Ellen Eilers

This is my dear friend and fellow artist, Ellen Eilers. She is an inspiration to all of the artists in this area, as she is an experienced artist as well as a mentor to the rest of us. She taught art for many years and she goes to many art shows every summer and still gives many classes. After pace maker surgery, she is still hoping to fulfill her schedule of shows this summer. At over eighty, her enthusiasm and helpfullness is a blessing and an inspiration.

She organizes the workshop we went to last week, the latest in a yearly get together. She finds reknowned artists and lines us all up to take the classes. I, for one, would never miss one, as they are always stellar.

The day couldn't be better, weatherwise. Some gentle rain mid afternoon to encourage my nap. Temperature in the 70s. Energy for some cleaning. Went to the gym this morning and helped my pal, Karen, celebrate her birthday which is Friday. It has been a great day.

George is frustrated as the maple trees are having a bonanza year. The maple seeds have taken over the world. Our rain gutters are so full that the house looks as though it has a thatched roof. George borrowed a leaf blower, but they are stubborn little buggers and are hard to dislodge. All pray that he does not fall off the ladder. It's jobs like those that are difficult to hire done. What does one do? Look in the yellow pages for maple seed removal? What?

I am coming right along with the cleaning schedule. Right. Well, MY cleaning schedule, at least. Cleaning is not my strong suit. Hopefully all will be ready for our exciting company. Our son, his son and their dog are coming for a couple of weeks. Excitement reigns. They are moving from the West Coast to the East Coast and father and son are driving the pick-up, the boat and the dog overland, camping along the way. Wow. Everybody pray for a safe journey.

Take care. Enjoy this great weather.

Flags for Remembrance

Our community has to be the grassiest of grass roots. We have a parade on Memorial Day made up of the American Legionaires and some boy scouts and a drum. Usually we have a band, too, but this it didn't happen. The spectators are many. The march to the memorial is a solemn spectacle. Taps and rifle shots. Then back to the school gym for the memorial program.

When I was a child, we lived in an even smaller community. Our parade was held on what was then called Decoration Day. The night before we would make wreaths of lilacs and whatever other flowers were blooming. We would put them in tubs of water so they would be fresh for the next day. The idea was to remember those of our families who had passed away with these wreaths on the headstones of their graves. I don't remember so much emphasis on those who had given their lives in the defense of liberty as there is now. It was more for any of those in our family who had died. All of us kids with our wreaths made up the parade. I don't remember if there was a band or not.

May our memories of those past make us aware of what we are doing as we live our own lives. We will sooner or later only be someone's memory. Time's awasting. Make good memories! Make your time on earth count for good and for God. Leave a legacy. Wahoo.

Reinvigorated!

At my workshop I was doing my usual lame thing... I left the photo I was going to use as inspiration at home on the table, so I cruised around glancing at the files of photos that everyone else had for an idea for a landscape. Doris Judson had a beautiful moody picture of a tobacco barn which she agreed to share with me. All grays and gray clouds and imminent doom. So I took that and promptly made the size and conformation different and the colors bright. Go figure. I think it is still a sort of moody picture, though, although I don't quite know what the mood might be. What should the title be? Oh, and Izzy? The size is 15 inches by 11 inches, watercolor on Fabriano Artistico paper, 300 lb.

As much as I was bellyaching about being intimidated by workshops, I find that I am intensely energized by them. I woke up early this morning rarin' to go. Wahoo. I am straightening and organizing my art room and trying to figure out how to get it under control. It is growing like the beanstalk in Jack's tale, and I have to at least prune it so it doesn't take over the entire basement. First there are three or more (MORE) kinds of paint, and several different kinds of pencils and pastels and papers for collage work and, and, and. Then the brushes. Oofta. And the already painted and framed pictures to say nothing about those which are not yet framed. Double oofta. So I am heading down hoping to be able to report massive progress to you by the next post. And I will include the other watercolor I did at the workshop.

I hope all of the students at our workshop had as much fun as I did and feel the energizing effects I do. And, most of all, I wonder how exhausted Katia is. She was a sweet person and an awesome teacher. Double Wahoo.

Citrus Sauce

As usual, I gained a recipe at this workshop. Strange how at every get together of women, someone is cooking! I can see innumerable uses for Judy's sauce. It seems to be a variation on my mother's sauce that she called a hard sauce and used on bread pudding sometimes. It is great on almost anything I would think - At the workshop, we had it with whipped cream on angel food cake to celebrate Sarah's birthday!

