On the other hand, I suppose some of you might say it's already suffered enough, lol. I sat down with just a wee bit too much force earlier, I guess. I heard an ominous crack, and almost immediately the chair started listing alarmingly to one side. Fearing the worst, but determined to finish the task at hand, I lopsidedly made my way through the job of burning some pics onto cd's. Kahildabob needed to do some online schoolwork, so I got up to let her surf, telling her as I got up to be careful of the broken chair. She promptly plopped down as I was walking off, and I heard a loud, unladylike Squeal. Yes, folks, that's right, she sho-nuff Squealed, and her feet flew up over her head. She barely caught hold of the footboard of her bed in time to save herself from flying backwards to the floor, tail over teakettle. Shortly thereafter, I sat down again and finished the job the ominous cracking earlier had started. The poor leg finally broke completely off, as seen in the photo above. "Taps" should have been playing for the faithful old soldier as he died in battle, lol. I am currently using an OLD office chair that I got from Ducky several years ago. It will probably outlast any new chair I might acquire. It is approximately 40 years old, and made like a Sherman tank. It's heavy and unwieldy, but brother, it is sturdy and solid. It is also the approximate size of a tank, and there is precious little room for maneuvering in here, so I will be on the lookout for a new office chair. Brian says they may have one in the storeroom he can bring me. I hope so, FREE is my fav word, dontcha know, :)
Mar is chomping at the bit, ready to leave for Texas. He has had his bag packed since Saturday, and he has triple and quadruple checked to see if all his cd's, dvd's and tapes are put away. He's rarin' to go. He is supposed to be back next Tuesday morning early. Please help me pray for him for safety and travelling mercy.
Nothing new on Polly, I haven't seen Bill on yahoo messenger at all today. More news as I get it.
If nothing happens, I am planning to ride the Senior Citizen's van tomorrow, just to get out of the house, and to pick up a few things. Lord willing, Lida is supposed to take me to Jonesboro Thursday to do my monthly shopping. They have already got a new car, a 2006 Mercury Grand Marquis, white. Kahildabob should get her car licensed and signed over to her either tomorrow or Thursday. Ya'll help me pray for her and the other drivers on the road, lol.
I need to post this and go say my goodbyes to Mar. Hopefully, I will post again Wednesday afternoon or evening. Later......... ;) :)
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
I Think We Need To Shoot It........
I Blog, Therefore, I Am
Hello, all. Not much to report on tonight. Cecil and Sue came up today and we played our game till about 5 or so. Irma had to work till 9, so she started on her homework as soon as she came home. It was still almost midnight when she got to sleep. I was in here with her, so I know she was really working, not just piddling. I am afraid this job is really going to take a toll on her, possibly health-wise, and also her grades if she is not really careful. Her Papaw is supposed to sign the car over to her this week, maybe Thursday, and she has to license and tag it, and get insurance on it, too. I do worry about her, but I guess I always will, even when she is 42 and has kids of her own. I know Mama worried over us till she died, that is just a true Mama's lot in life, it is bred into her genes. I have known several women who have children, but they are not mamas. They gave birth, but they don't have that Mama instinct at all. It's really sad for their children, too.
Talked to Bill, Cecil and Ducky tonight. Ducky goes to the Dr. tomorrow, checkup, and also with her sinuses. Bill didn't get his steroid shots in his back, the Dr. said it was too inflamed: he is supposed to go back Thursday and they will try again. Polly still doesn't know when or what kind of surgery they are going to do on her, yet. The timing of their visit down here will depend on when they schedule her surgery. Also talked to Johnny tonight, and Mar typed to him a while, too. Mar types so slow with that one hand, it really takes a while to carry on a conversation, but he gets it done. I think I would get really frustrated sometimes, and he probably does, too. Johnny turned on his web cam and showed me one of the pups. The one he showed me looked like a stunted beagle, shorter nose, but very cute in that puppy kind of way. They have 4 to find homes for in a few weeks. Any takers? I will pass the word on..........lol. He said one of them looked like a rottweiler. I told him apparently Buttons was a busy girl about 10 weeks ago, ;)
Mar leaves Tuesday night about midnight to catch Amtrack for Dallas/Ft. Worth to see his brother and his Dad. He'll be gone for a week. I plan to get some things done while he's gone, but my procrastinator may overpower my planner, lol. Check back with me in about a week..............:) Please help me pray for him, for travelling mercy there and back.
Well, I hooked up the scanner/copier that Bobby and Regina gave me, but just as I suspected, only portions of the program will work for me. The copier will work, but not the scanner. I don't have the right ports, it needs to go through my printer, and it will not hook up right. I have it run through the puter itself, so some of it works, but not all. Oh, well, I guess I will have to keep saving for a printer/copier/scanner after all. I will have to see if I can find anyone who can use this one, or give it back to them when I manage to get my new one, I guess.
I did sleep better and longer last night, but I am really tired tonight, too. I don't feel real good, for some reason. Not really sick, just not myself. I can tell something is out of sorts, but I am just not sure exactly what. Maybe a touch of something, or something I am coming down with, don't know. I sincerely hope not, I was just about to get back to normal. Well, okay, normal for me, all right? lol
I think that'll do it for me, for tonight. I am tired, and I still have to feed the frogs, the betta and the furkids. Love to all........
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Even More Memories
It is now 12 am, Monday morning. Just talked to Cecil for a while, and then talked to Bill for a good while. He says that Polly's carotid artery is blocked from her brain all the way down one side of her body, to her foot. She has to have surgery, they are not sure what they are going to do in particular, yet, or when. Bill says if it's going to be a few weeks, they are going to try to come down pretty soon. If the surgery is going to be immediately, it will be according to how long it takes Polly to recuperate. He has to be at his Dr. at 7:30 Monday morning for a steroid epidural injection in his back. Sisters, other family and friends, please help me pray for them.
The pic above was made around 1950, I believe. Sisters, if you have a different date for this, post a comment or call me so I can change this date. The man standing is Mama and Bill's Daddy, Fred Headrick. Sitting, Lena Headrick, (I am named after her - Lena Diane), Fred's second wife and Bill's Mama. Then Martha Hervey, Fred's first wife and my Mama's mama. Next, Katherine Headrick, Martha's daughter-in-law. Next, Katherine's Mama - I don't know her name. (Sisters - anybody know her or her husband's names?) Sitting on the ground, background, left, is Katherine's Daddy, I don't know his name, either. Sitting in the middle, Martha's Mama, Cora Belle Halcombe. (Did I get her name right, sisters?) She is my and the sisters' great-grandma. Sour-looking old heifer, ain't she, Lol? I have never seen a photo of her smiling, and I have seen several pics of her through the years. Martha and Lena had a good relationship and friendship with one another, considering that Martha was Grandpa Fred's first wife, and Lena was his second wife. He had children with both of them, too, and they were all raised together, back and forth between sets of parents. Of course, divorce wasn't that common in those days, either, so that was something unusual about the whole family combination to begin with. This picture was scanned by Donna, and I wish it had more detail, but the pic wasn't that great before it was scanned.
Speaking of scanning, Bobby and Regina have given me a Cannon scanner/copier. I will have to see if I can hook it up tomorrow, and try it out. I hope it does work, but if not, I still have a printer/copier/scanner on my wish list, along with an office chair. Kahildabob needs a new foundation or bed, too. I have my eye on one at Walmart that I think I may try to get. I may have to put it in the layaway. It's a bookcase headboard, with drawers underneath the platform for the mattress, no foundation needed, the mattress just rests on a solid piece of wood, for lack of a better word. I know it's not wood, it's prefabricated pressed fiberboard or something like that, that is supposed to pass for wood these days. We shall see.....Watch this blog for developments................
As for the pic of Mama from a few days ago.........I asked if anyone would like to guess her age, but no one posted a comment besides JOHNNY, and he already knew, anyway.........lol. As far as I know, she was 14 in that pic, but to me she looks much older, maybe 20 or so. I always looked older than my age, too, and so did Ducky, at that age.
Cecil has managed somehow to get two different blogs going at once, so B will have to straighten that out in the next few days, after he gets back from Memphis. She has a Dr.'s appt. Monday morning at 10:30, so she is not sure when they will be here, or what we are doing for dinner. More on this tomorrow, maybe.
