Springing In To Monday

Hello friends and happy Spring! It's official and the pollen falling here confirms that. We have our outdoor rugs rolled up and furniture covered in a weak attempt to keep it at bay and minimize clean up. It helps, but she's a force y'all. 

I feel like pollen is a she. 

Anyhoo, the weekend...let's discuss. And link with Holly (Pink Lady blog) and Sarah (Sunshine and Books) like we do every Monday. 

Friday morning hubs and I ventured out for a mostly easy hike. It was cool when we got started but warmed up as the day went on. We followed what's known as the Oconee Bell Trail at a nearby state park and were rewarded with some blooms. 

For those not in the know, the Oconee Bell is a rare flower of the southern Appalachians, found only in a few locations in the mountains of South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia. The bells grow along slopes beside streams and rivers and have a short bloom time (just a couple of weeks) which is now. 

Saturday this particular park was having an Oconee Bell festival, but we wanted to beat the crowds so did the hike on Friday. We pretty much had the trail to ourselves which is how we like it. 

This trail marker is very 'me'. 

The trail is a mess. 

Well, the trail is passable, but that recent ice storm did some serious damage and the woods around the trail look like a war zone. 

That blue sky makes it all okay. 

This particular park sits on the lake just above ours and it's spectacular. There are very, very few homes on this lake, maybe 50 or so, and it's just beautiful. It's popular with fisherman, kayakers, and waterfall chasers and the view from the ranger station parking lot is stunning. 

I snapped this picture from one of the docks where the water is about 15 feet deep, and you can see the bottom. Our lake is crystal clear, but this one is a step above that. 

We came home and had lunch and then hubs took my car to have the tires rotated and I took a nap. I'm overly tired from all the recent comings and goings and more and a nap helped. We watched basketball and hubs says I'm a little too invested in my brackets but I what can I say? I like winning-ha! I'm not but I'm tracking my teams anyway. 

Hubs grilled salmon for dinner and I made spinach and brown rice to go with, which made the eating on Friday feel mostly healthy. 

Saturday morning we had breakfast out then went furniture shopping. Without getting too deep into the weeds here, my mom, who currently lives with my younger sister, is going to be moving south, and we need furniture for this new space. Honestly it's hard. We're doing what we think is the right thing at the right time and I'm praying all goes smoothly in this big transition. 

The 9th decade of life comes at you hard. 

I was charged with finding some furniture and hubs went along for moral support and common sense. We had a very pleasant experience with the salesman and it was all pretty straightforward, so hopefully when the time comes delivery will be the same. 

It was 84 degrees here on Saturday and you won't hear me complain. I worked on some odds and ends paperwork that needed attention, and we watched more basketball because we love us some March Madness. I also read, worked on my blog, and did all the laundry that was in the hamper which feels like it should be celebrated. 

Hubs grilled burgers for dinner and I made a marinated cucumber salad (recipe here) that will be on repeat this summer.

It stormed just as we were getting ready to eat and we were rewarded with a rainbow-

Sunday morning started on a high note, with a beautiful sunrise. I snapped a picture from the covered deck and the reflection of the trees in the lake was so pretty and peaceful. 

We left for church as we normally do, but encountered a hiccup en route and almost missed it. 

Remember how I said we had the tires on my car rotated on Friday? Well we had a flat on the way to church Sunday morning. It's been a long time since I've had a flat tire, but I'm glad it happened close to home and not this morning when I would be winding my way along the sparsely traveled twisty-turny route to my daughter's house in Tennessee.  

Thankfully we were only a couple of miles from our house and about a mile from a gas station. A gas station who's air was out of order, which was a bummer. We phoned our roadside assistance and explained we probably didn't need a tow, just enough air to get us back home and they sent someone our way. He was friendly, quick, and tried spraying some foam on the tires to see if he could spot a nail, but nothing. Doesn't mean there isn't one, but from our various awkward angles we couldn't see it. 

Once the tire was inflated we drove just a few miles more to the tire center where the car had been on Friday. My daughter was already at church but said my son-in-law could pop out of the service and pick us up.  Conveniently the tire center was exactly 900 feet from the church building so said we'd walk over and they could give us a ride home. 

We left the key in the key drop and hopefully it's a simple fix because I'm going to spend a few days with daughter2 this week, and my plan was to leave first thing Monday morning. We shall see. 

We made it to church just in time for the message and then rode home with the 'kids'. As soon as they dropped us at home we climbed into hubs truck and took ourselves out to lunch. It was 88 degrees and sunny and we shared an order of fish and chips and a salad with a view. 

