What's Cooking

We had another cookout last weekend at my parents house. Daddy likes to celebrate Momma's birthday with a cookout every year. I think he likes having company. 

Scout, and Kim, and Layla were on vacation in Panama City so they didn't get to come but Donny, and Colt, and I were there. My two aunts were invited so they came. They had been at the Memorial Day cookout, too. 

I am so happy that Mary and Patsy live in Tennessee and are close enough to come visit often. They are such a delight to be around. They never meet a stranger, and are always cheerful, and uplifting. Every time we are together is a blessing. My aunt, Jonnie Bell, was invited to the cookout but she has lots of health problems and doesn't feel like getting out much anymore. She lives in Chattanooga. It was a very small celebration.

Patsy made a delicious butterscotch pie, and Mary made a yummy lemon meringue pie. I brought a carrot cake with cream cheese icing. Theirs were from-scratch. Mine came from a box. (I say, "Thank ye' aunt Betty. You know Betty don't you? Betty Crocker.") We had plenty of sweets. 

Momma didn't feel very good so she didn't do much. I put the hamburgers on the grill and watched them for a while. Momma brought a bowl out to put the hamburgers and hot dogs on and we went inside into the air conditioning to eat. 

Momma hasn't been out of the hospital long. She has pneumonia. I don't know how long it takes to get over that. She doesn't have any energy and can't breathe well.

Daddy's not much better. He's had heart surgery and stints put in so he huffs and puffs when he is outside in the heat. He didn't use to be like that. When he was young he was a dock worker. He lifted and moved freight all day or night long. He was in good shape. After he retired he didn't exercise and he eventually developed heart disease.

Although there weren't as many people at Momma's birthday party this year as last year, it was a very nice cookout. Everybody pitched in to straighten up and help Momma. It was just family, and just family is just fine. She really should be resting more than she is though. She needs to get well and that's the only thing they recommend when you have pneumonia.


Instead of having a cookout I had offered to cook a turkey and dressing but Momma said that Daddy didn't want turkey. It was the wrong time of year. What the heck? Is there any wrong time for turkey? I don't know. I just thought it would be easier on Momma if I cooked the turkey and brought it to their house. Momma said I could cook the hamburgers and that would help. Well, alright, but I still wanted turkey and dressing after I got to thinking about it. So did Colt.

I had a whole turkey in my freezer. I also had a whole chicken in there. Since Daddy didn't want to eat turkey for Momma's birthday I'd fix something for Colt's birthday. It was coming up. I decided to thaw out the chicken and cook a special birthday dinner for just the three of us, Colt and Don and me. We had dinner Tuesday evening and it was delicious if I do say so myself. I asked Colt what he would like with his chicken and dressing and he asked for macaroni and cheese. Okay, I figured I can do that. I cooked elbow macaroni, and then drained it,  and added a little milk to melt Velveeta cheese in the saucepan on the stove top. I make pretty good macaroni.

Everything was delicious. I had two containers of turkey juice in the freezer that I thawed in the microwave and poured over the crumbled up cornbread. I added a little bit of sage and salt and pepper and tasted it until I got it salty enough. I had added a little water to make it moist enough so I used chicken bouillon to make it more flavorful and salty. It's good to taste test every now and then so it's not too flat or too salty. Every now and then I get everything right. Colts special dinner turned out alright.


Two birthday parties in four days ... This is going to be a great summer.

AS ALWAYS

PIO

This Too Will Pass

                                                           

Time is so elusive, and memories are fleeting. I'm thankful we were born in the age of photography. Cameras have evolved at astronomical speed in my lifetime. The first camera my family owned was a sleek Kodak Brownie. Now everybody has some kind of camera. Make sure to take plenty of pictures and capture the moments of your life. You'll have something to look back on and remember the good old days. 

We had a nice family dinner on Easter. I cooked ham and roast beef for the main dishes. After dinner, we went outside so that Layla could hunt Easter eggs. While Colt hid eggs, Kim and Scout went inside and made water balloons. Once someone threw a balloon and missed their target. Guess who got smacked in the puss! Yeah, right. Me! Oh well. It was all in good clean fun.

I had so much fun cooking for my family and coloring eggs for Layla. Easter wouldn't be nearly as much fun without children to play with during the holidays.

After Easter, we took Colt's car to the body shop to be fixed. He wrecked it a couple of weeks ago. Since he had to go back to Marietta, he's tooling around in the Buick this week. It's the same old, same old. I'm used to everybody borrowing my car by now. We can only hope that Colt has learned a lesson from this wreck and doesn't do it again.

I think the weather and pollen has affected everyone. Colt's been nursing sinus headaches, or migraines, and Donny and I are always clearing our throats. Talk about sounding like a couple of old farts. You should hear us. It reminds me of my grandmother. She was always trying to clear her throat.

The older you get, the more you become like the old people you used to be 'amused by'. My, how the mighty have fallen. Getting old ain't for the weak of heart ... well, maybe it is. Actually, that's exactly what it is. Getting old doesn't have to be boring though. You can always enjoy the perks of being old. You can finally be yourself. Nobody's stopping you.

