A Christmas Tradition/ Breakfast

I made these one year for Christmas breakfast and somehow it became a tradition. Because they "wilt" in High humidity, I make these Chrismas morning...not Christmas Eve.This recipe makes 16 to 20 cream puffs.

Cream Puffs-

1 cup butter

2 cups boiling water

2 cups sifted flour

½ tsp. salt

8 eggs

Melt the butter in boiling water. Add flour and salt all at once and beat with a spoon until thoroughly integrated. Stir until the mixture forms a ball that doesn’t come apart. Remove from stove and let cool slightly. Add the eggs one at a time beating well with electric mixer. (The only leavening in this recipe is the eggs, so if you don’t beat well with a heavy duty mixer, you will end up with flats not puffs) Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls 3” apart on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 400° for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and “pull” the tops off. Fill when cooled.

(By the time I get the filling made they are usually cool enough to fill)

Cream puff filling -Makes enough for 16-20 cream puffs (if I don’t double the cream puff recipe, I let the kids have the extra.)

3/4 c sugar

3Tlb. Cornstarch

¼ tsp salt

2 c milk

2 slightly beaten egg yolks

2Tlb. butter

1 tsp vanilla

In a sauce pan, blend sugar, cornstarch and salt; slowly add the milk and mix. Cook, stirring constantly over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Cook two more minutes and remove from heat. Stir a little of the hot mixture into the beaten eggs, then stir the egg mixture back into the hot mix. Return to heat and cook 2 more minutes, then add the butter and vanilla. Remove from heat. Spoon into opened cream puffs (about 1Tlb each and replace tops. Sift confectioners’ sugar over finished cream puffs and serve.

These don’t keep well they lose their “crustiness” after only a few hours. I always make then Christmas morning although the kids don’t seem to care when they get soft, they eat them anyway.

Jessica was Blessed

Christmas is almost here! Today I will post my buried cherry cookie recipe. It is Jessica’s favorite, which in turn reminds me of one of m favorite “Jessica” stories…

Jessica was 4 years old, and generally went to the “nursery” when we attended church, but one year we went to Florida for Christmas and attended the midnight service at St Giles Episcopal Church on Christmas Eve.  When we went forward for communion, we had Jessica cross her arms. After Father Mike gave me communion, He touched Jessica’s  head and said “God Bless You”. After arriving back at our seats, Jessica leaned forward to call me, speaking around her father and brother.  Below is the conversation that followed:

“Psst!, Mom!”
“Shusssh, what?”
“I been Blessed!!!”
 “Yes.”
(even louder) “ MOM!”
“What!”
“How long does it last??!”

I know that Father Mike wondered why there was all that laughter in our section. It was years before I could convince Jessica to take communion….She always preferred to be Blessed!

Jessica’s Buried Cherries

½ c butter

1 c. sugar

1 egg

1 ½ tsp vanilla

1 ½ c. flour

½ c. unsweetened cocoa powder

¼ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

1-10 oz jar maraschino cherries

1 -6 oz package (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips

½ c. sweetened condensed milk

In a large bowl beat butter until soft, add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, beat well. In a second bowl, sift together, flour, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, beat well and shape into 1 inch balls on ungreased cookie sheet. Press down center slightly with your thumb. Drain cherries reserving 4tsp cherry juice. Place a cherry in center of each cookie.

In a small sauce pan, combine chocolate chips and condensed milk and stir constantly on low heat until the chocolate melts. (This can also be done in the microwave).Stir in the 4 tsp of reserved cherry juice. Spoon a scant teaspoon over each cherry, spreading to cover the cherry. Bake in a 350° oven for 10 minutes or until the edges are firm.

PB Fudge and Rickie Elkins

Jessica has a friend from high school who loves this recipe. I always made him a batch when he was home on leave, and mailed him a batch for Christmas when he was stationed in South Dakota.
When he was stationed in Iraq I received an e-mail that said:
Mrs. C,
Love you, send fudge.

I replied:
It is so hot there it will probably arrive melted!

