Southern culture is American culture

In this episode, @TraeCrowderLiberalRedneck examines how “Southern culture” can be looked down upon and emulated at the same time.

The American South is a complicated place, and we know a lot less about it than we think we do. And many things about the South that seem to make no sense are less confounding in context. The reality is the history of many Southern things has been manipulated, hidden, or just plain ignored. Trae Crowder guides us through the pride points, failures, and contradictions in “Southin’ Off.”

My day so far

So I woke at 2 am to pee. With my new heart medications, I pee at night almost every hour. I also went to bed at 8 pm. I tend to go to bed early due to both my medications and insulin / food at supper making me very sleepy. So last night I went to bed at 8 pm.

Ron and I do not get tired normally at the same time. I go to bed early and he normally doesn’t come to bed until 10 pm or later. But we have a system. I put my pills in little paper cups. When I go to bed I set up and take my evening pills for that day, then set up my pills for morning and set it aside on the headboard, I then set up the 10 pm pain pills and set in a spicfic spot. I set the night ones in one place and the morning ones go next to the morning other pills I take. Then I set up my nighttime long acting Lantus insulin pen. I take 25 units at night around 10 pm. So I set the dial, put the needle on, but leave the cover and get the alcohol pad packet ready. Yes we use them for our blood sugar sticks and our shots because the teaching over the years spent in the hospital ICU systems still resonate in us. Then I go to bed.

Ron then comes down about 10 pm to wake me or remind me if I have not been sleeping to take the pills and shot. Often by then he will be ready to come to bed, but sometimes not. It is something that works well for us, as I get up much earlier in the morning than Ron does.

Back to today. I woke up at 2 am to pee, but couldn’t go back to sleep. So I figured it was a great time to get up and deal with all the open tabs I have on both computers. Also between 4:30 to 5:30 am I try to feed the two “outside cats”. I am normally up by 5 am and they are used to that. The outside cats are one feral distrustful female and one former inside cat that often spends days in our home to go back out at night. We wanted him to be out during the day and in all night, but after a month or two of fighting with him, he won. He comes in during the day and sleeps or what ever, and is out all night. So I fed them and made of him as he wandered around inside.

Later that morning when Ron got up.

Ron and I took the skirting off parts of the back and the side at the back of the house to inspect the old internet coaxial cable that was run for us in 2007. The current cable is a two part cable because when we first signed up with the internet company we got the entire package, TV, phone, and internet. We soon dropped phone for cells, then dropped cable for internet entertainment. So all we have is internet. And we are happy with that, if not the price. As I said before we use the max out of our internet. The company recently forced us to go through a week of on and off internet to double our speeds, which I am sure they will soon jack the price for. When I talk to others around the country about their internet speeds and costs a lot of people get far greater speeds for less cost, but what can we do? We really are dependent on our internet for everything from our TV, computers, to our security system.

The first thing we did after breakfast was go out and remove panels of the skirting on the back of the house and the side near the back. The intent was to see where and how I had split it off when it was first put in on the beginning of 2007. Because we had signed up for Phone, cable, and internet they ran a large two-sided cable from their box at the back of the yard which they then split a distance under the home to send one half to and hooked into the home, then I split the internet part off to several rooms in the house. Over the years we got rid of landline phone service and then cable. So the old cable stayed only with the second part cut off at the boxes at the end of the home.

Since I hope this is the last office change and both Ron and I want to get it as perfect as we can we have decided to replace the existing large two-sided cable with a new modern upgraded coaxial cable just for the internet to the spot we plan to put the modem and router.

Which saw Ron and me outside at 10 am in the Florida sun / heat taking the skirting off spots in the back and side of the house to determine what we needed to do to run new coaxial cable. Ron insisted on taking the side panels at the south side of the home off while we were in the direct sun because he was sure the answers we needed were further up the house. I knew how the cables were run because I was deeply involved with them when they were being done back in 2007, but I also know enough after 33 years of living together to just let Ron do what he is sure is right until he is proven wrong. Then if I know what is good for my future affections for a while I never let on that I was “damn well right in the first place”

So to make the longest story shorter after taking off the back panels I had seen the place their orange cable came in and our double cable was hooked to and ran under the home, split off to a now cut line, and ran the rest of the way under the home. So the solution was clear and simple. So simple it leads to an argument until Ron and I got on the same page and he understood what I was saying. So we measured the length of the back of the house to the corner and then up to where we thought roughly that the wall from the new office to the current office room. Leaving room for “stuff” we came up with 45 feet. So Ron then decided to add to that length of the rest of the home. He came up with 70 feet.

