Molly's Country Memories

Molly's Country Memories

The memories and happening in the everyday life of a country girl

Monday, June 29, 2009

2d Time around Tuesday

It Tuesday already, boy the time is just flying by, it seems the older I get the faster time goes. I remember when I was younger it semed that time just stood still, now it's like I'm on a down hill run and my breaks are gone,
It's time for 2nd Time Around Tuesday, hosted by Diane @ A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words. be sure to drop by Daine's blog and check out the other 2d time around items.........
The item I have to show today is one I found at a flea market a couple of years ago, it's an old item that really brought back memories from the old Farm House...now, I'm sure most of you know what it is, and I'm also sure most of you younger bloggers never had to get up in the middle of the night when it was 20 degrees in the house and set your warm little bottom on the ice cold rim, let me tell you it did get cold, mercifully after 30 seconds your bottom is too numb to fell it.. But it beat going to the outhouse in the middle of the night...I guess by now you know what I'm going to show you...yep that's right, a white enamel slop jar, chamber pot, or thunder jar, all names a perfect fit for this pot.
Isn't this a neat one, it doesn't look like it got much use, or else who ever used it was as much a sticklier for cleanliness as my Momma, it had to be emptied everyday, (well of course or it would stink you out of the house, even with the lid on it) then you'd heat a pan of water and pour in it with soap powder and scrub with a special mop like brush that was then washed itself and hang outside to dry. The pot would also be set outside to sun untill night fall then it would be set in the corner of the bed room...
In case you are wondering what in the world I did to this for the 2d time around...well after cleaning good with bleach and pine soil, I painted it with roosters and hens and biddies, oh my,...Where is it now? why, my SIL has it in her kitchen filled potatoes...and it does look really neat.
She did line the pot with foil before adding her tators...LOL..My DH and her DH who are Brother's just look at it and shake there heads, they also grow up using one of these at night.
Well that's my offering for this Tuesday, hope you didn't laugh too hard.
I also found a small child's enamel potty several years ago and painted Biddies on it and a nest of eggs in the bottom, and it sold very well on Ebay, but I don't have any pictures of it. The lady who bought it put a liner in it and made a center piece with apples. Who would have thought 50 yrs ago, Our chamber pots would be kitchen decoration today..don't you know the old folks are looking down saying, lord have mercy what will they think of next...tsk, tsk, tsk....

The Simple Woman's Day Book

FOR TODAY Monday
Outside my window...The sun is shining bright and hot, it is so dry and not much is stirring. Everything looks so sad....
I am thinking...I pray God sends us rain soon. Everything is drying up, even with us watering every day.

I am thankful …..for the forecast of a chance of rain later this week.

From the kitchen...for breakfast it’s hot coffee, biscuits and can pears from last year.
Left over Fried Chicken, fresh string beans, squash casserole, sliced tomaotes and cucumbers out of the garden, corn bread and sweet tea

I am wearing…blue Capri’s with a yellow T..barefooted

I am going…to do a little reading this week.

I am creating... a gift for my DIL’s Mom, for her birthday

I am reading...Several James Lee Burke’s Books…read about them here
Also found a new book, This morning I can’t wait to read…Patricia Neely Dorsey's Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia-A Life in Poems .

I am hearing...The Fox News on TV. I hate that Michal Jackson died so early, but enough already. There has to be something else happening in the world. DH stirring around in the kitchen.

Around the house...It’s too hot to do anything out side so we are deep cleaning the inside.
Scrubbed the kitchen floor Sat. Moved icebox and stove cleaned out from behind and under them. Today the living room.

One of my favorite things...a clean smelling house. I love the smell of clean crisp pine soil…..

A few plans for the rest of the week:
Cleaning good today, Rissa comes back tonight. A trip to Wally World and grocery store tomorrow. Just what ever comes the rest of the week.
Plan to try to find someone else to do my floors, the other company never showed up and kept giving us excuses, so I fired them……
Fri. wish Redman Happy 12th. Birthday
Sat.  and Sun will be spent in Madison with BB for the 4th. Ronnie and family will be in TN.
Picture though for the day.....
 
