Random Dozen…June 30

I have no particular train of thought today, and no meme to join, so I will post my own “Random Dozen” thoughts… Ready?  Here goes…I’ll begin with a photograph of a dozen random people at the beach.  There really are twelve people there…counting the three in the water.

2.  I’m almost packed and ready for the second of our three summer trips.  It’s back to the beach–but a different beach this time.  This time it’s a Georgia beach–St Simon’s Island.  Georgia beaches are nice, but I like Florida beaches better.  The farther south, the prettier the water…isn’t that Florida beach water in the picture beautiful???

3.  Speaking of water…the one thing on my “bucket list” that I have not done(yet), is to visit the Florida Keys.  I would love to go there before I die.  It’s not an impossible dream, I just hate the thought of traveling ten hours or more.  My husband says we may fly there one day…we’ll see.  I’ve never flown before!  I think I would prefer to travel 10 hours by car…

4.  Today marks the end of June, and means that the year 2010 is already halfway over…This blows this feeble mind of mine.  Where does the time go?  I am getting to the point where I hate to sleep, because time is getting so precious.  Too little time…so much that I want to do–and I usually don’t get it done….

5.  We had a fun family get-together at my oldest son’s house last evening.  His wife hosted, and had a Fourth of July theme…complete with watermelon and lemonade.  Christina is so creative…in fact she has begun a blog at http://www.christinascreativeside.blogspot.com to share some of her creative projects.  You should check it out!  It’s nice to have a fellow blogger in the family.

6.  Television watching is getting to be a royal “pain”…I am thoroughly disgusted with “The Bachelorette”.  A while back, I began to suspect that the show was getting a bit “scripted”–back when Deanna was the bachelorette–but now it’s very obvious!!!  I have stopped watching!  What a bunch of “trash”…  

7.  One of my favorite shows is “The Deadliest Catch”, and I am so distraught about the passing of Captain Phil…I knew he was a ticking time bomb, but I still hate it that he’s gone.  I especially hate it that Phil caught his son, Jake,  stealing  pills–and Jake admitted to being an addict, just a few hours before Phil’s stroke…it was an ugly scene, and a nasty argument followed…later there was an apology, then Phil had a massive stroke.  The film footage is so raw and real…and as that day is unfolding, you can actually see the beginning symptoms of Phil’s stroke…so sad.

8.  I’ve been canning tomatoes this week.  Actually, I don’t “can” them, I stew them down and put them in the freezer.  I don’t put up vegetables like I used to, mainly because I don’t cook as many.  I am supposed to be getting a bushel of peas this afternoon.  Ah, the joys of country life…

9.  Since our last trip to the beach, my allergies have been driving me crazy.  I didn’t have any symptoms at the beach, but once we got within an hour of home, the symptoms came back full force…I tell you, I dislike these Georgia pine trees more each day…

10.  My son-in-law does the funniest impressions!  He can make me laugh hysterically…There is one person, in particular, that he does especially well…Clint, you are so bad, but I love it!

11.  Oh no!  My husband and I heard yesterday that Crocs is going out of business!  What in the world will we do?  Both of us wear Crocs shoes,  exclusively, except to church(and Ed wants to wear them there, too).  I’d better get busy and “stock pile” some Crocs for the future.  Of course, we are both still wearing our original Crocs from 3 years ago–but we use them for “around the house” only.

12.  Lately, almost every afternoon brings a storm.  We were without power for six hours last Friday evening, following a storm.   On Monday, a tornado passed through our town, about 5 miles away from us.  It uprooted several large trees, and damaged a couple of vehicles.  Fortunately, we didn’t lose power or sustain any damage due to that storm.

That’s it, my Random Dozen…I hope I didn’t bore you too much…Have a great day, everyone!

Shelter Tales…Not Just For Dogs And Cats

During my volunteer days at our local shelter, I quickly discovered that the Animal Control Shelter wasn’t just for dogs and cats.  While it is designed primarily to accommodate unwanted felines and canines, occasionally there are other boarders–such as horses.  

