A Flordia Weekend!

This weekend, I needed, so very much needed to get away from the house and spend some alone time with nature.  And that is exactly what I got.  I can get so antsy some times and this past weekend it hit me at 5:00 am on Saturday morning. 

I threw some clothes in a bag, and loaded up my thermos and water bottle and headed east without a real destination in mind.  I already had my tent in my car, which only more encouraged  the idea of camping.  I was hungry about the time I was entering Mobile, and googled Breakfast in Mobile AL on my phone, and Tiny's Diny came up, I HAD TO GO! It was no mistake. I had a western omelet, with grits and fresh biscuits, served with their home made peach preserves!!!!! Yummy yummy yummy!  Even writing this now, my tummy is rumbling for some more! 

I jumped back into the car and with the destination of Grayton Beach Campground, I continued East .  The campground was so beautiful and clean. Definitely not roughing it.  I set up my tent, and walked to the beach. Oh the water in the Florida panhandle is so clear and green and fresh!  Other than to say that I started my camp fire in less than a minute, with only one attempt, i am just going to post pictures below. 

 

 

Sunday morning I woke up, and went for a walk on the beach.  When I returned, I had a few missed calls, and one was from my friend Natalie.  We made plans to meet up in Pensacola, and I packed up my campsite. I didnt take any photos of our fun time at the beach, but here are a few photos of the place where we ate dinner on the way home.  It was such  a fun stop. 

 

Getting ready for a good vacation

I had a happy morning; i rode my honda to work. I actually got it going around 50mph! Amazing! I love that thing.


I am heading up to Kentucky and Ohio this Friday! I am looking forward to the vacation, and the trips to ikea and trader joes.  Any suggestions on things to see up that way?

This weekend I made some videos.

IThis weekend, I used my phone(can you still call those things phones, when they are also cameras, tvs and radios) to make two videos.  I also spent a lot of time in the Kitchen making Strawberry Jam and Pear Butter and I rode my scooter enough to need to fill the gas tank.

Here is the first of the two videos.



This is from Saturday night when James played with Fort Bayou Slim at the Shed BBQ in Gulfport MS.  Also a  special appearance from Jo Jo.

The Summertime Music

The summertime is slow, well it is down south.  You cant move faster than a walk during the day or you are liable to collapse. It is something special and I have always loved this time of year for the slowness. 

This time of year also makes me want to listen to the blues.  I cant think of anything better than sitting on a porch, with a fan, and a beer, or a glass of tea,  hair stickin to my face, and listen to the blues.  Man! that makes me happy!  So, grab a beer, go outside and turn up your computer speakers, and listen to this:



Happy Slow Summer!

Oh! I seem to have gotten a case of the Busies!

Which is totally a good thing! I would so rather be busy than bored.But it sometimes mean that i dont get time to do everything.     Here are some things that have been going on:

I got my  first new tshirts in and posted onto Etsy! Wahoo!  You can buy them here!

I spent most of the weekend working around the house, catching up on some work work, riding my scooter, and making even more jam.  This weekend it was bourbon ginger peach and blueberry lemon.  I also made some more bread and butter pickles which James seems to be eating faster than  I can make them, which is only the most awesome complement!

I have also been working on a few new projects, which I hope to get out soon. I am excited for them. 
Oh, so much to do, so little time.  Its a wonderful life, no?

The weekend, and the garden as well.

The weekend and the garden fit together as a topic pretty well, mostly because the weekend is when i get to really play in the garden, cooking from it, and exploring it, watching for little critters.  This morning I went to the little plots to get some basil to pass on to my coworkers.  I love that place, my garden that is, it makes me so happy!

Here is a lovely picture I took this morning to leave you with. I hope that everyone has a safe and happy weekend.  I will probably be spending a lot of my weekend making jelly and pickles.  The rest of it hope to spend on my little honda! 

Happy Bastille Day

You can't escape the past in Paris, and yet what's so wonderful about it is that the past and present intermingle so intangibly that it doesn't seem to burden.-Allen Ginsberg

Bastille Day is a funny day for me.  I once lost a tooth on Bastille day on a plane returning from a trip to England and France.  For that matter, I also lost a tooth on the 4th of July while in England.  My mouth must have wanted to help me celebrate geographically appropriate history by encouraging visits from the Tooth Fairy. So, this time every year, I remember Bastille Day, and the tooth I lost!

Here are some wonderful things to help us all remember the day!

A wonderfully French, and a bit Nautical bag from Ikabags.  I think I desperately need one, and will be ordering it tomorrow!  Good thing she makes them to order, and we can all have one!

Oh and wouldn't these cute little earrings go so well with the bag?!?!?  You can find them at Lucky Girl Racer's Shop

And like every day, you should probably tell some one that you love them.  Today do it in French!  You could send one of these cute cards from humunuku

And in honor of my lost tooth those many years ago, here are some cute little stuffed teeth from lexacto

Oh I wish I could be there!

Oh how I wish I could be home right now waiting by my door. Waiting for that UPS package with my 11 lbs of tshirts, oh and some sweet mammoth temporary tattoos!  It has been at least two year since last I made tshirts.  Oh, how I miss it, but you know when you don't exercise those muscles for a long time, you become timid in the reconditioning, and it takes a great will to move those creative juices into motion.

Oh, but they are moving now. I already have a few new shirts I am working on.  I cannot wait to get these out of the box.  I hope they are there at lunch.  Can you tell how on the edge of my seat I am at the moment?

I am planning a trip up to Mammoth Printshop to make some extra special printed materials.  I am excited for that too.  I miss that place more each day! 

By the way, if you ever need t shirts printed, I recommend Mammoth!  They are amazing printers and folks!  VISIT THEM HERE!!!!

Happy Monday

Happy Monday Everyone.  I know it is late in the day to be wishing this, but there are still several hours left in the day.  I have been pretty thoughtful lately, and things in my life seem to be progressing pretty well.  I am figuring things out that I have been questioning, mostly professional things.  I don't  mean to sound vague, but, all will be revealed soon. 

I am finishing up a house, one that has been a challenging one, one that maybe shouldn't have been as challenging, and I am happy to be getting to the end. It is nice to finish things.  

On my way back to work from lunch, I stopped and got some dark chocolate gelato from the corner bakery in down town Ocean Springs.  When I ordered the woman behind the counter asked if I wanted to sample, and I said no.  She warned me that it was really rich.  I resisted her requests, knowing that I knew what I wanted, a small cup of her dark chocolate gelato.  Oh, I was so right.  It is a reminder to me to stick to my guns.  I know what I want! 

So I leave you with this happy song that kind of sums up my feeling today!
Taken By Trees - "My Boys" 



P. S. I am really loving Swedish music these days!

AND!!!! LOOK FOR THE BRAND NEW ZENORSCHNITZEL SHIRTS TOMORROW (or maybe wednesday, after I have a chance to take photos)

Oh Happy Weekend!

I had such a great weekend. I made a ton of Jam.... Strawberry, Strawberry-lavender, Strawberry Balsamic, and mango chili. Strawberry is the only flavor I have tasted, and James said it right when he said it tastes like summer.  MMMMmmmmmm.  I promise to post the recipes soon.

I spent plenty of time on my motorcycle, and near water.  Saturday I went to bluff creek with my friend Natalie and her two boys, and sunday I watched the beach from the balcony at the yacht club.  Oh happy weekend.  Now back to the real world.

xoxo!

Its Hot. I love it!

Oh, its summer. It has been here on the gulf coast for a while. I love the hot air, and the bright sun.  It makes you move so slow, unless of course you have a Honda Passport C70 Motorcycle to ride around on! 

James and I are going to be buying the little bike you see me on above, and probably another one.  Yesterday we rode around town on the pair of them.  It was my first time on a motorcycle, and it was so much fun.  And, it gets 100 miles to the gallon!  Such a good and affordable way to travel.

To leave you in the summery mood, here is Sam Cooke's Summer time: 





Enjoy the heat!

Puttin away the harvest, and then some.

Anyone who has been around me knows I have been pickling all of the yummy cucumbers, and other yummy surplus from our garden.  I have been pickling like crazy.  So far I have made pickled banana peppers, dill pickles, pickled okras, bread and butter pickles, refrigerator pickles, and curried pickles.

When the strawberries I have been buying over the last week are extremely sweet and inexpensive, the urge to make jams, jellies and preserves bubbles up.  I thought I would search around and see what I could find other people making. I will post more about the individual jars of goodness that is surely to come from my garden soon, but for now, I wanted to record  the cute things I found. 

Here are some cute earrings from L.K. Farnsworth.  I love earrings that dont completely match, dont you?

.

 I also found this great photograph, that almost looks like a painting of jams by francoiserachez.  

Do you have any good preserve recipes or things i can put in jars?  I am no longer restraining my self to pickles, and opening up the canning room to all sorts of seasonal goodness!

Cute Watercolors

Here is a cute painting of a little titmouse, one of my favorite birds, from a woman named Irene. (Aka Dimdi on Etsy.) She makes such cute little watercolor gestures of animals, for a decent price!!! I love how simple they are and yet how much life the animals have.  Go check out her store at ETSY.  

