Museum in the Midst-Pictorial

Disclaimer: Since I'm not an auto expert, there'll just be a few pictures.

For those living in Birmingham, Alabama you'll know where this is.

Just off of Parkway Blvd. between 17th Street and Polly Reed Road in Center Point is Moore Oil Co.  Operated by Ron Moore, they've been in business since 1954. They are a gas and diesel distributor. (They're the ones who haul the gas and diesel to the gas stations where most of us buy our petrol.)                :)

I pass this way frequently and have seen this sign tucked to the side. 

I wanted to see what it looked like inside. I did a cold call. The owner wasn't there but one of the employees came out and showed me around. They were very nice but I have to admit, I felt a little guilty about interrupting them without an appointment. 

This place is a vintage car lovers dream.

Below is only a fraction of what I saw.

If you'd like a tour I would definitely suggest calling ahead and making an appointment at the number listed above. Though they showed me around, I did tell them that if it was inconvenient I could make an appointment and come back another time. They're occupied  with running a  business and can't stop what they're doing for everyone who's inquisitive like I was.

If you'd like to see more of what's inside click here

That's it ***

Next week: Bottle heads

"He Stole My Skin"

IMAGINE a distressed ten-year-old girl stomping toward you, fists clenched, shouting,

 “He stole my skin!”

You quickly scan the troubled child for possible lacerations, gashes  and rips yet see nothing.  Baffled, you respond, 

“What’s wrong with your skin? It looks fine to me.”

Again, “He stole my skin!” This time she's pointing to a grinning, ten year old boy.

You arise from your seat to investigate. The angry, victimized young girl is trailing behind you.  Examining the scene, it’s now obvious. You tell the offending student to return the skin to the furious ten year old.

He responds, “I can’t. I ate it.”

Another  school lunchroom squabble. Solve it now or it will fester into a huge fiasco.

**********

 For me, the best part of fried chicken is the crunchy, flavor filled skin.  Sometimes you eat the skin first and delight in all of the tongue teasing spices .  Sometimes you put the skin to the side, eating it last as a pleasant memory to a scrumptious meal. 

In the abovementioned incident, the skin was laid to the side to be consumed last. A nearby chicken skin thief took it and ate it. 

Mostly everyone has heard and/or eaten pork cracklings

or pork skins.

Up until now, I never knew there was a commercial market for Chicken Cracklings which is fried chicken skin.  I had to try them.

I found these at Grant’s. It’s the same place I discovered Rap Snacks.

I paid $1.59 for a 2 oz. bag. (Pricey)

I got about a handful of skins. They were delicious. They weren’t greasy or too salty. There was a small hint of sweetness. I’d like more but it’s such a small amount for $1.59.

Ingredients include: chicken skins with attached fat, salt, monosodium glutamate, sugar, dehydrated onion, tenox-4 antioxidant, natural smoke flavor, spices.

Nutrition Facts: (Are you kidding?)

Kim’s Ready To Eat ChickenCracklings processing plant is located on 3^rd Street in Clarksdale, MS 38614

I wonder if they do tours and dole out free samples? If they do...ROAD TRIP!

That’s it ***

Next week: Museum in the Midst
Birminghamians, Did you know that there is a vintage car museum in Center Point? 

It's A Senior AfFAIR

If you use your TV remote

to make phone calls,  you might be a senior citizen.











When you see another woman wearing ugly shoes

and you ask if they are comfortable, you might be a senior citizen.



If a young person tells you how good

copied from webstaurantstore.com

the Black-Eyed Peas are and you say thank you, you might be a senior citizen.

T

There are so many programs now for Senior citizens. Taking care of the body and mind is important once the routine of work and family takes a dramatic change.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) sponsored a Senior Fit  Health Fair at Railroad Park.

According to trekbirmingham.com  ideas for  a park in downtown Birmingham began as early as the 1950’s and was tossed around for the next 50 years.

During the fall of 2010, the park became a reality. The original name, The Railroad Reservation Park  was changed to Railroad Park. Honoring  the railroad history of Birmingham, Alabama  the 19 acre property is a sweeping vista of flora native to the area. Along with open lawns, well defined arbors are placed strategically throughout the park providing a shady respite for joggers and those escaping the excruciating southern summer heat . Water features add calm and beauty as visitors relax on benches and structures many of which were built from recycled bricks and other objects unearthed during construction of the park.  

