Category: Life experiences

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Finding My Way Through Grief and Life’s Ups and Downs

Finding my way through grief.  People may define the different stages of grief in a variety of ways but most of them go something like the following list.

Stages of Grief

Shock

Denial

Pain/Guilt

Depression

Acceptance/Hope

I’m not sure what order these things go in but they are there when you are dealing with the loss of a loved one, health, job, lifestyle, marriage, or the loss of what could have been. And as we go through the ups and downs which are a part of life we will surely experience all of these at some point and some more than once.

You may have an image of what grief looks like but it will take you by surprise and look different. 

Losing My Dad

When I lost my dad unexpectedly after heart surgery the tears did not come for a while. I had to accept this. Some people can cry and let it all out and that’s ok. I couldn’t even verbalize my grief. Carrying on the motions of my day, on the outside looking normal yet in shock on the inside. Doing my shopping I would see something that reminded me of my dad and pain would come crashing over me so unexpectedly. I couldn’t have anticipated it. It would knock me down and engulf me as unexpected waves do at the beach. I catch my breath and move on.

Grieving the relationship and stories I had lost, time and again and the grandfather my children and grandchildren would live without. I think some griefs are life long and will continue to hit you when you least expect it. Maybe every time it will not immobilize you as it once did but you will still feel the familiar loss as it crashes down around you. There is a hole.

Another Loss

Time moves. What seems a short time later I lost my father-in-law who had been such a friend and encouragement to me for over 30 years. What an emptiness he left in my world. Again I couldn’t speak of my loss it was a huge rock sitting on my chest.

One day I will have more family and friends on the other side than here in this world and I will long, even more, to go to my heavenly home.

Inclusion Body Myositis

Finding my way through grief. Sometimes we experience a different kind of grief. Five years ago when my husband was diagnosed with Inclusion Body Myositis my world was shaken. I felt some guilt for my self-pity, after all, he was the one with the life-altering disease, not me. His world was shaken the most! I went through a terrible grieving process for him and me. I stayed calm for the most part on the outside but I was still stunned.

We were wrapped in prayers and support from our family and people all over the country and I will be forever grateful for the outpouring of love we were blessed and sustained with. Our Christian family is amazing.

When this happened I had to leave my wonderful life at home and go to work. Most of my children were grown. The three left at home were all capable of taking care of the daily things needed and they had their dad with them while I worked. Yet I grieved this loss.

Empty Nest Worries

Finding my way through grief. Some losses are expected. When my children started leaving home I felt a little sadness and some grief I may not have realized at the time. I grieved the daily time I had with them. As each one left the younger ones would grieve too. The days turned into years so fast. How could it be time already?

However, although I grieved I also felt some excitement about what my children were doing and what an impact they would make on the world. I trusted they would find their way and that they would make this world a better place and I believe they are on their way to doing that.

Mistakes

I thought some of my children left a little premature but you know what? They made it! They made their own decisions and survived their consequences. Yes, they made some bad choices and learned from them as we all should. I am sure we all have some embarrassing moments we would rather forget. The important thing is to keep going. Keep learning from your mistakes. Don’t let your mistakes define you nor theirs. Don’t let your mistakes immobilize you. Don’t get stuck. Every human being makes mistakes and has to recover from them. So we continue to find our way through life’s ups and downs.

What can we learn from our mistakes?

Most of the time our mistakes can give us a lot of insight into the world and ourselves and teach us things we could not have learned any other way. Sometimes we get stuck in a rut and think we can’t recover from our mistakes and this becomes a cycle of falling and laying there a while and then climbing out. More of life’s ups and downs.

What can we learn? We have to learn that we can’t undo our mistakes. If we have done wrong we pray and ask God to help lift us up and help us to do better next time. By evaluating we can learn from it and how to approach it better next time. Then we get up and do the next right thing. It took me a long time before I realized that I could learn from other people’s experiences and that I didn’t have to make every mistake myself.

James

Am I ready for an empty nest? I don’t want to let the last little one fly away. With James #10 I was more worried about his leaving because I wasn’t sure if I had prepared him enough. I now know that was silly and he has done great. He may not know everything he needs to know to follow his path but who does? He is courageous and smart enough to find the answers and resources he needs. And he has God! He approaches everything with an “all in” attitude. I wish I had a smidgen of his discipline when I was his age and truthfully maybe now too. 

