Windy Days!

The wind has really blown the last few days...probably for at least a week. We are in for a break tonight though. Not just rain is predicted, but storms too. The prediction is for rain all week. We really need it. Since I'm scheduled to sub in the ag department at high school for four days, let it rain!

Sam is off on a bike ride with the Longview H.O.G. (Harley Owners Group). They are riding through the Crockett forest. Hmmm...State or National? Probably State of Texas. It should be a beautiful ride. ?? What? Why didn't I go? I pulled a muscle a few days ago. It's in my lower back down the right side and has invaded that "cheek." ;o) I really wanted to go, but really knew better. So, instead, I put my potted plants out...the lightest plants. I've saved the four biggest for Sam to move later. Generally, they are no problem to move...but with a pulled buttock muscle...;o) Swept up a few of the dead leaves. The major cleaning is going to have to wait until I don't get an OUCH when I turn my body.

I sewed this morning. Made Jonathan another scrub top. It was already cut out so didn't take long to seam it together. Had to take a break and walk around a bit.

Then I walked around outside. The pear trees look like snow. Green leaves are starting to pop out near the top of the trees. Lots and lots of blossoms. Only problem is...a few years ago, Sam pruned them waaaaayyy back. Got rid of all the broken limbs. Well. He got rid of ALL the limbs. I don't know how long it will take before the 'new' limbs are strong enough to hold and nourish the fruit. Two years ago, we got two pears. The squirrels were hauling them off as fast as they could. Last year, I think we got five or six. You should see me out there fighting the squirrels. LOL The limbs are just so small, that very few pears are able to mature. One of these seasons though, I'll once again have more pears than I know what to do with. Oh. Wait. I do know what to do with them. Preserves. Dried pears. Like candy!

Around the corner to the front of the house...more camellias.

And, look! I've been patiently waiting for my redbud to bloom. I started spotting the early bloomers almost a whole month ago. Now, mine is about to erupt all over!

It's a Full Time Job

"Jake's just up to being Jake. It's a full time job, you know."

Augustus McCrae

Lonesome Dove

Larry McMurtry

Sam and I watched Lonesome Dove last month. When Robert Duvall uttered the above line, I nearly cracked up. How many people do you know that fits that description? I could name names, but I better not! ;o)

Got a Gripe Today

Have you ever been involved in something for years...and I do mean YEARS...and someone who has just been introduced to it happens to know it all? I hate being treated like an imbecile. And for over less than $20?! Gimme a break! I'm not going to go into detail, because I can not type it short and simple. This morning, I pulled my records. Exactly as I told him. EXACTLY!!

On to better things. After two days of wonderfully warm weather...even to the point that while I was subbing at the public library Thursday and Friday I turned the air conditioner on (I actually work when I'm there as opposed to sitting behind a desk when I sub at the high school)...we got down to 26 degrees last night! I was worried about the pear blossoms.

But look!!

And more camellias too.

Also, on the way to Pittsburg for pizza at noon, Sam and I noticed that the peach trees are blooming. I certainly hope that the early peaches aren't hurt!

The NASCAR race is about to start. TTYL

Happy Mardi Gras Y'all

Yesterday was Mardi Gras, (French for Fat Tuesday). Okay. You ask, "What's Fat Tuesday?" It is the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. It is the last day of 'decadence' before Lent begins. This link can explain it better than I can.

http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/MardiGras/

I am not Catholic, but with Louisiana so close, one can not help but be caught up in a little of the celebration. So...I made gumbo yesterday and served it with rice and cornbread. Carol and Elton came over and she brought a delicious pan of lemon bars. They were to die for! Just melt in your mouth good.

At my last full-time job down near the Texas Gulf Coast, I met some wonderful people. I actually know three Cajuns. I worked with one of the men. His last name is Lancon. We Anglos pronounce it like it's spelled. However, the correct pronunciation in south Louisiana is 'la san' - or that's the way it sounded to me. Jerry said that he didn't learn English until he was five years old. He introduced me to one of the cookbooks he has at home. I "devoured" it and through some information found in the back was able to find where to order it and its companion cookbook.