His answer:
That’s OK, I’ll drink it.
I made the fudge, put in double zip lock bags and mailed it off! Here is the recipe:

Never Fail Peanut Butter Fudge -This recipe makes 5 pounds.1 jar (18 oz) peanut butter (crunchy or smooth)
1 jar (7 oz) marshmallow cream
1 stick butter
1 can 12 oz) evaporated milk
5 cups of sugar

In a bowl combine peanut butter and marshmallow cream, stir well, and set aside. “Butter” bottom and sides of 13X9 inch pan.
In a heavy pan on medium heat, combine butter, evaporated milk (NOT sweetened condensed milk) and sugar and bring to boil stirring constantly. Boil exactly 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter and marshmallow cream. Pour into pan.

This recipe makes 5 pounds.

On Christmas Traditions

We are just a few days from Christmas and I am done with presents, baking, and sewing. I delivered cookies to past clients yesterday. I am always doing these things Christmas Eve!  How is it that I have it all done? Today is grocery shopping day and I will be working on my database for work but seems like I actually don't have to do everything in emergency mode. Wahoo!

Christmas is a busy time for all of us. Some of us just plain love the season; others use it as an escape. Some of us do both. Some years I jump in to avoid "real" life- the year my mother passed comes to mind. Last year was one of those "love of the season" years.

I’m having a love hate relationship with the holiday this year. Money is tighter than it has been (isn’t that true for most of us in this economy).  But, I decided that the decorations that didn't get put up this year by December 10th weren't going up. That means the snowman toilet seat cover didn't get put on the seat. The sky didn't fall!  I'm wondering if Bryonna would like to have the bathroom decorations…I’m thinking I will make that December 10^th deadline a “new” tradition.

 At our house this year lots of family traditions are changing. That’s what happens when babies come along. I'm ambivalent on this one: I have always awakened my children on Christmas morning around 5 am, and we open the tree, watch a movie, and eat cream puffs for breakfast. This year we have Ellie (and my new great granddaughter in Wisconsin). Ellie doesn’t get up at 5 am for anyone, not even Grandma Chick.  We will have our “tree” at noon this year. I don’t know how many years this new tradition will hold. I expect more babies will come along…and we will have to be flexible on “tree” times.  OK, maybe I am not so ambivalent on this one-I’ve decided that for more babies, I’m very willing to make that change.

Balish (Cookies)

315 days until I am 60! This second cookie post is my personal favorite.

1 Pkg. Yeast                        

½ c. sour cream

4 c. sifted flour

½ tsp salt

1 ¼ c. butter

3 egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla

Confectioner’s sugar

1 can Solo (brand) apricot filling

Stir the yeast into the sour cream, set aside. Sift flour and salt together, cut butter into the flour. Add egg yolks and vanilla; work into flour with a fork. Add sour cream and yeast and work into dough. Chill one hour to overnight.

Preheat oven to 400°. Divide into 10 balls and roll out like a pie crust using confectioner’s sugar instead of flour on rolling surface. Cut dough into 8 wedges (like a pizza) drop  ¼ tsp of filling onto wide end of each wedge, roll up and place on a foil lined baking sheet. You can put approximately 40 cookies on a sheet.

Bake 9-10 minutes, remove from oven, and sift confectioner’s sugar over the warm cookies.

This makes 80 cookies, you can substitute fillings to suit your taste, and the cherry filling is also a favorite at my house.

Red Velvet Cookies

I have just received my fifth request for a Christmas recipe. For the next few days, besides my regular blog I am going to post one of them. My red velvet cookies are always a big hit, easy to do and very pretty.

1 Box Duncan Hines Red Velvet Cake Mix (I buy whatever is on sale.)
2 eggs 1/3 cup oil
Mix all ingredients together. This will make a nice cookie dough. Roll into balls and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet.  (I use a ½ tsp measuring spoon and make is slightly rounded) Flatten down slightly Bake at 375° until the tops crackle (about 7-10 minutes) or until desired doneness. Cool and then frost with cream cheese frosting
Cream Cheese Frosting1 8 ounce package cream cheese -- softened
1/4 cup stick margarine or butter -- softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 To4 cups powdered sugar
Beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla in medium bowl with electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Add powdered sugar until desired consistency.
The smaller you make the cookies the shorter the cooking time. This recipe makes 18 large (10 minute cooking time) sandwich cookies or about forty 1½ inch. (7 minute cooking time)

Everyone needs a hobby!

