the classics

     I always try to keep a pantry meal on hand. I say try because sometimes I slip up. After helping Ryan take care of Mary Grace post wisdom teeth removal, I didn't want to stop at the store. Open the pantry for a few cans and there you have it. Classics...

Mom's salmon croquettes and Linda's scalloped tomatoes. Round that out with rice and a can of green veg of your choice. Ivy has gotten interested in cooking and made the croquettes. The scalloped tomatoes are so crunchy and good. Mary Grace is doing well and I had to solemnly swear I would not take pics and post them.

 

Now beware this next picture because it is highly addictive...

 

 

I'm strolling through the freezer section of my local Kroger, congratulating yourself. I had just passed through the Halloween section...hey, there's no other way to dog food! Staggering just a bit because I was slightly intoxicated by chocolate fumes and a little freaked out by some skull in a shapeless shift that yelled at me, I had made it all the way through the aisle without one bag of delicious candy in my cart. Not one baby Butterfinger, not one perfect two bite Payday, not even a trace of tiny, fresh, crunchy, exactly the right amount of chocolate per bite HEATH bars, so come on cut me a little slack here.  So I breath the cool, fresh , no scent air of the freezer section and round the corner almost home...and bam! Some cruel marketer had set up a cute little display filled with candy corn. It was set up like a continuous feed dog food bowl. You pulled out your little bag and another one drops into it's place. Oh, those little precious pumpkins! They would look so cute in a little dish on the counter. Beware. They taste good with your coffee. They taste wonderful with your salad. They taste even perfect just grabbing a few as you pass them on the way for a walk (ok I made that part up but I may go for a walk soon). So there are things even scarier than goblins and ghosts...like trying to zip last seasons jeans....muahahahahaha....



re. sea monkeys

    ok, you know I'm the curious sort so I couldn't resist googling sea monkeys (see previous post)

 

          They still EXIST!

 

 

Apparently they are a hybrid brine shrimp that can exist is an inanimate state when dry. They come to life when their eggs are placed in salt water. AAAAAAAHH!

 

 

Look Whitney, still available at Toys R Us. You are welcome. The kids need a pet. I have a feeling they no longer cost $1.25...

 

 

 

The search continues

     The search continues for more great stuff for the Woolverton new house. Nothing is more important to the daily life of the home than a kitchen table. Candy had this old table for many years and it will work beautifully as their breakfast table. It came out of her grandparents bar restaurant in Omaha, Nebraska. Wish it could tell us it's stories. So we set out to find the perfect chairs. After a minimum amount of searching and a break for sushi, we found these.

 

 

As a reward following the placement of the chairs, we sat in them and had this.

 

 

It is the best pistachio gelato. And I had the added treat of a Grinch spoon that changed color with the cold. I know you are jealous. Also check out those cute tiny bowls and what they say.

 

     My friend Medea came to visit this weekend. We had a lot of fun, but you wouldn't know it because I took no pictures. Well I took one. Mary Grace and Ryan made breakfast for us Saturday morning. It was so nice. Medea was impressed. Yes those are mimosas...

 

I had a big batch of flowers left from Sunday's church arrangement. Mom and I usually split them up and take them to people to cheer up their day, but I had some left. I saw this big jar on my garage shelves and it made me smile.

 

It is a big ole gallon jar that was my Mamaw Brown's. I always loved it. She always used it for Amazing Sea Monkeys. Now if you are younger than 40-50 you probably don't know what that is. I'm not even sure I know what they were. It was some kind of aquatic creature you could order through the mail! They looked like little swimming monkeys. I will have to google them to find out just what kind of horror we were creating with that idea. Anybody else know or remember them?

 

 

Need more baby?

    May I show you a couple more baby pics?? I thought so. Went to see Brody yesterday.

He was so sleepy that I had a hard time getting his picture with his eyes open. He has such a beautiful complexion.

 



 

Proud Mom. She asked Jan and I when would she stop feeling tired. We felt really bad that the answer is not for a loooong time :\

 

Ok, more on the design front. Candy is partially moved in to her new house. She and Lucy have beds and a fridge and chairs. The design of the den started with the perfect sofa. Then we turned around and saw the perfect bench. It is made from an old Turkish rug. It is 8 feet long and will be great in front of the bank of windows in the den.  I normally like to start with the rug, but when the right piece comes up you have to pounce.

