Dang blurry camera....this is at the wonderful Storybook Inn in Versailles, Kentucky...behind is the house we rented
that had 3 bedrooms, 3 full bathrooms, kitchen, fireplace, porch with a grill and the list goes on and on...it was a great
bed and breakfast.  We had gourmet breakfasts every morning....so good!!
This is Kyle, Jackie, Stan, Beth,  Kara, Martin (look...they were twinkles) Chuck, Cecelia and Lisa 

Obviously we were all looking at Kara's camera...but here we are at Woodford Reserve Distillery....we rode our bikes
in light rain from Versailles to Woodford and then on to Buffalo Trace in Kentucky's capital of Frankfort....

Stan, Beth, Kara and Martin

This is James, he gave us a wonderful and fun tour of the distillery....lots of laughs too

This abandoned distillery was just featured in Southern Living Magazine...it's been purchased and being brought back
to life..  It was about 10 miles or so from Frankfort.  They were actually making small batches of bourbon that day.

Another dang blurry photo....Beth, Lisa, Kara, Cecelia and me...it was a cold, wet and rainy ride

At Keeneland...why in the world would I cup that scarf on my neck like I was in a soft serve vanilla cone?  lol

Early that morning, the ride was fairly dry

Tons and tons of beautiful horse farms

This is Woodford Reserve's distribution center

The week before we went to Kentucky to celebrate Stan and Jackie's birthdays, we all went on a bike ride and had
an epic soccer match after dinner...Here's Reece and her dad going for it!

Chloe really is a good soccer player...she also rode the 20 miles with the adults on the Vanndale Loop

Chloe's first ride with the Birdeye Bicycle Club.....from left Chloe, me, Kyle, Kara, Beth, Jackie, Martino and Stan

Sunday, Oct. 4, 2015

We had another great trip to Kentucky to celebrate Stan's 40th and Jackie's 45th birthdays last weekend.  We did this trip 5 years ago when Jackie celebrated his milestone 40th.  This trip we stayed in Versalles at the wonderful Storybook Inn.  The place was outstanding and we had gourmet breakfasts every morning.  We rented the house in the back that had three bedrooms and three bathrooms.  It was a neat place.

Plans were to ride from Versailles to Frankfort, stopping at the infamous Woodford Reserve about half way.  It was a cloudy, windy 50 degrees that morning.  After the neat distillery tour, it sprinkled all the way to Frankfort.  Then at Buffalo Trace distillery, it poured so the girls got a cab and brought cars back to get the bikes.  The boys, on the other hand, wanted to tough it out and ride back.  We passed them in our cab and it looked miserable and was as they reported when they got back soaked and shivering.

On Saturday, we had a box at Keeneland to watch the races.  It was again, overcast and sprinkling but we had some good food and good conversation.  We had another great dinner that night.

So here's where to eat if you're ever near Lexington...In Versailles we had dinner at Napa Prime, it is a darling restaurant inside an old Pizza Hut.  When we arrived via a Lexington cab, who thought we were going to Lexington and not across town, we were a little worried about our dinner that Trip Adviser said to go to.  We were not disappointed, I had an appetizer (I know, that's not like me) of fried pickles and banana peppers.  It was outstanding.  For dinner, I had the shrimp tacos and they were outstanding.  It did come with a side of tator tots, in fact, everything did.  They were good but seemed out of place with my tacos.  Reservations are recommended.

Friday night we ate at the outstanding Holly Hill Inn outside of Midway.  It's an historical home converted into a restaurant in 1979.  It sits overlooking horse farms and rolling hills.  We had a party of 10 so we were upstairs in a room, which we needed, since we played a few games and got kinda loud (according to Kyle).  We played a game of your first job and worst job and how we met each other.  It was fun but the food was even better than the conversation.   We had choices off a four course menu for $45.  I know right, we all couldn't believe the price.  It was wonderful as was the wine menu.  Reservations are recommended.

For out last night in Versailles, we went to Addie's at the Woodford Inn, just three blocks from our bed and breakfast.   Addie's is an American restaurant with steaks, gnocchi, salads and shrimp and grits which is what I had.  It was served with three crispy grit cakes on shrimp.  I'd call it a deconstructed shrimp and grits.  It was okay but I probably should have ordered what Beth had which was the Sausage and Pumpkin gnocchi with a side salad.  She said it was outstanding.  I would make reservations here as well.

