ABC

This has been in Drafts since March. It looked like fun.

The ABC’s of ME…………….

A. Age: 56

B. Bed size: Queen size

C. Chore you hate: Ironing clothes!

D. Dogs’ Names: Had several good pets in the past, but don't want any more.

E. Essential food item: Chocolate

F. Favorite color: Red

G. Gold or Silver: Gold, of course! My favorite piece of jewelry is a combination of yellow and white gold.

H. Height: 5’6 1/2″

I. I am: Smiling. Generally upbeat and cheerful. Optimistic most of the time. The glass is always half full.

J. Job: My grown-up job was administrative assistant. I quit shortly after Sam retired. Now I sub at high school and the public library. Start a new job Monday, secretary at the Chamber of Commerce! I'm excited!!

K. Kids: Jonathan. I love him so!

L. Living Arrangements: Small town in the piney woods of northeast Texas with my husband. We've been on our very own 10 acres since 2004.

M. M is for: My mama

N. Nickname: None...except for Mama

O. Overnight hospital stay(s):
Tonsillectomy when I was a wee child and was nearly traumatized. Perhaps I'll blog about it some day. ;o)
Childbirth.
One afternoon when Jonathan was in the second grade, I started feeling bad and very shortly went from bad to worse. Ron took me to the hospital at 5 a.m. after getting Mama to come stay with Jonathan who was a second grader. A couple of days later... duodenitis was diagnosed. I was sent home with a prescription for Valium and Zantac.

P. Pet peeve: Liars and tale toters

Q. Quote from a movie: Lauren Bacall to "You know how to whistle don't you? Just put your lips together and blow.” I don't know why that one stuck in my mind so...

R. Right or Left handed: Right hand

S. Siblings: 3 brothers

T. Time you wake up: 6:30 - 7:30

U. Unique thing about your car: Toyota 4-Runner...I got to pick this one out...only my third in my entire life!

V. Vegetable you hate: Beets

W. Ways you run late: Normally on time if not early. Occasionally, I get up later than I wanted.

X. X-rays you’ve had: Mostly dental

Y. Yummy food you make: Just about anything that takes chocolate. ;o) (Have I mentioned I like chocolate?)

Z. Zoo animal favorite: River otters

Camellias

This bush has never ever ever had this many blossoms on it. I am absolutely amazed!
My redbud is also in bloom...not full bloom, but it is getting there.
This is what Sam will be doing tomorrow... This slab is just east of the house where the camper and container (his storage building) were prior to building the metal shop building. The camper is parked inside the shop and the container was moved up beside it for junk over flow.

After he gets the slab (2-car carport originally) busted up, his brother Elton will haul the concrete off to put on the side of a creek bank to control erosion, and Sam intends to make a more gentle slop on that end of the house.

I Cooked...Sorta

The very first time I had a can of this stuff: I made a face and reread the label. Hash. That is NOT the hash my mama made!! That stuff is a mushy, formless blob.

THIS is how to make hash...fried hash that is...for two of us, I peeled and cubed two Yukon Gold potatoes. Seasoned with salt and pepper (and whatever other seasoning you want to toss in). Browned them in a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil. When they were almost tender......added 2 or 3 slices of chopped onion. Sauteed that until the onions were transparent. Then added two servings of sliced and chopped leftover beef roast. I also poured in the leftover brown gravy and simmered all until heated through and through. Served on top of a slice of toast, it made a delicious lunch. This is about the only thing I put catsup/ketchup on any more. Wouldn't it be good with some garlic and/or any color of bell pepper?! If I'd thought about the garlic, I would've added it. Sam doesn't eat bell pepper (any color) unless it is green and cooked in a Cajun dish.

How about a cookbook with an All-American ingredient?

Sunshine Bloggers Award

I can't believe she did this today after I've had a couple of COW (Cranky Old Woman) posts in a very short time. LOL But...Penny over at Penny Quilts (and I can't do those links the way she does, so you may have to copy and paste): http://pennyquilts.blogspot.com/ . Anyway, Penny shared her Sunshine Award with ME! I inspire her with positivity (hahahaha) and creativity (I try). Oh. Perhaps I need to leave the actual quote: “bloggers who inspire others with positivity and creativity.” Part of the rules for accepting the award is to pass it on to 12 other bloggers and Penny included me on her list. Thanks, Penny!! She accused Suzanne, who passed the award to her, of being a closet drinker. Penny doesn't bother going into a closet. ;o) She's bold as brass!

I've enjoyed Penny's blog ever since I stumbled across it. Not only is she a great traditional quilter, but now she is dabbling in art quilts. I've followed the posts while she was a child's advocate (sorry if I've forgotten the exact title). What some people do to their own children while claiming to love them...shaking head. And she dealt with it on a day-to-day basis. I have followed the antics and heart breaks of her Samoyeds. I was so excited when she got to move back home to Oklahoma...back to her God's country.

The rules for accepting the award are:

1. Put the logo on your blog or within your post.
2. Pass the award to 12 bloggers.
3. Link the nominees within your post.
4. Let them know they received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.

