NANA NOTES

ALWAYS EXCITEMENT AT COTTON BRANCH!!

There's a website here called "You know you live in Franklin County if".  This is one of those things!!  Ed has had a friend from Virginia here riding bicycles with him getting ready for the Ride the Rockies ride in June.  They have ridden every day and left to go on their ride on Tuesday.  Not to long after they left the phone rang.  Ed said, "we just met this guy at Fenn's riding a bicycle. I'm sending him to the house to take a shower and we're feeding him steaks for supper."  You know the next words out of my mouth!!  He convinced me it was ok and Ryan was here with me so we went to the barn and sure enough, there stood a nice looking young man with a bicycle.  His first words were, "you husband didn't call you."  I said that he did and we introduced ourselves.  We brought him up to the house, he took a shower and came down to visit with Ryan and me.  I asked him how he got here. He was riding from Chicago to Mobile.  My response was, "obviously no wife and no job!" He said, "understanding girlfriend and between jobs." Lawyer by profession he was changing firms and had talked them into a couple of months break. He usually hikes but decided to ride his bike to see if he could do it.  I can't remember his specific route but he had left Nashville and ridden the entire Natchez Trace to Natchez. What a beautiful ride that must have been!!!  He rode by day and camped out by night. He's ridden 50-60 miles a day except for Easter Sunday and one day that it rained all day.  I wonder what he thought when Ed and Jim turned around and asked him if he wanted to come here? He did say that it was an invitation too good to refuse. Matthew John McDonald, lawyer from Chicago and new friend of Cotton Branch!!  Linda got here before Matt left. She is never surprised at what goes on at the "Branch". She watched him pack his gear.  He had a sleeping bag, books, a small cook stove and clothes. He bought food and drinks as he rode. After gearing up Matt was ready to take off. I said my goodbyes and left for wound care. I couldn't watch him leave. He had been fed a great steak dinner, chocolate pie and homemade ice cream, a full Southern breakfast and given a Cotton Branch tshirt to remember us.  His next stop was Bogalusa, LA and then on to Fairhope, AL to see his Godchild that he'd never seen.  Our prayers go with you Matt McDonald!!  Without a step of faith we'd never had you in our life.  What a blessing we would have missed!!  God speed and safe travel!!  I hope we hear from you some day!!

Girlfriends Week!

Three weeks ago five of us escaped to the beach. There were three conditions for going--you could only take pajamas and movies and one outfit to wear out to eat for a celebration! The weather kept changing so we didn't know what to take anyway. Piper went with us an we loaded up to go. We left at 10:00 AM and got there in time for the AL/LSU game! Did I mention stopping at every Michaels and Hobby Lobby on the way? It rained all day Tuesday--very hard and then the cold came in. Not a problem for us--remember--pjs and movies! We had wonderful homemade bread, soups and salads--every meal a gourmets delight. In all we watched 12 movies, stayed up late, laughed until we cried and celebrated a birthday. Four of the five are cancer survivors, two have lost their husbands and we are all Christian ladies. Three of us go to the same church and are related (by marriage or by blood); the other two go to church together. Two of us have the same mother--we just don't know which one (figure that one out!!) we are all sisters in love and have a great time together. Until I find my camera I can't show you the girls but I can show you some of the food.  We bought cupcakes on the way down to have for dessert that night for the game.  I will entice you with the names--top to bottom, left to right:  lemon cream, strawberry, red velvet with vanilla buttercream, chocolate with salted caramel, carrot with cream cheese, and pound cake with vanilla buttercream. Good doesn't even begin to describe them!!     This is the wonderful tomato bisque that Pat makes.  The salad is my baby greens with pears, caramalized nuts and sweet tea vinagrette.  We enjoyed turnip green soup and corn bread one night. On Charlotte's birthday we went out to eat and I had Fried Green Tomatoes with crawfish sauce!!   They were better than delicious.  The movie "Joyful Noise" followed that meal and we ended with salad and baked potatoes for dinner.  I will not mention the Black Jack Cherry Frozen Yogurt we had several times during the week!!  Piper took good care of us during the week.  She loved posing in her new PINK halter.  She loves the beach because she gets to ride the elevator.  I still haven't found my camera.  I haven't been back to the beach and have attended two weekend scrapbook events. Talk about moaning!  I really hope it's at the condo!!

The girls had a great time and look forward to going back again soon. I look forward to blogging about my LAST weekly chemo treatment tomorrow!!  Talk to you soon.

