My Life in a Nutshell

 Some time back one of the bloggers, Brenda, asked if I would give some info on myself like where I live, favorite place and where I grew up etc. I'm at a total loss as to which blog Brenda has so if you are reading this, Brenda, let us know where you are.

Well, here goes. 

I was born in 1934 in Alabama to a newly widowed mother. We lived with my grandparents because Mom had to work and heaven forbid she have her own apartment in town! A single woman. That was unheard of back in those days. 

Me with my grandparents and hen that was wandering around. 

I married when I was 16 to a Navy man! Handsome, the most kind, gentle and happy person ever. We were married 60 years. 

This picture was made shortly after we were married.

20 of those years I followed him around, when I could, to various bases so I've lived in a lot of places. All of my babies were born in different states.

I had 5 children, 3 girls, 2 boys. One of my sons died when he was 3 months old. I was all of 20 years old when we had to bury our baby. That was tough.

My husband retired from the Navy in 1969 and we moved back to our hometown. Stayed there 30 years and then moved to Wakefield, Virginia where a daughter and her family lived. ( I now live in a nearby town)

My husband died in 2011 after years of battling Alzheimers. 

As for favorite places: We lived in Honolulu, Hawaii for awhile. That was a cool place and could be classified as a favorite! 

my two daughters standing outside our apartment in Honolulu

Then we moved on to Midway Island. That was not a favorite place but one that was so different and unusual that I  had to mention it. 

We are about to board a plane bringing us back to the U. S. after our stint on Midway Island.

If I could have, when I was younger, I would have lived for awhile in Paris, France. My favorite place!! I've been twice on short visits and if I had the energy I'd go back again. I can just imagine going out every day, grabbing a pastry and some tea and sitting at one of those sidewalk cafes for hours maybe reading a bit, watching passersby and listening to music being played out on the street. Scents of flowers fill the air. They are in big bins lining the sidewalk. But, alas that is just a fantasy! 

1986 Susan and I are in Paris.

I've always been involved in learning, going to museums, etc. I paint, I write, I enjoy classical music and I used to quilt all the time. Nowdays I blog, I watch tv, read, paint and just putter around in my apartment alone. 

                   Glad I have my blogging buddies to keep me company. 

                                                                                                                   Latane

German Chocolate Cake

                  Guess what I have been doing? 

I have been scanning and then saving my recipes to my pictures on my computer. I already had several but decided I needed to do the rest of them. Goodness knows I need another project!! 😉

My daughter asked me why!! Good question. But, when someone wants a recipe from me I can just email or message it. When I want to share a dish with all of you... I just load it into my post. 

Even though I don't cook like I used to I do enjoy trying new recipes. Some I keep... some go right into the trashcan. 

All of my recipes are on file cards and I store them in a file box. 

Then when I am ready to use one, I clip it in my duck's beak so I have it handy to refer to as I cook. 

Oh, golly,  my duck needs a bath!! and it would help if I painted an eye on there!

I picked up that cute little duck years and years ago at a yard sale. Good buy!

So, today I will share one of my recipes with you. 

It is sooooo good. Wish I had a piece right this minute. 

We were living on Midway Island (back in the late 1950s) the first time I ever heard of German Chocolate Cake. My step-sister sent me the recipe and it is still a family favorite. 

Finding Yourself

 We gals have all led lives that were and are filled with giving and caring. When my husband died in 2011 after 11 years of Alzheimers, I rattled around in our big house just wondering what I was supposed to do next. It was very unsettling. 

I'd been a wife, a mother, a caregiver, a caretaker, a butcher, a baker and a candlestick maker... Whoops got off on a nursery rhyme tangent there! But, you get the picture. 

I did not know who I was supposed to be. Some months of therapy helped. Then I started reading self-discovery books. The ones that helped the most were "The Artist's Way" and 'The Original me". 

It's been quite a journey and one I would not have missed for anything! Every day, through every new door opening to me I became more aware of who I was as a person. The real me!! and I am still seeking and searching for new and exciting facets of my life. 

I am ticked that all this happened so late in my life. But, there is a time and place for everything under the sun. And, this was my time. 

