The Homemade Ice Cream Adventure

The one food that screams summer is ice cream! One summer when I was staying in the Bend, my grandma and I decided to try and make our own homemade ice cream. My grandma pulled out her ice cream maker, and we got to work in the kitchen. We figured, how hard could it be? Well our first attempt was a failure to say the least. We followed a recipe for vanilla ice cream, but to make it a little extra special, we decided to add some peanut butter to the mix. We tried our first creation, and it was not at all what we had expected. My grandma and I both turned up our faces in disappointment. Our next attempt, a couple days later, we decided to take a different approach. My grandma bought a strawberry and chocolate ice cream mix at the store to help us along with this attempt. After making both batches, the strawberry and chocolate ice cream came out perfectly! It was delicious and refreshing on a hot summer day! Making homemade ice cream is very rewarding and the perfect summer activity.

Happy Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day everyone! Thank you to all those who have served, are serving, and will serve in the future. You all are the reason why this country is the best! I hope you all enjoy the holiday, and remember to thank these true American heroes!

Memorial Day Weekend Part 2

Not only did we enjoy a delicious meal yesterday, we also got to spend some relaxing time in the outdoors! All the trees on the hill side along the river now have bright green leaves and are ready for summer. I also found this beautiful flower that was in full bloom, so I had to take a picture of it. Mother Nature is finally in the summer spirit!

Memorial Day Weekend

Happy Memorial Day weekend everyone! The Bend is hopping this weekend with all the benders returning and getting their cottages ready for the summer season. With that grilling aroma in the air, cookouts were taking place all over the bend along with people taking four-wheeler and boat rides. The unofficial start to summer is finally here, and us benders could not be more thrilled! My grandma made a delicious fruit tart for our holiday picnic, and boy was it good! Not only is it a very patriotic dessert with it being red, white, and blue, but it tastes just like summer! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend as we thank all those who made all this possible!

Pumpkin Love

My grandma is a Bender who loves to bake! She made me a delicious loaf of pumpkin bread and recently some pumpkin muffins. I have always loved pumpkin, so when we found Pillsbury's pumpkin baking mix, I jumped for joy! Every time I enjoy something with that pumpkin flavor, it makes me think of how beautiful the bend is in the fall with all the brightly colored leaves on all the trees. This Bender loves enjoying pumpkin all year round!

Spring Flooding

Even though rain showers do bring spring flowers, they also bring high waters to the river. The river has come halfway up our boat ramp, has covered the rocks on the other side of the river, and is very swift. Sometimes when we are expected a lot of rain, I will put a couple sticks along the river bank to see just how high the river will get, and believe me it can get extremely high. When the water finally goes down, I love walking along the river seeing what the high water has brought in. Besides the usual sticks and trees, I have found toy boats, innertubes, life preservers, and much more. You never know what you will find next!

Golfing, Bender Style

When summer hits, many people love to hit the golf course. As Benders, we love golf too, but just our own version of it. The Bend's version of golf is putting golf balls on a tee, getting out your driver, and giving it all you have got to see how far the golf ball will go across the river. The dream for a regular golfer is to hit a hole in one, but for a Bender it is to smack a golf ball so hard it reaches the other side of the river without ever touching the water. All the Benders are always competing to see who is the best "golfer" around. My part in this is the fact that every spring I pull a ton, and I mean A TON, of golf balls out of the river so they can be reused. Us Benders like taking golf to a whole new level!

The Henry's Bend Chapel

Here is a beautiful picture of the Henry's Bend Chapel. In the summer time when everyone is at their cottage, the chapel will host Sunday services, a Fourth of July Festival, and many other community events. It is the one place where all the Benders can come together and enjoy each other's company. It is gorgeous inside and out! I am looking forward to the Fourth of July Festival coming up in a few months!

Putting in the Dock

As Memorial Day approaches, the Bend keeps coming to my mind. I remember when I was little, every Memorial Day my grandma would cook up a big picnic that included hamburgers, hot dogs, ribs, pasta salad, corn on the cob, baked beans, and a refreshing dessert. After that huge picnic, there was only one task at hand, and that was putting in the dock for the summer. My dad and grandpa would drag down all the dock boxes and boards while my brother and I would throw big river rocks on the dock boxes to hold them in place. My mom and grandma would bring down the rope to tie the dock to the tree on the river bank so when the river would flood, the dock would not float away. It was a real family affair! Once the dock was secure, my brother and I dragged down the canoe, followed by my grandpa who dragged down the little fishing boat to tie to the dock. My dad had the hard job of trying to get the "big motor boat" down the ramp. My dad hooked the boat onto our car, and very carefully backed it down the ramp, which always made my grandma a nervous wreck! Once he reached the river, we all helped unhook the boat, and tie it up at the end of the dock. By this point in time, we were all sweaty from being out in the sun all day, so we would end the day with a nice dip in the pool. This is how we celebrated the official start of the summer season!

River Work

Here is a pic from a couple summers ago! I just got finished building up the river bank for the year so when the ice came the river front would be protected. Every year we spend a whole day in late summer at the river throwing rocks up onto the bank to help avoid too much erosion. It is back breaking work, but it really does help protect our beautiful river front from the high water and ice that comes along with winter time. After a long day of hard work in the sun, I was just enjoying the nice evening view of the river!

The First Sunday in May

Today marked the first day of the mowing season for this Bender! After mowing, I took this amazing picture of this beautiful tree in full bloom! The river was quiet and clear today as everything is coming out of hibernation. More and more green is being spotted across the river meaning summer is coming soon! Before you know it, Memorial Day weekend will be here to mark the official start to the summer season!

The Ice Cream Truck Chase Down

With summer just around the corner and all the local tasty freezes opening up, it reminded me of a Bend story. One hot, sunny summer day, my grandpa and I were out enjoying a boat ride. As we went up and down the river in the "big motor boat" we could see the whole Bend enjoying the day. On our fourth run up the river, my grandpa and I were looking out over the Bend when we both saw the ice cream truck enter the Bend. It was a hot one out in the river, so ice cream sounded like it would hit the spot. We raced back to the dock, tied up the boat, and ran up to the end of the driveway. My grandpa and I have never moved so fast in our life, but we made it in just the nick of time as we heard the musical truck pull up. We each decided to get a delicious ice cream sandwich. It definitely hit the spot! This is one of my favorite Bend memories for sure!

Spring has Sprung!

The best part of having a huge deck in the Bend is this marvelous view. Spring has finally sprung! The sun is shining and warm air has finally arrived making this May day perfect! I cannot wait for more days like this to be on the horizon as we get closer to summer. These past couple of days have truly been picture perfect!