Where I'm From

Where I’m From

November 8, 2012

I am from clothes hanging on the line outside, from Hellman’s mayo and great grandma’s sweet pickles.

I am from the hot, un-airconditioned SOUTH, playing in the sprinklers, getting a suntan on the boat or the back deck or the hand-dug pond in the back yard that is warmed with water that flows through a pipe that goes through a fire pit.

I am from the Aralias, Gerbera Daisies and the marijuana, the crinkly leaves, the stunning gem colors, and the curious cages.

I am from Ginnie Springs camping at Thanksgiving and Standing Rib Roast at Christmas.  I am from Great Grandma Wood and Great Grammie Glidden and across the Northeast US and across the pond.

I am from the alcoholism and deep stubbornness .

From “Don’t make that face or it’ll get frozen that way” and “Because I said so”.

I am from going to churches with friends and relatives and on special occasions. I am from Montessori School to Sunday School.

I'm from Florida, Germany and Scotland, Great grandpa’s refrigerator Velcro soup, Entenman’s doughnuts and fresh fish and lobster on demand.

From the time on the Peace River when it was “TOO DEEP”, the times the fire department was called to the house because of shenanigans that were too obvious to ignore, to cozy, fun, loving sleepovers at JoJo and Aunt Sandy’s houses.

I am from Great Grandma’s book of our genealogy, The Wood family wall in JoJo’s house, and the love that was never lacking.

Artisian Bread in Five minutes a day

I have to admit.  I'm a pretty dismal bread baker.  Before Grampy died, he took me through his whole process, which you can see here .  I'm glad I did that for so many reasons, not the least of which is that he died less than four months after I did that.  Between pictures and video, it is memories of some of the most special times we spent together in the kitchen and talking about all things food related.  I love him and miss him so much, and I really can't even look through the pictures without bawling, much less watch the videos.  But if you can, I encourage you to.  He was an amazing man.  By the by, after he died, my Grammie gave me almost all of his bread baking equipment.  I'll always treasure it.

When I heard about this recipe for making bread in five minutes a day,and no kneading was involved, I was totally all in.  For some reason, I just can't figure out the kneading!  If you watch the videos and look at the pictures, you can CLEARLY tell which bread grampy had his hands on, and which bread I had mine on.  I know I should practice, because in this case, truly practice does make perfect, but I haven't found the patience for it yet.  I will someday, and thankfully, I'll have Grampy by my side showing me how he kneaded the bread with perfection.

The recipe for Artisian Bread in Five minutes a day, is dead simple. 

3 cups lukewarm water

1 1⁄2 tbsp granulated yeast (1 1⁄2 packets)
1 1⁄2 tbsp coarse kosher or sea salt
6 1⁄2 cups unsifted, unbleached, all-purpose white flour
Cornmeal for pizza peel
I like to add just a pinch of sugar.

The beauty is in the method.  If you want the details and haven't been able to dig it up on line, send me a message or leave me a comment and I'll see what I can do, or better yet, go buy the book!  You won't be sorry!  You get the recipe and method for the main loaf, and TONS of variations!!  People, this is so easy a caveman could do it!  REALLY! 
Here are some pictures from our most recent endeavor!

Dough in container immediately after mixing.

Dough in container after three hour rise at room temp.

Risen dough after 3 hours at room temp, about tripled.  We refrigerated it at this point.

All I had to do here was make it into a smooth silky ball by tucking the ends under... Meh...

I slashed the top for a scalloped effect in the finished product... ha

Yes, well you see,  it looks beautiful anyway!

The taste... Oh Ma Gah!  It was fantastic! 

Now this isn't squishy wonder bread guys, this bread has some tooth to it.  I loved it shmeared with butter right out of the oven, or rubbed with garlic and butter with some spaghetti.  It has a hint of sour dough flavor to it, because it sat for a few days before we baked it.  There's more in the fridge.  Can't wait to make the next loaf.  You know, it will only take five minutes to pop it in the oven, and fresh bread in 30 mins.  Do you remember what the house smells like when you bake fresh bread?  Do you?  Aww you should go make some now!
 
Char

Ponderings

There's a lot of crap in my head right now and I want to get it all out, but I can't seem to get my thoughts together.  Here's a list of some of the stuff I want to blog about, but haven't yet:

1 - Getting pulled over on the way home from work Friday night by a cop by a motherf'er that said that I had road rage and at the same time I was on the phone with OnStar having them contact the cops for me because this guy was freaking me the hell out.

2 - The Lemoncello drop martini that I made myself promptly after getting home Friday.

3 - Still upset/sad/moping/depressed about my ex being pregnant, and I'm not.

4 - Money issues that are pissing me the hell off ~ mmmm probably won't  be blogging about that, but it's on my mind anyway, so there.

5 - Rushing around on Saturday morning and making myself appetizers for breakfast and not being able to eat them because of my lap band.

6 - Why my ex-boss never asked me to make coffee for him again.

7 - How another ex-boss complained about how they have no money and then go on a two week trip to California wine country among other ridiculousness!

