Category: family

Day 6

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still making better meal choices. We had dinner out friday night, but once in a 5 day period is honestly unheard of for us. we rarely cook even one meal at home during the week.

spent the afternoon today with the kid, we cleaned and decluttered the desk and shelf unit in my old office room and then i helped her sort through a bunch of boxes she had stored here in her old room. we made great progress! what a feeling of accomplishment!

there were some tears as we stumbled across things that would evoke a sudden memory of some we have lost (a rock of all things was my kryptonite today), but that was tempered by finding silly forgotten things like this…

and these fangs! and bow tie!

and i still can’t find my pecan…

2018, family, laugh until you can't breathe, memories, twentyeighteen, Uncategorized

happy new year

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2016 was not a terrible year, we played some games,  got to travel a bit, visit family and celebrate their special day.  met some new friends and found a new friday night hangout place.  got some visits from family and friends as well.   looking forward to 2018 and new adventures.

 

family, photography

my mom is magic!! and merry christmas

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i am going to flip the script a bit here, this wasn’t a strange phone call from my mom, it was a strange phone call to my mom!

so christmas eve day found my daughter and i making an old family cookie recipe that involves rolling and cutting the dough,while the boys talked about video games and got started on the holiday cheer. we followed the instructions and go the dough mixed up and it held together well in the bowl (as expected)

however when we tried to take a ball and roll it out on the counter it broke apart. we thought we should add a bit more milk, but i never bake and the kid leans more toward cupcake mastery, so we did the smart thing and called mom/grandma for help. i described in detail what was happening, that it seemed right in the bowl but wasn’t quite ready when being rolled. she thinks for a second or two and says, add 2 tablespoons of milk and mix it all in.

and i shit you not, from 1500 miles away, that woman somehow looked at my bowl, might have even kneaded it a little in some magical way and knew not only that we needed more milk but exactly how much we needed. MAGIC I SAY!

P.S. the cookies were excellent.

Spicy griddle cookies (no need for the oven)

3 1/2 cups sifted all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp pumpkin or apple pie spice

1 cup shortening

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

stir dry ingredients together in bowl, cut in shortening til mixture is mealy. Beat egg and milk together, add to flour and mix until well blended.

Roll out 1/4 in thin and cut into desired shapes.

Heat griddle until water drops ‘dance’ on it. Lightly greas griddle, place cut outs on it leaving space between cookies

Flip when tops become ‘puffy’. makes around 4 dozen 2 inch cookies

Best served warm

cookies, family, strange phone calls from mom

T99, wait no 99k

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So as i sit here this morning enjoying my coffee and a quick crossword puzzle before the rest of the household begins to stir, the phone rings.

i see my mom’s name on the screen and know it is time for  a strange phone call from mom!

i can hear a  lot of background noise and realize it is an auctioneer going a mile a minute, and Mom says, ” i need you to do me a favor ASAP look up a singer T99 and see if it is a featherweight.”

To many this may seem like gibberish, but i hopped into action and googled “Singer T99 Sewing Machine “.Mmom confirms she can’t get too close to it so isn’t sure of the model number, my google search comes back with a 99k in a search result and just about then she confirms it is indeed a 99k   As i read to her from one of the links, that it is not a featherweight, but appears to be the precursor to such and it comes in just under 30 lbs.  we discuss the prices on the ebay/etsy listings and she determines her highest bid and we disconnect the call.

i love my mom and as always, you know that i feel it is important to tell people you love them, even if it is simply by asking for an auction item lookup and delivering said data in a quick, concise response 😀

I will update later with the results, did she get it, or did someone bid higher?!  (i know you can’t wait for the results)

family, sewing, strange phone calls from mom

Giving Thanks

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I was lucky enough to spend Thanksgiving ‘back home’ with my parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews and a random of assortment of other family and friends.

Had a chance to visit with cousins i have not seen since before we moved from Missouri in 1986, and catch up with others i see somewhat more often but not nearly often enough.

It reminds me to revisit an old post as part of this one.  i know i say it a lot, but i don’t think it can be said too often.

I ask you now to take a moment and look around you… literally and figuratively… look at the people who are and have been part of your life. The ones who are still there and the ones who are not. The ones who are there, do you make sure they are aware of their importance in your life. Do you thank them for the things they do and tell them you love and/or appreciate them and their presence in your life? Now the ones who are not there… some we obviously can’t do anything about they are beyond our reach, lost to us and there will always be a piece of our heart missing, but some, SOME, we can still reach out to and try to mend that rift and see if there is a way to bring them back into our lives. We might not even be aware of what caused them to pull away, or we might know exactly what it was, we may need to give or ask for forgiveness.

I understand this may need some thought, and i fully understand not all rifts can be mended. It might not be something that can be decided right now, all I ask is that you look around and think about it. Can you really live without that person for the rest of your life, without that forgiving or forgiveness? Think about the part they have played in your life up to now, and what has been missing since they stopped being part of your life. Now imagine you don’t have a chance to make up for lost time.

 

img_2511 img_2477 img_2415 Thanksgiving

family, memories, random mutterings

mending the rift

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I will tell you something not a lot of people know…  my big sister and I had a very very big fight a few years before she died, she actually didn’t speak to me unless it was to yell at me for about 6 months, what I did wasn’t really that bad, it was completely necessary, even. In time she realized it, ‘forgave’ me and even thanked me for what I had done that had caused the rift between us.

