kittens

I tried unsuccessfully to get a photo of a kitten that has been hanging around our house today. We are not sure if the mother ditched them, or someone dropped them off at the grocery store behind our house. Anyway, evidently there were at least 3 in the litter.
We had only seen 2, and at first thought we were seeing double as they were both solid white with vivid blue eyes. They would fit in the palm of your hand. We were worried about them as they were so small. They have been hiding out in our back yard among some leftover pieces of lumber. We moved the lumber around, and discovered there were actually 3, but one was dead and the other two were still snuggling with the one. My husband removed and buried the one, and yesterday we saw the 2 white ones playing.
Today, my husband said he had not seen either kitten. I went out to investigate, and they were there, but again, one was dead and the other was snuggling with the deceased.
So, now we are down to one. At this point, he/or she is not ready to make contact with us. He runs and hides under the shed when we come out. But, we have been feeding him to see if we can make friends. We're not sure if they were all diseased, and whether we will lose the last one, but we are trying. Today I bought some Goat's milk to supplement his diet.
Maybe soon we will be advertising a free kitten to a good home. Keep your fingers crossed for the little babies' survival.

Tonight I had a rather nostalgic supper...waffles. Growing up, Sunday's were sacred around our house. This was long before stores were open, and the only Sunday activity was church, followed by a nap or a Sunday afternoon drive with the family. Mom would usually get up early and get a big Sunday dinner going for us to eat when we returned from church. But, Sunday evenings, Dad was in charge. We usually ate cereal. But, occasionally, Dad would rise to the occasion, pull out the already ancient waffle iron, and make waffles for everyone. Other than grilling, I believe this was the only time I remember Dad cooking. How we looked forward to those special Sundays when something other than cereal was on the menu.
I still love waffles. I don't indulge often, but when I do, I figure I may as well go ahead and make up a few extra. They warm up nicely in the microwave, or the toaster oven. My preference these days is whole wheat waffles, but my whole wheat mix had mealy bugs in it tonight. Just goes to show you that I have obviously not been eating enough waffles. I'll have to refill my stock, and go ahead and make up a big batch. I can always freeze them for later use.
Now where did I hide the bacon from myself?

For Father's day this year, I made a photo album for my Dad. It included photos of him from his childhood, and into adulthood, as well as lots of family photos.
One photo was of Dad in his scouting uniform. I tried to upload that photo here, but was not successful. At any rate the point of the story is to talk about Dad and scouting.
As the town we grew up in was very small, there were few opportunities for young people. Boy scouts was about the only thing in town. My brother was in scouts, and Dad was the scoutmaster. How I longed to be a boy so I could be in scouts, too.
I remember how they were able to go off on scouting jamborees. They went to scout camp. And, best of all, they went all the way to New Mexico! How I longed to travel, even back then. To get to go to Philmont...Wow. I was just in awe, and very jealous.
But, now I'd like to direct you to my brother's site. He shared a story about Dad, cooking, and scouting that I had never heard. I'm just amazed that I never heard this one before. Dad loves talking about his past, and for me to miss a story.... Of course, since this one is about Dad cooking, he may have been hiding that one. He may not have wanted to let on that he could cook in the first place.
So travel with me now to www.tgraypots.blogspot.com and get the story.

Here is another group shot of the women in my Bible study. They are such a fun group of women.
At this particular gathering, we all met to eat (we like to do that!), and swim. One of our members sat on the edge of the pool while the rest of us played in the water. The "sitter outer" decided that we all needed to participate in a competition of synchronized swimming. She divided us up into two teams of 4 each, and then we had to come up with a routine to perform for the "judges" that chose not to get in the water.
It's a wonder we did not all drown. We laughed so hard at one another, and ourselves. It was quite fun. Whoever said that laughter was good for the soul knew what he was talking about.
We are so blessed to have each other. While life has dealt each of us our hand, and not all the hands have been full of aces, having each other makes it all bearable. Thanks be to God for these women, and the impact they have had on my life.

