Green Torpedoes and a Twisted Pretzel but still Good Eating!

Thank goodness it is the end of August!  This has been such a long month for me! Has it been a long one for you too?  What with all the birthdays, sad days and then our little Hurricane Irene!  Oh what a mess she left behind!  Well at least Crabby Mike's is none the worst for wear!  Love that place!  Good food, good cheer, and good folks!  Next time you're down on Topsail Island, stop off in Surf City and check out Crabby Mike's.  It's across from Ward Realty.  Everyone knows where Ward Realty is and if you don't just email me.  Speaking of Ward Realty, they lost their signage during the storm.  Irene twisted that sign like it was a pretzel!  Yep sure did and BP's canopy flipped over creating quite a stir about town.  But other than a few signs down and some shingles sent flying we fared pretty well considering our neighbors to the north were not as fortunate.  So come what may, Surf City and Topsail Island is open for business Labor Day weekend folks!

September is the first month of fall and a wonderful month for those of us who call Hampstead home.  It's the month we all show the world that yes indeed we are the Seafood Capital of the World!  And it's all because of a little fish called Spot.  Now it's called that because of a dark spot on it's body.  But if you have never eaten Spot before be sure to come to Hampstead the last weekend of September to try our fish!  You're sure to want more!  Around here we call it "good eating"! So if you find yourself liking our fish, head on over to Surf City and stop off at the Fishing Village.  Get yourself outfitted for fishing.  Be sure to pick up your fishing permit while you are there!  Don't want to forget that.  Now you can either fish in the surf like lots of folks do or you can fish at the Surf City Pier.  If you choose to fish at the pier be sure to tell Bigun I said "Hello little brother!"  He'll know who it was! 

Should you choose not to fish at all, any restaurant around here will be more than happy to serve you up a plate full of these sweet delicious fish.  Like I said, they're "good eating"!  Well Betty, that's about it for now.  I guess I better get back out here and pick up some more of these "green torpedoes".  Y'all have a nice day!  And if you decide to come down let me know, I get up with the folks over at Ward Realty, they have the best rental prices around!  

We Survived Irene

Well folks, we survive yet another hurricane to hit Eastern North Carolina.  Yes that's another one under our belts!  Looks like over all we got very lucky indeed!  Not too much damage to my neighborhood but then I haven't ventured out beyond the porches this day. 

Lost my two favorite trees, my Sycamore and my over grown Red bud.  I planted both of those trees after Hurricane Fran blew through here in 1996 taking out the trees that had stood there before.  I guess it is only fitting I should replace my trees every 15 years after all we do renovate our homes why not the trees too! Poor things they have taken quite a beating today my dears!  Yes indeed they have.  But me made it through without too much damage. 

I tried to keep everyone up to date on what was going on down here I hope I did a sufficient job if not by all means please take over!  lol  As a matter of fact you can stay with me next time!  lol  I should be going out in the next hour or so to film some more videos for my Facebook page so if you are a follower check it out! 

I am thankful we all came out of this without a scratch.  God it good folks.  Yes indeed!

You can take a nap now Betty all is well.....

A Girl named Irene

Well by now I hope everyone has battened down their hatches, it's 8:48 pm on August 26, 2011.  The entire state of North Carolina especially the eastern half has spent the last few days preparing for this day.  We've bought out every C-battery in a three county area, closed down half the gas stations in town and once again there is not a loaf of bread to be had!  Oh well I really didn't need it anyway after all there's only me and the hubs staying at home tonight.  Yes you heard me right.  We decided to ride this one out here at home instead of going to a shelter.  We used to go to my parents but those days are over and now we have  Baxter which complicates things.  Besides this house has taken 125 mph winds before.  I just hate it when they come at night.  Always the spookiest I think. 

You know I'm beginning to wonder if somethings going on around here.  In just the last week we have had tornadoes, an earthquake and now Irene.  Last week I was attacked by cicadas on my way into the Doctor's office.  Frightening!  Good thing I was close to a defibrillator! I'm also relieved I remembered to watch my language because I promise it was clearly justifiable had I done so.  Those things just give me the freaky deakys bad....
Oh and don't step on them!  I can't deal with those Hebe jibes either!