I went to the doctor and my blood pressure was 172 / 90, so I had to have Jessica come over every day for two weeks and take my BP and write it down. When I went back to the doctor, she looked it over – and told me whatever I had done the day it was 112/70- I should do every day. I asked for a note to my husband telling him I must paint for 2 hours every day after work and no more cooking and cleaning. Unfortunately she just laughed.

This story is my way of saying “Get a Hobby!”

I like to keep busy. I do lots of things with my hands, I paint rocks, (see the above "Eagle" paperweight), walls and canvases, I sew anything from wedding dresses to doll clothes. I smock and crochet.  I bake cookies, pies and breads. Some of these things I do well, not fabulously mind you, but well. Some of these things are only acceptable for someone who really loves me.  I once told a friend that I’m a jack of all trades- she replied “ No, no, no, Mary Beth- You’re a Renaissance Woman.” While I like the sound of that, I know the truth! -Obviously I am ADD and unable to stay focused on any one thing.

 I have also decided that “art” type hobbies skip generations. My grandmother sewed, she even taught me to make a pattern. My mother sewed only when she had to. She knew how, but probably only because most women in her generation did. My mother did embroidery, and OMG her work was beautiful. When I was 10 or 11 she taught me. I’d bring my work to her, and she’d turn it over and look at the back to see if I’d made a mess. I truly hated that!

Embroidering names on Christmas stockings is the extent of my work. My daughter Jessica learned to embroider as a teen, when she brought me her work…you guessed it, the ghost of my mother turned up and forced me to look at the back! Today, Jessica does lovely work, certainly better than mine-but she doesn’t sew….It is easier to ask mom to do it.

I used to worry that craft arts would die out with my generation.  Computers and video cameras have relieved my mind on that score.

Want a pattern for a crocheted hat? http://vallieskids.blogspot.com/2009/06/olivias-butterfly.html

Want to learn to “double crochet”? Here’s a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1txJLRPfuE

Want to see step by step instructions on painting a rock? http://www.wikihow.com/Paint-a-River-Rock

So- lower your blood pressure! Get a Hobby!

Things My Momma Said

Things my Momma Told Me

We have all heard that eventually become our mothers. I fear it's true. Any parent will tell you that as a child they were never going to say certain things. Inevitably, we do. Andy Andrews, a motivational speaker has a video on "youtube" of the 50 most used parental phrases, you can view it here.

Of course some things can’t be re- used. My mother said she needed to make a tape recording of “Mary tuck your shirt tail in- Barbara tie your shoes” Mom just didn’t understand that we were way ahead of our time. Today no one tucks their shirt tail in (wonder how many kids even know what a shirt tail is) and if kids have shoe strings rather than Velcro how many know how to tie them?

Like me, Jessica could trip over a thread on the carpet but she has changed that to tripping over a wireless phone cord. Close enough to get her a dislocated knee from taking out the trash.

Other phrases are timeless…”Look at the back of your neck, it’s filthy!” I have actually heard myself say that even though as a child I remember hearing it and thinking “How am I going to see the back of my neck???”

One I never used is “Why did you do that?” My husband used it all the time with our son….to the point it became a litany. That question suggests that the child thought the action out. Imagine that mental conversation. “What should I do next- gee what if I threw a rock at the side of the house- that might be fun- maybe I’ll get lucky and it will hit the window and break it- yea that would be fun, then dad will chase me down-more fun-and then he can ask me his favorite question.”

Just once, when asked “why did you do that?” I’d have loved to hear Bennie say “ Because I’m mean and rotten and I want to make your life miserable!” Alas, Bennie never did. I have to wonder if Ellie (my perfect adorable granddaughter) will think of saying it to Bennie in a few years when he asked her that truly stupid question.

Then there are the funny things my mother told me. Like:

“It’s easier to pick a good horse than a good man, because you know the horse will never turn into a jackass” I have faithfully repeated that one to my daughter- every time I get mad at her father.

Accidents Happen

According to a friend who lives in the area, my home town has more than a foot of snow or the ground and they are expecting an additional 4 inches today. Ashtabula is right on Lake Erie and is subject to “Lake Effect” snows. Ashtabula averages 85 to 100 inches of snow per year.

