Skip to main content

Why I can crack a crab leg like a pro, and other things I learned from my Papa....


A friend complained about my lack of blogging the other day.  She said I was falling down on my duty of giving her something to do at work besides actually working.  I had plans to blog again this week, but life got in the way of those plans, for this week at least.

Late on Easter Sunday, my Papa passed away at the age of 85.  We had his burial on Tuesday morning and I've been playing catch up since....catching up on work, catching up on sleep, catching up on not feeling completely drained.

Since Tuesday I've been thinking about the things that family pass on to you.  The things that my Papa passed on to me. Not just the color of his eyes, or the curl in his hair, or bits of DNA, but other things that you don't always think about.  Things you like, things you do...

Here's the list of some things I've come up with:

(1) My love for New Orleans. Papa gave me a set of Mardi Gras beads, and a complete set of doubloons way back when I was in elementary school.  He always talked about racing horses there and eating all that great seafood as well.  I couldn't wait to visit such a place, and when I finally did, it was everything I imagined it to be when I heard him talk about it.  I still have those beads and doubloons by the way.

(2) I can crack crab legs like nobody's business.  That's because he taught me how.  Last year at my friends annual crawfish boil, they threw in some crab legs.  Everyone was very impressed with my skills.

(3) I prefer malts to milk shakes.  He always made me a malt because he was making himself a malt. I don't order one often, but when I do, people will say "you sure you want a malt and not a shake?"  Yes, I'm sure.

(4) I almost never miss watching any of the big horse races. I enjoy watching the Preakness, Belmont, and Kentucky Derby because it was must see viewing at my Papa's house.

(5) The State Fair of Texas means Food, Cars, & Animals. Those are the 3 things I always want to do at the fair because that's what we always did when I went with my Papa.   To me, that's just what you go to the fair to do.  Friends will say "we don't need to go look at the cars do we?", and I always insist.  He loved cars, and boy do I wish I had that 1955 red Corvette convertible he had back in the day!  

Here are a series of photos that I found in an album.  I think this was Christmas of 1980.  I was at my grandparent's for Christmas and Santa Clause came to deliver presents that Christmas Eve.  Darn the luck... wouldn't you know that my Papa missed Santa Clause that night ;-)  He didn't come in until Santa had already left.  I'm certain that I'm the only kid that Papa ever donned a Santa suit for! 



Comments

Abby said…
Precious memories! Love you friend!
Suzanna Cooper said…
So glad you have posted! I've been missing your updates. Hugs to you!

Popular posts from this blog

Swiss Oatmeal {Copy Cat Recipe}

I'm obsessed with Swiss Oatmeal.  I particularly love   Corner Bakery's Swiss Oatmeal.  If you are not familiar with Swiss Oatmeal, it is a cold oatmeal cereal with fruit and nuts. I've had a similar recipe for years, but it was only similar.  It wasn't close enough for my liking.  So I finally set out into the land of Pinterest to find a recipe that was a good Copy Cat.  I found a few, combined them and came up with what I think is a very close Copy Cat Recipe of Corner Bakery's Swiss Oatmeal. Here's what I do (note, this recipe is really just pictures, because I don't really have measurements for these things.  The photos aren't great, but it's easier if I show you what I do)... Here's the Phase 1 ingredients...   Milk Honey Yogurt (I use a vanilla greek yogurt) Oats (old fashioned, not quick...you probably could do steel cut too)    I've simplified this to where you only need a bowl and a spoon for Phase 1 becau...

Join my Party

Welcome to my Christmas Shin-Dig! I've never thrown a blog party before so I'm kind of nervous, but that can just be our little secret. I have lots of things I want to include in my party, so I've decided the best way to tackle this is to do several posts, so keep scrolling down so that you don't miss a single thing that goes on at this party! I always try to have party favors when I throw a party, and this one shouldn't be an exception, so I am giving away a prize. Here are some photos of the prize All you have to do to enter is comment on one of my Christmas Party Blog entries. I will put all the names in a hat and draw a winner. I will post the winner's name on my blog on Sunday, so check back to see if this cute little Santa bubble light is coming to your house! All entry comments must be posted by 11:59 p.m. Pacific time. If this is your first trip to my blog, Welcome! Please come back and see me again!

A Blogiversary Giveaway!

One week from today will mark 2 years since I started this whole blogging thing.  I'm very excited about this blogiverary because an opportunity has come up for me to do a giveaway for you guys!  My sponsor has many websites that sell just about everything... lately I've been looking at the site for luggage  because I'm feeling the need for a new carry on bag for my upcoming trip to NOLA.  But more about the giveaway!  Here's a picture of a couple of samples... I will be giving you a set of Tervis tumblers!  If you don't know about Tervis tumblers, they are great because they keep your beverage super cold and they don't sweat all over your table!  As you can see, I'm feeling the collegiate tumblers in honor of the upcoming football season, but if you are the winner, I will give you a couple of choices: (1) You can choose from over a hundred different tumbler themes to fit your personality or lifestyle:  Texas themes, Initial...