My husband is so funny!  He tries to be brave and say this is nothing to worry about!  I try to tell him it's ok not to worry and we smile.  But I know he's worried.  We both are.  We know the roof is already popping.  I've heard it at least 5 times now and he's got the TV up so loud hoping  I won't notice I guess...... I suppose in the morning I'll be calling my agent about a new roof.  Such is life. 

I hate what this storm is doing to my Sycamore tree.  I bought that tree 14 years ago and planted it after Fran had taken out the last majestic tree that stood there.  My Red Bud trees are taking quite a beating as well as the Sycamore.  I fully expect to find them in taters.  I have to prune the Red Buds every year to keep them from breaking so I know I have a lot of breakage from this storm.  Hardwood trees don't do very well around here unless they are Gum trees or Bay Magnolia.  Both are lovely trees and I have them here as well.  The Lob Lolly Pines I have growing here are very resilient in this area.  Their tap root is extremely long and can be as long as the tree is tall.  We we first moved here we had to clear out some trees.  One tree in particular was a pine tree with a very deep tap root.  we finally cut it off when we struck water at 8 feet deep!  lol  Luckily it never grew back!

Since I quit smoking almost 2 years ago, I have notice how keen my sense of smell has become.  I have noticed this storm has a smell about it too.  It smells of exotic fruits, of vegetation and of salt air.  When I was over on the beach earlier I noticed how everything had a salty film covering it.  I had to clean my lenses on my camera a few times. 

I think I'm doing pretty good staying away from the cigarettes tonight.  Yep doing a FINE job.  Right this second I can smell the cigarette pack......but I'm doing my best.   2 years that's something....

Ok so maybe that chocolate cake I got in there needs to call my name instead of the Hubs!  That man eats all the good stuff around here!  lol  I have you know I bake him a cake a week!  And I don't even like cake!  lol  And guess what???? You got it!  He lost 7 lbs!  Now who wants to kill him besides me?  Look a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do!

Oh well, tonight dear reader it is what it is as my kids would say!  And I feel as though I have been up all night.  I am going to try to sleep for a few hours before all hell breaks loose......So I wish you all well and Good Night folks, Good Night Betty!

Don't Show Your Breeding In Public

Here along the coast during hurricane season most everybody who has ever lived here long enough knows what has to be done in order to protect your property and to prepare for these storms that occasionally roll in from the ocean.  Well.... that's what the menfolk say!  But we womenfolk know there's a whole lot more to preparing for a hurricane than tying down everything and gassing up your car!   Oh yeah.... a whole lot more! 

We got to go SHOPPING!  Got to buy new clothes...I'm sorry you can't set up in someones house with dingy old clothes on!  That will not do!  Besides you never know who might get a chance to be on TV.  So off to Belk's you go!  Oh and don't forget to stop off at Harris Teeters or Food Lion and get your token Vienna sausages and loafs of bread.  Make sure you clean out those sections FIRST.  Of course we NEVER eat the Vienna sausages, They're just for show and tell.  We just take them home and set them beside the other ones we have collected thru the years.  " Yes and now these are the ones I bought when Hurricane Fran came in 1996.. Oh yes darlin'.... And these are the ones mama bought when she and daddy rode out Hazel back in the 50's.."  Oh, make sure you get your hair and nails done!  Yes! You got to look good if  Jim Cantore shows up on your beach folks...Jeez get with the plan here!  How else are you gonna get on TV?  You're too old for Idol!  And the Voice won't return your calls!  You are taking notes? Right?  Good!

Next head back to the house you got some cleaning and cooking to do!  Get that lazy no good kid of yours off the X-Box and out there cuttin' the lawn! Tell that daughter of yours to come batter the chicken!  Time to fry up those wings!  Sugar, we gonna have us a Hurricane Party!  Woo Hoo!