The other day Kim and Layla picked me up after I dropped off my car to get the odometer fixed. We had breakfast at Denny's before they brought me home. This was the first time that we've ever been out together. I told Layla I had figured out what she could call me and Donny. I think she should call us "Mammy" and "Pappy". That's a twofer. You know what a twofer is don't you? Two for one. I wouldn't mind being called mammy. That makes me smile.

I don't know anything about this granny business but it looks like little Layla and I are going to be together so I'd like to think she likes her old granny Pam, even if she is shy around me. 

Shalom  Y'all!

AS ALWAYS

PIO

Kim's Couch

Little Layla and the couch.

How do you like Kim's couch Momma covered with the help of me and Scout and Kim? That's some bright and cheerful material. I think that couch will be remembered for a long time. 

Kim found the couch at an estate sale for ten dollars. It's very retro with the woodwork on the arms. I think it was probably bought in the 60's and decorated in a French style. I like the modern update. Don't you?

Scout and Kim sanded the wood and then we put several coats of polyurethane on it. Momma covered the couch and worked on the cushions. I helped her tear them back down. She finished everything up Saturday with Scout and Kim's assistance.

I didn't get to go up there this weekend and help them because I have some kind of bug and didn't want to chance being around them all and making them sick, especially Momma. She and Daddy have to watch their health. Momma had those blood clots the summer before last and had to go to the hospital. She doesn't need a chest cold.

I have a sneaking feeling that Colt made me sick. He has been coughing and spitting up for a while now. I figure he passed it on to me. We're always together because I get on the computer in his room and he watches TV in here. He thinks he probably got his cough from the neighbor's kids.

Justin and Sydnei have three little boys who are four and below. Colt said Zack coughed on him and he told the kid to cover his mouth. Zackary thought that was funny so he would run up to Colt and cough on him again and again.

Later on Sydnei said the boys had foot and mouth disease (not to be confused with hoof and mouth disease found in livestock). It's Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. It manifests in sores around and within the mouth or on the hands or feet of children.

Being the paranoid person I am, I think I have foot and mouth disease because Colt was exposed to the germy little rug rats. I doubt mankind will go out with a bang. We'll probably go out with a whimper as we succumb to some odious germ.

Maybe I should start carrying around a can of Lysol and spray for germs everywhere I go. Who am I kidding? They'd lock me if if I sprayed Lysol on kids. Kids are all just little walking petri dishes.

AS ALWAYS

PIO

Random Shots

Bees in November?

I spy two monkeys up a tree.

60 Years Together.

A cheeky monkey ignoring me.

A monkey's mother.

AS ALWAYS

PIO

Layla's Party

Layla is turning five years old. Kim gave her a birthday party Saturday at her house. Scout put up the Halloween decorations. Kim decorated for the party. Together they did a great job. It was a beautiful day for an outdoor party.

The front yard was decorated.

Layla entertained us on the drums.

The Reeves and Burchfields were there.

Layla and her cousin sang for us.

Layla is enamored with Taylor Swift, hense the sequined dress and blonde wig. She got to go to a Taylor Swift concert a couple of weeks ago.  She got a pink drum set for her birthday, too. She's a lucky little girl.


This was the first time we all went to Layla's party. I think our favorite part was watching the kids bob for apples. Layla's grandmother JuJu dunked the kids heads. 


Happy Birthday Little Layla. We love you.

AS ALWAYS

PIO

SEPTEMBER

I created Resaca Rose last year in the hopes that I would be able to share my life and, um, adventures with my family and friends. I have learned so much and have felt so empowered as I learn more and more about the computer world. Whenever I got stuck with something I would ask my son for help. When he wasn't around, or couldn't answer my question, I turned to my wonderful and savvy cousins for advice. Their generosity was limitless. They never left me hanging without an answer, and I am grateful for that. I finally started understanding what I was doing, a little bit at a time. Now I look back and wonder why it took me so long to catch on to everything. 


Computers are so much easier than they used to be. I was a data entry operator. That's a glorified title for a typist. I worked in data entry back in the dark ages. We used keypunch cards. Half of the data team typed in information and the other half verified our work. It was very tedious. If a card was wrong the machine would spit it out and it had to be re-punched. Everything was stored on huge spools of tape. A computer would take up a whole huge room. Terminals, or keyboards and monitors, were in a separate room from the computer. The computers were very touchy and 'wend down' all the time.


At the time I never could imagine the day would come when nearly everyone would have their own computer. Now there are computers everywhere, even on people's portable phones and in their cars. We've come a long way in a short amount of time. I credit the space program for the great strides in technology we have reached today. 


Donny's mother used to be a telephone operator when they lived in Summerville. Donny's daddy was a line man for the phone company. It's hard to believe that every phone call used to have to go through an operator. If it was like that today, half of the population would have to work for the phone companies just to keep up. Just about everybody has a cell phone today.

