OLD AGE IS NOT FOR SISSIES

NOTHING IN LIFE IS TO BE FEARED

Why I’m Celebrating an Ancestor this Mother’s Day

by Filed Under: Family Life 4 Comments

This Mother’s Day I wanted to write about a matriarchal ancestor–my third great grandmother on my mother’s side. This is her story.

The family lore we heard was that she was a red-headed if not a hot-headed woman who loaded up her family in a wagon and moved to Florida in 1848.  Florida was only three years old a state, but Peniope McSwain Hamrick decided that her sons and daughters would have their best chance to thrive in a state of mild climate, fertile soils, and cheap land.  I wish to remember her this Mother’s Day because, without her strong-willed temperament, we would not be in Florida today.

When I grew up in the 1960s, the old-timers said that the family got all the way from York, South Carolina to Monticello, Florida in wagons; and that they brought with them all their worldly possessions.  It was a long migration, but their real problems came at the end when trying to get on to their new land.  For that part of the trip, they used homemade wooden sleds to slide over the brush and low lying stumps left behind by the quick clearing.  The older relatives said that the sleds set back of an old barn until they finally disintegrated several generations later.

Peniope’s sons, daughters and their offspring helped populate Jefferson County, Florida. You can find their names on plaques in the courthouse, at the library, and in her history books. One of her offspring is the current editor of the Monticello News/Jefferson Journal.

Descended from Peniope’s oldest son, I grew up in this county to which she entrusted her children.  It seems she made a good decision for all of us.

Peniope’s oldest son and some of his family.

A few years ago my niece (Peniope’s fourth great-granddaughter) met and married a man from the same area in the Carolinas from which Peniope McSwain Hamrick embarked.  It wasn’t long before the Hamricks from that scarcely populated region realized that my niece was one of the Hamricks whose ancestors migrated to Florida.

An elderly Hamrick from there wanted to talk to her, but she waited until I came to visit before the two of us went to see him–I being the self-proclaimed amateur genealogist for this part of the family.

It was a pleasant conversation as he tested my knowledge of my Hamrick ancestry.  And then he asked me if I knew why Penina (one of her nicknames) packed up her kids and came to Florida.  I told him that I heard that she got mad at someone and came South.

What surprises me most about what I learned that day is that they are still talking about her up there over 170 years later.  My great-great-great grandfather was killed in a farming accident leaving her with seven children to raise on her own.  It seems that she left because her husband’s family pressured her relentlessly to marry his youngest brother, who she did not like.

Several of Peniope’s Grandchildren

So this Mother’s Day I’ll remember the mother in my family who brought us to this great state of Florida which has been so good to all of us.  Thank you Peniope McSwain Hamrick for your perseverance, your courage, your insight, and your strength.

Peniope’s great-great-granddaughter, my mother.

Better Than I Deserve and Thankful

by Filed Under: Family Life 2 Comments

Sometimes I think I am so blessed.  People ask Dave Ramsey how he is doing, and his reply is “better than I deserve.”  And sometimes I feel the same way.

I lost both of my parents far too soon, but God left me with their siblings.  Each had only one sibling, but visiting each of them was a chance to keep my parents a little longer.

The only photo I have with both uncles in it. My Parent’s Wedding

Uncle James & Uncle Ferrell

For fourteen years now, I visited my Uncle James Roe, and I got to hear my Dad’s voice, the cadence of his speech, his Southern drawl, and what I loved most, the stories.

Uncle James at his 90th Birthday

Uncle James was truly a model of dignity and respect to everyone who knew him—a special man.  He was also my father’s older brother.

 

But when I visited Uncle Ferrell, it always took me back to so many good times that our families had together—the Christmas Eves which were always with the Hamricks, my mother’s family; swimming in lakes rivers & springs; camping; and traveling.  The two families did a lot together.

Uncle Ferrell was good-natured, always teasing, and younger—another special man in my life.  He was my mother’s younger brother.

Uncle Ferrell & Mama

Uncle Ferrell was only 17 when I was born.  He loved to recall when he held me in church, and I wet him good.  It was right there in the First Baptist Church of Monticello, Florida, or at least the building that was there in 1954.  I wet him so much that it streamed down the pew and dripped on to the old wooden floor, loud enough that people looked around to see from where the water dripped.

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I’ve got great memories of Uncle James, Aunt Nell, and their boys, too.  They visited my Grandmother Roe, who lived next door, and a good time was always had by all.  I loved best the stories, as both Daddy and Uncle James were master storytellers.  The adults would sit up late into the night talking and reminiscing.  I was one of those that was supposed to be asleep, but I seldom was.  Those stories were just too good.

James Nell Roe Kenny Jimmy

Great Role Models & Mentors

Both uncles were good role models for me.  Uncle Ferrell’s determination to finish college made its mark on me.  He did it while married and providing for his family, working full-time.  Uncle James went to Jones Business College in Jacksonville, and he was the first Roe that I know of that went to college.

Uncle James’ work ethic inspired so many of us.  World War II interrupted his college plans.  Because of polio, he could not enlist; but he was called back to Jefferson County to run the Rationing Board.  He did this until 1945 when Atlantic Coastline Railroad (now CSX) recruited him to join their Engineering Department in Jacksonville.  He spent the next 38 years working for them.

Uncle James contracted polio at the age of 18 months. Two other children in the county were not as fortunate.  It took six long years of therapy to get Uncle James to where he could lead a normal life.  My Grandmother Roe said that he had to learn everything all over again, especially the walking part.  And he walked on the side of his foot for the rest of his life.

