St. Andre Cheese

A great portion of our time in New Orleans was spent trying to think of a particular cheese and even chacha couldn't answer. The correct response was St. Andre. It goes great w/pinot for you pinot lovers out there. It looks so good I think it might even be good w/cabernet as well. I am featuring St. Andre on my blogsite this week I am so crazy about it. P.S if you haven't tried chacha, you should. You can text the site and ask most any question and you will get a text response quickly. We also use the site to settle a lot of sports arguments that arise at the dinner table. www.chacha.com or text your question to 242242.

Muffaletta Madness

This is the sandwich that saved the fam from starvation on the train--if we'd just had some chips it would have been out of this world--but we were trying to be healthy.

Salad Midi at Muriels

A fabulous salad of heirloom tomatoes, feta and avacadoes on a basil chiffonade. Not exactly New Oleans brunch food but a wow!

New Orleans

The Big Easy Trip

After Christmas with no family around and no basketball games, we decided to take the City of New Orleans train from Memphis for a mini-vacation and family food fest—The train ride was seamless—rather a nice way to travel other than it leaves at 6 am from downtown Memphis. Memphis looked pretty shabby as we left and as we got further into the weekend in NO it looked like a resort area. When we landed and checked into our room at the Royal Sonesta we immediately took off for Pat O’Briens—it was good as usual and while Dean had a traditional hurricane, I had a rainbow drink and Cam, the traditional margarita—we decided on a one drink limit because we were on the Concierge floor of our hotel and had happy hour to anticipate. The happy hour was indeed happy as we could sit outside on a balcony and drink white wine and eat wonderf cheeses and crab au gratin—The only kind of cheese they didn’t have was St. Andre. The cheese board was a nice piece of slate that I found intriguing because they could write the name of the cheese on the piece f slate. Dinner reservations were for Galatoires where we wanted a real New Orleans meal. It was an exercise in gluttony—Dean had mass quantities of crab au gratin that would have fed a basketball team. I had stuffed eggplant that turned out to be a large lump of dressing w/shrimp in it—I am sure there was crab and eggplant somewhere but it was enormous. Camille had lemon fish w/artichoke, crab and mushrooms—also rich as it could be. We started then to reconsider our reservations for the rest of the weekend. We had scheduled a jazz brunch at Arnaud’s for Sunday am and then just couldn’t pull the trigger on another meal like we’d had at Galatoires. Saturday we walked around the quarter, had muffalettas at Central Grocery and went to the Aquarium. This time at happy hour we paced ourselves better and didn’t fill up before dinner—Dinner on Saturday night was early at 6:30 so we had a much lighter and less filling meal at August—reported to be the best restaurant in the city but it could have been in any city so I thought it lacked any NO ambience. We took a cab there but realized we could have walked so we did walk back, changed clothes and headed for a stroll down lovely Bourbon Street. Everyone just had to have a frozen drink to walk down the street. Dean and I had pina coladas and Cam had some funky margarita like drink that I detested.

Finally the last meal in New Orleans (for a long time as I am concerned) was chosen and it was hands-down the best overall move of the trip. Dean had puppy drum, Camille a marinated in champagne tomato salad and I had grits and grillades that were great—The best part of the whole meal was the very best milk punch I have ever had—Remembering how awful the food on the train was Camille decided to run to the Central Grocery and get us some muffalettas to go so we could have edible food on the train—good move Camile. So shortly thereafter we headed back to the hotel which I highly recommend the concierge level and got our luggage and headed for and boarded the train where this story stops for awhile.

Santa Puppy

We have tried about 50 times to get him to smile for the camera w/his Berek Santa sweater on but we settled for a sweet look. This dog loves to wear costumes.

Vicarious National Champs

Who knew when we sent Camille to Richmond that they would be national champs in their division in football in her lifetime--haven't we waited a long time for something like this to happen to our beloved Bulldogs?? I am very happy for her and her friends that they got to experience such a priceless and world-changing event. In this day of gloom and doom, I am glad to have something to rant and rave about. It is a huge thing for Richmond and their newest alumni--so glad Dave was there to share it. Additionally, I want to thank Saunders on behalf of him AND Jordan for calling in the score and Lindsay who was happy as well. Robo, where were you?

