Medicine Mania and Madness

It's been a rough week and a half for me. My dr changed one of my bp meds because I had started having terrible swelling in my legs and feet. She told me that one of my meds had been changed. We have now tried me on a new one with two different dosages. I don't think I'm going to be able to take either of them. They lower my bp too much, and I feel like I want to jump out of my skin.

I've been taking Lotrel and Toprol for about 6 years. I had a pheochromocytoma(fee-oh for short) that had to be removed, and one of the lasting effects of that little jewel is that you are doomed to a life of taking bp meds. In order to get mine balanced, we had to use two. Now the drug company has decided to remove an ingredient from one of them and the dr said other folks had been in with the same problem. So we changed to another one. My delima right now is that I have confused myself about which one I'm replacing with the new one. What a dingbat I've become!

Of the two I'd taken all this time, one is a calcium channel blocker, and the other is a beta blocker. The one I thought she told me to stop taking was the beta blocker, but when I looked up the new one online, it seems it is a calcium channel blocker. All this seems totally confusing, don't you agree? I knew you would.

So, I now have to call the dr's office and my conversation will go something like this: Pam: 'Dr's office, may I help you? Me: Hi Pam, this is Shirley SXXXX, you know week before last when I was in and doc gave me the med to replace one of the two I was taking? Pam: Uhh, I remember you were in, but you probably need to talk to nurse Jennifer. Jennifer: What is your dob? Me 01/03/49. Jennifer: And what is your question? Me: I repeat the question above. Jennifer: I'd better check with the dr when she comes in, and I'll call you back. Me: Thanks.'

Now I'll tell you what she probably said to the dr. 'You know that dumb woman that was in a few days ago(my name inserted). Well, after changing her med a second time, now she isn't sure if she is taking it in the place of the right one.' Dr: 'I know, she's a real dingbat. Maybe I should call daughter #1 or daughter #2 and tell them she really does need a keeper, but in the meantime, I'll look at her chart and you can call her back.'

You can see what I have to deal with can't you. Thing is, I've known my dr since she was about two years old, and she won't really ask my daughters to get me a keeper-- at least not behind my back.

On top of that, I think I'm trying to take a cold. My son's family was sick when they were here last week, and I took care of the baby quite a bit. I think she left me with something. And I also think I need a hip replacement, but I'll discuss that with all of you at a later time. I may go to the the chiropracter in the meantime.

So on this wonderful Monday, may I say thank you for listening to my complaints. What are yours? I'm willing to listen to yours since you've been so patient with me. And remember, I have that inquiring mind thing going on.

Late on Sunday

I'm getting a late start today. First, I overslept, so I didn't get the eggs deviled or the potatoes peeled until I got home from church. Nuff said!

The answer to the question about the celestial body that determines Easter is--drum roll please--Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the Spring Equinox.

Lizaj got the equinox part. The full moon is the celestial body.

We have had good weather for Easter. A little cool, but what I consider sweater weather. The sun was out and it was a beautiful day. I was reading another blogger's site the other day, and she ended her writing with 'Christ is Risen' and another blogger, said in her comment, Christ is Risen Indeed'. I didn't take much notice, but at the beginning of our sermon this morning, our minister talked about how that was a greeting among early Christians. The first being the greeting, and the second the response. He even tried it out on us. Usually, we don't interact with the sermon, we mainly listen, and occassionaly hear an AMEN, but it's unusual for us to respond verbally to the sermon.

Talk to you tomorrow. Christ is Risen.

What are you cooking for Easter?

LATE BREAKING NEWS FLASH-- In case you are just joining us, or are checking back, I'm making Chickens in the Road's grandmother bread. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Do you have your family in on Easter Sunday? Do you have Easter Brunch, or Easter Lunch? If so, do you make all the food or do you get to carry a dish somewhere else?

For some reason, we always seem to have ham and deviled eggs as part of our lunch. We have other dishes with that, but those seem to be the main stays.

This year, our family is scattered. My son and his family were here last week, so they won't be back. My daughter #2 and her family are going to her MIL's for lunch, and my 10 year old grandson is going to Mississippi. My oldest grandson is working.

That leaves daughter #2 and myself. We are trying to decide whether to just go out and eat or what. I'm leaning twoard a crockpot of dressing, deviled eggs, and carrot cake. I'm sure there'll also be some rolls and maybe a salad of some kind.

But it will be lonely since there will be no sounds of squealing children wanting to hurry and eat so they can hunt eggs.

Tell me about your traditions. Remember, I have that inquiring mind thing going on.

Trivia question: What celectial body determines what Sunday Easter falls on?

Note to my #1 daughter--It's not John Wayne!

What's Growing Under Your Birdfeeder?

I stayed home yesterday in an effort to get adjusted to my new blood pressure medicine. When sitting in my recliner, I can see out to the driveway which is made of packed chat. I began to notice a big fat robin, and as I watched it, I realized that it was eating a worm. My eyesight isn't great but I could tell it was a big fat worm. The poor worm was wiggling and squirming around all while the robin pecked at it.

I've seen birds with what I thought might be a worm in their beaks, but this robin wasn't holding it. It was on the driveway and couldn't manage to get back into the ground. So robin was pecking away.

I grew up on a farm and saw all manner of animals doing all maner of things, but I don't remember paying much attention to the birds. We had a lot of crows and blackbirds, but mainly we wanted to be rid of them, and I can remember my mother saying she had a mockingbird that sat on the tv antenna and sang, but I just didn't pay much attention to any of them.

Now, since I don't have access to other animals(I have not pets), I enjoy watching the birds. And it's always interesting to see what kinds of birds come to the feeder, and what they do while they are there. In the process of eating, seeds fall to the ground. Some birds will eat from there, while others never seem to notice what has fallen. As a result of seeds falling, I've had some unusual plants spring forth under there. I've had grass, caster beans and other assorted things that come up. What grows under the bird feeder?


Trivia question: Put on your Gunsmoke hat. We all know Marshall Matt Dillon was played by James Arness. The question for today is who recommeded he be the choice to play this role?

Hope the rain is receding or the snow is melting from your surroundings. After all, yesterday was the first day of spring.

Tater Plantin Day

We always had a big garden when I was a child. We lived on a farm where we grew our chickens that laid eggs and we ate both. We raised pork, had a milk cow and grew cotton, soybeans, corn and a honkin big garden. My mother canned everything she could.

In the spring, we would buy a hundred lbs of seed potatoes and mother would cut the eyes out of them and we would get them ready to plant. Daddy would take his tractor, with a small disk and get the soil ready, and we would plant the potatoes.

His thinking was that if you didn't get them in the ground by March 20th, you wouldn't have a crop. The ground was often cold and pretty wet, but plant those potatoes, we did.

I think this was almost a rite of spring. There may have been a few buds on the trees, and there may have been a few other things turning a bit green, but he fully expected that as the leaves unfolded on the trees, there would be potatoes coming through the ground.

By the way, that was his last part of the garden. From there on it was my mother's garden, and he didn't set foot in it.

Neither of my parents are still living - my mother died in an automobile accident in June of 1969, and my father died of cancer in October, 1993. He never got the soil ready for potatoes after my mother died. There were a lot of things he never did after he lost her. He did, however, remarry, and had a good life for another 24 years. He and I became very close especially in his later years. He mellowed, and I matured. It was a sort of coming together.

I miss him, yet, I see him in my children and grandchildren, and since they remember him so well, we speak of him often.

Don't Know Why There's no Sun up in the Sky, Stormy Weather

This was my yard about 7:30AM this morning. There's no place for it to go, and there is seep water coming from the river nearby. The levee would have to break before my house is in any danger, but I'm thinking about getting a fishing pole.

I went outside last night at the risk of life and limb to make pictures of the scary looking clouds. I did this while the tornado sirens were blaring, and the weatherman on tv was saying, 'go to your safe place'.

I got one picture, but it wasn't light enough to tell anything about it. If I had a fancy, smancy copy of photoshop--no, even if I did, I couldn't make it viewable.

Speaking about that safe place. Unfortunately, I am just a bit claustrophobic -- well, that and the fact that I was dragged to a storm shelter made of cross ties and dirt as a child. I hated the smell, and had a terrible fear that I would be buried alive. I can remember promising myself that when I was old enough to decide for myself whether or not to go into a storm house, I would adamantly refuse, and have done so for about 40 years.

We had a lot of storm warnings last night. It was just beginning to hit as I left work at 5:00. That passed, and then about 10:20, it started again.

I don't like storms, I'd be crazy to say otherwise. But I'm fascinated with the lightening. I'm absolutely mesmerized by it. I think about how quickly it flashes and then is gone. I expect the next coming of Christ to be similar.

We had storm damage to the north of us. Up in the hills, there has been flooding. With all the rain, trees were uprooted, and anytime trees are uprooted, power lines come down. My oldest daughter who lives north of here, was without power for a while, but it was back on by about 7:30PM.

