Box full o' love

All my stuff is still in boxes. They are packed up in the office of the new barn. I can't WAIT until I can go through everything and feel all nostalgic and happy.

BUT until then I am glad that I remembered to take pictures of this box, a birthday present box, to be more specific, that Johannah made for me last March. Johannah is my long lost roomate from Richmond. I knew that I would be lifelong friends with Johannah when I quoted the movie "Anne of Green Gables" and she finished my sentence. We are "kindred spirits" and both have crushes on Gilbert. (TRC 4 eva.)

This is one of the best birthday presents I have ever recieved and the only birthday present that has been boarderline creepy (in the very best of ways).

You can imagine my excitement when Johannah showed up on my doorstep, love box in hand.

And this is the best cut and paste job I have ever seen:

amazing. simply amazing. I wish I could make birthday boxes for everyone in the world. Maybe then we would have world peace.

"where happy little blue birds fly"

Taken today in Mt. Sidney. It's good to be home.

Peach Cobbler Sunday

I woke up this morning in a daze. Where am I? This isn't my bed. That's not Andrew beside me....

Then it all came back to me and I rolled back over and told my mom I needed to sleep juuuuust a little longer.

I drove home to Norton last night, getting in at about 12:00am.

What a wonderful Sunday it has been. We went to church, visited the cemetery and came home to a good 'ole Sunday Supper. My mom is the BEST southern cook (in my opinion). Tell me this just doesn't sound delicious?

Soup beans
Cornbread
Fried potatoes
Cole slaw
Sliced onion
Sweet tea
AND peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream

She knows how to fill my belly, which always leads to nap time which is where I'm off to right now.


Happy Sunday Funday :)


Debbie's Peach Cobbler

1 stick of butter
1 cup of self rising flour
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar
16 oz can of sliced peaches + 8 oz can of sliced peaches (only use the juice of the big can, strain the smaller can)
cinnamon

Pre-heat over to 350 degrees. Put stick of butter in glass baking dish and put in the oven to melt the butter.

In a small bowl, mix together the flour, milk and sugar. Take dish out of the oven and pour peaches into dish. Drizzle batter over peaches. Sprinkle cinnamon all over the top of the cobbler and stick it in the oven for 40 minutes or until bubbly brown! Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Then find your way to the nearest bed or couch and have sweet dreams.

(ps. there is not a photo of this delicious spread because.....well, I was a very hungry girl this afternoon and the aftermath did not look pretty. Just use your imagination.)

Soo.....whatcha been doin?

my list of new things:

Country time- Andrew has had to repeat to me over and over again "you can only do so much in one day". I'm still on city warp speed.

Weather talk- I think I have talked more about the weather this winter than I ever have in my life.

New Job- Full of nice people and close to home!

Chores- You can't live on a farm without chores, inside or outside of the house.

Puppy kisses- His name is Charlie. He is the niece and nephews new puppy. I am seriously trying to concoct a plan to steal a 4 and 5 years olds dog (after he is potty trained at his house, of course).

Weekday lunch dates with Andrew- Our spot: Subway at the Bp gas station. Sometimes, if you come on the wrong day and the wrong people are working, they will make your sub with hate. We always wind up laughing about our hate subs on those days.

"The Writing Initiative"- I'm going to really try and keep up with my personal journal entries, song writing and work on being less critical of myself.

Internet neglect- I have not been so disconnected from technology in my life. Some days it feels really nice and a lot less stressful, and then other days I miss connecting with so many people and all of my friends and just browsing through the news on a short break. It's really made me notice how much of my life, our lives, start to revolve around the internet. I don't know where I am going with this but I miss it as much as I love the freedom of being away from it. "Deep thoughts" by Valerie McQueen.

Farm cat Olivia- Olivia has taken over Cool Breeze Stables. Well, she has taken over the house anyways. She comes and goes inside and out and loooooooooves it here. She has even lost a few lbs. Now if I could make sure she stays out of the burrs when she goes outside....

That's what's new with me! I'll be better at posting from here on out! Just had to give an update.

love.

I have a story to tell.

Ruth Anne Gorsage was born on June 29, 1935. She came into this world as a blessing to her parents. They had tried to have children many times, all resulting in miscarriages or death shortly after birth. Mammaw often told me the story of her birth and I remember asking her to tell it to me just a month or so ago. Her Daddy worked an entire month to earn $5 so they could hire a doctor to deliver the baby. Oh what a blessing that $5 brought. It brought my Mammaw, Ruth Anne, into this world. She was the apple of her mother and daddy's eye.

Her mother, also named Ruth, was sick. She had tuberculosis. She fought hard to live for her husband and new daughter. She tried treatment after treatment to help with her disease. I remember my Mammaw telling me her vague memory of going to visit her mom in the sanatorium. You see, they didn't know what to do with patients that had diseases like TB back then. So they were put in sanitariums with all of those confused souls. Some in there for just reason, others in a position like Ruth.

Ruth, desperate to get better, joined a clinical trial. The thought was that they could blow air into TB patients lungs and it would "blow out" the TB. Oh how far medicine has come. But for Ruth, that was the last breath she would take. The experiment was too much for her little body and she passed away when my Mammaw was only 8 years old. She was beautiful. Dark, black hair, a rounded face and sweet smile. Mammaw didn't remember a lot about her mom, but she remembered her singing. "She was always humming and singing", Mammaw would tell me on one of the countless times that I asked her to tell me about her "real" mom.

What a blessing Ruth brought into this world. She gave me my Mammaw. The sweetest, warmest most wonderful person I have ever known. I can tell you this with all certainty. I never, ever saw or heard a mean word come out of my Mammaws mouth. She was the closest thing to an angel that I have ever come across. She lived a blessed life and bore 5 children, saw 7 grandchildren grow to adults and was blessed with 5 great-grandchilren. People all over the WORLD have been touched by knowing her.

My Mammaw had been sick for many years. I could see it in her beautiful eyes. She wanted to live for her family, but oh how tired she was. Her last option was chemotherapy and she bravely choose the treatment. Just like her mother, her little body could not take the treatment. My Mammaw, the woman you see me smooching in my header picture, died on January 12, 2010.

I will hold her in my heart forever. Such change has happened in my life over the past 2 months. But I am ready now. Mammaw was so proud of me and Andrew. She loved us. She believed in us. And I know that she believed in me. We had a special relationship that I am so thankful for. She helped mold me into the person that I am today and Mammaw, I will keep my chin up and keep on singin' and believin' for the both of us.

love.

Mammaw and me in the hospital on New Years Day, 2010.

Easter, 2009. She was so beautiful.

Christmas Day 2009. Mammaw gave me a ukulele and taught me two songs. We sang and played all morning together. I will never forget that day.

bad blogger, bad

I'm not a very good blogger.

I think I need a break from internet life.

I can't seem to get it together.

My stuff is all in boxes.

My cat loves Andrew more than me.

It's so damn cold here.

I have been horrible at keeping in touch with my friends.

When I get out of this dramatic mood that I am in, I will start back fresh.

And it will be like, woah.