Zettie Walker "Tudy" (Johnson) Bates - My Granny

Zettie Walker "Tudy" (Johnson) Bates - My Granny

      I do not have a picture of my grandmother before this, taken in 1930.  From 1904 when she was born until this photograph sitting in 1930, there is no pictorial reference to her life. She was 26 years old in the photo with her four sons and husband.  Left to right: Greeley, Tudy holding Herman, Grady, Andy, and Cack.


     
     The next picture jumps ahead to the mid-1940s  in a picture of her holding my mother, Molene.  I noted when I was young that my Granny tended to tilt her head a little when she was thinking.  We'd always have to tell Tudy to straighten up her head knowing she would do a head tilt for a picture -she didn't walk around like that -just did it for a picture or when she was thinking something over. She'd then laugh, get tickled and we'd have to pause. Oh, funny memories that makes.  Thanks, Granny.

     When my parents moved to Indiana in the 1960s, they had a telephone installed at my grandparents home.  Mom and Granny were able to keep in touch even though they were separated by many miles.  

     Every Christmas that I recall as a child, we went "home" -to my Granny and Grandpa Bates house.  This as taken Christmas 1964 at Granny's home in the holler of Mill Branch.  Christmas dinner was set on the table, and served after she fed her new granddaughter.  I don't have to close my eyes and I can easily recall a look my Granny would get when she would get to hold a new baby.  She understood how special life was and precious that she was holding a blessing.  I believe it was moments like that she was closest to God, being wholly aware of His miracle. 

     This picture is four generations of Johnson women.  Granny Bates, my Mom, me, and my daughter. No matter how stressed life would be or seem to be rushing past.  A few hours sitting with Granny on the sofa or on the porch and if only for a couple hours... the world would stand still and be calm and you just knew everything would be okay.  Things might be hard, real hard, but in the end it would be okay.

 

     My granny.  She's right.  Life is hard at times, real hard, but in the end it will be okay.

Work peace

Work peace

     I am fortunate to have a job that allows me to work from home at times.  When I am on site at work, my space in the cube-farm is located next to a large row of windows.  Drafty windows that make popping and creaking sounds when the wind howls or the panes are pummeled by rain.  But again, I am fortunate as they have blinds that I am able to close to stop the glare of the sun from burning my eyes as I try to focus on computer screens in bright light.

A small poster the size of a bumper sticker I have had since my days in a more traditional nurse job.  The green used to be very vivid, however it's sun faded over time.  No matter how faded, the meaning still remains firm.

     Some cubes are almost so bare it seems abandoned, some so cluttered it is a mystery how any work could be done in the space.  But in all you can get a sense of the inhabitants personality if you glance at the decor.  Mugs, photos, what-nots, pencil or pen, neat stacks or random piles.

A framed picture my sister gave to me a few years years ago.  Reminds us of our Appalachian heritage.  

     I noticed some of my things while I was packing my bag to leave work today.  Things I see every day I am in the cube.  And I realized that what I choose to keep in there does have an impact on my everyday thoughts. Subconscious purpose in the keeping it seems.

Art that  my 8 year old drew by looking at a copy of a book from his favorite series.
This inspired him to make his own comic book one day when I was trapped at home with
The Boys when snow and severely cold temperatures had us hibernating.  Boys never seem to tire of
boogers and underwear jokes.  I had to take a picture to prove to him that yes I had really
hung this in my cube to see every day.  Joy, lol. 

     I have also noticed vehicle interiors are a peep into a person's conscious.  Not the make, model etc... but the dusting of it, washing of it, vacuum, trash collection etc.  When it's shiny and cleaned up, the person has more pep in their step.  When it's a dreary mess and clutter abounds... well, it says a lot as well. I was telling myself on my commute home this evening... I sure needed to get the vacuum out and clean up little boy crumbs from the back seat and wash off all the road salt from the recent snows.

A good cube-farm dusting or car cleaning makes dreary winter feel like Spring is around the corner.

Pantry supper - Granny Bates Cornbread

Pantry supper - Granny Bates Cornbread

     Cornbread has been a staple of my diet for as long as I can remember.  My parents are from southeastern Kentucky.  In the early 1960s, the moved to eastern Indiana and put down roots.  But, "home" was, and for them always will be, the mountains.  Any school break, funeral, or sickness we were on the road down home.  I am glad for those miles.  Many treasured memories that modern kids miss if parents let a DVD player, DS game system, iPad, iPod, or cell phone 'keep the kid busy'.  I highly recommend road trips with disconnect agendas to allow your kids to get to know you better. You will be amazed and even shocked at all the beans a kid will spill about friends and family and hopes and dreams from the back seat of vehicle while they think you are only sort of paying attention.

