All Aboard!

Time to tell about another Adsit Adventure!! But first...a little background information for you.

Friday was a special day for us...very special indeed, as we celebrated our 39th anniversary. And, by default, the beginning of our 40th year as a married couple. We had promised in our wedding vows, standing together at the altar of Jackson's Christ Lutheran Church (using a phrase insisted upon by the Lutheran pastor who co-officiated) "for as long as we both shall live together," which sounded both silly and rather like hedging our bets...but guess what? Here we are...still "living together"...and more importantly, still having adventures together. 

About this year's anniversary adventure...it all started on a rainy day last month. Nothing unusual about an April shower, right? Well, as it happened, I had planned to work in the garden that day (again, nothing unusual), but the weather wasn't cooperating...and I got bored. So I decided to amuse myself by planning a trip. 

I think I've told you before...and often...that I love train travel. Always have, probably always will. No, the recent wreck hasn't deterred the little pitter-patter my heart does when I hear a train whistle. And I have always wanted to go cross-country on a train...well, on several lines as it turns out.

And that's what I was amusing myself with that rainy April day. I was on the Amtrak website, cobbling together a trip from East Coast and back. I was enthusiastically sharing my findings with Mr. T...when I realized that he had a look of sheer panic on his face. 

"Wouldn't you like to travel cross-country on Amtrak?" says I.

"Well, maybe we could start with a shorter journey," says he.

"And where would you like to go on this "shorter journey?" I said, starting to see the humor in the discussion.

After thinking about it for a bit, Mr. T says: "Raleigh."

And so, there we were, on our two-hour train ride to Raleigh. Actually, my trip was two hours, since I left from High Point, using a ticket that I'd rescheduled from an earlier planned-but-untaken ride. 

Mr. T dropped me off at the HPNC depot, then headed 20 minutes away to the Greensboro station where he would board. This would work out better in the end, with me getting off in Greensboro on the return trip, since we needed our car to be in GSO, in order to get to our next adventure: the Greensboro Grasshoppers baseball game.

We enjoyed our relatively uncrowded ride and arrived in the State Capital without incident. The day was absolutely beautiful, and we enjoyed our walk of a few blocks to the downtown Marriott. Here we would take advantage of their lobby Starbucks and WiFi connection to allow Mr. T to participate in his conference call (yeah, so much for "taking the WHOLE day off). Then, business managed, we headed to Bükü...my favorite downtown Raleigh restaurant that I was eager to introduce to T.

When we shared that it was our 39th anniversary with our waiter, he brought us glasses of champagne to celebrate! How lovely!! Since neither of us was required to drive a vehicle until much later, we enjoyed every drop. 

I had the yummy Greek Salad with a grilled salmon steak, and Mr. T ordered the burger that he pronounced as both good and "huge!" And then we shared a dessert they call Trilogy: three cremé brûlée cups...one vanilla, one chocolate mint, and one ginger...with fresh fruit. Delicious!

To walk all these calories off, we headed toward the Capitol building and the state museums, starting with NC History and ending up in the Natural Science's cafe called The Daily Planet. If we'd had three days, we probably couldn't get it all done. Here's a shot in front of the Capitol (admittedly, not the most impressive state Capitol in the country), of the three Presidents born in North Carolina...but from Tennessee...

Our ride home didn't go as smoothly, with our train running nearly an hour late. No matter, we arrived at the ballpark in time to see the Hoppers score first...and last...in the game with the Blue Claws (gotta love Minor League team names!). In between, we also were treated to a mention on the Jumbotron and by the announcer: "Happy 39th Anniversary to Thomas and Patricia!" Woohoo! I wasn't quick enough to snap the moment, but it's a nice memory all the same.

And now, loyal readers, you probably know what comes next. "Wonder where we'll be this time next year?" Guess what...I have an answer! Seattle. Yes, we already have our reservations on an Alaskan cruise for our 40th...on the Ruby Princess, for the ruby anniversary! We should be returning to port on the 29th, and we will probably return to one of our fave University of Washington-area restaurants, Ivar's, to toast this special occasion...with a fave wine that is a local there (Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling).

Wonder if we tell the waiter, s/he will also bring us champagne?

All That...and a Bag of Chips

Feet up? Check. Iced tea in hand? Double check. Whew! Can I just say what a week this has been?!

It's been hot. Really hot. Hot, hot, hot! Mid-90's every day this week...and it doesn't turn Summer until Saturday. And humid...don't forget the humidity. It's the kind of week that you'd like to take up permanent residence over the air conditioner vents. But, there were too many places to go, things to do, and people to see.

First thing Monday morning, Mr. T and Missy M (who is spending her weekends with us) headed to Charlotte. She was flying out to New Orleans (via Detroit, if you can imagine!), for the week, and he was dropping her off at the airport on his way south to Greenville, SC.

Tending the gardens occupied the first couple of days for me. Much is required during this time of the year, as you can probably imagine, with all the warm season crops in. The difficult part is the constant and oppressive heat. We expect this in August, not June. (I've posted an update about the gardens over on our garden blog, Gardening with the Giants. Click here to go there.) I usually try to follow my maxim of "Noon or ninety, whichever comes first," but I'm afraid I couldn't tow that line this week. Too much to do to give up a half-day.

