Sunday, October 21, 2012

Aunt Katie 9-21-08 - 10-21-12

Katie Langley Whitley


My beloved Aunt Katie passed this morning about 5:15 after a very long and special life. A little over two weeks ago she stopped eating and was only getting clear fluids so it took this amount of time for her body to shut down. My sister Linda and my cousin Melanie were by her side until she breathed her last. She meant so much to so many people and will be missed for a very long time. Rest in peace my sweet Aunt Katie.

Yesterday I attended the funeral of my Aunt Tennie (Ernestine) who was my mom's sister and was 95 and also lived a blessed life as a caregiver for other older people and sharing the gospel everywhere she went. 

Monday, September 24, 2012

Artist in the family

Linda recently went on a vacation with her cousin James Lassiter from Virginia to Pigeon Forge, TN and while on the trip he showed her his talent by sketching some scenes they saw on the side of a styrofoam cup.
Enjoy.







Tuesday, September 11, 2012

A cool sunny day in North Carolina





 Linda's little turtle she got in Florida this summer.


Sunday, August 26, 2012

Flooding in Roanoke Rapids, NC

9th Street

crash

submerged

rain

Vance

travel

Franklin


  We were fine out in the country where we live but the city was not so lucky with large area flooded and one street with a huge section washed away.  Also the interstate between exit 171 where the big theater is and the 173 main Roanoke Rapids exit was closed to north and southbound traffic causing massive rerouting of traffic down highway 301 and highway 903 which is the road I live on so we saw never ending traffic go by our house.  Haven't seen anything like this since the enormous flood in Rocky Mount back in 1999.


Saturday, August 11, 2012

Free Movies

   How many of you like the word "FREE"? I sure do and I also like a good movie. Now you are just a click away from seeing a full length movie right there on your computer and there is a long list of movies available.  Hurry on over to this address and start having fun.

  A side note, thanks to good old Fedex I will be getting a late start to work on monday since my delivery of materials needed for the program did not arrive as planned on Friday. Hope you all have a fabulous Sunday and a great week ahead.

Friday, August 10, 2012

Too Good Not To Blog About

  Believe it or not, I'm back!!!  Ran into some good stuff this week and shared it on facebook but had to make sure all my friends had the benefit of knowing as well

  Let's start with readers.  If you happen to own a Kindle like I do there is a web site where you can go and select books from every category I know of, click on the book and it will take you to Amazon and the price for the download to your Kindle is ($.00). That's right free. Just go to this address and have fun like I did ordering 4 book that were into my Kindle in less than 2 minutes. 

  OK, on to the next neat site. I have done videos in the past and I would take them on my camera and take an hour or more uploading them which was a pain. All you have to do is go to this web site and you can if you have a web cam with a mic do an instant video with sound and sent it an email address for free. OK, it is only for 14 days free and then you have to spend some money but at least I had some fun and hope you will too.

  There was a couple more that I have not tried but you may want to when you get a chance.  Go here to send free faxes over your computer.  And you can go here to share albums of pictures easily.

  I am still doing great and will be starting a new part time job on Monday.  I'll be working for a company that does retail assignments for Walgreen Drug Stores in 3 local cities. So I will be getting out of the house and that will feel good but I am sure it will not make Rocky and Soffie happy at all. Have a great weekend everyone.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

To blog or not blog that is the question

  It will soon  be 5 months since I retired thinking I would have lots more time to blog with 592 posts out there already.  However, I am faced with the old saying, my well is drying up. There has been literally no motivation for a while now to post a blog.  


   Don't get me wrong because I still love to visit blogs, it's just that my blog is seeing an end much sooner than I had previously imagined. I won't say that you will never see another post from me but I have to be realistic and understand that my time for a break has come.  


  I communicate with a lot of you my email and/or facebook and will continue to do so.  If you do not have my address and would like to touch me with an email it is odie_langley@yahoo.com.


  Needless to say there have been some really happy times here and I have shared many pictures and videos that can still be seen at any time. Take care and know I will be viewing your posts as often as I can.


Until later...
Odie

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Our "Melynda"


More Nonsense


  Friends we have the unique opportunity to help a precious friend, Melynda Fleury over at Crazy World.  She already has her first two books out pictured above and soon will have her third book, "True Nonsense" coming out followed in December by "Pure Nonsense".

 She needs our help getting the word out so that many people can have the fun of reading her precious books and at the same time helping her with funds to pay the towering medical bills that keep adding up.

 Go to her blog and she lists there a number of sites that you can go to and leave a short review that will hopefully convince folks to grab her books, be blessed and help her at the same time.