 Hope you have a great day. don't forget to check out the other daybooks for today.

Blue Monday...God Bless America


Good morning y'all, it's Monday and that means Blue Monday at Smiling
Sally's place...since Sat will the the 4th, I decided to show a few of my blue clip arts that reflect how I feel about this great land of ours....
That is my Blue Monday offerings. I hope you enjoyed them. For more Blue Monday Posts please visit Smiling Sally by clicking here.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

HEAVEN'S PRISONERS (Dave Robicheaux Mysteries)

I know I've mentioned several times that I'm not much of a reader, just can't sit still long enough. If I'm not doing something in the house or yard, I rather spend my time painting or chatting with my friends on the internet.
But, since it's been so hot and I had rather stay inside, I have decided to read a few books that I've had on my list for several years, ...lol...as a matter of fact since 1998...almost 11 yrs.
It all started in 1998 when I saw a movie starring Alex Baldwin featuring Cajun detective Dave Robicheaux . Called Heaven's Prisoners
I enjoyed the movie and the setting so much that I Googled the Author and found this Clip about the book....The Cajun hero of The Neon Rain returns in a very intense and atmospheric, if not obsessive, story of personal revenge. Former homicide cop Dave Robicheaux, now proprietor of a bait and boat rental business on the Louisiana bayou, rescues a terrified illegal immigrant girl from a small plane that crashes into the Gulf..............
Oh, mercy there are more like this one, well I had to order the book and I'm here to tell you I have never seen a movie so true to the book. Well they did clean up some of the language. There are a few offensive words. As I said it is true to the New Orleans underworld style.
The Ft. Lauderdale Sun Sentinel wrote about Black Cherry Blues "A dark novel of the bayou from a Master storyteller.
I was hooked, on the stories and the allure of the bayou, so off I went to check out more Dave Robicheaux books and was not disappointed.
Books read are
1. Heaven's Prisoners
2. Black Cherry Blues
3. The Neon Rain,
Plan to read
1Purple Cane Road
2. Pegasus Descending
3.Burning Angels
4. Swan Peaks
5.The Tin Roof Blowdown...this is the last of a 16 book series. And it is set in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina...
If you love the culture, the mystery and the allure of the French Quarters and the Bayou, plus a good detective mystery you will love these books.....
You can read more about all of Burkes books in this series here...

Sunday Favorite Re-run A Child's Veiw of Thunderstorms

It's time again for Sunday Favorite Re-runs, a new Meme hosted by Chari over @ happytodesign It is so much fun to go back and re-run some of my favorite post.

I first posted this in April and I thought it was worth re-running, if we all had the faith of a child, what a wonderful world this would be.....

A Child's View of Thunderstorms..
...
A little girl walked to and from school daily.
Though the weather that morning was questionable and clouds were forming,
she made her daily trek to the elementary school.
As the afternoon progressed, the winds whipped up, along with lightning.
The mother of the little girl felt concerned that her daughter would be
frightened as she walked home from school and she feared the electrical
storm might harm her child.
Full of concern, the mother quickly got into her car and drove along the route to her child's school.
As she did, she saw her little girl walking along At each flash of lightning, the child would stop, look up, and smile..
Another and another flash of lighting followed
quickly and with each, the little girl would
lookat the streak of light and smile.
When the mother's car drew up beside the child, she lowered the window and
called to her-
'What are you doing?'
The child answered,
'I am trying to look pretty because God keeps taking my picture.'
May God bless you today and everyday as you face the storms that come your way.
Just have a good day!

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Stories from the Farm House....Burning the past and saying good bye to dear friends...