I headed out to the Extension Center on Wednesday for our Master Gardener annual picnic, taking along a pasta salad that I dubbed "Going to the Garden Party Pasta Salad.*"  The theme for the picnic this year was Eating Local, with NC BBQ and sweet potatoes taking center stage. Many of the ingredients in my pasta salad were about as local as you can get, since they had indeed come straight from our HPNC kitchen garden, harvested on Tuesday. Even the lemon that provided the juice (see recipe below) came from my Meyer Lemon tree on the deck! Here's a snap of the finished product...and yes, those are nasturtiums on top. Yes, they are edible. 

Did I tell you it was hot this week? O. M. G. It was hot at the picnic, too. But we had a grand time together, topped off with the release of 50 monarch butterflies to mark the dedication of the Pollinators Garden and the new Monarch Waystation. More photos for you:

Thursday was all about catching up with paperwork, housework, and laundry. And on trying to reload my body with fluids...and salt. After sweating bullets at the picnic, I was craving salt, big time. I fairly attacked a bag of baked BBQ potato chips...even though they are not my faves. Did the best I could on all counts, since I had a fun day on the docket for Friday.

We had planned an EMGV Advanced Training trip to the J. C. Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh, and we weren't going to let a little ol' heat wave get in our way. We were participating in the Landscape Color Field Day, as guests of the Arboretum and the North Carolina Commercial Flower Growers Association. Oh yeah, Master Gardeners live for stuff like this! Still more photos for you, with a few of my personal favorite flowers:

Meanwhile, Mr. T had been to DC and back (I know...he started in SC...what can I say?), just in time to head back to Charlotte to pick up Missy M on Friday evening. What was she doing in NOLA, you ask? Well, she went with several new colleagues to do their in-store restaurant training at a Popeye's there. Of course, you can't go to The Big Easy without a few taste-tests of your own, can you? Here's a shot she sent of Bourbon Street from their restaurant and a pic of her last dessert at Cafe du Monde...the New Orleans Classic, beignets. 

All of that beings me back to another weekend...back in the gardens...and back to the reason I've got my feet up and my hand wrapped around a cold glass of iced tea. With another bag of salty chips in the other hand. What can I say? Gotta get ready for another hot week ahead, don't you know?

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*Going to the Garden Party Pasta Salad Recipe

1 box Tri-Color Rotini pasta, prepared per box instructions
1 large bottle Creamy Italian Dressing
Fresh oregano
Fresh basil

Fresh chives

Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup Dijon mustard, more or less (I like more...you may prefer less...:)
1 cup green peas, blanched
1/2 large red onion, finely diced (save the rest to thinly slice for decoration)
1/2 large green pepper, finely diced
1 hot pepper, finely diced (opt.)4-5 small carrots, finely diced
Fresh broccoli, trimmed and washed
1 cup cooked ham, cubed
4 oz. mozzarella cheese, small cubes

1 small jar pimiento pepper, drained and diced

Fresh ground pepper and seasoned salt to taste

Nasturtium flowers, onion rings, and more fresh herbs for decoration

1. Prepare pasta per package directions. Put prepared veggies in a colander, and pour hot pasta and water over top to "cook." Drain, then wash under cold water to cool.
2. Combine Italian dressing with fresh herbs, adding as much fresh oregano, chives, and basil as you like, lemon juice, and Dijon mustard. I even add a bit of Ranch Dressing, for added creaminess. Reserve 1/2 of this mixture for later.
3. In a large bowl, combine 1/2 of dressing mixture with other ingredients.
4. After mixing thoroughly, chill for several hours or overnight.
5. Since the pasta will absorb the dressing, add the reserved dressing and more seasonings to taste before serving. Top with edible decoration, such as nasturtium flowers, fresh herbs, and thinly-sliced red onion rings. Enjoy!

I ❤️ a Picnic, Part 2

I wasn't kidding in my last post about loving a picnic...or about picnicking on Mother's Day. We did both yesterday, and I loved every minute!

As you can see by the above photo, we enjoyed "Mother's Day at the Garden*" at the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden near Belmont, NC. I have wanted to go to DSBG for years, since I see their brown 'points of interest' sign on I-85S every time I drive to/from Atlanta. So, I got to check off one of my "Places I Want to Visit" and celebrate in style! 

We got up early...not by necessity, but by practice: with five dogs in residence, we almost always see the sun rise around here. Getting on the road (I-85 South toward Charlotte), we decided to take advantage of another freebie we garnered at the Grasshoppers game last Friday: the so-called Strikeout Victim (AKA: the designated hitter) did just what we wanted him to do...he swung and missed three times while we Hopper fans were yelling "biscuit, biscuit, biscuit!" That bit of silliness is sponsored by Biscuitville...naturally...and when it happens, everyone in attendance gets a coupon for a free sausage and biscuit. Yippee! Make that two, please! [Added to the 50% off our Saturday pizza order fom Papa John's...given when the Hoppers struck out five batters in a row...and vouchers for a free basket of Buffalo chicken tenders from Stumblestiltskins (given out to those sitting in our section when the other team made an error...or the "Stumble" of the Night!), we really hit a home run!]

