Relaxing Weekend......

First thing this morning, I make myself a cup of coffee, and BAM!  I spill the ENTIRE cup of coffee - all over the counter, the floor, and my nightgown.  What a way to start my Sunday!  Dominion discovered the he does not like coffee, I wish I could have seen the expression on his face after he tried a lick of it from the floor.  He just shook his head and walked right on off after trying a dab.  After my fiasco in the kitchen last weekend, would you take this as a sign that I should perhaps stay out of the kitchen today?  LOL  Too bad, I've got some more new recipes that my husband wants me to try, so I'll be cooking this afternoon.

We had a busy day yesterday - Clydie and I got outside early when it was still in the low 70's to trim the grass around the angel trumpets that run along our property line.  It was quite pleasant outside while we were out.  Then we went into town and had a late breakfast with Brian, and while he went to get his beard trimmed, Clydie and I went to Lowe's and looked at flowers.  She picked up a guara, and then she asked me what I wanted to put in the place of last year's Persian Shield.  Right when she said that, I spied some Persian Shield!  So we replaced the old with the same.   Persian Shield is usually an annual, but ours came back last summer.  I had hopes that it would come back this season, but alas it did not.  But now I have more!

We got home and I cut the grass in the front yard while Brian tinkered with his chainsaw (thank goodness for the riding mower!).  Ended up getting the backyard cut, too, and we went out to the garden afterwards and did some weeding.  There's more weeding to be done this afternoon, and then we're gonna lay down some newspapers in between the rows so that we can try to prevent more weeds from sprouting up.  Brian also used the weedeater to trim some of the wilderness on the outside of the fence (the empty lot next to our lot has a lot of brush and old shrubbery stuff that grows right up to our fence and he tries to cut it back every year so it doesn't overtake our fence). 

Today we'll also be treating the backyard with some spectracide, and Brian said he may get the weedeater out to do some more trimming on the outside of the fence.  I've got to spray myself down with bug spray before I go out there again, got yet another damn fly bite last night on my arm.  It's itching like a mo-fo this morning and the swelling has commenced.  Why am I so yummy to all the biting creatures?  lol

Okay a quick blurb on something I haven't mentioned in a while since I initially asked for prayers - the Friday before Mother's Day, my cousin's wife had some sort of brain bleed happen (I've been told it was a congenital issue but I don't know all the details). She had 2 open skull surgeries the first week she was in the hospital, and they were told to expect that she will remain in ICU for at least 60 days, and that her memory would have a lot of issues, and they just wouldn't know until more time had passed.  She was moved to rehab yesterday, after just 2 weeks in the hospital, and is walking with a walker, talking, flipping birds and dropping the f-bomb.  Looks like she's still in there and the road to recovery, while still likely a long one, seems to possibly be a shorter one than was expected.  Thanks to all of you who sent prayers and good vibes to the family for her. 

And on this Memorial Day weekend - please think of all those that gave their lives protecting our freedoms and our country.  It's not about the BBQ or the beach, folks.  But I have something extra to celebrate on Memorial Day this year - it's also my 7th wedding anniversary to the absolute love of my life!  Happy Anniversary Brian!  I love you!

Dangers at Casa de Buxton

My weekend started off with getting a bug bite on my face!  That just never happens to me, but it sure happened on Saturday. Clydie and I ran some errands, we returned home and were getting ready to open the front door, a damn biting fly BIT ME ON MY LEFT CHEEK.  I had hoped that I got it off my face before it bit me good, but alas I did not.  I have a bad history with these things, they bite me and the bitten area swells pretty bad.  I had one just below my elbow a couple weeks ago that made my whole forearm swell horribly and turn red.  Thankfully this bite on my face hasn't swollen too badly, and for some odd reason it has not itched as bad as the one on my arm.