Up until this year I’d never set foot onto Railroad Park.

Attending the Senior Health Fair afforded me the opportunity to visit the park.

There were a number of booths available providing, minimal eye tests, hearing tests, information on heart, blood pressure, memory, transportation, care giving respite and much more. All was informative. 

Periodically, exercise routines were demonstrated with 

impromptu participation by attendees. 

Healthy food was available .

These are some of the freebies doled out by the vendors. 

If it was something I couldn't use, I didn't take it

See the green arrow by the ear buds? They must 

have been for children because the span from left ear to 

right ear under the chin was about 5 inches. 😮 Couldn't 

use them.

I've seen these representations of Vulcan in other places in the city.

Each one is unique.The plaque to the lower left shows

who is sponsoring this particular artistic design .

 This one is titled  Magic City Lights. I'm unable to decipher its artist.

I'm appreciative to BCBS and others for sponsoring this Senior Health Fair.  I plan to participate in the various programs as long as I can. When I was a child it seemed that seniors A.K.A. "old people" just sat on the porch, were cranky to kids, and went to church. Now that I have become a senior, there are so many programs and activities available to ensure the golden years are bright. 

That's It***

Next week - "He stole my skin"

Will My Garden Grow?

DURING a visit to the local library, I noticed a display for

 free seeds sponsored by a collaborative group of gardeners.

There was even a handout to accompany the seeds.

You can't see them all

because they were in a cubby, but there were at least twelve to choose from.

Knowing the limited amount of space I have, AND, knowing I must do container plants, I chose; 

According to the handout, mixed greens will do better in cooler weather. Green Arrow peas can be planted now and so can dill. 

I have yet to plant these because...

👀

I went to the community Farmer's Market held every Friday (April 27, 2019) in my area and saw a booth with started plants. I bought an eggplant with  blossoms, rosemary and a tomato plant. Don't ask me what kind of tomato? People who garden always have tomatoes. I once had a potted rosemary which lived close to four years but I guess one of the winters was just too rough and so finally it bit the dust. I enjoy the smell of rosemary and its flavorful taste in foods. So many herbs are being used in medicinal and beauty products. Whether it works or not is questionable. Sometimes the mind can be tricked into thinking that it does and so it will be.

Once again I'm deviating from the subject. 

Here's a vertical and horizontal look after I put them in pots. The green pot 

is empty but I plan to repot the rosemary in it. The crate on the end has Swiss

chard which overwintered and has come back.

As of  6-1-2019  I have 2 eggplant(s)??

As for the seeds...  ????😶

Here are the gardens of friends. This first belongs to E.P. She goes small scale like I do.

She put down a layer of paper for weed control as I did in my front flower bed. She has flowers and vegetables. Peppers, tomatoes which grew from seeds of a store bought tomato. Cucumber and okra.The worms have had a feast on the collards so she's letting those die out.

My friend R.M. goes big. She is an avid gardener with a large back yard to plant and experiment with different varieties.  Captions below are in her words.

Daisies that have gone from white to yellow, due to soil content this year 

 

Both plants are Amaryllis. You gave me a box 5 or 6 Christmas's ago. I tend to propagate bulbs and plants to make other colors.

 

Blooming this week. Mandarin Honeysuckle.. Took 2 years to bloom. 

It is not invasive,  but I note wild Honeysuckle in the woods for the first time. It has crept closer, whereas I've never seen it before. Must be some pollination going on.

Can you really grow vegetables from that left over scrap?

You've seen the videos that tell you that you can grow bok choy, carrots, spring onions, celery etc. from the bottoms of your grocery store vegetables?

I've tried it with bok choy because that's a tasty, pricey little veggie.

IT DOESN'T WORK!!

I've tried it twice and all I got was a few leaves that never grew into a plant. I tasted a few of the small leaves and they were bitter and inedible. I EVEN put it in soil to grow. It mainly became weedy, flowered and still didn't grow into a plant. 

My bok choy transplant

To be fair, I've read that some of this transplanting will take place successfully if you buy organic vegetables and use them. Next time I want to try bok choy I'll start with seeds.

Thank you to E.P. and R. M. for your contributions.

next week It's a Senior Af FAIR

That's it ***