It never slowed him down a minute.  Sometimes I believe my Grandparents made sure that Uncle James never once felt like a victim.  He plowed ahead no matter what the circumstances.  His “can do” attitude, non-complaints, and work ethic inspired us the most.

Uncle Ferrell gave many of us our love for turkey hunting, including myself.  He was a master hunter in his own right, so much so that one time back in the 1970s Sonny Shroyer came to Monticello to film an outdoor TV show about turkey hunting and Uncle Ferrell was in it.  Sonny Shroyer was Deputy Enos on “The Dukes of Hazard”.  When I decided I wanted to call on my own, Uncle Ferrell was my mentor.  He showed me the calls and showed me how to scout.

Both men had kind and caring natures.  Uncle James had this wonderful laugh that reminded me of Dad’s.  Uncle Ferrell was a teaser and loved to get your goat.  Uncle James was a Florida Gator and Uncle Ferrell an FSU Seminole. Well, we can’t all be perfect.  Our family goes both directions during football season, so it depends on one’s perspective.

Both uncles’ “will to live” was phenomenal.  Uncle James at the age of 96 is believed to have been the oldest polio victim in Florida.

Uncle James’s 95th Birthday

Uncle Ferrell was diagnosed over four years ago with inoperable kidney cancer.  Two years ago this past summer they told him to call Hospice because it was over.   As instructed he called Hospice and showed them all  and lived another two years, even planning a trip to the coast with his old Air Force buddies, literally days before he passed away.

Uncle Ferrell and Aunt Sandra last Christmas

So you see these two men were my heart.  They inspired me in their own ways and I will truly miss them.  They inspired all of us in the Roe and Hamrick families.

Losing them Both Within Ten Days

Uncle James passed away at the age of 96 on September 23rd and ten days later Uncle Ferrell passed at the age of 80 on October 3rd.  I’m sure it was a joyous occasion in heaven, but we were shocked that they died so close to one another.  We knew that Uncle Ferrell’s time was getting close, but not Uncle James’s.  Looking back, though, we realize now that there were signs that we missed.

Uncle James told me several times that he planned to have a foot race with Daddy in heaven.  My Dad was the star football running back in high school and Uncle James was his biggest fan never missing a game even after moving to Jacksonville.

My Dad and Uncle James

My uncle said that sometimes he thought that because he couldn’t run that God blessed their family by giving Dad an extra helping of it.  But Uncle James told me several times that when he got to heaven, there would be a footrace and that he was going to win it, too.

I told Uncle Ferrell about it, but I guess they already did it by the time Uncle Ferrell got there.

So this Thanksgiving, I’m thankful that God let us have these two men for as long as we did.

Why You Should Teach Your Kids About Their Family History

by Filed Under: Family Life, Genealogy 9 Comments

According to research Knowing Your Family History May Be Good For Your Kids

“Children who know stories about relatives who came before them show higher levels of emotional well-being…”, according to Emory University researchers.  In other words, kids who know more about their family history are inclined to turn out to be more emotionally resilient than children who don’t.  You can read more about the research here.

A child who feels like they are part of something larger than themselves—such as a family—gives kids a greater sense of their “intergenerational self.”  Some of us Baby Boomers had a large dose of this when we were growing up.  We grew up with grandparents nearby, but today fewer children have this opportunity.  Their grandparents are states if not countries away.

I grew up next door to my grandmother on my father’s side. This is me with her and my father.

October is Family History Month, and what a great time to teach your kids about their family.  It is a wonderful time to get outdoors, and it is also a great time to visit a battlefield, a cemetery, or an old family swimming hole.

My family loved Fanning Springs.

Below are a few suggestions on how to make sure your children learn about their family history!

1.  Take a road trip back to your old home place, or your hometown, or plan a trip if your hometown is too far away.  While there, tell them about what it was like growing up there.  Share the funny, the embarrassing, and the sweet stories that you remember.

 

Hannah meeting her grandmother’s first cousin. He told her stories about her grandmother from when they were children.

My husband and I just spent a week with our oldest grandson, and Chuck took him to where he lived before he went to college.  Chuck also took him by one of his favorite fishing places, Sebastian Inlet in Florida; and the house where he lived when Lucas’s father was born.  For Chuck visiting those places made his memories flow.

2.  Share stories about growing up in your decade.  What was it like?  How was it different from today?

Take your children by a favorite swimming hole that you visited as a child and explain its importance in your life.  I took my children to the Wacissa River where there is still an old rope spring and reminisced about how important this place was to us when there were no nearby swimming pools for our use.

Rainbow Springs was also a family favorite, and it became one of my niece’s favorite, too.

3.  Visit the graves of an ancestor, maybe your grandparents, or it might even be your parents.  Tell them stories about your memories of their lives.

I have fond memories of walking through my hometown’s city graveyard with my grandmother who was 58 years older than me.  She pointed out graves of people in her life and told me stories about them.  Some were amazing stories.

4. Visit the old school where you grew up and tell them how it was different from theirs.

We visited where her grandmother went to elementary school.

5.  Visit a war monument, and tell them about your mother, grandmother, father or grandfather who fought in one of the Middle Eastern wars, Vietnam, Korean or one of the world wars.

My father, uncles, and 2rd great grandfathers are commemorated here in brick pavers.

Several years ago I took each of my nieces on what I called an ‘Old Florida’ vacation.  Included in the itinerary though were several visits to old family homes, family picnic favorites, vacation sights, and cemeteries.

My niece visited an old favorite family picnic area on the Suwannee River.

They learned about their grandparents who passed away when the girls were very young.   One of their grandmothers was my mother, and I told them the stories that she told me about our family.

