Throwback Time

   Well, honestly I had completely forgotten about this picture until I just managed to stumble upon it the other day. If I do remember right, this was my freshman year of high school. Me and one of my friends, (the one taking the picture), were in a photography class, we were out there taking pictures for one of our assignments. This picture wasn't part of our assignment, it just happened on our walk from point A to point B. 

   We were all walking along the train tracks to the Depot. It is an old worn down brick building that all of the trains used to pass through in Evanston, Wyoming. I am not sure if you can tell, but it was freezing cold and we all only had thin jackets on! I can't believe how crazy we were for doing this! I must say though, this was an amazing time of my life, I remember it like it was yesterday. We were all good friends and we would do anything to get out of the house. 

   It is sad to look at this picture now. We are all in different places now and live completely different lives. It has been so long since I have talked to all of these girls.We were once just like a family, we were all sisters. Now its as if we are all leaves and the wind has blown us in different directions. This day holds memories that I will never forget, and I hope it holds good memories for all of the my sisters that were there that day.

Nana's Bananas

   I remember as a kid begging my mom to make Nana's Banana Bread, because it was so delicious. It was soft but not mushy. A golden yellow color sprinkled with different shades of brown. It had the most sweet smell to it, of course bananas, but a light airy sugar smell, virtually indescribable.




     

   When I got into middle school, I had a Home EC. class. We learned many different things about cooking and how to read recipes, along with how to group the ingredients in the recipes. Of course when you learn things in school they teach you how to do it the right way. Recipes are supposed to have exact measurements and step by step instructions, those are the recipes we used in that class anyways. Well at the end of the quarter we were going to have a "bake off". It was a competition between the students to see who could cook the best recipe. I wasn't sure what to cook or where to even start, I really wanted to win because I have always been really competitive and hated losing anything, no matter the competition. I went home and my mom helped me to go through her recipes and we stumbled across my favorite recipe of all time, obviously I had completely forgotten about it. I was so excited. My mom and I ended up practicing how to make the Banana Bread, and she let me do most of it.
    Soon to be realized I had no idea where or what to do by the recipe that sat on the counter. It was different than the ones I had learned to read. There was almost nothing on the card, I was so confused. Therefor, my mom explained it to me step by step and helped me write down extra instructions on a separate piece of paper that I have long lost by now. When the finished product finally came out of the oven, it was exactly as I had remembered it. I took it to school and since we didn't have a long enough class block to finish my recipe I had the teacher help me start it before class. When it came to be class time and the competition was on I was really confident. I didn't end up winning but I sure did take 2nd place, and that was okay with me.
   My mom told me that this was supposed to be a "secret" recipe, but I have shared it with you anyways. This was passed down a few generations and we always make it for Christmas, it is a tradition, and one that I am proud of. In a way, I suppose it is still kind of a secret recipe because there are a few small tips and tricks that I was taught to make this recipe turn out the best. I will definitely pass this on to my children when the time comes and hopefully they will do the same.