random stuff

 

   ok, let's just start off with the food...shopping in Flowood has it's perks. One is better stocked stores, Madison shoppers clear the shelves like locusts at our big box stores. Another is Hobby Lobby. They have some of the tackiest merchandise ever, but they have great greenery, floral and natural supplies. Got some great new greenery for Broadmeadow. So the best perk of all is Table 100. Where can you get lunch this good for $10? not to mention a great wine and seasonal drink list.

 

I know this is the blue plate but they also have great food like seared tuna salad. That sautéed spinach is the best. Candy says it is the best burger anywhere. And don't forget great wait service.

 

 

It is getting cold here, very cold. Dupree had to pull his hobbit sweater out of storage.

 

 

At our Sunday lunch at Mr. Chen's I saw this interesting fruit.

 

 

It's hard to tell but they are much bigger than a grapefruit...probably 8" in diameter. Hardly any one in the store or restaurant speaks much English, so when I asked someone about it , she helpfully told me it was sweet. Of course that is written on the sign in red. Here is what it looked like. It tasted like a sweet grapefruit.

 

 

When I shop with the Woolvertons it is already a joke about our height difference. I put on a garment and it is a dress. They put on same garment and it is a shirt. So Lucy decided to be 7 feet tall in these shoes. She did not buy them. Thank goodness. She had to hold on to keep her balance.

 

 

More later! Can't wait for family to get here this week!!!!

 

 

 

 





apple of my eye

    ....so Sophie and I went to Mary Grace's house to watch her cook. It is a sight to behold.
                                                               The detritus of a pie...

It takes a lot of Fuji apple to make a big pie.

 

 

Didn't get to see it baked until we had Thanksgiving potluck lunch at Broadmeadow on Sunday. It was a lot of fun and tons of good food was there. She also made Ivy's favorite, Chicken Spectacular. Want the recipe?  Another well loved oldie. This is even it Vicki's handwriting from back when we were still working at Broom Corn Fabrics.

 

This makes a very full 13 x 9 pan. It was so gorgeous this morning. Sunny and cool. I sat on the deck reading a great book. It is so mesmerizing. I am almost done with it and still can't predict the ending. It is Before the Poison by Peter Robinson.

 

Leaves are just changing in our yard.

 

noodles

   hey, just lunch with two of my favorite people. I've never been to Miso, but I have always loved all the restaurants that Grant Nooe has opened. The food was great but the service was a little weird. I had Pho soup, which is a Vietnamese oxtail broth soup filled with veggies. I opted for a fried egg on top. Great for a cold rainy day.

 

It came with fresh cilantro, basil, bean sprouts and jalapeno for toppings. Of course I added jalapeno. Sophie got Pad Thai and I honestly think it was the best I have had.

 

 

                     Mary Grace got a bento box of sushi and tempura and was still hungry.

 

Don't worry we both shared with her.

 

 

slow down...

   ...I can just hear Mom saying "slow down , you are doing too much". Yesterday was no exception. I had to help Candy at frame shop, look at a dining table for another client, make food for last night's worship committee meeting, take some tacos to Mom and deliver chair pads to another client. I had planned a lovely fallish repast for the meeting. Ok scratch that...no time. I'll pick up Pizza Shack pizza, the best pizza ever. I still am determined to make the carrot cake. Mary Grace volunteers to bake it for me. She is a better cook anyway. Buy the ingredients, go home and measure them put the dry ingredients in the bowl. Take them to her. Deliver chairs. Make beef stew at home for dinner. Go to pick up cake and Mary Grace says it doesn't look right. It is very flat and she says it was bubbling. Bubbling? Oh well it will be ok. must be the oven or old baking powder. As I was driving to church, I realized there is only one real explanation...I forgot the flour. Well they ate it said it was fine (it wasn't). Oh well they were so overwhelmed by the Margherita, the Greek and the Veggie Deluxe pizza that it did not matter. Here it is in all its sticky, gooey loveliness.

Here is my new home screen. Maybe I did a little too much good for one day.

 

 

I love this saying though. Oh , and by the way when I got home Ed wanted pizza instead of my beef stew! He used to never want pizza. Good job , Ryan.



eggsactly what I wanted

     Sophie and Paul have discovered a really great potter. I'm not sure of the artist's name but the pottery is called Pisgah Pottery. I loved their egg plate and she made this one for me.

I had been on the lookout for a kitschy old one in antique stores, but this one is even better. Mom said to stop posting so many delicious food pics, but you have got to see this one.

 

We had book club at my friend Sue's house. Her neighbor and good friend is an excellent cookie baker. She bakes several dozen at a time and freezes them. She says they like to eat them frozen! These were pumpkin chocolate chip. They were so moist and good. We read the book Orphan Train. Wow, you think you know so much history and then you learn something completely new. The Orphan Train was a real phenomenon from 1890's to 1930's. Orphans or children given up due to circumstances were sent on trains to live with families who needed them out west. The were mostly used as cheap farm labor. Very interesting stories.



up in smoke

                                caught Toby smoking a leetle , tiny ceegarette. Mexican?

 

no, no bad doggie

memories...

     ...or the failing memories of middle aged women...Candy and I were headed out for fireplace implements. She handed me the garage door remote and said  "Good Luck". She had been having trouble getting it to work. Well I was gloating as it drifted closed on my first try. Ha, I've got the touch. As soon as it touched down, it started it's slow ascent back open! Try it again. Closed on the first push. As soon as it touched down, it started back up. She said "well that is a new trick for the door". We tried it another time or two and Candy says "I'm glad I brought snacks". Another try and then she says "wait, I think that I see my purse". Sure enough there sat her purse, right in the path of the door, so every time the door hit it, the sensor reopened.

 

After we recovered from our laughing fit, we drove away. We finally found a perfect match for dog playdates.

 

 

Daphne and Gibbs. They were both exhausted afterward. Score! And this was dinner.

 

 

Shrimp and Grits. It is really not too much trouble. I just made regular cheese grits not the baked kind. Turned out great.

 

 

be kind, be kind, be kind

     I used to tell my girls that there were 3 important things to remember...be kind, be kind, be kind. It helps in most situations. I just witnessed a random act of kindness and wanted to report it . The garbage truck had been running late all day and had just gotten to our street about 5:00. I was just pulling in my street and saw my neighbor standing out front of her house holding 3 bottles of powerade. I realized she was waiting for the truck to come by. When they stopped at her house she handed them to the driver and 2 guys on the back! After a long day like that I'm sure they appreciated it.
    That reminds me of a time, well really several times, my mom tipped a restroom cleaning lady at a department store at the mall. She said   "I appreciate how lovely you keep this restroom, Thank you"! How is that for kindness? I'm not a big quoter of scripture, but something in one Rob read struck me. It was Luke 6.30 "Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you".
     Met Vick for lunch. It was such a beautiful day so we wanted to sit outside.

Look at the color of that sky! it was perfect.

 

 

Oyster poboy! Not Pensacola good , but pretty good. Oh , and I tipped the waiter well....even though the service was pretty bad. They were packed and I knew it was not his fault. Do something kind for no reason today.