Getting old...

Getting old ain't for sissies. 

We have all heard this and have watched our parents and older friends sometimes struggling, all the time, thinking it will NEVER be us--nope, ne-va!

BUT, over the past few years, I find myself repeating: "Mirror, mirror, on the wall, I'm like my Mother afterall!"

Heavy sigh...

Ok, stop laughing! 

STOP IT NOW!

Oh, it has probably been true the whole time, but we refused to admit it.

As the body begins to fade, the moments become more Lucy-esque. 

We tell ourselves, "NO, I don't need to write that down" when the truth is, we probably won't be able to FIND the note, anyway.

My greatest lie to myself is, "I don't need to go get my glasses" as I go to the cupboard to prepare a can of Chicken Noodle soup to warm me, while the young one pants from heat (yes--story of my life with Charcoal).

So, I fumble and find that all too familiar can that has been a staple my entire life.

I go to the stove to prepare it...NOBODY has to read the instructions, for we all know that you add one can of water to the soup. I certainly did NOT need my glasses for THAT!

BUT, as I was pouring it out of the can, I noticed the noodles looked weird, and, my goodness, for a soup that has quadrupled in price, they sure have gotten cheap and stopped putting in enough noodles! WOW! 

To the microwave, I went...Pushed the 2 (whew...I am glad it automatically starts, or I might really have to go the extra steps to get those glasses!)...

Ah, the sweet music of the ding! 

I go to the stove, pull up the stool and take that first anticipated spoonful of yummy....


Aaaaahhhhhhhyuuuuuuuucck! 

That is the nastiest thing EVER!!

I Grab the can and look....

Yep...chicken Noodle soup....

Buuuuut...wait, it says something else!

So, I quickly go to retrieve the glasses, only to read, LOW SODIUM READY TO EAT.

Oh, no, excuse me--this stuff is NEVER going to be ready to eat...ick...ick...ick...ick!!

I wondered what would happen if I put SALT in it...I didn't think that would help...whew...nasty! 

I picked up the can to see if I could read what went so wrong ...

I wondered HOW it got in the cabinet, when I remembered having fun at the grocery store, and, yes, I picked up the can WITHOUT my glasses...sigh

As I read the can, the words, "ready to eat" came into sight, again.

I finally turned the can around to see the instructions, "Do not add water."

What the...

There was going to be no way to make this right, so Charcoal got a treat, and, luckily, I had another can of the GOOD stuff! 

So, as the body creeks and cracks and I groan, I smile at my silliness and give THANKS to God for the gift of laughter.

The seasons march onward, and my body begins to crave "summer food" and I giggle like a child, only appropriate as I must be getting closer to my second childhood, although, I am not certain I really ever left the first childhood. 

I LOVE that the Vidalia onions are in the stores, and the tomatoes are tasting like REAL tomatoes, so I grab a can of Garbanzo beans, drain them, and chop the onions, tomatoes and parsley together for one of my favorite treats (sometimes I add ham)...

Aaaaahhhhhhhhhh...

Life is GREAT! 

I offer PRAISE for being fearfully and wonderfully made and that I was so blessed to have had such a great life growing up on the farm.

Make some memories with your family and friends, because, some day, that might be all that is left.

I am simply blessed to create ~charlotte ♡

IF LIFE gives you a Potato and Water...MAKE SOUP! Thursday, February 13, 2014

 I was so blessed when I worked to be able to come home to a home cooked meal each night.  I worked a full FULL time job.  Hardly a week went by without having to work overtime AND I traveled to work AT LEAST an hour to and from work, SO I always had at least an 11 hour work day.

I would come home from work, go upstairs and change clothes, come downstairs and set the table, eat and have conversations with my wonderful parents, go outside to my Craft House and paint until 10:30pm, come inside and do what needed to be done and do my best to get into bed at midnight. 

When I would get up the next morning, Mother would often lie in bed and time me as I would go into the bathroom, take a shower and wash my hair, go upstairs to dry my hair, put on makeup and get dressed, come back downstairs and head out the door…SHE LOVED to tell people that it took me 25 minutes to get ready in the mornings…LOL…

WHEW…that makes me exhausted to remember that!  I survived on 5 – 6 hours of sleep for so long, that I THINK I am STILL trying to catch up.

I did craft shows during this time as a way to give money to my parents to make ends meet.  I did my best to make sure that they had EVERYTHING they needed.  It was the least I could after all they did for me and my brothers.

When we would go to Church on Sundays, Mother would stay and talk UNTIL everyone left…I just wanted to come home since it was often the ONLY day that I had just a few hours for ME…I looked forward to doing what I WANTED to do or take a nap!  I would take my own car to church so I could leave as soon as church was over.  Since I was the first one home, I would go ahead and make lunch…

I would be looking for something quick and easy, so I started by opening the fridge to SEE what was in there—usually NOT much…BUT I would often find enough scraps to throw in a pot and add some liquid and make SOUP!  It became a joke that I could make SOUP out of ANYTHING!!

I was raised with the story of Mrs. Hunter who cooked for the local elementary school who would often say that IF she had a potato and water, THEN she had SOUP!  IF you hear something long enough, one tends to start BELIEVING it…

Last night was one of those moments when I didn’t KNOW what I would have for my meal.  I had seen a black bean soup made on our local midday news, and I thought I would give it a shot at something similar…

I found a can of black beans, cannellini beans, Mild Ro-tel, corn and a half of bag of frozen chopped spinach…I threw them into a pot and added the water from each can that I used to rinse them out with…added chili powder, paprika, cumin and about 6 beef bouillon cubes and let it come to a boil.  I left it on medium to boil for thirty minutes and then dished it out and YUMMY!!

It was delicious!  I guess the lesson I learned tonight was:  IF life gives you a potato and water, THEN make SOUP!  OR…if it gives you BEANS, Corn, Spinach and Ro-tel!!  ;)

Is that Barney trying to get him a bowl of soup!!  teeheeeheeeeee

I am thankful for each bowl of potato soup that my mother made for me…WE just made it from cutting potatoes, an onion, water, salt and pepper…Cover the pot and bring to a boil.  Once it boils, turn to low and let it cook for 10 minutes.  Serve with cornbread hoe cakes and as Mother would say, it was a meal GOOD enough for Queen Elizabeth!

BE thankful for the simple things that you have in life…BE thankful that you have food…Blessings to YOU…~charlotte♥