Copyright 2010
Judith J. Bentley
While I was on extended family medical leave this summer visiting your Grandmother and disabled Uncle in South Carolina, I found your Grandmother's cookbooks in her pantry and cooked up some of the favorite foods she used to serve us when we were children growing up. Miss Juanita Hitt, a friend of hers, had published a cookbook containing family recipes dating back to 1690, the pre-Revolutionary War years through the Bi-Centennial years (covering 200 years of our history from 1776 to 1976). Miss Hitt's family members, like mine, hail from Virginia and South Carolina. Interesting historical notes and photographs are included along with old-time recipes from these two Southern States. There is the recipe for Martha Washington’s Cake, courtesy of The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association. It requires 40 eggs, 4 lbs each of butter and sugar, 5 lbs each of flour and fruit. Mix all together and add a pint of wine and some brandy, a half ounce of mace and 1 nutmeg and cook for 2 hours! You’ll have to have a mighty big cake pan and oven to cook it. I also found the recipe for ole fashioned pulled taffy that my Grandmother Creighton, my Mother’s Mother, used to make for us as children in the summertime. After Grandmother boiled all the ingredients together—the molasses, brown sugar, butter, water, vinegar and baking soda--and poured them in a buttered pan to cool, she’d set the pan outside. When cool enough to handle, my sister and I would rub butter on our hands, take a small portion at a time from the pan, and pull the candy until it was light in color. Then it was ready to cut and eat. The taffy was more fun to pull than eat though. The most unusual recipe I found near the end of the cookbook – “Cooter Stew.” I’d never heard of cooter stew. Apparently, it is still served in some parts of our country, but from the violence that goes into the stew, it must date back to the 1690s. Ms. Hitt wrote that her mother told her how she made cooter stew in the early 1900s. It was a favorite dish of her father who fished often in the Enoree River where he would dig for turtles. He used choice large turtles, not the small terrapin type. Here is the recipe verbatim.
“A turtle snaps and is a mean one to clean. Take a broom handle and hold it near the turtle’s head which he usually cautiously keeps hidden under his shell. When he snaps for the handle of the broom, have the axe ready to cut off his head! The next problem is getting the critter from his shell. Lay him on his back in a tub of boiling water. When he has soaked for awhile, take a very sharp knife and cut around the breast bone and the other boney structure. When his boney frame has been cut away, then the legs and other meaty parts can be easily removed. Place cooter meat in a boiler and cover with water which has two or three strips of streaked fat back and salt to taste. Add a finely chopped onion and some parsley for flavor. Stew down low until the gravy is very thick. This is good served with hush puppies or mixed bread.”
I'm going to make my own version of cooter stew. It'll be all vegetarian.
Showing posts with label Family Travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family Travel. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Mother's Day, 2008
On Mother's Day weekend this year (May 9-11), I flew up to visit my daughter Juanita and her husband Antonio. My flight had been delayed several hours so I sat in the Richmond airport doing Sudoku puzzles for entertainment. After boarding, it was another 45 minute delay on the runway before we were cleared to take off.
When I arrived at the LGA airport around 7:30 p.m., it was raining. Juanita and Tonio were caught in traffic but were soon there to meet me. Juanita had gone to extraordinary efforts to express her appreciation. As a surprise, she had purchased 3 tickets at $122 each to take her Mom to see the "Jersey Boys" playing on Broadway. I had called her Friday morning to say I didn't think I could make the morning flight. Juanita, thinking I would not be coming, sold 2 of the tickets that afternoon. I managed to get an afternoon flight for an extra $100 + the extra ticket price of $179. Tonio tried to sell the 3rd ticket on the street before the show began without any luck so I bought it from Juanita as a souvenir - I should frame it to remember this trip.
Once we arrived at home, there were pink and white roses waiting for me in the guest room, a Mother's Day card on which Juanita had written some sweet words from her heart, and a gift box inside of which a key chain with rinestones spelled out the letters M O M. I will make a necklace with them. I treated Juanita and Antonio to dinner Friday and Saturday nights at local diners so Juanita would not have to cook. Juanita's father joined us for Saturday night dinner. New Jersey diners have every imaginable food on their menus -- and serve breakfast, lunch and dinner all day. Some diners are open 24 hours.
Sunday Juanita cooked a Mother's Day feast of Asian rice, seasoned broccoli, an elegant fish entree with dill and hot cornbread. She made a special tea and served up some delicious Zinfindel wine and for dessert - oh, boy -- ice cream sundae with a cherry on top and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies! Yum.
We had just enough time to finish our dinner before it was time to leave for the airport at 3:30 p.m. My plane was to take off at 5 p.m. and Juanita assured me we'd make it on time - she is a master at navigating the streets of New Jersey and Manhattan and knows all the faster lanes. Once we rode over the George Washington Bridge, we were in New York. We crossed the Triborough Bridge (so named because it connects 3 boroughs) and made it to the airport by 4:4o p.m., in time for me to make it through security and get to the plane which was already boarding.
I always want more time with Juanita - it never seems to be enough and time runs out so fast but we had a good visit even though we were all tired from the previous work week. As the plane took off toward Richmond, I reviewed in my mind our visit together -- so grateful that there is no termination date on motherhood and so grateful for my precious daughter and her sweet husband. The flight home was turbulent because of a thunder storm as we flew over Virginia. One passenger across from me threw up twice as the plane dipped and bounced from side to side. Behind me sat the wife of my seat mate who had draped his arm over his seat so he could hold her hand. He kept asking her, "Are you okay?" When we neared Richmond and the plane began its descent, suddenly I felt the plane turning.
