- Good food, good company, good advice from Grandma

I’ve Been Cooking Up A Storm!

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Ok, not a storm, but some really good soup,

and some brownies today.

Both of these were made from mixes sent to me by Mixes From The Heartland so I could write reviews of their products. See what I think of them at FabGrandma Reviews.

Gluten Free Chicken and Dumplings

Karen · 2 Comments

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Have you been dreaming of gluten free chicken and dumplings? I have ever since I started eating gluten free. Click here to see how I made my dream come true!

I Could Be A Private Eye…

Karen · 6 Comments

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I have been having a lot of fun playing with my new camera. I have taken so many pictures it is re-diculous! I delete a lot of them, but by taking so many I am learning what the camera can do.

This one was taken when I was standing on the side of the road, and FabGrandpa was over there fishing on the bank of the lake. Can you see him waaayyy over there?:

but with just a touch of a button, here he is:

If he was pickin’ his nose he wouldn’t be able to hide it, hahahaha!

I took this photo from the same place, looking over by the swimming area:

And again, with the zoom feature:

This is looking up towards our campsite:

And with the zoom, I would be able to see all those ladybugs almost:

And this one, just because I like this photo:

So who needs some private detective work? Or a spy?

Scenic Sunday

Karen · 5 Comments

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Payne Lake at sunset on November 14, 2009. This is in the Oakmulgee Wildlife Management Area of the Talledega National Forest south of Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

For more Scenic Sunday photos, click here.

A Work Day At Payne Lake

Karen · 7 Comments

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This post is an experiment to see if I am going to get bumped off by Hughesnet when I upload my normal amount of photos for a post. Keep yer fingers crossed that I don’t.

When we arrived here at Payne Lake last week, we discovered that the entrance office was a mess. There was a lot of trash and stuff that looked like it hadn’t been cleaned up in years. Our first task was to get that cleaned up and ready for us to work in. This is what it looked like before we started:

(The work counter. What the heck???)

(a storage shelf)

(the floor)

It took us both working about four hours to get it in order, but look at it now:

Today, while we were working at the entrance station again, we decided to do some clean-up of the grounds. FabGrandpa used the backpack blower:

And I used the rake:

You’ll just have to trust me on that. Someone had to take the pictures! And even though I still have that palpable mass, that still flares up and makes my arm hurt if I do too much, I also still have my friends the Lortab and Naprosyn, so I did push that rake around quite a bit.

By the end of our shift, we had the place looking very nice! We’ll be doing this same thing in the campground in the coming weeks, to get it cleaned up, too. I love it when a plan comes together.

The Internetz Is Making My Head Hurt

Karen · 15 Comments

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Literally. Yesterday the remainz of Tropical Storm Ida was here, pouring bucketz of rain on us. The modem for our satellite internet service from Hughesnet is located outside. I had to go out there and re-set the modem by unplugging it to turn it off, then plugging it back in. I had a towel on my head (since I don’t own an umbrella) to keep me dry. As I was coming back into the house, I hit my head on the arm of the awing. Hard. Really hard. Ouchie! I saw starz for a minute, then felt lighheaded for most of the day.

We have been having a little trouble with this Hughesnet setup–we found out in the course of living that we can have 200 MB of downloaded data in 24 hours. If you go over that 200 MB, they cut you off. Of course, if you do your downloading between the hours of 1:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., you can download as much as you want and not be penalized. Except for losing sleep. On their website, Hughesnet says that most people should have no problem with this “fair access” policy of theirs, that 200 MB of data should be plenty to surf the internetz, read email, etc.

Except that apparently, FabGrandpa and I have gone over the 200 MB of data download permitted for three days in a row, before 10:00 a.m. I watched a couple of 2-3 minute videos on Facebook the first day, and BAM! my internetz was cut off quicker than you can say “Shazam!”

And then the next day, FabGrandpa was playing a game on his laptop, that even though he plays it as a single player, goes online and downloads data in the background even if you don’t tell it to. So, we were slapped on the wrist and cut off again. That is when we called technical support at Hughesnet and were informed of their policy, and that we have to monitor our usage from this end, to prevent this from happening, because apparently, if we go over the 200 MB of allowed data downloads too many times in a month, we will be banned from using this service FOREVER! So, now I need to figure out how to monitor the download usage. I don’t do well with staying up past midnight in order to use the internetz.

I am working on this technical difficulty, and yes, I do see it as a technical difficulty–I need to be able to upload photos and do blog posts, and read my emails and check Facebook, and several forums that I read. I have product reviews to write and things I need to say. So, if you don’t see me here often, or if you don’t see many photos, you will know why. Until I get this headache resolved.

We Are Being Invaded!

Karen · 11 Comments

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It’s not the invasion of the body snatchers, or the pod people–just some ladybug beetles. And yeah, they are soooo cute–unless you suddenly have a couple hundred of them in your house.

While they may be cute on little girl’s dresses, they are still bugs crawling around in my home, and I don’t like them at all!

There seems to be millions of them swarming around outside our trailer, creeping around looking for a tiny space to get inside. Some of them made it in, I have no idea where or how. I spent a good part of the day, walking around inside with a plastic bag, picking them up and putting them in the bag so I could take them outside.

These ones are on the inside of the window. They are like that on all the windows. I am just so creeped out by this. I hope they are gone soon.

I Have A Confession To Make

Karen · 7 Comments

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I have looking forward to our stay in Alabama so much. I was secretely counting the days until we could leave the Grand Canyon and get ourselves down south again. I have missed my family and friends down here so much! But I have to confess, I have really missed the food, too.

(this is my home cooked fried catfish)

We have been in Alabama for a week, and I have eaten fried catfish 5 times since I got here. I am probably going to turn into a big ol’ catfish, with a slippery skin and thin, one strand mustache hanging out by my nose quite soon. And grow gills. And if I don’t turn into a catfish I will be fatter for sure! But how can you resist that true, southern fried catfish when you see it on the menu? I have eaten it for breakfast with grits and fried eggs. For lunch with home made cole slaw and french fries. And tonight I had it for dinner, cooked at home and served with garlic new potatoes and squash casserole.

It doesn’t help that we have found the most fabulous little restaurant less than two miles from our campsite. It is located in a gas station, which is not unusual her in the south. Pleasant Valley Grocery Store is the official name of the place, but it is a little gas station with a tiny restaurant tucked inside.

They cater to the deer hunters that frequent this area, the ones who stay at the campground we are hosting. They sell candy, sodas, bread, snacks and beer. And have the best southern fried catfish I have ever put in my mouth. It came with cole slaw and home fries. FabGrandpa had the smoked barbecue pork ribs–it was the first time I have EVER heard him ask for a to go box because he couldn’t eat it all. EVER. In 18 years.

The people who run the place are so nice! They greet us each time we come in as if they have known us all their lives. Like they are so happy to see us! The second time we came in, they asked if we were going to have iced tea, and remembered that I get the unsweetened tea. The SECOND time.

They have University of Alabama memorabilia on the walls (a little bit of Auburn University stuff, too, but they definitely lean towards Alabama) There is a crockpot of boiled peanuts over on the counter, too.

They have a pretty good cup of coffee, too. I’m telling you, if you come to this area, and don’t go to this place, you are messing up! You’ll miss the best fried catfish ever in the history of the earth!

(I have not been paid to write about Pleasant Valley Restaurant. This is just my opinion, take it or leave it)