Sunday July 26, 2009

When grandma Goes To Court..........

Lawyers should never ask a Mississippi grandma a question if they aren't prepared for the answer.

In a trial, a Southern small -town prosecuting attorney called his first witness, a grandmotherly, elderly woman to the stand. He approached her and asked, 'Mrs. Jones, do you know me?' She responded, 'Why, yes, I do know you, Mr. Williams. I've known you since you were a boy, and frankly, you've been a big disappointment to me.

You lie, you cheat on your wife, and you manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs. You think you're a big shot when you haven't the brains to realize you'll never amount to anything more than a two-bit paper pusher. Yes, I know you.'

The lawyer was stunned. Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, 'Mrs. Jones, do you know the defense attorney?'

She again replied, 'Why yes, I do. I've known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster, too.
He's lazy, bigoted, and he has a drinking problem. He can't build a normal relationship with anyone, and his law practice is one of the worst in the entire state.
Not to mention he cheated on his wife with three different women. One of them was your wife. Yes, I know him.'

The defense attorney nearly died.

The judge asked both counselors to approach the bench and, in a very quiet voice, said,

'If either of you idiots asks her if she knows me, I'll send you both to the electric chair.

This is what you'll look like if you eat too many popcicles

Guard Your Purse

I've already posted this on my Face Book but I decided to post it here too, as sort of a 'public service' announcement. I see so many ladies in the grocery store with their purses sitting in the cart unattached ~ so easily grabbed. And yes I stop and show them how they can do a little in securing their purse. I know that this isn't totally foolproof but it would certainly slow a purse snatcher down a little. So unless you're like my pal Jimmy down in Florida (he said he likes to carry his purse because it always matches his high heels) please snap your purse in with the straps provided for fastening in baby.

A Beautiful Saturday

A beautiful blue sky, big white fluffy clouds and a very tall Douglas Fir tree......... Henderson Bay (part of Puget Sound) at Purdy, Washington

The Purdy Bridge, heading out to the end of the Key Peninsula & Bob's place.

The kids were having a blast, jumping into the water from the Purdy Bridge. This has been going on during high tide for many years. The kids in the boat were hollering "Jump." The high school in this area, is Peninsula High School ~ thus the graffiti on the bridge.

Bob's zucchini patch is really going to town. He has about a dozen plants and they have just began to produce. What are we going to do with all these zucchini?

FOOD FRIDAY

I know I said that Food Friday was going to take a break but Bob got this recipe from his #2 daughter and he made it the other night. It was so good I wanted to share it immediately. I hope you'll try it this summer as a new way to serve chicken.

Italian Fried Chicken

package of boneless, skinless chicken chests
Italian bread crumbs
garlic powder
chicken seasoning (I use Johnny's Chicken Seasoning)
egg
milk
olive oil

First of all the pieces of chicken chests should be about 1/2 inch thick, so if you end up with fat ones, split them in half (don't cut your finger off). Mix same quantities of flour and Italian Bread Crumbs (I used 1/2 cup of each and had plenty) and place in dish or pie pan (I save a few aluminum pie pans for this). In another dish or pie pan, mix egg(s) with milk (like you would for french toast). Again the number of eggs depends on how much chicken your dealing with. (we used 2 eggs) .

Pour some olive oil into pan on medium heat.

Take the chicken and dip into egg/milk mixture and then in the flour/bread crumb mixture. Place in hot Olive Oil and sprinkle with some garlic powder. Turn heat up slightly and fry each piece until golden brown on both sides. Once chicken is fully cooked, remove from pan and place on a layer of paper towels to remove excess oil.

This was so good and we served it with some steamed zucchini fresh out of the garden.

P.S. the left overs were even good cold the next day for lunch.

Happy Birthday !

If the note on my calendar is correct~today is Monica's birthday. I've known Monica for at least 7 plus years and she's a great gal. I know this is a busy time for you Mon, but I hope you take some time for yourself and have a wonderful birthday ! Please stop by and wish her a very happy birthday.......

And The Winner is ~

I posted this picture here on my Blog and also on my Facebook. I ran a contest~wondering if someone could guess what this weird looking object was. By the way, I took this picture one day when we were on vacation when I was really bored. It was very unique, one of the only pear chips that was whole, not broken. Also I might add it was very good. So now to the winner~there were many guesses and a couple were very close. But in a rambling list (on FaceBook) of guesses, one person listed "pear" and so I'm happy to announce that our own Robin down in Tampa, FL is that person.

Congratulations Robin !

A New Entry

I've posted a new entry in my travel Blog. I'm not sure about Blogger's alert system, so if you're interested please stop by;
http://packyourbagsletsgo.blogspot.com/

CONTEST~WHO CAN TELL ME WHAT IT IS?

I have a little prize for the person who can correctly identify the thing in this picture.

NOTE: Joann, I've already told you what it is, so I'm afraid you can't guess. :(

The deadline is this coming Wednesday at noon (Pacific Daylight Time) July 15, 2009.

Wow ! More Pennies!

Thanks to Robin (Yellow Brick Road) for the package that came in the mail today...also the postcard.



My squished penny collection is growing...........And it's really exciting to get pennies from places, I'll probably never get to.

Thanks Robin!

Thank You Melanie !!

Thanks to Melanie of "Honey I'm Home" for the squished penny from the Milwaukee County Zoo.

I have several others from different zoo's so this one will be a great addition to my collection. Thanks again, I love it !!!

FREE HUGS

I wondered about the folks at Tacoma's Freedom Fair giving 'Free Hugs.' After the hug, you got a little sticker that says you got a free hug. Some people were put off by it, but others ~ myself included decided "sure why not?"

I believe I got hugged by a pretty blonde teenage girl. I was curious about the web site listed on the sticker. So I checked it out & found out they were people from Life Center...a large church here in Tacoma that I attended for over 20 years.

