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Happy Birthday Lydia!

The invitations were in the mail

and arrangements were made for Lydia’s birthday party to take place at my Mama’s house.  As a matter of fact, when I arrived home from work on Friday night, the kids were at her house decorating for the next day.

Everyone was preparing for the big party… anticipating having a great time!Peanuts dancing peanuts charlie brown a charlie brown christmas GIF

Then a discovery was made.  Mama had a broken water pipe in her front yard.  LB turned off the water at the street and began investigating the trouble.   Soon after the discovery, a conversation with the water company revealed the pipe may have been leaking for 10 days.  It turned out to be a tree root that had caused the damage.Luckily LB and a good friend were able to repair the pipe and restore Mama’s water, although that didn’t happen until the next day.

The plan would have to be adjusted.

Since I live right next door, the obvious and logical conclusion is to move the party over to my house.  It didn’t seem possible at the time, but I was able to get the place organized.  The kids brought the decorations over and plan B ensued.

The big T-W-O birthday party went on as scheduled.

There was a plenitude of people…Goodies Galore…A plethora of presents…

LOTS of presents!

Little Lydia received so many presents, her Mama and Daddy had to have help transporting them to their house.

She loved all of her gifts, and had a great time with her Mama opening each one.

But there was one gift that Glammy was able to present to the Birthday Girl… the pink princess piano

Lydia wanted me to play first, so she took hold of my fingers and pressed the keys… then we experimented with the microphoneAnd Glammy showed Lydia how to play “Itsy Bitsy Spider”It turned out to be a lovely day for a pretty little girlHappy Birthday Lydia!

Glammy loves You!

 

 

NumNell Knox

When my daddy was just a little guy, learning to talk, he heard his Mama being called Irma Nell Knox by her parents.  She was a teenage mother raising a baby and living with her parents (circa 1947).  Hearing the name Irma Nell Knox, my Daddy (as a toddler) translated her name to be

NumNell Knox

While you may think this is totally bizarre, I think it is adorable.  Apparently she responded when she heard the full name call and he thought he would achieve like results by demanding “NumNell Knox! Get up! Breakfast!”

My Daddy and his mother, My Mema have gone to be with Jesus.  But not a day goes by that I don’t give a thought to both of them.  Two people who greatly influenced my life.

Irma Reid

(aka Irma Nell Knox) died October 17, 2007 at the age of 78.

She was born July 16, 1929 in Valdosta, Georgia to Alton Knox and Grace Bennett Knox.  She married my Grandpa, Harold Reid when my Daddy was just a little fella.  He adopted my Daddy and has loved him as his own… even to this day.Mema was an old fashioned, Southern girl.  If you ever heard her speak, you would immediately recognize the southern dialect.  I talk to people from around the country every day and once in a while I’m asked, “where are you from?”  In every instance I will admit, I’m from North Florida… Jacksonville, but most of my people are from Georgia.  They will reply, “Yes, that’s it!”  If you know me, and you recognize that I have a southern accent, it’s likely due to the fact that I’m a direct descendant of Irma Nell Knox.

I’ve gone to church all of my life, (since before I was born) and my first church was a church that my Mema and Grandpa Reid helped to start.

Faith Memorial Baptist Church

…a place that was a second home to me for 30+ years.

While I was growing up, my Mema was there with me every Sunday.  She sat on the second row, left (piano) side.  I would typically sit with her and she always had Juicy Fruit Gum.  One Sunday I commented on a ring that she was wearing.  It was (is) pretty!  It was a beautiful silver ring (she always wore silver jewelry).  She took it off of her hand and placed it on mine.  She would do that again before I graduated High School.  I still have both of those rings and wear one of them EVERY day.

What I remember most is that she loved me unconditionally.

The stories I could tell would keep me typing all night.

My Mema Reid

 

Thank you for the pictures Mama

Wonderful Wednesday

This Wonderful Wednesday morning when I asked Alexa “how’s the traffic?” she informed me that the fastest route to work would take me fifteen minutes longer than usual.  With that, I grabbed my things and headed out the door.  There was an accident on the bridge that had one lane closed and the traffic backed up.  That said, I started my day in a feverous frenzy that only accelerated as the day wore on.  It is amazing how the start of your day seems to set the tone for it’s entirety.

I won’t go on and on about how stressful my Wednesday has been, but the fact that I have managed to keep it together and make it home by 7:15 PM is just short of miraculous.

Now I am expecting my children and grandchild to visit shortly.

Although Lydia’s 2nd birthday party has been scheduled for Saturday morning, it would not be appropriate to let the actual birth-DAY pass without proper acknowledgment…

The doorbell rings… I go to the door, open the door.  There they are.  FIVE of the most important people in my life.

