USA Memorial Day 2014

I pledge allegiance

to the flag

of the United States of America

and to The Republic

for which it stands

One Nation under God

Indivisible

with Liberty and Justice

FOR ALL

To the Veterans in our family

Thank you

2014 Red Convertible Travel Series

The Homeplace Restaurant, Catawba, VA

     If you are in the Roanoke, Virginia area, I suggest you  take time to enjoy the drive up #322 to Catawba. At the top of the old, worn-down mountain sits The Homeplace Restaurant in an enormous two-story antebellum home. Their placemats state, " . . . built by the John Morgan Family in 1907, it sat on 600 acres. The family raised purebred horses, beef cattle, and later ran a dairy farm. The house sat unoccupied for several years before going up for auction October 7, 1978, when 63 acres, including the farmhouse and dairy barn, were purchased by Harold C. Wingate. Renovation on the structure began in July 1981. It opened for business on September 17, 1982. The Wingate Family currently owns 150 of the original 600 acres."
     The average wait-time is an hour. As you can see, no one is in a rush. There was a light breeze, and it was just warm enough to not need a sweater. I sat on the porch and watched all ages come and go.
     Meals are served family-style, or spoon-style, as it's called. All-you-can-eat. The chicken was outstanding. It had been fried, but wasn't exactly crispy. It seemed steamed. Our other meat was roast beef. Bowls of mashed potatoes and gravy, fresh green beans, coleslaw and cornbread filled the table twice. Warm blackberry cobbler was served with ice cream once. We could have eaten another one. Outstanding!

     For more information, Google or Bing The Homeplace Restaurant Catawba, VA.

     P.S. The Appalachian Trail is near enough for hikers to hike over for dinner.

     P.S. P.S. Audie Murphy, America's most decorated WWII soldier, was killed in a plane crash in this area in 1971.

©2014 Red Convertible Travel Series

Original Wahoo Weiners are back

Some of the awards celebrating

 Wahoo Locker's award winning retail meats

Frozen meats

smoked sausages

potato sausages

cream sausages

aged meat

Braunsweiger

summer sausage

 The original recipe it is. 

Already cooked. Good enough to eat cold.

Delicious sliced in scrambled eggs.

Great hotdogs. Thin casing.

Beranek's shipped them around the world.

Wahoo Locker ships, too.

©2014 Red Convertible Travel Series

Dialogue between Benjamin Franklin and the Gout

     The Oxford Book of American Essays features works that have expired copyrights. I've been having great fun loading my birthday Kindle with free books. Benjamin Franklin wrote this piece at Midnight, 22 October, 1780.
     He prefers a sedentary life.
     Madame Gout, as he calls it, lists his infractions: ... your amusements, your recreation, at least, should be active. You ought to walk or ride; or, if the weather prevents that, play at billiards.  . . . While the mornings are long, and you have leisure to go abroad, what do you do? Why, instead of gaining an appetite for breakfast, by salutary exercise, you amuse yourself with books, pamphlets, or newspapers, which commonly are not worth reading. Yet you eat an inordinate breakfast, four dishes of tea, with cream, and one or two buttered toasts, with slices of hung beef, which I fancy are not things the most easily digested. Immediately afterwards you sit down to write at your desk, or converse with persons who apply to you on business. Thus the time passes till one, without any kind of bodily exercise. But all this I could pardon, in regard, as you say, to your sedentary condition.
     But what is your practice after dinner? Walking in the beautiful gardens of those friends with whom you have dined would be the choice of men of sense; yours is to be fixed down to chess, where you are found engaged for two or three hours! This is your perpetual recreation, which is the least eligible of any for a sedentary man, because, instead of accelerating the motion of fluids, the rigid attention it requires helps to retard the circulation and obstruct internal secretions. Wrapt in the speculations of this wretched game, you destroy your constitution. What can be expected from such a course of living, but a body replete with stagnant humors, ready to fall prey to all kinds of dangerous maladies, if I, the Gout, did not occasionally bring you relief by agitating those humors, and so purifying or dissipating them?
     If I was in some nook or alley in Paris, deprived of walks, that you played awhile at chess after dinner, this might be excusable; but the same taste prevails with you in Passy, Auteuil, Montmartre, or Sanoy, places where there are the finest gardens and walks, a pure air, beautiful women, and most agreeable and instructive conversation; all which you might enjoy by frequenting the walks. But these are rejected for this abominable game of chess.
     Franklin. Oh! ehhh!- It is not fair to say I take no exercise, when I do very often, going out to dine and returning in my carriage.
     Gout. That, of all imaginable exercises, is the most slight and insignificant, if you allude to the motion of a carriage suspended on springs. By observing the degree of heat obtained by different kinds of motion, we may form an estimate of the quantity of exercise given ...
     You can find "the rest of the story" in The Great American Essays.

     And that, dear reader, is a tour of history.

2014 Red Convertible Travel Series

Resorts Casino Pastry Chef Luis, Robinsonville, MS

Luis, the new Pastry Chef's work

 Smooth and creamy. Delish!

 Just the right size.

 Wish I'd tried it. Fruity.

I'm glad serving slices are smaller.

 Fresh Apple Streudel was great! 

