Tag Archives: southern

Bu++ Bites Build Gristle

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It’s like this – the gander that was flapping my face, back and legs…

…while simultaneously biting blood blisters on my little three-year-old derriere didn’t know he was contributing to my future female assertiveness.

And being left alone in trees by older cousins while they went to play games assuredly built my self-reliance.

How did I get all this country-flavored therapy?

By being reared in a farm atmosphere with a pack of heathens for cousins, that’s how!

Descending upon Grandma and Granddad’s farm every summer made my cousins and me wacky. Throwing our shoes and socks over our shoulders, we screeched with pure, wild summer madness.

My gristle got a good start during those summers.

I was the youngest, shortest and most sensitive of the cousin pack *actually, they called me bawl-bag* which swelled in number from six to sixteen throughout the summer.

Our fun was simple in those days – we just created our own.

Running wild and barefoot, teasing Heir Gander (the baddest guy on the farm) and not minding our elders were outstanding activities.

Of course, not minding always resulted in a lesson on branch cutting (for switches) and a character-building session involving our gluteous maximi immediately thereafter.

Challenging Gander to a mad race across the barnyard was forbidden. And thrilling. Except for me. My legs wouldn’t get me very far before I was missing in action. A little wing whipping before being rescued by the cousins was worth all the grass-rolling hilarity that followed.

One day, Gander snapped.

Possessed by Hitler, Gander went for blood…

…and I was his victim.

Hair-raising screams brought a rescue unit of five or six wild-eyed adults.

After Heir Gander was slightly reconstructed by my hysterical mom, I experienced a grit-building event. My mom, with multiple pairs of cousin eyes staring, pulled down my shorts to inspect the gander bites. Snickering, then outright peals of laughter, filled the morning air.

That’s when I cried. Hard.

My strength was building!

Other times, when my cousins grew tired of babysitting me, they left me in a tall tree and told me to hold tight and be sure and not fall.

Hanging on for dear life—I’m afraid of heights to this day—I squalled until they came back. When they did, I was the center of attention. Merrily swung onto a pair of shoulders, I was teased, joked and promised games and stories. They even meant it.

I was all giggles when we returned to the farmhouse. Any notice of my red eyes or purple face was attributed to the heat and my allergic problems.

Experiences like these were difficult; but I’m glad I went through them and others later on. Why? Well, I have a theory:

A little grit in your craw makes life’s toughest tidbits easier to swallow.

Did you have any childhood experiences that “toughened” you up for later? We’re dying to hear about them!

(See Original Article)

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Of course, a visit isn’t a visit without a two-way conversation. I really want to hear from you.

I truly hope you’ll pick up a copy of my novel Silki, the Girl of Many Scarves: SUMMER OF THE ANCIENT. The print version is on sale at Amazon for only $9.85!!! For your convenience, it’s also available for Kindle, the Nook and for most other eBook readers. If you love the Southwest and kooky little characters that make you laugh aloud as authentic danger and mystery swirl at every turn, you’ll love this novel! The second book in the series, CANYON OF DOOM, debuts in early 2013.

While you’re here, please have a look around my website. To sign up to receive notices of my new blogs, recipes, appearances and media news, just leave your email address above. I’ll take care of the rest. Y’all come back soon…I miss you already!

Chicken Tortilla Casserole

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Painting

  • 2 large chicken breasts w/skin and bone
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 to 3 cloves fresh garlic cloves
  • 2 Tbls. olive or canola oil
  • 1 can chopped green chilies
  • 1 sm. bottle of pimentos
  • ½ cup chopped black olives, optional
  • 1 can Cream of Mushroom soup, undiluted
  • 1 can Cream of Chicken soup, undiluted
  • ½ lb. + 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
  • ½ lb. Velveeta cheese, cubed
  • 1 dozen corn tortillas
  • 2 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. black pepper, optional

Boil chicken breasts in a heavy pot with water, bay leaves, salt and pepper until done. Cool slightly. Cut and pull the meat into very small pieces, carefully removing all bones. Reserve 1 cup of the chicken broth. Sauté onion in oil. Don’t overcook. Add chicken broth, both cans of soup, green chilies, pimentos, black olives, Velveeta cubes and black pepper to taste. Stir over low heat until cheese melts. Butter a medium casserole dish. Line the bottom and sides with corn tortillas. Layer chicken pieces, shredded cheddar and cheese sauce. Add more tortillas and continue layering until all ingredients, except one cup of shredded cheddar cheese, are used. Finish with sauce. Cover top with remaining cheddar. Bake at 350-degrees until bubbly.

