Cookie Day!

Sam's favorite cookie - next to Snicker Doodles - is oatmeal. I found the best recipe on the inside lid of the Old Fashion Quaker Oats canister.

See those two pretty brown eggs? Fresh. From one of my neighbors. Isn't she sweet?! Now I know that there's no nutritional difference in a brown shelled egg and a white shelled egg...but don't the brown shells just remind you of your grandparents' place? Not really for me. My grandparents had Banty hens. I don't know why. Their eggs were much smaller. Don't care. I like the brown shells. Not one logical reason. Back when I had chickens I had Rhode Island Reds and Dominikers.

I was disappointed in this white parchment paper. The cookies stuck a bit on it. But not on the brown parchment paper below. shoulder shrug Go figure. First pans coming out of the oven.

Quality control!

Second batch ready to cook.

Yummy!

Gotta do QC on each batch fresh out of the oven!

Um....love fuzzy photos. No wrinkles. No makeup! (Don't look at the neck!!) DO look at the hair! I may have that fiber optic thing going on when the sun roof on the car is open, but I've got a lot of pepper left!!

Finally decided that the cookies were good enough for Sam and Elton so put a dozen in a container and carried it along with a jug of Gatorade to them.

Oops!

Starting off with an "oops" is indicative of something gone wrong. I pulled out the bread machine yesterday. Contrary to the directions, the first thing I do when I slip the loaf out of the pan is to take a bread knife and slice a good thick slice of the top...butter it...yeah, yeah, yeah...cut it in half and share with Sam. BUT!!! I do get the first bite. Oops. No salt. We have to salt the bread before we can eat it. It is still delicious!

We had a bit of a storm last night. Lightning and really heavy rain for 30 minutes or so. Then it settled down. We got about 1 1/3 " overnight. Cooled the temps down a bit, but this afternoon, it was definitely warmer and humid.

Here are the blooms fully open on one of the mother-in-law's tongue. I am always surprised at the sweet, sweet perfume that comes from these small blossoms.
Look! Three little hairless babies! Okay!! Featherless! The mama really got fracious waiting for me to get the photo and leave her brood alone.

Ta-da! My sweater back is finished! Um...I thought I purchased one dye lot. The middle section sure has more red/orange in it. Laura (friend who taught me to knit) and Carol both said that that sometimes happens with variegated yarns. CAN'T SEE THE CABLES! All that work and they just fade away. Last night I cast on and knitted a couple of rows of ribbing for the front. Knitted more today watching a couple of movies.

I am so excited about this new digital television broadcasting. At first I wasn't, but we've gained a few channels. One of which is THIS. "Classic" television shows and old movies! I wanted one The Earthling with William Holden and little Ricky Schroeder...filmed in Australia. Very good! Tonight I finished up Dancing With Wolves. I don't normally watch that much television in one day.

Photos of the building on Wednesday.

Before lunch - no roof. Roof went on after lunch. Crew decided to head home leaving the job unfinished.

This morning Elton arrived. He and Sam put the trim and gutters up on the front. Tomorrow, they will continue around the sides and back of the building.

Sam

Can you believe he turned down a job?! Wasn't even looking for one. Was offered a job out of the blue. AND TURNED IT DOWN?! ;o)

He had the opportunity to meet the couple who own the local motel. (Small town. One motel.) The wife asked if he was retired. "Yes." "Would you like a job?" He asked, "Doing what?" "Running the office part time." "No thank you."

Like, why did he even ask "Doing what?" LOL

I don't know why he turned it down. tongue-in-cheek Money had nothing to do with it even though I'm certain it would've been minimum wage. I get the feeling that he would've turned down $20 an hour too. Ah, to be 73 and at the age where he can do anything he wants...or nothing at all...

Grilling Ribs

Sorry. No photos of this because I had witnesses and I've already been through that with husband Sam...

Saturday, while Sam and Elton were working on the building and Carol went to a native plant meeting (she's going to be putting in gardens eventually...I'm just about through), I put a rack of ribs (short ribs) on the grill. I haven't grilled anything since marrying Sam nearly 12 years ago - he's our griller. But I do remember how.

