The Front Porch Swing

[Triple Willow]

I got a real strange egg the other day. It was one semi-soft shell egg then it had 1/2 of another semi-soft shell egg attached to it. They broke apart in the nest. Both of them had yolks in them.

 

[lindz8504]

Sorry, I haven't been the best company today. I've read everything, and I am glad that everyone has been having a good day.
Good job on the coop Blooie!
Can't wait on pics of the GP's mamma!
I've had an egg like that LDJ... they are really pretty!
Welcome to the new folks!
Sorry if I've missed anything....

 

[Beekissed]

Lindz. We understand.

 

[Triple Willow]

Sussex County Delaware checking in

Hi there Mcrowe! Welcome to The Porch!

 

[perchie.girl]

For what its worth....

Apple Pie Moon shine

Ingredients:

• 1 gallon apple cider
• 1 gallon apple juice
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 8 cinnamon sticks
• 1 liter bottle of 190 proof moonshine or grain alcahol
• 2 cups Vanilla Vodka or Whipped Cream Vodka (adds an "a la mode" effect)

Whew

Directions

• In a large stock pot, combine the apple cider, apple juice, sugar, and cinnamon sticks.
• Bring it to a boil, then take it off the heat and allow it to cool.
• Add the liquor.
• Pour this into mason jars, put lids on, and let it mellow out. You could drink it right away but it gets better after a couple of weeks.
• This recipe makes about 9 quarts. You could easily cut this recipe in half.

deb

 

[mcrowe315]

Well take a glass of that shine over hear

 

[Beekissed]

I'll describe the night from The Front Porch Swing...it's warm and soft out there right now. The spring peepers are singing down in the holler and every star in the sky is shining, as well as a beautiful sliver moon. It smells like spring..like damp earth and hope. The soft murmur of conversation and the occasional giggle adds to the music of the night as the wind chimes tinkle in time.

The tea is sweet and the night even sweeter!

 

[rrrmamma]

He's 24 and he is what I call a "gun nerd".....absorbs all the information about guns he can and loves to work on guns, loves the history of guns, etc. We were just looking at gunsmithing schools here in WV and found a couple. We didn't know if gunsmiths still offered apprenticeships without the applicant first having the schooling. He got a Mosin Nagant the other day and I've heard of nothing else since...I now know all the history of the Mosin Nagant.

I also now know that stripper clips have nothing to do with exotic dancers.....thank goodness!

He just got offered a really good job in what he is currently doing, so don't know if that will put his gunsmithing dreams on hold. How close are you to Marietta, OH?

I cannot believe that it took your husband that long to get disability!!!!! That just steams my grits!

When you think there are people out there working the system and getting it for absolutely nothing(my BIL, who hurt his ankle while climbing out of a tree stand, lied and said he did it on military time, and is not not only rocking a disability for it, but still working at another job that pays tons of money, and the military is also paying for his schooling, plus, plus, plus).

My Dad was crushed between two trucks while in Korea, broke several vertebrae which fused on their own due to no treatment for them, and has had life long problems with it as well as PTSD, finally got approved for his Veterans disability...at the age of 83.

Bee. I am PM ing you our phone # We would love to talk with him.. Time spent learning would be flexible. We are 40 miles from Marietta and a guest room would be available for learning time.

 

[Beekissed]

Bee. I am PM ing you our phone # We would love to talk with him.. Time spent learning would be flexible. We are 40 miles from Marietta and a guest room would be available for learning time.

No way!!!!!!

Just called him and he is very interested in this!! You see, God is moving in this boy's life right now and this is just one of those mysterious ways of God that you and I should have this information exchange within a few days of Eli and I discussing apprenticeships with gunsmiths. Is He the Almighty or what???

This never ceases to amaze me, no matter how many times it happens!

You just happen to live 40 mi. from where he works and about 55 mi. from where he lives....how is that even possible that this all comes together in this way? Well, that's rhetorical...God is just that amazing, that's all.

Please send that phone number and I will get it to him tomorrow!

 

[Blooie]

Woo hoo! I'm back from the basketball game/birthday party, settled in, and welcome to our new sitter from Delaware! LIndz, you just relax - we got this - we all have days where we read more than respond, and that's fine - as long as it's not because of something horrible. Then we all feel like we got a hedgehog in our knickers!

So any one in the mood for a story? I remember promising to tell why my brother Ronnie got a license plate mounted on driftwood from our sister Lori. Every one have their drinks? All cozy and settled in?

Dad had a light purple Cadillac that was his shining joy. He worked at the service manager at a huge dealership, so when the new cars came him he always selected a used Caddy out of the crop folks would trade in. He did this about every 3 or 4 years.