 

FIRST OF THE SEASON!!

Youth season opened with a bang for Ben. He got a big bodied eight point.  He was in the stand way back behind the house and called to check with Ed if he should shoot. Papa gave the ''go ahead'' and I told him to open his bathroom window that we might could hear the shot.  A few seconds later "boom"!! Then the cell phone rings!!  Deer down.  That meant that we had tenderloin on Monday night with rice and gravy and biscuits!! A great early birthday supper for Ben!  Way to go, Ben!

THANKFUL THANKSGIVING

I'm going to have to steal Victoria's pictures because I didn't even have my camera on Thanksgiving day!!  We had a wonderful day with family and friends all day long.  The food was delicious and bountiful!  The guys hunted in the afternoon and four of us girls went to the "Meadville Mall" for a little retail therapy--our idea of Black Friday Eve shopping!!  What a blessed day we had and so thankful for everything!!

FED US PHEASANT!!

Ed and Jody went to South Dakota several weeks ago on a pheasant hunt.  You can see that they did well.  Jody had cooked some before and told us how to cook them.  Ed went shopping for all the supplies and fixed them for the Herring Bicycle Team.  Being prepped for the grill.  Peppers, onions, tomatoes, bacon, pheasant, pepperjack cheese and Italian dressing. Finished dish!!  They were "Phabulous"!!  None left to snack on the next day!!

Footnote:

Dr's visit went well.  Counts were up a little and CAT scan is planned for Monday. Dr. visit on Tuesday.  He considers me to be "stable". When we see the results of the CAT scan, he will decide on treatment changes if any.  I get next week off--yea!!

Please pray for Libby's mom, Eunice Norton.  She will be having hip replacement surgery on Wednesday of next week.  She is one of my "other mothers".  :)

THE SWEETEST GIFT!!!

 

I received a call today saying that someone had baked me something and wanted to bring it to me. When I heard who it was, I said, "I'm not eating it."  You have to know the story and the relationship to appreciate that statement! The person who baked it was Mary Lou Webb!  She doesn't even know where her kitchen is!! And--that was said with pure love!!  Mary Lou and I have always had our "kitchen jokes" and she always offers to "bring something" when needed.  I have never been touched so much to find out that she was concerned about me being sick and wanted to do something for me. That is the ultimate gift--doing something you don't ordinarily do.  She had it in a cute basket with tissue and ribbon.  I promise you, I've never been so deeply touched.  She and Rose sat and visited and we laughed and talked for about an hour. All of a sudden I realized this was a Monday and she had taken the day off.  I had a thought that maybe she's thinking of retirement with a new job in her sights--Mary Lou's Cooking School. Let me be the first to sign up!!  The banana bread is delicious and so appreciated.  In fact, I think I need a snack!!  Thank you, Mary Lou!!  I love the banana bread and I love you.

2011 ANNUAL DOVE HUNT WEEKEND

Our family has gotten so large that we pretty much keep our dove hunt weekend for family. Ed's cousin and his wife from Texas, our friends from TN, Ed's brother from TN and my brother and his wife from Petal along with our children and grandchildren and in-laws began arriving on Friday.  Even with having such a big house, it sure filled up fast!!  There was constant chatter and laughter and of course plenty of food.  Some of us went out on Friday night and had Mexican. That was a treat. On Saturday morning it was up early and out to the dove field for the men. Never mind that it was raining.  "Some of our best hunts have been in the rain." Famous saying!!  About 10:00 am when the hunters came in soaking wet and hungry this was waiting for them--a pile of bacon, hot grits, homemade cinnamon rolls, orange coffee cake and fresh fruit with juice, milk and coffee.  They needed some nutrition because after all, they had more work to do. The shishkabobs had to be prepared!

Since the beans, potato salad, desserts and appetizers had been prepared earlier, the ladies got to sit and visit!!  We certainly enjoyed that.  Of course, there was some ballgame watching!

    

We signed Kelsey's cast.  To bad she's getting it off soon. She won't be able to carry around Ed's art very long!

 

Sam spent the night with us and we went to church.  We filled a whole pew.

Vin and Cathleen from Houston, Texas.

  Vivian and Sam from Riceville, TN.

Ed and me--our first picture together in a while.
After a wonderful church service with communion, a delicious Sunday lunch and a short last visit, our house emptied and Ed and I took a nap.  A great Labor Day Dove Hunt weekend with friends and loved ones--family--all of them.  And what a welcomed addition--soft, sweet rain!!