What do you do when bad weather comes? Do you stay in your house and hope you make it through-kinda like me? Do you have a storm shelter or basement? What about when you were a kid?

Our bad weather ritual when I was a kid was that my mother(who was deathly afraid of storms) would walk the floor from one window to another. She would finally convince my dad that we should take shelter. Shelter was that storm house I described above which was about 3 miles away. Oh, and did I mention that to get to it, we had to drive on a road that was atop a levee. We were taken from our beds, herded into a pickup truck to make the trip. What kept us from being blown off that levee was nothing short of a miracle.

We arrived at the house where the storm shelter was, and were allowed inside with my aunt, uncle and three cousins. Now from the time I can remember, the first thing I needed to do when I first woke up was to go to the bathroom. And I know you are thinking, 'A storm shelter with a bathroom?' Not hardly! So there I was, already wet from getting into and out of the truck, and needing to go to the bathroom. I would whisper this into my mother's ear, which my dad always heard, and promptly would berate me for being a problem. Everyone would be nice and let me get into the area that was already wet, so I could tinkle. Those are awful memories, so you can see why I choose to let it rain and try my best to ignore it.

Hopefully, not everyone who reads this will have had such a bad exprience. But tell me about your bad weather experiences anyway. You know how nosey I am. So please, fess up. Make me feel better about mine.

Late Start

I'm getting a late start this morning. But it's been busy around my place. My son and his family were here over the weekend-- three of them being congested and coughing. My ten year old grandson came in with bright red cheeks with a rash. The dr changed my blood pressure medicine on Thursday, and I found a tick on the back of my left sholder this morning.

Needless to say, the blood pressure medicine is too strong. After monitoring it for a few days, I called the doc this morning and she is sending me out something different.

So now, I'm trying to decide if I will have tick fever from my tick bite. You see, one thing you don't know about me is I'm a closet hypochondriac. I am always thinking I have some dread terminal illness or something. I try not to share that with too many people though, because if I'm really sick, I want people to sit up and take notice. I want other people to say, 'she must be really sick, she never complains'.

I'm more concerned that my grandchildren may also be tick infested. So being the wonderful grandmother that I am, I sent off an email to their respective mothers to check all the kids for ticks.

My ten year old grandson got up Sunday morning having his rash widespread. My daughter took him to the dr(he's never sick). He has Fifth's disease. A childhood disease that is spread while they have fever(he didn't know he'd had any), and once you break out, you are no longer contagious. His mother sent him on to school. It may take up to 14 days for it to run it's course.

So what crazy things are happening in your life today? I want to know. I have an inquiring mind.

I hope everyone had a good St. Patty's day yesterday.

My Four Year Old Grandchildren

Here are a couple of pics of my four year old grandchildren. Boy was four in January and Girl was four in February. They are cousins, and right now they don't get to see each other often, but that's about to change.

Boy belongs to my Beloved Son, and Girl belongs to my youngest daughter. My beloved son and his family have lived 5 hours west of me for seven years, but that is changing. My beautiful DIL has taken a job in the bigger city west of me, and they were here looking at houses and property this weekend.

DIL has to be at work the middle of April, and she and the kiddos will possibly be here with me for a while. Then my Beloved Son will follow when he gets things wrapped up where they now live.

Soon, I'll be able to see my son's children every day if I want to. I'll be able to help get them to school and home again, when they need me to. I'm so excited that they will soon be home again.

Most Embarrassing Moment # 3,027

Yes, there's been a lot of them. I have said for some time that no one can say or do anything to embarrass me and make me turn red with one exception. That would be me. I've never been one to blush, and am seldom at a loss for words. But occassionally, I manage to do or say something that turns me a crimson red.

I have a friend that turns red at the drop of a hat. Doesn't have to be anything out of the ordinary, it just happens.

Let me begin. Several years ago a dear friend of mine lost her husband to a brazen hussey. I don't think I've ever spelled 'hussey', so I'm not sure if it's acutally hussey, or if it should be hussy. You do, however, get my drift.

Needless to say, my friend was depressed and despondent. It was bad--ok? Another friend and I decided it was time to get her out of town and her mind off her troubles. We decided to take her to spend the day shopping in Memphis. We decided to get all dressed up and act, well, act like we had a bit of class. So we did. We made silk purses our of three sow's ears, and off we went. I wore a two piece dress with a gored skirt made of a light silky fabric along with hose and heels. Do you possibly know where I'm going with this?

I don't even remember where all we went, but for lunch we went to Houston's. At the time, one of the most sought after eating places in town. We put our names on the list, and waited for a table.

Finally our name was called and we were seated in a booth that was one step higher than the main floor. And did I mention, the seats were a type of plastic. We ordered our drinks and an appetizer, and while we waited, we all went to the restroom--way in the back of the restaurant. I was last.

We ate our lunch, chatted and felt we had made progress with our friend's disposition. The check came, and as I slid out and stood up, my back was facing the open dining area. At that nano-second, I felt a breeze. It seems I had prespired a bit, and the air was quite cool on my shining behind. I had shown my hiney to the entire group of people congregated there.

I managed not to scream, but made enough noise that my friends immediately looked to see what was going on. Then they died laughing--along with everyone else in the room. Fortunately, they did so as they helped me get my dresstail out of my panty hose. In retrospect, I can't understand why I didn't hear applause. I'm sure it was very entertaining. I'm not sure that the people who had seen me come out of the restroom, hadn't, in fact, stayed to see the end of my performance.

Fortunately, when I embarrass myself, I also manage to see the humor in it as well. We took our check to the cashier on the way out, and she was one of those who had been laughing uncontrollably. I suggested that since I was the floor show, I should have gotten my meal free.

What is Conasta, you ask?

Conasta is a card game. And just about everyone plays it differently.

In our group, you have four players at a table with the person directly across from you being your partner. Conastas are seven cards of the same suit. A red is all seven being the same, while a black can have up to three wild cards.

We play for points. Two decks of cards are used, but I'm hearing there are games that use three or five decks. Each player gets 13 cards. Red threes are bonus points. Each being worth 100 points. If you get all four, the points double. The black threes are simply wild cards that freezes play for the next person. Two's and Jokers freeze the deck differently. The person to the left of the one who threw the wild card can't pick up. But once a two or joker has been thrown(you turn them sideways so they are easy to see), you have to have two of what has been discarded by your neighbor to pick up the discard pile.

Two's and jokers are also wild. And when counting points, or melding, the twos are worth 20 points and the jokers are worth 50.

You can't pick up the discard pile unless you have melded. To do this, you must lay down cards that total at least 50 points. You can use wild cards in your meld, but you must always have one less wild card than regular cards.

Play moves to the left of the dealer. If a card is thrown, and there have been no twos or jokers thrown, you can pick up the discard pile with one like the discard and a wild card(two or joker) or two just like the discard . If there has been a wild card thrown, you must have two of the discard.
Have I totally confused you yet? If not, read on.

Red conastas are worth 500 points, black are worth 300. If you had a perfect deal, that's worth 200 as is going out. To get your total, add up your conastas, perfect deal, going out(playing all the cards in your hand and having at least one red and one black conasta), and any red threes you may have. This gives you your base total.

Then you count all the cards you had laid down. Jokers, 50, Twos and Aces 20, Kings to eights, 10 and seven down are worth only 5.

We play a hand, then switch tables. You can buy cards that are also used for bridge, that tells you which table and who will be your partner next hand. This card is given to you by the hostess at the beginning. She puts the names and assigns a number before the game begins.

I'm sure this is much more than you wanted to know about Conasta. In all probability, once you read that it is a card game, you were finished. Or even if you read a little more, you probably became totally bored about mid way through and quit. I wouldn't blame you for that.

Tomorrow, I think I'll tell you about my most(or at least one of my most)embarassing moments.

I Won! I Won! I Won!

Ok, so it wasn't the lottery, but I did win at conasta last night. The prize is a whopping $25. I don't win very often, so it was exciting for me.

I mentioned in yesterday's post that I had been playing for about 23 years with a group of ladies. Let me tell you about our group. When we started, we were all young women with school age children. Our group lost a few who either got tired of playing, moved or had husbands who didn't want to be saddled with kids on their own one night a month. We invited new people to goin our group. We took this opportunity to catch up on everything going on in our small town world. We played 3 hands, eating between each and afterward. It was always 11 or so before we went home.

But for us who could get out, it was a night of fun, laughter good food and fellowship. When we first started, it was a type of potluck. The hostess furnished the main dish, and we brought everything else from appetizers, veggies, desserts to the paper plates and napkins. The hostess also supplied the prizes. We had a high and second high prize. You can imagine how hard it was to come up with something original all those years.

Then as we got a bit older and a bit smarter, we decided to continue to have the meal, but the hostess furnished everything, once a year, rather than carrying something every time. We felt like a burden had been lifted. It was so much more fun to just show up, have a good time, eat, play, eat, play, eat, (didn't I mention that already), clean up the kitchen and go home. All diets flew out the window once a month. And I might add, we would usually be home by 10.

