I got a message from a neighbor yesterday...

I got a message from a neighbor yesterday... "Is that one of your little dogs constantly barking like in distress?" Me: day or night? and she answered "both". Yes, I'm afraid that IS one of my little dogs barking in "distress"... but not for the reasons you may think. You see, my little Ruby LOVES her blankies. She loves to be covered up, and has done this since we first got her, 6 years ago, as an adult rescue... Ruby will curl and circle under her chosen blankie, until she's cocooned like a little mummy. But 40 seconds after I cover her, she decides that she needs a drink... or to pee... or to grab a single bite of kibble. Then the whining and yipping for "help me get wrapped up again, Mom!!" starts all over again. And God forbid, if one of the other dogs have the nerve to lay on, or even touch "her" blanket, or if I have all her blankets in the wash at the same time. I can wash, dry and fold her blankets, but if I give her the wrong one... she'll yip and bark and whine and carry on like it's the end of the world, until she gets the one she absolutely "needs". Last nights yipping/barking brouhaha was because Dennis Hopper (the toad) was SITTING on her blanket, eyeing a cricket, and she wanted him gone immediately! I moved Dennis, but then Ruby decided that her blankie was now contaminated by toad cooties, and she wanted a nice fresh blanket. Yip yip, whine whine. No... not the clean red one, Mom... no, not the pink one either... "I only want the fuzzy green and white striped blankie right at this exact moment, but that might change in a few minutes." Once I covered her up correctly, she settled right down, with a huge sigh of contentment. But then 30 seconds later, she decided she needed a quick drink of water and to potty... *sigh* So the never ending cycle started all over again. It's caused arguments with Dan and I, always revolving around whose turn it is to cover little Ruby up again... Unfortunately, I usually have to deal with the graveyard shift because Dan can't hear her. But the neighbors can? I think I'm being manipulated on two fronts here...

Where does the time go?

 Seriously... where does it go?  I had every intention of blogging more regularly, especially now that I'm retired and don't have to try and fit precious "me time" into my day, anymore.  

But I guess like Robert Burns said,  

"The best laid plans of mice and men, often go awry."

Or maybe it's just a simple matter of finally living my life to suit myself, instead of letting life rule me.

Whatever it is, I know that I miss having this special, small amount of time to blog on a regular basis.  I'm going to try harder, and hopefully schedule some of the early morning hours, for spending time on here. I'm usually up at 4am or so, but the "at 'em" part sometimes takes a little longer to kick in.  Not that it's wasted time...

Oh no!  It's never wasted!

Sitting outside at 4am with a cup of coffee or two, enjoying the snugly company of our cats and dogs, listening to the wild birds waking up, and the Whippoorwills singing their final songs before their bedtime... all the while spending some much needed time with my Lord...  Well, it's the perfect way to start to my day.

But the rest of the day?  Pffft!  Who knows what happens to it?

Gardening, (it's going abysmally this year, due to what seems like never ending rain) planting native trees and plants all up and down the hillsides on the property, trying to fit in creek time, along with housework, trying new-to-me recipes or our old favorites...  well, it seems that the days just fly by.  

I really want to do this, so we'll see how it goes.

I've got a hankerin'...

Old Fashioned Stewed Taters

  
Seriously, is there anything more comforting than Stewed Potatoes?

If you were raised in the South or if you were just raised by a transplanted Southern Mama, you grew up eating stewed potatoes at least a couple of times a month, if not every week. 

 

And since my oldest sister Sue looved her some potatoes for dinner, we had  potatoes in just about any shape or form, for most meals.  I'm not real big on potatoes myself, but this recipe was definitely my favorite way to eat them. After I married, I had to ask my Mama how to make them, because my "then husband" kept asking for stewed taters, but we were always disappointed with the results.  

 

With this recipe, and with my Mama's patient help, I finally perfected her Old Fashioned Stewed Taters.