Back in our shelter’s beginning phase, if a case of animal abuse was reported and confirmed, the animals were rescued–just like on “Animal Cops”.   I’m sad to say, that due to county budget cuts, this is no longer the case. Animals are only picked up now if they are a danger to society.  The incidents in this story took place in the shelter’s beginning phase. 

 During my first summer of volunteering, a horse was rescued and temporarily housed in the fenced in back yard of the shelter.  This particular horse didn’t stay long, but there were other horse rescues after this one–including an entire herd rescued from a flood. 

temporary shelter resident...a horse

 

One day I entered the shelter and found a flock of chickens housed in the end kennel!  That was a strange sight–those little white chickens housed among all of those dogs.  Apparently, someone had been keeping those particular chickens in an abandoned car!  I guess being housed at the shelter among dogs and cats was a little better than being kept in an abandoned car…but the chickens didn’t stay long, they soon found an appropriate home. 

At one time the shelter also had two abandoned parakeets.  The animal control officer decided that she would like to keep the birds in the lobby of  the shelter.  One of my volunteer duties was raising money for the animal shelter–a duty that I gave to myself.  Thanks to a generous, kind-hearted co-worker at school(who also loved animals), I was able to buy a nice, large,  cage for the shelter birds to live in.  I jokingly called it the “cage condo”. 

the shelter birds in their new cage

 

The birds were very happy in their “cage condo” for many months…Then one day the unthinkable happened. 

Lo, the shelter officer would occasionally allow a couple of well-behaved dogs or cats to run loose in the front part of the shelter.  They were sort of like our “greeters” to any visitors who came in.  When the shelter was closed, sometimes she would leave an animal loose in the lobby area.  Occasionally it was a dog, but usually it was a cat.  One particular day, Lo left the wrong cat on the loose…  

While the shelter was closed,  one of the feline “greeters” decided to have our shelter birds for lunch!  I don’t know how that cat managed to do it, but she pried the door of that bird-cage open–despite the fact that it was  wired shut!  When I arrived at the shelter–there sat the empty cage, door open, feathers strewn all about…That darn cat ate both of the parakeets! 

me holding two of the oppossums

 

During my time of volunteering there, the shelter was also a temporary home for an abandoned rabbit (which I adopted), a chinchilla, a small, parrot-like bird, a hamster, and a family of baby opossums.  Shelter volunteers rescued all animals,  except the baby opossums, which were had raised by Lo, then turned over to a sanctuary for wild animals.  Lo became very attached to her baby opossums during their stay at the shelter,  and it was a bittersweet good-bye when Lo left her babies at their new home.  

That’s it for today.  Thanks for sharing my memories of my shelter volunteering days.  I still have a few more tales left to tell, so I’ll be back before long to share some more.  Thanks for listening…and remember, shelter animals make the best pets–I speak from lots of experience!

Mama And Daddy’s House…

I’ve been wanting to blog about my experience with my parents’ house, but could never seem to find the right time.  Those were not the best of times for me, and I like to keep those memories safely locked away.  Blogging about my childhood homes on Friday opened a floodgate of memories, so I figured this would be the perfect time to continue the story with the saga of my parents’ house…

mama standing on the porch of her house in 1979

After finally being able to purchase a second home, my parents lived in their little house on Charlton Street for about sixteen years– when their health rapidly deteriorated.  In the spring of 1989, after spending four months in the hospital,  both of them were forced to enter a nursing home facility.  As a result, their little house on Charlton Street sat unoccupied for eight long years.

It was very hard for me to see my parent’s home, sitting there empty, eventually falling into a state of disrepair, but I had no other options.  At first, their future was uncertain.  After a few months, the two of them checked themselves out of the nursing home, and with the help of my uncle(against my wishes),  they moved back home.  Their time at home was short-lived, and both ended up back in the hospital, followed once again by the nursing home. 

It became apparent that my parents stay at the nursing home would be a permanent one.  If we rented or sold the house, the money would’ve had to go to the nursing home, because my parents were receiving government assistance with nursing home expenses.  I know sometimes people rent or sell illegally, and get away with it, but I wasn’t about to do that. 

All of my parent’s income(except for 30 dollars each)had to go to the nursing home, which meant that any other expenses  had to be paid by family members–including house taxes.  My brother and I shared the house burden for a while, then he eventually sold out his share of the house to me.

Those nursing home years were tough.  It was up to me and my husband to regularly check on the house, and to occasionally mow the grass.  Despite the fact that the house was getting run-down,  thank goodness we never had any vandalism.  In addition to seeing about their house, my parents depended on us for everything. 

My daddy passed away in 1991, but my mother lived in the nursing home for another six years.  When my mother passed away in 1997, it was finally time to decide what to do with my parent’s house.  Almost all of their belongings still sat undisturbed in their house after eight years.  It was very hard to sort through their belongings and try to decide what to do with them.  It was the most difficult task that I have ever undertaken.  My wonderful husband ended up building a storage shed behind our house to keep the majority of their things in,  because I couldn’t bear to part with them at the time.  

We were still in the process of cleaning out my parents’  house, when  a co-worker of my husband’s  found out that  we were thinking of selling the house.  He and his wife came and looked at the house, and despite its run-down condition, were  interested in buying it.  They even offered to clean up and dispose of any stuff that we wanted to leave behind in the house–and I took them up on that offer!  That couple was the answer to a prayer. 

We ended up doing an “owner financed” sale, which means that we had a legal agreement drawn up, and the couple paid monthly payments to me for the next ten years.  Unfortunately, the couple ended up getting a divorce during the next couple of years, but the woman, Marilyn,  kept the house, and continued making the payments.  Marilyn’s health faltered at one point, and she got behind a month or two on payments, but she soon caught up.

At the time that we sold my parent’s house, my husband and I were parents of three teenagers.  The monthly income from the sale of the house was almost enough to make the payment on a small car for our daughter, so we used the house income for the next three years to help buy her a car. 

By the time our daughter’s car was paid for, teenager number two, also needed a car.  Once again, for the following three years we used the house income to buy his car.  After that, it was time for our final teenager to get a car, so we used the last of the house income to help pay for his car, too.  I think my parents would be pleased to know that they helped purchase a car for each one of their grandchildren.

Once the new house owner, Marilyn,  finished paying off the house, she had some remodeling done.  Among other things, she had new floors put in, replaced the old windows, had new vinyl siding put on, and some new decks added to the outside of the house.  When Marilyn and I met at the lawyer’s office to sign the final papers, giving her sole ownership,  I told her how proud I was of how well she had taken care of my parents’ house.

  Every time I ride by the little  house on Charlton Street, I admire it, and think how happy my parents would be if they could see what’s been done with the place.  I know it sure makes me happy…and I love a happy ending.

Six Word Saturday…June 26

My six words for today are:  Six hours without electricity…not fun!

The weekend began in total darkness at our house…a Friday afternoon thunderstorm left us powerless for six hours–well into the evening.

  We ate our supper of “Big Macs”  by candlelight…romantic!

Afterward,  we sat around and watched the candles burn for another three hours!  No electricity out in the country means no water either…  Not my idea of a fun evening– in June, no less! 

Fortunately, the four inches of rain that we received during the storm cooled things off a bit. 

That’s good because it was in the mid-nineties before the rain! 

I am thankful for electricity, and for all of the comforts and entertainment that it provides…amen!  Yes, we now have power once again–and water, too!

Flashback Friday…Memories Of My Childhood Homes

Today I decided to join Linda at http://www.mochawithlinda.blogspot.com  for Flashback Friday.  We are sharing some memories of our childhood homes.  I had several childhood homes, so I have plenty of memories.

our home in Florida

The first home that I remember was in Florida.  I believe  I was about age three when my parents moved into their brand new home in Lake City.  One of my earliest memories of that home is when I stuck a bobbie pin into an electrical outlet under the car port!  It was a shocking experience–to put it mildly!  It was a beautiful home, with knotty pine walls(can’t remember what it was called) and a picture window in the living room.  I used to look at the knots in the wood on the walls, and think that they looked like giant cock roaches on the wall!  It’s funny what you remember as a child.

My parents and I moved from Florida to Georgia when I was nearly nine years old.  Unfortunately, my parents got behind on their mortgage, and the bank foreclosed on their beautiful new home.   It would be many years before they would be able to purchase another one.  We lived in several rental homes over the next ten years, but I’ll only write about my favorite one.

me standing on back steps of Gordon St. house cir. 1971

The last rental home that we moved into was located on Gordon Street.  My daddy’s brother and his family lived there until they purchased a home of their own, then we were able to rent the house when they moved out.  I lived on Gordon Street from 1966 until I got married in 1972.  The house on Gordon Street will always be “home” to me.

The house on Gordon Street was an older house, but it was in pretty good shape.  My parents paid forty dollars a month to rent it.  The house had three bedrooms, but only one of the bedrooms had a closet in it!  Back when that house was built, people used wooden cabinets, or armoires, to keep their clothes in.  Unfortunately, we didn’t own any armoires.  Eventually, the landlord allowed us to build a closet in one of the  bedrooms.

I remember that the house was very cold in winter.  We used two small gas heaters to heat it, along with the fireplace in the living room.  When the weather was extremely cold, we would put some plastic or blankets over the windows to keep the cold wind from blowing through the windows.  We didn’t have air conditioning, but the house wasn’t unbearably hot.  We placed box fans in the windows to pull in cool outside air.  In those days, a lot of places still weren’t air-conditioned.

A storage shed was located behind the house, and once a family of  large wharf rats moved into the storage house–the kind of rats that grow very large, and have long fang-like teeth!  Eventually the rats moved closer to the house, and would try to come inside through the kitchen cabinets at night.  They actually chewed and left teeth marks in one of the drawers!  We could hear them trying to chew their way into the house.  It was very scarey!  I think daddy eventually got rid of them with some poison.

The house only had one bathroom, and it was located at the back of the house.  My bedroom was at the front of the house, so it was a chore to get to the bathroom at night!  We didn’t have a shower either, only a bathtub.  Once my mother was in the bathroom, on the toilet, when she spotted a tiny snake  crawling on the floor,  under the bathroom sink!  She was terrified of snakes, so you wouldn’t believe the fuss that she was making in there!  The poor snake must have gotten terrified, because he quickly disappeared–much to mama’s dismay!

In 1973, about a year after I got married, my parents were finally able to purchase another home of their own.  They moved  a few streets over from Gordon Street to Charlton Street.  They were thrilled with their new home, but it never felt like home to me.  My parents lived in that house for over sixteen years, until their bad health forced them into a nursing home.  The house sat empty for eight years, until both of my parents had passed away….to be continued on Monday…

Hobbies That I’ve Tried…

I’m an arts and crafts type of person.  I like to try different kinds of hobbies.  I think that I inherited this trait from my maternal grandmother.  She was always doing something!  She made many beautiful things during her lifetime–doing all kinds of embroidery, crochet, and sewing.  I can remember watching her, and wishing that I knew how to do those things, too. 

I guess the first hobby that I ever tried was sewing.  I learned how to sew in home economics class in high school.  I soon put my new-found knowledge to use by making some of my school clothes during my junior year of high school.  I made dresses, skirts, and slacks, but not very many tops.  I could never get the hang of making pretty button holes.  Once,  I even made a bathing suit!   Sewing turned out to be the best skills that I ever learned, because it became useful in many of my other future hobbies. 

baby blanket that I made for my boys

 

My next hobby was crocheting.  I wanted to learn how so bad–since watching my grandmother do it when I was a child!  She actually tried to teach me how once.  I had a hard time learning  because I am left-handed.  Many years later, I met a lady at work who knew how to crochet.  Her name was Minnie, and she was very patient while teaching me how to crochet.  Finally, I was so determined that I learned how to crochet using my right hand!  One Christmas, I crocheted everyone in the family an afghan for Christmas!  I used to crochet all kinds of baby blankets, and even crocheted doll clothes for my daughter’s dolls.  The other day I found one of the doll booties, but couldn’t find its companion. 