 

    See? Isn't that fabulous? So that led on a quest for the perfect rug. I tried hard to buy one from my favorite rug dealer, but just didn't fall in love with any one. Heading home tired and hot (it has been steamy here), we saw a sale sign in another rug store. I went in and introduced myself because I know his mama from St. Catherine's . Good grief, I'm turning into my dad. He knew someone everywhere went. Well Mr. Right Rug was there waiting for us and jumped in the car. Here we are enjoying it .

 

                                   Well I'm not so much enjoying it as I'm surrendering to it.

 

The girls agree

 

 

A toast to success. See the bench beside it. I'll post more when it is finished.

 

You never know

     I never know what my kids will do next. We know Mary Grace loves fire but come on.....

 

 

Welding? They were building a desk out of metal scraps and reclaimed wood.

 

It always helps to have the right wardrobe.

 

 

So Sophie and Paul have been on a trip to Washington, DC. I have been feeding their cat. Mom went with me Sunday.

 

 

aren't they cute? Also another fun sight in their neighborhood is this pet...

 

 

Willow the miniature horse. She is so cute. On Sundays her owner takes her out being pulled in a cart big enough for one person. I saw the horse and cart before they became neighbers.

 

 

Check this out. Daphne in Dupree's tiny bed and he in her giant one. Those two are always good for a laugh.

 

 



 

by request

Whitney (and anyone else who wanted it) here is a clear version of the recipe.

Chewy chocolate cookies

1 1/4 C margarine softened
2 C sugar
2 eggs
2 t vanilla
2 C flour
3/4 C cocoa
1 t baking soda
powdered sugar

Cream butter and sugar, add eggs & vanilla. Combine dry ingredients and blend into creamed mixture. Drop by teaspoon on ungreased cookie sheet (I spray mine with pam). Bake at 350 9-11 minutes. Watch closely. Do Not overbake. Transfer to waxed paper, fine cooling rack or hard plastic plate. Sprinkle with powdered sugar when cool. Store in airtight container with slice of bread ( i don't usually do that but it probably helps).


Aunt Charlotte's brownies

1 C sugar
3 T cocoa (I use heaping T's)
2 eggs beaten
1 stick butter or margarine melted
1/2 C self rising flour
1 t vanilla
1 C pecans (optional)

Mix dry ingredients, mix in melted butter, stir in eggs and vanilla (nuts) Bake in greased pie pan or 8" square pan. Bake at 350 about 25 mins (depending on your oven and how much batter you ate)  Do not over bake. It should just barely get solid in middle. If you make it in a pie pan you can serve it as a great dessert with ice cream and chocolate sauce.

had to post these

     Took Cary and David some comfort food today...pimento cheese, pasta salad and Charlotte's brownies (they are the best). That baby is so cute . He looks so finished. You know I mean not too newbornish. See what you think. Check out those lips!

He looks like a baby doll.

 

 

Doesn't Cary look good?

 

 

His hair is so fair and pretty.

 

 

Now that right there is a miracle picture!! She really did well. 

 

 



the rest of the story

                                           well here is how that cookie story turned out...

 

deliciously! Mary Grace made them for Ryan and his Pawpaw.

 

No, Daphne, you can't have one. Even though you look like chocolate, you can't eat it.

 

It is still high season for cicadas. Sorry I couldn't get the video to work. One girl I know loves when the cicadas are here. They show up on the back porch and are very loud. To get an idea how big they are, compare it's size to the brick below.

 

 

Look who swings into action and snaps them out of the air. She sits patiently until they unwittingly bungle into her air space and snap!

 

 

It will buzz in her mouth, vibrating her lips until she crunches. Then she eats it. Wow those poor bugs don't get a break. They stay in the ground as a larva for seven years only to emerge for a couple of days to mate. They don't even have a mouth to eat! I imagine this poor guy just thought "Dang, seven years for this!"

 

One more little bit on the "what were they thinking" subject

 

Just take this in. Yuck. Check out the look on that bunny's face. He is disgusted. Take this stupid hat off of me! We can only hope Valentine's Day does not inspire an egg...

