Small Town Fun

In our little mountain community, football is KING, and a major source of entertainment for everyone.  It's not the professional teams, or even the college teams that I'm speaking of.  The talk of the town is the Friday night high school football schedule.  Around every shop, every office, and every diner, people cuss and discuss the latest football scores and highlights of the games.  If you want a seat for a game in my town, you better arrive at least an hour early, or you'll be sitting next to the tuba player in the band.  You'll also have to park 1/2 a mile away, or make your own parking spot in a nearby field.  Nearly everyone dresses up in their Friday best for a football game, and no amount of team spirit is considered overkill. 

Our local newspaper has highlights of every game played on the mountain, and on Friday nights, the entire game is televised on the local radio and cable stations.  Our team coverage is almost like the NFL....only better.  You can always hear someone you know cheering in the crowd over the ever popular cow bell ringing.  Hearing it on the radio is the next best thing to being there in person.

And the rivalries are spectacular!  Our kids are taught from the time they get out of diapers to harass the cross town rivals.  It's just the way it is.  We bleed our school's colors.  Having good friends that live in the neighboring towns makes it even funner.  There's no shortage of good natured ribbing after every game.

In fact, on our mountain, the kids start playing ball at an early age.  By the time they reach high school, they've faced each other on the field for many years.  Our boys will grow up playing  against each other from elementary school to high school.  Today was our son's first football game.  To say that I was a nervous wreck was an understatement.

The game was a real "nail biter", but we came back in the second half to beat our neighboring town with a score of 12-6.  If we would have lost to the Cougars, my son would have moped around for the whole day.  At this age, there are ALOT of hilarious errors that happen on the field, and you just never know how things are going to turn out.

My son is just beginning to understand how to play the game, but he's not alone out there. These boys are all just out having fun, and learning the fundamentals of the game.  They just love to be "boys" and tackle each other.  It's a great release for a  guy with two little sisters at home that he has to be careful with.

Speaking of little sisters, these two gals are my son's biggest fans!  They couldn't wait for the big game.  They ran into their brother's room this morning to wake him up  and get him pumped up.  First they blasted Kenny Chesney's "Boys of Fall", then they played, "We Will, We Will Rock You". I think it worked.  After a plate of waffles with peanut butter and a glass of orange juice, he was ready to play hard.

Here we are before the game, roasting in the hot sun.  My husband is the cool, calm, and collected fan.  I'm the whole hearted screamer who wishes that I could be on the field to yell for my boy.  I got in trouble once today for waving to him.  He waved back, and my husband said I was distracting him.  I couldn't help it.  He looked so darn cute in his uniform.  I'm also the one that gives him the "go out there and kick some rear end" pep talk.  This goes back to my competitive nature.  It's a small character flaw I have, but I'm getting better... my husband only had to calm me down once or twice today.  All in all, it was a gorgeous Saturday to watch a football game.  I couldn't have asked for a better day.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Sometimes my kids get bored with lunch.  Sometimes deli meat sandwiches or chicken tenders just don't dazzle them.....so I try to mix it up a little.  This recipe is an old standby that my mom made for me when I was in school.  Now I make my own version of it for my kids.  It all starts with a loaf of homemade cinnamon raisin bread.  After I slice it up, I make a spread out of peanut butter mixed with honey (mixing it makes it taste better than just dumping it on the top of the peanut butter).  Then I slice up an apple pretty thin and lay the slices over the peanut butter mixture and top it with another slice of bread. Super easy, and so yummy! 

Here's a simple recipe for a BIG loaf of Cinnamon Raisin Bread.  I know that adding the cinnamon in a swirl pattern is prettier, but I like my cinnamon to be equally distributed throughout the loaf.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

1 1/2 cups of very warm water

2 TBS Butter, softened

4 cups bread flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 1/4 tsp yeast

1 cup raisins

Mix everything except the raisins until dough is stiff and leaves the sides of the bowl.  Then add the raisins and turn dough out unto the counter and knead until smooth.  Place in a greased bowl and cover. Let rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours, or until double in size.  Punch down, place in a greased loaf pan, and let rise for another 30- 45 minutes.  Bake at 350 degrees for 33 minutes. (High Altitude.)

If you have a bread machine, and you're short on time, dump all the ingredients in the bread machine and mix on the dough cycle.  After the first rise, take it out and put it in a greased loaf pan. Cover and let rise in a warm spot for 30-45 minutes and bake at 350 for 33 minutes. (High Altitude.)  Or, just let it go all the way through the baking cycle, if you don't mind a square loaf. (I'm more of a traditional kind of gal. I like my loaves to be longer.)

**At regular elevation, the recipe calls for  baking at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes.**

Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday

Feels Like Fall

The last few days there have been sure signs that Fall is just around the corner on our mountain.  Here are the reasons I'm sure of it:

1. I had to get up in the middle of the night to put on a pair of sweats because our summer sheets weren't warm enough. Time to bring out the flannel!

2. I woke up to that fall breeze that makes the clouds race across the sky all day long.  It felt like a Winnie the Pooh kind of "blustery" day.

