Blackberry Picking Then and Now

Blackberries ready for a pie.

When I was back in Cleveland County recently, wild blackberries were ripe, and I was reminded of the days I picked berries when I was a kid growing up there.  My sister, our friend and I would go out early in the morning on a July day and pick berries where they grew along the railroad track near our house.  Often we would encounter black snakes and always we would be bitten by chiggers.  We didn't mind, because we knew by lunch time Mama would have made a blackberry pie or cobbler from our bounty.  And how we loved blackberry pie! 

I passed by the railroad track where now the sides of the track are sprayed and there are no blackberries growing there today.

The railroad track where I picked berries as a kid.

We lived out in the country near my grandparent's farm.  The farm and the one adjacent have been bought by a blackberry company out of Georgia and the fields that were once planted in cotton have been replaced by fields of commercial blackberries.  I stopped and took some photos and I must say there was a bumper crop of berries. 

Blackberry fields where cotton once grew.

A bountiful crop of commercial blackberries.

I did have a chance to pick a few berries though over along the road near my friend Peggy Jean's house.  Not enough for a pie though.

Picking a few wild blackberries over near Peggy Jean's house.

When we returned to Raleigh, I kept thinking about those blackberries and about a blackberry cobbler.  I went right over to the Farmer's Market and bought enough berries to make a pie---no black snakes to worry about and no chiggers.  It's not quite the same though.  As a child I felt a great deal of accomplishment in picking a bucket of berries to take home for a pie.

Blackberries from the Farmer's Market.

As I was looking over recipes for a blackberry cobbler on the internet, I discovered the Pioneer Woman's blog.

The Pioneer Woman's blackberry cobbler. (Photo from her blog site.)

I'm going to use her recipe when I make a blackberry cobbler later this morning.  I'll let you know how it turns out.

3 bags in 3 days

Cartoon by Amber Waite from her blog Voluntary Simplicity is a Lifestyle

I'm starting small.  Dan and I realize that we have a lot of decluttering to do.  This recent article in the News and Observer inspired me to try this but on a very small scale---3 bags in 3 days and then I could start over for another 3 days, etc.

Day One:  A bag full of books that will go to a library. 

A bag of books ready for a library.

This was a really big bag and it weighed a lot.  We have lots of books we need to purge.

Day Two:  Fabric and shoes.  I've had this fabric around in the garage that we are redoing using it to cover the fronts of shelves, and we are going to put doors on those shelves so this fabric had to go.  I need to go through my shoes again though and get rid of more.

Fabric and shoes ready to take to the thrift shop.

Day Three:  Magazines and Newspapers.   I tend to keep magazine thinking I will need to read them again, but I've decided to stop that.  If there are things in the magazines like recipes, I will remove them from the magazines and then recycle the magazines along with the newspapers.

A bag of newspapers and magazines ready to put in the recycle bin. 

I'm sure these three bags must total at least 30 lbs of less clutter in the house now.  So at least I've made a start at this 3 bags in 3 days decluttering mission.


Maybe when 3 bags for 3 days becomes a habit, I will expand to a longer span, perhaps 7 bags in 7 days.  Slowly but surely we will declutter. 

A Baker Yes, But Not Just a Baker

Mushroom frittata.

Macy is known for making beautiful and delicious cakes for special occasions, and I first met her when she made a birthday cake for my friend Virginia last year.

Birthday cake Macy made for my friend Virginia, a cat lover.

 Recently though I learned that Macy was looking for some part time work while she was on vacation from her regular job as Assistant Food Director at White Memorial Church.  She had mentioned she would in addition to baking cakes, prepare meals.  I jumped at the opportunity to have someone help with making meals to freeze for use when I was too busy or too tired to make a meal.  I am on a low salt diet and don't use ready made TV dinners because they are so high in sodium.  I make TV dinners from scratch and to have someone help with this is a God-send.

Last week she came for her first gig as a Chef.  She had proposed three different entrees with two sides each and had sent me a grocery list.  I did the grocery shopping and had all the necessary food ready for her arrival.

The first entree was a delicious meatloaf.  There were six dinners with this entree with sides of green beans/wax beans and mashed potatoes. 

The meatloaf just out of the oven.

Meatloaf dinners with beans and potatoes.  The meatloaf had a delicious sauce for topping.

She had everything planned and moved smoothly from one task to another, actually multi-tasking as she went.  I was so impressed.

After the meatloaf was in the oven, she began making chicken gumbo.

Macy preparing the chicken for the chicken gumbo.

 The sides for the chicken gumbo were rice and green peas.  Again six meals with this entree.

Chicken gumbo, with rice and green peas.

Finally she made a mushroom frittata, with green peppers, zucchini, onion,

Macy's recipe for the mushroom frittata.

The frittata is out of the oven. 

Six of the eighteen dinners ready for the freezer.

After four hours Macy had prepared 18 meals with a bit leftover, had cleaned up the kitchen and was ready to depart for another job. Yes, Macy is amazing and although a great baker, she's not just a baker.  She's a great cook too.  Dan and I have already enjoyed some of the chicken gumbo---yummy!  We're looking forward to more Macy Dinners.

Lunch at the Peak City Grill

Peak City Grill and Bar.

Dan and I were in Apex last week to pick up the DVD made from our 35 mm slides, and we decided to have lunch there.  The Peak City Grill is just down from the photography shop where our DVD was made. They had just opened at 11:00, and we were their first customers of the day.  It was a hot day, and I was quite thirsty so I immediately ordered an Arnold Palmer---so cool and refreshing.

Cool and refreshing Arnold Palmer.

Dan and I each had the special bacon cheeseburger with fries.  The burger was cooked to perfection, and although I'm not really too fond of fries, I found these delicious.

Bacon Cheeseburger with fries.

After perusing the dessert menu, I couldn't resist the Chocolate Butterscotch Fallen Cake which Dan shared.

The dessert menu.

Chocolate Butterscotch Fallen Cake

The staff was friendly and service was excellent.

Dan and Waitress.

There were many interesting metal artworks decorating the brick walls.

Beautiful art on the walls.

All in all, Peak City Grill is a fine restaurant, and it is worth making the short trip over to Apex to just have lunch.

I can also highly recommend the company that converted our 35 mm slides to a DVD---Home Video Studio

Pinehurst Number 2

Pinehurst Number 2.

Patrick, Zach and I along with two of Zach's friends were in Pinehurst on Saturday for the US Open Men's Golf. They banned cell phones and cameras so I couldn't get any photos to my disappointment.
Here's a photo of us on the way down.  The boys in the back Chris Corchiani, Chris Shrum, and Patrick.  Zach was driving and I rode shotgun. 

Back Seat Boys (Left to right Patrick, Corch, Shrum (Photo a selfie from the front seat.)

Patrick and I had a gif made while there. 

Our gif made by American Express.

The best shot that we saw that day was by Ken Perry, the older guy in the Open.  He hit the ball out of the rough---wire grass and weeds---it hit the green and bounced high in the air came back down on the green and rolled right in the hole for an Eagle. 

Kenny Perry (Photo from the AP.)

I did get a really nice visor as a souvenir.

My souvenir.

It has a big black bow in the back.  

Visor in back. 

I want to go back some day when there's not a tournament in progress so I can take photos and can eat in the Pinehurst Clubhouse.