Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Orange Bow Knots and 24 years of Wedded Bliss




Our Engagement pictures were done by a friend of the family.  Our pictures were not a priority for us and it makes me sad when I see the quality and such.  This is something I always counsel brides and grooms about, in the future the cake is all eaten, the flowers are dead, the dress is too small…BUT…your pictures are what you will have your whole life.  Spend your money wisely and hire the BEST photographer you can afford.


24 years ago today on a beautiful Thursday morning in Seattle, Washington, I married my best friend.  It was a beautiful day and we were so lucky to have blue skies and not your typical North West weather of rain, rain and more rain.

Our story is unique because it was a short and a whirlwind courtship.  I met Cory in person on January 19th,  we had our first date January 26th, we were engaged on February 14th and married on April 28th…ALL OF THE SAME YEAR!   YEP, about 3 months total.

Now, I look back and think, "how in the world did we know at such a young age what we wanted?"



I had just turned 20 and Cory was barely home from Japan.  We had nothing.  We did not know what our future would hold.  We just took that leap of faith and it worked.

With our future ahead of us we made plans.  Cory joined the Air Force, went to school and we moved to Austin, TX.  That would be the first of many, many moves for us.  I won't scare you with the double digit number of how often we have moved…LOL


Through out our time together we have remained the best of friends. People ask us what our secret is.  Is there a secret? I don't know other than I know what has worked for us.

Honesty-we are extremely honest with each other. No secrets or lies.
Lots of communication-we are open to each other, we listen, we share, we agree and learn to disagree
Friendship-we laugh, play, learn and find challenges together.
Date Nights-we still date after all these years.
Forgiveness-we have learned that nobody is perfect.  We have good days and bad.  We forgive often.
Acceptance-we never tried to change the other person.  We loved each other as they were.
Love-it was conditional in the beginning because we were young, and we have learned as time passes that to truely love, it must be unconditional and freely given….no strings attached.

This list could be much longer, but those are the basics to what make our relationship work.  I look forward to many more years together.  I still look at him, and get butterflies in my tummy.  His love is so pure and perfect, that at times, I can't believe how blessed I am to have a person that loves me so much.  It took me a long time to feel worthy of this great man in my life.  He saved me.  My life was not easy and I had a lot of issues to deal with when we first met.  He took all of it and patiently cared, loved and endured my time of healing.


I wanted to share a special recipe with you today that would signify a union.  Cory's Mom introduced me to the original recipe many years ago. I have updated it a bit. It is a special treat in our family and they get made once a year.  I usually share them with our neighbors and friends.

A knot has several meanings and is symbolic of love, eternity and togetherness.  I found a few definitions of various knots that I liked.

1. Symmetrical knots that tie into themselves; without beginning or end; are a universalsymbol of the eternity of life, the eternity of nature, and the eternity of love. Original quote here.

2. The knot is an ancient heraldic symbol of longevity, commitment, and permanence.

3. The marriage-knot or knot of Hercules, a strong knotcreated by two intertwined ropes, originated as a healing charm in ancient Egypt, but is best known for it’s use in ancient Greece and Rome as a protective amulet, most notably as a wedding symbol, incorporated into the protective girdles worn by brides, which were ceremonially untied by the new groom. This custom is the likely origin of the phrase “tying the knot.” Original quote found here.

We did tie the knot and for that I am so grateful ever day to have this very special man in my life. 

I love you more than ever Cory!




Recipe:  Orange Bow Knots, makes about 50

1 T. dry yeast
1/2 cup of sugar
2 cups of warm water
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup of orange juice
2 eggs, beaten
3 T. grated orange peel
1/4 cup whole milk
1 cup of melted butter (not hot)
9-11 cups of flour

1 stick of butter for later usage

In a small bowl, add 1 T. of sugar, yeast and warm water.  Let sit until foam is visible on top. (5 minutes)

Add the yeast/sugar/water liquid to the Kitchenaid.  

In your kitchenaid with the dough hook attached, add remaining sugar, salt, butter, milk and 6 cups of flour.  Mix on medium speed until well combined.  

