The Crab Chronicles

Photos from the 1950's, 60's

I love old photos, particularly of people in my family and/or folks I know. I was going through a box in my closet and found a bunch of old color slides my dad had made in the 1950's. I took them to Wolf Camera and had them scanned onto a CD-Rom. Some of them would only be of interest to my extended family, but some are just cool photos on their own merit.

Dad was like me - he loved to take photos but they often didn't come out so great.

It's been a really laid back day and I have nothing really to report, so I thought I'd share some of these.

This is the only shot with me in it and I'm just a little blur...

Ironic that only about 44 years later he was leading troops in Iraq...

Below, my mother holding Bruce as a baby, with my aunt Myrtle holding my cousin Robert. The little girl is my cousin Raye, who is now a grandmother. This was about 1960. Raye and I look rather alike, both blondes.

This is my dad, sometime in the 1950's. I first thought this was Ft. Sumter but now I am thinking it was perhaps Europe. The flag is unfamiliar... Dad was a huge history buff.

This is my dad [middle] and a couple of his buddies. He was stationed in Germany in 1951 and spent all his free time sightseeing all over Europe. I think this is the French Riviera, but I'm not sure.

I've got a bunch of shots of places in Europe, particularly, Italy, and I need some help identifying the places. I am going to do a post of those shots and see if some of y'all can help me out.

Below is my mom sometime in the late 1950's, I think. I think what she's holding is a swim cap. Remember those?!

Stay warm...

5 Examples of Great Scottish Cuisine

I visited Scotland in 1988 and loved it - awesome people, wonderful sights, and a lot of tasty food. Also, lots of my ancestors hail from there - MacMillans, Hendersons, etc. I'm tickled to bring you this guest post. - Dee

This guest post was contributed by Boisdale.

 If you are planning a visit to the bonnie isle of Scotland you will need to be sure and bring an appetite. Scottish cuisine is not for the light eater but instead is filled with solid hearty foods that stick to the ribs and give you all the energy you might need for a long and tiring day on the moors. This article will talk a bit about five examples of traditional Scottish cuisine.

1 Haggis

There is absolutely no way a discussion of the food of Scotland can possibly omit haggis. Haggis is a sort of sausage dish made up of sheep. Basically to make haggis you would take the leftover bits of a sheep including heart, liver and lungs and chop them up and mix in some onions, stock, oatmeal, salt and pepper and suet and toss it all into a sheep’s stomach then boil it for a few hours. It might not sound very good but it tastes fantastic!

2 Cullen Skink

No, Cullen skink is not some weird type of lizard it is a hearty stick to the ribs traditional Scottish soup and is often served as a first course at formal Scottish dinners. Cullen skink is a delicious mixture of smoked Finnan haddie, onions, and potatoes.


3 Cabbie Claw

 

Scotland is surrounded by water as well as filled with it. Lochs, rivers and sea, fishing and fish play an important role in the traditional dishes of Scotland.

Cabbie claw is a traditional dish from the north of Scotland and is made using fish such as cod, whiting, or haddock with parsley, mashed potatoes, and horseradish with a sauce made up of flour, hard-boiled eggs, butter, and spices.

4 Puddings: black, white and red

In America, a pudding is a sweet creamy confection made with milk in Scotland however a pudding is a sausage.

Black pudding or blood pudding is a sausage that is made by cooking blood with filler such as meat, onions, oatmeal, or potatoes until it thickens enough to congeal when it is cool.

Red pudding is often served at chip shops and is made from a mixture of bacon, pork, spices, beef, beef fat, beef stock and suet and is then battered and fried.

White pudding is similar to black pudding but without the blood. It is made from pork, suet oatmeal, onions, spices and bread.

5 Shortbread

Scots love their sweets. And one favourite traditional sweet is the shortbread. Shortbread is basically an unleavened cookie that is made with 1 part sugar, 3 parts oatmeal flour and two parts butter.
Scottish cuisine much like the Scottish people is hale and hearty and definitely not 100% healthy for all day dining but great for the occasional meal.