 In staying with the theme of birds here is another great affordable water color artist that can be found on Etsy, Eastwitching.  She donates some of her revenues to charities that help animals. 

I hope you enjoy their work!!!!

Waiting....and trying to be patient

So, I am waiting on my first order of tshirts in a long time! I haven't made tshirts in almost 2 years, and after finally coming up with what i am pretty sure will be the first in a hopefully long series, I am excited.

They will be here, hopefully, next week, and I will post about it everywhere.  In addition to the tshirts, I will be releasing my new website, and a new facebook page!  If you notice things changin around me, this is why.  I am gearing up for a new era in the Zenorschnitzel life!

Moving my blog back!

I am back. I think I love my blogger.
Here is another thing I love: The Rural Studio and their new Skate Park.  It is so Beautiful!!!!

Greensboro Alabama Skatepark Grand Opening!

 faithskatesupply on Vimeo.

I think i am moving my posting to Tumblr!

So, after a long run with the Blogger, My Miss Adventure is moving to Tumblr.com.

Please check there for new posts. here is the link

http://zenorschnitzel.tumblr.com/

Oh Happy Saturday!

James and I rode out to Deer Island and had a beautiful picnic sitting on a washed up log along the north side of the island. As we ate our refreshing meal of roasted red pepper crackers, avocado, tomatoes, salami, fresh jalapeno cheddar from the Ocean Springs Farmers Market, and wasabi almonds we listened to the waves come onto the shore.

It was not possible to spend the entire day at the island, because the garden was demanding some more work. We planted some more, and watered, and arranged until our hunger returned around dinner time. We rode our bikes to our friend Ben's house for a visit, with intentions of heading to the grocery for a burger, but when we pulled in the driveway, Ben's sweet daughter Lily came out to greet us with an invitation to eat some of the steak that they made for dinner.

We took them up on the offer and to go with the steak was mashed potatoes and english peas, what a great combination. Sleepiness set in and the desire to go to the grocery faded. We rode home and called it a night a bit early, but completely Exhausted.

Spring Roll Magic!

Continuing in the girls cooking night tradition, last week's meal was spring rolls, with professor Trinh teaching the lesson on how to make these wrapped goodies. First, it should be known that this was to be the last, most likely girls night with KC because she got a job in Jackson. My happiness for her new change in employment, city and proximity to her beaux was cut short by my sadness that she would be leaving us, and this young tradition of girls dinners that had become such a delight in my week. All hopes are that the tradition will carry on, and KC will continue to be missed until she decides that she should grace us with her presence for dinner once again.

According to Trinh, the making of spring rolls is a rites of passage in the lives of Vietnamese children, very similar to learning to use chopsticks. It definitely seems to bring a happy look to her face when she was telling us about it, similar to the look that comes across my face when I think of icing christmas cookies as an icing covered munchkin.

In Trinh's words, making spring rolls is not a difficult task, it just takes a lot of washing, boiling, and cutting to get everything ready. We had a spread of fillings to go in our thin rice wrappers: rice sticks(noodles) lettuce, mint, cucumbers, shrimp, and pork loin. Trinh also made a hoisin dipping sauce and topped it with chopped peanuts.





The spring rolls were delicious. They were so refreshing, and surprisingly filling. I enjoyed making these so much, that when I visited my mom for Easter last weekend, I brought with me the things to make it, and passed on what I had learned.

Pizza Night with the Ladies

Trinh and KC came over to cook dinner. It was beginning to become a weekly tradition, KC had come over twice before to cook dinner. It was a happy night that Trinh joined us for our pizza adventure, and good thing she was there, because she was the only person documenting the event with her camera.

To make the do, we followed this recipe, which I highly recommend. It was delicious, and easy(as far as making homemade pizza dough can be).
The sauce was made out of a mix of tomatoes, paste, and a bunch of spices.
The pizzas were topped with tomatoes, peppers, olives, onions, spinach, mozzarella, and Parmesan.
They were delicious. To make your mouth water, here is a series of photos to make you hungry!

Oh, I am back, on the running thing that is!

This morning I woke up, feeling a bit guilty that I did not do anything active yesterday, so I laced up my sneakers and grabbed my dog and went for a run. I ran down my favorite street, Hudson, and around town, and back all in all about three and a half miles, and I did it In about 35 minutes, which is good. Deloris, my blue eyed pup was happy and exhausted when we got back and I was happy because I just ran a good run for the first time in a long time.

About two years ago, I was running a regular 3-4 miles a day, every morning, and I had to stop because my hips were hurting and I was hobbling every day. Now, I have been to the doctor, and received the news that I had not done damage to my joints, I had just developed tendinitis, and that I wasnt going to hurt myself by continuing to run.