We got to the Garden just before 11:00. All moms got free admission...hooray...and the first 250 got a free plant. I didn't think we would make that second list, but we did...and I got a pot of peppermint for my herb garden. We picked up our preordered picnic basket and drinks and headed to find a nice location on the grounds. We were fortunate to find a cool, shaded area, just beyond one of the walled gardens ...where we could hear the fountain on the other side of the hedge! We had taken our collapsible "shade" chairs, which have attached awnings that can provide shade if needed...but the maple overhead did a fine job of that. Such a pleasant day...the only things missing were Missy M (who started her new job in ATL today) and maybe a nice bottle of wine (which you aren't allowed to bring onto the grounds).

Never fear: we had registered for the Wine Walk! Beginning at 1:00, we strolled the grounds, past wine "stations" which were serving six varieties of NC wines, starting with a Chardonay (white) all the way through a Merlot (red). Our favorite...no surprise here: the Riesling. The stations were set up to draw the Wine Walkers through the gardens and allow us to drink in their beauty...pun intended. Here's the long view of the Fountain Alley, looking from the Riesling station toward the Cabernet station. 

We passed on the carriage ride (too warm by this time) in favor of finishing our day and chilling out with mango gelato. The drive home gave us plenty of time to worry about whether we would still have a home...since we had experienced Doggie Wars between Abbie and Ella Rae on Friday...at 5:45 a.m.  After that, ER had begun staying under the deck...and inaccessible. Sigh. Guess it was inevitable. But I was sad nonetheless.

Thankfully, when we returned to HPNC all was well. Well...sorta. Apparently the Fab Five had banded  together in common pursuit of disturbing the peace in our neighborhood. Our neighbors had just returned from the beach, with their arrival revving up the dulcet tones of the protective beasties...including Dixie, Missy M's beautiful Basset, who carries on when barking 'enthusiastically' as if someone were removing her toenails without anesthesia. Double sigh. At least the pups were getting along again. Reasonably well enough.

Life might not be a picnic yet, but we are on the right track.

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* Speaking of gardens...we were, weren't we? Check out the latest post to our gardening blog, Gardening with the Giants here: http://gardenwithgiants.blogspot.com/2014/05/may-has-arrivedfinally.html

(Almost) Back to Normal

The Holiday Season is officially over...almost. I'm slowly de-decorating the house, now that the calendar is past Epiphany (January 6). Oh wait! I see that today is the Eastern Orthodox church's Christmas! Yea!! I can turn the trees on one more day! Wonder if I get 12 more days? (That's good because I need Mr. T's height to help me take the trees down, so that chore has been deferred to the coming weekend.)

So where's Mr. T you ask? He's off and riding..."on the road again"! He headed out yesterday morning, destination Glen Burnie, MD by way of Ashland, VA. He looked so nice in his new burnt-orange and maroon sweater and shirt...a gift from Missy M. I told him he looked like a VaTech fan...and he said that's good 'cause he was headed to Hokie country. It's been two months since his shoulder surgery, and he feels better with each day.

However...

He's a little out of practice. A couple hours after he left, I noticed his wallet on the counter (pic above) His WALLET! With his driver's license...his credit cards...his folding money. Yikes! Change of my plans: day trip!

I texted and phoned him, and he was blissfully unaware of his situation. He was also just over the VA state line on I-85 North. And he was almost out of gas. (Since gas is so much cheaper in VA than NC, he usually tries to stretch his luck to save some $.)

I grabbed the wallet, my purse, and my phone...tossed the pups (who were confused about Daddy's absence) a rawhide/chicken jerky chew each and promised I'd bring home fries (first thing that came to mind!)...jumped in Lillie Pearl PTC and headed her toward a meetup in the middle. Almost. 

Mr. T could only find a little over $3.00 in loose change in his car. Fortunately, gas in VA was $3.08 a gallon so he got a whole gallon...giving him a little over 30 miles in his tank.  He decided he could make it to a Sheetz at Exit 212. That gave me about 100 miles...which would work as I had a little over a half-tank.

Thankfully it was a gorgeous day for driving. We had bitter cold temps on the way, but it wasn't predicted until late afternoon. I could do this! And I did. We met up, exchanged the wallet for another goodbye kiss (!), and was back on the road home...and Mr. T back in the road to VA/MD...in less than 10 minutes (even with a potty break)! *

I made it home (with a bag of Mickey D's fries) in time to take down the outdoor Christmas decor (just a wreath, a couple of flags and windsocks), cover the containers with my miniature roses, detach the garden hoses, and cover the faucets with styrofoam caps. The temps had dropped 10 degrees on my ride home, and I wanted to be prepared. Here's a shot of the clouds I snapped on my drive home. (Looked like snow clouds, but no go for the snow.)

While I didn't get everything done I'd planned for my first day Back to Normal, I got the main things accomplished...including a 12.5 bike ride from Lewisville, NC to Shacktown, NC (more on that in another post to come).

Today, I finished up my list by washing a big pile of clothes, making a big pot of beef-veg soup, and then making my 3 favorite "comfort food" sandwich spreads (pimiento cheese, ham salad, and egg salad)...half-recipes, since only I will eat them.

