Week 5 Sunday

What an amazing week-end and it’s only Sunday morning. Hubby, Tobi and I arrived at this beautiful destination around 5:00p.m. Friday afternoon. And to think I thought that taking a half day off would get us here earlier. Who was I kidding? My hubby has never been on time for anything in his life. The only way he got to our wedding on time was because I threatened his brother with death. We are always late for church and you know what happens when your late for church. Someone sits in your seat. I’m baptist and I hate that. I have been sitting in the same pew for 25 years, minus the few we spent at another church, and before that, my mother-in-law sat in that seat. So, GET UP .

When we arrived, the rain began and continued on into the night. I could not have cared less. It was still a beautiful evening and the rain just added to that beauty. After we got our home away from home settled, I made a delicious Potage Parmentier with mushrooms. No, I have not seen the Julie/Julia movie and, No, I do not own a copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, but I do know a little about food and cooking and I have been making Potage Parmentier with mushrooms for many years and now have it down to perfection. This soup is one of those dishes that requires the right atmosphere and the right company. Not to mention the freshest of ingredients. The potatoes and leeks came from my own garden and the mushrooms were the freshest shitakes that Ingles had. And, it should be prepared outside. So, it turned out perfect and the grilled cheddar parmesan cheese sandwiches were a great addition but not needed.

On Saturday morning, we woke to a beautiful cool, clear morning. You know, the kind of morning you dream about for a mini-vacation. We made coffee and sat and read until hunger pains began to overtake our thoughts. We had omelets that would melt in your mouth. Onions, peppers, shitakes, tomatoes and a little cheddar. GREAT!!!

Loving daughter number 2 and boyfriend would be joining us later in the day, so we decided to make a run to the local Walmart. All roads lead to Walmart, Dad. Hubby and I went to Maine a couple summers ago and my dad called to check on us and found us, where else, but at the Walmart.

I love the mountains. There is just something about the hills and vales that attract me. My dream job, did I not have such a lucrative one as a school teacher,would be to cut grass on the Blue Ridge Parkway. And I’m serious. That or own a book store. But the cutting the grass thing would be great. Mountains all day and you couldn’t hear anything but the hum of blades against grass. Heaven!!! The Walmart didn’t have a foodmart, so I just grabbed a couple magazines, a bottle of water and headed next door to Food Lion. I only went to Food Lion out of desperation. I needed peanut oil and cilantro.

As you have probably discovered by now, this entry is mostly about food. Hubby and I have decided that we have had better meals here this week-end than we have had at home in months. And like I said, it’s only Sunday morning. Which brings me to my next issue.

This campground we are at is so very beautiful. We have been here several times since discovering it or rather, rediscovering it last spring. I’m going to try to attach some photos. The grounds are so well kept and the monarchs abound. There is a lovely spring just outside my window and most the people here are older. That is, over 30. A few children, but mostly adults. It is not a very large campground with only about 30 spots. We have one of the smallest campers here. Well, make that 2 of the smallest ones, because loving daughter No. 2 brought our other one. But, we love it. When I said we rediscovered it, we realized last week we had been here many years ago with friends but the place has changed so much I did not remember at first.

Now, as anyone who camps knows, gospel music, covered dish dinners, and church services are the norm. Especially in the mountains of North Carolina. Last night there was to be a covered dish dinner followed by a bluegrass gospel band. Which, by the way, was actually pretty good. We could hear them from our site. We opted to miss the dinner and festivities because I had promised the kids fish tacos for dinner. No offense to the people here or the band, but we just wanted fish tacos. That’s all. I decided before starting the tacos that I really did need to walk. So, I rounded up my shoes and started out. Loving daughter had arrived by now and drove around the path to check the distance so I could see how far I had walked. I convinced hubby to join me but he wanted to finish the chapter he was on in his book and would catch up with me on the second round. So he did join my on round 3 and we made 8 such rounds together. Ten for me. A little over 2 miles. (But who’s counting….) Anyway, as we passed the gazebo area on our way around, we were given some pretty dirty looks. I guess they felt we should be there in our little camping chairs tapping our feet and clapping our hands and eating what ever it was that was in all those crock pots. Now, I don’t really have anything against crockpot cooking, but I like to make my dishes the traditional way. You know, on the stove or in the oven. Or, in the case of this week-end, outside. I just like it better that way.

For dinner Saturday night we did have the tacos with avacado, homemade pico de gallo and chipotle mayonnaise. If anybody has a good use for chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, please share. I only use about 2 tablespoons of the stuff and always end up throwing out the rest. We had key lime pie for dessert. Awesome. Only I didn’t eat my pie until 2:00a.m. I’m not usually a midnight foodie, but last night I woke up and all I could think about was that pie in the fridge and the fridge was right at my fingertips. So!!! I ate pie. Hubby woke up and caught me in the act. I told him to hush and go back to sleep.

This morning, we got up, or rather, I got up early and made the coffee, which I am really not good at. I never measure and just dump some in there and hope for the best. It was great. I usually drink my coffee black but found this Italian Crème stuff and it makes for a sweet little morning kick. Next week, I promise to get over the sweet stuff!!!! Cross my heart. I then made loving daughter no. 2’s favorite campsite breakfast. SOS, eggs, fresh fruit and canned biscuits. Canned biscuits are a special treat for me dating back over 40 years. When I was a little girl and we would go on vacation to the beach, my mom always made canned biscuits. That is the only time we ever had them because she always made handmade biscuits at home. Sometimes as many as three meals a day. I didn’t eat the SOS because of the dried beef, but I ate tons of the fruit. I even splurged and bought some of that T. Marzetti cream cheese fruit dip. I promise!!!! No more next week.

Well, it’s time to walk and the battery on loving daughter No. 2’s boyfriend’s laptop is about to go dead, so I’ll divulge the rest of my week-end events at a later time. Until then……….