I happened to be visiting back home with my kids in 1975 when my little brother was getting ready to leave for Navy boot camp. After Dad got over the shock of Ronnie - his only son and namesake - preferring Ken's Navy to his Army, he was pretty proud of him. We had a big farewell family party for Ronnie because his flight left for San Diego at o-dark-stupid the next morning. One of his buddies was going pick him up and take him to the airport on his way to work, so we didn't have to worry about that. Suddenly Dad tossed him the keys to the Caddy. This just was not done! In our family you were either the passenger or the car washer, but never, EVER the driver. So we sat staring at Dad, waiting for him to take the keys back and tell Ronnie he was just kidding. Nope, he didn't do that. He gave his only son a final hug, told him to take the car, have one last visit with his buddies, and then put the keys back on the hook when he got home. He was gone before Dad got all of the "be careful" out his mouth.

The next morning my brother called from the airport. His flight had been slightly delayed so he was telling Dad goodbye one more time, and about his night - what he could remember of it. Seems he and several friends had a very good time, and Ronnie was suffering the early morning consequences. He also told Dad that he might want to get a front end alignment done on the car. He said when he was driving it home it seemed to be pulling pretty bad and didn't seem to be steering right. After they hung up, Dad looked out the window and the Caddie was parked up in front of the neighbor's house. We could see those tail fins sparkling in the early morning sunrise. Dad always had to park on the street so sometimes when the spot in front of our house was gone he just moved up or down one space - kinda like a lame game of "Chutes and Ladders." The keys were on the hook where they belonged. So Dad thought he'd have his coffee, then take the car down to the shop early and see what was going on with it.

There he was, sitting at the kitchen table in his blue and yellow boxers and t-shirt having coffee with me and Ma. His morning attire was nothing new to us, and my kids were still upstairs asleep. Suddenly there was a loud banging on the door. He ran back into the bedroom to slip on his trousers while Ma answered the door. It was a police officer. Dad came out tucking in his t-shirt, bare-footed and totally perplexed. With his job, he knew a ton of people and everyone thought very highly of him - um, except this particular officer on this particular morning.

"'Morning, Ron. Is that your car parked right over there?" Dad just nodded.

"Were you in possession of that car last night into the early morning hours?"

Here my dad was in a quandry. He had a feeling that he wasn't going to like where this was going, especially given his conversation with his son about the car's performance issues just a short time before. If he said "yes", he could be admitting to something very serious done by someone else. If he said "no" then how badly would that affect Ronnie's entrance into the Navy? So he did what any self respecting confused father would do - he stalled.

"Toby, I don't see what difference it makes whether I was driving the car last night or not. It's my car. Now what the hell happened? The car is parked out here and it's fine."

Toby scuffed his feet on the carpet. Remember I told you all how big my dad was? Well, Toby must have been getting a stiff neck from looking up at him. I knew that feeling very well, and frankly I was just glad it wasn't me this time! "The rear end is fine. Let's go look at it from the front, Ron."

Dad put on his shoes and went out with Toby. What he saw stunned him! The entire front bumper was missing. The radiator was leaking all over the street. The driver's headlight was smashed out and the grill was hanging crooked like cheap Venetian blinds. But what shocked Dad were the front tires. They were totally bowed inward. Dad said that car looked for all the world like it was pigeon toed! He had no clue how the heck Ronnie had managed to drive that car home, but somehow he did.

Toby cleared his throat. "Looks like your car got into an accident - either with you driving or all by itself. We found the bumper and license plate hanging off a tree planter downtown."

My dad just looked at Toby and said, "Well, then I guess I'd better get my wallet and call in to work today. Doesn't look like I'm going in."

Dad took the rap for Ronnie's DUI. When they got to court the following month, the judge - who happened to be one of Dad's regular customers, took all of about 5 minutes to wiggle out of him the truth about what had happened. Dad got a $15.00 ticket for providing false information to a police officer, but at no time could Toby say that Dad had outright lied to him. Ronnie by then was in San Diego going through training, and the judge just couldn't see messing things up for him either. No one had been hurt, and even thought Ronnie technically left the scene of an accident the judge declared that the late hour and absence of any witnesses may have left him no alternative. Then there was the fact that Ronnie didn't actually leave the scene unidentified - he had left his "information" behind. Sitting as evidence on the prosecution's side was the entire bumper of that Caddie with the license plate still hanging on by one screw.

I couldn't tell you for how long, but for quite some time a large portion of Ronnie's pay went to pay for the deducible on repairs to the Caddy, his increased insurance, Dad's two days of lost wages, and that $15.00 fine.

Dad died in 1996. When Lori was cleaning out some of Dad's things, she found the license plate in a box, carefully wrapped up in the beige blanket Dad always kept in that car, along with something else. She never did find the bumper, but she had one made up out of a hunk of driftwood. The card attached to the gift said simply, "Merry Christmas, Love - Dad." The card was bought and signed by Dad.