Oh Snap(shots)!

Weekend in Mayo, FL ~ Weekend Encounter for Women

Pastor Tim & Teresa Hamm and the Dorsey's

Wonderful friends!

3/5 of us ~

Avery & me

I am my children's mother.

Dannie & Melanie

I got a smile!

In Good Company

A RAINY, YUCKY DAY
It is raining and thundering like crazy. I can't go for a run. I don't like to run inside so the treadmill at the Y is out. And I am eating way too much Back to Nature 100% Natural Chocolate Delight granola which by the way is a BoGo at Publix this week. 
I bought 4 bags.
Ted, the dog, is scared and is guarding my feet where they reside under my desk. Actually Ted doesn't care about my feet as much as he is simply hiding out under my desk. 
And I am feeling very out of sorts. This happens sometimes.

THE THING
I think I have arrived at that stage in my life in which, when I can't find something I just had in my hand, I FEEL like I am going CRAZY!
And then I dramatically exclaim, "I FEEL like I am going CRAZY!" and then I ask one of my kids or my husband, "Do you think I am going crazy?"
And the reply is usually "no" except when there is no reply. 

They say silence speaks volumes. 


Lately I have been losing coupons and keys. 

THE OTHER THING
My husband and I are really not much alike on a variety of subjects.
He likes naps. 
I don't.
Given the chance, he likes to sleep late.
Sleeping late makes me feel sick and lazy.
When he is stressed, he likes to sleep. 
When I am stressed, I have to move.(I don't mean for this list to be all about sleeping and naps.)
He likes Frosted Flakes. I like the healthy stuff.
He can skip coffee in the mornings. I require 2 or 3 cups.
He can go with the flow. I tend to want to control things.
I tend to use the word "tend" a lot. He typically uses the word "typically." A lot. Typically, that is. 
He pronounces this word: "pecan" like "pee-cahn" and with an emphasis on the "pee" part.
I say "puh-cahn" with an emphasis on "cahn."
He melts butters for his popcorn. I prefer sea salt - no butter.

And that's about it. Not really. But I'll stop now.


This is the point. Although my husband and I have many differences, on the really important stuff ~ we're on the same page.


This weekend we were driving somewhere and I had one of those crazy moments happen right before we left home. It was probably involving keys.


And I said to him, "Seriously, when things like that happen lately, I feel like I am going crazy!"


And he replied, "That's ok. We'll just go crazy together."


And I answered, "Good. 'Cause CRAZY likes company."


See? On the really important stuff, we're a lot alike.

At No Loss for Resolutions

Holidays have the potential of bringing out the best and the worst in a person. And by "person" I mean ME. Can I get a witness? Let's just leave it at this: I have lots of material in which to choose a New Year's Resolution! No details for now, I'll just share a few pictures from the past few days.

My niece and I won the Scrabble game with 139 points and using all of our tiles!

My friend, Amy ~ If you stop by, you have to try "Hookum."

Ted and his new Christmas toy ~ a moose.

This is my face when I focus.

My mother ~

Recipe for Drama

What happens when you combine a dad and his daughter in a small kitchen for Thanksgiving? Mix with an attitude of, "I'm the better cook" and a pinch of family rivalry and you have a recipe for drama!
(But it's all in fun and makes for good memories!)
Wednesday morning, our family drove twelve hours to my parents' home in rural Mississippi. (Whenever I spell Mississippi, I want to break out into the crooked letter, humpback version.)

Thursday morning I began the process of getting our Thanksgiving meal ready. My mother is unable to cook due to health issues, although she did direct my dad on how to make the cornbread dressing before we arrived. I was a little disappointed because I thought I would be under her tutelage for that delicious dish. She makes the best!

My dad is funny.
When we arrived late Wednesday night, the first thing he said when we walked in the door was, "Are y'all hungry. I have a brisket."
There was no, "You made it!" or "How was the traffic?" or even "Hello!"
He shows his love by feeding you.
He loved on us for 4 days!

Marshmallows
As I was adding the praline topping to the sweet potatoe souffle, he suggested I put marshmallows on top.

Me: "Well, I guess I could do half and half. Get me the marshmallows."
Dad: "Oh, I don't have any."

Bacon
My daughter eats gluten free and vegetarian. My Dad planted a garden this year and had put up vegetables in their freezer. I took out some butter beans to prepare them "vegetarian style" as a side dish for my daughter. I told Dad that I didn't use bacon drippings or pork fat to season them for her.

Me: "I just use olive oil and onion."
Dad: "Oh, well why don't you just cut it down to one piece of bacon?"

Pancakes
Friday night I told my son that I would fix pancakes for him the next morning. So first thing Saturday morning, I put on an apron and get the ingredients out for buttermilk pancakes.

"Who wants pancakes?" I ask.
Dad: "I'll eat some."
As I am pouring the buttermilk into the flour, he walks into the kitchen and says, "I just use water."
Me: "I'm not using a mix. I make them from scratch."
Dad: "Well, that batter's too thick. The best pancake mix is that kind that starts with a 'k'."
Me: "Krusteaz. But I don't like to use mixes."

Dad searches around the kitchen and finds his pancake mix. And we both stand at the counter preparing separate pancake batter having our own brand of Throwdown, because it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without some competition in the kitchen.
And while we use a couple of tablespoons of syrup for our pancakes, Dad likes his "swimming in syrup."
He actually says this everytime he eats pancakes. "I like mine swimming in syrup."
And I usually say,"That's too much sugar. Won't that run your sugar up?" He's diabetic!
When I saw his plate, I almost took a picture. The pancakes weren't just swimming. They were drowning. At least he included a life jacket for them in the way of a hunk of butter on top.

And that's what happens when you combine a dad and his daughter in a small kitchen at Thanksgiving. 
Serve warm with LOVE.

~my daughter and my dad reading cookbooks~

My Buttermilk Pancakes
1 1/2 cups flour (I use self-rising.)
2 T sugar
1 large egg beaten
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
1/2 stick melted butter

For how to make Perfect Pancakes, go here.

So, spill the beans...any drama in your kitchen at Thanksgiving? Anything funny happen?

Road Trip

Family in Annapolis
~ Forever A Family of Five~
Always carrying Andrew in our hearts...

We took a road trip last week.
Annapolis, DC, Williamsburg
Cracker Barrel (twice!)
rest areas - too many stops to remember,
AM radio,
We visited friends who offered gracious hospitality.
I had a " first" - eating sushi.
I liked the Crunchy Ebi the best (shrimp).

Joss Cafe and Sushi Bar
Featured on the Food Network "The Best Thing I Ever Ate."
My favorite was the Crunchy Ebi - shrimp, not raw.

In DC on election Tuesday

My favorite place
My heart could barely contain the beauty in this place.

One of my favorites!

"Benedict Arnold" at Colonial Williamsburg

To War.

Gorgeous fall colors!

Don't worry, Babe. I'll get you the best public defender money can buy!

We walk this way.



A Trip to 39483.

We took a trip to zip code 39483 to see my folks. Three of us went. Four if you count Ted, the wonder pup.

When you live in Florida, even the "South" is north.  Just beyond that yellow sign is the creek.

If a dip in the ice cold creek can't cool you off, you're hotter than hot.

After a run around Morgantown, I ran to the creek!

We used to wait all day long for a grown-up to drive us to the creek. Why didn't we walk? It's less than a 1/2 mile down the road from my grandparent's house...where my folks now live.

Sometimes we took a bar of Ivory soap and shampoo and went ahead and took our "baths." I also remember us cousins "baptizing" one another.

See...I guess it's true. Cleanliness is next to Godliness!

 However I think one cousin may have enjoyed holding his "baptizees" under a little longer than was necessary to get the job done.

A mud dauber's nest? Cool cell like architecture...

(I guess I still have the heart of a home schooling mom.)

The bearded one ~ Avery (16). He has a few more days until he has to shave for school!

Avery ran with me while we were visiting my folks. Each time we ran, our last 1/2 mile was in the direction of the creek!

Keep going past the creek, continue uphill about a mile and you come to this!

RED BLUFF

When I was in high school, our church youth group climbed down this. I don't remember my parents having to sign a waiver either.

Turn around, pass the creek again, make a right, cross the RR tracks and you arrive here.

My grandparents pastored this church years ago. When they moved back upon retirement they only had to walk across the road and cross the railroad tracks to go to church.

This is the church that hosted a fish fry with proceeds benefitting our family during the cancer diagnosis. My father, my cousin Joy, and many other cousins and family members worked tirelessly to make it happen! In the middle of it all, it was hard to take in so I'm glad I can say thank you now!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I only wish there had been a different outcome.

But there wasn't and God is still good.

My parents retired here and live in the house my mother's parents used to live in.

I found this picture online. It's from 2008. Imagine my surprise when I saw my dad in the picture. He is sitting on the right side, 2nd pew from the back. He has on a dark suit and his hairline dips down in back. (It's all good, Dad.)

I regularly received encouraging cards from the women's Sunday School class. Thank you, Ladies!

Now if you leave the church and cross the road you will get here.

Mr. Bud's Store & the Post Office

It was the grocery store and the post office. It was run by Mr. Bud. We walked  here with a pocketful of change and bought a little brown sack of candy. Mr. Bud waited on us very patiently. It was a tough decision. The orange pixie stick or the purple one. The jawbreaker or the bubble gum. The red hots or the wax lips. But back then, we could get it all for less than a dollar!

My grandparents' p.o. box # was "18."

And I leave you with this sweet ending.

Mother and Dad have a fig tree and a peach tree. Mother had picked all the peaches that were left and Dad and I picked the few figs that were ripe.

He had already picked some before I got there.

I decided to try a combination of fresh peach and fresh fig cobbler.

It was delicious!

The food critic agreed.

I didn't have my camera and didn't know how to adjust Avery's for the lighting. Too bad. Just take my word for it, Dad liked it. So did Mother.

