This one old pan can bring back more memories than any other single object in my entire house..it's true...it was mama's & she bought it at the old Allen & Jemison Hardware store right after her & daddy had bought their very first house...I was 13 yrs old...
It weighs a ton and it might not be pretty to look at but it is priceless to me...would my world end if it got broke or lost..no absolutley not (well not until I got rid of all the visions of how to do away with the person that broke or lost it! Like voodoo dolls with little pins sticking in them..or visions of meeting some old Gypsy woman in a back alley to buy some wicked potion from her or searching the dark underworld for a hitman) yea it means that much to me.
When I look at it...I see me 13 years old dancing around with pure joy in our first real home..the old Nick's house...little over 2 acres..large garden spot..huge trees and I rode the bus to school for the first time in my life...
I see mama young again cooking at the stove in her big kitchen with all those glorious knotty pine cabinets...I see daddy getting the best job he had ever had & having a big place for all his hunting dogs..I also see him cry over a dog for the first time in my life as he buried our family dog ol Susie who we had for over 16 yrs.
I see all my loved ones now dead and gone..all gathered around for family gatherings...I see me at 15 waiting to catch the bus when we got news that my beloved Maw Smith had just died
I see Uncle Lonnie bringing a truck load of his Silver Queen corn for us every Spring to shuck and put up in the freezer for thick cream corn.
I see me & my two small babies the year we had moved back from Kansas to stay with mama & daddy when the Air Force sent Bill to Korea for a year...and for that year my heart hurt so bad with the emptiness that I could not express in words but only to God in the wee hours of the morning as I sat in an old rocking chair reading Bill's letters over and over and crying out to God to bring him home safely.
I see me & sister grow a lifetime during those years..all the laughter and the sorrow all rolled together to make us who we are today...some of the best years of my life were lived in that house...so many memories that would fill a book...but this one simple little old cake pan holds the key to those memories for me.....
This has always been an emotionally time of year for me...I guess because I realize how blessed I truly am and my heart just can't seem to find the words to thank God enough for those blessings...
Life goes by so fast...the children become the parents and the parents become loving memories...in this day and age of such great inventions and technology man can do just about anything and create just about anything...but no man can do for the heart what this one old cake pan does for me.
Don't mean to make anybody cry today guys...this is a great day and we are all alive and well...If you woke up this morning and was even able to get out of bed than gives thanks...here is a little recipe for you..it is a sure enough oldie & I haven't made it in over 10 years...but seeing the cake pan...made me want to make it again...
Here is all you will need for this simple cake..we call it the Orange cake...I love it when I just want a simple moist cake with no icing...it is fantastic and you can't stop eating it...honest!
You'll mix your ingredients together and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven until golden & done..then poke holes in it while it is hot with the end of a wooden spoon....
While the cake is still warm you will heat 2 cups confectioners sugar..2 Tablespoons butter & 1/3 cup plus 2 Tablespoons orange juice on medium heat until well blended..then pour it slowly all over your cake...let it stand for about an hour and then convert it to your cake plate...keep it in fridge. 
This little beauty is what you end up with...no it won't be orange and it won't really taste like orange juice..but the moistness and the flavor is out of this world and especially the next day..ohhhh my word..it is a keeper for sure in our family! 
What? I had to taste it for you! lol I hope you will try this one guys...you will get rave reviews on it I promise!Orange Cake
1 box yellow cake mix
1 small box Jello vanilla instant pudding mix
4 eggs
3/4 cup oil
3/4 cup orange juice
Mix all the ingredients & pour into a bunt cake pan that has been sprayed with Bakers Joy...bake in a preheated 350 oven until done..when cake is done leave it in the pan & poke holes in it with a wooden spoon handle
while cake is still hot..take
2 cups confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons butter/margarine
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons orange juice
heat those ingredients in a boiler on meduim heat until blended...slowly pour over the top of the cake....let cake stand in the pan for about an hour and then convert it to your cake plate...keep cake in the fridge in your covered cake plate.
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64 lil sweet taters came by...:
What a beautiful post...I can see why you love the pan so much! Thank you...you really touched my heart.
Geezz, I wish i lived near you. You are good for the soul. I have a rolling pin that was my Mom's and I feel the same way, to me it's priceless. She made so many pie crusts, biscuits and dumplings with that old rolling pin.I will pass it on to my daughter. And another recipe for a keeper.