Reminds me of the Czech ladies back home.

I ran out of room. Next time.

I could make a meal off his work.

Luis is definitely an asset.

2014 Red Convertible Travel Series

Abe's Bar-B-Q

At the Legendary Crossroads of 49 & 61

Clarksdale, MS

Famous Bar-B-Q-Sauce:

The Come Back Sauce 

 Abraham Davis Founder 1924

"Swine Dining"

Pit Bar-B-Q-Pork or Beef

Hot dogs, hamburgers

Chicken

BBQ Beans

Slaw

Tamales

Soft Drinks

Abe's T-shirts

Frozen grape leaves

Great place to eat!

abesbbq.com


2014 Red Convertible Travel Series

Meche's Mardis Gras Donut King Cake

 Before

After

It was delicious.

I could have eaten the whole thing!
Bavarian cream filling in part

chocolate frosting in others

whoever found the tiny doll

buys the next one.
Hurry back!


MechesKingCakes.com
And they ship.

2014 Red Convertible Travel Series

Mother Nature does Valentines

Feb. 8, 2014

It snowed 

in Mississippi

A car turned around 

in front of our house

Turning wheels

created hearts

Love is all there is

Thanks,  Mother Nature

2014 Red Convertible Travel Series

Biloxi, MS Cemetery behind The Elk's Lodge on I90

Part of the cemetery's monster Live Oak Tree

It takes "a group" to put their arms around the trunk.

2014 Red Convertible Travel Series

Biloxi, MS, Post Hurricane Katrina and Jan '14 snow and ice

It was our first trip to the coast since Katrina. 

Mother Nature brought everything to a halt again
January '14
when she delivered snow and ice
that lingers.

The Gulf is still the Gulf.
Gulls and pigeons are still gulls and pigeons.

that feast on day-old bread.

Post Katrina:

Sculptures of birds and marine life
were created from the

remains of live oak trees along I90
by
chainsaw artists Dayton Scoggins and Marlin Miller

I was moved to tears.

Out of unimaginable devastation beauty arose,

proof 

there are blessings

in the worst

situations.

Go to biloxi.ms.us
find what's "Free"
for pics of the sculptures
and
info on the area.
There's lots to see and do.

2014 Red Convertible Travel Series

Orphan Train

by Christina Baker Kline was published by Harper Collins 2013. I am fascinated by the process, placement and ways of life. While I was waiting for our read, I read "The Orphan Train Trilogy" by Jane Peart, published by Guideposts in 1990.

The first book is set in today. The Trilogy begins in 1888 and follows three orphan girls through school into the first couple of years of their adulthood. Worth the read.

My sister remembers we had an orphan train child in Wahoo, NE. Jim Vanek had one leg about 8" shorter than the other, and yet managed to walk with it. He was a local real estate agent I worked with briefly, but I never heard him talk of his life. My parents had a friend in Omaha that had been on the train, too. Both men were successful in life despite their situations.

I appreciate each woman's novel.. I can imagine the children's angst and the variety of placements. In some cases, they were worse off than when they were in the orphanage.The stories made me appreciate my loving childhood home, the roof over our head and food on the table. I admire people's courage to press forward when all seems lost. I don't know what the rest of my life holds, but I hope I have the faith and courage to live it no matter what happens.

2014 Red Convertible Travel Series

Elvis, John Lennon and Ihop

When we were in Memphis last week, we drove past Elvis' home. His yard had multiple scenes from the Nativity, but he was no where to be found. Someone said he was probably in the bathroom.

Across the street an outdoor board quoted John Lenon: Before Elvis there was nothing.

I had a craving for an Ihop omelet full of veggies and cheese. We haven't been in a while and were surprised we could buy one and get one free. Yum! And I had crepes with Lingonberries. My Swedish ancestors would be happy. We called in and praised our server and the food.

Fast forward to late that night. John came upon a hungry, homeless Vietnam Vet in the smoking room. He started to give him his meal ticket when he remembered the omelet. Thank you Ihop. You  blessed two families. Now that's a fine way to "pay it ahead."

2014 Red Convertible Travel Series

Sunset Kumato Tomatoes

Chocolate anything gets my attention.

Five chocolaty  tomatoes

were packaged in single file

in a foot long cardboard 

wrapped in cellophane.

Samples were necessary

It was tender but firm

and less acidic

I bought a sleeve

and will buy them again.

The Kumato label is printed in four languages

Unique twice, Unico twice

sunsetproduce.com

I tested the link and found 

Sunset is a Verified Non GMO Project

4th generation Mastronardi family business

Executive Chef Jason Rosso

I will watch for the Sunset label on my veggies

2014 Red Convertible Travel Series

Beef Neck Bone Soup in cold MS

We've been in the single digits with occasional ice, but our pipes didn't freeze. Our hearts go out to those in the extremes. Does a cold winter set the stage for a hot summer, or is that an old wive's tale?

After the F2 twisted over our house raking up the shingles and laying them down 12/21/13, we noticed our backyard pecan tree was leaning toward the middle of our house, back to front. We are grateful gravity, a sneeze, a feather-weight bird, or a feather, did not fell it, the trimmer did.

