Remembering MLK....

Honoring Martin Luther King on this day.

Never forget.

Merry Christmas 2021

Merry Christmas to you and yours.

This was a decent day overall. I'm a little blah with the weather. I had a nice day nevertheless. And I am grateful for that.

I finally put a Christmas decoration today. 

A wreathed on my front door. I meant to put it up a couple weeks ago, but I kept forgetting to bring it in from the garage. But better late than never, right?

Right. 

Happy Thanksgiving

Have a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving!

Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

Happy 4th of July 2020!

Be safe out there...

Martin Luther King Day 2019

Today is MLK day. And it's a national holiday.

Years ago, people fought to deny him a holiday. But you can't deny an American icon, a man who lead such a pivotal part of American History.

If he'd not been assassinated, he would have been 90 years old today.

Alas, that's not the case. We have the memory of him and all he did.

This day, I do not volunteer, but I take time to remember and pontificate.

And to simply enjoy the day.

Happy Easter 2018

Happy Easter to you!

I have been gone for a minute. I have been super busy.

But 'tis a holiday, and I must repost one of my favorite Easter stories. The subject is my one of my favorite blog characters Chayse. This story was first posted in 2006, which means that she was all of 2 or 3 years old. So that makes her a teenager now.

But I will forever have her first Easter egg hunt on record.

And along with pondering the reason for the season, every Easter I love to read it, and remember.

Enjoy!


AN EASTER STORY.

So, last year, April 2006 (was Easter in April?), I didn't have any plans. I usually don't go to church on Holidays, because er'body and there mamas are up in that place. So I celebrate at home.

But last Easter I didn't have plans either, until Ol' Mean Ass Cynthia, my coworker and bootleg "Work-for-Free" manuscript editor, quietly eased up behind me in my cubicle and threw an Ebony Magazine on my desk. The magazine was open to a recipe for Sweet Potato Cheesecake.

"Lee... make this," she ordered, pointing to the recipe.

*LadyLee has COMPLETE conniption fit*

"Dang, Man! Dang Man! Back up off me! Back up off me!! I ain't makin' jack! Leave me alone!!!!"

She rolled her eyes in the usual manner and glided away.

Negroes LOVE to run up on me about a recipe.  They know that I'm going to GO OFF... but I will probably end up doing it, especially if it is interesting.

Anyway, after I finished tripping out, and Ol' Mean Ass Cynthia had long gone, I picked up the magazine and perused the recipe. It looked easy enough. So I yelled over the cubicles for her to "Come here!". I told her that I would make the sweet potato cheesecake, but the only stipulation was that I wanted a piece of it. She was cool with that. She was going to come over for Easter and get it. I decided that I might as well make a day out of it and throw some meat on the grill, etc.

We had a plan...

However...

As she was walking away from my cubicle area, she yelled over her shoulder...

"And make my baby some Easter Eggs!"

This caused another small temper tantrum. I think I may have even swiped a few papers from my desk and turned a quite a few things over. Yep, pissed me off. (I have anger management isshas, you see.)

But I agreed to do it, even though I hadn't dipped hard-boiled eggs into colored water since my brother was a child.

This whole thing about the baby...

Ol' Mean Ass Cynthia has been on me to do a post on her baby Chayse. Chayse is 3 years old now, and was 2 at the time of the events in this post...

But what is a trip is tha my coworker and personal chauffeurThe Infamous Hen-Dog is Ol' Mean Ass Cynthia's "baby Daddy".


I remember when Ol' Mean Ass Cynthia, who I didn't know very well, and who is also an UNUSUALLY quiet AND mean person (way moreso than myself), said she was pregnant. She got bigger and bigger and bigger.

I never wondered who the baby's father was.  I don't get caught up in work politics.  They better get my paycheck together and keep it moving.  That's really all I care about, you see.

One of my coworkers and Hen-Dog made me sit down in a chair one sunny day, and they told me that... Hen-Dog was Ol' Mean Ass Cynthia baby's daddy. Of course, I thought it was a joke. It took me a few hours to believe them.  I believed it more when I saw Hen running around to doctors appointments, etc...
They were creeping around.  And what's funny, I ran into them at a Sprint store one day, and didn't even put 2 and 2 together.  Just talked to them for a minute, and kept it moving. (Yes, I am dense).
All I know... Ol' Mean Ass Cynthia, I salute you, gal! You are one stealth undercover broad!!!  That's all I gots to say about THAT!! LOL!!

Anyway, you have the history of the baby...

And for that Easter, I was to make some Easter Eggs for the baby. That was cool.
Easter 2006 arrives. I'd barbecued it up, man! We had chicken wings and steak!


And I'd made that doggone Sweet Potato Cheesecake.

It looks good, don't it? And it WAS good! Check out the side view:

I was like... you know, this recipe wasn't all that bad. (I had to do the bootleg, and throw some chopped pecans on top of it. Recipe didn't call for that!) Took me about an hour to prep everything. I was thinking... "I can make this for family get-togethers, book club functions..."

(Sidenote: Haven't made that cheesecake since then. Don't even know where the recipe is. I still have my springform pan, though!)

Moving right along.

I made the easter eggs. That was weird, because like I said, I haven't made them in awhile. I managed to crank out a dozen colorful eggs... I even wrote Chayse's name on them with that funky wax crayon that's included in the Paas kit.

Well, Hen-Dog, Ol Mean Ass Cynthia, and Chayse came over. We had dinner -chicken, steak, string beans, salad, baked potatoes, and sweet tea- and then decided to do an Easter egg hunt for Chayse out in my front yard.

"Hen-Dog, go hide the eggs," I said.

"I'm not hiding eggs. Chayse don't care. She don't know what to do. She's too young to remember something like that."

Now, both me and Cynthia looked at Hen like he'd been smoking crack or something.  We argued back and forth about this. Hen was determined not to hide eggs. He was being a busta.

So I decided to hide the eggs myself.

"Cynthia... where is Chayse's Easter basket?"

Cynthia gave me a deer-in-the-headlights look. "Uh, I didn't bring it."

Meanwhile, Chayse is looking at all of us. She is eager to get things started.

"Cynthia, how you not gonna have a doggone Easter basket for her? What is wrong with you?"

Cynthia shrugged. "She has some baskets at home. I just forgot to bring one!"

Man, I wanted to pimp slap the both of them. They better be GLAD I didn't call DFACS.

I looked around my kitchen for something that Chayse could use to hold the eggs that she would find on her easter egg hunt. All I could came up with was an aluminum pan. Chayse didn't care. She grabbed it out of my hand, and was ready to go.

Meanwhile, Hen was still whining. "I don't know why ya'll wanna hide eggs for her. She too young to remember anything."

"Shut up, Hen!"

I went outside and hid the eggs. I didn't hide them, but laid them out in plain view around the porch and in potted plant that was next to the front door.

Hen-Dog was still whining.

We ignored him. Chayse went outside and started looking around.

Poor thing... she didn't have a colorful easter basket. Only a lone aluminum pan.


But she didn't seem to care. She was working it out!

She was VERY excited about her eggs!!! Very excited!
"Miss LadyLee!! Miss LadyLee!!"

I have eggs!!Look at my eggs! I HAVE EGGS!!" she screeched with waaaay too much glee.

Of course this all shocked the Infamous Hen-Dog. He stood in my doorway, and watched the 5 minute easter egg hunt. He stopped his whining. He didn't realize that Chayse would be so excited.
Gee, I'm sure that he felt pretty stupid right about then. Really though.

Dude even had the nerve to say... "Hey LadyLee, let me hold some of them eggs so I can hide some for her tomorrow."

I went off. "I ain't giving you NOTHING, man. You shoulda got out here and hid that baby's eggs!!!"

We eventually went back into the house. Chayse was still excited. She walked around my kitchen holding that pan of eggs like it was a pot of gold, still screaming "I have eggs!"





She even counted them for her Daddy.


"1, 2, 3, 4, 18, 13".

(Yeah, she still had to work on her counting. It's been a year, and she is much better now.)