I am so excited his hard work is paying off. He is playing football and has a 4.0 in his first two semesters of college. I’m excited that he will have an article published this week about something he is passionate about. Finance! He’s great with money, fitness, and whatever he puts his mind to. He is flying!

Esther

Esther is all over the place with her interests. Whatever she settles on I know she will bring a lot of heart and compassion to the world. She’s long had a fascination with anatomy, nutrition, and health, a lover of nature. In the last couple of years, she has been interested in nursing, midwifery, doula, real estate investing, organic medicinal gardening, etc. I’m not sure if she will settle on any of those but she will do well regardless. Esther is a beautiful Christian young lady with a strong faith which is most important.

Sometimes it feels so essential to make a decision but the reality is, it’s ok to carry on and wait and see what comes your way. Meanwhile whatever your hand finds to do do it with all your might. I wrote more about that in Choosing Your Path or Letting Your Path Choose You.

So life has its seasons of grief, rejoicing, pain, triumph, and defeat. But I am finding my way through grief and life’s ups and downs. I continue, pressing forward until the day Jesus comes or I go to meet him.

Finding my way through grief
Philippians 3:14
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I am Feeling Productive Today, How About You?

Waking up Early

I am feeling productive today, how about you? Don’t you just love early mornings? The air feels so cool before the scorching heat takes over in the afternoon. My morning routine usually includes starting the laundry before heading downstairs. Then I sent some messages to a friend and a son. Next, I worked on my sourdough bread. I now have 3 loaves rising. My tomato plants need repotting so I worked on that a bit. Well, actually a lot!

Tomato plants
My first tomato!
Early Morning Walk

Esther and I headed out for a morning walk around our neighborhood. People were out and about already. Our walk went by so fast and easy as we chatted about the scriptures and our goals for the day. It was interesting to me that the passage in Acts 9 came up from three different sources in one day. Youth group, private study, and our ladies’ class book. When I realized that I decided I wanted to take a closer look at it.

Dorcas

One of the things which crossed my mind while reading about Dorcas was, what must the women who had prepared her for burial have thought? I don’t recall ever noticing that she had already been washed and prepared for burial before they laid her in an upstairs room. This was what women did for their friends and family. Can you imagine how sad they were? Dorcas had been such an amazing lady always doing good and helping the poor as we read in Acts 9:36. Apparently, she had the gift and the heart to sew clothes for the poor and widowed.

Two men went to Peter and asked him to come to Joppa. When he came he went upstairs to the room and sent the grieving widows out of the room. He got down on his knees (he knew where our help comes from and who has the power) and prayed. Then he turned to Tabitha and said get up! And she did. He called to the believers and presented her alive to them! Amazing!

God Can Bring the Dead to Life

God can bring the dead to life. Sometimes we may be dead in other ways and through God’s love and forgiveness we can become a living productive woman that God can use. Dorcas was a woman God was using and now that would surely only increase. Can’t you just hear people whispering? “That’s the woman Peter raised from the dead!”

Today I am thankful for this one beautiful day God has given me to live. I am a woman raised from the dead to live a new life in Christ! Praise God for his gift of life! May you be encouraged to use this day to his glory.

I am feeling productive today, how about you?

I am feeling productive today! Sourdough bread baking
Sourdough bread baking
I am feeling productive today! Sourdough bread baking
Sourdough bread baking
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Choosing Your Path or Letting it Choose You

Choosing Your Path

Choosing your path in life seems like a very practical thing. It seems logical. Right? Proactive, yes! All successful people do this, don’t they?

Have you always known what you were going to do?  When you were a small child and someone asked you, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Did you have an immediate answer?

I think my first answer was probably, “I want to be a mom!” That was a given from the early years when I was running around in my yard and climbing trees and chasing piglets. I knew I wanted to be a mom. I had a picture in my mind of what that would look like. So I practiced on my little sister and neighbor friends. I would clean the house and make them Kool-Aid and snacks. I still had plenty of time to play with them too though.

