Apologies

Yep, I must agree with Baby Kay and offer my apologies. There will be new posts soon. The Sassy Sows will be back in the BBQ mode as of March 6-7. I'll be sure to have some photos and stories from that weekend. If anyone is interested, the contest will be in Newton, MS - come on out, we'd love to see ya!

For now, here's a couple of photos:

This is the meal I cooked Caroline on New Year's Day - couldn't have her starting the year off without some good ole blackeyed peas, cole slaw and baked ham.

This is from her 18th birthday party. She had choir practice that night and wouldn't miss it so I took 2 cakes (courtesy of my Mom) to the church and surprised her - it worked! I forgot my camera though so we had to re-inact the blowing out of the candles once we got home.

We Suck !!!

Yes folks. Linder and I suck at blogging.....it started out so exciting, so witty, so fun to take pictures and write up cute antidotes to go along....and then something happened. WE BOTH HAD KIDS COME INTO OUR LIVES........now there is no time for road trips, bar hopping, girl weekends of spa and food and music.....we only have homework, reports, dentist appointments, boy scout meetings, choir practice, more homework and castle projects, church groups, cooking, cleaning and the ever popular.......LAUNDRY !!!!!!!!!!!!!

So our cute stories and fun are a thing of the past....but lo........spring is coming and like the flowers and trees that bloom and bud, Linder and I will blossom back and get to having some fun to share with the world !!!! So don't give up on us yet.........stay tuned..........

Motherhood

It has been a month since Caroline moved in so I thought I'd give you an update. Our first outing was to Brian & Vivian's 14th annual bonfire/Christmas party. I had let her go to a party the night before with a friend's son so she got to experience her first bonfire then but at Brian's she got to see how a whole hog is cooked. She also got to stand at the grill and sample the hog (which was mighty fine I might add). Being a BBQ judge I would give him a 10 for flavor and tenderness but he definitely got a 5 for appearance (guess we should have gotten there before it everybody attacked the pig). Now Brian usually has a good bonfire but a few days before the party we had some snow (yes, I said snow in MS - can you believe it???) so the wood got wet and it took quite some time (and chemicals) to get the fire going but it was well worth the wait.

The next thing on our agenda was Christmas. My cousin Kay & I have finally grown up and have taken over the responsibility of cooking for the family. Mom & Aunt Margaret finally get to take a break after all these years. Since Kay had Thanksgiving at her house I did Christmas at mine. We had pork loin on the grill, scalloped potatoes, green bean bundles, rolls and Caroline whipped up some chocolate mousse (I don't know the German name for it). After the others left Mom, Dad, Caroline & I opened our Christmas presents. I got the most wonderful thing from my parents - a Kitchenaide mixer!!! Betty Crocker look out! I think Caroline liked everything she got and she didn't seem homesick at all. It was so much fun to have a kid to shop for this year.

I found out last week that her mom, Bianka and Bianka's boyfriend are coming to visit April 6th. They will be here for 11 days and will be staying at my house. Not sure where I'll take them but I've got plenty of time to decide. I'm sure we'll venture down to New Orleans but if anyone knows of anything going on then please let me know.

All in all "motherhood" is great. I take her to school every morning. I have someone to cook for every day. She likes the same kind of music I like. She loves movies and basketball and I've been teaching her about football. I wish that she had been here from the beginning.

Holiday Greetings

Kay did a fine job on her Merry Christmas greeting. I wanted to add my greetings to you all as well. I hope that each of you had a very Merry Christmas and that you never forget the reason for the season. I also want to wish you a Happy New Year. May 2009 be the best year ever! Love to all.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to everyone and I hope 2009 brings us Peace , Love and Goodwill towards men and women....... Happy Birthday to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,

Luke 2
The Birth of Jesus

1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3And everyone went to his own town to register.
4So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
The Shepherds and the Angels

8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

On a happier note.....

I am so thrilled to have a new "niece"......I'm excited for Linder and hope that Caroline knows what she has gotten herself into...... all kidding aside, I can't wait to meet her and look forward to some happy adventures while she is with us. I can't wait for our first road trip....I already know where we are going but I'm keeping it hush-hush for now !!!

