A Peak Into the Past

Last night we got a peak into the past. 


Last night our grandsons spent the night with us and on our way to a restaurant, we stopped at Sears to get a humidifier.  Remember the Sears store in Heritage Park Mall?  One of our boys had been in a Sears store once when his dad bought a lawnmower, but the other one had not.  They were pretty much in awe that the store has "everything".  We assured them that Sears has nothing compared to what they had in the 1980s. 


While we shopped for the humidifier, we let them roam the store and they looked at everything.  All the exercise equipment, the clothes, the lawn equipment, tires, the appliances............all in one store that had "everything".  Before we left we walked the store with them and reminisced, giving them a little glimpse of what the store was like in the 80s.  We walked down to the doors that once led out to the now defunct mall.  The curtains beyond the glass doors were shut...................almost.  There were a couple of places where we could give the boys a pretty good peek into the mall...........a peek into the past.  I pointed out where the Chick-fi-la was and Jenkins where I bought my piano.  We described the mall and how we could let their mom and uncle roam around while we shopped.  As we turned around, I literally cried tears.  I apologized.  My hubby told me that it was quite alright to cry for things that once were.


Oh the mall..........we had such good times, but it is gone now.  Despite my tears, the peek into the past wasn't all that great.  Dust and litter everywhere.  The large planters that were once filled with beautiful large plants are now just ugly litter-filled eyesores with dried stalks.  I think that is what filled me with sorrow............seeing what was once so pretty, filled with pretty things and happy people now has turned into an eyesore. 


So now that I have gotten A Peak Into the Past, it is time to close that chapter and look to the future.  So tonight let's hoist our glasses to the future...................2016.


Happy New Year


I love you.  
 

Merry Christmas to All

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT.


Every Christmas Eve Mom read the Christmas story before we toddled off to bed.  This was taken when I was 16 or 17 I would guess so I was a little old for toddling.  Little did I know then how much this photograph would come to mean to me. 


As far back as I have memories, Mom read us the Christmas story from Luke 2.  I can’t even imagine how hectic it was for mom to set aside the hustle and bustle of preparing candy, wrapping presents, and various other tasks such as riding herd over five little ones, squelching squabbles, and preparing for Santa to actually take a breather and read us this story.  But it was important to her and it is important to me.


So when you toddle off to bed tonight, I hope you have had a chance to reflect on the true meaning and beginning of Christmas.  Merry Christmas to all.


I love you.


I could look at this picture for an hour.  This is my heritage.  This is at the very core of my being.  This is what I am all about. This is the basic me. 


Another Christmas Eve tradition was daddy reading us “The Night Before Christmas” and EVERY time he would change the words from “Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house, not a creature was stirring not even a mouse” TO “Twas the night before Christmas when all through the hoose, not a creature was stirring not even a moose”.


Wonderful memories…….are you making memories tonight?

Welcome Home Sis

Good Merry Christmas morning everybody.  (That's the coffee talking.)  My sister is finally on her way and I am so excited.  And my house is a disaster!  She's in the car and on her way.  And my house is a disaster!


But...........I will get it done!  The hubby tells me we will get it done!  There is a good chance that I might exaggerate.  I've been known to stress about things a little too much (or so they tell me). 


So taking a deep breath and another swig of coffee, I am up and at 'em.  Actually all I really need to do is clean the bathrooms and go to the grocery store to get some food for my sister!


Welcome home, Sis.  Merry Christmas!  HO HO HO


I love you.


Do you guys ever think that mom ever stressed?  She was as calm as a cucumber or so I thought, but now that I am older, maybe she just hid it better than I do. 

Christmas Performance

Good evening all and Merry Christmas.  Ho Ho Ho Tonight we went a performance of the "Nutcracker Ballet Suite" of my 6th grade grandson's class.  It was cute and wonderful.  My little guy was a mouse, and HE was THE cutest mouse of them all. 


During the very last narrative, a little boy forgot his lines and he couldn't hear the music instructor to put him back on track.  It was a very long pause and the guy was shifting his weight from one leg to another.  You could have heard a pin drop.  And I cried for him.  My eyes filled with hot tears.  I am so sure he was embarrassed.  We've all been there, haven't we?  We want to cry and run to the bathroom and slink out to the car and hide between the seats and slink into our beds at home and hope that nobody remembers it....but we know they will and our hearts are heavy and in the very depth of the night that lump of regret forms in our throat once again.


Even though the audience was told to save the applause until the director lowered her arm, this little guy got a very special impromptu applause.  One of solidarity that we were all with him.  I hope he isn't hurting tonight.  I hope that he has special dreams of sugar plums because that is what all kids deserve even for these children who will be starting their junior high years in 9 short months. 


So B, thank you for inviting us to attend your performance.  You were without a doubt the cutest mouse ever.  And your friend...........I hope he has a good Christmas, too.  I'm so proud of you and so glad you are my grandson.  My heart always fills with wonder of you.


Always, I love you.

The Shiny Plaid Dress

Good evening.  I'm just setting here listening to Adele's New York special when up comes a commercial.  In the commercial the woman picks up a little girl about 4 years old and the child is in a little red plaid Christmas dress.  The iconic dress that little girls have been wearing at Christmas since the 70s.  The fabric is shiny with metallic threads.  My daughter had one at about the same age.  As soon as I saw that little girl being lifted up into her mother's arms, my sense of...........smell hit me.  That may seem funny, but I can still smell the fresh new fabric of the dress.  I can smell her shiny tightly curled hair.  I can feel the warmth of her body through the fabric.  I can feel her little arms grab me around my neck and I can see her grin turn into a giggle.  I can feel her leaning away from me swaying with laughter, arms and legs still around me.  I can hear the crunch of the gathered skirt as I squeeze her a little tighter. 


My little girl has a daughter of her own now.  She will experience these same feelings one day.  Memories that can never be erased.  I will have to make sure my granddaughter has a scratchy shiny plaid Christmas dress when she's 4.  You never know what will trigger an emotion, even a commercial and a visual of a little girl in a plaid dress.


I love you. 
It's funny the memories I conjure up.  The year she had the little plaid shirt with white bodice, I wore a teal silk blouse with matching raw silk pants.  I have never had an outfit that I felt more beautiful in. 

Caramels

Today I made the BEST caramels EVER.  Today I made the EASIEST caramels EVER.

It’s Christmastime so you know the sugar comes out and calories goes in…….my body. 

Here’s the simple recipe; all made in the microwave so if you make it, remember this is MOLTEN LAVA. 

1.  Combine 1/4 cup butter, 1/2 white sugar, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 1/2 cup white Karo syrup, and 1/2 cup Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk in a medium glass mixing bowl.  I mix this all together, breaking up the butter just a bit.

2.  Place bowl in microwave and cook on high for 6 minutes, stirring mixture every 2 minutes.   (Remove from microwave to stir.)  After 6 minutes, stir again before pouring into a buttered pan. 

3.  After the molten lava caramel  has cooled, cut caramels into cubes.  Wrap in small pieces of wax paper.

These are so pretty in my glass container and there they will be in my cool sunroom until closer to Christmas.  Why????  Because we will eat them ALL in the next two days if we don’t hid them from ourselves.

I love you.

Mom used to make lots of Christmas candy and she’d hide it on top of the freezer.  The thing is we all knew where it was, but none of the five of us kids got into it.  It just didn’t seem right to raid that candy before Christmas day.  Love you my momma.

A Lump Formed in my Throat

A lump caught in my throat............


And we were at Sears.  Remember Sears and Roebuck?  We were there this evening looking for a strand of lights for the house..............yes.........we are very late this year putting up lights.  Sad place...that Sears store.  Sad.  There was a very little area designated for Christmas decorations this year and I thought last years' area was small.  We walked around for a couple of minutes looking at the few decorations they had when we finally spotted the outside lights.  There were only a couple of choices and only a couple boxes each of those.