This went on for several years, and all was well in the conasta world. By now we had grown children and a few of us were grandmothers. We helped each other with wedding showers, decorated for weddings and helped furnish and serve the food for receptions, gave baby showers, and continued to play cards each month.

Then someone mentioned that since we were all getting older, and since a big meal wasn't the smartest thing at night for most of us, maybe we should start having finger foods and dessert. Oh, and probably a salad should be in the mix. That sounded like a good idea. Not as much work for the hostess, and we could graze on this type of stuff and not feel so guilty--right? So this is the course we have taken. It was also about this time that we got smart about the prizes. There would now be one prize--$25 bucks. Cash! No time spent out buying gifts, no time wondering what in the world can I get within the specified price range that would be used and appreciated.(We'd had a sub who bragged one time that she was going to have to have a yard sale to get rid of all the stuff she'd won. Which she no longer had to worry about since she no longer got called to sub. We showed her--hmfp. The very idea. A yard sale to sell all the beautiful, wonderful items we'd spent so much time choosing.)

So that is the avenue we took. Finger foods made and served by the hostess, a $25 prize, and now we all manage to be home by 9. And did I mention that we ate, played, ate, played and ate some more. We also had somehow managed to go from three hands to two. And now we seem to be fortunate to have three tables full. We usually play two and if we have more than eight in attendance, the hostess usually sits out and sometimes others do as well.

We are all getting a bit long in the tooth and where we used to talk about birthing babies and the struggles of young motherhood, now we spend our time talking about our ailments(and we have one gal who has had a tummy tuck recently), and how beautiful our grandbabies are.

We are also forgetful and a little confused. Someone mentioned that if we continue to be so absent-minded, that our daughters will have to come with us just to make sure we get to the right table to play. I'm hoping that the aids will wheel us into the dining room at the home and let us play if our arthritic hands will hold the cards.

Needless to say, our group had come a long way with six of us being charter members(not that we have a charter), but we've hung together through thick and thin. Some of us don't see each other except for that one time a month. We get aggravated at each other some times, but more than anything else, we share a bond. We've all lost parents during this process. A couple of us have lost husbands to divorce, and one to death, fortunately no children or grandchildren. When these times come along, we are there for each other to help any way we can. And we always remember the many times we've been together laughing and having a good time.

Are you fortunate enough to have this type of friends? If you are, share them with me. I'd love to hear about them.

One Down, Two to Go

I promised that when I finished my youngest granddaughter's Easter dress, I'd post a picture. Well, here is it.

That's a good thing. Unfortunately, I have two more to do. I'm supposed to smock one, and my daughter(the girl's mother) is smocking the other one. Then I have to have them sewn together and ready for next Sunday.

The youngest is a tiny little thing. Her dress is lavendar. The older girls have the same dress. The Blonde's dress is sky blue, and the Brunette's is spring green. They are all going to be made the same. Did I say that already? We hope to get pictures of them together.

Our Gospel meeting came to an end last night. It was a wonderful meeting. We had many responses, and the preaching was wonderful. My body is tired and cranky this morning, but my spirit is refreshed.

I play cards tonight with my conasta club, and my son and his family will be here Friday to look at daycare and some houses. They are moving home soon. My DIL has a new job that she will begin mid April, and my son has some loose ends to tie up, and he'll be here as well. I'm very excited that they are moving back. They've been gone for 7 years, and now with two children, they want to be closer to home and family. I'm truly blessed.

I'm having a full week. I need rest. I guess that'll come in a few years. I've too much to do this week.

Are you having a busy week? If so, tell me about yours.

Have you been baptized or goodtized?

My son-in-law had been attending worship with us ever since he and my daughter married, but had never become a member of our church.

My daughter and I discussed the fact that we would love for him to be baptized from time to time, and one day were doing so as we were driving with her two young daughters in the back seat. You don't expect the little ones to be paying attention to what you are discussing, since they have videos to watch while you drive.

The youngest(three at the time) began boohooing loudly. Naturally, we asked what was wrong. Through her tears she managed to say, 'I don't want my daddy to be badtized, I want him to be goodtized.' We looked at each other other and tried not to burst out laughing, which was almost impossible. How do you explain to a child that being badtized was really a good thing.

I am happy to report that he has now been goodtized.

A Four Year Old and her Tic-A-Fit

I am asked ocassionally to pick up my four year old granddaughter, The Brunette, after work and either take her home with me or deliver her to one of her parents. This I gladly do, since she is one of the great joys in my life.

Yesterday was one of those days. Dad didn't get off work until 6, mom had to go home and pick up the Blonde after school. I went to her 'school', gathered up her paraphernalia while she chattered like a little magpie. I was getting the things from her cubby and one of them was a laminated piece of paper that told she was student of the week last week. It had her name prined in large letters and a bright orange lion decorated the upper left corner.

We discussed what it was with Ms. Whitney, the afternoon worker, and she told Brunette just how proud of her she was. Being student of the week is quite a feat for this little bundle of energy since she has a hard time being still and is almost never quiet unless she's asleep.

We got into the car and began to talk about the letter she is studying this week and some words that begin with an 'S'. Then she began talking about a 'tic-a-fit'. I let her talk and basically agreed with her, not having a clue what she was talking about--dangerous, huh? Then very casually she asked for her 'tic-a-fit'. I asked her 'what are you talking about?' and she repeated it.

I finally had to tell her I didn't know what she was saying. She said, 'you know memaw, that thing with the lion on it'. Then it dawned on me, she was wanting her certificate. Now as most of you know, you can't just burst out laughing, even though you think it is so funny, and I certainly found the humor in this little phrase, but I handed it to her and she rattled on. So very proud of her accomplishments and her 'tic-a-fit'.

After I took her to meet her daddy, I didn't feel so bad. He didn't have a clue what she was saying either. And he's a smart daddy too. He didn't laugh out loud either.

All children have some words or phrases that come out crooked. Tell me about yours.

We are having a gospel meeting this week. Last night's topic was 'Revive us through Prayer'. Scripture was based on James 5:13-20. If we feel the need for prayer, we are to ask others to pray for us. Please pray for me. My prayer life needs strengthening.

Monday Morningitis

I have a severe case of Monday Morningitis. Don't know what that is? It is an extreme desire to stay home and stay in bed. You've had it. Maybe on Monday, maybe yours was a case of Tuesday Morningitis or even Friday Morningitis. We all have this ailment on occasion.

And I could give you a million reasons why I have it this morning, but I'm blaming it primarily on the time change. I usually wake up about 5:00AM and lie in bed like a lazy person until the alarm goes off about 5:10. But my body hasn't changed just because I ran all 12 clocks and watches up one hour. There's no button or knob for your internal clock. So as I write this it's actually about 4:30AM--according to my body clock that is.

We had a busy day yesterday. I didn't get my Sunday afternoon nap. We had pot luck at church, then the two granddaughter sisters took their nap at my house, then we went back to church last night. The service was a bit longer than usual, which was fine, but then we took the granddaughter sisters to get a bite to eat, and then the 25 minute drive home.

I was bushed when I finally went to bed, but that didn't keep the alarm from going off this morning. This is one of those days I'd like to have used a baseball bat on it. But it's time to get myself into the shower, hope there's something clean I can wear today(see how unorganzed I am) and take myself off to the office and try to stay awake. I sure hope there are no early morning meetings. I don't do caffeine any more, and that's usually what is served, so I'm up a creek without a paddle.

Sunday Potluck and Crockpot Dressing

My mother could make the best dressing I ever ate. Unfortunately, she died before I was able to learn her secrets. Then a friend, who was also a wonderful cook, taught me to make it the way she did, and I made that for years.

In December of 2000, I got my Rural Arkansas magazine that was sent to anyone who was on a rural electric system. It always had a couple of pages of recipes. In this particular issue there was a recipe for Crockpot Dressing. I love trying new recipes and decided to try this one just to see how it would turn out. It is the closest thing to my mother's and my friend's dressing I have ever found, and is the easiert to make. It is the same time after time, and is always requested for pot luck. I now use those liners in my crockpot, and our minister calls it dressing in a bag.

I thought I'd share it with you today. I think what I like about it is the fact that I don't have to boil a chicken, pick the meat off the bones and hope my broth is rich enough to have a good taste. Here it is.

1 - 8 inch pan of cornbread
8 slices day old bread
1 medium onion chopped
2 cans chicken broth
1 can cream of celery soup
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 Tablespoons sage
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
4 eggs
2 Tablespoons butter

Heat the two cans of broth, and pour over the crumbled breads. This helps them soften. Add the onion, the soups and the seasonings. Then stir in the eggs. Mix well. Pour into crockpot and dot with margarine. Cook on high 3 hours or on low 3 to 4 housr. Stir half way through.

You can also add boiled chicken to this if you like to have your chicken in your dressing.

