Thursday seems to have become my ramble on day! A little of this and a little of that. Some throw-backs. You just never know what I may come up with!!
Today is a real mis-mash of items!!!
Crab Rangoon
The store started out as a chain store and the chain was run poorly. Mom & dad and I worked for them (I started at barely 15)
My mom and dad bought this location after it closed and managed to turn it into something wonderful. It was the best time I ever had working. I loved it there. Mom and dad worked so hard to build it up, and they truly did it on little money, considering what business start ups are today. They had a grand total of $5,000 to their name. They never used credit from a bank and paid C.O.D. for a while, till venders got to know them.
Every day I have at least one!!!!!!! When that happens it makes me so happy. A person is never gone from our life as long as we have those memories.
Earlier this week I mentioned baked oatmeal in our basic foods discussion. Here is a great recipe. You can change up to whatever fruit and/or nuts you have or you like. This kind of oatmeal I can eat!!!
Never - ever disregard a person because they seem different. Life is made up of all kinds of people. We should be blessed to have a variety of people in our lives. We may learn some of our most important lessons from those who have a 'free' spirit and express themselves openly!
I did a bit of everything. At 16, many people thought I had to be in my 20's, because I was very knowledgeable of all the plants and all the chemicals we sold. I planned landscaping for people's yards and then helped my dad go and plant it. I knew which fertilizers people needed. Mom and I would work the store and the register and we all had such a wonderful time together. My first and best job ever!!!!!!
LOOK at the prices!!!!!!!!!
Grilling season is upon us again. Fish always tends to break up for me on the grill. Here is a great idea to keep it from sticking and all in one piece. Place on a bed of lemon slices. Flip fish - leave lemon, when ready to cook other side!
2 pics - click on each to enlarge for better reading
I will leave with this one!
Have a great day everyone.
Open your eyes and your mind to all the wonders of this beautiful world.
Cheryl, you might enjoy the blog Empress of Dirt (empressofdirt.net). Lots of frugal and science-based gardening ideas and tips.
ReplyDeleteTotally OT, but a message to Debby in Kansas...I'm praying that you're not in the path of the wildfires in your county. Stay safe!
You're a sweetie, Frances! The wind is crazy and we're on high fire alert, but no threats as of yet. There's always a knucklehead somewhere that ignores warnings and burns his trash pile. I'm hyper aware of wildfires after growing up in the foothills of Southern Cali. We used to evacuate every couple of years.
DeleteFrances thank you - I will look that up.
DeleteDebby stay safe - I had not heard about the fires. People are so irresponsible any more. I pray all are safe.
DeleteYou are definitely not a person who is passive and wait for the wonders of the Father's creation to come to you! Thanks for sharing the memories of your parents' garden center. J
ReplyDeleteLOL - I don't think so either! I kind go and grab it!
DeleteThanks for sharing these wonderful gems and a peek into your personal life growing up. Love, love, love the tip on using lemons on the grill to keep your fish from sticking!
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading. I mean how cool - lemon seasons and keeps it from falling apart!!!
DeleteI loved this post. What fun that garden center must have been. What a great job for a kid. Thanks for the recipe for crab rangoon. It is one of the few things I like, too. xo Diana
ReplyDeleteThank you. It was such a neat time - it was hard work - but yet, it didn't seem like work.
DeleteI love crab rangoon and these are so easy and yummy!
Hi all!
ReplyDeleteAs I told Frances, we're on red flag wind warnings today. Crazy windy! It's so dry that my eyes are sticky! I hung some laundry in here this morning to try and add some humidity. I'm also sleepy after a good night of sleep so I suspect my allergies are lurking.
Cheryl, how wonderful that your family had a garden shop! The nursery was one place I never let my Grandpa go without me! I loved everything about it. Especially the smell of dirt and that smell of water on hot concrete! I loved buying a little plant for my bedroom. I bet I had 20 of them! What a fun job! I still love poking around our garden center. So many fun things to see.
I got busy yesterday and started that birthday gift for my friend. I made her a card, too. I'm reporting in to be accountable. I'll update you....
Stay safe my friend. So scary.
DeleteThe wind has really kicked up here today - bringing in cold again tonight. Couple more days of cold and chilly and then we get to 70's next week.