[Funny...the only differences in my pimiento cheese recipe and my Cheese Ball recipe are about 4 times the amount of cream cheese, 1/2 as much mayonnaise, and pecan pieces, cayenne pepper, and paprika for rolling the Cheese Ball...but Mr. T turns his nose up at pimiento cheese, all the while devouring the Cheese Ball. Oh well...more for me!]

"Comfort food" and winter weather preparations? Oh yeah! I snapped this shot of the thermometer on the deck (against the house) at 7:30 this morning: 7 degrees!!! 

And from the Weather Station reporting from the Way Back (out in the open) at 7:41 this morning: 5.5 degrees!

The weather wonks are assuring us we will rapidly be returning to more normal temps. Bring it on! I'm really ready for some Normal.

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*Footnote:

I got this message from Mr. T last night, after he had finally made it to his hotel room.

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Heheheheh. (Almost) back to normal indeed.

The 2013 Great Hemerocallis Hunt

We are back home, recovering from our annual Great Hemerocallis (Daylily) Hunt. Thankfully, the temperatures didn't reach 100 this year as in years past...but mid-90's, with humidity readings to match, and no shade sure made it feel like the thermometer hit the century mark. Whew! What a day! We have been busy as these bees. (Heheheheh...I couldn't resist showing you these pictures we took with our iPhone cameras...Thomas took the yellow one, I took the pink one...:-). 

So, why do we go in July...the hottest month of the year, you ask? Well, that's when the day lilies are at peak bloom (June and July), that's when the NC farms tend to be open on the weekends, and that's as close to my birthday as we can get. [You may recall that for several years now, I have celebrated my Big Day with a trip to the Daylily Farm to pick out a new cultivar or two...or nine...:-) ] We missed last year because of our extended stay in KY, which has several Daylily farms, no doubt...but I just wasn't up to it then. No worries...made up for that little oversight today!

We knew we could only "do" one farm today, so we had to choose from the three we knew and had visited in the past, or maybe locate another one to explore. Easier said than done, on that last choice, though...when a search of "Daylily farms in NC" yielded no further selections that were open to the public on a Saturday in July and within a couple of hours' drive of HPNC. OK, so that made it easy:  we chose to return to Lakeview Farms in Garner, NC...which we admit has become our fav in NC. They have a great website here: 

For the past few times we have gone on the annual Daylily Hunt, I have had either a color in mind...or a type...or both. It helps to do a bit of thinking and planning ahead, especially when we get to a farm with a sea of blooming day lilies, and all Mr. T can see are the red ones. He loves bright colors, so if I don't have some kind of suggestion of what to look for, we would spend hours in the hot sun looking at every red cultivar...and never see anything else. Unless it was a bright orange. Or maybe bright yellow. If both of those colors were on tall day lilies that stood out above the red ones.

Me? I'm a sucker for purples...as if you couldn't guess. And I'm currently on a lime green and chartreuse kick. OK, that's bright, I'll admit. Oh, I'm not opposed to bright colors...it's just I think we need to have a few eye-pleasing combinations as well as the eye-popping ones.

So, this year my plan was to look for more "spider" types of day lilies to add to our gardens. Spider daylilies are defined by the ratio of their petal width to their petal length. Think long and skinny petals. We were introduced to these unusual looking blossoms a couple years ago when we purchased the cultivar Red Ribbons from Lakeview. We paired them with Red Volunteers...and it's a match made in hemerocallis heaven!

Additionally, I wanted a bright combo for the very back of the Way Back...need a really bright pair to draw the eye down the path to the rear property line. And I think we found just the right combination in New Jersey Spider (gold one) and Ruby Spider (red and gold). They are tall and bold...and should easily draw eyes in their direction. And Mr. T is more than happy with these bright colors!

My plan for this Hunt included finding a purple and lime green spider for the back yard, to be planted along the walk, in front of the garden shed (you know, the shed with the purple doors...:-). My first choice (Yabba Dabba Doo) wasn't available, as they had sold down to their last clump, but I found one I like better color-wise (if not name-wise...:-) called Wilson Spider. I didn't get a picture of it, but I did get one of the complementary selection called Easy Ned (another spider...with lime and chartreuse coloring).

 

Then, I wanted to add a white one to our collection. We have two white cultivars (Dad's Best White, which we got while in Missouri and transplanted here, and Miss Amelia, which we bought locally at the Farmers Market last year), but I wanted one with a lime green or chartreuse throat. I was excited to find one that fit my plan perfectly and whose name will help commemorate my Big Birthday coming up in 10 days called Just Celebrate.

We got a few others (!), including a bright red one with a bright green throat called Here Comes Santa Claus (OK, now who could resist THAT name?), but I'll have to snap pics of them when we put them in the ground tomorrow. 

Or, should I say IF we put them in the ground tomorrow? We are currently experiencing yet another thunderstorm with more rain...10 or more days in a row, I think. Great for the gardens...but not so good for doing actual gardening. Ground is just too wet to work. 

No matter...we won't mind a day of rest around here. Not one little bit, will we mind that...no siree!

Fun Friday!

Today was one of those perfectly marvelous days one dreams about. At least, it was for me. Day trip!

