Random Thoughts during the Banking Crisis

From: Rozanne

Date: February 19, 2010 4:40 AM EST

To: David & Thomas 

Subject: Re: Random thoughts

A Zebra was running on the expressway yesterday. He escaped from the circus at Phoenix Arena.

(First grade class yesterday waiting for counselor to come speak to class)  Me:  what does the counselor do?   Student:  She does what she does?

We have Las Vegas weather for a while. We will have a high of 60• tomorrow, and 55• today.

Teacher who doesn't want to teach today--I take the phone off the hook and don't return messages.

It's good everyone who's frustrated with the IRS doesn't fly a plane into one of it's buildings.   I'm also glad every professor who doesn't get tenure doesn't shoot and kill her coworkers.

I can't wait to see Ralph, the world's largest bunny, on The Early Show.  That's right up there with more about Tiger Woods' apology for adultery.  Who needs God, a 12 step program, therapy, priests and confession when you can call a press conference.  Guess it's a slow news day.

I wonder if I should call a press conference and publicly apologize on TV to my children for all my shortcomings as a mom and promise to be a better mom for the rest of my life.

Maybe today I'll start the Southbeach Diet and resume the battle of the bulge.

Thrill of the day--I take off the CPAP mask and get a cup of coffee in my new favorite cup.  I am not giving up coffee on the Southbeach Diet.

Q: What should I give up for Lent?  A:  skydiving; hiking in the dessert; trying out for American Idol, Biggest Loser, and Survivor; watching The Bachelor, Jerry Springer, and The 700 Club.  I hope that will be enough of a sacrifice.  :) 

Time to meditate and clear my mind of any other random thoughts left after sharing my random thoughts on cyber paper with my two sons.

Have a great day. love you much.

Mom

 On Feb 19, 2010, at 11:32 AM, Thomas wrote:

I don’t watch TV anymore, for months really. I think it’s uncreative. I do however have dreams similar to zebras walking down the street. Nice visual of the fish and zebras. Mom, I cancelled my Bank of America account. They screwed me for the last time. Now I’m going to devote a lot of photography to some of this.  I'm joining teams with a lawyer in town to combat them. They will eat themselves alive before it’s all over. As one of my friends says, its really Bank of India. She sends payments to them, Bank of America/India. Nothing has been returned yet. They are all crooked liars. They basically kept me on that day you and I went to the bank so they could raise the percent interest up a little more.

On Feb 19, 2010, at 11:57 AM, Rozanne wrote

Good for you. Did you get back with girl in Atlanta so she can follow up and see what happened?  She'll get something done;  she did for me but it took persistence.

Get pictures of the foreclosures in Las Vegas, interview the family, find out which bank foreclosed on them.  Document, document, document.  This is as important to history as the dust bowl, the depression, etc.  Maybe you can get an artists' grant to do your project.  I'm sure Henderson/Las Vegas has some kind of arts council.  There may be grants from national arts foundations. Google them and apply for a grant with all of them.  I had numerous grants from City and County to fund my poetry projects with kids in inner city schools and the elderly in nursing homes.  I even got a corporation to publish about 1000 copies of my book Windows back in the 70s.

  

The grants are out there and so is money from corporations.  

I bet small businesses in Las Vegas would support you at least $ 500 or maybe even $5000 as a tax write off.  Talk to the Chamber of Commerce! 

Understate by a photo and interview of what's really happening to ordinary people like you. Be sure and get a signed release for photo and interview.     

I think the economy is the biggest issue-- people going under by losing jobs, health bills, and credit card debt.  Start locally and move out.  In fact start with where you live.    

Mom

On Feb 19, 2010, at 12:45 PM, David wrote:

Yeah, I agree Thomas. NV is at the epicenter of a historical period. You're lucky to be there with talent to document.

Check out Walker Evans.

From: Rozanne

Date: February 19, 2010 1:52:33 PM EST

To: David & Thomas 

Subject: Re: Random thoughts

Yes, definitely Walker Evans. I think that's whom I meant when I said Edward Weston. Check out both of them.  You are definitely as good a photographer plus you have more technical equipment than they did.

