There sure is a lot going on in the world - here and there, home and away.
Home and away we have watched the GWU Bulldogs play basketball. There have been wins and losses, but always a good time with these guys that we have grown to know and love. They had a great win at Coastal Carolina ending Coastal's 22 game winning streak. That was the longest winning streak in any division in basketball this year. We weren't at that game, but David was able to freeze a news clip frame from television and take a picture of the post game celebration.
GWU took a loss in Charleston and then a big win at home against Radford. We look forward to the last home game this weekend and then the Big South tournament next week. It's been a tough season, but lots of good experiences.
Far away in Libya and Egypt, people have decided to come out of the dark ages and fight for their own freedom. I love that they are using Facebook and other social media to stay united. It's something I don't fully understand from a detailed, geopolitical, diplomatic view, but I think the Young Rascals song going around in my head the last few days speaks to the heart of the matter.
All the world over so easy to see. People everywhere just wanna be free. Listen people listen. That's the way it should be. Peace in the Valley. People got to be free.
Love the Rascals.
This week a lot of their songs have been coming to mind. Like when David and I took a 24 hour trip to Charleston to watch the GWU Bulldogs play and then without a real plan in mind, we wound up late that night at a favorite spot - Isle of Palms, SC. When we woke up to a beautiful sunrise on the beach, I could hear the Rascals singing "It's a Beautiful Morning! Think I'll go outside for a while. And just smile!"
After a great early breakfast at the Boulevard Diner, we headed back home.
It was a quick trip, but not only did we enjoy the game, we packed a lot of other things into that 24 hours. We took a trip down memory lane dropping in on old friends in Summerville. Jack and Lynn were very gracious when we pulled into their driveway and then called to ask if we could stop by. David hadn't seen them in over 20 years and I had never met them. It was a really great visit and we found out they have a grandson at Wofford. Such a small world.
On the way home we drove through Holly Hill where David worked at Santee Carriers - his first job out of college.
As we drove off the interstate through Holly Hill and toward home, we noticed several purple fields along the way. Since we had the handy IPad out for directions, I started searching the internet to identify the purple fields. At first we thought it was clover and we learned a lot about different kinds of clover and all the medicinal properties. You might want to chew on some now and then - it supposedly cures many ailments.
But after stopping to pick a few sprigs, we positively identified the purple fields as Henbit Nettle. Not to be confused with Purple Nettle. I'm sure. It is amazing how many species of nettle and clover and other plants there are in this world. I'm convinced you could study plants forever and never learn it all.
It's the same with birds. I did participate in The Great Backyard Bird Count last weekend and that was a lot harder than I expected. For one thing, you don't just count birds. You have to identify each bird. The directions from the internet even said, "If you can't positively identify the bird, do not count it."
Well. They did have a list of birds common to our region. I printed the list out and it is in two columns and very small type. It is six pages long. There are 11 kinds of hummingbirds. And 12 kinds of woodpeckers. Not to mention 7 kinds of wrens.
So I saw a lot of birds in the backyard, but could only POSITIVELY identify Robins, Bluejays, Carolina Wren and the American Crow. A very humbling experience to say the least.
When you think about the amazing numbers of plants and animals in the world it just proves the saying - The more you know, the more you know you don't know.
So this morning, I woke up hearing all kinds of birds chirping and singing outside and even though it's not Sunday afternoon yet, there came another favorite Rascals tune again - Groovin'.
I grooved on Mama Crowder's Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies last week. These are much quicker to make than Tea Cakes, but there is a mystery to getting them to set up. Sometimes it works better than other times, but even if they don't set up just perfect most of us like to just eat them with a spoon anyway.
Also, you will be happy to know that according to My Own True Weight Loss Diet Plan Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies are health food. Yep. They use cocoa instead of chocolate. Never mind the butter you add. And they have oatmeal. Definitely health food. Enjoy!
Mama Crowder's Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
1 Stick Butter (I use real butter)
2 Cups Sugar
1/2 Cup Milk
1/3 Cup Cocoa
Boil the ingredients above for 2 minutes ONLY. This is key to the set up thing.
Add:
2 1/2 Cups Quaker Quick Oats
Boil for 1 minute EXACTLY.
Then Add:
1 TBSP Vanilla
1/2 cup Crunchy Peanut Butter (extra crunchy is best!)
Drop in spoonfuls onto wax paper or aluminum foil. They should 'set up' fairly soon - a little dry and easy to pick up. If they don't set up right they will be sticky and gooey, but they will still taste pretty darn good.
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