High School Years

By the time I was 13 years old and in seventh grade, I knew I wanted to be the President of the United States. I was sure I could make a difference in the world. The kids at school had a great time making fun of me about that one.

As I finished my high school years I thought I knew how life was going to go. I had abandoned the idea of becoming the President of the United States of American by the time I graduated from Mortimer Jordan High School in 1977.

I thought I would marry my high school sweetheart but he never asked so I went on with Plan B to go to college. I thought I knew which college I wanted to attend. I applied to Auburn University (AU)  and waited for that acceptance letter. Meanwhile, I was invited to spend the weekend at another college in southern Alabama, Alabama Christian College (ACC) a small two-year school. That weekend I chose my path and the direction of my life. I made the decision to attend ACC. The acceptance letter to AU arrived the next day.

College Life

My freshman year was filled with wonderful new friends and experiences. As a Communications major, I was given the opportunity to interview experts for our school radio program. I also wrote for the school newspaper. Being a member of the Phi Lambda social club and student government brought another dimension to college life. Meanwhile, my role as Freshman Class Representative took me to Abilene, Texas. Abilene has to be one of the windiest places I have ever been to. I learned very quickly to hold my skirt down while trying to walk across campus.

Abilene, Texas

I did not know until a few years later what Abilene, Texas would give me. I was attending a conference with people from all over the U.S. I met two young men I would never see again nor remember their names. Yet they had a BIG impact on my life. These two young men were from Freed-Hardeman College (FHC). They assured me that FHC was the greatest school! ACC was a 2 year school when I was there. So when the time came for me to transfer I transferred to FHC.

ACC (Faulkner University) is a Christian college so that brought my heart to a deeper focus on spiritual matters. Devotionals, Bible classes, and my first mission trip opened up a whole new world for me. This love for God would stay with me as I transferred to FHC and for the rest of my life.

My first date at FHC was with a handsome blond boy named Lawrence Redding who was born in Abilene, Texas and that story continues to this day.

So did I choose my path or did my path choose me?

The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.

Proverbs 16:9

 

Reda FHC 1979 Student id
Reda FHC 1979 Student id

 

 

 

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Teach Your Children Well

Do you remember the Crosby, Stills, and Nash song: Teach Your Children Well? Here are the lyrics.  Listen here.

TEACH YOUR CHILDREN WELL

You who are on the road
Must have a code that you can live by
And so become yourself
Because the past is just a good-bye.
Teach your children well,
Their father’s hell did slowly go by,
And feed them on your dreams
The one they picks, the one you’ll know by.
Don’t you ever ask them why, if they told you, you will cry,
So just look at them and sigh
And know they love you.

And you, of tender years,
Can’t know the fears that your elders grew by,
And so please help them with your youth,
They seek the truth before they can die.

Teach your parents…

Child of the 60s

I was born in Birmingham, Alabama on February 26, 1960. A child of the 60s and 70s. Lawrence and I met in college and married in 1980. A year later I became a mom. Determined to be a good mom I researched the scriptures, studied parenting books, and interviewed people I thought were good parents. Are there any perfect parents? No! Even though I wanted to be the perfect parent. I knew there were no perfect parents but I wanted to do it right! It may seem funny now but I was very intentional about it. This approach became a pattern for my learning not only about parenting but other things as well. Read scriptures, read books, and interview people.

1980
Lawrence and Reda 1980
Lawrence & Reda
Lawrence & Reda

Homeschooling

Not only did I want to be a good mom but I wanted to teach my children myself. Homeschool was not even a word back then nor did I know anyone who taught their own children or would consider doing so. Somehow unknowingly I found myself at the forefront of a movement that continues today. It has morphed as time has passed but is still alive and well. Hopefully, I can write more about that later.

When I started this post I was intending to share my journey into parenting and homeschooling. However, considering the current atmosphere in our country I have decided to take this a different direction. It does not matter what choice you have made about schooling. We all teach our children. Whether it is intended or not. Some of life’s most important lessons come from home and come early in life.

“Child with Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park”

Your children learn from you. This song has been in my head for a couple of weeks. After a little research, I found out that Nash wrote this song after seeing a famous photograph by Diane Arbus that depicts a child with an angry expression holding a toy weapon. According to an interview, he wrote this song to reflect on the messages given to children about war. There are a lot of messages given to children!

