Back To School, Time To Hero Up!

I am soooo excited I can hardly wait to pick up my little guys after their first day of school. I have sent prayers up for both (teachers too). My car is packed, I am headed to the gym, then off to St. Augustine for a couple of days. Actually, today is bittersweet. It is a milestone for both of my "little guys". The older one starts kindergarten today. I am so nervous as he has severe food allergies. (Much more about this in my upcoming "new" blog.) He is convinced he is a superhero and will "man up" to anyone, no matter the size. I feel some better knowing there is a school nurse on campus everyday.(not just for the allergies, but in case he decides to "hero up" and scale a building to save someone.) We have benedryl and epi-pens in a few locations around the campus for the allergies. My little sweet and innocent guy who will be three next month is starting to preschool today. Not one, but two preschools. He will be at a Baptist preschool two days a week and a Presbyterian two mornings. We are Methodist, go figure!! (At least he will be a well rounded Christian, right?) I am sure he will be just fine and absolutely love having playmates. He is unselfish, compassionate, thoughtful, loving, kindhearted (I could go on and on), so I know he will be a joy for his teacher just as he is for me.

After my two hour trek through the woods, I got to town in time to run by " another reason I like to come to St. Augustine". I am sharing a yummy picture with you. I am addicted to their original flavored yogurt. (with a few dark chocolate morsels) A girls needs her calcium, right? It was my lunch after all and I did workout this morning. I ate in the car and got to preschool at 2:15 to pick up my little guy. He was sound asleep on his mat along with donkey and "blankie". After gathering his lunchbox, backpack, and donkey, I slipped out trying not to wake the others. We were off to pick up his big brother. There were a gazillion cars and the line was a mile long at the elementary school. While we were waiting, the little one realized he had left "blankie" at the preschool and was terribly upset. Luckily, my Mom was in town and passing close by there when I called her. She picked it up and brought it to him. Thank the Lord for cell phones (and Moms)!

It was a great day for both! No tears! No wet pants at preschool. (we are about 90% potty trained). When I inquired about the wet shirt in the zip lock bag inside his backpack, he said he accidentally peed on it. (Oh, how did that happen? OK, whatever?!?) The little box of raisins was left in the lunchbox. When I ask about them, he said, Mrs. Deborah said he could not have them for a snack, he would need to save them for dessert after his lunch. I said, guess you were too full after lunch, huh? No, KK I don't like raisins for dessert. Imagine that? The teachers sent notes home with great reports. I thought we are off to a good start until I unpacked the five year olds' lunch box! Where in the world did you get this oatmeal pie? I don't know how it got in there. Did someone sitting beside you at lunch swap anything with you? No ma'am. Well, this is not acceptable. You are allergic to tree nuts, artificial dyes and flavors. This is why I am so worried about him being in "big" school now. This is really scary. His backpack and lunchbox have special stickers on them about the allergies. Mommy covered all the bases. The teacher, office staff, principal, school nurse, lunchroom ladies, everyone that needs to know has met with Mommy and understands the danger. How could this happen? We are not talking hives we are talking full blown anaphalactic reaction (life and death). Been there, done that! Guess Mommy will be going in late tomorrow so she can meet with someone at the elementary school. And so it goes in the life of a child with severe food allergies. You do everything you possibly can to prevent an accident and you PRAY a lot!

Ter-reck-ly,
Kathy

Exercising Your Body and Spirit

Sundays inspire me! I am a Christian. I believe that God created the earth and that he sent his son to die for all of mankind. On Sundays, my hubby and I rise early and enjoy breakfast and coffee together as we catch up on life as we know it. Many times during the week, he is traveling on business and I am so privileged to spend several of my days each week taking care of grandsons. On Sundays, we attend church together for spiritual growth and guidance. We always say, it gives us a great start to our week ahead.

I am in a different frame of mind on Sundays. I walk whenever I can for exercise but on Sundays, my husband and I take an extra long walk. When we are done, I feel relaxed and rejuvenated. I feel empowered. During the week, when I work out at the gym, I have a workout partner, a good friend. (There are friends, and there are really good friends) When we are there, we push and encourage each other. We both know that it is easier with a partner as you are always reminded, someone is counting on you. Ecclesiastes 4:9 states, "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work." This verse proves why we need to encourage one another. I love exercising. (once I get there) It relieves stress, it makes me feel more fit and it allows me to bond with friends.

The bible reminds us that we also need to be exercising godliness. If my rewards are this good with physical exercise, imagine if I spend the same amount of time on exercising godliness. It says in 1 Timothy 4: 7-8 "Rather train yourself for godliness: for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come."

Just as you are careful about the food you put into your body, God commands us to consume good and wholesome things - filter your thoughts. When we were in St. Augustine for the month of May, we attended the Good News Presbyterian Church. One Sunday, the youth minister spoke and at the end of the service, he passed out laminated cards with the following bible verse. I love this scripture and I keep it on the dash of my car so I can read it daily. I will leave you with this thought. Phil 4:8 "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things."

God Bless,

Kathy

Daily Thought:

If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else. - Booker T. Washington

Shhhhhhh, he's asleep!

Silent Thursday?!? Today has been anything but silent. I spent the day with my little monkeys at their home. I did manage to bake a fresh peach cobbler(before all the peaches went bad), do a couple loads of laundry, take the little one to his "meet the teacher" at his new preschool, read instructions on another computer game for the umpteenth (is that really a word?) time, helped turn over all the puzzle pieces (several times), take the dog on a few walks (with the kids in tow), fold and put away laundry, read books, and played superheros. Oh, we squeezed breakfast and lunch in there somewhere. Now that the little guy is all tuckered out, I can catch my breath and share a few pics of the day. (and enjoy a helping of peach cobbler) Shhhh...it is so peaceful here. (for the moment)

I Love Barns

I absolutely love barns. Barns bring back memories of happy carefree days of my childhood. My Gramps had a farm with a big brown barn. He purchased three cows one for me, my sister, and our cousin. We gave our cows names and each time we were visiting our grandparents, we were on the farm feeding our cows and driving all over the pasture. We drove everything he had that would drive on that farm. If only those cows could talk, the stories they could tell.

When I was 12 years old, the neighbor kids, my sister and I spent many days each summer in the fields picking vegetables and strawberries. We spent a lot of time in the barn handing and stringing tobacco. The boys would pick the tobacco then drive the tractor up to the barn pulling a wagon load of tobacco behind. We would then unload it onto tables in the barn. If you were a hander, you would gather several pieces and stack them neatly together and hand to the stringer. The stringer would loop a string around the stems onto a board that would get hung up in the rafters of the barn to dry out. (Oh the trouble we could get into when we were all together.) From there it would get sold. We started about 6:30 a.m. and were done around 1:00 p.m. The farmers wife was a sweet southern lady and a wonderful cook. When the work was done, she would let us know that lunch was ready. We usually had the same meal each time we worked which consisted of fried chicken or country fried steak, creamed corn, fried okra, butter beans, squash, rice and country gravy and always, homemade biscuits with her homemade jelly. Her kindness in preparing this delicious feast for us was not truly appreciated until I was much older and realized the time and effort that was involved.Sadly, a few years ago, the farmer died on that farm. One of his cows charged him and he jumped on a fence and fell over backwards.

Ter-reck-ly,

Kathy

Nana's hoe cake cooked in cast iron skillet

There is nothing better than a pot of collard or mustard greens with a chunk of Nana's hoe cake. Um Um good! (For those of you who don't know, hoe cake is a very flat cornbread) I told you in an earlier blog that Nana had many wonderful recipes but there were also many things that she prepared with NO recipe. She was an incredible southern cook! Sorry Paula and Rachel but you girls would be h-i-s-t-o-r-y, ( you have to say that in three syllables) if my Nana had her own cooking show. Seriously, she was truly blessed with a God given talent and everyone in her hometown knew it. She prepared more food for friends, neighbors, funerals, weddings and illness' then you can "shake a stick at". She didn't even need an occasion to take food to someone.
She was also hilarious and had a wonderful sense of humor. Maybe that's what kept her alive until the ripe old age of 93. She was a great seamstress (that's a blog in itself), she would plant a garden and can or freeze the vegetables. She made really yummy bread and butter pickles and homemade jellies. Suppertime was always served with homemade biscuits or her hoe cake. The hoe cake is one of my favorites and I think I have come pretty close to duplicating it.

Before giving you the recipe, I need to tell you that this hoe cake MUST be prepared in a "seasoned" cast iron skillet. It is not only inexpensive but the best possible cookware you can use if you maintain it properly. If this is done, nothing you prepare in it will stick and your food will brown beautifully. When you purchase a cast iron pan, you must wash with warm water and a small amount of dish detergent but do not let it soak in the water. Dry it out quickly and with paper towels or soft towel, rub with a small amount of oil. Store covered with paper towels or cloth, so dust does not stick to the oil in the pan. (I store mine in the oven without covering it)
When you prepare the hoe cake, put about one teaspoon of oil into the pan and rub around to cover the bottom with a paper towel. Turn the stove on medium heat and when the pan is heated, pour your batter in. Cook thoroughly on that side and begin lifting edges all the way around before flipping it to the other side. Now the top should be nice and brown. Continue to cook for approximately 5 or 6 more minutes to brown the other side. You may need to turn down to medium low heat. Serve with butter and enjoy!

3/4 cup self rising corn meal
1/2 cup all purpose flour
dash of salt
milk or buttermilk
finely chopped onions, optional

Stir together the first three ingredients and slowly add the milk while stirring. When it is soupy, you have the right amount of milk . Nana never added onions but my family likes it that way.


Remember, never put your cast iron in the dishwasher. Wash it out quickly with a little warm soapy water, dry, add a little oil, cover and store. Cast iron last for years and years. If you have inherited a skillet or dutch oven, clean out the rust with fine steel wool or a little mixture of salt and oil rubbed on the buildup. Cooking in cast iron can add significant amounts of iron to your food and into your body...if you eat it. I love my cast iron skillet and dutch oven and could not cook without them!

Happy baking and I'll be back ter-reck-ly,

Kathy