Wedding Anniversary–All Class in the Delta, All Trash at Home

Today is my third wedding anniversary, but we’ve been celebrating all weekend. After the market on Saturday, we headed out to Greenwood, MS for an anniversary weekend in the Delta. It was super classy.

We loaded up the car and headed out to Greenwood via back roads–my favorite way to get any place. About two hours later, we arrived at our swanky hotel, The Alluvian. This hotel is a bit of a celebrity in Mississippi, and I had just been dying to meet her.

What is it with fancy hotels and telephones by the toilet?

After checking in and admiring our pretty room, we went to lunch at The Crystal Grill, another famous landmark in Miss. To say this place has an eclectic menu is an understatement. They have everything from beans and greens to spaghetti and meatballs to frog legs to tamales to lemon ice box pie to a million other things. I got the vegetable plate lunch and asked for turnip greens, broccoli casserole, salad, and german potatoes. I received greens, salad, yams, and corn. The greens were definitely good. The rest I could have done without. All in all, I wasn’t so impressed with this place, but I’d be willing to give it another try. I will say that the homemade pies looked decadent, and had we not had dinner reservations, I would have definitely ordered a piece of lemon ice box. Didn’t want to spoil dinner and all.

We drove around the sleepy little town after lunch and saw the Viking Cooking School and sales store. Believe you me, I wanted to go home with some cookware, but refrained from that as well.

Excellent zinfandel from my step-sister and brother-in-law

After getting ready for dinner, we went down to the hotel bar and restaurant Giardina’s for before-dinner cocktails. Then we walked to Delta Bistro for our anniversary dinner. It is a BYOB establishment, so we brought along a bottle of wine we received as a gift at Christmas. We booked the chef’s table, which turned out to be a little more casual than we expected but absolutely perfect. We received excellent service and enjoyed getting to watch the kitchen staff all night. The food was delicious, and all in all, it was the perfect evening.

We had planned to stay for two nights–the first to do all of the above, the second to lounge by the pool and relax. The Alluvian doesn’t have a pool, so we were moving to a different hotel. The pool there just looked sad. Just sad. Also, Greenwood turned out to be a much smaller place than we expected, which would have been fine except that our Sunday dinner options were limited to Chinese buffet, Mexican, and Pizza Hut.

We decided just to go on home and enjoy relaxing there. Somewhere along the way, I had a brilliant idea for how we could spend the rest of our anniversary weekend.

Here’s a hint

 

Wait for it….

 

 

 

It’s coming…..

 

 

 

 

 

It’s almost here….

 

Boom

 

We got a baby pool. I won’t lie, it’s awesome. It even has cup holders. It’s 80 inches across, which is plenty big enough for two people, and it is about two feet high. Best $25 we’ve spent in a while.

 

 

The setup

 

Just to show you how redneck it is, I’ve captured our hangout. We have two chairs (still haven’t bothered taking off the tags), an ice chest full of Coors Light and Miller High Life, and hot sauce- and dill-flavored chips. What you can’t see is the boom box blaring Tom Petty and/or the Stones and the lazy dogs lying around.

So, we’ve had one super classy, completely decadent night in Greenwood and two trashy, also decadent days in our backyard. Happy anniversary to us.

 

We're so happy.

 

 

Candles Are for Romance?

As everyone knows, yesterday was devastating for those of us living in The Deep South. Tornadoes ravaged parts of Mississippi and Alabama, destroying homes, businesses, and lives, and many other states were damaged as well.

Edmond and I were fortunate that nothing bad happened in our hometown, but we did lose power for several hours. In the beginning, we enjoyed reading, but then it got dark. It was much too early for bed, so we decided to cook dinner. That’s right, we cooked dinner without power.

We lit a bunch of candles and set to work. Edmond went outside and put a pot of water to boil on the outdoor burner he uses for homebrewing, and I set to work chopping vegetables in the kitchen.

Cooking by candlelight is so much more fun

At the end of a half hour or so, we had a delicious pasta salad. This is one of our favorite things to make because we can add pretty much anything we have on hand. We had these items either in the freezer (corn) or pantry (everything else), but we’ve made many other combinations in the past. It’s perfect for any family gathering, an easy lunch, or, apparently, tornadoes and power outages if you have the right equipment.