Love 

Whether you know it or not you do teach your children. Teach them well. It is your job to teach them how to love and how to be loved. It is your job to teach them the truth, God’s truth. God’s ways are different from the world and so should ours be.

John 13:34&35, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this, all men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.”

I John 2:11 “But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.”

Matthew 5: 43-48 says, “You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbor” and hate your enemy. But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

God Shows No Partiality

Peter learned this and we should too. In Acts 10:34 “So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality,”

Be Light Givers

This is what God says in Matthew 5:14, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

Yes I was born in Alabama in the 1960s and I saw racial prejudice, social prejudice, and more, but I did not embrace that because I was taught well at home. I do not remember having a conversation about this. I was taught by my parent’s example and I am thankful for that!

Parents teach your children well.

 

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25 Random Things About Me

25 random things about me. Where did this come from? I read a lot. Occasionally, I see these lists and find them fun and interesting. So I decided to make a list of a few random things about me.

Born in Birmingham and raised near Morris, Alabama.
Baptized believer of Jesus Christ.
I love spending time with God’s people, my people!
Teaching people the scriptures brings me joy.
Married to the best husband in the world, happy wife to Lawrence for 40 years!
Mother to 11 children YES! (8 boys and 3 girls).
Grandmother to 5 and potential.
Stay at home mom for over 35 years.
Homeschool teacher for over 35 years.
New Doula – I have birthed at home, birth centers, and the hospital. Looking for a doula call me!
Extrovert – I love people and I can talk to almost anyone.
My favorite color is BLUE.
Learning the old crafts and skills my grandmothers knew makes me feel a connection to generations past.
Read real books! Kindles do provide me with instant gratification though.
Teacups and teapots make me happy. Don’t you just say ahh when you sit down with a nice cup of tea?
PG Tips is my favorite black tea with a little milk and sugar of course.
Diet Coke is the real thing!
My favorite sweet is Dark Chocolate.
Come on over. I love cooking and feeding people.
Growing and use herbs is rewarding.
Learning to grow lavender is hard at least for me but I am not giving up.
Picking and receiving wildflower bouquets is pure joy.
I attended Majestic Elementary School, Mortimer Jordan High School, Alabama Christian College, and Freed-Hardeman College a very long time ago.
I have been to all 50 of the United States, Singapore, Malaysia, Malawi, and Canada.
Collector of stories – please tell me yours.

 

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Learning New Skills – Sourdough Starter

Sourdough starter
Sourdough starter

Sourdough Starter

Why am I learning to make a sourdough starter?  I have spent years at home rearing children, homeschooling, cooking, laundry, etc. So this time in our history hasn’t been as hard on me maybe as some of you. But it has given me an excellent opportunity to explore possibilities. Extra time at home, what will I do? Using this time to learn some new skills and improve some old ones seems like a good idea.

What have I been learning? In my crazy artistic, ok maybe chaotic (it’s those 11 kids I’m telling you!) way I tackled several things I have been interested in for some time. Today I will tell you about my sourdough project.

Sourdough

The problem is I love bread! If I had to choose one food group it would probably be bread. What smells better than fresh bread baking? With a little direction from my friend Eleni Melirrytou, I decided to learn to make sourdough bread. That entails first making a sourdough starter. Yes, you normally can buy yeast in the grocery store. Maybe not during a pandemic. And maybe not in Africa. I know that you can buy a sourdough starter on Amazon. However, I want to learn the whole process so that wherever I am in the world I can make bread. This is a long process that begins with flour and water mixed and worked with for at least 14 days before you can have a strong enough starter to make your bread rise. You can make some pretty yummy sourdough pancakes with your throwaway starter though.

Work With Refugees

Do you remember the first time you ate sourdough bread? I don’t. I’m sure it must have been in Seattle in the 80s. The best sourdough I have ever tasted was made by my friend Eleni Melirrytou when she and her husband came to Nashville, Tennessee, to share about their work with refugees in Greece. Check out their website here. As with most functions with Christians, there was food! Not just food but amazing Greek food which included Eleni’s sourdough bread! Yum, makes your mouth water bread!

