The Little Prince has Arrived!

  Our trip out to Georgia was a dual purpose one.  We were here, of course, to visit with our son and family but, more importantly, be on "Baby Watch".  Our son and daughter-in-law were expecting a precious bundle on any day and needed someone to watch the Little Princess when they went to the hospital.  During times like these, you never know an exact date so we were assigned the first week and then Joanna's parents would pick up from there.  Joanna's actual due date was to be when her folk's were visiting which was sort of nice since her dad is a doctor.  In view of all the recent ice storms to hit this area, I breathed a sigh of relief that perhaps the Little Bundle of Joy would arrive when Dr. C was on "Baby Watch".  To quote a piece from the movie "Gone With The Wind".."I don't know nothin' about birthin' babies!"  I felt quite comfortable with the idea that Dr. C could handle this small detail!

  We arrived, all was well.  I had plans to spend this as a leisurely holiday spent playing with the Little Princess.  Then all of that went out the window.  The Little Prince changed everybody's plans.  Quite unexpectedly, the little fellow decided it was time to make his debut.  He took us all by surprise!

  I am happy to report that the entire little family is doing well.  Mama and Baby Boy are healthy and strong, Dad is exhausted and MawMaw and PawPaw are sure thankful that no ice storms were blasting through Georgia at the time.  Happy Blessings!  The Little Prince has arrived!

The Difference Between a King Cake and a Danish

  Have you ever wondered just what makes one thing a whole lot different than another? I do. I ponder these great mysteries of life.  For instance, while baking today, I worried over the difference between a Danish and a King Cake.  For those who might not know, a King Cake is a filled delight that we in the Deep South always indulge in during this time of year.  Mardi Gras is in full swing and will be for the next couple of weeks.  There are elegant balls, massive parades and sought after plastic beads but best of all (in my view) are the King Cakes!  These mouthwatering pastries all the rage during this season!  This is the only part of Mardi Gras in which I really participate.  If it involves food, then I am all for it!  

  Most King Cakes are large pastries with (more oft than not) a cream cheese and fruit filling.  The dough is rolled or braided closed and then baked.  Well, this is not a whole lot different than most Danish rolls according to what I have always seen.  So just what is the difference? THAT, my friend, is obviously all in the presentation! King Cakes are required to be baked in a circle to represent a crown (hence "king") and have a plastic or ceramic baby hidden inside.  Contrary to what a lot of folks believe, this cake is not to honor some king of the Mardi Gras season.  It originally was to honor the three kings and that baby represents Baby Jesus.  Alrighty then!  So we have a round filled braided pastry that has a baby stuck inside.  Well, that baby is also a big part of the tradition of Mardi Gras.  Some folks say that it is a sign of good fortune (or misfortune) biting into the piece containing the baby. Others claim that the finder of the baby must provide the next King Cake.  Either way, I figure that poking a plastic doll in a cake is asking for trouble!  I am quite sure that (knowing my luck), my guest would choke on said trinket!  What a fiasco that would be!  So no plastic baby lurks beneath the crust of my breads!  (Besides, here lately, those babies are a mite scary looking.)

  Another required trait of a King Cake that is not present on a Danish is COLOR!  Frosting MUST be slathered on the pastry.  This frosting is then doused with color in the form of dyed sugar.  Purple, green and gold were selected by the Krew of Rex back in the 1800s to be the official colors of Mardi Gras.  So now during the months of celebration, one can only imagine that there might be a shortage of food dyes in those three colors in the Deep South.  If you plan on making King Cakes for Mardi Gras, you would be best advised to start stocking up on food colorings way back as far as Thanksgiving!  Otherwise, you just may have to get quite inventive on how to "paint" your King Cake!  

  The there are the mandatory beads.  These are cheap plastic beads that become the most sought after "jewelry" for a couple of months after Christmastime.  During no other time of the year is it perfectly acceptable (nigh on required) for folks to wear gaudy, plastic beads. These same beads almost always make an appearance on or around a King Cake.

  So there you have it!  Is there a difference between a King Cake and a Danish?  From my point of view...nary a one in the pastry itself.  It all lies in the presentation.  Shape, frosting, color, baby, beads and attitude.  So that said....Laissez les bon temps roulez!!!

Princess Mary Ruth has arrived!

Yesterday, I was on pins and needles.  The news of the pending birth of my first grandbaby was just too exciting and the fact that I could not be there was tugging at the heartstrings.  All grandparents want to be on hand during that time..I could not.  It was hard.  But, Joanna was a trooper and did a wonderful job with the loving help of Mark, their friend, Amy, and a crew of competent nurses and doctors.  Mary Ruth, the little princess, made her debut just about 9:42 in the evening of April 16th..the evening of Joanna's own birthday!  This has to be the ultimate of all birthday gifts!  A gift that can only come from God.  As I was looking at the pictures that my son sent to me, I daydreamed of holding the sweet child.  For now, though, I have to be content with photographs.

Mary Ruth..just minutes old and already a beauty!

It is amazing just how large of an impact such a tiny being can make in one's life.  Even though we are hundreds of miles apart and have never seen or touched each other, I am so in love with this little one.  This love will grow ever stronger with each coming day.  I look at the photographs and think of my son when he was this small. Time, indeed, does fly.  Even though I spent every day with my own children, it was not enough.  As a family, we played together, worked together, dreamed, giggled and cried together but most of all..we loved.  I miss those days. Children have a way of growing into adults and living their own lives.  If there is one piece of advice that I will give Mark and Joanna, it will be to spend as much time as possible with Mary Ruth.  Never put off until tomorrow that hug that you can give today.  Love her..as you can never love a child too much.  Enjoy her..as it will only be a blink of an eye before she is grown.  Cherish every moment. ~ Mary Ruth..the littlest princess in the family!