"We're going up! We're going up!" my seat mate yelled. The pilot came on the speaker and explained that it was too turbulent to land so he had to take us up again. We circled around Richmond until he received clearance to land on a different runway. Once I felt the wheels hit the runway, I joined the other passengers in a round of applause.
I called Juanita about 8:15 p.m. to let her know I had gotten home. "I just got home too," she said. She had been sitting in traffic all that time -- from 3:30 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.
"Mom, I told Tonio I could have driven you home by now myself!"
Every journey has its lessons. I won't plan to take a morning flight again unless Juanita urgently needs me in which case my adrenalin will kick in sufficient enough to get me out of the house. I've decided never to fly into LaGuardia even if it costs more money to fly into the Newark International Airport. Or maybe I will take the train. I had originally booked my flight into LaGuardia on US Air on my birthday (March 21st) to save money but changed the date to the Mother's Day weekend. By the time I had paid the extra money to change flights and flight times, I could have taken Continental into Newark.
I want to remember the pink and white roses, the comfortable bed Juanita had made for me, our mother-daughter time while Tonio was at the gym and barbershop on Saturday, the wonderful meal she made for me, and her sweet smile and good-bye kiss as she dropped me off at the departure gate. And I want especially to remember a sweet surprise - as I was just going through security, she called me on my cell phone which immediately went dead, but I heard her voice and turned around to see her standing there waving good-bye. She had parked and come inside to make sure Mommie made it to her plane.
When I arrived at the LGA airport around 7:30 p.m., it was raining. Juanita and Tonio were caught in traffic but were soon there to meet me. Juanita had gone to extraordinary efforts to express her appreciation. As a surprise, she had purchased 3 tickets at $122 each to take her Mom to see the "Jersey Boys" playing on Broadway. I had called her Friday morning to say I didn't think I could make the morning flight. Juanita, thinking I would not be coming, sold 2 of the tickets that afternoon. I managed to get an afternoon flight for an extra $100 + the extra ticket price of $179. Tonio tried to sell the 3rd ticket on the street before the show began without any luck so I bought it from Juanita as a souvenir - I should frame it to remember this trip.
Once we arrived at home, there were pink and white roses waiting for me in the guest room, a Mother's Day card on which Juanita had written some sweet words from her heart, and a gift box inside of which a key chain with rinestones spelled out the letters M O M. I will make a necklace with them. I treated Juanita and Antonio to dinner Friday and Saturday nights at local diners so Juanita would not have to cook. Juanita's father joined us for Saturday night dinner. New Jersey diners have every imaginable food on their menus -- and serve breakfast, lunch and dinner all day. Some diners are open 24 hours.
Sunday Juanita cooked a Mother's Day feast of Asian rice, seasoned broccoli, an elegant fish entree with dill and hot cornbread. She made a special tea and served up some delicious Zinfindel wine and for dessert - oh, boy -- ice cream sundae with a cherry on top and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies! Yum.
We had just enough time to finish our dinner before it was time to leave for the airport at 3:30 p.m. My plane was to take off at 5 p.m. and Juanita assured me we'd make it on time - she is a master at navigating the streets of New Jersey and Manhattan and knows all the faster lanes. Once we rode over the George Washington Bridge, we were in New York. We crossed the Triborough Bridge (so named because it connects 3 boroughs) and made it to the airport by 4:4o p.m., in time for me to make it through security and get to the plane which was already boarding.
I always want more time with Juanita - it never seems to be enough and time runs out so fast but we had a good visit even though we were all tired from the previous work week. As the plane took off toward Richmond, I reviewed in my mind our visit together -- so grateful that there is no termination date on motherhood and so grateful for my precious daughter and her sweet husband. The flight home was turbulent because of a thunder storm as we flew over Virginia. One passenger across from me threw up twice as the plane dipped and bounced from side to side. Behind me sat the wife of my seat mate who had draped his arm over his seat so he could hold her hand. He kept asking her, "Are you okay?" When we neared Richmond and the plane began its descent, suddenly I felt the plane turning.
"We're going up! We're going up!" my seat mate yelled. The pilot came on the speaker and explained that it was too turbulent to land so he had to take us up again. We circled around Richmond until he received clearance to land on a different runway. Once I felt the wheels hit the runway, I joined the other passengers in a round of applause.
I called Juanita about 8:15 p.m. to let her know I had gotten home. "I just got home too," she said. She had been sitting in traffic all that time -- from 3:30 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.
"Mom, I told Tonio I could have driven you home by now myself!"
Every journey has its lessons. I won't plan to take a morning flight again unless Juanita urgently needs me in which case my adrenalin will kick in sufficient enough to get me out of the house. I've decided never to fly into LaGuardia even if it costs more money to fly into the Newark International Airport. Or maybe I will take the train. I had originally booked my flight into LaGuardia on US Air on my birthday (March 21st) to save money but changed the date to the Mother's Day weekend. By the time I had paid the extra money to change flights and flight times, I could have taken Continental into Newark.
I want to remember the pink and white roses, the comfortable bed Juanita had made for me, our mother-daughter time while Tonio was at the gym and barbershop on Saturday, the wonderful meal she made for me, and her sweet smile and good-bye kiss as she dropped me off at the departure gate. And I want especially to remember a sweet surprise - as I was just going through security, she called me on my cell phone which immediately went dead, but I heard her voice and turned around to see her standing there waving good-bye. She had parked and come inside to make sure Mommie made it to her plane.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
In Pleasant Places: R&R in Roswell
Sunday, April 20, 2008 –
At 7 a.m. Mountain time, my sister's cat Cheeto meows at the guest house door to be let in one last time. He settles down on the bed while I drink my coffee and pack for my return trip. I have to leave by 9:30 a.m. Mountain time to make my flight back home which departs Lubbock, Texas at 3:50 p.m. Central time. It's a 3 hour trip to Lubbock from Roswell. My brother-in-law Jim calculates an hour and a half for lunch in between.
