Oh the Acorns of My Acorns!

This year has been a bumper crop for acorns. There is a Live Oak on our front property that embraces the house with its long limbs. And the tree has rained down acorns by the millions. For the past two weeks, we have listened to the roof being pelted with them, all through the night, and especially when it got windy. The oak trees in the back of the house have created slippery surfaces for walking. It’s like trying to balance yourself on ball bearings. Just getting to the neighbor’s house can be hazardous. In the morning, when I walk, there are so many acorns on the side of the road that I had to change the route because walking on the grass under the oak trees was too dangerous. With the cars going by at that time of morning, trying to deliver their children to the elementary school, I was afraid that I would roll out into the street and get run over by a frantic parent.

Ugh! Too Many Sit Ups 

Yesterday, I went to the gym by myself, after my gym partner backed out. Feeling rather sanctimonious, I congratulated myself for being so disciplined and proceeded to attack my routine with great vigor. I was at the gym and she was not! As a special challenge, I resorted to a former routine that included the ab machine. It has been some months since I used this in my regular routine, but I was surprised just how easy it was. So I did an extra 15 reps. Boy, was that a mistake. When I tried to get up out of a chair the next day, I couldn’t. Oh, man, what was I thinking. It was a humbling experience. Maybe next time my gym partner poops out on me, I’ll use better judgement.

Vegetable Ribbons with Pasta

Cook flat pasta according to directions, and set aside.

In a large flat pan, melt butter and put in carrot and zucchini ribbons. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook for a few minutes and then add more butter and horse radish sauce. When the ribbons have cooked enough to be al dente, add the pasta and stir. Cook till everything is coated in sauce. Serve.

You can throw in some parsley or green onions to make it more colorful.
This is a light dish, so be careful with the horse radish sauce.

Fire Ants 

After two major storms in Raymond, the Fire Ants have come up out of the ground by the millions. There are dirt mounds everywhere. Across the lawns, by the side of trees, fire hydrants, playgrounds, and even by the court house steps. Most of us who live here give the ants a wide walk around, knowing that a misstep can result in immediate burning pain. It is amazing just how fast a Fire Ant can react to their nest being touched. And once they lock onto you, it’s a struggle to pull them off your skin. They’re like little pit bulls. They won’t let go. Then, for the grand prize, each bite you receive will form a pustule on top of a red welt.

Most people in town resort to poison. Unfortunately, “love Mother Earth” is a foreign concept here. No one makes the connection that if you spread a whole bunch of poison and it rains, the poison eventually goes into our drinking water and our plants. I have found that if you annoy the ants enough, they will pack up and move away to the neighbor’s lawn or property. This has worked out quite well for me and I wish others would do the same. Simply use the hose from a safe distance, or take a shovel and plunge it into the ant hill. You gotta be quick though. They’re fast as lightning. I’ve had to drop the shovel more than once and run. So far, the score is: ants 2, humans 1.

Since I walk through the town most every day, I get to see a lot more of the outside than most folks do. It hasn’t really rained since July, and the drought is getting worse and worse. The wildlife are beginning to come into our yards because there isn’t any water for them to drink. Heck, the deer ate Mr. Charlie’s Pansies out of the church garden bed and they had to cross the street to get to them. I have 3 bird baths in my yard and I try to keep them full. It would be a really good thing if you put out some water as well. The mosquitoes are just about done for the season and the animals really need our help.

Hair Country

Last Thursday, I finally made up my mind to cut my hair. I have had long hair most all my life, and it has always been my shining glory. I never wanted to look like most older ladies who have that ugly helmet hair shaped doo comprised of little curls, tightly to their head. My mother wore one and each night she would wrap her doo in a hair net before she went to bed. Then in the morning, she would take a lift comb and fluff out the hair. Once a week, she went to the beauty parlor and had it all redone. For me, the very thought of not being able to comb my hair for a week made my scalp itch!

At the age of 67, however, after clipping my hair back for all those years, I am left with a bald spot on the crown of my head. I understand Geishas have the same problem as they age. So off I went to the best barber in Raymond. His name is James Lewis and I trusted him to give me the best haircut he could possibly do. He cut half my hair off and as much as I hated the idea of having less hair, it was for the best. I can now cover my bald spot.

Now, let me tell you about our town barber. You either like James Lewis or you don’t, and at the age of 75, he comes out with the most outrageous comments I have ever heard. Sometimes I have to burst into laughter. The first time I entered his shop, I was shocked by what I saw. I don’t think he has ever cleaned his place of business. There is such a melee of junk, signs, newspaper articles, stuffed animals, rocks, deer antlers, antique barber chairs in descending stages of ill repair, that it takes a while to take it all in. Mr. Lewis, himself, is usually covered with a blizzard of hair. He has a good business and that’s where you meet all kinds of townspeople in Raymond. I always enjoy going there. He works Wednesdays through Saturday only, and you can tell he’s in because he hangs out his towel. Everybody in Raymond goes there for a haircut and news of the community. Before I left, I came home with two booklets entitled “History of Cooper’s Well”, and “Raymond, A History from 1821-1876.”

So now I am adjusting to my new hair length. I guess I should be grateful that I still have any hair since some of my relatives are almost bald. But it was a big step for me, this haircut. Everything changes.

Peanut Sauce Recipe

After searching around, and trying a number of peanut sauces, I have finally found the best one. It came from allrecipes.com, and it was the sauce for Chinese Chicken Salad. The salad was good, but the peanut sauce was outstanding. I put it over spaghetti noodles with green onions, fresh cilantro, and freshly shelled unsalted peanuts. It was even better the next day. 

Cook Pasta. When the pasta is cooled, add the peanuts, cilantro and green onions. Then mix in the dressing. 

Dressing:
Mix together with a whisk:
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce (available at Kroger on the international isle)
2 tablespoons of peanut butter
2 teaspoons of brown sugar
¾ teaspoon hot chile paste (also available on the international isle)
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
3 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar (same place as above)
1 tablespoon of toasted sesame oil (located in the cooking oil isle)

July 2nd was my birthday. My girlfriends and I went to lunch to celebrate. Betsy's entree was so unusual, I thought it deserved a photo. It kinds of reminds me of Dr. Seuss. How about you?

Nature’s Bounty

Went by the community garden on my walk this morning and found the mayor picking tomatoes and purple hull peas. She gave me a batch of peas and I hulled them when I got home. It’s been a while since I did this, so the peas popped out of the pods, jumped the side of the bowl and landed on the floor.  It took a while to perfect my technique and now I know why they are named purple hull peas because my fingers are now purple. I plan on cooking them tonight with some chicken stock, half a slice of bacon, salt & pepper. They will go good over rice. 

At the same time, the tomatoes came in and I’m overwhelmed. Yesterday, I spent the afternoon cooking spaghetti sauce. Well, actually I should call it chicken zucchini spaghetti sauce. I used up half the tomatoes and was able to get 6 dinners out of it, which I then put in the freezer. Tomorrow, I plan on doing the same with the tomatoes below. 

Nutraderm Therapeutic Lotion, Original Formula

I have used the above lotion for almost forty years. Over that period of time, it has always been available at any large drug store. It used to cost about $8.00. Over the years, the price has gone up some, but I never paid over $15.00 for it. When I moved from California to Mississippi, I had to rely on the Internet for my supply. Now that my birthday is approaching, when asked what I would like, I said Nutraderm. The next thing I knew, I got a call late at night from a friend who said he’d like to buy it for me, but he wasn’t going to pay $100.00 for it. I was aghast. So this morning, I looked up Nutraderm on Amazon, and sure enough, there is was. $100.00. I am guessing that the company either went out of business, or stopped making the product. What amazes me even more, is you can buy it new or used. Now why would anyone buy a half-used container of moisturizer? The thought makes me gak. This is a fine example of why change isn’t always for the better. Tarnation! Now I'll have to go find another lotion. 

Mountain Laurel

My brother sent me this photo from North Carolina. His back yard is full of Mountain Laurel which is blooming right now. We have our Azaleas here in the deep south, but the Mountain Laurel certainly holds it own. Make sure to click on the photo to enlarge it.

                                                                Hooray! Yippee!

This season's Sun Drops didn't disappoint. In fact, they were glorious.  People would slow down as they passed the front of the house to look at them. I never planned to have them in front by the road, but they chose where they wanted to grow and I just put a fence around them. 

The Emerald Looking Glass

It's hard to take a photo of a mirror and not get a glare, so I took one from the side. The stitching around the mirror is a wheat stitch, diamond stitch, and double stitch. The pine needles are from Pass Christian. The shiny stuff is junk jewelry.  And, oh yes, the reflection is my front porch.

The Community Garden Project, Raymond, MS

Once again, the women of Raymond have come together to plant a garden. We planted tomato plants and much to our dismay, they came down with Mosaic Disease. We had to pull almost all of them in the square garden, but the longer part of the garden doesn’t seem to be affected. Since the pestilence is insect borne, it doesn’t affect the soil, so we were able to replant. It actually will work out fine because we’ll have tomatoes that come in steadily, and won’t be overwhelmed all at once.  This morning, Elaine, Althea, Isla, and I did some weeding. Please note the dark rich soil and manicured plants. We're proud of our roots.

                      This last photo shows the second planting of tomatoes in the square garden.

Big Rescue Event in Raymond or Cat in the Tree Hoopla

This is Sammy. Sammy is the new Butterscotch and white kitten who greets us every morning when Elaine and I walk. She has a home, but is overly friendly and likes the ritual of being petted and getting a small handout of dry cat food every morning. We’ve met her owner and luckily, he doesn’t object to our ritual. In the past, we had one woman who starved the cat she had and tried to get us arrested for helping the poor animal out. Anyway, as we were walking past Sammy’s house 3 days ago, we heard a kitty in distress. When we finally looked up, we realized that Sammy was up a tree and was afraid to come down. We called and encouraged her to come down, but she was too freaked out. I knocked on Sammy’s owner’s door and he told us she had already spent a day in the tree before we found her. Not knowing what else to do, I called the mayor’s office, even though it was Saturday. The sheriff’s department came on line and I told the lady on the phone our predicament. I asked her to contact Animal Control and she did. So I drove to Sammy’s house and showed the two officers who came out where the cat was. They tried and tried for a couple of hours, but no luck.  Sammy was not coming down. I gave up for the day and went home.  The next morning, Elaine said she didn’t want to walk by the cat again since it was going on the third day and didn’t want to hear her cries of distress. So we walked another way. Unknown to us, the Animal Control officer contacted the fire department and they came over to see about the cat. A number of people were coming out of their houses to see what the commotion was about. The police were there, and a few other rescue vehicles. They decided to use the fire hose to knock the cat out of the tree. By this time, some of the neighbors set their lawn chairs in the yard and continued to watch with refreshments in hand.  Well, it took 3 tanker fulls of water for them to be successful. The more they sprayed, the higher up the cat went. Finally, Sammy fell out of the tree. There was supposed to be a guy at the bottom of the tree holding a small trampoline to catch the kitty, but when the cat came down, he panicked and ran away.Why, I don’t know, but that was what I was told by the spectators. Sammy hit the ground running and took off, away from the crowd. I guess she gave up one of her nine lives, but she survived. The next day, when Elaine and I went by Sammy’s house, she came out to greet us. I checked her all over, but she had no injuries. I was amazed. So I gave her a handful of kitty chow, smiled, and moved on.

One-Way on Elm

About a month ago, the county decided to make one block of Elm Street one way in Raymond. First they put up a sign saying one-way, but the towns people kept driving past the sign and not noticing it. The next day, another one-way sign was put up on the other side of the road. No one paid any attention. So the next day, they put up a barrier. This got some attention, but it wasn’t the right kind of attention. The morning after they added the barrier, I noticed that someone had hit it. The next morning, it had completely collapsed. Another morning, someone had thrown it up onto the grass. Needless to say, it was very amusing to watch. However, it wasn’t amusing to the people who finally received a ticket from our local police force. Johnny Law just calmly waited a block down from the site and waited for cars to appear. It was like shooting fish in a barrel.

Mary's Basket III

This is the third basket for the folks in Alabama. They wanted a duplicate of one of my sample baskets. Much to my delight, they look quite similar. The basket is made with the fern stitch, and the coins came from a dress that I bought at Good Will.

Tuesday Morning’s Gift

Woke up this morning to a temperature of only 25 degrees. None the less, Elaine and I took our daily walk with puffy coats, ear muffs, gloves, and a scarf. As usual, Palestine Street was windy and cold and we were glad to turn on Elm Street where the wind was calm. We fed our usual feral cats and headed toward Gillespie Circle. As we approached, there were flocks and flocks of Black Birds, Robins, and Pine Siskins. It looked like the Robins and the Pine Siskins had just arrived from their migration. They moved in waves as we made our way around the block, undulating from trees to ground and then back to trees. Their voices filled the air and it was exhilarating to watch and listen to their chorus. We stopped more than once to just take it all in. Living in a small town like Raymond gives us the privilege to experience nature on an amazing scale. Who’d a thought.

Mary’s Basket II

This is the second basket of the five commissioned. The stitching on the lower sides of the basket is the Wheat Stitch. On the upper part is the Fern Stitch. The lid also contains the Wheat and the Fern Stitch as well.  The base of the basket is made from Cherry wood.

I found this recipe in Well Being Magazine. I’ve made it 3 times, and it gets better and better each time. However, I have modified it to suit my taste. After carefully looking at the photo, I saw corn, but there is no corn in the ingredients below. So I added the corn and also some black beans as well. Instead of using the green stuff on top, I added sour cream. This recipe tastes even better the day after.

Southwestern Lasagna

Ingredients

1 pound 95% lean ground sirloin (ground turkey is better)

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 (16-ounce) jar salsa (I only added 1/3 since the salsa was medium hot)

1 1/4 cups enchilada sauce

Salt and pepper to taste (optional) (the enchilada sauce was salty enough)

1 cup fat-free cottage cheese

1 large egg white, beaten

6 (6-inch) flour tortillas, cut into thirds

1 cup shredded reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2. In large nonstick skillet coated with nonstick cooking spray, brown beef and garlic over medium heat about 8 minutes or until meat is done. Drain excess fat. Add salsa, enchilada sauce, and salt and pepper (if using). Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. 3. In small bowl, combine the cottage cheese and egg white. Coat a13x9x2-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. 4. Spread thin layer of meat sauce in the dish. Layer with half the tortillas, all of the cottage cheese mixture, half the remaining meat mixture, and half the cheese. Repeat layers, omitting the cottage cheese layer and ending with the meat sauce. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and bake for 25–30 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting.

Ruth’s Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cook the ground turkey and garlic till done. Add salsa and enchilada sauce.
Bring to a boil. Cook 5 minutes.

Combine cottage cheese and egg white in a bowl.

In a glass baking dish, spread some of the meat sauce on the bottom. Put some of the cut flour tortillas down next. Then spread some of the cottage cheese on top. More tortillas, more meat sauce, more cottage cheese. On the final layer spread the rest of the meat sauce. Cover with cheese.

Bake 25-30 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting.