Back to me again. That’s me as a fairy I think, I’m not actually sure. That’s recycling my ballet costume adding a pretty mask and foil covered baton. Yes I’d guess it’s been a bit since I’d worn it given how short it is there… This is 1971. I remember I always wanted a custom made costume for Halloween. I don’t know what I thought the costumes I got for ballet and tap were for goodness sake! Any way I do remember when it was a cold Halloween I hated having to ruin my costume with a coat. Apparently this was a warm Halloween judging by those legs!
Okay this isn’t the best photo but the only one I could find that showed Mike’s surprise costume that year. Below the cut you’ll see Aaron’s bull fighter better. He was out posing for me when Mike came out in his bull one to take Aaron house to house. Yes if you look close it’s a shower curtain ring in his nose there and there are aluminum foil horns on the hat. Aaron was telling Mike to wait in the shadows that year. LOL! Again click below to see Aaron’s costume as well as his first one and one as a paleontologist the next year. (more…)
Okay 1969 must have been the year of boxed costumes for us. While I was in Tennessee being a cat that rarely wore her mask, Mike was in Ohio being a little devil. Lots I could say about that but lets just each fill that blank on our own shall we. Not much else I know or can say about this one so I’ll see you next Thursday with another Throwback Thursday Halloween Costume edition.
That’s me. See I always got cats more than dogs so much so I wanted to be one. That’s me about 1969. Yes remember those quality boxed costumes? This is one of them complete with the grey elastic that was stapled to the mask and always had to be repaired with that tying onto that staple? This is the only one where I was wearing the mask. (more…)
Okay ladies I know you’ve been wondering where the perfect man went. Well search no more, he’s mine! Mike, my soul mate and best friend, has a birthday today! I won’t say how old he is because age bothers him more than me. Suffice it say, he’s like a fine liquor and gets better with age.
If you know him or follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and such please stop by and wish him a great day. If you don’t but want to leave good wishes for the best husband ever – you can do it here. I’ll be reading them to him tonight as he opens presents and eats cake.
Why hello there! It’s been awhile since I’ve been here. Lots has happened and not so much has happened. I do have a good excuse as to why I’ve been gone.
First off Miss Mo my female kitty got worse. It was very sad. She died and we did discover that the issue was a fast developing spinal cancer. I still miss her very much. She was a very special girl.
Miss Mo at the Vet’s. She made a number of visits before the spine cancer took her.
Next Mike graduated another post-grad program in Norfolk. It was another trip there for a few days. I was very proud of him. While there we went to Colonial Williamsburg. I made lots of great picture. Yes I’ll do a very belated post about them.
Then there’s work. A few times we’ve had short staff for medical reasons, people moving, etc. At times I’ve work full time rather than part time to help out. I love what I do so I don’t mind. BUT for me it’s a side thing.
Finally my writer’s block broke. Yes I furiously wrote 41 chapters of a whole new story, 21 chapters on my Urban-fantasy with a rural setting, and about 12 on my steampunk novel. The muses were so demanding I’ve been cramming in writing where ever I could. Now my goal is to go to an event in Madison by their continuing education branch where I can do pitches to publishers and agents. Oh to get an agent! My focus will be on the whole new story and getting it prepped as that muse is the most demanding.
He’s a cadet now. He’ll be commissioned as an officer upon his graduation. This photo is from his graduation from basic earlier this year.
Aaron is doing well in college and in ROTC. He got a full scholarship in bio-chem from them. He loves having his own small apartment. No roommate problems that way. Being one who has to report to PT at 5:45 am with roommates who think 10:45 am classes are early can be difficult.
The holidays were nice. Our big present this year was a new furnace and boiler. Our 30+ year old one finally gave up the ghost. Heat is a must in Wisconsin and a new system isn’t free. So each time the radiators bang with a surge of new heat we wished each other a very Merry Christmas.
Did craft fairs again this fall and winter. They went very well. Now maybe I’ll make time to get an on-line shop up in 2014 along with a book agent and a few novels sold! Eh? why not dream big!
Mike and I took a vacation to Florida in the fall. Again we enjoyed an airboat tour. Also we managed to not go to a single amusement park. Did hit the beach though!
Wonderful airboat tour to ourselves!
Health wise 2013 was one of improvement. My 2012 surgery seems to have helped many issues. It’s a slow and gradual process getting healed and stabilized but well worth it. Sadly as you get older bouncing back from such things goes slower than I’d like.
Finally for Mike – he’s nearing the end of his Navy career and retire looms on the horizon. I don’t know what we’ll do with ourselves. We’ve spent all our relationship with our lives accommodating the Needs of the Navy first and foremost. Now, there will be no monthly drills, no 2 weeks or more of active duty, no call ups – just waiting until we need to collect retirement. However that might be pushed off another year or two if he can. Captain Mike loves his Navy.
