Summertime Treats

Mom and I made our first of several runs out to Ham's Orchards in Terrell for some summertime goodies.  For us, it's only 30 minutes away.

I ended up with peaches, blackberries, strawberries, peach salsa, fried pies (peach and apricot) and fudge.

I should have picked up more than I did (there's always next time).  Didn't realize the guys and their friends would enjoy ALL the fruit a lot. Who am I to stop them from eating something good for them and I'm getting my fair share too. Besides, I have the peach salsa, fried pies, and fudge to console myself.  I confess, I'm selfish and I hid them...lol

After paying and putting stuff away in the car, it was time for some wonderful peach ice cream.  They also have strawberry ice cream which is good, but the peach - I'm hooked!

 

See the crazy amount of ice cream?  Mom and I shared.  While I was getting the ice cream, Mom headed on up to the rocking chairs at the "burger" pavilion that overlooks the blackberry plants for picking-your-own and the "homestead" in the distance.  My aunt says the burgers are really good, we haven't tried them.  Too full after eating ice cream.  Forget about eating burgers first and then ice cream if there's room - not happening!  Life is short - we eat dessert first!!

I soooooo enjoy chilling in a rocking chair.  As unseasonably and ridiculously hot as it's been, there was a cool breeze blowing through the pavilion.  We took advantage of it, enjoying our ice cream and watching folks picking there own blackberries in the sun and heat.  Very peaceful for us, kind of hot for the other folks.  The "pickers" are towards the far rows and hidden by the bushes.  The bushes closer, produced last year and won't have blackberries until next year.  I learned this from sons and the blackberries they are growing in my backyard.  So, if we're growing them in the backyard, why did I buy blackberries?  Our plants have played out and the "harvest" is getting less and less *sigh*  Good while it lasted!

Once we finished dessert and watching people, we headed homeward.  Since it would be lunchtime by the time we got back, we thought about having BBQ for lunch in Garland at Meshack's, and NO we aren't BBQ'd out after last weekend....lol. We decided on Paw Paw's Sweet Shop in downtown Garland.

Mom had a new item on the menu, a salad trio (pick 3 from chicken salad, potato salad, pasta salad, or fruit).  She highly approves!  I had the Gobbler something or other sandwich with turkey, provolone or maybe it was swiss cheese (great mix of flavors, regardless), avocado, lettuce, tomatoes and mayo on kaiser, plus sweet potato chips.  Mom cleaned her plate.  I took half of my sandwich home.  Believe it or not, we did not get any desserts to go.  We reasoned we had tons of goodies in the car from Ham's Orchards...teehee

Yep, we had another great time revolving around food and family!!  Hooray for Summer.....and food and family!

BBQ Mini-Vacation

Grandma/Mom and James/grandson/son enjoyed the BBQ quest last summer to Kansas City and decided we should hit the BBQ Capital of Texas aka: Lockhart, Texas.  Thank you Food and Travel Channels. Off we headed, southbound down I-35.

By lunchtime, we made it to Austin and opted to start with the bbq at The County Line original location.



Talk about a beautiful view up in the hills.  If it hadn't already started to get hot, we would have eaten outside.  This bbq was a yummy start.

By the time we finished eating and made it out of Austin and to San Marcos, it was time to check in at the hotel.  We stayed in San Marcos since it was close to the outlet malls and Lockhart and Austin, etc so we could go any which way we wanted in between bbq meals...lol....or do nothing.

The next day we drove to Lockhart (BBQ Capital of Texas). Second stop Kreuz Market.  This is a meat market that has taken it one step further and cooks the meat for sale and dining too.  No frills here....no forks, no sauce and served on butcher paper.  Excellent meat and no fork or sauce needed, both would take away from the meal.  We also tried the sides of German potato salad, sauerkraut, cole slaw and mac n cheese.  Didn't want to miss anything.  The sides are ok, the meat WONDERFUL!



After eating at Kreuz Market, we explored downtown Lockhart and the courthouse...talk about awesome, plus it was the weekend for the annual Chisholm Trail Roundup and vendors were setting up around the square.  Great for people watching.  Mid-afternoon we needed a treat and some A/C.  The Baker's Rack was across the street from the courthouse.  They had this awesome currant berry iced tea as the special of the day.  Even James had a glass and praised it...Mom had a slice of chocolate pie that was out of this world.



Dinner and 3rd stop was Black's BBQ also in Lockhart and just off the square.  Did I mention that there was a HUGE HUGE motorcycle rally going on in Austin this weekend, spilling into San Marcos and Lockhart?  Talk about a bunch of characters and fun folks to talk to and yes, ease drop on.  If you double click on the below pic with the people in it, you'll see a little better the biker that might be channelling Elvis a little...teehee.  If I had to pick, and each place was wonderful, Black's BBQ would be my favorite.  I liked the dining area, the cafeteria style serving line, the dessert options (this night's was blackberry cobbler) and the folks working and serving the food.  Very nice and friendly.