When you stop & think about it....I wonder how many people face everyday with no one to give them a hug or even a smile? I'm sure there are many. I hope some of those folks took advantage of the free hugs that were graciously given, on Tacoma's waterfront Saturday.

www.hugtacoma.com

July 4, 2009 is history but……

………..we had a wonderful time on Tacoma’s waterfront.   Bob took the truck & camper down on Friday night and then Saturday afternoon my son in law took the grand kids & me down to the camper.  We headed over to the rows of venders and entertainment, found a shady spot along the shore of Puget Sound for the air show.  I love watching the stunt planes and of course we all enjoy the military part of the show.  This year the following military planes participated; Navy F/A-18C Hornet, USMC-AV-8 Harrier (that plane puts on a great demonstration!)  USAF A/OA-10 Thunderbolt, USAF C-17 (they are the big guys that fly over my house everyday) and then they also had a B-25 Mitchell Bomber and a Russian Warbird Yak-II.

 

My son, his girlfriend Jeralyn & her mom arrived from Olympia about 6pm.  We ate and visited and enjoyed our time together until just before the fireworks were set to begin at 10pm.   All of us knew that Jim planned to propose marriage to Jeralyn during the fireworks ~ it was sort of hard to act normal because we were all so excited.  And of course he wanted it to be a surprise. 

They’re officially engaged !!!!!!!!!!

Jeralyn and Jim ~ congratulations & best wishes !

Happy Birthday Meghanne !

On a rainy 4th of July in 1992....my sweet grand daughter was born. She was a little early, she had to stay in the hospital after my daughter was released. And over the years I've watched her grow into a beautiful young woman. She loves the Lord, is active at her church, she's a star in the kitchen with her cooking & baking, she's a crafter (she taught herself to knit from Goggle) she takes beautiful pictures and is a joy to know. It seems like only yesterday she was toddling around.....and now~all of a sudden she's 17 years old.

Happy Birthday dear Meghanne ! Your granny loves you (and your brother) so much!

GOD BLESS AMERICA

JULY 4, 2009

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?

Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died.

Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.

Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured.

Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.

They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

What kind of men were they?

Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists.

Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding.

His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.

Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished.

So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid.

Remember: freedom is never free!

It's time we get the word out that patriotism is NOT a sin, and the Fourth of July has more to it than beer, picnics, and baseball games.




NOTE: this entry was not intended to offend our dear friends in the U.K. This event happened 233 years ago. A lot has changed since then and thankfully our countries have been allies for many years.

JULY 3, 2009

A Day Out With My Grand Daughter

From an early age, I started a tradition of taking both my grand kids out for the day, sometime around their birthday.  A day when I have a one on one time with just them. 

My grand daughter’s 17th birthday is Saturday so today we had our day out.  I picked her up and we went to lunch at Steamer’s Fish House which is located on the edge of Puget Sound.  It’s away from the busy waterfront restaurants so has a totally different  atmosphere.  From the parking lot you cross railroad tracks that head in and out of Tacoma.  So in a couple hours time you see Union Pacific & Burlington Northern-Santa Fe freight trains as well as Amtrak.   Across from Steamers there’s a nice paved area with benches & picnic tables in case you want to bring your own food, sit in the sun & enjoy the activity of the trains on one side and the many boats cruising by on the water side.  There’s also a great view of the two Tacoma Narrow’s Bridges off in the distance.The first train was a Union Pacific

 

Then along came the Burlington Northern.  There were also two Amtrak trains but they were too fast for us.

The Narrows Bridge off in the distance

 

After eating and some time on the beach we headed for Point Defiance Park.  My plan was to stop all thru the park so Meghanne could take as many pictures as she wanted. (She never leaves home without her camera)

 

Shortly after we entered the park we came to the Rose Garden.  She wanted to stop there, so I parked and we walked down the hill to the beautiful garden.

 

The picture below is not of roses as you can see.  These flowers were just outside the fenced in rose garden.  The park district fenced the rose garden to keep the deer from eating the hundreds of beautiful roses.

I loved the lines of this big old tree.

After we were thru in the Rose Garden my intent was to drive thru the entire park.  But I made a turn and we headed down toward the Marina.  I parked very near the Vashon Island Ferry ticket booth and as Meghanne was taking pictures of the water & boats.  I said “we should have made plans to take a ride in the ferry.”  Several minutes later she said “will grandma, the ferry hasn’t left, maybe we have time to walk on.”  So I made sure the car was secure and we headed over to buy our tickets.  The trip between Point Defiance and Vashon Island is about 15 minutes, so for Meghanne & myself it was only $5.00 round-trip.   With the sun shining….it was a beautiful day to be out on the water.

 

 

There were several large container ships anchored out, waiting their turn in Tacoma’s port area.  Our Mt Rainier in the background.

 

 Arriving at Vashon Island, the foot traffic gets off first.  (Well, once they get it all fixed so one can walk off safely. )

 

Vehicles loading at Vashon for the trip to Tacoma.  Vashon is a long skinny island.  From the other end of the island you can take a ferry to Seattle.  But, you’d have to do that with your car because it’s absolutely not within walking distance.

The shores of Vashon Island are lined with summer homes as well as permanent homes.  I believe there are approximately 10,000 people that live on the island.

As we neared the Tacoma side, you could see a double line of cars, trucks and motorcycles waiting patiently for the ferry’s return.  They won’t all get aboard, especially during rush hour times.  But those island folks know how to use their time while waiting for their turn on the ferry.

It was 4:30pm by the time we got back to the car and headed home.  I still needed to hit the grocery store for our 4th of July day down on the waterfront….so I took a happy, picture taking girl home. 

 

We had a wonderful day of making another birthday memory.