Breakfast for me is vanilla yogurt, strawberries, a banana and a sprinkle of cereal and coffee. I have brought to the table a meditation to share on heritage. As soon as I say the word "heritage," my precious sister tears up and I find it difficult to read without my throat tightening up. That's because some might characterize our mutual "heritage" as a little bit of holy and a whole lot of horrendous.
"We are God's love in action. Lives are enriched as family members, united through ancestry or shared life experiences, gather together. Each generation expresses its uniqueness and connects in loving ways with other generations. Picturing this interaction is like looking at a living photo album of God’s love. Babies bask in the loving care they receive. Children share with real and imagined playmates. Adults connect through like interests. Elders share with an understanding that only years of experience can bring to one’s perspective. Whatever generation I belong to, whatever the age differences within my group of friends or family, I appreciate our shared heritage. We are God’s love in expression, inspiring one another, one generation to another. "
“The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage.” —Psalm 16:6
I have prepared a few notes to myself to tie up conversations that I didn't finish with Jim or Kate. They are patient as I go through my list. There had been so many years of silence between us that I didn't know when I'd get another opportunity for a few shared words. It's important to get it said before time runs out. I remind Kate that in the Scripture God promised to restore to us the years that the locusts have eaten. They ate a lot of years. Kate and Jim indulge me in respectful silence. My face is wet with tears too. We hug. "My sister is a preacher," Kate says. "Who knew?"
We leave Roswell on time. Along the highway we spot hawks high up on telephone poles. They've built their nests on boards that jut out from each pole. We pass windmills and oil wells, neither of which I have ever seen in my life except on TV. Jim pulls over so I can get a shot of one working oil well planted close to the road. We pass sheep and cattle ranches and horse farms.
We arrive in Lubbock in time for lunch at an Italian restaurant and enjoy a family size serving of pasta and individual salads. When we reach the airport, I tell Jim to let me out at the departure terminal. He waits in his SUV while Kate helps me get my bag checked in. I have forgotten the hat Jim gave me and she retrieves it for me before hugs. She waves, "No tears, just all joy," she says and she is gone.
On the plane, I work 3 Sudoku puzzles from the American Airlines magazine in my seat pocket. The ear plugs Kate gave me at her office help me concentrate. It's only about an hour in the air before we land in Dallas. At the security station, I am told that my C-PAP has "given a signal" and I will need to be body searched. Baloney. How can my C-PAP signal the security people to search me? I just know it's because I am wearing Jim's hat. How could they think I look strange with a cowboy hat on in the Dallas airport? A female security officer strip searches me and cannot find whatever it is she thinks she is looking for.
My C-PAP is returned to me and I wind my way to the Sky Train which takes me to Terminal D where my flight supposedly takes off. Ten minutes before flight time, an announcer comes on the intercom to direct everyone back to Terminal A. I barely make it back in time for boarding. It's a 3 hour flight to Richmond where the captain announces it's raining. Jim had told me to look for the circles on the ground that are formed by a radius of water pipes, a grid-like irrigation of the fields. For miles I can see the circles from my window seat - large quilt-like multi-colored patches in shades of green, rust and brown. The land is carved up into neat patches.
When we touch down in Richmond at 10:45 p.m. EST, it's pouring rain, but I am happy and grateful to have make the trip to visit my sister Kate and her dear husband Jim. I so needed to get away and have a few days of R&R.
At 7 a.m. Mountain time, my sister's cat Cheeto meows at the guest house door to be let in one last time. He settles down on the bed while I drink my coffee and pack for my return trip. I have to leave by 9:30 a.m. Mountain time to make my flight back home which departs Lubbock, Texas at 3:50 p.m. Central time. It's a 3 hour trip to Lubbock from Roswell. My brother-in-law Jim calculates an hour and a half for lunch in between.
Breakfast for me is vanilla yogurt, strawberries, a banana and a sprinkle of cereal and coffee. I have brought to the table a meditation to share on heritage. As soon as I say the word "heritage," my precious sister tears up and I find it difficult to read without my throat tightening up. That's because some might characterize our mutual "heritage" as a little bit of holy and a whole lot of horrendous.
"We are God's love in action. Lives are enriched as family members, united through ancestry or shared life experiences, gather together. Each generation expresses its uniqueness and connects in loving ways with other generations. Picturing this interaction is like looking at a living photo album of God’s love. Babies bask in the loving care they receive. Children share with real and imagined playmates. Adults connect through like interests. Elders share with an understanding that only years of experience can bring to one’s perspective. Whatever generation I belong to, whatever the age differences within my group of friends or family, I appreciate our shared heritage. We are God’s love in expression, inspiring one another, one generation to another. "
“The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage.” —Psalm 16:6
I have prepared a few notes to myself to tie up conversations that I didn't finish with Jim or Kate. They are patient as I go through my list. There had been so many years of silence between us that I didn't know when I'd get another opportunity for a few shared words. It's important to get it said before time runs out. I remind Kate that in the Scripture God promised to restore to us the years that the locusts have eaten. They ate a lot of years. Kate and Jim indulge me in respectful silence. My face is wet with tears too. We hug. "My sister is a preacher," Kate says. "Who knew?"
We leave Roswell on time. Along the highway we spot hawks high up on telephone poles. They've built their nests on boards that jut out from each pole. We pass windmills and oil wells, neither of which I have ever seen in my life except on TV. Jim pulls over so I can get a shot of one working oil well planted close to the road. We pass sheep and cattle ranches and horse farms.
