Howdy there strangers!

On the day of sister's Celebration of Life, his dad passed.  It was a blessing for him, he as so ill with Parkinson's.  To tell you what his son's thought of him, neither of them shed a tear for him.  Sad isn't it?  To die and not have anyone sad you're gone?  Makes me want to make sure to live my life in a much more positive way.

The Celebration of Life went off very well.  Hubby managed to stand and tell some sweet tales of his sister.  But the one that really got to folks was this.

Way back when eldest was small around 4-5, we were outside in our snow outfits watching the Northern Lights (Aurora).  We had build snow chairs into the deep snow and were watching the lights flash and zoom across the sky.  That summer was the first time eldest had seen and heard thunder and lightening, and it frightened him.  Alaska doesn't get many thunderstorms, I suppose due to the topography.  Anyway, to comfort him, I tried what my grandmother had told me, it was god bowling and when you hear the thunder, he knocked all the pins down.  It worked and he was fine with it, until a few years later when we wanted the truth of the matter.

So, where was I?  Oh!  Ok, so there we were laying in the snow watching the lights when suddenly he piped up, "Mommy?  Those must be angels dancing!"  And that stuck with us forever.  Of course we told sister, and she loved it.

TH ended his talk by telling about eldest and the angels and then said, "And now there is another angel dancing in the winter night skies."  That made several people tear up.

Me?  Yes I told a story about Sister, but a funny one.

A million years ago Harvey Wallbanger drinks were all the rage, and Sister had gone to a party and they served a Harvey Wallbanger cake!  She wrangled the recipe out of the hostess, and bought all the ingredients.  I came in to spend the day with her while hubby had his truck worked on and she was going to a party and wanted to bring this cake.  Now for some odd reason the cake recipe was exact, down to the last drop, but the frosting recipe was very loosey goosey and had a bracket next to the alcohol ingredients with the words - to taste.

We quickly whipped up the cake and shoved it into the oven and went to work on the frosting.  After we reached the grey "to taste" area we added a tablespoon or so of vodka and Galliano and orange juice.  And it was much to liquid to spread.  We added more sugar....and now it was to sweet.  We added and tasted and added and tasted until it was all gone!  Starting over again, wouldn't you know the same thing happened again?  By the time TH came to pick me up, us two non-drinkers were two sheets into the wind.  Two giggling beings who had ended up in our drunkenness ripping pieces of the hot cake and had dipped them into a mixture of Galliano and orange juice.  She did go to the party the next day, but took a chocolate cake.  Which she said was "much safer to make".

Sister will be missed, as she was so loved by everyone. 

Oh, the red in the Aurora is super rare.