Lately

It was spirit week at LCA this week. Today was superhero day. Here is my little superhero...what a cutie!

Birthday's and such

We celebrated two birthday's this week. My sweetheart's birthday was Tuesday he turned forty-five. We celebrated with lasagna and cheese cake. Friday was Lauren's birthday. She turned twenty-two, although she keeps saying she wishes she were still eighteen, but don't we all!

Twenty-two years ago on August 12th, I became a mom for the first time. I was twenty-two, almost twenty-three years old. Now that little bundle is the age I was then. Mind boggling at times how quickly time goes.

I will never forget the way I felt holding my little baby when they placed her into my arms. I wasn't fearful, although if I had been smart, I would have probably been very afraid. You just don't realize how much your life changes once a baby becomes a part of it. Nothing is ever the same again. You become a very different person than the one you were before.

This morning I awoke with plans to cook a big breakfast. I had bacon and wanted to make homemade biscuits. I looked up a new buttermilk biscuit recipe and begin preparing the dough in my favorite glass bowl. Andrew joined me in the kitchen and we were talking as he cooked the bacon. After cutting out the biscuits and placing them into the oven, I begin to clean up the dirty dishes. I wash my big clear glass Pyrex bowl by hand and dried it to put away.

I love this bowl. I have had it for many years and have used it to mix cake batter, cookie dough, dumplings, brownies, biscuits and so many other things. It was the largest bowl I owned. I keep it on the top shelf in my cabinet over the dishwasher. I nest several smaller glass bowls inside due to space limitations in my kitchen. Which has never been a problem...until this morning. I don't know if my hands were still wet, maybe my arms were a little weak from not being awake long, but whatever the case, this bowl filled with the other glass bowls slipped from my hands and hit the counter top with a loud crash! Glass went flying! Everything stopped...when it was all over, my favorite bowl was shattered into millions of pieces all over the counter and the kitchen floor. I stood very still as the glass continued to spill off the counter top onto the floor.

My husband ran to grab the shop vac and begin to vacuum up the glass from the floor while I bandaged my cuts. Then we worked together to clear away the debris. I ended up with three band aids, but no major cuts that would require stitches.

During all the calamity, the biscuits cooked on in the oven. Little did they know they would be the last thing that would be mixed in the big, glass Pyrex bowl. They were good, that is one consolation.

I will have to go shopping soon to find a new bowl to replace the one I lost this morning. However, I think I will rearrange my cabinets and put the glass bowls on the lower shelf, so they will be easier to reach next time.

Eggs and a Few Things...

We have EGGS....
Hennie Pennie started laying last week. She was giving us one a day until Saturday...Andrew and I went to the flock swap at the Downtown family feed store and we brought home two more hens. We wanted to supplement our eggs production until our other six were old enough to lay. I guess these new hens disturbed Hennie Pennie's routine and she has skipped a couple of days giving eggs. On top of that, the two new hens have only given two eggs in four days. So I suppose it will take everyone a little time to adjust to the new conditions. Hennie Pennie is a barred rock and lays brown eggs. The two new ones, Goldie and Blackie, are Ameraucana's and they lay the blue-green "Easter" eggs.

Here are the last of my heirloom tomatoes. I was very disappointed with my tomatoes this year. I have never had problems growing tomatoes in my life. But this year, they got bottom rot and I lost all of my tomato plants. I did manage to harvest a few Roma's and a few of these heirloom variety tomatoes.

I planted a couple egg plants and this is my Japanese eggplant. I usually only plant black beauties but thought I would try something different. So far, so good.

One thing that did very well was my banana pepper plant. I just planted one, but it gave and abundance of peppers. I decided to pickle a few of them.

My fig trees started off with several figs this year, but as it ended up, I had one lone fig. I picked it and enjoyed a little taste of fig anyway. Well maybe next year they will do better. I can only hope.

The basil and carrots seem to be doing well. I harvested the potatoes last week and a few brussel sprouts. I have been putting up peas steadily the last few weeks. Clearing out beds to start planting for fall. Still in the planning stages, but need to get cracking as it is time now to plant a few things. Hopefully the fall garden will be more successful than the spring/summer one.

Just a little update on the happenings around the "urban ...stead." Next time I will try to have some pictures of the hens to post and hopefully a few more eggs. I will also try to remember to take a picture of Jack's new digs as well.

Still enjoying my parents visiting and getting ready for Noah to start back to school in two weeks. The first of next week I will take him for a hair cut and supply shopping. He is getting excited, but I on the other hand, not so much! I have enjoyed our long, lazy summer days at home. But I suppose it will do us all some good to get back on a routine and have a little more structure in our lives...or not...

Great Resources

Here are a couple of resources for those of you who are interested in gardening and raising livestock on a small scale. Both offer great information for those who are beginning and for those who have some experience and just need a refresher. I would highly recommend them both for your home library.

Weekend festivities

The fourth of July has come and gone once again. This year we spent the holiday at home enjoying the pool and the grill. Andrew bought a few fireworks and we ended the day by sitting out front watching the fireworks display going on in the neighborhood and the kids got to shoot off a few of their own.

