Good Bye Old Train Station

We haven't been in Charles Town very long. We closed on our house about 13 months ago but we have come to really like this place. The people are REALLY nice, our neighbors are THE BEST and there are lots of things to see, places to explore and some really "good junkin'"

This week they tore down the old train station. Because we are new, I don't know much history on the place. I drive past it several times a week. Last October, I got a bee in my bonnet and decided to take our annual Christmas photo there. I was sure I was so very clever. As I was setting up my tripod a professional photographer was getting out of her car. She was there to shoot Christmas photos of an adorable family...so much for my being "clever"

Our Christmas photo turned out pretty good, but the photo of The Big Man turned out great.

 Last week the train station was demolished....by next week there will be no evidence that is even exsisted. Excpet for photos like last years Christmas cards. Kinda sad.....I guess I AM getting attached to this town.

 

Wrestling with Pigs

                              
                               Do you know what happens when you wrestle with pigs?
                                                You get dirty and the pig likes it.

Now, I doubt you think that I am dispensing advice to prevent you from going to tussle with smelly livestock, it is just good advice. From my dear Dad. You should follow it. Always.

Thankful Thursday

I am one blessed person. I am going to try my best to be more aware of all the things I take for granted. Hence the start of "Thankful Thursdays"

My shout outs are in NO particular order. I am pretty sure that if there was an ADD diagnosis when I was a kid I would have been their poster child. So...here goes the first edition.

I am thankful for friends..old and new, near and far, the ones I have stayed connected to, the ones I have reconnected with and even the ones that I lost touch with long ago. You have all added to my life in so many ways.

Friends who come to visit

Re-connected friends..Facebook is good!

Friends who make you laugh

Friends who take road trips

 

Old friends

In our 37 years of marriage we have had so many wonderful people come into (and some just pass through) our lives! So on this inaugural "Thankful Thursday" I am Thankful for FRIENDS 

Defending West Virginia

Because today is the birthday of West Virginia I am defending her honor. My renewed passion for blogging came on the heels of being severely chastised for something I posted months ago. Bring it. I am a tough cookie but LEAVE MY NEW HOME STATE ALONE.


I was born and raised in New Jersey (insert New Joisey joke here) so I am more than a little familiar with state bashing. In November of 2010 we had to make a quick move to West Virginia. I thought the Jersey jokes were bad.....sigh.

Here is what you may not know about WV: It is beautiful, full of farms and most important chock full of some of the nicest, kindest,  most polite people I have ever met. They are so polite that a four way stop sign can be a challenge. They so so nice that hardly anyone ever leaves their shopping cart loose in the parking lot...even in Wal Mart. They are so kind that you can feel the tolerance for the less fortunate.

I also find it very interesting that people here in the Eastern Panhandle know a lot about Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. I can't say the same about folks from DC. When you say you are from WV, the "big city folks" usually look at you like you are from Mars...and I doubt they ever get out to "these her parts".  I can always tell when I get close to the District. Driving becomes aggressive and impatient. They should come out to the country now and again. It is good for the soul. Stop at one of the produce stands, take in a little civil war history, have a great meal that doesn't cost and arm and a leg, enjoy God's handiwork. The mountains and rivers are breathtaking!

                                                 HAPPY BIRTHDAY WEST VIRGINIA

Inspiration comes in many forms!

I have been out of touch  blog for a while now. Every time I would sit down and start to post something,  my attention would fade or I just was not "feelin it".

It is strange what inspires and/or motivates a person. I had a "when God closes a door, he opens a window moment"  this morning. I blog to amuse myself and I have only a handful of people who "follow" me although I know by the Facebook comments many of my friends read my blog....especially if it is a recipe/food/dinner idea. I do have a lot of things on my mind that I would like to write about and goodness knows, I have the time!!!

There was a response yesterday to a post I wrote almost five months ago. The response came from a person who was connected to a person named in my January post. (is that as clear as mud???) Now, the people named were not tagged so somebody had to google to find the post....that just cracked me up. Apparently, little ol' me in the Eastern Panhandle of WV is not the only person who has too much time on their hands!

So, I am re-energized and ready to blog again..so if you find my posts entertaining, that is great. If you do not...you can let me know. After 37 years as a Navy wife with 8 deployments under my belt, taking care of three terminally ill relatives, raising two girls through their teen years, making 9 major moves...I am one tough cookie. I can take it....

To my handful of followers...I love you for true....
To my closet readers...I love you all too....

Stayed tuned.

It does not have to be complicated.

