She's very sweet, loves to play!

I think she's lab/shepherd

Sunday, May 18, 2014

She's back...after being at a home in West Memphis for 6 weeks she was returned.  They said she had to spend more than 12 hours in a crate and she hated that (I would too).  So she's back.  She's 9 months-ish, spayed, vaccinated and excellent with cats, kids and other dogs.  Spay/Neuter people.  And let me know if you have a place for this gal in your home (or know of someone, lol).

*Chloe's changed her name to Bonnie Pearl in hopes this may help her find a home :)

Happy Birthday Chloe, Birdeye

A funny shot right before blowing out the candles

We had a great party

This is birthday morning (dang it, her eyes are closed)

Look at August and Stella and Whit...hahahaha!

Why she reacted like this to
overalls for the farm is beyond me!
hahahahhaha!

Cross County has been under a Flash Flood Warning Tuesday
and Wednesday....we got 3-1/2 inches and after getting Chloe
from school Wednesday, this is where we found the ladies.
I think they're up there because I've banned them from my
carport because of the poo but they were totally getting
rained on here...they're crazy chickens

Hilarious!!! August loves Chloe but so do Stella and Whit

This was less than 24 hours worth of rain..
I dumped 1.2 inches the day before.
Look at the poor cilantro drowning...

My breakfast in bed Sunday on Mother's Day (that package
was a hand made jewelry box and on the left there are head
lights and tail lights for my bike from Jackie, great gifts)

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

I can't believe it.  Our gift from God is a teenager.  I know, right?  I have a Top 10 list about Chloe....I bet it will turn out to be longer than 10...


1. Chloe Magdalene Smith was named after my grandmother Chloe Clifton and my great grandmother Maggie Pitzer (if I had known more children weren't in the picture, I would have given her a Smith/Tolle name too instead of me hogging her name)
2.  If Chloe was a boy (and I knew she would be because I got big fast), I wanted to name her Shaver Levesque Smith, SLS, after Jackie's great grandfather.  We'd call him "Bex".
3. Chloe was two weeks early and 9 lbs. 3 oz and 22 inches long, basically the size of a 5 month old infant.
4. During pregnancy, I had the perfect blood sugar, my fantastic doctor, Harold Sacks in Memphis, was a scientist in figuring the weeks of pregnancy and adjusting my insulin pump.  The high blood pressure and kidney values are what did the wear and tear on me.
5. Chloe is hilarious.  I mean, really funny.  Jackie and I get so many laughs from her.  And a great quality is that she can laugh at herself.
6.  Chloe is a great listener even if she hails a, "I know, duh, mom" back talk.  She is sensitive and really does a good job and listening and taking people for real.
7. Chloe loves animals, cats and dogs and more especially the chickens.  Her new baby chicks came over to the party, sorry no photo, and they have grown 4 inches in two weeks.  She's an animal lover who wants to volunteer at the Wynne animal shelter.  I remind her every time she says this, that she is the Birdeye Animal Shelter and she needs to clean our kennels since I always do it. :)
8.  Chloe has gotten pretty good at piano (I know, I'm pinching myself from bragging as a realize that she could quit at anytime).  I hope and pray she'll stick with it until 12th grade.  That's only 5 more years but they will be the hardest years I'm sure.
9. Chloe loves to read the bible at night.  I'm so proud that the confirmation class at Wynne Presbyterian Church started this legacy for her back in 4th grade and it's continuing thankfully.  I want her to always be grounded in a church somewhere.
10. I won't let her leave the house without a hug, kiss and compliment every morning.  For some reason, it's my thing :)
11. Confession:  I can't do Chloe's hair very well.  But I have the challenge every morning to do her hair better than some of her classmates.  In fact, she has some friends who can do braids really well and when I'm asked to do some kind of difficult french braid, I usually put my hands up and tell her that Anastacia and Isabella win and that I'm out.  But just last week, I did a fantastic slide up braid and I announced, in front of Jackie, to "Tell the girls that I've still got it!  I can do hair, tell them I said Bam!"  Chloe laughed all the way to school and was proud to tell me how impressed Anastacia and Isabella were with my hair do.  It's the little things I'm telling you.  In fact when cousin Jake Stacy got married earlier this year, Kara had to do Chloe's difficult bun for the wedding...maybe I need to take a class...
12. Chloe loves giving people nicknames and with that she's earned some of her own..Coco, Kiffie, Coco-a-nator, Chlo Chlo, Cat and the list continues to grow.  Now her names for Jackie are awesome...Frankie, James (when she really wants to get his attention), Daf, Jerk-a-con...And for Biscuit, his alias' are: Big B,  Biscuit-a-nator, Biscuit SCRUFFY Smith (when he's in trouble), Little B, Little Bobby....you get the point :)
13. She's 13 and I figure the next few years will be the roughest (back talk, boys etc).  But here's to 13 fantastic years and here's to the next hundred!  :)