It began early-early...at least it did for me. I had set my alarm for 6:00, but I suppose I was too excited to sleep much past 5:00. I had already packed my day-bag with my tickets, a knitting project or two, my iPad, my iPod (for the audiobook I'm listening to, The Last Founding Father), and just in case I needed one more thing...a new gardening magazine. By 7:30 a.m., I was off on my latest adventure.

I've written more than once about how much I enjoy going to symphony concerts, especially the Friday Favorites series performed by the NC Symphony in Raleigh. And I have also shared a post or two about my love of train travel. Combining the two of these passions on an absolutely gorgeous Fall day, meant that I was eastbound on The Carolinian, leaving the Furniture Capital and headed for the state capital, as the sun began its steady rise in the cerulean* blue sky. Here we go! Second stop outta High Point (which got its name by being the highest point on the NC railroad between Charlotte and Goldsboro) is Burlington (pictured).

I arrived in Raleigh right on time and began the easy, less-than-10 minute walk to Meymandi Concert Hall, arriving with about 25 minutes to spare before the pre-concert lecture.

Lecture? I thought you said this was a fun day, Patricia! Well, it was a fun day for me...because I had the opportunity to learn something new. You see, growing up in the 60's and coming of age in the 70's in West Tennessee...and specifically Memphis...my exposure to music was limited to either Country Music (favorite of my Nashville-born & bred Daddy, and a little less fav of Momma), show tunes (Momma's favorites), church hymns, or Rock and Roll. Period. That's all I knew. Oh, maybe a march or two played by the band(s) at football games, but that was about it.

I know, I know... Miss Caroline tried her best to teach me something different during my 5 years of piano lessons. But I struggled so as the assignments got more difficult that I guess I just didn't get it. I never realized that the pieces she wanted me to learn were examples of beautiful classical music. Trust me, there was nothing beautiful about the way they sounded when I played them!

When I arrived at Mississippi State College for Women (MSCW) in '71, I was only being "nice" to my sweet (and talented) suitemate KD when I agreed to attend a concert by the W's orchestra, where she had won a spot playing the flute. When I first heard classical music played as it should be, by an orchestra, I was amazed...and I was hooked.

The train thing has been with me since Kindergarten days in Covington. We went on a train trip all the way to Atoka, Tenn ("two stores and a cotton gin"), a distance of maybe 12 whole miles. What a thrill! Moms were smiling and waiting at the station to drive us back, as the conductor helped a gaggle of us 5-year olds step off the train. Well, the other Moms were. My Momma was in tears, frantically trying to get in our car, which she had locked. With the keys in the ignition. And with Li'l Brother Jack snoozing in his car-seat. I don't know if he still remembers the trauma, but it did nothing to deter my new-found joy attached to train-travel.

[A note. As you know, Mr. T and I are extraordinarily compatible and enjoy many of the same things in life. But, he doesn't share my love of classical music...or trains either for that matter. So days like today are days that bring joy to me alone. Sigh.]

So, back to today. The lecture was excellent, and I learned new and interesting tidbits about Dukas, Debussy, Dvorak, and Mozart...all of whom were on the program entitled Mozart's Prague Symphony. I learned that the real reason composers used a Fanfare at the beginning of a piece was to tell the Audiences to, and I quote, "sit down and shut up!" It seems that 18th and 19th century audiences (especially in Paris) were a bit more raucous than we are. Who knew?

Following the education portion came a soothing 90 minutes of beautiful music, played well and enthusiastically by the NC Symphony, with a guest clarinetist...who, even though a Harvard graduate, looked to be about 15, but who played Debussy's rhapsodie for clarinet like he had many more years of experience. As usual, I found my seat in the first balcony and pulled out my knitting needles.

Yes. Knitting needles. I find that the act of knitting helps my busy brain to settle and focus on what is at hand. I choose a project that is pretty basic (no fancy patterns here!), that I can knit and purl in the near-dark of the concert hall, and that can be done on circular needles...so I'm not chasing a lost needle mid-Andante. And I purposefully knit slowly, to avoid clicking my needles and annoying the person(s) next to me. I've had folks make comments about "how do you manage that in the dark?" (it's not really totally dark). But I've never had anyone say that my knitting bothered them. They may have felt it, but no one has ever said it.

After the concert, I headed to my favorite downtown restaurant, bu ku, which offers a 10% discount to concert-goers. It was delish, as always! I had grilled salmon and pear salad with Asian Ginger dressing (pictured)...and since I didn't have to drive the train home, I treated myself to a lovely Gewürztraminer.

With about 90 minutes until I had to get back to the station for my return trip, I headed down Fayetteville Street toward the State Capitol building (pictured). It isn't really the prettiest I've seen (I reserve that honor for West Virginia or Georgia, with their gleaming golden domes), but neither is it the plainest (New York in my book). It's a replacement building, as the original burned in the mid 1800's...and I guess they were aiming for solid rather than showplace. The dome is copper...meaning it's that ugly brackish-greenish verdigris. The most interesting part was seeing all the trees on the square surrounding the building. Are they all NC natives? I'll have to investigate further...

Then I made my way to the State History museum. Be still my beating heart! All this history...and free admission to boot. I'd probably still be there if I didn't have a train to catch.

I have two more opportunities to repeat this Fun Friday in the first half of 2013. I can hardly wait to hear "All Aboard!"

