The Front Porch Swing

[Searsmom]

Real tamales, unlike their candy counterpart, are normally not spicy.

My favorite is egg rolls! Yum! I see a whole lot of Hispanics in the Chinese restaurant.

Something I haven't had in a long time is good Southeast Asian/Middle Eastern food. I love Iranian food. I wish some of them would move to town and open a restaurant.

I haven't had a REAL hero sandwich with lamb/beef since the last time I went to the Greek festival. Amazing stuff!! I could eat spring rolls for every meal and live happy. There is a house along the way home from my sisters house that sells tamales on Thursdays, but I never seem to be there on a Thursday. I should try them.

new Mexican restaurant opening soon here. I am hoping for the best. I grew up in So. Cal and travelled all over Baja. I really crave good, spicy food, but so far the only Mexican restaurant we have found close by is just a step up from Taco Bell. I cook a lot of it but some ingredients are hard to find. (now I'm craving chile rellenos and fish tacos), but our friends are coming over for Rueben sandwiches from the St. Pat leftovers. Maybe Mexican tomorrow

And then there's Ruebens. You guys are making me hungry.

 

[luvblues7]

It's almost my bedtime - I spent most of the evening catching up on the latest news! Hard to keep up with all of you - but sooo entertaining!

I'm very excited because I'm going to be a Grandma! In Sept! This little one is a result of many prayers - My daughter had trouble getting pregnant. So we're very happy for them! So any advice from you experienced Grandmas would be appreciated .

Oh PrairieChicks......I'm so excited for you. Congrats !!!!! There is nothing in the world like being a Grandma or Nana in my case. I have 6 beautifully ornery grandbabies. I wake up in the morning thinking and praying for them, spend my day thinking and praying for them, and go to bed at night thinking and praying for them. This little one will completely change your life and the way you see the world. Hope it will be living close by so you can really spoil it good. Keep us updated.

Welcome Beeps. We have a good time here on the porch. Bee is a very gracious hostess and there is always something yummy to eat and fresh tea or lemonade on the table so just help yourself.

Lindsey I may need you to come over to my house and help me out. Found a stray dog at my chicken pen yesterday and chased him off, but he was back again this morning. I shot behind him today to scare him off but this was his last warning. If he is back again tomorrow the shot will NOT be behind him.

Dumped dogs is a point of contention with me. I live several miles from the closes town which is a very small community. When giving driving directions to my house I jokingly tell people you go to the end of the world and take a left. Why is it that people think because you live way out in the country it's okay to dump their unwanted dogs and cats on you to take care of. If I wanted another dog I would go get one. It makes me sick to see these poor starving animals wandering though the country side looking for something to eat and my nice fat chickens makes the perfect meal. They bring diseases and parasites and most of them are so scared you can't catch them so the only recourse is to put them down. I am a animal lover and it makes me ill to have to be the one that steps up and end their suffering. Okay I'm done ranting.

 

[lindz8504]

Oh PrairieChicks......I'm so excited for you. Congrats !!!!! There is nothing in the world like being a Grandma or Nana in my case. I have 6 beautifully ornery grandbabies. I wake up in the morning thinking and praying for them, spend my day thinking and praying for them, and go to bed at night thinking and praying for them. This little one will completely change your life and the way you see the world. Hope it will be living close by so you can really spoil it good. Keep us updated.

Welcome Beeps. We have a good time here on the porch. Bee is a very gracious hostess and there is always something yummy to eat and fresh tea or lemonade on the table so just help yourself.

Lindsey I may need you to come over to my house and help me out. Found a stray dog at my chicken pen yesterday and chased him off, but he was back again this morning. I shot behind him today to scare him off but this was his last warning. If he is back again tomorrow the shot will NOT be behind him.

Dumped dogs is a point of contention with me. I live several miles from the closes town which is a very small community. When giving driving directions to my house I jokingly tell people you go to the end of the world and take a left. Why is it that people think because you live way out in the country it's okay to dump their unwanted dogs and cats on you to take care of. If I wanted another dog I would go get one. It makes me sick to see these poor starving animals wandering though the country side looking for something to eat and my nice fat chickens makes the perfect meal. They bring diseases and parasites and most of them are so scared you can't catch them so the only recourse is to put them down. I am a animal lover and it makes me ill to have to be the one that steps up and end their suffering. Okay I'm done ranting.

I'm right there with you! Although we are out in the country, we still have several neighbors close by. I have seen a few strays, but they usually are just passing through. Our big issue is the neighbors that don't have enough responsibility and respect to keep their dogs at home! I wouldn't mind it if they just came to visit, but they come looking for a thrill kill! That irks me!

 

[Blooie]

Good morning, all! Been up for quite awhile, but just now sitting down to have my morning coffee. May I have some butter for my hot, fresh banana bread?

Congrats on becoming a gramma!! Advice? Yep, just one little bit. Your children will do a lot of things as parents that you don't agree with. You have two choices - butt in or butt out. I would suggest butt out. LOL I've said it before, and I'll repeat....until my first grandchild was born way back in 1989 I didn't know I could love someone else's child that much!!

Am I the only person on the porch who doesn't like Mexican food? It's not the spice, it's the complexity of the flavors. If I have chicken, I want to taste chicken....beef, pork, all of it. I like a slice of beef on this side of my plate, my taters or other side dish next to that, a veggie, a bit of bread, and a nice salad in a little bowl on the side. Our favorite meal is pork chops with fried apples 'n' onions and tiny roasted taters. All in one pan so easy clean up. And dee-licious!

