Lady

My Lady went to heaven today. Lady was an Old English Sheepdog that I adopted from a rescue center. She had been rescued from a puppy mill. Lady was one of the sweetest dogs that I have ever had. My Golden Retriever is very sweet and good natured, and Lady was very even tempered and sweet. She just wanted love all the time. I will miss her very much, and I know that my Page will miss her buddy, too!

Goin' to the Movies

I don't usually write a post about a movie, but this one has stayed in my mind all day. My cousin Mina called to ask Rachel and I to go to the movie today. Sally was with us, so she went, too. Susan, Amy, and Kate were with Mina already, and they went, too. We went to see something called "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel". I didn't know what it was going to be about, but I heard it was a comedy, so I went. I only like to watch comedies. I do not like dramas anymore. I like funny, lighthearted stuff. Anyway, Rachel and I went to meet them all at the movie. We got there after it started, but we didn't miss much.  I really liked the movie, and I recommend it to anyone out there in blogland who might accidentally be reading this :)  The movie is about a group of people who meet when they are on a trip to India. They are all moving to a big fancy hotel to live, instead of living in an old folks home in America. Their adventures are often funny, sometimes dramatic, but altogether interesting to watch and enjoy. There were many funny lines, all delivered with grace, as always done by REAL actors and actresses. I say 'real' actors, because so many times nowadays we see "comedians" attempting to be actors, and they just shout out punchlines and accentuate them when they want to show the audience when it is time to laugh. I enjoy watching real actors, not stand up comedians trying to make a big buck off of a movie. So, there is my rant.Anyway, the movie was good. I don't go to the movie theatre very often, the prices are moving on up there, so this trip was a treat.  If you get to see this movie, I hope you enjoy it! This picture is kind of small, but it only gets fuzzy when I try to make it bigger. Dame Judi Dench and Maggie Smith are in the movie. All of the characters are great. The young man who runs the hotel is terrific. I hope you get to see this movie!!

Peanuts

The candied peanuts did not turn out as expected. I have something to show for it, though...A big mess in the oven!! Most of the brown sugar and margerine went down into the bottom of the oven leaving a big, smoky mess in the kitchen!  I was in such a hurry that I did not clean it right away. Silly me forgot all about it, and I put a cake in the oven this morning. MORE SMOKE!!  I quickly tried to scrape the sugar and stuff off of the bottom and continued to bake. I will have to make sure to clean it really good when the cake is finished. Maybe I should actually LOOK at a recipe next time before I try to make something new! HA!HA!
The Thirty-One party was a success, and all of the other goodies were tremendous. Actually, the peanuts taste great, but they just aren't individually candied!  Next time, I will not be in such a hurry and maybe the nuts will be better!

Experimenting

I am trying something today. In Savannah, people make candied pecans. There are so many pecan trees around here that people make candied pecans. So, I got this great idea. If you can make candied pecans, then you can make candied peanuts! My idea came to me, because I bought UNsalted peanuts the other day, quite by accident. Publix grocery store has buy one get one free items all the time. I was rushing through there the other day and saw the dry roasted peanuts in that category. I grabbed up two of them and went about my business. After I got home, I realized the peanuts had no salt. SO, the idea hit me to make candied peanuts. I am hosting a Thirty-One Party today, and one of my treats will be the peanuts! I just put them in the oven, and I hope they turn out okay. I put lots of margerine and brown sugar in them and popped them into the oven. I will let you know how they turned out. I also made a cake, tuna salad, chicken salad, deviled eggs, and veggie dip. I baked a chicken yesterday and pulled it apart for the salad. Since I am the only one in my house, I do not need to eat an entire chicken!!
I hope you all have a great Saturday. I smell the peanuts, so I better go for now!!

Cousins, and Uncles, and Aunts, OH MY!!!!!!

Uncle Adam and Dora sleeping in Tampa!! We had a long ride to get here, and I'm all tuckered out!