I love the smell of fresh tilled dirt and rain! Just takes me back. Gardens centers are always fun in my book. How sweet that you got all the little plants. How wonderful you got to go with grandpa too!!!
Take care and stay safe.
Goodness those prices! Your first job sounds like a lot of fun and your parents were obviously great teachers. My mom was a gardener and all I knew was I hated weeding. But over the years, I'm come to appreciate the art and science.
ReplyDeleteI know right? Wouldn't that be nice now?
DeleteI never liked weeding, but there is something cathartic in it now. My mind just wonders.
Crab Ragoons - I've forgotten about them. I'll have to make some at our Easter get-together. Baked Oatmeal, also forgot about that dish. My youngest would like it. Thanks for the ideas Cheryl.
ReplyDeleteIt must be lovely to know about gardening. It's never been my wheelhouse, but my Dad had a green thumb, and there's been many a time that I wish I'd have been more attentive to his teaching. He taught my husband how to garden but I was not interested. I was indoors cooking alongside my Mom, which IS my wheelhouse.
Now, the husband plants the garden, then his job takes him on the road for up to 3 weeks at a time so I'm in charge of making sure the plants survive. They only thrive because of prayers! Lol. I keep doing my best to learn, but I have to admit, I still don't like the actual gardening part - just the harvest at the end :)
Pat
You are quite welcome for the reminders. It is fun to make different food items now and then.
DeleteLOL - you sound like my late hubby. He loved eating the garden - but would not work on/in it! Not his thing.
He always said "you plant it and tend it, and I will eat it".
At least you are keeping the plants alive. We all have our strengths. I like anything to do with outside - always have. I do like to cook too. Hmmmmm.
I love your family story about the garden shop! What great memories!
ReplyDeleteAnd a PS to yesterday-Our Krispy Kreme doughnut shop sells 3 gallon buckets with lids that their frostings come in for $1. We have a bunch of them. The downside is that they are not washed when we get them but we have found they fit one at a time in the bottom of the dishwasher.
Thanks
DeleteGood job. Those would be great to have. People need to check with deli's and bakery's for those kind of buckets. Sure can't beat the price.
I too worked at a large nursery and ran it for almost two years. I loved every day. It was my favorite job. But alas arthritis put a stop to that. I just couldn't keep up carrying the pots and doing all the transplanting. The work became too heavy for me. But I love growing things and I love dirt.
ReplyDeleteWorking with nature is just the best. It sure was calming. If I wasn't my age - I'd love to do it again. Couldn't do the heavy stuff though.
DeleteI love gardening. It's very restful to me. I only plant flowers, they remind me of my mother and grandmother, both never had any interest in veggie gardens! But I've been thinking of mixing in some veggies among the flowers. Though I did plant a tomato in a pot a couple years ago, my neighbor gave me the plant. It didn't do well, I got only one tomato that was flavorless! Maybe this year I'll do better. The baked oatmeal recipe looks delicious. Thank you, Celie
ReplyDeleteYES plat a few veggies amongst the flowers. Might as well feed yourself as well as look at pretties. Veggies are pretty too.
DeleteIt is very restful - even if it is work.
What nice memories you have of your parents business. I'm sure it was a lot of hard work too. Is it still in the family? My dad opened a bakery about 30 years ago and it was a lot of work. He had to close it unfortunately because working full time and running a business was too much. He said one time "if I were starting my career over I would've been a landscape designer." He loved working on landscaping projects. Thanks for the crab rangoon recipe. I love them. Who woulda thought they were that easy to make?
ReplyDeleteIt was work - but fun work. No, when my parents were ready to retire, none of us were at a point to be able to buy them out or take care of it. I often wish things had been different.
DeleteThey sold to someone else and they just didn't do the work. It was really sad to see it go down. The area is all different now and new buildings and such are there. The whole area has grown.
ENJOY!
Oh what fun you must have had working there! That rose bush price was fantastic. I could have a yard full of roses.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad had a party store and we all took turns running the cash register. Like the commenter above he was working full time and had 5 kids so he let it go.
Have a great weekend.
We had flowers and roses every where at home!
DeleteRunning a business - even a small business - is a lot of work!
Have a great one.
Ohhh, never thought of using lemon slices as a bed for fish when grilling. Thanks for the tip.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
You are very welcome. Neat idea.
DeleteBlessings
That is a very good memory!
ReplyDeleteThanks - they were good times
Delete