THE VELVET ANT, a.k.a. THE COW KILLER!

The insect pictured above is actually a wingless wasp, not an ant. When I saw it in my planter this morning I was taken aback by its vivid color. The red and the black looked DANGEROUS to me, but I took the photo anyway and I then Googled it and found the following:

There are over 400 species in North America, and many are very difficult to identify to the species level. They are generally brightly colored, very active runners, and can deliver a very painful sting. Do not handle!

The earliest known velvet ants come from 25 to 40-million-year-old amber found in the Dominican Republic. When harassed, and during mating, velvet ants produce an audible squeak. Velvet ants are also known as cow killers or mule killers because of their extremely painful sting. Like all wasps, they can sting multiple times. Because of their armor-like exoskeleton and painful sting, few if any animals consume this conspicuous wasp.

NICE!!!

DESPERATELY SEEKING EDWARD!

It's not as if we're lame or so rickety that we can't do a lot of this stuff on our own. It's just that there's so much of it. Here's a shot of the shop. I'm sure you don't remember, but last year the shop didn't look anything like this. It was actually in some kind of order until the frozen-bursting-pipe incident of 2010 took place and changed all that.

Everything had to be pushed out of the way of the water in a hurry and it still sits there today. Much of it is stuff for what I have come to call "The Garage Sale That Will Never Happen". Also, there's a boat-load of Sis' stuff that she has stored there from the main house in anticipation of her big post-retirement move to Texas. We have yet to go out there to see what can be salvaged. Then there are the porches. You remember those from last year don't you? This naturally occurring green-mossy stuff grows on all SIX porches every year and SOMEBODY has to get out there with a power washer and make it go away. We did it last year and it took M A N Y weekends! Now it's time to do it again and even I find myself looking at it with dread. It's not a difficult job, it's just MASSIVE!
And we must not forget good old lawn tractor woes. When we parked this beast at the end of last season we knew it would need doctoring before we could use it again. Since then we've played with the idea of buying a new one, had friends over to try to fix it, ordered parts to fix what friends couldn't, and there it sits, derelict, taking up space and causing angst every time we have to walk around it to get into our cars.

Which reminds me, it's time to power wash the garage floor too. This was a huge and difficult job last time since there's a small problem year round with rain water seeping onto the floor. I'm not done yet. There's a whole laundry list of other things that have to be done around here and frankly, I'm beginning to doubt if we can make them all happen. WE NEED AN EDWARD!

ODE TO THE SOUTH!

Here's a not-so-good photo of a plaque we saw in a shop in Sonoia. You can't really tell in this shot, but it reads as follows:

"The South.... The place where Tea is sweet, and accents are sweeter. Summer starts in April. Macaroni and cheese is a vegetable. Front porches are wide and words are long. Pecan pie is a staple. Y'all is only a proper noun. Chicken is fried and biscuits come with gravy. Everything is "Darlin". Someones heart is always being blessed". I have my own version of "The Plaque" and will share it with you lucky so-and-so's now!

"The South.... The place where party favors are stock piled Monday through Saturday because no liquor is sold on Sunday. People wear pajamas to Wal Mart (myself included). No matter where you're standing, if you spit, you'll hit a church. You literally can not see the forest through the trees. Mildew, Honey dew and hair doo's live in harmony. Tomatoes grow like weeds, and then they're fried. Everyone swings (on their front porch) and twang meets meringue.

WHAT'S UP?

