After Thanksgiving Pics

Thanks Christy!

Any other pictures out there?

First Christmas Present for the Year……...

And it's all mine!
Mandy and Woody were out shopping Wednesday, and came across Walmart's clearance aisle. There was an employee there marking down items, which of course is what Mandy likes to do best. Mandy talks to her and realizes she is marking everything down half price. So, Mandy calls to tell us they are marking down Sharks to $50.00. Sherrill doesn't have a clue what she is talking about, but I had bought one for my mom a few years back.

This one the handle comes off so you can use it as a garment steamer, or any type of steamer. 

Sherrill goes off to Walmart, and after much confusion, he finally finds the Shark, but the employee had gone to lunch. Mandy tells him to go find ANY employee, and explain the situation, and they could get a manager to mark down the price. So, Sherrill goes to the paint department, where he feels most at home (there or the food aisle), and talks the lady into marking it down for him. 

I just pulled it out of the box, and let me tell you, after years of squeezing out that big old mop in the kitchen sink, this is a breeze. It is the PERFECT thing for the day after Thanksgiving! I still have to figure out how I can put ammonia on the floor to really clean everything. 

so, what started out as a $129.00 item, was marked down to $100., then down to $75, then all the way to $50. Yes! It is worth $50.00. And by the way, Grandma Cat keeps hers in her room so no one can use it. She doesn't even let the maid use it!

So………… how's your Black Friday going? 

Sherrill is out putting the shingles on the barn. He came in complaining how hard it was carrying them up the ladder. I offered to help, but he told me all I would be able to do was supervise, so I could stay inside! So, I'm in here just steaming away!

Happy Turkey Day

Happy Thanksgiving one and and all.
Hope everyone has a belly full by now, and is propped back on the couch or recliner with your feet propped up.
You remember I had the day's events all planned out a week ago. Menu was made, food was purchased, and everything divided up making a few special things every day until the week was up.
Well, as usual, not everything goes as planned.
I went to Walmart to purchase the bulk of the items, but still had Sherrill to pick me up a few things.
Well, you can't blame a guy for getting regular pie crust instead of deep dish. It just ended up two pies instead of one. But then I had this great idea to cook the turkey breast on  the la Caja China grill……

We LOVE this grill, and it will cook anything. You have to start out with 12-16 pounds of charcoal though. So, I had the bright idea to cook TWO turkey breast instead of one. I could just freeze the other, or give it away. So, I send Sherrill off to the store to purchase the chicken breast. He had put them in the back of the refrigerator to unthaw. Well, this morning after he got the charcoal started, he pulled out the turkey breast for me. Oopps! No TURKEY BREAST! Instead he had picked up two
16 pound turkeys! Thirty two pounds of meat……that is even too much for "fat boy"!

No, they aren't burnt. It's the spices and olive oil on top that darkened the skin. So, here we have it…32 pounds of Butterball turkey, just waiting to be Gobbled, Gobbled! Sherrill ate one leg, thigh, wing, and the "little leg" attached to the wing/breast for lunch. I guess he will eat the same at dinner. I think I will chop up the breast for chicken salad, after I get a turkey sandwich for dinner.
Oh, the bacon wrapped asparagus turned out pretty good. The asparagus was a little stringy though. The sauce I put over it was great. It was made with butter, brown sugar, and soy sauce. It would go great with chicken strips or balls. The bacon took forever to "crisp up" in the oven, but it had a real good flavor. I don't know if I will try it again.
The dressing and gravy were just perfect, as well as the mashed potatoes and corn. We went the easy way out with Hawaiian rolls. After the meal was over and done, I reminded Sherrill that we are just too old for all of this. I should have had Christa to come over and cook for us!
Reminder for Christmas……. I liked the ham dinner better than the turkey dinner.

What are you doing with your life?

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Luke's letter to his mom

Dear Mom,
Thank you for doing everything! buying lots of stuff. do not get more toys for Jacob he is very loud with them.
Love:Luke

Sorry parts are cut off the edge. But you get the message.
Jacob is a "loud child"!