Sarah and Judy: daughter and mother!

Judy's Sauce

Juice of 1 orange, 1 lemon, and 1 lime (which equals about 1 cup.) Zest from the orange and lemon as you like it. (do not make zest from the lime, and remember to make the zest BEFORE you cut up the fruit!)
1 cup sugar (she thought you could use Splenda if you wished)
1 egg well beaten
All together in sauce pan. Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring off and on, (on and off is also permissable), for about 5 minutes until it becomes creamy. Then use it, put it in the refrigerator and use it again until it is gone. Won't take long!

As I am writing this, I realize it takes right up from the Mother/Child theme of last week. I am remembering my mother's cooking, and showing a recipe used to fete a child's birthday. These relationships make the world go round.

I will show some more stuff from this workshop at the next posting. I promise.

The Home Stretch

I am enjoying myself. This morning I got all dressed up for class and George nixed my outfit as too outlandish to go into the grocery store after class - so I chose a still colorful but more modern garb. The outfit I took off is a multicolored (loud) long dress. I love it, but it is a little bit off the wall. So then I put on my black slacks, a hot pink tank top that I've had for at least 20 years, and a new multi-colored jacket that will knock your sox off. And hot pink hoop earrings. So I am still colorful, but a little bit more conventional. And my husband is very pleased. Let that be a lesson to you. Do a thoroughly outrageous thing first, and then the little less outrageous seems more acceptable.

Our class went out to eat together last night: the ladies of the Alexandria Brush and Palette Club, and our teacher, Katia Andreeva. Google her and you will see some of her art, I think. I haven't done it yet, but the ladies say it is great. She has illustrated 27 books. Wow. I like her and I like her teaching style. I am also enjoying getting back into watercolor a bit.

I will take photos today and include some of them in the days to follow. Have a wonderful fun- filled spontaneous day!

Onward and Upward

Today was much better at the art workshop. I went at it in a cooler way, and I did learn some stuff. I also found the bag with the tea pots. The suitcase is still lost.

I am SO tired. George agreed that we should go out for supper/dinner. Hallelujah.

Our teacher at the workshop is a Russian lady. She is tall and adorably blonde. And she paints like a dream. She is teaching lots about composition, which is what I wanted. So, Yippee skipee. I am enjoying it. And her accent is charming.

I miss my pals from the gym. Friday I will try to go, and certainly next week.

The Challenges of Life!

I continue to be slapped in the face by the ongoing challenges of life. Things that I used to take in stride now take major attention. I am losing things left and right... or maybe right and left, who knows? A suitcase I always use for my art workshops. A bag packed carefully with tea pots from the mother/child show. And who knows what I have lost that I don't know that I have lost because it hasn't come up yet. Sigh. Oh, well, off to my scheduled day.

I am attending an art workshop. I - on other occasions - have sworn I would not take art workshops. They are too hard on my ego. But I bounce back and sign up again. And then I realize why it was that I didn't like to attend them. It isn't that they aren't good, they're wonderful and thus point out that I am NOT good. I don't paint at all like other people and that makes me feel inferior. Then I give myself a pep talk. My strength is that I do not paint as the others do. It is my very idiosyncracies that make my art appealing to some people. Anyway, that is my pep talk. Sigh.

Now, once again, where is my stuff? Sigh. May we all have a good day.

Blind Luck

This morning as I rolled out of bed and made the obligatory stab for my eyeglasses, disaster struck. The right lens fell out and I realized that the tiny screw that holds it in place was missing. I can see practically nothing because of a serious case of astigmatism. If I lived alone I would be done for. I couldn't drive, I couldn't read, and I surely couldn't fix my glasses. Of course, it is also Saturday and my eye doctor is not open. I would have to really scramble to find help.. and I have a full schedule today that calls for driving and doing. Whoa. Not good.

Luckily, I do not live alone and I'm married to one of the premier handy men in the world. He got out his small screw driver kit and an extra screw, and proceeded to fix my glasses. Definitely an appreciated act. I will gingerly proceed through my day, always conscious of the temporariness of the fix, but very grateful for it. Hopefully I can make it until Monday, when I will seek the people who specialize in the art of eye glass repair. I should, of course, have two pair. The high cost of glasses precludes that idea. When I need a new pair, I only get the new lenses and hang onto the frames until they are so hopelessly out of date I get REALLY embarrassed, or they bite the dust and are no longer usable.

