Chicken Spaghetti Update

I'm not making this up. I wish I was. 

One of the women from the Catholic Ladies Auxiliary gave me her "to-die for" chicken spaghetti recipe yesterday. She swears this is the best way to make this dish and it stands out "above other chicken spaghettis." 

• Rotisserie chicken
• Velveeta
• One Can Rotel
• One Can Cream of Mushroom Condensed Soup (do not add additional liquid)
• One Can Cream of Chicken Condensed Soup (do not add additional liquid)
• Spaghetti

If it looks familiar, it is because it seems to be the only recipe for chicken spaghetti. And I am convinced I will die before I agree to take a bite of it. 

Just Gonna Leave This Right Here

 

Random Texarkana

 I had an opportunity to play with plants this weekend.

The roses bloomed again and a few made it to my Thanksgiving table. This was the fifth time this year I got blooms. 

Additionally, I planted more than 150 tulip, daffodil, hyacinth and crocus bulbs. Here's to a colorful front yard next spring! 

Squee! Spring Flowers

*****

While I was out in the front yard digging away, the mailman brought me a package from Bliz. She sent me a spare raincoat she doesn't use and a Paul Goldschmidt bobblehead. It was the second bobblehead I'd gotten this week. The first one--Martin Perez, a Texas Ranger pitcher--came from my pal Jon of the Texarkana Community Garden Coalition, who thought I could use some Texas Ranger swag. 

*****

And finally, while all that was going on, Buckaroo came home with a new family board game. We played it yesterday and all agree it was a hit. Polly won. But I won the Settlers of Catan game later.  

My brother, Squirrel, needs this game.

Chicken Spaghetti

There is a culinary abomination in the South called, "chicken spaghetti." It is served at every potluck, church picnic and social gathering as some sort of delicacy. I suspect the recipe stems from some  housewife who had a bunch of leftovers and several hungry children with unsophisticated taste buds. And now this dish is as ubiquitous as pecan pie--and may my late Texas mother-in-law forgive me--just as gross. 

Chicken spaghetti is made with chicken: canned, rotisserie or if someone has the desire and ambition, they can cook up a chicken prior to making this nastiness. 

To the chicken, one adds Velveeta (which seems to be a staple) a can or two of cream of something soup (no milk or water to thin it) and--I'm not making this up--Rotel tomatoes. It is the Rotel that makes it "fancy" and appropriate for company. Mix the above with a pot of cooked and drained spaghetti and serve. Please note, seasonings appear to be optional.

Recently, guilted by my food snobbery, I looked up recipes, figuring someone somewhere has to make a better version. What I could find was the above ingredients and sometimes the recipe called for cream cheese or cheddar cheese as well. 

It isn't just me who thinks this casserole is gross. The entire family is on board with never putting this concoction in our digestive tracks. In fact, Buckaroo would rather starve than eat anything with Velveeta. I can't say I blame him. 

An Introvert in the South

My dance card is brimming over with social. And I am not sure how to handle such things. For the first 54 years of life I had a few close friends--though I'd like to think I still do--and we saw each other when we saw each other. It wasn't complicated. 

This whole Southern Social Thing though!!! 

I made the conscious decision not to say yes to any more social events this year. I have plenty right now. 

• Thanksgiving
• My two leave-the-state trips in December
• Polly's graduation
• Christmas
• Polly's two concerts
• One (of three) book clubs--though I'm hating the book and may just pass. The heck with it! 
• Lunch bunch Christmas party 
• Master Gardener Christmas party (I may pass on this too). 
• A lunch date with Joy 
• A lunch date with Val
• Marty's birthday
• Marty's company Christmas party
• A family trip to see Christmas lights in Washington Arkansas (30 miles away) 
• Though I tried to get out of it--Deb's prayer group's Christmas party. Deb has a way of guilting me like nobody since Bonus Mom has ever been successful at doing. 
• The Ladies' Auxiliary Christmas party. Well, let me just nip that one in the bud. 

Sadly, I'm missing this year's Corona New Year's party. I will be out of town. That actually is one event I wouldn't mind going to. Fortunately, I will see them all at the Lunch Bunch Christmas Party and Deb's prayer group's Christmas party. Plus, as I write this, my phone is blowing up--again--with group texts. This is kind of a daily thing.

There was a time I said yes to every social event that came my way. The next six weeks is a byproduct of that. This isn't a complaint. I like the people I'm with. However, I'm ready for a long winter's nap.  

So This is Happening

 I woke up today to find out we are under a tornado advisory until 5 p.m. 

Music City

Polly's concert last week

I've mentioned this before, but I'm saying it again, the amount of musical talent in this small town astounds me. My church has a world-class conductor--one of those guys who has been all over the word--as our music director. He is also head of the Music Department at Texarkana College, where Polly currently goes. And, he is some mucky-muck with Carnegie Hall. He is also in charge of the Texarkana Chorale, the local community choir. 

His wife is a wonderful soprano who sings at the jazz club downtown and at other venues for hire. In fact, a few weeks ago, Marty and I were at one of Texarkana Chorale's concerts (where she and Polly were singing). We left, went to a Halloween gathering and there was the wife, playing a set! When she took a break and came over to say hello, we joked about how she had back-to-back gigs that day. 