Waiting on the Ice Storm

My favorite phrase forever has been "Shelby County Schools are Closed Today." I have been out of the classroom for 23 years now but I cannot get that out of my system to wish for snow, sleet or ice and hope and pray that I don't get stuck in it. It was actually a week of snow that is the reason we now live in Bumble. Shelby County schools were closed for a week and we were dividing our time between Memphis and our respective parents and happened to find this subdivision under construction while we were here. It used to be so beautiful at Christmas as all the homeowners put single white lights in the windows and used red bows on the mailboxes. We had luminaries that were a tourist attraction and brought out the best of the neighbors. Now all kinds of decorations are here and the luminaries got cancelled for the first time in 23 years due to the fact that the city didn't pick up the leaves and it is a mess. It is sad. I loved the luminaries. I don't have a red bow on the mailbox. I do have the white lights in the windows. My Richmond Spiders are playing for the National Championship in football Friday night and I am so pumped.

New Football Coach at Mississippi State

We are excited to have a new football coach on board who could be the one to lead us out of the wilderness, doldrums or whatever is the matter. Hopefully, he can turn the program around quickly and we can enjoy football again--The national media seems to be impressed w/our hire of up and coming Dan Mullen as well--rebs, beware!

Better Than Cooking School

Chicken and dumplins are probably every Southern person's favorite meal. They remind you of your grandmother(s) and look so hard to make that they are nearly impossible to find. Cracker Barrel may pretend to have them and some other Southern soul food restaurants but......I had some at Jordan and Saunders awhile ago that were wonderful. They claimed they were so easy to make, etc. so I have been wanting to try to make them for Camille when she gets home. So for a week we have been planning to have dumplins on Sunday night when we had all the time to cook them. Today was the day and after great debate in the grocery store about whole chicken v. a whole chicken cut up and real soup v. reduced sodium, etc. I had the right ingredients and Saunders came over to start the class. Five hours later, when Jordan joined us and it was halftime of some football game, we got to taste the results and they were fantastic, awesome or any other adjective that means wonderful. I can't believe how easy they were and Dean couldn't believe how good they were and it was a great day for cooking. The leaves can get raked tomorrow.

A Fabulous Menu at Cooking School

Today was the last in my series of cooking classes this year and it was by far the best menu we've had. A savory cheesecake topped w/smoked salmon roses was the feature of a celebration brunch menu. We also made a delightfully orange-glazed pork tenderloin and an asparagus and mushroom strata. The two very best dishes were the softest biscuits I had ever tasted and brown sugar bacon. The bacon was seasoned w/black and red pepper and brown sugar and baked on a rack in the oven. The brown sugar practically caramalized on the bacon and everyone raved. I was in a group w/a guy from Jackson, TN and two girls whose kids went to St. George's. It was notable that I had taught one of their husbands at GMS. His wife couldn't believe I remembered him. If she only knew how many of my students I could never forget! I love my cooking classes at Viking and highly recommend them to any of my friends who likcook or eat--which leads me to the thought for the day: Politics and religion are topics not for the table at a cocktail party but talking about food is very acceptable and brings people together better than any other subject. Think about it--does anyone like you less if you say you you like or dislike sushi rather than Sarah Palin?

Collierville Christmas Parade Boycott to End

The last Christmas Parade I saw I was in. Ten years ago Camille and Lindsay and Dean, Roberta and I were all happily riding in the Fire Truck when the parade abruptly stopped behind us and it took a long time to figure out what was the matter. There had been an accident and the emergency equipment couldn't get to the scene because it was so crowded. The parade circled the Square (if that makes sense) and had to be moved to a safer location the next year. It is now located on the straight lined Byhalia Road on the first Friday of every December and makes traffic unbearable for us who live nearby. The reason I am no longer boycotting is that we now have a mayor from old Collierville who would move it back to the Square if he wanted to. It is probably best where it is but I was mad because the outsider mayor that we had for so long had wanted to keep it off the Square and I waged my unsuccessful boycott. I am now no longer admonishing people not to go to the parade. I might even take a peek.

My New Hobby

Changing the look of the blog is fun and I think I really like this one. Camille and Linds you can tell me what you think! I set a new world's record today. I went to Walmart at 1:15 and when I looked at my watch, it was 3:oo. There were so many things and people to see. It had gone from dreary gray to sunny skies by the time I went out in the parking lot and by that time, I had no idea what door I entered and who knows where the car was! My next goal is to change the fonts.