I know it's been a shamefully long time since I've been up here sharing with you the life and times of SAG. It's not as though I've been completely remiss, although I will admit to some laziness. Here are some photos of things to come. Like my sweet sister Mitzie coming to visit from L.A. We toured the tiny town of Sonoia, Georgia. The filming place for the new series "Drop Dead Diva". They call it the Hollywood of the South. Great place to visit as you will see in an upcoming post. Promise.Plenty to see and do in Sonoia if you're into food and antiques and plain old Southern charm. But more about that later.
My Birthday came and went and guess what Sis bought me? My own bread maker. As if I'm not busy enough keeping critters at bay and working. Now she makes me make my own bread. Which by the way has become almost second nature. I'll tell you about it very soon, photos and all. And since Doggie treats are so expensive and since we've mastered the art of making dog food, what was next made sense. A dehydrator to make our own Turkey Jerky, Beef Jerky or as I tried last week, Pork Jerky. I think that's the preferred treat between Dusty and Roman. No preservatives or additives. Just plain old dried meat. Oh, and did I tell you I found a source for FRESH EGGS? No? Well, I will. A fabulous neighbor who has her own chickens and grinds her own WHEAT FLOUR TOO! You see, there's a lot to tell.
Plus, we've managed to find a few more Farmer's Market options for fresh produce and other wonderful things. These are just teaser photos to assure that you'll come back for the rest of the news from SAG. I'm missed you!

OMG, IT'S SPRING!

Here's a sweet shot of Ms. Roman. Sitting, pondering the miracles of spring as new blooms loom with plumbs and fresh weeds sprout their seeds bringing little flowers with each shower.

With particular interest in fast moving tree dwellers who'll have hell to pay when she catches up to them one day, she waits patiently watching for the slightest movement in yonder brush. Then there's me. Freakin out every time I turn around. Each day brings another gnarly, crawly, hair-raising creature from the black-lagoon. It's all I can do to hold the old digi-cam still enough to get these damn things on record because no one would ever believe the size and audacity of some of them. This wasp decided my door-jam was a good place to dwell.. OH HELL NO! I YELLED about the third time he LITERALLY DIVE BOMBED ME as I tried to leave the cottage.

Only God knows what this ugly thing is. I followed it along the ceiling in the living room and wondered how I would squash it, but before I could do anything, it slithered into a tiny hole in the sheet-rock! I know it comes out every night while I'm sleeping just to haunt my slumber! I swear, one minute there was nothing there, the next minute I screeched in terror when this guy showed up just outside the living room. Jeeezzzuus! Are you kidding me? This MONSTER has got to be 3 inches long! WHAT IS IT? WHAT THE F--- DOES IT LIVE ON? Even if I had the guts to kill it, what would I do with it? O M G !

A "Way of Thinking"

I know a woman who is both victim and survivor of a "way of thinking" which plagued our society for decades. This "way of thinking" continues to impact generations of people with grief, unanswered questions, guilt, and the worst kind of loss, the loss of a child. Here's what happened to the woman I know:

At age 16, she thought she knew her path in life. In the following order... graduate, get married, have children and live happily ever after. It was 1962, and most girls her age never thought beyond these milestones. She was no different, for her Mother and her Mother's Mother had followed this path, it was the American way of life.

So long as they were accomplished in the correct order, there was nothing wrong with graduating, getting married, having children and living happily ever after. However, anyone (especially girls) who mixed up the order of things faced serious consequences. She was one of them.

Back then, the "way of thinking" said that if you have a child before marriage it meant your life had taken a terrible and shameful turn, and worse, society would not consider your baby legitimate. It was common for girls in this predicament to be sent away to give birth in obscurity and be left with one awful choice. To give their babies to a willing family to claim as their own. In most cases this meant adoption (legal or not).

Fast forward 3 or 4 decades to now, when this "way of thinking" has proven to be not so great for everyone. Today we see these "not legitimate" babies and "out of order" women all grown up, parts of their souls out of whack, until they are reunited. This often takes a life time of searching with a mixed bag of results, and sometimes it takes a miracle. In the case of the woman I know, it was indeed a miracle that took place.

I'm going to tell you about it in an upcoming post, so watch for it.

HOME MADE DOG FOOD!

I have a few photos of the dog food we make every week for Dusty and Roman. I took them using the same camera I use every other day, downloaded them using the same method I use ever other day, to the same file I store them in every other day. For some reason today this computer has decided it is unable to read these photos, so without the benefit of a visual, I'll just tell you about the dog food. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

According to several articles I've read on the topic of dog food, it is best to feed your dog kibble. Best for their development, weight control, overall health and it makes for great lookin poop.

So called experts in dog food say that the first ingredient listed on the package of kibble should be a protien, like chicken or beef. The remaining ingredients are usually fillers or carbs.

Since my dogs are great con artists who have me wrapped around that little extra toe dogs have on their front legs, I not only give them kibble, I mix their kibble with other wet, more exciting and tasty stuff. I used to use canned dog food, but now use the following recipe, and they love, love, love it.

Ingredients:

1 package turkey legs/drumsticks

1 cup white rice

1.5 cups water

1 package frozen green beans, cooked

1 sweet potato, baked

1 squirt of PAM spray

Preparation:

Use your crock pot and PAM the bottom before beginning. Pour in rice and water, place turkey legs on top of the rice/water mixture and cook on low for long, long time, until turkey legs are brown and the rice is looking a little brown too. Minimum 9 hours on low. Let it cool (I usually put the whole crock pot bowl in the fridge over night, then the next day:

Place the rice in a large tupperware bowl and remove all the meat from the turkey leg bones being careful to remove all the slivered bones (dogs can choke on small slivery bones, so be careful to get them all. Mix the rice and turkey meat together. Cook the string beans in the microwave according to package directions. When finished, put the whole package into the bowl with the turkey meat and rice. Remove the skin from the baked sweet potato and slice in into the bowl and mix it all up. Mix half to 3/4 cup of this mixture with kibble and serve. Woof!

ALWAYS CURTSY WHEN YOU SNEEZE!

I made that up!! Then I created a blog with the same name.

Do I need another blog? No I don't, but I'm compelled to reserve the space here at Spit and Glue only for topics concerning this property and the challenges Sis and I face living here.

What does "Always Curtsy When You Sneeze" mean? If you don't know, you may not want to bother visiting http://www.alwayscurtsywhenyousneeze.com/, particularly if you don't like reading content indulgent in profanity or similar taboo behavior. It's not for everyone.

For those of you whose sense of decorum is pretty much non-existent, you're invited to visit ALWAYS CURTSY WHEN YOU SNEEZE! If I insult you, don't hold it against me, unless of course you think I might like having it held against me. In that case, ga'hed, hold it right here, up against me. You've been warned.

SPELT RIGHT!

Okay, now I'm just being a smart-alick! With one or two feeble attempts at bread making under my belt, using recipes that are so incredibly simple a child could do them. I'm on my second batch of whole grain spelt bread, and this time it even looks a little bit like a loaf. I have to say, this is good bread. Dense but moist, and best when toasted, it beats the heck out of having enriched white flour for breakfast every day. This stuff is hearty and it stays with you through the morning. Yesterday I had a piece of it with scrambled Egg Beaters, and I was full for many hours. Perfect!
Of course we had to try it on the Panini grill, and as you can plainly see, it too was a huge success. Sis is talking about getting a bread maker, but why go to the expense when you have me? Next I'll be getting into the Graham flour and with it, will try my hand at muffin making! Very exciting, no? I'm not board or anything, why would you ask?
Here's the recipe in case you too have a little time on your hands:

Be prepared, the Spelt flour is a little expensive, around $6.00 for a 2lb bag, but we pay $3.00 for an average loaf of Artisan bread, and this recipe makes two loafs, so it works out to be about the same.

Ingredients:
8 cups spelt flour
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/2 tbls molasses
2 tsp baking soda
4 1/4 cups milk
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans. In a large bowl, mix together the spelt flour, sesame seeds, salt, molasses, baking soda and milk until well blended. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes in the preheated oven or until golden. That's it.

Hello SAG fans. Here it is just about one month since my last Spit and Glue posting. That's not to say I haven't been busy elsewhere on the blog front. Technical difficulties have me stumped over at Samwich365.com, but in spite of that, the site is growing and still a lot of fun.

Other "fronts" which I don't necessarily like to discuss here have kept me busy too, having amped up my efforts to make 2010 healthier (in multiple ways), I'm holding out hope, keeping my fingers crossed and doing all I know how to get on track and back in business.

One of my closest friends has used her influence to try and get me off the "white foods", and after several discussions, a little reading, the fear of God and listening to this old body, Sis and I are in sinc and on board with the whole idea.

