Barbecue and More Barbecue

I'm visiting in Cleveland County now.  Cleveland County is known for its great barbecue, but last night there was Q and more Q at the Fairground's Hog Happnin'.  I usually eat barbecue when I'm in Shelby---either Red Bridges or Alston Bridges barbecue. This event allowed me to sample a lot of different barbecue.  My friend PJ, her granddaughter Kristen, and I went over to partake.

PJ and Kristen getting tickets for the tasting.

One of many vendors.

Clever signs of vendors.

Barbecued beef and chicken.

These ribs were delish!

Some of the trophies that one of the vendors had won over the years.

 I think I've had quite enough barbecue for a while.  Probably until I visit Cleveland County again.

"I'm not late, I'm just slow"

Three quotes from folks in the tour group of our recent trip to Italy stick in my mind.  Dania our tour guide was explaining to us that in some of the regions we would be visiting she would not be allowed to give us information, but that we would have to rely on guides in the region who were authorized.   Apparently guides have to be authorities for the regions where they are giving information.  One of our tour members, Jesse, told Dania, "Oh just make it up!"  Now whenever I or someone is just "making it up" I refer to that as a "Jesse-ism"  or to "Jesse's version".  (You might want to check my blog of September 28).

Dania, our wonderful tour director.

Jesse said, "Oh, just make it up."

One evening most of the group observed a young lady that was really "dressed up"---tight dress, spike heels, flashy jewelry--I didn't actually see her, but others were talking about how she was dressed.  Paula said she was "dressed like a stolen car!".  I never heard that expression before.  I'm sorry I don't have a photo to illustrate it.

Paula used the expression, "dressed like a stolen car".

"I'm not late, I'm just slow."

On our way to Venice, Dania explained that the Venetians were very laid back and casual.  She mentioned a Venetian friend from college who was always late.  When asked why, the friend said, "I'm not late, I'm just slow."  Now when I or others are late, I'll have to think "Oh, we're not late just slow".

Autumn in Our Yard

The red of the dogwoods.

I love the colors of autumn.  Here are some photos I made at the end of October in our yard in Raleigh. 

Purple Viola in garage window box.

Purple and green of Zebrina leaves.  Time to move Zebrina into garage for overwintering.

New green cones of Cryptomeria tree.

Mahonia will have little yellow flowers in February.

Red leaves of Virginia creeper creeping up the fence.

Red berries of Foster's holly waiting to feed the birds in winter.

Pumpkin Muffins from a Mix

These cool fall days are perfect for making pumpkin muffins.  I usually make muffins from scratch, but Sunday I decided to make some from a mix, actually I tried two different mixes, Trader Joe's and Williams-Sonoma's.

Williams-Sonoma mix.

Trader Joe's mix.

A year or so ago I bought a set of silicon muffin cups from Williams-Sonoma, and they make it so easy to get the muffin out of the tin.

Williams-Sonoma sili-cups.

Muffins cooling.

I found both mixes to be good, but Trader Joe's is much less expensive than those from Williams-Sonoma (these do have pecans as well which could add a bit to the price). 
Somewhere I saw a suggestion that for Trader Joe's mix to make a healthier muffin add a can of pumpkin to the mix instead of the water, oil and egg. I tried this, but I found those a bit too dense.

Add canned pumpkin to the mix for a healthier muffin.

The "healthier" version, but not quite as tasty for me.

We have new neighbors here on Davis Street that I hadn't met (they moved in while we were traveling) so I took them some muffins as a "welcome to the neighborhood" gift. 

Muffins for the new neighbors.

African Ghost aka Grandpat

African ghost aka Grandpat

 Despite the rain, a number of the little ghouls and goblins in our neighborhood made it by for trick-or-treating.  I like to dress in my African ghost "costume" when I hand out the treats to the youngsters.  It's a simple costume.  I wrap a white sheet around me and hold the African death mask that Dan brought back from Africa years ago in front of my face and it's quite scary.  I didn't fool the kids though.  They knew it was Grandpat or Grace's grandmother.  A number of the neighborhood children are in school with Grace and Tyler, my grands.

Lily, Lilian, Emma & Reid.

Maddie & Mia

Bumblebee (Abby), Nicholas & friend.

Chef & Virginia football player.

Grace (on left) & her friend both dressed as Ki$ha. 

Fun Halloween in the neighborhood.