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*Cerulean blue...yeah, I could have just called the sky Carolina Blue, but my brain has been on the Color Wheel this week. I wrote an article on Decorating for The Holidays from The Garden which is now available at: http://guilford.ces.ncsu.edu/2012/11/holiday-decorating-from-the-garden/

I know, I know. It says it's originally by Karen Neill, our Horticulture Agent...and that none of the pictures show up. She tells me there's a glitch or two in the way the site is set up, and she's trying to get it reworked. No matter. Enjoy!

An Almost-Perfect Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Table all set...
Flowers from Missy M

Ah.  The week after a Holiday is always an exercise in returning to normal, isn't it? 

We enjoyed a wonderful seven days "at home" with Missy M and our grand dogs, Ella Rae and Dixie.  We traveled to our favorite family places and did some of our favorite family things.  We ate all the traditional recipes on Turkey Day (photo, left), served in the traditional dishes (Meemaw's turkey platter; Mama Stewart's Haviland gravy bowl and cut-glass relish dish; Nana's cranberry sauce server; and our very own silver and china).  We toasted our good health and happiness with chilled Biltmore Estates Riesling (an new tradition...:).  We postponed dessert until Friday because we were too full from the feast on Thursday.  And, I almost made it through dinner without tears.  Almost.

The turkey had been roasting since early morn, causing the dogs...all 5 of them...to be famished and fussy by mid-afternoon.  So, while we were trying to enjoy a lovely meal at the dining room table, the Houndz were circling our feet like a shiver of sharks.  Someone remarked that they probably were looking for a push-over to share morsels with them.  I said they probably missed Nana dropping bits of her buttered rolls or bites of turkey like she used to.  And that's all it took...that one observation triggered a grief ambush, as friend LCM calls them.  I tried to control the flow...to no avail.  The tears will fall when the tears will fall...I should be used to this by now.  Up from the table...off to the bathroom.  Cry a bit, dry the eyes, rinse & repeat.  Sigh.

Let us speak of happier things.

Thanksgiving Cheesecake

As I said, we got a couple of day-trips into the week.  The first one was on Friday to Boone (mountains), where we usually shop a little at Mast General Store (Christmas sweaters, anyone?), enjoy a big family-style meal of fried chicken and fixin's at Daniel Boone Inn, and then go to one of the many choose n' cut Christmas Tree farms for "The One." This year was a bit different, since we neither ate at the Inn nor came home with a tree on top of the car...more on that later.  Still, it was a beautiful day, and we had a fun time.  And, by the time we made it home, we were all ready to try that cheesecake with fresh strawberries.  Yummy!  (Photo, right; recipe, below)

Next up, Raleigh on Saturday, for the NC Symphony's Carolina Christmas concert.  Beautiful music...the Cary Chorus....the debut of an original work...and even a singalong:  just right for stirring up the Spirit of the Season.  Then, post-concert, we indulged another tradition of eating Chinese food post-Thanksgiving:  anything but turkey!  We got our favorites at P.F. Chang's at the Crabtree Mall, then did a little shopping at the Container Store (which neither of us has "locally").  It was late when we finally made it home...but we elected to have "just a small slice" of cheesecake...this time with fresh blueberries for the topping.

We started Sunday off in leisurely fashion, making family fav pancakes for brunch.  Afterwards, we began the process of removing the Thanksgiving decorations, in preparation for some Christmas ones...to be added later this week.  Mid-afternoon, we were dressing to attend the Service of Memories when...

Do you know what a little, long-haired black dog looks like after a romp in the attic insulation?  It ain't pretty.  While I was putting the finishing touches on my make-up, Mr. T and Missy M were putting the boxes of Thanksgiving decorations away.  Ella Rae decided that was the perfect time to make a dash into the pink stuff just beyond the floored part of the attic where all the decorations are stored.  Of course, every time they tried to get her to come out of the attic...she just made another run-through...thinking they were trying to play-play with her.  What fun!

What fun, indeed.  Missy M stayed home to give ER several baths, to try to remove all the fibres from the little mutt-mutt's fur.  Mr. T and I headed on to the service, which is an annual Holiday offering by Cumby Funeral Home for families who have lost loved ones in the past year.  We were comforted by the words of the minister from Jamestown United Methodist Church, who took his message from the scripture: "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." [Psalm 30:5]  For most of us in the chapel, it was still "night"...for there was much weeping.  For me, the tears fell as before...and of course, I had forgotten to bring any tissues.  You'd think I would learn...



Service of Memories...
Gifts for the Grieving

 We were all given two gifts (photo, left) as we exited the service: a brochure on dealing with grief through the Holidays and a lovely ornament with our loved one's name.  Both will be helpful in the coming weeks, I have no doubt, as we follow the suggestions we were given.  I have already found some comfort in a quote in the brochure, Coping With The Holidays: The Road to Recovery:

"I thought I was doing much better.  The pain had subsided; I could laugh again.  I was beginning to spend time with friends.  My eating and sleeping patterns were back to normal.  Then, I had to face my first holiday without him.  I felt the familiar effects of grief wash over me and it was just like the healing process had never even begun."  -- Anonymous

While I don't feel that I am all the way back to Square #1, I do feel that I've been sliding back down the slope this last week.  More tears.  Less sleep.  That hollow, empty feeling of finality.  But reading that quote helped me see that I'm reacting to loss like others do.