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It was time to go to my dentist today. My hygienist Rachel cleaned my teeth. Doctor Frank wasn't there. He was in France. Rachel said he went to climb Mount Blanche, but the climb was called off because of a rock slide, or something. On top of that, he lost his passport. I hope he finds it so he can come home. Maybe next time I go to see him I'll get the full story. I told Rachel she was a hit on the internet because people were checking out My Dental Visit.


Our baby girl, Layla, had to go to the dentist, today, also. She's only four years old. The pediatric dentist had to put Layla to sleep. She filled Layla's cavity and pulled her two front teeth. They were damaged and the dentist was afraid they would make her permanent teeth bad. Little Layla will be five in October. Her mother is teaching her to sing, "All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth".

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I forgot to mention that I saw a Model A in Dalton this morning. When I finally caught up with it, I saw Daddy driving. He was going to meet his buddies from the antique car club for coffee. 


After I went to the dentist, I stopped by Momma's and Daddy's to see how they were doing. Daddy came home while I was there. He told me an incredible story. 


Daddy said a woman stopped him one day and asked if she could ask him a question. He said, 'okay'. She asked him for $10 to buy gas because her mother was sick and out of town and she didn't have gas to get there. She offered to give him $10 on her credit card if he would give her gas money. He refused to give her any money. One day, after that, he was home talking to his neighbor, Jack, in the front yard when a little silver car pulled up. The woman driving the car asked Jack if she could ask him a question. She wanted $10 to buy gas to go visit her sick mother. Daddy started yelling at her and told her to get the hell out of there. She wasn't getting any money from them. Jack didn't know what to think until Daddy explained about that woman approaching him before.


Daddy went to visit his car club friends and told them about the woman driving around in a silver Chevrolet soliciting money. Two women told him they had been hit up for money from the same woman. When they started to leave the Burger King, Daddy helped his friend, Jimmy, get into his car. Daddy's other friends, Creed and another guy, were getting into their car when a little silver car pulled up and a red-headed woman asked them if she could ask them a question. She told them she was out of gas and needed money to visit her sick mother. Since Daddy had warned them, both men offered to buy her gasoline at a gas station nearby. She said, 'no' she didn't use that kind of gas. Then she sped off. The men told Daddy about the woman pulling up and trying the same scam on them. Daddy reported her to the police and the sheriff because he was in the city one time when the woman approached him and in the county another time. He got the tag number and reported her.


That woman has been riding all over town and begging people for money to go visit her mother. She is playing on the sympathy of men, and women, so that she can scam them out of money. Don't let anyone play on your sympathy to con you out of your hard-earned money. Use common sense and offer to get her in touch with some organization who can help her, preferably the police. She is only trying to steal money from goodhearted people. Be sure to report her to the sheriff or the police. Maybe they can catch her and make her pay for her duplicity. I hate thieves and liars. Don't you? I especially can't stand a mooch.

Oh yeah, Go Daddy Go!

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Other links to My Dental Visit and JUNE

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Butch, Katy, Kim, Susan, Larry, Corbin, Gail, Melissa, Melody, Erin, Emily, Debbie, Jesse, and to everyone celebrating this month

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY
Resaca Rose
and everyone celebrating this month


RIP
REMEMBER 9-11

Gary McNamer, Robert Burchfield

AS ALWAYS

PIO

Our Celebration

Today was a good day. I raked leaves out of the front yard under the Magnolia trees and put them in the mulch pile outback. It didn't start raining until I got them all up. 

Scout came over to work on his car. He is putting a new carburetor and radiator on his car. He stopped working before it started raining.

We had about three thunderstorms today. The front yard was standing in water  after it started raining so hard. About a month ago Don sowed some grass seeds in the front yard. I hope it will start growing now.

This evening Donny and I went to Kim and Scout's house to celebrate the 4th with them. Kim is a very good cook. The barbecue ribs were delicious. Later we went outside to set off some fireworks and watch Layla swim in her little pool.

Donny had fun playing with Layla in the pool. Kim had fun setting off fireworks. And, naturally, Scout had fun starting a fire. I had fun taking pictures of everyone.

 Scout cleared out the brush in back of their house. Now you can see all the way to the railroad tracks. He also has a little garden at the edge of the woods.

This train had eight engines and no cars on it. It went by while we were standing in the backyard. 

The rain was nice. It cooled everything down and the steam rose off the roads like fog. Today was a great day to spend time with our family. Thanks for a wonderful day Kim and Layla and Scout. Happy fourth of July everyone.

As Always

PIO

Lil Jackets Tball

There is nothing like watching a bunch of four year olds learning to play Tball to make your day. The kids swarm over the ball but don't have a clue what to do with it after they fight over it and get the ball. Fortunately, they don't keep score at that playing level so everyone is a WINNER! I hope you enjoy the pictures of one of Calhoun's LIL JACKETS 2011 season games in May. This is probably the only time in sports that boys and girls are treated as equals.

Layla on base

Playing outfield

Outfield

Layla running

Layla resting

End of game

Momma Kim

Layla's grandmother

Layla's grandfather

Family time

As Always
PIO