Comment:  My mother, Vivian Woods-Myrick has been making this casserole for almost as long as the Israelites wandered in the desert. Everyone thinks it’s yummy!

Comment:  Vivian suggests using a shallow glass pan for the casserole to distribute the heat better.

 

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Of course, a visit isn’t a visit without a two-way conversation. I really want to hear from you.

I truly hope you’ll pick up a copy of my novel Silki, the Girl of Many Scarves: SUMMER OF THE ANCIENT. The print version is on sale at Amazon for only $9.85!!! For your convenience, it’s also available for Kindle, the Nook and for most other eBook readers. If you love the Southwest and kooky little characters that make you laugh aloud as authentic danger and mystery swirl at every turn, you’ll love this novel! The second book in the series, CANYON OF DOOM, debuts in early 2013.

While you’re here, please have a look around my website. To sign up to receive notices of my new blogs, recipes, appearances and media news, just leave your email address above. I’ll take care of the rest. Y’all come back soon…I miss you already!

Jodi’s Black-Eyed Peas

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Black-Eyed-Peas

  • 1 lb. dried black-eyed peas
  • Salt pork (1- or 2-inch piece)
  • 1 med. diced onion
  • 2 cloves fresh garlic pulp (don’t slice)
  • 1 stalk celery, sliced
  • ¼ to ½ cup carrots cut into small chunks
  • ¼ bell pepper, diced
  • 1 can Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies. For slightly spicy, use ORIGINAL. Otherwise, use MILD.
  • 4 cans chicken broth, or use water
  • 2 Tbls. chili powder
  • Black pepper and salt to taste
  • 2 cups cubed, cooked ham

Prepare black-eyed peas: Pour dried peas onto a flat surface. (Note: I use the kitchen table, using my hand to scrape the cleaned peas into a colander in my lap). Rinse under running water. Put into a heavy 6 qt. pot.

Add salt pork, onion, garlic, celery, carrots, bell pepper, can of Rotel and the broth or water. Add enough liquid to cover peas plus 2-4 inches of liquid above the peas, depending on how “soupy” you want them. They will swell somewhat as they cook, but not as much as pinto beans. Stir. Add chili powder, lots of black pepper, and start with 2 or 3 tsp. of salt. As the peas soften, taste and add salt as needed. Use less salt if using a chicken-broth base.

Bring to a boil, uncovered. Reduce heat. Cover partially and simmer about 25 to 30 minutes. Stir and check often for desired softness. Don’t overcook. Add ham, heat through and serve. Delicious with corn bread. Happy New Year!

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Of course, a visit isn’t a visit without a two-way conversation. I really want to hear from you.

I truly hope you’ll pick up a copy of my novel Silki, the Girl of Many Scarves: SUMMER OF THE ANCIENT. The print version is on sale at Amazon for only $9.85!!! For your convenience, it’s also available for Kindle, the Nook and for most other eBook readers. If you love the Southwest and kooky little characters that make you laugh aloud as authentic danger and mystery swirl at every turn, you’ll love this novel! The second book in the series, CANYON OF DOOM, debuts in early 2013.

While you’re here, please have a look around my website. To sign up to receive notices of my new blogs, recipes, appearances and media news, just leave your email address above. I’ll take care of the rest. Y’all come back soon…I miss you already!

Mules Don’t Drool

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Do Mules Rule?

Mules

Grand Canyon mules dressed and ready for work

Of Course! They were “the bomb” before tractors were invented. Especially for farmers who couldn’t afford farm equipment. Imagine trying to transform acres of rocky, tree-infested soil into bountiful crops without mules and their relatives!

Mules STILL RULE for many farmers of today. Especially with the Amish who, shunning contemporary machinery, depend on thousands of mules for plowing their fields.

Mules are the offspring of a female horse and a male donkey. Inheriting the endurance of their donkey fathers, they are generally considered stronger than horses. They are faithful, hard-working animals asking only for food and water for survival.

John Wice, mule expert and rescuer, says mules are easy keepers. “They tend to be more sure- footed than horses, aren’t picky eaters, and are often good watch dogs over their own territory. They have a definite dislike for coyotes – they’ll run them off,” he says.

Wikipedia says mules are the animals of choice in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, where at least sixteen commercial mule pack stations continue to operate.

When the going gets tough (steep, narrow trails),

precarious (carrying tourists in and out of the Grand Canyon),

or danged-near impossible (accessing/supplying mountain base camps)…

people need mules!

Are Mules Merely Beasts of Burden?

This may surprise you, but equine trainer and competitor Audrey Goldsmith and her six-year-old mule, Porter, enter English Dressage Classics all the time. As Porter racks up the ribbons, he and Goldsmith are changing opinions about mules everywhere they compete.

Goldsmith claims mules are extremely trainable and are as eager to please their owners as dogs. “They’re like rideable border collies,” she says. Further, they keep their heads better when they’re scared. Instead of running until they drop or their owner gets control, a mule will run a short distance and stop. He senses the danger is over, and he quits freaking out.

Sadly, mules are forbidden to compete in most hunter and jumper competitions. Chalk it up to old-fashioned paradigms and the fact that a few flighty horses really are terrified of mules.

Why do mules scare certain horses? Maybe it’s their longer ears flopping about like unattached carrots as they trot or run. Or perhaps some of the horses sense their owners’ sanctimonious attitude toward these so-called “lesser” equines.

The U.S. Dressage Federation is an exception to the rule. They allow mules to compete right along with the horses in Dressage.

Same rules. Same penalties. Same rewards. You know…fair and equal treatment.

But wait, there’s more…

Mules Barrel Racing

Besides gulping down Philly cheese steaks, hamburgers, onion blossoms, kettle corn or hot apple fritters at the annual Mule Mania event in Dayton, Washington, this July 10-22, you can watch mules in cattle events, barrel racing, English dressage, obstacle drives and even a Fast Ass Express Relay Race!

Washington isn’t the only state in love with these hybrids. California, Oregon, Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico, Colorado, Tennessee and many other states have their own Mule Days celebrations.

Mule Days started in 1840 in Columbia, Tennessee. In fact, Columbia claims to be “The Mule Capital” of the world. Their mule celebration is a four-day event attracting more than 200,000 people.

Mules

(l-r) Vivian Myrick, Red Myrick

My late step-dad, Red Myrick, a distinguished equestrian, trained two miniature mules for bird- hunting trips. Those little sure-footed cuties walked behind him and my mom in the field as quiet and humble as could be. When my parents stopped, the mules stopped, too. When they started walking, their mules did too.

Red sure liked his mules, except for the time he had a couple white ones hitched to a small work cart and they took off running. One took the right side of an oak tree, and the other chose the left side. Using the control of a fighter pilot on a war mission, Mom suppressed her laughter until she was sure 1) Red was alive and didn’t need paramedics, and 2) she was safely locked away in her own bathroom. Then she let the snickers rip.

To this day, she can’t tell that story without hee-hawing!

I’ll be sharing more mule facts and stories in future blogs. It’s my small way of extolling the virtues of these fine, worthy animals.

I think they deserve it.

Do you own a mule, donkey or burro? Tell us about it!

 

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Of course, a visit isn’t a visit without a two-way conversation. I really want to hear from you.

