One of my nephews called last night to ask if I would help him with his homework assignment. He asked me to send his Mom an e-mail tomorrow about a positive thing about my mother. So this is what I sent him:
My mother made apple pies. She said she hoped someday she would make an apple pie that the juice didn’t run over and make a mess on the floor of the oven but I think she was being overly critical of herself because her apple pies were the best. She used the apples from the trees in the back yard. She made the crust from scratch – rolling the dough out between pieces of waxed paper until they covered the surface of the pan. She’d peel one side of the wax paper off and flop the crust into the pan. Then she’d gently peel the other piece of wax paper off the crust. When the apples were inside and the sugar was added, she would meld the two piecrusts together by pressing a fork down along the rim of the pie plate. Some people flute the edges together but my Mom used a fork which leaves just the right amount of dough to the outer edge of a piece of apple pie. After slashing the top crust with a knife, she’d sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on the crust before baking it. While the pie baked, the apple juice would eventually seep up and overflow the pan. Many times she’s use a cookie sheet below the pie plate to catch the extra apple juice. Sometimes we would find an apple seed in our piece of pie. Mom said that meant it was a good pie because it was homemade. You don’t find apple seeds in pies you buy from the store.
I have heard of the wooly mammoth but before my Wednesday night Master Naturalist class, I had never heard of a wooly rhinocerous. But there were suc
h animals right here in Minnesota. Both animals lost the wooliness (no need for fur coats near the equator) and became the regular elephant and rhinocerous. The other amazing thing I learned is that Minnesota used to be on the equator.
Somehow knowing Minnesota used to be on the equator is very comforting to me. I am extremely ready for spring. I am tired of the cold, the icy roads, the wearing of cuddle duds, and the shivering. Now I can think back to the time of Pangaea when all the continents were cozied up together. As the continents drifted apart, Minnesota got pulled left and up. We rotated to the left and migrated north to where we are now. A mere 225 million years ago, I would have been warm here.
with ingenious yet failing plans - a lot like Jack. People respect him but he really doesn't have a clue. Mary Ann - the cheerful, helpful shipmate with dark curly hair reminds me of Kate. I know in Lost Kate has a criminal past but we really don't know what Mary Ann's past was in Gilligan's Island - she may have been a criminal too for all we know. 
