What's for Lunch Mama Gladys? Lima Beans and Cornpone

I'm at my parents for a week or so, awaiting test results.   Coco and I made the treck over yesterday afternoon from Navarre.  Mom is currently hitting my chair with the vacuum cleaner, so I lost my train of thought.  Not hard to do.  Perhaps Mama Gladys is trying to tell me something?

All houses are just about full on the compound today.  Uncle Tom and Aunt Lorraine, the folks who are usually ALWAYS home have been in Birmingham for about 3 weeks.  Aunt Lorraine is battling some complications from a gall bladder that was removed back in the fall.  She is on the mend finally after some hairy episodes.  I love when there are lots of people on the place.  I visited with the Comegys' last night and plan to have a bowl of chili with the McDaniels' tonight.  Delightful!  I would much rather convalesce here, so my cranky self can be spread among many, not just a few.  It's also so beautiful.  I can look at the very full pond (hooray for rain) or look up at a sky full of stars at night.

The pic is of a meal Mama Gladys fixed back in October: lima beans and rice, cornpone, spinach salad, bread and butter pickles, and you guessed it - sweet tea.  Dad's hand can be seen at the right of the photo.  It's pretty much always like that while he is eating.  Just a sentimental tidbit.

Peace!

Pearl Harbor Day

The attack sank four US battleships and destroyed 188 US planes. More than 2,200 sailors, Marines and soldiers were killed.
US Navy, File/AP

Lord, lead their souls to heaven, bless all those involved and bless all families involved. Bless our troops, our leaders, and our nation. Amen

Here's a pic from a month or so ago of my sweet niece Natalie and her beau Chris. Chris will be going into the Air Force in February. God bless him...

Peace

Advent is upon us!

Hey my good peeps! I've been away for a couple, three months because dial up was so slow. I have since learned to reduce the size of photos, making them load faster (They don't need to be ENORMOUS like I usually use). I have so much catching up to do.

Here's a pic taken by my cousin Philip's wife Mandy. It's my Christmas card photo!

Random Recent Happenings

Cousin Karen and I picked 9 lbs of scuppernongs at the Robinson-Floyd Vineyard outside of Chipley, Florida. Great fun.

For Mama Gladys' birthday on August 25th, cousin Karen hosted a dinner with her parents, Uncle Tom and Aunt Lorraine, and my parents. Knowing Mama Gladys would like noise and lights to celebrate, we tried to recreate it for our cameras. This pic is part of those efforts.

A tableau of a Navarre visit: Cheryl busy managing/organizing something, Matt on his computer, Mom drinking coffee, Joy exercising, (I would either be on my computer or drinking coffee while watching the news).

Mom fried some chicken at home using her new cast iron chicken fryer purchased at the propane store in Chipley (High Propane? Can't remember the name). The bread is a homemade angel biscuit, and of course the potatoes and gravy are homemade. Mom and Dad were laughing with one another about the cost of frying chicken at home vs. buying it from Walmart, grocery store, etc. Dad was trying to pin Mom down on how much the cost of the meal was and started the bidding at a ridiculously high price...I guess you had to be there...

Peace!

Hey Amy! We are long overdue for a phone convo, gal! Are you still thinking of coming for Thanksgiving? I think of calling you almost every day, and when I consult my watch, it's like 9 p.m. your time...

Puss Caterpillar

Cousin Karen's Bob was stung by a Puss Caterpillar last week. He and Karen were on the part of our property we call the Rassy (sp?) place. It's so named because a feller named Rassmussen (Rassy) Nelson used to live their a gagillion years ago. Bob was pruning some vines so they wouldn't scratch his truck when this tiny, dime sized creature fell on his neck and stung him. Karen was able to knock it off of him and into a container to figure out what it was. She put it in a jar with some oak stems and leaves and we were all able to enjoy this "science experiment" all week. It is now in the capable hands of the high school up in Allentown, PA where Karen and Bob live. Hopefully they can watch it cocoon and turn into a moth. I haven't gotten an update yet. After careful study (a google search) Karen was able to ascertain that this is the most poisenous caterpillar in the U.S. Oddly enough they are very common in the Southeast and from Texas to Maryland. My dad and Uncle Tom, his brother, in their 70's and 80's had never seen one in all their years on the place! Bob survived the sting but reported pain coming in waves and a general achy feeling. It can be very serious with symptoms of shock and a visit to the ER necessary. The pic is from the webmd website listed. There you will find a great "bad bugs" slideshow: http://www.webmd.com/allergies/slideshow-bad-bugs

Howdy!

I've neglected me blog -ARG!


We've all been really busy as of late. A week or so ago Matt and Joy were finally here. Sweet Matty B. is in the picture. Note the classic Van sneaks. He informed me they were first made in 1966, the year before my birth. We spent about half of that week in Navarre and half in Chipley. We had good fun basically just being together.