Hope everyone attends worship this morning. And I hope you remembered to set your clocks ahead 1 hour, unless you live in Arizona or Hawaii.

PS Our snow all melted yesterday. It was beautiful while it lasted.

Breaking News - We Have Snow!!!!

You remember that snow I complained about not getting yesterday morning? By the time I got half way to work, it began a light dusting type of snow. This continued most of the morning as I watched it out my window.

By noon, it was beginning to come down pretty hard, but the streets weren't slick. I know this because we went out for lunch. Just couldn't stay in. About 2:30, we were informed that the university would close at 3:00. My supervisor came by and suggested that I start on home since I had the longest drive of those who were there.

I didn't wait to be told twice, I shut down my pc and headed home. I made it without incident, and made a pot of Pioneer Woman's Sherried Tomato Soup - minus the Sherry, and fixed some bread like her thyme bread - minus the thyme.

According to the weather, we have 6 inches of snow(it's the funniest thing, every time I try to type the word snow, I accidentally type snot).

Everyone at work was grumpy in a nice way. We all thought we'd get up and be snowed in. So we grumped and complained. But we did get to come home a little early.

We haven't had snow this winter. A little freezing rain, some sleet, but not a good snow. When we didn't have any yesterday morning, we figured we'd missed our last opportunity. We got a nice surprise when the snow didn't turn to freezing rain like we had been told, but instead continued to fall as pretty swirling feathers floating down in the breeze. When I see snow like this, I always think about Frost's Poem -

Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening.

Whose woods these are I think I know,
His house is in the village though.
He will not see me stopping here,
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer,
To stop without a farmhouse near,
Between the woods and frozen lake,
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake,
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep,
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
-- Robert Frost

Maybe he won't mind that I added it to this post. It is my second favorite poem of all time. Hope you enjoy it

Winner of The John Wayne Trivia Quiz.

Yesterday's trivia question was 'who played the brother-in-law to John Wayne's character in The Quiet Man', and what was another movie they were in together.

Victor McLaglen/McLaughlin was the actor who was in 120 movies between 1920 and 1958. I thought it was strange that his name was spelled differently at times. I don't know if it was done on purpose or accidentally. There were four movies in which he shared the screen with The Duke. Fort Apache-1948, She Wore A Yellow Ribbon-1949, Rio Grande-1950, and The Quiet Man-1952. With the exception of The Quiet Man, all others were westerns--military westerns.

Aren't you a better person for 'the knowin of it' as they would say in Inishfree. And Amy, you answered most of the question. Won't your hubby be so proud of you. I'm always thrilled to find anyone who loves The Duke and his movies.

On another day, I'll take some pics of my room. I'm very proud of it since I did everything myself.

Thanks everyone for the comments. I'm having such fun with my blog, and truly enjoying everyone elses.

We were promised snow last night. Where did it go? The weather station promised. When I make a promise to my family or friends, I'm expected to honor that promise. What a disappointment!!

I was planning a day at home with an opportunity to work on my Easter sewing.

Yes, folks I have successfully mentioned John Wayne and sewing in the same post. How on earth did that happen?

It's time to get ready for work and go out in the blizzard--oh wait, there is no blizzard--else I'd get to stay home.

If You Love John Wayne say 'Pilgrim'!

First let me say, I love John Wayne. I love his movies. I love his voice. I love his walk. I love the humor in all of his movies. I love that he included his family members in his movies. I love that he was an American Hero. I love that he was always proud to be an American.

Ok, Ok, enough hero worship, but I'm one of his biggest fans. I even have a room in my home that my family calls the John Wayne room. How did this come about, you ask?

It all started with a $5. picture. Not my fascination for him, but the room thing. I was in a home decor store and they had all the pictures on sale. There was one of The Duke. It was a 20x24 and I couldn't stand to see it there for that rediculous price. So I bought it, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Then I was given my father's bedroom set, and the fact that he reminded me of John Wayne, gave me the idea to decorate that bedroom in a western theme. I painted the walls to look like a sunset that any hero would ride off into. I made denim stagecoach curtains for the window, and a denim spread for the bed. Friends began to give me John Wayne stuff. I have a big tin picture of him. I have a roll of John Wayne toilet paper. I have one of those collectible plates with his picture on it. I have a lightswitch with his picture on it. I even have a 12 pack of John Wayne beer.

I have recorded or bought probably 80% of his movies. I'd like to think 100%, but I know that can't be true. I even have the army ones that I'm not that fond of. I prefer westerns. The Comancheros, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Stagecoach, McClintock. But don't forget The Quiet Man, I would have loved to trade places with Maureen O'Hara. And I love the B movies he did. One of my favorites is The Big Trail. He looked like he was about 19, curly hair, thin, but he already had that voice. I could go on and on and on and on. You get my drift.

Tell me if you are a John Wayne fan. And tell me what your favorite John Wayne movies are.

And I'll ask a trivia question here. Remember the brother-in-law he fought with in The Quiet Man--What was his name, and can you name another movie he played in with The Duke. One of the things I've noticed is that the same people show up in many of his movies. And oh, by the way, you won't win anything if you get it right. You'll just have the satisfaction of being a kindred spirit.

Mid Week or Hump Day?

Whatever you may call Wednesday, it's the middle of the work week. At lunch, the week is officially on the down hill slide.

I know we shouldn't wish our lives away, but, come on, don't we all live for the weekend? At lease those of us who work those Monday through Friday weeks. There have even been songs written about it.

Then I get to thinking about how fortunate I am, that since I have to work, I'm not in a profession that requires weekend work. My SIL manages a retail business. He works weekends, he opens, he closes. His schedule changes from one week to the next. Then you have all those folks who work in hospitals and nursing homes.

I used to work in a factory. I worked 3rd shift, and Sunday was one of my work days. That meant going to work at 11 on Saturday night. It was hard to stay awake in church on Sunday morning. That's a whole different world.

So rather than wanting the weekend to come, I should just be thankful that I have a 'regular' job and know what my 'regular' work hours are. I've got to stop complaining. That means it's time to get in the shower, get my lunch ready and make that 20 minute drive.

How about you? Do you have to get out in the cold cruel world, or do you get to stay in your nice warm house? Do you work a 'regular' job, or one of those with wild and crazy hours? Tell me about it. I will listen.

We all want to be Queen

I watched with interest last night the Barbara Walter's Special on Queen Elizabeth. I actually missed the first part and came in about where she was planning to come to the US for an official state visit and a trip to the Kentucky Derby.

She is a grand lady and seems to be quite down to earth(if a royal can be down to earth). She is over 80 and still goes at a full pace and is quite in charge of everything. Prince Phillip just follows in her wake. I wonder if he's ever had to make a decision or if she gets to make them all.

Do you think she gets tired of all the pomp and ceremony? Do you think she'd like just once to go out to get the paper in her curlers and bathrobe? Maybe go out to McDonalds for a breakfast burrito? Or just be able to sit with people in the park and carry on a meaningless conversation just to pass the time.

It's such a 'glam' life and she always does it with such grace that we never think about the down side to it. But I think we got a real glimpse of the other side of this life through Diana and Fergy. It must be a lonely life to sit at the top and have everything you do examined under a microscope.

I can't imagine what it would be like not to be able to pick up the phone and visit with my friends, go out to eat at any restaurant of our choosing, go to the movies on bargain night. Sneak a drink into the movie and get one big bucket of popcorn and share among 5 people and go back and get refills.

If Queen Elizabeth did any of these things, it would be splashed all over the news. They'd say she'd lost her mind.

And what about those crowns she has access to. How do you pick which one you wanted to wear, or is there some order? Oh yes, I have to wear this crown on Thursday week for the fox hunt. And I have to wear that one on Sunday afternoons for my nap.

I think I'm better off not being a queen. Because I probably would go outside in my curlers and robe, and a breakfast burrito sounds pretty good right now.

Oh Spring where art thou?

I have two Jonquils blooming. I thought this was a sure sign of Spring. It's also been in the mid to high 60's the last few days. But that isn't going to last long. It's been thundering in the distance, and I have noticed that I can now see some lightening not far away also.

The low last night was 67, and the high today is supposed to be 64. But after raining all day, it's supposed to be 39 by the time I start home this afternoon. There may be some sleet or snow. Now none of it will stick, since not only is the ground not frozen, but 39 is too warm for it to do anything other than fall.

This is going to make for a nice dreary Monday. I'd call in this morning, but don't want to use any of the time I have built up. I'd rather use it for something I really want to do as opposed to staying in and being like an old bear.

I heard on the news last night about a man that wanted to miss work badly enough to have his friends shoot him in the sholder. Now that's desperate! He must really hate his job. Or he knew he was going to be in some sort of trouble when he got in. I don't think anything at work would cause me to ask someone to shoot me just so I couel stay home.

What's the weather like in your corner of the world? I know lots of folks still have more snow than they know what to do with. What happens to all that snow when it begins to melt? Do the rivers rise? Does it cause flooding?