 

Places to Go, People to See

If not for the excruciatingly long plane ride, I would be dreaming of visiting New Zealand right now, after reading Elizabeth's latest posts on her blog, Gifts of the Journey. I remember wanting to see New Zealand after seeing the movie The Piano. I felt a little New Zealand travel itch after watching the Lord of the Rings movies, which were filmed there, but my main preoccupation while watching those films was trying to figure out what the heck was going on.

Then there was the whole fascination with the hobbit's feet, which look like mine... but I digress...

After my last excruciatingly long plane ride a few years ago when I brought Michael home, I vowed I would NEVER get on a plane again. I doubt I will be able to keep that vow, but I'm trying. Since I currently have no job and thus almost no extra money, not flying is pretty easy at the moment.

Flying itself is not the issue. Once I get on the plane I am fine. It's dealing with the wait and the airport hassles that are the nightmare.

The last time I flew, which was from Frankfurt to Atlanta, I had just finished Michael's adoption and we were headed home from outprocessing in Almaty. The flight from Almaty to Frankfurt was fine. But the flight from Frankfurt to Atlanta was a nightmare. I was traveling on Delta buddy passes, to save money, which meant I was flying standby. So once we got to Frankfurt, I had to retrieve our luggage from Lufthansa. Michael was traveling on a Kazakh passport and had no entry visa for Germany, and the baggage claim are was considered German territory, so they wouldn't let him go over there. The customs folks were quite nasty about it. So there I was in a huge airport with a tiny little boy [he was 10 but looked 6] who spoke almost no English, just Russian, and I had to find someplace to leave him so I could run around getting our luggage and getting checked in at the Delta counter. After some panic and a lot of prayer, I was told to go to the Lufthansa office for folks who are elderly or handicapped. A kind German lady there helped me by letting my leave Michael there, safely, for over an hour while I ran around the airport.

The Frankfurt airport is huge, and I had to take a train to get from one end to the other. Then there were the Delta people who didn't want to give me a boarding pass for Michael since he wasn't with me, and then the security people who wanded us and gave us grief several times before we even got to the Delta gate where the plane was waiting. By the time I got on the plane I was one sweaty, semi-incoherent mess. Michael slept almost the entire way home. I had to wake him up to eat. We got home, here to Atlanta, and I was still a walking mess after the 8 hour flight in business class because I hadn't been able to sleep and had been awake for over 24 hours, but I so wanted to kiss the ground.

I love my kids and I'd do anything for them, but please God no more flying. They will need to live within an 8 hour drive of me as long as I live.

I think in the future people like me who don't want to travel can simply watch many episodes of Rick Steves Europe. I like Rick Steves. I watch him on PBS when I can remember it. (If you want to vicariously "travel" anywhere else besides Europe you will have to find someone else to take you.)

Anyway, Elizabeth's blog entry talked about things she planned to do before she died - she is now only 50, so she has time. [Yes, I hear some of you gasping but hey, when you get to be 48 years old, you will think 50 is a youngster, too. So hush.] I'm trying to remember if I have something like a "bucket list." Hmm... Not something I ponder too often. I did manage to come up with a few things, so here goes:

Places I'd like to see [if I can travel without flying, hahahaha] before I die: Ireland, Italy, San Francisco, Maine, the Canadian Rockies, Hawaii, Paris France [not Paris Tennessee - BTDT].

People I'd like to meet: [not dead people, I'm trying to keep this semi-realistic] Robin Williams, Ina Garten, Craig Ferguson [the comedian], the Dalai Llama, Bill Gates, Michael Scott [writer], Dustin Hoffman, a number of "cyber" friends I've made in recent years - Cindy B, Cindy L, Judy, and Elizabeth.

Things I'd like to do: take a cruise, swim with dolphins, spend two weeks at the beach without having to do anything but watch movies and eat, learn how to take excellent photos with a terrific camera, visit with my childhood friend Joanne [we rarely get to see each other], finish one of the books I started writing recently, see my daughter finish high school and start college.

And now, just so this isn't too soft and sentimental, here's a lagniappe -

People I Want Desperately to Slap: Nancy Pelosi, Zach Galifianakis, Lindsey Lohan, Kathy Lee Gifford, 

[I will stop here with the Slap List because it would take too long to list everyone - and some of them are members of my extended family... ;-)... ]

What's on your bucket list, if you have one?