Last week is a bit of a blur. I'm getting into the swing of my job and all is well there. It's strenuous, but I'm getting the hang of everything.



This week has been all about the produce. Cousin Karen and I went to Robinson-Floyd Vinyard in Chipley and picked 15 lbs of scuppernong grapes (sp?). That same day Dad and I went to cousin Bill's and got four 5 gallon buckets of pears. Needless to say, the pears have kept us busy today. Mom is making preserves with 1/2 of them, and cousin Carla will use the rest up in Atlanta. I will hopefully post more pics tomorrow. Dial up just is very slow when posting pics and what not. I try to get to the library at least once a week to post more pics and post more quickly.

Stay tuned for future topics (Mom's B-day party, Puss Caterpillar, Catawba worms). I know all of you CAN'T wait!

Panhandle Pastimes

Repairing the sewer pipe at the Lake Eufaula lot. Dad and a buddy put the sewer pipe in previously, but Dad was afraid it wasn't a good seal on one seam. We dug it up and fixed it.















After a morning of work last Thursday, we went fishing and the light was so good late in the day that I snapped off a few pics. This was the same day of the video on my previous post.















Our catch!















I think this was a fish fry we had last week. My cousin Kathy was visiting from Pennsylvania. She was very happy with her fish.















Everybody fixin' their plates at the same fish fry (we have one about every week).






























I found an old mouse toy and Coco was quite taken with it.
















Peace!

A Recap of the Week

Wow, a lot has happened this week. Wait, Coco the Min Pin is whining big time to get in my lap. I will post pics of this sweet girlie at a later date.

Let's see, back to what has happened. I'm so ADD. Last Sunday, I believe, I got an email from Cloud10 sayingto schedule a project interview. For this particular work at home (WAH) job I had already taken all of the preliminary steps to be hired and was just waiting for a suitable project. It took about a month before I heard back from them about a project.

I scheduled my interview for Monday. The interview was brief, and I was asked about my work history, and was told about the project. This company has a bit of a harsh, by-the-book tone saying things like once you say "yes" at this interview and if you decline later, you can never work for Cloud10, and you will not be considered for any other projects. It seems from all the forums out there on WAH jobs that many folks who do this type of work need super flexible work because of families and whatnot. Cloud10 is more like working at an actual company, with little time off, and an offering of more hours. It sounds to me like that is the upside. I will be able to work 32.5 hours per week, not hoping to get 10-15, of which I may only be paid for calls and may get few calls.

Speaking of which, my sister works for LiveOps and for 6 months or so, maybe for even a year, she really made very little money and had to devote quite a bit of time. Now she is averaging $18/hr and has plenty of hours. It has been great for her because she has fibromyalgia. The hours are fairly flexible, so if she is not feeling particularly well one day she can work in spurts.

But, I digress. My sister (Joy), her new husband (Mike), and their sons, Matt (Joy's) and David (Mike's) got here on Sunday also. No, wait, Mike rolled in on Monday. Anyway, it was really stellar fun. I posted on that earlier. Basically, the boys both 17, skateboarded in a couple of different spots, and hung out at the beach. Mike and Joy spent some time at the beach. One day we all went to Pensacola. Unfortunately, there has been tons of rain, and the day we went to Pensacola, there was some flooding in the streets, Tornado watch, etc. -- typical Florida Springtime. Mike and Joy were able to check out some spots they would like to live in a couple of years, after the boys are done with school. They currently live outside of Jackson Hole, WY in Alpine, WY. I think definite highlights of the trip were being around the boys, going to Juana's and buying Mahi Mahi and Shrimp at Joe Pattie's in Pensacola. I love hitting that place, walking around outside, checking out the specialty foods and getting some crazily fresh seafood. Joy and Mike fixed up some good vittals. You better believe Old Bay played a central role. Nice!

The posted pic is when Joy and Mike got married under the arches in Jackson, WY with the boys looking on, all in view of the webcam. We all got to look on from all corners of the globe. They were married in March, and I am very happy to welcome the Cranfords into the family. Thanks to my cousin-in-law, Mandy Johnson, for the pic. (Hope it was ok to lift, Mandy).

I took them to the airport in Fort Walton today (sob). This evening I got back and went to my orientation for Cloud10 via computer. It's been a busy and wet week! At some point I started this weblog. Thanks for viewing and God bless.

Let's end up the night with a prayer for those folks who don't have employment. Maybe a person's name can be inserted as sort of an intercessory prayer. Let the Lord guide. This is from catholic.org:

PRAYER FOR EMPLOYMENT

God, our Father, I turn to you seeking your divine help and guidance as I look for suitable employment. I need your wisdom to guide my footsteps along the right path, and to lead me to find the proper things to say and do in this quest. I wish to use the gifts and talents you have given me, but I need the opportunity to do so with gainful employment. Do not abandon me, dear Father, in this search, but rather grant me this favor I seek so that I may return to you with praise and thanksgiving for your gracious assistance. Grant this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.