Headin' Down to Tybee...

yep, because there ain't much better than going some place hotter than the 7th level your own home in August...in Georgia...and payin' for the privilege...

tomorrow evening, the DH & I will be pickin' a Northern friend* (yes, we Georgians can be friends with a Yankee...although, does Michigan count as Yankee turf?) up from the airport...a friend who about died from heat stroke when she came down to Savannah in July that first time all those years ago...

and apparently she liked the sensation so much, she's not only comin' back again in the summer, but in a hotter month...

I think she fried her brain down here the first time 'round...

another friend will be joining us so we'll have a 4-day 3-night Girlfriends' Weekend...although technically it isn't a weekend because we don't head down to Tybee until Sunday...just to run our mouths, eat, shop...(Lord, I hope nobody is planning on loggin' any beach sunning time...)

and truthfully we're all well beyond a fair use of the word "girl" but that is what these gatherings are called, I believe...

I must really like these ladies because I truly have no idea why else a Summertime Beach Hater like myself would be going for this unless it was for the company...or a lot of money...



and unless they've been holdin' out on me, we can just go ahead and rule the money thing out...





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*apparently, Michigan is where those Summer Sweaters we Georgians see advertised in catalogs go to get worn...it wasn't until NF explained the weather up there that I realized one could actually wear a chubby knit sweater during the summer and not get signed up for the loony bin by concerned family members...





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movin' along, Brandee of The Berry's Patch has awarded me this:

ooooh ahhhhh...I think this is the prettiest Blog Award I've seen...and now I have one too...thanks, Brandee :) (Brandee must sense that I desperately want to be artistic :)

And I'd Like to Thank...

Deb for the scintillating

please visit Deb's sweet blog by clickin' on her name...or you can click here to be taken to Deb's Country Kisses

Now to pass the award along to:

Bay Side to Mountain Side's Darla....because she has a great sense of humour...

The Berry's Patch's Brandee...because she is also so sweet...and because she posts photos of all her children...not just the 2-legged one :)

Gingerbread Pumpkin's Julie...because 1) she is movin' and deserves an award just for that alone and 2) I love gingerbread & pumpkin...plus Julie is pretty darn nice :) (well, of course she is because, duh, she likes gingerbread & pumpkin)

hmmmm...I can't quite remember how many bloggers I'm supposed to pass this along to but I have a terrific headache so I think I'm done...

thanks again, Miss Deb :)

O' Tannenbaum, O' Tannenbaum...

You Are a Cranberry and Popcorn Strung Tree

Christmas is all about showcasing your creative talents. From cookies to nicely wrapped presents, your unique creations impress everyone.

What Christmas Tree Are You?

...the scent of live Christmas Trees makes me giddy...old pieces of our 2-Years-Ago Christmas Tree are tucked into a basket in our hallway and when I go past, some times, I catch a little hint of Christmas...and I love it...even on days when Frazzled is my Middle Name and Badly is my first, those old fir needles bring a smile to my face...

the cats love it too when they remember to get up there and grab a piece, bustin' up housekeeping in the process and makin' me Say Ugly...

last year (because, apparently, I lost my mind) we decided to put up only 1 tree...a pre-lit artificial tree*...a beautiful easy-to-pop-up If One Light Goes Out The Rest Don't Tree that, unfortunately, didn't Do It for Me at all...other than when I plugged the tree in at night, the tree just kinda hung out in the dim dining room collecting dust bunnies under its feet...not a soul pulled up a chair to just sit a while gazing at the tree as one of my Countless Christmas CDs** played on and dreams of Christmas Past waltzed about the room...

I tried to capture that Christmas Scent...

I bought fresh garland and draped just about everything that didn't move...nope, nothing...could have been because the garland was Too Fresh...those live Christmas Tree/Garlands really have to get to the Fire Hazard Stage before they start smellin' good, don't they?...

Christmas is Important...I know we should think and act as if it is Christmas all the time (Christmas does bring out the best in people...well, most people) and I know It Isn't About the Gifts (mostly) or the Decorations (mostly) or the Food (mostly)...or even the Christmas Smell...

But I have to tell ya'll when I get disappointed at Christmas Time, I do not Wear It Well...My Butt tends to climb right up to my shoulders, plant itself and stay there for a good long while...

So this comin' Christmas***, there will be at least 1 Formerly Live Christmas Tree at Number 17...

The younger cats will think they've died and gone to Feline Heaven...Mungo Mungo may simply pass out from Sheer Ectasy...as it is, choppin' vegetables around here is just about impossible because when Mungo Mungo espies a carrot or celery stalk, he cannot rest until the veggie at hand has been thoroughly wallowed all over as if it were the Very Finest of Catnip... I know...makes Not Havin' A Meal With Cat Hair In It very difficult...frankly, I'm getting to the point where I don't care anymore...okay...I've gotten to the point...

what can I say? if you come to eat at our house, then come prepared to have Cat Hair in your food or bring your own...actually, that won't work either because it [the cat hair] floats around in the air, waiting to land on anything it can...

I doubt I'll even bother with ornaments for the next several years due to above mentioned young cats...why court disaster? but the scent of Christmas once again being in our home will make it more than okay...


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*no offense to those who love the pre-lits...they are a blessing when a Formerly Live Christmas Tree just won't work out...

**favourite Christmas CD: Kathy Mattea's Good News...and here shortly I plan to add Randy Travis' Christmas CD to the collection...

***why no, it isn't Too Early to Talk About Christmas...As a Matter of Fact, it is never Too Early to Talk About Christmas... and yes, I do have some of my shoppin' already done...

I Have a Question...

