Christmas in Georgia

Our planned quiet, low key, "token present only Christmas" kind of deteriorated late in the afternoon on Christmas Eve when Mom overheard Dick on the phone telling his friend in Minnesota that he would like to get a gun to hunt deer and pigs.  That was the first any of us had heard that he was even slightly interested in hunting down here. I guess being a life-time hunter and seeing all the deer and pig tracks every time he goes for a walk in the woods and telling hunting stories with the neighbors got his interest piqued.  So Mom called me from the bathroom in a whisper asking me to go into town and get a gun for Dick for Christmas.  Oh yikes!  I have never hunted, am not crazy about guns at all, and avoid WallyWorld like the plague.  We figured the new WalMart in Eufaula was our best bet for finding a gun on Christmas Eve, and figured the people who man the counter could give us advice about which gun to buy.

So we joined all the rest of the population of Barbour, Henry, Houston, and Quitman Counties, and all the residents of Eufaula and Georgetown, for a Christmas Eve shopping trip to WalMart.  The gun department people were a great help, and we found the perfect rifle.  After a false start where we used our Georgia address and were rejected by the great computer in the sky, we were able to register the gun to our home in Washington State.  One more step on Monday and it will be in Dick's name after we go to the courthouse in Georgetown and transfer all the paperwork again.  It was well worth all the effort though - I am not sure I have ever seen anyone more surprised than Dick was when we handed him the gift wrapped rifle as the last present to open.

December Sunset

The sun is setting much further up the lake these days than when we first got here in September.  Nearly at the equinox though, when the sunsets come back our way.  It was so nice to have a day without wind and with lots of sunshine.  I walked around the peanut field and found an arrow head!  We used to find them all the time, but this is the first one I have found in quite a while.

The sunset tonight was a really vibrant orange.

The sunset is reflected on the windows of my parents' house and the moon looks full again.

Sadie's Flea Market - Dothan, Alabama

Sunday, December 5, 2010 - Cold and sunny when we headed into Dothan to the flea market.  The perfect place to find:

A wrench or pair of pliers

A teddy bear

Fruit and veggies

A sword

Rocks

Jewelry, sunglasses, puppies,

You name it - if you have time to look, you can probably find it.

Happy Thanksgiving - November 25, 2010

We were blessed with a truly spectacular November day.  Mom and I raided Bobbie's garden while Dick and Ron watched the Detroit and New England football game while the turkey cooked.

It is hard to quit picking even though we knew there were way more than we could ever use.  We only picked a small fraction of the crop.  Hoping for more warm weather so this bounty can continue into December.  Thank you La Nina!

Someone needs to make some stuffed peppers!

Dick is learning to be a redneck - burning instead of mowing. :)

Nice to eat Thanksgiving dinner in the sunshine!

There is still a lot of color, but our leaf raking season is upon us now!

Charter Fishing - Panama City, Florida

Up at dawn, knowing we had a beautiful warm sunny day ahead, heading to Panama City, Florida, about 130 miles away.  We decided to take our chances of finding a fishing charter without pre-arranging it.  Worst case scenario:  we stock up on oysters.

Most of Panama City is shut down because "the season" is over.  However, at Captain Anderson's pier, there was a line of charter fishing boats with phone numbers, so we started calling.  We met Bo, and his son, Will, who were also looking for a fishing trip, so with 6 people, we thought we could find a boat even on short notice.

We found Captain Mike just coming in from a morning charter, and made arrangements to go out at 1 p.m. local time.  It was a very good choice!  Captain Mike's Charters  

Ah, fishing again - it's been so long - for an avid fisherman like my step-dad, Dick, a day without fishing is too long.  He hasn't been fishing since they left Alaska to come to Georgia about three weeks ago.

Ron and I were just happy to be out in the fresh air and sunshine.  Bo and Will were more like Dick and Mom - happy to be fishing.

