Category: Personal History

Tilapia

bgibson135

I spent about 11 months in rural Alabama in 1984. This was the time just after I had attended Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky but left after two and a half years. The S.I.F.A.T. farm was located between Lineville and Wedowee Alabama.

S.I.F.A.T. = Southern Institute for Appropriate Technology – or – Servants in Faith and Technology.

While there, we visited Auburn University which was about an hour south of us. I wasn’t interested, but they were just beginning to research growing Tilapia, a fast growing fish, in farms. I’m not sure when the first time was that I tasted Tilapia, but I think my impression was that it was rather tasteless. *The above link to S.I.F.A.T farm is actually a link to the videos I took back in 1984, when I was 30 years old. They were created with a VHS camera and later digitized and then posted to YouTube.

Now, forty years later, (and I am surprised by counting the number of years since I was down there) I am starting to buy, prepare and eat Tilapia at home. And, today I fixed a small fillet (about 3.5 ounces) which I had bought at Harris Teeter for only $1.8X. This had a slightly pinkish flesh which surprised me. I even asked the fish monger about this color and he said that the fish was “wild caught” and the color was probably due to what the fish had eaten. *The Tilapia fillets I have been buying at Fresh Market are much larger, and they have a distinctly whitish flesh. I took them to be much like the flesh of a flounder.

Today I fixed this filet by baking it in the oven at about 405 degrees for about 10 minutes. I first soaked the filet in some homemade buttermilk (regular milk with a little vinegar added) for about 10 minutes. While it was soaking I put some Panko bread crumbs in a shallow dish, added some grated Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, dried cilantro, marjoram, cayenne powder and S&P. I then put the soaked filet in the plate and flipped it adding some more of the flavored crumbs, patting them down so they would stick. At the last, I put a few tiny dollops of the Spicy Chili Crisp. I then put the filet on the wire rack that Mary Ann had given me some time ago and put it all in the heated oven. I set the timer for 10 minutes and went to play a game online.

It seemed like it took almost no time before I started hearing the timer’s beeper start. I got up and checked the filet. There was some slight browning on some of the bread crumbs. *Oh, I had also steamed about six or seven thin asparagus spears to have with the fish.

Oh my… it was so good! There are few things I have made, for the first time, that actually are so pleasantly surprising. I wanted to add the Spicy Chili Crisp to this fish and it turned out great. I can’t imagine adding fish to my regular diet, but this may be a game changer. And, because this fillet was so inexpensive, I’ll be returning to Harris Teeter. *I may fix some cabbage slaw and also some baked beans. I may have to leave off the baked beans for dietary reasons, but the slaw & beans are perfect for fish.

I just checked online and you can freeze fish that have been marinated in buttermilk. My thought is that I can buy three filets at HT for about $6, and freeze two of them after marinading them in buttermilk first. Doing this would mean that slipping fish into my meal rotation would be super easy. Hamburger, pork chop, lamb chop and chicken and now fish. I haven’t wanted to fry fish and baking it has worked twice already.

[NOTE 02/17/25]: It has been a while since I baked a tilapia at home, but I took a frozen, buttermilk marinated filet out of my freezer yesterday and thawed it. It still had good flavor, and I coated it in the flavored Panko/Parmesan coating with a few dollops of Hot Chili Crisp on top and baked it for about 10 minutes. Turned out good again. I had fixed some Asian Cucumber Salad and also did some Stir Fry Green Beans. It all worked together for a light meal. [end NOTE]

[NOTE 07/27/25]: A tilapia filet from Publix. I did the same breading as above, but baked at 450 because I couldn’t find the temp in my previous writing. This time I had corn on the cob and steamed cauliflower. I seasoned the cauliflower with Spicy Chili Crisp and some toasted sesame oil. Once again this was a delicious meal combination. I should fix it more often. [end NOTE]

I don’t want to forget to write about my trip to Asheboro, NC yesterday. I had breakfast at David’s again (second time) and their special was less than $6 before tax, but this also included your drink (coffee). This breakfast came with two pancakes (sugar free syrup) a couple of eggs (over medium) two small sausage links (I forgot to ask for patty.) and hash brown potatoes. Not sure how they can afford to make any profit while only charging less than $6 for this meal. *The David’s Breakfast Special(s) have gone up, but they are still delicious.

I went to the Asheboro Public Library afterwards and looked through a cookbook, taking pictures with my phone as I did. The Library was going under extreme renovation and even part of the inside was taped off limits. There was a tall crane but I didn’t see what they were lifting. It might have been heating/air equipment replacement.

I went to lunch about 2:00 pm and was looking to waste some time so that I could visit a nearby Ice Cream Creamery that opened at 3 pm. I guess they open the ice cream shop about the time school is letting out.

I first looked for a restaurant that served a Lamb Gyro (Mediterranean) but only found a food truck so I didn’t want to eat there. I then just decided to drive around town and stop somewhere that caught my eye. Eventually I came to a shopping area and saw a Chinese restaurant.

I really enjoyed my meal, a buffet, there. The food was reminiscent of several other Chinese places I had frequented through the years. I even had a banana, some jello and a chunk of cantaloupe. The cantaloupe was perfectly ripe and with a little salt so delicious. I had an egg roll and they had the hot mustard which almost blew my brain apart. Just the way I like it. I had some soup, egg drop mixed with the wonton soup and a few chopped spring onions. I had the chicken on a stick, and the jalapeno chicken, etc. I was so full after the buffet that I decided not to go for ice cream.

I am looking for the Hershey’s Raspberry ice cream like I had at the little ice cream parlour that is in the back of the Pharmacy in Newton Grove. They only charge $2 for a scoop of ice cream on a cone, but they discontinued the Raspberry which had little chocolate cups filled with raspberry gel. Not sure if the Hershey’s Company stopped making it, or if the shop just wanted another flavor. *I just found the name of this ice cream online: Roadrunner Raspberry – White chocolate ice cream with raspberry swirls and raspberry filled chocolate cups. **I finally bought a half gallon of the Roadrunner Raspberry ice cream from Publix. It was good, but I ate the whole thing in a few days. Not good.

IRONY: I just used the the online Hershey’s Ice Cream Store Locator to try and find the nearest grocery that carries the Hershey’s Roadrunner Raspberry ice cream, and ironically… it is the Kinlaws Grocery Store. The joke is that this store burned down a month or so ago. *It is 07/27/25 and the Kinlaws lot has been cleared, but nothing has been rebuilt yet.

I was looking for Hershey’s Ice Cream sources, but then just a day or so ago, I was googling and found that Publix carries a “Roadrunner Raspberry” flavor of ice cream, that’s not the Hershey’s brand, but their own brand. Today I was in Publix waiting for extremely fresh Sourdough Bread to cool and walking around the store and thought to look for the ice cream. Sure enough, there it was. The price is a little over $6 for the Half Gallon size container.

But, the problem isn’t the price, it’s the half gallon container of ice cream. It has been a long time since I bought any ice cream to bring home and put in my freezer, and currently, there isn’t enough space for a half gallon of ice cream. Still, I am probably going to buy this and either put some in small containers, that will fit, or throw some away. This is a splurge, and I don’t need the great amount of sugar, nor the calories. *It would be better if the ice cream shop in the Newton Grove Drug Store just brought back the Roadrunner Raspberry ice cream, and charged the $2 for a single scoop in a regular cone. That was a deal! But they discontinued it some time ago.

[06/25/25]: So I was in Publix this morning, and it’s promising to be a really hot day. Looks like we may have a week’s worth of days with the temperature reaching 100 or higher. I wasn’t planning on buying anything in Publix, but I just wanted to “touch base” with a familiar place for shopping. I looked at breads, rolls and muffins in their bakery. I took some pictures of a lot of their wines, thinking I would try to have Gemini (AI) give me an extensive inventory from the photos I had taken. There were no “round bone lamb chops.” And then I was closed enough to their Ice Cream aisle that I thought to see if their Roadrunner Raspberry had returned. It had. It was less than $7 for a half gallon and that was the only thing I bought, going through the self-checkout quickly and thinking that I had bought ice cream on one of the hottest days this year. I also was thinking that I didn’t have any room for a half gallon container in my freezer. I moved stuff around and it did fit, but the freezer is packed.

Harris Teeter “Roadrunner Raspberry” Ice Cream
Mini Chocolate Cup w/ Raspberry Jam Filling

I scooped out a small bowl of Roadrunner Raspberry and even took a picture of what it looked like in the container. You could see a couple of those mini sized chocolate cups in which is supposed to be raspberry jam. There were swirls of raspberry going through the vanilla ice cream. It was good. I missed it.

*I had a couple more egg rolls today. Bought them out and brought them back home and made my own hot mustard. I had them before I fixed my Tilapia.

If I could just flavor my eggplant fritters in a way that pleasantly surprises me like the Tilapia did today, oh boy. *As I was re-reading the previous sentence it came to me, why not flavor the eggplant fritters like I did the tilapia, except for the Spicy Chili Crisp… maybe even with the Spicy Chili Crisp.

I drove to Benson today and bought some thick cut pork chops (two 2 paks) and bacon (2 of the cheap bacon & 1 of the peppered bacon) at Lee’s Fresh Market. The chops were “on special” again, and were less than $2 per pound. When I came back to town I stopped at Harris Teeter and bought 3 small Tilapia fillets, took them home, marinated them in homemade butter milk (regular milk & vinegar mixed). I then packaged two of the fish fillets in sandwich bags and put them in the freezer. The third fillet I coated with the seasoned Panko crumbs and baked it at 405 degrees for about 15 minutes. I also put some of the Spicy Chili Crisp on the fillet. Once again the Tilapia fixed this way was delicious! For dinner I heated a portion of the thick cut pork chop that I had bought previously (not today) and I fixed a helping of mashed potatoes from a very small Russett potato. I put just a tad of the Spicy Chili Crisp on the mashed potatoes and it made them even better.

Eggplant? No eggplant at the IGA in Benson, or the Food Lion near the Mall. Harris Teeter had a few very large eggplants, but I didn’t need them that big. The eggplant was the only thing on my grocery list that I didn’t come home with. Recall I’m going to try and season an eggplant fritter like I did the Tilapia. I’ve never had good fortune in making eggplant at home. *I’ve had delicious eggplant at a few restaurants throughout the years, and go home with the intent of repeating those flavors at home… but no. I liked the texture of the eggplant fritter I made a few weeks ago, but they were a little heavy, and the flavor was okay, but not great. Also, what sauce am I going to put on them? I’ve put marinara sauce on fried eggplant before, and that would probably be good.

I actually could bring the seasoned Panko encrusted Tilapia into my meal rotation, and took those first steps today. Two in the freezer, and I know what to mix with the Panko: add some grated Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, dried cilantro, marjoram, thyme, cayenne powder and S&P and a little Spicy Chili Crisp.

I had ordered a VinChef wok today, and it arrived TODAY, before 10 pm! That is amazing to me but I am guessing that since we now have a working Amazon distribution center a few miles away that “Black Friday Specials” are already stored locally, and can be delivered that quickly. I had seen a YouTube video where a chef was cooking something in a very nice looking pan. This got me looking for the vendor that sold those pans. I noted that there was a hexagonal pattern in the bottom of the pan, and around the inside border was an ornate repeating flame pattern. This looked really elegant to me. I wanted a pan that I could put in the oven, and hopefully in the dishwasher.

Above: The new Amazon Distribution Center in Fayetteville, NC.

Version 1.0.0

Let me say that “out of the box” this wok looked great! It is a good look all around. It has a glass lid and the handle came unattached, but had an odd shaped wrench to finish the job of attaching the handle to the wok body. *I haven’t tried it yet, but have already placed another order for the same wok to use as a present for Chad and his bride to be. I checked and the “Black Friday” special price was still on so I pushed through Checkout quickly and it should arrive by Monday. I was planning on getting them an electric wok, but this may fit the bill, AND it was inexpensive. Only $43 and some change. *I have a book that gives ideas on how to do stir fry. I’ll need a couple of utensils and I still may try to get them a nice knife because having a good knife (the right tool) makes things so much easier. **It is amazing how my mom and me never had a large kitchen knife, or at least I don’t recall one that we ever used. Even on a large, tough ham bone, or some other tough cut of meat we would use a little kitchen knife. I have quite a few good knives from WÜSTHOF, but rarely use them except for the small tomato knife. I might not buy WÜSTHOF if I was starting out again. I might have preferred a different handle style.