A group shot...look at Whit with
his hands up in the wing chair....
That's Polly Hardin across from Kara,
her mom, who was in town for all
the ball games

Mushroom Ragout with Creamy Polenta, Birdeye

Kara did the unthinkable recently...she asked me to make
deviled eggs for a party at her house.  These are
eggs from Harmon and Jeanie's chickens, Kristi Renfro
(next door) and my chickens.   I survived but I'm going to
let someone else make the eggs next time.  It was an all day
affair to say the least....I've done them before but never
this many to peel at one time, note to self...:)

Chloe's new baby chicks from
Grandad and MeMaw for her
13th birthday.  They are adorable
and Jackie's reported to me that
there's supposed to be a rooster
in there.  He and Chloe want to
raise some Salmon Faverolle
chickens...no one asked me about
breeding chickens so they're on
their own, just saying :)

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

WOW!! I had a couple portobello mushrooms that needed to be used so I moseyed on over to my Southern Living Farmer's Market Cookbook and found this recipe.  I had most of the rest of the ingredients on hand (yay me).  It was ready to serve within 15 minutes.  I'm going to have to make this again and soon I say!  It's really hard to get a decent photo of a mushroom dish and the reason I didn't put one on here.

Mushroom Ragout, Southern Living Farmer's Market Cookbook

1/2 C. diced shallot (I substituted a finely chopped red onion)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T. olive oil
2-8 oz. sliced portobello mushrooms
2-3.5 oz. shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced (I didn't have so I skipped it)
1/2 C. port wine (I used red wine)
1 C. chicken broth (I used bouillon cubes)
1/4 C. fresh parsley, chopped (it added a nice, earthiness to the ragout, use fresh if you have it)
2 T. butter (I used 1 T)
1 T. fresh thyme (I used 1/2 t. dried thyme)
salt and pepper to taste

Saute shallots and garlic in hot oil in large skillet over medium heat 2 minutes.  Increase heat to medium-high, add mushrooms and cook stirring constantly, 4-5 minutes.  Stir in wine and let reduce 2 minutes.  Stir in broth and remaining ingredients, reduce heat to low and simmer 5 minutes or until slightly thickened.

Serve over polenta with shaved Parmesan cheese.  Garnish with fresh thyme.  Yield: 6 servings.

Creamy Polenta (serves 6)

7 C. chicken broth, divided
2 C. polenta (that's cornmeal people)
1 8 oz. package light cream cheese

Bring 6 cups chicken broth to a light boil in a large sauce pan over medium-high heat and stir in polenta.  Reduce heat to low and cook while stirring constantly until it thickens, do not boil (it will splatter).  Stir in cream cheese until blended, add remaining broth.  Cover and keep warm.

I love this recipe and is ready lickety split.  And great for leftovers too.  :)

On Thursday, we went to Jonesboro for the Arkansas Bike
and Ped Plan put on by the Arkansas Highway and Transportation
Department.  The public meeting was to improve the roads
in Northeast Arkansas for cyclists and pedestrians.  I told
them about the petition I started in 2013 to add a shoulder
to Hwy 163, the Bay Road, from Levesque to Jonesboro

Chloe's photography is pretty good :)

Another great shot

Dr. Calico and Essie Mae's fight club (which happens on a
daily basis.  She starts it every time)

Gummy up close...that looks like a 6 foot tongue

Local Lime, Little Rock

Me, Debbie Meyer (who saved the day and gave us a ride
home from the wedding reception since we had a nail in our
tire), LaRand Thomas and Elise Barry at Brett Thomas' wedding
in Little Rock Saturday.  