Growing up I can remember snow before my birthday (November 2) and snow falling as late as May 10^{th --}I got my drivers license the spring after I was 16. So the winter I was 17 was my first year driving in the snow. My sister had also just gotten her drivers license (right after her 16^th birthday). The first storm of the year had a layer of ice under the 2 feet of snow fall.

My sister borrowed my uncles car and left in one direction to pick up her boyfriend (now husband) and I left 15 minutes later, in my Grandmothers car, on some errand in the opposite direction.

Barb had tried to drive up hill and over a railroad track and couldn't make it. She slid back down and spun into a snow bank on a side road. She left the car and walked to her boyfriends and then headed back to the car with shovels to dig it out of the bank.

In the mean time, the road I wanted to take was blocked....so I made a right and ended up on the same road where Barb had left the car. You guessed it....I was giving Uncle Brock's car a wide berth and I literally slid sideways right smack into the side of it. Went to the closest house to call home (imagine doing that today). My mother answered, the conversation went:

“Hi mom, I had an accident.”

Mom- “Is everyone OK?

Me: “No one was injured”

Mom: “OK sweety, did you call the police.”

Me: “No mom I wasn't sure you'd want me to.”

Mom: “Mary Beth! You always call the police!”

Me: “But Mom, you don't know who I hit!”

Silence-

Mom: “Who did you hit?”

Me: “Barbara”

Silence-(I found out its possible to hear someone grind their teeth over the phone)

Heavy sigh-

Mom: Mary Elizabeth Broadston! 40,000 People in this town and You have to hit your Sister!

It has been my experience that when your mother calls you by your first, middle and last name you are in major trouble. I was.

The Nutcracker

I think my mother started her Christmas shopping in June. The Christmas after my mother passed, there was one present under the tree for me-with love, from Mom. It was a Nutcracker Soldier. The base was warped so it never stood right…but obviously I wasn’t going to return it.

Over the next 15 years I put him on display. He fell over so often that his hat came off, he lost an arm and his paint was all chipped. I quit putting him on display- rather he stayed in one of the boxes in the basement.

Several years ago, some switch within the washing machine stopped working and we ended up with a flood in the basement. The kids, their spouses, Ben and I spent an entire day cleaning out the mess. I went through so many boxes I began to wonder how I had managed to acquire so much!

I started through a box of Christmas stuff and came across the Nutcracker.  I couldn’t even find the arm. I handed it to Bennie and asked him to toss it. I said “I just can’t watch you do.” it and went upstairs for a cup of coffee.

That year when I decorated for Christmas, I thought about the nutcracker, and that thought let to Christmases past with my mom-lots of good memories.

Christmas morning, as I opened packages I opened one from my son. It was a nutcracker, for a second I thought he’d found one like the one from my mother-until I saw the warped base-and then I started crying.

Bennie had taken the Nutcracker home, photographed and cleaned it. He went out and bought another Nutcracker and took the arm from it to put on mine. He repaired the hat. Then he carefully repainted him using the photo he had taken, wrapped it and put it under the tree-with love, from Bennie.

Outside of the religious meaning, Christmas is all about family -my Nutcracker symbolizes the love of three generations- a gift from both a mother and a son.

14 Bins of Decorations

My little darlings are arguing over who has to take my Christmas decorations when I die (seeing as it's only 333 days until I am 60) .
I admit I love decorating for Christmas, it  gets me in the holiday mood.
So far, the tree is up, alas, it looks like I may have to remove the animated "Tigger" from the tree, he creaks with every movement he makes-so loudly it interferes with the TV- you'd think he was almost 60, too. At least Winnie the Pooh still moves easily.
The front porch is done, though Ben tells me the three trees out there keep tipping over, so I may have to get out my trusty glue gun and glue the darn things down. 
The dining room is almost finished. I have to laugh, the last time Ben sat at the table to eat was Thanksgiving, before that it was Easter! Now Ben is whining that he can't sit and eat at the dining room table for the next month. I am posting a picture of my nearly finished dining room- finished except for chargers and china. Pay attention to the candle holders-with tree toppers instead of candles. I love my trusty glue gun!