 If you are reading this and do not know Melynda I promise you that if you pay her a visit you will fall in love with her like we all have. I honestly don't want to think about a week without Melynda in it. 

 Thank you so very much for whatever you can do.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Andy Griffith Remembered


Mayberry Vacation












































Welcome to Mt. Airy, NC. Birthplace of Andy Griffith and final resting place of Eng & Chang Bunker, the famous Siamese Twins from the 1800's.

Couldn't have been a prettier weekend to be in Mt. Airy with temperatures in the 80's and beautiful skys. The bikers were surely out in force this weekend.

Otis was there welcoming visitors as he always does and telling jokes trying to keep everyone happy.

Andy's famous car was parked on Main St. waiting to give folks a ride around the town and they have more that one to take care of tourist's needs.

Floyd's Barber Shop was buzzing with activity and still gives haircuts for $8.

Aunt Bea's Restaurant was a real treat. Linda & I ate there and both had country style steak & gravy, mashed potatoes, slaw, hush puppies & tea for less that $13 total. Amazing and it was soooooooooo good.
Goober's 52 was another great place to eat with awesome food and great service and their stretch limo was on display.

You might find this hard to believe but as you can see from the picture we actually bought Rocky a stroller at Froo Froo's pet store in town. We had forgot his harness and while in there saw the strollers and realized how heavy he can get when we have to keep him under control in crowds. It turned out to be a real blessing and he was the star of the show wherever we went.
One of the pictures above is of 13 Bones. We didn't eat there but oddly enough it has a meaning. Found out that if you order a rack of ribs it isn't really a real rack unless there are 13 bones.


Rest in Peace Andy

Wordless Wednesday-Control the laughter please


Saturday, June 30, 2012

Now you know



May

17

50 Amazingly Helpful Time-Tested Tips for the Kitchen

154digg
kitchen
You know all of those helpful kitchen-related suggestions that old-timers are so willing to share with the younger generations? These little tips and tricks might be called “kitchen hacks” these days, but they’re still the same good old nuggets of wisdom that they always were. As with any old wives’ tale, hack, or tip, your mileage may vary. Some of these gems have been around for several lifetimes - and according to most grandmas, they really work.