It is supposed to be unseasonably warm this week, maybe even into the 70's, after the snow and ice and temps in the single digits last weekend. Like I said, strange, weird weather......Shannon S. said their county farm agent told him we are supposed to have a really bad tornado year. He says the drought in Texas and Oklahoma is causing the weather patterns to shift east, and tornado alley is directly over Arkansas for the foreseeable future. On that note, I just read Ryan Vaughan's blog on KAIT8, (click on the link to see the blog), and he has a link on his blog to The National Weather Service that is predicting a severe weather outbreak for next weekend, March 3-5. Yee ha, I am thrilled. That there is a little sarcasm, folks. I could do without the tornadoes. Every year, I fear our number will come up. We have been blessed for so long, I expect every time it storms, we are bound to be hit. Thank God for his mercy on us thus far. That forecast is a week off, yet, so I will keep an eye on it in the meantime, I assure you.
I am extremely tired, not enough sleep the last 3 or 4 nights, so I will preview this and publish it. I will try to post again tomorrow morning, or tomorrow night, we'll see..........
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Won One, Lost One
As everyone has probably surmised from the title of today's blog, Jessica's Mock Trial team won their first round, and lost in the second round, so they won't be advancing to the State competition. Jessica was on the prosecuting team, and by coin toss, we drew defense both times, so she never even got to speak. All that preparation, and she never got to compete. Now that's real life in action, folks. It seems to me, the tests we study for most of the time never come to pass, and the ones we aren't prepared for are the ones that we end up being tested on anyway.
The first round was very interesting, and since most of the parents and other audience members weren't familiar with the case, kept our attention focused very well. Our team did make their points and kept ahead of the prosecution all the way through the trial. It was obvious to me that our team had the case won. The second one was more ambiguous, and I thought both sides were pretty evenly matched, and the verdict could go either way. The judge and jury (all real lawyers doing this as a service to the Arkansas Bar Association) said basically the same thing, and that in the end, the prosecution won by very few points. The judge said it was a shame there had to be a clear winner to advance to the next round, because both sides were so evenly matched, they both should have been able to win. Since J's a SENIOR this year, this will be her last time to compete in Mock Trial, so it's a little sad for her. Another one of those milestones she will pass in the next few months.
Overall, though, this has been a long, boring day, especially the second round. We were sitting on hard, uncushioned pews, and since we had already heard all the testimony and evidence once this morning, it was difficult for them to keep my attention for the second round. Mercy, I was glad to get home to my office chair and my warm throw in front of my puter.
I have a big package of ground chuck thawing for supper. If I don't change my mind drastically, I am going to make some hamburger soup and some cornbread. I will make a big pot of soup, enough for tonight and Sunday dinner, too, and make some more cornbread after I get home from church, while the soup is reheating. I never know how many are going to be here for dinner, so it's hard to know how to cook so that I have that elusive amount---enough, but not too much. I really need a nap, but I don't see it happenin'. J is gone on to work at Kroger, and Lamar is gone for a walk. I still have to make supper/Sunday dinner, and study my lessons for tomorrow, too. That bed will be looking good later tonight, I tell you. It ain't looking too bad now, lol.
It's cloudy, 49 degrees now, probably the high for the day, after a high of 60 yesterday. Tomorrow the high is supposed to be 45 after a low of 30. It's hard to know how to dress. I took my jacket today, and it's a good thing I did, I nearly froze, inside the building, too. I have something going on healthwise, I guess it's my high blood pressure. I am notorious for always being hot, and in the last 4 or 5 months I have done a complete turnaround. I am almost always cold, unless I am in the bed, and that is very unusual for me. Hmmmmmm................who knows?
I need to go and make my vittles, so I will close for now, and I may try to post again tonight. If not, it will be Sunday night, or more likely Monday sometime. Love to all.......
By The Way.....
To Whom It May Concern:
There IS a 6 o'clock that comes in the morning hours. I had heard a rumor about this 6 am, but it's been a long time since I personally experienced it. Note: 18 year-olds are surly at 6 am, and so are parents. More than one trial may be required before this day is over. We are off to J-town for Mock Trial. Survivors will report in as time permits.
Friday, February 24, 2006
More Memories.........
Oh, the happy memories these photos bring back......These two pics and many more we have were taken with Mama's Brownie Hawkeye camera, summer of 1968 or 1969. They were taken at Lake Poinsett State Park just outside of Harrisburg, Arkansas. I was either 4 or 5, and my Mama, Daddy, sister Lisa (Cecil), Grandma Martha Hervey, (Mama's mother), Mama's brother Charles Headrick and his wife, Ethel and their 4 kids (my cousins), Tyrone, Jeannie, Julie and Jerry were all there for the day. That's my cousin Jeannie on the left, and me in the foreground of the pic. Notice how brown I am and how blonde my hair is? My hair is quite a bit darker now, except for the "platinum blonde" hair I have in abundance, especially framing my face :) Notice there are only 4 of those swing horses for 6 kids........Begin to see the possibilities for some minor disagreements, here? lol....
When we went to the park, we always got there early in the morning and spent most if not all day there. We always took the cast iron pots and skillets, and food to cook there. If Daddy and Charles happened to catch any fish, we cooked those, and if not we had fried potatoes, and whatever else the women could scrape up. We kids gathered sticks and dead limbs to use for firewood, and we built a fire and braced an old metal fan grill over concrete blocks with the fire under it to cook over. I can still remember the "pine" smell of the park, and the smoky smell of the fire and the food cooking over it. Food always tastes better cooked and eaten outside, in my opinion. Oh, the fun we had!! We were so close in those days, and now all the cousins have moved off to different parts of the country. Julie lives in Pocahontas, Arkansas, about 40 miles away. The last time I saw her was when Mama died last April. Jeannie and Jerry live in Denver, Colorado, and Tyrone lives in California. I haven't seen him since Grandma Hervey died in 1981. It's sad, we used to be so close, didn't we, sisters?
On to the news of the day, not that there is much. Sisters, remember Dana, Janiece S.'s daughter? The one who is my age? Jessica, Chris, his friend Jason and Dana's daughter, Jerra are double-dating tonight. They are supposed to go eat, then to play pool or bowl or both. Jessica has to be back by 11 tonight because we have to be up by 6 or so to get ready to go to Jonesboro for her Mock Trial competition at 8 am. There are 2 rounds tomorrow and if she makes it through both rounds, her team will go on to Little Rock for the state competition next weekend. I don't particularly care for the crime scenario they chose this year for the trial, personally I think the case is too vague, but they didn't ask me. I've helped her as best I could with her closing statements, but I don't know if it's going to be strong enough to help her team or not. More on that tomorrow.......
It was pretty again today, 60 degrees and sunny. The weather geeks are calling for a 40 percent chance of showers overnight and into tomorrow, and a little cooler. That's acceptable, I guess. We still need the rain. One of my daffodils is officially blooming, I saw it earlier today. I hope they don't get their blooms froze off, but it could still happen. There is still plenty of time for more freezing weather. April 15 is the average last frost date for this area, and the farmers around here usually have cotton and soybeans planted right around that date, if the ground is not too wet to work. It's going to have to rain quite a bit between now and then to make it too wet, but I guess it could turn out to be a wet spring, still yet.
I am going to go ahead and try to post this and talk to Cecil and Bill and maybe Ducky, if she is on messenger tonight. More tomorrow, good Lord willing.....
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Sunny & Warmer
This is actually the second posting tonight. For some unknown reason, the blogmonster must have been hungry tonight, because he ate a huge posting just now. Maybe it was his way of editing my blog, all I know is it's gone now.........In the immortal words of Marvin Martian to Bugs Bunny......."I'm getting very angry.........Very angry, indeed!!"...........lol. Hopefully he is satisfied with eating my last posting and the one of Cecil's that she said he just ate.
Now to the subject at hand. After the frigid, icy weather over the weekend, and the temps never rising above freezing as recently as this past Sunday, today it was partly cloudy and 60 degrees. This is some screwy weather, even for Arkansas. My daffodils are about to burst into bloom, come freezing temps or snow and ice, ready or not. I really would prefer we have more freezing weather, and really some more snow, too. Anything to kill or stress all the bug beasties. With no more cold and snow than we've already had, the critters are literally going to have a field day around here.
Been listening to some good stuff on my CD's tonight---Cheap Trick, ELO, Georgia Satellites, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Eagles, Percy Sledge............and the list goes on and on :) I'm in a rockin' mood tonight, but I may be listening to anything from Roy Acuff to Hank Williams Jr. to Metallica to Weezer, just depending on my current disposition. My taste in music is as varied as my taste in reading materials.
Kahildabob is at work, should be home soon. I made her a couple of PB&J sandwiches, and some grapes to snarf down before she left for work at 3:30. She nearly always comes home starving, and she really doesn't have time to sit down and eat since she has to leave so early. I will try to have something quick and convenient ready for her on the days she has to work. Since her "baby" ( see yesterday's blog) was "dead" yesterday, she will have to bring it home again sometime next week. I can't wait for her to have to deal with a screaming kid, all one day, that night, and all the next day. I foresee lots of blog material from that experience, lol. Stay tuned. She has Mock Trial on Saturday, the first round, and if she makes it to the second round and wins that one, she will go on to the state competition in Little Rock the next Saturday.
I'm sure you've noticed the photo above. This is my Mama, Jessie Luerene Headrick Cook. This pic was taken at one of those carnival photo booths in the mid-'40's. All the sisters will know, but anyone else want to hazard a guess how old she was when this pic was made? I can almost guarantee most of you will be surprised. I'll give it a day or 2 for those who want to post a comment, then I will post her age in my blog. I think my Mama was beautiful up till the day she died, but I think she was especially pretty in this pic. April 13, she will have been gone a year. In some ways it seems like only yesterday, and in others it seems like she's been gone forever. I love you, Ma...........
I need to do several things yet tonight, and I also want to see if the blogmonster consumes this blog along with the others already digested tonight, so I will wish everyone a good evening and attempt to post this blog.
Blessings...............
Bill and His Trout
Hey, Gang,
I talked to Billy Ray tonight (he hates to be called Billy Ray, he wants to be called Bill, I only call him that to bug him), and he sent me some pics of him and the rainbow trout he caught today. He said the biggest one was 2 lbs. It was a female, full of eggs. I suppose some of you might like trout caviar, but not this hick country girl, thanks very muchly. I have made a deal with Bill---When he comes to visit, he brings me trout, and I make him homemade yeast rolls and cinnamon rolls. I can already taste that trout.........lightly floured, pan fried in real butter, golden brown, with fresh lemon juice squeezed over it.................
Mmmmmmmmmm, I can hardly wait. He says he has some already stored for me in the freezer, to bring when he and Polly come for a visit this summer. My mouth is watering right now. Sigh.................
Nothing exciting happened today, folks, and I waited till after midnight to post again, on the off-chance SOMETHING exciting might happen, :) I may try to go pick up my meds on the Sr. Citizen van tomorrow, if I can make arrangements to get there at the right time. You are supposed to have an appointment to pick up meds, but I don't know if it will be too short notice, or not. Just have to get up and call and see what I can do, I guess. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. We need a few things from the grocery store, too, nothing absolutely necessary, just things like sugar and tea bags, potatoes, etc. Note to my sisters: that is not a hint, we have it covered. I can hear the radar clicking, and the ears perking up, so thanks in advance for thinking of us, and being concerned about us. I love you, sisters. :)
We are so blessed in our family, sisters, that we are so close and that we are there to help each other. When Mama was alive and even now, we have said many times, if one of us has a bean, and another one is hungry, we'll split that bean however many ways we need to, to make sure everyone has some of it. We have proven it, too, many times over the years as we have helped one another, and I am sure we will be there for one another in the future. Did I say I loved you, sisters? :)
My bed is calling me, and I still have to feed Herman, and Kermit and Miss Piggy, so I will close and try to post something tomorrow about my exciting trip to Jonesboro. Love to all.........
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Drizzly And Dreary......
Yep, that's how it's been all day here in Bay. It's currently 43 degrees with light drizzle, just generally blah today.
I started some brown beans cooking today about 1:30, and fixed some weenies and kraut, corn bread and fried potatoes to finish out our menu. Just got done, it was good. Chris came over around 2 and visited with me till Jessica got home from school. She brought the computerized baby home with her today.......She has to keep it till tomorrow after school. Something is wrong with it, it doesn't cry, coo or do any of the things it's supposed to do. Jessica says it's dead.......hmmmmmmmm. If it doesn't start working right, she may have to bring it home again, I don't know. It has computer chips in it that records how it's cared for, whether you let it cry too long, shake it, don't feed it, change its diaper, etc. I really don't know how that is going to turn out, we'll see.......
Tonight is church night, so this will be a short posting. I may have time to post again after church, stay tuned.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
"Confidential" To Boomama, Sister and Friends.....
I believe I know the comments that you referenced, boomama, and if any comments I made on your blog hurt or offended anyone, it was truly unintentional and done in ignorance. If it was a comment made by me, I apologize and I never intended to judge or cause hurt to any person. I wondered last night if it might have been a comment I made that caused you to remove your comments temporarily, and I prayed about it. If so, I will take pains not to comment on that subject again. It hurts me to think I might have caused anyone pain, even unintentionally. Please accept my deepest apologies if I offended anyone, and pass those sentiments on to the offended parties, or direct them to this blog.
Sincerely,
Diane
We're Having A Heatwave.....
I'll have you know, the weather is positively balmy here today---a blistering 39 degrees as I blog away this Tuesday morning, 11:45 am. I haven't been outside, but it is sunny and looks warm--but I don't believe I'll put on my halter top and short shorts and go out skateboarding just yet, :) The longer the cold weather hangs around, the better I'll like it. Summer will be here soon enough, and I DO NOT like hot weather. I know it's necessary for the homegrown tomatoes and other produce I like so well, not to mention the pretty flowers and the swimming, fishing, etc. that I enjoy so much, but I only suffer through summer so I can enjoy the other three seasons.
Cecil and Sue are on their way here with Subway sandwiches for dinner, then we will play our games or find some kind of sisterly mischief to get into this afternoon. Lamar is going with Sue's husband, Charles to Memphis to The Med, trauma center, to check on his brother and sister-in-law. They were in a horrible wreck almost 3 weeks ago, and it's not looking good for either of them. If they survive they will be so messed up physically and mentally that they will never be the same again. They already know for sure that Gary has permanent brain damage. Lord, help them and be with them. As far as any of us know, neither of them has ever been saved. That's the worst thing of all, not knowing their spiritual state. We just keep praying, that's all we can do at this stage. I pray for travelling mercy as Lamar and Charles go to Memphis and back this afternoon, too.
My guests are here for our afternoon soiree', so I will close for now and go prepare our gourmet iced tea to accompany our nouveau cuisine Subway sandwiches......lol. Later......
Busy Day.....
Well, it's been another busy day here in our household. Sue and Cecil came up today and brought McDonald's for dinner. We had some rolls and cinnamon rolls nuked in the microwave to go with the burgers. Still good, but not quite as good as when they were fresh out of the oven. We played games and looked on the puter for a while this afternoon. After they went home, I fried some pork steak, made some scrambled eggs and spinach, rice, gravy, and green peas for supper.
I talked to Cecil a while tonight on yahoo messenger. She was looking at Paula Deen recipes, and I told her about boomama's link on her blog to Paula Deen recipes. She said she wanted to check it out, and bookmarked it for later. I noticed boomama's comments are gone. She left a note that they would be gone for a while........Hope it's not anything serious, and they will be back up soon. She can do things on her blog that I have absolutely no clue how to even begin to do. I am still in a cyberspace fog when it comes to most of this stuff. I just blunder around and push buttons, hoping to stumble onto what I am actually trying to accomplish, :)
Jessica started a new job today. She has left her part-time job as a vet technician, and started work in the Kroger Deli in Jonesboro. She is such a klutz, and so accident-prone, I sincerely hope she doesn't cut off, burn, or grind up anything vital, lol. I told her, what with the knives, slicers, deep fryers, grinders, etc, I am concerned about her physical health. So far, so good. She came home intact, today. She was just training today, though. Like I told her, even veterans get careless sometimes, and honest accidents happen. I do worry about her, but Mama has to let go, and let her make her own mistakes or her own victories. I really hope she likes this job, and sticks with it. It will be convenient to ASU if she keeps working part-time at Kroger while she is in college. She left the vet clinic on good terms, and she may help out there occasionally, too. Good Luck, Kahildabob, Mama loves you..........;)
For my family and friends who are not members of blogger.com, I have changed the requirements for leaving comments on my blog, and you no longer have to be a member to post a comment. Please leave a comment if you visit, it's encouraging to me to know you enjoy my blog enough to visit from time to time. Thanks for all your comments along the way, I go back and reread some of them time and time again. You're a blessing to me, :)
Well, it's getting late, or early according to your sleeping habits, lol. I think I will call it a day and go examine the inside of my eyelids for 8 hours or so. Tune in Tuesday for more exciting news from the House of Jennings, :)
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Mmmmm, Mmmmm, Good.....