I have been running on the treadmill at the gym, thinking that was easier on my joints, and I took a run last week, about a mile and a half and i was fine, so today was a test that went well!

I am so happy! I love to run, and to greet the morning with my dog at my side and the breeze on my face, and the sun rising in the sky! OH HAPPY DAY and many more ahead!

Oh, i am falling down on my duties!

It seems like my blog falls down on two occasions. One is when I feel like I have little going on. The other is when I am way too busy enjoying my life, and that has been this occasion.

I apologize for not recording all of the fun and productivity that has been in my life. I will be doing better at recording my captains log starting now!

Last night, I went to the gym, and then for the first time, I went to a yoga class. I found out about the class on a bulletin board in the supermarket. It said it was at the Lutheran church and it was only $1 (donation suggested)

I have been wanting to do yoga for a while. I used to do it in Auburn, but the only place i have found that has yoga here was the yoga studio which is about $50 a month, or $14 a day, which is way too much.

My first yoga class was nice, and a good stretch. It was just what i wanted! Thanks Lutheran Church, I will see you next Tuesday as well!

WHO DAT!!!

Ok, so all I have to say is WHO DAT!!!!!

The Saints won last night. It was such a good year for them (captain obvious no?) and I am thankful to be in the Saints Nation. I have never been attached to a pro team, in any sport. The Saints is my first, which I inherited when I moved to the coast.

Before any watching of the Super Bowl, I think it is mandatory that you eat and drink well. My friends Heather and Kevin invited us to there house to cheer on our team and, of course eat a lot. They dont mess around either. They cooked a whole pig, and boiled crawfish, and although i didnt take picture of it, they had a huge spread inside as well. To help keep our nerves in check, they had a game of horse shoes to occupy our time before the kickoff!

Here are some pictures from the evening.

Book 2: the Help

Man, I am flyin through this birthday resolution. I am also amending this resolution. I cannot buy a book. Some one has to loan it to me, or i have to go to the library, or i have to already have it. That is the amendment! Good thing that the first two books both fit under this amendment.

Book #2: The Help by Kathryn Stockett.

click here to go to the books page on Amazon!

This book was right up my alley. I have always enjoyed reading about the Civil Rights Movement here in the south. In addition to hearing about how people can overcome great inequity, it is also strange and powerful to know that i live in that changed place. And while i know that there is still much to be done, much to change and the country still has faults, it makes me feel like i am proof that change has happened. If i were born 25 years earlier, i would have been born into a segregated and violent time. So, thank you all of those who made my life better, and richer.

This book is about a group of black maids in the early 60s in Jackson Mississippi, and their interaction with the white families they served. It is powerful, and feminine. That doesnt mean that men shouldnt read it. They should. It is about women, strong women. I highly recommend this book!!! TO ANYONE. We need to remember all of the work that has gotten us here to where we are, and we need to thank those people who fought so hard.

This book was given to me by my friend Dawn. I share my Wednesday evenings with her and two other women. This book is one that three of us have enjoyed and the fourth is reading now! I am thankful for those women that I share a porch with, and I am glad they introduced me to this book!

I Hate Crape Myrtles

Thats not true. I think they are beautiful, especially in the winter, with their seed pods, and their peeling bark.

I AM tired of them though. I think that they are very over planted. I think that this world would be better off if another crape myrtle was never planted. WE HAVE ENOUGH!!!!

Almost every small town has them in their street-scapes. Every new development plants them. Hell! Almost every yard that gets landscaping work done has them.

They are pretty plants, but my suggestion is that if you dont have them in your yard, keep it that way. Enjoy them when you visit your friend's house, or when you go to church, or go the grocery store, or go down town, or walk down the street. They are in your life enough.

Instead, I think you should, and every municipality, church, grocery store, should start planting other small trees that have color different times of years. What about the redbud, or the gardenia(i know it inst a tree, but it is beautiful and smells good), or the magnolia, or the dogwood, or the grancy gray beard, or the popcorn tree. all are beautiful. What about a blueberry bush? What about going to the nursery and exploring what is there?

THERE ARE OTHER BEAUTIFUL TREES ASIDE FROM THE CRAPE MYRTLE!!!!

Make an adventure out of it. Find something that is right for you, not something that is so safe that you are sure to not offend!

Good luck and have fun!

I love fences that are messy

I was in Gulfport looking at a site and meeting a client. She called to say that she was running a little late and I was in an older part of town and I had my camera, so predictably, I started walking around. There were a lot of great fences.







And this super Mississippi looking alley.