Name this cow

Remember Chloe the cow……..the white one.
Well, now Chloe has a friend, a little black calf. Christy and Kurt just got her today.
Life on the farm!

Sweet Potato Pie

1 pound sweet potatoes ( I used about 4 1/2 sweet potatoes)
1/2 cup butter softened
1 cup white sugar    (I used about 3/4 white and about a half brown)
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 tsp nutmeg   (I used more)
1/2 tsp cinnamon (I used more)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (9inch) unbaked pie crust (I ended up with 2 pies)

Boil or bake sweet potatoes until done 40-50 minutes. Remove the skin.
Mash potato in a bowl. Add butter and mix well with mixer. Stir in sugar, milk, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until mixture is smooth. Pour filling into unbaked pie crust.
Bake at 350 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes. Pie will puff up like a soufflé, and then will sink down as it cools.

Because I used more potatoes than I should, it did't puff up so much.
Next time I will use the same potatoes, but might add another egg, and I wish I had used evaporated milk instead of regular milk. I did like the change up with the sugar. I just LOVE my brown sugar.

The pies turned out great! I wish I had my sister's recipe for her sweet potato pie.

Sunday dinner done

Sunday dinner is finally done. No pumpkin pie though. I baked enough sweet potatoes, so I went ahead and made 2 sweet potato pies. They are in the oven as I write this.
Sherrill's belly is full, and he is sitting back in his chair with Jack watching a movie.
They should both be asleep very soon, and I can finish up the last tree.
Life is great!

Sherrill and the Dodge Ram

Sherrill was so excited last night. He found a Dodge Ram extended cab that he really liked. He went and drove it. One owner, a little 75 year old man. He had me go with him today to take it for a ride, and we did. He drove into a church parking lot so I could get behind the wheel, an as soon as he drove in,
I felt a shake, rattle and roll under my butt!
Instead of changing drivers, I told him to go ahead and drive, so I could pay attention to what was going on underneath that truck! Every little bump the entire steering wheel would shake. I told him something was wrong with the axle, or the whole chassis. So, now we are back to the beginning, looking online and riding around to car lots.
I was really hoping that he would have found something by now. I don't know how he drove it yesterday without realizing something was wrong.

Thanksgiving more that one day

So, why do people celebrate Thanksgiving for just one day. Why spend all that work cooking, just to overfill your belly and be miserable. I have decided to do something a little different this year.
For us, Thanksgiving will start on Sunday and go through the entire week!
Sunday: Baked ham, sweet potato casserole, succotash, and pumpkin pie.
Monday: left over ham, mac and cheese, and peas, and baked apples.
Tuesday: Big pot of soup, or beans (freezing the rest of the ham)
Wednesday: Fried chicken & BBQ (McCall's)  dessert apple cake (new recipe)
Thursday: Turkey breast, dressing, mashed potatoes, bacon wrapped asparagus (I've never cooked it before), and fruit salad
Friday: Turkey fricassee on toast with whatever veggies are left. Homemade cookies for dessert.
Saturday: Leftovers, leftovers, leftovers! ! !

I haven't told Sherrrill what my plans are. I just don't like cooking so much in one day. I'm getting old….. I had rather spread it out throughout the entire week.

The Little Barn's Facelift

Sherrill is home most of this week, so it's time to put him to work. We ran into Aunt Ann the other day, and she said since Uncle Douglas has retired all he does all day is sit in the chair and watch TV. I reminded her this is what their dad did, but he was an OLD man. So, it was time to get Sherrill up and moving. He invited a friend over to help him, and they tore the roof off, and have gone for supplies.
This is the "little barn". After it gets re-roofed, it gets a new coat of paint. I'll try to sneak in a picture of them working if I can!

Happy Birthday Kenny

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

This was Kenny's video from last with a few more pictures added!
Happy Happy Birthday!

Life on the farm…...

Here piggy, piggy, piggy

Kurt's barn……just the right size for him and the  boys!

Nice fire. It's gonna be cold this year!

Smile Kenny!