3 months ago on the morning that she passed away, all I could think of was how glad I was that that rift had been mended and we were again as close as we had been before it happened.  She was again one of my best friends and someone I could count on to be there for me as I would be there for her.

I can’t imagine how much greater the pain of her passing would have been if we hadn’t resumed our regular conversations about absolutely nothing, and absolutely everything…

I ask you now to take a moment and look around you… literally and figuratively… look at the people who are and have been part of your life. The ones who are still there and the ones who are not. The ones who are there, do you make sure they are aware of their importance in your life. Do you thank them for the things they do and tell them you love and/or appreciate them and their presence in your life?  Now the ones who are not there… some we obviously can’t do anything about they are beyond our reach, lost to us and there will always be a piece of our heart missing, but some, SOME, we can still reach out to and try to mend that rift and see if there is a way to bring them back into our lives. We might not even be aware of what caused them to pull away, or we might know exactly what it was, we may need to give or ask for forgiveness.

I understand this may need some thought, and i fully understand not all rifts can be mended. It might not be something that can be decided right now, all I ask is that you look around and think about it. Can you really live without that person for the rest of your life, without that forgiving or forgiveness? Think about the part they have played in your life up to now, and what has been missing since they stopped being part of your life.  Now imagine you don’t have a chance to make up for lost time.

Feel free to share this post if you think others can benefit from it. Family is too precious to let petty grievances keep them apart.

family, random mutterings

So, there i was…

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standing in the kitchen looking confused, trying to figure out what to have for lunch.  tomato soup was an option as was some chef Boyardee something in a can. (it doesn’t matter which variety, they all taste pretty much the same).  and then as I peeked into the fridge one more time I realized I had all the fixings for the perfect meal. it doesn’t matter if you are making breakfast, lunch or dinner, all you need is an egg and slice of white bread and maybe some butter (bacon grease is better, but we don’t really have that on hand on a regular basis).. and then the masterpiece is born, just take a circle shaped object and use it to cut out a circle from the center of the bread, melt a little butter and toss the bread in the skillet.  crack your egg and throw it in the little circle and a few minutes later flip it all over and wait a little longer and BOOM you’ve got a TOAD IN THE HOLE, bitches!2013-06-25 12.07.41(i definitely forgot to take a before picture 🙂 )

i can’t begin to imagine the number of these delightful little bits of food perfection i have eaten over the years, but most memorable are the ones my Grandma fixed me as a child, mine never seem to be quite as good, but once again, those memories get me every time i make one, if i close my eyes as i eat it, i am sitting on the swing in the trees, or sitting on a stool at the table, listening to the radio and my grandparents and cousins chattering away.  time has a way of pushing those memories to the side, or even the back of your mind, so it is always a pleasure when i find something that brings those memories rushing to the front.

clearly my posts lately are on a full on nostalgia kick, i hope that if you aren’t one of my cousins or sisters so these posts don’t bring back a shared memory, that they at least bring you back to a place when you knew that fun and happiness were just a quick ride to Grama’s house away.

here is a picture  (and recipe) from Allrecipes.com 34393[1]

family, memories, random mutterings

Hummingbirds = Love

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IMG_3132IMG_3192

Hummingbirds were my maternal grandmothers favorite bird. i took these this afternoon and they always bring her to mind, she would have been 94 on feb 11, but she passed away in 2011. I am blessed to have so many hummingbirds at my house year round  and i try to keep the feeder filled with sweet sugar water, because i know when i see them flitting around that she is with me. growing up she and my grandfather were just a few miles away, a trip i took many times on my bicycle or motorcycle growing up. Even as an adult after i moved over a thousand miles away,  i still took time at least once a year to get back ‘home’ and visit with her.

My grandmother on my dad’s side was also a lover of animals and always had a dog around, she even once had a pet wild squirrel she rescued as an orphaned baby.  She would have been 95 next month. although she passed away in 1981 I was lucky enough to live next door to  her and spend time with her nearly every day for all of those 11 years.

Family is precious, you may not love all of yours all the time, but remember we only have each other for a short while and we don’t know how long that will be.  So tell them you love them, and spend as much time with them as you can.

family, memories, photography, random mutterings

The Hunt

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As they speak in hushed voices, the telltale sound of the dogs gets louder. She shares her thoughts, he listens and replies.
They can tell by the sounds of the baying that the dogs are closing in on their prey.
Howling voices getting louder, shoulders tense, eyes begin to dart to the side of the path. They glance at one another to gauge readiness.
Suddenly a gray flash as the rabbit crosses ahead; too late the gun comes up! More time for her and her dad to talk as they listen to the beagles and the rabbit begin another circle…

For more 100 word stories jump on over here http://madisonwoods.wordpress.com/flash-fiction/pathways/



family, friday fictioneers

Happy Mothers Day! #photoadaymay

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Happy Mothers Day to my mom, over at Oldentimes.wordpress.com. she raised me up, taught me right from wrong, then at some point had to cross her fingers she had done it all right and stand back and let me make my own choices.  hopefully, i have made more good choices than bad, and she is as proud of me as i am to be her daughter.

i took this picture when she was out to visit me in california last spring.  hopefully she can come back soon, cause we have a lot more trouble we can get into 🙂

family, memories, photography
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