Have I ever mentioned that I'm dangerous in the kitchen?  I'm a pretty good cook, but sometimes I have some really bad luck, or just get outright clumsy in the kitchen.  Saturday was one of those bad days.  I was making a new dish (yet another chicken enchilada recipe), and while the chicken was cooking I figured it would be a good time to run a knife through the sharpener.  I've done this countless times before, but for some reason I wasn't holding the sharpener correctly, and found out just how damn sharp the knife already was!  I raked it right across the top of my left birdie finger, just past my nail bed.  I threw the knife and the sharpener on the counter, grabbed a paper towel, and went to pout on my bed. 

After pouting for 10 minutes or so, I rummaged around to find a Band-aid and went to show Clydie my boo-boo.  It was still bleeding, so I clamped down on it again with my paper towel, and went looking for some gauze pads.  I know I have gauze pads in this house, with the amount of oral surgery that Steven and I have had over the past few years, and other wounds that we've had to bandage, but of course I couldn't find a single freaking gauze pad.  Clydie found one and we wrapped it around my finger and put a bandage over it, and I returned to the kitchen.

Oh and I almost cut a finger on my other hand with another knife that I tried using to cut the medical tape that I was going to use to further secure the gauze and bandage, so I just put the knives down, put a latex glove on the boo-boo hand, and chopped the onions in the food processor!  I finished cooking dinner, unloaded the dishwasher, loaded it up, washed what wouldn't fit, and then dinner was ready.

Sunday was a better kitchen day for me, I cooked fried lasagna, sauteed some cauliflower, and baked a chocolate chip cheesecake dessert.  Plus made some "tiger bark" for Brian.  I just kept trying to trip when it was bedtime, having trouble with our throw rugs and my actual feet.  Thankfully I didn't hurt myself!

I hope everyone else had a good weekend and managed to not hurt themselves!

Cinco de Mayo

Nothing special going on today for Cinco de Mayo.  We don't celebrate it, and we avoid Mexican restaurants like the plague on the "holiday".  Too damn crowded!  We're not even drinking tequila today.  Beer maybe, whiskey perhaps, but no tequila.  I don't even think we have tequila in our liquor cabinet.  Tequila has not been my friend ever since I turned 40.  TEN years ago!  OMG I can't believe it's been that long!


Last weekend we made an overnight trip to the lake to pick up the dining room furniture that my grandmother left for me.  It was a really quick trip, drove down Friday after work, Mom and my uncle cooked us breakfast Saturday morning, then we loaded up the trailer and headed back home.


Side note - I was surprised at how hard it was to be in Meme's house again.  The last time I'd been there was for her funeral last year.  Then I screwed up when talking to Brian and said "Mom and Meme are waiting for you to get ready for breakfast", and he said "Mom and who?" and smiled.  I lost it.  He was so sweet and so understanding.


Our original intention was to swing by the mower shop and pick up our tiller (Brian dropped it off a month ago to get it serviced and they were on a month long turnaround), but when we realized that we'd never make it back by the time they closed, Brian's brother Ricky came to the rescue and picked the tiller up for us.  It was waiting for us when we got home, 45 minutes after the shop closed for the weekend.  Thank you Ricky!


We unloaded the furniture into the garage, then rested for the afternoon.  We were pooped from the ride and the loading/unloading of things, and the furniture will be fine in the garage for now.


Sunday we got up and went to work in the backyard and garden.  Brian ran the weed-eater, and I used the push-mower with the bag on it to mow the garden space.  He had to weed-eat part of the garden because it had grown so high and thick, the mower wouldn't have been able to handle it.  Then Brian got the tiller going and tilled the garden up, raking out the leftover greenery, and tilling it again.  I clipped some of the blackberry vines and honeysuckle off the fence in the yard, and had to run inside periodically to work on laundry.


Brian got the garden tilled again on Monday, tilling in fertilizer, and having Steven rake out any leftover greenery, and Clydie and I went down Tuesday and got everything planted (except for the peppers which Brian finally got around to planting yesterday).  So, we have peppers (jalapeno), zucchini, yellow straightneck squash, 2 rows of Jackson wonder butterbeans, 2 rows of purple hull peas, 3 rows of zipper peas, some corn, cucumbers, beet seeds, and black eyed peas.  We put the corn in a block in the back corner (that area historically has gotten more water during rain and watering than the rest of the garden), and we have some half-rows that have the cucumbers, beet seeds, and black eyed peas planted.  I need to find something to label the rows with, so we'll remember where everything is located and what seeds are planted where.


I cannot wait til our stuff starts growing and producing!  I love picking peas and shelling and canning them.  I suppose next month we'll also be hitting the farmers market in Forest Park to get a few bushels of this or that to put away.


This weekend I'll be repotting some peppers that I've sprouted from seeds, and maybe some of the hibiscus that I've sprouted (the big dinner plate variety, bright orange and yellow blooms).  We've also got to get the rest of the jalapenos planted.  I'm hoping we'll get some of the scattered showers that are forecast for Georgia, but the radar didn't look too promising today.  It's been overcast all day, and a little breezy, so at least that's a plus.


I hope you all have a great weekend!

Mom's In Town!

Yay my momma is back in Georgia for a bit!  I spent the weekend with her, hanging out, eating, shopping, and steam-cleaning the carpet.  I had such a great time with her, and hope to do it again before she goes back to West Virginia.  We went through Meme's recipe box and found multiple recipes for Brunswick stew and tea cake cookies.  I copied a few of the stew recipes and fixed some for dinner tonight.  It was a hit with the family!  And I copied 4 of the tea cake cookie recipes, and will be trying one of them out this week.  I always loved Meme's tea cake cookies, and I'm hoping that the one I'm thinking it is, is the correct one.  We shall see!


I am up waaaay past my bedtime tonight.  Had to do the income taxes.  Yes, on the due date.  But they are done nonetheless.  (have I mentioned lately how much I hate and despise tax time?)  I still need to prep lunch for Brian for tomorrow, and I tend to prep the whole week for certain things, but I think tonight at this point I'm going to worry about tomorrow, and tomorrow I'll take care of the rest of the week.  Sound like a good plan to you?


Got my brows tinted last week, and have had several compliments on them.  Funny how people never noticed until I had them tinted.  LOL


I got my chariot back on Friday!  I was so happy to have my car back from the shop.  I forgot how great it felt to drive it!  :-)


I hope everyone has a great week!

The Latest and Not So Greatest

Wow, it's been almost 2 months since I last blogged.  Lots of things have been going on, nothing too major or life-changing, just the usual stuff here and there.  Here's some bullet points of happenings:

• Steven's 21 year old car crapped out on him in February, so he bought a new (to him) car - a 2013 Kia Rio.  He named it Blanca Del Rio.  (it's white)
• I've been sick with the crud since the middle of March.  2 shots of steroids, 3 shots of Rocephin, a prescription for Keflex, followed by 2 weeks of Levaquin (that I will finish this week), and I'm STILL coughing!  This shit is driving me NUTS!!!!!  But I'm sorta seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with this, the cough isn't nearly as deep, just an annoyance at this point.
• Got the aquarium stand built (thank you dear hubby!) and the tank set up and stocked with fishies.  We have an assortment - 2 Cory Cats called the Stray Cats, 2 Black Moors known as the Blues Brothers, 3 small comets known as the 3 Amigos, 4 Australian Rainbows aka the Baldwin Brothers, 2 gold fantail goldfish called Goldie & Kurt, and 4 angelfish - Charlie & his Angels.  They are so much fun to watch!  The Baldwin Brothers chase each other around, and sometimes Kurt & Goldie chase each other too.  Yes I know that they always say you should never mix goldfish with tropical fish, but I've always done it and never had an issue.  I'm also making sure to do partial water changes weekly, typically about 12 gallons or so.  Everyone is happy and healthy and beautiful!
• I was involved in a fender bender back on March 2.  I was at the front of a 3 car accident.  A 2005 Chevy pickup rear ended the 1985 Chevy that was behind me, and the old truck got pushed into my bumper.  We were sitting at a red light, so the truck behind me and I were both stopped.  As hard as that 2005 hit the 1985 truck, I don't believe he even hit his brakes.  Thankfully I was not injured, and while the damage to my car appeared minor, the original estimate for repairs has doubled + some.  I turned my car in last week for the repairs, and I have a rental for now, a 2017 Toyota Camry.  I LOVE my Nissan Maxima, but if I was in the market for a new car, I would consider a Camry.
• I went to a drag show last week.  One of my son's best friend did their debut act, and it was great!  But I know this - I'm TOO DAMN OLD to be out that late on a work night!  LOL