Oh! And this was the second time I've grilled since they started working on our building. I did steaks a few days before that. Only problem was that Sam normally reports when we are low on charcoal...and he didn't. Imagine my surprise when I looked in the sack and there wasn't many briquets. Too late to make a dash to the store, so I settled for them figuring that if the steaks didn't get cooked enough that I could put Carol's and mine under the broiler in the house. Everything worked out fine though...just had to bring the vegetables in to finish (yellow squash and zucchini...I forgot the onions).

In addition to the Weber grill the steaks were cooked on, we have a New Braunfels smoker/grill. I built a charcoal fire in the remote firebox. After the briquets turned white, I added some live oak wood chips that had been soaked in water to get a smoke going. I also put a pan of water under the rack the ribs would be cooked on. Put the seasoned ribs on the grill...kept the temp between 225 and 250 and left them alone. (Sam asked once if I'd checked on them. NO! Don't open the grill because the temperature cools too much and has to start all over.)

In the meantime, Carol arrived and watched the last of a movie with me...I started it over again for her while I boiled eggs (fresh from a wonderful neighbor and friend!) and Yukon gold potatoes. I opened a can of Bush's baked beans and doctored them with onions sauteed with four strips of bacon...lifted the bacon out of the cast iron skillet and poured the beans in. Stirred in some mustard and brown sugar. Got everything hot on the stove, laid the bacon slices on top of the beans then put the whole shebang on the grill beside the ribs.

Made the potato salad and refrigerated it.

The movie Carol and I watched? Disney's Song of the South. I love it. It's part of my childhood and just imagine my surprise when I read online that it's considered racist. Of course the article I read was written by an immigrant from Trinidad... When that little boy placed his little white hand in Uncle Remus' big black hand...tell me what's racist about that?! Before anyone does holler "racist," let's remember that this film was made in 1946. Back in the 50s when I first saw it, I wished that I knew someone just like Uncle Remus...an adult (black or white) who really had time for small children and loved them...regardless!

Watch a good movie (while the guys work). Grilled ribs we each dipped in bbq sauce - or not. Potato salad, smokey beans, buttered and toasted sour dough bread. Glasses of iced tea. Um-um! Finished with watermelon.

Lost Quote and Metal Building

I found this. I copied it from a book I was reading awhile back and forgot to write down the book and author. So while I can't give credit where credit is due, I definitely do NOT claim it as mine.

"I think I've fallen in love with my family."
Clarke laughed, then clinked his bottle with James' beer. "Congrats, old friend - today you've finally become a man."

I really, really liked that. I could go all philosophical and even gushy perhaps...but there's no need. The statement stands on its own.

The building is ready for the insulation and sheeting!


Sam and Elton did all the framework and installed the walk-in door. They could do the insulation and sheeting on the building as they did on Elton's (except for the roof). But, it's getting really hot outside. So a crew of three or four who work for a friend of Sam's will be here middle of the day tomorrow to do the insulation and sheeting. It'll take a couple/three days.

Then Sam will install the two windows, arrange for electricity, frame out and build the bathroom. He's putting in a utility sink in the shop. In a separate room with be a toilet and shower. He wasn't going to put in a shower but...why not? A small electric hot water heater under the sink will take care of that. And let us not forget the overhead doors...Sam will hire someone to do that too.
Every evening I took photos of the progress...and a few other things as well...
The little camera sure is clear even when zoomed all the way. This tree is NOT close to the building.

This is the "break room." ;o) Chairs, table, water jug, septic tank. SEPTIC TANK?! It is still above ground therefore empty. Squint and look over the top of the septic tank. Can't see it yet.

Let me zoom again...

She stayed still a long time. I took about a dozen photos before she turned and ran back into the woods.

Sam took me up on the scissorlift a friend loaned us. I'm not afraid of heights, but the swaying movement going up nearly did me in. I had a two week bout with vertigo a month or so ago. The movement was just too reminiscent of that.