Disappointed, we headed for the door when a huge nostalgic lump formed in my throat and tears formed in my eyes.  I told the hubby that Sears just wasn't the same anymore.  He agreed and we talked for a while about how much fun we have had at that store..........when the kids were little and everything was new and exciting as we began our life together.  Just remembering the kids walking around each aisle looking at the toy trains and the beautiful little baby dolls with anticipation in their eyes was almost more nostalgia than I could deal with tonight.  Tears were just on the edge.  Then my hubby stopped and said, "Sears is one of the accouterments of life, but it is NOT our life.  We are still living life."  He has a wonderfully sweet way of bringing me back into the here and now.  But for a while......a lump formed in my throat.


I love you.


Sears was a huge part of my childhood and a trip to see the Sears Santa was the highlight of every year.  One year my grandpa told me he personally knew that Sears Santa.  I remember looking into Santa's eyes to see if he knew that I was the granddaughter of his friend.  Surely he would say something special to me.  I couldn't quite figure that whole Santa, reindeers, grandpa connection, but I was certain that it was all very real.  


Sears holds so many memories and no doubt our little trip to Sears tonight is another added memory; perhaps a memory tinged with sadness for times gone by. 
 

Old-Fashioned Flavor

We just love these little guys.  Marshmallow Santas.  You can find them at most grocery stores and every drug store in town and they are cheap!  Recently, we bought some Russell Stover Marshmallow Pumpkins which are the same thing, just a different shape.  We broke into them tonight and the hubby told me he thought these marshmallow treats were an old-fashioned flavor.  I guess that means that it reminds him of old times……it does me. 
Christmas is near and the other day I saw another old-fashioned flavor, Brach’s Cherry Cordials.  Soon we will have our special treats, Marshmallow Santa and Brach’s Cherry Cordials.
 
Good Night everybody.  Hope you get some old-fashioned flavors this year.
I love you.

The Best is Yet to Come

The best is yet to come.


As much as I want OU to win this game over OSU. the bedlam rivalry, I really expected the game to be more entertaining and exciting.  To offset this boring game, I started going through my magazines, sorting, and reading.  And......I started remembering how mom read her magazines...................back to front.  Mom always saved the best for last.  She ate the heart of the watermelon last.  She'd eat the filling from her pecan pie first saving the pecans for that last few bites.  You get the idea.  And she read magazines from the back to the front ending the magazines with the best articles.  I guess that is kind of a good thing.  You always know the best is yet to come.


I love you.  Merry Christmas!!!  The best is yet to come.

Cheez-It–I Thought I Could Improve Them

BURNED CHEEZ-ITS

I might have a problem.  With Cheez-Its.  My favorite snack.  Diet Dr. Pepper and Cheez-Its.  That’s it!   Except………………maybe I could make them better.  I love to find the over-baked Cheez-Its in the box………..my favorite Cheez-It cracker……..the slightly browned kind.  Well, this particular box had quite a few of those lovely slightly browned crackers, but evidently I didn’t think there were enough.  So what did I do??  I put them in a tray and into countertop broiler.   Then………….I got on the computer and promptly forgot about them.  Well………..in a little while I smelled something………… Oh shoot! 

Up from the couch I jumped, ran to the kitchen, and opened the smoking oven.  The minute I opened that little door, those Cheez-Its flamed.  By that I mean the flames were almost 2 feet high.  Yellow scary flames.  I can tell you my mind raced .  What to do first.  I turned off the broiler first.  I grabbed the potholder and threw that flaming pan into the sink which, luckily, is just behind me.  That was a close call.  The paint actually bubbled under my overhead cabinets and there is a discoloration that I cannot remove. 
The moral of the story:  Let well enough alone.  My favorite snack and I thought I could improve it.  Remember Cheez-Its have a low flaming threshold. 
You can read another post about Cheez-Its  here:  http://retirementthegoodlife.blogspot.com/2012/03/cheez-its.html
I love you.

Turkey. Turkey. Turkey. What to Do???

Turkey.  Turkey.  Turkey.  What to do?


Yes, I'm going to make the turkey this year and I am just fed up with all this turkey talk.  Do you have any idea how many different instructions there are out there on how to cook the bird that we only fix once a year.


It seems every woman alive and their dogs have a recipe.  You can brine them.  Did my mom ever know about brining a turkey?  No!  And do you know how many recipes there are just for that salty brine?  Oh yes, you can put SALT, apple peels, orange peels, celery, carrots, onions, garlic, SALT, sugar, spices of every imaginable taste, olive oil, SALT, old shoes, dirty dishwater, red nail polish for color, tomato juice, apple juice, orange juice, wine, whisky, even.....wait for it.....maple syrup.  I kid you not..........well maybe I kid you just a little.  Seriously, The Pioneer Woman used whisky AND maple syrup in hers.  We were watching her show Monday night........well I was watching her show and the hubby was doing something else, but in the room.   When she added the whisky and maple syrup, the hubby looked up and said "Did she just put whisky and maple syrup in that?"  We both gagged just a bit.


Now that you get the brining idea, let me tell you how many variations of actual cooking the turkey there are.  I would, but I don't count that high.  You can stuff that bird, or not.  You can add onions, or not.  You can put oranges in there, or not.  You can rub poultry seasoning over it, or not.  You can rub sage over that thing, or not.  The one thing they all agree on is massaging that bird down with butter, pepper and salt...unless you have brined it, then the choice is up to you.


So what to do?  Brine?  Roast uncovered?  Roast in cooking bag?  Wrapped tightly in foil?  Roast in roasting pan?  If so, on a rack or not?  Temperature.  Some say high temp for first hour, reduce heat.  Some say lower temperature, longer cooking time.  So what to do?  I have no idea.  All I know is that come Thursday, 2:00 p.m. that turkey will be history until the year 2016.


I love you.
A little extra information.  The Pioneer Woman made gravy, but added whisky AND maple syrup.  I can see my family quite literally gagging if I were to serve that!!!
I seriously have no idea how I am going to cook this bird, but I am leaning to mom's tried and true method of wrapping lightly in foil, placing in the roasting pan and using the temperature and time instructed on the label.
Happy Thanksgiving everybody.

I Just Love Feeling Wonderful

Good evening my friends.  I am exhausted.  It is 6:30 in the evening and I'm already in my pajamas.  That is unusual for me.  I've never been one of those people who like to stay in pjs all day, but today....well today I have been a busy girl.


Thanksgiving is coming up next week (can that be possible?) and I'm fixing lunch for my family and my extended family.  Not that many coming.  Right now 13 are coming, but you'd think I had invited my old office......people who'd never been in my house........people that I needed to impress.  No, it is just my family.  The people that I love and have been in my simple abode many, many times.  Nonetheless I seem to be cleaning like a maniac.  I have cleaned out all my closets and drawers, polished my silver, windexed (spell check says this isn't a word, but I tell you it is a VERB.  Don't you windex??) everything that has a shiny surface, and cleaned my tile floor on my hands and knees with..........get this........... any combination of baking soda, vinegar, 409, Bar Keepers Friend, and water.  I was trying to decide which product/products worked best to clean my grout, but I could see no difference.  The biggest thing is to get on my hands and knees and scrub, SCRUB, SCRUB.  But I did find one thing that actually made a big difference -- Magic Eraser really worked well to cleaned the scuff marks off the tiles. 


All this cleaning..........all this food prepping..........all the FOOD!!!  As tired as I am tonight, it makes me feel wonderful to have this done.  It makes me feel wonderful to do this for my family and I just love feeling wonderful.


I love you.