Slate's 15th birthday

It's taken me all week to get around to doing this, but last Sunday was Slate's 15th birthday. Slate is my nephew. He has Cerebral Palsy, and a heart of gold. Everybody loves Slate...and he in turn, loves everybody.
My brother's entire church community, and even the town of Seagrove got together to give Slate a birthday party he will not soon forget.
Ever since Slate has been able to talk, he has loved firetrucks, and frankly, any large rolling thing. Tractors, semis, lawnmowers...if it has wheels and is large, he likes it. I remember when he was young, and just starting to talk, he loved garages. Everyone's house he went to, he asked...Do you have a garage? Can you open the door for me?
Well, the town of Seagrove opened the doors of the firestation for Slate on Sunday, and gave him a ride to his own birthday party in the big green firetruck. The smile on his face says it all. He was one happy kid.
The party was held at a friend's house, Bill. Bill missed church (a rarity for him) on Sunday to stay home and start cooking for Slate's party. He cooked ribs and pork loins on the grill. Man, was that some good eating! There were trimmings to go along with the pork of slaw, potatoes, and wonderful pinto beans. Desserts were several homemade cakes, one "storebought" birthday cake with a tractor on it, and 4 coolers full of homemade ice cream. It was hard to stay awake on the 3 hour ride home after all that good eating, but it was worth it.
But, besides the good food, it was just a wonderful gathering of people there who showed their love for Tom and Slate, just by showing up. Slate had asked that another member of their church, Bobby, come and play the electric piano and sing. He was gracious enough to do that, and had Slate join him for singing after dining. The rain held off long enough for everyone to enjoy the games provided, the food, and the fellowship. What a great group of people, and an outpouring of affection.
My husband, father, and step-mother had debated making the trip for the day simply because if was so long for us. But, after arriving, we were so glad we had done it. I just would like to say a big thank you to Bill & Sue for being such gracious hosts, and to the community of Seagrove, and Seagrove Methodist Church for sharing this special day with all of us.

I went across the river today to go to Eagle Island and get some fresh butter beans and peas. I got a bushel of each, and brought them home and got busy. To me, there is nothing better than fresh veges. We have certainly had our share over the last week. We went to the Farmer's market last Saturday. We finished up everything we had bought by Thursday. We had to eat out on Friday, and that was the first day I ate meat last week.
Tomorrow we are headed up to Seagrove for my nephew's 15th birthday party. We can't get to Seagrove without stopping in at David's produce on highway 220. It's peach season now, so I hope to get a few peaches. The late frost did hit them pretty hard this year, but hopefully they will have some.
My brother has really been making me aware of trying to eat food grown closer to home. David's produce isn't in my own back yard like Eagle Island, but it is on my route this week. I'm sure that counts for something. Surely they will have some good local watermelon! Yum, Yum.

Dinner

What's for dinner? Eggplant Lasagna using fresh eggplant. I made it the laziest way possible. I peeled the eggplant, and threw chunks into the food processor. Then, I mixed the processed eggplant with jarred sauce. It was then layered into the pan with noodles, sauce, and three cheeses. Making it the easy way does not make it any less palatable. I'm still expecting it to be pretty tasty! Add a little fresh baked bread and a small ceasar salad. Should be perfect after my water aerobics class. I'm sure I'll be hungry after that!

This has been a good week for fresh, local veges around our house. My neighbor and I finally had no other obligations on Saturday morning, so we were able to visit the local farmer's market, which is only held on Saturday ams around here.
We came back loaded, and she cooked Sunday night...fresh butter beans, corn, tomatoes, cukes, fried pattypan squash, yum, yum!! Last night was my turn, and we had peas, yellow squash with onions, green beans with new potatoes. I even made us some zucchini bread for breakfast.
Tonight, we'll go for the eggplant in the form of eggplant lasagna. It doesn't get much better than this. I'm just not sure what we'll do tomorrow night when we run out of vegetables. We don't have enough leftovers to serve, either! What pigs we have been! The only question on my mind was "Where's the fried fatback to go with this?" Would you believe my neighbor has never even eaten fried fatback? She doesn't know what she has been missing!

Cigars, anyone?
An interesting side trip while in the Dominican was a local cigar factory. We were able to see the process from pressing the moisture out of the tobacco, tying it up to dry, chopping, rolling and storing in the walk-in humidors. It was quite interesting. The owner of this facility was a woman, the only woman cigar factory owner in the D.R. She only exports them, though, they were not for sale. However she did pass out a few samples. There were many flavored cigars, vanilla, cherry, sambuca...
What I really wanted was a box. The boxes were all very attractive. There were solid wooden boxes, inlaid wooden boxes, tin boxes with scenes from Carnival, which is very popular in the islands.
So, don't ask me to send you any cigars. I only got a few, and I have already shared them with my cohorts at work. Maybe next year...