Ingredients

• 6-8 large potatoes (peeled and cubed, about 1-inch cubes)
• salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• ½ cup water
• ½ cup milk
• 3 tablespoons butter

Instructions

1. Peel and cube the potatoes, put in a medium pot and fill with water until it's about 2 inches above potatoes.
2. Bring to a boil (just cook the potatoes until they're fork tender, but not falling apart.)
3. After the potatoes are done, keep them in the same water you cooked them in and reduce to a low heat. (or you can pour off most - but not all - of the water like I do, because I usually use added milk for extra richness)
4. Put the flour and half cup of milk in a measuring cup or bowl and blend with a whisk until the flour is dissolved.
5. Stirring constantly, but carefully, add the dissolved flour and water into the pot with the potatoes and water. Allow a few minutes to cook on simmer so that it can thicken.
6. Add more flour if you want it thicker, or a little more water or milk, if you want it thinner.
7. Add a good chunk of butter, some salt and pepper,  or you can use bacon grease instead of butter, if you like them that way. 
8. Season to taste, and enjoy!

 

Happy Birthday to my Etchy June...

   

I was sitting outside this morning with my first cup of coffee for the day, thinking of my youngest sister celebrating her 1st birthday in Heaven today. 

She would have / should have, been 63 today.

So I was talking to God like I always do in the early mornings, and I asked him to tell my sister Leslie, that I was thinking of her on her birthday. 

When we were little, I could never say "Leslie June", so the best I could do was call her 

"Etchy June".

 And "Etchy June" is what she remained to me, for all of her life - up until her death in May of last year.

Suddenly, I was treated to 7-10 beautiful Cardinals feeding right in front of me! (they were hard to count, because they kept kept hopping and moving around!) 

 If Cardinals are visitors from Heaven like the old-timers say, then I was truly blessed with a visit this morning!! Instead of gifting my baby sister Leslie on her birthday.... 

I think she was gifting me.

Happy Birthday to my baby sister...

Up The Holler

Up The Holler

After far too many days of freezing temperatures keeping me from going outside, we've finally warmed up today!  I think Dan said that we're up to almost 47° right now, which means it's warmed up 25 ° since I got up this morning!

It's lovely outside right now, so I decided to head  up the road across from our house, and do some exploring up the holler leading up to Miz Elizabeths old house up on the hill.

Nobody lives there anymore, because the house is falling apart, but it's one of my favorite places to just sit and soak up the peace and quiet, and the natural beauty.

I headed out without taking my gun, so I decided that I wouldn't go too far up the holler... because running into feral hogs is not the best way to start your day out right.

More than likely,  you'll end up finishing your day - permanently.

Hogs are not our friends.

Everything is still pretty bare up that way, but I find that it's breathtakingly beautiful, just the same.
Or maybe it's because of that
.
God's beauty is wondrous, isn't it?

 

We got this!

I've missed blogging.

  

I mean I've seriously missed it.

  

It was deeply satisfying to me, and it was "my" thing for so many years.

Some folks can do all sorts of lovely talented things.....  

they can knit or crochet up a storm... 

they cook wonderful things to eat... 

 they paint beautiful paintings...

 they putter in their gardens... 

 they can sew fantastic quilts 

Or they even make adorable tutu's for their piggies or chickens.

Me?

I always loved being able to put my thoughts down in writing.

And, on the plus side, it's somewhat more  "socially acceptable" to blog  random thoughts, 

 Rather than to be caught muttering to oneself.

In the wrong circumstance, that can be not only deeply embarrassing, but it does get one some funny looks, as well.

But if you're a blogger and you're caught muttering to yourself, you can just brightly say:

"Oh, I am  sooo sorry!   I was just trying to work out what I planned on writing about.  You know... on my BLOG.  I really didn't mean to be talking out loud".

And off they go, hopefully semi-convinced that you're you're simply an undiscovered aspiring writer...

And not just some complete nutter.

So, my dear friend Connie and I have now made a pact, that we will encourage one another to write, and that we'll both be more diligent about posting.

I'll do my best,  Connie.

Please head over and check her out at:

http://overgoodground.blogspot.com/

Do YOU blog, or do you have favorite blogs that you follow?

Please leave the names or links in the comments.

We can all use some encouragement, girlfriend.

 

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday