Tag Archives: grandchildren

Thursday… Birthday… Cookbook…

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Thursday, the day before my 62nd birthday. Yay. I feel like I’m 80. It would be nice to spend my birthday with my grandchildren and children. My daughter is in another state so I won’t be seeing her or her children for quite some time. My son? Well, he’s just 15 miles away and I never hear from him. He never even checks on us. His children do not know me and that makes me sad. I’m invisible. I’m expected to go see them. How can I do that when I can’t get up the steps to their house? My son knows this. It’s too hot to sit outside especially now that the a/c in the car bit the big one.

So, my birthday will be spent with Dad. We are going out for lunch but I’m not sure where since my favorite restaurant closed down permanently. I’m really bummed about that. I’ll miss the friendly servers and the manager. I’ll miss the avocado enchiladas and the chicken tortilla soup. Yes, I can probably find recipes to make these at home but 1) cooking is rough for a person who is disabled and 2) it won’t be the same. I would love to duplicate the broth of the soup and the green sauce that comes on the enchildadas. Damn, my mouth is watering.

I have a pinched nerve in my back, again. It sure plays hell on my legs. Sometimes they just burn like a mofo and I can’t do much of anything. Yesterday, I couldn’t even bend over to pick up something I had dropped on the floor. Some days are better than others. Some days I just want to jump off a cliff. But I keep on truckin’ because who’s going to look after Dad if I don’t?

Since my cookbook is finished, I thought I’d get back to writing but I didn’t have a very good start. I wrote once this week, twice counting today. I guess that’s something. I just need to figure out what to write about because I’m sure y’all don’t want to hear about my troubles all the time!

Speaking of my cookbook… Aunt Debbie’s Best. A Collection of Family Favorites. 184 recipes total. Spiral bound. $30.00 includes shipping. I tried to keep the price down but cost for printing was a bit more than I had anticipated. Things are so expensive these days. Personal checks and money orders only. A great gift for Christmas! Recipes include:

Spicy Chicken Bites
Corn and Black Bean Salsa Dip
Granny’s Banana Bread
Buffalo Pull Bread
Great Gramma’s Bierock
Sloppy Joes To Die For
Ham and Cheese Egg Muffins
Make Ahead Hashbrown Casserole
Homemade Ravioli
Stuffed Shells
Honey Garlic Chicken Breasts
Chicken Enchiladas
Stuffed Bell Peppers
Red Beans and Rice with Andouille Sausage
Aunt Debbie’s Loaded Potato Salad
Creamy Bacon Dressing
Aunt Debbie’s Italian Spaghetti Sauce
The Best Turkey Brine in the World!
Salsa Verde Chicken Soup
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Popcorn Cake
Russian Tea Cakes
Papas Fajitas
Spinach and Mushroom Pizza
Granny’s Pierogies
Stuffed Zucchini
Instant Pot Charro Beans
Instant Pot Lima Beans and Ham
Homemade Accent Seasoning
Koolaid Playdough
….and many more!
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Order your copy soon! You can use the contact page if you’re interested or you can email me at castlefreak62 @ yahoo.com and that would be with no spaces! I will then send you my mailing address. I have an issue with PayPal, Venmo and the like so I can only accept checks and money orders at this time. Sorry for the inconvenience.
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Signing off for now. I hope you have a great weekend. Stay cool, and please don’t leave your kids or pets in the car!
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Throwback Thursday

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I was going through some old photos I took when my granddaughter was little. I stumbled across these; my favorites in a sequence. They are a bit out of focus but you can still see the humor behind them. Starting top/middle/bottom, moving left to right: These photos show little Daph squeezing between the chair and side table, getting stuck, waiting patiently or thinking how she would get out, and then finally the look as if to plea with Grandma to help her out of this predicament and stop taking photos!

The Fourth

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An amazing thing has happened! My son and his wife have had their first child! We are so blessed and so very happy to have this little guy in our lives. I cannot even wait until he’s bigger!

Something occurred to me today, as we were sitting with this precious little fellow. Not only is he my 4th grandchild, but he is Dad’s 4th great-grandchild! Imagine that! We are elated!

I wonder what toys he will like, or what his favorite animal might be. I wonder what things he will find hilarious or what things might frighten him. His hair is brown now, and his eyes dark blue but I wonder if they will change. I wonder if he will be short or tall, thin or not-so-thin. I wonder if he will love books and which ones will be his favorites. I wonder what his favorite foods will be and if he’ll try zucchini or mushrooms.

I wonder if he will love us….because I know already we sure do love him!

Blog pics

A Ray, A Sparkle & Perfectness

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Amidst all of the political BS and devastation due to hurricanes and fires, I have to set my mind to a more positive channel. I HAVE to. The awful things that happen to people consume me. The political shit storm of opinions and uninformed comments consume me. By consume I mean that I am overwhelmed with a multitude of feelings such as a profound sadness and helplessness for people who are experiencing such losses and an intense desire to put my fist through the face of an idiot who hasn’t taken the time to research anything before forming an opinion. 

Sometimes I am so overloaded with sadness, rage, empathy, concern, sorrow….that I need to unplug from the world. I have decreased the amount of time I’m spending on social media and doing other things like reading, writing, doing word puzzles to keep my brain sharp, making a holiday shopping list, crafting, crocheting, doing a few extra chores, and making lists of things I need to do, recipes I want to try, ingredients I need to buy, and the like. I wish I could do more, but chronic pain and mobility issues play a big part in deciding what I do each day. 

I think I watch less television, but when the other person in the household has to watch all day long (and sometimes the same exact news repeated numerous times throughout the day) it’s rather hard to get away from. I do retreat to my room for large chunks of the day to unwind, nap or just write.

There have been a few things this week that have made me smile and forget about the YUCK of life. There’s one particular thing that stands out from this past week.

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My grand daughter called me the other day. It was nice to hear her little 8-year-old voice. I have missed her a LOT! It’s been 2 months since her last visit. We have made some plans for a visit week after next, but nothing is set in stone as yet. I look forward to seeing her. She makes me laugh and I love her hugs! She’s got to be the most considerate and helpful child on the planet; another reason she’s so easy to love! Her overnight stays are the best! We have a little bedtime rhyme we have shared since she was just a little bitty thing and it goes like this:

“I love you little,

I love you big,

I love you like a little pig.”

We always get a little chuckle out of it and I cherish these special moments. Another special moment I get to witness is when she and her (Great) Grampa are watching SpongeBob SquarePants together. All I can do is grin from ear to ear when they’re laughing their heads off! Too bad the other 2 grandkids don’t get to enjoy these special times with him too. 

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So, there’s a little bright sparkle of goodness, a ray of sunshine, a pocketful of perfectness that is my little Doodle Bug coming for a visit soon!!  Boy, do I need that visit!