And so it is hailing outside

Friday, 4:07 pm

By Cyn

Apr

16

2010

Wish the weather button on here said freaking cold, hail, snow in the forecast, miserable, rotten, typical NE weather!! Anyone want to know how I really feel?  Nah, didn’t think so!!  The tan I have is going to quickly become the tan I HAD. 

Been thinking (always dangerous)--if there were to be a theme song associated with Sarah Palin, what would you choose?  I think - right this minute, anyway - my choice would be “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition.” No offense to the real reason behind the song, but she cannot get away from her gun comments and so somehow, I think this might be a good one.  What would be your thoughts?

Found an article on bizarre foods this morning which I pasted on my facebook page.  So far have had some interesting food choices from my friends........interesting in that, with the exception of grits, were different and yes, perhaps bizarre.  I commented that I love ‘sweetbreads’ cooked my own way which is an organ meat most people would never eat, my mom used to make baked stuffed beef heart (I grew up amongst farmers and farms) which was incredible, along with tongue which made the most fantastic sandwiches if you used horseradish (also homemade) and mustard.  None of these would qualify as bizarre - at least not to me, but they definitely would not fall into a classification of normal, either.

My dad used to make a drink called Switchel which Wikipedia describes as made with water, vinegar, ginger and sugar and found great popularity in the hayfields of New York in the 1930s.  Well, my dad used molasses not sugar or perhaps both and it was used exclusively during the haying season.  He made gallons and gallons of it for the men who were working along side of him in the fields.  Once I was old enough to drive (13? 14?) my job was to drive one of the wagons as the men (and cute boys my dad hired for the haying season) walked along beside the wagon and tossed the bales to someone standing on the wagon stacking them.  If you think it was easy, think again.  Their jobs were hard, the guy standing on the wagon stacking had a really tough one (especially since it was often his daughter driving the tractor!!) and it was hot and miserable work.  But my dad swore by the switchel and everyone drank it.  I used to try it every day and it was truly disgusting.  But there must have been something to it cause no one ever got sick or passed out from the heat or dehydration.

And since I am rambling about haying season and my driving the tractor - much to my mother’s dismay cause she always wanted me to be the perfect little girl - I will share this story.  My grandfather was never happy about me driving and helping, used to mutter things about “GIRLS” under his breath.  But he was from another era and girls did not work along with the men in the fields.  I only did it cause of the (see above) cute boys my dad used to hire!! ;) But coming back to the barn, you had to go down a rather steep hill onto a rickety (or so it seemed to me) bridge over the river.  I would promise my dad each time I could do it and then get about halfway down the hill and panic.  I always was afraid I would go too fast and the wagon would somehow run over me (hey I was a GIRL) and wagon, hay, tractor, me and whoever else was riding on the wagon would go crashing into the river.  SO, everything would come to a screeching halt, I would be in a state of panic.  My dad would have to ease up behind me, and slowly take over.  Then my grandfather - who would NEVER ride on the wagon when I was driving, would really mutter about the uselessness of females on a farm.

Ahh well, it makes me chuckle thinking about it.  Hope you all had a good laugh at my expense as well!!

And now I must say goodbye as I am meeting some of my friends for dinner tonight and time to think about getting ready. 

Ciao’