I also tried embroidery, and I made several scarfs for my dressers many years ago.  I used to embroider lots of baby things.  I embroidered bibs, little baby shirts, and nightgowns.  I also embroidered a crib sheet and matching  pillow case.    I still have the sheet, and here is a picture of it … 

embroidered crib sheet

 

I tried the hobby of cake decorating, too.  I took a home cake decorating course, and decorated character cakes when my children were growing up. I made all of my children’s birthday cakes when they were small, and sold a few cakes to others as well.  Recently, I got my decorating supplies out and made a Christmas tree cake, and an Easter Bunny cake.  I have trouble squeezing the bag these days…but I can still do it. 

cakes by Kathy

 

I sewed lots of my daughter’s clothes when she was small, including all of her trick-or-treat costumes.  I made the curtains for her nursery, as well as the bassinet skirt.  As Brandy grew older, I began making dolls.  I began by making Raggedy Ann/Andy dolls, then went on to make  other kinds of rag dolls as well.  I kept one or two dolls for Brandy, then started selling the rest of them for extra income.  

I tried my hand at making sculptured dolls when the Cabbage Patch doll craze caught on.  I didn’t sculpt their faces, though, I bought the pre-made heads, then sculpted the bodies.  I would buy newborn baby clothes, and shoes to dress them in.  Believe it or not, I don’t have a single doll  that I made!  I used to sell the dolls that I made to people who worked with my husband.  I made and sold lots of them, until I got tired of making them.   

I did try making stuffed animals–but only one time!  I did not enjoy working with the fake fur at all!  It was very difficult to cut and sew, and the little fibers and dust from the fur made me sneeze.  I kept the one bear that I did make, because I knew that I would not be making any more of those! 

my only attempt at bear making

 

In recent years, I tried counted cross stitch.  I can do it, but my eyes aren’t what they once were, and I had a difficult time seeing and counting those little squares!  I started a birth sampler for my granddaughter, but never have finished it!  I’m notorious for not finishing many of my projects. 

My most recent hobby is scrapbooking. I began scrapbooking several years ago when it first became popular.  I’ve made and completed several scrapbooks–some to keep, and some to give as gifts.  I haven’t seriously scrapbooked in about 3 years, but I keep meaning to get back to it.  I have tons of pictures that need to be put into books, but I never seem to get around to doing it. 

That’s some of the hobbies that I’ve tried over the years, but not all of them.  By the way, did I mention how much I love Michaels and Hobby Lobby?  I could spend the day in either store, but I don’t go to either store very often, that way I stay out of trouble!

It’s All Over But The Unpacking…

Kathy and Ed...38 and counting

My husband and I recently returned from our  thirty-eighth wedding anniversary trip to the beach.  It was heavenly going to sleep to the sound of those ocean waves, and waking up to that beautiful ocean view each morning.  Oh, if I could only bring that view home with me!

  As always, we had a nice time, but it was over way too quickly!  Also, as usual, the suitcases are still sitting around waiting to be unpacked…I hate unpacking!  I’ll get around to unpacking them, eventually…It usually takes me a couple of days to “get over” a trip.

We stayed pretty busy the entire time between going down to the beach, eating, going to Wal-mart, eating, visiting historic downtown Fernandina, eating, going to K-mart, sleeping, going back to the beach…I’m sure you get the idea…All of our vacation trips always include lots of shopping!

Clint, Brandy, and Madison resting in historic Fernandina

All of our family left on Father’s Day to come back home, while Ed and I stayed behind one more night.  It was so sad when everyone left–the condo was way too quiet!  After having seven people scrambling for the bathroom or a place to sit, suddenly it was very lonely.  Everytime I walked by the empty bedroom, I got sad–I felt the “empty nest syndrome” all over again.  I’m so glad that some of our children were able to join us for a while.  It was fun.

Brad and Jenn pose with pirate in historic Fernandina

Ed and I decided to go to the movies on Father’s Day, after everyone left.  I’m a big fan of both of the previous Toy Story movies, and I wanted to see Toy Story 3.  The last time that I went to see a 3D movie was about 20 years ago, and I got nauseated from the sensation.  This time I took some motion sickness medication, and did fine–except for being a little bit drowsy. 

 Ed and I don’t go to the movies much, and I almost died when it cost us twenty-one dollars to get in the theater!  I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, so I guess it was worth it.  The 3D effect was a neat addition, too.  Thank goodness our children are all grown…I’d hate to have to buy tickets for a family of five these days!  I did notice some parents handing out smuggled in drinks and popcorn though, and I understand why!  I’m sure they were broke after buying the movie tickets.

