It’s the holiday season and I’m at my usual job – hustling my latest publications. Two years ago, I wrote a small booklet called While Shepherds Watched. It’s a short story about a young shepherd boy who was watching over his sheep when the Angel of the Lord appeared, announcing the birth of the Christ Child. I printed enough to get the price down to $5 each, including a festive red envelope. They … [Read more...]

I finally have complete copies of my first attempt at writing a children’s book. I had to go to a local printer, Bailey Printing, to complete the job since the first publisher I tried totally blew it. My advice to anyone considering self-publishing is to write your book, hire an illustrator, an editor, a graphic designer, a local book printer and market the book yourself. But I now have a … [Read more...]

I occasionally get a Gift Box from Omaha Steaks as a present from one of my kids. The boxes usually have more chicken, hamburgers, and hot dogs than steaks, but it’s all high quality and delicious. What I most enjoy about these gift boxes is that they usually include a bottle of their Omaha Steak Seasoning and it’s the absolute best on the market. It adds to and brings out the flavor of a steak … [Read more...]

I was in Wal-Mart not long ago and looked for a fish scaler and they didn’t have any. Fortunately, I found an extra one tucked away in my tackle box and used it. Last week, we were headed for the Bay and again I couldn’t find my old scaler, so I checked with Amazon, and they said I could get one to me the next day and I ordered a product from Esteopt. This is a restaurant-grade, stainless steel … [Read more...]

It’s Saturday and you have make a deviled eggs for a Sunday picnic, but you have no eggs in the fridge and you’ll have to buy fresh eggs. That means half of your deviled eggs will probably look like the devil when the fresh eggshells don’t peel neatly. My son, Jimmie, has discovered a secret to peeling fresh eggs. He saw a video with Chef Alton Brown that said if you leave a carton of eggs out … [Read more...]

They say, “A half loaf is better than none”, but I say a half loaf is actually better than a whole loaf – if that half loaf is Artisan Style Bread from Lewis Bake Shop. It is the best sliced bread I have ever eaten. Recently, I have been seeing half-loaf breads offered in several grocery stores and the idea appeals to me since there are only 2 of us, and we don’t always have bread for toast and … [Read more...]

Early this spring, Nancy was headed to the Corner Store were heavy and round, perfect for a sandwich and were the best tasting tomatoes I have ever eaten – even better than Heirloom Tomatoes which I love. Big Boys are called “indeterminates”, which means they continue to grow and have fruit until the first frost. They can grow to heights exceeding 7 feet and they say it’s best to prune them and … [Read more...]

I discovered parchment paper late in life. I always assumed it was something used in unique baking recipes of Gourmet Chefs. Boy, was I wrong? I first started using parchment paper on cookie sheets, so the cookies wouldn’t stick to the pan. I bought it in pre-cut sheets, about the same size as the cookie sheet. Then, I noticed it worked for almost any dish where sticking or difficult clean-ups … [Read more...]

If you can’t go to the Outer Banks, bring the Outer Banks to you. That’s what we did a few years back. After a great four-day getaway, we stopped by Outer Banks Driftwood in Kill Devil Hills on our way back home and bought three pieces of beautiful driftwood. One is now overlooking our goldfish pond. It’s a classic cypress stump that washed up on shores of the Outer Banks, no telling how many … [Read more...]