Running Day

I feel like I have been running a marathon all day.

Mike had an orthodontist appointment at 9:15. He keeps breaking his brackets. Every time he has an adjustment, within a week he has a broken bracket. They are going to start charging me $40 every time - in addition to the thousands I am paying for the braces! yikes. I told him next time there's an adjustment, he will only be allowed to eat SOFT foods for a couple of days.

Michael is taking Spanish in middle school. I fought hard to get him in the class last year. They told me he didn't qualify. Then he aced his ESL tests and I suppose that did the trick. He already knows a lot of Spanish words, just from being in ESL with hispanic kids, some of whom are his buddies. I told him as long as he memorizes his vocabulary every day, and doesn't get behind, he will be fine. Alesia is in Spanish 3 this year. I want both my kids to speak Spanish. I see job ads all the time asking for people who are bilingual. My kids have an advantage over American kids, when it comes to Spanish.

They learned English as a second language. For both, Spanish is language #4. Alesia was learning German in Russia, and Mike was learning Kazakh in Kazakhstan.

I had a job interview this morning, for a government agency. I don't want to say which one - they might send people to bump me off. Seriously. I was sitting in the lobby and there was a big sign on one of the doors to the inner office and it said DO NOT KNOCK ON THIS DOOR AND DO NOT ANSWER IT! There was a circle with a little cartoon drawing of a body on the floor and a line through it. I had to assume they were going to kill me or knock me unconscious if I tried to go through the door.

I thought the interview went well, but I always think that. I run my mouth too much, always, and I become Chatty Cathy. The lawyers I spoke with were surprisingly affable and nice, given that they were sitting there in suits and ties. Apparently the entire world has gone business casual EXCEPT the government. I've already decided if they offer me the job I will have to ask if pantyhose will be required. I can't go there.

 

PASHA Remember I wrote about my friend Pasha, from Russia, visiting us back in March? He is a wonderful guy. I love him like a brother. He is coming back to the USA in September. I keep trying to remember that's next month. He is staying in San Francisco from September 7-10, and will be in Los Angeles from the 10-13. I am trying to find folks for him to meet in those cities, just to get to know them. I am also looking for recommendations on places to stay that aren't too expensive. If you can help me out, let me know and I'll pass along the info. to Pasha.

Vacation Photos

Here are some shots of the lovely vacation...

This is the living room of the condo, when we first got there and it was still neat...

 

Mike in front of the kitchen wearing his best look - combined Walmart sale cap and highway patrol glasses...

 

Here are the kids on the balcony. Every year I try to take one of them on the balcony. I need to do a photo essay of just those photos...
   

The thing with TWO HEADS! Run for your lives!
 

One day we rented bikes. This is the best shot I could get. Hilton Head has tons of bike paths. The kids had a blast.

   

Here's the condo and some beach shots...
 

   

This is a dead jellyfish. Mike wanted to poke it with a stick. I nixed that idea.
   

This is the pool, where Mike spent a lot of time. This is the Where's Waldo shot. Can you find Mike's head?!

 

We didn't eat out much but here's a shot at a great place, Steamers. You can eat great seafood and watch tennis...

   

Here's Mike in front of Palmetto Bay, a lovely place to have lunch.

   

Here are the kids in The Black Marlin, looking hostile despite having eaten a terrific lunch...
 

Final shot was taken yesterday just after sunrise. The tiny grey blip there is a fishing boat.

 

A Saved Man

I am not usually awake at 7:12 a.m. on a Sunday morning, much less typing a blog post, but today is an unusual day. Pasha is leaving this morning. Right now he is getting in the shower.

Yesterday, like so many recent days, was a whirlwind of activity for us.

Pasha and the kids and I went to Frys to shop for computers in the morning. Pasha bought a new laptop. I bought new CPU's for me and the kids. I know it sounds extravagant, with me out of work, but the computers haven't worked well for months and my computer tech guy says that he simply cannot fix them. Pasha echoed that same opinion, so after the "second opinion" I had to face facts. Frys had excellent deals. I have an income tax refund to fall back on. So I took the plunge.

After that, I dropped off Pasha and Alesia at the mall. Michael had a tennis match, which he faced without me, to my regret - the first time ever, but I felt like I had to be here for the computer switchover. I spent the afternoon switching everything to a portable hard drive.

Last night my friend Gary, a UGA professor of languages and a dear friend since college, and my cousin and friend Lesleigh, went to dinner with us. Gary and Les are two of the smartest, most personable people I know, and they were delighted to meet Pasha. We sat at Blue Ribbon Grill and talked and laughed, and it was truly like we are all family.

Pasha's visit has been a huge turning point in his life. It has also been a turning point in mine, too. I was so glad to be able to repay some of the kindness he showed to me. When I was adopting Alesia and dealing with a very cold-hearted, uncaring agency, Pasha was there to help me cope. He translated between me and Alesia. He offered his friendship. He was a university student then, bright and funny.

Spending time with Pasha now, I feel almost parental. He has matured a lot in the past 5 1/2 years, and he has become a really admirable young man. He hates violence and won't watch violent movies. He takes great care to try and eat healthy. He doesn't drink alcohol and won't even drink caffeine. He shows amazing patience and kindness to everyone. I asked him if he wanted to come to America one day, to live, and he said no, he wanted to stay in Khabarovsk, and contribute to his community and the people there. I know he likes America a lot, but he has allegiance to his mother country.

One of the choir members asked me last weekend if Pasha had been "saved." I was taken aback. I said he believes in God, so to me, he is saved. She wasn't happy with that answer. She wanted to hear he had accepted Jesus into his heart. Those are weighty words. I wasn't going to say them, though, because I was uncomfortable speaking for Pasha and his feelings. Today, however, if someone asked me that same question about him, I would say yes, without hesitation. He hasn't ever told me he had some great conversion experience. However, he prays before every meal, with us. He told me he believes in the teachings of God, in all different forms. He has read the bible. Most importantly, to me, he has quietly but firmly shown me that he has a strong sense of right and wrong, and while he may not quote the bible much, he lives it. He LIVES the teachings of Jesus. Isn't that what Jesus wanted from us?!

On his last nights here, Pasha didn't go out to a disco, which he had said he thought would be fun. He helped me with the computer, and spent time with the children. That's just one small example of his goodness.

My kids can bicker and snap like nobody's business, but Pasha has never fussed about it, to them or to me. He kept Alesia with him all afternoon yesterday, which freed me up to do what I needed to do. She has been really grumpy lately and gets on my nerves easily.

He told us at dinner last night that he is never in a hurry, because he wants to savor each experience, and enjoy it. He will not be rushed. He doesn't eat fast. He carefully considers the lilies of the field, was my thought when he said that. How many people do you know who live life with such deliberation and care?

He has enriched our lives in ways he doesn't even realize.

Here is a remark from him that I consider so uniquely Pasha, and it shows his beautiful heart. We were in the car one day and it was raining. I asked him if he wanted an umbrella. He explained that he doesn't use umbrellas. "I had a girlfriend once who liked to walk in the rain. So to make her happy, I learned to like walking in the rain. Now I never use umbrella."

I am crying as I type this because I am going to miss Pasha so much. When he is back in Khabarovsk, a piece of my heart will be on the other side of the world.

Irish Day

Happy St. Paddy's Day! Everyone always claims Irish heritage on this day, but I am actually Irish, tracing my ancestry to two McConnell brothers who came from Irelandbefore the American revolution, plus the Hastys [Mother's family] are part Irish. Mother remembers Grandpa Hasty singing "Tura Lura Lura" to her when she was tiny.

Grandpa Hasty was also part Cherokee [1/4] and, by all accounts, a powerful and forbidding individual in Cherokee County, Georgia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He's below with my great-grandmother Ginnie MacMillan:

 

Yep, I look just like him. Not. Papaw used to say I looked like Ginnie, his mother.

Yesterday was a rather strange day, as I didn't get much done.

Pasha has bought so much here he needed another suitcase to carry it in, so I took him to Goodiwll yesterday morning. I told him it was silly to spend $100-200 on a new suitcase, when we could pick up one secondhand at Goodwill. He found one, in fact, for $10. It's a little scuffed up, but it's large and it rolls just fine. Pasha was really grossed out by the thought of buying anything secondhand, though. He really struggled with the idea of even using the suitcase. I assured him we could spray it with Lysol, and even put his things in a large plastic bag, if it would make him feel better. Thrift stores are not big where he comes from.

