ONE GIANT STEP...FOR US

Technology is not one of our strong points, in fact, we struggle with all the technical devices now available.  Our cell phones came over on the Mayflower and when I dropped mine on the pavement the back cracked into about four pieces.  I thought I was going to have to duct tape the battery into my phone while I glued the back together.  I finally got the back secured, but I could not hear anyone that called me.  So, we decided to make the big...huge plunge.

We bought smartphones.  We've gone from these old phones:

To these new smart phones that know a lot more than we know.  Our old phones were so ancient they could not transfer any of our contacts.  It took me two days to input all of our contacts.  I can assure you I am an expert on putting those names and numbers in our phones. 

Then...Hubby's phone had a major defect, so it had to be returned.  I was so excited they could transfer those 234 contact my husband had in his defective phone.  When we realized the transfer scrambled the names and all of them were listed with first names in alphabetical order, I was so upset.  Another half day later, that problem was corrected.  Through that process, I discovered if you enter names as organizations they will not be altered if and when they are transferred to another phone.

It seems like we learn something new about our phones each day.  Do you know how to swipetype?  We didn't either, but one of our friends taught us how to do that.  When you text?  Put your finger on the first letter of the word, do NOT lift your finger, and swipe your finger over all the letters in the word.  When you do this it leaves a little white trail and a choice of words your phone thinks you are swiping.  It is so much easier than the pecking method of texting.

I love, love, love all the handy gadgets like the calendar and the calculator.  However, I still keep my paper calendar because I don't trust electronics.  Sorry all you techy types.  One of my dear friends had some type of technical failure with her iphone calendar and lost all the information on her calendar.  I'm just not going to chance that.

The tractor project continues to progress.  When the tractor was purchased my husband didn't realize it needed a hitch before any type of attachments could be used with the tractor.  He finally found a hitch and a friend helped him get it on the tractor...and it works!

     Interesting photograph, right?  I just know that hitch works, because the friend that helped with the installation brought his finishing mower over and they hitched it up and the mower worked.

Now, a tiller has been ordered.  I'm really nervous about our front yard.  However, I will gladly embrace the tilling of our side and back yard.  Because...

We had to have new field drain lines installed.  Red Georgia clay has a entirely new meaning to us.  Our entire side and back yard is a mess.  We are waiting on the ground to warm up so we can put down sod and expect it to live.  So, the tiller will work well, but I don't have a clue who is going to landscape the dirt to direct the water the way we want it to drain.  I am sick of looking at all that red dirt!

I'm glad to finally have some warm weather.  Now I'm ready to go fishing.

FAKE PECAN PIE

This is an easy recipe and really delicious.  They taste like mini pecan pie pieces.  I don't have a clue what you call them, maybe I just named my recipe.

FAKE PECAN PIE

Cover cookie sheet with Graham crackers (leave the crackers whole).  Pour mixture over the crackers and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Mixture:  1 cup dark brown sugar (packed)
                2 sticks butter
                1 cup chopped pecans

Melt butter and add sugar, cook until mixture is syrupy.  Pour over crackers, then sprinkle with chopped pecans.  Note to self:  Do NOT use dark cookie sheet they will stick!

Allow to cool completely.  Break into small pieces along dotted lines on the crackers.  Store in air tight container. 

A GREAT RECIPE

CRANBERRY-ORANGE SALAD

1-9 oz. (1 cup) crushed pineapple

1-3 oz. package cherry gelatin

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup hot water

1 Tbl. lemon juice

1 cup ground fresh cranberries (grind before measuring)

1 cup chopped celery

1 small orange (peel included, but remove seeds, then grind)

1/2 cup walnuts or pecans

Drain pineapple (save syrup/juice).  Add enough water to syrup to make 1/2 cup liquid.  Dissolve gelatin and sugar in hot water.  Add reserve syrup and lemon juice.  Chill until partially set.  Then add crushed pineapple, chopped celery, ground cranberries, ground orange and pecans.  Mix well.  Pour into 5 cup ring mold.  Chill overnight.  Makes 8 to 10 servings.

