More Questions & Answers, and Some Awards

I haven't skipped the country or been abducted by aliens, y'all. I've just been really busy doing not much of anything, if that makes sense to anybody besides me. I've been crocheting a baby afghan and doing a little house cleaning here and there, and actually, just plain enjoying the freedom of not having to cook unless or until I feel like it.

My hubby, Lamar, is gone to Fort Worth, Texas to visit his brother and attend a big fancy Super Bowl party this weekend. I hate to try to clean when somebody is underfoot, so this is a good time to get some things done. Notice, I just said it's a good time, not that I've actually done much. But hey, the opportunity is there if I suddenly get the urge to clean and mop the bathroom. Which I really should get done while Lamar is gone, but if I don't it's not like it's going anywhere.

Jessica is changing jobs again so I'll be watching Emmy occasionally, and sometimes at short notice. Lots of the details are still undecided and up in the air, but I'll share when I get the scoop.

For the moment, it's been sleeting, snowing and freezing rain off and on all day long and the temp is hovering right around the freezing mark. A messy, wet, cold day. Just my thing! But I do wish we'd gotten some snow that accumulated and stuck around for a while. Alas, not to be, at least not this time.

I'm cozy and warm in my thermal jammies, and I've got a pot of strong Earl Grey tea with wild Ozark Mountain honey to sip on as I type this. Seems like a perfect time to answer some more questions and acknowledge a few awards. Let's get started then, shall we?Prairie Farmeress (invitation only blog) asks: Oh hon, I got several but will narrow it down to this...Who in your life has been the most inspiring person? Your rock? You seem like a rock to so many people, who have you looked to or drawn from( living or deceased) for guidance and strength? Besides our Lord & Saviour.

Jenny, you have no idea how much I've mused over my answer for this. But no matter how much I ruminated over it, my answer was still the same: My Mama and my sisters. Most of the time I am pretty solid and even keeled, but even the sturdiest of ships can be rocked by the storms of life, and I'm no exception. Sometimes I feel about as solid as a Twin*kie, but no matter what life has thrown at me, my Mama and my sisters have always been there for me.

My Mama raised us girls to be strong, self sufficient women, and to lean on God first, then each other when the storms of life rage around us. That's not to say we haven't had our ups and downs with each other over the years, but when the chips are down we all know that we can depend on each other. Period.

Mama's been gone now for almost 3 years (mercy, that hardly seems possible!) but the lessons she taught us by the life she lived will continue on in her daughters, as we live our lives and teach our children.

I love you, Mama, and I miss you. I love you, sisters.MAMMY T (NANCY) @ MORE THAN ENOUGH asks: What is your favorite piece of music of all time?

Oh, my dear Nancy, do you even realize what a can of worms you opened with that question? You see, music is a part of my heart and soul. I like at least something from nearly every style and genre of music. I only have one child, but for me, trying to narrow down one favorite piece of music would be like asking a Mama to choose which of her children she loves best. I can't even choose one style of music I like best, much less one piece of music.

How about I just list some favorites from several genres of music? That will give you an idea how eclectic my musical tastes really are.

Blue grass: I love Bill Monroe and Ricky Skaggs, among many, many others. I love traditional, OLD, authentic blue grass: "Uncle Penn", "Footprints In The Snow", "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" and on and on.

Classic country: Johnny Cash, Johnny Horton, Marty Robbins, Roger Miller, and even farther back; The Delmore Brothers, Roy Acuff, Ray Price, and more.

Classic rock: Lynyrd Skynyrd; "Gimme Three Steps", "Sweet Home Alabama", "Free Bird" and more. Bob Seger: "Her Strut", "Old Time Rock 'N Roll", "Why Don't You Stay", "Long Twin Silver Line", "Tryin' To Live My Life Without You", etc. Too many to name, seriously.

Gospel: The Hemphills, The Hinsons, The Hee Haw Gospel Quartet (preferably with Kenny Price, Grandpa Jones, Buck Owens and Roy Clark), Ray Boltz, Gold City, Jeff and Sherry Easter, The Cathedrals, etc. etc.

Hymns: "Mansion Over The Hilltop", "How Great Thou Art", and "Amazing Grace" among many, many others.

I also love rock 'n roll, all decades, but especially the 50's and the 80's. I like some stuff that's out right now, from country, to rock, to pop, to even some rap and hip hop. You just never know what's going to strike my fancy, musically speaking.