I'm sure that more has happened over these last 2 months, but those are the highlights.  I hope everyone is doing well, and I'm not going to promise to do better at blogging, it just is what it is.

Tough Day

Today's been a tough day for me.  I see my memories on Facebook, and the first one that hits me is my post about being with Meme a year ago, and it being so hard.  That was in reference to the last time I saw her before she passed.  Instant tears. 


So I've kept myself busy all day, took Steven to test drive a car this morning, and then Clydie and I went out and about, buying some wheat straw for the back yard, a couple rose bushes, dirt for the front flower bed, and a couple random things at Wal-Mart.  We got home and cleared the pine straw out of the front flower bed, added the dirt, and planted the roses.  This was in between me playing with the local kitty that Steven nicknamed Bucko, and assumed for some reason that it was a boy, but nope, Bucko is a girl!  Bucko also saved me from what I thought was a very tiny snake (and no, I didn't freak out and scream or run):

Yep, this thing is tiny - about 5 inches long.  After I dropped the bag of dirt near it and it didn't move, I looked at it closer and it had little tiny legs!



So my roses that we planted, one is a red orange, and the other is this pretty pinkish/mauve color.  I cannot wait until they grow and bloom!


We were also busy inside the house after finishing the flowerbed - we are in the process of setting up an aquarium upstairs, and had to move some furniture around.  I'm going to put it by the buffet in the dining area.  I also boxed up a bunch of glass stuff that had been on the buffet and another set of shelves.  It made the area look so much less cluttered than before!


Then after dinner tonight, I'm looking through Facebook and see a photo of someone that looked very familiar to me.  Turns out it was an old neighbor of mine from when I lived in Morrow, and he's in hospice due to cancer.  It's sad enough to think about that on top of Meme, but when I asked if he found love after his partner died several years ago, the answer was no, but that he was so looking forward to being with his love again upon his death.  That just broke my heart. 


Just a tough day emotionally. 


But one thing I think is for sure - Spring is here!

Humor in Genealogy

Recently I've been doing some research on my son's ancestors on his sperm donor's side.  Yes, we call him sperm donor (SD for short), as the terms "father" or "dad" really don't apply when it comes to that man.  And to provide a little more background information on the SD that will help make sense of something that will be said a few paragraphs down, he was quite delusional that he knew Mafia people, and had the ability to request favors of them. 


Anywho, SD has always claimed that he's more than half Cherokee Indian (CI for short), that his grandparents lived on the NC reservation, and he used to spend summers on the reservation with his grandfather.  I had never questioned these stories, as while I thought it would be neat for Steven to be linked to the Cherokee nation, it really never mattered a lot to me.  I was able to find SD's grandparents' (Steven's great grandparents) information, and nothing past them to try to prove anything one way or another. 


I recently joined a Cherokee genealogy Facebook page, and within 24 hours they were able to provide me with a little more information on SD's grandparents, as well as SD's great grandparents.  First of all, guess what?  WHITE.  Second?  Born, raised, lived, and died in GEORGIA.  No where near a reservation.  LOL  Again, Steven and I don't really care, it's just funny. 


I was reading through the info at the dinner table tonight regarding Steven's great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents, and we discovered that his great-great-grandfather reported on the 1940 census that he had no schooling, was a farmer, and had no earned income.  The info did state that he had other sources of income, and I wondered out loud what the other sources of income could be.  Without missing a beat, Steven said "the MAFIA!"  I. Freaking. Lost. It!