Gathering Life: Not In Kansas Any More

August 3, 2011

Not In Kansas Any More

View from our room

I say that I am not in Kansas anymore every time I am blessed with a new uptown experience. I always loved the Wizard of Oz, even though at an early age I was sort or scared to watch it without covering my eyes. I covered my eyes the same way I do now when I watch a really scary movie. The Wizard of Oz was not a bit scary, except for that wicked witch. I used to be and still am a little bit afraid of my own Shadow. I am not afraid of the dark as much. My vacation this year gave new meaning to Dorthy is not in Kansas anymore. I really was totally tickled to be there. I appreciate so deeply the opportunities that have came my way since I have met My. I have done things that many people never will be blessed to experience. Maybe I really didn't smile and laugh more than any of the bunch with us, but I think I did. I know I said many times this is so cool or this is awsome. Love it, I really loved the whole adventure. I am like a huge sponge that wants to soak it all up. We never know what life has in store for us and seizing the moment is something that everyone really needs to do. I also am reminded of the when in Rome saying. This is something I always remind myself to do. In the Bahamas Conk is one of the main foods eaten by the native people there. I like Bubba Gump talked of shrimp had, fried conk, conk fritters, conk salad, conk chowder, conk and conk and conk. Klick beer is the beer of the Bahamas, so I had a couple of those; Well maybe a few of those is more the truth. To get to my gratitude of this experience I always want to remember that I am much more blessed that I once was. OMG my feet were so scrubbed in that spa. I mean really. I have walked those sewing factories till there was nothing but one solid buneon on my feet. These feet are not even my same feet, really. This experience is coming from someone who not so long ago had to put groceries back in the store, because of a previous bad check that was written to feed my girls and I. The times that I came home from work to find the electric people ready to cut off my power where not so many years ago either. I have really so much to be thankful for. I still say a thank you prayer to God each night for giving me someone that makes a great effort to make my life easier than it used to be. Gratitude the one thing that most of us really need to make part of our being.

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Cool Weekend Remember My Chilli

3 pounds ground beef
2 large onions
3 chopped celery stalks
1 chopped garlic clove
1/2 cup bell peppers chopped
1 can chicken broth
1 can beef broth
2 cans rotel chili fixin's
2 cans chili style diced tomatos
3 cans of dark red kidney beans
2 packs McCormick Chili seasoning
Palm full of salt-----Palm full of pepper---Palm full of sugar
Splash of vinegar---Tlbs. or so
Brown ground beef, onion, celery and bell peppers together. Drain Fat
Pour the rest of the stuff in in order listed above except the beans.
Simmer slowly a couple hours or more, then add the dark red kidney beans.

Audrey Hepburn Beauty Secrets

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness. For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people. For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry. For beautiful hair, let a child run his/her fingers through it once a day. For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone. People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands; one for helping yourself, and the other for helping others.

Food Memories

The Pigs were part of our food memories. They provided our sauage for breakfast. The lard we used to cook with. The best meal in the world was the tenderloin with gravy and biscuits. This meal was always what we had the night the pigs were killed. Imagine the pig was all over the kitchen a couple of hours before, then you ate it for supper. His head was even on a sheet in the floor most of the day.We all have memories that are associated with food. There are places that I return to from my past, that I actually get hungry pulling in the driveway. My grandmother was a simple cook. Salt, pepper and lard/fat was her seasoning. She did use sage in dressing. She used too much sage in her dressing. We planted watermelons in the rows that the planter skipped on the Mandy Farm. The Mandy Farm was our cotton patch. The rows were one quarter of a mile long. We planted two rows in water melon; that's a half of mile of watermelon. We could eat water melon the fun way, get your own half and spoon it out. We also dried apples on the barn top and car shed. The roofs were tin so they got very hot and dried the apples quickly. Grandmother's version of a fried apple pie was not fried. She made the turnover and baked it in the oven. This to her was a way to not waste the grease. She buttered them when they came out of the oven. I still think this way is better.

Old Wives' Tales

An old wives' tale is a type of urban legend, similar to a proverb, which is generally passed down by old wives to a younger generation. Such 'tales' usually consist of superstition.

My Grandparents had many of them. I have passed them along to my daughters. Saturday night one of them mentioned this one. Giving me the satisfaction that they had listened to things I truely want to pass on to them. Keeping the wonderful things we recieve from our ancestors.

Bad Luck Wives Tales

*An owl hooting three times in a row.

*Spilling salt – this one can be redeemed by grabbing some of the salt and throwing it over your left shoulder. This is believed to be the way in which to throw the salt into the eyes of the evil spirits that are lying in wait.

*A five leaf clover.

*Putting your shirt on wrong side out.

*A rooster crowing at night.

*Never get out of bed with your left foot first or you will have bad luck all day.

*Breaking a mirror will bring on 7 years of bad luck.

*Singing before breakfast .

*Opening an umbrella inside the house is sure to bring bad luck to the entire household.

Joke of the Day

A very gentle Southern lady was driving across the Savannah River Bridge in Georgia one day. As she neared the top of the bridge, she noticed a young man fixing (ready) to jump. She stopped her car, rolled down the window and said, 'Please don't jump, think of your dear mother and father.' He replied, 'Mom and Dad are both dead; I'm going to jump.' She said, 'Well, think of your wife and children.' He replied, 'I'm not married and I don't have any kids.' She said, 'Well, think of Robert E. Lee.' He replied, ''Who's Robert E. Lee?'' She replied, ''Well bless your heart, just go ahead and jump, you dumb Yankee.'

Watermelon Facts

*Not only does it quench your thirst, it can also quench inflammation.

*Over 1,200 varieties of watermelon are grown worldwide.

*Watermelon is an ideal health food because it doesn’t contain any fat or cholesterol.

*Pink watermelon is also a source of the potent

*There are yellow and pink watermelons.

*Early explorers used watermelons as canteens.

*Watermelon is grown in over 96 countries worldwide.

*In China and Japan watermelon is a popular gift to bring a host.

*In Israel and Egypt, the sweet taste is often paired with the salty taste of feta cheese. Every part of a watermelon is edible, even the seeds and rinds.

They Said It

"When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses." ~~~Joyce Brothers

"Worry is a heavy load, but a kind word cheers you up."~~~ Proverbs 12:25

"If we should live a thousand years, our time is all today, today."~~~James Mongomery

Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be. ~Thomas à Kempis

"You've got a lot of choices. If getting out of bed in the morning is a chore and you're not smiling on a regular basis, try another choice. ~Steven D. Woodhull

"What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step. It is always the same step, but you have to take it. ~Antoine de Saint-

"Don't wait for the Last Judgment. It happens every day. ~Albert Camus
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Gathering Life

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August 3, 2011

Not In Kansas Any More

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