This and That

Hello and happy Friday. I feel like I don’t have a lot to share with you. Things have been really busy. Work is always a little crazy in July but this year has been even busier than last year.

Last Friday night I had dinner with a couple of friends. We went to the Peach Street Grill again. They were packed. Luckily we got there before it got too busy. We had a nice dinner. It was great catching up.

Peach. Cobbler and homemade vanilla ice cream. It was delicious.

I worked for a few hours on Saturday so that cut into my weekend a bit. On Sunday I did the usual laundry, cooked dinner and then decided to make some chocolate chip cookies to take to work for my coworkers. I did both chocolate chip and white chocolate chip. They were yummy.

Last weekend I also put new curtains in my kitchen. I got these on Amazon and I love them. The others were really old and needed to be replaced. I should have done a before and after pic but I forgot. I am using a lot of black accents in my kitchen. I am planning to switch my cabinet and drawer pulls to black.

I abandoned the book, A Little Life, because I just didn’t have time to read it not because it wasn’t a good book, and downloaded an audio book. I felt like I needed to return the Little Life book because there was a wait for it. I may buy it later and then I can read it at my leisure with no one waiting for me to finish it. At least I can listen to my audio book while I’m in the car. His and Hers is a murder mystery and very creepy. I have so many thoughts on who the murderer is.

The Crepe Myrtle trees are blooming and so beautiful. I just love the different colors.

This is my favorite of the colors.

Wednesday I took my sister to Knoxville for out patient surgery. While we were in the waiting room a couple came in with two adorable dogs. I think they may have been Golden Doodles. I’m not sure. One was named Shiloh and the other Gracie. They were going from person to person and letting them pet the babies, if they wanted to, some people don’t care for dogs. I can’t imagine that but some people don’t. I ask them if I could take a picture of them. And they said yes. They have permission from the hospital to bring the dogs into the waiting areas. They said it makes people so happy seeing them and it helps relieve stress while waiting to hear news about their loved ones.

I wasn’t able to get a great picture because the dogs kept moving so much. But it seemed to brighten up the entire room. I think it’s a great idea. These people are just wonderful for taking the time to do this.

I took off a couple of hours from work yesterday to get my hair done. Much needed. So a very busy week. I haven’t had much of a chance to catch up with my blog or reading my favorite blogs. My husband and I are headed to Vegas next week to attend the annual Star Trek Convention, we’re such nerds, and then take a short trip into Utah to Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon.

That is what has been going on in my world how about you?

I leave you with another picture of my big boy Gus who seems to think he is King of the kitties. At least he looks like it in this picture.

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!

Sunday Morning Coffee Share

Hello and happy Sunday. I haven’t had a chance to share coffee with you in quite a while. Come in and I will make you some very strong coffee, the way my husband likes it, or a light roast, that’s for me. Or we can have tea, water or a big Diet Coke. Let’s catch up.

What I have been up to you ask? Work. My work load is always crazy in July because I work in tourism. July is our most popular month for visitors. Our hours have been long. I am usually too tired by the time I get home to do anything but eat some dinner and watch a little TV or read. I have been going to bed before dark. Yeah I’m that old. Ha!!!

The weather where I am? HOT, HOT,HOT. The humidity has also been really high. It almost feels like you are walking through warm water when you are outside. You can see that after today we might get some rain and a slight break in the temps.

What am I reading? In typical me fashion, I am reading two books at once. I don’t mean for this to happen but while I was in the middle of this book,

I actually own this book so technically I can finish it anytime. But it is such a psychological thriller it’s hard to put down.

This one became available on my Libby app.

I had been on the waiting list for this one for months so I had to grab it. It’s really long and I know it will probably take me the full two weeks to finish it.

What I am watching? As I mentioned, sometimes after work, I just like to veg out watching TV. I discovered this great cooking series called Zoe Bakes. I think it is on MAX. Zoe Francois is a self proclaimed dessert lover and baker. She loves to eat cakes, pastries and anything sweet, almost as much as she likes baking them. The recipes are very user friendly and she does them step by step. She has a very unusual way of doing chocolate chip cookies. It’s not in the recipe but in the actual baking. I plan to try them today so I will let you know how they turn out. I’ll tell you this much. She takes the cookies out of the oven halfway through baking and lets the pan drop onto a flat surface. This takes the air out of the cookies. She does it a couple of times during the baking process. Supposedly it makes them a little flatter and chewier. I’ll keep you posted on that.

Isn’t she a cutie? I just love watching her. After a long day at work there is something soothing about watching people cook. As long as it’s not me.

What am I loving? Well I have to tell you about my orchids. I now have eighteen. I know!!! Too many? Never. When my mother in law passed away last week. I received these beautiful orchids from my work family. There was three in this beautiful planter. All three are different sizes and colors. I thought that was just the sweetest thing because they know how I love orchids. I think our local flower shop was a little confused when several people called within a day or two to ask if they had orchids. They did not. My co worker had to buy these at a local grocery store. I thought she arranged them so nicely in this planter and she even added several bags of my favorite dark chocolates. So nice.

Isn’t this planter beautiful? I’m not sure if I will keep all of the orchids in the planter. So far I have moved one out.

What projects have I got going on? Well I finally finished the blue shawl. I washed it and blocked it a little, it really didn’t need a lot of blocking.

I love this color!!!!

I also decided to switch to crochet for a minute and I started this little bo-ho bag. It is super easy and works up really fast. I needed something that didn’t require a lot of thinking or counting stitches. I will probably use this to carry some of my other knitting projects. I can’t wait to finish it.

What a nice visit we have had. Please come back soon. Oh and before you leave I will take you to see some of my other orchids. Several of them are blooming and so beautiful.

I think someone wants to be in the picture.

Have a wonderful week and always remember.

Love your day your way!!!

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!!!