I only had small grants, but it was enough to give me legitimacy so I could do my poetry projects. (maybe $700 or  $1000). I also got a grant from the council for intown neighborhoods and schools. This was all about the time of the custody junk-- I was the unstable artist.  David was in middle school and you were in elementary when I did the poetry in six or seven schools on my little bitty grants. It got me in the door as the city sponsored me.

You can do it, Thomas. At least you don't have two young children and a custody suit accusing you of being an unfit father. I was about your age when I did all that. David probably remembers more than you do.  I still have all the 100s of children's poems from that era during the child murders.  Also I have multiple photos and poems of the elderly in that period. I was quite prolific at the time, but soon I was in so much grief I only wrote about custody for years and abandoned my work with children and the elderly.  I bet David would help you write your first grant. Besides I bet he could write some grand haiku to go with your photos and interviews.

I think I told you for years I wanted to travel across country and live in shelters, interview folks, tale photos and write poems of folks who ends up in such dire circumstances.  Instead I've gone the incognito route substituting in schools.  Now I've lost the desire to go on the road. Do it now because this energy will not be there for long if you don't act on it.

Mom 

Chores on a Friday Morning

I. "Chores"

Watering houseplants with fertilizer,
inside the house and on the porch for the summer.
Putting dishes away from the dishwasher
and adding dirty dishes to the dishwasher.
Washing a large load of dish towels
that are now ready to go in the drier.
Some chores are so routine,
so much a part of your daily life
you almost do them on automatic
and often forget you even did them.
There have been times though
when chores are memorable,
as significant in my past as any
trip to Spain or San Francisco.
They mark a special time in our lives,

II. "Dishwashing"

The first time I washed dishes by myself.
I was five, standing on a stool
in the small kitchen in New Orleans.
I'm grown up I thought as I looked out the window.
Washing dishes by hand is something
many will rarely experience because of dishwashers,
but at our house, it was usually my job.
I'd learned in 7th grade home economics
there was a routine for successful dishwashing.
Glasses first, silverware, dishes, serving dishes
pots and pans--and always rinse in hot water.
I made my 1st tea towel in 7th grade,
huck toweling they called it
and quite pretty with all the needlework.
I later embroidered one for my Hope Chest.
I used them for years,
but now I have lots of tea towels
as I still call them, from everywhere
as well as the big flour sacks bought by the dozen.
I always washed the dishes on the farm,
and my granddaddy dried them.
He was a man of few words, but he listened well.
I know I must have told him so many secrets
during our clean up time at the kitchen sink
in the old farm house.

III.

1st draft unfinished.

Google Search: how to know what you're good at

Lost on the trail
somewhere in the weeds
no one's here but me.
I'm looking for the trail
and I miss the flower at my feet.
I miss the bird in the tree
and the clouds overhead in blue skies.
I'm obsessing on the trail.
Where is the trail?
I'm lost, I'll starve,
no one will miss me.
I cry I'll be lost in the woods forever.
Stop, breathe, enjoy just being me.
No where to go, no deadline for the trip.
Soon I'm enjoying sitting on a rock,
picking wildflowers and weaving them,
braiding them into a garland.

1st draft.

Sometimes I google a question.  I don't always get the answer I'm looking for, but it may get me to thinking about my own answer. For example, I may look up "best fabric for tea towels," "symptoms of  pneumonia," "why I feel bad today." 

Time for the Riverboat

Monday, May 2, 2011 at 2:10pm ·

The river is at 61.11 feet, 11:30 am, 5/02/2011. The highest ever was in 1937 at 59.50. Flood stage is 40 feet. The top protection of levee is 64 feet. There's no word yet when the Corp of Engineers will blow the levee. It takes 20 hours to fill pipes with the explosives, and they started yesterday. So it may be soon the Corp of Engineers blows a two mile wide hole and floods 130,000 acres of rich fertile farmland. As my cousin said we may raise catfish this year instead of soybeans. :)

Email today to older son:
Aren't you glad we own a farm in the spillway. You want me to fly you to Memphis and you rent a car to go to farm and make a documentary. The news has been overshadowed by tornadoes in AR and AL as well as Bin Laden. The flood, however, is beyond the great floods of 1927 and 1937.

It's a great documentary for you as it's been kind of a civil war between MO, IL, TN, KY. Also you've got the farmers vs the blacks in Cairo, land vs people. The small farmer is getting scarce anyway, and now the flood. People are worried about the faultline and if it'll trigger an earthquake. The MO appeal to stop the blowing of the levee at Cairo went all the way to the Supreme Court. However, the Royal Wedding, tornadoes, and Bin Ladin dominate the airwaves. Already yesterday's news about the levee is old news. It changes hourly. We're waiting to be flooded.

On May 2, 2011, at 12:45 PM, David wrote:

Wow, so it's already 2 feet above the record?


On May 2, 2011, at 12:43 PM, R wrote:

http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=pah&gage=ciri2&view=1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1&toggles=

• • R. We all thought that would be the president's message last night! :)

    May 2, 2011 at 2:37pm ·

Flight from Atlanta to Kansas City--November 30, 2011

Saturday, December 3, 2011 at 4:57pm ·

Though I may have had reservations about flying at this time after working on the film set of  “Flight,” by the time my neighbor dropped me off at the Marta Station, I rode the train to the airport, printed my boarding pass, went through security, rode the airport tram to the concourse and found my gate, I was well on my way to Kansas City with all thoughts of the movie behind me.  I was looking forward to seeing my sister with great anticipation and enthusiasm.  Our flight was on schedule, and we even left a few minutes early.  It was not a full plane, many empty seats on my 10:10 flight from Atlanta to Kansas City.  In fact, the man across the aisle from me had three seats all to himself, alternately sitting next to the window and then in the middle seat. 

My trip proceeds with the usual announcement about safety gear and our scheduled time of arrival.  The flight attendants proceed to first serve drinks and assorted chips and cookies to the first class passengers before serving the rest of us coffee and soft drinks and those crispy cookies.  I meanwhile glanced through the airline magazines in the back of the seat in front of me.  I ask myself, does anyone ever buy any of this stuff.  Some things were enormously expensive, and other things were so strange I couldn’t imagine anyone using them.  I was excited that the plane had Wi-Fi until I realized the cost for 15 minutes.  I decided against getting on my Mac to surf the net.  Unfortunately I hadn’t downloaded any movies to watch as I haven’t learned how to do that yet.  Also I wasn’t in the mood to write anything.

Unexpectedly, the flight attendant announced is there a doctor on board about the same time I noticed a young man staggering towards the front appearing to have a seizure.  At first no one got up, then the rather athletic large man across the aisle from me walked to the front.  I assumed he was a doctor and was answering the call.  I’ve watched too many episodes of “House” on TV.  “Dr. House to the rescue,” I thought to myself.  Soon after my neighbor across the aisle got to the front, the young man started walked from the front of the plane back to the beginning row of tourist class.  The flight attendant said to him, “Not that way, this way, and several people escorted him back to the front of the plane by the restroom.  The restroom door was held open so I couldn’t see much except several people were sitting on the floor.  I assumed they were restraining the man having the seizures. 

The pilot made an announcement to fasten our seat belts and put our seats in an upright position that we would be landing shortly for a medical emergency in Memphis.    Soon we arrived in Memphis.  My first guess is we would land in Nashville, but then I saw the Mississippi River winding all around.  With no further adieux we landed at the Memphis airport.  I didn’t see an ambulance but several police cars.  Then an ambulance pulled up as well as a fire truck.  We sat there quite a while until the young man was carried off the plane on a stretcher.  So I thought we’ll be going now.

The man across the aisle had returned to his seat and assured us the man was okay when someone asked, and that he worked with Jackson County Hospital,  the county to where I was headed.  I thought how helpful it was to have a doctor on board and wondered what the flight attendants would do if no medical personnel had come forward.  But then the flight attendant asked the man to come up to first class as the FBI and someone from the airlines wanted to talk with him.  At the time it seemed a bit extreme that the FBI would be talking to him about a medical emergency. 

I was reassured soon that all was well when our flight resumed to Kansas City.  We would be there in about an hour.  I was hoping my brother-in-law had checked ahead to see that the plane was delayed.  I had called my sister but only got her voicemail.  Soon we arrived.  I say soon, because I fell asleep for a short nap so it seemed like we’d only been flying ten minutes or so.  The flight attendants came around with drinks and snacks again that was quite hospitable I thought.  The second time around I had a coke and pretzels instead of coffee and a cookie.   So between my snack and my nap the time passed ever so quickly, and I was finally in Kansas City.

I was so glad to see my brother-in-law standing there to get me, I did not even notice the TV cameras around or that someone was interviewing the man across the aisle from me who had volunteered to help with the medical emergency.  All I knew to tell my brother-in-law was that there had been a medical emergency which is the same thing he had been told at the airline counter.  Nothing more was said about the flight the rest of the afternoon.  I was just sorry I was late, and he had to wait on me an hour.

The evening news here in Kansas City was a shocker.  There was my neighbor across the aisle being interviewed on TV.  What?  The young man who was having the seizure then tried to open the door at the front of the plane and the guy had to take him down in a chokehold and render him unconscious until we could land.  As it turned out my traveling neighbor was a sheriff’s deputy and an EMT.  He had hesitated to volunteer waiting for a doctor to offer his services.  Fortunately for those of us on the plane he was perfectly qualified to deal with this kind of person. 

Now the whole scenario made sense—the FBI, all the police cars, fire truck and ambulance, and the delay while they checked out the plane.  As I was listening to the news, I flashed back to my time on the set of “Flight” and began to feel quite fortunate that this guy didn’t open the door.  I’m not an aeronautics' expert, but I’d say opening a door would have caused an airline disaster midair and I wouldn’t be hear to write about it. 

My most striking memory of the incident is how calm everyone was--the flight attendants, the pilot, and the EMT/sheriff’s deputy.  Those on the plane mirrored their demeanor.  Maybe the only sound at all was the small child in front of me asking are we going now?  Up and down, up and down, are we there yet?  And her mom reassuring her “Almost.  It’ll be soon.”

What to Do with Leftover Collard Greens

Saturday, January 2, 2010 at 2:56pm · 

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Stuffed Collard Greens

(NYTimes, 01/02/2010)

By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN
If greens, raisins, nuts and grains of rice all symbolize prosperity, then you’ll do well to make this recipe for your New Year’s Eve party. Collard greens are great stuffing leaves; theyare large and easy to work with, and they can stand up to long simmering. The filling is a typical Greek dolmades filling.

1 large bunch collard greens (about 1 1/2 pounds), stemmed

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 large red or yellow onion, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, green shoots removed, minced

Salt to taste

1 teaspoon sugar

3/4 cup rice, either medium-grain or basmati, rinsed well in several changes of water

2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup lightly toasted pine nuts (to taste)

1 14-ounce can chopped tomatoes, drained (retain juice)

2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup currants or dark raisins (to taste)

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground allspice berries

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 1/4 cups water

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

Juice of 1 lemon

1 lemon, sliced thin (optional)

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil while you carefully stem the collard greens, trying to keep the leaves intact. Fill a bowl with ice water. When the water comes to a boil, salt generously and add the collard leaves in batches. Blanch two minutes and transfer to the ice water. Drain, gently squeeze out excess water and set aside.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat in a large lidded skillet, and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, about five minutes. Add the garlic, salt and sugar, and cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, about a minute. Add the rice and pine nuts, and stir together until the rice is coated with oil. Stir in the tomatoes, currants, cinnamon, allspice and salt and pepper to taste. Stir together, and add 1 cup water or enough to barely cover the rice. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer until all of the liquid has been absorbed, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat. Allow to sit for 10 minutes without disturbing. Stir in the mint and dill.

3. Oil a wide, deep, lidded sauté pan or saucepan with olive oil. To fill the leaves, place one on your work surface, vein side up and with the stem end facing you. The leaf may have a big space in the middle where you stemmed it; if so, pull the two sides of the leaf in towards each other and overlap them slightly. Place about 1 level tablespoon of filling on the bottom center of each leaf. Fold the sides over, then roll up tightly, tucking in the sides as you go. Place seam side down in the pan, fitting the stuffed leaves in snug layers. Drizzle on the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, and pour on the lemon juice. Barely cover with water, and top with a layer of lemon slices.

