New Addition to the Mangum Family

We now have a new grand dog in the Mangum family. Another rescue dog. Otis is now with his third owner, my daughter and her Winston Salem family. 

The kind of face that even a mother would find hard to like. 

Otis reminds me of Carl Spackler, the groundskeeper in Caddy Shack played by Bill Murray. 

Otis is about one and a half years old and a good companion for Sally, their other dog. 

Do You Like Bluegrass Music?

I like all types of music, but bluegrass is one of my favorites. When one of our classmates told me about a group that he knows that was to perform in Garner Thursday night, Becky and I decided to go. The name of the group was Diamond Creek and the venue was Lorraine's Coffee House and Music which happens to be about three blocks from where we lived for 30 years.

Lounge area inside Lorraine's. 

This photo showed part of the crowd of about eighty. The fellow sitting left center in the dark shirt is Elvin Johson, one of our favorite teacher's husband. He lives about two blocks away. Sorry I don't have a better picture of him. I did get a chance to speak with him and he seems to be doing fine.  

Does this classmate look like he might enjoy Bluegrass?

This is Diamond Creek. There is also a fiddle player standing to the left, a bass player and featured singer hidden by the guys up front. This is not a garage band. The music was good as you will hear anywhere. 

Lorraine's is a nice place to go if you are looking for a little something different to do. They also have good coffee (sorry, no alcohol). We picked up some former Garner neighbors and had dinner at T K Tripps before heading to Lorraine's. I think we all enjoyed the show and will likely return. 

If you like Bluegrass, you should give Lorraine's a try. You will need to check their website to see their live music schedule. 

http://www.lorrainescoffeehouse.com/

By the way, the featured singer, Emily Kirsch, is a freshman at Cambell and also attends the same Four Oaks church as Rex, Pat and Elvin. She is very good. Following is her website. 

 http://emilykirsch.com/                 

Yes, Angier has a Christmas Parade

The Anger Christmas parade was held on Saturday, December 6th. It was a typical dreary December day. Luckily, the rain held off to the very end of the parade.  Following are a few photographs .

There were two high school bands, Harnett Central and Triton. 

A few floats, most of which I would call the homemade variety.  Very nice. 

We had loud motorcycles.

Ronald McDonald.

The Dunn Clown where there. I think they were around when we were still in high school. 

I saw only one antique car. Too bad. 

One of the floats. 

Always the star attraction of the parade is Mr. and Mrs. Claus. 

Of course you always put the horses at the very end of the parade. No respectable marching band would want to follow a bunch of horses.

Another Classmate Turns 70

Friday night was Larry's time to celebrate his 70th and celebrate he did. Betty Jo had arranged a surprise birthday party for Larry at the Angier Depot. 

Larry and Betty Jo arriving. Larry claimed it was a complete surprise. 

They did a great job at decorating the Depot and setting up the tables. There were lots of people there. 

That's Larry in the center of the photograph. 

Great bluegrass band. 

You may recognize a few of the people. 

Complete with menu.  Betty Jo has set the bar very high. I'm not sure that the rest of our 69 year old classmates can live up to this standard. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LARRY,!!!  Way to go Betty Jo and friends. What a great party. 

Trimming the Tree

I got tired of fighting a real tree with its trunk that never would fit the stand. Every year we would spend hours searching for the perfect tree that was large enough to fit the space where we put our tree. Then there was the problem of getting the tree in the house and erecting it on a stand.  So when the artificial trees went on sale after Christmas, I bought this 12 foot monster for about $200. That was about eight years ago. It is beautiful and it has a perfect shape.  The only problem is that it weighs about a ton. It comes in six sections, but it is all we can do to put it together. 

Finally assembled and lights turned on. 

The only way we can put it together is to tie a rope to each section and for one person to go to the balcony and lift the section while the other stands on a 6 foot step ladder and guides each section into place. This is not something that a 69 year old should be doing. Well, we did get it up again this year and no one was injured. 

The next day we finished installing the ornaments. Not too bad for a cheap 12 foot tree.  I saw an 8 foot tree at Home Depot yesterday for $400.

Latest on the Winston Salem Grandsons

These days children have all kinds of activities that they can participate in. The latest for grandchildren Eamon and Brendan is fencing. They have always had Knerf swords and light saber toys around the house. They would take them to the beach where they would entertain us with their energetic sword fights. I  guess it was only a matter of time before they moved to the next level. 

Eamon with his equipment. Brendan refused to to put his gear on. 