     

Count my Blessings

Good morning.  November 15, 2015 – a view out my window.  Fall has arrived at my house and is slowly making its way south.  Soon this pretty view will be gone.  The leaves will be off the trees leaving a cold looking dark bark.  So this cool cloudy morning I am going to enjoy this view, taking it all in, and bask in mother nature’s glory.
I realize how blessed I am this morning.  All the world seems to be in chaos, but especially the beautiful city of Paris.  Yes, I am going to take all of this in, reflect, count my blessings, and send Paris my prayers.  God, please bless us all.
I love you.

Nice Night for Some Football……….

Good evening everybody.  Nice night for some football.........or is it?  I must have a very soft heart because it sometimes hurts to see an opposing team loose to one of our Oklahoma teams, or to anyone else for that matter.  Today, for instance, it hurt to see Iowa State loose to Oklahoma State.  Don't get me wrong, I was rooting for OSU every second of every play.............until they won.............until they panned the camera to the loosing side of the field..............until I saw that young man hang his head in despair.  You see, according to the announcer, Iowa State needed to win this game plus the next two in order to qualify for a bowl game.  They hadn't been in a bowl in years. They did not win.  I am sad for them.  Of course, I would have been sadder to see Oklahoma State's winning streak to come to an end.

Just now I was watching the third overtime win for Michigan over Indiana.  I only saw the last 5 minutes of the game and I decided I would root for Indiana just because I thought they'd be the underdogs.  I don't know if that is true or not, but it seems I hear Michigan in the football news than I do Indiana.  So Indiana it is.  Just after I started watching, Indiana made a touchdown and the two point afterward........then only to let Michigan tie up the game.  Three overtimes were needed to determine the winner of the game.........Michigan.  Indiana did not win............

Every time there is a game played, there will be a winner and there will be a looser.  If there is a tie game, somebody will loose in overtime.  Someone will go down in the rankings.  Someone will not go to the conference playoffs.  Someone will not get a bid to a bowl game. 

Oh it feels so good to win, but it hurts so bad to loose.  These young men are actually little boys to their mothers.  Somebody is hurting tonight...............somebody is going to fall into bed tonight thinking "if only".

Now on to watch Baylor mix it up with Oklahoma.  I am going to tell you right now that I am rooting for Oklahoma.  I want to be sad that Baylor looses.  Fingers crossed!

I love you.

Sometimes Happiness is Finding a Slice of Bacon Still on the Plate

Happiness is finding a half slice of bacon still on my plate!  Just when I thought my breakfast was over, I see this bacon.  Oh JOY!!  I love bacon.  Most of you know that I normally don't eat regular pork bacon.  Godshall's Turkey Bacon found at Sam's Clubs is my mainstay--the healthiest bad choice for me.  But ever since the reports came out about processed meats; i.e. BACON, I have craved the BAD/GOOD BACON, the good ole hickory smoked grease saturated bacon.  I had some BAD/GOOD BACON in the freezer so I decided to treat myself and thumb my nose at the reports.  Also, I needed to get the BAD/GOOD BACON out of the freezer..............and what better way to rid the freezer of BAD/GOOD BACON than to eat it.  (It is time to empty the freezer before the holidays.....so yes, I do that.) 


So this morning I had not one, but two slices of THICK hickory smoked bacon (Wright's from Sam's is the BEST) sliced in half to better fit the pan.........making four smaller slices.  I had just finished the last sip of my coffee (which my doctor recommended cutting down--man they're taking away all the good stuff) and lo and behold there was that last half slice of bacon still on my plate.  Oh Joy!  Sometimes happiness is finding a half slice of bacon still on the plate. 


I hope you have a happy day and can find a slice of bacon on your plate.  It's all about these moments.  (And by the way, I did use a paper towel to squeeze as much grease out as possible.)


I love you.

No Shoes Today

Good evening everybody.  Here it is, Halloween night and nary a ghost or goblin in sight. 


So instead of writing about all the goblins at my front door, I will talk about shoes instead.  I went to the mall today knowing before I left home that I would bring home a pair of shoes.  I was willing to spend almost any amount of my hard earned dollars for a pair of shoes that would NOT hurt my feet. 


Well, here it is 8:15 p.m. and I do NOT have a new pair of shoes.  I think I know the reason(s) why.  My feet hurt, they always hurt, and I haven't bought a pair of shoes that didn't hurt some part of my foot.  It doesn't matter how much I have paid, some area of at least one foot will be uncomfortable.  Also, I am TOO particular.  The shoes must be a particular color.  They must be a style that is cute and sexy.  They must be comfortable (as comfortable as my feet can stand).  They must NOT be grandma shoes.    


So here I set, no 'trick or treaters' and no shoes.  Ugh.  And I really need a new pair of shoes or perhaps a cute pair of ankle boots. 


I am beginning to think I may have to adjust my thinking.  Maybe I need to realize I am a 67 year old woman and not a 27 year old chick.  Maybe I should take out the word "sexy" in my requirement for a stylish shoe.  Or maybe I will try one more shopping trip.  I am sure there is a pair of shoes for me.  Oh shoes, why hast thou forsaken me?


I love you.

There Might Be Stickers in Cemeteries

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtZePBCz5MU&feature=youtu.be

I hope you get a chance to look at the video above.  It was taken yesterday.  My granddaughter and I walked barefooted out to the shop building where she found this little patch of sand.  As soon as I saw her, I ran back to get my camera.  She has discovered how to run her toes through the sand with no regard to how dirty her feet were getting.  I wanted to capture this sweet moment.

In other news:  Monday I happened to be at a cemetery in high heels.  My feet were absolutely killing me.  On the way back to the car, which was quite a distance away, I had this bright idea that I should take my shoes off and walk in the grass.  After all, there was nobody in sight to see me so why not save my tootsies.  Man, that felt good for about 10 steps until I found the sticker patch.  WHOA  “Johnny, help me.  I’ve got stickers in both feet.”  Being the good man he is, he picked them out for me and even offered to carry me to the car.  At that I had to laugh…….as if.  I slipped my heels back on and literally limped to the car where I found my flats.  Why didn’t I change into my flats before I headed to the cemetery?  Not my smartest decision.   MORAL OF THE STORY:  There might be stickers in cemeteries. 

Just a little humorous story.

I love you.

You Might Recognize Your Mother in Yourself

Good morning everyone.  I have been looking at Facebook and I have noticed a lot of beautiful girls out there; granddaughters of friends, friends of friends, etc.  One thing I have noticed is these lovely young women, dare I say beautiful young women, resemble their mothers and even their grandmothers.  These young women probably don't want to hear that, but they do. 


When these young girls look at their mother's or grandmother's youthful pictures, I am sure they don't see the resemblance.  Here's what we/they tend to forget.  We didn't have all the helpful hints that the girls use today.  For instance, we were lucky if we had a tube of lipstick, one black mascara, one color of eye shadow.......not a pallet of colors, and maybe a little blush.  That's it.  Back in the day, there wasn't special makeup to cover blemishes, blotches, and dark under eye circles the way they do today.  We didn't color our hair and if we did, it was from a box from the drugstore....not high lights at the salon.  And NOBODY ever got a manicure AND we had never even heard of a pedicure.....who'd let anybody touch their toes???  We didn't know that we should put a hand on our hip to make us look slimmer.  We didn't know to pout our lips in a seductive way.  We didn't know to tilt our heads at a certain angle to make our faces look slimmer.  Nobody ever heard of photo shopping the picture to take inches off our hips and thighs.  We certainly didn't have the privilege of taking 88 photos in order to select the one that could make a magazine cover. 


I'm not saying these girls are all photo shopped, but they certainly have advantages that my generation did not have.  Good????  I wonder.....  Maybe not.  My opinion:  They, and I will include me, too, have all become very vain.  Seems somehow sad to me.  It's all about the glamor.........