Hope everyone has a great day, and that the sun shines on all of my blogger friends.

What are the things you love?

It's Sunday and time to count my blessings, which I try to do at least once a day, but I thought today might be a good time to list the things I love.

1. I love my Lord and all He's done for me.

2. Of course I love my family, my children and grandchildren.

3. I love the place I go to worship and all the wonderful people there.

4. I love my friends, and I have a lot of very good friends.

5. I love antiques, I have a few, some are family, some aren't.

6. I love crystal, I have some that I've collected over the years.

7. I love cheesecake. I made one this week, and it's all gone.

8. I love anything Cherry Vanilla from Bath and Body Works.

9. I love to smock clothing for my grandchildren.

10. I love to sew, it soothes me when I'm tired, upset or generally in a bad mood.

11. I love to travel, don't get to travel much, but I love it when I can.

You thought I was going to wax philosopical or something didn't you? I have very basic loves. Doesn't take much to please me.

If you read this post, tell me some of the things you love.

Would anyone clean the bird poo off my statue?

I was working a small jigsaw puzzle on line this morning and it happened to be a picture of a statue of royalty. I got to thinking about the status of Dolly Parton in Pigeon Forge. She said when it was dedicated that her father made the comment that it was just a place for pigeons to poop. And that he goes on a regular basis and scrubs said poop off of it.

I took a trip to Savannah a few years ago. This city is full of parks and each has at least one statue in them. I don't remember noticing much poo on them. Maybe there is a city maintenance crew that regularly cleans them.

So, my burning question is, Would anyone clean the bird poo off your statue?

One Flipper Turtle

My hopepage for internet use is MSNBC. Late yesterday an article on a sea turtle with one flipper was featured. The poor guy had probably been 'almost lunch' for a shark, and had only one complete flipper left.

He was taken to a rescue group on South Padre Island where, in most cases, he would have been put down, but one of the group asked to be allowed to attempt to save him. He has healed up nicely, but unfortunately can only swim in a clockwise circle thus basically keeping him captive the rest of his life in shallow water.

Since sea turtles live to be over a hundred years old, basically someone would have to keep and care for him a loooong time.

But then a group of doctors heard about his plight, and have intervened. One, a dr from Houston, who does reconstructive facial surgery. They are going to give this turtle a prosthetic flipper. The reason they are excited about the dr who is going to be working with them is that she does work on small joints.

I grew up on a farm and was basically taught that animals are for our use, meaning if it couldn't give milk or lay an egg, it was food. Oh, we nurtured a few kittens and puppies, and several baby piglets, but never, of course, to this extent...we were poor farmers!

I do favor the humane treatment of animals, but I also wear leather shoes. When I first read this story, I'm thinking hmmm, Turtle Soup!!!, but the more I thought about the turtle, I was really glad they are doing what they can to help it. Why, you ask? If these doctors can do anything that helps the rest of us humans , it will be a good thing. If one adult or child have better quality of life as a result of what is being done here, then this turtle will have served a purpose. And let's face it folks, sometimes I wonder if I've served any purpose.

My only concern at this point is, will it ever be able to return to the sea, and will it be able to out swim the shark next time, and will it ever be able to have a full filling life, or will the other sea turtles shun it and make fun of it? Remember little Nemo's under-developed fin and how the other clown fish laughed at him?

I worry about these things, do you? And do you feel like you are serving a purpose?

My Auburn Haired Granddaughter

I'm working on granddaughter #3's Easter dress. Her mom, my wonderful DIL, bought the fabric and I'm smocking it and will do the sewing. The fabric is lavendar and white, so I'm doing the work in lavendar, purple and green. She bought a green shirt for The Blonde grandson, so I'm working more green in the design than I probably would have otherwise but I really like the green in it.

My DIL is really good about having pictures done around holidays. I made the dress for her Christmas pictures also. My DIL is really great about allowing me to make special things for her. Granddaughter #3 is a happy little 9 month old who has huge blue eyes and auburn hair. Her eyelashes are about a foot long. I know I'm partial, but she is beautiful.

Here is a picture of the work I'm doing on the front skirt. The little dress will be simple. Both daughter #2 who has two daughters 4 and 5, and my DIL wanted sleeveless dresses with yokes and smocking below the yoke. I'll post another when it's finished. I'll do the sewing on the other two dresses, but daughter#2 will do the smocking on theirs.

Daughter #2 is really good with her camera so I'm hoping to get some good pictures of the three girls. And if the boys are good, we may let them be in some of the pictures as well.

My grandchildren range in ages from 23 years old down to 9 months. There are three boys, 23, 10 and 4. There are three girls 5, 4 and 9 months.

My son and his family who live about 5 hours west of me will be home tonight for the weekend. His wife is coming in for a job interview. They are working on moving closer to home. They are also looking for property while they are here. He is a contractor and can work most anywhere. She is an accountant. They've lived away all their married life, but now with two small children, they want to be closer to family. Needless to say, I'm quite excited.

Baby Steps

You remember that I told you the other day I am cleaning my sad sad sewing room. It will be quite cheerful when I get it all neat again. My walls and ceiling are a nice shade of yellow and I have red tropical curtains that I made myself(go figure), it would be totally rediculous to buy curtains for a sewing room. But it is basically a cheerful room--when it's not so cluttered that you take a look and then turn around and go the other way.

Anyway, I'm making small strides in getting things clean. My cutting board is looking better already, and I've moved on to another area. And I'm doing this in 15 minute increments. They work wonders. I think I need to write a self-help/do it yourself book on the wonders of doing things in 15 minute increments. I'm sure absolutely everyone would go crazy for my words of wisdom on this subject.

And my 15 minutes have just been spent typing this post. Guess I better get back at it.

What did you have for breakfast this morning?

Have you ever had a Boleo--pronouced 'Bow-lee-oh'? They are Mexican rolls that you can only buy at a Mexican store or bakery. They are large and have a wonderful texture.

My BFF CP got me hooked on them on one of my trips to South Texas to visit with her and her husband. They are a simple white bread that has a wonderful texture(I said that already didn't I?) and taste.

She found a bakery in Tulsa that makes them just about as good as any she's ever had. Of course the folks who have the bakery, are from Mexico, and could speak little English.

I like to slice mine in half lengthwise and toast them in my little toaster oven, then put butter, yes the real stuff, and some all fruit(gotta cut calories somewhere). Yum, with coffee and The Beverly Hillbillies about 5:30a.m. each morning. I don't eat one every morning. They are sorta my special treat.

We buy them by the bag full. I put them in sandwich bags and freeze them. They don't keep very long left out, but they freeze really well. I ate my last one this morning for breakfast. I was in deep grief the entire time I was enjoying this last one. It will be a while before I can get more--but you know what? We have quite a large Spanish population in the rather large city west of me where I go to work everyday. I think I'm going to do some investigating and see if I may have access to them here. Wouldn't that be absolutely wonderful.!!!

That's my new quest. I'm going to find out where I can pick up some Boleos. What kind of quest are you on today? A good quest gives us a reason to get out of bed.

My Sad Sad Sad Sewing Room

I've been sewing all my life, well almost. My mother taught me to hem floursack dishrags when I was about 9 or 10, and have been making things ever since.

I've only had the luxury of having a sewing room for the past 3 or 4 years. It's a 10 X 12 bedroom in my small three bedroom house. I also have my computer set up in this room where I occasionally get to work from home. And it attaches to my pc, which helps when I download embroidery designs.

But, alas, I have completely spoiled my little corner of heaven. I have piled and stacked and generally made a huge mess of my room and almost rendered it unusable. I think I need those people from Mission Organization to come in and tidy it up again.

Here are a couple of pics of just how bad it is. And the worst part is I'm supposed to be working on Easter dresses for the three granddaughters. The smallest of which should be finished this coming weekend so my wonderful DIL can get the kid's pictures made for Easter.

And so you ask, what are you doing sitting at the computer? I know, I know, I should be cleaning the clutter so I can get to work. Fortunately, if you've read my posts, you already know I work these days in 15 minute increments, and this is my resting 15. And I've got to do the smocking on the front skirt before I can do any sewing.

You may be able to tell that I've attempted to organize, but I think I'm just too overwhelmed. At any rate, I've got to get this mess cleaned up.

Wanna come help?

Who wrote Festus' lines on Gunsmoke?

I woke up this morning, but wasn't ready to get out of bed so I turned on the tv. Gunsmoke was on and almost at the end. As the program was finishing, Festus Hagan waxed philosophical. Remember Matt's mule riding sidekick who alwasy called him Matthew? A man had almost shot Marshall Matt, only to find out it wasn't Matt who had shot his father in the back, it was his grandfather.

As usual there were the last couple of minutes where you get an idea of how things turned out. It seems that the grandsons ended up helping the grandfather with the farm and invited Matt and Festus for supper.

Festus began saying to Matt how it was 'soulsome' to see them together and how things had turned out 'roundy'. If I could interpret, I'd say that he was saying that good alwasy prevails, and that things come full circle. And of course he said all these things with his back woods, nasaly twang.

