Tag Archives: Family Life

Chow Chow Memories

31 Jul

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I'm a winner

 

As I was scrolling through Facebook this week, I came across a recipe for Hot Chow Chow Party Dip. That made me think of all the chow chow I have eaten in my life. Many of my aunts made it every year and I remember tales of hands being irritated from all the hot pepper they chopped up. Usually when they came to visit us in Florida or we visited them in North Carolina, someone would share a couple of jars of their latest batch. So, needless to say, I will be trying out this recipe but I won’t have any homemade chow chow to use. If you still make homemade chow chow, I would love to read your recipe!

chow chow copy

 

Chow Chow Party Dip

 

Ingredients

– 1/2 C Foods of the Smokies Hot Chow Chow (Or any brand you can find)

– 8 oz. softened Cream Cheese

– 1/4 C Mayonnaise

– 1 t Celery Seeds

– 1 t Garlic Pepper or Garlic

– 1/2 t Paprika (optional)

 

Directions: Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate at least one hour. Serve with you favorite crackers, chips, or vegetables.

 

Recipe courtesy Sabrina Dickson, Alabama

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My Western Trip~Part 13

30 Jul

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Bill Small Red Plane

I started out early the next day so I could stop at the Timpa R/C Model Airfield to see what kind of planes they might be flying. There was a small crowd as the winds had been blowing fairly hard the day before and the weather man had forecasted more of the same. The Timpa R/C site is located on 160 acres of unobstructed land for radio control airplane and helicopter flying, with a 750’ paved runway, paved run-up area and covered assembly area with tables. It was one of the nicest R/C sites I have seen in a long time. The club members were very cordial and I got some great photos of them and their planes.

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My next stop was to visit the CAF Arizona Airbase Museum in Mesa, AZ. This was a very enjoyable visit, as the museum had a great collection of well-restored aircraft including the only Grumman AF-2S Guardian I had ever seen. The Guardian was a huge aircraft and I couldn’t believe it was carrier rated back when U.S. carriers only had smaller straight flight decks. The plane was in their restoration hanger in the final stages of preparation for its first post restoration flight test.

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The Wings of Flight Museum was on the other side of the Falcon Field Airport, so I hitched a ride with one of the local FBO fueling employees in his electric cart. Wings of Flight turned out to be a private aerobatic team that hires out for airshows and other aviation events mainly in the immediate Arizona area. Two of the pilots were taking a break from an aircraft inspection and invited me to join them for a cup of coffee. They told me about how their eight-plane business had gotten started with just two of them, and how it just kept on growing. They didn’t seem to be in any kind of a hurry and could have talked to me all day if I had wanted to. They seemed like a really great bunch of guys, doing what they all loved to do – fly.

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Next, I headed to Peoria, AZ to visit the Challenger Space Center that actually turned out to be a children’s learning center. So I headed down the road to Chandler, AZ to visit the Rawhide Western Town. This was a smaller version of Tombstone, but was more about attractions and a Steakhouse than anything else. When the street barkers started calling for people to head for the O.K. Corral shootout show, the whole place became deserted, and I left. Somewhere on one of the smaller roads on my way to or from the Rawhide Western Town, a Roadrunner ran across the road in front of my car, and I was instantly transported back to when I was much younger, driving on a two-lane road somewhere in New Mexico, where it was a common sight to see Roadrunners run from one side of the road to the other. What a thrill that was!   By the time I got back into Phoenix, and found the Wingspan Air Museum, they were closed. So I stopped and had a delicious Fuddruckers ¼-pound BBQ Burger and Raspberry Ice Tea, after which i went to the motel for some rest and TV.

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—–To Be Continued—–

 

 

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The Butterfly Effect

28 Jul

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Author, Poet and ArtistHave you ever heard of the butterfly effect? (with reference to chaos theory) It’s the notion that a butterfly fluttering in Rio de Janeiro could change the weather in Chicago. In other words small actions can have big results.

