Author: apronsandappetites.com

Ah the Breeze of Relief

/ apronsandappetites.com / 6 Comments

Several years ago I wrote a poem on a hot, sticky, summer night.  As I sat on the small, screened-in porch, the cool wind began to blow, just as it has done today, and I penned these thoughts.

THE BREEZE by Brenda Byasse

Oh, there it comes!
I feel it now.
I can even smell the changes it has wrought.
From the heated, sticky heaviness
To the first whisper of relief,
I feel it now.
And the coolness it has brought.

The trees begin their dancing,
The bushes jump around;
The leaves can’t help but falling
Laughing to the ground.
As I myself am giddy
From earth’s long-awaited breath,
I rejoice with all creation:
Joy flows from my soul’s depth.

It speaks as it caresses,
My legs, my hair, my face,
And brings with it the treasure
From a cooler, distant place.

I feel it now.

My Sis Kicked My Butt!

/ apronsandappetites.com / 2 Comments

The little sister came down today to help me get a handle on this out-of-control house I call home.  She has much more decorating savvy than I do.  My idea of decorating is put a couple of chairs in the room and pictures everywhere along with shelves and whatever else I have lying around and think I need to display.  Plus she is a shaker and a mover.  She has shaken this place up and moved stuff all over.  It looks great!

I told her the reason I did not have the decorating flair that she does is because I have one of the top ten live-in-a-trailer-park names.  Or at least that’s what Sandy Celeste says.  So my tastes are, unfortunately, different than Darla’s.  She has refined decor smarts; I have get ‘er done desire.

There is something to the name a child is given at birth.  I believe that a child takes on the persona and essence of the name given to him or her.  The internet says Brenda means sword.   Darla’s name means darling one.  And she is, and always has been as the baby of the family and the spoiled wife of Dave.

However, and most importantly, Darla does not have any type of blog whatsoever by any Darla.  I found one particularly interesting one from a cute little Brenda (click on her name) in Venezuela.  Here is an excerpt from one of her blogs:

BRENDA: Sword

Torch

Unforgettable  Brand

Crédito: Brenda E. Guarisma
In these days several persons have asked to me: “Which is the meaning of your name BRENDA?”
Also in recent days, Maryuri sent to me a funny e-mail. Here there is a comical KEY that explains the meaning of each letter in the alphabet. This meaning for each letter gives some traits of personality and special abilities and skills to the person that owns this letter in their name.
I really do not know if it is true… But it is nice and funny!!! At the end, I will give you all the meanings of all letters. In this way, you also will discover something very comical about your name and your person! Guiño (((Smile)))
Here I go with the name BRENDA…
B     All people fall in love with you.
R     You are very crazy.
E     You give very good kisses.
N     You are very sexy.
D     You have a great personality.
A     You are original.
Well, right now I present here the MEANINGS that I have read for the name BRENDA…
Brenda is a female name. This is a name with origins Gaelic, Irish, Norse, Scottish, Teutonic, Germanic.
According to each origin the name Brenda has a different meaning. I read that these meanings are: “Sword, Torch, Unforgettable Brand, Little Raven, Beacon On The Hill.”
I really love my name Brenda!!! The name Brenda is not common in Venezuela, my loved country. For me it is super good! Always people say to me that Brenda is a very beautiful name!!!
The story of why my name is Brenda is very interesting, lovely and a little strange. The truth is that a series of circumstances did it was possible. But really the name Brenda never was in the mind of my MOM for me! (((Smile))) GOD and the DESTINY wanted that BRENDA be my name in this life!
The meanings for Brenda, than more are repeated one and another time in all what I have read, are SWORD and TORCH.
“You are strong like a SWORD. Your nature is emotional, discerning, clear-sighted and clairvoyant. You express yourself with perseverance, concentration, aptitude, self-satisfaction, and clemency. You love what is and what can to be. You love the execution and contributing ideas. You are consistent and diligent. You are forged for activities that requiring action, friendship, sociability and urbanity. You love, teach and make beautiful!”
“You are the TORCH in many lives. Take the flame and fan it! Your enthusiasm and outlook on life is inspiring to others. Use your wisdom and inner knowledge to light the way for those less fortunate. The rewards will be great!”
COMICAL KEY
“A     You are original.
B      All people fall in love with you.
C      You are a little crazy.
D      You have a great personality.
E      You give very good kisses.
F      The persons adore to you.
G      You never let to the persons say to you what to do.
H      You are very jealous.
I       You are a good boyfriend or girlfriend.
J       You know to live the life.
K      You have a good personality and you look very well.
L      You are loved for all people.
M     You like to drink.
N      You are very sexy.
O      You are good in the bed.
P      You are popular.
Q      You are a hypocritical.
R      You are very crazy.
S      You fall in love very easy.
T      You are loyal to your loved ones.
U      You like to talk through your nose.
V      You do not judge.
W     Your mind is intelligent.
X      You never let to the persons say to you what to do.
Y      You have a good butt.
Z      You always are ready.”
What do You Think and Feel about the Name BRENDA?