So lovely gals, if you take off the makeup, go with your natural hair, look straight into the camera, put your elbow down, and smile, you might recognize your mother in yourself.


I love you.

Show Love Even When You Don't Feel Like Loving

I'm slightly exhausted tonight after a very busy trip with the grandchildren this weekend.  We pulled in the driveway at 4:45 and by 5:05 we were back on the road for a quick trip to my hometown for family visitation for my uncle so I will make this post short.  Before I close my eyes for the night, I wanted to tell you about a very special lady, my younger cousin's wife.  She has cancer...........the bad kind.............pancreatic cancer and it has spread.  It is bad.  But here she was in a setting that wasn't ideal considering her own situation, but she was supporting my family.  I am not so sure I could have done the same.  It would have been easier for her to just stay home, but there she was.  There is no mistaking that she has cancer and is frail, but she looked regal and beautiful.  She made a huge impression on me tonight embodying grace under fire.  I have a lot more to learn, but I learned something tonight.  Show love even when you don't feel like loving.  Grace under fire sometimes eludes me, but seeing this woman and the................I am going to say it..............love she showed me personally was something I wasn't expecting. 


No, I wasn't expecting a blessing tonight, but I got a huge one.  This sweet lady blessed me with her strength, her dignity, and her grace under fire.  She showed me one can show love even if one doesn't feel like loving.    


I love you.      

Perfect Evening for Baseball

My boy!  Yes, you have seen this picture before. 


Hello everyone.  Isn't this a fine October night?  Well, our grandson's first baseball season came to a close tonight and oh, what a night for baseball.  A perfectly windless night.  In fact, I wasn't the only one to notice a beautiful evening.  As we were walking into the huge baseball complex, I overheard another team's coach tell his co-coach, "I really don't care if they win or lose............it is just a perfect evening for baseball.  I just want them to have some fun."  I couldn't agree more.


Nonetheless, Blaine's team ended up winning.  Not only that, Blaine was at bat twice and both times he got good hits.  And he made a score.  AND HE GOT TO PITCH the last inning.  And he struck a batter out by pitching right across the place.  That's not to say he was perfect the rest of the inning, but the fact that his coaches see potential in him in his very first season of baseball is commendable.  He went out on a high note and sugar cookies all around.  What a perfect evening.  Smiles all around. 


A perfect evening for baseball.


I love you.
If you have never seen Moore's baseball/football complex, you owe it to yourself to take a look some fall evening.  Moore has done their community proud investing in the lives of their future citizens.  Well done, Moore.

Our Little Owl Story

I don't often get a call from the hubby when he takes the dog out for his 10:30 run.  In fact, I have never gotten a phone call from him when he takes the dog out.  It has only been in the last year, that I have convinced him that he should even take the phone with him.  Well you can imagine what I thought when I saw his number come up on the TV (oh these smart TVs are actually smart).  But nothing was amiss.  He just wanted me to come out to see the owl in the tree.  I stealthy opened the front door and he directed me to the perfect spot for OWL viewing........the biggest owl he'd ever seen.  It had flown directly over his head and landed on a branch in the front yard.  Only thing is, it had also stealthy moved on.  No owl.  Oh, too bad.  Back to the house I go.


Just a couple minutes later, he called again.  "I'll be right out."  Again, he positioned me just so before turning on the flashlight to shine on the owl.  This time that beauty was perched high in the tree and looking right into the bright light.  Oh what a majestic bird.  We stood there and just stared and marveled that we get to live where we see all these creatures.........including the fastest running opossum I have ever seen.  Yep, the guy was traveling at full speed across the driveway when we pulled in tonight. 


I love the farm where I grew up, but I live in a wonderful place TODAY.  It is home....not that homestead of years ago.  This is home.  Sometimes I take things for granted.  Sometimes I lament that things are not perfect.  Sometimes I want things different or want to make a change.  Sometimes I forget my blessings.  Seeing that owl tonight seemed to be some sort of awakening for me.............I really do have it all.  So that's our little owl story. 


I love you.
When we came back in we looked up owls and discovered that huge bird we saw is called a Barred Owl.  My, oh my, he was a stately looking animal. 

Here’s to Hamburger King

I had lunch with my daughter and her near perfect children today.  A grandma has a right to say things like that….perfect children.  I can send them home anytime I want.  Seriously, they are kids that I really like.  I really like them.  Something else I like is Hamburger King, a hamburger place in Shawnee.

It is famous among the locals and it certainly is famous with this old local.  I love this place.  Mrs. Sutterfield wouldn’t like me loving an inanimate object.  This was the best it got back in the day.  I loved their hamburgers then and I love them now.  And oh the conversations had at these little four person booths.   

When my children were little and long after they left the house, it was a tradition with my parents to meet there at Christmas time.  Many a conversation regarding our Christmas lists took place at these little booths along with discussions of the food we would bring to her house on Christmas day.  And, of course, Daddy always had plenty to say about the latest news story—he was always caught up on his current events. 

After a great hamburger, we’d pile in one car and tour Shawnee looking at the lights and decorations of the season.  All six of us would be snuggled up in their car…..don’t you wish you could find a car that would seat three people in the front seat?    Braum’s for ice cream wasn’t out of the question, either. 

So………….HERE’S TO HAMBURGER KING.  LONG MAY YOU STAY IN BUSINESS.

I love you.

Another story:  Hamburger King has been in business for many years even back in my dad’s  early days.  He told this story many times.  He and his friend had a double date and each of them had one quarter.  A hamburger was a quarter back then.  He and his friend bought the girls each a hamburger and they ate them in the car.  He told us he’d never smelled anything so good as those hamburgers the girls were eating.  I can only imagine how delicious smelled in that confined space, can’ you?   Now girls, if you find a man who will spend their last quarter buying you a hamburger and not on themselves, you have a keeper.

I Don't Put Tomato Juice Up My Nose

Good day everyone.  I don't put tomato juice up my nose.  Huh??  Let me tell you, but first I must tell you about our day.


Today, we (he--I'm not old yet) survived another "old people" surgery.  Yes, today the hubby had a cataract removed from his right eye.......not a biggie, but a first for us (him) so we were just a tad tense.  I had to stay in the lobby until they had him all prepped which seemed to take for-EVER.  Finally they brought me back and it was all I could do not to laugh.  Pulling back that curtain and seeing all his loveliness; one eye dilated the other not, fitted with a lovely paper gown with matching bonnet and booties, forehead tattooed with his doctor's initials--just in case they forget which eye, IVs going every which way, it was hard not to just double over giggling.  But no, I held it all inside...this is serious knife stuff.


We just made small talk as he waited to go back for surgery.  It finally came to us that the last time we were at this center, some 25 miles from home, was when he first had his sinus surgery.


That discussion led to this. 
He:  I haven't had a sinus problem since I started boiling the water (well water) for my irrigator."
Me:  Maybe we shouldn't be drinking it.
He says quite seriously:  Not the same at all.  I don't put tomato juice up my nose, but I drink it.
That's when I lost it.  I laughed out loud.  Imagine this old man bundled up in his paper gown and his cute little bonnet, one eye dilated, the other not, tattooed forehead saying "I don't put tomato juice up my nose, but I drink it." 


We both were giggling like teenagers.  What a tension reliever.........we both needed it.  "I don't put tomato juice up nose."  Nope, Johnny, I don't put tomato juice up my nose, either. 


That man has a great sense of humor.


I love you.

Imagine–It was My Childhood

Sunset Swiftly Becoming Twilight

Many of my posts have been about living on the farm back in the 50s and 60s; trying to relay to my few readers the joy and contentment of my childhood.  I saw this photograph on Facebook recently and for some reason this picture sums up all that is in my heart.  Maybe if you use your imagination, you can feel my contentment. 

