'Maters

Ain't nothing like summer time --- yellow squash, purple hull peas, sweet corn, snap beans, okra, cucumbers. But most of all, TOMATOES!!!

Tomatoes Sandwiches

• Two slices of the freshest, softest white loaf bread
• Mayo spread on both slices
• Vidalia Onion slices so thin that you can read "tomorrow's Newspaper through it"
• Tomatoes slices - the more the better
• Salt and Pepper to taste
  

Repeat, PRN - YUMMMMMMMMMM....

Need more recipes ideas??? John Denver said it best...

Homegrown Tomatoes

There ain't nothin' in the world that I like better
Than bacon 'n lettuce 'n homegrown tomatoes
Up in the mornin', out in the garden
Get you a ripe one, don't pick a hard 'un
All winter without 'em is a culinary bummer
I forgot all about the sweatin' and the diggin'
Every time I go out and pick me a big 'un

Homegrown tomatoes, homegrown tomatoes
What would life be without homegrown tomatoes?
Only two things that money can't buy
That's true love and homegrown tomatoes

You can go out to eat and that's for sure
But there's nothin' a homegrown tomato won't cure
Put 'em in a salad, put 'em in a stew
You can make your own tomato juice
You can eat 'em with eggs, eat 'em with gravy
You can eat 'em with beans, pinto or navy
Put 'em on the side, put 'em in the middle
Homegrown tomatoes on a hot cake griddle

Homegrown tomatoes, homegrown tomatoes
What would like be without homegrown tomatoes?
Only two things that money can't buy
That's true love and homegrown tomatoes

If I's to change this life I lead
You could call me Johnny Tomatoseed
Cause I know what this country needs
Homegrown tomatoes in every yard you see

When I die don't bury me
In a box in a cold dark cemetery
Out in the garden would be much better
'Cause I could be pushin' up a homegrown tomato

Homegrown tomatoes, homegrown tomatoes
What would like be without homegrown tomatoes?
Only two things that money can't buy
That's true love and homegrown tomatoes

When they are gone, I will go into mourning... In the meantime, I am enjoying myself!!!

Blooms

It has been a long time since I put my hands to an arrangement. But this is a special occasion! Sunday will be Sarah's Mother 93rd Birthday!!!

Last year we went to one of the local florist to have them place plants in the Picnic Basket that is usually tucked away in the metal storage building under the huge pecan tree. LAST YEAR, we thought it was beautiful. And it was. But this year we wanted to do something extra nice and with our hands.

I called Susan (who takes care of the flowers at church - among other things) to see if the extras she had stored at her house had been delivered to the fellowship hall. We drove into town with Metro (shhhhhh, Metro went to church) and loaded the "extended cab" with arrangements and loose silk stems that had seen their better days.


Sarah and I were on the same wavelenght. Our combined creativity flowed as we started placing the base and background in the floral foam. Then she did something, that at first, surprised me. She stepped back from the dining room table. She was telling me, "That's good" and "Just a little to the right with that one" as I stabbed the green wooden picks into the Styrofoam. We forgot about the time we begun the project (about 10 ish) and work until it was officially Tuesday morning EDT. About 20 Pink, White and Red Gerber Daisies were in place. The teeny Pink, White and Red flowerets swept to the right and the ivy made up the opposite sweep to the left.

We stood back. It was awesome. But was still lacking something... The next morning, splashes of Yellow was applied and three of Mama's Bead Angels were the crowing touch.


Sunday morning, the basket will be on the table in front of the pulpit during worship. Then I will carried it back to the fellowship hall for the covered dish lunch in her honor.

In the bulletin it will read:
"The flowers this Sunday are placed in honor of Mildred Brown to celebrate her 93rd Birthday, by her Children, Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren and Great-Great Grandson."

Whatcha think?

Metro seems a bit bored with the whole thing!

What I learned at VBS

My sister in Tennessee -- Hiya Sis! -- has been on many Vacation Bible School Mission trips across the southeast over the past several years. We have discussed lesson plans and visual aids employed to teach the children that attend VBS. Last night, Amy had a colorful lesson on the Plan of Salvation... Black - For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23 Red - While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 Blue - We were buried with Him through baptism. Roman 6:4 White - Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Psalm 51:7 Green - Grow in the grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3:16 Yellow - Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. Revelation 2:10

Rain at VBS

Katherine said, "It always rains at least one night during Vacation Bible School."

How about two evenings in a row. Just enough to settle the dust last night. But tonight, we receive almost 1/2 inch. And a RAINBOW as a bonus - it was very faint and did not photograph very well. But I stood under the awning, gazing to the east until it completely faded away!

Not the way I had planned to spend Father's Day

Sunday's sunrise was awesome! Sun Rays stretching out from behind the clouds. We were dressed and ready for Sunday School a little early and actually took time to eat a bite of breakfast for a change. Mmmmmmm, fresh egg sandwiches! We picked up Mama, and drove
into town...