It was a wonderful trip, and I got to know my nieces well during our time together.  I was determined that they should know about their family and about their home state, but in the process I made memories with my nieces that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.

Me and my youngest niece on a boat ride in Ft. Lauderdale.

So plan a trip with your children; or if you are as old as I am, your grandchildren.  A Family History trip even if it is only for an afternoon can create strong family bonds that will last a lifetime.

May the Forest Be With You

by Filed Under: Family Life 9 Comments

October 15-21 is Working Forests Work Week in Florida.

Members of the forestry community are working all this week to help people understand the business of forests and trees. I am a member of this community because my sisters and I inherited a small tree farm from our Dad and years later my husband and I used the proceeds from the farm to buy another.

The theme this year is “May the Forest Be With You.” It is a play on words using a phrase from the “Star Wars” movies.

What is a Working Forest?

The short definition of a working forest is a forest that produces something of economic value. Did you know that there are over 17 million acres of forests in Florida? They are mostly in the north and central regions of the state and almost 65% are in private ownership.  That is more than half of our state’s total land area.

So just how do forests work?

Well, the same way we do – they produce something that has economic value.

It costs money to properly manage a forest, and few landowners have the resources to manage their land without it producing income. In short, forests have to earn their keep if they’re going to survive, especially in heavily populated states like Florida.

 

So what are the benefits of trees in general?

Oxygen

Trees are very important to providing oxygen. If it weren’t for trees we would all be in trouble. In fact, in the timber business, for every tree that we cut down, we plant five trees to replace it. We have been so effective in our efforts to replant that today there are twice as many trees in America as there were 30 years ago.

Loblolly Seedlings

Clean Air

As you probably remember from elementary school science, trees and plants absorb carbon dioxide from the air and replace it with oxygen.

Green Space and Natural Beauty

No explanation needed here.  Just one picture.

 

 

Animal Habitat

If you were standing in the forest and we showed up with a giant tractor and started cutting down trees, would you stand there or would you move out of the way to safety? Well, that is what most animals do when we start cutting. They move out of our way and safely go on about their business.

Cutting trees help animals by letting sunlight reach the floor of a forest. When this happens, scrubs and other understory plants grower bigger, providing more food and shelter.

We bought our second piece of property clear-cut, devoid of all its pine trees. We replanted, and we are in our third year. I love to ride on the property because I’m seeing an increase in tracks. It has turkey, deer, and all kinds of critters including just lately a bear walking its roads.

You know that animals, including humans, cannot make their own food and that when animals eat plants or other animals, the energy stored in the food source is passed to them.

Our Environment

Believe me, no one cares more for my trees than me. I cut trees to make a living. If the forestry community cuts down all the trees and didn’t replant them, we would not have jobs!

Our forests provide clean water for all of us to drink. They filter water down into the ground and into the aquifer.

Sound water management is a big need for Florida today, and it’s going to get bigger. Florida’s forests can play an important part in the solution to our water quantity and quality.

We have a lot of rules that tell us to stay away from rivers and streams, as well as from the homes (whether nests or burrows) of certain birds, like the Bald Eagles and gophers. There are all kinds of rules to make sure that we take care of the environment.

 

Harvesting more than we should?

Some people are concerned that we cut more trees than we should. As you remember earlier, though, we plant more than we cut.

Sustainability is an important keystone for our industry. We take trees out of the ground; we put more trees back in the ground. According to the Florida Forest Service, more than 450 million seedlings were planted in Florida between 2010-2015.

It’s important to find ways to incentivize landowners to continue planting trees instead of other crops or houses.

Healthy markets are big incentives to replant.

 

Goods from the Woods

Forests supply boocoodles of products that we all want and need, more than 5,000 of which are made from our forests. Products such as paper and paper products, pencils, rulers, chewing gum, cinnamon, Gatorade, Advil, toothpaste, insect repellant, band-aids, paper towels, lotion, cleaning supplies, and soap, to name a few.

The cell phone you have in your hand? You’re holding a Forest product. Forest products are used to make cell phones, computers, and tv screens.

Having a good hair day? Forest products were used in your shampoo, conditioner, styling products, and hairspray. And I don’t know about you but I would hate to face a day without hairspray. Chuck accuses me of making every unruly lock stand in line and at attention.

Recovering from a cold, headache or another ailment? Forest products are used in the coatings of pills and other pharmaceuticals, as well as in some medicines, including cancer treatments.

Feel like playing sports? Baseball bats, football helmets, and skateboards all include goods from the woods.

The list goes on … toilet tissue … cosmetics… food (ice cream!) … bandages…. diapers… crayons … paints … laundry detergent … car tires … root beer! You would be amazed if you realized how many times in your day you come in contact with some form of forest products.

So I am proud to be part of an industry that helps provide jobs for 124,000 Floridians. Forestry contributes more than $25 billion to Florids’s economy. Forestry and forest products are Florida’s top agricultural commodity, running neck and neck with the horticultural industry, and our top ag export.

And as you see, the forest IS with you in many, many ways, even if you are miles and miles away from the nearest tree.

So may the forests be with you and all of us forever!

How to Give Non-Candy Halloween Treats

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Getting ready to buy some Halloween treats for the goblins and 👻 in your neighborhood? Well, so was I! This year, though, I did it differently.

I love Halloween candy, which is half the problem. Candy is just too tempting for my sweet tooth. I hate to even bring it in the house. So this year I looked for alternative Halloween treats–sans the candy.

Here’s what I found:

1. Why not fruit? It is good for them, and their parents will thank you. I love the little mandarins that they’re selling in our supermarkets.  What great Halloween treats.

