Molly The Magnificent and The Angel Dog

In November of 2009 a sweet precious baby came to our house. I will never forget the day she came. Mark and I were outside doing some yard work and we saw a very old looking black dog coming down our driveway. It was not a new thing for people to dump animals out on our road. The strange thing, there was another dog following along. The other dog followed a little ways behind the black dog. The black dog looked really old. She crept down the driveway and you could count every rib in her body. The other dog looked properly taken care of. Very healthy. I thought to myself this looks really strange. Did someone put both of these dogs out on our road? Why did only one of them look so bad.

Mark put some dog food out on the driveway. I said “I wonder who she belongs to? she looks like a hunting dog”. We didn’t really think the dog could belong to someone she was so malnourished. While the black dog ate the food hungrily the other dog watched, not making a move to try and get any of the food. We thought it was very strange the way the other dog just sat on the driveway straight and tall and didn’t bother to come down and eat or let us pet it.

The black dog let us pet her and we gave her some water. She was in such bad shape. The other dog on the driveway continued to stare never making a move to come down.

We checked the black dog over and decided she must be really old she could barely walk. We made a little bed for her and put out some more food. I looked up and the dog on the driveway was gone. It’s almost like he brought her to us and then left.

The next day we took the black dog to the vet. The vet checked her out thoroughly. Her tail had been cut off. He told us she was a Plot Hound, they are primarily known for hunting bear. He said she was probably gun shy and not a good hunting dog and someone had just let her go. She was not chipped. He surprised us by saying she was only about a year old. The reason she couldn’t walk very well was because she was starving. Surprisingly she did not have any parasites inside or outside of her body. Other than being under nourished she was in pretty good shape. This is probably because she was so young.

We named her Molly Rose, don’t laugh we always give our dogs middle names. My grandmother’s name was Rose. I had always planned to name a daughter Rose so I decided I would give the name to our precious new baby. We called her Molly and she fit right in. She never left the property except to go on our walks that we take. She would visit my father in law’s house next door to see what delicious scraps he may have thrown out. It was as if she was home and she knew it. She got along very well with our basset hound Patches and she was happy.

Through the years of course Molly has aged. She has gray in her muzzle but she still kicks her heels up like a young girl. She still goes on all of the walks with us but sometimes she comes back early and that is o.k. She stays outside most of the time but we always bring her in at night because of the C word, coyotes….

Scruffy and Molly are the best of friends.

Mom!!! We’re ready to come in.

Molly suffers from allergies she itches like crazy starting in the spring through the fall. We have to get her an allergy shot from time to time. She also has the worst ear infections. We have to deal with her ears on a daily basis. But oh how we love our Molly girl. She is the sweetest, gentlest baby you could ever hope for.

Yesterday Mark took Molly for her yearly exam. Because of the COVID restrictions he was not allowed to go into the Vet clinic with her. I knew she would hate that. She is so timid. When he pulled into the parking lot they came out and got her. She hates being around people without us nearby. But she was a good baby. When the vet came out to talk to Mark she said that Molly has a heart murmur, a tumor on her side and two tumors in her legs. The tumor or lump in her side has been there forever so we will continue to watch that. The other two in her legs we will need to get a biopsy. The murmur we will watch for signs of distress. Anyway she is an old girl starting to have old girl problems. It seems like our times with these babies goes by so quickly.

A funny story: When we first got Kitty Kitty we didn’t know how Molly would get along with her. Molly always wanted to attack smaller animals because she chased squirrels and things. We brought kitty kitty home and she was in a small crate in the back of the car. Molly jumped in and grabbed the crate with her teeth and started shaking the crate. We thought Molly wanted to eat kitty kitty. After several visits between Molly and Kitty Kitty we discovered she loved Kitty Kitty she just wanted her out of the crate. What a relief that was. Whenever we take one of the other babies to the vet, Molly paces and whines and tries to jump in the car with us. She hates for them to leave.

We never saw the other dog again. We watched for it. We told poppy about it and that it might show up at his house. It never did. The only thing that we can figure is that it truly was an angel dog. It knew exactly where to bring Molly for her to be cared for. He sat on the driveway and waited for her to be fed and watered and loved on and then he left. It was almost like he was saying, my job here is done.

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!

Southern Apple Stack Cake

This is one of my “Southern Secrets” It is a secret way I have of making a really yummy treat.

When I was first married, I remember my mother in law knew a woman in town who made the best Apple Stack Cakes you have ever eaten. An apple stack cake is just what the name says. It is a stack of cakes with apple filling in between. The higher the stack the better, but most recipes call for six layers of the cake. Now keep in mind the layers are very thin, that is one of the tricks to the Apple Stack Cake. I am going to tell you the basic four steps for preparing the Apple Stack Cake and then I am going to give you a secret recipe that is unbelievably good. You may already know about it. It doesn’t even involve baking. What?? You won’t believe it!!! Please know I am not trying to downplay the Apple Stack cake and the original way to make it. It is a true labor of love and shouldn’t be taken lightly. If I could buy one or make one every week I probably would. But I know I don’t have time for that and you probably don’t either.