When the storm makes landfall, make sure everyone is strapped to the nearest tallest tree.  Now, would be the time to use those bungee cords you've been saving!  Make sure you strap your mother in law to the lowest branch....unless she a nice lady....then move her further up the tree...  Put your mama as high as you can get her!  Take care of your mama now!  I got to sleep at night y'all.   Don't need your mama coming after me while I sleep!

After the storm is over and it's time to crawl out of the rubble, don't forget to pat your hair in place and straighten out that face!  Smooth out those Belk's clothes you just bought girl!  You got your one shot with destiny!  And Jim Cantore just hit town! Now do us proud child and don't show your breeding in public!  Put a smile on your sweet little face and bellow out that song you'll be practising all night!  Let me know how that all works out for ya!  I've got chicken to fry and a hair appointment at Salon O2  y'all!

Now if you will excuse me, I have to go deal with this little earthquake I seem to be experiencing.  Apparently the rude little thing is rolling through my house as we speak causing a strange feeling indeed on this sand I set upon.  So I bid you good day dear reader and that's the way I see it Betty.

Love Letters Found

Well my dears I would like to begin tonight with a tribute to my parents.  52 years ago today they were married in a little justice of the peace office in York, SC.  Although, my mama has since passed on and Daddy has remarried, I for one have not forgotten how important this special day was to the two of them. 

The oddest thing happened to me today.  I went searching for a book I had put away in a drawer and of course I can't find it!  But what I did find were my grandparents love letters to each other.  These belonged to my Grandfather James LeRoy Walker I and his wife Carrie Lee Tolbert Walker. 

My grandfather was born in June 1902 to a recently widowed young woman in Mooresville, NC. She really had very little but a roof over her head and a job.  My great grandfather had died in March 1902 of the siege of pneumonia in the early 1900's.  The story goes Great Grandpa was dying in the back room and Great Grandma was sick with the same in the front room.  When Great Grandpa died they had to carry him out the back window to keep her from seeing his body.  They were afraid she would lose hope and die too.  But she survived and lived to play with her own grandchildren.  A few years after Great Grandpa died she remarried but it didn't work out.  She remained a Walker til her death.  Times were tough a hundred years ago and things were different then.  Back in those days you could put your children in an orphanage for a while til you got back on your feet if you needed.  That's where my grandpa lived when my great grandma had to work 6 days a week 10 and 12 hours a day in the mill.  Of course as soon as she could she got him out!  Where he lived during that time was a place called Barium Springs, NC.  Now Barium Springs is nothing like what it used to be.  It used to be a wonderful place but that has all changed now.  My grandpa Walker only made it to the 3rd grade before he too had to work in the mill.  It's the way life was in those days.....

My Grandma Walker was the youngest daughter of a boarding house owner in Schoolfield, Va.  Her father had died when she was 9 years old.  As soon as she was old enough she too went to work in a cotton mill.  My Great Grandma Tolbert would sew, take in boarders and take in wash.  She would do whatever it took to keep a roof over her 5 children and food in there stomachs.  Times were tough all over but they didn't know.  I have that sewing machine in my spare bedroom today and you can see the worn places where generations of my family have sewn countless dresses on that machine.  Why my Aunt Connie sewed her wedding dress on it!

So dear reader by the time my Grandpa reach a reasonable age he and his cousin Arthur decide now was the time to join the Navy!  So off the two boys went in search of their good fortune.  As fate may have it the happened across my Grandma and her mother's boarding house.  When morning dawned and it was time to leave Grandpa asked my Great Grandmother if he may write to one of her daughters.  My Grandma said she would be happy to correspond with him.  And so their letter writing began.

He wrote her every day, sometimes twice a day.  He was crazy in love with her and yet their love was a long distance love for the most part.  While working in the mill she injured her knees and had to spend some time in a wheelchair.  The doctors told her she would never walk again.  She didn't want him to see her that way and would hide from him.  She almost succeeded!  Finally after having exhausted every excuse for not seeing him, he showed up at the boarding house!  When she heard he was outside, coming up the steps, onto the porch, she stood up and walk away from the wheel chair.....  She never used a wheel chair again.