  • Hot Mustard
  • Sesame Seeds (white)
  • Sesame Oil – Toasted
  • Soy Sauce – Kikoman
  • Spicy Chili Crisp
  • Stir Fry Vegetables – canned (Walmart)

I think it odd that both Hershey’s Ice Cream and Publix both have a version of “Roadrunner Raspberry” ice cream. But even stranger, is that there currently are two TV shows based upon a French detective series. One show is called “HIP” (High Intellectual Potential) on HULU, and the other is called “High Potential,” an ABC show. For both shows to be on at the same time, is amazing to me. Very many years ago, I was watching a Police show which had an ensemble cast. At some point, I realized that I had heard most if not all of the dialogue in the episode, but I had heard it from different actors in another Police show on a different network. That was strange and I found that the two shows had used the same script.

Still it’s not unheard of for a popular movie or TV show to be remade years later, with a more Hip cast. I watched an episode of “Elsbeth” and realized that it reminded me of “Columbo,” which I haven’t watched or re-watched in years. The current detective hounds the perps just like Peter Falk’s character did back then. And while watching “Will Trent” I realized that the ensemble cast in this show reminded me of “The Mentalist.” I still love the first 10 minutes of the first episode of “The Mentalist.” The classic line said by the main character to his fellow officers as they rush into the room, as he stands in the kitchen where the wife has just put four bullets in her husband’s chest (bright white shirt and all), “Honest, It’s not as bad as it looks.” And they cut to commercial, and I said to myself, “Now that’s great writing. I’m going to love this show.” And I did until, they killed Red John, and then later revealed, it wasn’t the “real” Red John. Once they did that I told myself that they could do that over and over and just keep the audience hanging on forever. But, not me. Several years later I did watch the last episode of the show.

For great writing, I recall the opening sequence in “Diagnosis Murder” the Dick Van Dyke series, where a man has fallen over dead in the aisle of a city bus. His body is blocking the other riders, and someone has bent over him and turns to the others and says, “This man’s dead,” to which one of the other impatient riders, a young male professional says, “So’s my career, but you don’t see it laying in the aisle blocking traffic.” I would love to see that sequence again, and I’ve looked, but haven’t found it yet.

And for something that I’ve looked for, but just can’t remember enough about the classic actors to track down the movie… It was a movie, probably from the 1960s. There is a Psychologist, or Psychiatrist, and he is having a group session with several women. One of the women arrives late to the group. They are sitting around in a circle. The woman starts explaining that her husband likes for her to hum “Show Tunes” while she is giving him head. But, she doesn’t state it as plainly, but the whole audience knows what she is talking about as she describes looking for the sheet music (either at the library or music store). And you, meaning me, sort of goes, “Wow, I don’t believe she just told us that.” *What classic male actor from the 1960s could play that kind of role. I think I’ve seen this movie at least twice, but it has been a long time ago. The doctor might have even been working at a Clinic or facility that had large grounds, and athletic activities, and inside the classic torture equipment that was once thought to help “crazy” people get better… shock therapy, ice baths, etc. And, it wasn’t “One Flew Over the Cuckcoo’s Nest.”

Maybe an actor like Cliff Robertson, or Warren Beatty, John Cassavetes, or Bradford Dillman, or maybe even Frank Sinatra. Maybe I should go for the actress, someone like Maureen Stapleton

Ozempic

bgibson135

I started my first injection of Ozempic on September 18, 2024. These were weekly injections and the first four weeks I was to inject a .25 dosage. After that, I was to inject a .5 dosage. I didn’t notice any changes the first week, but thereafter I started to see reduced resting blood glucose levels and my weight started to fluctuate slightly downward. This morning I was slightly above 250 lbs. *If you can lose enough weight the Type 2 diabetes should disappear, but losing that weight, at my age and level of inactivity is very difficult. I am currently trying to maintain a daily calorie count near 1,880.

A future SHARPS container.

The easier to use injection system was with Trulicity. They provided a separate epi (not sure if that’s the correct designation) pen for each injection and the needle was hidden, only coming out after you pressed the pen button and going back inside after the solution was expended. Therefore, if you rested the pen on your stomach (alternating on each side of my belly button about a couple of inches) before pressing the button you never actually saw the syringe. This is the more preferrable system since there is a slight reluctance to inject yourself, even if the needle is both short and narrow.

OZEMPIC 1 MG PEN INSTRUCTIONS (PDF)

But the Ozempic needle is short. Maybe about a quarter inch in length and is extremely small gauged. It doesn’t hurt going in and you just have to wait for about five seconds for the delivery and then add an extra count of about 6 to complete the process before removing the syringe. Then, put the cap back on the syringe, unscrew it and put the used syringe in your “SHARPS” container. I am currently using one of my empty Diltiazim bottles as a SHARPS container. The plastic is thick and will protect from the used syringes poking through the bottle.

I had used Trulicity for several years without a problem until it became unavailable for refill not quite a year ago. I then switched to Rybelsus which was a daily tablet but didn’t work well, and then finally Ozempic which is working tremendously well! Why did Trulicity become unavailable? It may be that it has become in short supply because of persons starting to use this drug to help them lose weight.

[NOTE 10/31/24]: I’ve probably mentioned this elsewhere, but if not, this is a good time to mention that the beautiful blue cloudy sky at the top of my blog postings was something that I cut from a web cam view from the Beaufort Hotel web cam one morning. When I look at it closely I am amazed at how artistic this sky actually was. It’s not a doctored photo either, although it looks to have some photographic filter applied to it.

Another note to make here is that last night I finally purchased an upgrade to my WordPress web site (eptemplate.wordpress.com) and now can access that site with a new URL: billggibsonii.com I would have preferred a different “top level domain extension” of something other than .com, but this extension was the least expensive to maintain annually at just $13. [end NOTE]

[NOTE 11/13/24]: Here are a couple of graphs of my weight and resting blood glucose levels:

[end NOTE]

[NOTE 11/20/24]: I may have mentioned this elsewhere, but this is a reminder for myself. The first round of Ozempic I was required to take a dose each week at .25 and on the fifth and sixth weeks to up the dosage to .5. But, I took that to mean that I should keep the dosage at the .5 level thereafter. However, I noticed that the second Ozempic package was just like the first. It had spaces for me to enter four .25 doses (four separate weeks) and then the .5 dosage for the last two weeks. But, if I take .5 dosage for four weeks, I end up with two unused syringes. I think that is correct, but I need to ask which way I should be dosing myself.

This isn’t important, but a couple of years ago (that means two years ago) Jim Sharpe was very ill at Thanksgiving. So much so that He didn’t come out of his bedroom until late afternoon. He looked horrible. His skin was translucent (like really old people get) and he was slow at answering questions put to him. He answered correctly, but the answers were extremely slow for Jim Sharpe. But, the next visit (probably a couple of months later) I was hesitant at going in his bedroom (they had moved it to their music room and had a hospital bed) because I just didn’t want to see him in the condition he had been in back at the last Thanksgiving. Finally one of the nurses convinced me to step in to say hello to him.

To my surprise, Jim although still looking ill, no longer had the translucent skin and his mind was a sharp as it ever had been. I said something to him and he fired right back with a direct answer.

It seems that he had been overdosing himself with some of his medications and this had caused his severe decline. But once his kids got him back taking only the correct dosage, his mind returned.

I think I have more respect for Jim Sharpe because of the way he handled his final days, that from all the previous years I had known him. He was a class act, and went as I would hope to go. I guess it might be that he was confident in the life he had lived and was prepared to go on to the next life. [end NOTE]

I take a series of pills daily. There is a morning batch, and an evening batch, and I give myself an Ozempic shot once week, usually on Wednesday.

I have a routine that helps me remember to take my morning pills and my evening pills. Each week I refill the daily pill trays in advance. This weekly pill tray is beside my easy chair.

Each morning, usually a little after 7 am, I take the day’s pill container (morning & evening pills) to the bathroom and take the morning dosages. I also weigh myself and test my “resting blood glucose level,” and record these online.

I leave this daily container on the stand beside my bathroom sink. In the evening, usually after 7 pm, I look and see if the morning pills have been taken, and if the evening pills are still there, I take them. Once I’ve taken all pills for a day, I return the empty daily pill trays back to the weekly container beside my easy chair. And the process repeats the next morning.

I misplaced one of my daily pill containers when I went to visit Mary Ann. Don’t know if I left it there, or if it slipped down somewhere that I haven’t yet found it, but that is now a long time ago. So, I decided to use the little glass vials (two sizes) that I had bought to make a unique chess set to organize my daily medications and found a flexible rubber ice maker in which they fit easily. Morning meds, labeled with the day of the week in the front, and the smaller vial in the back for each day. This has worked well, although sometimes the larger pills may get caught in the vial temporarily. *The rubberized ice tray also works well to organize my AA & AAA batteries for my remotes. That would be 14 batteries per tray.

I am surprised at how quickly each week’s worth of pills go by. But that is “life in the fast lane” for a 71 years old. *I have a calendar posted to my bathroom wall, above my weight scale. I keep a note card on which I record my daily weight, and later post it to my online site, myfitnesspal.com . I also write “OZEMPIC” on each Wednesday on the calendar, ahead of time. This is a reminder to take my Ozempic shot that day. I put a check mark by the word Ozempic once I have taken the shot.

There have been a few times, when my pill routine has been interrupted, or totally forgotten. If I’ve covered my weekly pill trays with a book or magazine (usually I do not), then I may forget to take my day’s pill trays to the bathroom. Or, I think there have been a couple of times when I was going out of town for the day, and in a rush forgot to take my morning pills. *If I forget, I try to take the dosage I’ve forgotten almost immediately. Then if there are several hours till the next scheduled dose, I try to spread the time out “a little.” But, the idea is to get back on track, ASAP.

[NOTE 02/18/25]: So it didn’t take long for me to have a specific instance of forgetting to take my daily pills. We have a winter snow storm predicted to start tomorrow morning. I had a list of items (mostly food purchases) that I wanted to make early (first thing) today, so I checked when Walmart would be open and it opens at 6 am. It was a little after 6 am so I rushed to get dressed and wrestled with the thought of eating out, or getting items, and then returning home to eat. I got out the door, and stopped at Walmart first. Not a lot of people there yet, and I quickly got everything+. Then I headed up to get gas and that went quickly also. I decided to go to the Rainbow for breakfast. I rarely go out for breakfast, but for years, I might eat at the Rainbow at least 200 days out of the year. That would be eating every weekday morning, on my way to work. But now, most days, I have the time to fix breakfast for myself and enjoy what I fix more than eating at a restaurant.

So, I “had time to kill” before Harris Teeter was scheduled to start selling their Rotisserie Chickens at 11 am. It was still before 9 am, when First Citizens Bank would open and I could cash a check. I did cash a check there later. I then went over to Harris Teeter, hoping they might start selling the prepared chickens before 11 am. My plan was to see if HT had the Plain Greek Gods Yogurt. Seems they don’t, more times than when they do, but they did, and I took a container for my cart. I think I also bought a couple of shallots, and I did see one woman get a chicken brought out to her ahead of time, but I decided to wait a little while longer so I took my cart over to the Starbucks in HT and sat down, able to see where the Rotisserie Chickens would be placed for sale. About 10:30 am I saw one of the HT workers bringing out what appeared to be Rotisserie Chickens. It was and I got my red box and headed to the check out. I then stopped by Publix to change the date for me to pick up my “half loaf of seeded Rye bread.” I had scheduled for pickup on Thursday before finding out that it was supposed to be the aftermath of the pending winter snow/ice storm. I changed the pickup day to Saturday, and according to WRAL Weather, that should be warmer & less angst about travel on the local roads.

I got back home and got everything inside (two trips), and had lunch (chicken livers, Asian cucumber salad, and a slice of Sourdough bread.). At some point I go to bed for an afternoon nap and about 4:20 pm, I wake up and head to the bathroom. I look over and see that my day’s pill container isn’t on the counter beside my bathroom sink. “Oh, heck!” I went and got my forgotten pills, and took the morning batch immediately. I might wait until 9 pm tonight to take my evening doses. So, that is a specific example of how my mind can get distracted from taking my pills. And, I am in the process of washing some dirty towels, clothing next & my dishes may be finished in the dishwasher. [end NOTE]

Seared Scallops with Green Peas, Mint and Shallots

bgibson135

I was looking online for things to serve with polenta and found the following:

Wondering What to Serve with Polenta? Here Are 27 Ideas, from Hearty to Healthy on the Pure Wow web site. As I scrolled down the page, I came to Idea #9 Seared Scallops with Green Peas, Mint and Shallots. The photo for this dish immediately captured my eye. This recipe was originally in Amanda Frederickson‘s cookbook, “Simple Beautiful Food.” The scallops had that beautiful brown crust, the peas were vibrant green and what’s that, “bacon?” “Yes, bacon, although the shallots are a little hard to see. And, I see no polenta anywhere in sight, but I can imagine adding a little dollop (okay, a little more than a dollop) of polenta or a couple of polenta waffles to soak up all those other flavors.

I looked at several images of dishes that were made from her book, and I decided to order the book from Amazon. I’ll try to turn the pages gingerly so I do not damage them, and this will become a gift at some point. The book was 240 pp. at about $18. *I did see that one reviewer of her book found reading some of it difficult because of the choice of text color on the pages’ background color. I’ve found that problem on some packaging too, and I don’t like really small text either.

I’m getting to an age where “this old dog ain’t gonna be learning too many new tricks,” and those few people that I know, who love food and cooking, are now older also and another cookbook isn’t as special a gift as in years earlier. But, the images of the food were captivating. I could actually prepare this scallops & peas dish. *In fact, I made some delicious peas & pastry with country ham recently and it was very pleasing. Now I know a photo of my peas, ham & pastry would not appear as beautiful as Amanda Frederickson’s photos, but my food was good. And, my pastry wasn’t hand made at home either.

Why was I looking for things to serve with polenta? Simple. I cut a few rounds of already prepared polenta, sometimes for breakfast with an egg, and sometimes for adding to green beans, bacon and potatoes. The polenta reminds me of when my Aunt Sis would add some cornmeal dumplings to her green beans. I’m not sure if she was adding them as filler or just as an interesting aside.

I made some homemade Pizza Sauce (about six simple ingredients and it tastes like Pizza Inn’s) for my Ciabatta Roll Pizzas and had some left over in a small jar in the refrigerator. So as I’m fixing a breakfast of scrambled egg, pepper bacon and some halved yellow grape tomatoes, I think to add a couple of slices of polenta. And then the thought comes to me to add some of the pizza sauce as a topping for the polenta. It was good, but it still needed something else. I’m thinking of trying fresh basil, and/or shredded cheese, and/or even a few slices of pepperoni. But, adding the pepperoni would begin to overpower the pepper bacon. But that’s why I was looking for things to go with polenta. Some extra flavors for my polenta at breakfast. *The idea for adding the pizza sauce to my polenta rounds was my own. I came upon the above “pizza rounds” afterwards.

Those Creamy White Beans look pretty good too! Cannellini beans, spinach, rosemary and chilies… hmmm?

I had made some cabbage (with a little chopped onion) slaw, with mayo, half-n-half and sweetener and put it in the refrigerator before I went out shopping this morning. I still had one of those tiny Tupperware containers with the remaining guacamole from yesterday in the fridge also.

I started some lentil soup on the stove top. I first added andouille sausage to the pot after stripping the sausage casing from it. I added a small amount of olive oil. I had about a half of a small onion which I diced finely and added to the pot with some chicken & beef broth and some brown and red lentils. I then diced one carrot, and several types of mild peppers and one small jalapeno pepper minus the seeds. The spice which I think is cumin I added it with some other spices, and a little more water. After this I let it all cook for a while and then I added a little orzo. I noticed that I had some steamed cabbage that had cooled and I tried a little cabbage with the lentil soup. It tasted good. Eventually I added the left-over steamed cabbage to the bowl of lentil soup. These two combined very well. It probably would go well even if I just added the cabbage to the soup and let it cook together. *The cold cabbage slaw went well with the spicy andouille & lentil soup, and I added a few of the white corn chips (Mission) and this just brought it all together.

I can make really good andouille & lentil soup, and I can make the same thing that doesn’t work. It’s the spices I add, but I can’t always remember what I put in the last good batch of soup. I had planned to put in some frozen chopped spinach, but just didn’t want to wait to unfreeze it, and it definitely didn’t need it to taste really good.

[NOTE 09/15/24]: Well, I just finished eating my scallops with green peas, shallots, bacon, and mint. And, I also added a dollop of polenta, which was the cause of my original online search. I was searching for things that go with polenta. I think this meal was better with the polenta than it would not have been. The photo is more appealing than the flavors in the meal, but the flavors are pleasant. After all, I like scallops, and bacon, and shallots, and garden peas and polenta.

I bought a mint plant at Publix instead of buying already pulled mint leaves in a pouch. I don’t think I had 1/4 cup of mint leaves, but perhaps half that. I’m thinking that I would like to see if tarragon instead of mint would fit my palate better. *I have been making Tarragon & Split Pea Soup for several years, but haven’t made it recently mainly because that soup and my Curried Apple Soup both affect my blood sugar levels negatively. But, I really do love the flavor of the Curried Apple Soup and I like it either warm or cold.

**I just googled for it and tarragon may be the more traditional flavoring with garden peas and scallops.

I’ve already put the mint in the pureed garden peas so I can’t see what adding just tarragon would do, but I might try a little tarragon with the mint. I may fix this again either tomorrow or within a couple of days as I have the left over pureed garden peas and the bacon/garden pea/shallot mixture. [end NOTE]

[NOTE 09/17/24]:

Quick Cabbage Slaw

  • 1/2 red cabbage (shredded or chopped)
  • 2 cups defrosted corn
  • 2 shallots (sliced thin)
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 4 tablspoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 handful mint (chopped)

I was looking for something to go with the Sea Scallops & Garden Peas and found the above recipe for Cabbage Slaw (using red cabbage). I already had the shallots and mint that are both in the Scallops & Garden Peas recipe, so there will be an echo of flavors. Not sure, but I may add some sweetener to this. And, I may add some dried Tarragon to the Garden Pea mixture.

Recall that today is my first day for my Ozempic injection. Since I didn’t have to take my Rybelsus tablet after midnight, I was able to have a cup of hot tea (Earl Grey) with some half-n-half. *A late note: The Ozempic has worked wonderfully. It has brought my resting blood sugar level down and my weight has remained steady within about 4 lbs. up/down.

I finished my second helping of my lentils & andouille soup (to which I also added some orzo) yesterday and I had some cabbage slaw left over. Because the lentils were spicy, the soothing nature of the slaw was very welcome. I like spicy, but not too hot, and when I get the spicy and physically hot soup just right, there are few things more pleasing.

I just finished my second helping of seared scallops & garden peas, and with sides of polenta and a red cabbage slaw with corn & mint. The only sweetness of this meal was from the garden peas. This was the most “savory” meal I’ve eaten in a long time. I normally add some sort of sweetener to either my slaw or on the meat I am cooking. There was only S&P and apple cider vinegar on the red cabbage slaw with corn. I’m not sure I would make this repeatedly, but it was a pleasant change from my norm. *The cookbook I ordered, “Simple Beautiful Food” arrived this afternoon before I had my lunch. It doesn’t appear that there are recipe ingredients listed as in most cook books. The web page had the standard layout for a recipe with a list of ingredients . **Oh, I did cut up some small grape tomatoes to go with the red cabbage slaw.

[end NOTE]

Step N Store, Step Stool Tool Box 20″

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I ordered a “Step Stool Tool Box” two days ago and it was supposed to arrive by today, Saturday, but I now see on the Amazon site that it should arrive by tomorrow.

Several days ago I was thinking that I needed a stool so that I could sit on it and clean my floors with a scrub brush or sponge. I had this thought several months ago too, but never found anything that I wanted to order. But, as I was looking through my online images on Amazon Photos recently I saw a picture of a metal stool I had taken a couple of pictures of while in Walmart. It was a well used blue painted metal stool that an employee had left out on the floor and I even turned it on it side to get a better second picture. I think this stool may have been on rollers that when you sat on it, it locked the stool in place.

So a couple of days ago I had been shopping in Publix, perhaps for bread. The nice thing about Publix is that they will let me buy a half loaf of bread or a half package of ciabatta rolls. This is nice because sometimes when I buy a whole package, some of the bread molds before I eat it all.

I was walking out the door and heading toward my car when I happened to see a black woman, who actually looked at first like a “street person.” She was sort of dressed like a street person, and she was carrying a toolbox, or something that looked like a tool box with legs on it in her right hand. My focus immediately went to the thing she was carrying. I realized what it was and so I stopped her to ask about it. I said something like, “Excuse me. May I ask about the box you’re carrying? Is it a stool also?” She was nice enough to stop and answer my questions. It was a stool. It was made of sturdy plastic. She had bought it more than five years ago (and seems like less than 10 years). Part of her telling me how old this purchase was was that she also told me how much it cost “back then,” but that it would probably cost more now. This also told me that it was sturdily constructed. She had bought it at Lowes. She even opened the metal latch and opened the stool top to show the tool box area inside. *I don’t recall what things she had in the toolbox, but I began to think that she might be coming to Publix to perform some maintenance work.

I thanked her for her time and information and she walked toward the store’s front sliding glass doors, and I headed on to my car. Seems like I had purchased two items, but I don’t recall what they were. I think one of them was something I intended to buy, and the other was… and with this rehearsal in my mind, I think I just recalled the second item. I had passed a BOGO display which had Duke’s Mayo on sale. That’s what I had bought. Two jars (plastic jars) of Duke’s Mayonnaise and I probably paid about $2.50 for each. I think most places sell this size of Dukes at about $4.67 per jar.

I put my small plastic bag of groceries in the car and sat down on the seat and closed the door. I immediately went online on my phone. Even though she had said she bought her stool/toolbox at Lowes, I went to Amazon and found several listed. I even found one that looked almost exactly like the one she had been carrying. *I would think that if you make a good product with all the necessary features, then you don’t have to re-create the wheel and the basic design works for a while. What I found, that looked good to me was, “Step N Store, Step Stool Tool Box 20” and the price was $57 plus tax. I ordered this immediately from my phone, which I normally do not do. Most products I order from Amazon are ordered from my Windows laptop (and my easy chair at home). So from the time I had first seen the woman carrying her stool/toolbox and the time I had finished ordering it on my phone, from my car, was probably about 15 minutes or less. And, it was supposed to arrive by Saturday, which I just saw has been postponed till tomorrow, Sunday.

I just watched a couple of reviews of this product on Amazon and one person used it as a step into their camper. Another used it to reach items in higher cabinets in the home. I looks very well made, and the reviews seem to confirm this thought.

**I had thought of getting rid of my old Craftsman toolbox and had said something to Ray about him taking a look and keeping what he wanted and getting rid of the rest. He said he would be willing. If the size of my new stool/toolbox is large enough I might just keep the few tools that I might still need in it. I’m thinking that I might still need a hammer, a wrench or two, a screw driver or two (flat & phillips head).

One tool I purchased several months ago, and have found very useful is a small pen-like box cutter. They came 4 to a pack, in four different colors. I keep one in my car. One beside my easy chair, and one in the kitchen drawer with my can opener, vegetable peeler and apple corer. Not sure, but I may have given one away as a gift. **One nice thing about these cutters is that they have a little locking mechanism that allows you to slide the blade out to a certain length and then, with the same hand, lock the blade into position. You can unlock it with one hand also. They are so handy for opening various packages. A box is delivered from Amazon and a cutter slices right through the sealing tape. I can make four quick slits in the plastic packaging holding bacon, and peel the plastic back to easily remove the bacon.

I made a good number of German Noun Cards with various images on each card representing each noun. In German, it is important to assign the correct “definite article” to each noun. In English we only have one definite article and it is “the.” No matter what we are focusing on we always say “the cat,” “the lawn mower,” or “the reward,” but in German there are three definite articles based upon assigned gender. Masculine nouns have “der” as their definite article. Feminine nouns have “die” as their definite article and neuter words use “das” as their definite article.

I thought that if I needed to learn the specific definite article for each noun individually, that would be almost impossible for me, so I came up with a learning trick. My trick, and it worked for me, was to create noun cards and create a collage of images representing the different nouns on each card. But that’s not the whole trick. What works is to just put nouns on one card that have the same definite article. Only nouns that have the “der” article go on one page, another card only has nouns that have the “die” definite article and on another card only “das” nouns are shown.

The better the image I used for each noun represented that noun “for me,” the more chance I had of remembering it. And, if I laid those nouns out in a pattern that helped me remember them in a certain order, that was also better. But the idea was that I am a visual learner, and I remember images, and so if “die Katze (the cat) image was on a page, and I remember that “die Auster” (the oyster) image was also on that page, and others such as the picture of a lime (die limette) then when I needed to remember a noun, the other nouns on that page helped me remember which definite article they all used. I remembered that card had a cat, an oyster, a lemon, a lime, a scale, a tomato, a shovel, a wheelbarrow, etc. and if I remembered the German noun for each I then remembered that all of those nouns took the feminine definite article, “die.”