But back to my original story. When I was first married my mother in law knew a woman and her husband who made stack cakes at Christmas. They had several apple trees and they would harvest the apples in the fall and peel them and dry them for Christmas time to be made into the cakes. They dried bags and bags of them. This was a big deal for them. They did it to earn extra money for Christmas. They were both retired and lived very modestly. When Christmas came around everyone knew this was the place to get your stack cake. Many many cakes were made daily. They even delivered them to you for the outrageously low price of $12.00. I know!!! I think the first year I knew about them they were $10.00 and then the price of the ingredients went up or maybe the apple crop didn’t do as well and they had to increase their price. If you ever happened to stop by their house during the stack cake preparation, you would see a flurry of activity coming from that sweet couple. You would find it hard to believe that only two people did all of the work that went into all of the cakes.

My mother in law always got one for Christmas dinner. You had to put your order in early because they only made so many and when the apples were gone they were gone. After I got married I got on the list so that I could have a cake for my mom and dad’s house when we went there for Christmas. Two of these awesome cakes at Christmas, well it was just about the best thing you can think of.

The four basic steps for making your Apple Stack Cake: I am not including an ingredient recipe you can google it or you may even have one from your grandmother or aunt Gene.
Here is one that I found that looks pretty good http://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/8012/apple-stack-cake

1. You make the apple filling. You are making the applesauce from dried apples by simmering them with water and spices and a bit of brown sugar. Once the dried apples become soft and pliable you will put them into a food processor to be pureed.

2. Make your cake batter. You can use a basic cake batter but you must chill it so that you can spread the cake batter very thinly for baking. Some people put the batter directly on parchment paper and bake the layers (you must have at least six layers, I don’t know why but you do) but my mama always used a cake pan and just spread the batter really thin along the bottom of the cake pan.

3. When the layers of cake are cooled you put one of the layers on a plate. Spread the filling on top then add another layer continue with this until you get to the last layer. Some people spread the filling on the top and sides. I think this makes it really messy. It also makes it hard to wrap it later. Once you wrap the cake the delicious apple filling will seep into all of the cake and make it really soft and yummy.

4. Top the cake with waxed paper and wrap in plastic wrap. Let stand at least 12-24 hours before cutting.

Doesn’t that look delicious?

Now I will tell you my little cheater way of doing this. A friend told me about this years ago and whenever I get a craving for an Apple Stack Cake I just fix one of these:

You will need a jar of reaaaallllly good apple butter. This is the apple butter I bought at the Mennonite market a few weeks ago. It is so good. You will also need a pack of graham crackers. I use the regular kind. I guess you could use the cinnamon ones.

Spread the apple butter between each of the graham crackers and start layering the crackers.

This is what it will look like when you finish. I may have gone a little crazy on the apple butter but it is just so good!!!!

You then wrap plastic wrap around it and put it in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours. Actually waiting 24 hours makes it even better but it’s so hard to wait!!! The crackers absorb the apple butter. They will no longer taste like plain graham crackers.

This is what it will look like when you cut it. You will get about 3 servings out of this because it is really dense. It is soft just like a cake and it tastes yummy.

Like I said I am in no way telling you not to make a “real” Apple Stack Cake. But if you don’t have time and you want a treat that brings back a lot of memories, try this. Let me know how it goes.

Always remember,

Love your day your way!!!

Happy Mother’s Day!!

Hello friends and Happy Mother’s Day!!! I hope you have had a wonderful day with your family and loved ones. It has been a beautiful day here in the south. It has been really really cool. I told you last week we were in Blackberry Winter so the mornings here have been almost cold. If you missed my post about the different winters in the south check it out here This morning it was only 36 Degrees F. A lot of people have covered up their outside plants to keep them safe.

The roses are blooming. This one was at my father in law’s house.

A full weekend. I did the Saturday morning grocery run yesterday. Things are still somewhat tense at the grocery store. It’s like if you get near anyone you jump back like they’re on fire or something. Still very uncomfortable.

In honor of Mother’s Day, I decided to wear my Dog Mom cap to the grocery store yesterday. Please excuse the no make up look.

My little mother in law lives in an Assisted Living Center in Sweetwater. Because of the quarantine we haven’t been able to visit her in over two months. She has been dealing really well with it. We call her every day. For Mother’s Day I have been taking photos all around the house of us and the babies and the flowers and things. Walgreens had a special on 4×6 photos, .10 per copy if you printed over 100. I did, no problem. I got a photo album for her and put all the photos in it. I also took her some of her other favorite things and some flowers. We took all of the things over to the Center yesterday so that she could have them today. She called me and told me how much she liked the photo album. She said “Do I get to keep it here with me”? I laughed, of course you do, I said. It is so funny how happy you can make someone with a small gesture since she can’t see us she can at least look at the pictures. We also took flowers to the cemetery for my mother’s grave and Mark’s grandmother’s grave.

