It may have sounded like the low rumble of thunder just south of town, but really, it was just my family.

My children spent much of last week telling me how they were never, ever helping me move again. Yes, the Halls have moved. Yes, again.

Since I am involved with the Historic Natchez Pageant, this was obviously not the best time for me to move. But since I’m known for keeping my stress level at the brink of impending insanity, of course I moved anyway.

Fortunately, my two oldest came home for Spring Break, and I started packing very early in the process. By the time Holly and Matthew headed home on Sunday, Mom needed to make only one more trip out to the old house.

Matthew, God love him, has been honing his fix-it talents with a mom who has absolutely no idea how things go together. So, we have learned a few very interesting things.

Did you know that hooking up the hot and cold water to your washer only means there is a way for water to get to your washer, not away from it? Yes, there taped to the back of the washer and completely unnoticed was the tube that takes water away from the washer. And let me tell you, when the pipe is not connected to the drain, well, let’s just say you will have plenty of sheets and towels to wash after you mop up the mess.

Now, Emily and I are living in chaos. I did hear a rumor that if I don’t go to the grocery store really, really soon Emily is leaving home. Hopefully by the time you read this we will at least have the basics of milk, bread, peanut butter and jelly.

You would think that going to the Pageant four nights a week would be too much during my move but honestly it was nice to have a reason to stop and take a break. The other nice thing every year is that the group of women I work with take turns bringing dishes to snack on. Since most of our committee works during the day for many of us there is no time to grab dinner before we get to Pageant.

Cindy Meng is on my committee and she usually brings the following cheese spread on her night. I have no idea why the strawberry jam works so well with this recipe. It is an offbeat combination, but you cannot believe how good it is.

Cheese Spread with Strawberry Jam

1 pound shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese

1 cup mayonnaise (Cindy uses Hellemans Light)

1 cup of crushed cooked bacon

1 / 2 cup chopped green onions

Bring cheeses to room temperature and mix all ingredients together. You can mold into a ring shape and pour the strawberry jam into the center or serve the jam in bowl to the side. Either way serve with buttery crackers.

A new dip that I had this year was a bacon and tomato dip. So simple and yet you wont believe how good it is also.

Bacon and Tomato Dip

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup sour cream

1 package of Hormel Real Bacon Pieces

4 Roma tomatoes, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and serve.

I did notice that both of the recipes have bacon in them, maybe that’s why I love them so! There was one more recipe that I really wanted to include and it is a dip also. Monica Mayo makes it and it is delicious. I couldn’t get it while writing my article but it will be on my blog this evening.

Christina Hall can be reached at christina.hall@natchezdemocrat.com.