It worked and I managed to learn 767 German nouns and their correct definite articles and I had a high retention rate over time. If I could visualize the separate noun cards and remember a key noun’s definite article, e.g. I put “die Katze” on every “die” card, and I put “der Apfel” on every “der” card and I put “das Buch” on every “das” page, and then if I could picture the other nouns that were on a page with a cat, I knew they all had “die” as their definite article. All the nouns that were on a card that had an apple, had “der” as their definite article, and all nouns on a card that were showing a book had “das” as their definite article.

So, for the German noun for the word “catalog” (der Catalog), I found a picture online of the Sear’s Christmas Catalog for 1964. The cover was mostly red. But, I also found images for several of the inside pages of this catalog, and one was a toy page and it included the “Rock’em Sock’em Robots.” I happened to see these catalog images just before I started to write this posting, and one thing I noted was that the inside pages were basically black and white. No color, or at least the toy page I am referencing was a cheap black & white page.

*And, that’s a major difference between 1964, when I was 10 years old, and 2024, when I am 70 years old. You didn’t go online to look at all the toys you might want for Christmas. But, it was fun looking through those black & white pages of the Sear’s Catalog for those items most wanted that Christmas. Maybe a small “Stirling Moss” slot car track & cars for your kitchen table. Or maybe a “Marx Mystery Spaceship” which actually included a gyroscope. A football? Well I usually didn’t have anyone to throw the ball back and forth with, but it was still fun to throw it up in the air and catch it myself. Not sure where or when I bought my Globus Stamp Album and started trying to fill it with used stamps.

As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, TV was totally different back then. It was analog and not the beautifully detailed, crisp digital images on the large screens. And, it wasn’t even in color until maybe 1968 for the Gibson family. We had a Zenith Black & White portable TV that was fairly heavy. There weren’t all the Cable channels that we are bored with today. There were three major networks, and where we lived we were able to receive ABC and NBC, but CBS which was in Greenville, NC, we couldn’t quite get, so I missed out on “Gun Smoke” and “Bozo the Clown” (after school). TV didn’t run all night. It ended at 12 midnight, and started back up at 6 am each day. And while it was off the air, they ran a “test pattern.” However early on Saturday mornings WRAL Channel 5 would start the first of two Sci-Fi movies at 6 am, and they would run back to back until 9 am. The problem was that about 15 minutes before 9 am, the sun was high enough to start affecting our TV reception from this distant channel. Many was the morning that at about 8:45 am, I would run outside, on our front porch, to adjust our TV antenna. I would then run back inside and this might work for a few minutes, but almost always I would miss the last few minutes of the second movie. That’s a minor frustration when you don’t know what happened to the hero, or the girl, or even how the monsters died or were defeated.

Christmas was special because it didn’t start in October each year. Preparation for Christmas started shortly after Thanksgiving day. And, there were certain shows that played every year, and you knew it was Christmas because they only played briefly before Christmas. Burl Ives would be singing “Have a Holly Jolly Christmas, it’s the best time of the year,” or Charlie Brown or Rudolph the Red Nosed Rain Deer would be saving Christmas once again. Our family didn’t celebrate the religious events and reasons until I was a little older and only seriously after 1977 for me.

So, being able to buy a stool/toolbox from the front seat of my car and looking at the color photos of the item from a web site is very special. Sears is gone, and Amazon is here. But, then one day, Amazon will be gone, and who knows what will take it’s place. I guess life as we know it in 2024 will seem as old fashioned as life in 1924 seemed to us. Well, us being “me” because mom was born in 1915 and she would have been nine years old in ’24.

I have a couple of the “Marx Mystery Space Ship” toys that I bought online several years ago. None of the gyros still work and they each have at least one clear plastic astronauts canopy that is cracked or broken. I also bought a complete set of “The Golden Book Encyclopedias,” several years ago and the set included about 5 atlases, which I did not originally have. But these thin books had tons of color illustrations. Not color photos, but drawings illustrating the various topics. There might be a few color photos but most would be black & white photos. Still, there was something magical about these books that contained so many ideas, and the covers alone were worth the price of admission.

My “Step N Store Toolbox” arrived on Tuesday. Not much to say but that it appears to be “as advertised.” The construction is simple and sturdy and there appears to be adequate space inside to carry necessary household tools or cleaning supplies. There is a plastic insert tray that fits inside and sits at the top, providing a little space on one side for a tall spray bottle. There is plenty of room beneath the tray insert for other storage. The stool is sturdy, and I both sat on it and stood on it. In the kitchen, I used a nearby counter to stable myself as I stepped up on the stool, but I would need my extra “Stepper” exercise step as a pre-step if “I was positioning myself to change a light bulb in the middle of the room.”

I think this is one of those “excellent purchases” that will prove to be worth the small cost.

a Day & a Half

bgibson135

[ADDENDUM 01/22/25]: Little did I nor anyone know that just five weeks after my visit to Asheville, that Hurricane Helene would come through Western North Carolina & Asheville and devastate the area. I had such a wonderful visit. The last place I visited in Asheville before starting back home was the New Morning Gallery in the Biltmore Village area. The flooding covered this area with a great deal of mud and destroyed many buildings. This was a high end shopping area, that was, and then wasn’t. I think the New Morning Gallery is still closed, and it has been about four months since the Hurricane. [end]

Gosh, what didn’t I do in the last day and a half?

I scheduled a one night stay at the Quality Inn at 180 Tunnel Road in Asheville for Monday night. At first I had looked at a different Quality Inn further down Tunnel Road, but then I saw a couple of negative reviews so I looked at the other Quality Inn. It seemed nicer, but for just a little more money, and still not $100 a night. *I had stayed at the other Quality Inn several years ago, and it had been a pleasant stay, but I’ll have to admit that the room was much better this time.

I guess I should mention my reason for my brief jaunt to Asheville, North Carolina on Monday & Tuesday of this week. I got a notice last week that they would be repaving and repairing various parking areas where I currently live, and that certain areas would need to be vacated, by 8 am, on selected mornings. I decided to make a quick trip, out of town, so I wouldn’t have to deal with parking in another area. I’ve done this at least once previously, several years ago. I also ran away once when a hurricane was coming through, back in 2018. I ran all the way to Milledgeville, Georgia that time, and ended up having to stay at a cheap hotel for a week because flooding had made it impossible to return to Fayetteville for that length of time.

The Milledgeville trip was fantastic. I didn’t have to worry about food, or the hassles of being homebound in Fayetteville, because Milledgeville was sunny and comfortable, and there were loads of places to eat. I did try to return to Fayetteville a day or two before I should have, and ended up having to stay at another cheap hotel in Siler City, NC for a couple of nights. Eventually, I found the one way back into Fayetteville but I had to drive from Siler City to Pinehurst/Southern Pines and then up toward Raeford, and then back into Fayetteville. This was the first route that the flooding had subsided to make it possible to return home.

So, that was my reason for my impromptu trip.

At the moment, I don’t recall what I had for breakfast on Monday… oh, I just remembered. I had a tin of Amour Potted Meat, which I had bought at WalMart. I had also bought a half gallon of regular milk for about $1.99 but only drank about a third of it, but that would still be worth the cost. *Because I didn’t refrigerate the milk, leaving it in my car overnight, I poured it out Tuesday morning in the toilet in my room (#125).

Old Perfect NW Airlines Logo

I didn’t want to eat a lot for breakfast because I was going to have lunch at the Seaboard Station in Hamlet, NC. But, on the way to Hamlet, I first drove by the Maxton Airport and was surprised to find that the retired NW Airlines jets that ran along the fence line from the airport terminal were all gone. ALL gone. I did see a few large sheets of slightly curved metal, one of which I think still had red paint on it. I’m guessing these might be the few remaining pieces of the old jets. Maybe broken down for scrap. *Recall that I think the Northwest Airlines logo, from a few years ago, was the “perfect logo” for English speakers.

U.S. Army Parachute Team Annex (Maxton, NC)

But, as I continued to drive around the end of the airport, nearest Maxton, I looked in the sky and saw a couple of sky divers rapidly descending. They were coming down fast and spiraling almost horizontally. I even questioned if they were actual sky divers *Not sure what they would have been if they weren’t real men with parachutes. Two came down and disappeared on the ground, and then I saw two or three more, one at a time coming down. They were all down as I came around the end of the field and I honked, but was away from them, so not sure if they were even aware of me. I never saw any airplane from which they must have jumped out of.

I headed back into Laurinburg via Hwy. 74. I stopped by the Scotland County Memorial Library and ended up buying about 10 hardback fiction novels to prime the Little Lending Library pump. They were only a dollar each, and I think I also left a $2 donation. The librarian helped me bag the books in a couple of plastic grocery bags and as I walked out the door I met a woman coming in. She let me go through the door first and made a comment that “Anyone that reads that much, deserves to go first.” I laughed to myself thinking that I wasn’t planning to read any of these books, but wanted them all just for the LLLs.

It’s Thursday afternoon and I’ve already dispersed all the $1 hard back fiction books that I bought on Monday. I also got rid of about 8 “Our State” Magazines leaving one magazine with each book (or one with a couple of books). *I did buy a couple of large cookbooks at the Northwood Temple Thrift Shop (Thursday 22nd) this morning. I had never been at this store before yesterday, when I was allowed inside, on a day when the store was actually closed, but the workers were friendly and let me look around. They were open today and I went in to shop. I paid $4 for one book (Americas’ Test Kitchen) and $1 for another large book. *Amazingly, having lived and worked in Fayetteville since 1995, and retired here about five years ago, and as many times as I passed this thrift store, I had never actually gone in. Through the years, I had seen people’s donations sitting beside the building. I guess it was the years of working & administering the efforts at the Hem of His Garment in Onslow County, I just have little or no interest in a thrift store. **I did buy some old Craftsmen screwdrivers for a couple of bucks each, several years ago, but that was in some other town I was visiting while on one of my vacations.

On the way to Hamlet, I made a detour to Gibson, NC. I’ve been to and through this little town many times over the years. It has a nice old train depot that has been painted yellow. There is also an old bank building that, when I first saw it, had a keystone that had a date written on it. I think it might have been in the 1920s, but that was removed by someone who bought the building several years ago and then painted the outside walls in a couple of bright, gaudy colors. I think maybe a burnt orange and an aqua. Don’t recall exactly, but they ruined this building and now the outside has been painted a light gray. *I say ruined because I had an idea that this little town would be perfect for filming a TV series or movie about a small town. There is also the G.V. Pate building which I think was probably a large hardware or agricultural supply store in the past. It’s was closed before I ever visited Gibson the first time. Oh, and the railroad tracks almost magically curve around back of the town after leaving the colorful depot.

After all of my meandering, I still arrived a little early, just before 11 am, at the Seaboard Station Restaurant. This was about 30 minutes earlier than most visits, but that was because I still was going to have to drive to Asheville after lunch.

For lunch, I had a couple of pieces of fried chicken, and a thin pork chop, some steamed cabbage and black eyed peas with some sweet onion. I sat at the same location that I had the last visit.

Seaboard Station in located in an old multi-story home, painted white. The dining area is located in several rooms on the first floor, and they have even added a room that must have been an “outdoor” porch at one time. This is all inside now, but there is a large opening, between rooms, that was once a window. Now it has no glass, and you might even be able to reach through this opening and take something off another diner’s table.

There was a man, Russell, sitting at the same table that he had sat the last time I was there. He is a retired cabinet maker, who’s wife died in 2016, and he has found that making knives is now fun. He is a Type 2 diabetic and wears one of those 14 day devices that records blood sugar levels without finger pin pricks. I think he said he was taking Wegovy, which was also a single shot a week, and needed to be refrigerated, like my Trulicity that I used to take.

After lunch I rode over to the library in Hamlet a few blocks away. Looked at the books for sale, but nothing there of interest for me.

A little after noon I left the library but stopped next in Rockingham at the Thomas Leach Memorial Library. No books there for me either. Later, I stopped at a Circle K, just past Monroe, before reaching Charlotte, to fill up on gas.

I chose to navigate through Charlotte instead of going around and paying a toll. Interesting about Charlotte, there was one sky scraper that had a large horizontal fixture at the top of the building. This reminded me of some of the fictional large buildings shown in the Westworld series, but this was real. *I looked this up on Google Maps when I returned home. I think it is just from certain angles that this cross bar appears.