My firstborn

Stephanie

and dearly special daughter bringing style and enthusiasm wherever she goes (Aunt Feffy)My second-born, second daughter, and Brilliant Middle Child

Amanda

(don’t sell your position short Dear)My only son (and father of my only grandchild)

Richard and Emily

my daughter-in-law (who is just like a daughter to me)and the crème de la crème of two year old Glam-babies,

LYDIA

… the Birthday Girl!With a bag full of ponies in hand, she is ready to come in and show me all of the My Little Ponies and Peppa Pig Paraphernalia she has acquired during the day Her Big T-W-O party is Saturday and I will be well rested and ready.  And to her parent’s dismay, I have a large present and another Rainbow Dash to add to the collection  (if they read my blog they would know, but as it stands, it will be a surprise).

It has been a long day.

Good Night to all!

Hope Your Thursday is as WONDERFUL as mine is going to be!

July Fourth Fried Chicken

Although it isn’t frequently on the menu at my house,

I Love Fried Chicken!

I know that at least one of my Memas made fried chicken during my lifetime, but I cannot remember witnessing this process first hand.  The Food Network is my go-to place for cooking instruction these days.  Recently I have watched several episodes of chicken frying and have been bitten with the chicken frying bug.  Since allowing myself the experience, I can safely say I have it out of my system.  Here is my attempt at frying chicken:

Because I made the mistake of not purchasing a chicken that was already cut, I began by cutting up this whole chicken. Then seasoned the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and I’ll spare you that horrific photo.  Let me just say that I do not ever want to cut up a whole chicken ever again.

My Recipe

Taking tips from several different Food Network cooks, I began by combining 2 cups of buttermilk with 1/2 cup of Tabasco, a beaten egg, and my chicken pieces.  Apparently the buttermilk mixture is what will tenderize the chicken.  Good to know.  All of this goes into a zip top bag then into the fridge for 2 hours up to overnight.

In my Le Creuset French oven, I added about  2 inches of canola oil (because it has a high smoke point) and heated until it reached 350°F.  I’m learning a lot from the Food Network!Next I mixed together flour, cayenne, salt, and pepper in a large zip top bag to easily coat each chicken piece in the seasoned flour.  It reminded me of Shake and Bake.  Sort of.  Then I placed 3 or 4 pieces of the chicken in the oil (you can’t do more than 3 or 4 at a time without causing the oil temperature to drop) put the lid on, and fried for 5 minutes.Next I removed the lid, turned the chicken, and fried for another 5 minutes.  Then removed the chicken from the oil and placed on a wire rack.Once every piece was fried, I put it into the oven at 375° for 15-20 minutes.  It turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself. LB thought so too!

 

 


Reminiscing

Tonight we attended a family gathering in honor of my brother-in-law Stuart.

On June 29th of June he hit the big 5-0 milestone.

Happy Birthday Stuart!

We gathered at my Mama’s house and enjoyed pizza, spaghetti, and, of course, salad.We sang the Happy Birthday song, enjoyed cake and ice cream, and the company of family.  This will be a moment worth reminiscing.

Speaking of reminiscing

…recently my Mama has decorated a bedroom in her house.  She loves chalk paint and has taken a collection of bedroom furniture that was handed down to her from my great-grandmother and transformed it.  During the birthday festivities she looked at me and exclaimed “you haven’t seen my new bedroom!”   Until tonight I had only seen pictures, but now I’ve experienced the new room first hand.

As she showed me around the newly decorated room there were

stories to be told…

When they visited their grandmother, Mama and her siblings used the finials on this bed post to serve as pretend telephones.  Reminiscing about life as a little girl, she described having to reach up to take the finial from the post.

  The portrait on the wall is of my great-grandmother when she was sixteen years old.The bed is decorated with throw pillows, one of which is a portion of the feather pillow that belonged to my great-grandmother.  My extremely talented brother-in-law took the pillow and divided it into smaller pillows for my Mama and each of her siblings to treasure.  Mama has kept hers in the case that is in front on the right.

She spent time telling me about

The Mementos

on the dresser

A little glass shoe that was a gift given to my great-grandmother by my maternal grandfather on the day he joined the military.  It was well taken care of and eventually passed down to Mama.  A box of Coty Airspun loose powder and a bottle of Evening in Paris cologne have a place on my great-grandmother’s dresser as they did when my Mama was a little girl.

And it has an interesting scent.

She has placed a temporary mirror on the beautifully refinished dresser until she completes painting the original dresser mirror.  Her plan is to place it above the singer sewing machine table, that is reminiscent of her grandmother’s.

The tour of the newly decorated bedroom was delightful…

…and the tour guide, even more so

Friday Favorites

Friday is my favorite day of the week, therefore it is a perfect day to mention my weekly favorites.

Every Friday,  I will go to the office and do the same job that I do on Monday through Thursday, but for some reason, it is easier to manage.  This is an enigma.

