A Big Fish Story

I caught a fish in a wicker basket!

In the closet no less.

Now you must be wondering how someone 

catches a salt water fish in a fresh air closet.

Well, it was easy.

Way  back when, Dad went fishing in Florida. 

He loved to deep sea fish and always hoped I

would grow up to be a marine biologist.

After spending a couple of (expensive) deep sea fishing charters

with me laying down or hanging over the edge

about as green as seaweed, he came to the realization

it would probably not happen.

Well, mom said he caught this fish and really wanted 

to have it mounted.  It always hung in the family room

and inadvertently topped the Christmas tree during the holidays.

Tom and I are pictured here with my grandparents

sometime around 1974 - 1976 maybe?

It's a nice sized fish, coming in at about 24 inches.

 There are some condition issues but I still think it's pretty cool.

But back to how I caught it in the closet.

I was looking for a spare pillow when I opened the 

closet in Mom's back guest room.  There, 

sitting nose down in a wicker basket, was Dad's fish!

This was two houses and 40 years later.

I asked if I could take it home and without hesitation, Mom agreed.

I don't think the fish fits into her decor!

It will be perfect for me except my living room is pumpkin colored

and the fish will blend right in!

A Camo Fish!

No, I'll put it upstairs, maybe in the girl cave for now

but if the man cave gets fixed up some day,

it would be perfect there.

So, that's my Big Fish Story!

Blooming Again- Orchid flower 3

It is a blooming good time here in Robertsville.

Our little orchid visitor is really being a good guest,

gracing us with yet another bloom.

If all goes well, there are a few more blooms

yet to open, and the buds are growing daily.

The poor thing will be all tuckered out 

by the time I have to return it.

I don't know if it likes the diffused Northern light

that seeps into the dining room window - that

sits behind a nine foot deep porch.

Or does it like the well water?

I have no idea but something is right.

Sign

There is absolutely nothing I'd rather do 

than shop for my jewelry at Boll Weevil Pawn!

With a name like that, what more could you ask?

"Girls, he proposed!" she exclaimed with hearts sparkling in her eyes.

Ohhh, what a beautiful ring, did he get it at Jared?

"Oh no, right here at Boll Weevil Pawn!"  Isn't he sweet?

Just wait a cotton pick'n minute.

I know it's not about where he got it, or how much it is

but I don't know if I can get past associating my 

ring with Boll Weevils!

Perhaps they could have the reception at the French Quarter

All Adult Entertainment!  

This one killed me  (Don't look kids)  Strip Karaoke.

  

We were there during the Documentary Film Festival

that brought crowds to the downtown bath house district.

Beautiful buildings, most of which are restored.

Tall magnolias line the sidewalks where shoppers

can browse boutiques of all kinds and of course

the typical tourist attractions.

Attractions such as the Duck Tours!

No, not this kind of duck.

This sort of duck.

They tour the city and drive straight into the water

for a tour of the lake.  We have  followed them 

in town and if you open your windows you can also

enjoy the guided tour over the (quite loud) loud speaker.

It may sound like I am making fun of Hot Springs, AR.

Well, I am making fun of some of the signs but

it is a lovely town with a lot of history.

 Hike, ride or drive up the mountain road

(in the middle of town)

   and ride to the top of the tower for an amazing view.

If you ever have the chance, put it on your Places to Visit list .

          

Mr. Whiskers

He looked at me in disbelief, 

I could see it in his eyes, 

"Why are you here?"

It's my act of mercy.

My husband has been wonderful and he deserves

something special, over the top special.

So I agreed to eat at a fish place. 

(Ewwww)

When we visit my mom I like to eat at

On The Border  

because they have these absolutely wonderful

Mango Margaritas !!!!

Now, I'm not much of a drinker but these are SO tasty.

On day 2 I received a message from my husband

with a link to Mr. Whiskers so I thought it was a hint.

It's FISH!!

OK, some chicken but still meat.

I'm not a vegetarian, I eat a little meat.

Especially bacon.

But this is mostly meat and FISH.

I agreed so we set off for this little fish diner up the

road from Mom's house. I get up to the counter to order

and I stop in my tracks.  Fish, fish and more fish.

I tell the person taking the order that I need a minute.

I'm trying to figure out what I want that isn't meat.

Well, you saw the beginning of this post.

I selected Shrimp, which I do like

but which is so often poorly deveined that I get--

for lack of a better term--

all grossed out.

The plate arrives with six HUGE deveined shrimp,

two hushpuppies and fries.  I cautiously cut open the shrimp,

which are beautifully breaded, and I am amazed.

It's almost like lobster.

They are cooked perfectly.

And they taste good!

The hushpuppies are the best I have ever had!

Before we left I had to find the person who took

the order and tell him how wonderful the food is.

He broke out in a big smile.

We'll be back.

You can enjoy the menu at this link  Mr Whiskers

Fall Garden Finds

While something ate my elderberry, all is not lost.

I have found some garden treasures, 

some hidden away and some in marvelous display.

This sweet little pumpkin developed on the vine

that trailed out into the woods.

Then I found this orange sized green ball.

An undeveloped pumpkin?

No!

It's a watermelon from the vines I thought had died off.

Here it was hidden in the weeds.

I cut it open, obviously not good for eating,

but took a small taste just to see what might have been.

Delicious!  Maybe next year?

There are several other small pumpkins that 

I doubt will turn orange but I'll bring them in

soon, just in case.  If nothing else, they will

make fine decorations.