Fourth and final stop was Smitty's Market.  We stopped by here early (10:30ish) on the way home.  It was the same serving style as Kreuz Market with butcher paper instead of plates.  Since it was early and we weren't really hungry yet, we got ours to go and placed it in a keep hot bag I brought from home.



A couple hours after leaving Lockhart,we made it to this cool rest area and had our bbq from Smitty's.  The temps were hot, but a nice breeze was blowing, so picnicking was very very nice.  Guess we made back home by 4:30ish pm.

I don't know if my stomach hurts so much from eating too much or laughing too much.  Probably a combination of both...

Next week, it's a quick run to Hamm's Orchard in Terrell for peaches, fried pies, peach and/or strawberry ice cream and their other goodies (some even good for you like fruits and vegetables..lol).

Revisiting Microwave Popcorn for cheap

I really really enjoy snacking on plain popcorn that's pretty low key as far as "stuff" on it.  For long while, I've been using old fashioned popcorn kernels in the microwave in a bowl with a non-melting vented plastic like lid.  After a couple of years, the lid is starting to warp and unpopped kernels are flying out of the bowl and stuff.  That just won't work anymore....

I started rethinking the brown lunch bag method again....the first time around, I didn't like adding the small amount of oil method.  For me, the bag was just too messy after popping with the oil soaking thru and all.  So, here's what I've discovered via trail and error....I'm tickled because, like I said, I really really enjoy snacking on plain popcorn....and I'm kinda chearp stingy when it comes to spending ridiculous $$ on snack food.

Here's what I've hit upon.  I took a plain cheap brown paper lunch bag, added 1/4 to 1/3 cup of popcorn kernels, folded the top of the bag over 2 times (don't fasten in any way, just fold over), stand up in the microwave and set timer for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes (time should be adjusted to fit your microwave).  I standby during microwaving and when the "main" popping slows down, I pull it out -- not having burnt popcorn offsets cheap unpopped kernels :-)

After it's popped, depending on my mood, I add or not seasoning(s).  Sometimes nothing, sometimes just a little salt, sometimes salt, sugar and cinnamon, sometimes Parmesan cheese, sometimes....you get the picture - whatever is around and fits my mood/cravings.

For me, buying a package of cheap brown lunch bags and popcorn for many many bags of snacking costs WAY LESS and tastes better than buying just one of those boxes/packages of microwave popcorn from the store *grin*

Full Weekend

Grandma's/Mom's gardens/beds really  took off over the past 2 weeks.  LOVING the bluebonnets, but then I always do *grin*. And, I very happy her bluebonnets survived the crazy winter snow and ice and low temperatures that hit her in January and February.  Mom's snapdragons didn't make it, but we found a couple that she put in pots in the corners.  She also thinks the daisies will really fill in next year...I'm glad to hear it.


We celebrated my nephews 8th birthday and his daddy's (my brother's) birthday too with a cupcake cake and a lemon pie!  There was chicken and stuff to but, pleasssssse - cupcakes and pie stole the show for me.


Saturday morning dawn GORGEOUS and warm and sunny.  Perfect for the boys and their soccer games.  I was having so much fun, I can't even tell you scores or who won...lol

I'm ready for April and the March winds to die down.  I love warmer/hotter temperatures!!!! WooHoo!!

Raised Beds Ready To Go

Please excuse the picture quality.  I used my camera phone and it's not very good.

 Mom/Grandma is blowing and going and ready for Spring!!!  She and my boys/her grandsons have already been shopping for soil, more boards and raised bed/box materials and plants.  Here is the one she had them build last year.  The one she can see sitting at the kitchen table with bird feeders in the foreground and her bluebonnets and daisies and snap dragons in the background.



And check it out!!! One of her bluebonnets has bloomed and there are more to come - the harsh hot/cold/snow and ice can't conquer Texas Bluebonnets.  Sadly, she doesn't think the snap dragons survived, but the daisies look like they're gonna make it *grin*



Here are the 2 new raised beds she had the guys put in.  The "squarer" one is against the fence with the alley in the background.  She plans to put a couple of blackberry plants against the fence and 15 - yep, 15 - strawberry plants in the front....yummmmmmmm

The rectangle box is for corn, beans, and okra.  The rectangle box is the one from our yard that my guys aren't using this year.

She's pared down to 2 rose bushes, or that's all that has survived thru the years.  Or maybe a combination of both.  One of the bushes is a Queen Anne and the other Mr. Lincoln - I think.  My apologies to y'all real gardeners if I messed the names up, hopefully, I got in the ballpark.  And can you see the odd color of the leaves this year?  Normally, they're green - like you'd expect, but not this year.  Wonder if the crazy winter had something do with the color change...