We arrive in Lubbock in time for lunch at an Italian restaurant and enjoy a family size serving of pasta and individual salads. When we reach the airport, I tell Jim to let me out at the departure terminal. He waits in his SUV while Kate helps me get my bag checked in. I have forgotten the hat Jim gave me and she retrieves it for me before hugs. She waves, "No tears, just all joy," she says and she is gone.
On the plane, I work 3 Sudoku puzzles from the American Airlines magazine in my seat pocket. The ear plugs Kate gave me at her office help me concentrate. It's only about an hour in the air before we land in Dallas. At the security station, I am told that my C-PAP has "given a signal" and I will need to be body searched. Baloney. How can my C-PAP signal the security people to search me? I just know it's because I am wearing Jim's hat. How could they think I look strange with a cowboy hat on in the Dallas airport? A female security officer strip searches me and cannot find whatever it is she thinks she is looking for.
My C-PAP is returned to me and I wind my way to the Sky Train which takes me to Terminal D where my flight supposedly takes off. Ten minutes before flight time, an announcer comes on the intercom to direct everyone back to Terminal A. I barely make it back in time for boarding. It's a 3 hour flight to Richmond where the captain announces it's raining. Jim had told me to look for the circles on the ground that are formed by a radius of water pipes, a grid-like irrigation of the fields. For miles I can see the circles from my window seat - large quilt-like multi-colored patches in shades of green, rust and brown. The land is carved up into neat patches.
When we touch down in Richmond at 10:45 p.m. EST, it's pouring rain, but I am happy and grateful to have make the trip to visit my sister Kate and her dear husband Jim. I so needed to get away and have a few days of R&R.
UFOs and Sudoku
Saturday, April 19, 2008 -
Kate has prepared breakfast of fresh strawberries, bananas and hot oatmeal. I feel relieved that we don't say a blessing. I find it hard to pray out loud. I remember the last time I did and I was so humiliated I vowed I'd never be caught praying aloud again.
It is a perfect day weather-wise for a stroll through the neighborhood. The temperature is in the 70s- so the three of us set out for the UFO Museum, where we watch a long documentary on the supposed UFO sightings in 1947. I can't find anything in the gift shop I want to buy. On the way home we stop at a local bakery to load up with freshly baked goodies which we snack on once home before heading out by car to the Bitter Wildlife Refuge Reserve. The word "bitter" in the title of the Reserve reminds us of Barack Obama's recent description of "the locals" as "bitter, clinging on to their guns and religion."
Jim and Kate have packed several binoculars so we each have one. Jim is first to spot a coyote ambling along the side of a nearly dried up riverbed where ducks swim, their white tails sticking straight up in the air as they duck their heads under water to search for food. KB and Jim point out lots of different birds -- most of them KB can name - she and Jim have been studying birds for 4 years. They have the Audobon book of Birds of the Southwest. Jim lets me out of his black Toyota SUV to get a few good shots of the scenery. It's a very windy afternoon at the Reserve. I try to keep his golf hat on my head with my left arm while holding the camera with my right. I like his hat so much that he says I can have it. I am thrilled to have this souvenir of our visit.
Back at home I help Kate fix dinner. I make a green salad of Granny Smith apples, feta cheese, and green onions while she steams fresh broccoli and cooks salmon on her George Foreman grill given to her as a wedding present. Jim brings out another bottle of New Mexico wine- this time a Riesling. It is sweet and delicious. He says there is a winery in Roswell and there are wineries throughout the State.
After dinner Jim gives me a few hints on how to solve Sudoku puzzles. I think I’m hooked. Then I join Kate and Jim in their dining room for a game that uses dice - FARKLE or Five Hundred. Jim keeps score and we play two rounds. Kate beats us both times. Before turning in, we top off the evening with some freshly brewed expresso and a homemade almond cake brought to Jim and Kate by a friend.
Kate has prepared breakfast of fresh strawberries, bananas and hot oatmeal. I feel relieved that we don't say a blessing. I find it hard to pray out loud. I remember the last time I did and I was so humiliated I vowed I'd never be caught praying aloud again.
It is a perfect day weather-wise for a stroll through the neighborhood. The temperature is in the 70s- so the three of us set out for the UFO Museum, where we watch a long documentary on the supposed UFO sightings in 1947. I can't find anything in the gift shop I want to buy. On the way home we stop at a local bakery to load up with freshly baked goodies which we snack on once home before heading out by car to the Bitter Wildlife Refuge Reserve. The word "bitter" in the title of the Reserve reminds us of Barack Obama's recent description of "the locals" as "bitter, clinging on to their guns and religion."
Jim and Kate have packed several binoculars so we each have one. Jim is first to spot a coyote ambling along the side of a nearly dried up riverbed where ducks swim, their white tails sticking straight up in the air as they duck their heads under water to search for food. KB and Jim point out lots of different birds -- most of them KB can name - she and Jim have been studying birds for 4 years. They have the Audobon book of Birds of the Southwest. Jim lets me out of his black Toyota SUV to get a few good shots of the scenery. It's a very windy afternoon at the Reserve. I try to keep his golf hat on my head with my left arm while holding the camera with my right. I like his hat so much that he says I can have it. I am thrilled to have this souvenir of our visit.
Back at home I help Kate fix dinner. I make a green salad of Granny Smith apples, feta cheese, and green onions while she steams fresh broccoli and cooks salmon on her George Foreman grill given to her as a wedding present. Jim brings out another bottle of New Mexico wine- this time a Riesling. It is sweet and delicious. He says there is a winery in Roswell and there are wineries throughout the State.
