Carie's Cooking Corner!: Oreo Balls

Carie's Cooking Corner!: Oreo Balls

Found some really interesting recipes here...:)

Burning off Thanksgiving Calories

I transplanted the banana plants from the drainage ditch into my big flower bed. The daffodils are starting to come up, and Bermuda grass from the lawn has slithered into the flower beds. While not totally familiar with all the local plants (or even the ones I have planted) I think I mostly removed all the weeds and left most of the good stuff.







Mom weeding her flower beds. I hope at 91 I will still be able and willing to take on such a big project.











You know you might be a Redneck if you burn your lawn instead of mowing it. :) (What telephone pole??)











Ron cleaning oak leaves out of the gutters. Many more to come. Our leaf season is just beginning.













Dick blowing oak leaves from the patios onto the lawn for mulching with the mower.

Boating on Lake Eufaula

We like to make every outing a real adventure.

Hornets had found the holds on the boat, and we spent two days getting them out and the boat cleaned. The boat hadn't been run for months and it wasn't running too good, so David was keeping it kind of close to the dock. I went down to take a picture, and they all decided to come back to the dock to see if I wanted to go with them. They were going to take the boat down to the State Park and fill the gas tank. I said "no, thanks," but then they told me no one knew how to get to the State Park, so I said I would run down there with them to show them where to turn. It was a nice sunny day and I was just in jeans and a tshirt. I didn't have any coat, but didn't think about it being colder on the water until we were well underway.

I asked David how much gas we had, and he said the gauge was reading "less than zero." We decided to stop at Pataula Creek, as it was closer than the State Park. All of us were a bit worried we could make it there without running out of gas, but we got there with the boat still running, although a bit ragged.

As soon as we came to the boat ramp, we realized there was no gas pump on the dock. We had already discussed money, and realized that only Dick had any money with him, so he and I started to walk to the gas station/convenience store and see if we could buy some gas. Of course we didn't have a can with us either. :(

It was about a quarter mile to the station, and about half way there, I realized that Dick wasn't with me. I had found a ratty old jacket in the hold and put it on when we were underway. The mud dauber wasps had made nests on it, but I had picked them off, but I still looked like a hobo.
So I presented myself with no ID, no money, and looking like a real vagrant. The station owner was very kind and agreed to loan us two 5 gallon gas cans and fill them at the station, and would even drive us back the boat. I still had to find Dick to pay for the gas, but at least we weren't going to have to paddle 6 miles home.

Meanwhile, Barb was finally convincing Dick that I might need money for the gas, so he headed up to the station. As he was leaving, Mom shouted at him, "DICK, DICK" when he looked around to see what she wanted, she said "Bring me some chips!" Mom always knows how to focus on what is really important!

By the time we reached our dock, the sun was setting and it was getting dark and cold and Ron was wondering where on earth I had disappeared to.....but I did have my pictures.






And we were back at the dock before the sun set.



I

Recharging Solar Batteries

It was a nice fall day here in Georgia.

My brother, David, and his wife, Barbara, are here from Washington.

Neighbors, Bobbie and Rey, came over to say "welcome back to Georgia."

Dentists

Years ago, I had the best dentist on earth. I found her quite by accident from an ad she placed in the local newspaper in Port Charlotte, FL. She was all about prevention and introduced me to the waterpik, which I have used faithfully since. Then when I went back to see her when we returned to our winter home in Punta Gorda, a very young man came in and began my examination. When I asked where Dr. Martin was, his assistant told me that she had been found murdered in her home a few months back and the new doctor had bought her office. I was still reeling from this information when the new doctor started preaching gospel to me while my mouth was full of stuff and I couldn't even protest. I canceled the appointment I had made for my husband and we again had to look for a dentist.

When we settled into our new home in Bainbridge GA, we took the recommendation of our friend and went to her dentist in Quincy, FL. Although the office was somewhat disorganized, we liked the hygienist that did our cleanings, and things went fine for a couple of years. Then we recommended this dentist to my parents when my stepfather had a dental problem. They spent several days sitting around the dentist's office to get his work done. They drove several times all the way to Quincy, which was over 100 miles one way. His plate was misordered, then made incorrectly, and they sat around the office many times for an entire day while they waited to be helped.

Two days before my annual cleaning appointment last year, I lost a filling in a molar. I called the dentist to see if I could get the molar fixed when I was in for my cleaning. I emphasized that I did not want to be left sitting in the office all day and if they couldn't do it on my cleaning day, I could make other arrangements. The office manager assured me they had plenty of time and could do all the work at once.

We got to the office and my cleaning went well.......then the dentist came in with a big scary needle and gave me three shots in the roof of my mouth and left me to wait for my mouth to get numb. I felt my mouth get numb, number, less numb, and finally not numb at all, and I was STILL waiting! Finally I told her assistant that my novacaine had worn off!! She said, "Don't worry, we have MORE!" omg! I sat there stewing for a few more minutes and then took off my bib and stormed up to the front desk saying I was leaving and to cancel any appointments she had made for me. They immediately rushed to give me another three shots, fix my molar and send me on my way.

The dentist told me it was because she had a very important phone call she had to take from an insurance company!! The fact that I have no insurance and pay immediately when I get treated apparently is worth less than when they get paid by insurance. I went home fuming determined to write the dentist, the American Dental Association, the Better Business Bureau, and spread this experience across the internet. However, after our 100 mile drive home where I thought about it, I just decided to take the high road and let it go.

Then yesterday I received a "friendly reminder" postcard from the dentist, reminding me of my appointment on December 1!! This brought back the entire experience, and caused me to toss and turn and plot most of the night, so here is my "dental blog!!"

An Alabama Bingo Parlor

Lots of things are different down here in the South than what we see at home. For instance, does this look like a bingo parlor to you?

If you look closely at the picture on the far left, though, you will see the bingo card. :)

This "bingo parlor" is bigger than any casino I have ever seen. They just completed a huge hotel in a completely different building. The main building has four or five wings - I have never seen all of it, and I have spent a fair amount of time here. :) We started seeing billboards for it a hundred miles away showing people who have won $500,000 or more!

It is located on I-85 at Shorter, Alabama, about 20 miles East of Montgomery.