Lauren flew in from San Antonio on Thursday night and she stayed in Charlotte instead of catching her connecting flight on into Fayetteville because a friend of hers from Little Rock flew into Charlotte the same day for a visit. So Noah and I drove to the airport in Charlotte to pick them both up.

The following morning I noticed that the upstairs didn't seem to be keeping cool and we discovered that the air had apparently quit working. I am assuming it is the freon that needs replacing. Because of the holiday weekend, it was impossible to find someone to come and service it. So here we sit, Tuesday, July 5th still without air conditioning in the upstairs. Thank God that our downstairs unit is working fine. The problem is, all of our bedrooms are upstairs...

So I have been sleeping on the couch for the last four nights and will be again tonight. The HVAC guy is scheduled to come tomorrow at 11:00. I am praying that tomorrow night I will get to sleep in my bed again. My back is starting to rebel...

Recently I was in the library and ran across this wonderful little cookbook all about shrimp and grits. Sometime after reading this cookbook, I made a trip to Charleston, South Carolina and discovered a place called Hominy Grill. I also discovered their recipe for Low Country Shrimp and Grits. For three months now, I have been obsessing over shrimp and grits. I knew it wasn't a matter of if, but a matter of when I would try my hand at preparing this feast for myself. For some reason, today I decided would be the day. Nothing special about the day, I suppose I felt we deserved it since we have spent the last few days uncomfortable due having no air upstairs, and having to sleep on the couch and the livingroom floor. Maybe it was the fact that Andrew has to go back to work tomorrow after taking a long weekend off. I don't really know why I decided to cook such a wonderfully decadent indulgence tonight, but I did. And I must say, it was delicious!

Having excess zucchini and squash from the garden I have tried to find different ways in which to offer this delicious summer staple to my family. Tonight I grated one zucchini and one squash along with one carrot. I added some egg, seasonings, a little flour and some panko crumbs. And after squeezing the grated veggies for what seemed an endless time and still I was unable to squeeze all of the water from the veggies, I mixed all the ingredients into a bowl and then dropped spoonfuls at a time in a skillet with hot oil and cooked four minutes on each side. The resulting Zucchini/Squash fritters were a hit. At least they were a hit with Andrew and I, seeing as though the kids didn't even try them. I often wonder where I went wrong with those kids...but then I remember that I was the one who allowed them to eat or not eat what they wanted. I have many times gone back to the kitchen to prepare a different meal for a child that didn't like what was being served at the dinner table. So I suppose I did it to myself, and have only myself to blame. But I digress.

Along with the shrimp and grits and the zucchini fritters I sliced and grilled some french bread that I sprinkled with olive oil, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and dried basil. Grilled it long enough to put a few grill marks with a light toasting and served it with our special dip. Which consist of melted butter, some special seasoning and Andrew's secret ingredient...

Supper was delicious and very special on just an ordinary night at home. It was restaurant quality all at a fraction of the cost that we would have paid were we to have gone out to eat. The only problem is, I told Andrew that I wish I had a sous chef to help me prepare the meal and a bus boy and dishwasher to clean up afterwards.

To top it off, Lauren made a key lime pie for dessert...can't get much better than all of that.

Good thing I have a treadmill coming in ten days. Eating all that bread dipped in butter and all of the butter, cheese, and bacon in the grits, with the bacon grease used to fry the shrimp, and the whipped cream on the pie; well it could really put a hurting on a girl's figure...

A Few Changes

Well as you can see, I've made a few changes to my blog. I felt it was past time for a change around here. I've had the same template since I started this blog so I hope you find it pleasing to the eye. I am still working on it, but it is up and running, so read on.

I know I have been scarce around here for some time now. But I hope that will soon change. I have been working on some blog post that I plan to put up soon. Of course, summer has been pretty lazy and laid back for me so if I am a little slow at it, just be patient. Some days I can't seem to resist the pool. So Noah and I often find ourselves spending long, lazy days in and out of the pool. Those days are usually followed up with long, lazy evenings on the deck and eating off the grill.

A few updates...

Well the chickens are doing well. We ended up with more roosters than hens with our first batch, so we had to find homes for the roosters because the neighbors were beginning to ask questions...So we bought a second batch of chicks and they are now big enough to go into the coop now. We got more Barred Rock and two Ameraucana's. We had those before and they lay the green/blue eggs. So although our egg collecting day will not come as soon as I had hoped, we are enjoying the process. Andrew finished the hen house and it looks very nice. I will try to post photo's soon.

Lauren left this morning to fly to San Antonio, TX to meet her boyfriends parents and family for the first time. I really think that will be all I will post about that right now.

Noah is enjoying his summer vacation. We have gone a couple of times to meet one of his school pals for a play date and they have had a really good time.

Megan is enjoying her summer as well. She has been taking a little break from piano lessons for the last few weeks. But she will start back on Tuesday. She also turned sweet sixteen this month and is officially looking for a job. She had a slumber party with a few friends and we gave her a surprise party after church on Sunday night. I really think we pulled it off and surprised her.

