The week that passed

We were at the beach all day Monday and Tuesday I did not listen to anything. However, once we were home Wednesday night I began with what I intended to listen to all week. 

Since this is the fourth of July week I thought it might be a grand idea to listen daily to some traditional 4th tunes. 

Monday: Gigantic breakfast. Chris and Peggy's house. Toured Dauphin Island, visited and sat on their gigantic beautiful  porch watching life on the water happen. 

What I learned: The west end of Dauphin Island was seriously harmed during the last hurricane. It lost a lot of its beach. There is even one house with the front facing the gulf, that now sits directly over the water. No beach remains in front of it. Mother Nature always wins.

Listened to: Family conversations

Dinner: Broiled grouper, tossed salad, squash casserole, sliced tomatoes, crab dip.

Tuesday: We made plans to visit Bayou La Batre. If you ever saw Forrest Gump you will remember Bubba was from there, and it was where Forrest went to start his shrimping empire. 

In reality it is a fishing (primarily shrimping) town on the far west coast of Alabama, and looks pretty much like it was depicted in the movie.

The bonus was eating at a restaurant (it had just a few too many tables to avoid being called a true dive) with the best sautéed crab claws I have even eaten. If you find yourself in Bayou La Batre stop in the Lighthouse for a treat. 

Don't worry about what you are wearing. As long as it is clothing. it would be impossible to be underdressed.

After lunch we rode around the area before going back to their house.

What I learned: I learned about some family concerns I had never heard before. 

Listened to: Family conversations

Dinner: Shrimp, salad, leftover squash casserole

Wednesday: We woke, packed and started our trip home from our family trip. It was a gorgeous day for travel and because we had nothing planned once we were back in Birmingham, we took our time and stopped at a couple of places we like to stop.

Our first was to stop at QT for gas for the car and coffee for me. They have really delicious coffee there, but be warned; their small is like a large everywhere else.

The next stop was the Conecuh Sausage Store. If you have been reading me for any length of time you know what a fan of Conecuh sausage I am. We left with 4 pounds of original sausage, 4 pounds of sausage "dogs", and 2 pounds of traditional sausage patties. (My already overstocked freezer was not happy about this, but it's a done deal, so some rearranging had to take place)

We bought a car refrigerator a couple of years ago before our cross country road trip was cancelled. It came in very handy to keep all of the sausage cold.*

Our 3rd stop was to eat at Bates House of Turkey. TheHub wants to eat there every time we pass it. Not my favorite but it is perfectly fine, and I am not about to ruin the pleasure he get from eating there by using my veto power.

The 4th and final stop was Peach Park in Clanton. TheHub has always gotten a fried peach pie there, but that is no longer working for him. It might not be a stop anymore.

We were happy to beat the rain, and got unloaded and in the house while everything was still dry.

What I learned: While talking to Son3 on the way home I learned they are coming to visit the weekend of then 11th,.

Listened to: Sirius radio one the road and, once home, heard  America the Beautiful

Dinner: We had eaten a large lunch and only wanted a bite to eat for dinner.

Pimento cheese sandwich

Thursday: I began to do the laundry from our quick trip, made coffee, and made a grocery list from the week's ads while listening to music. I love having music around me all of the time. 

I had to run to the bank because my credit card was due and I pay it off in full each month to keep from accruing finance charges. Also, knowing I will pay it off each month keeps my monthly use it in check.

Listened to: I was listening to my Spotify playlist for the 4th of July when this song came on. Gotta love a little Kate.

 God Bless America*

Dinner: Stuffed bell pepper, green beans, coleslaw

 

Friday: TheHub and I headed out for a few errands, primarily buying BBQ for the 4th. Our Lady of Sorrows Knights of Columbus cooks and sells everything needed for a 4th celebration. We were only interested in the ribs and pulled pork, and wound up buying 2 slabs of ribs and 2 pounds of pork butt.

We ran that by the house then headed to Aldi for some other things we needed for the 4th. While we were out we stopped at Vecchia and used a gift card to get a couple of things for my already overloaded freezer.

(We have a bunch of gift cards and certificates leftover from silent auction purchases we have bid on, and won, at various fundraisers we attend every year. We decided we would start using them intentionally rather than letting them continue to sit in a basket. Especially since fundraiser season begins again in September.)

We put those things away before heading out for the final couple of errands we needed to do.

I did a little prep work in the kitchen for the 4th, including baking cookies and brownies, and making a pasta salad. I did not want to be baking during the hot daytime, and the pasta salad needed time to get really cold.

Later that night we watched The Capitol Fourth on tv.

Listened to: This is My Country

What I learned: After watching several World Cup games, and even though I have no clue what all the rules are, I really do like watching soccer (or football if you are from somewhere else)

Dinner: White bbq chicken***, mixed vegetables, cooked cabbage, cornbread

Saturday: It was the 4th and I got everything ready for our bbq lunch. Son2, DIL2 and My Beloved Sister came over to eat with us.

After a late, long, and conversation filled lunch TheHub showed all of his photos from Europe, to everyone. Then they all went home.

Both have dogs they needed to check on and possibly drug before the fireworks began. 

I took a long nap (I don't sleep well when I am away from home and had also been staying up too late and getting up too early). Sometime during my nap, TheHub took one too. We woke in time to do a little grazing before watching a PBS 4th broadcast from Williamsburg Virginia. 

What I learned: The PBS special had some wonderful mentions about some lesser known Revolutionary War participants. 

Listened to: The Star Spangled Banner

Who does this better than Whitney?

Lunch: Ribs, pulled pork, potato salad, pasta salad, watermelon, chips, brownies, cookies. With all that for lunch who needed dinner?

Sunday: Because it was the 4th weekend our church only had one service Sunday, no Sunday School and no evening services. TheHub and I decided we would not go and, instead, streamed it from my laptop while we sat at the table. 

It was a lazy sort of a day with reading, laundry and a whiff of deluttering.

In the evening we watched soccer. I will admit I love seeing Norway win just so I can watch their Viking row! 

It doesn't take a lot to make me happy, does it?

Listened to: Nothing in particular

Dinner: Steak, potato, tossed salad

Read: Dark of the Moon

Have a great week.

May all your weeds be wildflowers.

Anne

*   It will also be handy for holding sodas for the 4th holiday

** I will add, God Bless the Whole World

*** Early in the week we got a box filled with Alabama "goodies" as a thank you. One of the items was a bottle of Big Bob Gibson's white bbq sauce. I never buy it and always make it from scratch, but since it was a gift, I used it