10 Things You Don’t Know About Me

  1. I’m the youngest of eight children. Both my mom and dad were from huge Catholic families. I have 121 first cousins.

  2. I took eight years of ballet, and when I was in college, I participated in a 15-hour dance marathon. I had the time of my life!

  3. I used to be a professional seamstress. I’ve made wedding dresses, bridesmaids dresses, baby clothes, pants suits, bathing suits, tailored wool maxi coats, curtains, and more.

  4. I can make a mean cheesecake. It’s all to do with the recipe. Years ago my mother-in-law snipped one from the Johnstown, PA, newspaper (The Tribune Democrat). The cheesecake won first place at the Iowa state fair in the 1950s. It makes a 10” cake, which is a whopper. Here’s the recipe.

  5. Don’t ask me why, but I love doing dry wall repair. The trick is to keep filling and sanding, filling and sanding until it’s smooth. A highly sensitive person, I’m one of those who will notice every uneven surface or every crooked line forever, so doing it right is a long run decision for me.

  6. One time my wallet was stolen from my office at work, and 10 years later I got a call that it had been recovered in the ceiling of a building a mile away. Apparently an HVAC contractor had taken the cash out and stuffed the wallet in the ceiling of his next job. Opening it was like viewing a really cool time capsule of my life. I wrote about it in a column for The News & Observer.

  7. I don’t geek out on too many things, other than writing, but I’m in a fan club for the TV show “The Waltons.” After I sent the creator of the show, Earl Hamner, Jr., an article I had written about the show for The News & Observer, we became friends. Many people don’t know that Earl was also the creator of Falcon Crest and was one of the principal writers of The Twilight Zone. He penned nine books, one of which includes my article! Earl was as humble as anyone I’ve ever met. Our “how we met story” is included in a Waltons fan club book that was released in the spring.

  8. I married my college Accounting professor. Don’t judge. I was a returning student and he was a grad student, so we’re the same age. Along with a son from my first marriage, we have a daughter together, and three grandsons to date. Stay tuned. (Kids—a granddaughter would be nice. Just sayin’.)

  9. I cut my family’s hair. I figure I’ve given my hubby about 1,000 haircuts during the course of our marriage. When our son was in high school, buzz cuts were big. He and his friends would line up on our deck and I’d buzz the whole lot of them. I just started on the new generation, and have given several cuts to our grandsons, who are, of course, moving targets.

  10. I’m a reformed people pleaser. If you need anything, please ask someone else. :)

Grandma Klonicki's Cheesecake Recipe

Crust

-One 10-inch, 3-inch high spring form pan (must be this size)
-One wrapped package of graham crackers (1 1/2 cups)
-6 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

Filling

(all ingredients must be room temperature)
-3 eight-ounce packages of cream cheese
-1 1/2 cups sugar
-4 eggs
-2 cups sour cream
-1 cup heavy or whipping cream
-2 tablespoons lemon juice (from a real lemon is best)
-1/2 teaspoon vanilla flavoring

Put the graham crackers in a heavy Ziploc bag and roll out. Mix crumbs in a bowl with melted butter and press into the bottom of a 10-inch spring form pan and refrigerate. Soften cream cheese in a large mixing bowl using a mixer on medium speed. Gradually beat in sugar until fluffy, add eggs one at a time beating WELL after each egg. Beat in sour cream and whipping cream, lemon juice and vanilla and pour on top of crust. Bake for one hour at 350 degrees (until it just barely starts to brown on top), then TURN OFF OVEN and leave in oven for another hour WITHOUT OPENING THE DOOR. When you take it out it should be mostly set and slightly brown on top, although it will set a little more as it cools. Cool and refrigerate. Add fresh fruit or fruit pie filling on top if desired. Enjoy!