So today was Mother’s Day and usually it is a hard time for me. I did a post a couple of years ago called I survived Mother’s Day. You can read it here. I don’t have human children and Mother’s Day has always been sort of a hard time for me. But you know what? This year it wasn’t at all. I am trying to figure out exactly what is different. Of course dealing with COVID-19 this year has put a lot of things in perspective for everyone. I also think that as I get older and more comfortable in my skin I am happy with me just the way I am. Instead of thinking about surviving I rejoiced in the day. I am happy with the way my life is. I had a wonderful day. I cooked a rack of baby back ribs in the crock pot, they were amazing!!! I will share the recipe for the rub I used soon. I worked on some cross stitch and some knitting. I read. I spent time outside, I spent time with my precious sweet family and it was just awesome!!!

This is the heart cross stitch I have been working on for quite a while. I had hoped to have it done by Valentine’s Day. But it will probably be next Valentine’s Day, maybe, HA!!

Me, my sister Carolyn, My Mom, my sister Sandy, My sister Pat. This picture was taken a few years before my sister Carolyn and my mom passed away. We were on one of our famous “Sister Trips”. These women have played such a role in my life. I can’t begin to tell you how they have guided me and made me the person I am today. They were and are amazing mothers!! They mean everything to me.

Always remember,

Love your day your way!!!

It’s Blackberry Winter

Happy Wednesday friends. It is cool here. Only about 50 degrees F right now and it is 7:00 PM. It is supposed to be 36 Degrees F in the morning at sunrise. Do you know what this means? It can only be Blackberry winter here in the south. You have probably heard me mention Redbud Winter and Dogwood Winter but those are not the only winters we have in the spring in the south. There are actually five little winters in Tennessee and they all take place in the spring. Let me explain.

After the weather starts to turn warm in early March, and some of our days can get really warm, we always have a few cold snaps. They almost always fall at the same time give or take a day or two. Farmers have used their belief in the “winters” to know when to plant crops. These little bits of cold weather are sometimes a shock to your system. Just when you think you have packed away all of those sweatshirts and sweaters and things, you wake up and it is 36 Degrees!!!! Frosts and freezes can occur which can damage or kill tender vegetation that’s already started blooming. So here are the five winters in the order in which they arrive.

Redbud Winter: This usually happens around late March or Early April when the Redbuds bloom. This one isn’t such a shock to the system because winter is still in the rearview mirror and we know it is awhile before true warm weather arrives.

Redbud blooms. They are only red when they first bud out then they turn purple.

Now the Redbuds look purple.

Dogwood Winter: This happens around mid to late April when the Dogwood trees are blooming. And well, it is just such a beautiful time that I think we barely realize that it has gotten a little colder. The Dogwood trees are flowering and the air is soft and it is just a nice sweet time.

Dogwood, my mama’s favorite.

Locust Winter: This happens in Early May when the Locust trees are blooming. I have to say this is one winter I haven’t ever really noticed that much. I remember thinking in Early May about a week ago that it got really cool for a couple of days and I was thinking is it Blackberry Winter? But I knew the blackberries hadn’t started to bloom. So I guess it was Locust Winter. I will pay more attention next year.

Blooms from a Locust tree

Blackberry Winter: This is what we are experiencing right now!!! It usually happens early to mid May. I know that almost every Mother’s Day Sunday it is cool and everyone attributes it to Blackberry Winter. Sure enough the blackberries are flowering in full force. But flowering is the key word. We won’t actually have blackberries until mid summer. They are only starting to bloom now.

Flowering Blackberries, they will not produce fruit until mid summer.

Britches Winter/ Whippoorwill Winter: This one is the last winter that we have in the south. It usually happens in late May. The way I know we are getting close to Whippoorwill Winter is the Whippoorwill start calling like crazy. This is usually at dusk, just after dark or early in the morning just before daylight. I love to hear the sound. There is a lot of folklore that surrounds a Whippoorwill call such as, does it foretell death, marriage or woe? Can your aching back be cured by its call? All I know is I love to hear the sound. The reason it is also called Britches Winter or Woolen/Britches winter is that it happens just when you think you have put your long underwear up for the winter and all of a sudden it is cold for a few days and you need it again. As I said I have always called it Whippoorwill Winter. And I love to hear the song.

Click this picture to listen to the song of the Whippoorwill!!!

So there you have it. The five “winters” in Tennessee. I hope you have enjoyed learning a little about them.

I added a category to my blog posts called Southern Secrets. I hope you enjoy those posts.

Always remember,

Love your day your way!!!