On Socks & Funeral Potatoes

It’s been a very trying week. In fact, it’s been a very trying year so far. I won’t recount all the negative things, but I’d like to take a minute to express my gratitude for all the blessings that I DO have including a sweet and wonderful husband to share my life with.

Do you ever wonder what happens to your socks once they go in your dryer? I keep ending up with one sock here and there. There are only two ADULTS living in this house, so I know that we aren’t “losing” our socks, leaving them at friends’ houses or at the playground.

Brent pulled apart the dryer the other day to figure out why the drum stopped rotating and found quite a few treasures including a dryer sheet that had snuck behind the lint catcher AND a LONE {clean but lint covered} SOCK…. crammed into the blower which must have triggered an “auto off” switch to the drum to prevent fire. WHEW!!! It makes me wonder how many other lone socks have escaped through the lint catcher and ended up stuck in a pipe somewhere… hrrrrm… YES, Virginia, there is a Sock Monster. It lives in your dryer behind the lint catcher and feasts on lone socks.

And sadly, Brent’s grandfather, Lavon Wheeler, has been fighting a long battle with pneumonia which also complicated his congestive heart. We went to the hospital on Friday to see him. On Monday morning the nurses asked him what he wanted for breakfast and Grandpa cheerfully replied, “Funeral potatoes”. He teased the nurses and teased the family members who came to visit and say their goodbyes. Brent’s mom told me that he would throw his hand up in the air and wave and say “Goodbye!” or “See Ya!” when family members came to call. That’s Grandpa…

Later that afternoon he answered Heavenly Father’s call and returned Home. {Funeral services will be Friday.} We are grateful for the time that we had with Grandpa and for the love that he shared with all of us. He was a talented woodworker, a family historian, and a loving father and grandfather and loved his little dog, Skip.

We’ll miss you dearly Grandpa and on Friday we’ll all have a big plate of funeral potatoes just for you!


Funeral Potatoes:
Funeral pototatoes are a common tradition served at LDS funerals... I think mainly in Utah because before I moved here I had never heard of them. They are traditionally served with baked ham, green beans, salad and sheet cake.

• 12 large potatoes or 1 (32 ounce) bag frozen shredded hash browns
• 2 (10 3/4 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
• 2 cups sour cream
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 cups crushed corn flakes (or other crunchy topping goodies)
  
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

1. Peel potatoes and boil for 30 minutes, until just tender.
2. Cool and grate into a greased 9x13 inch baking dish.
3. Heat oven to 350º.
4. Combine soup, sour cream, cheese, ½ cup melted butter and onion.
5. Gently blend into the potatoes.
6. Combine corn flakes and 2 tbsp melted butter. Sprinkle on top.
7. Bake for 30 minutes.