   

END OF AN ERA

In 1991 we had a vehicle that I hated.  It had quit on me/us four times, the last time being on my way to work in a frog strangler of a rain storm.  When I finally arrived to work I called my husband in tears and told him he could come and get the unnamed, European make of vehicle and I didn't care what he did with said car, he could drive it over a cliff, I didn't care and I wasn't going to drive it because it was unreliable and cost an arm and a leg to repair anything on said vehicle.  So the quest for another vehicle began.  I decided I wanted a mini van, which was at the opposite end of the spectrum from what I had been driving.

We had a friend that was a broker for high line vehicles, so he helped us dump hated car and find the right mini van.  We had a specific color and interior we wanted and a list of options we were looking for on the new ride.  Bingo.  Scott called, he had found the perfect mini van.  A 1991 Dodge Caravan LE, gold with gold interior and all the options we had requested.  He purchased the vehicle for us and put it on a flat bed truck and drove it from Lawrenceville to East Point, where my office was located.  I was so excited.

When Scott arrived with the new mini van my entire office followed me to the parking lot to see this new ride.  It was really pretty, all sporty, two toned, the top part was gold and the bottom was a dark taupe with a tiny horizontal red strip down the side with lots of bells and whistles that we had never had on a vehicle.  As soon as I opened the door I was sick.  It had red and taupe stripes on the seats!  I didn't want seats with stripes, I wanted the light gold interior.  Scott was sick, because he has purchased the vehicle.  Wouldn't you know it, my husband was out of town and here I am trying to make a life decision without him.  We only buy vehicles about every 15 years or so and this was a major decision.  One of my dear friends, Robin, said the stripes would hide all the dirt on the seats.  She had two little boys and was thinking practical.  I was thinking, "I don't want those stripes."  I finally made a management decision for our household and decided we would keep the minivan in spite of the stripes on the seats.  Robin also suggested we couldn't see the strips with our back side on the seats.  She was right.  When we took possession of the van it has 18 miles on the odometer.

End of an era.

Last week, after 22 years and 255,614 miles, we parted with our Lowe's mobile, lovingly called "Ole Faithful".  We had a log book that we had recorded all the gasoline, maintenance and lots of repairs the entire time we owner it.   I had made a list of "known" deficiencies with the number one item being the gas gauge was broken, so you had to fill her up every 200 miles.  The reason I called it our Lowe's mobile?  I didn't want to drive it any further that Lowe's, which is only 1.3 miles from our home and I certainly didn't want to drive it further than town, which only four miles.

It was a bitter/sweet sight as the truck hauled our van away ending an era.  Actually my husband was greatly relieved, as soon as we fixed one problem another one would pop up, so he wasn't as sad as I was to see it leave.  Now I have to figure out how to deal with another deficiency...oil on the driveway.  A lot of oil.  Any suggestions? 

THE PURPLE HEART

The Purple Heart is awarded to soldiers that are wounded in combat.  My dad was in World War II and was wounded twice.  I have all of his metals, except for the Purple Heart with an Oakleaf Cluster.  I found a copy of the orders that awarded him the second Purple Heart.  I sent a copy off to the Veterans Administration months ago and recently the metal arrived in the mail.  It is beautiful.  My husband is going to build a shadow box for all his metals and a flag awarded by the VA in his honor.

This will be displayed with the first Purple Heart he received, along with his Combat Infantry Badge, his unit insignia and the other metals.  I have to find out the order in which they would have been placed on his uniform and I need to have some one fold the flag properly in to a triangle for the box. 