Love Ya,
Chris
I loved your post today Dot! I'm very sentimental like you & even more so during the holidays. Thanks for sharing the cake recipe. I'll make it in my mom's cake pan! This is what my sister, Mary, & I call a Hallmark moment!!
Blessings,
Carol
Thanks for the trip down memory lane...it sounds like you had/and have an awesome family! The cake looks simple and delish...I want some NOW! :)
Awwww your post was so sweet and beautiful. You are such a big mooshie marshmallow! I love that about you....that and you cook such yummy stuff...hey wait I don't love that about you because I'm not there to get a taste!!!!
Oh yes I have some things like that. I feel that way about some of the recipes that have been handed to me by my family and my husbands.
Thank you for reminding us of what is the most important!
Oh, sweet Picket, you wear you heart on your sleeve, Waht a sweet post about all your memories! You're a dear heart! I'm gonna copy this cake recipe 'cuz I need to put on some weight! lol You know that's not true, but it's gonna happen if I bake and eat all of these wonderful recipes I'm seeing in Blogland.
Be a sweetie,
Shelia :)
Oh my goodness,what a post,made me cry.What is it about bundt pans,did our mamas use them more?Our family traditional cake of carrot cake was made in the old bundt pan I have today and when I look at it,I think of my Mom and Grandma at Christmas.I have a Currier and Ives dinner plate that was one from our family dinner set and I can picture us sitting around the table.I know there are things that our children hold dear that one day they'll have and will bring back us to thier memories.
Oh, Dot, you can make us cry anytime. I love, love, love, your memories. I was raised by a very hard working single mom. I love her like there is no tommorow but because she worked so much to feed us, I don't have these sweet memories. Praise the Lord, I hope my children do!!! Thank you for sharing and making me sniffle. Oh, and like Chris said you are good for the soul.
Oh, Dot, I'm coming the recipe to give to my granddaughter. She's got a boyfriend, and I'm thinking that when she marries, a recipe collection would make a nice gift.
thanks for this recipe...perfect timing too...I helping at my church on Friday doing a "Wake" and I was asked to bring a cake or a few pies...I am going to take this over for them.
First I would like to say, that besides the wonderful posts that you write, your readers leave the BEST comments! I always enjoy reading what everyone else has to say on your blog!
My Grandmother always made a cake in a bundt pan called "Milky Way Cake". NOBODY could ever successfully make this cake but her. I stumbled onto a copy of the recipe a few years ago, and it is in Grandmas handwriting. I cling onto that recipe like it is a diamond bracelet or something. I'm going to try it someday! It's been many years now since my family has gotten to enjoy it.
Your cake looks wonderful, and now I have two reasons to go out and find me a bundt pan!
Picket,
I don't know why you ended up on RMS, but I thank God that you did, especially when you write something like you did about that cake pan. Blessed is what I am for having met you.
love,
rue
Dot, congrats sweetie!! Tracy is gonna be a gramma?? WOW your family is growing by leaps and bounds!! Dot you are way too young to be a GGMa but you will make a terrific one, besides its so nice to be young enough to enjoy all those babies!! Dot another memory post from you, and more tears from me! You are truely special, sent to me from God!! I will make this cake! Love ya sweetie, xoxoxo
You always make be cry, Picket! Well, except for when you make me laugh and spew diet coke all over my keyboard. I have my mother's bundt pan. I'll never forget the day that my dad was scrubbing and scrubbing it (unattended) at the kitchen sink. He scrubbed off all the Teflon coating!!!! That still just makes me roll. I'm gonna try that orange cake. And, Picket, thanks for yesterday. No change yet but I think someone might wake up in the middle of the night tonight!!!!
love, CE
Hi Dot,
Oh I loved your post today. I have a cupcake pan that was my moms. I have the same memories of that pan, and also her recipe box with her handwritten recipes, and her rolling pin. I cherish them.
My dear Dot -- you write so beautifully and so much from your heart. I hope someday a famous publisher reads your blog and binds each and every post into a book -- your posts are better than a Nicholas Spark novel, and you always make me feel so touched and so grateful for the little things in life that are joyfyl!