Yep Blue is the leader and the cause of frequent screen repair in the summer. As you can see his brother hangs back to ensure all is well.
Our remaining pets the two Furry Boys – Red and Blue are facing problems of aging cats. Red has chronic kidney insufficiency. Blue had hyper thyroid. They both take medication regularly. They are healthy and happy but aging like the rest of us.
As for comics… Yes I’m still into them. Saw Thor The Dark World and enjoyed it. However I do agree Tom Hiddleston’s Loki got the best lines. Then again I’ve always enjoyed snark (sarcastic humor). As for reading – I am behind. As in a few short boxes behind not counting those I only get in digital form. So be patient with me, I’ve been writing more than reading. However if there’s an issue you really want to chat about – shout out to me and I’ll be sure to move that title to the top of the catch-up list.
I guess that gets everything caught up about me and mine. Hope you and yours are doing well, had a great holiday season and are looking forward to 2014.
There are traditions in areas of the country that don’t translate nationally. Just like there are words that are regional – a knit cap can be a toboggan, toque (my favorite word for it), bob hat, sock cap, tossle, cora cap, stocking hat, or beanie all depending on where you are in the US. I’ve enjoyed adopting various traditions of areas we have lived.
One that I was raised with was the tradition of black-eyed peas and hogs jowl for New Year’s Day meal. The tradition goes – if you keep count of how many black-eyed peas you eat that day each will turn into an extra dollar in your pocket the following year. Sadly, I could never keep count. Don’t freak out about hog jowl it’s just like a thick cut bacon. Honestly when I’ve needed a substitute living where that’s not a tradition I’ve gotten thick cut bacon and couldn’t tell the difference. So if you want you can do that.
Mike had no traditional New Year’s Day food. Only tradition he had was to mock the other tradition my family had – watching the Rose Parade. Since I’ve married him, I’ve never watched a parade on TV in peace. Still I could make the traditional dinner for New Year;s Day and we’d toast the year in with champagne back when we stayed up to midnight.
Then we moved to Charleston and the traditional New Year’s Day meal was expanded. There it was Hoppin’ John you ate. That’s black eyed peas, rice, and salted pork. Debb over at Sunshine Factor posted a great recipe for the traditional meal. This was a more flavorful way to do the tradition than just beans and bacon. So I adopted Hoppin’ John and tweaked it to be a bit healthier – used lean cuts of ham or turkey ham, upped the veggies and enjoyed getting the fiber of the peas.
Actually we’ve had Hoppin’ John every year since. We’ve introduced people to the tradition complete with the challenge of counting peas for dollars in the new year. I have to say even the skeptics walked away Hoppin’ John lovers. It’s a tasty dish, that just fills you up and has almost a comfort food effect. I think we might have started a new tradition in a few homes along our moves since Charleston.
Now Hoppin’ John is a beloved dish in the Low Country (Charleston area of South Carolina) much like She-Crab Soup and 7-Bean soup. It’s a warm meal and Charleston summers are very hot and humid (It’s said you shower in April and dry off in December). So making the beloved dish in the hot summer doesn’t suit. However, when we lived there the morning newspaper in Charleston (then they had two) solved the problem by posting a Hoppin’ John Salad recipe for the summer months -a cool tasty dish based on the beloved recipe. I make it every summer and we enjoy the heck out of it. It’s become a tradition at our house for cook outs in the summer months. Since Debb shared the basic Hoppin John I’ll share the salad…
HOPPIN’ JOHN SALAD
2 cans (14.5 oz each ) reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 cup uncooked long grain rice
1 can (15 to 16 oz) black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 cup diced red and/or yellow bell pepper
1 cup thinly sliced celery
3/4 cup thinly sliced scallions
1/2 cup herb or Italian vinaigrette salad dressing
In a medium saucepan, bring broth and 1/4 cup of water to a boil. Stir in the rice. Cover pan, reduce heat to medium-low and cook until rice is tender and all broth is absorbed, about 20 minutes.
In a very large mixing bowl combine black eyed peas, bell pepper, celery, and scallions. Add warm rice and vinaigrette. Stir gently to combine. Chill for 12 hours to allow for marination. Serve.
Yields 6 main dish servings or 10 side dish servings.
