Only Two Things That Money Can't Buy...

True Love and Home Grown Tomatoes. One thing I will say about this summer. We got true love and homegrown tomatoes. They are not coming in quantities enough to can, but what comes in are mighty tasty!

Today's lunch:BLT with Texas Okra pickles and our newest favorite pickle-Wickles.

Most are small, but yesterday I picked a beefsteak sized tomato. It just cried out to be made into BLT, so I had to do it, and I'm glad I did. Marcia is taking the small ones to the veggie dryer and has plans for sun dried (well, food dryer dried) tomato tapanade. I've had her homemade tapanade and I am very supportive of her endeavors. I'm kinda thinking, "Gazpacho". We have homegrown jalipenios (sans salmonilla) too-well, maybe one.

Stella helped me pick tomatoes last night, even though it had been a hard day for her. Her eye has been looking irritated, and she keeps trying to scratch it-not an easy thing to do for a short legged dog. So, off to the vet for the regular yearly checkup and intervention for the eye. Since her life is rather sedate most days, a trip in the car to a place where lots of dogs have left calling cards is quite exciting for her. However, once on the table, rude things happen. She was so out of sorts with "the violator" that she would not accept the offering of a yummy liver smelling treat.

I have to say that she is the best dog ever in all catagories, and that includes compliance at the vet. The doc was able to do all sorts of things to her eye, and she seemed fine with it. It must be said that she was sitting down during all of these eye treatment procedures. Perhaps in her mind, it was a good trade off. We went home with a bag full of meds and med giving treats. She doesn't give Marcia any trouble, but then, we all know the difference between giving medicine to a dog versus a cat. Still, goo in the eye is another matter.

So, when it came my turn to Glof her last night, with the sky making cracking noises, I decided to let her freeload the whole way, and she let me pick tomatoes without any fuss. That's true love!

KG

Hungarian Rapsody

We heard from our friend, Kristina. Regular Empty Cage Blog readers will remember that we stayed in her flat in Budapest May 2007. She has made progress in her renovations. The new toilet sits where the old tub used to be. She tells us that the new fixture is a combined toilet bidet, but looks like something you might want to be careful with.

I wonder if it might function like the paperless toilet Hilda was telling me about. They are all the rage in Japan-70% of households have one. They are also making a hit in Great Britain, but I cannot find a dealer in the US. As a person with two septic tanks by a pristine river, it seems like a good choice. We also know that our next septic dig will be uphill and require a pump (x2) so paperless makes sense. Still, I would like to try it out first.

Anyway, we are thinking that Kristina knocked out a wall to put this shower in. Well worth it!

We are hearing about the kitchen renovation, but no photos yet. Some things did not get done quite as she had in mind. Isn't this always the story of rennovations, and particularly when one is not on site in the process. Still, we cannot wait to see the kitchen.

Look where she and her cousin, Julia got to visit. The Adriatic.

Makes me just want to pack my suitcase!

KG

Summmmmmmmmertime

I'm not telling you the temps or humidity. Waaaaaay too oppressive. So far, at the risk of speaking too soon, we are out of the direct path of hurricanes.

We went out for lunch today. Cheryl and Hilda called us as they were passing through Dunnellon. We ventured out. Many of you know the distance from the kitchen foyer door to the car (in the carport). Just stepping in the foyer was challenging, but that treck to the car was brutal. We made it, and I started the car as soon as possible to get the AC going. It was a lovely lunch. Otherwise, why go out????

After lunch, I ventured out to pinch the blossoms off the coleus. If you pinch the blossoms off, they will put all their energy into the leaves, which, after all, if the point of the coleus. The mosquitos are not out in droves at 2:30pm; only pods. I was able to accomplish my pinching and swab my legs with amonia so the bites only itched for about an hour.

Stella and Marcia are in from their evening Glof. Stella ambles, with tongue lolling and panting to my chair. In the mornings, post Glof, she bounds in with wet underbelly. Tonight, she just flops down and has little interest in moving. I think Marcia is brave to go outside at all. After my morning teeth brush on the bathroom porch, I am content to stay inside.

There is the almost constant flotilla on the river. It is really lovely from my computer chair.

I am mostly in the 19th century. Frosts and summer heat come and go. Today I found a Mama for Uncle Jasper's children. Quite a coup. Uncle Amon's journal names her, Sallie A Maxwell, and, to my surprise, I find her remarried in the 1870 census (Uncle Jasper died in the war). She has married a Benjamin Draffen born in North Carolina. I find him in 1860 in Decatur County, Georgia, the home of my Griffin relatives. I wonder if Draffen is really Griffin in some census taker's mishearing or handwriting. I have a passport photo of one of Sallie's and Jasper's children-as an adult about my own age. I wonder how I would like to be "found" by generations in the future and identified by my passport photo. Not much, I think.

I have listed our house for exchange on intervac.com. I am hoping for an exchange in Great Britain next summer. I am thinking May and June, but then they say that "mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun", so maybe I shouldn't limit myself.

The French are visiting my listing in (comparative) droves. Maybe they, like me, like to look at what people offer. I amuse myself reading the offerings. The west coasters (US and Canada) always mention that they have an espresso machine. I think this is a plus, but nobody else, including me, seems to feel it necessary to mention espresso machines. Maybe if I mention the electric tea kettle, I'll get more British hits.