 

 

 

chewy chocolate cookies

   Mary Grace texted me this morning with a request for a favorite cookie recipe. Lazy as I am I always just take a picture of the recipe and text it to her. Take a look at how well loved this recipe is.

These are so good. Try a batch if you are a chocolate lover. The main key is DON'T overcook. They turn quickly from chewy to crunchy. And if you can read those directions at all, don't worry about wax paper if you don't have it . A cooling rack or a hard plastic plate will do. They are just tender when still hot. Yum. Off to the pool to burn some calories. 

BABY

 Best news ever. Brody Alexander Merkoskey. Cary did great. No drugs at all. He is so cute. His Dad is pretty cute too!

 

Proud grandparents

 

Cary asked to be photographed at a later date!

puppies

    What is cuter than a puppy? How about 4 chihuahua puppies? Pebbles had her pups and now we know why she got so big.

They love to burrow in the corners.

 

look at that face!

 

Mom kept a close watch

 

My friend Bev and I took a day trip to Yazoo City. It is a very interesting little town. Here is the old library downtown.

 We ran out of time before we got to see the Witch of Yazoo's grave that was made famous by Willie Morris. But had a great lunch at Tom's on Main. Fried catfish , turnip greens etc.

 

 

luscious shellfish

   If you don't like oysters you may want to stop reading. I happen to love oysters as most of my family do. Every year at the beach we consume 2 whole gallons. Whitney brings them from Pensacola. Well as you know this cold has gone through the family. I felt guilty that I gave it to MG and she gave it to Ryan. He asked for some of that oyster soup from the beach. How could I not? Well Kroger had some great looking ones.

If you are an oyster lover, you will understand how great this is,if you aren't you will be disgusted. I forgot to take a pic of the finished stew. But trust me. It was creamy, buttery and had little cracker dumplings happily floating in it. It was so good I didn't even think of putting hot sauce in it.

 

 

This is the time of year when the light changes, sounds change and you begin to feel that fall is coming. It is still hot as all get out and crazy humid, but it feels different. Here is a little video with the cicadas singing.

 

The dogs thought I was nuts and came back inside immediately.





 

Redemption

....so Jan felt a little bad about the blog regarding fudge squares. While she was gone I checked on her cat, Sally Kate. When she returned Sally sent me a little thank you gift.

 

Hey, hey, two whole fudge squares!

 

Got to visit this sweet girl. The sheet is on the couch because she had been swimming in her backyard pool. Will attach video when I can.

 

Dupree was feeling a little out of sorts.

 

   And what could be better than sitting in your daughter's kitchen while she cooks dinner. She was making a broccoli casserole. They have Ryan's grandad over every Wednesday night. Whitney just imagine This scene with Karis in the picture. I know it sounds miles away, but it seems yesterday that she was Karis's age.





 

Labor Day

...well I tell you that stupid cold just keeps on moving through the ranks. Mary Grace got it after me and felt awful. The next day Ryan succombed. We had planned a cookout for our family on Monday afternoon. They wanted to come so much that they still made food and came. I am eating the last of the potato salad as I write this. Yes it is my breakfast. We are so lucky to have good cooks in the family. Ed and I made ribs, corn and homemade chocolate ice cream. Ryan made beans and potato salad. Sophie and Paul made broccoli slaw. Mary Grace made a couple of cocktails. One with St. Germain which I had never had. Very summery. And I must say that Ivy cleaned up all the nasty dishes! It was all fun except Ryan felt bad and couldn't enjoy himself. Believe it our not I didn't take a single food picture!! I guess I was enjoying the moment. I just love being surrounded by my babies. But that morning I took some sweet pics at the pool.

 

Here is Lucy, Keifer and Candy

 

 

We love it when Chelsea and Willa (Bill's little namesake) come to the pool. We get to play with Keifer and new mom gets to get out of the house and be outside. Willa is 7 weeks.

 

 

Aren't they precious? While cleaning the house yesterday Ed and I realized we didn't need a 6 person breakfast table. We folded the pub table where we had raised a family to seat 2. How is that?! A little sad when I was cleaning it and found evidence of all that had happened around that table. Meals, crafts, schoolwork, birthday parties. So many good times preserved in gunk between the seams. A kitchen table is the heart of the home , don't you think?

 



Maybe I'll put together a little montage of the life of the table. And just think if was over a hundred years old when it came to live with us!