Come along for the Ride!

I am so glad you are here. Stay with us as we travel everywhere. I hope you will enjoy the ride.

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Christmas Timeoff

We got a load from Wisconsin to Indiana. That got us closer to home and then came the dispatch that would do it. It picked up in Dayton, Oh on Sunday afternoon and delivered near Washington, DC on Monday morning. We would deadhead home from there. God was in this, I had no doubts.
We got to attend The Church of Christin Eaton, Ohio. They had a wonderful Service. We were happy to be there.
On Monday we got home around 11 am. So I got to cooking right away because the boys and Shelbie were coming up this evening for dinner and our gift exchange.
We had a visit by our friend, Deby in the afternoon. She drives for Tate and Shirley too.
For supper we had smoked turkey, boudin, andouille sausage, jalapeƱo poppers, cheesy cauliflower, blueberry and cherry cheesecake.
We had a great evening.

On Tuesday morning, Starla and I went to Meyersdale to meet Margo, Rurh and Carol for breakfast. 
After that we Pops came over to Meyersdale and we visited with Frankie, Melynie, Katie and her boyfriend, Austin and Zachary. We exchanged gifts with them and visited for awhile.
That evening Bill's kids came over for a little while. I made spaghetti, garlic bread and salad. We gave the kids their gifts and then Bill and Starla took them back to their mom.
Christmas morning I woke up and got our turkey going. It was just going to be me, Pops, Bill P. And Starla. Tom was going to come but then changed his mind. Once the turkey was started I cleaned our truck and finished our laundry.
After we ate, we drove to Cumberland and spent some time visiting with Bill P's mom, grandma and aunt and uncle. That was a nice time. Then we went over to Bill's mom's house to see her tree. 
In the evening we went in to Somerset and stopped for a few minutes to see my brother and his family and then we went to my sister, Amy's and stayed there a little while.
It was a very short 3 days, but It was one of my favorite Christmas times. I wish we could have seen a few more loved ones, but it just didn't work out this time.
Now we are back to work. We got a load at 1:30am. We had to drive to Connecticut to pick it up and it is going to Boca Ratan, Florida. It delivers on Friday.
Then we have a load for Monday that will leave us in Southeast a North Carolina on Tuesday. 
So we need to find a church along I95 in Florida.
I guess we will spend New Years Eve in North Carolina somewhere.


From Laredo, Tx to Menomonee Falls, WI.

I thought this was a road named for Pops.



Noni and Santa

Our grandson, Zachary. Don't you love his hat we brought him from Texas?

Our granddaughter, Katie is rock in' the basketball courts.

Amy and Noni









More pics from recent trips

Lucy in her coat and boots during a Connecticut ice storm.

The rocket at an Alabama rest area?

And again during the daylight.

Saw this 1954 Ford in San Antonio.





Texas for 3 days

The week before Christmas we had 3 days off in Texas with Tate and Shirley. We had to get some repairs on our truck so while there we stayed at the ranch.
It is beautiful there right now. Pops went for several walks with his gun. He saw a good many deer. He saw tracks of hogs, but didn't see any. 
He kicked what he thought was a rock but it moved and then walked away. It was an armadillo.
Lucy enjoyed her time off the truck.
And so did I.
We went out to eat with Tate and Shirley a couple of times. I believe that Pops and I are liking Mexican food more and more.
I hated to leave but it is exactly one week til Christmas (Wednesday.) we want to be home by Monday. Our hopes aren't very high. We got a load going to Wisconsin near Milwaukee for Friday.
Lucy in Texas

One of the bucks that Pops saw.

And then it saw him.

Full moon and stars over the live oak tree at the ranch.

Daybreak

Some recent travels










Friday, December 13, 2013

Eggnog Cake

Eggnog Cake

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup oil 
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1  1/2 cups cold egg nog
1 tsp. lemon extract
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups coarsely chopped pecans, divided
 
Egg Nog Glaze
2 cups powdered sugar
5 Tbs. egg nog
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
 In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and oil for about 2 minutes.  Gradually add in sugar and beat for about 5 more minutes.  Add the eggs, one at a time blending well.
 