Mandarins
Want to meet the little fellers halfway? How about a candied apple? They are super simple to make, too, especially the ones made with red hots. You can find the recipe on my Pinterest board here.

Photo by Pixabay

2. Every kid I know loves stickers. Dollar Tree has lots, and they can be handed out on Halloween night.


3.  Speaking of Dollar Tree, check out these Water Balls. Give one to each kid. Later they introduce water and the little balls soak like a sponge. Can you say “water ball fight?” Many of us in the southern states still have warm weather.


4.  Kids love whistles. You can find a bag of them at the dollar store.


5.  Glow sticks are perfect for lighting things that go bump in the night, especially on All Hallows’ Eve.


6.  Spooky spider rings and other accessories are great. Kids love things like fake vampire teeth and fake mustaches.


7.  Toys from the dollar store. Today’s dollar stores are our equivalent to yesterday’s dime stores. If you have a manageable number of kids, you can pick out 20-25 $1 gifts. Dollar Tree is perfect for this. Of course, this is quite expensive if you live in one of the popular neighborhoods where throngs of kids roam.


8.  Pencils, notepads, sharpeners, or erasers are perfect for this time of year.


9.  Coins make great Halloween treats, but not for the toddlers. Dollar bills work too unless you live where the hordes roam. I remember getting these in my bag. Mama did it one year because she forgot to buy the candy. She and Dad raided his piggy bank that stayed on top of his dresser.

10. Pokémon Cards are great Halloween treats especially if you really want to be a big hit with the little boys.


Every item here except for the fruit was $1, even the packages. And one package, the skull rings, had 50 rings in it. That’s a better bargain than candy, and you don’t have to worry about allergies. All these were bought at Dollar Tree, even the Pokémon Cards.

I like to offer these from my trusty Skull and Serpent Candy Bowl. I’ve had mine for over a decade now. It came from Spencer’s in the Tallahassee Mall.

Skull and Snake Bowl for Halloween<<<<
I found a video that shows how it works. Every time they reached into the bowl for candy, the snake popped out its eye socket and said numerous things like, “Gotcha!” and “That’s My Candy”.   It used to totally freak out the kids. I found a YouTube video that demonstrates how it worked.

However, the snake is missing now. I guess he wasn’t all that scary. He poked his head out one time too many, and our grandson Rhett wrenched him out of his den. The bowl still talks, but the snake no longer moves.

So those are my ideas for alternatives to candy.  Have a wonderful and safe Halloween!

Have you found anything else that works? Please do share!

 

In case you don’t have time to go out and shop, here are a few links for Amazon.

 

Hurricane Preparedness – Irmageddon

by Filed Under: Family Life 2 Comments

When one lives in Florida, a hurricane seems to consume everything.

My mind cannot seem to keep track of anything except The Weather Channel, Facebook, and preparing for the worst. Its the uncertainty that weighs on you.  I've been waking up thinking about what we need to do.  Anxiety does not help one prepare.
So here we are preparing for another hurricane, but this one is a doozy.  And we are already preparing, though the hurricane is over 500 miles south of us.  Though that is a long way off, believe it or not this afternoon, we were beginning to get our first winds.  This storm is massive.

We drove down to our little coast house yesterday afternoon and began preparing it for the worst.  Irma seems to be waffling down in the Florida Straits, skirting Cuba, and wobbling around from forecast to forecast, always seemingly tracking west.  That is a bad thing for us up here who live around the Gulf of Mexico.  So we finally got serious .  I had already spent Thursday sitting in lines for gas and thinking through what we had to do to get ready.  Wednesday instead of shopping for water, I bought a bottle of gin and some tonic water.  We already had the water, which was bought at the beginning of Hurricane season.

Yesterday afternoon, we pulled everything from outside into the coast house.  All the lawn furniture, outdoor art, gardening tools, a kayak, a paddle board, and even the lawnmower are now sitting in our living room.  All of this becomes flotsam in these storms, plus this storm has wind so they could become projectiles, too.  Inside everything is pulled from the tables, counter tops and walls and placed on the floor.  When a storm hits, these little houses can get to rocking and rolling.  Anything left on a table will walk right off the side.  After Hurricane Dennis, it was so bad that everything in the medicine cabinets fell on the counter tops and in the sinks.  Some even busted.

This morning we found 20 pieces of half inch plywood at a lumber yard not too far from our home.  Then this afternoon, Chuck, our son Jeff and son-in-law Patrick screwed the plywood over our windows with wood screws.  It took them all afternoon.  While they were securing the coast house, I was at home in Tallahassee bringing in all the outdoor furniture, potted plants, bird feeders and anything else that may get damaged or become a projectile.  It’s times like this when I question why I have so much stuff.

Hurricane Humor

Facebook keeps us sane.  It is soothing to know that your friends, neighbors, and family are all doing the same thing.  I have several cousins who evacuated–one inland, another north, and one all the way to South Carolina.  We keep up with each other on Facebook.  There are gas reports, generator reports, and just about anything needed that is in short supply.  But the hurricane humor is what keeps us truly sane.

Like, you know its time to run like hell when Disney World closes.  Or you know it’s Irmageddon when they cancel the state’s college football games.

Someone just posted that, now Georgia residents know what Florida’s traffic is like.  But then again my husband calls Atlanta’s traffic a hell hole so I think they already knew.  People in Orlando posted a picture of a high rise on I-4 that they must believe is an eyesore because it said, “Ok Irma, we’re counting on you!”