Some books I am reading:

Well everyone is getting hungry and I have liver thawed for supper, so I better get into the kitchen and get cooking.

Chicks and the Kid

Well spring has sprung around the Sandhills of North Carolina. The Bradford pear trees are in full bloom and the wisteria vines are everywhere.

In our own yard the grass is starting to green up some and the garden is coming along. I have one bed planted with cooler weather crops. I am hoping they will do well. We have the other beds ready to plant just waiting for the right time to put the other things in the ground.

A little over a month ago Andrew brought home eight Barred Rock chicks and they are really growing. He built an intermediate coop that we can put them in and let them peck around in the yard until he gets the full coop built. They are really enjoying sunning themselves in the warmth of the sunshine.

Today I took a few photos.

Noah had the day off from school today and enjoyed being out playing in the nice spring weather.

I have other things to post but I will save those for another time. Hope everyone enjoys a wonderful weekend. I will be spending mine studying for a test in my Anatomy and Physiology class next week. Good thing is, there is only one more test, a paper to write, and the final in the lecture class. I will be very glad to get this course behind me.

Rabbits and baby chicks

Most women are happy when their husband's buy them diamonds or pearls. But I am thrilled that my honey bought me these...

I have been wanting some barred rock chickens for some time now and have kept my eye open for anyone who had some for sale nearby. We decided that when Tractor Supply got their shipment in this month we would buy a few to start a small backyard flock.

Their shipment was due in on Monday or Tuesday. I called on Wednesday and they were sold out. I called around to several other places and no one was getting any in for at least a month. I decided to search Craigslist for someone that might be selling chicks. I ran across someone in a town about an hour north of here that was advertising various chickens. So I called the number and he told me that he didn't have barred rocks for sale, but did I know about the "flock swap" that would be held the following day. Of course I knew nothing of such a thing, so he proceeded to tell me just what the "flock swap" was all about.

Andrew was outside working on his new project; redoing his dad's old boat; so I stepped out to tell him about the event that would be held the next morning starting at 8:30 in the morning. I would have gone myself but because of Megan's piano lesson at 10:30 the next day, I knew that I couldn't go before and it would probably be to late to drive the hour up there after her lesson was over.

The next morning, Andrew got up and left the house before 7:00 and drove the hour to Sanford to the "flock swap" in search of some barred rock chicks. All because I wanted them.

What a great man he is! When I returned home from Megan's piano and a little grocery shopping, my sweet husband had come home, built a warming box filled it with shavings, hooked up the warming light, filled the food and water dishes and had them waiting in the garage for me.

I know this man loves me, and I love him so! Can't wait until the chicks get their colors. This is how they will look once they are grown.

In other news, Megan got a rabbit a month or so back. She and I drove two hours south of here to a farm where they raise various types of rabbits. We had of course already decided on the Holland Lop. That was the type we raised when we lived in Arkansas. She chose a nice white and gray color. He was also the tamest one of the litter. He has turned out to be a good choice. He is pretty docile and easy going. He enjoys getting under my feet while I am on my computer.

Lauren and I are on spring break this week. But Noah isn't. I really wish he had spring break with us so that I wouldn't have to get up and go somewhere every day of my break, but I suppose I will be glad for the break when it comes in April.

So far this week, I have bought some plants to put into my early bed. I am getting only one bed ready for planting this month. I am putting in some lettuce, cabbage, spinach, onion, broccoli and some greens. We are also building a potato bin to plant potatoes. I hope to get what I have put in the ground tomorrow.

Well there is more to tell, but I will hold off on some of it for another post.

Snow day

Happy New Year! Yes I know it is the 11th of January, so I'm running a bit late. Today is a snow day for us, the second this week. We had about six inches of snow and now a layer of ice on top which makes the conditions very messy.

We had about six to seven inches of snow the day after Christmas as well. Both snows were beautiful. I enjoyed sitting by the window and watching the silent snow fall to the ground and blanket us with white. Walking into the back yard was so nice. Something about the snow covering the ground that makes everything so quiet and peaceful. Like an insulator from the rest of the hustle and bustle of daily life. It was completely quiet. Normally you can hear the roar from the distant highway or the military planes going overhead. But for a time, everything was quiet. Almost as if I were in a cabin deep in the woods. Nice little winter break from the normal routine of life.

Inside the house is warm and toasty. We are all home together. A rare thing now days. Andrew sits at his computer, I at mine only a few feet away at the kitchen table. Noah is in the living room playing Star Wars Lego on the Wii. The girls sit across the room from one another each on her own laptops. The modern day family time. At least we are all together and we share a laugh or a story every once in a while.

On the stove is a pot of Zuppa Toscana ready for a warm, hearty lunch. All seems right in the world. At least in our little part. No one has anything pressing to do or work on. Just a few extra moments of leisure given as a gift to our otherwise busy lives. In a day or two all will return to normal. Noah will go back to school, Andrew will return to the business of building and scheduling and deadlines. Lauren will go back to work for what will be her last week at her current job. More on that later. Megan will resume her school work and I will return to the chores of cleaning house, washing laundry and transporting Megan and Noah here and there. But just for a couple of days, we are free, suspended here together in one place just enjoying a chance to just relax and do nothing of much consequence, but just to enjoy.

