I'm back

Please forgive the delay. As I stated in a previous blog, I am not the smartest cookie in the jar when it comes to computers. I was told (by the husband) that I had crashed the computer - AGAIN. It appears to me that I must indeed be smart because I have been told by many others that it is impossible to "crash" a computer. I do not have access to the computer at home until Mike gets it fixed (whatever that means). I am at work at present and this may be against policy but just wanted you to know I haven't stopped blogging and I didn't fall off the face of the earth. May be a few days before the next blog comes across. See Ya!

Happy Thanksgiving

Just a quick note to say hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Have to work today but will get the chance to spend a small amount of time w/daughter #1 and her family before going to the grind. Hope your day is full of laughter and love will talk to you tomorrow.

Hurricane Hannah

The weekend is over and time to clean up. We kept our youngest granddaughter from Friday night until last night. She is so full of life and wonderment. She is 2 and keeps us laughing at her antics. She is not destructive but after she has been here it is like a whirling dervish has gone through the house (hence the name Hurricane Hannah). She has one drawer in the kitchen I have allowed her to play in but she tries to get in them all. She opens them one at a time to see if I'm watching and attempts to take something out of each one. If she sees me looking at her, she will say,"not mine" knowing full well she's not to be in that drawer. I really don't mind cleaning up after her because she is such a joy to have around (as is her older sister - Haley). Haley by the way spent Friday with us but decided to stay w/her Aunt T after the game Saturday. So, it is time to wash measuring cup/spoons(if I can find all of them), small pots and other small items from the kitchen, pick up from under all furniture. When the house become this messed up by us(not that we pull out items like this to play with) it seems to be a chore to straighten but when done by grandchildren, it's not a hassle to clean, why is that?

Roll Tide (Anyway)

Most of you probably already know that the Tide lost to Auburn yesterday. Of course, how could Bama have won when Brody Croyle (the QB) was the only player one the field at offense for Bama. I've been a Bama fan since I was a little girl living in Florida (don't know how that came about). I just know I've been a Bama fan for many years and never cheered for anyone else. I've stuck by them through thick and thin and not about to change now. I was very disappointed in how the didn't play yesterday but still ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now on to something else. Oh by the way, if I could, I would bake you a pecan pie and send it to you my sibling in CA. Haven't a clue how to do that and have it arrive fit to eat, but then that wasn't a requirement of receiving one, was it brother? Had a great time yesterday with the children and grands. Teri as always was hilarious and her attempts to get Hannah (2 years old) to yell for Auburn were priceless. She remained true to her Memama and cheered for Bama. The food was great (and yes my girls did most of the cooking). I guess that means I lied in the previous blog about them not being cooks. I guess the correct comment would have been to say they prefer not to cook. As for the brother (adopted) in North Ala, will bring a pie to you next trip up that way.

Will be leaving in just a few to take number one son back to GA. Haley calls him Uncle Michael but for some reason Hannah has named him Michael, Michael (she can say Uncle). Will check in with you guys tomorrow.

Smelk(Hannahese for smell) something sweet today. She particularly likes to smelk plastic flowers. Aren't babies great? We learn so much from them.

Wouldn't you know

Well, it is almost here (the afore mentioned game day and family Thanksgiving get together). As the matriarch of this part of the family, it falls my duty to do most of the cooking. My daughters do know how to cook (ok Tara does), they just choose not to do it often. I have had this upper respiratory infection that is going around this part of the country and have been up doing only as the fever would allow (why do mothers/wives not get to rest when they are sick). Anyway, I had put off the baking until last night. It falls my lot to bake the pecan pies (not just one or two). There must be at least two for the family to eat and then each individual person gets their own pie to take home (I said person, not family). Yes, my children/grandchildren are spoiled. So there is a total of 8 pies to be baked. Then there are the other deserts that only Memama(that's what the grands call me) knows how to cook. Needless to say, when I finally got to feeling like cooking, I went in to turn on the stove to preheat and WE HAVE NO GAS. May be a blessing in disguise. If we get gas sometime today, I will only bake the two pies for the meal tomorrow and the take homes can wait until another day.

