It's a whopper!

Last weekend we attended a 90th birthday reception for my husband's aunt. It was a grand affair at her church with lots of friends and family. A real celebration! One of those in attendance was a woman who had worked for his aunt for many, many years. When she saw my husband she teased him saying he never brought her any fish like he promised. He just laughed and said he would bring them to her this week. Friday was the first chance we had to make good on his promise. Thank goodness the fish were biting!!

Here's the stringer with my catch. Notice two of them are rather large. We each use our own stringer so one of us doesn't have to miss out on fishing while stringing the other's fish! How competitive is that?!

This might be the largest fish I've ever caught. We didn't have a "de-liar" with us but I think it was five pounds or better!

I really looked rough in these photos so I cropped my head out, but you can still see my fancy rubber boots!

Fruit Filled Cupcakes

Today is our younger daughter's birthday and last night the entire family gathered here for a birthday meal.

Several years ago I tried a cupcake recipe from Simple & Delicious which made a big impression on her. This was the first birthday in quite some time that she's been able to come home to celebrate, so she specifically requested these cupcakes instead of a cake.

They are moist, delicious, and quite simple to make.

1 pkg. strawberry cake mix
2 cups (16 oz.) sour cream (I use "lite")
2 eggs
strawberry preserves
white frosting

Combine first three ingredients in a large bowl. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds then an additional 2 minutes on medium speed. Fill 24 baking cups about half full with batter. Spoon approximately 1/2 teaspoon preserves into the center of each cup. Top with remaining batter. Bake at 350F for about 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Frost when cool.

What a waste!

I would absolutely like to KICK myself!!! This is precisely why I don't need to drink, gamble, or play video games.

Today was our older daughter's birthday so we (my husband, son and I) met her and her family for dinner. The restaurant she chose is usually crowded on Friday nights, so we made it an early supper. That means I was home at a decent hour and had the evening free to do what I wanted.

I have a fun jigsaw in process. I'm in the midst of a good book. I have several magazines to read. I need to work on my Legacy Guide project. But what did I do?

I wasted my ENTIRE EVENING playing solitaire on my computer!!! Las Vegas rules. Lost every game. I can't remember when I've done anything so stupid! All I meant to do was check the weather radar and something made me click on "games". Big mistake.

As punishment I shouldn't allow myself to turn on my computer tomorrow. (yeah, right!)

*sigh*

Thanksgiving 2009

We normally have extended family join us for our Thanksgiving feast, but this year it was just my husband, me, our son and two daughters, a significant other, and our granddaughter. We had a wonderful day filled with food and fun. We ate, played board games, ate, celebrated our granddaughter's birthday (the 28th) and ate some more.

What a feast it was! Turkey and cornbread dressing, goose and wild rice, gravy, spinach casserole, corn, sweet potato casserole, green beans, stuffed eggs, cranberry sauce, black olives, cheese and crackers and rolls. My daughters provided the desserts this year. Older daughter brought two things. I'm not sure what either was called, but both were delicious. One was a pie with cream cheese and condensed milk and the other was chocolate cheesecake balls dipped in chocolate, drizzled with more chocolate. Younger daughter tried a new pumpkin cheesecake recipe that turned out great. I'll leave you with a picture of it.... yum!!

The Queen's Birthday!

Queen Esther, that is. She and her brother JJ were part of a large litter of Rottweiler puppies born on October 6, 1999 to “Lady Bug” and “Jack the Ripper”. I had to look back at her registration to remember who her sire and dam were, but I never forget when she was born! Many of you know we lost JJ to cancer when he was only five years old, but Esther is still going strong. In fact, she’s now a year older than our first rottie (Angus) was when he died (also of cancer).

I feel lucky to have snapped this nice photo of her today. She normally exits the room quickly when she sees a camera in my hand. Maybe it was the promise of extra treats that made her cooperate.


Happy 10th Birthday, Esther!!!

Tidbits

I think the rain is finally moving out. We had a few sprinkles yesterday and it was misting this morning, but the forecast has dropped to only a 40% chance of showers today. After more than 17 inches of the wet stuff in a week, I’m ready for it to be gone!

The pond held up well through the heavy rains. At one point the road was completely flooded and water was pouring over the spillway making it difficult to get into the pasture, but things have already drained off considerably. It’s now up to full capacity after being as low as we’ve seen it since it was constructed.

My husband celebrated his birthday this past week. I cooked steaks for the actual day, then two of our kids came over last night for an additional celebratory dinner.

On Thursday evening a friend and I attended a lecture series at our local community college. The speaker for the event was best selling author Charlaine Harris, creator of the Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Series on which the HBO series True Blood is based. The hour long program consisted of her sharing a bit about her history and writing methods then the floor was opened for a question and answer session. Based on many of the questions, I would say a good portion of the crowd was there because of True Blood. I’ve only read her books and really have no desire to watch the TV series. In fact, after hearing her speak, I’d really like to read some of her other books. Overall it was a very entertaining and informative evening.

