Brooksville Barn Burner

Wow, what a fantastic time we had at the 2010 Barn Burner in Brooksville!  Sam's friend and co-worker Jeff and his wife Michelle were our hosts and the food was unbelievable, great friends to hang out with and the music was top notch!  The groups were Next of Kin which is a family group with father on guitar, cousin on drums and daughter is lead singer..her voice is phenomenal! American Idol look out!  The headliner though was the Damon Fowler band and they were incredible!  His voice is so pure and the band is just great.  We saw them a few weeks ago at Skipper's in Tampa and couldn't wait to see them again.  The weather was so nice, just the perfect temperature and we couldn't have asked for a better night.  I was so thankful we had a GPS because this place was in the "back side of nowhere" as my dad would say, way, way out in the country, we passed BFE quite a ways before we got there! haha  Loved it though and can't wait til next year!  Today Sam and I have been decorating for Halloween and we're both pooped.  Just had a yummy burger he cooked on the grill for dinner, so I'm ready to sit down and relax.  Sam is on night shift this week which sucks but nothing we can do about that. 

Our friends Mark and Vicky dropped by this afternoon with a bag of free crap they scored at the Big Top flea market and they wanted to give it to me to see if I wanted to auction it off on Listia..my new favorite hobby.  I love this site because I trade all kind of useless stuff to me and get stuff that is useful!  The only cost is the money I spend on shipping of the items I get rid of and people bid on but so far it's been worth it for the freebies I've scored.  This is the link to sign up and check it out if anyone reading might be interested.  It's really totally free and very cool!  http://www.listia.com/signup/45994

Well enough for today, I'm toast.  Night all...zzz.....zzz....zzz

Camping????

It is a beautiful day in outside and I'm very rested after turning in early last night. Went to Wal-Mart yesterday and it literally stole the life out of me.  I can to in that place for one hour and feel like I've worked a full 8 hour day.  I truly despite it but there are some things I just can't find anywhere in Plant City and didn't have time to go out of town to shop.  Well I got up and at it this morning cause it's going to be a busy day.  The fish have been fed, Wally the cat has been fed, Matilda and Maisie have been walked and fed, and now I have to settle in for some cooking for the campout.  What?? Camping..me?  Say it isn't so for the woman who is a true creature of comfort.  Yep, I've agreed to try it for one night..that's 1 night only.  haha  Sam's friend Jeff has a huge woodstock-like get together every year out in Brooksville somewhere and there will be a huge bonfire..I'm talking like several feet tall and many feet wide, two awesome bands are playing, and there will be food, food and more food.  So, I'm cooking for the campout.  Our tent is going to be my wonderful old, decrepit van Moby.  Since there are no seats in the back of it we're throwing down some blankets and pillows down and using it as our tent, probably will be better than a tent anyway in case it rains.  Looking forward to it for the most part, but the good news is that there is a motel only 9 or 10 miles away in case the going gets too "rough" for me! haha  I'll post pix when I get back so I will have something to remember it by....woo hoo my first campout in 20 years!

Thursday is but a memory

I love taking pictures of the sky and this shot was just gorgeous the other night when Sam and I were out having dinner so I had to take a pic with my phone...not as pretty as it would have been with my camera but still very nice!  Thursday is gone and it's just after midnight but wanted to post my thoughts and happenings for the day.  What a glorious morning it was outside Thursday morning when I got up!  I enjoyed having my coffee by the pond and listening to the waterfall, it set the tone for my day and I try to do that as much as I can because it puts me in a good frame of mind!  I love watching all our beautiful fish in our pond. We have one I call Buffet because he's a Parrot fish and he's so beautiful..a Key West peachy-coral color, another one is Marble because Sam says he looks like a fat little round marble, his belly is really big and he's lots of different colors! lol.  We only have two koi, the rest are goldfish and they're all beautiful.  They are little pigs and as soon as I walk outside and sit on the bench by the pond to have my morning coffee, they start swimming up with they're hungry little mouths open.  They can eat a lot for such little creatures!  It's amazing that something so little can have a personality but they do,

and each one eats in their own way and we can anticipate what they're going to do a lot of the times when we throw food in.  For instance, Parrot swims low and cases the other fish out to see whose around and then when he feels the coast is clear he darts up, grabs a  piece of food and swims low in the pond to enjoy his treat.  The koi on the other hand, open their

mouths and it's like a vacuum sucking up everything in the path.  The biggest koi I call Angel because of her tail which is huge and flows like angel wings but honey she's no angel cause she intimidates the rest of the fish by swishing that huge, long tail around and trying to scare them off.  It usually works for about two seconds until they realize she's just a bully and they come up and eat anyway.  As I said I love watching them! 