Come on folks, who else has pictures?

Kelli…. what's up with you and Blake?

Tristen, what's going on in South Dakota?

Catherine

Look at those curls!
Sweet little baby!
I can hear her now……."I'm NOT a baby, I'm CaFerine!"

Dresser anyone???

So this morning Kathy Joe got a wake up call.  While I was setting the Target ad we realized that a 4 drawer dresser regular priced at $117 was ringing up for $10!!   Yes people, $10!!!!   So I waited a few hours and sent Kathy a text message asking if she was awake.  After a few minutes she replied no, why.  Lol she let me call the house so I could explain why. Later I called mom and ended up getting her one, me one, Woodys mom one and his aunt one.  So I guess for now on when I find crazy deals I'll just start texting everyone early so they can be at the stores when they open before corporate fixes the prices.  :)

I think I'll give this one a try

 "The Absolutely Perfect Pumpkin Pie":  

1 (15 oz.) can of pumpkin or about 2 cups of cooked mashed pumpkin  (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 (14 oz.) can of sweetened condensed milk (like Eagle Brand)
2 large eggs
2 Tbs. light brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Deep Dish Pie shell, unbaked

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and salt until well blended and smooth. 

Place the pie shell on a cookie sheet and fill with the pumpkin mixture.  It will be full and the cookie sheet aids in moving it to the oven without spilling and also helps the pie bake more evenly.   

Place in the oven and bake at 425 for 10 minutes.  Reduce the oven to 350 and bake for about 40 - 45 minutes.  

Little girl Unknown

Look at this little girl.  Her photo was in the group I got from dad back in August. The name on the back was Audrey V Sutton. There was no one of that name to be found in NC.
Then I found her…………
Her name was Audrey V Sutton that married a Krauss. She was born in Delaware, and died in Pennsylvania. I made a connection with a picture of her
I saw posted on ancestry when she was 4 years old.
The connection to NC was her father
Ora Sutton, that was from no other than Hertford, North Carolina.
This lady was born 18 July 1904 and died 17 Jan 2004 at age 99.
I have already contacted someone in her family so I can forward them this cute picture of a little girl.

The word of advice here, please, please label all of your pictures. Every little child needs to be remembered, especially if they are one of yours!

Strangers in the Box 
By Pamela A. Harazim

Come, look with me inside this drawer, 
In this box I've often seen, 
At the pictures, black and white, 
Faces proud, still, serene. 
I wish I knew the people, 
These strangers in the box, 
Their names and all their memories 
Are lost among my socks. 
I wonder what their lives were like.
How did they spend their days? 
What about their special times? 
I'll never know their ways. 
If only someone had taken time 
To tell who, what, where, when, 
These faces of my heritage 
Would come to life again. 
Could this become the fate
Of the pictures we take today? 
The faces and the memories 
Someday to be tossed away? 
Make time to save your pictures, 
Seize the opportunity when it knocks, 
Or someday you and yours could be
The strangers in the box.

Orange Pickup anyone ? ??

In case you didn't know, Sherrill's van died about a month ago. The transmission went out. I'm sure you could hear him sob all the way to Fuquay Varina. He has had me looking for a truck for him. I called him yesterday. I found a Ford pickup. The color listed was Pumpkin. No, it's not the one in the picture above, but it is that color. Wouldn't he be "styling"in a nice bright orange truck. No longer would he be able to use the excuse, "No, it wasn't me….it must be a van that looks like mine!" :)

He came home, looked at the truck, and actually liked it. When I got back online today to find it, it's gone. Someone has bought my truck! So, I continue to look, and look, and look. Even Sherrill has been on the computer looking.

So, it you happen to come across a lonely little pick up out there, with a bright shiny coat, give us a call!

Remember When??

Look at how young these kids were back then.
I'm not sure who took this picture, but it looks like they were having fun!

Happy Birthday Grandaddy Joe

Kids cupcakes

Kylie and Jonah on "Old Faithful"

Mandy talking grandaddy into changing his will? ? 