Condemned to the Stupid Snowmen

My nourishing friends, Jordan and Saunders, taught me how to change the look of the blog but the only background that seems to work for me is what Saunders referred to as the "stupid snowmen" I love snowmen so what is toxic to one is apparently nourishing to someone else! Thanks you two! I will practice all day tomorrow and have a surprise background by tomorrow night! It's now a personal challenge.

Be Surrounded by Nourishing People

A long time ago a colleague brought up the fact that there were two kinds of people: nourishing and toxic. Toxic individuals are to be avoided as they suck out every conceivable ounce of energy you and cause great pain and suffering. Nourishing people, on the other hand, give you what you need and allow you to be the best you can be. It is ironic that some people who are toxic to one may be nourishing to another. If at all possible, identify the toxic people in your life and try to avoid them. It is a wonderful feeling to be surrounded by nourishing people.

Change We Need

I am changing the tenor of the blog to reflect the new mood in the country. I am going from the old "what I did last weekend" to a more reflective theme. I have lots of red flags and pet peeves to share. It will be hard to keep it positive but "Yes, I can!" The most important pet peeve right now for me is to be offered everyone's opinion about the Sylvester Croom debacle. The only people who have a right to weigh in are those who buy season tickets, belong to the Bulldog Club and encourage others to do so as well. We can't change the past--the Slyvester Croom Era is over and the program is in better shape than he found it. I trust Greg Byrne will make a good hire and we will move on--it does no good to rehash all the mistakes of the previous administration. I hope we as good Bulldogs can get behind the new coach and move on.

The Snowcrow

The only problem we discovered in DC was the presence of pigeons on the patio of the apartment. No other balconies that we could see hosted any pigeons or their refuse. We, being from the country, knew that scarecrows would get rid of the pigeons. I offered to buy an inflatable owl for the balcony but they found a stuffed snowman instead and pink duct-taped it to the top rail. Hopefully the apartment management will be understanding and not make them get rid of the snowcrow for aesthetic reasons.

Best of DC

We spent a wonderful long weekend in DC visiting Camille. The weather and company were perfect. We saw the Museum of Natual History, the National Art Museum and the Air and Space Museum all on Friday. Had a great dinner at Rosa Mexica on Friday night where we learned to love pomegranate margaritas. Saturday we drove around the city and Georgetown and somewhere Camille wants to live next year and to Alexandria. Saturday afternoon a Wingo tradition was observed w/endless football games. Dinner at Ruth Chris w/Marion was the only break we had from the games of the good. Sunday morning we ate at family fav, Ted's Montana Grill, and Dean sped off on his own to go to the monuments we missed earlier--especially the war monuments. I stayed behind and took the girls to Target and Harris Teeter, Camille's favorite grocery store. Dean got back in good time for Camille to take us to the airport for an uneventful but teary flight home. I am fine today.

Washington Monument

Dean took this while I patiently took the girls to Target and the grocery store.

Cowbell Chandeliers and Cooking School

We saw this chandelier made of our beloved cowbells and were quite taken w/them. When Lindsay and Camille were little we didn't have all these fancy tents and the Junction and a great atmophere---our team wasn't very good back then, either.












This is a picture of the shrimp w/remoulade sauce that we made in the New Orleans appetizers cooking class I took Tuesday. It was my all-time favorite menu: crayfish etoufee in filo cups, marinated mushrooms, praline cheesecake, of course the remoulade and a crab and artichoke dip for baguettes Tracy is one of my favorite teachers at the Viking Cooking School and she did not disappoint.



This is a view of our "fixins" from the New Orleans class. The dishes don't show up well but you can get some idea of the size of the hands-on kitchen. We always get to eat what we have made. This particular class only had four participants so we had lots of fun and opportunites to "chop."