After dinner Jim gives me a few hints on how to solve Sudoku puzzles. I think I’m hooked. Then I join Kate and Jim in their dining room for a game that uses dice - FARKLE or Five Hundred. Jim keeps score and we play two rounds. Kate beats us both times. Before turning in, we top off the evening with some freshly brewed expresso and a homemade almond cake brought to Jim and Kate by a friend.
Coffee, Cats, Cactus and Coke
Friday, April 18, 2008-
Cheeto and Earl Grey are waiting at the guest house door this morning when I wake up. They have to revisit and resniff the house before settling down once again at the foot of the bed for a morning snooze. I am soon up and dressed and sipping freshly brewed coffee and am reading morning meditations on the sofa. I let the cats out and stroll up the walk that leads to the mudroom at the back of the house. At the front side of the guest house is an assortment of cactus plants -- broomstick, adobe, and prickly pear. Inside the mudroom cozy cat beds line one side of the wall while Kate's washer and dryer rest on the other side.
In the kitchen, Kate has prepared breakfast and we enjoy conversation around the center aisle, its top covered in blue and rust tile. She has a refrigerator and a freezer too just like our Mother does in South Carolina. She points out her Ph.D. books now relegated to a lower shelf in the bookcase on the opposite side wall. I browse wonderful cookbooks too from Martha Stewart's Everyday Foods. I am going to subscribe to them on KB's computer after breakfast so I can enjoy cooking good foods again that are simple and healthy. KB is proud of her German made coffee contraption which is a size larger than a large bread machine. With the press of a button, the steaming aroma of freshly made coffee soon fills up the room.
After breakfast, Kate guides me on a tour of her garden. She has inherited our Mother's love of gardening and has plenty to show for it: irises (standard and Japanese) of every imaginable color; red, yellow and white roses, and snowball and lilac bushes. We stop to taste and smell the petals from her sage and rosemary bushes. She also has "mint galore," she says.
Jim's his new buddy- Hans from Germany- arrives to take Jim out for lunch in town. In her backyard garden, Kate and I lunch on vegies from yesterday's feast. She has placed two green lawn chairs in a warm and sunny spot at the edge of the walkway that leads to the guest house. She wants to get a haircut and I am happy to bask in the backyard sunshine and pet the cats while she is getting beautified at the beauty salon. Jim returns from lunch and sets off again for a round of golf with another friend.
This afternoon Kate and I visit her office where I meet one of her assistants, Angela, a sweet young mother who is proud to show me pictures of her children, before Kate tests my hearing. Good news. I have borderline normal hearing with some beginning loss. Kate prints out reports that show my hearing is in the normal range though on the borderline. She assures me I do not need hearing aids yet and explains that hearing loss occurs gradually over time. She "blew out her ears" during her college years in Florida on air skies and wears hearing aids now. I have my camera and have taken pictures of the office to share with our Mother for Mother’s Day. Angela has promised to e-mail me a photo of "Dr. Kate."
Tonight, we all go out for dinner at a Mexican restaurant – I am treating us to shrimp fajitas, fried beans, guacamole and Mexican coke. I lap up the beans and guacamole but cannot finish the shrimp fajitas. The Mexican coke is delicious - not as sweet as the American version. At home we end another wonderful day together with a dessert of ganoche I had bought at Sam's this afternoon and some delicious New Mexico wine which Jim says I can order online.
Cheeto and Earl Grey are waiting at the guest house door this morning when I wake up. They have to revisit and resniff the house before settling down once again at the foot of the bed for a morning snooze. I am soon up and dressed and sipping freshly brewed coffee and am reading morning meditations on the sofa. I let the cats out and stroll up the walk that leads to the mudroom at the back of the house. At the front side of the guest house is an assortment of cactus plants -- broomstick, adobe, and prickly pear. Inside the mudroom cozy cat beds line one side of the wall while Kate's washer and dryer rest on the other side.
In the kitchen, Kate has prepared breakfast and we enjoy conversation around the center aisle, its top covered in blue and rust tile. She has a refrigerator and a freezer too just like our Mother does in South Carolina. She points out her Ph.D. books now relegated to a lower shelf in the bookcase on the opposite side wall. I browse wonderful cookbooks too from Martha Stewart's Everyday Foods. I am going to subscribe to them on KB's computer after breakfast so I can enjoy cooking good foods again that are simple and healthy. KB is proud of her German made coffee contraption which is a size larger than a large bread machine. With the press of a button, the steaming aroma of freshly made coffee soon fills up the room.
After breakfast, Kate guides me on a tour of her garden. She has inherited our Mother's love of gardening and has plenty to show for it: irises (standard and Japanese) of every imaginable color; red, yellow and white roses, and snowball and lilac bushes. We stop to taste and smell the petals from her sage and rosemary bushes. She also has "mint galore," she says.
Jim's his new buddy- Hans from Germany- arrives to take Jim out for lunch in town. In her backyard garden, Kate and I lunch on vegies from yesterday's feast. She has placed two green lawn chairs in a warm and sunny spot at the edge of the walkway that leads to the guest house. She wants to get a haircut and I am happy to bask in the backyard sunshine and pet the cats while she is getting beautified at the beauty salon. Jim returns from lunch and sets off again for a round of golf with another friend.
This afternoon Kate and I visit her office where I meet one of her assistants, Angela, a sweet young mother who is proud to show me pictures of her children, before Kate tests my hearing. Good news. I have borderline normal hearing with some beginning loss. Kate prints out reports that show my hearing is in the normal range though on the borderline. She assures me I do not need hearing aids yet and explains that hearing loss occurs gradually over time. She "blew out her ears" during her college years in Florida on air skies and wears hearing aids now. I have my camera and have taken pictures of the office to share with our Mother for Mother’s Day. Angela has promised to e-mail me a photo of "Dr. Kate."