 

2011 HONEY HARVEST

After a very busy and hectic week my afternoon was spent at the back barn bottling honey!!  I guess honey is kind of like corn--"when it's ready, it's ready". And a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do! Ed and the farm guys had worked so hard all morning, and after a lunch of grilled burgers, chocolate cobbler and homemade ice cream Sam and I went up to help.  Our job was putting the honey in the new plastic squeeze bottles.  Doing honey is a very messy job, but we got it done and it's rewarding to look at all those beautiful bottles of liquid gold!! 

This is Sam helping Papa empty the spinner.

 

 

 

 

Filling the jars is a tricky job! Your timing has to be just so.

 

 

All that's left to do is the labeling. We have our own label for the front and a nutrition label for the back along with one that says "I Love Honey". I'll post that when we finish.  We ended up with over 300 bottles.  Ryan said they would be showing up at the "Frog Pond" soon.  I will be taking some to the TOAD HOUSE for my booth!!  Get those biscuits ready!!

CAKE TASTING

These are the "tasting" cakes that Haleigh and Ryan tried for one of the tastings.  Who knew that choosing a cake could be so hard? After several bites it really gets confusing!!  I researched the web this week and found a recipe for one of the flavors we liked. I actually baked it for Josh's birthday. It tasted just as good as the one the baker made. I went to Hobby Lobby today and found myself looking at baking supplies--cake pans, coloring, cake stands, icing, decorating tools. What am I thinking?????  I think I'll leave the cake baking and decorating to someone else.  That's just like all my other hobbies--you have to have lots of STUFF!!

BLUEBERRY JELLY

Thanks to a breaker blowing today in the freezer room in our barn, we almost lost a lot of fruit and veggies.  Thanks to Linda and the boys who found it and called the electrician who came and fixed it. The blueberries in the door of a freezer had thawed so Linda brought them to the house and cooked them (not realizing that I would rather make jam than jelly).  When I got downstairs I had blueberry juice for days!!!  I strained it all and started making jelly.  There were only eight boxes of Surejell so I knew I would have to stop when I got through with that.  By 9:30 PM I was worn out and had 44 half pints of beautiful and delicious blueberry jelly made.  I still have three HUGE bowls of juice to finish.  As I posted on my Twitter--there will be CB Blueberry Jelly at the Toad House tomorrow.

 

I'm already thinking biscuits and butter with blueberry jelly!! Or the popovers in the new issue of MS Magazine with Blueberry butter!!  Company's coming--they'll be getting it! 
 

NEW YEARS DAY 2011

Today is one of my favorite days and I think it's because of the food!  I love the traditional black eyed peas, cabbage, cornbread meal with all the extras.  Today I fixed roast and chicken with rice and gravy, frozen salads, stuffed eggs and dessert to go with the peas.  Jennifer brought her wonderful guacamole and chips and cauliflower with cheese.  We have many funny stories that always surface on New Years Day that will never fade away. It's tradition!!  Some people wish they would just go away!  Here are some pics of the day.           

 

Peas cooked with Maw's silver dollar.           

Jennifer's favorite frozen salads. We finally remembered to get them out of the freezer.

 

Lemon Blueberry Bars--these were pretty good, but the Carrot Cupcakes were awful! Something I bought at Handworks that I won't be buying again!!                                       

 

           

 Josh and Victoria





Ryan and Haleigh--they'd already eaten one NY'sD lunch at MiMi's.

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 Bryden is as tall as I am and can just about take me down with a hug. He's the lovable one--you have to grab Hayden to get a hug!

 





 The gang getting ready to fix their plates.

 Jody and Ed

We wish everyone a wonderful, prosperous and healthy new year! Our year is going to be an exciting one with the addition of a new granddaughter-in-law and things we don't even know yet. I can't wait to see what God has in store for us!

 Nana and Papa--either before or after a wonderful lunch!   Tiffany and the girls were MIA and Jennifer never slowed up enough for me to catch her. She took pictures so I hope she posts them.

A LITTLE CHRISTMAS BAKING

How many guys do you know that would come in and help you bake Christmas cookies?  Sunday afternoon after the Bude Christmas program I was baking cookies. Ryan and Haleigh came over and helped me. Haleigh picked up my camera and took a few shots.  Gotta love those two. They are so precious and will do most anything for me. Haleigh decorated some too. Memories, yes and I love it!