So back to Lauren's job issue. She has finally decided to return to college! For which I am so thankful. So she will be leaving her full time job and seeking part time employment while she attends classes. She has an interview tomorrow afternoon for what I hope will become her new work. She will be taking classes on Tuesday and Thursday's. This semester she has enrolled in three classes. Her major; Criminal Justice with Latent Evidence Technology. She hopes to work in a crime lab. She then plans to continue her educational pursuits in the field of psychology, possibly going on to get a masters in psychology. But for now, one step at a time. I am thankful she has decided to take the first step.

Speaking of first steps, I have enrolled in a class this semester. I have for years considered going back to school to pursue a Radiography degree. I currently have a BS in Social Science with a history minor. I taught school for a short time, but have never really used my degree for any other gainful employment. To be quite honest, I have no desire to work in that field anymore. At one time I suppose I did, however, with time I have found that is not really of much interest to me. I have been attracted to the medical field in some form or fashion.

Seven years ago I checked into the program, and even went as far as doing some of the pre-req work of shadowing in a Radiology department. During that time, Andrew and I decided to try to have another child. Not long afterwards, I got pregnant. But it was not to be, I had a miscarriage at twelve weeks. At that time, the company Andrew works for moved us to Little Rock, Arkansas. Within three weeks I was pregnant again. This time we were blessed with our wonderful gift from God; Noah. What a great and awesome gift! So for the next few years I was busy with more important things than going back to school. I did however, during this time think of possible entering the nursing field at some point, and I continued to entertain the idea of radiography. Like with everything else in my life, I find that if there is something that you really want, if you are patient, God will bring the opportunity back around later on down the road of life. So many things in my life has shown this to be true.

So here we are several years and two states later, Noah is now in pre-school and I am offered the opportunity to pursue this option for my life. So one step at a time. I have a couple of pre-req classes that are required that weren't required for my first degree. Those being science. Chemistry and Biology specifically. The chemistry class wasn't offered at a time this semester that I was able to take it. Noah's school is only three hours a day, so I was working within that time frame or an evening class. But the Biology was offered on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. So I am taking Anatomy and Physiology I. I am very excited about it, however, a bit nervous at the same time. I haven't been in a classroom setting since graduating nearly thirteen years ago. I have also been told that Anatomy and Physiology is a pretty tough course. But I am sure that with God's help, I will manage to do fine.

I am excited by the new doors of opportunity that are opening. It will take some time, but like the Earl Nightingale quote goes :

"Don't let the amount of time to do a thing hinder you from doing it. The time will pass anyway, so you might as well put that passing to the best possible use."

So the journey begins. One step at a time and eventually I will get there. The journey of a thousand miles...

Christmas trees and such

Getting ready for Christmas again! Can't believe how quickly this past year has gone. Seems like it just rushed by. Hard to believe that March will be two years since we moved to North Carolina. That just seems impossible to believe. The time has just whizzed by.

We put up our Christmas trees this past Thursday. We usually put them up the first weekend in December, but since Lauren is working most weekends these days, we did it on her day off.

The first one is the living room tree and the smaller one is in our dining room.

Now comes the hard part. Putting presents under them. I haven't done any, zip, zero shopping. Andrew did get one major item for one of the kiddo's but other than that, nothing... Can you say Last minute shopper! Yes that would be me. I just can't seem to get into the spirit of shopping early in the season. I suppose it is because I am not a shopper. I don't like to shop, so I put it off until the last minute. Not only that, but the gift list hasn't been completed yet. Megan has changed her mind a couple of times so far. Today she said to me that she didn't know anything that she wanted! Can you imagine that! Fifteen and she can't think of anything that she really wants! AMAZING!

Well, the weather outside is frightful and you know how I dislike cold weather. I am trying to start training for a 13.1 in the spring, but it isn't going to well. I can't stand to run in the cold, and every time I go to the Y to use the treadmill, I get a headache. I finally decided it was the cleaning supplies they use. The cleaning lady is always there when I go and the smell of the cleaner is so strong. I am very sensitive to those kind of things. It smells like pine-sol and I have never been able to stand pine-sol. The problem is, I go in the mornings while Noah is at school. That is really the only time I can go, so unless they would be willing to change their cleaning schedule or cleaning supplies, I guess I will have to let my membership go...

I want a treadmill for Christmas, but to get a good one, they are expensive and I just can't see spending that kind of money right now. So I suppose I will try to find some place else to get a run or two in each week.

Not much else going on, just the usual day to day living. Right now I am to tired to try to think of something clever to say, so this will be all for now.

