Sweet Potato Weather

Sweet potatoes

This afternoon was sunny, but cold. Not a cloud in the sky. I came inside around 3 P.M. and had memories of childhood afternoons, coming home from school on the school bus, and running inside the house to get in front of the warm fire place. Then we went to the kitchen for a real treat. There were sweet potatoes baking in the big oven of the wood cook stove. Mother or grandmother Wilson placed them there after baking cornbread in the oven for lunch. They cooked slowly for about 2 hours and were just right. We peeled the dark crusty skin back, sliced the potato lengthwise and put a dollop of fresh churned butter on top of the potato. The potato was still warm and the butter would melt and run down our chins.

I cannot find potatoes in the stores or curb markets today that even resemble those delicious "roots". I think it's the process they went through they went thru after they were dug in the fall. We had to pick up the potatoes after they were turned up from the ground where the vines grew all summer. They were handled carefully and then spread out on boards to dry for a few days. Had to cover them if it rained before they were "cured". Next they were placed in hills or mounds with layers of pinestraw and dirt covering them. boards were placed over the mounds, standing up like an Indian teepee, with an opening in the top for any steam to escape.


I have made many trips to the "potato hill" to get sweet potatoes for meals. We washed them before putting them in the oven to bake. Sometimes we would boil them and then peel the skins off and mother would mash them and make a sweet potato pie, adding lots of spices, eggs, cream, sugar and baking the pie until it resembled a custard. Still one of my favorite pies.


My sister suggested that I bake a pan of sweet potatoes, all at one time and put them in the freezer, taking out one as I desired and heat it in the microwave. They're much sweeter than they are if you cook them in the microwave when they are raw.


I can only imagine our grandchildren coming home from school and being offered a hot baked sweet potato for a snack!


Tomorrow I am going to the store and get a dozen sweet potatoes, the long medium (not big round fat ones) potatoes and bake some for cold days for an afternoon snack. This will take me back about 68 years to those good ole' sweet potato days of my childhood.

More Unfortunate Events that occured during the holidays

We left for Florence, SC on Wednesday, Nov. 26 and found out that everybody in the Southeast seemed to be heading in the same direction! Traffic was bumper to bumper much of the 10 hour trip. We celebrated my birthday a day late with our son and family. Then we checked in at the motel where we were staying and guess what! I was sick all night long with the virus Jim had on Tuesday. He and James spent Thanksgiving with Bill and family and I spent the day in bed at the motel. Friday I was fine and got so spend some time with the 3 granddaughters at noon after they returned from their after Thanksgiving shopping trip.

Friday afternoon our son James started complaining about a stomach ache. After staying awake all night Friday night I took him to the hospital at 8 a.m. on Saturday. They admitted him and he was there 5 days. They did a lot of tests and never did find the cause of his stomach pain. One of us had to stay with him all the time since he has to have care.

We spent last night(Wed. Dec 3) with our son and 2 of his daughters (one had gone back to college) and I cooked dinner and afterwards went shopping with the youngest granddaughter. That was the only time I got to get out and do anything the entire trip.  We left to come home on Thursday, Dec. 4.

I guess I can sum up our Thanksgiving trip by stating that we are most thankful that James is ok now and did not have to have surgery. Pictured above on Dec. 3rd, the day he came from home the hospital.

The trip home was uneventful except for the rainy weather. But hey, it could have been ice and snow if it had been a little colder. It states in the Bible: Give thanks in all things. I am trying to do that!

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

Today was akin to Lemony Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events". I never read the 13 Lemony Snicket novels but the titles alone peaked my interest. And I loved his quotes, i.e., "If you are interested in stories with happy endings you would be better off reading some other book." I wonder if granddaughter Katie Adelaide still has her collection. When she was little, I can remember how excited she was when she started reading "chapter" books. We always gave the granddaughters books for Christmas back when they were all growing up. Now it's high tech stuff. Or expensive clothes. Or makeup. Or cars.