He's doing pretty good with his sprinkles!

Now if we can just hide them until we get our trays made for our friends!

Merry Christmas!! 
 
 

 

SAM GETS A BUCK!!

Ed took Sam and the other boys deer hunting this afternoon. He dropped Ben and Graham off at stands and took Sam with him. I got pictures from Ed's phone showing them clowning around in the stand.  I guess that was before the hunting got serious!!  I got a text from Ed saying that Sam had killed a six point.  Pretty soon after that I got a call from Sam asking me if he killed a deer would I cook him some tenderloin.  I teased him and said if he killed one I might. He said he sure would like to have some deer meat for me to cook.  I couldn't help myself and I laughed.  I told him that Papa had already told me he had killed a deer and that I surely would cook it for him.  Ed later said that he was grinning from ear to ear!

 
  Tomorrow night we'll be eating tenderloin. Thanks to Sam for providing supper again! And he'll have horns this time to hang on the barn wall.

THANKSGIVING BLESSINGS INDEED!

The weather might not have been holiday weather but it didn't stop the Herring clan from getting together and having a wonderful day. My camera sat on the counter all day.  I got up early thanks to Ed and Sadie and put the turkey on to cook. I somehow managed to get everything else done on Wednesday so I crawled back in the bed and watched a Christmas movie and was served breakfast in bed when Ed came in from hunting. (Did I mention blessings??) Things started to pick up around 10:30 and I finished up just as everyone showed up. This Thanksgiving was as uneventful as any we've ever had.  The most unusual thing was Shirlee pulling Sam's tooth. It was hanging by a thread and she somehow got it and he didn't even know it. After it was over, he said, "I'm glad that's out. It was kind of agrivatin'." He got paid big time. 
Now all he wants for Christmas are his "two front teeth"!   Ed got up early on Wednesday and found the deer that he had killed the afternoon before. He somehow had missed it when he and the boys were looking for it.  Sadie tried to tell them but- - -  It was a nice deer and weighed over 200 pounds. Too bad he couldn't save it.  

While the guys and girls hunted this afternoon, Shirlee and I did our "Black Friday" shopping at Walmart. There was no one there.  We looked around a little bit and got a few items and came home just in time to welcome the hunters home and feed them.

Ben killed a coyote that spooked his deer and Graham killed the deer that Sam had wounded a few days ago. He let Sam claim the kill since he had already hit it. (Brothers can be nice sometimes.)

It's nice to go to bed with a comfortable, loved feeling knowing that you've had a wonderful day with family and awesome food. We are blessed beyond belief to have the things we have. When we said our blessing today we truly meant it.

Now let's get those ornaments on that tree!! 
 
 

 

#9 GETS #1

Saturday was opening day of youth weekend for deer hunting. I was attending a scrapbooking event and Ed called to say that Baby Sam had killed his first deer. He is the last (and youngest) of the grandchildren to kill a deer. I promised him I would cook it for him and I did that Monday night. My stuff was still packed up from the scrapping event so we used Ed's phone to take pictures. Here is our supper. 

 
Sam sat at the head of the table and after we said the blessing we all thanked Sam for providing such a wonderful dinner for us all.  He was very proud of himself and enjoyed telling us the story of his hunt.

 

HERRING GAS BIKE RACING TEAM PARTY 2010

Saturday was the annual HGC Racing Bike Team party. It's something they look forward to each year after racing season. They are like family to us and we enjoy having them. It's been fun to see them grow as a family with the addition of children and some with empty nest!  Ed did a great job of cooking chickens on the grill and the appetizers were devoured by everyone!  The guys and girls rode the Rangers all over the farm like kids enjoying the beautiful weather. We are truly blessed to have the opportunity to have these talented riders as our friends. Here are some pictures from the afternoon.

 

 

 

 

Last year we cooked a whole pig. They said nothing this year with heads or tails. Ed had trapped two coons and a possum that morning and told them that was the appetizers. No need to share what they said!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don't you just love those boots?

  

  

  

 

 

 

 











 

 

 Other than the appetizers, the Ranger riding, the visiting and the fun in general--dessert is their favorite thing.  After months of watching what they eat, it's all or nothing at the party. Thanks guys for a fun day! We look forward to next year. 

 

STRETCHING A BIRTHDAY!