I remember back when my glasses were really THICK. I have an old pair that manifests that characteristic. They must have manufactured some other material that magically could do the same thing but remain thin. A great boon to the looks of the glasses! I suppose I could have the magic lazer surgery and abandon glasses altogether. I have been wearing them since I was eight years old, however, and realize that the looks of the glasses are a part of me to me. I don't really like the idea, either, of trusting my eyes to the proverbial "knife." It would probably go fine, but what if it didn't? I think I will just go on with my limited vision for the time being. Perhaps some future event will convince me I need help with surgery, but for the present I will stick with the known eye wear.

Laurie R. King is doing her writing on line today and I am rather bummed that I have to be out and about and will miss it. I hope it all goes great for her. May all the rest of you have a wonderful day, too, and a special HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sister, Fran! Wahoo. You made another year! No small feat at our age! love, /

giggle

I see from the last two posts that I am doubly prepared for today. I am just about to put the finishing touches on the brunch, and I'm rarin' to go! rarin' to go! rarin' to go! Enough already.

Preparations -

I have made the deviled eggs, sugar free lime jello with cool whip, open face (open-faced?) sandwiches, begun some desultory cleaning, and now I'm ready to go down to the art center to prep for tomorrow's show.

I snacked on the deviled egg stuff while I was preparing it, and I have a slight tummy ache from over indulgence. Sigh. Ah, well.

The weather is looking very nice. George brought me a dozen roses. My life is good. He is very happy as he can now go golfing. Time marches on.

Preparations -

I have made the deviled eggs, sugar free lime jello with cool whip, open face (open-faced?) sandwiches, begun some desultory cleaning, and now I'm ready to go down to the art center to prep for tomorrow's show.

I snacked on the deviled egg stuff while I was preparing it, and I have a slight tummy ache from over indulgence. Sigh. Ah, well.

The weather is looking very nice. George brought me a dozen roses. My life is good. He is very happy as he can now go golfing. Time marches on.

More Mother/Child

We had a wonderful time last Saturday at our "do" at the Coffeehouse Art Center. This Friday and Saturday from 10:30 to 3:30 we will be offering an opportunity for the populace to see this wonderful exhibit again.

Yesterday I heard a talk about the Mexican artist, Diego Rivera, and went to an art show. I am really getting submerged in the rivers of art! When you get back in this neck of the woods, Izzy, I could give you a few art lessons. It might be fun. I was Spanish teacher for both Greta and John, so it should be your turn anyway. I do think the art would be more fun.

Well, I stayed up late last night to finish reading our book for book club which will be on Friday. It is a long out of print book called "The Cowboy and the Cossack." I loved it. What a story. Now I have to take pains to keep the book together. It is an old yellow dried out paperback for which I paid $18.90 plus tax, shipping and handling! Supply and demand at work. I dropped it and it split in two. So far I will just put it in a box or wrap it in string... and wait until someone wants to very carefully read it. Any takers?

Take care. The beautiful sunny day has inspired George to plant flowers: pansies and New Guinea impatiens. On a different note, I saw a starling attack a martin today, drag it out of the martin house and throw it to the ground. The martin is still living, but barely. You can imagine my feelings about the starling. And my sympathy for the beautiful martin. oofta.

Yippee

I am pumped. I actually got a picture to come up on my blog again. I think the secret is to do it early in my blog search and reading, so that my poor old computer can handle it. Whatever.

This is the photo I took of the pictures at our Mother/Child event. The top part is a photograph taken by a woman who tried to get grants to travel the world taking photos, but finally had to go on her own. This is one from Senegal called "African Queen." We all decided it had pride of place as the most spectacular of the exhibits.

The bottom part is a book opened to a Mother/child painting by the child prodigy painter Akiane. She painted it when she was 11. The book first recounts the story of her life and then the paintings she has painted. The last part of the book is poetry she has written. When I saw the book I realized I had seen her on Oprah when she was featuring remarkable young people. She says that God taught her how to paint. Remarkable - not to say miraculous. She has been videoed painting, so there is no possibility of chicanery. She's the real deal. Fantastic.

