God Bless Us Everyone

May all the images from your ghosts of Christmases past, present and future show you all good things.  As Tiny Tim said, "God bless us everyone".  God bless all of you and to all a good night.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

Well, the weatherpersons (to be politically correct) predicted snow for today and they were right on the day, but a little off on the timing.  We were supposed to have rain until afternoon, then turning to snow.  I awakened to snow and it's still coming down.

The roads were not supposed to be accumulating snow.  Supposedly the roads were supposed to be warm enough that the snow would melt.  Guess those flakes fooled Mr/Ms Weatherperson because I see a little bit of stuff accumulating out there. 

This could be an interesting one.  When we get snow coming up from the Gulf of Mexico, which this is, then we tend to have a lot...as in 10 - 12 inches a lot.  Today's snow has been predicted to be 2 - 4 inches.  (They say blithely, not acknowledging that 4 inches of snow will cripple this town.)  Well, gotta study for that final next week anyway, so break out the hot tea and hot cocoa and let the snow continue.

Wishing you sunshine and warm temperatures you little snow bunnies.

Yes, they do say the darnedest things...

Grayson and Ashton

Having a 23 year old we don't have a chance to hang with little ones too often.  Last weekend we got that chance.  We traveled to St. Louis to see our niece Ashley get married.  Ashley used her niece Mya as her flower girl and her two nephews Ashton and  Grayson as ring bearers.  It was fun to be with the little kids and hear all of their cute sayings.  The boys wore nice suit jackets and pants with belts (a new one on them...they generally wear elastic waist pants).  Poor Ashton, the older and potty trained one, had a tough time with his "seat belt".  He couldn't get it off in time and well, things got a little damp.  I suspect he wants to go back to elastic...it's quicker and easier.  Those "seat belts" can be a little too tricky to get off in time.

The kids' parents shared with us their versions of some phrases.  Instead of going to Mickey D's (McDonald's) these kids go to Happy D's.  I guess it's some kind of combination of happy meal and Mickey D's. 

Then another favorite is their version of Toys R Us.  These three little tykes call it Toys 4 us.  Far more accurate than the commercial name I must admit.

My favorite of all was what they call the Ferris Wheel.  To them it's the Scare Us Wheel.  Pretty darned accurate I must say.  Kids do say the darnedest things.

Mya - the flower girl

Lame Blogger Alert

Man oh man...do I EVER qualify for lame blogger of the year.  I can't believe my last post was over a month ago.  You'd think NOTHING ever happened in my life.  Well...that may be close, but not exactly true.  I've been doing lots of stuff...some of it even fun.

Last weekend was the Crozet Arts and Crafts Festival.  My sister and brother-in-law from Whynot Pottery came up and spent the weekend with us and sold lots of pots. (yay)  I got to go out and see their stuff on Sunday with friend Pat and bought a few goodies.  They make some beautiful stuff.  My sister is having fun with her pillow pots and tiles.  They're always trying something new and fun.  I like it because it keeps me in Christmas gifts for friends.

Christine and Aunt Meredith at the fair.

Also visiting over the weekend were Christine's friend from Dallas, Elizabeth with her friend Chloe.  The girls were making an east coast swing with a focus on trying to visit as many states as possible in about 10 days.  They were doing a pretty good job of knocking them out. 

Chloe, Liz and Christine

Earlier tonight John and I went to The Mudhouse in Crozet, met up with friends Mike and Pat, and heard some good music.  There is a local singer/songwriter with a wonderful voice: Mariana Bell.  You should give her a listen if you get a chance.  Also playing were Travis Elliott and Tucker Rogers.  You should check them out if you get a chance as well.  They were all quite good.  It's nice to hear music at a coffee house rather than having to sit in a smoky bar.  Those days are over for me, thank goodness.

Other highlights of the last month include a quick trip to Norfolk.  Got to see mom, friend Jeanie from Coeur d'Alene who was in town visiting her mother and step dad.  Also got to see my friend Lee who is making some gorgeous quilts. The woman has talent.  Got to see the nephews, too, of course.  Had an interesting hour or so waiting by the side of the road on Shore Drive for AAA to come change a tire.  I should have just changed it myself...would have been a lot quicker.

Tomorrow, friend Andrea and her daughter are coming down to go to a Metallica concert at the local arena, JPJ.  I wonder how our 50 something friend is going to handle the head banging and mosh pit.  Oh, to be a fly on the wall...with earplugs, of course. 

Next weekend takes us to St. Louis for niece Ashley's wedding.  The last weekend of the month is reserved for our annual football get together.  Busy is good, right?

When is a Naughty Child good?

Recently while "reading" (I use quotes because almost everything I read these days is a book on tape) Elmore Leonard's Tishomingo Blues there is a scene where the protagonist is talking to a woman at a Civil War reinactment camp.  The woman is slicing green tomatoes for a "Naughty Child Pie".  Coming from a long line of great Southern cooks I thought, "Wow...never heard of anything called Naughty Child Pie",  and the only thing I knew you could do with green tomatoes was fry them or wait for them to ripen.  My curiosity piqued, I started searching for Naughty Child Pie online.  Many references were to the book, Tishomingo Blues, and to the fact that no one had a recipe.  I finally stumbled upon an actual recipe and filed it under the "maybe one day I'll be brave enough to try this" category. 

Well, this being the end of tomato season and what with having shared much of our bounty (unintentionally mind you) with the local deer population I realized I had a few measly little green tomatoes and if I wanted to give this pie a shot I'd better get crackin'.  So Sunday was the day.  I baked one and I must say it was quite yummy.  I did not peel the tomatoes, which makes it a little tough to cut.  I might try removing the peel if I attempted another one.  This also calls for a boatload of sugar (1 1/2 cups) and I think you could get away with less.  Not sure about the chemistry if you do that.  Maybe one of you who actually studied chemistry can tell me if I should up the flour quotient or what.  Here's the recipe.  Give it a try and let me know what you think of this particular Naughty Child.

Naughty Child Pie

8 medium-size green tomatoes
1/2 Cup golden raisins
2 Tsp. grated lemon peel
2 TBSP. lemon juice
1 TBSP. cider vinegar
1 1/2 Cups white sugar
1/3 Cup toasted chopped pecans
1/4 Cup all-purpose flour
1/4 TBSP. salt
1 Tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 Tsp. ground ginger
2 TBSP. butter chilled/cut into small pieces
powdered sugar for sprinkling

1 Pre-made pie shell

Preheat oven to 400°. On lightly floured board, roll out pie dough into a circle about 12 inches in diameter. Edges will be ragged,this is okay. Just leave like this as edges will get folded in later. Center dough in 9 inch pie plate.  Cover & chill. Cut tomatoes into thin slices. Put into large mixing bowl & add raisins, lemon peel, juice & vinegar. Stir & set aside. Mix together sugar, pecans, flour, salt, cinnamon, & ginger. Blend well. Sprinkle 2 tablespoon over chilled pie crust. Add remaining sugar-pecan mixture to tomato slices. Toss to coat well. Scrape tomato filling into pie crust. Dot with pieces of chilled butter. Fold overhang of pastry into center over filling.

Bake 15 minutes. Turn heat down to 325° & bake for 45 minutes or until bubbly & crust is golden brown. Let pie cool on wire rack before cutting. Dust top with powdered sugar for decoration.  (I didn't bother with the powdered sugar.)


Bon Appetite!

Happy Labor Day

Looks like multiple members of the family have been laboring on Labor Day.  I can tell from her FB message that Mere has.  Odds are Lee is working because she never stops working.  Don't know about the boys, but I'm sure they accomplished something today.  I have a conference on Thursday, so had to go into the office to get some hours in today.  This part time don't get paid unless you clock in stuff is getting a little old.

We did enjoy an early BBQ at Pat and Mike's last night.  Mike is working on perfecting a pork shoulder smoked on his Weber using apple twigs.  He made one last weekend and then did two for last night.  It was more than enough in spite of the crowd.  In fact we have some in the fridge that Pat sent home with us.  Hmmmm...dinner!

I have some burning to do before all the yard junk that I raked and dug up yesterday gets wet from the predicted storm.  Just thought I'd take a minute to wish everyone a happy day off...for those who actually took the day off.  Wishing all a good week.

Champ - Feb 1998 to August 31 2009

Champ May 31, 2009
This picture was taken exactly 3 months before he died. Hard to believe.

Champ, our beloved yellow lab, died sometime in the wee hours of Monday morning. He started looking bad on Saturday. He finally came inside after spending some time outside just lying in the driveway in the rain. He was well behaved for our visitors and, of course, begged treats off of me while I was cooking. Overnight he vomited his dinner and when I got up Sunday morning he wanted to go outside first thing. I found his "deposits" fairly quickly and got those cleaned up. He was doing his typical sick routine...going out behind the workshop and lying around, eventually coming up to the gazebo and lying on the dirt floor there and just looking sad. He didn't want to eat anything. I tried to give him his pills with peanut butter...usually a favorite...and I had to force them in past his clenched teeth. His gums felt hot and his nose was dry and warm. We let him lay around outside much of the day, but eventually we got him in. He couldn't eat. He drank a little water and eventually vomited that back up. As the day progressed he grew increasingly weaker. He was stumbling around, barely able to pull himself upright by the end of the night.

We showered lots of love and pets on him. He obviously felt so bad it was sad to watch. As we were preparing for bed John asked Christine to check with the vet, Dr. Epstein, to see if she could bring home an injection so we could put him to sleep at home. Being the last to go to bed, I gave him some gentle scratches and told him that we loved him very much and how great a dog he had been for us. I didn't think he'd last the night and he didn't.

I got up Monday morning and Christine was in the entry way, cleaning him up. He had died during the night. He was so quiet. After months of heavy panting it was strange not hearing that sound any more. He looked so peaceful and that was a comfort. He had such a wonderful personality. Champ was just always happy as long as he was with his people.

John got up and went into the back yard and dug a grave. I helped him take Champ to his grave and helped him fill it in. We said a little good bye to the guy and then headed in for work as usual.
It just breaks my heart to have lost this dog. He really and truly was such a fabulous dog. He was rambunctious and undisciplined, but very loving and happy. Christine picked him out of a large litter and she did a great job. His personality fit in with our family so well. He could be a real pickle...running off and getting into trouble, but he was our pickle and we adored him.

I just don't see us getting another dog any time soon. It was too painful to lose him. This has been a really crappy year with too many deaths of too many people (and critters) I've known and loved. It sure makes you appreciate the little things that you can still enjoy...a beautiful sunset, a big harvest moon, a sunny day that has just the right temperature. Sometimes that special thing is just making it through the greenlight when you really need to get someplace. Whatever it is appreciate it before it's gone.