As we drove home there was a breeze, and if you're not familiar with the south this time of year you should know that breeze was a literal cloud of yellow dust. 

I put a chicken dish in the crock pot once we were home, one of our favorites that I make pretty often. It's called a mediterranean chicken (linked here). The recipe calls for you to brown the chicken first, but I skip that step and it's still delicious. I always make this lemon-cucumber couscous salad to go with and it's really good too. 

This has nothing to do with anything, but our amaryllis is blooming...

...and she's a beauty. Happy Monday everyone! 

Peachy Keen

 Linking with Joanne today for Talking About It Tuesdays

A little over a week ago hubs and I went to a country orchard to pick peaches. I know everyone hears the word peaches and thinks Georgia, but did you know South Carolina grows more peaches than Georgia? True story. 

And this year they're exceptional. Some of the trees had morning glory vines growing up their trunks which made them extra pretty. 

We probably came home with about 30 or so peaches and have enjoyed them so much. 

We ate quite a few of them for breakfast, sliced atop some plain yogurt, sprinkled with granola, sliced almonds, and a drizzle of honey. If we had other berries in the frig we added those too. 

The breakfast of champions. 

I like to make a peach cobbler once every summer so that was on our July menu. I love Paula Deen's recipe (linked) and it makes a lot. Since it was just hubs and I here for the consuming I made one recipe, but put it in two pans and that worked out fine. 

We had one to keep and I shared the other pan with friends. I like vanilla ice cream on mine, but whipped cream is good too. 

One night hubs roasted peaches on the grill. We followed this recipe but I used cinnamon instead of pumpkin pie spice. 

 A warm peach with a dollop of whipped cream on top is a really yummy dessert. 

Up close the bowl looks like it needs to go in the dishwasher, but it's just the sugary peach juice that dripped while moving from the grill to the bowl. 

This week I was down to the last few, and had about five peaches left that I worried were going to go mushy. On Monday I made the most scrumptious (if I do say so myself) peach bars I found by randomly searching Pinterest. 

Sidebar here, but does anyone else get super frustrated by all the ads and videos that pop up when you're trying to read a recipe on Pinterest? 

I dropped the ball in terms of picture taking but here's the pan just before it went into the oven. 

I should have snapped a picture of the bars on a tray, but here's a snap of what they look like cooked. 

I had some women here for a meeting Monday afternoon and everyone wanted the recipe. They're similar to a lemon bar, except of course are made with peaches instead of lemons, and the filling sets up nicer I think. The texture is good, and the topping does its job by quite literally sending it over the top. 

And now I'm a little bit sad we're out of peaches. Happy Tuesday! 

A Cup Of Pumpkin Spice Hodgepodge

Welcome to another week in The Wednesday Hodgepodge. If you've answered today's questions add your link at the end of my post, then hop over and leave a comment for your neighbor there. Here we go...

1. What's something that scares you? 

Besides our government you mean? I kid. Sort of. 

I'm going with bats. They give me the heebie jeebies. 

2. Do you care where the food you eat comes from? To what degree? 

Do I care? Yes. I read labels, am on the lookout for the GM tag and do my best to steer clear, we eat very little processed foods, and if I were ever to have dinner with Bill Gates I'd tell him real meat only please, none of that synthetic stuff he thinks Americans should be eating. 

Just to be clear, Bill Gates is not someone I'd care to have dinner with. 

3. What's something you wish you'd spent more time doing when you were younger? 

Oh wow, lots of things I suppose, but realizing that is part of growing up. A few things that come to mind would be speaking French, asking my dad about his childhood, keeping up with a journal, and learning to play the piano. A few more serious bits too but I don't think they're for sharing here. 

4. Let's play autumn this or that....pumpkin spice or apple cider? Corn maze or haunted house? Horror film or Hallmark movie? Blanket or sweatshirt? Watch football or watch the World Series? Foliage-red, yellow or orange? 

I'm not a pumpkin spice fan at all so cider it is. I've never cared for the scary elements of Halloween so I'll go for the corn maze. I definitely don't watch any horror movies, but it's also a rare day I watch a Hallmark movie so really neither. Hallmark if I have to choose. I love a cozy blanket, and college football is what fall Saturdays are all about. As far as the foliage goes, I love a mix of all three colors. 

5. This time last year where were you and what were you doing? 

This time last year hubs and I had just returned from a fabulous trek up the coast of California (mucho posts about that trip starting with the link here).

On the first Tuesday in October of 2022 we were finally back in the southland. I spent that morning in the orthopedic surgeon's office having my fractured elbow assessed. Good times. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

October, 2023. It's not the coast of California...

...but it's awfully pretty here too. 