First stop - live bait barge

Captain Mike and helper, Corey, carefully counted out the "minnows" - which were each about 7-10" long 

Our catch begins to build.  Nice red snappers, mostly.  Ron caught a King Mackerel and Bo caught a big Grouper.  Mom caught the biggest snapper.  I caught one snapper and a couple of Grouper that were too small (not 18") and had to be thrown back.  I was much too busy during the fishing part to take pictures.  Good grief, this is a lot like WORK!  

It's a tough job, but someone has to do it. Captain Mike at the controls as we come back to port as the sun sets.

Scenes around SW Georgia in November

The trees are beginning to change color.

Some cotton fields are still waiting for harvest.

Pecans are being picked.

Cypress swamps are full of water.  Alligators are still out as the days are still sunny and warm.

Every evening brings a sunset and fishermen to the lake.

Chili Rellenos - Georgia Style

Our neighbor, Bobbie, had a couple of pepper plants just dripping with peppers.  I am not too crazy about hot peppers, but gladly took a bowlful of the banana peppers to attempt Chili Rellenos that two of my sisters have made for me.  I never attempted to make them myself, but hated to pass up the beautiful peppers Bobbie offered me.  My sister, Anne, cautioned me that the normal peppers used for chili rellenos are poblano peppers, but the banana peppers seemed the right size, so I gave them a try.  I used the recipe my sister, Anne, sent via email.
First, I washed and seeded and deveined the peppers and added a finger of Asaigo cheese (like mozarella but a bit firmer):

 Then I separated 3 eggs and stirred the yolks with 3 Tablespoons of flour until creamy.  The whites were beaten until fluffy, and the two were folded together to make the batter.

 I fried each battered pepper individually until golden brown.

 All fried peppers were placed in a baking dish and sprinkled with a combination of shredded mozarella and cheddar cheese and baked at 350 for 20 minutes.  Very tasty, and the banana peppers didn't have to be prefried to remove the skins.  

Visiting with Friends

Our friends from Washington, Ann and Dave, stopped by our place in Georgia on their cross country trip. We had a couple of days to catch up on old friends and acquaintances from back home before they headed out for Knoxville, Nashville, Memphis, and points west on their way to their home in Phoenix.

Since we are old real estate people, we couldn't resist a look at an interesting property in Eufaula, Al, overlooking the Chattahoochee River/Lake Eufaula.  This is the old city jail - ideal for a bistro for someone more ambitious than all of us.  $240,000 is the asking price.
After Ann and Dave left, Ron and I took the motorcycle down to the old 'hood in Bainbridge, GA, where we looked up our old friends and neighbors, Gene and Dianne at their home on Lake Seminole.

Gene and Dianne's dock and lake yard on Lake Seminole

I will probably be neglecting this blog in the month of November as I have committed to writing a whole novel in the month.  I have a blog on that project November Novel Writing Project "NaNoWriMo" The goal is to write 1500 words a day or 50,000 words a month, or 175 pages.  


For all you bloggers who might have a novel you are thinking about or working on, you can sign up and join me at NaNoWriMo.

Magnolia on Main - Blakely, Georgia

Debbie, Huck and Ron with Huck and Deb's new trike.

Another beautiful sunny warm October day in SW Georgia, and another memorable motorcycle ride.  This time we met our friends, Huck and Debbie at Magnolia on Main - a real down home southern restaurant in Blakely, GA.  The staff consists of mostly family members, all of whom give new meaning to the term "southern hospitality."

Food, food, and more food.

Clockwise from 12 o'clock - sweet potatoes, okra, squash, cabbage, cornbread, celery stuffed with a delicious secret recipe, baked chicken, bacon, black-eyed peas.  I passed on meatloaf, fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, collards, and most of the salads - (there were at least a dozen of those).

So many luscious pies, how to choose?  Skipping dessert is NOT an option!

Magnolia's on Main - Blakely, Georgia - a must stop for anyone looking for authentic southern cooking or anyone doing a culinary tour of the south.