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

Shhh..... it's Silent Thursday

On the way home from my daughter's today as I drove through the Ocala National Forest, this deer was feeding on the side of the road. I pulled over and slowed down enough to snap a picture. Since starting my blog, my camera is always within reach.

Check out Mason's blog

UPDATE ON MASON: He now has his very own blog. It is www.masonnorvell.blogspot.com.
You can follow his daily progress and do not forget to donate blood and platelets in his name.

A friend's baby needs blood and prayers

My heart is heavy today after receiving word that a friend's baby is so very ill. Mason is four months old and lives in Jacksonville, Florida. He is in ICU at Wolfson Children's Hospital in Jacksonville. Mason's daddy went to school with my children and some of you probably know Mark Norvell and his family. Mark is a pilot for Jet Blue and his wife, Erica, is a teacher in Jacksonville. Below is a letter I received from Mason's Aunt Chrissy (Mark's sister). They have a long road ahead but with your prayers and donations of blood, they are optimistic that little Mason can make it through this most difficult time. If you live in the Jacksonville/St. Augustine area or know someone who does, this family really needs your help. I will continue to update you as I receive information. God Bless.

Psalm 16:1 Keep and protect me, O God, for in You I have refuge, and in You do I put my trust and hide myself.










Hi Everyone!

Well, I am writing because I NEED YOUR HELP!!!!

Thursday of the past week, August 5th my families world has turned
upside down.

I was driving in Hawaii… and I called my mom to talk to her. She
answers the phone hysterically crying. My brother's baby, Mason, my
nephew that was born while I was in Hawaii was just omitted to the ICU
in Jacksonville. Not knowing if he was going to make it, they started
a full blood transfusion and chemo right away once they discovered
late Thursday that he had developed a rare form of Acute Lymphoblastic
Leukemia. That afternoon I resigned from my job and today I arrived
home. I will be moving to Jacksonville by the end of the week to help
my brother. (if you know of a job, I need one.)

Mason will have to receive blood transfusion and platelets for the
next 3 years. He will go through one full year of chemo and we are
praying that be does not need a bone marrow transplant. I match his
blood type of O- . I cannot give blood the doctors say because I
have to be test for being a “Match” for a bone marrow transplant.

You might be asking now, how did your brother and Erica realize he had
something wrong? How does a little baby only 4 months old get this?
A cross in chromosome caused it while he was developing. The
doctors said that he would not have lived pass this month if they had
not caught it.

The first signs was when my brother was playing with him one day
and his hands were putting black and blue marks on his body. He was
starting to get bloated, but we all just thought he was eating too
much. Yet, it was his liver that was expanding. When they took him
for his 4 month old check up Erica, my sister in law, told the doctor
that he was losing his coloring and they took blood from him and he
had little to no good blood cells. (I can't remember if it was white or
red, I am too overwhelmed at this point) So they admitted him that
morning to ICU and started treatments right away.

Now, our family stands in the midst of a storm that surrounds a little
four month old boy that we all love to death. It is so hard for us,
as we are all chiefs in our family and everyone likes to take control.
We cannot control what has happened. We all now must trust in God
and the doctors to heal him. He lays in a little baby bed in a
hospital in Jacksonville with other children with cancer. No one but
my brother, Erica, her mom, and my mom can hold him. If anyone even
walks in the room we must all wear suits and masks. Passing germs to
him could be deadly at this point they say. He has wires everywhere
and he hates it. His whole body is swollen so they try not to hold
him much as he screams because it hurts. He will remain in the
hospital for the next 36 days receiving blood transfusions everyday
and go through his round of chemo. He will hopefully be able to come
home for one week after that only to return again.

Mason is a strong little boy… he is a NORVELL. He is stubborn and a
fighter! But he does need your prayers and your help if you can give
it. Mason needs platelets and blood for the next 3 years. I can
donate none at this point due to being his blood type. Buying blood
can be very expensive. Erica must return to work next week so that
they can keep him on her insurance. My brother will eventually have
to return to work as well.

As of now, he does not take a whole pint, but they have set up an account at
“The Blood Alliance” Blood bank in Jacksonville. Why not Florida
blood bank? Because Blood Alliance is who services all of Jacksonville
and southern Georgia.