After three Deep Southern summers, I understand the need for an outside kitchen or a least a grill. The upside to cold weather is soup. It's twice blessing: when cooked and when eaten. Our Kroeger's is revamping their produce section with more variety, bright lights and mirrors. It reminds me of Whole Foods on a smaller scale. Eat the Rainbow!

The price of a roast was over the moon. I bought neck bones I browned on all sides before putting in the crockpot. The rest of my recipe was by the seat of my pants.

Saute one or more sliced onions
         chopped garlic
         sliced fresh mushrooms
Pour over the roast

Add  1 cup of red wine
         2 cups of beef broth
               
         I didn't add veggies until the meat was near tender.
        Add  more broth if you like.

I cut up fresh green and yellow peppers, zucchini and yellow squash circles, sliced carrots and parsnips, chopped turnips and rutabaga, unpeeled potatoes, and frozen sweet corn. It smelled so good cooking and tasted wonderful!

Happy Soup Saturday to you!

Love,
Maeann

2014 Red Convertible Travel Series

I want to see the world, Carl!

Let me introduce you

Carl is the handsome red and black algae eater

Below him is a brown algae eater

In the clay skull

only the catfish's tail is visible

I don't know what the rest of him looks like

One morning we heard a clatter and splash

Carl tried to jump out of the aquarium

He didn't make it

went to the corner and sulked

My heart goes out to you, Carl

Try to bloom where you're planted

The water isn't any better 

on the other side of the glass.

2014 Red Convertible Travel Series

Carol's Baked Fruit

Carol Jasa made this when I stayed with them.

Delish! 

I made it at home in an 8x8 and ate it all myself..

She used a 9x13

All fruit was canned and drained.

In a 9x13 she started at the outside

with a row of apricot halves on each end

the second row was peach halves

pitted plums were the next row

a row of pears were centered

(or make your own arrangement

with whatever fruit you have)

Lay pineapple rings on top

Heat 1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 Tablespoon butter

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

and 1/2 cup pineapple juice

Cook, stirring until sugar dissolves

and butter melts

Pour over fruit

Bake uncovered 350 degrees 20 to 25 minutes

Enjoy!

Tastes great cold, too.

2014 Red Convertible Travel Series

The 2013 Cook Off

I moved 800 miles from NE to MS, but my heart belongs with my three adopted grandchildren.



I always visit school when I'm in town. Aja is ten and in 5th grade. Her class was social studies, and the teacher was talking about plantations. I'd been to Seven Chimneys Farm recently and gave them first-hand information.

Ryker, 11, and Alec, 12, were in writing class. I took Leaning into the Wind and read my story, "Tractor Travels". As aspiring writers, I wanted them see it is possible to get published. Principal Harris introduced himself and asked if he bought a book would I autograph it for the school? You bet!

Ryker, Aja and Alec decided to do a cook off the next day and I was to judge the best.

Aja made a smoothie with frozen raspberries, chocolate chip mint ice cream and whipped cream. Delicious!

Ryker cooked Ramen noodles with his roasted red pepper seasoning and topped each serving with a slice of fresh yellow pepper and fresh parsley leaves. Yummy!

Alec made cupcake cookies with Snickerdoodle cookie dough. While they were still warm, he added white frosting and sprinkles. His Mom said, "You can never have too many sprinkles." They were great!

Judging included originality, presentation, flavor and texture. Since all other contestants had been cut, a $1 prize was awarded to each for winning their category. Yah!!!

Hugs to all. No goodbyes. See you later

2014 Red Convertible Travel Series

Twenty-eight minute hours

The year has raced past. If it is true the earth is spinning faster without signs of slowing, will we eventually have 28" hours. Would we get more done or less? Would a break still be 10"? Would the day end after twenty-four 28" hours or would we have over 48 hours in a day. I used to say I needed more time. Is that how we'd get it? I could read more, write more, eat more. Skip the eat more. Would it be easier to set aside an hour to garden, an hour to walk the dog, an hour to nap. Noooo! I want a 60" nap.

Could I visit more countries in December and learn how people celebrate the holidays? Would Denmark's Legos fall faster? Would Santa have enough time to deliver all the toys?

If the world continues to speed up, hours might shrink to a moment or less. Then what? The past, the present and the future would all happen at once. They already do. Unresolved issues sneak into today. Our thoughts wrapped in feelings go into the future to circle back with more of the same.

New Year's Eve we will walk through the lake of Violet Transmuting Flame to erase our unintentional errors for the year - the Grace of God at work. January 1st feels like a fresh start.

Whatever happens, my wish for you is: Peace in your Soul
Love in your Heart
and Plenty.

Enjoy the ride. Take care and God Bless.

Love,

Maeann

P.S. While I was writing this for you . . . there was an explosion in the kitchen. Uh, the eggs I was boiling got through before I did.


2013 Red Convertible Travel Series

Christmas and an F2 in Clarksdale, MS

A week ago St. Paul's Methodist Church had an outside nativity with multiple scenes. Two hundred and seventy people drove through. I volunteered for a 30 minute slot and was assigned the position of the Announcing Angel. Oh, Goody, I hadn't been an angel since I was a child in Sunday School. My blog will not upload my pics. Imagine me in my down-filled winter coat and boots. The girls pulled a white cotton gown over my head, wrapped a gold scarf around my neck, attached tall wings with gold trimming and a halo. With outstretched arms, I looked up and smiled. It was a lovely experience. I wanted to keep the halo but they said I had to earn it.

