Weekend Update

Hello friends, I hope you had a wonderful and full weekend. I meant to get this posted yesterday but I had to go to Knoxville for an appointment with the doctor for my annual physical. I am happy to report all is well and I don’t have to return for a year. My sister went with me and we did a little shopping afterwards. So it was late when I got home and I didn’t get to post. So here we go back to Saturday and the weekend.

On Saturday I decided I needed to get out of the house. I had a long weekend off because of my mother in law’s funeral. I posted about that a couple of days ago and if you missed it you can read about it here.

I had planned to go out and buy groceries, and for several weeks I had been wanting to get to the Mennonite Farm Market that is near our house. I thought this would be a good time to go. My nephew, Chris, had recently mentioned that he and his wife wanted to go as well. I called him to see if they would like to go with me. His wife had to work but I met him in town and we drove out to the Mennonite farm.

The Market is always packed on Saturdays. We got there a little after 10:00 AM and barely found a parking spot. The building is small and open. The minute you walk in you are greeted with so many fresh vegetable smells. It is hustling and bustling as the Mennonite farmers go back and forth refilling the vegetable bins. They are constantly refilling the baked goods as well. They only take cash and the cash registers are the old fashioned ones with the big buttons and the hand crank that totals everything. Only the men work in the market. You never see women working with the customers. They also have a couple of signs at the entrance letting you know that only appropriate clothing is to be worn inside.

The farm market has the most beautiful and yummy vegetables. They also sell baked goods. I bought cinnamon rolls and cookies. I also bought cucumbers, squash, potatoes, corn on the cob, a watermelon, cantaloupe, and some okra. I cooked some of that on Sunday and we had a feast.

Just look at these lovely peppers. They are so colorful.

Collard Greens. These are not my favorite but my husband loves them. I am sorry to say I have never cooked them for him. I think they smell terrible when they are cooking. My mama used to cook them when I lived at home and it made the entire house so stinky. That is just my opinion you may love them and their smell.

Chris bought some garlic. He loves to cook and he is great at knowing just how to season things.

I got several ears of corn. I think I may go back and get more to put in the freezer. Corn on the cob would taste wonderful in the middle of winter.

I love the canned chow chow, and the sweet pepper jam, and the apple butter. There are so many different things to choose from. I will have to stock up before they close for the winter.

After the trip to the market we drove on into Tellico Plains. The drive itself is something you just have to see to believe. The rolling countryside, farm animals and barns are just beautiful. This scenery always reminds me of why I love living in Tennessee. Chris and I got hungry so we decided to grab some lunch at a fairly new restaurant I had heard a lot about, Peach Street Grill. It just opened last year. It has such a great atmosphere. The food is very unique and there is a full bar and lounge as well. It was still early in the day and we had no trouble getting a table. Our waitress was just lovely and we shared some stories and she shared some stories with us. Chris is just like me, he never meets a stranger and talks easily to everyone.

We ordered the trout dip for an appetizer. I have had trout dip before and it was served hot. This dip was chilled. It was served with veggie slices and toast and it was so good.

I decided to get the trout cakes and truffle fries. The truffle fries were so good I could have made an entire meal on just those.

Chris got the shrimp tacos. Don’t they look yummy.

We also stopped in at a little antique store near the Grill. I found this cat ornament, well actually Chris spotted it first and we thought it looked like Gus so I had to buy it. I have temporarily hung it on my bird tree that I have in the kitchen.

I also found this little riser. I just love the color. I think I will put one of my orchids on it.

And I saw this little planter. These were so popular back in the day. Their back ends are open so you can plant something in them. I guess. Most of them have the weirdest faces, most of them are animals. I recently bought a dog and I just had to have this siamese? cat? I’m drawn to them. I don’t know why. I am sure I will look for more of them. Just what I need something else to collect.

I dropped Chris back at his car and went to buy my groceries. It was such a fun day. It was so good to get out and spend time with Chris and get my mind off of a lot of sad things. I am a true believer in being with people and spending time doing things you enjoy as much as you possibly can. Life is short, it is meant to be lived while we are here.

Sunday was a lazy day. I did laundry, read a great book and cooked a lot of the vegetables I bought at the market. What fun things have you done lately?

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!