One friend asked everyone to spend today taking a good bath, washing their hair, and shaving anywhere that needs it,  because tomorrow some reporter will stick a mike in your face trying to find the worst dressed, worst sweat drenched person they can find in the state for an interview.  Another suggested that everyone who owns pythons, tarantulas or lions please make sure they are secure during the hurricane so we all don’t have to go out and try to round them up when it is over.  This was a reference to the pythons that got loose when Andrew hit south Florida.  That’s why we have pythons living in the Everglades now.  I guess there weren’t too many volunteers for that job back then.

And every hurricane, someone will post to please let them know where Jim Cantore is so we know where not to go.  Then there’s everyone’s favorite evacuation plan–1.  Grab Beer   2.  Run Like Hell.

Today, I noticed so many men picking up the junk around their houses.  One guy had a wagon load of scrap wood that I know had been in a pile near their home for quite some time.  I’m thinking that a good hurricane is probably a good old boy’s wife’s best friend.  She’s probably been trying to get him to haul that junk off for years.

And who needs to go to the gym?  Today, I put 5,000 steps on my Blaze before 9 a.m.  It takes a lot of steps to put all that stuff from your yard away.  Did I mention that I have too much stuff?  The foyer, dining room, and den looks like we are having a garage sale.  Maybe we should!

But I cannot expect to lose any weight.  Stress eating is a part of the anxiety.  I broke down at lunch today and bought a slice of coconut cake–to go!  I wonder how it will taste with my gin and tonic?

We brought back the free standing cooker from the coast.  Even though we have a generator, it cannot run the air conditioner, too; and it will be too hot to cook in the house.  But then again who can eat anyway when you’re that hot.  That is where the coconut cake comes into play because no matter how bad I feel I cannot turn down my favorite food group–comfort foods.

And we Floridians should know a thing or two about camping.  It is required living after hurricanes.  No power means no air, and it is cooler to sleep outdoors, cook outdoors, and live outdoors.  Why do you think our ancestors slept on sleeping porches anyway?  Our back porch makes a great campsite, something discovered after Hurricane Kate.

And if you get really desperate, every bathtub in the house is full of water.  That cool dip won’t be a problem since old bath water flushes just as well as fresh water.  Hopefully, no one has tried to drink from it; though I’ve caught Abby our cat checking it out.

So How Much Done is Enough

Usually, we don’t bother to board up for a Category 1 hurricane, but this one is different.  It bears paying extra attention.

Last year we survived Hurricane Hermine, a puny category 1 which came ashore east of the coast house.  The coast house did well, but our dock did not.  You can read about it here.  At home in Tallahassee we lost three very large pine trees, but no damage to the house.

Irma, though, is majorly different.  They’ve forecasted it as at least a Cat 2 when it gets here.  Hurricane Kate, our Thanksgiving hurricane back in the late 80’s, came through here as a Cat 2, except when they saw the destruction in its aftermath, they upgraded it to a Cat 3.  Our home in Tallahassee was without power for over two weeks.  Irma worries us, and the thing keeps tracking west.

Yesterday, though, I posted on Facebook that they could thank the Littlejohn’s because we just finished boarding up the Coasthouse. Every time we board up, the storm goes somewhere else.

If it gets west of our coast house and Tallahassee, you can bet it will get much worse.  The east side of these storms is where the winds are their most destructive.  That is why they had the southeast coast on alert, even though Irma will most likely come up the west coast.  Florida is just not that wide, and the storm is huge.  Its effects will be felt coast to coast.

Then there are the tornadoes.  They almost always accompany these storms, and they are usually embedded in the bands and strike inland.  Years ago Hurricane Opal came ashore near Pensacola and moved on off up through Alabama.  My daughter was at Troy State University, which was about 130 miles north of the Gulf. We thought she was safe there, but not really though, because Opal spawned tornadoes, several of which hit Troy.  They tore up that little college town, especially the campus.

So we are staying where we are here in Tallahassee; but still, will keep a close eye on this storm.  We are now under hurricane warning; and today, our county’s authorities gave a voluntary evacuation order.

All the while Irma continues to move sporadically when ever and where ever she pleases.  It is so big that you can see her pulse as she re-forms new eyewalls.  It is an amazing phenomenon, and if she intensifies, we may just bug out with our other 6.2 million fellow Floridians.

Can the last person who crosses over into Georgia or Alabama, please bring the flag?

When Should You See a Neurologist for Memory Loss?

by Filed Under: Family Life, It's Not For Sissies 4 Comments

My husband has memory loss. It is getting more advanced lately, so we finally went to see a doctor.

It started out with memory lapses. Sometimes, Chuck asked the same question like ‘where is the rake.’ It would be where it always was, but I would tell him anyway. Then a few minutes later after getting distracted for a moment he would say, “Where’s the rake?”

It came more frequently, and then it got quite unsettling. I tried to joke about it, as I did when I wrote a blog post called, “Driving in the Fast Lane” a few years ago. You can read it here.

I learned that it gets worse when someone is stressed. Both of our jobs were super stressful.

We even lost a client once. Chuck totally forgot that we were under orders to not do something. He not only broke the orders in an email while working late one night, but then totally forgot that he did it.

When it hit the fan several days later and we were searching for who let the cat out of the bag, Chuck told me he had no idea. As far as I can tell this man didn’t even lie to his parents as a teenager. He is that honest. I knew because of his past behavior that he didn’t remember doing it at all. He retired within a few months after this incident, though at the age of 70 he was phasing out clients anyway.

Lately, I noticed that he kept getting lost while out driving. I’ve become his GPS when he drives. I constantly have to say “turn left here” or “turn right there.” If I don’t all of a sudden I look up and we’re four blocks in the wrong direction. And these are on streets he’s been driving for years.

