Our son is on the road!

He finished truck driving school in Tulsa a few weeks ago and took the greyhound for Dallas and employment at Stevens Transport.  He flew out of there for Salt Lake and he and his trainer left there for Cheyenne.  After unloading carrots at the Wal-Mart there, they went down through Denver to Holcomb, KS and picked up Tyson Beef and stopped in Richfield, Utah last night.  They're unloading in Las Vegas and then on their way to Vernon, CA.   That's a lot of territory in just a few short days, son.  Be careful.

Making Goat Cheese

May 2009

My first try at goat cheese wasn't a total loss. I do know now that I can break it up and it will go back together through the molding process. That is the time to add the salt and any other herbs I might like. I pick up another two gallons today and try again!! So looking forward to getting my own little goats and momas..........

An Old Timer's Remedy

She lived in clay country. The soil was red and hard, but the family put out a garden every year and raised their own pork, beef and poultry. There were ten children born through those years and the Great Depression had made lean times even leaner.

She was always in bed by dark each evening and arose very early each morning. She drank her usual cup of black coffee with a little cream and sugar and waited for the sun to rise over the mountain.

She raised her own chickens in the henhouse that was more patchwork than original design. It kept out the larger critters and most of the rain. On that particular morning, while gathering the eggs, it was apparent by the lack of quantity, that there might be an uninvited guest making sneak appearances. That wouldn't do. She baited each straw-filled nest with a white golf ball after removing her setting eggs to a safer environment. Grandma didn't know about Animal Rights and probably wouldn't have done differently HAD she known! A man and woman did what was needed to provide for and carry on with their family and its existence and Grandma was a tough little pioneering woman.

That evening, at the egg-gathering hour, she went to check her trap and there he was-a long, sleek, black, chicken snake with the golf ball lodged about halfway down! I'm her granddaughter, I was there and it's a memory forever wedged in my mind.

This procedure was repeated many times over the course of those years and so we were able to enjoy our bacon, fresh farm eggs and buttermilk biscuits in plenty at Grandma's, but, the best use of those eggs was in her oh-so-moist Strawberry Cake!

GRANDMA WRIGHT'S STRAWBERRY CAKE

1 Pillsbury white cake mix

1 c. Wesson oil

4 eggs

Dash of salt

MIX TOGETHER;

1 small package of strawberry jello
1/2 c. boiling water

Pour the jello mixture into the cake mixture and beat well. Then add 1 c. frozen strawberries. Heat oven to 350 degrees; oil and flour two round cake pans. Bake cake layers for 35-40 minutes.

Prepare the icing of powdered sugar and softened butter to taste.

These Are the Things That I Love

A soft, gentle rain
On a tin-roofed cabin
A thunderstorm
A shadowy, forest of trees and cattle grazing
An unhurried, unworried day
A phone that doesn't ring and mail that doesn't come
A clock that has a tick
Evening sunlight through a window and watching a sunset from the hill.

I love this cabin
And the one that I have Here.
The safety I feel in my hideaway from the world
The strength it gives me each day
I love a big porch
With a rocker
And a chair for a friend that moves slow
I love the cat that enjoys the porch
And the possums
The racoons
And the deer
I do NOT love snakes.
I love those that live here
The rush at the door when they come home
Each one telling their news at the same time
The quiet and dark of night
The twinkle of a light far away
The tenderness of the special one that loves me.

These are the things that I love

The smell of clean clothes coming out of the dryer
Or woodsmoke from those off the line
Soft denim, old hats, cowboy boots and worn gloves
An old coat that belonged to Granddad
Moma's sweater
And Daddy's cap
Work clothes that still smell of the one that is gone
Sheets and blankets of pure cotton
The drip of wet clothes hung on the porch
From a lazy, cool swim at the creek

I love the smell of an early morning breakfast
The eggs
and bacon
and sausage
Fresh buttermilk biscuits with sweet churned butter
And an iced glass of Southern-brewed tea
Aunts and uncles and cousins and nieces and nephews
Eating and talking and laughing
And the clink of dishes in the sink
And I love the sound of someone biting into an apple.

These are the things that I Love

I love recipe books with character
Those from yesteryears
From farming wives and unpretentious cooks
I love old cafe's
That have been there for years
In a small town
With a screen door that slams
A bell that jingles
And a bench out front
For sitting and whittling and talking
To old men and dogs and children
I love Southern cooking
And I love the South
And Texas
And I love General Lee.

I love a long, easy drive through the woods
In late afternoon
Looking and looking at everything
Especially trees and rocks and hills and streams
And old houses with a flower garden out front
And a vegetable garden out back
And a grandma with a smile inside
That's delightfully chubby and gray
And softly wrinkled
With arms that want to hug
And lips that want to kiss
And always, ALWAYS kind words and hope for tomorrow.

