Comeback Kids

I have now lived long enough (not complaining)

to notice decorative things for the home do indeed make a comeback .

So when brass items started reappearing in blogland,

especially in more urban

stylized interiors,

I shouted

‘Woohoo! I liked brass the FIRST time’.

And so I fell in love when I found this shell

at a Market Days.

I was willing to pay $12 because it is the perfect summer accessory.

This back to the future business with accessories makes perfect sense to me.

How about you?

***

Linking to Rhoda’s

Dear Daughters: Soul Tomatoes

Dear Daughters,

These tomatoes,

and the others I gather from my garden as they ripen,

are feeding

my soul

in ways I want you to know one day .

This is how.



They allow me to pretend I am Grandmother Mills,

with a bonnet on in her garden in Ricardo.

They allow me, in this modern world,

to be who I was created to be.


They are a blessing and a gift

from God.


They are frustrating and worrisome- as most good things are.


They are imperfect-

which is my absolute favorite state of being.


So find something somewhere you can plant,

that you can stand over with a hose slowly running,

and see what I mean.


Love,

Mom

***

 

Linking to:

 

Cowgirl Up @ http://farmhouseporch.blogspot.com

and

Coastal Charm @ http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com

My Heat Index

I hope you are cooler than I am.


It was 100 degrees today.


I know. 

I say the same thing every summer.

I have decided , however,

I am going to enjoy it.

So,

my heat index this summer is going to be tied to

family members standing in the yard watching grandsons

throw the baseball,

Blue Bell thawing (just enough)

on my patio table,

and my vintage ice cream scoop waiting nearby.

And naps, and lots of iced tea, and avocados, and tomatoes from my garden,

and bouquets of zinnias, and books, and the periodic frozen margarita or

cerveza preparada, and new songs on my IPod,

and my new Jimmy Choo perfume,

and turquoise jewelry, and white linen.

What’s on your heat index?

 

“Dude!”

On a recent quick trip to Houston on business,

my husband and I decided to pick up our grandsons and take them to an Astros

game.

Once settled in our seats

after buying

4 chili dogs and 2 Icees ($39.00),

2 bags of cotton candy ($10.00),

and 1 bag of roasted peanuts ($4.50),

I ended up sitting by my oldest grandson.

Timeout:

I don’t pretend to understand these prices, but once you have been funneled through

various ballpark checkpoints and someone has dug through your purse to see if you brought in snacks,

I just let it all go.


Besides , we were having too much fun.


So, as I sat next to my oldest grandson,

and we began to quietly talk about the game,

the players,

and the stats posted on the scoreboard,


I had one of my ALL TIME,

LIFETIME,

grandmother moments that I will

NEVER forget.


He turned to me in our mutual enthusiasm

about what had just occurred on the field, and he said:

”Dude! Did you see that?”

And as I kept my eyes straight ahead,

in order to maintain my composure and appear cool and worthy of such an address,

in a

world that had just been turned on its axis,

I nonchalantly replied (tears in my eyes),

 

“I know- right?”

 

Ranch Recipe # 10: Ranch Style Bean Salad

 

The year is 1972.

I am on the phone with my mother.

(Remember making long distance calls?).

I need a salad recipe that is no fail

for my first dinner party,

and my skill set is a little shaky.

Her recommendation?

Ranch Style Bean Salad

 

Don’t worry about amounts ladies.

You can not ruin this salad.

I am sure that is why my mother suggested it.

This next step is important.

Before beginning, play a country western song from the 70’s on your stereo .

My choice?

There Stands the Glass by Johnny Bush.

You can now begin.

 

Rinse, drain, and chill 2 cans of ranch style beans

Chop the following:

red onion (about 1/4 cup)

1 green bell pepper

 

Gently combine the vegetables with the ranch style beans .

Add a generous sprinkling of grated cheese.

Drizzle with Catalina dressing until everything is coated.

Before serving, add 1 package of fritos.

Enjoy!

 

Secretariat

 

If the number of times I have watched the

film Secretariat is any indication,

I LOVE the film

but I especially love the horse.

This horse and his success transformed

our hearts and our country’s landscape.


Aside from all of the political positives

(hope during a time of Watergate, Viet Nam, and general disillusionment),

Secretariat was a warrior.


Much like other pivotal moments in our personal histories,

we ALL remember where we were when watching

the Belmont, which he won by 31 lengths.


Many of us were crying.

Jack Nicklaus was as he watched the race in his living room.

Coeds standing at the rail at the Belmont,  who had never been to a horse race before, cried as he flew by.

As the Belmont approaches and another horse has the chance to win the Triple Crown

join me and watch the film for the 10th time.

You won’t regret it.