Mama ( who will be 93 years young on July 1st ) was seated in her lightweight wheelchair that we kept in the PT Cruiser. Not because she depends on us to push her around, sometimes she get around better than we do. It is just easier for her to ride from car to classroom to auditorium to car.


I was pushing her up the ramp that is beside the cement flowers when I got dive bombed!!! I saw it coming, but I had both hands on the handles of the wheelchair. BAM!!! I was hit! I took a direct shot in the upper lip. SMACK! Right in the KISSER! A wasp had stung me. It felt like a hot coal. Sarah said, "I've got Mama... go to the kitchen and get some ice."

I was already heading that way. When the ice wasn't on my lip, it felt like some one was holding a curling iron to my mouth. With 25 mgs. of Benadryl from the First Aid kit, I went on to our classroom. Shortly, I started feeling nauseated and my head was beginning to ache. Sarah asked, "You need to go home or to the ER?"

HOME, please!!!

My upper lip was swelling!!!


Katherine is a nurse! And there are three others of our church members that are nurses! She has already heard of my encounter with the wasp. She handed me another 25 mg capsule and made me a ice pack for my ride home. It continue to swell and the burning sensation increased for about an hour. Then slowly it began to ease. Then the Benadryl kicked in and I dozed off for about fifteen minutes. By the time we left for the first session of Vacation Bible School at 5:00, I was almost back to normal.


My special request of my sister --- here is the photo taken after Sarah drove me home!

Happy Father's Day

Walks in the woods on Sunday afternoons.

The sock drawer of the dresser that held medals from the Korean War.

A Mountain Cur puppy that we named Laddie.

Working in the garden way past twilight.

BBQ sandwiches - half pork/half beef.

Learning to drive in the old Ford station wagon.

One of the wisest man I have ever known, and that your formal eduction was only to the 8th grade.

I remember these things. I remember you, Dad!

Bloom where you are planted...

Did the seeds get dropped? The crack in the cement in the parking lot on the west side of the Fellowship Hall has been in blooming for a couple of weeks.

Did the flowers dead head and self sow by floating down to the "just enough dirt" in the joint?



"Behold, a sower went forth to sow..." Matthew 13:3

• the wayside
• stony ground
• among thorns
• Good Ground

"Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." Matthew 13:9

Baby Kalab

http://www.myspace.com/kristyreynolds

That is the url for MySpace page for Kristy Schwade in Tampa, FL

Form her Blurbs:
My Name is Kristy Schwade and my life at this point is not anywhere near normal. My Son, the light of my life is fighting for his very own life in ICU and has been since May 9, 2007. He is suffering from Shaken Baby Syndrome by the hands of someone who is not in anyway related to him or us. I have 100% faith in God that my little boy will be the one that SURPRISES all of the doctors. He is strong and we have to be strong for him.

Read her blogs and her comments.
Listen to the song playing by Casting Crowns.
Look at the photos of Kalab, before his injuries and since he has been in ICU.

But most of all - Pray for Them!!!

AMEN!

Shoe Leather

I was ready for a great meal of baked pork chops and fresh veggies. I could smell the hint of onion and garlic as I entered the house yesterday evening. I was going to make a light BBQ sauce to accent them.

We removed the aluminum foil package from the oven and carefully allowed the steam to escape. Something wasn't right. You expect a small amount of juices to extract when you cook a piece of meat. But the four hunks of pork were swimming in water. They were 7/8ths covered in hot liquid. And they smelt bad. Not the kind of bad smell as in spoilage because they were mishandled. It was the stink from meat of a animal that was slaughtered way pass his prime.

We cut into one of the chops with a steak knife. Rather, we attempted to cut into it with a steak knife. Until last night, I had never tried to dissect a hockey puck!

Perhaps the squash and new red 'taters were all we really needed for dinner.

< Groan >

From my inbox:

A driver is stuck in a traffic jam on the Beltway, just outside of Washington.

Nothing is moving north or south.

Suddenly a man knocks on his window.

The driver rolls down his window and asks, "What happened? What's the hold up?"

"Terrorists have kidnapped Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton. They are asking for a $100 million ransom. Otherwise, they are going to douse them with gasoline and set them on fire. We are going from car to car, taking up a collection."


The driver asks, "On average how much is everyone giving?"










"About a gallon."

4.62 inches

3.63" of rain for yesterday

0.99" today from 12:00 AM to around 7:30 when it stopped sprinkling.

Even the Weather Channel Meteorologist were saying the Tropical Storm Barry was the answer to prayers by those in South Georgia and Northern Florida! Barry has moved on and sunshine is beaming down this afternoon.

The weather station at McRae, GA - Telfair County

All of the sudden, I feel OLD!

It was twenty FORTY years ago today,
Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play
They've been going in and out of style
But they're guaranteed to raise a smile.
So may I introduce to you
The act you've known for all these years,
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band...




Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
(Lennon/McCartney)
Released June 3, 1967

Size Matters, when Fishing! Even 75 years later!

On June 2, 1932 - George Perry decided the weather was too bad for farming. It wasn't very good for a Church steeple in Jacksonville, Georgia either. Strong winds or possibly a small tornado cause the steeple to come crashing to the ground that afternoon.

