Uneventful weekend

You know it is a slow news day when you get pictures of these two.

 

 

Junior on camo. Ed used to call his previous cat, Tiger, camo cat.

 

 

Pepper is notorious for never looking cute in pictures.

 

Gibbs who thinks he is a lap dog.

 

Mary Grace and pups came over for dinner Friday night. Ryan was duck hunting.

 

Had some leftover broccoli, so I made cheese soup with it.

 

Ok let me be a bit nostalgic here. When Vick and I quit work after we had our kids, we made a vow to get together once a week. One of the things we did, especially when babies were in Mother's morning out and preschool, was breakfast at Olde Tyme Deli in Highland Village. For years we got the same thing. It was some kind of big old sausage split, cooked on the grill and served on an egg roll. Now I don't mean Chinese egg roll, but a big, soft, yellowy bun. They were so good. Have never seen anything similar anywhere else. This was not the same either. Oh well, as Mom says it is one from the memory bank.

Big fish and shish kabobs

This will take a little explaining. Since I was a kid I have been fascinated by whale sharks. I had a set of child science encyclopedias that had great color plates of animals. My favorite was the under sea page. Whale sharks are not whales but the largest fish in the world. I saw some at the Atlanta aquarium. Well Sophie and Paul were shopping in Tractor Supply (funny how home ownership brings out new interests) and saw this tiny truck transporting...a whale shark. The really cool thing about this is she was thoughtful enough to buy it for me. So sweet (and weird I know). 

 

 

Have learned how to make shish kabobs for 2.

 

 

1 breast and one small sausage plus veggies.

 

 

Made quinoa but still only on friend terms with it, not love.

 

Ed always says these plates and matching bowls look like I melted them in the dishwasher.

 

For tonight I made beef stew out of last night's pot roast.

Zoo day

 

So happy to  have a little great nephew to give me an excuse to go to the zoo.

 

 

We had to teach him the Kookaburra song at the bird area.

 

 

He led Mary Grace through all the tunnels.

 

Hippos were out in the sun. It was the perfect cool day.

 

Brody has really taken a shine to MG.

 

Afterwards we lunched at McAllister's.

 

He kept us entertained.

Big A** B day

So happy to be back blogging. Ed got me a new laptop and it has taken a while to get it all operational. Driving home the other evening I dangerously took this picture looking west over I-55. It looked so much more beautiful than this shows.

 

 

Toby had a party and is not ashamed of it.

 

4 January birthdays are a reason for a big a** party.

 

everyone arrives

 

table set

 

Hors d'oeuvres

 

Brody was in motion

 

gifts and cards

 

The honorees Paul, Mom 88, Ryan 30 and Linda.

 

Ryan requested our family specialty...Mayonnaise cake with cooked fudge icing...so good. Linda asked for cheesecake. Mom requested Chicken tetrazzini .

 

 

New and old things

New restaurant  in town! Vick suggested we try Lou's Full-Serv. It is in the old Basil's location next to Fortification McDade's. It was a little high unless you got the daily special. It is a good deal at $11

which includes entrée, 2 sides, a salad and tea.

 

 

 I got the special and it was great.

 

I normally would not include pictures of the restroom, but this TP holder was so cute.

 

Everything was a bit industrial looking.

 

After lunch Vick showed me her Repeat Street find.

 

 

 I immediately drove there and bought the remaining 3 vases. We always like the same things.

 

Had leftover brown rice so I made chicken fried rice. I added cabbage and mushrooms along with the traditional egg.

 

So here is another forgetful old lady story for y'all. A few weeks ago I wanted to use my old aluminum tray for something. I could not find it in it's usual spot. After searching high and low in the house , I called Sophie and Mary Grace to see if I had possibly lent it to one of them. Both said no. Well yesterday morning, I stepped out of the shower and saw it...right where I had put it back when we repainted the bathroom. Hiding in plain sight. Pitiful.

 

P.S. Start collecting this stuff if you like it (and I do). It is going up in popularity and hence, value.  

 

Brats

 

Ed loves bratwurst. He gets so happy when he smells the onions and pepper.

 

 

Of course my Bohemian friend would agree that cabbage is required too.

 

Hmmm, maybe a little too much pig. I've found the best way to cook cabbage and not get it too mushy and keep the best flavor and color, is to bring it to a boil. Then just turn the heat off and put the lid on and let it sit.

 

See how nice and green it stayed. The naan bread (I dumped the onions and peppers on it), was leftover communion bread.

 

Look at my little woo leaning in to the fire.

 

Not WLB, but those home grown eggs from Mary Grace and Ryan are so so good.

Sad news

I'm afraid the Lantern pant's days are numbered. If you have ever traveled with or lived with me you know these babies. You can only have fun in the Lantern pants. Medea and I both had a pair. I bought them at the Rite Aid drug store. Hers were green and I'm sure they wore out too.

 

 

See don't they make you happy? The little white handle space that should be yellow always bothered Sophie.

 

At any rate I can hardly keep them up and it is not due to losing weight.

Truffy mourned with me.

 



 

The big project this weekend has been Mary Grace and Ryan's fence. And I do mean big.

 

You can see how tall it is by seeing Ryan there. They have had good help from David, Ed and the next door neighbor.