I have a busy day ahead of me. First, the gym. Then Art of the Lakes to hear a presentation on the art of Mexico. Then to the Lake Regions Art Council for a reception at a show in which I have a painting. Then, if I am still alive and kicking, back home to my recliner.

I am so happy that Izzy is back posting his blog. I have so missed hearing about life on the other side of the planet. To say nothing about admiring his prose. His blog is http://isaacarnquist.blogspot.com if you want to check him out. I don't know how to do a link, so this will have to do. Welcome back, Izzy.

The Day After

Well, we're in the I won't put your picture on the blog page mode again. I am very disgusted that the technology isn't perfect every time. Right. We have all gotten so impatient. Dial up for e-mail is considered too slow, so "every one" (of course, that is an overstatement) is getting the other faster service. I - who remember well typing with carbon paper for copies and having to start over if I made a mistake, as the pages had to be perfect for a lawyer's copy - think any speed is fast enough, but I do get irritated when stuff is gobbled up or doesn't work. However, I think I can control my irritation and continue to use the blog!

Now, if you are still reading after that long diatribe, I take my hat off to you. It is the day after Mother's Day! I talked to both my kids on the phone, although we were unable to get together in person. George took me to the movies and we had popcorn! Life is good.

We saw MI 3. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is the villain in this movie and I am so liking him to play Nero Wolfe. He could BE Nero instead of mounting a caracature of him. (By the way, I cannot find the word caracature spelled that way or any other conceivable way in the dictionary. Can anyone help me?) We can always make him gain weight with abracadabra stuff. Now we're trying to think of who could play Saul Panzer. Any suggestions? Owen Wilson for Archie, so far. Someone suggested George Clooney, but he is too long in the tooth, I think.

Well, off to my day. The gym and a few errands first. Then I have to get serious about reading my book club book. We meet on Friday.

The Day After

Mother-Child

Our "event" was a fine success. This is not a picture of me looking at some of the artefacts, but a friend who wore the same jacket I did. I live three blocks from the art center, so I went home and changed so that we wouldn't hear the same remarks for the whole day! We hope to have another fine crowd next weekend. Not very many people from our own town attended as there were several other "doings" happening at the same time. The problem for our town and every other town is that people have too many things to attend. Hopefully next week will be better. We had some folks from here and there, and we had fun! It is a beautiful exhibit.

It was quite a frisky day for fishing opener. Cold, windy, some snow in the north, rain farther south. But the fishing evidently was good. Brrrrr. Today looks to be a bit better.

Have a nice Mother's Day!

Good Morning

Another pear. Go figure.
It is 1 o'clock in the morning and I am not the least bit sleepy.
For our book club this month we are reading a book called "The Cowboy and the Cossack" by Clair Huffaker. It is important to know the author, as there is another book with the same name by a different author as one of our book club members found out to her chagrin. Our book is one that was written in the 1970's and is in short supply. I purchased an old yellowed paperback from Amazon.com for a mere $18.90. It is the favorite book of one of our members, and so far it is living up to its advanced billing. I am interspersing a Nero Wolfe volume as I cannot quit cold turkey. Soon enough I will have read through all of those I have and will HAVE to quit, anyway. Then I have a whole stack of other books that I can read. What riches!

We have many of our mother/child paintings hung at the gallery. We have other 3d artwork arranged in a showcase. The tea on Saturday should be wonderful. I will try to include some pictures of the occasion on my blog.

The weather is blustery and wet. Fishing opener will be tough for those who love to spend it on a lake. Fishing widows can come to our tea at the Coffeehouse Art Center in downtown Evansville. Wahoo. Saturday at 10 or 2.

Nero Wolfe III

Okay. Some of you don't share this obsession. Come along for the ride and grab one of the Rex Stout paperbacks and check it out. The novels are being re-issued, so you should have no trouble.

Naomi came up with some interesting choices for playing the characters. She literally gagged at my choices because they were too old. Interesting, they didn't seem too old to me, but I bow to her superior understanding of the concept of "too old." She picked as a possibility Will Smith for Archie, but the drawback to that is the racist attitudes in the 30's through the 50's. He would not have been as acceptable and as invisible as it is necessary to be. Her other choice is Steve Carell, who is presently starring in "The Office" on NBC. I find the character he plays in that piece nauseating so that I have difficulty seeing him playing my hero. So, for me, that role is still open. Any suggestions? Or can you convince me of his brillance?

