What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?

What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?
Remember: "When God closes a door, He always opens a window!" You never know what might be out there waiting for you!

Friday, May 12, 2017

The Pie Legacy - Updated for Friday Foto Friends

This post was originally written on 5/5/2012...and since this Friday Foto Friends day also is the Friday before Mother's Day, I thought it would be appropriate to share this one today.  I wish I could say that those pies were just baked by me here today...but alas...that hasn't happened in a while!  It's been a bit too warm for pie baking here recently...but reading this sure makes me want some of my mother's pies again!  

So, I hope you won't mind this little walk down memory lane with me today as we look forward to Mother's Day and invite our Friday Foto Friends  to come in for a taste of homemade pie! Click HERE to go over to Deb's at Breathing in Grace and meet our other Friday Foto Friends

Original Post 5/5/2012:

"Her children rise up and call her blessed..."  Proverbs 31:28

I really hadn't planned to write about my mother today...but somehow I haven't been able to get away from the memories...so I may as well put it into writing...

It all started when my husband suggested that I make some homemade applesauce today, and he proceeded to peel and cut up the apples. Since he was doing the hardest part...I suggested that perhaps I should just make an apple pie instead of applesauce.  We then took a vote of all the family members present...two of our adult sons and us...and as you can imagine, everyone voted for pie!  Therefore I proceeded to take stock of my ingredients to make sure I had everything I needed...and of course I just happened to have everything...so there was no getting out of it today!


My Mom---Always enthusiastically baking
pies for every holiday...even the 4th of July!

So, what does that have to do with my mother?  Well, only that my mother was somewhat famous for her pie baking...not just in our home and family, but even in the small town in which we lived...everyone loved Dorothea's pies!  Town's people often requested that she bake pies for them for their Thanksgiving dinners and paid her for them!  I don't know how she found the time to do it! She worked a full time job and had a pretty busy life with her own home and family and church activities as well...but somehow she found the time and the recipients of her delicious home-made pies were always most grateful! 

Because my mother's pies were always so scrumptious and perfectly baked...right down to the tender, flaky crust, I was always a little timid about baking pies, knowing that mine could never be quite as perfect as my mother's! But that's okay...I prefer to remember hers as always being the best...no matter how much I may practice. Her two most famous pies were  #1: Coconut Cream Pie with Meringue, and #2: Apple.  She also made Mince Meat pies for my Dad and my brothers at Thanksgiving and Christmas, but that would not make the top of the list for me!  Her Pumpkin pie was also a great favorite.


This weekend (in 2012 when this was written) happens to be the 6th anniversary (now, in 2017, it has been 11 years) of my mother's passing on to glory...and as I stood at my kitchen counter rolling out the pie dough I couldn't help but think about the fact that I was, in my own way, carrying on her legacy. Not that my pies will ever be as spectacular as hers...but they will be a way that I can honor her memory and continue the tradition of making something extra special for my family to enjoy.

My son quietly came in and took some pictures of me working in the kitchen...and as I looked at them later, I thought, "I really don't look much like my mother, but I felt like her today...and I sensed her presence with me, looking over my shoulder as I worked the pie dough and and as I put the ingredients together to make the pie just the way I know she would've done.  It was an ethereal connection...as if she was standing next to me, just a breath away, and I found that very comforting.
Upon looking forward to Mother's Day next week with mixed emotions as I have for the past six  (now 11) years, I find myself still missing her just as much this year as I did the first Mother's Day without her, (which incidentally was the Sunday following her death).  They say it gets easier with time, and perhaps it does...but what I find now is that I want to celebrate my mother's life rather than be sorrowful.  My mother was a godly woman with many wonderful talents and qualities.  She wasn't perfect...but she was the Proverbs 31 woman in so many ways. I thank God for that heritage most of all. 

"Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her;
Many daughters have done well, but you excel them all.  Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her own works praise her in the gates." 

Proverbs 31:28-31
This Coconut Cream Pie, baked from my mother's recipe, was an afterthought today, when I
realized I had made too much pie crust for one pie!  It was a
delightful afterthought, I might say!
My husband definitely gave the Coconut Cream Pie a Thumbs Up!





Mmmm...Apple pie---fresh out of the oven...almost as
good as Mama's!





Anybody want some pie?  Y'all come!
Baked in loving memory of my mother,
Dorothea Tedlie Mursch
January 6, 1917 ~ May 7, 2006
I love you Mama.

27 comments:

  1. Beautiful! Now you made me cry--so I'll just go to bed and dream of those pies! The next time--whenever-we get to your house, I want a repeat performance! You know the saying--practice makes perfect!! Thanks also for reminding me of the day--I've had May 16--Mom and Dad's anniversary on my mind and hadn't quite zeroed in on the calendar yet. Maybe that's why my week has not been the best--who knows?
    I'm sure Mom was watching you today and "instructing" you along the way. You did good!! I'm tasting them in my memories of Mom's wonderful pies!
    Love you lil Sis!

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  2. Awww, I didn't mean to make you cry! I just wish I had called you sooner so you could've come over, even if it IS almost a 2 hr. drive for a piece of pie! There is still some left... Yeah, we both feel these things even when we don't realize why...and then it hits us...that's kind of what happened to me as I started baking...I suddenly felt like Mom was right here with me...how I wish it were true...but we just have to cherish our precious memories now. We have been SO blessed to have had such wonderful parents. I love you too, my little BIG sister!