In my last story from the Farm house I told of the lost of my Granddaddy, if you missed it you can go back to the farm house and read all about it...
Today I want to continue the story of our loss, We all missed Granddaddy, and things were never quite the same after his passing. When Granddaddy retired from the Freight hauling business he asked Emmel to come live on the farm and help him, you can read about it here...
Before he died he made Emile promise to take care of Momma and his precious girls, Emmel and Clementine did their best. Granddaddy passed in March and everything just seemed to go down hill, Jim and Emmel and EL's sons planted the spring crops and they were rained out, they replanted and the heat got them, even most of the corn that we used to feed the cows and Mules, burnt up in the field. The thing was; other farmers had no problems at all that year with their crops. Even the garden Granny planted that usually made good, didn't yield much.. it was like a dark cloud of sorrow covered the farm as if the land had died with Granddaddy,.
Our barn was outside our bedroom window there was about 40 ft between the house and the barn, it was a long barn with a loft where hay was stored. Looking out our bedroom window on the left end of the barn was the crib where Granny kept that stupid Demon Turkey then next there was a corn crib which was pretty empty by now, then the stalls where Jake and Jill, Granddaddy's pair of mules were kept, about 10 ft from there on the right side was a car shed, where Granny kept her old Plymouth Car.
That fall Jim ordered his 100 biddies to raise and sell like he did every year. When the Feed Store called he went and picked them up, he put them in the barn like he did every year and at night he put the biddy heat lamps up.
I want to tell you what happened next will live with me the rest of my life, I have never been so scared or lived though anything so surreal in all my life, we were awaken by the loudest crackling and popping I've ever heard in my life, the room was an erie red and yellow and so hot, it was like a scene from Hell, The air was thick with smoke, it was hard to breath and the smell was sickeningly sweet, it was the smell of seared flesh...The barn was ablaze and it lite up the whole sky, you could see the fire, I was told all the way into Brookhaven, which was 2 miles away, Momma jumped up and ran outside and Granny called the fire department, Emmel and all his boys came running and the hardest thing for me was hearing the screaming and whining of the 2 mules, the fire was so far gone that no one could get to them, Jim tried and was nearly killed by the falling roof, he did ran to the car shed and managed to get the car out just before the roof collapsed. Neighbors came from miles around, but it was too far gone, they mainly concentrated on the house; wetting it down to keep it from going up in flames...it was so hot in our bedroom, ... and the siding was melting off the outside. It was the old asphalt type that looked like brick that was used in the 1920s. They kept water on the outside wall until the danger of it flaring up was gone. I still remember the eerie quite after the mules stopped screaming and the fire stopped crackling and popping. The Demon wasn't in the barn that night,so he was still with us, the biddies all died of course. It was determined that the lamps used to keep the biddies warm had turned over some how and set the hay on fire...but Emmel didn't believe it, he stayed all day and helped Jimmy and Uncle Norman get the mules and other stuff moved to the back pasture and buried and the next morning he packed up his belonging, his wife and kids and left the Farm for good. I will never forget crying and holding on to Clementine and Mary, I loved them dearly and knew I'd never see them again, because they were moving so far away. It seemed like our whole world had just finished falling apart.
Emmel hugged Momma and cried, he told her, "MS Sara, I can't stay here no longer this place is haunted, Mr. Moxie done told me that if they ( meaning Granny and Uncle Norman) mistreated his Baby and try to take her part of this farm, he cursed it and nothing will ever grow again, he also said he believed the fire started where the mules was cause Granddaddy loved them mules and wanted them with him....
Now I'm not saying I believe that Granddaddy put a curse on the farm or that everything that happened didn't happen naturally, but I will say before Granddaddy died it was a very productive farm, a happy farm and a good living was made from it, but after his death no crops ever grew in the fields again, Granny made a living by milking a few cows and selling the milk. Momma was already working and she worked everyday that we lived there. Granny did grow a beautiful flower garden ever year, but then, Momma loved that garden and spent hours in it when she had problems, it relaxed her to walk among the beautiful blooms....so maybe Granddaddy let it grow for her. Life just became life after Granddaddy passed, it seems like nothing worth remembering happened after that, or maybe Dean and I just grew up to young. But I will always remember the 2 yrs we spent in childhood bliss in the old Farm house.....before our world changed for good.
We lived at the farm for another 4 yrs, until Momma met Mr Warren
a friend she had gone to school with and had grown up with, they never dated in school or even thought about it, he had moved out of town after High School and married, but it didn't work out either, just like Momma. He was a truck driver and had come back to town to visit his Momma and walked into the cafe where she worked and into our lifes in 1954, they started talking and he soon moved back to Brookhaven, he and Mom married in 1955, he was good to Momma and Shirley came first in his world. I will alway love him for that.