One Saturday in November

I just love the colors of fall. The bright reds, yellows, and oranges are so vibrant that you can't help but stop and look at them. There are so many of these beautiful orange/red trees around and I have wanted to pull off the road to photograph them. Today as I was driving home a different route from the library, I passed a school that had several of them across the front. Since it was Saturday, I pulled into the parking lot and stepped into a beautiful afternoon and begin walking around the tree taking various shots with the camera on my iphone.

I chose this one to add to my Daily Eye Candy project. After I got home, I begin to think about the name of this project of mine. Maybe I should change the name to Daily ICandy, considering that all the photos are taken with my iphone while I am out and about on my daily routines. These are definitely not planned shots, but things that catch my attention as I drive past them. They are often spur-of-the-moment shots, or the best-I-can-do-while-driving shots. I know what your thinking, but no, I don't put anyone in harms way while I take the photos.

I named this shot, Daily Eye Candy #13. Not because I have been doing this thirteen days, but because today is the 13th and I don't know how many shots I have done so far. So #13 sounded like a good number to me.

Well., today is the eve, of the eve of the beginning of my forty-fourth year on this planet, and I am not quite sure how I feel about that yet. Not that I have any influence on the matter one way or the other, it is what it is, I can't change that. But my feelings and attitudes are within my control, and at this point, I am not sure where I stand.

This getting older does bother me some, as I am sure it does most people. Aging is a scary prospect for me. I don't want to get to the place in life that I can't do things I want to do. I don't want to be limited by my body, my mind or my health. Getting older almost insures that at some point in the future those things will begin happen. I will reach a place where I will have to deal with those limitations. But thank God, at this point, I am healthy, in control of all of my mental facilities and have no physical limitations. For that I am extremely grateful.

At 44, I feel that I am perched somewhere between my youth and old age. With each passing year I teeter more to the other side. I am old enough to let go of the unimportant things that so often plague us in our early adulthood, but not yet to a place where I am looking back and wishing for the past again. I suppose I could look at this time as the best years of my life.

One thing I do know for sure is that these are the years that if I am ever going to do something, I need to do it now. With this knowledge in hand I am working on that list of "One of these days I'll get around to doing that," things. Losing weight, getting into shape and becoming a runner were on that list and I am currently in the process of doing just that. I have many other things on that list as well, but I will save those for another time.

For now, I am going to sit back and enjoy the rest of this day, because I will never again have the gift of another Saturday as a 43 year old woman. This is the last one and I want to get everything out of it I possibly can, so that when I look back on this day years from now, I will not have regrets. Well, there might just be one regret. I might regret that I didn't get up and drive to Tuttimelon and get that delicious cup of Dulce de leche gelato that I am craving. On the other hand, years from now I suppose whether I did or didn't won't be of much consequence in the whole scope of life.

Daily Eye Candy

I am working on a little project that I have entitled :

Daily Eye Candy

365 Days of Beauty:

Photo's of Everyday Things

Here is a small sampling for you to view.

My Chair

I love this chair. I think I have told the story of the chair before on here but I think it is worth telling again.

When I lived in Little Rock I did quite a bit of thrifting, junking, yard sale-ing...whatever you want to call it. One of my favorite places to "shop" was Mid Towne Antique Mall on the corner of Markham and Rodney Parham. Not necessarily because the prices were "thrifty" but because they always had great stuff. Most of it was more than my budget would allow for "junk" but I loved to go and look.

While out alone, enjoying some "me" time, I stopped in to see what was new. I found this great chair on the back side of the store in a little booth that was hardly big enough for the chair. I instantly fell in love. At the time it only had the seat cushion in it. I sat in it and put my legs over the arms of the chair and knew I had to have this chair. However, the $60 price tag was more than I like to spend on one thrift item. So I reluctantly walked away.

After leaving the store I drove home, which happened to be just down the street. I couldn't get the chair out of my mind. I had the perfect spot to put the chair and I knew that I would spend long hours in the chair reading. When I got home I told Andrew about it and he said, "buy it." How could he be so casual about such a thing I wondered.

I just couldn't be so haphazard about such a purchase. I had to have time to think it over; read: Talk myself out of it, tell myself all the reason why I didn't need to spend that much money on something that I really didn't need.

But instead, I decided to throw caution to the wind. I called the shop and ask if they would take less for the chair. I was told that if the purchase was under $100 they couldn't call the booth owner, but they could give me 10% off the item. So that meant the chair would only be fifty-four dollars. Only six dollars difference, but a world of difference in my book. Well enough that I decided to go right then and get the chair before someone else came along and snatched it away. So I told them to hold the chair I would be right there.

That is how this lovely chair became part of my life. I went to target and bought the two throw pillows. But other than that it looks like it did when I found it. I love the fact that it has had another life, somewhere else before I found it. It has a few scratches and nicks that show wear. It has a past, one that I will never know. I prefer used things to new, because they have a story, they have a past hidden in them. It makes things more interesting and appealing just as it does with people.