Happy Birthday DAD!
Yep, Grandaddy Joe turns 85 today. Saturday Sherrill and I went to visit, and Mandy came close behind. We carried fried chicken, sweet potatoes and rolls, just like Grandma likes, and a Pineapple cream cheese birthday cake. When we got there we ordered pizzas, and Mandy brought cupcakes for the kids and grandaddy.
Woody was able to help dad out with some plumbing problems he has been having since he put in a new hot water heater a month ago. A good day was had by all, with a race to the finish to see who could get home first. Mandy won of course!
She was delayed however when she got a call from Sherrill telling her to take the next turn to the right, he wanted to show her something. She thought we were going to follow her, but NO, Sherrill just wanted us to get ahead. I laughed so hard I cried!!! As she pulled off, he was just waving BYE!

Something GOOD to eat

Saturday night I had taken pork chops out of the freezer to cook for Sunday dinner. I didn't want to fry them, didn't want to BBQ them, so I decided to bake them. I still had the quart jar of apples that Christy sent, so thins is what I did.

I browned the pork chops in some olive oil, about 5 minutes each side, salt and peppered them.

Then I took the jar of apples and poured them in a 10X13 baking dish. I sprinkled brown sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon over them. I placed the pork chops on top, wrapped them tightly in aluminum foil, and put those babies in the oven for 45 minutes.

Those pork chops were so tender they would just fall apart! In the picture above it looks like they put onions when they were browning  the pork chops, but I didn't want onions with my apples.

I just dipped out a pork chop, then scooped up some apples and juice, and put on top the pork chop.

Hey, I might become a cook after all! That was some good eating, and easy too!

I can't wait to try it with fresh apples. Thanks for the apples Christy!

Church with dad

This was taken while dad was looking down singing.  He has no clue I took it.  ❤️

50th Anniversary of Kennedy Assassination Nov 22

All of the TV shows have begun showing programs about the JFK assassination. This event was kind of like the Twin Towers, you will always remember where you were when it happened. 

As for me, I was in the 3rd grade in Mrs Ashley's class. She had black hair, and always wore red lipstick. I hated that lipstick! Anyway, it was announced over the intercom. 

Now, on to current day events. I am still going through my "totes" of information. I came across this newspaper article about Grandma Cat's half brother. There were 18 kids, same dad, two different moms.

Just another little story to add to your genealogy. Oh, I had to cut and paste it to get it to fit.

Kat, please make sure Chris reads this. He will LOVE it! He just loves a good Marine!

The Blegens

Hi everyone....It's been a while since I've posted something...sorry grandma, I've been grounded so I couldn't do anything. Well Nate started Basketball, and is doing well in school. I've been working, and doing homework, and being grounded. Then mom and dad are working and have workout a lot. So we've been busy, I'm still working two jobs, and going to school. But really that's about all we've been doing. Dad went to Vegas for work. Mom hasn't gone anywhere and neither have Nate and I. Well I couldn't go anywhere. Um, I had gotten confirmed at church last Sunday, and I got a necklace and ring from mom and dad, then money from my grandparents, and family friends. Anyways that's really about it. So bye!

Taco's anyone ? ? ?

When was the last time you visited Taco Bell?

Happy Birthday Catherine

Happy Birthday to YOU
Happy Birthday to YOU
Happy Birthday dear Catherine
Happy Birthday to YOU!

We LOVE you girl! I can just see the mischief in those eyes. Reminds me of your mom!

"Fat Boy"

Sherrill was out in the garage/office/studio helping me put up some book shelves. I said something like, "Hey fat boy……..". After I finished he said, "Did you know that is bullying". I told him that he is NOT fat, so it wouldn't be bullying. He informed me that he watched Dr Phil this morning, and Dr Phil said that any name calling is BULLYING!
Now, I have been calling him 'fat boy" for over 20 years. The people at work calls him "fat boy". I even think James and Mandy call him "fat boy".
Just beware, the next time you call him that, he is going to give you the "bully lecture". This man has GOT to quit watching Dr Phil and go back to work! ! !

