Baltimore

Thanks to Bossy we made the trip to the Fort Meade area just fine. We left Charleston, W.V., at 7 a.m. on Tuesday morning and headed for Alexandria, Va. to pick up sister Sara. She had spent the last week in Hawai'i, taken the red-eye back to LA (that's where she lives), didn't even leave the airport before catching a flight to D.C. She got there about 6 p.m. Monday. Even thought she made it to D.C., her luggage didn't arrive when she did. She finally got it on Tuesday, an hour before we were to pick her up.

Bossy got us to her hotel in Alexandria, then from there we tasked her with finding our hotel in Hanover, Md., which she did.

My nephew Reese, who is in the Air Force stationed at Ft. Meade, Md., got off work around 3:30 so he, his wife Heather and her sister, Jamie, came to our hotel. We all went to dinner at Famous Dave's BBQ, which was pretty good even if it isn't in Texas.

This morning we went sight seeing in Baltimore. We went to the Inner Harbour and took a Duck Tour. It was very interesting and informative and we really enjoyed it. We wandered around for several hours.

From there we tasked Bossy with getting us to Charm City Cakes, site of one of my favorite TV shows, Ace of Cakes. They never let anyone come in and they were on vacation anyway. But all I wanted to do anyway was get my picture taken in front of it and I did.

Tonight we will go out to dinner with Reese, Heather and Jamie. Tomorrow we will leave to head to New Jersey and on to New York City.

Check later for more pictures to be added to the slide show.

Later!

West Virginia

We arrived in West Virginia on Sunday morning. It took us an extra 10 minutes as we took Becky to Ohio because she hadn't been there before. Just before Huntington, W.V., you can take the Ironton exit, go across the river and you're in Ohio. We did that, flipped a u-turn then, crossed back across the bridge to WV.

After an afternoon spent relaxing, Jenn and the girls fixed a delicious dinner. The we just lounged around the rest of the evening.

This morning we went exploring some of the WV countryside. Becky says she's seen more trees in the last four days than she's seen in her whole life. Anyway we went to Hawks Nest State park and took a tram down to the river and saw some gorgeous views. From there we went to the New River Gorge. Also went over the New River Gorge Bridge which I think is the longest/highest bridge in America. They close the road down once a year and people bungee jump off of it. In fact, I think that a few years ago there was a commercial made there where they dropped a car off the bridge or something like that.

After that we were all hungry so we found a Pizza Hut. Let me just say, all the Bennett girls and their dad will all remember this, it was an experience duplicating a certain trip to the Old Country Buffet in Nebraska. There is a picture that Megan is adding to the slide show that should give you a clue.

Anyway, since I'm a "slideshow dunce" I have to get the pictures to Megan to add to the slideshow so she'll have them up soon. She's just adding to the current one as she gets them from me.

We'll be off to Maryland tomorrow to visit Reese and Heather, stalk Charm City Cakes and tour the Baltimore waterfront. We should be there until Thursday morning , then look out New York City!!!

Later.

Road Trip - Day 1 & 2

Mom, Becky and I left Waco around noon on Friday and drove several hours before stopping in Foster City, Ark., for the night. I know, we broke our cardinal rule on not spending any money in Arkansas but couldn't be helped. Foster City is about 30 miles west of Memphis.

Mom asked us of Friday night what was the earliest she could wake us up n Saturday morning. We told her 6:30 but we were all awake and up by 6. After eating breakfast which was complimentary at the cafe next door, we were on the road by 7.

Our goals for Saturday was to go to Louisville then go on to Lexington and stop for the night.

Let me tell you about our neat toy before I go any further. I bought a GPS for the trip, which after a day of listening to a female voice tell us where to go, we have given the GPS a name, she is now referred to as Bossy. She came in pretty handy today. Between Memphis and Nashville, Mom decided she needed to stop at a Wal Mart. So, Becky told Bossy to find a Wal Mart in Jackson, Ark., and she guided us directly to it. Oh, and remind me next time you talk to or see me, to tell you another story about my gullible sister.

We got to Louisville and went to Churchill Downs. We went to the museum there and also had a tour of the racetrack. It was really cool. We got to see a retired racehorse, the paddock area, then on out to the racetrack to the winners circle then back to the museum and gift shop area. The winners circle we went to wasn't the one they use for the Kentucky Derby that is on the infield and is only used for the KD. I will try to figure out how to post a slide show of our visit there.

After touring Churchill Downs we headed east to Lexington. We there early evening and checked into the hotel. Then climbed back in the car and I took Becky and mom on a tour around Lexington which included, Keeneland Racetrack and a we stumbled upon a scenic driving tour around Keeneland. After that we went to the Kentucky Horse Park and drove around the whole place. Let me just tell you, I'm a sucker for white fences.

We're hunkered down in the hotel for the night and will go on to Jennifer's in the morning. We should be there by mid-morning.

I will try to post to the blog daily, depending on internet access. We plan on staying at Jenn's until Tuesday morning then go on to D.C. and pick up Sara then off to Reese's in Maryland.