The Family That Works Together, Aches Together

/ apronsandappetites.com / 12 Comments

Yesterday I wrote about falling in the pool and bruising myself and practically tearing my arm from the socket.  My sister wrote a reply about how we are a family that works; that’s just what we do.  It really doesn’t occur to us to ask for help, and generally we just pick up our shovels and dig in, whatever it may be.  I’ve hung drywall (ceiling and walls), dug a French drain around the garage, helped wire the basement, painted, canned our garden vegetables, cleaned house (not as well as I used to and never, ever as well as my Mom did), ironed, mowed/hoed/weeded, helped tear up a concrete driveway, moved furniture by myself (big stuff from upstairs to the basement) (used a sheet), and just generally worked like a mule.

And so has all my family.  And the in-laws.  And the out-laws.  My daughter rewired her bathroom by herself after reading a book on how to do it.  My nieces and nephews and their spouses are just as work hardy:  adding on rooms, changing out windows, plumbing, wiring, washing vehicles; anything that’s there to do, they can do it and do it well.

After reading her little response, I got to thinking about that work heritage and happened upon this picture that pretty well explains why we are all work horses.

Grandma Madeline and Mom 1925

When one was raised in the Great Depression, that person learned to work… and be frugal.  My mother never got over those years of lean times and always worked hard and saved harder.  She saved everything from money to tin foil.  And so did all the other ladies I knew that had gone through those oh-so-tough years.  Then they passed what they knew down to their children because what happened to them, well, it could happen to us, and we all needed to be prepared.

So we were taught at an early age to work:  cook, hang clothes on the line, iron, garden, clean.  Our neighbors up the hill, the Logsdons, had chickens, and Mrs. Logsdon would chop their heads off with an axe as we children squealed and ran from the flopping, headless hen.  Mom never had chickens.  From the photo I would imagine she’d had enough of them when she was small.

That’s probably why she married dad.  He was a grocer; it was what his family did.  So all she had to do was bring it home and fry it up.  Not a bad gig if you’ve ever been chased by a headless chicken.

 

Help! I’ve Fallen and I Can’t Get UP!!

/ apronsandappetites.com / 9 Comments

Those were my words from the bottom of the pool Monday evening.  I was walking down the deep incline to get the pump going again because it had stopped, (needs to stay dry for the curing stage of five days so had to get the rain water off of it) and as I was about two-thirds of the way down, unbeknownst to me, the bottom of the incline was wet.  My feet slid on the slicker than snot (I really hate that analogy, sorry) rubberized pool floor, and I went ka-whack!!  Hitting my entire right side in the free fall.  Since I was holding the rope we use to climb up and down that incline, I held on tighter to keep from tumbling, thus, I am fairly certain from the way it feels, tearing my rotator cuff.