Sam's best friend, Ben, was born in southern Louisiana. Even though he is not of French Canadian or Cajun decent, he still grew up with the influence of the people and the food. His mother (step-mother actually) gave me a couple of the cookbooks she'd acquired over the years. She had reached the stage where she didn't do much cooking any more preferring to eat out.

I have sticky notes everywhere in these books. I've cooked Gumbo, Crawfish Etouffee, Cajun Shrimp Sauce Piquante, Court Bouillion or Coubion, Stuffed Mushrooms. The list goes on and on. I have a recipe for Natchitoches meat pies that I just have tried yet although I have eaten the real thing in Natchitoches.

The thing about much of the Cajun cooking is that you take a recipe. Then you make it yours. Gumbo for instance. Even though you may start out with a recipe, you change it depending on what you have in your refrigerator. Or what the men bring in from a day of hunting and fishing - if you lived in the marsh land of the Louisiana coast.

This is my basic Gumbo recipe:

1 cup roux

2 quarts water

2 large onions, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 cup green onion, chopped

1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped

1 cup celery, chopped

2 bay leaves

salt to taste

pepper to taste

a bit of cayenne pepper if desired

meat and/or chicken, pork, sausage

seafood consisting of shrimp, oysters, whatever you desire

1 package sliced okra, if desired

Put 1 cup of roux in a big pot. Bring heat up to medium. Add remaining ingredients including meat (excluding shrimp and/or oysters). Cook for about 2 hours or until meat is tender and gumbo has thickened. In the last 15 to 20 minutes, add shrimp
and/or oysters along with the okra. You do not want to overcook your seafood or the okra. Seafood toughens, okra cooks away. You can even add a can of diced tomatoes if desired. After all, its YOUR Gumbo.

Let's talk Roux. Roux is a basis for many gravies. Its purpose is the deciding factor on how dark to cook it. A Roux is simple. It is merely equal parts of a fat (lard, bacon grease, vegetable oil, or butter) and flour. For white gravy, you cook it just a minute or two before pouring in your milk. For Cajun cooking, the time to cook your Roux may be an hour or two or sometimes three...with constant stirring. If you burn your Roux, you have to toss it and start all over.

I picked the brain of a Cajun restaurant owner in Freeport one evening and actually have in my possession his Crawfish Etouffee recipe ;o) . Imagine my amazement when he told me that he used store-bought Roux?! I was flabbergasted. He gave me the names of two or three store-bought Roux's (LOL what is the plural of Roux?!) The one that I can find in northeast Texas is Bootsie's. Look for it in a glass pint jar. The store here stocks it near the ketchup/catsup bottles. Um...I suggest looking for a product of Louisiana...I'm not certain I would want to cook Cajun with something in a bottle from overseas.

If you want to make your own roux, do a search. If you find Emeril Lagasse's name, you can bet he know what he's talking about!

Laizze le bon ton roule!

Beautiful Sunset

I looked out the bathroom window last night. Grabbed my jacket and hollered at Sam on the way out the front door. He grabbed his jacket and followed me. Then he went back inside for his camera.

(Sam is a HAM radio operator - that explains the tower and various antennae.)

LOOK at this! My pear trees are getting ready to bloom. The last time I looked, the buds were tight. When the trees look like snow, I'll post new photos.

So Tired!

Had a ladies' weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it. Two friends did not get to make it: one because of a death in her extended family; the other because of her mother's illness. I can only imagine how much more fun it would've been had they been able to make it. Oh. Not really a "ladies' weekend." More of a high school graduating class weekend. 10 attended, but that's okay.


One of our classmates retired out of the Navy. He and his wife have a band and now perform in nightclubs in and around the extended area. Here's their blog:

http://www.myspace.com/ladychazzandthetramps


Richard has always had a great voice. The addition of his wife, Chazz, jazzes things up! She can really work a room!


