Thursday, March 23, 2006

It's Pretty.........But COLD !


You can see from the photos that it's been a pretty day here in Northeast Arkansas. What you can't see is that it is flippin' cold out! ! The thermometer says 48 degrees, but I ain't buyin' it, or should I say, my feet ain't buyin' it. I have on a jacket and fuzzy slippers, and have a heavy cotton throw on my feet and legs and I am still freezing. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that my central heating unit is 26 years old, too. Just a wild guess. Just a random thought. Hubby has lived in these apartments since they were built in 1980, and this one has the original CH&A unit installed when they were built. It's obsolete, can't even buy new parts for it, but our skinflint landlord keeps the old units that give up the ghost to scavenge parts from to keep the others going as long as possible. My Mama used to say he was tighter than Dick's hatband. Whatever that means. I was told a slightly bawdy explanation once in reference to that old saying, but I am not sure of the origin of it. Anyway, our landlord is so tight he squeaks when he walks. Buh-dump-ump, ching...........

Moving on, you might have noticed another new link I added lately, keeplistening,jenny, per the mention made of same in a recent posting in this space. Meet Jenny and her family, at present living on the beautiful island of Roatan, located just off the coast of Honduras. Jenny, her husband and 2 boys spend part of their time in Texas, and part on Roatan living La Vida Loca. They are living by faith and growing in faith, as evidenced by her humorous, sometimes quirky, but always enlightening writing style. She has links to photos, as well as photos on her blog, of her family and the tropical island scenery. It is beautiful and exotic to me, here in landlocked Arkansas. Freezing, Arkansas. Land of the cold feet, Arkansas. SIGH.............................................................

I promised green eyed girl some recipes for my homemade biscuits and chocolate gravy, and I haven't forgotten. I don't have recipes for those, though, I just throw things together. So I will have to think on it and write them from scratch. Scratch. Recipes. Hee hee. Oh, okay, nevermind. I'm the only one who ever sees funny things in weird, oddball correlations, anyway. Don't feel bad for frowning and wondering, What? She thought THAT was funny? Strange............Doofus.................Lame................. Really, it's okay, LOL ;)

I made split pea soup with ham for supper, and I am going to make what we call in our family, panbread, to eat with it. I boiled a left-over hambone with a litlle ham left on it, then added the peas to cook in the broth. I need to pick off what meat is left on the bone and add back to the soup. I added a little butter and canned milk to the soup, too, and seasoned it with salt and pepper. It smells delicious. The pan bread is just buttermilk biscuit dough with an egg added, then cooked in an iron skillet like cornbread. Try it, you'll like it.

I need to go make the panbread now, and soon will be feasting on it and the split pea soup with ham. What's for victuals at your abode? Eating out? Carrying in? TV dinners? Call it an informal poll and shout back in the comments. What's the latest meal you had, or what is the next one?

Gotta go, the growling beast in my gut is restless. It knows the soup is injured, and is stalking it. I'll try to post again later, and add the recipes. Hope everyone is having a great Thursday. :)


19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Diane, I really like how you post. It's like you are having a conversation with us face to face. I'm stuck in that "gotta tell a story" mode. I enjoy writing that way actually, but it is time consuming. I guess I feel I would be boring talking about everyday things, but I have to say, you do it very well, and make it very interesting. The picture are nice. It was pretty cloudy here today. Only 44 for a high. Winter in March, summer in January. Go figure. :-) BTW, I like your little landlord joke. You got a chuckle out of me.

Diane@Diane's Place said...

Mike,
Thanks for all your nice words. Careful, you'll make me blush, LOL.

I don't have any particular writing style, I suppose. I just start writing, and it may be anything from high drama to camp to comic tragedy. I don't usually know until I start typing. Just be like me, and surprise yourself every time, ;). It takes less effort than agonizing over content, writing styles and categories. :)

Diane Viere said...

What a beautiful time of year in Arkansas! We just returned from a week in Orlando (Spring Break) to wintrey Minnesota.....I am already longing for signs of spring--and we've been back two hours! I enjoyed finding your blog..and just gazing at your photos!

Diane

Diane@Diane's Place said...

Hi, Diane,
From another Diane!! I am called Diane, my second name, because I was named Lena for a grandmother, and to cut down on confusion.

Welcome, and thank you for the kind words about my blog. Make yourself at home, and don't be a stranger. :)

zztop357 said...

don't look at my typing tonite,i have a 10lb purring kitty insisting on getting in my lap.
if this cat ever grows up i think he may be rather large.
its a shame about the tomato sause,it's not as bad as grape jelly though.that stuff can cover a whole house.all you need is jelly and one child.(or husband).
pea soup sounds good.we had bacon and eggs.it's hard to cook for half a town,then come home and cook for 5.
i'm about ready to go fishing,i know a man with a private pond..it's close too.he tells me the catfish are all i can handle.i will take jonwith me.i'll have to tie him and his reel to a tree to keep him from being pulled in..lol
nite sister..love you..
PS tell my secret man on here..i wanna know what he looks like..and how much money does he have?hmmm

Diane@Diane's Place said...

Hey, sis,
I WANNA GO FISHING, TOO!! Please, pretty please with chicken liver on top? LOL

I know what you mean about the cooking. I was lazy today, just made the pea soup and bread. Irma is in Little Rock for the weekend, a school trip, so I didn't have to plan around her dislikes for once.

I told your anonymous secret admirer about your 6'5", 260 lb. pro wrestler hubby, so stay tuned for any further developments. LOL ;)

Love you, too, sis :)

Anonymous said...

oh boy, i see zztopper hab typed another messege to me. do you realy think she lakes me? I lake hur a lots. I reely lake your pickers of the tree and floures. they are pruty. i look at zztops tiping and she is doin really gud now, but my tiping and speling hab gone south. oh well! i really luv you a lots i luv you a lots mure when you cook me sum turnip greens and chitlins. ok thanks for leting me tipe on your paper. bye

Anonymous said...

some more. i dont know how to spel PS.
tel zztoper that i don't make no money now. the guverment dun went and cut off my welfare check. now all i gets is a "crazy check" and it ain't but a few dollers

Diane@Diane's Place said...

Anonymous,
Um, uh, thanks.....I think.... ;)

One of my very favorite brothers-in-law gave me their old digital camera when they got a new one, and I am trying to learn how to take better pics with it. I have a long way to go in the photography dept. but I am working on it. It does add interest to the blog, I think. Thanks for the compliments.

As for the greens and chitlins----greens, yes. Chitlins---uh, no. I have never seen (or smelled) any that didn't graphically remind me exactly what part of the pig they are, LOL ;) If you and zztop get better acquainted, maybe she will make chitlins for you.
And, yes, I have to agree with you, your typing makes like a Hoover, anonymous, LOL.
And, I, uh, hmmmmmm..... luv you, too........I....ahhhhh...suppose. :)

Come back soon......... ;)

Diane@Diane's Place said...

anonymous, again,
I can certainly see how that might happen......the crazy check, I mean. And the few dollars.......But, heck, they say love conquers all things, so go for it, I say!!

True luv will prevail. ;)

Anonymous said...

Hi Diane. Off comment post, but I wanted to thank you for your comments that you made about me on Joe's blog. It's very encouraging, and I really appreciate what you said about my family. You nailed it. We are all very close.

It's 1:04am. I have to be up at 5:00am for work. This has been my routine since starting my blog. I know I shouldn't let it engulf my life, and I'm sure it will wear off a bit soon. Then again, I still feel refreshed after only 4 hours of sleep. Make that 3 hours and 52 minutes. It's 1:08 now. :-) Goodnight.

Diane@Diane's Place said...

Mike,
You are very welcome, I meant what I said.

Regarding your blog: I know what you mean as far as time spent blogging. I probably spend too much time on mine, too. It's like being a proud parent, though, wanting everything to be just right, tweaking and fine-tuning everything so your child (blog) will be the best he can be.

I still see things I admire on other blogs, and I will still probably make a few minor changes here and there to my blog, but for the most part I am pretty satisfied with the way it's set up now.

You'll hit your stride with your blog soon, and it will be an outlet more than a constant attention thing.

Nashe^ said...

heyo... man! i wish i had some cold weather here..not too cold, though! Hahaha...its really sweltering in S'pore. sigh.

Diane@Diane's Place said...

Hey, Nashe,
It's not sweltering here right now!! It's 2 degrees C here, just above freezing. I don't mind the cold, I just wish it would settle and make up it's mind one way or another. Not gonna happen anytime soon, tho.

Bummer..... ;)

Meow (aka Connie) said...

Mmmmm. care to share ... I love pea and ham soup .... I would love to make some, but we have hot weather at the moment, so it's not really appropriate food !!!
Thank you for coming to visit my blog ... it's quite funny, as I was reading your comment on Greeneyes blog, as yours came through in my email. We must be another 2 of a kind !! Yay, another fellow kitty lover. Hope your day is going well ... it is night time here. Take care, Meow

Jeana said...

Hey, thanks for going to my mom's blog! And Jenny's. She's a good friend. Hope you enjoyed the soup.

Greeneyes said...

Hi Diane
love the pics of the blossoms , we still have snow here and it is freezing out, not a bud to be seen as of yet ! love the post and we around here make pea soup( yellow or green) and we have it with dough bye's or what you probably call dumplings , steamed in with the soup !on top of , we dont use the milk like you but might try it , and sometimes we use a little salt beef in conjuntion with the hambone/ham . I really like your sense of humour and have a little diffeent one myself, but let everyone take us as we are ! LOveable/hugable ha ha
I would really love your recipe for cornbread when you get a chance and we dont have it around here much (no laughing ) but I had it a couple times and it was really good , when get a chance , you can leave it on my blog if dont want it here
Take care
Greeneyes

Alex said...

"It's pretty.....but cold"

That describes my ex-wife to a "t"

Diane@Diane's Place said...

Alex,
Awwww....I'm sorry, :-( But, that's behind you, and there's a woman for you out there somewhere. Any luck with the mystery girl you mentioned a week or so ago?
Don't give up, if she doesn't realize what a great guy you are, the right girl will one day soon. Just keep the faith. :)