I hope you girls will start on your own journey to becoming your authentic self. You just might be surprised at what lies deep inside of you.

A Fun Saturday

 Wow, yesterday was fun!

The family couldn't get together for Easter so one week later we met at my granddaughter's home for a taco party! Complete switch from the traditional ham and potato salad, wouldn't you think! It was delish! 

We always get entertained by my great-grandson, Dylan. He taught himself to play the piano when he was about 11. At 14 he won the National Beta Club instrumental contest in Orlando, Florida. So, the entertainment is delightful and we are so proud of him.

As we headed home we stopped at Quail Cove Farm Store in Machipongo, Va. Oh, my gosh... I could have spent a fortune in that place! They are organic farmers and besides their produce they carry all those things you can't find in a regular grocer. I wish that place was right around the corner from me but alas it is about an hour and a half drive from my apartment. 

I bought 2 chicken pot pies, a jar of local honey, a bag of red lentils (I have a recipe I want to try), colby cheese (that's my favorite and oft times the grocery store's brand just doesn't taste much like Colby). I haven't tried it yet but I just know it's gonna be great. I found some German bologna and of course, I had to have that. I used to buy Garlic bologna at my grocer but they quit carrying it. I had a sandwich when I got home and YUM! seems like there was something else I bought but it doesn't pop into my head at the moment.. 

Here are some pictures from the place: Not mine. I 'borrowed' them from Quail Cove website. Hope they don't mind. 

I have to go visit my granddaughter more often. Or perhaps I can get her to pick stuff up for me. 

Y'all take care... have a great week coming up. 

My Fill of Breakfast Food

 Hi there,

Long time no see! I am struggling so much with what to post so I just don't post. I'm gonna have to come up with something.... let's see. 

I have a lady that comes once a month. I am not sure what her title is since dau. Susan was the one who found her. Bless her heart, Susan thought I needed more help. This lady does a ton of different things but I do my own cooking, laundry, straightening up (have a housekeeper come in to do the rough stuff) This gal  also is a pseudo-therapist/life-coach.

I like her company so much that I just couldn't tell her no so I finally said, "you can be my life-coach. Keep me focused on what I want out of life". I think we do more just visiting than any thing else but that's alright, too. We all need someone who loves to listen as well as talk. 

Anyway... we went to First Watch the other day for a late breakfast. I said, when they opened that place, I was going to go until I had tried every item on that menu and I am well on my way. 

I got the Chile Chorizo Omelet... So good.

             My friend/life-coach had the Eggs Benedict. 

I wonder what I'll order next time. 

Well, now, wasn't that just the most boring post you've read lately? Like I say, my post "well" has run dry! But, I'll keep posting something!! 

Happy Easter

Sending a very blessed and happy Easter to each of my blogging buddies! 

 

Excitement is in the air!!

 There is so much going on in my life right now.  Here at Centerbrooke we have some great events in the near and not so near future. So, we've been planning those. The biggest event of the year is the Kentucky Derby Party in May. I'll keep you updated on how that is going. 

But, the big thing taking up most of our time and effort is the May 9th wedding for my grandson and his bride. If you don't think there's texting back and forth going on, pictures of potential outfits to wear during that weekend, making plane reservations and hotel stays going on.... oh my. It's overwhelming. We all are so excited.

The bride and groom are in New York 

as is the groom's family. Her family is in Texas. Grandma (that's me) as well as several others of the family are in Virginia and Alabama. And, guess where the wedding will be!!

                          Sea Island, Georgia!

So, yes there's a lot of planning going on. It's the main topic of conversation any day of the week. I'm about on wedding overload! and it's 5 weeks away. 

Oh to another strain of thought....

I want to share with you a picture of a platter that I once owned, a gift from a friend. She was out walking in the woods one day and saw the edge of it sticking up out of the ground. I was flabbergasted that she would part with it and I would be the new owner. 

The antique apprasier that I took it to said it was most likely hidden from northern troops during the civil war and never retrieved. It came from the Maddock Company in Shaffordshire in the 1860s. Such a gem and I treasured it but then passed it on to my daughter. 