When we moved to North Carolina we put the chair in the living room in front of the front windows. I sat in it as often as I could. But at Christmas time we needed the front window area to put up our large Christmas tree, so the chair was moved into the master bedroom. I know it is September but the chair still sits in the bedroom. Actually Andrew has enjoyed the chair more than I have since it was moved. I rarely sit down in the bedroom. Mostly when I do make it upstairs to the bedroom, it is after a very long day and all I want to do is fall into the bed and sleep. When I do have time to sit, I usually do that at my desk or the kitchen table, but rarely in the bedroom. Andrew often goes into the bedroom to watch a game or do a crossword and he can be found sitting in the chair.

But today, being a long, lazy, carefree Saturday. I had nothing pulling at me; very few chores that needed my attention, so I decided to come into the bedroom for some alone time and sit in MY chair. And that is just where I have been most of the afternoon. Enjoying again this wonderful chair that I bought on a whelm without to much deliberation on my part. I am so glad that I did decide to throw caution to the wind and be spontaneous for a change. I think the chair looks great in its new location so I will have to find something to put downstairs in the front window for eleven months out of the year. Anyone know any great thrift stores in North Carolina?

Critics, Critics...everywhere!

To appease the critics...

News from the homefront:
Noah started to school three weeks ago. He is in a half day program and is really enjoying it. Today he starts playing soccer. Their first practice is this afternoon. I am anxious to see how he likes it.

Mom and Dad have been visiting for a few weeks and will be heading back south next week.

Lauren is still working as a photographer with a national portrait studio and is entertaining the company of a young man...I will say no more about that...

Megan is doing school and may be starting piano lessons soon. We tried to get her into school where Noah goes but they were at capacity.

Andrew is finishing up the job in the next few weeks and will be starting another job here. So we will be staying here for at least another year or so. We were glad to hear that. Not that we are just crazy about this area, but we are settled in and enjoying the house and our garden along with Noah in school and Lauren employed... And to be honest, we just weren't ready to pack and move again. So this will give us a little more time of being settled. I am sure by the time the next year passes, we will be ready to move on to a new place. The "little gypsy" is appeased for the time being.

This weekend Andrew and I are going on a trip to the mountains for a late twenty-second wedding anniversary trip. We will leave tomorrow and come back Sunday evening. Saturday morning we are running in the Asheville Citizen-Times 5K. I am excited and looking forward to our first run. We had planned to run one last month, but I got sick and was unable to train like I needed to. So when I saw that Asheville was having this one, I jumped at it. I love Asheville. I remember the fall of about 1986 when I attended University of North Carolina in Asheville. The campus was so beautiful. The air was crisp and cool and the leaves were turning and falling across the campus. I can close my eyes and go back to the spot where I use to sit in the grass between classes enjoy the pleasant weather and the smells of fall. Now twenty-four years later I plan to go back and visit those places that I would frequent. The race is downtown and although I am sure that it has changes a lot in the years, I am sure that I will still be able to recaputre the same feelings that these places evoked in me so many years ago.

Well, not a whole lot more to say right now. I am pressed for time. I need to get packed and start supper so it will be ready when I get home from soccer.

My favorite Banana Nut Loaf

My Favorite Banana Nut Loaf

for recipe see "recipes" in sidebar.

AWOL

Okay, yes, I have officially been AWOL from this blog. I do feel bad for leaving it alone for so long. I could blame it on being busy, but I haven't been any busier than at any other time in my life, in fact, I may be less busy these days than usual.



I suppose I just needed a break from the blog...or maybe because I just didn't have much to write about. Also, I have been taking a creative writing class and I suppose I got my writing yang out of me in the class, and had little left for here.



Whatever the case, I'm BACK...



Well, let's see, were to start??



I started running. Was doing pretty good, signed up for a 5K, but I have been sick the last week and a half and only got one run in during that time. I am on antibiotics and have been left with no energy. But hopefully in a couple of days I can get back out there. Andrew and I started running together three mornings a week. We decided to go for our first 5K on the 14th of this month. Now I am really worried about it since I have been sick and will still be on the antibiotics the day of the race. But we decided to do it anyway, even if we don't reach our PR for the day. I suppose as long as we do it...Like John Bingham says, "The miracle isn't that we finish, the miracle is that we had the courage to start."



Finished my writing class, waiting for the next one to start the middle of the month. Looking forward to it, really enjoyed the first one. Still need to work on the daily discipline of writing. I get side tracked by other things and don't always sit down to write.

The following is a tongue-in-cheek, southern humor piece that was revised from a longer piece I wrote for my blog a couple years ago.

Southern Fried Wisdom

I have a confession to make…I can't fry worth a flip.

I can fry catfish, but I do that in a Fry Daddy, so that doesn't really count. When I fry in a pan the batter just falls right off into the grease and leaves the meat totally naked.

I have studied cookbooks and watched Paula Dean on the Food Network, but I still can’t get it to work for me. I took four years of home-economics in high school and as a true southerner my mom fried all the meat we ever ate, except when it was in a gumbo or in a cornbread dressing. Of course, there were my uncle’s famous summer barbeque's and the occasional crawfish boil on the creek bank. But our everyday, down home meals always included fried meat. Chicken, steak, pork chop, squirrel, rabbit, fish, deer, quail or any other poor critter we could find to batter and deep fry. We southerners as a group, do enjoy our fried food.