I asked my mama once how long did they write each other and she said they wrote for a very long time. But Grandma didn't start keeping them til she knew she was in love.   I have had the pleasure of reading some of them.  They are almost a hundred years old now and very fragile.  I try not to open them too often. 

Grandpa Walker died in 1953, he was 51 years old.  My Grandma never remarried.  She said once you've had the best, nothing else can compare.  She died in 1965 at the age of 60. 

I so happy I found those letters today.  They are now safe in my purse.  With Irene looming on our horizon there are certain things I need to make sure go with me should I need to "bug out" for this storm.  Those love letters were on that list.  Of course I would love to take all this depression glass and my mama's china too but thanks to ebay and china replacements I can buy every piece of it as if it were never lost.  What I can never replace are the pictures, these love letters, my loved ones, myself and of course my wonderful Hubs!

Recently, my Aunt Connie received a box in the mail.  It was from my cousin.  And in it was another love letter!  It was in remarkable condition considering most of these letters nearly 100 years old!  It was pressed neatly inside the bible our grandpa carried all those years ago while in the Navy. 

I hope to take these letters and copy them for all to read and know this is where we come from, this is the love of two people that created us.  Without their love we would not be here today.

Earlier today I found myself at my favorite shop in the world!  Yes I went to the Dress Barn in Wilmington!  The ladies there are soooo nice.  Sending hugs to salesperson for being such a big help this afternoon and although I didn't catch her name, thanks for the hug!  You know who you are!  If you haven't shopped there lately, go by and check it out!  Great sale going on!  Woo Hoo I got the perfect outfit for my job interview tomorrow!  Yes folks someone actually wants me to interview for a job!  Imagine that!  lol

Well with that I will bid you all a good night..... Good night to you too Betty!

I Hate August!

I know you have wondered why I hate August since I have posted this before I suppose I should explain myself to you my dear reader.  August has not been kind to me recently.  Not been kind to me or to others I know in the last few weeks.

I received news this afternoon that a grand lady known far and wide as Miss Stella passed on to a better place this afternoon.  She is with her beloved Mr. Charlie now.  Mr. Charlie was one of the happiest people you would ever meet!  He hung out around our local Ace Hardware here in Hampstead.  His son in law and daughter owned it at that time so you could say he was the official welcoming committee!  If you couldn't find it Mr. Charlie always knew where it was and how to fix it if you didn't know how.  It was a sad day indeed when he passed.  I remember Miss Stella telling her daughter that he wasn't really at the cemetery, that there was no reason for her to go there.  At first I didn't understand that as I am sure neither did her children and grandchildren.  As time wore on we all began to understand she didn't need to visit a grave site to be with Mr. Charlie, she carried him inside her heart everywhere she went.  She continued to live in the little white house with the green metal roof.  She got some donkeys and goats.  She planted her garden and welcomed her great grandchildren into the world with open arms.  She loved to show them how it was on the farm.  Her great grandson recently said he felt sure that Nanny would teach God how to farm once she got settled in and all.  I'm sure she will but first she will have some catching up to do with Mr. Charlie as I am sure he has been waiting for her on the other side.  Miss Stella you will be missed by all who have known you.  I for one will never forget you and look forward to meeting you on the other side.

This past August 6th was like any other day for me.  The usual nothing different around here.  But to remarkable woman like Susie Guyton this was suppose to be the day her new meds would help ease her MS.  Multiple Sclerosis, or MS, is a chronic condition that affects the central nervous system. The damage caused by multiple sclerosis creates lesions or scars, that can be seen on the brain, spinal cord and optic nerve. Because the process of developing these lesions is called sclerosis.  Multiple sclerosis literally means "many scars."

