Table for Fifty? Really.

The famous “Took Two Hours To Take” family photo. Here are the “FIFTY” of us… minus a few.

Shower caps, Shaving cream and puffed Cheetos make a fun war for all of us at a family reunion @Lincoln Beach, OR.

Our “Older Cousins Group”

So it’s time to confess the purpose of this blog: For the last 50+ years, (much more than that for some of us, but we’re not counting) Grandma Joyce’s children have been enjoying her cooking. But there’s more to Grandma Joyce than just her recipes. She’s a master gardener, superb technical writer, queen of DIY, and much more.

But for those of us contributing to this blog, her real claim to fame is us. Joyce is the mother of nine (yes, NINE) children. And all of us cook, and garden, and do-it-ourselves. It’s the way we were raised. At this writing, if you count children, children’s spouses and grandchildren, there are exactly FIFTY of us. So, if we were all gathered around the same table (and yes, it has been done), it truly would be a table for fifty. Grandma Joyce would argue that we left out the grandchildren’s spouses, the roommates, the cousins who dropped in for Sunday dinner, and the out-of-town guests, and most recently, the arrival of precious Baby Kate, the first great-grandchild –but like we said… who’s counting?

For a quarter of a century, Joyce has been testing and perfecting favorite recipes, so this blog began as a way to showcase some of her favorites and make them accessible. But more than Joyce’s made-from-scratch cooking, we are grateful for all she has taught us about life, parenting, and finding joy in the moment.

Contributing to this blog are three generations of family members. We hope you’ll pull up a chair and join us.