A 1/4 c vinegar and 1/4 c. honey mixed and taken by the tablespoon will help a sore throat.

Bring 2 qt. water and tomato sauce to a boil. Add crumbled ground beef,boullion cubes, 5-6 drops worstershire sauce,mustard and salt as desired. Let cook while chopping veggies, Add carrots, potatoes, onions and celery, peas and corn. Add cabbage later. Simmer one hour.

If you are a Civil War buff, as I am, this is an enlightening, maybe disturbing, book about the Battle of the Crater in Petersburg Virginia concerning the colored troops part in this invasion. The slant on politics involved in this historic…. ; maybe hysteric… event will naturally make you compare their problems 150 years ago to our problems today.

I remember ice skating on the old quarry by Grammas by moonlight, with a campfire, hot chocolate and about 30 people. I remember sledding with about 8 carloads of family members in a snowstorm and sub-zero winds, followed by a campfire and huge pot of chile, that we ate with our gloves on. I remember family picnics at Grammas with a huge pot of beef and noodles and tables laden with home made goodies while the kids played tag and the adults played euchre until midnight. I remember our annual family reunion at a campground with the evening meal cooked in a 55 gallon drum and the breakfast fried in a huge skillet over the campfire, and about 100 people there. I remember a fourth of July at our house with barbecue, swimming ,fireworks and kids skinny dipping in the dark. (Actually, our reunion last year had some people skinny dipping too.)

I remember our week-end cookout benefit for a friend. One person didn’t know how to tell when the toast was done, and we carefully explained that it popped up all by itself. And the guy fixing pancakes just poured the batter on the whole grill and cut it in squares. And Terry served hot chocolate with two broken wrists in casts. And we actually made alot of money!

Imagine reading your obituary. Then finding out that most people are happy you are gone!! When James Kier finds himself in this position he decides the time has come to change. But after years of ruthlessness and selfishness, who will believe he isn’t the man that everyone hates? A good Christmas story.

The kids vehicles have always been a source of amusement, starting with “Todd’s Tub” a little metal pedal car that 5 year old Merle Todd pedaled around our circular driveway chasing his two teenage brothers on their motor bikes. Scott spent more time working on his bike, replacing parts, and rebuilding, than riding it. But when it came time to fix the mower, he was not capable of fixing it.  In fact it was probably in a constant state of dissection because he used the parts on his bike.

Frank took off in his van one summer to be entered in a show … with the paint on the side still wet!  Adam entered his van in a show, and won, with pin-striping done at the last minute with a magic marker. His van developed a hole in the radiator on the road with other vans and everyone had an “instant repair” remedy ….he ended up with 2 cups on oatmeal, a gallon of ditch water and 3 eggs in an over heated radiator. It quit leaking, but it sure smelled nasty!!

Traveling on a plane is a challenge for adults,  flying with kids can be a life changing experience.  At security I had to dump my purse … talk about embarrassing!!  There, before everyone’s eyes is my hoard of safety pins, a furry pacifier (my youngest was an 8 yr. old) and a bottle of pills that would rival “Valley of the Dolls”.  I had anti-acid, anti-diarrhea, anti-venom (just in case) and anti-malaria, (for when the plane crashed in the jungle between Cleveland and Atlanta.) The kids discovered spit balls wouldn’t stick to the ceiling but clung to the stewardesses hair, pretzels could be used as a Frisbee, and the toilets had great blue water.

Everything was fine until they announced that Customs would be checking our suitcases and I remembered the kitchen knife set I had bought at a yard sale on the way to the airport, and the water pistol that looked like an AK47 … this might take awhile to explain.

• 1 pkg. onion soup mix
• 3/4 cup rice
• 2 1/2 pounds of chicken pieces
• 1 – 10 1/2 oz. can cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 soup can of milk
• 1/2 soup can of water

Sprinkle dry soup in an ungreased glass baking dish. Place rice in a layer on top of the soup mix.  Salt Chicken lightly and place on top of rice.  Mix chicken soup with milk and water, pour over chicken and bake at 325 for 2 hrs. Add water if needed. Cover dish if chicken gets too brown.

The author of the enthralling “Pillars of the Earth” and “World Without End” has come out with the first of a “Century” trilogy called “Fall of Giants”. He follows the destinies of five interrelated international families through World War I and the Russian Revolution. Destined to be an epic mini-series, this story will keep you glued to the pages. The second in the series will follow the children of the characters through the Depression and World War II. Something to enjoy and something to look forward to.