Now you’ve got two recipes for a New Year’s Tradition be you in a cold climate or a hot one. Let me tell you that Hoppin’ John has many variations – each home puts their own spin on the dish. The main core of it is a flavorful black eyed pea and rice dish usually with pork, but in some homes it’s not. I’d suggest taking the basic recipe to follow for the first time then add what you think would make it better for your family. True Southern Cooking isn’t about following recipes but instead about cooking flavorful dishes that vary from cook to cook. If you’ve ever been to a covered dish dinner south of the Mason Dixon you know what I’m talking about. There maybe four green beans there and each one is different and delicious. So customize! It’s expected. The recipe is only a starting guideline not an absolute this isn’t chemistry!
Now the question is how did it get its name? Honestly no one knows. The origin of the dish is American but there are strong African, French, and Caribbean roots to it. At least that’s what the food historians tell me and from tasting variations with pineapple and tomatoes in them I’d agree. Some forms definitely have a strong Creole flare. The tradition is the first man to hawk the dish in the streets of Charleston was a Freeman called Hoppin’ John due to his peg leg. Another tradition is that to share a meal the African family would tell you to Hop In and John is just the John Doe fill in for a name. Finally the last one I’ve heard is that children would hop around the table in anticipation of the tradition and to get the luck from it as it was served.
Ahh the luck – I’ve shared my family’s tradition of counting the beans. Another variation is to serve it with greens (Collard, mustard, turnip doesn’t matter) and the more you eat of greens with the beans the more greenback and coins you’ll get in the new year. Still another tradition that’s more toward Louisiana than South Carolina is placing a shiny dime in the dish. Whoever gets the dime in their serving gets the best luck in the New Year. No matter if you count beans, eat greens, hide a dime, or just eat Hoppin’ John it’s said to bring good luck for the year. So I figure what’s the harm the new year can use all the luck it can get and I love seasoned beans and rice!
Ours this year will be vegetarian but served with greens, cornbread, and thick cut bacon. Pictures will be posted at Flickr, G+ and thus feed to Twitter and Facebook. So keep an eye out for our good luck!
An ornament Aaron made for me when he was in elementary school.
Our holiday decorating has scaled back over the last few years. Trust me years ago when Aaron was little we went all OUT! I mean I even changed to Christmas themed dishes and no room in that large house was left undecorated! Today it’s a tree, maybe a bit more in the living room. No dishes are changed. Last year we even down sized our tree.
This year I came home from working the late shift to find the house decorated. I couldn’t lift, I couldn’t stretch so Mike it did all! I was thrilled. The lights were up outside and the tree was tastefully decorated inside with just a few of our most favorite ornaments. Having gone to a smaller tree less is needed to complete it.
So enjoy a tour of a few of our favorite pieces. Some maybe battered from years of use, others may not be perfect but they are to us.
Golden Violin – Aaron played the Violin for years this ornament was purchased to remember those times from elementary through high school.A wreath from preschool – do you see a theme developing here? Yep a gift from my son. He made it while in preschool.This Santa was on one of the presents Aaron got for his first Christmas.Couldn’t find a Wolvie one but Aaron liked Spidy so with great decorations comes great responsibility – Spidy guards our treeWhat Navy family’s tree isn’t complete witout a three masted schooner?I’ve not had a tuxedo kitty in my adult life but this one of several of my kitty ornaments. It’s a hand painted egg one from Russia. I like it very much and gives me hope that if the Cold War came to an end so can many other horrid things.
That’s it for this year’s tour. Next year I’ll highlight a few more. Until next time!
It’s hard to cook a 20lb turkey when you can only lift 10lbs. Also time on my feet was limited. I started by making the Broccoli Salad. It’s a layered salad that marinates for twenty-four hours in the fridge. After that my guys lived up to their promise and joined me in the kitchen. They were a great help in all the chopping to make the stuffing (I do stuffing with apples, veggies, sausage, nuts…). They were also the heavy pan lifters. Mike was the official Turkey Baker of the house. He did as well as I could.
There was a mix up about Thanksgiving dinner time so we didn’t conflict with Aaron’s obligations at Sara’s family. It was okay we went over for dessert at Sara’s house then came home to have our dinner. It all worked out just fine.
I liked having help so much that I’m going to make family preparation of the dinner a NEW family tradition. I’m all excited for it and gung-ho for next year. The guys don’t seem to be embracing it so much. I can’t see why they wouldn’t love it too instead of sleeping in while I cook or watching football while I cook they get to get up and be a part of the holiday preparations!
So here’s our day in photos:
My start on the broccoli salad.The start of a new family tradition or at least my sous chefs of 2012.The meal progresses…The guys goof off at the table. It’s my family tradition to take pictures of holiday table before anyone eats. We have 3 generations of them. However my group no longer does good china nor do we take it seriously any more.The final result – a wonderfully delicious plate!
Until next time! Hopefully the new tradition sticks – I’m sure they will come around to it.
Mary Louise Eklund 