4. Cover the stuffed leaves with a round of parchment paper, and place a plate over the paper to weight them during cooking. This will keep them from opening. Bring to a simmer, cover and simmer over low heat for 45 minutes to an hour until the leaves are tender. Remove from the heat, and carefully remove the dolmades from the water with a slotted spoon or tongs. Allow to drain on a rack set over a sheet pan. Serve warm or cold.

Yield: About two dozen stuffed leaves.

Advance preparation: These keep well for three or four days in the refrigerator.

Martha Rose Shulman can be reached at martha-rose-shulman.com.

Saving at the Grocery Store

Friday, March 19, 2010 at 6:30pm ·

Sometimes I just don't feel like using coupons. Today, however, I saved $34.33 and another $7.81 with the Kroger card. Okay it was $10.20 from the Slimfast recall, $5.99 from Cascade because the gel dishwasher soap froze in shipping causing it to crystslize. Then $3.48 senior discount, $4.00 off by buying any 8 of marked items not just 8 of one brand (I got Cokes, Sargento cheese, Birds Eye vegetables and they were already on sale without the 8 special). The coupons and kroger card took care of rest of savings.if I wereore organized I could probably shop for free.

• • 
    

Bird on the Porch in Summer

Tuesday, July 6, 2010 at 2:51pm · 

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I have become a bird watcher. A small bird, perhaps a sparrow, built a nest in the spider fern on the backporch. The four eggs have now hatched into baby birds. The mother has a ritual she follows each tine she goes to nest she follows same procedure: bush, plant on porch, nest, wind chimes, another bush. She chirps at nest; then wnen to final bush, she chirps, then sings, chirps a different kind of chirp more like locusts. Then she disappers until she does the whole thing over again.

Insurance Dilemma for Us Old Folks

Friday, August 27, 2010 at 2:14pm 

· 

I'm at home obsessing about why the union is going to force anyone over 65 to have their insurance coverage as primary even though it will roughly cost $500 more a quarter for adquate coverage.  Medicare will be secondary.  You can hardly say I work full-time in the film industry,  This is most disconcerting as I don't want to go from one coverage to another every quarter.  It's a full-time job changing anything with medicare and the supplements.  Besides, I haven't forgotten that my insurance was cancelled two years ago two weeks before my 65th birthday and I had to scramble to get coverage from Medicare B and supplements.  I went two months with no coverage but Medicare A.  Surely there is a good use for these obsessions .  Maybe I should start a company, "I will make all your Medicare and insurance calls."

Flu Shot and More

Thursday, October 21, 2010 at 9:02pm ·

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Hello world, I had my flu shot last Monday (2010) in case you were wondering.   I was immunized against whooping cough and diptheria in 1943 and small pox in 1948.  Oh yes, and I had mumps in 1946, chickenpox in 1948, then measles with complications of pneumonia in 1949.  Along with all the children in America, in 1949 I had my tonsils and adenoids removed.    I forgot to ask my doctor on Monday if I needed any boosters in 2010.  I surely don't want whooping cough in 2010! Oh yes, and I weighed 102 when I was 16.  Thank you, Mom, for the detailed baby book except you forgot to record the polio shot and the time I had scarletina in 1949.  I'm sure it's in one of the other three or four baby books you made for me.  I am glad to know I had no ill effects from swallowing a bobby pin in 1956  before they had rubber tips on the end, back when we curled my wet hair with bobby pins. Gee,  what  would my life have been had I had whooping cough in 1947?  Sincerely, An American survivor of childhood diseases

PS  I had German Measles when I was 25 and pregnant before the German measles vaccine.

Miss America

Saturday, January 15, 2011 at 10:39pm ·

It's amazing Miss America is still around after all these years with a few changes such as bikinis, now in Las Vegas and in January instead of September. In college when we first got back to our dorm in September, you'd hear the tv in the living room with the Miss America pageant on and lots of young girls and their dates watching it or you'd be there watching it too. Back then no one had a tv in their rooms so we all watched the same tv programs from Miss America to the assasination of.President John Kennedy.