Bible study group

God has blessed me with this amazing group of women. He brought us all together to fellowship with one another, and to study together. Many of us have been together several years. A few have left us to pursue other things, and we have lost one to death. Last year we invited two newcomers to our group. How fortunate for us, and how blessed we have been by our additions. Time marches on, things change, people move on, but by the grace of God, some friendships last a lifetime. Thanks be to God for this wonderful group of women who have blessed me in so many ways.

I have just recently returned from a medical mission trip in the Dominican Republic. This is Cathy's story.
Cathy was assaulted several years ago and left with a very severely broken leg. She was treated at the time, but developed a serious infection. Somewhere along the line, they put plates and screws along the bone to fix it. This worked well, but she was still having problems with infection. The plates and screws were eventually removed due to infection, and she can walk, although she is somewhat stiff legged. Post-operative physical therapy is not exactly available there.
The local hospital charged Cathy lots of money for her surgeries. Her family had to mortgage their house to pay. They eventually lost their house, and the family now lives nearby with relatives.
MMI (Medical Ministries International) became aware of Cathy thru one of the volunteers last year. MMI goes all over the world to give free medical care. Cathy was treated last year on an MMI trip by Dr. Sutton (above photo). She still had infection then. He returned this year and took me with him. Cathy is still plagued with infection. We operated on her again at the beginning of the week, and sent her home with IV antibiotics. Every morning before work, and every evening when we returned, we walked down the hill to go to Cathy's house and treat her with more antibiotics. What a joy and a priviledge for us. The family treated us so well. We were welcomed into their humble abode and offered food and drink. They were very happy to have us there, and on our final night at camp when people share their stories, Cathy's mother came up the hill to thank MMI and Dr. Sutton for all their help. She talked about the blessing her family received from us. I'm not so sure who received the most blessing...Cathy and her family, or all of us working with MMI. My thanks to MMI for the opportunity to serve.

Blueberries

Here is my attempt at buying produce at the local level. My freezer is already full of strawberries from the local farm. Today I will add blueberries. These will make some nice smoothies this winter!
Today is also the blueberry festival in Burgaw. I'd like to go, but maybe next year.
I've got to start looking harder for local produce. They rarely sell locally at our grocery stores. The produce market only runs on Saturdays, and 20 miles away on Wednesdays. There are a few old stores that have been converted into small produce markets, but even their produce often comes from far away. It shouldn't be so difficult to eat from our local area. Seafood is no problem, that's for sure.
Well, maybe I can start trying to live on seafood and smoothies. Now, there's a thought.

Family fun

Do you like catfish? This is an image of a catfish that Sam caught in the Northeast Cape Fear River on Sunday. Sam is my nephew from Alaska, and he and his dad love to fish off Dad and Jean's floating dock. It was getting close to dusk when Sam finally claimed his fish. This was after a full day with family and food under Dad and Jean's house at the river. As you can imagine, the Alaskan family only get to visit, at most, once a year, so as many of the family as could gathered to celebrate Memorial Day, and partake in all the usual holiday fare of hot dogs, burgers, etc. The food was great...especially the deserts, but even better was the companionship of family and friends and neighbors from next door. I think that is what holidays are all about...sharing with family.
Now, when do we get to eat the catfish?

Sunday mornings

I don't know why I labeled this Sunday mornings, as this is typical for our dogs. After they have their breakfast, and run around for a bit, it is naptime. This is pretty much their routine until somebody returns home later in the day. If you happen to come in earlier than they are expecting you, all you will get is a raised head to see who is entering. Do you think this might be what retirement looks like for us?

Jewelry

One of the things I enjoy doing in my spare time is making jewelry.
The piece below is what I made this morning. My usual medium is natural stones and bali sterling silver, but occasionally I will try to be a bit more decorative and use crystals. I was thinking about the fact that it is just about wedding season, and that this would be a nice bridesmaid necklace.
So, if any of you know someone getting married this year and in need of wedding jewelry, feel free to send them to my blog spot.
The above left photo is a couple of bracelets using some of my favorite stones. Pretty red and blue stones are hard to come by, so most of my work is greens, browns, and rusts. They are my favorite, anyway.
Hope you enjoy, and thanks for looking!

