"Southerners" and "Floridians"...what's the Differnce?

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I moved from Florida to Atlanta, Georgia in 1995.  Prior to the move I was not considered “southern” even though I lived in the southernmost state in the Continental United States. It has always puzzled me why Floridians are not considered “Southerners”.   For gosh sakes, the state was part of the Confederacy during the civil war, you can’t get much more southern than that.  And until recently (Jeb Bush reign), the Confederate flag flew right next to the American flag at the state capital building in Tallahassee. Florida seems to be thought of as “way down south of Dixie” instead of “way down south in Dixie”.
Thinking about what is different about living in central Georgia (Southerners) vs. central Florida (Floridians), I came up with a few differences but not enough difference to discount the whole state of Florida’s southern connection. Here are some of my observations….

Georgia Fall vs. Florida Fall

When I moved and became a Southerner I was amazed by the change of seasons.  Fall has become my favorite season! Florida just doesn’t have seasons, it’s hot and muggy, then rainy and muggy, and hot and muggy again. My friends in Florida don’t know what they’re missing.
Yes Ma'am, Yes Sir, No Ma'am, No Sir - and the use of them are not optional to Southerners. To Floridians it comes with respect for age.

Georgia Driver vs. Florida Driver

Southerners don't scream obscenities at little old ladies who drive 30 MPH on the freeway; they just say, "Bless her heart" and go their own way. Floridians are not as forgiving and use the horn, screaming, and hand gestures more often. I’m not defending this approach, but there are a good deal more little old ladies on the road in Florida to contend with.

Southern "Dinner" vs. Floridia Cocktail Hour

Southerners understand “dinner" and "supper" are both meal times and know the appropriate time to use them. Floridians understand “early bird” and “cocktail hour” are also meal times and know the appropriate time to use them.

Georgia Front Porch vs. Florida Backyard

Southerners slow down and sit in rockers on the front porch, they wave as neighbors and strangers pass by. Floridians sit by the pool in the back yard away from all the traffic and gossiping neighbors.

Georgia Funeral Procession vs. Florida view of Funeral

Southerners will respectfully pull over for a funeral procession, but not discuss the death for fear of wandering souls. Floridians know that death is part of life and plan for it with very detailed directions. One of my friends in Florida makes a full-time living coordinating the funeral before it is needed.
Being Southern means many different things to many different folks. What does "Being Southern" mean to you?
Cheers!

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INDULGING LIFE'S 100's POST and PEACH CHEESECAKE

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It's my 100's post and I decided to celebrate it with Peach Cheesecake! Thank you all so much for all support, incouriging comments, and friendship!!!!!


Peach Cheesecake- My 100's Blog Post

PEACH CHEESECAKE(for printable recipe click here)
Ingredients for 1 9’’ sponge cake:½ cup all-purpose flour1 tsp baking powderpinch of salt3 extra large eggs, separated1/3 cup + 2 tbsp sugar3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Directions:Preheat oven to 350*F and butter 9’’ spring form. In a small bowl, mix together flour, salt, and baking powder. Beat egg whites into egg white fluff together with 2 tbsp of sugar. Beat together egg yolks and sugar until white. With hand whisk, mix in flour and melted butter. Gradually add egg whites fluff and spoon batter into baking form. Bake for no more than 10 minutes. Set aside to cool completely.
Ingredients for cheesecake batter:2 cups frozen yellow peaches, thawed2 tbsp sugar (or more, to satisfy your taste)1 tsp lemon juice1 tbsp corn starch2 8oz. packets Neufchatel cheese, softened at room temperature1 14oz. can sweetened condensed milk1 tbsp water3 eggs
Directions:In a blender or food processor, combine thawed peaches, sugar, and corn starch. Process until smooth. Pour into a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Boil and stir for 2 minutes. Set aside 2/3 cup of peach sauce and let it cool completely. Cover and refrigerate remaining sauce for serving.

