Sharing What I Am Liking The Last Couple Months!

OK friends…I am your guinea pig…well not in the real sense, but in the sense that I am willing to try something to see if it works or not….and let you know the  results.  I’m also going to tell you the story of Wayne Newton that I hinted at a few posts ago.  If you want to skip to that story it is at the bottom.

One of the first things I bought earlier this year…was this little warning device.  Previously, I have thought that as loud as I can be, I didn’t need anything but my screaming voice to attract attention for help.  But, that was in my younger days and before cancer had weakened me.  I used to be able to play softball and run with my grandkids…but not anymore.  And while we hope and pray that we won’t have a need to call for help, realistically we need to protect ourselves as crime has gotten a lot worse, hasn’t it?  Golly, when I was younger, we left keys in our cars overnight and the doors of our homes unlocked. So, I decided to check out this little personal safety alarm.   I have never liked walking alone to my car in the evening, so I usually avoided those situations, but in todays world, even daylight walking alone can be dangerous. In the graphic below, you will see that this device could also be used tif one has fallen or needs medical help in some way. I like the way this device works so if you are interested, please check it out here.

It is really loud if nothing else and comes in a variety of colors.

Another thing I am liking is this frozen Lasagna. and it has been around for years. I like to make my own, but there have been times when I have been in a hurry, especially if I am being asked to bring food to a fellow neighbor or church family member and I do not have the time to make Lasagna from scratch.  I have an amusing story to tell about one of these occasions. This product has been around for quite a few years as many of you know.  In fact, it used to be called ‘Mrs. Stouffers’, so I still refer to it that way.  I’m not sure when the name change happened, but now it is simply called ‘Stouffers’…but I digress.  My story begins with a call from the church asking if I could take a meal with-in an hour or so to one of our Pastors and his wife (who were recovering from covid).  It appears that the person who signed up for that evening’s meal had an emergency.  I knew I had a frozen Lasagna in my freezer (and these bake from frozen) and the makings of a salad in my fridge along with hamburger buns that I could butter and garlic, so I said ‘sure, I would get right on it and deliver it to them them’. Later that evening, Pastor called me to thank me for the great tasting meal.  He praised me over and over and said there would be a star in my crown when I got to Heaven because it tasted so good!  I laughed and said thank you, but the star should go to Mrs. Stouffer because she made the Lasagna, I just put it in the oven.

As long as we are talking about cooking, I love to use this Better Than Bouillon Sofrito.  If you cook a lot or a little Puerto Rican dishes, this saves lots of time.  It is made from a blend of sweet peppers, garlic, cilantro and onions, and used to flavor nearly all traditional stews, rice dishes and of course beans. I use sofito with Puerto Rican Steak with Onions.  The recipe is below.  Of course you can use Sofrito in Cuban and Mexican foods..  It is actually very versatile. Do you use Sofrito, if so, share please.

If you like games, I have found almost all of these Smart Games a lot of fun. My grand children love them , as do adults.  They challenge your mind and come in various games for various ages under the name Smart Games.  

Ok, let’s talk about Wayne Newton or Mr. Las Vegas as he is known.  He has been performing in Las Vegas since the early 70’s. This story takes place in late 70’s-early 80’s.   I have spoken often of my late mother-in-law who was a full blood Seminole Indian and lived in New Mexico. (My late husband was so proud of their Indian Heritage).  My mother in law, Pauline Kane Tiger had a sister Katy who lived in Las Vegas.  Aunt Katy worked as a domestic and happened to be friends with a domestic from Wayne Newton’s Casa de Shenandoah, a very large Arabian Horse Ranch just outside of Las Vegas. Pauline took a trip to visit her sister which also included a ticket to see Wayne Newton perform, and the two sisters (via the Newton domestic) were allowed back stage after the show, where they were part of a large group.  Now these two older Indian ladies had to stand out as they both dressed in their finest Indian apparel with lots of turquoise jewelry… so of course there was no doubt of their ancestry.  Mr. Newton singled them out, particularly my mother-in-law, and they engaged in a conversation on how Seminole Indians ended up in New Mexico and Las Vegas.  (Another long story that I won’t go into now)  Pauline, who was known as a person who was never at a loss for words…explained how she lived in the oldest adobe house in Moriarty, N.M. and as a young girl, once a month, rode horses with her family the 30 miles into Albuquerque for supplies.  Well, one thing led to another and Mr. Newton offered the two Indian women to a visit of his ranch to see his Arabians …which they did.  Again, Mr. Newton met with them and asked more questions of my Mother-in-law as he seemed fascinated with the simplicity of her life…. and of course she had stories to tell.  She told of Easter egg hunts in the mountains on horseback and makeshift rodeos where she and her family and friends (again on horseback) would “steal” their neighbor’s livestock, but only for the rodeo day…after which they would return said animals to each and every owner. She also told of her earlier days when she worked at ‘Blackies’ and the time she bought a cup of coffee for a young country singer who was dead broke, who just happened to be Glen Campbell. (He signed an IOU to repay the favor which she never collected because she just wanted to keep his signature) Anyway, at one point in her story telling, she invited Wayne Newton to her old house with foot thick adobe walls in the very small town of Moriarty, New Mexico where she promised to make him home made tortillas and Pinto beans.  Now you might think that is the end of the story.  BUT, one day, a black limo pulled up the dirt driveway of my mother-in-laws old adobe house with the red tin roof (the only such house in Moriarty) and Wayne Newton stepped out and into a couple hours of more story telling and eating tortillas and beans with an old Indian woman…and then he was on his way.  You can imagine the shock of the neighbors when the limo confirmed Pauline’s boasts that Wayne Newton was coming to visit Moriarty.  

I don’t know what the attraction is with Moriarty, other than I personally love it…but while my late husband and I lived in the mountains there, we got to meet several celebrities including race car drivers like Bobby Unser.  We actually watched them working on their cars and drag racing in a small dragstrip near Moriarty.  You see, Pauline baby sat and practically raised a boy who grew up and married into the Unser family…….

And then there was the time Reba McEntire’s tour bus broke down in Moriarty after leaving Albuquerque….

You can only imagine…

Have a great and Blessed day.

Psalm 46:5—“God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.”