August

Wow! Book Club was so beautiful Friday. Pam always sets a fabulous table, but this one was really special. Those blues were great.

 

 

And there are always little vignettes here and there.

 

Look at that plate. Ina Garten's shrimp salad, tomato bacon bruschetta and that little green bit in the middle? Some call it Watergate salad, some say pistachio salad. Whatever you call it , it was delicious. It appealed to all of our 1970's palates , like a comforting taste of the  past. It has pistachio pudding , cool whip, pineapple and little marshmallows.

 

view from my place.

 

Was trying to show the pretty colors of the Fiestaware plates but apparently caught Priscilla doing a happy hands performance for us.

 

Great discussion of both Harper Lee's books. Reread To Kill a Mockingbird and then read the newly released Go set a Watchman. Great discussion. We all shared experiences with racial relations from varied and  some very similar places in our past.

 

Dupree is very loved.

 

And he adores Ryan.

Before and after

Look what I paid for gas. Maybe I should not get excited since this is directly related to the stock market loss we experienced the same week.

 

 

My latest kitchen project is wrapping up. She is so happy. Here are before and after.

 

Before

 

And after.

 

We kept the same footprint and granite counters.

 

Got rid of bulky corbels. New wall color, cabinet door fronts, hardware back splash and lighting.

 

Not to mention this ridiculously fabulous floor. It looks like slate but is porcelain tile.

 

A shot of Ed's desk while he is at work. His reply was "that explains the hair all over my keyboard every night".

Spike

Sophie told me earlier today that it has been 3 years ago today that we lost our beloved pug, Spike. I got teary eyed just thinking of him. He had the best personality and we all loved him dearly. I remember that on that day , Paul , who was fairly new to the family posted on his facebook. He said this is a sad day for my family. I knew at that point he was a great addition to our family. He didn't even really like dogs, but he knew how special this one was. Here is a photo tribute to our little man.

He showed up at our door as a stray that Mark had found. We put out lost notices hoping no one would come looking.

He adapted to new pets.

Always looking for a hand out.

He loved his girls

Loved his naps.

Loved a good fire.

Loved a good snuggle.

Adored Ivy. Look how young she is!

We still miss you sweet boy.

Meat story

As I was composing this post I realized it is a story of meat. Starting off with the fillets MG and Ryan gave Ed for his birthday. They buy them whole from their beef purveyer and cut it themselves. I guess butchering is a good skill for a daughter to have. They were so tender and perfect. All I added was a little seasoning. No marinating needed.

 

 

She seems to like it, or at least the finished product.

 

They had the after church crowd over for lunch Sunday. We had gyros, pita mozz, hummus and fries. They made those big flat kind that Keifer's makes in sweet and white. We all loved it.

 

Now to the endless chicken. I promise that this might be the last Sam's story y'all have to hear. One giant rotisserie chicken (have you seen them?) became - dinner one night - chicken salad - Poppy seed chicken - froze the carcass with meat still on it for soup.

 

I made Poppy seed light version for 2. It turned out great.

 

Mix together:

One giant chicken breast

1/2 can healthy request cream of chicken soup

1/3 C reduced fat sour cream

1/2 t poppy seeds

 

Crush:

6 whole wheat ritz

 

Spread on top and spray with canola oil spray

 

Bake at 350 until browned on top.

 

Ok... now for the especially good news.

 

One of our favorite books with one of my favorite actors and director! May need to reread in preparation.

Lots going on

When I don't have time to blog, things pile up. But I have found that if I break it up into smaller posts, sometimes y'all miss the first parts. So I'm just gonna cram them all into one post with short captions. Ok?

 

First off...Sam's may be problem for us. Where do I put 50 bags of snack chips? 60 Keurig cups? May need to back off a tad.

 

 

 Apparently someone in our family has a green thumb. Look at these plants Ivy has helped plant and keep looking great.

 

This in spite of all our incredible heat. Love the little blue Buddha.

 

This rosemary bush is huge.

 

Tripp's cat seems to enjoy them too.

 

This picture just goes to show that you never know what you will be doing on any given day. I surely did not wake up and think I was going to buy a green table, but there you have it. Will use it in guest room.

 

Lucy headed back to school this morning. Everyone kept stopping by to bid adieu. Ryan comforting all 3 Woolverton girls.

 

Got Truffles a new squeaky toy. She was  playing like an instrument.

 

Junior was not amused.

 

Birthday celebration! Book Club celebrated Kathy's 60th and Pam's something else birthday. Kathy wanted to go to a cooking school. It was at Farmer's Table at Livingston. We had so much fun. We were greeted with fresh lemonade, mimosas and tiny biscuits with their homemade jam.

 

Here are the honorees.

 

We put on aprons and went to our own cutting boards.

 

 

Here we are ready to cook.

 

 

Matt, our chef shows Sue how to use the madeline slicer.

 

 

We all got a turn.

 

Here we are. In this pic I look like I already had already eaten everything there.

 

Here is the salmon and squash in parchent paper.

 

Crepes in the front and Priscilla stirring polenta in the back.

 

The setting out there is idyllic. So pastoral. All the food is grown at a nearby farm.

 

finished product

 

The crepes. We ended by singing a song to Kathy, penned by Priscilla. It was cute.

 

Had bought the grandogs Star Wars toys. Dupree liked the death star.

 

Daphne did too.

 

Next and final event. The Mississippi Book  Festival. It was held on the grounds of the New Capitol. Turnout was great.

 

Ran into Minor and Virginia at their table describing his book on Holt Collier, the guide on the famous Teddy Roosevelt's hunting trip which started the tradition of "Teddy" bears. Great read.

 

It was hot but lots of people were there.

 

Sessions were held in the Capitol regarding different genres and authors. Mary Grace and Ryan had never been the building before so we used the opportunity to cool off.

 

It was as beautiful as ever. Renovations are going on inside and out.

 

This was a great opportunity for lots of people to see inside this great building.

 

Just look at the elegant elevator. Glad Sophie didn't have to go on it! They scare her.

 

In this one, you can see the building zip by as you descend. Hot walking to the car, we decided to seek refreshments.

 

We picked one of our favorites, Babalu, hoping to see Paul and Sophie. They were both busy with Millsaps day in Fondren. That is when the whole neighborhood welcomes new students with specials, discounts and give aways. They were everywhere.

 

I almost wanted to dive into Pepe O'Malley. I ordered my usual.

 

One oyster, one tuna and one pork belly taco. Diet tomorrow for sure. Whew...that was a lot of pictures!