This isn't a great photo of the Second Presbyterian Church
in Little Rock.  It is a beautiful church for a wedding. 

When we got to Little Rock Friday there was a tandem bike
convention at the Capital Hotel and those folks were
all over town riding.  This is at Chenal Parkway Shops

This is the bridge over to the wetlands
at the Clinton Library in Little Rock.
Jackie and I needed to get in 6 miles
before our local 10K and we ran along
 the Arkansas River Trail to Burns Park

It was a beautiful day Saturday, this is the Clinton
Library.  If you haven't been to see it you must get it on
your calendar.  It's a fantastic museum and you must make
a note to self and spend time in the oval office, it's set up
exactly as it was during Clinton's term.  An outstanding
history trip for the kids too :)

I'm such a tool but I took this inside the Capital Hotel at
the tandem bike festival...that's a lot of bikes :)

Jackie took this shot of me and
Randy Thomas, brother of the
groom after the rehearsal dinner
to send to Jackie's cousin since
she's single living in Nashville.

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Oh la la...Jackie and I stumbled upon Local Lime via Urbanspoon on Saturday in Little Rock.  We were there for my local Wynne mom, LaRand Thomas' son's wedding.  Brett's wedding was fantastic at the Second Presbyterian Church (this church is outstanding and does such wonderful things in the community).  After a prep run downtown Little Rock, we went shopping at the Promenade at Chenal Shopping Center and had lunch at Local Lime.  It was outstanding.

Here's what their website said about Local Lime: Welcome to Local Lime. Join us for flavor-packed dishes inspired by  Mexican street fare, Latin American flavors with a hint of  Tex-Mex flare and delicious handcrafted cocktails made with premium tequila, mezcal, and juices. Each menu item served at Local Lime is crafted by our chefs, from scratch, using original recipes and prepared with premium ingredients (sourced locally whenever possible).  Every cocktail at Local Lime is hand crafted with just-squeezed juices, house-made syrups, and premium tequilas and liquors. Whether you're enjoying a bit of sunshine and a few street-style tacos on our year-round patio, enjoying a night with friends and frozen margaritas in our oversized booths or seated in the middle of the mezmorizing cocktail crafting experience at our bar while dining on a sizzling plate of Pescado Vera Cruz, every seat at Local Lime is great seat – and yours is waiting.

We grabbed a table at the bar since the place was packed and were delighted to have great service.  One thing I did notice, it being Kentucky Derby Saturday, that there weren't any televisions.  Jackie commented that that was a sign of a good bar.  I loved that response.  For an appetizer (yes, I know, I never do that but I was glad we did), we ordered the Tres Salsas and Chips.  We picked the Tres Chiles, Verde Tomatillo and Chipotle.  Each salsa had it's own special quality.  The Tres Chiles featured charred chiles, tomato and onion.  It was rich and sweet.  The Verde Tomatillo was fresh but bland in my opinion.  The hottest, and my favorite of course, was the Chipotle which featured bell peppers, carrots, raisins and pineapple.  We wiped them out.  Lunch was the most fun.  I ordered the Beans and Greens tacos and our great waitress asked, "Do you like hot food?", my mouth watered and I replied, "Bring it!".  Well dang it, I didn't add the side of fresh jalapeños that I had planned on and later realized that it needed.  The tacos were served on homemade corn tortillas with guacamole, black beans, green cabbage and their Uno-Dos sauce.  They were outstanding and small which is appreciated in this world of HUGE plates.  The side of pickled vegetables were refreshing with cauliflower, carrot, and pearl onions.  I wiped it out even though my tacos needed a better kick than that sauce.  It really wasn't spicy at all.  Jackie had the Grilled Skirt Steak Tacos with the lime rice and hot (not spicy) black beans.  He went on and on about the tacos and that rice and the hot beans.  He quickly wiped it out too.  I loved that we had an authentic, small plate lunch since I had to try on clothes next.  I surely didn't need anything weighing me down more than the pounds on my back!

When you're in west Little Rock, check out Local Lime.  (I checked out the ladies room too and it was in fine shape.  You all know I say that if that's true, the kitchen is prime shape too)  Local Lime, 17815 Chenal Parkway, Little Rock, 501-448-2226 http://www.locallimetaco.com/

My Beans and Greens Tacos with Pickled Vegetables