I think most people over think cooking. It does not have to be complicated or involved.  I  am not embarrassed to say I use a shortcut any time that I can and this scone recipe is one of those shortcuts.

There is just not enough time in my day to do everything from scratch....so here is a quick and easy recipe!

SCONES

2 (7oz.) packages of Martha Whit Blueberry Muffin Mix
1/4 C butter, chilled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2C sour cream
Heat oven to 400. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Place muffin mix in large bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender until texture of small peas.
Stir in sour cream until combined

Press together with floured hands. Place on lightly floured surface. Press together and knead 4 or 5 times until a smooth ball forms. Pat out to a 6 to 8 inch circle. Cut into wedges (like a pizza) with a large knife or pizza cutter. Place on lined cookie sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 2 minutes, then gently remove to cooling rack.

I am going to try the other Martha White Mixes in place of the blueberry...strawberry, apple cinnamon, maybe even the chocolate chip.

Ms. Terry (not me)...YOU ROCK!

I was just on FB (I have a small little addiction) and read a post from the youngest.  She is a teacher in Florida and presently teaches gifted children from her school and 3 others and also spends part of her day with the at risk kids from her school.

Her post: :   "So far today:  I boarded the bus to regulate 60+ kids bus behavior, covered for a teacher whose substitute was late, removed students from a class who were fist fighting, helped process 2 referrals, counseled a student who was being bullied, ran to the library because we are one librarian down and pushed into a reading class to assist students. Yeah, you are right "teachers" totally get paid enough. Ps. My coffee is on my desk. Cold."

I always hesitate to to brag on my kids.  But I am so proud of the women they have become. I wish I could take the credit.  I parented by the seat of my pants with the most supportive husband you could ask for. He is the best father I could have ever wished for. Both the Big man and I had single parents who set an amazing example of what a parent should be and then they were wonderful as grand parents.

The girls are kind, happy, healthy, well adjusted, productive human beings.....I am blessed.

By blogging today I really just wanted the youngest to know...Ms. Terry YOU ROCK!

Much Love......Momma

And "MY" PS.....I think you did learn the discipline "thang" from me...oxoxxxox

I feel the need to make a sign.

I started blogging because I really like to cook and share recipes.  Recently, I have been sidetracked by the new addition to our family.  Abby is a stinkin' cute golden doodle and she is a smart dog.  We have had/trained a fair amount of dogs in our 36 years of marriage.  We are pretty smart humans but this puppy's house breaking is kicking our butts!  I do not get much done except tending to the dog.

However, yesterday we had our first accident free day!!!  YIPEEE!
Blessedly we seem to have had a breakthrough. If you are familiar with  military installations they almost always have a sign that says how many days the base has gone without an accident....much like the ones I would think you would see in industrial settings. So, I think we may be able to make THIS sign instead of the Ooops I was considering.

I am certain we will have setbacks, but looking at this face every day makes it worthwhile.

I can't wait for the wedding announcement!

I was enjoying my Sunday morning coffee and papers (yes papers, we get two on Sunday) while The Big Man was making my breakfast.  He makes me a delicious breakfast every Sunday, but I digress.

I got to the engagement notices section inside the Sunday Style of the Washington Post. "Mary Jones" and "Joseph Smith" are to be wed in June of this year.  I got past the Mothers and Fathers part and then became mesmerized/stupefied by the rest. "The engagement follows a wonderful romantic trip to Ireland...then all I started to hear was the voice of Charlie Browns teacher WAH, WAH, WAH...You know the sound he hears when the teacher speaks??? I "came to" just before the end....."Armed with the delighted approval of her parents, Joseph surprised Mary with a proposal and an engagement ring during (this is the part that just slayed me) what is destined to become a "Smith" family tradition of cutting ones own Christmas tree."

Really?  SERIOUSLY??? I think I need insulin.....I just think this is the most ostentatious saccharine announcement I have ever read.   I may even have to get my pearls out of the safety deposit box and become a wedding crasher My mind is swimming with ideas on how the wedding will be. I am marking my calendar for June so I do not miss the wedding announcement.

I have found a picture of the "perfect" wedding cake.  About the size of "ones own Christmas tree"

I just can't imagine one of our girls "putting on a show" for their wedding...a la Kim Kardashian.  We all know how well that worked out......