In a bowl, beat Neufchatel cheese until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk. Add lemon juice and water, mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix until combined.Pour half of the Neufchatel cheese mixture over the sponge cake. Drop 1/3 cup of peach sauce by ½ tsp onto the Neufchatel cheese layer. Carefully spoon remaining Neufchatel cheese mixture over sauce. Drop remaining 1/3 cup of peach sauce on the top. With a knife or toothpick swirl peach sauce dropped on the top.


Bake in 300*F preheated oven for 45 – 50 minutes or until center is almost set.Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, take out from the baking pan, and cool for another hour.


Refrigerate over night. Remove side pan and serve with peach sauce.

Clem's Little Secret

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Everyone has their dirty little secrets... some are dirtier than others.

Take Clem, for example. It started off with a long summer walk through a dusty Texas town. Clem was hungry. He stopped at a diner. The menu read ham-burger...

Isn't ham supposed to be pork?

One bite and Clem was in love. Two bites and he realized his mistake. Three bites and it was impossible to go back.

Now - when he thinks the rest of the herd isn't looking - Clem sneaks off to that diner. He is oh-so-careful in keeping his little secret... he even makes sure to bring his little bib so that he doesn't dribble on his sweater.

Oh, Clem.

The pattern (called "Clem's Little Secret") is now available for download on Ravelry ($3.00) or you can purchase from my Etsy Shop and have the pattern emailed directly to you for $5.00. As always, the pattern is loaded with step-by-step instructions and photos to help you create Clem, his little bib, and the fateful cheeseburger.

And for those of you who would rather purchase without creating a Ravelry account ($3.00 download), just click the Buy Now below!

Little Miss's Acorn Pouch

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Hello friends! I hope you all have been enjoying your autumn!

Here in the midwest, autumn means explosive colors, perfect sweater weather, and piles and piles and piles of leaves. Oh... and one more thing... acorns!

And we all know the best thing about acorns, right? Collecting them!

But, with a very-much-on-the-go four-year-old, I'm quickly learning the failings of collecting acorns in your little fists... too many acorns, not enough hands. After being handed more than my fair share of acorns to "save," I thought I'd better come up with a better solution... and what could be cuter than collecting acorns with your own little "nutty" pouch?!

It's a simple design that (for me at least) works up in a little over an hour. And, so you don't have to do all the math, it's now on Ravelry for free.


I hope you and your little ones will have a fun excuse to get out and enjoy fall -- especially now that you don't have to hold all those pesky acorns!

And from me and the Little Miss, Happy Fall!

download Little Miss's Acorn Pouch PDF now

Mamah's Potato Salad

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The majority of my family recipes are from my Mom's side of the family, but this one came to me from my Papa's mother. And she got it from her mother. I really didn't have a lot of her recipes written down, so when I was first married and lived in Dallas, I would drive over to Fort Worth several days a week to spend time with Mamah and Aunt Jean. We went through lots and lots of family recipes and as I would write them down, I'd get her to actually measure. Because she would say things like, "Oh put in about half a handful." Everybody's hands are different, n'est pas? So she would measure into her hand and then we'd put it in a measuring cup. Sometimes we'd actually make the recipes with me watching and if she said, "Put in enough until it looks/feels right", I could measure that amount also. I am so glad I spent the time doing this, otherwise many of her recipes would be lost to us now.

A funny story. A few years ago I was making one of those recipes and my Aunt Sissy (Mamah's youngest daughter) was over here visiting. She said, "Mama never made the scalloped potatoes like that." And I said she must've changed how she did it, because I wrote it down as we made it. And we agreed that most of us will change up recipes as the mood or ingredients change.



From the first time I made it for him, this became The Guy's favourite potato salad. We have it often when we are barbequing during the summer. And always for the 4th of July. I never get out the recipe and measure anything when making this, I just use enough of the ingredients until it looks right. LOL. But in the recipe I listed the amounts my grandmother told me and the way we made it one long ago day in Fort Worth. Really you can adjust any of the ingredient amounts to suit your own taste.