Storm clouds or not, George went fishing that Thursday afternoon. At 20 years of age, George owned one Rod & Reel and two lures. He was fishing with a friend - from a homemade boat - in a dead oxbow lake off the Ocmulgee River. Known as Montgomery Lake, it was then and now just a small wet spot in South Georgia Swamp Land, a few miles east of Jacksonville.

George cast into the dark waters. Reeling in line, everything came to a stop! Thinking he couldn't lose that lure (these were Depression Times, by the way), George pondered how he could retrieve the lure - for surely it was hung on something. “I thought I had hooked a log”, Perry recalled. “ It was heavy and cumbersome.”

But as it began to move…George saw it was not a log. What was on the end of his line was a Large Mouth Bass the likes never seen before or since.

The pair drove 16 miles to a grocery store in Helena, the fish and George were the talk of the county that weekend. An hour or so later the bass was weighed on certified scales at the Post Office.

Twenty Two pounds and Four ounces

The weight was verified and submitted to Field and Streams magazine for a contest that was being conducted. George was awarded prizes with a total value of around $75.00. These were Depressions Times, by the way.

Today, if you are lucky or skilled enough to catch a Large Mouth Bass that weighs more than 22 pounds and 4 ounces….AND break the World Record that has endured for 73 years now…you could be awarded up to $8 million in cash, prizes and countless endorsements depending on the type of tackle you are using.

And what ever became of that big o'FISH. The Perry family had a fish fry on Friday AND Saturday night. These were Depressions Times, by the way...

Now a photo, salvaged from the personal effects of a distant Perry relative, has been found - taunting naysayers who believe the fish wasn't as big as it was said to be, or perhaps wasn't a largemouth bass at all.

"There is no doubt in my mind it's the world-record bass," said Bill Baab, who retired from The Augusta Chronicle in 2000 after 35 years as its outdoors editor - and who helped authenticate the mysterious snapshot.

Baab knows plenty about Perry and his bass.

In a recent book, Forbes senior writer Monte Burke refers to Baab as "the world's leading authority on the story of George Perry's fish, and the story's most tenacious guardian."
The photo, likely taken near the post office and general store in Helena, Ga., was found by Waycross, Ga., resident Jerry Johnson while going through his late aunt's belongings.

"The aunt was a relative of Perry's," Baab said.

Johnson sent the photo to a Florida magazine editor, who in turn sent it to the International Game Fish Association, which ran the photo in its magazine, International Angler, fall 2005.

My new best friend!

His name is Barry...

Someone famous? Like - Barry Manilow or Barry White? Nope!

Barry Bonds? No way... especially if he breaks Henry's record (which he is likely to do soon).

I don't think I even personally know someone with the first (or last) name Barry.

The Barry that I met this morning is not human. But, he is a creation of God!

Tropical Storm Barry, the second name storm of the Atlantic Hurricane season is throwing moisture across Florida and southern Georgia. The rain began here around 3:30 this morning and has been steadily falling since. A slow, slight rain. The raindrop are small and quickly soaked up by the thristy earth. Offically, we only received 0.38" of rain for the entire month of May.

That sounds like such a small amount of water. Go ahead and turn on the facuet in the sink and measure out just over a 1/3 of an inch of water. Doesn't look like much, does it? But God can spread that much water over His land in just a short time...

43,560 sq feet in one acre of land

1 inch rain on 1 acre = 6,272,640 cu inches water

1 sq foot = 144 sq inches

1 acre = 6,272,640 sq inches

1 cu inch water = 0.004329005 gallons

1 acre - inch of water = 27,154 gallons

so our 0.38" for May = 10,319 gallons

Try running that much water from your kitchen sink!


It felt so good to have rain falling again, that we walked to the Beaver Pond this morning. Stopping by the tractor shed in the Tall Pines, we listened to the drops as they hit the tin roof.

We thank God and Praise Him for the rain this Morning. We have already received over 1/2" of rain this morning!!!

Rain drops falling on our front deck!

Cock-a-doodle-dooooooooo

Our fears became evident yesterday morning. We were enjoying sips from our coffee on the front deck as we listened to the birds welcoming the day. That's when we heard crowing from the goat/chicken pen. Oh, of course Marty and Mason were doing their thing - which usually starts about 5:30 a.m. And they are loud enough to be heard inside the house. Which is some feat, given their size compared to most roosters and the fact that the house is so well insulated.

The crowing we heard was a wee, faint "cock-a-doodle-doooo". And it was coming from one of the chick we got for our anniversary. The cute and fluffy yellow fuzz balls that came home with me on the 30th of March have never stopped eating.

They have grown to be larger than Mason - (not that difficult, given that Mason is a teeny Bantam).

We are faced with a dilemma. Do we built another apartment to the chicken pen for the budding roosters? OR. Do we try to find them new homes?

Hmmmmm, how much fencing do I have left over from the addition built when Sugar and Spice were babies???