Unfortunate event #1 - Jim got sick again this Thanksgiving; 2 years in a row, the day before we were to leave to go to SC and NC for the holidays. Last year he came down with a bad case of bronchitis. We talked about that over the weekend and how glad we were that nobody even had a cold this year.

We spent Monday afternoon packing our van so we could leave  early this morning. I baked for about a week and made 2 cakes (seven-layer chocolate and fresh coconut cakes). Made some Christmas baskets for my 3 sisters we would be visiting. We had everything in the car when we went to bed last night.

At 5:30 a.m. I heard Jim get up and go to the bathroom, where he spent most of the morning!!

Need I say more. He picked up a bad virus from someplace (not at home; we don't allow germs to enter our safe haven). James and I got dressed for our trip before we realized our driver would not be able to accompany us. Jim went back to bed where he stayed until 6 pm. James was very disappointed that we were not leaving and he told his dad he was disappointed in him for doing this to us! Throughout the day he kept peeking in the bedroom to see if his dad was "over" it yet.

Event #2 - About noon one of my sisters called and said they would not be able to meet us for lunch in Charlotte on Saturday; her husband has pneumonia.

Event #3 - Today is my 74th birthday (for my 75th I'm going to throw a big party and celebrate). My 3 granddaughters in SC have been planning a party for me and only found out at noon today  that I wouldn't be there to help celebrate. They ordered a cake, decorated the dining room, and had a special meal planned. I told them to go ahead and have the party and invite the friends that were coming and when they got ready to light the candles and cut the cake, to call me on the speaker phone and we'd all celebrate together..... and they did. What fun. They are saving the rest of the cake to have when we do make it there, along with the unopened presents.

Event #4 - For lunch, James and I ate the sandwiches I had made for our picnic lunch today on our way to SC. We had emptied the frig over the last few days and had a hard time finding food for dinner tonight. It ended up being a fish and chip dinner. When Jim finally got up and came to the kitchen, he ran back out when the smell of fish cooking greeted him. I quickly lit a candle and turned on the exhaust fan.

I guess that's about all the unfortunate events of the day. I did remember to call the hotel before 4 pm to cancel tonight's reservation. I told them to keep the other 5 nights for the time being. We'll have to see what tomorrow brings.

My Aunt Bob used to say, "When life gives you lemons, Make lemonade!" AND do I love fresh lemonade. I'm think that I might just go outside to the van and make up a tray of all the goodies stashed away for our trip. After all, this is the 1st day of our vacation, and it is my birthday, and besides, they won't miss a few. They don't know that I'm bringing chocolate chip cookies, wagon wheel cookies, brownies, 2 cakes, chocolate peanut clusters. sugared peanuts. peanut brittle, sand tarts, and I can't remember what else I have made. For breakfast tomorrow, I might cut off some links of those smoked baby links that we're taking our son.

Maybe Jim will feel better in the morning and we can still go on our trip. Or we might just leave Thanksgiving day when there's not much traffic, and arrive in time for Thanksgiving Dinner. Our son is a great cook.

Over the River and Thru the Woods, to Grandmother's House we Go

Over the River and thru the woods, To grandmother's house we go!!

Not anymore! Grandma and Grandpa have moved to town. We used to live in the woods and every Thanksgiving we always had a big group of relatives at our country place. We always had a great time and it was fun watching the kids grow up and get together there every year. After a big Thanksgiving feast, everybody helped clean up and then we went walking in the woods. On Thanksgiving night there was always a big bon fire and weiner roast.

After we moved to town, and the nephews and nieces grew up and got married and started their families, the Thanksgiving Get-Together started getting smaller and smaller. Then in 2004 we sold the farm and moved to town. Thanksgiving is just not the same anymore since Grandma moved to town.


Our last big Thanksgiving family gathering was in 2006 when we celebrated James' 50th birthday a few days early. Pictured here are the Thrasher family who all came from NC for James' party.


This year we are going "over the river an thru the woods" to get to South Carolina to spend Thanksgiving with our youngest son and his 3 teen agers. He has been a single parent for 12 years since Nov. 17, 1996 - the year his wife Barbara died. Either we go there for Thanksgiving or they come here.


