I can’t tell you how many five dollar checks I wrote during my years at UNC. All told, they might have stacked three feet high. Writing small checks was simply a way of life in the sixties. For one, we didn’t have charge cards. There were a few gasoline charge cards around, but VISA had yet to make an appearance, so if we needed money, we wrote checks. I can recall writing one-dollar checks … [Read more...]
Poison Ivy Itch Remedy
Lawd, poison ivy will make you itch. Thanks, Coasters, for that warning. Last weekend, I brushed up against one of the little three leaf devils and found myself a’scratching the next day. But not to worry. I have a quick cure to relieve the itching from a poison ivy attack. It’s called Melaleuca Oil, a tea leaf extract from certain tea trees in Australia. During WWII, every … [Read more...]
Red Clover
All along our roadsides, a beautiful pink plant is now blooming. It’s red clover, a lovely and versatile member of the bean family. Red clover is a short-lived perennial and can grow to heights of nearly three feet. Many of the plants I saw while heading to the Shenandoah Valley last weekend were pushing two feet and they were beautiful. Red clover is not native to America, but has thrived … [Read more...]
Road Trip To Bridgewater
Last Sunday, Nancy and I decided to celebrate Father’s Day with a Sunday Drive to the Shenandoah Valley. Nancy deviled some eggs and we stopped by the Colonel’s and picked up a bucket of Fried Chicken and we were off to Bridgewater. Why Bridgewater? Because not far from this small college town is one of the most bucolic places I’ve ever seen. We discovered it on a random trip we made last year … [Read more...]
Carmello’s Ristorante Italiano
Finally! We can go out to eat again. Nancy and I don’t eat out that often, but about every week or 10 days, we like to let someone else do the cooking and dish washing and enjoy an evening out. During the lock down, we never did do a take-out order, other than fast food. I didn’t want to eat warmed-up food out of Styrofoam boxes, and if I was going to eat at home, I’d just as soon cook … [Read more...]
Lemon Ice Box Pie
Lemon meringue pie is not my favorite. Oh, I’ll eat a slice if someone serves it, but if there was apple, blackberry, cherry, peach, chocolate or strawberry, I’d eat that first. I do, however, love Lemon Ice Box Pie. I made one this week. It was very good – and like all my cooking – very easy. Here’s how. For the crust, you can smash a bunch of Graham Crackers and mix with melted … [Read more...]
“Fee fi fo fum”
I do not recall selling the family cow for a handful of magic beans, but the way my pole beans are heading for the sky makes me wonder. I have erected supports up to 6 feet and they have long since passed that height. It’s as if they are daring the Giant to climb down the beanstalk – or for me to climb up? I have had decent luck growing pole beans in seasons past, except for the rabbits. I … [Read more...]
A Snow White Blackbird
“Come see this bird,” Nancy yelled from the kitchen. The last time I put down my paper and coffee to get up and see an alleged bird, it was a leaf, so I was not hopeful. But dutifully, I went to the window and saw a snow white bird among a big flock of grackles. I went outside to investigate. When the grackle flock flew, the white bird went along. It was the same size and had the same … [Read more...]
Made in Spades
Last week started off badly, with everyone stuck at the dock in Virginia’s saltwaters. But after the wind died down, the good fishing continued. Spadefish are abundant and are congregated around buoys, pylons of the CBBT and the Chesapeake Light Tower. Anglers fishing with Aquaman Charters did well with the spades last week and Captain Craig Paige, Paige II Charters, also got in on the … [Read more...]
Watermelons are Mighty, Mighty Fine
Chicken is good. Hambone is sweet. Possum meat is mighty, mighty fine. But give me, oh give me, I really wish you would That watermelon hanging on the vine My Daddy used to sing that song when I was a boy. I don’t know if it was an actual, recorded song, or something he just made up, but he sang it frequently around the house, particularly in summer and particularly … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 231
- 232
- 233
- 234
- 235
- …
- 457
- Next Page »