Hugs, Pat
PS: This cake looks and sounds delicious! I am elbow deep in cookies so it will ahve to wait till after the holidays -- it sounds like a nice Easter cake to make!
Hugs, Pat
Wonderful heart warming post - love your Mama while you have her..mine has been gone 40 plus years and there are times I still cry because I miss her.
I have tears now...just thinking about her...she was killed in a car accident just after Christmas...so the holidays always remind us of that sad time.
Love and Hugs from Oklahoma
Amelia
PS What state do you live in...I know you have family here in Oklahoma.
Dear dot, you do have a wonderful host of memories that you share in the sweetest way. I love the stories of your mom and your family. Memories like those are priceless. The bundt pan sure did make that orange cake come out beautiful. The heaviness of the pan is what makes it bake so nice. I am going to make the orange cake for the holidays. It sounds so delicious.
Christmas love...Jeanne
Lady, I know just what you mean. I have a pan which belongs to my mother, and I can't see myself without it - ever.
That cakes looks delish!
How awesome to have your mom's cake pan. I have several dishes from my family. I treasure them. So, I understand.
Your cake look so yummy.
Hugs, Terrie
What a sweet, touching, and heart-tugging post...
Linda (Behind My Red Door) had such glowing things to say about you, so I knew I just HAD to stop on by! I'm so glad I did.
I hope your favorite pan has a long memory because those sure are some wonderful stories, and I'm sure there will be many more to tell...
Loved this post - you can explain how you feel better than anyone!! I bet the cake is yummy - just like you. Sally
OK, back to the thrift stores for me...I want one of "mama's" cake pans like that so I could have wonderful memories like yours! They don't make them like that anymore...it's all that rubbery silicone & aluminum junk...I want the life you have always had...wah!
;-) Bo
Hi sweet Dot . I know just how you feel . Most of my old junk wouldn't mean anything to anybody except me.I am so sentimental it isn't funny.That is one reason why I named my blog what I did.
Boy I wish I could find a good heavy bundt pan like that one.
My dear Dot... What a touching post... Part of the best things is the memories that we have with the things that our parents or family used when we were young... I have passed most of mine on to my kids now... They cherish it just as much as I did... I still retain a few of her things ... Like the compact with the scent of Estee Lauder that my mother wore all the time in it... Whenever I miss her the most I close my eyes open that up and take a deep breath and she is there with me... Even every once in a while my girls will say can I smell Nana... And during the holidays... all her crystal serving bowls and relish trays that we use... I also have a lot of her recipes that are hand written by her... These are my treasures that will bring her to me in a heartbeat... I miss them most during the holidays...Loved you post... and yes now I am all weepy eyed so I am going to make you cake and eat the whole thing... LOL LOL Thanks for the memories and the recipe... Love Orange cake... I'll be bust trying new cake recipes with yours & Chris's... Have a great night... Love Ya
(((BIG HUGS TODAY)))
Donna
Oh Dot! I love your bundt pan and it makes a beautiful cake too. I don't have anything that belonged to any of my past relatives,but my daughter. I wish I had more but the memories will have to be enough for me and they are some very good memories. Deb
Oh, it sure looks so good!!!
I'm that way too about my mom's things, I know when I was putting the ornaments on the tree I said to myself "I can't believe she's gone" It has been seven years and I think of her everyday:)
Thanks,
Rondell
Dot~I have never commented before although I read you daily but I had to tell you that I have that exact pan that also belonged to my mother! Mine brings back wonderful memories, too! I'll be trying your receipe in my pan soon!
I swear girl you have the best recipes in the world!! You need to write a cookbook! I love anything orange or lemon flavor in the baked goods category and I'm sure gonna try your Orange Cake!
I love your story Dot. Isn't that just it? One thing can bring back those memories like the flood gates have just opened!! Thank you for sharing and making us know we are alright when that happens to us.
Happy holiday hugs! Sherry
When you write from your heart it makes me feel like I know your family...you are something else!!! This cake sounds delicious...I'll try it.
What a wonderful story about your momma's cake pan!!! Who would of thought a bundt pan could bring one so much happiness! I such a sentimental too!! I have so many things that belong to my grandma and to my mom! I wouldn't part with for the world!
Girl, I'm gonna have to try that cake! It looks soooo yummy!
