It's almost been a year now!

Since we're not going to be home on their actual 1 year anniversary, we decided to get together all the kiddos to celebrate a little early. Everyone is doing great and looking great (I'm a bit biased, haha!)

We gave Richard and Miranda a photo book that we had made with some of their selected wedding photos. Had a great meal at Bonefish Grill! (and the restaurant gave them a nice little chocolate box to take home also!)

Beech 18 - lovely ole bird!

A buddy of mine from the Asheboro Airport needed just a minor amount of assistance with his airplane.  Pretty Beech 18! ! (also known as a Twin-Beech).   Those of you that are of the correct "vintage" might remember this aircraft was used during the Vietnam war by Air America. 

My buddy just needed a pilot in the cockpit to do some testing on a instrument that he was having problems with.  This is a much more complicated panel than I am used to!!

My buddy towed the airplane around while I monitored the bad instrument.

And that was it!  No flight - but just getting in the plane is cool!   He has restored to to original - it's lovely!

Yes, very lovely!!!

Fun at the airport

Sometimes, the sky is beautiful and folks are out having fun in their aircraft!  Here is a Yak 52 Soviet trainer....

A little deck attention

Out deck has been a bit neglected over the past several years.  It's just pressure-treated lumber - never been stained.  It has lately grown an abundance of black and greenish mold....

A good bit of scrubbing and bleaching.....slowly the wood started to brighten up.

It was a beautiful pre-fall day!  Had to grill and eat on the deck for dinner!

Nice and neat now!!

Really????

You've got to be kidding me!!

Oh, and by the way, it's Friday the 13th - be careful out there!!

Fortune from cookie

I found this Chinese fortune in my purse when I was cleaning it out (as I do about once a year, haha!)

No comment necessary, I suppose!

 

Green pepper storage solution - freeze them in ice cube trays!

It's about that time of the year again when the garden starts to wilt away as fall approaches.

This year, all I had left was several bell pepper plants.  My tomatoes was long withered.

I picked the bushes clean and had a sink full.  But, of course, they don't last too long raw. 

I washed them and simply ground to a course consistancy in my food processor.  Spooned the "soup" into ice cube trays....
.

And store them in the freezer in ziplock bags.  This way, for spaghetti or whatever, I just take out a few cubes and have instant fresh green-pepper flavor!

End of Your Life Book Club reading list

While on our recent sailboat trip, I read several books....one of them was The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe.  If you haven't  heard of it, it's a story about a man whose mother is dying of pancreatic cancer.  They form a "book club of two" and the story progresses to the expected ending.  I know, it sounds sad - and of course, it is.  But it's also wonderful to read about their interaction and the books they read and discussed.  She lived for a couple of years after her diagnosis and they were avid readers!

From the very start of the book, I could tell that a lot of the books either interested me or I had already read them....So, I got this idea that I might take notes and make their reading list into a reading list of my own.

So, for the better part of a couple of days, I read the book and took meticulous notes on my little note pad (in the little green metal case). 

So, I finished the book - and imagine my surprise (and irritation!!) that someone had already had the same idea....they included exactly the same list as I had gone to so much trouble to write out.  Now, if I read books like my sis, I would have known this since she always reads the last chapter first!!

Fresh saltwater clams! Cooked in steamy beer broth

Back to the good 'ole World of Karen.....

We had a ball when we went clamming on Ocracoke.  Just wade around in the grassy sand near shore - in about a foot or so of water.  Dig with a rake or just your hands.  When your fingertips brush something hard in the sand, immediately stop and dig that wonderful clam out of the sand!!!!

I'll repeat the photo of us right after we came back from clamming - on the back of Gary and Alice's boat.

That nice bucket of clams got divided two ways.  Gary got half and I got half.  Sharon isn't a big clam fan, so she declined her share.....

We let them "breathe" in clean salt water for a few hours.  This is supposed to give them time to filter out all the sand that they have in their system.  It worked pretty well.

I kept them in the fridge for a couple of days until I could get home and get the right ingredients for some steamed clams.  (We could have done it on the boat, but it was just not in the cards.)

Even just half of the clams was too much for me (remember, Duane can't eat them!) so I divided it up again and gave half of mine to Dick and Lindy!

Washed and ready for a quick dunk in a steaming bath!

Ingredients for the broth were some of Robert's home-made beer, olive oil, chopped onions and garlic,  and some fresh basil from Lindy's garden (that I had frozen months ago).  Brought this to a boil and then quickly "plucked" each shell out just as it opened up.  Wouldn't want to overcook at all!

My platter - clams were just perfect...slightly translucent.  What a joy to harvest, cook and enjoy!  A wonderful feeling.

Thought I'd share the photos of Lindy's dinner also - she did something similar over some pasta.  Looks quite yummy also.

I think Dick's saying "come on, let's eat!".    Good fun!

20 years

You  still need to go to  Glory Days    to see the rest of the sailing trip!

But, I wanted to post a photo - can't believe it's been 20 years.....