Grandma's Chicken and Dumplings

           I was looking at the calendar the other day when I noticed that it was about time for what I call family reunion season to start.  Family reunions can be so much fun, you get to see family you haven’t seen in years and catch up.  But the one thing that all family reunions have in common is good food and lots of it.

            I went to family reunions years ago with my grandmother, and she always brought her famous chicken and dumplings.  I say famous because everyone in the family knew that she made the best.  Her pot of chicken and dumplings was usually empty before half the people got through the line. 

            There was one year, however, when I thought we were going to bring the pot home untouched.   You see, that year someone else tried their hand at making my grandmothers famed dish.    They even went so far as to place their pot of dumplings next to hers.  

            It didn’t take long before word got around that one of those pots was not my grandmother’s.  Half the family had gone through the line without as much as a sample of either one.  Nobody in the family wanted dumplings that were not made by my grandmother, and they had no way of knowing which pot was hers.  That was until my grandmother reached the dumplings.

            I don’t think she had any idea how many people were watching her when she reached for the spoon that was in her pot of dumplings.  If by some chance she did know, she covered it well. 

            After she helped herself to a hearty portion, the person directly behind her, one of her nephews as I recall, leaned over and whispered in her ear, “I made sure to get behind you when I got in line so I’d get your dumplings.”

            She turned around and gave him the smile she usually reserved for her grandchildren.  Her voice was full of joy when she said, “Well you just help yourself.”  He easily smiled back as he took the spoon she handed him. 

            Thinking back, after my grandmother handed him that spoon I don’t think it was out of anyone’s hand until the pot was empty, and even then several people went back to scrape the pot, including my great-grandmother. 

            Making Chicken and Dumplings was a labor of love to my grandmother.  She always made it from scratch and only used certain ingredients.  Never did she use chicken broth in a can or premade dumplings.  She always made the broth herself by boiling the largest hen she could find, (and it had to be a hen). 

            The dumplings she made were always rolled by hand until they were so thin you could see through them. To make it any other way would have been an insult to Southern tradition. 

            My grandmother was born and raised in the South and came from a generation steeped in Southern cooking tradition.  It’s sad to say but there are a lot of the cooking shows on TV today, and they have many people thinking that the only way you can cook is if you go to culinary school, and learn how to plate a dish.  I’m sorry; I don’t really care what the food looks like on a plate.  Food is to be eaten, not looked at and put on display.  

            Unfortunately as my grandmother got older it became harder and harder for her to make chicken and dumplings and in her last years she didn’t make them at all and it was sorely missed by everyone in the family.  I have tried several times to duplicate her recipe, and I have come close, very close.  

            There is an old saying always copied never duplicated.  That is definitely my grandmother’s chicken and dumplings.

A Blue ribbon Flag at the fair

            When I was twelve years old my mother taught me how to do something that many people today say is a talent-how to crochet.

            I never thought of it as a talent, and quite honestly, I still don’t.  I think of it as something I was taught to do, and I never really forgot.  I guess the closest thing I can think of to describing it is that it’s like riding a bicycle; once you learn you never really forget. 

             Since learning how to crochet, I have made many afghans,  but there is ones that I am especially proud of.  It’s an American flag afghan.  The reason I made it was to enter it into the Southeastern Agricultural Fair, that is held in Florence every year.

            I made American flag afghan’s in the past, but I was never really happy with the way some of them turned out.  One had too many holes, while another one was lopsided in shape.  I wanted this flag to be as close to perfect as I could get it.

            I spent weeks looking for what I considered the right shade of red, white and blue.   I could not find a flag pattern that I was happy with, so I combined several patterns that I already had and turned them into what I considered to be the right one. 

            It took me just over six months to finish my flag.  I remember looking at it with pride when my husband said something that made me realize the afghan was not finished.  He asked, “Do you know how it’s going to be displayed?”

            I have to admit I had no idea how the flag would be displayed.  I researched and discovered that the proper way to display the American flag is to have the star field in the upper left hand corner. 

            I had to make 50 more stars so that the blue on both sides of the flag would have stars on it.  This way no matter how the flag was displayed it would be right.

            Confident with my flag, I headed down to Florence to enter my afghan and several other items I had made for the Southeastern Agricultural Fair.  When I got there I had no idea how to enter my items because I had never done it before.  I spoke to several of the other participants that had entered items in previous years, and they told me what to do and assured me that it was not hard at all.  They were right, and after entering my items, I went home and told my husband, who responded with a smile, “You will win a Blue Ribbon.”

            My family and I went to the fair the coming weekend.  To be honest I was nervous.  A part of me wanted to see if I had a blue ribbon attached to the flag I had worked so hard to make, and another part of me didn’t want to see in the off chance that I did not have any ribbon at all on it.

            I walked to where the handmade goods were displayed, and at first I did not see my flag, and my heart sank.  Then as I walked a little further and spotted it.  There it was in display for everyone to see, and yes, my husband was right; I did win the blue ribbon.

            I don’t know who was happier, my husband or me.  It does not really matter; we both knew that when the fair was over and I brought the flag home, it would be placed in a special place in our home.

            And it is- my blue ribbon and my American flag afghan are the first thing you see when you walk through my front door.  Every time I look at it I am filled with pride as an American and at my accomplishment.  

            I have no idea what I can make that will top making the American flag.  I have considered making the state flag, but that will have to wait until next year. 

            I do know one thing.  Whatever I do make it will be something different and totally unpredictable. 

