HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAMA

My mother turned 90 this week and last Sunday we celebrated. 

 All Mama's children and their families attended her church where we placed flowers in her honor.  My sister played the piano for the whole service and my son sang a solo.

Then that afternoon my three siblings and I hosted a reception for the birthday girl.  It was well attended with about 150 family, friends, and her church family. 

Mama has often said when she reaches 100 she is going to buy herself a red convertible.  So…as a surprise for her my nephew arrived to escort her to the party in his red jaguar!  Don’t she look sassy?

We decorated with PINK, PINK, PINK at her request, and tables were filled with pictures and lots of feminine details.  We even brought in a comfortable chair for her to sit in to greet her guests, but she refused to sit down for even one minute. 

Mama’s only remaining sibling (her sister) and her sister’s husband were special guests.

This is one of my favorite pictures.  These are the 3 remaining members of Mama’s high school class.  Ms. Mabel turned 90 a couple months back and Mr. Barney will be 90 in September.  Don’t they make a cute trio?

Of course, we had to take lots of family pictures too.  This is my son, DIL, and grandchildren.

And this is my husband, Mama, and me.

It was a very special day and one I’m sure we will all remember for years to come.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAMA…we’ll do it again on your 100^th😊

VALLEY GIRLS SAVANNAH-STYLE

Back in 2010 I wrote a post about the VALLEY GIRLS ’67.  As I explained, there were 9 of us who were best friends all through high school in Fort Valley, GA but after graduation we all went in different directions.  After being apart for many years, we began getting together for yearly trips and have been doing so for about 12 years now.  If you’d like to read about each of these special ladies, go here.

        Kaye, Jackie, Christy, Olivia, Jerri, me, Evelyn

This past week we hit Savannah, GA for a few days of fun and fellowship and AS ALWAYS we had a ball!  

                                                   Beautiful Savannah

We talked and laughed and ate and talked and laughed and toured and talked and shopped and laughed and ate some more!  There are NO dull moments when we are together.

        You haven’t heard anyone laugh until you hear EV laugh!

                       Olivia (on right) flew in from Texas

We stayed at the lovely LIVE OAKS HOUSE…you can read about it here.  It’s one of the oldest homes in Savannah and was built when Thomas Jefferson was president!  It has been remarkably restored and had everything we needed for a comfortable stay.  My bed was like sleeping on a cloud😊

We got our exercise for the week by going up and down all the steep stairs since there were 4 levels.  (I can’t imagine treading those stairs wearing a big hoop skirt like in the old days!)

The house is located right near the heart of downtown so it was very convenient for us to walk to nearby shops and restaurants, like THE PINK HOUSE, Boar’s Head, Husk, and Vic’s.   

         My lunch of pimento cheese at  HUSK…it's in there somewhere!

                                                   Great food at Boar's Head

The famous RIVER ST. down by the river wasn’t far, and we enjoyed seeing the huge ships and barges arrive from ports around the world.

This was the perfect photo opp for Jackie because she is always saying LIFE IS GOOD!

We enjoyed a tour of downtown via OLD SAVANNAH TOURS.  Our guide Mr. Komedy was very informative and entertaining.  

We were even met by some “famous characters” like Juliette Gordon Low and an old pirate.

Our last night we took the PediCabs to the Historic Savannah Theater.  We had some awesome young men to escort us.  Many of these guys are students at the local colleges.

                    Christy, me, & Kaye with our great driver “G” from Brazil

We were greatly entertained with the musical SAVANNAH LIVE  where we heard some wonderful “oldies but goldies” and were serenaded by Mick Jagger, the Bee Gees, Patsy Kline, and many others…even Elvis!  If you are ever in Savannah I highly recommend this show…you won’t be disappointed.

Of course, we made sure we had plenty of time just to relax and share some good conversations to catch up on what’s going on with everyone. 

 Stopping by CITY MARKET for some refreshing peach sangria

We even had a GRANDMOTHER SHOWER for Evelyn who next month will become GRANNA to her first grandchild (a boy).  He will have 8 special aunts:) 

Two of the Valley Girls weren’t able to make this trip and we missed them so much.  You can imagine how difficult it is to juggle the schedules of 9 busy ladies.  In fact, there was only one week this whole summer that we could all get together. 

I am so very thankful for each and every lady who is a part of this group.  Each one is unique in her own special way, and each brings something special to the group.  I am very blessed to have had them for my friends (and partners in crime) for 54 years.  All but 2 of us have actually been together since kindergarten or first grade!  They “adopted” me into the group when I moved to Fort Valley at the beginning of our ninth grade year.  I can’t imagine doing life without them.

                      Jackie is absent from this one cause she’s taking the picture!

So….until the next VALLEY GIRL TRIP, we will stay in touch via email, phone calls, and texts and look forward to when we can be together again.  And whenever that is I can promise you there will be lots of talking, laughing, giggling, reminiscing, eating, and a little sleeping!  Valley Girls, until we meet again MAY GOD BLESS YOU and may you anticipate our next great adventure!

FULLER THAN a TICK on an OLD HOUND DOG

I know every geographical area and every ethnic group thinks their style of COOKING is the best, but I’ll put our SOUTHERN COOKING up against anybody’s😊  

In the South we take our FOOD PREPARATION and our EATING very seriously!

If you live in the SOUTH, you can expect your family, friends, and neighbors to respond to sickness, new babies, deaths, and housewarmings with some type of edible item.  It’s just our way of showing love and hospitality.  And don’t even get me started on FAMILY REUNIONS and CHURCH HOMECOMINGS…there’ll be enough food to feed a few armies.

I really didn’t grow up knowing how to cook but I watched my mama prepare a full-course meal almost every night.  Once I got married, it took awhile for me to become a good Southern cook, but I finally arrived.  At least my husband never backs away from the table and tells people what a good cook I am.  (Thanks, Honey, for sticking with me through all those early-marriage mistakes meals.)

Tonight I fixed a meal you can find on many Southern tables: 

First, homemade biscuits.  I wish I had a dollar for every pan of biscuits I watched my mama make!  Watching her mix up the flour, milk, & Crisco, then knead the dough and shape it into individual biscuits was like watching an artist at work.  I can make a good biscuit, but my technique will never match my mama’s! 

Of course, a meal in my house isn’t usually complete without a pot of peas or butterbeans.  These “pink eye peas” came out of our freezer…we put up several different kinds each summer.

Next, I fried up some salmon croquettes.  Now I know that some folks don’t think you ought to eat fried foods (and they are right), but if you are a TRUE SOUTHERNER you know you’ve got to have a little bit of grease flowing through your veins every once in awhile😊

Last, but certainly not least, we had some sliced fresh tomatoes…Lord love us, here in the South we could live on MATER SANDWICHES all summer if we had to!  (Add some bacon to that sandwich and we think we’ve died and gone to heaven.)

So here was my plate with strawberry jam added to the biscuit.  I did leave off the butter though since I’m trying to trim down the waistline!

And here is my plate when “supper” was done.  Yes, we call the evening meal SUPPER. 

And now I’m fuller than a tick on an old hound dog!  After it all settles for awhile, we’ll top it off with a piece of this delicious CREAM CHEESE POUND CAKE.  My sweet granddaughter “M” and her summer sitter (a teenage friend) baked this for me today because tomorrow is my birthday.  She couldn’t wait (so she said) and she also just “had to have” a taste to make sure she made it right!  It is absolutely delicious and turned out beautifully…that “perfect pound cake crack” and everything!  Thank you, sweet “M”.  You made me day!

Wish you were here to “chat” awhile; if you were I’d offer you a slice of cake and a glass of sweet tea just to show you some good ole’ SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY😊

MY NECK of the WOODS

I’ve been going 90-to-nothing lately…makes me wonder how I ever had time to work!!!  

Since April 17^th I’ve been going to the gym and “sweating” my heart out!  I decided it was time to slim down and shape up a little.  I started out by going to SILVER SNEAKERS classes (which were taught by some great trainers and attended by some very sweet ladies). However, I could see right away these classes (although very good for you) were not going to help me meet my goals, so…..I upped my daily walks (3 ½ to 4 miles per day) and started working out on the machines.  AND….I am happy to say I’m down several pounds and several inches, but still a work-in-progress!  

By the way, some health insurance, including mine, will pay for you to go to Silver Sneakers classes or join the gym and workout!!!  Just one of the perks of getting older😊

It’s the time of year when hubby and I put up fresh vegetables in the freezer, which is not a hard task but not exactly easy and very time consuming.  So last week he and I put up 4 bushes of peas and butterbeans and this week I put up 4 more bushels all by my lonesome.  Some of these were for my son and his family.   It’s not cheap to put up your own vegetables but they sure are better than those you buy in a can at the supermarket!

I’ve also spent time keeping the grandkids and taking them here and there.  Grandson R is 15 and since we live in GA he has to complete a course called JOSHUA’s LAW before he can get his driver’s license next year.  It can be taken online, but let me tell you….it is grueling!!!  R comes over to my house to work on it an hour or so here and there so that I can help answer any questions he might have.  I know it’s a good thing but it’s written by someone who (in my opinion) is writing way above the heads of the 15 year olds that have to take it.  It’s 30 hours of difficult reading and includes tests over what has been read.  Sure hope my smart boy can remember all of it for the final quiz, but I’m not sure I could!

Granddaughter M spends about 2 days a week with me and the rest with her teenage sitter.  She is a total mess and can talk the horns off a billy goat, so she keeps me entertained.  She told me recently, “Cheri, I’m trying to be a better Christian.”  My heart went to my throat and I just melted.  She also told me yesterday that she is praying for our little friend ASHLYNN (see the post about her here) every day.  My granddaughter has such a sweet heart!

Today is the 4^th of JULY and we are experiencing some rain showers.  Hope they will be gone by tonight when we will attend our community FIREWORKS SHOW.  We will be grilling steaks and making homemade peach ice cream before we go (recipe below).

I spent some time this a.m. thanking God for all those who serve or have served to enable us to have our freedom, and I also prayed that God will lead our country to a time of peace among our citizens.  Our country is too great to be divided by those who will not accept differences in each other.  Have a blessed day, everyone….and GOD BLESS AMERICA.

HOPE ALL OF YOU ARE HAVING A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY WITH FAMILY AND/OR FRIENDS

This is my husband's grandmother's recipe & has been used in our family hundreds of times...enjoy!

Homemade GA Peach Ice Cream

1.  With mixer, mix together:

                       4 large eggs

                       2-3 cups sugar (depending on sweetness of peaches)

                    *mix until it looks like thickened cake batter, then add

                       1 can sweetened condensed milk

                       2 large cans evaporated milk

                    *mix well

2.  Blend enough peaches to have a blender full of pureed peaches (maybe even a little more)

3.  Add peaches to custard mixture and mix well.

4.  Pour into ice cream churn and process.

5.  Before eating:  forget about how many calories per serving!!!

                                                  

                                                   ENJOY