8 - The great smoked oyster challenge

9 - Squeak and her food issues.

10 - My first time making falafel from scratch, and the recipe.  WIN!

11 - My hair and the annoyance it causes me on a daily basis, plus the cut I just got on Saturday.

12 - Baby carrots.

13 - Staying in bed until 12:30 on Sunday.

14 - Cooking (drying out) an eye round on the big green egg on Sunday.

15 - A word on religion and did you know that some Jewish temples charge people to go there on the High Holy Days?

16 - Mass mailed resumes and my awesome bosses.

17 - Things to do to fight depression.

18 - How the world is too PC these days and how I want to move to California so I can embrace the "Do what is right for YOU ideal".

19 - How people balance the "Do what is right for YOU" ideal when the whole world thinks they are more important.

20 - How you really SHOULDN'T talk about really personal stuff with your bosses, especially health stuff, because it ALWAYS gets thrown in your face.

21 - How I gave my dad three time out chances last night before I was going to send him home in a cab and he only used 1 1/2 of them.

22 - My thoughts on Breaking the Cardinal Rule in the office.  

23 - How all this crap (and other crap) in my head has me very overwhelmed.

C

30 Days of Truth - Day 4

Day 4 - Something you have to forgive someone for.

I won't lie.  This has been a hard one for me. 

At first thought, this was easy for me.  I forgave my ex-husband and his now fiancee a long time ago for the hell they brought down on me.  I'm actually thankful that it ended, though it could have ended better, we're friendly now, and I am happy about that.

What hit me, after that realization, is that there are some things I haven't forgiven yet.  Things that I don't talk about, or think about, because it hurts too much, and I go into a downwards spiral and can't get it out of my head.  Some things that can never really be properly forgiven because the perpetrators are dead. 

As I'm finally typing this, I realize that the Truth about Day Four is to acknowledge that you have to forgive someone for something.  You don't actually have to do it.  So that's what I'm doing now.  I acknowledge that I should be able to forgive.

I thought I was to a point where I could, but I can't.  Maybe I will someday.

Here we go again.

Char

5-5-5-5-5 meme

5-5-5-5-5.

Question 1: Where were you five years ago?

1 – Living in the same house I’m in now which was about half as new as it is now.
2 – Working at a place where I had been fairly happy for many years, and it was just about to get really unhappy.
3 – In a marriage that was about to end, or was already over and I had no idea.
4 – In a family that was much happier then, than it is now.
5 – Over the “30” hump and ignorantly happy.

Question 2: What is on your to-do list today?

1 – Learning lab trying to get stuff done for school, and my hours in.
2 – Filing taxes and paying… gosh I hate that.
3 – Laundry. It is teh suck.
4 – Put all the clean dishes away from last weekend.
5 – Some ah other thing that doesn’t need to be discussed here ;-).

Question 3: What five snacks do you enjoy?

1 - Cheese crackers – Cheez It’s to be exact.
2 – Chex Mix.
3 – BBQ Potato Chips.
4 – Pistachios.
5 – Chewy candy.

Question 4: What five places have you lived?

1 - I'm including my parents' house, since even though it’s generic I lived there three times (once, left, came back, left, came back, left for good) and I haven’t lived that many places...
2 - With ex-boyfriend who moved up here with me to where I am now, only to be left by me a few years later.
3 – With crazy room-mate and new boyfriend. (parents in between)
4 – A perfectly nice apartment complex that we could afford… we lived in that place two different times, in two different apartments and I have some fond memories from there.
5 – Our current home. I built this house with my ex-husband and I have cut off my nose to spite my face to stay here, but stay here I have. During the time the pool was being built he left me. He’s never swam in the pool to my knowledge. Nor has he been in the spa. I still don’t have paint on the walls other than the white they put on when they built it. I’ve just recently had to have the septic tank pumped for the first time. Last year the dryer quit. The microwave is on it’s last legs and I had to get the garbage disposal replaced last week. It’s been a good home though, and I love it. It’s not big enough, not by a longshot though. My husband and I say that the next place we move to (if it isn’t under a bridge) will be a kitchen with some rooms attached.

Question 5: What five things would you do if you were a billionaire?

1 – I’d help to pay off debt of all our family members. Then I’d send them all to classes on how to manage money :-)
2 – We would cruise the world. We wouldn’t stop until we were sick of it.
3 - I would help those organizations or create a new organization to help feed the hungry. I can’t stand that there are so many people in the world without food.
4 - Save money.
5 – Dream Kitchen with some rooms attached. Several of them. One in the mountains, one on the beach, one on a lake etc….

I'm supposed to pick 5 people to do this meme, but I'm not sure 5 people even read this blog, so I'll just put it out there: do it if you want. :)

Things that make you say hmmmmmm.

I called my ex-husband today to reminisce a little since together we built the house I live in now - nearly 9 years ago. I had to have the septic tank pumped for the first time, so I called to tell him. It was kind of funny, because when we saw them putting it in all those years ago, we had no idea how long it would take to fill it up... Of course over this past weekend when I had almost 60 people here for Easter, we put it to the limit.

