Letters to Mom

We're giving freezing eggs a try, Ma.  We can pick up eggs when they're on sale. Sometimes Kroger puts 4 dozen for $5 or something. If freezing works for us, we can save some money.  Same with some veggies and fruit.  I gave freezing strawberries a try.  I think they turned out okay. I cut the strawberries in half and then sliced those.  Dipped them in a syrup of sugar water - 1 part sugar, 2 parts water and placed the strawberry bits on a paper-towel lined cookie sheet and put that in the standing freezer.  I'll put them in bags tomorrow. For the eggs I followed instructions from the internet (go figure). Broke the eggs into a bowl, 3 at a time since that's what we usually use.  Then stirred them up to break the yokes and then poured that into an ice cube tray.  Six cubes equal three large eggs.  Once they freeze I'll put them in bags and date them.  We can't find the dehydrator but Walmart has one that's inexpensive but powerful.  We'll probably

Depressed today but we expected that.  We've been told the first year is the hardest. Missing you, Mom. It also doesn't help that I got really sick today. Sick enough to go back to bed after some work on the porch and I slept for over 2 hours.  I haven't done that in years.

Well, Georgia certainly is different than North Fork, California!  Here's what west Georgia looks like after heavy rain (coming after 3 yrs of drought) Note the Crete myrtle blooms, Mom - just like the one you had at Grandma's place. Chris came by and mowed most of the grass, thankfully.  I had started but it was going to take a few days for me to do it. We did get the garden weed whacked and hit it with the hoe - looks much better

Hey Mom; Okay, we've talked about you not giving us the secret ingredient in the potato salad and the Kathy's casserole but now I've got another one: where the hell is the recipe for the mayonnaise cake? I thought I'd make one Saturday to honor your birthday.  I've found recipes online but haven't a clue if they'll turn out like yours.  Hurts a lot this week, Ma. Oh yeah, I read in a news article that Facebook has a "spam" folder that is hard to spot.  I went in and found mine and it is hard to spot - I found a message from Val and Jo, Ma.  Day after you left us.  How frickin horrible! They thought I never responded to them and I thought they never reached out. I filled them in. Just another rough spot in the road, Mom. I'll post pictures of my latest beadwork that I've still got on the loom (have to finish the ends off on each) and other stuff - like what the yard looks like after all the rain we've had.  I started mowing

We've had a LOT of rain here, including a downpour that overran the gutters, formed a small creekbed in our driveway and overflowed our little soaker pool. I went down to the garage/basement to find a dehydrator (and can't find the darn thing), smelled mold and grabbed a flashlight.  We have three major hot spots and all the wood and some paper in the garage was covered. We grabbed gloves, masks, vinegar and hydrogen peroxide and bleach.  So we spent the last hour cleaning up Mom's toddler furniture and my art pieces.  I'll have to get more cement caulking to expand the barrier on the floor and hit the walls again with the sealant basement paint (if it's still good - stuff is expensive).   We had a problem when we moved in and I got some of that sealing paint and caulking.  I caulked all the cracks/grout and formed a barrier on the floor in the worst spot.  Then I painted the north side of the basement and garage with the sealing paint - in July. 

Jackie and I decided to cook up some of the macaroni to have around while it's so hot.  We both hit the kitchen and I cruised a couple of recipes and got some basics and set out.  We divided the pasta up and Jackie wanted to try a fruit/pasta salad and I went for a mustard base and an Raspberry vinaigrette based one. A little experimenting and we came up with some good ones and stumbled across your secret Mom. Your world (regional at least) potato salad, the mustard based one.  We always knew mustard, dill seed or pickles, boiled eggs, onion, potatoes and your secret which you wouldn't tell us.  I know you meant to, I know that. So - mustard pasta salad:  macaroni, boiled eggs, mustard, a touch of sage, sugar, onions, a hint of mayo and the secret ingredient - apple cider vinegar savory macaroni pasta salad: macaroni, boiled eggs, onion, raspberry vinaigrette, hint of sage, dill seed and a bit of onion soup mix, hint of mayo to calm the soup mix down. fruit/pasta sala

I called Vicki yesterday, Mom.  I sent her the pictures of the quilt and got back this wonderful email: (miss you both, Ma! you and Mama Marie!) From: Vicki XXXXXX <xxxxxxxxx@gmail.com> To: barb <xxxxxxxx@yahoo.com> Sent: Thursday, July 4, 2013 1:48 PM Subject: Re: the quilt Omg.  That is beautiful.  My mother would have loved that so much.  I could just see her smiling over you as you worked on that quilt.  She loved you all so much.       Its hard for me to put into words how much your story touched my heart.  For the first time since mom passed, your story gave me a vision of my mom talking on the phone with you as if she were still here.  She seemed so good that last week.  Very happy.    I will print and keep this story to pass on to my daughters and grand kids.  In fact I will pass it on to the whole family.  It brings to life fond memories of mom.   Thank you so much for sharing this with me.  I feel honored to have received it.

We lost Kimmers, Mama. With the wet weather that infection came back. Fuzz Bot was sick but she is doing pretty good with some TLC.  It's been raining like crazy for several days and we thought Kimmers was coming up inbetween storms to eat, the food disappeared from the railings.  Even Holly wanted inside several times. I got up last night to feed Darcy some more canned food (we're babying her in her old age) and heard horrible wheezing.  I figured it was Holly with his allergies but he was outside. I found Kimmers on the floor of the dining room barely breathing.  On July 4th after 5pm.  We got her dry, her nose cleared and some meds down her. I went and got Robitussin cough syrup to break up the mucus and sat with her all night.  She'd start to get better and then slip. Back n forth all night and all day. She really took a turn around 5 and the water and cough syrup were no longer helping like we were advised.  She tried to get into my closet and only settled down

Hey, okay yesterday I had 3 fans going in my room - one at the door, one in the window and the overhead.  Oh yeah, I keep a small one going, blowing under my laptop to keep it cool (the laptop lap desks with coolers really don't work as well as they should). TODAY: it's 75F which feels cold because of the heat we've been having.  How weird is this?! Our family and friends are suffering in a heat wave that's hot enough to melt tennis shoes and reach 118F in Death Valley and 114F in Barstow. Jackie and I started a grocery list and got into an organizing frenzy (including checking dates on stuff).  The cabinets and pantry are organized, next we'll do the laundry room and the can goods. We need to start tackling your room more and decide if we're going to try and do a yard sale, donate clothes to a charity or consignment shop or what. We miss you, Mama.