Forgotten Memory

Hello everybody on this last Sunday evening in January 2016. 


We had a first this afternoon; quite a pleasant first.  My son brought dinner tonight; a nice Cajun shrimp lo-boil that he'd made himself.  He used their crockpot to cook everything at his house.  Once he got here, he added the shrimp and a few minutes later, we were enjoying a tasty meal.  It was delicious and a treat for me not to cook.


It brought back an almost forgotten memory.  Many years ago mom used to take food to cook at her mom's house.  We didn't have a phone so there was no way to let grandma and grandpa know we were coming.  Back in those days, it was quite common for us to make weeknight visits, and, rather pop in at dinner time with 5 hungry kids expecting grandma to fix a meal, mom would take food to cook.  (Most of the time, my grandparents had already eaten.  As I recall 4:00 p.m. was their normal supper time.)


As wonderful as the memory of cooking at grandma's house is, the real memory is the sense of safety and security I felt.  All was right with the world.  So many people I loved in the same room.  One specific memory is of me laying on the floor (they had carpet and we had linoleum) diagramming sentences for English class.  All the other kids were doing homework as well or quietly playing or just listening to the adults.  There might have been five kids, but I don't ever remember a time of us acting up at grandma's house.  We would never have dared.


Thanks for the new memory and for reminding me of a forgotten memory. 


I love you.


I am so happy that my two children are such sweet adults.  I am proud of them both.  My loves.
Now I'm going to see if they still diagram sentences.  I absolutely loved diagramming.

He's In His Element

It has come.............that time of the year when the hubby starts talking to the television or maybe just to himself.  He might be talking to me.  Maybe I'd better pay attention.  He's in his element watching the coverage of the Barrett-Jackson Auction............sort of.  Let me explain.  We have been watching this auction for years and years............back when it was fun.  Now, for both of us, we are tired of it.  The auctioneering gets on both our nerves.  All the yelling and the banter is enough to put me on edge, sending me to bed early every night. 


So............we have started watching some of the more refined auctions happening at the same time over the internet.  RM Auctions and Gooding Co Auctions are so much more entertaining to us.  None of the yelling but certainly more exciting as a lot of these cars are commanding several million dollar bids..............and they sell!  If only...........


So tonight I set here listening to the hubby say:


"I didn't know that."
"It is not!  That's is not right."
"Look at that color."
"If we'd won that lottery, we'd be heading to Pebble Beach in August with a $50M line of credit."
"They run the same commercials all the time."
"Wow"
"Look, that's a 6 cylinder."
"That's just like Tony's.  I wanted to buy it."
"What do you think that guy does to be able to buy so many cars?"
"I think its pretty."  (After I said it was ugly.)
"I could do without the stripe."
"They had one of those out at Shepherd Mall when they were new.  It'll go for a million."
"It's going for a lot less than the other car."
"Look at the louvers on the hood.  Looks like they've got red underneath the black.  That'd be a job, wouldn't it?"


Yes, he is in his element.  I am glad.  He deserves this little respite from the daily grind.  Talk on.....I won't tell a soul you talk to the TV.


I love you.

Craving Chocolate Cake

I am craving chocolate cake.  Not just any chocolate cake, but one with chocolate icing with pecan halves decorating the edges of the top.  Remember that cake?  The one your mom made.  It was a special cake......using the pecans around the edge.  Those pecans made an ordinary chocolate cake something 'company ready'. 


I'm not going to bake a chocolate cake, but thinking about it cheers me up for some reason.  Anybody want a piece of cake and maybe a glass of milk?  Maybe a cup of coffee..........which reminds me, I have two days worth of coffee left...............GROCERY STORE!


I love you.

Dating Habits

Full disclosure:  I copied this from a Facebook post.  The author is Brian J. White.


This is such a good idea/concept on dating that I wonder why more people don't do this.  Why people are so disrespectful to someone that might potentially be their future husband/wife is beyond me.  These ten little points aren't something unattainable so I struggle to understand why they aren't being practiced by our young people...........or older people for that matter. 


Just common sense, people.  And ladies and gents, if you find someone that is willing to do these things while dating, then they are probably going to be a good mate for life.  Don't settle!


I love you. 

This Morning

Did you happen to see the pink sky this morning?  I glanced at my watch while still in bed; 7:15.  The bedroom was filled with a pink glow.  I looked out the window and I could see a brilliant reddish/pink sky peaking between the slats of the blinds.  I quietly snuck out of bed because I wanted this to be a "me" moment, but by the time I got to a window in another room the sky was so red that I thought there might be a fire up the hill.  I hesitated waking my husband....oh let him sleep.  I opened the shutters and the view of this morning's sky was breathtaking. 


This beautiful sky reminded me of the poem Grandma Dawkins often recited about pink skies.


Pink sky at night
Sailors delight.
Pink sky at morning
Sailors take warning.