I have no idea who these people are, I kinda feel sorry for them. I know after 36 years of marriage, life is NOT a fairy tale where you have traditions of "cutting ones own Christmas Tree". They probably do not know it is hard work and hopefully, along the way (if you are lucky) you build some great memories of fun times that you have shared.  I am still crazy about the Big Man, my heart still goes pitter-patter when he comes in the door (if any of you tell that secret, you are toast). We have built a wonderful life but it has never been like a fairy tale or a script of a Hallmark movie. Good Luck Mary and Joseph...you are going to need it.
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I really need to "vent"

Okay....I reserve the right to add to this list of things that make me crazy..but today I was out and about and there were some driving/car issues....I really need to vent.

#1.  If you drive a big honkin' SUV (in today's case an infinity) Locate the skinny pedal.....AND USE IT. If you are trying to get better gas mileage drive a smartcar. PLEASE.

#2. If you are a man driving a big bubba truck and insist on backing it in to a parking space, DO IT IN ONE PASS.  If you can't,  just pull it in forward. It is just embarrassing.  Or give me the keys and I will do it. PLEASE.

#3. DO NOT text and drive. You cannot multi-task, really you can't. You also must be dumber than a box of hammers because you have not seen all the public service ads that TELL you you are putting yourself and others at risk. PLEASE put the phone away.

There may be more rules but I certainly feel better now that I have vented.
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Faces like this........

Faces like this suck you in.  Yesterday, I was going to sell her to the Gypsies...CHEAP. She is so stinkin' cute but she also is a 13 week old puppy with the attention span of a gnat. I honestly ask myself daily..."What were we thinking?" AND then she does something so adorable I forget what a chore housebreaking is. The Big Man is so smitten by her and he does all work when he is home so I figured he might miss her if I sold her.  I just hope her learning curve is F-A-S-T! 

I stand corrected

Recently, I blogged about how self serving Tiger Woods' ex had been after Elin Nordgren razed her 12M oceanfront house.  I said she should have let a charity (like Habitat) get things from the house before demo.  Well, it turns out she did..this is according to the January 23rd issue of People Magazine. (And we all know what a journalistic authority it is). Seriously, they did quote the local Habit's director of deconstruction.

I stand corrected.

Abby Cadabby is the reason no cooking is getting done!

NOT Martha Stewart's Banana Bread.

I like to cook and bake but a lot of people do not and I think it is because people like Martha Stewart make it seem waaay too complicated. (Remember she also makes her own paper..and has a huge staff and LOTS of money) Most things can be made simply.  Below is a great example.  Martha Stewart's recipe starts with sifting the flour........and it goes on forever.

This recipe is YUMMY....quick and easy.

Banana Bread
1/2 C margarine, softened
1 C sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 C mashed bananas
2  C flour
1 t baking soda

Cream margarine and sugar. Add eggs. Add bananas. Mix together flour and baking soda then add it to banana mixture. Mix well.

Bake in a preheated 350 oven in a greased and floured loaf pan for about an hour.

I am so glad to be taking a break from the rehab of Chateau Stinkbug and doing a little blogging...My feet are glad too!  And cleaner!

How much money is too much?

The news just did a story about Tiger's ex......(isn't it scary that in our pop culture everyone will know who I am talking about with just that brief reference?) It seems that she has torn down a 12 million dollar mansion (part of her divorce settlement) in Palm Beach so she can build her "dream house".   SERIOUSLY??? How utterly wasteful and indulgent. She could have allowed Habitat for Humanity to "harvest" anything of value inside for their Restores (just one idea) She should get some bad press for this decision. She should be embarrassed.
It may be one thing to break a few dishes or knick-knacks as a "I will show you" about a divorce but this is so over the top I can't really wrap my head around this one. Maybe it is because I live a rather middle class life? Or maybe it is because I was raised by a father to all too well remembered the Depression? Or maybe I never could think that "big"?   I would like to believe that if I had that kind of money I would be as careful with a lot of money as the little bit we have now. I think the EX  Mrs. Woods has provided the definitive answer for the question "How much money is too much?"

All Purpose Food (actually a casserole)

This is the holiday recipe that NEVER fails to get rave reviews.  Our girls say it is "all purpose" You can eat it at breakfast or brunch, use it for a holiday side dish...it even can be dessert! It is SO easy, everybody likes it and it is cheap to make. 

Pineapple Casserole

1 can (20oz.) crushed pineapple drained.
1/2 C sugar
3 eggs
2T flour
1/2t salt
1 stick margarine
5 slices of white bread, cubed

Beat eggs and sugar.  Add flour ,salt and pineapple. Pour inot greased 8X8 baking dish.
Melt margarine toss into cubed bread. Top casserole
Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

*you can double the recipe and just bake it in a 9X13 baking dish.