Imagine a gentler time, no cars honking, no sirens blaring; just the peaceful end to a perfect fall day.

  Imagine the sun setting just like that photo.

Imagine the changing fall colors of the oak trees.

Imagine the grassy aroma of the dry dusty grass at summer’s end.

Now, imagine five little children driving the cattle back to the barn.

Imagine the cows meandering through the meadow, tails swishing over their backs, mooing softly.  

Imagine the voices of these children, perhaps singing, their breath steaming in the cool evening air; their faces red from the cold.

Imagine the sunset slowing descending in the West. 

Imagine  the eerie twilight creeping in. 

Imagine children running to the back door—slightly, only slightly, fearful of the coming darkness.

Their chores are done.  Soon they will be inside doing homework and maybe watching a little television.

Now imagine these five children in their homemade flannel pajamas and nightgowns  safely tucked in their beds—safe and sound! 

Imagine this bucolic scene.  Imagine this as your childhood.  It was mine!

Many thanks to Brett Day for the use of his lovely photo.  It was taken on Kathleen Hecker’s farm recently.  While this photo is not of my family’s farm, the picture was uncannily similar.  Thank you, Brett, for permission to use your photo and thanks for the memories.

Do You Know What the Best Part of My Day is?

My grandchildren and me—Mother’s Day 2015

This afternoon, Logan, next to me on my right (the little guy), called me.  He didn’t  have to say three words before I knew he had some exciting news.  He told me he lost the tooth that he’d been working on for a while.  In fact only yesterday he had me wiggle the tooth, but it just wasn’t quite ready to come out.  He knew that I would be as excited as he was because we’d worked on it together.  If I understood him in his excitement, his friend on the bus accidently hit the tooth and out it came, but somehow the other little boy also got hurt and was bleeding, too.  He told me that the other little boy said he was ok even though he was bleeding.  He said, “It would make me sad if he was hurt.”

And that isn’t all that made his day exciting.  He’d made 90 on his AR test (reading).  WAHOO!  I’d promised him a special reward at the end of the year if he read 5 books over his yearly AR goal and now he is one book closer to that reward.   

Then, be still my heart, he said this:  "Do you know what's the best part of my day is? It is when you answered the phone. I didn't think you'd answer."   I can’t even begin to tell you how much this touched me. 

Logan needed to share his excitement with me.  He wanted a personal conversation with his grandmother at the exact moment of his joy.  He needed me to answer.  He needed to hear my voice and my excitement to mimic his own. 

I have seen so many people receive a phone call and deliberately not answer the call.  How many people just needed to hear your voice, needed you to be as excited as they were?  That call is gone, but next time you start to ignore a call, think about the person on the other end.  Think of their needs…..are they needing a hug, are they needing to hear your voice.  “Do you know what the best part of my day is?” 

I love you. 

Simple Joys

Today I ran across an old post and realized I needed to reread my own words again.  Lately I have been struggling with finding "joy".  Everything I see on TV or read on the internet is just plain awful, mean, odd, weird, or plain old crazy.  I find myself being pulled into a negativity that I know isn't good for me; a place of darkness.  Here's my old blog post.


http://retirementthegoodlife.blogspot.com/2012/05/simple-things.html


After reading it twice I realize that I, me, am the person that controls my joy....not the TV, and certainly not the rants that I see on Facebook.  I am responsible for ME.  I need to find the "joy" of washing dishes again.  Perhaps it is all the little "joys" that make the deeper happiness in all of us.  I may have to plug in the iron.  The simple joys.


I love you.


I'm going to try to blog/write again, my friends.  It has been difficult finding time or should I say, difficult to find a time when I wasn't on Facebook.  I am trying my best to put Facebook away for a while because Facebook rants, and sometimes even raves, can put me in a "negative" mood.  I'm going to try.


I can't post this on September 26 without sweet memories of two people who had the same September 26 birthday; Mrs. Tucker and my dad.  Love them forever. 


 

I Love Rural Roads

I love rural roads.  We went driving today--out on the more rural Oklahoma highways.  For me, it is good to get away from the city once in a while; there's something about getting off the interstate and seeing those farms up close that fills me with a calmness that I just can't find in OKC. 


Town after town had a uniqueness that I wanted to capture and blog about, but there was one town, Paoli, that gave me pause for thought, and, of course, memories.  Paoli had only one small church that I noticed with a sign out front that we are having a fish fry tonight.  As small as the town was, I was kind of envious of their lifestyle.  They're having this little fish fry right about now and everyone in town will be invited.  I was envious that each person there tonight will know everyone else.  I was envious that the parents will feel comfortable enough to let their children run and play out doors.  There will be small talk, laughter, and then there's the fish. 


I was envious because they are living my memories.  My memories of having church socials, and how safe I felt running around the church in the evening in my little dress that tied in the back.  How exhausted and tired we all were on the short ride home with the windows down, dust flying--mom and dad and five little kids crammed into the car without regard to seatbelts. 


Idealistic????--maybe.  You are thinking that I look back with rose colored glasses.  I probably do, but isn't it wonderful that I actually do think of my childhood as pleasant rather one of disdain.  So, Paoli church, I hope you had a wonderful evening with your friends and your children.  I hope you rode home with the windows down, but with your children buckled up.

I love you.  I love rural roads.


There were so many other wonderful moments on our trip today that brought a lump in my throat.   The Model T we saw and wondered about the person who restored it and if they were having as much fun as we were in our convertible.  


One town was completely inundated with posters about tonight's football game and I wondered if their high school band was going to play the fight song as they marched down the halls to draw the kids out of class for a pep rally--just like dear old Prague High School did back in the day--"intestinal fortitude" as coach always alluded to in EVERY rally. 


Almost every town we went through on our way to Sulphur, OK, had a BBQ restaurant with a smoker billowing in preparation for their Friday customers. 


The dry grasslands getting crunchy from lack of rain; the cattle gathered under the trees for shade; the trees not quite ready to turn are beginning to take on that look of fall.  All in all, a very peaceful, calming day............reminding me so much of my childhood and thoughts of the holidays ahead.  You see, even I can't always look back.  We have to look forward and realize that happiness if what WE make it.  Let's make some happiness.   






 

She Just Makes Me Happy

Do you have someone in your life who just makes you happy just by being themselves?  I do.  This girl has no idea how much she affects me on a daily basis.  She makes me smile--every day!!!  Every day.  I look forward to her texts every morning and if she hasn't texted me by 9:30, I begin to worry.  And she tells me good night, every night.  And she can't wait to come to my house for Christmas.  I love you, Tara.  She just makes me happy.


That's all I have today.


I love you.


  

Pitching for the Very First Time

There he is.  My oldest grandson.

Pitching for the very first time.  He started

playing baseball only this fall, 7 games ago.

His grandmother couldn’t be prouder.

That’s it on the home front.

I love you.

By the way, these little boys are so cute in their uniforms.

The Old Farmall

We went to the Oklahoma State Fair today and right there in front of me was the old  Farmall H.  Whoa!! immediately sucked back to the 50s.  I learned to drive on a tractor just like this.  That’s the beauty of being a farm kid, you learn to drive ten years before the city kids.  I remember driving a tractor like this at 8 years old, maybe earlier; my brother at 6.  We’d do our best to keep those front two wheels between the row. 

I have to tell you, it really seemed a lot bigger back in the day.  No matter, it’s still huge for a 6 year old child.  Was it dangerous?  Yeah, probably it was.  You can take a look at the last photo and realize how open you were to moving parts, let alone those wheels. 

While I would be a little fearful of allowing my grandsons to drive one of these things at such a young age, I certainly am certainly glad I grew up on a farm………..and was allowed to drive that a Farmall.