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  3. I can sure see that your Mom left you not only a pie legacy but a legacy of love that you are passing on to everyone you meet. I am sure enjoying your Closed Door Open Window site. Thanks Jackie

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  4. Thank you Jackie! That is one of the kindest and sweetest comments I believe I've ever had. That means the world to me to know that a legacy of love is being passed on through this blog. That is my purpose, through Christ helping me. If only one person is encouraged or helped by the messages of these blogs, then it has served its purpose. I am thankful for this opportunity to serve in this way. I hope we get to meet someday, my new cousin!!

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  5. Awwwww, Pam. That is just so sweet. When I linked up with Friday Foto Friends, the pic of your coconut pie drew me in!! Yummy legacy to carry on and beautiful story about your mom and how you baked those pies for your family. That is a lovely pic of you with your pie and also a good one of your hubby. Would love to steal a piece of that pie. My Dad's favorite was mince, too.

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    1. Thank you Nonnie...The coconut cream pie was my mother's most famous...I've never had another like hers, and I am always disappointed when I order one and it isn't anything like it. But it helps me appreciate how special my mother's pies were...and how special SHE was to do them so often and so perfectly for her family and friends. I hope you will have a blessed Mother's day with your beautiful family and grandchildren. Let me know if you are coming this way and I'll attempt to bake another pie for you! :)

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  6. Pam: Enjoy your memories of your mother's pies and of your mother herself. I could almost taste the coconut cream pie as I looked at the picture. Blessings and peace to you. Enjoy your Mother's day weekend.

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    1. Thank you Cecilia...I am almost talking myself into baking a coconut cream pie this weekend...it really is a treat...I hope that your Mother's Day is special and relaxing. I hope you are able to sit out on your porch more often now! It's gotten a little too warm here already for porch sitting! Praying for rain. Be blessed my dear friend.

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  7. A very sweet tribute to your Mother. Enjoyed reading. Happy Mother's Day.

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    1. Thank you! It was a "sweet" tribute in several ways, I guess! Thank you for stopping by for pie! Have a blessed and glorious Mother's Day!

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  8. What a wonderful post and tribute.
    Just loved it.

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    1. Thank you Annie! I'm so glad you stopped by for pie! :) Have a blessed and wonderful Mother's Day.

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  9. Beautiful pies and memories of a beautiful mom . . .
    Blessings, Pamela, and Happy Mother's Day!

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    1. Thank you Martha. Hope you and hubby are doing well...praying for you both. Have a blessed Mother's Day.

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  10. Aunt Dorothea's pies were legendary! Loved her coconut cream, but the chocolate cream was good too. Never could duplicate them, even with her "tips".

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    1. I know, mine could never be as good as my mother's pies, even if I was a superb baker (which I'm not), I'd still not be able to match hers, because they were legendary!!Like you said!! I hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day. Will you be seeing your kids/grandkids?

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  11. What a sweet, precious post. I'm so glad that you shared it again... perfect for Mother's Day. Hope yours is special... just like you!

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    1. Thank you Debbie! I hope your Mother's Day will be really wonderful...enjoy your sweet Mom. You are so blessed to still have her with you. We plan to go visit my MIL tomorrow at the Nursing Home and surprise her with the whole family there. It should be great.

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  12. What a sweetest. Both literally and figuratively. Those pies look delicious. I think I'd be very partial to the coconut cream. This will be my 2nd Mother's Day without mom. I can't even imagine 11. You and I have both been blessed with wonderful mothers.

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    1. Thank you Cathy! ((hugs)) to you as you miss your Mom this Mother's day (and every day). I don't think we ever totally get over that. Little girls have a strong bond with their mothers I think. I don't have any little girls, and I wonder if my sons will miss me someday like I miss my mom...Maybe they'll miss my pies...if I ever get around to baking some more! Have a blessed Mother's Day...and yes, we were both very blessed.

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  13. That was such a great tribute to your mom! My mom made great pies too and I can't make a pie crust to save myself. Coconut cream and coconut custard are my absolute favorites!! Yum!! Love the photos of you in your kitchen and I did notice that well-used cookbook!! A sign of a great cook!

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    1. Ha ha! my cookbook has lots of spills and spots on it from soon to be 48 years of use! Not necessarily a sign that I'm such a GREAT cook, but certainly a messy one! LOL. Thank you for your kind thoughts. Our mothers knew how to feed their families...and we try really hard...but it seems that nothing is ever quite as good as "Mom's" whatever it was... We are blessed to have such mothers.

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  14. Wonderful home baked pies are the best. I have to say that Mom wasn't much of a baker but she made up for it in other ways. Your coconut cream pie looks awesome! I'll be right over! LOL Have a blessed Mother's Day.

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    1. I wish you could come right over! I would honestly bake a pie if I knew you were coming!!! But now you are a little too far away. We SHOULD have done that before you left Florida!! We just got acquainted too late in the process...you already had one foot out the door. But who knows...I may come see YOU someday, and if I do, I'll bake a pie when I get there! LOL!! happy Mother's Day!!

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  15. I love to read it. Thank you so much. And all that sweet photos. I think I like the Coconut Cream Pie too.

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    1. I wish I could bake you a pie right now! Let me know when you are coming to Florida, and I will definitely do it!!!

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  16. Pam, thank you for sharing this post again. Your pies look amazing! I hope you had an amazing and special Mother's Day! Sorry that I'm so late getting here...

    Blessings!

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