Hometown Hero Saves Baby Bird Nearly Mauled by Family Pet

ANNOUNCEMENT: There is a baby cardinal living in the gardenia bush in our back yard.

To be fair, there are probably many baby birds living in our back yard, for we have lots and lots of birds and regularly find nests around the property. But this baby is the first one I have seen, and more importantly, the only one I’ve ever saved.

I want to be clear that I’m not being dramatic. I really did save him. Here’s how it all went down.

The Narrow Escape

Just after my dog Ripley tried to kill him, I saved him. And gave my dog a stern talking to–not about trying to kill the bird because that is normal (no matter how much I wish it weren’t) but about not listening to me when I say no. She was a crazed idiot climbing the huge bush, yelping, frantically snapping at the nest. The poor little guy just flopped right out and landed between two branches at the base of the plant. Dear ol’ dumb Ripley didn’t bother to notice this event and kept frantically going after the nest. I grabbed her by the nape of the neck (I’m the mom, after all), removed her from the bush, and required her to stop the meltdown. She wasn’t happy about it, but the meltdown ceased. She got to spend the next 10 minutes watching me (from the deck) snoop around the bush looking for the baby bird.

First Saving Attempt, Or Let Mama Bird Do It

I found him and just knew he was dead or would be soon. He was on his back with his tiny little head caught and twisted between the branches. His little tiny legs were kicking, wings were flapping, and mouth was silently crying for mom. It was a-w-f-u-l. I nearly had a meltdown of an entirely different sort but quickly checked that and went into saving mode. Because I wasn’t aware that the if-you-touch-a-baby-bird-the-mom-will-abandon-him story is a myth, my first reaction was to leave him where he lay. I walked away and stood at a distance to see if mama bird would come save him. This is probably the appropriate time to tell you that mama bird had been sounding the alarm this whole time. She was in the top of our fig tree chirping one, single chirp every 5 seconds and bouncing and hopping all over the place. She was distraught to say the least. Anyway, once I moved away, daddy bird swooped in and hopped around the bush a little. He checked on the nest, hopped around the top of the bush, and then came back out.

After he left, mama hopped down (chirping the same one chirp the whole way) and into the bush. Interestingly, she was silent once in the bush. She checked the nest, hopped down toward the ground, then hopped back up to the top. Then she proceeded to get back in the fig tree and resume her lament. It was just too much for me. They didn’t seem to give it quite as much effort as I had hoped, and I knew there was no way either of those birds would be able to get the little guy untangled from the branches and somehow back up 4 feet to the nest. It just wasn’t going to happen.

Second Saving Attempt, Or I’ll Just Do It Myself

So I made an executive decision. Either he was going to die on the ground because no one tried, or he was going to die in the nest because he had human stink on him. It was really no choice. I crawled up under the bush, had the husband hold back the branches, and delicately untangled the baby bird. I cupped my hand under him, and his little tiny feet grabbed on. Then I gently worked his head out from then branches (just knowing his neck would be broken), and once he could, he retracted it back to its normal position and hunched in my hand. He looked perfect. Quite ugly, but perfect. I briefly considered sending the husband in for the camera but figured in the big scheme of things (his life and all) my taking time for a photo op was probably not appropriate. I’m still a little sad about that.

Saviour and Saved Bonded

He was all skin and a tiny bit of fuzz. I could see everything; he was somewhat translucent. I was admiring him and trying not to touch him anywhere else (remember I thought I had just destined him to being orphaned by his mom) at the same time. I could see his tiny little backside, featherless wings, and one indention in each cheek. And then he raised his head and threw it all the way back, and opened his mouth wider than I ever expected. It was the most adorable event I’ve ever witnessed. I wish so badly I’d had a little worm to drop down in there. Although, it’s probably good that I didn’t because who knows if he can eat that yet. I sure don’t.