I love you!!

Dad You Were Right

Tonight, I'm just setting in the swing pretending I have nothing to do.  I guess maybe I really don't have anything to do...................at this very moment (Sunday evening) which is sweet.  I remember all those Sunday evenings when I was a kid...........dreading my dad's Sunday night drill about how I should make really good grades in typing and shorthand.  Maybe I should let that memory go. 


Dad was smarter than I ever gave him credit back in 1966; a girl had two choices back then.  1)  Go to college or some sort of trade school or 2) Get a job!  Dad could see the writing on the wall and he knew he wanted more for his little girl than living on the farm as a spinster.  He wanted me to meet people and, let's face it, he probably wanted me to find a suitable husband.  Chances are I would meet more suitable husband material in the workforce than driving a tractor or bringing in the cows.  And job choices, let alone careers, were limited, too.  Oh, I had the perfect comeback to those Sunday night debates.  "Daddy, (whining) I will just work at Anthony's or be a waitress at Hamburger King."  Seriously folks, that is as far as my ambitions went especially on those dreaded Sunday nights.  I wasn't about to let my dad know he was wearing me down.  I just quietly passed those typing tests and my steno tests. 


In the end, as much as those Sunday night debates (arguments) irritated me, they actually helped change my life.  In fact typing, with dad's encouragement, probably was instrumental in making me the woman I am today.  It pushed me into a huge air force base, gave me a chance to make friends with people who were unknown to me...different even.  I broadened my horizons.  It allowed this little, extremely shy, farm girl to blossom and overcome some very deep seated self-esteem issues.............and only after 4 or 5 years, I was able to talk to people without turning red.


So nearly 50 years later, I am sorry I gave my dad so much grief over whether I passed a typing test.  Dad you were right.


I love you.
I had no idea what I was going to type about tonight, but this is where I ended up.  I hope to blog more often as it is therapeutic for me, but there are days when nothing seems important enough to write about..........but then again, my whole blog is nothing important.  So I guess I have my groove back.  This is all tongue in cheek.  It's just fun to see what pops into my head. 


 

Do Overs

Tonight I'm setting here wondering where to go for our annual foliage trip.  October will be here before you know it and in some places October will be late for peak colors so we'd better get planning.  Or do we just want to take a fall trip to some place not so well known for the fall colors?  Maybe someplace we have never been.  Maybe Minnesota or Michigan or maybe we will explore more of the Great Lakes area.  Or do we want to do DO OVERS?


DO OVERS?


Seattle..........one of my all-time favorite places in the world.  The whole state is wonderful to me.  I've never saw so many coffee shops in my life...........and apples............ 
Lake Louise, Canada...........(my only out of country DO OVER) I didn't get to spend enough time there.  There are (were) some great cabins nearby and I'd love to stay in one of them one more time.  Wonder if they're still there.
Jackson, WY............the whole Jackson Hole area.  Perfection! 
Maine...........the whole state.  Loved the entire New England area.  And the seafood...superb!
Yosemite National Park/Sequoyah National Park...........Wow!  Spectacular.  You see these parks and you know why long years ago these acres were designated a national park.
Disney World..........surprises you?  This is probably the only entertainment park I would like to go again.  This time, I would like to stay in a hotel on the premises.


There are lots of places I didn't mention; i.e. Niagara Falls, Washington, DC.  Although I loved many, many more places than those above, these six places seem attainable.  Give me three days to do laundry and get the lawn mowed, and I am there..........anywhere.  I think I will dream about a DO OVER.


I love you.

Too Much Food

San Marcos Mexican Food

August 21, 2015

Doesn’t that look like an over-abundance of food?  This is a typical Mexican meal in Oklahoma.  TOO MUCH FOOD!  But it was good……….but TOO MUCH FOOD.  My family, especially the women, loves Mexican food so we are always searching for the perfect one.  We all have our favorite places, but the corn tortillas and salsa will make or break it for us.  Tonight the hubby and I tried San Marcos on Meridian.  It has a lot to offer; the salsa was delicious and the corn tortillas were good, not El Chico’s perfection, but good.  Downside--the quantity of the food was HUGE, OVERWHELMING.  Such a waste of food.  We’d been happy with 1/3 the serving.  

Earlier in the week, we took our grandsons to another Mexican food restaurant, the place they wanted to eat on their last day of summer vacation.  Logan looked down the table and said “Look at all that food.  That is too much food.”  Out of the mouths of babes.  Too much food when so many have so little. 

Too much food – ponder that…………….. 

I love you.

38 Years Ago Tonight

38 years ago tonight, I ate dinner with my hubby, Steven, Mom and Dad in Norman, OK, at the Boomerang Restaurant.  I know specifically because that night was the night before my second child’s birth.  I was pregnant with a little girl (unknown gender in those days). 

We had a wonderful night with my family.  My parents came back to our house for visiting and playing with our almost 3 year old little boy.  I knew before my parents left for home, some 50 miles away, that my water had broken, but I didn’t really realize that contractions would begin soon.

Much to the chagrin of my husband, I took a shower and fixed my hair despite my shower and shampoo earlier in the day, and the fact that my water had broken.  Also, much to my hubby’s chagrin, I had let my parents drive all the way home (some 50 miles or so) only to call them back a few hours later to drive back so that Dad could keep my son while Mom, hubby, and I made our way to the hospital.  Yes, in hind site it wasn’t the smartest move on my part.

Nonetheless, our beautiful Shawna was born bright and early the next day, 8:00 a.m.  Both our babies were born on Sunday.  Sunday’s child—full of grace.

38 Years Ago Tonight

I love you.

Sleep Tight My Sweet Boys

Tonight little boys and girls all over Oklahoma are getting ready for bed in hopes of a good nights sleep, perhaps a little anxious.  Tomorrow is a big day in their lives; the first day of a new school year.  My grandsons are a little nervous tonight, but excited to start 6th grade and 3rd grade.  I pray that God grants these grandchildren a fun and safe year, and that they fall asleep fast and stay asleep.


Today, when we kept them we decided to make their last summer vacation day a lazy day.  To be truthful I had asked them if they wanted to go to the park or zoo, but they just wanted to watch a movie.  They picked, with our urging, "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World".  They'd never seen this G rated gem and it had been years since we'd seen it.  Blaine built a fort using chairs and a sheet, settled inside with pillows to watch, while Logan just rocked back in the recliner.  And the giggling began............for all of us.  At intermission, we all loaded in the car and went for Mexican food, one of their places.  When we got back, we finished the movie.  All in all, a good, relaxing day. 


Sleep tight my sweet boys.  Nana sends Nana love.


I love you.


The movie we saw today was so entertaining.  I remember seeing this at the theater and I was literally hurting from laughing so hard when I left the theater.  Why can't someone make movies like this again?  Are the writers just not as clever and talented?  I don't know.  I do know that lots of parents and grandparents would head to the theater with their families if there was something entertaining for the whole family; something rated G or even PG.     

Roasted Vegetables, Rhonda’s Way

Last time I wrote, I was setting on the front porch enjoying the Saturday afternoon.  I actually was able to make myself get up and mopped the kitchen floor by hand.  By hand I tell ya.  That front porch was still calling my name.  How often do you get days in Oklahoma like that.  I actually fell asleep on the swing and it was WONDERFUL.  The best sleep I have had in a long, long time.  When I woke up I was craving vegetables.  You don’t often hear a person say that, do you?

So I made roasted vegetables, one of my favorite side dishes.   A couple of years ago my youngest sister made this for me and I was hooked.  While I could make this for my entire meal, the hubby seems to think we ought to have a meat. 