The choice she has for Nero Wolfe is so great it just blew me away! Phillip Seymour Hoffman! Isn't that great? Wow. He just got the Oscar for his portrayal of Truman Capote. Hard to think of two characters more disparate than Nero Wolfe and Truman Capote, but they are both geniuses in their separate ways. Right on with the idea. He could even give the feeling of being overweight without being grotesque. I am very in favor. Wow.

Well, off to my day. Rainy and cold today. I'm taking a trip to Alexandria in search of some sculpture for our Mother/Child tea on Saturday at the Coffeehouse Art Center in Evansville. We should have a great time. The art is a collection of paintings, etc. of mothers with children. Prints, batiks, paintings, and - hopefully - sculpture. Should be a wonderful eclectic bunch of art work. If you're in the neighborhood, drop in. The tea is Saturday at 10 and at 2, but you could come any Friday and Saturday from 10 to 3 to see it. It should be fun.

Have a great chilly day!

Just Another Day in May

What a beautiful day. Everything is fresh after the rain. Went to the gym. Had a good confab with my friend Karen. Life is good.

I miss my contacts with Izzy. He should be back from Mongolia soon. The end of his stint is May 10, but whether that is the day he returns or not I don't know. He may choose to do a bit of traveling, too.

I am attempting to do a HUGE job. I am going to clean and rearrange my "Vicki" room. Some would call it a junk room, but I call it my office. The junk room part is starting to tip over into the majority classification, so I have agreed to try to do something about it. Wish me luck. I will certainly need that and also a great big dose of patience. Sigh. To say nothing of muscles in both my arms and legs. And brain.

George is out spreading fertilizer on our wonderful green yard. I was needed to come out and hold things while he adjusted the spreader. Ah, yes. The wonderful work expended in making the yard beautiful and green. Another sigh. But whatever floats your boat, I guess. I have my own quota of idiosyncratic behavior. So I better not say much. Just a little? No? Okay.

Take care and have a wonderful day!

Nero Wolfe II

I had a big bone to pick with NW. Several times Archie said that he dog-eared a page and set his book down. I have a big time aversion to dog-earing pages in books. Now I found that he classifies books A, B, C, or D and he only dog-ears the last two designated. With A books he uses a 5 inch x 1 inch thin gold strip as a book mark. With B books he uses a piece of paper. With C and D it is dog-earing. There is a whole ritual other than just the page marking and if you're interested look at the first paragraph in the novel "Plot It Yourself" by Rex Stout. I find I agree with Nero. One should never dog-ear a book that is a BOOK. Actually, I feel you should never dog-ear a book, period, but that is a Vicki phobia, not a Nero Wolfe phobia.

My favorite book mark is a double movie ticket stub. When my husband and I go to the movies, they give us the two stubs connected. There is something about them that STAYS in the book. I also then have the pleasure (sometimes, the displeasure) of remembering the movie that we saw. A double ticket seems to do the job best. They also do not collect or tear the tickets at our theatre, so I have the tickets intact.

I hope Izzy is having fun in Mongolia and working hard. He should be back soon, hopefully in one piece and with lots of information for those of us who await his words with bated breath. The travels of the younger generation take my breath away. Marvelous.

May flowers are peaking out. I saw some wild violets yesterday at the side of a sidewalk. I remember a day when they were very prevalent, but the indiscriminate spraying with pesticides have pretty well taken care of that pleasure. Too bad.

Have a wonderful day.

Nero Wolfe

I don't know about you, but I am a great fan of Rex Stout's fiction. I am presently involved in trying to think who would be the best actors to portray them on TV or the silver screen. So far I have come up with Mel Gibson for Archie Goodwin and Brian Dennehay (spelling?) for Nero Wolfe. What do the others of you think?

I'm supposed to be getting the pork tenderloins ready for the grill, so I will have to leave it at that for now. I will probably make another post later. Ain't spring grand? Daffodils and tulips and green, green grass.

Evening Beauty

The backyard is spectacularly beautiful. The sun is setting, but just enough sun so the tree tops are still alight. I am feeling much better, and the sight of the beauty of nature makes my heart sing! Wahoo. (I used to say Yahoo, but then the computer got ahold of my good old shout and it has changed meaning. Like so many other words.) Wahoo!!!!!!!!