As I lay there on my back staring around at Bikini Blue walls and floor, I was hoping I had not broken anything because it felt as though my thigh bone was cracked.

big black bug

After a little wiggling spell, I decided nothing was broken, and after looking around at the big bugs crawling all over the place, I hurriedly got up, really deciding I was fine.  After all, there may have been a baby frog down there as well.  EEEEEEEK!!

But I’m not.  I hurt from stem to stern and am bruising more and more each day.  My right shoulder is killing me, and I can barely use it.  I have decided I’m too old for this sheet.  What the heck am I doing at the bottom of a 10-foot or more deep swimming pool?

tomcat

So for the last two days, I have been dragging around like the town tomcat because I can’t sleep and I hurt like Hades.  I am praying for a miracle, so am quite sure God will forget about those awful things I said to Him and about Him Sunday afternoon and Monday evening and will heal me.

Bikini Blue wheelchair

Or at least send some knight in shining armor that will want to whisk me up on his Bikini Blue wheelchair and roll off together in the sunset… leaving the Bikini Blue pool for the frogs and the bugs.

Free at Last! Free at Last! Thank God Almighty I’m Free at Last!

/ apronsandappetites.com / 5 Comments

fireworks

It’s the 4th of July!  Time to celebrate freedom!  President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his Four Freedoms Speech in 1941 said he wanted to see four freedoms:  freedom of speech, freedom to worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.  In 1963 Martin Luther King wanted to see freedom from segregation.

sexual revolution

By the late 1970s the Sexual Freedom movement had dwindled.

The 1980s brought freedom from public schooling as more and more families began home schooling their children.

homeschooling

Freedom for women came in the 1990s as they moved into greater positions of power and authority, becoming more willing to use their voice in speaking out for their rights.

And now… we are in the 21st century.  What freedoms will be challenged?  O Liberty…! is it well To leave the gates unguarded?
~Thomas Bailey Aldrich

What chains of bondage need to be broken to gain freedom?  “In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved.” Franklin D. Roosevelt

What voices and actions will be used to maintain or gain freedom?  “By definition, a free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopular.” Adlai Stevenson

My favorite freedom of all:  Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.  Romans 8: 1-2

My weaknesses, my imperfections, my failure in doing what I don’t want to do, my inability to live a life free from sin just doesn’t matter for the Spirit who lives in me will be my witness that I am justified in my freedom by the blood of the Great Sacrifice of Jesus the Christ.  I am not condemned.  I am loved.  My goal for this Independence Day: the freedom from any preconceived ideas that keep me from loving as God loves.

What’s your goal?  Free from the bondage of drugs or alcohol?  Free from the destruction of gossip?  Free from financial worries?  Free to be you?  Free from underwire bras?  Now that is freedom.

The Messy Desk

/ apronsandappetites.com / 5 Comments

mine isn't quite this bad

Now this is pretty messy.  I only have one coke bottle, one water bottle, and a couple of glasses in the drink category.  The food is over the top as well.  There is no food at my desk… just the empty plates.  I show you these because that is another goal for this year: get my office in a work-friendly status.  It doesn’t help that it’s also the playroom with Kate and Ava’s toys and dress-ups in here.  So not only is my desk covered… the floor is too.

My desk looks more like this:

how do these papers multiply so fast?

I suppose those ten years worth of magazines may be part of the problem although I do have them whittled down to just one box now.  Y’all are gonna be very surprised when I start putting all those delicious meals and recipes on here.  Do I hear a faint “Promises, promises”?  Then there are all these other papers upon which I simply can’t even begin to elaborate.  Bert says I need a dumpster… and she was very serious.

By the end of the year this will be my office and desk:

I can't wait!

Old books:  tossed.

Useless papers:  tossed

Toys:  sorted and tossed

Bills:  tossed… oops, filed in the order to be paid because they will shut my water off if I am late in paying it.  And add a $75 fee to turn it back on.