By last fall he seemed to have entered a new phase. He remembers things that never happened. We went west for vacation, and he had only been in this area once in his life as a young twenty something on a long trip across America with a college friend. He kept asking me, “Don’t you remember this? We’ve been here. I even remember this waitress.” I’m thinking, “Boy, she aged well.” We had never been there.

Chuck has always had memory problems somewhat. We both have. Our jobs required great concentration, and we were both good at our work. Writing legislative language and negotiating our client’s way through the complex political morass in our state required much thought. We lived in our heads.

Our kids even knew how to break this concentration. I remember the girls placing their hands on each side of Chuck’s face and saying “Chuck!” loudly and forcefully when they wanted to make sure he was listening.

But what was good for our careers isn’t worth a tinker’s damn for our current life as retirees. We need to be more in the moment, which brings me to what Chuck is currently going through.

A Visit with A Neurologist

About two months ago, he visited a neurologist. I tagged along because it was important both of us hear what the doctor had to say. This was apparent by the time we got home, because all Chuck heard was that he was fine.

His doctor asked Chuck a series of verbal questions, designed to help him determine and diagnose Chuck’s situation. Afterwards, the doctor had good news. He said it is not Alzheimers or dementia; but to rule out anything else like a brain tumor he ordered an MRI.

He also thinks that Chuck doesn’t get enough quality sleep. Chuck twitches and jerks all night long, so we wonder if he really gets enough rest. He suggested a CPAP for Chuck.

The doctor did talk to us about being in the moment. He said that Chuck needed to retrain his brain to pay more attention. He mentioned games and crossword puzzles.

A List of Things to Do

When we got home, all Chuck remembered was that the doctor said he was fine. He totally forgot the MRI, the CPAP, or the changes he needed to make to retrain his brain.

So I found an app called ENHANCE and got him started working with it daily. Also, I think games will help. We both played a little bridge when we were young so we may want to try to take it up again. Chess might be an option, too.

We will start with something very simple, though, which will help us both. I tend to live in my head too much, too.

When to See Your Doctor

If you’re concerned about memory loss, see your doctor. He or she can conduct tests to judge the degree of memory impairment and diagnose the cause.

He or she will have a number of questions for you, and it is important to have a family member or friend along to answer some questions based on his or her observations. Questions such as:

• How long have you been having memory problems?
• What medications do you take regularly including prescriptions, over the counter and vitamins?
• What tasks are difficult to perform?
• What have you done for your memory problems? Have these helped?
• Have you recently been ill? What medicine did you take?
• Have you fallen and injured your head?
• If you drink alcohol, how much do you drink daily?
• Have you felt sad, depressed, or anxious lately?
• Have you experienced a major loss, change, or stressful event in your life?
• What is your daily routine? How has your routine changed lately?

The questions are designed to help your doctor test your memory and other thinking skills. He or she may also order blood tests and brain-imaging tests like Chuck’s MRI that can help identify reversible causes of memory problems.

Seeing a Specialist

Your general practitioner may refer you to a specialist in diagnosing dementia or memory disorders, such as a neurologist, psychiatrist, psychologist, or geriatrician. Chuck was sent to a neurologist, a physician who specializes in problems related to the brain and central nervous system.

This specialist will try to identify any reversible cause of memory impairment so that you get appropriate treatment.

Stress, anxiety, or depression can cause memory loss and make a person more forgetful. Early on while Chuck was still working, we could tell that stress caused him the most problems. Also, dealing with life changes can leave a person confused or forgetful. Retirement or the loss of a spouse can do this, too.

Retraining the Brain

The doctor made suggestions on how to retrain the brain and how to help Chuck’s brain retain new information. He wants Chuck to try to reconnect the circuits in his brain–the ones that he stopped using when he focused on what was in his head instead of what was in the present.

For example, he suggested that Chuck practice doing only one thing at a time. He also suggested he work on avoiding distractions. Easier said than done. How many times have I seen something on my way to completing a task. I am like a dog who sees a squirrel. Squirrel!! And then I’m off in the opposite direction doing something else.

The other day while in our bedroom, I remembered that I needed to add an event to my calendar in the office. Leaving the bedroom, I noticed several items in the hall that needed to be put up in the guest bath. I made the detour and then noticed some items in the bath that needed to go to the guest bedroom. So I made another detour, and I think you get the picture. By the time I remembered the appointment that needed to be added to the calendar, it was three days later…after the event.

Striving to Stay in the Moment

He also wants Chuck to fully concentrate on whatever he is doing. He advised him to stay in the moment and not think about what he is planning to do next or what he just did. This advice reminded me of Yoga, where we try to bring our minds into the room and leave behind the outside. I’m wondering if Yoga or meditation can help in brain training.

He also told Chuck that if he really needs to remember something to say it several times out loud. This can help him remember important pieces of information. In other words, he wants Chuck to practice remembering things.

Chuck and I are working to retrain our brains. Then Chuck will have another meeting with the neurologist in August. We’re hopeful.

Does anyone in your family suffer from memory loss? Would retraining the brain help or is it something more serious? What have you discovered from consulting with your doctor? Please share your experience in the comments.

Super Simple Recipes for the Garden’s Bounty

by Filed Under: In the Kitchen 2 Comments

I’ve had a bumper crop of various vegetables from this year’s garden, and we gave away as much as we ate. Because some of these are new vegetables or vegetables I don’t often buy, I’ve had to come up with some new recipes.  You can read about the garden here.  Below are my favorite recipes.

Vinegared Cucumbers

The variety of cucumbers I planted is called “Jumbo”, and they got big. We prefer them, though, not quite so big so we harvested them a little smaller and more tender. The vines bloomed and produced now for almost two months. Those three vines gave us a bumper crop of cucumbers.  Maybe this is why my Grandmother Hamrick put up so many pickles.