Tonight, we all go out for dinner at a Mexican restaurant – I am treating us to shrimp fajitas, fried beans, guacamole and Mexican coke. I lap up the beans and guacamole but cannot finish the shrimp fajitas. The Mexican coke is delicious - not as sweet as the American version. At home we end another wonderful day together with a dessert of ganoche I had bought at Sam's this afternoon and some delicious New Mexico wine which Jim says I can order online.
On the Road Again...
Thursday, April 17, 2008 -
I leave home at 11:30 a.m. for the Richmond airport and arrive 5 1/2 hours later at the Lubbock, Texas airport on American Airlines at 5 p.m. central time. On the escalator to the baggage area, I spot Kate waiting for me. We gather my 1 checked bag and away we go in her red Honda SUV for 3 hours across the desert on the open winding roads through oil fields and brownfields into the vast agricultural region of West Texas and New Mexico, finally arriving at 200 S. Kentucky Avenue in Roswell, New Mexico, Kate and Jim's fabulous estate, at 7:45 p.m. Mountain time (9:45 EST pm.—a 10 hour + trip for me).
Now in my 60's, I have come here to visit my sister Kate and her husband Jim, to continue our healing journey and to reconnect after so many years we have lost since our childhood days. Kate has her Ph.D. in Audiology, runs a clinic in the city as the sole audiologist, and has offered to test my hearing. I suspect some hearing loss - I have had ringing in my ears for years and often miss parts of conversations. I have told her she is the only one I trust to stick anything in my ears! Jim is retired and enjoys his golf game while making new friends. His sparkly blue eyes, quiet smile, premature white hair and reserved demeanor suggest he is friendly but thoughtful and cautious.
Kate has risen early this morning to make an assortment of salads that will accompany sliced ham for Jim whose golf buddies will be joining him for lunch while she and I are en route from Lubbock. At supper we three happily gobble up leftovers. Before turning in for the night, I play a few tunes from memory for Kate and Jim on their Baldwin piano in their sun room.
Kate escorts me to the guest house in back of their historic Mediterranean-style home where I will stay during our visit. She has thought of everything to make it a bed and breakfast retreat -- all the amenities one would find at any Omni Hotel. The guest house is very comfortably furnished. At the foot of the queen size bed is an armoire; along its side, a large walk-in closet whose sliding doors have been artfully carved to create a mountain scene; at the head, a table, lamp and clock on one side and a sofa on the other. A wooden gate separates the bedroom from the kitchen area which contains a refrigerator on one side of the room near the front door and a writing table, chair and lamp. Across the room a mirror hangs above a sink beside which a table holds a microwave, a basket full of Starbucks coffee and creamer, a Mr. Coffee pot and coffee cup. The tile floor feels cool and welcoming to my feet.
I am not long in bed before two of the resident 5 cats—Earl Grey (solid grey) and Cheeto (orange and white) who are both grown male cats -- are meowing at the door to be let in, and of course, I am delighted to do so because I always seem to miss my two male cats whenever I travel and have to leave them behind. Satisfied that they have sniffed out most of the spaces in the guest house, they hop on the bed and curl up at the foot beside each other. Earl Grey has been in a fight and has an open sore which he licks but can’t keep from running onto the white bedspread. I don't notice the evidence of their having been with me until 2:30 a.m. when they meow to be let out. I hope it is okay for me to have let them in.
I leave home at 11:30 a.m. for the Richmond airport and arrive 5 1/2 hours later at the Lubbock, Texas airport on American Airlines at 5 p.m. central time. On the escalator to the baggage area, I spot Kate waiting for me. We gather my 1 checked bag and away we go in her red Honda SUV for 3 hours across the desert on the open winding roads through oil fields and brownfields into the vast agricultural region of West Texas and New Mexico, finally arriving at 200 S. Kentucky Avenue in Roswell, New Mexico, Kate and Jim's fabulous estate, at 7:45 p.m. Mountain time (9:45 EST pm.—a 10 hour + trip for me).
Now in my 60's, I have come here to visit my sister Kate and her husband Jim, to continue our healing journey and to reconnect after so many years we have lost since our childhood days. Kate has her Ph.D. in Audiology, runs a clinic in the city as the sole audiologist, and has offered to test my hearing. I suspect some hearing loss - I have had ringing in my ears for years and often miss parts of conversations. I have told her she is the only one I trust to stick anything in my ears! Jim is retired and enjoys his golf game while making new friends. His sparkly blue eyes, quiet smile, premature white hair and reserved demeanor suggest he is friendly but thoughtful and cautious.
Kate has risen early this morning to make an assortment of salads that will accompany sliced ham for Jim whose golf buddies will be joining him for lunch while she and I are en route from Lubbock. At supper we three happily gobble up leftovers. Before turning in for the night, I play a few tunes from memory for Kate and Jim on their Baldwin piano in their sun room.
Kate escorts me to the guest house in back of their historic Mediterranean-style home where I will stay during our visit. She has thought of everything to make it a bed and breakfast retreat -- all the amenities one would find at any Omni Hotel. The guest house is very comfortably furnished. At the foot of the queen size bed is an armoire; along its side, a large walk-in closet whose sliding doors have been artfully carved to create a mountain scene; at the head, a table, lamp and clock on one side and a sofa on the other. A wooden gate separates the bedroom from the kitchen area which contains a refrigerator on one side of the room near the front door and a writing table, chair and lamp. Across the room a mirror hangs above a sink beside which a table holds a microwave, a basket full of Starbucks coffee and creamer, a Mr. Coffee pot and coffee cup. The tile floor feels cool and welcoming to my feet.
