The Garden is in!

The garden went in on May 1st.  This is the most hopefull time of gardening.  I can see the perfect garden, no weeds with perfect and bountiful harvest in the near future!

Iris

Iris are so beautiful.  The color is dark purple.  This picture doesn't do them justice.

For the Love of Eating - Chocolate Cake

There are many things we find to do with our time.  Hobbies fill that creative urge and exercise fills that physical demand to feel better. 

Then there is eating. 

Some of us crave veggies, some crave meat and then there are the many of us like me that crave sweets.  Not just anything sweet, but anything sweet with CHOCOLATE!  We are blessed with many fine cooks, chefs and pastry chefs in the professional world but last night, in a sleepy little community in Burlington, NC, I found the best chocolate cake maker in the world!  Her name is Marie.  She is 80 years old and bakes the most divine chocolate multi-layer cake this palate has ever savored!

Please excuse the missing fork fulls at the time of the  picture.  It was just too good to resist!  Just look at all those tiny layers!!! YUM!

We fixed her A/C unit last night and as an added bonus she gave me this plate of super thin, multi-layer chocolate cake.  It is the most moist, wonderful chocolate cake I have ever tasted and I've had my share over the years!  I wonder what she will give me this winter when we service her heat???  Can't wait to find out!

Thank you Marie. 

You are a true credit to Southern Cooks!

Ready to Garden in the South!

It has been beautiful and warm with suddenly chilly early evenings and early mornings. The garden is tilled and waiting for the veggies to go in. My husband wants to run the rows so I'm now waiting on him to find the time. Looks like maybe Saturday.  I have corn, beans, okra, peppers, squash, cucumbers, watermelon and cantaloupe to plant. Oh yeah.... the tomatoes!!! I have German Johnson tomatoes. If you have never tried this variety, please do. They make very large, gnarly kidney shaped fruit that one slice overlaps the bread by a mile and the taste will win you over FOREVER! When I think of that juicy, fresh tomato sandwich of summer... this is the ONLY tomato I eat! My mouth is watering with anticipation even now! Try to find this variety and give it a try. You will not be sorry, I promise.

I am going to give potato sets a try in a very large, deep container on the deck. This is an experiment for you small patio gardeners to see how much it will produce. Pics to come and will keep you posted.

These are a few squash plants in waiting for the garden to be ready!






With these warm days and cool, wet nights our grass is growing at an alarming rate. I finally got my new lawnmower with the bagger attachment on the back. I can't believe how much grass I get for my compost now. The yard is so nice and finished when I look back and the compost heap is growing and growing and growing! Should be wonderful to till into the garden for the fall. Planning ahead for a bountiful garden has never been easier!

Enjoy this beautiful climate and don't forget the southern traditions it instills: sit on your front porch and just relax with a tall glass of iced tea. Watch the hummingbirds around your feeders and take in the smell of Carolina Jasmine creeping up the side rails.

Yall enjoy!

Barbie on the Beach at SOS

 This past week was spent at Myrtle Beach SC for the official Shaggers week known as SOS. It was a whirlwind of dancing, drinking, and botchi on the beach. My club won the parade Sat. for the 8th time in a row. They really bring it when it is show time!
The days are filled with friendship on the beach.
There are people who are comfortable in a bathing suit on the beach, no matter what their size and this trip was no exception. Maybe the older I get, the less concerned I am about that. The group we have at the beach is very comfortable with their appearance and we all just drink, play botchi and shag the days away. Then there are several that strut down the beach trolling for a man that just makes you look down at yourself and say WTF????? Then you look over at your husband, smiling like the Cheshire Cat with a Beer in his hand, slapping the backs of his buds while they score the botchi game and you just smile.

Yes Barbie is at the beach... I know this for sure because I ATE HER and she is only a few layers down!


The nights are full of laughter, dancing, drinking and fun!
There are a multitude of clubs that open their doors to us with SOS cards. We hear great DJ"s, some have free bands and you get to meet people from different clubs... all on a level playing field! But don't follow the rules of Vegas... trust me on this: What happens in Myrtle Beach WILL follow you home! There will be many pictures to show just what went on and the stories just get better and better the more times they are shared!


The late nights end up at one of the many eating establishments:
For the ones of us that make it late... there are sparse crowds of very happily "drunk" people looking for something to eat before the stagger back to your condo. We have had our share of chicken tenders, burgers, casidillas, egg rolls, club sandwiches, hot dogs and ice cream! (Like I said earlier, I got hungry and Barbie got in the way... I ate the bitch). Just ask my condo mates if they get in the way of my eating???lol


The parade was amazing:
Our theme was 1920's Gangster. The song was the Boys are Back in Town. The float had flappers, gangsters, Moll's and swanky women. Take it to the street and my husband was a keystone cop. He is very broad chested and makes the perfect Scott O'Malley! He can arrest me any day! The skit in front of the judges couldn't have been better. The golf cart was fixed up like a patty wagon and 2 jail birds would escape. The cops would chase them down the street and put them back in. Video is the only way to really describe this so I hope to have it soon.
SOS happens two times a year. Thank goodness it isn't' more.   It's one of those vacations you look forward to and dread all at the same time. It will take us a week just to recover from all the activity! But it is great fun and wonderful friendships continue and new ones are made every year.

I love my Southern Life!