We began by trading evening martinis or wine with dinner for green tea (in Sis' case coffee). We've cleared our respective cupboards of all things made with white flour and/or sugar, and have officially given up the search for whole grain bread in our little town, pathetic!

Pictured here are our first efforts at making homemade, whole grain wheat flat bread which last night paired masterfully with our famous shrimp and mayopeno salad (a little something we whipped up last summer for S365).

This was dinner. Flat bread efforts follow.

We did a Google search and found many recipes for whole grain, quick and easy flat bread. I won't publish this one, if you want it, leave me a comment with your email address and I'll send it to you.

As you can see, it's not a professional job, but with a little practical experience, it should be easy enough to master the art of flat bread making. The hard part will be changing eating habits that have gone unchecked for sugar, et. al. for many years. Any suggestions, friends? I'd love to hear them.

The Saga Continues!

The word of the day is frozen. Fingers, feet, fannies and faces. Not exactly what you'd call a white out. More like an ice out, making the road to town and beyond ferocious. The news tells of 15 car pile-ups and closures all over metro Atlanta. The plumber who was due at 8AM didn't show until well after noon had his work cut out for him. We knew when Sis' water came back on late yesterday the hissing noise was more busted pipes, this time under the stairs to the main house. The worst of that is over for now. I won't mention the dollar amount yet. Let's just say it's no joke, even after Sis resorted to turning on the charm to the grumpy plumber. He wound up trying to hug her neck. For some reason, this cracks me up. I would have paid double to have been a fly on the wall for that moment in time. LOL!!! I warned her to use her woes for good and not evil. She must have heard me.

I'd say it's almost time for a glass of wine. Maybe even something stronger to kick the weekend off on a HIGH note. Going now to try to rid myself of the sinus headache that has plagued me for the past 4 days. I'm over it! Happy New Year

Wet Gone Wild!

Who would have thought that a little freezing weather could wreak such havoc on two semi-innocent and unsuspecting old ladies? We thought we'd ride out Sis' frozen pipes and no running water with minor discomfort. After all, the spiket on the wall outside Moms cottage is protected. It won't be as bad as things were in October when that wasn't an option. Back then we had to buy water just to get a good flush. Not so fast there little ladies. That son-of-a ______ decided to freeze too, and then burst and explode into the wall of the shop soaking stack after stack of well packed boxes full of items NOT intended for the garage sale.

This is the result so far. We have yet to open any of the boxes to assess the damage. So stay tuned because on that day, a pitcher of martini's will no doubt be in the picture.

Who You Callin A Sissy?

Laney Bug sat still for a few fleeting moments and I had my camera in hand. She's quite the subject and not a shy bone in her body!

CHILLY NIGHTS & FROZEN PIPES

Hello Spit'nGlue!

Here we are, starting the new year off with an over-night freeze, and at least one of us waking up to the prospect of living temporarily without the luxury of running water (again). It would have been so much easier if the problem took place at Mom's cottage. Instead, Sis is the one with petrified pipes, and unless it corrects itself today, we got trouble with a capital T. She says the last time this happened, she went two weeks without water. Damn! I'm not kidding when I say this place ain't for sissies.

On the bright side, we had a splendid Holiday, and as of 11PM last night, our company and their precious cargo arrived home safely and in tact from their long journey North, West and East. As usual, we cooked, ate and stayed up late, getting our fill of each others company. Watching two 2.5 year olds tear through a mountain of gifts on Christmas morning is great entertainment. I must have taken 100 photos, and not one of them in focus. These kids just aren't capable of holding still for even a minute.

On a personal note, I'm ready to take on 2010, and with the advent of Spit'nGlue being officially off the market for a the time being, predict there will be far less blogging going on. My car should be paid off in April, by which time I should have my Georgia Real Estate license. Then I'll be in a position to fully execute my master plan.

And finally, for those of you who take the time to read this..... thank you very much for doing so. I really do appreciate it. Just a reminder though.... if you'd leave an occasional comment, I'd be so much more motivated to add to it more often. Until next time.