Doing Crossword Puzzles

 I used to often wonder when my time to sit in a rocking chair doing nothing would happen! Well, when it finally did I wasn't so sure it was what I wanted. I don't make much mess around here to clean up. I'm not fixing huge meals or doing laundry for upteen people. It's just me. 

And, so I sit in my chair (it does rock but it is a recliner as well) and that's nice. I don't mind it so much but I do get bored as all get out! 

I'm not into puzzles or Suduko or word search. But, I do enjoy crossword puzzles so I got online and ordered me a whole set of them. That ought to keep me occupied for a bit. 

What do like to do in your space time?

                                                                                                                        Latane

St. Patty's Day

 We certainly celebrated St. Patrick's Day here at Centerbrooke. Not many of us could claim more than a drop or two of Irish blood but we all said we were Irish, if only for a day. I mean, who wouldn't, just so they could join in.

We had games and food and fun and we even got to meet a new couple who has just moved into the complex. Shirley outdid herself with the cupcakes. Just the cutest idea ever and they were so tasty. Everyone bragged on them being so yummy. There was even gold at the end of the rainbow on every single one of them. 

The spread of food was furnished by the staff and it was perfect. We had sub sandwiches, 

                               a fruit platter

                             deviled eggs 

and an excellent pasta salad. Shirley made a trail mix that was sooo good. Of course, we all were stuffed when we finished eating. 

We even had a leprechaun show up

Her name is Genie but she didn't come out of a bottle, however she did pass around chocolates that looked like gold coins. 

It was a grand time.

I just got a new phone and am loving the camera on there. So, you'll probably see more pictures from me in the future. 

Hope your St. Patty's Day was extra special!

                                                                                           Latane

My Oh My. it's PI Day

 Today is PI day... you know, the mathematical thingofamajig. 

But, we here at Centerbrooke celebrated yesterday. Oh my, did we celebrate. I about got a sugar overload! 

I didn't count how many pies that were brought in by the residents but it was a bunch and of all kinds. There was everything from chocolate to cherry cheesecake (hey, it's supposed to be a pie but we didn't care). Daughter Shirley brought one, too, even though she's not a resident. Everybody here wishes she was!! 

Hers had the PI emblem on top. Wasn't that cute? 

She started off the event with trying to get us gals to figure out the circumference of our pie using PI. But, we all just had a blank stare on our faces. It was Greek to us. I mean, how long has it been since we took algebra and have we ever used it since!! 

And then we dived right in to sampling as many of those pies as we could. 

We had a such a great time, so many stories shared, laughter heard, friendships reenforced. Nothing like pie to make a person happy! 

On another note

I have been anxiously awaiting the new season of Virgin River on Netflix. It came out Thursday and I have finished watching the entire season already. I couldn't NOT watch. Now, what will I do until the next season comes out which will take FOREVER. 

A Kick In The Butt

 In my last post I was saying that I had been down in the dumps. It appears that all I needed was a 'boost of spirit' and suggestions from my son to turn all that mess around. 

He's a man of few words (except when he is talking about sailing. ha) and what he says has thought behind it, sometimes long, long moments of thought, or days even. But, I can trust him, I depend on him for guidance and support and he never lets me down. 

So, I'm telling him about my dumps and ask if he has any suggestions on how to remedy that. He says, 'pull out that manuscript you stowed away and finish that book!'  Well, that was direct. I know the children want me to finish it so I'll give it another try.

'And' he added, 'you need to study up on perspective. I notice that some of your paintings looks 2 dimensional and your lines are off.'  So, I laughingly asked him when he became an artist critic? He does beautiful pen and ink drawings so he knows what he's talking about.

I think this is the painting that threw him over the edge. Yep, perspective way off there!

Well, my dumps were gone. I have purpose. No more lying around like a slug. 

I watched a video on YouTube about perspective. I need some real practice in that department but I'll improve, I promise.

The manuscript still hasn't been dragged out but it will be. I had some loose ends to tie up for I tackled that.

In the meantime, I started learning sailing jargon so I can better understand my son when he drones on and on about his boat. It will be good to know what he's talking about! He took me for a sail back last year and that was a very special time. 