Collected ingredients:


Potatoes cooking:


Put everything in a large bowl:

Look at the bright orange gold of the organically-grown free-range egg yolks.

This potato masher belonged to Mamah's mother. It is one of the few kitchen utensils I inherited from my Papa's family, and in my opinion is the best potato masher design ever. I'm guessing it has been mashing potato salad for somewhere around 100 years.


Mashed, stirred and served in a marigold Fiesta nappy:

Mamah's Potato Salad Make early in the day or the day before you want to serve to give the flavours time to meld. 2½ quarts peeled, cubed potatoes salt 4 hard cooked eggs 2 Tbsp chopped pimientos ½ cup chopped sweet pickle 2 Tbsp or so dill pickle juice or vinegar 1 cup good mayonnaise, approximately Put potatoes in 3 qt. pot, salt and cover with water. Boil till tender, but not mushy. Chop eggs. Mash the potatoes slightly, leaving some lumps. Stir together the potatoes, eggs, pimiento, sweet pickle and some pickle juice. Fold in the mayonnaise. Adjust salt, mayonnaise and pickle juice to desired seasoning and consistency. Notes: 1. Mamah always said that if you made this ahead of time you could bury a quarter of an onion in the middle of the salad and take it out before serving or you could stir in some chopped green onions. That's what her mother always did. 2. Sometimes I vary the recipe by adding mustard. The Guy's current favourite is a jalapeño flavoured one. 3. Adding fresh chopped dill is good, too.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

namasté,

Thank You -- And Happy New Year!

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As the clock ticks forward and 2012 comes to an end, I can't help but to think of what a year it has been. Certainly, it has been a year of changes for me and my family... but 2012 has also brought some of my favorite designs yet -- from a goofy little monkey you can't help but to love to a whimsical bed monster.

And through it all, you've been there -- encouraging me, challenging me, and inspiring me with your own designs. Thank you.


I hope you all enjoyed tagging along with The Itsy Bitsy Spider this year and I look forward to joining you in 2013 for more crochet adventures. Happy New Year!

Featured Designs (from left to right, top to bottom): Monkey Business, Flowers from Bento-Style Carrier, Morris & Matilda, Bed Monster, Baby Dragon, Bears from Cute Cotton Kitty pattern, Gumdrop Mice, Kawaii Candy Corn, Matilda (from Morris & Matilda), Bed Monster, Bento-Style Carrier, Ninja Attack, Little Miss's Acorn Pouch, Cupcakes, Clem's Little Secret

Mamah's Potato Salad

To contact us Click HERE

The majority of my family recipes are from my Mom's side of the family, but this one came to me from my Papa's mother. And she got it from her mother. I really didn't have a lot of her recipes written down, so when I was first married and lived in Dallas, I would drive over to Fort Worth several days a week to spend time with Mamah and Aunt Jean. We went through lots and lots of family recipes and as I would write them down, I'd get her to actually measure. Because she would say things like, "Oh put in about half a handful." Everybody's hands are different, n'est pas? So she would measure into her hand and then we'd put it in a measuring cup. Sometimes we'd actually make the recipes with me watching and if she said, "Put in enough until it looks/feels right", I could measure that amount also. I am so glad I spent the time doing this, otherwise many of her recipes would be lost to us now.

A funny story. A few years ago I was making one of those recipes and my Aunt Sissy (Mamah's youngest daughter) was over here visiting. She said, "Mama never made the scalloped potatoes like that." And I said she must've changed how she did it, because I wrote it down as we made it. And we agreed that most of us will change up recipes as the mood or ingredients change.



From the first time I made it for him, this became The Guy's favourite potato salad. We have it often when we are barbequing during the summer. And always for the 4th of July. I never get out the recipe and measure anything when making this, I just use enough of the ingredients until it looks right. LOL. But in the recipe I listed the amounts my grandmother told me and the way we made it one long ago day in Fort Worth. Really you can adjust any of the ingredient amounts to suit your own taste.