CHICKEN MARINADE

1 stick butter
1 finely chopped onion
1 cup soy sauce (can use lite soy sauce)
4-5 good dashes worchestershire
juice of 1 lemon
2 T fresh parsley cut up
2 tsp. garlic powder
pepper to taste

Saute onions in butter.  Add remaining ingredients.  Allow to cool down.  Marinate chicken at least 1/2 day or longer.  Turn the chicken occasionally while marinating.  Grill chicken.  Baste the chicken with the marinade the last ten minutes it is on the grill.

Enjoy!

VIDALIA ONION CASSEROLE

5-7 large onions sliced
Butter
Grated Parmesan cheese
Crushed Ritz cracker crumbs 

Separate the sliced onions into individual rings.
In a skillet melt enough butter to saute the onion rings. 
In a large casserole dish place a layer of the sauted onions. 
Sprinkle with the grated Parmesan cheese.
Top with crushed Ritz crackers.
Repeat the onion, cheese and cracker layer.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.   

HOT CHICKEN SALAD

4 cups cooked chicken, diced
3 cups chopped celery
2 cans cream of chicken soup (undiluted)
1 cup mayonnaise
4 T. fresh lemon juice
1/2-1 cup slivered almonds (toasted)
2 T. grated onion (can chop rather than grate)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup bell pepper, chopped
4 T. pimento
1 cup grated sharp cheese
3 cups crushed potato chips

Mix all ingredients, except cheese and potato chips.  Place in 9x13 baking dish.  Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  Top with cheese and chips, return to oven until brown.  Garnish with paprika and parsley.

MEET EMMA

Before

 

Hubby has been working diligently on this tractor that he "saved from the junk pile" (his words not mine).  He has sanded, scraped and painted the exterior and our trusted lawn mower repairman did a major maintenance on the tractor. 

After

The tractor even got a new horn.  Now the little boy that lives over the fence from us has  discovered there is a REAL tractor just over the fence and wants to come over all the time to ride on it.  Last weekend he had friends over to play and they begged his dad to take them all over for a ride.  They came over and all five of them loved the tractor rides, even the little girls. 


Last week a friend helped Hubby build a shed for the tractor, so she has been moved from a temporary tent made out of a tarp to her permanent home.  Last night we decided the ole girl needed a name, so let me introduce Emma to you. 

Say Hi to EMMA!

Emma's new house.

EASY COCONUT CAKE

1-Box yellow or white cake mix
1-Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1-12 oz. Cool Whip
Coconut

Prepare cake mix as directed on box.  Bake in a 9" x 13" pan.
After baking, punch holes in the top of the cake with a wooden spoon handle.  Allow to cool for a little before pouring the sweetened condensed milk over the top of the cake.  Allow to cool completely.  Top with Cool Whip, then sprinkle with coconut.  Store in refrigerator.  The cake is better if made the day before serving.  

KATIE'S 95

Today my mom turned 95.  We had a little party for her this afternoon and she had a ball.

She has seen a lot of changes in her lifetime, from living in rural Georgia as a share cropper's child with only a wagon and mule for transportation, raising all their own food, living through the depression, and WWII to the present.  She is certainly part of the greatest generation and is a tough lady.  She has outlived all of her four siblings, even though she is the second oldest.  She says she's going to live to be 100.    
   

MEMORIAL SERVICE

Today was the memorial service for Denny, Hubby's brother and only sibling.  It was at the Carillon at Stone Mountain down by the lake.  It was overcast, but not cold, which was nice.  

Becky, Denny's only child made all the arrangements.  At 2:00 p.m. the Carillon began playing some prearranged music, romantic and religious.  As soon as the music started I could not stop crying. 

Becky shared about her dad.  A long-time friend and former co-worker shared as well.  The friend nicknamed him Hammer.  He made some very kind and moving remarks about Denny, then he pulled a hammer, minus the handle, out of his back pocket and shouted, "SO LONG HAMMER, I'M GOING TO MISS YOU."  He then hurled the hammer in to the lake. 