Once we got to the top (20 - 25 feet off the ground) and stopped, I really enjoyed the view! (See the stuff to the right of the house? That's our camper and the container Sam is now using for his tools. I think he should move the container behind the new building, but last plans he shared with me are to sell it...and we had a buyer back in November for it. If they are still interested, it will be gone in a month or so. The camper will be stored in the building. Sam has installed water and a grey/black water dump in the building. Then, he intends to break up the concrete pad (a once-upon-a-time carport for the trailer house that once sat where the brick house is...except not down in a hole) that the two are sitting on and do some grade work to make a more gentle slope.

We continue to wonder and ponder why the woman who had the house built didn't build it where we are putting the shop building instead of cutting into the hillside and putting it where she did.

Vatican State Visited MY BLOG!

I love Feedjit. Scroll down and you'll find it on the right side of my blog. It tracks where your visitors are from or at least near because when I check in, I'm always from someplace else...I think because we have satellite hookup... It also tells where they clicked from...like HGTV or a link on the local newspaper or via a search or even direct.

Eighteen hours ago, someone in Holy See, Vatican State, did a search for Jambalaya, crawfish pie, me oh my oh...or something like that. And they hit on MY blog! Took them straight to a jambalaya recipe I posted.

Isn't that just neat-o?!

Doing Nothing!

Yep. June 1 has been a holiday. Actually, since I've returned from Arkansas I've been on holiday. We rode our Harley's to Paris Saturday for servicing...mine got its 1,000 service at 1,400+ and Sam's got its 15,000 mile service...remember his is almost 2 years older than mine. I doubt very seriously that I'll have that many miles on mine in 2 years though.

When I opened the front door this morning, a bird flew out of the hanging fern. Birds have laid eggs in the old nest in the hanging fern (it had four or five babies in it early this spring. That poor plant may not survive if it doesn't get to the point where I can fertilize and water it in a consistent manner!

I tried to cut out a pair of scrub pants for Jonathan...half yard too little fabric.

The last top I made him had palm trees on it. His girlfriend liked the fabric and I have enough left over to cut a back and the "skirt" part of the front. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough of a piece of solid yellow to cut the bodice and sleeves...well, not enough to cut even one of those out. I'll be taking Mama to the doctor Wednesday for a checkup so will drop by Hobby Lobby and/or Hancock's to see what I can find.

I took a few photos of flowers today. Thank

goodness I've planted things that can pretty much take care of themselves 'cause I sure haven't been doing anything for them this year!

My deitz lillies are still blooming and all three hostas are blooming.

The French hollihocks survived the weedeating! Carol (who gave me my start originally) asked me about them. We found a few outside the flower bed and a few inside. I pointed her to some throw-away flower pots and the trowel so that she could dig some up and take home. I prowled around a bit and found a stash of seeds too.

Remember all those beautiful bluebonnets? They are pretty scraggly now. They can't be mown down until the seed pods have completely dried. There's a pretty bad weedy looking mess down by the road, but Sam hasn't complained about them (at least not in my hearing). I certainly don't like how they look. I talked with Carol about planting some other type of wildflower seeds in the same area that would be blooming next year while the bluebonnets are drying out...coreopsis maybe...

Hopefully this year I can catch my mother-in-law's tongue/snake plant/sansaveria when it actually blooms. I recently divided them and shared with the ag department at school. Actually, I gave the head of the department a whole potfull and half of the other one. This is the second time since moving back home in 2004 that I've divided them. They multiply very quickly filling the pot in no time.

Sam and Elton started on our metal building today. Foundations for ours and Elton's were poured back in November. After the first of the year, they erected the red iron (framing) on Elton's. Then, having to wait for time when the wind wasn't blowing, they eventually were able to put up the wall insulation and the metal sheeting. The roof was put up by a hired crew one weekend. Sam, Elton, and Carol installed the windows.

Now, here's ours going up:

They didn't get started until after lunch and worked a couple hours more after these photos. Carol and I grilled steaks and squash for supper. Finished it off with a Sara Lee pound cake topped with strawberries. I meant to bake a pound cake this morning...but forgot. :o(

Ozark Getaway Part Three

We did have so much fun around the Courthouse Square in Mt. View. I've mentioned the music. I haven't mentioned the food.