Dinner and a movie with Dad

           On my sixteenth birthday my dad and I started a birthday tradition.  He took me out for the dinner and movie of my choice and I did the same for him on his birthday.

            Sometimes the birthday meal was a trip to a steakhouse and sometimes it was at a buffet restaurant, one year it was a simple roast beef sandwich from a fast food restaurant.   It really wasn’t important where we ate, or what movie we were going to see.  The important thing was that this was a special time that was just me and my dad.   My birthday date with Dad whether it was my birthday or his was a day that I think both of us looked forward to year after year.

            When I got married several years ago and our traditional birthday dinner and a movie date seemed to fade away.  I always managed to take my dad out to eat for his birthday, but taking him out to see a movie somehow was forgotten of indefinitely delayed, especially after my daughter was born.

            This year is going to be different.  I am taking my dad out for his birthday and we are going to have a nice meal in whatever restaurant he wants to go to watch the movie of his choice. 

            It was no surprise that when I spoke to my dad several weeks before his birthday that he was quick to tell me what movie he wanted to see. “We’re going to see the Lone Ranger for my birthday this year aren’t we?” 

           There was a light in his eyes and in his voice when he said it, and I knew he was looking forward to it as much as I was.  I think he was glad that this year the movie that was our birthday tradition would not be forgotten like it has been the past few years.

            I really don’t know the reason why my dad likes the Lone Ranger the way that he does.  Maybe it’s the western theme that takes him back to his childhood or maybe it’s the story of the last ranger that survived an ambush, I don’t know, all I do know is that for as long as I can remember my dad has liked the Lone Ranger.   He even had a truck that he painted grey and had the words “The Lone Ranger” painted on the side.  I would not call him a diehard fan, I mean he does not have Lone Ranger memorabilia all over his house, but he does enjoy watching the classic television episodes with Clayton Moore in the role of The Lone Ranger and Jay Silverheels as Tonto.

             The Lone Ranger movie that came out this year over the Fourth of July weekend opened to mixed reviews.  The movie may be the best I’ve ever seen or it may be the worst I’ll ever see.  I really don’t know nor do I care.   The real reason I’m going to watch the movie is not because Johnny Depp is playing Tonto, and it’s not because it’s a Disney movie.            I’m going to watch the Lone Ranger movie with my dad because it’s what he wants to see on his birthday. 

            When I think about the Lone Ranger movie years from now I am not going to remember if it was a blockbuster at the box office or a flop.  I’m going to remember the wonderful birthday dinner and a movie date I had with my dad.  I am going to make a memory that I will be able to cherish for years to come, and I think that is a lot more important than what some Hollywood movie critic has to say about a movie that they aren’t impressed with. 

 

 

The Rainbow Bridge

Just this side of Heaven lies the Rainbow Bridge.

When a beloved pet dies, it goes to the rainbow bridge.  It makes friends with other animals and frolics over rolling hills and peaceful lush meadows of green.  They are as healthy and playful as we remember them in days gone by.

Together, the animals chase and play, but the day comes when a pet will suddenly stop and look into the distance…bright eyes intent, eager body quivering.  Suddenly recognizing you, your pet bounds quickly across the green fields and into your embrace.  You celebrate in joyous reunion.  You will never again separate.

Happy tears and kisses are warm and plentiful; your hands caress the face you missed.  You look into the loving eyes of your pet and know that you never really parted.  You realize that though out of sight, your love had been remembered.

You cross the bridge together, never to be parted again.

    

Clouds in the sky

some doctors lie, lie, lie

Some Doctors make me so mad. I know a man who was feeling bad. He went to the Dr and it was discovered that he had prostate cancer. He was told it was the early stages, he went through the normal things that people with cancer do, chemo radiation. Anyway after all that he was tested again and he trusted his doctor when the Doctor told him that he was cancer free. around five years later he went back for his checkup (he had been going all along once for a yearly cancer and overall health checkup) The doctor told him he was going to have to have surgery because the cancer was at an advanced stage. Not only that but he also told him that he was never really Cancer free. If he was never cancer free why on earth did the doctor tell him that he was. The doctor's reply, I told you that because the cancer levels were low.

My husband went to the same doctor because of shoulder pain the Doctor tells him, you are getting old, get used to it. My husband is in his mid 30's it should not be that bad. The pain did get so bad that he could not lift his arm so he decided he wanted another doctor to take a look at it. He did not want to accept the first doctors opinion. Well the other doctor discovered that he has a cyst in his shoulder that just so happens to be at a place that is causing him pain. That does not sound like old age to me. I think the first doctor just did not want to take care of his patient, he just wanted the person out of the office so he could move on to the next.

To some doctors it s a business, they forget that there are people involved. I think that some of the small town doctors assume that you will not go to another doctor, and the bad news is they are usually right.

Kim Kardashian, and her poop

I'm sure many of you have heard the expression that "They are so much better that everybody else that they think their shit doesn't stink" Well Kim's Shit does not stink because according to the article in Cosmo she does not do #2 (which everyone knows is poop) nor does she pass gas, she never has (according to the article). Well all I have to say is that must be why her butt is so big. All that shit, and gas has to go somewhere, because in all the pictures I've seen I've never seen a bag attached to her side where the shit would go if she could not get rid of it on her own out of her asshole. She really does think she's better than anyone else. I'd like to see someone take her down a peg or two and explain that if she can't shit, or pass gas she had a serious health issue. She must really be stupid and not know what poop, shit, whatever else she calls is.

If she does have a medical condition where she can not use the bathroom like normal people. I humbly apologize.