A couple of weeks ago I asked Bill and the girls to send me their favorite cookie choices. For the past 2 days I have made chocolate chip cookies, peanut brittle, peanut chocolate clusters, wagon wheel choc. cookies, brownies, and a 7-layer choc. cake. I've had two requests to make a pumpkin pie from scratch (not a bought one). And stuffing (dressing) outside the turkey, like we always have in Alabama. And today I made a favorite - homemade Concord grape jelly with juice from our vines. We will arrive in SC late Tuesday and I will have Wed. to do last minute grocery shopping for the big meal on Thursday.


When I was young, Thanksgiving Day was just another day on the farm and I've written before about the things we used to do on Thanksgiving. We never had turkey. 


My birthday is usually around that time but it comes a little early this year on Nov. 25. My brother's is the day after. I have asked for a new queen size pillow top mattress set for my birthday this year so I can start sleeping on "Cloud 9". Actually I have no trouble sleeping or getting up. But I hope the new mattress will help my weary bones and I will wake up feeling energetic and not so many aches and pains. I'm sure all of this all comes from getting older. 

My Habitat for Humanity project

No, I'm not building a Habitat for Humanity home - but I am doing my part by using my master gardener skills to landscape the new home being built in Elba.

The Elba Rotary Club is sponsoring the latest habitat home and since Jim is a Rotarian, I offered my services for their project. At our last Master Gardening meeting, I volunteered to serve as the chairperson for this project and 4 others volunteered to assist.

We met last week to go over the blueprints for the home to get an idea of the space, checked out the sunny and shady places and each went home to draw a plan.  Today we got back together and compared our plans.

                                                    

I invited the mother of the single family family (2 teenagers, ages 14 aned 15), to come to our Master Gardening meeting today so everybody could meet her. She said she loves pretty flowers but has never worked in the yard. She was so pleased that we are offering to help her plan for her new surroundings.

I remember new homes we have built and the stress of trying to decide how to lay out the flower beds, what to plant, etc. I always wanted to plant things that were not native to the area and of course, they wouldn't live. Don't ever plant the beautiful sweet smelling lilacs from Minnesota in south Georgia, or plant tulips and expect them to come back every year.

My younger sister Carolyn helped me plan our landscape for our current home and the feature I enjoy most is the split rail cedar fence in the front yard. And the window boxes at the bedroom windows. When we were working on the plan for the habitat house, I suggested the same fence design for the habitat house. Others seemed to like the idea, except for one man who asked why I didn't just put the fence out by the street and not in the middle of the yard! It's fun discussing projects with a group of about 20 certified master gardeners. You get a lot of different ideas.

Here I have posted our own split rail fence in the spring of 2004 and another photo about a year later in 2005 and one in 2008.

Christmas in the South - Ft Rucker Bazaar

Today I went with a friend to the annual Christmas bazaar at Yano Hall at nearby Ft Rucker.

The big aircraft hangar was the perfect place to hold all the exhibits of vendors from all around the area. We arrived there around 10 A.M. and the building was very crowded. We decided to walk around the entire area - about 6 or 7 long aisles - and then eat some German food before starting to get serious about shopping. When we arrived at the food court, we decided to eat Frito Pie in a bag that our Master Gardener friend Suzanne was preparing at an army Battalion booth. You can imagine my surprise as we started down one of the aisles, to find a family from Elba with a booth - S&B Country Goods by Arnie and Shelia Beerenstrauch. Her handcraft and lettering was absolutely beautiful. I bought this Rudolph with a blinking nose for James to put outside.

Elsie Hilton's booth

Farther down the next aisle was my friend Elsie Hilton and her Herb display. Her husband Roy also had some of his plants, gourds, dried okra, bamboo vases, etc for sale. Elsie works for many weeks getting her herbal products ready for the bazaar. I really liked the wine bottles that she melts down in a kiln to use as a cheese tray. And her lovely china tea pots painted with herb designs.  I first met Elsie at a DAR meeting in 1997 and we've been friends ever since. We are also both Home Economists.