Finished my Halloween costume this morning..I will be a fearsome Spider Fairy at our party.  It's pretty cool if I do say so myself.  I will be posting pictures once the party is over.  We have such a great time with some very dear friends.  I'm really looking forward to it.  I did a little more decorating and am so thankful God has given us a nice house to entertain friends in. It's not fancy, but then we're not fancy, but it is warm and cozy and our friends always seem to enjoy themselves here and that means the world to me.  We have two dachshunds, Matilda and Maisie, and they have such cute costumes this year!  Matilda is going to be our little Mermaid..yes she will have fins.  Maisie is our watch dog, literally barks when anyone or anything makes a noise around the house, so her costume is..yes a watchdog.  She has a little shirt that has two watches on the top of it...get it..."watchdog".  I can't take credit for the idea, found it online but thought it was pretty darned clever!  Since I work late on Thursday nights Sam cooked for me tonight..salmon and brocolli.  It was so yummy!  I am a spoiled woman but then I figure I deserve it after going through some rough times over the last 25 years as a single mom.  Sam is my prize and I thank God for him everyday! 

Oh and I had to take the Jeep in for service today and when the mechanic asked me what was wrong I told him it was chirping.  He said "excuse me" and I said "it's chirping..you know, like a bird".  And yes he looked at me like I had lost my mind.  Anyway, they kept the Jeep to look it over and when he called back today he said "ma'am, your car IS chirping and we can't find the problem".  He said he looked everywhere he could think to look and no belts, hoses, or any area had a problem so he just commenced to greasing areas here and there hoping it wuuld stop the chirping.  Guess we'll find out tomorrow when I go to pick it up.  Please Mr. Bird, find another car in which to make your nest!

Sam gave the pups their weekly baths tonight and they smell so sweet!  Matilda isn't usually a problem but Maisie gets that hound dog smell and it's hard to take after a few days, especially since she sleeps in the bed with us.  They aren't crazy about their baths but they're good little girls for daddy without too much fuss.  You just have to catch them before they realize what's happening and take them in the bathroom. hehe

 

Restful dreams to all in cyberspace, I'm done and out!

                          

I survived hump day y'all!

Wow, hump day is over!  The weather couldn't be finer (well unless I lived in Carolina..hmmm that sounds like a song!).  Wow, yesterday and today have been really long days with lots to do but getting there.  Work day yesterday was sooo boring but at the end of the day I enjoyed a wonderful dinner with my sweet, sweet hubby.  I made him Low Country Frogmore Stew and we chowed down (see recipe below).  I can be having a really bad day and spending time in my kitchen lifts my mood..plus it's really nice to cook for someone who appreciates it so much, and believe me he does!  Started my day today with a dental appointment, teeth all still intact and clean and shiny!  Next week is our annual Halloween party so there is so much to do before then!  Today I planted some mums, made cornhole bags for our cornhole game, made a sign for the road so newbies to the party know where to go, started on the outside decorating, did some laundry, finished Chip’s Halloween costume and in the midst of all that worked 8 hours!  Yep, I’m tired just rehashing it all.  Tomorrow will be a repeat of the same.  I have a mosaic table to finish, need to do more decorating since doing a little each day is easier than accomplishing it all at once, have to take the Jeep in for service, work again, make dinner, and hopefully finish up in time to watch Grey’s and Private Practice.  Sometimes I feel like a hamster on a little wheel, but life is good and I’m blessed any way you look at it!  Nite to all out there…sweet dreams…..zzzzzzzz

Low Country Frogmore Stew

4 quarts cold water
¼ cup Old Bay seasoning (add more if want spicier taste)
1 tbsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
4 celery stalks, cut into 1” pieces
1 yellow onion, diced
1 garlic head, halved crosswise
2 ½ lb small red potatoes
4 ears of corn, shucked and cut each into 2 pieces
2 lb smoked sausage (such as Kielbasa), cut into chunks
2 lb medium shrimp, deveined, in shell

Put water in large pot and add Old Bay, 1 tbsp salt, celery, onion,
garlic and potatoes.  Cook on medium-high heat until reaches boiling
then turn down to medium-low and cook for about 15 minutes.  Add
corn and sausage and simmer about 5 minutes.  Add shrimp and simmer
until opaque, about 3 to 4 minutes.  Taste broth and add more salt and
Old Bay if needed.  Transfer stew to large bowl.

To eat traditional low country style, spread heavy brown paper over
table outside and spread entire stew over paper, sit everyone around
table and pig out!   Once meal is finished, simply roll up paper and toss
shrimp shells and corn cobs in trash!

Monday....nuff said

My first post...what to say..what to say.  Okay, this is really a compelling start isn't it?!  I am a really happy person but today I'm feeling a bit subdued so maybe this wasn't the greatest day to start my blog, but had to start sometime.  I kept putting it off until I just had to do it.  Maybe I should have titled myself the queen of procrastination.  Ever have something you really want to accomplish but for some reason you get bogged down in the thought of it and just can't seem to get started?  Hope I'm not the only one like that.  Well, I've finally created my blog so that's my big accomplishment for today!