It was a ton of fun being with the Birdeye Bicycle Club to celebrate birthdays.  We were back at home by 2:30 on Sunday which is nice to have that time to gear up for the week.  I added some garden photos and kids walking on the bus too.  Happy Fall Ya'll!

Some of the quotes from the weekend (there were many more):

 "That's the reason why you need fenders," Kyle pointing and referring to the mud skid mark up my back during lunch in Frankfort from all the mud puddles.  Hahahahaha, I'm sure it looked pretty bad.
"This dinner will be a good experiment if a paying customer can get kicked out," Kyle at dinner at Addie's at the Woodford Inn.
"What's that?" Kara pointing to a castle overlooking the Blue Grass Parkway.  The cabbie replied, "A castle".
"Which way?" Our Kenneland cabbie asked us as we were pulling out of the Storybook Inn.  We all thought, this can't be good.
"Ocean's Eleven," Jackie referring to the brand of bourbon at Addie's.

Last Wednesday was National Walk to School Day and I led the group for our 4th straight year...had a small crowd but
it is always fun...we also walk every Friday leading up to the Midsouth Kids Marathon in November.

The kids have the most interesting conversations walking to school....lunch, tests, books they're reading etc.

Look at the volunteer cucumbers!  I doubt we'll get any but you never know.   This is a bed of spinach

The topper is to keep the ladies outta there eating my newly planted greens

 Two weeks ago I got the arugula in....Thankfully the zinnias and wildflowers are still blooming during our drought

Hog and Hominy, Memphis

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Happy Birthday Kara!!

My fabulous sister-in-law wanted to go to this fantastic spot in Memphis to celebrate both her, cousin Jimmy Huff's and Jerry Harvey's birthday.  It was splendid even though Jimmy and Beth went on to a Hog game in Fayetteville instead.  We had a great time carpooling over there and the food was fantastic!  Because we had such a large party, we had a pre-fix menu which was excellent.

We had a choice of 2-4 main courses on the menu, Kara went with two and they were two fabulous pizzas.  The 'Shrooms was mushrooms, smoked mozzarella, arugula and garlic (which was fantastic) and the Thunderbird which featured pepperoni, fontina and spicy sauce.  The crust was thin and crispy, they were cooked in a wood burning oven, delicious I tell you!  But to start the pre-fix, we had a romaine salad with pecorino vinegarette, chicken skins and panna gratta.  We all agreed it was light and refreshing.  (Funny to call a salad refreshing but I think it was the light dressing for sure).  For the contorni course, we had two to choose from, my favorite was the Crispy Pork, which was the suckling pig (I know...we felt sorry for the fella) beautifully smoked and tender with okra, corn, field peas and purslane.  This was the first time I had ever had purslane, it's basically a weed very common in the US.  From the web, for a better description than I can write except that it was delicious, from www.motherearthnews.com : Until recently, most research on purslane has focused on its eradication. A frequently overlooked approach to controlling this weed is to eat it! Purslane is so surprisingly tasty, North Carolina market gardener Patryk Battle says, “I have rarely had anybody not buy purslane after they’ve tried it.”

Purslane is somewhat crunchy and has a slight lemony taste. Some people liken it to watercress or spinach, and it can substitute for spinach in many recipes. Young, raw leaves and stems are tender and are good in salads and sandwiches. They can also be lightly steamed or stir-fried. Purslane’s high level of pectin (known to lower cholesterol) thickens soups and stews.

Battle also uses purslane in pesto. He throws basil and purslane (upper stems and all) into a blender or food processor, adds a small amount of olive oil, garlic, pine nuts and enough hot water to get a good consistency. Because it’s so juicy, purslane helps create a low-fat pesto without too much oil. 

Our other choice for contorni was Hoe Cakes with shrimp, chow chow and creme fraiche, delicious too.

Now to dessert...they did bring out two slices of these desserts with candles on them and we sang to Kara and Jer.  It was fun to celebrate two people's birthdays.  Dessert choices were peanut butter pie and Carol's Delightful Smile, which looked like coconut cream pie.  I, of course, didn't try either one diabetic and all but everyone said they were awesome.  Ahh Hog and Hominy, I'm so glad we got to eat there.  Our waiter was extremely fabulous, my receipt said Theron.  He was great and efficient.

