Fruit 4 Sale

Tara Butler is getting fruit again this year from Utah and they will start arriving after Labor Day.

So if you are interested in canning or having bulk fruit around contact Tara.

tpbutler@qwest.net

Raspberries -August- $29.00/flat

There are 12 half pint baskets in each flat and are filled very full.

Peaches- September-$27.00 for 35 pounds

Tomatoes- August/September

Pears - September

Apples - October/November

Tomatoes, pears and apple prices will be known soon.

Graham Cracker Bruschetta

I had to share a family favorite and was thrilled when I saw it on Picky Palate's blog all souped up style. If you don't have cream cheese try frosting. Recipes and pictures are from Pickpalate.blogspot.com it is a great blog for practical recipes to try at home. I'm sure Graham Cracker Bruschetta will be a fave at your house.
Nutty Raspberries and Cream

Graham crackers cut in half

4 oz softened cream cheese

2 Tablespoons sugarfresh raspberriescrushed walnuts

1. Place graham crackers onto a serving plate. Combine cream cheese and sugar in a bowl until combined. Spread onto graham crackers and top with fruit and nuts.

Peanut Butter, Banana's And Cream

Graham crackers cut in half

4 oz softened cream cheese

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 Tablespoons peanut buttersliced bananashoneycrushed walnuts

1. Place graham crackers onto a serving plate. Combine cream cheese, sugar and peanut butter in a bowl until combined. Spread onto graham crackers and top with bananas, drizzle with honey and top with crushed walnuts.

Cookies And Cream

Graham crackers cut in half

4 oz softened cream cheese

2 Tablespoons sugar Oreo cookies

1. Mix broken pieces of Oreo cookies in cream cheese mixture and spread over graham crackers. Enjoy!

Spotlight: Who Am I?

Can you guess who I am from this baby picture? Answer these five questions to see who I am and just how much about me you already know!(the winner will receive....go pick up something nice for yourself!)

1. What was my native language? What is it now? (duh!)
2. Where was I born? (Think Toto)
3. How many years was I in school? (think "a lot")
4. What instrument do I play? (I once heard that people who play this instrument are the most practical of all musicians-they brown bag their lunch and wear practical shoes)
5. What would I really like to go back to school for, but never will? (night or weekend classes eventually would be nice in this)

I was born in the land of Oz (Kansas City, Kansas) to Taiwanese immigrants, the youngest of three (that explains it!). My native name was Chun-Se, but I was dubbed Judy at birth as well. Yes, my native language was Taiwanese, but I can only understand at a toddler level now. My family moved around and eventually relocated to Kentucky while I was a teenager. My fondest memories are of hiking, board game tournaments, and roaming the countryside unchecked. I began playing the cello at the age of eight; this quickly became an all-consuming passion until college graduation. I was a parent's worst nightmare-cello lessons, youth orchestra and quartet rehearsals, and daily screech-I mean practice-sessions. While in high school, I thought I wanted a career in medicine, but while at the University of Kentucky I began seriously dating someone and realized I actually wanted a family. (I was slightly anti-family, anti-homemaker when in high school. Funny how things turn out, huh!) So, I made one of the best decisions of my life and finished graduate school as a physical therapist. (From the tender age of 5 to the oh-so- young age of 25-TWO DECADES behind a desk!) While at the meat market (AKA the Singles Branch) at UK, I met my wonderful, Jeep-obsessed, engineer-geek husband, Frank Evans. We were sealed in the Atlanta, GA Temple in 1997 after a whirlwind romance (sigh-those were the days!). We have lived in 4 states over the years of our marriage-Kentucky, Georgia, Mississippi, and finally Arizona-hopefully leaving each a better place than when we arrived. My two children, Alex and Emily (I won't be too sappy now, but I am so proud of them), were both born in MS. (I have a great L and D story when Alex was born, but I won't share it all here-just this-"Stop what you're doing! I can feel the knife!") Now, I am enjoying the ride of being a domestic engineer, while wondering exactly what is around the next bend, as Alex and Emily just refuse to stop growing up! When there's a little more time for me, I hope to go back to coaching people through their physical rehab, play in an orchestra again, and take cooking classes.

My loves: peace, nature, good-tasting healthy food, sweating while exercising, reading, kids' laughter, a balanced checkbook. What can I say except "Simple minds, simple pleasures."

My pet peeves: they change according to my mood, so watch out!

I pass next week's spotlight torch to.....Kristi Whetten!

Childsplay's 2008-09 Spectacular Season of Theatre for Young Audience and Families

There are some great children's plays coming this season at Childsplay, Arizona's Professional Theater for Young Audiences and Families.

Childsplay is based in Tempe, Arizona and has achieved a national reputation in the field.

For ticket and passes and detailed information about the plays visit their website at: http://www.childsplayaz.org/

Tempe Center for the Arts 700 West Rio Salado Parkaway

Tempe, Az 85281, since 1977

box office (480)350-2822

Public Performances are:

Miss Nelson is Missing! Sat. September 13 to October 5th

Getting Near to Baby Sat. October 25 to November 9th

The Velveteen Rabbit Sat., November 22nd to December 21st

Busytown- Sat., January 24th to February 21st

Rock Paper Scissors Sat., February 28th to March 8th

Ferdinand the Bull Sat., March 14th to April 5th

The Neverending Story Sat., April 25 to May 17th

Peter and the Wolf Sat., June 6th to June 21st

Independent Film Series

Do you enjoy reading and learning about history? I read this in the paper and it sounds interesting so I wanted to share with others in case they may be interested. It's perfect to take you older children to appreciate the freedoms and peace we have here in America.