The Return to the Nest

After admiring him for a few more seconds, I gently placed him back in his nest (I think he held on for just a second. Or I’d like to think he did), and he hunched just as he had in my hand. Then I went up on the deck and watched mama bird quickly go down, with her incessant chirping, and check on him. She was very bouncy and still quite distressed, but I think she was happy I saved her little guy. Of course she was, right? Daddy bird came back and stood watch (quietly, I might add) while mom bumped around in the gardenia bush. After about ten minutes of watching them fret about, I went inside to eat dinner. But before dinner, I madly searched the Internet for proof that I had destined him for death by starvation. But, alas, I didn’t! According to pretty much everyone, the belief that human scent is undesirable is a myth. Proof here. So, being the humble person I am, I immediately lost my guilt and congratulated myself on having saved the little bird’s life. Only natural, right?

The Next Morning

As soon as I was up and dressed this morning, I went out to check on my new favorite living being, and he was still there. I took a few photos, and to prove her presence, mama bird chirped from the fig tree. And now a few pictures from the morning.

Mama Bird on Her Chirping Perch

Baby in the nest

Look at his tiny little wings!

And just for mama bird, a shot of her handiwork. Such a pretty and tightly built nest.

And Later that Afternoon

We’ve had quite a day of tornado warnings here in Mississippi, and I didn’t get home from work as early as planned, but as soon as I got here, I went out to make sure he had made it through the storm. There he was just plop in the middle of his nest, looking around with wide-open eyes. I parted the branches to take a few pictures, and he mustered all his energy to poke his head up, and open his mouth. It was the second cutest thing I’ve ever seen (only preceded by him doing this in my hand last night). Mom wasn’t chirping, so I think she must have been out foraging for him. In a rare moment of sunshine between storms, I got these pictures.

Agh! So cute!

And again.

And he finally rests. So sweet.

 

I’d like to name him, but that would make him mine, which he isn’t. So I leave him to his noisy mom and Mother Nature herself. Truthfully, I’ll probably check on him every day, but can I really be expected not to?

Also,  I will keep Ripley away from the gardenia bush.

 

 

Growing Garlic for the First Time

Garlic is one of the most used items in most any country’s or region’s cooking. It is widely used in Asian, European, and South American foods. In fact, I’d be hard pressed to find a culture that doesn’t use garlic to flavor its food. Garlic can be spicy, sweet, or pungent depending on its preparation, and it can flavor anything from crusty bread to pasta to stir fry to collard greens. In short, garlic is a must have for any cook and, therefore, a new addition to my garden this year. Well, to be technical, I planted it last year, but I will eat it this year.

Last fall, I ordered two varieties of garlic from Seeds of Change–the softneck variety Mother of Pearl and the hardneck variety Music Pink. If you click the links, you’ll see how pretty the bulbs are, and I must admit that had a little to do with my choices. When tasty plants can be pretty, why would you pick anything else? SOC sent me three bulbs of each variety, and each bulb had somewhere between 7 and 10 cloves, so there’s a lot of garlic growing out there. I’m hoping to get some flower spikes out of the hardnecks, but I’ve read these aren’t guaranteed.

Mostly, I’m loving the garlic right now because it is sticking out its brave neck and not being deterred by all the cold weather we’ve had lately. Shortly after planting, in November, the garlic started to sprout, and it has remained green and healthy looking since. The shoots of the hardnecks are about 4 in. tall and have about 3-4 tops each; the shoots of the softnecks are about 5-6 in. tall and have about the same number of tops. Most were completely covered by the snow Wednesday night, but I was able to capture a few peeking back out when the melting began yesterday.

Don't they just look determined?

Rows of garlic

Snow Day in Mississippi

We had a big snow storm come through yesterday, and honest to God had two inches in two hours. This is monumental for Mississippi. It kept coming down for another few hours, and when it was all said and done we had somewhere in the neighborhood of 4-5 in. in our back yard. It was glorious. We went out around 10 p.m. and made snow angels, played with the dogs, and took in what will probably be the biggest snowfall in Mississippi for the next long while.

Our snow-covered back yard

Things to do on a snow day (aka, what I’ve done today):

• Finish Ulysses. Boom.
• Not have to work. Double Boom.
• Read 100 pages of Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain.
• Wear pajamas all day.