Delta Blues Dinner Cooking School

I don't know why I signed up for this night class but it was an interesting menu of food that is characteristic of the Mississippi Delta. We had fried pickles (which I think Lindsay and Camille would have liked) and tamales (which I liked) and a mile high coconut creme pie that I know Dean will like and a parmesean crusted catfish filet that is probably the only thing I will probably make at home. The good thing about the pie was that we ate a slice there and got to bring a tart sized pie home to our loved ones I went by myself, of course, and had to pair up w/a married couple who were okay. Whenever men are in the class, they act obnoxious and very know-it-all. That could be considered a very sexist statement but it is true. Period. At least we didn't have to talk politics The teacher is the chef at Bonefish in Collierville and she tried really hard but was about as organized as I am . I gave her a good rating for her efforts. This particular class had not been tried before and the entire meal was way too complicated to be very successful. We spent most of our class worrying about the 11-step pie. When Camille gets home for Christmas and maybe Lindsay is here, I might try it again. When the girls were little we used to make a lot of stuff and the highlight of the year was dyeing Easter eggs. That tradition went on until Lindsay was in high school I think. Tomorrow I have a class on New Orleans hors d'ouerves I hope I don't have to touch an oyster or anything slimy

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Ugly was the football game. Bad was the football game. Good was the basketball exhibition game v. Montevallo--we are not sure if Montevallo is a country or a place in Alabama. It was the most exciting exhibition game we have ever seen--and we have seen a lot of exhibition games. When Camille and Lindsay were little we used to go to Shipley's donuts in Starkville but now we only go when we are really depressed (see:football) so this morning I went to get 6 glazed and I didn't see any out for sale. I asked the guy if he had any glazed and he said it'd be another 30 seconds before they came dripping off the rack. You cannot imagine how good they were--I would hate to look at their nutritional analysis! They were worth the risk.

Casper the Starkville Yellowjacket

Casper is proudly modeling his Halloween costume for Camille and Lindsay to see on my blog! He is very proud of this outfit and gets all excited when I start to put it on him. The hat is especially adorable.

Tennessee Bulldogs

Camille and Lindsay, you would have been proud of me as I broke in line to get this picture! I stepped up to the plate, used all my assertiveness training and asked for their autographs on this nice State visor I had just won as a door prize. Coach Stansbury saw us and asked what we were doing there and couldn't believe we'd made a special trip to Starkville so I could take advantage of this photo op--Remember when y'all got me a Penny Hardaway autograph? I never got to have my picture made w/him.

A Lauran Tradition

For over 50 years now, I have been a basketball junkie and have had my picture made w/my favorite players over the years starting w/Jack Butcher of the 1957 Memphis State basketball team. I moved onto Larry Finch and Keith Lee as my all-time Tiger favorites. My first favorite Bulldog basketball player was Rickey Brown whom we befriended when he was in a hospital in Memphis. I know somewhere there must be a picture of us but I can't put my hands on it like I can for the others. The next State player I was crazy about was Lawrence Roberts and now my heroes are a couple of fellow Tennesseans. Last night we went to "Meet the Players" night at MSU and I got to get my picture w/both of them, Barry Stewart and Jarvis Vanardo. They are the only returning starters from last year's team that almost beat Memphis in the NCAAs. I think we will be good again this year even though we are young and inexperiences. Did I mention Camille and Lindsay?

Lindsay and Camille

Camille suggested I start a blog so I wouldn't send 1,000 emails a day to tell her what we've been doing. I think of a blog in the present tense--like what's happening now--but I was reminded today that I had ignored the past and had not mentioned Camille and Lindsay. So here's a tribute to my loves who don't live near me anymore to take part in our daily activities.

We had Lindsay before Camille was born. We kept her while her parents traveled. We took her to see Christmas lights where she uttered her first word, "Ites" She was an only child for three years before Camille was born. She continued as part of our family and became Camille's pretend sister. They went to St. George's together and Memphis basketball games and went on vacations w/us. The only difference was in their eating habits. Lindsay only ate french fries and peanut butter while we fretted constantly trying to get Camille to eat anything--We spent lots of fun summers at Pickwick where the girls were forced to sleep in an inflatable boat because there were so many other people in our house that they got run out of their bedroom. As they got older, they still remained close although they went to separate schools and then Lindsay moved to Florida. They went to different colleges, live in separate cities now and fortunately I can keep up w/both of them through the internet. My friendship almost came to an end when, in college, Lindsay did something w/her away message that read "Dreaming of LHWingo" and I thought she was making fun of me and I wouldn't speak to her for weeks. I still, to the day, don't understand how it worked but apparently anyone who sent her a message got the same response but w/their screen name instead. The next post will be about the second time we almost disowned Lindsay. It was related to calling us to rub in an Auburn victory over our hapless Bulldogs.