First though, you've got to drive/ride out to Fifty-Six for one of their hamburgers. Always. ALWAYS delicious. Oh. Fifty-Six is the name of the town.

While listening to the music on the Square, you must get a scoop of ice cream. I did. Three different days/times. Black walnut - in tribute to my dad. Chocolate. Then again, chocolate. I am assuming that the brand was Yarnell since that is an Arkansas brand, but I didn't ask. The chocolate was so creamy.

Changing subjects...have you seen the fabric sleeves that look as if you have a real tattooed sleeve? I have a t-shirt with tattooed sleeves. I put it on one morning. Sam said that when I got off the bike at the restaurant for breakfast that a man sitting in a rocker on the 'front porch' looked disgusted. And when we walked into the restaurant a few heads turned and gawked. (I loved it!) ...You can see similar sleeves here http://www.prankplace.com/tattoo.htm ...mine were actually attached to a short sleeve t-shirt.

So...we are at the Square that afternoon. Standing... since we don't carry folding chairs with us on the Harleys. This guy in front of me stands and moves his lawn chair out of the way so that two older ladies can maneuver around and out of the way (Sam and I are patiently waiting cause we are going to claim the rockers that they vacated.) This guy moves his chair back in place and proceeds to sit down. Unfortunately he has placed his very nice straw cowboy hat in his chair. I nearly panicked for him, saying "No! Your hat!" As I reach out and grabbed him. Well. Actually I grabbed his butt. ;o) Never pass an opportunity to grab a nice man's butt...or a man's nice butt...I always say. About the time I did it...I realized what I'd done. I said, "OH!" and jerked my hand back. Too late. His wife saw. And she laughed.

We sat down in the recently vacated rockers and laughed along with the couple. I have to say that the wife enjoyed it so much more than her husband. She said she really had a hard time keeping him in line and just wait until she got home to tell the grown kids. ;o)

Sam and I eventually walked across the Courthouse Square to eat Mexican food at El Tres Amigos. (Yes, I know enough Spanish to know that it should be Los Tres Amigos.) Remember, I have on the tattoo sleeve t-shirt. Two Hispanic young men, employees, made a beeline for me. When the first one got closer, he was still smiling, but his face fell a bit. He and his buddy wanted to check out my tattoos. That shirt is so much fun!

Saturday night we went to the White River Hoedown. We sat beside a couple from northern California. We talked and laughed before the show even started. He started it...he 'saved the seats for us and would've baked a cake but he didn't know how long it would take us to get there.' I replied that I'd bought the ice cream that afternoon but he never showed up so I had to eat it all. After bantering back and forth a bit I advised him not to get up and leave his cap/hat in the seat. He gave me a closer look then smiled. 'I saw you! You had on the t-shirt that looked like you had tattoos. You're the woman who grabbed that guy on the butt to keep him from sitting on his hat.'

Geesh. Can't do anything any more without somebody watching!

Ozark Getaway Part Two

Riding a motorcycle puts you up front and personal with everything around you. The heat. The cold. The wet. The steep, narrow, curving roadways. (Yep. Had to throw that in again.)

The aromas wafting from the roadsides can be so intoxicating...honeysuckle, ligustrum. Oh! One fence was just covered with an antique rose bush...and the bush was filled to almost solid white with blooms. It may have been a Lady Banks.

In addition to the sweet intoxicating scents from flowers, several hazards abound.

18-wheelers hauling cattle
Dairy farms
Chicken houses
Roadkill

Now, roadkill falls into two categories. Fresh or putrid. Ah, yes. There is a difference. As you approach and pass fresh roadkill, you detect a metallic coppery scent. Putrified...well, that needs no explanation.

I learned. When I saw something in the road, or a cattle truck headed my direction, or chicken houses in the pasture, I would take several deep breaths. Then hold my breath as I approached the offending object. As I passed it, I would slowly release my breathe. Worked most of the time to keep the lingering scent from hanging around.