Treasures once/Trash now/Treasures again .....and a big mouth....

Last week when Rissa was here I took her home Thurs. night and spend a couple of nights with the family  in Richland, We had plans to go berry picking Sat. Fri. morning Rissa and I slipped off to Pearl to a Flea Market, We found several items there that I just had to have, Rissa found 5 Barbies that were $2.00 a piece fully clothed and they were so cute, of course she was too busy playing with them for me to get a picture. They were in A-1 condition, the lady who owned the little shop had bought 75 of them from an Estate sale of a Lady who had collected Barbies for years. She had already sold most of the better ones in boxes for $5.00 each....
I also found this black shelf, for .50 cents, don't know yet what I'm going to do with it, but I'll figure out something one day.
 
 
The green line on the ticket means it's 50% off, now I couldn't  pass that up, could I?
Next she had a basket full of knitted items and a few linen scarves, I found these 2 for $1.00 each
 
  
  
These are called dresser scarves and are usually 3 to a set, but some one had already bought one of them..boo, I needed it for my dresser. But I'll find somewhere else to use them...I just love the pretty baskets of flowers and the tan color.
Sat. on my way home from taking BB his Berries I picked for them, I came through Jackson and stopped at the Elton St. Flea Market...I told y'all I'd tell you what I found, but first let me tell you about a man I meet there, he was one of those old men, I know y'all have ran across one of them some time in your life, if you haven't you will. One of those blow hard big mouths that just have to smart off about everything, 
I had just got to the Market and was looking at different vendors booths, it was getting late and extremely hot in the building, there were very few customers there, maybe 4 or 5 besides me and it is a big building so there was only the lady that ran the booth and me in her area...he walked over from one of those everything new from China booths, I'm sure you know the kind I'm talking about. It seems that's all you can find in some malls now adays.
Anyhow I was looking at this little jewel
 
  
  
Marked 2 whole dollars and I was telling the lady I had to have it, (can't you see the possibilities of it?) WELLLLL, he started out with, "girl what do you want with a piece of junk like that, I just never can understand why you women go so crazy over just pure junk"....well I tried to exnore  him, and I could tell it was embaressing the little old lady in the booth, but he just wouldn't shut up, "I told my wife, she better never bring junk like that in my house, wasting my good money on junk"... "it's even got a hole in the side, what in the world are you going to do with it" "you women just amuse me" OK, that did it, I am not there to Amuse him, I sweetly and politely with fire shooting out of my eyes....told him, that I was so sorry that he didn't have the vision to see the treasure in this little pot, but I did, I could see that at one time it was a treasured, loved item in some other lady's home, and even though some people might think of it as junk, I could see a beautiful little flower pot or a spooner for the kitchen, a little change holder, there were so many ways it could still be useful, even it it couldn't be used as a tea pot anymore, and that what is one man's  trash is anothers treasure.
I then started to turn around and start looking at the items again, but I just had to tell this old wrinkled, seen better days,  over weigh man, that I guess we were lucky that people didn't judge our worth by our looks as we got older or there would be alot of us threw out for junk.
I then turned my back on him and continued shopping, and happy days look what other special treasure I found 

 
  
  
 

and for $4.00...I really danced a jigg on this find, he just shook his head and left...lol...
I see red, No not from his big mouth, red on the Canisters along with hens and roosters and biddies everywhere, Don't you? And the lazy susan works fine.....
I spend a grand total of $8.50 and Rissa spent $10.00 not bad at all.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Blackberry Buttermilk Cake....

Ladies I just had to tell you about a very simple and delicious blackberry buttermilk cake I made this morning, I had Redman and Moo-Moo last night and this morning for breakfast they wanted pancakes or something different, so I got to thinking and I remember a recipe for a simple 1 layer Blackberry buttermilk cake, that I had seen over at the Japanese Rednecks blog.

It was so simple to make and so much better than pancakes, We used cool whip and fresh berries on top and they just loved it.
I didn't think to take a picture before I cut it, time I thought about it this was all that was left and now there is none left....I am going to make a blueberry one next....