Saturday, the 21st, was the shortest day of the year and the scariest! As they say in the South, You better hope you're prayed up. Mother Nature reminded us who was in charge when She sent an F2 tornado that had worked its way north leaving a fatality at Rena Lara, MS. The west and northwest sides of Clarksdale have the msot damage. Animals are good barometers. Ours were unconcerned. I took that as a positive. High winds raked our shingles up but the house stayed put and so did the pansies. A neighbor's tree fell in our backyard - minor, and the power was off about 12 hours.

There is widespread damage which includes huge uprooted trees at the cemetery behind our house and light poles leaning toward the road to Stovall. Coahoma County High School has roof and water damage. Our street was littered with branches and pecans - the silver lining. We're grateful it wasn't an F3, 4, or 5. Our hearts go out to all affected.

My wish for all is: Peace in your soul, love in your heart and Plenty.

Merry Christmas and may the New Year be your best ever!

Love,
Maeann

2013 Red Convertible Travel Series

The Grinch vs Christmas

I tell myself, "Thank you Father for everything, I have no complaints whatsoever." It's been an effort lately, even though I know positive thoughts and feelings benefit me and negatives circle and bite.

I intended to blog every week, but I have not had internet for a month, and my computer still isn't right. For one thing, it repeats what I type - without my permission. My computer guru suspects I have one or more sticky keys. I love honey on my cereal, but I have not fed any to my keyboard.

My fb is sooooo slooooow. I send right-side up pics from my phone and they appear sideways on fb. People comment on them, but I can't find them to "try" to turn them to the right.

The Grinch did it: Someone out of the country tried to make a withdrawal from my bank account. Fortunately the Fraud Dept. caught it. They asked, "Did you charge this?"
"No"
"Have you been to the UK recently?"
"Nope," but my heart flutters at the prospect of travel. "When I go, you'll be notified."
These people need legitimate jobs. I'll put that on my prayer list. I didn't say Christmas list, there's no wishing, I'm taking action. Grinch be gone!

We wanted to go to the hills to cut a little tree, but Mother Nature decided otherwise. She sent rain that turned to ice. Here in the Deep South we don't have snow removal or scatter except for bridges. Improvise! I bought 6' of pine boughs at our Miss Dell's. They smelled so good I wore them home collar-style. Our creche sits`in the center on the tiny kitchen table by the window. That's Christmas.

May the Grinch not get a hold of your Christmas. May your holidays be wonderful and the New Year the best ever!

2013 Red Convertible Travel Series

John Pritchard's new novel: Sailing to Alluvium

Mr. Pritchard was in Clarksdale last week promoting his new work, "Sailing to Alluvium". If you're familiar with his first, "Junior Ray", you'll find this, his third, very entertaining. "Yazoo Blues" is second. We especially enjoyed Junior's rendition of the story of Moses. Imagine it spoken by a Mississippi redneck with attitude and opinions he isn't shy about sharing. If you're easily offended by the language, skip the first and last words of the sentence and some of the word's middle. Not all of course, but that's the way it is here.

Gollee Moses

It all got started back a long while
When Pharaoh's daughter was swimmin in the Nile;
She looked in the bushes and saw a little chile
And said, "Gollee Moses!"

One day the Lord said Moses, you're the man
To lead all the Chillum to the Promise' Land.
Well, Moses struck out with Pharaoh at his heels,
Moses on foot, the Pharaoh on wheels.

When they got up to the Red Sea waters,
The chillun ast Moses, "What we gon do?"
And Moses told the Chillun, "Orders is orders,"
And the Chillun of Israel walked right through.
Well, Gollee Moses!

Weeelll, the army of Pharaoh followed after Moses,
But just fo' the waters covered up their noses
The whole army said: Gollee Moses!
Moses on a mountain top thinkin very hard,
Long come a cloud, and out jumped God,
Well, Gollee Moses!
The Lord put the Law in Moses' hand,
Said, Moses,tell the Chillun they better understand,
If they don't do what these things say,
I'll wipe out the world in half a day!"
Well, Gollee Moses!

Moses told the Lord, "It weren't none a me,
Just a big epidemic of iniquity!
I gave the Chillun your Ten Commandments,
And they come up with the First Ten Amendments!"
Well, Gollee Moses!

Moses come down bout an hour'n a half,
Found all the chillun round a golden calf;
He said, "Chillun, Chillun, what's goin on?"
They said, "Laughin, dancin, singin a song!"
Well, Gollee Moses.

Moses told the chillun, "Y'all make me mad,
jumpin round and actin bad,
But I'mo tell y'all one thing now:
You gonna get rid of that golden cow!"
Well, Goollee Moses!

From then on down to this very day,
When folks don't know just what to say,
They open their mouth and bug their eyes,
They take a deep breath and say with surprise"
GOLLEE MOSES!

2013 Red Convertible Travel Series

Cellar doors and sewers

Nebraska snow on the cellar door was entertainment for the cat, and the cat was entertainment for us. Late one moonlit night, we caught him slip sliding down it. He was having so much fun, he did it again and again. It was a winter of lots of snow, and he did lots of cellar door skiing.

We lived there a year, and I didn't go to the basement unless I absolutely had to. No one entered the house through the cellar door, that I'm aware of, but every time we planned to go to Omaha, which wasn't often, the sewer backed up. Was it afraid to be home alone? Trips were cancelled waiting for plumbers and cleaning up. Tree roots were blamed. Were they planning to climb the stairs, find us in our beds and strangle us? I'd best continue this in the daylight.

2013 Red Convertible Travel Series

The deer stand and the Book Thief

The conversation went like this: I’m going to work on my deer stand. You can come if you want.
Oh, it’s optional?
You don’t have to. Come on Buckshot.
All four feet are ready for anywhere he can run like wind and fire.
I’m thinking, I could sit in the truck and read.
I go. Buckshot rides in my lap. Our four-wheel drive squishes and squirms 2.3 miles on rain-soaked roads. Buckshot jumps out of the window to chase a jake turkey. It flies off. He goes only as far as the edge of the woods, comesback and runs alongside the truck. It must feel great to run wide open. He's good for a mile or two at 25 mph.
We stop at an enclosed, abandoned stand near the road. I can't wait to read some more of The Book Thief.
Here, he says. Take this window cleaner and newspapers, climb up there and wash the windows.
Rats! There goes my reading time.
He goes ahead with a sling blade to clear a path. At the foot of the ladder, I look almost straight up. No way! He put up 300’ towers. I'm afraid to climb ten rungs. I get no sympathy. Focus. Both hands and both feet are engaged one rung at a time. I get to the top and have to make a choice. Stay standing, grab the rickety door frame and step in, or go in on hands and knees. Hands and knees win.
Here’s the broom. Sweep it out while you’re there.
The stand is about 4’ by maybe 6’ with a lawn chair taking up half the space. My every move is calculated. Plexiglas scratches and does not clean to glass standards. I clean a pair of small glass windows from the inside and reach as far as I can to wash one of them on the outside. He will need a ladder to wash them. You notice, I slipped that job onto him. Two windows were shot out. Not surprising. If a big buck was visible from that direction, the windows were expendable.
We are remote, but still, a man on a bulldozer comes down the road and stops. He asks my guy if he can help him fix blah blah on the dozer.
Sure. He comes to the stand and yells up, I’ll be gone about five minutes.
News flash: Mississippi minutes are not 60 seconds long; they can be hours or days or longer. I fantasize being Rapunzel, but even on a good day, I don’t have enough hair to “let down” far enough for anyone to climb up.
His 5" turned into an hour. While climbing the ladder, his phone rings. He frowns and nods. We’ll be there in thirty minutes. Deer stand repairs are abandoned. We go back to camp and find company. There’s no leaving until all the b.s.ing is done and everybody’s had a beer, except me.
We finally head out, and we can’t find Buckshot. I feel like Chevy Chase’s wife in that goofy vacation movie. We go without him, a first. I bury myself in The Book Thief so I don't worry about him. Twenty-five miles later,we load the piece of machinery. More b.s.ing amongst the adolescent grownups. More beer and I’m driving back as the sun dives below the horizon. Buckshot is waiting on the doorstep. We’re glad. He’s ecstatic.
It’s pitch dark. The outside barrel stove is still hot. The neighbor comes over with a plate. I brought your supper: three hot pieces of barbecued chicken and fries. Yum! All is well.
The guys chat around the fire. I slip away to The Book Thief. Horribly depressing, inspiring, humbling, too. I wish Liesel had kissed Rudy. It had never occurred to me to write a story from the perspective of the Angel of Death. Nice work Markus Zusak.

2013 Red Convertible Travel Series

Seven Chimneys Farm, Clarksdale, MS

Seven chimneys? Yes, seven. The original part of the house was built in 1848 for Colonel William J. Oldham. It's been updated several times, but it has not lost its charm. Before the levee, the MS River came close, which was ideal for loading timber and off loading supplies and passengers. The land around the home was the Stovall Plantation and birthplace of Blues icon Muddy Waters. A few miles north on #1 is Friars Point where County Music Star Conway Twitty was born. I love his "Hello Darling".

The barn is a new addition on the farm. Don't think animals, it's for workshops with a stage for musicians and presentations. Tom Frankllin and Beth Ann Fennelly read from their new book the "Tilted World". I look forward to reading it. We enjoyed a Barbeque after. The proceeds went to the P.O.R.C.H. Society: Preservation of Rural Cultural Heritage.

I mosied out to the bonfire. Guests were gathered around in porch rockers absorbing the warmth and chatting. The man to my right had a camera and an accent. I had to ask where he was from. "The Netherlands." He was photographing the Delta for a Dutch RV America article. The Delta is a popular destination nationally and internationally.

Photographer Magadalena Sole was there for her photography workshop. Google her. The things I see never looked as interesting. She shines capturing life in the now.

Make a reservsation for a Deep South experience.

SevenChimneysFarm.com

2013 Red Convertible Travel Series

Fire: The Mother of All Fear

I was mesmorized by the flames in the cast iron barrel stove. "Study the fire," our friend Dago urged.

Perched on the cast iron picnic bench, I let myself go into its mind. Primitive. Raw energy. Cleansing. Tall flames licked sticks, then hunkered down, got serious, and had their way with logs. I shuddered to think what they could do to a house, a car, a person. Suffocation or water could stop it, but it would sizzle resistence to its end. Maybe the smoke off it made designs like clouds make shapes. I didn't see what Dago did.

Fire has a purpose. Animals eat ashes for salt and minerals. Ashes and lye make soap. It kept us warm, heated our teakettle on the cookstove, and baked Mom's bread. She knew exactly how many cobs it took to make a perfect angel food cake. My first encounter with fire was when I was a pre-schooler. It was my job to reach into the cob basket and pick out those with kernels of corn left on. Mom lifted the stove lid for me to add cobs one at a time to "feed the fire," she said. All was well until I rested my wrist on the stove. Ouch!!! An inch by 3/4 inch blister shot up. I ran outside to show Daddy, slid face down in the mud, and peeled off my top layer of skin. I have a permanent ID on my left wrist. I learned respect for fire, and I continue to be educated by its blessings and dangers.

Each spring Daddy bought a hundred three-day old chicks and brought them home to the brooder house. Mom caught one and held it to my ear. Its cottony coat tickled me, and the chick talked to me, "Peep." Everyday I wanted to play with them. It wasn't long until they sprouted feathers and we couldn't catch them. One cold morning, Daddy looked out and saw too much smoke rising from the brooder house. He ran out to save them. Mom and I watched him carry the circular stove out and drop it in the snow. He came in breathless. No chicks died, but, the front fell off of his new leather jacket.

District #70 had a program every month. When I was nine, I broke my leg the first week of school and couldn't be in the program. Miss Anderson put a paper napkin bow in my hair, a candle in my hand, and stood me beside the piano. All went well until I turned my head and the napkin caught fire. Mom jumped out of the audience, ran to me, pulled the fire off my head and stomped it out. I was stunned but not hurt. She said when she saw me with the candle, she never took her eyes off me. Thank God!

The most disturbing fire was the one in our upstairs bedroom. Registers were opened to allow for heat rising off the oil stove. When our parents decided it wasn't enough, Daddy lit the fuel oil stove in our bedroom. It might not have bothered me, if I hadn't been able to see the flame through the glass on the front. I couldn't sleep. I was paralyzed. Somewhere in the deep recesses of my soul, I knew I'd been burned alive. A nightmare? My imagination? Or was it another time? another place? Wherever it came from, it is my mother of all fears.

2013 Red Convertible Travel Series

Harry Truman's advice to parents

From At Knits End by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

Harry Truman said, "I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it.

"I have three daughters," he said, "and they all knit. The youngest knits with persistence; the middle one with a passion; and my eldest, now a teenager, wouldn't be caught dead with the needles in her hands. At first I thought it was because knitting wasn't 'hip enough' for her; then I thought she was worried about what her friends would think. Finally, I realized that she doesn't knit . . . because I do.

"I will remember that kids need to rebel to establish their own personalities, and that her rejection of knitting is nothing perosnal. I will also try not to rub it in she takes it back up in her twenties."

And that's my contribution to humor for today. Enjoy!

2013 Red Convertible Travel Series

Fear of city driving

Recounting fearful situations, driving in a big city was high on my list. I lived in Wahoo, NE and did not drive in Omaha until I was thirty. Of course I got lost and was scared to death. I asked for directions twice. Both times they were wrong. A nervous wreck, I finally make it to my destination. Now that I'm in MS, I frequently make the drive to NE in one day, all 800 miles of it. Those baby steps gave me the courage to tow a vehicle through Kansas City, St Louis, El Paso, Dallas, Nashville and Atlanta, to name a few.

Thirteen years ago today we bought a used forty foot motorhome. Talk about a challenge! The rear wheels are set forward, not close to the end like a bus. Too quick of a turn could wipe out a lane of traffic. I learned to drive it and by myself from Big Springs, TX to Tucson, AZ.

If I had stayed in my comfortable NE home, there's a lot I would have missed.

2013 Red Convertible Travel Series

Fear: 1st in a Series

My pre-school years were spent in the country with my parents. I loved my upstairs east bedroom. Sunny mornings sunbeams streamed through my window all the way to my bed and bathed me in happy. It's one of my best childhood memories. One spring morning my peaceful waking was shattered when I heard loud, excited voices outside. I wanted to peek out the window, but I was too scared. The voices didn't stop. I huffed and puffed, climbed out of bed and stomped to the window, pulled the curtain back, and saw Dad clubing something. It moved. I screamed and yelled "Stop it!" through the closed window. I wanted to go down and make him stop, but what if Dad came after me? I threw myself on my bed and sobbed. If it was in his way, why didn't he just walk around it. He's bigger than it is. What can I do? I pounded my little fists into the pillow. What did the thing do to him?

Hours later my mother explained a snapping turtle was in our yard and it was dangerous. I wasn't satisfied. "Why didn't you just take it back where it came from? The mean red roosters don't like me. You don't do anything to them." I backed away from her attempt to comfort me. She didn't defend its life; would she defend mine? Would Dad?

What did I learn? Children relate what happens to something else as something that could happen to them. Mom and Dad had never done me wrong. I hoped they never would. At the time, I didn't know we ate the mean red roosters. Maybe that's why when I cook chicken, I also maked deviled eggs.

Tell us what you learned from your fear.

2013 Red Convertible Travel Series

Pecans then and now

The 9/20/13 Clarksdale Press Register stated, "George Washington liked ‘Mississippi nuts so much he planted his own pecan grove at Mount Vernon and they are still producing.'

“Pecan trees were here before we were. The Algonquin called them ‘paccan,’ which means ‘food from a tree that is so hard, it needs to be cracked with a stone.’

“On a mid-nineteenth century Southern Louisiana plantation, Antione, a slave, grafted trees until he got a softer shell pecan. In 1876 the name ‘Centennial’ was given to the variety to commemorate the nation’s 100th anniversary.

“The U.S. produces over 80% of the world’s pecans. According to the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, the 2012 pecan crop totaled over 150,000 tons.

“Heaton Farm Manager Brian Fyfe said, ‘If Georgia doesn’t have a good crop, prices could be low.'

"The pecan price is also influenced by the international market. If China buys millions of pounds, the price rises.

“In the 1960’s Heaton’s planted two varieties: Desirable and Stuart variation. Customers can buy them in the shell, shelled, roasted or chocolate coated, to name a few." heaton-pecans.com

2013 Red Convertible Travel Series

Mississippi Sesame Crop

According to the 9/20/13 Clarksdale Press Register, Mississippi farms are planting sesame for the first time. “Thomas Jefferson said the sesame seed ‘is among the most valuable acquisitions our country has ever made.’”

I love them. We eat a lot of hummus with fresh veggies and sauté with it. I see them on hamburger buns and crackers. I’ve bought jars of toasted and plain for salads. Halva is worth traveling miles for. We bought it in the refrigerated section of a Middle Eastern store in Omaha, NE. Krysia and I would slice off tiny slivers and eat them unadorned. La Tourangelle Toasted Sesame Oil is in my cupboard. The label states, “Handcrafted in Japan with 270 years of tradition.” I could leave a bowl of oil out all the time. The fragrance strikes a deep note of satisfaction and reminds me of hot dry days, something we don’t have in Mississippi, simplicity, minimalism, natural fibers, dates and figs, huge tents with Persian rugs on the sand, Sultans, belly dancers, and camels - a mini-vacation.

CPR, "In Middle Eastern and Asian countries sesame seeds are a staple that is hand-picked. The US has few growers which requires importing 75%. McDonald’s is looking for American grown seed. Thanks to some recent engineering, a new variety of sesame that was developed around the turn of the last century now exists and this variety has a thicker pod that doesn’t easily break apart. They are drought tolerant, so it didn’t matter that the summer was long and dry. They can be harvested by machine."

One of the growers brought a sesame plant to church this morning. It stood about 4' high with numberous branches covered with pods about 4" apart. A pod has four chambers of 10 seeds each. He said he will harvest them with the same combine head he uses for soybeans.

Go growers! I am crossing my fingers and stacking up prayers for you.

2013 Red Convertible Travel Series

Car Washers

Real car washers

my sweet friends

Ryker, Aja & Alec

2013 Red Convertible Travel Series

Nature Funnies

2013 Red Convertible Travel Series

Bears and Bait

North Central Arkansas

Note the dark spot

upper center

About an inch down

there's a 2' ledge

black bears walk

to their winter den

not now

closer to winter

Cubs are born

while the mother

sleeps

such a deal

Bears trapped with donuts
and collared

Some Canadians
use popcorn bait

An Alaskan hunter

used Oreos

2013 Red Convertible Travel Series



Laboring and Labor Day

America the beautiful!

Toe tickling cold!

Peaceful waters.

Wherever you are, a blessed Labor Day to you and yours.

Labor Day many years ago, my husband and I were painting the front of the house when my contractions started. With his help, I got off the scaffold and went to the hospital. Nothing happened! We waited. And waited. And waited some more. Eventually I was induced and waited some more. Baby came in time for breakfast. We named her Corrie after Corrie Ten Boom. She was worth the wait and still it.

The Midwest work ethic lives in my blood and bones. I love the feeling of accomplishment. I sleep better. Yesterday I declared war on dust and dirt and labored cleaning house. JB went dove hunting and came home with muddy boots. Oh, well, what's one more cleanup? Two cupboard's contents are organized! I'm working my way to the kitchen. We have closets, but no pantry or basement. Today I sorted a stack of handwritten notes. I could spends hours in a stationery store. Maybe you've received one of my handwritten notes. I like to send news, encouragement, thanks and congratulations. Crane cards and stationery are classy. So is wheat grass paper. I watch for artist's work transferred to cards and sometimes make my own.

