Grandma's a Happy Packrat

Saving things for long periods of time is one of the traits I believe I inherited from the women on my mother's side of the family. I have extreme difficulty disposing of items that were given to me by someone special or that I purchased for a particular purpose, even though they aren't useful to me at the time.

I remember going into my great-grandmother's house with my grandmother and my mother to help clear out stacks of books and magazines she had collected. I also remember my great-grandmother (pictured above -Mother 1950) giving us "down the country". This scene was repeated almost verbatim with the next generation. These days every time I go to visit my mother and see the things she has stored away, I come home and haul at least one load of my collection to the DAR Thrift Shop at Tamassee. You see, I really don't want the cycle to repeat itself, but I'm afraid it's in our blood. I am fairly certain that one day Jenny and Suzi will come to my house and carry off all my treasures to some charity or other. But just for today I'm a happy packrat. I managed to save a couple of things that turned out to be useful and bring joy to myself and others.
When Jenny was born almost 24 years ago I had definite ideas about the highchair I must have for her. It was white, had a large tray and stood on a pedestal with wheels. It was easy to clean . . . I could take it outside and hose it down if need be. I loved that highchair, so when she outgrew it I had my DH put it in the attic. Several people had babies and a few times I was tempted to share it, but I held fast to the hope that one day I'd have a grandchild who would use that chair. Now our little Suzi sits in her mother's chair. It's just like new and Suzi uses it often.





On Christmas morning 1985 Jenny was excited about the Cabbage Patch Train Santa brought her. She rode it, pushed it, stashed everything from toys to snacks and sippy cups in the compartment seat and thoroughly enjoyed it. She outgrew it and it hung in from a rafter in the basement for over twenty years.

Today we brought out the old Cabbage Patch Train, washed it up and gave it to Suzi who rode it, pushed it and put toys in the seat compartment. I'll have to check carefully to be sure goldfish crackers and sippy cups aren't left inside next time she visits.

There are a few other things I've packed away in the attic and around that Suzi might like later. I still have my child-sized roll top desk complete with pigeon holes and lots of drawers, my own highchair that converts to a table and seat . . . oh, there's no telling what treasures might be found in this old packrat's hidey holes.

All Things Bright and Beautiful

One morning last week I was up early checking my email and happened to glance outside. I decided to try and capture this sunrise from our deck. The picture isn't bad, but the real thing was positively gorgeous.

Several weeks ago when my sister-in-law was here for a visit, we took a trip to the South Carolina Botanical Gardens. We took Suzi along as she loves to visit the duck pond. The azaleas were in full bloom. Our favorite was the Piedmont Azalea pictured below.
This bloom was another that caught our eye . . .
While I'm on the subject of blooms I must slip in this special one - a an indoor variety of Iris that was given to me by my sister-in-law. Our sun room must be the perfect environment for it as it has bloomed several times and looks as if it may bloom again soon.
We had a fun-filled visit to the gardens. After all the fun Suzi fell sound asleep in her stroller.The rest of us would have loved to be in Suzi's place as we plodded back up the hill to head home.
Until next time . . . .

Loin of Wild Boar with Bog Myrtle?????

Several Sundays ago our church held a Kirking of the Tartans Service. Everyone was requested to bring a Scottish dish for the covered dish luncheon after services. Since my DH is interested in his heritage and all things Scottish, I had purchased a Scottish cookbook a while back. I asked him to choose a recipe for the luncheon. His choice was "Loin of Wild Boar with Bog Myrtle". One look at the recipe told me I had some adjustments to make. Since I was out fresh of loins of wild boar, I sent him to the store for a large pork loin. Then I wondered, what on earth is bog myrtle? Upon closer inspection, I found in the recipe that rosemary could be substituted for bog myrtle. Lucky me! I have rosemary growing in my herb garden. I followed the recipe pretty closely and it turned out well. I've prepared it for company several times since and everyone seems to enjoy it. I thought I'd share it.


