Me and the boys have a fresh start here in our new home, and we're all happy here. We're in a nice, clean and quiet neighborhood, the school system here is wonderful, the yards and pets are actually taken care of around here, and we are sarrounded by friendly neighbors. And we are filled with grattitude about our recent blessings...

But theres something to be said about inner-city beauty, sometimes I find myself missing it...
There's something really cool about how we all pulled together in our old neighborhood.

Like the time I couldn't work for a while, and almost daily I'd find a care-package on my porch, sometimes I'd know who it was from, sometimes not. Or when the guy down the street had his gas turned off, and we took turns letting their family take showers in our homes. And sent down electric hot-plates and Forman Grills so they could cook dinner.

We learned to share everything in that old neighborhood, even the kids did for the most part. On really hot days the ice-cream truck would ramble up the street, all the kids would gather round', and whoever happened to have extra $ that day would be the designated buyer, either EVERY kid on the block got a treat, or none of em' did, that's just how it was. Fair.


If no one had the cash that day, there was always the old stand-by, Kool-aid popsicles!


A few people knew how to work the hydrants, and on unbearable days well, gotta do whatcha gotta do. Scenes like this one still warm my heart!


If one of the neighborhood kids was lookin' a little scruffy, we knew maybe their water had got shut off, there were a few times in which you could spy a garden hose running across the street from one house to another. Same with extention cords if the lights were shut-off, though we were real careful with that one!


Fourth of July was always a major event in our old hood, there would be 3or4 yards designated for grilling out, with everyone pitching in whatever they had. At the end of the day, we'd all line-up and down the street and light the fireworks that had been collected throughout the day.


I learned to make lots of treats on the cheap, and Monkey Bread is one of our favorites! Hey, a dollar for a four-pack of biscuits and you can feed 10/15 kids on it! Homemade Elephant Ears too, yummy!


Monkey Bread:
4 Cans Biscuits
1 C. Sugar
1/4 C. Cinnamon
1/2 C. Melted Butter

Preheat oven 350

Mix sugar and cinnamon in bowl or plastic bag.
Cut biscuits in half, and coat with sugar mixture.
Stagger in 13x9 or round loaf pan.
Drizzle with butter.
Bake 30 to 40 minutes.
Pull apart, eat...

Same deal with the Elephant Ears

Make a mixture of cinnamon and sugar
Cut prepared burrito shells in half
Fry in pan with 1/4 C. oil
Coat with sugar mixture
Drain on paper towels

Be Blessed All,
PJ