I am so grateful for the relationship I have developed with Aunt Rhea over my life. Aunt Rhea is my Dad's older sister and she will turn 90 on September 11. She and Uncle Wayne moved to Ocala, Florida early in their marriage and had three daughters, my cousins, Renee, Jane, and Debbie.
Through the years, going to Aunt Rhea and Uncle Wayne's house was filled with wonderful memories of preparing and eating meals together. Aunt Rhea was an adventurous cook. As a child, I remember eating in their dining room at Christmas time with a 20' tree next to the table, having a piece of the tallest coconut cake I had ever seen. The first time I ate paella was at their house in Ocala in the late 70's over a weekend spent with them while I was in college. Preparing the paella took all day and I had never tasted anything like it. The preparation was as memorable as the paella!
When our firstborn, a daughter, came along, we chose the most elegant name we knew, Audrey Rhea. Aunt Rhea is and always has been the most elegant woman I've known.
Aunt Rhea's biscuits were the lightest, fluffiest I've ever eaten anywhere. Biscuits were always on her menu. After my girls came along in the 80's and we visited in North Carolina, Whitney and Claire were a bottomless pit when Aunt Rhea's biscuits were on the table. Even as preschoolers, they recognized they were quite special and not served on every table!
We visited Aunt Rhea and Uncle Wayne at various times of the year in North Carolina. On one of those trips, raspberries were ripe in the garden and Dale was the first to volunteer each morning to go out to pick. Not many raspberries made it to the table. Aunt Rhea sent Papa a jar of her homemade raspberry jam for Christmas for years. That jar of jam was treasured by Papa and all the rest of us! Eating it was a special occasion at our house.
One year over a Thanksgiving weekend spent with Aunt Rhea and Uncle Wayne, my teenage girls went through Aunt Rhea's recipes and wrote down many of their favorites, which are standards at holiday time and other special occasions throughout the year. Chocolate chess pie, squash souffle, cinnamon rolls, and peanut butter cookies are a few. What a privilege to make Aunt Rhea's recipes!
My cousins have planned a 90th birthday party for Aunt Rhea at her home in North Carolina. I made Papa and my air reservations this morning, so we can be part of the party.
Through the years, going to Aunt Rhea and Uncle Wayne's house was filled with wonderful memories of preparing and eating meals together. Aunt Rhea was an adventurous cook. As a child, I remember eating in their dining room at Christmas time with a 20' tree next to the table, having a piece of the tallest coconut cake I had ever seen. The first time I ate paella was at their house in Ocala in the late 70's over a weekend spent with them while I was in college. Preparing the paella took all day and I had never tasted anything like it. The preparation was as memorable as the paella!
When our firstborn, a daughter, came along, we chose the most elegant name we knew, Audrey Rhea. Aunt Rhea is and always has been the most elegant woman I've known.
Aunt Rhea's biscuits were the lightest, fluffiest I've ever eaten anywhere. Biscuits were always on her menu. After my girls came along in the 80's and we visited in North Carolina, Whitney and Claire were a bottomless pit when Aunt Rhea's biscuits were on the table. Even as preschoolers, they recognized they were quite special and not served on every table!
We visited Aunt Rhea and Uncle Wayne at various times of the year in North Carolina. On one of those trips, raspberries were ripe in the garden and Dale was the first to volunteer each morning to go out to pick. Not many raspberries made it to the table. Aunt Rhea sent Papa a jar of her homemade raspberry jam for Christmas for years. That jar of jam was treasured by Papa and all the rest of us! Eating it was a special occasion at our house.
One year over a Thanksgiving weekend spent with Aunt Rhea and Uncle Wayne, my teenage girls went through Aunt Rhea's recipes and wrote down many of their favorites, which are standards at holiday time and other special occasions throughout the year. Chocolate chess pie, squash souffle, cinnamon rolls, and peanut butter cookies are a few. What a privilege to make Aunt Rhea's recipes!
My cousins have planned a 90th birthday party for Aunt Rhea at her home in North Carolina. I made Papa and my air reservations this morning, so we can be part of the party.
At The Marie Selby Botanical Garden in Sarasota, Florida, 1993.
