November 9

There has been an epidemic…

nae… a pandemic around the neighborhood.

An epidemic of digging.

And laurel resting.

Do they make a Tamiflu for this kind of thing???

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November 8

Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property… Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of the use of them.

~~Thomas Payne

 

 

 

November 7

It is Saturday, Internet.

 

The chips are not in the house.

 

What do you and your hubbie do when your kiddos are gone for the day?

 

Clean?

 

Honey-do list?

 

Sit and veg with a movie?

 

Go out?

 

Make Superman mow the grass?

 

Tell me.   It has been so long since this has happened I don’t know what to do.

 

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November 6

Dear producers of Survivor,

Next season, if you showcase just one person, I will QUIT WATCHING!

 

Signed,

a Russel hater

 

Hi Internet!

 

It is Friday and I am nosy.

 

How many sets of dishes do you have? and what kind of pattern are they?

 

I have Longaberger.

 

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November 5

 

Last week the girl got another hair cut.

 

 

Since it was a gorgeous day outside, a whole 72º, I took my camera out and thought I’d grab a few pictures of her.

 

Her brother came out and she began to tease him.

 

I love it when she teases him.

 

She gets her ornery from her mama.

 

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November 4

I have always wanted a lap cat.

 

A cat that would crawl up on my lap and I could sit there mindlessly petting her for hours as I watched TV.

 

When we got Grace, she was just coming out of her kittenness and still played.

 

A lot.

 

Sometimes she would climb on our laps, but mostly she would just run and play.

 

 

Now she would just rather sleep in a warm spot and ignore everyone and everything except at meal time.

 

Since we have gotten Whiskey, who is just coming out of her kittenness and still wants to play, Grace has perked up.

 

It is fun to watch Whiskey chase Grace and Grace get all bothered and hiss and growl.

 

She is an old biddy now, and with that has come jealousy.

 

 

 

You see Whiskey is also a lover, and she hops up on me every single morning.

 

Grace can’t handle that, and wedges herself in every time she can.

 

At least they keep me warm.

 

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November 3

In the mid to late 70’s, Grams came to live with us.

I really didn’t understand what divorce was, all I knew is that I got to see my grandma every. single. day.

And when you have a fabulous grandma, every. single. day is the best thing ever to a 8 year old.

Grandma was so poor that if she had had 2 pennies to rub together, she would have felt rich, but whenever she did have a wee bit o’cash, she would buy Sister and I treats.

Treats like cheese puffs, and candy bars, and iced spice cookies.

Spice cookies like today’s Sugar Topped Molasses Spice Cookies that I made for today’s TWD.

These cookies brought all that flooding back, and put a lump in my throat.

Even though Grams was poor monetarily, she was so very rich in love.

And I’d give every. penny. I. have. for just one more hug from her.

Make these cookies, and enjoy your Grams…if you still have one.

PS.  I didn’t put in the black pepper.   Who puts black pepper in cookies?  blech!

PPS.  November is an out of order month for when we can post the recipes.  Today’s recipe was selected for Nov. 17, so if you want the recipe, check out the blog (linked above) if you want the recipe.

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November 2

 

 

Because my life is beyond boring, when I heard machinery noises out front, I grabbed my beloved and tried to sneak outside to snap pictures of what was going on.

 

Unfortunately my front door is a wee bit squeaky and I was seen.

 

These poor men looked at me and I swear they were calling me a freak.

 

This freaky woman was chronicling blue shirt man doing all the work, and gray shirt many resting on his laurels.

 

Still resting.

 

I want his job.

 

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November 1

All tyranny needs to gain a foothold, is for people of good conscience to remain silent.

~~Thomas Jefferson

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October 31

Warning…this post is frightening.

And I am posting it especially for my friend Applie.

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These nasty things reside in our basement.

And this is what we do when we find them.

A big shout out to the girl for eradicating one more nasty from the house.

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October 30

It is Friday, Internet, and I’m nosy.

 

I want to know what your absolute favorite sit com is/was.

 

For me, it is Gilmore Girls.

 

 

PS.   Last night was ‘Trick’or’Treat’ night and I really expected more vampires…I only saw 3.   How many did you see?

 

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October 29

Last Saturday when the girl and I were out taking pictures and getting milk, the girl thought it would be oh. so. fun. to take many, many, many pictures of me.

 

Blech!

 

 

 

Because a good mom teaches her children lessons.

 

How to cook, how to clean, how to be polite, how to say ’sorry’, how to share, how to purchase the right kind of chocolate.

 

I thought it would be a good time to teach her that you reap what you sow.

 

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October 28

Anyone that spends any amount of time in my home or in my presence knows that at some point they will have their picture taken.

 

Whether they like it or not.

 

But beware, you will be lulled into a state of unawareness.

 

Then you had better watch out, because I will be there.

 

Camera in hand.

 

muahahahahahahahaha!

 

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October 27

 

 

Today’s TWD is a Cherry Fudge Brownie Torte.

 

 

April of Short + Rose picked it.

 

Chocolatechic didn’t make it.

 

Don’t faint.

 

I know it is astounding to your psyche that I didn’t make something chocolate.

 

I didn’t have Marscapone cheese, or dried sweet cherries, or cherry preserves or Kirsch.