The rest of this trip was long and boring, up the Interstates.

I made it to Asheville about 4:30 pm and went directly to the Folk Arts Center to see if they knew about the “space ship” mug and who might have made it. I had asked the last time I was in Asheville, and they still had no idea. After the Folk Art Center, I went directly to the East Village Grille,. It was late afternoon and the sun was brightly shining through the large westward facing window.

[NOTE 02/28/25]: Today, after about seven years of trying to recall or find out where I bought this mug, and who was the potter that made it, I finally caught an online thread, found an image similar to my mug, followed the artist’s name and even found a YouTube video by the artist, Claudia Dunaway, and even more surprising, the video showed several steps in how she made my mug (or one of thousands like it). Go here for more info on the mug, the potter & her husband, who drew the cartoon spaceship. [end NOTE]

They had updated their menu so that it is much smaller than the first couple of times I ate there. The original menus might have been twenty pages, dual sided and covered in heavy plastic. Now there are only about 5 pages, which each might be printed on a thin plastic.

I looked but saw nothing about a Pastrami Reuben. I asked the waitress if they still served a Pastrami Reuben and she said they had stopped serving pastrami some time ago. So, I ordered a Philly Cheesesteak with steak fries and a diet drink. The cheesesteak was delicious, but I only ate half and took the rest, along with some of the fries for a snack later. **So, they no longer serve a Pastrami Reuben. Yet another example of a past pleasant culinary experience disappearing over time. I am 70 years old, so I guess out with the old and in with the new. No “Sticks-n-Stones” pizza, too? Damn.

On the other hand, I do know how to make a delicious Pastrami Reuben at home, with homemade Thousand Island dressing, served with wavy potato chips & sauerkraut (on the sandwich, and as a special side). Mix some sauerkraut with the thousand island dressing and it makes a good side dish, maybe not just for Reubens. Would probably work for a fried pork chop, or even a hamburger.

I think I went to the Quality Inn directly after dinner and then went for a ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway later. It was about 7:13 pm and the sun was going down, but some areas along the road were well shaded. I looked ahead and saw something in the shadows, large and black, meandering across the road. I said to myself, “That’s a black bear.” And then moments later, a smaller black bear followed the first across the road. I slowed my car down, because I didn’t want to crowd them. Moments later a couple of cars came up behind me. As I passed the two bears, they were walking slowly up the side of the mountain disappearing into the undergrowth.

I drove along the Parkway for several more miles, passing a few overlooks, and going through at least one tunnel (maybe two) before turning around and heading back down to town. I get off the Parkway at the entrance to the North Carolina Arboretum and then headed back into town passing the WNC Farmer’s Market.

I had decided to park my car at the front of the motel and not at the side nearest my room. I figured that with no one being around at the end, it would be a good place to try to break into a car. I did notice an outdoor camera this morning. *The room had been renovated with nice fixtures & a quiet flush toilet.

This morning as I drove around downtown Asheville, I drove through the downtown tunnel and then turned around and came back through it. As I exited the tunnel, I made a sharp left turn and headed up a road that took me up one side of this mountain and then over it and beneath a stone bridge (Which I did not drive around to find if I could cross it.). From Google Maps & Street view, I think this overhead bridge is just for foot traffic.

As I came back down the mountain, on the side nearest downtown Asheville. I approached two wild turkeys. As I passed the house, there was only one of the turkeys still visible and it had that beautiful bronze, almost metallic looking plumage. *So last night I saw two black bears in the wild, and this morning I saw a couple of wild turkeys in downtown Asheville.

I went to the WNC Farmers Market just as it was about to open at 8 am today. I took with me, my Cara’s Corner bright yellow shopping bag that I had been given a couple of years ago. Cara’s Corner is still in the upper corner of the Market. The man was most helpful. They had no Gumbo File, but I did buy some lentils @$2.29 lb. and another type of bean I had never tried, Anasazi @$4.89 lb.. Anasazi beans are also called “New Mexico Cave Beans,” a heirloom variety related to kidney beans. *The man said he liked these beans and apparently they form a tasty gravy. My thought, about which I did not ask him, was that he might just be a vegetarian & that is why he didn’t season these beans with some kind of meat. I also bought some Danish Blue Cheese. This cheese looked good in the display case. And somewhere in the past I’ve bought & ate Danish Blue. Later at home, this was a good flavored blue cheese.

I just came across this Anasazi bean recipe online: Anasazi Beans and Rice with Kielbasa Looks like I have everything that goes in this recipe at home already. Kielbasa, celery, onion and sweet bell pepper, yum! I see from the photo of the finished dish that the beans turn a solid light brownish color, losing their distinctive burgundy & white mottled raw color in the cooking process. *I think it was the October Beans that I tried from Cara’s which were shaped like limas, but also had the mottled burgundy & white uncooked coloring which was lost after cooking. And I think the October Beans took on a kidney bean flavor. I have said it elsewhere in this blog, why buy October beans when you can get a can of re-fried beans, that are mashed up kidney beans.

Well, I made a small batch of the Anasazi beans with the Kielbasa (but no rice as per the above recipe) this morning. It looks like the burgundy part of the bean sloughs off and you are left with a brownish, kidney bean looking and flavored bean. Nothing to write home about. If I wanted a bean with a kidney bean flavor, I would fix kidney beans. So, out of the four unusual dry beans I’ve bought at Cara’s Corner, none of them are worth fixing a second time. As I said elsewhere, the Yellow Eye has a mild Black Eyed Pea flavor and that is probably why the Black Eyed Peas became the more dominant bean.

I went to Earth Fare after the WNC Farmers Market and they had the dulse I have been looking for for quite some time. I bought their only two containers for about $7 each. *Funny, but as I was passing through Morganton, I looked over and saw a Food Matters Market. I did a double take because I knew of only one other market with this name, and that was in Brevard, NC. **I checked with an employee and sure enough there are only two of these. She didn’t know why this one was in Morganton. ***And, what? They didn’t have Gumbo File either, but they did have the dulse so I bought another container for around $7. Now after a long draught, I have three packages of Maine Coast Sea Vegetables Dulse. I think I also bought a couple of jars of Minced Ginger. Well, I either bought the ginger here or at Earth Fare. I think I bought the Andouille Sausages at Earth Fare because I had an extended, friendly conversation with the butcher, who was having a minor problem with a gentleman as I walked up to the counter.

I came back to the Quality Inn and got some ice to put in a small container (a plastic Bento Box container that once had a couple of smaller plastic side containers that fit in the bigger box) and put the cheese and a couple of Andouille Sausage links in it. The ice had completely melted by the time I got home and the water had turned a brownish color. Not sure if the sausage was ruined, but I put both links in the freezer. I think the cheese is okay and plan to try it shortly. *The cheese was still good. I had a little with a few of the black sesame rice crackers about midnight.

You’ve got to understand that I might never be on Hwy. 18 going through Morganton, NC again, but I just looked over and saw the name. I had a vague memory that I knew this grocery (health foods store) from having visited one near Brevard, NC several years ago. I think I had been to the Brevard location at least twice, but really don’t know why I was passing through this area. I still had time to kill so I turned around and pulled into the Food Matters Market parking lot and went in.

After Earth Fare I headed up to Weaverville and stopped in the Mangum Gallery in downtown. One nice thing is that there is a small parking lot across the street. No charge, free parking, and just walk across the street to several of the shops. There were several “artists” around this parking lot painting, but facing in different directions.

There was a young man, in the Mangum Gallery, working on some of the pottery and I ended up asking him if he had ever seen or knew who created my “space ship” mug. I showed him a picture from my phone. He didn’t know who, but directed me to to a guild gallery that also had a school for students. It began with an “O” but I don’t recall if it was Odyssey or not. I didn’t go there. *Checked online and it is the “Odyssey Clayworks.” Odyssey Center for Ceramic Art

After the gallery, I drove over to the Blue Ridge Parkway. I have a back route that leads me up the mountain and I come back down the Parkway, past the Folk Arts/Crafts Center, and then out onto US70. This time, I drove past the East Village Grille, on my left, and turned right at one corner of the VA Hospital. This road goes past the “staff/bus” entrance for the Folk Arts Center and under the Parkway. I then headed back to US70 which ends up below where the Parkway entrance/exit is located on US 70.

I then headed back to the New Morning Gallery and managed to get a parking space on the street at the very end (or head) so I didn’t even have to worry about leaving the parking space.

You enter the Gallery on street level and there are a bunch of stairs that lead up to the display area. But, I know where the elevator is located and I now take that up. They have blocked off one corner that was used for display, but now is used for storage. I looked at quite a few mugs and bowls and asked a female clerk about my “space ship” mug. She didn’t know it either. A gentleman also working there said there was a Guild location around the corner, and across the street, but I did not go there afterwards.

I did buy a cheap green Mangum soup bowl. It is a little deeper than the couple of bowls that I already have. The others might be shallow salad bowls. I say cheap because this bowl was only $34 plus tax. This is an old price because I see that most new items are now priced in the $60 – $80 range. Or at least they were at the Folk Art Center.

After the New Morning Gallery I headed out on I40, but pretty soon meandered back over to US 70. I did this because I needed to kill about an hour and a half. The actual driving time to Yadkinville from Asheville was about 2.5 hours.

I meandered through several towns on the way to lunch at 3:30 pm at the Yadkin Valley Seafood Restaurant in Yadkinville, NC.

I rode around Morganton for a short time, not finding their library although I saw the Library turn signs from several directions, but never saw a building labeled “Library.” Actually, I just checked with Google Maps and Street View and I drove completely around the Library but any signage was so small I did not see it. I do recall the parking lot across the street but didn’t know it was for the Library.

The cute blonde waitress with the nice behind wasn’t at the restaurant today. Probably long gone. I wasn’t even sure back then of how old she might have been. She might have still been in high school, or maybe in her early twenties.

Yadkin Valley Seafood Restaurant (Yadkinville, NC)

I asked my waitress what diet drinks they had and I thought she said Diet Coke and Diet Dr. Pepper. I said, “Oh great! I’ll have Diet Dr. Pepper.” Later when she brought my drink, it looked light in color and when I tasted it I wasn’t Dr. Pepper. I asked her about this and she then said, “Oh, we don’t have Diet Dr. Pepper. I thought you said Diet Mountain Dew.” I told her it would be okay, and it was, but as I ate and thought about this, I wasn’t the only person who didn’t hear well, because I know I said “Diet Dr. Pepper” in my reply. If I had heard her as she stated, I would have chosen Diet Coke.

My waitress charged me correctly for my meal but it seemed to be about $3 higher than I thought it should have been so I only gave her a $2.50 tip on a $20 meal. I checked on my phone later and saw that she had charged me the extra price but then I realized I had ordered scallops, popcorn shrimp and flounder, and the scallops were one of several items they charged extra for in their combos.

So after my lunch, it was about 4:30 pm and my GPS was suggesting the quickest route back home was through Winston-Salem and then just south of Greensboro. I decided that going through those cities in rush hour traffic would not be best so I made my own navigation. First I drove from Yadkinville to Mocksville.

From Mocksville to Lexington, and then from Lexington to Asheboro.

I turned around in the Davidson Funeral Home parking lot to get my GPS directions to Asheboro. There were some Hispanic kids (boys & girls) walking across town and I passed them or they passed me a couple of times because I had gone in the opposite direction to see a little more of town and then turned around to get back on track.

Each of these three segments took a little less than 30 minutes. After Asheboro, I headed south, but turned off to come through Seagrove and Robbins, NC, and this segment I had driven before. *I thought I had been to Lexington before, but maybe not. I had been through Lincolnton, NC several years back.

Robbins, NC (I’ve bought gas at this store before, but not during this trip.)

I do want to return to my stay at this Quality Inn in Asheville. The motel was obviously older, but I asked and they had started renovations in 2021. Everything was superb! The toilet had a quiet flush. The shower and the sink had good fixtures and there was plenty of hot water (although I did shower close to 6 am). There were all the amenities: mini fridge, mini microwave, TV with at least 80 channels and a remote, an iron & ironing board (which I haven’t used in probably 25 years) and a blow dryer for your hair. I got ice in the ice bucket and had my “Bill’s Drink.” I had carried my empty carafe and several packages of the dry flavored drink mixes and even had a bottle of mixed orange juice and cranberry juice. So, I wasn’t lacking at all with my personal drink as I normally have at home. I also had a medium avocado which I cut open with a metal spoon I had brought with me, and then scooped all of it out a little at a time. The avocado was perfectly ripe, but I had no salt and that would have made eating it perfect.