I truly hope you’ll pick up a copy of my novel Silki, the Girl of Many Scarves: SUMMER OF THE ANCIENT. The print version is on sale at Amazon for only $9.85!!! For your convenience, it’s also available for Kindle, the Nook and for most other eBook readers. If you love the Southwest and kooky little characters that make you laugh aloud as authentic danger and mystery swirl at every turn, you’ll love this novel! The second book in the series, CANYON OF DOOM, debuts in early 2013.

While you’re here, please have a look around my website. To sign up to receive notices of my new blogs, recipes, appearances and media news, just leave your email address above. I’ll take care of the rest. Y’all come back soon…I miss you already!

Ya’at’eeh and Howdy! Sure nice of you to stop by…

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Since this is the first blog of the rest of my life…

…can we pretend we just met at a backyard barbeque and we’re hugging a couple of those aluminum chairs crisscrossed in greenish-blue nylon straps and we’re small talking to get to know each other?

What’s that? You don’t like the heat? All right, hon. Get yourself up and follow me—we’re going inside. Have a seat on that big ‘ol fluffy sofa and make yourself at home. I’ll go get us some tea.

Do you want Navajo tea, Sassafras tea, Sweet tea or Texas-style tea?

Iced TeaDark or light?

Hot or cold?

Cup or glass?

Real sugar or sweetener?

A little cinnamon?

Cream?

Dash of chocolate?

Now isn’t that funny? I just reminded myself of why I’ve started this blog. Did you know life is like a 16th Century English Sampler?

A few hundred years ago, Samplers were greatly treasured for their different needlecraft styles and the mixture of threads used in creating elaborate art with needles. Women spent a lifetime collecting stitch examples and patterns.

English SamplerWhat does that have to do with a blog? Well, a blog, unless it’s about a specific subject like writing or pickling beets or whatnot, can be a sampling—or collection—of one’s life journey.

Recently, I had an epiphany. I could write novels (fiction) and write a blog (non-fiction) from the Sampler of my Life – thus satisfying both sides of my little brain. That way, my life would continue gathering illustrious EMBROIDERED stitches not only from my own adventures, but also from experiences my readers share with me.

Who am I, and why am I talking?

Ten-second tour: I grew up on an Arizona ranch with an Okie mom, brothers, cowboys, Angus and Hereford cattle, horses, chickens, and an eclectic mix of Native American and Hispanic friends. I fell in love with everything southwest and southern, and I weave those elements into every facet of my life.

If we share blog time together, what will we talk about?

Since I grew up next door to the Navajos, I like sharing interesting things about their culture, art and sense of humor. We’ll talk about country topics too, everything from windmills to fried okra to Buck Brannaman.  Then there’s stuff like crazy cakes, king snakes, growing jewelry and Spanish treasures. It’s all southwest and southern – a literal gold mine of sparklers waiting for us to explore.

Speaking of gold mines – you’ve heard the ghost stories about the Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine in the Superstition Mountains, haven’t you? Spooky! We’ll dig into some of the best lore about it one of these days.

So back to my earlier offer of tea…what’s your favorite kind? Do you know which soft drink used to have sassafras root tea in it?

Hang out with me and you’ll find out why my granddad made us all drink sassafras tea in the spring and about his personal cure for snakebite. Works, too. Saved my mom’s life when she was five years old.

So…come back often. We’ll put the little pot in the big pot, brew up some coffee or tea and have ourselves a grand ole time!

 

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Of course, a visit isn’t a visit without a two-way conversation. I really want to hear from you.

I truly hope you’ll pick up a copy of my novel Silki, the Girl of Many Scarves: SUMMER OF THE ANCIENT. The print version is on sale at Amazon for only $9.85!!! For your convenience, it’s also available for Kindle, the Nook and for most other eBook readers. If you love the Southwest and kooky little characters that make you laugh aloud as authentic danger and mystery swirl at every turn, you’ll love this novel! The second book in the series, CANYON OF DOOM, debuts in early 2013.

While you’re here, please have a look around my website. To sign up to receive notices of my new blogs, recipes, appearances and media news, just leave your email address above. I’ll take care of the rest. Y’all come back soon…I miss you already!