Wednesday, July 15, 2015

July 15, 2015

     As I told you yesterday, it was National Nude Day.  July 12th, was National Pecan Pie day.  It reminded me I've been trying to develop a Pecan Pie without using corn syrup.  I decided it would be a good time to work on that. 
     I replaced the corn syrup with maple syrup, brown sugar, heavy cream, and a tablespoon of molasses.  To tone down some of the sweetness, I made a layer of cream cheese, sugar and egg.  I got the idea from a recipe I used to make many years ago.  It was called Mystery Pecan Pie and I loved it, but I quit making it when I was diagnosed with diabetes.  What makes it a mystery is the way the ingredients are layered.
     I put the cream cheese layer in first, then chopped pecans, and then the syrup mixture.  When the pie was finished baking the syrup layer was on the bottom, the cream cheese second, and the pecans on the top.  It turned out beautifully, but it wasn't the traditional Pecan Pie.  I would have to call it My Surprise Maple Pecan Pie. 
     The complete recipe needs work, but hopefully I will be able to tweak it and add it to my collection of recipes for my Sweet Meadow Baptist Church Cookbook.  Producing a cookbook with recipes donated by the Sweet Meadow, Georgia citizens to raise money for the First Baptist Church, is a dream I plan to make come true.  I'm sure Bertie's next door neighbor, Barbie, would donate My Surprise Maple Pecan Pie recipe.  She tends to be surprising and mixed up.  LOL

Layers of the pie

My Surprise Maple Pecan Pie



Until later,
Dolores

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

JULY 14, 2015


     I like keeping up with what national day is being observed.  Well, today is National Nude Day.  With the heat index at 105 degrees and a grandson who wants to ride his bike, scooter, and drive the golf cart, I can understand why people would think it’s a good day to take your clothes off. 
     Of course, they certainly didn’t have me in mind when they started this day.  As the song goes, I just don’t look good naked anymore.  I think I am probably the only person on the face of the earth who puts on a robe to walk from the shower to my closet, which is a long stroll of about six feet.
     Not sure what we were thinking when we bought our camper because it has mirrors EVERYWHERE. 
     Richard loves telling the story of the first trip we made in the bus.  We picked it up from the dealer, and, early the next day, I had to be in Raleigh, North Carolina for a booksigning.  When we were almost there, we decided to stop in a rest area and sleep, and then go the rest of the way to the campground the next day.  
     Sometime during the night, I had a nightmare, and I woke Richard with a start.  He flipped on the light, jumped into his favorite Ninja position, ready to do battle with whatever had me screaming.  “What’s wrong?” he asked.
     I pointed to the huge mirror OVER THE BED and told him, “I thought I was being attacked by a naked sky diver.”  
     I wish I had a dollar for every time I've listened to him tell that story.  I’d be living on that island in the Bahamas I found on the Internet a few years ago.  I’d probably even be able to afford a hammock and a part-time cabana boy.
     Enjoy the rest of your day!
Until later,
Dolores

Friday, July 10, 2015

Our Home for 5 people for 4 weeks

     Just a quick Friday night note.  Here are a few pictures of the inside of our bus so you can see how 5 of us managed for the 4 weeks we were gone.  Several of my readers asked how we slept and basically survived in cramped quarters.  First of all, it's 45-ft. long.


     This is standing in the kitchen looking through the bathroom back to the bedroom.  On the left you can see part of the refrigerator, then the potty-room door.  The thing attached to the wall with the red cup on top of it is my fold down desk.  During the day, it stayed folded down, but after the boys and Richard went to bed, I closed the bedroom door and the door that separates the kitchen from the bathroom.  Then I set up my desk and wrote the blogs I posted pretty much every night.