The bed was comfortable and had maybe five pillows on it. I think I registered that the pillows were a little hot during the night. The room had been renovated perfectly. Perfectly modernized and for the nightly price worth it. I saw nothing in the room that was a negative. No negative smells or stains, etc. The air conditioning worked fine. Locks on the door. Water pressure in the shower fine.

This morning I decided to go out for breakfast and I got dressed and headed over to J.K.’s. On the way over, I remembered that this was Wednesday and that J.K.’s is closed on Wednesdays. Instead of going on to Zorba’s, I passed by there and went to the Harris Teeter to fix a breakfast from their breakfast bar. I had scrambled eggs, cheese grits, a biscuit and sausage gravy, a small dollop of corned beef hash, and a couple slices of bacon. The total for the breakfast was a little over $9. The items on this bar had good flavor and I would try this again. *Recall that I had enjoyed the Harris Teeter lunch bar many times before I got something “bad” from that bar and my throat started to close up. Since I had tried everything previously, I’m thinking that maybe someone used some chemical cleaning solution and that remained on an item causing the allergic reaction. I stopped eating the lunch buffet there for several months and later tried it once again, with no problems, but never went back to it on a regular basis.

This morning the air was cool in Fayetteville and it reminded me of how the air had been fresh and cool as I was driving around Asheville the morning before. Asheville was a pleasant change.

I fixed some Anasazi beans yesterday and now have a pot of Andouille & Lentils on the stove at 2:01 am Thursday morning. I can already tell that the lentils are going to provide a much better flavor. And, the Andouille seems to be better than the Kielbasa, although I like the Kielbasa for my Kielbasa/Shrimp/Zucchini dish. I’ve also added Savory to the lentils, which I didn’t put in the Anasazi beans.

And yes, I have just tried them and they are really good.

Birthdays, Bosch Books, Shrimp Burger & Moss Landing

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I drove down to Jacksonville on Thursday morning to meet up with Mary Ann and Ray & Jacquelyn at Marrakesh Restaurant at 11 am. Mary Ann had said they open at 11 am, but I think I saw online that they normally open at 10:30 am, except on Sundays, which I think was 11 am.

On the way down, I stopped at the rest stop where NC 24 and I40 cross paths, to use the bathroom. There were a bunch of young children all being naturally loud, some in the bathrooms and some in lines against the hall walls. As I am coming back to my car, the children and their teachers had all migrated out near the church vans they were being transported in. A sign on the side of one of the vans was the name of a church, perhaps something like “Emmanuel XXX Church Rocky Mount, NC.”

Feeling playful and sensing their excitement of the whole experience, I asked, “Are you on a field trip, from Rocky Mount.” The nearest adult, I presume a teacher, responded that they were on a trip, and that they were from Rocky Mount. I did not find out where they were going, but I could surmise that they might be going down to Wilmington, NC. I waved at the children, who had now formed a line, with two children each side by side. Their teacher had grouped them in twos before they were to cross the street to get to their van. But, as I begin to get ready to back my car out of its spot, I see the last little girl in the line and she is looking at me and starts to wave. And, I am glad that I was still looking at these children, and so I make an animated wave back to her, as she joins her line-partner.

My thought on this waving to this child, and I’m not always attentive, is that she was the last child in the line of children I had been “playing” with and asking questions of. I probably didn’t even look directly at her while I was playing. But now “my playing” had been important enough to her that she was giving me a special wave goodbye. And that gift, unacknowledged, would have sent the wrong message to her. But the message I wanted to send to someone that had just given me a special wave, was that you are just as important to me as all those others were, maybe more so, because of you thinking enough of me to wave.

I had a picture book, on my passenger seat that was about “the Ocean.” Not just one ocean, but all oceans, and all the stuff and things that swim about and in these oceans. Something interesting for a child to look at, while physically holding a book. I wanted to roll down my window and hand this book, as a gift to the teacher, but I didn’t. That is a little regret. That would have made our interaction even more special & memorable. Oh well.

So, I had asked Mary Ann if I could stay the night (I normally just go down for the day and return home at night.), since I was planning to go to Wilmington for the Library Book Sale on Friday morning. She said okay. I wasn’t sure if I was going to both book sales, one in Wilmington and one in Washington, NC, but I thought that the Wilmington sale might have more books that I was looking for. *That actually turned out to be incorrect. There were 10 hardbacks in Washington and only 6 in Wilmington, but I went to both & bought 16 books for a total of about $45. ** Some of the extra money I gave, as a donation to the libraries above the $1 or $2 prices per book.

Up on Friday morning, read just a little of “Echo Park” and then had a very enjoyable warm shower. Short trip to Helen’s Kitchen for a country ham breakfast, with one egg over medium, grits, biscuits & coffee and water, with ice. *My routine is to save one biscuit (which I love how they’re made, really flat with little insides), slice it open with a knife and then put a good portion of the good portion of country ham that they bring out for my meal. I then ask for a sandwich wrapper, and in this case the waitress also brought out a small brown bag to put the wrapped country ham biscuit in. The breakfast was good, as usual.

It takes just a little over an hour to drive from Jacksonville to Wilmington, NC. Dixon, mostly unchanged, but most of the rest of the way (Highway 17) has become extremely developed, maybe even overdeveloped. Holly Ridge and Hampstead more development and then at some point there is only development on each side of the highway… endless stores, shops, conveniences, etc.

Made it to the library location in Wilmington shortly after 10 am. It was to open at 10 am. I walked through the front door and immediately there were all the books, on tables for sale. There was another room with books also, but there was no waiting in line to get inside, as there is at the Cumberland County Library Book Sale (Fire Department Limits). I was in, asked where Connelly books might be located, was directed and found a small box, on a table with Michael Connelly novels. I think I found two or three that I didn’t already have but ended up buying six hardbacks (at $1 each). Got a card with a 6/1 on it, which meant 6 @ $1 and 1 @ 50 cents, walked to the cashier, presented my card, was told that I owed $6.50 and I gave her a $20 and said keep the change for a donation. And, I was out the door, and in a brief time, once again on Highway 17, but this time heading back to Jacksonville, and then New Bern, and eventually Washington, NC.

So, I drove up to Little Washington to go to the Brown Library Book Sale (01/19/24 – Open to the Public) in the Washington Civic Center. I’m currently reading some of the Harry Bosch (LA detective), Michael Connelly novels, and have found I can buy them at library book sales for a dollar, or two. Brown Library was selling “hard backs” for $2@. I ended up finding 10 Connelly hardbacks, and paid $20 plus a small donation. Still, “what a deal” compared to spending $35 per book, when they are brand new, only paying $1 or $2 each.

Met a couple of women, friends of each other, going into the book sale. One was asking me about the yellow bag I was carrying in. I told her it was my grocery bag, and that I had forgotten my larger, heavy duty, light gray, bag that I had used for the Cumberland County Library Book Sales in Fayetteville. She went back to her car to get her own bag, and I talked with her friend briefly. The friend said she had become interested in “detective” novels, and I told her briefly about the L.A. detective, Harry Bosch, and that Michael Connelly was a very good writer. She repeated the last name, “Connelly” and we all made it to the front door and went in. I left them and went over to the “C” section for Connelly, and other authors with names beginning with C.

At first I couldn’t find any Connelly books, the name is usually prominently displayed on the colorful book jackets. I asked one of the staff whether there was a “Connelly” section. She wasn’t familiar with the name but she was putting a long string of another author’s books together. I then found about 4 Connelly novels grouped together. I already had a couple, and two I didn’t, but I bought all four. And then I found that there were others, not in the group, but there amidst the other authors if you looked, a Connelly here, a Connelly there, and eventually I found 10 Michael Connelly hardbacks (@$2). *Surprisingly finding more of these in Little Washington than I had at the book sale in Wilmington, NC. Only six of the Connelly novels I wanted in Wilmington that morning, but I did also buy a German Language softback for 50 cents also.

Before leaving the book sale, I looked around trying to find the two women I had talked to before coming inside. Since I had bought ALL of the Connelly books that I had seen, I had left none for the woman. I had a couple of duplicate books, and thought it would be a cheap present for someone I didn’t know to introduce her to Harry Bosch, and Michael Connelly. But, I didn’t see the women, but then thought they might have already left, and the next thought was that I might be looking at them and not remembering what they actually looked like. 

So, I left and drove the short distance around to “Down on Main Street“. I’ve been to the restaurant, “Down on Main Street” several times. Perhaps first with Leo Taylor, on one of our visits to Washington. I think I may have had their Spaghetti “lunch special” and immediately fell in love with their spaghetti sauce. Most restaurants, that I visit, “dumb down” their spaghetti sauces, trying to not offend anyone with distinctive ingredients, like onion, mushrooms, Italian spices, or maybe even some meat (ground beef). But this spaghetti sauce was DELICIOUS! It had distinctive flavor and the garlic bread was good with it. *The problem, was eventually “Down on Main Street” stopped offering the spaghetti special for lunch. I think they stopped serving spaghetti altogether, at least for a while.

But, yesterday, January 19th, 2024, I had a Shrimp Burger, with slaw, and a side of fried okra, with a cold, Diet Pepsi. The burger was delicious, the shrimp good, the slaw good, the Kaiser Roll (maybe just a burger bun) soft & moist. The fried okra were cooked well, and there was a little plastic cup of cocktail sauce. It all came together for a very pleasurable lunch. My waitress, Jo Jo (not sure of how she spells it), was very friendly and attentive to my drink refills, and at the last, my “to go” cup. In our banter, I asked about the spaghetti special, and she said they offered it on Tuesdays for lunch. I told her I had enjoyed it before they discontinued it, and was glad that they had started offering it again. 

While I was eating lunch, I think it was a waitress coming out from the kitchen, and a female customer, coming out from the bathroom awkwardly tried to occupy the same space briefly. And, the waitress, without really being at fault, contorting to try to avoid the customer, dropped a couple of small bowls and the food made a mess of a rug and the floor in that walkway area. Someone came out with a caution sign, and someone with a broom, and someone with a mop. These someone’s were all young men, not sure if they are all waiters also, but that the cleanup duty came to them, and they stepped efficiently into the fray, and the cleanup was, in a brief time, complete… except for on small dollop of perhaps mayo, left on one edge of the throw rug. And this, only something that someone, myself, that had witnessed the whole accident & cleanup, would even notice.

I mentioned the “accident & efficient clean-up” to Jo Jo, my waitress. I said that the young men reminded me of the Roomba Robots (there is a current commercial showing the imagined, behind the scenes, chorography controlling the cleaning robot). She said that her husband had also made a comment on how efficiently they cleaned up, when necessary. They are a good working team!

After my very pleasurable lunch experience at “Down on Main Street,” I decided to drive around the town. I wasn’t going to go far, but just wanted to see if there were any changes in the immediate area, and knew I wanted to “get on the road” back to Fayetteville. I had already been on the road for three hours that morning, from Jacksonville to Wilmington, and back through Jacksonville to New Bern and on to Washington, NC. 

Just a few blocks up from the restaurant, I came upon Moss Landing. I found this new neighborhood to be immediately captivating. The homes were colorful, mostly in pastels & whites, and very reminiscent of the nice “beach” homes, that you find, “on the beach.” I drove slowly through the new development and then came back taking several pictures of the homes with my phone. I liked this neighborhood immediately and thought that it was a very nice addition to “Little Washington.” Something positive and to be proud of. *I live a long distance from Washington, NC, rarely visit, but have had good experiences in Little Washington and as “Down on Main Street.” I miss my good friend, Leo Taylor. He was very good to me, as a friend, and a boss.

Moss Landing, a new community in “Little” Washington, North Carolina. Moss Landing – Google Street View

Bucheron Goat Cheese
from Wegmans
Nueske’s Liver Pate
from Fresh Market
Savory Rice Thins
from Harris Teeter

Bucheron Goat Cheese from Wegmans.

[NOTE 01/21/24]: Finished “Echo Park” early this morning. There was something about the Wait’s garage description, and the hole in the wall that jogged my memory. I must have seen this in the Bosch series, but don’t recall how many years ago. *[01/22/25 UPDATE]: This novel starts with a car being found in the small garages leading to the High Tower Apartments, and the High Tower is an icon from the 1973 movie, “The Long Goodbye,” in which Elliot Gould plays the fictional detective, Philip Marlowe. I love the “feeding the cat” sequence and now there is even a view from the tower looking down on the small garages. Brief, but if you know what you are looking at, rewarding. The High Tower (elevator) is located just over the hill from the Hollywood Bowl Amphitheater. I learned to despise Harry Bosch from reading the books, not from the TV series. [end UPDATE]

Not sure of what criteria I’m going to use to choose the next book to read. Go to the latest, well next to the last one, unless Connelly has published a new one for this year… or go to the earliest one I have, which is probably about 2001. **Not sure that I am really interested in the early Bosch, although at one time I would have enjoyed it. Sort of like all those Midsomer Murder mysteries I watched over the years (20+ seasons). I enjoyed most of them, but no longer have a desire to rewatch them and I actually began to dislike Barnaby. What a shit family man he was. 