And the Nativity set takes 2 bins all by itself....OK maybe I shouldn't have made camels that were more than a foot tall. When I brought home the boxes of ceramics to paint, Ben asked me which child I was kicking out to make room for the nativity set. I am considering donating it to a church, but I'll have to make myself another one (small enough to actually all fit on the fireplace mantle) first.
My children act as if 4 trees, 14 bins and 3 bags of Christmas decorations are too much! Counting the baths that's only one and three-forth bins per room! The village takes up an entire bin, and at least three of those bins and three of the trees are for outside!

OK I admit, I may have gone slightly overboard with the snowman toilet seat cover...But hey! It's Christmas!

Age Is A Relative Thing

337 Days until I am 60.

I think all of us hit an birthday when we feel mortality creeping up on us. For me, it was when I was 32. My sister’s birthday was this last weekend. I am a big practical joker and in the past I had her 30^th birthday announced over the loud speaker at a football game. I filled her husband’s truck with balloons on his 40^th. I had tee-shirts made for family and friends for Bens 40^th and even threw a 365 days ‘til doomsday party complete with cremation box for Ben’s 39^th.

Barb will not be at all surprised when I tell a story about her.

We both lived in Florida at the time. For weeks every time I spoke with Barb she sounded down, but always insisted that nothing was wrong. One afternoon in mid October I was on the phone with her when she broke down in tears and hung up on me. I hopped into the car and drove over to her place, worried and scared. On the way, all these horrible thoughts were running through my mind. She had Cancer...She and Bud were getting a divorce….One of the kids had leukemia …

I arrived, I don’t think I even knocked…Just walked in…and demanded to know what was wrong. She burst into tears again….Finally she said “Do you know I’m going to be 25 next month?”

Dumbfounded, all I could say was “What?!”

She repeated “I’m going to be 25 next month-Do you realize that’s a quarter of a century!”

I looked at her, took a deep breath and said. “No Barbara, I’m going to be 25 next month! You’ve going to be 24!

She started with the tears again and answered “You mean I have to go through this again next year?”

Domain Names

Some time ago I bought a domain name. Being in Real Estate I needed a web site. With the last name Chickering it was obvious that I should play off that. The domain name I bought was www.ChickSellsCherokee.com. (I live and work in Cherokee County Georgia). You are welcome to check it out...and I also have this blog connected to my site (left side-As I Look at 60).

Anyway, I built my web site, I thought it looked good, and I gripped and whined at the other two members of my team (Callie and Donna) to get me their bios and pictures so I could build their sites.(ok, ladies I still don't have them!) A day or so later I received an e-mail from Callie telling me I might want to rethink my domain name. She had googled with www.ChickSellsCherokee.com as her search term. My site came up first. The next nine sites on the page would not have been such a shock had I actually thought about the connotations of search terms like “Chick” and “Sells”. You guessed it...the rest of the sites listed were porn sites. Now isn’t that just what every real estate agent wants?

I promptly began a search of how to change the outcome. I discovered I-google. It is a truly wonderful group of apps. I went to I-google, set up an account using my g-mail address (though I understand you don’t have to have a g-mail account, you can use other email addresses). I completely filled out the profile including my picture. I set I-google as my home page and put apps of games, goals, a countdown tally and several other apps on the page.

Within 24 hours, “google-ing” my domain name brought up every page within my site, not just my home page, and no more porn!

For those with businesses having all your inside pages show up on google is a really good thing! If you have your own website I highly recommend doing what I have done. Several of the people at Keller Williams Canton have already tried it.

I also recommend I-google just as a fun homepage. The countdown app tells me it is 342 days until I am 60.

On Finding an Ancestor

Around the office I am known for my research abilities. Need a piece of information? Ask MB- she can find it!  I tell them all I am the Queen of Google. Actually I am just good at finding search words. Put in enough different search words and you are bound to find the information you are looking for. It is simply a matter of thinking up different search terms…and not giving up.

Since it’s now 344 days until I am sixty I am increasingly curious about my family tree. This last week I decided to do some genealogy research on my maternal grandfather’s family. The oldest information I had was my great grandmother’s name.  That is all I typed into the query box.  “Ida Jane Ritter Brockway Smith”. What a surprise I was in for. Within seconds I had an absolute plethora of information. Within minutes I had pictures of headstones in the family plot, and even an e-mail address of a second cousin once removed! (Her great grandfather and my grandfather were brothers). What lovely emails we have already exchanged. I remember her mother, aunt, and grandparents from my childhood and teen years. I have learned that her great grandfather changed his name in the early 1900’s when he went into vaudeville.