Its a Cruel World Sometimes...

I awoke in the middle of the night to such a ruckus in the yard. Ahh..raccoons! They seemed to be in the tall oak tree just a few feet from the house. This is a tall, Red Oak or "Water Oak". It towers over the house unlike the more squatty, wide Live Oaks. It is probably a good fifty or sixty feet tall and has few limbs as it was damaged by storms in the past. The coons seemed to be quite a ways up the tree judging by the sounds. This kept up for some time, making for a sleepless night for me and an miserable night for Ezzy. She was agitated by their screams and wanted to be let out so she might squelch that awful racket! After a night of squabbles in the tree top over the house, I heard a loud "whomp" as a raccoon smacked the roof. After a bit of clambering around on the rooftop...quiet..too quiet. No more shrill snarls, gurgling growls or menacing hisses. Just quiet. The dog soon settled down and I fell back to sleep. Ahh...peaceful sleep!

In the morning, Ms. Ez and I headed to the pier unaware that something was amiss. We enjoyed our usual walk but were chased inside by the light mist of a rain. Once in, I was startled to hear moans..sad, painful moans. Ezzy again became agitated. She wanted outside! I listened again to hear a weak moan...something was hurting! Leaving the dog inside, I slipped out and made my way around the side of the house. For an instance, I did not see anything that could be making the sound but then my eyes focused through the early morning grayness. In the rose garden was a small mound of dark fur. Another weak moan and the little body convulsed. Oh, my goodness! My poor baby raccoon! I eased over to the small furry heap. The little raccoon tried to lift its head. It was then that I realized that my baby raccoon was dying. Its back hips were broken and it was convulsing badly from the pain. Within minutes, the life drained from its little body and tears welled up in my eyes.

This young raccoon would come for handouts almost every day. I believe this is one of the little ones that I had found near the pier. As the raccoon aged, it never caught up in size with the others around the Bayou. I called it "my baby" even though it was an adult. Compared to others its age, it had only reached about half the size it should have..probably only weighing in about six or seven pounds. Although, it was small in stature, it was huge in character! The little rascal was my friend. Just last month, I wrote how it would come receive handouts of cat food and sunflower seeds. The little tyke would climb up my pants leg trying to grasp my camera but never once tried to "bite the hand that fed it". Now, my little friend is gone.

Mark came out and buried the raccoon in the drizzling rain. It was fitting that it was such a dreary morning for such a dismal task. If it is possible to mourn for a wild animal, I was surely doing it. Later, Son came out and placed some concrete pallets on the burial site to keep any marauding animals from trying to uncover the body. When I took Ezzy out for her afternoon hike, I noticed the site. There sitting on the ground were two concrete chunks..one laid down flat and the other sitting upright. A headstone..Son knew I would miss my little friend and he thought this might be a fitting memorial. Sure..the "headstone" will not stay there forever but somehow...it does seem "right". A little life cut short.

I am assuming that the "coon fight" from the night before was the large, rogue male protecting his territory. I had witnessed this time and time again. The large, dominant male will kill any young that is not his own. This is the time of year that the females are having their little ones so the large males are extremely territorial. My poor little raccoon must have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Perhaps, he was seeking comfort by crawling to the rose garden..hunting for the one friend that could help him...but I could not. And my heart breaks....

New Beginnings

March 1st..a day that brought a new beginning into the family. A tiny baby boy was born to my niece..welcome to the world, Jadiel. I hope your life is filled with all the wonderful things that you deserve..and I pray that you receive nothing but kindness, love and happiness for all the days of your life! This little bundle of joy just did allow me to finish his crocheted afghan! I have been working on it here and there as I found time over the past month. I thought since his arrival was not due until mid-March, I would surely have plenty of time! Oh...never go by due dates...babies have a way of coming when they want and not when they are expected! This little fellow decided not to wait another minute! He weighed in at five pounds and thirteen ounces and was only eighteen inches long. Just a little peanut! I did finish his baby blanket in time though and have it all neatly wrapped and ready.

Another new beginning was discovered in the garden this morning. If you remember I had talked about taking cuttings of the Confederate Rose to root for new plants. I was excited to see some tiny new leaves popping out on the cut branches and when I checked the cut ends..sure enough there were roots! It appears that most of the cuttings are rooting although several were quite fully rooted and needing to be set into the ground. It looks like I will be digging holes tomorrow! Baby plants need to be tucked into a bed of nice warm soil to be able to grow!

Also..in the hotbed, the tomatoes are all showing their little green leaves! I am excited but then almost a tad bit trepidatious! I knew that I had planted a lot of seeds but last year hardly any of the seeds sprouted. Well, this year it seems that every seed that hit the ground is on its way to becoming a healthy tomato plant! So....I guess instead of thirty plants, this year I might be planting closer to two hundred plants! Perhaps someone in the neighborhood could use a few plants..I hope........

One other bit of news of life beginnings..the bluebirds were checking out the neighborhood for nesting sites today. A pair stopped by the vacant home that hangs in the Black Gum Tree by my front door. It seems awfully early in the year for them to be home shopping but who am I to question their business??? My son just recently cleaned out the old nest and examined the durability of the house. He assured me that it should be good for at least one more nesting, but just to make mom feel better, he pounded in a few more nails! Now at least I know the old nursery rhyme about the cradle tumbling out of the tree won't happen with my bluebirds!