A Lesson In Retaliation

The story a couple of entries back about my niece Evonne and the spider in her soup made me remember another family tale involving her.  When she was about five years old she was being watched one day by her aunt (my sister Dennice), who took Evonne with her to the laundromat in her apartment complex.  The laundromat was next to the apartment complex's playground and was built with windows along one wall looking out onto the playground.  So while Dee did her laundry she was able to keep an eye on Evonne and a little boy about the same age while they played.

Of course she couldn't keep her eyes on them 100% of the time.  She was emptying a dryer when Evonne came running in, calling loudly, "Aunt Dee Dee! Aunt Dee Dee!  You don't 'posed to pay back evil for evil, do you?"

"Huh?" Dennice gasped.

"You don't 'posed to pay back evil for evil, do you?"

Dennice gathered her scattering wits.  "Uh, no! No, of course not!"  She became aware of several pairs of curious eyes -- what does that little kid know about paying back evil for evil?-- and said decisively, "No, we aren't supposed to pay back evil for evil.  Why?  Who's trying to do that?"

"He is!"  Evonne turned and pointed an accusing finger at the little boy, shrinking behind her.  "I hit him and then he hit me back!"

Neverending Pears!

I spent most of the afternoon peeling pears!  Lots of pears!  Lots and lots of pears!

A few weeks ago Thomas and the kids picked several bushels of pears and then Thomas with a little help from Eler Beth peeled and prepared all of them and he now has several five gallon jugs of pear must, currently making wine.  He made pear wine last year and it was delicious!  Neither of us drinks much of anything alcoholic, so we ended up only keeping about four bottles of the wine.  We gave the rest away as gifts.  And as I said it was VERY good!  We also made preserves.

Well, then a friend told Thomas that his tree was just full of pears and to come help himself, so he and the kids picked them, and now we have sliced pears ready for making preserves!  I peeled and Thomas cored and sliced.  (I really gave my $1.00 vegetable peeler a work out!  I really love that thing!)  Of course a lot of the pears have been eaten as "pears", too.  They were really good this year!  Anyway, I'm glad to have them out of the way.  Now I'll be making and canning preserves.

I spent the first part of the day sleeping.  I was up most of the night coughing and nothing would help until I took some Thera-Flu early this morning.  That always makes me sleepy, especially when I haven't slept well anyway.  So peeling pears is about all I accomplished today. 

It is finally getting cooler here.  The rain we got yesterday and today helped make it feel even cooler than it actually was.  I'm not ready for it! 

My daughter brought home five As (one A+) and a B on her report card this week!!  I'm very proud!

Well, that's all I've got tonight!  It's late and I'm tired, so more later.

And that reminds me.........

Well, Sunday I redeemed myself by making homemade vegetable soup and cornbread, and as I sat down here to decide what I was going to write, the vegetable soup reminded me of a "soup" story.  This story was written down by the family "historian/scribe", my sister Barbara, years ago, and I'm sure she did a better job than I'm going to do, but I'll give it a shot -- because it's a cute story.

I was about 10 years old, and it was a cold, snowy, blustery day.  My nieces and nephew and I had been playing outside and were very happy to come in to my Mom's nice warm kitchen, smelling deliciously of her homemade vegetable soup.  We gathered around the kitchen table, bowls of soup in front of us, my mom and four of my sisters ladling soup into their own bowls, pouring cups of coffee and talking away.

Suddenly in the middle of their conversation, my three-year-old niece, Evonne, piped up with, "Pidah in my tsoup!"  The conversation continued, so she tried again, "Pidah in my tsoup!"

"What's she saying?"

"I don't know; sounds like she's saying there's a spider in her soup!"

"Well, there is!  There is a spider in her soup!"

No one knew how the spider came to be in her soup, but the soup was disposed of, a fresh bowl was given her, and talk turned inevitably to such topics as -- places in the earth where spiders might be eaten -- times of famine in which perhaps we might be happy to have spiders to eat, etc.  My seven-year-old nephew, Bill, always a picky eater anyway, stated, "Well, I  wouldn't eat it!"

My seven-year-old niece, Sheila, (definitely her mother's daughter!), tried a compromise.  "Well, if you cut its head off...."

Bill:  "I still wouldn't eat it!"

Sheila:  "Well, if you cut its legs off...."

Bill:  "I still wouldn't eat it!"

Sheila:  "Well, if you drained all the blood out!"

Bill:  "I STILL wouldn't eat it!"

At which point Sheila's mother, my sister Dennice, offered reassuringly, "That's okay, Sheila.  Sometimes no matter how you prepare something, the men won't eat it!"

Fish sticks aren't so bad!

After everyone had eaten, Thomas said, "Good dinner, Lori!"  To which I replied, "Hah!"  He said "Don't laugh.  I'm serious."  I looked at him incredulously and said, "Well, it was quick and easy, anyway."  He said, "And it was good.  Hit the spot!"

And he was serious.  Didn't get any complaints from the kids, either.  Guess if they're hungry it really doesn't matter.....prepared with love, and all that.

But, now this is hilarious!  Sometimes I'm in the mood to do one of those "tests" to see what category I fall into.  They usually make me feel good about myself.....sort of reinforce the positive, you know.  So tonight I took this one, not realizing that it was done by BETTY CROCKER:

 Find the Food that Fits Your Distinctive Flair .  So I took the quiz, and here's what it said:  My style is --    

                    Classic Contemporary

You take the ordinary and make it extraordinary.  In fact, that is what everyone is hoping for from you.  From basic baking to spur of the moment brunches, no one cooks the classics quite like you.

ROFL!!!!!

So I'm going to accept Thomas' compliment at face value, because, - ahem, -  "No One Cooks The Classics (fish sticks) Quite Like I Do!

It's a Fish Stick Night

This should be a "grill-out" night, but it's going to be a fish stick night instead!

Today was BE-U-TEE-FULL.  Sunny all day, warm breeze, 74 degrees!  Thomas worked until 2:00.  Andrew barely stuck his nose outside all day!  (Typical teen.)  But Eler Beth and I got outside.  She went out in the ministry work with some of the sisters from the Hall, and then she went to Lily's to play most of the afternoon.  I was actually feeling some better this morning.  Still coughing, though, but my glands didn't seem as swollen.  I did some shopping, dropped off yet another bag at Goodwill and played in my back yard!

I gave each of the dogs some individual attention, which is saying a lot, considering how many dogs there are.  I cleaned food and water dishes, put fresh straw in their houses/yards, brushed all of them and played ball.  Scout is learning his commands now.  He can sit and lie down to verbal and hand signals.  I did some trimming and hung laundry out on the line to dry!  (One of my favorite things to do.)  I told the lady next door that she could have Tiny whenever she was ready for him.  I think they're getting his house ready.  He sure is a sweet puppy.  He's the one I thought we were going to lose one day, if you remember.  He has done fine since then.  They think the world of him.  Every day after everyone at our house leaves for the day he sneaks over and waits on their back porch for them to come out.  Then when they come out they pet him, then he comes back home.  So she said they just had to have him, because he picked them!  He is so sweet.

So anyway, Thomas got home, ate lunch and tinkered around with one of the lawn mowers.  Lily and her dad brought Eler Beth home, so then Thomas and Larry had to visit for awhile.  Then Thomas and Eler Beth went to check out a new fishing spot.  They should be home soon, though.  Anyway, it has been a wonderful, slow, easy, comforable day.  I sure do need more of them in my life.  But they're rare!  I'm just now getting online and checking my alerts.  I need to work on my "Book" journal tonight.  I told Andrew the computer is mine for the rest of the evening!

So instead of cooking out (as the perfect weather is calling for) I'm going to fix fish sticks!  Forgive me, please!   It's quick and easy, filling and tasty!  I'll mash some potatoes, open a can of something green and a box of mac and cheese and my kids will be happy.  There are cookies and ice cream for dessert!  I'll fix a better dinner tomorrow!  This just isn't the evening for spending a lot of time in the kitchen, ya know?  I'm going to go bring in some clothes off the line, then I'll be back later.

Early morning ramble

We are having a potluck today at work, so I got up and made my famous zucchini casserole to take.   It was requested!  It should be ready in about 10 minutes.  Smelling goooood!  Tomorrow is Lee's last day at our company.  She is going back to school to get her Master's Degree in Art History and also has a part-time job.  She tried doing all three, but the full-time job is too much.  (She doesn't know it, but we're doing a vegetarian potluck just for her because she's, um, a vegetarian!) 

Well, just thought I'd visit my journal while I had a chance.  I'm not feeling quite as bad this  morning as I did yesterday.  Still feels like I have some congestion in my chest, though.  I'm still drinking my orange juice.  I'll take my herbal tea, cough drops and ibuprofen with me and be sure to have my coffee, and I should survive the day!

See ya later.

Orange-you Glad?

From the REALAGE TIP OF THE DAY:

Three Cheers Throw back three shots of orange juice every day for maximum health benefits.

Drinking orange juice morning, noon, and night can help raise and keep antioxidant levels consistent in your bloodstream. This, in turn, may help keep you protected from free-radical damage all day. It's not just the vitamin C in the juice that's beneficial; the less-touted carotenoid cryptoxanthin in OJ has been associated with a 15 percent to 31 percent reduced lung cancer risk.

Well, I've been doing that, yesterday and today, but only because I've felt like I was coming down with something.  Sore, scratchy throat, a little achy and sneezy.  Hope the OJ can push whatever this is out of my system!