Marathon Day in Starkville

The day began w/a lovely Southern brunch at T's and ended with a dance at the Shrine Club to the music of the "Cracker Jacks." The interesting part of the band is they are our age and have played at most of the weddings of ex-patriates from the Delta who have Memphis weddings. They play all the good music of the 60's and 70's and although we left before it was over, I am sure they ended w/"Shout." Sandwiched between these two landmark events were an open house at another Pike's house in Starkville, a very interesting basketball scrimmage and and a very boring football game v. MTSU that we won.

What's not to love about Rocking Rellenos for breakfast the next morning to top off the weekend? Everyone at my B n B gets Rocking Rellenos which is basically a egg strata w/cheese and green chiles. It is yummy. It is no carb. It replaces the standard monkey bread, hash brown potato casserole and sausage egg bake that Camille likes so much. After our guests left for home in Atlanta, I did all the laundry, etc. before I left so I would not have to rush down there this week to get ready for company. We are going to celebrate no company by going to Shipley's for hot donuts on Sunday morning. We play KY this weekend in football and have a basketball exhibition game after the football game so I am excited about that and Casper will wear his bumble bee suit all weekend. He looks adorable.

Camille, Please Come Home!

Casper and Jack

Homecoming and Pike Reunion at State

I know I need to post more visuals but I was too busy this weekend to think about a camera! I got to go to Starkville Wednesday night hitching a ride w/Jordan so I could get the house ready for my weekend company. Jordan was the MVP of presentations at the College of Business and Career Fairs Thursday and I changed sheets and vacuumed and tried to fluff the house. Dean and Henry and Jane got to Starkville about the same time and we got ready for pizza night at City Bagel w/the Dubissons and T and Gloria. It is a semi-religious experience. The pizza is hand-tossed and you can have either marinara or pesto for the main sauce and many choices for the toppings and best of all, we can bring our own wine--no corkage. Friday we toured the campus and got ready for the big Pike reunion at the Pike House at night--It was sooo fun to see people I haven't seen in 40 years. Most of the women went to the "W" and a few were State girls and it was great to see old acquaintances--we ended the night at George Sherman's new house. Then the marathon on Saturday got started early...

Saunders' First Big Hit as a Bulldog

I am glad I have a picture to share w/the readers of the blog. This is a picture of him standing proudly at first base. Apparently Gene Swindoll took notice as Dean said it was reported on Genespage and that's as close to the NYTimes as you can get! Did I mention he actually got two hits and was the STARTING PITCHER for the Marooon side of the Alumni Game last Sunday.

Bulldogs Lemmings Headed to Neyland Stadium

Thanks to a lot of organization by some very die-hard Bulldogs, this is a picture of us boarding the boat for the game. It was the highlight of the trip--Bottles of wine to buy and a perfect way to go to a game. There was also a very good dj spinning tunes for all ages!

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The good was how much we enjoyed our trip to Knoxville and seeing Wes and Carolyn for the weekend, the bad was our offense and the ugly was the UT stadium--It was a big dinorsaur w/tiny seats and dirty, dank corridors leading to the seats. We took a sternwheeler riverboat to the game w/200 of our best Bulldog friends and it exceeded expectations. We cruised the river on a a beautiful day and landed at the dock in plenty of time to eat dinner at Ruth Chris' and get to the game in pleny of time. The boat had a Dj spinning tunes and some people succumbed to the temptation of karaoke. We could buy wine by the bottle for $20 which was perfect for the four of us on each part of the ride. I would highly recommend this boat trip to any Bulldog who goes to Knoxville in the future. We may go again just for the ride and skip the game. The score was lopsided at 34-3 but it was only 6-3 at halftime and I thought we would win--nada--we cannot remember the last road game we won since the Snow Bowl. That's 8 long years of misery and we will rethink buying out of town tickets next year. I am glad Richmond won.

Capt. John Nicolai of Lulu the Lobster Boat

These pictures are way out of sync but I wanted everyone to see why we loved "Lulu the Lobster Boat" in Bar Harbor!

