Ordinary Life

Independence Day was a beautiful day for a picnic on the beach:  Beach  Baby (there, on the sand)  Boogie Boardin' Dude: And Dudette:  Pigskin Passers: Team Boogie:  Castle Building (& kicking) & God Bless Freedom of Press:

Of course there were the fried things I told you about earlier .  (way, way, way earlier at this point) Then there were these other, mostly pre-packaged fried things that we haven't yet discussed.  Jalapeno Poppers and Cheese Filled Pretzel bites.  Appetizing...no? (NO)  Some 'DIY' corn pup nuggets:  Before: Post Oven: And also, Chili Cheese Oven Fries: Not to mention some salsa & chips that accompanied us to the shore: Current Favorite Salsa: (CHIPS & DIP-the original moveable feast) And then there were the mini Cherry YumYum pies. The food with the story attached. (You knew there had to be one, right?) You see, I always think about MeeMaw Brewer around Independence Day. Cherry YumYum was one of her signature dishes and one of our last family gatherings with her was a July 4th. Now, while Aundree was indeed a beloved family member, by the time I joined the family she was  almost completely bats (no offense, MeeMaw... it's okay, we loved you st...

It has taken me so long to finally get around to sharing July 4th photos. I took way too many photos too...especially of our sand castle building. The idea was to make a stop motion of the castle being built and then dissolving into the sea. What actually came of it was photo documentation up until about the mid point of the castle's dissolution (when my battery died). Which was not enough to make the stop motion but plenty to make picking photos to share a challenge. A collage of castle building follows. What started out as a toddler's whim to build a sand castle turned into a group effort (sans the toddler, who found something more interesting to do about 15 minutes after we started) Eventually, all that remained of our work was the ocean's floor. One thing that stuck out to me was how my boys kept building as the waves started rushing in... They had a vision they wanted to see completed. They worked against the tide to see it realized. Even as doom loomed, they labored o...

In my attempt to bring this little family blog up to speed, we are nearing the Fourth of July  (and it's only August!)  When we were preparing to celebrate America's Independence from the Queen Mother, we asked ourselves "What is American?"  And though we came up with some pretty humorous answers, one that we all agreed on was fried foods. So, a box of puff pastry was purchased, the fry pot filled with oil, and we began to look for creative things to wrap- though we also planned on some hand pies; Cherry & Apple.   Gotta let it thaw Some of those nuggets are filled with Dark Chocolate JIF- better than a Reece Cup (we tried that too)  Clay's favorite was the ham & cheddar- next time I will try a portion with ham & cream cheese too.  That's it... no real rhyme or reason for this post... just working through a photo archive and thought to share out healthy American eats. 

HAPPY JULY 4th, 2013! From the archives- circa 2006 :

PaPa and Grandkids @ Waycross 2013 This is one of those days that leave me tongue tied. Not for a lack of good things to say. Rather for trying to find a new way to say what is good and true and known and noteworthy about the man that is my father. And then to repeat that quest for the man whose Adventures in Fatherhood I get to watch in 'real time' as he plays dad & hero to my crew of 4. Words just fail me, that is all. Lots of people, in assorted tributes today,  have pointed out  what makes a man a good man- qualities that carry over into their fatherhood, making them, by default, good dads. Then there are folks who talk about what was missing- either because Time robbed them or because certain qualities or values escaped their fathers (like sobriety.) These people too, are affirming that a good man makes for a good father. Also that those of us blessed to have our father still living here amongst us are truly blessed. I think that what makes a list about any give...

February 10th, 2013 issues in the Year of The Snake Last night, FLVirtual S chool held a special Collaboration session in recognition of the upcoming Chinese New Year . To get in the spirit of things, we decided to have Chinese food for dinner. I had casually mentioned this plan to Clay before he went to a meeting. When he called on his way home,  to see if we needed anything while he was out, he was surprised to find that we had decided to COOK Chinese dishes instead of ordering it from the experts. I blamed homeschooling... He indulged me by trying to find chop sticks (a negligent oversight on my part!) then, swung by Beef O'Brady's for some 'real food' just to be safe. So, we 'made' Chinese to the best of our ability~thankful for the Ethnic Foods aisle and the International Foods freezer at the grocery store. Without it, we may have had to call Lucky Wok . It's About the Sauces: Sriacha, Sesame Garlic, Pot Sticker. Soy & Duck I must preface the descr...

February 10th, 2013 issues in the Year of The Snake Last night, FLVirtual S chool held a special Collaboration session in recognition of the upcoming Chinese New Year . To get in the spirit of things, we decided to have Chinese food for dinner. I had casually mentioned this plan to Clay before he went to a meeting. When he called on his way home,  to see if we needed anything while he was out, he was surprised to find that we had decided to COOK Chinese dishes instead of ordering it from the experts. I blamed homeschooling... He indulged me by trying to find chop sticks (a negligent oversight on my part!) then, swung by Beef O'Brady's for some 'real food' just to be safe. So, we 'made' Chinese to the best of our ability~thankful for the Ethnic Foods aisle and the International Foods freezer at the grocery store. Without it, we may have had to call Lucky Wok . It's About the Sauces: Sriacha, Sesame Garlic, Pot Sticker. Soy & Duck I must preface the descr...