Jeans 'n Classics

South Arkansas has a very good symphony orchestra. It’s probably been more than twenty years since I’ve bought season tickets, but this year I decided to give them my support.

Last night’s performance kicked off the 2009/2010 season, Music in Motion, with guest artist Jeans ‘n Classics . The Canadian-based group of musicians employs the concept of combining popular music with symphony orchestras, concentrating mainly on the Classic Rock audience. The group offers a large variety of shows and our symphony booked the Eagles tribute. It was fantastic!! I was really blown away by their performance and would love to attend some of their other shows. You can hear a little sample of their work on the website, but it barely scratches the surface of the depth and quality of their talent. I would highly recommend seeing them if they are scheduled to perform anywhere near you.


Friday was my birthday. It was a relatively quiet day and I was blessed to be able to do exactly what I wanted all day long. Yes, I’m thankful for my many blessings!

Betty's Birthday

Betty has made it to double digits! Today is her 10th birthday!!! If she could talk, she would probably comment on all the changes in her life during the past year. With the exception of Esther, the entire dog line-up has changed including a couple of temporary puppy litters. She would most likely say the worst thing has been the addition of Alice and Mabel. Even though she has learned to tolerate them and even plays with them some, she never hesitates to set things straight if they encroach on her personal space.

In honor of Betty’s birthday I’m posting a piece I originally did for Pearl Soup and then later put on my 360 blog. Most of you have already seen it, but I felt the need to post it again. I still sometimes think about Veronica and wonder what if...

Veronica
January 17, 2002

The plan was to teach my children responsibility. However, life doesn’t always follow our plans.

My friend, Shelley, called me in late August of 1999 with news that Ethel, her lemon-spotted beagle, had unexpectedly given birth to two puppies. She claimed that I had volunteered to take whatever might come of the union after laughing at her distress over finding Ethel and Oscar together earlier in the summer. I still have no memory of making such a rash statement. At first I told her I didn’t want them, but my children begged and pleaded giving me all sorts of reasons why we should get the puppies. The more I thought about it, the more their reasons made sense. They had always wanted a dog that they could actually hold… even as a full-grown dog. We had a rottweiler living in the house at the time with plans to get two more later in the fall. They assured me they would take care of the puppies themselves. I figured it would be a great lesson in responsibility. That is how Betty and Veronica came to be part of our lives.

They arrived at our house on a Saturday in October. I really don’t think I’ve ever seen puppies any cuter than those two. The mix of beagle and squirrel dog made a beautiful combination. I have to give my children credit. Parents always hear that line: “Don’t worry, Mom, you won’t have to do anything…we’ll do it all ourselves”. In this case, they actually did. They fed the pups, kept their water bowl filled, played with them, went with me to take them to the vet for all their puppy shots… all the things a responsible pet-owner does. In the late afternoon, they would sit on the back steps and sing to the puppies while holding them in their laps and stroking them until the puppies went to sleep. As a mother, it warmed my heart to see that my children could show such compassion.

Winter came and things had settled into a routine around our house. We had added two rottweiler pups in November who were living in the house. Our household had basically “gone to the dogs”, but we were loving every minute of it!

One Sunday afternoon in February, my daughter called to her brother to come help feed the pups then headed out the back door. She immediately came running back in calling for me to come help. Betty and Veronica were fighting and she was afraid that one of them was hurt! I rushed outside and began hollering at the dogs to break it up. I could see that Betty had Veronica pinned and wouldn’t turn her loose. My husband came rushing out at that point to try and separate them. He sent me back in for a gun. I realize this sounds cruel, but he didn’t know if he would need it to put a dying dog out of its misery or put down a vicious dog. We couldn’t have been more wrong about the situation and the results were tragic. Piecing it all together, we realized an entirely different scenario than a fight had taken place.

Betty and Veronica had been romping and playing as we had often seen them do. Apparently, Betty had gotten Veronica’s collar caught in her mouth and it had wedged between her teeth. Veronica had struggled to get away and in the process her collar had twisted around to the point of choking her to death. The collar was still wedged so tightly in Betty’s teeth that she couldn’t get away. That is why she was lying on top of Veronica and wouldn’t get up when called. My husband had to cut the collar off Veronica and literally pull it from Betty’s teeth.

I spent the next week seeing everything through a blur of tears. My heart ached for Veronica’s death, for Betty and how she must have felt in the minutes after the accident, but most of all for my children and the grief they felt.

