Tuesday, January 30, 2018

I need to unpack.

I am back home and resting in my own bed.  Visiting my friend was nice, indeed, but I am always glad to be back in my own home.
 I pack too much when I travel and end up bringing home more than I arrived with.   There is a pile of bags, suitcases and filled storage baskets parked in my hall waiting to be put away. All for a two week visit to where I already have clothes and necessities. Go figure....I swear  to travel light next time. 

Saturday, January 20, 2018

Saw one of these today!



What a nice suprise it was to spot a Pileated woodpecker today.  He was pecking away clinging rather low on the side of a dead tree.  I tried to get close enough to take a clear picture but I wasn't able to.   I was kicking myself in the butt for not having my camera or my binoculars with me.  So far, since I've been here, I've seen a red tail hawk, on the ground (!), a great blue heron, white ibis and sitting, pretty as you please, on a cedar fence post, a puffed up female Eastern blue bird.  I am not a fan of the eastern part of North or South Carolina, the Low Country as it is called here, but I do like the chance to see the different forms of life, plant and animal. 

Visiting Walterboro, SC

I am in Walterboro, S.C., visiting a friend, Mel.  She will drive from Walterboro to Winston Salem, N.C., to pick me up and haul me back to her place.  I'd say that is a real show of friendship.  It is about a 4 1/2 hour drive, one way!  I don't think I'm worth it but she seems to think otherwise.  I usually stay about 2 weeks at a time.  That's just long enough for me to get pretty homesick.  She allows Jane Doe to come and to stay with me, which is a real sacrifice for her.  Her 3 dogs are outside dogs and very rarely step inside.  Jane stays in the bedroom with me and ventures around the house when I do.  Mostly we lie around just like we do at home.  Mel still works so we have the run of the place most of the day.  When Mel comes home in the evenings she takes me out to dinner and to run whatever errands need to be taken care of. 
I don't have an up to date picture of us..I'll have to get one to blog so you can see how well we've aged!  This one is, gosh, about 10 years old.  We've been friends since we met in 6th grade'  We lost touch after high school.  By chance, we worked in the same hospital laboratory for a while when we were in our late 20's.  Then life got busy and we moved to different cities.  We didn't keep in touch for some years while our families were growing, but then we picked back up and it was like we had never been apart.  It is nice to have a friend you share a long history with and can really be yourself around.  

Sunday, January 14, 2018

Birthday Wishes for My First Born......



 Born February 9, 1969                                                           
   
 My first born baby will be celebrating his, gulp, 48th birthday in February. His daughter will be making him a grandfather in May.  ( I know he will love being a grandfather and he will make a good one. )   How surreal this all seems to me.  When the kids were little and time was filled with the responsibilities of wife and mother it seemed time was dragging by and that there certainly was an unlimited amount of it stretched out before me.  I thought the old folks that said,  " Enjoy your kids now because they grow up fast. " were nuts, pure and simple. I could not imagine something I had never felt or seen.  I had not lived long enough to look back on the majority of my life nor had I seen enough of life to start contemplating my end.  I am at that point now though.  My children stopped physically needing me long ago and have long since become emotionally independent.  They became, in spite of me, and I hope somewhat because of me,  strong, good, loving and productive people.  I know the vast majority of their goodness and success is because of their own mental, emotional and spiritual strength though. It is a true blessing when your children grow to be better and stronger than you are.  

                                                    Happy Birthday, Son! I love you. 
                                               You are a fine man.  I am proud of you. 

Thursday, January 11, 2018

Gotta' Brag

                 Maggie........being a Grandma is wonderful no matter how old the grandchildren are.
                                                 
                                           


Wednesday, January 10, 2018

I tell you what, folks, I've started using Twitter and Instagram. I wanted to see what all the fuss over Trump's Tweeting was about.  I actually like the variety of info. and opinions you find on Twitter.  I've been led to some pretty interesting and some scary sites.  Since my attention span is about as long as that of a  hungry toddler I imagine I'll be out of this phase soon.  As for Instagram, I'll probably stick with it a little longer as my family posts pics of grandkids there and, of course, I love seeing those.  Some of my ' children' take pretty nice photographs during their travels too.   I never think to go to FaceBook though I've had an account with them for awhile.