NOTE [ 01/22/24 ]: Got around to writing to “Down on Main Street” Restaurant via email, complimenting them on my good experience there (again):

I first visited Down on Main Street several years ago with a friend, who had grown up in “little” Washington.  His name was Leo Taylor and his parents had managed the Trailways Bus Station for many years.  I think I had your “Spaghetti Special” and thought it was so good because you didn’t “dumb down” your spaghetti sauce.  There was a lot of flavor in your sauce!  And, I came back several times and enjoyed this special, until you stopped offering it.

I live out of town, but last Friday had come up from Jacksonville, NC and decided to have lunch with you.  My waitress was “Jo Jo” and she was excellent, friendly and attentive.  I had your Shrimp Burger, with coleslaw, and a side of fried okra, with a cold Diet Pepsi.  Let me say that was the BEST tasting lunch, from the first bite to the last.

While there, there was an accident between a waitress, coming out of the kitchen, and a woman, coming out of the bathroom.  They both tried to occupy the same space at the same time, and unfortunately the waitress dropped some of her order on the floor making a mess in the walkway.  It wasn’t her fault, by the way.  Here is the compliment… there were several young men who went into action, like the Roomba Robot, and cleaned up the area quickly and efficiently.  They acted as a team, one with a broom, one with a mop, etc.  Floor clean, viola.

So, you have really good food.  You have a really good waitress, and you have really good staff that are working as a team!

Thanks.

Bill

[end NOTE]

[NOTE 01/22/25]: As I was reading the Bosch novels, I would go online and use Google Street View to get a better feel for the Los Angeles area. It may have been “Echo Park” and I was looking at a cafe that the character might have passed in the novel. I visited the web site for this restaurant and saw their long handled silverware. This inspired me to buy some like them. Yes, it made no sense, but I did it.

However, there is something rewarding about having a set of stainless steel chop stix. Well four sets. One for each place setting. [end NOTE]

Original: Outer Limits – The Premonition

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I’m watching a re-run of the old Outer Limits episode called, “the Premonition.” The intro to this episode included video clips from the actual X-15, and the B-52 used to lift it into the sky. I recall, at the time, that there were ice cream/popsicle trading cards which included airplanes, the X-15 and I think things like rockets such as the Nike Zeus. *Although the name “Nike Zeus” stuck in my mind, the image I recall was apparently called “Nike Hercules.”

But the realization I just had was that I never thought, as a boy, “I’d like to be a part of that, maybe fly that aircraft,” or, “help build that aircraft, or whatever the next best thing is.” I never thought, “I’d like to work for NASA.” And, that’s something that I think a boy should think, or be taught to think, whether they grow up to work for NASA, or become a ditch digger, or policeman. 

I understood many things, and thought of many things in a more “worldly” way, that I attribute to having watched a good deal of television when I was growing up. I didn’t think about being a farmer, or growing tobacco, although my family (mother) owned “the family farm,” and tobacco, corn & soy beans were grown on this land, by “the Fat Farmer,” Frank Howell. I came up with the name, “Fat Farmer” because he drove around in a big truck to the various farms he had leased from different people, and he had a big belly that flopped over his waist band. I think we received $3,000 a year for his leasing our farm, and the majority of that amount was due to the Tobacco Allotment. I’m guessing the Tobacco Allotment was determined by the Federal Government, and based upon the amount of tobacco that could be grown on our farm that year. The Fat Farmer would combine these tobacco allotments from the various farms, but would actually grow this combination of tobacco on one or more of these farms. That would make sense, to grow a crop on land that would produce the most. You could concentrate your equipment & workers, and raw products, seeds, fertilizer & pesticides on a few acres, not have to actually move them from small plot, to small plot on many farms.

El Catrin a previous visit.
El Catrin as it was last week.
The Rollator near me was Neldas.

[NOTE 10/31/24]: Last week when I was visiting Mary Ann we met at El Catrin. There were a couple of ladies from her group that were already there. I didn’t catch the name of the woman sitting next to me but we talked for quite a bit during lunch, but at the end she mentioned that Frank Howell was her father. I had never met her. She had moved from the area and worked as a Cooperative Extension Agent (I think.) for 30 years before retiring. This was down in South Carolina in the Clemson area. When she said that Frank Howell was her father I asked her name and it was Nelda Howell. Mary Ann said she never married. I told her we called him the “Fat Farmer” and she laughed because she had never heard that name before. I also told her the story of once they were hauling large bales of tobacco (the cured leaves packaged up like a big tobacco doughnut and tied up in a large square burlap sack) on the back of a small pick up truck. There was a young teenage black boy sitting atop about 5 bales which put him fairly high in the sky. There was nothing tying these bales to the truck, and it was moving slowly and turned up Hwy. 24 where Queens Creek Road meets 24. As the truck turned, the bales of tobacco swayed slightly. The boy on top would have been severely hurt if the bales had actually fell. [end NOTE]

For years, mom paid taxes on the family farm based upon the size being 70 acres. But, when the farm was finally transferred to the New River Baptist Association (many years after her death) and the land actually surveyed, the total acreage was 79 acres.

Mom worked as a Civil Service Clerk Typist for over 40 years, most of that time was aboard Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base. She worked at Building 66 – Naval Medical Field Research Laboratory for a few years. I think two of her co-workers there were Barbara Brainerd and Robin Short. There was also a Robin Short, a daughter of mom’s co-worker, that attended Swansboro High School, and was a few years older than myself.

Not my tackle box, but exactly like the one I had.

At Building 66, mom had a co-worker named, Rip Jackson, who lived down in Sneads Ferry. One year, mom had him buy fishing gear that she gave to me as a Christmas present. I don’t recall, but there had to be a fishing rod, and I still have the Penn Peerless No. 9 reel. There was a copper colored tackle box and inside were some lures and fishing hooks & lead weights. I do recall one lure which appeared to be an ivory white hard plastic shrimp with a couple of 3 pronged hooks hanging down. I think there was also a bottle of fish ointment, meant to attract fish. You were supposed to put a little of this oil on a lure. I think it smelled like almonds, but maybe not.

My Penn Peerless No. 9 reel.

That Christmas, mom & I drove down to the Emerald Isle Fishing Pier. She nor I had any idea about how to fish, in the Atlantic Ocean, or anywhere else for that matter. This was way before the Internet, where I could now go online and watch YouTube videos and read about fishing, and then at least have some idea of how to fish. But, then, nada.

Rip Jackson was also the guy that got me Lassie, my dog, which was to be one of the test subjects at the Lab. *This time period would have been during the Vietnam War, and I recall some story about one of the tests at the lab being putting an actual cadaver foot in a combat boot and blowing it up to see the effects of the blast on a human foot. I never actually saw this, but that is a mental image that has stuck with me ever since I was told it, when a child.

Not sure if I was going fishing, but one time during cold weather, seems like it was also on the Emerald Isle Fishing Pier, the Atlantic Ocean was dead calm (no waves at all, glassy, unusual), but the steam was rising off the water, almost like smoke.

There were a few people on the fishing pier, Christmas day, that year. There was an old guy, near where the waves were breaking below, near shore, and he was pulling in fish, one after another. Mom and I would move close to him (probably causing the fish to move away from him also) trying to get some of his “luck”, but we didn’t catch anything. And, shortly after we moved close to him, he would move away from us. Not sure that I went fishing ever again with that equipment. Years later, I did go fishing with Ervin Wilkins (Aunt Pete’s long-time boyfriend.) in his small boat. He looked kindly on a fatherless boy, and we went out from Aunt Pete’s dock, in front of her house at 521 Riverside Drive in Portsmouth, VA. 

I recall that once, we left the dock almost too late. The tide was going out fast, and we came close to being stuck in the mud, a short distance from her dock. Not sure if we would have tried to walk back to shore, in the deep mud, or just wait for hours until the tide came back in. But, we got out. And, not sure if it was this time also, but we were in the James River, between Portsmouth & Norfolk, and both Ervin and I had our lines in the water. We both snagged something at about the same time, but on different sides of his boat. We started reeling our lines in, and after a while it became obvious that our lines had become tangled together. And then, our hooks had snagged the same Toad Fish, an extremely ugly fish, and not good for eating and the lines had wrapped around each other, to the point that Ervin just cut both lines, instead of trying to unwind them.

Lassie loved to chase cars, and one morning, she chased her last car. Seems like the car had those large fins on the back, maybe a Plymouth Fury. The car had turned down Queens Creek Road from Highway 24, and heading toward Queens Creek and Lassie chased it. I did not see this at first, but heard Lassie yelp as she was hit by the car. I think I looked out from our kitchen window, and maybe that is where I saw the car briefly, and saw Lassie as she ran from the side of the road, and past the kitchen and around the back of the house (where our smokehouse was located). I ran out of the kitchen and off the back porch and found her dead (I say her, but I honestly don’t recall if lassie were male or female.) in the back yard. Painful, but that’s what happens if you chase cars. *Oh, the car did not stop, and I didn’t expect it to. And, having seen the dog run a good distance around past the kitchen, the driver may have never known that they had killed my dog.

[NOTE]: The photo of my Penn Peerless No. 9 above also shows three carved wooden fishermen. I bought several, maybe 10 or 12, of these carved wooden figures more than 30 years ago. I think they were $1@ and I got them at the specialty store in New River Shopping Center. I was living at 204 Johnson Blvd. which was a short distance away.

Several times through the years, I’ve thought about trying to buy some extra carved figures in order to make a complete “fisherman” themed chess set. Haven’t found any figures that are about the same size, and each one is now too expensive to make a chess set. There would be a problem with how to color the two sides, but I like the shape of the fisherman in the yellow rain slicker & hat, to be used as a Bishop. There were no female carved characters. Last year, I came up with the idea of using carved pilings with a perched sea gull as a Rook. 

I was trying to recall the name of the specialty store, in New River Shopping Center, where I bought the carved figures. The store location was where the old Sears had been located. I also bought a set of dishes there, made by Gibson Company, and I have used them, and continue to use them to this day, for about 30 years. 

But, this reminded me of some of the other stores that had been in NRSC in my years growing up. There was the Colonial Store (they had Gold Bond Savings Stamps – equivalent to S&H Green Stamps) on one corner & the Center Theater was in the same block, on another corner. One Saturday, Rick Tash, a TV personality from a Wilmington, NC TV station came to the Colonial Store in Jacksonville and gave away Balsa wood airplanes. I don’t recall, but this little airplane glider might have had had a red plastic propeller and a rubber band set up that, once wound up, would propel the plane a short distance. *I show you the glider here because it seems so close to my memory of what I actually had (several times) as a child. The nose had a metal clasp to protect the nose of the toy when it hit something hard. And, the plastic wrapper seems so familiar, and only 10 cents.

There were also dishes with a wheat pattern. I think you could purchase a dish item (cup, saucer, dinner plate, bowl, etc.) if you had bought a certain amount of groceries, but I don’t recall how many groceries, or if you had to pay for the wheat patterned item.

There were also the Golden Book Encyclopedias. I think there was one volume available, not sure if it was every week, or every month, so you would purchase Volume 1 and take it home and wait until the next volume was available. There were 16 volumes total in the set. I bought a set of these, as an adult, that also included about 5 or 6 extra books that were geographical specific. I still have them. They were small volumes, but had lots of colorful pictures to illustrate the various topics, and the volume covers were each distinctive. Not sure how much each volume cost.

Roses Department Store was a favorite visit. Ron-Cor was a hobby store that at one point had a large slot car track. Bill Rollis’ Steakhouse was on the corner down from Ron-Cor, and across the parking lot from the Center Theater. I think I took a date (maybe even Debbie Sutton) there once, and we both had steak & lobster dinners for a total of $20 (not each, the two). *I had almost forgotten that next to Ron-Cor (or thereabouts) was Peck’s Bakery. I don’t know that I ever went in this bakery, but I always equated the phrase, “Peck’s bad boys,” with this business. Years later, and maybe from something online, I realized that the bad boys were sons of a different Peck, not this baker, in Jacksonville, North Carolina.

