Happy National Hot Dog Day

Now THIS is my kind of holiday. It's National Hot Dog Day. I have long been a connoisseur of the common hot dog. I have had them at ball parks, hot dog stands, restaurants and even local gas stations. From the very first time Mommy cut them up into little bites for me to dip into ketchup, I was hooked. They are by far my #1 favorite food. Did I mention I still have the food mentality of a 3 year old?

Anyway, I have had many hot dogs at many places in my 54 years. Today as we pay homage to the Great American Hot Dog, I would like to pay my respects to the people who make them the best in my book.

Counting Down Mamaw Bee's Top 10 Best Hot Dog places to eat out
(I'm not counting eating at home because hubby would win hands down. Nobody makes hot dog chili like my hubby)

10. Sonic Drive In, All over the South

9. A and W Restaurants in Sevierville, TN

8. Frank Allen's in Sevierville, TN

 

7. Little League Baseball Field in Barboursville, WV

 

6. Midway in West Huntington, WV

 

5. Hillybilly Hot Dogs in Lesage, WV

 

4. Frost Top in Huntington, WV

3. Cosmic Jacks in Mount Pleasant, SC 

 

2. Dairy Queen in Milton, WV - home of the English Dog

1. And the #1 Best Hot Dog in the world is from Stewart's Drive In from Huntington, WV. I have been known to make a trip home JUST to get this hot dog.


And you can't have a Stewart's hot dog with out an ice cold Stewart's root beer in an icy mug.


My favorite way to have a hot dog is with chili, mustard and onion. Second favorite is plain...just the hot dog on the bun.

Well, there's my take on hot dogs for the day. I'm heading out to the mall. In honor of today, I'm going to Petros for lunch and have a hot dog. They didn't make the top 10, but they are still a good hot dog.

What's YOUR favorite dog?

Frivolous Friday....

So much going on right now. Summer is always so busy. There is no rhyme or reason to my post today. Just some things I want to share......

I WON! I'm so excited. I won a giveaway over at Leslie's Blog - Spoonful of Everything. I hardly ever win anything. This was a real blessing. I got a beautiful tin with scenes from Maryland which will go great in my beach room. I got an adorable little cupcake embroidery kit. There was also a cookbook, Happy Everything: A year full of fun recipes, written by Leslie herself. (Watch out friends and family, there is a Cherry Walnut Christmas bread recipe that will make a great loaf cake gift). And the pièce de résistance....a gift card to Michael's. Look out yarn section, here I come. I've been wanting some new yarn colors for a couple of projects I'm getting ready to start. This was very timely. Thanks, Leslie for the wonderful gifts!

Tuesday, my hubby started a new job cooking at a local breakfast/lunch counter that is just 3 minutes from our house. Talk about a gas savings. The only bad thing is he is not here to remind me "Are you going to eat lunch?" everyday. I have a tendency to forget. But his first day at work was Tuesday....he wasn't here at lunch time...I didn't mean to do it...well, actually I did. It probably wasn't a very healthy lunch, but I couldn't resist. Here is what I had for lunch that day....

I finally found a frame for my collage picture I had made at Walmart after spending time with my son and his family at the lake. I hung it and the picture of the small lighthouse somebody built on the point. I went ahead and hung them, but I'm going to take the sconces down and paint them white to match the frame. My sister is bringing me a lighthouse shelf to incorporate into this setting when she comes down again. But for now, at least I have my picture hanging up.

Speaking of pictures, here is one of my favorite pictures. It is me and my sister, Rachel. (I'm the youngest one in the picture). Look at our curls...all natural. I was mad because I didn't want to wear any shoes. I haven't changed a bit. I still don't like to wear shoes. I wear flip flops if at all possible and kick them off while I'm sitting and nobody can see.

Do you have areas around your house that are comforting. Something that you can just look at and it brings you peace, contentment or happiness. Here is one of my happy areas. Hubby bought me the Royal Dalton Old English Roses tea set one Valentines Day. The frame is a gift from my sister.The book is an 1850 edition of The Book of Friendship. Those are my Papaw Eden's glasses on top of the book.

Another one of my favorite spots is my little bookshelf that my niece Amy gave me. It contains gifts from various family members as well as some of my collection of old antique books. I love setting in the chair beside it and reading by the light of the candle lamp. It's very cozy.

Yesterday, I posted my first ever on-line Pampered Chef party. The party runs through July 27th. If you will post a link on your blog or facebook page and leave me a comment of where you posted the link, you will be registered to win the NEW Scoop and Drain. Just post this link on your facebook or blog http://mamawsplace4.blogspot.com/2011/07/my-first-on-line-pampered-chef-party.html.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

My first on-line Pampered Chef Party

Welcome to our first on-line Pampered Chef Party. Please watch the video to see the recipes we prepared and the products that were used in the preparation. I hope you enjoy attending our online party. If you would like the recipes or a copy of the presentation, just let me know by leaving a comment. Simply click the play arrow to start the presentation. In the bottom right corner of the video screen, you will see a little black and white square beside the word menu. Click on that square to make the video full screen. If you would like to place an order, the link will be on the last screen of the video. The party will run through July 27th and orders will be shipped direct to your home from Pampered Chef. Enjoy!

 

More PowerPoint presentations from Brenda Keefer

Wacky Wednesday Giveaway

I would love to reach 100 followers on my blog. I know that is a small amount for some, but too me, it would be a milestone. I had 34 for the longest time, then it inched up little by little to 73 followers and 3 Google Friend Connections. That means I just need 24 more to reach my 100 followers mark.