Saturday, August 9, 2 p.m.

Mother of Mine how more than 70,000 Finnish children were evacuated to neutral Sweden to avoid conflict in World War II. Filmaker Klaus Haro tells the story through a 9-year-old child who feels abandoned by his biological mother but not attached to his surrogate mom.

Location: Perry Branch Library

Sheri Linden from the Hollywood Reporter writes a more detailed review if you are interested in the film.

PALM SPRINGS -- Finland's evacuation of more than 70,000 children to Sweden, Denmark and Norway during World War II, the world's largest such undertaking, receives affecting treatment in "Mother of Mine," the official Finnish submission to the Academy Awards. This fictional story of one of the "war children" unfolds with fierce restraint under Klaus Haro's helm, and the film departs from most memory pieces about the war in its emphasis on the complex psychology of its characters, brought to vivid life by the strong cast.

After his father is killed on the Finnish-Russian front in 1943, 9-year-old Eero (newcomer Topi Majaniemi) reluctantly leaves his mother (Marjaana Maijala), joining a large transport of kids promised dolls and bikes in the haven of neutral Sweden. At a remote farm on the coast, he's taken in by a childless couple in their 40s, though Signe (the terrific Maria Lundqvist), still grieving and blaming herself for the drowning death of her daughter, refuses to let him into her heart. Their conflict flares up in angry words and occasional physical tousles but mostly plays out in resentful silence.

Determined not to be touched by the tumult of being uprooted, Eero develops an easy rapport with Signe's good-natured husband, Hjalmar (Michael Nyqvist), a former sailor whose "boots got stuck in this dirt" when he fell in love with her. Signe forces Hjalmar to confront the lingering pain of their loss, but soon she's caught up in a new drama, when Eero's mother asks Signe to keep the boy, even after the war. Offended by this "appeal to her conscience," Signe nonetheless softens toward Eero, and they withstand, just barely, a series of devastating emotional reversals.
The lifelong wounds from this tug of war become clear in the film's present-day black-and-white sequences, in which the middle-aged Eero (Esko Salminen) visits his mother (Aino-Maija Tikkanen), eager to talk about the war. The screenplay by Jimmy Karlsson and Kirsi Vikman, based on the novel by Heikki Hietamies, delivers sharp insights into the ways people use children to fill their needs.

The contrast between Finland's frigid birch forests and the open expanse of the Swedish coast, captured in Jarkko T. Laine's striking camerawork, is a key element of the film's quiet power, but composer Tuomas Kantelinen tugs too hard at heartstrings.--Sheri

Tina, Thank you for setting up the fire house tour. The kids had so much fun.

Spotlight: Kristin Dearden

I enjoy reading about everyone else, and I think I am pretty boring in comparison, so I will try to dig deep for something interesting…

I was born in California but spent the next eighteen years in Loveland, Colorado. I left to go to BYU where I graduated with a major in Psychology and minors in Gerontology and Family Science. Since graduating, the only paying job I have had was at Brick Oven in Provo… I met Craig my Freshman year at a football game. What I remember about my first impression of him was his hairy legs. Ha! We dated for almost two years before getting married in August of 1993 in the Denver temple. It seems crazy to me that we have been married for 15 years. (Since the time has gone by so fast, not because I didn’t think we would make it that long). I am so happy to be a stay at home Mom and my happiest moments and memories are of fun times spent with my family. I seriously believe having children is the best entertainment ever! We lived in Utah for a total of thirteen years, in Provo, Orem and Pleasant Grove for the last seven. We moved here to Gilbert four years ago and aside from the summer heat, we love it here!

My hobbies include cross-stitching and crocheting, although I don’t get around to doing it very often. I love to play most any kind of game, and I like to win.  I played volleyball and basketball in high school and wish we had a ward team! I am addicted to fantasy sports and play with my Dad and siblings on several different teams. I like to shop, but usually only buy if there is a good sale. I am a morning person and used to get teased by my friends that “every party needs a pooper, that’s why we invited you”…since I was usually the first one to fall asleep. One special talent I have, that will come in handy if this ever comes back into style, is making big hair! I had the biggest, most perfectly hairsprayed bangs back in the day… along with the wings, you remember?

Least Favorite Things: squash, seafood, cleaning showers and blinds, public speaking, doctor appointments and one of my pet peeves is when there are shopping carts left all over the parking lot.

Most Favorite Things: family vacations, good chick flicks, Costa Vida, Cold Stone, watching American Idol or Amazing Race, and holidays.

Here are two products I love:



My SIL suggested this and it works great at getting stains out. I just started carrying one in my purse, because I inevitably get a spot every time I am wearing a white shirt and we are out!



I love these liners! Mostly because I can be lazy and don’t have to clean my crockpot. So easy!

That is pretty much it… So next week let’s hear from… Judy Evans!