Becky had a photo of her mom and dad when they were 44 and 47 respectively.  She said that was the way she remembers both of them.  Their ashes had been mixed together and equally divided between two biodegradable containers.  She poured one container of ashes into the lake and Hubby poured the other container into the lake.  Becky read a prayer she had written.

Hubby read a store out of his book that he has written about Denny and how he help their family during really rough times and then read John  11:25, "Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die.'" and then he read John 14:1-4, "Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.  And you know the way where I am going."  Hubby talked about how Denny knew the Lord and he was with Him in a perfect place and he was with his beloved wife and all the other loved ones and friends that have gone before him.  Then Hubby prayed. 

Lots of tears.

Ken (Denny) and Bev at their prime

Containers with mixed ashes

Becky pouring ashes into lake

Hubby pouring ashing into lake

Hubby reading his story about Denny helping their family during hard times

L-R:  Family friend, Tee, Hubby, Joel (Bec's husband) Becky

RAT COOKIES AKA: Christman Mice Cookies

These little cookies are always a huge hit at any function.  I have named them RAT COOKIES, but they probably were originally Christmas Mice Cookies.  They are rather easy to assemble.

 Ingredients:
Chocolate kisses (1 bag)
Chocolate chips (2 bags)
Almond slices (1 bag)
Chocolate covered graham crackers/cookies (2 bags)
Whole cherries with stems (2 jars)
                                                    Gel frosting (black, red & green)

This made approximately 52/54 mice cookies.  

 

 Drain the cherries well on a paper towel.  I used two jars of cherries, about 52 (there were actually 54 cherries, but two had been separated from the stems so I had to eat those since they couldn't be used).

 Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler.  I used one bag of milk chocolate chips and one bag of dark chocolate.  There was leftover melted chips, but in the past I have only used one bag of chips and it wasn't enough and the chocolate got too stiff before finishing the coating process.   I don't have a real double boiler so I used a 2 qt. sauce pan for the water and placed a 1 qt. sauce inside the larger pan.  It worked well.  Once the chips melted I stirred them well to mix the milk and dark chocolate.  The two bags of chips were sufficient to coat the two jars of cherries. 
 

While the chips are melting assemble the other parts.  Removing the foil from the kisses will be the most time consuming thing you do.  Pour out a pile of almond slices and line up all the cookies for the number of cherries you will coat.

 Dip each cherry into the melted chocolate.

 Immediately place the coated cherry onto the chocolate covered cookie.  I can no longer find Keebler chocolate covered graham crackers, so I resorted to using the small Great Value (Walmart brand) chocolate covered mint cookies.  There are also chocolate covered fudge and peanut butter cookies.  I could never find the chocolate covered graham crackers.  Make sure you use the small cookies.  I have a friend that made these but used a larger cookie.  She said it made the mouse look really small on that large cookie.
  

 Push the chocolate kiss onto the covered cherry while the chocolate is still soft.  When it cools it will stick together very nicely. 

  

Add two pieces of almond slices for the ears.  Push down between the head and body (kiss and cherry).  Set aside to cool.  After assembling several of the mice I place them in the refrigerator so the chocolate will harden faster.  I don't want the head to separate from the body or the ears to sag.
 

  
These are ready to be placed in the refrigerator.





 
 
After the mice have cooled and are firm, using BLACK frosting gel make dots for the eyes and nose.  Test the gel first on a paper towel so the gel will be firm and not runny.  You can use red gel for the nose, but I much prefer the black so it looks like a rat/mouse, it's more disgusting with the black.

They are taking shape looking like little mice.

With GREEN gel add a sprig of greenery (I know that green looks like a little worm) behind the ears (almond slices).

Be sure to test the gel on the paper towel to avoid putting clear runny gel on the mice.  

Using RED gel, place one dot at the center of the green gel.  You are trying to put a sprig of holly on the little guys.


You might have a problem finding the red and green gel around Christmas because of the demand for those colors.  I shop early.

Close up of the decorated mice.





