American Gothic

Green Acres is the place for me...

We're back in California, safe and sound...although I may be a bit more gray after my first time flying with three kids. We had a great, great time on our mini vacation. You can check out some photos from our adventures in the posts below.

Whenever we visit Alabama, it’s almost as if we’re in a black hole of time. You wake up and the next thing you know it’s 10:00 at night. There are so many things to get done during the day but time just seems to slip away. I was thinking about that a lot on this trip but then I realized no matter how quickly the day goes by, when you're in the country there’s always time for...

Fishin'....

Reflectin'....

Eatin' cake...

Watchin' the corn come up in rows...

Doing chores....like shellin' peas

....and takin' care of the chickens...

Makin' new friends....

Takin' the road less travelled....


Hangin' with your cousins....

And your uncle...
Enjoyin' the land...


Learnin' to drive...
Chasin' dragonflies....

And there's always, always enough time for huggin'.

Peach Pies and Memories of Home

Saturday was the first time my grandmother, Mamadot, had the opportunity to meet Jacob. When she saw him, she immediately said, “I’ve seen that baby before.” She swears he looks just like me. It was fun to hear that as most people say he looks like Anna and Anna looks like Doug. I’ve always wanted one of the children to at least resemble me in some small manner but they tend to favor Doug or his side most (I think). It was special to be able to have some quality time with Mamadot this visit. Normally, our trips are so rushed. This one was also but we found the time to spend the night at her house one night. She came and stayed with us at my mother’s and also accompanied us to the airport. A friend of ours once mentioned that he wished he could blink his eyes and capture an image that would stay forever in his mind as a camera-snapped image would on a piece of photo paper. As I thought about that on this trip, I took a few moments to snap some shots that I often picture in my head whenever I think of visiting Mamadot’s.


Her hands and the rings she always wears...


The view of the house from the pond...

The windmill...


The barn my older cousins convinced my brother to jump from when he was little. It's near the shed the same older cousins tried to hang me in when I was little. :)

One of the ponds where my cousin and I used to fish with our cane poles for catfish.

My grandmother is one of the sweetest women you will ever meet. She never has a bad word to say about anyone. She’s always pleasant and always quick to laugh. She is still quite spry at age 83 and her mind is like a steel trap. She remembers everyone and everything. I have trouble remembering my own birthday but without even a moment’s hesitation she can tell you each of her four daughter’s birthdays, her eight grandkids’ birthdays, and her eight great-grandkids’ birthdays. She, like me, or should I say, I, like her are the two avid readers in the family and we both love crossword puzzles and Sudoku. I would love for her to be able to visit our family here in California but we can’t convince her to fly. She’s a strong woman and a wonderful role model for our girls. I’m glad they had a chance to spend some time with her this trip. It just wasn’t enough.
It’s that time of year and the peaches are ripe. Mamadot has always loved peaches. She once told me the story of how she and her brother climbed into a peach tree and ate a ton of green peaches. Her grandmother told her father and she got in trouble. Well, she now has her own peach trees and can eat them whenever she likes. She makes a wonderful peach pie. It's so good in fact that I must share it. Enjoy!



Fresh Peach Pie

Bake pie shell of choice and allow to cool.

Mix together 1 c. of sugar, 3 tbs. of cornstarch and 1 c. of water. Bring to a boil.

Remove from heat and add 1 3-oz. box of peach jello. Mix well.

Quarter 3-4 ripe peaches and layer in pie shell. When the jello mixture thickens, pour over peaches and chill. When cool and set, cover with cool whip.