Also in the brochure:

"Writing...will help you express your feelings.  When writing, be entirely honest...; it will help you gain control over your feelings.  Clarifying your thoughts will help you feel less overwhelmed..."

So, here I am.  Writing.  Expressing.  Clarifying.  And, all after midnight.  Ah, well...it's a process, right?  No doubt, I shall sleep better tonight than I have in days.

Another reason I was so glad that we attended this service was that we got to see and hear Thom Gill, a volunteer who sings and plays guitar regularly at Hospice Home of High Point.  He is an angel, and I am glad I had another opportunity to tell him how special he and his music are/were to us.  I hugged him after the service, and we chatted for a while about his music ministry.

We returned home, thoroughly drained but with more peace...only to walk into the final chapter of Doggie Chaos.  Missy M had decided to give ALL of the dogs baths!  Since Duche$$ refused to get into the tub, she got her "bath" in the shower.  The good news:  all the dogs were clean and fresh-smelling.  The bad news:  all the dogs were still a wee bit damp...and I don't think there was a dry towel to be had.  A small price to pay, to be sure...

Cheesecake, anyone?

=========================================================
*Thanksgiving* Cheesecake

Crust:
Graham cracker crumbs to equal 2 cups (about 1 1/2 packets)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup pecan halves/pieces
1 stick butter, melted
Filling:
4 8-oz packages of cream cheese, room temperature
4 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1 T. lemon juice
Toppings:
Fresh fruit (strawberries, blueberries, etc.), sliced and sugared
     or,
Canned cherry pie filling, chilled
Whipped cream
Chocolate sprinkles

A minimum of two days before you wish to serve the cheesecake, make the crust.  I use the Cuisinart to pulverize the graham crackers and the pecans, although you can put them in a large ziplock baggie and crush them with a rolling pin.  Add the melted butter to the crumbs.  Press the crust mixture into the bottom of a greased springform pan, pressing the mixture up the sides.  I use a greased glass for this part.  Place the pan in the freezer overnight. [You can do this step several days in advance, if desired.]

One day before you wish to serve the cheesecake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and make the filling.  In the bowl of your mixer or Cuisinart, beat the bars of cream cheese until softened.  Add the sugar, and beat well.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add the sour cream, the lemon juice, and the vanilla, incorporating well into the cream cheese mixture.  Pour the filling into the frozen crust.  Wrap aluminum foil around the base and sides of the springform pan, and place it into a larger pan (cookie-sheet size, but with sides of at least an inch).  Put into the oven.  Pour hot water into the larger pan, creating a "bath" for the cheesecake.  After 10 minutes, lower the temperature to 350 degrees; bake for an additional 1 hour and 30-40 minutes, or until the cheesecake has risen and has a lightly-browned top (which might be more or less time, depending on your oven). Turn off the oven, and allow the cheesecake to rest in the oven for another hour.  Remove from the oven. Let cool on a rack thoroughly before placing into the refrigerator (overnight).



Prior to serving, remove from the refrigerator 30-45 minutes ahead of time.  Run a sharp knife under hot water prior to making each cut.  Top the cheesecake slice with fresh, sweetened fruit; chilled, canned pie filling; or chocolate syrup, chips, or sprinkles...and a large dollop of whipped cream.  Enjoy!

Refrigerate any leftovers.  Yield:  10-12 slices 
[Don't even ASK how many calories are in each slice!]

*We have had this cheesecake almost every Thanksgiving at our house. 

Aloha! Part 3 - The Road to Hana

Oh hello.  Glad to see you've returned for the next chapter in our "How We Spent Our Summer Vacation" chronicle.  Let's see...we're up to Day Five now, aren't we?

The Road to Hana. Or, to put it another way:  "what do you mean it will take us 4 hours to go 52 miles?"

This trip is one of the "must do" things when on Maui.  And it's a trip in so many senses of that word.  You follow State Highway 36 ("The Hana Highway") through Kahului (the town where the main airport is) and Paia (where Mama's Fish House is...and where Willie Nelson is a part-time resident). Somewhere along the way, the highway becomes number 360, just to keep you on your toes.

Your destination?  It isn't really the little village of Hana itself.  It's more like your destination is really the End of the Road to Hana, which literally occurs a few miles beyond Kipahulu when the road dissolves into gravel.  Or, so they say.  We couldn't attest to that because we decided our destination was the National Park's Visitor Center (where the bathrooms were...:).  We were tired...it was getting late...and we decided that it wasn't really that important to find Charles Lindbergh's grave, in the grand scheme of things.  But, wait...I'm getting ahead of myself here.

To begin with, we'd read about this journey to Hana in every one of our tourist guides. Information overload on Hana.  But we were going to limit the focus of our day to seeing the breath-taking scenery (yep...it was everything they'd said it would be) and seeing as many waterfalls as we could (hmmmm...more on that later).  We'd planned on packing the cooler with ice, water, and soft drinks as suggested, filling up the gas tank of the rental car as suggested, and taking a picnic lunch to enjoy at Waianapanapa State Park as suggested.