My recipe is probably similar to my sister’s, but not as good as hers.  (Doesn’t everything taste better if someone else makes it for you?)  This recipe is easy peasy.  Just chop your vegetables to bite size pieces and toss with olive oil to coat.  Add the savory spices of your choice and toss again.  Pour onto your pan or baking sheet and roast or bake.  I roasted mine using my convection oven, but a conventional oven works well, too.  My convection oven was set at 375 degrees and was done to my desired tenderness, crunchy tender,  in about 25 minutes.  I tossed the vegetables a couple of times during the cooking process to make sure the veggies weren’t burning.

Vegetables can be your choice.  I happened to have broccoli, onions, carrots, and yellow squash on hand so that is what I used for this meal.

Fresh brussel sprouts are fantastic fixed this way.  I halve mine.

That’s all that’s going on around here.

I love you. 

What to Do Next

3:00 p.m. on this most lovely of Saturday afternoons.  We have a rare combination of sunshine, low-80s temperature, and only a very slight breeze.  For Oklahoma, it is indeed rare.  It's August 15th, for Pete's sake.  (Ever ask yourself who Pete is?)  It's suppose to be HOT, HOT, HOT--with emphasis on HOT.


There's not much going on this lazy afternoon on the old homestead.  Another rarity.  I'm setting on the porch swing listening to one lone mockingbird.  Poor guy can't get anybody to respond to any of his calls.  And now I hear one lone LOUD cricket, and poor guy, he can't find anyone to respond to him either.  Now I hear a Blue Jay.............  Such a nice way to spend the afternoon--on the porch.


I'm trying to decide what to do next.  Go to the gas station with hubby to get gas for the mower?  Go inside and clean my house?  Iron?  Mop the kitchen?  Stay right here and listen to the summer sounds?  Hmmmm, I am getting very sleepy................


I love you.  Will tell you what I did next time I write.

1.  

Sisters

Left to right, Kay (sister), Evan (Kay’s grandson), Rhonda (sister)

Tara (my niece), Brenda (sister), and Me

This last weekend, my two Oklahoma sisters, Evan, and I took a road trip to Mississippi to visit our other sister, you know, “the one with the pool”.  (If you’ve ever watched “Keeping Up Appearances” you’d understand the quotes.) We had a wonderful time, eating, swimming, and catching up, but the most enjoyable part of the visit for me was setting around the dining room table getting reacquainted.  We just never have enough time at Christmas.
Take a look at that picture.  Do you think we look alike?  Most people say we do, but while we may look similar in appearance, we have very different views.  We came from the same background—farm gals, so why don’t we think exactly alike?  I’ve been thinking about that since we returned.  Each sister has a unique perspective on life predicated on our family situations.  I think, also, that our views are often those same views of our husbands; not that we don’t have minds of our own, but that our window to the world often reflects the discussions had at our own breakfast tables. 
This last weekend, we had the opportunity to set around the breakfast table as adult sisters.  We had many deep discussions about the world around us, our children, our work, our health, retirement or how soon to retire, hopes and dreams, what we were having for lunch, when were we swimming, where we were going for dinner, etc.  We each came to the table with different baggage (hard knock lives) so everyone had something unique to say.  It was an enlightening time and a time of reflection.  What I saw most was a reflection of Mom and Dad, maybe voiced differently, but a reflection of the values mom and dad instilled in us.  That is the deepest comm0n link of all five of us siblings.  And the common love of good food.
While we are sisters and our opinions can be very different, the bond of love for our parents is the rope that will never break.  These girls, and the brother and our other sister, and other brothers-in-law are family.  The rope that binds us will never break.  No matter the opinions, it is a rope that will NOT break.
I love you all.
P.S.  Our other sister, the one who is our sister by choice and loved deeply, wasn’t able to make this trip.  We will definitely try to get a visit with all of us again soon…..including my brother.  I sometimes hate it that he is a boy and can’t follow us into the bathroom to continue our conversations while we put on makeup.  Yes……..Robert……..let’s plan something together as an entire family.  Something where we can set around a large table and get reacquainted and listen to each other’s stories. 

And We Were 25 Again

There’s nothing like a convertible ride on a summer evening.  And we were 25 again.  I took some phone pictures and even though they are great images, they captured a memory of a nice evening.  We could see the clouds building in the north, but we had no idea than an hour later, we, too, would get some of that delicious summer rain.

Beautiful sunsets, beautiful cloud formations, lightening, thunder equals a wonderful night.  And we were 25 again.

I love you. 

One More Sunday Dinner

Hey everybody.  Don't tell the children, but it is August.......UGH.  Not a huge fan of school, but it is about to start.  Again....UGH.  I pretty much hate school even after almost 50 years, another UGH.  I attend a lot of my grandchildren's school events, but it is almost torture for me.  Not that I don't like to attend for my grandchildren's sake, it is that I just don't have fond memories of my own school years.


But that's not what I want to write about tonight.  Kitchen aromas - that's what I want to talk about.    Yesterday, I had the occasion of cooking a rather large meal and taking it to someone around lunch time.  We took the food and came back about 30 minutes later so the aroma of ham and hot rolls, dumplings and scalloped potatoes still lingered in the air when I opened the door.  And did it ever smell good.  There's nothing like the sense of smell to take me back to that special place with those I love.


That is where I went Sunday; back to those special people I love.  Every Sunday for years (and then they cut it back to every other Sunday) my grandma, aunts, and mom would take turns fixing a huge Thanksgiving-type meal for all their families.  No restaurant can compare to the wonderful aromas when we'd first walk in after church; roast beef, ham, fried chicken, smothered steak, or pork chops in the oven.  Talk about comfort food--we had it all; great food, a wonderful family, and an afternoon of playing with cousins.  Comfort food is about love and that is where I went Sunday--right back to those I love.  Wish I could have one more Sunday dinner with them. 


I love you.


      

A Little Nap Never Hurts

Good afternoon everybody.  What a week it has been so far.  Exhausted -- I can't begin to tell you how much.  Not much sleep the last few days because of family sickness and life's issues. 


Yesterday, I went for some ultrasounds on my heart and my neck arteries to make sure nothing was going on that might be cause for mini-strokes.  Blood clots could be cause of my ocular migraines.  I know I am fine and when the doctor sent me for these tests I felt that it was overkill, that I am fine.  Nonetheless I went.  The tests took 2 hours and when you are there in the darkened room that long and looking at the ultrasound screen, it began to take a toll on me.  Is there actually something wrong with me?  Can I possibly be having mini-strokes at my age?  They didn't tell me they were going to inject saline.  Why is he taking so many snapshots.  What does that white color mean, the red color, the green color??  Why do we do this to ourselves?  I was totally mentally exhausted by the time I got home.


Later in the evening, my daughter texted that not only the baby had strep, my daughter had fever, and her oldest son, too.  My middle grandson had strep last week and now they are falling like dominoes.  Everyone over at their house was a little stressed.  And you know my motto, a mother is only as happy as her least happy child.  Last night my daughter was extremely worried about her daughter and her breathing and screaming.  Naturally, I was, too.  Finally, about 1:00 p.m. everything calmed down a bit at their house and the baby was sleeping.  Over here at my house, not knowing exactly what was happening over there, I couldn't sleep.  Mothers are like that, they worry whether the child is a year old or 40 years old.  It is what we do.  I wouldn't have it any other way.     


Finally, the dawn came and my spirits lifted just a bit.  Time has a way of healing or helping most things.  We just have to wait it out.  The children are better.  Daughter is better, and I'm doing ok.  But it is time to rest.........a little nap never hurts. 


I love you. 