Even if you do not match O- we can use your blood and if you are
willing, your platelets. They have an account and Mason will get
credit for any type that is donated. They transfer pint for pint, and
platelets he gets 20% credit towards a treatment. If it is O- it is
an even swap.

Please if you live in the area or you know someone who lives in the
Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Southern Georgia area… if you can mention
to them about Mason. Please, and I am asking from my heart… my family
is asking you to please help us. All the money in the world cannot
buy Mason health right now. But people coming together and donating
can help tons. All you have to say is that you are there to donate for
“Mason Norvell” even if you don’t qualify to give (due to tattoos,
traveling, pregnant), just you walking in and offering, Mason will get
credit.

We know God is in control, but we must do the work so he can provide
the results.

Chrissy

No more garage sales for me!!

Last week we had new carpet installed in our three bedrooms and closets. What a job it was to get the rooms ready. Two of the bedroom closets hadn't been cleaned out since our adult children left for college and that was 12 years ago. I found yearbooks, prom dresses, baseball cards, library books (that should have been returned 15 years ago), a flask, did I say flask? (must have been a friend of my son's), a collection of hot sauces (they don't sell these where I shop for groceries - whoop a**, hot buns at the beach, lawyer's breath, ultra death, a** blaster, Smack my a** and call me Sally, ultimate death), fireworks and a hunting jacket (with feathers still in the pockets). Needless to say, I was amazed at some of my finds.

When my daughter heard I had cleared the rooms, she had a brilliant idea. Oh good Mom, I know you don't want to put that stuff back in your nice clean rooms so I will come up next weekend and bring the kids and a bunch of things I have set aside for a garage sale. Dad can take the kids and go to the park and lunch while we have "the sale". Now I have only been talked into two other garage sales in my life and you would think I would have learned my lesson. You see, garage sales stress me out. I want every item to be washed, dried, folded or hung properly, all glassware and appliances cleaned, each and every item priced, etc. Now you would have to know my daughter. She flies by the seat of her pants, does not see the need to price everything nor does she think bags or boxes have to be unpacked. (its her artsy side - she gets it from her Dad) Just set everything out, sit out in your lawn chair, read your book and estimate what the customer pays when they have selected their nice new "junk".

Well...as it turned out, my daughter was needed at work on Friday (the day before the garage sale) so I wound up keeping the boys for the day. After playing superheros, painting and emptying the entire toy chest, my house was not only "rearranged" but I was stressing over this garage sale we were having early Saturday morning as nothing had been done except the ad was in the local newspaper. I took the boys to Lowe's for a garage sale sign and stakes. While I was trying to decide on the sign, they were having a sword fight with the stakes. I decided maybe they needed a little exercise so we could get them into bed early so I called a friend to bring her granddaughter and we headed for the "Jungle Zone jumpie house". (see pictures) Well, that one backfired on me, the kids were so tired they fell asleep afterwards and then they were up until around 10 p.m. When my daughter arrived Friday afternoon, I was ready to get down to business but she thought maybe we could go for a nice long walk first. Now, I love to go for walks but by this time, I was remembering why I hate garage sales.

Once the boys were finally down, we began to prepare for the sale. I am not sure what time we crawled into bed but I do remember the alarm clock going off at 5:30 a.m. I paid a little extra for a few more words in the newspaper ad (NO EARLY SALES PLEASE)! Our first sale was there waiting, only one hour early. (Another reason I hate garage sales). I am usually not very sentimental when it comes to hanging on to "old" items that are no longer useful. However, there were two things I put in the sale that had a special place in my heart. I sold my Mother and Dad's first bedroom set. They had purchased it two weeks before their wedding in 1950 as a gift to each other. Mother had given me the original receipt showing the purchase (which I taped to the "for sale" sign) along with the furniture years ago. We knew it was not in good condition because we had repaired it several times but it was not until we disassembled it to have the carpet replaced that we realized just how bad it really was. I talked it over with my Mother and got her approval before discarding it. The other item was a poem "If" for Girls that was framed and had hung over my bed when I was a child. The frame had broken years ago and I had filed the picture away . When pricing some of my items (against my daughter's advice) , I pulled out the poem and stuck a 10 cents dot on it. As I walked past it during the sale, I thought about my childhood bedroom, it was painted pale pink with white curtains and twin beds and a white vanity and chair. Oh, and dolls and their accessories were everywhere. I visualized my Mom or Dad sitting on my bed (they took turns putting us to bed each night), telling us a story , reading a book, saying our prayers or checking our closet for "monsters". I imagined that picture hanging above my bed while I was snuggled just below. And then, someone inquired about an item for sale and I was brought back to reality. Sometimes we just have to let go and move on.

About mid morning we had made around $200 and out of the blue came a downpour. Pop Pop had taken the kids to the park so it was up to us to get everything that was scattered down the driveway back into the garage as fast as we could. The antique bedroom set and the crib and mattress had been purchased earlier in the day but were left there until they could run home and get their truck, so they were priority. Gosh darn that furniture was heavy. We looked like drowned rats so we decided to go in and change before we packed things up to take to goodwill. We left the garage half way down and headed inside. It rained really bad for a very long time. Several hours later, the doorbell rang and a lady was standing there with a quarter in her hand. She said she just wanted to purchase a picture frame that was in the garage. (it was a good feeling to know there are still honest people in this world)

It's over! I am done with the garage sale!!! No more garage sales for me!!! I feel better already. Ahhhh!

Ter-reck-ly,

Kathy

A love letter from your Mother

When I held each of you for the first time, the feeling was indescribable. My heart was filled with so much joy and excitement. It was like someone handed me missing pieces of my life that I didn't know were missing. I held you and rocked you for hours each day staring at your little faces and wondering what was in store for you. As you grew, you probably thought we had all the answers but most of the time we were winging it. Parenting is not easy. You made me laugh, cry, and yes, scream. It is about trial and error and no two children are alike which complicates things a little more. I know life in our home did not always seem fair (because you reminded me often) but I handled each situation the very best way I knew how. Both of you were amazing kids in so many ways. Being your parent has been one of the greatest gifts of my life. When I was in the midst of motherhood, it seemed as though I was embracing and appreciating each day when actually I was trying to keep my head above water or perhaps just survive. Now that you are grown, I look back and see things that seemed so important at the time were really just trivial. And those things I took for granted, those small things, were really the important things. I hope you can reflect on your childhood and teenage years and visualize a happy, loving home that instilled confidence, faith, compassion, honesty and a love for family and friends. I just want to end by saying I am sorry if I ever did or said anything to hurt or embarrass you. When I look at you today, you have exceeded all my expectations. I see you happy, loving and being loved, striving towards goals and accomplishing them. Wherever your life takes you, my heart will travel with you until eternity. As you continue to grow in your life and in your faith, please remember always how very much I Love You!

I love you,

Your Mother

Things I Want My Children to Know:

(author unknown)

If I knew it would be the last time that I'd see you fall asleep,

I would tuck you in more tightly and pray your soul to keep.

If I knew it would be the last time that I see you walk out the door,

I would give you a hug and kiss and call you back for one more.

If I knew it would be the last time I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise,

I would video tape each action and word so I could play them back day after day.
If I knew it would be the last time I could spare an extra minute or two,
to stop and say "I Love You" instead of assuming that you know I do.

If I knew it would be the last time, I would be there to share your day,

Well, I'm sure you'll have so many more so I can let this one slip away.

For surely there's always tomorrow to make up for an oversight,

and we always get a second chance to make everything alright.

There will always be another day to say "I Love You's",

And certainly there's another chance to say our "anything I can do's".

But just in case I might be wrong, and today is all I get,

I'd like to say how much I love you and hope we never forget.

Tomorrow is not promised to anyone, young or old alike,

And today may be the last chance you get to hold your loved one tight.

So, if you're waiting for tomorrow, why not do it today?

For if tomorrow never comes, you'll sure regret the day,

That you didn't take extra time for a smile, a hug or kiss,

And you were too busy to grant someone what turned out to be their last wish.

So hold your loved ones close today, whisper in their ear,

tell them how much you love them and that you'll always hold them dear.

Take the time to say "I'm sorry, "Please forgive me", "Thank you" or "It's okay".

And if tomorrow never comes, you'll have no regrets about today.