I am trying to be more conscience about where my food comes from, so I decided to go out to the Farmer's Market this morning. Our town host two per week; one on Saturdays at the riverfront, and one on Wednesdays up at Poplar Grove, an old antebellum plantation that is host to many weddings, as well as giving daily self guided tours. I am usually working on Wednesdays, so since I was off, I thought it might be fun to go.
It is early in the season, so there was not an abundance of vegetables just yet. I did manage to snag a few fresh squash, yellow to eat and zucchini to make bread. They also had a few root vegetable available. They are not my favorite, so I passed on them. I did purchase one very large head of leaf lettuce, for less than you would find in the grocery store. It was from one or our local Castle Hayne farms.
They had fresh honey, fresh goat cheese, plenty of herbs, boiled peanuts, and flowers. There was an abundance of local brown eggs, from fresh, farm raised chicken. I got one dozen.
Perhaps the most interesting things I saw today, though, were meats. I did buy one pack of hamburger patties. The beef was farm raised in Texas. It is a family business, and the father lives here. The beef is required to be processed in an authorized USDA plant, but it is flash frozen as the time of slaughter. I'll let you know how they taste when I try them. There was also rabbit, fresh pork, and a few other delicacies.
My last purchase was a flat of strawberries. I had planned to go by the local strawberry farm to get a flat when I left, but they had a tent set up there, so that saved me a trip. We have been feasting on strawberries for the last month or so. It's like Bubba Gump shrimp time around here with fresh strawberry pie, fresh strawberries on cereal, fresh strawberry shortcake...you get the picture. I've already finished working on a pie. It is about ready to go in the fridge for our dessert tonight. Can't wait.

Cinnamon Swirl

I just returned home from Second Helpings, a volunteer program that feeds the hungry. My job is to go by certain grocery stores, pick up day old bread and produce, and return it to the Good Shepard House for distribution thru the city.
My favorite stop is Great Harvest Bread Company. You cannot venture in to pick up without buying something for yourself. I should have photographed what I got for you, but I had enough sense to stop at my neighbors house and share before bringing it home, where I would probably eat it all.
It is such a special treat to go in and get their Cinnamon Swirl bread. It is a large, soft, round loaf of whole wheat bread that has been drizzled with butter, cinnamon and sugar and baked just right. Uummm. I got home and fixed myself a good fresh fruit smoothie, and cut a slice of bread and sat out on the porch under the ceiling fan to enjoy it. What a way to start my Saturday. Now I just hope all that good stuff will keep me full through lunch, and give me enough energy to complete my Saturday chores.
I think that since it is whole wheat bread, that it is probably good for you and will fit into the "diet" my husband thinks we need to be on. What do you think?

Irregardless

My brother loves pizza probably more than any other food. He especially loves his own pizza...making his own crust, his own sauce, and using fresh ingredients from his own garden on it. He asked friends to submit stories about their favorite pizza, or a memory about a favorite pizza restaurant.
That made me think not only about my favorite pizza (which happens to be my brother's), but my favorite restaurant of all times. And that happens to be the Irregardless in Raleigh, N. C.
Perhaps it was just the time, or that era of my life. Who knows?
Anyway, the Irregardless was something of a restaurant phenomenon at the time. It was probably one of the first, if not the first, vegetarian restaurant in Raleigh. It was conveniently located right behind the apartments where I lived. I loved going in there for a good veggie sandwich on Saturdays with my friend, Becky.
It was quite the "hip" place at the time. Girls had long hair and long skirts. The guys had long hair, too, come to think about it. The aromas there were not only food smells, but earthy organic smells from all the plants and herbs, and sweet smells from the soaps and things they sold. It was just a different time. The music was always interesting, too.
I looked online one day just to see if they were still around. Sure enough, they are still in the same location. There was a fire in the mid 70's, but they rebuilt and are evidently still going strong. Their menu is more diverse these days, and includes meats.
But, just looking at their web site, which has photos from before the fire makes me very nostalgic. I can remember my favorite seat in the restaurant, near the window where I could watch the traffic go by, and see who turned into the driveway of my apartment complex.
People always ask if you could go back in time, would you. If I could go back in time, I believe this is the time I would choose. A carefree time when life flowed so easily, just like the skirts I used to wear.
But, time marches on, and life changes.
I no longer wear my hair long, but I still love my long flowing skirts. Some things never change.

