October 08th, 2013

Joshua and Dessie went to work last Friday - working the sale at Dublin Livestock. Rick and I stayed here - so that we could be here for the grandkids after school, and to help Dessie with the chores and the house stuff. 
We made "meat and taters" for supper on Friday night. That has been a favorite meal at our table for a lot of years. It all started when we lived on Dickey Prairie Road outside of Molalla, OR. We had a wood stove for heating, and one for cooking. One afternoon that was close to payday (meaning the cupboards were bare), Joshua asked what was for supper. I said I didn't know ... we got to looking around in the kitchen and we found a few potatoes and a pound of hamburger meat in the freezer. I browned the meat, adding salt and pepper, onion and garlic. While it was browning, I peeled and diced the potatoes - very small dicing. When the meat was browned, I added the potatoes and put enough water in there to cover the potatoes about 1/2 inch above. Kept the fire down low, and just let it all simmer until the potatoes were completely done. It smelled so good!!! 
When we got ready to eat supper that night, we each had a serving of the meat and potatoes and a slice of bread. Joshua decided to add a spoon of mayo to his, and put it on the bread like a sandwich. Voila` a favorite meal at our table was born!!! 
I have cooked many a pan of it over the years ... and as yet, no one has not liked it! LOL 
And with the cold front moving thru late Friday night, the rains that came with it ... oh the "meat and taters" smelled so good simmering in a crock pot!!! 

I also made Butter Chewy Cookies on Saturday morning while it rained and hailed ... fighting the grandkids and the son to stay out of the cookie batter!!! LOL 
--Butter Chewy Cookies: 
4 small eggs (or 2 large ones)
2 cups unpacked brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
Mix well ... 
Add - 1 teaspoon vanilla (I used some of Dessie's REAL vanilla from Old Mexico, yummy!)
Stir in 1 teaspoon baking soda and 2 teaspoons baking powder. 
Mix well until there are no lumps and the mixture is creamy.
This is where I add either 1 cup peanut butter, or 1 cup of peanut butter chips, or 1 cup chocolate chips, or 1 cup butterscotch chips. I have also added 1/2 cup chopped pecans, or 1/2 cup dry quick oats.  
Then, I added 4 Tablespoons all purpose flour, stirred well to get the lumps out. 
And I kept adding 4 Tablespoons all purpose flour and stirring well ... until it was a consistency that would stay on a spoon, but I could drop the cookies by spoonful onto a cookie sheet. 
Watch closely in the oven - they will be cooking good, but if you leave them a moment too long, they will burn. 
*this is my momma's standard cookie recipe. And if you want to roll the cookies into balls, just add a little more flour. If you want to roll the cookies out and cut them with cookie cutters, add a little more flour to make a stiff dough, turn out on a lightly floured surface, roll, and cut. Then bake. 

It has been COLD here the last couple of nights and early mornings. BRRRRRR... when  you are used to it being 85* in the mornings, then you feel 43*! OMW!!! So, I sit wrapped in a blanket or a quilt until the sun comes up good above the caprock in front of Joshua and Dessie's house. 

I killed a 3-inch scorpion in the bathroom last night. I killed it! I didn't call for help - I killed it!!! LOL ... I am woman!!! LOL 

Dessie and I are working on Joshua and Rick about getting the Internet in here. Rick said that if we are going to be here more thru the winter than at the house in SS - then maybe we should move our Dish TV and Dish Net. ??? I still have to call them, but I am waiting on a "final" answer from someone about it all. 
And in the meantime, I write while here at the house ... and wait until we drive into town, stop at McDonald's and post to my blog. Which is better than nothing!!! LOL 
But I miss all my Facebookers ... and the Coffee Club!!! 

I have been working with Kyla on her math this year. She has started the regrouping and borrowing in subtraction. She just has not been able to understand it, has not been able to get the concept of it all. 
Until last evening! =)
We were working on 2 math papers - one due today, and one not due until Thursday. And I realized what a major stumbling block she has been dealing with. The child did not realize, did not understand, that you could have the same answer to different problems, on the same page. 22-11=11 ... but 33-22=11, too!!! And 17-9=8 in problem #4, but also in problem #12!!! When she got that? Well, she GOT IT!!! LOL -- we hollered and laughed and even had a tear of joy or two!!! She wanted me to write a note to her math teacher telling her that Kyla GOT IT!!! So, you know what? I DID!!! I wrote a note to Ms. Craig and told her that Kyla GOT IT on the math concept. By the time we were 1/2 way thru the first math paper, she was doing the problems BY HERSELF!!! And getting the answers RIGHT!!! 
And if you understood the struggles this child has been thru in school every year (except K), the wrestling with the homework and the tests and the teachers that we have all done with her, and for her ... if you could have seen the passion AGAINST school and learning in this child's eyes and heard the disgust for herself being "stupid" ... and then to see the light go on when she GOT IT!!! Oh my word!!! It was PRICELESS!!! 
She was doing chores with her momma and brother last evening, but she was hurrying to get them done, because she WANTED TO FINISH HER HOMEWORK!!! She was excited! She enjoyed homework! And she couldn't wait till this morning to return to school and show her math teacher that SHE GOT IT!!! 
When it was bedtime last night, she hugged and kissed everyone good night. When she came to me, she stood at my shoulder, just looking at me. And then, with absolute love and joy in her eyes, she leaned over and kissed me big on the cheek!!! Oh what a treasure!!! 
Lord, I pray that this passion for learning, this excitement that Kyla has now will NEVER leave her!!! And may all the grandkids have a passion for learning, an excitement that overshadows the discouragements in life. May they always be looking at learning as a challenge!!! Never limited! 

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