At this point I felt the need to remind Ron that the official length of our home was 56.5 feet long. He was not happy and insisted we needed a new 70 foot cable in case we ever wanted to move the modem from my office to another part of the house like the planned for new living room. I knew when trying to fight a point was not worth doing so, and agreed to look the cable length up at either Home Depot or Lowes.

That is when things got a bit tense. First let me say I have made many cables, both coaxial and Ethernet. I did it for years. I have all the tools and supplies. But I just don’t want to do it now. I want this to be the last time we do it, open the skirting which is a bitch to open and harder to close and then run this cable. I trust the manufactured cables more than my ability these days. Ron was angry I did not want to do it because at the stores we could only get 50 feet or 100 feet in the lengths we needed. Ron wanted to buy 70 feet which both stores will sell the cables by the foot with out ends and have me put the ends on. I told him to get the 50 foot for about 30 dollars or the 100 foot for 40 dollars. I am not sure which he will get. He finally gave in. I just don’t want to do it anymore, even though I am sure I can.

Then after being outside and kneeling in the grass, my allergies were in full bloom. My hands that were in the grass to look under the house and help me get back on my feet were turning red and itching. I stayed out with Ron while he closed up the skirting, which is a true bitch, then I came in and took a shower while he mowed the lawn with the new 6.5 amp 18 volt batteries we bought for the mower. Now let’s move on to the rest of the day.

One of the great things of my new Scotties Playtime Pink Palace is that I can swivel the video monitor and put on headphones and do the dishes while watching the video screen from the kitchen sink / counters! Those video monitor arms are awesome. So I did the dishes. Now I want people to understand, we have a very fancy expensive dishwasher that has not worked correctly since Ian. We paid a repair company $110 to come in, run it for 10 minutes, hear it run, see it had a bit of water and leave saying nothing wrong with it. So after it wouldn’t fill or run, Ron replaced a bunch of parts, including the pump. Then he gave up and we just continued doing dishes by hand in the sink using the dishwasher racks to drain the dishes. The problem is to replace the dishwasher will cost about $700 dollars and I need new glasses as mine have a chip out of them and my eyes have gotten worse. The glasses I get have always been around $700 dollars at the least expensive place. The one time Ron and I tried a different place, they wanted 1,400 dollars for the same glasses. Screw that.

But while there was not really a large amount of dishes, only about 24 hours worth for two people, it took me 2 and a half hours. Yes sorry but I struggle to stand, move, work with my arms and shoulders. So those dishes took me that long. During it I needed to take pain medications. While I was doing dishes, Ron took a well deserved break. He offered to dry the dishes but I really felt he deserved more of a break. The man is 68, has his own health issues, and was out in the Florida sun / heat mowing our lawn. I wanted him to sit in his recliner after he took his shower, watch his TV, and relax. And tonight he is going to make supper of burgers and salads.

A few hours later: Ron made two burgers each and two small salads. Small salads for us means a regular size bowl and a large salad which is what I normally have is a very large pasta bowl full of salad. So I made two burgers the way I like and took them to my new office along with my salad. But I soon realized I wouldn’t be able to eat both burgers and the salad. As I was finishing my first burger, Ron opened the door and asked if I needed anything and I offered him my second burger. He smiled. He knew that was coming. I wish I did. He told me he had not made his second burger because he figured when he saw me take both of mine I wouldn’t be able to finish them. He asked and I explained what was on them. He ate my second burger and I finished my salad. He then told me he loved it, the way I make a burger on a bun is great, but I only put salts, lettuce, pickle slices, and a tad bit of both mustard and A1 steak sauce. But it worked out, I did not over eat and he got a great burger along with putting in the fridge the leftover burger which he will eat later. He loves cold hamburgers, which I find abhorrent. It is sad in a way, in the old days we would both eat two or three burgers and a whole bag of store bought french fries. These days when Ron asks I don’t have him make fries. No way I can eat that much. If I am going to have fries I can only have at most one burger. Or instead of the burgers I will just have fries which is horrible for my blood sugar.

So everything I normally do at the end of the day is done. The cats have been fed, Odie has been fed, and will get his shot closer to 8 pm. I am going to bed with my muscles aching and my body pain starting to rise. Ron has already popped in to ask if I want a back rub or something before I go to sleep. Gods he is wonderful. But I told him we will cuddle when he comes to bed many hours from now.

So that was / is the highlights of my day. I am sure I forgot some stuff. If you ask me questions I might remember what I forgot. Otherwise I love you all, and wish those that like hugs many warm ones and those that don’t want hugs I extend best wishes. Good night. Scottie

I have tried, I really did. I hope that shouldn’t be again.

Ron made a great meal of baked Ziti and garlic bread. It was what I asked for, and he seemed to understand even though I was hiding it from him, I was very upset. I ate two small plates full, even though that was a lot for me.