Can you see the yellow fish in the coral reef?

The one suggestion we didn't follow, however, was to get an early start...like around 6:00 a.m.  We'd already had one early wake-up call on this vacation (at 3:00 a.m., in order to see the sun rise on the top of Haleakala)...and we decided that one was enough.  Instead we spent a couple of hours, after our breakfast on the lanai, snorkeling around a coral reef in a cove near our hotel's beach.  Got to see my first brightly-colored salt water fish!  Yellow-stripey ones!!  That's one of the photos (left) we took with our disposable underwater cameras...not the best quality, but a good reminder nonetheless. [Edited to add photo on 10/11/10.]
By the time we'd showered after the snorkeling fun, it was nearly noon.  And, it was almost 1:00 when we breezed through Paia, where we had hoped to see the windsurfers.  Alas, the waves weren't that high at this time of the day, so no luck.  Oh well, maybe when we come back through?

After Paia, the road got more narrow...and a whole heckava lot more curvier (is that even a word?  Well, it should be, 'cause there are officially 617 curves on this wicked-scarey road.)  That sign over there on the right?  They REALLY mean it's a One-Lane Bridge (the first of 56!) and 10 mph.  If you can manage to do that much, just before you had to Yield the Right of Way to the driver coming from the other direction.  Trouble was, there were Yield signs on both sides of the bridge, causing some confusion to say the least.  The scenery did indeed take your breath away...but the drive on this road just about deprived your body of oxygen from gasping, as in:  [sharp intake of breath] "Is that car going to hit us?  Can you see around that curve? How can they put a one-lane bridge on every switchback curve in the road...what were they thinking???"  And, just when we were seriously wondering if this was worth it, we saw something like this (below, left):

We snapped this shot (and many others similar to it) of Keanae Peninsula from the Kaumahina State Park...a grandiose name for a parking area with rest rooms and a few picnic tables, which would be called a Rest Area anywhere else.  We'd thought it might have to do for our picnic, since we were getting hungrier by the minute...and it didn't appear that we would ever make it to Hana anyway at the pokey-slow rate we were going.  Really glad we didn't settle for the less-than-desirable spot after all.  Still, it would be a stop for us on the return trip, too; more on that in a minute.

OK, break over.  Time to get back out on the road.

As we twisted and turned, and nearly met ourselves coming around a couple of those curves (see the photo to the right), we began to realize something very important.  Most of the waterfalls we spotted weren't falling...and there was very little water in many of them.  Hawaii...at least Maui...is suffering from severe drought conditions in many places, sad to say.  We also became pretty good at recognizing the locals on the road.  They were the ones in the pickup trucks...the ones with the really wide hips (the trucks, not the people...:) and really big tires.  The ones who were OK with driving in the middle of the road (!), and who seemed to feel that the double-yellow line in the center of the road was just a suggestion about passing.  Most of those same trucks had dents and dings and paint-scratches, too.  Imagine that...

After another couple of hours we were there...Hana!  Hooray!!  Oh wait, was that it?  Did we already go through it??  You betcha.  Blink and you'll miss it for sure.

Oh well, hunger got the best of us, and we headed to the park for a picnic.  Fabulous view from our picnic table!  After we finished with our food, we followed the trail to the Blow Hole and then down to the Black Sand Beach (left)...which isn't really sand at all, it's stones.  Smooth ones to be sure...but stones all the same.  Never seen anything like that.

By the time we made our way to the end of where our car rental agreement said we could drive (yes, they do exclude some of the roads on Maui...:) and took a bio-break (note:  NO drinking water available) at the Visitor Center, we were more-than-ready to start the return trip.  It was now past 4:00, and we were losing daylight, especially in the shaded areas of the road.

Because of our late start, most of the other folks on the Road had already returned to their hotel rooms and were deciding where they were going to have dinner that evening.  So, we were now sharing the road with almost exclusively local traffic, if you get my drift.  Whereas on the drive coming out, most of the other tourists (oh, there were exceptions) would honor the Yield-the-Right-Away signs when approaching the one-lane bridges, the locals would just keep on comin' all during our return trip.

But fortunately, because we were out on the road in the late afternoon, we began to duck in and out of the proverbial afternoon showers.  And, then we were treated to another breath-taking display common to Hawaii:  a double rainbow (right)!  Mr. T took that shot from that Rest Area where we stopped again.  Just think...most of the other folks who took the Road to Hana that day missed this awesome sight.  Too bad.

And, lest you think we didn't get to see any waterfalls at all, I want to change that notion.  We saw several beautiful ones and were able to get some photos of them, too, like that one to the left.  It's just that we saw enough "dry" streams and former pools that it made an impression on us.

We rolled back into Wailea, long after sunset.  We decided we were too tired to do anything except take-out tonight, so we stopped by the Round Table again for pizza...since we knew there were some cold beers with our names on them back in the room.  And, even after sundown, that lanai was a most relaxing place to unwind from our long drive.  Ah-h-h.

Join me in my next post to read about Day Six of our trip to Maui.  We'll set sail for the island of Lana'i on Trilogy I, and Mr. T and I will try something new for both of us:  snuba diving, a cross between snorkeling and scuba diving.

See you soon!