Be sure to make reservations even for just 2.  You'll love this place.  I really like their motto, "Italian Cooking, Southern Roots".  It fits!  And by the way, we missed regulars like Becca and Ashley, we'll have to get them from going to Disney every September...yeah right!

Hog & Hominy, 707 W. Brookhaven Circle, Memphis 901-207-7396
 http://www.hogandhominy.com/

Chloe made the cutest video of all the cousins....This is Whit, CoCo, Stella, Clarah Creighton, August and Tom B.

Our delicious menu

DANG Blogger, it won't turn Alexis' Iphone photo upright....they need to fix this!

And our group photo won't change either...this is me, Alexis, Kara, Cecelia, Kyle, Lisa, Chuck, Martin,
Jackie, Stan, Jerry, Mel and Beth.   Great crowd for two great birthdays!

Jerry and Kara sharing their birthday desserts!  That's Martin, Jackie, Stan and Jerry looking on....

Throw back Friday, Birdeye

Friday, September 18, 2015

Chloe's making Whit a very special birthday video and asked that I send some pictures of him via email from when we was born and lemme tell you I found some sweet photos of that kid.  Some of these are so stinking sweet and some are hilarious.  I had to share a few!

Chloe was 4, Whit maybe 6 months

So cute

Chloe and baby Biscuit

Whit loved his pacifier....those were the days...

Chloe and cousins Tom B and Clairah Creighton

Chloe and Stella

Chloe's first triathlon with cousin Tom B 

Sunday Brunch Wynne Presbyterian Church

Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2015

We had a fantastic brunch at Harmon and Jeanie's farm this past Sunday.  The Wynne Presbyterian Church has a Sunday School Kickoff at their farm every year.  It's a tradition to ride our bikes the 5 miles with our bacon and cinnamon rolls on our backs.  I thought I'd share some of the photos of the ride.  It was a great day for church, the weather was perfection.   Also, Chloe was initiated into the Junior Progressive Club the night before.  It's a sorority club in high school, I'll attach photos from it.  Happy Fall Ya'll!

This is Bee, who was going to be euthanized for heartworms, but Chloe and I fostered her for about two months, she
now lives in Earle with a really nice family.  Don't worry, Sam Stacy brought a stray to me Tuesday, he's so sweet and
out back in isolation for two weeks....spay/neuter people!

Last day at the pool!!!  Stella, Chloe, Katie, Whit, Linton and August

Jackie, Chloe, Buddy, Whit, August, Stella, Kara and Martino

The infamous 14% grade Vanndale Hill, Chloe and Whit made it up!!

There was hardly any traffic thankfully

JPC, Junior Progressive Club new initiates

This was ridiculous, it took an entire day to clean up, Chloe will not do this to a girl next year, I'm just saying

Buddy loved waiting with Chloe while her bedroom was being trashed

Her big sisters are Courtney Rivera, a senior, and junior Brittany Yearling

We had a pre-Christmas party happy hour last weekend, the Bradshaw's are hosting the party this year, yay!
The kids love some Xbox 2014 dance video.... Chloe, Reece, Linton, Stella and Whit

The donkeys at the farm looked at us like, "what the..." lol

OSSA Awards, Edmond

Friday, Sept. 11, 2015

Over the Labor Day weekend, which is a traditionally bike riding weekend for me, we went to Edmond to see Gary get inducted into the Oklahoma State Skeet Shooting Hall of Fame and then on to Tulsa to see dad and his new wife Shairon at their wedding reception the next day.

Saturday was great, we had a good meal and a good visit with mom and Gary.  Sunday was fun, I got to see my grandmother Melva from Weatherford, OK, my aunt Janet from California and Dwight and Mary who now live in Shawnee.  We had a good visit with everyone.  Chloe and Audrey got to watch their Ferncliff camp video, they were cracking up.  It was a quick weekend with lots of good time catching up with everyone.

Me and Gary

Kathy, Craig, Corie, Erin, Gary, Mom, Chloe, me and Jackie

He got a bunch of trophies in several categories

This is the president of the OSSA, he gave such a nice speech about Gary and all of his volunteer work he's done for
the club over the last 22 years.  (And that's a BIG plaque!)

Chloe, me, Gary and mom

I blame some DING DONG for getting this goofy photo

Chloe and I fostered two kittens over the last month and they finally went to a home on Tuesday, THANK GOD!!