Now I've got to find something nice to say about 12 bloggers. This may be hard. ;)

1. Martha in her little house on the prairie http://www.linesfromlinderhof.com/ . I am sooo envious of her creativity in her house and garden. She can cook like nobody's business. My sister-in-law, Carol, would get along great with Martha as long as Martha checked out the pockets sewn inside Carol's coat...they both collect blue and white dishes.

2. Kar http://karsdownhomebliss.blogspot.com/ likes fabrics and yarns. She cooks too!

3. Jessica at http://jessicasews-imsewhappy.blogspot.com/ is one of my idols. What this woman can do with fabric is absolutely amazing!

4. Allie http://alliesinstitches.blogspot.com/ is the CQ (crazy quilting) queen. I will never, ever in my entire life be able to create the pretties that she turns out.

5. Nicki Lee is a CQer too, http://cqnickilee.blogspot.com/ but I nominate her as the lace dying/hand painting queen. I fully intend to purchase some lace in her Etsy shop. I'm mad at her though. I didn't win her blog giveaway. sniff

6. Lani at http://golanigo.blogspot.com/ ...well...I don't know how creative Lani is...Hmmm...OH! She creates GREAT BS! hahaha She's not afraid to goof off in front of a camera. And she knows no shame (check out her post on Cracker Ass).

7. Glo, aka Gloria, aka a Hooker! I kid you not!! http://gloria-uncinetto.blogspot.com/ Gloria is my displaced Massachusettesiteian. Whew...I went cross-eyed with that one. She's now in San Antonio with her husband's job. Something happened when she moved to Texas. She stopped cooking! At least she stopped posting delicious recipes. But she's still showing off her crocheted items.

8. Bea has a heart as big as Texas. http://www.pigtalesandquilts.com/ And she likes pigs of all sorts and shapes.

9. Tammy likes Harleys! http://tismeisme.blogspot.com/ Both of our husbands have one. She's a quilter and an embroiderer too.

10. My Australian sister Cherry http://cperryman.blogspot.com/ and I have so much in common! Even though she's not a quilter. I found her blog, Life's a Beach, one day while blog surfing. She had a photo of her two of her grand daughters in the masthead of her blog. The girls were in their bathing suits...sitting on the beach...looking out toward the ocean. Cherry took the photo from behind the girls. I fell in love with them! She takes gorgeous photos. Of course, with three little girls and one little boy...she's got great subjects!

11. Brin over at http://messythrillinglife.blogspot.com/ is definitely deserving of a reward. This sweet child (she's several years younger than me) knits, sews, and tried her hand at restoring an old house that my grandmother once lived in.

12. Bingo Bonnie http://bingobonnie.blogspot.com/ is SUPER WOMAN! Bonnie is a quilter, chauffeur, chief cook and bottle washer. She has...are you ready for this? A five-year old daughter and two toddler TWINS...one of each! (Yeah, I know 'two' and 'twins' are the same thing...flow with me here would ya?) She constantly...and I do mean all of the time! is working on a new quilt! I do NOT know how she does it!

So, there's my twelve. They really weren't that hard to choose! Thanks to all of you for being my blogging friends!

C*O*W

One of THOSE days. Cranky Old Woman again. BFF Earlene said that I just need to get away. It's planned for April 22. I'm going on a cruise with Earlene and two more BFsF. We leave Galveston that Thursday. Cruise to Cozumel. Have a blast. Cruise back to Galveston. Step back on Texas soil the following Monday.

Yet, I remember. Four of us are booked in one room. In the ship's basement. As Nancy says, just above the cows, goats, and chickens. So...if we are still speaking to each other after sharing a closet size room and a dinky bathroom...we are already thinking about the next cruise! Or, at least, BFF vacation!!

Remember the "Begats"

You know...in the Bible. He begat him. Then he begat him and him. Etc.

Well, my non-Biblical version is "Trash begat trash"! This is what I picked up beside the road when I went down to the mailbox today: Notice the Marlboro box? I've been picking those up since moving here in 2004. One time, he (I'm assuming it's a 'he' but it could be a 'she') threw away the wrong box. I picked it up and squeezed only to realize it wasn't empty. Snickering because he/she/it threw away a box nearly full of cigarettes, was I ever wide-eyed when I saw the contents. Pot! Yeppers... marygeewana! I wanted to call the Sheriff's office. Sam said that they'd never find out who it belonged to and told me to just toss it.

I am on a mission. As we visit with neighbors, I look to see if they smoke, and if so, what brand and type package. I'm thinking about having a block party...only my block covers miles and miles of county roads. I WILL find the culprit one of these days.

SNOW Today! Again!!

How amazing is this?! I don't know if we've ever had snow in March before. Just a couple of days ago we had near 70 degrees. Sunday morning we woke to 32 degrees. It didn't get over 34 all day. We also had a dusting of snow which was pretty well melted by 10 a.m. But it kept coming down. The wind was blowing from the west and the snow was coming in sideways!