I had to go across town and pick up Michael's 3rd post-placement report yesterday afternoon, and today I have to copy photos of Michael and send off the report. It's kind of a pain but at least I only have to do it once a year.

I picked up printer cartridges for the kids' printer so Alesia could print out a report for school, and the little shop where I buy recycled cartridges also does a brisk business in rebuilt computers. I looked at a new CPU the guy was willing to sell me for $80, which is an amazing deal. However, it's not more powerful than the one they have now, and has no real bells and whistles. There are also no guarantees it will work, no warranty, etc. So I am leery of it.

I picked up Mike from school and set out for a mall north of here [Gwinnett Place], after talking to Jim, my computer repair guy. He told me there were two good places up there to get bargains on computers. I drove all over creation and never found either store. VERY frustrating. Grrr..... The kids were noisy and really got on my nerves, towards the end.

Yesterday afternoon, Pasha was given a tour of Emory University by my friend Melissa, an alumnus. He said he was very impressed by it. Mel's husband Andrew works in the hospital and Pasha got to see how the ICU works. Andrew explained Emory is not a "typical" hospital, but a really high-end facility with the latest technology.

We were late from our computer jaunt and didn't get home until after 6. Pasha had told Mother he was going for a walk. He wasn't home by 7, so I called him and he said he was at the mall, and he would eat something there in the food court. I was ticked. I  had prepared a big dinner, and told him earlier in the day I expected him home, and he didn't come home until almost 9. I told him, diplomatically I hope, that since he only has 4 more evenings with us, I'd like him home for dinner from now on. He agreed. It was an awkward moment. The kids feel like they're not getting to see him.

Getting back to Ireland, it's one of only two countries I want to see bad enough to get on an airplane for a long flight again, the other one being Italy. I watched a video this morning with great wistfulness. I couldn't get the video to embed, but you can find it on YouTube, it's put out by the Irish tourism board. Features some really nice music.

Corruption

Pasha has now been in the US about 10 days. He is adjusting, and not so bowled over by everything. For instance, we went to the DeKalb County Farmer's Market yesterday morning, and he was able to get in and out pretty swiftly. On the way, I tried to explain that in Atlanta we have many different counties, and what a county is.

The farmer’s market has a great selection of fruits, veggies, and everything else. I got a LOT of veggies and fruits. The kids decimated the strawberries as soon as they saw them. Pasha said he can’t eat them because they turn him “pink.” Must be allergic.

I asked Pasha if he likes raspberries and blueberries and he said, very seriously, “I love them.”

Despite his healthy eating habits, Pasha has a huge sweet tooth. We had only been there a few minutes when he reported to me he had found Tiramisu. The farmer’s market has a huge number of already prepared foods, so even if you don’t cook you can go crazy in there.

Then Pasha went with me and Mother for the weekly Kroger run. He was very kind about helping Mother out of the car and into one of the little motorized carts, which Alesia usually does.

Pasha had been to Publix, but not Kroger. As soon as we walked in. he said “There is cheesecake here?!” I showed him the cheesecake. I bought a half dozen Krispy Kreme donuts and as soon as we got home he tried one. I had told him we really like KK’s. He took one bite and got a rapturous look on his face. “It melts in the mouth!” he said. He ate another one almost immediately. I explained some people really like cake donuts, and bought a box of Entemann’s, too, but he didn’t like it as well. I am corrupting him slowly.

After the mall, we went through the drive-thru at Burger King, since it was nearly 2 and we were hungry. Right in front of us was a very new white Jaguar with a funny license tag – it said MEEOWW. I had explained about people paying extra to get custom tags, but he hadn't seen one yet. Pasha whipped out his camera to take a photo, but the car moved away too quickly. I don’t know what was funnier, Pasha with that camera or a Jaguar getting burgers at Burger King…

Pasha spent from 2:30-8:30 at Northlake Mall. He said he is now done shopping. He bought 5 dress shirts and a pair of black size 13 “sports shoes” with funky red soles. You can see a photo of them here. I told him everyone in Russia is going to think he's American. 