I.once met a Miss America though I didn't know that at the time. She was a neighbor and brought me some homemade jam. We chatted a bit, and I remember asking her what she did with her time. She replied that she had four children, and they kept her busy. I had a five year old and a new baby so I guess I was having one of those days where I was seriously wondering if I'd have a life beyond diapers. I wish she'd told me about her background as a pianist, but maybe those were years she had put it aside as I too was doing. Neither did she mention her past as Miss America of 1953. She was just another mom raising her kids in Macon, Georgia bringing a new neighbor jam.

• • Who would have thought, Miss Nebraska was wearing a wig. Maybe they all were, ordered from Florida.

    January 16, 2011 at 12:27pm

Road Hazard

Saturday, January 22, 2011 at 8:39pm ·

ME: Excuse me (to the woman who is standing across from her husband in the aisle at Kroger both leaving no room for someone to get by.)

WOMAN: Why don't you back up and go that way (pointing to the far end of the aisle from where I've just come.

ME: Because Im going this way (no emotion or voice inflection, pointing the way my buggy was facing almost at the end of the aisle after all the salad dressings and condiments.

She moves to open up a passageway in the aisle so I proceed just around the corner to finish shopping.)

OTHER CUSTOMER (behind me): A little friendliness would be nice.

WOMAN: Isn't that the truth.! She was so rude.

OTHER CUSTOMER: I meant you, honey. You were so rude.

(Her husband never says a word.

• • 
    

Desserts for Teachers

Friday, February 11, 2011 at 4:49pm ·

A room full of fabulous desserts at school, Teacher Appreciation Day! I managed to work a few berries and a small piece of gourmet dark chocolate into my Southbeach Diet plan. I am still thinking about all those beautiful desserts I left behind though, free at that. But do I really want to trade my 11 lbs weight loss the past 3 weeks for that beautiful piece of chocolate cake, pie, cookies, mousse, cheescake, candy and so on?  Maybe! Wait a minute, the doctor just called and said my cholesterol is now perfect.  Okay, no, no, no sweets today. The joy of being nearly 70!

The River

Saturday, April 30, 2011 at 2:08am ·

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I can't stop thinking about the rising water of the Mississippe River at Cairo, IL. The engineers will breach the levee within a few days if water gets much higher. There's mandatory evacuation of the spillway now. Our farm isn't far from the levee and is in the spillway on the Missouri side. I just can't conceive of the farm that's been there my whole life possibly being underwater. It holds memories of a lifetime from blackberries and chickens to the hayloft and chiggers. The barn was taken down, the house burned, grandparents, aunts and uncles deceased. It's just my sister and the cousins and the land now. I guess I will say a few prayers this weekend, especially for Cousin Joe who now farms the land for us.

• • That's amazing. Out farm is in the spillway not far from Cairo. My cousin farms the land--soybeans, Milo, sometimes corn or wheat. It's very fertile land. I don't know what the flooding will bring for the future of our far...See More
    

    May 1, 2011 at 11:39pm ·
  • 
    

    ‎60.4 ft. So it's almost at 60.5 which i think is when they blow the hole. I read it takes 20 hours for the whole process of breaching the levee. Sad day for the family farm.

    May 2, 2011 at 12:11am ·
• 
  

My New Favorite Breakfast: Homemade Granola

Thursday, June 2, 2011 at 7:55am ·

Notice your Grandmother and Great Grandmother would have known these ingredients:

100% whole grain oats

Untoasted wheat germ

Honey

Cinnamon, vanilla

Brown sugar or sweetner

Baking spray or a little oil

A pinch of salt

Raisins, nuts (optional)

I make it a cup at a time for one person with a cup of oats and couple of T. of wheat germ. It is tastier with brown sugar, but I also may use sweetner instead. I just use enough honey and spray (or oil) to bind it somewhat. I add cinnamon, vanilla, salt to taste. Probably it would be crispier in the oven, but I use my toaster oven like I were making toast. So far I haven't added raisins or nuts because I'm out of them, and this is a NEW favorite this week. It's cheap to make if you have a huge box of oats and large jar of honey, compared to the price of premixed granola. The best part there are no miscellaneous ingredients I've never heard of. If I had more than one to cook for, I might make it 7 cups of oats at a time and bake in 350* oven till crispy . It is fabulous sprinkled in 1/2 cup yogurt with a cup of hot coffee.

