For the Love of Pork Rinds

Last night, I tried a new snack. We were sitting out on the porch having a drink and my neighbor, Lumpy, came outside with a bag of pork rinds. He offered J and I some out of his freshly opened bag. At first, I hesistated. Pork rinds? Aren't those fried pig skins? He said that his bag was special because they were spicy. J reached in the bag and gobbled three of them up. I didn't see him gag or foam at the mouth so I took a pork skin from Lumpy. It was light. When I bit into it, it had a nice crunch. It was airy like Cheetos but with a salty, spicy kick. I asked Lumpy if I could look at the bag. They aren't that unhealthy. 4 grams of fat and 8 grams of protein. I was hooked, Lumpy gave me another handful. I sat and watched the hummingbirds with J, drinking a gin and soda munching on fried pig skins. You know what? I bought two bags of pork rinds today. One bag was BBQ flavored the other was hot and spicy. The bonus is that a bag of pork rinds only costs 79 cents! We'll share our bag with Lumpy tonight on the porch.

Miss Morgan is the oldest tenant living in the complex, she's 88. She's always trying to keep busy doing things outside. She loves to work. She worked for the railroad in Georgia for 35 years. Most mornings, you will find her outside raking pine straw. She has a plastic sheet that she loads up with the pine straw and drags into the woods. She only weighs about 95 pounds and I sometimes worry she'll fall while dragging her heavy loads. She's always admiring my flowers on the porch. She was especially fascinated with a planter I brought home that is stable on the railing because it has a cut out on it's base. Last week, I went to the plant farm and bought her a deck railing pot, a bag of soil and some flowers. You should have seen the joy in her eyes when I brought it to her. She was worrying herself to death about planting them. "How do I get them out of the little pots? Should I break up the roots when I pot them into the large deck pot? Should I do all the pink flowers on one side or the purple? How many times a day should I water them?" I assured her they would be fine, I picked out hardy plants that were meant for the shade on her deck. She said she was going to plant them after her nap. She put them right in front of her door and left the door open so she could keep a close eye on them.

A few hours later, I heard a knock at the door. It was Miss Morgan, "I can't open the bag of soil, I have the shakes too bad." (I think Miss Morgan has some sort of palsy. One day, she was trying to walk down the steps with a cup of water. She had spilled half before she made it down four steps because her hand was shaking so uncontrollably. I carried it down the rest of the way.) I was in the middle of cooking dinner so J offered to help. He went outside and helped Miss Morgan repot her flowers and placed them securely on the railing. Later that evening, Miss Morgan came outside with a spray bottle in hand. "I thought they could use a little refresher after their traumatic replanting experience." She gently spritzed every flower with a Cheshire cat like smile on her face. She checks on those flowers several times a day. I think they are the most loved flowers in a five mile radius.

I splurged and bought myself something a few weeks ago. I have always had a love for jade. I have always wanted a jade bracelet but all the ones I have tried on locally have been too large. I even drove to Raleigh a few months ago but the ones they had for sale at the Asian market were too large again. I searched for them online and had a hard time finding small ones still. I finally found one. It's description said, "Fit small hand only." I took a chance and ordered it. I was so excited when it finally arrived yet nervous too because jade's not cheap and I wanted to fit correctly. When I picked it up, I knew it was meant for me. Before I even tried it on, it felt right. It fits perfectly and always feels smooth and cool on my wrist. I get many compliments on it. I always am careful because it can break if I hit it too hard. J even said he is drawn to touch it. Guess who likes holding on to it the most while sitting in my lap? LuLu.

Finally, I got a card from my Dad yesterday. He didn't write about anything deep. He just told me about what was going on his is life. We are going to get together in June. He signed his card, "I Love You! Dad" Those three words and the exclamation point was a big deal for him. It meant a lot to me too.