate sauce to pour over the slices of cake.

Since I knew there would be small children present, I made this quick, easy dessert for them. Four packs of chocolate instant pudding. Followed the pudding recipe on the box, poured into bowl. Covered the top with crushed chocolate oreo cookies, and lots of gummy worms...some burrowed and some laying on top and some climbing over the edge of the bowl. Big hit with the children...and the chocoholics in the group.

The host and hostess of the group lived in a wooded area with so many beautiful flower beds. The home they live in was an older cottage that they bought years ago, remodeled and added to over the years. It was so enjoyable to see all the creative work they did on this house and the grounds surrounding it. My cousin definitely has a gifted green thumb, that would bring great pride to her grandmother who instilled the love of flowers in her. I had to limit my picture taking because I wanted time to visit...but the photo ops were endless.

The extra blessing of a swimming pool was the icing on the cake. There is something special about sitting around a pool on a summer evening.

My grandson was content to sit by the edge of the pool with his newly discovered stick from the woods, and "fish". He even jerked his little arms and exclaimed proudly to me that he caught a fish. Oh, the joy of childhood and the imaginations that go with it.



Freshly picked bouquets of flowers graced the food tables. The hostess's older sister kindly shared her talent with us in this area. The white pictures filled with colorful flowers and small crystal votives added beauty to each food table.

Bouquets of the abundant and gorgeous white hydrangaes created the centerpieces of each of the tables set up throughout the pool area and yard..

The very best part of the entire evening, was the gift of friendship and conversations that took place. Sharing, laughing, and catching up on each other's lives...what a privilege!





Throughout the entire visiting area...on the wall, under the trees on tree stumps, on the tables, and by the pool, were protected candles burning. As darkness settled in, a group of the men sat around a campfire, while others sat on the candle lit patios under the trees doing the same. It was one of those memorable evenings that one did not want to end. How blessed I was to be a part of it!!