So I wanted to try and replicate her vinegared cucumber recipe. Vinegar wakes up the flavor in foods, something I learned from my her. I can still see her in my mind’s eye pouring a little vinegar into her vegetables as she cooked.  She lived to be over 99.

Vinegar brightens up a dish. It cuts the richness of the food and wakes it up, making it taste fresh and flavorful. If a dish is dull or missing something, add a little vinegar, especially instead of more salt.

I remember her using a product named Accent and I made sure it was in my kitchen when I married, but as I grew older I realized that it was the vinegar that she added to so many dishes that made a difference. That was her secret.

There was no measurement. She just opened the bottle and poured a little into the pot. She cooked a lot of vegetables, and vinegar was always added. I just don’t remember what kind.

Vinegar comes in so many flavors. Rice wine vinegar is tart, while balsamic vinegar is sweet. Try balsamic vinegar on strawberries. It is yummy. If you serve strawberries in a salad, make sure you use a balsamic vinegarette dressing.

For my cucumbers, I use white wine vinegar. Here’s the recipe. No canning needed. These are kept in the frig, and must be eaten before they get soggy.

Peel your cucumbers, enough for your container. It needs to be a container with a lid that can be placed in the frig. Slice the cucumbers about an eighth of an inch thick and almost fill the container with them. Next, take a measuring cup and fill it with 1/3rd cup plus two tablespoons of white wine vinegar. Then add 2/3rds cup minus 2 tablespoons of water. Next, toss in a tablespoon of sugar and stir well. I also add salt and pepper at this stage. About a half teaspoon of each. Stir again.

Next pour the solution over the cucumbers. Make sure you cover the cucumbers. You may need to make more of the solution to cover them. Then place a lid on it, shake it up, and put it in the frig. It will be ready to eat in a few hours. It can sit in the frig until the cucumbers get soggy, but don’t wait that long to eat them. They are too good to let ruin.

Custard Beans

Another bounty from the garden has been a variety of wax beans called Custard Beans. I think if General Custer had had these beans at home, he might not have run off to that fateful meeting on Little Big Horn Creek.

This recipe is super simple. I snap off the ends and boil the bean pods in water with some salt until tender. Then pour off the water and place them still hot in a bowl with a pat of butter. Let it melt and then add some crushed whole wheat Ritz crackers and stir. Add some salt and pepper to taste.

Yum! These are the best beans I’ve ever eaten.

Peppers Aplenty

Jalapeño Poppers

We’ve been getting a lot of peppers, four different kinds. For the jalapeño peppers, we have been slicing them in half, removing the seeds, and filling the halves with a cream cheese mixture of cream cheese mixed with a little liquid smoke. Wrap each in a slice of bacon and hold with a toothpick. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or more if needed.  I got the basic recipe from the Betty Crocker website which you can find here.

This makes a great appetizer, and not too spicy either. The cooking and cream cheese take care of the heat.

Stuffed Banana Peppers with Curry Chicken

For the banana peppers, I bought a bag of curried chicken and rice by evol. Then I cut the top out of each pepper being careful to remove the top while pulling out its seeds at the same time. Just circle the pepper below the hard part below the stem being careful not to cut through the center under the stem. Then pull. Much of the seeds will come out, but you can rinse out the rest of the seeds. Or you can leave them in.

Then carefully stuff each pepper with the curried chicken and rice mixture. I try to stuff them more with the small bits of chicken than just the rice and vegetables. Place the stuffed peppers in an oiled Casserole dish and add the rest of the mixture on top. Next, add small lumps of either paneer or cottage cheese on top and bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees. This makes a great dish, and it is simple to make.  I’ve also used evol.’s Chicken Marsala.

I also stuff the bell peppers and tomatoes the same way, except I leave out the paneer. I remember my mother stuffing tomatoes with hamburger helper. The point is that you can use all types of pre-prepared frozen or even canned foods. I sometimes sprinkle bread crumbs on top of my stuffed tomatoes.

So there you have some of my favorite recipes for produce straight from the garden. You’ll notice that I didn’t give you exact measurements.

 

For years I always cooked exactly from the recipes, until about 15 years ago when I realized that I was unable to find recipes for several of my grandmother’s dishes. So I went experimenting, and the experience made me a better cook.

So what you have here are the ingredients and some instruction. Experiment and figure out the flavor you like best. You just about cannot mess these up, and you’ll become a better cook for it.

Grocery List

Cucumbers
White wine vinegar
Sugar
Salt
Pepper

Custard Beans
Butter
Ritz Crackers, whole-wheat
Salt
Pepper

Banana Peppers
Frozen Thai Style Curry Chicken by evol or another brand
Cottage Cheese or paneer

 

 

Please do share, because the garden is still producing. What recipes have you discovered for these vegetables? Do you remember your grandmother’s cooking? What was her secret ingredient?

The Real Truth About the 4th of July…

by Filed Under: Family Life 2 Comments

and Why We Don’t Say Happy 2nd of July.

Know what today is?  It is 2nd of July! It is the day that the Continental Congress officially declared our freedom from Britain—a declaration of independence. So why do we celebrate July 4th as Independence Day instead?

The 2nd of July was the day Congress voted for independence, but it took two more days to finalize a document which explained it to the public. A committee of five proposed it in draft form. Those five were John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston. It took two more days for Congress to agree on the edits. They made 86 changes to the draft. The final adopted version of the Declaration was primarily written by Jefferson.
Of those five men two would sign not only the Declaration of Independence but also our Constitution.