Here is the recipe, I used....
My berries were a little tart so I put 1/4 cup sugar over them and let them sit for a few minutes...while I was mixing up the cake batter
Raspberry Buttermilk Cake: (adapted from Gourmet Magazine)
1 cup self rising flour
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened (I didn't have any unsalted so I used reg. butter...
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice...
1 large egg
1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
2 cup fresh blackberries

Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan. (I used a black cast iron skillet) everything seems to taste better in a cast iron skillet...hummmmmm
In a large bowl, beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about two minutes, then beat in vanilla extract and lemon juice. Add egg and beat well.

At low speed, mix in flour mixture in three batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, and mixing until just combined. Spoon batter into cake pan, smoothing top. Scatter blackberries evenly over top and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.

Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool to warm, 10 to 15 minutes more. Invert onto a plate. Hope you will try it and enjoy....

Where all the phone cords go.....

How neat...someone has more time than me....
WHERE OLD PHONE CORDS GO


Every one of these sheep is made from telephones and cords . . Check out their feet!
(Museum of Communications in Frankfurt, GERMANY)


 

New post on Molly's painting blog...

Check out my new post on Molly's Paintings........

Family Foto Friday

Good Morning Y'all, It's Family Foto Friday again, Deborah at http://picturespotspens.blogspot.com/ is hosting Favorite Family Foto. You get to see lots of family photos, hop on over and check them out.
Today my FFF's are about my favorite sport and how much I love watching my little ones play it. My real love for the sport started 22 yrs ago when BB was 7 yrs old and starting playing, there was been at least 1 child playing ever since, now we have 2 playing.
Lance at 7 yrs..start the whole thing...he played for 11 yrs
Keifer started playing the yr Lance stopped, This is my favorite picture of Keifer..lol..he hates it...he says he looks like Goofy sliding into second, but at least he was safe...
Next came Connor he started playing when Keifer had 2 yrs left so we knew we'd be at the ballfield for another12 yrs...
But today my Very Fav Friday Fotos are about the little lady in our ball field...She started playing last year and she is tough, she can be sooo lady like, but underneath that sweet girly look is a "get out of my way" tough and tummble girl...

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Vintage Thingie Thursday

Good morning Y'all, my it feels so good to have a little time to myself, DH is feeling better and we are staying in because of the heat. Rissa has gone home for a week, but boy do I miss her I feel plum lost without her here. She was my little conpanion, we went everywere together for the last 3 weeks.
I have gotten the Laundry done the house mopped and my blueberries and blackberries in the freezer for pies and goodies this fall. DH didn't want me to waste them in jellies..lol..was fine with me, less work. We are both trying to cut down on sweets, will make pear preserves in Aug, for our biscuits this winter. OK, ok,....... yep, I do remember today is Thurs and this post is suppose to be about vintage items ( I think DH and I should qualily for vintage thingies)...lol...so today I have more Hall's Teapots to show and I will also show you the pot that got this all started...my Mom's tea pot she recieved for saving coupons from Standard coffee.


Isn't she a beauty, I know the rules say that they are not worth as much if the are chipped or have a crack, but to me this pot is priceless, broke spout and all, it has been broken for as long as I can remember.
Momma's pot is the one in the back on the right, this is the true color of it, I don't know why it looked so light in the other pictures. These are the only 4 I have in this style, and one doesn't have a lid, I showed this one several weeks ago, I found a lid on Ebay but it sold for $27.00....soooo I'll just keep looking one will show up some day.
If you enlarge the photos you can see the beautiful gold flowers on the green and maroon ones.
Next is a little yellow tea pot with a gold cozy over it. These were made to keep the tea hot after it was pored into the pot and while it was waiting to be served
I really like this one, I have found several cozies but not the pot or the ones that had the pot, the pot was
broken or the lid was missing, this one is in mint condition....
This is another one of my favorites, but it is a one of a kind for me I hope to find some more in this style and different color....
Next week more of my collection...I HOPE YOU ENJOYED MY VINTAGE THINGIES! SEE YOU NEXT WEEK! FOR MORE WONDERFUL VINTAGE THINGIES VISIT COLORADO LADY