1. For cleaning smelly hands after chopping onions or garlic, just rub them on a stainless steel spoon. The steel is supposed to absorb the odor.
coffee beans2. Fresh coffee beans can also absorb nasty odors from your hands.
3. If you happen to over-salt a pot of soup, just drop in a peeled potato. The potato will absorb the excess salt.
4. When boiling eggs, add a pinch of salt to keep the shells from cracking.
5. Never put citrus fruits or tomatoes in the fridge. The low temperatures degrade the aroma and flavor of these persnickety fruits.
6. To clean cast iron cookwear, don’t use detergents. Just scrub them with salt and a clean, dry paper towel.
7. Will milk curdle if it is allowed to boil? It turns out that this age-old piece of wisdom isn’t true, after all. Milk that has been boiled is perfectly safe to consume.
8. To clean an electric kettle with calcium buildup on the heating element, boil a mixture of half white vinegar and half water, then empty.
9. When storing empty airtight containers, throw in a pinch of salt to keep them from getting stinky.
10. If you are making gravy and accidentally burn it, just pour it into a clean pan and continue cooking it. Add sugar a little at a time, tasting as you go to avoid over-sugaring it. The sugar will cancel out the burned taste.
11. Burned a pot of rice? Just place a piece of white bread on top of the rice for 5-10 minutes to draw out the burned flavor. Be careful not to scrape the burned pieces off of the bottom of the pan when serving the rice.
burnt rice
12. Before you chop chili peppers, rub a little vegetable oil into your hands and your skin won’t absorb the spicy chili oil.
13. If you aren’t sure how fresh your eggs are, place them in about four inches of water. Eggs that stay on the bottom are fresh. If only one end tips up, the egg is less fresh and should be used soon. If it floats, it’s past the fresh stage.
fresh eggs
14. To banish ants from the kitchen, find out where they are coming in and cover the hole with petroleum jelly. Ants won’t trek through the jelly. If they are coming under a door, draw a line on the floor with chalk. The little bugs also won’t cross a line of chalk.
15. Before making popcorn on the stove or in an air popper, soak the kernels in water for 10 minutes. Drain the water, then pop as normal. The additional moisture helps the popcorn pop up quicker and fluffier with fewer “old maids.”
popcorn16. Don’t store your bananas in a bunch or in a fruit bowl with other fruits. Separate your bananas and place each in a different location. Bananas release gases which cause fruits (including other bananas) to ripen quickly. Separating them will keep them fresh longer.
17. To keep potatoes from budding in the bag, put an apple in with them.
18. If you manage to have some leftover wine at the end of the evening, freeze it in ice cube trays for easy addition to soups and sauces in the future.
19. To clean crevices and corners in vases and pitchers, fill with water and drop in two Alka-Seltzer tablets. The bubbles will do the scrubbing.
20. After boiling pasta or potatoes, cool the water and use it to water your house plants. The water contains nutrients that your plants will love.
21. When you clean your fish tank, the water you drain can also be used to water your house plants. The nitrogen and phosphorus in fish droppings make aquarium water a great fertilizer.
22. When defrosting meat from the freezer, pour some vinegar over it. Not only does it tenderize the meat; it will also bring down the freezing temperature of the meat and cause it to thaw quicker.
23. The substance in onions that causes your eyes to water is located in the root cluster of the onion. Cut this part out in a cone shape, with the largest part of the cone around the exterior root section.
24. Taking the top layer off of a onion can also reduce the amount of eye-watering misery.
toothpaste25. Toothpaste is a great silver cleaner.
26. Baking soda isn’t as effective a deodorizer for the fridge as that baking soda company would like you to believe. Activated charcoal is much better at absorbing fridge and freezer odors.
27. Baking soda is an extremely effective cleaner, though. Use it with vinegar to deodorize drains and clean stovetops and sinks.
28. A favorite tip of thousands of grandmas: when you nick your finger while cutting veggies, wait until the bleeding stops and paint on a layer of clear nail polish. It will keep juices out of the wound and won’t fall off into the spaghetti sauce like a bandage.
29. The jury is still out on what to put in the bag of brown sugar to keep it from going hard: a slice of apple, a piece of bread, and a shard of a terra cotta pot have all been used.
30. Got a nasty invisible splinter from your kitchen tools? Put a piece of adhesive tape on the area and then pull it off to remove the splinter.
31. When you burn yourself in the kitchen, just spread mustard on the affected area. Leave it for a while and it will ease the pain and prevent blistering.
32. For aluminum pans that are looking dull, just boil some apple peels in them. This will brighten up the aluminum and make your house smell yummy.
33. To keep cookies fresh, savvy grannies like to put some crumpled-up tissue paper in the bottom of the cookie jar.
cookie jar
34. If your salt is clumping up, put a few grains of rice in with it to absorb excess moisture.
35. To clean fruit stains off of your fingers, rub them with a fresh, peeled potato. White vinegar can also do the trick.
36. Keep iceberg lettuce fresh in the fridge by wrapping it in a clean, dry paper towel and storing lettuce and paper towel in a sealed baggie in the fridge.
37. If your loaf of bread is starting to go stale, just put a piece of fresh celery in the bag and close it back up. For some reason, this restores a fresh taste and texture to the bread.
celery
38. Always keep an aloe vera plant in your kitchen. It’s invaluable when you scrape your arm or burn your finger. Just break off a leaf and rub the gel from the inside on the injury.
39. When making a soup, sauce, or casserole that ends up too fatty or greasy, drop in an ice cube. The ice will attract the fat, which you can then scoop out.
40. To reuse cooking oil without tasting whatever was cooked in the oil previously, cook a 1/4″ piece of ginger in the oil. It will remove any remaining flavors and odors.
41. If your milk always goes bad before you can finish it, try adding a pinch of salt to the carton when you first open it. It will stay fresh days longer.
42. Water that has been boiled and allowed to cool will freeze faster than water from the tap. This comes in handy when you’re having a party and need ice pronto.
43. Remove tea or coffee stains from your fine china by mixing up a paste of baking soda, lemon juice, and cream of tartar. Rub it over the stains and they’ll come off easily.
milk44. If two drinking glasses become stuck together after stacking, it’s not impossible to unstick them. Just put ice in the inner glass and dunk the outer glass in warm water. The warm glass will expand and the cold glass will contract, making the glasses separate easily.
45. For splinters under the fingernail, soaking the affected finger in a bowl of milk with a piece of bread in it is said to draw out the splinter.
46. Did grandpa ever give you a drink of cola for an upset tummy? It turns out that this is actually a pretty effective remedy. The sugar and carbonation can soothe many tummy problems - but it can also exacerbate others.
47. Putting salty bacon on a boil is said to “draw the poison out” of boils.
48. To help old wooden drawers (without runners) open and close smoothly, rub a candle on the tracks.
49. A cotton ball soaked in white vinegar and applied to a fresh bruise will reduce the darkness of the bruise and help it disappear sooner.
50. Drinking cranberry juice and eating blueberries regularly will help stave off urinary tract infections.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Getting fishier around Roanoke Rapids and Weldon

Lots of fish showing up to speak of the Rockfish Captial of the World.