These are the things that I Love

I love the sound of a rooster crowing
At grandma's house in the spring
And the scratching of chicks in an old barnyard
Grandma's laundry house out back
With her quilting frame
And jars and jars of good things to eat
A deep well
Grandpa's cross-cut saws, much read Bibles
And a potty tin under the bed
And I love Vian, Oklahoma.

I like to wander through a hay meadow
Down a dirt road
Pick a wildflower
A persimmon
And throw a stone in the pond
I love the sound of any bird, singing or creating a ruckus
Horses' hooves, a pig wallow or a hen clucking
And I love the overwhelming, soothing quality of pure, bluegrass music
Anywhere.
Anytime.

These are the things that I Love

I love friends who are true and honest and simple and plain
Who have no need to be heard above the crowd
Or entertained or pleased or rewarded
Who do not flatter, accuse or convict
Just comfortable to be around
And easy to love
A special friend who can walk in without knocking
Come by without calling ahead
And enter by the back door.

I love a Winchester, a '55 Bel-Air, Route 66 and hand-carved knives
Cooking over a campfire, fishin' for bass
And a midnight stroll
I love the call of a whippoorwill
A barn owl
And moma at suppertime
I love a hot bath
A cold soda
And people named Bubba
I love the memories of childhood
Cool evenings
And 1st place strawberries in '69.

These are the things that I Love

I love beginnings
A morning sunrise
Kindergarten
High school graduations
College days
A wedding
Foreverlasting love
The cry of a newborn
The journey I'm on
And knowing I'll end the day with Jesus.

These Are Just a Few of the Things That I Love.
vgl-2002

Teardrops from Heaven

The rain is standing in puddles everywhere! I feel as if it will never stop raining.

Years ago, during those troubled teenage and early twenty years, I longed for the rain. I didn't know why but it soothed my worried mind and gave me time to 'escape' from the world around me. I would pull out the chaise lounge, grab a warm blanket and pillow, then stretch out on the front porch to listen to that sweet soothing sound and fall into a deep and peaceful sleep. I would sleep until all want of sleep was gone, waking refreshed and calmed inside. I would feel so renewed that I made all sorts of vows and promises --to be different, be good, be whole! There were so many whispers of thanks to God and prayers for strength and help. I wanted to believe that those droplets were His tears of concern for me.

I'm still amazed and in love with rain, but the little girl who stays with me every day wants some sunshine.... and I want it for her! We both watch for any little ray to peek through the dark clouds.

"Granny! I think the sun is peekin' through! Then, she's quick to grab her shoes and jacket....ready to swing or take a walk or see the horses.....or just climb up and down the gate.

I hope she never feels the despair I did during the furious years, but if it has to be, I pray the rain and the Lord is a balm for her .

The chaise is in the attic.

Spring Greens!

We love the taste and cleansing of wild spring greens. Grandmother would take us out early in spring when the sheepshowers would burst forth and have us eat as much as we could. An old wives' tale-maybe, maybe not-claimed that sheepshowers placed in a jar and allowed to turn to gel, when applied would cure skin cancer. It was a family remedy passed down and now I take my own granddaughter out to eat those soury sheepshowers first thing in the spring.

There's no more savory taste than that of fresh brook watercress with crumbled bacon, diced onions and drizzled with hot bacon drippings! Add the salt and you have a dish fit for the King of Kings! It must be served hot for the best taste. When I'm preparing this dish , I let the oil get hot and then let out a yell," OK, I'm getting ready to pour on the grease!" Everyone else starts yelling the same thing and running for the kitchen. Plates are grabbed and prayers are said. THEN, the grease is poured over the greens and quickly "tonged" to each waiting plate. It's delicious and such a treat after a long winter.

Wild onions grow so plentifully in this area and it's not hard to obtain plenty for a fresh mess or extra to clean and dice for the freezer. They're small and it takes patience to gather and to clean, but so well worth that pungent little taste. I saute the onions in butter until translucent and then mix in fresh farms eggs and scramble. We enjoy them best fresh, but what a treat this past January during that severe ice storm, when I found a small package hiding in the freezer!!

And then...............there's poke greens or poke sallet! This is probably the most popular of those wild spring greens! It's plentiful around barnyard or field fence lines. Best picked at a tender height of 5-10 inches, these greens are best eaten in moderation. Poke Sallet is poisonous eaten raw, so if you don't want to end up in the ER , make sure you know what you're doing. I wash the greens 3 times, chop and place in kettle and just cover with water. Add a 1/2 cup of lard or oil and let boil until almost tender. Rinse off greens and place back in the kettle with 1/4 cup of lard or oil and cook until tender. I also rinse this off and then add just a little canola oil and salt OR I place in a frying skillet and scramble in some eggs. Delicious by themselves or with the eggs, we eat these for several nights in a row during the last part of April and first of May.

These beautiful and tasty greens are such a delightful treat after a hard winter and such a lovely prelude to the strawberries coming in May!