I am not long in bed before two of the resident 5 cats—Earl Grey (solid grey) and Cheeto (orange and white) who are both grown male cats -- are meowing at the door to be let in, and of course, I am delighted to do so because I always seem to miss my two male cats whenever I travel and have to leave them behind. Satisfied that they have sniffed out most of the spaces in the guest house, they hop on the bed and curl up at the foot beside each other. Earl Grey has been in a fight and has an open sore which he licks but can’t keep from running onto the white bedspread. I don't notice the evidence of their having been with me until 2:30 a.m. when they meow to be let out. I hope it is okay for me to have let them in.
Monday, December 24, 2007
Wedding in Negril, Jamaica
On Saturday, December 15, 2007 at sunset (4:00 p.m.), my precious daughter Juanita and the love of her life, Antonio Grant, were wed in a beautiful garden gazebo in the Couples Swept Away Resort in Negril, Jamaica. Her maid of honor was Ms. Bobbi Curry, her best friend. Her bridesmaids were her first cousin and my niece Rebecca, Antonio's sister Claudine, and Juanita's friend from college Mia. Her flower girl stepped ahead of her, scattering rose petals in her path as Juanita's father escorted her to the altar. The resort priest, Rev. Rose, officiated in the ceremony. After the wedding, Juanita and Antonio signed official documents registering their marriage and guests toasted them with champagne, offering well wishes to the happy couple. The wedding reception and dinner followed at 7 p.m. in the ballroom above one of the resort restaurants -- Patios. As mother of the bride, I was seated at table one along with Juanita's father, my sister Kate, her husband Jim, their daughter Katie, Antonio's step mother, and Antonio's aunt Valerie. After a delicious catered meal, Juanita and Antonio cut their cake and shared with the guests. Then she in her wedding gown and Antonio in his white suit danced together. Guests joined them in dancing and celebrating. It was a very happy time for us all.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Grandma Sings and Prays at Rehearsal Dinner
Friday night, December 14th, we gathered for the rehearsal dinner at another restaurant on the resort property. I had missed the rehearsal at the wedding gazebo that afternoon because I had read the itinerary incorrectly. Juanita was visibly upset with me when I arrived at 5 p.m. after everyone had already left except for her maid of honor and her father who was wondering where I was. I begged Juanita's forgiveness and hugged her, assuring her that I was doing the best I could and that I had just misread the itinerary.
Once we all convened at the rehearsal dinner, Antonio's grandmother offered to give the blessing since no one else volunteered. We all joined hands in a circle and to everyone's surprise, instead of praying, she began to sing, "What A Friend We Have In Jesus." Those of us who knew the words joined in, after which grandmother prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed and then prayed some more until Antonio had to shout AMEN! But grandmother kept right on praying. Antonio's groomsmen came to the rescue with a chorus of AMENS signaling us to sit down. Oblivious to their calls, grandmother remained standing and continued to pray until Antonio gently escorted her to her seat thanking her for her blessing.
Once we all convened at the rehearsal dinner, Antonio's grandmother offered to give the blessing since no one else volunteered. We all joined hands in a circle and to everyone's surprise, instead of praying, she began to sing, "What A Friend We Have In Jesus." Those of us who knew the words joined in, after which grandmother prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed and then prayed some more until Antonio had to shout AMEN! But grandmother kept right on praying. Antonio's groomsmen came to the rescue with a chorus of AMENS signaling us to sit down. Oblivious to their calls, grandmother remained standing and continued to pray until Antonio gently escorted her to her seat thanking her for her blessing.
In a Caribbean paradise
It is Friday, December 14th. The suite where I am staying is on the second floor of one of the 47 buildings on the property for guests. As mother of the bride, I have the suite to myself that includes a private bath and air conditioning. Although it is a couples resort, I am alone, but I am not lonely. There are 2 beds in my room and a ceiling fan over my bed. The windows have wooden shudders that open to the outside. Double doors open out onto an inviting patio with its lamp, chair, sofa and table. This morning, I have made Jamaican coffee and lain down on the sofa outside to read my meditations before breakfast.
It is so beautiful here in Jamaica -- so peaceful at this resort--I think it is the most beautiful place I have ever been in my life. I have seen places like this only in the movies, but here I am now basking in this warm and humid paradise. Palm trees and floral shrubs are abundant throughout the property and tiny birds chirp in the trees nearby. The walkways wind in and around the property. At one end of the resort is "the big house" whose second floor contains an Internet Cafe and casino. Use of the Internet is free to guests and I go there to read and send e-mails.
At the Palm Restaurant I join my daughter and her husband and some of her friends already enjoying breakfast. Then I invite KB and her husband Jim to my room. They are in a suite upstairs on the opposite side of the building. They arrived last night, having traveled all the way from New Mexico to be present for the wedding and for some R&R. KB and I had not visited each other since I was in South Carolina with my Mother and brother three years ago. We had a wonderful heart-filled 2-hour visit together. She sat on the other bed next to mine and Jim relaxed in a chair in the corner of the room opposite my bed and listened as we poured out our hearts. Now that Kate has completed her Ph.D.,she will reduce her workload and will retire within one year to join Jim who is already retired. Two of their daughters--Rebecca and Katie-- are here also. Rebecca, a third year law student at Georgeton, is one of the bridesmaids and is singing in the wedding tomorrow. Her older sister Katie, a nurse, is rooming with her. It feels so good to reconnect with KB and her family. She asks me about the cruise I took in November with my cousin Mary Edith and I explain to her how Mary Edith had inspirated me early in my life. In 1959 she had participated in the first sit-in demonstration to integrate the lunch counter in Lynchburg which resulted in her spending 30 days in jail. I admired her courage and social activism and several years later, during my junior year in college, I worked in the projects for a summer in New Orleans and gave a young black boy free organ lessons.
Jamaican food is delicious and there is so much of it here at the resort - but I am being very good and not eating too much. I had a strawberry daiquiri for dessert at lunch. Tonight the members of the wedding party will meet for a rehearsal dinner. The wedding is tomorrow (Saturday) at 4 p.m. and Sunday I return to Richmond, but I hope to swim in the warm Caribbean waters before I leave Jamaica!
Now I will go back to my room and work on my dress. I have to sew the hem in it because it is too long. I had to whack it off at the bottom before I left Richmond.
It is great to celebrate being alive, to have friends and share special moments like this.
It is so beautiful here in Jamaica -- so peaceful at this resort--I think it is the most beautiful place I have ever been in my life. I have seen places like this only in the movies, but here I am now basking in this warm and humid paradise. Palm trees and floral shrubs are abundant throughout the property and tiny birds chirp in the trees nearby. The walkways wind in and around the property. At one end of the resort is "the big house" whose second floor contains an Internet Cafe and casino. Use of the Internet is free to guests and I go there to read and send e-mails.
At the Palm Restaurant I join my daughter and her husband and some of her friends already enjoying breakfast. Then I invite KB and her husband Jim to my room. They are in a suite upstairs on the opposite side of the building. They arrived last night, having traveled all the way from New Mexico to be present for the wedding and for some R&R. KB and I had not visited each other since I was in South Carolina with my Mother and brother three years ago. We had a wonderful heart-filled 2-hour visit together. She sat on the other bed next to mine and Jim relaxed in a chair in the corner of the room opposite my bed and listened as we poured out our hearts. Now that Kate has completed her Ph.D.,she will reduce her workload and will retire within one year to join Jim who is already retired. Two of their daughters--Rebecca and Katie-- are here also. Rebecca, a third year law student at Georgeton, is one of the bridesmaids and is singing in the wedding tomorrow. Her older sister Katie, a nurse, is rooming with her. It feels so good to reconnect with KB and her family. She asks me about the cruise I took in November with my cousin Mary Edith and I explain to her how Mary Edith had inspirated me early in my life. In 1959 she had participated in the first sit-in demonstration to integrate the lunch counter in Lynchburg which resulted in her spending 30 days in jail. I admired her courage and social activism and several years later, during my junior year in college, I worked in the projects for a summer in New Orleans and gave a young black boy free organ lessons.
Jamaican food is delicious and there is so much of it here at the resort - but I am being very good and not eating too much. I had a strawberry daiquiri for dessert at lunch. Tonight the members of the wedding party will meet for a rehearsal dinner. The wedding is tomorrow (Saturday) at 4 p.m. and Sunday I return to Richmond, but I hope to swim in the warm Caribbean waters before I leave Jamaica!
Now I will go back to my room and work on my dress. I have to sew the hem in it because it is too long. I had to whack it off at the bottom before I left Richmond.
It is great to celebrate being alive, to have friends and share special moments like this.
Arriving at A December Destination Wedding
I arrived in Jamaica Thursday afternoon, December 13th, at Couples Swept Away, a resort in Negril located right on the edge of the Caribbean sea. My daughter Juanita will be getting married here on Saturday, December 15th, in the wedding gazebo on the resort property. Negril is about an hour and a half from the Montego Bay airport where I landed after a very long flight from Richmond that began at 6 a.m. to Atlanta by 9 a.m. - then a 2 hour stop over there and a three hour flight from Atlanta to Jamaica, arriving about 2:30 p.m. A bus driver brought us to Negril from Montego Bay after we cleared immigration.
The streets are narrow and the bus drivers drive very fast. On the way here, I sat up front with the bus driver whose thick accent was hard to understand. Children all wearing different colored uniforms were just getting out from school - it was about 3:30 p.m. Each school has a different uniform that the children wear so a child's school can be known just by the uniform he or she is wearing. The parents have to pay for the children's school books and supplies and since some of the families are very poor and cannot afford to pay, the government has a program that provides for them although the country has no welfare system. If you don't have a job, you are just out of luck. I saw some women selling bottled water in the streets--anything to make money.
Tonight the two families and their friends gathered for a reception at Rick's Cafe, a local restaurant near huge cliffs that jut out into the sea. Young men climb the cliffs and dive into the blue Caribbean waters below. The night sky was so clear tonight - I could see the stars. I lay down in a lounge chair beside the pool next to the cafe, gazed at the stars and drank Jamaican rum! Mmmmmmmmm good!
The streets are narrow and the bus drivers drive very fast. On the way here, I sat up front with the bus driver whose thick accent was hard to understand. Children all wearing different colored uniforms were just getting out from school - it was about 3:30 p.m. Each school has a different uniform that the children wear so a child's school can be known just by the uniform he or she is wearing. The parents have to pay for the children's school books and supplies and since some of the families are very poor and cannot afford to pay, the government has a program that provides for them although the country has no welfare system. If you don't have a job, you are just out of luck. I saw some women selling bottled water in the streets--anything to make money.
Tonight the two families and their friends gathered for a reception at Rick's Cafe, a local restaurant near huge cliffs that jut out into the sea. Young men climb the cliffs and dive into the blue Caribbean waters below. The night sky was so clear tonight - I could see the stars. I lay down in a lounge chair beside the pool next to the cafe, gazed at the stars and drank Jamaican rum! Mmmmmmmmm good!
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