 Uncle Adam and Dora sleeping. Look at the smile on her face!! She is happy to be in Tampa with Uncle Adam and Aunt Vicky!!

Uncle Adam and Dora!

 Getting Butterfly Kisses from Uncle Adam!! She loves to hold on tight to your fingers!!

 My Great Uncle Willie and Me!!

 My Great Uncle Dewey and ME!!

 My Great Uncle Tommy and Me!!

 Aunt Vicky and her dimples!!

 Aunt Vicky and me chillin' in Tampa!!

 My Aunt Katy and Me. She is my Daddy's little sister!!

 My Great Aunt Patty and Me, chillin' in the Rocking Chair. She came all the way from Memphis just to see me!!

 My Great Aunt Amy and Me!!

 My Great Aunt Ellen and Me!!

 Cousin LOVE!!  Little Miss Cousin Julia!!

 My Cousin Kate!!

 Cousin Kate and Me!!

 My Cousin Katrina and Me!! She finally got here from Memphis to see me!!

 My Cousin Lauren and Me!!

 Cousin Lauren and Me!! Little Lauren!!

 Cousin Little Lauren and me again!

 Cousin Mina loves me so!!

 My little Cousin Dewey, AKA Little Fella. He was so sweet to me. He kept saying, "Look at her little toes and fingers!" in a real soft voice!!

 Cousin Rebecca loves me, too!

 Cousin Rebecca and Me!!

 Cousin Thomas and Cousin Lauren visited me in the hospital!!

 I finally got to meet my Cousins Allison and Sarah. Allison is holding me!!

 Cousins Julia and Lil' Dewey. See him kissing my hand! Julia is so happy!

 So sweet!! Cousins Julia and Dewey~~

 My Cousins Sarah and Allison are here from Charlotte! Sarah is holding me now!!

A First Mother's Day

Rachel had her very first Mother's Day this year! She called me up at 9:30 to say that she was coming to pick me up and take me to breakfast! She did that last year, too. Rachel is a wonderful daughter, and now she is a wonderful mother to her little Dora!! We went to the Harris Bakery for breakfast. This place is a small little cafe like establishment located downtown. They have the greatest French toast and other types of baked goodies. Last year, Rachel and I walked around downtown after breakfast. This year, Sally joined us for breakfast. Sally is Rachel's mother in law. Don and Dora were there as well, so we had a great time. After breakfast, we went to Forsyth Park and took pictures. The weather was beautiful, and the park was as beautiful as ever.  Dora was a bit fussy as the day progressed, so they went on home after the picture extravanganza. I said the weather was pretty, and it was, but the atmospheric pressure was changing in preparation for some rain later in the day. Dora was born four weeks early on a day just like that. She apparently doesn't like it when the atmospheric pressure changes, and she gets fussy and upset. The nurses told Rachel that many people go into labor when this type of weather occurs. So, I have decided that Dora just does not like bad weather when it is approaching!! That is my diagnosis for the situation! haha  I put a small roast in the oven and let it cook. I should have put two in the oven, because we had company a little later!
Here are some pictures of us in Forsyth Park!! Look at that big yawn!! Ho hum, let's get this photo shoot done already!! HA!HA!