Thanks be to God

I have felt terrible that Linder has been the only poster on T & B lately. It is not that I don't have any exciting stories to tell, it is just that I haven't had the time to tell them. But sometimes things make you slow down, take a look around and be thankful to God for his blessings. My dear friends Andy and Tacy and their daughters Anna Beth (6) and Alexis (12) got the scare of a lifetime this past Tuesday night. During the severe weather we had, an F2 tornado whipped through their neighborhood and did much damage. There were no human injuries, just downed trees, ripped roofs and shingles, water flowing, car & truck windows blown out, fences gone, the ski boat flipped around, but both dogs, all neighbors and my precious Overholsers are all well. Electric is back, gas hooked up and even cable and Internet in working order. Now just lots of fire wood to cut, mending to mend, and glass replaced and adjusting to be adjusted. Now the O's can always sit back and tell the tale of the family crammed in the bath tub as the sound of a freight train approached and ears popped and glass crashed and "in a flash" it was all quiet again. They said it was so quick that they didn't have time to really realize what all was happening......then you have to look around and see your precious home in shambles. But I bet they will remodel bigger and better and when it is all said and done, they will be stronger from it.....stronger in Faith, stronger in stamina and patience and stronger in family !!!

I'm a Mom!

This week I not only celebrated my birthday but I got the best present ever - a child. Yep, I said it - I have a child (thru the end of the school year). She is an exchange student from Germany. She has been here since August and has been in 3 different homes and 3 different schools prior to coming to live with me. Somehow the system failed her and she has had a terrible experience since she arrived in the USA but I intend on making it up to her and giving her a safe, fun place to live. Her name is Caroline and she is 17 years old. She is so cute and sweet. I think it is going to be fun having her around. She has already said that she likes to cook and wants to teach me about cooking German food and wants me to teach her about cooking American food. You all know how excited I am about that. She also sings, plays the piano and the trumbone, runs track and plays basketball. Stay tuned for stories of raising a teenager - I'm sure it will not be dull and boring! Is it scary to you all that Kay & I both have children now? Kinda freaks me out!

Coach

Word has it that MSU has a new coach - Chris Petersen from Boise State. It will not be officially announced until after his bowl game. He has only been BSU's head coach for 2 seasons, his record is 23-3 and he has taken his team to 2 bowl games. Pretty impressive if you ask me. Can't wait to see what he can do with the Bulldogs - can anyone say SEC Championship?????

Bad Friday

In true (as of late) Bulldog fashion they blew it Friday - and I mean BLEW IT!!! I don't think that MSU could have beaten Manchester Academy's football team. Ole Miss scored on their first possession and never let up. And as if that wasn't enough there was a very obnoxious Ole Miss fan about 5 rows up from us that in the 4th quarter was screaming at me to go home. I don't know why he was so upset - all I was doing was watching the game and his team was killing mine. I was not ringing my cowbell, in fact, I didn't even take it with me nor did I dress up in my usual MSU attire. I only had my MSU event cup and everyone knows that you do not travel anywhere without your event cup - what would you put your cocktails in??? My friends tell me that he acts like this at every game - he is the very kind of fan that makes you hate the school he is pulling for.

I guess I should thank Ole Miss for returning the favor to us this year. When we beat them last year their coach was fired - this year our coach quit. Now we have to wonder who will they get to replace him? Could Jeff Bower's name be on the list? What about Phil Fulmer - I'm not saying that I want him as our new coach but he is looking for a job. I hope whoever they get will be able to recruit and coach and take us to a national championship (hey, if you are going to dream, dream big!)

Defeat

For those of you that know me you know I do NOT like to lose but it is time to suck it up and admit defeat. Yep, the Bulldogs let me down and Brett has officially won the bet. I have the tickets to the Egg Bowl, several places to party in The Grove, a place to stay and next week I will go buy the bottle of Johnny Walker Black.
MSU was the first school in the SEC to set a record by hiring the first black coach - wonder if they'll set another one by firing him??? If Croom does not get rid of the offensive coordinator and special teams coach then something has to be done. I'm about ready to go back to cheating and winning - where's Jackie???? Can anyone tell me???
While we are on the subject of football - November 22 is Jere Barrier's birthday. That is also the day that Ole Miss plays LSU in Baton Rouge. Now for those of you that did not have the pleasure of knowing Jere, she was a HUGE Ole Miss fan. I've had a very strong feeling for the last week that Ole Miss would defeat LSU in Tiger Stadium next Saturday - In memory of Jere I'll be pulling for the Rebels and will even do a Hoddy Toddy -Happy Birthday DooDah!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2cDkFxpYrc

Guests & Gumbo

I got a most welcome but unexpected text message last week. Lee Ann was still in Grenada, Mary Lee had the weekend off and they wanted to come to Jackson on Saturday. Kay decided to come spend the night too.