Anyway, some drove to Shreveport and back last night (er...early this morning). Some of us got motel rooms. That's what I did. Had my one drink (I can't hold my liquor and didn't want to have to go to the car to take a nap) and danced like nobody was looking! I love the line dances that are done now and as you know, am trying to learn some of them. Even though we didn't do country, just learning the steps helps with other line dances. There were more women in the lounge than men, we just all gathered on the dance floor and danced. You don't really need a partner, unless it's a slow dance. We had a couple of male classmates with us and they just danced in the middle. Sorta. We did a line dance sort of thing a time or two. I really enjoyed myself. Even though it doesn't appear that our dancing ability has improved much since high school...ALL those years ago!


I did make the statement this morning walking down the hall of the motel that if I did that on a weekly basis, I'd probably have to have a hip replacement! LOL


Before leaving, I made beef stew for supper Friday night. I loved the way it looked in the white bowls and grabbed my camera. Sam asked, "What are you doing?" Actually, I thought it was obvious. Camera in hand...evidently I was going to shoot a photo. ;o) When I explained that it was for my blog, he started to make a comment. "Just go sit down. Leave me alone. I'm taking the photo."
A bowl of beef stew with a slice of crusty French bread...delish!

3

I now know THREE line dances!

Black Velvet This one is almost exactly like the how to video.

5000 Hits!

I just checked. I've had over 5,000 hits on my blog since its creation June 2008.

5,000!

Of course 2,000 are probably mine. ;o) Especially when I first got the blog up and running. I checked on the number of posts this morning too. Not quite 150. When it gets to 200 I'll have to think of a good giveaway...quilt related this time.

I made a mistake yesterday. I intended to go to the grocery store about 3:30 and be ready to checkout at 4:01. You see. It was "Midnight Madness." Madness yes. Midnight no. The store had coupons that were in effect only from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday only. Well. I asked Sam if he wanted to watch a DVD. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen with Sean Connery. We did. It was after 4 before it was over. So I hung around until 4:30 to watch Jeopardy. Therefore didn't leave the house until 5.

I haven't seen that many people in one place since Valentines Day waiting at the restaurant! It was hard to maneuver the aisles. Then at checkout...every register was open and had at least two waiting in each. That's really not bad. And when I looked in the grocery buggies I noticed that they weren't just overloaded with stuff. People were buying mainly with their coupons. Which is exactly what I was doing too. We all just stood in line and visited while I laughed at myself for waiting so late to go shopping.

It's going to be a cool clear day. Good day for quilting!

Ta-ta!!

Words of Wisdom

I received an e-mail with these profound quotes:

1. In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm and three or more is a congress. -- John Adams

2. If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed. -- Mark Twain

3. Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But then I repeat myself. -- Mark Twain

4. I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle . -- Winston Churchill

5. A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul. -- George Bernard Shaw

6. A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man, which debt he proposes to pay off with your money. -- G. Gordon Liddy

7. Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner. -- James Bovard, Civil Libertarian (1994)

8. Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer of money from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries. -- Douglas Casey, Classmate of Bill Clinton at Georgetown University

9. Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys. -- P.J. O'Rourke, Civil Libertarian

10. Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else. -- Frederic Bastiat, French Economist (1801-1850)

11. Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it. -- Ronald Reagan (1986)

12. I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts. -- Will Rogers

13. If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free! -- P.J. O'Rourke

14. In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other. -- Voltaire (1764)

15. Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you! -- Pericles (430 B.C.)

16. No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session. -- Mark Twain (1866)

17. Talk is cheap...except when Congress does it. -- Anonymous

18. The government is like a baby's alimentary canal, with a happy appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other. -- Ronald Reagan

19. The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery. -- Winston Churchill

20. The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin. -- Mark Twain

21. The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. -- Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903)

22. There is no distinctly native American criminal class...save Congress. -- Mark Twain

23. What this country needs are more unemployed politicians. -- Edward Langley, Artist (1928-1995)

Then there's the e-mail stating that if we reduce the amount of Representatives from 2 per state to 1 per state; therefore also reducing staff and other expenses - AH! the money we could save!

And if the whole she-bang adopted the general 20/25/30 year retirement plan that private industry has, look at the money we would save from someone serving just one four year term!

Oh! how funny! Really, how sad. None of that will ever happen!