In less than an hour I traced the family back another 2 generations, on that side and 3 generations on my father’s side! What is more I didn’t spend a penny joining any web sites!

Forty years ago, someone on my grandmother’s side worked on a family tree. I know it took several years and she was able to trace back to the early 1600’s but was not able to find exactly how or when that ancestor came to the states, other than that she believed he came over on the “Jonathon”. I went online and in seconds had the ships manifest with his name listed!

Someone in another branch of the family had already done that research for me- and there is an online article that tells about him, his wife and their son!!! OMG this is soooo spiffy!

If you’ve seen those commercials that tell you to “just start” your search and wondered how difficult it really is- give it a try. If you’re one of those who like to surf the net you’re going to LOVE doing this!

Just in case you’re interested in trying it….both www.genealogy.com and www.ancestry.com offer free trial memberships.

Stubborness a Family Trait?

Yesterday my husband had an online conversation with a cousin I haven’t seen since he was a baby. They were talking about my nickname here around the house: “SWMBO” which stands for “She Who Must Be Obeyed”.  Brock (my cousin) suggested that the stubbornness was a “Brockway” trait- that his mother had it and seemed to run strong among her and her sisters. I have to tell Brock…I always thought his mother was the sweet, gentle, reasonable one! Looking back at Grandma B I may have to reassess my opinion.

Grandma had 8 children. Can you imagine the dishes done every day? Grandma hated doing dishes. And Grandpa couldn’t abide dirty dishes setting in the kitchen. In those days it wasn’t about loading the dishwasher or even about turning on the tap and filling the sink. Grandma had a wood stove and huge “dishpans” made of metal in which she could heat water to wash and then rinse. One day she washed, rinsed and dried one “load”, had the rinse pan full and put it back on the stove to reheat the water. Then she filled the wash tub and put it back on the stove. About that time Grandpa walked in…saw two pans of dishes setting there and picked one up. As he threw the pan of dishes out the door into the yard, he stated “If you can’t keep the?%#@ dishes clean then you have too many dishes!” My Grandmother picked up the second pan tossed it out the door saying “If you can throw out the clean I can throw out the dirty!”  It wasn’t his tossing the dishes that got to her…it was that he tossed the ones she’d already washed and left her the ones she hadn’t! Sweet, gentle, reasonable…

I never heard Grandma Brockway raise her voice. I never heard her swear and I don’t believe I ever heard her say no. She too was a sweet, gentle, reasonable woman. Growing up I remember Grandpa saying she voted the way he told her, he believed he literally cast two votes. It was only after his death that she made the statement “When I walked into that booth and that curtain closed, he had no idea who I voted for, and I took pride that my vote often canceled his.” Sweet, gentle, reasonable….

I grew up assuming that the stubborn gene came from our Grandfather Brockway also, only now have I begun to understand it was from our Grandmother --Adelaide Cadmas Brockway…Thereby being a “Cadmas trait.”

The link below is about a wonderful old lady....I am surprised shes not wearing purple with a red hat...When I'm an old woman....don't mess with me

The First Thanksgiving (in Georgia)

I met and married Ben in Pinellas County Florida. We moved to Cherokee County Georgia October 30, 1979.  We moved from a huge city to a County of about 50,000. Bennie was three years old. I thought Ben had moved us to the back of beyond. The nearest grocery store was 11 miles, the nearest McDonalds- even farther and we would need to go clear to Marietta to find a real restaurant that was open on Sunday. We were now hundreds of miles from family.

When we were growing up, Thanksgiving was a family affair. The table stretched from the kitchen through the dining room and into the living room. One year we set up in the basement…the only space large enough. My mother insisted on all of us setting at one table and some years it was a logistical nightmare to get all the “tables” set up together. I do not remember a dinner table set for less than 25 and I remember one year that the table was set for more than 40. (As an aside…why were Barb and I the only ones who ever did the dishes?)