Please don't misunderstand, I love to cook and am thankful that there is at least one or two things my family will remember me for (instead of burnt cornbread, or lasagne jerky-Mom). The other alternative, which I probably will do, is to gather all the ingredients to the above mentioned goodies and go to Teri's early tomorrow and bake there (good solution, huh kids).

God bless and hope you weekend is relaxing and fun.

Game Day

For those who don't live in the south, the most important day of the year is not birthday's, anniversaries, or even christmas. It is the day of the state college rivalry. In Alabama this is between the University of Alabama (of which I am a grad) and Auburn University (of which my husband attended). It is always an interesting time of year, a lot of ribbing, and joking. But we do take our football seriously.

The big game is this Saturday. We as a family will gather at our youngest daughter's home (Teri, or as her nieces call her, Aunt T) to watch the game. We will also be celebrating Thanksgiving then, as I have to work the week of Thanksgiving (as emergency rooms do not close for the holidays). We have a very divided family. Our daughters (Tara, and Teri) are Auburn fans and their husbands are Alabama (remember, no one in our families have actually attended these schools except Mike and me). The two grandchildren are also divided - the 7 year old is an Aubrun(this is how she says it)fan and the 2 year old is Bama (we start them young down here). Fortunately for us, we are all generally good natured about the game. It hasn't caused any family splits so far. Some family bets have occured in the past but I have found that when Auburn loses, the Auburn fan will not fulfill the bet so, we have stopped that.

I am looking forward to the family fun we have when we get together. Hope your weekend is full of laughter, love and family.

P.S. ROLL TIDE!!!!

Almost there

I have been trying to get my house in some kind of order since August. Being the only daughter, with 3 brothers, it fell my lot to have to sort through our mothers' possessions after her death this past July. My house (which is not all that large) has been completely filled with boxes and furniture from her house. I have finally completed going through all the boxes and deciding what to do with most of her things. It became depressing for awhile until I realized it had taken me only 3 months to sort through 80+ years of life and 42 years of marriage. Today, I can actually see the floors in my home and my goal is to FINALLY get my house clean. I know this doesn't seem much to most but it will be a big accomplishment to me. When this is finished, I can finally get back to my life and remember the past and Mom with much love. At times, as I went through her things, I became very frustrated and wondered why in the world she would keep such mundane and useless things. I also realized I am very much like her. Therefore, there will be a huge yard sale this spring with me cleaning out many useless and mundane possessions I thought I must keep. Funny how things lose there importance when you have to go through an experience like this.

First attempt

I am new to this information media. My brother introduced me to this. May of you know him from Rev's Ramblings. You have also read about me in his blogs. I am a computer idiot and it has taken me many weeks and the help of my husband to get this site up and running. Hopefully, I will be able to do this without his help in the future. One would think with a college degree these things wouldn't be so difficult.

As an introduction, I am a RN (standing for registered nurse to all but my brothers, who claim this stands for registered nut). I work in an emergency room in a small town in Alabama. My husband and I have a farm in the Talladega forest (for those who are racing fans - of which I am not- this is the town of what used to be know as the Talladega 500 in NASCAR). Anyway, our farm is nestled in the foothills of the Appalachia Mt. chain. We have 9 mut horses, one mule and my dog Cheyenne Moon (known as Chenny by our 2 year old grandaughter). We enjoy our farm by sharing it with others by way of get togethers with our family, friends and church family. The work on the farm keeps us busy (along with our regular jobs) but we love the solitude it provides. Our nearest neighbor is 1/4 mile away and we are surrounded by the forest.

We have 3 children (actually 5 because 2 are married and we don't have in-laws, yet). There are 2 girls (both married to wonderful men) and one son (as yet unmarried as far as we know). We have 2 adorable grandaughters (will post pictures at a later date) who keep us young and full of laughter. The Lord will bless us with a third grandaughter this coming year from China. We are very excited about this addition and can hardly wait for her arrival.

Enjoyed this first attempt at this blogging and look forward to sharing life on the farm with you in the future.

Elaine and Cheyenne