EXLINE — Today is Friday the 13th. Some people have a fear of the number 13.  It is called Triskaide-kaphobia.

We still had frost last week, during the first week of May. That twinge of wintertime, does not want to let go, it seems. Now this week, we had record breaking heat.

I hope everyone had a nice Mother’s Day last Sunday. It was a beautiful day for whatever family event you had planned.

We have two lilac bushes in our yard that are beginning to bloom. Their sweet scent is always enjoyable. I like to take a few cuttings of the pretty lavender flowers and place them in a vase in the center of the table, so you may enjoy their sweet aroma, indoors.

A distant Wentworth relative of mine, was the first Royal Governor of New Hampshire under the King of England in the early 1700s. His name was  Benning Wentworth and he lived in Portsmouth, N.H. When he was the Royal Governor, Vermont was still part of New Hampshire. The town of Bennington, Vermont is named for him.  

His restored and furnished home is a New Hampshire State Park that is open for touring by the public.

When George Washington was sworn in as president for the first time in New York City, he then toured New England and stayed at this Wentworth home when he was in Portsmouth.

The beautiful array of lilacs in the yard there, are believed to have been the first lilacs brought to America from England or one of the earliest. Lilacs were not native to this country. They were brought here by the early English colonists. They have them growing all over the grounds there, at that old mansion. Some of the trunks on the bushes are so old and big, they look like tree trunks instead of bushes. I have been to that mansion and toured the house and grounds numerous times over the years and have seen those pretty lilac bushes there.

I was looking through our collection of cookbooks for a recipe for this week and ran across this one. It sounds like it is kind of  a cross between a brownie and a cake.   With it having chocolate in it, it has to be pretty good. It even has an unusual name. It is called:

 

Fat Pants

 

Ingredients

1 box of chocolate cake mix

1 pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 pkg. Heath bits of Brickle Toffee pieces

1 c. sweetened condensed milk

1  egg

2 sticks of butter (melted)

 

To make this dessert, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13” by 9” inch   baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

Empty the cake mix into a nice size bowl. Add the sweetened condensed milk, egg and the two sticks of melted  butter. Mix until blended together. Then, add the chocolate chips and the Bits of Brickle and stir together until blended in.

Pour the mixture into the baking pan and bake approximately 20 to 30 minutes, until done in the center. This turns out to be a very rich, and dense dessert. Chocolate icing would make it even better!

 

As always, the birthday celebration last week, went off without a hitch. Delicious homemade cakes, as well as coffee and soft serve ice cream were provided to everyone, at the Exline Old Country Store. Those people having birthdays this month were: Jim Traxler on May 5, Daunita Ash on May 12, Penny Sharp on May 14, Joni Davis and Pat Huebner on May 18, Charles Conger on May 19, along with Martha McClurg and Pam Haines on May 23.   

Those couples having anniversaries this month were: Curt and Denise Oden, who celebrated their fifth anniversary on May 6, John and Ruth Mathena on May 25 and Jack and Martha McClurg on May 29, who celebrated their 62nd anniversary.

In order to have the Exline Hose Company No. 1 Museum open each Sunday, they need to have volunteers to take the time to be there, from 1 to 4 p.m. each Sunday.

If you would be interested in volunteering your time to be at the museum some Sunday afternoon, call the Exline Old Country Store manager, Penny, at (641) 658-2399 to find out further details and to get your name down on the list to help out this summer.

If you are thinking about attending the Exline School and Community reunion, you need to make your reservations for this upcoming event. It will be held on Memorial Day weekend, on Saturday, May 28 and will begin at noon. The cost is $10 per person.   You may call and make a reservation with Mary Ann Hurley in Exline, at (641) 658-2691. The event is open to anyone who would like to attend, even if you did not attend the Exline School.

Last Saturday, the bake sale that was held at the Exline Old Country Store was very successful. They would like to thank everyone that donated baked goods for them to sell and to the many customers who came and purchased all of the goodies.

Also that day, the members of the Exline Chapter 3000, Royal Neighbors of America,  participated in a nation wide “Join Hands Day.” Members of the organization were joined by local children to fulfill their project of cleaning the city park next to City Hall. It was a beautiful day for them to complete their endeavor.

If anyone would be interested in setting up a booth to sell things or have a craft booth at the  Exline 4th of July celebration, you may contact the store manager Penny, at (641) 658-2399 with questions and further details. There is no charge for setting up a booth at this event.

Do not forget that a guest speaker from the Women’s Abuse Center in Ottumwa will be at the community center on Monday, May 16 at 2 p.m. The event is sponsored by the Royal Neighbors of America, Exline Chapter 3000. The program, with its guest speaker, will be open to the public and refreshments will be served.