(Wipes knuckles on lapel... yeah... I sorta know a local "celebrity"... )

Polly has been so blessed to work under this man. I think this has been one of the biggest byproducts of our move here. This past week she had a concert for school. She sang "When I am Laid in the Earth" (from an opera I don't know). And, she stole the show. It isn't just my opinion--she was told this by other, non-family members who were just casual observers. 

But that isn't all! There is another faction of musical brilliance in town. There is a very large family who records and performs throughout the area. In fact, Marty works with one of the people from that family. Many members of the family have been in the musicals the Coronas go to see every few months, which is where I first heard of them.  

In addition to all that, Texarkana College, Texarkana Community Theater and whatever else there is around here, have amazing musicals and concerts, starring the locals and sometimes folks they bring in from other venues. Now then, let's not confuse this with the Sidney Opera House or Lincoln Center, however, for a place this size you can't go wrong. Additionally, I'm shocked at the number of larger-market folks who actually travel all the way here to perform at our largest venue*: the Perot Theater. After all, Dallas, Shreveport, Little Rock and even Tyler would garner better ticket sales. I doubt we are getting A-list headliners any time soon, but the music I've heard so far is definitely ear candy.  

*"Largest venue" means indoor venue, because of course there's the fairgrounds. 

Payout

Excuse me while I tell you that I ran my air conditioner for part of October and my electric bill was $88.33. Marty, nor I, ever remember paying $88.33 for an electric bill. 

And I filled up my car the other day. It costs this much per gallon. 

The Gathering of Authors

On Thursday, after another maddening experience with our local credit union (of which I was a member for two and a half weeks), I closed my account (they didn't care, nor did they find Marty's paycheck, which they acknowledge was deposited into their system but never made it into our checking account) and found myself at the local Edward Jones office. When I arrived, Tammy, the office manager greeted me, told me the person I needed to speak with wasn't available and by the way, did I want to attend this year's Gathering of Authors? After another hour of chatting in the lobby of the Edward Jones office, Tammy discovered I've dabbled in writing ("The Calling" coming to an Amazon Web site near you in Spring 2024).

What was odd about this experience (other than I didn't maim anyone at the credit union) was that Tammy happened to be the second person in two hours to mention this event. 

Today, Marty and I took the 11 mile trek to the Cowboy Church, 24 miles from Louisiana, in nowhere Arkansas to check out the event. And wouldn't you know? It was heavily attended by not only local authors, but writers from all over the area. Think of it like a trade show for readers. Most folks were great, peddling their wares, sharing their stories of inspiration on how they came up with ideas for their books. Then there was the world's leading expert in Bigfoot, who showed us blurry pictures that he swore was the monster itself. 

I met a lot of folks and managed to get myself invited to a Christmas party in Longview. Several published authors invited me to reach out any time for advice on anything from marketing to publishing to proofreading. Plus, I found a book series for my nephew, Patrick, for his Christmas present. And I found a book about baseball and World War II for me.  

Socially

Nobody, I mean, nobody, would have ever accused me of being social before moving to Texarkana. Yet, here I am. 

This past week while working the early voting polls, about 200 people came through during my shifts. I knew about 20 of them by name. The other poll workers were astounded at how many people I greeted. And frankly, when I looked back, so was I. Some were Coronas. Others were Church of Christ folks. A couple were random people I've met here and there. There were even a couple of the Master Gardener folks. And, there were three from my church, of which, one was from the Ladies Auxiliary. Given the heavy-jaw glare she threw at me, I'm guessing she probably wouldn't have said hello if I hadn't said hi first. Bless her heart. Of course, there was also Buckaroo. 

I contrasted the woman from the Ladies Auxiliary who showed up to vote about the same time as Corona Patty. The difference in their energy and overall demeanor was apparent. To be fair, it was probably apparent in my overall demeanor too. I'm okay with that, nor am I sorry. I feel like I'm at my best when I'm around positive people who bring out my best. 

Civic Duty

I got a part-time job. I work for Bowie County as an election worker (sounds better than poll worker--which is what the State calls us). My job currently is "clerk," which means I check people in when they come to vote, swear in anyone who is there to assist the voter and maintain election integrity. 

In addition to Election day, Texas has early election voting. This election is for ballot propositions, which apparently voters are either finding underwhelming or are waiting until the last minute to cast their votes. In Bowie County, there were three spots open for voters to cast their early ballots. I ended up working at the Church of Christ. Next Tuesday is election day and we will have 20+ sites open. I will work that day at the Texarkana Rec Center. 

Texas has a pretty easy-peasy system to ensure all votes are counted the very day of the election. Therefore, there is little chance of them having to wait, say... two weeks to find out the results of a governor race. Additionally, the State of Texas has taken impressive steps to minimize the risk of voter fraud. Election workers never touch the ballots. Only the voter does. They have redundant systems in place to make sure the votes are accurately tabulated. We had the Bowie County Election Pubah come in this past week and run an impromptu audit, making sure what was on our voting machine matched the report he ran. It did. 

I'm pleased this is a soft start. Because next year Texas has four elections (primary, run-off, Texas/local and Presidential). Those who are brave enough, have an opportunity to work all nine weeks of early voting and election days. I think I'm brave enough. 

In addition to election clerk, there are two other positions at the polling place: alternate judge and presiding judge. I've already been asked if I'm interested in either of those positions, not because I'm super-fantastic, but because they are short people who want to step up to that level of responsibility for a measly two dollar an hour raise. I said I'd be willing to consider the role in 2025. Hit me up then.