Well, folks, this is what's left right now, after the plague of human locusts have passed, lol. I suppose I will have to make good on that promise to Cecil to make some more rolls tomorrow. Jessica's boyfriend asked me to marry him as he was eating. He said we could work out all those silly details like the fact that I am already married, I'm literally old enough to be his mother, etc. etc. etc. Not to mention the fact that he is "going" with my daughter.....lol. Just thought I'd share some pics. They were yummy right out of the oven. Notice the real "cow butter," as my grandma would say, glistening on the yeast rolls? They were worth the time and trouble, I assure everyone. Just go back to February 8th if you want the recipe.
Eat Your Heart Out, Cecil.......
I just sat down for a few minutes while I wait for my HOMEMADE YEAST ROLLS AND CINNAMON ROLLS to finish rising.............hee hee hee!! I talked to Cecil a few minutes ago and told her what I was baking, and she begged piteously for me to save her some rolls. Today is her birthday---I won't tell everyone how old she is, but I am 42, and she is a year younger than me......lol. Since hubby, Jessica, Chris and I are here, I don't figure there's much chance there will be anything much left besides crumbs. I told her maybe, if she begs properly, I MIGHT make more tomorrow if she and Sue manage to make it up here.
It's also Donna's birthday, she and Cecil were born on the same day, 11 years apart. To make things even more confusing, Ducky and Susie share the same birthday, November 3, 2 years apart. Stay with me here, and Jessica's birthday is also November 3...........I am the only one of the 5 sisters to have a birthday I don't share with anyone else, October 23. Strange, huh?
HAPPY BIRTHDAYS, SISTERS!!!! Hope you have many, many more.
The road conditions are mixed, some are clear, some still very icy. It's currently a balmy 15 degrees here in downtown metropolitan Bay, Arkansas, population 1,700, smile.......Supposed to reach a tropical 34 degrees tomorrow.....Party! Luau, tiki torches and barbeque on the beach.....lol.
Gotta go check the oven and see if it is preheated, then I will be busy for the exact amount of time it takes for the rolls to get done, cool just enough to take from the pan, butter and consume........Back soon.......
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Just Dodged The Bullet
Whew!!! Praise the Lord, we only got about a quarter inch of ice, and then about an inch or so of grainy snow on top of that. Other places all around us got beau coups of snow, but as I commented to sister, we got just enough to make it dangerous to drive in, and not enough to play in or make snow cream from it. Rats! Oh, well, the weather geeks are calling for more snow, sleet, and/or freezing rain tonight, and again Sunday afternoon. Bro. Jim called earlier and said the church van wouldn't be runnning, and that the church parking lot looks like a skating rink. Bro. Bobby is waiting to decide whether to have preaching at 11 am and dismiss Sunday School, but I told him in my opinion, it was not worth risking anyone falling and breaking something, especially our sweet elderly folks. I also told him that I would not be there either way. I really don't need to fall, that's for certain; that would be the last thing I need.
I made Rotel Spaghetti tonight, first time I have made it in years. It was good, even Jessica, Chris, and his friend, Jason, ate it. Gasp! Shock, shock! I suppose I should be flattered, Chris says Jason is very picky, and won't eat much of anything, especially something homemade. He mostly eats fast food. Those two idjits have been out driving in the snow and ice all day. Good sense can't be forced on people, I have discovered in my old age, lol.
I talked to Bill for a good while last night. I am sincerely enjoying getting to know him. I regret all the years that he, Dwight, and Mom wasted, not keeping in touch, and he does, too. That time can't be regained, but we can keep in touch and get to know each other now. He is a riot, and we just seemed to click from the very beginning. Our personalities seem to be very similar, and we both have highly developed senses of humor. Diane + Bill = a rocking good time, :-)
Speaking of rocking, I am listening to yahoo music in my headphones, classic rock, and they are playing some dang good stuff. I like all kinds of music, from classic country, hard rock, some metal, 80's hair bands, 50's rock-n-roll, southern gospel, bluegrass, and even some of the hip hop and stuff out today. All of Jessica's friends can hardly believe that I listen to some of the same stuff they listen to. I have always listened to all different kinds of music. Of course, my tastes in books are just as eclectic: romance, science fiction, fantasy, westerns, war and spy stuff, and military conflicts......and anything else that catches my interest.
Well, I am going to see if any of the family is on yahoo messenger. I am having withdrawals. Cecil and B haven't been on in several nights, and it's been a couple of weeks since Ducky has been on. I haven't talked to Dwight in several days, either. We shall see........
Blessings,
Diane
It's Here!!!
I thought I'd better post something while I still can. It is 2:00 am on Saturday morning, and it has been sleeting, snowing and freezing rain since about midnight. I just looked out and there is a thick glaze of ice on everything already. It's 30 degrees right now, and the wind is blowing over 30 mph sometimes. The wind chill is in the single digits and that wind just cuts right through a body. If it continues precipitating like this, we may not have electricity much longer, especially with the wind blowing like it is. If I don't post for a few days or longer, you'll know why.
The Women's Conference was great. All of us ladies agreed amongst ourselves that Linda Rice is the best speaker we have had to date. The catfish dinner was great, too. Our men did an outstanding job serving, and we will return the favor when we women serve them at their Men's Conference. We all had our cell phones on silent or vibrate so our men could keep us updated on the weather, but praise the Lord, it held off until we were all safely home.
Lamar called Jessica and had her come home early, before it got too bad. There was one little squall line of sleet and freezing rain that blew through about 8 pm, so she was home when I got here. Another answered prayer, thank the Lord for our safe journeys home. Her ACT test was cancelled, too, so I don't have to worry about her being out in the bad weather for that. Mama has her little chick gathered close, so all is right in her world, ;)
I know it's February, but, acting on that feeling I mentioned about a week ago, when I bought groceries this time I stocked up on bread, baloney, vienna sausage, spam, sodas, canned goods, and assorted other food items just in case the electricity goes off. Our apartment is all electric, so if the electricity does go off, we will be without heat, lights, hot water, the works. The high tomorrow is supposed to be 26, but I doubt it makes it. The low for tomorrow night is supposed to be 12, so if the electricity does go off, this little joint is gonna get cold! I do have a gas grill, and a full bottle of gas for it, and I have a fair amount of charcoal, too, so if I can slip and slide out to the grills, that is one good thing. I have plenty of candles and kerosene for the coal oil lamps. I try to have plenty on hand, just for such occasions, and for other storms, too. Think positive thoughts, Diane -- maybe it won't get that bad..........
The temperature is falling like a rock, down to 28 degrees now, in less than 30 minutes. Brrrrrrr.........It's not fit out tonight for man nor beast, and I mean that sincerely. I feel sorry for anybody or anything that has to be out in weather like this. I always think of the homeless and the street people, and the poor animals that have no shelter in weather like this.....Yes, I freely admit it: I am extremely soft-hearted, especially for the weak, young, poor, underpriviledged, ____________..........just fill in the blank, and I feel sorry for them, lol.
I want to go draw up some water and make me a thermos of coffee, just in case the worst happens, so I will close for now. Hope to post again later today, weather and electricity permitting.
Stay warm and safe........
Friday, February 17, 2006
Ready Or Not, Here It Comes........
Well, folks, the winter weather is on the way, the weather geeks say. The only problem is, nobody seems to have a handle on what is actually going to happen. According to where you get your information, it may be snow, sleet, freezing rain, or any combination of the three, with varying amounts of accumulation, and begin at any of several different times. Gives a whole new meaning to "vague", huh? Our Annual Women's Conference starts at 6:00 pm tonight at Calvary Baptist Church, Harrisburg. Catfish supper at 6 pm, then the actual conference to start at 7:00 pm. Our group from Providence is taking our church van, and we have already agreed, when anybody reports the first freezing raindrop, sleet pellet, or snowflake, as far as we are concerned, the meeting is adjourned. We have those hills to drive back through, and after some of us get back to the church and collect our personal vehicles, we still have to drive on home from the church. The way the forecast is shaping up, we may not get the Saturday morning session in at all. At least one forecast I heard is calling for 3 inches of snow tonight, beginning about 9 pm, and then another 3 inches of snow on Saturday, and an inch of some kind of wintry mix on Sunday. Sunday services are in jeopardy the way it's shaping up right now. Stay tuned for more updates as they become available........lol.
