CAT NAP - CANNA FLOWER - WATER SNAKE - CHICKEN FRIED CHICKEN - TOASTED CHEESE - HAMISH MACBETH - JIBBER JABBER

Maybe a good photo that well represents the past few weeks here. The cat and I have one thing in common, a drop dead nap after working in the yard. 

Lawn mowing, seeding, fertilizing and watering. I know our lawn will never ever be a good to great lawn. Too much floating in the Texas air that decides to drop and self seed. The good news is that much of that eventually turns green this time of the season and I am just fine with that. But the bare spots drive me crazy and this job has kept me busy.

CANNA

Potted canna again finds summer living in the handmade wheelbarrow near our porch. This one my wife picked out a month ago and it has exploded. 

 WATER SNAKE

Neighbor lady and friends are kayaking in Caddo Lake. I tried kayaking many years ago and understand the peace and beauty that can be experienced paddling around shorelines and inlets. But I would want "a bigger boat" here given the creatures that lurk and live in that water system. In all honesty, after seeing this photo, I am not sure there is a boat big enough for me. 

Go ahead, tell me one more time that water snakes are harmless!! And what is it in the water that is making the circular ripples just below the snake? 

------------- 

EATING OUT

The bride and I have been on the road seemingly every day for the past two weeks. Always some reason taking us away from home. We both love road trips, but have finally landed, staying home for a few days. Lunching out is always an upside treat. The Red Dome restaurant in Quitman, Tx is one of our favorite stops. 

Senior chicken fried chicken and enough gravy! Braised cabbage fried in bacon drippings was as good as the steak. Well, I am a fan. I told the waitress that there was no limitation to how much gravy she could show up with or have on the serving. Served with a smile. She received a very nice tip. Nice people and have never had a bad meal there since we arrived in east Texas.

----------------

HOMEMADE TOMATO SOUP AND TOASTED CHEESE SANDWICH

The sandwich was photo worthy. Both are a favorite with us and the cold rainy weather over the past few days was reason enough.

The bread has to be well toasted and all of the cheese must to be melted. Eat when plated.

-------------- 

 HAMISH MACBETH

Currently, our go-to evening TV series on Prime. Happened on this by accident and decided to give it a try. Aired in 1995, three season and filmed in Polckton, Scotland. The scenery is magnificent and the storytelling, actors and characters are fitting to the times and location. We have a difficult time wading through some of the thick accents, but catch enough to keep with the stories and characters as they develop in this quaint little town. What life and living there was like 30 years ago. Refreshing.

----------------

JIBBER JABBER

Quiet days getting longer and  enjoying the greening of the fields, hills and pastures. Cows are fattening up on fresh grass. At a loss of any kind of overview or shared perspectives on worldly events. Grasping at straws.

Appreciate your visit this week. 

 

 

 

A SECRET TO SOUP MAKING - SPIDER BITE - EASTER DINNER - JIBBER JABBER

I had been craving a good bowl of "broth soup" for awhile now.

I wanted to use leftovers in the fridge and maybe something from the freezer.

What I could find on hand.

Carrots, celery hearts, 1/2 white onion, green chili peppers canned (large tsp), 1 russet potato, some leftover fresh parsley, salt, pepper, olive oil, the last of a tube of squeeze tomato paste, bay leaf and Italian seasoning. Enough here to start a small pot of soup to build on.

1. Onions, carrots, celery, potato and a half-can of canned corn. This is where broth soups start to build deep flavor of the finished soup (the secret). Sauteed over medium heat in a healthy covering of olive oil. Salt and pepper added. Ten-fifteen minutes stirring as needed.

2. Final squeeze of tomato paste stirred in. Leftover chicken broth with water and 1 tsp. chicken bullion seasoning added to fill pot to 3/4 full. 

3. Parsley, Italian seasoning (1 tsp) and a full turn around the top with olive oil added, then stirred in. A small bay leaf dropped on top before the lid went on. This final preparation is also a part of making a well-flavored broth soup.

 

I simmered it for 15 minutes and added a few frozen meatballs. Just because.  

 

Having grown up spending weekends at my grandparents farm, a garden full of greens was always available for my grandmother to throw into a brewing pot of soup. She always had a beef meat bone for a beef-flavor base or chicken parts for chicken soup. All was chopped and diced and set in the pot and brought to a simmer. Her soups always had a cheesecloth of tied-off herbs for flavoring. Served with breads and butter. 

 

Learning to build a pot of simmering soup is a skill set and a lifetime can be spent mastering it. Also a great way to spend time entertaining oneself in the house on an ugly, rainy day. I have posted many of these soup making ideas before.

------------

SPIDER BITE 

 

Wearing shorts now as the weather warms up. Somewhere, a week ago, a brown recluse got its whatever into me. I did not feel the bite but when looking at the "bug bite", I expected it to run its course as the run-of-the-mill bug bite and start to heal. But a brown recluse spider is a different bite and they quite often need help from a doctor. Left alone, the wound could worsen.

 

I realized this was that spider bite several days into the event. I went to the doctor and he put me on killer antibiotics for 10 days and a topical ointment for the wound and also to apply inside my nostrils. Staph germs can live inside the nose and can contribute to complications from this kind of bite. I did not know that.

 

It has been seven days now working this angry bite and just this morning, it shows signs of healing. Yet, it persists to a point where I am still keeping an eye on it.

 

And, NO wound photos or pictures of Brown Recluse spiders.  

 

-------------

 

EASTER DINNER TODAY AND OUR TRADITIONAL HAM 

 

 

Our ham (above) this Easter was fresh and smoked most of the day on Friday and overnight into Saturday. The bride picked it up fresh off the smoker Saturday morning from a local service organization that prepares them as part of their annual fundraising activities. Just a simple fresh ham, smoked. No seasoning and the flavor and moist texture is as good as it gets.  Proceeds going to help good causes.

 

We are quietly spending this Easter at home.

--------------- 

JIBBER JABBER

 

Cold front and an inch and a half of rain yesterday. Forty-eight degrees outside this morning and only warming into the sixties.  

 

Yards and fields received a good soaking and are glistening. Yesterday's puddles have soaked in and many yard chores beckon my attention.  I am slowing down these days and am challenged more so to keep it all going. But staying on all of this a little at a time, I will get in another summer season's work done, along with help from friends. We will view our little corner of East Texas daily this 2026 summer season and brag at how wonderful it is. 

 

Appreciate the visit this week.