Here in the Deep South, hunting is work. Yesterday I learned we now have an "alligator season". Ohhh!!!! An 11'3" gator was taken along the MS River about 15 miles from here. The man who told us was wearing a belt from the one his son got. We are currently in dove season. Our frig has bitty dove breasts soaking in salt water. They'll be marinated in Thousand Island or Zesty Italian dressing, wrapped in bacon and grilled. A couple of bites worth. And then in Nov., hunting season starts. Our guys are good providers. They work at it. It was 105 degrees in the truck yesterday. Buckshot opted not to go. So did I.

However you spent your day, I hope you are happy, healthy and safe.

2013 Red Convertible Travel Series

Draped in Dog

Dog days of summer

motorhome lumbers

Buckshot scared

in my lap

head on my shoulder 

legs braced on mine

'tis better parked

at start finish line

Lafayette Springs Dirt Track

front row seats

Grandaughter Bertlee

agrees

a good time was had

by all

2013 Red Convertible Travel Series

Awesome Southern Pecan Pie

My friend Evelyn gave me this old Southern recipe:

Have all ingredients at room temperature

1 9" unbaked pie shell

1 cup halved or chopped pecans
1 Tablespoon flour
1/2 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
dash of salt
1 cup of Green Label Karo Pancake Syrup
1 stick, 8 teaspoons, of butter

Place pecans in the bottom of the unbaked crust
Mix the rest of the ingredients together and pour over the pecans
Bake pie on a cookie sheet
350 degrees for 45 minutes.

This was my first attempt at Southern Pecan Pie. I made four Friday and gave away three They were a hit. .

2013 Red Convertible Travel Series

Feet and Food on the Track

Our neighbor said I could have all the figs I wanted from their tree. I picked one and smelled it. It felt Middle Eastern, rich, exotic and reminiscent of ancient lands drier and hotter than MS. Sweet, seedy fruit melted in my mouth. Sigh! I could have eaten a dozen, but I knew what that'd do to my system. I gathered all I could reach, a mere twenty. Emeril Lagasse's recipe called for a cup of sugar. Mine were so sweet, I added half a cup to a rough pound and a half of fresh figs. Simmering shrank them. Their sweet fragrance had me sniffing the kettle often. The whole batch fit in a pint jar, well, almost, I tasted one  . . . or maybe it was three; the jar would have been too full. I think I'll save them for a special occasion. The jar rests at the back of the counter with my four and a half pints of pickled okra. Mom and Grandma would be proud I remember what they taught me about preserving.

I love soft, still, Southern mornings with dew on everything. Saturday morning I carried my "Our Corner Cottage" bag from Wahoo, NE to the Farmer's Market in Lyon, MS anticipating fresh veggies, canned jams and jellies and possibly a peach cobbler or some rare dessert I wouldn't make because I'd have to eat it myself. Just before the railroad crossing hump, I made a right turn beside the tracks. Shoppers were already coming away with bags and baskets; I hoped I wasn't too late.

Speckled butter beans were on my list. They are the size of a large Lima Bean with lighter flesh and spots. I think they have a more rounded flavor. Locals say they're so close to the ground they're hard to pick. I paid premium price for a pint. Purveyors had fresh jalapenos, green and red tomatoes, yellow squash, zucchini, sweet rolls, fig and peace jams, shelled purple hulled peas and more. I don't understand why some buyers prefer their peas in the shell rather than shelled out. They're the same price. ??? I bought two bags of speckled butter beans and left.

As an afterthought, I turned back to see if the bakery lady from TN had arrived. No. Then I noticed something odd. Have you ever seen a table backed right up to a railroad track? Bold, isn't it. The lady behind it had one foot on the rail. I don't remember ever hearing a train. I surveyed the second track and discovered a separated, bent out rail no train could use. Vendors are making good use of an abandoned location.

2013 Red Convertible Travel Series

Nature's Surprises, Life in Picctures

Best friends Madchen and Schatzie riding high!

Is it a seal pup or a puppy?

 Madchen's summer address.

The silent pet - all that's left of Buckshot's blanket.

fat mice? 

Beside the MS River, a tree and it's happy.

I see a happy turtle. Aja sees a dragon. JB sees a bathmat - no imagination.

What a runaway drop of tea made on the kitchen table. Is it a what or a who?

A drop of coffee making love.

                                               The town of Alligator, MS.                                                                                      

2013 Red Convertible Travel Series

The Fork's Life

Dedicated to Angela Levkoff whose Grandmother passed recently.

An heirloom
with its own stories
of foods forked

at Grandma's Sunday dinners

Crispy fried chicken

homegrown potatoes mashed and milk gravy
sweetcorn
picked and shucked Sunday morning

 lettuce
wilted with bacon, green onions

and a splash of vinegar

homemade buns

butter and honey

angelfood cake
real cream whipped

sliced, fresh garden strawberries

on top

and the things it heard . . .
the neighbor is in a family-way
markets are going down
so and so's kid stole the boss's tools
will he go to jail

it's job done
washed in hot soapy water
dried with a soft towel
tucked back in her silver chest

Grandma died
the silver chest laid untouched
until a granddaughter
lifted the lid
oohed and aahed
and took possession

the craftsman heated it

 intertwined the prongs
to make two hearts

and bent the handle

to go around her wrist

one more way
Granddaughter
holds Grandma close

2013 Red Convertible Travel Series