Lamar and I rode the Sr. Citizen's van today to Jonesboro. He took me to dinner at TaMolly's, a Mexican restaurant, for Valentine's Day. This was the soonest we could get things coordinated. It was good, and the chocolate spoon cake was especially good..........Eat your heart out, Cecil, ;). I know that you and Sue really like it. I couldn't eat it there, though, too full. I had them package me up a piece to go, had it after I got home with a cup of hot, strong coffee. Yum, yum!! I think if I really set my mind to it, I could probably make it. The ganache is the best part, and I'm pretty sure I could duplicate it or come pretty close to it. The cake itself I know I can make, it's pretty much a standard chocolate cake recipe, only really dense and moist. A project for another day........
Today is Jessica's last day at Trumann Animal Clinic. She is going to work in the Kroger Deli in Jonesboro, pending her drug test results. She will work varying hours, but they are supposed to work around her school and school activities. We'll see how that goes. I told her, they make all kinds of promises until they get you hired, then look out, all bets are off. More on this developing situation as events occur.........She and Chris are supposed to go out tonight, too, after she gets off work, about 7 or so, and I worry about them being on the roads. I have lectured already about coming on home if it starts any kind of frozen precipitation, and then he has to go on to Weiner, another 25 miles or so from here. My Mama radar is going nuts, here. What's it going to be like when she goes to college? I may become addicted to nerve pills, and I've never taken a nerve pill or tranquillizer in my life. Lord help us both, lol.
On another subject, Lamar is set to go to Ft. Worth the week of March 1st, so he will be gone on his birthday, March 5th. It's a nice birthday present for him, and he always enjoys seeing his brother, Mark, and his Dad, Wayne. His Dad's full name is John Wayne Jennings, and he actually has a brother named Waylon Jennings......yep, I'll bet you had no idea we were related to Waylon Jennings, lol. Not the deceased country singer, though, sorry. Not related to Peter Jennings, either, that I know of. We don't get any royalty checks from either of their estates, anyway.
Time is getting away, and I still have to dress for the Women's Conference. I will be dressing in my fur bloomers, I assure you. It is COLD out there, and supposed to be down in the 20's with winds 25-35 miles an hour. Brrrrrr....! Later...........
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Diane + Clumsy + Church = Hilarious
I just returned from visiting boomama's blog, and her entry today inspired this submission.
For boomama, sister and other guests outside my immediate family, you should know a few pertinent facts about me.
1.) You may have heard of pleasingly plump? Well, I am rudely fat. Nuff said?
2.) My Mama and Daddy had nicknames and pet names for all us girls. The baby, Lisa, was known as "Cecil",
"Winky"........Me? Well, I was "Joe" and "The Bulldozer".......
3.) I am usually pretty steady on my feet, but WHEN I fall, I do it right, folks.
I go to a Southern Baptist Church, and my story begins about 20 years ago. I was song leader in my church. Song service was over, and the preacher was gathering his notes, bible, etc. to take my place at the pulpit. I was dressed in heels and a mid-length dress. Our microphone was on a stand just off the platform, with the wiring loose on the floor trailing from it. Can you see where I am going with this? As I stepped down the 6 inches or so from the platform, my fashionable high-heel caught a loop of the microphone wire and I very ungracefully somersaulted the 100 yards to the prayer benches that stopped my human derailment. Well, it seemed like a hundred yards, but it was only about 6 feet. If a fat girl could die of embarassment, they would have been preaching my funeral that Tuesday. There was a collective gasp when I started falling, and as I lay sprawled inelegantly on the goose-doo green carpeting with my dress over my head, a few kind souls started from their pews to see if I was okay. But not one of them was my loving family........Oh, no.........You see, they were snorting and guffawing and rolling uncontrollably in various positions on the pews. The only thing hurt was my pride, and it's a good thing, because my loving family would have been absolutely no help that day. I have no idea what the sermon was about that Sunday Morning, and I doubt anybody else there that day could have told you, either.
Thank you, Lord, for pettipants and slips.
Another time, almost a repeat of the above story, I was walking into the sanctuary from the back of the auditorium, carrying my purse in one hand and my bible in the other. I was dressed in heels and a dress, and the purse had handles and a long shoulder strap. I was carrying it by the handles, and the shoulder strap was hanging lower than I realized. I hooked my heel in the strap and rolled all the way to the front pews, this time, with similar reaction from my loving family and fellow Christian brothers and sisters. Only my pride was hurt, again, but almost anyone at my church can tell you about that moment.
Thank you, Lord, for pettipants and slips.
The most recent incident happened during Christmas season, 2004. Our Women's Missionary Union usually goes Christmas carolling every year, and I usually go up to the house and knock on the doors, then lead the chosen Christmas song. We had already been out for some time and had made several stops. It was cold, dark, and several of the ladies had remarked that nature was calling for them. As I approached the porch, it was too dark to see that Sis. Betty's porch had one step leading up to a concrete pad. I didn't see the see the concrete pad and walked right into it, stubbing my toes on the porch and falling flat over on my considerable stomach and my face. The pastor's wife, whom I had went to school with and have known our entire lives, Ducky, Susie and Lisa (my sisters), and the rest of my loving, caring Christian sisters, went hysterical, and not a single one of them came to my aid as I lay there flat on my face on the cold concrete. My OLDEST sister, (ha! got you!) Sue, was leaned over the hood of Sis. Betty's car with her knees crossed, trying not to wet her drawers while she howled like a hyena, and the rest of the women were in similar poses, cackling like a bunch of demented chickens. Got this mental picture set in your mind? Now, in the midst of this, Sis. Betty hears the insane racket outside and comes to the door. She opened the door, saw the other ladies in various positions, convulsed with laughter, but she didn't see me until one of the ladies pointed to me, sprawled on the porch in front of her. She was one confused lady. Finally, some of the sisters of both persasions gathered themselves enough to come check on me. I didn't know it at the time, but I barked my left shin on that concrete pad, and it took 3 months to heal. I still have an ugly scar from it. To this day, if anybody mentions carolling, or Sis. Betty, or almost anything remotely related to that night, they start howling with laughter. All three of my sisters say that even if I had broken a leg and had bones sticking out, they would still have laughed, then come to my rescue. Yeah. Right. Maybe.......
It is interesting to me how some things become legend in our different groups of family and friends, but other episodes are forgotten. Anybody got anything they'd like to add? Cecil, how about you, want to add to my public humiliation with your own comments? ;)
Now that I have written a small novel, I will close for now. I will try to post again in a little while. The bottomless pit calls for me to fill it with something, and the weather is trying to get nasty, so stay tuned for more as circumstances permit.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Screaming Brats, Anyone?
Coincidence or the work of the Spirit? You be the judge.......(By the way, I don't believe in coincidence, I think every event that happens in our lives is allowed or directly attributable to God.) I mention coincidence due to the vague possibility that someone out there may have an arguable point in favor of coincidence, and I would like to hear their points if so. That said, to the point of this posting.
I got up early (for me, anyway!) and hied me to Walmart Supercenter intent on the business of procuring the aforementioned $320 glasses (ouch) which were ready for pickup and fitting. I must say, they are going to take a little getting-used-to, but all in all, they are acceptable, I suppose. That task accomplished, I went out of the vision center to the main body of the store. Immediately, my ears were assaulted by the shrill screams of a small child (I use the term with hesitation, but being a Christian lady, my Christian friends have admonished me not to refer to the precious little darlings with some of the derogatory terms that immediately come to mind, and to "be nice".) Now, I don't know your feelings on the subject, but I rate screaming, fit-throwing kids right up there with fingernails on blackboards and those lower life-forms who ALWAYS sit right in front of you at the movies (they're always taller than me and block my view, an added source of angst) and talk loudly throughout the whole movie. The cherry on top of that anger sundae is when they answer their cell phone and carry on an extended conversation. Boomama, in a roundabout way, wrote in her blog about much the same subject today. Coincidence? I think not. As I commented on boomama's blog, the entire time I was in the store,I fought the urge to jerk up that little darlin' and administer an old-fashioned "whuppin'". To be fair, though, in cases like that, I want to commit violent rebuke on the mama, too. The kid hasn't been taught any better, but the mama ain't doing her job, folks. (Dismounts from soapbox.)
I have only the highest respect for those parents who are doing their best to raise their children in a Godly manner, in a Christian home. Whatever happened to saying "NO" once, possibly twice, then standing firm. Whatever happened to that, several other things went with it, like enforcing rules and not just mouthing about them; not giving in to fits; making your children treat you and speak to you with respect, and doing the same in return to them. In my experience I have found this to be true the majority of the time: little brats tend to grow up to be big brats. We all know at least one of them, if not several. For all you parents who are trying your best--Good job! Right on! Keep up the good work! And last but certainly not least--May God guide you and bless you as you WORK (and yes, it is work!) to instill good manners, respect, discipline, proper behavior and a sense of personal accountability in your God-given children.
Proverbs 22:6, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
Enough preaching for now, got to get this posted and get ready for Wednesday night Prayer Meeting.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
I'm Sad......
If I hadn't had a complete hysterectomy in 1999, I would pass all this off as hormones. I suppose they might still have something to do with my current weepy mood. I suppose it was the combination of things coming together, not the individual events that overcame my usual composure.......Is that vague enough for you? My thoughts and emotions are a bit jumbled up right now, and I need to try to sort them out. Sorry, but you get to be the sounding board for this orgy of teary contemplation.
1. I visited our local newpaper online just now and found my Mom's cousin listed in the obituaries. He was only 65 years old, and for some reason it just brought all the "I miss Mom" emotions right to the surface.
2. Just a few listings down on the page I found one of my best friends from high school listed. She was 42, and we graduated together, Class of 1982. We used to spend the night at each other's house and I went to several slumber parties at her house. (Question: Why are they called "slumber parties" when you don't actually slumber, but stay up all night?) She nursed a very sickly little boy alone until he died at about 7 years old. Her mom and dad are both dead, and she had 2 failed marriages. She left a little girl, about 12 years old, now, and I wonder who will raise her. It just breaks my heart for Stephanie, and for her daughter.
3. Jessica hasn't even wished me a Happy Valentine's Day, much less given me a card or gift. That is not like her at all. I would be more than pleased with a homemade card, poem she wrote for me, just anything to acknowledge the day. She doesn't have any money for candy, flowers, a card or gift, she said.........And I truly don't need or really even want those things.....I just want a little piece of her time and attention just for me, her Mom. I don't think she even really comprehends that she has hurt my feelings, and that hurts worse than her not getting me anything, if that makes any sense to anyone but me. Emotions are so hard to quantify and put into words, and I know I haven't really expressed this clearly. Just ignore me and I will be okay in a minute, I promise. I just needed to sort this out as best I can for myself.
Now, anyone who truly knows me can vouch that I am normally very even-keeled and solid, emotionally speaking. I am a strong Christian woman, and I am the one others can usually depend on to be there with a sturdy shoulder to lean on. I suppose it's the combination of all these things that have turned on the water-works, and any other time, one or even two of these things I would have weathered, sad but unshaken. I could just fall back on that time-honored adage, "It's a woman thing," and I'm sure the feminine genes have a LOT to do with it, but it's an emotional overload thing that has nothing to do with gender, I think. Our menfolk have been done a disservice by the present day collective expectations of this generation, I firmly believe. We expect them to be strong and "manly", but sensitive enough to cry at touching moments. Society berates them for being insensitive, the strong, silent type, then makes fun of them for being "sissies," and questions their heterosexuality if they do show their tender,sensitive natures. I'M confused by the conflicting messages sent by our worldly society---How can our men NOT be pulled in multiple directions by the conflicting expectations of this present generation?
Okay, I've rambled on long enough......somebody stop me, now, lol. I'm all better, now, as promised. I just had to put everything in perspective........All in all, today has still been a good day.....My honey is taking me out to eat Thursday......My glasses are in and paid for, (an answered prayer, right. there. I'll have you know,) my sisters came up today and we had a lot of fun.....Lisa and Brian brought me a lovely bunch of flowers yesterday, as well as cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory and some candy. Things could always be a LOT worse. Thank you, Lord for small troubles, they make me appreciate You that much more when the Big troubles threaten to overwhelm me.
Isaiah 40:31 -- "They that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not grow weary, they shall walk and not faint."
Blessings,
Diane
Pass the Dumplin's, Please........
Boomama and sister sniffed out that reference to homemade chicken and dumplin's that I mentioned being on last nights' menu, and promptly made a request for the recipe. Now I know this recipe looks long and complicated, but I promise, it just looks that way--it's really not difficult to master at all. After you read a few of my personal recipes, you will soon come to realize that I tend to instruct in cooking methodology (is that a non-word?) rather than just writing out a standard recipe. Teaching is one of my spiritual gifts, and I guess it tends to spill over to anything where instructions apply. I can't help myself. Jessica hates it when I morph into lecture mode, lol. :) Anyhow, I digress. Enjoy your dumplin's.
water to cover
salt to taste
6 cups plain flour
2 tbsp. baking powder (yes, tablespoons)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup shortening
black pepper to taste
2 1/2 - 3 cups HOT water, OR hot broth from chicken
Place cut-up chicken or parts in a large Dutch oven or pot. Cover with water and salt to taste. Cover and boil until tender. Remove chicken from broth and cool. Remove skin and debone chicken. Add black pepper to taste to broth. Have broth at a medium boil and prepare dumplings. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, shortening and baking powder. Cut shortening into flour mixture with a pastry cutter or with 2 butter knives, or I just usually use my hands to combine well. Add hot water or broth to obtain a medium-stiff dough. On floured surface, knead a little until the dough has a smooth texture. Pinch off about one fourth of the dough. Roll out on a floured surface to about 1/4 - to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into squares with a floured pizza cutter or sharp knife. If possible, remove squares to a large surface lined with waxed paper or foil, in a single layer, until all dough is rolled and cut out. Working quickly, add dumplings to broth, pushing dumplings beneath the boiling broth with a spoon as necessary as you add more dumplings. After all the dumplings have been added, CAREFULLY stir the dumplings occasionally to keep them separated and to keep them from sinking to the bottom of the pot and sticking. Dumplings are done when they cut easily with a fork and are translucent and are no longer doughy in the center. Carefully add the boned and torn chicken to the dumplings. Cook just until heated through. Serve piping hot, with additional black pepper on the side. I like a lot of black pepper on mine - if you can still see the dumplings, there's probably not enough pepper on them, lol. Makes a large Dutch oven of dumplings.
Monday, February 13, 2006
Down Memory Lane
I just visited boomama's site and looked at her adorable baby boy. Oh, the memories that brought forth. My baby is 18 years old now and about to graduate from high school. I can't wait to get a scanner for my puter so I can scan in some of her baby and childhood pics. I will put a couple of pics on here of her. They are some of her graduation proofs.
Just finished supper---fried pork steak, weinies and kraut, stewed potatoes and chicken and homemade dumplin's. Jessica and her boyfriend, Chris, and I are listening to her music (!) while I post this on my blog. It was only last week that I was changing her diapers and wiping her nose for her. Now she is (almost) old enough to have her own babies.............not that I am in hurry to be Grandma, but I will be ready when that time comes. This post is for Jessica------Mama Wuvs Her "ittle Baby.........
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Baby, It's Cold Outside.........!
Hello, All,
Mercy, it's cold out tonight! It's 25 degrees and falling pretty quickly, on the way down to 22 if the weather geeks haven't changed it lately. I'm glad I don't have to sleep outside tonight, that's for sure.
How do you like the ultra-modern pic, here? This was taken about 1973, if I have my dates right. That's my sister, Donna holding her son, Frankie, then my sister, Lisa, and me. I was 9 and Lisa was 8. This pic was taken on Easter Sunday. Check out the fashionable jumpsuits and the knee socks, and the trendy black patent shoes with the big buckles. We were the height of fashion, I'm telling you........lol. This pic was taken at the house I mentioned a few postings ago, the one about outdoor toilets and wringer washing machines. I hope my sisters especially will get a kick out of it.
Church was good this morning. Went to Taco Bell/KFC with Martha, Genna, Danny and Mikki. It was good at the time, but for some reason I am hungry again. Don't know why, it's only been 10 hours since I ate.......ha ha.
After I finish posting here I will go whip up something gourmet..........like vienna sausage and crackers, or some more taco soup, or a baloney sandwich, lol. Anyway, now that I know how to do this, I will try to add more pics here and there along the way. Gonna go ahead and post this, and I will try to post again tomorrow. I need to get off here in a bit and let Jessica get to bed, it's almost 10 pm. Later........