Pantry supper - Granny Bates Cornbread

     This ain't a "hoosier-cake" as I call midwestern yellow and sweet cornbread.  This is poor mans bread that some call hot water cornbread.  It's cheap and will make you lick your lips all night dreaming of another slice with butter melting on it.  My parents love it as a dessert... crumbled up cornbread into a cup of buttermilk or even milk if you don't have a taste for buttermilk.

Pantry supper - Granny Bates Cornbread

Granny Bates Cornbread

     Here's the tricky part that can mess folks up on the final result... it a 1:2 ratio of one part self-rising white flour to 2 parts self-rising white corn meal mix... one part flour to two parts meal.

Ingredients to make a medium size pone of cornbread in a cast iron skillet:
2 cups self rising white corn meal mix
1 cup self rising white flour
4 pinches of salt (that's how I measured it when I paid attention this time, lol)
2 pinches of pepper (again, that's how I measured it when I paid attention this time, lol)

Pantry supper - Granny Bates Cornbread

     Preheat oven to 350 F.  Medium to large cast iron skillet, gently wipe interior with a thin layer of oil as when seasoning it (the cleanup will be so much easier if you do this), and wipe one more time with a clean paper towel to assure excess oil removed.  Put the skillet in the oven to preheat while you assemble the cornbread ingredients. Combine all dry ingredients.  Now, here's your challenge... getting the right amount of water into the batter.  So, start with 1/2 a cup and add 1/4 cup at a time until it seems the consistency of thick pancake batter.  Some folks swear hot water helps, I haven't noticed a big difference.  Stir well a couple of times until all ingredients are mixed, and then let set about 5 minutes at least.
     Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven.  Stir the mix one time well, then pour into the hot skillet quickly.  Put the pan in the oven.  Turn up the heat to 400 F and let it bake about 35 minutes, then continue baking until the crust is the desired dark crusty crust you prefer (one hour at most).  Hey, if it burns somewhere and no one in the house likes that... just cut that part off and add to the compost pile.  I actually prefer a crust a darker and crunchier than noted in the pictures.  I am a crust loving girl.  Some folks like the inside stuffings.  You decide for yourself.

Pantry supper - Granny Bates Cornbread

     If you flip the pone of bread out of the skillet while hot from the oven onto a large plate... your skillet should be clean enough to fill with a batch of brownie mix to bake since the oven is already hot.  I might have done that and loved it. The Boys like that use of efficiency.  Same on the brownie, flip out onto a plate and clean up should be just a wiping out of the skillet.

Brownies baked after I turned out a pone of cornbread from my cast iron skillet. 

If you try it... leave me a review.

Pantry supper - Baked sausage casserole

Pantry supper

     For January 2014 I have participated in a No Spending Challenge group.  *sigh*  The ONLY good thing I am finding about Old Man Winter so far... is being trapped at home with The Boys having so many delayed or cancelled school days... it keeps me from stopping in a store to or from work.

     The heating bills have also increased and the incentive to stay on track in the challenge is strong.  Add the awareness of increased medical premiums, higher co-payments plus deductibles and I am on board to keep up the challenge in February.

     That all being said... the goal is no to very little grocery shopping.  Loaf bread, gallons of milk, dry cereal are about what is on the list once a week.  We had to add in ketchup and peanut butter since my 8 year old survives on those and I hadn't had a lot left in the pantry.

Baked sausage casserole

     My husband and I like to have sliced sausage with potatoes and green beans and onions sometimes.  The kids don't care for it, but like I said earlier they live on peanut butter, lol.  I wanted to stick to the challenge and hoped to cook something a little healthier, too.  That meant... the oven, and one of my cast iron skillets to help with a richer flavor.  I dug around in the pantry and found a can of whole kernel corn and carrots. I had leftover canned green beans in the fridge, and peas from our garden in the freezer.

Baked sausage casserole.  Before going in the oven.  

