I love potatoes!

I love potatoes. Baked, boiled, fried, mashed, sliced or diced.  But my favorite is potato pancakes.

When I was little I remember when mom would make mashed potatoes and I would tell everyone not to eat them all.Why? Because I knew if we had leftover mashed potatoes we would have potato pancakes the next day.

I grew up eating these and just in the last few years found out they were an Irish dish called Boxty. Makes sense considering my Irish heritage.

Now that both my parents are gone I am contuning the tradition with my chldren. They both love potato pancakes as well.

Tonight was leftover night. I heated up butterbeans and leftover chicken and made potato pancakes. There are never leftover potato pancakes!

These are fattening and work best when fried in a fair amount of oil. May I suggest a walk around the block after dinner!

Once again these are approximate measurements. There was never a recipe for these.

Combine 1-2 eggs with leftover mashed potatoes. Add enough flour to make a thick consistancy.  (About 1 cup flour to every 3 cups potatoes.) Fry in a skillet with a fair amount of oil until golden. (About 3-4 minutes each side.)

Live and let live

    I cannot believe the Meridian City Council passed the "baggy pants" ordinance. How can they legally do this?
    I admit I don't like the look of the people who wear their pants practically around their knees. I think it looks stupid. I also think mohawks and purple hair look stupid, but it's not against the law and they have every right to wear it that way.
    There is something called the Constitution that gives Americans the right to do these things. When the government starts telling us how we have to dress we are no longer a free country.
    To me, people who burn an American flag are the lowest of the low, but because we are a free country, they have the right to do that. It's why our soldiers have fought in many wars — to ensure that the United States stays free.
    It was stated at the city council meeting that some parents had brought up the fact they did not like the way their children dressed. Well, guess what, you are the parent. You are responsible for your children, not the city council. The woman that addressed the council had it right — it starts at home.
    My daughter saw some dolls she wanted at the store and I didn't think they were appropriate for her age, so I told her no. She put on her pouty face and said "please, please, please, mommy!" I still said no, because I am the parent and she is the child. I know what is best for her.
    The point being, we may not like how it looks, but as long as no "skin" is showing it's not illegal, just bad taste.
Kudos to Dr. Thomas for voting no on this. It seems he is the only one that gets it!

The history mystery

    I love genealogy. It's a hobby I could do all day, every day.
    In the past 10-15 years I started researching my family history. I looked up names on the Internet, looked through microfilm at the library, and listened to stories from some of the older cousins. But I never got full information, just bits and pieces. I wanted to know more.
    In the past week I have learned more about my family than I have in the last 15 years. But instead of being satisfied with this new information, it just made me yearn for more.
    I visited the Lauderdale County Courthouse to look at plat maps, land deeds and marriage dates, the archives department at the Lauderdale County Courthouse Annex to get copies of marriage certificates and look at city directories, and the office at St. Patrick Catholic Church to look up baptism, marriage and burial information. Not to mention walking all over the catholic cemetery and Rose Hill cemetery.
    I feel like a detective searching for clues to a big mystery. It has been an amazing adventure and I don't want it to end. I have loved every minute of it. (And I think I lost five pounds from all the walking I have done. An added bonus!)
    I always wondered why there weren't stories about my ancestors. Most families could tell you great stories about things that great-grandpa or great-grandma did.
    My roots in Meridian run very deep, going all the way back to 1868, but the stories are few simply because my ancestors were lucky to have lived at all.
    My great-grandparents, James and Anna Nevell Crowe came from Ireland. They were married in Meridian on Jan. 14, 1868. On the 1870 census he is listed as an engineer with the railroad. They had a total of six children. Their first son, Frances Patrick, was born on Nov. 27, 1869, and died on Oct. 17, 1872. By 1880 they had five more children.
    On June 4, 1880, James Crowe died at the age of 39. My grandfather, James T. Crowe was only six months old. On June 2 or 3, 1881, Anna Crowe died at the age of 35. The five children still living were all under the age of 10.
    I have heard stories that Father Louis Vally, the priest at St. Patrick Church, raised my grandfather. It is quite possible, considering both parents were deceased and that in 1880 the catholic community was still fairly small. All of the children were also baptized by Father Vally.
    The other children, all girls were "at school." (This is how it is worded on the census forms.) Anna, the child, and Ellen both became nuns, Maggie married later in life to a C.M. Waggoner, and the youngest, Mattie Crowe, died in 1889 at the age of 11.
    I have also heard my grandfather, James T. Crowe, was studying to become a priest, until he met my grandmother, Mary Serena Rose, daughter of John Seaborn and Bridget Harrington Rose.
    So, there aren't many stories because all of the children were too young. They never knew their parents.
    For me, the mystery grows.
    I want to know how my great-grandparents died. I want to know why Frances Patrick died at the age of three. I want to know how my grandmother raised six children during the depression after my grandfather died due to injuries sustained in a car accident in 1925.
    I can close my eyes and try to imagine how they lived back then. The hardships they endured. How they survived during the Yellow Fever epidemic in 1878.
    I have created a timeline starting in 1868 when James and Anna were married and so far have gone through the 1930 census. (My father, John B. Crowe, was 15 years old in 1930.) I will post the timeline on my blog when I have completed it.
    With more answers come more questions. Some questions will never be answered, but I will definitely have fun trying to find them!

Won't you be my neighbor?

Hi. My name is Helen and I am addicted to Facebook games.

Yes. I admit it. I love playing games. Farmville, Frontierville, Cityville. You name it, I've played it.

These games are very addictive and competitive. I love tending to crops, receiving gifts, building things where you have to ask for parts and trying to get to the next level before your neighbors do.

Why? Who knows. They are just a lot of fun.

Michael has said, "Are you playing that game again?" "Are you going to be on there all day?" My reply: "Yes!"

I guess it could be worse. I could invite people I don't even know just to get parts faster, but I stick with people who are on my friends list. I don't ignore my other responsiblilities. I haven't missed work just so I could play. I still get the house cleaned, dinner cooked, kids where they need to be. (While typing this blog I have a load of clothes in the washer and the dryer.)

Fortunately I still have dial up, so it actually takes a few minutes for the games to load. That's when I do my chores. If I have to go to the store I leave the computer on so I don't have to reload the game.

So, I am addicted to games. I could be addicted to much worse. I know my limits and if I look up and realize I have been on the computer for more than 2 hours I will turn it off (for a few minutes!)

I don't like to think about the time I've wasted on my computer. I think it would make me ill. So I just enjoy it and go with it. It's like a release for me. I spend so much time taking care of "adult" things — working, paying bills, taking care of my family — it's easy for me to get lost in a game where there are no responsibilities.

It also keeps me busy. I am always moving, doing something, going somewhere. I wouldn't know how to act if I suddenly had a few hours with nothing to do. 

Well, it's time to end this. I have crops that need tending in Frontierville!

Here's a quick tip: For those of you who don't like seeing the game requests pop up on Facebook, you can hide these without hiding everything posted from that person.

Keeping it sweet and simple!