“Just Roll with It” Serving up Recipes and Humor

Hello everyone! What a much-needed rain we got last night. I’m sorry to those who didn’t get any.
I don’t know if I have made this public or not, but my son, Jacob, and his wife, Loren, are having their first baby. It is a little girl, and she is due January 15th. To say I am excited is an understatement. Most of you know my husband’s name was Charles, and they are naming her Charley Beth. I love the name. If y’all see me walking on the clouds, you’ll know why.
I know I always tell stories about my husband and all the crazy things he used to do. I can tell you this—he was a lot of things, but boring and predictable weren’t among them. The only thing he was predictable about was being late. Always, always, no matter what.
I want to be early, or at least on time. When we were first married, we lived and worked in Owego, New York. We worked at the same place and rode together to work. Every morning I would be sitting in the car waiting for him, about to blow my top, and he would come out just in the nick of time to get to work by 7:00, or a couple of minutes after.
One particular morning it was the same scenario. I was waiting, and I decided I was going to leave him and go on to work. So I did.
He started walking, and our boss—who was always late too—came along and gave him a ride. Did we have a fight? Yes, we did. But let me tell ya, he was up and around from then on when he rode with me.
The only reason he wasn’t late for his funeral is because Sammy Callahan from Heritage Memorial had his ashes there before it was time for the memorial. I had already warned him, “You will have a flat or something is going to happen because you are bringing my husband.” But they made it.
My husband traveled a lot for his job, and he actually lived part-time in Conway for a few years. It was time for his two weeks off, and here he comes pulling into the driveway with a trailer on the back of his truck with a huge mound on it. I had no clue what he had on there.
He pulled in and got the boys to help him unload it. I know y’all are dying to know what he had bought.
It was a huge—and I mean huge—bean bag the size of the trailer. I am not exaggerating at all. They barely wrestled it through the front door.
I said, “Why? Why? Why would you buy that?”
He was so proud of himself, and it filled up the whole middle of our living room floor. All the kids and grands loved it, but I could hardly move it to vacuum. There was nothing I could do but shake my head and welcome the albatross to the family, along with all the other crazy stuff he had bought over the years.
Sometimes I wish I had kept the bean bag. It finally got a hole in it, and I had sewn it up multiple times. One time, when he was out of town, I got rid of it. Yes, he was mad at me again.
We sure had some good times.
This is a good crock pot recipe. You can throw it all in and forget about it.
Crock Pot Smoked Sausage Meal
1 pound smoked kielbasa, sliced into thick rounds
1½ pounds small potatoes (or regular potatoes, quartered)
1 pound baby carrots
1 package dry ranch seasoning
4 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons chicken broth
Black pepper to taste
Slice the kielbasa into rounds and place the potatoes and carrots in your crock pot. In a small bowl, mix the ranch seasoning, melted butter, and chicken broth until well blended. Pour the mixture over the potatoes and carrots, then toss until everything is coated.
Nestle the kielbasa slices on top of the potatoes and carrots. Cover and cook on low for 6–7 hours or on high for 3–4 hours. Make sure the potatoes are fork-tender, then give everything a good stir before serving.
Have a great week, and hug those husbands of yours, no matter how bad they can get on your nerves.