*cow photo supplied by freefoto.com

what, exactly, does milk do in a recipe?

I mean, is it just a liquid binder?

I've recently decided to not buy any form of dairy (yes, we can talk about it if ya'll want to, but I tend to get a little irritating...a little more irritating than usual when the "Subject" comes up*) but I'd like to continue making baked goods...and while I can search out vegan recipes that use as substitutes soy or rice milk (blech), I'd much rather just not bother with that at all...


so if a cookie recipes calls for 1 tablespoon of milk, can I just sub in 1 tablespoon of water?

...and don't worry...I've got the Butter Angle allllll covered with my old friend Crisco...the best banana bread I've ever eaten in my life is made with Crisco...or whatever vegetable shortening is on hand...calories galore! but a stick or two of butter isn't all that weight-management friendly either, is it?

my Granma used Crisco all the time in her baking and boy, oh boy, could Granma cook...one of those old-fashioned Southern Cooks who didn't really use a recipe but everything she turned out was delicious...except her hamburger patties...Poor Granma...bless her heart, the woman could not fix a hamburger patty that wasn't kin to a charcoal briquette...and every Monday Night was hamburger night...

but that's okay 'cause Saturday Night was Waffle Night (with cane syrup, please) and Sundays were all about the Fried Chicken...

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and if you truly want to know why I'm no longer buying dairy (I stopped buying "beef" (that means "cow") and "pork" (that means "pig"), watch the video...my conscience finally got the better of my stomach and my lazy tendencies...if you have a tender heart, be prepared to be sad and angry...for a long time...but if you're brave enough and don't mind havin' your comfort zone sized down a bit...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWmAJlwLnQI

It's Big and It's Blue...

but it catches sweet rain for the veggie garden & fruit trees so I guess I can overlook its Blueness...

as projects go, this was not an expensive one or a skill-challenging one...we bartered for the rain barrel and the supplies for the gutter system & spigot were well under $100 (purchased from Lowe's)...the wood for the stand we had stashed in our Maybe We'll Need It One Day pile o' wood in the garage...

and I'd say DH spent maybe 2 to 3 hours installing the whole set-up...pretty darn impressive :)

2 things to do differently on the next barrel:

1) instead of removing the whole lid, make a small opening in the top and run the downspout straight into the barrel

2) the spigot needs to be sited lower on the barrel

I truly love the ease of this project and its reward...havin' rain water for the veggie patch...I haven't researched this but it seems as if the plants love rain water so much more than tap water...I've spent countless time and lots of potable water when I've had to water in new plants and ended up with plants just barely hangin' on in the Hot Summer Weather...what a pain and what a waste...

but then a good bit of rain water and it is like the plants stop holdin' their breath and get on with living...

O-Ohhh Domino

Savvy Goodwill Shopper says Give it Time...everything passes through Goodwill's doors at some point...

I've wanted some nice dominoes for a while now...yes, I know they've been hip (or were hip?) for several years...but I decided since they [the dominoes] were a Peripheral Want, not a Can't Think Straight Until I Have It Want, I would just do without until a set came my way with a Sheila-Sorta Price Tag...

apparently, $1.99 is a Sheila-Sorta Price Tag...

these dominoes are wooden and a complete Double 6 set...(I've been boning up on my domino speak...hah hah...see, that is funny because a tile is also called a bone...well, it was worth a shot)...with a Very Cool Lion Carving on one side...
DH and I spend a lot of time at home...I guess with the price of just about everything up these days, most people probably do...

and while I like a good movie or two, after 45 minutes or so a good while, I get bored and wander off...

I can dream up all sorts of House and Yard Projects when I'm wandering around bored...

this is not always a good thing...

So my goal is to re-learn how to loaf...when I was young Summer would come along and the days lasted for an eternity...or at least until the street lights came on...or until your mom caught you pitching water balloons off the top front porch at passing cars...

I remember spending hours just sitting in a tree* or laying in a small field watching clouds go by...

Hours just being...not doing or playing...

I believe our society, regardless of the endless reports of how fat we Americans have become, is trained to Go Go Go...Busy is Best...seems like even our Leisure Time is filled with things to do...no just sitting and watching the world go by...

We don't know how to Not Be Doing Something and Not Be Bored...

sounds like a good thing, but I'm not so sure...

well, all those years ago when I first began to lust after a cool set of dominoes I wanted them just to display in a pretty jar...or to make into a cool bracelet...which would have never happened any way since I am all thumbs when it comes to things like that...

now I want them not just for their looks, but to use them to help set a slower pace around #17...because we can't go all Cold Turkey on the project thing (we've got at least 4 waiting to be finished)...and because we are definitely going to have to build ourselves up to knowing how to Do Sweet Nothing All Day Long without resorting to Marathon TV Watching or Recreational Shopping (because that is sort of like doing nothing, right?)

I believe if I told DH one lazy Saturday afternoon "sweetie, let's go outside, lay on the grass and look at the clouds for a few hours" all sorts of loose and wild talk like "you need a job" would start gettin' tossed around...and we can't be havin' that sort of language around the four-legged children...they're impressionable...

what sort of ways are ya'll slowin' the pace down a little bit? or is that just Crazy Talk?

Signed

Striking a Blow for a Slower Pace of Life by Going Right This Second to Take a Nap...

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*actually, most of the tree sitting was probably brought on in an effort to hide from my mother who was a Big Believer in Children Who Have Nothing Better to Do Can [fill in some horrible chore here like polish All of the Silver or Polish All of That Heavy Big Dark Furniture...and then buff it down]....yep, I expect that is where most of the tree sitting came from...

but it was still nice...