I will be giving away this matching set of 31 Gifts Products. I absolutely love their products. The contest will start today and run until August 5th. In order to enter, simply leave me a comment confirming that you are a follower through my blog or through Google Friend Connect. I'm looking forward to seeing who will win this wonderful matching set. Want to increase your chances of winning? You can receive an additional entry into the contest if you send me a link showing where you promoted this on your blog (or Facebook, if you do not have a blog).

The set includes the following items:

Tote Bag with 3 pockets on front, two on back and a fishnet pocket on each end. This makes an awesome travel companion for short or long trips, especially with children. It can hold books, toys, snacks, etc. It also works well when traveling to use as a giant personal care bag. Shampoos and lotions will fit in the pockets without a worry of spilling in your other bags. The overall size is 10" x 15 1/2"

A thermal lunch tote that comes in very handy for packing your lunch for work, packing a childs lunch for school, or simply toss in an ice pack and some bottled water for a day spent out in the sun. It is also great to toss in the car with snacks so that the heat doesn't ruin the snacks. It has a pocket on the back side. It is 9 1/2" x 14".

This next item is my favorite item they make. It is the mini zipper pouch. It is 4 1/2 x 7 1/2 and has so many uses. I have so many of these that I have considered writing a blog 101 Uses for the Mini Zipper Pouch. This is probably one of my favorite items I own...and my biggest addiction. The mini zipper is so soft and padded that it makes a wonderful addition to any purse. You can use it in your purse to keep cosmetics...or mints and gum...or extra checks and registers. It also comes in handy as a mini first aid kit in your glove box, an emergency "tool" kit with scissors, nail file, clippers, small brush, etc. I also use mine to keep my craft essentials in such as needles, thimble, scissors, seam ripper, etc. There is a little hook on the side that you can pair it with a wristlet strap and it is perfect for those mini-trips where you don't want to cart your whole purse. My phone, camera, car keys, credit cards and cash fit in one perfectly for a day at the zoo or amusement park. The uses are endless.

The last item is their shirred front wallet. This is one of the roomiest, easiest to access wallets I have ever used. 4 1/2" x 8 1/4". It has multiple pockets for your various credit cards, rewards cards, ID's, etc. There are two sides for cash and a nice zipper pocket inside. It is long enough that you do not have to try to "squish" your dollars bills in. Nice and roomy, but not too large.

Be sure and sign up and let me know you are a follower to be registered to win this $71.00 valued prize package. If you post a link on your blog, let me know that as well for your second entry.

Blenko Glass-Reposted

NOTE: REPOSTED. FOR SOME REASON, THE ORIGINAL POST WOULD NOT KEEP THE FONT CODE. I HAD TO DELETE AND AM REPOSTING IT TODAY.

In London on December 8, 1854 William John Blenko was born to a middle class English family. William became interested in glass adornment at an early age, and being encouraged by his mother apprenticed himself to a glass craftsman. He attended school and became a pupil of a philosopher John Tyndall. Early in the 1880s he went into business for himself making what is known as rondels (Round Window Panes), while experimenting with other processes of making glass superior to his competitors.

At the age of 38, he came to New York to experiment with the wonder fuel natural gas. Hearing that this fuel was abundant around Kokomo, IN he went there and started up one of Americas first gas-fueled operations.

The year was 1893, he was producing glass but it would not sell. The American window makers would not accept his products, although it was made by Old World methods. There was a natural prejudice against a domestically made glass. The stained glass studios were European and wanted European glass. This was later known as “The Cleveland Panic”. Discouraged by this he decided to return to England and export the same product he was making in Indiana. He came back to Indiana in 1899, and started a trans-Atlantic shuttle that would end in Milton, WV 23 years later.

He chose the little farm town of Milton because the Industrial Development Dept of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad sold him on the idea of Milton as a good place to work. It was a dependable source of sober, industrious labor and natural gas, used in all the glass furnaces, was cheaply priced. In the spring of 1922 William arrived in the small town of Milton, where he soon began unloading the tools of his trade into a small hillside barn. He then went to work building a furnace, with the help of a newly recruited crew of locals. Within a few weeks, glass was being made.

During the depression era William became aware that there would be a need to expand the product line to more than just stained glass. So in 1929, he secured the services of two Swedish Glass Craftsmen. They trained the Blenko crews to craft beautiful pieces of glass by hand. Production increased and in 1930, the company changed from Eureka to Blenko Glass Company, and so came the tableware line of glass products that have made “Blenko” a household word all over the world.

(From: http://www.blenko.com/history.html)

(Photo Courtesy of Big Ashtray.com)
You may wonder why I find this story so fascinating. It is because the little town of Milton, WV was the neighboring town to my hometown I grew up in. My Uncle Charlie lived on a small farm "just around the bend" from Blenko. When we would visit on the weekend, sometimes my Aunt Louise would take us over to the Blenko plant and we would visit the gift shop. You could purchase little bags of glass remnants that were so beautiful. I liked to put them in little vases or bowls in my room. Blenko glass brings back a lot of wonderful memories of going up to visit Uncle Charlie. Every time I see a Blenko product, I am reminded of happy times.

Welcome, Monday

It's Monday. A time for fresh new beginnings, a new start. If you are like me, you normally approach Monday with a sense of dread. A sense of wondering what's in store this week. As of today, I'm changing my thinking.

It's Monday. New things are right around the corner. Blessings lay ahead. I can't help but wonder what good things might come my way. What changes and challenges has God prepared for me. Will this be the week that I see prayers answered? Will this be the week that I see all my hard work pay off? Or will this be the week that things will get back to some semblance of order and bring smooth sailing for awhile.

I know one thing. No matter what is in store for me, I will face it with both feet firmly planted on the ground. I will abide by Philippians 4:13 as I go through my week --  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me!

Today I'm loving...

...my grandchildren