Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Happy Birthday


Today is Michael's 39th birthday. He really doesn't put much stock in his birthday celebrations, but I always give him his heart's desire for his birthday meal. Get this...he chose Fried gizzards, mash potatoes, green beans, corn, biscuits and gravy. I made him his favorite Butter Cake with caramel icing. But who in their right mind would choose FRIED GIZZARDS for their birthday meal? This is one of his favorite meals and other than myself everybody else in the family loves the gizzards and chicken hearts. I always fry a few chicken strips for me because I am not eating gizzards.


He did take a vacation day today so he could enjoy his day a bit more without having to go to work. I bet I will find him later in his shop working on those cabinets. He truly enjoys wood working. Michael's grandfather and father were accomplished cabinet makers. His grandad made his living building cabinets in our small town. He built the cabinets for my parent's home. By the way, that was the home I grew up in, and we also had our wedding there. The cabinets are still there today, 39 years later. When Michael and I got married, I assumed that his knowledge of woodworking had been passed down to him by his father and grandfather. It wasn't until a bit later in our marriage that I found out that neither of these men taught Michael the craft. Instead it was a shop teacher in our high school that taught Michael just about everything he knew about woodworking as well as many advanced math concepts. That broke my heart, but I was so thankful that God brought this man into Michael's life. By the way, this teacher also came to our wedding!


Thus far, 2 of our sons seem interested in woodworking. Our oldest son is so respectful of the saws that he really doesn't want anything to do with them. He is truly concerned that he will chop off a body part so he doesn't express much interest in the craft. Our next two sons do express interest, and Michael does work with them in this area. When he was building our cabinets, all of our boys were much involved in the process. We were talking about selling the house at one point, and our kids were horrified. Our oldest son announced that he put way too much work into the kitchen to be selling the house! He feels the same way about the kitchen as I feel about the trees that we have planted!


grace and peace,

julie

4 comments:

TNfarmgirl said...

That stinker didn't even tell me it was his birthday when I talked to him! By the time you get that cow, she might not have any teats left at all! LOL Happy belated to Michael and the cabinets look beautiful!
Love,
Cheri

TnFullQuiver said...

He liked the cow threat. That got a good chuckle out of him! You need to get over here so you can see everything in person!

love,
julie

The Bradshaws said...

Fried gizzards...hmmm...that takes me back to my college days. I'd never heard of them, but my roommate and another friend got a craving for them, so we went down to the store, bought what we needed, came back,and fried them up on the contraband burner we had in our room. I actually ate them (I was VERY picky back then). We did this a number of times over our first two years of college. Although I'm not a picky eater, now, I've not had gizzards since then!

Hope Michael enjoyed them and had a great birthday!

TnFullQuiver said...

Mary Susan
You need to pick up some gizzards and share them AND your story with your children. I think they would enjoy the story even if they didn't enjoy the gizzards. You can also add a few chicken strips for the picky among your family. I cut up boneless skinless chicken breasts into strips. I let them soak in buttermilk for awhile. Then I roll them into self rising flour. Fry until golden brown. My kids love this treat. Sometimes I will do it for lunch except I cut them up in smaller pieces...more like chicken nuggets. In the late spring/early summer when our lettuce is abundant, I make a huge salad. Then I add the chicken nuggets to the salad, and I serve with honey mustard dressing. My kids really like this too.
Isn't it amazing what we did in college? I evacuted an entire dorm due to the fact that I set off a fire alarm when cooking french fries! It was so cold that day, and I was horribly embarrassed as we stood outside. I heard people complaining and others were questioning what had happened. I never confessed to being the "one" that had caused the trouble!
grace and peace,
julie