Then those that were there signed it, and they printed 200 copies. They distributed these 200 copies throughout the thirteen colonies. Today, only 26 of the 200 remain that we know of.


One of those 26 wasn’t discovered until 1989 in Adamstown, Pennsylvania at a flea market. Actually, someone bought an old picture in a frame for $4, and behind the old picture was one of the original 200.  Norman Lear bought it for $8.1 million. The last copy found was in 2009 in the British National Archives. It was hidden in a box of papers seized during the Revolutionary War.

So we celebrate the date of the approval of the final version – July 4th. It wasn’t completely signed though, until November 4 of the same year. The names of the signers were withheld publicly until early in 1777. A year after the declaration of independence on July 3rd, several men remembered that it had been a year since we declared our freedom. Thus, July 4th became the day that we celebrate, not the 2nd of July.  It wasn’t until 1941 that Congress declared it a federal legal holiday.

In a nutshell, the document stated the reasons we wanted to be free of England’s government; that the authority to govern belongs to the people, not a king; and that all people are created equal and have rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Written in three basic parts: an introduction with a statement of the philosophy (an idea); a list of grievances or complaints; and a formal Declaration of Independence, there are five references to God.

How important is the Declaration of Independence?

Well, it only left our nation’s Capitol twice. Once for the War of 1812 when the British attacked Washington and another time about two weeks after Pearl Harbor when they packed up the Declaration and Constitution and the military escorted them to Fort Knox in Kentucky. They remained there for several years.

 

Burning of the White House in the War of 1812

 

Burning of the Capitol in the War of 1812

They moved it to an unused gristmill in Leesburg, Virginia, when they took it from Washington for the War of 1812. The British burned the White House in 1814 and much of the city including the Capitol. My third great grandfather was born in Washington, DC in 1811. He was only three years old when this took place. When the Declaration was moved it traveled rolled up and likely by light wagon or horseback. When it was first brought to Washington though it traveled by boat. During War II it traveled by a Pullman train.

 

All 2.5 million of the colonists were not united in seeking freedom from the crown. Twenty percent of the colonists were Loyalists. The crown declared Congress traitors by royal decree.

Did you know that the Declaration was signed in the Pennsylvania State House? The building’s name changed after the signing and became Independence Hall.

How was the 4th of July Initially Celebrated?

The first public reading of the Declaration was on July 8th in Philadelphia. The crowd summoned by the Liberty Bell, which sounded from the tower of Independence Hall on that date. Can you imagine standing in that crowd and hearing those words for the first time?

This is why every 4th of July the ring Liberty Bell. Actually, they only tap 13 times in honor of the original thirteen colonies.  After all, it is cracked.


Also, a one-gun salute for each state called a “salute to the union” is fired at noon on Independence Day by any capable military base.

General George Washington ordered that the Declaration be read to the American army in New York. A riot ensued., and the crowd tore down a nearby statue of George III, a statue which they subsequently melted down and made into musket balls for the American army.

How was the Declaration Protected During the Revolution?

First remember that there was no Washington, DC.  They initially moved the Declaration from Philadelphia to Baltimore, Maryland when the British threatened Philadelphia on December 12 of the same year. At the same time, Congress adjourned and moved to Baltimore, too. The document stayed in Baltimore until March of 1777 when they returned it to Philadelphia. Congress moved several times throughout the Northeast before finally moving it and themselves to Washington, DC in 1800.

Did you know that there was no “United States of America” in the Declaration? Instead, it reads “The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America.”

Thomas Jefferson in his original draft listed the crown’s support and importation of slavery to the colonies as one of America’s grievances. He wrote, “He (the crown) has waged war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating and carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere, or to incur miserable death in their transportation thither.”  Unfortunately, the grievance was edited out to appease the delegates from South Carolina and Georgia.

 

What About the Signers?

The signers of the Declaration took their lives in their hands. Signing the document was an act of treason, punishable by death. That is why the names of the men who signed were not announced until January of 1777.

Were all the signers born in America?  No, eight were born in Britain, though not all of England. Two signers were only 26 years old. The oldest to sign was Benjamin Franklin at 70 years old. The average age of the signers was 45. Twenty-four of the signers were lawyers, eleven were merchants, and nine were farmers or planters. Eight were educated at Harvard, though there were few universities then.

Robert Livingston one of the original drafters never signed the final copy. Only two presidents signed the document—Adams and Jefferson. John Hancock was the first member to sign the document because he was president of the Continental Congress.

Nine of the signers died before the Revolution ended in 1783. The British captured five of the signers, but all were eventually released. One, though, released after harsh treatment recanted his signature.

Two colonies remained loyal to the king. Did you know that there were actually fifteen colonies? The other two were East Florida and West Florida. After the revolution, Britain sold them back to Spain.

There is something written on the back of the Declaration. It says “Original Declaration of Independence dated 4th July 1776.” No one knows who wrote it.

 

Our Founding Was Indeed Unique

The driving forces were life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. You will notice that this phrase does not include religion, clan, or even nationality. America was founded on an idea…on a philosophy.

The enlightenment movement was part of that era. People questioned traditional authority and embraced rationalism. Whereas our Declaration called on “certain unalienable rights” of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”, a British philosopher named John Locke in 1689 talked about “life, liberty and property” in his “Two Treatises of Government.”  Surely, Jeffersonread his treatise.

Best of all, though, the United States of America did not even exist until after the Declaration of Independence was signed.

Happy 4th of July!!

 

Now for some interesting trivia. Can you name the three presidents who died on July 4th? And can you name the president who was born on this date?  Also, which famous contemporary actress is a direct descendent of one of the 56 signers?  Please answer in the comments below.