But I digress…this story is about our first thanksgiving after moving to Georgia. We just could not afford to go home so soon after moving, and we were certainly going home for Christmas! So I set about making plans for our dinner. Today, people call me a great cook…and I started cooking young but let’s face it, 30 years ago I certainly wasn’t the knowledgeable cook I am now. Ben liked mince and I liked pumpkin so I made two pies…I knew it was too much, but that’s ok, who doesn’t like leftover dessert?  When I went grocery shopping that turkey looked a little small…so I picked up a slightly larger one-who doesn’t like leftover turkey?

Thanksgiving Day dawned early (5 am) and I stuffed the turkey and put it in the oven. Peeled potatoes- a pound per person sounds about right- peeled the butternut squash and put it on low to cook. Waldorf salad, banana bread (a double batch like my mother always made). Cauliflower with cheese sauce! I will say that everything was nicely cooked….neither the potatoes nor the gravy were lumpy….

Ben, 3 year old Bennie, and I set down to dinner….and looked upon the lovely TWENTY-THREE pound turkey.  Just in case you’re interested that works out to 7 and 2/3 pounds of turkey for each of us, a true mountain of mashed potatoes, squash, veggies, and 2/3 of a pie for each of us. We had lots of leftovers.

We headed home to Florida a month later for Christmas, on the drive down I told Ben “I HOPE THEY MAKE HAM!”

This Year we will have Ellies first Thanksgiving!

Mother of the Bride

359 days until I am 60!
I didn't blog for two days! Life goes on, and sometimes it gets busy. I spent 9 hours yesterday showing log cabins in the north Georgia mountains. I have to say, if you can buy a home or a second home or a rental house...do it NOW! Some of the buys I'm seeing are unbelievable! 6 bedrooms 3.5 baths, 3 fireplaces, 2 kitchens for 270K! OMG! Ben would have hated it tho...no yard work- it's all woods.

Tomorrow is Jessica and Josh'es 2nd anniversary. Wow that 2 years went fast! I would not wish Mother of the Bride on my worst enemy!
Jessica is CDO, in case you don't know what that is....she's so OCD that it must be in alphabetical order. Jessica took over doing her own laundry when she was 11. She says it was because it shouldn't be my job....she doesn't fool me, she took it over because she didn't like the way I folded her t-shirts. Her DVDs are in order and she can walk into the room and know which one has been borrowed from 20 feet away! She has an alarm set on her phone to call her dad every evening at 7 pm to check on his blood sugar levels (ok, I find that one funny).
So Jessica and I start planning her wedding...(first off she ONLY GAVE ME 9 MONTHS TO PLAN)
You have seen those brides on TV who drive their poor mothers crazy? That was how I have pictured Jessia-I assumed she would be Bridzilla, driving her poor mother crazy with her lists and demands.  So we go to look at dresses...she tries 2 on....her dress is chosen, ok, neat, that was easy. We hit the fabric store and she lets her girls and I pick out the bridesmaids dress patterns and materials. wow that was easy!  Everything I suggested she went along with!!!!! Who is this kid!!!! OMG a pod person!!!! She went along with my venue suggestion, food suggestions, invitation suggestion. We hired the very first photographer we spoke with!
Then she called me "Momzilla"- and suggested prozac! All I have to say about that is that if she'd been Bridzilla as I expected I wouldn't have had to have been "Momzilla". Below is a picture of Jessica, Josh and Ben.

On Keeping House

I ran a maid service while my kids were growing up. It gave me a decent income and the ability to name my own hours. It also gave me the ability to fire a boss if I didn't like them. Going back to work for someone else was interesting, I'll tell ya

It is surprising how few young people today know how to clean a house. I had one young client (a CPA) tell me her vacuum had been broke for two years. When I looked at it, the belt was broke and needed replaced. She wasn't the only person I came across who was clueless about housekeeping. In the last generation or so, most mothers went to work and either cleaned quickly on the weekends or hired it done. What's more, every one of these women believe they are lousy housekeepers and have a much dirtier house than their grandmothers had! Let's look at these two ideas.

First, why are the women lousy housekeepers? Do they live alone? Did they make the mess all by themselves? I admit I fight this one too. When I walk into a house that needs de-cluttered, or just plain needs a good cleaning- my first thought is “this woman is a slob”. I don't look at her husband, or her 13 or 15 year-old. Do I think she sets on the couch all day eating bon-bons? She's expected to work all day then come home, cook dinner, do laundry and clean house? I don't know about anyone else but I don't remember signing on to be Dobby- the house elf. I swear next time I walk into one of “those” homes I will say to myself “this family needs to get off their butts”. Ok... I will try to remember to say that to myself.