Ozark Getaway

On motorcycles. Yes. I rode my own this time. So proud of myself! Last year about this same time we got rained on going 'up.' This time rain wasn't predicted until Sunday...the day we planned to head home.

Observations:
Texas roads are better (straighter and flatter)

Damnable grooves during an Arkansas road construction that went on ... like ... FOREVER it seemed. Try that on just 2 wheels! I dare ya! chatter...chatter...chatter

Repeat after me..."Never, ever. And I do mean NEVER attempt Hwy. 9 from Clinton AR to Mt. View AR. Never, ever, NEVER, EVER AGAIN!"

Have you ever in your entire life heard of a 15 mph curve? FIFTEEN MPH CURVE?! That's not a curve! That's a 45 degree or tighter TURN. Now listen up people. 15 MPH is NOT A CURVE!! I rest my case!

Do you know what is at the bottom of an "Oh, SHIT!" downhill 25 MPH curve? A BRIDGE! In the curve, aka turn! And they are also in just about every other 25-40-50 MPH downhill curve. A bridge! A narrow bridge at that!

Do you know what the double yellow stripes down the center of the road mean on those narrow pigtrail roads in Arkansas? NOTHING! NADA! ZILCH!! Which means you better stay on your side of the road because there's no guarantee that the car/pickup/18-wheeler that's coming atcha is gonna stay on his/her side of the road.

We hit the road between Clinton and Mt. View eight hours after we left the house. We stopped several times to walk around a bit, get a drink of water or a 'coke,' to eat lunch. So it wasn't all eight hours on the road, but it was still EIGHT HOURS...then get hit with those tight turns and curves. I was petrified! I took them at the recommended posted speed, but the locals in their cars/pickups didn't like it very much. TOUGH! I didn't want to get scraped off the pavement or untwirled from around a tree trunk. Eventually there was a straight (LOL) stretch of road where four or five cars and pickups could get around me...the last...a woman...laid on her car horn...like I could give a care! ;o) I didn't try to keep up with Sam and I didn't let the vehicles behind me 'push' me. I'm telling you! I could've crawled around some of those curves/turns faster on my hands and knees than I was riding around them!!

I talked to God. I told Him that I would not ride 'over my head' and He could take care of the rest. AMEN!!

Sam pulled over one time to let me catch up with him...I didn't stop...I just kept right on going. So, now I am in the lead. I had two or three more vehicles behind me when I noticed an 18-wheeler back there. Since I'm from a truck driving family...I didn't want him mad at me. Lo and behold! Thank you God! A convenience store! I whipped my turn signal on faster than you could blink and pulled into the lot...right in front of the pumps...hit the kill switch...put the kick stand down...got off the bike and looked Sam square in the eyes when he stopped beside me. "I am NOT having fun!" I wanted to cry. This narrow, crooked, steep road was 38 miles of sheer white knuckle terror!

Sigh. I made it to the Red Bud Inn in Mt. View and parked my bike. I didn't move it until we got ready to leave...rode two-up with Sam the whole time we were there.

I love the winding narrow twisting roads when I ride with him. You know something? Hwy 9 north of Mt. View going to Melburne Arkansas (where NASCAR racer, Mike Martin, has a car dealership) is just as crooked as the southern part?! What WERE they thinking. Okay...it started out as a game trail. The Indians walked along the trail turning it into a path that the first trappers followed. Somebody got the bright idea to go over the mountains in a wagon and they continued to follow the game trails or the path of 'least resistance' whenever they could. Then the Model T's followed behind the wagons. My question is when somebody finally went to college and got the 'engineer' diploma...couldn't they figure out a better way to build a road besides following a long ago game trail? HUH?! ;o)

Mt. View was so enjoyable! YOU've got to go there if you like music at all. Old-time music now! Mountain music, some country, some bluegrass...acoustic guitars, fiddles, mandolins, banjos, bass fiddles. You can find just about anything you like on the Courthouse Square. If you play, take your instrument, they will scoot over and let you pull up a chair!

