Saturday's Old Photo

Another busy Saturday; another repost. This was originally posted at the old blog.

This is my grandma, my mother’s mother, on the left, with her sister-in-law, showing off the catch from their latest fishing trip. I can’t tell what kind of fish those are; perhaps salmon, since there were salmon in the rivers around where they lived in southern Idaho, or maybe lake trout.

My grandma’s name is Rosa Mackie Deckard, and her sister-in-law is Beatrice Mackie, who was married to my grandma’s brother Hollace. The home would be Beatrice and Haulace Mackie’s, I think, since I don’t remember my grandma’s house being as well-kept as this.

My grandma had a difficult life. She moved from Missouri to Idaho with her new husband when she was only nineteen. They hoped to make a better life, but I’m not sure that’s what she got. She had very little, managing to raise eight children while living with an alcoholic husband who was often unemployed.

And when she left her family behind in Missouri, she really left them behind. Trips back were not in her budget and she only made a couple of them over the 50 years that she lived in Idaho. Of course, she had her brother Hollace and his family, who lived in the same small town.

She was a strong woman and a hard worker. And sometimes a lonely woman, I suspect, especially after her children left and her husband died. My family lived in a little town 5 miles south of her for a couple of years, and I remember several times when Grandma Deckard came over for an afternoon visit and ended up staying for a few days.

I love the overalls, the high-waisted slacks, and the bandanas covering the hair. It looks like she had a good time on her fishing trip, and I’m glad for that.

You’ll find a little bit more about my Grandma Deckard’s life here.

Recommended for Listening XV

I’ve got two sermon suggestions for you.

• Do You Like Jesus? The primary intended audience for this talk by Mark Dever is the unchurched person, but if you desire to reach out with the message of Jesus to those who are unfamiliar with it, there will be much in this that you can learn, too.
• The Rich Man and Lazarus. It’s preached by D. A. Carson. Do I need to say anything more to recommend it to you?

40 Minute Hamburger Buns

I planned to have hamburgers for supper but forgot to buy buns. Going to the store to pick them up during the after work/before supper hour would take at least half an hour and give me a big headache. Then I remembered that I’d seen this recipe for hamburger buns that only take forty minutes from start to finsh at Taste of Home and decided to try it out.

Not only were these quick to make—I used my standing mixer for mixing and kneading and I was pulling the buns out of the oven thirty minutes after I put the yeast in the water—but they were beautiful and delicious too. If I hadn’t been in a hurry, I’d have taken a photo. Update, July 9: I’ve added a photo of another batch of buns made later.

The instructions say to divide the dough to make 12 buns, but I followed the suggestions in the comments on this recipe and made only eight and I was pleased with the bun to burger fit. If I’d made 12, they’d have been too small.

This is a recipe I’ll be using over and over.

• 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water (110° to 115°)
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 to 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add oil and sugar; let stand for 5 minutes. Add the egg, salt and enough flour to form a soft dough.

Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 3-5 minutes. Do not let rise. Divide into 12 pieces (I think 8 is better) and shape each into a ball. Place 3 in. apart on greased baking sheets. (At this point I flattened the balls of dough just a little and I thought they were shaped perfectly when finished.)

Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Bake at 425° for 8-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.