Add the orange juice, orange peel, eggs and butter.  Start adding more flour.  Add one cup at a time.  You want the dough to not stick to the bottom of the bowl.  Depending on the humidity in your area you could easily end up adding 3-5 more cups of flour. 

Set your timer for 10 minutes and let your kitchenaid knead the dough on medium with the attached bread hook.  The dough should not stick to the bottom of the bowl.   If this is happening keep adding a little bit more flour until the 10 minutes is up.

The dough will be heavy yet pliable when you remove it from the bowl.  Transfer it to a large glass bowl that has been oiled with butter. Cover with plastic wrap.

Let the dough double.  Mine took 1 1/2 hours but it was a cool day in MD.  



Lightly dust your work area and dump the dough onto the table.  I use a metal scrapper to cut chunks of the dough so that I can work with smaller pieces.  Melt a stick of butter in a bowl. Roll each piece out into the shape of a rectangle.  I like the measurements to be in the area of 6X12 with the thickness being about 1/2 inch.


I use my pizza cutter to make strips of the rectangle.  With the bowl of melted butter close.  I dip the middle of the strip in the butter and proceed to tie a knot.  You can dip the whole strip into the butter but it's a lot of butter and I find that if I dip a portion of the strip, that by tying the knot the butter spreads to the whole strip anyways.


This will make about 50 knots.  It took 4 cookie sheets for my last batch.  Let the rolls double in size.  Mine took about 1 1/2 hours.


Bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes.  You want the rolls to be golden brown on top.  Remove rolls to a wire rack to cool.

Drizzle each roll with an orange icing.


Recipe:  Orange Icing

2 cups of powdered sugar
1 T. orange rind, grated finely
1/3 cup of orange juice

Mix all three ingredients together and drizzle atop the orange bow knots.  Let icing set.


April 28, 2012

12 comments:

  1. It is so refreshing to see a couple happy after 20+ years! We were married in 2006, and had our photos done by a family member. It's so depressing to go back through the photos and see the poor quality. I spent our money on food, flours and the location. Now all I have are the memories in my head to really remember how pretty it was. I wish I could have a do over!

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    1. I so understand what you are saying Carrie. I actually converted most of my pictures to black and white and fell in love with a few. I would love a do over at times for just this reason. I would love to renew our vows at 25 years and get new pictures done, they won't be of us when we were young at 20…but looking back in another 24 years it will seem so at that time…LOL We are always younger than we think especially when we look back. Enjoy your day friend!

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  2. Sherron I have tears in my eyes after reading your sweet story! I am so happy for you ... and the knots are so beautiful. I love the symbology.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Ann! It's been the best ride of my life. He is a very good man. So glad to have your friendship in my life.

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  3. These look wonderful! I love all the pictures! :)

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  4. Thank you Sherron! It has been an amazing 24 years! I just want to point out one flaw in the story.. you were the one who saved me. I love you!!!
    Cory

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  5. Your story is wonderful... and not so much a whirlwind. Although it was 14 months from the time I met my husband til the day we got married, we had only seen each other twice.. the day I met him and the day I flew into Togo to get married (I was there for a week before we got married). The most important things in a marriage is forgiveness in my books and communication... if those two are missing it must be hard to keep a marriage together. I also agree about the pictures... our pictures were just taken by a friend with my camera... We had them taken after about 3 weeks as I wanted some good background pictures...My mother-in-law thought that we spent way too much for a photographer both at our wedding and when we had our "good" pictures taken ~~ as when we had our good pictures taken we made him come back the second day as the first didn't turn out properly... Our pictures cost us about 10 dollars :D.
    Happy Anniversary and may you have many more blessed years together.

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    1. Thank you Marlys for your comments! I love reading about all of your experiences in Africa.

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  6. Hi Sherron,
    I don't get into Facebook much but I am so glad I stumbled into yours today. What a beautiful story. It brought many wonderful memories back of you guys and the fun we had and how much we loved being with you. We loved your dear children. We loved getting together and playing games. You guys are really a great couple and family. I truly miss you. Thanks for sharing. Jan

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    Replies
    1. Hi Jan, It so good to hear from you! Thank you for your kind words. Cory and I also enjoyed our time together. Hope all is well with you both.

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