Great Ground Hog Day Blizzard 2016

Written for Hinds county Mississippi News
For publication March 2016

Written on February 20, 2016
 at Mississippi on the plains
 Holdrege Nebraska



      Yesterday was a beautiful warm day here, the pups and I spent a good part of the day, on the front porch, watching the last of the snow melt from “The Great Ground Hog Day Blizzard 2016”.    The snow in this yard measured 23 inches on the flat, drifts along the fence and the side of the house were a good bit deeper.

     Watching snow melt is slightly more exciting than watching paint dry…and slightly less exciting than watching grass grow….That said,  anyone of three activities can be extremely therapeutic.

     I was rather surprised to learn blizzards are not as common as I thought…As a kid growing up in Nebraska I thought blizzards were a common. But for a big snow storm to be officially called a blizzard, there has to be large amounts of falling snow or blowing snow, and winds must exceed 35 miles an hour for at least three hours.

Taken from alley 

rocking chair on front porch

The weather people warned us it was going to “BIG”, I have in the past been rather skeptical of dire warnings from enthusiastic weather folks.  But after being caught by hurricane Katrina miserably unprepared.  I had no real money, no gas in anything I drove, not even the lawn mower.




Thankfully John had a tank full of gas and money.  Money was not much use however, because the electricity was out over much of the state, so could not buy anything not even gas.   So anyway, I said all of that to say this; before the storm I went to ATM and got real money, (to pay someone to scoop the sidewalks for me).  I went to the grocery bought lots of canned goods and water, you all I was prepared.  even had batteries! And gas in my car!

So the blizzard begins, first thing snow drifts up on the back door to where I could not get it open.  So I was diligent to keep snow from building up on the front door. Because I had to be able to get outside to measure snow and take pictures to post on Facebook.  Not everybody was excited about the blizzard.   But for me, “The Great Ground Hog Day Blizzard 2016” was grand fun.

walk to gate

Sidewalk going south

When it was finally over, it went on for two days, I looked out, the sun was shining bright, I thought to myself, “let me see if I can clear the sidewalk just to the front gate.”  So I got dressed in the recommended layers, my yoga pants, jeans, overalls, threes shirts and John’s hunting coat and gloves.  (I have yoga pants because my doctor urged me to take yoga to improve my balance and get limber.   Well, one look at myself in those yoga pants, I knew I would not be taking a class!

Then as an afterthought, before going out, I went to the computer, to YouTube and watched several videos on how to scoop snow.  Even though I grew up in Nebraska, doubt I ever scooped any snow before…I had brothers so I feel sure that the snow scooping job fell to them. ( Heads up…if you do not want to be snickered at do not mention the fact to a Mid westerner, that you went to the computer to learn how to scoop snow.)   So anyway, when snow is very deep you take it off in layers.  It worked beautifully! So well in fact I went on to scoop the sidewalk in front of the house, then on to free up the back door…. still going strong I scooped from back door to the back gate.  I was first on my block to get the sidewalk scooped! I was sooooo enormously proud of myself!

Swing area early on in the storm

So, decided to stop and continue the next day, scooping from back gate, to the garage and alley.  Big Mistake! Still puffed up with pride…  I went to take trash to alley…there was no pathway,  I fell… as I was tumbling… I recalled the verse from Proverbs “Pride goeth before a fall”    I was not hurt, because the snow was so deep…in fact, deeper than my arms are long, so could not lever myself up.  You all I had to roll over to picnic table and grab on to it and pull myself up!  Remember that movie The Christmas story? When Ralphie’s mother bundled him up in that puffy snow suit, he fell and could not get up?  I know exactly how he felt….

Then! I did not learn my pride lesson form the fall in the snow! Later in the week, I was in the grocery store, in the pickle isle. I Struck up a conversation with a sweet lady about the blizzard. Boasted to her about me scooping myself out at 71!   She gently informed me she shoveled her own snow too and she was 81!   When will I learn!?

Love to all

Come see if you get this way

Hinds County News
 for November 2015

Written October,20 2015

You all, I was making cookies yesterday, The Friends of the Holdrege Library are having a book and bake sale this week.

 I saw on Facebook they were asking for bake goods to sell. ” I can do that” I said to myself and I am thrilled to be able to contribute to an institution that has over the years, meant so much to this community.

Kitchen before cookie making commenced 

After.....

   I am not a “Friend” of the library, I am however a frequent patron and a huge fan of the library.  I do not know exactly what it would require for me to become a “Friend” but, it has been my experience when you join a group, they expect you to show up for meetings, I found out long ago I do not attend meetings well.  And it is not that have anything better or more important to do, because, Lord knows I don’t.  But, often the only decision made at the meetings I was involved in, seemed to be, when to hold the next meeting....It could be exhausting
 But I can bake cookies ‘til the cows come home!

cookies ready to go!

All of that, is not what I started out to tell you.

This is what I wanted to say, while I was in the kitchen baking the cookies for the library sale, I went to pondering on all of the cooks that came before me, like who invented Mayonnaise? If you have never made mayo, it is not hard, but it is a process and it must be followed precisely.

Not only did I wonder Who, but why? Did someone  begin to  beat eggs,  add oil  and  it turn in to mayonnaise!?  They had to be very smart, maybe a scientist?

 Now days, if a chef comes up with an idea.. such as... the of combining chipotle peppers, basil, or cilantro with Mayo he calls himself inventing a new recipe and he considered cutting edge by "foodies"…But he did not invent Mayonnaise....The hard part was done long before he was born.....Long Long Long before he was born.

 What about making candy, who first came up with the idea of combining cream, sugar and butter, cooking it to a particular temperature, and voilà a confection to die for! caramels!  What about meringue?     Sheer genius if you ask me.

And Oh My Word!!! What about Puff pastry or croissants! The lamination of butter and pastry dough! Giving the world those delightful treats to enjoy! Puff pastry and croissants and are not hard to make but, they are extremely time consuming and again must be precisely prepared…. they cannot be hurried! I make both, but never could I have invented ether. 

I said all of that to say this…. I am in awe of the brains that came up with the likes of mayonnaise, Ice cream, pavlova, cookies, apple pie, popcorn balls, potato baloney, cake, popovers, hot dogs, wine, pasta, jelly etc.

 We were taught in school about the invention of the cotton gin, Eli Whitney, radio Gugliemo Marconi, etc.   Now we have all the Tech inventors out there in Silicon Valley, making millions of dollars.

But after a morning in the kitchen in very deep thought, I have come to believe the first cook to boil a potato, mash it, stirred in butter and cream has brought more joy to humanity then the inventor of Twitter. 

Love to all

OH!!!  let’s not forget and the one who rolled out a piece of dough, covered it with tomato sauce and cheese and baked it!  Hats off to you too!!!! Every youth group in America is in your debt!

Home for Sale: 201 Luster Street, Edwards, MS 39066

Taking a sentimental journey....

Recently I found this video, Julie Patton Johnson, my realtor with Keller Williams Realty put on you tube when she was selling the house.   I did not know it existed!  I was thrilled to find it!

I




 Lots of memories were born here.

Hinds County News  for October 2015
Life as I see it....

   As I am writing this, Sunday, September 20, 2015 the pups and I have been in Nebraska one year and two days.  We arrived in the late afternoon of, Thursday the 18^th, we were supposed to close on the house at 4 o’clock, we missed that, due to a detour in Kansas, I got lost and went way west to Dodge City Kansas.

   There was no option but to close that day, on this house, that I bought sight unseen, we had to have a place to sleep.  It all worked out we closed late that evening….And we all slept on the floor….Slept on floor several night waiting on our furniture to arrive.

   I just love the location of our house (“our” being me and the pups, Miss Shelby and Emma) the library, bank, court house, post office, the farmers market and city hall, are within three blocks.   Within 5 blocks there are four restaurants and a coffee shop. There are various other business in the downtown area, sporting goods, dress shops, furniture stores, second hand stores…seems to be lots of beauty shops….Oh!! Oh!!And a movie theater!

   And across the street is the beautiful Bethel Lutheran church,  lots of activity over there, they have a preschool, funerals, weddings,…lots to see from my white wicker chair on the front porch...and every Thursday this summer the lawn was mowed…. I am easily entertained.  And!! at dusk they light up one of the beautiful stained glass windows….When my Mississippi friends Jacqueline and Lindsey came in June, we sat on the porch every evening waiting for the window to be lite 9ish….stayed on the porch until it went out…10:17 If I remember correctly….Jacqueline and Lindsey are also easily entertained.

    We (We being the pups and I) are adjusting to the move, it is taking a bit longer then I had expected.  Actually Shelby adjusted straight away, the first night was a bit rough for the dogs.   At the time I did not have a fence and when I let them out … they just ran to the car and sat there looking at it expectantly….My guess is they were ready to get on back to Mississippi.

    But by the next morning when Shelby was breathing much better in this dry climate she was happy!   Emma found this yard too confining for her taste, and walking on a leash, that took some getting used to, Bless her, she had been a free range dog most of her life, but she is now fully acclimated to her new home on the plains, and enjoys her long walks tethered to the leash.

Emma checking out the neighborhood 

Shelby in her hidey hole...she thinks I can't see her
 Shelby hides when the leash comes out her..
I do not make her go.

  However, I am still adjusting…I have not  fully adapted to living in a 654 Square feet….and the tiny yard. , However I adjusted real quick to the less maintenance! 

     So anyway back to making adjustments....I grew up in Nebraska, I do not remember Nebraskans being so serious….these folks are far more serious than my experience with southerners.   Mid-west folks are hardworking, community spirited, lots of service organizations. Holdrege has a beautifully maintained parks, a very nice museum, a senior Center that serves tasty meals, city government seems to work very efficiently.

I said all of that to say this......If there is such a thing as a normal person, he/she will be discovered somewhere in the mid-west. 

 All of my Mississippi friends and acquaintances, to put it in the gentlest sort of way, were leaning rather heavily toward eccentric, A few even bordering on quite peculiar.  But every one of them were exceptional, original and creative…with big personalities. Characters really…not unlike those in plays and novels set in the south. Southern writers are talented, and I believe it is due in part, by the fact they were exposed to so many Characters. In fact there is a saying, “Here in the south, we don’t hide crazy, we parade it on the porch and give it a cocktail.”  Over the years, there were many many crazies, being served cocktails on my front porch.

The delightful thing about Southerners...They are convinced they were the only one normal...because everyone they know are at least a bit crazy. Early on I it tumbled to me that in the South our own crazy is normal. 

   I will adjust…But will these folks adjust to me?

     Speaking of Southern writers, Topher Payne, a Mississippi boy and playwright,  has a play opening in New York! New York! In October! Perfect Arrangement”

Topher Payne
Playwright 

Add caption

  Topher’s mom and dad. Cleve and Sheryl Payne live between Edwards and Bolton.    Topher calls Atlanta Georgia home…where has been involved with the theater, and has been won many awards.

    I know for sure Topher was inspired for at least one of his plays by people he knows…Because he wrote a hilarious play, inspired by the delightful, sometimes scatter brained, Henderson sisters, his mother and aunts. 

Miss you all, if you are ever this way please stop by!
Pictures added for blog