"Two and a Half Men"

Tuesday, September 20, 2011 at 11:13am 

I haven't read reviews, but I don't think Ashton and Jon have the chemistry Charlie and Jon did on "Two and a Half Men." I think it went too over-the-top with Charlie's character's funeral. Even at the worst of people there is some reverence at a funeral. I felt it was Ashton playing Charlie with plays for cheap laughs like Ashton's nudity and Charlie's ashes flying through the living room. I am probably the only "tv critic" that was disappointed in their opening show. Better luck next time guys.

My Help

Monday, September 26, 2011 at 4:05pm

My one luxury, seriously, would be help with the lawn.  Now my help comes to the front door though my 1930s home does have a doorbell at the backdoor for the help and a toilet in the basement with a separate stairwell entrance. Only until recently, my help called me Ms. Rozanne, and finally it hit me they don't need to do that anymore.  I know I could rake the leaves and clean up the entire yard; but with a little help, it makes spring and fall so much more manageable.

For instance, today, I couldn't have gotten along without them.   Last Friday I managed to move with my car a large boulder from the side of the driveway to a foot or two to in front of the mailbox!  It's part of the rock garden previous owners from the 40s or 50s had created.  My help put the rock out of the way, almost back to its original position.  There were a couple of hanging dead branches from the tree that my help could pull down with a quick jump.  

I must say, having grown up as the granddaughter of farmers, I feel ashamed having help in the yard, especially when my grandmother had a garden the size of my lot, plus several plum trees, grape and blackberry vines, and persimmons and pecans in the woods. My daddy did his own yard work, a garden of tomatoes, roses and sunflowers till the summer before his death at nearly 90.  

That doesn't mean there isn't still plenty for me to do after my help leave.  For instance, when do you fertilize the grass and trees?  I still don't remember even having had many generations of farmers in the family, from Iowa to Oklahoma and most states in between.  I do know when to prune things or when not to prune.  I have found though that eleagnus shrubs can be pruned 24/7, and they will still grow back the next day.  They are good for the tiny white flowers that smell delicious, and the birds loves the berries, otherwise, they are like kudzu.   As for gardenias, I have learned never to plant them in front of a window as they like to grow as tall and wide as they can.  Sometimes, I hear them scream when I cut back their branches, "I'll show you, there will be no more flowers this summer or next spring!"   Now why I planted a dozen red-tipped photinia shrubs on the side of the house, I'll never know.  You have to be careful pruning them and only at certain times or they will get black spot.  Also they like the reign of the place to grow as tall as possible.  Oh I remember why I planted them.  The previous neighbors took down my chain link fence.  So instead of another fence I planted shrubbery.   

Lest you think I am a gardener with a green thumb, I only do well with some house plants and shrubbery; but as for tomatoes and things you might eat, I have given up.  I seriously don't even attempt to plant edible plants as I've had such bad luck.  I know Cousin Joe is disappointed I'm not carrying on the family tradition of a garden. For sure, we are glad he is farming the Missouri farm instead of me or we'd be raising eleagnus and privet that grows wild.  

So now you know why I have help with the yard.  However, if there are any single men out there that love gardening, I might consider it a match made in heaven, sight unseen.  I do have a confession though.  It's not that I can't grow a garden, as I have been know to grow roses the size of peonies, but they were so much work, like having children to raise.  I grew colias waist high in Macon to where they literally made shrubs by the walkway.  However, I have this mental block against growing edible plants, like there is something magic about growing food that I could never learn to do.  Maybe I need to ask my help to grow me a garden and let me rake the leaves.  

I will continue more on "My Help" later.  I do need a good housekeeper if anyone would like to apply.   I can think of a few teachers who are awesome at organizing things that I would love to apply for the job or my niece.  In the meantime, Messy Bessy will just have to take care of the inside.  However, I would like to do my part for unemployment and hire more help.  The alternative is always there:  downsize to a very small condo or move to assisted living.  Things to contemplate these days, but just not yet!

Christmas Cactus

Another kitchen window over my sink where I root more plants, Aug, 2009

One of my kitchen windows over my sink where I root plants, Aug, 2009

Help yourself.

• The Christmas cacti plants died in August 2012.