Last night, Nan’s mom and I went to the fifth grade chorus performance at her school. Nan had invited me and I usually tell her mom I’ll pick her up, but this time, I put it on the calendar and forgot about it until practically the last minute. I jumped in the car and ran over there and Nan’s Daddy was doing some computer work. He sat and talked to me about his hopes and dreams for the children. He and his wife are having their fifth child in a few months. They’ve really spread them out. The first one (a boy) was born about twenty-four years ago. Dad was hoping for a boy this time because boys are easier to raise. I said I was hoping for a girl, ‘cause I think girls are easier. It was none of my business, though. Instead of arguing, he said maybe a girl would be best. I wasn’t trying to persuade him. He said Nan and her mom would probably enjoy a girl since their other daughter is grown and gone. It seemed as if that short positive conversation opened a new thought for him – the flutter of a butterfly’s wing.

When the mom and I got to the concert, we sat down front so Nan could see us when she went by. Every kid in the group wore black pants, a white shirt, a turquoise satin cummerbund, and a matching bow tie. Nan gave us a big smile and a wave.

While we waited for the concert to begin, Nan’s mother said she didn’t think she’d put Nan in chorus next year. I had envisioned a whole string of years of chorus and all the friends, trips, and new experiences they would entail for Nan, plus thinking about how singing and playing music is for people. Again none of my business. But Mom wanted to talk so I ventured a question about whether Nan wanted to go to chorus next year. She said she’d ask her. That gave me freedom to tell how much our children enjoyed music in school and what a nice bunch of kids they met. I wanted a little to persuade this time. When I said they got to go on trips and do fun things, that clinched it. “She can go if she wants to,” Mom said.

Upon such small encounters, ones we’re not even looking for, lives can drastically change — the flutter of butterfly wings.

Here’s my paraphrase of Hebrews 10:24

Don’t give up the habit of meeting together with one another. Be concerned for one another with a sincere heart and sure faith. Accept Christ’s atonement so that there are no guilty consciences. Omit resentment and judgment. By example, gently inspire and encourage each other to do well in their decisions.

What do you understand that passage of scripture to mean?

By DiVoran Lites

By DiVoran Lites

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It Happened One Summer

27 Jul

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

 

Way back in 1961, Fred and I married. We moved immediately to Fort Worth, Texas, so Fred could study at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. We lived about a 12-hour drive from Albuquerque, so we didn’t get to make a trip home very often.

In 1963, we planned on making the trip, and it coincided with my brother and his family being there, as well. Their daughter, Charlene (Renie) was about 18 months old at the time. It was the first time we had seen her, and she was a delight. We have pictures of that adorable little girl in many adventures while there.

She had fun in a galvanized tub full of water in Grandmother’s back yard.

 

 

Grandmother tried to swim with her, too.

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She found a neighborhood cat that was quite agreeable to Renie’s handling.

 

Aunt Judy and Uncle Fred had a great time with her, as well.

 

Granddad thought she was pretty special, too. She was his first grandchild.

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But my favorite set of pictures of Renie from that visit, were of her and her dad playing with a new toy. Somehow, we managed to get pictures that could have been a video, if we even had that capability all those years ago. The toy was a pop-up type of toy: press the button/knob, and up the cups shot!

 

Renie thought it was terrific! Look at the surprise and joy on her face! Such a fun toy. And it looks like daddy was having a bit of fun with it as well – along with his little girl.

That was a fun summer visit for us.

 

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Beans Gone Wild

24 Jul

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I'm a winner

 

We returned to North Carolina after nine days in Florida celebrating the launch of our daughter, Rebekah Lyn’s new novel,  Jessie. I couldn’t wait to see if our tiny garden had survived the days of neglect. I would say it has survived!