     We liked it.  The frozen peas I have found hold up better in casseroles than from a can, but I would have only had canned they would have been fine, too.  I was glad I had part of the sausage on the top and part on the bottom.  Some was nice and caramelized crispy and some soft and tender. If I hadn't had the long polish sausage to cut up, I would also have used little smokies if those were on hand. I like cutting the sausage in bit size rounds instead of the traditional angle cuts, everything ends up one bite size.  To me, a casserole isn't about needing a knife to eat it, it's about comfort food and easy eating.

Baked sausage casserole.  Hot out of the oven. 

Baked sausage casserole

Ingredients:
Frozen peas -two handfuls, frozen but broken loose from one another
Whole kernel corn -1 can drained
Green beans -2/3 can leftovers
Sliced carrots -1 can drained
1 package polish sausage -two large links sliced into thin medallions, or any sausage sliced, about 2 cups.

     Preheat oven to 350 F.  Medium to large cast iron skillet, gently wipe interior with a thin layer of oil as when seasoning it (the cleanup will be so much easier if you do this), and wipe one more time with a clean paper towel to assure excess oil removed.  Put the skillet in the oven to preheat while you assemble the casserole ingredients. Combine all vegetables and mix well.  Canned vegetables and the sausage have more salt than home canned/frozen foods so I did not add extra -I decided that could be added to taste at the table and keep the dish a bit healthier.
     After about 10 minutes, carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven.  Layer half of the sausage in the bottom of the skillet. Cover with the vegetable mixture.  Finally, layer with the remainder sausage.  Pour in enough water halfway up the side of the skillet.  Turn up the oven temperature to 400 F.
     Cover the skillet loosely with aluminum foil.  Bake about 20 minutes as the meat used was precooked. Then, remove the foil and bake the dish another 15-20 minutes until the some of the top sausage layer is noted to be caramelized to your liking.  Remove from the oven, and loosely recover with the foil until ready to serve (at least 10 minutes).

Baked sausage casserole. 

I do believe I will make this again and not the skillet method. The cleanup of the baked dish compared to when I have usually fried it was wonderful.  And... it surely is healthier since there was no frying involved.

If you try it... leave me a review.

County Highway crews are local heroes

County Highway crews are local heroes
26 January 2014

Snowy afternoon view on 26 JAN 2014. Snowplows are on their way. 

The county is on the highest level of warning and no one should be on the roads. 

The wind isn't howling as bad, but when a vehicle goes down the road the snow "dust" billows taller than the trees. 

More snow expected tonight and extremely bitter wind chills as well for two days. 

Old Man Winter is proving he is meaner than The Grinch.

 The first of two back to back snowplows from our county highway department trying to clear drifts and widen spots that barely allowed one vehicle to pass through.

It must be a very bumpy ride based on the rattling of the truck and plow and jamming into all those drifts.

The second of the two back to back snowplows from our county highway department came along just behind the "snow dust" of the first plow.

These are our local heroes when Old Man Winter huffs and puffs and tries his best to keep us trapped in our homes.

When you are out and about... shake their hand, buy them a cup a coffee, say thank you.

Mothers in other frozen lands

Prayers. 

Well, Old Man Winter you are making it a rough one here in modern convenience Indiana. 

However, it is good to focus on the blessings of the snug home and clothes and full cupboards of good that God has provided. 

Ancestors stronger than I am, braved wagon train paths in winter storms with no parkas or heated vehicle keeping them dry, homes of log with no windows and cooking what dry beans were left in an open fireplace pot and watching snow blow in cracks to build drifts.  

I am not as brave or strong as modern humans born in isolated bitter cold lands such as remote Siberia, tents of Tibet, rural far northern Korea, or those holding to traditional igloo lifestyle. 

God, I pray a woman in those lands, who tries to hold strong wondering how she will survive to care for her child since she has to give her food and coat to the child to keep the child alive... I pray that woman has a moment to feel your comfort and You guide her to wisdom to keep forging ahead. 

I pray that the people You impress upon to take action to give relief not to governments or tribes but directly to those mothers... That they take the burden and Your guidance and seek her. 

Thank you for blessing my family with silly concerns such as stocking up on convenience foods and gasoline and waterlines not freezing. 

Thank you for keeping the burden of stronger mothers in other lands weighed on my heart. 

Amen.  


*Pictures taken during the first Arctic Blast of 2014, January 6th. Now, we are in round 2 and preparing for temperatures worse than round one.  Fifty-five days until Spring...