There was a “red-haired” girl that was interested in me, and her brother worked or managed the Center Theater. Seems like I/we went, for free, on a couple of Saturday mornings to the serials they were showing. Not sure if the serials were a Western or maybe Flash Gordon (SciFi). I think movies only cost 25 cents.

Down from the Center Theater, there was a jewelry store, and that may have become a Men’s Clothing Store, or was next to it at a later time. I bought a nice Herringbone “London Fog” Overcoat from this clothing store, when I was a college student. I kept this coat for over 20 years, maybe 30, and then when I looked closer, I saw moth holes in the sleeve. And then I threw it away, but it was a very nice, classic men’s overcoat.

Perhaps the men’s clothing store was around the corner from the jewelry store, or it seems that was the location of the entrance to the clothing store. And, the clothing store might have been owned by a Popkin (Jewish).

Formerly the Center Theater
Formerly Roses Department Store
Each year the corner became Santa’s Headquarters
To the left, near is where I bought the Herringbone London Fog Overcoat.
In front & across the way was Bill Rollis’ Steak House & Ron-Cor.

On the inside corner of the building, next to the men’s clothing store, was a little enclosure, with a cross-hatch wooden ribbing & I think it had some glass. I never went into this little cubicle, but each year, at Christmastime, Santa would make this place his connection to a long line of kids & their parents who waited to tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas. 

In later years, just around the corner from Santa’s hut, and facing (across a large parking area) the old Sears location, was a health foods store. I have a vague image of looking at a large plastic bottle of some kind of vitamin or supplement in the health foods store.

Down, and around the corner was a drug store. Don’t recall which one or if it was just local. And next to it was a small US Post Office location. Next to the Post Office was a Peebles, which I recall had clothing, and maybe some household goods. Not sure if Peebles had taken over the old Colonial Store (which had been closed a long time) location, or if it was next to it.

Oh, and across the street from the old Center Theater location, there was a local grocery store built (I think built years after the Center Theater was no longer a movie theater.). Not sure if it was an IGA grocery store location, could have been a Piggly Wiggly, but definitely had a “country” vibe to it.

There was a bank near where the old Sears location was, and across the parking lot from the Post Office was a building that was a washerette. And, this reminds me of a gas station & mechanic that was next to the washerette, on the corner. Just down the street, about a block away was the New River Baptist Church. I started attending NRBC about 1977 and mom started going there also. She eventually helped tend the children’s nursery. 

Spring Internet World 1997

bgibson135

I had been working at Fayetteville State University in their computer department for a couple of years (August 7, 1995) when I asked to go to the Spring Internet World ’97 Conference in Los Angeles. Leo Taylor, was my boss, and my friend so he approved this trip, but those above him bawked at it, and there was foot dragging almost to the last minute and I was signing travelers’ checks at First Citizens on the morning before I flew out of Fayetteville. The majority of these checks were used for me to pay for the conference, once I arrived. The foot dragging had meant that they didn’t send the payment, in advance, like they easily could have. 

As I recall, the flight there was without connecting flights, but I think the return trip had one connection where on the last leg of my return I boarded a prop-commuter that seemed a little “iffy” to me.

The conference was held in the LA Convention Center, which was also used as one of the filming locations in the SciFi movie, “Starship Troopers.” The facility structure has a lot of metal beams, all painted white. 

I’ll hopefully come back to fill in more details later, but I wanted to mention that a short time before this conference trip, and that may have only been a week or two, I had gone down to Georgia to visit my half-sister, Donna, and attend her wedding. She had her wedding at a beautiful Baptist church, with tall ceilings, white walls and shiny brass lighting. A dream setting for her first wedding. The boy loved her, but ultimately she was damaged emotionally and had a needful personality and after several years she divorced.

But, I wanted to mention that I met some of my sister’s relatives during this wedding. I don’t recall their names, but there was a man who lived in California and who either had worked or was working for Boeing. It may not have been Boeing, but it was one of those largest companies that build commercial jets. The gentleman generously invited me to stay at his home a few days while I was out at the conference. *Hope I’m not making that part up. I remember the hotel I stayed at, which was something like the Hollywood Hilton, but it wasn’t a new, upscale destination. but something that might have existed since the 1950s. Small rooms, but obviously well worn. At some point we got together and he drove me around and we even visited Nixon’s Presidential Library, where they had moved his childhood home. The choice that day was either the Nixon Library or a trip to a Monastery (don’t recall which religious group, but I think it was Oriental, or maybe Buddhist). We also drove from above the Malibu Pier down to Venice Beach. So, in a very short time, I visited a few of the many iconic locations around or near LA and I dipped my toe in the Pacific Ocean. *I grew up on the Atlantic coast, but have also dipped my toe in the Gulf. I have been to Detroit, MI for about a week, a long time ago, and visited Chicago twice. I don’t recall if I ever dipped a toe in one of the Great Lakes, but I had to cross at least one to visit the Canadian city, Windsor, across from Detroit.

On my Chicago trips, I did go up the Sears Tower both times, but at night both visits. Perhaps the more interesting visit was to an old mansion that was being used for a Battered Women’s Shelter. This was a sprawling old home, multi-story, and even unused, unfurnished, dusty rooms. I recall seeing a very small old elevator, that I’m not sure was even in working order still. But the most interesting part of this old home was a half sized gymnasium. I say gym, but it had a small indoor basketball gym that had a glass superstructure that looked out on the Chicago skyline. 

Oh my, my the changes

bgibson135

I’m enjoying my retirement (about 4 years into it now), but I am aware that I am an old man, and even if you are good, changes, bad changes do occur. 

I love cooking, and trying new things but I just thought the other day that I could become incapacitated and lose all the wonderful freedom I currently enjoy. Two things: not to be able to cook for myself, and not to be able to get in my car and drive, where I want, when I want.

I got in my car yesterday and headed up toward Dunn, the back roads crossing over the Cape Fear River near Linden, and then instead of heading down to Dunn, I headed up toward Buies Creek and Campbell University. As I got there, Campbell, I drove past the dorm in which I lived in my only year there, 1975, Sauls Hall. Then past the new Student Union, around the traffic circle near the new gymnasium and past the running Camel statue. *I did think of an attractive student who had “smiled at me” shortly before (days) getting a new boyfriend. I went past the old Post Office building, and that sparked the memory of the day, in the Spring, I think, when several of us (in another student’s car) drove down to Fayetteville and went to the new Mall. It was so new that there were still a few businesses completing the construction work before they opened.

The other thought was that every day, at Campbell, I would go to the Post Office looking for a letter from Debbie. We weren’t a couple at the time, but I had such a hard time letting her go in my heart & mind. But on this day when we went to Fayetteville, it was a time where I forgot about my longing for Debbie and enjoyed the activities. We returned home late and I went to bed, and this was the first day in a long time in which I did not make it to the Post Office.

What do you know? Yup! The next morning I went to the Post Office and there was a letter from Debbie.

[ NOTE ]: Another thought was that I used the same Accounting Book (Intro to) at Campbell College as I had used at UNC-Chapel Hill, although my accounting professor at Chapel Hill had helped write the textbook. But, the mental image I just had was that at the end of the year, when I no longer needed the Accounting book, I tried to sell it to the Campbell Book Store. Whatever amount they offered me was so little that instead of selling it to them, I kept it and seems like I was outside, on campus, when I ripped the Accounting book apart.

But, that also reminds me of a little brown Bible that I owned. It had been given to me by Piney Grove Baptist Church as a Senior Graduation present, and because I wasn’t attending church much my Senior Year at Swansboro, the pastor stopped me and said something to the effect, “I think we have something for you.” He went up to the pulpit and the little Bible with my name imprinted on it in gold letters, was laying on a shelf there. He gave it to me. *I think I was near the end of my college life, at UNC-Wilmington, and I found myself standing next to a bookshelf in my bedroom, cleaning out my old books. I took the little brown Bible off the shelf, holding it above a trash can, and thinking whether I should throw it away or not. I said something to myself to the effect, “Well, I don’t believe this stuff, but I might be able to get a quarter for it, if I sell it.” I kept the Bible, and perhaps in six months was reading it, “in the Spirit.”

I stopped at the Harnett County Library, but the door was locked, and it was about 30 minutes before the listed closing time. I’m guessing it might be because of the holidays.

I then drove over the Cape Fear and went down to the IGA. I was actually looking for some of the canned Smoked Oysters (that I like with my homemade hummus), but didn’t find any. I did note how beautiful the vegetable section was displayed, and mentioned this to a girl who was working in another section. She said she would let the guy in charge of that area know. I did buy a cabbage, and I took several pictures of the veggies.

One thought was that a lot of joy would go when I am no longer able to drive myself around.

But, another thought came, and that would be when I could no longer cook for myself. And, I guess with the cooking comes the going out and buying all the ingredients. I currently visit about seven or eight different grocery chains/stores a week, and almost every day am going to a couple to pick up things that I specifically buy at that location. IGA, Food Lion, Walmart, Harris Teeter, Pate’s, Publix, Sprouts… and out of town maybe Whole Foods or Wegmans or the State Farmers’ Market in Raleigh, in season. Publix has good bread and also imported lamb (round bone) chops. Sprouts has nuts & dried fruits, selected veggies and Pomegranate juice. Pate’s in season has fresh okra, corn on the cob and sometimes seasoning meats for flavoring beans, etc. I like the Campari Tomatoes, but also get some of the yellow or red grape tomatoes at several stores. 

I don’t know if I will lose my mind or my mobility first, if not both, before I die. But just sitting at home, or in a nursing home, not able to “get out” and galavant, or be able to get up and plan and prepare the daily meals will be extremely disheartening. Galavanting about the country is something that my Aunt Sis (my mother’s sister, Carrie Kellum) instilled the joy of, in me. Through the years, I often would prefer to get in the car and drive around, not necessarily stopping or going anywhere in particular, instead of watching a movie or TV. Although, I do love watching TV & movies.

MyFitnessPal is a web site that I found a little over a month ago, and it is replacing the FitDay site that I use for several years to track my weight, blood glucose readings, and list my meals & foods. FitDay eventually stopped doing its thing and I didn’t find a replacement immediately. But then I found the MyFitnessPal web site, and it had enough of the FitDay elements that I started religiously tracking my food intake again, and weight & Bgl resting levels. And, it’s working! I have lost about 10 lbs. in a little over a month, and my Bgl resting levels have dropped and are now averaging just below 140. This morning was exceptional at 125 but lately they have been in the mid-130s range. *If I can keep them where they are now, I shouldn’t have to go on Insulin, which I have agreed with my PCP Dr. Norem, that I would start taking the shots if she told me to, if I hadn’t brought my A1C down significantly.

But with me tracking my intake, and planning days in advance what I would be eating for each meal, both my weight and Bgl resting levels have begun to dive, downward.

Oh, and I have just started my 4th Harry Bosch (Michael Connelly) novel, “Dark Sacred Night.” I’ve put the books in the basket near my toilet and read a few pages each time I go. I did start to read, “The Wrong Side of Goodbye,” but realized the storyline from having watched the Bosch series on TV, and stopped reading that because I just wasn’t interested in that story again.

Bucheron Goat Cheese

bgibson135

I was in Wegman’s on Monday and walking through the cheese section of the store. I didn’t want any blue cheese, because I thought I still had some at home. But I did see a small round item labeled “goat cheese”. I don’t think that I saw the name “Bucheron” on it until I either got it to the car or home. Actually, the Bucheron label was on the opposite side of the puck, and it only said “goat cheese” on the side that had the price.

Capricio de Cabra
Bucheron

There was something familiar about the look of this cheese puck. The core was mostly whitish, but nearer the rind, the cheese yellowed a little and then the rind was actually darkly mottled. I tried some of the cheese and liked it. I think it was then that I looked at the label and read the name “Bucheron”. Slowly it came to me, “wait, I know this cheese, and it used to be a favorite of mine”. Not sure why I stopped buying it. Probably just disappeared from the refrigerated shelves and I eventually forgot about it. My favorite goat cheese has been the “Capricio de Cabra” for several years now. Consistently tart and good. But most definitely, Bucherondin is an old favorite, that I would purchase again. *When I first tried “Bucherondin” I was living in Jacksonville, North Carolina. I do not recall where I bought it there. I think what happened was that when I moved to Fayetteville, North Carolina in 1995, there was no one that sold Bucerondin goat cheese, and I eventually forgot about it. But, the flavor is distinctive, and when I tasted it , perhaps more than 30 years later, I recognized an old friend.