Nice Labor Day weekend so far (recipe included)

We started to plan something special for this weekend and later decided to skip it.  But the daughter's family live less than two miles away and her husband is out of town until this afternoon, so she, Natalie, and baby Amara, joined us, as well as Heather and Cliff's sister Rena.  So we had people to visit with for a large portion of the day, which makes it feel like a holiday weekend.  

I have a to-do list for today:
     1.  Do a blog entry (now begun)
     2.  Write a couple of letters, the kind you send in the mail (although they will probably be typed,  not literally "written".
     3.  Make some corn dogs and eat as many as I want.
     4.  Play Frisbee with Gabe (done)

You see, when I make a to-do list (which is rarely), I make one I know I might possibly get done.  The corn dog situation came about from a conversation with family members in which I was complaining about the difficulty and expense of securing a corn dog.  One would think that with local fairs everywhere, anybody could eat their fill of corn dogs.  However, at five bucks each, I'm a little too much of a tightwad to eat all I want.  When we were at the parade in Norborne I saw a vender selling corn dogs and got in line.  It took quite a while to get to the window, where one flustered teenager was trying to keep up with the demand.  However, it seems the grease wasn't even hot yet, and in her state of confusion, it appeared it would be quite a wait for my corn dog; so we left.  I had one at the state fair on their opening day (bargain day) for two dollars, and it was a pretty good one.  Everybody tells me to go to Sonic, but theirs aren't greasy enough to suit me.  Yes, I DO like grease.  I always make my pancake last because most people don't like the edges crisped up with grease, but I do.  After the others have their fill, I add more lard or Crisco, enough that it reaches the edge of the pancake all around the edges and fry it up.  That's how I roll.  

About the letters:  At the family reunion the first week of August, my cousin Wanda (I think maybe she's my oldest living cousin) mentioned she'd brought some home-made pimento spread as she always does, and was going to take what was left to a cousin's house on the way home because that family loved it so much.  That cousin, Lela, is always at the reunion, but had been in the hospital for a couple of days; so for the second time in her life, she missed it.  

I've never been a fan of pimento spread, but Cliff likes it and sometimes buys some at the store for a treat.  A few weeks back, I decided to figure out how to make it myself, thinking home-made might be better than the store-bought stuff.  I surfed my way to allrecipes.com and found various recipes, all of them pretty simple.  The various recipes I tried were pretty decent, but still nothing special.  And then I went to the reunion and heard Wanda saying how much people loved it.  She doesn't have Internet, but said she'd try to remember to send me the recipe.  As she told me about it, she mentioned it was made with Velveeta:  Folks, I love Velveeta, but usually only buy it during holidays to make hot hamburger dip because I consider it "fake food", probably related to plastic somehow (Hey, it looks like plastic, right?).  I like the idea of real cheese made from cow milk, with little else added, because that way I know what I'm getting.

This recipe was different in other ways, for instance, cooking is involved.  Really!  Not much cooking, but still... anyhow, Cliff and I were amazed.  I absolutely LOVE this recipe!  I'm going to scan the recipe card as Wanda sent it to me, and you take it from there:

I suggest you try it, even if it DOES involve an ingredient that looks like plastic.  I think you'll like it even if you aren't a fan of most pimento cheese spread.  One of the two letters I intend to write is to Wanda, to heap praise upon her for her recipe.

We are missing our little girl a lot, but it's like a weaning process and will get better with time.  Her Iowa grandmother wishes we could have gone on babysitting her, but we both felt it was best for the child to move on.  Here's what I answered her (almost with tears in my eyes), when she told me she hates that the kid isn't with us any more.

"I’m 74. I get grumpy too easily. She was bored. She changed our lives, but one way or another, she needed to be challenged. Life is a battle, and she needs to face changes and challenges, even if it’s sometimes unpleasant. I’ve seen too many children whose parents buffer them and keep them in a bubble. Those children sometimes grow up feeling entitled, and often their parents continue to bail them out after they are 21. I miss her terribly, so this is a great sacrifice for us that we feel is for her good. That’s my opinion, although unlike many folks, I am always ready to admit I could be wrong. I’m human, after all, and not perfect."

Peace to all of you.  Have a lovely Labor Day weekend, what's left of it.  I'm thinking there may be a road trip in store for tomorrow... not really the fun kind, but it's a 100-mile ride that could turn into fun.  I'll wait and see.