Another little treasure.

We had cool temperatures,

hot temperatures, then

cool and wet temperatures.

Nature couldn't make up its mind,

so typically St Louis!

I have roses reblooming

at the same time the burning bushes are beginning to flame

Bees are flocking to the honeysuckle that 

decided to bloom again as well.

While the nearby mums start to open.

Of course you all have seen my short,

late season beans.

And the crazy potatoes that started to grow.

I wonder what could be next?

They Ate My Elderberry- And That's Not All

They ate my elderberry!

Just the other day it was covered with leaves.

My husband reminded me it's about time for leaves to fall,

but that doesn't explain the footprints

or should I say hoof prints

in the damp ground!

They didn't stop there.

This patch of late green beans may look OK from a distance.

I might even be getting a healthy amount of beans,

considering I planted them a month late, well at least a month late.

But take a good look.

See all the snapped off vines?

That's what they did all summer long up at the big garden.

Now they found the little one. 

I think the potatoes are confused.

I was just about to dig them all up

and they started growing again!

It must have been a spell where it was

cool, hot, cool and wet.

I'll see what happens, maybe I'll just leave

them and get them later.

In the meantime,

Deer Beware!

No Elves Here

Maybe it was just wishful thinking.

Maybe I was just needed a little sweet treat.

But I looked and looked.

I even tried to spy with my camera.

No matter how hard I tried,

I just couldn't find those little elves

or a cookie factory anywhere !

Inside the Hollow

Wood cutting and Splitting 

It's Blooming !!!

It's Blooming!!!

I am temporarily taking care of this orchid, 

(which I initially thought would be a really bad thing

based on my historic incompetence with growing indoor plants) 

but several weeks later- It's Blooming!!!

See- I didn't kill it !

Woo Hoo!  Yipee!

This is an amazing thing,

the Patron Saint of Flowers must be watching over me

because I never could have done this alone!

Not only did it bloom but there are 

More On The Way.

This orchid needs watering every day.

It isn't as if it is embeded in a deep pot of dirt; 

rather, it's almost as if it's just a bundle of roots.

There is a plastic pot with holes punched in the bottom

inside of this ceramic pot.  I keep a plastic water bottle

next to it and when I pass by, I give it a sip.

It worked, it worked, it worked!

(Imagine me doing the Blooming Orchid Dance, 

if there is a blooming orchid dance).

When it comes time to return it, I hope it 

is still as healthy!  Then the pressure will be off.

Whew!!

Wood Cutting and Splitting

With predictions of a cold, snowy winter, it's time to

make sure we have adequate firewood for the season.

While we do have a furnace, we supplement by using a 

wood burning insert in our fireplace which is especially 

helpful when we have our occasional power outages

and to help keep electric bills down.

There is a huge downed tree just up the Taylor Trail. 

This will eventually be the entry to the path through the woods 

between our house and my in-laws. I shall 

make a red cloak for Taylor so she can carry a nice

 basket of goodies next door. (Sound familiar??)

Storms take down a lot of 

trees around here, some have been aging 

for awhile, some fell from recent storms. 

Tom takes care of the sawing and my job will

be using the splitter controls after he places

the logs for me.  Then I can help stack.

We're not far from the house, just up the Taylor Trail.

We have a lot of fungus growth on the trees. 

I have heard that if it grows on bark, it's safe to eat but I don't 

think I want to experiment. It does make for 

some interesting patterns and textures. 

The new log splitter comes in very handy.

It saves many hours of time over splitting by hand.

My inlaw's house is next door so it will be used to

clean up the storm damage and provide firewood there too.

About half the tree cut and split.

I began stacking while Tom was finishing up the grass cutting.

Only a portion fits in the wood holder that is on the

 courtyard for easy access. We have a larger location 

up by the garden for the majority of the wood. 

We bring it down as necessary and if it's icy, we place a 

bunch on the front porch to avoid 

slipping and sliding across the way. 

Macaroni Bar

A macaroni bar! 

The office cafe often prepares personalized entrees that

are really fantastic- but a bit pricey!

They recently added a macaroni bar where you select the 

ingredients to be combined with whatever noodles you choose.

They use small skillets to quickly stir fry your choices and 

then add the sauce of your choice plus cheeses.  In no time

flat you have a specialized meal.

So why not do it at home?

My selections were:

chicken, cubed and precooked- seasoned with Montreal Steak seasoning

mushrooms,

orange sweet pepper, skin peeled

green onion, chopped including stems

spinach leaves, fresh

 Mozzarella, shredded

Parmesan grated, not the powdered type

Alfredo sauce 

(bacon would have been nice)

broccoli (that I forgot to add!)

elbow noodles

I placed the chicken and vegetables into a buttered skillet

and cooked until the spinach was wilted.

I used Montreal Steak seasoning rather than the chicken

because I wanted more pepper in it.

I added the noodles and let them heat a little.

I then added the Alfredo sauce and continued to stir.

At the last minute I added the cheeses until they melted.

Since we like the same things I did not personalize this

but it would be easy to do using a second small skillet

or quickly wiping the skillet clean.

With precooking chicken, enough for two meals,I saved a lot of time. 

I doubled what I needed and used half of the chicken

for quesadillas the night before.  I sprinkled taco seasoning, 

 did a quick stir fry in bacon grease to add additional flavor

and mixed it with my cheeses before cooking 

them on the flat grill.  

  I was not sure if my husband would like the macaroni bar

but he went back for seconds so I think it was a winner!