To my delight the weather was tuning cool and this would be the perfect weekend to cook gumbo. It is an all day affair but well worth the time and effort. The first thing you need to do is cook some bacon, ham and andouille sausage in the pot you are using for the gumbo. Take out of pot when done, save for later. You may need to add some more oil to the pot in order to make your roux. Add plain flour, stirring constantly and cook until dark brown. When the roux reaches the desired color add your chopped vegetables (5-6 small-medium onions, 1 green bell pepper, 3-4 cloves garlic). Cook the vegetables for a few minutes and then add about 2 cups hot water (more if needed), 2 bay leaves, 1 Tbsp Louisiana Hot Sauce, 1Tbsp K's Cajun Seasoning (recipe to follow), 1 tsp thyme, 1 Tbsp Worcestershire, juice & pulp of 1 lemon. Add 2-3 cans fire roasted tomatoes. Add the bacon/ham/sausage back to the pot and a bag of cut okra. Let simmer until

vegetables are tender. While this is cooking peel/devane your shrimp.

Add shrimp to pot - cook until done - serve over rice - and don't forget the garlic bread.

K's Cajun Seasoning: 1(26 oz) box salt; 3 Tbsp black pepper; 2 Tbsp garlic powder; 1 tsp onion powder; 1 tsp nutmeg; 2 Tbsp Accent; 2 Tbsp dried parsley flakes; 4 Tbsp Cayenne pepper; 2 Tbsp chili powder (this makes a lot, store in air tight container and keep in the freezer)

The Saga of The Bet

Ole Miss has now won 5 games while MS State has only won 3. Both teams have this weekend off (thank goodness, I don't think I could take another weekend like this past one). Let me refresh your memory - I said the bet was that State would have a better season than Ole Miss AND kick their ass in Oxford at The Egg Bowl. Well, it pains me to admit this but I do not have a snowballs chance in hell of winning (thank you Bulldogs) even if they win their next 2 games. In order for Brett not to be able to collect on the bet Ole Miss would have to lose their next 2 games and State would have to win their next 2 and then we would be tied going into the Egg Bowl. The bet said "better season and win in Oxford" so if by some strange miracle we are tied going into the EB then I think it is a toss up. I would ask all of you what you think but I really don't care, after all it is my big fat mouth that got me into this bet so I think I get to make all the rules.

Sassy Sows

The Sassys have missed the last 2 BBQ contests and now we are down to our last one - yep, our last chance to win a spot in the MBN championship contest next June. This weekend we will be going to Oxford (yes, I said Oxford) to compete. I'm not sure who all will be there but I'm sure it will be some fierce comeptition. Keep your fingers crossed for us. Stay tuned - results will follow next week.

Octoberfest

I started this post on Oct. 16 and here it is Oct. 23 and I'm just now getting back to it. Since I've taken so long to write about it I have decided to just give you the short version - Kay & I went up there Friday morning and ended up staying until Sunday. We had a great time - the weather was perfect for being outside and the contest was a big success with 10 MBN teams and 38 patio teams. The contest winners are as follows: 1st place Hog Ubon's; 1st place shoulder Red Hot Smokers; 1st place ribs Ghost River Smoke-a-holics - Grand Champion was Ubon's. Congratulations to all these fine teams - again I say, job well done!

There are a couple of photos from the contest that I just couldn't resist sharing. (We don't call this blog Torture & Bliss for nothing - you figure it out)

And this my friends is Ronnie Hamilton - the only man I know that wears a gold plated rib bone around his neck. The story is that this rib came from his hog that he won with in Memphis. Alan, this photo is for you - if you had been in Cleveland you could have met Ronnie and heard the story first hand.

The Bet

After the game last weekend when MSU beat Vandy - yep, that is what I said, MSU beat Vandy 17-14 - the score on the bet is now Linda 2, Brett 3 - watch out, I'm catching up

More BBQ

Last weekend was the BBQ contest at The Chapel of The Cross. They have had the Day in the Country festival for several years and 7 years ago they added the BBQ contest. There were 10 teams participating this year - just to name a few Ubon's, Diamond D, Steve's Magnificent, Fireman John's, Dr. Swinestein, and Barnyard. There were also arts and crafts booths there. Barnyard won Grand Champion and because they had already done this the pass down went to Diamond D's. Congratulations to all the teams that placed and to the winners - job well done! I hate that The Sassy Sows were not there participating but I certainly enjoyed getting to judge. If you have never been to this festival I strongly encourage you to check it out next year.



This weekend there is a BBQ contest in Cleveland, MS. I will be collecting Baby Kay in the morning and we'll buzz on up thru the Delta. This contest has been one of our favorites for years. The official name of it is Octoberfest. They will have live music on Friday night and arts/crafts on Saturday. While there I will also get a chance to run over to McCarty and purchase myself some new pottery. I'll have photos and stories of our adventure posted next week so check back in. In the meantime, have youself a good weekend!

Vidalia cont'd.