Susie was a great chick to know!  I remember when she and her little girls lived at the end of my road how her kids would play with my two girls.  The four of them were the same age.  Now the four of them are all grown up.  Susie was a great mother and grandmother too.  She and I had some fun times living on Amanda Ln.  That was when we were too poor to know it!  lol  I had just had my son when her oldest came home with chicken pox.  Poor Susie she couldn't afford to be out of work.  She was a single mom and needed that income.  So me being who I am and seeing an opportunity for my little ones to get chicken pox early in life told her to bring them on over!  We'll have a party!  I said!  And so we did!  I still have pics somewhere of little Kari with dots on her wee face!  lol  Yes all five kids had chicken pox at the same time but at least Susie didn't loose any work and best of all my baby didn't scar because he was too young to scratch them!  She eventually met a really nice guy and they moved up to New Bern.  We kept in touch thru her aunt.  She made a deep impression on me.  She was a strong willed woman with a lust for life and a determination to have it her way.  She was so strong willed that she believed there was a way around anything.  She believed somewhere there had to be a cure for MS.  She was willing to try anything if it would give her the relief she was seeking. 

They had ran every test available for this new drug.  She passed them all with flying colors.  When the day came for her to start the procedure nothing seemed out of the ordinary. She even told her boyfriend she was going to take a nap while she waited for it to work it's magic on her.  Susie Rebecca Smith Guyton I will never forget you sweetie.  The sun doesn't shine as bright as it once did.....

August is also the month my dear sweet mama passed away.  It is the month that the evil Lupus appeared looking for her and stole her from us.  I remember her last words to me were, I'm not scared of dying, I just don't want to leave them (meaning our family) but I know my loved ones who have gone before me are just on the other side waiting for me. 



Good night to you all.  Good night Betty. 

Birthdays, Balloons and Sour Pickles too!

The month of August is such a busy month for my family.  Practically the entire month is covered in birthdays!  Or at least it seems that way to most of us.  It is also a sad time for me and my siblings.  We lost our mother on August 30, 2000 to Lupus.  Bad disease and if you know someone who suffers from Lupus you know the whole family suffers.  Be sure to give that family a hug and extra love every chance you can because when she strikes, it's quick and they are gone in a second.  My niece Kierstyn Hollibaugh's birthday is August 7th.  My Great niece Eden Carlson (Miss Eddy) had her birthday this week too, on the 15th!  Of course my daddy's birthday was the 17th and Grandma's was the 18th.  Tomorrow is my Aunt Kathi Shuler's birthday, August 20th.  Then my nephew and his wife celebrate their 2nd anniversary on August 29th.  Did I miss anyone?  Well if I did I'm sure they'll let me know!  lol  Like I said August is a very busy month for us!  I hope you enjoy my updated blog page. I felt it was time to change the look of things.  Besides Miss Eddy gets lost in the crowd sometimes since she is so little.  lol

I kind of like Grandma in her pumpkin bonnet so I thought I would share that with you all.  She told everyone she just knew she was going on a buggy ride for her 94th birthday. However when she got sick, the "powers that be" decided not to push their luck and postponed the ride for another day.  But that didn't stop her from wearing her bonnet did it?  lol

We all had a grand time at the birthday bash in Mooresville last Saturday.  I discovered I'm not the only storyteller in the family.  Apparently stories abound throughout my family of how this one and that one did one thing or the other!  lol  Here's a tale my daddy told, you are sure to enjoy and pass on to your own children:

"I got a job Daddy!  I got a job!" F.C. was so excited.  " Well good for you son!  Now name your pocket."  his daddy said.  "Name my pocket?' F.C. replied.  "What should I name my pocket?"   "You should name one of your pockets the world.  Do you know why son?" his daddy smiled.  "No sir." F.C. answered.  "That way if anyone wants to borrow your money you can pull the pocket out and say I have no money in the world!" laughed his daddy. 

Just by listening to the others telling their stories I learned a lot that day.  I learned that one of my uncles fainted the first time he kissed my aunt.  I learned that one of my other uncles DID NOT faint when he kissed my other aunt! lol  I also learned that albino rats do exist!  lol  Oh what stories I will be able to pass on from just a few hours of family gathering around our grand lady......lol  Like Grandma says, sit down here and tell me a tale my dear.....

Tomorrow is Betty's birthday did you know that?  She is my youngest aunt. I bet you didn't know Betty White is my aunt did you?  Well she is......or better I should say she is channeling through my Aunt Kathi Shuler....Happy Birthday Aunt Kathi/Betty may you have many many many more!

Hard to believe summer is almost over!  Where did the time go?  Well I spent my summer very productive I might add!.. I have canned, froze and dried everything I can think to preserve! lol  Next month I go looking for pecans!  Today I took an old recipe that's been handed down from our Grandma and canned 19 jars of some of the saltiest sour pickles you will ever eat!  Why there was a summer in the not to distant past where we put up over 100 jars of these pickles....yummmmm I can hardly wait to eat them!  So I thought I would share our version of these pickles:
Phillips Salty Sour Pickles
3 qts Vinegar
1 qt. water
1 cup pickling salt
Bring to a rapid boil.  Continue boiling til all jars are full of mixture.
Pack jars with cucumbers (you can slice them or pack whole in jars) Pour mixture over cucumbers up to 1/4 from top and seal with two part ring and lid.  Set to the side to cool.  Jars will seal as they cool.

Here is another recipe for sour pickles:

Sour Pickles
3 qts. vinegar
1 qt. water
bring to a rapid boil. Continue boiling til all jars are filled.  Pack jars with cucumbers leaving  1/4 from the top.  Add 1 tablespoon of pickling salt, 1 teaspoon of sugar.  Pour mixture over cucumbers.  Seal with two part ring and lid.  Jars will seal as they cool.

Both recipes will be ready to eat in approximately 2 to 3 weeks if they are sliced and 1 month if whole. 

Hope you enjoy them as much as my family has enjoyed them throughout the generations! Well folks that's it for tonight, hope the rest of y'all have a good night and Betty, don't eat too much cake tomorrow!

The Little Yellow House On The Corner

This weekend all the family is gathering in Mooresville, NC, my hometown for a very special reason.  It's our grandmother's 94th birthday celebration.  She is the matriarch of this family.  She is the very glue that holds us all together.
Our Grandfather met her while working on a farm in Harmony, NC.   She was known as one of the Hodgson Beauties.  Those girls were known far and wide for their beauty and to even be graced with a smile from one was pure heaven for any young man.  Grandpa used to say he married her because he liked her red hair and Grandma would always say "He must be thinking about someone else. Because I never had red hair!"  What she didn't see was the mischievous grin on his face at having "gotten one" over on her. 

Their marriage blessed them with 5 children, 15 grandchildren, 23 great-grand children, not to mention the great great grandchildren....oh and then the endless step grand children, and so on...... And before I forget,  everyone who ever spent anytime at the little yellow house on the corner called our grandmother, Grandma.  So you see we share her with this whole town.   I can't remember when she wasn't holding a baby or changing someones diaper....Can you?

Recently she has been not quite herself.  Had to spend the night in the hospital to get her meds straightened out.  When talking with her on the phone I asked her, "Grandma, how did you talk the Aunts into leaving you alone?"  I was totally amazed how well she sounded. I had to know how she pulled this latest caper off!  "Well, I just told them if I needed anything I had my big stick!" she replied.   I said "Wow, Grandma, you have a big stick?"  She just laughed her silly laugh and replied "Yes, I carry a big stick!  How many of your friends' grandmas carry a big stick?  Why don't you write a story about that?"  So I thought about it for a few days and asked around and here are a few of the answers I got.

One friend told me her grandmother never left the house without a pair of pruning shears.  She said she always wanted to be ready to take a cutting should she see a plant she wanted to root.  That one made me think of my own mother and how she was forever rooting something in a jar.  My Uncle Sam agreed and recently reminded me of a road trip he and my aunt took with my parents where my mother made my father stop the car to do just that very thing!

I got a few strange ones too.  Like the flask of whiskey in her purse but she didn't drink only carried it in case it was needed.  Ok.......But I think the strangest of all was the lady who carried a bullwhip everywhere she went.  You see she had 12 kids and lived on a pig farm. Whenever one of them would get out all she had to do was crack the whip over their heads and back in they went.......uh pigs that is....not the kids!  Yeah I had to ask too.....Look if I had 12 kids on a pig farm I would be carrying more than a bull whip what about you?

