Leslie's Mediterranean Grouper

For Laurie's Birthday celebration Leslie prepared her Mediterranean Grouper. Here are the ingreds: Grouper, pesto, green olives, capers, butter, feta cheese, and olive oil.


Dredge fish in flour then brown in butter and olive oil. Remove fish to plate.


Add pesto, sliced olives, and capers to pan (same pan, Les used two pans since she was cooking for all of us) After a couple of minutes add halved cherry tomatoes.

Return fish to pan, nestle into the sauce, put some on top of fish, then top with feta cheese. Cover pan to allow cheese to melt a little.

Sorry about this poor photo of the great fish.

Served with Ree's Crushed Potatoes, my salad, and garlic bread. Yum!!! Would be great with pasta.

Special Visitors at The Farm

All throughout our childhood, my siblings and I looked forward to an event that occurred not annually as Christmas or family vacations , but every few years. That was a visit from Aunt Frances, Uncle Larry and their daughters.

We were always so excited to hear that they would be visiting us or that we would be meeting them at our Grandparents' house (where the cabin is located at what we call Rogers farms). Aunt Frances and Uncle Larry both told the most intriguing stories.

Our Aunt Frances and her husband Uncle Larry were missioners in Korea. Uncle Larry was captured the very first morning that the Korean War began and was a prisoner of war throughout that war. I could not even began to tell of his experiences but our experience was that we adored him and would listen spellbound any time he would tell us of his experiences. When we were young he always told us interesting stories without including too much of the harsh reality of being a prisoner of war on a death march. We discovered the harsh details in the book he wrote years later. He was such a kind and generous man and we were always so proud of him and loved to just be with him. One of my own favorite stories was of him teaching a young man geometry during the years that they were prisoners. The young man later became a well known (I think) physicist.

Aunt Frances always told the best stories about life on the farm with her brothers, parents, cousins, and aunts. And she still does. I know because she told us many stories when she visited the Rogers siblings recently at the farm. Where we entertained her at her old home place and she entertained us with the history of that old home place.

Our cousin Brenda and her husband Dave also came and we fell in love with Brenda all over again and Dave for the very first time.

We expect Brenda and Dave to come often and enjoy the farm with us now that we have become reacquainted.

We were able to ask questions of Aunt Frances and the family baby, Uncle Tolly, that we have discussed and wondered about when gathered at the farm. Trying to name our grandparent's siblings and their parents or trying to remember when certain events took place. Aunt Frances answered many questions and explained how the old farm house began life as my great grandparent's log cabin but was enlarged and grew with the family. The log cabin was later moved and the newer addition then was enlarged several times until it became my grandparents' house that I remember from my childhood. Brenda and I both remember spending the night in the living room of that old house after our grandparents moved into their new house. I think we had a flashlight under the sheets and something, maybe a Luna moth, kept attacking us until we ran for protection to the new house.

Jimmy and I were especially happy to have Aunt Frances and Uncle Tolly come to our house a couple of nights later. We enjoyed as many tales as we could work into the time we had. It is such a great reminder of daddy, being able to spend time with his family.

Happy April 1st

This April first has been a very rainy day in South Georgia. After 10 inches of rain last Saturday and at least 4 additional inches last night and today.......


the ponds are running over and the poor baby fish are being swept away with the water.


This river is running down our south damn.


These rapids are running over our back damn..........................................

and these rapids are running over our drive.


This lake has covered our pond.

After the bad weather passes we will need to hire a backhoe to come and dig our yard off the bottom of the pond and spread it back over the area surrounding our house.

School was canceled today and even ABAC has canceled classes tonight for the first time since I started teaching there. ( I just received an email stating that school is also canceled tomorrow.)

I am always rather cautious when told that school has been canceled. I want to check out that information and make sure it is a fact and that I really should not make my way to school. I have a learned fear of being tricked, especially on April 1st.

It was a rainy April first when I was in first grade with Mrs. Lester at Morven Elementary School. We had a cloak room, which was a room the same width as the classroom with doors on each end where we each had an open locker with hooks where we hung our coats and placed our rain boots. We all had to use those cubbies that rainy morning after we removed our rain coats and sat on the little bench to remove our rain boots. (I also recall that the side opposite our lockers with the bench was lined with book cases where the extra readers were stored while we read our way through various books that year.)