P.S. If you are ever at the "triangle" in Foxworth, look for the little yellow building and get yourself a custard. I suggest the vanilla custard with cheesecake bites mixed in and added to the top.

You'll thank me.

But be warned. There is a sign at the window of the custard shop which reads,

"We do not take money from undergarments."

So now you know.

Mad Dog & A Win~Win

Very early in the morning...last Sunday morning, our alarms went off at 4:45. We arose in the dark, dressed and drove our girl to Madeira Beach for her first triathlon. She swam in open water for a 1/2 mile, biked 15 miles and ran a 5k in the Madeira Beach Mad Dog Triathlon.

Before it began...

The swim ~ She's the one in the white cap!

Transition from biking to running

Afterwards with Dad

With Mom

Saturday night we were sitting in the living room discussing our game plan for the Mad Dog Triathlon when this exchange ensued.

My husband: "Audra's built for triathlons."

Me: "What am I built for?"

Son: "Making sandwiches."

Wamp, wamp, wamp, waaaaaamp.

Sunday morning my husband left me with the car so he could help Audra set up her bike.

I had my first cup of coffee on the 25 minute drive. And I brought our giant Tervis tumbler filled with ice water.

I waited and waited, finished my coffee and sipped on the water.

And then I held it and held it. Know what I mean, Vern?

We were parked in a dentist's office parking lot. I got out to cross over to the Winn Dixie. Not open 'til 7:00. It was 6:15. CVS - not open 'til 8:00. I walked a little ways to the staging area for the triathlon in search of a porta potty. Desperation had set in. Ah....yes! Porta potties! Ah....no way. A long line of triathletes waiting their turn.

So I high tailed it (pun intended) back to our car. What to do? What to do? Bushes...too public. Knock on a stranger's door? Too embarassing. (Yes, more embarassing than the bushes!)

Look in the back seat for something. Anything. Another Tervis tumbler. But it was the regular size not a giant one. And I drank a lot of water.

Let's see. A tumbler and a beach towel. What would MacGyver do? Forget MacGyver. I didn't have a rubber band anyway. What does a desperate woman with a full bladder do?

A glance at my watch. 30 more minutes 'til the Winn Dixie opens.

I opened the back door of the car. If I scrunch down and cover up with the towel and...

"What are you doing?" My husband! Yes!

"Well, I was about to tee tee in a Tervis tumbler."

"Get in. There's a McDonald's around here."

So I didn't have to use the Tervis and I got a sausage biscuit for breakfast.

Win ~ Win

Nature, Nest, Nurture

This is the Fierce Mama Bird. Yesterday my son and I noticed how big the baby birds had grown. Their smart mama built a nest in our Christmas poinsettia plant right outside our front door. Poinsettias thrive in a tropical environment so ours last forever. Just when we were about to remove it, however, we saw Fierce Mama Bird had built a fine little nest. We have watched her sit on her eggs until finally they hatched. Then we watched as she fed her birds. Fierce Mama Bird has fed her babies multiple lizards and other treats from our yard!

When we saw how big the babies were, I told my son, "She'll be teaching them to fly soon."

Shortly after that comment, I walked to our mailbox and saw the empty nest! I grabbed my camera and followed the chirping. I found them. But Fierce Mama Bird was still on guard! Go, MAma! Go MAma!

FIERCE MAMA BIRD

THE EMPTY NEST (outside our front door)

I'LL FLY AWAY, OH GLORY...
(two of the four baby birds...learning to fly)


RESIDENT BUNNY

MEL & TED AT THE DOG PARK

Andrew watched and waited for this park near our home to open. As my husband and I rode our bikes there Saturday, we were a bit wistful that Andrew had not been able to enjoy this park. But we both concluded, Andrew has far better. We love our boy and miss him terribly each day. Yes, we are smiling and even laughing again...but just underneath our smiles and in our laughter, there is a longing for Andrew to be present in our everyday lives. We console ourselves with the fact that Eternity is far greater than 12 years and 7 1/2 months. But, oh, how the emotion...the sadness and the grief...roll in like the waves of the ocean.

HONEYMOON ISLAND (summer '09)

ANDREW PUSHES US ON THE BEACH SWING HONEYMOON ISLAND ~

summer '09

My Handsome Son, Avery



AVERY STANDING ON THE ROCK

IN THE WILD BLUE YONDER


AVERY UPSIDE DOWN

This morning I am off for an adventure in the wild with my JENuine friend. Today for our Wednesday morning walk, we have a surprise planned for a couple of boys. Audra is in on it and will be our videographer. 'Should be fun. There are fake mustaches and lip gloss involved! Oh...and nature...and maybe a nest...and some nurture, too?

Edited to add: I totally forgot to use the fake mustache but we did remember the lip gloss. Audra recorded EVERYTHING. As long as my friend is agreeable, I'll share it here and on FB. We laughed so hard and you will not believe what we did. She, is indeed, my "Rain or Shine" friend. Today the sun shined.