When I got older I jumped on the health food bandwagon, and now I am more of a bake, braise, boil, sauté, steam, broil, anything but fried, kind of gal. With that said, there are times when frying is just what the occasion calls for, like say, fried chicken for a church social. At those times I really would rather not have to drive to Popeye's, buy the chicken, come home, hid the box and pretend I have labored long and hard frying chicken all day. I really don’t like all of that deception.

A few nights ago I decided to try my hand at frying once more. I knew that somewhere inside this body had to be a frying gene or two passed down from my southern ancestry. With renewed vigor I thawed and wash the chicken, put it into a large bowl of buttermilk. I prepared my flour by adding Tony's seasoning, ground pepper, salt and a dash of garlic powder. Using the trusty cast iron skillet, just like grandma did, I heated the peanut oil. Each piece of chicken was coated with the flour mixture and dropped into the hot oil. After it browned enough on one side I turned it over and let it brown on the reverse side.

The mood must have been just right, and the stars aligned just so, because to my surprise, the crispy did not fall off of the chicken! It looked pretty enough for a picture.

What does this have to do with anything you ask?

Well, I asked myself that very thing when I sat down to write about it. I suppose it means that sometimes things work out, sometimes they don’t. But even in the mundane, ordinary moments there is an opportunity to learn important truths about living.

Some things in life will come easy and sometimes we will struggle. Through it all we must learn to stay positive, be resilient and willing to try again, and sometimes it’s even okay to eat fried chicken.

Rumors of My Demise Are Greatly Exaggerated

I am still here...just been busy with this thing called life. I do plan to make a post soon with pictures and the works. Until then enjoy your stay at My Little Slice of Heaven, feel free to look around and leave a comment...

Going on vacation in a couple of days and I will be reporting in on location from the road trip. Can't say where we are going yet, want it to be a surprise for some folks that we will be seeing while there...So check back in to find out where we are...

I have added a new feature, a recipe page. You can click on the link Recipes in the side bar. Here I will be posting a variety of recipes; family favorites, healthy recipes, and new ones that I have tried or plan to try. I have only added one as of today, but you can check back often to see updates.

Memorial Day Weekend 2010

So I did something today that I have been wanting to do for some time. It wasn't some great feat of skill or brawn. I didn't scale Mt. Everest, or run a marathon. I made hummus...

I have loved hummus for several years; probably would have loved it before, only I had never tried it until three years or so ago. In these years since I first discovered this healthy little dip, I have said that I wanted to make my own instead of buying it ready made. The trouble came when I went in search of tahini.

What is tahini exactly? Well tahini is a lot like peanut butter only made with sesame seeds. It middle eastern in origin, and there they eat it as it is or use it to make hummus and a few other things.

When I tried to find tahini, I originally didn't have much luck. Then when I did it was only sold in larger containers...What would I really do with a large jar of tahini. I would only make hummus a time or two a month and the recipe doesn't call for a large amount. Not to mention, I am the only one in my household that even eats hummus. So I just never would buy any.

So today, I am looking for something to snack on and I had a bag of baked bar-b-que Lays potato chips; the only chips I eat other than Stacy's Pita Chips. But I wanted something to go with them...hmmm...I opened the fridge to find some chick peas left over from the day I made the Cobb salad for supper. So I decided why not try my hand at some hummus. Instead of tahini, since, well I didn't have any, I used peanut butter. I must say, other than the fact that I didn't use roasted garlic and all I had was garlic powder, I think it turned out fairly well for my first try.

If you want the recipe, go to the recipes page listed on the side bar of the blog.

Let's backtrack a couple of days. Friday we left around 1:00 heading to Blacksburg, Virginia for Andrew's nephew, Christopher's graduation. He was graduating from Med school and will be heading to Michigan for his residency. The trip was somewhat stressful and took us a bit longer than expected.

Saturday morning we woke later than we had planned and rushed around trying to get ready to be at Virginia Tech by 9:20 for the graduation at 10:00. Fortunately, Andrew's brother saved us seats. The auditorium was packed and the air conditioning wasn't sufficient to cool it off. To say it got a bit warm is an understatement. The graduation lasted for close to three hours and little man lost patience with sitting still for that long. Andrew had to get up and go out with him for a while.

By 2:00 we had changed our clothes, (parked behind a Walmart, next to a bed from a semi truck), eaten, (our second Subway sandwich of the trip), topped our gas tank off and were on the road back to North Carolina. We were all glad to be back home Saturday evening.

Sunday we heard an awesome message from Pastor Mitchell. I am always thankful to be reminded that God is all I need, and all I have to do is call on the name of Jesus. His scripture text came from Exodus 3:11-15. Verse 14 being the key text. "And God said unto Moses, I AM That I AM."

There was no service Sunday night, so we just spent the afternoon and evening relaxing and enjoying the fact that Monday was a holiday.