I left a couple of things off of the Vidalia write up that were just plain worth having their own mention. I have to tell just how inventive the group at Ubon's is. I think I'll start off with Jacob, the littlest Ubon (Leslie & Doc's son). I found him sitting on a cooler with the most intense look on his face stiring a "pot" of something. When I inquired as to what his recipe was I was informed that it was some type of "soup". I told him that it "must be documented" (I learned that from Beeve and Bradley) so off the cooler he came and here is he proudly displaying his
"soup". I see a BBQ chef in the making!

On Friday night before Dr. Father Vivian's birthday bash started I noticed that there was a new addition to the Ubon's site located just outside the fence. I am not quite sure if Beeve invented this on his own or if he had help. Anyway, here are his 2 precious daughters, Erin & Claire demonstrating the proper usage of this new addition. I'm not sure that they made any money off of it but it was quite creative.

And you really could see 2 states and a casino!

Cudos to Ubon's for creativity!

Ole Miss

Just wanted to say congrats to the Rebels for defeating Florida in the swamp - NOT!!! Where in the world did that victory come from - ooohhhh, I know - we lost 2 very good friends, Jere Barrier and Sidney Chaffin within the last few months - they were both die-hard Rebel fans and I just know that they had something to do with this - I will say this just for them (and nobody else):
Hotty Toddy - Gosh A'mighty - Who in the hell are we - hey, flem flam bim bam - Ole Miss BY DAMN!!! -
I love and miss you both!!

oh, yeah - Linda 1; Brett 3 - I'm not digging this score at all! Looks like I MAY possibly be buying my own bottle of wine to go with that lasagna BUT I'm not giving up - after the LSU game it looks like Coach Croome has finally realized that Lee needs to be our QB instead of Carroll - Wesley tried hard but he definitely needs some more work or needs to be moved into another position - hopefully they can regroup after being off this weekend and come back bigger and better - I have faith in them and I know they won't let me down!

Vidalia

This past weekend was the Jim Bowie Festival in Vidalia, LA. The Sassy Sows were the reigning champions of the BBQ contest -in fact we have won the past 2 years. We went down there with great anticipation - could we pull off a Three-peat??? We got there Friday morning and began setting up our area and prepping our ribs.

The weather was perfect - light little breeze blowing, sun shining and we did not have many love bugs to deal with. By late afternoon we had our area all decorated, the ribs were safely tucked in for the night and we were ready to relax for a while.

Brian (aka Beeve) had a surprise b'day party planned for Dr. Father Vivian down at Ubon's site Friday night. The Sassys had not one but TWO cakes hidden safely in the coach (courtesy of Baby Kay and Becky, Egg Roll's wife). Egg Roll (aka Bob) and Dale were busy cooking none other than egg rolls and sweet potatoe fries for our dining pleasure and as usual, they were both delicious (thanks guys!) We had a "ride about parade" prior to the birthday

celebration. Now this did not compare to the grocery cart parade we had in Memphis but it was still fun. As soon as the parade was over the girls (Erin & Claire) got the banner that Baby Kay made and walked around the area where the cooking teams were to round everybody up and then we wished Dr. Father Vivian a BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

After this it was time to go home, rest up and get ready for the big day on Saturday.

Now, back to The Sassy Sows - we were expecting great things from our ribs that day. The color was perfect, the flavor was perfect and the tenderness was perfect. I must apologize for not having a photo of the finished product but I was too busy to stop and take one and my "official photographer" Baby Kay was busy judging. Come to find out we did not make finals but after all was said and done we came in 4th which is not bad considering the competition that was there. I have to congratulate Ubon's for taking the #1 spot in whole hog - Beeve, job well done, hog was wonderful!!!

Also, congratulations is due to Mark and 10 Bone team for taking the #1 spot in shoulder and ribs - we apparently didn't take Mark thru the drive-thru liquor store enough (and that is a private joke)! Here's the Grand Champion photo - we are very proud for you I can not end this post without showing you a photo of the winning tropical drink done by our friends at Diamond D from Newton, MS. The name of the drink is the Blue Sunomi and here it is - Tracy outdid herself this year by adding the goldfish - I would love to come up with a drink to compete with her next year but I'm not sure that I can get this creative - I'm taking any suggestions that you readers want to contribute. Her father-in-law Mike came up with the actual drink recipe and he said that there is nothing in any bartender guide that duplicates it so it is a one of a kind. Tracy was kind enough to give me the recipe so we can have this any time we want but we will never enter it in any contest - EVER!

Congratulations again to all my friends - hopefully we will all be competing against each other soon. And many thanks to Donna, Regina & Findley and their helpers for taking on the job of orgainzing the contest and taking such good care of the teams and judges - we appreciate your efforts more than you will ever know.