Ft Rucker was where Jim was stationed in 1953 when I met him on a blind date. He graduated from high school in Harrisburg, NC in 1952, and soon afterwards, enlisted in the army and had basic training in Ft. Jackson, SC. Then was sent to Ft Rucker, AL. I met him in the summer of 1953 when he came to Troy State University with a friend who had a date with my friend, and she asked if I would go out with them. It was love at first sight! We were married 4 months later, just before he was sent overseas to Germany. I later joined him in Germany.

Camp Rucker 

"Modern" Ft Rucker

When he was at Ft Rucker, the buildings looked like the ones in this b&w photo and it was called Camp Rucker. In 1955, it was renamed "Fort Rucker" when it became a permanent aviation center. Most of  the buildings at the much larger helicopter training  base are now modern brick buildings.

Our Annual Trip to the National Peanut Festival

Last Wednesday (Nov 5) we left home at 7:30 A.M. to journey to Dothan to attend the National Peanut Festival. Wednesday was devoted to Special Persons Day. James' friends came by bus from the Coffee Co. Training Center. We always meet them there so we can bring James home long before the others return after lunch. James is unable to walk very long on the cement walkways and tires easily due to his kidney failure. 

James looks forward to this day for weeks and wouldn't miss it for anything.  He wanted to go to the midway as soon as we entered the gate. His favorite  ride is the merry-go-round and here's some pictures of him and his dad. It's  getting harder and harder to help James get up on the horses. Jim wasn't with us last year and I gave up trying to help James get on one of the horses, and he and I sat on one of the benches and enjoy going "round and round".

He wanted a peanut festival cap and I ended up going to the fair office to buy one. The building that houses peanut festival products (caps, shirts, etc) was not open on Wed. With his cap in hand, and riding the merry-go-round, he was ready to move along to the end of the midway looking at all the rides. No many were operating on Wed. Near the end he said he was unable to walk any further, and sat down on a bench. He was extremely tired and wanted something to drink. Not a single food vendor was open in the midway. I left James with his dad on a bench in a shade and walked back to the entrance of the park to find someone to come give James a ride back to the entrance so we could go home.I found some nice people at the First Aid station and they came to pick James up in their John Deere "Gator". We found him a Pepsi at one of the food vendors. Then after being there for about an hour, he was ready to leave.

He's still talking about how much fun he had at the fair!Since we were out of the park by 11 a.m., we went shopping and stopped at the mall for lunch in the food court. I had my favorite - chinese food. Our Buick was at Maaco in Dothan getting some dents in the bumper taken out and the bumper painted. Jim and James came home in the buick and I spent a couple of more hours shopping. I was totally exhausted when I got home but after a fresh cup of coffee I was ready to go to Wed. night supper at church. It was a very long day.

The Peanut Festival ended with a parade on Sat. morning. For the past few years, we have made a deal with James. We will go to the fair with him on his special day and he would watch the parade on TV. Usually on Friday before the parade he will say something like "I sure would like to see the parade in person and sit in front of First Baptist Church on one of the chairs they rent to "festival goers" and I feel a little bit guilty for not wanting to take him. Actually the parade is a little nostalgic since I remember marching with the band in the parade in the early 50's. (Note: the first peanut festival was held in 1943) I remember one year the band marched behind Johnny Mack Brown on his famous horse, whose name I can't recall. Yesterday (Mon.) when we took James to his appointment with his kidney doctor, we saw big trucks carrying the fair rides, etc. as they were leaving Dothan. James was excited as they passed us on the highway.

By the way, James got a good report (no change in his kidney function which is 20%). If it gets lower, that means dialysis 3 times a week, in 4 hour sessions. We try not to think about that.

Now that the fair is over, James is looking forward to going to SC and NC for Thanksgiving to be with family. We were there just a month ago. Traveling in our "almost new" Honda Odessey van makes the trip much easier.