Ingredients:

• a six lb. pork loin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (I prefer sea salt)
  
• 1 large onion coarsely cut
• 2-3 carrots peeled and cut in large pieces
• 4-6 stems of rosemary (3 or 4 inches each)
  
• 2/3 cup dry vermouth
• 2 teaspoons prepared mustard
• flour and water (to thicken gravy)
• seasoning to taste

What to do:

• preheat oven to 425 degrees
• coat a large roasting pan with oil spray
• place onions carrots and rosemary in the pan
• place loin in pan fat side up
• rub salt on the loin
• place in 425 degree oven (uncovered) and bake for 40 minutes
• after 40 minutes at 425 degrees, reduce heat to 350 and continue to bake for 40 additional minutes
• remove roast from pan and set aside to rest for 15-20 minutes
• drain drippings from pan into sauce pan, stir in the vermouth and mustard
• bring this to a boil
  
• mix 1/12 cups cold water into 2 heaping tablespoons flour and add to sauce pan stirring constantly to make gravy

Slice loin to desired thickness and serve with rice or potatoes and gravy. Add a green vegetable and salad for a well balanced meal. Hope you'll like it!

I've been tagged!

I have been tagged by Babyfingers and requested to share my six word philosophy of life.
This is my philosophy:

Do the math ... count your blessings.

I learned a long time ago that I can either sit and worry about things I can't change, or I can take the time I would spend worrying to count my blessings. Pray instead of worrying, do something nice for someone instead of feeling sorry for yourself, surround yourself with positive people, volunteer, get enough rest . . . see how many uplifting possibilities you can think of and PLEASE share them!

My next task is to tag six others to share their six word philosophy of life. Since I don't have a lot of blogger friends most of mine will be email buddies. Knitting Nonpareil, you are the exception - you have been tagged. You need to share your philosophy on your blog and then tag six others.

Until next time . . . .

Friends, Friends, Friends . . . .

On Easter Sunday Suzi and her church friends gathered in the nursery. Taking care of this sweet group was an enjoyable task for Miss Lauren and me.


Thomas was the youngest one there.

He left for a while to go to the sanctuary for his Baptism. After all the excitement he came back and took a nap in Miss Lauren's lap.


Aiden is too big for the walker now, but our little sound engineer kept the music box on the walker going to entertain us.


Dulcie loves reading books. She's growing up so fast.


Suzi sat beside Braydon for a long time. She kept "borrowing" the animals from Noah's ark, but he didn't seem to mind. He's such a little gentleman.


Aiden and Suzi sat in my lap. He put his head on her shoulder and almost fell asleep.
Wouldn't it be perfect if these little friends could grow up together and become lifelong members of our church? I think it would.

Suzi's New Butterfly Tent

After church Jenny, Jordan and Suzi came home with us for lunch. It wasn't exactly a traditional Sunday dinner . . . we watched the basketball game while we ate. When Suzi finished her lunch she was ready to "go-go", so we went out to swing on the front porch.

When we came back inside I decided to give her the pop-up butterfly tent that is part of her Easter surprise from us.

She was having so much fun playing in her new tent that her mama and daddy decided to get in on the act.
Jenny got inside with her first to take a few photos. Then Jordan crawled in and played with her for a while. When they left the room she started taking her toys inside.

It made me happy to see that she is going to enjoy her tent.

Nice Weather for Little Bare Feet

Today the weather was so beautiful and warm that we had to get outside. We took a trip to the duck pond. This is the first time so far this year Suzi has been outside with bare feet.

We passed the daffodils on the path to the duck pond.

There were NO ducks on the pond! But there were several geese and lots of huge coy (carp) . . . . who had been so well-fed by a school group that they didn't show much interest in our bread. We had not been to the pond in a while and were surprised at the size of the fish. It's hard to believe that these fish were probably once someone's goldfish.
We paused at the pioneer cabin for a minutes to take advantage of the shade on the porch.

Then we walked back up the trail to the swings . . . . where Suzi's daddy proposed to her mama. Suzi and Grandpa enjoyed a few minutes relaxing there and posed for a picture.

We are blessed to be able to see our little Suzi almost every day. The time we spend with her and the memories we make are our most precious treasures.