Pecans and a First Meeting

Wednesday is a big day for us. My mother is going to meet her newest great-grandson for the first time. On the way to Coolidge we stop at the Green Valley Pecan Company. The Green Valley Pecan Company is located on Sahuarita Rd. at the intersection of Sahuarita and Old Nogales Highway. It is on our way to Highway 19 which will take us North towards Coolidge.

The pecan groves form a ribbon of green along the mostly dry Santa Cruz river. The white fronted store is dwarfed by the processing facility behind it, but inside are the most delectable treats. The small store is decked out for the holiday with many other shoppers stopping in for treats and gifts.

On the shelves the baskets hold bags of flavored pecans. You can buy the traditional pralines, chocolate-covered pecans as well as Honey-roasted and Butter Toffee, which are my two favorite flavors, but there are also some unexpected flavors, like cajun spiced or jalapeno spiced pecans. I haven't been brave enough to try those yet, but they do offer free samples if you ask. After making her selections we get back in the car and munch on Butter Toffee and Honey-roasted pecans as we drive an hour or more north. It is a beautifully sunny day for a ride. Once in Coolidge we are warmly greeted by Trish and G. Gramma-ma sits down in a chair...

...and her newest great-grandson is placed in her arms. It doesn't take long for them to make friends. Can you see the pin on my mother's dress? She doesn't like to wear a lot of jewelry, but when she taught first grade, she started wearing pins because the children liked them. As the years went on, her collection grew. Now she wears a different pin almost every day. Who knew it would come in so handy...

When littel Xavier fell asleep in her arms...

...grasping her pin as if it were her very heart.