In My Dream........

I am one of those people that does not know what it is like to get a good nights sleep. I am up and down most nights, all night long. Due to my failure to sleep through the night, I seldom ever dream. If I do dream, I seldom remember what I dreamed about. The other day I was having a bad fibromyalgia day and laid down and caught a little nap. I dreamed about Brittany receiving an award for her beautiful singing. She had been invited to the White House by the President to sing at a social gathering of famous politicians. We were so proud of her and were all trying to do what we could to get things ready for her trip to Washington D.C. and her performance at the White House. This way she could concentrate on practicing her music. I heard the hum of a sewing machine somewhere in the house and sought out the room that the sound was coming from. My mother died in 2001, I was so excited and filled with so much happiness when I saw her sitting at the sewing machine. She was creating a dress from the most beautiful fabric I had ever seen before in my life. The material was so light and flowing and the color was ever changing. Every time the fabric was moved or touched the color would fade from one color into another. Not only that, but all of the colors were complimentary to Brittany's complexion. I ask her where in the 'world' did she find such beautiful fabric and she said that it isn't of this 'world' and asked me where I thought it came from. I asked if it came from Heaven and she told me I was right. She said that our Brittany needed a dress as special as she is. It was about this time that I started to wake up. I didn't want to wake up, I wanted to stay with my mother a little while longer and I fought so hard to go back into my dream, but I woke up instead. It was such a wonderful visit and gave me such a peaceful feeling just to sit next to her once more and watch her skillful hands guide the fabric as she created the perfect dress for her great grand daughter. Hopefully some day I will find my way back to that place in my mind where dreams linger and happiness abides.

"If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?"

~Percy Shelley

Well friends, it is official. Punxsutawney Phil woke to see his shadow and decided to go back to sleep for another 6 weeks. Don't shoot the messenger. Phil was just doing what he does best, letting us know that we need to wait a bit longer for Spring to come. I really can't see where I can complain about the delay of Spring's arrival. We had descent weather well into the month of December and January hasn't been nearly as harsh as it could have been and has been in past years. So I will reserve my right to complain for some other reason.

Wishing you all the blessings of sweet dreams.........

Happy Groundhog Day

Photo by Alan Freed

From the Official site of Punxsutawney Phil........

Phil Says

"Six More Weeks of Winter!"

Phil's official forecast as read February 2nd, 2009 at sunrise at Gobbler's Knob:

Hear Ye Hear Ye
On Gobbler's Knob this glorious Groundhog Day, February 2nd, 2009
Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of all Prognosticators
Awoke to the call of President Bill Cooper
And greeted his handlers, Ben Hughes and John Griffiths
After casting a joyful eye towards thousands of his faithful followers,
Phil proclaimed that his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers were World Champions one more time
And a bright sky above me
Showed my shadow beside me.
So 6 more weeks of winter it will be.

~*~

With that said, I guess we should just dig in and brace ourselves for the 6 more weeks of winter that has been predicted. Now there are impostors all over that claim they have the inside track on the weather forecast. It is your choice of course which you will put your trust in. Meanwhile you can get into the swing of the Ground Hog celebrations by singing the old Appalachian song:

Ground Hog

Shoulder up your gun and whistle up your dog

Shoulder up your gun and whistle up your dog

We're off to the woods for to catch a ground hog

Ground hog, ground hog

Too many rocks and too many logs,... (x2)

Too much trouble to hunt ground hogs,...

He's in here boys, the hole's wore slick,... (x2)

C'mon, Sam with your forked stick,...

Stand back, boys, and let's be wise,... (x2)

I think I see his beady little eyes,...

Here comes Sam with a ten foot pole,... (x2)

Twist that whistle pig outta his hole,...

Work, boys, work just as hard as you can tear,... (x2)

The meat'll do to eat and the hide'll do to wear,...

Up come Sal with a snigger and a grin,... (x2)

Ground hog grease all over her chin,...

The children screamed and the children cried,... (x2)

"I love that ground hog cooked or fried!",...

You eat up the meat then you save the hide,... (x2)

Makes the best shoestring that ever was tied,...

Look at them fellers, they're about to fall,... (x2)

Eatin' till their britches won't button at all,...

