Happy Summer Solstice!

Are you doing anything today to mark the official start of Summer? Any parties? Going to the beach/pool? Staying up later than usual just because you can?

Personally, I think its too hot to go outside so I’ve decided to spend my day looking through cemetery photo’s and death certificates aka killing people off in a sense. I love finding proof as to who people are or were. I’ve been working on two lines of Adkins & one line of Robinson’s this month. I love to read other peoples thoughts and/or articles and then work even harder to find what they may have missed. I’m always surprised that few ever look at Military records for birth dates or middle names. But like anything else, most of the documents were falsified (I mean they may have stretched the truth a little), so that the individual could go to war at a younger age. I’m not sure why they wanted to do that, but they did. I’m also dumbfounded to find two people with identical names & birth dates, as strange as that may sound. I have 5 Carline/Caroline Adkins (same age – I know, really – what’s up with that?), to separate from the fold. I know it’s easy to make mistakes, even on death certificates, so I take them with a grain of salt, then cross reference them with found obituary notices. [I have to prove all 5 just to be sure I don’t have any mistakes. I did find two on my tree & have since fixed them, or at least I hope that I did.]

As an added bonus of reading family obituary’s, you usually get to see a picture of that person. I wanted to post them on my Ancestry page, but I’m not sure if a first cousin 3x removed is close enough relationship to warrant that, even though I know after a year or so they will be gone from the internet newspaper sites page,  and others looking that would be closer would want to see them probably more than I did. Sorry, but it fells wrong.

Well that’s just me, I hope you have an amazing day.

The pleasure we derive from doing favors is partly in the feeling it gives us that we are not altogether worthless. It is a pleasant surprise to ourselves. ~ Eric Hoffer

 

You can never have too much “Sweet” on Valentine’s Day!

What’s the sweetest thing a sweetheart’s done for you? ♥

It’s the weekend before Valentine’s Day, & do you have anything special planned to celebrate? I’m planning to stay at home; A Valentine’s party for two, which will be fun, although I’m still searching for something heart-related to wear, but not anything too cheesy. I’ve searched high & low for some old things to make the dinner feel special. Sure, I could have gone anywhere & picked up some great looking dinnerware, but I wanted it to feel personal. Trying to gather a few old things from a round the house, then add some flowers.

Do you have special plans for a date, a party, a dinner, or anything like that?

Simplicity of character is the natural result of profound thought. ~ William Hazlitt

 

Thankgiving Traditions

Day 314

Is there anyone that you invite to your Thanksgiving dinner or Holiday parties, just because the make you laugh or is the life of the party?

They say that laughter is the best medicine, but without it makes for a very dull party.

Laugh loudly!

Laughter is the sensation of feeling good all over but showing it primarily in one spot. ~ Josh Billings

 

Ice Scream

‎Flesh (vanilla ice cream), blood (strawberry sauce), and wax fangs!!

This picture was posted by Kathy Williams Wallace on Facebook. It was a picture that she took at her local ice cream shoppe “The Inside Scoop” in Fairborn, Ohio and I thought I’d make it for my Grands. As you know I don’t do much in the way of decorating for Trick – or -Treat or Halloween, since we live so far out in the country. I tend decorate for Fall, its my favorite time of the year, but this was just too fun not to share. So I thought I’d share. It couldn’t be any easier to make and the look on my Grands face will be priceless. Enjoy!

The man who has accomplished all that he thinks worthwhile has begun to die. ~ E. T. Trigg

 

Lemon Chicken

MENU

Lemon Chicken
Italian Eggplant & Zucchini Bake
Green Salad
Mineral water or tea

LEMON CHICKEN

INGREDIENTS
2 lg lemons, cut into wedges
3 lb chicken, washed and cut into pieces
salt & pepper, to taste
1 onion, cut into chunks
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp each thyme, marjoram, pepper
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
1/3 cup olive oil

DIRECTIONS
Arrange chicken pieces in a baking dish. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and the juice from the lemons. Lay juiced lemon wedges atop chicken pieces. In a separate bowl: Combine the last 5 ingredients. Pour this over the chicken pieces. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for several hours. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and allow the chicken to come to room temperature. Bake, covered for 1.5 hours.
Serves 4-6.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Psalm of Life,

Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us, then be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursing,
Learn to labor and to wait.
~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 

Easy Pork Tenderloin

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
Spray a baking dish with canola non-stick cooking spray.
On a piece of wax paper:
Mix
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon black pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder

Rinse and pat the loin dry.
Roll a 2 pound tenderloin in the spices to coat.
Place loin in baking dish and place uncovered in the HOT oven. Leave oven on approximately 10 minutes, then turn off.

DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR for 4 hours or more. The residual heat from the oven will cook the loin to perfection without drying it out. Slice in 1/2 inch rounds and serve.

Serves 6-8 people.

Note: (Kroger will sell the loin already cut in half for easier backing). I actually grind course house seasoning over the sides of mine, turning it in the pan,  instead of rolling it on the wax paper.

Any road is bound to arrive somewhere if you follow it far enough. ~ Patricia Wentworth