 

Alesia had her first session of tutoring a little girl in math yesterday afternoon at the library. The child is on the tennis team and we know her from the pool. She is Michael’s age but is homeschooled. I think this is a good little job for Alesia. She easily explained square roots to the child – something I couldn’t do if you held a gun to my head.

We started watching the movie Up tonight. Really fun little movie. I highly recommend it, even for childless folks. Very entertaining.

Today, a friend of mine is showing Pasha around Emory University. This morning, though, we have to go buy him another suitcase, so he can take all his purchases back to Russia.

Sunday

[re Sunday March 14 - computer didn't cooperate last night to publish] The kids and Pasha went to Stone Mountain Park with my friend Melissa and Andrew and their girls, both adopted from Ukraine. The weather wasn't cooperative. When I ran errands earlier this afternoon I thought it was really chilly, with sprinkling rain and fierce wind. I should've worn a coat. Yikes.

When they got back they allreported they had a great time. They did more than just hike up the mountain. They did a specialized ropes course called Sky Hike. Pasha said he wasn't interested. he walked around the mountain and talked to Andrew. He said he really wished he'd had more time to explore the area on his own, more slowly and deliberately.

Alesia literally RAN up the mountain. This is why my brother's nickname for her is "Ninja Girl."

I am so glad Pasha saw Stone Mountain, though. It's one of the few things that really make Atlanta unique. He has said - and I admire this greatly - he doesn't want to necessarily just do "tourist" things - the museums, World of Coke, etc. He wants to experience America and Americans in a more authentic way.  Tourist spots are not the way to get a real flavor for any country.

I remember going to a grocery store in England years ago and really enjoying it, just looking at the products and seeing how it differed from the US. I also got that feeling in normal Russian grocery stores, and open air markets. So I understand his feeling.  

We had a bit of a disagreement this afternoon when he got back, about the kids' computer. It's got trojans and worms and can't really be fixed. My impulse is to ditch it and buy a new one. I want Pasha to help me with that. He wants to rebuild the old one. I don't think there's time for that before he leaves next week, and I really want his help, so I don't have to pay someone. keep in mind, in far eastern Russia, a DSL line is still a novelty.

I don't have photos of the day's adventures, but here are a couple of recent ones.

The kids at Fuddruckers the other night, with two other cuties that were adopted from Michael's orphanage, David and Kate -

 

This is my friend John and his son Reese, with Pasha and Michael on Friday night.

 

Saturday Slam

We had an unbelievably busy day yesterday, with me running like crazy.

I overslept, so that threw the whole day off whack. The kids and Pasha and I went to Waffle House for breakfast. It was great for Pasha to see an eclectic mix of folks - old young, black, white, hispanic, and everything else you can imagine. Pasha ate a waffle and half of Alesia's waffle - she had ordered two, plus sausage.

I then took the kids and Pasha to the mall to walk around - something the kids love and I hate. Alesia found some jeans. Pasha bought clothes, too.

I came home and started a big pot of borscht. I then picked up the kids and ran home, then took Michael to his tennis match.

 

We had a downpour of rain, then thankfully it cleared up. Michael and the other boys used these big squeegee things to dry the courts, then all the matches got played. Michael played very well but lost his match. I felt bad later because I had totally forgotten about lunch. My stomach didn't remind me. Coach said nice things about Mike's playing, which I reported to him.

In 2003 I went to Russia for the first time with a choir, formed from Baptist singers from all over the southeast. Three of those singers who are local, including my cousin Steve came to my house last night to eat some borscht and watch a DVD of the choir, which Pasha had brought. I met Pasha when the choir was in Khabarovsk, and Pasha had filmed us in rehearsal. We had a nice visit.

I told them my life was changed the most dramatically of anyone's by that choir trip, because it introduced me to my daughter. I will always be glad my cousin Steve talked me into going, the only Episcopalian in the bunch, and the only one who ended up adopting a child as a result.

Pasha and Michael and I then watched Hitch, and it was off to bed. I turned the clocks forward, horrified by the late hour. Here are me and the choir folks: