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.