Category: Malakoff

By Loretta Humble/Around the Town

I finally have something fun to tell you about. It’s about time. My friend John Walker finally came back from the wilds of Washington state where he has been visiting his daughter Susie. So I looked for something entertaining to lure him back to Malakoff. What I found was a notice of a one-woman show at the Jean Browne Theater at Tyler Junior College, called “O’Keeffe!”

Knowing how much my buddy Jo Ann Surls loves Georgia O’Keeffe, I called to see if she would go with us. Up till now she had refused to go anywhere with John and me, saying she didn’t want to be a fifth wheel, but when she heard who it was, she said she’d go with us anywhere for that.

Jo Ann served us mimosas at her house, then John drove us to Tyler in style in his mature Jaguar, where we had a really nice lunch, and then we started our search for the Jean Browne Theater. Now we knew it was at Tyler Junior College. But that didn’t keep us from spending 30 minutes driving around the campus, asking folks for directions before we finally found the theater. If there is a sign on the building, or one pointing towards it, we never saw either. Anyhow, we had allowed plenty of time, so we did find it. We had to walk quite a ways, but that didn’t hurt us. But I would suggest, if you head there for a show, get good directions before you go. You wouldn’t want to be late.

Once inside we were greeted by a friendly man named Dennis West, who introduced himself as producer, though we later found that he is also the husband of Carolyn Wickwire, the lady we came to see play Georgia O’Keeffe. A very recent husband, in fact, as he told us later they’ve only been married about five months. The reason this is interesting is that she is 77 years old. He is a few years younger, but he says she is far spryer than he is.

`She was magnificent! She couldn’t have been better. She was Georgia O’Keeffe on that stage. I’m not good as a reviewer, so I’m going to steal some lines from another reviewer from another town:

“O’Keeffe is surprisingly fresh and dynamic.

“The play reveals the often conflicted inner life and feelings of the world-famous artist Georgia O’Keeffe and leaves her well-known body of work well enough alone. Not one Kinko’s-enlarged, blurred print nor one clumsily painted attempt at reproduction sullies the performance.

“It’s an austere production, minimalist in setting, lights and props, allowing the ideas, dreams and perspectives of O’Keeffe, the woman, to flow through Wickwire’s nimble expressions as a masterful, versatile performance artist. Drawing from her voluminous correspondence, interviews and biographies, (the playwright) McDermott introduces O’Keeffe as a ghost, returned to speak directly to an audience.”

I just loved it. We got to visit them afterwards, and learned that this is just sort of their retirement pastime. They have another one planned where he gets to act a bit. It’s called “About Time,” featuring an old couple, just talking about everything as they face their mortality. It sounds humorous, sad, and wise. I would love to get them to bring it here. Cedar Lake might just be willing to underwrite it.

By Loretta Humble/Around the Town

I don’t have much to tell you this week. Been kind of under the weather and staying home. I did run off to Nacogdoches this weekend, but all I did was shop for bargains. And I got some good ones. I doubt you want to hear about that. But if you do and you see me in something new now you can ask me how much I paid for it. I love bragging about my bargains.

One thing I’ve been saving for a time when I couldn’t think of anything to write is Amy Dowell’s Cornbread Salad recipe. Darla Allen asked for it and I got it, then lost it. Actually, I’ve already posted it online and Darla probably already has got it, but it is a great recipe and it will fill up some space, so here it is.

Amy’s Cornbread Salad
2 pkg. Mexican cornbread (any kind)
2 cans pinto beans (drained)
2 cans whole kernel corn (drained)
1 green pepper (chopped)
3 tomatoes (chopped)
6-8 green onions (chopped)
TOPPING
2 pkg ranch dressing mix
2 c sour cream
2 c mayonnaise
2 c cheddar cheese (shredded)
VERY TOP
1 pkg bacon bits

1.Prepare cornbread as directed on package, cool.
2.Stir together ranch dressing mix, sour cream and mayonnaise until blended; set aside.
3.Combine chopped tomatoes, bell peppers and onions. Toss gently.
4.Open corn and pinto beans, drain, mix together.
5.Crumble the cornbread into a large rectangle dish (or large bowl.)
6.Pour half the beans and corn mixture on the crumbled cornbread and spread evenly.
7.Pour half the greens and tomato misture on top of the beans and corn mixture and spread evenly.
8.Sprinkle half the shredded cheese on top of this and then repeat these layers.
9.Top with the topping mixture and sprinkle bacon bits on very top.

This won a prize at the Cornbread Festival, and it tasted great. I’m personally too lazy to make it. Ever since I learned about the wonders of crockpot cooking, all I want to do is throw some stuff in there and expect supper to come out a few hours later.

Well, one recipe didn’t fill up quite enough space, so here is another great. Amy, who gave us the cornbread salad recipe, is one of our super nurses at Cedar Lake Home Health and Hospice. The following one is from Lari Smiley, our administrator. Both Amy and Lari have been with us for years and years, though they don’t look like they are old enough to have been here that long, cause they are both cute as they can be.

Lari brought these to work right before Christmas. They are wonderful! She said her 7–year old son Brian made these. She said it was a lot of fun to watch.

Lari and Brian’s Oreo Cookie Balls

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
36 OREO Cookies, finely crushed (about 3 cups)
4 pkg. (4 oz. each) BAKER’S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, broken into pieces, melted

MIX cream cheese and cookie crumbs until blended.
SHAPE into 48 (1-inch) balls. Freeze 10 min. Dip balls in melted chocolate; place in single layer in shallow waxed paper-lined pan.
REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm.
I hope some of you will try one or both of these recipes. And if they make more than you can eat, bring them by Cedar Lake Home Health and Hospice and we’ll help you finish them off.
I might have something a little more interesting to tell you next week.

By Loretta Humble/Around the Town

This may be short, since I am out of practice, having missed the last two weeks of column writing. That is because I just can’t seem to meet early holiday deadlines, especially with all the holiday excitement going on. Sorry.

I hope you had a nice Christmas. I surely did. I had several Christmas dinners, though not as many as Thanksgiving ones this year. But the big one was the one we did as a family. It was great.

The daughters of each of my children put their heads together arranged a whole day of fun for us. One morning a few days before Christmas we all met at the movie theater to watch “The Hobbit” together. Every kid of mine, and every grandkid except one (he came later) and nearly all of their spouses and dates, saw that show together like we used to do this every time a Harry Potter movie came out. Then we we headed back to the big meeting room in the old nursing home building, where we shared a potluck lunch and made Christmas ornaments. Everybody, from toddlers to grandparents, had to make at least one ornament. Some of them were kind of pitiful. Some of them showed we have some undiscovered artists among us. Then we did the Chinese Christmas thing with cheap white elephant gifts. That turns out pretty funny sometimes. Some little kids got tools, and granddaughter Ariel’s boyfirend got a Barbie something. But it all worked out okay by the time all the trading was over. I actually got something I could use.

By the time this was all done, it was time for the next segment—a caravan of carloads of Humbles and friends driving through Land of Lights. Several carloads went, but the managing granddaughters were disappointed that some of us old fogies wimped out because of extremely long lines and waiting time. We all really liked our day, and are trying to think which holiday we can shape another party day out of. We may try making valentines together. When spring comes we want to take everybody on a trek through the woods to the back of the farm for another picnic.

We made Christmas ornaments together 10 years ago. I’ve posted pictures of that time on www.facebook.com/aroundthetown, and I think by the time you read this, we will have some of this year’s pictures posted. I am particularly eager to post the pictures of Hunter Norwood then and now admiring the ornament he created. He’s good. So is my Jonathan Lloyd, who with his bride Natalie created an amazing concoction which they were kind enough to give me for my tree. I think we have a picture of it.

The other exciting thing that has happened to me since I last talked to you here is that I got my Facebook account hacked. The hacker either didn’t know who he was dealing with, or has a real sense of humor.

This is what he wrote, pretending to me:

itѕ оfficіal!
I am аbоut tо quіt my job next week aftеr 19621 days of dеаӏіng wіth my asѕѕ of a bosѕ i just gotta dо іt. I rеаlly have no іdеa why i’m even workin’ therе аny mоre whеn I’ve bеen makіng аbout $290 dоӏӏаrѕ everydаy fоr thе ӏaѕt 5 wееkѕ workіng аt home.
Thаnk gоd I came аcrosѕ this wеbsite:######

I assume they were trying to sell a work-from-home scam of some sort. But I doubt if they got many takers using me as bait, since anybody who knows me knows I haven’t seriously worked in years, and if I have a boss it’s me, someone I would NEVER call an asss.

By Loretta Humble/Around the Town

Well, despite the really cold weather, the Malakoff Christmas Parade was just great. I can’t tell you for sure who won, but you probably already know, or will find out elsewhere (check here for winners). I’m sorry, but I couldn’t wait around to see. It wasn’t us, and I went home the first minute I could. I was freezing to death from riding in a rocking chair on Cedar Lake Home Health and Hospice’s float with Frosty the Snowman dressed as Elvis. (We were rocking with the Rocking Christmas theme.)

Frosty joined us last year, and was a real hit, and he was again this year as Elvis, but we did have a couple of small hitches. Pat Hustead came up with this Frosty Elvis idea. We ordered him an Elvis cape and made him some big fuzzy sideburns to hang out from under his hat. Problem is, we didn’t really consider the size of his (sewed on) hat and how it fit on his head. So when we got the sideburns and Frosty together, we found they couldn’t reach from the hat to where they needed to hang, so they ended up just stuck on, looking more like dog ears than sideburns. Then there was the matter of his zipper. It thoroughly and hopelessly broke right as it was time to jump on the float and head out. But a couple of determined ladies and some Velcro figured out how to save the day. Our Frosty Elvis is a real trooper, and after that everything was cool. A little too cool. Last year he nearly had a heat stroke. This year, our snowman nearly got frostbite. Continue reading “Around the Town: From parades to concerts, a fun weekend”