The passage of time heals our wounds and eases our grief. As I write this, Betty, who was supposed to be an outside dog, lies sleeping on the daybed behind me. I wonder sometimes when she dreams if it’s about Veronica…or if she even remembers Veronica. I know that I’ll never forget Veronica or how she taught my children far more than just how to be responsible.

September 11 - This day in history

The following information is taken from Wikipedia. Well, almost all of it.

9 - Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends.
506 - The bishops of Visigothic Gaul meet in the Council of Agde.
1185 - Isaac II Angelus kills Stephanus Hagiochristophorites and then appeals to the people, resulting in the revolt that deposes Andronicus I Comnenus and places Isaac on the throne of the Byzantine Empire.
1226 - The Roman Catholic practice of perpetual adoration begins.
1297 - Battle of Stirling Bridge: Scots led by William Wallace defeat the English.
1390 - Lithuanian Civil War (1389–1392): the Teutonic Knights begin a five-week siege of Vilnius
1541 - Santiago, Chile, is destroyed by indigenous warriors, lead by Michimalonko.
1609 - Expulsion order announced against the Moriscos of Valencia; beginning of the expulsion of all Spain's Moriscos.
1609 - Henry Hudson discovers Manhattan Island and the natives living there.
1649 - Siege of Drogheda ends: Oliver Cromwell's English Parliamentarian troops take the town and execute its garrison.
1683 - John III Sobieski of Poland arrives on Kahlen Hill, leading to the Battle of Vienna the next day.
1697 - Battle of Zenta
1708 - Charles XII of Sweden stops his march to conquer Moscow outside Smolensk, marking the turning point in the Great Northern War. The army is defeated nine months later in the battle of Poltava, and the Swedish empire is no longer a major power.
1709 - Battle of Malplaquet: Great Britain, Netherlands and Austria fight against France.
1714 - Barcelona surrenders to Spanish and French Bourbon armies in the War of the Spanish Succession.
1773 - The Public Advertiser publishes a satirical essay titled Rules By Which A Great Empire May Be Reduced To A Small One, which is written by Benjamin Franklin.
1776 - British-American peace conference on Staten Island fails to stop nascent American Revolution.
1777 - Battle of Brandywine - major American Revolutionary war victory for British in Chester County, Pennsylvania.
1786 - The Beginning of the Annapolis Convention.
1789 - Alexander Hamilton is appointed as the first United States Secretary of the Treasury.
1792 - Hope Diamond is stolen along with other crown jewels when six men broke into the house used to store the jewels.
1802 - France annexed the Kingdom of Piedmont.
1814 - The climax of the Battle of Plattsburgh, a major United States victory in the War of 1812.
1847 - Stephen Foster's well-known song, Oh! Susanna, is first performed at a saloon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
1857 - The Mountain Meadows Massacre: Mormon settlers and Paiutes massacre 120 pioneers at Mountain Meadows, Utah.
1888 - Death of the Argentine politician Domingo Sarmiento, after whom the Latin American Teacher's Day was chosen.
1891 - The Jewish Colonization Association is established by Baron Maurice de Hirsch.
1893 - First conference of the World Parliament of Religions is held.
1897 - After months of pursuit, generals of Menelik II of Ethiopia capture Gaki Sherocho, the last king of Kaffa, bringing an end to that ancient kingdom.
1903 - First race is held at The Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin. It is the oldest major speedway in the world.
1906 - Mahatma Gandhi coins the term "Satyagraha" to characterize the Non-Violence movement in South Africa.
1914 - Australia invades New Britain, defeating a German contingent there.
1915 - The Pennsylvania Railroad begins electrified commuter rail service between Paoli and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, using overhead AC trolley wires for power.
1916 - The Quebec Bridge's central span collapses, killing 11 men. The bridge initially collapsed in toto on August 29, 1907.
1919 - U.S. Marines invade Honduras.
1921 - Nahalal, the first moshav in Israel, is settled.
1922 - The British Mandate of Palestine begins.
1922 - The Treaty of Kars is ratified in Yerevan, Armenia.
1922 - One of the Herald Sun of Melbourne, Australia's predecessor papers The Sun News-Pictorial is founded.
1926 - An assassination attempt on Benito Mussolini fails.
1931 - Salvatore Maranzano is murdered by Charles Luciano's hitmen.
1932 - Franciszek Żwirko and Stanisław Wigura, Polish Challenge 1932 winners, are killed in a plane crash when their RWD 6 crashes into the ground during a storm.
1940 - George Stibitz pioneers the first remote operation of a computer.
1940 - World War II: Buckingham Palace is damaged during a German air raid.
1941 - Ground is broken for the construction of The Pentagon.
1941 - World War II: the U.S. Navy is ordered to attack German U-boats.
1941 - Charles Lindberg's Des Moines Speech accusing the British, Jews and FDR's administration of pressing for war with Germany.
1943 - World War II: German troops occupy Corsica and Kosovo-Metohija.
1943 - World War II: start of the liquidation of the Ghettos in Minsk and Lida by the Nazis.
1944 - World War II: the first Allied troops of the U.S. Army cross the western border of Nazi Germany.
