Things I Love Thursday

Boiled peanuts!

When I was a child, my grandfather grew peanuts.

My grandmother always had a pot of them boiling on the back of the stove.

Freshly boiled peanuts are the best.

(These were made for me by a darling child in Kansas.)

Down South, you often see them being sold out of the back of trucks on the side of the road. This truck was parked outside a Waffle House where I ate in Fountain Inn, South Carolina:



On a recent trip to South Carolina, I checked out what was available at the Piggly Wiggly. (Notice those GIANT cans.)



Now they have microwavable pouches! I brought these home with me but had to put up a good fight with airport security in order to have them in my carry-on (due to liquid in them). Not as good as the real deal, but better than nothing.

An egg a day

My friend, Gucci, made me these eggs to have while I recuperate from thumb surgery.
Aren't they pretty?

An Eatin' Man

Remember how Jethro Bodine was an Eton man?

Those Southerners sure do eat!

During my recent trip to South Carolina, I took a stroll down memory lane to see some of the foods I remember well, and some I had forgotten about.

I remember mustard greens but I had forgotten about crowder peas.

Grits, grits, grits.....so many kinds of grits. (I love 'em.)

I LOVE these Nekot cookies. I can't find them where I live now so I always buy a bunch to bring home.

I grew up near the Duke's mayonnaise factory. It's the best! My sister always takes some back to Ohio with her when she visits the South.

My mother always forced me to eat fried okra, despite much gagging on my part. But I love pickled okra. Back in my hippie days, I had a huge vegetable garden and grew okra. The plant has GORGEOUS flowers.




The Piggly Wiggly had the world's largest collection of pork rinds. WHAT is better than cold beer and pork rinds? I once had a friend who was obese. He went on a doctor-approved pork rind diet and lost a ton of weight. Seriously. (They have no carbs. A little fat, but, hey....)

I picked these up at a convenience store. They were really tasty. 350 calories a bag.

These are still sitting in my cupboard. Yum.

Another food I was forced to eat despite much gagging. (But fresh, of course, and with lots of fatback.)

I have no memory of chicken feet in my childhood, but they sure are popular at the Piggly Wiggly.

Happy Birthday, Ruby

Two years old today.

Bum thumb

If you have a bum thumb (like me) or other hand problems, here's my new pen discovery. Really does help! (Now if they would just make one called Dr. Gripe.)

Things I Love Thursday

My rattan furniture.

I have a set of 3 chairs and a sofa. They are from the 20s. Really comfy. The cushions are heavy and have springs in them.

Watching what you eat

I got this new app on my iPhone called Meal Snap.

You take a picture of food and it identifies it and gives the approximate calorie count, then stores them by calendar days.

We were playing around with it during Easter dinner.

It's pretty amazing. It actually identified the chocolate mousse on the spoon!!

On the Road to Mr. Mineo's

In honor of ALMOST finishing On the Road to Mr. Mineo's:

"Why don't we discuss this?" she suggested.

A fascinating discussion about "Said is Dead" initiated by author Augusta Scattergood on her blog.

Would love for both sides to chime in. (I did.)

The Rusty Key

Happy first birthday to The Rusty Key Blog.

Another perfect Easter

Hoppy Easter

On the Road to Mr. Mineo's

Revisions almost done.

Things I Love Thursday

(Notice that these are on the grocery store shelf and not in my pantry. I can't control myself with these little gems of marshmallowy calories.)

Quote of the Day

Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong word.

--Mark Twain