 

And seriously!  who in their right mind puts ground black pepper in a chocolate fudge torte?

 

Not me.

 

Sorry my fellow TWD’ers.

 

Let me comfort you with a picture of chocolate.

 

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October 26

On Saturday the girl and I went up one county to get some milk from my cow.

We are past the peak of color in Ohio, but I still think it is beautiful.

Every so often I’d stop to take a picture.

Or I’d hand the camera over to the girl and say, “get a picture of that…quick…try to get the man walking too”.

And she’d snap away.

I love this time of year.

I love the color, the smell of rotting leaves, the crispness in the air, but most importantly the end of ragweed season.

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October 23

It’s Friday, Internet, and I’m nosy.

I want to know about how you do your finger nails.

Do you trim them every week?

Do you file them?

Buff them to a shine?

Chew them down to the quick?

Keep them short? grow them long?

If one or two of them break, do you trim them all down to the same length?

Tell me…tell me…tell me!

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October 22

I love little old people.

They are wise, they forgive faux paus, and they are just plain old fun.

My love affair with them began when I was around 4 or 5 when my Grandpa Teal would pull me on his lap and do ‘Eye Winker’ to me.

Grandpa was ornery, wise, and twinkly.  His blue eyes would crinkle up when he smiled.

When we moved to Missouri, a little old man named T. O. Hughes attended my dad’s church.

He was a ‘twinkler’.

Then I found out that he had a horse.

That I could ride.

My  obsession love affair with  horses began when my Aunt Marty got me horse back riding lessons when I was 4.

So,  over to T.O.’s house I’d go every chance I could get and we would ride.   Or we’d mow, and rake his hay.   Just spending time with him was great fun.  I loved him, and he loved me.

After we were done, we’d go inside and he’d make me this fabulous and simple lunch.

He’d take some potatoes, slice them into wedges, add some onion and add them to some hot bacon grease.

I do this with tater tots because it is faster.

Fry them till they are golden.

Add some scrambled eggs and cook till done.

This is a hearty, quick, cheap meal, and it reminds me of T.O every time I make it.

It is especially good when you serve sweet potato kerplunks biscuits with it too.

T.O. is gone now, but I’ll never forget the hours he poured into a lonely 16 year old girl and made her feel special.

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October 21

My mom is a fabulous cook.

Her roasts are tender, her dumplings are flavorful, and her pie crust is flaky.

We almost always had roast, mashed potatoes and sometimes biscuits for Sunday dinner.

As a teen, I would invite friends over for a Sunday meal, then it was boyfriends, and then husbands.

After the sister and I were married, whenever we lived close enough, our families would still eat Sunday dinners at the Parents.

Because newlyweds are always on the lookout for free food.

One Sunday, mom made some biscuits and Internet, they were sad little things.

They were flat, and a bit burnt dark on the bottom.

Sister’s husband, who never passes up an opportunity to make a joke, called them kerplunks so now our family calls any home made biscuit ‘kerplunks’.

They looked sort of like this.

Erin of Prudence Pennywise picked today’s TWWD  of Sweet Potato Biscuits.

These are fabulous little kerplunks.

They are tender, sweet and wonderful with the honey butter I served them with.

I used a fresh baked sweet potato instead of canned, and I added a wee bit of sour cream to these because I thought it was the right thing to do.

These would be wonderful with soup, roast and mashed potatoes or even breakfast.

Go check out Erin’s blog.   The recipe is there, but don’t be surprised if your ‘kerplunks’ don’t raise..I don’t think they are supposed to.

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

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October 20

TWD will be later today as I haven’t made it yet.

October 19

I have never been one for adventure, where adventure equals anything other than my sane, daily routine.

Adventure does not equal fun.

Fun is planned, adventure is not, and not all adventure is fun.

Let me tell you a bit about my adventures this past week.

• Tuesday this happened, and I spent a couple of hours in the ER with Superman.

• Wednesday Superman took the day off to rest because I insisted.  We went car shopping, but there was none to be found in our price range, where price range equals free, because free is about all anyone can afford these days.   That evening, the boy and I drove to the parents house to borrow their van because Superman needed a way to get to work.

• Thursday was all find and dandy~~minus the parts where I fretted about purchasing another vehicle, insurance stuff, and a ticket that must be paid~~ till Superman called me from the Walmarts (where he works his second job) to tell me that the Parents van was dead.   Yippy~skippy!

• Friday Superman drove the boy’s car to work, and the boy and I worked on the van.   Unfortunately the serpentine belt had slipped off.     So, we drove further afield to find an appropriate vehicle for Superman.  He asked for a Hummer.   I brought him home this.

Which Dad named the Green Hornet.

• Saturday was spent cleaning carpets, because that is what old married folk do when the chips are out of the house.    Then the Father came up to get his ailing van, and ended up having to have it towed home.   I heart AAA.

• Sunday after church I told Superman I wanted to spray some stuff on the squeaky belt.   Out we traipsed, popped the hood, and The Hornet refused to start.

• Today Superman is driving his brother’s pick-up truck.   If it dies, I’m taking his keys away, and insisting that he find his cape and fly to work.   I don’t care who finds out that he is Superman.

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