It has been twelve years since my mother, Eleanor, passed away and I still miss her every day. She was such a great mom and very special. This photo was taken at the top of Stone Mountain in Georgia. My mother was from Elberton, Georgia and that is where I was born. She never lost her southern accent completely. She was a fantastic cook and when we went to Savannah to Paula Deen’s restaurant it was like eating around our family table. Mom knew how to have great parties. She was full of fun. 
Have you noticed that time is going by faster these days? I must admit that I have been one to always say I don’t have enough hours in the day. I like to be busy and am happy when I am goal setting and achieving them. That doesn’t mean I don’t know how to relax. I’m good at that..playing on the computer and reading in my spare time. But as the days pass I want to squeeze every moment out of them like wringing out a sponge. I don’t want to waste one day not enjoying it. It’s easy to get caught up in routine. Or spend more time than needed on household tasks. There has to be a balance between the “have to get dones” and the “want to do’s”. How can I make each day a delight? Are you doing what you want with your life right now?
I am practicing with Photoshop and making some black and white photos. I love the quality of them.
Linda is remodeling her kitchen and doing all the work of sanding, priming and repainting her cabinets. She has completed the island and the tops of the cupboards. It has made a huge difference in her kitchen.
She served us fresh delicious corn on the cob and we grilled hamburgers. 
Linda with out “map” of things to do (in order). She is calling for our reservations for the dinner theater. What a wonderful weekend we had. It’s just like getting your battery charged up!
DO YOU REMMBER THIS?
My earliest memory of a telephone was when I was five. We lived with my grandmother in DuBois. I remember just where the phone was…sitting on a stand right at the bottom of the stairway. It was the old, old fashioned upright one where you held the earpiece up to your ear on a cord.
Grandma had a party line. That meant that there was more than one family who used that phone line. When you picked up the receiver you might hear another person having a conversation. You would just politely hang up. There might have been one or two other families on that line. To distinguish the rings each family was assigned a certain number of rings. If it rang twice that meant the call was for us. 
I remember one particular Italian boy that I went steady with. I wore his ring on a chain around my neck. When he called at night he put on a thirty three and a third long playing record of Italian love songs and we listened to them together. How romantic!
Do you have any telephone memories?
And then I had to change in front of the mirror. 
And the table in front of the window. 
So then I redecorated my baker’s rack. 
I think this is how the saying “one thing leads to another” got started.
Happy May Day Do you remember celebrating May Day when you were in elementary school. It was a big thing for us to make little May Day baskets. We’d pick wild flowers in the woods to fill them with and then knock on someone’s door, put the basket on the doorknob and run away. It filled me with such pleasure to do such a kindness. Don’t you wonder whatever happened to doing something kind for another person. In this day of “me, me” it seems that each person is out for themselves and no one takes the time to be kind anymore. Kindness was once a trait to be taught to children just like honesty and respect. I am often reminded that I grew up in a different time, but to tell you the truth sometimes I long for those times back.
I love couscous. I first tried it at a family reunion as a salad and have since eaten it hot. I buy it in a box with flavoring such as parmesan cheese or pine nuts. I found this recipe at a blog titled “My Kitchen by the Sea and knew I wanted to try it someday.
Couscous, often mistakenly called a grain, is actually a pasta made up of tiny pearls of wheat dough. To save time, purchase instant couscous, which has been presteamed and is ready in only a few minutes once combined with hot liquid.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 3/4 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp. salt, plus more, to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 1/2 cups instant couscous
3/4 cup slivered almonds
1 can (15 oz.) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
3/4 cup brine-cured black olives, pitted and chopped
Juice from 1 lemon
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Directions:
Prepare the couscous
In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, warm 1 Tbs. of the olive oil. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the broth, the 1/2 tsp. salt and several grinds of pepper and bring to a boil. Place the couscous in a large stainless-steel bowl and pour the hot liquid over it. Blend well with a fork, cover with a plate and let stand for 5 minutes.
Toast the almonds
Meanwhile, in a large fry pan over medium heat, warm 1 Tbs. of the olive oil. Add the almonds and toast, stirring, until crisp and golden, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
Assemble the salad
Fluff the couscous with a fork. Add the almonds, chickpeas, bell pepper, olives, lemon juice, parsley and the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil to the couscous. Toss gently to combine. Taste, adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper, and serve immediately. Serves 4
Have you ever needed an angel? Do you believe that there are angels all around us all the time? I do. And I feel that they are trying to make themselves know to me. Sometimes unexplainable things happen that leave you wondering why. When those things happen I choose to believe that the angels did it. For instance, I walked through my house one morning and the light in the computer room wasn’t on, but when I walked by later it was on then. How? I don’t know. And when Don was taking apart the piano the strings would pluck all by themselves at different times. Angels? And twice Sadie has stood at the foot of my bed staring off into space and emitting a soft growl and bark just like she is seeing someone there in the hallway. I know for sure that angels are around when my dad opened a bottle of wine for us when my sisters were visiting. I’m on the lookout all the time for signs from my angels. Have you heard from yours?