Second point: Grandma's house was cleaner....Get a CLUE! One of my grandmothers had no indoor bathroom, let alone a vacuum. Rugs were taken out just twice a year and beaten until they were relatively clean. Most of us vacuum once a week or so, lets see.....which is better...weekly or bi-annual cleaning?

Remember “spring cleaning”? Why don't we do that anymore? Well duh.....I don't know about you but I don't  have a coal furnace depositing coal ash on my walls all winter! I no longer need to wash my walls when winter is over! My dishwasher not only saves time but leaves sanitized dishes for fewer colds. For me, the cheese cloth behind my vents even means less dust...(thats my cleaning tip for the day) Are we nuts? Some doctors are actually saying we clean too much and are growing super germs in retaliation! We really need to cut ourselves some slack.

Now I have to go polish the pull chain on the ceiling fan.

362 days to 60!!!

On Womens Lib:

Just, In case you don’t know – I am just a wee bit political! I thought today I’d post on one of the things that made me so rabid in my political beliefs (there were several).

Free black men could vote in the northern states from the time of the constitution. In the south the XV Amendment to the Constitution gave black men the right to vote in 1870.  Women in the United States waited another 50 years for the same right. I guess almost everyone knows that, but those are just facts. It amazes me that I have lived long enough to see an era when many young women don’t understand what the big deal is. When we hear about the women’s liberation movement, we hear about “bra burners”. Our young women truly don’t understand what those “libbers” accomplished and what they did not.

We hear this idealized version of the 1950s where mom stayed home and cooked dinner every night. What about the moms who had no choice but to work? Maybe a story from real life might explain it better.

When I was growing up, mine was the only mother I knew who worked outside the house. Eventually, mom owned her own business, (probably because it was the only job she could get that would pay enough to raise her family). When my mother was widowed in 1958 she went hunting for a job- got one too- at “W. T. Grants” a national chain store. Within the year her boss made her assistant manager of the store and sent paperwork to the home office to get her the corresponding title and the pay. Word came back that she couldn’t be assistant manager as that job was for men only. Even more insulting, the store manager was told that she could do the job, they would even “allow” her to have the title, but since she was a woman, she could never be “allowed” to make the same money as men who were the head of households. No to worry! We have made progress! Women now only make an average of $206. a week less than men do.

Oh, by the way--- W.T. Grant Co.? They went bankrupt in 1976—awe---gee---too bad…

Just 364 days until I am 60! WooHoo

On saying ”I love you”

Today is my birthday. My 59^th. The beginning of my 6oth year. OMG! How'd that happen? Most days I feel as if I'm 30, occasionally I feel 35, and once or twice this last year I have felt every moment of my age. This next year I will certainly tell you when that happens.

This blog is going to be something of a journal of my 60^th year. I make no promises on this, I may write two or three blogs and quit or I might actually make it the entire year (yea, right). I have subjects for three more blogs but then we all know how I love to talk.

As you all know I am in real estate. (I am assuming that no one but people who know me will actually see and read this blog) I will try not to blog too much about that...unless something happens that upsets me, then all bets are off.

I have now seen a birthday that neither of my parents did. My father died at 36 with a coronary, my mother at 58 from complications of COPD. How's that for a family health history, huh? Luckily, we live in a time when we can live to well over a hundred. I figure I am good for another twenty-five to thirty years,but hey- if God calls....well, just in case I don't see eighty-five, I will continue to enjoy every day and do it the way I want!

If I could give one piece of advice-after 59 whole years on this Earth it would be to say “I love you”. Yea- yea, you've heard it before, but think about this: If you died suddenly today, what would be the last thing your husband or children will remember you saying? My kids, my husband, my sister, brother, nieces, nephews, and closest friends will all remember “I love you” as my last words. I admit, I have made it a habit-but I developed that habit on purpose. (Oh wow! Not all my habits are bad!) My children and I have even had a discussion about why it's my habit. They already know that I want that to be what they remember of me. If they actually read this, I guess now my family and friends know too.

One last thing- it is election day! Instead of saying Happy Birthday to me, tell me you voted!