Papa's birthday was Oct. 1; I cooked burgers on the grill for lunch and baked him a cake. Those that were here for lunch enjoyed it. On Saturday we went with Jimmi Lou and Phil to "Hot Tails" in New Roads, LA to eat "lupper" as Josh called it when he was little. Jimmi Lou's birthday is the day after Ed's. The drive down was enjoyable and we took the ferry across the river on the way home. Sunday after church we had most of the family for lunch. There was lots of talking and laughing and we planned another fun time together. I love it that the grandchildren are getting old enough to enjoy doing things together with us. Here are some random photos of the extended birthday. 
The waitress made this one on Jimmi Lou's phone because we didn't take our cameras.

Ed's crawfish poboy was way more than he could eat.  Their crawfish was awesome!!  As was their fried crab claws--and their catfish!!

Loading onto the ferry. It runs every fifteen minutes and it didn't take that long to load and get across.  It's been a very long time since I crossed a ferry. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed spending it with our friends.

Part of the "Sunday crowd".  We missed the ones who were not with us.

Now Papa has a camera to record his hunting trips that are coming up.

Josh cut this out with his saw. I'm impressed. I think I need one of those saws!!  Papa likes it. 
 
AND a new wallet since his has been washed twice lately!!  Isn't it fun to get things you really need???  Happy Birthday, Papa!!  Next year the government will give you a CHECK!! 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 

ANNUAL DOVE HUNT 2010

The Saturday before Labor Day is always the opening of dove season. This year the crowd is slim--well, not really, but the kill was awesome.  Over 500 birds!!  Wonder how many cases of shells that took?? I had all the fixings ready and all they had to do was put the shish kabobs together.  Breakfast was on the table when they came in.

This was the "killer crowd" that cleaned and readied the birds.  The guys in process of putting the shish kabobs together. We had quite a kitchen crew.  The girls went to town to The Toad House and supported the local economy while they did their work.

This guy was the "hunt master"!  I'm sure he did a great job putting people on good spots and having the area policed after the hunt!  Now we're just waiting for the cooking and eating!! 
 

 Can you believe this grill?  Almost 100 "dove kabobs"!!  The cooking crew did an awesome job!

It was actually cool under the trees while the doves cooked. Vivian and I put the finishing touches on the rest of the meal while the afternoon hunters finished up and the others gathered in.  The Lord blessed us with a beautiful day and a house full of friends and family to share the day.
 
 
 

SADIE GETS A BURGER!

After having spent a relaxing weekend at the beach Ed, Libby, Sadie and I were traveling home today. We had a very good "beach breakfast" and left the beautiful beach headed home.  I drove while Ed and Sadie held down the back seats. Libby sat up front with me and finished her book.  We usually stop in Hattiesburg at Back Yard Burger cause we're ready for "junk food" (and I really love BYB's!). We walked Sadie and watered her.  We all went in for our food and as we finished Ed said he thought he would get Sadie a burger. She has strange travel habits--she doesn't eat or drink much when she travels.  We went on to the car (which had been left running and locked so she wouldn't get overheated!!)and out Ed comes with her bag. He starts breaking off pieces of burger feeding it to her piece at a time.  My camera was in the back of the car but my phone would work.  Here is Sadie with her burger!! 

She loved her burger and slept all the way home.  And for the record--BYB is NOT "junk food"!!

BEACH SCENES 2010

Well, I can honestly say that we've done very little while at the beach-or should I say condo. The most sand I've seen has been between here and Cobalt where we've had dinner twice. If I had a job to go back to, I would be so rested and ready to get back to it!!  These pictures are just some I've taken without a reason really.  Ed and I have a game of making up stories.  There was a beautiful HUGE motor home parked at the condo.  As the people were leaving I snapped some shots--there was a driver, a man with two boys, a man and a woman with a baby.  Here's my version--the guy in the blue plaid shirt is a rock star and the woman with the baby is his wife.  The other guy plays backup and the guy with the two boys was the busy driver. The fact that he's the busy driver is real.

 
 
  Ok, we have bus, backup, wife and child, bus driver and now rock star! 

 As hard as I tried I could not get a shot of his face.  That was my story; Ed just said "megabucks"!!

Breakfast for Papa and me--our favoritebeach thing--bagles, bacon, fresh fruit, and homemade blackberry jam and homemade peach jam! 

 
Have to get Papa walking Sadie for one of her "daily's"!!  She really just likes to ride the elevator!!

  Always weddings on the beach. This was one of three this afternoon.  Gotta go take Sadie out. It's about time to come back to good ole Franklin County too!