Place in tightly covered container and store in the refrigerator for several hours.  This will allow the chocolate and gel frosting to harden properly.

 

This will be the hit of any party.



 

The man is excited about this!

I'm suppose to be really excited about this?  Hubby is really excited about this tractor and has been busy as a bee working on it, cleaning it up, painting, restoring it.  He wanted it because it is harder to use the manual tiller since he broke his back.  


This is the reason he is so excited.  

Winter Garden

 

 

 













We both love having a garden, so the old tractor will make it easier for him.  Hubby also wants to be able to plow our neighbor's garden.  My only concern, he'll want to plow the front yard.

I suggested he plow up all the ivy in the back yard.  I hate that stuff because I just know there are some type of critter(s) hiding among all those vine.

Currently he is reading the manual that arrived in the mail today.   

IN MEMORY of DENNY

My husband's only sibling, died suddenly Wednesday evening.  He had been fighting colon cancer the past two years.  His chemo treatments had been suspended about three weeks ago because it wasn't helping, but this past Monday the oncologist started him on a new medication just approved by the FDA.  The doctor seemed to think this would stop the cancer.  Only three days into the new treatment he lost his battle.  To say we are shocked and sad is an understatement.

His daughter talked with him Wednesday evening, he seemed to be fine, in good spirits and there was no indication of any problems.  Thursday she tried to call him all day long.  Finally, late Thursday afternoon she called one of his neighbors, asked them to see if they could get him to the door.  They could not.  They had a key to his condo, so they entered.  He was on the floor in his bedroom, in his pajamas.  It appeared he had been there for a while.  We suspect he died Wednesday evening.  We are thankful he did not linger for day, weeks or months, was not in the hospital or in hospice, he was in his own home all the days of his life. 

He was known as Denny, until he married, then it was Ken.  He was Kenneth Dennard, Jr.  (I'll omit the last name for obvious reasons.)  He was born in 1936 in East Point, Georgia.  He was seven years and seven days older that his little brother, my husband.  He was the studious type, always reading, into electronics and gadgets, a real indoors person, quiet and reserved, just the opposite of his brother, who is an outdoor person, always moving and working, a people person.  They didn't look alike, Denny had dark brown hair, brown eyes and very fair complexion, from lack of exposure to the sunshine.  His little brother has blonde hair (well was, it's gray now), blue eyes and fair, but obviously has been exposed to the sunshine.

They were so funny, like two old women, talked to each other every single day, constantly comparing ailments, talking electronics and theater equipment, whether or not to purchase a new vehicle,  about things that happened when they were growing up and life in general, his routine of eating out and grocery shopping at Kroger on Wednesdays, because that was senior citizens day.  They were a hoot.  My husband was constantly trying to talk his brother into flying to Virginia to visit Colonial Williamsburg.  Denny wouldn't fly.  Last year he talked him into going to Florida to visit their cousin only because we drove.  We are so glad we made that trip.

Needless to say, we are heartbroken and sad.  Denny will be greatly missed.  We must not grieve too much, he is with the Lord and his beloved wife, who lost her battle with breast cancer about ten years ago.  We know if he had a choice of returning whole and healed he would not.  He is finally home.   

We love you Denny.

   

HUNGER GAMES II

Beautiful walking trails

We walk five days a week at the International Park, which was the venue for the Volleyball event during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.  It is a really nice place, however, the place has been invaded...by the movie industry.

 We have been watching the progress of all the construction that has been happening.  It started when they drained the swimming lake just after Labor Day.  Then a group of workers came in and took all the railing off the swimming dock, and started construction on something that looks like...I don't even know how to describe what they have constructed.  It's just weird looking.

A ReDUCKulous situation!

At first, we were allowed to walk our normal route, which was from the front gate, a mile along the walking path, across a huge parking lot around the back side of the swimming lake and then across another parking lot around by the sales office, back across the dam between the fishing lake and the swimming lake then back to the front gate.  But now, about half of our walking route is blocked off and barricades have been put in place and tarps put up so you can see the movie set.  It's just reduckulous.  You would think the Queen is the star of this movie. 

