Lillies

I am just not a great gardener.  I can whip up a meal in no time flat.  I can set a beautiful table.  I can speak to a group of a thousand with little or no preparation.  But growing things from the ground-not so much.  

I was delighted this year when my lilies that I planted last year sprouted up again this year.  They are slow growing and I was not really even sure if it was a flower or just a weed in that sprang up.  I trusted my gut and didn't' pull it.  Boy, was I ever glad that I did not do that.  


I began to see little buds forming at the top.  I knew my gut was right and that it was not a weed.  As the weeks went by, I realized that my beautiful plant was a lily.  Last week, I am pleased to report that they bloomed to their fullest in the most brilliant hue of fushia.  My Mother was in town and was able to enjoy them as well.  


I may make a gardener yet!

Chicken Salad for Andrea

My sweet neice, Andrea Blair, was looking for a chicken salad recipe one day.  You know I think a recipe is really just a list of ingriedients but here goes. 

1 chicken  - boiled and deboned (or you can use two large cans of chunk white chicken drained)
2 stalks of celery (chopped finely)
1 1/2 teaspoon of seasoned salt
1 tsp black pepper
3 tbsp sweet pickle relish
1/4 c. slivered almonds
Mayonaise to blend it all together ( I use real mayo - not Mirace Whip)

Now my good friend, Doc, would say it is not chicken salad unless you add some onion (well lots of onion) and maybe some olives.  He loves onions and olives.  So there are a couple of added ingriedents just in case you like onions or olives.

Chance Meetings

Last Saturday I traveled from Austin after a conference. Feeling a little tired, I pulled into the town of Italy where I lived some 25 years ago when I attended Baylor Law school. The town is still very much the same – some rundown buildings, the trailer park where I lived and some even more run down trailers. Out by the interstate are some new businesses – some fast food restaurants, gas stations and even a beer and wine store. After I toured the little town of Italy, I had hoped to stop in to the Uptown Cafe for a piece of pie and to visit old friends who used to run the place. Unfortunately, it was closed which is just as well because I don’t really need the pie.

I did however stop in to the Texas Best Smokehouse where there is a Sonic to get my signature glass of iced tea. Surprisingly, I ran into an old classmate from Baylor Law School – who was returning to Dallas from Waco where he had helped his daughter move into her new apartment. As I continue on this journey called life, my trip down memory lane has brought back so many fond memories. I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for me and my family.

Spaghetti

I love it.  I love to make it.  Mine is not real Italian spaghetti.  It's Texas Meat sauce over Noodles.  It's chunky and not saucy.  I admit that I do use a jar of sauce as a base but I do add my own touch to flavor the sauce.  I brown my meat with onions, bell peppers, celery and mushrooms.  Then I add a bunch of cheap Italian seasoning I get at the Dollar Store.  Finally I add a big can of diced Italian tomatoes, sauce, tomato paste.  Sometimes I even add mushroom soup.  I know its not real spaghetti because I would just as soon eat it over rice.  Go figure.   I don't even know how to make real Italian Spaghetti!  Leave a comment with your suggestions.

Living

One year ago today when I woke, I knew it would be a difficult day.  I knew that this was the day that I laid my Daddy to rest at the cemetery.  There would be a big lunch with lots of family and friends, followed by the visitation, the funeral and finally the cemetery.  I knew that today would change my life forever.  It did.  My Daddy's funeral was not sad.  It was the culmination of a man who lived his life to the fullest.  It was the celebration of all of his many accomplishments.  It was the recognition of his love for God, his family and friends. 

The church was overflowing.  The service was not only a celebration of my Daddy's life but also of the life he built with my Mother.  She has got to be the strongest most amazing woman I have ever known.  She is still sad sometimes and daily misses my Daddy but she and Daddy have always had the attitude that life is for the living. It's that attitude that she has instilled in me.  We choose to continue to live life, not sit around in sackcloth and morn, nor have a daily pity party.  I choose to be happy.  I have also chosen to surround myself with positive people.  Life is meant to be lived.  Let's start living!!!

The Last Year

One year ago Monday I lost my beloved Daddy. On that day on June 4, 2011, the phone rang. I missed the call as the phone was charging in the other room. My Daddy had been trying to call me. I tried to call him back several times but we were never able to connect. Unfortunately, at 9:40 that night, I received a call from my Mother telling me that Daddy had died walking through the gate at the farm from feeding the goats. She could not reach Carolyn or Jake but it was time to come home.

I always wondered what my Daddy and I would have said had we talked together those last few hours before he died. I often wondered if he knew that Saturday, June 4th would be the last day of his life. Today as I write this I am saddened that I shall never see him on this earth again. I’ve cried some over the week but more than anything I have reflected on the fact that I had an amazing childhood and a long adulthood where I developed a great friendship with my Daddy. I am blessed to still have my mother. So this past weekend, instead of mourning my Daddy, I celebrated that I still have one amazing parent left on this earth.