Well we had cheesecake, and they all headed back down the street to Hen's house.
Not bad for an Easter, hunh!! (Except for the aluminum pan.)

So that is my Easter Story... A bit away from the norm, but hope you enjoyed it...

And I hope you had a HAPPY EASTER:) !!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Columbus Day

Happy Columbus Day to you!!

I am not a fan of Columbus day, for I cannot figure out how he discovered a land that was already here, full of native peoples.

And I often wonder what was the real name of this country? Because it was not "America".

Truthfully, I'm just happy for a day off.

So yeah, Happy Columbus day.

Happy Presidents Day!

Happy Presidents Day to YOU!

Yes, I am happy for today. Why?

Because I work for the gub'ment and it is a day OFF.

So Happy Presidents day, doggonit. Even though this current president has put a slight taint on it, Happy Presidents day to him too... doggonit! 

That means I love it. If I had one of those old George Washington wigs, I would surely wear it and walk all around the house with it on while I do my chores. Yes I would. LOL.

As for now, I leaving and going on to do my Wal-mart shopping.

Have a great Presidents day... on purpose!

Happy (Belated) Halloween

I hope you had a good and safe Halloween.

I had a great Halloween. Nope, I don't celebrate, but I give out candy. Only because I was a kid, once. And candy is candy.

And I always have that GOOD candy.

Yeah, mon. 

I give out full sized candy bars and other good stuff.... 

That's what I call a GREAT Halloween! 

Happy MLK Day

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

I was looking back at the post for Thanksgiving Day 2014. I was only going there to do a picture grab, but I read the post and I thought I'd repost it. It is very much related to my thoughts on today.

No, I won't be spending Thanksgiving with my sister, as said in the post for last year. She is in the UAE, and since there is no thanksgiving there, she has to work today. But she and a few people of her group are getting together after work to celebrate Thanksgiving together. I saw on Facebook that she is making strawberry shortcake using our mother's cake recipe. She was so excited. And I am excited for her, as she is assimilating well into the culture there. Today is her "Friday" (they work from Sunday-Thursday), so I know she is happy for the weekend.

I will miss spending the day with her. Our family doesn't get together on the holidays, so she and I had developed a tradition of our own- spending Thanksgiving and Christmas together. That's no longer the case. Hey, maybe I will go visit her next year during this time. That's an idea.

I had no plans for today. Cowgirl Cre's parents live a few miles away, and I may go over there.

When asked about this the other day, I hollered "I'm calling a fast for Thanksgiving!"

She and a coworker Zack were O_O.

No, I'm not doing that. It was a thought, though! But I have already had my morning smoothing of super greens and kale. Good stuff!

And I may bake some chicken wings. That's up in the air. I may just have a salad. I may shoot by Cowgirl Cre's folks later on. We will see.

So I wanted to post the post from last year, as it is something to think about.

Repost from Thanksgiving 2015

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

It is 10:00 a.m. as I write this post on Thanksgiving Day and I have finished my cooking.  I will post pictures later. But I only made veggies (and some dressing), and I am headed over to my sister's house at noon. She doesn't have cable, so I will miss football (darn). But that's okay. I will watch the highlights on ESPN later on tonight.

But as you can see, I want to do something different on a holiday, as I usually put up a banner of some sort and go on about my business.

I have been meditating on a particular scripture for nearly a year now.

Colossians 3:16 (Message Version)

Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.

There's a lot going on in that scripture. But for some reason the part I highlighted in red... that's the part that has stuck in me. That's the part I've been meditating and chewing on.

Those three simple words... And cultivate thankfulness... are action packed.

The word "cultivate" is an interesting word. When I see it, I think of a garden, and how you have to break up the soil to prepare the garden for seed, or to keep the plants growing properly.

There are several definitions of the word "cultivate":

Prepare or use land for gardening.
Try to develop or acquire a quality sentiment or skill
Grow or maintain living tissues in culture
Try to win the friendship or favor of someone
Apply oneself to improving or developing one's minds or manners

Whatever the definition may be, it involves some action on our parts... prepare, develop, acquire, grow, maintain, favor, apply and so on.