Happy Birthday Grandma Naomi

Aunt Louise, Grandma Naomi, and Grandma Cat

Today would have been Grandma Naomi's 101st birthday.
She was born Nov 7, 1912.
Happy Birthday to the best Grandma EVER!

Scan, Cut, Crop, File……Scan, Cut, Crop, File

This is what my dining room table looks like. Full of books, papers, and files. Aunt Louise died 1 year ago October 12th. During the last 6-8 years of her life I made 3 trips to Florida, and 2 trips to SC just to get totes full of her genealogy research. I filled up the back of the Rendezvous four times. I brought it back, sorted through it, and condensed it down to a more manageable size. I still need to condense it even more. For the past 2 days I have been taking copies of obits and scanning, cutting, cropping, filing, then repeat again. I emptied one tote today, now I have to go put up more shelves in my garage (office, studio) to put up more books and files.
Did I tell you that some of this stuff is over 50 years old, and covered with cigarette smoke, and animal droppings? I got rid of the animal droppings before I ever brought it into the house, and sprayed with bug killer. A nice cloth with febreze  sprayed on it and sealed in the tote helped with the odor. The amount of information is immeasurable.
I haven't even started on the pictures yet. My plan is to put some of the old pictures on familysearch.org, and some of the obits on findagrave.com. In the meantime, the dust has triggered my allergies, and the dining room is a mess, but that's OK. I'll clean this mess up tomorrow, then pull out another tote and start all over again!
And did I forget to mention I also have Aunt Charlotte's (Uncle Hallett's wife) genealogy, and Aunt Mildred's (grandaddy Joe's sister) genealogy, the pictures from Aunt Hilda (grandaddy Joe's Aunt) and Aunt Paulines photos and 2 boxes full of newspaper clippings, and heaven only knows what else is in my stuff! I was even blessed with Grandma Naomi's personal papers and pictures. And did I mention there was an envelope from the White House sent to Little Grandma (Leila Pound) in the 1960's?! I have got to find out what that is all about! Aunt Jane should know.
I just wanted to let you know I am not just sitting back on my laurels. I am actually working, and working!

Jack Dog

Jack dog had a seizure over the weekend that lasted 6-8 minutes. We were eating dinner, and the next thing I knew Sherrill was laid out on the kitchen floor with his head on Jack's pillow. I asked him what was wrong, and he told me. I told him to give Jack some space for air, so he got up. Jack just kept on
jerking. We attempted to give him a cookie, but he didn't realize what was going on.

He finally calmed down. We called Dr Kurt (McEwan) to see what was going on. I told him that Jack had been on prednisone, and was being weened off of that. He agreed that could have been the problem.

Any suggestions or opinions from any of you dog lovers?

Meal in a Box

Remember the recipe Christy posted last week about her White Chili? I never got around to make it, because I didn't have any cumin or oregano. This box arrived on Saturday. It's what I call Meal in a Box. It has chicken, white beans (they look like the old fashioned navy beans to me). green chile enchilada sauce, the spices I need, and even a quart of apples for dessert!

Sherrill opened the box and his eyes just got bigger and bigger as he pulled out the food. When she called that night, he just had to tell her that he fed the chicken to Jack!

Looks like I will be making a pot of White Chili this week!

November Birthday's

Here are the November Birthdays

8    Catherine McEwan

12  Grandaddy Joe (85th)

20  Kenneth McEwan

21  Cathy Bennett Evans

23  Tristen Evans

Anyone else?????

What do you do with leftover pumpkins?

"Miss Chloe"

You share them with the farm animals.
Christy went around today and collected pumpkins from friends and neighbors. Looks like her animals will be eating good.  Smile for the camera Chloe!
  Oh, Chloe got out a couple of days ago while Kurt was working. Christy had to put Jacob in the back of the truck, get the cow in, mend the fence, then go back to Jacob........ all of this in 40 degree weather!
I'm surprised she didn't hit Chloe over the head with that pumpkin!

Blake and Kelli

                                   

Looks like they are having fun?
OK Blegens......... where are your pictures?