When the metamorphosis is complete, I shall have an office open house.  Do not bring useless gifts; cash will suffice.

Bummin’ at the Beach

/ apronsandappetites.com / 4 Comments

Today is our last day.  We are all packed up and ready to load the vehicle in the morning.  It’s been a great last day of vacation at the beach.  The weather was perfect: overcast with a cool breeze.  The only mishap of the day was the jellyfish that wrapped around my ankle, but it must have been small because it didn’t sting too badly.

As I walked down the beach, it was such fun to see all the families at play, glad to be on vacation.  Some were laying out a football field while others were making a bocce spot.  Others had rented big tricycles that float in the ocean and can be paddled all over the place.  Moms were taking care of little ones, and Dads were riding bikes while pulling the children in a carrier.  There is no alcohol allowed on the beach, so it is very family friendly.  The beach patrol is always around, and today I saw the deputy sheriff vehicle driving slowly down the beach as well.  And it makes me feel safe for these families with these small children.

Older grandmas and grandpas sit under the umbrellas and watch their families all gathered together from different parts of the country.  They take walks along the beach together and help one another gather all the “beach stuff” to start the trek back to their temporary home.  The grandchildren run into the ocean, build sand castles, dig holes they can sit in, play beach tennis, surf, and have a blast.

There were cute little teenagers with their tight little bodies riding bikes along the waves, eyed by everyone: those jealous of their tightness and their youth, those appreciative of their beauty, those enjoying the fact that they were enjoying themselves.  There was a grandma with her three granddaughters on a beach walk, looking for shells and whatever else looked interesting.  There were boys and girls (and adults) making sand sculptures.

It was just neat, seeing all these people from different places around the world, enjoying God’s gift to us: the beach.  A perfect ending to a perfect week.

Georgia on Our Minds

/ apronsandappetites.com / 7 Comments

Thursday is Savannah day.  We go into Savannah at least once on our trip to Hilton Head, and this year it is Thursday.  So that means Thursday is the day we eat at Mrs. Wilkes\’ Dining Room.  We will wait in line for about an hour, telling all the newbies how it is done since we are pros at it now, how they can get a drink from the cooler Mrs. Wilkes sends out for the hot patrons waiting to sit at her table for collard greens and fried chicken and at least ten other dishes not counting the meat loaf and beef stew.  I am salivating even now.

Then we will meander on down to River Street for one of those big apples covered in caramel and chocolate and nuts or up to City Market to see what kind of goodies they have there.

River Street

We know it will be hot because, after all, it is Georgia in the summertime.  But it will be so worth it.

So it’s Operator Error

/ apronsandappetites.com / 3 Comments

The little box in the upper left-hand corner had the u-turn sign.  So naturally my sis and I thought that meant to immediately make a u-turn… which meant we all in the SUV following the directions of the GPS were making a u-turn every 1/4 mile.  We circled that little tract of highway about six times before I said, in a very nice voice, not the least bit agitated at the stupid GPS that has, I might add, caused multiple deaths by suggesting routes that led people into hazards such as snow, “I’m just going straight; what is wrong with that stupid thing?”

And, of course, there was nothing wrong with it.  Something was wrong with us, the operators.  Well, actually only one of us, Darla, because she was the main reader of the thing.  I was only glancing down occasionally.  After our 30-minute u-turn trek and my rebellion to a different highway, we went back through a toll and onto a different road that led us straight back to our u-turn road.  So Terah finally sits up and says, “I think that means in about 4 1/2 miles we’ll make a u-turn.”  Thank God for Terah or Darla and I would still be on that little stretch of road making one u-turn after another.