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Out Where The Water Is Wide

Hubs and I will celebrate an anniversary in June, and last year were given the absolute best gift, a new grandson, who arrived on the day. What that means if you're me is you need to go ahead and celebrate your wedding day a little early, because your anniversary going forward will now be all about that little man. 

We're okay with that. More than okay in fact but still, another year married should most definitely be marked. Every year is a milestone and its good to step back from all the distractions of life and take stock. Remember what you loved about this person who is somehow older yet still the boy you married. 

Honestly we were totally swayed by internet advertising in our choice of destination. When an ad popped up on hubs news feed for a Bed and Breakfast in the coastal town of Beaufort he said let's go and I said okay. We pulled out our calendars, found a window we could make work, and this past weekend off we went.

It was wonderful. Beaufort is so pretty, so seductive, we were ready to buy a house and move in. 

Let's back up to Friday which is when we left lake town and made our first stop -Savannah (Georgia). 

It happened to be Cinco de Mayo so upon arrival we went in search of a margarita. We ended up at the Savannah Tequila Company and had chips and guacamole for a non-lunch lunch. 

Afterwards we walked the riverfront, browsed shops, and meandered through the amazing collection of artifacts in the JW Marriott lobby. Worth seeing if you're in Savannah.  

We had a light dinner that evening in The Ordinary Pub, then hung out in a little place called The Rail listening to live music. It was a lot of fun. 

Saturday morning we drove just under an hour to Beaufort (South Carolina). We'd booked a mid-morning carriage tour because Beaufort is known for both her history and her fabulous homes, and the carriage tours give you a bit of both. 

The houses y'all. Seriously gorgeous!! There is water beside you and Spanish moss hanging above you and great big verandas calling your name. 

We had lunch at Plums, a small restaurant with a water view, where we shared some peel and eat shrimp and, at the recommendation of the couple dining beside us, a bowl of their gouda mac and cheese. Yum! 

After lunch we checked into our B & B-The Rhett House Inn, which lived up to it's internet advertised billing. The Inn is a 200 year old 'in town' plantation house that oozes charm and Southern hospitality. People assume the Inn's name comes from the character in Gone With The Wind, but Margaret Mitchell actually named the character after the Rhetts of Beaufort and Charleston. Thomas Smith Rhett and his wife Caroline Barnwell raised their children and lived in the house until the Civil War. 

There was champagne, flowers, and a box of chocolates in our room, our own little porch for sitting (or napping as the case may be) with an overall relaxed vibe that is very much Beaufort. 

Beaufort was Pat Conroy's town and I see why he was inspired to write here. 

After lunch we drove to nearby Parris Island because once upon a time I lived there. We actually lived in Laurel Bay, a military housing complex that sits beside the town of Beaufort. This is where new Marine recruits pass through, but my dad had been a Marine for a number of years when we moved here. My mom says out of all the many places our family lived with the Marine Corps, this was one of her favorites.  

Hubs and I went through all the ID checks and car scans needed to enter the base at Parris Island, then visited the Marine Corps Museum which is interesting and very well done. There's a short film that gives you a glimpse into what new recruits experience, and I'll go ahead and say it-Marines are tough!   

We had hoped to drive by the house I lived in some five+ decades ago, but times change, and the world gets crazier by the day, so now there's a gate and guards and you cannot just drive in and wander the neighborhood and say hey, remember when. I get it. And I'm grateful for our soldiers all around the world keeping us safe. 

Hubs and I had dinner in town Saturday night at The Saltus River Grill, which is a short easy walk from the Rhett House Inn. I recommend this one if you're in Beaufort...wonderful service and a delicious meal. 

Our B & B  at night-

Beaufort has been the setting for many a well known film including The Prince of Tides, Forrest Gump, and The Big Chill, so after Sunday morning breakfast on the huge front porch we went for a walk to see what we could see. Here's the Big Chill house-

It's gorgeous and their view is none too shabby either. 

There are beautiful homes all around the Old Point neighborhood, and the Spanish moss makes everything feel extra dreamy. 

We had some great porch time in the afternoon, then drove a couple of miles up the road to Port Royal for dinner. A friend recommended Fishcamp, and since we arrived early we sat beside the water and enjoyed the view from The Shellring Ale House right next door. 

Such a beautiful day! 

We keep full calendars and live busy lives. We are on the go a lot, we have company a lot, we volunteer, have hobbies and a home and grandchildren and all sorts of things that constantly pull at our time and attention.

It was so special to have a few days away to catch our breath and relax. To hold hands, laugh, take long walks, eat fresh seafood, and say cheers to choosing love 39 years ago and all the days since.