This is my youngest daughter with her new daughter.   Maggie, ( Margaret Emily ), has been here since September so she is not all that " new " but new enough.....I'm still pretty excited about her!


 And, to beat all, I'll become a Great Grandmother this May!  The world keeps a turnin'.

Jane is going to the doctor this morning to have her ears checked,  I believe she has an ear infection.  Because of her allergies, she has a lot of medical issues.  Between her skin rashes, itching skin, inflammation and her yeast infections she is pretty miserable the majority of the time or, at least would be, if it were not for her daily medications.  She takes two prescription medications on a daily basis and one twice a week when she is doing well and extra meds when she is ill.  I spend more on her than I ever did my kids or myself. I know it is not the rational thing to do, especially with my limited income but she is my companion and friend. Never while I was younger would I have invested my money, time and emotion in an animal like I have her.  I  have, in fact, become a person I  used to say I could not understand.  After all, an animal is just an animal, not a person.  Wrong!  She fills my days with pleasure and love.  Her devotion is beyond measure and her companionship priceless. The older I get the more wrapped up in her I become.
Jane Doe shares every waking and sleeping moment with me.  I think everything she does is cute and wonderful.  My adult kids think kinder of me than I did of people like me when I was their age.  ( I thought old people that doted on their pets were nuts. )  They tolerate my stinky, yes, stinky dog and her irritating bark when we are together.  She is not yappy but can be vocal when she wants something, " Its time to go home,  NOW "  or, when I ask her something, " Are you hungry? "  " Do you need your itchy pill? "   She is a dachshund beagle mix and has the vocal capabilities of both breeds.  I try not to rile her up.  When the doorbell rings all hell breaks loose. She keeps me safe. No one will enter the house with a mad dog in it.    

Saturday, January 6, 2018

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2018/01/05/operation-condor-how-nsa-director-mike-rogers-saved-the-u-s-from-a-massive-constitutional-crisis/

I am recommending the article listed as this post's title as it is very interesting and informative.

Campfire Stew

I made a pot of campfire stew for dinner.  It is one of my favorite quick recipes.  My mother used to make this over the campfire when we went camping and at home when she wanted a fast, one-pot meal.  It is;  LEAN ground beef, browned, with a couple of cans of Campbell's vegetable soup mixed into the cooked beef.  Add just enough water to dilute the dish a little.  You do not want soup, you want a thicker mixture to have over Texas toast.  I season my beef with garlic,  a tiny dash of salt and pepper.  Simmer a little while to blend flavors.   One lb. of beef is plenty for adding too two regular, or one large size can of soup.  Yum.
This is a picture I found on the web
This wisteria is cheerful and pleasant to view.  This vine grows, freestanding, in a field in front of my apartment complex.   I took this picture a year or so ago.

I am ready for some warm weather.  I believe we need some hard freezes in winter but its time to warm up a tad now.


Monday, January 1, 2018

It is almost 5 pm and I'm still wallowing around in my bed.  This is not unusual for me.  Yet, the day has not been a total waste. A few minutes ago I was able to work up enough energy to walk into the kitchen and bake a buttermilk pound cake.  I've taken the last few cakes I've made to family gatherings or given them to neighbors.  This one I'm going to eat....well, I'll share some of it but I am going to eat a lot of it. Yum.  I love the flavor of this old recipe but it is tricky as sometimes it comes out very dry.  Today I've experimented a bit with the amounts of liquid, adding a tad more water and buttermilk.  I believe the brand of flour and bake time is going to be the trick though.  We'll see. 
These pictures are not today's cake, it is still in the oven and starting to smell divine, this is last weeks cake, it didn't stay home like today's is.


I hope you all had a fun time welcoming in the New Year and that you have a blessed and happy year this year coming.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!