So I ask you dear reader.  My grandma carries a big stick.  What does your grandma carry?  Let me know ........

Well it's time for me to hit the sack. Tomorrow is a big day for a dear lady. She's the glue that holds us together, the very heartbeat within us all. Good Night to you all! Good Night Betty!

As a side note, I asked my grandma at her birthday party what did her grandma carry and here is what she had to say:

"My grandma carried a Bible and her burying clothes in a box.  And do you think we kids touched it?  NOOOO  we were afraid to touch it!  But I can tell you what was in it!  It had a long black skirt and a black waist.  That's what they called a blouse back then, a waist.  My grandma always said you need to be ready.  You need to be ready for the Lord." 

She went on to tell us that her grandma broke her hip and laid in bed for the rest of her life.  All she wanted was for someone to read to her from her Bible.  Grandma says she remembers crawling in bed with her and reading.  Back in the day there was very little they could do for you once you had broken your hip. 

August.....finally!

Ahhh August!  The last full month of summer!  Finally we see the light at the end of a very long hot smokey summer.  Or at least we hope that's the end of the tunnel and not a port hole.... Anywho it has been one heck of a summer hasn't it my dears?  And now they are talking about TS Emily.  Well I haven't had a TS Emily much less a Hurricane Emily since the summer of 1994 when that Hurricane Emily was over 250 off our coast and all we got was wind!  No rain....Then we didn't need the rain but we sure could use it now.  Would be so nice to finally put that fire out!  Yep sure would be nice.  But right now I know I'm not alone when I say any rain would most likely be welcome. 

Got my pressure cooker this afternoon.  Opened up the box and put it together.  Took me forever to get the lid on and now guess what?  I can't get the lid off!!! No kidding!  Really!  I'm about ready to throw the dang thing away and just give up on pressure cooking!  I mean do I really want another one blowing up and perhaps killing me this time?  Last time it took me a week to get all the mess cleaned up and I think when I moved out of that apartment there was still some chicken stuck to the ceiling!  Not to mention the dent in the ceiling and the floor when the lid hit it when the weight went flying along with the lid!  Oh did I tell you the weight hit me in the back of the head?  Well believe me when I tell you there ain't a person alive that can hit me that hard!  I thought someone had shot me.....I fell to me knees waiting to die and when If felt the back of my head and felt all this gooey material and bone I just knew I was dying.  It was the chicken and it's bones....I was 21 and need I say more?  You know I think I just might take that pressure cooker back tomorrow.......I really don't need it.  Besides it took me 30 years to learn how to walk straight again....

Besides I got another toy coming in any day now....the Dehydrator!  Now I got plans for that baby!  Gonna make trail mix, banana chips, apple chips, peach chips, jerky...yum and my all time favorite....potpourri!  I love to make home made potpourri!  It really makes a nice gift especially when you can know everything in it and where it was all acquired.  I like to use hydrangeas, roses and magnolia leaves and there cones!  The cones hold what ever scent you put in there.  FYI try to get wood shavings if you can they hold scents very well.  You can pick up you scents at any craft store.  I like using Hobby Lobby.  Even though they are not a local store for me I can still have it shipped to my home.  Which in case y'all don't know is a very dangerous thing for me to be able to do .....shipping and ordering on the internet that is...lol

Oh before I forget, if any of you live around Holly Ridge you really need to stop in at The Smokehouse.  It's under new management and boy have things changed around there!  Everyone walks around with a smile on their face!  The atmosphere is so much more inviting and just plain happy!  You don't here anyone walking around saying " I can clean house around here you know".  The food is much much better.  So glad to see the changes the new manager Jeremy Edens has made and looking forward to the new ones he has planned for the future.  So get on by there and check it out ASAP!  Buffet on Fri night thru Sun night from 5pm until closing and it's only $12.99  (pssst:  they got oysters on the buffet too!)

Well it's off to beddy bye for me my dears!  Got tons to do tomorrow!  Y'all be good to each other, till we meet again and Betty.....Good Night my dear!  xoxoxo