Nevertheless…

Here are my Five Friday Favorites:

Favorite # ONE

Gingham I mentioned this blouse on my Target post and I think it is adorable.  Gingham is a classic and also a trend.  Here are some other gingham items that I think are cute:

Favorite # TWO

This HatA box from Amazon made its way to my doorstep last Tuesday.  Certain that it was for LB, I alerted him that he had a package at the front door.  After he retrieved it and brought it inside, he announced, it is addressed to Kim Starling.  Well, I thought, when did I order something from Amazon?  I must be losing my mind.  It must be something I ordered.  It is JUST like something I Would order.  I can’t remember ordering anything.  Maybe it is a back order item from Shein.  How is that possible?  It is from Amazon, not Shein.

I was perplexed about this for at least 12 hours.  Finally, I decided, I must figure out when I ordered this hat, so I went back to the box.  Inside the box I found this:What a Happy Surprise!  Thank you for the belated birthday gift from my sweet Daughter-in-law Emily, my wonderful son Richard, and my Perfect Glam-daughter Lydia!  I am tickled!  (that’s a Southern term)

Favorite # THREE

Hall & Oates tickets… this week LB discovered that one of my favorite 80’s Duos will be performing at the Jacksonville Veteran’s Memorial Arena in September.  So he bought tickets!  The last time Daryl Hall and John Oates were in Florida, I had bronchitis, and was not able to completely enjoy the Hall and Oates experience.  Now I get another chance and I’m SO EXCITED!

Favorite # FOUR

A FaceBook post from my Daddy’s cousin (and mine) Robbie Darden.  It is SO HOT and HUMID right now.  If we weren’t able to come inside for comfort and cool air, what would become of us????

Favorite # FIVE

This Video clip:

 https://prettyis.me/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/FullSizeRender-14.jpg

This is a MUST SEE… My sweet Mama spending a rainy day with my sweet Glam-daughter Lydia in search of muddy puddles (thank you Peppa Pig).  When asked, “where’s the muddy puddle?”  Lydia replies, “where’d it go?”

So Adorable.

 

Father’s Day

My last Father’s Day with my Daddy was in 2001. Although I am not able to remember that day, if he were here today, I would make the whole day a day that would be unforgettable.  I’d be up early making breakfast for him.  He would enjoy eggs and grits, biscuits and milk gravy, waffles with all the toppings, or one of our favorites from my childhood…

“Flying Saucers” (source)He would make flying saucers for me when I was a little girl.  Does anyone else remember these?

This little sandwich press device was filled with a white bread, peanut butter and jelly smothered sandwich (a LOT of jelly),  then pressed together and heated on the stove-top.  These were always a treat.

After having breakfast with Daddy, I would want to hear him sing.  Whether it was at his church in the choir, standing behind the pulpit, or standing behind my aunt Debbie or Brother-in-law Stuart as they played the piano at home.  I’d so enjoy hearing his valiant tenor voice again.

Later in the afternoon, it would be fun to play catch with Daddy again.  He was a sports enthusiast and always enjoyed a good game of tennis.  He attempted to teach me, but I didn’t pick tennis up easily, and wasn’t able to enjoy the game with him.  Softball was more my speed and he taught me everything I know about the game.  Daddy coached the girls softball team at Faith Memorial Baptist Church when I was in high school.  I’d love to have pictures to share, but cannot find them.  I would not have become involved in playing softball had it not been for him.  Because of this activity, I have many wonderful memories of my time at the ball park.  I also have great memories of skiing with him.  He taught me to ski in Vermont in the early 90’s and I had the opportunity to enjoy additional ski trips with him later on.  He was so good that he would ski with a video camera instead of ski poles.  This was quite a feat in the days preceding the Go Pro.

He loved a good movie.  John Wayne was his favorite actor, but he also enjoyed all of Elvis Presley’s movies, especially Kid Galahad.   He thought Groundhog Day with Bill Murray was hilarious.  After seeing this movie he tried to tell me about it.  He got so tickled that he could hardly complete a sentence.  The last movie we watched together was Breakfast at Tiffany’s.  I believe we would end our day together with a good movie.

He loved to have a good time.He had a bit of a mischievous streak

He loved his girls

I remember walking into the kitchen on the morning of my sixteenth birthday and Daddy had the stereo cued to play “Sixteen Candles“.  On June 1, 2001, Daddy stopped by my house on his way to work that morning, to wish me a happy birthday.  In addition to the traditional 7:52 AM call that he and my Mama always made to me on my birthday, this was an extra special treat that day.

I learned to love music from the 50’s and 60’s era, as well as Gospel music such as Willie Wynn and the Tennesseans.

Image result for Willie Wynn and the Tennesseans i believe in the sunshine

Okay… so maybe I don’t LOVE Willie Wynn like I do the music from the 50’s and 60’s, but the memory makes me smile.

Daddy was a spiritual person and a godly man.  In the last years of his life, his spirituality took a turn that made him seem like a man who truly walked with God.  He talked with me about this at times and I determined that the special relationship began with a workbook he used called Experiencing God.

I believe he walked with God right into to Heaven.

On the day of his funeral, this article was ran in the Times-Union.  I have it tacked up in my home office and I thought I would share

Happy Father’s Day in Heaven Daddy

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