 Now, there are Hertz rent-a-cops posted at various locations to keep people from doing I don't know what, and they have added county police as well.  Since they have altered our walking route we are forced to walk from the front gate, across the dam between the fishing and swimming lakes to the side gate entrance, make a U-turn and back to the front gate.  They have erected these awful green tarps on poles to keep people from seeing the movie set.  Who cares what they are doing.  At one point in the tarps there is a place you can peep through to see what is happening in the lake where all the filming is going to occur.  The other morning we peeked to see what was happening and the police blew his fog horn at us.  Can you believe that?!  

Barrels before putting up major barricades

Beginning construction of the main set

When the construction first started we asked the workers what was going on and they freely told us they were going to be filming part of "Hunger Games II" out in the lake.  We asked one of the employees at the park and she wouldn't tell us because it was a BIG secret.  We finally told her we already knew.  We had never heard of the movie "Hunger Games", so Hubby Googled it and discovered the first movie grossed $364 million.

The sad part, our county is only making $80,000 for the use of the facility, not to mention the cost of all those Hertz rent-a-cops and the county police that are over there 24/7 with the engines on their vehicles running 24/7.  How much is that costing the taxpayers of our county?

Needless to say, we will be glad when the movie people have vacated the park and we can return to our normal route of our daily walk.  

We think they are going to put blinders on all the geese so they can't see what's happening on the movie set as they fly over on their way to the fishing lake.     

Tarps to keep eyes off the movie set

Movie set just before putting back in the lake

This is the area where you can peep through the tarps

A couple of weeks ago when we had high winds from Hurricane Sandy the wind blew some of the fencing over because the tarps were like great sails on a ship, except the fence moved.  Probably another expense for the taxpayers. 

I think I'll take my camera tomorrow to see if the police honks his horn at me again.

Scroll on down to see all the photos.    

I think they are on their way to be fitted for the blinders.

     

MARGAUX, I LOVE IT

Margaux is a china pattern made by Mikasa, however it's... out of print, so to speak.  We bought a set of this china back in the 1980s.  I love this china and have never gotten tired of it.  I recently purchased a set of white Mikasa china that is lovely, but I just don't love it like I do the Margaux.

My Margaux is beginning to look it's age, chips on several of the dinner plates, a huge chip out of one of the cereal bowls and a chip of two on the salad plates.  A couple of years ago I found several of the cereal bowls on Craig's list at a very reasonable price.

Yesterday I was checking out Craig's List.  I always check for Mikasa china.  First thing listed was a set of Margaux for...are you ready...$35.00.  I gasped.  This was an eight-place setting.  I immediately ran down to the workshop, where Hubby spends most of his time lately working on a hutch.  I opened the door and said, "remember how we went to Marietta to purchase that gas grill you found on Craig's List?"  His answer was a reluctant, "yes."  I excitedly said, "Well, I've found a set of our dished in Marietta, do you want to go with me to look at them?"  Hubby said, "Sure."  So off we went.

Y'all I got that set of dishes for $35.00!  After we got home I checked Replacements, Ltd.  That same set is $829.95!   I love a good bargain.  This tops me finding a Whitney Point blanket for 50 cents at a yard sale. 

Now I have to figure out how I'm going to get another set of dishes in my kitchen cabinets.  This is going to be like trying to put ten pounds of lard in a five pound bucket.

A PHOTO/PICTURE CAN BE WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS

We went to the firing range.  Our friend kept badgering me to shoot his new .40 caliber pistol, so I did.    This is my target.  He can't hit the side of a barn with his own pistol.  I don't understand why, all you have to do is line those three little dots up on the pistol and fire away.   I've threatened to post it on the back door.  Do you think it would a deterrent to enter my home uninvited?