Later in the day, my sister Susan and niece Kate came into town, and my cousin Mina came over. My daddy wanted to go to the cemetery to visit my mamma's grave, so the five of us made visits to two cemeteries. We visited my mamma's grave and put some flowers there. Then, we rode around to the other side of that cemetery and visited my sister's mother in law's grave. After those two visits, we drove over to another cemtery to visit my aunt, Mina's mamma. Our own sweet and loving mammas are not here to celebrate with us, so we must always remember to go visit them and tell them how much we love them and miss them. The rain started to come, while we were on our visit, but it just sprinkled. Mina's umbrella was blown inside out as we were leaving, and that was funny! It seems that when you are in a somber place like that and remembering those you love, something fun usually happens to lighten the mood and make you laugh!! Our sweet mammas would want us to laugh. My mamma was full of jokes and laughter all the time!!
 When I was young, and up until not many years ago, cemeteries really scared me. I'm not sure why, but I was afraid to be around anything like that. Now, a visit to the cemetery is rather calming. I suppose it helps that my mamma is in Bonaventure, which is a beautiful, historic place with lots of trees and overhanging moss. It is also right on the water.
We stayed out longer than I expected, and I was very worried that my roast was going to be a peanut by the time we got home!! No worries, though. The roast was very tender, and the gravy was wonderful. When I was buying onion soup one day, the only kind they had was Beefy Onion. I had never bought that kind before, and I was worried about how it would taste. Well, that is the only kind I had left to use, so I put it in the roast pan. Yum! Yum! Good!! I will buy that flavor all the time now!!  So, the roast was great, and I made rice to go with it. You just HAVE to make rice and gravy to go along with a roast!  Daddy made some mixed FRESH vegetables the day before, so we had a nice little banquet with Dewilla, Daddy, Susan, Kate, and Mina. We had a nice time together. Rachel and Don did not get to come back over, because Dora stayed fussy all day. They got to spend most of their first Mother's Day together at home, though, so that was okay.
 I missed my Adam this year. He is living in Tampa, Florida, so I did not get to see him on Mother's Day. He called me TWICE, though, and wished me a Happy Mother's Day, once at 8:30 and again in the afternoon. That thrilled me to pieces!
My Rachel has her own daughter now, and she is a terrific mother. I love my children dearly, more thatn words can ever express!!  I thank God every day for my children and my whole family. If it were not for his loving grace, I would not even be here, so I thank him every day for keeping me here with my children and family. 
Have a great day!!

Is It Summer Yet?

I have been off work for two days, feeling kinda poorly, and being home makes me think that it is about time for summer to arrive! The end of the year testing has come and gone at school, and that always makes the students think that summer is actually already here! There will be many things going on to wind up the year, so I hope that we have an easy transition into summer. Our new school building should be ready for us around the middle of the summer, and that will be a great happening. I ride by the site often, and the workers are busy getting everything finished and ready for the new school year. They work on Saturdays, even!! Actually, they are about a month ahead of schedule!
My granddaughter is really growing! She is over 12 pounds now! She is the love of our lives! Little Dora doesn't realize yet how much joy she gives to everyone. We all just stare at her, watching her every move, and we hold her continually! So far, she doesn't really know what it is like to be out of someone's arms! When we do put her on a blanket on the floor, those little legs of hers just kick and move and kick, kick, kick!!  She is so cute!   I have a big summer planned...visiting my little Dora as much as I can!!  That might not sound like a summer plan, but it is a great one for me!!  My daughter will be so happy to be off from school. A working mom always has such a hard time being away from her little ones. I remember vividly how much it hurt to have to go to work when my children were so little. We cannot all stay at home, unfortunately, but we do what we have to do. We appreciate our time with our babies and our children all the more, because we know how precious and special that time really is.
On another note, I bought myself the pasta roller and cutter system. I am planning on making some homemade pasta today. I have been watching Fabio Vivianni make pasta, and he makes it look so easy. We had a great time at Easter making pasta, and I am going to relive that moment today. Wish me luck!  I found a great deal on the set, online at Sears, so I don't feel too extravagant for buying it. The deal was one of those where you don't know the price until you place the order, and then the price is cut way, way down - PLUS FREE shipping....couldn't pass that up...AND the entire set is made in ITALY!!  So, I think I got a good deal.
My summer will be filled with lots of summer pasta salads and sauces, I do believe!!  Check out his fun videos, and you might just want to order yourself a pasta maker, too! Check out the link below. I hope it works for you.
So, is it summer yet?? Not quite, but almost...yippee!!

http://fe8.shine.sp2.yahoo.com/channel/food/fabio-s-perfect-pasta-2594301