Northwest Sourdough

I need to learn how to do this, I told myself. I asked Eleni for recommendations and she sent me a link to a video by Northwest Sourdough and Teresa L. Greenway. There is a link for a free guide below the video. This video and the following ones got me started making my sourdough starter, pancakes, and eventually bread. Click on the link to learn how to make a sourdough starter using only flour and water.

One interesting side note is that I lived very close to where Teresa L. Greenway filmed these videos and I never knew what I was missing or what great resources were right next door.

 

Sourdough bread
Sourdough bread – My first loaf
Sourdough bread 2
Sourdough bread 2
Sourdough bread
Sourdough bread

If you follow this link you will find the recipe I used for my sourdough bread. Bake with Jack is a great teacher.

Sourdough bread for beginners and that’s me!

https://www.bakewithjack.co.uk/blog-1/2018/7/5/sourdough-loaf-for-beginners

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My Mom

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I just couldn’t write on Mother’s day about my mom. For one thing, I was visiting her from a safe distance on her porch. Add home church and kids and grandkids and it was a full day. I am so blessed as a mom and to have my mom!
 
How can I possibly write anything appropriately honoring into a post?
But today when this picture
My mom Birthday 2017
My mom Birthday 2017
popped up on my Facebook feed,  I decided to say something. I know I cannot possibly express in words what an amazing woman my mom is, how thankful for her I am, or how much I love her! But I will write a few things.
 
Thankful for My Mom!
 
My earliest memories center around church and family. For many years my mom took the three of us to church all by herself. Not just Sunday morning but at least 3 services a week. I am thankful for her faithfulness to the father and her commitment to the body of Christ.
 
She made all of our clothes and some for the neighbors too. One year she made Easter dresses for us and the neighbor girls including little crocheted shawls.   
She and my dad grew a big garden and canned and froze the benefits. They raised hogs and chickens. She and my dad worked hard and taught us to work hard as well. This has been a huge blessing in my life.
 
She sounds like the typical mom during that time period in so many ways because of all the skills she learned growing up on the farm. But my mom was far from typical in addition to all of these things she worked full time.
 
During a time when few women worked outside the home, my mom worked as a computer programmer. She worked in a field few women worked. Her work transitioned a lot over the years. She spent her last two years of programming from home. She is resilient and a great learner. 
What is she doing today during this pandemic? She has made over 100 masks to protect others. Sharing with her neighbors, friends, and family from a distance she continues to stay busy. Quilting, cross-stitching, reading books,  doing puzzles, sharing magazines, sewing machines, and whatever she has to give she continues doing good as she has always done.
She has weathered a lot of storms in her life and come through them with a generous heart and a smile.
Visiting Mom
Visiting Mom
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What Do I Do With 25 lbs. of Boiled Eggs?

What do I do with 25 lbs. of boiled eggs? I was recently given a “gift” of a huge bucket of eggs. Twenty-five pounds of eggs! As happens with gifts, you also have responsibility. First, I made room in my refrigerator for this big gift. Then I started thinking about what I might do with them. Thankfully the expiration date was a month away!

Egg salad and deviled eggs were easy. Then I looked up eggs in my Carla Emery’s Old Fashioned Book The Encyclopedia of Country Living. If you need to know anything about country living this is the book. There are over 800 pages to this book. There was a whole section on eggs with ten recipes for pickled eggs.

What did I do? I pickled a gallon of eggs. I have never pickled eggs before nor do I think I have ever eaten pickled eggs. I have tried pickled pig feet, pickled okra, pickled peppers, cauliflower, and of course regular pickles. The pickling process for eggs takes ten days to complete. They are supposed to keep for months. So I will try to remember to share my thoughts on pickled eggs when they are ready to eat.

As Patricia Crawford said, “when you have eggs, you eat eggs”! We have been eating boiled eggs for breakfast, lunch, and snacks!

Please share your favorite boiled egg recipes! I have a few dozen eggs left.

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Sharing Hospitality During a Pandemic

Today I want to share some encouragement and hopefully some ideas of how we can share hospitality during a pandemic.

I love sharing recipes and collecting recipes. Over the years I have traveled back and forth across the country. Most of those trips involved ministry of one kind or another. I have collected recipes on these trips. Many of the recipes I share on this blog have come from some of those collections.

As I have sat around the tables of many of my Christian sisters I realized that a lot of encouragement happens in the homes of fellow Christians. In fact, I believe more happens there than any other place. I believe the early Christians were very hospitable.

Hospitality in the early church began in Jerusalem when the early church was started. Many people were there and stayed there. The Christians gathered daily growing their new faith in God. I can just see the new Christian sisters gathered around sharing what they had with others. Sisters cooking side by side to feed those new friends and brethren. Opening their hearts and homes to these new Christians.

Acts 2:44 -47 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

So many of my life stories have come from Christians who have opened their homes to me and my opening my home to others. Strangers united by Christ.

We can change the world through hospitality. When this pandemic is over open your heart and your home to those around you that God has placed in your life for just such a time. But while we are still in the midst of social distancing. I want to suggest some ways we can practice hospitality.

Think of those who may need a word of encouragement.

Write notes.

Do not think you need fancy cards or stationary. Just a piece of paper will do. If you want to draw a funny picture or send a cartoon you have saved, great. Everyone needs a laugh. What about all of those postcards you have collected from trips? Why not send those to people who would enjoy them.

Care Packages

You might want to send care packages or a sunshine package from the wealth in your own home. Do you have a book you have already read and enjoyed? Send it to a friend. What about an adult coloring book? Send a page or two with a note. Or color the page or have your child color it for a friend or neighbor. Sometimes suspense is fun. Make an envelope for each day of the week for them to open. Items you might want to include in the envelopes: scriptures, pictures, homemade confetti (you know which of your friends can handle this), a fun memory or picture of a time you spent together, assignments like writing 5 blessings you have on this paper, etc.

Phone Calls

Almost everyone in America has a phone it seems. Call someone today, just to say hi or share a memory you have of them. Ask them, “Do you remember when?”

Call an old friend you haven’t talked with in a while. You will both be encouraged.

Blessing Ring

Start a blessing ring today. Count your blessings for they are many.

Fun and Games 

Maybe you can make up a game.

Send a puzzle you have already done for someone else to enjoy.

A deck of cards.

Teddy bears in your window to cheer passersby.

Check out the Facebook group Happy Heart Hunt. Placing cheery hearts in your windows, chalk outside people’s doors, etc.

A lady from church gave me permission to share what her neighborhood is doing. Chalk the walk. So that when people take a walk they will be cheered.

Also, my neighbor had the idea to chalk a hopscotch game on the pavement behind our townhouses. Fun!

Check out Pan and Cora’s Adventures on Facebook.  http://redaredding.com/PanAndCorasAdventures

Send Encouragement Online

One thing I did today was to send encouraging scriptures to my friends in Malawi. They do not have many available Bibles and really appreciate the scriptures and encouraging words. I used WhatsApp to do this but we have so many resources to use. I also sent them a face mask pattern. I was told they have no masks there.

Have an idea of how we can practice this gift of hospitality in the midst of the coronavirus? Leave your ideas below. We can all use some more ideas to get through this.

Let me know what you decide to do.

Puzzle
Puzzle
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Making Old Fashioned Banana Bread

I didn’t really start the day planning to make old fashioned banana bread.  Today I was sorting books and got to looking through some old cookbooks. I found a recipe for old fashioned banana bread. We had some overripe bananas that needed to be used so I suggested Esther make banana bread. She got even more creative and made a video of her process. This was her first attempt at banana bread. She said to remind readers to soften the butter which she forgot to do.  And she said she poked it a few too many times checking for doneness. The bread turned out to be delicious.

Even though she put the recipe at the end of the video I am including it here at the bottom of the page.

Old Fashioned Banana Bread

3 ripe bananas

1 Tbs water

1 cup of sugar

1/4 cup butter

2 beaten eggs

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbs vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

2 cups flour

1 cup nuts

Mash bananas and water together. Set aside 3 minutes, and then mix remaining ingredients together as listed. Bake in loaf pan at 350 degrees for 60 minutes.