Collected ingredients:


Potatoes cooking:


Put everything in a large bowl:

Look at the bright orange gold of the organically-grown free-range egg yolks.

This potato masher belonged to Mamah's mother. It is one of the few kitchen utensils I inherited from my Papa's family, and in my opinion is the best potato masher design ever. I'm guessing it has been mashing potato salad for somewhere around 100 years.


Mashed, stirred and served in a marigold Fiesta nappy:

Mamah's Potato Salad Make early in the day or the day before you want to serve to give the flavours time to meld. 2½ quarts peeled, cubed potatoes salt 4 hard cooked eggs 2 Tbsp chopped pimientos ½ cup chopped sweet pickle 2 Tbsp or so dill pickle juice or vinegar 1 cup good mayonnaise, approximately Put potatoes in 3 qt. pot, salt and cover with water. Boil till tender, but not mushy. Chop eggs. Mash the potatoes slightly, leaving some lumps. Stir together the potatoes, eggs, pimiento, sweet pickle and some pickle juice. Fold in the mayonnaise. Adjust salt, mayonnaise and pickle juice to desired seasoning and consistency. Notes: 1. Mamah always said that if you made this ahead of time you could bury a quarter of an onion in the middle of the salad and take it out before serving or you could stir in some chopped green onions. That's what her mother always did. 2. Sometimes I vary the recipe by adding mustard. The Guy's current favourite is a jalapeño flavoured one. 3. Adding fresh chopped dill is good, too.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

namasté,

Patterns in Pascal's triangle (free download)

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I have created a two-page worksheet that I'm offering here as a free download: Patterns in Pascal's Triangle.

It is intended for about 4th grade level, so it doesn't go through all possible patterns found in Pascal's triangle, but just some simple ones: the sums of the rows, counting numbers in a diagonal, and triangular numbers. And of course the triangle itself!




And in this link you can read about MANY more patterns in Pascal's Triangle -- such as magic 11's, square numbers, Fibonacci's sequence, and the "hockey stick pattern."

Enjoy!

Probability worksheets

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Image by dmelchordiazLooking for free probability worksheets?

On my site, you can find some probability worksheets and lessons in my book Math Mammoth Statistics and Probability - for about grades 5-7. Math Mammoth Grade 7 worksheet collection also has just a few.

Beyond that, there are several fine websites that offer collections of FREE probability worksheets, mainly for middle school level, when students first study probability:

Image by Doug88888

Math Worksheets 4 Kids - probability worksheets
This site offers a nice variety of probability worksheets, using dice, coins, cards, marbles, spinners, and so on. Most are about simple probability, but one section has worksheets for compound probability (independent/dependent events section).

Teach-nology.com statistics and probability
This site has some variety: topics not only include simple probability but also dependent events, word problems, and experimental probability.


Image by cobaltCompound events worksheet generator
Here you can generate a worksheet with word problems about compound probability.

Education.com probability worksheets
Lots of them and colorful, too. Most don't have many questions and it seems they all are about simple probability.

Factor domino game

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Look at this NEAT visual representation of the counting numbers:

(originally from Mike Naylor)


The first activity you can give to your students or children is to figure out HOW it is made! What is it based on? The last number on this chart is 49. Can you figure out how to make the next number, 50?

Malke shared a cool factor domino game with her readers. We played it, too. Here's one of our games:


(We had a few cards that were not the same size; just ignore that.)

Basically, you may put a card next to another if they share a factor. Using these visual dominoes makes children easily learn about factors and factorization. Please visit Malke's blog to read the rules and see more details.

Here are a few other things you can do with these cards:

1) Organize them in some way. For example, you could find all multiples of 5,  all multiples of 4, or all primes.

2) Pick up two cards randomly and tell their least common multiple (LCM). This can easily be done if you notice their factorization from the visual (the LCM has to include all the factors from both numbers).

As to finding the greatest common factor, you can do that too, but I feel it would work better with bigger numbers.