Diane
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Diane's Taco Soup
I had a couple of requests for my Taco Soup recipe, so here it is:
DIANE'S TACO SOUP
1 lb. ground chuck
1 can ranch-style beans
1 can white shoe-peg corn, or whole kernel corn
1 can chili beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomatoes and green chilies
1 medium onion, chopped
1 envelope ranch dry ranch dressing mix
2 envelopes taco seasoning mix
cayenne pepper to taste
shredded cheese of your choice
corn chips or corn bread
Brown ground chuck and chopped onion. Drain and place in a LARGE Dutch oven or stock pot. Add all remaining ingredients except cheese and chips or cornbread. Do not drain cans before adding. Add water to reach the consistency you like. Heat slowly over low heat, stirring often to prevent sticking. It will stick and scorch quickly. After soup comes to a boil, lower heat and simmer over the lowest heat possible for 30 minutes or so, stirring often. Serve with shredded cheese, and chips or cornbread. I have added a dollop of sour cream to each serving, too. This is about as easy as soup gets, and it really hits the spot on a cold day. This is really good made with ground deer meat, too. Also, you can adjust the beans and tomatoes, etc, acording to what you have on hand at the time. I have made this with a dozen different combinations of beans, corn, etc, and it is delicious every time.
I just got back from the Valentine's Banquet at my church, and I made a huge stock-pot of this soup. Actually, I made up a quadruple batch of this, and I have maybe a quarter of a pot left that I brought home. This freezes very well. I usually make at least a double batch and freeze some for later, if there's any left, that is. Hope you enjoy this, we love it.
Diane
Snow In Mid-February
Well, as predicted, we got our slushy 3-4 inches of snow. I suppose it's going to be like I mentioned in an earlier blog-----we had the mildest winter to date that I can recall, and the warmest January on record, and now it's going to turn winter on us when it's time to start thinking like spring. I have daffodills and other spring bulbs that are up and have buds on them. My flowering quince bush has bright crimson buds and flowers all over it. I know about the old saying: "If you don't like the weather in Arkansas, just wait a few minutes", but this is ridiculous. In the last 30 minutes it has gone from bright sunshine and blue skies to cloudy and snow flurries. The snow is melting pretty fast at 37 degrees. A chance of flurries all evening and tonight. Sigh..........why couldn't it have done this back in December around Christmas? It just ain't right for it to be 60 degrees on Christmas, but that's what it was here in Northeast Arkansas. Phooey.....Oh, well, I guess that's why so many people are fascinated by the weather, the constant change, the unpredictability, the fickleness.......I can testify personally, folks, if changeable weather is what you want, move to Northeast Arkansas, we can deliver, lol.
We have our Valentine's Banquet tonight at church. That's a fancy name for potluck and some funny games and some singing by whoever volunteers or is drafted, ha ha. This year's theme is "Amazing Love", and our menu is soup, chili and desserts. I am making my big stock pot full of taco soup and making a couple of iron skillets of cornbread. The last time I took taco soup, I didn't even get a bite: it was gone, and they even scraped the pot, lol. I put the recipe in our church Women's Missionary Union Cookbook, and it is super easy. Brown hamburger meat, and open cans and packages, but I guess it's like most other things---if somebody else will do it, let them so you don't have to. They could make it if they really wanted to. I don't know why, but it seems like we fall into having specialties, food-wise, that is. Pat is famous for her punch, and Martha for her homemade pimento cheese, Bro.Bobby for his deep-fried turkeys, and me for my yeast rolls and fudge and other candies. It's like you have a copyright on a recipe and nobody else will make that because you make it. Wonder why people are that way? Hmmmmm...........
Boomama managed to find time to post on her blog today. She mentioned the coffee and the food. I left her a comment to the effect that when she got the time, I wanted DETAILS on the food, lol. Sometimes you have to enjoy things vicariously if that's the only way you can. She mentioned the other day that her Dad will not give up dial-up internet.......After using DSL, I'll bet using dial-up is like going from a Porsche to a John Deere, lol.
I am going to see if some of my sisters or my uncle are on yahoo or msn messenger, then I have to go make taco soup and cornbread for tonight. Don't know if I will manage to post tomorrow or not. Sundays are really busy days for me, with church twice a day and family usually here for dinner, if we don't go out together somewhere to eat. Later.............
Diane
Thursday, February 9, 2006
My Feet Are Cold But My Heart Is Warm
Yes, I know, it's cheesy, but for those of you who don't blog, YOU try coming up with stellar titles and posts day after day.....lol. Besides, it is true.....my feet are absolutely frozen. The thermostat is set on 70, but I may have to actually get up from in front of the puter and physically walk in the front room and turn my dainty, lily white hand to crankin' that sucker up, lol. Now for you city folks and priviledged country folks, I will now ramble on for a while about my childhood in rural Northeast Arkansas......No, I won't be offended at those of you who suddenly feel the need to go clean your attics or clean around the commode with a toothbrush, lol.
First of all, I was born in October 1963, so I am 42 years old, and I really did live like this growing up in the late 60's and through the 70's.We moved from Town (Trumann, Arkansas, population maybe 4500 at that time) to the Country ( 2 miles outside of Town), when I was 4 years old. We went from a shotgun house, (so called because they were built one room room behind the other, like a trailer, only with the doors on the short ends, and you could theoretically shoot a shotgun straight through; you could stand in the front door and look straight through the house out the back door) to a shack on a gravel road. I loved it. We had a storm house, a chicken coop and chickens, and a dog adopted us almost immediately. A little cypress one-holer came with the place. For the city folks, again, that was an outhouse, or toilet. The indoor facilities consisted of a pot, or slop jar as many people called them, for at night and inclement weather, and a bucket and communal dipper for drinking water, wash pan for obvious uses, and dish pans for dishes. We had a hand pump and a wringer washing machine and wash tubs. The wash tubs served as bathing facilities too, and I took a many a bath in the rinse water after washing and rinsing clothes. Said clothes were hung on clotheslines stretched between tame mulberry trees and a post or two. The water for the washing had to be hand pumped, a bucket at a time, for each load of clothes, and carried and dumped into the wringer washer and wash tubs. Not too long before this, Mom still washed for 7 or 8 people on a rub board. There were 5 of us girls, Mom and Dad and whoever happened to be visiting at the time. Can you imagine having to wash diapers and baby clothes by hand on a rub board? I thought it was bad enough to have to wash them in the machine in the back yard. In summer time it wasn't too bad, but in winter it was something else. Your hand would freeze to the pump handle, and you had to pour water over it to thaw it, and you had to drain the dirty water from the washer onto the ground with the rubber hose attached for that purpose so you could refill it for the next load. The hose was only 3 or 4 feet long, so you were always standing in water, winter or summer--Wheee, yee ha....fun, lol. After the joy of washing, rinsing and then putting everything through the wringer on the washing machine (that's where the expression " put through the wringer" came from), you had the unequalled joy of hanging heavy, dripping wet clothes on a galvanized steel clothesline........Think about it.......It's below freezing, the wind is blowing a moderate gale, and you are already wet from all the pumping, pouring, rinsing, etc, and now you have wet, drippy clothes slapping you in the face as you attempt, with numb, frostbitten fingers to attach them to the clothesline with either peg or spring-type clothespins......Oh, the joy, the unspeakable ecstasy......lol. Everybody should try it at least once or twice. A personal favorite is having your fingers freeze to the galvanized clothesline and leaving skin behind when you pull them loose, and also, the heavy, dripping, clean clothes breaking the clothesline.........All that work, wasted. It can make a person want to sob her heart out. We also were priviledged to live in a four room house there, with a 12x12 linoleum rug in each room. Sounds luxurious, huh? Only one problem---the rooms were 16x14..........So there was room all around the walls with no linoleum over them, just bare floor boards. That wouldn't be so bad, but you see, there were large cracks between the boards----I used to literally lay on the floor and watch the chickens scratching under the house. It was just a tad airish in the winter-time. In the summer-time we had the skeeters and flies coming in not only through the holey screens but also through said cracks the floor. I also loved it when the wind would blow up under the house and raise the rug up from the bottom. The only place the rug was flat was where furniture held it down. In the center of the rooms, when you walked across the floor, every step you took, your feet pushed the rug down because the wind was lifting it up from the bottom. For some reason, this fascinated me........Go figure. I didn't know at the time we were pretty much dirt poor--Daddy worked at the Singer sewing machine and furniture plant in Town, and Mama kept the house and us kids. It was just how it was--this was just comforting, everyday normalcy to me.
Now, I summoned up all those old memories to compare to current modern times. I have mentioned several times in the last few days that my bed is in desperate need of changing. I wanted to have a pretty day to hang out my handmade quilt that I use as a bedspread. I love the smell of clothes that have been dried on the clothesline. However, it is currently 37 frigid degrees, and the wind is blowing to the strength of the aforementioned moderate gale. I have come to the conclusion that for all the problems this modern age has accrued, I for one am most thankful for modern washers and dryers. In other words, I will settle for washing and drying my bedclothes in the house, thank you very much, because it is dang cold out there!! I am so grateful I don't HAVE to hang out wet clothes in Arctic weather unless I want to. I don't feel the urge to revisit the "good ol' days" in this case, I can assure you. I can speak with confidence on the matter, because I lived it----A lot of the things experienced in the "Good 'ol Days" ain't what they're cracked up to be. Memory seems to dull and fade some of those not-so-grand memories in favor of the happier moments. Just a natural process, I guess. And there were good, happy times. It takes all our past experiences to make us the sum total of what we are today, and sometimes it's FAMILY that is all that makes it bearable, or even vaguely enjoyable. Like I mentioned about going North---Those memories are a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there again. Does that make sense to anyone but me?
Jessica has to go to work at 4 today, and she always comes in hungry enough to eat a horse and chase the rider....lol. I am beginning to get a mite peckish, too. I will close for now and try to post again later, if the mood strikes me. Have no idea what's for supper, yet, hope inspiration strikes there, too.
Blessings,
Diane
Wednesday, February 8, 2006
Diane's Homemade Yeast and Cinnamon Rolls
Howdy, all,
I should start by saying that this is my own recipe, arrived at by much trial and error......sometimes ugly, inedible error.....lol. I use the same dough recipe for my yeast rolls and cinnamon rolls, with the exception that I add a little more sugar to the dough, and sometimes add an egg, but it is not necessary. Also, for the cinnamon rolls you will need the filling and glaze ingredients, too. I have never written down the cinnamon roll recipe, so I will have to muse on that and try to put it into words that make sense to somebody besides me, ha ha. This is a SECRET RECIPE, so please don't share it with any more than a couple dozen of your closest friends and family, lol. I have used this yeast roll recipe for at least 20 years, and it has never failed to turn out well for me. Like I said, this is my own recipe, so it's written in my own style, not like a commercial recipe, and the cinnamon roll recipe will be, too. I have lots and lots of personal and family favorite recipes. My Mom was a tremendous down-home cook, and all my four sisters and I cook a lot. My personal favorite is baking and desserts, but I like to cook most everything. If you would like other recipes, let me know, and I may even list some of my personal recipes on here............we'll see.......If you make either or both of these, let me know how they turn out for you, and if you liked them.
I usually double this recipe and make half up as yeast rolls, and half as cinnamon rolls. Or, I make a single recipe, and do half of each, just making a half recipe of the glaze and using half the filling ingredients. Recipes like this that I make a lot I rarely measure anything, anyway, I just start throwing things together, lol.
Tuesday, February 7, 2006
I is Tard......
I repeat, I is tard......or tired for the city folks, ha ha. Sue and Lisa and I went to Jonesboro to Cracker Barrel for lunch. It was okay, I guess. I got the fried shrimp, baked potato and house salad, and added a fried catfish fillet. The shrimp was flour breaded instead of cracker or bread crumbs, and I'd rather have the cracker or bread crumb breading. The baked potato was good, though, and the salad, too. I do hate the hothouse tomatoes, though. It just ain't right for tomatoes to be crunchy, I tell you. Come on, home grown tomato season.......lol. After lunch, we went to Trumann to the Walmart Supercenter for a little shopping, then back to Bay to my place. We played our question and answer game for a couple of hours, then they had to go home and cook supper for their sweet patooties. I made homemade chili and cornbread for supper. Jessica brought over her "friend", not yet boyfriend officially, lol. His name is Chris.......I really don't know how I feel about him, yet. I will have to let this relationship stew a while before I form any concrete opinions.
I haven't done a single constructive thing today, but I am tired like I have worked hard. If I don't talk myself out of it in a while, I am going to change the bed. It really needs it. Lisa hasn't messaged me yet, but I saw on Yahoo that she is already on here. Bill was on earlier, but now I think he's idle. Probably talk to them in a little while.
For my two new friends who left the comments for me, thank you so much for your words of encouragement. I will try to get that cinnamon roll recipe either on here or send it directly to you in the next few days. I won't make any promises, because sure as I do, something will come up and make me a liar, sure as the world. I look forward to getting acquainted.
Well, I will close for now and try to get some things done tonight before too late. Later.................
Monday, February 6, 2006
I'm a Failure!!
Once again, I demonstrate my ignorance! I have repeatedly tried to put my pic on the side bar of this blog, to no avail. I have tried to add it to my profile: Nope, just got a smaller version of the pic in the text area. I may just have to give it up on the pics, I really don't know what I am doing, here, and I think it was just pure, dumb luck that I got a pic on here at all. The whole process is utterly confusing to me. I don't think anybody but me reads this anyway, and I already know what I look like, lol. I wish if anybody is reading this, they would post a comment so I would know..............
I had gotten all excited, thinking I was going to be able to save a lot of money on my glasses by ordering them on the web, and I happened to think, I have to have measurements for the frames----and I don't have them. These old frames are actually a little small, the temples are tight against my face and it's worn the finish off the metal. I turn a lovely shade of grass green where they touch me. So, I need to be fitted properly, and I will probably try to get some glasses with plastic temples to try to avoid that this time. Oh, well, maybe next time I will have the measurements and can order them online. I am kind of hesitant, anyway, about ordering them online. If they are not right, it would be a pain in the rump to try to force them to make it right, and then there's the mailing back and forth no telling how many times. It's 3 or 4 times the price, so I don't know which is the better way to go. There's pros and cons with both options. I will probably just go to Walmart and be done with it. I'll most likely have to order them now and pay half down on them, then finish paying for them when they come in or the first of next month. They said it might be a while before they come in after I order them, anyway. They have to send them off, I don't know where. Then if at all possible, I want to get some contacts, too, after I try the Torics and see if I can see any better with them than these regular contacts they gave me. I went in and asked Linda today when I was in Walmart buying bread, milk and drinks, but she said the Torics weren't in yet. I may go back Wednesday on the van and check again, or even order my glasses. More on that as it develops........
Jimmy has his sinus surgery tomorrow early. He is supposed to go through one-day surgery and come home tomorrow afternoon if all goes well. I pray it does. He has been sick for 2 or 3 months now, and the antibiotics haven't done him any good. Maybe if they get those blockages cleaned out he will feel a lot better.
I've got to finish paying the bills and see what, if anything, I have left. I got groceries today, and I had to use some money, since the food stamps were cut to less than half what they were Jessica turned 18. The groceries are still setting in the living room, my knees are killing me after all that walking and carrying in all the stuff. Lamar helped carry everything in, thankfully. We will have to have things before we get the next food stamps, but the good Lord always seems to provide. Donna brought us several things last weekend, and she brought me 2 POUNDS of Fleischmann's yeast yesterday. I told her all I needed was some sugar and some kind of grain and I could start a moonshine still, lol. I'll put it in the freezer, though, and it will last me forever and a day. I want to make several things of the yeast variety, including those Auntie Diane's pretzels, cinnamon rolls, (Jessica's favorites), and some of my yeast rolls. I have a long to-do list, though, and an overworked procrastinator, though, so who knows when I will get around to making them................
No snow here, just a few flurries and a little sleet today in Jonesboro, but it is cold and getting colder - 35 degrees right now, at 8:45 pm. Lisa and Sue came up at 11:30 today and brought Big N Juicy's as Mom called them, then we played our question and answer game till about 5:30. Lamar and Jessica went with DeLida so Jessica could clean the clinic, then they are going to revival at her church. I ate the second of those Lean Cuisine dinners they sent me to try.........It wasn't any better than the first one. I just don't care for them at all. I told them so when I did the survey on the first one today, too. Well, I am going to finish up and post this, I am tired and I may even go to bed early in a little while, (gasp!!). I was kind of waiting to see if Bill or Donna was going to be on here tonight, but it's almost 9 pm, and so far they're not. Anyway, I will try to post tomorrow.................