Browzin Around

It's a rare occasion that I'm without my little Sony digi-cam. It may be held together with Scotch tape and have some serious scratches on the lens, all of them earned. But I'll bet I've taken close to 2000 photos this year. From the time we got on the road from Nevada to Georgia, up until last night when I took some shots of the beautiful dinner we pulled together from left-overs.

It's been fantastic photographing the changing landscape, the subjects that present themselves almost daily, and of course my canine with each passing month. There have been bugs and bees and bark and trees, fungi, cattle, webs, nests...and so much more. Way too many photos to put on a blog or even print out. One of these days, I'll put them all in a flash show of some kind and maybe post them somewhere. You'd think the scenery around here would all start to look the same day in and day out. Waking up with that same old oak tree that's been standing there for over 100 years. And it does stay the same in that respect, but at the same time, it's constantly changing, and beautiful to watch. I'm so glad to have had the camera, such as it is.

Even my critters are changing every day. Ms. Dusty's breath gets worse every month, and Ms. Roman has lost all signs of puppydum. We won't discuss my personal changes. Not in this post anyway.

Here we are at Christmas already. In Vegas this time of year always meant to me that summer wasn't far off. Sis says we still have plenty of winter left here though, and I'm looking forward to it. Happy Holidays Everyone.

A Black and White Christmas!

Have you ever seen a sweet mug like this up close? But for her breath, she's irresistible. We thru this simple ascot around her neck for the photo shoot. The funny thing was that Roman recognized the fabric as belonging to her and wasn't happy until she yanked it from Dusty's neck. Don't laugh at my new rain boots by "Fishin Chics". They're an early Christmas gift from who else. These things are built for real weather, and trust me when I tell you, I needed them. FishinChics.com are famous for feminine fishing or "wet attire". They started making hot pink rubber boots for ladies from the Gulf who were coping with the aftermath of tornadoes and flooding. Not just built for the SMASHING fashion statement, these things are tough enough for real life, like walking Sis' property every morning. Not so much fun in Crocks! I love them and have hardly taken them off since they showed up on my doorstep a week or so ago.

And in keeping with the black and white, dotted theme, Roman's second rain coat is, as you can see a perfect match for those romps thru the high brush. A one of a kind blanket sweater for a one of a kind mutt! Pretty girl, no?
Dusty needed a slicker. She loves to go exploring in the rain, and when she does, she comes home looking like a forgotten junk yard dog. If she air drys, her fur ends up with big gnarly knots that are very hard to comb out. Her natural coat keeps her warm enough when it's cold, so her winter wardrobe can't be too heavy. Sis thru together this adorable rain slicker over the weekend. Can you stand it? No, we opted not to go with black and white this time. Dusty fits in no matter what she wears.

The Hens Huddle!

There's a problem that underlies writing about rural life. While the natural beauty of one's surroundings is fun to describe for a time, after a while it becomes difficult to do without being redundant. After all, how much can one say about the grass and the trees, the birds and the bees, beast sightings, washed out country roads, lawn mowers and weeds?

So, when something special happens, like when company's coming, things get pretty stirred up around here. "Wooo hooo, compney's comin, something different to write about, let the party begin".

The build up begins on the day arrival dates are confirmed. You start to clean things you wouldn't otherwise clean. When we knew we'd have family for the pre-Thanksgiving weekend, Sis and I not only cleaned the inside of the kitchen cabinets, we painted them and put down new sticky paper (they're beautiful, but we're the only two who know it).

Of course that was only the beginning. We went on to clean windows, and linen, and porches, and driveways, and closets, and drawers and... you get the picture. Plus menu planning, grocery store and liquor store runs, a couple of trips to the airport and finally, the moment arrives.

We're all together doing what we always do when we're together. Sitting at the dining room table, specially made snacks placed in its middle, chatting, joking, catching up and making up for not doing this often enough. The champagne flows, the conversation is all over the map, and we revel in our relations.

Our visit this week was special because it was only us women. No hubbies, babies, boyfriends or Nephews, just Sisters, Nieces and Moms. One or two missing, but very happy for the five who were able to make the journey. And of course, a great time was had by all. Happy Thanksgiving.