I am not sure, but I suspect that Smoky the Bear might have originated somewhere in the Great Smoky Mountains, as I saw features and advertisements and monument plaques for him everywhere!!
Visiting the Great Smoky Mountains, Tennesse
Page 27 of 46
Low Country Boil
A low country boil, as I have been told, is very similar to a crab cracking party–either way, it’s a whole lot of good food and fun to be had with family and friends. I was put in charge of finding clean newspapers and a steaming pot (with the fire ring kit, etc) for the party. The fire ring kit and steaming pot was the easy part, I borrowed one from my neighbor (and invited him to come along!)
I obtained the clean stack of newspapers with a stroke of luck; I happened to catch a newspaper delivery man and asked if he had any unsold newspapers from previous days that I could purchase off of him–he gave me a stack of folded, untouched papers for free, which was a blessing as we needed a lot of newspaper to line the tables.
The low country boil was held outside in a friends backyard. Everyone brought something along for the shin-dig and oh, boy, what a party!! Music, dancing and of course great food!!!
The large steam pots were put over fire rings, using propane tanks. The guys steamed up potatoes, chunks of corn on the cob, sausage chunks of an assorted variety, and of course, shrimp, lots and lots of shrimp–people even brought homemade cocktail sauce, drawn butter, paper towels, and more!!
Even the pups got to enjoy some scraps (and no, they weren’t eating from the tables!)
Easy Brunch, pulling it all together
Brunch is made to be enjoyable and make it easy for yourself, simply use what you have about in your fridge or make it “potluck” style with a couple of friends, bring only what you have on hand!! It makes it a fun and easy way to dine tastefully and on a budget…. and who doesn’t like that?
Summer Blossoms along the road side
Road side blooms make a lovely bouquet
On the way home, I came across a most obliging field of wild flowers; I couldn’t help but stop and pick some for my home (while leaving plenty for others to enjoy!) And what girl doesn’t enjoy a nice bouquet? I gifted myself the beautiful bouquet and it was well worth the 10 minutes of effort to enjoy such blossoms!!
A bit of fun…
Okay, we all know what memes are and that there are various forums to find them; some are shared, some make us laugh, others make us ponder. Finding and reading memes, no matter the subject or theme (and the ones below don’t have any theme other than that they appealed to me) can lead one on a meme adventure (or down the rabbit hole.) I hope you enjoy (and I take credit for none of these, I just found them!)
Reader Beware!! Some are funny, some are sweet and others are downright creepy!
Stone Soup–using what’s at hand.
The Stone Soup is a European folk story in which hungry strangers convince the people of a town to each share a small amount of their food in order to make a meal that everyone enjoys, and exists as a moral regarding the value of sharing. In varying traditions, the stone has been replaced with other common inedible objects, and therefore the fable is also known as axe soup, button soup, nail soup, and wood soup.
Stone Soup – Wikipedia
While I most certainty don’t go hungry, I don’t like to waste. While trying to figure out what I wanted to make for dinner this evening, I realized I bits and bobs of this that and the other. I didn’t have enough of any item to make a “proper dish” of anything, so I made stone soup at home of the bits and bobs from my refrigerator that needed to be eaten; while none of the ingriedients were any were near spoiled or bad, they still needed to be used an eaten.
What is included in this stone soup:
CHicken Bullion-water, carrots (diced)-half a large onion (course chunked)-medium tomato chunked-3 cups of raw kale-salt-pepper-2 medium red potatoes (chunky diced)-2tsp Italian seasoning
It was all simmered together for about 90 minutes (of course, while I caught up on my pen pal correspondence).
Stone Soup –potato vegetable soup
She Crab Soup, a Charleston Delight
I found a postcard in Charleston with a delightful recipe I feel is worth sharing! I hope you also enjoy!!!
Charleston, South Carolina She Crab Soup (taken from the Postcard)
2 tbsp butter, 1 tsp. Flour, 1 quart milk, 2 cups white crab meat with roe, 5 drops onion juice, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/4 tsp mace, 1/2 tsp sea salt, 1/4 pint heavy cream (whipped) , 4-5 tbsp dry sherry, grated rind of one lemon
In the top of a double boiler, melt butter and blend with flour until smooth. While stirring constantly, add teh milk slowly. Then add the crab meat and roe plus all the seasonings, except sherry. Cook over low heat for 20 minutes. Serve warm in cups with one teaspoon of Sherry, and a topping of whipped cream.
Playing Postcard “Where’s Waldo” In Charleston, South Carolina.
A friend, many years ago, introduced me to the notion/game of playing “Where’s Waldo” postcard style and I fell in love with the game. The idea is simple, when on an adventure, in a new town or country or anything, find a few postcards and try to find each item on the postcard(s). Sometimes the greatest adventures are had while searching for the items, discovering hidden away treasures along the way and finding victory when you find the place!! It’s a lot of fun, I often will then send said postcard to a friend or family member, expressing the joy that was experienced or send it to myself, as a “rememberal” souvenir to add to my journal when I do return home.
Two Meeting Street Inn Charleston, SC 
A collection of postcards 
Rainbow Row, Charleston, SC 
Single House South Caroline 
Circular Congregational Church, Charleston South Carolina
Pineapple Fountain, A Welcoming Site, Charleston, South Carolina
Pineapple Fountain, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
The Pineapple Fountain, Charleston, South Carolina, located a couple of Blocks from Waterfront Park– a beautiful walk to reach the fountain, and what a stunner!! While the Fountain was bubbling and spouting while I visited, it provided beautiful entertainment and cool waters to splash my face in on such a hot day!!
A bit of history as to why the Pineapple is the symbol of welcome and hospitality, the Pineapple History can been joyfully read. This Pineapple sits on the welcome fronts of Charleston, most certainly welcoming locals, tourists and other adventures alike to the beauty of Charleston.
Live Music Duo-Music to my ears at Grits and Groceries, Belton/Due West South Carolina
An evening out with friends has proven to be quite lovely!
Live music, performed by a local duo, and great food at Grits and Groceries. Open for the live music outside of normal operating hours, the live event was quite entertaining and the sound quality was great way to have a lawn party with a small bonfire going .
Grits and Groceries – Destination restaurant in Belton, SC, featuring eclectic southern cooking