3. My kids asked for a mug of hot apple cider while completing their school work. (They usually ask for Otter Pops.)

4. The crickets are chirping much slower in the evenings.

6. I sprung out of bed this morning and ground wheat berries to make a loaf of bread so I could warm the kitchen up.  I LOVE the smell of bread baking in the kitchen!

7.  I made baked oatmeal with peaches on the bottom for breakfast.  Cold cereal just didn't sound good to me.

8.  I froze my hind end off at my son's football practice this evening, even though I had on jeans, two layers of shirts, a sweatshirt, and a blanket for my legs.  As soon as the sun goes down, it gets chilly on that field.

9.  I'm  starting to crave a good highschool football game.  There's nothing like bundling up on a Friday night and taking big quilts and a thermos of hot chocolate to a football game.  It's even more perfect when the family shares a big bag of kettle corn.  Man I love that stuff!!!

10. I've got wood cutting on the brain.  I crave the sound of the saw echoing through the trees, and the smell of freshly cut wood.  I love coming home to a batch of posse stew, or chili in the crockpot. 

I'm sure we have a mixture of warm days and cool nights ahead of us for a few more weeks, but I know that Autumn is knocking at our doorstep.  It's my favorite time of the year!

I plan on cramming as many sunflower pics as possible on my blog while they last!

Apple Banana Crumb Muffins

I love to make these muffins when I have just one overripe banana on hand. I also take an apple and core it. Then I shred it with the peel using my cheese grater. Here's the recipe:

Apple Banana Crumb Muffins

1 1/2 cups flour

1tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 overripe banana, mashed (2 will work also.)

1 large apple, cored and grated (peel on.)

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/3 cup butter, melted

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

Crumb Topping:

2 TBS flour

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1TBS Butter, cold

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  In another bowl, mix together the banana, grated apple, sugar, egg, and melted butter.  Stir the fruit mixture into the flour mixture until moistened.  Spoon batter into muffin cups. (It makes 10-12 muffins.)

For crumb topping, mix together the brown sugar, 2TBS flour, and cinnamon.  Cut in 1 TBS butter with a fork until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.  Generously sprinkle topping over the muffins.

Bake for 18-20 minutes. ( about 15 for high altitude.)

"Relaxing on Grandma's Swing " - Wordless Wednesday

Appalling Speed Dial Discovery

I was innocently looking at my Dad's cell phone, wanting to make a phone call from it, and I made the most shocking, and appalling discovery...I am #8 on my Dad's speed dial.  My brother is #4.....#4!!!!   What does this all mean?  I'll tell you.  He's four numbers above me in importance. Do you want to know what's worse?  My husband is #5. 

The first thing I did was confront my dad.

"Dad, what gives? Why am I #8 on your speed dial?....and more importantly, why is my lil' brother # 4?"

"You never answer your phone...that's why!"

"Whatever. It doesn't matter if I never answer my phone...that's not the issue here.  The issue is that my little brother is more important to you by 4 whole numbers....and my husband is more important by 3 whole numbers.  What does this say about my standing in the family?  What does this say about my standing in the big paper (the will)?  What does this say about our relationship?  I'm your first born, and your only daughter for crying out loud! I've birthed three grandchildren for you from my loins!  I inherited your deformed little toe.....and this is what I get?  #8????  I want to be moved up to #3."

"No. You never answer your phone."

"Switch me to #4, and move my brother to #8.  That's my final offer."

"No. I already have it memorized.  You're 8, your husband's 5, your brother's 4."

I was crushed.  Devastated.  Rejected.  Alone in this world....without a "phone a-friend" to talk to.  So I did what any wounded daughter would do....I went crying to my mother.  Then I checked her phone. It was like a knife to the heart.  I am speed dial #5 on her phone.  My brother....speed dial #4.

"Mom, I was upset when I found out that I was #8 on Dad's speed dial, but this?  I never expected this from you.  You call me EVERY day.  I should be higher up on the speed dial than my brother.  It's all so disappointing to me."

"Nell, wait....I can explain. Your DAD programmed my speed-dial.  Do you actually think I'd know how to do something like that?"

Of course Dad programmed it. I should have known he was behind this. I knew Mom wouldn't do something so cruel and heartless. How could I ever have doubted her?

As for my Dad....well, every time I don't answer my phone he leaves me a message saying that he's going to take me off of speed dial all together!  Can you believe it?  I can't help it if I'm incredibly busy.  I can't hear the phone when I'm mowing the lawn, or vacuuming the house, or starting a load of laundry.  Those 3 activities alone account for 65% of my daily activities.  My dad insists that I put my cell phone in some sort of holster, but it would scratch up my cowhide bling belt.  Then he wants me to keep it in my pocket, but I think it will make me look fat.  Sometimes my cellphone goes missing for hours.  Sometimes I put it on vibrate for church on Sunday, and don't remember to take it off  of vibrate until Tuesday.  Then I say to myself, " No wonder it's been such a quiet week."

If moving up in the speed dial line means having to answer your phone...then I'm doomed.  My Dad says my husband might even move up to #4 because he ALWAYS answers his phone.  He says, "Your husband could be in Mongolia and he'd still be answering his phone.  He's always reachable."  Well, I guess I'll have to settle for #8 then.  You can't have everything.........Eight's a nice round number, right?