My ex and I still talk and are on very good terms. I guess I just have a different mindset than some people do when it comes to forgiving. I never thought i'd forgive him for what he did to me. I really never thought i would get here, but I am glad I did. Even though he did crappy things, he's a good person, and I'm fortunate to have him as a friend.

Charlene <----wistful today

Tears of joy tonight

I spent an amazing weekend with my husband at a spectacular wedding, in a beautiful hotel. We danced, he serenaded me, we had a sublime room, and may or may not have uh oh - how did that fluffy pillow end up in our suitcase?? ;-)

I started a new job today, that I think I love. I think I love my job. I don't think I've ever said that before.

A sweet friend of mine brought tears to my eyes tonight with her apple picking adventures. Click the title of this post to visit her blog and see lots of love and happiness, and some pretty damn good food!

My comment on her Apple Picking '09 blog: "I have never been to an apple orchard. I cannot imagine the heaven that must be. One of these days I'm going to follow in my Grampy's footsteps and pick Cortland apples in Maine in September. Sniff, sniff. I love your stories and photo journalism Lisa. You are truly a blessing."

I have a full life, a one in a million husband, a family that is wonderful and loves me, and loves each other. I am truly blessed.

Char

September 11th - Remembered

I couldn't find words on September 11th. I noticed that a lot of people couldn't. Can't.

I ran across this photo of a pop-art poster today at another website that I frequent and it moved me. I went ahead and tracked down the owner of the photo. If you are interested, you can buy a copy by clicking the link in the title of this post.

This art was created using the names of all the people who were lost on that sad day.

Charlene

Memories of food

My Paternal Great-Grandmother (Grandma Wood) would always bring boxes and boxes of Entenmann’s baked goods tied with string from the outlet store where she would stop on her way to our house. My favorite was the chocolate covered doughnuts. I loved them straight from the freezer, which is where she stored them when we went to her house.

Grandma always had a big glass cookie jar* on her countertop with her homemade sugar cookies in there. I can’t remember ever going to her house without those cookies being there. They were the best after a long day swimming in the pool! She must have made thousands of those cookies!

My paternal grandmother (Nana) would always burn her cookies when she would bake them, she always made chocolate chip cookies, and she always burned them. She wouldn’t throw them out either, she said they were perfectly good. I remember taking a butter knife to the bottom of them. They still tasted burnt. Her cookies are probably the reason I still don't like chocolate chip cookies much to this day. Nana made the best eggplant parmesan ever though.

My maternal grandfather (Grampy) would always take us to McDonalds for Chicken Nuggets when they came to town to visit.

When we went to Grampy and Grammie’s house, we would always be sure to time the trek so we would be in time for breakfast! Grampy made the best fried eggs! Along with Bacon, sausage patties, home fries and baked beans. The homemade toasted bread was the icing on the breakfast. Grammie always had a Tupperware container in the fridge filled with all different jars of jams and jellies.

One little weird thing about me is that I have always loved my eggs over medium, but I don’t like to eat the white that is immediately around the yolk. I would cut the edges of the white off and eat those, and then I would open the top of the egg and dip the yolk with my toast, and I would leave the middle on my plate. Grampy always used to eat it up for me so Grammie wouldn’t yell at me for leaving it. Nowadays, my tummy doesn’t like me to eat the egg whites at all. Fortunately, my husband will eat them sometimes. It’s funny because if he doesn’t I feel like I am being wasteful. I think it’s so sweet that he eats them like Grampy used to 

My dad used to go diving a lot when we were young. Pretty much every weekend during the late spring and all summer we had the fruits of his labor. They would come home with enough fish to cover the front lawn. My mom would fry it up with just simple seasoned flour and Crisco. That fish was to die for. It was so good, I would sometimes wake up in the night and eat it cold from the zip bag. Then there was the conch that she made into fritters, or that dad made into conch salad. Plenty of hushpuppies. Fresh corn on the cobb. Florida lobster – they would bring dozens of them home during the season. One year we spent a week in the keys on a houseboat and we actually got sick of lobster. I never thought that would ever be possible. I’d like to do that again!

I loved going to Aunt JoJo’s house with her luxurious air conditioning and she would make honey mustard chicken, or our very favorite Chicken Cordon Bleu. I even ate calves liver coated in oatmeal at her house once that was very tasty.


Charlene

*When Grandma passed away, all of us girls got one of the cookie jars in the set. I also inherited her dining room set, where our family ate meals at her table for more than 40 years.

Missing - from my spaces.live blog

Missing


Thursday, July 02, 2009, 7:01:18 AM

I've been missing here. I guess I wanted to give Shauna the time to be on the front page where she belongs. I still miss her terribly.



I started another blog - determined I was going to say the truth there. I never wrote another word there. Well I haven't yet anyway.



I do want to say this. I'm missing a friend today very much. I found this friend around two years ago today.... lost the friend a few months later, and I'm sorry I did. I miss you, friend.



Charlene