Lemon Shrimp Linguine

Tonight I made a wonderful Lemon Shrimp Linguine.  It was absolutely wonderful which I probably could never replicate since I didn’t use a recipe.  Basically, it was shrimp sautéed in olive oil and butter with crushed garlic.  I added about a half cup of white wine, juice of half a lemon, a tablespoon of capers, half cup of halved grape tomatoes, and 3/4 cup quartered artichoke hearts.  Pour this sauce over linguine, top with shredded parmesan.  To add a little extra taste, top with a chiffonade of basil.  Delish!

But………..I forgot the Lemon Thyme………..the basic reason I made this dish.  I had thought all afternoon that the lemon thyme would taste great in this dish, but I forgot (chalk that up to old age),

My little herb garden.  Clockwise from Upper left – Rosemary,

Cilantro (which has gone to seed), Lemon Thyme, and Oregano

Another pot of Greek, Mexican and Italian Oregano, but I have no idea which is which.

Lemon Shrimp Linguine

I love you!

Basil–It’s Perfect!

My little basil plant, what’s left of it after picking.

If there is one herb that I dearly love, it is basil.  I love the beautiful shiny leaves, I love smell of it, and I love the taste of it.  It’s perfect.  If I could only plant two things, it would be tomatoes, and what goes perfectly with tomatoes???  BASIL. 

I love bruschetta and there are lots of “recipes” out there, but I love to put it together by taste–no recipe.  I add chopped tomatoes, the more juice the merrier, finely diced garlic (I cannot emphasize strongly enough the word finely), a little bit of olive oil, and balsamic, salt and pepper.  I just taste as I add the ingredients and if it needs a little more balsamic, I add it in.  Proportions of olive oil to tomatoes are up to you.  I don’t add much, maybe a teaspoon per 1 1/2 cups tomatoes, but again, that is personal preference.  I often reduce my balsamic to make more of  a syrup which sweetens it up a tad.  Also delicious.  I often eat this just like a cold soup, but traditionally it is served with baguette toast slices.

Another bruschetta I like is totally different.  Simple.  Toast baguette slices very lightly, in fact, just dried will be fine.  Rub a clove of garlic lightly over the toasted bread.  Add slices of fresh tomatoes over the bread.  Add a pinch of shredded parmesan cheese, just a little, and a few shreds of basil.  Drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil over the tomatoes, and a bit of sea salt.  Pop under the broiler.  Broil until the tomatoes are slightly softened.   The basil will blacken  so if you prefer, you can add the basil after cooking.

I love a simple Caprese Salad.  Sliced fresh mozzarella interspersed with fresh tomato slices arranged around a plate.   Reduce balsamic vinegar till syrup and drizzle artfully over the cheese and tomatoes.  Drizzle olive oil to taste over the cheese, too.  Chiffonade basil and sprinkle the shreds around the plate.

And PESTO!!!!  Another favorite.  There are all manner of pesto recipes on the internet, but the one I love the most is my sister-in-law’s recipe.  I made a double batch this week and put it in the freezer for future winter nights.  I may not put much more in the freezer this year because I have several left from last year.  I used some a couple weeks ago and it was still delicious.   Here’s the thing about pestos…………….they are laden with high fat ingredients.  So I try to only use pesto when celebrating with a special meal.  But if fat was not a factor, this would be on my table once a week, I love it that much!

Another new recipe I have acquired is a burger recipe with 1/2 cup basil.  What could be better……….gourmet burger deluxe.  We loved this recipe so much that it is now in my recipe file.  I have served these burgers twice this week and hubby loved them.

I could go on and on about basil……………a relatively new plant to me, but wait, I have.  So I will let you have your own dreams about basil.  How about adding some to your next sandwich or, better yet, how about making a basil aioli. 

Basil – it’s perfect.

I love you.

Shrimp Cocktail Quest

Ever since leaving my sister's house in Mississippi, I have been craving shrimp.  Let me set this blog post stage up for you.  You see, at Georgia Blues in Brookhaven, MS, my sister treated me to one of the best meals of my entire life.......all 60 some odd years.  It was Cheesy Shrimp and Grits and I kid you not, I swooned.  Well, I made a contented sound.  I put that first cheesy bite in my mouth and knew I had TRUE southern comfort food....the one you always hear about.


Well, that experience just left my taste buds wanting more--specifically shrimp.  So the other night at a local Midwest City restaurant I tried a shrimp cocktail before my shrimp scampi meal.  See - I told you I was craving shrimp.  I got something that could resemble a shrimp cocktail if you looked really hard.  It was shrimp.  Six of them.  It had a dab of cocktail sauce, and it was in a teeny-weeny aperitif glass, almost miniature looking.  The restaurant was an old restaurant built in the 1980s so I thought I would get a "Shrimp Cocktail".  Now I will grant you, I haven't had a shrimp cocktail since probably 1975, but I was sorely disappointed.  Honey, back then you could get A SHRIMP COCKTAIL. 


Back before Alexis Carrington was fighting Crystal, you could get a SHRIMP COCKTAIL of magnitude.  It was a very elegant and special treat.  They came in a huge, usually stemmed, glass or specifically designed dish.  The shrimp, usually six, would be artfully arranged around the edge and the glass would be garnished with a frilly curled celery stick and a wedge of lemon.  Shredded lettuce would be placed in the bottom with a large serving of cold, cold cocktail sauce over the lettuce.  The more elegant restaurants had dishes that held crushed ice and the cocktail sauce was in a bowl inside the crushed ice, again with the shrimp artfully arranged around the edge.  When the waiter brought one out, it was a thing of beauty, a huge frosted stemmed cocktail glass on plate lined with a napkin.  It left other diners jealous that they hadn't ordered one.


So I guess technically I did have a shrimp cocktail the other night.  I guess maybe we have gotten so used to having these specialty treats that people of a younger generation see them as nothing other than something they add to the menu to appease the older generation.  The elegance of a shrimp cocktail is gone, at least at that one restaurant.


So I am still on a quest for shrimp; specifically a good old 1970s shrimp cocktail.  That experience left me wanting.....still on my shrimp cocktail quest.


I love you.


I tried making my own cocktail the other night, but the shrimp I picked up at Sam's Club just wasn't very good.  The flavor was lacking.........still craving shrimp.


 

Chuck’s Chocolate Ice Cream

I made the following ice cream many, many moons ago and my brother-in-law loved it and he has mentioned it at least once a year ever since.  My hubby and I didn’t care much for it, but as a surprise for Chuck, I made it this morning and will take it to him tomorrow.  Sssh!  It’s a surprise!  I wonder if he will like it as much tomorrow as he did years ago.    

I’m channeling the PW and posting pictures and instructions below just in case Chuck wants to make this himself.  Pretty simple.

3 ingredients:

1 can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk

2/3 cup Hershey’s Syrup

2  cups Heavy Whipping Cream (Whipped)

Whip the cream till stiff peaks form.  Don’t over beat, Chuck, or you will have butter.  Remember that discussion?  Set aside.

In another bowl, pour in the chocolate syrup and the sweetened condensed milk.

Stir until well blended and looks like this.  Almost caramel colored.

Now add the whipped cream.

Fold the cream into the chocolate mixture.  This is a slow process where you cut through the cream with your spatula and gently lift the chocolate to the top.  You do NOT want to rush this process or your whipped cream will loose its airiness.   (Don’t worry, this is the hardest part of the recipe.)

Keep folding and you think this might be done, but it is not!

See, I told you.  Look at that ribbon of chocolate.  Keep folding until it looks like

THIS!!!  VIOLA!!!

I guess you noticed, I poured the folded mixture into a foil-lined loaf pan and will freeze for at least 6 hours. 

And here is the recipe cut from a magazine many, many moons ago.

I think I will rename it Chuck’s Chocolate Ice Cream.

See, Chuck, even YOU can do this!

 

Happy Fourth of July, Everyone

 

I love you.