1944 - World War II: RAF bombing raid on Darmstadt and the following firestorm kill 11,500.
1945 - World War II: liberation of the Japanese-run POW and civilian internee camp at Batu Lintang, Kuching, Sarawak on the island of Borneo by Australian 9th Division forces. Over 2,000 prisoners, including women and children, were due to be executed on September 15.
1955 - Dedication of the first Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Europe, the Bern Switzerland Temple.
1956 - People to People International is founded by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
1958 - Kelly is born! Today marks her 50th birthday!
1960 - The Young Americans for Freedom, meeting at home of William F. Buckley, Jr., promulgate the Sharon Statement.
1961 - Foundation of the World Wildlife Fund.
1961 - Hurricane Carla strikes the Texas coast as a Category 4 hurricane, the strongest storm ever to hit the state.
1965 - The 1st Cavalry Division of the United States Army arrives in Vietnam.
1968 - Air France Flight 1611 crashes off Nice, France, killing 89 passengers and 6 crew.
1970 - 88 of the hostages from the Dawson's Field hijackings are released. The remaining hostages, mostly Jews or Israeli citizens, are held until September 25.
1970 - The Ford Pinto is introduced.
1971 - The Egyptian Constitution becomes official.
1972 - Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) in San Francisco, California begins regular service.
1973 - A CIA backed coup in Chile headed by General Augusto Pinochet topples the democratically elected President Salvador Allende. Pinochet remains in power for almost 17 years.
1974 - Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 crashes in Charlotte, North Carolina, killing 69 passengers and two crew.
1978 - U.S. President Jimmy Carter, President Anwar Sadat of Egypt, and Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel meet at Camp David and agree on a framework for peace between Israel and Egypt and a comprehensive peace in the Middle East.
1980 - Voters approve the present Constitution of Chile.
1981 - A small plane crashes into the Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino damaging it beyond repair.
1982 - The international forces that were guaranteeing the safety of Palestinian refugees following Israel's 1982 Invasion of Lebanon leave Beirut. Five days later, several thousand refugees are massacred in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps.
1985 - Baseball: Pete Rose gets his 4,192nd career base hit, breaking Ty Cobb's record which had stood for over 60 years.
1987 - Dan Rather walks off the set of the CBS Evening News over disapproval of the handling of a major event being interrupted and postponed by a sports program, leaving six minutes of dead air.
1989 - The iron curtain opens between the communist Hungary and Austria. From Hungary thousands of East Germans throng to Austria and West Germany.
1990 - U.S. President George H. W. Bush delivers a nationally televised speech in which he threatens the use of force to remove Iraqi soldiers from Kuwait, which Iraq had recently invaded. He mentions the term "New World Order" in this speech for the first time, which is also named "Towards a New World Order".(full text of the speech)
1992 - Hurricane Iniki, one of the most damaging hurricanes in United States history, devastates the State of Hawaii, especially the islands of Kauai and Oahu.
1994 - Frank Eugene Corder steals a Cessna plane, intending to crash it into the White House. 1996 - Union Pacific Railroad purchases Southern Pacific Railroad.
1997 - NASA's Mars Global Surveyor reaches Mars.
1997 - After a nationwide referendum, Scotland votes to establish a devolved parliament, within the United Kingdom.
1998 - Independent counsel Kenneth Starr sends a report to the U.S. Congress accusing President Bill Clinton of 11 possible impeachable offenses.
1998 - Opening ceremony for the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Malaysia is the first Asian country to host the games.
2000 - Activists protest against the World Economic Forum meeting in Melbourne, Australia. View of the WTC on fire and the Statue of Liberty
2001 - Coordinated attacks result in the collapse of the World Trade Center in New York City, destruction of the western portion of The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and an unplanned passenger airliner crash in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, which happened after airplane passengers fought back on the plane. In total, 2,974 people are killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks.
2002 - Through extreme and coordinated effort, The Pentagon is rededicated after repairs are completed, exactly one year after the attack on the building.
2003 - Swedish foreign minister Anna Lindh dies after being assaulted and fatally wounded on September 10.
2003 - The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety enters into effect.
2004 - All passengers are killed when a helicopter crashes in the Aegean Sea. Passengers include Patriarch Peter VII of Alexandria and 16 others (including journalists and bishops of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria).
2005 - The State of Israel completes its unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip.
2007 - Russia tests the largest conventional weapon ever, the Father of all bombs.