Makin' Cakes

Tomorrow is the Rotary Spaghetti Supper and I get to make two cakes! Since it is a Rotary project, I have help on this. Mr. Measurer is going to be sure I don't mess things up so he is carefully leveling the flour w/a knife, etc. However, with my track record for forgetting important ingredients, his help is welcomed! We are making my grandmother's pound cake recipe.

 

The Rest of the Trip

Once back in the US, we visited Bar Harbor, Maine and went out on Lulu, the Lobster Boat w/a very knowlegdgeable captain, John Nicolai, and watched him pull up lobster traps and we learned all there is to know about the lobster business. The most important part of the lobster business is in the eating of the lobster and we feasted on whole lobster from the ocean THAT morning. It was called soft shelled lobster as it had recently molted into a new shell and had not completely filled it up w/meat. The lobster was served in a pot of its own w/corn and potatoes and gallons of drawn butter and to die for.

Two wonderful days in Boston followed and we fell in love w/the city. On Sunday, we had a personal guide in Sasha, Camille's first friend from St Mary's and current Boston resident. She led us over quite a few miles of walking and we were exhausted at the end of the day and ready to get back on the boat for the night and eat more lobster. We did parts of the Freedom Trail, Boston Common, Beacon Hill, Little Italy and points in between. Dean and the Dews enjoyed the USS Constitution and Sasha and I sat on a bench and talked about all kinds of things. She works for Facing History and Ourselves and had to work Monday so we went out on our own to see a few more things and Harvard. We were amazed at the age and beauty of the buildings and the lack of landscaping throughtout the campus. Mississippi State is much more beautiful.

Back from Canada and New England

I had always wanted to see the fall foliage in New England and this year we found a cruise that would fulfill my dream. The only problem was that there was very little fall foliage to see. We flew to Montreal from Memphis and were very disappointed in that big city but were equally impressed w/Quebec City the next day. It was very European and charming. We were sitting outside at cafe and some Bulldogs from Meridien who recognized our Bulldog paraphenalia as well and we had a nice chat. A sea day was welcome since they only had Team Trivia on sea days and we only had two. Dean went w/me and I chose our teammates from the waiting group. I am good at this and found a family and their only daughter who are as intense as I and to prove it, they already had a name, The People's Republic of Berkely. We won naturally and I got one correct answer that they didn't know--it referred to colorful Braniff Airlines. We won baseball caps--I look terrible in caps so Tony got mine. The next day was microscopic Cornerbrook, Newfoundland. We did a float trip w/a 21 year old who was quite charming. He could not compare to Cassanova II from South Africa, our bar waiter and Chirs our dinner waiter who looked like Harry Potter and from S. Africa as well. One day was the lavish gala buffet which we have tons of pix,

WB to the Rescue (again)

Nor Much Happened in Atlanta

The newly improved State band was the highlight of the weekend. The game was terrible but the company was good. Back in Memphis by noon on Sunday, we noticed only University of Memphis flags were flying. State, Ole Miss and UT had disappointing losses. I decided to fix green chile and invite Saunders, Jordan and Jack over to cheer things up around here. Casper was exhausted from his weekend w/Melba and Jack was likewise worn out from a weekend of trying to keep up w/his parents.

I watched the Yankee's last game at the historic Yankee stadium and cried like the rest of them when the team ran around the perimeter of the whole ballpark to salute their fans. People were crying in the stands and I couldn't help myself--I think I am a little old for that but I couldn't help it--I have always been a Yankee fan and loved Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris when I was a kid--Dean had a Mickey Mantle baseball card that his mother threw away and set off his aversion to throwing ANYthing away as it might become valuable someday. There's just something about those Yankee pinstripes and that great logo--We were in NYC one year on the girls' trip and were waiting in a bar for the final game of the World Series to end and the bartender was setting up these fabulous pink drinks for the celebration and the Cosmo was craze in Memphis was born. We thought they were the best thing EVER!

From Thermidor to Tacos

We were so disappointed to get a call from the Tennessean restaurant this
afternoon saying they had no power and were postponing tonight's
"Tribute to Justine's" dinner. So what did we have instead? Tacos. It
is the last time this year we can have tacos when we have home grown
tomatoes and Vidalias--The Husts came over and we ate a world record
25 tacos between the four of us. At dinner, we had the usual
political conversation about which I normally clam up. I was asked what I
thought of S---- P----. I fessed up--told the truth. Dean nearly
choked and finally I said let's change the subject. So Terry started
telling some story about Eli and Peyton. Dean said let's go
back to politics! So now he truth is out. I don't like the
Republican choice for VP--is that stepping out, Camille? You see,
Camille thinks my blog is too PC and so here was my provocative
revelation.

Red Chile Night

Usually on Monday nights Dean goes to Touchdown Club and Casper and I can eat whatever--like cereal--but we found out late in the day he had a bye tonight so I pulled out a frozen carton of red chili and omg--it was like olden days--so hot you had to drink milk but we'd had about 5 margaritas before dinner--Saunders and Jordan came over and brought Jack so we were all entertained--I was going to have them for some kind of chile Wednesday night but I was pressed into action to find something for dinner for Dean and me tonight--oh well we might have green chili Wednesday--

Tomorrow night is a special dinner on the train as we celebrate the 6oth anniversary of the opening of Justine's which, if it were still open, be the best restaurant in the whole world. I am sad Camille never got to eat there--it was the place everyone in the world celebrated everything good--We went there for our honeymoon dinner and all family gatherings were held there when a celebration was called for and chili wasn't good enough. I can't wait for this and I am so excited the owner decided to do this--they are having lobsters flown in for the thermidor. More on this tomorrow--

A Big Weekend in Starkville

It was too bad we were on the short end of the scoreboard. We had a great day of tailgating Saturday and the game crowd was outstanding until the end. The sad part is that in the old days we would have been so happy to lose to Auburn by only one point! The defense was stellar and the offense was not. I wore the same unlucky white blouse that I did to the La Tech game and that really was why we lost. Friday night was Bulldog Bash and it was sort of fun but not nearly as packed w/people as in previous years. The weather may have cut into the crowd size. It is so much fun to see all the people at their tailgates from new friends to people we went to school with 4o years ago. It is hard to believe we won't have another home game for a month but hopefully we will have another huge turnout for the Vandy game. Hopefully, Vandy will cool off in the meantime. Sadly, since we won't be back for a long time, I had to send my Boston ferns to Elaine for foster care. Speaking of foster care, Casper gets to go to the country this weekend and stay w/Melba and family. The last time we went to Atlanta he saved us from the tornado at the SEC tournament if you have heard that story. We are meeting some more longtime friends in ATL for some really good dinners. Will report on that next week.

First Win of the Season

It was so good to get back to Starkville for a home game. The trip to Ruston the week before was forgettable. The campus continues to look better and better and the game atmosphere was really impressive. It was as loud as I can remember from the students and even the Famous Maroon Band appeared rejuvenated! We had our friends, Tommy and Skip Dews, from Hattiesburg as our guests for the weekend and we had our usual laughs and good time. We didn't take pictures for the blog as I had forgotten about it until we ran into Jordan and Saunders and all their blog-friends. This week we play Auburn at home on Saturday night and let's hope the beautiful weather will repeat. It would be a real feat to beat Auburn for the second year in a row but we showed a lot of improvement this week over the opening game.

Flowers by Grace Ward

 


Grace Ward sort of volunteered and I sort of asked her to help me w/flowers for the party ad this is what beautiful work she did on the dining room centerpiece--all I did was get the oases ready ang buy the flowers from Schnucks--everybody raved--

The Party Aftermath

First, the left-overs are terrific--tenderloin, stuffed mushrooms, twice baked new potatoes, grilled asparagus--onion dip in filo cups w/bacon in the mix--wowser--had a thousand martini glasses to wash--house is clean but the cabinets would probably spill if opened too carelessly--going to Utah Thursday for Allison's wedding--be back Monday and Cap looks forward to going to Camp Higgins--Da goes to TD Club tonight--love those Monday night TD club meetings--no dinner for us1

Birthday Girl and Cake

Snapfish:Photo:Owned

Pam's Birthday Party

 
 
 
 

Casper and the Higgins

 

Tennessee river 600

Pictures from the Tennessee River 600--Some people think this is fun!

Cap at the Condo

Whilte I am slowly trying to figure out the blog thing, I am experimenting with picture placement. It is not easy being a blogger. It is also hard for me to speak in complete sentences.