Red Rooster

I feel so special.! I was given the opportunity to go to Red Rooster twice in one year!  What is so great about RR?  Well, it is on Smith Lake, so it is way off the beaten path, serene and beautiful (inspirational) scenery.  And all you have to do is relax and wait for the dinner bell.  Yes, they actually ring a bell for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  And my goodness, that sweet little lady (Jennifer) can cook!!  And no dishes.  And no laundry.  And no interruptions.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Several months ago a lady I had not talked to in years, saw my spring RR pictures and invited me to their get together.  Her daughter and Tdawg went to preschool together...gosh, can it be 15 years ago!??  Anyway, her group had space available.  So there were 9 who scrapbooked, 2 who read books (and napped), 1 quilted, and I painted.

Although it did not start out relaxing.  I had to kill a ginormous spider that morning at the house, and had to crawl (less than 20 mph) down the interstate for ten miles with lots of eighteen wheelers.  That just about made me nuts.  You know how it is when a lane closes,  some behave and take turns.  Others have to be first and cause accidents!  Two of the trucks got together and wouldn't let anyone butt ahead.  Good for them! 

So I got to Cullman.  And well, tradition mandated :) that I stop at my fav consignment shop.  My fortune changed because they were having a sale!  Yea me!!  I got a skirt, necklace and well, I call them lauriepalooza pants.  They are stretchy and fun prints.  I wouldn't wear them in public...but they are awesome lounge wear! Don't worry, I won't post any modeling pictures. LOL!  Anyway, I was going to get a pair in spring and so regretted that I didn't.

Then onto RR.

I arrived just in time for lunch. Yea me!!  And what a lunch: BLT salad, and Pimento cheese.  Their pimento cheese was great.  I didn't even know I liked pimento cheese!  I say that a lot about Jennifer's cooking.  During the spring stay it was St. Patrick's day so they Reuben sandwiches.  I thought I didn't like them.  But hers were so good!  Sorry no food pics.  I was too hungry :D

Now that I'm fortified (fat and happy)...on to painting...And a nuclear meltdown.  In all of my packing, repacking and list making.  I forgot my brushes! Waahhhhh.  I really didn't feel up to driving back to town.  I'm sure it isn't that far, but when you already don't know where you are going...  So I dug through my bag.  And found a small pallet knife and made lemonade out of my lemons.

It was a challenge but it worked out pretty well. 

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I told Cletus what happened and sent him these pictures.  He told me to throw out the brushes, that these were my best acrylics yet.  He knows just what to say :)  He truly is a keeper!

Miracle League Mariners - Spring 2014

One of our last games, Tdawg was able to come and pitch.   It was fun to watch both boys out having a good time together.  Miracle League is so uplifting.  Everyone plays.  Everyone wins.  Everyone is accepted, no questions asked.  And everyone leave better than they came.

Another Year

Another year has flown by.  Hard to believe that this time last year we were moving in! 

We have seen our share of wildlife.  Last night we saw seven deer and three wild turkeys.  They are pretty common sightings.  But this one really surprised us: a snapping turtle in the driveway!

We had to call our neighbor, Kevin. He showed us how to pick it up by the tail.  And put it in a box for transport...back to the woods near the creek.  The turtle was quite stinky and not at all happy.  He hissed and snapped like crazy.  Hopefully he has found new living quarters!

KP Baseball

I have been having fun watching my nephew play baseball.  He is getting pretty good!  Still fun to watch the younger kids.  You never know what they will do!     

The Not So Bummer Summer

I am hoping that this doesn't turn into a bummer summer.  I am one week away from getting these cotton pickin' stitches out.  The procedure wasn't too bad, kind of painful.  Done with local anesthesia in the doctor's office.  A few more stitches than I expected (Cletus counted seven). And the stitches really aren't that bad.  But apparently I am allergic to the waterproof bandages.  The adhesive area is now raw and painful.  And in a valiant attempt not to rip my stitches out, I am on limited activities.  No swimming. No golf. No bowling. Nothing too strenuous. Ugh.  That leaves skeeball, putt putt golf and walking.  Ho hum.

Well, it won't last forever.  I have been to the library twice already. It is sad when you read all of the books your favorite author has written.  Can't they write faster?  Catching up on my fav's latest endeavors, I read four books last week.  But now I am forced to try new authors.  So I researched the latest Agatha Mystery author award winners. Wish me luck.

In a Jam

After years of missing out.  I finally went to Brown's Farm at the right time.  Buddy didn't want to pick strawberries (he was having a fussy day), so I bought a tub of strawberries.  Actually, I bought two tubs of strawberries.  Which didn't look like all that much...until I got them home.