Last but not least the "original" bluebonnet/daisy/snap dragon garden on the side of the house now has onions, lettuce, spinach and maybe more to come, I can't remember.  There are a few stray bluebonnet plants at the top of the picture that my aunt is going to get and see if they take hold at her house in Mesquite.


My guys are just doing a couple of hanging baskets of little tomatoes for me this year.  I'm pretty sure I'll have mint too since there was some on the side by the patio that got dumped there when they cleaned out that basket.  Mint just goes crazy once it takes hold.  I'm kinda glad.  I really enjoy the way it smells when I hang out on the patio and I REALLY love to add it to ice water as the temperatures rise this summer.

WooHoo it's looking more and more like Spring - right down to our first tornado watch of the season - ugh :-)

Almost Normal

We're kinda back on track as far as North Texas/DFW weather goes for February.

Sunday turned out nice for the Super Bowl and Monday was nice so those visitors could hit the roads and airways back home...yipppeeeee...I mean so glad they came to visit *not so much*.  Actually, it's not the visitors that were so bad but all the talk-talk-talk.  Like nothing else was going on around here for the past...oh, I don't know since Jan 1st...Now we can get back to being normal old DFW.

Had the normal colder February temps this week with the exception of Wednesday when another "winter-mix" hit and shut things down AGAIN - bleh!!!!

No problem, I learned from the previous week's 4 days of unbearable cold to just drink lots and lots of hot beverages, wrap up in blankets and have a stash of yarn and crochet hooks nearby.



I had already started the lapghan during the previous week.  Had the first multicolor set of rows done and then finished up the rest of it, plus the new hat pattern.  The hat pattern makes up in 3 sizes, so I tried all 3 to see what I wanted to go with as I use the pattern again and make my own modifications *grin*

This weekend was beautiful! temps in 60s and lower 70s-WooHoo.  Made it nice to take mom to my brother's oldest basketball game.  He's on an 8 and under team.  It was a FANTASTIC game and we all had a lot of fun.  They have another game left and then both of his boys start up soccer practice.  Gotta admit, I like soccer better, but that's probably because I don't know the strategies of basketball.....

Racing started again this week hip hip horray!! - ARCA race and Budweiser Shootout, plus Daytona qualifying on Sunday.  The Gatorade Duels to wrap up Daytona qualifying is Thursday and then it's Trucks, Nationwide and Daytona 500 on the weekend.  I'm ready!  I really like the different NASCAR racing series even better than *gasp* football the Texas National pasttime..lol.  Hope the racings a little more exciting this year.

On last note, like anyone should be surprised --> I'm ready for warmer weather and for it to stay warm :-)

When We Last Looked...

...there was sleet (NOT snow) on the ground and horribly cold temperaturs, basically shutting down the DFW area - this was Tuesday (see previous post). Wednesday and Thursday was more ice and temperatures not getting above the mid-20s with the STATE of Texas mandating planned rolling blackouts because of heavy utilities use taxing the statewide grid..wow! Can't ever remember that happening.

Thursday night the weather folks predicted a light "dusting" of snow over the ice....they were kinda of off by as much as 8 inches of snow in some areas....


Below, my guys finally took the truck out late afternoon even though there was still ice under the snow,...oh well, they made out just fine....the other 2 pics amused me *grin* Texas Motor Speedway and downtown Garland...


I spent the past week snuggled down under blankets, drinking all kinds of HOT beverages, reading, crocheting and being a toasty warm a happy camper!!


I had regular black coffee. I indulged in flavored coffee...one of my favorites was shared with me by MK at the office when her mom picked up some Carmel Macchiato creamer. Plus, I had lots of hot chocolate and hot tea.  I found enough yarn to make a lapghan; a nice and toasty project to keep me from getting cabin fever..lol.

Never thought I'd be thrilled and hoping for 40 and 50 degree temperatures - I like it much warmer than that...teehee.  But, Saturday reached upper 40s maybe even lower 50s and *poof* everything melted.  The roads cleared and the DFW area was off and running again...not me, but tons of other folks - I just watched them driving past my window *grin*


Mid-day Saturday the word spread through the family that our birthday celebration that was delayed by the bad weather Friday looked good for Saturday evening.  My brother and his family were among those who just had to get out Saturday once everything started melting.  Worked for us - to grandma's house we all go!!!


We had a 3 year old birthday party blast - but then we always have a blast when we get together...lol

So, snow-magedon/ice-agedon, as it's being called by the media, has passed. The Super Bowl is a go (I'm so tired of hearing about it and ready for it to be over) and business is back to normal come Monday....at least until the next "winter-mix" hits...once again I say:

C'mon Spring!!