I think this is called a lunge. 

Their dog Sally was not impressed. 

Brunswick Stew Day

When the weather turns cool in the fall, it is time to cook Brunswick stew.  My mother made the absolute best I have ever tasted.  She would make a big batch and freeze it so we could have it when we needed a fast meal.  

I found her long lost recipe last year and we made over 20 quarts in my grandmother's wash pot. That didn't last us very long. This year we doubled the recipe. I'm hoping to get 45 quarts. 

In the old days mother would can her vegetables and use them for the stew. Canning is not something we know or want to do. A quick trip to Sam's Club yesterday and we got everything we needed. Sure beats tending a garden and putting up all those vegetables. 

Grandmother's washpot cleaned and seasoned and ready to go. We also cheat here and use gas and not wood. 

Some of the items from Sam's ready for prep. 

 Beef ready for the pot, about 8 lbs. 

About 2 lbs of pork. 

4 large fryers. We cheated again and used boneless and skinless equivalent to save time. 

All the meat was added to the pot along with water and cooked. When done, the meat was removed from the liquid and the meat was allowed to cool. The vegetables were then added to the pot in the same hot stock. 

We prepped the carrots, onions, cabbage, potatoes and sweet pepper while the meat was cooking. This recipe also includes 4 gallons of crushed tomatoes, corn, butter beans and few secret ingredients. 

All of the meat was then shreded. We like it shreded rather than chopped. 

When the vegetables are partially done, the meat is added back to the pot along with salt and spices. Add the salt and spices in small amounts so as not to overdo it. 

Now sit back and relax. Let it simmer until you are satisfied with the taste. Total cook time is around 6 hours. The total time spent on the project was about 8 hours not counting putting it in the containers for freezing or the visit to Sam's. That seems like a lot of time, but that's enough stew for about 40 meals for the two of us.  I figure that this recipe costs $4.50 per quart. 

 

Look Who Turned 70 Today

This is the year that we start hitting the big "Seven Zero".  

Yearbook 1963. I think we all know who this is. 

51 years later at Tony's pig picking this spring. Not bad for a 70 year old. 

Why We Don't Have Babies When We Are Old

My 1 year old grandson and family are visiting this week from Tennessee. It so nice to have them here and it is especially nice to have a baby in the house again.

Is it me or are little ones more active than they used to be?  It may be that it is just a lot harder to chase these little tots around when you are approaching 70. Little Levi is not yet walking but he sure can move. If you don't watch him constantly, he will be into something he is not supposed to do. Unfortunately our house is not childproofed so we have to watch at all times. 

Playing in the park after voting last Tuesday. 

At our house in the basket of balls with Teddy. 

Making a fast break for the dog's dish. I caught him just in time. 

Levi loves his dog Gypsy.  Gypsy is about my age in human years. She too has slowed down, but she is very good around Levi. 

Another Item Off the Bucket List

The real reason we went to Pennsylvania was to visit Amish Country.  We were not disappointed. We booked a guide who gave us a personal tour of the area as well as a visit to one of the Amish homes.  As you probably know, the Amish do not allow photographs, so out of respect I did not take any. We were able to visit the farm and meet the wife in the home. 

It was an great education. There are Amish and Mennonites in the are area. There is a difference between the two. But to most of us, we would consider them small. Basically the Amish are more conservative.  

There is lot to be said about living a simple life, but I doubt that many of us could do it.  Could you go without electricity, television, automobiles, etc. I doubt it. I know I couldn't. 

The area is beautiful. Prettiest farms I have ever seen. These people know how to take care of the land. 

After the tour, we took an Amish buggy ride through the countryside where I did take a few pictures. 

You can tell the Mennonites because they have electricity running to their house. 

They had a good soy bean crop which was ready for harvest. 

If you have never been to Amish Country, give it a try.  I enjoyed it and I think you will too.

Can Tick Two Things Off the Bucket List

We went with friends to Pennsylvania this week for a little R and R. Monday included trips to Gettysburg and Hershey. 

We had never been to the battle ground and we weren't disappointed. 

They show a film in the visitor's center which also houses a cyclorama. Both were excellent. 

Photo of the part of the 360 degree cyclorama.  

One of the many monuments at the cemetery. 

The Gettysburg Address was made at the dedication of the cemetery. 

Becky and our friends from Garner friends. 

Me lighting off one of the cannons. 

Later in the day we drove to Hershey to visit Chocolate World. 

Got my chocolate fix and bought candy for the grand kids. 

Two down and many to go.