In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon.  Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, alternating with egg nog and ending with the flour.  Mix on low speed just enough to blend all ingredients.  Stir in flavorings and 1 cup of the pecans.
Generously grease a Bundt pan. 
  Pour the batter in the pan and be sure to spread evenly.  Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.   After 45 minutes, you may need to loosely lay a piece of foil over the top to prevent from browning too much.   Test with a pick inserted in the center and when it comes out clean, the cake is done.  This is a dense cake and may appear to be done, but still need baking a bit more in the center, so it's best to test with the pick.
 Remove from oven and allow to cool on the counter in the pan for at least an hour before turning out onto a cake plate.  It's best to take a sharp knife and run just around the edges to loosen first. 
Cool completely before adding the glaze.
 To make the glaze, mix the powdered sugar and egg nog in a bowl until smooth. Stir in the vanilla and nutmeg. 
Drizzle over the cake and sprinkle on pecans

Back to Nashville

Immediately  after delivering in Little Rock, we got a load that picked up about 100 miles away and delivering the same night in Huntsville, AL.
No rest for the weary, they say. And don't we know it? But I like being busy. If I am going to be out here working away from home, than I don't want to be sitting around.
So we did that load. It is now midnight on Thursday. We made our delivery in Huntsville and drove up here rather than to Atlanta where our company suggested for us. 
There are already 11 of our trucks in Atlanta, which would all be ahead of us when loads are offered. Here in Nashville there are only two trucks and both of those are single drivers so if a long load comes up, we are almost assured of getting it.
Last Friday we were here in Nashville. There was an awful ice storm then. It is all gone now. The skies are clear and sparkling with stars, but it is a little chilly, around 30 degrees. 
I guess we will hole up here until we get a load. 
Here are some pictures:

We stopped at a pull off to let Lucy out and this buzzard was eating a dead deer. He flew to this tree and kept a close eye on us.




Thursday, December 12, 2013

Lucy

It has been cold, snowy and icy all over the US except for Florida. Of course, we aren't there.
I put Lucy's boots on her to protect her paws from the liquid ice melt that is on most sidewalks and parking lots.
She is not happy about this.

Rude awakening

After being in Alabama yesterday, I woke up to this today in Jasper, IN

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Near Chattanooga


Figgy Pudding


Have any of you ever really eaten this?

Figgy Pudding
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1  cup soft bread crumbs
1cup water
1 cup molasses
1  cup chopped dried figs
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup orange peel strips
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg.
Directions
Grease the inside bowl of a double-boiler.
Mix flour, bread crumbs, water, molasses, figs, raisins, walnuts, orange peel, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg together in a bowl until batter is well blended; spoon batter into the prepared double-boiler bowl and cover.
Fill the bottom half of a double boiler with water and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer. Place bowl in the simmering water and cover. Steam until pudding is cooked through, adding water as needed, 3 hours. Cool slightly with cover ajar before serving warm.

Trip

This is the trip for today.



Jasper, IN
7 hours 22 mins
Little Rock, AR

496.9miles




Yesterday we were in Alabama. It was lovely there as always although it was a little chilly.





Sunday, December 8, 2013

Basic Ham and Bean Soup with Fried Bread

Pops and I have running in a lot of chilly, rainy, even icy weather lately. It makes me crave a warm in the belly, good, hearty meal.
Try this one.

Basic Ham and Bean Soup
1 pound dry great Northern beans
8 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 ham chunk with meat
1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 stalk celery, chopped
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
DIRECTIONS:
Rinse the beans,
 In a crock pot over high heat, Add the salt and the beans and ham. 
Add carrots, celery, onion. Season with ground pepper to taste.
Serve with fried bread.


Fried Bread
1 cup unbleached flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon powdered milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup water
Vegetable oil for frying
Extra flour to flour your hands
Preparation:
Sift together the flour, salt, powdered milk, and baking powder into a large bowl. Pour the water over the flour mixture all at once and stir the dough with a fork until it starts to form one big clump. 
Flour your hands well. Using your hands, begin to mix the dough, trying to get all the flour into the mixture to form a ball. You want to mix this well, but you do NOT want to knead it. Kneading it will make for a heavy Fry Bread when cooked. The inside of the dough ball should still be sticky after it is formed, while the outside will be well floured.
Cut the dough into four (4) pieces. Using your floured hands, shape, stretch, pat, and form a disk of about 5 to 7 inches in diameter.
In a deep heavy pot, heat the vegetable oil to about 350 degrees F. You can check if you oil is hot enough by either dropping a small piece of dough in the hot oil and seeing if it begins to fry, or by dipping the end of a wooden spoon in and seeing if that bubbles. Your oil should be about 1-inch deep in a large cast-iron skillet or other large heavy pot.


Slacking

I realize that I have been slacking in my blogging. I noticed that I seem to do that each year about this time. I will try to better for those of you that enjoy following along.