Beans Gone Wild

Beans Gone Wild

 

Gardening in North Carolina clay is very different from gardening in Florida  so our  garden is  an experimental project. The past two years we grew bush beans and they did quite well. This year we decided to try runner beans. Is this height normal? I suspect we may have made the poles too high as we have more vines than beans.  I picked this morning and the majority of the beans came from two bush bean plants  from last years seeds.

Picked beans copy

 

There should be enough for my husband and I to have one serving each for dinner tonight.

We have decided to give up on bell peppers. We just don’t have enough sunlight for them. The first year we planted, our tomato plants grew great but the last two years have been awful. We did plant them in different locations but it hasn’t helped.  Nasty greem tomato worms love to eat the foilage and have to be picked off by hand and smashed. This so grosses me out!  If anyone has suggestions for deterring them without pesticides please leave them in comments.

In the Fall we add in compost from our compost heap and in the Spring add mushroom compost to enrich the clay soil.  I have to admit, I took the Florida sand for  granted. I had no idea it was such a great soil for growing. So far, in North Carolina  we haven’t been able to germinate flower seeds directly in the soil, unlike Florida where one simply  fluffs the soil, spreads the seeds and gently push a thin layer of sand over the seeds. Within a week, the seeds have popped up.

Do you have any gardening tips you can share?

If you would like the chance to enter a super easy giveaway from Rebekah Lyn 

CLICK HERE

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My Diet Journal~Part 4

21 Jul

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Author, Poet and ArtistWhen we first started talking about our diet, some very dear friends mentioned that we looked good to them. We appreciated their compliments, but we had both knew that if we didn’t put a stop to it, we would continue until our health was threatened again.

From tomorrow, we have four days of the diet left. Bill has gone under the weight he was formerly happy with, and I’ve lost a total of ten pounds. That’s fine. I didn’t have a specific goal.

When I was reading the plateau page of the hcg protocol, I came across a suggestion to take apple cider vinegar, so I decided to try it. At the store, I saw Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar and recalled how many times I’ve read about their products nutrition books. I picked up the bottle. The vinegar inside looked cloudy, so I read the label, and in large print, it said, “With the Mother.”

Aha, I thought, I remember Mother in the vinegar, my own mother told me about it one day when I pulled a bottle of vinegar off the top shelf and it looked as if it had a jelly fish floating in it. Mother laughed, told me its name, and reassured me that we could still use the vinegar.

Apparently, the Mother in apple cider vinegar (ACV) consists of fine spider-web molecules which account for the cloudiness. It is protein enzyme that occurs naturally and is good for digestion. In 400 BC Hippocrates, the father of medicine, praised ACV for its amazing natural cleansing, healing, and energizing health qualities.

That connected with the new/old information that is now coming out about fermented foods, such as coleslaw and yogurt which have probably been around as long as APC. I have since learned that in olden days when there was no doctor or veterinarian available folks put it APC on the food of sick cows, and sick people and many of them got well.

So there I was catapulted into another world, APC for animals. Naturally I began to wonder whether Jasmine and Lily would accept it on their food. I could not believe that they would.

Jasmine

Jasmine

Jasmine has allergies that make her itch until she scratches off big patches of fur. When left untreated a bacterial infection results. She has also been poisoned by a combination of cortisone, that melter of bones, and flea repellant.

On the other hand, Lily has a heart murmur,

Lily

Lily

probably congenital and though a large cat, weighs only six pounds. Her pharmaceutical is an ACE inhibitor which she is now on. But what if the old-fashioned remedy would work?

It didn’t seem likely that they would take it, but I tried six drops on their grain free, canned fish to see if they refused. They liked it. Wow! We’ll all try it for a while. Maybe we can get well, or a lot better, anyhow.

 

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The Wedding Dress

20 Jul

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

 

 

On May 30, 1937, my parents married. Daddy was 44½ years old, mother was 24 years old. Daddy was six months younger than his mother-in-law. I remember mother telling me once that, after she and daddy had been dating a while, she showed Granny a picture of daddy, and Granny’s response was, “Why he’s a OLD MAN!” However, that didn’t deter my parents from marrying. Thank goodness!! And Granny came to love daddy as her son-in-law. They got along quite well.