Dot, I loved your story, and I so identify with it at this time of year. I cannot go into a kitchen without thinking of Christmas with Mama, my Aunt Inez, and my Granny all in there cooking together. When Aunt Inez died, the nurse who was taking care of her said she kept talking to Mama and Granny and that she thought they were cooking together.
They had both predeceased her so I'm sure they are having a blast together in Heaven and proably helping with a banquet feast or something like that! Maybe even swapping recipes with your loved ones! :-)
Speaking of sentimental... I love the hymn, "O Come All Ye Faithful, and we always sing it in church on Christmas Eve. I can never make it past the part that says "Sing all ye citizens of Heaven above." This is a very sentimental time of year, and I love the people in my iife now... but oh, how I miss those who have gone on ahead! That's why I'm thankful to Jesus that He made it possible for us to all be together again. That is the true miracle of the Christmas season to me! :-)
Take care and I'm sending much love to you...
XO,
Sheila
Dot,
You have such a wonderful way of telling a story, I love reading your blog.
With all these wonderful recipes and all that cooking you do, it is no wonder that your family LOVES to come to your house, can you adopt me as your sister? LOL
Hi Dot, Beautiful Post! I could literally feel the emotion through your words! It's good to remember, ...the good for obvious reasons, ...and the bad, that make us stronger and appreciate the good! And don't sweat the relinquishing of your kitchen duties...you've trained the girls right, now I am sure they want to make you proud! :) You are one dear soul! ~hugs, Rhonda :)
How sweet that after all these years you have your Mama's cake pan..but I did notice you have alot of thing from your Mama's did poor Helen get anything girl?? and mean you did say you were the favorite one haha !!!you know something else I notice Picket is that you call your Mom mama like I always called mine..Thanks girl for coming by today it means the world to me..love ya sis..hugs and smiles Gloria
Darn it Picket!!!! first you make me cry..then you make me hungry...and then.....yes and then!!!!! you make me want to bake! We all know I don't like to use the kitchen...clean it...decorate it..yes....Cook in it!??? Not so much!
now if I use the kitchen and bake a cake...I will eat that cake...and the diet will be lost!
girl...what are you doing to me?????
I love your sentimental sweet silly self! No gypsy back alley deals K? lol
Oh Dot, this was the sweetest post. I have silly sentimental things like that from my Gramma. I have the old basket of plastic veggies that sat on her kitchen table, and I have her old cutting board, and I have a recipe written in her own handwriting! which is rare because she baked bread, and poppyseed bread (roll), and apple strudel, and icebox cookies all without recipes. I have an older bundt pan that will be perfect for your recipe, which sounds delicious to me, and I am already craving it. ~ Robyn
Oh geez Dot you always bring the tears to my eyes;) Cherish every one of those memories! Hugs French
I'm glad I'm not going to work today-snow day-cause you just made me cry with your sweet post!
You have a way with words Dot...you should consider writing a book!
I can see why you love this cake pan...so many special memories to go with it!
Have a great day....hope you get some snow! We're supposed to get 5 inches.
Diane
I love this post. I have an old rolling pin that mom gave me to use when I got married 30 years ago. If someone got rid of it accidentally they'd be in trouble. I posted about it on my blog. The recipe sounds delicious! I notice you have the wheat dishes, I love those, too.
You are an amazing woman, Dot!
The memories you share are priceless. I love this post!
I think if we are alive then there is something that can bring back memories. I love hearing yours as always they are so precious. I will have to come back this pm and write down the cake recipe it sure sounds good! Have a great day! Blessings, Karen
Hey Dot, well pass the tissues, please! I know you didn't intend to make anyone cry, but my Mama loved to make bundt cakes and reading your post and seeing your Mama's pan really hit home with me. My Mama had several of those pans, but none of them were nice and thick like your's. Now I feel like I need to grab one while I can. So your post was like a reminder about them. I haven't thought about her making bundt cakes in a long time. She loved to fill the center with something special so we would find a surprise inside.
I miss her so much! She will have been in Heaven for a year on the 27th this month.
I hope to try your recipe. It sure looks yummy! Thanks again for such a sweet post.
I hope you have a wonderful day!
I'm not much of a writer,but I just want to say the cake looks so good and I enjoyed your post very much.