CAROLE @ PEA'S CORNER asks: What's the most embarrassing situation you've ever gotten yourself into??

This one is pretty easy to answer, Carole, and I blogged about it way back in 2006. You can read about it HERE. I'll just tell you that it involves falling. In a dress. At CHURCH! More than once. And my middle name is NOT Grace. ;o)MER @ LIFE AT 7000 FEET asks: What is your most favorite place you've ever traveled to? And since you're the cooking queen, what products/brands are you most loyal to?

I'm going to answer the second question first. My reasons will become clear in just a moment, Grahs-hoppah.

First, I'm the "cooking queen"? Really?? When did that happen, LOL! But thank you for that, Mer. ;o)

I'm pretty flexible on brands since there are some good bargains to be found without sacrificing quality if you're willing to try some off brands. But, that said, there are a few things that I prefer over other brands.

I like Land*O*Lakes butter best, but will buy another brand if it's on sale at a much better price. If it's only going to save me a few cents, I go ahead and buy the name brand.

I will not waste my money on inferior vanilla flavoring, no matter how much money I might save. It's not worth it to make something good to eat and then ruin it with cheap but awful tasting vanilla flavoring. My favorite brand is Kro*ger brand imitation clear vanilla, or their premium real vanilla.

I like real, honest to goodness diet Coke and Dr. Pepper, not off brands.

I like A1 Steak*Sauce and no other.

I prefer Heinz Ketchup, but hubby will eat any brand.

I prefer Bryan baloney and hot dogs, hubby couldn't care less.



This answer for my favorite place may seem flippant at first, but I've honestly put a lot of thought into it:

Home is my favorite place. Camping in my beloved Ozark Mountains is second, and fishing almost anywhere is third. And I can reach the second two favorite things in 3 hours or less, so that works for me.

I've traveled as far north as Michigan, as far East as New Jersey, as far South as Louisiana and Florida, and as far West as Dallas and Tulsa. As pretty as some of those places are, they don't have my family, my memories or just the essence of those two things together: HOME.Which leads me to this question, from LUCY@LUCY'S FRUGAL LIVING: Diane, How many of your family members live in the same town you do? It seems like you are always having family over for Sunday dinner.

Lucy, actually, I'm the only one who lives here in my little town of less than 2,000 people. I was born and raised in Trumann, Arkansas. When I got married in 1985 I moved 5 miles up the road to Bay, where I live now. The other 4 sisters are evenly spaced between our hometown of Trumann and Harrisburg, Arkansas, which is about 15 miles from Trumann. Cecil and Sue both live in Trumann, and Donna and Ducky both live in Harrisburg but work in Trumann.

All the sisters except Donna attend church together on Wednesday nights and Sundays. Donna's been visiting a church in Harrisburg and I have great hopes that she's going to make it her church home and be very happy and fulfilled there. I love that my sisters are my church family as well as my blood family. It doesn't get much better than that. Now if Donna decided to make the drive to Trumann to attend church with the rest of us girls..... ;o)

My daughter lives 5 miles on up the road in Jonesboro and the other nieces and nephews are scattered around us, but all within a 25 mile radius, with the exception of one niece who lives at Mountain View in the Ozarks. One of Sue's daughters and her family lives here in Bay as well.

All of us sisters feel very strong ties to the land here where we were born and raised. It's home, and more than that, our family is home. It seems like the third and forth generations feel the same way, because as I said, none of us live more than 100 miles from where we were born and raised, and most much closer.I hope I answered these questions to your satisfaction, ladies. I've still got a couple more to answer. MYRNA and BEV, I haven't forgotten your questions. I've been answering them as they came to my comments and your questions are next.

Now to thank a few people for some awards. And If I forget somebody, please extend some grace and forgive me. It's strictly an oversight, not a deliberate slight. I've added the awards to MY AWARDS PAGE WHICH YOU CAN SEE BY CLICKING ON THIS LINK.

Thank you, JEN & MARY!
Assuming the roads are clear Friday morning, Jessica and I have a date to go out for lunch and then do some shopping, then I may watch Emmy this afternoon/evening while Jessica works, then Jason will pick up Emmy when he gets off work. I'd better put the blog to bed and then hit the sheets myself!

Y'all have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend.