Picture Sunday

Hello, you end-of-weekenders, and welcome to another round of Picture Sunday.

Before we go any further, let me just say that dinner out with the family and two massive martinis make for a rather inebriated Bet. I do have coffee, however, and will try to sober up nicely for a good Picture Sunday blog. I got Granny (my mom) somewhere between martinis number 1 and number 2 when she heard me utter the phrase, "Screw 'em in the eye." It made her laugh. Always good to make Granny laugh.

So, Picture Sunday.

Ahhhh, spring. I've been writing about spring a lot lately, but mainly it's in a sort of "it's spring and cold and rainy and I can't do anything" vein. However, while I seem to be sitting around complaining, someone has been very busy.

As you may or may not remember, my boy (well, he's Peabody's boy, but lives with me, so I consider him mine) Sherman is quite the young botanist. He grows his garden at Poderosa East, aka Mr M's back yard, and has made amazing strides in the world of fruit production. Who could forget two years ago when he grew the very first Shermanhead watermelon?



What a coup. People were lining up all along G Road to buy them from his roadside stand outside Mr M's house.

Then last year, he won rave reviews with his Shermanhead squash.



Another success, especially for those of us "country food" enthusiasts, who bought the squash and fried it up for a good side dish.

Well, this year, the boy has outdone himself. Now, let me tell you, this is a very, very rare sneak preview. I'm only allowed to show these next pictures because no one knows the exact locations of the Poderosa and Poderosa East. But here's what will be harvested and sold roadside this year. It'll have you driving to Virginia, for sure. First of all, how about the soon-to-be famous Shermanhead peach?



Exquisite. And now, and let me stress, folks, this is hot off the presses, and barely off the drawing board, and you, you lucky folks, are the first people to see it. The "only a germ of an idea so far" Shermanhead carrot!



Like I said, this one is just now in the planning stages and may not even be ready by the fall, but, boy, can I not wait to get this little number shredded and into my salad. Even into the Jell-O Tuna Salad Extravaganza! (Yeah, like I'm ever making that again....)

This weekend was one basically spent at the Poderosa. No B'burg, for, as I told Mr M, "I'm tired and I miss home." However, there was one small thing to attend to. That would be the Community Band concert at Claytor Lake on Saturday, for Armed Forces Day. Now, to be honest, I don't really understand Armed Forces Day. I mean, we already have Memorial Day, do we really need something else? I'm afraid I'm with Mr M on this one - why isn't there a National Draft Dodger Day? Now, I'd be up for that. Let's play a concert for all those people who went North!

However, it was not to be. Instead, it was driving 90 minutes each way to play a plethora of patriotic songs, but the scenery sure was nice. Here's the lake.



Well, there's some grass, and trees, and a small mountain, but you can see the lake in there somewhere. That's it kind of middleways between the mountain and the grass. It's bluish.

Then today it was a blissful morning of lazing around in bed until I got up and got going. There was the recipe du jour, of course, and I'm finally caught up with laundry, I worked on re-caulking my shower stall yesterday (a job I'm afraid was in vain, as I'm seriously in need of a whole new shower, if not a whole new bathroom), and also today I ransacked my house for yard sale items.

No, I'm not having a yard sale, the GHS Band is. See, the GHS Band, of which I'm an alumnus and my dear nephew is a member in good standing, have a big-ass yard sale every Memorial Day weekend. It's their biggest money-making project of the year. And in looking for items, guess what I decided would go into the sale?

Yep, I'm sick of babysitting. Remember how I often mention that I've been holding my cousin Jacob's Christmas presents from 2004, that she and her husband apparently haven't thought enough of to come and get? For two years? Well, guess what. If they want them henceforth, they can go to the GHS Band's big-ass yard sale and buy them.



Something there for the whole damn family. Mom can have the brand new smoothie maker, Dad can have the Sharper Image travel bag, teenage son can have the new (or it was 2 years ago) REM DVD, and pre-teen daughter can have the Bratz watch (Jacob always liked the Bratz). My old pedalciser, a couple of videos, a new welcome mat, some CD racks, and several new kitchen appliances (what - like I cook?) also went into the mix.

And now it's time. Oh, yeah, gird your loins, it's time for the recipe du jour. Funny story about the recipe du jour, which will come later. But first of all let's introduce the little fella, yes, from the "Healthy Desserts" file at recipeland, say hello to Brussels Sprouts Pie A La Mode.



Mmmmm, a real treat for those of you who are overly health-conscious, or just didn't get enough vitamins and roughage in your normal meal. This one is surprisingly easy, just take your pie crust, add some cooked brussels sprouts along with a goodly helping of butter and brown sugar, top with pastry latticework, and bake. For presentation's sake, top your pie with a nice scoop of vanilla ice cream and lovingly (it must be lovingly!) top it with a brussels sprout. Fun for the whole family, if your family is really weird.

Now, the funny. I decided to take the remainder (minus the piece I cut) to Granny's tonight and present it to her as a "belated Mother's Day present." She was so excited, she thought it was an actual recipe I'd made! She was all set to dig into it until I told her that under no circumstances was she to eat it, that it was a joke, upon which news she became quite disappointed. My dad (Paw) swore, though, that he was going to eat it, because it just "sounded really good." I can't wait to see if he actually tries it, and if he survives. I'll keep you posted.

Happy week.

Betland's Olympic Update:
* Do you know that since I stopped eating ice cream, I can't even stand the smell of it anymore? Quite odd.
* A big Betland shout-out to my buddy the dishy Michelle, who informed me that she's going to see the Hackensaw Boys this Friday night! Woo-hoo! She's the first of all my bloggers to take the plunge.
* And finally, goodbye, Mrs C. Mrs C lived across the street from my folks the whole time I was growing up. She was my nemesis in youth, she didn't like teenagers coming and going at all hours, with their horn-honking and rock and roll music, but in adulthood I found her to be quite the nice lady. She died today. She lived a good, long life, and I'm glad we got to be friends eventually. She still bought me a Christmas present every year, even long after I moved away from home.