Oh-what a wonderful post to read! Thanks so much for giving us a glimpse into your heart...you are a beautiful person, inside and out...it only took ONE visit for me to see that...
Have a wonderful day!
holiday hugs-Kath
Picket, I know just how you feel about that cake pan. And aren't we blessed to have Mom's who generously give us their memory filled treasures? I have Momma's banana pudding bowl. It's a turquoise McCoy bowl that was given to her and Daddy as a wedding gift. PS Come to see my SNOW!!!
Your post brought me to tears. Such sweet things you wrote and so much truth you spoke. It truly is the little things, isn't it? Thanks for the recipe as well.
Donna
This recipe looks good. I should post my award winning orange cookies I made up! I actually took second place in the Reader's Digest cooking contest years ago with them! Take care friend.
Awwww.....how precious. And that pan doesn't look like mine would if it were that old.....she looks good for her age, LOL!!!
What a sweet post!
Suzanne
I wish I had something like that of my Moms....your very lucky to have it and her!!x0x0x0x0
I wish I had something like that of my Moms....your very lucky to have it and her!!x0x0x0x0
Yep, you made me cry... I am a total softie! And guess what? I made a version of this cake just YESTERDAY! How strange is that? I made it in my "new" bundt cake pan - well new to me! It is a 1970's vintage one I bought at a yard sale for 50cents! I have always wanted a bundt cake pan! Instead of the OJ mine had RUM in it in about the same parts and OH MY GOODNESS is it ever good!
This was so much fun to read, but it made me cry, too. I feel the same way you do about cookware. I treasure my grandmother's pans, and the recipes, too--no matter if I'm all by myself, and everyone has gone to a ballgame, when I'm cooking one of Mimi's recipes, I am never alone in my kitchen.
I need to go bake this cake--I can just taste it, the sweet and the citrus!
Dot! You and Bill ate the whole cake?? You deserve it sweetie!! LOL! Girl, I almost called you today, I thought I was having a heart attack or a stroke! I felt so weird, NO, I didn't think you would jump on the next flight and come hold my hand! LOL! Just didn't want to die without hearing your voice once more!! Love ya sweetie! P.S. I'm feeling fine now!
What beautiful sentiments, Dot! Sounds like you've lived one hell of a nice life so far! And ooh, that cake looks soooooooooo good and easy to make!!!!!!
Now get your sweet little hiney over to my place. You've missed my last two posts, and they're all about Christmas decorations!
Justine :o )
mornin Dot! I'm fine, maybe it was because I ate a handful of cookies instead of lunch, but I can always use your prayers Dottie!! Post your plate rack so I can see it, do ya love it? You don't think its too big? I'm still thinking I shoulda ordered the smaller one, but time will tell. I'm off today, YIPPEE!! I was gonna lay on the couch all day, but I'm sure I'll find something to do! Have a great weekend sweetie!! xoxoxo
See what happens Dot...all that cooking you do even inspires the likes of me! SCARY!!! And it does smell delicious..the chicken NOT the dogs!...but if I had scratch and sniff...the doggy poo blog would have been HORRIBLE LOL have a wonderful weekend!
Picket, I''m using you as a guinea pig. I changed my settings to email you when I update my blog and post something new. Would you mind telling me if it just sends an email saying I have a new post or if it sends the whole post to you? I don't want it to send the whole thing and clog people's email so I'm using you and Scooter as my guinea pigs!! Thanks for helping me, even if you didn't know you were!! Being private is so dang lonely!! LOL!
That cake looks delish! I love how the cake pan brings back such sweet memories for you....I am the same way Picket....I guess it's the senitmental Alabamian in us. LOL! This post was precious and so are you!
xoxo,
Queenie
Well nothin' had better happen to that pan! That's a ton of wonderful memories!!And your cake recipe looks delish!! I'm gonna make it in honor of your mamas bundt pan! *swipes tear* Vanna
Picket, I do NOT like it when you're this quiet for this long! I miss you girl!!!!!!!!!
Justiney :o )
Oh my goodness! I just discovered your blog on accident really. I was looking for kitchen ideas and ran across it. I am sitting here at work and have done nothing for the past hour except read your posts! This one really got me. It made me remember all the things I loved about my childhood and certain things that I see or smell or taste today that remind me of my Granny and brings back so many happy memories. You have been added to my favorites! God Bless You!
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