We had a lively bunch of neighbors during our vacation.  There was a house next door to our condo, and there must have been at least twenty-five guests of varying ages staying there at any given time.  It took three large tents on the beach to accommodate all of them.  They provided free entertainment the entire time they were there.  We watched them play Bocce, a game played with lots of heavy balls , and then a bean bag tossing game called Corn Holing.  I’d never seen either game before, but both games looked  fun. 

A brand new bunch of people checked in when the first bunch checked out,  and on the last evening we watched as they caught several fish while “surf fishing”.  It was never a dull moment next-door.  I kept wondering where all of those people slept!

Our granddaughter, Madison, absolutely loved the beach on this trip.  She couldn’t get enough of it!  My youngest son, Brad, had an inflatable boat, and he took Madison riding  in the surf.

Brad and Maddie floating in ocean...

  She loved it–even when a wave knocked her out of it once.  She sputtered, and cried for a minute or two, then was ready to ride again…She liked the sand, too, but the water was her favorite. 

Maddie enjoying her sand toys...

That pretty much sums up our little “get away”, except for my picture-taking adventures.  I recently got a new camera, and was anxious to try it out all around the beach.  The pictures in this post were made with my new camera.  I’m already looking forward to trying it out again in the mountains of north Georgia in July…

…You’re Buying A Car On Ebay!!??

It’s no secret that one of our children caused us to have more gray hair in our heads than the others.  Call it “middle child syndrome”, “growing pains” or any other name you can think of, but he kept us on our toes.  Once he’d finally figured out what he wanted to do with his life, gone back to school,  gotten a good job, and met his future wife, we thought we had it made…

One day our son, who wasn’t living at home anymore, came over to our house and informed us that he was going to buy a car on Ebay–from a private owner–in Louisana!  Did I mention that we live in Georgia?  It’s not like Louisana was an hour’s drive away… We thought our son had totally lost his mind–and I pretty  much told him so! 

Ebay was  still relatively new back then–this was about 7 years ago.  I thought it is one thing to buy a small  item over the internet, but it’s another whole ballgame to buy a car!!!  I just couldn’t imagine anyone making a deal to buy a used car over the internet–without seeing or driving it!

There is one thing I can say about this particular child of ours–he’s determined– a trait which caused lots of these gray hairs in our heads!  It didn’t matter what anyone said, once he’d made up his mind, there was no talking him out of it…  He  proceeded with his Ebay deal.  He made all of the arrangements with the car owner, made arrangements to obtain financing from the bank, and then bought bus tickets for him and his girlfriend.  They rode the bus all the way to Louisana, picked up the car, then drove it  home.

 Today I’m more than happy to be able to say “I was wrong.”  The 2002 maroon colored Chevrolet Monte Carlo turned out to be a beautiful car.  The previous owner had taken great care of it.    The car looked even better than when it came  from the show room because the owner had done some customizing to it.  The car still had plenty of warranty left on it, too.  Not only was it a beautiful car, it proved to be a good car.  In fact, my son is still driving it today–seven years later.  I’d love to show you a photograph of it, but I don’t have one…

The moral of this story is…sometimes parents don’t always  know best–the key word  here being sometimes!  I’m glad that things worked out for our son–but I still wouldn’t buy a car off Ebay…I’ll buy almost anything else off Ebay, but not a car!

Cooks Of The Week…

Our local newspaper does a little feature each week called “Cook of the Week”.  About two years ago, my daughter and I were co-featured as cooks of the week.  What follows is an excerpt from that newspaper article, including the photograph.

three generations...

What’s Cookin’

“One comment that I’ve heard over and over for 29 years, is that my daughter, Brandy, looks just like me.  Now Brandy is hearing those same comments about her own daughter, Madison, ” commented Kathy B. 

…Brandy and her mother have a lot in common besides looking alike.  They both are shy.  They enjoy reading, shopping, and vacationing, but they especially enjoy buying and selling things on eBay.  Both are avid animal lovers, which is apparent when you drive into their adjoining yards.  You will be greeted by an assortment of dogs and cats–most of which are “rescues”.