Food & Fiber

Food. I am CONSTANTLY thinking about it. Before I get out of the bed in the morning, I am thinking about what to eat for breakfast, what should I take for lunch, and should I get something out of the freezer for supper. And, working in the operating room, some days you get a good lunch break, some days you have to eat your lunch at 2:30...or worse, 10:00! So, you have to be prepared.
My husband told me this afternoon that "we" were getting fat and "we" needed to change our dietary habits. No more breads or sweets (my personal favorites). And he wants to eat more protein, fruits and vegetables. More cheese and apples? Sure, I'm all about that! Do you think he means that I should try to cook some of that other stuff? Some days I think I am not my mother's daughter. She was a great cook. For me, even though I love to eat, love to take cooking classes, and love cook books, cooking is often a chore. Of course, it could partly be because that same husband that said "we" were getting fat loves good old southern cooking with lots of lard or other fat. And while I must admit that taste pretty good, I've tried to modify out diet some and venture out. He calls it "experimenting", and it doesn't always go over big.
So, I decided to start simple this time by making my own breakfast cereal...some museli. It's very high fiber. It has raw oats, oat bran, wheat bran, wheat germ. You do get to add some fun stuff, like nuts and dried fruit. I chose my favorite, craisins, walnuts and toasted almonds. And you don't have to cook it! I figure if I start my day with that, it should hold me for a while. We'll see how it goes. The recipe makes about 8 cups or 16 servings. I sure do hope I like it! I'll keep you posted.

Here is a photo of my dogs. Linus is the little white one..the bichon. Lucy is the sad eyed beagle.
I had decided to get another dog, in spite of my husband saying he was not ready to get another dog after the death of our cocker spaniel. When I went out in the country to see the litter, I noticed Lucy right away. As you can see from the light reflecting from her eyes, one is deformed. I worked for an opthalmologist for 12 years, and know a little bit about eye diseases. I was worried that she may be blind in one eye, so I felt that she was special and may need extra care.
As it turns out, her eyes are just fine. But, believe me, she is still special. So, if you happen by my house, and she starts to chase you, don't worry too much. She just wants to lick you to death!

Gardening

Unlike my father and my brother, I do not have a green thumb. I try my hand at gardening every year. And while I may get a few cucumbers or tomatoes, I wouldn't call it a "real" garden. Nothing like my father used to do anyway. But, it is still entertaining.
I decided to add a few herbs this year. I love rosemary chicken, and my brother turned me on to basil on fresh, homemade pizza. I also love pesto as a spread on panini sandwiches.
My garden is small...only a 6 X 6 square. I put in a few tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and a couple of eggplant. But I feel like the MasterCard commercial...$35.00 for plants, soil and compost for the garden. Watching it grow...priceless.

Dogs

My dogs are my passion. I have two. A rather odd mix. I have a beagle mix called Lucy. (I am quite the Charles Schultz fan). My second dog is a bichon. I was hoping for another female and her name would be Sally. But, it's a boy, and his name is Linus. Frankly, I should have named himPigpen. His "sister", Lucy, loves to roll him in the dirt. And he is very happy there with his big smiling face.
Tonight we took them both over to our neighbors' house. They have 2 black lab mixes. Our other neighbor brought her 3 over. Her latest is a 3 month old jack russell mix named BeBe. She should definitely sleep well tonight! We all got tired just watching them from inside the house. BeBe ran and ran and ran. She also kicked up alot of dust on the other dogs.
To me, it just doesn't get much better than this. The pleasure I get from watching and playing with my dogs is what life is all about. Can you even imagine a life so simple? You get to sleep when you want, someone takes care of your food for you, they take you for long walks and you get to sniff all sorts of things. All you have to do is love them and protect them by a bark when you hear a stray cat in your yard in the middle of the night.
Aaahhh. The life of a dog.