I have a funny feeling I'm gonna end up working on a chicken coop today if the temp gets up to 40 like it's supposed to. I don't WANT to work on the chicken coop. I want to stay in the nice warm house, maybe put a few stitches in my quilt, or get a column done for the paper. Every time we work on a major project together I end up getting yelled at. <sigh> He'll look at me and say, "Hand me that.....that....over...there..." I look around in confusion because he hasn't assigned a noun to what he wants so he drops what he's doing, goes over and grabs said unnamed object, and then says, "It ain't rocket science, Diane!" Well, in fairness he learns more about his parentage than he did before we started too, so I guess we're even there.

Like when we built the deck. For two years he'd sit at the table and draw plans for a deck. He talked about "Once we get the deck put up we can_____________." (fill in the blank). I'd clean the kitchen, put the latest plan in the drawer with the others, and shake my head. Then I'd go out and sit on the 4'x4' cement slab by the kitchen door and have a Pepsi. It was looking bleak.

After a particular frustrating morning of listening to his big plans and cleaning up a broken glass from the concrete, I'd had enough. I didn't say a word - I took his latest set of plans, ran down to our local lumber store, gave his plans to Rudy, and said, "I need whatever it takes to get this done, plus one extra of everything in case we mess up." I paid for it, arranged for delivery that afternoon and went home.

So we're having lunch in the kitchen when the lumber truck pull up. Rudy and his helper start unloading stuff and tossing it over the fence into the yard. "What the hell??" I just looked up from my sammich and said, "Oh, that's our deck."

He just glared at me. Then, before he could say another word, I said, "Here's the deal. We're gonna build this deck, and there will be NO bickering. You tell me exactly what you want, and I'll get it. You tell me how to hold something, and I'll hold it until you say otherwise. One snippy word and you'll either be building it by yourself or you can use the wood for the firepit."

We got that deck built in a weekend, and it's wonderful! And now it's gonna be a chicken coop. <sigh> I love my life!

 

[luvblues7]

Lindsey I see you live in the Blue Ridge Mountains.......Tellico Plains is my most favorite place in the world. There is a little off road there that my husband and I stumbled onto while riding our bike about 7 years ago. It has a waterfalls I think it's called Bald Rock maybe? Now we make it a point to ride there every couple years or so just to ride down that road. We have been to all but 7 states and have seen God's glorious handiwork everywhere but North Carolina is my all time favorite. If it wasn't for my family all being in Oklahoma I would move there tomorrow.

 

[lindz8504]

Lindsey I see you live in the Blue Ridge Mountains.......Tellico Plains is my most favorite place in the world. There is a little off road there that my husband and I stumbled onto while riding our bike about 7 years ago. It has a waterfalls I think it's called Bald Rock maybe? Now we make it a point to ride there every couple years or so just to ride down that road. We have been to all but 7 states and have seen God's glorious handiwork everywhere but North Carolina is my all time favorite. If it wasn't for my family all being in Oklahoma I would move there tomorrow.

Yep... I live right on the border of NC and VA..... I eventually want to drive from one end to the other of the Parkway, but haven't done it yet....
One of my favorite places to go when I first got my license was Fox Hunters Paradise on the parkway! Beautiful view, and it gave me a place to think....

 

[wyoDreamer]

Blooie - I can so totally relate to the husband thing. I am his hold it, get it and clean it up gal.

Once my DH said "Get me the screwdriver", so I went upstairs into the garage, dug out a Philips head and a slot screwdriver (he has two complete sets, so about 10 of each) and brought them back downstairs to hand to him. He just stood there and looked at me with this look - then he started to chuckle and said - "Um, no. The cordless one." What? we don't own a cordless screwdriver. He walked over and grabbed his cordless drill. So, maybe during the next project I will learn what he drills a hole into wood with.

I have also found that if I want something done, I need to start doing it. He will show up to help and just do it. Sometimes this is good, sometimes not so much.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Here is a potentially nice chicken related story ... "New Poultry Partnership for Kenyan Women, Young People"

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/poult...try-partnership-for-kenyan-women-young-people

 

[sarahsunshine]

Two more days, Sarah...first day of spring is when they are due to hatch. We shall see if they actually hatch then or the next day. Three chicks made it to this time of the incubation so I'm hoping they all make it out into the world okay. I'll do pics and video if I can figure out how to upload my videos to my PC.

Stalking....

In the meantime, here is a neat program: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...099954708.1073742249.682384707&type=1&theater

Giving chicks to poor families in the Phillipines to teach responsibility and help with food production. A very neat idea!

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote: I was introduced to Middle Eastern food by a co worker.... Very similar in some of the dishes to Greek. Instead of Gyros they served Schwarma.... Oh MY GAWD.... for Chicken Schwarma they take chicken breasts and pound it out flat then marinate it Then each breast is skewered on the same rotisserie as they used to cook Gyros. Imagine a stack of chicken breast and onion and lime almost two feet tall rotating in front of a broiler Then the crispy juicy bits are shaved off with a huge kniFe..... Served with either in a Pita pocket with lettuce and tomatoes and a creammmmy Yogurt sauce. Or on a plate with roasted veggies. All her spices came shipped from Turkey from a family member....

I tasted one spice and couldnt identifiy it.... It was a largish grain of something red and it had a smoky nutty flavor..... and it was bright red. I asked the owner what it was.... she laughed.... Turkish Paprika.. Americans have not tasted good paprika. I asked where she got it and she said an uncle sends all her spices to her because she couldnt get them here. Oh she could but we are talking huge bucks in the US.

And I dont know what it is about eggplant that is a food that I love sliced thin dipped in egg then in seasoned flour and fried in olive oil... But they do it TO DiE for.... It has to be the seasonigs and very very good olive oil.

deb