“Believe it or not, my mom and I both met our husbands on blind dates, we both worked in hospitals before quitting work to raise our families, we both waited several years after marriage to have our first baby, and we both live in houses that were built by my dad, Ed,” Brandy stated.

Neither Kathy nor Brandy learned how to cook while growing up at home.  Kathy occasionally baked brownies or a cake as a teenager, but had no interest in learning how to cook a meal.

“Two weeks before I got married, I took a “crash course” in cooking from my daddy,”  Kathy said.  Kathy’s daddy prepared most of the family meals because he worked the early shift as a guard at the local state prison, and arrived home from work much earlier than his wife, Jackie.  Kathy watched as her daddy prepared meals, and took notes in a composition book that she still has today.

Brandy also showed no interest in cooking while growing up, partly because she and Kathy mixed like oil and water in the kitchen!  When Brandy moved out on her own, her mom gave her a cooking notebook with several family recipes written in it.  Both women learned to cook on their own, through trial and error.

Kathy and Brandy enjoy being neighbors.  Since both are full-time homemakers, they have a lot of time to spend enjoying each other’s company, and cooking in their kitchens.  The two occasionally combine their meals, and eat together.

Both women enjoy baking, and they usually make something special for every holiday.  Kathy, Brandy, and daughter-in-law, Christina, always bake and decorate Christmas cookies together.  “Christina is very talented, and always decorates the prettiest cookies,” declared Kathy.

“I like to try out new recipes, while my mon prefers to stick with old family favorites,” Brandy commented.  Both women enjoy baking and making all kinds of desserts.

Recipe for Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese

12 to 16 ounces of elbow macaroni/ 1 and 1/2 cups of homogenized milk/ 1/4 cup melted margarine/ 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated/ pepper to taste/ 1 large can of evaporated milk/ 2 beaten eggs/ 1 tsp. salt/ 1 cup medium cheddar cheese, grated

Cook and drain the macaroni noodles.  I always boil 12 to 16 ounces of macaroni–depending on how many people I’m feeding. Grease the crock pot with extra butter.  Mix the cooked noodles and all other ingredients in the crock pot, but reserve about a cup of the cheese to go on top of the mixture.  This recipe is a family favorite!

Six Word Saturday…June 19

 

My six words for this Saturday are:

Had a great wedding anniversary yesterday!

Yesterday, Ed and I began the day of our wedding anniversary  at 6 o’clock in the morning with a kiss.  We exchanged anniversary cards, then began packing the car for our trip to Fernandina Beach, Florida.  Time for a little fun in the sun…

Two of our three grown children, and their “significant others” joined us for the trip since we had an extra bedroom in the condo, and hated to waste it.  Our caravan hit the road around 8:30.  Of course we had to make a stop at Target about mid-way to the beach.  We just can’t travel without making a side shopping trip!  An hour later, we were on the road again, but had to make one more side shopping trip to Wal-mart!

Lunchtime found us eating lunch at WhataBurger.  Hubby and I thoroughly enjoyed the oldies music while we munched on our burgers and fries.  We were groovin’ so much that we hated to leave, but the beach was calling our name…

By 3:oo we were unloaded and enjoying our condo.  The “sun lovers” among us had already hit the beach by then.  After a brief rest, Ed and I hit the beach to soak up some late afternoon sun.  We enjoyed watching our family and others around us doing various activities. Meanwhile we simply relaxed in our reclining bag chairs.  We absolutely love our reclining bag chairs–the best thing that I’ve bought all year!

Later, hubby and I left the family behind, and went to Kentucky Fried Chicken for our traditional anniversary dinner.  We do that every year, because that is where we ate on our wedding night…so many years ago.  We found a little table in the corner, and enjoyed our anniversary meal–just the two of us.  There were only three other customers in the restaurant, so it was very private!  I enjoyed myself just as much as I did 38 years ago…

It’s been a wonderful anniversary day, and I am  looking forward to spending another year with my husband, and best friend, Ed.  He’s a special man and I am so blessed.  It sure doesn’t seem like be have been married for 38 years…Have a great weekend everyone, I wish you were here…