We had a mother/daughter luncheon at the church women's group. The room was filled with all the bright colors of springtime clothes. All ages from babies to old ladies. Fun time.

A baby was born yesterday. Antonio was born on cinco de Mayo. Pretty exciting. Congratulations to the new parents. All went well, thank goodness. Antonio is their first, so the parents are sweating their new routines. All the best to them all.

I don't feel particularly loquasious loquacious. I haven't found the spell check on this yet and I'm too lazy to look it up in the dictionary, and I like that word so I am not going to change it to talkative.. it should actually be writative, which isn't a word at all. Too bad. Enough, already.

Diverticulosis/diverticulitis

Well. I'm feeling better because I have self diagnosed why I am feeling so peculiar. I have diverticulosis as a constant, and when it acts up it is called "itis" and I finally feel that is what is happening. I have several things I can do to try to quieten the "itis" so it will lay back down and only be "osis." I am doing those things, and if successful - no harm no foul. If I am not successful I will have to take a trip to the medico. Sigh. But at least my spirits are better when I realise what is probably wrong. Go figure.

The weather is cold here. George went golfing yesterday to prove he is up to it with his golfing team buddies. And he does love it. But it was too cold and his hands protested. He actually has golfing mittens that cover his hands when it is not necessary to clutch a club. These folks are dedicated golfers. The "powers that be" cancelled play, but most of the team insisted on playing. Fun. Right.

Thank you to those who sent me e-mails or left comments. I really appreciate it!

Funk

By calling this blog Funk, I am not referring to the remarkable and likable golfer Fred, but to my state of mind. I have included this painting (which is not my present pear painting but one which is in a private collection ) because I am feeling remarkably like the gray background. I am in a funk.

Hopefully it will soon meander off, but in the meantime it is difficult for me to blog. I am keeping on with my life with as much oomph as possible, but it is difficult to sleep and I felt a bit flu-ish this morning. Painting is even more difficult in this funkish state.

The weather has not cooperated. It is wet and soggy and gray when it isn't downright stormy. Strangely enough I like storms, it's the long dreary nothing times of just glug that I don't like. I am hoping soon to feel like the red foreground in the painting. That would not be funk - it would be pep. The pears are cooooooool. Ah yes.

Do a comment to cheer me on the way. Click on comment at the bottom of the post, then write your comment, click on other, recognize the screwy letters and publish. I need some cheering up. Yeah.

May First

This is a day that is celebrated by many as the day for workers. I can remember as a child celebrating it as a day in which I made paper baskets and delivered them to the doors of people I particularly liked. The trick was to leave the basket containing wild flowers on the doorstep, ring the doorbell or knock and then run like mad to prevent their knowing who I was. I have no idea who originated this custom, but I am pretty sure it was wide spread. It seems a sort of bucolic adventure in this day and age when children have to be so careful of their surroundings at all times. They might run right into the arms of the bogey man.

You can tell by how I ended that tale that I am in no mood to be light and cheerful. Our plans to go to Mpls had to be cancelled because of rain. We could not work on the yardwork in the midst of the rainfall, so we stayed home. Even though I was all dressed and rarin' to go. I have yet to get over the disappointment. So I am having a reading marathon which does nothing for my mood. I am trying to come out of it, but so far no dice. The odd thing is that the more depressed I feel the more manic my cheerfulness is to those I encounter. Go figure. Ah, well. We all know that the only predictable thing is change, so my mood will soon change.

Now that I have managed to cheer all of you up, I'll give you a good recipe. Their is some confusion in my mind about who was the originator of the recipe, but here goes. It is GOOD. Also chuck full of calories, I'm sure, to say nothing about the forbidden carbohydrates of my diabetic life. Sigh. Here goes:

Crescent Roll Bars:

1 tube crescent rolls
Spread out in ungreased 9x13 pan and up the sides a little.

Beat really well: 12 oz. cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, 1egg yolk. Put on top of crescent rolls.

Spread out on counter or a board another tube of crescent rolls to make a 9x13 and a little up the sides. Put on top of filling and squeeze the sides together with bottom crust.

Mix together and put on top: 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
Bake @ 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

I think there could be interesting varations on this recipe. It is sort of like cheese cake so I would think one could add some sort of berries, or apples or who knows. If any of you try variations, let me know. Both the men and women at our meeting liked it. yum, yum.