So here's the short of it, 
I'm watching Antiques Roadshow.

And here's the long.

I love this show.  It just amazes me to watch the things that people have, to hear the stories behind how they came to have them, and to find out exactly what they might be "worth" - at least on the market today.

I do love these things that people bring.  What a look into the past of our country this show provides to the audience.  A few years ago Antiques Roadshow actually came to Chattanooga.  Here's a link to some of the items that were appraised in Chattanooga.

I think one of the things I really like about the show is that in addition to seeing lovely things and hearing interesting stories, I always learn some history that I didn't know about before.

Tonight I've seen a pre-civil war rifle made in New Haven, CT, where Shelley and family now live; a wooden sculpture from China probably done in the period that preceded the Ming dynasty; a viola that the man who brought it in thought was a violin; and these carved wooden folk art items that had been used in a German POW camp in the south - they indicated the various areas of Germany where the prisoners came from -- reminding me that there were nearly a half million German POWs in the United States.  Here's some information about that.

There was this great necklace that a young woman had inherited.  She thought it was a Tiffany piece --- and she was right!  She was so surprised at the value - maybe as high as $250,000.  She was advised to have it repaired and safeguard it.

Here's a really interesting article and the accompanying link to this particular appraisal.

So here's the short of it, 
Scalloped potatoes.

And here's the long.

We celebrated Valentine's Day early since everyone will be on crazy schedules when it does arrive.

One of my side dishes for tonight was a variation of the Pioneer Woman's Scalloped Potatoes. Our variation here is without meat.  But it didn't come out right!  Oh it had a good taste for sure, but it was awfully runny.  It's the first time I've made scalloped potatoes with a recipe that didn't use a roux. Mom asked me if I had soaked the potatoes -- well, I had.  Mom told me the soaking would have taken the starch out of the potatoes.  So there. But then when I checked the recipe again, I discovered that the recipe really did call for flour!

So I'm going to try this recipe one more time -- and I won't soak the potatoes and I won't leave out the flour!

So here's the short of it, 
What a lovely day with Mom and Aunt Joyce. 

And here's the long.

This morning was a great adventure.  First we made it out for a late breakfast at Wally's breakfast bar.  Dad's Gideon group met there on Saturday mornings and they have brown gravy!  The food was good; they kept the coffee coming; and we had great visiting.

On the way home we decided to stop at this Thrift Store that I really like just up the road.  It's called Second Blessings and is affiliated with a church/ministry that is actually right next door.  The couple that runs the business are just as nice as they can be.  Now this is a 2 story deal, and the basement is just full of furniture, which I love to look at!

Here are a few of the knick knack's that Mom brought home as a part of her haul!  We sure did get lots of laughs during the time we were there!  The fish bowl is Annie Cat's new water bowl.  Joyce thought she'd really have fun drinking out of the fish.  I thought that was pretty funny.  Joyce got several really nice things.  She said that it was the first time she'd ever been thrifting.  Her haul included a new lamp, a big crock pot, 2 really nice purses -- and some other things as well.  I managed to get home with a very small crock pot to use for some of my non food experimenting, and an old fashioned potato masher - a really good one.

We've decided that we really should do that again, so we'll see.  Maybe we'll hit different thrift stores next time!

So here's the short of it, 
Surprise visit!

And here's the long.

Mom called today and while I was in a meeting, and it was the end of the day before I had a chance to listen to her message.  And what a surprise.  Aunt Joyce had decided to come down for a visit.

So this evening, I had dinner with Mom and her baby sister!  Mom made us a great chicken casserole and we had such a great time getting caught up and visiting.  It's always such fun for us to compare teacher notes since she's been substituting for a couple of years now.  She's in such high demand -- and at a middle school! She gets to work as much as she wants.

We are going to try to get a little bit more visiting time tomorrow.  And for now -- it's Friday night and I'm heading to the bed.

So here's the short of it, 
Another early morning tomorrow!

And here's the long.

This has been a whole week of early mornings!  One more really early rise and getting out earlier than normal and this week will be over!  I've got a pretty hectic schedule tomorrow, so by the time the day is over maybe I'll be able to come home and stretch out and relax.  And I sure hope it works out that I'm able to sleep in on Saturday!

But for tomorrow it will be another really early rise.  So one more time - I'm going to hope that once I make it into my bed, I'll be able to fall off to sleep without too much trouble.

So here's the short of it, 
Maybe the groundhog was right.

And here's the long.

Over the weekend they brought the groundhogs out.  And from north to south the report was that the groundhog did not see his shadow so an early spring is on the way.  Here we had a beautiful spring like day and you could believe that it won't be long before coats will give way to light sweaters and the spring rains will bring on the blossoming trees and the crocus.  Of course there's that prediction of a great big blizzard heading to New York, so I don't know what they might be thinking about the groundhog's prediction!

But here in the south - we'll take those warm days.  I do wish we'd had just a few more really cold days to knock out some of the bugs. But we'll take what we can get.

So here's the short of it,
I hope you'll sing.

And here's the long.

Today I heard another conversation about singing - actually about not singing because of not having a good voice.  I didn't grow up in one of those singing all the time nuclear families.  But there was certainly music all around.  We never visited Mount Victory that there wasn't singing.  And then there were the car trips.  For many years we didn't have a car with a radio, so on our longer car trips there was always singing.  Mom and Dad might sing Barbara Allen or Running Bear, or maybe Dad would sing Here Ol Rattler Here.  Often we kids would just listen but sometimes we'd join in too.

Of course when we visited Mt. Victory, my Mom's side of the family, there would always be piano playing and singing.  Everyone sang - I remember singing at the little community church.  Grandpa would play the piano and everyone would sing. Back at home there might be cousins singing on the front porch or up in the grove.  And of course often the Aunts or Uncles would sing.  I have such a fond memory of Uncle Vernon and many cousins and Aunts and Uncles singing Danny Boy.

And then there was dinner time at the Howard house.  Frequently the blessing before our meal was a song such as God Is Great and God is Good or For Health and Strength which is the one that we still sing at my house.

So I guess here's the thing.  I want people to sing.  I don't really care if their voice is high quality concert level.  I don't even care if they can carry a tune.  I love the singing.  Of course I love to hear someone such as my cousin Daniel who has perfect pitch.  But I also love the little kid or the older man who's off key or a little flat but is singing enthusiastically and is so engaged in the song.  I love to hear a group singing the Star Spangled Banner and hear everyone strain for that high note.  I just love the singing.  I do know that a trained choir is an amazing sound, and I love to hear it.  But I love to remember those ordinary folks coming to the little church in Mt. Victory and singing praise and that was in its own way a really amazing sound too.

So around here we're going to sing - off key or not - we're going to sing.