I can remember exactly where we were standing when I first remember hearing her words; right on her back porch......the one that went across the entire back of the house.  I don't know how true that little ditty is, but today it is probably wrong because we have a beautiful sunny day.  Who knows what the morrow will bring.


The view was so beautiful this morning, that I am inspired to get up earlier in the morning.  There might be another beautiful sunrise specifically made for me.


I love you friends.

Let's Get Busy

Good morning readers.  Well, good morning missy.  I know you are my faithful follower because you have to be.  You're my daughter.  That's ok because I blog because I want to write just to hear my head rattle.  No objective, no agenda, no goals.


I guess you heard by now there were no winners of last night's lottery.  That means my hopes and dreams are still alive, but that also means if I have any chance at winning, I will have to buy more tickets.  Yes, I know my chances are greater being hit by a meteor than winning the lottery, but hey, I have absolute NO chance at all if I don't buy a ticket.  It's only a DREAM.


It's a foggy, drizzly day here in Oklahoma today.  The temperature is not bad, but not a pleasant day to be outside although I hear my neighbor's chainsaw ripping through his trees.  I think somebody needs to go back in the house.  I have to give it to him though.  He has been in the house for a long time recuperating from shingles so his days outside is long overdue.  Here's to you, Bob.


My little coffee break is over and I must get busy, albeit not outside.  Bathrooms need cleaning and that seems like a good project to get done before the weekend.  Let's get busy.


I love you.  Till tomorrow.

Powerball Dreams Are Made of These

Hello everybody.  Tonight we made a special point of buying our Powerball tickets.  Yes, we are quite aware that we will NOT win.  We have no illusions.  However........................we bought tickets.  Yes, it is a pipedream, but it is nice to dream.  So here goes my dream.


First, a million dollars to charity, right off the bat.  Then...........I'd give every family member something to make their day.  The closer you are related, the greater your pot will be.  After that, I will build a new house right here on our property; at least 5,000 square feet.  There'd be 4 large bedrooms on the bottom floor, a second floor will house a couple large dormitories so that my family could spend the night anytime.  The basement would be a combo rec room and cellar.  The den or living room space would be huge; big enough to have lots of comfortable couches so that when my family comes, everyone would have a seat.  The kitchen would have two cooking areas so that we all can cook and prepare food at the same time and islands with lots of stools. 


Now for the outside.  Of course we'd have a whole entertainment area which will include a pool and hot tub......and a pool boy.  I'd have the local nursery completely landscape our entire 5 acres.  No more blackjack trees, but tall majestic oaks.  There'd be an electrical grid so that plugins would be throughout the acreage.  The same goes for water spigots. 


And the cars....................for the 5 car attached garage with a drive-through carport............will include a new SUV, a new convertible, and a new Porsche for the hubs. 


Oh, I'm dreaming, but I thought I'd get this posted before my bubble bursts later tonight.  Powerball dreams are made of these.....


I love you.


On the way home from buying tickets, I told the hubby that I would probably die right on the spot if we did win.  So I told him I wanted him to check and not tell me, but start buying some things to ease me into this new found wealth.  He was quite happy with that arrangement.......starting with a Lamborghini.  He is having a hard time deciding on color so I told him to get a couple.    

Tastee Choice Shrimp Bisque

Have you ever gone to the grocery store hungry?  I can attest that I have and today was one of those days.  Everything looked delicious including the package above.  Since I had nothing planned for dinner and I had cream that I needed to use, I bought Tastee Choice Shrimp Bisque.

I confess that I don't use many prepared meal kits...in fact, I never do.  "From scratch" is my motto.  But since time was an issue and this package said from package to table in 15 minutes, it came home with me.

Results:  Pretty darn good.  Of course it was made even better because I used 1 cup of Half an Half,

11/2 cups real cream, 1/2 cup chicken stock instead of water they suggested.

So I highly recommend this product because of the ease in preparation, but more importantly, the taste.  While I wouldn't go so far as to say it was the best bisque ever, it was flavorful.  The second picture was taken after the bisque had cooled so it had thickened a lot.  Still we saved the leftovers.  I will add chicken broth the next we reheat.

 

That's it for today.  I love you.

http://tasteechoice.com/index.php

Their website, however, I didn't see this product listed.

My 2016 Quests

Well here it is -- 2016 -- and I'm not quite ready.  But I guess I have to keep up with the times so here are my silly quests for 2016.


1.  I will try not to overfill my Sam's Club drink beyond the rim.


2.  I will try to be a kinder person this year.  Isn't that the number one resolution people say?


3.  I will try not to overthink things...............this will be the hardest thing for me.


I think this will be enough quests for me to pursue this year.  I don't want to overthink things and  I don't want to get crazy and suggest that I will loose weight or exercise.  Those would be an unfilled goals..........so here they are again:  Don't fill my drink till it runneth over, be nice, and don't overthink. 


Yep..............that's enough.  My brain feels taxed already and I am getting close to overthinking so I am going to bed to rest so that I will be a kind person tomorrow.


I love you.  Oh, I think I will write in this blog more this year, too.