Back to that statement... "Cultivate Thankfulness"

To me, it means work on my thankfulness (or thanksgiving). Be mindful of it. Think on it, meditate on it. Grow in that area. Apply myself in that area.

Cultivate, cultivate, cultivate... just like working the soil of the ground, I have to continually work on being thankful, working it into the very fabric of my life.

And you would think no one would have to say "cultivate thankfulness", or it wasn't important to point out. For we all have things for which to be thankful, right?

But let me ask you a question...

How many people have you been around who murmur and complain incessantly? How much have you murmured and complained?

How many thankful people have you been around? More specifically, how many people have you been around who always find the good in a situation and who always find the silver lining of the dark cloud?

If you're anything like me, and if you are paying close attention, the numbers are severely lopsided. There are many many more complainers than thankful people in our lives. People are well developed in either one direction or the other. And that's sad.

That's why that verse has stayed on my mind.

Our hearts are very fertile soil. Anything-attitudes, beliefs, morals, idiosyncracies, etc- will grow in this "soil" when planted. And it will grow like crazy.

As for myself, on this Thanksgiving day, and frankly all this year, I've made a considerable effort to grow thankfulness in this fertile soil of mine.

And I'm glad of it. It has freed my mind.

So today, be mindful of one thing:

"And Cultivate Thankfulness"

And the more thankful we are, the more there will have in the future to be thankful for.

I can promise you that.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!! 

Happy Veterans Day

Happy Veterans Day!

I would like to say thank you to all military for protecting our freedom.  I will never know what it is to put on a uniform fight the enemy. But they have done so, and I am thankful for those still here and those who have given their lives for this country.

Today, my brother, a veteran himself, posted a picture of my grandparents.  My grandfather is in his uniform, and holding my aunt. And my mother is standing in front of my grandparents.

This picture is a little less than 65 years old.

It is classic. It is timeless.

Now, what's funny is that I was sitting next to my grandma while scrolling through facebook. We were at the clinic at the local drugstore near her home. I'd taken her for her flu shot, and we were waiting for her name to be called. I tapped her on her shoulder and I showed her the phone.

"Who is this?" I asked.

She squinted hard at the picture. I held it closer, since she didn't have her glasses.

Her eyes widened when she recognized the picture. She got excited, placing her fingers to her lips.

"That's me!" she hollered. "It's me!"

Then she burst into a fit of giggles.

I told her that Kari (my brother) had posted it on Facebook. I'm not even sure she know what "Facebook" was, but it was just a joy to sit and watch her reaction to seeing a picture of herself in her Sunday's best with her husband and two young children.

That was my blessing of the day, among others.

But for some reason it brought tears to my eyes.

I think it's because I miss my grandfather. He died some 13 years ago. He was always someone who was happy to see me. I think of those moments when I do something that pisses someone off and they act silly on me. (I know that don't make much sense, but it is my reality).

Or maybe it was just seeing the surprise and joy in my Grandmother's eyes. It was such a happy moment.

Whatever it was, it was good.

And it made for an excellent Veterans Day.

Happy Cinco De Mayo

To all ya'll going to eat tacos and drink tequila tonight... You're not Mexican.

Oh well. That's okay.

What I'm most concerned about is that you drink responsibly. If you must get wasted, do it at the house. If you get wasted at the Mexican restaurant, make sure there's a designated driver.

Don't drink and drive. Period.

Enjoy yourselves. And Happy Cinco De Mayo.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to you!

My Easter has been fine and dandy. For some odd reason, I've slept most of the day. Odd.

I cooked today! No not the whole traditional Easter spread of ham and all the fixings.

I cooked up some oatmeal for breakfast.

That looks good! Especially with the apple, strawberry, raisins, walnuts, and blueberries on top.

But wait. Something was missing.

Almond milk.

Now that was good. That was a great Easter breakfast.

That might be the reason I took two long naps today. Hmm.

Oh well... The day is still young.

Happy Easter!

Thank You, Veterans

Happy Mothers Day