I honestly don’t remember whether or not Granny made mother’s wedding dress. I know that Granny was a great seamstress, as was mother. Perhaps it was a joint effort. I do know that it had big, puffy sleeves and a straight skirt. She looked very elegant in it. What later surprised me, was that the skirt was full enough to allow a hoop or many crinolines under it. It may have looked straight on mother, but it was very full skirt!

J mom

 

Mother’s sister, my Aunt Jessie, took the dress after the wedding, layered it with white tissue paper, and kept it in a cedar chest. It rested there all the years between mother and dad’s wedding and mine.

When my wedding was approaching, I told mother that I would like to wear her wedding dress – with a few alterations. I really didn’t like those big, puffy sleeves. Really made my skinny arms look even skinnier. There was a lady in our church who was a professional seamstress, and we engaged her to “remake” the dress. She removed the sleeves, essentially making it a sleeveless dress. I say essentially, because mother and I shopped around and found some gorgeous Belgian lace. She made a complete dress out of it to fit over mother’s dress. It had the long sleeves, and even a bit of a train in the back. I thought it was beautiful!

j

 

 

It was while the dress was being “remade” that we discovered how full the skirt was. In my day, the “in thing” was hoop skirts or lots of crinolines. As I look back, I realize how elegant the straight skirt looked, but I wanted that full skirt – and that’s what I got!

 

But I guess the important thing is that I was able to wear my mother’s wedding dress. It always held a special place in my heart. And I think I was able to honor both my parents by wearing that special dress.

 

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My Western Trip~Part 11

16 Jul

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Bill Lites

While I was in Tucson I had several other places I wanted to visit, so the next place on my list, was the Titan Missile Museum just 20 miles south of Tucson, in Sahuarita, AZ. I was not aware that any of our ICBM silos here in the U.S. had survived the missile reduction treaties (SALT) over the years, which was part of the “world-wide weapon systems modernization program.” As it turns out, this preserved missile site, officially known as Titan II ICBM site 571-7, is all that remains of the 54 “Cold War” Titan II missile sites that were on alert across the United States from 1963 to 1987. It is now a Registered National Historic Landmark.

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On my way back to Tucson from the Titan Missile Museum, I stopped to check out the San Xavier del Bac Mission (White Dove of the Desert) just off I-19. The mission was very simple inside, but very beautifully decorated at the same time. As I was leaving, I noticed a number of wooden shade structures near the parking area where several local women were cooking a verity of dishes for sale to the visitors and parishioners. It was getting close to dinner time, and I was tempted to try some of the food, but then thought better of it, since a trip like this is not the time to come down with a case of Montezuma’s Revenge.                  

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I started the next day with a trip to the Saguaro National Park (West) that our family had driven thru back in 1975, as part of a six-week cross-country camping trip we had taken, when I was between jobs. We were impressed with the tall multi-armed Saguaro cactus, which can grow to as high as 70 feet tall, and filled that part of the Sonoran Desert. Next, I visited the Sonora Desert Museum, which we had also visited in 1975, but it had expanded and changed so much over the years that I didn’t recognize any part of it, except the entrance. Luckily, this time I had chosen a better time of year to visit, so, instead of mid-July and 120 degrees in the shade, it was early April with a mild breeze and a pleasant humidity free 80 degrees.