So, that's how it is for summer this year. If you want more action and lovely photos with your blog, we refer you to the blog of T&T, coasttocoast-ontheroadagain.blogspot.com/ Love the Gannets!

KG

Family Finds

I have been up to my goozle in family this summer. I am told that even early morning is sauna like outside, so I hop in the computer chair and travel through time.

Last weeks traveling was rather rocky. I was reading Uncle Amon DeLaughter's journal and Cousin Essie Mae Washington William's book, Dear Senator. I found that both were referring to the same people and families-DeLaughters, Days, Butlers, Thurmonds. Read the history of South Carolina and find them in the state and federal legislatures and the governers mansion. I still haven't tracked the Tillmans down to know if they are cousins, or if the DeLaughters so admired "Pitchfork" Ben Tillman that they named children after him. Perhaps both. At any rate, these forebears enjoyed the prosperity slavery brought them, resented the intrusion of Reconstruction, and established the ideology and practices of Jim Crow which guaranteed them political power till this day. Rocky, bloody road!

I am grateful to Cousin Essie Mae for sketching out the history of the family, and providing her unique perspective on Cousin Strom. Since her mother's family were slaves of the Butlers, it seems quite possible that she is, like many of us, multiply related to each other and ourselves. Her desire to join the DAR and the United Daughters of the Confederacy, however, is quite beyond me. That desire to be recognized as aristocracy seems a sad mimic of European monarchy and what the ancestors came over here to avoid...possibly.

I believe I have stated that I am not particularly fond of history, but thinking about the motivations and decisions and reactions that have lead to my existence is holding my interest. I confess to a touch of narcissism here-perhaps a genetic trait. So, I began to search the people in Uncle Amon's journal and ended up indexing it. Well, up to page 56, so far. Mrs. Elizabeth Sim's book on the history of Madison County (Florida, of course) is also filling in some gaps, and occasionally sends me to Elmer's Genealogy Library webpage to see if he has the books she mentions in his collection. Often he does. This will mean another trip to Madison after I have exhausted my "entertainment sources" from the last trip.

Occasionally I leave the southern aristocrats for the southern plebians. In addition to finding my great grandfather TJ Shaw's lost brother -well, lost to me, and lost in the Civil War, I found another Higginbotham child of the patriarch and matriarch Burris and Isabella. David "Bod"(perhaps a different meaning than that my contemporaries might bring to this name) Higginbotham setteled in, and populated Alachua and Levy counties. He actually lived in a settlement (1828) called Spring Grove that was where I lived during the last years I lived in Gainesville (then known as Hogtown-in his time, not so much mine). When I say, "populated", you may take that fairly literaly. Though there doesn't seem to be as much cousin marrying in this branch of the web, there were at least 15 children per wife. Sometimes the poor women would live to menopause, but often they succumed to unknown (to me) causes and a replacement would be brought in to produce 15-20 more offspring. Besides childbirth, there was typhoid fever and malaria, and just plain infection. Nevertheless, many of these children survived and went on to produce more.

Back in Nassau County, another section of the web was producing the grandparents and parents of none other than the three Vanzant brothers of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Yup! Cousin Ronnie, Donnie and Johnny.

I haven't gotten the exact links down yet, but I have it on good authority that they are cousins. What I don't understand is why they didn't write, "Sweet Home Callahana"???

Finally, I came across some redemption for the DeLaughter family in Cousin Bobby DeLaughter. Bobby is the Judge that prosecuted Byron de la Beckwith for the murder of Medgar Evers, and wrote a book about it. Bobby is, like me, a descendant of the "DeLaughter diaspora"(Edgefield, South Carolina being to the DeLaughter family what Callahan is to the Higginbothams). His gggg grandfather was James DeLaughter, son of our immigrating ancestor, George Wilheim DeLaughter. James went to Mississippi shortly after it became a state in the 1820's. One of Bobby's grandmothers was Frances Tillman. Bobby and I are 5th cousins once removed.

Amazing what you can find with the www, a touch of narcissism, and lots of time.

KG

A Fine Flower Day

Our morning started with thunder and heavy rain. Normally, the rain would be just the incentive needed to trunover and sleep a bit more, but not this morning. Stella was eager to let me know that the thunder and lightening was notable enough that I should be alerted and perhaps help her to higher ground... like the bed. But first a little "catch me 'cause I'm scared" occured when I sat up to console her. Argggh! I sat a moment and realized that both my knees were aching enough to send me back to the horizontal. Stella returned, my knees didn't feel any better, so I was up and Stella landed in the bed, hugging up on Kay for safety.

Our days have been regularly blessed with rain almost every day for the last few weeks. It's a most welcome addition to our day and our garden. July sees the end of the daylilly bloom season and brings on other flowers that have been holding out for more water. The ferns are jumping up in joy and the roses have just about finished their cluster blooms.

There is one rose that I love the most that waited a bit longer for blooming-- Angelface. I love its lavender-pink bloom and wonderful smell-- like a sweet rose with a hint of strawberry or raspberry.

The "teardrop" garden in the center of the driveway's circle is a rainbow of color with the little flowers and bromiliads tending the statues and walkways with their blooms.

When I do my daily walking exercise around the driveway I always find something new that I somehow missed yesterday. Today it was a pair of passion flowers. Stunning!

These hardy plants will provide color and attract butterflies until well into fall.

The showers this morning had everything spiffed up and ready for photos! Enjoy!

mdt