     Here is a picture of the table folded out.  I'd put my laptop on it (which was stored in one of the bins above the desk) and set up a padded folding chair and write to my hearts content or SKYPE, depending on what kind of mood I was in.  LOL


       Here is a picture taken from the kitchen area facing the front of the bus.  The 3 bunks are on the left.  This was after we got home, so they are stripped of the linens.  Ty slept on the top, then Brody, then Drew on the bottom.  We added bars so they wouldn't roll out in case they fell asleep going down the road.  They had room at the foot of their bunk for Ipods and notebooks and things like that.  Temporarily, we took out the sofa.  So, the bunks didn't take up any more room then the sofa did.
     Yesterday, Richard took Brody to St. Augustine to visit with my dad.  For those of you who don't know, he is in a nursing home and is deeply suffering from dementia.  Somehow he always remembers my husband immediately.  Last week when I went to visit, he said he knew I was Dolores because I had a guest name tag on my chest.  Well, at least he can still read.
     Anyway, here's a picture of Dad and Brody.  Both are missing their teeth.  


Dad (88 years old)--Brody (7 years old)
Until next time,
Dolores

 

Sunday, July 5, 2015

July 7, 2015

    Many years ago, Dear Abby published a letter with an unknown author.  The things the letter said have stayed with me, but never more than in the past few years as I wake up every morning in all kinds of pain.
On a scale of 1-10, I usually have about 4.5 all day long.  I seldom take pain pills, so living with it is a fact of life.
     I don't say that for sympathy.  It is what it is, and I always just keep rolling.  I always say "A moving target is hard to hit."  :-)
     Anyway, enough of that, but here is a copy of the Dear Abby letter.  It makes me laugh.
Old Folks Are Worth A Fortune
     With silver in their hair, gold in their teeth, stones in their kidneys, lead in their feet and gas in their stomachs.
     I have become a lot more social with the passing of the years; some might even call me a frivolous old gal. I'm seeing five gentlemen every day.
     As soon as I wake, Will Power helps me get out of bed. Then I go to see John. Then Charley Horse comes along, and when he is here he takes a lot of my time and attention. When he leaves, Arthur Ritis shows up and stays the rest of the day. (He doesn't like to stay in one place very long, so he takes me from joint to joint.) After such a busy day, I'm really tired and glad to go to bed - with Ben Gay. What a life!
P.S. The preacher came to call the other day. He said that at my age, I should be thinking about the hereafter. I told him I do - all the time. No matter where I am - in the parlor, upstairs in the kitchen or down in the basement - I ask myself, "Now, what am I here after?"
     I'd like to leave you with this song a friend send me.  The main thought of the words says it all.  I'm still here. 

Until next time,
Dolores

Friday, July 3, 2015

July 3, 2015


Home again-home again, jiggity-jig

     Every time Richard and I return from one of our travels, I am faced with the worse part of the whole adventure.  UNPACKING AND CLEANING THE BUS.  There is something about being in the confined area with nowhere to run and nowhere to hide that makes me burst out the bus door and breathe Tison Road air.  Then I don’t want to go back into the bus.  I’ve tried yelling, “you can’t make me.”  But that doesn’t really work.
     Soooo, I do a little each day.  We totally take everything out of the bus including all refrigerator and freezer goods.  We leave no clothes in there.  No boxed or canned food.  So it is quite an ordeal to get everything out.  I pack things in boxes, bags, and baskets.  Richard carries it in and sets it on the dining room table, chairs and floor.      Then I get to unpack and put all that away and do any laundry not done while we were traveling.  I then take the baskets, etc. back to the bus the next day and refill them, all the while singing—I loaded 16 tons, and what do I get?  Another day older and deeper in debt.
     Over the years, I have learned that if we were gone four weeks, like we were this time, then it takes 4 days to clean out the bus.  
     Tomorrow will be day four, and true to form, I should be able to finish it up before 4 of the grandkids arrive for our mini- 4th of July celebration.  At least I hope I'll be done.  :-P 
     Several of you have asked how the 5 of us fit comfortably into the bus for 4 weeks.  I’ll take a few pictures after I get it all cleaned up and post them.
Long may it wave
     I want to wish all of you a very safe Fourth of July.  I hope your celebrations with friends and family brings you all the happiness in the world. 
Until next time,
Dolores