Little piece of cornbread laying on the shelf,... (x2)

If you want any more you can sing it yourself,...

If the song isn't enough to get your toes to tapping then you might want to try a Groundhog recipe:

Woodchuck Pie

1 woodchuck (groundhog)

3 medium carrots

3 potatoes

1/4 cup of butter or margarine

1 onion, diced

2 tablespoons of flour

pie crust dough

Quarter the woodchuck and place the pieces in a large pot with enough cold water to cover the meat. Boil it for 10 minutes, then discard the water, refill the pan, and bring the liquid to a boil again. Lower the heat and let the contents simmer for about 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Add the carrots and potatoes and continue cooking the stew for about another 30 minutes ... until the meat is tender and separates easily from the bone. By this time, you should be able to pierce the vegetables readily with a fork.

Now, strain the liquid and reserve 2 cups. The remaining pot liquor can be saved for soup stock, or discarded.

Next, remove the cooked meat from the bones and cut it into bite-sized pieces. Melt the butter or margarine in a large, heavy skillet, add the diced onion, and cook it for 5 minutes. Then add the flour and stir the mixture until it bubbles ... put in the reserved liquid and blend the brew some more until it thickens . . . and, when that happens, combine the vegetables and meat, mixing the whole concoction thoroughly.

Finally, butter a large casserole and pour in the meat-and-vegetable mixture. Lay pie crust dough over the top of the filling, brush the pastry with milk, and place the container in a preheated 400 degrees F oven for about 30 minutes, or until the crust has turned golden brown.

~Or you could just go back to bed and hibernate a little longer with the covers pulled up to your chin. Personally, that sounds like a good idea to me, but I have an appointment this aftenoon to get my 3rd and final Synvisc injection in my knee. I guess I will have to save the hibernating for later.

"Happy Groundhog Day"

18 Days To Go....

Usually by this time every winter I am more than anxious for Groundhog Day to get here so I can find out what is ahead, an early spring or another six weeks of winter. It is also the norm for this time of year that the schools have used up a lot of their snow days. That isn't the case this year, I think they have only used two so far. It is a little on the difficult side to call a snow day when we are having 65 degree temperatures and thunderstorms.

I have always had a passing interest in groundhogs, but never really did a lot of research on the little critters. The old timers have been heard saying that they are good eating because they eat vegetables and fruit. After we moved to the mountain in 2004 we had our first close encounter with our "neighbor groundhog". At that time we had a Japanese peach tree in the yard. It was a pretty tree, but a very messy one and we talked about taking it out not long after we moved in. It just sort of grew however it wanted to. There was no grooming it, as far as pruning went, it dropped limbs and twigs whenever and where ever it felt like. The fruit, although good was very small and by the time the fuzz was peeled away and the pit taken out there really wasn't a lot to work with. We knew it was just a matter of time before the lawn mower would catch an overlooked pit and take out a window or two. It wasn't long after we moved in that the tree dropped it's fruit and we came to know our groundhog. We discovered him sitting under the tree one evening in the middle of all that fallen fruit oblivious to the world around him. Eating to his hearts content. After a while something caught his attention and he took off down the hill to the woods on the back of our property. That is when I got the best laugh I'd had in a long time. That little critter (not really little at all) looked exactly like furry jello as he ran down that hill. His fur just rippled and rolled. The rest of that spring I watched for him every day to come and fill his belly (which he did) just so I could see him run for the woods when he was finished. We did eventually get rid of the tree because of the mess and the window issue.

I went searching for information on Groundhog Day this morning so we can all be up on the subject when the big day rolls around. The best site I found was the Official Puxsutawney Phil Groundhog Site. It was at this site that I learned Groundhog Day first came about in the 1800s. I had no idea that it has been around that long. I found this quote there as well: The celebration of Groundhog Day began with Pennsylvania's earliest settlers. They brought with them the legend of Candlemas Day, which states, "For as the sun shines on Candlemas Day, so far will the snow swirl in May..." The site is full of other interesting information like groundhog history, past predictions and fun facts. It is at this site you can even join the Puxsutawney Groundhog Club if your heart desires. Check it out when you have time.

Meanwhile I wish everyone a good day.