Sure enough!  Once the operator, a/k/a Darla, really looked at it, that’s exactly what it had been showing us.  We had “Sister” turned down, so we couldn’t hear her telling us to go straight, you dummies.  Well, actually, she’s much nicer than that.  She just tells us in her bored, not-these-dummies-again voice to go straight.  We finally reached our destination, the ten-minute trip that took about an hour, and jumped out to shop.  Yippee!  By then I was so tired all I wanted to do was sit on the orphan bench (that little spot where the shopping orphans wait on the spouse/friends to get done) and enjoy the nice breeze on a nice evening.

Until we (Terah was with me at this time) got the “We have found the miracle worker sales clerk” text.  Terah was on that like flies attracted to cat poo and got her second wind to hop up and say “I’d better go down there and see what’s happening.”  I waited another ten minutes or so before I finally couldn’t stand it anymore either, and even though I had these nasty blisters on the balls of my feet from walking on the sand, I hobbled on down to Ann Taylor to meet the “miracle worker.”  I was starved!  I thought all I cared about was eating… but, lo and behold, I could have stayed in Ann Taylor’s another hour or two if Dar hadn’t already been checking out.

We hook up Sister for more u-turn and toll-paying tomorrow.

Let’s Get This Party Started!!

/ apronsandappetites.com / 8 Comments

Happy Birthday to ME!!!!  Today is the BIG day(actually Friday; I’m late).  It’s been good.  Lots of happy wishes for good things, presents, and a give-away.

The give-away is a summer fun package with lots of summer “stuff” in it.  Here are some quick pics I hurriedly took of everything.

get tan the easy way

can be used to keep the tablecloth from flying away, close the chip bag, seal your husband's lips...

As I was leaving Walmart, the major source of the purchased items for the summer fun package, I ran into some friends from Ridgway who gave me a great idea.  The awesome little item was already in my cart, and when they saw it, they began telling me about a birthday tradition that went on for several years among their friends in Ridgway.  But wait.  That’s further down the blog.

these things are sooo much fun! keep it handy for those quick, necessary moments when you really need to let someone have it!

First, I must tell you how very appreciative I am of my faithful blog buddies.  I now have 41 subscribers!!!!  Yee-haw!!  That is great for my little mixed-up blog, my little blog with it’s personality as dorky as me, flitting from one subject to another from day to day.

You have all made me want to continue to keep it going.  Thanks so much for your support and feedback.

And the winner is… oh, wait a second.  I forgot to tell you how much fun I have shopping for you guys, how I know you would probably never buy some of these things and how I hope you enjoy them as much as you have helped me to enjoy this blog.

you know you're going to need these.

a handy tool, even in winter for those "older" women

This little guy below was the subject of the discussion in Walmart.  They would pass him around on somebody’s birthday.  If you were having a birthday that day, you knew that somewhere in your yard would be the gnome, the yard gnome.  The person receiving the gnome would put their name and birth date on him somewhere, and wait to sneak him into some other anxious birthday recipient’s yard.  So in starting my new blog tradition, I have put my name and birth date on Mr. Gnome.  Every year I will give one away .  Please don’t let me forget.

Everyone needs one of these in their yard. Thank me later.

And last but not least, no summer would be complete without this:

now you don't have to worry about missing the local carnival

I give everyone a number in the order they posted and then keep adding numbers for everyone.  How many numbers you get depends on the “things to do” that you did.  I think everyone did all of the requested “things to do,” so everyone got three numbers assigned.   I can’t wait till the next one!!!!

Drum roll, please.  The winner is:

Congratulations, Sheryl Woods!!

Random Sequence Generator

Here is your sequence:

 9  Sheryl 
 4  Cheryl 
17  Sheryl 
19  Gail
 8  Sarah
21  Robin
18  Gail
16  Sarah
 3  Addie
15  Cecilia
 1  Sheryl
14  Darla
20  Cheryl
 5  Robin
24  Sarah
11  Addie
12  Cheryl
22  Darla
 2  Gail
23  Cecilia
13  Robin
 6  Darla
 7  Cecilia