Mrs. Lester called the class to attention just as we had finally settled into our chairs around our little tables that morning after storing all of our rain gear. She announced that, surprise!, it was a holiday and we would be returning home. She told us to get ready and line up at the door. Girls on the right. Boys on the left.

We were so excited! I remember very clearly going into the cloak room to put on my rain boots and little rain slicker while thinking, "Mama is going to be so excited when the bus pulls up in front of our house and David and I come home."

After thirty first graders were dressed and ready, we lined up at the door as always with girls on the right and boys on the left, waiting with great anticipation for Mrs. Lester to march us down the hall to the front door where the buses would be ready to return us to our thrilled mothers.

After a few minutes Mrs. Lester threw her hands up, threw her head back and exclaimed "April Fools!!!" I thought, " Okay, any holiday is fine with me. Let's go to the bus so I can go home and surprise Mama." We all just stood and looked at Mrs. Lester, suddenly very confused as she continued to laugh. Not one child seemed to understand as we stood in line, girls on the right, boys on the left. Everyone dressed for the rain that poured outside.

I can still remember feeling confused and really dismayed as Mrs. Lester tried to explain that it was all a joke and that we were not going home after all. She had to tell us to return to the cloak room, take off our boots, place them in our cubby, remove our raincoats, hang them on the hooks and return to our seat.

Maybe Mrs. Lester had taught just a couple of years too long.

I may sign up for Facebook just to see if anyone from my first grade is on and will be my friend. I could see if they remember that April Fool's day or if they blocked out that memory but have always had a really hard time trusting anyone in authority and never knew why. There could be a lot of healing for my first grade classmates.

Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!

Well, that's the title of a Fannie Flagg book that we all enjoyed. But today for you, Laurie, it is actually, Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!


March 31, today is your birthday!!!! Happy, Happy Birthday.


It seems that you were just a little baby days ago and now we have all of these little babies that you are so crazy about.



It seems that I was just holding you and now you are holding Bennett (over the stream that flowed between ponds this weekend.)


It seems that I was just reading to you and you reading back to me............


and now you are reading to all of these babies.......................................



And enjoying them as much as I enjoyed you at every age.




I love you and I am very proud of the woman that you are.

I love how you love all of your family........







And how you always entertain us.................painting parties.............





..................... letterboxing .................................



.............................. blogging...........................introducing us to all of these new friends..............





And just by being yourself. Funny girl! I love you !



We all love you and enjoyed your birthday dinner. Thanks Les for cooking!

Once Again

Early Monday morning I watched as the flashing light on top of the school bus marked its passage down the dirt road across the railroad track from Still Waters. It was still very dark!

It made me sad to think of the little ones out in the dark waiting for the bus. I hope someone was holding their hands as they waited. School was about to start for the week and this time I got in my car and went too.

After my feet hit the floor the 30 plus years of routine just kicked in and I was soon on my way to school once again. And, yes. I did drink my oatmeal on the way. Back at school, right next door to my "old" room.

Today I finished my first week back . Teaching trig once again. And tomorrow is a holiday. A four day week. Yea. Also I had some cute shoes to wear so that made it easier to go. Thanks Leslie.

It was a good week and yesterday I visited the little 8 lb. 11 oz reason for returning to school. He is beautiful and his mommie was feeling great.

Sunny Sunday at Still Waters

There is so much to be done on a sunny Sunday afternoon at Still Waters, especially when you are a boy.



There are reels to prepare for fishing.


There is sand that needs to be dug and sifted.


There are fishing holes that need to be checked.


Some serious mustang driving to be done.





There are fish that must be fed.


Fish that must be caught!


In this case it was the big boys doing the catching.


After all of these activities, everyone was very hungry and just dug in!


Good food. Good times!!!!!

Saturday Morning Brunch

What a beautiful early Spring morning for a ladies' brunch.

Featuring a grits bar!....... The speaker was " not from around here".

And she has been a missionary to Africa for many years. She had not eaten grits!


She loved them!

Sue plans to buy grits to take back home where she and her husband will be preparing to move to North Africa this June.





Here are your pics K K! Sliced fruit, cinnamon twist, tea biscuits with pear butter, mayhaw jelly and blackberry jelly, and breakfast casserole. Forgot to take pictures of the dining tables or drink areas.