Today started with Andrew putting Cornish game hens in the smoker along with some potatoes. I grilled some steak and my first zucchini from the garden. Andrew made brownies and I baked a blueberry bread pudding since I don't eat brownies.

The afternoon ended with Andrew and I sitting on the front porch watching the rain, listening to Chris Botti and watching the humming birds fly in and out, jockeying for position at the feeders we have on the front of the house. I would have included photo's of that but those little hummers move rather quickly. All I could get with my camera was a blur.

I had planned to plant my peas today, however, the rain had other plans. I suppose I could have gone out earlier in the day, but I was busy around with other activities and didn't make it out there. Looks like there may be rain most of the week. I will have to be on lookout for the right time to catch it when it isn't raining and try to get them in the ground.

Bed time for Little Man is drawing near, so I will wrap this up with a couple pictures from the weekend.

Dr. Christopher Thomason and his dad, Mark and uncle Andrew


Blue berry bread pudding


Flag flying on the front porch in honor of those who sacraficed it all for our country and our freedom.

The first zucchini from our garden.

Yummy on the grill with a little sea salt and cracked pepper

Fig preserves and memories

FIGS:

the fruit of my childhood memories

I have always loved figs. When I was young we lived in south Louisiana and were blessed to have a large fig tree in our backyard. The tree grew right beside an outdoor patio. I was the unofficial fig picker in our family. After climbing up the tree and gathering from underneath, I would climb on a ladder to the top of the patio and pick the figs from the top of the tree. The leaves of a fig tree will irritate your skin and my exposed arms and legs would itch for some time after I climbed down. But in my mind, it was well worth the discomfort. Usually the fig gathering would happen when my granny was visiting. She would take the figs and make fig preserves from them. I couldn't wait to open the first jar of preserves and spread that sweet, gooey goodness onto a biscuit or a plain piece of toasted light bread. I know I was strange child, remember fried chicken liver was also one of my favorite meals...

Many years went by and I had pretty much forgotten about the figs of my childhood. I moved on to other delicacies. However, it is strange what happens to trigger those long repressed memories. It is also strange what craving pregnancy will produce.

When we lived in Arkansas and I was pregnant to with Noah, I developed a craving for figs. I searched high and low and couldn't find the first jar of fig preserves in any of the local grocery stores. It wasn't until a spring trip to the Bluegrass festival in Mountain View, Arkansas that I was able to satisfy that desire.

Tucked away in a little shop, along with the jars of local honey and pickled okra, were beautiful golden jars of fig preserves. I couldn't believe my fortune. I ate fig preserves on toast for weeks. When the jar was empty the search was on again to find more. After Noah was born I begin to visit the Farmer's Market in Little Rock and to my great fortune a vendor there carried a wonderful fig preserve. Since moving to North Carolina I buy a small jar of preserves from Harris Teeter, a local grocery store. I eat them spread on an Arnold's whole wheat Sandwich Thin with natural peanut butter. I often make a meal out of just that. When I do, I close my eyes and am once again transported back to my carefree childhood days when this wonderful brown, sweet treat grew in my backyard.

In the last few years since reacquainting myself with the delicious fig, I have thought of having a fig tree, to grow my own and put up preserves the way my granny did. Because of our "gypsy" lifestyle I didn't think that was possible. Then I began to read about people growing small fig trees in pots on their decks and I knew this was something I had to try.

Last weekend while Andrew, Noah and I perused the lawn and garden area of our local Lowe's store, I found it! Tucked away with some blueberry bushes, there were fig trees. These trees were about a foot and a half tall and and looked very healthy. I debated; should I, shouldn't I? I really wanted to but being a skeptic, I wondered if you could actually grow figs this way. I saw that they were marked down to ten dollars, so I figured, why not find out?

We purchased two large pots to bring home to re pot what we refer to as "our twins." They are two ficus trees that someone gave to our family seventeen years ago when my brother, Daren, was killed. We have had them ever since. They have been moved many times in those years and they have been re potted several times into bigger and bigger pots. They have had times of plenty and times when they dropped so many leaves I didn't know if they would make it. However, last spring when we moved here and they found their place on either end of our front porch, they have thrived like never before. I suppose the climate and conditions are just right for them to really grow.

Bringing our new little fig tree home we re potted it into one of the large terra cotta pots that we took the ficus trees from. It now sits proudly on our little deck. The leaves look great and it seems to like its new home. I go out regularly and speak encouraging words and imagine the day that I can walk out and pick fruit off of its branches and taste the incredible flavor and sweetness of my very own figs.

Last night Andrew and I sat on the deck in the light of a full moon rising behind us, with the flames of the tiki torches wafting citronella scent across our little backyard paradise, and we agreed that we wanted to go back and buy another fig tree to fill the empty terra cotta pot from the other ficus tree. It only seems fitting that we would have two figs growing together just as our ficus trees have done all these years. We will now have two sets of "twins" to carry with us through the coming years.

Here are some great reference sites to check out if your interested in figs...

www.pickyourown.org/figs.htm

http://bayouwoman.wordpress.com/2011/07/10/just-plain-old-fashioned-fig-preserve-recipe/