That's all for now, catch you later.

PRECIOUS!!!

On July 6 our grandaughter Ashton celebrated her sixth birthday. We weren't able to go up there to help celebrate but did send a card and some money. Yesterday, we received the most precious thank you card, one that we will keep with our important papers!!!!!!!!! I scanned a copy of it and have posted it with this blog, however, I am providing a transcript in case there's a couple of works you can't figure out.

Grammy & Grampy,
Thank yall for the birthday money. I loved the card. Whose idea was it to get the card? I wanted the Ariel nightgown but they were out of them. So I don't know what I am gunna get.
Love, Ashton

Bruce's Birthday

Bruce's birthday was yesterday but the Bryce's hosted a birthday party for him at their house on Sunday afternoon.

Mom and I had been to Stillwater to the Ham-Bilyeu Family Reunion on Saturday and drove down to Frisco on Sunday morning. Everyone else came up from Lorena on Sunday.

This was the first time that Parker (6 months) and Landry (5 months) had been together since either of them has been able to "do anything". It was fun watching them lay on a blanket together. Parker, who is an arm flapper, was continually clubbing his cousin with his waving arms. In order to combat that, we switched them so that her feet were at his head and vice versa. That resulted in Landry rolling on her side with her feet in his face and she was chewing on his fist. Neither action phased him in the least.

After a delicious lunch, Bobby took Jon, Chris, Brodie and Bruce on a ride and showed them where Deion Sanders lives and well as Torii Hunter and a couple of other pro football players whose names I can't remember. The boys were impressed, not only with being able to see these 'houses' but the fact that their Uncle Bobby has hung out with some of them.

While the guys were touring, Ashton and I went to the pool while Megan and Erin fed the babies. That Ashton is a fish...she takes after the Botts and Bennett girls in the pool, might we have another competitive swimmer in the family?

After returning from the pool we had cake and ice cream (Bobby made a very tasty peanut butter frosting) and then Bruce opened presents and cards. Ashton made Bruce a birthday card of her own, featuring phonetic spelling, a hot air balloon, blue shirts (she picked out the two blue shirts they got Bruce), two birthday cakes, more balloons, a butterfly, a lady bug, a sun, carrots, a tomato plant and flowers. It is just precious.

Did You Know?

DID YOU KNOW? ( a friend sent these to me and I thought I'd pass them along).

Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to pick the little 'stringy things' off of it. That's how the primates do it.

Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.

Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!

Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.

To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.


For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty frosting.

Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.

Leftover snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simply chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes!!! Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream. Yummm!

Reheat Pizza
Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza.

Easy Deviled Eggs
Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.
panding Frosting
When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.

Reheating refrigerated bread
To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

Newspaper weeds away
Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers, put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.
Broken Glass
Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see easily.

No More Mosquitoes
Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.

Squirrel Away!
To keep squirrels from eating your plants, sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.

Flexible vacuum
To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in nar-
row openings.

Reducing Static Cling
Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and ... ta da! ... static is gone.

Measuring Cups
Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

Foggy Windshield?
Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car. When the window s fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!

Reopening envelope
If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.

Conditioner
Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair.

Goodbye Fruit Flies
To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass, fill it 1/2' with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid; mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!

Get Rid of Ants
Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it 'home,' can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!

INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS
The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes.) He told us that he wanted to show us something; he took the filter over to the sink and ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material ... I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like. Well ... the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free ... that nice fragrance too. You know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box. well this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out and wash it with hot soapy water and an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months. He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long!

Slow summer, Not....

I thought things were supposed to slow down once summer came! That doesn’t seem to be the case this year though. And, I can’t believe it’s the middle of June already.

Actually I think the reason things don’t seem to have slowed down is that I’m trying to get ahead of the curve for next year. I’m trying to get as much of my three media guides (equestrian, basketball, tennis) updated and done as I can this summer.

This weekend is the annual Ham-Bilyeu Reunion in Oklahoma then on Sunday, Erin’s hosting a birthday party for Bruce. Mom and I will leave on Thursday afternoon so she can have some time to visit with Stillwater/Perkins friends on Friday. The reunion is on Saturday then on Sunday morning we’ll get up bright and early and trek to Erin’s house.

The next weekend I will leave for Tampa and our annual CoSIDA Convention. The convention will be at the Tampa Waterside Hotel & Marina and that’s where I’ll be staying as well. Sounds like an awesome site and Tammi (Texas Tech) will be my roommate.

After that, I’ll be home until Mom, Becky, Sara and I begin our road trip on July 26. First stop will be Jennifer’s, then on to Reese and Heather’s, then who knows what route we’ll take.

Sometime during the summer, I plan on doing a little trim replacement and painting on the outside of the house. Now, if I could just decide what color to paint (that’s the main stumbling block, that and the fact that it’s soooooooooooo dang hot!).

Sorry I don’t have any good stories to tell like Erin and Jennifer do. Guess Bruce and I are just too boring!