That's ok, I'm a pioneer woman.  I used to be a girl scout.  I can do this.  I have never canned before, but I can freeze stuff.  So a short trip to the store later, I had containers and pectin and lots and lots of strawberries.

After a minor excavation, I found Tdawg's protein shake blender.  Pan (check), 3-4 cups pureed strawberries (check), lemon juice (check) and 7 cups of sugar.  Do what??  Find glasses (check). Reread recipe (check).  Yup, SEVEN cups of sugar!  Egads!  Well, I don't have seven cups of sugar.  And I'm NOT going to my neighbor: "'cuse me, can I borrow seven cups of sugar?"  So I use the 3 cups that I have.

Well, in hindsight, I should have used a bigger pan.  We almost had a disaster.  And I don't have a (candy) thermometer.  So I guessed.  Added the pectin and it was a foaming explosion.  Waste not want not.  So the mix (very hot) went back in the blender to de-foam.  And then into containers.

All in all, it worked out ok in the end.  Back to the store again (for sugar) and made a second batch. And we have lots and lots and lots of strawberry...well, not exactly jam.  More like preserves/syrup.  But it is delicious!  I have been having it on my English muffins and it is killer on ice cream!

The Ugly Word

I know one thing, getting old is not for sissies!  They joke about planning their lives around doctor appointments.  That is no joke.  Last month, I had a three hour eye doctor appointment!  It was intense!!  I guess the days of breezing out the doctor's office with just a sticker are over.

Tdawg had an appointment with our dermatologist, Dr. M.  He couldn't make the appointment due to school commitments.  So I took the appointment instead.  I had a something on my foot I wanted removed.  So, while I'm there, I ask Dr. M about a place on my back.  I can't see it hardly at all and it seemed to be hypersensitive (kind of a mole or a scab).  He said that it took priority, the foot could wait. So he cut it off the place on the back and sent it to the lab.

Two weeks later, I go in for the follow up and to take care of my foot.  Dr. M said that the pathology on the spot came back cancerous.  (That UGLY word!  I keep hoping I'll never hear that word again.  It is an odd feeling when you hear the C word, your ears get fuzzy and your mind goes completely blank. Medically, I think it is called "shock").

On a positive note, Dr. M said it is the best of the three skin cancers; basal cell.  He will cut it out in his office the end of this month. There will be a few stitches and no getting it wet for two weeks.  And that should be it.  No chemo.  No radiation.  And probably (hopefully) no other occurrences.  He said that 1/3 of basal cell cancers are sun related.  2/3rds are genetic or unknown.

I don't believe in coincidences.  I think my taking Tdawg's appointment is divine.  And asking Dr. M to look at my back (I was going to just blow it off) was also divine.  I am confident that I will be ok.  But I would appreciate prayers because my mind goes nuts every so often.  I'm fair skinned and have lots of moles, so I start imagining all sorts of things (usually about 2am).

Well, y'all asked...

"Well butter my butt, and call me a biscuit!"
I think I'm turning into one of 'dem crazy county folks.  I met a former neighbor for lunch at Jack's (mercy me). And spent 2-1\2 hours there. I was beginning to wonder I'd the po-lice would come get us for loitering.

Then onto the Dollar General. It is a glorified gas station without gas. You don't have to get all fancied up to go there...even though they have some mighty purdy of 'dem plastic flowers. And Lord have mercy the place was packed! Goodness gracious, all I needed were some hangers.

Welp, y'all wondered what I do all day..

Sadness

March is over.  April is half gone.  Where does time go?  It really does dissolve like snow.

One of my bestest friends is in pain and I don't know how to help.  I know of her pain...it hasn't gone completely away.

I lost my mom when I was 25.  I was young, newly married, living out of state.  I was in denial.  We found out right before Easter, that year, she had Stage 4 lung cancer.  The by-product of heavy smoking since she was a teen (harder knowing she could have made better choices). She was going to fight.  She did radiation and chemo. She hated losing her independence.  She hated losing her hair even more.  She couldn't write (too shaky). She couldn't read (no memory).  She couldn't drive (seizures). But I still didn't think that she would leave before Christmas of that same year.  I was in shock.  I was completely numb and I didn't even know it. (as a side note: don't ever paint a room when you are numb. I guarantee you won't like the color later).

Twenty-six years later, I have been without her more years than I was with her. I'm still upset.  She barely met Cletus.  She never met the boys.  I never got to know her as an adult.  I wanted her back!  I have been cheated!  Then I had a dream.  She was back.  But still sick.  She was going to have to go through the radiation and chemo all over again, because I was selfish and wanted her back.  I guess I grew up that night and realized that some things you just can't change.

I still miss her...everyday.