But now I must go to bed. Not only is the food and emotional upset screaming through my body, but I can not deal with anything else. I can not deal with the 180 web pages, tabs I have opened on two different computers. I simply can’t deal with any of them. So I must close it all down. Go to bed, and try desperately to sleep. That again will be with some help from Ron.

Often when one or the other of us can not sleep cuddling with the other does the trick, the only thing is who cuddles who and for how long. Sometimes cuddles turn into sexy time. But often it is simply a way to go to sleep when one is upset over the day’s news. Plus we never go to bed at the same time, so if I am to wait for Ron to come to bed to feel better, I would have to ask him before heading to the bedroom. Anyway today and the posts I have made have exhausted me, and I simply must stop. So all those tabs will go into the cue for morning. Hugs and loves to all.

Let’s talk about Biden, recommendations, and information….

Fire Ants – Most succesful creature that has ever lived | Full Episode

Horrifying. I was once working in the yard before I understood what fire ants were when we first moved to Florida. They swarmed my legs before they started to sting as a group. That is what they do, the first ant doesn’t sting, they wait until they have a bunch of them when dealing with large prey. By dogs that love gravy, that is painful. Ron’s mother had to be hospitalized because of a fire ant attach. They are nothing to take lightly. They can kill a fully grown cow because they swarm the prey / threat. Hugs

Witness one of natures ancient wonders – Fire Ants! It has been adapting, evolving for 150 million years 14 000 species they are nearly everywhere thriving. This is the story of solenopsis Invicta for 80 years it has been on a ceaseless march across the United States racking up six billion dollars every year in crop damage equipment repair and Pest Control conquering 340 million acres in 13 states and it’s still on the Move globally now scientists are cracking their ancient secrets to success and survival we knew that we could speculate all day but to fully understand the ants we decided to bring them into the lab and obtain visual data.

Southern Diversity

We all have a pretty skewed image of what “Southerner” means. @TraeCrowderLiberalRedneck takes a look at who the real Southerners are and how our views got so skewed. The American South is a complicated place, and we know a lot less about it than we think we do. And many things about the South that seem to make no sense are less confounding in context. The reality is the history of many Southern things has been manipulated, hidden, or just plain ignored. Trae Crowder guides us through the pride points, failures, and contradictions in “Southin’ Off.”

So I made bread.

For years I made bread. Mostly white bread but sometimes others. I had a Breadman machine and it made great wonderful bread. I shared it with the neighborhood and it was something people asked me to make for them.

I made a 2 pound loaf ever few days for nearly two decades. I burned up two different machines. Then when I went to replace the last one, I couldn’t find an up right pan machine that has the loaf standing rather than laying down. The difference is an important one. The laying down pan has the blade or two blades in the center of the loaf, and that leaves a large hole after it cooks. Or in the case of two blades, two holes. That means a lost of a lot of bread. However the standing loafs, pans that are up right so the loaf forms higher than wider the blade hole in the bottom loses a lot less bread.

After a few years of going without making bread I looked for new bread machines. I picked a Cuisinart bread machine. I dislike it. It just down’t produce a large, good loaf. But I tried to use it. But by then both Ron and I were diagnosed as diabetics and we were trying to get our A1C down, so we switched to using Splenda for baking. Guess what? Despite everything the manufacture claims, Splenda doesn’t bake the same. Every loaf I made in the machine was not worth trying to eat. So we bought a big Kitchenaid mixer and all the stuff to make bread by hand. But still trying to use Splenda the bread was not good. For a few years I gave up.

But we missed the fresh bread. Ron and I agree that the problem was the Splenda, and since most breads don’t use much real sugar we should try going back to that. So Ron got out the machine. I made the first loaf. I am using the Breadman machine recipe as I can not find my Cuisinart booklet. Remember all that stuff was on a shelf in my old office that had the roof torn off and 8 hours of over 150 MPH winds lashing it. Most of it won’t ever be found.

The bread came out good. Not great but good. Better than store bought. The problem was the loaf was again short and it was dense. But in less than three days it has been eaten up. I am going to make another one today or tomorrow. I will add more yeast to this mix. I wish I could find and afford a new bread machine. On with the vertical pan. The old Breadman made fudge and so many other things. This one doesn’t do any of that. But for now I have to use what I got. Below are the pictures and one short movie on the bread. Hugs to all. Scottie

This is the recipe I used, the 2 pound one. On the next one I will try using 2 tsp of yeast to see if it will rise higher and be lighter. Oh and I already use bread flour. The rest of the pictures are below and a short video of Ron slicing the first slice. That seems to be the ritual we have. I bake or cook it, and Ron always does the cutting. It is silly I know, but it is something that makes him happy so I am all for it. Hugs

And this is what we are thinking for supper

Today for the second day I had another doctor’s appointments. Yesterday I got my allergy shots, today I saw my endocrinologist. He was thrilled with my labs, he also was thrilled with my weight loss from a little over 200 to now 185. It may not seem like a lot but it has made a big difference for me, as I recently said my A1C is down to 6.2. He also was shocked when I told him my Janumet medication went from $122 for three months to $431 for one month. He changed that to Metformin which the pharmacy informed me right after the visit would cost me … Wait for it … $1.30 for three months.

