Lunch with Norman and Frances

Frances

Norman

Two of my best friends in Nova Scotia are Norman and Frances Oram (Frances is the daughter of another best friend, Michealette, and I've known her since she was a preteen.) Top of my list on this trip was to visit in St. Peter's with these two, so Michealette and I drove over for lunch. Frances and Norman can fix something delicious on the spur of the moment.  (I offered to take them out for lunch, but Frances wanted to prepare lunch.)

Delicious homemade chicken soup really fit the bill.  I contributed Cedar House tea biscuits that I had bought the day before.  A green salad topped off a delicious lunch.

The desserts, however, were the icing on the cake.  The homemade blueberry cake (sorry I didn't get a photo, I was too busy enjoying it) with just a simple vanilla icing was soooo good.  The other option was Smores.  The Smores were made inside, so no bugs! You may find it hard to believe, but I had never eaten Smores.  So I had both desserts.  Yum!!!

My very first Smores.  I loved it. 

Will-O the family cat who will sit at the dining table and not make a move to get on the table joined us.  Well-behaved cat I must say! He's such a handsome fellow too with an unusual coat pattern.

Will-O sitting politely at the table. 

Frances always has the table decorated colorfully.

Pretty table.  

I find their house so beautifully decorated, and not surprising, they are both extremely talented and artistic.

As we left,  Frances demonstrated the porch swing that Norman made for her.

This visit was a great beginning to my vacation in Cape Breton this summer.

p.s. Norman always has frozen mackerel for me, because he knows it is my favorite fish.  Michealette and I took this home for dinner that night. Thanks, Norman.

Frozen mackerel.

Lunch With Boguska and Leslaw my Polish Friends

Potato cakes.  

I had a delightful visit with my friend Boguska and her husband Leslaw for lunch today.  Boguska is one of my "surrogate daughters", and she is a wonderful cook.  She is always bringing me goodies to eat---Polish dishes from her home country.  But today I was treated to lunch at her house.

I knew the lunch would be special because not only do I love her cooking I enjoy her and Leslaw's company.  Her table was beautifully decorated with these lovely flowers that complemet her walls perfectly.  And look at that homemade bread on the table.

Pretty arrangement on table.  

Homemade bread.  Yum!

The first course consisted of homemade mushroom soup.  I particuarly enjoy Boguska's soups.

Mushroom soup.

And then I watched as she prepared potato cakes. She says they are only good if eaten when freshly made (but I'm not sure if that's true, because I brought home those that were left and I'm looking forward to those for lunch tomorrow.)  She used frozen hash brown which she turned into mashed potatoes in her blender, and then added an egg, onions, and a spoonful or two of flour to hold the cakes together as they were fried.

The potato cakes are garnished with sour cream.  

Of course, I should have known that she would have a wonderful dessert (she and I both like our sweets). Today it was a homemade cherry layered cake with whipped cream.

After lunch I enjoyed a long visit on her screened porch looking out over her beautiful backyard. What a relaxing day.  Thank you Boguska.

Enjoying the backyard from the screened porch.  

Lunch at the Weathervane, Chapel Hill, NC

Marcia and I spent our day out Wednesday by first dropping Dan at his lab at Duke University and then doing a bit of shopping at Target before heading to Chapel Hill for lunch at the Weathervane. The Weathervane Restaurant is a full-service restaurant located adjacent to Southern Season in University Mall.

The Weathervane is a pleasant place for lunch especially on a nice day like yesterday when it was perfect to dine out on their patio.

Patio at the Weathervane.

 There are two dining rooms inside, a formal one and a more casual one.  But we enjoyed dining al fresco.

The more formal dining room at the Weathervane.

Casual dining room area in Weasthervane.

When Marcia and I go out to eat we often end up ordering the same items from the menu and that was the case yesterday.  We each had soup and half sandwich.  The soup of the day was tomato basil, and we selected as our sandwich egg salad with bacon, lettuce and tomato.  Both the soup and the sandwich were quite good and reasonably priced at $11.00.  For good food and pleasant ambiance I can enthusiastically recommend the Weathervane for lunch. And when the weather permits, by all means choose the patio seating.

Soup of the day, tomato basil.

Egg salad sandwich with bacon, lettuce and tomato.

After lunch we browsed through the adjacent Southern Season, a gourmet food store that specializes in local and international fine food, wine, specialty gifts & cookware.  Craig Claiborne, the late NY Times food critic, once described Southern Season as “wall to wall and floor to ceiling…a visual and gustatory delight!”

Eye candy at the Southern Season from the elegant to the......

...whimsical.

It's always dangerous for me to enter Southern Season, because rarely do I leave without purchasing something.  This time I found items that I really needed though---a pretty tablecloth, platter, and paper plates and napkins in the color scheme that I will use for a graduation/bon voyage party next week for grandson Zach and his girlfriend Claire.

Items I purchased at Southern Season for the graduation/bon voyage party for Zach and Claire.

A few days after graduation Zach will be traveling with Claire and her mom to Australia to visit her mom's family.  What an experience that will be for Zach!