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Next on the list, and just down the road was the Old Tucson Studios, which was originally built in 1938 by Columbia Pictures as a replica of 1860s Tucson for the movie “Arizona.” It was fun walking the dusty streets of Old Tucson and recalling some of the great movies that had been filmed there, over the years. Films such as The Bells of St. Mary’s (1945), starring Bing Crosby & Ingrid Bergman. The Last Round-Up (1947) with Gene Autry, Winchester ’73 (1950) with James Stewart, The Last Outpost (1951) with Ronald Reagan,  Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957), The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold (1958) and Cimarron (1959). My hero, John Wayne, starred in four movies filmed at Old Tucson Studios; Rio Bravo (1959), McLintock! (1963), El Dorado (1966) and Rio Lobo (1970. Movies have continued to be made there, with the latest being in 2013. Old Tucson Studios was opened to the public as a tourist attraction in 1960, and the many extras wondering the streets in their period costumes added much to the nostalgia.

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—–To Be Continued—–

 

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Summer in Florida

15 Jul

I asked DiVoran for a summer poem. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do~Onisha

 Rainy Season

DiVoran Lites

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Overhead, gray clouds swarm and boil.

Trees whip and moan.

A mockingbird flies fast, trying to avoid the storm.

All of a sudden it is here, drumming on the porch’s aluminum roof

Lightning flashes. Thunder rumbles and booms.

The storm passes.

 

Cats run to hide.

 

Tree frogs sing like bawling cattle.

Sun slants through pink muhly grass

Emeralds sparkle on green leaves.

The cats come meowing for their supper.

In the cool, cool, cool of the evening, we hold hands.

 

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My Diet Journal~Part 3

14 Jul

A Slice of Life

DiVoran Lites

My ten extra pounds, and my egg choir.

My ten extra pounds, and my egg choir.

When I started journaling this morning, everything in me felt low from energy to emotions. Usually when I start writing I tell the Lord what I’m unhappy about, so I planned to complain for about five hours. My routine had changed. I slept in until seven and then it was starting to get hot, so I thought I’d skip the coffee and the writing and hit the trail.

I’ve become able to drink coffee with Stevia and one quarter grain saccharine, but I still need the creamer, which is 2cheating. I tried to do without it one day, last week, taking Anacin with its 32 mg of caffeine, in order to avoid the withdrawal headache. It didn’t work, so I had a cup of coffee in the afternoon. I know I’m addicted, but I don’t want to give it up because I enjoy it, feel that it clears my mind, and have more energy when I drink a cup. I drink two a day. Some studies show that a moderate amount is good for most people, but if doc says no, then it’s no.

We bought some new Stevia called Truvia and we like it much better. I still want a quarter gram of saccharine, in fact I wish I could stay on that combination, even though Dr. Simenon discovered that artificial sweeteners are truly bad for people.

Flashback — Okay, I’m ready for my walk. Hat, key, phone, “sticky” note-pad, church pew pencil, (I found it in my car), tissue, iPod, and dark glasses. At first it’s not unbearably hot. I start listening to a book. Some days I don’t listen, I just enjoy the fresh air and observe, and maybe I’ll listen on the way home to make the journey shorter. It gets hotter as I go. By the time I head home I’m thinking about calling Bill to ask if he’ll come get me. But no, that would be wimpy. I didn’t drink water because you’re supposed to take the hcg and give it a chance to get into your system without interference. What if I pass out from dehydration?

When I do get home I lay on my bed for a while getting lower by the minute. Here comes the addiction withdrawal headache. I think I’ll lie here like this all day. This must be how it feels to be in deep grief, just wanting to stay in bed.

I decide that for a cup of coffee I can make myself get up.

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Now I’m writing. Bill comes in for a minute and we talk about his weight. To our great surprise he has already reached his goal, though he didn’t realize it and wants to keep going, He lost ten pounds his first week. The way I understand it, you don’t go off the diet when you reach your goal weight, you continue with the hcg until the three weeks are up, but you eat more. When you reach your goal, you can eat as much of the designated foods as you wish. You don’t have to count calories, anymore, just stay away from starch and sugar.

After our chat and three quarters of the cup of coffee, I didn’t feel down anymore, so I started writing and here you see the result.

Oh, by the way, in case you’re interested, I have lost 6.05 lb. this week. Thanks for listening.

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