Great Recipe from www.cookscountrytv.com

Saturday, October 22, 2011 at 2:05pm · 

Crispy Baked Potato Fans   April/May 2008

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:

This stunning potato dish delivers a fluffy interior, a crisp exterior, and a cheesy bread crumb topping—if you can get the potatoes cooked right. For our Crispy Baked Potato Fans recipe, we found that using the right kind of potato is key. The russet, or Idaho, potato was the best choice because of its starchy flesh and fluffy texture. Taking the time to rinse the potatoes of surface starch after they were sliced prevented them from sticking together, while trimming off the end of each potato gave the remaining slices room to fan out. To prevent overcooking our spuds in the punishing oven heat, we precooked them in the microwave before baking. A topping of fresh bread crumbs, melted butter, two kinds of cheese, garlic powder, and paprika is the crowning touch on our Crispy Baked Potato Fans. As a final step in our Crispy Baked Potato Fans recipe, we broiled the potatoes to make the topping extra-crunchy.

• • 
    

Apple Pie

Saturday, October 22, 2011 at 7:13pm ·

I made a fresh apple pie this afternoon from some apples one of my piano students had picked for me at an orchard.  After all these years, I must confess I have rarely made an apple pie that I can remember.  I don't know why as I love apple pie.  It can't be easier to make than following the recipe on the tapioca box.  I don't know though, one person and an apple pie probably is not the best tonic for lowering my blood pressure and cholesterol; but I so enjoyed baking a pie.  You'd think it would have been a regular dessert all those years, but no, not at all.

I still remember the first pie I made after I got married, Grandmother's recipe for custard pie.  The second pie I made was Grandmother's recipe for pecan pie.  Other than pumpkin pie, those are about the only pies I made from scratch.  I don't know if making instant pudding for pie counts as homemade pie.  Any way, I hope this doesn't mean I'm any less American because of my confession of ignoring baking apple pie most of my life. Usually I'd opt out for something I thought easier like Ozark pudding made with apples or just a baked apple with cinnamon.  The thing is, there is nothing easier than baking an apple pie.  It is possibly a little more difficult if you make the crust from scratch.  Another confession, though I know how to make pie crust from scratch, I rarely do.  A frozen pie crust is too simple and quick.  Besides if I don't see the shortening I can convince myself there isn't any in the crust.  

Probably these days, I should be satisfied with a fresh apple and forgo the apple pie, tasty as it might be.  The only thing that might have made this pie any better would have been Granny Smith apples and homemade crust.  It makes me wonder though as I talk about it why apple pie is so "American."  You know the expression "as American as apple pie."  However, for some of us over 65 and in the BP squad, we should change that slogan to "as American as a fresh apple."  In the meantime, I will enjoy my apple pie; and if you are in the neighborhood, please stop by for a slice.

Our Secrets

Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 3:29pm

People in the waiting room, waiting for a procedure.

Strangers to me except for why we’re here.  Radiology.

The “Doctors” are on two of the TV’s.

Patients sit quietly reading and a few listen

to the monotone volume of the ABC program.

Cell phones and iPads, magazines and books.

A mother with a set of twins in a stroller,

an older man with a walker,

and a black woman wears her Sunday hat with feathers.

I’m drinking coffee and waiting,

it’s just a routine ultrasound. 

I felt a chill today as I walked through the door

of the Winship Cancer Institute at Emory.

We never know if we’ll be the same person

when we leave.  Here they find the secrets of our body,

secrets I myself don’t even know.

Names are called one by one,

like roll call at school when we were children—

Ms. Williams, Smith, Jones, Pascal. . . .  

I sip my coffee, waiting.  It’s so delicious.

Mr. Owen, Mr. Owen, Mr. Owen.

The “Doctors” close, the credits roll by,

and it’s time for “The View,” just like at home

but yet so different in the waiting room.

A young woman comes by with chips, popcorn,

peanuts, crackers and peanut butter.  I take some popcorn.

I could be right at home except for that recurrent thought,

“What if this time it’s different, and they find something.”

They call my name,

• • I'm in perfect shape, and it is a blessing as I've had friends and family not always so lucky. Great health for soon to be 69 years old.

    February 15 at 6:03pm