A Summer Visit From the Boston Yankees

Evening boat ride (dance?) on the Arkansas River 

Cecelia and Uncle Mike - talented and handsome food scientist/chef bro.

Always Pretty in Pink Sensory Scientist Aunt Effie with Jack

Dad, Effie, Jack and C.  Enormous, priceless fun.

Last Day of Fourth Grade

Congratulations to my lovely, intelligent, talented daughter Cecelia.  Welcome to summer.

Face paint from beautiful future Aunt Sarah.

Lantern Festival.

Movie theater parking lot.  Style knows no boundaries.

On A Cloud

Don't Trust Me - I'm a Doctor

Read it, if you like, over at MiM.

Warm Body

Happy 5th Anniversary to MiM

Fearless leader KC talks about her inspiration to start MiM on radio rounds:  HERE.  Beautiful, intelligent, articulate.  A true leader.

I talk vehemently (well, it felt vehement, and turned into a post last Sunday night) about how important general medicine is: HERE.

Happy 5th anniversary to my second home, MiM.

Silly Things

ABC's of Arkansas

I was helping Cecelia with her project tonight and a guest post was inspired.  This is mainly a recording for myself and my family of this wonderful 4th grade project.  She handed me this to type yesterday, and I did over my lunch break.  Her teacher will print them in a book and she will illustrate.  Priceless treasure.  Some of the poems made me laugh.  It is wonderful overall.  If you are an Arkansas native, like myself, you will really enjoy.  If you have never been to our fine state and have the time to read, hopefully it will inspire you to come visit.  Our favorites are A, B, C, G, K, N, T, Y, and Z.  Enjoy if you desire.  The formatting was tough to regulate after copy and paste.  Hope it comes across ok.

A is for Arkansas River

It is very dangerous to swim in there

Cause if you get sucked in by the undertow

You will be as lifeless as a pear

B is for Blanchard Springs

Do you know how cool it is to be there?

But there are lots of bats so beware

There are stalagmites coming from the ground

And stalactites traveling down down down.

C is for Cottonmouth

They’re usually found in the South

Their fangs are sharper than a knife

They can take away your life

Arkansas is where they strike

D is for Diamond State

Our diamonds shine so brightly

It’s the perfect gift for your mate

If you screw it on a ring tightly

But if you want to dig for your haul

Come on down to Arkansas

E is for Episcopal

Who did know school could be cool

To go to school here would be no fool

They teach you more than just the rules

Over all this, the best of schools

F is for Fayetteville

If you go watch the Razorbacks play

You’ll really really really want to stay

Because the roar of the crowd

Gives you a chill under the clouds.

G is for geese

They are everywhere in Arkansas during 

springtime

They doo on others property

It’s a terrible pooping crime

They need to regulate their society

H is for Hogs

The mascot of our football team

Woo Pig Sooie is what we say

When the game begins to play

I is for Indians

The people who named our state

Did you know that Arkansas means South Wind?

Our name is really great

J is for Johnny Cash

Johnny is from here in Arkansas

He sang many songs like

I Walk the Line and Ring of Fire

But trust me that’s not all

K is for Kappa Village

Kappa was a Quapaw community

It was like a little Indian city

When the population declined it was a pity

L is for Little Rock

Little Rock is here in Arkansas State

This is where I live it is great

The things you can do here are filled with fun

You can rock climb and swim in the sun

M is for Mockingbird

Mock Mock Mock is all that they do

You’d better be careful

Or they’ll do it to you

Arkansas is the main place they fly

Their wings help them go oh so high

N is for Natural Resources

Oil, forests, and water too

They’re all in Arkansas and that is true

But if we aren’t careful

They’ll all be gone soon

O is for Land of Opportunity

It used to be our state logo

But when it was time for that name to go away

We decided the Natural State name should stay

P is for Pinnacle Mountain

There are lots of trails to climb

Bring your family you’ll have a great time

There are lots of bugs and room to run

There are so many trees you can barely see the 

sun

Q is for Quick Quick

Go to Arkansas at least take a visit if you 

haven’t been at all

Quick Quick go to Arkansas

If you give it a chance you’ll have a ball

R is for River as in Buffalo River

Something to do there is canoe

It’s an awful lot of fun to do

There are lots of pretty fishes that swim

But be careful sometimes snakes fall from limbs

S is for Suck, Toad Suck that is

I know the name sounds kinda weird

It’s in Conway Arkansas

To get to go is just your luck

Make sure you stop by Toadsuck

T is for Tyson Chicken

The company was founded in Arkansas

It is the perfect snack to eat

If you are on the go

It has 100% white meat

U is for University of Arkansas

College is made to make you smart

And if you want to go

I would recommend

University of Arkansas

Before you can say tart.

V is for Valleys

There are lots of valleys in Arkansas

Many animals live in them

Like Bobtailed bunnies and birds that caw

Eating flowers down to their stems

W is for Water

There are lots of bodies of water in Arkansas

Like the White River and the Buffalo River

But that’s not all

Mississippi River and Lake Ouachita too

The very last River’s name is Arkansas

X is for XOXO

There is lots of love in Arkansas

We care for each other, we care for our state

So if you come to Arkansas don’t bring any hate

Y is for Yarnell’s Ice Cream

Yarnell’s ice cream comes from Searcy

They make sweet treats for kids like me

Last year it almost got shut down

Thank goodness that was turned around

Z is for Little Rock Zoo

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh my!

Giraffes and Elephants and Monkeys

Parakeets, Penguins, and Parrots too

Those are some of the animals at the

Little Rock Zoo

Madness

Yes, bro, it does remind me of The Breakfast Club.

Eggs

I love eggs.  Call me Elizabegg.  It's apropos.

I used to do hard-boiled eggs on toast.  I did that for years.  Kids like scrambled eggs better.  So now we do scrambled eggs on cheese toast in the morning.  Cheese is variable - sliced smoked Gouda is wonderful on the weekends but really sliced sharp cheddar will do in a pinch.  Add a bit of salt, Arkansas honey, and Louisiana Hot Sauce or diced red pepper and you are done.

I've never really liked fried eggs, until I read Catherine Newman's recipe for vinegar eggs.  Google it - you won't be disappointed.  It's amazingly wonderful in its simplicity.  Cook toast, make fried eggs (I'm becoming an expert, despite having never liked fried eggs before this recipe), deposit eggs on toast, and make sauce with shake of salt, grind of pepper, tablespoon of butter, and tablespoon or two of vinegar.  Sherry vinegar imparts a wonderful smoky taste.  But good luck finding it!  I finally found it at a grocery store in Crested Butte, CO.  Before that, I used a tablespoon of red wine vinegar and a tablespoon of basalmic.  A little sweeter, but still oh so good.  When the butter and vinegar hit the hot pan and mix to a tangy, frothy goodness pour over your eggs and enjoy.  Five minutes to heaven.  Eggscellent.

Enjoy.

Walking Far From Home

Missing the Atlantic Coast