I was movie deprived in my youth as were most of the kids of my generation who lived in the country. We didn't go to the movies much, and by the time I was able to enjoy going on a Saturday afternoon, the small movie houses had closed and it was necessary to drive about 30 minutes to the nearest one. In other words the Saturday matinee pretty much skipped my generation unless you lived in a 'big city'.

Had I been able to go to the movies, I might have known what a handsome man Festus(Ken Curtis) had been in his younger days. I might have known how refined and polished he was. I might have known that he was one of the 'Sons of the Pioneers' who sang all those cowboy songs in 3 and 4 part harmony. I might have known that he was in some of John Wayne's movies. In The Alamo he was a dashing young officer who played father to John Wayne's real life daughter. In She Wore A Yellow Ribbon, he was one of the troops who sang 'I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen' to Maureen O'Hara's character.

Which brings me to wonder, just who wrote those hick lines he delivered? Did he have some input, or did the writers have a backwoods hillbilly hick on staff that wrote such eloquent lines for him to deliver?

In my opinion, he often stole the show, and brought a fresh element to the sometimes ordinary western. I think he may have helped Gunsmoke one of the longest running shows on TV. We never missed an episode.

Whichever it was, Festus will always have a special place in my heart.

What's your opinion on this weighty matter? Inquiring minds want to know. And it's time for me to get in the shower and get ready for church. Hope you are planning to attend worship services this morning.

My Best Friend Forever CP is 60

Today is my BFF's birthday. She is 60. And I'm not getting to celebrate with her. I live in Arkansas, and she lives in South Texas. She and her sister-in-law are going to Houston today. They will board a ship tomorrow and sail off into the sunset. They are going on a seven day cruise down to the Caymans and all other ports tropical.

But I sent her the best gift a friend could. I sent her 'the rock'. We've been passing this rock back and forth for eleven years. And it's not just any rock. It's actually a ballast stone. What is a ballast stone, you ask? In the early days of this country, when we were producing all the products that the King wanted, and we still belonged to England and were lovingly called 'the colonies', ships were sent to gather the cotton, tobacco, and any other products we produced. They didn't want to bring anything, just take. So they wanted to send over empty ships to plunder the sweat of our brow, but you can't send an empty ship out, because it would have nothing to hold it in the water.

England gathered stones to load into the cargo holds for ballast--thus the name. I think they have no short supply and to this day, probably don't miss any of them. When they got to the ports they dumped those stones into the harbor. They did this all along the eastern coast. There began to be huge, enormous piles of the stones and just as our ancestors did with everything else, they found a use for them.

We were in Savannah in the summer of 97 for a few days to see the azaleas bloom, and I had heard about the stones. There had been a feature story on tv about some reclaiming of old buildings down on the river that had been turned into living quarters and the program showed an old cotton warehouse that some folks had turned into a lovely home.

This is why I decided that I wanted a ballast stone to bring home as a souvenir of my trip. We had discussed trying to find one, but being the cautious person my BFF is, she kept saying we'd get in trouble if we 'stole' one of their precious stones. Here's what we found out about these stones. They built streets out of them and all along the harbour, there were ballast stone streets. They built ballast stone buildings out of them. In other words, they were everywhere, and none of them were huge. I guess they had to be mostly the size that men could easily hand along to fill the ships.

On our second day, we had ridden the trolleys all over the city had shopped many of the shops, taken a few tours, and as most older women would be, we were tired. We were staying at the Radison down on the river where our rooms had balconies that opened onto a huge atrium that had a wall of glass that allowed you to see the river walk and stay comfortable. Down in the atrium late that afternoon, we heard music and my BFF went down to investigate. She soon called the room and told me to come on down.

When I got down, there were people visiting and she had met a young man who was there to recruit high school athletes for his jr college team. We have laughed about whether we picked him up, or if he picked us up. I think he was away from home and it was better to hang out with a couple of old gals rather than to be faced with other temptations, if you know what I mean.

He was an absolute hoot. He walked up and down the river walk with us, entertained us and most importantly, he managed to find me a rock. The only problem was, then we had to carry it. It didn't weigh much, but you couldn't just walk around carrying a rock. First of all you would look ridiculous, and second, if it was against the law to take them, we were in violation of the law. My BFF kept saying she wasn't putting that rock in her suitcase, she wasn't getting caught with it, but we kept carrying it along with us. This young man whose name I can't even recall, not only carried the rock, but he played along with us. He bought a paper in which to wrap it, and managed to find a bag we could put it into. Then we talked to people as we walked(it's like one big party on the river walk at night there). He would hand it to someone and ask them to hold it for a second, then we would die laughing at the look on their faces when it was much heavier than they expected it to be(well, you had to be there, ok).

Well, I brought the rock home, and sometime after, I mailed it to my BFF. We have since passed the rock back and forth, and get a big laugh out of it every time it goes back and forth. So I sent it to her, and she now has to take care of it and explain why she has a rock sitting around.

Everyone should not only have a BFF, but one with whom they share funny times that have made funny stories. We took lots of pictures, but hardly ever get them out, but we have vivid memories of the trip when we talk about and touch the rock. It's kinda like we've been there all over again.

I guess now, we need to be talking about who gets to be buried with it.

TGIF

Thank Goodness it's Friday. Haven't we all used that phrase a kzillion times. I know I have, and every time I've used it, I meant it with all my heart.

It's been a crazy week weatherwise here in good old NE Arkansas. Very cold, and chances of freezing rain yesterday and today. It rained most of the night last night, but temps stayed just high enough that it was very very cold rain, and not the freezing stuff.

The Brunette granddaughter spent the night with me last night. She's such an interesting little character. She just turned four this month, and you'd think it was 24. She has sucked her thumb for the majority of her young life. Her mother-daughter #2-had told her that she would be a big girl when she turned four, and that big girls don't suck their thumbs. She even reminded her of it a couple of times. And she wasn't allowed to suck it at the school where she goes.

She had her 4th birthday, and became crabby, irritable and generally cranky and downright disagreeable. She cried, she whined, she clung and was impossible to make any kind of deals with.

Daughter #2 called the other night and mentioned that she hadn't noticed her sucking her thumb and that she had finally figured out that her bad disposition was a result of coming down off her thumb induced high. We hoped it would be over soon, and you know what, it seems to be much better. Last night she was easy to get along with, and we had a good time. We didn't have any trouble getting bathed, hair washed and ready and in bed. And she didn't even suck her thumb in her sleep. What a great kid!

I know how hard it was to get off caffine and processed sugar, and I'm 59 years old. She broke herself of this habit on her on. I've very proud of her.

Playing with my blog and learning at the same time.

This is a test. I want to see if I can add a picture.

It worked. This is a picture of my mother when she was about 20. It was in pretty bad shape, but my wonderful daughter #2, photoshopped it and made it really great.

Thank you wonderful daughter #2, I love you for all you do for me.

Update on my Debit Card

Nope, I haven't found it, but I called the place I last used it to see if someone had indeed turned it in. They hadn't. So I decided(with my daughter's insistence) to call the bank and cancel it.

Now I have to go about a week to ten days without my card. That will be tough. I've just about forgotten how to write a check for anything other than the few bills I have to write out. Good thing I have plenty.

And I have to keep a close eye on my account on line to see if any 'fraudulent charges' show up. If so, I will have to make a claim and get my money back.

But you know what, now that I've cancelled it, I'll find it, and it will be right where I've looked a kzillion times already.

At least now I can quit worrying about it--but then I don't worry much about things anyway. I am reminded of those famous words of Alfred E Newman, 'What! Me worry?'

Keep praying for me.

I've lost my Debit Card

If any of you happen to find a green debit card from Regions bank, it's mine. Now I know that's not going to happen, but I can't imagine where it could be and I'm grasping at straws.

I really don't want to call the bank and cancel it because I keep expecting to run across it. I've gone through my wallet about a zillion times thinking I'm overlooking it. I've dumped my handbag upside down and shaken it. I went out late last night with a honkin big flashlight thinking it was down in my car seats or the floor of my vehicle. But alas! I'm not finding it.

Here's how the loss went down--I went to Red Onion to get gas and buy a lottery ticket(you see, I'm addicted to lottery tickets, but that's for another post). I pulled up to the pump and used my debit card to buy gas. While my gas was pumping, I went into the store and purchased my $5 ticket for 4 draws. While I was in line, I watched my pump, which is less than 10 feet from where I was standing. Paid for my ticket, went back outside, put the pump nozzle back got my receipt, got into my vehicle and drove home.

That was Tuesday night. On Wednesday after work, I stopped at SuperD to pick up a prescription. This is when I realized that my card wasn't in my possession.

I'm not one to get all whacked out about something like this because I usually find whatever it is I'm looking for. And I hate to call the bank and tell them to cancel the card. There hasn't been any activity on the card but the fact that the gas I bought hasn't hit it either is making me a bit nervous.

I guess my next option is to call the store where I last used the card and see if some good Samaratin found it and turned it in.

I'll keep you posted. Oh, and say a little prayer for me. I need all the help I can get. The mind is a terrible thing to lose.

My dates are off.....

I started a post on the 18th and finished it this morning. But when I published it, the date showed up as the 18th rather than the 20th. Therefore, it looks like I put it out on the 18th. This was not what I intended, and I don't know how to change the date on the post so it will show up where I wanted it.

Oh well, if you are interested in reading that post, you'll have to scroll down to it. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Two Roads Diverged in a Yellow Wood

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
and be one traveler, long I stood
and looked down one as long as I could
to where it bent in the undergrowth....

I learned this poem by force in the 11th grade..so many years ago.

But I love this poem. It is so full of meaning, but I, unfortunately, haven't been very good at using it as a guide for my life. To me, the writer has obviously spent time pondering which road to take in life. Not me..oh no, not me. I've always been a fly by the seat of my pants kind of gal. You know, like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woaman. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not a hooker, I just don't spend much time considering which way to go. It doesn't take me forever to make a decision--not necessarily a good thing--and I'm not hard to please. If I were, maybe it would take longer to make a decision.

I'm really bad about jumping into things long before I've thought about the consequences, and there have been consequences.

How about you? How many times have you jumped into something without attempting to look down that road as far as you could? I can't count the times myself. And I can't seem to break the habit. I could make a list a mile long of the times I've leapt before I looked. But then, just maybe, my life wouldn't have been nearly as much fun. I think you have to experience a certain amount of happiness, heartache, and uncertainty before you can feel your life is complete. Mine is just about as complete as it can possibly be.

Have a great day, and jump into something new today.

15 Minute Increments cont'd

I told you yesterday that I'd let you know how the 15 minute increments worked for me. I did get my bathroom clean--took two separate 15's, but I'm pleased that it is done. I also got most of my bills written out and a package ready to mail to my BFF for her birthday--not that it mattered, the Post Office wasn't open yesterday, President's Day. My increments worked pretty well yesterday morning, but about 5:30 yesterday afternoon, I realized they had fallen by the wayside. Still, I did get a bit done. I think knowing I'm only going to work on something for 15 minutes gives me an incentive to at least do something.

I'm not usually off, but have had a bug for the last couple of days, so I stayed home yesterday, and looks like I'm staying home again today. I've been up a while, and definitely not feeling better. I hope that reading my blog won't pass my germs along. If you think it might, please use your hand sanitizer when you finish reading this.

15 Minute Increments

Have you ever given any thought to what you can do in as little as 15 minutes? I was reading another blog and the gal mentioned that she sets a timer for 15 minutes. She stays with whatever she's doing until that timer goes off. When it buzzes, she either re-sets it or moves on to something else.

I got to thinking about this. What can you do in 15 minutes? I started out with doing some straightening up--now this isn't deep cleaning, just picking up and putting things where they belong--a task at which I'm not too good.

I've started out this morning by working on my bedroom. All it needed was to get the bed made and dirty clothes picked up and the dresser cleared off. Well, I got that done and had a few minutes extra. Normally, I would have made the bed, but then gone off in some other direction. But this morning, I stayed 'on task', and now my room is done for the day.

I may be on to something here. I've never been very good at staying 'on task'. And I've read the joke that went around on the internet at one time where the woman says she is going to pay a few bills, and ends up doing a dozen different things and at the end of the day, she still hasn't managed to sit down and write out the bills. This woman seriously doesn't stay 'on task'.

I have the same problem, but I never seem to get anything finished. My house is always a wreck. My sewing room is a major disaster. But today, I'm going to try to stay with things for 15 minutes. Whether its cleaning, reading blogs, working or whatever.

I'll let you know how it goes later today.

Is Spring really right around the corner?

During this morning's worship service, our minister talked about seeing jonquils beginning to peek out of the ground and that soon there would be blooms and then beautiful yellow and white flowers.

That's quite hard to imagine right now since it's cloudy and overcast, and the wind is gusting to 37 mph, and it's cold outside.

I for one, will be glad when Spring arrives, but just as it does, Summer will follow close on it's heels. With summer comes cleaning up from all the winter weather, cutting the grass, and mosquitos. It also has its good things like outdoor sports and BBQ'ing.

But back to the spring flowers. The minister also talked about going into the country and finding places where Easter flowers(as we always called them) grow in a field. This is a sure sign that a house once stood on that spot. Probably a 'home place' where families lived, grew their children, had happy times and most likely sad times, but a 'home place' never the less.

We had one of those. We were share croppers so the place didn't belong to us, but mother treated it like it was ours. She planted rose bushes, peonies, jonquils and anything else that others shared with her. My dad loved flowers, but he would never be bothered with growing them. His mother had flowers everywhere. She had no yard, just flowers. Every old pot, pan and tub on the place was filled with some kind of flowers.

It's nice to remember those types of things. We often forget our roots, we're all so busy keeping our heads above water that we fail to think about the old times. But they were good times, weren't they? Or is it that we just remember them better than they actually were?

Time to start Smocking for Easter

I've been smocking for years. I started smocking for my daughter #2 when she was about 2ish. And I continued until she was about 7. I kept the dresses, loaned them out, didn't get them all back, and now #2's daughters are wearing them, and they are being passed on to the newest granddaughter.

I received a piece of fabric in the mail today. It's a lavender check that I will smock for the newest granddaughter. She will be 9 months old by the time Easter rolls around. I have to have it finished and mailed by the first of March since Easter pictures will be made around the 7th of March. Man!, I've got to get busy, that's less than 3 weeks away. By the time I finish it, maybe I'll know how to post pictures here and will show it off.

I've also got to learn how to link my posts so that when I make comments to other sites, anyone who reads it can link back to my blog.

Another day.

New Dip Recipe from Conasta Club

Taco Cheese Dip

1 lb ground beef browned and drained
1 pkg taco seasoning - your choice as to how hot.
1 lb Velveeta cheese
1 can Rotel Tomatoes

After draining the beef, add the taco and prepare according to pkg directions.
Add to melted cheese and rotel.

Eat with your choice of chips.

I've been playing conasta for about 25 years with a group of ladies. There are 12 of us who pretty much grew up together. Of the original 12, 7 of us are of the original bunch.

We've been through a lot together. Birthing our children, illness, divorce, children getting married, children birthing babies, children divorcing, losing parents and all of us growing older.

We used to discuss our pregnancies, now we discuss our aches and pains, and we all hope that they will set up tables our wheelchairs will fit under so we can play conasta in the nursing home.

Having the relationship that we've all had together has been a wonderful thing for me, and I think for everyone else. Many of us see each other only once a month when we play cards, but we have a great time catching up, commiserating and just being together. We laugh a lot, and cry some. It's like having 11 sisters.

Everyone should have these kinds of friends.

I'm going to The Brunette's party.

I'm going to The Brunette's party in a few minutes. Her class exchanged valentines yesterday, but are having the party today. I know a good time will be had by all.

I took her to school this morning. She was fine in the car, and going in, but after I signed her in, she went all clingy on me and was crying real tears when I left. I hate to leave them crying, but you have to go on to work, else you wouldn't need to leave them.

She really likes her school and talks about it alot. She has learned soooo much in the few months she's been going there. And she has a best friend. She talks about her a lot too. But even seeing BF, she didn't stop crying. She knows I'm a pushover, and thought I'd take her with me, but alas!, I couldn't. My employer is good, but I don't think bringing small children for the whole day would be allowed. If so, there's about 1100 employees here and if they all started bringing their children and grand's, not much would get done. We are an instutition of higher learning, and we have an obligation to the students that come here.

Maybe one day, I'll win the lottery and won't have to work, but of course by then, the grand's will all be in regular school, and I think there's a law against not sending them to school.

I'm back from the party and have brought The Blonde One with me back to work. She has been drawing pictures for me on old desk calendar sheets. The party was fun. The kids had made things to go on their heads with antenae that said Love Bug on them in glitter. They had snacks and went back to their rooms. These are all 3 and 4 year olds.

On a sad note, The Brunette One's BFF got sick and had to go home. She missed the party.

Yipeee It's Valentine's Day

Today is Valentine's Day. Not a national holiday(what a pity), but one of the biggest events this side of Christmas. I can't imagine how many flowers have been cut, balloons have been filled, cherries have been dipped, or how many diamonds have been bought.

However, I won't be getting any. Not that I've been bad or anything, it's just not a big deal to me. I don't have a husband to send or buy me anything, and I'd rather my kids spend their money on their respective husbands, wives and children.

I do remember valentines from the past. I remember having parties and exchanging cards with my classmates. We always decorated boxes and had contests. I don't remember what the prizes were, but that may be because mine never won anything, but it was fun. I remember looking through those cards for months. It's a shame I didn't save any of them.

Daughter # 2 has two little princesses. They have been working ov valentines for over a week. The youngest had Hanna Montana valentines. I don't know what the oldest had, but they were also putting together bags of candy and goodies for their classmates. The Blonde One was having her party today, while The Brunette One is having hers tomorrow. They will have a good time.

This is a good day to reflect on the people you love and those to whom you should have sent cards. I should have sent one to my BFF CP, and one to my other BFF MLH. I did get an electronic one from CP, and I saw MLH at lunch. CP has a birthday next week, so I have some things to send to her and I did get her a birthday card. She'd probably faint if I sent two cards in the same month. Probably think I only had a short time to live or something. She knows me too well.

A bit of trivia - Valentines day is said to have begun in AD 72 when a christian priest was being held in prison and fell in love with the jailer's daughter. He gave her a love note signing it 'from your valentine'. His name must have been valentine, else where would that name have originated. Who knows!

I hope everyone has a great day, and gets whatever they want on this wintery day of love.

My Poor Sick Grandchild

Daughter #2 called this morning to tell me that her oldest child - The Blonde One - got up this morning up-chucking all the way to the bathroom. After giving her a bath and a dose of Phenagren, she put her on the couch so her daddy could take care of her while mommy went on to work. Daddy didn't have to be at work until noon today, so he's the designated parent this morning. Daughter #2 will work til noon and then go home to relieve daddy.

Its amazing what goes through a child's mind when they are sick. She wasn't concerned with the fact that she'd made a mess in the floor, or that mommy would have to come home from work early, or that we are involved in global warming and a race for president that has gone totally berserk. She was concerned with whether she would be able to go to her valentine party at school tomorrow.

Now I realize at the tender age of 5, she wouldn't normally worry about the things I mentioned above, but I think it shows that they do worry at that age. I don't remember worrying at the age of 5. Of course, at my age, I don't remember much about being 5.

What other types of worries would a 5 year old have? Maybe which friend to play with today? I do feel that Daughter #2 and her husband have done a great job of making sure The Blonde One and her sister don't have too much to have to worry about. For that I am thankful.

But I do feel sorry for her, hope she gets better and also hope that the youngest child - The Brunette One, and the rest of the family don't get it.

Oh, yes, and I hope for world peace and that we have a warming trend soon. 25 degree weather is just too cold for me.

The Ancestor's Picture

Three of my friends and I went to see the Temptations in concert last night. I get excited about going somewhere, then when it gets close to time, I tend to want to back out. At any rate we went last night and had a great time.

The Temptation is getting on in years. When he was introduced as the only remaining Temp, the introduction said he had been a Temp for 47 years. But he still had what it took to put on a good show.

On the way to the concert, we were talking about old memoribilla, pictures, coins, etc. One of the girls mentioned that her mother had in her possession when she died an old picture of one of their ancestors. She said it was in a rather ugly frame and no one really wanted it but since it was a family member, they couldn't throw it away. So there was a delima about what to do with the picture.

It was decided a drawing would be held each Christmas to determine who 'had' to take posession of the picture for an entire year. That didn't seem too terribly bad, except whoever the lucky person was that would keep the picture had to display it in a prominant place where it could be seen by people who might come into their home.

Can you imagine how you would feel if you knew that your picture would be passed around in this manner, and that there would be such a drawing. One would hope that there would have to be a drawing to see who was fortunate enough to get the picture.

Just Another Rainy Thursday

I thought the rain was supposed to be over yesterday. That's what I get for thinking. I woke up a couple of times last night and could hear it raining each time. Our version of the Santa Ana Wind was blowing too. Only ours had rain in it rather than embers.

I'm so thankful that we've been spared from all the catastrophies that have happened in our world. We have hurricanes to the south east of us. In North and South Carolina and Georgia there has been a terrible drought. It has been so bad that Atlanta has been threatened with no water, because water has to be diverted to make sure the mussels don't die out. No further comment will be made on that situation.

The west has been plagued with fires, and all around us have seen more than their share of late season tornados. Even though we had an extremely dry summer, we have had a good bit of rain this fall and I think are about back to normal.

The interesting thing to see though is where the cotton stalks had been shredded, there has been new growth, and the new growth is about a foot tall. I couldn't help wonder if the weather stayed warm, if it would continue to grow, bloom and produce another crop. Wouldn't that be interesting?

Enough about the weather. My youngest daughter's youngest daughter embarrassed her last night. It seems they had gone to eat before church and another family from church was there eating also. One of them pointed out that Maddie had a tatoo on her hand of a pumpkin. She immediately said, 'I have another one' and with that statement, pulled her top up and showed the one on her belly. I thought this was really funny, and told my daughter that this wouldn't be the worst embarrassment she would ever endure at the hands of one of her children.

When I relayed the story to my oldest daughter, she said,' Serves her right, remember the time she wore my bra to the bank and showed it to everyone there?' Well, no, I don't remember that, but I'm sure it was quite funny at the time.

I would love a cup of coffee this morning, but alas, there is none to be had in my office, and I'm not much at bumming coffee from anyone else. But I'm cold, and it's wintery outside my window and I'm cold. I guess I'll just get to work and forget how much I'd like to have a cup. Actually there's this new coffee pot that grinds your beans and then makes the coffee. Williams Sonoma has one for $199, Bed Bath and Beyond has one for $129. I can't tell the difference in them, but since I don't seem to have an extra couple of hundred lying around anyplace, and since my bills are due, I guess I'll forgoe the nice coffeemaker and do with what I have. I just don't know why God saw fit to make me so good looking instead of rich. Doesn't he know that in this day and time, you can fix ugly.

Cooler Weather

When I got home last night, my house was cold. In the 65 degree range. I got busy making dinner for myself and with the stove going in the kitchen, I was very comfortable.

Not wanting to turn on the central heat yet(you know how it smells when it is turned on for the first time all year) I thought the house would stay nice and toasty from the stove use. I was mistaken. By the time I went to bed, the house had cooled down into the high 50's, but after finding some warm pj's and getting under an extra blanket, I was soon comfortable and ready for a good night's sleep.

And yes, I slept like a baby in my mother's arms, but when I threw back the covers this morning, I was cold once again. Where did this cold weather come from you ask. I don't know. But just like the 'no spring' we had in the early part of the year, we are having the 'no fall' now. It was in the 80's the other day and now, today, it isn't even 50.

Needless to say that when I get home tonight, it will be time to get out the long lighter, grab a flashlight and attempt to get the pilot light lit and leave for a couple of hours so the 'smell' will be burnt out and I can stay warm.

I was hoping for a couple of weeks of mild weather so my utility meter could rest a bit. I've changed out almost all of my light bulbs for the energy efficient. I'm put in energy efficient windows, and now looks like it's time to add that extra 36 inches of insulation in the attic my son has been suggesting(yes son, I've been listening).

After all this complaining, it's time for me to add that I am most thankful that I live in an area that has not been tormented with Santa Ana winds and that sees only minor flooding from time to time. We have had an extremely dry summer, and the rain we've had has been welcome.

Thank you Dear Heavenly Father for all my wonderful blessings. Please give those in need the strength to make it through these trying times. Help the victims of fire and flood find the courage to overcome this adversity and to rebuild their lives.

Sept 28, 2007 I'm way behind.

It's been a long time since I've posted anything to my blog. I haven't done any pictures, just lots of rambling.

I have a new grandbaby born June 16th of this year. She is absolutely beautiful.

All of my family is doing well and growing. The older ones stay out of trouble, and the younger ones amaze me daily with all the wonderful things they do and say. Two of them have a hard time staying out of trouble.

Ivan has become quite a handful since the birth of his little sister. I think it's that 'vying for attention' thing.

Maddie seems to be a stubborn little girl who thinks things should be her way or the highway. Needless to say, that gets her into trouble quite often. I think her problem is second child syndrome.

Enough about my grandchildren. And on to my own latest fiasco.

I came to work last Monday wearing two different shoes. Now I know that I'm 58 and maybe slipping just a little(forgetfullness and all that), but two different shoes. When I tell this story on myself, people say, 'they looked a lot alike, right?). Well, no, the only thing about them alike was they were both slides. One was a brown Earth Shoe, and the other a gray/green Merrill. The bad thing was that I had to leave the office several times. Funny thing was few people noticed unless I called attention to them myself.

I started therapy on my knee over in the Nursing and Health Care Building that afternoon. I had to sit on the side of a bed while the student checked my reflexes. A very cute young man thought it was very funny that my shoes didn't match. The instructor just about laughed his head off. How could I be so stupid as to put on two different shoes? It was daylight when I dressed. I had my glasses on. What was I thinking? Obviously about something besides what I was putting my feet into.

When I had gotten to work that morning, I'd opened the car door and stuck my left foot out. That's when I realized what I'd done. I thought to myself, 'I've worn my old shoes to work--grrreat!' Only to stick my other foot out and realize that I'd worn two different shoes.

It's a good thing I can laugh at myself, because not one single soul laughed with me, they all laughed at me.