Sometimes we just need a 'kick in the butt' to jerk us back into focus. 

Good News But Not Always.

 I'm just 'down in the dumps' this morning. Don't know why. The weather is gorgeous outside, warm and sunny. I got up feeling good. What happened? 

 I had a wee altercation with a fellow resident yesterday and I never ever do that. I think that is bothering me. He's a pain and he always dominates our female conversation at our 'chat and chew' gathering. And, that would be ok but he talks about the weirdest things and picks them apart and won't let go. 

Yesterday he was on a tangent about things changing. I told him things do change, that's progress and I'd be bored to death if things stayed the same all the time. Then it was about a building he couldn't figure out what it was and I said, 'it doesn't affect me so I don't know' and he says 'but everything affects us' and I said, 'no, a building down on the other side of town isn't part of my life so I don't care to know what it is and he said he'd prove it to me that everything affects us. To say the least, I was ticked off. Leave me alone! 

Anyway, that's off my chest. Thanks for listening. 

On a happier note...

I am preparing for a wedding! Nope not mine. haha. Never, ever!! My grandson that lives in New York is marrying the sweetest girl. It's about time they tied the knot! 

She wanted a destination wedding so we will be going to Sea Island, Georgia for the event. It's going to be wonderful and exciting and I've been busy trying to find clothes to take. The wedding is May 9th. Here is a photo of the dress I will wear. 

I hate taking selfies. I never am good at it. 

Guess I will get up from this computer and go get busy. Maybe that will cheer me up. Like doing chores always cheers me up. ha ha. 

Have a great weekend. Don't forget to spring those clocks forward Sunday!! 

A Drive in the Country

 There's nothing like a drive in the country, especially those not planned, that just happen.  

I left my car in a nearby town one day last week so that Shirley could drive me to a further town for lunch. When we finished she automatically got on the road to take me back to my apartment. Whoops, mistake there. 

So, she started taking little side roads trying to find the one she should have been on in the first place. Hence the drive in the country. 

The winter's been long and cold so this was a welcomed treat, even if it was a mistake. 

I love dead trees and saw lots... Here is a favorite.  Just so many branches reaching in every direction. 

We came to a pasture filled with goats. Loved the one stopping his munching to check us out. 

Some of them had escaped the fence and was wandering about in another field. 

There were geese, too. We have lots of geese around the area. They are everywhere.

Finally we got on the correct road, I retrieved my car and came on home. A nice drive. Glad we got lost! 

Knit one, Purl Two

 Last night as I lay in bed I started wondering what title I'd give myself. It's tough. I've always been way too hard on myself and never given myself credit for what I have done. So... Let's see I could be called an artist. I am a published author... but let's be realistic. I think I am a doodler! 

Looked it up. A doodler is someone who doodles!! Doesn't fit. I have been creative all my life but I never doodled!  

The first thing I ever did was learn to crochet. A newly wed with an infant on the way and I needed to act like Moms do... I needed to make that kid some clothes! So, a friend helped me learn the stitches and I crocheted some booties for that little bundle.  and yes, I won a blue ribbon at the county fair with them.

I made doilies. Oh my.. did I ever. Remember the day when every room in every house had doilies all over the place. They were on tables, the backs of  couches, draped over chair arms. Yep, I  was way into the crocheting craze. 

I made a toy or two and made myself a crocheted pin cushion (I still have the pin cushion). Those were very popular at one time. 

Those, like all crafty things do, lost favor. So, I started to knit. Made myself a sweater.. it's a pretty shade of green and do you know... I still wear it and it must be a "hundred" years old by now. 

And, I made my daughter one when she was in high school. Of course it's long gone. After all she is shall we say, AARP age. That got a blue ribbon, too.

I couldn't give up that urge. So. I started crocheting baby things again. After all, I had grandbabies and then great-grandbabies. Having that motherly instinct I needed to make those kids some clothes!! 

and don't forget the blankets!

Have you ever crocheted or knitted? I really miss it but it's a thing of the past now. The old hands just won't cooperate! But, if I could, I bet I'd still be doing both.