Two groups worth mentioning:
The Turner Family from Mt. View. A wonderful gospel group. A dad, two grown daughters, and a young son. The youngest daughter caresses that banjo and can make the most beautiful music flow from it. http://www.myspace.com/turnerfamilybluegrass

Cross Creek is from Paris Texas! They will be playing at the HWY 80 Mission in Longview TX June 6. (I think that's what we were told.) - Hmmm...can't find their MySpace page...But I did find a photo. http://m.wayn.com/waynphotos.html?wci=photo&photo_key=28099052&ref_id= The three women are sisters. The man with the fiddle is standing almost in front of his wife. ALRIGHT!!! Back to edit again. Finally found their MySpace page! http://www.myspace.com/crosscreek08

We went to the Cash's White River Hoedown Saturday. The show was good and hilarious at times! We laughed so hard during the comedy. http://www.whiteriverhoedown.com/

I asked Sam to ride out to Leslie...Yes, it's a town just like Shirley. BTW, those of you who don't know me personally...guess what my parents' names are? Leslie AND Shirley. ;o) Anywho...the road to Leslie was not as winding and treacherous. Same 38 miles but only the last two miles are tight curves. So, that's the direction we headed Sunday morning to go home. Only problem...it's raining. Not storming, but a steady rain. Yuck. We have all the appropriate riding gear so suited up and headed out at a nice leisurely pace.

We stopped at Clinton for fuel and breakfast. Waited and rested a bit then started out again. I didn't get antsy until Morrilton. Like...PULL OVER SAM! He's in front. I turned my blinker on in plenty of time for him to see...only he didn't. We get out of Morrilton and cross the Arkansas River bridge. It RAINING harder and the wind is gusting. And I'm on a bridge WAAAAYYYYY up in the air. I can barely see Sam for the rain. I WANT TO STOP NOW! Lo and behold. Thank you God! I see a convenience store. Deja vu' (more of them French words). ;o) I turn my blinker on and turn in. I watch as Sam continues down the road. I park and walk to the front and wait for the returning lone rider. When I see a bike, I wave, point to the side where I'm parked, and walk into the store...dripping water everywhere. Yep, it was Sam. We pulled off wet gear...and I do mean wet. My feet are sloshing my gloves are wet and yucky. I'm not cold though...ah...always a silver lining in the cloud.

Get something to drink. Go back out to the bike to get my paperback. Read until the rain slacks off...some...potty break...head back out yet again. When we got to Mt. Ida, somehow I'm in the lead again. LOL Sam's probably afraid I'll pull over without him knowing again. ;o) I pulled over and looked at him when he stopped. "I'm tired. Find out if there's a motel, a B&B or if someone will rent a bedroom or their camper for the night." We survey our surroundings and guess what I see? No...not a convenience store...a MOTEL!!! Mt. Ida Motel. Remember the first motels? Motor courts? That's what this was. Older than dirt! A bit run down. But clean and only $40. LOL

We slept late this morning. Although it wasn't raining, it was still dreary looking. Suited up. Again. Headed out. Again. Somewhere down the road we stopped for fuel. A car pulled up beside me. The window rolled down and I thought..."Ah-oh. Irate because I was going too slow to suit him." An older couple looked at me. "You were lucky back there. We've followed you since Mt. Ida. A deer ran out right behind you and in front of the car right in front of us. It slipped and scrambled around on the wet pavement. Got it's feet back under it, then headed back the way it came." I know I looked at him blank-faced. That's not what I was expecting to hear and it just didn't register. I didn't think to tell him about the promise I made to God about not riding over my head and He would handle the rest. Well...He did!

We ate lunch...headed out again. Had just a few sprinkles on us the other side of Dierks then the glorious blue sky started showing. We stopped at the next town and shucked the rain gear off and put on sunglasses. The rest of the ride home was sweet! We stopped in New Boston for David Beard's Catfish King...catfish of course.

So. There's the saga. Photos? Yes. I took my camera. No. I didn't take it out of the bag...not once! Like when was I going to have time? Going around those 15 mph TURNS? I'm truly surprised that I didn't get one single photo.

Hopefully this make up for the lack of photos and for this post being like the Energizer bunny...going on and on and on...