Ron and I came up with an idea for supper that we think is neat and cool. Ron had bought yesterday a French bread baguette and some garlic spread we like. So we got out a large electric grill out we have, sliced the bread on an angle about a little less than one 1 inch thick, Ron sliced the big ham we had the other day into small slices, and we have trimmed cheese slices to use. I prefer Munster and Ron likes Swiss.

I opened two cans of Campbell’s tomato soup and got out crackers. I got out paper plates but real bowls. Yes I do not like paper bowls for soup. Ron has called me over several times to see if I thought something done this way or that would be OK. I love it, no matter how this turns out we have had fun experimenting, we will enjoy eating it, and we will have the memory of doing it together. Hugs.

Oh one of the windows I have been carrying forward the last few days is 78 tabs large. I have finally managed to get all the other tabs handled, but this one is one of the largest, and it may take me the weekend to deal with. My plan now is to get up in the middle of the night and try to respond to them all. Hugs and loves to all, if you have not gotten a reply to your comment and you really think I should, please send it in again, write a new one. Sometimes older comments go away before I can get to them. Best to all. Scottie

What is the Biblical Meaning of Sodomy?

We explore the origin and historical development of Sodomy and its association with Homosexuality.

Video is part of an ongoing LGBTQ Ministry taught be an instructor with 15 years of experience in religious education.

Yes I did this

OK Ron has said if I don’t tell everyone I did this he will. He is still cackling nearly an hour later. In my defense, I was really trying to be nice and not complain as we are trying to keep the grocery budget down. Just not to this amount.

So we decided to have burgers for supper. Ron normally has some frozen for when we want them but don’t want to go out to the store to get hamburger. But Ron had gone shopping today filling the cupboards and cabinets with food stuffs. He bought two packages of new hamburger as that seems to be are new meat of choice in hard times.

So as supper neared, we talked about what to have, and we both agreed on hamburgers and salad. We used to have french fries with meals such as this, but both of us have lost the taste for such heavy meals and we are both diabetics. As Ron got the meat ready I got all the salad stuff and burger fixings out. I take great pride in how I build a hamburger.

For me I take the thinnest part of the bun, and set it aside. I take the thickest part and add a bit of mustard to it. It might be brown mustard or yellow depending on mood. Then I add several large pickle slices, normally I trim them to just beyond the shape of the bun. Then I add a few lettuce leaves, torn to fit but not shredded. I always like a lot of lettuce so a use a few instead of one.

Then I add the meat and season to taste, closing the bun and enjoying a well-built tasty burger. However I missed a step this time that caused Ron no amount of amusement and me a bunch of red-faced oh crap.

In my defense I was trying to listen to a podcast on the current political situation and was not really paying attention to what I was doing, but Ron is correct, it was hilarious what happened next. Just don’t tell him I agree, I am trying to maintain my innocence with subterfuge and obstruction, you know the republican way.

As I was eating the first burger and enjoying my bowl of salad I noticed the burger was lacking a burger taste. I looked at it and thought “Wow Ron really made these burgers thin”. But I figured that was all he had in the package and as we are on a budget I thought why complain when he is doing the best he can. After all the bun and stuff tasted great, just less than burgerish.

I got to the last three bits when I took a look at the bun in my hand. I thought the burger was really skimpy, in fact I couldn’t see it. I went over to Ron and mentioned I knew we were on a budget but why make burgers so skimpy as to hardly taste them.

As we were talking and he seemed confused, I looked over at the counter … and there were my two hamburgers sitting on the plate Ron had brought them in from the grill on. Oh shit! Talk about foot in mouth eating crow! I had made two perfect burgers with no hamburgers in them, and ate most all of the one without stopping to investigate or complain why it seemed burger less tasting.

Ron is still laughing and I know he will not let this go, he will use this against me for the next dozen times I point out something I think he may have been mistaken on. He is still gloating even though I gave him my second well dressed bun, this time with a hamburger in it hoping that would sooth his need to take glee at my discomfort and small unfortunate once in a long time misstep. Sadly that is not to be, he informed me that if I did not write this for all my viewers to see how utterly clueless and goofy I can be, he would. I prefer my version to his so I am taking my lumps with grace and going off to bed. Hugs